Month: November 2014

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VW Golf GTI Performance Pack – Less Can Be More In Car Design

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After yesterday’s minor whinge about the seat cloth in the GTI you might expect a rant about the rest of the interior. Not a bit of it – the Golf is a benchmark.

I’m sat in the driver’s seat right now. There is something oddly retro about the dashboard design and layout but quite simply, it works. You will find other hot hatchbacks with more buttons and dials but sometimes in car design, less is more.

Top feature is the large screen infotainment unit that dominates the centre console. It’s so simple to use you are unlikely to read a handbook again. As your finger moves towards the screen, a sensor detects the motion and brightens the target area. Brilliant.

Best of all is the driving position. Sit in the Golf driver’s seat and you feel instantly at home. All you need is a TV remote control and your favourite tipple…

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VW Golf GTI Performance Pack – Why Do They Use Tartan Seat Cloth In The GTI?

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Talk about the emperor’s new clothes… Can anybody tell me why they use tartan seat cloth in the Golf GTI? I’m in touch with my Scottish  but is there some other deep and meaningful reason for it?

Apparently, the Germans have a bit of a thing for it which dates back to the 1950s. In those days, Mercedes used to give each of their racing drivers different coloured tartan seats. Fangio had red and Stirling Moss sat on green.

VW has used the Jacara cloth as standard in GTIs for years but I’m not certain it’s the best option, from a couture point of view. And if you feel the same as me, your dealer will charge you an extra £1700 to upgrade to leather.

I would hesitate to suggest this might put a lot of people off. Sure, it’s quirky and different but also strangely dated and rather unappealing. It’s the one feature of this latest GTI I could live without…

 

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VW Golf Performance Pack – Power Isn’t Always Everything (and it’s better than a Vauxhall Astra VXR)

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Women don’t bother – so why do blokes always check the 0-60mph time before they rate a car? The GTI is a modest 6.4 seconds in Performance Pack guise but it’s way slower than the competition.

The Focus ST is 0.2 seconds quicker, while the Astra VXR a full half second – but I think what really matters is the manner in which you get there. The Golf’s sublime DSG six-speed gearbox is so slick, delivering the power in a smooth curve.

Neither of the two rivals mentioned here come anywhere near and, although they cost less to buy, the Ford and Vauxhall depreciate a lot faster too. I might be a badge snob but I also know which car I feel better driving.

If you like shine shoes and personalised number plates, please advance to the nearest Ford and Vauxhall dealerships. The VW is a much classier package all round.

 

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Golf GTI Performance Pack – Has The Best Just Got Better?

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The Volkswagen Golf GTI – a car so good, I drove the delivery driver all the way to his next job. OK, it was only 20 minutes up the road but on a wet Thursday, it would have been much cosier to stay in by the fire.

Instead, me and Mr Delivery Man cooed about the GTI from the moment he slipped the key into my hand. We may be on Mark VI and I can still remember Mark I but this latest version is the best I’ve ever driven.

Within a couple of miles I was in lust with the Golf. It has this uncanny ability to make the driver feel like he has owned the car for years. Everything is exactly where it should be, the handling is terrific and there’s enough performance to make it exciting. Every day.

And so we come to the Performance Pack fitted on this car. Is it worth the £995 extra for 10bhp more under your right foot. £30k for a Golf GTI? Yes, I get the feeling it might be worth every penny…

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Aston Martin DB9 Carbon Edition – Flawed Beauty That Still Makes The Heart Beat Faster

 

aston8My dream woman would be a beautiful redhead with a scar on her cheek. A psychologist would have a field day with that admission but I like the idea of flawed beauty.

The DB9 is a visual feast both inside and out. Just the name Aston Martin reeks of style, passion and sophistication. Yet like my redhead, or any Maserati for that matter, the flaws are hidden deep under the skin.

Have I enjoyed driving a car more than the DB9 this year? Probably not but don’t be fooled into thinking this is the ultimate supercar. It isn’t.

Suspect brakes, limited legroom in the cabin, door handles that disappear in the dark and a tiny boot – shall I go on?

Perhaps none of these on their own are enough to dissuade a potential buyer but after a week in the Aston, my dream car had become a little scarred around the edges…

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Aston Martin DB9 Carbon Black – The Ups And Downs Of Owning A Supercar

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Wednesday and it’s another rain-lashed morning in Blighty – not the best of weather to hurl a 500bhp, rear-wheel drive supercar around a corner. Having discovered the DB9 is somewhat ‘tail happy’ I’ve compiled a list of other minor irritants that they don’t tell you about in the sale brochure.

Firstly, if you are a lady (or a bloke!) with long nails, inserting the glass key into the dashboard can chip at least two of them in one go. Actually, just getting in to the Aston at night can be awkward because unless you blip the key (for illumination) the flush handles are completely hidden in the door. This results in a lot of embarrassing fumbling around to find them – which makes your hands filthy too. Never saw Bond do that did you!

I’m 5ft 10ins and I can’t stretch my legs out in the front passenger seat. Normally this can be rectified by reclining the back upright but in the DB9, it hits the rear seat almost instantly. So if you are 6ft plus, I’d want to be sure I could get comfortably before opening my wallet.

FInally, the boot is tiny. The rear seats are pointless too – unless you have a small dog or baby.

On the plus side, Aston include a free umbrella and a near, chrome-topped pen that pops out of the dashboard. There, now you know…

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Aston Martin DB9 Carbon – Exhaust Note Rattle To Make Your Toes Curl…

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I’m not sure there’s a more beautiful noise than a DB9 accelerating in ‘sport’ mode. Unlike some other supercars, it only roars when required and the rattle from the exhaust pipes will make your toes curl.

The surge in performance in sport is noticeable. The revs pick up and the Aston suddenly becomes alive. Very handy for overtaking too.

Unlike the more compact Porsche 911, the DB9 doesn’t feel as stable on the road, especially when cornering. Blip the throttle too soon on a roundabout and that tail end will wobble.

It’s easily rectified of course, but I know I could blat around a bend faster in a Porsche, or the Nissan GT-R of course. Fortunately, the Aston Martin isn’t just about speed. It’s a thing of true beauty…

 

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Aston Martin DB9 Carbon Edition – Brake Fade Spoils The Fun In Bond Supercar…

 

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Let me tell you – it doesn’t matter whether I’m driving a Rolls-Royce or a Ferrari there is always a niggle to be found.

I love Aston Martins but guess what? Even this special edition Carbon is slightly flawed. And it’s an issue you would probably never discover until you had paid £140k and bought the car.

 

Brake fade.

Our test car has under 13,000 miles on the clock but screaming in towards a roundabout yesterday I was alarmed at the lack of response from the 400mm diameter carbon ceramic discs.

Just to be sure it wasn’t my imagination, I tried braking in a straight line and found the problem just as bad. Compared to the Nissan GT-R we tested last week, the Aston’s stopping power was almost embarrassing.

Now, it might be that our DB9 was in need of a new set of discs but somehow I doubt it – every press car is checked over before it is sent out each week.

At least now we know now why Bond is always wrecking Astons – and never chased by a Nissan GT-R…

 

 

 

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Aston Martin DB9 Carbon – Is It Worth The Sum Of Its Extra Parts?

 

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Any colour you like, as long as it’s black, or possibly white… The Carbon Edition was launched at Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. There are no upgrades to the V12 engine and looking at it parked on the driveway now, I’m hard pushed to spot the cosmetic changes too.

The extra £6k on the price of a standard DB9 buys you a special edition with some carbon fibre side strakes and black window surrounds, plus a ‘Carbon’ logo on the sill covers as you step in. The interior is suitably black and that’s about it!

I’m wondering if that’s why it took a lot of Googling to find out exactly how much of a premium the Carbon edition demands? The official Aston site says ‘price on application’ and in the end I had to inquire at the press office.

‘Style and visual drama are the special edition’s hallmarks as they perfectly emphasis the timeless GT’s sporting nature’ says the PR fluff.

I’m sure they’re right but the DB9 is a visual stunner already. I’m not sure yet that I would pay the extra for a Carbon Edition…

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Aston Martin DB9 Carbon Edition – On Test From Tomorrow

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You might think that after a week with a Japanese supercar of epic proportions it might have tempered my desire for a British car. Not a bit of it. I wear a worn out Belstaff jacket that dates from the 1960s, love classic British motorcycles and drive a 1972 Land Rover.

The point is that despite living in France, Ireland and Australia, I’ve never been able to shake off my British roots. I tried hard at one point but now I love it here and our great British design icons too.

Top of the automotive pile are Aston Martin, Jaguar and Range Rover. If you want the whole package – style, heritage, quality and performance, these are the motors that do it to me.

The DB9 Carbon Edition arrives tomorrow and with frost on the ground this morning it already feels like Christmas Eve. Excited? Yes, who wouldn’t be. The only thing I don’t know right now is whether it will be Carbon Black, or white…