96 whichcar.com.au/wheels
created the Stinger’s coke-bottle hips and broad, planted
stance. Internally, it’s definitely a case of less is more,
where simple, elegant design and flowing forms rule, yet
the packaging of the Stinger neatly supports its GT-like
form. It may not offer the room of the Sonata, but you’re
stepping into a cosseting, comfortable four-seater, with
its steering column much closer to hortizontal and your
legs stretched out in front, sports-car style, not into a
vast area that fails to truly welcome you.
With four bodies on board, that’s exactly how the
Stinger behaves. Even riding on relatively modest
225/45R18s, it feels taut when driving on your own,
to the point where you always know what’s going on
underneath, but when punished on challenging turf,
you can keep adding speed and the Stinger simply
demolishes the road surface. It has an underlying
pliancy and levelness to its suspension behaviour that, in
conjunction with its handling immediacy and rear-drive
purity, helps it transcend the medium-size class
in which it so obviously competes.
The same used to apply to the loping, luxurious VF
Calais, so it’s a hugely interesting exercise examining the
differences between its former self and the front-drive
turbo-petrol ZB version. For starters, the new Calais’
packaging is terrific, with loads of rear-seat legroom and
an amphitheatre-style view in all directions, combined
with vast amounts of front-seat height adjustment. If
you’re mega-tall (like some Germans), you can dump the
Holden’s supportive front chairs on their runners – to
the detriment of rear toe room – and still have headroom
beneath its skimpy little sunroof. But the Calais’ sloping
rear roofline does impede on rear headroom. If you
demand vertical space, buy the more handsome and
useful Commodore Sportwagon.
What can’t be discounted, though, is the Calais’
unbreakable ride. You can hammer over rough surfaces
and it refuses to be shaken, even though it isn’t as quietas the Camry in doing so, and there’s a bombproof feel
to the ZB that makes spending many hours bonding with
its superb driving position utterly effortless.
The flipside of this bombproof nature, however, is that
the Holden is also furnished a little like a bomb shelter.
It’s a Calais in name only. In lieu of the nameplate’s
former plushness, warmth and texture, the new car feels
German-style fleet hack, with a distinct Aldi flavour. Its
seemingly hard-wearing interior should do a decent job
of rolling with life’s punches, yet it’s about as colourful
as a coal mine. Unlike the Stinger and new Camry – not
to mention a three-year-old Volkswagen Passat – the
ZB Calais isn’t the flavoursome premium alternative it
needed to be.
Neither is the Mondeo, though at least it has age
in its defence. Daggy home hi-fi silver console trim
and the lack of a digital speedo expose the Ford’s
2012 vintage, yet there’s an inherent rightness – and
suppleness – to the Mondeo that keeps it at the pointy
end for driving panache. In fact, its overly familiar shape
and dated dashboard design completely undersell the
finesse and depth of engineering that are in the chassis
and drivetrain of this car, not to mention the overall
quietness and ride comfort.
The Mondeo treads a fine middle ground between the
controlled tautness of the Stinger and Calais, and the
refined suppleness of the Camry, rounding off edges of
bumps while maintaining excellent body control and
handling poise, right up to the point where the Holden’s
handling focus and steering precision ultimately nudge
it ahead of the heavier, softer Ford.
But it’s the Camry that takes the lead for ride. While
its rear seat leaves passengers sitting a little splay-
legged, without the foot and toe room of the Ford and
Holden, the softly-sprung Toyota is sweetly damped and
glides along with a quiet, Lexus-like sheen. Even its
windscreen wipers have a silky movement emblematic ofThe supple Toyota is sweetly damped and
glides along with silky smoothness
FISHY GRILLE ASIDE,
NEW CAMRY MAKES
A POSITIVE VISUAL
IMPRESSION, EVEN
IN ‘STEEL BLONDE’