Features

By Chirsteen Haddadin
Certified Money Coach

Money is a common cause of conflict and tension in relationships. Reflecting on your and your spouse’s money beliefs and how they formed is the first step to understanding the mindset behind your financial behaviours, allowing for real shifts and changes in your financial reality. 

A child’s relationship with money

When Fatima was eight years old, her parents took her to the bank for the first time and opened a savings account for her. Her parents were keen on setting a healthy example for the family of financial planning. As a result, Fatima grew up believing that money requires attention and diligence as she watched her parents meet all the family’s needs in an efficient and timely manner while saving for her education and investing in their retirement.

In a different household, Faisal grew up with two hard-working parents living paycheck to paycheck, figuring things out as they moved along with no plan or guidance. His parents often fought and had heated arguments about money. Faisal grew up believing that money is a source of stress and pain and decided early on in life to avoid money topics. He continued a behavioural pattern of spending all his earnings, maxing his credit and dealing with any money problem as it emerged with quick, half-baked solutions that required his minimum time and effort.

A couple’s relationship with money and each other

Years later, Fatima and Faisal met, fell in love and got married. Faisal’s carelessness and sometimes recklessness around money started triggering an obsessive behaviour in Fatima. She started focusing on their money challenges, the aimless spending and the lack of savings and financial clarity. She expected Faisal to step up and lead their family’s financial management, not aware that Faisal was emotionally incapable of leading this transformation. The more Fatima pushed him, the more Faisal withdrew. The wider the gap got between them, the more they drifted apart. 

After hard, honest, emotional and highly empathetic conversations between Fatima and Faisal, they understood how their childhood experiences, memories and perceptions had built their beliefs around money. Fatima’s sense of clarity around money was related to her sense of security and how she expected Faisal to provide that sense of security. Faisal believed that money conversations cause tensions and stress, leading him to avoid money conversations and hence a lack of financial awareness. 

Toward a healthier relationship

Once Fatima and Faisal understood the “why” behind their opposing money attitudes that caused so much misunderstanding in their relationship, they began to shift their money beliefs to better serve them as a couple and as a family.

Fatima accepted the fact that both she and Faisal were responsible for their financial security. Her money conversations with Faisal changed from “I expect you to do this” to “we need to do this” turning herself, her discipline and skill to being part of the solution.

Faisal accepted the fact that money conversations and plans can help you avoid money worries and future stress, and has grown fond of their money conversations where they budget, set goals and targets for themselves and plan for their future.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

A Burning
Megha Majumdar
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2020
Pp. 234

Steeped in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of her native Kolkata, Megha Majumdar’s debut novel “A Burning” is original, extraordinary and often jolting in both plot and style. The story is replete with betrayals, as poverty and humiliation drive some to do the unthinkable in order to get ahead. The book also takes a critical look at the power of social media and the press to invade privacy, manipulate public opinion and sabotage the justice system — and how a repressive state can use this to its advantage.

Much of the story is told in short chapters of first-person narrative by two young female characters: Jivan lives with her parents in the slums, but attended a good school until 10th grade, thanks to an NGO scholarship, and now works as a salesgirl; Lovely is a hijra, a transgender person, born male but living as a woman, which caused her to be disowned by her family. What links them is that Jivan is teaching Lovely English, needed for the acting career she is pursuing. More deeply, they are linked by the daily indignities they suffer because of being female, poor and outside the mainstream. At one point, Lovely realises that they are no more than insects in the eyes of the rich and powerful. Still, in the course of the novel, one of them will find a niche for herself, while the other will be totally banished.

The shortness of the chapters and the abrupt incisiveness of the young women’s narrations thrust the reader headfirst into the plot. Majumdar’s prose shines as she crafts each of their voices to reflect their respective backgrounds, while their outsider status gives them unique insight into how the world works, especially the corruption they see all around them. Despite the difference in their voices, the tone of the two young women is equally audacious in decrying unkindness, hypocrisy and unfairness. 

Other chapters in third-person narrative centre on the lower-middle-class, physical-training teacher, dubbed PT Sir, at the girls’ school Jivan had attended. His function in the novel seems to be to provide a stark contrast to the two unconventional women, for he is ordinary to the point of boredom. Ironically, his very ordinariness leads him into betrayal and corruption, with fatal consequences.

Purely by chance, Jivan witnesses the torching of a train by unknown persons. The train doors are locked from the outside so the passengers have no escape. One hundred burn to death. Incensed by this horrible tragedy, Jivan posts on Facebook, blaming the government, and is quickly arrested. Eager to find a scapegoat for a crime they can’t easily solve, the authorities, aided by the media, compile a heap of circumstantial evidence and reinterpret Jivan’s online chats to charge her with the crimes of arson, terrorism and disloyalty to the state. 

In prison, Jivan encounters new layers of corruption which can determine an inmate’s fate irrevocably. Undaunted, she plays the game, doing favours for select prisoners and wardens to get visits from a journalist who promises to get her side of the story into the newspapers. Desperate to prove her innocence, she tells her whole life story: Her family’s eviction from a coal-mining village by the police so that a company can establish a large, profitable mine; Her father’s police-inflicted injury which left him an invalid as they hadn’t the funds to get him proper medical care; and her mother’s struggle to feed the family after they landed in Kolkata’s slums. All in all, it is a trajectory showing how the system failed them at every turn because they were poor and powerless. Even as Jivan is telling her story from prison, her mother’s tiny food stand is attacked by thugs who tell her to “go back to Bangladesh”—a not-so-subtle reference to her being a Muslim. 

Meanwhile, partly by chance and partly by design, PT Sir is becoming a rising star in JKP, the main Hindu opposition party. As a teacher, he serves as poster boy for school improvement and other community projects aimed at garnering votes for the party, but he is also assigned more nefarious tasks, such as giving false testimony in court trials that the party wants decided in a certain way, hoping to appear as a force for “law and order” and uphold the status quo. He knows Jivan from her time at school. How will he testify about her? By this time, the novel is brimming with suspense.

The fact that the plot is ignited by a train arson reminds of real events in India, especially the 2002 train fire in Gujarat that killed 60 Hindu pilgrims. In ensuing intercommunal riots, 1,000 were killed, mainly Muslims, imperilling interfaith relations for years. Recently adopted laws criminalising interfaith relationships can only add fuel to the flames. In Majumdar’s fictionalised account, there is also a mob scene in which Hindus are incited against Muslims.

While poverty is prominent in many books about India, not since Aravind Adiga’s “The White Tiger” (2008) has the depiction of its cancerous by-products been so visceral. In “A Burning”, Majumdar has delivered an engrossing story, full of human potential and but also of human frailty. It is a warning of what can happen when manhood is made contingent on violence against the Other, when people allow themselves to be pitted against one another by differences in religion, status and life style. In essence, “A Burning” is a cry for a more humane, just society, whereby one person’s success does not hinge on another’s demise.

HELSINKI — Once notorious for its bland food and long, harsh winters, Finland’s repeated success in the annual happiness rankings has helped transform the country’s global reputation, boosting tourism and business. 

The UN-sponsored World Happiness Report elicited some raised eyebrows when it first placed Finland at the top of its listings in 2018: Many of the Nordic country’s 5.5 million people freely describe themselves as taciturn and prone to melancholy, and admit to eyeing public displays of joyfulness with suspicion. 

“When I first heard — and I’m not alone, I would say — I had a big laugh,” television producer Tony Ilmoni told AFP on the still-snowy streets of the capital Helsinki, when Finland was crowned the happiest nation on earth for the fourth year running. 

But the worldwide survey in fact seeks to quantify individuals’ personal freedom and satisfaction with their lives, using survey data from 149 countries alongside measures such as GDP, social support and perceptions of corruption.

Finland excels with its quietly world-class public services, low levels of crime and inequality, and high levels of trust in authority.

“The basics are really good here: We don’t have anyone living in the streets, we do have unemployment but the health service works, the big things like that,” flower seller Riitta Matilainen told AFP.

“But we could be a bit more outgoing and joyful!”

The northern country’s long dark winters were once reputed to be behind high levels of alcoholism and suicide, but a decade-long public health drive has helped cut rates by more than half. 

‘Who wouldn’t 

want to live here?’

For tourism and country-branding chiefs, the “world’s happiest” title has been a blessing they were quick to capitalise on. 

“It’s a really powerful, emotional, evocative thing to say you’re the happiest country in the world. Why would anyone not want to live in the happiest country in the world?” said Joel Willans, a British digital marketer and creator of the “Very Finnish Problems” social media page, who has lived in Finland since the early 2000s. 

“Awareness of Finland has grown during the past few years,” Paavo Virkkunen, head of Finland Promotion Services at Business Finland, told AFP. 

After four years, the happiness trope has been used by countless Finnish businesses to market lifestyle products and to try to attract workers to relocate and join the country’s tech sector. 

Finland’s unflashy cuisine was once derided as something to “endure” by Italian then-president Silvio Berlusconi, and slammed by his French counterpart Jacques Chirac. 

But restaurateurs and product manufacturers now tout the simplicity and natural ingredients of Finnish cooking, claiming it as key to the country’s no-nonsense approach to well-being.

The happiness marketing drive has been led, however, by the travel industry, with Finland’s tourist office appointing Finnish ‘happiness ambassadors’ tasked with introducing visitors to the secrets of Finnish well-being.

“People are curious about [our happiness] and they want to learn about it,” Virkkunen said. 

Key to the Finnish brand of happiness is going outdoors to enjoy the country’s vast forests and thousands of lakes, as well as the traditional Finnish steam bath, the sauna. 

By the start of 2020, tourism to Lapland in northern Finland had reached record levels and the country was attracting more foreign direct investment projects than anywhere else in the Nordics.

While pausing international visitors, the pandemic has, if anything, increased overseas interest in Finland’s clean, sparsely populated nature, leading tourist providers to offer virtual tours.

“Even though people are not able to travel now, you are able to dream about Finland and the happiness of a true connection with nature, where you can really unwind,” said Virkkunen. 

Bubble easily burst

Finland’s four-year dominance in the happiness stakes leaves one problem, however — where to go from here? 

When this year’s results were announced, “it would’ve been more news if Finland had been knocked off the top spot,” Joel Willans joked. 

The long-time Finnish resident believes that the country’s well-functioning, low-stress society has in fact lowered Finns’ tolerance for when things do go wrong. 

“They get really aggrieved,” he said. “Their happiness bubble is easily pricked when things don’t go perfectly.” 

But the benefits of the world happiness title will be long-lasting, Virkkunen believes.

“I think we have grown as a nation, understanding the basics of happiness a bit better than we understood before,” he said.

By Yann Schreiber
Agence France-Presse

FRANKFURT — When Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess joined Twitter in January, he used his first tweet to warn pioneering electric car maker Elon Musk that he was coming after him.

The bold proclamation raised some eyebrows, coming from a carmaker better known for its 2015 "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal than its green credentials.

But all that has changed since the German group announced an offensive to dominate the electric car market globally by 2025, vowing to set up six battery factories in Europe by the end of the decade.

"Volkswagen is the new Tesla," declared the Financial Times, referring to the now dominant Californian e-car group founded by billionaire maverick entrepreneur Musk in 2003.

"Our transformation will be fast, unprecedented and on a scale not seen in the automobile industry in a century," Diess said at VW's inaugural "Power Day", where he fired off a flurry of announcements.

Industry watchers say it's a credible bet.

Bloomberg Intelligence auto analyst Tatsuo Yoshida said Volkswagen "has [the] potential to overtake Tesla's number one position... in a few years".

Karl Brauer, an analyst with CarExpert.com, said VW's "combination of financial resources and manufacturing capacity make it a prime challenger for Tesla's dominance" — even if catching up with its US rival is "not going to be easy".

'Saving face'

Diess, who has headed the 12-brand VW group since 2018, has never hidden his admiration for Musk, whose brash and unconventional ways have a habit of disrupting markets. 

The two men have a friendly relationship and regularly exchange emails, according to an insider.

If the aim of Diess's carefully choreographed "Power Day" was to capture some of the enthusiasm of a Battery Day Tesla held late last year, particularly in the United States, it appears to have worked.

Diess's announcements saw US investors flock into Volkswagen shares, including many small traders using online platforms.

In just a week, the Wolfsburg-based car giant gained 15 per cent on Frankfurt's blue-chip stock exchange, giving the group a market capitalisation of more than 130 billion euros ($155 billion).

The rise puts Diess's 200-billion-euro target within reach but he has a way to go before matching Tesla's $619 billion valuation.

VW's "forced transition" towards more environmentally friendly cars has now been "recognised by the market", said Eric Kirstetter, an auto sector expert at the Roland Berger consulting firm.

VW ironically owes its change of course to the dieselgate scandal, which forced the group into "a face-saving dive into an all-in electro-mobility strategy", said Germany-based industry analyst Matthias Schmidt.

Industry watchers note especially its decision to focus on developing a single platform for all its brands which could well be the game changer for the German giant.

The platform was used for the first time on the ID.3 model which launched late last year.

UBS analyst Patrick Hummel called it "the most significant bet on electric vehicles made by any legacy carmaker to date" as VW's competitors are using mostly mixed platforms and a combination of technologies.

'Not Apple but Samsung'

VW's move is aimed at achieving economies of scale for its 12 brands.

"Tesla is learning what is takes to move into high volume, whereas companies like Volkswagen already have volumes and it's just a matter of switching volumes from one platform to another which they have done routinely in the past," said Subodh Mhaisalkar, executive director of the Energy Research Institute at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

But VW's size also comes with its own disadvantages — consensus has to be found for each major decision not only with the powerful head of the workers' committee but also with managements of the group's various brands.

Beyond the core electric technology, Volkswagen is also playing catch up with Tesla on the just as important software.

Ben Kallo, an analyst at US investment bank Baird, believes Tesla will remain the market leader on electric cars because of its advances in battery cell production and autonomous driving.

"VW might not be the Apple but the Samsung of the electric vehicles world," UBS said in a report.

On Twitter, Diess is still 49 million followers short of Musk.

By Patrick Galey
Agence France-Presse

PARIS — At least one in three patients hospitalised with COVID-19 suffer long-term health issues including multiple organ problems and deteriorated mental health, according to a review of studies looking at the lasting impact of the disease.

Published in the journal Nature Medicine on Monday, the review looked at the frequency of symptoms among Covid “long-haulers”, the most common of which include fatigue, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Authors of the research said the data pointed to an underappreciated health emergency that governments needed to study more closely and find ways to manage. 

“Given the millions of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 globally, the long-term cost on physical, cognitive and mental aspects of health still remain to be seen,” lead author Kartik Sehgal, a medical oncologist at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told AFP. 

“We may be capturing only the tip of the iceberg.”

While severe COVID-19 infects patients’ lungs — leaving many with long term breathing issues — studies have shown that the virus also attacks other organs, leading to a variety of complications including cardiovascular illness and chronic inflammation.

Sehgal and colleagues reviewed nine long-term studies from Europe, the United States and China and found that several patients reported multiple organ problems months after they were discharged from hospital. 

Overall, they found that 30 per cent of patients studied reported at least one symptom, such as fatigue, shortness of breath and psychiatric conditions.

One study in Italy of 143 patients found that nearly 90 per cent reported lingering symptoms 60 days after they recovered from initial Covid-19 infection. 

The most common symptoms were fatigue (53.1 per cent), shortness of breath (43.4 per cent), joint pain (27.3 per cent) and chest pain (21.7 per cent). 

In total, more than half of patients experienced multiple symptoms two months after leaving hospital.

Three studies from France, Britain and China showed that between 25-30 per cent of patients reported sleep disturbances weeks after recovering from COVID-19. 

And approximately 20 per cent of patients had reported hair loss, according to results from multiple studies. 

‘Medical needs 

don’t stop’

The results regarding mental health were perhaps equally concerning. 

In a cohort of 402 survivors in Italy one month after they were hospitalised, 56 per cent tested positive for at least one psychiatric condition such as PTSD, depression or anxiety. 

The authors said that around 30 per cent of patients had developed PTSD after being hospitalised with COVID-19. 

“It is important to not forget about the mental health effects of long-COVID-19, while taking care of the physical symptoms, as they can be easily missed,” said Sehgal, who is also an instructor at Harvard Medical School.

The researchers called for further investigation into long-Covid, and the wider establishment of clinics to treat people with lingering, life-altering symptoms. 

Sehgal said he hoped the research showed that simply surviving COVID-19 is not necessarily a satisfactory health outcome. 

“Although preventing deaths remains the most important goal, it is also important to recognise the multiorgan morbidity of COVID-19,” he said.

“The medical needs of patients with COVID-19 don’t stop at the time of hospital discharge and they also don’t necessarily stop after three to four weeks.”

WASHINGTON — Children who are 10 and younger produce more antibodies in response to coronavirus infection than adolescents and adults, a study showed on Monday.

The authors of the paper, which appeared in JAMA Network Open, said the finding helped illuminate why children are less susceptible to severe COVID-19 than adults — though this is still an area of very active research and many factors are believed to be at play.

A team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine examined almost 32,000 antibody tests from New York City between April and August 2020, finding that a similar number of the 1,200 children and 30,000 adults showed signs of past infection — 17 per cent and 19 per cent.

The scientists then examined a subset of patients who tested positive — 85 children and 3,648 adults — to determine the levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. 

This is a key type of “neutralising” antibody that binds to the spike protein of the virus, preventing it from invading cells.

The 32 children aged one to 10 years showed median IgG levels almost five times higher than 127 young adults aged 19 to 24 years.

Finally, they focused on a subset of 126 positive patients aged one to 24 years, none of whom had experienced severe COVID-19, to further characterise the antibody response.

In this final group, children aged one to 10 years had on average more than twice the levels of IgG antibodies of adolescents aged 11 to 18 years, who in turn had more than twice the average level of young adults aged 19 to 24 years.

The authors wrote: “Our findings suggest that the differences in clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in paediatric patients compared with adult patients could be partly due to age-related immune response.”

The fact that children are less prone to severe COVID-19 is in some ways counterintuitive, given how much they are affected by other respiratory illnesses, and many theories abound. 

A paper in Nature Communications last month by researchers in Australia suggested children have a more active “innate” immunity — the immune system’s first line of defence which gets triggered before it raises antibodies, and involves cells such as neutrophils that patrol the body looking for infections.

Another theory is linked to the fact that children have fewer cell receptors in their respiratory tracts called “ACE2” which the coronavirus uses to gain entry to our cells.

One paradoxical result from the new research was that antibody levels were lowest for young adults but rose again with age — despite the fact that we know older people are more vulnerable. 

The authors admitted they could not completely explain this and suggested the reason for higher hospitalisation and death rates among the elderly could relate to higher rates of comorbidities. 

Obesity, which is a major risk factor for severe COVID-19, is associated with a phenomenon called “cytokine storm” where the immune system goes into overdrive, damaging organs. 

The fact that obese people have a higher baseline level of the signalling proteins called cytokines could also be associated with heightened antibody production, the authors wrote.

The latest crossover nameplate added to Opel’s traditionally SUV-light line-up, the Grandland X first launched back in late 2017, as the lately somewhat low key German brand tentatively began expanding more into the ever more popular crossover SUV automotive segment.

Effectively succeeding the Frontera and Antara — respectively based on previous Isuzu MU and Chevrolet Equinox models — during Opel’s General Motors era, the Grandland X is similarly based on an imported platform, courtesy of Peugeot and the PSA Group, which after recent acquisitions, is now known as Stallantis.

Understated appeal

The largest of Opel’s current three crossover models, the Grandland X is a compact crossover competing in the same segment as its Peugeot 3008 cousin. And though based a crossover platform of French provenance — given Opel’s traditional car-focused portfolio and engineering — the Grandland X is, however, imbued with a distinctly Opel sense of driving character and cabin ambiance. Similarly, its design cues have a more conservative Germanic sensibility with the use of more straight-cut lines and understated un-flamboyant motifs, in contrast to the 3008’s more expressive stylizations. 

A handsome and understated crossover interpretation of contemporary Opel design cues, the Grandland X has an upright fascia with slim, squinting and swept back headlights flanking its hexagonal grille and set deep under a clamshell bonnet. In addition to three sharp crease lines atop its bonnet, the Grandland X’s flanks feature a swooshing tick-like motif created from by its forward jutting D-pillar and strong side crease. Meanwhile prominent concave side grooves accentuates the Grandland’s lower black-clad sills, which in turn are complemented by its blacked out glasshouse pillars.

Muscular mid-range

Sitting under its muscular bonnet, the Grandland X’s turbocharged direct injection 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine powers the front wheels through a slick-shifting and responsive 6-speed automatic gearbox, as driven and available in Jordan. Offered elsewhere with other engine options including a more powerful 1.6-litre, new 8-speed automatic gearbox, and optional front-biased four-wheel-drive, the Grandland X 1.6T is served perfectly well with front-wheel-drive, which imbues it a perky, playful and almost hatchback-like driving character and keeps weight and fuel consumption comparatively low at around 1.4-tonnes and 7l/100km on the combined cycle, respectively.

Developing 163BHP at 5,500-6,000rpm and 177lb throughout a broad 1,400-5,000rpm band, the Grandland X’s is responsive from idling, with quick-spooling turbo and a generously rich mid-range torque plateau for confident overtaking. Subtly muscular yet willing to its top-end, the Grandland X is, however, best when riding its ample mid-range torque sweet spot, where it is refined, flexible and efficient. Gently tugging the steering wheel when launching with a heavy foot on the throttle, the Grandland X is comparatively quick through 0-100km/h in 9.4-seconds, and can attain a 201km/h top speed.

Confident comfort

Confident, stable and with a buttoned down ride quality typical of many German cars, despite its French roots, the Grandland X’s is certainly set-up for a typical Opel feel. Settled on the road and in vertical movement and on rebound, the Grandland X can feel slightly on the firm side over sudden ruts, bumps and cracks in the road, as driven with low profile 225/55R18 tyres. With a good directional stability, the Grandland X seems a good prospect for long distance cruising despite a somewhat short test drive available.

Stable from sudden unintended inputs on the straight ahead, the Grandland X’s steering is direct, quick and accurate, if somewhat clinical rather than layered with textured feel and nuance. Turning tidily and gripping taut into corners, the Grandland X proved surprisingly nimble and agile for a moderately high riding crossover. Eager into and through corners, its rear follows through just as willingly and seems like it would be quite adjustable and eager should the occasion arise. That said, the Grandland X feel committed through corners, while body lean was well controlled.

Committed and competitive

Alert and eager changing direction, the Grandland X drives with much of the manoeuvrability of a family hatchback, and without the added weight, complexity, cost or altering road-holding dynamics of a part-time four-wheel-drive system. Instead, it drives with fluency, predictability and consistency through corners. Inside, its cabin is quiet, refined and well-insulated from noise, harshness and vibrations. Meanwhile, fit and finish seems sturdy and precise, and materials are of good quality with plenty of soft textures. Classy and business-like — if again, slightly clinical — the Grandland X has a distinctly conservative, yet up-market ambiance inside

Well-spaced, the Grandland X well accommodates taller drivers in front and better than many rivals in the rear. Its driving position is well-adjustable with a chunky steering wheel and user-friendly controls and infotainment system falling easily to hand. Visibility is mostly good and aided by reversing camera and sensors. Luggage room is flat and accommodates an under-floor spare tyre, with generous 514-litre volume expanding to 1,652-litre. Reasonably well-equipped — but with only one USB outlet — the Grandland X is competitively priced, at discount for 2020 model year versions, as driven in recent weeks.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 1.6-litre, transverse, in-line turbocharged 4-cylinders
• Bore x stroke: 77 x 85.8mm
• Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, variable valve timing, direct injection
• Gearbox: 6-speed automatic, front-wheel-drive
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 163 (165) [121] @5,500-6,000rpm
• Specific power: 102BHP/litre
• Power-to-weight: 114.8BHP/tonne (estimate)
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 177 (240) @1,400-5,000rpm
• Specific torque: 150.2Nm/litre
• Torque-to-weight: 169Nm/tonne (estimate)
• 0-100 km/h: 9.4-seconds
• Top speed: 201km/h
• Fuel capacity: 53-litres
• Fuel economy, urban/extra-urban/combined: 9.8-/5.3-/7-litres/100km
• CO2 emissions, combined: 156g/km
• Length: 4,477mm
• Width: 1,856mm
• Height: 1,609mm
• Wheelbase: 2,675mm
• Overhang, F/R: 933/869mm
• Track, F/R: 1,595/1,610mm
• Minimum ground clearance: 123mm
• Luggage volume, min/max: 514-/1,652-litres
• Weight: 1,420kg (estimate)
• Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion
• Turning radius: 11.05-metres
• Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/torsion beam
• Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/discs
• Tyres: 225/55R18
• Price, on-the-road: JD24,900 (2020 model year)