Monster's visit to the Australian International Motor Show 2008 (reviews+photos)

[Merc1]

Just a wierd looking car in most photos, still not sure what to exactly make of it.

M

[Monster]

I still think the F599 is one of the best looking Ferrari of all time. I was blown away by how it looked when I first saw it 2 years ago. I don't think white is the best colour for this car, it hides all the lines and curves of the bodywork.






This F430 Spider has probably the best paintwork I have ever seen. The paint is polished and waxed to the max.



This 612 looks surprsingly desirable in this colour combination.

[Monster]

It is time for something different again. I am a big fan of the Ford Falcon, and their performance ranges. The FPV basically compete against the HSV for the title as the best locally produced performance sedan. This FPV F6 has a turbo 4.0L inline 6. 310kW and 565Nm. You either love or hate the eye patches and I absolutely love it. I was hoping Ford will improve on the interior quality of the Falcon because the car looks very well engineered from the outside, with tight and consistent panel gaps. Sadly the interior didn't meet my expectations. The build quality is solid. The material quality wasn't a huge improvement. The stitching on the leather is uneven at door, and the plastic trim surrounding the steering column looked unfinished. It isn't bad, but I feel the interior isn't durable and the design date quickly.

[Monster]

Lexus had their IS250C on display, but that wasn't the 1st thing I went to see on their show stand. I went straight for their cut away display of the IS-F engine and gearbox. It is fascinating to see how Lexus decided to use both direct and port fuel injection for their engines, and see how they arrange the fuel lines and the injectors. It is also amazing to see how the 8 speed gearbox is so neat and compact. I feel sorry for those poor engineers who are responsible for designing this, it looked like a painful engineering exercise.




I am surprise to see Lexus Australia managed to get an IS250 C for display. They probably knew this car doesn't look good, so they didn't have much lighting on the car, and they didn't have the roof up, knowing full well the car will look strange. The car doesn't look as bad it appears in the photos, but it is difficult to judge under the lack of proper lighting. If it looks dark in the photo, it is this dark. The rear end is not great, it is too thick and heavy, and very toyota like. The side view is a bit strange as well, but it didn't make me vomit, so I guess it is ok.

[Merc1]

Poor Lexus, Infiniti is handing them their lugnuts at every turn. The new G37 Converitble is going to mop the floor with this thing.

M

[Monster]

Originally Posted by Merc1

Poor Lexus, Infiniti is handing them their lugnuts at every turn. The new G37 Converitble is going to mop the floor with this thing.

M

I really don't understand what was Lexus thinking. They need a proper coupe, not this. Speaking of which, the Cadillac CTS coupe is next.

[Merc1]

Its the SC430-thinking/idea all over again, but in their eyes this IS version is much sportier. A joke really.

M

[Monster]

Cadillac is going to be re-introduced to the Australian market, so they have this coupe concept and the RHD version of the CTS on display.

I was surprised by how compact the CTS coupe was. It looks bulky. probably because of that tall front grill and thick bonnet, but it looked to have the same length as a 3 series coupe. The sharp crease lines and flat crisp surface treatment is refreshingly different to all those imitation flame surfacing on most new cars. I do have a few issues with this car. The car looks like an odd mix of coupe and hatch from the side view, like a giant Astra 3 door. The front end styling is still too busy, and it looked exactly the same as the sedan. Because the car tapered to a point at the end of the car, the rear looks unproportionally narrow. The car is extremely light sensitive. There are some surfaces on the car which is only visible under certain lighting.








The CTS sedan looks good, but it isn't as elegant as its european compeitors. I have read a bit about the interior quality of the CTS, and I wasn't disappointed. I liked the design, it is more european than american, but the balance is right. The built quality and material quality standards are high. All controls feels solid and nice to touch, including the air vents. The leather like trim on top of the door panels and on the dash felt almost like real leather. The only thing I don't like is the wood trim. Not sure if they are real, but they don't look very real to me. The cabin is spacious and comfortable, rear seat comfort is little better than the E-class. The interior feels a little smaller than the E as well.

Overall I am impressed by it. Good effort from Cadillac but it is still missing that rock solid feeling I get from sitting inside the E-class.

[Merc1]

The rear of the coupe, specifically the side profile is a mess. No where near the grace and elegance of say a 3-Series or G37 Coupe.

M

[Monster]

Originally Posted by Merc1

The rear of the coupe, specifically the side profile is a mess. No where near the grace and elegance of say a 3-Series or G37 Coupe.

M

Is it suppose to compete against those cars? The CTS coupe didn't really receive much attention, most people were looking at the more attractive coupe, which is the Holden. I did noticed a lot of people from the middle age and above were checking out the CTS sedan.