This week’s manufacturer news
JAGUAR – Has announced it will unveil an armoured version of the XJ called the Sentinel at the 2010 Moscow International Motor Show. The Sentinel will feature a state-of-the-art armouring package, yet its appearance will be virtually identical to that of a standard XJ.
MITSUBISHI – Will reduce the launch price of the new electric i-MiEV from £38,699 to £28,990. The adjustment will apply to all models ordered in the UK from 1st January 2011 and coincides with the recent government announcement that an incentive of £5,000 will be offered to electric vehicle consumers. This means that minus the incentive, the i-MiEV will now be priced at £23,990.
PEUGEOT – Has announced the 3008 Hybrid4, the world’s first diesel hybrid vehicle. The Hybrid4 has a 2.0 litre HDI 163bhp diesel engine combined with an electric motor, which maintains a constant power output of 27bhp and a peak output of 37bhp. Peugeot expect the Hybrid4 to have a CO2 emissions figure of 99g/km and a combined fuel consumption figure of 74.4 MPG. Launch of the Hybrid4 is expected to commence in the UK in spring 2011.
Test car – Hyundai i30 1.6 diesel estate Comfort 115ps
The i30 received a minor cosmetic facelift in April and although the car’s look didn’t change dramatically, the few changes it did receive all helped to give it a refreshing new style. The most noticeable revisions are to the front, where a new nose, grille and air-dam under the bumper give it a wider stance and make it look more purposeful. The sill extensions make it look wider and sportier, and the minor changes to the rear bumper complete the improvements.
The interior was good anyway, but just a few minor cosmetic alterations have made it even better. The look and feel of all the plastics in the i30 are of a high quality and it gives the occupant the impression that they’re sat in a premium brand car. Hyundai, like its sister company Kia, has improved vastly in terms of quality over the past couple of years, with every car they introduce now being so much better than the previous one.
The test car is powered by a 1.6 litre diesel engine that produces 115ps, goes from 0-62mph in 11.7 seconds and has a top speed of 117mph. The all important CO2 figure is 124g/km. The power that this engine produces is sufficient; it is obviously not the quickest car away at the traffic lights, but it is adequate. The official combined fuel consumption figure is 60.1 MPG, but we only achieved an average of around 50 MPG during the time we had the car.
Practicality is generally why people buy an estate car and the i30 is certainly a good all-rounder in this area. When the rear seats are in an upright position, there is more than enough room for a month’s worth of supermarket shopping and five adults’ luggage. With the rear seats folded flat – a simple and easy operation to undertake – the car basically turns into a small van.
The facelift i30 is a step forward from the original car, as it now looks more in proportion being lower and sportier. The brand new plant in the Czech Republic where it is built is modern and high-tech. I visited this factory last year and it was probably the cleanest I have ever visited. It is situated in an area where there is a high level of unemployment and those that work there are all very pleased to have a job and are not going to let it go easily. They’re a very proud community who are hard working and dedicated to producing the best possible cars. I got the impression that it was one big happy family and despite some of the repetitive and monotonous work involved, they just get on with it and are happy with their lives.
Aside from the production of cars, the worker’s restaurant was fantastic. We were not taken somewhere else to have lunch; we ate with the plant staff and ate what they ate. The food, service and cleanliness were all superb and all the staff were very friendly.
The cost of the i30 estate 1.6 diesel Comfort is £15,600 on the road. The facelift i30 is a step forward from the original car, as it now looks more in proportion being lower and sportier. It’s just a nice, useable, comfortable and practical car, and it offers plenty of interior space for its size. It also looks stylish and the build quality is remarkable.
Test car – Toyota Auris HSD
I first used the Auris HSD to pick up two friends to go and play badminton at our local sports centre. The third friend made his own way there, which was a good job really. The comment I got from the two friends that occupied the car – and yes I do have two friends – was ‘what a tiny boot this car has’, and they were correct. When I put my sports bag in it the amount of space available didn’t look too bad, but put another two in it and it’s full.
The Auris HSD is basically a Prius with an Auris body. It has a very similar running gear, and the systems/technology used is the same as on the Prius, but it is more of a ‘normal’ looking car. There are people out there who like the idea of using a petrol/hybrid car, but they couldn’t drive the Prius as the design just didn’t suit them. So Toyota came up with the compromise and addressed this problem by introducing a normal looking car with hybrid technology. This should hopefully keep everyone happy.
The boot is so small because some of the space is used to house the batteries that turn a regular Auris into the HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) and these batteries are bulky and heavy, so finding somewhere to put them is a major problem for the manufacturers. Unfortunately, sacrifices have to be made and in this case the luggage area suffers, but back seat comfort and space for occupants doesn’t.
The HSD is powered by a 1.8 litre petrol engine in conjunction with an electric motor, producing a total power output of 136ps. It goes from 0-62mph in 11.4 seconds and has a top speed of 112mph. The CO2 emissions figure is 89g/km on a car with 15” wheels and rises to just 93g/km on a car fitted with 17” wheels, which is well below the all-important 130g/km figure.
Driving the HSD is very similar to driving any other automatic car; you start the engine, put it into drive and away it goes. However, the difference with this car is that it sets off in electric only mode and will stay in electric only up until a speed of around 15mph. The petrol engine will then start smoothly and quietly (in fact you hardly notice it firing up at all) and the petrol engine will take the reins. The HSD has three modes of driving that can be activated by pressing the following three buttons:
1) Electric only mode (otherwise known as marriage saving mode, as you can creep up silently outside your house and no one will hear you come home).
2) Eco-Mode, where the car is as frugal as possible using a combination of petrol engine and electric motor.
3) Power mode, which changes the system’s mapping and gives a noticeable amount of extra power for acceleration.
On Electric only mode the car will travel for around 1.2 miles at low speeds without any assistance from the engine, which is ideal for city journeys. The batteries are charged either via the engine or through brake regeneration.
This HSD is very smooth and efficient, and the transition between electric and petrol engine is seamless. The gearbox is smooth in operation and not at all like the one on the first pre-production car we’d driven earlier in the year in Barcelona. It is proof that the engineers have worked long and hard on improving the gearbox to making it almost perfect.
The official combined fuel consumption figure is 74.3 MPG, but in reality this is only achievable by being too careful and driving at inconveniently low speeds. You would also have to use electric only mode at every available opportunity. By driving the Auris HSD at normal speeds, and not holding up everyone behind for hours as drivers try and get past you out of frustration, then the true figure would be an average of around 51 MPG. It can be argued that most diesel engines easily beat this figure on a regular basis, so why buy a petrol hybrid? It’s a good question. Getting over 50 MPG out of a 1.8 litre petrol engine is a remarkable achievement and getting a CO2 output below 95g/km from a petrol engine is clever engineering.
Having a smooth engine and automatic gearbox in a car that looks ‘normal’ is the way forward and it does make you wonder if full electric vehicles really are the future. With the HSD you don’t have to worry about the range capacity of the batteries and you can be confident that the technology is built to last and failure rates will be low level.
Prices for the HSD start from £18,950 and go up to £20,700, which is still less than an all-electric vehicle and has more benefits.
