Autocar Philippines May 2021

FIRST DRIVE: MERCEDES-AMG GT BLACK SERIES

MORE MOBILITY INFORMATION

May 2021 PHP 250.00 Est. 1895 | www.autocar.com.ph

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HONDA CITY HATCHBACK

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Kia Stonic experiential drive

DRIVE

F-Type through Belgium

C O M PA R I S O N

Fast Fords: In the Family Way

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ISSN 2350-8248

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THEIR NEW HOT HATCH

THIS MONTH May 2021 | Volume 5

OPINIONS 2 4 6 8

Editor’s Note Ira Panganiban

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Maserati unveils the New Levante Hybrid

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FordPH’s incoming Managing Director is Michael Breen

My Week in Cars Steve Cropley Opposite Lock Binky Siddayao Shop Talk Olson Camacho

NEWS

Lotus’ new sports car, Type 131 is named Emira Cebu transport co. modernizes with Toyota

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The search begins for the Toyota GR GT Cup Philippines 2021 Champion

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Volkswagen ID.4 is World Car of the Year

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With your help, this MG Cyberster concept can become reality

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SMC plans for Bus Rapid Transit system on Skyway

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GeelyPH’s Coolray Tops Q1 sales – 5-seat Subcompact Crossover Segment

ALL-NEW HONDA CITY HATCHBACK 26 ❝ ONE HARNESS STRAP MAKES USE OF THE STANDARD SEATBELT BUCKLE – A CLEVER IDEA THAT MEANS YOU CAN STILL HAVE AN INERTIA REEL FOR ROAD USE, AND IT DOESN’T BONG INCESSANTLY IF YOU USE THE HARNESS INSTEAD.❞ MATT PRIOR

Honda rolls out great deals under Summer Holiday Service Offers

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Check out MG’s Futuristic booth at the ongoing 2021 Shanghai Motor Show

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Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series

FIRST DRIVE Volkswagen Golf GTI

COVER STORY 26

HondaPH launches their All-New City Hatchback

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Kia Stonic experiential drive: An environment totally alien

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Return to the jabbeke highway

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Fast Fords

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI 24

NEW MASERATI LEVANTE HYBRID 44

ROAD TRIP

DRIVE FEATURE

INSIGHTS 50

Recharge yourself and your car

RECHARGE YOURSELF AND YOUR CAR 50 MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 1

THIS MONTH

Eggay Quesada Associate Editor

EDITOR’S NOTE

THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY PICKING UP THE PIECES n this month’s cover is the allnew Honda City hatchback which replaces the Jazz that had a good run for so many years. It had a huge following. Now, it will be interesting to find out if the new hatch will be warmly recieved by Jazz fanatics and hatch lovers.

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Ford Group Philippines will be welcoming a new managing director in the person of Michael Breen, replacing PK Umashankar. Mike brings with him 28 years of Ford experience starting out in North America as a customer service representative.

In motorsports, the IATF has given the green light to various race organizers to begin their 2021 racing season. The Toyota Vios Cup, our local superbike

series, and the Philippine Rallycross Series are scheduled to jumpstart their races in June and July.

Finally, 14 months since the pandemic, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. reported a growth of 54% in the passenger car segment and 29.6% in the commercial vehicle segment. This is a clear indication that the industry is slowly moving up from the effects brought about by the start of the pandemic in March of last year.

We are looking at better days ahead.

With the Skyway 3 nearing it’s completion, delivery of goods and services will now be more time-efficient, which is a big help to economic recovery.

❝ With the Skyway 3 nearing it’s completion, delivery of goods and services will now be more time-efficient, which is a big help to economic recovery. ❞ GET IN TOUCH

✉ eggayq@gmail.com 2 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

COMMENT

MY WEEK IN CARS New Morgan visitors’ centre shows the British marque at its very best

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Slick Polestar 2 proves the future will be worth the wait

MONDAY

For every one of the past 6375 weeks, give or take a few missed through wars and printers’ strikes, an army of our predecessors has successfully negotiated the labyrinth of rituals and deadlines that makes an issue of Autocar. Awesome, you may think. And so did we.

But our big decision for this 125th anniversary issue, to look mainly at the 25 years since we produced a record-busting centenary 400-pager in 1995 (yep, I was there), produced a shock result. It showed us that, compared with what’s coming over the next 25 years, that period was an easy stroll through familiar territory.

Looking forward, an amazing number of epochmaking matters – the total realisation of car electrification, a true view of whether a hydrogen society can work, the future of motorsport and the health or otherwise of the classic car hobby – will all be decided in a period barely longer than the lifespan of the BMW Mini, which hardly seems to have changed. Luckily for us, there’s no time to be daunted by the future. We have next week’s pages to fill.

TUESDAY

First hack in space: not an accomplishment I ever expected, but if you allow a little licence, you’ll see what I mean. I went to London’s gigantic (and deserted) Westfield shopping centre at 10am to meet Jon Goodman, the COO of Polestar, Volvo’s recently founded EV offshoot. He was opening a simple but welcoming new shop-showroom,

4 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

That period was an easy stroll through familiar territory ❞ neatly placed between Georg Jensen and Pret a Manger. Polestar’s name for this showroom is a ‘space’. Geddit?

It’s fantastic to see this company doing so well (after just three years, it has launched the Polestar 2 across Europe and is well advanced in China and the US), because in recent years, it has become fashionable to say starting a new marque can’t be done. Polestar will thrive because it has seen what the market wants – and is unerringly providing it.

WEDNESDAY

Back home to Gloucestershire in a very well equipped and crazily swift Polestar 2 loaner, a car I hadn’t driven before. It was a terrific experience: a handsome, right-sized car with refined but towering performance, great comfort,

AND ANOTHER THING… On Morgan, I forgot to draw the heaviest contrast of all with others: they want you to drop in for coffee. Any time, in any car. For no other purpose than car-based fun.

There’s room to park and the kettle is always on. No need to book unless you want a factory tour. Just go.

a welcome freedom from leather and one of those fresh-think fascia layouts that prove designers haven’t run out of ideas. I found myself ever more convinced as the miles rolled that, however tough things seem, the future is coming to be enjoyed.

THURSDAY

Today I gave up resisting a standing invitation to go to Morgan, Malvern Link, to view their superb new visitors’ centre, built during lockdown by wood artisans . It’s more than a visitors’ centre, actually. It’s a dealership, hire car base, museum, café, archive and shop stuffed with enticing car goodies. In short, it’s just right for a business handling 30,000 visitors a year. They’ve started doing factory tours again, too. Book yours online.

You might think, in contrast to the guff above about modernity, that Morgan is one place where nothing changes. Not true. The factory is filled with creative young people in important roles – design, engineering, marketing, purchasing, communications – who have no fear of change as long as it fits perfectly with the marque’s values.

Good stuff is coming, and we’ve not long to wait…

FRIDAY

Can you handle a nakedly heartfelt commercial?

As we all start shopping online for Christmas, it occurs to me that someone in your circle might enjoy a subscription to the world’s oldest motoring magazine – especially knowing that said organ could definitely benefit right now from a few extra supporters. If the idea appeals, please head for themagazineshop.com or phone 0344 8488807. Those at either end of your transaction will be very grateful.

GET IN TOUCH

✉ steve.cropley@haymarket.com

@stvcr

THIS MONTH Technical Editor

Binky P. Siddayao OPPOSITE LOCK

BALLS OR BRAINS? here are different international regulations when it comes to helmets.

When we begin talking about helmets we tend to get into heated debates over what helmet style is best. A Closed. An Open. Most common everyone should agree on is if you are going to buy a helmet make sure it works in your favor. No matter which motorsport or leisure sport you are in.

A knock-off helmet will highly guarantee that it has not been properly tested. Imagine your helmet splitting open like a coconut from the lightest impacts. If the price is too good to be true – it may probably be a fake.

Motorcycle helmets have constantly evolved to keep up with technological advancements, this includes the use of lighter materials for reduced strain on the neck, additional padding for extra comfort, Bluetooth speakers to allow you to take advantage of your smartphone’s capabilities such as navigation, music or hands-free calling, and much more. Although motorcycle helmets continue to build out these innovative features, the core anatomy of the motorcycle helmet has remained the same for decades.

The four main components to the motorcycle or automotive helmet: the outer shell, impactabsorbing liner, padded comfort

Photo by George Bale on Unsplash

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layer, and retention system/chin strap. These components of the helmet each serve a specific purpose and contribute to keeping your head safe.

The fit of the helmet on your head is critical to finding the best helmet for you. When you start looking for a helmet, you should take a measurement completely around your head just above your eyebrows.

Various manufacturer’s helmet will fit slightly differently, so a small in one brand may fit like a medium in another.

You will most likely be looking to have a helmet which has intercom capabilities for Rallying. Before selecting which

helmet, know what type of intercom you have in your car.

Make sure they are compatible upon determining what type of intercom your car has fitted, or which you are intending to fit, you can then look at whether you would prefer a full or an open face helmet.

Most rally competitors prefer an open face helmet because of the better overall visibility and contiguous awareness, but you can use either depending on which you feel more comfortable with.

If for circuit racing in either single seaters or saloon cars the type of helmet that you need to be looking for is more of a

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straightforward choice.

Obviously any driver racing a single seater must wear a fullface helmet. For saloon circuit racing the choice of helmet type is less constrained, meaning that the driver can wear either a full face or an open face helmet depending again on personal preferences and fit.

In motorsports helmets should be Homologated SA2015 (Special Application) or SNELL Approved, which may also be applied for motorcycle use.

Always check with race organizers for regulations on safety.

And NEVER lend your helmet.

In motorsports helmets should be Homologated SA2015 (Special Application) or SNELL Approved, which may also be applied for motorcycle use.

❞ GET IN TOUCH

✉ binkypsiddayao@gmail.com

6 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

THIS MONTH Off-Road Editor

Olson Camacho S H O P TA L K

A GLIMPSE OF LIGHT ost of us welcomed 2021 with uncertainty.

With intensity of challenges that the previous year gave out, people cannot help but get skeptic about what the year may bring. Good thing, positivity can also be contagious.

Before this dreaded pandemic hit, a round of thanksgiving parties were usually held after the holiday season. With the whole situation that is going on, I personally thought that such gatherings will have to wait. Though I was initially right, good thing today’s technology made it possible for our friends in the beat to meet online and wish for a fruitful new year together.

Of course, nothing beats face-to-face parties, but it is just uplifting to know that there are people around you who are still optimistic about things that are to come. Special mention to the AC Industrials who hosted one of the most enjoyable online parties that I have ever attended.

It was a movie-themed party so everyone came in costume of their favorite movie character. Another thanksgiving event was hosted

by Nissan Philippines. It was a short but sweet online event over a sumptuous cold cut treat from

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the generous people of Nissan Philippines.

Another notable happening in the early weeks of the new year is our very own, Philippine Rallycross Series’ shakedown session. It might just be a small gathering of the usual suspects in our races but I personally saw it as a motivation that 2021 will be an awesome year. A lot of great plans were parked when the Covid-19 pandemic struck everyone in 2020, this includes a full season of dirt time trial action as well as a full rally series that could have been bigger than the one we hosted last 2018. But with the new support from Clark Global City, as well

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as seeing the people who came out and tried out their rally cars during the shakedown session - it kind of sparked a fire inside me; I took it as a preview of a good year for Philippine Rallycross Series.

Everyone has been preparing and looking forward to being back on track and race on dirt. I am thrilled!

Having been to these events made me look forward to what more is in store for the motoring industry in the country. Though everyone seems like still in survival mode, all are keeping a positive outlook. I realized that is enough to move forward and see what is in store right around the corner.

Laban lang!

Though everyone seems like still in survival mode, all are keeping a positive outlook. I realized that is enough to move forward and see what is in store right around the corner. Laban lang! ❞ GET IN TOUCH

✉ olson@wheelsph.com 8 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

The original car magazine, published since 1895 ‘in the interests of the mechanically propelled road carriage’ EDITORIAL TEAM IRA V. PANGANIBAN Editor-in-Chief EDGAR QUESADA Associate Editor EARL MANALANSAN Managing Editor NEIL PAGULAYAN Managing Editor Online BINKY SIDDAYAO Technical Editor OLSON CAMACHO Off Road Editor MATT PRIOR | KRIS LIM | BINKY SIDDAYAO Columnists JOHN REY SAN DIEGO Staff Writer WILLIAM HERRERA | LUIS GERONA Contributors ANJO PEREZ Senior Photographer BONG BOADO | KEITH MARK DADOR | LOUIE CAMACHO MARK QUESADA | ALAN RANCH SEVILLA ARNOLD RIODEQUE | BOBS JEROME | MEMERT MONTELOYOLA Photographers RAYMUND RAVANERA Graphic Designer ADVERTISING AND MARKETING SALES RUBY M. AGUSTIN | MAVHIC C. NATIVIDAD Account Manager C O R P O R AT E T E A M Chairman of the Board GEORGE APACIBLE President IRA V. PANGANIBAN Vice President RONALDO TRINIDAD Secretary OLSON CAMACHO Treasurer EDGAR QUESADA Executive Assistant MANEL CATINDIG

International Director Alastair Lewis alastair.lewis@haymarket.com Syndication Enquiries Isla Friend isla.friend@haymarket.com Editor Matt Burt Editorial Director, Automotive Jim Holder Managing Editor Allan Muir Reviews Editor Will Nightingale Chief tester Matt Saunders New Cars Editor Rory White Managing Director David Prasher Chief Operating Officer Brian Freeman Chief Executive Kevin Costello Chairman Rupert Heseltine Autocar magazine and the Autocar logo are trademarks of Haymarket Media Group Limited, United Kingdom and used under license by Autobrands Media Ventures, Inc. Content reproduced from Autocar magazine © Haymarket Media Group Limited 2011 all rights reserved.

The views and opinions expressed within Autocar PH magazine are not necessarily those of Haymarket Media Group Limited or those of its contributors.

Autocar magazine is published in China, Greece, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Thailand, and United Kingdom. www.haymarket.com

SPECIAL THANKS TO Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. Masahiro Nakamura President Atty. Louie Soriano General Manager for Sales Lyka Dela Cruz-Andres Section Head, Public Relations Arianne Colleen Jalalon, Che Cabotaje Public Relations Dept.

Batangas Racing Circuit

EDITORIAL TEAM Editor-in-Chief – Anjo Perez Columnist – Arnel Doria Contributors – Gilbert Chao, Joseph Bautista, Lara Camacho Pocholo Reyes, William Herrera, Neil Pagulayan, Earl Manalansan Photographers – Mark Quesada, Alan Ranch Sevilla Staff Writer – John Rey San Diego

All rights reserved. Printed in the Philippines. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of Autobrands Media Ventures, Inc. is prohibited. For booking or inquiries on advertising, please call our advertising department at (02) 815-6519. For interested magazine distributors or magazine subscription please call (02) 815-6519 and look for Manel Catindig.

The views and opinions expressed within Autocar Magazine are not necessarily those of Autobrands Media Ventures, Inc. or those of its contributors. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this magazine, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information herein, or any consequences arising from it. In case of all product reviews, judgements have been made in the context of the product based on Philippines prices at the time of review, which are subject to fluctuation and only applicable to the Philippines market.

Published by

Graphic Designer – Jeff Infante

Contact us at info@wheelsph.com Wheels Magazine is published monthly, a registered trademark of Autobrands Media Ventures, Inc. in cooperation with Gulf News. Copyright 2015.

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MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 9

N E WS G O T A S T O RY ?

Email our managing editor earlmanalansan@gmail.com

T Maserati unveils the New Levante Hybrid

he Maserati Levante Hybrid is presented to the world in both a physical and digital World Premiere event. In fact, the dual nature of Maserati is shown at the Shanghai Auto Show for its live presentation, and, for the rest of the world, in a virtual launch event on the brand’s website (houseof. maserati.com).

With the Brand’s first electrified SUV, Maserati takes a major step forward in its strategy for electrification, which began last year with the Ghibli Hybrid.

“Faster. Greener. Unique”, Levante Hybrid is faster than a diesel, more sustainable than

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diesel or gasoline, and unique in its specific characteristics.

The Maserati SUV, which has already made an impact in the history of the Brand with its record-breaking figures, now presses ahead into a future in which all new Trident models will be electrified.

Maserati is innovative by nature, and with Levante it pursues the philosophy behind its entry into the world of electrification: the aim of improving performance while staying true to the Brand’s values, delivering speed and agility while saving fuel and reinforcing the Trident’s dedication to driving pleasure and luxury. The result is a hybrid SUV that retains the

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The Maserati SUV, which has already made an impact in the history of the Brand with its record-breaking figures, now presses ahead into a future in which all new Trident models will be electrified.

❞ Levante Hybrid even more agile and fun to drive.

Thanks to a maximum power output of 330 hp and torque of 450 Nm delivered from just 2,250 rpm, the performance data of the new Levante Hybrid, only available with all-wheel drive, is impressive: a top speed of over 240 km/h and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 6 seconds.

In terms of appearance, the Levante Hybrid launch version is characterised by a new metallic tri-coat colour called Azzurro Astro, available as part of the Brand’s customisation programme, Maserati Fuoriserie. distinctive roar of every Maserati. “Faster. Greener.

Unique”, Levante Hybrid is faster than a diesel, more sustainable than diesel or gasoline, and unique in its specific characteristics.

agility while saving fuel and reinforcing the Trident’s dedication to driving pleasure and luxury. The result is a hybrid SUV that retains the distinctive roar of every Maserati.

The Maserati SUV, which has already made an impact in the history of the Brand with its record-breaking figures, now presses ahead into a future in which all new Trident models will be electrified.

Levante Hybrid combines the 4 cylinder, 2 litre engine with a 48 volt Hybrid system to recover energy during deceleration and braking.

The hybrid car weighs less than the 6 cylinder engine equivalent (both diesel and gasoline), and above all has an even better weight distribution since the battery is placed in the rear without compromising the load capacity and optimally balancing the masses of the vehicle. All designed to make

Maserati is innovative by nature, and with Levante it pursues the philosophy behind its entry into the world of electrification: the aim of improving performance while staying true to the Brand’s values, delivering speed and

Other exterior and interior details contribute to this car’s

immediately recognisable design: some are in blue, the shade chosen to identify hybrid cars, already used by Maserati on Ghibli Hybrid.

On the exterior, blue characterises the three iconic side air ducts, the brake calipers and the C-pillar logo. The same blue shade reappears inside the car, specifically on the embroidered seams of the seats.

Levante Hybrid is connected, thanks to the new Maserati Connect program.

Having your Maserati connected at all times enables an eye to be kept on the car’s health, and Maserati Connect will alert the driver when a service is due, improving the customer care experience.

With a Smartphone or Smartwatch, drivers can stay in contact with their car via the Maserati Connect App; this is also possible from home via their virtual personal assistant (Amazon Alexa & Google Assist).

Special guests at the digital premiere of Levante Hybrid were David Beckham, the new Maserati Brand Global Ambassador, and Dardust, with an exclusive soundtrack.

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 11

FordPH’s incoming Managing Director is Michael Breen

Lotus’ new sports car, Type 131 is named Emira

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ord Motor Company has announced the appointment of Michael “Mike” Breen as managing director, Ford Philippines, effective June 1. Breen is currently managing director, Ford Asia Pacific Direct Markets (APDM).

Breen will relocate to Manila and will report directly to Yukontorn ‘Vickie’ Wisadkosin, president, Ford ASEAN. In his new role, Breen will be responsible for continuing to drive Ford’s momentum in the Philippines, including sustaining the success of its vehicle lineup and further enhancing the ownership and aftersales experience for Ford customers.

“Mike brings with him a wealth of experience gained from close to three decades of working in Ford markets all over the world. As APDM country lead complemented by his extensive expertise in dealer relations, marketing, and sales operations, I am confident that Mike’s leadership in the Philippines, together with our dealer partners, will help us improve customer experience to further grow the Ford brand in the market,” said Wisadkosin.

In his present role which he assumed in 2019, Breen leads a team that supports distributors across 25 countries working around various product requirements and customer engagement initiatives. Under his leadership as managing director, he supported distributors to grow Ford’s presence in selected markets by introducing new products which led to a 15 percent increase in volume and 5.6 points improvement in market share.

He joined Ford in 1993 as a customer service representative in Ford North America, climbing up the ranks while performing various marketing and sales roles.

As Brand Content and Alliance Manager, Breen led the launch and execution of a groundbreaking partnership with Home Shopping Network which helped increase leads and sales as well as improved overall perception of the Ford brand.

In 2016, he was appointed Truck and SUV Launch Manager in Ford Asia Pacific based in Shanghai, China where he facilitated the integration among teams in Marketing Communications, Media Communications, Truck, and various Asia Pacific markets to support the launch of the Ranger Raptor in 2018. In 2018, he moved to Bangkok, Thailand as Marketing Communications Launch Manager, Ford Asia Pacific Operations.

Breen earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Communications from Oakland University in 1991.

otus just confirmed the name of its eagerly anticipated all-new sports car will be EMIRA. The news was confirmed during the Driving Tomorrow global digital conference broadcast. To date it has been known only by its codename, the Lotus Type 131.

The name had been teased by Lotus in a film on social media in recent days. It was ‘hidden in plain sight’ as part of a pattern of dots and dashes designed into the central line on a road. Those with knowledge of Morse Code could have spotted that it spelled Emira.

Today, 27 April, is the anniversary of the birthday of Samuel Morse, inventor of Morse Code.

Pronounced ‘E-meer-a’, the word features in numerous ancient languages and often translates as ‘commander’ or ‘leader’. It’s highly appropriate as this is the exciting new sports car leading Lotus on a journey to a thrilling new future.

The Emira will be unveiled on Tuesday 6 July at Hethel, Norfolk – where the Emira will be built – and will make its public dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 8-11 July.

Lotus has also confirmed that, contrary to media speculation, the car will not be a hybrid. The Emira will be powered by a choice of internal combustion engines – the last time Lotus will launch an ICE car – with an exciting new powertrain partnership. The additional powertrain option will be new to Lotus, highly efficient, use cutting edge technology and be tuned to help deliver that distinctive Lotus experience.

With a distinctive new sports car design influenced by the Lotus Evija hypercar, Emira marks the acceleration of the brand’s product-led offensive into a new era of contemporary design, highly efficient powertrains, and everyday usability coupled with explosive performance.

Speaking about the Emira, Matt Windle said: ”It’s the most accomplished Lotus for generations – the perfectly packaged, powered and formed sports car.

Beautifully proportioned, shrink-wrapped, but with comfort, technology and ergonomics built in. With a design inspired by the Evija all-electric hypercar, it’s a game-changing Lotus sports car.”

More details on the Lotus Emira will follow in July when the car is revealed.

NISSANPH VALENZUELA SHOWROOM

MPTC TO VACCINATE EMPLOYEES

Nissan in the Philippines opens its latest dealership in Valenzuela City as it continues to strengthen its presence nationwide. The newly opened dealership is also the first in the country and the ASEAN region to be designed and built with Nissan’s new logo.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the tollways unit of the MVP Group of Companies, will provide free COVID-19 vaccines to 3,814 employees as part of its continued commitment to the health and safety of its people.

12 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

NEWS

The search begins for the Toyota GR GT Cup Philippines 2021 Champion T his year’s GR GT Cup Philippines 2021 e –Motorsport tournament organized

by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and hosted by Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) launches the first round of races on April 30, 2021, for the leaderboard qualifiers with over 200 players participating. This will be followed by the semi-final and heat race happening on May 1, 2021. Fans and enthusiasts can follow the progression over at the official social media pages of Toyota Motor Philippines.

Since launching its e-Motorsport program last year, TMP’s quest for the fastest driver in the Philippines found its way into the e-sports scene where more and more Filipino gamers and fans gather, paving way for the success of many virtual battleground champions.

This 2021, Toyota opens the tracks again to gather the gaming community into a heart-racing e-sports event.

Players can compete in any of the eligible classes. Starters with no professional e-Sports background and affinity can join the Promotional Class. While those who have competed professionally in and out of the country can join the Sporting Class. The young ones can also join the Junior Class for everyone ages 17 and below.

Members of media and some celebrities will be joining in the Celebrity/ Media class which will be announced soon. Truly, there’s one for everyone in this exciting event.

Participants will be going through several stages of qualifying rounds which awards them points.

The top 24 who will finish the leaderboard challenge will advance to the semifinal heat where they will receive points based on their finishing position.

The top 3 winners from the semi-finals will push to the weekend’s final heat.

Multipliers are set to make the competition even more interesting. Points are then multiplied up to 2 times as they progress towards the final round.

Racers are encouraged to join and re-qualify to earn more points and to get a chance to win their share of up to 1 million Pesos worth of prizes at

stake. Champions get to take home cash prizes plus exciting gadgets and gears – from gaming peripherals to coveted digital devices that are just worth every throttle and turn.

The over-all victor of the final heat from each class will be hailed as the fastest

in the Philippines and the ultimate champion of 2021 GR GT Cup. Taking all the pride and glory along with the exhilarating prizes.

Celebrating the idea of Waku Doki, or the thrill and excitement, the GR GT Cup carries on Toyota and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s

ARANETA CITY DRIVE & GO CURBSIDE PICKUP

DOTR, SM LAUNCH BIKE MANUAL

To provide safety and comfort to shoppers, the City of Firsts introduces the Drive & Go curbside pickup service. This new retail offering allows Araneta City customers to pick up their orders in curbside locations without having to leave their vehicles.

In line with the continuing promotion of active transport, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), in partnership with SM Supermalls, formally launched the DOTr-SM Bike Manual to be distributed nationwide to thousands of road users.

(TGR) passion for building cars and innovating in the game of auto racing.

Success after success in prestigious events such as world rallies and endurance races, TGR continues to develop ever-better cars.

Now with the GR GT Cup, players are given the chance to experience the fun and action of racing through the digital tracks using Toyota vehicles.

Check out the full competition mechanics and sign-up by visiting the official Toyota Motor Philippines GR Supra GT Cup website: https:// toyota.com.ph/gtcup.

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 13

Volkswagen ID.4 is World Car of the Year W

olfsburg / New York – The “World Car of the Year 2021” is a Volkswagen: The new fully electric ID.4 prevailed over the strong international competition at the international World Car Awards. The World Car Awards are presented by more than 90 international motor journalists from 24 countries, who vote on the best innovations on the world market.

We are particularly pleased about our ID.4 being named World Car of the Year”, says Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of Volkswagen passenger cars. “Not only because it is one of the most important car awards in the world – but because the jury also honored a great idea and a great team. The first ID. Model for the key markets of Europe, China and the

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U.S. carries our electric offensive around the world. A convincing car, a great idea – and the World Car of the Year award?

That goes well together for us!”

Vehicles that are eligible for the World Car of the Year award must be manufactured in at least 10,000 units per year and be offered on at least two continents.

“The World Car of the Year award marks a great success for our entire ID. Team,” says Thomas Ulbrich, Board Member for Development at the Volkswagen brand.

“We have succeeded in developing a car that starts the system change to e-mobility in the world’s most important segment of compact SUVs and offers excellent everyday usability. With it, the ID.32 and the upcoming ID.

models, we are making innovative electric mobility in the volume market something that can be experienced by everyone.”

The jury praised the environmentally friendliness of no direct emissions as well as the innovative features of the ID.4. For instance, the innovative augmented reality head-up display is optionally available. It can project important information onto the windscreen such as turn arrows of the navigation system. The driver sees this information as a three-dimensional, staggered image at an apparent distance of three to ten metres in front of the vehicle. This means that the display is perfectly integrated into the real outside world.

When Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) or Travel

Assist (optional) is active, the vehicle in front of the ID.4 is highlighted with a luminous marking in the head-up display from a certain speed to be able to keep the required distance.

The ID.4 also sets standards in digitization.

In this way, the car can receive regular updates and new functions “over the air”. Volkswagen is the first provider in the volume segment to offer this from the summer.

The vehicle is always up to date. This ability is also an important requirement for enabling new business models.

With this at the 17th edition of the World Car of the Year award, the ID.4 continues the success story of Volkswagen at this contest. It is not only well received by the trade press, but

also by customers.

Volkswagen plans to deliver around 150,000 ID.4s worldwide this year.

The e-offensive is a core element of Volkswagen’s ACCELERATE strategy.

The company plans to bring at least one new allelectric model to market every year.

Because of the COVID 19 pandemic, the award ceremony of the World Car Awards took place digitally this year. It can be viewed again on YouTube. com/worldcartv.

All Volkswagen winners at the World Car Awards: 2009: Golf (World Car of the Year) 2010: Polo (World Car of the Year) 2011: up! (World Car of the Year) 2013: Golf (World Car of the Year) 2021: ID.4 (World Car of the Year)

NEWS

With your help, this MG Cyberster concept can become reality

T

he MG Cyberster is MG’s latest EV concept which boasts a whopping 800km range, equipped with L3 autonomous driving technology, can go from 0-100 kp/h in less than three seconds— makes its debut in the metal at the ongoing 2021 Shanghai Motor Show. This futuristic roadster takes design cues from the classic MGB of yesteryear, while clearly demonstrating MG’s future-forward line of thinking.

But aside from launching the Cyberster, MG also revealed its latest campaign which calls for the direct participation of MG fans to make the

Cyberster concept a reality. Dubbed the MG CyberCUBE, this cocreation platform puts people in the driver’s seat in bringing the Cyberster to life.

The MG CyberCUBE is a bold and interactive business model that’s designed to operate via active crowd-funding.

This mass crowd-funding program will determine whether or not the MG Cyberster will be mass-produced. MG has determined that should it be able to generate 5000 crowd-funding shares, with each share amounting to RMB 1,000 (roughly Php 7,500 per share), the concept is considered a success and ready for mass

production.

Should the MG Cyberster become a regular offering in the global MG roster of vehicles, it will mark a particularly significant milestone in MG history: a cuttingedge EV sportscar with

autonomous driving technology, birthed from a British brand that’s steeped in almost a century of heritage. And, of course, the return of an MG roadster to the brand’s illustrious product lineup.

The MG Cyberster

wants to be a reality, and its future is in the people’s hands.

The 2021 Shanghai Motor Show runs from April 21-28. Follow MG Philippines on social media (FB: OfficialMGPhilippines; IG: mg_philippines) to see more highlights of the ongoing MG booth display.

For your online MG virtual showroom experience, please log on to BuyAnMG.com—MG Philippines’ online selling platform where you can browse through your favorite, locally available MG models, reserve your selection, and purchase it right from the convenience of your smart devices.

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 15

SMC plans for Bus Rapid Transit system on Skyway

W

ith the elevated Skyway Stage 3 operational, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is looking to run the country’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on the elevated expressway, to drastically improve commuting for Filipinos, and support sustainable transportation.

The BRT system, already used in many countries, will utilize the Skyway for buses that will function like trains— ferrying large numbers of passengers at a time and stopping only at designated stations at set intervals. The system may also resemble a highcapacity point-to-point (P2P) bus system.

“As early as 2017, we had already been considering the bus rapid transit system on the Skyway as a means to

16 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

further decongest traffic in Metro Manila and transform the commuting experience of many Filipinos. In fact, we already announced plans for this back then,” said SMC president Ramon S. Ang. With Skyway 3 now in place, SMC is looking to make the elevated BRT system a reality, with the goal of implementing the system from Susanna Heights in Muntinlupa to Balintawak, towards the North Luzon Expressway.

Ang said that Skyway 3 and all its expressway projects are designed primarily to divert and take away a significant number of vehicles from major roads such as EDSA and C-5, and even the at-grade section of the Skyway, which has been designated for use by buses. But the BRT or high-capacity P2P system was always part of

the vision for Skyway 3.

“Lessening the vehicles competing for road space is how elevated expressways ease traffic—as we have seen now on Edsa. This also means improving the daily commutes of Filipinos taking public transportation that use these roads,” Ang explained.

“However, our need for efficient transport systems will always be there, so more solutions are required. The Skyway BRT system is one viable solution that is also highly scalable,” he added.

Ang said the company is currently doing studies and formulating a plan, which it will present to the Department of Transportation once ready.

“We’re very excited to start discussions on this. The most important

thing is that the platform is already here—the completed elevated Skyway system—and this BRT or high-capacity P2P system will make commutes faster and better for many Filipinos,” Ang said.

Ang added that as the buses will run on a controlled expressway, they cannot deviate from their course or stop anywhere. Reliability and predictability of transportation will be higher for commuters.

“While we are looking to implement this on the Skyway system from Susanna Heights to Balintawak, in the future, we can also implement this for our other new projects, in order to expand the area of coverage. Our expressways are really designed not just for motorists, but also to

serve as a platform for efficient and sustainable mass transportation,” he emphasized.

Ang said that many motorists would even choose an efficient public transport system over driving their own vehicles, provided it was fast, easy to use, safe, affordable, and most of all, comfortable. This could yield significant benefits even for the environment, as hours-long traffic jams will become a thing of the past, he added.

“We believe our elevated expressways are critical to solving Metro Manila congestion, which we can only expect to worsen in the coming years as our population and our economy grows. We can’t afford not take action now, and we can’t make do with temporary or inadequate fixes anymore.”

NEWS

Honda rolls out great deals under Summer Holiday Service Offers

H

onda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) announce their “Summer Holiday Service Offers” promo, which features different discounts and deals offered until May 31, 2021 at select Honda Cars dealerships and service centers nationwide.

Customers may enjoy a 20% discount on select genuine parts, lubricants, fluids, and accessories such as PM 2.5 cabin filter, regular cabin filter, spark plug, battery, brake pad, brake shoe, mineral oil (10W30), super long life coolant, automatic transmission fluid, manual transmission fluid, power steering fluid, HCF-2 CVTF fluid, brake fluid, and our existing additives such as engine cleaner and engine oil treatment.

Moreover, in order to provide clean air within the cabin ensuring a safe drive during the new normal, a 20% discount is given on Honda-approved air purifier.

Additionally, customers may enjoy buy one (1) take one (1) promo in select original equipped (OE) City (2013-2020) and BR-V (2017-2021) tires. A 50% off discount is available on every purchase of two (2) City and BR-V tires, inclusive of seven (7) year manufacturer warranty from date of production.

On top of all these offers, different Honda services such as the Free 30-Point Checkup, BLITZ 1-Hour Preventive Maintenance Service, and Mineral Oil (10W30)-Based Change

Oil Package with a discounted price of PHP 1,700 from the original suggested retail price of PHP 1,915 (for out-ofwarranty vehicles only).

To know more about the Summer Holiday Service Offers, and the latest HCPI news and promos, visit the nearest participating Honda Cars

dealership, or access Honda Cars Philippines, Inc.’s VIRTUAL SHOWROOM through HCPI’s official website at www.hondaphil.com.

GeelyPH’s Coolray Tops Q1 sales – 5-seat Subcompact Crossover Segment

S

ojitz G Auto Philippines (SGAP), the official local distributor of Geely vehicles in the country, announced that Coolray has once again ranked number 1 in the 5-seater subcompact crossover segment consistently from January to March with 744 units sold in Q1.

Geely has also maintained its top 10 ranking, keeping number 9 position in total industry sales with a total of 1,313 units sold during the 1st quarter of the year. This is a 345% increase from the 295 units sold in the same period of 2020. Of the 1,313 units sold in Q1, 57% of Geely’s sales came from its best-selling model Coolray. Meantime, 40% came from Okavango with

521 units.

Geely has also recorded its highest monthly sales this March as it registered 533 units sold, surpassing its highest monthly sales record of 520 units last December 2020.

“The numbers speak for themselves. We are happy that we continue to maintain and even surpass our own highest record.

This is reflective of our collective effort to rise above pandemic challenges,” SGAP President & CEO Mikihisa Takayama said.

As Geely is targeting to sell around 9,500 units this year, this objective has become more and more challenging

given the current situation of the rising Covid cases and enforcement of stricter quarantine measures especially for the National Capital Region which

affected the overall business environment, particularly consumer confidence. “We are still hoping that the situation gets better in the coming

months for us to realize this business volume target,” SGAP Sales and Marketing General Manager, Froilan Dytianquin said.

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 17

Check out MG’s Futuristic booth at the ongoing 2021 Shanghai Motor Show “Technological and Trendy” is the theme for the MG booth at the ongoing 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, and a quick look at the youthful display shows us why.

ELECTRIFYING THE FUTURE MG’s effort to highlight its move towards electrification is on full display at the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show, and some of the brand’s latest EV (electric vehicle) and PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) offerings were put front and center for all to appreciate. These include the popular MG Cyberster EV concept, which looks like a futuristic MGB roadster and boasts of an 800km range, 18 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

and acceleration from 0-100kph in less than 3 seconds; the handsome MG Linghang PHEV SUV, which succeeds a recently launched petrol variant; and the sporty, new MG 6 PHEV which continues the vehicle line’s racing-inspired driving dynamics with an updated powertrain.

MG’S RACING HERITAGE, TODAY The MG brand is steeped in motorsport history— from breaking land speed records, winning the brutal Isle of Man Tourer’s Trophy, and in more recent history gaining triumph at the British Touring Car Championship. Even locally, the MG 5 came out on top of its class at

the most recent Bonifacio 8-Hour Endurance Challenge held at the Clark International Speedway.

In 2020 the XPOWERtuned MG 6, which is now on display at the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show, bagged a double crown for team and model championships at the China Touring Car Championship. Fans at the show can also do their own customization of the XPOWER MG 6 at the MG XPOWER online store, and see how their design fares on a virtual race track.

MG: ALWAYS YOUNG MG has existed for almost a century, though make no mistake: MG isn’t an old, dusty brand that’s out

NEWS

MG Linghang PHEV SUV MG Cyberster EV Concept Car

MG 6 PHEV

of touch with the modern times. And it shows at the MG booth at the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show, with youthful graffiti-like displays, vibrant colors, and a vehicle lineup that’s made for the consumers of tomorrow.

The MG 5 display, in particular, is set up in what is being dubbed a “selfie space” that’s worth a post in even the most curated of social media accounts. And to complete the brand journey, “time glasses” are made available to visitors of the booth, allowing them to witness the MG story from past to present.

MG 6 XPOWER

MG is primed to focus on three major brand pillars: globalization,

digitalization, and rejuvenation; all of which work harmoniously to produce cutting edge products and services that will be enjoyed for future generations. It is clear that MG does not compromise on being inclusive to younger audiences as it forges

on with engaging efforts such as customized sports tuning, being a fashionable and trendy brand, and producing intelligent vehicle technologies. This British heritage brand is here to stay, and the future indeed looks bright for MG.

New MG 5

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 19

F I R ST D R I V E S N E W C A R S T E ST E D A N D R AT E D

TESTED 22.9.20, L AUSITZRING, GERMANY ON SALE AUTUMN PRICE £335,000

MERCEDES-AMG GT BLACK SERIES Track-focused flagship is the most powerful series-production car AMG has built, but a 720bhp V8 is just the start of its appeal 20 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

N

ow here’s a thing. In a world where new engines are rare: a new engine. Sort of. MercedesAMG’s famous cross-planecrank 4.0 V8 burbler has turned into a flat-plane-cranked V8 for the new GT Black Series. It’s one of quite the raft of measures – others include some extraordinary aerodynamics – that turn AMG’s bespoke two-seat GT coupé into one of the most intoxicating track supercars of recent times.

Black Series models occasionally grace the top of an AMG model line.

This is only the sixth so far: we had the SLK, which was pants, the CLK,

which wasn’t, the SL, which was weird but cool, the C63, which was mega, and, lastly, seven years ago, the also ace SLS. And now this, the GT, so far altered that if I hadn’t been aware it was an AMG GT, from its handling alone I wouldn’t have guessed it.

So to the changes. Carbonfibre elements various make the Black Series 35kg lighter than an AMG GT R. The same aerodynamicist who developed the GT3 race car variant worked the wind-related bits (see p21). A Track Package, with titanium roll-cage and fourpoint harnesses, is standard (and

a no-cost delete option). There are 10-spoke forged wheels, 19in front, 20in rear, and carbon-ceramic brakes. The car costs £335,000.

Then there’s the engine. What was a rumbly old cross-plane V8, deliriously engaging, has become a flat-plane V8, which means two cylinders fire at the same time.

AMG has also changed, among other things, the crankshaft, camshafts and exhaust manifolds, which I suppose is obvious really.

Bigger turbos with new bearings, higher boost pressure, a tweaked compression ratio and larger intercoolers also feature. à

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 21

Flat-plane engines – like Ferrari and McLaren V8s – tend to rev higher than cross-plane versions. The crank tends to be lighter, although it changes the vibrations, and they can sound like a four-cylinder. Here, the rev limiter is up by just 200rpm to 7200rpm, although peak power comes in 500rpm higher.

Some power, too. At 720bhp, it’s AMG’s most powerful seriesproduction car, and there’s 590lb ft alongside it. Which in a way makes it not dissimilar – power output, engine size, crank style, turbos – to the Ferrari F8 Tributo and McLaren 720S, but this in no way feels like it’s trying to copy those cars. The engine is in front, after all, even if they do say that it’s front/mid-engined.

The motor is a long way back under that vast, near two-metre bonnet, whose frontal underside is largely given over to cooling. That’s one of the reasons the floor isn’t completely enclosed, too. If your engine is behind the cabin, it is harder to get air in but is at least easier to get it out again.

Here, the engine sits very low at the front and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox sits at the rear.

The driver and (if you can persuade someone) a passenger sit between the car’s biggest masses.

The interior is pretty racy. Those seats are brilliantly supportive and unforgiving and, oh, did you do up the harnesses before shutting the door? Once you’re in, the diddy gearlever, plus some drive mode

options, are an elbow contortion behind you on the centre console, but there are shortcuts for some on the Dinamica-covered (it’s like but isn’t Alcantara) steering wheel.

The Lausitzring is quite bumpy, so I’m told the dampers might be better in Sport than Race mode. There are new coilovers but adaptive damping remains. I’m also told it’s bearable on the road but you wouldn’t want to daily it. We’ll have to find out another time, but my suspicion is that if your journey doesn’t involve a section of race track, you’ve probably got a more suitable car than this.

On a circuit, though, it’s terrific.

Black Series cars are always quite

TESTER’S NOTE One harness strap makes use of the standard seatbelt buckle – a clever idea that means you can still have an inertia reel for road use, and it doesn’t bong incessantly if you use the harness instead. MP

Black Series is so much more engaging to drive fast on a track than its GT R sibling 22 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

loud. Like entering the engine room of a ship or a busy workshop, there’s always something cacophonic, and if it’s not pick-up on the tyres or road noise, it’s the engine. It’s usually the engine. The new V8 has a gravelly, endearing note – nothing like a normal AMG V8 but not, either, as sonorous as a Ferrari or as flat as a McLaren. I suppose you might want something that sounds a bit less like a slightly tuned Mk2 Ford Escort for your £335,000, but I quite like it.

What I like more is the way it drives. Give me a front-engined, rear-driven car with a tidy weight distribution and great dynamism and I’ll be happy for days, and this is

FIRST DRIVES

❝

What’s rewarding is how communicative the Black Series is

❞

HOW BLACK SERIES BLOWS HOT AND COLD This car is an aerodynamics workshop. The GT3 racing AMG GT has one scoop in its bonnet to let hot air out; this car has two.

The hot air is diverted from these around the A-pillars and down the car’s flanks. Dense cool air flows over the bonnet and meets the double-level rear wing, which pushes its downforce onto struts mounted beneath the bootlid – so the lid itself doesn’t bear the brunt of 300kg of downforce.

At the front is a splitter you have to lie on the floor and pull forwards by hand to extend (it’s not legal for road use). All part of involving you in the process. Beneath that is a diffuser that is sucked downwards by negative air pressure as speeds rise. It gets so close to the ground that it’s fitted with a metal strip that should spark while braking from speed on bumpy tracks.

It goes hard and loud, brakes well and with feel and displays delightful balance in corners precisely that kind of car. It’s like it has an Aston Martin V12 Vantage S’s balance but with Porsche 911 GT2 RS aggression and character. And that is just fantastic.

It doesn’t matter too much what you do with the dampers: the ride clouts and rattles over kerbs but otherwise seems pleasingly settled, not too harsh, and there’s a little lean and body movement in corners.

Nothing awry, but more than I think you’d find on a 911 GT3 RS. The quoted weight is 1520kg (DIN), 35kg lighter than a GT R, but we put a GT R on the scales at 1665kg fully fuelled.

Call it around 1600kg with some fuel and it’s not outlandish for a car of this

size, speed and layout, and that takes so much cooling.

So it’s allowed to move around a little on its springs and the way it does so is terrific. It has absurd amounts of forward shove and brakes that have bags of feel and show no sign of fade. It pays to stay on them as you turn in. The engine, far back though it might be, is still ahead of you, and I suspect it’d push on a little if you didn’t manage the entry speed and corner weights. Certainly in higher-speed corners where no braking is involved, there’s steadystate stabilising understeer.

At speeds low or high, though, you’ve got the option of 720bhp an

ankle flex away. The GT’s inner Mk2 Escort growls up and straightens the car’s line. With stability control full on, or even part on, it limits power before the car’s totally straightened.

With it off, there’s a 10-stage traction control system and the car rotates mid-corner more willingly.

What’s particularly rewarding, though, and I don’t remember it from the GT R, is how communicative the Black Series is. The steering is light but weight and feel build naturally and intuitively, not to GT3 RS levels but certainly to talkative ones.

I remember driving the GT R at MIRA and being fairly uninvolved but getting out and being blown away

by the lap time. Here, you can drive the crackers off the Black Series, feel involved and bonded into the process and, at the end of it, it’s likely to have lapped about five seconds slower than a full-fat GT3 race car.

What a thrill. I think the Black Series is as intoxicating and rewarding as a GT-series Porsche or a BMW M4 GTS – a car that I like a great deal but some of my colleagues think is terrible. Maybe they’ll say I’m wrong to like this, too, but I don’t think so. Experience suggests AMG doesn’t always nail its Black Series cars. I think this one is spot on.

MATT PRIOR

@matty_prior

MERCEDES-AMG GT BLACK SERIES Black Series track special is a glorious pinnacle of the MercedesAMG GT range

AAAAB Price Engine

Twin-turbo 4.0 V8 now has a flat-plane crank and 720bhp at nearly 7000rpm

£335,000 V8, 3982cc, twinturbocharged, petrol Power 720bhp at 6700-6900rpm Torque 590lb ft at 2000-6000rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic Kerb weight 1520kg 0-62mph 3.2sec Top speed 202mph Economy 22.1mpg CO2, tax band 292g/km, 37% RIVALS Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, McLaren 765LT

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 23

TESTER’S NOTE I don’t tend to like too much configurability in a driving experience, but the GTI’s new DCC slider gives you really fine control over damping adjustment. Shame it’s buried in the back end of the Individual drive mode; I’d like a fixed control for it. MS

TESTED 25.9.20, SURREY ON SALE NOW

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI Eighth-generation take on Volkswagen’s hot hatchback icon arrives in the UK

W

olfsburg has wasted little time introducing the eighth-generation Golf GTI into the wider Mk8 Golf family, which speaks volumes about how significantly the model now underpins the profitability of the Golf’s business case. Relatively restrained and judicious tuning has, as its four decades on sale have rolled on, given the GTI a broaderbased appeal than so many of its hot hatchback rivals.

But does it still? While Volkswagen assures us that everyday, real-world driver appeal, along with that just-so blend of desirability and bangfor-your-buck value, remains the heart and soul of the GTI’s mission statement, it has certainly taken a risk with its golden goose this time around. So while the mechanical make-up of this car looks familiar, very little of it has escaped overhaul.

The car’s engine may have the same headline outputs as the old GTI Performance, but it has a new, higher-pressure fuel injection system and revised combustion

24 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

and emission controls. There may be the same choice of six-speed manual and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearboxes, but the latter is new to the GTI, offering shift-bywire technology for the first time.

The XDS+ electronically controlled

locking front differential you used to get as part of an option pack is now GTI standard, and it has been tuned to work even harder to augment the car’s handling.

You can now go as big as 19in alloy wheels on the GTI if you want

Chassis revisions have made the GTI more agile and playful than before

to. This car rides 15mm lower than a regular Golf but, compared with the outgoing GTI, it has spring rates firmed up by 5% at the front axle and some 15% at the rear. Reworked rearaxle kinematics and mountings have been adopted to create better lateral wheel control and chassis response, while the car’s ‘progressive’ risingrate steering has been quickened by between 5% and 7%.

All this has been done, says VW, with a focus on creating keener handling response across the speed range, but specifically on better rotating the car’s chassis in tighter corners and in doing so producing a more poised, agile and – whisper it – slightly playful feel.

It’s left quite a striking impression.

The GTI is now more vigorous and potent-feeling than before, with a greater appetite for mauling Tarmac and changing direction. But the trouble is, well, that doesn’t sound very GTI, does it? This car’s dynamic stature has not, thus far at least, been measured by how quickly or neatly it negotiates an 18-metre slalom test.

FIRST DRIVES

The engine is strong – you get 242bhp and 273lb ft – but it lacks the audible character of some rivals

GTI touches adorn the cabin; seats are comfortable and nicely bolstered What has made the very best modern fast Golfs stand out for as long as I’ve been reviewing them is that they dare to be pragmatic performance road cars. They are born out of a way of thinking that values the capacity to take apart a wet and uneven B-road as highly as shaving a few seconds off a handling track lap time – if not higher still.

The car’s GTI-ness remains recognisable from the driver’s seat.

It is now one with an integrated headrest design but is still very comfortable, with good-sized bolsters to lean on. The plaid cloth upholstery is present and correct, and the controls are well located ahead, the slightly overly bulky gearlever and overly chubby steering wheel rim being only minor bugbears.

The revised EA888 2.0-litre turbo engine still seems a little cultured by today’s class standards. It doesn’t pop or bang on the overrun and is generally well able to fade down to a restrained background hum when you want it to. It’s torquey, though, with a pretty fierce, thrusty kind of responsiveness from about 2500rpm, although it doesn’t offer much beyond 5000rpm.

But the GTI certainly feels pretty potent and on song if you keep the tacho needle between those two crank speeds, and it gets up the road more than urgently enough to hold your attention. The new and slightly insistent firmness of the car’s ride, and damping that at times can feel just a little bit gristly and uncompromising, will keep you

❝ It’s torquey, with a fierce, thrusty kind of responsiveness from about 2500rpm

❞

concentrating, too. There’s no need to exaggerate this; on most UK roads, the new GTI rides well enough – but there’s a lateral firmness to its set-up that makes it liable to some head-toss, and a grabbiness to the damping over bigger vertical inputs that can be tricky to iron out even with the car’s new 15-position ‘DCC slider’ adjuster driven all the way down.

What that means is that when you go looking for a road on which to throw at the car bumps, crags, gradients, camber, slipperiness, coarseness and corners of different kinds in testing combinations – to find out just how much punishment it can filter out and soak up, but still hunker down and crack on in that typically composed, fast Golf way – you might not quite recognise the car you find. Instead, the one you gradually unearth – compelling, fast, level and keen though it undoubtedly is – seemed to this tester to be much more akin to a generic modern hot hatchback than a 44-year-old performance icon that has earned the right to go its own way.

MATT SAUNDERS

@thedarkstormy1

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI Firm and feisty GTI does plenty to excite. Refined and restrained but maybe not the most mature hot hatch

AAAAC Price Engine

£33,460 4 cyls, 1984cc, turbocharged, petrol Power 242bhp at 5000-6500rpm Torque 273lb ft at 1600-4300rpm Gearbox 6-spd manual Kerb weight 1448kg 0-62mph 6.3sec Top speed 155mph (governed) Economy 36.7-38.2mpg CO2, tax band 169-174g/km, 37% RIVALS Ford Focus ST, Hyundai i30 N

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 25

HONDAPH LAUNCHES THEIR ALL-NEW CITY HATCHBACK

THEIR NEW 26 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

HOT HATCH PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEITH MARK DADOR

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 27

❝ The All-New City Hatchback’s active and energetic character is based on the “Energetic hatchback” concept and even if it shares the same premium comfort and quality with the City sedan, the hatchback aims to be sporty and cool, more suited for the active lifestyle.

❞

28 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

HONDA CITY HATCHBACK

A

s dictated by the “New Normal”, on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), launched their All-New Honda City Hatchback on their facebook page. Just a few weeks prior, they announced the discontinuation of the Honda Jazz.

Will this be a worthy replacement of the much loved Jazz?

The All-New City Hatchback’s active and energetic character is based on the “Energetic hatchback” concept and even

if it shares the same premium comfort and quality with the City sedan, the hatchback aims to be sporty and cool, more suited for the active lifestyle.

Running Lights, resembling a solid wing face. There’s the High Gloss Black treatment to the power folding mirrors.

Tires are 185/55’s on 16” TwoTone Berlina Black Aluminum EXTERIOR Alloy Wheels. Around the rear, there’s the RS Design Rear Only the sole RS variant is offered at launch, you can expect Bumper with a diffuser, and a similarities shared with the City tailgate spoiler in High Gloss RS sedan. Prominent up front Black. The City hatch shares is the RS Design Front Bumper the same 2600mm wheelbase and RS Design High Gloss Black as the City sedan, but it is front grille with RS Emblem and 21mm taller and 204mm flanking this, are the full LED shorter due to the fact it is a headlights and LED Daytime hatchback.

A glossed out black dash trimmed in metallic accents deliver a premium sporty look

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 29

Instrument Cluster

30 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

Auto Air Conditioning System

Sport Pedals

Steering Wheel Controls

HONDA CITY HATCHBACK

Leather and Suede Seats

INTERIOR With the Smart Entry Keyless Entry System and the One Push Start System, getting in and starting the City Hatchback is easy. You can also start the car from outside with the Remote Engine Start.

You will notice it’s almost as spacious as the Sedan, and appointed with high quality materials. The Multiinformation Display with red illumination and sports pedals keep with the “sporty” character, but also adding to its premium feel are the combination suede and leather seats, black interior trim with red stitching and accents, leather wrapped shift knob and 3-spoke steering wheel with audio and hands free telephone controls.

Display Audio system with 8-speakers and Apple CarPlay, Android Auto & WebLink connectivity The All-New City Hatchback has Honda’s signature Ultra Seats (ULTR) which allows you to configure the interior to different passenger and cargo needs. Utility Mode – rear seats fold flat expanding the rear cargo area to be able to accommodate larger cargo, Long Mode – fully reclining the front passenger seat and

There are comfort features like the front and rear center armrests, a new Air Conditioning System with Rotary Knobs, Digital Display and Illumination. There’s the 8” Advanced Touchscreen

On Push Start System

Rear Aircon Vents

folding flat the rear seat behind it allows you to fit long cargo items, Tall Mode – the rear seats fold upward, opening up more space on the floor and allowing taller items that need to remain upright to be transported, and Refresh Mode – moving both front seats fully forward, removing the headrests and tilting them all the way back level with the rear seats makes for a comfortable area for two occupants to relax comfortably.

8-inch Touchscreen Display Audio

Rear Power Outlets

Remote Engine Start

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 31

4 Cylinder DOHC i-VTEC

POWERPLANT The City Hatchback is powered by a 1.5-Liter 4 Cylinder DOHC i-VTEC gasoline engine which puts out 121ps at 6,600 rpm with 145 Nm of torque at 4,300 rpm, mated to a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).

Paddle shifters are standard in the RS, plus, you’ll also get Honda’s Eco Assist System, which consists of the ECON mode and Eco-Coaching Ambient Light.

SAFETY The All-New City Hatchback has Honda’s G-Force Control (G-CON) body structure protecting the cabin from impacts coming from any

direction. It’s equipped with 6 airbags – dual front airbags, driver and front passenger side airbags and side curtain airbags. It’s also equipped with Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with Agile Handling Assist (AHA), Emergency Stop Signal

(ESS), Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Hill Start Assist (HSA) and the Multi-view Rear Camera with dynamic guidelines. It’s got a 5-star rating in the ASEAN NCAP safety rating.

Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)

Fold Down Armrest with Twin Cupholders

Integrated Turn Signals

Tailgate Spoiler with High Gloss Black Side Spoiler Paint & High Gloss Black Shark Fin Antenna

32 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

Honey Comb Airdam with Carbon Fiber Finish

RS Design Front Bumper & High Gloss Black Front Grille with RS Badge

HONDA CITY HATCHBACK

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 33

34 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

HONDA CITY HATCHBACK

PRICING AND COLORS AVAILABLE The All-New City Hatchback is priced at Php 1,115,000 and comes in four (4) colors: Ignite Red Metallic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic (New Color), Platinum White Pearl (Additional Php 20,000) and Brilliant Sporty Blue Metallic.

As expected, Honda’s pricing is on the higher end of the subcompact spectrum, but not too far from its competitors.

You get quite a lot of car for what you’re paying for, and if longevity or lifespan of past Honda models are anything to go on, you can expect this hatchback to serve you for many years and may even end up handing this down to your younger siblings or children. And as with previous Honda’s, expect it to hold good value over time, it is after all a Honda and looks to be a worthy successor to the Jazz.

HONDA CITY HATCHBACK Price Colors

Vehicle Type Engine Power Torque Transmission Front Suspension Rear Suspension Front Brakes Rear Brakes Steering Length Width Height Wheelbase Curb Weight Cargo Capacity

PHP 1,115,000 Ignite Red Mettalic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic, Platinum White Pearl, Brilliant Sporty Blue Metallic Subcompact hatchback 1.5L In-line 4 Cylinder DOHC i-VTEC 121 ps @ 6,600 rpm 145 Nm @ 4,300 rpm Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) with Paddle Shifters Independent MacPherson Strut Torsion Beam

Ventilated Disk Drum Type Electronic Power Steering 4,349 mm 1,748 mm 1,488 mm 2,600 mm 1,141 kg 289L (Rear Seat Up) 841L (Rear Seat Folded) Turning radius 5.0 m at wheel center Fuel Tank capacity 40 liters Website www.hondaphil.com/model/city-hatchback

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 35

ROAD TRIP

Kia Stonic experiential drive: An environment totally alien W

hen the pandemic blew up in the first quarter of last year, one of the many things that I missed was going for media drive events. Good thing, Kia Philippines organized an experiential drive for the Kia Stonic compact crossover before the recent balloon of Covid-19 cases. Unlike the usual drive events, and for the safety of everyone, the drive only had three participants per batch instead of the usual 30 pax at least per event. For this event, Kia lent out one unit for each participant. The

36 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

test unit was given days before the event itself.

Totally different from what I was used to.

THE WHEELS This would be my first time to try the latest Kia compact crossover. The Stonic would also be my first Kia to try out since the Sportage. Yes, it was that long since I have driven a Kia. Seeing the Stonic in actual for the first time, I must say that I was impressed. Its exterior design absolutely has a character. It seemed that it has fun and excitement written all over it. Thinking

about the other color options aside from the Clear White unit that I had, the model is vibrant. Just have a look on the Stonic’s Flash Yellow flagship color.

The 185mm ground clearance was a favorite feature of it as it greatly highlights the crossover stance of the Stonic along with the roof rails.

Stepping inside the Stonic, I was a bit surprise with its ergonomics and design.

The steering wheel got audio controls while its infotainment system has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. For its price, the interior is actually impressive. This is a sub1-million-peso car, by the way.

long drive situation. From BGC, the group made our way to CAVITEX. This gave me the highway driving feel of the Stonic. It is quite far from the SUV feel on a highway but it is definitely comfortable nonetheless.

This is when I also missed having a companion in this kind of trips. We usually chat about random stuff during the highway part of the drive.

The group then went through the towns of Cavite and soon after we were driving on the mountain roads. This is when I got to test how nimble the Stonic was.

It handles well like a hatchback. The steering response was instant

probably because of its wheelbase length. Tackling the twisties was absolutely easy. The Electronic Stability Control also added confidence during the spirited drive.

Steep inclined corners were not a problem for it too. The 1.4-liter Kappa Dual-CVVT engine might seem underwhelming but it actually gets the job done. I tried hauling up passengers on a different day with it and it was fine.

It gets up to speed as needed.

As a father of a yuppie, I could see this as a perfect ride for them. It is bigger than a sedan yet handles like a hatchback with better storage space. It

got all the necessities one needs in a vehicle for daily commutes with a little bit more to offer. It offers great value as well. The top variant retails for less than a million. Its price alone is worthy to be considered.

The build quality is evident and the value it offers surprised me. For PHP 925,000 you can

have a decently ride that can handle your busy daily schedule and have fun on the weekends.

It might take some time to get used to having these kinds of events, but seeing more cars like the Stonic (which are kind of new for Titos like me) excites me!

Hoping that the market will have more like this.

THE EXPERIENCE The event day came and it started with an Antigen Covid-19 test at our meeting place at the Bonifacio Global City. After a quick breakfast and a bit of catch up with colleagues in the motoring beat whom I got to be with after almost a year, we were on the road to Tagaytay.

We took the long route via Cavite to perfectly experience the Stonic in a MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 37

RETURN TO THE JABBEKE HIGHWAY In the lead-up to the E-Type’s 60th anniversary, Matt Prior takes a new F-Type to the Belgian motorway on which Jaguar made its name as a sports car maker to consider its past and future PHOTOGRAPHY OLGUN KORDAL

38 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

F-TYPE THROUGH BELGIUM DRIVE

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 39

hat is it and where is it going? Those are easy questions to answer in this particular case.

It’s a Jaguar F-Type coupé with a stonking great V8 and I’m driving it to the Jabbeke highway, a stretch of motorway in western Belgium with which Jaguar – and this magazine – has some history.

But for Jaguar generally, maybe ‘where is it going?’ is harder to answer, particularly for the F-Type.

There’s the Jaguar range as it exists now, and we know there’s a new XJ due, all-electric, expensive, luxurious and stylish. But beyond that, what will be for Jaguar or its sports car?

Who knows? Not me. Not you?

Does Jaguar? Once, it had a very clear direction. In 1961, at the Geneva motor show, it revealed the E-Type and, well, I wasn’t there, but I hear it went down quite well. And in the same month, testers from The Autocar came here to Flanders, where a straight stretch of dual carriageway between the town of Jabbeke and the coastal city of Ostend was flat and had routinely shown itself to be quiet enough for obtaining high-speed road test figures.

In its Autocar road test, published on 24 March, just a week after the car was unveiled to the public in Geneva, the E-Type hit 150mph in our hands – and with a slightly hooky engine – on this very road. The car from the show, a coupé with the registration 9600HP, was the car we had tested.

Another variant, a green roadster, registration 77RW (the road test car for The Motor and still owned by

W

Despite its associations, Jabbeke is a typical sleepy Flemish town

40 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

Jaguar today), was driven down to Switzerland overnight during the show itself by Jaguar test engineer and racer Norman Dewis when rampant demand for test drives looked like overwhelming Jaguar’s capacity to handle them.

Excluding the Channel crossing but including a drive through central London and before motorway networks were as widespread as today, Dewis still managed to average 68mph between Jaguar’s base in Coventry and the show.

He was also no stranger to Jabbeke. Today, the town has a plaque dedicated to him and Jaguar’s highspeed testing exploits on the highway (see box on p41) in the early 1950s.

So, on the approach to the E-Type’s 60th anniversary, it seems like as good a place as any to come to assess Jaguar’s position today as… what, a sports car maker? Maybe. The

❝ Just a week after the E-Type was unveiled, it hit 150mph in our hands ❞

F-Type is, as its name would suggest, the true sports car follow-up to that original two-seater, which was launched when British motoring was leading the world but stayed on sale until 1974, when it really wasn’t.

With our industry lower on confidence in the ’70s, the E-Type was replaced, of a fashion, by the XJ-S in 1975, which was in turn replaced by the XK8 and then the XK. It wasn’t until 2012 that Jaguar felt bold enough to revive the name’s lineage and call its new model the F-Type, with production starting in 2013. It will be a proper sports car again, they said back then.

And it was. Cleverly, Jaguar launched the roadster first, so we got to know that as a genuine sports car, with the coupé – which was only ever going to be better to drive – following about a year afterwards.

In this recently revised form, it still is a sports car. And as with the E-Type, if you wanted to drive from Coventry to Geneva in one gulp, it would also make a fine tourer – although if you do so next March for the E-Type’s 60th, it seems unlikely that you’ll find a motor show waiting for you when you get there. Another analogue product whose future in a digital world is a moot point.

It’s hot summer, not March, when I make a trip under the English Channel, staying in the car on the Eurotunnel as is now requested (see box, right), in a 454bhp, rearwheel-drive P450 – the lesser of the two supercharged V8 F-Type models. à

The F-Type P450 can officially reach 177m

ph

F-TYPE THROUGH BELGIUM DRIVE

Belgian motorway limit is normally 120kph (75mph)

I T WA S D I F F E R E N T I N D E W I S ’ S DAY

Boot is decently large but shallow; interior is of a handsome design and a comfortable place to be; ride is firm but not uncompliant

F R O M N O R T H A M P T O N S H I R E T O F L E VO L A N D

Donkervoort Automobielen BV Amsterdam

Brackley

F-Type got us there and back fast enough to avoid quarantine

London

Dover DARREN JONES

Our drive to Belgium (and onto the Netherlands to sample the new Donkervoort D8 GTO JD-70) was snatched a few days before Brits who had been there had to quarantine in self-isolation for two weeks on their return. Today, you can drive through a country not on the travel corridor list (Germany is but not France or Belgium) in a private vehicle and then not have to quarantine so long as you don’t stop. Or, if you do, “no new people get into the vehicle” and nobody “gets out, mixes with other people and gets in again”, meaning breaks and refuelling stops are possible.

Calais

Jabbeke

Gent

Antwerp Brussels

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 41

There’s a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol available, too, which gives the F-Type a surprisingly broad price range.

The P300 starts at £54,510, which strikes me as pretty good value. Yes, it’s two cylinders and a lot of power down on the entry-level Porsche 911, but it’s also cheaper by 30 grand. e F-Type is truly a spiritual successor to E-Typ There’s no V6 any more, so the range then moves to the 5.0-litre V8, costing £70,025 if rear-driven like this one or I would rather the wheel reached a £74,885 with four-wheel drive. little closer, but I think this is a pretty Then there’s the £97,315, 567bhp strong cabin, discreetly coloured and and 4WD-only P575 – the only well finished, with a bit more flair F-Type that costs more than any new than any German competitor’s.

911 (for now, at least). You can have There’s a 70-litre petrol tank and a soft-top convertible version of any fuel consumption is at the mid-toof them for about £5500 extra. high 20mpg mark, giving me Does the F-Type seem old-school in a range (an often undervalued a way that the 911 doesn’t? And if so, element of a grand tourer’s ability) why? Both Jaguar and Porsche offer of around 400 miles. an electric car elsewhere and are The F-Type rides well, too, and electrifying other bits of their ranges, steers comfortably, and it has the but their purest sports cars remain right amount of weighting and internally combusted. So there’s feedback in its controls. Jaguar nothing unusual about the F-Type’s doesn’t get everything right, but propulsion in its marketplace. it’s particularly good at tuning this Perhaps it’s just the layout. It has sort of thing. Steering weight and a V8 engine in the front, driving the response builds naturally; there’s rear wheels – a traditional format no whip-crack turn-in in an effort to of the type you’ll find in anything make it feel more agile, nor artificial from a luxury limousine to a grand stodge around the straight-ahead to tourer to a sports car to a muscle suggest greater straight-line stability. car. Helpfully, the F-Type contains Things are, instead, as they should elements of all four. be: entirely natural, conventional As I head into Belgium at around and just pleasingly well tuned. lunchtime, having left home at yawn It’s also quite engaging while it’s o’clock in the morning, it’s the grand at it. You don’t really need to rev the touring parts that are front of mind. crackers off of this engine to reach its I’ve never quite felt the F-Type’s seats performance. It makes a good noise are the world’s most comfortable and whether you do or not, but the fact

❝ Things are as they should be: entirely natural, conventional and just pleasingly well tuned ❞

Spoiler automatically deploys above 70mph; supercharged 5.0-litre V8 sounds mean

Because of you-know-what, nowhere we stopped during our road trip felt normal…

42 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

that it makes 434lb ft of torque from just 2500rpm means it’s non-essential.

When we road tested the F-Type P575 AWD (29 April, although this car was the one pictured, due to lockdown restrictions), we thought that the P450 might actually turn Norman Dewis is honoured out to be the sweet spot in the with a plaque in Jabbeke range. And I think that’s true.

The engine, though, is such a feature of the F-Type that you do wonder what comes next.

About the next XJ, Jaguar design The F-Type is currently a seven-yearchief Julian Thomson recently said: old car and has only just had its big “We want to make it a beautiful facelift. When – if? – it’s replaced, it’s car, with an engaging drive and a conceivable that the life cycle of the luxurious interior. We’ll do each car that follows will be nudging into of those our own way; we won’t be the time when you can’t sell engines putting a tape measure on rivals to perhaps at all, let alone engines like just match, match, match.” Which this. So what drives the ‘G-Type’? sounds right. Nobody seems to What becomes of the sports car? mind that Porsche or Lexus don’t

F-TYPE THROUGH BELGIUM DRIVE JAGUAR F-TYPE P450 R-DYNAMIC Price Engine Power Torque Gearbox Kerb weight 0-62mph Top speed Economy CO2, tax band Rivals

benchmark and measure themselves against the German big three, least of all Porsche or Lexus. If Jaguar makes engaging, beautiful cars in profitable numbers, it will be happy days, whatever defines a sports car by then.

Still, that’s for another day. Today, by coincidence, is close to what would have been Dewis’s 100th birthday.

Born on 3 August 1920, he in his later years wanted to drive at 100mph in a Jaguar at MIRA Proving Ground on its 100th, but sadly he didn’t quite make it that far.

However, this is a Jaguar sports car and this is a road he knew well and on which he drove at some pretty stern speeds. I’ve gone back and forth between two junctions for the camera enough times to reckon that nobody is really watching. And, well, even if they are, perhaps if I explained, they would understand… L

£70,025 V8, 5000cc, supercharged, petrol 454bhp at 6000rpm 434lb ft at 2500-5000rpm 8-spd automatic 1660kg 4.6sec 177mph 26.6mpg 241g/km, 37% BMW 840i Coupé, Porsche 911 Carrera

JA B B E K E S P E E D R E C O R D S Before huge high-speed test tracks at places like Idiada in Spain and Nardò in Italy were a thing, speed testing was pretty common on recently built motorways and dual carriageways.

So it was eight years before Autocar’s run on the Jabbeke highway, on 21 October 1953, when Jaguar engineer Norman Dewis lined up there in a Jaguar XK120, aiming to set a production car speed record.

You will note the word ‘production’, but these things are relative. A headlight had been removed and its socket used as a ram air inlet for the engine. Dewis sat on a piece of foam on the floor, because if he were on the usual seat, he wouldn’t fit beneath aircraft canopy that was lowered over

his head. There was a rigid tonneau on the passenger side of the cockpit and the underbody was covered.

One side of the dual carriageway was closed for the attempt. Dewis did a flying mile in both directions, averaging 172.4mph, verified by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium.

The following week, The Autocar reported the XK120’s record in a couple of short paragraphs and reminded readers that the canopy and undertray were optional equipment on the XK120.

I wonder if anybody did actually try to order them…

The local police called time

on closing the road for high-speed testing after this, although evidently it didn’t stop less official high-speed runs on the stretch; 150mph on an open road doesn’t sound much better than 172mph on a closed one…

run XK120 was modified for its speed record

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 43

IN THE FAMILY WAY

Can a Focus ST offer the same thrills as a V8 Mustang on a blast across Wales? Andrew Frankel compares two quite different variations on the fast Ford theme PHOTOGRAPHY MAX EDLESTON

44 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

FAST FORDS COMPARISON

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 45

or a moment, I confess, I did wonder what the bloody hell I was doing on that road, trying to follow a 5.0-litre V8 coupé in a hatchback with half the number of cylinders and less than half the engine capacity. And then I remembered: it was interesting, that’s all. Clearly my little long-term Ford Focus ST was not going to keep up with a mighty Mustang Bullitt, and nor should it be expected to, given that its svelte sister costs over half as much again and has more than 60% more power. But it was interesting nonetheless.

Interesting because Ford, the company that brought motoring to the masses more than a century ago, is also the company whose record in producing fast and fun but affordable cars down the decades is second to none. In the Mustang’s case, as the original pony car back in 1964, it started a beloved sub-genre that still exists to this day and in which it remains the benchmark performer.

As for the Focus, it too can be traced right back to the early days of its category – if not to the very start, then certainly a full 40 years to the birth of the Escort XR3.

Ford has long produced two entirely different and diverse ways

F

of entertaining its drivers, so today the question is this: just how close can a quite well-resolved hatch get to matching the thrills of a purposebuilt sports coupé? Or is the Mustang in such an entirely different league, and the performance void between them so large, it actually makes the sleek coupé look cheap?

On paper, it’s not looking good for the Focus. Sad to say it though I am, the Mustang is the only classically configured car of its kind left on sale in the UK: a front-mounted engine, namely a normally aspirated V8, driving the rear wheels through a manual gearbox, just like the original ’Stang 56 years ago. The Focus does actually have a Mustang engine in it, but it’s the relatively puny 2.3-litre four that dare not speak its name in traditionalist circles where the benteight purists and ‘no replacement for displacement’ mob still doggedly defend their small and dwindling enclave. And while, yes, the Focus too has a manual gearbox (thank goodness), by directing its power forward and not rearward it is therefore incorrect wheel drive. Drive this engine in a Mustang and you spend all your time wishing it were a V8; drive it in a Focus and does it not follow you’ll therefore spend all your time wishing it were a Mustang?

Mustang’s 5.0 V8 advantage is offset somewhat by the four-pot ST’s lower kerb weight

Low, laid-back driving position suits the Mustang’s demeanour

Chunky Brembo brakes on the Bullitt give great confidence when hauling down 1800kg of Detroit iron from speed.

Good retardation and pedal feel, too.

Taut and agile Focus is never far from the quicker Bullitt’s rear end 46 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

A somewhat perverse logic, perhaps, but plausible, at least superficially. Its case is bolstered more than a little by even the smallest exposure to the Bullitt. I’m not going to dwell on the Bullitt-specific upgrades here because they’re not new and this story is more about a battle of two concepts than a twin test of two cars. Suffice to say if you want a Mustang for driving, of those available in the UK, the Bullitt, with its slightly more powerful engine, uprated chassis and bigger brakes, is the one. It looks better, sounds better, goes better, is better than the standard car.

Actually, it surprised me, perhaps because this particular car came equipped with £1600-worth of magnetorheological suspension

FAST FORDS COMPARISON U S E D FA S T F O R D S

1965 LOTUS CO RTI NA M K1 £58 ,950 Unleash your inner Jim Clark with this stunning example of the original super-saloon. Fresh from a sympathetic restoration and with just four owners on the books, it wears its 55 years extremely well.

1983 FO R D FI ESTA XR2 £14 ,990 Everyone wanted an XR2 in the 1980s and, judging by today’s prices, the yearning remains. A bit more gets you a current-gen ST-3, but Spandau Ballet won’t sound half as good through the speakers.

2000 FO R D R ACI N G PU MA £12 ,995 Not a fan of the new Puma ST? Grab a clean example of the first fast Puma before they’re all gone.

This is number 196 of just 500 and it wants for nothing save some minor paint repairs at the rear.

damping, that the slightly clunky progress the Mustang usually makes as it wriggles around on imperfect road surfaces was notable only for its absence. It rides really well.

Driving it fast is a slightly strange experience because we’ve all forgotten what normally aspirated engines with high specific outputs are like. Not much happens in the first 3500rpm. Indeed, it’s only when you pass peak torque another thousands revs or so around the dial that it really takes off. But then it makes good on the promise of its appearance: this is majestic, thrusting performance, such that you’ll forgive the fact the revs fall too slowly between shifts so you have to time your instructions to the heavy, mechanical gearbox with care.

Make no mistake, although in the US Ford will sell you a supercharged

Mustang GT500 with 750bhp, the Bullitt is still a proper Detroit muscle car, with the punch beneath the bonnet to deliver on the promise of those looks. It’s got a surprising amount of grip, too. As you sit there amid the thunder, guiding this authentic slice of automotive Americana across wide, open moorland, the last car in the world you’d expect to give it any kind of challenge is the upstart orange hatchback still snapping insolently at its fat rear pipes.

So you swap positions and cars.

It’s now your turn to drive the Focus with the Mustang giving chase. Oh dear. Where you sit low and reclined in the Mustang, surveying a bespoke instrument display that can dazzle you with the technical information it can yield, the Focus offers a cabin that’s pretty dowdy even by normal à

The Focus ST driver sits upright in a cabin that is notable only for its dreariness MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 47

A U S E D M U S TA N G F O R F O C U S M O N E Y You can buy a current-generation Mustang for not much more than £20k. It is likely to be an early 2016 model and may well have an automatic gearbox or the 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine (which is actually a pretty decent motor).

That said, the premium for V8s is not as much as you might think, offset as it is by significantly greater running costs.

Give yourself the same money as you’d spend on the Focus and there’s a wide choice of cracking used ’Stangs. Expect a selection of two-year-old cars with the V8, a manual gearbox and fourdigit mileages. Just remember, however, that 2018 was also the

year the car was facelifted, giving it a more purposeful look as well as a decent power hike to 444bhp. Postfacelift cars will either be a bit more pricey or have done a few more miles, but they’re definitely worth the extra.

2nd

48 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

ßhatchback standards, never mind those costing over £30k and let alone that of its legendary £50k super-coupé in-house rival. It feels insubstantial by comparison (because it is), and you feel perched upon it rather than slung low, deep within the cabin. The engine starts with a flat four-cylinder blare – rarely has the woofle of a quad-cam V8 been more missed.

Grab a gear and go. Almost at once you start feeling better about life. While the ST is less accelerative, the gap isn’t as wide as you might expect, and there are two reasons for this. First, being front-wheel drive, the car’s quoted 5.7sec 0-62mph run is a poor form guide because, for at least half that time and probably more, you’re going to be traction limited. With the same traction as

the Bullitt, you could knock that back to 5.4sec or so, within half a second of its stablemate.

Why so close when there’s such a disparity in power outputs? Weight and torque. The ST is a stunning 350kg lighter than the Mustang, which means its torque-to-weight ratio – the never-quoted number that is nevertheless the best indicator of actual accelerative potential – is 211lb ft per tonne, which is not so very different from the Bullitt’s 231lb ft per tonne. And while the Focus provides it all at 3000rpm – smack in the middle of its rev range – the Mustang requires more than 50% more revs before giving all it’s got.

The ramifications are far greater even than that. The Bullitt is a fabulously atmospheric car and dynamically quite composed if you keep your driving style as cool and

One of the best Mustangs and worth the extra money, but weight takes the edge off the driving experience.

FAST FORDS COMPARISON

❝ The Bullitt is a fabulously atmospheric car and dynamically composed ❞

1st

Another cracking fast Ford and more than capable of deputising for the canned RS. Slower than the ’Stang but better to drive.

Focus’s Sport mode firms dampers and sharpens throttle response, but the suspension becomes too harsh on bumpy roads – you can’t separate them out.

chilled as the image you hope it will project of you. But push it further and even with its trick dampers, it soon starts to struggle.

The nose feels a little vague and you find yourself making frequent tiny corrections, not because it’s sliding about but simply because it’s not quite going where you aim it.

Beyond a certain point, the harder you go, the more conscious of its limitations you become.

The ST is precisely the reverse.

Between the goalposts of what is safe on a public road, it never stops getting better. The engine is actually superbly well suited to this car. It emits a growl at high revs that may make you wonder whether there aren’t actually five rather than four cylinders beneath that bonnet. The thicker torque curve and closer gear ratios mean you’re never marooned below the powerband, while its adjustability, poise and accuracy are in a different class altogether to that offered by its bigger brother from across the pond.

And here’s the thing: I’d rather

RATING Price Engine Power Torque Gearbox Kerb weight 0-62mph Top speed Economy CO2, tax band

rumble to and from that road in the Mustang. For a certain sort of enthusiastic but not terribly demanding driver, it’s absolutely brilliant. But once there, I’d take the Focus every time. Despite its paucity of power and cylinders, its humble origins and the fact it pulls rather than pushes you from place to place, it’s just a better car to drive.

More taut, more responsive, more fun. Straight-line jockeys will always find the lure of the V8 irresistible and I get that entirely, but I am and have always been more interested in how a car handles because that’s where you, the driver, get involved.

So yes, of course these two performance Fords are built for different people and different reasons, so this is one rare occasion where a horses for courses verdict might be permissible. But I’m not going to. I really liked both cars but, as a pure driving machine, the little front-drive hatchback outpoints the big rear-drive muscle car. It’s not a knockout blow, but a decisive and worthy victory nonetheless. L

Ford Focus ST

Ford Mustang Bullitt

AAAAB £32,510 4 cyls, 2261cc, turbocharged, petrol 276bhp at 5500rpm 310lb ft at 3000rpm 6-spd manual 1468kg 5.7sec 155mph 34.4mpg 179g/km, 37%

AAAAC £49,085 8 cyls, 5038cc, petrol 453bhp at 7250rpm 420lb ft at 4600rpm 6-spd manual 1818kg 4.9sec 163mph 23.9mpg 270g/km, 37%

MAY 2021 AUTOCAR.COM.PH 49

‘Recharge yourself and your car’ That’s Shell’s plan for its new EV-only forecourts and their charge-time-friendly facilities. John Evans finds out more PHOTOGRAPHY OLGUN KORDAL display board directs you to an available EV charging bay, one of up to 10 150kW ultra-rapid chargers occupying the main forecourt and protected from the elements by a pair of opposing, stylish-looking canopies fitted with solar panels. Nearby, a Little Waitrose convenience store, a Costa, free wi-fi, a parcel collection point and, holy of holies, clean lavatories. All this and not a petrol or a diesel pump in sight.

Welcome to the forecourt of the future, as conceived by Shell.

No marketer’s pipe dream, the company’s first all-EV charging station opens for business early next year in Fulham, London.

“We call it Project Evelyn – an energy hub where you can recharge yourself and recharge your car,” says Bernie Williamson, general retail manager at Shell UK. “Exactly when we’ll start rolling out more sites

A

on the same lines is hard to say but Shell supports the ban on internalcombustion-engined vehicles and aims to be the leading rapid charger on the go.”

Shell unveiled its first 50kW EV rapid-charging post, capable of recharging a battery from zero to 80% in 30 minutes, at its Holloway Road service station in north London in October 2017. Nine more followed in quick succession. By 2021, it plans to have a combination of 200 rapid (50kW) and ultra-rapid (150kW) chargers on forecourts located on major routes across the UK. Going forward, all of its new or upgraded chargers will be ultra-rapid. These rapid and ultra-rapid chargers are in addition to the large network of fast chargers available on local roads that are managed by Shell’s NewMotion charging division.

Meanwhile, by the end of 2020, the company plans to have three 350kW chargers in operation, eclipsing

AFTER Tesla’s 250kW V3 Superchargers.

As they do now, all of Shell’s chargers will dispense renewable electricity.

So that’s the car’s battery taken care of, but while you’re waiting, you can recharge yourself with a ‘Jamie Oliver deli by Shell’ sarnie. The upmarket snack range will feature in Shell’s Fulham EV-only service station, highlighting that the forecourt of tomorrow is expected to be more than simply a recharging destination.

“Shell is strong in the convenience

sector,” says Williamson. “One in three of our transactions is shopping, not buying fuel. While they wait for their car to recharge, we expect customers to want to catch up with their shopping, have a coffee or, where space allows, do something like click and collect. We call it ‘taking care of yourself and your car’.

“The coronavirus epidemic has proved to be a dress rehearsal for how we see things evolving, with people increasingly keen to do as many

B P C H A R G E M A S T E R T E S T S WAT E R W I T H M & S Shell isn’t the only energy retailer looking to help customers make more productive use of their EV’s charging time. In August, BP Chargemaster launched a partnership with Marks & Spencer when it unveiled three 50kW rapid chargers at the company’s Maidstone store, off junction seven of the M20 in Kent.

The chargers dispense 100% renewable electricity and feature contactless payment terminals and connectors for all capable electric vehicles. They are part of BP Chargemaster’s Polar public charging

50 AUTOCAR.COM.PH MAY 2021

network and are accessible with a Polar Plus membership RFID card or the Polar Instant PAYG app. The new service is the first of a five-store trial.

Matteo de Renzi, CEO of BP Chargemaster, said: “As well as serving existing Marks & Spencer customers who already or will soon drive electric vehicles, we expect the rapid chargers to bring new customers to these stores, as they are in the right locations to support those driving along the strategic road network and provide a great opportunity for a brief stop.”

BP Chargemaster and M&S teamed up in August and plan to run a five-store trial

TOMORROW’S FORECOURT INSIGHT

BEFORE

things as possible in one place. The fact that over 75% of the population are within 15 minutes of a Shell service station means we’re in a perfect position to help them.”

Shell’s research also shows that EV drivers value good network coverage with accurate charge post availability updates, compatible and reliable chargers (early models suffered cooling issues that, the firm says, have since been resolved) and convenient payment systems.

On that point, the Shell Recharge card and app provide access to 135,000 public charge points across Europe and allow drivers to pay for power contactlessly. Rates change daily (at the time of writing, a kilowatt cost 39 pence, around the

Tesla recharges at the site of Shell’s EV debu t

upper end of the price spectrum, or 36p for Recharge card holders) and users are encouraged to keep their eye on offers.

Sean Walters, an early adopter of EVs who owns a Mitsubishi i-Miev, Peugeot iOn and Kia Soul EV, welcomes Shell’s plans for solus EV charging stations. He says: “London, especially, needs one since, in my experience, many charging points are occupied by taxis even though they have access to their own dedicated chargers.”

In his enthusiasm for electric cars, Walters thinks nothing of driving from his home near Egham, in Surrey, to Scotland so welcomes more EV chargers at service stations located on A-roads, such as Shell plans to establish.

He says: “Now, instead of parking up at some place with no amenities and twiddling my thumbs while the battery is charged, I’ll be able to have a coffee and catch up on some shopping. Things are definitely improving for EV drivers.”

If only there were more of them. Shell’s Holloway Road service station, location of the first Shell EV charge point, now

sleek-looking EV-only one Fulham will be replaced by a in site ll She l ona diti tra s Today’

boasts two 50kW chargers serving around 200 customers per month.

However, when we dropped by, just one charge post was in use while, under the main canopy, the pumps were busy dispensing ye olde fossil fuel like it was going out of fashion (which it is).

At that charge post was a Tesla, whose owner wouldn’t give his name but did say he was an Uber driver.

“You’ve come at the wrong time,” he said. “It gets busy from late afternoon when people are returning from work or ‘filling up’ for the next day. Jags, Teslas, Audis… I’ve seen them all here.

“I don’t mind waiting 30 minutes

to recharge my car. In my view, Shell has the best locations. My car is safe, the chargers always work and there are toilets, which, believe me, is a rare thing. Here at Holloway Road, there’s a Greggs just around the corner, too.”

His one gripe? “Shell should be opening its new EV station in a working area like this rather than an affluent one such as Fulham.

We still get the expensive cars, but at busy periods there can be queues.

There’s a whole mix of users who would benefit.”

It’s a fair point, although I reckon most of them would choose the nearby Greggs over the Jamie Oliver deli by Shell. L

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