Drive of my life is high-tech | The West Australian

STEPHEN WILLIAMSThe West Australian This is a tale of a day that is bound to stir the envy in a lot of boys, young and old, not to mention a fair few girls. In the morning, I headed off in a

yet-to-be-released HSV 20 Years of Maloo ute for a two-hour drive to Broadford, in rural Victoria. There, I was greeted by the trickiest little racetrack I have encountered along with the

full line-up of upcoming HSV E Series 3 sedans, wagons and utes, waiting to be tested. But before I was let loose, I got to sit in the passenger seat of a GTS model while Holden V8 Supercars

champion Garth Tander did three demo laps. What's scary about this very tight track, which is used for racing motorcycles rather than cars, is the blindness of the bends and the

likelihood you'll slide off coming out of them if overcooking the throttle. The first time around, being thrown into a blind bend - with the car's screen showing G forces of 1.2 -

was all thrills because the confidence in Tander was absolute. In less sure hands, it would have been terrifying. Then it was my turn, the orientation task made a little easier by my first

car being an auto version. I then wheeled through the various other models, gradually getting better at reading the track and pushing harder. The acceleration, handling and braking potential

of these cars is amazing and the track is the place to find out about them. The beauty of racetrack-ready cars like the HSVs is that at the end of an exhilarating track day the same vehicle

is a practical, comfortable and safe daily vehicle. The ride is acceptable and the seats are not overly bolstered, suiting even those with plenty of girth. The big bonus of the day was that

I actually learnt a lot about my driving skills, or lack thereof, thanks to one of the big innovations in the new HSV range, the Enhanced Driver Interface, which streams vehicle performance

data to a touch screen. The system, whose modes include a stopwatch, data logging and corner G forces, was developed with MoTeC, which also supplies V8 Supercars teams. A race page uses GPS

to set tracks and record lap times. Most major Australian racetracks, including Barbagallo, are programmed into the system. The EDI data from my drive in the GTS model was downloaded on to

a USB stick and then a laptop. A Holden Racing Team crew member went through screen after screen of maps, graphs and tables, helping me to understand the strengths and weaknesses of my

performance. It was highly instructive, providing specific advice about speeds, gear shifts and track position. A lap in which I pushed really hard was slower than one in which I took it

easier, showing that smoothness and flow usually work better than smoking up the tyres. The person whose car is mainly about getting from A to B might be bewildered about people whose daily

transport needs to give the likes of lap times and G forces. Part of the answer is that for a typical HSV owner, their car is a source of pride. Such motorists tend to be obsessive about

their vehicle's engineering as well as being enthusiastic about driving. Many get to drive on tracks as part of a club or by paying a fee for track time. The EDI is bright, colourful

and full of bells and whistles, and I can imagine an owner showing it proudly to their mates - which is going to make them want one. GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM THEWEST.COM.AU IN YOUR INBOX.

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