December 2019

Wheels

Australia’s original motoring magazine.

Wheels3 min readAutomotive
Inwood
GOD IT WAS a good Bathurst 1000. One for the ages. A titanic seven-hour tussle full of intrigue, close racing, crushing crashes, controversy, and daring passes. And don’t get me started on the final 30 minutes. It was so exciting that my stepfather,
Wheels4 min readAutomotive
America: Truck yeah!
REMEMBER WHEN American pick-up trucks were considered nothing but oversized oddities in Australia? These lumbering giants loomed large on roads clogged with comparatively tiny car-based utes, and had usually been converted to right-hand drive in the
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
True Built Blue
CARS WEARING the Blue Oval are again being built in Australia. Well, kind of. No, it’s not the full mass production that once created such a singular and cherished automotive culture, but Aussie workers are being tasked with assembling supercharged V
Wheels2 min read
Year Car Of 2020 The : New Rules
IF IT AIN’T BROKE, don’t fix it. That’s been the mantra behind Wheels Car of the Year for some time. The award process did a good job of sieving a diverse bunch of contenders down to one excellent vehicle, so why change things? Because cars are chang
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
Incoming
All good things come to those who wait... Ford ditched the mundane Fiestas in favour of the 147kW/290Nm ST, and it’s priced at $31,990. We’ll only get the five-door version of the three-pot hot hatch, but it’ll be loaded with goodies like the Perform
Wheels5 min readAutomotive
Inbox
But please, keep it tight (no more than 200 words) and do include your suburb if via email: wheels@wheelsmag.com.au You can also have your say on Facebook (search for Wheels Australia), Instagram or Twitter I HAVE A letterbox with a clear window in
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
30 Secs
According to data culled from Tesla’s import facilities at Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, the Model 3 shifted around 2400 units in September, instantly becoming the top-selling electric car in the country Not only did it outsell the combined Austral
Wheels2 min read
Carey
REASONS TO say nice things about Ryanair don’t come along very often. Europe’s biggest-by-far budget airline isn’t an especially pleasant way to travel, and I speak from extensive experience in this matter. But the Irish outfit recently helped make m
Wheels3 min readAutomotive
Robbo
BATHURST 1976 is better remembered for the racing comeback by Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss than Bobby Morris and John Fitzpatrick’s victory. The build-up to the return to motor racing by Australia’s first world champion and the English legend Moss
Wheels6 min readAutomotive
Lamborghini Lm002
GENERAL GADDAFI loved his. Pablo Escobar’s was used to trundle around his backyard zoo. Uday Hussein’s was, like its registered keeper, extensively remodelled by the US military. You don’t have to be a poster child for the Levenson psychopathy scale
Wheels2 min read
Lamborghini Sian Supercapacitor
Not surprisingly, Lamborghini’s foray into electrification is unconventional in the extreme. Rather than following its rivals down the battery-electric path, the Italian supercar maker’s first hybrid uses a supercapacitor to store electrical energy w
Wheels4 min readAutomotive
Door Play Creates Odd One Out
Model Hyundai Veloster Turbo Engine 1591cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v, turbo Max power 150kW @ 6000rpm Max torque 265Nm @ 1500-4500rpm Transmission 7-speed dual-clutch Weight 1350kg 0-100km/h 7.1sec (claimed) Economy 6.9L/100km Price $38,490 On sale No
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
More Than A Nip/tuck
Model Lexus RX450hL Sports Luxury Engine 3456cc V6 (90°), dohc, 24v + electric motors Max power 230kW @ 6000rpm Max torque 335Nm @ 4600rpm Transmission CVT Weight 2275kg 0-100km/h 8.0sec (claimed) Economy 6.0L/100km Price $111,070 On sale No
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
Evolution Of The Species
Model Lamborghini Huracan Evo Engine 5204cc V10 (90°), dohc, 40v Max power 470kW @ 8000rpm Max torque 600Nm @ 6500rpm Transmission 7-speed dual-clutch Weight 1422kg 0-100km/h 2.9sec (claimed) Economy 13.7L/100km Price $459,441 On sale Now B
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
Polo-based Crossover
Model Volkswagen T-Cross Engine 999cc 3cyl, dohc, 12v, turbo Max power 85kW @ 5500rpm Max torque 200Nm @ 2000-3500rpm Transmission 7-speed dual-clutch Weight 1270kg 0-100km/h 10.2sec (claimed) Economy 4.9L/100km Price Under $30,000 (estimated
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
Hatch Is One For The Ages
Model Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line Engine 1985cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v, turbo Max power 140kW @ 4180-6000rpm Max torque 300Nm @ 1500-4180rpm Transmission 7-speed dual-clutch Weight 1495kg 0-100km/h 7.2sec (claimed) Economy 6.8L/100km Price $45,000 (esti
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
Baby Benz Joins The Socket Set
Model Mercedes-Benz A250e Engine 1332cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v, turbo Electric motor Permanent magnet synchronous Power 160kW (combined) Torque 450Nm (combined) Transmission 8-speed dual-clutch Weight 1646kg 0-100km/h 6.6sec (claimed) Economy 1.4L/1
Wheels3 min readAutomotive
Second Attempt Hits The Spot
Model Audi Q3 35 TFSI Engine 1395cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v, turbo Max power 110kW @ 5000rpm Max torque 250Nm @ 1500-3500rpm Transmission 6-speed dual-clutch Weight 1470kg 0-100km/h 9.3sec (claimed) Economy 7.2L/100km Price $46,400 On sale Now WE C
Wheels3 min readAutomotive
More Than Mere Seoul Provider
Model Kia Seltos S Engine 1969cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v Max power 110kW @ 6200rm Max torque 180Nm @ 4500rpm Transmission CVT Weight 1355kg 0-100km/h 9.6sec (claimed) Fuel consumption 6.8L/100km Price $25,990 On sale Now CAN THE all-new Kia Seltos
Wheels7 min readAutomotive
IN THE HALL OF THE mountain kings
5:47PM, SATURDAY October 12. It’s the day before the Bathurst 1000, and the entire Mount Panorama circuit is subdued with a tense silence. The peace is shattered by a feral, mechanical howl. It’s Scott McLaughlin at the wheel of his DJR Team Penske F
Wheels3 min readAutomotive
Twin Test
Hyundai offers three FWD variants (Go, Active and Elite), with prices starting at $19,990 and topping out at $25,490. We’re driving the mid-spec Active, which is $23,490 when optioned with the $2000 auto. In a big tick for the price point, all Venues
Wheels7 min readAutomotive
Seeking A Soul, Mate
AUTOBAHN, 180 clicks south of Berlin. Rain spatters the windscreen as you patiently negotiate the melange of trucks, white vans and hustling BMW wagons. Then, as if by some invisible signal, the fast lane clears and the road straightens. Flatten it.
Wheels8 min read
The Hart of Ford
STHELIERS BAY is one of those affluent waterside suburbs you might find in Sydney, Melbourne, San Francisco or Barcelona. In this case it’s Auckland in New Zealand. The coffee shops are doing a roaring Sunday-morning trade, the joggers are out in for
Wheels5 min readAutomotive
Between Karoq And A Hard Place
WHAT DOES Citroen have to do to catch a break in Australia? Famous as an early pioneer of front-drive, monocoque construction, aerodynamics, and hydropneumatics for superior suspension, steering and braking, the brand has been present here for most o
Wheels9 min read
Bentley To The Battlefields
THE D1 IN NORTHERN France is one of those perfect roads. It lopes across the plains above the River Somme, at the heart of the WWI battlefields. It’s open, inviting, and flows to the horizon with just a few kinks that won’t impede your progress. If y
Wheels7 min readAutomotive
Hang The Expense
ONE OF THE more memorable recurring features in this magazine’s long and illustrious history was the ‘King of the Hill’ series, started in the late 1970s, pitting a desirable-spec Holden against the Ford Falcon equivalent. As made clear in editor Pet
Wheels1 min readAutomotive
Happy Mediums
Like a jumped-up i30, the updated Active’s dash is big on familiarity, simplicity, functionality and user friendliness. Cabin is spacious and comfy to boot, with the trio’s most reclinable rear backrest, though the ambience is the least inviting, and
Wheels3 min readAutomotive
Lick The Stamp…
Price as tested: $50,180 This month: 640km @ 7.9L/100km Overall: 8392km @ 8.8L/100km PERSPECTIVE’S a lovely thing. If you’ve been keeping tabs on my stint with the Renault Megane Cup, you’ll know that we haven’t really bonded. I admire the car and
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
Urban Hits
Price as tested: $76,790 This month: 1101km @ 8.9L/100km YOU’LL REMEMBER I finished last month’s report with something of a mini cliffhanger as my A250 was whisked back to Mercedes to investigate a curious sound emanating intermittently from the en
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
Food For Thought
Price as tested: $50,180 This month: 1533km @ 6.3L/100km IT’S LATE, a work night and, on this rare occasion, I’ve managed to complete something akin to meaningful exercise. All things considered, my checklist for the day is going well. All that rem
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
Bush Bash
Price as tested: $24,490 This month: 1268km @7.81L/100km I RETURNED TO the driver’s seat of the Jimny recently after spending a week in a luxury SUV with a six-figure price tag and a 405kW supercharged V8 under the bonnet. I imagine the experience
Wheels2 min readAutomotive
The Light Fantastic
THE FASTEST and most technologically advanced road car in the mid-1950s? Probably some Ferrari, maybe a Maserati – or perhaps even a Jaguar, given its Le Mans successes? The automotive pinnacle of the mid-1950s was indeed based on a dominant Le Mans

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