Big boys' four play

By ALASTAIR SLOANE motoring editor

The Holden-Ford rivalry has moved up a gear and into technology once foreign to both rear-drive carmakers, that of electronic all-wheel-drive systems with traction and stability controls.

Ford New Zealand has confirmed that its upcoming Falcon-based Territory lifestyle wagon will come with the latest Bosch 8.0 system, which incorporates anti-lock brakes (ABS), traction control (TCS) and electronic stability control (ESP).

It is the first time such a package has been employed on an Australian-built vehicle.

Holden's all-wheel-drive Adventra station wagon, a more robust and powerful variant of the standard Commodore load-carrier, will use the Bosch 5.3 system, which packages ABS and TCS and was first seen in Europe about seven years ago.

Both systems are designed to prevent the careless driver from turning the vehicle on its ear and have been adapted by Ford and Holden engineers for use on varying Australian and New Zealand road surfaces.

The stability control system uses anti-lock brakes and traction control to maintain stability when sensors detect the vehicle is near its physical limits.

Bosch says it will add extra functions to its 8.0 system, offering even greater driving safety, comfort and convenience, over the next few years.

Also included in the Ford package will be optional descent control, which is engaged by a dash-mounted switch and applies the brakes to control the vehicle's speed downhill.

The Territory and Adventra will go on sale in New Zealand next year. They will use largely similar all-wheel-drive hardware, transferring power to the front and rear wheels via three open differentials.

But the Territory will split torque roughly 50:50 front to rear while Holden's system transfers it 38:62.

Holden's all-wheel-drive system is called Cross Trac and uses software developed for the Hummer H2 programme, the civilian version of the American military carry-all, the Humvee.

But Cross Trac, unlike many all-wheel-drive systems based on traction control, does not reduce engine power when one or more wheels start to slip, says Holden.

At least one Holden passenger car will get AWD before production centres on the next-generation Commodore VE variants in 2005/6. It is expected to be a limited-edition model of the Monaro coupe.

Ford began development of the Territory stability system with Bosch three years ago and completed more than 1.1 million kilometres of testing on a variety of test vehicles in Australia and Europe.

One of the vehicles it fitted with the electronic AWD system is the Falcon XR6 pictured above. It trialled the system in the Australian bush. Other vehicles tested it in the snows of Sweden and on the high-speed autobahns of Germany. But Ford says it has no plans to build an AWD Falcon sedan.

Bosch automotive engineer Carl Liersch said the frozen lakes in Sweden offered consistent surfaces covering extremes from polished ice to dry bitumen.

"Ideally, we require large areas with a-low friction surface to conduct cornering and lane-changing manoeuvres in safety, and Sweden is the perfect place to do that," he said.

"In addition, extreme low-friction conditions are often experienced on New Zealand and Australian roads.

"Of course, low-friction conditions are not only restricted to winter. Wet clay or grass, leaf litter and so on can also present challenging driving conditions.

"As a result, all the safety-related systems in Territory must be tested over the total spectrum of surface conditions."

Ford product development vice-president Trevor Worthington said a key requirement of the Territory programme was to provide customers with a vehicle that gave the image and utility of a four-wheel-drive vehicle but without truck-like handling.

"The recurring theme from the numerous focus groups conducted on Territory was that people wanted a vehicle with car-like dynamics of ride, handling and manoeuvrability.

"While testing in areas such as Sweden and Outback Australia allowed us to investigate the limits of the stability control system, it was vital that Territory performed at its best in typical urban environments.

"To that end, the bulk of Territory evaluation has been carried out on some of the worst roads we could find in downtown Sydney and Melbourne to ensure Territory could easily cope with the conditions where most people will use the car.

"As well, we spent considerable time testing the car on Australia's dirt roads, with Bosch providing expert assistance in modifying the ABS software to cope with the different levels of traction drivers venturing off the highway can experience."

"It all adds up to thousands of hours tuning and re-tuning Territory in conditions typical to New Zealand and Australia," said Worthington.

Ford will build two variants of the Territory. Stability control will be standard on the all-wheel drive model but will not be available with the rear-wheel drive version, which will use traction control.

* ABS inventor Bosch has just built its 100 millionth anti-locking brake system. ABS prevents the wheels from locking under hard braking, allowing the driver to steer around obstacles. Bosch expects to build 14 million ABS systems next year.

ABS is now fitted to two out of every three new vehicles worldwide. From mid-next year, all passenger cars sold in the European Union will have ABS.