Posts Tagged ‘blogs’
Eagerly anticipating the new Ford S-Max
February 13th, 2010 | 
Author: Its major failing was that the diesel manual required too much gear changing (because of the lowish red line) and the optional six-speed slusher, which obviously resolved the gear changing issue, dampened the driver involvement and control that a car with such a fine chassis deserves.
I'm off to Spain this morning to drive the new, facelifted S-Max. Ford has already revealed that most of the changes are underneath the bonnet, so I'm hoping that the new Ecoboost engines and Powershift (Ford's DSG) gearbox are going to go a long way to fixing the drivetrain issue.
Check back later for the first drive.
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Road test collectors edition
Well sort of. Not because it features some exotic supercar, but because, unusually, we had to ditch snow covered MIRA in favour of Millbrook for our performance testing.
Read the full Kia Venga road test here
While Millbrook’s hill route is relatively well known, having featured in numerous magazine features, TV ads and one Aston DBS destroying Bond stunt, the Brook’s ride and handling track is a bit of an unknown.
Which is why we’ve included a map in this week’s mag. It’s a good little circuit, if not quite as challenging as the track we normally use at Mira, especially on brakes. But still it gives a good insight into a car’s limit behaviour.
Returning to Millbrook also gave us an opportunity to test the Kia Venga’s top speed – something we can’t do at MIRA.
After a few laps the Venga eventually managed to reach a true 103mph – 1mph short of its claimed maximum.
Normal service resumes at Mira next week.
Alfa builds a cracking car – at last
Not true. We take as we find, and what we’ve found for the past decade has been disappointing. Like many others we’re frustrated that Alfa has not being producing cars that are totally worthy of such a great brand. Step forward models such as the Brera and Mito.
Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon 1750 TBi TI test drive review
But I drove home in a cracking Alfa last night, the 159 1750 Sportwagon. It’s fitted with the company’s new 1750cc turbo engine which is good for 197bhp. While it’s hardly electrifyingly quick, it’s satisfyingly rapid, smooth and lovely to live with. Way quieter than an Alfa diesel too.
Most of all I was impressed with the 159. The company’s made myriad small changes to the car since it was launched and they’ve all been for the better. It felt like a quality product and was far more satisfying to drive than the Audi A5 Sportback I was in the night before.
Alfa’s at a bit of a crossroads at the moment. Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne has let it be known that the brand needs to get its act together to secure its future. Most of all it needs to fend off the attack from the Germans and start making prestige car makers at least include Alfa on the shopping list. That doesn’t just include the cars either, it has to include the whole buying and aftersales experience too.
But after my quick drive I’d say that if you are in the 3-series/A4 set market you should at least give the 159 1750 some house room.
It’s given me new hope for the forthcoming Giulietta hatch and what comes after it anyway.
First impressions – on board the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid
With performance – both off the line and through the gears – on par with the 400bhp naturally-aspirated 4.8-litre V8 Cayenne S, the new four wheel drive displays exceptional levels of mechanical refinement without any indication of the complex processes taken by its advanced driveline, which was developed in a joint venture between Porsche’s own Weissach based engineers and their counterparts at Volkswagen’s engineering centre in Braunschweig, Germany.
Porsche Cayenne Hybrid – full details
Step off is typical strong, with the electric motor and its 184lb ft of torque providing primary propulsion from standstill up to speeds of 50km/h or until the energy level of the battery runs low.
The only indication of the introduction of the petrol engine – the same unit used by Audi in the S4 – to the drive process from the passenger seat is when the needle on the rev counter – now placed in the centre of the instrument binnacle as with Porsche’s more sporting models – springs to life.
At loads under 2500rpm, the supercharged 3.0-litre V6 is so well isolated from the cabin its operation is barely audible. Under greater throttle load there is a low level growl as acceleration builds but it is never over bearing.
Out on the motorway the over riding impression is of wind noise around the large exterior mirrors. The decoupling of the clutch at speed occurs seamlessly when the driver backs off from the throttle, allowing the Cayenne S Hybrid to coast at zero revs in a state not dissimilar to a bicycle when it is freewheeling with the engine fully disengaged.
Further to the mechanical aspects of the new Porsche, there has been a wholesale improvement in interior ambiance. The new dashboard, similar in style to that gracing the Panamera, is of a much higher quality than that of the first generation Cayenne.
The question that now remains is: how much will Porsche charge for it?
Progress is easy to miss, especially in a Passat
I spent my Christmas break in a VW Passat Bluemotion, complete with the new 104bhp 1.6-litre VW Group commonrail turbodiesel engine.
Volkswagen Passat S 1.6 TDI Bluemotion first drive
There is nothing headline-grabbing about this car. It does not have a fuel cell, solar panels or an electric motor anywhere under its decidedly bland exterior, and it is not made entirely out of recycled potato and hemp.
It is a normal family saloon with a low-powered turbodiesel engine under the bonnet. But it took me and the other half to see family in Koburg, Germany for New Year in perfect comfort whilst easily achieving over 800 miles to each 70-litres of fuel.
That still means we fell short of the claimed 62.8mpg combined figure, but we did manage mid-50mpg for much of the trip and there was no compromise in the overall capability of the car. It was quiet, spacious and pleasant to be in. And it was cheaper and more convenient overall than catching a plane and picking up a rental special at the other end.
Of course, the Passat Bluemotion is exactly as dull as it sounds, and clearly this is a way to make the most of what’s left of finite fossil fuels (and motorists’ over-stretched wallets) rather than the answer to all our renewable fuel needs.
But I think the car industry deserves more credit for making such a constant and rapid move towards better use of resources. That there are many similarly efficient models around, including excellent efforts from Mercedes, BMW, Ford, Kia and Audi among others only goes to prove that progress really is global.
So in the midst of all the frenzied efforts going into producing tomorrow’s planet-saving, blue-sky technologies, let’s take a moment and remember that we’re not doing so badly with the stuff that you can buy today. Well done, chaps. Now carry on.
