Toyota Funds Flying Car Project
Artist’s impression of the Skydrive. Image courtesy of Cartivator.
“Where are all the flying cars?” Those who are either old enough to remember the old movies or retro buffs raise this question from time to time when they look at the technology of the early 21st century (i.e. now). The rest of us shrug our shoulders and may have the attitude that smartphones and the internet – something barely imagined by the majority of sci-fi writers of the 1950s–1970s* – are a fair substitute.
2017 Subaru Impreza Sedan and Hatch: A Private Fleet Car Comparison.
It’s called “the trickle down effect”, where technology and design filter through from the top to the entry level models. Such is the case with the slightly reskinned and revamped 2017 Subaru Impreza sedan and hatch, in L and S specification.
It’s been pretty simple for Subaru; refine, improve, sell. And it’s worked, with the 2017 Subaru Impreza copping mild but noticeable sheetmetal changes, interior and specification upgrades, and subsequent exposure on road. For example, their hatch looks different to the sedan. No, not because one has four doors and the other five, there’s different approaches to the rear doors, with a taller look to the fixed window in the hatch.
The fuel filler lid is closer to the tail lights in the hatch and the hatch had plastic inserts in the front bumper for what overseas markets get, washers for the headlamps. All of this in a length of 4625 mm in the sedan, 4460 mm for the hatch. Even height is slightly different, with the hatch 25 mm taller than the sedan.
It’s also a smoother and somehow better looker than the previous version. There’s a redesign to the rear light cluster that tidies things up and at the front it’s…just better. Smoother, cleaner, less fussy, definitely easier on the eye. C shaped LEDs bracket (and mirror the tail lights) a chrome strip in the grille and sit nicely above halogen globe driving lights.
Inside, it’s subtly different from the previous model, with a different look to the screens located in the centre and upper dash. Information for the upper section has been reformatted and is still accessible via the steering wheel’s buttons. The eight inch touchscreen is cleaner in layout, making it more driver (and passenger) friendly, and both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are on board. The hatch in S spec has an array of buttons just above the driver’s right knee, which includes tyre pressure adjustment, blind spot warning, and SRH or Steering Responsive Headlights.
The L sedan received charcoal and grey cloth pews, with the S spec running up to leather and heated (only, no ventilation, a must for the Aussie market) seats, with both test cars being given black and ivory trim. The S also gets rain sensing wipers, 8 way power seats, and satnav over the L specification, plus a glass roof. The sedan also gets a reasonable 460L boot, with the hatch starting at 345L before looking at 790L with seats down.
All variants receive the 2.0L flat four, with 115 kilowatts @ 6000 rpm, and 196 torques @ 4000 rpm. Transmission options are simple. There aren’t any. You’ll get a CVT with seven programmed ratios and you’d be forgiven for wondering if that’s a good thing. The simple answer is yes. Subaru’s CVT setup works best with light to medium throttle from a standstill, as there’s instant grab from the system.
A heavy right foot really makes no difference until you’re under way. It’s here the pair come alive, with that all paw footing and the CVT’s linear delivery of torque really combine to imbue a genuine sense of that technical word “oomph”. Brakes work efficiently too, with almost just the right amount of travel before bite and a lovely, well modulated, feel as you increae pressure which doesn’t leave the driver wondering if they’ll pull up in time.
The S also picks up Active Torque Vectoring, which Subaru says: Subaru Active Torque Vectoring (ATV) applies light brake pressure to the inside front wheel as your Subaru car carves a corner, which pushes more power to the outside front wheel, reducing wheel spin and sharpening handling. It’s unnoticeable until you think about what it’s doing when you pile into corners and curves. It’s then that the handling aspect of the S shakes your hand and introduces itself to you.
But by no measure does the L spec feel underprepared, as it rides just as nicely, with perhaps a touch more tautness across the yumps, lumps, and bumps found around Sydney’s highways and freeways. There’s the same rolling diameter to help, with the S getting Yokohama rubber at 225/40/18 whilst the rest of the field go down a size wheel wise, and up a size tyre wise, at 205/50/17 from Bridgestone.
You’ll find that you’ll get good economy along the way, with Subaru quoting 7.2L per 100 kilometres on the combined cycle. Punch it around town, though, and potentially you’ll see north of 9.0L per 100 kilometres. That’s on the specified 91 RON from a smallish fifty litre tank.
Safety is ANCAP rated five stars, with front, curtain, side and knee airbags, along with ISOFIX child seat mouts, seat belt height ajusters for driver and passenger, and Subaru’s “Ring” safety cell. You’ll also receive the three year/unlimited kilometre warranty, three year capped price servicing, and twelve months roadside assistance.
How To Repair A Scratch In The Paintwork
If the scratch is this bad, it’s probably best to take it to a professional.
#$%^&*()$%^&*!!!!!!! You left your car in the supermarket carpark looking perfect with nicely polished paintwork, and when you got back, you found that some clown opened their door and nicked the paintwork. Or the dog was just so pleased to see you and jumped up trying to lick your face through the car window with scrabbling paws and left marks of their affection all over the panelwork. Or (worst case scratching scenario) some pillock (and that’s using mild language) decided it would be funny or appropriate to key your car and leave marks all down the side.
2017 Audi Q2 TDi: A Private Fleet Car Review
With SUVs being so popular, it’s no surprise that the next chapter in the SUV story is the lifestyle SUV. Think the original SUV, the Toyota RAV4, bring it into the latter half of the second decade of the 21st century, and that’s the market.
Not surprisingly, Audi, known for their quick response to market change, have done so and enter, stage left, the Audi Q2, with a choice of 1.4L TFSI petrol or 2.0L diesel quattro.
Audi says that their designers have: “created a unique polygonal design for the Q2 using sculpted geometric shapes for a stunning interplay of lines. The octagonal Singleframe grille, the three-dimensional taillights, and the polygonal side profile work in harmony to define its powerful character. With a higher-ground clearance, the Q2 is undeniably an SUV, from the elevated driving position to everyday versatility.”
Ok. That means it’s a funky new design for an SUV. But what does that mean for passengers? Well, let’s take a step back and consider the exterior. The test car came clad in a “won’t lose me in the car park” yellow. Vegas Yellow, to be precise. If there’s a colour other than silver that will highlight those edges, it’s yellow. There’s a solid plastic C panel in a light gunmetal grey which can be be swapped for other colours, with that choice dependent on engine spec. With eleven exterior colours to pick from the Q2 allows the savvy buyer some choice, to say the least.
In fact, the Q2 offers a list of optionable equipment that will give any indecisive person the jitters. There’s the punchy B&O audio system, wireless mobile phone charging, Head Up Display, a storage and luggage compartment package, and a cool looking LED interior light system in the console and dash. 
You can also include the Technik Package, which has an 8.3 inch touchscreen, two card readers and 10 GB hard drive storage plus more. The driver gets the “Virtual Cockpit” LCD screen, at just over 12 inches in width.
It’s a surprisingly compact unit, with an overall length under 4.2 metres, at 4191 mm, yet rides on a 2601 mm wheelbase, meaning there’s a reasonable, if cozy, amount of interior space. That also means that front and rear overhang is minimal, with 828 mm and 762 mm respectively. It’s almost square in a front/rear look, with 1509 mm in height, 1794 mm total with, and with front and rear track just millimetres apart at 1547 mm and 1541 mm respectively. Rubber was Michelin 215/50, on the optionable 18 inch alloys fitted.
Interior space has 1091 mm from the front seat squab to the roof and just 966 mm in the rear, meaning taller passengers may find themselves getting intimate with the upholstery, both above and to the back of the seats ahead. The interior itself is a mix of flat charcoal plastic; textured, almost carbon fibre along the dash and hides the LED mood lighting; to the flat bottomed steerer and the screen in the upper dash standing monolithically, almost like The Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Cargo space is smallish at 450 litres, plus it’s a highish boot floor, making both loading height and outright useability a compromise.
It’ll motorvate along nicely, however, with the 2.0L diesel (in the test vehicle) providing a linear deliver of torques, 340 of them, between 1750 and 3000 rpm, rolling off nicely into the peak power figure of 110 kilowatts from 3500 to 4000 revs. The TSFI delivers the same power albeit at 5000 to 6000 rpm, with peak torque a not indecent 250 Nm across a slightly broader rev range, being 1500 to 3500. The diesel’s quattro system has drive predominantly at the front, as is common in these sorts of vehicles, sending torque rearward as the sensor system dictates. It’s seamless and invisible to the senses.
Both will roll along quietly with the merest flex of the right ankle, and with both having such a linear delivery of torque, will see each of the seven ratios nicely used, especially when at speed and needing a good overtaking move. The diesel is muted but will transmit a warm thrum through to the cabin when under load. Stopping power is confident, with the brakes providing instant information, rather than feeling as if there’s travel before bite. The steering weights well in the hand, with it feeling as if there’s a variable ratio the further left or right you turn.
At The End Of The Drive.
The Audi Q2 starts at $41100 plus on roads for the 1.4 TSFI, with the diesel quattro a whopping $6800 more, with a driveaway price of a gnat’s nasty under $53500. However you will get the standard three year or unlimited kilometre warranty and twelve year warranty for body perforation protection. The diesel is a good enough drive but the Q2 suffers from a lack of interior room overall. At that, one would suspect that it would be bought by singles or couples and would rarely see a need to employ the rear seat for anything other than extra space for shopping, or a small dog.
2017 Audi Q2 is the place to go for more info.
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