2007 Wheels Car of the Year

[Blue Supra]

disapointed.

New Lancer shouldve won it.

[motorsportnerd]

Got the magazine this morning. Lancer didn't even make the final eight. "Poor dynamics and refinement".
The other two cars in the top 8 were the Honda Civic Type R and BMW X5.

[Blue Supra]

How does the Civic get in the top 8 and the VRX doesnt? biggest load of crap.

(can you tell i REALLY REALLY like the new Lancer yet?)

[IBrake4Rainbows]

You wanted to buy one, after all.

I think It was deserved. the C-Class is a Mini S-Class, with all the trimmings and none of the shortcomings.

[charged]

Originally Posted by IBrake4Rainbows

You wanted to buy one, after all.

I think It was deserved. the C-Class is a Mini S-Class, with all the trimmings and none of the shortcomings.

what he said, the c class looks good IMHO , I'll have a CLS63 AMG thanks ..

[SlickHolden]

Lancer and Bluey = Sore head no leg room...

I'm not a fan on the new one but they do look pretty hot.. But i'm not buying this Lancer plants trees shit .

The Honda Civic Type-R is nice looking but they say it's a bit weak for power.

[NSXType-R]

The Civic Type R would be the hatch, not the JDM one, right?

[Blue Supra]

Yeh the poxy looking one that old people are buying (at least here)

[IBrake4Rainbows]

I think the biggest thing thats come out of this Years CoTY is Toyota's arrogance.

Having a casual flick through the magazine, I see that Wheels has managed to tip a Toyota Kluger Grande on it's side. As best i can determine it was during a high-speed manouevre without ESP. regardless, An SUV is not a sports vehicle, but considering the weight of this vehicle, is switchable ESP really the best solution?

And, to top it all off, Toyota send Wheels a letter, indicating it's an unqualified test of the vehicle and that they don't accept Wheels cutting the vehicle in the first round of testing.

Both sides aren't coming out of this clean, but there is one small problem....A large vehicle like this is a deathtrap if it barrel rolls.

[nota]

Originally Posted by IBrake4Rainbows

Having a casual flick through the magazine, I see that Wheels has managed to tip a Toyota Kluger Grande on it's side. As best i can determine it was during a high-speed manouevre without ESP. regardless, An SUV is not a sports vehicle, but considering the weight of this vehicle, is switchable ESP really the best solution?

Perhaps non-defeatable ESP effects or interferes when 4WD-ing?

[IBrake4Rainbows]

It's a Kluger......I thought they were FWD only for Australia?

[Blue Supra]

Wheels should be made to pay for it.

[nota]

Originally Posted by IBrake4Rainbows

It's a Kluger......I thought they were FWD only for Australia?

Dunno man

I thort they were available in AWD too but to tell the truth they're not really front & centre to my interest - I usually skip any tests or reports on Kluger

[adrenaline]

Originally Posted by IBrake4Rainbows

It's a Kluger......I thought they were FWD only for Australia?

AWD/FWD - the same as the Captiva.

[motorsportnerd]

I believe the the ESP system in the Kluger is non-switchable - much the same as other Toyotas like the Aurion.
This is what happened (quoted from editor Ged Bulmer's article on the crash): "Toyota's new SUV....was travelling at 100km/h through a sweeping, gravel left-hand bend at Holden's Lang Lang Proving Ground. ... Arriving at the fateful bend, with the Grande's nose angled towards the inside of the corner and the car drifting controllably, I (the Wheel's editor) waited for the ESP to intervene. It didn't. By the time I realised the ESP wasn't going to act, the car was in a near broadslide. Still travelling at an estimated 85 to 95km/h, the Kluger slid into a shallow spoon drain, both driver's side tyres popped off their beads and deflated, the wheel rims dug into the soft soil, and the vehicle flipped. When the dust settled I realised that I was, thankfully, uninjured, testimony to the standard front seatbelt pretensioners and strong cabin structure. ... Toyota..has said that its analysis of the..ESP was functioning essentially contributing the crash to driver error."

Toyota's response was basically this: "It is our understanding that the Wheels test was subjective, and therefore unscientific, with conclusions that are unsustainable. Wheels set no standards for its testing - no defined entry speeds, no measurement of yaw or slip angles and no quantifiable benchmarking. A download of the onboard EC U of the vehicle...indicates a set of circumstances substantially different to those described by Wheels.... We invite Wheels to observe a proper ISO lane change (International Standards) compliance test [ie: the moose test] - the test it should have performed - and to report on the outcome."

Basically, the Wheels editor admitted to a driving error, "while more than happy to shoulder the responsibility for overdriving, on this occasion I believe that deficiencies in the Kluger's ESP contributed to this crash, which is why you are reading about it here".

Some one fordaustraliaforums.com.au scanned the appropriate pages - so you can check there if you want.

One thing that Wheels does note is that when Toyota first introduced ABS, their ABS system was woeful on gravel roads. Now, they are among the best. The suggestion is that they shouldn't have repeated the same failure with the introduction of ESP systems on their cars.
I suspect Toyota won't be doing much advertising in Wheels for a while. I also suspect that Wheels will continue to put down every Toyota it drives, no matter how good its core in other areas qualities are, until the ESP systems are calibrated properly.

Worth noting that the Kluger involved was the AWD version. The FWD version actually made it through the same test, though inconsistencies in the ESP system were noted. From the editor's writings, I get the feeling he put too much faith in the AWD system to be a lot better.