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The more up-market sister model to one of Jordan’s most popular cars in recent years, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is built on the same platform and uses the same mechanicals as the ubiquitous Ford Fusion Hybrid, but is wrapped in a more luxurious package. If not quite as massively represented on the road as its Blue Oval badge sister, the MKZ Hybrid is nevertheless an ever more common sight on Jordanian streets, especially in its final recent face-lifted guise.

Contemporary yet conservative

First introduced in 2013 and aesthetically updated in 2016, the second generation MKZ was finally put out to pasture as of last year as Lincoln moves away from saloon cars to an SUV and crossover-oriented line-up. That said, recent discontinuation, however, doesn’t seem to have put a dent in the MKZ Hybrid’s popularity as an independent import, with its familiar and widely available shared parts, combined with a plush interior and more elegantly dramatic design making it a compelling alternative to the Fusion Hybrid.

Contemporarily modern and fresh with its flowingly low roofline, short rear deck and defined ridges, crease lines and waistline, the MKZ nevertheless incorporates a vaguely retro flavour, with details like slim full width rear lights being juxtaposed with sharply jutting and futuristically sporty bootlid. Classy yet distinctly American, the MKZ’s design meanwhile took on a more elegant look as of 2016 with the adoption of a new grille reminiscent of the Lincoln Continental, in place of the previous and somewhat divisive ‘Eagle grille’ design.

Combined confidence

Behind its more conservative, upright and snouty grille, and its more prominently browed headlights, the MKZ Hybrid is powered by a naturally-aspirated 2-litre four-cylinder engine running on an efficient Atkinson cycle. Producing 141BHP at 6,000rpm and 129lb/ft at 4,000rpm, this is joined with an electric motor developing 118BHP, for a combined system output of 188BHP and 177lb/ft powering the front wheels. Responsive at low speed, with almost instant electric output provoking a hint of torque steer, the MKZ Hybrid accelerates through 0-100km/h in around 9-seconds.

Starting off in electric mode with the combustion engine joining soon after, the MKZ Hybrid can drive under exclusive electric power for brief moments, and at speeds up to 137km/h. Using both regenerative braking and combustion engine to recharge its battery, the MKZ Hybrid is confidently capable on brief steep inclines, but becomes less muscular or responsive when batteries are depleted on more sustained and more assertively driven hill climbs, at which point the combustion engine has its work cut out with propelling 1,720kg uphill and recharging duties.

Confident cruiser

Contributing greatly to reduced urban fuel consumption, the MKZ Hybrid’s electric motor also helps provide generous torque for confident overtaking on motorways. Meanwhile, it is an accomplished highway cruiser with a stable, composed and reassuring ride quality. Driving its front wheels through continually variable transmission (CVT), the MKZ is smooth and efficient, but not as engaging or rewarding to drive as combustion engine versions with a torque converter automatic gearbox, as like any CVT, the MKZ Hybrid’s transmission works to maintain an efficient engine speed, rather accurate throttle responsiveness.

Perhaps not the fastest in its class, the MKZ Hybrid is, however, among the sportiest and more rewarding drives in a mostly uninspired and largely un-sporty mid-size front-drive hybrid saloon segment. Accurate, responsive and quick, but without the excellent feel, feedback and intuitive nuance of its European Ford hatchback cousins, the MKZ Hybrid’s steering nevertheless complements its decent in-segment handling ability. Turning in more tidily and cornering with more agility, the MKZ Hybrid feels more competent and focused through sweeping bends than many competitors.

Classy comfort

Sportier than most in its class if not an outright sports saloon, the MKZ Hybrid retains much of its petrol variants’ dynamic abilities, despite the additional weight of its hybrid components, mostly concentrated in under-boot batteries. Settled yet comfortable over imperfections and a mostly forgiving ride, even with 245/45R18 tyres, the MKZ Hybrid is reassuring and buttoned down and well contains body roll through fast corners. Braking meanwhile might lack initial feel, but smoothly transitions between regenerative and mechanical functions, and provides reassuring stopping power.

Refined, smooth and quiet, the MKZ Hybrid’s calm and classy cabin has a distinctly more luxurious ambiance than its Ford sister, and features quality materials, tasteful design and attention to detail. Well-equipped with convenience and safety features, the MKZ Hybrid’s driving position is well-adjustable and hunkered down. Reasonably spacious, the MKZ offers good front headroom and cabin width, but with its rakishly low and angled roofline, rear headroom is not quite as roomy as that of the Fusion, while under-floor batteries reduce minimum cargo volume to 314-litres.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2-litre, transverse Atkinson cycle all-aluminium 4-cylinders

Electric motor: permanent magnetic AC synchronous motor

Bore x stroke: 87.3 x 83mm

Compression ratio: 12.3

Valve-train: 16-valve, variable timing, DOHC

Battery, capacity/power: Lithium-ion, 1.4kWh/35kW

Gearbox: Continuously variable transmission (CVT) auto, front-wheel-drive

Final drive: 2.91:1

Power – petrol engine, BHP (PS) [kW]: 141 (143) [105] @6,000rpm

Power – electric motor, BHP (PS) [kW]: 118 (119) [88]

Power – combined, BHP (PS) [kW]: 188 (190) [140]

Torque – petrol engine, lb/ft (Nm): 129 (175) @4,000rpm

Torque – combined, lb/ft (Nm): 177 (240)

0-100km/h: approximately 9-seconds (estimate)

Electric mode top speed: 137km

Fuel consumption, city/highway/combined: 5.73-/6.03-/5.88-litres/100km (estimates)

Fuel capacity: 51-litres

Length: 4,930mm

Width: 1,864mm

Height: 1,475mm

Wheelbase: 2,849mm

Track, F/R: 1,582/1,574mm

Headroom, F/R: 962/929mm

Legroom, F/R: 1,125/939mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1,465/1,404mm

Seating capacity: 5

Luggage volume: 314-litres

Kerb weight: 1,720kg

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Steering ratio: 14.8:1

Lock-to-lock: 2.7-turns

Turning circle: 11.88-metres

Suspension: MacPherson struts/multi-link

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 300 x 28mm/discs, 302 x 11mm, regenerative braking

Tyres: 245/45R18

PARIS — The design may be simple, but a chevron pattern etched onto a deer bone more than 50,000 years ago suggests that Neanderthals had their own artistic tradition before modern humans arrived on the scene, researchers said on Monday.

The engraving, discovered at a German cave where Neanderthals lived tens of thousands of years ago, has no obvious utility according to researchers who say the artifact sheds new light on the ill-fated species' capacity for creativity.

The vast majority of Stone-Age artworks discovered in Europe are attributed to Homo sapiens and experts have long suggested that Neanderthals, among our closest relatives, only began creating symbolic objects after mixing with them.

But using radiocarbon dating, archaeologists determined the recently-unearthed artifact to be at least 51,000 years old — pre-dating the arrival of Homo sapiens in central Europe by some 10,000 years, according to the research published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

"The cultural influence of H. sapiens as the single explanatory factor for abstract cultural expressions in Neanderthals can no longer be sustained," the study says.

Dirk Leder, one of the authors and a researcher at the Lower Saxony Office for Heritage Department of Archaeology, told AFP that the bone clearly represents a means of expression.

"We are very convinced that communicates an idea, a story, something meaningful to a group," he said.

'No practical use' 

The carved fossil was found at a well-known archaeological site called Einhornhoehle — or "Unicorn Cave".

Located in the mountains of central Germany, treasure hunters searched there as early as the Middle Ages for what they believed to be unicorn fossils.

It was in the 1980s that scientists first found evidence of an Ice Age Neanderthal settlement at Einhornhoehle and the new bone is from a dig under a collapsed entrance to the cave where artifacts were discovered in 2017.

The bone, from the foot of a rare extinct giant deer, is about half the size of a deck of playing cards (about 5.5 centimetres long, 4 centimetres wide) and 3 centimetres thick.

Six diagonal intersecting lines intentionally carved into it form a kind of chevron design that covers much of one surface.

"The item is of no practical use," notes the study.

"Instead, the geometric pattern itself constitutes the central element."

The study reports that a series of experiments attempting to re-create the object using cow bones shows that it was probably boiled once or twice before it was sculpted with flint.

"The complex production process leading to the creation of the incisions, their systematic arrangement and the scarcity of giant deer north of the Alps, support the notion of an intentional act and of symbolic meaning," the study says.

Meaningful 

The researchers said that a few discoveries from the same period attributed to Neanderthals include flint pieces, bedrock and teeth intentionally marked with cross-hatch or zig-zag marks.

The deer bone, however, stands out as "one of the most complex cultural expressions in Neanderthals known so far", it says.

Leder said that unlike the art of Homo sapiens the various marked objects attributed to Neanderthals are not really comparable to each other, perhaps because their populations lived in smaller, more spread-out clusters.

"It seems to support the idea that within the population communicating with these things, the meaning of the symbols was not transmitted to the next generation or just died out," he said.

But the fact that the new find predates Homo sapiens means Neanderthals might have left a more enduring legacy.

"The idea was always that the great Homo sapiens was giving intelligent ideas to other species," said Leder.

"In the past few years a handful of papers are pushing the idea that it could have been other way around," he said.

In June, scientists made another discovery that could fundamentally alter our understanding of human evolution: the skull of a large-brained male that was preserved almost perfectly for more than 140,000 years.

The find in north-eastern China dubbed "Dragon Man" represents a new species of ancient people more closely related to us even than Neanderthals.

By Dr Kamal ‘Akl
Consultant Paediatrician 
and Paediatric Nephrologist

An often underestimated player in influencing a child is advertisements. In my profession, I see the adverse effects some advertisements can have on a child’s health.

Advertisements show up in magazines, social media, mobile phones, computers and on television. While advertisements’ positive aspect includes being a useful source of information, the negative aspects outweigh the good.

Children are a vulnerable consumer group. Before the age of seven, a child cannot identify false persuasive content in advertisements. This is why children’s exposure to ads early in life influences their food preferences. It’s no coincidence that food and beverage advertisers include popular figures and cartoon characters in their ads.

Excess sugar intake can lead to diabetes, tooth decay, heart disease, bad cholesterol and fatty liver. The types of food and drinks advertised are mainly junk food, including salty food without nutritional value. Psychological, emotional and developmental problems may also develop as a result of a poor diet.

Obesity

Some beverage advertisements promote products rich in refined sugars, such as sweetened juices, which contribute to obesity. Regular junk food consumption tends to make one feel hungry all the time. One study found that banning fast food advertisements resulted in a 17 per cent drop in childhood obesity. An unhealthy diet compounded with the damaging effects of physical inactivity due to COVID-19, increases the risk of severe illness, especially in obese children.

Brain

The effect of junk food on the memory centre in the brain impacts learning capabilities.

Drinking sweetened juices and regularly indulging in refined carbohydrates, processed meat, French fries, highly processed food, white bread, most pizzas, cookies, ice cream, sweetened breakfast cereals and doughnuts gradually kill brain cells and impair the generation of new brain cells. Some of these foods are delicious, but consuming them in excess comes at a price. Such foods may contribute to learning problems at schools.

Advice for parents

•Not listening to your child if the advertised product is not good for their health and wellbeing

•Decreasing your child’s exposure to television and encouraging active play

•Setting out to expose your child to ad-free shows

•Educating your child regarding advertisements; discussing which ones are good and which have flaws

•Instead of banning junk food altogether, allow your child to consume such foods in moderation

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

By Ayaka McGill and Katie Forster
Agence France-Presse

TOKYO — It might not make the cut for Olympians at Tokyo 2020, but each day in Japan’s parks, schools and offices millions perform the country’s most popular stretching routine: Radio taiso.

The three-minute drills, usually done to piano music with encouraging shouts of “one, two, three, four!” in Japanese, are broadcast several times a day on public radio and television.

And while workout videos and podcasts soared in popularity worldwide during virus lockdowns, Japan’s taiso tradition dates back nearly 100 years — even surviving a post-war ban by the Americans, who deemed the group activity too militaristic.

Radio taiso’s 13 bending, reaching and twisting moves are familiar to almost everyone in the country, which is preparing to host the postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer under strict anti-virus rules.

“First, lift your arms and stretch your body... next, rotate your arms,” the presenter says as the old-fashioned music plays.

“Now forward bend softly, with rhythmic bounces three times. And then bend backwards.”

The phenomenon began in the 1920s, when Japan’s state-run life insurance firm took inspiration from fitness programmes on American radio sponsored by a US insurance company, and lobbied for an easy-to-follow routine to be promoted in Japan.

The first taiso — meaning exercise — programme was broadcast on national radio in 1928.

It became embedded in the national psyche as a popular summer holiday activity, with children competing to attend the most early-morning stretching sessions.

Now, around 27 million people do radio taiso at least twice a week in Japan, often in groups, according to the government.

They include school children, construction workers and corporate employees — some of whom have kept the tradition going even as they switched to remote working during the pandemic.

Himori Reiko, a senior cabin crew member at Japan Airlines, used to do the drills with team members just once a year for fun before coronavirus.

But since December, she and colleagues have done the stretches together regularly on Zoom.

At 3pm sharp, the team — some dressed smartly in the office, others logged on at home — begin to sweep their arms above their heads in unison.

“As remote working increased, some people felt lonely. By doing radio taiso, we can see each other face-to-face at least once a day,” she told AFP.

‘Properly stretched’

The routine is also enormously popular with older people, in a country that boasts a famously healthy population of retirees.

Older people often gather in parks and at shrines for the first radio taiso broadcast of the day at 6:30am.

“Our daily lives have become more difficult during the coronavirus. But we need to move our bodies more than ever,” Mitsutoshi Watanabe, who leads a group of around 250 people every morning in Tokyo’s Ueno Park, told AFP at a recent socially distanced practice.

“The number of participants has actually increased since last year,” the 79-year-old, dressed in gleaming white sports clothes and gloves, added. Most are retirees, but younger people are joining in as telework increases.

When the group has made its way through the two classic radio taiso routines — one gentle, the other more vigorous — it quickly scatters.

“We look around to see who is attending, checking each other’s health... When someone doesn’t show up, we wonder if that person is alright,” Kenny Takahashi, 55, who runs a jewellery business, told AFP after the session.

He and his wife Hisako, 52, discovered the group while walking to work and now attend every day, rain or shine.

“Your body is properly stretched from the morning. And my joints can now move smoothly,” Hisako said.

Japan has the world’s oldest population, according to the World Bank, and Watanabe recommends radio taiso as a way to stay fit as a fiddle — if not quite up to Olympic standards.

“I will be 80 years old next year. And I am healthy because of radio taiso,” he beamed.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — A Los Angeles court denied Britney Spears' request to eject her father from a guardianship arrangement that gives him control of her affairs, US media reported on Thursday.

The decision comes a week after the singer made an impassioned plea to end the "abusive" conservatorship during which she said she has been medicated to control her behaviour, prohibited from making decisions on friendships or finances, and prevented from having a contraceptive implant removed, despite wanting more children. 

The Los Angeles Superior Court ruling made on Wednesday was in connection to a request filed in September by Spears' lawyer to add wealth management firm Bessemer Trust to the conservatorship and remove her father Jamie Spears, CNN reported.

"The conservator's request to suspend James P. Spears immediately upon the appointment of Bessemer Trust Company of California as sole conservator of estate is denied without prejudice," Judge Brenda Penny said in court filings seen by CNN.

The decision did not take Spears' statement from last week into consideration. 

Spears' father has asked the court to investigate the music superstar's allegations that she was medicated with lithium and made to perform against her will, CNN reported. 

The revelation that the conservatorship is preventing her from removing a contraceptive IUD sparked outrage from fans and reproductive rights groups online.

Spears' emotional address by videolink was a rare insight into her personal life after her lawyer Samuel Ingham said in April that Spears wanted to directly address the court.

"I just want my life back. It's been 13 years and it's enough," Spears said in the 20-minute statement. 

The 39-year-old star's finances and personal life have been largely managed by Jamie Spears since her highly public breakdown more than a decade ago, leading some adoring fans to launch a "FreeBritney" online campaign in recent years.

Supporters have long scoured her social media accounts for hints about her well-being, and any sign that she may be eager to throw off the guardianship.

WASHINGTON — A skull preserved almost perfectly for more than 140,000 years in northeastern China represents a new species of ancient people more closely related to us than even Neanderthals — and could fundamentally alter our understanding of human evolution, scientists recently announced.

It belonged to a large-brained male in his 50s with deep set eyes and thick brow ridges. Though his face was wide, it had flat, low cheekbones that made him resemble modern people more closely than other extinct members of the human family tree.

The research team has linked the specimen to other Chinese fossil findings and is calling the species Homo longi or “Dragon Man”, a reference to the region where it was discovered.

The Harbin cranium was first found in 1933 in the city of the same name but was reportedly hidden in a well for 85 years to protect it from the Japanese army.

It was later dug up and handed to Ji Qiang, a professor at Hebei GEO University, in 2018.

“On our analyses, the Harbin group is more closely linked to H. sapiens than the Neanderthals are — that is, Harbin shared a more recent common ancestor with us than the Neanderthals did,” co-author Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, London told AFP.

This, he said, would make Dragon Man our “sister species” and a closer ancestor of modern man than the Neanderthals.

The findings were published in three papers in the journal The Innovation.

The skull dates back at least 146,000 years, placing it in the Middle Pleistocene.

“While it shows typical archaic human features, the Harbin cranium presents a mosaic combination of primitive and derived characters setting itself apart from all the other previously named Homo species,” said Ji, who led the research.

The name is derived from Long Jiang, which literally means “Dragon River”.

Dragon Man probably lived in a forested floodplain environment as part of a small community.

“This population would have been hunter-gatherers, living off the land,” said Stringer. “From the winter temperatures in Harbin today, it looks like they were coping with even harsher cold than the Neanderthals.”

Given the location where the skull was found as well as the large-sized man it implies, the team believe H. longi may have been well adapted for harsh environments and would have been able to disperse throughout Asia.

Family tree

Researchers first studied the cranium, identifying over 600 traits they fed into a computer model that ran millions of simulations to determine the evolutionary history and relationships between different species.

“These suggest that Harbin and some other fossils from China form a third lineage of later humans alongside the Neanderthals and H. sapiens,” explained Stringer. 

The other findings include a fossilised skull from the Chinese province of Dali that is thought to be 200,000 years old and was found in 1978, and a jaw found in Tibet dating to 160,000 years ago.

Stringer explained that his Chinese colleagues had decided upon the name H. longi, which he called a “great name”, but said he would have been equally happy to refer to the species as H. Daliensis, which was previously used for the Dali cranium.

More than 100,000 years ago, several human species coexisted across Eurasia and Africa, including our own, Neanderthals and Denisovans, a recently discovered sister species to Neanderthals. “Dragon man” might now be added to that list. 

An alternative explanation is that H. longi and Denisovans are in fact one and the same. Fossils so far attributed to Denisovans include teeth and bones but not a full skull, so scientists are unsure what they looked like.

But Neanderthals and Denisovans were genetically closer to each other than to Sapiens, while the new study suggests H. longi were more anatomically similar to us than Neanderthals. 

The lingering uncertainty may therefore require future genetic sequencing to help clear up.

ATHENS — Greece on Tuesday said it had recovered a Picasso painting personally donated by the Spanish master to the Greek people, almost a decade after it was stolen alongside two other artworks in an audacious heist at the National Gallery.

"Head of a Woman", gifted by Pablo Picasso to Greece in 1949, was recovered in Keratea, a rural area some 45 kilometres southeast of Athens, officials told a news conference.

Police said a 49-year-old builder had confessed to stealing the artworks in 2012 and had been arrested.

The man said he had initially hidden them in a home but had recently stashed them in thick vegetation at a local gorge.

"Today is a special day, [a day of] great joy and emotion," Culture Minister Lina Mendoni told reporters.

Mendoni said the painting would have been "impossible" to sell as it had a personal inscription by Picasso on the back — "For the Greek people, a tribute by Picasso".

The artist had given the cubist painting to the Greek state in recognition of the country's resistance to Nazi Germany during a painful 1941-44 occupation.

"This painting is of particular importance and sentimental value to the Greek people, as it was personally dedicated by the great painter to the Greek people for their fight against fascist and Nazi forces," Mendoni said.

Another painting stolen in the same heist in January 2012, “Stammer Windmill” by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, was also found.

According to police sources cited by news agency ANA, the self-confessed thief had monitored security operations at Athens' National Gallery, Greece's largest state art collection, for six months previously.

The heist lasted just seven minutes.

It was originally believed that two men broke in, cutting the paintings from their frames.

But police said the suspect likely had no accomplices.

Greek media reports said police had brought the builder in for questioning following surveillance and he confessed, showing them where he had hidden the paintings.

The man, who is represented by one of Greece's leading criminal lawyers, reportedly claimed he was an art lover and did not intend to sell the paintings.

A sketch by 16th-century Italian artist Guglielmo Caccia, better known as Moncalvo, was also stolen in the same robbery. But state television reported it was damaged in the heist and discarded.

A state report found that the National Gallery's security had not been upgraded for over a decade, with the then police minister calling safeguards "non-existent".

Several areas in the museum were out of range of security cameras, while the alarms were faulty and prone to ringing gratuitously.

In addition, the gallery had a reduced security presence at the time owing to a three-day staff strike.

On the night of the heist, the burglar had set off an alarm by manipulating an unlocked door to send the sole guard elsewhere in the building.

The guard told police he ran after one thief, who dropped another Mondrian oil painting.

The theft, at the height of the Greek debt crisis, was followed a few months later by another high-profile robbery of nearly 80 archaeological artefacts from a museum in Olympia dedicated to the ancient Olympic Games.

The items were recovered several months later.

The National Gallery holds a prominent collection of post-Byzantine Greek art, as well as a small collection of Renaissance works and some El Greco paintings.

It reopened in March after an extensive renovation that cost over 59 million euros ($70 million) and doubled its capacity.

VIENNA — Framed by wooden cabinets, Karin Hofbauer holds a stick of butter to her laptop camera and imparts to the novice bakers gathered virtually in her kitchen the secrets of kneading shortcrust dough.

“It’s a simple recipe, I’ve made it so many times for friends and family, and it’s always a success,” the 62-year-old Austrian says before filling the baked apple tart with nuts and vanilla custard.

The five Germans and Austrians taking notes have come to the online class because the recipes are simple and straightforward — and because they’re taught by real-life grandmothers like Hofbauer, who will soon be joined by fellow grannies and grandpas from across the world in a scheme run by a Vienna cafe.

Two years ago, Hofbauer retired from an administrative position at a hospital. 

Healthy, active and eager to “do something meaningful”, she joined about 50 other “grannies” at Vienna’s Vollpension cafe, a social enterprise where retirees bolster their often meagre state pensions and bake away the loneliness many senior citizens can feel.

The idea was born almost 10 years ago, over a too-dry slice of cake at a Vienna cafe.

“Nobody makes better cakes than grandma,” Vollpension’s co-founder Moriz Piffl-Percevic tells AFP, recalling how wistful the dry sponge made him for the comforting indulgence of his grandma’s cakes.

Following a “Granny Wanted” classified in a local paper and some trials as pop-up cafes at festivals, the intergenerational team opened the first “Vollpension” — a German term referring to both full retirement and accommodation with full board.

At the social enterprise’s two cafes, coffee is served in old mugs with flower prints and cross-stitches of border collies grace the walls.

The clientele, many of them hipsters, are often joined by the elderly part-time hosts — unless, of course, a pandemic forces them to shut.

‘Keep our 

grannies going’

When Austria’s first virus lockdown hit, patrons donated 140,000 euros ($170,000) to maintain the extra income that many of the staff depend on — especially single women who, after years as homemakers, receive relatively small state pensions. 

That, however, is just one benefit of the social enterprise.

“Older people want to feel needed, that is something incredibly essential to ageing, and that’s something that Vollpension provides,” says Franz Kolland, a professor at the University of Vienna who focuses on social aspects of old age. 

As people grow older, “they face two decades of retirement during which they are mobile. They want to do something — they just have to be approached”, Kolland says, lauding Vollpension as a “role model”. 

Piffl-Percevic says he is touched when friends and family report how much their grandma’s well-being improved after joining Vollpension. 

“Suddenly they don’t feel their hip aching anymore, or they’ve stopped drinking a little too much,” he says. 

To “keep our grannies going” during the pandemic, Piffl-Percevic and his colleagues began looking for alternatives beyond takeaway cake.

Taking the grandmas’ and grandpas’ baking skills online was the next logical step. 

An army of volunteers helped create a baking studio similar to those of TV chefs, and filmed on-demand baking classes ranging from Christmas cookies to vegan cakes, while Hofbauer and others are hosting live baking classes in their own kitchens.

After overcoming the familiar pitfalls of Zoom meetings, Hofbauer is passing on her knowledge from decades of baking — including on the best apple peeler: “It doesn’t have to be something expensive — I think mine cost three euros,” she says, laughing.

Going global

When the most recent Vollpension cafe opened — just before the pandemic — more than 300 eager seniors applied within 24 hours.

The baking courses’ success with hundreds of participants is now prompting Vollpension to go global.

In several languages, Vollpension is this week calling on grandmas and grandpas from all over the world to join them. 

“Vollpension was founded to give people like us a place where they find meaning, and can lead a life worth living even in old age,” one granny says in Italian in a video promoting the call for applications. 

People from all over the world can learn to bake with “original family recipes from the region, and straight from grandma’s kitchen”, another one says in Spanish.

“It’s about local and national recipes — mango with sticky rice being taught by a Thai grandma, and panna cotta by a Sicilian,” Piffl-Percevic says.

Hofbauer, who says she has had participants tune in from Boston and Crete, is already looking forward to seeing the baking classes go global. 

“I found new friends, new acquaintances, and if we’re going international, it’s going to be even more fun,” she says, the scent of warm apple tart now filling her 80s-style kitchen. “The more the merrier.”

A direct descendent of the celebrated and viscerally iconic 1941 Willys Jeep, the latest “JL” generation Jeep Wrangler is steeped in tradition, authenticity and genuine off-road ability that it has earned over several generations, and maintains in both its design aesthetic and engineering architecture. 

That said, it is the most sophisticated and refined Wrangler to date, with better convenience, safety, technology practicality and efficiency than ever, with the most civilised, well-equipped and luxurious daily driver being the Sahara specification version.

Hallmarks and hark backs

Launched in 2018 as a design evolution of its immediate predecessor, the “JL” Wrangler was first available in basic Sport, off-road oriented Rubicon and more luxurious Sahara specification in either 2-door personal luxury or 4-door family-friendly body styles. Conceding slightly more swept back windshield and grille angles for aerodynamic efficiency, the “JL” is instantly recognisable as a Jeep, and also harks back to the 1944-86 “CJ” generation Jeep with its round lights intruding slightly into the outer grille slots.

Best proportioned and most evocative in 2-door guise, the “JL” Wrangler is true to its hallmark design cues from its boxy shape, tapered bonnet, seven slot grille upright design, and large wheel-arches, the latter of which are finished in body colour for Sahara models. A slightly larger but lighter vehicle than its predecessor owing to greater aluminium content, the “JL” is still built on a rugged body-on-chassis frame, with integrated rollover bars, short front overhang, rearwards cabin position and short wheelbase.

Confident and capable

Sold exclusively with a combination of naturally-aspirated 3.6-litre “Pentastar” V6 engine and slick, smooth and quick shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox in the Middle East, the Wrangler Sahara produces 281BHP at a peaky 6400rpm and 256lb/ft torque at 4100rpm. Responsive from standstill, and flexible in mid-range with a generous portion of torque accessible over a broad range, the Wrangler is eager revving to its top-end, and seamlessly progressive in delivery. Briskly motivating its 1.9-tonnes through 0-100km/h, the Wrangler can achieve 177km/h.

Responsive, accurate and progressive, the Wrangler’s V6 allows one to dial in fine-tuned power increments, whether through on-road corners or for delicate off-road maneuvers. Thoroughly capable off-road, the Sahara’s Selec-Trac system allows for on-the-move shifting between rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive at up to 72km/h, and includes a 4WD “auto” mode, where power is allocated from rear to front as needed for efficiency and traction. For more demanding low traction, steep inclines and other off-road conditions, the Sahara features low ratio four-wheel-drive.

Accomplished architecture

A natural off-roader with rugged ladder frame construction with both front and rear coil sprung solid axles for excellent axle articulation, the Wrangler might not be as refined on-road as other independent suspension Jeeps, but is a superior off-roader, and drives with a significantly higher level of refinement on-road than expected of such traditional architecture. Meanwhile, its low gear ratios allow it to drive at full power at a crawling pace over deep ruts and other inhospitable conditions.

The more civilised of Wranglers, the Sahara receives slightly lower profile tyres for improved road dynamics, but at 255/70R18 are still very capable off-road. Its short overhangs and high 235mm ground clearance meanwhile allow for generous 37.4° approach, 26.2° break-over and 30.5° departure angles, and its upright body and big glasshouse provide good visibility. Highly accomplished on dirt roads or far more demanding conditions, the Sahara, however, does not receive the more hardcore Rubicon version’s locking rear, centre and front differentials.

Up-market utility

Highly manoeuvrable on narrow lanes and tracks with a tight turning circle, the shorter wheelbase two-door Wrangler meanwhile turns tidily into, and is agile through, corners, despite a tall steering ratio, and is available with an optional limited slip differential to prevent wheelspin and maintain traction. Comfortable over rough imperfections with its tall tyres and multilink coil sprung solid axles, the Wrangler remains settled and buttoned down on rebound and is stable at speed for such a decidedly off-road-oriented vehicle.

Matching its enhanced and better than expected refinement, the Wrangler Sahara receives a more up-market cabin treatment, using higher quality trim, upholstery and materials. Well-accommodating four passengers in a compact frame, the 2-door Sahara comes with extensive convenience, safety and driver assistance features, including Uconnect infotainment and blind spot and rear cross-path detection systems. Offered with a choice of three detachable soft and hard tops, removable doors and fold-down windscreen, the Wrangler meanwhile delivers a true open air outdoor driving experience.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3.6-litre, in-line, V6-cylinders

Bore x Stroke: 96 x 83mm

Compression ratio: 11.3:1

Valve-train: DOHC, 24-valve, variable timing

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive, low ratio transfer

Gear ratios: 1st 4.71:1; 2nd 3.13:1; 3rd 2.10:1; 4th 1.67:1; 5th 1.28:1; 6th 1.00:1; 7th 0.84:1; 8th 0.67:1

Reverse/final drive: 3.29:1 /3.45:1

Low ratio transfer: 2.72:1

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 281 (285) [209] @6,400rpm

Specific power: 77.9BHP/litre

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 256 (347) @4,100rpm

Specific torque: 96.2Nm/litre

Top speed: 177km/h

Fuel consumption, urban/extra-urban/combined; 13-/7.7-/

9.6-litres/100km

CO2 emissions, combined: 223g/km

Fuel capacity: 66-liters

Length: 4,334mm

Width: 1,894mm

Height: 1,878mm

Wheelbase: 2,459mm

Track: 1598mm 

Overhang, F/R: 741/1,036

Ground clearance: 235mm

Approach/break-over/departure angles: 37.4°/26.2°/30.5°

Water fording: 760mm

Seating: 4

Loading height: 762mm

Cargo volume min/max: 203-/598-litres

Kerb weight: approximately 1,900kg

Weight distribution, F/R; 51 per cent/49 per cent

Payload: 483kg

Steering: Power-assisted rack & pinion

Steering ratio: 16.14:1

Lock-to-lock: 3.68-turns

Turning circle: 10.36-metres

Suspension: Solid axles, coil springs, anti-roll bars

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated disc, 330 x 28mm/disc, 342 x 14mm

Brake calipers, F/R: twin-/single-piston

Tyres: 255/70R18