Tag: SUV

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Porsche Cayenne GTS

The most aggressive Porsche Cayenne is finally revealed, GTS! It is powered by the same V8 engine from Cayenne S with extra horse power, 420 PS. 8-speed auto gearbox is revised for the engine, body is lowered 24 mm for better handling. As a result of these, GTS turn into a big car instead of an SUV. I don’t think that, it would be a good idea to drive Cayenne GTS on off-road terrain. And I don’t think that, it would be pleasant journey thanks to its lowered body and huge low profile wheel.
However, it would be really fun to drive and probably a very good driver focused SUV.
0-100 kph (62 mph) in 5.7 seconds, top speed is 261 kph (163 mph) and consumes 10.7 lt/km

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Porsche

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Cars

New Mercedes-Benz GL

Here is the new Mercedes-Benz GL! Thanks to world of Twitter, I found the leaked pictures of the upcoming new GL. As you can see, Mercedes kept the main lines of the vehicle and did not go for a radical change. This shows that, Mercedes does not wish to lose the present customers with a radical new design. And they created a Bentley atmosphere in interior, you can clearly see this by the cross stitching in leather! 
 
However, the rear end of the vehicle looks similar to BMW X3. A bad coincident! Based on the pictures, this new model will offer lots of LEDs light and less muscular looking.
 
Unfortunately, I could not find any information about the engine options but I can assume that Mercedes will stick to present range. And I don’t think they will offer the 2,2-lt diesel engine. Most probably Mercedes will be offering 3,0-lt petrol (306 PS), 5,0-lt petrol (408 PS) and diesel (258 PS).
 

We will know more about the new GL in following motor shows. Most probably in New York, as the GL is quite popular there!

Today Mercedes revealed the new Mercedes GL in New York Motor Show. And some of my predictions were right, such as the engine options. The new GL will be offered with two engines; one petrol GL 500 (408 PS) and one diesel GL 350 (258 PS). After the vehicle will be offered more engine options will be available! This time Mercedes improved the interior quality of the GL, however I was expecting to see a S-Class interior but, it still looks luxury and exquisite. On the contrary, it shares the same interior with the ML, which I found it as a downside.

Anyway, this time Mercedes placed the GL as the S-Class of the SUVs. I can understand this by their press release related with air suspension (Air Matic), steering wheel and driving dynamics. Probably Mercedes designed the GL to act like a S-Class. That’s really good! So, it could be a real good alternative to Range Rover.

New GL offers some new technologies such as; Steer Control as steering assistance and to avoid over-steering due to steering torque, Collision Prevent Assist, 360 Degree Camera view and Active Parking Assist (auto parking system) are the new feature. Auto parking feature will be very useful for a vehicle at this size.

Similar Range Rover’s Terrain Response system, GL offers six different types of on-road and off-road programmes with low range transmission and a locking centre differential. Unfortunately, they are not offering locking rear differential. It was a bit interesting. They removed the rear differential lock from ML and  GL. I was expecting to see rear differential lock in GL, because that’s the feature that defines a real off-roader or not! And Mercedes claims on the press release that, new GL is a real off-roader, without rear differential lock !?!

Also, the interior space is bigger, more boot space, more luxury, better fuel economy, start-stop function 7-speed automatic gearbox (7G-Tronic Plus). And similar to Aston Martin, GL has the Bang & Olufsen BeoSound sound system with woofer mounted on the A-pillars! Looks really nice.

Overall, it is a new nice but they did not change the design so dramatically, and lost its muscular look. In addition, I was expecting to something different. This shows that Mercedes does not wish to make existing American (Sold 27,000 GLs last year), Chinese and German customers upset with a new radical design. On the other, hand it will make harder for Mercedes to capture new customers! Interior looks really but we need to wait for the new Range Rover, in order to evaluate more precisely. Will I buy one? Hmmm, hard question. I am sure it would be nice to drive but buying is still a question mark for me when it comes to GL. The design is the main issue, sorry!

For more photos: Cars & Life Facebook Page

 

Model
Cyl.
cc
kW/hp at rpm
Nm from rpm
0-100 km/h (s)
Vmax km/h
l/100 km NEDC combined
CO2 g/km
GL 350
BlueTEC 4MATIC
6
2987
190/258 3800
620 1600-2400
7.9
220
7.4-8.0
192-209
GL 500 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY
8
4663
300/408 5000-5750
600 1600-4750
5.9
250
11.3-11.6
262-269

 

* Provisional figures for the international model range which may vary from country to country

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures’ Copyrights
Mercedes

 

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Cars

Bentley SUV Press Release Mistake

Bentley is going to reveal an SUV in couple of years. I already mentioned this in my blog previously like many other journalist mentioned. It was very obvious that, Bentley will reveal an ultra luxury SUV to consumers, who are not satisfied with the Range Rover. Reasonable decision and they will definitely make lots of money!

However, they made a minor mistake during the press release recently. Bentley CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer said  “we will be first to use a 12-cylinder petrol engine in a luxury SUV. I like this idea; it makes clear whose car is the boss.” Actually he made a minor mistakes in this sentence, there was a 12-cylinder petrol powered SUV. And it is made by VW, the Touareg W12! From his point of view, Touareg is not in the same leauge with Bentley’s SUV and that is true, but he should have said ultra luxury.

Many consumers perceive Touareg as a luxury SUV, which is based on its price tag. Thus, Bentley’s SUV is an ultra luxury SUV. Not luxury!

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VW

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Cars

What is this BMW X4?

I don’t want to talk too much about the BMW’s new vehicle X4. A brief description; X4 is the sportive version of X3, and smaller version of X6. BMW X3 is the small version of X5, we all know this; offers five seats, descent boots space.

However, there is a market gap for small version of X6. Because, X6 is too big and too expensive for some people and competitors may introduce an alternative before BMW does. In order to satisfy more customers and to create a new segment, BMW is going to introduce the small version of X6, which is called X4. 
BMW X4 is going to be a small version of X6 with same concept, 2+2 seating and sportive driving dynamics. From my experience from the new X3, the new X4 would definitely a great car and many people is going to be buy it.
From this branding strategy, I can assume that BMW uses even numbers for sportive model.

Pictures’ Copyrights
BMW

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Frog turns into Prince with BMW X3

I am pretty sure, most of you know this fairy tale. Prince turns into frog and princesses kisses the frog and he becomes prince again. If you are expecting a frog to become a prince, you need to wait for very long time! However, BMW achieved this with the new X3. The first BMW X3 was the most ugliest vehicle one market and the new one is the prince. I think nobody can kiss the first X3 for this huge improvement.
Five years ago, I had chance to drive an X3 but I didn’t dare to drive it. It was very ugly from outside and a catastrophe from the inside. Nothing was special with the X3, expect being magnificently ugly. With these emotional approaches to X3, I always ignored it. However, things have changed. BMW revealed the new X3 with a state of art design. When you consider with the previous one, new X3 is out of this world. It does not look bad, is more spacious, and as big as the previous X5!
On paper, things are not that bad with new one and it worth a drive. So, I visited the BMW’s Turkish distributor Borusan Automotive yesterday and I did something really unusual! I drove the X3 with excitement. I was expecting to satisfy with the vehicle and no chance of being disappointment. When I drove the car and played with its gadgets, my assumption turns into reality.
Exterior design is totally new and there is no relationship with the previous vehicle. The interior quality is really high and I couldn’t find any point to moan about it. The 8-speed auto gearbox works seamlessly, 2.0-lt 184 HP diesel is amazing, suspension is nimble, there are buttons to change the behaviour of gearbox, steering wheel, throttle and suspension from comfort to hard core, start and stop function works extremely well to save fuel, iDrive is usable, instrument panel is excellent with high quality display, Auto Hold function is useful for stop and go traffic and like X6, there is no rear view. I don’t know why, this new design team prevent drivers to see the cars behind you. This is the only thing I didn’t like with the new X3.And as usual, there is no off road ability thanks to too stiff suspensions.
Overall, I would buy the X3 instead of X5. X3 offers everything, which you can find in an X5 with a smaller engine to reduce your tax and insurance costs, and in addition it looks fresher! But if you are planning to buy an X3, order with wood interior and bird-view camera option. They will improve the excitement. Lastly, I didn’t compare the X3 with Range Rover Evoque. Evoque is a totally different type of vehicle. But X3 is the second best choice after the Evoque.
In Turkish;

Kurbağa prensi hemen hemen herkes çok iyi bilir. Prens kurbağaya döner, sonra prenses gelir öper ve kurbağa tekrar prens olur. Bunu gerçek hayatta görmek isterseniz, epey bir süre beklemeniz lazım! Biraz enteresan olabilir ama BMW bunu başardı. Yeni X3 bunun tam bir örneği. Birinci nesil X3, dünyadaki en çirkin arabalar arasındaki yerini asla kaybetmeyeceği kesin olmasına rağmen,  yeni nesil X3 bunun tam aksini ispatlıyor. Kurbağa prensi açısında olaya yaklaşırsak, X3’ü bu hale getirebilecek öpücük pek mümkün gibi gözükmüyor. 

Beş yıl önce, X3’ü kullanma şansım olmuştu ama pek kullanmak istemedim. Neden derseniz, iç ve dış tasarım insanı arabadan soğutuyordu ve içimden o arabayı kullanmak için hiçbir istek oluşmamıştı. Bu duygusal yoğunluk yüzünden yıllarca X3’ü göz ardı ettim, ta ki yeni nesil çıkana kadar. Eski X3 ile yenisini karşılaştırırsak, bu modelin dünya dışından bir yerden geldiğini düşünmek elde değil! Kesinlikle çok daha iyi bir tasarıma sahip, iç hacmi ciddi oranda artmış, hatta birinci nesil X5 kadar büyük! 

Kağıt üstünde bu veriler X3’ün çok daha iyi olduğunu gösteriyor ve en azından bir kere de olsa kullanmam gerektiğini düşündüm. Bunu içinde Borusan Otomotiv’e gittim. Yeni X3’ü tahmin edemeyeceğim bir heyecanla kullandım ve hiçbir şekilde hayal kırıklığı yaşamadım. 

Özellikle, dış tasarımı eskiden çok daha iyi, içeride kullanılan parçaların kalitesi ciddi olarak artmış ve şikayet edecek bir şey bulmak epey güç! 8 ileri otomatik şanzıman rahatsız etmeden vites geçişi sağlıyor, 2.0-lt dizel 184 beygir motor sorunsuz, süspansiyon çok iyi derece tepki veriyor, arabanın sürüş karakterini değiştiren butonlar mevcut, yakıt tüketimi için önemli olan dur ve git sistemi sorunsuz çalışıyor, iDrive kesinlikle kullanılabilir, gösterge paneli yüksek kalite görüntü sağlıyor. Bunula birlikte her X Serisinde olduğu gibi sert süspansiyon sayesinde arazi de gezmek biraz hayal oluyor. En umutsuz vaka ise, X6’da da olduğu gibi kısıtlı arka görüş. Neden bilmiyorum ama yeni nesil BMW’lerde böyle bir sorun var. 

Sonuç olarak, X3 kesinlikle alınabilecek bir araba. Hatta, X5 yerine bile tercih edebilirim. X5’deki hemen hemen her şeyi X3’de bulmak mümkün, daha küçük motorla vergi ve fiyat avantajı da olumlu. Bana kalırsa ahşap iç kaplama ve çoklu kamera sistemini de alırsanız X3 çok daha eğlenceli bir araba haline gelir. Son olarak, Evoque karışında X3’ü şansın biraz düşük ama Evoque tamamen yeni bir araç bu yüzden karşılaştırmak pek doğru olmaz. 

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Published at: http://uygarr.blogspot.com https://carsandlife.net

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New Mercedes ML

I don’t publish new car photos to my blog, but I could not stop myself to share this time. The new and ugly Mercedes ML. Sorry the new and more conservative ML! My favourite is the first generation! 
Okay, it was too harsh for the new ML. I really like the front of the car, but the rear is terrible. Looks like a Lincoln Navigator :(
For more check the Facebook Page.

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Mercedes

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Mercedes ML63 AMG: Blue Smoke from Exhaust!

I am sure, you might have seen some people accelerating with their superfast cars as soon as they run their engines. Unfortunately, this behaviour is quite common with those drivers. Accelerating like in a Hollywood movie might sound nice but have an adverse effect. The adverse effect is very basic, the engine starts to burn engine oil in additional to petrol!
As soon as the engine starts, it is not possible lubricate every single part of the engine. And accelerating without hesitation leads to scuff the cylinders with insufficient lubrication. You might be thinking, do we have to wait? Of course not. You need to be more gentle to avoid this problem.
Unfortunately, Greek gods do not manufacture car engines and paying lots of money does not change the fundamentals of physics. Whether you have an expensive car or not, if you push the limits of the engine without waiting for couple of minutes would probably end up with the same tragedy. Blue smoke from the exhaust and burning engine oil!
Just watch the smoke from the Mercedes ML63 AMG’s exhausts!
Picture’s Copyright
Mercedes

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Bentley Continental SUV

During last one decade, we couldn’t ignore two things. SUVs and Google! They suddenly take a part in our lives whilst we are not aware of their existence. Google started as a basic search engine web site with a plain design. As the years have passed, they developed more and more and more. Finally, end up with taking your home’s photo and publishing on Google Earth.
SUVs are the same, it started with a plain design of Mercedes M-Class and chased by Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park! After this traumatic event, SUVs started to chase us in everywhere. Nearly, each manufacturer thought about an SUV model inside their model range. “It would not be a bad idea to offer an SUV, everyone likes it”. Even the Dacia’s ultra-cheap SUV received a respectful demand from all around the world. I am not saying the demand to BMW X Series, Mercedes ML, Range Rover, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and the others.
As the SUV became so addicted to automotive industry and impossible to take out from the market. Some manufacturers started to think about their own interpretation of SUV. I mean the Bentley Motors. If you don’t know let me tell you, Bentley is owned by Volkswagen and Continental family shares many parts with VW Phaëton. Anyway, Bentley received unexpected demand around the world since it was reveal on 2004. It was offering everything; powerful engine, luxury, four-wheel drive, exquisite design. But, it is not an SUV, that’s the minor problem. People want to have a luxury SUV not a four-wheel passenger car.
If you want to buy a luxury SUV, the alternative is extremely clear; Range Rover. That’s the best luxury SUV on planet. Unfortunately, rest of the competitors are imitating Range Rover’ style but it is not working that well. Ask anyone for the ultimate luxury SUV, they will say Range Rover. From this basic scientific research, we can assume that; there is a great market for luxury SUVs.
Let’s go back to Bentley HQ; most probably they received some reports from Germany for a potential SUV model. It will be explaining how great it would be to have SUV under the Bentley brand and how we can make money from this. Honestly, this is totally right. People would definitely buy a Bentley Continental SUV. Because, it is an SUV and it is a Bentley!
So, the problem is production; and it is easy also. Audi Q7 has meaningless big and long chassis for and Audi but it would be a great match for Bentley. Just change the exterior design and use the chassis. The interior will be same with Continental FlyingSpur, so there is nothing to worry. The drive train would be the same with Q7 but they should have low range gearbox (take from VW Touareg) and a better off road capability than the Q7. It will be expensive and try to compete with Range Rover. Therefore, it should offer state of art off road capabilities. And customer will be expecting to see something similar to Range Rover, even though they would never ever use on off road.
Basically, in next five year I am expecting to see a Bentley Continental SUV based Audi Q7 chassis, using VW Touareg’s off road gearbox and interior from FlyingSpur. They only need to design exterior and do the necessary long term testing, which they would be doing at the moment. There were some rumours about this and Bentley denied the SUV. Let’s make a flash back to year 2001, Porsche mentioned, “we will never use a diesel engine” but they are using now. So, it won’t be a surprise to see one.

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Land Rover, Bentley, Audi

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Mercedes G-Class: Mercedes Hercule Wagon

For long years, you have been searching for a car which could reflect the Hercule inside your soul and you could not find it :( All the car catalogs are filled with extremely sharp and clean pictures of vehicles. And you motivation for finding your soul mates flatten outs!
But it is over now! This is the picture of Mercedes G Class! Yes, this is a real four wheel drive and it is really good at off road! You can do whatever you want to do. After seeing this pictures, you will definitely feel yourself like Alexander The Great and travel until the end of the world! While going end of the world, consider the fuel prices :)
Picture is taken from;
Mercedes Benz Website