North East Motor Guide

ON FRONT PAG E N O R T H E AST V I C TO R I A , A L P S A N D H I G H CO U N T RY

APRIL 13 - 20

| 2017

> available online - www.nemedia.com.au

A GLANCE AT TOMORROW: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has looks that are almost futuristic in its class.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV MITSUBISHI has been at the forefront of pure electric and hybrid vehicles for many years, both in Australia and globally. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV took its place in Australian automotive history DV LW ZDV WKH ² UVW HYHU SXUH HOHFWULF production car to go on sale in this country.

The Japanese giant is now starting to push hard in Australia on the PHEV (Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) front.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was launched downunder in 2014 and has just received a series of major revisions.

These are far reaching, not only on the hybrid drivetrain, but also to the styling,

infotainment, suspension and overall UH² QHPHQW Mitsubishi has given its PHEV a more upmarket look and feel to aim it beyond the early adopters who have been the biggest customers to date. Indeed, it has looks that are almost futuristic in its class.

The body has a new front end and a tail tuck that have chromed and silvered highlights work well. Inside, the changes are more subtle, there’s a redesigned steering wheel, new accents in the trim, PRGL² HG VHDWV DQG SUHPLXP PDWHULDOV Multiple changes to the Outlander’s

drivetrain (which is an all-wheel-drive system, something that’s less and less common these days) make it noticeably PRUH HI² FLHQW 2I² FLDO IXHO FRQVXPSWLRQ is down by about 10 per cent, from 1.9 to 1.7 litres per hundred kilometres.

This new model features an ‘EV Priority’ mode that lets the driver operate the Outlander purely in EV mode provided WKHUH LV VXI² FLHQW FKDUJH LQ WKH EDWWHULHV Excellent news for your neighbours if you do very-early morning starts, or get home late at night. It also stops all exhaust pollution in underground carparks.

Pure EV range is listed at a maximum of

54 km, obviously this depends on driving style, road gradients and other variables, but it’s a decent distance for a vehicle in this class. If you live, say, about 40 km from work and can charge at both ends of the trip you could run the Mitsubishi all week without using petrol. Few people live that far from work‌ The biggest news is that a DC fastcharge system can recharge the battery to 80 per cent capacity in around 25 minutes. That’s around the time you might spend having a coffee or doing some shopping at the typical roadside service area.

„ Continued page 2 n21d11337-v93/1417

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By EWAN KENNEDY

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(03) 5721 5677 10 Templeton Street, Wangaratta www.onemilemotors.com.au LMCT1060

2

Apr 13 - 20 | 2017

That’s not an SUV ...

this is a FJ Holden

By EWAN KENNEDY TO paraphrase old mate Crocodile Dundee, “That’s not an SUV … this is an SUV.” Early in 2017 SUV sales in Australia overtook those of passenger cars.

This doesn’t make sense to me because it’s blindingly obvious that many so-called SUVs are nothing but tall hatchbacks.

I decided to research the origin of SUVs in Australia and was stunned and delighted to find that the first ever Australian designed and built SUV was … wait for it … the FJ Holden.

Yep, the good old FJ panel van can be called an SUV by today’s definition.

The tag SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) was coined to describe 4WDs that weren’t heavy-duty trucks, they were station wagons with limited off-road ability, usually because of poor ground clearance.

Some so-called SUVs may have allwheel-drive, but more and more are only driven by two wheels.

The word crossover later entered the automotive vocabulary to further confuse things. Then came ‘softroader’, a totally ridiculous name what self respecting male would buy something with ‘soft’ in its title?

In an interesting move Audi is promoting its new Q2, which is counted as an SUV in the sales race, as being ‘#untaggable’, running a clever ad campaign asking if it’s a #Coupe, a #Citycar, an #Allroad, perhaps even a #Chameleon…

Our favourite photo is of a dog with a puzzled look on its face staring at an

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN: The 1953 FJ Holden panel van.

Audi Q2 - when it would normally have peed on a wheel and moved on to the next car!

The latest SUV launched in Australia is the Toyota C-HR. A sleek five-door

coupe that’s lower than an FJ Holden sedan, albeit only by three millimetres.

Comparing other dimensions is an interesting exercise: This Japanese ‘hatchback’ is just 10

mm shorter than the FJ but is 93 mm wider, chiefly due to extra-thick doors for crash protection.

The Toyota is an incredible 428 kg heavier than the Holden. That’s almost half a tonne more, a lot of that mass going, again, into looking after occupants in a crash.

Both cars have only two-wheel-drive, though you can pay extra for the Toyota and get AWD. Now comes the really interesting bit ground clearance. The Toyota C-HR sits just 154 mm off the ground, the Holden SUV is way up, at 221 mm. Almost all today’s SUVs have less clearance, often much less.

Back in the early 1950s many Australian roads were unsealed. Even major highways had long stretches that were nothing more than wide dirt tracks. High ground clearance was a necessity if any car was being used away from the city.

Built tough for Australia FJ Holdens could go a long way off-road in the hand of capable drivers. Indeed, it would be interesting to see a comparison drive on harsh roads between the Toyota C-HR with AWD and a Holden FJ panel van with just the rear wheels doing the work.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the FJ and today’s SUVs is that the Holden wasn’t used en-masse to drive kids to and from school every day - back then kids rode bikes to school.

So, there you are, the first SUV designed and built in Australia was the FJ Holden. Frankie J Holden and Crocodile Dundee must be very proud.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV major revisions From page 1 Australia is still seriously lacking in charging stations, that situation will eventually improve. However, a major part of the problem is the complete lack of interest by Australian governments in assisting those who want to buy clean running vehicles.

As a last resort if you’re making long trips Mitsubishi Outlander can run on petrol for 500 to 600 km if you drive sensibly.

The latest Outlander is available in LS and Exceed grades. Both have new features such as smartphone Link Display audio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto2 integration; DAB+ radio; powered and heated door mirrors; LED headlamps with auto levelling; and a DC fast charging socket.

Topline Outlander Exceed also gets adaptive cruise control; forward collision mitigation that can also ‘see’ pedestrians; 360-degree around monitor; automatic high beam; lane departure warning; blind spot monitor; lane change assist; and UHDU FURVV WUDI²F DOHUW

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: Ride quality and comfort have improved on the new Outlander.

Ride quality and comfort have been improved, primarily thanks to changes to the platform that increase structural rigidity. There’s additional sound deadening material and revisions to the suspension to reduce noise. The

latter is also aimed at more precise handling.

On the road in a complex drive program arranged by Mitsubishi we had everything from peak hour traffic in Adelaide’s CBD, to open country

roads, including some dirt sections and winding hills. Fuel consumption ranged from zero in the city and for the next 30 km out of town, to seven to eight litres per hundred kilometres once the battery was discharged. Some added charge was picked up on downhill running, but this was minimal.

Comfort is very good, with a near silent cabin on smooth roads and a well controlled ride. Rough surfaces did significantly increase sound levels, but on the whole the Mitsubishi is almost in the luxury sedan class.

Though it’s a heavy SUV the Outlander PHEV handles well enough, partly due to the lowish centre of gravity due to underfloor batteries.

It’s no sports machine but it will keep you out of trouble unless you’re really stupid. If you are stupid the Mitsubishi will use its electronics to try and save you.

Push even harder and the laws of physics will win in the end…

As well as the fascinating Outlander Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle it’s also sold with conventional petrol and turbo-diesel engines.

3

Apr 13 - 20 | 2017

Suzuki Ignis GLX is fashionable and functional

By EWAN KENNEDY ONE of my frequently voiced gripes about design is that fashion too often is allowed to override function. We get cars that look stunning, but have cramped interiors, or too little ground clearance, or silly little boots.

How a car as cute and fascinating in its style as the Suzuki Ignis can be both fashionable and functional brings a big smile to my face. Just look at that pert nose, fascinating tail with the stylised Suzuki badge in the C-pillars and interesting interior. Then jump inside one at your local Suzuki dealer and be amazed at the amount of space it provides.

Suzuki is arguably the world leader in design and building of small cars and SUVs. That’s because it’s far more GLI² FXOW WR EXLOG D FKHDS FDU DQG VWLOO provide safety, comfort, economy and everything else today’s buyers demand.

Sorry to have used the word cheap, with all the negative connotations it brings up, but this little Suzuki is astonishing value for money.

The little Suzuki Ignis is a classic example of the Japanese giant’s engineering ability. It’s not really a small car, or a small SUV, rather a brilliant crossover between the two.

The entry level GL manual comes to market at $15,990, the CVT $16,990, while the GLX, CVT only, tops out the range at $18,990. The latter was our test car. On-road costs need to be added to these prices.

Ignis GLX has 16-inch alloy wheels, up from the GL’s 15s, automatic LED headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lights, keyless entry and push start, automatic air-conditioning and privacy rear glass.

The opening pars say it all. We love the shape, and the customisation it cries out for. Colours, including two-tone combinations, give you plenty of chances to personalise. You can also customise the grille trim and centre garnish, choose wheel decals, side stripes and the C-pillar gill slits. Even the door mirrors and foglights can get their own personality.

Great fun.

The Ignis’ cabin can also be personalised with the colour choices on the seat trim, centre console, transmission surrounds, grab handles on the doors, air vents.

Interestingly the previous Ignis, which was last sold in Australia in 2005, had a fair bit of Australian engineering input.

This time around, although our local guys and gals were part of the global team, most of the work was done by Japan.

The Ignis as sold in Australia is powered by a new four-cylinder 1.2-litre Dualjet (two injectors per cylinder) engine. It puts out 60 kW of power at 6000 rpm and 120 Nm of torque at 4400 revs. It’s PDWHG ZLWK HLWKHU D ² YH VSHHG PDQXDO RU continuously variable transmission.

Standard across the range are 7.0-inch infotainment touch screen for satellite navigation and rear-view camera, as well as access to audio, aux inputs, USB and SD card, Bluetooth and smartphone

At a Glance NOTE: THESE PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE GOVERNMENT OR DEALER DELIVERY CHARGES. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL SUZUKI DEALER FOR DRIVEAWAY PRICES.

Model Range Ignis GL 1.2-litre five-door wagon: $15,990 (manual) $16,990 (CVT)

Ignis GLX 1.2-litre five-door wagon: $18,990 (CVT)

„ FASHIONABLE AND FUNCTIONAL: Cute and practical at the same time, the new Suzuki Ignis is something special. connection to Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink.

The leather trimmed three-spoke steering wheel has audio and cruise control buttons, plus hands-free phone use.

6DIHW\ LV ² YH VWDU ZLWK GXDO IURQW VLGH and curtain airbags, electronic stability program, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution and brake assist.

Somewhat illogically, CVT adds a hill KROGHU 0DQXDO JHDUER[HV ZRXOG EHQH² W much more than the auto from a hill holder - then again those who chose a manual gearbox almost invariably take pride in their driving and have the skill to make hill starts.

Head and legroom in all seats are

impressive and the hip point height of the rear seat makes access and exit easy.

Luggage space ranges from 264 litres with all seatbacks raised to 1104 litres with the rear seats folded. The squared off tail makes loading easy, as does the higher than average height of the Ignis.

While 60 kilowatts and 120 Newton metres aren’t what you would call big numbers the Ignis weighs in at just 820 kg so performs pretty well.

The CVT can be irritating at times in the way it sounds, but there’s no denying LWV HI² FLHQF\ 6HULRXV KLOOV FDQ WD[ WKH powertrain at times, but the little car manages to do its best. If you’re planning to carry four large adults, and that’s possible despite the Suzuki’s apparently

diminutive dimensions, it might be an LGHD WR JHW DOO IRXU DERDUG DQG ² QG D steep hill for your private pre-purchase road test.

Comfort is pretty good on most roads and certainly on motorways. But rough roads can bounce things about at times.

Noise levels are generally subdued again, beware of rough ‘n ready roads.

Handling is nimble and competent and there’s the sort of pleasure offered in small light cars that’s seldom there in large ones. )XHO FRQVXPSWLRQ ZDV RIWHQ EHORZ ² YH litres per hundred kilometres on easypaced roads, and we seldom saw more than seven litres per hundred even when we worked the little Suzy hard in boring suburban areas.

Fashion and function in the one package - love it. And the most expensive Suzuki Ignis will be sitting in your garage with some change from $20,000 in your pocket. Well done Suzuki.

4

Apr 13 - 20 | 2017

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