Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.
It seems that GM’s European farewell announcement for Chevrolet—the brand will be yanked from the market in 2016—has delivered a premature coup de grâce: a sizable batch of Sparks has been sold off for little over €5000. That’s about half as much as a bargain-basement version of the Volkswagen Up, which costs €9975 in Germany. Such money, now, will get you into a Chevrolet Trax, the sister model to the twice-as-expensive Opel Mokka and Buick Encore. It doesn’t get any cheaper.
Official renderings of Renault Trafic and Opel Vivaro.
GM and Renault-Nissan have teamed up once again on some European-market commercial vans, and here are official sketches for the mash-up’s results, the Opel Vivaro and the Renault Trafic. While pleasant to look at, both lose the unique appeal of their predecessors, which were penned under former Renault chief designer Patrick le Quément. The GM/Renault vans will compete with the upcoming Vito, a new van from Renault-Nissan shareholder Mercedes-Benz. No one said the European van market was a simple one.
Diesels, Please
The BMW 2-series is pretty fantastic, but the hot M235i‘s fuel appetite makes it hard to swing for a lot of people in Europe. That’s why they also get diesels, in the form of the 218d, the 220d, and the 225d. All three models use the same basic engine architecture—a 2.0-liter, direct-injected four-cylinder diesel—but each gets a unique output. The ultimate diesel 2er, the 225d, is fitted with two turbochargers and packs 215 horsepower and 332 lb-ft. of torque. Whew! Will America wake up to the diesel some day?
Well, if it does, a new-generation engine by Audi could leave an equally strong impression. The A4, A5, and A6 “ultra” models are each fitted with a version of the brand’s new 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbo-diesel four. Rated at 136-, 163-, and 190 horsepower, respectively, the mills are part of the Volkswagen Group’s EA288 modular diesel engine architecture, adapted for longitudinal fitment to suit Audi’s applications. (That same family also includes a 1.6-liter engine that makes 110 horsepower and is offered in the European-market A3.) The EA288 2.0-liter engine is fitted with a Bosch-Mahle variable-geometry turbocharger, a Valeo intercooler, and two silent to shafts keep noise and vibrations low.
First Drive: 2014 BMW M235i
First Drive: 2014 Audi A6/A7 TDI
Instrumented Test: 2013 Buick Encore FWD / AWD
With the A6 ultra, Audi also launches a new seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic designed to work with longitudinally mounted engines. The DL382 gearbox can handle up to around 300 lb-ft of torque; it slots in below the seven-speed DL501 dual-clutch transmission, which can handle more torque and is fitted to a number of Audi’s V-6–powered models.
Unrefined but fun.
Hyundai and the Powerful N
Hyundai has killed the Genesis Coupe here, despite a 2012 face lift that specifically addressed a lot of criticism voiced in the German market. Launching the rear-wheel drive coupe has been a sobering experience for the Koreans: Despite the Genesis coupe’s low price, it received a ruthless lashing for its lack of refinement.
Hyundai won’t give up on sporty cars, though—quite the contrary, in fact. The company is working on a strategy for its N-series models, named after the Namyang R&D center. I expect far more than modified series production cars with the expected tweaked ECU and “sporty” stripe package. If the right people prevail, these cars could rival vehicles like the VW Golf R or the Mercedes-AMG models.
The Auto Expo in New Delhi needs to be put on the calendar of must-visits. Besides the VW Taigun and Renault Kwid concepts, there were several series-production car launches of global importance. Among those was the Suzuki Celerio, which will make its next appearance at the Geneva auto show in March.
Back in Germany, the ADAC scandal is not over. Things escalated when it emerged that not just the numbers for the group’s “Yellow Angel” award were bloated, but also that the ranking itself was altered. The motorist association’s former communications chief Michael Ramstetter tinkered with the ranking, and now carmakers are returning the awards to the ADAC. Now, ADAC boss Peter Meyer has stepped down.