Private Fleet Car Review: 2016 Subaru Forester XT Premium
It’s always a good feeling to slip back into a Subaru Forester. Think of catching up with an old mate at your favourite pub, after you’ve pulled on your comfy boots and decided on having your favourite meal and a pint of your favourite suds. That’s what it was like in late June for A Wheel Thing, with the updated 2.0L (177 kW/350 Nm) petrol and CVT equipped XT Premium.
Outside it’s been a minor set of changes, with the tail lights and head lights now equipped with LEDs and lit in a squared off C shape. There’s xenon headlamps up front and swept back into the fenders to accentuate the eagle eyed look Forester has had over the last couple of models. The grille has been reprofiled as has the front bumper.
Out back the tail lamp clusters stand proud of the rear fenders and have a nicely chamfered design to the edges. Above the driver is a sizable sunroof, covering both front and rear seats. The test vehicle was clad in silver, necessitating the auto headlights to be flicked on manually as their sensitivity under Sydney’s grey skies wasn’t enough to illuminate automatically.
There’s black painted 18 inch alloys (new aero efficient design for the 2016 model), with rubber supplied by Bridgestone in a 225/55/18 profile. They were grippy enough and added an extra level of comfort to the suspension setup, modified slightly from the 2015 model. There’s a touch more comfort, a touch more luxury in the ride quality, plush even, leaning towards the luxury side the XT is aimed at, rather than an out and out sports style.
It’s surprisingly twitchy on road, this particular vehicle, affected by cross breezes and passing trucks, needing a keen sense of attention from the driver in wet weather. I have to say it was an unusual situation to experience, as it’s so rare for a Subaru car to be suchlike in its driving. Otherwise, it’s a neutral handler, with the faintest hint of tight corner understeer (dialled out by the Vehicle Dynamics Control, for the most part), with Subaru’s famous all for the driver all wheel drive system playing its part.
The SI Drive system has also been fettled, with an eight step programming for the CVT and receiving throttle input information, going from a continous drive mode on light throttle input to the eight speed feel when under heavy load. Underneath, that ride quality has been helped by minor but noticeable changes to the spring and shock absorber settings, a more rigid front suspension cradle and rerated suspension bushes.
Inside, it’s more of the same; familiar dash layout, familiar instrumentation, familiar ergonomics. It’s as easy to deal with as the aforementioned comfy boots and bucket of suds for anyone that’s spent time with a Forester over the last few years. It’s certainly an easy place to get accustomed to for anyone that hasn’t, with clearly laid out switchgear, good ergonomics and sensible design cues apart from that damnable prediliction for lighting up the climate control’s dual zone button when in fact it’s only blowing into one zone. But you will also get Subaru’s much vaunted Eyesight system, which only once failed to work, due to direct sunlight shining directly down the camera barrels.
There’s, of course, electric seats. Comfortable, slip into ’em like your favourite shoes, electric seats with two heating settings (no cooling), clad in black leather, with thicker underside cushioning and with split fold rears accessing the cargo space. There’s Subaru’s X-Trac system underneath for softroading, accessed via a button in the front centre console. Even the vanity mirrors are now lit. What the XT Premium doesn’t get is a DAB equipped tuner.
What the Forester has been given, however, is a good working over with the refinement brush. Both suspension (adding to the ride quality experienced) and the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels have been further refined (by five percent, says Subaru) thanks to slightly thicker glass and changes in the body’s structure plus increasing sound deadening materials. It’s evident by the lack of exterior noise making its way into the cabin. Apple’s Siri voice interface has been added, the tail gate is powered, and there’s memory seating as well.
It’s a good size, the Forester, with a compact 4610 mm length hiding a 2640 mm wheelbase. It’s tall, at 1735 mm and spans 1795 mm thanks to the heated wing mirrors extended. Weight is deceptive, with the XT Premium tipping the scales at 1657 kg, a full 157 kg heavier than the entry level 2.0L manual. Unsurprisingly, as a result, it’s also the highest in fuel consumption, with Subaru quoting 8.5L of unleaded being used for every 100 kilometres on a combined cycle. A Wheel Thing saw consistent nine plus around town. Warranty wise, you’ll get three years and unlimited kilometres.
All this adds up to be a reasonable ask in dollars; the range starts at just under thirty thousand, with the XT Premium auto ten dollars shy of forty eight thousand. Given the company it keeps, such as the Sportage, Tucson, Kuga, Captiva, RAV4 and the like, it may seem up against it but the sales numbers tell a different story, with the Forester range a consistent sales chart topper.
For info, to book a test drive and for enquiries, head here: 2016 Subaru Forester range and follow Subaru on social media.
LED Lights: Small Is Beautiful
In just about every new car that comes out, you’ll find LED lighting somewhere around it, whether it’s in the form of daytime running lights, the tail lights or the interior lighting. Car manufacturers seem very proud of featuring LED lighting in the designs. You might be wondering what all the fuss is about. Is this just the latest fashion or is there some real advantage to having LED lighting in your car?
Private Fleet Car Review: 2016 Land Rover Discovery TDV6
It’s as big as The Hulk, has more grunt than a GT3 race field, the poise on road of Nureyev in Swan Lake and the agility of a salmon leaping from an ice cold river. They’re flowery words to describe the latest iteration of Land Rover’s venerable Discovery V6 but it’s all that and more. A Wheel Thing takes the beastie for a solid on road stint and comes away wishing the keys stayed for longer.
The Discovery TDV6 is blocky, squared off, seemingly hewn from a single piece of metal. It stands a massive 1891 mm tall (including roof rails) and has a face not unlike the sibling Range Rover, complete with LED driving lights and logo shone down to the ground from the wing mirrors. At the rear are the classic Land Rover tail lights (now with LED lighting) and split fold non powered tailgate with electric release for the lower section. In profile there’s windows large enough to be sails for an America’s Cup yacht. From 1890. Yep, the Disco is a big ‘un all round.
And that extends to the beautifully appointed bone/beige and chocolate coffee( aka Almond and Arabica) leather interior, optioned in the test vehicle over the cloth covering normally found in the TDV6, with driver, passenger, mid row passengers and rear seat passengers (which fold flat into the floor) all having plenty of shoulder, leg, and head room. The Discovery did lack heating for the front seats (which were the optionable electric powered) and, to be honest, a heated tiller would have been nice too, but it’s optionable on the other two models. Such is the manner of companies differentiating between models in a range.
The middle row seats have a solid mechanism to their folding; some middle rows simply feel as if they’ll fold with a slight breeze once unlatched, the Discovery’s give an impression of needing some muscle to do so. Of course that’s not the case, but there’s that implied sense of oomph required. They’re also separate seats, three seats, not a sixty to forty split fold and big enough for three average sized adults to be in. This configuration is also an option, with the 60/40 split the norm.
Up front, well it’s just a beautiful place to be. The Arabica leather across the top, the symmetrically designed console (bar the Start/Stop button at driver’s left in a right hand drive vehicle) and the simple and elegant dash dial look. Not that it’s a major thing but the temperature dials adjusted by one degree stops, not 0.5 as seems to be the standard and a button or tab for dual zone operation to single wasn’t readily apparent either. Controls for the drive modes are button operated as is the variable height air suspension, giving up to 310 mm maximum ground clearance.
But there’s that sweet colour combination, the subtly supportive seats (subtle because although there was room to move you also feel safe and after a good stint behind the wheel there’s no feeling of tiredness) and the JLR touchscreen’s familiarly cluttered look. DAB is fitted and the sensitivity of the units that Jaguar/Land Rover/Range Rover again comesunder scrutiny, with drop out in areas other manufacturers systems don’t have. Meridian supply the speakers and it’s again a clean, well defined sound stage.
As mentioned, the Discovery is big; there’s a wheelbase of 2885 mm inside a length of 4829 mm and with the mirrors folded ut, it’s 2200 mm wide. It’ll wade up to 700 mm in depth, on the 19 inch alloys and 255/55 Wrangler rubber and can climb and depart at 32.2 and 26.7 degrees without raising the body on the air suspension. Otherwise it’s 36.2 and 29.6. The size provides up to 1260 litres of cargo space and gives passengers 1020 mm of head room at the front, plus 983 mm to 1018 mm in the third row if fitted with the “Alpine roof”. Weight? Well, it’s more than it looks, at a hefty 2558 kilos…
Although there’s a decent 155 kilowatts at 4000 revs, there’s an even better 520 torques at 2000. This contributes greatly towards the fuel economy figures, which Land Rover quotes as being 9.8L per 100 kilometres in the ‘burbs, 8.1L/100 on the highway (which is higher than expected) and comes from a 82.3L tank. A Wheel Thing finished on 9.0L after just under 670 kilometres. They’re good, if not great figures, considering it’s an eight speed auto connected to the constant 4WD (no transfer case in the base TDV6) system and there’s a 0-100 kilometre time of over ten seconds. Some weight loss work would see both figures improve.
Although it’s a tad weighty, it doesn’t deter the Discovery from being agile and nimble. Also a strong advocate of road safety and driver education, A Wheel Thing sees far too much of what could be politely termed bad driving whilst out and reviewing cars. Thanks to Sydney drivers exhibiting said bad driving, it gave the Discovery opportunities to display its flair for handling, manouverability and mid range acceleration. The family pizza sized disc brakes 360/350 mm front/rear) also do a sterling job of hauling up the 2.5 tonne machine in anything from mild to wild situations.
On an overnight jaunt to Nowra, some 160 kilometres south of Sydney but a two plus hour drive, the tacho showed why an eight speed auto is a wonderful thing, with barely 1400 revs showing at 100 kmh. With something like 90% of that peak torque available at around that rev point, it makes for an easy, relaxed, cruising speed. There’s a well weighted steering system that can be moved with just one finger yet has real heft and feel to it, with plenty of feedback.
Private Fleet Car Review: 2016 Haval H9
Haval is a new entry to the Aussie car market and is certainly, judging by the Haval H9, poised to make an impact on the sales figures. It hails from China but that doesn’t make it a non worthwhile consideration. Here’s why…
Haval have loaded the H9 (the premium model from Haval) with more fruit than a grocer’s store. Tri-zone climate control, exterior night shining logo which doubles as a puddle lamp, glowing door sills, seven seats, leather, satnav via an eight inch touchscreen, sunroof with presets and LED lit surround, mood lighting (operated via touch tab at the sunroof operation area), swiveling and leveling headlights, plus dash mounted 4WD info such as inclination, compass and external air pressure. Not sure about that last one, admittedly. It’s a big car, too; think Nissan X-Trail meets Mercedes GL class for looks and size.
Cloud to the silver lining? A surprisingly lacklustre turbocharged 2.0L petrol engine (Haval are reportedly working on a diesel) producing 160 kilowatts and 324 Nm between 2000 and 4000. Haval quote 12.1 litres per 100 kilometres for a combined cycle meaning urban consumption (not quoted) has to be something over 14.0L. That’s from an eighty litre tank and requiring a minimum of 95 RON. Haval don’t quote a kerb weight however it’s quoted elsewhere as being 2250 kilograms. Haval also states the H9 will tow up to 2500 kilograms. It may do but expect a hefty fuel bill and a glacial progress initially.
The gearbox is a six speed auto that has options such as Auto, Sports and off road modes; in Sports mode which with the lack of torque the engine has, sees second gear held for too long under most normal accelerative conditions. Have to say, though, it is a smooth ‘box and engine combo, with most changes audible in revs but not physically felt.The steering rack felt as if something was loose, such as a mounting bracket or joint. There’s a noise and a feeling of untoward movement underneath. Minor, but worrying enough to be of concern.
It has a good steering feel, however, with good weight and a turning circle of just over eleven metres. That’s good for a car that measures 4856 mm in length and has a 2800 mm wheelbase. And when not shifting about, it’s responsive enough also, with enough feedback to keep a modest driver informed about where they’re going. It does feel as if, though, the rack and pinion steering has too much of a requirement for a full lock to lock steering response, needing close to four turns.
On road, apart from the leisurely acceleration, it’s good enough to please most people. Front suspension niggle aside, it’s a competent handler, points well and rides nicely. Over some unsettled surfaces it did skip more than anticipated, has some bump steer, yet isn’t overly firm in the overall ride. On the flat, it’s surefooted, compliant if a bit taut but deals with Sydney’s undulations by simply following the curvature and not pogoing.
There’s big Cooper Discoverer asymmetric tyres, at 265/60/18
underneath as well as double wishbone suspension at the front, multilink at the rear and certainly, overall, will be fine for all but the fussiest or sporting oriented drivers.
Level 2, 9 Help Street