Month: September 2013

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Tuesday – Accuracy All Areas

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Jessica Just for the information of the motoring public, I am not a size 9 shoe! I may be tall but accuracy in foot size is definitely needed here, I’m a size 8 shoe and proud of it… one does need suitable feet to hold up a 5’10” frame but there are limits!

But yes, it has to be said there could be a problem if you try to change gear in a hurry driving the Giulietta and your foot can’t find it’s way out from under the clutch.

I love the fact that Alfa Romeo are trying to impress by going their own way with this car.

The dashboard is especially thoughtful, with tactile buttons and intuitive options – but without the standard looks and positioning that seems to prevail in many new cars.

I love the hidden back door and handles handles, as they lull you into believing this is a coupe. The design is inspired but also streamlined and practical.

Would I swap it for a Golf? Not sure. My main problem was a distinct lack of vision beside the car ( a major blind spot), which made me nervous on a busy Sunday evening M25.

That said,  I may have been irritable due to the extreme numbness of my buttocks after only one hour in the seat.  It certainly wins the ‘numb rear of the year award 2013’ and will be hard to beat I’ll wager.

It reminds me of my slightly leaky, green Alfa Romeo Spider that I drove in my early 20s. It was fun, a little out of control but certainly looked good. There is something of that character here.

The Giulietta is exciting, good to look but suffers from some edgy flaws, which may be enough to put off less adventurous types.

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Monday – Footnote

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Is it just me or does the Giulietta have small pedals? They are certainly close together and seem designed for ladies and gentlemen who can still fit in to children’s shoes.

Seriously, I’m a size 8 and Jessica is a size 9 but we have have both found ourselves playing footsie with the pedals at one time or another. Jessica gets her left foot stuck under the clutch – I have accidentally pressed the accelerator while trying to brake.

It’s bad enough for me to have a pair of “Alfa shoes’ on permanent standby in the car, while Jessica is constantly complained about the lack of foot rest for her left leg. If I drive in a pair of brogues or anything chunkier, it is a serious problem for me and I don’t feel comfortable.

Jessica is also struggling with visibility from the driver’s seat. She says the side pillars block her ‘over the shoulder’ vision, as well as adding to a permanent blind spot in the door mirror. I’m not so bothered but the blind spot is for real.

The Giulietta has its issues but we both agree it’s just bags of fun on a fast A-road, especially now we have discovered the DNA button. Much more on that, tomorrow…

 

 

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Sunday – Bride Or Prejudice

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There are still a surprising number of  people who don’t know how to get in the back of a Giulietta. Sometimes you can see it coming… These are the people who opt to sit in the back, then open the front door and get cross because the driver’s seat doesn’t  roll forward enough!

There was a wedding at the White Lion in Aldeburgh last night and this morning, one of the guests tracked me down. Not because I had flirted with the bride but because he was on the verge of buying a VW Golf GTI and wanted to check out the competition. Naturally, I obliged.

While I complimented him on his choice of car, I was also keen to see what he thought of the Alfa, in a non prejudicial way. I think it was fair to say he was blown away. Once he had checked out the back seats, I took him for a drive for a few miles up the Suffolk coastline.

He played with all the buttons, loved the optional Bose sound system, cooed at the outrageously alternative dash and then gave me his verdict.

Class-leading hatchback with rock solid residuals (Golf) versus cool-looking Italian rock star car (Giulietta)? Naturally, he’s off to his Alfa dealer tomorrow…

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Saturday – White Riot

cropped-alfa1.jpgThe White Lion at Aldeburgh is right on the beach. It’s painted white, the same as our Giulietta and, just like the Alfa, is rather well equipped inside.

I spent breakfast this morning staring out of the dining room window at the sea. Or to be honest, rather longingly at the Giulietta which had just whisked me here from the West Country.

The 150-mile journey is one of my least favourite – tortuous might be a better description. What the Alfa did last night more than any other car was take me back to my teenage years, when my 1971 Alfa GT Junior was the vehicle parked outside the family home.

The Giulietta is a throughly modern Alfa Romeo but there’s still more than a trace of ‘old school’ Alfa DNA about it. The ribbed leather seats, the speedometer dials labelled in Italian and the timeless Alfa grille, to name but a few.

The 1.4-litre TB engine is a revelation too – how did they squeeze so much performance out of such a modest unit? No wonder it was New Engine of the Year in 2012.

I’ve never liked white cars but like the drive to the White Lion last night, because of the Giulietta, I’m warming to them all the time.

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Friday – Red Alfa v Orange Nissan

alfa2It was the start of a lifelong love of sports cars – and it started with Alfa Romeo. While Jessica was riding horses around the family estate, I was getting into serious trouble with my father, selling a ‘safe’ Datsun 120Y in sunburst orange (eek!) for a rust bucket Italian car.

Not just any Italian car but an Alfa Romeo GT Junior. It was red, with optional holes in the floor that probably weren’t there when it originally left the factory in Milan. I can’t tell you how much that car cost me but it eventually rusted to the driveway. I can tell you it was a lot of fun.

Alfa Romeo is no longer laden with a rusty reputation. And in the UK right now, the Giulietta and Mito supermini are their two rather sporty models.

Slipping behind the wheel of our Giulietta still gives me the same buzz as when I was an 18-year-old. Just like the GT Junior. I can spot the flaws too! The steering column that doesn’t adjust low enough, a slightly cramped rear space and a rather uncomfortable driving position.

But it doesn’t matter a jot. I know the next seven days are going to be fun and I can’t wait. A 300-mile round trip to Suffolk seems a good way to start…

 

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Thursday – What Does This Button Do?

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Motoring journalists don’t often admit to stuff like this but I will. After six days in the Chevrolet Trax, today I noticed a little button I hadn’t used before. It was hidden away at the bottom of the centre console and read ‘ECO’.

Hmm. No idea why Jessica or I hadn’t spotted it but it’s certainly easy to miss, below the level of the knob on the gearstick.

We’ve already found the 1.7 VCDi engine has plenty of torque and lively performance but with the ECO button turned off, well, the Trax is even more fun than it was before. I’d recommend driving with ECO off around town and along A-roads – then press it in for high-speed motorway journeys.

I’ve read some fairly uncomplimentary reviews of this Chevrolet SUV but as an overall package, I’m still a fan. It might bounce over potholes and lean into corners but there is plenty of fun to be had.

You will need to ignore the wind and tyre noise, especially at higher speeds, some of the interior trim is also a little on the cheap side too.

Trax remains a lot of car for the money. It has lots of storage compartments (I stopped counting at 19) and with the rear seats folded it can carry more than a Skoda Yeti or a Nissan Juke.

All the engines in the range are from the General Motors stable, so are well proven in Vauxhall and other Chevrolet models. Everything is backed up by a 100,000-mile, five year warranty.

Trax is also one of the few cars we have handed back lately with fuel in it – perhaps not surprising when you learn it is capable of 55+mpg on motorway trips.

So, if you like the styling and wants something a little different, an SUV that isn’t faultless but bags of fun, the Trax must be on your shopping list.

 

 

 

 

 

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Wednesday – Stop-Start

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The Trax, like a lot of cars these days has Stop-Start to boost fuel economy.  I have been averaging around 48mpg, which I think is pretty decent for any SUV in everyday driving situations.

The Trax also has another stop-start system which I can’t quite work out. Over the last six days I have stalled it at least eight times. Which is eight more than I have stalled any other car this year.

It seems to happen at low speed, then the Chevrolet is winding down to a standstill. I Put my foot on the clutch as I brake and then, well, the engines dies!

No idea what is going on but it can be very disconcerting, especially if I have the DAB radio on and can’t hear the engine noise. Today I tried to pull away at a junction and absolutely nothing happened.

It’s the only black spot on a very willing, if rather noisy drivetrain.

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Tuesday – On The Bounce

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I bounced around Mongolia once in a Land Rover Discovery. It was about the same time as the Mongol Rally, when people from the UK drive all the way there in cars which have to have an engine smaller than 1-0-litre. Oh and the cars have to be cheap – very cheap!

I’m disappointed that Chevrolet don’t make a 1.0-litre version of the Trax because it seems like the perfect Mongol Rally machine. The original Fiat Panda 4×4 has always been a favourite in the race but not many have survived the test of time.

Like most SUVs, the majority of Trax sold in the UK are going to spend their life on Tarmac. Today I had a chance to run it along some dirt roads and grassy fields – it performed really well considering it was on road tyres.

The short wheelbase and lightweight makes the Chevrolet perfect for uneven ground. OK, it may not be as comfortable as larger sport utility vehicles but with a decent set of off-road tyres, I reckon it would be unstoppable!

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Monday – Small High Tech

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Surprising at it might seem, £18,000 doesn’t buy you much new car these days. At first glance, the range-topping Trax LT might look expensive for a small SUV but there’s a lot more equipment than you would expect. It’s actually a fairly high-tech machine.

Top of the list is the MyLink screen, which connects to your smartphone and offers all kinds of possibilities apart from just music. For Trax buyers, the most practical is an app that you download onto your phone for about £50 which provides satellite navigation. That’s even cheaper than the most basic TomTom.

Connecting a phone via Bluetooth is super easy – and the screen also links up to a reversing camera. There’s a decent sound system and the seats are firm but comfortable.

I had a quick play around with the back seat today and it’s going to be tight squeezing three adults in the back. It’s fine for two grown ups with plenty of headroom too. The boots ok with the seats up – much better with the back seats down.

Oh, and the dashboard and controls maybe pure GM but in this case it looks good too.

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Sunday – Bulldog Looks

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If ever there was a British Bulldog of car design this is it. The Trax may be short on stature – 4.25 metres of it – but the front end looks like a mutt straining at the leash.

While the rest of the car is sculpted-out conventional SUV, that Chevrolet front end is what really bites you on the bottom. In fact, if you added a set of wider wheels and painted it black, the Trax would be a bruiser of a 4×4 to look at.

The only problem with having such a large front end is that wind noise can be quite intrusive at high speed – not helped by the elephant-sized door mirrors which are simply enormous!

However, the built quality is pretty rugged and robust. The doors shut with a reassuring thud and  the interior is practical, with 1370 litres of space if you fold the rear seats flat (356 litres with the back seats in place).

Right now I’m thoroughly enjoying the 128bhp diesel engine. You have to work it hard, which might be tiresome in the long run but it’s simply great fun to drive.