Volkswagen's Passat
sold overseas has an innovative Trailer Assist feature that makes it
easy to back up when you're lugging around a trailer thanks to some
semi-autonomous systems working in the background. You basically use a
controller dial to tell the vehicle where to back up the trailer, and
as you reverse the Trailer Assist feature will automatically make all the
adjustments necessary to the steering wheel to get your trailer exactly where
you want it.
To help promote the feature, VW of Norway has come up with a fun ad that
shows a Passat driver reversing with a trailer at speeds you wouldn’t imagine
possible. No, the Trailer Assist feature isn’t that good. Instead, as
you’ll discover in the behind-the-scenes video below, there’s a little bit of
chicanery at play. Essentially, the trailer has its own power and steering
system as well as a driver sitting inside. Also below you’ll find a video that
shows how VW’s Trailer Assist feature operates.
VW hasn't announced the feature on its models sold in the
United States but we expect it to be launched here soon.
The BMW 3 Series has been staring down the competition for
decades now. It's the luxury sport sedan all others want to beat.
I love rooting for the underdog, always have. When I was a
kid, growing up in Wisconsin (in the pre-Brett Favre era), my other favorite
footballs teams included the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and New
Orleans Saints.
Want to know why?
It’s because they all stunk, each one was routinely as
god-awful as my beloved and beleaguered 1980s Packers. Oh, and for the record,
guess which formerly bad football teams I kind of can’t stand right now? (The
Saints get a pass, pun intended. Who dat’ say dey gonna hate dem
Saints?)
NICK KURCZEWSKI
The 2016 BMW 3 Series is another careful evolution of the
German automaker's most highly-regarded model.
So now here I am, with the Tom Brady of luxury sport sedans,
the 2016 BMW 340i xDrive Sedan. The 3 Series has been the standard bearer of
its segment for so long, it’s hard to remember a time when this Bavarian-built
sedan wasn’t the target all other automakers were chasing.
Mercedes-Benz and Audi certainly haven’t been asleep at the
wheel. And Cadillac is definitely taking some enormous strides to regain its
iconic, but dust-covered, “standard of the world” title from long ago.
In the meantime, BMW keeps refining, updating and improving
the 3 Series, the sedan with a bulls-eye on its back. By and large, the changes
are always for the better – though let’s ignore bizarre niche models, like the hunchbacked
Gran Turismo variant.
NICK KURCZEWSKI
The shape doesn't shout, but you instantly know from the
balanced proportions that this is a finely honed German sports sedan.
Unless you’re saving up for the wild M3 sport sedan, the
340i model is the most powerful version of the ‘regular’ 3 Series range.
Powered by a turbocharged inline-6 cylinder engine, coupled to an 8-speed
automatic gearbox, this powertrain delivers 320-horsepower and a stout 330
lb.-ft. of torque at a low 1,380 rpm.
This means there is no perceptible turbo lag, no hesitation
from the engine whatsoever as speed and revs climb. Fitting the 340i with
all-wheel-drive means foregoing the available 6-speed manual transmission,
though I doubt this is going to be a deal-breaker for many BMW shoppers. If you
want the manual, it’s available as a no-cost option in the rear-wheel-drive version
of the 340i.
NICK KURCZEWSKI
According to BMW, the 340i xDrive needs only 4.8 seconds to
accelerate from 0 to 60 mph. That's outright sports car territory, ladies and
gentlemen.
Within the first mile or two of my drive, one word kept
jumping to the forefront of my mind: Smooth. Every driving input feels expertly
and meticulously honed, from the feedback provided by the steering, to the
pressure required to engage the meaty brakes. Even the cabin has an air of
timeless elegance, by foregoing faddish displays and graphics, in favor of a
crisp gauge cluster (featuring real gauges, not screens), along with
straightforward buttons and dials on the console.
NICK KURCZEWSKI
It's not hugely cutting-edge or faddish, and that's what
makes the 3 Series cabin so endearing. It's classy, it looks great, and
everything works beautifully.
My tester’s black and tan leather interior was especially
handsome; even if the car’s white paintjob was way too bland for my taste. Just
why the heck is white such a popular color on so many cars and SUVs? The 3
Series is still wonderfully proportioned, and I love the character lines along
each side, cutting through the upper half of the doors like a freshly ironed
pleat.
I didn’t have a chance to really put the xDrive hardware to
the test – though BMW owners who opted for AWD certainly will this upcoming weekend! For my
money, I’d likely choose a fantastic set of winter tires and skip the option
box for all-wheel-drive. A big part of the reason is money; the xDrive version
of the 340i is $2-grand more than the standard model. And let’s not forget, the
lovely 328i Sedan, powered by BMW’s punchy turbo 4-cylinder, starts at $38,350
– or roughly $9-grand less than the 340i xDrive sedan.
NICK KURCZEWSKI
The turbocharged inline-6 is extremely powerful and
incredibly smooth. This is one of the best engines in the world, bar none.
The pick of the bunch could be the 328i xDrive
station-wagon, starting at $42,650. It delivers 220-hp, along with the added
utility that comes with having a wagon’s worth of load-lugging space. Better
still, because everyone is so crazy for crossovers right now, you don’t see one
on every street corner. So BMW purists will forgive that automatic-only
gearbox, for the simple fact that you chose the esoteric wagon. Oh yes, and
it's cheaper, so you’re saving money too!
Did this suave and powerful BMW have any major flaws? Well,
many competitors offer roomier rear seats, the exterior is conservative –
granted, that doubles as a positive – and the price scorches upwards when you
start adding extras. I just covered how you can minimize the damage to your
budget but, let’s be clear about one thing, nobody buys a BMW 3 Series because
it’s the best bargain.
NICK KURCZEWSKI
As much as we love an underdog, there's no getting around
it; this is the view the BMW 340i xDrive Sedan provides to most - if not all -
of its competitors.
The gap to the competition is also much thinner than it was
only a few years ago. Cadillac has finally found an identity, Lexus is getting
racy, Mercedes-Benz has shaken off a stodgy image, and Audi is far from being
the quirky outlier it was a decade ago. Even the likes of Lincoln, Acura,
and Infiniti have all taken massive strides when it comes to matching the power
and panache of the BMW range.
But the 3 Series remains maddeningly good, especially if
you’re an engineer with a competing automaker who is tasked with creating a car
to beat it.
It's safe to say that, over the past 45 years, Range Rovers have
driven across a great number of bridges. Some were made of stone, others from
steel, or wood, or even bamboo. But for its latest publicity stunt, Land Rover drove its
flagship SUV over a bridge made entirely of paper.
Not paper that was stapled, glued, clipped, clamped, bolted, riveted, or
otherwise reinforced by any other means. It wasn't even folded in any special
way. The bridge was built out of an untold number of tightly-stacked sheets of
paper, creating an arch spanning over 16 feet long and standing 11 feet high.
Once completed, off-road driving instructor Chris Zhou drove a Range Rover
Vogue with the supercharged V6 across it, marking a world first. Granted, the
latest Range Rover isn't as heavy as it could be, thanks largely to its
aluminum construction. But even so – and even with a V6 instead of a V8 or a diesel – we're still talking
about the better part of 5,000 pounds of machinery here.
The feat was orchestrated by British artist Steve Messam in Suzhou, China – a
city already famous for its bridges and known as "Venice of the
East." It wasn't the first eye-raising feat pulled off in a Range Rover,
and it surely won't be the last. But it's an impressive one nonetheless, and
you can check it out in the video above.
In a story on mercedes-benz.com, Mercedes-Benz revealed
today that the 2017 E-Class will have an autonomous driving feature called
Drive Pilot that will make it the most advanced autonomous driving
vehicle in the brand's portfolio.
The story follows Michael Kelz, chief engineer for the
E-Class, CLS-Class and GLC-Class, as he drives from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in
an E-Class prototype. It says that Drive Pilot allows the car to drive
almost completely by itself. The driver can take his/her hands off the wheel,
and the car will take full control of the braking, accelerating, and steering.
The car will flash an indication that the driver should take
back the wheel every so often, but the driver must then only swipe one of the
two touch controls on the steering wheel to allow the car to continue to drive
by itself. Mercedes models equipped with the current autonomous driving suite,
Intelligent Drive, require that the driver take back the wheel after 10
seconds. It sounds like Drive Pilot will allow the driver to have his/her hands
off the wheel for longer intervals.
In fact, the story says that if it weren't currently illegal
to do so, the driver could use the time with his/her hands off the wheel to
catch up on emails. In the future it will be possible to adapt the driver
assistance system to the local regulations.
Various anecdotes in the story highlight different
capabilities of Drive Pilot. For instance, it will give the car the
ability to complete an autonomous passing maneuver, including performing the
steering and acceleration. The driver will only have to tap an indicator. The
car will also park itself remotely. In other words, the driver won't have to be
in the car to allow the car to park itself.
In the city, the E-Class will brake for pedestrians or
crossing traffic, and an Evasive Steering Assist feature will help avoid a
collision once the driver begins the steering input. There is no more
explanation of how it works, but we can hazard a guess. Like brake assist
applies full braking power when the driver begins to hit the brakes when an
imminent collision is detected, once the driver begins steering, Evasive
Steering Assist will move the steering wheel, possibly using the car's radar
and cameras to find the safest direction to go while avoiding the accident.
Finally, the next E-Class will offer car-to-X communication,
allowing it to inform other cars of danger spots, accidents, and traffic
backups. This will be enabled by a central Daimler server, and only other
Mercedes models will be able to tap into it initially. However, other vehicles
with the capability will be brought on board over time.
The story offers two other tidbits about the 2017 E-Class.
First, it will offer multi-beam LED headlamps, and second it will be up to 154
pounds lighter than the outgoing car.
Nimble, agile, and even tossable aren’t words that you’ll
often find in driving impressions of a big three-row utility vehicle. Yet
they most definitely apply to the 2017 Audi Q7.
The new Q7 manages to provide a driving experience that, on
tight, curvy roads, feels like that of a tidy mid-sizer. You might actually
forget you’re in a tall utility vehicle that’s around 200 inches long—the
length of a full-size sedan.
The 2017 Q7 is essentially the same size as its
predecessor, yet it has a new aluminum-intensive body construction (alloy body
panels and a structure using high-strength steels) and completely new platform.
It’s nearly 500 pounds lighter (or by official U.S. specs, more like 300
pounds) and its center of mass is about two inches lower.
But it also has its tricks—like all-wheel steering. In
top-trim form, with all the right option boxes clicked, this big utility wagon
has a sophisticated, height-adjustable air suspension and well-tuned suspension
that really work to maximize this vehiclesride quality and cornering
potential.
With that top chassis combination, the Q7’s suspension soaks
up the side-to-side pitchiness that can be unsettling to taller vehicles over
mottled backroads, yet it’s exceptionally good in sudden weight transfers for
tight corners and quick emergency maneuvers—when it doesn’t stay artificially
flat but instead loads up like a good, very firmly tuned standard suspension.
Quattrosteer, not Quadrasteer
The Q7 is the first SUV with four-wheel steering since GM’s Chevy Suburban
and GMC Yukon XL models offered it more than a decade ago.
Just as in those vehicles—and in most models with all-wheel
steering—the Q7 steers its rear wheels in the opposite direction (up to 5
degrees from center) as the front wheels at very low speeds (knocking about
three feet from the turning circle) and then slightly in the same direction as
the fronts at high speeds, to aid stability.
Victor Underberg, the head of chassis dynamics at Audi AG,
rode along with us for an hour or so, and he helped us understand how the
all-wheel steering works in the Q7.
According to Underberg, there are some serious differences
in the behavior of the rear wheels between the Q7’s Drive Select modes
(Comfort, Dynamic, Auto, and Individual, as well as Off-Road in some
situations). The Q7’s Dynamic Mode not only reduces the maximum angle of the
rear wheels in tight cornering but changes the entire way the system works in
quick maneuvers and nearer to the limit.
All-wheel steering is now offered in the Porsche 911, and in
the Acura RLX sedan. The Acura system requires a bit of a learning curve to
understand exactly when the rear wheels are going to pivot and give you a
predictable, pronounced nudge—hopefully back onto your intended, non-understeer
trajectory.
German, on a French Curve
Compared to that Acura system, the Audi system provides less
of the nudge and more of a consistent, French-curve-tightening of your
cornering arc. From the driver’s seat it feels as if the vehicle is
no longer pivoting around its rear wheels but, momentarily, a point a lot
closer to your tailbone. It’s slightly unsettling in maybe the first few tight
hairpins, as you might actually dial in more steering input than needed; but
beyond that it’s completely intuitive and fluid.
Reduced to its essence, all-wheel steer helps correct for
improper lane positions on curvy roads and acts as an additional window of
safety. It erases some weight and pretends the wheelbase is shorter, making
this three-row model feel like a two-row crossover.
And what differentiates Audi’s Auto mode—for the suspension,
steering, throttle, and transmission—from those in other luxury vehicles,
Underberg explained, is that it doesn’t merely switch back and forth between
maps for Dynamic and Comfort characteristics; it instead builds its own,
choosing the best behavior for each input.
This fancy chassis stuff is all very exclusive
There’s a very big asterisk attached to this. The all-wheel
steering system and adaptive suspension are only available in a so-called
$4,000 Adaptive Chassis package—which you can only add to a top Q7 Prestige
model, then adding up to at least $68,300 (and likely well beyond the $70k mark
with other options). Audi expects Q7s with that option to comprise less than
five percent of U.S. sales.
This sounds a lot like what happened to GM's Quadrasteer,
which at the time was impressive technology—though never properly packaged. GM
spokesman Otie McKinley today points to the cost of that system as being more
than customers were willing to pay. Let's hope Audi finds a way to bring this
system to more Q7s.
The good news is that the standard-issue Q7, with its
steel-spring suspension (yes, there are plenty of aluminum alloy components
underneath, too) drives nearly as well. It doesn’t tweak the laws of physics
in quite the same way, or completely quell side-to-side pitchiness in quite the
same way, but it’s predictable and progressive and still makes this big
crossover feel quite nimble.
And what you get in powertrain performance is the same
across the entire model lineup, for now. The Q7 is powered by Audi’s
now-familiar 3.0-liter supercharged gasoline V-6, making 333 horsepower and 325
pound-feet of torque, and mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.
Diesel and Hybrid models are on the way, and more fuel-efficient, value-priced
2.0T model will be brought into the mix later in the model year; but in the
meantime, EPA ratings for this engine are at 19 mpg city, 25 highway, and over
around 250 miles of pretty rapid twisty-road driving, over several
vehicles, we saw an average around 20 mpg.
The air suspension might help both high-speed fuel
efficiency and driving ease on the trail or in heavy snowfall, as it raises the
ride height 2.4 inches in the Offroad setting and automatically lowers the
height an extra 1.2 inches below normal in high-speed 99-mph-plus) driving.
Towing capacity is 7,700, provided you’ve ordered the towing package, and that
capacity is the same whether you have the rear-wheel steering system and air
suspension or not.
The 2017 Audi Q7, like most of its luxury-badged, three-row
rivals, is loaded with active-safety and connectivity technology; keeps its
occupants ensconced in a comfortable, secure cabin; and has all the tough,
all-weather capability most families would ever want for the weekend ski trip.
The Q7 might save you from yourself
The Q7 has a tremendous amount of active-safety features
built in. Among the ones you might not encounter in other luxury vehicles is
Turn Assist, a feature that will scan oncoming traffic and actually save you
from yourself if you try turn left at what it judges to be an inopportune time.
The other is Vehicle Exit Assist—essentially a feature that scans
traffic on the left and keeps you from opening the door when a vehicle is
approaching (or “dooring” a cyclist).
The Q7’s sumptuous cabin appointments, which are now warm
and curvaceous and feel influenced by modern (or retro-mod) furniture, even
play a part in the communication, with light piping that flashes brightly (or
blinks) to the relative threat level—with the exit assist, for example.
Packaging has been rejiggered. in the Q7, with the second
and third rows both placed farther back within the cabin and lowered slightly.
Through some other packaging magic, including a somewhat thinner seat design,
the Q7 makes some significant gains in passenger space. The lower cargo floor,
enabled by better suspension packaging in the new platform, help bump cargo
space behind the third row up to 14.8 cubic feet. Yet in seat folding, Audi
should take a long look at its Japanese and American luxury rivals, as this one
offers neither convenient one-hand operation nor a space-maximizing layout that
tucks the second row completely forward or down.
Audi has topped off this top-notch cabin ambience with some
old-fashioned noise insulation and smart sealing throughout; they’ve managed to
pull off such a quiet cabin without the use of active noise
cancellation technology.
Of course, inside, the Q7 offers the latest generation of
the automaker’s Multi-Media Interface (MMI) infotainment system, here offering
the best of both worlds with the freestanding screen plus the Audi Virtual
Cockpit gauge cluster that made its debut in the TT. And here, each of those
displays has its own equally fast and capable Nvidia Tegra 30 processor for
lag-free operation and great search functionality.
Three-row utes don’t often bring a satisfied smile to your
face during rapid driving on twisty two-laners; yet the Q7 breaks free of
that third-row stigma. And it does so with plenty of tricks that parents are
bound to appreciate.
Jaguars are delightfully raucous offerings in the luxury sedan,
coupe, and convertible space. The cars make great noise and can billow terrific
clouds of smoke from the rear tires. But now, models like the sporty
F-Type R come fitted with all-wheel drive. Another Jaguar is getting
the four-wheel traction treatment too. The latest Jaguar XF will be
available with all-wheel drive.
The good news here is that, like we said in the beginning,
Jaguars are delightfully raucous. And though the cars are fitted with all-wheel
drive, the system used is biased towards sending power out back. You might not
be delivering masterful brake stands, but you can get funky fresh with your
favorite canyon road.
Jaguar is employing the all-wheel-drive setup on XF sedans packing
the 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine. It will become available first in its native
England, and then filter out to other markets. This includes the United States,
where an all-wheel-drive XF is sure to be a hit in the cold climes of Boston,
New York, and Chicago. It's a good looking car, and now it will be more
accessible to folks tasked with dealing with inclement weather. And the move
isn't entirely a surprise considering the last XF also offered all-wheel drive.
If we had to choose, though, we'd take our XF with 100
percent rear-wheel bias all of the time, thanks. Now if we could just order the
F-Type R that way as well.
The unspoken word hanging in the air over the 2016 Range
Rover Td6 and Range Rover Sport Td6: still.
Range Rover, the luxury SUV imprint of Jaguar Land Rover
(JLR) and currently a brimming fountain of Yankee cash, is still following
through with its plan to offer diesel powertrains to the U.S. market. This,
despite the recent unpleasantness known as Dieselgate, Volkswagen’s
emissions-cheating scandal.
Talk about climate change. Five years ago diesel was the
great green hope, a conventionally handled fuel with about 20% higher fuel
economy and lower CO2 emissions. With low-sulfur fuel and post-combustion
urea-injection systems to reduce NOx (nitrogen oxides), diesel light-duty
vehicles could pass even California’s stringent tailpipe tests.
Today, thanks to VW, diesel’s brand is in disgrace. Meet
your new spokesman: Jared.
The good people of JLR understand the timing of their push
is less than optimal, but they note heavy industry doesn’t turn on a dime. They
make the case, reasonably, that there remains a cadre of unserved Jaguar and
Land Rover/Range Rover clients who prefer the range, durability, ready torque
and efficiency of diesel.
We’ll see. Range Rover clients can now order either truck
with a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 (254 hp at 4,000 rpm and 440 pound-feet of
torque at 1,750 rpm). The optional diesel will continue across the JLR’s
lineup, including the keenly awaited Jaguar F-Pace crossover.
For them, the Td6 puts up some pretty persuasive numbers.
Example: The Td6-powered Range Rover gets 32% better fuel economy (EPA combined
fuel economy rating of 25 mpg) than its petrol V6-powered twin.
I interviewed JLR’s hushed, oily gyre under the hood of both
Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, on and off-road, around Sedona, Ariz., and
its next-generation transparency was remarkable. Not only can’t you tell it’s a
diesel; you can hardly tell it’s on.
The throttle pickup is nearly identical to JLR’s feisty
supercharged six’s. On the highway, a warm warble soars from under a stamped
right foot, very like a gasser, and nothing but serene forward thrust.
Milled from compacted graphite iron, the Td6 boasts a
super-solid construction (deep skirt, through-bolted, load-bearing oil sump)
designed to attenuate diesel-y noise and vibrations. The engine is carried by
fancy dual-isolating mounts.
To outwit diesel’s famous knock, the Td6’s injection cycle
comprises multiple injection events, with fuel spritzes timed to interfere with
the initial detonation’s pressure wave. Other emoluments include acoustic
windscreen glass and noise-dampening firewall design.
These exertions are necessary primarily due to the vehicle’s
standard (and mandatory) start-stop function. Start-stop is demanding for
diesel engines, because it is that first half-second that sees the big spike in
transient rocking, when a heavy crank gets spun up against all that
compression.
Taming this shuddering has left the Td6 RR an overstuffed,
deeply hushed product otherwise. When the engine lights again, you feel the
barest frisson through the aluminum-intensive frame, and hear the faintest
thrum, as if you were in the wheelhouse of a tugboat and somebody on the
fantail started using an electric razor.
It’s all pretty marvelous. So let’s call this application of
Rudolf Diesel’s principles what it is: the technical high point of
combustion-ignition in passenger cars, the beginning of sunset.
Even before VW’s betrayal, there were good reasons to doubt
the long-term prospects of diesel fuel in the American passenger-car fleet, now
lingering at about 3% penetration. First, in an age of historically low
gasoline prices, diesel fuel prices have trended stubbornly high, an artifact
of limited refining capacity and demand from the commercial-trucking sector in
a growing economy.
Nationally in January, a gallon of on-highway diesel
averaged $2.21 compared with gasoline’s $2.03, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (eia.gov). Taxes on gasoline and diesel average
about the same: 22%. The price difference just doesn’t want to go away.
Second, diesel powertrains come with a price premium, due
primarily to the aforementioned 50-state legal emissions controls, including
exhaust treatment with Diesel Emission Fluid (DEF). However, in the case of
these two new Range Rovers, the price difference between gas and V6 turbodiesel
version ($1,500) is painlessly absorbed into the overall cost of the luxury
vehicle.
Third, which I believe is the nail in the coffin: Increased scrutiny
by European regulators, who have for years waved past auto makers’
less-than-clinical test results.
It would be hard to overstate European indignation over
Dieselgate and the gaming of emissions tests by auto makers generally. In
response, the EU Parliament is hammering out new Real Driving Emissions (RDE)
requirements, whose purpose is self-explanatory: to take the self-reporting and
bench biases out of emissions tests.
That, as any engineer can tell you, is a vastly more
stringent standard, and a game changer. VW’s diesels (Audi and Porsche are now
also implicated) couldn’t pass such standards as there are without weaseling,
allegedly.
As of September 2014, the Euro 6 rules for light-duty
passenger cars include a NOx standard of .08 milligram per kilometer.
Mind you: It’s not that auto makers cannot technically make
any number the regulators put up. It’s only doubtful they can do it in a way
that doesn’t cost them money.
M. At BMW, it stands for performance. We identify M car with
big power, agile dynamics, and aggressive European styling. But how did they
get that way? The BMW M3 is the car that started it all, and a couple weeks ago
we saw how BMW
developed the first-generation M3.
Well, now BMW has released the second installment in a
video series that is promised to cover all five generations of the M3.
The second-generation M3, the
legendary E36, which ran from 1992 to 1999. In it we learn that BMW turned its
focus from pure competition in the first generation to a combination of track
readiness and street comfort. We also learn that the E36 was the first carcar to feature BMW's VANOS variable camshaft system and
sequential M gearbox. VANOS, in particular, was instrumental in giving the car
the qualities of both a race car and a comfortable daily cruiser.
Of course, there is much more to learn about the E36 M3 in
this video, as well as some cool images to see of a great car ripping up the
road and a warehouse.
The video was done for an international market and not all
of the information applies to the United States. However, there is some cool
stuff here, and perhaps what you learn will inspire you to do some more
research on your own...or to go out and buy a used E36 M3.
The GTE mode is for sporty driving. The transmission,
throttle, engine, and steering programming are more aggressive. The vehicle
uses its full 221 horsepower when GTE mode is activated and is capable of a
6.4-second 0 to 60 mph time and a top speed of 120 mph.
The driver can choose from several driving programs for the
4Motion Active Control all-wheel-drive system: On road (Comfort and Eco),
Offroad (Rocks, Sludge and Sand, and Gravel), Sport, Snow, Charge, and Battery
Hold.
The Tiguan GTE is based on VW's front-wheel-drive-based MQB
platform that underpins the Golf compact cars, among others. However,
changes have been made to enable off-road capability. The approach, departure,
and breakover angles are improved, and ground clearance increases from 7.1 to
8.9 inches. VW has also added a front skid plate, covered the bumpers in a
durable polymer, added tow hooks to both bumpers, installed a pair of LED
auxiliary spotlights, and outfitted the roof with high-strength cross rails.
Aggressive off-road 16-inch tires provide grip on slippery surfaces.
Inside, the five-passenger concept has VW's next generation
infotainment system, which features a 9.2-inch touchscreen, Apple Car Play and
Android Auto, and access to other apps through Car-Net App-Connect. It also
responds to gesture control commands. All of the controls on the center stack
are touch sliders, which is not a good idea.
Volkswagen is yet to show the version of the Tiguan that the
United States will get, but says it will be available in 2017 and be offered
with a longer wheelbase and a seven-passenger variant.
We suspect that the plug-in hybrid technology in the Tiguan
GTE concept will make it to the production version, as well as several other VW
vehicles. The off-road features probably won't be offered for this family
hauler.
Not one of the girls got either question right (Audi and
Tourist Trophy). But they all loved the car because: “It’s sooooo cute!”
And they are absolutely right about that.
The first TT rolled out of the Audi factory in Gyor,
Hungary, in 1998. Its Bauhaus curves and teardrop roofline, vaguely reminiscent
of a slightly squished VW Beetle, gave it instant traction with speed
enthusiasts. It was a driver’s car for those without the budget, or the
cojones, to carry off a Porsche. A year later the soft-top version joined the
fray and its double rabbit-ear roll hoops made it a favourite across the board.
This is now the third generation, and each iteration has
built on the shoulders of the last. It has a multilayered fabric roof that
folds in seconds. A wind deflector pops up behind you so the cabin stays
draught free even on a cold winter’s day. The open roof also gives passersby a
chance to admire the cabin. It’s proper posh, a masterclass in leather
upholstery. When you find yourself idly tracing the stitching with a lazy
finger you realise you are in the realm of the boutique dungeon, not a car
interior. The dash has been upgraded to a virtual cockpit – dials and gauges
are all now digital – which creates a wonderfully uncluttered space.
And to drive? The TT hasn’t always been revered for its
performance, but third time round, Audi’s engineers have nailed it and created
something really dramatic. It’s irresistible. The TT leaps into corners with
relish and wolfs its way up and down swooping hills in spectacular fashion.
There’s a selection of engines on offer, from the green-fingered 184bhp 2-litre
TDI which does 61 mpg, to the bully-boy 227bhp 2-litre TFSI Quattro which does
0-62 in under 5 seconds, but drinks twice as much fuel.
And so, my decision? The roadster – sorry, netballers.
The all-new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is
just a week out from its debut at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show. The car
will arrive in showrooms later this year, as a 2017 model, and has been in the
works for more than four years, with much of the development handled in some of
the globe’s
most extreme conditions.
Over the course of the past several months we’ve been
receiving bits and pieces of information on some of the new features engineers
have needed to test. For example, we’ve learned about the car’s advanced autonomous
driving capabilities, which will include automatic lane changing, and we
also got an early look at the
lavish interior. Heck, we’ve even had a glimpse of the exterior
completely unmasked. Now we have a new teaser video that shows the advanced
headlights of the new E-Class.
Mercedes says the new E-Class will feature its Multibeam LED headlight
technology, with each headlight unit coming with 84 individually-controlled
LEDs. This enable high-precision lighting of the car’s high beam so the light
path can be controlled in a way that doesn’t bother other drivers. The result
is that cars equipped with the technology can safely be driven with the
high beams left permanently on, though this type of feature is still not
allowed in the United States.
Ian Callum has been responsible for some of the most
beautiful cars on the roads over the last few decades, with most of
his career actually spent with Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F], though most will
likely recognize his more recent efforts at Aston Martin and Jaguar. Some of
his most impressive works include the original Aston Martin Vanquish, the
Jaguar F-Type and the rare Ford RS200 homologation special.
Callum is also a huge car nut, even going so far
as to commission a bespoke
Jaguar Mark 2, but he’s also very much an approachable, likable ‘car guy,’
something that can’t be said for many of the stuffy types you often find in
design circles, especially those with talents on the same level as Callum’s.
Watch as the 61-year-old tells the story of his life-long
passion for car design and how he turned that passion into a career. And there
might just be something in the water in the small Scottish town of Dumfries
where Callum grew up as his little brother Moray Callum is also a noted
automotive designer and is currently in charge of the design team at
Ford.
