CIRCULATING IN WANGARATTA, BENALLA, MYRTLEFORD, BRIGHT, MT BEAUTY, BEECHWORTH, YACKANDANDAH, RUTHERGLEN, CHILTERN AND DISTRICTS
NORTH EAST
January 23, 2015
available online - wangarattachronicle.com.au
PRINTED FORTNIGHTLY — VOLUME 465
Winners and losers in 2014 Storypage3
EXTRA APPEAL: The Kia Sportage is an attractive, versatile and affordable mid-sized SUV.
Extra warranty adds to Sportage’s appeal T
he boom in Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) shows no sign of abating. Such is the confidence of major carmakers that they are loading up their ranges with up to five 4WD/SUV models in varying sizes, styles and degrees of toughness. Kia was one of the pioneers of the mid-sized soft-road SUVs when it launched the original Sportage way back in 1996. Indeed it was one of the first models to go on sale here when the Korean carmaker arrived downunder, and is the only one to have been here continuously since then. For many years sales were hampered by Sportage’s rather bland styling but all that changed when Kia brought in renowned design chief, Peter Schreyer, who transformed the third-generation model into a much more stylish vehicle, one that is gradually clawing
By ALISTAIR KENNEDY its way up the sales ladder in this most competitive of segments. Four Sportage equipment levels are offered: Si (2WD petrol manual or auto); Si Premium (2WD petrol auto only); SLi (4WD petrol or diesel auto only); and Platinum (4WD petrol or diesel auto only). Our test car was the Sportage Si Premium priced at $30,510 without on-roads and including the optional metallic paint ($520) in an eye-catching Techno Orange. Just because buyers have chosen sensible shapes for their SUVs doesn’t mean that they want them to be bland and boring which unfortunately Sportage was for much of its 18 years. All that changed when it underwent the duckling/swan treatment and Sportage is
now right up there with the most attractive SUVs on the market. Sportage comes with the choice of two four-cylinder engines, one petrol and one diesel. Each has a capacity of 2.0 litres but the diesel puts out significantly more power (135 kW vs 122 kW) and torque (392 Nm vs 205 Nm) than the petrol. The diesel comes only with four-wheel drive and automatic transmission while the petrol gets that same combination as well as 2WD with either manual or automatic. Both transmissions have six forward ratios. There are no paddle shifters so manual overrides can only be made via the gear lever. Interior space is well managed with reasonable rear legroom and, given the rearsloping roofline, surprisingly good head space. Width will be the main issue for any more than
two rear passengers with the narrow centre seat only suitable for small children. Cargo space is right up with the best in the class ranging from 564 litres with the rear seatbacks upright to 1353 litres with them folded. There’s a full size spare wheel under the cargo area floor which makes for a relatively high loading height. All Sportage models come with an impressive list of standard safety equipment. On top of the mandatory stability and traction control there are six airbags; ABS brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Brake Assist; Downhill Brake Control; Hill-Start Assist; Emergency Stop Signal; rear parking sensors; impact sensing auto door unlocking; and static cornering lamps. All but the Si manual also have Trailer Stability Control.
Continued page 2
NORTH EAST
CLASSIFIEDS
2
Selling your car has never been easier or cheaper!
EB Ford station wagon, column auto, 4/speed, 1994, 4.0 litre, overload springs, good tyres, runs well, a/c, new fuel pump, (XUY407), $1200. Ph 0419 166 192. JAYCO Finch pop up caravan, annex, been raised for going in bush, good condition, $3500. Ph 0419 166 192. 2007 Majestic Knight, 15ft, single axle, single beds, good condition, $18,000. Ph 0448 213 660. MERCEDES 280SE 1983 model, immaculate condition throughout, 2 owners, all tyres are brand new, registered until September 2015 (RAO555), low 190,019km, located Wangaratta, $4000. Viewings strictly by app. only. Please contact Darren on 0418 347 776. SERIES II 2012 Holden Captiva, still under warranty, 1 female owner, 25,000km, (ZME174), good service history, auto trans, sunroof, F/R park assist, 6 stacker CD, alloy wheels, factory tinted windows, $25,000 ono. Ph 0408 570 146.
2003 Commodore VY Executive, (WYM864), 180,000 km. $4500 ono. Contact Brad 0412 000 884.
2005 Toyota Corolla Ascent Hatchback (TIZ667) May 15. 126,000km, manual, 17" alloy wheels, TRD upgrades, tinted windows, excellent condition $8000. Ph 0438 988 608.
1995 VS Commodore sedan, 1 owner female. Reg serviced, mech excellent, reg Sept (NKP714), immaculate condition, genuine sale $4000 neg. Ph 5729 7613.
MAHINDRA pick-up 2008 2WD, 2.5l turbo diesel, 48,400km, 5 months rego, RWC (XOR396). Exc. cond. $10,000. Ph (03) 5727 0540.
TOYOTA Starlet 1997 auto, 6 months rego, excellent condition, RWC, tinted windows, (XFN693), 5 door hatch, 123,500km. $4700. Ph 5721 5301, mobile 0427 240 238.
1995 Toyota Landcruiser diesel, 359,000 km, lots of extras, reg (OCC010) rego 11/15, with roadworthy. $14,000 ono. For all details phone Kim 0448 081 132.
HONDA Accord (2000) V6 auto (TXX567), 89,800km, full service history, immaculate condition, 11 months rego, RWC, dual airbags, leather trim, 6 stacker CD, cruise control, alloy wheels. $5500. Ph (03) 5725 3271.
1997 Mitsubishi Lancer auto, 211,392 km, reg exp Aug, no RWC (UYW207). Good clean car. $3000. Ph (03) 5727 3581.
HOLDEN VU ute 2/02. 176,000km, ute has been crammed and chipped. New H/D diff and gearbox. Cool air intake. Hard canopy, tow pack and tint. 19" mags with L/P tyres + 6 standard. Very good condition. (BR44GD) $11,000 ono. Call Jeff on 0467 977643. Wangaratta.
2002 Nissan Navara D22 DX 4x4, 97,000km, bench seat, snorkel, X-ray driving lights, side boxes under tray, CD player with blue tooth, black dinamiro rims, MT tyres, some minor panel damage to driver's side pillar, RWC. Rego 28/2/2015 (YYE049), $12,000 ono. Ph 0428 570 308.
TOYOTA Cressida Grande ’92, excellent cond, all luxury extras, including sun roof, factory mag wheels, leather seating. A really lovely car, top of range, always garaged. RWC. Reg (BSW31U). $2750 ono. Ph (02) 6035 3853.
January 23, 2015
Extra warranty adds to Sportage’s appeal From page 1 The Si Premium adds a reversing camera (displayed on the left-side of the rear view mirror); LED daytime running lights; dusk-sensing automatic headlights; and auto-dimming rear view mirror. Sportage SLi and Platinum also get front parking sensors with the reversing camera’s images displayed on the dashboard monitor. Unlike the higher-specced Sportage models which use a 7-inch LCD color monitor the Si Premium, as tested, gets a rather basic 4.2-inch red/black screen. It does have nice large, clear characters. Likewise the various audio controls are large and wellpositioned with the minor inconvenience of the power/ volume control being on the left-hand side of the audio unit. Bluetooth pairing is refreshingly simple and intuitive while the Aux and USB sockets are easily visible and accessible at the lower centre of the dashboard. Start up is via a traditional pop-out key that is inserted into the ignition slot, an option we prefer to the growing trend towards smart keys and startstop buttons (as used in the
top-of-the-range Sportage Platinum). A moderately heavy vehicle (1492 kg to 1580 kg) powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine can be a problem when it’s fullyloaded. We didn’t have more than two on board at any stage and had no problem cruising around town and on the motorway but did struggle on steepish hills. If you do want more grunt then the 2.0-litre diesel will be much more suitable, although it does weigh in at 1712 kg. All models can tow up to 1600 kg with a braked trailer. Outward visibility isn’t great with large pillars and a small rear windscreen although large side mirrors and the reversing camera do alleviate the problem to some degree. Noise, vibration and harshness levels are impressively low partly due to the addition of a film between the glass laminations on the windscreen. Ride and handling characteristics have been optimised for Australia, with local engineers contributing to better dynamics. Some may find the ride a little on the firm side, with enough compromise to satisfy those like tighter
handling and extra grip. Fuel consumption from the petrol engine is officially listed at 8.4 litres per 100 kilometres on the combined city/highway cycle. We recorded 10.1 L/100 km during our week of testing in our usual 50/50 mix of urban and motorway conditions. Provided that we accept the ‘Sports’ in SUV – and in Sportage – as meaning carrying golf clubs, cricket kits, etc and not sporty performance then this neat and functional vehicle will satisfy the needs of a diverse group of buyers. The petrol-powered variants should be fine for city commuting, for those who need extra grunt, and don’t mind paying an extra $3000, then there’s the diesel. If the Sportage does make your short list, and it should, then the clincher might just be Kia’s new industryleading seven-year / unlimited kilometre warranty. That’s more than double most of its competitors (Hyundai and Mitsubishi give five years) and in most cases, means the Sportage is likely to be covered for life. In addition there’s a sevenyear capped price service program and seven-year roadside assist.
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NORTH EAST
3
January 23, 2015
Winners and losers in 2014 BY EWAN KENNEDY
A
fter a series of bumper years vehicle sales slowed in 2014, with a drop of two per cent on 2013. The good news is that the magic million-mark was breached yet again, 2014’s sales totalled 1,113,224, compared with 1,136,227 in 2013. Toyota was clear leader in 2014, with 203,501 sales for 18.3 per cent of the market. Such is the domination of Toyota here that the combined sales of Holden in second spot with 106,092, and Mazda in third, 100,704, barely managed to equal Toyota. Fourth place, with sales of 100,011 had Hyundai nibbling at the heels of Mazda. Hyundai had never got into six-figure sales in Australia before and the South Korean maker is very ambitious. Indeed, Hyundai was the only one of the top five that sold more vehicles in 2014 than in 2013. Stand by for a ding-dong battle between Holden, Mazda and Hyundai for second spot in the sales charts that will rage throughout Australia in 2015. When the big boys battle, buyers benefit – get in there for your share. Ford, once proudly in number one spot in Australia for many years, is now a long way back in fifth overall, with just 79,703 sales, a drop of close to 10,000 units on 2013. Sales of large cars continue to decline, with Commodore selling 30,203 and Falcon struggling way back at 6349. All passenger car segments declined by varying amounts, averaging 6.1 per cent. It probably came as no surprise that large cars were down by 9.4 per cent. Oddly, at the other end of the scale, the tiddlers called ‘Micro cars’by industry statistician Vfacts, suffered a huge drop in
popularity, down 30.8 per cent. Many Light and Small cars have come down in price due to fierce sales battles all through 2014 and it looks as though those looking at the Micros are finding a few more dollars and shifting up a size or two. Sales of SUVs continue rapidly upwards, by 5.6 per cent in 2014. It’s no secret that the great majority of SUV and 4WD buyers don’t plan to take them off road, they simply want a high riding station wagon. As most wagons are becoming less macho and more sleek in their shape they appeal to a greater number of buyers and will continue to take sales away from large cars. Interestingly, some practical people have decided they don’t want/need the image of an SUV - sales of people movers, which are a more sensible, and often more practical, alternative to SUVs, were up by 10.6 per cent in 2014 compared with 2013. The biggest selling car was Toyota’s Corolla for the second year running. Corolla’s 43,735 sales just squeezed past Mazda3’s 43,313. Toyota Australia, indeed the entire local car industry must be ruing the fact that it no longer makes Corollas in this country. Fiat Chrysler Australia (FCA) was again a big winner, with sales up 27 per cent in 2014. The face behind FCA’s success in Australia over the last few years, the company’s president Veronica Johns, left the organisation late in the year for personal reasons, it will be interesting to see if the new chief, Pat Dougherty, can keep up the sales pace. Mercedes-Benz jumped 15.8 per cent in 2014. The all-new C-Class led the way, with the CLA, and GLA-Class SUV offering prestige at relatively affordable prices. Among a swag of press releases that bombards we journalists following the
BIG SELLER: Toyota Corolla was Australia’s biggest selling vehicle for 2014.
POPULAR SUV: Mazda CX-5 topped the sales chart for the booming SUV market. announcement of the annual sales figures, one stood out: Holden tried to strike a positive note by getting excited that almost one car in ten sold in 2014 was a Holden - a far cry from the
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days when it sold one car in two back in the early 1950s. How times change; of the 1,113,224 vehicles sold in Australia during 2014, a total of 686,722 were imported from
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Japan, Thailand and South Korea. A mere 100,468 were made in this country. A number that will soon be reduced to zero. Sad, isn’t it? Did you know that we also
bring in significant numbers of vehicles from Argentina, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland and Turkey, among quite a few other countries?
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