Sex-o-Cars

Audi A1 1.4 TFSI

June 2nd, 2011 Comments Off

Audi has been missing in the compact car market - until the launch of its supermini A1 at the end of last year.

Intended to compete with rivals like the MINI Cooper and Alfa Romeo Mito, the Audi A1 is designed to appeal to a younger audience.
It's no secret that the Audi A1 shares its underpinning with its less expensive cousin the Volkswagen Polo, and the car has been labeled by some as nothing more than a premium version of its German understudy.
On paper, I might agree, but as soon as you step into the A1 you soon realise that any notion that this is a Polo is soon dismissed as Audi's refinement and premium interior shine through.
But has the premium brand done enough to capture its intended audience? Let's find out!

The Audi A1 is a very pleasant car to drive, you instantly feel the high level of refinement in the build quality the moment you jump into the drivers seat.

Audi engineers have done a great job balancing sporty handling with day-to-day comfort. The A1's suspension is tight enough to keep the car flat and stable when pushing through corners at speed, while soaking up bumps and imperfections on neglected roads. The stability control system is equally impressive at keeping the car solidly planted through corners.

The stability control system makes use of an electronic differential which distributes torque to different wheels during cornering to give maximum grip and drive out of sharp corners. It also helps reduce the tendency for the car to understeer on tighter bends.

2012 Audi A7

April 15th, 2011 Comments Off

The all-new 2012 Audi A7 will retail for $59,250 when it goes on sale at the end of April 2011, according to Audi of America. The A7 production car is being revealed at the New York International Auto Show in April.

The 2012 A7 Sportback is a five-door model that looks like a coupe. Like the new BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo, the Audi A7 will be a four-door plus hatch arrangement, not the separate trunk configuration of the Mercedes-Benz CLS or Volkswagen CC.

The A7 is beautiful, with handsome proportions and elegant lines. The A7 easily won the prestigious Auto Bild Design Summit in Germany in February.

2012 Mazda 5

April 10th, 2011 Comments Off

The 2012 Mazda 5 is an all-new model. For 2012, Mazda 5 has been redesigned inside and especially outside, where it uses Mazda's Nagare, or flow in nature, design, the first Mazda to be designed using this philosophy.

The Mazda 5, a small, six-seat, front-wheel-drive minivan, currently resides in a class of one, since no other manufacturer offers a minivan in this size class (although the Ford C-Max will be coming along later in the 2012 model year). For comparison purposes, Mazda uses the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4, which are not true minivans, since they don't use sliding doors as the Mazda 5 does, and are generally $2400-$2800 more expensive.

2011 Acura ZDX

April 6th, 2011 Comments Off

The Acura ZDX altered the visual signature of the SUV when it was introduced. Based on the big MDX sport-utility, the Acura ZDX projects a carlike image using pronounced fender flares, a raked windshield, pronounced tumblehome on the side glass, and a fastback roofline.

Described as a four-door coupe by design staff, the Acura ZDX features hidden rear door handles to exaggerate the two-door look. Since it was intended primarily to meet the needs of self-indulgent couples, the declining roofline is not out of place on a vehicle like this, but it does compromise space in the rear seats. So does the use of long front doors (intended to accentuate the coupe-like proportions), which make the rear doors short and less convenient for access.

Bentley Continental Supersports ISR Convertible

March 21st, 2011 Comments Off

This new model, limited to just 100 cars worldwide, is a celebration of the Company’s world ice speed record set two weeks ago by Finland’s four-time world rally champion Juha Kankkunen in a Bentley Continental Supersports convertible.

Powering the car is a 6-litre, twin turbo-charged W12 engine, producing 471kW of power and 800Nm of torque. Paired with a Quickshift six-speed automatic transmission, the convertible ‘Ice Speed Record’ model can sprint from 0-100km/h in 4.0 seconds.

The additional engine power of the new convertible is the result of fine tuning of the engine to optimise the benefits of the new free-breathing air intake ducts, intercooler system and the exhaust system.

In common with its Continental siblings, the new Supersports model runs on both petrol (gasoline) or E85 bio-ethanol or any combination of the two. Pioneered in the Supersports coupe, this FlexFuel technology offers a reduction of up to 70 per cent in CO2 emissions on a well-to-wheel basis, a measure of a fuel’s net contribution to the atmosphere, not just tailpipe emissions. The on-board fuel supply system monitors the content of the fuel tank and ensures that power and torque remain constant regardless of the ratio of petrol to biofuel.

2011 Jeep Compass

March 10th, 2011 Comments Off

Once considered by some to be the lame duck of the Jeep lineup, the 2011 Jeep Compass gets a little more muscle and a more serious mug to keep up with the rest of the family.

Refreshed for 2011, the Jeep Compass compact crossover has a new front fascia, upgraded interior materials and improved towing and off-roading capabilities. For the first time since the introduction of the Compass as a 2007 model, the top model earns Jeep's Trail Rated badge, meaning it passed a series of tests at Moab and the Rubicon Trail.

The updated design of the 2011 Compass is a clear homage to Jeep's flagship SUV, the Grand Cherokee. This baby Cherokee uses the traditional seven-slot grille found on all Jeep vehicles, and has a more aggressive look than its predecessor. The hood gets a slight power bulge that looks tough (but whose functionality is questionable), a new rear spoiler and thinner roof rails.

While not completely revamped, Jeep forgoes some of the previously cheap plastics on the 2011 Compass for improved, soft-touch material on the arm rests, as well as better cloth on the front bucket seats. Other upgrades include a new center armrest and a redesigned steering wheel with integrated controls.

Once dismissed by its critics for a lack of performance, the 2011 Jeep Compass gets a retuned suspension and more robust performance capabilities thanks to higher spring and damping rates, added rebound springs, and an increased diameter of the rear sway bar. Towing capacity is rated at up to 2,000 pounds.

Three drivetrain configurations are available for the 2011 Jeep Compass: a front-wheel drive model and two four-wheel-drive versions dubbed Freedom Drive I and Freedom Drive II.

Freedom Drive I is an full-time, active four-wheel-drive system with a lock mode for driving in inclement weather. Jeep says the active four-wheel-drive system is best suited for everyday driving, including rain and light snow.

The Freedom Drive II Off-Road Package, whose name sounds as if it could have been handed down by the U.S Department of Homeland Security, is a four-wheel-drive system that uses a continuously variable transaxle with a low range suited for moderate off-road driving, earning it Jeep's Trail Rated designation previously absent on Compass models.

The base power plant on the 2011 Jeep Compass is a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that makes 158 horsepower and 141 pound-feet of torque and is paired with either a 5-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable automatic (CVT).

An upgraded, 2.4-liter inline-4 ups horsepower to 172 hp with 165 lb.-ft. of torque. Optional on all models and standard on the Limited, the 2.4-liter engine uses dual Variable Valve Timing, which helps to optimize performance and fuel economy. Fuel economy ranges significantly, from 21-23 mpg city and 23-29 mpg highway, depending on the drivetrain.

The 2011 Jeep Compass starts at $19,245 for front-wheel drive models and is in dealerships now.

2012 Alfa Romeo Giulietta

February 28th, 2011 Comments Off

The Alfa Romeo Giullietta blends manageable size and good fuel economy with lots of utility, advanced technology and high, sporting style, crafted by one of Italy's oldest, most revered car builders. Americans could get the opportunity to buy a Giulietta by 2012.

North America might need a bit of context regarding Alfa Romeo, to be sure. The company is an upscale division of Fiat, one of Europe's largest automakers, but it hasn't sold cars in the United States since 1995. The Giulietta name (pronounced like Romeo and Juliet-tah) dates back to 1955, when it was applied to a long line of small, lightweight cars noted for their agile handling. The Giulietta was a volume-produced product that moved Alfa into the mainstream with a new type of chassis known as a unitbody. Giuliettas came in Spider convertible, Sprint coupe, and Berlina sedan body styles and were rear-wheel drive. Through the 1960s, the Giulietta Spider and Sprint developed a small but fanatical following in North America for its sporty handling and racing capability.

2013 Porsche 918

February 24th, 2011 Comments Off

The world caught its first glimpse of the Porsche 918 Sypder plug-in hybrid concept in March 2010 at the Geneva Motor Show. About five months later, Stuttgart announced the two-seater would go into production, after being quietly shown (or not-so-quietly, depending on whom you ask) to a hand-picked group of prospective customers, including the swanky Pebble Beach crowd during the week of the famed golf community's Concours d'Elegance.

With its futuristic, multi-faceted (some say overdone) styling, the 918 may someday take its place as the first Porsche supercar since the long-planned and short-lived Carrera GT, a $440,000 mid-engine which ended production in 2006.

2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe

February 18th, 2011 Comments Off

The CTS Coupe is a lot like a Chanel stiletto heel, entrancing to look at but hard to live with. If you want to get noticed, this coupe will serve you well. On a stretch of freeway in Concord, a sport in a Volvo C60 Convertible came screaming by while mouthing the words “Great Looking Car!” And he’s right, of course, because the CTS looks like an artist’s conception of how a sports coupe should look: close-coupled front and mid sections, truncated rear, heavy frontal rake, oversize wheels and tires, lock and latch less flanks, minimal chrome placed for maximal impact. Among the nicest touches are the V-shaped trunk finisher which mimics the centrally located V-shaped exhaust tips, and the artistic burnished aluminum strut tower brace, hidden under the hood, which connects the front shock towers together.

Honda Accord Euro

February 15th, 2011 Comments Off

Most days I ride my bicycle to work. It's dangerous, it's dirty, it often ends with me shaking my fist at fellow road users and vice versa.

But not today.

Today I'm driving the Honda Accord Euro to work. Not because I'm feeling lazy, or because I want to avoid the unseasonably wet weather.

In fact, it's not even because I'm obliged to review the car.

I'm leaving the bike at home and driving the Accord Euro to work today because I want to.

Most of the time I'm sitting behind a desk studying Ebay and researching Youtube, so I have to get exercise somewhere, but punting Honda's new car around - even in hazardous commuter traffic - is such an enjoyable, calming experience.

When Honda first launched the Accord Euro in Australia in 2003, it found a lot of friends and was roundly praised by the motoring media.

Sales have been strong for the first generation model (current financial crisis notwithstanding) and as such there's a lot of pressure on the new model to perform.

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