Renault Clio Estate

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Do you remember how this station wagon made its very first public appearance? It was around the last Paris Motor Show, right after the fourth Clio was showed. But while the hatchback was having its official worldwide release, the family-dedicated sibling was only glanced, in a backstage video published by Renault at that time to show more information of the new cars. Estate is now released in Europe, but it’s still worth taking a moment to observe how great turned to be this job performed by Renault.

Creating a car leads to deal with lots of conceptual decisions, way before starting to convert the design sketches into what will be manufactured. Each category demands a particular external size and has its particular competitors, so one of the biggest decision is on what subdivisions the car will compete – in other words, what variations it’ll receive. The strategy of deriving sedan, wagon, minivan, pick-up and other categories from a single car became famous around the 1980s, with cars like Opel Kadett E and Renault Mégane. Since the main idea here is to reduce costs by having cars from different categories sharing several parts, the initial examples used to change almost only the rear section. But in nowadays it’s necessary to deal with a much more competitive market, which demands each car to be as original and creative as it can possibly be, even when it’s “related” to others. That’s why even those are receiving more exclusive parts, inside and outside, achieving whole different variations. However, if sharing parts is the solution to save money, the simplest logic states that reducing those common items would result at more expensive cars. That’s why there are so many automakers working to make that sharing start from the very beginning of each project.

Besides having each time fewer platforms for more cars, another very important strategy is to project all the intended siblings from the beginning. Renault was criticized for the second-generation Clio because of the Turkish Symbol: this sedan variation had no previous planning on the hatchback’s project and also had to be cheap, which fatally resulted at a very unattractive design and bad sales outside its homeland. The third phase never had a sedan but tried to offer a station wagon for the first time, which was so well-accepted that is now succeeded by the gorgeous car of this article’s pictures. It’s clear that Clio Estate (or Grandtour, for some markets) isn’t a last-minute adaptation of the hatchback. It brings the same elegant sportiness, with smooth volumes, a very stylish front fascia and great attention to the details, such as the opulent-but-not-too-big tail lights, the same hidden back handles as in the hatchback and all the columns with black paint but the front ones: the roof ends up like it’s floating over the windows, which in turn seem all connected. This car will offer the same items as Clio, which includes R-Link infotainment system and Bass Reflex audio, but with 443L to 1.380L at the trunk. With diesel it’ll use a dCi 1.5L with 75 or 90 hp, and with gasoline a 75-hp 1.2L or the TCe Energy 1.2L with 90 hp. The prices go from € 14.300 to € 20.500.

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Hyundai HB20X

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Talvez você lembre da intenção principal que a Hyundai teve ao iniciar toda esta empreitada que atende pelo nome de HB20. Para alcançar uma participação de mercado pelo menos no nível de Citroën, Renault e Peugeot, por exemplo, a coreana manteve a excelente fama iniciada com os modelos mais caros mas agora a estende às categorias de volumes maiores. Em outras palavras, depois de criar um compacto exclusivo para o Brasil, quem poderia duvidar que o próximo passo seria competir entre os aventureiros urbanos?

Como era de se esperar, as imagens oficiais e a publicidade da marca dão a ideia de que este carro consegue transpor trilhas que na realidade pertencem ao naipe de legítimos jipes. Os fatos, no entanto, são que o HB20X traz alterações de monta bem menor, porque sua intenção na verdade não é tão grande assim. A Hyundai brasileira acaba de colocar em prática o que os concorrentes da novidade com certeza farão assim que os seus modelos chegarem à época das novas gerações: aproveitar as vantagens de prever estas versões desde o começo do projeto. Carros como 207 SW, Fox e a própria Palio Weekend surgiram todos antes de este gosto virar uma moda tão forte, de forma que quando ela chegou os fabricantes precisaram recorrer a adaptações. Já o HB20 é um dos primeiros a contar com tal variação de nascença, o que lhe permite resultado visual bem melhor: ele troca o excesso de apliques de plástico, por exemplo, por parachoques exclusivos. Seu ar mais agressivo se faz com aspecto mais volumoso e itens como a grade dianteira bem maior, combinando com o bom gosto dos demais acessórios como o rack de teto e as rodas de liga leve exclusivas. É nada mais que repetir em escala de menor preço o que fabricantes como Audi e BMW fazem há alguns anos com os pacotes esportivos: projetá-los em paralelo com o desenho padrão do carro permite a esses kits complementar o estilo do mesmo, em vez de bifurcar as atenções.

Além disso, a ausência de mudanças mais extremas como o estepe direcionado à tampa traseira só volta a confirmar que a Hyundai deixou os extremos para seu crossover compacto, que terá a base do HB20 mas chegará nos próximos anos. As únicas mudanças da cabine foram os bancos com dupla costura, pedaleiras em alumínio e o volante revestido em couro na versão Premium, o que tem seu lado bom e ruim: trata-se de ter mantido um interior cuja qualidade já tem ótima aceitação do público, mas simples mudanças como cores de revestimentos e de luzes teriam dado ar muito mais condizente com a proposta da versão nova. O carro sempre usa o 1.6 16v flex de 128 cv, e a versão Style (R$ 48.755) traz de série airbag duplo, ar-condicionado, computador de bordo, Bluetooth, direção hidráulica, farois de neblina, rodas de liga leve aro 15”, sistema de som multimídia (sem CD player) com comandos no volante, trio elétrico e cabine com bancos em azul e console em preto. A Premium (R$ 51.255) soma ar-condicionado mais sofisticado, banco traseiro bipartido, chave multifuncional, palhetas Aeroblade, sensores de estacionamento e crepuscular, vidros com função one-touch e a curiosa opção de trocar o sistema de som por um que traz CD/MP3 player mas perde a conexão Bluetooth, esta opção sem custo extra. É uma pena que os preços sejam salgados já usando o câmbio manual: a caixa automática de quatro marchas passa as versões respectivamente a R$ 51.955 e a R$ 54.455.

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Nissan Versa Note

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This automaker’s politics with its smaller-sized cars isn’t very common. Nissan decided last year that Sentra’s latest generation would be shared with the sedan’s Eastern sibling, Sylphy, in order to reduce costs. Now this strategy will be repeated with the Japanese minivan Note, which was adapted to North America as their new Versa hatchback. The thing is, this car is so different from the sedan that they should even have different names. This article will show what this new hatch-minivan will start to bring next summer.

Although this car shares platform with the sedan just like Versa’s previous generation (which was called Tiida at some countries), its own versions were clearly two variations of the same car. However, the current phase first received the sedan with much lower price, in fact reduced enough to make it compete at the subcompact level, while the hatchback that shares its name is this article’s car. Versa, in fact, looks much more like March/Micra, to the point of they sharing the very same central console. But since the North-American market would never accept a car that small, their choice was to “force” Versa’s line creation with the new car, which will certainly be sold at other markets as a medium-sized hatchback – or even minivan. Nevertheless, this car’s design can be seen as one more proof that Nissan’s idea isn’t to unify their showroom into one single design language, but some of them. So if the sedan now reminds is bigger siblings Altima and Sentra, Note sticks to being the production version of the Invitation concept car. In other words, it brings a very attractive design, without any excess of elements: the front section, for instance, takes all the attention to both the headlights and the grille, with an integrated design which gives an imponent look but also reminds very much of Honda CR-V.

Nothing of that comes as a complaint, though. Note’s design could be described as an up-to-date version of what has been seen at Nissan’s hatches and minivans since the last decade. These lines are more sophisticated than Tiida’s and Livina’s, with better-looking volumes, abandoning the excessively straight lines and creases, some aerodynamical aids, like the two strong roof creases, and using much more inspired tridimensional shapes, such as the tail lights. Entering it, the V-platform shows its advantages with a very well-planned room. Subcompacts never give priority to fancy design or top-notch material quality, but to room for five and lots of pratical solutions: this car counts on items such as 60/40 divided rear seats, whose space can be rearranged with the trunk’s: besides using the complete area, there’s an extra floorboard to create a separate space for smaller items, or finish composing a flat space when those seats are down. On the other hand, it’s very nice to see that Nissan has invested very much also at Note’s safety. Offered in four trim levels, this car can come with tire pressure monitoring system, braking system with ABS, BAS and EBD, and stability and traction controls – the S version will start from $ 13,990, but there are also S Plus, SV and SV with SL package.

But this car has other concerns, too. In order to take customers from Chevrolet Spark, Hyundai Accent or even Fiat 500, Note received a very good technology package: the multifunctional Intelligent Key opens the doors of a car which can bring keyless entry, electroluminescent dashboard, heated front seats, cruise control, GPS tracking, higher-quality internal illumination and an impressive infotainment system: the 5.8” touchscreen gives access to weather conditions, full navigation system, hands-free text messaging and media streaming over Bluetooth connection, online radio through iPhone internet, rearview monitor with the conventional reverse-gear images displayed at the screen, but also the new Around View Monitor, whose four cameras are set one at each side of the car. They work together to help parking by creating a virtual 360° image of the car, allowing to see the exact space available for each situation. Versa Note will always use a four-cylinder 16-valve 1.6L engine, with 109 hp and 107 lb-ft. It uses front-wheel-drive, double injection, continously variable valve timing and several other technologies to achieve the city and highway mileage of 31 and 40 mpg, respectively – only the entry version brings a five-speed manual transmission, while the others count on the CVT Xtronic gearbox. As usual, this car will be produced in Mexico.

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Hyundai HB20 2013

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Em quatro meses ele já muda para a linha 13/13. Os sistemas de som ganharam Bluetooth, com a versão Comfort 1.6 diferindo das mais caras por vir com tela menor, entrada USB no som (as outras a têm no console) e sem CD player. Seus volantes somaram as teclas de ligações, e os vidros elétricos agora são um-toque e se acionam pela chave. As luzes do painel ficaram todas em azul, vieram palhetas do limpador tipo flat-blade e novos detalhes internos cromados para Comfort Style e Premium e prateados quando com 1.0, entre outros.

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Renault Captur

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Almost every best-seller car was released with much more modest intentions from its brand. VW, for instance, would have never imagined that Golf and Gol would not only defeat Beetle’s respective sales records in Europe and Brazil as also overcome it so easily. But even though selling a car is getting harder and harder, it’s still easy to notice that some formulas have proven themselves true money makers. Renault surely knew the new Clio would be a huge success, so why hesitate to combine it to another golden eggs goose?

The fourth-generation Clio is being so well-received worldwide for the simple reason of offering most of what people are searching in a car today. Since this car has never been so attached to traditions, like Golf’s C pillar or C3’s round body, this project took advantage of this enormous freedom. Renault chose a very attractive new design language, and managed to create a “magnetic” car. Whether for the aggressive front elements which highlight the brand’s logo, lots of inspiration from sports cars applied to the sides and a very elegant rear or a spacious interior filled with technology, safety, comfort and very efficient engines, the fact is this car is an excellent project. So the overall reaction did nothing more than just proving once again that everyone do prefer what’s best. However, one of those formulas of the current car market is the crossover concept. The idea of offering most of each category’s advantages in a single car must be as old as the very categories because it comes from the purest common sense, but the true challenge has always been how to execute it in a customer-attractive way – Pontiac discovered the effects of doing this wrong with Aztek, by the hardest way. So when the first modern crossovers achieved worldwide success, it was a matter of time for each and every automaker to create their own ones. And since Renault had on one hand this successful Clio, and the assurance of the crossovers’ good acceptance at the other, what else could you expect them to do next?

Captur is the simple result of applying Clio’s concept to the crossover category, but this comes as the exact opposite of a complaint. While Chevrolet creates a tougher style with Trax, Ford relies at its SUV experience with EcoSport and Peugeot goes classier with 2008, this Renault becomes closer to Buick Encore’s (and its German brother Opel Mokka) proposal. There’s plenty of organic shapes and smooth volume transitions, creating a very European design filled with a very tasteful sportiness. In other words, Captur expresses itself with its own design, without relying on accessories. There are no spoilers or too many chrome details because it isn’t a sports car, but neither external protection items, roof racks or even a snorkel because it doesn’t intend to cross a river or climb a mountain. Another reflection of that is the interior, whose console is very similar to Clio’s. The beautiful dashboard brings the modern touch, while the colored seats (and the exclusive roof color) give the playful idea. In spite of the 13.5-ft length, Renault claims Captur’s room distribution is as good as in a minivan. Besides, as in every modern car, the big touchscreen anticipates the lots of electronic systems for comfort, safety and entertainment. Since this car shares Clio’s platform, it’ll surely bring most of the hatchback’s engines, all of them with very good emissions and performance numbers. This car’s official debut is expected for the next Geneva Auto Show.

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Peugeot 2008

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After showing the concept car in Paris, the Geneva Auto Show has already been defined as where the official release will take place. But, as it’s becoming usual in the car industry, Peugeot decided to tease the public with the very first full pictures of their very first compact crossover. Besides of a very attractive design and a modern construction, this car follows several of the current trends and will be offered in many markets. This article will explain why 2008 will be a huge step for Peugeot’s future around the world.

Even when there’s no financial crisis, every automaker needs to constantly update its showroom at each market. Not only to prevent their vehicles from aging and therefore losing competitiveness among their rivals, but specially in order to keep giving their customers what they want. The current cars are offered in so many categories that it’s impossible to satisfy very much only with the conventional ones. This is why there are so many brands selling cars that would be unimaginable for themselves five, ten years ago. Some markets have recently earned huge importance and others have lost some, creating very big changes concerning to what a new car has to bring in order to achieve success. Peugeot, for instance, started selling crossovers five years ago, with 4007. This one was replaced last year with 4008, but both of them are actually Mitsubishi cars – the PSA Group had a joint-venture with the Japanese automaker which resulted first at Citroën C-Crosser and Peugeot 4007 coming from Mitsubishi Outlander, later replaced with C4 Aircross and 4008 coming from ASX. On the other side, Peugeot did create some crossovers of their own but they’re much more dedicated to the urban use, like 3008.

This dual strategy has seemed to work because Peugeot has always used the most appropriate one for each category, so they did nothing more than applying it to the compact one. Besides the fact that Mitsubishi doesn’t have a crossover this small, this public doesn’t really care for trophy-winning off-road characteristics. 2008 will have its biggest potential at markets such as Brazil and China, where people really pay more attention to more subjective features. They prefer spacious cabins, lots of technology items and modern engines rather than big inclination angles or ability to cross deep rivers or even to climb stairs. Not to mention nothing less than the best design it’s possible to create. That’s what sells thousands of these small crossovers each month, in a category whose biggest competitors are Ford EcoSport, Renault Duster and the upcoming Chevrolet Trax, Volkswagen Taigun and the French one which illustrates this article – there are also Citroën Aircross in Brazil, Buick Encore in USA and its “brother” Opel Mokka and the upcoming Renault Captur in Europe, but these ones’ trim levels give them slightly different proposals. Peugeot deserves big compliments because 2008 escaped from the looking-smaller-than-it-is trend, presenting an amazing interpretation of 208’s style, with whom it’ll share platform.

This car has managed to resemble the hatchback but also bringing own personality; it doesn’t give the idea of nothing more than a stretched, “tougher” 208 because it became classier. The front doesn’t have too big or too small items, but everything crafted to give a sporty, dynamic impression rather than an off-road toughness – some will prefer this grille design over EcoSport’s. The sides bring several typical Peugeot’s elements and some innovations, such as the chrome line above the rear doors which highlights the small roof extensions, but what gives that elegance sensation here is the windows’ design. Trax and EcoSport use only two of them to give a nimble look, while Duster is forced to use a third one due to the bigger length but visually disconnected from the others. 2008, in turn, uses the third one to give a bigger-size overall impression: it seems bigger specially than EcoSport and Trax because of that, although is actually smaller. Besides that, it’s also very nice to notice that this item creates a visual connection with 4007 (click to see a side photo), which is surprising because that one wasn’t a “true” Peugeot vehicle. Nevertheless, features like that are what gives 2008 a fascinating design, creating the perfect match with the high-quality construction.

This article will be updated when more official information is released, along with interior pictures. However, it’s highly expected that this car will use the naturally-aspirated 1.6L and 2.0L 16-valve and even the 1.6L THP, with automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive options. This car will be produced in France, China and Brazil.

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Fiat Palio Attractive 1.0 2013

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Se semanas atrás o Uno ganhou a novidade, por que não o seu irmão maior? Agora é o Palio que incorpora o kit HSD de série também na versão de entrada, passando com isso a oferecer airbag duplo e freios ABS com EBD como itens de série em todas as suas versões – até então era possível configurá-lo até com teto solar e sem esses equipamentos. O já esperado aumento de preço ficou em R$ 1.100, fazendo o novo Palio partir de R$ 30.590. Esta opção usa o motor 1.0 Fire Evo, com potência e torque de até 75 cv e 9,9 kgfm.

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Fiat Palio e Strada Adventure Dualogic Plus

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Dirigibilidade melhorada é a arma dos pioneiros Fiat Adventure para 2013. Tanto station wagon como picape (esta apenas na opção de cabine dupla) trazem a nova fase do câmbio automatizado Dualogic, cujo funcionamento fez grandes evoluções na suavidade e agora traz as funções Creeping e Auto-up Shift Abort, que por sua vez facilitam operações cotidianas como baliza e retomadas. Os dois modelos não tiveram outras alterações, mantendo também o motor 1.8 16v e.TorQ de potência e torque de até 132 cv e 18,9 kgfm.

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Volkswagen Fox 1.0 2013

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Mais um veículo brasileiro se antecipa à obrigatoriedade que valerá em 2014. Dessa vez é o segundo degrau da linha de compactos da marca alemã que incorpora airbag duplo e freios ABS como itens de série em todas as versões que trazem o motor 1.0 flex, que por sua vez gera potência e torque de 77 cv e 10,6 kgfm. Com isso o Fox passa a sair de fábrica trazendo estes equipamentos em toda a sua gama, mas naturalmente isso trouxe um acréscimo à lista de preços básicos: as versões 1.0 ficaram R$ 1.350 mais caras.

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Fiat Palio e Uno Interlagos

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Quem disse que a última semana do ano estaria livre de novidades? Quando todos achavam que o ciclo da Fiat para 2012 foi concluído com a série especial do Linea, os entusiastas da marca recebem agora outra grata surpresa. A dupla de hatchbacks homenageia o famoso circuito paulista com a própria edição limitada, que chega ao mercado com uma excelente relação custo/benefício envolta numa embalagem cujo foco é a esportividade. Neste artigo você poderá conferir mais detalhes da oferta que cada modelo faz.

Como já se comentou no texto do próprio Linea Sublime, investir em mudanças profundas demais não é válido porque a intenção destes modelos não é apresentar toda uma nova versão, mas sim um pacote diferenciado com base em uma das que já se vendem normalmente. No caso dos hatchbacks deste artigo, o ponto de partida não poderia deixar de ser a versão Sporting. O primeiro destaque é o exclusivo amarelo Interlagos, que vem como única opção para a série (não confundir com a cor das versões Sporting comuns, o amarelo Indianápolis). O esquema de cores se faz combinando-o com o preto brilhante de detalhes como as capas dos retrovisores e o spoiler traseiro, além das rodas de liga leve com pintura exclusiva. Já o interior traz costuras amarelas em bancos e volante. Outra excelente notícia é que o pacote de itens é completo para ambos, sem opcionais. Isso significa ar-condicionado, conexão Bluetooth, pedaleiras esportivas, vidros e travas elétricos, sistema de som multimídia e todo o pacote visual interno e externo para o Uno por R$ 36.830. Já o Palio agrega comandos satélite do som, retrovisores elétricos e o teto solar Sky Window, ficando em R$ 43.860. Quanto aos motores, o primeiro continua apenas com o 1.4 Fire Evo e o segundo apenas com o 1.6 16v e.TorQ.

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Chevrolet Montana Combo

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As entregas de fim de ano passam a ter mais um voluntário. Feita em fibra de vidro, a cobertura da caçamba encerra um volume de 3,3 m³ que pode levar 758 kg. O furgão sempre partirá da versão LS 1.4 flex da picape, partindo de R$ 40.474. O pacote R6W inclui banco do motorista com regulagem de altura e protetor de caçamba, o R6X (R$ 43.006) soma computador de bordo, direção hidráulica e rodas de 15”, e o R6V (R$ 47.115) agrega alarme, ar-condicionado, travas e vidros elétricos e sistema de som multimídia.

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Hyundai Tucson Flex

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Se os lançamentos dos últimos anos já lhe fizeram virar um fã da Hyundai, quaisquer novidades sobre os produtos da marca coreana certamente já lhe dão grandes expectativas, em especial quanto ao design. Mas ver a de agora pode motivar algumas perguntas: Onde estão os farois chamativos? A grade hexagonal? Os vincos marcantes? Nada se vê aqui porque o Tucson veio antes de tudo isso. Ele já demorou a ser produzido aqui, e somente dois anos depois vem a melhoria que na verdade já é regra no mercado brasileiro.

Uma forma de explicar a estratégia que a Hyundai-Caoa aplicou com seus crossovers no Brasil é compará-la com o que a Chevrolet fez anos atrás com o Astra. Assim como o hatch de raízes alemãs, o Tucson veio ainda em sintonia com o que se oferecia no exterior, no seu caso para o segmento dos crossovers médios. Como suas vendas resultaram satisfatórias, a posterior chegada do ix35 fez o fabricante tentar vender os dois por aqui, na já conhecida estratégia de deixar o modelo novo no segmento desejado e baratear o antecessor para vendê-lo agora na categoria inferior (o Astra passou por isso quando vieram Vectra e Vectra GT). E outra vez vieram números interessantes para ambos, porque o Tucson passava a rivalizar com Ford EcoSport e Mitsubishi Pajero TR4, entre outros. Isso foi o que motivou sua produção nacional a partir de 2010, através da Caoa – o HB20 é feito em outra fábrica, e pela própria Hyundai – e que se mantém até os dias de hoje. O problema está em que desde essa época o Tucson já havia entrado na sobrevida. Ou seja, ele já havia superado seu ciclo de vida original e a partir daí deveria apenas “preencher a lacuna”, mantendo-se o mais intacto possível para atrair pelo preço baixo até que sua retirada de produção se tornasse viável para a montadora.

Entretanto, o que se vê aqui é a atitude oposta. O problema de investir em carros de atuação paliativa está em que se gastam quantias consideráveis num projeto que já está em baixa, e que portanto não vai demorar a chegar ao ponto de vender tão pouco que não é mais válido produzi-lo. Como se isso não fosse suficiente, este motor flexível chegou dois anos depois da produção nacional, o que para o Tucson deve representar cerca de metade da sobrevida. Por mais que isso indique no mínimo mais uns dois anos de oferta do modelo 0km, esta geração está por completar nove anos desde o lançamento mundial, o que se torna muito mais desestimulante em categorias de custo mais alto. Porém, os clientes que não se importarem com o risco de o carro sair de linha antes do fim dos cinco anos de sua garantia agora levarão um 2.0 16v com comando de válvulas variável e cabeçote e bloco em alumínio, que gera 142/146 cv (gasolina/álcool) e sempre usa câmbio automático de quatro marchas. A versão básica parte de R$ 67.500 trazendo de série airbag duplo, ar-condicionado, direção hidráulica, freios com ABS e EBD e trio elétrico. Já a versão de topo começa em R$ 75.000 e estará disponível a partir de janeiro: ela incorpora bancos de couro, sistema de som multimídia com DVD e GPS e o novo sistema de monitoramento da pressão dos pneus.

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Ford EcoSport 4WD

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Wallpaper Ford EcoSport 4WD

Quem disse que a Ford quis esperar? Se a apresentação oficial das duas novidades do EcoSport de segunda geração fazia pensar que ele só as receberia no começo do ano que vem, o modelo acabou recebendo o câmbio PowerShift já em 2012, poucos dias atrás. E quando menos se espera, a montadora não perde tempo e já passa a oferecer a tração integral para seu crossover de sucesso. Mas além do ato de oferecer esses itens a Ford merece crédito também pela forma como o fará. É o que você vai entender lendo este artigo.

Quem já leu o artigo deste blog sobre a chegada do tal câmbio automatizado ao novo EcoSport provavelmente chegará a este novo texto com curiosidade sobre o que a Ford fez para manter o alto nível que estabeleceu para o jipinho. Pois a resposta mais uma vez vem do exterior: o sistema de tração integral vem do recém-reprojetado Escape, que também será vendido como o novo Kuga (um nome vai para os EUA e o outro para a Europa) e que no Brasil competiria entre os crossovers médios. Trata-se de um sistema de operação permanente, que opera em conjunto com os controles de tração e estabilidade para que o carro tenha sua rodagem eletronicamente monitorada a todo momento, permitindo que sempre se tenha uma distribuição eficiente de torque entre os eixos. Mas nem por isso ele perdeu aquele botão 4WD no painel, que fez a fama dessa versão na geração anterior: aqui a tração integral nunca se desativa, mas a tecla serve para dar força extra para as rodas traseiras. Este carro outra vez vem sem marcha reduzida porque incursões off-road profundas demais realmente não são a sua intenção. Mas ele supre parte de sua falta com o câmbio manual exclusivo: suas seis marchas têm escalonamento mais curto que a transmissão das demais versões.

Outra troca interessante é a suspensão, que abandona o eixo de torção dos EcoSport 4x2 pela multibraço independente com barra estabilizadora, que tendem a melhorar o comportamento do carro. Além disso, ele traz protetor de cárter e rack de teto de série, além de manter os pneus de uso misto e os 20 cm em relação ao solo da versão FreeStyle. Mas mencionar esta versão leva à grande sacada da Ford com as versões. Oferecer um carro em versões demais termina subdividindo seu público de forma tal que nenhuma alcança vendas grandes. Então, em vez de criar uma opção nova só para o câmbio automatizado e outra só para a tração integral, a Ford preferiu adaptá-las ao que já havia criado para a oferta inicial. A partir daí, o pulo-do-gato consistiu apenas em usar o bom senso: esquecer a troca de marchas é algo que combina muito mais com quem leva as versões urbanas do modelo, como a Titanium do carro laranja das imagens. Já a tração 4x4 é a alegria dos que preferem o visual mais aventureiro e informal… caso da versão FreeStyle. Esta passa a ser o único nível de acabamento do novo EcoSport que recebe o sistema AWD, com o mesmo excelente pacote de itens de série da opção equivalente com 4x2 mas custando R$ 66.090. O único opcional é o kit de airbags laterais e bancos de couro, que adiciona R$ 3.700.

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Fiat 500e and 500L Trekking

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Wallpaper Fiat 500e and 500L Trekking

After a long time of concept cars being shown and speculations of all kinds, Fiat takes this big opportunity and uses the Los Angeles Auto Show to reveal their next cars to arrive in North-America. Even in Europe, they’re making a big effort into taking 500 from an only version to a whole car family. The first steps were creating the Abarth sporty versions, then the convertible body called 500C, and now the minivan 500L. Here you will find out about two members of this stylish Italian family that just made their debut in the US.

Fiat has received many efficiency awards for the MultiAir and the TwinAir engines, but they’ve never performed any attempt of developing neither electric or hybrid propulsion for series production until now… which doesn’t mean that they weren’t working on it. But electric cars are a very expensive project to release in cars with low sales volumes, so the Italians needed to make a very good first choice. And which Fiat could be better to debut this new technology than their most charismatic hatchback of the last few years? At least in a first moment, 500e will be sold only in the US, but using lots of technology to compete with cars like the also recently shown Chevrolet Spark EV. The new Fiat comes in new color options and features an aerodynamic kit, with spoilers and wheels with less openings, everything to achieve a 13% better air flow. Those are some of the responsibles for the 108 city MPGe and 122 highway MPGe ratings, not to mention the 87-miles range – Fiat claims this is the best number in 500e’s class. The biggest inside changes are the new touchscreen above the console and the driving mode selector: instead of the gearshift lever there’s a button selector for the driving modes. These two-color external details shown in the pictures can be fully customized by the owners, but here’s the painful part of Fiat’s effort with 500e: in order to offer a reasonable price, they will lose money for each sold car.

On the other hand, the North-Americans now won’t need to give up buying a Fiat due to lack of internal space. Some months after the European release, the Italian minivan arrives at the other side of the ocean with some exclusive items: there are more body-color painted parts, giving 500L the appearance of a bigger car. But it also received slight updates to the headlights, including LED daytime illumination, and a panoramic sun roof: the minivan has arrived still only in the five-seat option, but these passengers will enjoy the 42% bigger space along with all the visibility brought by very big windows. And when the weather becomes unpleasant, they can enjoy the also exclusive entertainment system with the UConnect entertainment system with 5” touchscreen or the available 6,5” option. When it comes to opening the hood, this car takes the family with plenty of power but prefers to focus at a low fuel consumption rather than breaking speed records: this car uses the same 1.4 MultiAir Turbo saw in Dodge Dart, bringing the best of downsizing with its 160 hp using manual or automatic double-clutch transmission. Besides that, Fiat will repeat the big personalization options list offered for the hatchback, including different colors for the roof. But the cherry of this cake is the yellow car of these pictures: the 500L Trekking brings all that package wrapped in a more aggressive design, with exclusive colors, bigger wheels and black-painted external details.

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Ford Fiesta ST

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Wallpaper Ford Fiesta ST

The hot hatches fans have received one more reason to celebrate. The Los Angeles Auto Show will have the first official appearance of the new sports version of Ford’s most successful compact hatchback, which will feature all the benefits of the modern technology in a new variation whose performance is comparable to many bigger vehicles’, not to mention some of the muscle cars from forty years ago. This version also brings the whole Fiesta family’s 2013 facelift, so how about to start with meeting its urban siblings?

Fiesta has been in the current generation for four years by now, but it became one of those really well-designed cars which age much slower. Until the last decade, Opel Corsa B and VW Golf 4 were very good examples of that, leading to believe that the “secret” for that was using clean, simple lines instead of more sculpted shapes like what was used by the 2000s Peugeot. However, the sixth Fiesta has the merit of being one of the first models to present what today is one of global car design trends. In other words, if in 2008 Fiesta was considered very futuristic, it’ll still up-to-date now and will be it for several more years. That’s why this half-age facelift had nothing but minor style changes, preferring to focus in other areas. Ford didn’t try to adapt Fiesta to anything or to make seem younger because this car actually doesn’t need that. They only gave it a cleaner front design, changing the two air intakes for a bigger-sized one, in order to resemble the latest releases such as the new Kuga and Fusion. As what was first seen in Paris and São Paulo, this phase received improvements such as parental control items and more safety items.

But the North-American version also brings very important news opening the hood. This car will repeat the European success of the 1.0 EcoBoost engine, Ford’s very famous propeller family that generates 125 hp in one of its versions and achieves a 40 mpg fuel consumption – this number gives it the title of less-consuming US car without hybrid or electric propulsion. Besides that, the interior received slight changes to improve the sophistication: the two-colored coating with light tones helps the cabin to seem bigger, while the younger customers will enjoy the items such as the Sync entertainment system: it features multimedia sound connectivity, smartphone interface and Bluetooth, among other functions. This is Ford’s answer in a car category which is receiving increasingly big attention even in the US because of the efficiency appeal, brought both by the reduced size and by the smaller engines. That’s why Chevrolet offers Spark, Fiat debuted with 500 and Hyundai and Nissan sell respectively Accent and Versa, these two also with hatchback and sedan versions, like Fiesta. And if that market is still starting to welcome this size of car, how about the emergent countries, who have always sold millions of them? Brazil, for example, has already confirmed to produce the hatchback Fiesta, adding the three-volumes version later.

Nevertheless, the EcoBoost family shows that its expertise doesn’t restrict itself only to the efficiency area. The bright orange car shown at these pictures deserves the ST badge by the high performance, but deserves an even bigger merit for many others. There are several spoilers and even a rear air diffuser to optimize the aerodynamic drag, but this car impresses also when stopped – there will be lots of other vibrant colors to match those beautiful 17” wheels. The cabin pleases every hot hatch fan with two-colored Recaro seats with excellent body support, while the dark colors used at the rest of the room give the typical sports car sensation. There will be the best trim level available for Fiesta, and the handling was improved with a more rigid suspension, which was also lowered in half an inch. All of that comes to suit what moves this car: the EcoBoost 1.6 comes in the 200-hp version, even more powerful than the European one. Since this engine brings the best of the downsizing technologies, the turbine is only one of the responsibles for all that power, which is controlled by a front-wheel traction and manual six-speed transmission. Not to mention that it also gives to Fiesta the title of most powerful car in its category.

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Honda Brio Amaze

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Wallpaper Honda Brio Amaze

The strategy of showing “teasers” few days before a car release is proving itself very successful for the automakers, when it comes to increase the media and public’s interest. The simple posting of a picture or a video on the Internet showing only a part of the about-to-arrive vehicle is enough to attract the world’s curiosity, no matter if it’s a super sports car or a low-cost hatchback. That’s what Honda used to attract the spotlights to their compact sedan, which will try to prosper in a very competitive market, at many countries.

In the past few years, the multi-category brands have understood that although the emergent markets’ car demands are very particular, these countries return their fulfillment with surprising sales, frequently comparable to what they get on their homelands with more expensive vehicles. Mazda already sells Mazda2, Mitsubishi created Mirage with big focus at the efficiency, Toyota released Etios, and now Honda follows this track with Brio. Their idea is to repeat their brands’ quality at construction, durability and technology, but with some concessions in order to offer the cheapest final price it’s possible. Competitive pricing really is a strong sales argument, but the average customer became each time more demanding, in all categories. In nowadays, the cheap cars have to keep low prices but without “seeming” it: they can’t have black bumpers and small wheels anymore, for example. Besides that, the interior needs to offer the biggest space it’s possible, and with big trim levels at the most expensive versions – those are the very particular demands that countries like Brazil, China and India present for their low-budget categories. But there’s one more aspect that these customers appreciate very much, and therefore makes a huge part of these cars’ success: the design.

If the buyers want their car to resemble more sophisticated ones, they expect it to start this by the exterior. Some take advantage of their brands’ visual identity, such as the latest Fiat Palio and Chevrolet Onix (both created in Brazil), with good proportions and no external parts shared with other cars, avoiding drawing freedom losses. These came precisely from two of the best-selling brands in one of the most experienced country when it comes to small cars, which denotes all the expertise they have. And here lies the Japanese problem, which was those other brands’ issue decades ago: as these cars are their very first incursions among the low-cost category, they still don’t have experience with them. So their first idea is to adapt what’s already done with the more expensive ones, but the problem is that it doesn’t work as the first impression may think. The size differences make some elements look good in some cars but not in others, not to mention the customer kind each car will have – try to imagine Hyundai Equus with Mini Cooper’s round headlights or Peugeot 107 with the first Land Rover Discovery’s roof windows, for example. When it comes to Brio, the original hatchback wasn’t already the best design example to remember, but what makes the sedan worse is the wrong choice of the elements.

The front needs to be short but keeping good space for the engine, so it’s a little tall. But using a very small central air intake with big headlights and big lower intake with large blank spaces between than gives the overall impression that these parts are “lost”, visually disconnected. The very strong creases at the side give a dynamism sensation at bigger cars, but in this sedan seem only too heavy. And the back would really deserve credit for the sophistication idea of the chrome details, if it wasn’t for the very, very small size seen at the pictures. The intention of projecting a small-scaled Civic or Accord is good, but this result seems like a squeezed version of those – at the side photo, have you seen how the roof falls to the trunk? Entering the car, its central console’s can’t be described without using “weird”, but the big internal space is a pleasant fact, along with the sophistication given by the three-colored coating and items such as the multimedia sound system. This car’s sales will begin with Thailand, going later to India, Indonesia and Malaysia. When it comes to the performance, it’ll maintain Brio’s 1.2 16v, with i-VTEC valve command and 90 hp with manual or CVT transmission options, but a very nice feature is the Econ mode: as in many other Honda vehicles, activating it changes several driving parameters to reduce fuel consumption.

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Ford EcoSport Powershift

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Wallpaper Ford EcoSport Powershift

Chegou ao país uma das mais modernas transmissões automotivas da atualidade. Mesmo com o incrível início de vendas, o novo EcoSport mostra que não pretende dormir sobre os louros: sua primeira medida foi incorporar novas combinações de motor e acabamento para aumentar o potencial da versão Titanium, mas sua exibição no Salão do Automóvel prometia muito mais: se a Ford deixou a tração 4x4 para o ano que vem, agora já se pode comprar o primeiro veículo com câmbio de dupla embreagem fabricado no Brasil.

Usar a plataforma do New Fiesta foi um excelente ponto de partida para a Ford executar a ideia de modernidade que este carro tanto exalta. O exterior transpira esportividade visto de qualquer ângulo, com linhas fortes e volumes muito bem esculpidos que conferem uma sensação de imponência e dinamismo sem recorrer a dimensões exageradas, o que certamente desestimularia seu uso urbano. O interior também segue a cartilha de sucesso usada pelos últimos Ford em todo o mundo, com a interpretação da “filosofia Kinetic” feita no design mas também com uma generosa aplicação de tecnologia, tanto em prol do conforto como da segurança. Também há resposta a esse “jeito de ser” nas duas opções de motor, então a Ford não podia seguir essa proposta em “quase todos” os aspectos: se o mercado mostrou aceitação satisfatória para transmissão automática nesse tipo de carros, eles quiseram repeti-la. E se eles querem que este carro seja o mais moderno da categoria, precisaram apostar alto. A transmissão automatizada Powershift já é muito usada nos Ford do exterior, e vem colecionando elogios porque seu alto nível de tecnologia se traduz em funcionamento sem comparações.

Vale lembrar que este câmbio não muda a forma de uso do motorista em relação a qualquer outro automatizado. Ou seja, continua-se selecionando entre P, R, N e D e esquecendo-se do terceiro pedal. A diferença está em que as duas embreagens trabalham em forma alternada, uma com as marchas pares e outra com as ímpares: quando se está usando uma marcha, a outra embreagem já prepara a seguinte para a troca. Isso não só reduz o tempo da troca como evita a interrupção do torque, fazendo que o motorista na prática não as perceba: o carro acelera e desacelera em forma contínua, sem solavancos ou quaisquer desconfortos do tipo. Mas além do dirigir mais agradável, a Ford afirma que essa caixa traz consumo 10% menor que o de uma automática convencional. Fora que a Powershift não usa bombas, fluidos ou radiadores, o que leva a afirmar que ela não precisa de manutenção durante sua vida útil, que é de dez anos ou 240 mil km. O carro mantém a opção de trocas manuais em sequencia e modo esportivo para as duas formas, permitindo ao dono escolher entre conforto ou diversão. Quanto ao mercado, como a versão FreeStyle vende bem sem nenhuma ajuda, a Ford aplicou a novidade às demais: sempre com o 2.0 16v de 147 cv, a SE começa em R$ 63.390 com o novo câmbio e a Titanium em R$ 70.890 – esta pode somar bancos de couro e airbags laterais e ficar em R$ 74.590.

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JAC J3 Sport

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Wallpaper JAC J3 Sport

Ao mesmo tempo que mantém os planos da fábrica em Camaçari (BA) a todo vapor, a marca chinesa fecha o ano com duas novidades em sua linha: depois da primeira apresentação oficial no último Salão do Automóvel de São Paulo ao lado do irmão menor J2, a versão esportiva do carro-chefe da JAC finalmente chega ao lançamento. As novidades que traz são mais um exemplo do esforço da marca para aumentar suas vendas no Brasil o suficiente para incomodar as marcas que lideram o mercado. E o que traz este J3 especial?

Esta resposta é um conjunto esportivo de bom gosto e sem custar demais. A empresa já começou a decifrar as manias que distinguem o mercado brasileiro dos demais, e com isso fez sua primeira investida “regional” ao criar esta versão com a mesma aposta de visual esportivo que caracteriza rivais diretos como Fiat Palio Sporting e Renault Sandero GT Line, mas com a vantagem de que ele acompanhe melhorias também no desempenho. Um primeiro olhar não percebe, mas o pulo-do-gato dos chineses foi fazer apenas uma outra seleção do que já tinham na prateleira: a dianteira volta a chamar atenção por causa da peça que une farois e entradas de ar agora pintada de preto, mas é a mesma usada pelo irmão do país de origem – chamado de Tongyue por lá, ele apresenta este visual desde 2009 também na versão Sedan. Fora isso, o hatchback ganhou adesivos alusivos e um aplique preto no parachoque traseiro para responder ao que se vê na dianteira. Também vieram novas rodas de liga leve, e o interior foi agraciado com pedaleiras esportivas, novo revestimento dos bancos com costuras vermelhas, alavanca do câmbio na cor preta e iluminação de sistema de som e quadro de instrumentos em vermelho.

Entretanto, a maior “esperteza” da marca vem no motor: como se queria oferecer desempenho realmente melhor que o das versões comuns, optou-se por dotar o J3 Sport do 1.5 16v VVT que se usa no sedã J5. A fábrica já desenvolvia a versão bicombustível deste motor há algum tempo, então nada melhor que encontrar uma forma de fazer sua estreia no modelo menor, cujos preços lhe dão volume de vendas mais importante. Tal forma é a versão que ilustra estas fotos e que teve direito até ao sistema de partida a frio, que atende por Jetflex e elimina o tanquinho adicional. Isso permite gerar a potência de 125/127 cv e o torque de 15,5/15,7 kgfm (gasolina/álcool), culminando em aceleração de 0 a 100 km/h em 9s7 e velocidade máxima de 197 km/h. Como todo carro chinês, outra vez se vê a estratégia de oferecer um pacote fechado de itens, que parte do nível encontrado no J3 urbano; as diferenças se restringem aos itens esportivos e às duas opções de cor possíveis para esta versão: o modelo pode vir somente em branco ou preto, tendo os adesivos decorativos sempre na cor contrastante. O J3 Sport chega com um acréscimo de R$ 3 mil ao preço da versão urbana, totalizando R$ 39.990 sempre com garantia de seis anos.

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Fiat Idea, Palio, Punto e Strada Itália

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Wallpaper Fiat Idea, Palio, Punto e Strada Itália

Encerrando o Momento Itália-Brasil, a Fiat acaba de anunciar a última extensão da série especial alusiva. Os quatro modelos continuam focando no custo/benefício, ganhando um pacote que inclui direção hidráulica, vidros dianteiros elétricos e ar-condicionado, e cuida da aparência com máscara negra nos farois e o emblema da série. Além disso, Idea, Punto e Palio agregam chave canivete, farois de neblina, rádio com MP3 e retrovisores elétricos, os dois últimos com opção de rodas exclusivas. A tabela de preços segue no link deste artigo.

Idea Attractive 1.4 - Kit Série Especial Itália – R$ 45.070,00
Palio Attractive 1.0 - Kit Série Especial Itália – R$ 32.890,00
Palio Attractive 1.0 - Kit Série Especial Itália 2 (com rodas exclusivas) – R$ 33.840,00
Palio Attractive 1.4 - Kit Série Especial Itália – R$ 37.950,00
Punto Attractive 1.4 - Kit Série Especial Itália – R$ 40.970,00
Punto Attractive 1.4 - Kit Série Especial Itália 2 (com rodas exclusivas) – R$ 41.870,00
Strada Working 1.4 Cabine Simples - Kit Série Especial Itália – R$ 36.590,00
Strada Working 1.4 Cabine Estendida - Kit Série Especial Itália – R$ 39.640,00
Strada Working 1.4 Cabine Dupla - Kit Série Especial Itália – R$ 44.490,00
Uno Série Especial Itália 1.0 – clique aqui.

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Ford EcoSport Titanium 1.6

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Wallpaper Ford EcoSport Titanium 1.6

Ele mal foi lançado e já virou sucesso. A nova geração do crossover compacto vem agradando tanto que a Ford decidiu ampliar a oferta nas áreas de maior aceitação para aumentar as vendas ainda mais. A versão Titanium 2.0 16v agora pode vir com bancos de tecido em vez de couro e sem airbags laterais e de cortina para passar de R$ 70.190 da completa a R$ 66.490. Mas ainda mais interessante é que agora se podem levar os dois níveis também com o motor 1.6 16v, o que reduz os respectivos preços para R$ 67.690 e R$ 63.990.

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