Month: July 2014

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Renault Captur – You’ve Been Tangoed

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I blame Porsche – weren’t they the first to offer an orange car for sale? Or maybe it was the three-wheeled Bond, or I seem to remember MG did something similar…

It’s all a matter for personal taste but orange is up there with yellow as the worst colour ever sprayed on a motor vehicle. OK, possibly pink is worse.

Whatever – I know that manufacturer press offices like to offer journalists bright colours because they look better in photographs. Make your own mind up but I can’t imagine anybody buying one this colour. Or so I thought…

This morning I trundled in to Stow-on-the-Wold to buy a paper. As I arrived at the newsagents, guess what parked behind me? Yep an orange Captur! The owner seemed very pleased with himself but I decided to scuttle off before we got engaged in a conversation on the joys of going orange.

Just the colour you need to be driving in Belfast today, on the glorious 12th. What a strange nation of car drivers we are…

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Renault Captur – Useless For Carrying Pencils

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Compact SUVs – there’s so many of them out there these days that they all seem to blend into one. Ten years ago we would have bought a hatchback, now everybody want’s a family car that’s high of the ground with chunky styling.

On paper, the Captur isn’t that different. Despite the looks, it’s front-wheel drive only, which means the 20cm of extra ride height only aids visibility and nothing else.

Yet in the metal, the Captur is actually rather good. It’s been well thought out by the designers, with deeply sculpted side panels, a funky front end that encapsulates a big Renault badge, plus plenty of personalization options. The chrome exterior pack looks especially neat.

And this youthful approach continues inside, with colour-coded seats, a wrap around dashboard and seven-inch display screen.

My favourite feature are the seats bins on the back of the front seats. They are strands of bungee chord shaped liked a spider’s web. Look great – but crap for carrying your kid’s pencils…

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Volvo XC60 – A Rival For the Germans

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I feel like a bit of a fraud driving the XC60. Mainly because I don’t have a family and my hound, Malin, is just as happy on the front seat of a Porsche Boxster as a thumping SUV.

If I was in the family way, so to speak, then the Volvo would be worthy of serious consideration. Which considering I would never have been seen dead in a Volvo estate ten years ago is quite some achievement!

Just like Germany’s magnificent seven against Brazil, this is something of a surprise. I’ve enjoyed it more than Audi’s Q5 and it packs an awful lot more equipment than the BMW X3 too, although it doesn’t drive as well.

Cosmetic changes to the XC60 last year have improved the Volvo still further and I reckon it has the most comfortable seats of any car I’ve driven this year, Bentley included. Yes, the 2.4 diesel engine is a little noisy and the array of safety devices can sanitise the fun but this is an excellent family SUV.

Sensible yes but a worthy rival to German premium brands…

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Volvo XC60 – The Second Coming

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It’s 12 years since Volvo launched its first SUV. The XC90 was incredibly good, which is one reason why the new version doesn’t appear on the market until later this year. Why change a winning formula?

After the success of that car, Volvo put its foot to the floor and produced a whole raft of chunky-looking sports utility vehicles. Last year’s facelift to the XC60 has helped create a car that will fit perfectly into your family life.

And one key reason why buyers opt for the Volvo over other premium brand SUVs is the cabin. It’s not just well-built and an ergonomic joy but simply beautiful to look at too.

Comfortable, refined and very classy, the XC60 may not be as exciting to drive as a BMW X3 but as a package, it’s a whole lot better…

 

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Volvo XC60 – Light Fantastic Beam

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I’m just back from five days riding a motorbike around Spain. The Spanish are ‘enthusiastic’ drivers and equally nuts in a car. However, they are particularly bad at dipping their headlights at night, which is annoying and dangerous if you are the oncoming motorcyclist.

What Spain needs is more XC60s. Why? Well, Car Couture’s test car is fitted with a system called Driver Support Pack. It’s a £1900 extra but probably the most advanced lighting system I’ve ever used.

The XC60 has sensors that continually monitor for blind spots and oncoming traffic, then adjust the headlights accordingly. Lots of other cars have this type of system but the Volvo one is so advanced, it’s constantly changing the headlight beam projection with the movement of the vehicle.

My favourite is when you follow a car and the Volvo system cleverly dims the lighting area that would have otherwise blinded the motorist in front. The main beam stays active on both sides of the car in front.

Does it work? Yes it does but Driver Support Pack takes some getting used to. My eyes started following the beam, rather than the road on several occasions. Clever but whether it is worth you hard-earned £1900 might be another issue…

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Volvo XC60 – Volvos Were Never Meant To Be This Sexy…

 

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Remember the wedge-shaped Volvo 480? Not many people do but back in the mid-eighties, this sleek four-seater was seen as radical. It was a total break from the norm for a company that produced lumpy estate cars with the aerodynamics of a brick.

Apparently, the 480 was designed many years before by a man who was almost hung, drawn and quartered by his Swedish bosses for suggesting something so outrageously different. Hell, this was Volvo and we don’t do sexy! Volvos were designed soley to carry sofas, while being capable of hitting an elk at 60mph.

Well, that’s all changed and for further proof, just Google the all new Polestar models that are the hottest Volvos ever built. Even the ‘everyday’ cars are pretty smart too. Just take a loot at the XC60. If you have to make the school run, then this is an SUV that your kid won’t mind stepping out of.

There’s not to much 4×4 ‘bling’ about the styling either, it doesn’t shout about it’s four-wheel drive credentials. Yes, it’s taller and more butch than your average hatchback but if you want a Volvo that is a tiny, weeny bit sexy as well as practical and safe, this is it….

 

 

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Volvo XC60 – With Fart Alert

 

141634_4_13Volvo will replace the hugely popular XC90 later this year – the giant SUV was the family car that really turned things around for the Swedish car maker. But if you want a taste of what the next generation model will be like, there are plenty of clues in the current XC60 we have on test.

The smaller XC60 has rugged, robust looks, wrapped up in a stylish bodyshell that holds it own against the likes of BMW and Audi. At £36k, it has too because top spec Volvos aren’t cheap these days.

The XC is available with either front wheel, or all-wheel drive, so unless you need mud-plugging ability, save cash and buy the former.

As you would expect, the XC60 is equipped with every piece of safety equipment you might imagine. That includes lane departure warning and a light in the door mirrors that warn you if a passing car is going through your blind spot. It probably has an alert for farting passengers too but I haven’t found that yet.

More tomorrow when I have learnt how to open the windows…