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2017 Suzuki Baleno GLX Turbo: Private Fleet Car Review.
Suzuki has brought back a name from the past, the Baleno, and there’s two models to play with. The GL and GLX Turbo are what you can buy. A Wheel Thing took home the GLX Turbo.
Both models are physically identical in dimensions, with a compact 3995 mm overall length. Inside that is a 2520 mm wheelbase, providing a spacious cabin and an engine bay to hold the 1.0L Boosterjet turbo three cylinder engine. Yep, a turboed three potter. It’s got an unusual and engaging thrum, this little banger, pumping out a handy 82 kilowatts at 5500 rpm. More impressively, there’s 160 torques from 1500 through to 4000, via a six speed auto and will haul the 975 kg (kerb) charmer along without stress. Along the way, it’ll average a nice 5.2L per 100 km from the 37 litre tank.
The Baleno GLX Turbo’s strength is that engine. It’s a delight to listen to and begs to be revved hard on the freeways. Around town it’s flexible, willing, and responsive to the questions a driver asks. The auto is slightly less compliant, with some hesitation on upchanges. It’ll also hold ratios on downhill runs and will willingly slip from sixth to fifth to fourth before staying there without any driver involvement. Oddly, there’s no manual mode and, as a result, no steering column paddle shifts.
The interior is the weak point of what could and should be a sporty themed car, given the verve of the engine. Flat, slabby, unsupportive seats, cheap and tacky looking silvered plastic trim and lurid red backlighting contrast with the cobalt blue dash lighting on a 4.2 inch LCD screen and the almost coronal look the dials have with that lighting. Although the switchgear is reasonably laid out, the low budget look for the interior disappoints.
There’s also far too much road noise from the 185/55/16 rubber, regardless of road surface. The smoothest roads have the noise level as marginal at best, and coarse chip roads make radio listening and cabin conversations almost impossible. Again, given the aural appeal of the three banger and the sheer enjoyment in the drive of it that the engine imbues, it’s a disappointment.
To sharpen the edge, Suzuki do offer a good range of standard equipment, including dusk sensing HID projector headlights, Hill Hold Control, satnav via a touchscreen, voice command and Apple CarPlay. CD Player? Why, no sir, get with the times, as today’s modern lad or ladette stream music via Bluetooth. The touchscreen is the same as found in the Vitara, for example, and it’s a simple, easy, intuitive setup. The leather clad steerer has a good heft and feel, houses Bluetooth and cruise, plus has a quick enough steering rack ratio to imbue enough of a sporty feel that it backs up the driveline and chassis.
It’s a tried and true combo, the MacPherson strut/torsion beam mix. The spring rates are such that there’s minimal body roll, a generous level of compliance and comfort tuned in, an easily controllable amount of understeer in a sharp turn by using the throttle judiciously, feathering power into the front wheels. But to give the Baleno GLX its head is a delight; that throaty warble from the three cylinder matches up with the surprising acceleration, combining to delight the senses and the soul of a true driver. It’ll hunker down, it feels, and exhibit some handling traits that are engaging and, frankly, fun to have.
Outside, the Baleno both harkens back to the original and brings along its own sense of style. A smooth, fluidic, and elegant profile hides a sensible and usable 355 litres of cargo (with a space saver spare) that increases to 756 Lwhen you fold the rear pews. With a smooth mix of angles and curves at the front, including DRLs whilst the rear also tags the memory with largish tail lights it’s an attractive looking prospect.
Inside and out you’ll find six airbags (both cars miss out on a seemingly mandatory nowadays kneebag), Electronic Stability Control (that’s well balanced with only the occasional feel of the electronics tugging the car back into line), keyless Start/Stop and reverse camera as standard. However, there’s no rain sensing wipers nor, surprisingly, do you get parking sensors, front or rear.
It’s surprising how much room Suzuki have engineered in, given the compact size. It’s under four metres in length (3995 mm), has an overall width of 1745 mm and rolls on a 2520 mm wheelbase. Although Suzuki haven’t quoted interior dimensions, be assured that for four adults it’s fine.
At The End Of The Drive.
Suzuki’s badly needed renaissance continues with the dual Baleno range and the GLX Turbo stands as an example of how the brand has reinvented itself so successfully. Against competitors such as the Cerato, i30 or Corolla, it’s better than a worthy contender as a driver’s car. However, the ride noise and the iffish interior (except for that eyecatching dash dial colour mix) unfortunately bring the Baleno’s overall allure down a notch. A three year/100K kiloemtre warranty is also standard but also behind some competitors. However, the range does start at $16990 driveaway and thats definitely worthy of checking out.For more info and to book a test drive, go here:2016 Suzuki Baleno range and info
Contact Private Fleet to see what we can do for you on price.
Private Fleet Car Review: 2016 Peugeot 2008 Outdoor Diesel Manual
Peugeot’s 2008 kicks off a month of French chic at A Wheel Thing, with the Citroen Picasso, Peugeot 308 GTi and the 508 sedan pencilled in as well.
The 2008 is a small to mid sized SUV, with a diesel and an unexpected five speed manual. Unexpected in that it was a manual and unexpected in that it was “just” a five speed, not six. It’s here that mentioning it’s a three level range and the manual is the TOP of the range (the other two are the Active and Allure) puts this into a different perspective. Power from the 1.6 litre capacity engine isn’t bad, at 68 kilowatts, but there’s a wealth of torque, with 230 of them at 1750. Redline for the Outdoor starts at 4500 and it feels like that torque runs through to 4000.
That’s why the surprise at just five cogs, not six, as there’s enough twist to deal with an appropriately geared extra ratio. Whatever Peugeot’s reason, you can’t fault that the five do a good job on economy. Peugeot quotes a combined figure of 4.0L per 100 kilometres and just 3.6L of the good oil for every 100 klicks out on the highway. Around town, it’s still frugal, sipping 4.6L/100 km. Tank size? 50 litres, so, theoretically, Sydney to Melbourne or Sydney to Brisbane on a tank and then some.
It’s also very refined, with barely a chatter under load and almost imperceptible when not. Even when punted hard from standstill, the characteristic noise expected was muted. It’ll pull nicely, with those five ratios well spread and matched with a well balanced clutch & pick up point, offers the driver a joyful experience. But if you’re expecting a rocketship, forget it, as an 11.5 second run to the century is….leisurely, at best.
The 2008 Outdoor also rides, as you’d expect, pretty well and handles, as you’d expect, pretty well. There is a notable measure of understeer, as if the steering rack ratio needs some tightening up It’s also slightly numb on centre and never feels as if the turn you do is quite enough to pull the nose around as tight as you expect. As a package it’s liveable with, as it’s firm without being excessively taut, compliant without excessive softness and barrels over the usual speedhumps and bumps with only minimal intrusion, thanks to a torsion bar rear and Macpherson strut front.
It’s not a terrible place to be either, inside the 2008 Outdoor. It’s a mostly ergonomic dash but the dials placed above the rim of the tiller takes some getting used to.
The overall look is of high quality, easy to use buttons, plus a lack of reflection of the plastic in the windscreen is a pleasant bonus. There’s some silver/chrome trim that does catch the sun and reflect into eyes to deal with however. The dash design itself is a smooth curve, both into the binnacle directly ahead of the driver and to the downwards curve of the centre console housing the touchscreen (housing DAB, satnav and music streaming), centre vents, and aircon controls. 
You’ll also get a dial to change the drive settings, such as Snow, Mud, and Sand, a system Peugeot calls Grip Control.
The seats were suberb to sit in; a mix of leather (soft, supple, real leather) and cloth for the centre of the squab and backrest meant that a need for heating wasn’t as crucial as a need for ventilation. That appears to be something found across the Peugeot cars tested (more on those separately) and it certainly makes for a comfy office to be in.
Having a thick, chunky, feel to the steering wheel didn’t go astray either. There’s also blue LED lighting in the surrounds for the sunroof and for the dash; it looks good, adds class and isn’t distracting. There’s also plenty of room for rear seat passengers and more than enough cargo space for a four member family, ranging from 410 to 1400 litres.
Outside, the 2008 is a svelte looking beastie. Sitting in a size range above the 4008 (which is based on the Mitsubishi ASX platform) it looks more compact that the interior space would have you believe. It’s just 4159 mm long, would you believe, but manages to cram in a 2537 mm wheelbase, meaning there is plenty of interior space. 
It’s curvy, with few hard edges, but does sport shark fin line design features into the headlights and a similar motif into the rear. A steeply rising window line follows the crease from the front wheel arch through to the tail lights, providing a definitive visual balance to a good looking profile. Rubber is Goodyear 205/50/17 and they’re some good looking alloys, just quietly.
You’re covered when it comes to safety, with front, side and curtain airbags, the usual suite of electronic driver assistance aids, cornering front lamps and Hill Assist, which locks the brakes momentarily when you’re on a slope and the engine’s running. In regards to the body, Peugeot offers a 12 year anti perforation corrosion warranty, 24 hour road side assist, capped price servicing and that’s every 12 months or 15000 kilometres. Warranty? Three years or 100000 kilometres.
At The End Of The Drive.
At the time of writing (November, 2016) Peugeot Australia was offering the 2008 Outdoor at a wonderful driveaway price of $30990, a savings of $6000 from the normal driveaway of $37K. Given Australia’s seeming obsession with SUVs, this is one that slides under the radar yet deserves a better look. Head to Peugeot Australia for more information.
2017 Hyundai Veloster Street Turbo: Private Fleet Car Review
Hyundai’s quirky four door hatchback, the Veloster, has been given a limited edition model run of just 200 units. Painted Dazzling Blue Mica and given some cool looking black clad alloys, the Veloster Street Turbo spent a week with Private Fleet.
With a starting price of $35750 plus on roads for a six speed manual version and $2500 for the seven speed dual clutch auto, the Veloster Street Turbo is off to a tough start. Using the outgoing Veloster SR Turbo + as a base ($34750 + ORCs), as Hyundai have realigned the Veloster into a two tier range, means that some extra equipment is required to justify the cost.
Here’s what you get: push button Start/Stop, keyless entry, dusk sensing HID xenon headlights, LED running lights, tyre pressure monitoring, a seven inch navitainment touchscreen (but no RDS, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto or digital), leather appointed seating with colour coded inserts, colour coded plastic highlights on the door grips and centre console, blue seatbelts, branded door mats and Street badging on the fenders and the sweet looking Ray Grams Lights 18 inch alloys. Being based on the SR+ you’ll get steering wheel mounted phone controls, Bluetooth streaming, heated AND ventilated (huzzah!!!) front seats and a punchy eight speaker sound system.
Up front is the same 150 kilowatt/265 Newton metre 1.6 force fed four. That’s connected to the aforementioned six speed manual and this, unlike the recently tested i30 SR, has a far better manual selector feel. There’s a proper sense of movement and placement, a satisfying “snick” to the gate and a real mechanical feel overall as opposed to the numbness experienced in the i30 SR.
That torque is available between 1750 and 4500 revs, and compared to the last time Private Fleet and Veloster Turbo partnered up (Veloster Turbo review 2015) didn’t seem to move the car along as quickly. Perhaps it would be the manual versus the auto, it simply didn’t feel as wound up. Having said that, it still provided a tractable and useable driving style, with a smooth and fluid torque delivery.
The ratios in the manual are closely stacked, meaning revs drop only minimally when changing, and also means you can keep the engine spinning and take advantage of the torque from 1750 onwards. It helps that the clutch has a decent pressure requirement to push and that the pickup point is appropriately mid travel. The combination allows a sporting aimed driver to bang through the gears and see 100 kmh reasonably quickly. Given that the car isn’t that heavy as well, at around 1400 kg, the overall fuel consumption figure of 7.9L/100 km was reasonable from the fifty litre tank.
Inside, apart from the blue trim, the Veloster remains much the same. The design and look of the plastics is dating and not well, there’s sharp edges on the door grab handles however the deeply bolstered and very comfortable bucket seats make up for that. Being the oddity that it is in regards to entry and exit, the driver has slightly less issue in getting in and out thanks to the single door on the right hand side. 
Those using the left side, especially the rear door, will have to duck their head and slide across the centre rear seat mounted cup holders in order to fill the space behind the driver. Rear head room, thanks to the steeply raked roofline, is a touch tight for average sized humans, ok for kids but would be, erm, difficult to deal with for anyone of a bigger frame. There is, though, a 320 litre cargo space and a space saver spare to consider.
There’s more refinement in the suspension, with a taut yet supple suspension combination providing a ride that errs on the side of sport but with just enough give to not rattle the fillings on smooth roads. Toss the Veloster Street onto anything else and expect a choppy, jiggly, teeth rattler. That initial level of sporting compliance disappears and there’s even some sideways skip when covering a corner with ripples or broken surface, even with the 225/40/18 Hankook rubber.
Hyundai painfully continues with the three mode power steering and it’s rare that any one the modes (Comfort/Sport/Normal) tend to be on the money. Sport generally comes over too heavy, Comfort too light and well, just like the porridge, Normal is generally all you need for a reasonable facsimile of a communicative tiller setup.
At The End Of The Drive.
Given the dollars required, one could buy the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ, a Renault Clio, or a Mazda MX-5 and have some seroes to spare. The Veloster’s aging interior is one thing, the exterior looks are another. The engine is usable but, in honesty, not the firecracker A Wheel Thing remembers. Their is a respectable five-year unlimited kilometre warranty, 12 months roadside assist, plus you’ll get a complimentary first service at 1500km. There’s also a lifetime service plan with scheduled services with prices ranging from $159 to $259 for the first three years or 45,000km. They’re due due every six months or 7500km.
There’s an undeniable appeal about the Veloster, however, with sales consistent and even a quarter of these two hundred already sold since release. More info can be found here: 2016 2017 Hyundai Veloster range and info
Tesla Takes The Next Step To Hands Free Driving.
It’s a topic that is cropping up more and more in conversation: will self driving cars become a reality? Nowadays the jury is leaning towards when, not if, and Tesla is at the front of the charge (no pun intended). Self-driving vehicles will play a crucial role in improving transportation safety and accelerating the world’s transition to a sustainable future. Full autonomy will enable a Tesla to be substantially safer than a human driver, lower the financial cost of transportation for those who own a car and provide low-cost on-demand mobility for those who do not.
As of mid October 2016, all Tesla vehicles produced in the factory – including Model 3 – will have the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver. Eight surround cameras provide 360 degree visibility around the car at up to 250 meters of range. Twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement this vision, allowing for detection of both hard and soft objects at nearly twice the distance of the prior system. A forward-facing radar with enhanced processing (Tesla radar) provides additional data about the world on a redundant wavelength, capable of seeing through heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead.
To make sense of all of this data, a new onboard computer with more than 40 times the computing power of the previous generation runs the new Tesla-developed neural net for vision, sonar and radar processing software. Together, this system provides a view of the world that a driver alone cannot access, seeing in every direction simultaneously and on wavelengths that go far beyond the human senses.
Model S and Model X vehicles with this new hardware are already in production, and customers can purchase one today: https://www.tesla.com/autopilot
Before activating the features enabled by the new hardware, there’s a further calibration of system using millions of miles of real-world driving to ensure significant improvements to safety and convenience. While this is occurring, Teslas with new hardware will temporarily lack certain features currently available on Teslas with first-generation Autopilot hardware, including some standard safety features such as automatic emergency breaking, collision warning, lane holding and active cruise control. As these features are robustly validated we will enable them over-the-air, together with a rapidly expanding set of entirely new features. As always, the over-the-air software updates will keep customers at the forefront of technology and continue to make every Tesla, including those equipped with first-generation Autopilot and earlier cars, more capable over time.
(With thanks to Heath Walker at Tesla Motors Australia for content)
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