Month: November 2013

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Tuesday – Are You Sitting Comfortably?

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Good, then I’ll begin. It’s like this – I really miss Saabs. Not because they were that good after GM got involved but because they made bloody good seats.

I once wrote a feature for the Sunday Times about the best seats in cars and spoke to various boffins involved with the lower back and good posture. They all drove Saabs and thought Volvo were excellent too.

We are all different shapes, so car seat designers are on a hiding to nothing when they try and make a seat that suits all. I’m 5ft 10ins and weight 11 stone – Joe average, I would have thought.

However, try as I might, I step out of the IS300 after a 30-minute journey and have to stretch my back. The seats don’t support my lower back and the elusive ‘G-spot’ of a good seat is missing.

I’m stretching myself now, just thinking about…

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Monday – Happy Monday

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There’s a slightly secret group of people out there dedicated to Lexus. They’re definitely ‘in the know’ and appreciate something a little different.

They’re very likely to corner you after a dinner party and remind you that Lexus is a brand that regularly tops the JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey – the respected industry stamp of happy car ownership, voted for by real drivers, in the real world.

And they are the sort of drivers who stick with a make, year in, year out and can be rather smug about it too. Well, apart from that rather tasteless dashboard described yesterday, I’m starting to see why that is.

The IS300h is beautifully screwed together and oozes quality from every angle. Disappointing our SE isn’t equipped with leather trim or heated seats but I can forgive that when I know I’m driving a brand that has been proved to gives years of happy motoring.

 

 

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Sunday – The Square Joystick

cropped-is-300h-f-sport-dyn-15-dpl-2013.jpgRemember when BMW introduced the infamous iDrive system in their cars? Ooh there was a fuss. Hated by both technophobes and those with conventional hands alike, BMW stuck with it. After a period of ‘refinement’ it’s now a relatively straightforward joystick for the navigation, media and telephone functions alike.

Lexus has a similar type of system in the IS but for some reason it has an oblong joystick, rather than round. That’s oblong in the sense that it’s not that easy to hold, or actually operate for that matter. This morning I was clicking through the screen options and found my cursor skipping all over the place.

It makes a sympathetic ‘bing’ when you want to connect, annoying but I’m sure you can switch it off. It’s my least favourite feature – that and the rather cheap looking centre console in the SE. I mean, this is a luxurious business car but it just doesn’t marry with the rest of the interior design, which is a cut above.

Apparently, the cockpit was inspired by the limited edition and very cool Lexus LFA. At least its bigger than previous IS cars, thanks to a wider wheelbase.

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Saturday – Honey I Lost the Car!

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I’ll admit it. I’ve just walked past the rear of the IS300h thinking it was a BMW 3 Series. I was on the mobile and distracted but I suddenly found myself down the wrong end of the car park looking for a Lexus.

Have a peep at the boot in our photo above – is there a BMW designer moonlighting in Japan I wonder? No mistaking the front end though, with those bug-eyed headlights on the IS.

There are also more welcome similarities with the BMW when it comes to handling. This latest IS is incredibly precise around corners and feels every inch a driver’s car, although it’s not as fast to 60mph as the diesel Beemer.

And then there’s the artificial noise generator! The Lexus delivery driver told me our SE had a system that sent sound into the cabin to simulate the sound of the engine, sometimes missing in a hybrid. As of today, I’m not entirely sure when the SE has it or not.

To be honest, I don’t want to know if it is fitted because it’s much more fun trying to work out whether it is there or not! I’ll get to the bottom of it, once I’ve had time to open the manual….

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Friday – The Nike IS300h?

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Pretty from most angles and, it seems, sponsored by Nike? Subliminal advertising has obviously reached new levels of cunningness when you consider the shape of the IS300 daytime running lights.

Yes, I should be writing about the petrol-electric lump sat under the bonnet, the stylish bodyshape that will have BMW 320d drivers spitting blood, and the bizarre engine noise switch in the cabin (more on that tomorrow!).

However, as we are talking couture here, look at those swooshy lights! Maybe the designer was checking out his sneakers when he found that moment of inspiration…

What the front lights do well is distract your attention from the bizarre grille. The shape suggests that it has melted in the middle. Weird and slightly scary, if you suffer from migraines.

That aside, the styling of the Lexus is light years ahead of the corporate BMW. Of course, most buyers of both will spend their days in a suit but the baby IS is genuinely a thing of beauty.

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Thursday – DS5 Verdict

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So, as the Citroen DS5 of life disappears down the road of fashionable items that passed up by, it’s time to give an honest verdict.

Firstly, this is a car that you want to like. From the moment it turned up with us, the Citroen looked massively appealing from both the inside and the out. Definitely different and daringly designed, you have to take your chapeau off to the French for creating a cracking looking car.

The radically styled interior, brilliant dashboard and cool seats suggest it will be a great car to own too. However, all is not what it seems with the DS5 and sadly, the whole driving experience is a frustrating letdown. The car has lifeless steering, feels twitchy on rough roads and is devoid on driver involvement.

So, despite all the kit on our test car – the sat nav that has stars in the night sky, the massaging driver’s seat and a thumpingly good stereo – it’s never going to match up to the competition from Ford and Vauxhall in the family transport department.

And that is, unfortunately, rather a shame…

 

 

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Wednesday – Petanque Anyone?

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It’s taken almost a week but I’ve finally found a road where the DS5 behaves beautifully. Stick this funky looking coupe/MPV on a motorway and it really comes into its own.

I took a long drive down the M5 today to play a man at petanque – it’s a long story but destined to be a feature in the Financial Times. The big Citroen sits on a fast, smooth road beautifully and is also whisper quiet.

So quiet in fact that it is remarkably easy to slip over the speed limit. The speaker system is exceptional, made by Denon and worth every penny, if you fancy an accessory upgrade.

The three automatic blinds that screen off the sunroofs proved worthwhile and I used the seat massage function to prepare my body for my game of petanque. Perfect.

 

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Tuesday – Coupe On Steroids

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There are moments when I’ve really enjoyed the DS5 – it’s usually when I’m passing a shop window and see the reflection in the glass. There are admiring glances because the Citroen looks like a rather outsize coupe on steroids.

I’m desperately trying to resist using the phrase form over function but with the DS, it really does come down to that. The driving experience is best described as average and that’s a huge shame considering how much attention went in to creating a car that looks so darn good. Inside and out!

It is very practical and with the back seats lowered, also swallows up a large amount of anything. The subwoofer in the boot eats into space a little but nothing too intrusive.There are storage spaces everywhere, including a massive bin under the centre armrest.

If the DS5 had been designed by the French but engineered by Germans, I rather feel it would have been a much better car than it is…

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Monday – Head Banger

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I’m a modest 5ft 10ins. The DS5 is a family car, so why do I keep cracking my head on the side of the door opening when I step inside? It’s got to the point now where I duck down when I slip behind the wheel – although today I straightened up afterwards and immediately bumped my head on the centre roof console instead.

The Citroen is unusual in the fact that often, it is the driver who has the best seating position and the passengers miss out. The DS5 is fantastically comfortable for passengers but finding that perfect driving position remains a problem, even after four days of trying.

At least there is masses of space in the rear, with a drop down armrest in the middle of the back seat that helps give armchair-style relaxation. And the luggage space is huge, although you need to remove two parcel shelves to make the most of it.

Like the Hyundai Veloster, rear visibility is lacking. Our test car has a reversing camera and an audible alert but do try a rear parking manoeuvre before you open your wallet!

 

 

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Sunday – No Ground Control

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The Arnolfini Arts Centre in Bristol is surrounded by would-be space kids today. Nothing to do with the Clooney/Bullock movie Gravity – it’s the latest audition venue for the new Stars Wars films. Hundreds of bright you things, all looking for their 15 minutes of fame.

They could do far worse than start rehearsing for the role in the DS5. Seriously, it’s the most futuristic dashboard I’ve ever seen in a car. Part of the audition should be giving them the manual and seeing how long it takes to turn the head-up display screen off.

The button is hidden away in a centre console in the roof. It’s surrounded by switches for automatic sun blinds on the three sunroofs, plus a couple of drop-down sunglasses holders. How did we ever live without those?

I’d swap all those buttons for a better driver’s seat though. As funky as the leather interior is, the armchair-style driving position is quite awful, not helped by the upright angle of the foot pedals. Try it, you’ll see what I mean.

And this is made even worse by the lifeless power steering, which robs the Citroen of any driver enjoyment or feel. I don’t want to go to the Moon in comfort, just the local Waitrose please…