Tessa403
12-01-2006, 12:51 PM
Give me a minute or 100 and it will be up soon.
Magna SE V Ford Telstar GL V Commodore Berlina V Camira SL/X 1.8 V Bluebird TRX series 3 V Corona Avante 2.4.
Performance:
Top Speed:
Telstar 2.0 5 speed.
162 kmh
Camira 1.8 efi 5 speed.
176 kmh
Commodore 3.3 carb 5 speed.
175 kmh
Bluebird 2.0 carb 5 speed.
158 kmh (4th as 5th was 157kmh)
Corona 2.4 efi 5 speed.
169 kmh
Magna 2.6 carb 5 speed.
174 kmh (4th as 5th was 163kmh)
400 Metres
Telstar: 18.27
Camira: 17.68
Commodore: 17.81
Bluebird: 18.86
Corona: 17.48
Magna: 17.35
0-100kmh
Telstar: 12.78
Camira: 11.13
Commodore: 12.09
Bluebird: 13.98
Corona: 10.87
Magna: 10.73
Accomodation
We sat three averaged sized people in the back of each of the cars to see how comfortable, or otherwise they were. In each case the lengthy Ewan Kennedy legs were put into the drivers seat, which meant that it had to be put back to its rearmost position in every car. I found the legroom in the front of the Commodore, Telstar and Camira to be good but in the Magna, Corona and Bluebird would have preferred another notch or two in the seats adjustment. Car designers often cheat slightly by restricting front seat travel in order to gain extra bit of knee room in the rear. The FWD cars have more width at front foot level because the gearbox in the RWD design intrudes into the passenger compartment. The Commodore is particularly bad in this respect because it has to allow for engine options up to the 5.0ltr V8. The rear seat of the Magna was a clear winner in this test. Next is the two Holden’s in second place. (The Camira is really a very clever design) Fords Telstar is next in third. In comparison with the other cars in the group the Bluebird and Corona are just not in the race – both are cramped in all aspects.
Handling on the road.
We tested the cars handling traits under difficult conditions for them around the tight right hand corner at the end of the straight at Oran Park. To makes things interesting the track was wet and greasy. The Magna was a slight disappointment. Until then, under most conditions it had behaved in a neutral manner with a touch of under steer when driven hard. Pushed hard into the greasy Oran park corner it under steered badly with the front slewing wide as the front heavy bias really took control of the car.
Not the other cars were angels under the same conditions. The Telstar also under steered as did the Bluebird but the Nissan always felt controllable. The Corona was great fun, it could be prodded into under steer or over steer at will.
The two Holden’s came out best. The FWD Camira under steered gently but always felt as through it would hold a tighter line and therefore be safer. The Commodore tended to hang it’s tail out, but kept a tight line and was easy to control.
On the road the Magna is a superior car to its rivals (dumb dumb we know that!) It is quieter than anything this side of a high priced European. The high gearing gives the car a theoretical top speed of 240 kmh at 6000 rpm. The Magna doesn’t break any new ground in keeping noise down what it does is keep the noise outside the passenger compartment. We wonder if this design approach is a sound one as it would be better not to create the noise in the first place. The A pillars could be smoother and we were surprised to see that then roof gutters are exposed as the Colt has wind cheating concealed gutters which keep the noise down.
Winner/losers
The Magna is the winner in almost every way. The Magna is the pacesetter amongst Australian Designed cars (remember that although the car was originally a Japanese Sigma it had enough local input to qualify it as Australian).
Perhaps the FWD Corona and Bluebird will do a better job and beat the Magna at its own game. We wonder if either of these cars will take the cunning step of increasing the width to better suit the needs of Australia…
The Commodore is only a little way behind the Magna in interior space, quietness and ride comfort. The Commodore with its bigger engine feels more comfortable to drive at times.
The Camira has an almost sporting feel about it, drive it hard and it will reward you.
The Telstar is a bit bland against this collection.
The Corona Avante has high levels of ride and comfort but it deteriorate suddenly if pushed hard. The 2.4 has too much torque for the chassis to cope.
Finally the Bluebird. A car with character that will appeal to the person who finds the average Japanese car dull. The new engine is not the leap forward we expected, but the car’s performance is good nonetheless.
Magna SE V Ford Telstar GL V Commodore Berlina V Camira SL/X 1.8 V Bluebird TRX series 3 V Corona Avante 2.4.
Performance:
Top Speed:
Telstar 2.0 5 speed.
162 kmh
Camira 1.8 efi 5 speed.
176 kmh
Commodore 3.3 carb 5 speed.
175 kmh
Bluebird 2.0 carb 5 speed.
158 kmh (4th as 5th was 157kmh)
Corona 2.4 efi 5 speed.
169 kmh
Magna 2.6 carb 5 speed.
174 kmh (4th as 5th was 163kmh)
400 Metres
Telstar: 18.27
Camira: 17.68
Commodore: 17.81
Bluebird: 18.86
Corona: 17.48
Magna: 17.35
0-100kmh
Telstar: 12.78
Camira: 11.13
Commodore: 12.09
Bluebird: 13.98
Corona: 10.87
Magna: 10.73
Accomodation
We sat three averaged sized people in the back of each of the cars to see how comfortable, or otherwise they were. In each case the lengthy Ewan Kennedy legs were put into the drivers seat, which meant that it had to be put back to its rearmost position in every car. I found the legroom in the front of the Commodore, Telstar and Camira to be good but in the Magna, Corona and Bluebird would have preferred another notch or two in the seats adjustment. Car designers often cheat slightly by restricting front seat travel in order to gain extra bit of knee room in the rear. The FWD cars have more width at front foot level because the gearbox in the RWD design intrudes into the passenger compartment. The Commodore is particularly bad in this respect because it has to allow for engine options up to the 5.0ltr V8. The rear seat of the Magna was a clear winner in this test. Next is the two Holden’s in second place. (The Camira is really a very clever design) Fords Telstar is next in third. In comparison with the other cars in the group the Bluebird and Corona are just not in the race – both are cramped in all aspects.
Handling on the road.
We tested the cars handling traits under difficult conditions for them around the tight right hand corner at the end of the straight at Oran Park. To makes things interesting the track was wet and greasy. The Magna was a slight disappointment. Until then, under most conditions it had behaved in a neutral manner with a touch of under steer when driven hard. Pushed hard into the greasy Oran park corner it under steered badly with the front slewing wide as the front heavy bias really took control of the car.
Not the other cars were angels under the same conditions. The Telstar also under steered as did the Bluebird but the Nissan always felt controllable. The Corona was great fun, it could be prodded into under steer or over steer at will.
The two Holden’s came out best. The FWD Camira under steered gently but always felt as through it would hold a tighter line and therefore be safer. The Commodore tended to hang it’s tail out, but kept a tight line and was easy to control.
On the road the Magna is a superior car to its rivals (dumb dumb we know that!) It is quieter than anything this side of a high priced European. The high gearing gives the car a theoretical top speed of 240 kmh at 6000 rpm. The Magna doesn’t break any new ground in keeping noise down what it does is keep the noise outside the passenger compartment. We wonder if this design approach is a sound one as it would be better not to create the noise in the first place. The A pillars could be smoother and we were surprised to see that then roof gutters are exposed as the Colt has wind cheating concealed gutters which keep the noise down.
Winner/losers
The Magna is the winner in almost every way. The Magna is the pacesetter amongst Australian Designed cars (remember that although the car was originally a Japanese Sigma it had enough local input to qualify it as Australian).
Perhaps the FWD Corona and Bluebird will do a better job and beat the Magna at its own game. We wonder if either of these cars will take the cunning step of increasing the width to better suit the needs of Australia…
The Commodore is only a little way behind the Magna in interior space, quietness and ride comfort. The Commodore with its bigger engine feels more comfortable to drive at times.
The Camira has an almost sporting feel about it, drive it hard and it will reward you.
The Telstar is a bit bland against this collection.
The Corona Avante has high levels of ride and comfort but it deteriorate suddenly if pushed hard. The 2.4 has too much torque for the chassis to cope.
Finally the Bluebird. A car with character that will appeal to the person who finds the average Japanese car dull. The new engine is not the leap forward we expected, but the car’s performance is good nonetheless.