First look: Mercedes' 410kW 4WD

German brand set to launch monster off-roader.
Mercedes-Benz Australia is “seriously considering” introducing an AMG version of the GL-Class SUV.
Based on the second-generation GL-Class which arrives in April, the GL63 joins the recently introduced ML63 and utilitarian G63 as part of AMG’s growing SUV family.
The GL63 is powered by the same 5.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 as its siblings, albeit retuned to develop 410kW and 760Nm of torque - up from 386kW and 700Nm - for a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 4.9 seconds.

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Mercedes-Benz Australia manager of corporate communications Jerry Stamoulis is confident the GL63 will arrive in local showrooms given the popularity of the smaller, $177,900 ML63 AMG, which traditionally accounts for about 5 per cent of M-Class sales. Pricing is likely to exceed $200,000, rivalling the Range Rover Vogue.
“[The GL63] is a unique proposition for that segment. There won’t be many seven-seat, 410kW-powered SUVs,” Stamoulis says.
The vehicle’s Australian introduction will be confirmed before September.
“It’s one of those vehicles that a handful of our customers will want to upgrade to, but it might also attract customers from different brands.”
Australia is a strong market for AMG, ranking fifth in the world for sales of performance vehicles.
Mercedes-AMG chairman Ola Källenius says the GL63 completes the company’s performance-oriented all-wheel-drive offering.
“Combining the first-rate comfort of the S-Class with the performance of an AMG sports saloon, the GL63 AMG is unique in its segment,” he says.
Mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission and permanent all-wheel drive, the GL63 officially uses 12.3 litres per 100 kilometres on the European cycle and emits 288 grams of CO2 per km, making it about 10 per cent more efficient than the lesser-powered GL500.
Fuel-saving features include stop-start, electric steering and demand-responsive control of all ancillary units.
Dynamic aids come from air-controlled sports suspension, adaptive dampers, automatic levelling control and active roll stabilisation to reduce bodyroll through corners. It also benefits from larger sports brakes and rides on 21-inch alloy wheels.
The GL63 is visually distinguished by signature AMG touches including flared wheel arches, a larger front apron and revised lower air intakes for improved cooling, twin chrome tailpipes, and LED daytime-running lights.
Inside it gets leather-trimmed sports seats and artificial leather inserts across the dash, door panels and armrests, a flat-bottomed steering wheel and a revised AMG instrument cluster.
Standard equipment highlights include Mercedes’ pre-collision anticipation system, bi-xenon headlights, automatic tailgate, sunroof, keyless start, seat massagers, three-zone climate-control and “crosswind assist” to aid stability at high speeds.
Mercedes is still finalising the line-up of regular GL-Class range, which will include at least one diesel variant.'
The most likely contender is the entry-level GL350 BlueTec, which accounts for 80 per cent of GL sales. The slower-selling diesel V8-powered GL450 remains an uncertainty at this stage.
Priced from $131,490 (plus on-road and dealer costs), the GL350 BlueTec is powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 that develops 195kW of power and 620Nm of torque. Despite the current model’s 2500-kilogram-plus kerb weight, it officially uses 9.2L/100km and emits 242g/km of CO2.
The other likely offering is the petrol-powered GL500, to cater for the 10 per cent of “traditional ‘500’ customers” and slot in the middle of the range. It is powered by a 300kW/600Nm 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8 already found in the ML500, S500 limousine and its CL500 coupe sibling.

Road test review: BMW 640i coupe

 

New wagon version of German brand’s large luxury car appeals to the practical and financial senses.
The humble station wagon isn't at the top of most family buyers shopping lists - most are choosing to sit up high in traffic in an SUV instead.
So does Audi expect the new A6 Avant luxury wagon to sell by the thousand? Not at all. But following our first local drive of the practical new variant, we'd suggest some well-heeled buyers flocking to luxury high-riders may well be tempted.
The boot is the business end of the A6 Avant. In comparison to its sedan sibling, which went on sale last year, it's only slightly larger in terms of capacity (565 litres versus 546L) – but there's no shortage of load-lugging goodies hidden away in the back.

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If your hands are full and your key is in your pocket or handbag you can simply kick your foot and a hidden sensor under the rear bumper bar will open the electronic tailgate and retract the cargo blind. It's very clever – provided you learn the correct "kick" action (some people on the launch needed a few lessons).
That cargo blind also features a net that can extend to the roofline behind the rear seat if you need the load up the cargo hold to its full capacity. If the rear seats are folded flat for extra storage (the capacity jumps from 565L to 1630L), the luggage net can be installed behind the front seats.
Keeping your stuff stuck fast in the boot is made easy with a standard luggage rail system with an included luggage strap and hooks. The carpeted floor can also be folded back to reveal a plastic section that allows you to store wet or dirty items - a nice touch.
The inside of the A6 Avant, as with the sedan version, is a nice place to be. Leather lines the seats, door trims and parts of the centre console, and buyers have the choice of metal-look inlays or a knotty wood finish which looks spectacular.
The front seats are comfortable if lacking some bolstering, and both chairs offer electronic adjustment (the driver's gets memory settings) and the rear seat is roomy and offers good foot, knee and headroom.
There are good storage pockets in all four doors and good space in the covered centre console and glove box, but the mesh map pockets on the backs of the front seats are a bit cheap looking.
The media system offers Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, satellite navigation as standard and an optical readout for the front and rear parking sensors. No rear camera is standard, which is a disappointment considering cars a quarter the price of the A6 offer the technology at no cost. Test cars were fitted with the optional four-camera "overhead" view system which increased visibility impressively.
There are a few notable equipment shortcomings, too: there's no USB input (you need to buy the Audi cord to connect your media player - about $100), and you won't find a fog-light switch because there are none. Those eye-catching Audi LED daytime running lights are standard, though.
The first model we tested was the 2.0 TFSI turbocharged petrol four-cylinder, impressively priced from $81,800 plus on-road costs. It's mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission and they combine fairly well for comfort-focused cruising, but the transmission is slow to wind up from a standing start, and the engine can feel as though it's a bit small for the circa-1630 kilogram weight.
The turbo diesel version – priced $1100 higher from $82,900 plus costs – is slightly heavier, but the oil-burner offers better low-rev response both from a standstill and when you plant foot on the move. It's easily the pick of the two.
On the road, the suspension copes reasonably well with bigger lumps and bumps, but the ride pitter-patters over smaller inconsistencies on rougher roads. Find a smooth section, though, and it's commendably plush.
There was some body-roll through bends, and it can feel nose-heavy with a tendency to understeer - where the car pushes on straight despite the driver's instructions. The steering also weighted up at the wrong times in the twisty stuff. However, the steering is thankfully light at low speeds and feels more substantive as the needle rises.
Overall the A6 Avant offers a convincing argument for those in need of a family car – and if you're realistic about how often you'll actually need a high-riding all-wheel-drive SUV, it could be a better option.
Nuts and bolts
How much? From $81,800 - $82,900 plus on-road costs.
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo petrol / 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo diesel.
Transmission: "Multitronic" continuously variable automatic transmission.
Power: 132kW (petrol) / 130kW (diesel).
Torque: 320Nm (petrol) / 380Nm (diesel).
Weight: 1630kg (petrol) / 1650kg (diesel).

Driven: world's fastest hybrid

Infiniti M Hybrid.

Infiniti’s petrol-electric sedan is quick, but not the complete package.
This is someone's idea of saving the planet?
The flagship sedan in Nissan's new luxury brand Infiniti – due to open its doors in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in August – is a hybrid like no other.
With a stated 0 to 100km/h time of 5.5 seconds, Infiniti claims its M Hybrid is the fastest hybrid sedan in the world – quicker than both the Porsche and Lexus petrol-electric sedans.

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Infiniti M Hybrid.

The experience has to be felt to be believed. After a momentary delay while the car's computer figures out you want both petrol and electric power at once (as opposed to the gentle surge of pure electric propulsion until up to speed) it launches as if there were a German V8 under the curvy bonnet.
The Infiniti M is one of the best hybrid drivetrains I've sampled, and feels quicker than the others, although we couldn't match the official 0 to 100km/h claim.
The best repeatable time we could achieve was 6.1 seconds, which would put it just behind the Porsche Panamera hybrid (6.0 seconds) and the Lexus GS450h (5.9 seconds).
Of course, luxury sedans are not supposed to be about straight-line speed. They're about image, comfort and technology. And that's where the Infiniti M starts to lose some of its shine.
For starters, in the metal, the Infiniti M looks like it is meant to be a competitor to the Lexus IS250, BMW 3-Series or Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
But its small and skinny appearance is deceiving.
According to the tape measure, the Infiniti M competes in the next class up, with the Lexus GS, BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
It is longer than its German peers – but also narrower. The distance between the front and rear wheels (an indication of a car's footprint and cabin space) is shorter than a BMW 5-Series but longer than the other rivals.
Styling is subjective, but the consensus on the preview drive in Queenstown New Zealand this week was that the Infiniti M doesn't have the road presence of its peers. The styling could easily be mistaken for an upmarket Hyundai, inside and out.
Then there is the attention to detail, or more importantly the lack of it. Much of the switchgear and touch-points – including the audio and climate controls – are the same as found in Nissans.
The oval shaped sensor key is exactly what you get when you buy a Nissan Maxima (among others), but with a different badge on the back.
Indeed, first impressions are that the Infiniti feels closer to a Nissan than a Lexus does to a Toyota.
Perhaps in an attempt to draw your attention away from the carryover Nissan switches and dials, there is a glossy grey timber panel with sparkles in it. It's intended to be exotic but is about as trend-setting as metal flakes in kitchen bench tops.
All this may sound harsh, but it needs to be put in context. This is a company that intends to charge more for its cars than the Germans (and Lexus) when it sets up shop in two months.
To do this successfully the Infiniti cars need to over-deliver with image, comfort and technology. But alas they do not.
While they have radar cruise control and blind spot warning (available on top-spec Toyota Camrys these days), they don't have digital radio, digital speed display, a heads-up display, an electric park brake (now common in the class), or a frontal-crash avoidance system.
There is a lane-keeping warning beep (a camera keeps an eye on the road ahead and makes sure you don't wander from your lane without indicating) but it gets triggered so readily it becomes routine to switch it off.
The indicators are on the left of the steering wheel (as per most European cars) but Infinitis are made in Japan. Is there really not enough profit margin to switch the indicator stalks to the correct side?
Shoulder space is compromised by the narrow body – there's not even room for pockets in the rear doors – although headroom and kneeroom are passable in the front and rear.
Much of the boot space is taken up by the hybrid's lithium-ion hybrid battery pack – you can only get one set of golf clubs in there.
With a capacity of just 350 litres, the Infiniti M Hybrid has less boot space than a Toyota Corolla sedan – or the Lexus GH450h hybrid (465 litres). And less than its peers (BMW 5 Series 520 litres, Mercedes E Class 540 litres). Even the regular Infiniti M sedan without the battery in the way lags the competition (425 to 450 litres).
Then there's the way it drives. The Infiniti sedan is quiet compared to its FX SUV stablemate – but that is faint praise. The sedan's sibling was one of the noisiest cars I've driven.
The Infiniti M sedan has a Bose 16-speaker sound system that also has two microphones that reportedly help cancel out engine noise at certain frequencies.
Infiniti says the radio must on be for the noise cancelling function to work. So, technically, you could say every car with a radio – no matter how good it is or isn't – has a "noise cancelling" device.
While road roar was on par for the class and the Infiniti M Hybrid sedan was comfortable over bumps, the steering was not as sharp as the Infiniti SUV's. Customarily, the opposite is true of such vehicles.
We suspect this is because the Infiniti hybrid sedan runs on 18-inch wheels and low-friction tyres (read: low grip) to help with fuel efficiency. The SUV rides on taut and grippy 21-inch rubber.
There is a 20-inch wheel option on the regular V6 petrol and V6 diesel Inifiniti sedan models, but they are currently not available on the hybrid for reasons known only to the factory.
At least the Infiniti M Hybrid claws back some kudos with fuel economy. The average consumption is rated at 6.9L/100km, compared to 7.9L/100km for the GS450h hybrid sedan.
However, Infiniti has been less successful with the efficiency of the V6 petrol and diesel models (which we are yet to test).
The V6 petrol average consumption is rated at 10.2L/100km, which is over the odds compared to the six-cylinder German cars with similar power and performance (BMW 7.7L/100km and Mercedes-Benz 8.5L/100km).
The Infiniti sedan diesel consumption is rated at 7.5L/100km, which is more thirsty than the six-cylinder diesel from BMW (5.6L/100km) and the Mercedes-Benz (6.1L/100km).
Infiniti is not announcing prices until the local launch in August. It has named the three dealer networks that will open showrooms but is yet to publicly pinpoint the locations.
For the Infiniti to make the consideration list and make a serious impact on the luxury sedan market, the cars need to be priced close to $60,000 – less than half the cost of the last Infiniti sedan sold here between 1993 and 1996 – given their current level of equipment and lack of differentiation (inside at least) with Nissan cars.
Unfortunately, early indications are that the Infiniti M sedan will be priced in excess of $80,000 which, by current standards, will make it a hard sell indeed.
Fast facts: Infiniti M Hybrid
Price: $80,000-plus
Engine: 3.5 V6 petrol (225kW/360Nm) and an electric motor (50kW/270Nm)
Transmission: 7-speed automatic
Weight: 1835kg

Record car sales defy gloom

Mazda's new CX-5 was a popular choice for buyers during May.

Stock market carnage and high petrol prices can't slow buyer demand.
New car buyers have ignored economic gloom and high fuel prices, setting a new sales record for May, according to figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Sales in May were up almost 20,000 units over April and 25 per cent up on the previous May as consumer confidence remained high and Japanese car makers continued to ramp up supply after last year’s Japanese tsunami and Thai floods.
The natural disasters led to a backlog of orders that are only now being filled, said Toyota Australia’s sales and marketing boss, Matthew Callachor.

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“We had a good month right across the board, so that suggests there is a strong demand,” Callachor said. “If we didn’t have the backlog would we have done those figures? No, but there is still strong demand there.”
Petrol prices may have been pushing the $1.50 mark during the past few weeks but that hasn’t stopped buyers rushing for the thirstiest vehicles on the market. Total SUV sales were up more than 50 per cent for the month; driven largely by the family-friendly Toyota Prado and Mazda CX-5.
Sales are predominantly being driven by private buyers, most notably in the SUV segment, where year-to-date sales are up 34.1 per cent.
One of the biggest factors in the sales spike was the increased supply from car companies that are finally recovering fully from last year’s natural disasters in Japan and Thailand.
Toyota sales for May 2012 were a huge 85 per cent up over the same month last year. The Japanese-built Corolla, Kluger, RAV4 and Yaris models were all up by more than 100 per cent over last May; and the Prado and Prius enjoyed more than 200 per cent growth on May 2011.
The sales boom failed to extend to locally made large cars, though. They fell by 12 per cent, with the Holden Commodore – Australia’s top-selling car for 15 years before it was deposed last year – falling to fifth in the rankings.
The Commodore was beaten by its small car stable mate, the Holden Cruze, while the Ford Falcon suffered a worse fate, being outsold by the Ford Focus small car, the Ranger work ute and the Territory SUV.
Small cars continue to dominate the top end of the sales chart with the Mazda3, Toyota Corolla and Cruze finishing second, third and fourth respectively for the month.
But it was the tradies’ favourite that topped the sales charts for the second consecutive month; the Toyota HiLux. The Nissan Navara ute was the sixth best-seller, proving that workhorse vehicles remain a popular choice, especially with business buyers.
Callachor is confident that the market will remain strong for the remainder of the year.
“Personally, I’m still forecasting more than a million sales this year. There’s nothing I can see that would stop that,” he says.

Audi A6 L e-tron Concept - 2012

The new A6 L is Audi’s best-selling model in China, where sales are remarkably strong for the Ingolstadt company. In fact, in the first quarter of 2012, Audi sold 90,063 models in China and Hong Kong—that represents a year-on-year increase of 40 percent.
Now, at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, Audi has taken the wraps off the A6 L e-tron Concept, a car built to study the future of electric mobility in China. It’s a plug-in parallel hybrid version of Audi’s popular business sedan, built at the Changchun plant as a joint venture with FAW. Audi says the A6 e-tron Concept is tailored specifically for China’s rapidly growing cities, where it can be driven solely on electric power for 80 kilometers (49.7 miles).

2012 Audi A6 L e-tron Concept

A 2.0-liter TFSI 4-cylinder gasoline engine with 211 bhp is found underhood, joined by an electric motor with 95 hp. The liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery is mounted in the rear of this A6 e-tron, in a spot that Audi says is safe in the event of a collision. As in hybrids such as the Toyota Prius, a central control module determines the best operating mode for this A6 e-tron, always with an eye toward maximized driving range. Put another way, the A6 e-tron can operate purely with its internal combustion engine, purely with its electric motor, or with any combination of the two. As is ubiquitous in hybrids, electrical energy is recovered in braking, and it used at times to boost acceleration.

2012 Audi A6 L e-tron Concept

Audi has already launched hybrid versions of the Q5, A6 and A8, but those models can drive only up to three kilometers (1.9 miles) in full-electric mode. With the A6 e-tron, the idea is to make pure-electric driving the primary focus. Test versions of the Audi A1 and A3 e-tron vehicles are currently being used to acquire customer feedback, which will be incorporated into future production Audis. This includes a short run of Audi R8 e-trons that will appear later this year, and the A3 e-tron in 2014.
The Audi A6 L is quite a stylish car, and the e-tron Concept retains the same basic handsome look. In front, though, there’s a single-frame grille with slender crossbars, and the car has 21-in. wheels that incorporate a special e-tron design. What’s more, there’s a special rear diffuser and front air intakes that are almost completely covered.

2012 Audi A6 L e-tron Concept

The unibody chassis of the A6 e-tron is identical to that of the A6, constructed with 10 percent aluminum and designed to be rigid, lightweight and safe. Of note, Audi says all its new models will be lighter than their respective previous versions, with engineers planning to use new combinations of materials that will even include carbon fiber-reinforced polymers. Audi calls this a “flexible” approach to using new materials, with one goal: to obtain the best performance with the least material usage at the best places.

2012 Audi A6 L e-tron Concept

Inside, the Audi A6 L e-tron continues its elegant theme, where the defining element is a wrap-around arc under the windshield and an instrument panel designed in the form of a flowing wave. Controls are said to be intuitive, and there’s a “powerometer” replacing a tachometer, boasting a pointer that indicates total drive system power on a scale from 0 to 100 percent. Colored sections indicate the operating state of the lithium-ion battery, while a separate gauge indicates the state of charge. An energy flow indicator allows the driver to observe which drive components are active, and the MMI (Multi Media Interface) monitor has a bar diagram that indicates average fuel economy and amount of energy recovered over 5-minute intervals.
While that’s common hybrid tech these days, the A6L e-tron does have something special—its MMI touchpad recognizes 29,000 Chinese characters. That is an impressive feat!

2012 Audi A6 L e-tron Concept