Hyundai HB20S

Por mais que hatchback e sedã sejam incontestáveis campeãs de venda entre as categorias de carro oferecidas em nosso mercado, seus espectros de atuação não coincidem demais. São os primeiros que costumam receber versões esportivas e, por outro lado, formam a maior fatia do segmento de entrada, ao passo que os três-volumes são os responsáveis por agradar quem prioriza o requinte de um modo geral. São exatamente estas “regras” que dividem a linha brasileira que a Hyundai acaba de completar.

Analisar este carro não apresenta muitas surpresas por causa do contexto que tem. A família HB20 tem projeto atual, cada veículo tem um bom conjunto técnico e todos têm produção nacional, mas este caso particular só está tendo todo o sucesso que se vê nos registros mensais de vendas porque foi lançada no momento certo. Afinal, a revolução que se fez na linha mundial da Hyundai a partir do Sonata atual já passou do início instável há tempos, e hoje vive um período de estabilidade que a montadora vem aproveitando muito bem: assim como a Apple com os eletrônicos, quase qualquer produto lançado pelos coreanos termina muito bem aceito, nem que seja em maior parte pelo design. A nova geração do Santa Fe já indica que em breve essa linguagem de estilo vai precisar de retoques, mas até agora não é necessário fugir da “receita” consagrada para obter sucesso. Reconhecer o que se deve mudar e o que não é basicamente tudo o que traduz o sucesso dos HB20, mais do que as qualidades mencionadas no início deste parágrafo. Neste caso, a ideia começou com adaptar o estilo de i30 e Elantra a um formato menor, mas também aos costumes do brasileiro: optou-se por um projeto exclusivo em vez de aproveitar o i20 europeu, e desde os seus primeiros traços já se pensaram em uma variante aventureira urbana (o HB20X), um sedã e um crossover, que chegará mais tarde.

Isso é o que permite afirmar que o HB20S consegue ser um excelente produto sem revolucionar em nada. As imagens comprovam que a traseira deste sedã é um excelente símbolo de como a Hyundai conciliou a “Escultura fluida” a mais uma das preferências do nosso mercado: as referências aos irmãos maiores estão todas lá, mas adaptadas a elementos mais vistosos para não destoar do tamanho avantajado, que claramente foge da ideia de cupê-de-quatro-portas vista no novo Prisma para exibir um visual bem mais sóbrio. A cabine repete o ótimo padrão do compacto, com alta qualidade de materiais e iluminação azul, e os motores também serão o 1.0 12v de três cilindros e 80 cv e o 1.6 16v de 128 cv. A lista de versões começa com a Comfort Plus (1.0 por R$ 39.495 e 1.6 por R$ 44.995), que traz ar-condicionado, airbag duplo, conexão Bluetooth, direção hidráulica, sistema de som multimídia e travas e vidros elétricos. A Comfort Style (R$ 42.675 e R$ 48.175) completa o trio elétrico e soma freios com ABS e EBD e rodas de liga leve de 14”, ao passo que a Premium (R$ 50.795 apenas com o 1.6) agrega farois de máscara cromada, rodas de liga leve de 15”, sensores crepuscular e de estacionamento e volante em couro. As duas últimas podem unir o motor 1.6 ao câmbio automático, o que volta a reforçar que esta linha deixa a categoria de entrada para o hatchback: respectivamente, os preços passam para R$ 51.375 e R$ 53.995. Este modelo chega às lojas no dia 20 de abril.

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Chevrolet Prisma 2

Enquanto alguns fabricantes definem sua linha delimitando a atuação de cada modelo com clareza, outros preferem a aventura de competir em algumas categorias com mais de um nome. A predileção da nossa Chevrolet pelos sedãs já completa décadas, o que lhe faz oferecer vários deles ao mesmo tempo com a mesma experiência que a Volkswagen, por exemplo, tem com os hatchbacks. Este artigo irá mostrar que é por tudo isso que um lançamento como o novo Prisma não teria grandes chances de sucesso em qualquer marca.

Cada faixa de preço tem suas próprias exigências quanto a conforto, desempenho ou tecnologia, mas o gosto por cada modelo disponível priorizar um aspecto em especial é quase unânime. Afinal, isso não impede o combate pela liderança da categoria mas facilita que cada um conquiste pelo menos uma fatia da clientela, como os que preferem design mais chamativo ou cabine mais elegante. É essa estratégia que justifica a Chevrolet elevar o novo Prisma a um espectro de preços que tem grande interseção com o do Cobalt, depois de o antigo ter feito processo parecido, mas com o Classic. Derivado do Celta, o modelo de antes teve problemas por ser mais caro que o veterano sem oferecer tanto a mais, ao mesmo tempo que suas versões mais caras sofriam com o Corsa Sedan à medida que este envelhecia: ele ficava cada vez mais barato mas sem perder tantos equipamentos, além de sempre ter sido um projeto muito mais sofisticado. Hoje em dia o setor de entrada já se estabilizou com Celta e Classic enquanto houver demanda suficiente, enquanto Cruze e Sonic têm diferenças suficientes para ficarem restritos às categorias média e premium, na ordem. É na faixa que mais vem crescendo que a Chevrolet começou a promover esta interessante indecisão, iniciada com os hatchbacks Agile e Onix, e agora firmada entre os três-volumes com Cobalt e Prisma.

A situação dos compactos ainda aguarda o facelift do Agile para que este volte a ter competitividade, mas isso já está resolvido entre os sedãs. Antes de olhar medidas e listas de itens, qualquer par de fotos exteriores mostra a diferença mais importante entre eles. A adaptação do conjunto do Onix a um sedã foi tão bem-feita quanto a da Mercedes-Benz quando quis uma perua derivada do CLS e chegou a uma shooting brake. Em vez de repetir o perfil mais familiar que caracteriza este segmento, optou-se por preservar a esportividade do hatch fazendo o terceiro volume curto e alto, que motivou a Chevrolet a intitular a novidade de “sport sedan”. O fato é que o resultado estético agrada muito porque traz sensação de leveza visual, em contraste com o realce de comprimento de, por exemplo, Versa e 207 Sedan. Contudo, nada disso impediu o Prisma de ter o ótimo porta-malas de 500 litros, na média da categoria – o destaque em quesitos como esse fica para o Cobalt, que é o sedã compacto da marca para o qual ficou a proposta de dedicação às famílias mais tradicionais. O novo carro chega nas mesmas versões do Onix salvo a LS: ele parte de R$ 34.990 na LT 1.0, R$ 39.090 na LT 1.4 e R$ 45.990 na LTZ 1.4. Tratam-se dos já conhecidos motores SPE/4, com o menor acelerando de 0 a 100 km/h em 12s7 e o maior em 10s7, e deixando a velocidade máxima oficial empatada em 180 km/h, sempre ao usar etanol.

Entrar no carro não traz surpresas: a cabine inaugurada pelo Onix volta a chamar atenção pelo conceito Dual Cockpit, pelo quadro de instrumentos que mistura elementos analógicos e digitais iluminados em Ice Blue, e pela vistosa tela de toque que controla a central de entretenimento MyLink, disponível a partir da versão LTZ 1.4. Falar dos itens de série deste carro traz um detalhe interessante, aliás: o problema de ter a visão traseira certamente atrapalhada pela traseira alta foi resolvido com admirável esperteza, dando ao Prisma o destaque de ser o primeiro sedã compacto nacional com sensor de estacionamento de série e câmera de ré opcional, esta última restrita aos carros com MyLink porque utiliza a tela desse sistema. Sua versão básica já traz de série airbag duplo, alarme, direção hidráulica, freios ABS com EBD, vidros dianteiros elétricos e sistema de entrada sem chave, entre outros. A versão LT 1.4 soma lanternas escurecidas, farois com máscara negra e detalhes Effect Blue, retrovisor interno com regulagem dia/noite e passa as rodas de 14” para 15”, ainda com calotas. Já a versão de topo, segundo o site, vem num pacote fechado que agrega farois de neblina, vidros traseiros e retrovisores com acionamento elétrico, rodas de liga leve diamantadas aro 15”e computador de bordo. Também há a linha de personalização à venda nas concessionárias, que inclui bancos de couro, DVD player para o banco traseiro, frisos cromados e pedaleiras esportivas.

Read more > Chevrolet Prisma 2

Ford Fusion Flex

Você lembra de quando a categoria mais luxuosa de carros a ter grande movimentação no Brasil era a dos sedãs médios? Eram nomes como Civic, Corolla e Vectra que atendiam quem queria luxo e status mas não podia levar um BMW ou Mercedes-Benz, até que os dois “times” de montadoras notaram que os sedãs grandes formavam uma lacuna equidistante. Assim, enquanto as alemãs vêm tornando seus best-sellers mais acessíveis, as outras apostam em carros como o Fusion para intensificar esse delicioso combate.

Várias vezes se comenta que o permanente desejo de oferecer o melhor modelo de cada categoria se traduz cada vez em maiores investimentos dos fabricantes não tanto nos facelifts de meia-vida, mas sim em cada atualização completa. Atender a crescente rigidez dos padrões de segurança e, especialmente, da concorrência faz um carro incorporar mais sofisticação em quase todos os sentidos, fatalmente implicando em tamanho e preço maiores com muita frequência ao ponto de deixarem seu mercado inicial livre para um novo modelo – na Europa, foi assim que o Fiesta permitiu o Ka e o Polo permitiu o Lupo, por exemplo. Como estagnar a evolução é impensável, só se resta lidar com essa eventual migração de segmentos, para tentar convertê-la a favor. No Brasil, alguns exemplos disso são o Grand Siena entre compactos e premium, Jetta entre médios e grandes e agora o Fusion, entre grandes e o primeiro nível de alto luxo. O sucesso de carros como esses inclui detalhes individuais, mas já é possível determinar um padrão: o exterior quase não se altera, deixando as maiores mudanças para a lista de itens. Já o toque final está em as versões de topo exaltarem algum valor mais subjetivo, contrapondo-se ao apelo racional das dedicadas à categoria inferior. O modelo da Fiat realça a elegância na versão Essence, o da Volkswagen a esportividade com a Highline, e o da Ford a tecnologia da Titanium.

No entanto, pensar que o Fusion de base é antiquado é um engano enorme. Os destaques de sua lista de equipamentos são ar-condicionado digital, assistente de partida em rampa, bancos de couro com ajustes elétricos e memória, câmera de ré, central multimídia Sync com comandos de voz, GPS e touchscreen de 8”, piloto automático, rodas de alumínio aro 17” e grade dianteira com controle ativo – fica aberta em baixas velocidades para otimizar o fluxo de ar e se fecha em altas, para melhorar a aerodinâmica. A parte de segurança fica com abertura das portas por código, oito airbags, controle de estabilidade e freios ABS, tudo deixando como único opcional o teto solar, por R$ 4 mil. É fácil de reparar que a nova versão retirou apenas o que esta categoria considera dispensável, como o sistema Sony de alta fidelidade e a tração integral, que aqui passa a ser dianteira. Falando no trem-de-força, outra excelente novidade é precisamente o que motiva o nome desta versão: o motor 2.5 flex estreado na Ranger foi recalibrado para o sedã, contando com bloco e cabeçote em alumínio e comando de válvulas variável para gerar potência de 167/175 cv e torque de 23,2/24,2 kgfm (gasolina/álcool). Esta força é comandada por direção elétrica com compensação ativa de vibração e deriva e câmbio automático sequencial de seis marchas com opção de trocas manuais que ignoram o peso de 1.572 kg, mas a novidade mais saborosa nem requer ligar o motor: tudo isso sai por R$ 20 mil a menos que a versão Titanium, ficando em R$ 92.990.

Read more > Ford Fusion Flex

Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 2013

Almost like Nissan has done with Leaf few months ago, Hyundai has only updated this version’s powertrain, for North America. The ecologic Sonata starts at US$ 25.650 and received bigger generator, more powerful electric engine and lithium-polymer battery. These changes increased the electric power in 14 hp (reaching 46 hp), while the new battery is lighter and takes less space, resulting on a 12.1-cu-ft trunk. They also enable longer life for the all-electric mode and better final consumption, reaching 38 mpg.

Read more > Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 2013

Toyota Camry 2013

Since Ford and Honda have released all-new generations of their big sedans, and Chevrolet will really facelift Malibu, Toyota decided to defend Camry not with style changes, but improving the interior. Since the LE entry trim, the new model-year brings much better materials, softer to the touch, along with new coatings and a combining central armrest, besides smaller additions. The SE level, in turn, has improved the safety by adding blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert systems. There weren’t powertrain changes.

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Volvo S60, V60 and XC60 2014

For you who read this blog’s previous article, this is the second part of the comments on Volvo’s recent group facelift. But even if you came to this one first, there’s nothing to worry about. Since this event has involved several vehicles at once, writing appropriately about them demanded some kind of division. This blog has dedicated the first article to the traditional team of this automaker’s line, while this one is dedicated to the “subversive” group. In other words, you’re going to read about the other kind of very important Volvos.

Taking a quick look on these Swedish cars over the last decades reveals this brand was never really concerned with following each moment’s design trends. They were always reliable vehicles, with comfortable and spacious cabins and unbelievable worrying with the safety, but also just sailed through from the 1950s to the 1970s pretty much oblivious to the other brands’ dedication of creating and following new design trends. In fact, they’ve only became some sort of up-to-date in the 1980s because the whole market ended up converging into the “philosophy” Volvo had never stopped to follow – long story short, Volvo’s sedans and wagons like the 700 Series only became fashionable because everyone else was starting to use very similar stylings. Looking at the 1991 460 and 850 series led to think this decade wouldn’t change that attitude very much, but it turned out it did. This decade’s cars not only were recovering from the 1970s’ oil crises as were also approaching the long-awaited new millennium, which stimulated almost every automaker to create their own interpretations of futurism for their upcoming vehicles. Volvo started resisting to follow this creative moment, and one fact is this decision prevented it from having poorly accepted projects such as 1998 Fiat Multipla or 1994 Ford Scorpio, but that time’s market expectations wouldn’t maintain this “immunity” for too long.

Even though many of these “too futuristic” cars ended with poor sales, the overall result was the market starting to be more receptive to novelties than ever. The public started to like the idea of having different car designs, sizes and even categories, which made pioneers such as Citroën Berlingo, Renault Twingo and Volkswagen Sharan fairly successful. So Volvo finally decided to surrender, but doing it in style: it was hard to believe that the new entry line, S40 and V40, came one year before the upmarket S90. These cars were the first to make the Swedish automaker understand that sometimes even the heaviest traditions need to be revised somehow, in order to keep attracting customers. Few years later it was S80’s and S60’s time, not so “revolutionary” but still much more attractive than the replaced models. Their great acceptance by public and press motivated Volvo not only to keep updating the line as also to innovate beyond the level already established: that’s when V70 Cross Country deserves another mention. This time not for that crossover-pioneering merit, but for representing an initiative like Volvo hadn’t had in decades. After all, even with having several price ranges satisfied within the luxury class, Volvo’s reputation wasn’t too pleasant: most people became used to see these cars as rational, reliable and even sophisticated, but not enough to make worthy giving up of a German equivalent.

And now we arrive at the “Revolvolution” moment. After only starting to think about changing, releasing the first S60 in 2000 was the first firm step towards the new-millennium Volvos. Most of the station wagons carried over the boxy rear, but the overall impression was this time they were offering the same discretion of before but in a much more up-to-date style, with several elegant details such as a three-dimensional effect to make their transverse section wider from the handles’ height down than around the windows, giving imponent “muscles” which were followed by S60 and S80’s tail lights design. So since transforming those initial plans from the 1990s into actual changes were starting to get very positive feedback from everyone, the automaker started to be less “scared” of innovating. 2003 saw the very first Volvo true SUV’s release, XC90. After that, the C70 line was redesigned for 2005, and there was even a new entry-level car: C30 was a hatchback, but with a very attractive coupe-inspired styling and taking advantage from the brand being owned by Ford at that time – the compact’s platform was shared with Ford Focus’s family. The following years had some quiet time, until it was time to give S60 a new generation. And since the previous started this entire series of changes in Volvo, the second one had big expectations from the public. The 2010 arrival ended not only satisfying but also surpassing them, by a wide margin.

This is the moment when we converge to this article’s car family. Family because S60’s aggressive and sporty design has been so well-accepted that motivated its own station wagon, the also gorgeous V60… and even XC60. Once again Volvo’s changes achieved big approval, because these are very impressive cars. There brought better interior quality, cutting-edge technologies and even bigger safety package, but wrapped in a boldly attractive design. That’s why they found interesting to release an urban crossover at the same platform… and today that’s why the new facelift wasn’t so “understood”. They preserve all those qualities, but removing the two-part headlights for a conventional set with wider grille is like removing that “extra”. The great part, though, is the addition of items: the infotainment system’s display brings a new technology to enable being used with gloved hands, and offers Internet connection even as a Wi-fi hotspot for inside the car. The analogic dashboard was replaced by a TFT screen with three modes: Elegance is the traditional look, Eco brings green background with fuel consumption gauge and eco meter, while Performance throws bigger tachometer and power meter, turning the lights red. The safety package received anti-blinding lights system, Cornering Light, Pedestrian Detection, cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring. Those are the only pictures so far, but we can always hope for the old boldness to return with the R-Design packages.

Read more > Volvo S60, V60 and XC60 2014

Volvo S80, V70 and XC70 2014

If you have at least around ten years of being a car fan, this article will give you a very pleasant déjà vu. It is focused on Volvo’s multiple facelifts, but when we have so many involved cars it’s impossible not to spend some time only to think what would be the best way of dividing them into this blog’s articles. So instead of dividing in sedans, wagons and off-roads, there will be two articles. The present one will take you back to those times when Volvos were very elegant square sedans and unforgettably boxy station wagons.

Even though this rear design has made these cars worldwide famous for decades, the reason why it was adopted was purely functional: having such an abrupt end of the roof minimized the aerodynamic drag, which helped to improve both performance and consumption, since there’s less power demanded from the car to perform a given movement. That’s why this design’s pioneer in Volvo, the 140 Series, used these concepts making concessions only to the cargo capacity, which resulted in 1968 Volvo 145’s hearse-inspired styling. The following years received the 240 Series and a younger design, but, like Opel would conclude in the mid-1990s after adopting the same concept, it really required forgetting any wishes of creating design-award-winning wagons. However, if the German automaker started to abandon it in favor of more inclinated rear windshields, Volvo decided to make them its own symbol. The 700 Series showed that the 1980s would only give the Swedish cars cleaner sheetmetal, with less strips and creases, and nothing more. After all, Volvo’s cars were already been very well-received due to the classical incomparable concern with the safety, but pairing it to such a particular design choice made these cars famous and impossible to mistake when seen on the streets – which can be easily interpretated as one of the very first examples of a successful visual identity.

Another case of Volvo’s strong application of a design language has been produced right next to the station wagons, in all these decades: the sedans. Their concern wasn’t having the best aerodynamic or optimizing the trunk space (1983s Volvo 740’s, for instance, could fit an Europallet), but being classy and elegant. Since the 1960s models, it’s interesting to observe that Volvo’s sedans used to feature each and every design element known for avoiding a sporty styling and making the car look classical. Square lines, well-divided volumes with cab rearward, long and low-deck rear, third side window after the back doors… The last line to use this rigid recipe was 850, but both sedan and wagon became most known for a surprisingly well-accepted sporty potential: the turbocharged engines helped the great handling to deliver a very interesting performance that lasted until 1996. This concept would receive some changes only with S80 and V70, which became Volvo’s latest flagship cars. Their most notorious feature was the largely renewed styling, still carrying most of the traditional concepts but in a much more modern interpretation, with more fluid lines and smoother surfaces. Therefore, after presenting this new corporate design in the early 2000s, these cars were expected only to refresh the same style for some more years, just like at the previous phase. The impressive surprise came when the decision was to follow some of the new trends, but in Volvo’s own way.

There were even more “subversive” releases, such as C30 and XC60, but their pioneer was much more discreet, and yet much more surprising: who would expect the first modern-times Volvo to come based on V70, the current phase of Volvo’s most traditional lineage? The 1997 Cross Country version is frequently mentioned at this blog for being one of the precursors of the current crossover trend, along with Subaru Forester. But besides of the always-commented great idea of joining some of the SUV’s off-road potential to a comfortable urban station wagon, the bigger merit goes to the automaker’s attitude of trying some of the new trends, at least as an experiment. The then-called V70 XC appeared as only one more trim level, but ended so well-received that it motivated a true SUV (XC90) and, some years later, even a much more urban crossover (XC60), not to mention the right to follow V70 on its next generations. This turned out a very nice example of how heavy changes actually can give positive results. In fact, following this train of thought some more led Volvo to release a whole group of “new-age cars”, but remodelling the entire line is something every brand is doing in nowadays. What makes the Swedish automaker different is the ability to reconcile the past idiosyncrasies with excellent interpretations of the modern trends.

And now you’ve reached the reason why this was the chosen division for these news. This article’s trio represents the traditional Volvos, which still include several of those mentioned elements, but with modern touches like the very clear narrowing of the transverse section when going to the windows’ height, and even a slight smoothening of the wagons’ rear design. Therefore, facelifting such classical cars could only end at the very nice changes they’ll receive for 2014. Being hard to notice is just one of their good characteristics, because their purpose is to update the cars without taking away their visual harmony. The front bumper was redesigned, featuring more aggressive design and wider grille, along with LED daytime lights for XC70. All of them will also offer 19” wheels, but only S80 received minor updates to both lights. Another addition is the Sensus Connected infotainment system, which uses the central console touchscreen, like usual, but with the interesting possibility of being operated by gloved hands; everyone who has lived at least one harsh winter will be very thankful for this solution. Besides all that, this trio maintains the engine and equipment offers, which consists in the very sophisticated interiors and XC70’s particular off-road items, such as all-wheel-drive and hill-driving control.

Read more > Volvo S80, V70 and XC70 2014

BMW Série 6 Gran Coupé

Pode-se dizer que esta novidade foi antecipada pelo Inovar-Auto. Entrar no programa com projeto de fábrica no país trouxe a isenção do IPI de importados para os veículos da BMW, culminando na recente redução de preços em quase toda a linha nacional. Foi a lista deste evento que chamou atenção para ver que a Série 6 teria novidades em breve. A excelente surpresa é nós termos recebido um dos mais novos modelos da marca com menos de um ano de atraso, cujas informações você poderá conhecer neste artigo.

Prosperar no mercado de carros da atualidade é um objetivo que só tem alguma chance de se cumprir se os trabalhos para isso incluírem o ato de inovar. Seja em desenho, tamanho, equipamentos, o espectro de possibilidades sempre foi enorme, mas apenas nas últimas décadas tem sido explorado como sempre mereceu. A estratégia de procurar lacunas para preencher fez o mercado receber diversas categorias de carros que seriam inimagináveis quinze anos atrás, mas assim como criar novos conceitos nem sempre resulta em sucesso, mesmo o ato de apenas seguir um concorrente ao entrar no segmento que ele criou requer cuidados. Como a iniciativa do Mercedes-Benz CLS já foi seguida por Audi A7, Aston Martin Rapide, Porsche Panamera e até Volkswagen CC, mesmo que a BMW tivesse decidido segui-las, o atraso que teve foi compensado pelo conceito que traz o Gran Coupé. Sua dianteira mantém os traços da Série 6, mas seu pulo-do-gato está nas proporções: em vez de esticar o conceito de cupê até comportar as portas adicionais, a ideia aqui parece ter sido partir de um sedã convencional e deixá-lo muito mais casual e esportivo. Fica bastante claro que o objetivo de fazê-lo mais elegante que os rivais diretos foi cumprido, porque a esportividade do Gran Coupé ficou muito mais sutil, sem intenções explícitas como o caimento tipo fastback do A7.

Um traço comum a todos os modelos da Série 6 é que a parte traseira não dispensa o terceiro volume curto, mas bem pronunciado; ver isso no Gran Coupé permite a interessante elucubração de que se a BMW não fosse uma marca de tradições tão fortes, este carro poderia ter vindo como uma nova Série 5 ou Série 7 sem deixar nada a desejar. Mas o porta-malas de 460 litros é apenas a entrada dos fundos ao próximo encanto deste carro: a luxuosa cabine, dedicada a quatro pessoas. A novidade chega ao Brasil na versão 640i, cujo pacote inclui bancos de couro com ajustes elétricos, rodas de 19”, sistema de som com sete alto-falantes e disco rígido de 12 GB e o Connected Drive, a central multimídia que usa uma touchscreen de 10,2” para acessar a lista de funções que inclui navegação GPS e uso da internet 3G de celulares. Já o pacote de segurança inclui farois com LEDs e iluminação inteligente, seis airbags e controles de tração e estabilidade – como opcionais, ele terá controle ativo de velocidade, sistema HUD, novas opções de acabamento e o kit aerodinâmico M Sports. Espera-se a versão 650i para breve, mas por enquanto já se tem a performance do 3.0 turbo de seis cilindros, que entrega potência de 320 cv e torque de 45,9 kgfm, suficientes para que ele esqueça dos 1.825 kg e acelere de 0 a 100 km/h em 5s4 e chegue à máxima limitada de 250 km/h. Custando R$ 399.950, a BMW pretende vender cinquenta unidades do 640i até o fim do ano.

Read more > BMW Série 6 Gran Coupé

Chevrolet SS

Taking measures to protect the environment has already become an important part of many people’s everyday. There is at least one task that can be added to any lifestyle very easily, but the problem comes when they attack what a person likes best – like making car fans drive electric or hybrid vehicles. The prevailing attitude has been to accept the ecological cars, but we’ll always have that hidden thirst for speed produced by big gasoline engines with their irresistible sounds. This sedan is GM’s latest way of quenching it.

Yes, if you integrate the team who defends efficiency and low-polluting need to be every car’s concerns, unfortunately you won’t like this one. SS is the result of Chevrolet’s wish of a performance-focused sedan, which means having not only a powerful engine but also the whole concept dedicated to this, which finds response also in the sporty design and exclusive structural characteristics such as the rear traction. GM has essentially rebadged the recently showed Holden Commodore VF to the North-American brand, just like they did in 2007 with Pontiac G8. In fact, the latter only had to be dropped due to the 2008 crisis, which made GM reorganize its entire line and cut even entire brands. Pontiac’s end couldn’t avoid taking G8, but there was always a rumor that something would be done to sell this car in North America once again. The older came from Commodore VE, but this and VF are nothing but different phases of the Australian’s same fourth and current generation – VF must’ve been projected considering SS since the beginning, because Chevy’s car was released only few days after Holden’s. It is true that those cars use an aging platform that will be completely dropped in some years, but it’s also the best solution for now. The Australian division has made a huge evolution when it comes to technology and performance, including retuned chassis and new electrical architecture.

In other words, the covered parts were as refreshed as the exterior, which dropped the 2000s’ typical straight creases and lines for a much more elegant design, characterized by more imponent shapes and smoother volumes – to be more specific, SS is the rebadged version of Holden’s SSV version, not Calais. Chevrolet’s influence is noticed at the dual-cockpit interior, but also in the huge touchscreen’s infotainment system: MyLink is only one item of the large list which includes stitched-leather seats, Bose sound system and even automatic parking assist, with the optional power sunroof. What the attractive black, chrome and red decoration doesn’t show, though, is SS’s top-notch powertrain: the rear axle will be powered by Camaro’s LS3 6.2L V-8, delivering 415-hp power and 415-lb-ft torque, which takes it very close to the new Corvette Stingray. The six-speed automatic transmission will help SS to achieve the announced 5-second 0 to 60 mph acceleration, while the stopping will be credited to Brembo brakes (front rotors with 14” and rear with 12.8”), everything running on 19” wheels and Bridgestone tires (245/40 and 275/35, respectively). SS received the entire latest collision-prevention equipment, but the technology didn’t reached too much under the hood: there aren’t direct injection, cylinder deactivation or variable valve timing. After all, everyone’s entitled to remember once again the good old times of “there’s no substitute for cubic inches”.

Read more > Chevrolet SS

Holden Commodore SSV

This one is for those who liked the VF Australian sedan unveiled just a couple of days ago, but would really prefer to change Calais’ black-tie to a more casual luxury. The sedan once again honors Holden’s sporty version, so that’s why there are beautiful wheels matching exclusive bumpers, which have bigger intakes and two twin exhaust pipes. The interior shares Calais’ top-notch equipment list, but coming in a black-with-silver combination only broken by the red lights. This car is expected to share Chevrolet’s V8 6.2L.

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Lifan 320 e 620 2013

Existem tantas marcas chinesas tentando a sorte no Brasil que se torna até difícil lembrar de todas. Lifan é aquela que tem fábrica no Uruguai, e atualmente passa por um período de estabilidade porque deixou de ter seus veículos trazidos pela Effa e passou a assumir suas operações daqui sozinha. Os carros permanecem inalterados mas ganharam uma redução de preços, que fez o hatchback 320 ficar em R$ 27.480 (R$ 500 mais barato) e foi mais generosa com o sedã 620, que perdeu R$ 1.990 e ficou em R$ 36.990.

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Holden Commodore VF

Even though every market has very particular preferences when it comes to cars, some result even more interesting to observe than the others. Australia and Brazil, for example, have very different cars but coincide in some aspects, such as creating their own categories (and turning them very successful) and receiving almost as many foreign projects as having domestic ones being exported. So before this sedan appears as North American Chevrolet’s new s-size, how about knowing what its homeland has just revealed?

Just like Ford with Falcon, GM’s Australian division has been selling Commodore with great numbers for many years. Holden has taken inspiration some times from Chevrolet and others from Opel, but always resulting at an excellent car which could easily be sold anywhere else – the last two generations, for example, went to Brazil as Chevrolet Omega. But if the Europeans are used to reduce the cars’ updates only to half-life facelifts and new generations, and North Americans receive several tiny updates between the bigger changes, the Australians extend a car lifecycle by creating some partial restylings each two or three years; the third Commodore, alone, had three of them in about ten years. The current phase debuted in 2006, but the bigger time lapse until its first update is probably explained by the very big initial budget spent on attending the public’s very high expectations. The codename VF, comes as a more important facelift because it might be the only one: GM is planning to create a whole new Commodore for 2016 underpinned by a whole new global platform. However, since this will take a long time to happen, for now it’s possible to to appreciate what is certainly this car’s best moment ever. The excellent first impression was guaranteed by starting with Calais, which is this car’s upmarket version. That’s Holden’s way of showing everything its sedan is capable of.

The external pictures start to show that Holden managed to refresh this sedan making it so attractive that could easily be mistaken for a new generation. The overall impression is that it abandoned the 2000s style trends in favor of a more European inspiration, giving away the sharp cuts and creases in exchange of smoother volumes and much more classy elements. In fact, there’s no wonder why this car has been exported as Opel Omega’s equivalent: VF really resembles Insignia, not a direct competitor but as a bigger brother, because it’s more opulent. But the many similarities are there, specially related to the implicit sportiness given by the irregularly-shaped lights and the very discreet creases. Entering the car reveals a whole new cabin, with seats, doors and console matched in a very elegant two-toned decoration. But the even better news are located at the items list: like every true luxury version, Calais can bring heads-up display, GM MyLink infotainment system, parallel and 90-degree parking assistance, electric steering and several safety systems, to prevent front and rear collisions at low speed, involuntary lane changing and to improve external visibility. Engine data wasn’t revealed so far, but it’s expected that Commodore’s biggest changes will be efficiency improvements, rather than engine changes. This new phase will also generate the other versions, such as Berlina, Omega, HSV, SSV, SV6 and Z-Series.

Read more > Holden Commodore VF

Chevrolet Cobalt LS 2013

Depois dos modelos de Fiat e VW, agora é um Chevrolet que se adapta à já famosa resolução do Contran. Incorporar airbag duplo e freios ABS à versão LS faz o sedã compacto passar a sair de fábrica com tais itens em todas as configurações que oferece. Outra notícia interessante é que não houve acréscimo de preço, o que lhe permite continuar somando ar-condicionado, banco traseiro bipartido, chave canivete, direção hidráulica, interior em dois tons e rodas de aço aro 15” por R$ 39.980, sempre com o motor 1.4 flex.

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Aston Martin Rapide S

Among all the car brands and models the current market offers, there are lots of very traditional ones and many others which have received much bigger changes through their history. Dealing with this tradition – or its lack – is one of the automakers’ several struggles when creating a new vehicle, because making right or wrong decisions imply receiving excellent or terrible acceptance. After studying press and public’s opinions for Rapide, Aston Martin now gives it the half-age facelift trying to hit the best possible formula.

There are very few brands like Ferrari or Lamborghini, which prefer to stabilish an identity among its cars by implicit items such as the colors, the engine sound or the overall shape of several external parts. On the other hand, the English automaker here referred is much more similar to Porsche, for example. Since Aston Martin maintains even some of the car names through decades, it’s not hard to expect its vehicles to have very little changes. The problem with that is these cars have started to look too much like versions of a single vehicle, even with their size and price differences. So the automaker decided to follow the path of applying small facelifts, in order to avoid the expenses of new projects too early and only give a different look to cars which, as a matter of fact, have already been approved by everyone when it comes to the other aspects. The four-door’s name received the “S” as standard, not as a new trim level. The biggest external update is at the front grille, which changed the two-part design for a bigger single element paired with a new hood. Besides, the aerodynamics was improved with a new rear spoiler. Aston Martin has managed to make its luxury sedan look young again, not as a whole new model but with an interesting renewed impression, pretty much like what Porsche Panamera will receive with its own facelift, planned to the next months.

But a luxury sports car isn’t made only of style. The sophisticated part is made with an improved acoustic treatment and lots of items such as the Carbon Exterior package, which brings rear diffuser, rearview mirror caps and tail light surrounds using the mentioned material. Not to mention the Piano Black package for the interior, sports perfored two-colored leather seats and all the custom options for colors and materials which are usually offered by the high-end automakers. Besides, the performance part is taken care by the V-12 5.9L engine, which is now mounted in a lower position to meet the current European safety regulations. It was improved to achieve 550 hp and 457 lb-ft, an 80-hp and 14 lb-ft increase from the last phase: Aston Martin states its 0-60 mph time became 0s4 better, with the top speed getting to 190 mph – the consumption rate stays at 14.3 l/100 km, though. The driving has borrowed the Adaptative Damping System from DB9 and Vanquish, allowing the driver to select between three modes: Normal, Sport and Track, but operates along with road condition detectors in order to always find the best possible combination of the driving settings.

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Mercedes-Benz CLA

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Like many other pieces of popular culture, this phrase has proven itself an excellent advice millions of times. Mercedes has already shown several cars which two decades ago would be seen as an apocalypse prediction, but most of them were experiments, to find out what the market would want for the near future. Only some turned successful, but the overall result was excellent. The car you’re about to meet is the best prove that these Germans did find the right track to follow, once again.

Like many specialized texts have already stated, if the Mercedes cars were people with some sort of family relations, CLA would surely be a son whose both parents were the current generations of A-Class and CLS – this last one, in turn, could even be thought as a result of E-Class with CL. But before thinking of very unusual ways to use the family concept, the Germans deserve the bigger applauses for obtaining that mentioned knowledge concerning the car market in nowadays. In other words, since CLS’s concept has proven itself successful in sales and harmless to E-Class, later they started to think of reducing this formula’s scale. On the other hand, it’s easy to see they’ve finally found how to make A-Class prosper, so it would be very nice to take more advantage of that. So the sedan showed at these pictures is another result of the very concept that in Renault has just generated Captur. Examples like these are highly unlikely to bring conceptual revolutions because they’re the mere merge of other concepts, but once again this doesn’t come as a complaint at all. The truly meaning here is that Mercedes realized that cars like CLA are the right track to follow, so from now on it’ll be very hard to see this automaker releasing another “experimental” car. It is true that they needed to forget some of the old rules, but the final result is the much wider propagation of the image they’ve built through all these years.

There’s no doubt that image includes their particular standards for comfort, design, quality and performance, but what would those forgotten rules be? One of them is the front-wheel-drive, so far only used by the hatchback CLA shares platform with. But these cars are much more related than that: the newcomer is its sedan version, which is confirmed by the very similar front and side sections. But their biggest difference is conceptual, rather than at the measures: the hatchback is clearly much more sporty, designed to attract younger buyers while CLA still seek this public but using a more elegant style, with a less obvious way of expressing A-Class casuality. The specifications list will lead to notice that this car isn’t bigger than North-American compact sedans – Dodge Dart, for example, is 0.6 inch longer and has a 0.1 inch longer wheelbase – but offers very much from Mercedes’ equipments portfolio, of course. However, there’s an optionals list including panoramic sunroof, aluminum or wood internal details and item packages: Sport, Premium and Multimedia. Other specs concern the engine options: 120-hp 1.6L for CLA 180, 150-hp 1.6L for CLA 200, 210-hp turbo 2.0L for CLA 250 and 170-hp diesel 2.1 for CLA 220 CDI, always with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and the optional 4Matic all-wheel-drive. But while you wait for the AMG version, here’s an interesting tidbit: even the urban versions have a 0.23 drag coefficient. This is one of the best numbers of the current production cars.

Read more > Mercedes-Benz CLA

Infiniti Q50

Have you ever noticed that some automakers can become really confusing with the alphanumeric codes used to name their cars? BMW and Mercedes-Benz at least stick to numbers no longer according to the car’s engines, but other strategies seem to be understood only by their own creators. A few days ago Infiniti has announced some changes to theirs in order to simplify it, but also showed some very interesting small teasers. So what could be a better way to release that new naming method than with a whole new car using it?

There are many cases of cars which couldn’t succeed marketwise mostly because of a bad name choice, even when they were good on everything else – you might want to check out what caused Alfa Romeo 164 to fail in China, Buick LaCrosse in Canada and even Mitsubishi Pajero in Spanish-speaking markets. But even though Infiniti’s nomenclature hasn’t such deep problems, the brand needed some struggle time before prospering. It was founded in 1989 with the exact same goal as Acura and Lexus: escape of dealing with Nissan’s lower-cost image to have better chances at the competition with the German luxury cars. Whether for the not-so-inspired design, bad publicity or neglecting some of the customers’ preferences, the 1990s ended with Infiniti very close to extinction, but they didn’t give up. There was adopted a whole new strategy, with several all-new vehicles focusing at sporty luxury including SUVs. At that moment there were FX35, G35 and a new Q45, not to mention the cars which have followed them. It were still the mid-2000s, but Infiniti was starting to discover what in nowadays is some sort of a “success recipe”: an automaker needs to give what the customers are used to expect from luxury cars, but treating this as a standard: it’s also important to combine that with any “extra features” that make it worth for them to give up other brands.

Q50 was chosen for this new turning point because it’ll fill a very important spot for this brand. After all, it’s intended to replace G37, which was an upgraded G35, which in turn was nothing but the very first Infiniti to become successful. They really wanted big changes once again, so Q50 presents a much more modern style. It’s very nice to see that the success of crossovers such as FX have made their influence at items such as the sedan’s long, round front section and the overall shape of all the items. This car carries the classic touch wanted by most of the luxury buyers but without looking old-fashioned at all. Besides these organic shapes could fit very well at most of the European cars, it’s nice to observe some very creative points such as the rear window cut – details like that denote a high-quality project, just like everyone wants to buy. The interior pictures show a huge level of sophistication wrapped in a very attractive design, crafted with high-quality materials and plenty of technology; the Infiniti InTouch system, for example, brings not one but two big touchscreens. This car will start with two V6 engines, a 3.7L with 328 hp and the hybrid 3.5L, which will be paired to the electric unit to result at 350 hp, but diesel options are expected for later. Besides, it’ll always use automatic seven-speed gearbox and rear-wheel-drive, with optional AWD.

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Volkswagen Gol e Voyage 1.6 2013

Este tipo de notícia vai ser muito frequente no decorrer deste ano. Logo depois de a Volkswagen fazer a linha completa do Fox sair de fábrica com airbag duplo e freios ABS de série, é a vez de a linha de entrada receber os equipamentos de segurança em algumas de suas versões. Para atender as resoluções do Contran de ter 60% dos modelos atuais com os itens, agora sua oferta se estende de série a todas as versões de hatchback e sedã que contam com o motor 1.6 de potência de 101/104 cv e torque de 15,4/15,6 kgfm.

Read more > Volkswagen Gol e Voyage 1.6 2013

Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 and E 63 AMG

Sports car fans have been delighted with high-performance versions of conventional cars for decades. Audi S and RS, BMW M, Chevrolet SS, Dodge SRT and R/T, Fiat Abarth, Ford ST, Volkswagen GTI… There are lots of examples around the world, but they’re only different ways of achieving the always impressive balance between all the sportiness of coupes and convertibles and the particular features of each car which receives them. So how about meeting not one but four of the best sporty versions of the entire world?

Although there are lots of enthusiasts that cheer with each and every car release of nowadays because they know the quality level involved, there are lots of people that still ask themselves “Why do they have to create so many vehicles? Why can’t they only stick to improve what they already have?” and other similar questions. On the other side, this blog and the entire specialized press have written so many times about the increasing need to find new markets in order to keep offering competitive products that it won’t take too long for us to run out of different ways of rewriting the same information. Nevertheless, this blog doesn’t even think of stating that as criticism because it recognizes that it doesn’t take more than a moment spent thinking as a “car fan-but-not-freak” to realize that it is really hard to notice all of this conceptual information delivered at these texts. There are many pictures of the article’s car, but also many paragraphs referring to lots of other cars, turning it very difficult to only imagine all that. Since this blog always tries to go beyond one more plain repetition of each release’s features, these four cars have been referred in this single article in order to receive also a brief illustrative comparison. The first animated picture displays the new CLS 63 AMG at its Coupé and Shooting Brake versions, while the second one shows the facelifted E-Class Sedan and Estate now as E63 AMG.

If you were guessing the first mentioned aspect would be the external design, you’re right. There’s no way to avoid it, in fact. The main guideline that inspire these cars’ differences is the ability of each one taking a particular customer, reducing the internal competition to its minimum. E-Class has always gone after the more traditional public, which has preferred the same things for decades, while CLS receives who goes to a Mercedes dealer for the absolute quality but would really prefer something different, more casual. The shared platform enables those cars to share lots of internal parts, not to mention the engines, but stays far from being a barrier against their breathtaking conceptual differences. CLS’s four-door rear is only the first symbol of the opposition to E-Class’s three well-divided volumes. And since they both have SW versions, CLS’s interpretation resulted at the Shooting Brake body. E-Class’s sides use more horizontal creases, bringing a solid, classy impression while CLS makes a contrast between the narrow but long lines dying at the rear doors right where the very imponent fender starts, reminding the North-American muscle cars idea of movement. E-Class’s elements take most space of one only side of the car, probably to remind its several previous generations: most cars from the 1970s to the 1990s used a “folded-paper design”, where you couldn’t see much of the headlights, for example, if you were looking to the hood or the sides – CLS’s shapes are much more tridimensional. And since the lights were mentioned, it would be impossible to skip them.

E-Class can join them or split them at the front or redesign them at the back in any way, but they will always remind even the 1960s ancestor – so yes, you must’ve already guessed that right: at least until now, CLS preferred to make big changes from its previous generation. Fortunately, both cabins agree at delivering fascinating quantities of sophistication and safety, but this is one of the few truces here. CLS’s cabin is more fluidic, reducing the idea of a rectangular space while E-Class is much more likely to be driven by a chauffeur. The sedans even differ at the seating: E-Class sticks to five seats, but CLS dedicates itself to four. The wagons, in turn, diverge at the trunk: if E-Class is much more focused at the families, its sister’s space is bigger in length and smaller in height, privileging cargo such as golf clubs and hunting guns. Besides the bigger wheels and the more aggressive aerodynamic kit, the AMG version brings the same “heart” for these cars: the final (and most important) truce is the twin-turbo V8 5.5L, with that performance package from before the facelift now offered as a standard item. This means this engine now produces 550 hp of power and 531 lb-ft of torque, always using the AMG SpeedShift transmission: there are double clutch, seven speeds and four driving modes. Besides, these cars use rear-wheel drive or the 4Matic AWD system, but the (even more) special feature is the S package: this new performance kit uses 4Matic and boosts these cars to 577 hp and push the speed limit to 186 mph, with average 0-60 mph times of 3.6 seconds.

Read more > Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 and E 63 AMG

Lexus IS 3

Do you know what does “L-finesse” stand for? This is Lexus’ latest design language, like Ford’s Kinetic or Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture. Toyota’s luxury brand is starting to succeed at the long-term desire of creating a more inspired style for their cars, an initiative that has recently received great help from LFA’s production. They’ve already renewed the bigger brother GS and facelifted the even bigger LS, but the entry-level became much more different. This article will show a little more about this “entry-luxury” sedan.

As it has been mentioned several times by the specialized press, each automaker has created their own visual identity in order to distinguish their cars from the competitors. Besides, this came in handy for the Eastern brands because of their own design issues of that time: those cars were excessively alike until the 1990s, all of them with too classic lines and plain shapes. The Japanese started to change that around the early 2000s, but the Korean took some more years. Lexus’ problem, in turn, wasn’t creating good-looking designs but more appropriate ones. The bigger complaints went to the fact that they didn’t look like the upscale vehicles they are, which led many people to mistake them for cheaper cars. Acura and Infiniti faced the same problems at some time, too, but neither took too long to solve it: Honda’s brand decided to follow the North-American luxury cars, with smoother volumes and straighter lines, while Nissan’s division tries to follow the Europeans: the organic shapes contrast with stronger creases and very well divided volumes, which helps to give a high-performance impression. And now Lexus seems to have found the path to follow by looking at its own homeland. The new IS proves that Lexus is investing on acute angles and strong creases, which have all been the Japanese recipe for sportiness for decades.

That’s what explains this front design which will certainly turn each and every neck from which this car passes near. Whether for the tuning-like aggressive air intakes, the headlights with separate-but-visually-connected LED part or the most imponent spindle-shaped grille you’ve ever seen, taking inspiration from the LF-CC concept car has worked very well for what’s Lexus’ sports sedan now more than ever. The sides preserved the elegance of few creases and taller windows, but with a hint of sportiness that will be finished with the rear section: that elevated rear window cut without following the door handles line comes from the very first IS, taking the memory back to 1999. The second generation made it more visible and imponent, giving a very nice look with the chrome contour. Now there weren’t big changes to its shape, but it became paired to a very strong line born beneath the B column: it rises in the exact same proportion as the rear windows, creating the very nice impression that the car is always moving – it’s a complete change from the first IS, where all those horizontal lines made it too bulky. And the Grand Finale is made by these tail lights which seem to take more space from the sides than the rear. Paired to the absence of many lines, they give the last section a slim look which could easily be found at many current sporty coupes. This is definitely the right car for who doesn’t appreciate “limousine-like” sedans.

The first official pictures show only the F-Sport version, so the ones who didn’t like the scarlet seats shouldn’t worry. However, it’s hard not to notice the beautiful interior, with plenty of black and chrome as most of the sportier cars. But Lexus states there’s much more to observe: the bigger wheelbase improves the internal comfort, while the whole cabin became more ergonomic. The luxury extremes were restricted to IS’s bigger siblings, but the F-Sport version brings aluminum pedals, perforated leather steering wheels and even metal details with 3-D effects. This car will be officially presented at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show at all its versions: IS 250, IS 350 and IS 300h – the hybrid one being the first one to bring the Lexus Hybrid Drive. The respective engine options will be a V6 2.5L with 200 hp, a V6 3.5L with 300 hp and a four-cylinder 2.5.

Read more > Lexus IS 3

Honda Civic 2.0 16v

Um ano em oito dias. A Honda já havia aproveitado o último Salão do Automóvel paulista para anunciar as novidades de seu sedã médio esperadas para o presente mês, mas ainda não se tinha idéia de que elas também fariam o novo ano/modelo do Civic chegar tão cedo. Se é difícil afastar o pensamento de que manter este ritmo levaria os japoneses a chegar ao próximo réveillon na metade de uma linha 2058, as melhorias aplicadas ao seu carro-chefe têm tudo para fazê-lo merecer a atenção (e a garagem) de muita gente.

Sedãs médios já foram o objeto de desejo de muito brasileiro. A reabertura das importações abriu os olhos do país às vitrines do exterior de um modo geral, mas aqueles anos 1990 ainda viam marcas como Nissan, Peugeot, Renault e Toyota lidar com uma presença de mercado deficiente e as consequências que isso trouxe. Por outro lado, as marcas de luxo começavam a tentar a sorte entre nós, mas enquanto elas ainda se restringiam aos sedãs, peruas e cupês de alto luxo os japoneses davam a volta por cima nos anos 2000. Fizeram suas fábricas brasileiras e nos contagiaram com sua fama mundial de qualidade e resistência, mas merecem elogios ainda maiores porque o fizeram com veículos médios. Claro que os escalados foram veteranos como Ciivic e Corolla pelo carisma que acumulam há décadas, mas começar a atuar no Brasil daqueles tempos sem um carro popular não deixava de ser uma jogada arriscada. Contudo, seja pelo estilo moderno, cabine luxuosa ou motores eficientes, os japoneses não só prosperaram como começaram a incomodar as nossas montadoras mais tradicionais, porque expuseram a defasagem de seus equivalentes – elas ainda produziam resquícios do que foram suas linhas de luxo de outrora, cujos argumentos de venda convenciam cada vez menos clientes a não olhar para aqueles novatos mais modernos e de preço bem parecido.

Tudo isso fez essa década chegar à segunda metade ostentando uma frota de sedãs médios com nível maior do que nunca. Câmbio automático, computador de bordo, teto solar... Vários desses itens começaram a se tornar frequentes no Brasil graças ao sucesso desses carros, que ofereciam o máximo de requinte antes de se fazer o enorme salto de preço à seara de BMW ou Mercedes-Benz - era uma época em que marcas como a Ford não se aventuravam a subir com carros como o Fusion, e as do nível da Audi não cogitavam brigar no segmento do A1. Ou seja, o “luxo acessível” do Brasil se formava com nomes como Bora, Focus, Marea, Vectra e as gerações contemporâneas dos japoneses mencionados. Isso lhes deu a adoração de uma clientela sóbria, feita por empresários de meia-idade e em geral de situação financeira confortável, dando aos tais sedãs a reputação de "carros de patrão" ou, como satirizava a antiga campanha do Nissan Sentra, "carros de tiozão". E como toda clientela fiel, agradá-lá demandou que as montadoras respeitassem certas preferências. Você lembra, por exemplo, de quando nossos carros só emplacavam no mercado usando duas portas? Situação parecida é o que começou com os motores há uns vinte anos.

A razão pode ser a excelente fama de exemplos como o AP-2000 da Volkswagen, o Família I da Chevrolet ou os multiválvulas com e sem turbo da Fiat, ou mesmo o desejo de contraposição à fama de “carro barato” associada aos 1.0, mas o fato é que os motores 2.0 viraram o perfeito complemento à imagem de luxo que os modelos médios têm no Brasil, especialmente os três-volumes. Os benefícios do downsizing hoje já conseguem estender a boa aceitação aos 1.8, mas abaixo disso somente se tiverem algo de muito especial - é o caso dos 165 cv do 1.6 THP usado por Citroën e Peugeot. A Honda aplicou seu novo motor em estratégia parecida à do Corolla, com o 1.8 16v de agora restrito à versão LXS (R$ 66.690). Já a novidade se destina às duas superiores, que trocaram de nome para LXR (R$ 74.290) e EXR (R$ 83.890). Trata-se de um 2.0 16v i-VTEC flex de 155 cv de potência e 19,5 kgfm de torque (com etanol) com sistema para aquecer a gasolina em dias frios, dispensando o tanque secundário e sua tampa ao lado do capô. Ele também traz o modo Econ e seu botão verde no painel, e sempre estará associado ao câmbio automático de cinco marchas, cuja opção de trocas sequenciais se fará por borboletas atrás do volante. Além disso, a versão LXS ganhou um novo câmbio manual com seis marchas e mantém a opção do automático (R$ 69.900).

Read more > Honda Civic 2.0 16v