Over the last 100 issues of AutoSpeed we've been lucky enough to drive many new cars. We haven't driven all of the desirable cars sold in Australia; unfortunately some manufacturers are yet to be persuaded that the combined audience of AutoSpeed and AutoWeb of over 120,000 people a month (road tests are also run on AutoSpeed's sister site) is sufficient. But the list has been extensive enough to include some inspirational cars that have been a delight and a joy.
Here's a very biased look at those cars.
Eunos 800M
I push my foot flat to the floor and the trans kicks back to second. The car slingshots forward, supercharger whining faintly and the push in the back from the leather seats surprisingly strong. A shift at 5500 and the surge continues forward. The painted white line flashes by as the roadside greenery starts to become a vague blur. Apart from that faint but distinctive blower sound, only the soft sounds of air rushing by at 160 km/h disturbs the forward progress. At exactly 180 km/h and 6000 rpm, the trans slurs into fourth and only then does the acceleration start to taper away. Fourth is geared more for low cruising revs than maximum speed; the car only gradually inches its way faster after 200 has been reached.
A terribly underrated machine when new - and now equally poorly regarded in used car values - the supercharged V6 Mazda mixed superb NVH suppression with high equipment levels, good handling and the ability to cruise long and fast. In fact, it's a car whose on-road performance is demonstrably superior to some of the expensive Euros that we have driven. It was a package combining a wonderful ride, complete comfort and adequate grunt - though a used 800M we also sampled was quite slow, perhaps because the latter was running on normal unleaded rather than premium.
The Eunos 800 is a damn good car using innovative technology in a time when more and more car companies are playing follow-the-leader rather than creating something new and interesting.
If you like large and luxurious cars, put a used 800M on your shopping list - especially with higher octane fuel now becoming available, this is one engine that could yield seriously upgraded supercharged grunt.
Complete test: "New Car Test - Eunos 800 Miller cycle".
Commodore VT 5.7 SS
Much to our astonishment, we loved the 6-speed 5.7 Commodore. Unlike almost every other factory pushrod V8 we have ever driven, here was a big cube engine that loved to rev - that had more than just a surfeit of bottom-end grunt. It was an inspiring, sporty engine, instead of just a slothful lump best tied to an auto trans.
The torque at low revs isn't monolithic; instead it's a far more usable incline up which the revs climb. It's an engine where acceleration can be felt to grow and grow, one where you can watch the tacho needle blurring around the dial as the cabin is filled with the raunchy, inspiring and seductive eight-cylinder note.
And if the new all-alloy engine was impressive, the changed handling of the Vee Tee over base V6 form was amazing.
Low speed handling of the SS is characterised - and it could hardly be otherwise - by power oversteer, but it is superbly progressive and well-telegraphed. The steering is wonderful - far better than in other Commodores we've sampled - and the level of front-end grip exemplary. In fact, if you're more used to constant four-wheel drive or front-wheel drive high performance, the lack of initial understeer, even with very high entrance speeds, is astounding. The well-weighted, precise and linear steering inspires confidence and allows cornering accuracy, even for those used to much smaller, inherently more nimble cars. Perhaps the reduced engine mass between the front wheels has something to do with it - certainly the turn-in is excellent.
It was such a changed car over standard that we thought that a test drive should be obligatory for those who automatically categorised it as "just another Commodore".
At $46,650 we reckon that the 5.7 litre Commodore SS is one of the great bargains of the late-Nineties. Performance, handling, space and comfort - all in a cheaply serviced, rugged local package. Certainly, for a long time the guys and gals around here will be smiling each time they see a SS 5.7 drive by...
Complete test: "New Car Test - Commodore SS 5.7 V8".
Peugeot 406 HDI
A diesel? One of our favourite cars? Yep.
Rather than just drive it in urban areas, we decided to take the new generation Peugeot diesel turbo on a long trip. And we're glad that we did - in those conditions it was simply magnificent.
The sun was fading westwards as the rain beat against the low-flying Peugeot's windscreen. The wipers were set to auto, their varying beat matching the intensity of the rainfall with uncanny precision. The wet, narrow bitumen streamed past the low beam lights; still too much light in the sky to need high beam, but dull enough that I wanted others to see the silver missile's approach. The speedo needle varied from 140 to 150 - depending on the length of the straight and the advisory speed limit sign of the approaching corner. Calm, assured, almost oddly unhurried, the sheer relaxed rate of forward progress put the Peugeot into a class very rarely touched - by cars of any price.
But this exhilarating performance contrasted markedly with its relatively pedestrian abilities away from the open spaces.
Around town the medium-sized car feels nothing special. The power band is narrow - and yes, I know it's a diesel - with not much really happening until 1500 rpm - and the engine noticeably going off song at about 4500 rpm, well before the redline. But what's obvious even around town is how good a ride/handling package the 406 is. The car turns-in with alacrity, the beautifully-weighted steering precise and intuitive. Unlike many FWD's, Peugeot engineers have tuned the suspension to allow the rear end to do a great deal of work; while never taily, you can certainly feel a lot of the cornering force being borne by the outside rear tyre. The car handles superbly, especially considering its modest rubber - unfortunately worn on steel rims. Consistent, predictable, precise - simply lovely cornering dynamics.
Combine those universal Peugeot traits of an excellent ride, good seats, and competent handling - and then add in real-world economy of 5.9 litres/100 km - and you have a quite brilliant package.
Complete test: "The Parsimonious Peugeot".
Mazda MX5
The Mazda's a funny one. While it's on everyone's list of wonderful Nineties cars, initially it certainly wasn't on ours. We'd had a well-used 1.6 example for a week - and thought it pretty ho-hum. Manual power steering that changed in weight with lock (and wouldn't self-centre once you dialled on too much steering), a boring engine and a weird corkscrewing cornering motion all left us less than impressed. But the doubts were thrown aside when we drove the current model - a power-steered, 1.8 litre, 6-speed. It was just fantastic.
I can now say in the loudest voice possible - the 1999 Anniversary Mazda MX5 is simply the best handling car I have ever driven. It's a stunning mix of brilliant chassis, superb brakes, steering that almost works out corners for itself, and a ride/handling compromise that is breathtaking. It's so good that you get out of the car and look in vain for the 275/35 tyres, four-wheel drive or Electronic Stability Control! If you reckon that you have a car that handles, this is one car that you simply must steer...
And with that wonderful steering you're ahead of the eight-ball even on turn-in, precisely feeding in millimetre by millimetre of lock and having the nose of the car respond to each tiny wheel movement. If you swing on the amount of lock that is the norm in some cars, you'll find yourself unwinding it in a hurry.
The front wheels are talking to you through the steering wheel, the rears through the seat. The tail starts to drift out of shape; keeping the nose aimed down the road requires the quick application of just a touch of opposite lock and then you're screaming down the blacktop that follows the corner, a grin splitting your face. You glance at the speedo to check exit speed and can't believe it - the whole corner felt 10 or 15 km/h slower. It's that bloody good, and no, you don't need to be a motorsport driver to do it.
If only the car had some more power. The 1.6 had been oh-so-slow, and this car didn't feel all that much quicker.
One of the reasons for this is that the engine's a..... well, basically a bit of an old nail. It has a very flat torque curve but it simply hasn't got the power needed. In the tight and twisties you don't notice the lack of urge - when you can enter a corner so bloody fast, the exit speed has gotta be impressive. But when the corners are open - the sort where a Impreza WRX or other turbo hotty would be just spitting out of the corners, turbo whistling and road reeling in - inside the cabin of the Mazda you're winding out through the last four ratios, watching the speedo needle make like a tortoise around the gauge. If the 1800 DOHC mill was as happy at 7000 rpm as, say, an Alfa Spider's, things would be sweet. But (at least in the low kay test car) it wasn't. It was harsh, noisy and felt stressed at high revs. Those 106kW just aren't enough - especially when other manufacturers' naturally aspirated fours are pumping out really big kilowatts.
But overall, a real must-have car for crisp Sunday mornings - and for Monday mornings and afternoons, and....
Complete test: "New Car Test - Mazda MX5 10th Anniversary Model".
Peugeot 206 GTi
Two Peugeots in our favourite cars list? What's this elitist rubbish? To those who would say this, remember that the most expensive cars that AutoSpeed has tested - the Mercedes E320 and the beautiful SLK230 - are notably absent...
The baby Pug combined brilliant practicality and chuckability - an unusual mix to say the least!
The relatively heavy power steering is superb: not too sensitive around centre that every bump becomes an involuntary steering input, but still quick enough that the turn-in can be judged precisely. So can the cornering line - would you like the wheels one inch or two inches inside the centre line?
The strong bottom-end torque gives tractable throttle response - it's an easy car to get into and immediately drive fast, especially around corners. In fact any redblooded pedaller getting out after a quick trip around the block is sure to be laughing with the sheer glee of negotiating corners as if there are no limits. In the tight stuff, the car hangs on tenaciously, edging ever so gradually into understeer. A slight lift of the throttle will then cause the back to come out, initially in what feels like a rear wheel steering manner and then if applied more forcefully, into full tyre-sliding oversteer.
No wonder that there was immediately a 3-month waiting list for the little cars...
Complete test: "New Car Test - Peugeot 206 GTi".
Impreza WRX STi
It's easy to believe that the hype surrounding the Rex - especially in its more serious STi incarnations - is just that: hype. But it ain't....
The succession of tight S-bends sinuously stretches towards the sea, a driver's delight writ in the curling shape of black bitumen. I heel-and-toe the short-shift leather knob back to second, the notchy box confirming the gear's selection. Then into the first left hander, smoothly feeding in torque and lock, the steering and throttle both delightfully subtle and sensitive.
The g-forces start to build but I keep on applying power, the turbo whistling as the engine's enormous peak torque is transferred to the road through the four clawing Potenzas. The subtle steering feedback is telling me that the fronts are j-u-s-t starting to lose their grip and I feather the throttle a little; the rear then moves into gentle oversteer. With the car yawing along the coastal tightrope, it's time again for some more power - especially since the first corner's exit is now looming.
There's a slight hump in the stretch of road between the bends - to call it a 'straight' would be to give it a length that doesn't exist. The car goes light and squirmy over the rise but I keep the right pedal nailed; now the sideways forces have been replaced with straightforward, gut-wrenching acceleration. Eyes slightly widened, we are shoved back into our seats as the simply phenomenal force surges us forward. Over the rise the tyres scrabble for grip, wheelspin of the front-right and then - a fraction of a second later - the rears. In other cars of this power you'd have backed off long ago, oversteer threatening a spin or understeer beckoning a plough off the road. But even in extremis, the STi is utterly reassuring, settled, composed and stable. A dab on the brakes and then it's time to re-live the ecstasy around the next corner... then the next.
Three days of driving the STi along the Great Ocean Road and then through inland Victoria showed it to be a car of stunning capability - blistering fast, user-friendly and practical. No wonder it's made the impact it has....
Complete test: "Mega Rex!".
Honourable Mentions
Not quite into the 'best of' list - but damn' good cars none-the-less - were the Mercedes A160 (marvellous space utilisation, excellent active handling and innovative style); original Magna Sports 3.5 (so underrated as a family touring car that it's ridiculous); and Alfas Spider and 156 (what a beautiful, creamy-smooth and grunty four that 2-litre is).
And, briefly, the cars that disappointed us the most were the Mercedes SLK230 (a great pose but utterly uninspiring to drive); Hyundai Grandeur XG (superb driveline, good build quality and a luxurious interior - but all built on a suspension in an appalling state of tune); Hyundai Coupe FX (mostly competent, but with a dangerously hard-edged propensity for throttle-off oversteer); and Volkswagen Polo (surely one of the most famous car manufacturers in the world can come up with something better than this?).
Finally, one of the most impressive engines that we drove in those 100 issues wasn't in a new car at all. Instead, it was the incredible MIVEC 1600, found under the bonnet of the Japanese-import Mitsubishi Cyborg Mirage. Put that engine into the Pug 206 and we'd buy one tomorrow; or if you can't do that, what about mounting the Alfa Spider engine longitudinally in the MX5, or.....
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