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Ford Australia Extends Warranty.
Ford Australia joins the growing band of manufacturers to provide a longer than three years warranty by offering customers a five-year unlimited kilometre Ford Express New Vehicle Warranty, as standard on all new vehicles, including Ford’s highly acclaimed commercial vehicle range. The warranty applies to all new vehicles delivered from May 1, 2018 and replaces Ford’s three year 100,000 kilometre offering.
It’s not restricted to passenger vehicles either, with commercial vehicles such as Ranger and Transit included. This makes Ranger a class leader in its segment.The five year, unlimited kilometre warranty extends Ford Australia’s comprehensive after-sales care package, which already includes satnav updates including Sync3 systems for up to seven years & Sync2 through to September 2014, Auto Club Membership with Roadside Assistance, loan car and their Service Price Promise.
Graeme Whickman, the CEO of Ford Australia, said: ““We’re transforming our dealerships, our products, our customer service and ownership experience, and today we’re introducing a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty to offer even more value for our customers. As Australians continue to pivot towards commercial vehicles, and with more buyer types choosing these vehicles for commercial and daily use, Ford is pleased to include its commercial vehicle range in the new warranty offering.”
For further information, speak to your local Ford dealership.
AMG: It's All Four The Coupe.
It’s rare that Mercedes-Benz and AMG make lots of noise about a new model so when they do it’s clearly something special. And so it is with the AMG four door coupe called, logically, the AMG GT 4 Door Coupe. However there’s more being offered to commemorate the release. The Edition 1 will feature bespoke interior and exterior enhancements.
There will be 21 inch forged alloy wheels in black, a Graphite Grey Magno paint scheme, a bluff nose that links to a longs and slinky coupe body. Aerodynamically there’s a larger front bar and integrated air intakes, a larger rear diffuser, and a stand out rear wing. It’s fixed to the metalwork however the wing itself can be adjusted by the driver whilst on the move, with the whole body package dropping the drag co-efficient and increasing downforce.
AMG fit their Performance seats with memory placement inside and they’re a gorgeous mix of Magma Grey Nappa leather with black highlights, highlighted by contrasting yellow cross-stitching. The cabin is further enhanced by matt toned carbon fibre and a Performance enhanced steering wheel with micro-fiber and yellow stitching, plus the seat belts are complementary yellow. The door panels are trimmed in Magma Grey as are the armrests and center console. The air-conditioning is also supplied with a new, bespoke, AMG #63 fragrance.
AMG engines are known for their ferociousness and to celebrate their first four door coupe, a hand-built 4.0L twin turbo V8 is shoehorned into the engine bay. Power and torque are indecently decent at 630 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of twist between 2,500 to 4,500 rpm. This results in a zero to sixty mph time of 3.1 seconds as it gets on its way to a top speed of 195 mph.
The powerplant is bolted to the Performance 4Matic + all wheel drive system. Electronically there’s variable torque distribution, Drift Mode, and works hand in hand with the AMG Speedshift nine speed auto.
Pricing hasn’t yet been released but the car will be showcased at the Nurburgring during the ADAC Zurich 24 Hour race over the weekend of 12/13 May, and will be available for the US market in early 2019. A GT 53 model will be made available for later in the year.
Private Fleet Car Review: 2018 Peugeot 208 GTi
Some say size isn’t important, and it’s how you use it. Clearly one of the world’s oldest car brands have this in mind with the 2018 Peugeot 208 GTi. With a starting price of a blink under $30K, it’s a pocket-sized road pounder with a smooth engine, slick six speed manual, and not a lot of real estate when it comes to the sheetmetal.
Hiding under the thumbnail sized bonnet is a turbocharged 1.6L four cylinder petrol engine, punching out 208 horsepower or 153kW. There’s also 300 torques on tap at 3000 revs but plenty of twist on board below that. It doesn’t add up to be a rocketship but performance is nonetheless more than satisfactory. So is fuel consumption with a quoted combined 5.4L/100. We clocked 6.3L/100 km in a mainly urban drive environment.
The clutch is light-ish and the pickup point isn’t entirely precise but there’s enough feedback from the clutch pedal travel to engage it smoothly. The six speed manual has more feel in the selector lever than Suzuki’s Swift Sport tested recently and is therefore more confidence inspiring. Once engaged there’s a minute hit of turbo lag before the torque comes in smoothly and allows the 208 to kick up its heels smartly. An 1160kg dry weight certainly aids this.
Steering is well weighted via the flat bottomed, red striped, leather bound tiller. There’s some lack of connection dead on centre however lock either way has the steering become more communicative in regards to where the front wheels were going. Ride quality itself was firm, leaning towards hard, but with just enough initial give to not be completely uncomfortable.
Out on the freeway, as a result, it was a flat, slightly taut feel to the chassis, and with the engine ticking over at around 2500 in sixth, right in the sweet spot for the waiting maximum torque. Changes of direction are lightning quick thanks to an overall length of 3973mm yet packs a 2538mm wheelbase. Front and rear track are almost identical at 1476mm and 1478mm respectively, also helping the rapid response handling.
That gearing also made it pretty tidy around town, with fifth the preferred gear for most 80 km/h zones and sometimes needing a judicious heel and toe for lower velocities.Unfortunately, there was also more tyre rumble than expected on most road surfaces. The Michelin Pilot Sport 205/45/17 rubber is superbly grippy but that grip came the cost of the aural noise.
Inside the 208 GTi features the i-Cockpit setup favoured by Peugeot, and one that receives mixed reactions from some. This has the driver’s dash binnacle sitting above the sightline of the steering wheel. For me this wasn’t an issue but it’s also easy to see just how the top of the wheel could impede vision of the dials. Thankfully the steering column is adjustable for both height and reach.The binnacle itself has a switch, which when activated, limns the binnacle in blood red, matching the stripe on the wheel.
The cockpit itself is comfortable with red and black trimmed sports seating, which are fully manual in operation, soft touch materials throughout, and a seven inch touchscreen for satnav, reverse camera with guidelines, and six speaker audio. Apps are on board and using a USB connection has a smartphone connecting for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Other features include a tyre pressure monitoring system, folding power mirrors, six airbags, and Autonomous Emergency Braking. Outside there’s chromed exhaust tips, good looking alloys, cornering lamps, and rear spoiler. This sits over a cargo area that is, unsurprisingly, not big at 285L. That’s a little smaller than Ford’s Fiesta and quite a bit smaller than VW’s Polo. At night that’s overcome by the stunning claw tail lights.
Peugeot offer a three year warranty or 100,000 kilometres and the Peugeot 208GTi comes with a five star ANCAP safety rating.
At The End Of The Drive.
The 2018 Peugeot 208 GTi continues a solid heritage and builds nicely upon the small hot hatch history. Although not as quick off the line as expected, the mid range driveability makes it more a usable day to day proposition, especially for a single person or couple. It’s a sweet handler and will happily take you at speed through twisting roads whilst sporting a healthy grin.
Head to Peugeot Australia for more info.
2018 Holden Equinox LT and LS+: Car Reviews.
Private Fleet Holden Equinox LTZ-V review
I was fortunate enough to back to back to back three distinct different yet obviously similar versions of the new Equinox. The above link is solely for the top of the range LTZ-V, with this addendum looking at the mid range LT and LS+.
The interior and dash look of the LT isn’t far different from the LTZ-V, with a little less bling, cloth seats that are clad in a comfortable grey hued weave, and a distinct feeling of volume seller. The dash screens light up with the same flickering blue motifs, whereas the LS+ shares the same seats but has a more obvious price point feel in the plastics, screens (generic General Motors in look) and even the sill plates are simple plastic with no real appeal visually.
The LS and LS+ (Holden have changed this to LS Plus) share a turbocharged 1.5L petrol engine and six speed auto. Unfortunately they also share the same non switchable Stop/Start system. Peak power is 127kW and torque is 275Nm across 2000 to 4000. The 4652mm long machine weighs 1514 kilograms plus fuel and passengers and there’s a definable difference between the two powerplants. There’s naturally plenty of mid range squirt in the 2.0L, with the smaller engine dulled more both off the line and in overall driveability. Compared to the zippy off the line 2.0L the 1.5L needs a harder and heavier right foot, more planning for overtaking, but otherwise cruises along well enough once steam has built up.
Ride and handling is on par with the LTZ-V, with both feeling tight in the suspension. The LS+ feels perhaps a little more floaty but that can be put down to the higher sidewalls in the Continental 225/65/17 rubber as opposed to the LT’s 225/60/18s. There’s a definite sensation of more absorption, more comfort and plushness but nor does it lose that slightly taut and always in contact with the ground feeling.
At The End Of The Drive.
From AWT’s point of view the LT should be the volume seller. It has pretty much everything the average driver needs, including a more useable driveline package. I raise this simply because people, and fairly, will buy the LS/LS+ on price and to load it up with Mum/Dad/three kids, however under that load the 1.5L will suffer further and economy will skyrocket.
Go to 2018 Holden Equinox range to enquire, download a brochure, and book a test drive.
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