Archive for April, 2020
Disinfecting Your Car
During this pandemic, we’re all hyperaware of spreading infections and viruses like a bunch of neurotic obsessive-compulsive germophobes, or at least we should be. Hand sanitizer is becoming a must-have and it’s only a matter of time before we have the big fashion houses producing designer masks.
We’re all being encouraged to do our bit to prevent the spread of the dreaded lurgy, aka COVID-19. Handwashing and being extra vigilant about disinfecting surfaces is recommended. OK, if we’re doing as we’re told, we’ll be staying home as much as possible and not going out our cars much, but we are allowed to go to get groceries in the car. And essential workers have to go out in the car as well. Oh, the irony and frustration of super-cheap fuel prices at a time when going out for a drive for fun is discouraged for the rest of us!
However, it’s very easy to forget the car when it comes to good hygiene to the point of excessive hygiene. After all, if you’ve been out doing essential work (good on you, mate!) or if you’ve picked up groceries, you will have touched bits of your car. If by some chance you had the virus on your hands when you got in your car, even if you washed your hands thoroughly when you got home, the next time that you nipped out to the car for whatever reason, that virus will still be lurking there. Boom.
The boffins in the white coats encourage us to sanitise high-touch surfaces, so as well as wiping down things like your phone, computer keyboard, and the doorknobs of your house, don’t forget your car as well. There’s a ton of high-touch surfaces in there as well!
The smart and responsible thing to do is to wipe these places down as well, preferably after every time you come back from going out to get the groceries and other essential items. If you’re off work then you’ve got plenty of time to do this! If you are one of our essential workers, I don’t want to put more strain and stress on you but you’ll definitely have to do this as well.
What you use as a disinfectant for the high-touch spots in your car is up to you. You can use hand sanitizer but there are other options, ranging from common or garden disinfectant from the supermarket to disinfectant wipes to strong alcohol to homemade mixtures involving essential oils. I make my own with a recipe that’s safe for all surfaces and isn’t a beast for your skin (which gets enough grief from all that handwashing).
- 200 mL white vinegar
- 100 mL tap water
- 1 teaspoon eucalyptus or tea tree essential oil.
Put in a bottle and shake well. Apply where you want it with a soft lint-free cloth. It smells rather powerful but better than commercial disinfectants. You also don’t have to explain it to any cops the way that you would if you used vodka to sanitise your car…
Now to get busy with the disinfectant. Here are the spots that you have to give a good wipe with the disinfectant of your choice:
- Steering wheel. You’ve had both hands on it most of the time if you’ve been driving correctly. This includes any steering wheel mounted controls.
- Indicators.
- Handbrake
- Gear lever. Yes, even if your car is an automatic, you’ll have had to put it in Drive and Park during your trip. Paddle shifters count as well.
- Door handles. Inside and out. However, you only need to do the handles of the doors that have been used, not the whole lot.
- Boot release lever or button. Feel smug and grateful if you’ve got one of those auto-opening smart ones. Don’t forget to sterilize the place where you put your hands when you closed the boot as well.
- Key fob or keys. This one gets overlooked all too easily, even though this one comes into your house.
- Buttons for automatic windows and climate control.
- Touchscreens. Be careful when wiping these down and don’t use too much so you don’t damage the finish.
- Handles of any storage compartments.
Stay safe, whether on the road or in your home!
2020 Hyundai Veloster Turbo Premium: Private Fleet Car Review.
This Car Review Is About: The quirky and different Hyundai Veloster. It’s finally received a much needed makeover and it looks more like a member of the Hyundai family than the odd-one-out visage of the now superseded model. It’s a three model range, with Veloster, Turbo, and Turbo Premium, the model reviewed. The Veloster is also a dedicated 2+2 seater.
How Much Does It Cost?: Hyundai’s website has drive-away prices, with $33,253 as a starting price for the entry level, $39,443 for the Turbo, and a starting rate of $43,048 for the Premium. The website appears to indicate zero extra charge for metallic paint. The Premium comes with a two tone roof option with Phantom Black or Tangerine Comet as the choices.
Under The Bonnet Is: A 1.6L engine in capacity, complete with 150kW and 265Nm of torque. Both turbo models offer a seven speed dual clutch auto or six speed manual. The entry level Veloster runs a 2.0 Atkinson cycle non-turbo four and has a six speed non-DCT auto along with the manual. Those 265 Newton metres are available from 1,500 rpm to 4,500 rpm. Economy is quoted as 9.1L per 100km for the urban cycle, 5.6L/100km for the highway, and on the combined it’s 6.9L100km. That’s from the 50L tank in a chassis weighing 1350kg.
On The Outside It’s: Still the 2+1 plus hatchback rear shape. It’s been flattened, has the Hyundai signature tail light design of three strips in their individual enclosure, and it looks fantastic lit up. That’s with tinted lenses as well. The front loses the slightly bulbous headlights and now has the slimline LED lit setup. Wheels for the Premium are 18 inch in diameter and are a dark grey metallic colour. Rubber comes form Michelin’s Pilot Sport 4 range and are 225/40 in profile.
It’s a pert little thing at just 4,240mm in length. It’s not tall at 1,399mm and offers plenty of shoulder room with a very handy 1,800mm of width. The wheelbase is 2,650mm and that adds to the sporty look and handling. Adding to the looks are the body additions front and rear. Up front a semi-gloss grille sits over a honeycomb grille air curtain, with subtle chrome highlights. The rear diffuser has extra width over the others and is complemented by a dark metallic finish on the lower bumper that sits around the centrally mounted twin exhausts. A small yet nifty touch is a hidden rear hatch opening button that’s integrated into the wiper housing and the locating of the left rear passenger door opener inside the rear door pillar structure.
On The Inside It’s: New Hyundai. That means classy fit, finish, and soft touch materials. Hyundai also show the other brands how to do it right with heating and venting for the front seats, a classy looking Performance Gauge screen with turbo pressure, G-Force meter, and torque output. This is accessed via an 8.0 inch touchscreen with DAB, Android and Apple app access. This tops a centre stack which is…busy to look at. It’s a little heavy in its layering, and the bottom layer which is the USB/Aux inputs are substantially more inset than the uppermost.
For the driver a Head Up Display is fitted, and the binnacle below houses a pair of analogue dials. Naturally there’s the ubiquitous colour info screen and the tabs for this are on the right hand spoke of the tiller. It’s also a right-hand stalk for the indicator however Hyundai have fitted an intermittent mechanism for blinking. State laws in Australia ask for “sufficient indication” and a blinker that flashes just three time simply isn’t enough safe warning.
The gear selector has a red plastic insert on the rear and it looks as if it needs to be pressed, but it’s a fixed item. The selector itself is a straight forward and back mechanism, not a squiggly line as some do. There’s also Hyundai’s Drive selector button, and in Sport Mode (or tipped into Manual gear selection, which makes using the paddle shifts worthwhile) it brings a rev counter dial into the HUD’s information.
Rear cargo is just, just, big enough for a weekly shop. The mechanisms to fold the 50:50 split-fold rear seats are on the shoulders of them however because the right side seat doesn’t have a door, it’s a touch fiddly to access and operate, And when folded the bottom of the seats don’t sit flush with the floor and the metal hooks stand proud. These, though, did come in handy by stopping a flat bottomed item from sliding, and the cargo net fitted also helped. Actual space is 303L seats up, and 1,081L seats down.
The seats are set low due to the Veloster’s overall height. There is still decent room though, with the dimensions of 936mm and 911mm front and rear for head room, 1,433mm and 1,378mm shoulder room front and rear, providing better than expecting space to enjoy the cabin and the drive.
On The Road It’s: An absolute hoot to drive. 265Nm doesn’t sound a lot, but coupled with a well ratioed auto and a relatively lightweight body, there’s more than enough zip to delight. Hyundai’s really spent some time working on the DCT’s biggest issue, and it’s one all companies have: lag between swapping from park to Drive or Reverse, and having the gear engage. However, practice shows that the lag can be minimised and it’s about how long the vehicle is stationary.
In a three point turn, so from Park to Drive to Reverse to Park, by bringing the Veloster Turbo to a complete stop quickly, it helps the DCT re-engage the chosen gear just that much more quicker and makes for a smoother progression from that moment of Neutral to gear.
Press it hard and there is some scrabbling of the front driven wheels before grip, or the traction control nanny, steps in to settle things down. Forward acceleration is good enough for the whole package but it’s not quite a neck-snapper as anticipated. What wasn’t also anticipated was the faint but audible “phut, phut” as the DCT does its thing and the engine lets the world know via the twin pipes. It’s an understated note and deserves more volume.
Steering is rapid, light in the feel, and tenacious in how it has the front wheels responding to its command. That fore-mentioned three point turn is made a doddle to perform because of it, and on the highway the response is welcomed too. Feedback is plentiful and perhaps a little too much so for the untrained.
Suspension tune is firm, and the concrete ripples on sweeping bends ensure that every flake of paint has its height sent through to the driver’s hands via the steering wheel. It bang-crashes on the normal speed-humps yet soaks up the highway undulations without fuss. The weak spot of the Veloster is the brake feedback. There’s a harder than required shove to getting stopping done, and the pedal has a softer than expected feel when doing so.
What About Safety?: No problems here. Lane Keep Assist is on board and it’s perhaps a little too heavy handed, with the tiller all a-twitch in the driver’s hands. The intervention is, for our mind, just that too aggressive, it needs a smoother pull to straighten the Veloster Turbo Premium up. Torque vectoring is standard, as is Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) including City / Urban (camera) and Interurban / Pedestrian & Cyclist detection (camera & radar). There is also High Beam Assist (HBA), Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning (RCCW) and Smart Cruise Control (SCC).
And The Warranty Is?: Five years and unlimited kilometres, with servicing costs and details here.
At The End Of The Drive. It’s a far prettier car than the original, still has plenty of squirt, and handles as a sports oriented car should. It’s definitely roomy enough inside, however the heavy design of the centre stack, the insistence of the Lane Keep Assist to make its presence known, and the soft brakes pull the 2020 Hyundai Veloster Turbo Premium down a couple of notches. Don’t take that as saying it’s not fun to drive, it is, and it’s a lively drive too. Just as a sports oriented vehicle should be.
Kia To Get Extra Sting?
It’s not confirmed for Australia however Kia has appeared to confirm their ballsy Stinger sedan/five door coupe is to get more mumbo. Currently packing a 2.0L turbo four or the punch you in the guts 272kW/510Nm 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, it’s being spoken that the car will receive the bigger 3.5L V6 as found in siblings Hyundai and Genesis.
Inside the Genesis G80, this mill produces 279kW and 530Nm. The turbo four may also be given some fettling, with a 2.4L version said to offer 223kW and over 420Nm. That’s in comparison to the current 182kW and 353Nm. There is also a milf facelift to the exterior and it’s as yet unconfirmed if much will be done to the interior, although it’s likely there will be.
Kia Australia, however, currently have a different perspective, with the head of PR, Kevin Hepworth, being quoted as saying: “”We are not anticipating any engine changes”. In this context, an extra 200cc offering just 7kW and 20Nm means most buyers would be highly unlikely to tell the difference. Considering that the sedan market is shriveling slowly (although in Europe it is regaining ground under the onslaught of SUVs), should Kia go ahead with that and make that the only powerplant choice, it leaves Kia Australia with either onselling the Stinger with the slightly bigger engine, having Kia pare back the outputs, or, and more unlikely, have Aussie spec Stingers come here with the 3.3L and 2.0L.
Sales figures for the Stinger indicate the V6 is the preferred engine, with around 98% of the 150 to 200 Stingers moved per month being powered by that, and of those a huge 81% are for the top of the range GT. The other factor coming into play is the Australian dollar exchange rate. It’s highly likely that the 2.0L four would be dropped and the 2.4L, if offered, would not be taken up on a cost basis reason.
The 3 Most Frustrating Features in Today’s Cars
There is no doubt that cars are getting more sophisticated by the day, offering levels of convenience, practicality and efficiency that we have never seen before. At the same time, however, that hasn’t always necessarily meant that we have enjoyed certain aspects of the latest features fitted into our vehicles. In fact, some of them can be downright annoying sometimes. Let’s take a look at a few of the most frustrating features in today’s cars.
Overly fiddly infotainment systems
Infotainment systems have become a mainstay in just about every car hitting the road. But if you’ve stepped into another vehicle recently, the first thing you might realise is that not all infotainment systems are created equal.
One of the most frustrating things with certain infotainment systems is just how poor their user interfaces can be. The user experience often hasn’t been the primary design matter. Certain driving and comfort functions may be buried away behind a complex set of layers that require you to dive into settings to access things like air conditioning.
The message to manufacturers here is simple. That is, keep it simple! Sometimes a button or dial is just easier, and let’s just stay away from touch-sensitive controls that really serve no ultimate benefit.
Stop-start systems
Sure, they might help optimise the fuel efficiency of the modern-day vehicle, however, stop-start systems aren’t always as beneficial as we might be led to believe. For example, if you are trying to cut across oncoming traffic, or head into a roundabout from a standstill, you want the fastest engine response to kick in.
Even if these systems have improved by leaps and bounds, they will still never quite have the instinctive burst of power that sometimes serves as more than a nicety. We can live with stop-start systems, but please, let us turn it off if necessary.
Excessive auditory distractions
If there’s one thing we appreciate, that is a friendly reminder. However, once you start to push that case, prompting the same message over and over, it’s only normal human behaviour that we start to ‘switch off’ and ignore that noise. And by ignore, I don’t mean we tune out, because you can’t really not hear something that is effectively barking instructions at you on repeat.
Some of the worst offenders include those chiming sounds that blare out every time your door is open, the sound of the horn when you activate remote locking, seatbelt warnings that ring endlessly when the car is in park or reverse and AI driver assistants that won’t stop talking or simply aren’t good enough for voice recognition….the list goes on.
Is it too much to ask for these signals to be better harnessed for their own efficiency? Can’t we just hear them when they are necessary, rather than every moment the on-board computer thinks they might be necessary?
Level 2, 9 Help Street