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
MAY 13 - 19, 2016
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FORD EVEREST: It is designed to make a big impact on the SUV scene.
Ford Everest claims
high ground in 4WD landscape EVEREST is big. Okay, that’s stating the obvious about the world’s highest mountain. Now let’s talk about the new eponymous four-wheel drive wagon from Ford. The Ford Everest is big too. In fact it seems that everything about it – radiator grille, rear end, guards and wheels, even badging - has been designed to make the SUV appear as big as possible. At close to five metres long, more than two metres wide and almost two metres tall, the Everest sports an impressive presence on and off road. It also makes for a spacious and versatile cabin capable of carrying up to seven
By DEREK OGDEN occupants and gear in relative comfort. We can all stand tall too knowing the all-new Everest has been a centrepiece of Ford’s close-to $2 billion research and development investment in Australia over the past six years as it was developed by our people to take on some of the world’s toughest conditions. The seven-seat 4WD wagon comes in three variants – Ambiente, Trend and Titanium – priced from $54,990, plus onroad costs, topping out at $22,000 more. The test vehicle was the mid-range Trend at $60,990. Ford Everest physically is no shrinking
violet. With a rugged appearance all three variants stand their ground with any rival in the market segment with the Trend taking on such features as 18-inch alloy wheels, running boards and rear power lift-gate. A chromed trapezoidal radiator grille is flanked by the latest in integrated projector headlamp / LED daytime running light set-ups that make sure the Everest is seen easily by other road users in testing weather conditions. Five-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels and sleek side panels emphasise on-road character, while generous ground clearance (225 mm) and 800 mm wading depth get the Everest ready for anything that might
EXTRA EOFY BONUSES!
stand in its way off the bitumen. Aerodynamics receive some attention, with a front under-shield, and integrated aerodynamic ‘kickers’ flanking the rear window to help reduce drag, giving the vehicle a friction co-efficient of Cd 0.39. Hopeless by car standards, not too bad for a pickup-based SUV. The square shaped rear of many traditional SUVs is left behind by Everest’s sculpted tail lamps, with integrated LED lighting. The cabin is a seven-seater. The second row slides forward far enough to make access to the back row manageable, and rear legroom adaptable.
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Paul Davenport 0408 057 837 Michael Henderson 0418 512 531 Kylie Stevenson 0428 215 677 Noel Gilbert 0438 597 200
(03) 5721 5677 10 Templeton Street, Wangaratta www.onemilemotors.com.au LMCT1060
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May 13 - 19 | 2016
Ford Everest claims From page 1
Flexible second-row seats have 60/40 split, and power-fold thirdrow seats with 50/50 split, can be folded flat, providing 2010 litres of cargo space with a class-leading payload of up to 750 kg. Everest Trend and Titanium occupants enjoy the benefits of dual zone climate control and more than 30 stowage spots totalling 48 litres (the glovebox can take a 16-inch laptop), while sound insulating materials and active noise cancellation technology make for a quieter cabin. The instrument cluster includes dual 4.0-inch colour screens and a high resolution 8.0-inch colour touchscreen in the Interior Command Centre. An AM/FM/CD audio system with DAB+ digital and 10 speakers is augmented with Aux/ iPod/ USB/SD card input ports. Ford’sSync 2 brings voice control with simple commands for many vehicle and convenience systems and emergency assistance connects drivers with emergency responders in a serious collision. The Australian Everest is powered by the 3.2-litre Duratorq five-cylinder turbo-diesel engine found in the Ranger pickup and is designed for maximum power and torque for ultimate off-road and towing performance, without sacrificing fuel efficiency. Power output of 147 kW and torque of 470 Nm are the result of
updated exhaust gas recirculation system. Customers gain from high torque for heavy-duty towing (up to 3000 kg) and off-road use. Ford’s Terrain Management System fine tunes the vehicle’s throttle response, transmission, traction control and intelligent four-wheel drive to optimise performance under varying conditions. Settings – normal, snow / gravel / grass, sand, or rock – can be dialled up via a knob on the centre console. The control also incorporates hill descent control, which can be activated in any conditions. An electronic locking rear differential helps prevent the rear wheels from spinning while driving off-road, increasing traction in challenging going. It can be locked automatically when using off-road TMS modes, or toggled manually using the differential lock button. Ford Everest has seven airbags, including a driver’s knee airbag. Dynamic Stability Control with Roll Stability Control, ABS anti-skid brakes with Electronic Brake Force Distribution, Traction Control and Emergency Brake Assist are constantly active when on the move. Parking is made relatively easy with the use of a rear-view camera, plus audible sensors front and rear. Even the basic Everest is a rugged, comprehensively packaged 4x4.
high ground in 4WD landscape At a Glance NOTE: THESE PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE GOVERNMENT OR DEALER DELIVERY CHARGES. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FORD DEALER FOR DRIVEAWAY PRICES.
Ford Everest Ambiente: $54,990
Ford Everest Trend: $60,990
Ford Everest Titanium: $76,990
Tow bar: $1000 Satellite navigation (Trend only): $600 Prestige paint: $500
FORD EVEREST: It will climb mountains. The Trend adds extra driver assist technologies such as Adaptive Cruise Control with forward alert collision mitigation and Lane Keeping System. The Ford Everest is started with a turn of an old-style ignition key. That’s not as simple as it seems in the dark, for there is no illumination of the keyhole the driver is aiming for. As far as fuel consumption is concerned the Everest used an astonishingly meagre 6.8 litres per 100 kilometres on the motorway. However, true to form, the beast devoured anything up to 16 litres of diesel per 100 prowling around town.
Ford’s Australian engineering team set out to give Everest a balance of rugged off-road capability with refined on-road manners through an advanced fourmode Terrain Management System. Even so, it’s impossible to be all things to all situations. There is a degree of compromise in ride and handling on the bitumen. Still it’s a sterling effort all round. The forward collision warning can be a pain, beeping and flashing a row of red lights on to the windscreen when it senses traffic in front moving slower. It loads up the brakes and slows down with it.
After the traffic clears the vehicle works its way back up to the preset cruise-control speed. Ford says this system is normally found only in premium passenger cars - they can keep it. If the driver’s not concentrating on what’s ahead, he / she should not be behind the wheel. The Ford Everest does well, partly thanks a lot to the input of Australians. Because of this it is a sizeable threat to rivals in the pickupbased SUV market which have not had the advantage of local knowledge. Standard sat nav is a sad omission.
Melbourne, 9 May – A Tyrepower business has been hailed as Victoria’s best tyre dealer. A1 Tyrepower of Wangaratta was a big winner at the inaugural VACC Industry Awards held at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne, on Saturday, 7 May. A1 Tyrepower, which employs 10 local people, won the Best Tyre Dealer award in a statewide search by the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, the peak body for Victoria’s automotive industry. “A1 Tyrepower won Best Tyre Dealer on the strength of its impressive commitment to community engagement, and business and industry promotion. 9$&& FRQJUDWXODWHV WKLV ²QH business,” VACC Executive Director, Geoff Gwilym, said. “High standards are important in our industry. VACC initiated the Industry Awards to recognise and promote those businesses that set the bar high and go above and
Some members of the award winning team at A1 Tyrepower.
beyond. A1 Tyrepower certainly does that.” The VACC Industry Awards featured 21 categories that included achievement in: mechanical and body repairs;
car, motorcycle, truck and farm machinery sales; tyre retailing; auto recycling; and service station, towing, and aftermarket and retail business operations. More than 200 applications
were received for the 2016 VACC Industry Awards. All were assessed by a panel of expert judges, whose decisions were audited by a Standards Australia representative, on customer service, training, occupational health and safety, environmental compliance, and more. “In the face of strong competition motorists can be assured that any business winning a VACC Industry Award this year is a quality business. Clearly A1 Tyrepower is in that category.” Owners Andy and Kylie Coatsworth said they were delighted to see their whole team acknowledged by an industrywide body. “We’re coming up to 10 years in business this December and for us, supporting our community is really important,” said Kylie. “Having the opportunity to get behind local causes, in partnership with our customers, is a really enjoyable part of our journey.”
Cnr Roy & Norton Streets Wangaratta. Phone: 5721 8488
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A1 Tyrepower wins major industry award
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May 13 - 19 | 2016
Two hands on the wheel at all times By EWAN KENNEDY
MERCEDES A250: Standout style has got plenty of favourable comments during our week’s road test.
Mercedes A250 Sport looks great, goes hard
By EWAN KENNEDY MERCEDES-BENZ A-Class received a facelift at the start of 2016. We’ve just spent an interesting week in the A250, the model that we forecast is likely to be the biggest seller in the extensive range. It’s not the lowest cost model A-Class; the A 180 is priced at just $37,200, a real bargain for a car with the prestigious three-pointed star on the grill. Nor is as manic as the A 45 AMG which has a tag of $77,900 and really needs a racetrack to get your pulse racing. At $53,500 the A 250 Sport is an excellent compromise, being relatively easy on the bank account and providing a solid turn of performance that’s fine for everyday use. For the 2016 season A-Class gets additional technology, with all versions now having adaptive suspension and satellite navigation. The Mercedes A 180 has 17-inch wheels, Garmin Map Pilot navigation, blind spot assist, reversing camera, keyless start, Dynamic Select modes and a sporty diamond grille in black as standard. The A 200 has 18-inch wheels and sports seats with lumbar support. The ultra-hot AMG A 45 4Matic now produces 280 kW (up from 265 kW) and can get from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in just 4.2 seconds. We will cover powertrain details of our A 250 Sport test car in a moment. The A-Class is no longer the tiny car aimed at finding parking spots in overcrowded European cities, the latest generation is longer, sleeker and lower. The so-called diamond grille treatment works well and we found the red paint on our test car a pleasant
change from the 500 shades of grey currently making our roads like we’re living in a black-and-white movie. The sports kit on the A250 is anything but shy and retiring and grabbed plenty of looks while we were driving it. Also in a red hue is the stitching on the dark trim on the seats, door and dashboard that certainly tie in with the Sport badges. Ambient interior lighting can be tailored to suit your needs by providing 12 different colours. The 2.0-litre A 250 Sport petrol has 160 kW of power and a wild 475 Nm of torque running through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. It uses the Mercedes 4Matic allwheel-drive system, sits on 18-inch AMG wheels, and Ride Control suspension. Five different driving modes are offered, everything from Comfort to Race. The latter, naturally, only intended for track use. In a sign of the times, the days when Mercedes saved up its new hightech items until a new S-Class was introduced have gone. So rapid is the rate of technology change that the company is now, somewhat reluctantly we suspect, forced to add tech to the next model it launches. Waiting for an S-Class would otherwise see it lagging for years behind competitors at times. The A-Class is the first Mercedes model to be available with smartphone integration for Apple CarPlay and Siri voice control. Mercedes’ latest Comand infotainment system works well and we enjoyed the quality sound system. The latest Mercedes-Benz A-Class has
multiple driving assistance systems, including the drowsiness detection system Attention Assist, Distronic Plus, Collision Prevention Assist Plus and Blind Spot Assist. There are nine airbags to minimise damage to the occupants should everything still go wrong. An Active Bonnet setup minimises pedestrian injury in a collision. The front seats are correctly shaped to give good support without being overly aggressive. The rears are on the tight side if the people in the front are tall, so some compromise will be required. The adaptive suspension system, now fitted to all A-Class models, provides the sort of ride comfort that’s close to its bigger brother the C-Class. That’s in the Comfort setting, when sharpened up by dialling in Sport it becomes a genuine hot-hatch to let drivers enjoy a traditional early Sunday morning drive. Some passengers may find it slightly harsh on rough roads, though. Handling through the all-wheel-drive 4Matic system is tenacious and easy to control and defies the fact that the A-Class began its life as a front-drive family hatchback. Engine performance is excellent and the Mercedes engineers have managed to trim turbo lag to a minimum. Engage the Sport mode and it not only gives more power, but also builds downshift blips into the automatic. Love it. The smallest Mercedes-Benz A-Class has been further refined in this latest iteration. We love the look of the Sport body kit and the engine and chassis dynamics will bring a smile to the face of those looking for performance at a relatively modest price.
“IT’S easy to spot the worst drivers on the road,” said the noisy bloke at the barbie. “They are the ones who always drive with two hands on the steering wheel.” I must admit this stunned me. Regular readers will be well aware that I am forever preaching, “Always keep two hands on the wheel, two eyes on the road and all of your attention on driving.” Any other way of driving increases our chances of avoiding a crash, or at least minimising the effects of one. It’s easy to ignore the views of noisy blokes at barbies, because they have been known to get things wrong from time to time. But in the interests of giving him a fair go I decided to have a look at his theory over the next few days. To my surprise the noisy bloke was right; because many of the worst drivers on the road do hold onto the steering wheel with both hands. Usually gripping it in terror and sitting far too close to the steering wheel. The trouble is that they look as they would not actually do anything with the steering wheel if an emergency did arise. Just jam on the brakes, scream and hope for the best. Which is all too common with Australian drivers due to the woeful lack of training they need before our governments give them a licence. How anyone can be allowed on the road if they haven’t been taught the basics of braking, swerving and recovering to avoid a crash boggles my mind. It’s generally easy to spot the body language of the nervous driver with two hands gripping the steering wheel, so I can go back to my old practice of catching a glimpse of hand position as part of my ways of sussing out others near me on the road. That, and a hundred and one other factors, that can hopefully help me stay out of trouble. Watching others on the road, their body language, and how they behave becomes instinctive as you gain more driving experience. One of the reasons why experienced drivers statistically have fewer crashes than inexperienced ones. Obviously there are many other factors that cause younger, less experienced drivers to get into strife – bravado, peer pressure, a know-it-all attitude, resisting authority, and lots more. The trouble is that all of these factors frequently result in the kids not having two hands on the steering wheel. My recently-licensed grandson has told me that it’s not cool to be seen with two hands on the steering wheel. Thankfully, to avoid the cranky old bugger in me he usually does the right thing when I’m in the car with him. But his mother reports different behaviour when I’m not around. Surprise, surprise...
Two hands on the wheel, two eyes on the road and all of your attention on driving.
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May 13 - 19 | 2016
CLASSIFIEDS 2012 Holden Captiva S, 42,000km, manual, 5 months rego (ZBV855). $14,999. Ph 0411 567 482.
FALCON FG XR6 2011. Maroon, 6spd sports auto, 17” alloys, bluetooth, ipod connect, traction & cruise & climate control. Full service history, very good condition inside & out. RWC. 139,915 km. (YKD622). $13,500. Ph 0413 999 701.
FORD Ranger PX 2012, 6 speed manual, 2.2 turbo diesel, bluetooth, cruise control, tool box, tow bar, 65,000km, rego till end October (ZGN066), $20,500. Ph 0437 107 652.
2001 Jayco Hawk, 25th Anniversary model, Queen size bed one end and double the other, table folds down for extra bed, 3-way fridge, 4 gas burner stove top with grill and oven underneath. Full annexe in excellent condition. Great family van. $12,800 negotiable. Wa n g a r a t t a . P h 0411 250 510.
2007 Toyota Hilux DC SR5, black mica, manual, turbo diesel, rego October 2016 (CHZBR), excellent condition, $25,000. Ph 5727 1288. 1999 Ford Falcon AU sedan, registered October 2016 (RLL 444), RWC, very good mechanical condition, $1500 neg. Ph 0409 183 713.
SOLD
NISSAN Navara D40 STX 550 hard lid, silver, good condition, comes with black or chrome sports bar, $700 ono. Ph 0412 247 690.
Selling your car has never been easier or cheaper!
FORD Maverick, 1989, dual fuel, 7 seat, ST auto 4x4 wagon, silver, cloth trim, excellent condition, A/C, bull bar, tow bar, fog lights, cruise control. Reg. to Feb 2017, (FUJ584), RWC. Fully maintained by A grade motor mechanic since new, $5500. Ph 0412 681 499.
VE Commodore Omega Series 11 V6, 6 speed auto, rego till December 29, 2016, (YTZ971), excellent condition, 94,000km, serviced every 10,000km, service book and manual, $13,200. Ph 0400 321 567.
HOLDEN VZ Commodore 6 litre 6 speed gear box plus VE HSV gear shifter, gear knob and boot, $1000 ono. Ph 0412 247 690.
SUBARU Outback, 2011, 4GEN 2.0L turbo diesel 5D wagon, manual 6spd AWD, pearl white, excellent condition, 118,909kms, tow pack, reg Feb 2017 (ZZC281). $18,200. View at carsales.com ad Id: SSE-AD-3928417. Ph 0419 014 262.
2008 Jayco Sterling Caravan, 21.5 ft long, full ensuite, washing machine, large domestic fridge/freezer, reverse cycle air conditioner, stove with 3 gas burners, electric hot plate and oven, new tyres and wheel bearings, electric brakes, full annexe plus shade cloth wall for awning, excellent condition, always garaged when not in use, $37,000. Ph 0427 830 055.
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TOYOTA Hilux 1982 Jayco Finch, very Workmate utility petgood original condition, rol, dual cab, 2wd, 2010, automatic, white, $3800, Wangaratta. (XZQ683), 85,499kms, Ph 0447 789 473. $14,500 ono. Ph 0448 597 220 or 0419 129 460.
2001 Commodore u t e , a u t o , t o w b a r, October 2016 (ZII421), 257,218km, no RWC, mechanically sound, new tyres, regularly serviced, $3000. Ph 0407 462 505.
2014 MAZDA CX5 Maxx Sport. Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM), Smart City Brake Support (SCBS), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), t-bar, tint, HDLT & Bon Pro. mats, cruise, clim cont, A/C, roadwthy cert. Reg until 2/17 (YNE288). New car warranty until Feb 2018. Full serv hist, one owner, only 27,500kms. $28,500 ono. Genuine buyers only. Ph 0407 727 044.
SOLD
HOLDEN Commodore Z Series, 2013, silver, (ZOW743), 92,883kms, $15,000 ono. Ph 0448 597 220 or 0419 129 460. AUDI A6 2007, 3L turbo diesel, AWD, leather interior, sun roof, excellent condition, low kilometres, (1FC1DV), $20000 ono. 2005 Holden Crewman Ph 0435 920 428. dual cab VZ/S ute, V6 auto, hard lid Torneau cover, RWC, 120,000km, (WBL452), $10,500 neg. Phone Tony 0428 617 958.
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HOLDEN Commodore 2005 VZ station wagon. Holden By Design, auto, p/steer, cruise, CD, 192,000km. Good condition, reg til Aug 2016. (WOX874) $6000 ono. Ph 0411 250 510.
JAYCO Destiny Poptop 2007. 18ft, excellent condition, H/W system, rear camera, extendable double bed, dual axle & electric brakes, TV/ DVD, gas & electric cooktops plus griller, fridge, water tank, deep cycle battery, plus many more extras. Reg. J66058. $19,990. Ph 0427 216 030.
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