LDV Deliver 9: Steak instead of saveloys

Big, Bigger and Biggest – and cubes and squares. LDV’s latest van has launched and the advantages unwrap in mathematical formulae.

Price: $48,289 to $55,764
Powertrain and performance: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled diesel engine,110kW/3500rpm, 375Nm/1500-2400rpm. Rear-wheel drive. Six-speed manual and six-speed auto.
Hydraulic rack and pinion steering. MacPherson strut front suspension, taper leaf springs with gas filled shocks at the rear.
Vital statistics: Length 5546-5940mm, height 2555-2755mm, width 2062mm, wheelbase 3366-3760mm. Wheels: 16-inch steel.

CHINESE brand LDV sits in solid third place in van sales in New Zealand, which is pretty good considering the product has been here for just over six years.

Leading the way is the Toyota Hiace which commands a 30.3 percent share, followed by the Ford Transit on 23.2 percent. Then there’s LDV with its 12.7 percent, which puts it above the likes of Hyundai, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and, more latterly, Mitsubishi which has just re-entered the van market with its Express.

LDV has achieved that market penetration with two vans. There’s the aging V80 which had been designed and produced in the United Kingdom by the commercial division of British Motor Corporation prior to it being acquired by China’s state-owned SAIC Motor in 2009. There’s also the smaller G10 which launched here in 2015.

That penetration has a big opportunity to improve, because a brand-new LDV van has arrived.

It is the Deliver 9, so named because the V90 badge it has in China cannot be used in export because Volvo has a V90 wagon.

So Deliver 9 it is, and LDV importer Great Lake Motor Distributors is introducing it in three guises.

There’s a mid-wheelbase and mid-roof model called Big, a long-wheelbase mid-roof version called Bigger, and a long-wheelbase high-roof model called .. yup, you guessed it: Biggest. Prices range from $48,289 for a Big through to $55,964 for a Biggest.

“Vans are one of the best new vehicle market segments to be in,” GLMD managing director Rick Cooper related at yesterday’s launch.

“The vehicles are all about logistics and high mileages – some of our existing customers drive upwards of 15,000km every two months. So the more efficient the interior space, the more money can be made – which allows their operators to eat steak at night instead of saveloys!”

Cooper and his general manager, Andrew Bayliss, argue the dollar value of cargo space.

The Deliver 9 Big is 3019mm long and 1792mm high, it has a cargo volume of 9.7 cubic metres, and a floor area of 5.4 square metres. The Bigger is 3413mm long and has a cargo volume of 11 cubic metres and a floor area of 6.1 square metres. Topping things out thanks to a higher roofline is the Biggest’s cargo volume which is a massive 12.3 cubic metres, which is way ahead of both Transit and Hiace.

Bayliss has calculated a cost per cubic metre of cargo volume. Excluding good and services tax, that works out to $4206 with the Biggest, $4390 with the Bigger and $4978 with the Big.

By way of comparison, a Toyota Hiace is at least $5644, Ford’s Transit is no lower than $5817 and the Hyundai iLoad comes to $11,589.

Undertaking the same exercise but with focus this time on cargo-specific floor area, Bayliss says it comes to $7916 per square metre with the Bigger and $8482 with the Biggest - which has the same 6.1 square metre floor - and $8942 with the Big.

The lowest such cost with Hiace, Transit and iLoad are respectively $8748, $10,321, and $13,418.

In other parts of the world the Deliver 9 has been launched as a replacement for the V80. In New Zealand the latter remains, for the meantime at least, part of the LDV lineup.

It’s not a development off the V80 either. The new model is brand-new, powered by a freshly-created four cylinder turbocharged and intercooled diesel that offers 110kW of power at 3500rpm, and 375Nm of torque from 1500-2400 rpm.

Truth be told, there’s a certain Transit look to the new van, with a major difference being a very big bright silver front grille. On the inside the similarities continue, right down to a high-mounted gearshift which clears legroom for three people up front, and a swag of minor storage all over the place.

All models have single sliding doors on their left side for access to the load areas, and they all feature ‘barn’ doors that swing open 180 degrees to allow forklifts to be used to load cargo. The cargo areas also feature eight tie-down points, plus integrated rear steps for ease of access.

There’s an impressively high level of safety specification that includes hill hold, lane departure warning, cruise control (adaptive on the auto models), rear parking sensors, and driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags. The model has yet to undergo any ANCAP crash testing.

Interior features air conditioning, power windows, a big 10.1-inch touchscreen, and a heap of minor storage including document storage in the roof lining.

Short drives in a Big and a Biggest following the presentation confirmed the Deliver 9 as an easy drive, with fully adjustable driver’s seat and a comfortable driving position, and of course the excellent visibility that traditionally comes with vans. It’s obviously going to be a nice drive for the commercial users.

And the cargo areas to the rear? They are among the most spacious around, and when it comes to the cubes and squares for the dollars, the GLMD people say there’s nothing to beat them. Considering that vans are commercial vehicles pure and simple, that’s surely going to be a major selling point.

Steak instead of saveloys seems a tasty proposition.

Toyota GR Yaris: The raining champ

So little time, so much to discover about the most exciting hot hatch Toyota has ever produced. Fortunately, Colin Smith is a quick learner.

WE all only got two laps of a wet Hampton Downs racing circuit today, driving the national layout – so, less than six kilometres clocked, not quite five minutes at the wheel, pit time included. In the rain.

Yet I’m confident I can tell you a couple of things about the eagerly anticipated second car in the Toyota Gazoo Racing family.

The GR Yaris hot-hatch boasts a growling three-cylinder engine note which is blend of raw aggression and cheerful enthusiasm. And in a pleasing contrast to most 200kW cars of recent times, the rally-bred Yaris doesn’t feel heavy.

Keeping the weight of an AWD Turbo hatch to about 1300kg is a fair achievement and achieves a cracking power-to-weight ratio that betters many larger engine and more powerful hot-hatches.

Track impressions are of sure-footed agility with crisp turn-in and direction change. The confident wet track grip level heightened expectations for a run along a twisty road where this little ripper might be even more at home than on a race track.

Even before the all-to-brief time behind the wheel we already knew a lot about the GR Yaris. It has launched with a tasty $54,990 price-tag and Toyota NZ has opted to focus on the premium specification while other markets also offer lower-spec versions.

The car has a close association with the Yaris WRC rally programme and in joining the GR Supra it plays a lead role in expanding the Toyota Gazoo Racing product line.

While it bears the Yaris name the muscular exterior shares only the LED headlights and taillights plus the door mirrors with the new Yaris hatch.

Toyota calls it a hybrid car – not in the sense of a combined petrol-electric powertrain but because under the skin it merges two different vehicle platforms.

The front end is common with the new Yaris hatch while the rear is Corolla-based. That’s how the rear driveline and trailing arm independent rear suspension layout is achieved.

It’s also a three-door and sits 55mm lower as well as being significantly wider thanks to those pumped-out wheel arches. All body panels including alloy doors (a frameless design), rear hatch and power bulged bonnet plus the carbon composite roof are unique to the GR version.

So too are the aerodynamics and the prominent cooling intakes and mesh grille that dominates the facia of the GR.

The engine is a bespoke 1618cc three-cylinder turbo which develops 200kW at 6500rpm and 370Nm of torque from 3000-4800rpm. It has slightly ``under-square’’ bore/stroke dimensions, a 10.5:1 compression ratio, single scroll turbo and Toyota’s D-4ST port and direct injection technology.

Toyota claims 0-100km/h in 5.2secs and a top speed of 230km/h.

The compact and lightweight engine sitting over the front end along with quick ratio (2.36 turns lock-to-lock) steering are also contributors to that immediate impression of a light and nimble car.

If you were around to hear a Daihatsu Charade GTti in full cry you’ll recognise the soundtrack. It’s an enthusiastic growl with the engine not only delivering an early ramp up of torque delivery but it also revs eagerly to 6500rpm and feels like it still has more to give – a rare trait for modern high torque turbo cars.

There’s a six-speed manual transmission with short throw shift and rev-matching function. The sophisticated Active Torque Split all-wheel-drive system features Torsen diffs front and rear and a clever electromagnetic solution for distributing torque between the front and rear.

In Normal drive mode the front:rear default is 60:40. Switch to Sport and there’s a rear-biased 30:70 split and in track mode there is a 50:50 torque distribution for maximum traction.

Beneath the muscular wheel arches and wide track stance is performance suspension and serious braking hardware including 356mm x 28mm slotted and ventilated front rotors with four piston callipers. The 18-inch forged alloy BBS wheels are shod with 225/40 ZR 18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.

Considering Toyota’s modern WRC rivals – the Hyundai i20 and Ford Fiesta - are cars that are only offered in front-drive configuration for the road, the GR Yaris is the closest thing you can buy to a current WRC car since Subaru and Mitsubishi exited the top level of the rally game. There’s also a nice nod to Toyota rally history with a GT-Four badge on a tailgate.

As well as the performance focus the GR Yaris is a well-equipped car with dual-zone air conditioning, an eight-speaker JBL audio system, 7.0-inch touchscreen with navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Head-Up display, heated front seats and alloy pedals.

I’ll add one more attribute to what I learned in two laps. The neatly-sized – and actually round - steering wheel provides a great connection with the car and the front seats offer supportive bolstering around the hips and ribs.

In spite of the rally bloodlines the GR Yaris doesn’t divert from Toyota’s policy of equipping all models with its full Safety Sense driver assist and safety package. However, the car hasn’t returned an ANCAP crash test result yet.

So far 40 cars have been allocated to the Kiwi market with 36 already pre-sold and the company registering the remaining four for itself.

Toyota NZ wants more and is working hard to secure additional units from the limited global supply. Two laps behind the wheel certainly left me wanting more as the GR Yaris had teased one of the sharpest driving experiences of recent times.

Ford Escape, Puma: Chasing improved SUV space showing

Confidence in fresh products competing in two critical segments of the new vehicle market.

Escape (above) and Puma are expected to provide Ford with a healthy standing in their respective sports utility market segments.

THE smile was extra-wide on the face of Ford New Zealand managing director Simon Rutherford.

Why? Because he was happily introducing to the Kiwi motoring media a pair of sports utilities that will compete in the two biggest-selling segments of the New Zealand passenger vehicle market.

The pair are the Escape, sourced from Spain, which will compete in the medium SUV segment which currently accounts for 20 percent of all new vehicle sales, and the Puma, out of Romania, which will sell in a compact SUV segment which accounts for an 18 percent slice.

Ford was not performing particularly well in those spots previously.

The medium SUV segment is dominated by the Toyota RAV4 which last year achieved 5611 sales, and other solid performers include Mazda CX-5 (3312 sales), Kia Sportage (3273) and Hyundai Tucson (2047). The previous generation Escape’? Just 1040 found homes last year.

In Ford terms that in itself was rather good, because the rest of the brand’s SUV fleet couldn’t get past 500 sales last year. The smallest and least expensive model, the EcoSport out of India, achieved just 446 registrations. Paltry compared to what the Mitsubishi ASX, Suzuki Vitara and Honda HR-V were achieving.

As a consequence of this mediocre customer acceptance of the Ford SUVs, the brand has had to rely on stellar performances by its commercial vehicles, particularly the Ranger ute.

Bald statistics tell the story. Last year Ford achieved a total of 14,776 new vehicle sales which put it in second place overall behind Toyota – but 64 percent of those sales were the Ranger, with the Transit van accounting for a further eight percent. And frankly, that left the rest of the Ford new vehicle fleet picking up the pieces.

But now there’s every prospect that will change.

Escape has undergone quite the transformation so it is now longer, lower and wider than before, and with svelte bodyshell lines that must put the vehicle up there as one of the best-looking competitors in the medium SUV selection. Its interior has also been modernised and now features the same rotary-style shifter as that aboard the Focus hatch which is built off the same platform.

There are some design features that help set the new Escape apart, too. One is a sliding rear seat that can be moved back and forward to provide a choice of more cargo room or more rear leg room. Another is a tonneau cover that is attached to the rear glass so it moves out of the way when the rear hatch is lifted up. Another? Little rubber arms that pop out of the doors whenever they are opened, to help protect paintwork.

Escape’s turbocharged 2.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine also now breathes a little better which has increased its power and torque outputs to an impressive 183kW and 387Nm, and the engine is now mated to an eight-speed automatic which replaces the previous model’s six-speeder.

If the new Escape looks a lot more swept than the model it replaces, the change is nothing compared to the difference in looks between the new Puma and the EcoSport it replaces. It’s a really good-looking small SUV, with some within Ford of Europe apparently claiming it to be the most beautiful car they’ve ever made.

It certainly looks a lot better than the EcoSport, which was quite a lumpy small vehicle with the spare tyre mounted on its side-opening rear door.

Like the EcoSport, the Puma is powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that develops 92kW of power and 170 Nm of torque from a low 1400 rpm, and it is mated to a seven-speed automatic. Interior is very similar to that of the Fiesta hatch, which is built off the same platform.

EcoSport’s performance has been so dire Rutherford was comfortable suggesting Puma is basically entering a white space market.

“We will sell more Pumas this month (November) than all of the EcoSports sold last year,” he said. “Our aim is have a far greater presence in the small SUV segment.

 “Many customers buy their cars from the outside – in other words, they are initially attracted by their looks,” he said.

“The previous Escape didn’t look particularly sexy, and on the inside its top-hat dash was all a bit fiddly,” he added, referring to the design of the centre console.

“But now, we’ve got this new model which I believe will be truly competitive. It’s a clean-looking vehicle with lines that are much more progressive. There’s no reason why it won’t do much better for us than before.”

Audi E-Tron Sportback: Yet another ohm run

Addition of a Sportback option enhances the appeal of Audi’s large electric.

EVEN though new electric cars don’t achieve massive sales penetration, Audiphiles should surely by now have their heads around this whole e-tron thing. 

What the tech does and why, how you live with it … nothing’s enigmatic any longer, right?

It’s literally just ordinary motoring life with a plug and play element that all works seamlessly at home while those on the run can now rely an established national recharging network provisioning a quick and seamless replenishment and reach into almost parts of the country where they might like to drive.

About that. For sure, the open road support structure is incomplete – it’s still early days with the next step roll out of high-output DC chargers that will be increasing demand – and one or two more remote A to B drive routes continue to ask for careful planning.

But with 144 DC rapid charging stations in the North Island and a further 65 in the South, plus at least 300 AC charge points nationally, the infrastructure is so robust that, generally speaking if you’re running an electric car with 250kms’ range or better, then all real and perceived anxieties and challenges are by and large addressed.

So, even though electric cars continue to account for a fraction of new vehicle registrations, at least the support structure is robust and complete enough. And that, in turn, fuels Audi New Zealand’s confidence about this being a good environment into which it can continue to deliver fully electric fare. 

It’s no half-hearted rollout. VW Group’s electric ambition is extremely bold and, notwithstanding what others within this family of brands are intending for New Zealand, at the moment it’s very much a case of Audi leading the charge.

Over the next 18 months, it will have two more brand-new cars – the high-performance E-Tron GT that platform-shares with the Porsche Taycan, and the Q4, a compact that is crucial for volume-building (coming in two body shapes) – as well as more sporty editions of the E-Tron we’ve enjoyed in sports utility format for the past year, over which time 150 have found homes, plus a new Sportback variant that has just landed. 

Opportunity to experience the latter was the reason for a media outing yesterday, with a route that took cars from Audi NZ’s headquarters in Auckland through to an eco-house just outside of Raglan, with driving on a winding country road on the outward leg and a more relaxed mainly motorway cruise back.

The run afforded opportunity for experiencing a ‘future-now’ replenishment provision – stopping at the country’s first dual ‘hyperchargers’, the fastest publicly available EV chargers in the country (with 300kW, they’re six times more powerful that regular DC chargers), at Bombay – and also, though it seemed to escape most participants, a return to a road important to Audi’s history.

Our conference spot just outside of Raglan was the Glass House, a holiday home created by a pair of Kiwi entrepreneurs to highest eco-design potential (everything is off the grid and mainly solar-powered).

Reaching this meant driving, for a short distance, the Whaanga Coast road, which true motorsport fans will surely recognise as one of the greatest past stages for the world rally championship; a route on which Audi’s genius Ur Quattro earned its spurs with a clear victory in 1984.

The ‘q’ word is surely the only technical tie between what was then the world’s most advanced car in dirt-configured motorsport and the car we drove yesterday. And, even in respect to quattro, the system utilised by the all-electric model we drove yesterday is wholly different to that which Swedish rally ace Stig Blomqvist leveraged to devastating effect four decades ago.

Of course, so too are the cars. No-one had ever thought about sports utilities of any kind back in the 1980 and, of course, anyone conjecturing then that they might one day affect a coupe-like silhouette and be operating entirely on battery power would have been openly laughed at.

But that’s the world we are in now and it will only continue to evolve toward electric impetus.

How different the cars, but what about the driving intents? Well, it’s fair to recognise that the E-Tron Sportback as it represents now prioritises focus on plush sophistication; the variant that will really push the sporty side is the tri-motor ‘S’ edition arriving next year.

In choosing State Highway 22, through Rangiri and Pukekawa, as the main element of the outward driving leg, Audi’s route planner elected road that I imagined was going to stretch the model’s dynamic talent, and so it proved.

There were never moments when it felt out of sorts, but it soon became apparent that the combinations of sheer size, considerable weight – as sleek as the bodyshape seems when placed alongside the original wagon, there’s a negligible 24kgs between them and it achieves just short of 2.5 tonnes on scales – and the radically different way an electric powertrain performs (faster ramp up, no engine braking, in particular) made it unsurprising that it could not be effectively driven in a manner emulating the petrol-engined sports sedan leading our group. 

Notwithstanding that it has huge wallop when unleashed – Audi quotes 0-100kmh in 5.7 seconds in Sport mode (power boosted to 300kW), rising to 6.6s in 265kW Normal – you’re going to find that’s really reserved for easier roads than this. 

An electric car asks for more consideration to not only how much throttle it needs but when that should best occur, plus deceleration from the regeneration system’s default auto setting is minimal, so it will free-wheel for much longer distance. The idea, then, is the ratchet up the retardation with the paddle shifters on the steering wheel and, certainly, the strongest of the three settings noticeably slows the vehicle when you let off the accelerator. 

Yet, in a scenario where corners come up quicker than pre-election promises, the requirement to hold a measured pace that allows comfortable progress without slowing it too much was not without challenge.

So, as much as the all-wheel action and the excellent tyres (in this instance, the 21-inch alloys are shod with 265/45 PremiumContact6 rubber), the sports air suspension, adaptive damping and a host of drive modes from which to choose are powerful and generally helpful partners, there’s an art to keeping it seemly that does not come wholly naturally. You’ve to relearn a lot.

 In saying that, the curve is not steep. One big step forward came with abandoning the Dynamic setting that would outwardly seem the right choice and instead dialling it back to Comfort. The car immediately felt better balanced and easier to control. Less banging on the throttle and brake also made a huge difference.

Dialling back a touch also improved efficiency, though in respect to that, while the returns from all the cars were nothing flash, none of us managed to blow apart the host’s expectation of being not being able to make the journey from Bombay through to Raglan and back to Bombay without extra juice. 

On the other hand, there wasn’t too much in reserve; even though the return route was much less strenuous and even-paced, the car I drove, having started off full with 350km of range available, was down to 91kms’ left when it hooked up to the hypercharger for a second time. Still, all it needed was 10 minutes’ rejuicing to take the battery level back to around 70 percent.

That’s the beauty of the fastest charging; even a few minutes hooked up adds 50km; 20 minutes would have added 230km of range and 30 adds 300, according to the provider. All in all, then it isn’t much different from stopping at a petrol station for fuel and, perhaps, a coffee.

Could you live with that? Audi contention is that there’s no reason why not. Most people take no more than four big journeys per year. The majority of trips are less than 35km per day, for city dwellers. With an electric car of this calibre, an overnight charge once every five or so days is plenty to keep the battery topped up. And if you are constantly on the move and ranging extensively, it’s good news that more hyperchargers are set to pop up around tthe country over the next year.

Studies show 95 percent of EV charging is done at home. Having an efficient charger is important and Audi reckons the E-Tron is well-sorted through coming with a portable 7.2kW 32amp single phase charger that can add around 35km of range per hour, provided you install the necessary plug. Just an hour on the charger at night is sufficient for the next day’s travel, it was suggested during the day.

Living with an E-Tron is appealing for more than this. This coupe’s equivalent in the wagon line – which Audi is calling the ‘regular’ body style to establish differentiation - is the 55 Advanced, so it’s pretty swish, with specifications and comforts mirrored.

They’re essentially technical doppelgangers, albeit with some minor freeing of how much of the 95kWh battery can be used (it’s gone to 91 percent, up from 88 percent previously). Though the body shape obviously alters the space story – mainly in the boot, which drops in capacity by 45 litres to 615 – the rear seat still affords good headroom.

Really, then, it’s the look and impression of it offering a slightly different persona that underpins why it commands a $11000 premium, though that’s not to say it’s a show pony. 

Of course, it’s in a congested segment. Not so much in the EV sense, though some obvious competitors spring to mind, as in SUV-dom in general. You can buy quite a few fossil fuel-reliant big hitter alternates for this money. 

So why the E-tron? Apart from being set up for a future that cannot be ignored, it also works competently in the now, in more ways than might be evident. Interestingly, and undoubtedly acknowledging the lifestyle buyer in this segment, Audi reminds the E-Tron is rated at 1800kg for braked towing. Handy enough for small boats, jet skis and the like.

The ‘imposition’ of an electric vehicle lifestyle is fast fading. The cost of running a fossil fuelled car? Well, admittedly, it’s hardly taxing, either. And, no argument, there’s a lot to like about how orthodox SUVs drive and what they offer.

Still, here’s one last E-Tron ace card worth considering. In general operation, and on relaxed roads, it’s an impressively refined and ultra-quiet drive. One arguably standout quality is how little noise it actually makes, or at least how little of it you can actually hear. The refinement is quite remarkable. In this car, a whisper can be as loud as a shout.

Hilux Mako – hooked on the big fish

We’re the first media outlet allowed to take the Hilux hero truck out for a big drive. Naturally, opportunity with this catch of the day wasn’t wasted.

No better place to take the hardest-edged Hilux ever than a back country property.

THUNDERING down rutted dirt and gravel tracks, pushing across some lumpy farmland, threading along a razorback ridge.

There was never a minute during those hours spent in gnarly hill country north of Whanganui when Toyota New Zealand’s homebuilt hero, the Hilux Mako, didn’t feel as though it wasn’t born for this kind of outing.

Surprised? Not at all. Aptitude for extreme adventure is an intrinsic 101 of this model’s make-up. In truth, it could – and likely will, in time – take on and overcome much stiffer challenges.

Not with me, however. At least not on this first occasion to test its mettle. Just one Mako is in existence. Moreover, it was finished just a week ago. I assumed my effort was the first properly outdoors activity it had ever undertaken. And also knew it was needed for important corporate duty straight after.

So, while it certainly got a fair workout, there was no ‘jumping the shark’ as it were. In that, there was never a moment when ALL four wheels simultaneously left the ground. Not really.

Was I being too soft? The Mako definitely isn’t. The re-engineering that delivers hugely increased off-road protection, functionality and looks to match is hardly a half-way measure, that’s for sure. Everything about it is hard as nails.

Somehow, too, the truck has bulked up in spirit, too. Mako is a well-chosen name. It’s a bit of a wild child in ambience as much as attitude.

Maybe it some of the feral side that showed in the lead-up to its grand media unveiling, three days prior to my drive, with talk emergent afterward of how resistant it was to being tethered for transit, for by road and then by air.

En route to the launch site, when contained in a enclosed trailer, it somehow managed to loosen tiedowns just enough to rub its nose against the bulkhead. When slung under a Black Hawk helicopter for delivery across open water to our foreshore gathering at Cape Egmont, it wriggled slightly again.

Hence the ever-so-slight slight scuffs on the wheel arch extensions; evidence where the strops shifted fractionally. This occurring just hours after the nose scrape was sorted. Seems some fighters just like to have scars.

If this was the ute revealing its fighting spirit, then bring it on. Nothing wrong with having a feisty attitude when aspiration is to beat the best in this game, Ford’s Ranger Raptor. Eagle versus Shark? The protagonists are not fully equals, but it’ll be hard to pick the winner of that one.

Buy-in demands certain stamina. At $79,990, Mako is in the same zone as all obvious rivals, yes, and so in a landscape far removed from the bargain end of the one-tonne ute market. Reminder of the cost of creating a champion is also enforced by knowing the Hilux SR5 Cruiser required as a donor is $21,000 cheaper.

So it’s an expensive undertaking, enough of a premium to perhaps leave you wondering why not simply undertake a Mako-your-own.

Good luck with that. it’s a dead-end drive. Breaking down the individual costings is a red herring. For sure, the core components of those Maxxis RAZR All-Terrain tyres (265/60) and the ARB Old Man Emu BP-51 suspension kit with its fancy nitrogen by-pass shocks enabling adjustable compression and rebound control are retail items. And yes, wheel supplier Black Rhino also represents in NZ. Buying the shocks, tyres and a same-size rim independently, getting them fitted and achieving compliance seems to be a $10,000 undertaking, give or take.

THE BP-51 suspension kit can be bought independently … and it definitely makes a difference. But it alone doesn’t make your Hilux a Mako.

And yet, you still wouldn’t have a Mako. Not even close. So much more of it comes from in-house and is set to stay that way.  The front bumper is a good example of that. Hilux has more than 300 accessories, but this complex frontpiece ain’t one of them. Beyond that, there all the trim enhancements. And about those rims. The styling is bespoke to Toyota here.

At this point, it’s also fair to point out that a walkaround highlights how Mako has two donors. One being the Cruiser that sells here, the other being a variant that does not.

The Rugged-X is an Australia-only special, in its second evolution over the Tasman and also aimed primarily at owners who are likely to exploit Hilux’s renowned off-road ability.

Mako uses quite a few bits – most obviously the entire front bumper (a hoopless roo-bar in Aussie speak), but also the bash plates underneath, LED light bar, easy access heavy duty recovery hooks, unique fender flares, side steps and rock rails and customised tray – developed for the latest Rugged-X.

Getting that new front alloy bar is the biggest score: Not only does it offer extra protection from obstacles and wildlife, it is designed to accommodate a winch, houses a high-intensity light bar and does not affect the Hilux’s safety systems.

Don’t think we’ve just stuck a new name of an Aussie effort. Mako has a similar look, but is quite a lot more hardened in other respects.

Specifically, our neighbour’s muscle truck lacks the increased suspension lift, the wheel and tyre package, the suspension or even the leaf spring upgrade.

The latter part of the refit has seriously impressed across the Tasman. They’re a little chastened by how this makes the Rugged-X puny by comparison.

These bits look rugged … or, more specifically, Rugged-X.

And there’s a good point. As much as some might well be drawn to joining the Mako tribe purely on strength of its the more purposeful look, they’re not really playing the game. To buy a Mako for its aesthetics alone would be a waste of the time and effort that has gone into creating a genuinely enhanced four-wheel drive.

But, yeah, also one that’s somewhat removed from the mainstream Hilux experience.

Insofar as ride height goes, it’s amazing how a little – and a 40mm lift front and 50mm lift rear is surely that – can make a lot of difference. Be as it may that Mako’s body is just about a shoebox further away from ground than a standard Hilux doublecab’s, just this is enough to make accessing a more physical and somewhat acrobatic act.

In all likelihood, it is higher enough to raise question from some quarters about the ease with which you can jump in and out of a vehicle if you need to do it repeatedly. The side steps are useful enough to be practical, and they aren’t too slippery either, but that initial step up is significant.

 Once you’re in the cabin, awareness of the enhanced elevation and the wheelarch extensions’ affects sensory perception of its stature. It’s certainly not a RAM rival, of course, yet it does have a tangibly more bulked ambience.

Visibility isn’t too bad, though, and the new motorsport-style front seats – well, seat backs, to be precise (the original base has been retained) – is really comfortable, if a little flatter-backed and less shoulder-hugging than the design’s look might suggest.

A regular Hilux is pretty good off road … but it cannot do this.

How hostile the urban jungle prove is open to conjecture at this point. It probably won’t be too bad or, at least, no worse than any other one-tonne ute. The Hilux lacks blind spot indicators but there are parking aides and a reversing camera to keep an eye on the tail end. The front assemblage adds a few more millimetres to consider when manoeuvring in tight spaces.

No town and around today. I’m off to rendezvous with the bloke who help guided TNZ through its suspension and tyre choice by field testing all the components.

Tony Groome is a well-known Manawatu-based identity in off-roading who handily resides within 20 minutes of TNZ headquarters and whose association with the brand goes back quite a few years. 

We in the media have come to know him through press events – his amazing knowledge of the Kiwi back country and a vast network of contacts has allowed us access to some amazing country and to meet some really neat characters – and also through his involvement in creating the Gladiator, a one-off show truck from three years ago that was effectively the genesis of Mako. Same suspension, slightly gnarlier and larger rims.

Toyota involvement is additional to his day job. That’s being a professional and independent forestry advisor. He has more than 25 years’ experience working in both corporate and private forestry throughout New Zealand. His skills range from forest establishment and silviculture through to the harvesting and marketing of forest products. It’s a busy life but, on top of this, he also involves heavily into rural firefighting and search and rescue; his contribution to LandSAR was recognised with him being made a member of the New Zealand Order in the 2016 New Year Honour List.

Today I’m tagging along with Tony and Thomas, his go-everywhere poodle/cavalier King Charles cross, and employee Rob as they head into a block inland of Kai Iwi where they’re trialling a new forestry-associated enterprise of grass hydroseeding. Basically, high-pressure spraying of a seed-rich slurry onto hillsides requiring regeneration after being denuded of trees. Today is about experimenting with two different consistencies of mix, one paper-based and the other wood.

Tony Groome is a well-known off-roading expert who field-tested the Mako’s hardware. Thomas the dog also did his bit.

While he’s fire-hosing hillsides, I get to ramble around some incredible country, taking care of course to steer well away. It’s not the likelihood of being caught in a jetstream of gunk that worries, more the fine mist of spray being lifted and carried some distance by a stiff breeze. A common component of the mixtures is a bright green dye (used so you can more easily see where the stuff has landed). It stains easily. Neither of us wants to have to explain the scenario of a silver Mako having gained a bright green top coat. 

Messing about on a selection of hard clay tracks reinforces the merit of using it for its intended purpose away from the beaten trail. As competent as a regular edition Hilux is … well, this thing is even better.

That’s not to say it’s an absolutely required recipe: Obviously Hilux carries a massive reputation, and for good reason. The latest as it comes from the factory is a hugely capable machine, no argument. Simply, though, the extras here just raise the ante.

The proven all-terrain transmission adapts easily to marriage with much gripper tyres, the enhanced engine feels punchy enough and never feels overworked, while the increased ground clearance encourages driving across terrain that would look hostile to the regular models. The only additional ingredient that I would suggest to make it even more capable would be to include some electro-pneumatic diff lockers; I know from experience that ARB’s are particularly good. 

Quite often vehicles outfitted for extreme off-roading tend to gain sludge proficiency at expense on on-seal aptitude. On top of this, cruising on sealed open roads isn’t any ute’s favourite habitat. 

Tony’s work truck also runs BP-51 suspension.

Still, the on-tarmac component of the MY21 Hilux’s launch programme had reinforced how it has become better suited to this than its predecessor. 

The tyre and suspension change certainly lends Mako a different feel, that’s for sure – it’s floatier to the point of being cushy, though with generally positive outcome: The way in which it smooths out pock-marked surfaces is impressive.

There was one section of rutted gravel that I drove half a dozen times, each run slightly faster than the fast. All through this exercise, the Mako not only smoothed the ruts but, just as importantly, kept its settled demeanour, tracking straight and true. That alone suggests the main competencies engineered into the MY21 still seem to remain.

Impression from clocking almost 200kms’ on seal suggests that, as much as it’ll seem set to appeal to genuinely enthusiastic off-roaders looking to get more out of a Hilux than the standard version can perhaps offer with confidence, it hasn’t become so altered as to lose grip on the realities and requirements of daily driving. 

The tyres? Knew you’d ask. With the donor model and every other Hilux save the base edition, Toyota uses Bridgestone’s Dueler: A road-biased tyre with some off-road competencies. From the look of it, Mako takes the opposite approach, favouring a type whose design and tread cut suggests mucking-in ability is prioritised. However, it’s still designated an all-terrain tyre.

Mako sized up the terrain and then conquered it, no sweat.

The day’s driving was in dry conditions so how skatey those RAZRs will prove on wet seal remains an unknown. From this experience, they are less grippy than a specific road-focused tyre, and take very little provocation to squeal, but are not diabolical. Refreshingly, they aren’t too noisy on the road, even on coarse chip at highway speed. 

Mako ‘production’ won’t ramp up until year-end, and in the interim TNZ is using this one to iron out any bugs. From my experience, there are none to cause sleep. A bit of clonking from the suspension when it was being worked out off-road might be something worth addressing. Also, there’s a weird switching arrangement for the front bumper light bar. And the laser-etched side footplates are dirt traps.

Really, though, the only thing I didn’t like didn’t require mentioning on the ute’s return because it turns out TNZ is having second thoughts about it as well. That’s the rim thickness of the bespoke steering wheel; it’s just a bit awkward to grasp. TNZ’s already onto this. They’ve already crafted another. Should I mention that the first attempt was basically a dimensional copy of a certain rival’s?

Beyond all that, Mako is a fantastic effort that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It certainly succeeds as a banner-waver for Toyota and Hilux, turning a lot of heads and raising a fair few questions on my day out.

One TNZ might like to take on board is in respect to an engine that does not exist. Seems speculation recklessly spread months ago about Hilux being a candidate for a twin-turbo six-cylinder performance engine is sticking. Several people who saw this truck asked if that engine was under the bonnet.

Conversely, everyone seemed pleased by what Toyota has done. The feedback I heard reinforced what TNZ has long claimed; that Hilux is more than a ute to many – it’s an old mate.

Toyota Hilux MY21: The fightback begins

Better-kitted, a better drive, and maybe better-looking, too. Yup, they’ve done a lot more work than meets the eye.

AMONG brand-shared snippets from the media drive of the facelifted MY21 Hilux was one current fans of the one-tonne traydeck probably give little, if any, thought to.

Toyota New Zealand was discussing petrol-electric. Regardless the Prius has become a virtual non-seller, hybrid passenger vehicles and SUVs have otherwise taken off, to the point of achieving 40 percent of brand volume and outselling conventional combustion-engined equivalents.

Knowing Toyota’s hybrid set-up historically marries to petrol, and that diesel is the lifeblood of Hilux, it’s hard to see any relevance. Yet a hybrid Hilux is in development and has been signalled as a must-have for this country. So who knows.

Still, as said, the current generation model drinks purely from the dark side of the forecourt. Yet wait until you are driving one of the vehicles from the facelifted 2020 line and have to add fuel. It was through doing just this that I discovered a future-proofing tool already known to Prius people.

 Primarily useful for delivering to Hilux something most rivals have had for a while, a digital speedometer, the redesigned digital display in the instrument cluster also has economy displays, including something new to Hilux, but not hybrids. A fuel cost calculator. 

No other ute gets a feature offering opportunity to input the per litre price of the fuel, so that the vehicle thereupon works out your expected costs over a specified mileage. Is this a sign of Hilux prepping well ahead for an electric-enhanced future?

Anything that gets Hilux ahead of the curve is interesting; some might suggest that, by and large, the updates accompanying this new model launching today are as much about catching up as getting ahead.

 A digital speedo, the new, larger infotainment screen with the main appeals of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (plus volume and tuning dials to make it so much easier to adjust settings when you’re on the move), the suspension retune, the engine’s extra oomph … these could be considered carefully-considered improvements to better measure against an opposition, one rival in particular, that might have already been there, done that.

No problem with that. Hilux has always been a strong, trusted rig. From driving a selection of doublecabs - in SR5 and SR5 Cruiser format, all four-wheel-drive autos (the manuals have only just landed), mainly on seal between Palmerston North and New Plymouth but with a touch of off-roading on a farm at Waverley to test the electronic assists - the MY21s are exemplars of extra good done better than before.

Discovering the biggest, most vital improvements is no problem. It’s easily felt in the driving, obvious in the new look and feel. Pre-facelift flaws that allowed so many old fans to abdicate the Hilux and switch their allegiance to a ‘certain other’ have been sorted. If I was a Ranger owner needing a change, at least until the new Ford comes (and proves itself), this is the easily the best new seat to slip back into.

Nice to get a truck that gets back to fighting fitness with negligible price adjustment. The biggest single sticker upshift asks for an additional $2500 and the justification is easily argued. 

Evidenced most strongly on high-rider and four-wheel-drive models, the new shield-style look drawn at Toyota Australia's design centre in Melbourne and inspired by the Toyota Tundra in the United States fits comfortably and suits the new mood.

The real points of owner pride will be the revisions meted the drivetrain and the suspension.

 The 2.8-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder introduced in 2015 has had a power boost from 130kW/450Nm to 150kW/500Nm when paired to a six-speed automatic transmission. The manual has the power lift, but maintains the forebear’s 420Nm, but is nonetheless also now rated to tow 3500kg.

The engine is quieter than before and the torque spread is far broader; the extra grunt from lower revs evidences nicely and the six-speed auto doesn’t mind at all about having to handle all that extra muscle. If any thing the shift quality has improved.

The fix to the diesel particulate filter has been well covered. It was interesting that one of the utes I drove initiated a DPF cleaning cycle while I was driving it. I hadn’t expected this process (which indicates on the dash display and seems to take about five minutes) as the vehicle had just 1919kms’ on the clock at the time.

Utes can be bouncy, skittery things when unladen. That’s just the nature of the type. But Hilux used to be particularly so and it could be wearying. So it copped flak for this. Toyota has always used Australia’s hinterland as a testing zone for Hilux’s development, and engineers spent much of last year out there reworking the suspension. It’s an effort that has paid dividends, with a noticeably more compliant and sophisticated ride. The settings are the softest Toyota has ever dared mete a modern Hilux, according to background scuttlebutt, but it’s the right way to go. Bumps are soaked up yet it doesn’t wobble.

Sure, it’s not car-like, but given none of the load-carrying ability has been sacrificed, you can hardly complain. And in unladen state, you get to enjoy a safer, more balanced and more predictable drive. Just like a Ranger? Well, they’re a lot closer, that’s for sure.

That’ll appeal to the family users that flock to the high-end wellsides, of course; parents of car sickness-prone kiddies shoved in the back will be relieved. But it’s not just beneficial for townies. 

The flatdeck we took from the Lupton farm at Waverley (yes, home of Melbourne Cup-holder Kiwi, now buried in the front garden) through to Dawson Falls, was a confident drive, too. So it’ll get the farm dog vote, for sure.

 In sorting the suspension, there’s a sense the Bridgestone Dueller rubber is getting better opportunity to get a grip when it counts. The power steering has been revised but is still hydraulically assisted. It feels better than before, albeit heavy compared to the electric power steering set-ups now coming into this category. The brakes deliver modulated pedal feel. There are four-piston calipers clamping 319mm front discs up front and drums at the rear, as per class convention. 

The only element lacking that would offer even more improvement is an ingredient just the VW Amarok offers in this sector: Full-time four-wheel-drive. Yes, Toyota’s system does allow for high-range all-paw engagement on seal, but only in certain circumstances. And the Hilux 4x4 now has a rear auto limited slip differential which works when the ute is in two-wheel-drive. But for ultimate traction you can’t beat having all four wheels working all of the time. 

Slide into the cabin and, that new mid-console aside, it’s all familiar territory; so, some hard plastics and a quality, tight finish. 

The screen’s integration works best in the Cruiser – it sits snugly above the air conditioning panel, whereas models with manual air con are less well integrated. In these the bottom of the screen hangs out enough to impede sight of some controls. A tall driver will need to duck slightly to see if the A/c is active, for instance.

The infotainment update spells an end to a CD player, but will you care? What doesn’t make sense is that Toyota has implemented technology to better suit phone integration yet has determined to deliver just one USB charging port within the cabin: In this connected age, that just doesn’t compute. Yes, there are two 12V sockets (which you could use with a USB adaptor if necessary) and a household power socket (220V, 100W) in the centre console to run a laptop if necessary, but overall it’s just not smart.

Toyota still hasn’t bothered to put a vanity mirror in the front passenger-side sunshade (hey, I don’t care, but others might) and the top spec doesn’t go to dual zone air con, which others offer, and some variants lack push button start. Only SR5 and higher grades come with front and rear parking sensors and the new bi-LED headlights – which you’d assume will lend much improved performance - and LED tail-lights, whereas the base editions stick with halogens and touch parking.

Hilux’s upgrade of driver assist and accident avoidance technology has been gradual and the latest provision has been well covered in previous stories. The availability of  radar cruise control, speed sign recognition, lane-departure warning and autonomous emergency braking are rewarding, and it has seven airbags protect occupants in event of an incident. 

However, crash testing protocols keep ramping up and having Hilux’s achievement of a five star safety rating from the only regime that matters here, the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme, is not all it seems. That score was delivered at the end of last year under a protocol that has since been toughened.

To achieve those five stars – the maximum score – under the new rules, as the Isuzu D-Max has done, it would need to adopt kit Toyota has not provisioned and may not deliver for this model’s remaining time in production.

Requisite are advanced safety features such as rear cross-traffic alert, blind-zone warning, lane-keeping assistance (it has lane-wander warning only), and a centre airbag between the front seats. There’s no suggestion Hilux is unsafe – indeed, it scored well for occupant protection particularly in 2019 – but fact is the testing is more focussed now on rewarding vehicles with the tech that helps a driver avoid an accident in the first place.

Has Toyota done enough to see Hilux, in orthodox turbodiesel state, through its remaining years on sale? It’s undoubtedly a much better truck, now, than it was five years ago. You’d say that solely on strength of experiencing the dynamic qualities and the improved engine, though it deserves credit for shaping up in other areas, too.

The imponderable in writing this now is not knowing, yet, how good the opposition is. But we won’t have long to wait. The all-new Isuzu D-Max goes on sale locally very soon, it’s Mazda BT-50 doppelganger will be out in November. The next-generation Ford Ranger is due in the second half of next year.

 Maybe Toyota isn’t out of the woods yet.

SkyActiv X: It’s complicated …. and yet, so simple

Opportunity at last to try the world’s first compression ignition petrol engine.

MORE power, using less fuel; simulates a diesel but with petrol as the fuel, sounds nicely growly in the CX-30 yet is almost eerily quiet in the other current recipient, the Mazda3. 

If you need to explain the 2.0-litre SkyActiv-X engine and its Spark Controlled Compression Ignition set up at layman level, then that might be about as easy as it gets.

If more information is sought, you might like to mention that it gives best thrift opportunity in urban operation, lends most impressive thrust when pushing on quite a bit, though that’s not necessarily because it’s supercharged, because that ingredient is not used in orthodox manner.

Likewise, even though it has a hybrid component – the first Mazda here with this – it cannot really be categorised as being like, say, a Toyota Prius. 

If this is starting to sound a bit complicated, then wait until you go through the finer points of this engine’s design. 

As much as we’ve laid the groundwork with what this is all about, not least with the excellent backgrounder by Colin Smith some weeks ago (https://www.motoringnz.com/news/2020/8/24/the-science-of-spcci-explained), a succinct explanation based on what he gleaned from having driven the car in a pre-release format in Germany last year, the impact of direct experience is nonetheless little short of profound.

On technical grounds, it presents as such a mean feat of engineering as to be a ‘wow’, not just of the now, but perhaps for years to come.

The potential surely has to be huge and it’s a dead cert we’ll see more Mazda passenger models being crossed off for adoption of the X – which, if you hadn’t already twigged, is representative of the crossover from spark ignition to compression ignition.

Full explanation of why it is important, what it delivers and how it breaks the mould is not a matter of a one-sentence summary. The challenge for salespeople is obvious, all the moreso because its provision delivers with enough of a premium to deliver push the recipient Mazda3 hatch and CX-30 compact crossover into a new territory for both.

The first siting at $51,995 and the second at $54,990 means these platform-sharers respectively fly $3200 and $4000 above the Limited editions that have, until now, been the flagships of each line. 

The cost loadings are not purely for this drivetrain but also reflect the cars being in an extra-lavish Takami spec that has not offered with either previously, but has featured in other models.

This brings additional luxuries - the Mazda3 gains a gloss black finish alloy wheel, 360-degree camera and a heated steering wheel whereas the CX-30 adopts high gloss 18-inch alloy wheels, 360-degree camera and a powered tailgate - though debatedly there’s nothing that shouts out as a ‘must-have.’

Also influencing the bottom line is that the engine here is in an ‘M Hybrid’ format, which introduces involvement with an integrated, belt-driven starter generator and 24-volt lithium-ion battery which assists the engine and recoups lost energy during deceleration. 

The addition isn’t akin to the best-known hybrid system, from Toyota: The market leader’s has a bigger (and heavier) battery and more powerful electric motor. Yet M-Hybrid is hybrid enough to qualifies the SkyActiv’s to be considered as being petrol-electric and therefore as an interim toward Mazda’s first electric car, next year’s MX-30.

As we’ve said before, SPCCI’s potential to deliver will be eagerly monitored. For one, everyone will be keen to establish the value aspect; a focus that becomes important because of the premium over the ‘regular’ four cylinders that provision in these models in 2.0-litre and 2.5-litre formats.

Is it worth it? Quite literally, you’re talking bang for buck. A first taste suggests the on-paper expectations and on-road outcomes are going to take some consideration. 

Mazda claims a 12 percent increase in torque around 1000rpm lower down in the rev range than evidences in the orthodox petrols also availing in the recipient cars, 10 percent lower CO2 emissions and a 10 percent improvement in overall fuel economy, including a 15-17 percent urban test improvement. 

It also cites an optimal combined fuel economy rating of 5.5l/100km for the Mazda3 (and 6.0L/100km for the CX-30), both with the six-speed automatic that comes here. 

The manual Mazda3 not coming here is the true champion. It claims 4.3 litres per 100km is close to Toyota Prius levels of efficiency, though that’s with the NEDC testing regime, a format that has now been largely shelved. Using the now preferred 'real world' (WLTP) fuel economy formula, the claimed consumption rises 1.1L/100km. FYI, the 2.5’s optimal drinking rate is 6.6L/100km. 

So there’s that. The cited outputs of 132kW/224Nm also place it between the existing 2.0-litre and 2.5-litres, which respectively make 114kW/200Nm and 139kW/252Nm. 

Even so, the performance from the new unit is tangibly different. Pre-drive talk about how much more ‘natural’ this engine’s response is, particularly in accelerative feel, how smooth it is on launch and when downshifted, how it delivers a special sound signature seemed awfully bold. Could it really make that much impact?

Actually, yes. From first impression gathered over three hours’ running in several cars, there’s a lot to seem highly promising. It feels stronger over a broader rev band (like a diesel), revs more enthusiastically to a higher redline (like a regular petrol), pulls more strongly (like a six cylinder) and has, in the CX-30, an intriguingly gruff note, almost like a five-cylinder unit.

There’s not an absolute perfection, in that the cars I drove all expressed a slight hesitancy in initial step-off that might be as result of these being all but brand-new (they’d just landed the week prior) or it could transpire to be a signature. Just like a diesel? Well, actually, very much so.

That also seems to be the one occasion where it feels tangibly difference to the regular engines. Even though the car runs in SPCCI mode most of the time, you’d be excused for not realising. The changeover from one mode to another is hard to detect. Hence, I guess, why there’s a specific display on the infotainment screen to identify what’s happening and when. Under spark ignition, the pistons in the infographic change to red. It didn’t seem to happen too often on my drive but I wasn’t looking too often, due to weather conditions on the day.

Our foray from Auckland deep into the Waikato synched with a massive storm rain of such lashing fury that the radar and camera guided safety and support systems in a CX-30 I was running in occasionally became so overwhelmed they warned of temporary shut down and it became prudent to slow to a crawl as the road became more like a river. 

This, and other factors that need not be explored here, kinda ruined the idea I’d had of trying to get a handle on the engine’s efficiency through comparing with the outcomes I’d seen in a 2.5 Limited CX-30 I’d transferred from. Anyway, it really became such a battle of survival for a while that any deep thought about economy outcome will have to await a comprehensive test.

On the efficiency side, though, SkyActiv-X stands as a big element of the make’s corporate goal to reduce ‘well-to-wheel’ emissions by 50 percent from 2010 to 2030.  In places where low C02 counts, the engine in the form as we see it is heading down the right road with claimed emissions of 127 grams per kilometre.

In respect to this, those of serious engineering bent will identify that Mazda has taken quite a remarkable route to achieve results that could conceivably also been reached by other means; fitting a smaller turbo engine under the bonnet or creating a petrol-electric hybrid.

Mazda freely admits the route it has forged was certainly a challenge and a half. A Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine that simulates how diesels operate but with petrol, with compression rather than spark igniting a lean fuel-air mixture, took a lot of figuring. And time. And money. Mazda was not the first to try but is, to date, the only brand to have stayed the course. 

Even though it uses a spark plug, unlike the diesel design that inspired it, SkyActiv-X is genuinely a compression ignition approach. The crux of the spark plug is that it can be relied upon in high-load situations but also to bring the lean air-fuel mixture to the point of instantaneous homogeneous combustion – the point where all the mixture combusts instantly at the one moment. By contrast, in a normal petrol engine, the spark plug initiates combustion in the piston chamber that moves away from spark plug and is less efficient.

If that’s befuddling, think of it as a colleague much smarter than I has put it. A normal combustion process is like a strip of matches lined up in row – one ignites and then quickly the other match heads ignite away from the initial spot of combustion. Compression ignition is like all the match heads in the row igniting at the same time. It results in a much faster combustion time.

Lift the bonnet and the X engine appears to fill out more of the engine bay than a regular unit. That’s really because of the supercharger, whose role is far from orthodox is this application, in that it’s here to push the massive volumes into the engine that are requisite to its operation. As explained in the previously published backgrounders.

With the electric age coming up fast, why bother with a different kind of petrol engine? Simply because, as much as it also intends to commit to battery-pure driving, Mazda also believe fossil fuels will continue to be part of our driving life for decades to come yet. However, it also believes we need to do more with what’s left.

It’s an interesting thought that the make that takes this attitude now was also steadfastly committed to another radical engine, one without the stop-start, up-down reciprocating motion of pistons and connecting rods.

Is there irony that the brand that stood so ardently behind the Wankel rotary, surely the simplest engine design ever, is now banking on another that stands out for a high degree of complexity? Well, perhaps, but you have to admire any company with the pluck to think outside the square. In this respect Mazda, one of Japan’s smaller makers, is a true giant.

Consumer uptake will decide the merits. Mazda NZ anticipates the SkyActiv-X editions will achieve around 15 percent of take-up within their respective model lines. The only ask of owners is that they feed it 95 octane or higher petrol (whether it accepts ethanol blend fuel is being looked into) and that’s all. Servicing-wise, it demands no special requirement.

Mazda here doesn’t know what other candidates are in line for SkyActiv-X, but it will not be surprised if Hiroshima widens the availability of this tech and continually refines it, the next obvious step being to perhaps go from a mechanically-driven supercharger to one running on electricity.

Defender – meet the new mud class king

Land Rover’s crucial new Defender has arrived … and it’s spiffingly good.

WHINGE all you like and keep telling whoever will listen that Land Rover is mad … but all you self-appointed traditionalists are heading down the wrong track bagging the latest Defender for having steered away from the ‘true’ path.

For all the truth in the saying about studying history being requisite to avoiding past mistakes, having now seen the new model in the metal and achieved opportunity to test its mettle on local soil, I’m in no doubt about the pointlessness of wasting breath on argument about rights and wrongs.

If you’re unable to break out of that nameplate-cherishing clique that remains firmly mired in the past, with an addiction to a predecessor model that achieved two million units across three look and mostly feel-alike series and was an antique when it finally ceased life in 2016, so be it. Land Rover wishes you well and Ineos awaits your business. You’re the whole reason for the Grenadier; heir apparent to the traced-back-to-1948 original. 

Meantime, the brand that holds the actual nameplate is moving forward, whether you’ve with them or not. Moreover, it progresses with 101 percent confidence that the path it has chosen to take now lends the best – actually, only – chance of keeping the Defender meaningful.

Yes, it’s a new world, holding new challenges. Hence why this is a complete rebirth and reinterpretation. The armies, the industries, the farmers and the explorers who put their faith in the original are, by and large, no longer on the customer list. Now, at least with the first wave products, it’s more about box-ticking private customer wishes. Yes, they still want ultimate toughness and durability. But pocket knife simplicity no longer cuts it. 

And yet, as much as it goes more glam and sophisticated, and climbs the ladder in price -  the 110 five-door format the kicks off the charge here ranges from $89,900 for the entry D200 2.0-litre diesel to $164,900 for the P400 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol X version, while the three-door 90 adding in from February starts at $84,900 - it’s misconception to think this new Defender is so dedicated to a different route that it is wed to a wholly different purpose that its forebear. 

While it is patently nothing as agricultural as the old one – which, so tailored for off-road brilliance that it was awful on it, and so dedicated to keeping a classic design it couldn’t achieve comfort or safety – it’s wrong to imagine this new car is not still a workhorse.

Yes, the editions here now are more for play than toil, but commercial editions are being developed. Whether the distributor takes them … well, that’s another story. So many past opportunities of relevance don’t exist. Even if the products at least do.

You’ll wonder how much of that old-school ‘character’ has been sacrificed. Well, yes, obviously, the flavour has changed. Yet so much about how it imparts comes down to definition.

Surely even those utterly prejudiced toward the old model cannot deny its flaws. For one, it had the world’s most utterly awkward and uncomfortable driving position. If leaning inwards to get the door shut, suffering the window winder digging into your leg and striving, in vain to find somewhere to put your right elbow, counts as ‘charm’ … then, sorry, that’s gone.

Also divested to the dustbin are such joyous traits of prayer-inducing road manners, tinnitus-threatening driving din and minimal crash-test durability.

Instead you’re getting a now comfortable, quiet model with almost car-like on seal attitude that is expected to fly through modern crash testing requirements. How can anyone argue that’s not a good thing? Silly question: Of course they will …

So what makes it a Defender? Mainly because it acquits like one. In interest of journalistic integrity (yes, some of us still abide by it), on strength of today’s launch, the testimony has to be considered less strong that it could have been. The event included off-roading, certainly nothing of the scale of the car’s international release in March, when they bashed it around Namibia, but still a decent workout on Clevedon dirt and enough to reinforce the quality of the new Terrain Response system.

It’d be a pity if Defenders don’t have their off-road credentials challenged by owners. There are numerous drive modes, depending on the type of terrain you'll be tackling, plus it has noticeably short front and rear overhangs lending impressive approach and departure angles (38 and 40 degrees respectively). 

Much has been said about the styling. There’s no doubting it’s a Land Rover but, like most seeing for the first time, the first impression is that you wonder about which one. Yes, it gives several nods to the old codger with the side window shape that includes the 'Alpine Lights' in the roof, the spare wheel hanging from the side-hinged rear door and the plastic diamond cut panels on the bonnet, but there’s something to the look that suggests it could have been a Discovery 3 evolution. Still, on the ‘big, tall, blocky and plenty of presence’ score, it gets a high mark.

That goes all the more for the interior, but for divergent reason of being nothing like the old car’s, save that there’s an ongoing sense of utilitarian ruggedness, with hard-wearing plastics and no truly soft surfaces. Yet incoming are premium materials that never came with 100km of the old car unless it was furnished by some after-market crowd.

The digital instrument display and touchscreen infotainment screen (and an abundance of charging ports - six just for the second-row seating), are, of course, from a future too advanced even for the Dan Dare comics the Wilks brothers might have known back when they were drawing lines in the sand, but very much in keeping with current broader family practice. The screens alone are great; logical, easy to read and, by serving up iPad-like screen sharpness and refresh rate, better than in any other Land Rover. Or Jaguar. 

Meeting a Defender that is truly well-sorted inside is fantastic. Not only is the driving position really good for comfort, it’s also properly pukka in offering something consumers cite as a reason for buying SUVs: A truly commanding view of the road. Defender doles up the same kind of view enjoyed by Range Rover hoi polloi.

It’s properly roomy, too. The five-seater 110 version has plenty of legroom and headroom in the front and middle chairs along with a fair amount of glazing to peer through, plus a heap of boot space. The three-door 90 probably won’t be too bad either and, if you need to cart a proper tribe, then there will be an eight-seater 130 along next year. 

The side-hinged luggage door (again, a heritage touch) isn't particularly heavy, even with the spare wheel affixed to the rear, and a decent gas strut prevents it from swinging wildly open. There's now a soft-close function, too.

Extra spending buys an electrically deployable tow bar operated by a button inside the boot door. When not in use, it tucks up out of sight. The Defender is rated to pull 750kg unbraked and up to 3500kg braked. Another handy feature is being able to raise or lower the rear suspension to help with loading bulky items. Like the tow bar it's done via two buttons in the boot and it performs the task reasonably quickly.

Speaking of pace. Doubtless, some will express surprise about petrol making a comeback. But this is a modern engine,  a 298kW three-litre six-cylinder (P400) that also has 48-volt mild hybrid electrification. Further into the future are a performance V8, already confirmed to be called SVX, and a plug-in hybrid. Naturally, the distributor is keen. 

 Either way the main charge is still by a diesel, and the fact that it’s a 2.0-litre four-litre shouldn’t dissuade. This comes in two states of tune, a D200 with 147kW and a D240 with 177kW, yet either way they both produce the same 430Nm of torque, which is arguably the more important figure. Next year comes the six-cylinder D300.

I’d be happy with the D240, picked to be the most favoured engine by Land Rover New Zealand. You can still tell it's a diesel, but is well-insulated, sound and vibration-wise, and the combination of all that torque with an eight-speed automatic gearbox means that it comfortably cruises without strain. At 100kmh the tachometer is seeing little more than 1500rpm.

The air suspension isn't a soft and floaty as you might expect out on the open road; if anything it's a little on the firm side. The ride lowers at higher speeds and, even if you leave it in its tallest off-road suspension setting, it will lower itself once you pass beyond the 80kmh mark.

Don’t be misled by what this means. Road driving was brief, but enough to demonstrate it’s not by any stretch a particularly sporty vehicle. You can expect lean that is amplified by its height and though steering now has feel, it’s still purpose-designed not to be extra-sharp: A certain degree of play and movement is desirous for off-roading. Acceleration is less urgent than you’ll find from sister models: top speeds range from 175 to 208kmh and 0-100 times span from 6.4 to 10.3 seconds. But still, if measured against the old one … well, there’s no comparison. It’s light years ahead.

The other factor that should restrict the playfulness is the model’s size, it’s not overall a leviathan, but it did feel wide on the road I sampled. Realistically, you’ll be most aware of any bulk when parking. Over-shoulder visibility is limited and though the reversing cameras are quite good, the roof-mounted ClearSight rear-view camera that displays an unobstructed view onto the rear-view mirror will be a key asset.

Land Rover has created five specification grades, all coming here: The starter called simply Defender, the top edition is the X and in between are S, SE and HSE trims. As a bonus we also achieved the First Edition, nicely placed and well-provisioned at $125,900, that’s around for just the first year of sale, this delivering here with the SD4 240 diesel  and in 110 body shape. 

The entry point spec delivers the car on 18-inch steel wheels that purist will call cool,  LED headlights, air suspension, a 10-inch infotainment display, all of the off-road hardware including driver assistance systems and a walk-through style cabin up front. 

The First Edition will capture interest because it loads in the Terrain Response 2 and configurable terrain response, but if you want full plush and all the smarts and can swallow the $39,000-plus premium then the X will likely be the one.

It has all the luxury trimmings, top-notch Windsor leather included, a head-up display and panoramic roof, while the off-road capabilities are enhanced with more configurability, an electronic active differential and adaptive dynamics. 

By the way, the indicated RRPs are just starters for discussion, because there are four options packs – Explore, Adventure, Country and Urban – that each tailor the car’s look and capability in different ways, for a cost of course: think around $10k for any one.   

So, yes, go nuts and you can turn it into a hugely expensive car. But, hey, it’s been years since this variant has ever been properly cheap. Plus, there’s talk from the UK media the ‘other Defender’, Grenadier, won’t be any less expensive. Still, it’s possible to buy any version of the Discovery ($115,900 to $139,900) for a lot less than a high-end Defender.

Still, that won’t inhibit interest. The car is already off to a banging start, with all but 15 of the initial shipment of 115 cars sold even before it has reached the showroom and interest so high that LRNZ has already asked for 100 more units than they had forecast to shift for the remainder of this year.

Land Rover will be happy to oblige. One happy state of affairs that what is being called the most important car they’ve had in years is sourcing from a brand-new and bespoke factory in Slovakia, which was less affected by Covid-19 and is back to full production, whereas the JLR plants in the United Kingdom are still a bit constrained.

Fire in the ice with GLE coupe

Coupe versions of premium SUVs are the ultimate show-offs, but don’t imagine the fastbacked GLE trades on looks alone.

Price range: Not available.
Powertrains: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbopetrol, 320kW/520Nm (GLE AMG 53), 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbodiesel six 243kW/700Nm, nine-speed automatic, AWD.
Body style: Five door SUV
On sale: Third quarter 2020.

PEAKING at two thirds the height of Aoraki Mount Cook, the 33-kilometre Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road is eye-widening, ear-popping wonder.

We’re heading onto the highest section on Austria’s side of a tarmac ribbon snaking over the Otztal Alps and into Italy's South Tyrol. A road that, when rendered impassable to regular traffic in winter, becomes a test ground for Mercedes Benz. Except today.

Achieving a view of 21 mountains above 3000 metres was an ultimate activity with the new GLE Coupe, hitting New Zealand in the third quarter of 2020, stymied by a white wall impenetrable to a fastback sports utility.

So it’s back to Top Mountain Crosspoint, a modernist structure that’s a gondola base station, a restaurant - oh, and Europe's highest motorbike museum – where a Mercedes man testifies the roadie-ruining snow is not so much unseasonable as unheard of.

If global warming is to blame then Benz can take solace its new line contributes less toward our planet’s ill-health than the last. All launch engines are Green-tinted, even the AMG flagship unit, being an in-line six with electrical assist shared with the AMG E53 you can already buy.

Alongside the GLE AMG 53 are a six-cylinder 400d 3.0-litre turbodiesel (replacing the old 350D) plus something fresh, a plug-in hybrid. Will we see it? Potentially in petrol rather than Europe’s diesel. 

All engines hook to a nine-speed automatic and 4Matic all-wheel drive, run on 20-22 inch rims and wrap into a body based on the latest GLE wagon, but shorter in wheelbase and overall.

The roofline is more sweeping but mainly it’s just detailing. Yet comparing old and new suggests the replacement is more polished, more powerful-looking. It’ll stand up well against l Porsche’s Cayenne Coupe, the recently revealed BMW X6 and Audi’s Q8.

The instrument console lifts from the wagon, so the introduces to the Coupe the impressive MBUX digital dash and touchscreen. Over-zealousness of the voice control’s ‘Hey Mercedes’ prompt has you avoiding uttering the ‘M’ word in any context (it’ll immediately brusquely seek instruction), but it’s swish. All the more with augmented-reality satellite navigation. When your next turn is imminent, the screen displays a camera feed of the road ahead and overlays an arrow pointing where to go.

The NZ spec has yet to be set yet chances are wood and ambient lighting packs, electric tailgates, full auto LED headlights, and ‘Artico’ faux leather interior trim if you don’t want to spend more for actual cow skin are on the list. High-speed auto emergency braking, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, rear and front cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, 360 degree parking sensors and cameras, adaptive cruise, semi-autonomous parking and driver attention alert will surely also bundle in.

There’s a certain simplistic beauty to the cabin layout, yet it’s very upmarket. Brasher-grilled and biggest-rimmed, the 53’s AMG specific interior enhancements include a racier steering wheel and sports seats, which add to the ambience, but even in standard form the chairs are plump and comfortable. It’s a stretch to suggest the roof doesn’t compromise the rear, yet contention about room improving seems valid. What makes it feel cosy is the falling window line. The boot grows, with 655 to 1790 litres, yet the wagon’s still more commodious. 

The route started on autobahn then tackled ever-steepening secondary alpine roads, with tight switchbacks and avalanche tunnels. That last part ran into darkness so only when ascending in sunlight next day did I realise how dizzying the drop-offs were.

The drive also reminded just how restricted side and rear visibility becomes in a high-sided car. It’s great to have cameras to ease parking but even with big wing mirrors occasionally the first I knew of an overtaking car was when the blind spot detection activated.

Driving the 400d and AMG 53 reminded the pure diesel has less power than the mild-hybrid petrol but, with exception of when it briefly throws in full electrical impetus, the latter has 180Nm less torque, making for difference in energy on the steepest climbs.

Given the GLE is no lightweight nor, despite how it looks, a fulsome paragon of aero efficiency, the cited 100kmh sprint time of 5.3 seconds (and 250kmh top speed) for the AMG is pretty decent. Outputs also beat those for the BMW and Audi rivals and Benz hopes buyers will note the 48-volt assistance makes its engine more efficient and economical, too. The diesel hardly guzzles either and it is almost as refined on the move.

If you just don’t care for parsimony and want only power? Never fear. While it has yet to officially announced for the Coupe, there’s no doubt a GLE 63 S featuring the full animal 500kW twin-turbo V8 is coming, given the old Coupe was so configured and the GLE 63 S wagon has been signed off. 

As on GLE wagon, the standard suspension system is steel-sprung, but with sportier tuning. Air suspension options - it's a self-levelling system and can constantly vary its stiffness based on the conditions – and beyond that the car matches the wagon in offering the expensive next step of 'E-Active Body Control' which uses cameras to detect road quality and optimise the system to suit. It also leans into corners, which enhances handling though, ultimately, it felt even more assured in the sports mode heading up to this mountain lair.

And if you’re wondering why there’s a bike museum up here? A whim of twins Alban and Attila Scheiber, heirs to the ski sports and resort empire their grand-dad doggedly started a century ago, isn’t as curiously located as it seems.

Timmelsjoch’s is Europe’s best motorcycling road. That reputation ensures this collection of 230 rarities – the oldest, a 1905 pre-Skoda Laurin and Klement, plus icons from Moto Guzzi, Ducati, BMW, Zundapp, Norton, Matchless, Triumph, Superior, Sunbeam, Harley-Davidson and Indian - a few choice cars and a Porsche tractor becomes a huge draw for the 80,000 bikers who pass through here every summer.

Baby SUV a new star in the making

The rain in Spain was torrential enough to wash out the off-road part of our first day driving the Mercedes GLB, but we still had good opportunity to get to grips with this enticing baby SUV.

Price range: Not available.
Powertrains: 1.4-litre petrol four with 120kW/250Nm (GLB 200), 2.0-litre petrol four 165kW/350Nm (GLB250), 225kW/400Nm (AMG35). seven-speed automatic, FWD (GLB200), eight-speed automatic AWD (GLB250, AMG35).
Body style: Five door SUV
On sale: From mid-2020.

“One last time. These are small… the ones out there are far away. Small… far away…”

Father Ted demonstrating plastic toy cows to Dougal. Classic.

Now to the GLB and the GLS. Assess the smallest and largest sports utilities Mercedes can deliver in isolation, and without anything to provide sense of actual scale, and … well, similarity of silhouette and styling is striking.

But make no mistake, notwithstanding that it is also a three-row seven-seater, and rides on new large iteration of the A-Class architecture, GLB is not by any stretch – which it gets, with a 100mm wheelbase extension over the donor - a large car. Benz’s new compact seven-seat SUV is just that. Compact.

Even a simpleton priest from County Clare can work out why it’s coming from next June; small SUVs are hot. Benz NZ conjects a significant customer call, core interest from families for whom this might well be their first new Mercedes. 

“With the GLB we now have the ability to transport an entire family’s worth of activity and adventure from a much lower starting price than before,” says managing director Lance Bennett 

“We expect this … will see us attract entirely new customers where we have not had a suitable vehicle in the past.”

NZ provision ticks petrol only and spans automatic-allied A-Class drivetrains: A 1.4 front-drive GLB200, next step four-wheel-drive GLB250 and an AMG edition, also all-paw, all out of Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Even with handsome Benz styling suggesting it as a big hatch, GLB is at heart a box full of chairs, so perhaps this makes the AMG involvement all the more intriguing. It’s the smallest SUV they’ve tackled and you might wonder how much fun can be extracted by something so family-prioritised?

Then again, maybe that’s is a ruse. As much as Benz reminds that GLB was specifically designed to be a seven-seater, the small print outlines the third row as an option. Chances are the entry GLB200 will have three rows as standard here and the others make it a factory-fit accessory.

The full-blown format is useful. Yes, it’s tight in the back, but hardly for emergency use only, and the remainder of the cabin certainly isn’t anti-adult. A lot of clever thinking (and using Volkswagen’s Tiguan Allspace for benchmarking) delivers decent head and legroom, excellent outward visibility and good stowage solutions. To a point. When running full occupancy, the luggage space remaining is miniscule. Stow the back pair (neatly, into the boot) and it’s much more convenient.

Before letting the kids in, you’d do well to pre-check for sticky little fingers, because this is a premium car, flashiness extending beyond the fully digital dash with its MBUX interface (and over-eager ‘Hi Mercedes’ prompt). Touch surfaces use high-quality materials, buttons and knobs have a satisfying tactility and reassuring clicks and it’s beautifully trimmed, with cushy seats.

AS for the driving? Well, as Bart Simpson likes to say, ‘Ay Caramba’! The pliancy resultant from the extended wheelbase and tuning with mind to having to cope with optimal loadings are pluses; beyond that there’s genuine playfulness. Thought that a seven-seater might be less involving the five, merely through weight difference, was undone when comparing. 

A shame the sun-drenched Costa del Sol was simply drenched on the first day. Thick mist ruined the view of chalk peaks, deep gorges and forests promised by navigating the Sierra de las Nieves via Ronda, location of the oldest bullring in Spain (Ernest Hemingway hung out there, Orson Wells is buried nearby). Assessing functions likely be least-tested by owners, the off-roading assists, was challenged by the small matter of the bespoke four-wheel-drive area being flooded.

The 4MATICs nonetheless shone on roads getting their first big wetting in five months and, on day two, when the region was back to bright and shiny normality, were even more planted and grippy.

Driving the 250 then stepping into the AMG was handy. The first handles sensibly, is quick and accurate in its responses and doesn’t feel too roly-poly. The drivetrain also has a likeable engagement, works comfortably with manual shifting and offers the promise of good economy. It’s a solid choice.

The more hunkered and honed flagship was an eyebrow raiser. Even though hot-rodding SUVs has become an AMG speciality and even if GLB is more expected to get people to race circuits than on them, with 0-100kmh in an exhaust barking 5.2 seconds and 250kmh top speed, this car surely places at least the Audi SQ3 and BMW’s X2 M35i on notice.

As well as being considerably quicker, the AMG also evidences higher lateral limits. Only when pushed really hard does it find understeer, but the high traction and surety even out of the test route’s many hairpins exceeds what you expect from a family chariot. That, the alacrity and the beefed braking make it a true driver’s treat so, if the kids are coming, pack sick bags.

Caveats? With local price and spec as yet unknown, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where this model will site. But it might well nab from GLC, for starters.

Big wheels and low-profile tyres arrive across the whole family. As much as they suit the styling, potential for noise over coarse chip, which has no equivalent in Spain’s road network, probably exists. AMG’s Sport Plus setting could be jiggly on tar-bonded stones, too.

While small racy cars account for the most AMG volume, the GLB will feel no more heat. AMG sales and product manager Mattias Schmidt made clear the powertrain from next year’s A45’s powertrain is not considered.

Mercedes, though, does seem to have GLB family expansion ideas. The wholly-electric EQB, two years off, might draw significant inspiration. 

So, more intrigues to come from a car that already pulls surprises from the box.