Wheels – The popular mechanics car awards
Words: Anthony Doman. Article from the Popular Mechanics January 2015 issue.
Because not all vehicles are created equal.
Every year, our colleagues in the USA sit down to select their favourites from among the year’s new sheet metal and rubber (and carbon fibre, for that matter). It’s not often that their choices overlap with what’s available in South Africa; we are, after all, talking about the land of the Big Three. Even if one of the Three – Chrysler – these days is partnered with Fiat. That said, the automotive industry long ago started becoming more global than local. And in PM USA’s 2014 picks, that global effect is clearly being felt.
Volkswagen Golf GTI
If you’re trying to locate the point of diminishing returns, here it is: R394 300. That’s the starting price for a 2015 Volkswagen GTI. And while you can spend far more on a car, nothing else can approach the GTI’s singular blend of performance, quality and value. This is the rare vehicle that transcends demographic boundaries – it would look equally at home parked outside a university residence dorm or at a manse in Sandhurst.
Volkswagen redesigns the GTI the same way Porsche does the 911, choosing meaningful evolutionary improvements rather than drastic overhauls. So the new GTI is a little bit crisper looking, a little more powerful, a little lighter than the last one. But the essential recipe is unchanged: a sweet, punchy, turbocharged four-cylinder under the bonnet; a playful front- wheel-drive chassis; and an improbably roomy interior. A six-speed manual is standard, Volkswagen’s excellent DSG dual-clutch transmission optional.
Compared with a basic Golf, the GTI’s suspension is lower and stiffer, the steering quicker. Red brake calli-pers and 18-inch wheels are the main exterior telltales. In lieu of the standard 1,8-litre engine, a 2,0-litre four- cylinder makes 157 kW and 350 N.m of torque. That latter number is 70 greater than the previous GTI’s, and you can feel it when you’re tearing down a curvy back road and realise you don’t need to downshift to power out of a corner. The car just goes where you aim it, and quickly. It really feels like something that comes from the same gene pool as the Bugatti Veyron – which, of course, it does.
Within the next month or two, a new Performance Package will add more power, larger brakes, and a limited-slip differential that will cut 8 seconds off the GTI’s Nurburgring lap time. That’s great, but perhaps beside the point for a car that is, right out of the box, the total package.
Semi-affordable driving experience of the year
2015 Alfa Romeo 4C
Alfa Romeo’s two-seater is sexy, fast, and has just enough flaws to remind you it’s not a Porsche: the climate-control pod juts into your leg, the stereo looks straight off the shelf from a discount superstore, and the steering follows every rut in the road. But you won’t care, because you’re surrounded by a beautiful carbon-fibre tub with a turbocharger howling behind your left ear and the exhaust popping and fizzling away. The 177-kW 1,7-litre four-cylinder isn’t overwhelmingly powerful, but the car still screams off the line. That’s because it weighs only 1 120 kg, and the dual-clutch gearbox keeps the motor singing. On a twisty road, you think you’re driving something that costs three times as much. Which is not to say the 4C is cheap, but it is a bargain for a carbon-fibre slice of mid-engine Italian driving nirvana.
Price: R870 000 Economy: 8,2
Best muscle car
2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
Of course this car isn’t available on the South African market. But you simply can’t ignore a car that has a choice of two keys to select power output options – the lower of which is (gulp) 375 kW. No surprise, our colleagues liked it… a lot. Their view: Besides owning the greatest model name of the past decade, the SRT Hellcat packs the most powerful engine ever shoehorned under an American bonnet: a supercharged 6,2-litre V8 that spits out 527 kW and inhales through a hole where one of the headlights should be.
This is not a track car in the manner of a Camaro Z/28 or the Boss Mustangs; the Hellcat doesn’t particularly like corners, or bumps, or people. It’s an ornery bastard built for the sole purpose of taking names at the drag strip, where low-11 -second quarter-mile times put it close to the Ferraris and McLarens of the world. These days we expect even superfast cars to remain approachable, sanitised for public consumption, but the Hellcat is a throwback to the days when high performance demanded commensurately high skill on the part of the driver. As such, it comes with two keys – a black one that locks it down to about 375 kW, and a red one to unleash the full fury. Armed with the red key, you’re ready for sub-4-second 0-to-60 runs or mile-long burnouts in this, the wildest muscle car Detroit’s ever built.
Price: R670 000 Economy: 18,2
Also liked this year
BMW M235i
The M235i avoids the bloat trend with a length that matches the beloved 1990s E36 3 Series’. It’s intimate, wieldy and blazing fast.
Bogus trend
Synthetic engine sounds
BMW does it. Volkswagen does it. Now so does Ford with the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost, which uses audio to augment its engine’s soundtrack. Want to hear what your car really sounds like? Pull the fuse.
Best use of a Dash Cam
Corvette Performance Data Recorder
A new option on 2015 Corvettes, PDR combines a 720 p camera, an interior microphone, and a dedicated GPS-based telemetry system. Performance data is then overlaid on a corresponding video on the dash screen so you can review your heroics (or, more likely, follies). PDR: it’s cool, it’s fun, it’s admissible evidence!
Trick of the year
Honda Jazz Lounge Chair
Move the front passenger seat forward and remove the head¬rest. Recline the rear seatback and lower the front seatback, which goes almost flat. Now you’ve got a chaise longue.
Choicest base model
2015 Mini Cooper The base Cooper has always trailed far behind the Cooper S in terms of sheer fun. Not anymore. The new standard Cooper includes turbo power – in this case, a 100kW 1,5-litre three-cylinder. Now the base Mini is good for 210 km/h, which is just fantastic.
The triumph of the van
2015 Ford Transit
You don’t need to be a roadie or a 19 Kids & Counting cast member to appreciate the appeal of the new Ford Transit. Replacing the ancient E-Series, the unibody Transit offers unbeatable power and capacity for the money. The smallest Transit is slightly shorter than a full-sized big American SUV, yet offers more than twice the cargo room. As for medium- and high-roof versions, you could park a Smart car inside.
The Transit offers naturally aspirated V6 and diesel-power options in the USA, but the hot ticket is the 230-kW EcoBoost model. With rear-wheel drive and 540 N.m of torque, the big-box Ford is an unexpected riot to drive, its twin turbochargers whistling and sighing from beneath that stubby hood. Another plus: fuel economy.
While stripped-down windowless cargo versions will surely find an audience with tradesmen, it’s the turbocharged passenger Transit that’s most intriguing: it can tow 3 310 kg, haul 1,6 tons and seat up to 10 people – all while delivering genuine fun behind the wheel. In the early ’80s, the advent of the minivan helped kill the full-size American van as a family vehicle. Now, more than 30 years later, the Ford Transit just might bring it back.
The interior of the future
2015 BMW i3
The i3 includes a lot of groundbreaking technology, but it’ll be best remembered for its stunning interior. The hybrid’s cabin looks like a designer’s fantasy sketch: The dashboard’s thick sweep of eucalyptus pours into the freestanding steering column, and the sleek seats are available with recycled upholstery. If this is the future, it looks great.
Engine of the year
Volvo 225-kW 2-litre Drive-E Volvo’s top Drive-E engine com-bines the instant response of a supercharger with the top-end power of a big turbo, resulting in a four-cylinder that produces V6-level horsepower with no lag. Step on the gas and a supercharger gets to work immediately, imperceptibly handing off to the turbo as revs build. It’s smooth and it works.
Closest thing to a race car
2015 Chevrolet Camaro 2728
The Z/28’s front tyres – Pirelli Trofeo Rs – are massive. The shocks come from an F1 supplier. On a track you could beat a Porsche 911 Turbo – if the surface were dry. And warm. And you had the courage of a thousand lions.
Best Button
2015 Jaguar F-Type V8 S Active Sport Exhaust
On the F-Type’s centre console is a button emblazoned with what looks like a pair of spectacles. It should have an image of earplugs instead. Pushing it tells the coupe’s exhaust system to bypass the silencer, unleashing a glorious fusillade of pops and crackles that sounds as if Molotov cocktails were pouring out the exhaust manifolds.
Honda 40th anniversary gold wing
It seems hard to believe that the grandest of the Grand Tourers turns 40 next year. The commemorative 2015 GL1800 40th Anniversary Edition marks the occasion with distinctive colour schemes including a new silver metallic and distinctive detailing to go along with the trademark luxury and 1 832 cm3 engine. Features include audio with iPod connectivity and optional sat-nav.
For those ‘Wing riders who prefer a sportier kind of touring, the sleeker, lighter F6B model is also updated for 2015 with the addition of cruise control and more aggressive styling.
Euro Ncap testing
Tough new safety requirements are clearly making it harder for new cars that, up to now, were routinely achieving maximum 5-star rankings in New Car Assessement Programme (NCAP) crash tests. In the latest Euro NCAP tests, three stars were awarded to Nissan’s new electric e-NV200 Evalia and two vehicles based on the same platform, the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner. Showing that small size is no barrier to safety, four stars were awarded to three vehicles based on a common platform: the Peugeot 108, Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo. The Mercedes-Benz GLA earned a five-star rating.
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