Mercedes MLC - it's Merc's X6 crossover

Mercedes is going chasing after the cult success of the BMW X6 with a new, sleeker (read less practical) M-class. Dubbed informally the MLC, we'll see this new sporty SUV in 2014. 

Project C166 - the codename for the 2014 Merc MLC - was approved at a Daimler board meeting in July 2011. This is no mere fantasy: it has been assigned to the Alabama plant in the US with a firm start-of-production date of March 2014. 

Why is Mercedes building the MLC sporty SUV?

The real driving force behind the five-door M-class coupe was of course the BMW X6. Initially ridiculed because of its compromised packaging and villainous stance, the widebody lowrider BMW SUV turned out to be a surprise smash hit which still sells between 40,000 and 60,000 units a year.

After the confirmed Audi Q6 and Porsche Cajun and tentative Jaguar crossover, the Mercedes MLC is already the fourth premium model that targets the same niche as the X6.

Like its rivals, C166 gets a bespoke body which shares no exterior panels with the M-class donor vehicle. Those who have seen the final proposal describe it as sporty and quite aggressive with CLC and T-model estate car overtones.

So will the Merc MLC just be an impractical 4x4 coupe?

Although it is quantifiably lower than the M-class, the MLC does not compromise rear leg- and headroom like the X6, according to CAR's sources. Means to this end include sufficiently wide rear doors, a less radical roofline, adjustable rear seats and a full-length console. 

The luggage compartment may struggle to haul tall XXL cubes like refrigerators, but it is commendably flexible, easy to load thanks to a low lip and available with a clever divide-and–tie–down system.

Launching in 2014: MLC and a facelifted M-class

The MLC is due to go on sale in the summer of 2014, only weeks before the faclifted M-class becomes available. It therefore incorporates all the upgrades under preparation for the sister model, like the latest in infotainment, lighting and driver aids. 

Characteristic styling elements include bespoke headlights, taillights and indicators; a meaner-looking and more upright trademark grille with enough holes to accommodate additional cameras and sensors required to monitor the road, traffic and the parking environment; and a sportier interior with additional comfort features. 

What you cannot specify for the on-road-biased M coupe are the off-road package, a BMW-style active steering and a humble four-cylinder engine. Instead, Mercedes is promoting the so-called Active Curve System which is quite similar to the Dynamic Drive option offered on the X6. The Airmatic air suspension and adaptive damping are standard. 

Engines in the Merc MLC

Enginewise, the MLC wants to be sportier and more upmarket than the M-class which is more of an all-rounder. The range starts with a new twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 which develops 333bhp and 354lb ft. One step up, we find the blown 5.4-litre V8 which is good for 435bhp and 516lb ft. The brawny AMG edition, complete with bespoke bad boy make-up, is rated at 544bhp and 590lb ft. 

The only diesel is a 3.0-litre V6 which musters 265bhp and 460lb ft. Also on the cards is a plug-in hybrid which combines either 3.0-litre V6 (diesel or petrol) with a 50bhp electric motor and a 8kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The MLC price premium over the base model is expected to be in the region of €4000.

Suzuki Swift Sport CAR

In an age when Clios and Minis have 200bhp, Golfs and Meganes sport 250bhp, and the hottest A3 and 1-series offer up over 300bhp, Suzuki’s new Mk2 Swift Sport is a breath of (modest) fresh air.

The four-cylinder engine remains at a mere 1.6 litres (naturally aspirated, of course), and despite it gaining a variable intake system and tweaked variable valve timing over its predecessor, as the Mk1 SS boasted just 121bhp, a 10% increase in peak power equates to a modest 134bhp. Peak torque is up too, but by just 9lb ft. 

Meek numbers, but then the first Swift Sport was magnificent despite its lack of headline figures. Does the new car match up? Read on for our first drive review of the new Suzuki Swift Sport.There’s stiffer front and rear suspension, new 17in alloys save a /kilo/ per corner, and there’s now a gearbox with a sixth gear. First through five remain tightly stacked, but the extra cog cuts emissions (from 165 to 147g/km), improves fuel economy (39.8 become 44.1mpg), and mean less frenetic cruising. At least that’s the theory; the reality is that acceleration still isn’t stellar, and you will still be pulling 3000rpm at 70mph.

The standard Swift’s design subtlety improved by a subtle bodykit, there’s room in the back for tall people (and the headrests actually extend high enough to support your head), and the boot’s not bad either. Add in improvements in motorway refinement (short gearing notwithstanding), loads of standard equipment (air-con, cruise control, electric door mirrors, Bluetooth, MP3 and USB connectivity, and seven airbags), and you’ve got a decent little hot hatch

Our test route took us through mountains near Barcelona, the first heavy downpour in months leaving the roads rather slippery. There’s the tiniest hint of torque steer in first gear, but thereafter you can pin the throttle without fear of repercussions. Then shift, fast as you can, through the slick gearbox, right foot flat on the right pedal again just as soon as the cogs mesh, up to 7000rpm, engine happy to sing to the red, and roaring along nicely. Lift slightly for a blind crest or bend, or hard on the progressive, positive brakes, and then flat again. 

The steering’s accurate, quick and direct, it’s nimble, there’s good chassis balance, but it’s a bit more comfortable and composed than the first Swift Sport. Still fun, though. Great fun. What broken Tarmac we could find revealed little wrong with the ride, there being just a slight patter from the secondary ride. Turn the ESP off and the hints of mild understeer mature in the atrocious conditions, but a mid-corner lift won’t see you spinning backwards off the road.

GM's Chevy Volt faces safety probe after damaged batteries catch fire

WASHINGTON -- General Motors Co.'s electric plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt is the subject of a U.S. safety probe after its lithium-ion batteries, supplied by LG Chem Ltd., caught fire in crash tests.

A Volt caught fire three weeks after a side-impact crash test May 12 while parked at a testing center in Wisconsin, leading regulators to conduct more tests. Volt battery packs were damaged in three more tests last week, causing two fires, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday in a statement on its website.

"The agency is concerned that damage to the Volt's batteries as part of three tests that are explicitly designed to replicate real-world crash scenarios have resulted in fire," NHTSA said in the statement.

The U.S. regulator said it doesn't know of any crashes outside of testing that have led to battery-related fires in Volts or other cars powered by lithium-ion batteries. Chevy Volt owners whose vehicles have not been in a serious crash don't need to be concerned, the agency said.

GM maintains that the car is safe. The automaker and NHTSA have been working for months to replicate the fire in the car's lithium-ion battery that occurred three weeks after the May collision test, Greg Martin, a GM spokesman, said by telephone.

Inducing battery failure

The testing, which involved a stand-alone battery assembly, "is part of a broader program over the last six months to induce battery failure under extreme conditions," Martin said.

LG Chem, South Korea's biggest chemical maker, is the Volt's battery vendor. Dick Pacini, a spokesman with the Millerschin Group, which works for LG Chem, said he couldn't immediately provide comment. On Nov. 22, LG Chem said in a statement that it was cooperating with NHTSA and GM.

NHTSA, which said it's working with the U.S. Defense and Energy departments to analyze the fires, conducted its first new test on Nov. 16 without a fire. The second test on Nov. 17 saw an initial temporary increase in battery temperature after the crash, and the battery pack caught fire at the test facility on Nov. 24. In a third test on Nov. 18, the battery was rotated hours after the crash and "began to smoke and emit sparks shortly after," NHTSA said.

At this stage of Volt marketing, the NHTSA investigation will probably not hurt sales, said Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics Inc., a consulting firm in Birmingham, Mich.

The car has been on sale for a year as the manufacturer ramps up production. Most Volt owners are early adopters with an interest in the technology, and won't be deterred by the post-collision fires, Hall said.

"If they were selling to the mass market, it would be a bigger problem," he said.

GM started selling the car in seven states and began offering the Volt in all 50 states in October, Martin said.

Chevrolet sold 5,003 Volts this year through October, according to Autodata Corp., a research firm in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.

GM will push production to a rate of 60,000 a year starting in January. Of the 60,000 GM plans to build next year, 45,000 are earmarked for the U.S., and the rest will be exported, the company has said.