AMG onslaught: Old guard roar and new-age phwoar

Mercedes’ performance arm has made clear its eight-cylinder engine is on its final lap, with the future now reliant on an electric-assisted version of the four-pot that serves its smallest racers so well. How’s that going to work out?

Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S - call it goliath!

AMG-Mercedes GLC 63 S - a slightly smaller serving, better-suited to NZ tastes?

Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S - a more upmarket alternate to the A45 hyper hatch

Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S

Price: $236,000 ($241,000 as tested).

Powertrain and economy: 4.0-litre twin turbo petrol eight-cylinder with 450kW/850Nm, 11.5L/100km, nine-speed automatic transmission, AWD.

Vital statistics: 4961mm long, 2018mm wide, 1720mm high, 2350mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 655 litres, 22-inch alloy wheels.

We like: Roaring engine, impressive dynamics, technology.

We don't like: Overwhelmingly dominating presence, huge thirst. 

Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S

Price: $138,300 ($129,090 as tested).

Powertrain and economy: 2.0-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder with 310kW/500Nm, 8.9L/100km, nine-speed automatic transmission, AWD.

Vital statistics: 4695mm long, 1834mm wide, 1404mm high, 2729mm wheelbase, luggage capacity  460 litres, 19-inch alloy wheels.

We like: Fantastic engine, nimble handling, chic look.

We don't like: Cramped cabin, hatch has more presence.

Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S

Price: $184,900.

Powertrain and economy: 4.0-litre twin turbo petrol eight-cylinder with 375kW/700Nm, 10.7L/100km, nine-speed automatic transmission, AWD.

Vital statistics: 4682mm long, 1931mm wide, 1625mm high, 2873mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 550 litres, 22-inch alloy wheels.

We like: Roaring engine, impressive dynamics, technology.

We don't like: Overwhelmingly dominating presence, thirst.

WHAT kind of world is it where a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine can end the reign of a V8 hugely respected for delivering beastly, brutal performance?

A cruel world, perhaps, but also the real world … which is taking us to a destination we cannot avoid, a place of change.

We’re pretty sure what’s going to happen. And we fully understand why it has to happen. We just don’t know quite when it’s going to happen, though most bets are on 2022 being the year, as that’s when the new C63 AMG reveals.

And where that car goes with its pathfinder new drivetrain, others will follow … including the AMG GLE S Coupe and GLC wagon tested here. Because they also run the famous 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 that has to be retired if Mercedes Benz’s famous performance badge is to survive.

When the V8 dies, another great AMG engine will rise: The 2.0-litre four-cylinder mill that has already made a name for itself in the make’s compact cars, including the CLA 45 S sedan also on test today. But in a different form than we know it at the moment. 

As amazingly potent as it is in current form, it needs even more muscle to sit comfortably in the heavyweight SUVs here. Three hundred kiloWatts and 500Nm now will elevate, once in marriage to a mild hybrid system and an integrated 48V motor, to more than 372kW.  

That compares well with the V8 as it features in the GLC 63 S on test – where you’re playing with 375kW - less so in the version that goes into the GLE 63 S; in that bigger car, the heat is turned up to a seriously searing 450kW. Electric-assist powerplants bust out big on torque – and the new one needs to be super muscular, because here the V8 peaks are respectively 700Nm and 850Nm.

So what’s coming isn’t exactly an easy ride.It’ll still be super fast, but certainly become more efficient, but probably will have different feel and certainly is unlikely to sound anything like the same.  

But, frankly, if you can think of another way to meet those European Union fleet CO2 emissions targets and avoid so avoid eye-wateringly huge fines, then AMG would like to hear about it. They cannot. Meantime, if you want to enjoy that old-school oomph behind an AMG badge, then best not dilly dally. As much as the V8 is still here for a good time, it potentially is not going to be around for a very long time.  

Agreed, the day of that final farewell will be tough. That old saw about the easiest way of improving a car being to slap a brawn-laden beast-engine into it? It still holds true. 

Starting at the top with the GLE, let’s say this: If you are chasing an expensive eight-cylinder experience in its most primal, ‘glam-bogan’ setting then the Coupe in full-fat AMG fitout is pretty hard to beat. It’s loud in every way. Even when not running, it’s a big enough noise to have the neighbourhood on edge. 

Nigh on quarter of a million bucks buys a lot of real estate; I’m not a total fan of this kind of design, but if you have to have to buy into a slope-backed SUV, it’s probably the best-looking of this peculiar breed, with an elegance about the rear-end treatment. While it's an imposingly muscular vehicle, it's not offensively gargantuan. The AMG elements of an airdam, colossal 22-inch alloys and trademark quad pipes at the back suit and some of the design detailing in stupendously good.

The interior is better still. Mercedes' MBUX infotainment screens are awesome for clarity and content and everything else is shot through with reassuringly high-class quality, the part-Alcantara, paddle shift-shod steering wheel being a particularly tactile delight. It's almost needless to say that the Coupe sacrifices both rear seat space and boot usability to its more prosaic wagon sibling, but the rear seating is roomy enough for tall adults. 

The packaging is really a secondary appeal; what you’re buying into here is powerhaus performance and, wow, does it deliver. To elicit such astonishing performance data as 0-100kmh in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 250kmh, with more in store if you have the software to unleash it, from something that tips the scales at around 2.5 tonnes, you need power. Lots of it. Luckily, Affalterbach seems to have unlimited resources of the stuff. 

The other AMG cars here patently have potency, yet here the urge is something else still, bordering on downright astonishing. It piles on speed with utter disdain for any air stupid enough to get in its way.

And wow … the sound! AMG is one of the finest purveyors of V8 soundtracks and the biturbo at this level is no exception to this rule. It's fabulously deep-throated and resounding, with the requisite burbles and pops of the exhaust on overrun or when shifting gear.

What to do with this? AMG obviously has a game plan, but can you see yourself agreeing to play? I’ve seen AMGS at track days before, but they’ve generally been V8 sedans and coupes, plus the occasional A45. But always the hatch, not the sedan format seen here. And never a SUV.

And, yet, all three cars here definitely have the brakes, the suspension and the drive mode calibrations to enable a red hot go at fast lapping. Even so, as wickedly fast and racy as the GLC and A45 are, in this company they are both humbled by the GLE Coupe. It’s a total beast, thanks to elements that go way further than the usual ‘could if I wanted to’ nod of a fat Alcantara-trimmed wheel and quasi race seats up front, plus in this instance a carbon fibre trim kit.

 Here the suspension and drive modes span beyond the usual Comfort-to-Sport Plus provisions to include an outright Race setting that either relaxes or completely disengages some driver assists and turns the throttle, and gear change points, up to 11. It runs Yokohama Advan Sport tyres, a good choice for occasional circuit work.

The MMI menu includes a Track Pace page, you can select from racetracks around the world, and the screen will help you drive it better, showing not only delta times and absolute times but also instructional guides to best cornering points and “breaking points”. If any word had to mis-spelled, right. No New Zealand circuits are on the menu, but you can ‘import’ a layout simply by driving on it, then the application will map the track out. If you don’t want to risk the car in cornering, there’s a Drag Race function with its own set of bespoke telemetry and timing.

It’s so utterly Nurburgring-nutsy that you half expect to find a set of full logoed racing kit in the boot (it’s not, I checked). The challenge it lays down at every start up is so patent you just know the memory of seeing this goliath steaming hard around a track would be very special indeed. And yet, you know it would just be a fantasy; the probability of any owner meeting AMG’s expectation is simply so remote as to be negligible.

It’s not impossible to keep this explosive force contained in everyday driving, of course; but reality is that no more than a fraction of it immense oomph is being utilised in that situation and unleashing the rest, should you settle on any of the performance settings, is unnervingly easy. The awesomeness of the initial step-off is one thing, but what’s every bit as impressive is the tidal wave of thrust awaiting to unleash when you’re on the move; overtaking is ridiculously easy – the trick is learning to temper how it is accomplished; anything more than half throttle and it shoots forward at an incredible pace of acceleration.

The slightest lapse in judgement and … well, all you can hope for is a brilliant lawyer and a lenient judge. This is the sort of car in which just thinking about going fast can be risky; there’s nothing here to suggest the claimed 0-100kmh time of 3.8 seconds is a hard call or that there are any numbers on the speedometer that it cannot achieve. This is very much the big time.

There’s no getting around the fact that it can feel that way, though shorter than the GLE wagon, the Coupe is still 39mm longer and 7mm wider than the previous model and sits in the large car category; particularly in respect to width, which is noticeably accentuated in AMG format. That makes it quite a hulking sight on secondary roads, where it less fills a lane than subjugates it.

 Even so, it’s far from big-footed or clumsy; apart from having massive traction and grip and extremely decent brakes, it also very much benefits from having an active ride control that incorporates 48-volt active roll-stabiliser bars that, through offering continuously variable adjustable damping, result in deft handling and deliciously direct steering feel and accuracy that just don’t normally experience in this category. Ride comfort is also decent, even in the hard-out modes, though you do tend to dip into those at your peril; the car’s aggressiveness becomes all the more pronounced as soon as you switch away from a Comfort setting.

 Having the CLA 45 S and GLC 63 S as bookends to the GLE was an interesting exercise; neither are much slower and the CLA, having been dressed up with some interesting touches including chromium-finish alloys and delivering in an arresting red body colour (with a black Lugano interior), was really not much less extrovert in its kerbside appearance, yet they were undoubtedly easier vehicles to keep in check.

 The sedan positions as an interesting alternate to the A45 hatch; it has all the same attributes – all-wheel-drive, stonking engine, firm ride, nippy handling – and wins attention for having the appearance of a slightly-scaled down C-Class, albeit with more daring styling touches which remind that it’s genetic heritage is equally as relevant to the CLS.

 Establishing what it offers and why is an intrigue. You wouldn’t buy it as a C-Class alternate because the cabin is so much smaller; it’s a real challenge for adults insofar as rear legroom is concerns and that swoopy roofline really cuts into headroom compared to an A45. You might not buy it as a booted alternate to the A45 simply because the hatch is cheaper and also because the compact performance sedan market is … well, often overlooked.

 For all that, the car is far from undercooked. As much as an increase in track width and upsize in wheel dimension immediately sets it apart from the regular CLA, the extent of modification goes way further; with totally enhanced suspension, bigger brakes and so on. Dive planes on the front bumpers and a spoiler at the rear also give the car an aggressive look.

 The cabin is all but identical to that of the A-Class range and the AMG version gets the best of equipment. That means the full-width dual-screen setup for the instrument display, which looks excellent with vibrant colours and sharp resolution. You get a choice of control for the infotainment system, through the touch-sensitive tabs on the multifunction steering wheel or the large trackpad on the centre console.

 This 2.0-litre has the highest output ever generated for its capacity, so is patently a real firecracker, yet it’s not just the outright kapow that earns credit. As much as it might seem a cop-out, then engine’s civilised demeanour comes across as a bonus for daily driving; it can be smooth and even quiet if circumstances demand. You do have an active exhaust at hand, so more noise is easily achieved.

 Of course, step up the pace and the car becomes very feral; it’s really fun on tight winding roads, the all-wheel-drive lends huge confidence without sanitising the driving experience. The prodigious mid-corner grip is a standout feature and powering out of slow hairpins it has ability to surge forward at an incredible rate.

 With the sportier drive modes activated, it can feel more rear-biased, to the point where you can instigate dramatic rear-wheel-drift action with the Race mode, where the full talent of a trick rear axle, using an electro-mechanically controlled multidisc clutch on each half shaft to vary the power delivery from left to right, comes to the fore.

 Driving the CLA reminds how good the 'M139' engine is. Sure, you can understand why it is going to achieve electrical assistance for the job ahead, but in current state it is more than enough not only for a car of this size but those immediately above it.

 That thought carried into the time with the GLC. It’s great with the V8 yet I cannot imagine it would be poorly served by taking the four-cylinder in the future, even just as it is now.

 The AMG is the latest of the current form GLCs to undergo a mid-life facelift that will likely carry it through to the point where the V8 retires and the new powertrain comes in. It’s certainly a car that deserves a good future, not least because it feels just so right-sized and conceived for our motoring condition.

 Being by far the most invigorating GLC carries obvious cachet, yet what also keeps this model looking good is that it potentially is one of easier AMGs to settle on when family friendliness and strong value also become important considerations. With this car, you can mount a truly valid argument on grounds of versatility and practicality; neither of those strengths are diminished by the road rocket configuration.

 Speaking of zoom, the 75kW/150Nm deficit over the GLE is less evident that might be imagined. Sure, it doesn’t sound or feel as fierce, but there’s still enough shove to warrant having that badge.

 As per the GLE, it has a nine-speed auto, with its wet start-off clutch instead of the usual torque converter to ‘optimise response to accelerator pedal commands’. The engine mightn’t snarl as brutishly, but it’s epic enough when given the boot, the gear shifts are just as snappy and it also entertains enough rear-prioritised driving feel to handle more like a rear-driven wagon than a fat four-wheel-drive.

 That electronically controlled diff lock does a great job but you cannot deny the positives from the newly-added AMG Dynamics electrical/software update that influences torque distribution, the locking diff and the stability control. In short, if were playing wing-man to the GLE, there’d be no great challenge keeping up, while for oncoming traffic the fact it’s so much smaller and less physically intimidating in look means it’d be a less frightening sight when met burling out of corners.

 The transmission is well-attuned to the tasks that AMG expects but the 4MATIC is what will keep you out of trouble. In thanks to fully variable torque distribution, it also factors more for fun than feel. Certainly, you learn not to let its size, semi-highish ground clearance standing or substance fool you – this thing will slip and slide with the best.

 The requisite mid-life visual changes inside and out are not huge; reworked LED headlamps, wider wheel arch claddings, redesigned LED tail lamps … that’s it for the external enhancements.

 The interior revision centres on adoption of the MBUX infotainment system, but as in integration that builds on the old layout rather than the full-blown version seen in the other cars, and the console gaining a new touchpad controller. The instrument cluster has been digitised too, with a multitude of AMG-specific displays, including Supersport mode to give you the low-down on Gs generated, power made, turbo boost levels, drive mode set-up, you name it. There’s also a new menu to data log your race track experience. How GLE, right?

 It also adopts the new AMG steering wheel and its dedicated buttons hanging off the spokes. Just like the regular GLC, the quality of the finish inside is excellent and though AMG Performance sports seats up front are bulkier than the standard items, they are no less comfortable.

 The stupendous thrust and exclusivity of an AMG does little to erode the high degree of practicality this model line delivers. Eligibility to tow seems unlikely – that’s not a thing for AMGs – but it otherwise looks reasonably well sorted as a family wagon. I’d be removing the sidesteps, though.

 OF the three models here, it’s the one that works best in the now. Of the two V8s, it’s the one that will adopt most easily to the new route ahead: It could be an epic journey.

Jaguar F-Type P575 R: Cat-napping with a feral feline

Pussy-footing through the Far North in Jaguar’s sharpest-clawed coupe. Jealous yet?

Price: $214,900.

Powertrain and economy: 5.0 litre supercharged petrol V8, 423kW/700Nm, eight-speed automatic, AWD, combined 10.7l/100km, 252g/km.

Vital statistics: 4475mm long, 1923mm wide, 1308mm high, 2622mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 310 litres, 20-inch alloy wheels 305/30 tyres.

We like: Awesome grunt, chassis balance, styling updates.

We don’t like: Slow infotainment screen responses, coarse chip harshness wearying, not as loud as it used to be, having a stern co-driver.

DEPARTING at sunrise was a heartbreak … and, yet, also so heart-warming.

As a spot in which you’d want to be to enjoy the start of a brand-new day, Doubtless Bay is pretty much unbeatable. Doubtless Bay Villas, all the more so.

The past 48 hours had been brilliant, taking it easy in a car that could have made this trip one huge rush.

Eight years is a lifetime in the car world, but Jaguar’s F-Type maintains a youthfulness that belies its age and a recent facelift has so deftly ironed the obvious wrinkles it still looks fantastic enough to keep turning heads and dropping jaws.

The wide, short, low and taut dimensions are pure sports car; so too the snug cabin in which the driving position feels just right. The F-Type's designer, Ian Callum, has moved on but there’s no reason why his opus needs to.

The P575 R format I’m driving is now the new flagship. With four-wheel-drive and a 423kW version of the supercharged V8 that has been with the car from the start, it’s a serious piece of kit; so much so that it’s ironic that one revision for 2020 has been to reduce the famous flare and blare on start-up.

While it announces less stridently when awakened – well, at least within Jaguar terms (there’s still rumble, but less neighbourhood window shake) - anything with this much power is going to be interesting and the V8 is massively potent when it comes on song, with 0-100kmh just 3.7 seconds away and a 300kmh top speed also achievable, according to this maker.

And when push comes to shove, it returns to being as outrageously vocal as ever, blaring under power, crackling, popping and fizzing on the over-run.

This much I learn when driving it in isolation around the Auckland area in the spare time before I head to the airport to pick up Mrs B, who has given me the day to myself before flying in.

I’m not saying at-the-wheel fun time is completely over from that point, yet it’s fair to say that, from that point on, the car was operated in a less adventuresome way. Jaguar’s drive modes do not include anything marked ‘tenderfoot’, but if they did, that’s where we would have been. My co-pilot has very firm convictions about where and where such potency can be unleashed. And it’s on her watch.

This trip was all about relaxation, a chance to take four days away from our respective work stations to breathe the good air, eat the good food and, after the car was put away for the night, enjoy the good drinks.

No better place to do all that than the last of three overnight hideaways. The Hilton on Auckland’s waterfront has been fun, the Waterfront Paihia homely … but Doubtless Bay Villas (doubtlessbayvillas.co.nz) was truly the best, saved for last.

Snuggled on a hillside overlooking the most beautiful maritime outlook in the Far North, an hour from the Bay of Islands, is a luxury complex comprising modern self-contained and serviced villas which sleep up to six. So, room aplenty for the two of us.

We’re feeling rightly chuffed to have one of the prime sea view duplexes, a score made easy from being friends with the custodians.

John and Sue Oxley might be familiar to you as well. He’s a celebrated name from the motoring journalism beat, here and previously in South Africa, where his wife was a high-up on the other side of the fence, as an industry comms specialist.

Anyway, after a grand life on the fast lane, they’ve gone into property management, this taking them to the Coromandel, then Brisbane and now to what would outwardly seem the ultimate lifestyle job.

Well, appearances and all that … assuredly, there’s plenty to keep them busy because this is a five-star property where great care and attention goes into keeping everything ‘just right’. And, yet, this couple readily agrees it’s all the easier when located in the warmest part of New Zealand. When we turn up, John’s in summer wear … quite a sight for those of us who, two days earlier, had been waking to heavy frosts. Well, it’s not called the ‘Winterless North’ for nothing.

Bringing the Jaguar here also feels ‘right’ because it’s exactly the kind of property car brands love to use as an event showcase. Indeed, several have already. They’ll doubtless be as impressed as we were that it’s just been awarded the prestigious HotelsCombined Recognition of Excellence Award for 2020, with an almost-perfect score of 9.6 out of 10, based on guest ratings.

 “The big thing about the villas is that they offer an island life-style without leaving New Zealand,” says John.

“With waving palms, views across the attractive Cable Bay beach and out to sea Doubtless Bay Villas offers the perfect getaway from the stresses of daily life,” he impresses.

“You can either chill out in your villa and listen to the ocean, or you can jump in your car and explore the area, including the beautiful KariKari peninsula, or even drive right to the top of New Zealand at Cape Reinga, where not only will you see where two oceans meet, but you will feel the spiritual energy of this sacred place.

“As a motoring journalist for more than 50 years I travelled the world, and I have been to many, many beautiful places, but this is where I have chosen to finally hang up my driving gloves, and have changed my driving boots  for tennis shoes. It’s a great place to be.”

In saying that, my pal also concurs the Jaguar offers up quality accommodation, too. Naturally enough, he knows this brand well, and is intrigued to check out all the updates arriving with the refresh.

Technically this is a facelift, realistically cognoscenti might call it more than that, given the extent of the overhaul, which includes a visual restyling of such magnitude it has become quite a different looking car, at least when viewed front-on, to the one it supersedes.

Much slimmer headlight units and a reshaped grille serve to provision a very different face, and one that seems more aggressive, especially at this level. That vast aluminium bonnet - an impressive feat of production - lends illusion of the car having an even longer nose, though the overall vehicle length is unchanged.

Aesthetic alterations to the rear of the car are less dramatic, which is no bad thing. They got that right from the get-go. However, slimmer tail lights that incorporate the 'chicane' signature first seen on the brand’s impressive electric car, the I-Pace, sit well here.

The interior also updates as comprehensively; it’s now all-digital, with a 12.3-inch display ahead of the steering wheel that’s highly configurable to and includes a shift light when driving in manual mode.

The 10-inch infotainment system is much improved with the addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which at least allows you to circumvent a lot of the JLR proprietary stuff. I found early on that it was far more preferable using the mapping on my phone for navigation rather than the in-car system because the latter was slow and, also, seemed unable to find some of the addresses that Google knew of and located in a flash.

This edition also takes sportier 'Performance' seats that feature taller shoulder supports and are very embracing. The age of the car and, one supposes, its electronics shows perhaps in the absence of every cutting-edge driver assistance. The one you might want to see but don’t is adaptive cruise control. As much as I accept that sports cars should be especially ‘hands-on’ machines, it’ll likely lose sales because of this alone. It would also benefit from a head-up display.

Of course, is saying that, having to accept a certain degree of concession is just part of the ownership experience. For instance, there’s no disguising that it is designed wholly as a sports car – what’s harder to quantify is exactly what kind of sports car it really is.

One the one hand, it still expresses a fair degree of old-boy posh. On the other, it’s very cosseting and, for all that the trim is very luxurious, the equipment level as a whole is more tailored towards matters relating to hard-out driving than abject comfort.

That much enforces when you slip into it. The styling might project this as being a large model, but in reality it’s a car you virtually wear. The dimensions are tight and the two-seat cabin is quite snug.

So is the boot. We’d determined to pack light for four days and three nights on the road, but I hadn’t taken into account that our weekend luggage would come to include a Lego Land Rover Defender model, a surprise gift from the brand for attending the launch of that vehicle on day one of this trip.

The kit in finished form would have taken up much less space than the box it comes in but that wasn’t going to happen – assembly is a job of several days’ non-stop work.

Naturally, I was hardly going to leave it behind, but what to do with it? The only two places the box would fit were the passenger side footwell or the boot. The first was out of the question; the second raised different challenges once our weekend luggage also figured. We only had a single suitcase of the type that easily fits in an aircraft overhead locker, but the first time I tried to get everything in, the bootlid wouldn’t close.

Fortunately, Mrs B worked out that by putting the Lego in first, stowing my laptop bag on top of it and the (heavier) suite case to its side, then stashing our coats with other odds and ends - including the ‘essentials’ of a couple of bottles of wine – on top and whereever they’d go did the trick.

All had to be somehow squeezed in because there’s utterly no real room in the cabin for anything like that. It’s a real capsule; even m’lady’s handbag had to go into the boot.

As much as everything about this edition’s fit-out speaks to it being finessed for feral fun foremost, driving out of Auckland on the motorway raised false hope about the car’s comfort; but any impression of it being something of a grand tourer only lasted until we found a change of surface; the car physically altered the moment it transitioned from smooth tarmac onto more coarse chipped surfaces.

Road noise climbed to the point where we had to turn up the volume of the audio to overcome the tyre-induced roar and, even in its softest mode, the suspension was still transmitting any surface irregularities into the seats and bodies. It’s not an unduly harsh-riding car to threaten to realign your bones, but they’ll certainly get rattled enough to remind that, you’re out to enjoy a Jaguar with a magic carpet ride, you’d be better served by the four-door models.

Again, though, it’s not as if you shouldn’t expect it. Everything about it shouts out as a sports car, starting with how you sit in it: Impression you’re essentially sitting right on the ground, arms and legs outstretched with that massive bonnet arcing out the front, was enforced when I went to put the car away in the Paihia stop’s underground carpark.

The impression of it having a race-ready stance was proven to be far from illusionary. My prudence of entering this at barely walking speed was justified when I heard an awful momentary graunch as the car went through the dip at the ramp’s bottom; fortunately, it wasn’t the super-fancy carbon fibre lip spoiler that touched the concrete but a lower-set and assuredly hugely less expensive plastic piece. Still, the relief of extricating it the next day without reoccurrence was great.

Given that everything about this car leaves impression it will spaghetti speed limits at a snap, perhaps the biggest surprise about this package is that the drivetrain has enough docility to continence reasonably refined and fluid urban and 100kmh driving.

Some might even say the transmission is a little too relaxed: certainly, in the least aggressive drive mode it prefers to stretch the torque of the engine as far as possible rather that deliver instant kick down. That’s remarkable, given that another update has been to the calibration; the shift action is now supposed to be akin that that delivered on the very special Project-8 sports sedan that is pretty much designed purely for track driving.

Of course, you need just give it a touch more throttle – or, in fact, just snip it into the ‘race-flag’ identified driving modes – to find the car’s true self. There’s good reason why this variant’s 20-inch rims are clad with stupendously wide tyres and why it has massive brakes and comes only with all-wheel-drive.

Some might decry the lack of a rear-wheel-drive option, and the resultant lack of tail happiness, but assuredly all-paw power distribution makes for a far more exploitable machine. Potentially, a more enjoyable one, too: It would be hugely troubled to get all of that power down to the ground safely in such a compact car, with such a short wheelbase.

On that strength, a shout out, too, for Jaguar’s Intelligent Driveline Dynamics system, which also earns its keep. Even the car’s weight adds a sense of security; it certainly feels nicely pinned down because of it. And yes, for sure, that something as compact as this is clocking close to two tonnes might outwardly seem to be a slight concern – or, at least, have you wondering how much heavier it could have become without the obvious savings delivered by its alloy body parts – rest assured it has more than enough oomph to maintain a power-to-weight outcome that very much tips the scales toward punch over presumed paunch.

In many ways, the further you go in the F-Type, the harder it is to define its persona. Not surprising, really.

After all, you’re getting elegance and extravagance in look but a whole lot of rawness in feel. If you allow it.

In hindsight, a trip that was such a treat for us was hardly the same for the car. We stuck to the easiest roads – not always by choice, flooding just the week before had ruined opportunity to take the most scenic routes which in better conditions would have been great with the lack of international tourists – and never pushed it, save for when passing the very occasional meandering camper van asked for a throttle squeeze. That’s all it took for a quick dash past.

That I even almost matched the officially cited optimal overall fuel burn of 10.7 litres per 100km fuel economy revealed the full extent of my folly.

Owners need to think about what they’re taking on. As much as the national driving condition pegs thoroughbreds such as this back to show pony status, it really does deserve at least occasional opportunity to run fast and free. Track day outings would be the answer.

Audi RS6 Avant, RS7 Sportback: Lightning quick's electric edge

A 48 volt hybrid system lends these muscular all-wheel-drive V8 monsters extra life.

identical kapow but more practical and cheaper … that’s why we’d take the RS6 AVant (above) over the RS7, but either way these are impressive cars.

Base price: $218,900 (RS6) and $228,900 (RS7)

Powertrain and economy: 4.0-litre turbo-petrol V8, 441kW/800Nm, 8-speed automatic, AWD, combined economy 11.4/11.5 litres per 100km, CO2 262-264 g/km.

Vital statistics: 4995/5009mm long, 1951mm wide, 1460/1422mm high, 2929mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 565/ 535 litres, 22-inch alloy wheels.

We like: Hefty technology update, improved driving feel, wagon format.

We don't like: Quirky haptic controls, enhanced width fills an angle park.

WITH the course toward electric so obviously set, what compells Audi to continue to pump out V8 petrol-reliant RS product?

Fair question. Assuredly, whatever’s fuelled introduction of mid-life revised RS6 wagon and RS7 Sportback cars and something wholly new, an RS edition of the Q8 sports utility, it isn’t a rethink about electrification.

That’s happening. VW Group’s commitment is beyond question and anyone keeping up with e-tron news will know Audi taking leadership. Moreover, the pace of changeover is ramping up.

Yet, thing is, we’re in a period of transition; rather than go totally cold turkey, it makes better sense to wean gradually. So, while one day Renn Sport as we know it now will undergo radical change, this isn’t the time for it.

Not that Audi and its performance arm hasn’t started cutting back. Phase one has been a gradual downsize in engine capacity (and cylinder count). Phase two is what the update RS6 and RS7 now deliver. A 48-volt hybrid driveline that works in tandem with the TSFI 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 is quite significant on the technical scale.

But what difference does it really make? Well, I’d be reluctant to deride the tagline for this marriage, ‘high-performance meets high efficiency,’ as a falsehood. The lithium ion battery enabler and a cylinder deactivation system have positive effect on economy and emissions.

However, let’s face it: This a performance V8. There are no miracle cures. Achieving the cited optimal economy of 11.4 litres per 100km will require a deliberation potentially unfamiliar to the buyer set and the claimed 261 grams per kilometre emissions output remains high enough to earn a Green blacklisting.

Yet even if it was political impetus more than anything else that demanded adding in electrification and its power source, a small lithium-ion battery in the rear of the vehicle, you can achieve positives.

Soft-shoeing the throttle might be against the RS credo, but it will ease the pain of fuel burn; go lightly enough and it’ll actually off the engine from 21kmh as you slow to a stop. And if you find a long enough flat straight in the 100km zone it’ll also occasionally run purely on electric impetus, albeit for no more than 40 seconds. That’s also the environment in which the cylinder-on-demand function, that deactivates four of the eight cylinders, leaving it to run as a V4, is also most likely to action. Audi says that this can help to reduce fuel consumption by up to 0.8 litres/100km and, similar to the engine-off mode, once more throttle is applied, the dormant cylinders immediately reactivate. Is that enough to save the icecaps from melting? Probably not. But it’s a start. 

Plus, it keeps this story from finishing early. Keeping this engine relevant and fighting fit in an increasingly steep challenge for Audi, but you can understand why they keep trying. It’s an amazing thing.

EV fans might feel they’re point-scoring in reminding that there are battery cars – including one soon to join the local Audi family – that feel as oomph-laden and will quite possibly match their impressive 0-100kmh times of 3.6 seconds. Fair enough, it’s true.

Yet that ohm team will be rendered silent when asked to nominate anything battery-reliant sold here that matches, let alone betters, these dinosaur-juiced sister ships for absolute stomp. It’s certainly not going to be a Hyundai Kona, or even a Tesla Model S.

And yes, as much as it seems lunatic to suggest the ability to clock 250kmh (or, after a slight factory-sanctioned tweak, slightly more than 300kmh) is of any kind of importance in a country where 100kmh is the absolute limit … well, it nonetheless still does. Likewise, the RS cars might also sell simply on strength of their brilliantly Jurassic soundtracks. I agree, it all seems a bit juvenile. And yet … well, damned if I can’t help but get excited by it.

In respect to tailpipe tone, it’s intriguing that the RS7 has a noticeably louder exhaust than the wagon alternate given that it is the quieter-looking product at the kerbside, regardless that this time around the hatchback option is more hunkered than it previously was. This is as result of consumer feedback; existing customers told Ingolstadt the previous gen car just didn’t have enough visual cojones.

And now? Well, it’s definitely more muscled, being 40mm wider than the standard A7, a reprofiling that means just the bonnet, front doors, roof and tailgate are shared. It also has the same big wheel arches as the RS6, and filling those openings in NZ-spec are 22-inch rims. So, yeah, it looks a whole heap more aggressive.

Yet, and maybe it was because of the paint choice for the testers (a lily-white RS6 seems almost oxymoronic, a metallic grey Avant just perfect), the wagon just continues to be all the more imposingly feral in its appearance. That impression imparts with the bodyshapes’ relative substance, for sure, but also the cars’ common face: The unique grille design and the additional ventilation ports on the lower corners of the bumper (to aid thermal management), plus those matrix LED laser headlights just seem to engender more malevolence in the hauler.

From the inside, at least when looking forward, the cars are of a muchness; abetting the usual displays found in all upmarket Audis are additional touches are specific to the RS product, such as instant read-outs for power and torque that, quite amusingly, show how very little of each is required to hold these cars at a 100kmh pace. Everything you need to know when driving and not wanting to release your eyes from scanning the roadscape comes up digitally on the main screen and in a head-up display.

The improvement this time around comes with two RS buttons that serve direct routes to pre-set driving modes and chassis settings. There are also the traditional buttons and centre screen accesses that allow switching between the myriad of settings, of course, but the shortcut buttons seem a safer idea.

Both are five-seater models (that’s new for RS7 as the old one’s back bench was shaped for two), with very luxurious fittings, but not so plush in appointment that you wouldn’t think twice about making use of the practical elements. They are, in short, still expected to be used as everyday cars.

Buy the Sportback and you get a vast but shallow boot holding up to 535 litres, or 1390 litres when the rear seats are dropped down. Sounds good? Well, in isolation, it is. But if filling the boot is a requisite requirement, fact is the $10,000 cheaper RS6 presents a significantly higher value return; 30 litres more capacity with the back seats up is modest – drop these, though, and the load-all is vastly more commodious. That, and the fact that the wagon just looks better, would seal it for me.

But surely the practicality comes at expense of punch? Not at all. For all its extra aural aggression, that the RS7 is pretty mush equally pegged by the wagon, not just in any sprint but in driving feel, too. That might sound weird, given the RS6 just looks to be so much bigger, but really it isn’t. Weight-wise, they’re both similar: That is, heavy, at over two tonne each, but the load-all is just 10kg lardier.

Such is the crushing oomph from the engine that the kilo count doesn’t seem to any sort of imposition; these RS sister ships are capable of moving at quite phenomenal rate.

Just as well, then, that the packages a whole are designed to take that into account. You’ll be especially pleased with the monster brakes gripped by huge callipers; without condoning recklessness on the road, if you are intending on going briskly, having the best brakes possible is usually a good idea. Likewise great quality rubber and well-sorted suspension. Audi ticks those boxes, too. 

As strange as it might sound, the cars’ ability to run hard without much in the way of theatrics beyond the rumbly exhaust note is part of the appeal. Salute, as always, that quattro all-wheel-drive technology, which includes a mechanical centre differential and an RS-tuned sport differential on the rear axle. Providing a 40:60 front-to-rear split, and up to 70 percent of power to the front axle or up to 85 percent to the rear, depending on the situation, it’s an astoundingly adept accomplice. Also influencing with subtlety is the cleverly-integrated rear wheel steering. You only realise how good it is when twigging how easily, confidently and accurately the cars handle direction changes under accelerative load, without tyre squeal or body lean.

The RS models sit 20mm lower than their donors, and when the speed surpasses 120kmh, the ride height reduces by a further 10mm to optimise aerodynamics and aid stability, and Sports Suspension with Dynamic Ride Control is standard in NZ spec.

In this, the shock absorbers are diagonally opposed, meaning the front left is hydraulically linked though a central valve with the rear right, and vice versa. This setup works to reduce pitch and roll movements when cornering at higher speeds and when driving quickly it works well. What also impresses is that this update also brings better absorption from the suspension when put into its softest setting. It’s not outright supple, but neither is it as unremittingly solid as Comfort used to be. The alternate Sports adjustment is, of course, very solid. 

No debating the ultimate star of the show. Assessed purely on its performance, the powerplant is a stunner, not simply because it delivers virtually obscene grunt – though, in saying that, what’s remarkable is that the RS Q8 has another 100Nm still – but also because of how all that muscularity unfolds.

Give it hell and the consequences are … well, basically supercar-like. Yet even when taken into the utterly feral zone, you can trust it in part simply because the throttle has been so deftly weighted. It’s a crazy mo-fo this unit, no argument, yet not so hair-trigger berserk that the slightest twitch or sneeze won’t unleash utter mayhem. As momentous and visceral as the grunt is, these are cars of everyday capability.

How much longer this can go on for is a good question. All big-lunged petrol engines are now on notice. It says a lot about the calibre of these cars that they still feel more relevant than they conceivably should in the here and now. To be fair, that’s not just because of the mechanical changes; refinements to the chassis and also the steering response have done a lot to answer criticism of the preceding cars’ being overly-sanitised in feel. For sure, these still impart as big rigs on a tight country road, the Avant especially, but they do position very accurately when asked and don’t feel as overwhelming as you imagine. 

It’s interesting that Audi Sport’s intention for the immediate future is to keep fettling petrol-addicted product, albeit moreso from the SUV side of the family from now on.

Without meaning to sound deprecating, as useful as the added drivetrain tech is, when driving these cars, the sense is that more that you’re getting to the last chapter of a great story.