Month: September 2016

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Most BMWs are fun drives – the Active Tourer 225xe has missed out somewhere…

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Clarkson described the new Fiat 124 Spyder as ‘an elephant on a unicycle’ in today’s Sunday Times. Basing the larger bodyshell of the Fiat on the smaller Mazda MX-5 chassis just ruined a great sports car.

There’s something of that about the Active Tourer. Underneath that bland MPV is a BMW 2 Series – the same basic platform that hosts the rather brilliant M2.

This is hard to comprehend as the one pleasure missing from the 225xe is the joy of driving. Despite a nippy 0-60mph time of 6.7 seconds and all the inherent sportiness of BMW in general, it really sucks.

Dad or mum aren’t going to get many thrills after doing the school run. The hybrid technolog is great to boast about at dinner parties but really, the xe needs an injection of ‘fun’ to merit the price tag…

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The BMW 225xe is a class act – even at the price

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Don’t ask me why but I feel like I’ve driven the future today. The BMW 225xe is an unremarkable looking car – quite possibly the dullest Beemer that I’ve seen in years.

Yet beneath that MPV exterior is a technology packed drivetrain that does just about everything. Four-wheel drive, hybrid technology, slick auto gearbox, oh, and it’s front-wheel drive unlike most BMWs. Which means you won’t get stuck in snow, like most BMWs.

There are petrol and diesel versions too. The hybrid is going to cost you around £3,000 more than the equivalent petrol but if you keep the battery charged and use it around town, the xe won’t use any petrol at all.

It may be small and expensive at £35k but it feel like a classy car. And there’s so much technology going on – I like it!

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The smallest BMW hybrid is the 225xe. And the technology is amazing

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Unfortunately for BMW, the 2-series arrives after a Jaguar F-Type Coupe and before a Lamborghini Huracan. The lifeless styling of this five-door hatchback leaves me cold but it should be refreshing to drive something with so much technology on board.

The BMW hybrid range now includes some cracking cars, like the 740e and 330e. The 225, I suspect, will be less of a driver’s car but still hugely competent as an everyday family motor.

And the best bit of all is that unlike some of the opposition, the 225 charges really fast – around three-and-a-quarter hours from a standard house socket. That’s mighty impressive.

It means you can play with the three, driver-selectable electric modes that give the car up to 24 miles of silent motoring via the battery.

Ultra low emissions and nippy performance (0-60mph in 6.7 seconds) mean the Active Tourer has plenty going for it…

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Almost a five star car – the Jaguar F-Type is a fabulous driving machine

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After trying my very hardest to find fault with the F-Type Coupe, I have to say it’s come out of the fray rather well. The niggles have been mostly down to my individual test car – and that ridiculous spare wheel swallowing up the boot!

The hard top version of the more popular roadster is, without doubt, the prettier car. And because the chassis is stronger than the convertible, it feels better balanced.

Yes, it’s not as entertaining as a Porsche 911 but it is a lot cheaper – and you will turn a lot more heads. It certainly has more soul and character than the German coupe.

Perhaps the  only disappointing aspect is the interior. It just that luxury feel, even with lashings of leather about the place. There is leather, and there is leather.

This is almost a five star car, held back by the average fuel economy and that uninspiring interior…

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The Jaguar F-Type has a massive sweet spot – if you can find an empty road

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Today was the first inspiring drive I’ve enjoyed in the F-Type. I took the coupe across the Cotswolds and down to the McLaren headquarters in Woking.

True, the 3.0-litre V6 was a little dwarfed by supercar exotica in the car park – plus a few helicopters – but it was a route uncluttered by traffic. The Jaguar shone, turning in a handling masterclass.

It’s not the quickest two-seater of course. 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds is barely enough to set the pulses racing. But in Dynamic mode, the F-Type has a massive sweet spot.

However, I do seem to have put more fuel in this car that any others over the last few months. A 29mpg (combined) figure seems a bit average compared to some of the competition.

Money well spent…

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The incredible flatulent Jaguar F-Type Coupe…. (minus sound effects)

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Having stripped the spare wheel out of the boot to make space for an overnight bag, I didn’t expect the F-Type to have a hissy-fit and start playing up.

I’m not sure a motoring journalist has penned a piece about a flatulent safety belt before so this could be a first. However, the Jaguar seems to have developed an odd, erm, farting noise when stretched out of its holder.

At first I thought it might have been my sweaty armpit. You know the form – cup your hand under your arm and squeeze. The perfect schoolboy wheeze.

But no. The source of the unfortunate sound is the belt mechanism itself. A cool car with a build in fart sounder. Not quite sure Jaguar had that in might with the F-Type but have any owners out there experienced the same problem?

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The world’s smallest car boot? Surprisingly, it’s a Jaguar

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Anybody remember the Mk II Toyota MR2? Apart from having a name that meant ‘shit’ in French, it also came equipped with the smallest luggage space known to man.

I thought those days were long gone – until I opened the tailgate of the F-Type coupe this morning. Wow! That has to be the tiniest boot ever. Smaller than the Toyota in fact.

And the reason is the space-saver spare wheel. It costs an extra £265 but takes up all of the load area. What the cock was Jaguar thinking when they designed that then?

So, I’ve just had to unbolt the spare wheel to fit an overnight bag in a coupe. Remember, there are no rear seats in the F-Type – only the passenger seats offers usable space.

This is quite mad. I know it is possible to specify a tyre inflator kit but are car designed to this level of detail should not be quite so compromised….

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The interior of the Jaguar F-Type doesn’t live up to the exterior promise

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There is something faintly disappointing about the interior of the F-Type. It’s not a particular fault of any kind but simply that the interior doesn’t quite live up to the promise of the exterior.

I’ve already stated my claim for the Coupe being far more appealing than the Convertible. In my mind, the beauty of the hard-top does not continue inside the cabin.

And sitting in the driver’s seat now, I can’t actually tell you why! Everything is ergonomically perfect and well-positioned – even the pop up air vents on top of the dash are cool in more ways than one.

There is just a lack of quality feel to the finish. Too much hard plastic, ‘hard’ leather. The F-Type isn’t a tactile car somehow. It doesn’t cosset the driver and welcome you in…

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Is the Jaguar F-Type a style icon of the new millennium?

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I’m still getting over selling my E-Type in 2005. It went for a modest £25,000 and I thought I had done well to make £2,000 in 12 months of ownership. That same car is now worth in excess of £100,000!

The question I asked myself when the F-Type appeared is would it be a future classic too? They are being made in much larger numbers of course but and no amount of Jaguar spin at launch could hide the fact that this is not the iconic sports car of its generation.

That said, I am in lust with the curves and sheer gorgeousness of the F-Type Coupe. It’s far prettier that the soft-top and boasts truly stunning looks.

I bought a 911 instead of an F-Type last year. I sold the Porsche six months later because it had no soul.

Is the F-Type going to show me it has the character missing from the 911? Let’s see how I get on…