HOT WHEELS
Hot Wheels - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Hot Wheels | |||||
| By: Peter McKay, Issue 16 – Spring 2003 | |||||
| (Hidden Valley Forest Retreat, Western Australia, Cape Lodge, Margaret River) | |||||
| THE LUXURY CAR MARKET JUST KEEPS GETTING BIGGER, BETTER AND BOLDER WITH A SWAG OF NEW HEART-RACING MODELS TURNING UP THE TEMPERATURE. | |||||
| Wealth, the marketers tell us, is no longer age nor gender specific, and so younger people of both sexes are demanding luxury vehicles, but with a sporty character and appearance. They want it ALL. Above all, consumers want to be seen in cars that reflect their individuality - colour and features should reflect their personalities. This, and our changing lifestyles, are bringing astonishing variety to an already crowded marketplace. Car makers are broadening the choices – of models, types, colours and equipment – in the eternal struggle to separate us from our money by offering the irresistible. Never before have we been overwhelmed by so many top-end selections, and in a car market heading inexorably for record Australian sales topping 900,000, the avalanche of new luxury models continues, from the small but perfectly formed Smart roadster to BMW’s brilliant new 5-series executive express to the superbly upgraded Lexus LX470 four-wheel drive luxury cruiser. Many we’ll see at the glitzy Australian motor shows – in Sydney this month and in Melbourne next March. Others will simply roar into our collective consciousness in other ways. Sunseekers: The Smart roadster, powered by a tiny yet powerful 700cc turbo-charged engine and priced at around $38,000, will hit the spot with city trendies who like a dose of sunshine with their lattes. This huggable little sporty, produced by a company owned by DaimlerChrysler, will trigger maternal instincts in every woman under 80 when it is first seen at the Sydney Motor Show this month (they arrive before year’s end). Reasonable acceleration, a practical convertible roof, and respectable road manners will allow owners to dash through the city traffic to make that hairdresser’s appointment. Further up the price and size scale, Saab’s snazzy 9-3 convertible has traditionally been THE open car for tennis mums. To be accurate, 65 per cent of 9-3 convertible owners are males, some of whom don’t play tennis. The new convertible, only the second complete re-design in Saab history, comes in two turbo-charged versions – 129kW 9-3 Linear, priced from around $75,000, and 155kW 9-3 Aero, which sells for about $90,000. Saab insists the 9-3 convertible sells on performance, value and because it isn’t German! It’s an indulgent rather than hedonistic purchase; the new car has some nifty features including a self-expanding boot linked to the soft top and DynaCage rollover protection with pop-up roll bars. Vying with Saab in the convertible market is Audi’s A4 Cabrio turbo, a grown-ups’ open car with all the style, luxury, safety and performance to satisfy those folk prepared to stump up $85,000. Jumping further up the totem, the Porsche Carrera 4S Cabrio heads a brace of stunning low-volume models from Zuffenhausen hitting our showrooms about now. A quarter of a million dollars will get you the keys to arguably the world’s best rear-engined all-wheel-drive convertible. Seeing double: Honda, the premium Japanese car maker, has uniquely launched two quite different versions of its Accord sedan, aimed at two clearly defined buyer groups. The four-cylinder Accord Euro is positioned as sporty, European, sharp and powerful, and appealing to a youthful buyer. To be competitive against tough mid-sized rivals like the swift Subaru Liberty GT and Mazda 6/Mazda RX8, the Accord Euro has to be good – and it is. The just-released bigger-bodied, US-designed Accord, chases an older, more discerning audience. Roomier, more luxurious and with a more powerful V6 engine, it is going after the same buyers as the top-end local cars led by the Holden Calais and Ford Fairmont Ghia. For those in a hurry: Slipping Alfa Romeo’s powerful 3.2-litre 184kW V6 engine into its smallest and lightest model adds up to sizzling performance for the 147 GTA ‘hyper hatch’, one of the great excitement machines. At a trifling $60,000, it’s about the best bang for bucks around. Mated only to a six-speed manual gearbox, the pumped up three-door has a top speed of 246km/h and a 0-100km/h acceleration figure of 6.3 seconds. BMW’s M3 CSL supercar is for those enthusiasts who believe the regular M3 isn’t quite enough. The hand-built, lightweight CSL, built from exotic composite body panels and powered by a tweaked 3.2-litre six-cylinder engine pumping out 295kW, is considered a snip at $210,000. But the fastest BMW ever imported here is also the hardest to buy. BMW Australia is importing just 22 for sale and have all been claimed by customers who’ve plonked down deposits. Heavyweight contenders: The big luxury saloon market is becoming as crowded and unruly as a Shane Warne press conference. Maserati’s new Quattroporte is large – more than five metres long and as roomy as a Mercedes S-Class – but with the innate sportiness and style standards expected of a machine bearing the Maserati badge. The Maserati’s bold design promises excitement and the powerful 400hp V8 delivers. Owners also have the opportunity to personalise the Quattroporte right down to the smallest detail. To be seen here at the Sydney Motor Show, the glorious Quattroporte (Italian for four doors) is set to use Latin flair to fight for the heavyweight luxury crown against the big Benz, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, and new Jaguar XJ range. The new A8 promises to give Audi a bigger presence at the top of the market. With a choice of energetic 3.7-litre or 4.2-litre V8s, the aluminium-bodied A8 is, says the German car maker, the ‘world’s first luxury-sports limousine’, a machine of great refinement capable of challenging the established luxury car order headed by those other Teutons. Priced from $173,900, the aggressively styled and sure-handling A8 is the only luxury saloon with quattro. Audi says the A8 is for demanding professionals who enjoy driving. With a lightweight aluminium body, too, is Jaguar’s new XJ saloon range headed by the wonderfully quick XJR. Jaguar now has a contemporary line-up appealing to those who don’t wish to drive cars that look like the inside of a crusty old men’s club. The $219,000 XJ6 is propelled with a spectacular surge by a supercharged 298kW 4.2-litre V8 and there are technological tricks like self-levelling suspension which automatically lowers the ride height by 15mm at high speed and guarantees ride quality and sure roadholding even on the poorest of surfaces. It truly is a remarkable automotive buffet out there. | |||||
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