Month: July 2013

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Thursday – Fun Behind The Wheel

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Jeremy The Mazda2 is one of those city cars that rather blends in with the crowd. It’s well styled and almost cute but you aren’t going to turn heads like you would driving a Citroen DS3 or an Alfa Romeo Mito.

Never mind because it still has more about it than the bland Ford Fiesta and is something of a revelation once you slip behind the steering wheel. Why? Because just like the Suzuki Swift, this is a car that loves to be driven hard and rewards you with a thoroughly entertaining drive.

The 2 has such a short wheelbase that it is very controllable at speed. I found it very easy to turn in hard to a corner and come out the other side on exactly the right driving line.

If it all goes horribly wrong, then the good news is that this Sport version has Dynamic Stability Control to get you out of a fix. The 16-inch alloys add to the grip and the sporty seats keep you and your front seat passenger firmly in place.

Good things come in small packages and the Mazda2 is no exception.

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Wednesday – Granny Would Have Liked It

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Jessica Honda is not a name I associate with the family car. My grandmother had a Honda Civic years ago purely because front seats could lie completely flat – she had a bad back.

She would persuade gullible grandchildren to drive whilst she lay prone on the passeger seat. From there she would conduct conversations about her advanced driving skills and remind us about her JAM driving rules, Judgment, Anticipation and Manners.

The Honda CR-V is a serviceable, reliable and yes, a comfy-seated car. It is intuitive and drives without you having to spend time working out how to manage clutch or steering. A four-wheel drive that doesn’t feel as large as some of the other SUV‘s on the market.

The Honda is certainly not flash, although it has an intriguing speedo design. There is also a little channel for your iPod wire under the central armrest, a feature which is often forgotten in more expensive rivals.

You get exactly what you are prepared to pay for but you could not go wrong with this SUV. Family, pets and friends with luggage are all easily accommodated in the CR-V.

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Tuesday – Sunny CR-V

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Jeremy Having spent most of the year frustrated by the bad weather, I’m not going to say this current heatwave isn’t welcome. And while in some respects, it would be lovely to own a convertible, I’m actually very happy to be sat in a Honda CR-V.

There have been many soft-tops in the Taylor garage but with temperatures touching 30 degrees today, I can’t understand why anybody would want to sit in an open car and sweat as they turn pink in all the wrong places.

Here’s a fact. The Brits buy more convertibles than Spain, France and Italy put together. Why? Because it is so hot in those countries that you would rather sit in air conditioned bliss than turn lobster in a convertible.

Besides, the glass roof on the CR-V lets in plenty of natural light and when it becomes too warm, two screen glide in from the front and rear to keep the sun out. The Honda is also blessed with one of the most powerful climate control systems I’ve encountered.

The only feature that’s lacking is an air conditioned glovebox to keep my dog’s bottle of water cold…

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Monday – The Rise Of The SUV

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Jeremy Driving back from the Cotswolds today I had plenty of time to ponder on the Honda CR-V and the rise of the SUV in Britain. The CR-V didn’t arrive here until the late 1990s and it was one of the pioneers of the breed. Since then, everybody has started making them, from Porsche to Mercedes and all manufacturers in-between – even Bentley is planning one for 2015!

Car owners demand so much from their vehicles these days that many people, especially families, want a machine that does everything, space, 4×4, practicality and neat styling included. Not everybody gets it right (have you seen the Skoda Yeti?) but the choice these days is mind boggling.

The CR-V does come with an excellent pedigree and being a Honda, it will also holds its value and be remarkably reliable. Our expensive EX model won’t be the best seller of course, many will opt for a lower spec car but apart from some of the average interior trim quality, the Honda feels every bit as good as a BMW X3, or Audi Q5.

Surprisingly, the exterior styling has grown on me over the last few days. It looks especially good from the rear, with privacy glass and the dark blue metallic paint splashed on our test car. The front is less desirable but perfectly adequate. Overall though, this new 2013 model is a step up from the last version and I look forward to driving it every time I have to reach for the key. A good sign with any car…

 

 

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Sunday – CR-V Does Dorset

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Jeremy This weekend we have brought the CR-V on a trip down the A303 to beautiful Beaminster, in Dorset. We’re visiting friends who organise Buckham Fair (www.buckhamfair.co.uk) with their neighbour Martin Clunes.

If you were trying to tell an American how beautiful England is, you would probably end up describing the area around Beaminster. Thatched cottages, local events every weekend and the sort of winding, narrow roads American’s hate!

The CR-V is perfect for this kind of terrain – it’s not a monster like the Range Rover or X5 and can squeeze into passing places on country lanes. There’s a lot of that going, especially in the summer when the tourists descend on the coast area around Bridport.

The CR-V has a really useful reversing camera that lights up the navigation screen when in use. It’s especially good because the CR-V does have some substantial rear pillars that restrict over the shoulder visibility.

And we are getting 45mpg out of the 4×4, which I think is pretty decent too. It’s too hot to have the sun blinds open on the glass roof but in the cooler evenings, the extra light it affords is brilliant.

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Friday – Lights & Action

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Jeremy I’ll be flicking through the CR-V‘s manual again this afternoon, with one eye on Andy Murray‘s semi-final match at Wimbledon. I should point out that the Honda has the largest manual I’ve ever seen – a positive Encyclopaedia Britannica of facts that squeezes into the glovebox!

I’m hoping to find out how to switch off the two display screens on the EX – the one that packs the sat-nav screen, and the other above it that shows the on-board computer readings.

The two fit neatly into the dashboard and are easy to read when driving. My problem came last night when driving home in the dark, I thought there was a problem with the bi-xenon headlights. They didn’t appear bright enough on full beam and at one point, I actually stopped the car and got out to check there wasn’t an issue.

What it turned out to be was the glare from the two dashboard screens, which are so bright it affected my vision out of the car. Consequently, I need to find a way of dimming down the screens, or turning them off!

Otherwise, the CR-V has auto-dimming headlights, so there’s no need to dip when an oncoming vehicle approaches, sensors do it for you. The active-corning side lights also illuminate when you turn a sharp corner – great for getting into a tight gateway.

Hopefully, I’ll find the answer before Murray claims another famous victory…

 

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Thursday – Space, As We Know It

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Jeremy The CR-V has landed and I’ve just been giving it the once over. Push button start, huge glass roof and Bluetooth connected! The EX comes with all the extras you would expect in the most expensive version, including leather seats, navigation and DAB radio (a must for Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and the Ashes next week!).

What is remarkable about the interior is the amount of space – quite Tardis-like. Even with the rear seats in place, the boot measures almost 600-litres – more than enough for Malin the Hungarian Viszla and his best mate Humphrey. Those back seats also drop with the minimum of fuss using a single lever, freeing up 1600+ litres.

Some chunky rear pillars make over the shoulder vision is a bit tricky when reversing, although being an SUV, general visibility is excellent. The giant glass roof on the EX doesn’t open and to keep the sun out on hot days there is an automatic screen that closes smoothly from both the front and rear.

The dashboard is easy on the eye, fairly plain with quite a rash of buttons for the driver to understand. Electric seats on the EX are exceptionally comfortable, with masses of headroom both front and rear. The air conditioning really blasts it out too – good news as we are expecting a heatwave from this weekend…

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Wednesday – Safest Car Ever?

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Jeremy It’s our last day with the V40 – 24 hours after Volvo picked up a major safety award for the five-door hatchback. The V40 was praised for its exceptional NCAP rating and won the Auto Express Safety Award for 2013 at a ceremony in London last night.

As Car Couture has said all week, it’s hard to write about the V40 without majoring on safety. That has been confirmed with NCAP giving the car the highest ever safety rating.

Among the V40 safety features highlighted at the ceremony were Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection, Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake, Distance Alert Control, Lane Keeping Aid, Blind Spot Information System and Cross Traffic Alert.

All of these compliment the standard features fitted such as front and side airbags, side impact protection and whiplash protection system.

If you want safe, this is definitely the hatchback to buy. For the best drive however, look at a Golf, A3 or BMW 1 Series. It’s as simple as that.

 

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Tuesday – Hands Free

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Jeremy It’s impossible scribbling about the V40 without coming back to safety features. So today I set out to test the Park Assist Pilot – the system that allows the car to steer itself into a parking space.

Now, I’ve been lucky enough to drive a Formula One car, scream around Le Mans in a race-winning Peugeot, and hitch a seater with mad motorcyclist Robbie Maddison but I think I was more nervous about letting a car park itself with me in the driver’s seat.

With Pilot switched on, I drove the V40 along a quiet road with parked cars either side. The system actually identifies a space that is big enough and once I had come to a stop, I took my hand off the wheel, engaged gear and gently accelerated.

I was parking between a 2011 Range Rover and a Fiat 500 – so I was quite anxious not to ding either. The steer wheel automatically starts to turn as the car goes backwards, slowly, slowly putting you perfectly into the space.

When the V40 comes to a stop, all I had to do was engage first gear and again, the steering was done for me. It took two reverse moves and two forward to complete the parking operation but it worked perfectly.

That said, I can park equally as well and much quicker! However, if you aren’t a great parker and like the reassurance of Pilot, it’s probably well worth the money.

 

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Monday – Am I About To Crash?

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Jeremy Collision Warning – a system that you would imagine should be fitted to every new car by law. Just like ABS brakes, which has been around for decades but was once a very novel idea, Volvo‘s Collision Warning may well be a standard fit in the future.

It’s quite simple. Sensors on the front of the V40 detect, alert and automatically brake the car if it risks colliding with a vehicle in front. However, before that happens, the driver gets an loud audible warning and a red light flashes at the bottom of the windscreen – so he can brake or avoid the problem first.

It all sounds brilliant and very sensible. Except it isn’t foolproof. The problem I discovered today while driving in to Gloucester was this. If you are approaching a bend with a car parked on the corner, the alert system detects that vehicle and triggers the audible alarm and flashing red light.

I can totally understand the benefits of the system but the fact it is triggered unnecessarily is very distracting for the driver. As safe as the Volvo is (and the list of safety features is way too long to print here!), this is one that could do with a little tweaking.