H9: A Haval To Have.

Haval have unveiled the updated seven seater H9. The 2018 model comes well stocked with standard equipment in the two model range, designated Lux and Ultra, a 350Nm turbo petrol engine of two litres capacity but still no diesel…yet.Included in the updates are both power and torque increases, from 160 to 180 kW, and up from 324Nm for the torque. Haval have fitted an eight speed auto from ZF, and combined with a change to the compression ration inside the four cylinder engine, say a fuel consumption improvement of around ten percent should be expected. A drop in the time to 100 kmh from zero is also expected, down to ten seconds.The exterior sees the former three bar grille changed to a five bar design, plus the lower air intake has been massaged for better air flow. Five spoke 18 inch alloys are new. Inside there’s been a raft of changes including a new TFT display screen for the driver, which amongst other information and changes displays a digital speedo.The seats for the Lux are cloth, the Ultra gets leather plus passengers in the Ultra can enjoy Australian sunshine thanks to a full length glass roof. Safety gets upgraded, with the Lux gaining Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and Lane Departure Warning. The Ultra steps that up with a heated steering wheel, heated second row seats, and an Infinity sound system.It’s also off-road capable, with a Bosch backed All-Terrain Control System (ATCS). Haval says:

Auto: The system automatically adapts to any on- or off-road situation and is designed as a select and forget setting.
Sand: The Bosch Generation 9.0 Traction Control System allows higher engine speeds and bigger torque for maximum traction through dry sand.
Snow: Traction is adjusted for the slippery conditions prevalent in snow, utilising the high torque of the turbocharged engine and the technology of the German-engineered ZF 8-speed transmission to start in second gear to minimise slippage and maximise traction.
Mud: Operates like the snow setting, but employs the BorgWarner transfer case to sense slip in one wheel and transfer torque to the appropriate wheel for optimum drive efficiency.
4L: This setting is for the toughest conditions, or when maximum traction is required such as towing through muddy conditions. By engaging the low-range transmission, the torque of the engine is multiplied by a factor of up to 2.48.
Sport: This setting is for enthusiast driving, and ensures the ZF 8-speed transmission holds lower gears for longer before changing up. At speeds below 80 km/h, it locks out the two overdriven gears, making it ideal for urban driving conditions.

The Haval H9 is rated for 2500kg in towing and features a locking rear diff as well.Pricing is sharp; the Lux starts at $40990 and the Ultra at $44990, with driveaway pricing at launch of $41990 and $45990. Head to Haval Australia for more information and to book a test drive of the 2018 Haval H9. http://credit-n.ru/oformit-kredit-online.html

Private Fleet Car Review: 2018 Citroen C4 Cactus.

Citroen is known for smart engineering, clever engineering, and its famed quirkiness. The three come together with the C4 Cactus and it’s a car with something out of the ordinary. The smooth, organic, rounded, Cactus features Airbumps. Simple in concept and execution, they’re poly-urethane pockets filled with air. Made from TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) grade Elastollan AC 55D10 HPM (High Performance Material) the bumps are intended to give extra protection in close quarter situations such as carparks.The review car was badged OneTone, signifying one all-over shade and in this case, all white. There’s another trim level called Exclusive. Pricing varies more between manual and auto than the two trim levels available. The manual and auto Exclusive are $30592 and $33373 driveaway. The OneTone manual and auto are $31107 and $33888 respectively.Motorvation is provided by the PSA Group’s 1.2L petrol engine. Peak power is 81kW. Peak torque is a surprisingly good, for the size of the engine, 205Nm. That comes in at 1500rpm and is courtesy of a low boost turbo. The auto is the PSA Group’s EAT6 transmission. It’s a torque converter style with a bit of dual clutch auto feel. Under way it’s smooth enough but was sometimes (thankfully rarely) too readily caught in the wrong cog, sending vibrations through the Cactus body as it struggled with revs and torque not being available. From standstill it engages readily when in manual mode, hesitates slightly in auto, and will swap gear swiftly and mostly smoothly, as mentioned. While it’s underway, the engine puts out that familiar three cylinder warble. It’s not unpleasant but can override conversation levels.There’s two transmissions available for the Cactus: a six speed auto as found in the review car or five speed manual. Fuel tank size is fifty litres and Citroen quotes a combined fuel economy of 5.1L/100km for the auto, 4.7L/100km for the manual. A Sports mode is available at the push of a console mounted button. Top speed is quoted as 188km/h with the zero to one hundred time quoted as 10.7 seconds for the auto but a considerably quicker 9.3 seconds for the manual. This is explained by a 105kg weight difference. The manual tips the scales at 1020kg dry, the auto at 1125kg.It’s compact too, featuring an overall length of just 4157mm. The rear houses a handy 358L cargo bay that increases to 1170L when the rear seats fold. The cloth wrapped seats themselves are comfy enough but lack suitable side support for the front row. The rear seats are slightly slabby but due to the width (1729mm overall) there’s only room for two which is comfortable enough.
Leg room at the front is superb and rear leg room is also quite good. Headroom should pose no problem unless you’re two metres plus in height.The inside has a theme. It’s something along the lines of a suitcase, with the door handles rounded and with a leather like material and the glovebox has two latches, one of which opens the glovebox, and look like those found on a suitcase. The top of the glovebox has bumps that mirror the bumps outside and the door trims are embossed with something similar. There’s power window switches for the front only and they’re not auto Up/Down. The rear windows are popout in nature, with a lever mechanism, but don’t go down at all. The dash colour is a pink hued one called Habana over fish scaled plastic, contrasting with the black plastic abutting the windscreen and the rest of the interior trim.A slightly fiddly seven inch touchscreen houses all of the controls for audio, driver settings, aircon, car information, and the like. Fiddly in that sometimes more than one press or touch is required to access something like the audio screen, or the aircon screen, which means less concentration on driving. The driver gets a sci-fi inspired display screen, with 1970s look-a-like LCD blocks It’s shows speed and fuel but no revs. Consumption and trip meters are available via the touchscreen but revs aren’t…The OneTone Cactus is unremarkable in appearance bar the colour coded bumps on the doors and front & rear. The review car was Pearlescent White with matt white (Dune) for the plastic coverings. There are strip LED driving lights above the main headlights ala Jeep Cherokee/Hyundai Kona yet somehow it manages to look better than both, possibly due to the ovoid exterior design. That same Elastollan material also coats sections of both front and rear bumpers. Up top, there’s full length roof rails. The multi-coloured Cactus looks more striking with the contrasts in colours, such as a red and black mix.Safety levels are good but not great, with Hill Start Assist, reverse camera and six airbags but there’s no kneebag for the driver. Nor are there Blind Spot alerts, Cross Traffic alerts, adaptive cruise control or autonomous braking. There is something unique, though, about the passenger airbag. It’s roof mounted, coming down like a larger pillow.

On road, the suspension provides mostly smooth but sometimes unsettled ride quality. The Cactus is all too easily sent momentarily sideways, even over those dreaded shopping centre speedbumps. It’s also floaty, rather than wafty, wallowing where it should be up/down/stop. This isn’t altogether a bad thing as it does offer a cossetting ride, with no rear perception of harshness in any way. The diamond cut and painted 17 inch alloys are shod with eco-friendly Goodyear EfficientGrip rubber at 205/50 and they do hold on tightly, exhibiting mild understeer and quietly at that.Brakes are reasonable in hauling down the Cactus and pedal feel is nothing less than adequate. The steering is the same; it’s sometimes natural, sometimes artificial, but never less than adequate in feedback. Warranty is three years or 100,000 kilometres and in early 2018 Citroen Australia were offering free servicing for three years on plate clearance models.

Here is where you can find more information: 2018 Citroen C4 Cactus

At The End Of The Drive.
Citroen’s C4 Cactus is a mixed bag. It is a good looker in a way, it’s roomy enough, will drive well enough for most, but is hampered by a somewhat fiddly ride and doesn’t really offer anything out of the ordinary apart from looks and that French quirkiness. http://credit-n.ru

The Daftest Car Names

There seems to be a little rule out there somewhere that states that if something’s in a foreign language, it’s more sophisticated, more desirable and generally cooler. A number of cars and other vehicles available on the Australian market have names that fall into this category, such as the VW Amarok  (Amarok means “Wolf”), the Porsche Carrera  (Carrera means “Race) and the Alfa Romeo Mito  (Mito means “Myth”). And a lot of them kind of work in the original language (even so we keep hearing that Pajero is the Spanish for “wanker”, although they were popular enough in some Latin American countries, nevertheless).  Some don’t, like the Maserati Quattroporte, which sounds cool until you realise that “quattroporte” merely means “four doors” – it doesn’t get more uninspired than that.

Some cars intended for the Asian market also have a go at trying to use a cool foreign language, namely English, and fail. Badly.  Some of them even made it onto the market over here, making you feel like a twit when you tried asking the salespeople for them.  Here’s a selection of some of the ones that made me snigger in no particular order so you can get a chuckle out of them too.  And maybe this might make you stop and think a little bit before you buy that shirt (or get that tattoo) with Chinese or Japanese characters you can’t understand just in case the reverse happens and you provide your Asian friends with something to laugh at in return.

1. Great Wall Wingle

It’s not a bad little pickup really, in spite of a name that sounds like a cutesy term used by small children for boys’ private parts.

2. Tang Hua Detroit Fish

The “Fish” part is understandable for a car that’s intended to be amphibious.  But we just don’t get the “Detroit” part.

3. Mitsubishi Lettuce

OK, we get the need to suggest the environment and sustainability, but naming a car after a really common salad ingredient doesn’t seem to work (though Mizuna and Rocket, which are commonly found in your typical mesclun salad would kind of work, as would Mesclun itself).

4. Honda Life Dunk
5. Mitsubishi Mini Active Urban Sandal

Do the Japanese car manufacturers cut out words they like the sound of and pull them at random out of a bag? Is there any other explanation as to how these cars got their names?

6. Geely Rural Nanny

OK, this ute is designed for the country – hence Rural – and it will take care of you – like a Nanny – but the two together…

7. Mazda Bongo Friendee

This is actually quite a reliable van and I used to own one – it made a great camper and trade vehicle.  However, answering the question “So what sort of car do you drive?” was really cringe-inducing.  At least it amused the kids.

8. Honda That’s

That’s…. what????  This is a car guaranteed to drive the Grammar Police nuts.

9. Toyota Deliboy

This van type-thing would work for making deliveries from the local deli store or doing similar courier work.  But what if the person making the deliveries is a girl?

10. Daihatsu Scat

OK, what’s a good name for a small 4×4 that suggests the great outdoors? How about one of the things that hunters use to track animals?  Did nobody tell the makers that when you find animal “scat”, you have not found footprints but something smellier.

11. Suzuki Every Scrum Joypop Turbo

We repeat the theory of cutting up random words and pulling them out at random.

12. Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard, aka MU

“Mysterious Wizard” has a certain ring to it, although it’s a bit grandiose.  But when you add in the “Utility” bit, it suggests a sorcerer who you can’t figure out a use for.  As for the “MU” bit, do you pronounce this “Moo” like a cow, “Mew” like a cat or “Em You”?  However, the weird name didn’t stop this being a reasonably popular and successful SUV, to the point that Isuzu have brought out a sequel in the form of the MUX (Mucks?  Mooks?  Em You Ex?).

13. Mitsubishi 500 Mum Shall We Join Us?

Leaving aside the interesting philosophical question about why people would ask whether or not they would join themselves, what’s with the question mark?  And the Mum?

14. Daihatsu Naked Be-Pal

The “Naked” bit is bad enough on its own, but the “Be Pal” bit?

15. Peugeot Tepee

We get the reference to Native American buffalo skin tents but anything with “Pee” in it is a disaster.

Any beautiful disasters – in any language – that we’ve missed?  Or maybe  all, folks! http://credit-n.ru/potreb-kredit.html

A Legend Returns: 2019 Jeep Cherokee Details Unveiled.

As promised in late 2017, Jeep has released in January details of the forthcoming 2018/2019 Jeep Cherokee range. Here’s the news.

Range.
Latitude, Latitude Plus, Limited, Overland, Trailhawk, will be the nameplates available for customers.

Engines.
There will be three available, including a new 2.0L petrol four. It’s full of tech including a cooled exhaust gas recirculation system, C-EGR; a small scroll and low inertia turbocharger that’s mounted directly to the cylinder head for better emissions, and it’s the first time that the combined use of a twin-scroll turbocharger, C-EGR system, central direct injection and the independent liquid cooling intake of air, throttle body and turbo have been employed together. Power is rated as 270 horsepower, with torque rated at 295 lb-ft (201 kW/400 Nm).

The other two engines are the proven 3.2L Pentastar V6 and Tigershark 2.4L inline four. The V6 offers 271 horsepower and 239 lb-ft (202 kW/324 Nm) with a 4500 pound (2000 kilo) towing capacity. The 2.4L petrol Tigershark will be the standard engine for the range, with 180 horsepower and 170 lb-ft (134 kW/230 Nm).Transmission.
Standard will be a nine speed Torqueflite auto. Design and engineering work have the software updated for better driveability and better packaging for compact fitment and lightweight for extra fuel savings.

Drive Performance.
Suspension travel is huge, with the MacPherson strut able to move up to 6.7 inches, whilst the multi-link independent rear has up to 7.8 inches of travel. The front suspension is mounted to an low-alloy crossmember and is torsionally more rigid than before, plus the steering rack is actuated by a fuel saving electronic unit.The Cherokee with have three drive modes, available in selected models depending on the mode. Jeep Active Drive 1 will be available for the Latitude, Latitude Plus, Limited, and Overland, which features a redesigned rear drive module that allows seamless transitions between two and four wheel drive. Jeep Active Drive 2 goes to a two speed Power Transfer Unit (PTU). There’s low range ability that comes via locking the front and rear driveshafts and raises the suspension by an inch. A crawl ratio for serious off-roading will vary depending on the engine chosen.Jeep Active Drive Lock adds a lock feature for the rear differential for enhanced off-roading and will be standard on the Trailhawk. Selec-Terrain will be on board, covering drive modes to suit Auto, Snow, Sport, Sand/Mud and Rock. There’s some sophisticated computing power too, with up to 12 systems reading the drive conditions and working with the on-board control modules for brakes and stability, hill ascent and descent, amongst others.The Trailhawk will be able to traverse some rugged terrain with approach and departure angles of 30 and 32 degrees, a rollover angle of 23 and clear 8.7 inches of ground travel.

Exterior.
It’s a refreshed yet familiar look for the Cherokee. The somewhat controversial front end stays in essence, however the headlights, previously located below the driving lights set either side of the bonnet, are now integrated into the driving light cluster, whilst the headlights themselves are full LED in nature along with a strip of DRL LEDs. The taillights are also LEDS and feature a revised cluster design. The tailgate also gets a makeover, with a composite material saving weight, a relocated handgrip for easier access, and under bumper kick sensor for hands free opening.

The sheetmetal is smoother, more flowing in presence, and there’s twelve colours in the exterior palette to choose from. Blue Shade, Sting-Gray, Velvet Red, Firecracker Red, Olive Green, Hydro Blue, Light Brownstone, Granite Crystal, Billet Silver, Diamond Black Crystal, Pearl White and Bright White.

Interior.
Eight airbags feature in a revamped interior that also sees the cargo area increased in size. A change in tone to the lower door panels, and a change to the weave to the upgraded fabrics sees a lighter, airier, feeling interior complemented by new high gloss piano black on the dash around the touchscreen. That has also been relocated slightly, with the result being more room for smartphone placement.The interior colour trims have had an exciting addition and one with an unexpected link: Iceland. The new Storm Blue interior was inspired by Iceland with its dark volcanos and black ash contrasted with blue skies.

Check with your local Jeep dealer for updates and availability for the 2018 Jeep Cherokee. http://credit-n.ru/zaymyi.html