Chalk and Cheese: New Releases From Suzuki, Toyota, and Hyundai.
As Australia heads into spring and cocks an eye towards summer, the northern hemisphere says hello to the autumn car show season. The Frankfurt Auto Show saw Suzuki confirm the additon of the Sport to its revamped Swift range, Toyota unveil a revamped Prado and in Korea Hyundao shows off the Genesis G70 sedan.
2018 Suzuki Swift Sport.
The latest generation of the Swift Sport brings with it a raft of changes which include a lower, wider stance, more aggressive styling, and a torque-to-weight ratio that catapults the Sport into true hot hatch territory.
We say goodbye to the 1.6L naturally-aspirated motor and hello to the 1.4L Boosterjet turbo engine (it’s the same as found in the brilliant Vitara). It’ll be a welcome addition to an increasingly grunty line-up with a turbo now available in five models across the range. Coupled with compact dimensions and a kerb weight that’s sub one-tonne should be music to the ears of sports-minded drivers.
Swift Sport chief engineer Mr Masao Kobori said, “We know that our customers value a dynamic driving experience above everything else, so for the third-generation Swift Sport our development concept was Ultimate Driving Excitement. It’s lighter, sharper, and quicker. It’s more aggressive and emotive, but we’ve also refined the elements that make it practical to use every day—the clutch feel, the manual transmission shift throw, the seats and steering wheel. Everything that puts the driver at the heart of the experience.”
Whilst power and appearance were obvious key considerations, so too were safety and technology with the Sport featuring a Bluetooth®-compatible Smartphone Linkage Display Audio Display unit with a multimedia 7-inch touchscreen and sat nav together with advanced safety including lane departure warning, weaving alert, adaptive cruise and high beam assist.
Pricing is yet to be confirmed for the Australian market; we hope it’ll be keen and competitive.
2018 Toyota Prado.
When you’re a good thing already, things tend not to get changed all that often and so it is with the Prado, copping it’s first real update in close to a decade. Of note is the ditching of the thirsty and high rev requirement 4.0L petrol V6. The good news is their 2.8L diesel stays and will be offered with either a six speed manual or six speed auto. The reason the petrol is going is simple: 98.6% of Prado sales are with the diesel. It develops an impressive 450 Nm of torque between 1,600 and 2,400 rpm when mated to the auto or 420 Nm from 1,400 to 2,600 rpm with the manual. Maximum power is 130 kW.
Exterior changes focus on the grille which displays broad vertical bars with slit-shaped cooling openings finished in chrome. It’s flanked by restyled headlamps with main beams positioned inboard to avoid damage from obstacles during off-road driving. Each of the lower corners on the new front and rear bumpers kick upwards to enhance off-road manoeuvrability whilst the redesigned rear includes new lamp clusters and a smaller rear garnish plate incorporated within the number-plate surround. Inside also has the makeover wand waved: there’s a redesigned dash binnacle, dash, and switchgear; the centre console incorporates a flush-surface air-conditioning control panel with a lower profile at the top for a sleeker appearance and improved forward visibility.
There’s an increase in the presence of safety features: autonomous features – previously fitted to the premium VX and Kakadu variants – have been added to the automatic variants of the volume-selling GX and GXL grades.
Designed to help prevent accidents or mitigate their consequences, the technologies include a Pre-Collision Safety system that can now detect impact risks with pedestrians as well as vehicles.
Relying on a camera mounted behind the rear-view mirror and a radar in the grille, these devices enable the Prado to operate its brakes autonomously to reduce the vehicle’s speed and even bring the car to a halt. A smart active cruise control system can also slow the car to a standstill if necessary.
Every Prado is now equipped with a Lane Departure Alert system that monitors lane markings and helps prevent accidents and head-on collisions caused by a vehicle leaving its lane. If the vehicle starts to deviate from its lane without the indicators being used, the system alerts the driver with visual and audible warnings.
The range is also fitted with automatic high beam, a system that can detect the headlights or taillights of vehicles ahead and automatically switch between high and low beams to avoid dazzling other drivers. The VX grade, in addition, now features Blind Spot Monitor and Rear Cross Traffic Alert -systems from the Kakadu that support safer motoring by giving the driver better real-time information about the area immediately around the car.
Pricing and confirmation of spec levels per model will be confirmed closer to launch.
Genesis G70.
The Genesis brand officially launched the G70 at the Hyundai Genesis Design Centre within the Namyang R&D Centre. Of course, strickly speaking, Genesis is a separate sub-brand of Hyundai. The G70 is set to go on sale on 20th September in the Korean market.
The Genesis G70 is an athletic and elegant luxury sedan offering a graceful and dynamic exterior, function-oriented interior with three different powertrains – the 3.3 litre V6 twin- turbo petrol, 2.0 litre turbo petrol and 2.2 litre diesel. The 3.3 litre V6 twin-turbo engine boasts an impressive 0-100 kph acceleration time of 4.7 seconds.
We’ll also see some tech as the G70 also features high levels of advanced driver assist systems such as Highway Driving Assist (HDA), best-in-class safety with nine standard airbags and active hood function, and a high level of connectivity with server-based voice recognition technology.
Design wise, the G70 stamps its authority with a large crest-type grille, character lines beginning from the emblem of the voluminous hood, air intake functions, and LED daytime running lights (DRLs) express the muscularity/solidity of the car. Two distinctive linear LED DRLs on each side of the large crest grille foreshadow the future Genesis signature quad lamps. The rear also gets an update; the LED rear combination lamps, which continue the quad lamp theme, along with a raised trunk lid and compact bumper designs give the G70 a poised character.
The rear lamps, evolved from the preceding G80 (known simply as Genesis here in Australia), have been stretched to the end of the rear to convey a wide and dynamic stance.
The G70 offers three powertrains – 3.3 litre V6 twin-turbo petrol, 2.0 litre turbo petrol and 2.2 litre diesel. The 3.3 litre V6 twin-turbo is at the heart of the enthusiast-focused “3.3 Turbo Sport models,” with 272 kW and 510 Nm.
G70 3.3T Sport’s dynamic and powerful performance includes 0-100 kph acceleration of 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 270 kph. Variable ratio steering and electronically controlled suspension are standard, providing agile steering response and an optimal ride and handling experience.
The G70 turbo petrol model is equipped with the Theta-II turbo 2.0 litre GDI engine, with 185 kW and maximum torque of 353 Nm (Sports package: 188 kW). The G70 2.2 litre diesel model features the R-FR 2.2 VGT engine with 149 kW and 441 Nm. It’s not yet confirmed what the Australian market will receive.
Dynamic performance features include Launch Control, there’s a rack-mounted, motor-driven power steering (R-MDPS) and multi-link rear suspension which provides precise handling and ride comfort. A proven system to improve vehicle cornering, dynamic torque vectoring system, is also on board as is mechanical limited slip differential (M-LSD) that helps safe driving capabilities in low friction road conditions such as rain, snow and ice.
Naturally the G70 brings a suite of safety programs. Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), Highway Driving Assist (HDA), Blind spot Collision Warning (BCW) and Driver Awareness Warning (DAW) have been added as part of the ‘Genesis Active Safety Control’ to offer the highest level of safety and convenience in its class.Details on which specifications and the appropriate pricing will be confirmed when details become available.
(With thanks to Autonews and Newspress).
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