North East Motor Guide

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N O R T H E AST V I C TO R I A

JULY 6 - 12 | 2018

> available online - www.nemedia.com.au

MEETING DEMAND: Slick lines of the new Mazda CX-8 Diesel are almost coupe-like at the rear.

Mazda CX-8

By EWAN KENNEDY market. But Australia is highly regarded

by Mazda’s head office, where they eventually relented and made the CX-8 available Downunder. The fact that the Japanese drive on the same side of the road that we do made it a lot easier.

Only two grades are being offered; CX-8 Sport priced at $42,490 with two-wheel drive (the front wheels) and $46,490 with all-wheel drive. And CX-8 Asaki for $61,490 with all-wheel drive.

Both models are well equipped, with the Asaki (over the Sport) having Nappa leather trim, a Premium Bose 10-speaker sound system, advanced keyless entry,

a remotely operated power tailgate, adaptive LED headlights, front foglights, a heated steering wheel, and sunshades on the rear door windows.

The front seats in the Asaki are power operated, with six-way adjustment for the passenger and ten-way for the driver.

Added safety features on the Asaki are front parking sensors (both models have rear sensors), a 360-degree camera, This is a good looking vehicle and the slick lines of the new Mazda CX-8 Diesel are almost coupe-like at the rear.

However, if all seven seats are in use there’s no space for a large suitcase to be carried upright in the boot.

All CX-8s have a seven-inch infotainment

screen that’s clear and easy to use.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto aren’t available at this stage, but is expected to arrive late this year. When this happens it will be necessary for the system to be upgraded by a Mazda dealer. (Note that this will apply to most other recent Mazda models, contact your dealer for details.)

Power for both CX-8 models is powered

by Mazda’s well known SkyActiv 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel. It produces up to 140 kW of power and an impressively high 450 Nm of torque, the latter available from 2000 rpm.

All CX-8 Diesels have a six-speed automatic transmission.

Continued page 2 21d13123-v2/2718

MAZDA Australia has plugged a hole in its SUV lineup by introducing the CX-8 Diesel. Potential buyers of the CX-9 seven seater had wanted a diesel engine, but it’s only offered with a petrol unit.

Sometimes they settled for a CX-9 petrol - but others went to a different marque that could offer a turbo-diesel, which obviously didn’t please Mazda Australia.

The CX-8 is sort of a combination of the Mazdas CX-5 and CX-9, sharing the wheelbase of the 9 and the width of the 5. It’s shorter than the CX-9 overall and many components are unique to the CX-8.

Interestingly, the CX-8 had only ever been intended for sale on the Japanese

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2

July 6 - 12 | 2018

Late delivery gives Renault Van an automatic shift up

BACK ON TRACK: Renault Kangoo Maxi has been given a belated mechanical boost to match its up-to-the-minute looks.

IN danger of being left behind, the Renault Kangoo Maxi has finally joined the light van convoy of the likes of the Citroen Berlingo, Fiat Doblo and Volkswagen Caddy with the addition of an automatic transmission.

This will be good news for the Kangoo driver, who until now has spent his or her time constantly shifting gear in heavy traffic or hilly going. I continue to take my hat off to the city van driver, who until now and the auto upgrade, deserved better.

The Kangoo Maxi 1.5 turbo-diesel on test comes to market at an attractive $29,990, plus on-road costs, a $3000 premium over the manual model. A three-year 200,000 kilometre warranty adds further appeal for the cost-conscious operator.

STYLING Styling is in line with the manual Kangoo Maxi, with an upright stance, snub nose and absence of sharp edges. Not that the soft looks detract from the character of a business-like cargo carrier.

A robust front with bold horizontal chrome work and maker’s badge as a focus announce the arrival of an unmistakable Renault.

Wide, easy sliding doors on both sides make for convenience when loading in confined spaces. Asymmetric opening rear

From page 1

By EWAN KENNEDY doors offer quick access.

INTERIOR Inside is plain but far from sparse looking, with the Renault’s centre dash dominated by the air-conditioning outlets and controls. A nice touch is that the fan and temperature are integrated in one large knob; it’s easy to reach and simple to operate.

The downside, literally, is the positioning of the audio system below the air-con setup. It’s a fair shift of the eyes off the road to read and switches are small and fiddly.

Seats are firm and offer some side support on quicker corners. Upholstery is light and modern, as are all cabin surroundings.

However, grime could be a factor in looks a few years down the track of heavy work.

INFOTAINMENT An echo of yesteryear comes from an audio system with AM / FM radio, MP3, even a CD player, and steering wheelmounted controls. Sound quality is pretty good.

There is Bluetooth hands-free connectivity with audio streaming, USB audio input and 3.5 mm Aux jack. There’s also a 12V auxiliary power outlet.

R-Link Enhanced Navigation and Audio

pack, at $890, can add a rear-view camera, satellite-navigation and colour touchscreen.

ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS The 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine leaves maximum power of 81 kW until well into the rev range at 4000 rpm, while top torque of 240 Nm comes in at a relatively low 1750 rpm.

The six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission is well matched, moving through the rev range smoothly, even in stop-start city traffic, which is good news for the hard working driver.

SAFETY The Kangoo Maxi features dual front airbags, anti-locking brakes with brake assist, electronic stability program and hill start assist.

DRIVING The dual clutch unit is well in touch with the 1.5-litre turbo-diesel unit, offering smooth changes at or around the 1700 rpm mark under varying load and road conditions.

The maker’s claim of fuel consumption of 4.7 litres per 100 kilometres on the combined urban / highway cycle was pretty much borne out by the test vehicle’s recording 6.0 litres in city driving and 4.1 on the open road with a light load.

There’s plenty of glass up front so driver

visibility is good. However, in my case (of average height) the view through the windscreen sadly went west with the setting winter sun, the sun visor not deep enough to shade my eyes from the blazing ball low in the late afternoon sky. A potential hazard here, especially in stopstart traffic.

Ride and handling is good for a commercial vehicle, the Renault Kangoo offering a smooth ride on rocky roads with cornering only improving as cargo was loaded up. There was some drumming from the rear, especially when empty. The solution? Turn up the radio.

Handbrake handle with horizontal grip does get in the way when using the centreconsole cup holder. Rubber mats mean minimum in-cabin cleaning chores. The four cubic metre load space will take a standard Australian pallet with up to an 830 kg payload. Fourteen tie-down points keep potentially wayward cargo on an even keel.

Towing capacity is one tonne.

SUMMING UP From the company that has been the maker of Europe’s number one van range 18 years in a row, it’s been an uncharacteristic slow take-up of the auto gearbox. Now the Kangoo Maxi is back on track to take on the best in class.

Mazda CX-8 diesel

SAFETY Mazda CX-8 has yet to be tested

by ANCAP. While not committing themselves at this stage the Mazda Australian hierarchy appears confident it will receive the maximum five star rating.

DRIVING The CX-8 Diesel is relatively narrow inside and is best regarded as a four+three, that is four adults and three children. There’s good legroom and comfortable headroom in all seats.

Mazda set up an excellent 350+ kilometre drive program on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast running on an inland route from Noosa to Hervey Bay. It covered everything from peak hour (well peak hour-ish) traffic, suburban roads, motorways, scenic hilly terrain - and used sealed and dirt roads.

Exactly the sort of running a family in their Mazda CX-8 Diesel would take on a weekend adventure trip.

Despite the ‘Sport’ in its name this

Mazda is certainly not a sports SUV, rather it has suspension and steering set up in comfort mode. It handles safely and predictably and you would have to be well over sensible speeds to get into trouble. That said, if you do see yourself as a keen driver you may care to look elsewhere.

As is often the way, Australia’s coarsechip roads create a fair bit of noise.

Anywhere else it’s peaceful and relaxing to sit in.

The turbo-diesel engine is nicely quiet at idle and from the outside is almost to petrol engine standards. Inside the sound levels are nicely muted.

Response from the diesel is reasonably prompt with a minimum of lag. We found the six-speed automatic transmission to be in the correct gear virtually all the time.

SUMMING UP Mazda CX-8 diesel is an attractive looking seven seat SUV that seems sure to have good sales as it neatly fills gaps in the company’s lineup. You can now get Mazda CX as a 3, 5, 8 and 9 format.

Which may leave space for a CX-4?

Who knows…?

3

July 6 - 12 | 2018

GIANT: Nissan Patrol is big and bold

2018 Nissan Patrol Ti-L

By ALISTAIR KENNEDY WITH each road test that we carry out it’s always interesting to hear the first impressions the vehicle makes on relatives, friends and even passers-by. Responses generally vary depending on the interests of the viewer but not so with this week’s test, the Nissan Patrol Ti-L, where the reaction has been all-but unanimous ….

“Isn’t it big.”

The tale of the tape confirms that visual impression. It’s nearly 5.2 metres long and just under two metres wide and high, larger all round than its only real competitor the market leading Toyota LandCruiser.

Only two variants are offered, both at the top end of Nissan’s equipment range, Patrol Ti and Ti-L. Note that the ‘L’ stands for Luxury unlike other brands’ SUVs where it can mean long wheelbase. The Ti has eight seats with a centre bench in the middle row. The Ti-L drops down to seven seats with two large individual centre seats separated by a large armrest.

The Ti is priced from $71,990 and the Ti-L from $88,990.

STYLING The Nissan Patrol (nee Datsun), has been on sale in Australia for more than 50 years and for most of that time it has featured the square, angular looks that pre-SUV 4WD buyers loved. With the arrival of the current Y62 model in 2016 it switched to a slightly softer, more rounded styling in line with changing buyer expectations.

Its size still clearly identifies it as a Nissan Patrol but there’s a new bumper and grille, revised triangular foglight housings and distinctive 18-inch alloy wheels. Although it attracted some criticism from Patrol traditionalists in our view it strikes a nice before-and-after balance.

INTERIOR Once inside the Patrol - and that won’t be as easy as it sounds for smaller occupants - the cabin is spacious with plenty of head and legroom for the occupants of the first and second rows. As is usually the case the two third-row seats are best suited to pre-teens.

The outer seats of the second row fold

and tumble for access to the third with the latter able to move forward and aft for increased leg or cargo room. The second row can also be folded if you need to haul large items but doesn’t fold flush, so keep that in mind.

There are plenty of storage options in various sizes and shapes including a very clever centre console that can be accessed from either the front or second row seats.

Even with all seats in place there’s 550 litres of boot storage. With the third row down that expands to 1500 litres and with the centre row folded there’s a van-like 3000 litres. The Ti rear door is manually operated, the Ti-L’s is powered.

ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS As the Patrol is aimed primarily at the US market there’s no diesel option. Both variants are powered by a 5.6-litre V8 engine with 298kW of power and 560Nm of torque, 90 per cent of the latter is available from just 1600rpm.

Transmission is through a near-seamless seven-speed automatic.

The 4WD drive system engages all four wheels when required, otherwise it defaults to the rear wheels. There is permanent 4WD, low-gearing and a diff lock for off-road forays. You can also use a rotary control to choose from snow, rock or sand surfaces.

INFOTAINMENT The infotainment system works via an 8-inch colour touchscreen, which is fairly small for a vehicle of this size. Both models get satellite navigation with 3D mapping and traffic monitoring. There are steering wheel mounted audio controls, and a pair of USB ports on the centre console.

Bluetooth pairing, previously a weakness in Nissans, is now much more intuitive.

Unusually neither Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto is available.

The two centre row seats in the Ti-L have 8.0-inch DVD screens mounted on the rear of the front seatbacks with headphones, remote controls and the choice of USB, DVD or HDMI inputs. Ti-L also adds 13 Premium Bose speakers; SAFETY In addition to the mandatory and industry-standard safety features both

Patrol models, given their bulk, get very useful manoeuvring features in front and rear parking sensors and Intelligent Around-View Monitor which uses four cameras to provide multiple views around the vehicle; and with Moving Object Detection which can detect nearby moving objects and provide alerts. There’s also Hill Descent Control, Hill Start Assist, Isofix child seat restraints in the outer second row seats and tyre pressure monitoring.

Patrol Ti-L also gets Intelligent Cruise Control; Forward Collision Warning; Intelligent Distance Control; Lane Departure Warning and Intervention; Blind Spot Warning and Intervention and Intelligent Brake Assist.

DRIVING With ground clearance of 285 mm getting into the big Patrol can be a challenge for smaller occupants although there are standard running boards and grab handles to assist.

Our week in the Patrol Ti-L fitted in very nicely with our local football club’s annual golf day and we managed to load it up with four occupants, a couple of industrialstrength cooler boxes, three sets of clubs and various other odds and ends.

With three passengers in the centre seats rear vision was all but obliterated but the problem can be overcome via the Intelligent Rear View feature which converts the rear view mirror to a constant rear-view camera. It works really well

during daylight hours but less so after dark.

Around town the big Nissan isn’t as difficult to handle as its bulk would suggest. The high driving position is a plus while steering is light in the American fashion and the various parking aids overcome much of the potential parking issues. The turning circle of 12.5 metres is pretty reasonable for a vehicle of its size and there’s good sideways visibility.

On both the motorway and open country roads the Patrol accelerates smoothly and purrs along effortlessly, a perfect longdistance cruiser with the family on board.

Hills and bends require diverse treatment, the former are treated with disdain but the latter need to be approached with caution.

Now to the elephant in the room – fuel consumption. A boxy 2.7-tonne vehicle with a big V8 petrol engine can only mean big numbers and, even using Nissan’s conservative factory generated figures they start at 14.4 litres per 100 kilometres on the combined urban/highway cycle.

With our usual 50/50 split of city and motorway driving we were able to keep our average down to ‘just’ 15.8 L/100 km.

The sort-of good news is that the fuel tank holds 140 litres although once the low fuel warning light starts to flash be prepared for a big hit to your credit card especially if you follow Nissan’s recommendation and use premium unleaded .

4

July 6 - 12 | 2018

Jaguar XE SV project 8

By EWAN KENNEDY

„ NEXT GENERATION: Jaguar XE SV Project 8 is the most extreme performance Jaguar road car.

Valencia Orange, Velocity Blue, Meribel White, Verbier Silver and Corris Grey (satin matte).

Track Pack-equipped Project 8s have a Gloss Black painted roof and Project 8 twin-stripe exterior decals.

Project 8 costs from ÂŁ149,995 ($A268,600) in the UK. However, it will be built in left-hand drive configuration only, therefore XE Project 8 will not be sold in Australia.

Which sounds ridiculous to us.

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2013 Jayco Discovery, 22ft pop top, full annexe, QB, microwave, shower/toilet combo, air conditioning, battery pack, solar, October rego, (V66321), $30,000 ono. Ph 0481 176 381.

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MOTOR VEHICLES

VECTRA 2001, 2.2ltr, RW C , 1 3 1 , 1 2 3 k m , petrol, auto, Maroon, reg to January 2019 (QOA018), good condition throughout, split fold rear seats, $3500 ono. Ph 0408 543 173.

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MOTOR VEHICLES

HSV Grange MY09, Evoke, 137,000km, OR cold air intake, NSW reg December 2018 (DST54H), $27,000 ono. Ph 0407 096 546.

2010 Suzuki Swift GLX, 5 speed manual, green, 95,520km, rego to September 2018 (740RKZ), full service PEUGEOT 306, 2001, history, $7000. Ph 0498 petrol, 5 speed manual, 316 430.

2.0L, good condition, 284,000km, full service 1989 Nissan Patrol history, (Q4B700), station wagon, good $2000. Ph 0401 083 235. condition, dual fuel, (NVB586), 290,000km, with/without rego and RWC, $4000 - $5000.

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NISSAN Navara D22, 2013, OME suspension, Safari snorkel, ARB bull bar, new clutch and rego, gearbox, roof racks, 10 months reg, RWC, (ZSB629), $12,500 ono.

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JAGUAR XE SV Project 8 is a limited-edition sports sedan thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the most extreme performance Jaguar road car ever.

The all-wheel drive 600 horsepower (441kW) 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol gives Project 8 a top speed of 200mph (320kmh) and set a fourdoor production car record around the Nurburgring Nordschleife with a best lap of 7 minutes 21.23 seconds.

Zero to 100 km/h is 3.7 seconds.

Jaguar XE SV Project 8 is available either as a four-seater or in lightweight two-seat Track Pack configuration.

The Track Pack modifies the driveline and stability control systems for circuit use. It does so by sharpening throttle, gearbox and steering responses and tuning the dampers to their most aggressive setting. The body has greater torsional rigidity by 27 percent over the four-seat version.

John Edwards, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations Managing Director, says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The SV teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aim is to produce halo vehicles that push the boundaries in terms of luxury, performance and all-terrain capability. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Project 8 is a great example of what happens when enthusiastic designers, engineers and manufacturing specialists are given the opportunity to create an extreme performance sports car without compromise.â&#x20AC;?

Jaguar Project 8 is available in eight body colours: Fuji White, Narvik Black and Caldera Red, plus five enhanced SV Design options incorporating colours and finishes from the SV Premium Palette:

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