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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Feb
24
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
This week’s manufacturer news
 AUDI – Has released details on the RS5 coupe. It opens for ordering in spring, with first deliveries due in October. The RS5 coupe is powered by a 4.2 litre V8 turbo petrol engine that produces 450ps, goes from 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds and has a limited top speed of 155mph. Fuel consumption is 26.2mpg on the combined cycle. Prices are expected to start at around £58,000.
 CITROEN – Has announced that a limited edition DS3 Racing model is scheduled to be introduced. The DS3 Racing is powered by a 1.6 litre THP petrol engine that produces 200hp. It will be finished in a special workshop by Citroen Racing.
HYUNDAI – Has released prices for the new Hyundai ix35 which goes on sale 25th March. Prices start from £16,495 for the Style 2WD and go up to £20,745 for the 4WD Premium.
KIA – Will unveil the all new Magentis at the New York Motor Show on 2nd April. First deliveries in Europe are due in spring 2011. The all new Sportage will be unveiled at next week’s Geneva Motor Show.
PROTON – Will show their concept car at the Geneva Motor Show next week and will feature an advanced plug-in hybrid drive train developed by Lotus Engineering.
VOLKSWAGEN – Has released details on the new Polo GTi which goes on sale this summer. The GTi is powered by a 1.4 litre TSI petrol engine that produces 180ps, goes from 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds and has CO2 emissions of 139g/km. Prices and specification will be announced nearer to its on sale date.
First impressions – Infiniti M Line saloon, international press event, Paddington, London
 Paddington is the home to the Nissan London Design Studio, where the Nissan Qashqai, Juke and many others were created. The press and valuation guides from all around Europe turned up for the unveiling of the M Saloon, ahead of its world debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show in early March. Infiniti called it the ‘Geneva Preview’ and wanted to ensure that they received as much coverage as possible, whereas if they just unveiled the car in Switzerland, there would be a chance that they would get overlooked amongst the mass of other model debuts.
Jim Wright, who is Vice President of Infiniti, told us that 2,500 Infiniti models had been sold in Europe and Russia since its launch 18 months ago by 35 dealers in 18 countries. The amount of dealers will increase to 50 by the end of this year. He said that Infiniti wanted to see a better balance of sales throughout the world, with not as much reliance from North America. Infiniti sold 115,000 cars globally in 2009 and were expecting this to rise to 155,000 this year. Mr Wright said that Infiniti were moving more towards hybrid with competitive technology and were looking at electric cars. He said that Infiniti is unique today and would remain unique in the future. He also said that Infiniti has a small presence in Europe and need to grow business here to be successful.
Andrew Limbert, Product Manager for the new M Saloon, told us that their new car will compete with the Mercedes-Benz E Class and CLS, Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Jaguar XF, but is slightly longer than its competitors, measuring 4,940mm in length. The total number of cars sold in Europe in this sector is around 220,000, of which he said 50% have six cylinder engines and that is why they have chosen to just offer six cylinder engines.
 At launch in autumn there will be a 3.0 litre V6 diesel producing 238ps, which goes from 0-62 in 7.9 seconds and has a provisional CO2 figure of 224g/km. The other engines are both petrol: a 3.5 litre V6 and a 3.7 litre V6 hybrid which is due on the market early in 2011. The CO2 figure on the 3.0 litre diesel model does look a little high in comparison to its main competitors and with the much improved four cylinder diesel engines from BMW, Audi and Mercedes, there is now a preference of four cylinders over six cylinders, especially in the fleet market.
We were told that the M’s design was magnetic and timeless; that it is top of the class for roominess, has rear wheel drive with four wheel steering and has many unique selling points; one of which being the air conditioning system. It has ‘Forest Air’, which Andrew said has an invigorating effect on the mind and body and in ‘breeze’ mode with the aromatic diffuser makes you relaxed, but will not put the driver to sleep. There is an air filtration system that attacks bacteria using a scrape-polyphenol filter.
 The interior is by far the best part of the car as it is simply ultra-luxurious. The materials used in this Japanese built car are every bit as good as premium cars from Germany or the UK. There are some really nice touches throughout the car, which make it feel and look like a quality car. The interior space for all passengers is good and as Infiniti say it is; probably the best in its class. However, the boot size is hampered by large suspension struts intruding into the luggage area, so what you expect to be a huge boot looking at the car from the outside, is in reality, a very disappointing size once you open the boot lid and look inside.
 The exterior is very Infiniti, with its trade mark front end and large grille. It has a short front overhang and a low nose, giving it a very sporty appearance. The rear styling bears a resemblance to the XF, and it has been designed in a way which makes it look sleek and coupe-like.
Infiniti say that they have spent a lot of money, time and effort into making the cabin a very quiet place to sit. They say they have tried to achieve the best in acoustic quality to make the driving experience that more pleasurable. We will have to wait a few months before we drive one to see if they are right.
First driving impressions – BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics (ED), Bracknell
Every now and again a car comes along that really is too good to be true: the 320d ED is one of those cars. BMW has proved beyond any doubt that if you turn your mind to doing something, then anything is possible.
 For a premium four door saloon car that is packed with standard equipment, the CO2 and fuel consumption figures are unbelievable and would not have even been considered just a couple of years ago. BMW has managed to create a car that should not exist. The new 2.0 litre ED diesel engine produces 163ps, in comparison to the regular 320d which produces 184ps. The ED has CO2 emissions of just 109g/km, giving a company car driver a BIK of 13% and a 100% write-down allowance in the first year. It goes from 0-62mph in 8 seconds in comparison to the 320d in 7.5 seconds. However, it is the MPG figure that is most impressive: a staggering 68.9 MPG on the combined cycle.
 I drove the 320d Efficient Dynamics model for thirty minutes around Bracknell on a variety of roads, including a dual-carriageway, around town and on quiet out of town roads. I reset the trip computer at the start of the short journey and despite plenty of traffic lights and roundabouts, it still achieved 51.4 MPG. This is a long way off from the quoted 68.9 MPG but is still outstanding for the type of driving conditions. I am sure that if more motorway journeys were incorporated when driving this car, along with the general shorter journeys, then gaining over 60 MPG would be easily achievable. I thought that this misery car would feel slow and being a steady get-away would be a part of the pay-off for the high MPG and low CO2, but this wasn’t the case at all. It is lively and doesn’t feel to be at all lazy; it just drives like any other 2.0 litre diesel car.
 The engineers back in Munich have been working overtime to solve some problems that diesel engines produce to minimise noise and vibration. One of the solutions was to create ‘Centrifugal Pendulum Absorbers’ within the clutch (pictured) and this has resolved the issues of vibration at lower speeds. Once this had been sorted, the engineers could make further changes which included a longer final transmission ratio and a reconfigured Optimum Shift Indicator to encourage earlier change-up. Both these changes contribute to lower engine speeds and therefore lower fuel consumption. Add these highly complex changes to BMW’s already acknowledged fuel saving technology such as Auto Start/Stop, Electric Power Steering, Brake Energy Regeneration, Intelligent Alternator Control and Reduced Rolling Resistance Tyres and you have quite a package to save you money. Add to this the £35 a year VED and the 320d ED looks like a winner.
The price of the 320d ED is the same price as the 320d SE and has very similar specification. It is priced at £27,280 on the road so is not a cheap four door saloon car, but you do get high quality, the all-important BMW badge and guaranteed high level of service from the BMW dealer.
 I suppose the question is why buy a 320d SE when you can have the ED for the same price? You only lose a little on horse power, half a second on the 0-62mph time and get a CO2 figure of 109g/km instead of 125g/km. The danger with these fuel efficient cars that are now on the market, including hybrids, is that you do find yourself driving them in a different way to other cars. You are constantly trying to get that extra half a mile to the gallon and will do anything to get the trip computer to improve its read-out. This in itself causes problems for other drivers and will inevitably lead to more congestion. You leave traffic lights slower, coast to roundabouts and drive below the speed limits just to save a few pence on fuel; it is quite addictive. This slowing down in driving has a knock-on effect for other road users and while you may be doing the planet some good, it is very frustrating for the driver behind. You ask drivers of the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight or Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion if they drive differently now to their previous car?
The 320d Efficient Dynamics is a good choice for the company car driver, has benefits for the company and will certainly be a sought after used car.
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