Focus ST avoids P-Plate restriction

Update, May 8: Since this article was published, Holden has advised motoring.com.au that the tare weight figure of 1586kg originally supplied is incorrect. This figure is actually Astra VXR's kerb weight. With power of 206kW and (adjusted) weight of 1510kg (tare mass), the Astra VXR's power to weight ratio is actually 136.4kW per tonne, placing it on the restricted list for P-Plate drivers.

Coincidence? We think not.

Ford and Holden have both announced two Euro-sourced hot hatches this week – and both of them are on the unrestricted list for P-Plate drivers around the country.

At 129.12kW per tonne the Focus, with a peak power rating of 184kW and a tare weight of 1425kg, slides in under the power to weight ratio threshold of 130kW per tonne.

Even closer to the threshold without actually crossing over to the restricted side, the Astra's VXR power/weight ratio is 129.88kW per tonne. That's based on the rebadged Opel developing 206kW and weighing 1586kg.

When the same basic car was sold here as the Opel Astra OPC, its kerb weight was 92kg less – at 1494kg. Rated at the same peak power, the Opel's power/weight ratio was 137.88kW, which put it out of the reach of P-Platers. Some of the added weight in the Holden version is undoubtedly a consequence of a different specification – 20-inch alloy wheels rather than the 19-inch wheels fitted to the OPC model, for instance – but it does beg an obvious question.

Ford and Holden are by no means the only brands offering cars of a particular specification to suit their target buyers, of course. Other vehicles in the hot-hatch sector of the VFACTS small-car segment to limbo under the threshold include Volkswagen's Golf GTi Performance Pack (123.9kW/tonne) and the Peugeot 308 GT petrol (126kW/tonne).

Alfa's Giulietta QV (133kW/tonne) narrowly misses out, and if you're a younger driver with your heart set on a Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy (155kW/tonne), move on – there's nothing to see here.

It's not just hot hatches where the car companies duck and weave around legislation. In recent years German prestige brands have been expanding their respective ranges with vehicles posting official sub-7.0L/100km fuel consumption ratings – to avoid incurring the Luxury Car Tax for vehicles costing in excess of $61,884.

Nor are the legislators alone in providing a benchmark ceiling for the car companies. With ANCAP safety testing protocol changing with each new year, the race is on to launch a new car ahead of each change to take advantage of a more lax regime from the previous year. This year, vehicles tested by the local crash safety authority may actually be rated as safer cars – now that ANCAP is committed to harmonisation with Euro NCAP – than if they had been tested last year. Yet even then, there's still wriggle room for the local distributors if they convince ANCAP that a Euro NCAP test doesn't apply to Aussie-spec cars.