Cop Cars Around The Globe
A couple of days ago, the Dubai police force created a bit of a stir in the automotive world by managing to scoop the Guinness World Record for the fastest police car on the roads: a Bugatti Veyron. With a top speed of 407 km/h and a 0–100 time of 2.5 seconds. The acquisition and fitting of the Veyron as a police car is something of a PR exercise for the Dubai Police; however, it joins some of the other supercars driven by the police in this country, making the United Arab Emirates possibly the country where it’s most fun to be a cop. Others in the Dubai police fleet include a Aston Martin One-77, a Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4, a Ferrari FF and the “humbler”(?) Audi R8 , Nissan GTR and Mercedes SL 63.
Not many of the boys and girls in blue around the world are so lucky. Most of them have to put up with much more mundane machines, albeit with all the extras that cops get to play with, including the lights and sirens.
2017 Toyota Corolla Ascent Sedan: A Private Fleet Car Review.
Car makers tend to have a vehicle that seems to define what that brand is. Holden has the Commodore and Kingswood, Ford the Falcon, Jaguar the XJ6. For Japanese goliath, Toyota, you can say Land Cruiser and Corolla and it’s the latter that perhaps embodies how a brand can be seen. Private Fleet checks out the heart of Toyota, the 2017 Corolla Ascent, in sedan and CVT form.
Apart from the obvious difference in body shape between hatch and sedan, Toyota have given the sedan some subtle but noticeable design tweaks. The bonnet’s shut lines are more aligned with the Camry and the headlight structure is longer, running down towards the centre of the grille further than the hatch’s. Toyota have also given the front a more Camry and Lexus look, with the “spindle” look more noticeable.
The taillights echo the Camry and there’s three distinctive crease lines under the C pillar, plus an aero ridge inside the wing mirrors to deflect rain. It’s the rear that lends a slightly frumpy look to the car, with a curve coming down from the lights and a high set join line, making the rear look heavy. The Ascent has 15 inch steel wheels with an alloy look complete the exterior. It’s also bigger than the styling has you believe, with an overall length of 4620 mm encapsulating a 2700 mm wheelbase and 470L boot, bracketed by a low 1460 mm height and a surprising 1775 mm width.
Inside it’s typical Corolla and, in parts, doesn’t look like it’s changed since the 1970s. Black solid plastic, rotary dials for aircon and vents contrast with the brilliant blue backlit dials and touchscreen. There’s some brightwork with alloy look plastics on the doors, steering wheel hub, centre console and on the edges of the touchscreen.
The seats and steering column are manually adjusted, with a basic black cloth covering the pews. Staying true to the history of the Corolla, Toyota fits a non electric, “old style”, lift up hand brake. And there’s never anything less in the presence than the feeling of typical Toyota build quality.
Up front is the tried and proven combination of a 1.8L block with a four valve alloy head. Drinking unleaded at a rate of 6.8L/100 km (claimed, combined cycle) from a 55L tank, the engine produces 103 kilowatts at 6400 rpm, and requires 4000 revs to produce a maximum torque of 173 Nm. The test car was fitted with a seven speed CVT, in opposition to the standard six speed manual. 
Toyota have programmed this to act a little more like a traditional auto, in that there’s more feeling of a change of gear and a little less focus on the traditional CVT characteristic, that climb through the rev range and holding at a certain point as speed builds. The variable valve timing’s change is also perceptible, with an extra kick at somewhere around 3500 rpm.
On the road, the Ascent’s ability to be an average, every day, mode of transport is on display. It’s neither under or overwhelming its ride, handling, comfort level. It just simply…does. Acceleration is neither leisurely nor outstandingly rapid, steering is neither sharp nor excessively vague, with more than a seemingly normal turn left and right to get the car around corners. The skinny-ish 195/65 tyres will provide enough grip for normal driving, but anything remotely sporting has them understeer and squealing in protest. They’ll also tramline, having the Ascent follow ruts and ridges, however the steering is polished enough for drivers to stay in control. However, the brakes are amongst the best in class, with a beautifully weighted feel from top to bottom, and no sense of anything other than the foot being able to read just where in the process the grip level is.
Although entry level, there’s a rear camera, parking sensors, Bluetooth, a cruise control related distance sensor, apps via the touchscreen (which require a smart phone to be paired), and a range of driver’s information via the dash’s central screen. There’s no DAB, nor do all windows get one touch up/down movement. However there’s still only a three year warranty for car and paint and just five years for corrosion.
At The End Of The Drive.
The Corolla Ascent sedan is the embodiment of the reason why the Corolla has been, for so long, the world’s number one selling car. It does what it does, quietly, with an unassuming way about it, without setting the world on fire. And that’s the appeal of the Corolla: there’s no surprises, you know exactly what you’re getting, and it’s dependable and reliable as a sunrise.
For pricing and details, go here:2017 Toyota Corolla Ascent
2017 Lexus IS200t & 2017 Lexus IS350: A Private Car Review.
Lexus released in late 2016 an update to their IS range. It’s available with a two litre turbo petrol, two point five litre petrol with a hybrid system, or a three point five litre V6 and a sole eight speed auto, across three trim levels, being Luxury/F Sport and Luxury Sport. The stylish and sleek looking cars have received some mild exterior tweaks and interior renovations. Private Fleet drives the Lexus IS200t Luxury and Lexus IS350 Luxury back to back.
In profile, the IS is a long bonneted, short tailed, beauty. In essence, it’s not unlike a car dubbed the most beautiful in the world, with that ratio, with Jaguar’s E-Type seen as such by one Enzo Ferrari. That profile has been a design highlight of the IS since its release and the 2017 version carries that on. It sits low, too, at just 1430 mm. LED powered lights fore and aft for running lights and tail, plus the IS350 has LED headlights and they look great bracketing the familiar angled hour glass grille motif. There’s a stylish, almost shoe branded, swoop from front to rear that rises from the sills to the rear wheel arch within the overall 4680 mm length, which is up 15 mm from the preceding model thanks to a new front bar design. The IS200t is on 17 inch diameter wheels with the IS350 on 18s, and both look as if they struggle to fill the wheel wells. Overall, however, it’s a handsome look.
Inside, it’s a different story between front and rear seats. In the back there’s enough leg and hip room for most thanks to the overall 1810 mm width, and plenty of head room too. It’s leather aplenty, and there’s the added bonus of sensibility, with heating and venting for driver and passenger seats. The onboard satnav is effective but has the annoying habit of telling you, 24/7, that you’re coming to a school zone. Surely a bit of software work can be done to change that to the days and hours required?
Back to the front and it’s here where the IS trips up. Totally at odds with the sleekness of the exterior and looking like a throwback to the 1980s, is a angular and messy mix. Protusions and curves collide to provide an unharmonious mix, plus there’s an odd gunmetal sheen to the plastic itself. It lets down the presentation as there’s otherwise reasonable ergonomics, great audio with DAB (with the 350 getting a Mark Levinson system), the mouse and touchscreen combination (both of which were slightly overhauled, with the screen going up from seven inches) which becomes quite intuitive, and easy to read screens (also redesigned).
A console mounted a dial for drive modes (which shows on the dash screen) and steering wheel buttons from the Lexus RC line of vehicles which are soft touch and simple to use again at odds with the pyramids of the dash. If there’s a highlight amongst the seeming jungle of jumble, it’s the analogue clock, proudly sited right in the centre of the upper dash. It’s a metallic look by day but glows a soft white in the darkness. There was also a (optionable item) full glass roof fitted to the IS350 .
Engine wise it’s a pairing of turbocharged four cylinder and naturally aspirated 3.5L V6, both with a close ratio eight speed auto and Stop/Start technology. There’s 180 kW or 233 kW, and 350 Nm or 378 Nm, delivered at 1650 rpm or 4800 rpm. These last two give each car utterly different driving characteristics; the IS200t will launch well and continue to pull through to over 4000 where the power band comes in.
The IS350 will pull hard but doesn’t have the same feeling of urgency. What it does have a far, far, better soundtrack than the smaller engined version. Planted hard, the right foot has that 3.5L V6 go from a bellow through to a howl to a metallic keen that sounds fantastic and intoxicating. The turbo four lacks the ability to caress the eardrums the same way but is a more user friendly drive. With the torque coming in so low and available over a wider range, the IS200t becomes the better choice as a driver.
The steering ratios feel different,and each has variable ratio geometry which tightens up a turn or so either side. The IS350 feels less wieldy, more leaden, compared to the more responsive and nimble IS200t. Yet the conundrum is that, according to the Lexus website, the IS200t is 35 kilos heavier, at 1680 kg, than the 1645 kg IS350. Put it down, perhaps, to the broader range of torque, the seat of the pants saying that the IS200t is somewhat more dynamic than the IS350 although there’s a dedicated performance damper setup in the front for both along with aluminuim lower suspension parts.
Therein lies the rub. As of March 2017, driveaway pricing has the IS200t at just over $65K and the bigger engined version at around $7K more, with a hybrid version slotted in between. As an overall drive, the IS200t has a touch more finesse, a touch more conversational ability, a slightly better ride but neither match, to be blunt, the ability of the Megane GT tested just a week or so before. Then there’s the fuel costs…both are rated to run on a minimum of 95RON, for starters. There’s a reasonable fuel capacity of 66L, and the IS200t is rated at 7.5L/100 km, against the 3.5L’s 9.7L/100 km (combined cycle quoted).
Bearing in mind the performance aspects of each, and that the IS350 seemed more responsive and performance luxury oriented only when really given some stick, those figure would very quickly be broken. As it was, the IS200t finished at around 8.5L/100 km and the other closer to 11.0L/100 km. The range for the bigger engined car was also less than the smaller and did in fact require topping up twice before returning the vehicle.
This is even with (both vehicles) the drivetrain slipping automatically into Eco as a gauge after acceleration, but will remain in Sport until told otherwise. And there were times when Sport did actually make the drive better by providing sharper throttle response and acceleration. The IS200t did feel, too, as if it moved around more than the IS350, but overall felt just that bit more engaging to drive. Braking? Neither felt as if the pedal wasn’t connected, with bite straight away and a beautifully progessive response as you press harder, allowing the driver to judge precisely just how much was needed for the stopping distance.
To offset this, Lexus do offer a standard 48 month/100,000 kilometre warranty, and 48 months roadside assist, plus a bucket load of standard equipment. There’s a full leather interior, a pedestrian sensing bonnet that fires up should a human intrude, Lane Change Alert, Blind Spot Monitoring, Emergency Brake Light (rapid brake light flashing), and the obigatory reverse camera with lane guidance. You’ll also get the Lexus Safety System+, which consists of a Pre-Collision Safety System, Active Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning+ with Sway Warning Systen and Auto High Beam. There’s also a Tyre Pressure Monitoring system on board.
At The End Of The Drive.
There’s pluses and minuses with these two. A better sound system in the IS350 (which is an optionable item, by the way, in the F Sport Enhancement pack) against a more frugal and better handling IS200t. Hard core dedicated LED headlights in the IS350 and a far more aurally attractive soundtrack aren’t enough, in this comparison, to overcome the cheaper to buy and run and seat of the pants better handler IS200t. Head across to 2017 Lexus range. for more info about all cars in the Lexus lineup for 2017.
Alternative News: The Hyperloop.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Famed and distinguished author and scientist Sir Arthur C. Clarke has this as the third of his three laws, much like “The Three Laws of Robotics” his equally distinguished fellow writer Isaac Asimov postulated. To that end, Elon Musk is offering something that could almost be seen as magical because of the technology involved and if it comes to fruition will change the way mass public transportation is undertaken. Welcome to The Hyperloop.
In actuality, the technology is the hard part, the concept is simple. In essence, it’s a pod that will contain passengers (or cargo) that will be inside a tubular structure, with that tube largely evacuated of air and with the much talked about magnetic levitation system to propel the pod.
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