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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The co-drivers view: Autobahn A2

In this episode of "the co-drivers view", we take a drive on the German Autobahn A2, which connects the Ruhr area in western Germany to Berlin in the east. Because the Autobahn A2 connects several large industrial areas and is an important route for connecting Eastern Europe with Western Europe, the road is constantly rebuilt and upgraded. In the late 1990s, the A2 was completely rebuilt and nowadays has three lanes and a shoulder in each direction.


This video shows a westbound stretch of the Autobahn A2 in the Ruhr area from Recklinghausen in the direction of Bottrop. Driving on a regular Tuesday morning during the wet summer of 2012, heavy rain hinders the traffic on the Autobahn. Although this part of the A2 is unlimited, the weather and traffic enforce slower speeds onto the driver. After a few minutes a traffic jam develops because of a small accident ahead, which has probably been caused by the rain. The police is already on the scene with their Volkswagen Passat Variant, in order to reduce the nuisance and danger of follow-up accidents as soon as possible.



Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Fuel Consumption: Mercedes Benz C180 / VW Passat 1.4 TSI / BMW 520d Touring



As the fuel prices continue to rise, the fuel consumption of a car is becoming a more important part of the operating cost of a car. On an early morning drive to work, during a general rush hour, I tried to see what fuel consumption could be achieved by driving as economically as possible.

This includes accelerating modestly, not driving at speeds above 120km/h (75mp/h), trying to anticipate stops by letting the car roll instead of braking and using cruise control as much as possible. The onboard computer was set to 0 before departing, the driving profile is segmented according to the type of road and the breakdown of each is displayed in the caption of the picture.

Possible some drivers are able to still lower this consumption, when the traffic congestion (lots of stopping and accelerating again) is taken out of the equation, it is probable that it will further reduce consumption. On the other hand, the onboard computer usually displays a lower consumption then really took place, but still I hope that these pictures will give you an impression of the fuel consumption of these cars.


Volkswagen Passat 1.4 TSI Variant (122hp / MY2012 / 6-speed manual gearbox / petrol)

Driving profile: 40% highway 50% secondary road / 10% inner city



Mercedes Benz C180 (156hp / MY2012 / 7G-tronic automatic transmission / petrol)

Driving profile: 80% highway / 15% secondary road / 5% inner city

The fuel consumption of the Mercedes Benz C180 seems to be too high, this can be caused by a defect of unknown origin. Possibly the tires did not have the right pressure, resulting in a higher fuel consumption compared to normal circumstances.


BMW 520d Touring (184hp / MY2012 / 8-speed automatic gearbox / diesel)

Driving profile: 50% highway / 35% secondary road / 15% inner city


BMW 520d Touring: the screen shows the fuel consumption during the last hour. On the left an increase due to city driving and switching from "eco pro" to "comfort" mode can be seen. On the right side the consumption driving at speeds of 80 to 100km/h while using cruise control resulted in a lower consumption.

Over a longer period (last time since resetting the onboard computer), the fuel consumption was 6,8l / 100km. Important, this was calculated over a longer trip as the one presented above, hence the difference.

After filling up the car, the onboard computer displays a range of 1218 kilometers (760  miles)

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Picture update: Volkswagen Passat 1.4 TSI Variant

In 1973 Volkswagen introduced its first Passat, while the 6th generation Passat (B7 / type 3C) has been brought to the European market in 2010. The estate, called "Variant", represents about 70% of all Passat sales in Germany, while the Passat also is the most popular company car on the German market. 


€28.325,00 Volkswagen Passat Variant Comfortline 1,4 TSI 90 kW (122 hp) 6-speed manual


Engine specifications:


Engine: OM 642 DE 30 LA / 1390 cm³ / R4 / petrol
Power: 122hp at 200 Nm
Top speed: 205km/h
Acceleration 0 - 100km/h: 10,3s 



Comfortline package:
Chrome front bumper strips / Chrome front bumper strips / 
Multifunction steering wheel (3 spoke)
ParkPilot - Parking sensors front and rear
Driver alert system
Radio RCD 310 Radio/MP3 compatible CD player

Other equipment:
€570,00 Black Oak Brown Metallic
€110,00 7J x 16 alloy wheels "Alicante"
€0,00 Cloth Black "Matera"
€0,00 Interior Trim Iridium printed

€665,00 RNS 315 touch-screen navigation
€0,00 Front seats with lumbar adjustment 
€0,00 Exterior badge deletion (only engine badge)
€290,00 Tinted glass 65% from B pillar backwards
€0,00 Air conditioning, 'Climatic' semi-automatic control
€0,00 Rain sensor 
€0,00 Daytime running lights with coming home function


Total price: €29.960,00

Prices are for the German market, June 2012


Some pro's and con's on this particular Volkswagen Passat 1.4 TSI Variant Comfortline:

Pro:
  • At normal speeds, good fuel consumption
  • Lots of storage space
  • Good interior finish for a car in this class
  • Large storage space in the back
  • Easy folding down of rear seats by good accesible handles
Con:
  • High fuel consumption when driving faster
  • At higher speeds audible wind noise
  • Lack of dual zone climate control
  • Lack of bluetooth connection




















For the complete folder of the Volkswagen Passat 1.4 TSI Variant Comfortline, please click here.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Video update: Mercedes Benz C180 BlueEFFICIENCY Avantgarde

A short while ago, pictures of a Mercedes Benz C180 Avantgarde Facelift had been posted. Today the attention turned its spotlight on the videos of this 2012 Mercedes Benz C180 Avantgarde.

Mercedes Benz C180 Avantgarde walkaround - Exterior and interior shots of the car


 
Mercedes Benz C180 Avantgarde acceleration - Acceleration test from 0km/h


 
Mercedes Benz C180 Avantgarde flatout - Putting the pedal to the metal on the German Autobahn


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Comparison: Audi A6 - BMW 5 - Mercedes Benz E-class

In the class of the executive cars, the German car manufacturers fight a fierce battle against each other. Audi pitches its A6 against BMW with the 5-series and Mercedes Benz with the E-class. This blog is aimed at making a small comparison between the contenders accompanied by a short text.

In its nomenclatura, Audi calls its 4th generation A6 the "C7 or 4G". It was launched in Europe in April 1011, while it is produced in the German city of Neckarsulm, but also in Mexico and several Asian plants. Its new design featured an increase in wheelbase by 76mm (3 inches) and width by 18mm (0.7 inches). Apart from that, the redesign also reduced the drag coefficient to 0.26 Cd.



In March 2010, BMW introduced the 6th generation of the 5-series, called the F10 (or F11 for the Touring). The wheelbase was increased with 100mm compared to its predecessor, while the car is 4cm longer. BMW produces the 5-series F10 in the BMW-factory in Dingolfing, but it is also produced in the Chinese city of Shenyang.
Mercedes Benz has introduced the current generation E-class in March 2009. It is built in Sindelfingen in German, but also in Egypt and in several Asian countries. With a drag coefficient of 0.25 Cd it is amongst the lowest in its class.





Exterior design











In these pictures, the headlight units of the cars can bee seen, which are all fitted with xenon headlights. As LED daytime runnings lights have become a popular feature, each manufacturer has incorporated them in their own style.

BMW was the first (of this three manufacturers) to introduce daytime running lights on the 5-series E39, when this car received its facelift in 2000. Informally called "angel eyes" or "corona rings", they are two rings per headlight unit that serve as daytime runnings lights. Although often attributed to BMW, this technology was actually developed by "Hella" and was called "Celis-Technik". As the years progressed, this technology was also introduced in other BMW-models.

In order to develop their own design feature, Audi introduced LED daytime running lights on the Audi A4 back in late 2007, while the A6 followed suit when it was facelifted in 2008. Audi has taken a different approach, using many small seperate LEDs in order to create a line. However with the introduction of the new generation Audi A8 and A6, they switched from small seperate LEDs to a fluent LED "glow stick".

And in contrast to Audi and BMW, Mercedes Benz has decided not to incorporate the LED daytime runnings lights into the headlight units, but to replace the foglights with a row of seperate LEDs. This was first introduced on the E-class in 2009, only being available for the Avantgarde models. Currently they are available as an optional extra also for the Basic and Elegance line. 

Interior design
















Driver information system

Audi A6 standard display
Audi A6 extended display







BMW 5-series standard display


BMW 5-series extended display













All three cars have a driver informations display in or around the speedometer. Mercedes Benz has the simplest one, with only a standard one color display showing both information about the car or the arrow for the navigation system.

In contrast, both Audi and BMW offer a standard display and a display with extented features. In the Audi A6 the coloured driver information system includes a bigger screen with many colours in the center. BMW has moved the extended display downwards, using the blackpanel technology, in order to offer more information compared to the standard display. 

Navigation System









BMWs "Navigation Professional" and Mercedes Benz' "COMAND" navigation system both employ a fixed screen on top of the center console. Although Audi has located its MMI Plus screen also on the center dash, it folds out when the ignition is switched on. All the satnavs are able to display extra information next to the map, while the graphics of the Mercedes Benz COMAND navigation seems to be outdated. Apart from that, all satnavs combine the map with (optional) exta information in the speedometer.

Gear shift lever

Audi A6
BMW 5-series
Mercedes Benz E-class

When fitted with an automatic gearbox, the gear shift lever is often located near the center armrest. Mercedes Benz is an exception, as only the 4-cylinder engines had its gear shift lever located in this position, while the 6-cylinder engines had a gear shift lever that was located next to the steering wheel (which now is incorporated in almost every type E-class).

Multimedia connection

Audi A6 MMI
BMW 5-series USB-connection

Mercedes Benz E-class AUX-connection
All three cars offer connection for multimedia devices. Audi offers a Multi Media Connection with cables to attach a range of different units (iPhone / iPod / USB stick) in the center arm rest, while Mercedes Benz offers a similar interface in the glove compartment. When connecting a phone to the car this might cause some nuisance, as the phone will be out of reach in the glove compartment, as opposed to the center arm rest where Audi and BMW locate their connection. BMW only offers a USB-connection, but with a adapter cable every unit can be connected to the cars entertainment system.

After having attached the phone to the car, usually the music list can be scrolled by using the cars system. However, Audi and Mercedes Benz are not able to distinguish between different folders in the (Blackberry) smartphone, hence the music only can be connected by using the bluetooth connection (for both phone conversation and music tranfser). Only a standard USB-stick that only has music files on it is recognized. Yet all three cars charge the phone when it is connected to the car.