automotive design
2020 Toyota Camry Ascent Sport Hybrid: Private Fleet Car Review.
This Car Review Is About: One of the increasing range of hybrids from Toyota. In this case, their large sedan range and the Camry Ascent Sport Hybrid, which, because the petrol engine is a four cylinder, is classified as a medium category vehicle.
Under The Bonnet Is: The aforementioned four cylinder, at 2.5L in capacity, and a battery & electric motor. The petrol engine produces 131kW and 234Nm of torque, and with the electric engine, together they make for a total of 160kW and a slightly detuned 221Nm. Fuel is 95RON minimum. Transmission is Toyota’s e-CVT.
Economy is superb. We loaded up and went on a socially distanced sanctioned drive to the NSW south coast and back. The average was a wonderful 5.0L/100km, with a best at one point of 4.8L/100km. That’s with four humans, a mid sized pooch, and luggage for two days.
How Much Does It Cost?: The Camry range has 4 variants, starting with the Ascent, Ascent Sport, the SX (V6 only) and topping out with the SL. The entry price for a Camry Ascent Sport Hybrid is region dependent; for our area it’s $34,435 with plain white colouring. $34,950 is what the bank balance will lose with any of the seven metallic colours including the Steel Blonde shade our test car had.
On The Outside It’s: Really a big car. Total length is knocking on the door of five metres overall. It’s also more a shortened bootlid, longer bonnet, and sits or at least looks as if it sits lower in roof height than Camrys of the last fifteen years. This measures 1,445mm. It looks sporty and aero simultaneously. It definitely has a lower clearance and combined with the softer, comfort oriented suspension tune, would invariably scrape the black polyurethane protective material exiting some very gently sloped tarmac. All due care was taken to avoid this but it was unavoidable.
The wheel and tyre combo are ten spoke alloys and Michelin Premia 215/55/17.
With the redesign that the Camry received a couple of years ago, the front end became noticeably slimmer and allowed for a more assertive look. The headlights in the Camry Ascent Sport aren’t full LED but do have the LED driving lights integrated. They try to minimise the somewhat heavy handed look for the grille and bumper. The rear is taut and tight in comparison.
On The Inside It’s: Benefited from the extension in body and wheelbase (2,825mm). There’s ample legroom for the rear seat passengers even with the seats moved back to accommodate 180cm front seat occupants. Cargo space isn’t an issue, with a boot capacity of 524L belying the rear window line making it seem the boot is smaller.
We’ve bemoaned the heavy nose styling, and we’ve bemoaned the heavy dash styling inside. The passenger faces a multiple of folds, four in number, and it looks horrible. The driver doesn’t quite have the same issue. There’s been a clear effort to provide a cockpit feeling, complete with chrome line that wraps a slab of black and falls away at an angle from the top, This then arrows towards the passenger. This line and angle are mirrored in the driver’s display. The two dials on either side have miniaturised versions of this hook motif.
Otherwise it’s standard user friendly Toyota. The audio is app connected, there’s a DAB tuner with strong reception via the 8.0 inch screen, and the typically clean, ergonomic, layout expected from Toyota…except for that messy section the front seat passenger sees.
The driver has a powered, eight way adjustable, pew. No need for heating or cooling thanks to the cloth covering. This, by the way, is a tasteful shade of black-grey. Only the front seats have access to a USB port, and one only at that.
On The Road It’s: Simple to drive. It’s a push button start after entering the cabin and being greeted with muted whiners and clicks as the computer system awakens from its slumber. Foot on the brake, hit the starter, and in typical electric hybrid mode there’s nothing to indicate anything is happening. Hit the go pedal and it’s battery power up to 20kph before the petrol cuts in. And that’s irrespective of pressing the superfluous EV MODE button in the centre console. Use that and press the accelerator as normal and the system automatically disengages the EV. Try it at speed and you’re going too fast…
Under way the system will automatically kick the petrol engine in and out of the room as driving conditions see fit. There’s only a hint of vibration from the Priceline when the petrol engine is engaged, making the transitions smooth and seamless. There is a Sport mode for the engine but that also really is superfluous.
Ride quality is on the plush side, and this isn’t entirely a bad thing. Some of the NSW back roads are on the, ahem, rough side, yet the Camry Ascent Sport tended to glide over these with only the truly coarse surfaces intruding and upsetting the suspension. There were occasional rear end skips, one or two front end bump steers, otherwise the ride was smooth and luxurious. Certainly not a sporting oriented ride.
The steering goes the other way. Driven at highway legal speeds the steering is well and truly en pointe. There’s no need for constant adjustment in corners, even in the tightening radius turns. The nose simply goes where the wheel says it wants to. It’s light enough for easy pedaling in tight areas, heavy enough to have minimal input on the road.
We drove back to Sydney via Cobargo, the NSW town devastated by bushfire in the early part of 2020. Either side of this heartbreaking sight are some truly magnificent driving roads, and suitable for exploring the dynamics of a car such as the Camry. There’s ample urge from the hybrid drivetrain, the transmission is sweet and smooth, and the occasional “backlash” is when the car is at low speed and the e-CVT is a little confused as to where it needs to be, providing a small “bump” as it sorts itself out.
What is also sorting itself out is nature. The regrowth in some areas is nothing short of spectacular.
The touchscreen has a display that shows energy distribution on the fly. At rest there’s no movement, naturally. Accelerate hard and the flow is from the petrol engine to the electric and battery system. Ease off as the car comes to a set of traffic lights or downhill, and the flow shows energy going into the battery. There’s also a graphic that shows the level of battery charge.
What About Safety?: There’s the basic but for the Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Blind Spot Alert, you’d need to upshift to the SL. Otherwise there’s the Toyota SafetySense package. Lane Departure Alert, Pre-Collision Safety System with pedestrian detection, Automatic High Beam and All-Speed Active Cruise Control. is what you’ll find. Seven airbags are also standard.
What About Service And Warranty? Toyota says: “We’ll increase the standard guarantee on your new Hybrid battery to up to 10 years as long as you undertake your annual inspection as part of routine maintenance according to the vehicle logbook.” Check with your dealer for conditions. For the driveline: “Stick to your annual service schedule, and we’ll extend your engine and driveline warranty from five to seven years, so you can drive stress-free for longer.” Standard warranty is five years.
At The End Of The Drive. Toyota is the leader when it comes to getting the hybrid message out there. With strong rumours swirling the next LandCruiser will pack a hybrid, and the update to the fuel-thirsty Kluger will include hybrid, the Japanese company is spreading the message far and wide. The Camry Hybrid offers a a rare chance to get into an easily accessible hybrid and by being a sedan, rather than a SUV, it continues to offer that alternative. Find out more here.
Skoda Scala: Funny Name, Cool Car.
Czech manufacturer Skoda seems to slide under the radar at times. That’s a pity because the almost criminally underrated brand does make some pretty decent machines. Their Octavia wagon and sedan, and especially in RS form, is lauded by journos globally.
2020 ŠKODA SCALA 110TSI
2020 sees Skoda ramp up its attempt to be more visible in the marketplace and build upon their simple yet catchy “Simply Clever” marketing phrase.
A new small to mid-sized five door hatch is on the way. Named Scala, it builds upon the revamped design signature that Skoda introduced in 2019. It’s currently slated for a June release for Aussie showrooms and will come packed with plenty of tech and safety. There will be three models available: 110TSI, Monte Carlo, and a limited run Launch Edition.
It’ll be powered by Skoda’s potent 110TSI turbocharged petrol engine and drive the front wheels via a choice of transmissions. The good old three legger, a manual, is offered with six speeds and only in the entry level mode, or a seven-speed DSG transmission, available in each trim level.
2020 ŠKODA SCALA Monte Carlo
The lead-in variant, the 110TSI, brings with a feature list that would normally be found for thousands more. The Euro style sweeping indicator lamps which are becoming more and more popular (and are a sensible addition to any car) complement 18 inch alloys and privacy glass for the rear windows. For the humans inside adaptive cruise control, Skoda’s Smartlink smartphone pairing service, along with Android and Apple apps, plus a wireless charging pad, are also standard.
The “Virtual Cockpit”, a 10.25 inch full colour LCD display features in the driver’s binnacle. This too is standard across the three. A repositioned touchcsreen of 8.0 inches for the 110TSI/Monte Carlo and 9.2 inches for the Launch, allows access to the various onboard functions and apps, plus the audio system.
Red ambient lighting will provide a warmth to the cabin’s signature red styling in the Monte Carlo sports seats, whilst the Launch Edition will have leather trim. Monte Carlo’s passenger’s will have a panoramic sunroof as standard.
Extra standard equipment for the 110TSI includes a powered tailgate, Lane Assist, a tyre pressure monitoring system, and seven airbags. The Monte Carlo adds full LED front lighting, a dual zone climate control system, with teh front passengers having sports seats and sports pedals for the driver. The Launch Edition adds heating for the front and rear seats, body coloured door mirrors, a chrome grill frame and chrome window surrounds, Auto Parking Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and Side Assist/Blind Spot Assist.
2020 ŠKODA SCALA Launch Edition
Launch pricing sees $26,990 for the 110TSI Manual, and $28,990 for the same car with the DSG transmission. Monte Carlo will start from $33,990 whilst the Launch Edition will price from $35,990. These are drive-away prices.
2020 Genesis G70 Ultimate: Private Fleet Car Review.
This Car Review Is About: A vehicle from the luxury arm of Hyundai, Genesis. Formerly a sub-brand, complete with one model and a Hyundai badge, it’s morphed into a brand in its own right and offers a two model range (G70 and G80) with three trim levels, being Sport, Ultimate, and Ultimate Sport for the G70. This has either a 2.0L turbo four or the punchy and potent 3.3L twin turbo V6 as found in the Kia Stinger.
How Much Does It Cost?: In a retail sense, before delivery and government charges, the G70 starts at $72,450. That’s for the Sport, with the Ultimate and Ultimate Sport from $79,950 each. In a drive-away pricing structure, Genesis says the G70 Sport is $80,500, or $83,125 with sunroof. The Ultimate is $88.375, a price shared with the Ultimate Sport.
Under The Bonnet Is: The firecracker 3.3L twin turbo V6 that continues to delight in its driving habits and flexibility. 272 kW and 510Nm, with the latter on tap from just 1,300rpm through to 4,500rpm on the rev counter dial, means switching between idling down a residential street to a lairy, chest beating display, is merely the flex of the right ankle away. It’s responsive to a “T”, with urgency all the way through the rev range when needed, as docile as a tired kitten when required.
The choice of transmission is simple. It’s an eight speed auto or an eight speed auto. And it’s one that works best once it’s had a coffee or two to wake up in regards to smoothness. Economy hasn’t been the strongest part of the engine/transmission combo. The official figures are 10.2L/100km for the combined cycle, and on our restricted urban drives we saw nothing below 9.0L/100km. That’s with a mix of quietly idling away from the kerb to brief extractions of the potency of the power-plant. Fuel tank capacity is a little on the small side at 60L. Dry weight is 1,725kg.
On The Outside It’s: Coated all over in a luscious, deep, red metallic, on our test car, called Havana Red. The door handles are a dark gunmetal grey door handles and dark grey painted alloys are wrapped in 225/40 and 255/35 on 19 inch grey painted alloys. It’s a stunning colour and beautifully highlights the supermodel curves of the G70. The wheels house 350mm and 340mm vented discs, clamped by Brembo.
The G70 is somewhat BMW-esque at the rear, and the snout is low, and broad, not unlike a Jaguar. The main lights are outboard, with a pair of sloping LED driving lights drawing the eye to them and the blades below. For all of the styling hints, the G70 is its own definitive look too. It’s wind-tunnel tested, with a drag co-efficient of 0.29cD. The guards, windscreen, and rear screen are tailored to provide as optimal an angle as possible for clean airflow, plus an under-body plate helps the G70 cleave its way through. The lack of wind noise is apparent as a result.
It’s a touch shorter than expected, with 4,685mm in total length. That’s down to a 1,400mm height that makes it look longer, whilst an 1,850mm width adds to the stance. It’s also nearly impossible to not notice the resemblance to its sibling, Kia’s brilliant Stinger. Although the Kia is slightly longer, even though the pair share the basic chassis design, and more a five door hatch/coupe, the lineage is visible and not a bad thing.
What isn’t a good thing is the relative small 330L of boot space. A high cargo floor that holds the space saver spare is the culprit. Width isn’t a problem, but on our weekly shop test we had to put a bag or two into the rear seat section, a very rare occurrence.
On The Inside It’s: Sumptuously appointed are the words most often used for cabins such as the ones found in the G70. Quilted leather seats, and complementary trim in the doors, set off the luxury feel. The front seats have for heating and venting, plus cushions that adjust for lateral support when Sport mode is selected, catch the eye first. There is venting for the rear seats, a nice touch. There is also a tab on the upper right shoulder of the passenger seat that allows the driver to move it fore and aft.
The driver works in a comfortable office; soft touch indicator stalk, a Start/Stop button in clear view, metallic buttons in the centre console plus a Drive selector button provide visual and tactile appeal. The Ultimate 3.3 has a HUD, it’s crystal clear in definition and shows items such as velocity, lane keeping status, cruise control status and more. The dash is a leather appointed affair with contrasting stitching. 
Information for items such as the door lock settings is found via the now standard tabs in the tiller. This includes a turbo pressure/torque/oil pressure screen, and one with G-Force and lap-timer. If there’s an area that the G70 could up, it’s having a driver’s display that isn’t, surprisingly, a full width LCD screen such as that found, say, in a Volvo S60. It’s an area that more than whispers the Hyundai/Kia origins and one that appears easily enough updated to say Genesis instead.
An eight inch touchscreen is the control centre for the car, with aircon, DAB audio via a premium Lexicon speaker system, drive information, satnav, and apps. Underneath the screen is a gentle slope towards the console and a sliding door opens to show the smartphone charge pad and USB/3.5 mm sockets. There is a sunroof for that extra sense of airiness when needed, and it does lighten the black-on-black ambience of the cabin.
The DAB tuner is one of the best going. In areas where many other brands, including its own sibling, Stinger, drop out, the sensitivity of the Genesis DAB tuner is always pulling signal. Should there be an area where DAB isn’t available, Android, Apple, and Bluetooth stand ready to connect.
Drive-wise there’s a rocker gear selector and the electronic park is a button just ahead of the rocker mechanism. The material in the centre console is a cool and classy looking alloy style. The drive selector dial is located just south and is ergonomically placed.
Rear leg room though isn’t fantastic. There is 884mm versus 1,083mm up front. Head room isn’t an issue, even with the sunroof fitted. 978mm and 938mm are the front and rear measurements. Shoulder room is 1,430mm and 1,387mm, plenty here. There are a pair of ISOFIX anchorage points also to provide ample access for the little ‘uns.
What About Safety?: Genesis achieved a five star ANCAP rating in 2018. ANCAP says: “All three grades of autonomous emergency braking (City, Interurban and Vulnerable Road User) and a lane support system with Lane Keep Assist (LKA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Emergency Lane Keeping (ELK) are standard on all variants.” Seven airbags including driver’s knee are standard.
There is also a 360 degree camera system in high definition clarity. The camera allows for selection of differing points of view, including a fold down left hand side when reversing to pinpoint where the wheels are in relation to a kerb.
On The Road It’s: A ball-tearer of a car to drive. Having over 500 torques on taps at the press of a pedal is an absolutely intoxicating experience. When the car is warmed up, it’s a potent package. A zero to one hundred kph time of 4.7 seconds from a car weighing close to two tonnes is mightily impressive. There is a setting in the touchscreen that allows for what mode of sound the cabin hears too, and on full song it’s a real snarl as the G70 hauls arse.
The transmission benefits from a warm-up period. We’ve found that the engine is ready to stretch and bellow almost from the get go, but the eight speed auto was indecisive, unsure, and stumbled between gears up and down. These hiccups slowly disappeared one by one as the fluids warmed, and it was just a few minutes before everything was smooth, slick, sharp.
The suspension varies depending on drive mode and on its most relaxed setting, Eco, the G70 still has limpet grip. Long sweepers don’t trouble the machine, the nose is still quick in response to the gentle tug of the tiller, and it all seems effortless. Sport feels as if the steering gets some weight and tightens up the front end; the steering wheel is at just the right diameter to hold and this allows the arms to move as they should to feel connected to the nose. In normal driving it’s neutral, there’s no wavering as the chassis track straight and true, and only minimal input is required.
The Michelin rubber is the type found on cars costing over one million, so there’s already an expectation that they’ll hang on tenaciously. In Sport mode with a tighter suspension setting, there’s some rear end skipping on the road joins in corners, however the response time from the suspension is such that rebound is nullified instantly, allowing the rubber to do what Michelin intended. Ride quality across the board is nothing short of brilliant. There’s almost nothing in our drive loops that put the Genesis G70 to the sword.
Genesis have allowed the whole drivetrain some leniency; there is an option to use launch control, which involves the stability control being switched off, raising the revs, and hitting the go pedal hard. Without that process and simply sinking the slipper, the rear will squirrel momentarily before the system intervenes just enough to have the G70 regain its sense of sensibility. Brake feedback is sublime, with the pedal telling the braking foot just where it is in travel and the force needed or not.
In essence, the handling apckage of the G70 can boil down to this: it feels natural. It feels like the 2,000 kilos isn’t, the car shrinkwraps around the driver and it’s like picking up what looks like an iron glove only to find out it’s pure leather.
Warranty And Service Are: Five years with unlimited kilometres. complimentary servicing for five years or fifty thousand kilometres. There is also a pick-up service for addresses within 70 kilometres of the service centre. Genesis also offer a Connected Care package, which involves areas such as Automatic Collision Notification and Assistance, SOS Emergency Assistance, and On-Demand Diagnostics.
At The End Of the Drive. Dynamically the G70 shines. It’s an incredibly easy car to become one with, and the engineering and R&D work that the Hyundai team have expended is clearly obvious. It simply wraps around the driver like a custom made shoe, and does the job it should. The trim level is luxurious and ergonomics spot on. Audio is excellent and the usage of the controls is fingertip intuitive.
However the cramped rear sear seat and smaller than it should be boot aim the G70 more towards a DINK (Double Income No Kids) or for a young family. That does add a narrowing of appeal in one area, but makes its appeal perfectly clear in another.
Either way, it’s capable of delivering stonking performance and the grip ability to cope. Organise your own test drive via the Genesis website.
Hyundai Gives Veloster The N Treatment.
With a 1.6L turbo four and seven speed dual clutch transmission, (DCT), the Hyundai Veloster Turbo & Turbo Premium are a pair of performance oriented hatches that hover between warm and hot. Hyundai’s “N” Division has now waved their wand over the quirky four door, and added an eight speed wet clutch, the N DCT, with some interior and exterior enhancements to the pert Veloster. Although Hyundai don’t specify which engine is fitted, it does say that the zero to one time is down to 5.6 seconds.
N DCT has electronic actuators, which improves the change speed, plus, says Hyundai, focuses more on the driver engagement. The N DCT has a NGS, a Grin Shift mode, which allows a small but noticeable increase in torque thanks to the turbo running overboost and shaking hands with the N DCT to increase response for up to twenty seconds. The wet part of the N DCT comes from the use of a specific oil inside the clutch mechanisms. This increases lubrication, adds more cooling, and increases the DCT’s lifespan.
Additionally, N Power Shift (NPS) engages when the car accelerates with more than 90 percent of throttle, thereby mitigating any reduction in torque by using upshifts to deliver maximum power to the wheels. This gives the driver a responsive feeling of dynamic acceleration when shifting. The N-gineers also understand that a driver will want to exploit road conditions, and the N TSS, or Track Sense Shift, partners the computers with sensors to “read” the road, and adjusts for the road conditions, selecting and shifting the gear that the system determines is just the right one.
Another mode, N PS, Power Shift, engages when the car is launched hard and 90% and above of the torque, also working the gears to ensure proper usage of power and torque.
The Veloster N is a customer focused, nay, a driver focused car. There is the addition of Rev Matching, Launch Control, and the aforementioned Overboost. Downhill runs? rev matching brings the engine into line with the velocity and the gears, reducing wear and tear on the brakes. Racetrack work has the engine exploring the full range of revs and talks to the eight speed N DCT to maximise performance.
Head inside and there’s some cool options. Veloster N can be specced with N Light Sports Bucket Seats. The seats are wrapped in soft, suede-like Alcantara, a cool to the touch and grippy material, to firmly hold the driver in position when the car is taking corners at high speeds. There’s been some weight reduction; by utilising a thinner design around two kilos have been removed. There is an internally lit N logo in the seat, located up in the backrest section.
At the time of writing, Hyundai Australia isn’t planning to bring the Veloster N to Australia, however the N DCT will be available from 2021 inside the i30 N and i30 Fastback N models.
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