Sporty mid-range cars and brand new SUVs
AutoWeek 41 will be in stores from Wednesday or you will receive it in the mailbox this week. A high Audi level in this issue. We test the Audi RS4 and RS5 Competition Plus, but we also have a portrait of the Audi wizard Walter Treser, who passed away last year. In the double test we have two idiosyncratic Japanese C-segmenters and this time there is a plucky Opel on the roller bench. We tell you everything about buying a BMW 3-series from the F30/F31 series and we test the Renault Austral, but also the Alfa Giulia Veloce.
In AutoWeek 41 you will find, as mentioned, a test with two idiosyncratic compact middle class cars. We are talking about the cars in the photo above; the Mazda 3 and Honda Civic. With the previous Civic you could only choose from regular combustion engines, for the new generation Honda is turning things around and there is only a hybrid. Nicely stubborn. Just like Mazda, which takes an equally stubborn, but completely different approach with the Skyactiv-X engine.
More news from Japan? Yes, of course. With about seven high-on-the-leg models, you’d think Toyota has pretty much covered the entire market. But no, Toyota thinks that another model fits between the C-HR and the RAV4: the Corolla Cross. We drove it.
The Toyota Corolla Cross isn’t the only new high-legged we got to test, as we also hit the road with the brand new Renault Austral. The Austral succeeds the Kadjar, which is a genuine Renault from head to toe, unlike the Nissan Qashqai-based Kadjar. Let’s see how that different approach works out.
A more spectacular battle is the test with the above cannons. Compared to a BMW M3 and the AMG C63, the Audi RS 4 has always been a bit of the good boy in the class. Not when it comes to muscles, but when it comes to sharpness and involvement. Can the Competition Plus version change that with its manually adjustable chassis? Sandor van Es looked it up.
Another sporty mid-range car, which is admittedly somewhat more modest than the RS 4, is the Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce. With the Giulia, Alfa Romeo has been making an Italian attack on the fast German sedans for some time. The 280 hp strong Veloce should add extra power to that attack.
On the occasions pages you will find another Audi, but one that is more focused on long distances than on fast driving. An Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TDI is a guest in Klokje Rond. Owner Onno Bakker works for defense and his Audi is maintained with military precision. That, in combination with a defensive driving style, is most likely the reason for the good condition of the car, after just over 300,000 km. We send Carrec’s force Tim to the front to fire his technical ammunition on the A6.
Finally, a real Opel Corsa B appears in Op de Rollenbank. A GSI? Nope, just one with a 1.2. Why then, you are probably wondering. Well, he’s probably been running on LPG all his life. We sometimes wonder whether there is a grain of truth in the stories about LPG and power loss over the longer term.
You can read that and more in AutoWeek 41, which will be in stores from Wednesday. Would you rather not go out? Order from the comfort of your home the latest number. Then it will be delivered to your doorstep within two working days.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl