Month: March 2017

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My perfect SUV has the body of a Jaguar F-Pace

My perfect SUV? Well, it would have the body of a Jaguar F-Pace, the engine of a Porsche Macan and the interior of a Mercedes GLC (which we will have on test from this coming Thursday).

I’m still baffled by Jaguar’s 2.0 diesel, which is just so noisy under harsh acceleration – something one is surely expected to do in a vehicle called F-Pace?

Yet I can’t deny it isn’t pretty. Everywhere I drive it, there are admiring glances. F-Pace so much prettier than a BMW X3, or the Audi Q5, although the dark blue paintwork on our test car doesn’t really work for me.

I just wish I had driven the 300PS V6 diesel, or the 3.0-litre supercharged petrol model because I suspect, both those engines will have what the 2.0-litre models lacks – F-PACE!

 

 

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Jaguar F-Pace – as mean looking as an Audi Q7?

I’m starting to wish I’d borrowed the 3.0-litre V6 F-Pace. Apart from the yawn-inspiring diesel engine in this week’s test car the first Jaguar SUV is otherwise rather good.

A shame really as this 2.0 diesel is the one most buyers will opt for, to benefit from tax breaks and the fine fuel economy. If only it churned out a bit more grunt and sounded like a ‘proper’ sporty SUV.

At least there’s no doubt the F-Pace turns heads, it’s rather like a mini Maserati Levante, thanks to that gaping from grille and compact, curvy shape. I love it – although I don’t think our dark blue test car really shows the F-Pace off to the max.

Perhaps only the Audi Q7 has a more aggressive look. As Clarkson once said, you could ‘nail it to a church door to fend off the devil’. The Jaguar looks like it means business, which is good enough for me. Amen.

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Jaguar F-Pace – another car that squeals when you push it hard

We are moving towards a world where cars have smaller, more frugal and efficient engines that help to save the polar bears.

This is a good thing – except for one fact. Small engines have to be revved harder to perform and consequently sound like they are being wrung by the neck.

That’s right, just like last week’s 2.0-litre diesel Volvo, the F-Pace 2.0 diesel is not a relaxing cabin for point and shoot drivers who prefer an A-road to a motorway.

It’s quite depressing. I can’t say bad things about either car but having to thrash a 2.0 derv to enjoy yourself is not what I expected from two otherwise thoroughly modern machines.

Hmmm…

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Jaguar F-Pace – blurring the line between SUV and sports car?

 

Jaguar’s first SUV is infused with more than a dash of Land Rover DNA. You’d expect that with two such bedfellows.

Yet the F-Pace isn’t really designed to crash through the jungle or pull a heavy load. It’s really a bit of a softie – with part-time four-wheel drive and very pretty styling.

The line between SUV and proper 4×4 has been blurred for a long time. The F-Pace errs on the side of the former. It’s not a sporty beast like the Porsche Macan either – whatever the advertising tries to tell you.

Sure the supercharged V6 version is tasty but really the F-Pace will be mostly consumed as a 2.0-litre diesel, like our test car this week.

Let’s see how it goes…

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Lagom it might be but the Volvo S90 shouldn’t have to struggle this hard…

The Swedes call is ‘lagom’ – a proverb that explains when something is just about right. It’s a state of being that the Scandinavian’s love to live by.

The new Volvo S90 basks in a state of permanent lagom. It’s not too flash, not too expensive – it’s just about right.

Well, just about. As much as I’ve loved my time in a cabin finely tuned to Ikea standards, I’m struggling to get my head around the 2.0-litre diesel engine.

The problem is this. As frugal and eco-friendly as it is, the unit sounds like it is straining to keep up. Unlike a BMW, Audi or Mercedes, this rather ruins the whole driving experience.

It doesn’t mean the S90’s progress is hindered in any way. It’s not a bad car. But that engine would eventually make me long for a bigger unit to serve up a more relaxed driving experience.

Lagom it might be but the S90 shouldn’t have to struggle this hard…

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Cool, calm and collected – the new Volvo S90

Car manufacturers drift in and out of favour with the passage of time. Right now, Volvo is one of the brands of the moment – revived, revamped and poking a stick at the likes of BMW and Jaguar.

The Swedes have always traded on the safety angle but the cars have never been that desirable, or different. Well, the likes of the XC90 and now the S90 have changed all that. BMWs and Audis all look the same – why not drive something more memorable?

After five days in the S90, I’ve realised people aren’t staring at me – they are looking at the car. It’s very pretty indeed, although the rear-end does not hold quite the same appeal.

It may not have quite the driving thrills of a German car but there is something resfreshingly different about this Volvo. It feels light and airy inside. Everything about it is cool, calm and collected.

Slotting the 400bhp Twin Engine hybrid unit in later this year could be the making of a great saloon….

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The new Volvo S90 is a comfortable relaxing car – it’s just I’m not ready for a nursing home yet

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The retuning of Volvo is slow but impressive. After the XC90 comes our S90, with other models on the cards too. There’s even the Polestar range of performance cars that will become more available over the next few years.

Volvo has no plans to offer a fast T6 petrol version of the S90 but there will be a T8 hybrid using a system similar to that used in the XC90. With 400bhp available, the plug-in hybrid should be massively popular.

The 2.0 D5 diesel fitted in our S90 test car is impressive, offering 232bhp. However, the unit is only available with four-wheel drive, so many drivers will no doubt choose the slower, 187bhp version with front-wheel drive for better economy.

Neither give the S90 the driving dymanics of a BMW or a Jaguar – there is no manual gearbox option either. Consequently, the S90 remains a large, comfortable executive car that is more relaxing than exciting.

Personally, I’m not ready for a nursing home yet, so a 5 Series would always be my first choice.

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The Volvo S90 cockpit is like the waiting room at my doctor’s surgery

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Sitting inside the Volvo S90 is like visiting my doctor’s surgery. There, the receptionist plays soothing background music, everything is neatly arranged and the chairs are very comfortable indeed.

I look around at a lot of sick people and feel rather grateful that I’m only here to get a repeat prescription for asthma.

The S90 cabin has that same soothing effect – like a million Ikea candles burning around your home. It is, perhaps, just what the doctor ordered.

Yet, somehow the new S90 cabin still manages to leave me cold. It may have heated seats but the design is so clinical, so laden with technology, it lacks any soul.

Walking away from my Volvo, it sends a note to my iPhone reminding me where I parked. Very sweet but if I can’t remember that then perhaps I need to spend even more time in the doctor’s waiting room that I imagined.

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Is the Volvo S90 the exec saloon to beat BMW?

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The first thing you have to to realise about the S90 is that it’s a very big car. And I mean big – larger than a BMW 5 Series.

It’s pretty from some angles but less so from others, while the interior is the antidote to every German saloon currently on the market. Refreshingly different.

Volvo has got new-found credibility these days and the S90 is going to have to be good to beat rivals like the Mercedes E-class and the Audi A6.

It’s packed full of technology, boasts a super-safe heritage and is very well equipped. Could this be the exec to finally knock BMW off its throne?

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Cool new Harley arrives…

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The Road King Special  cost about the same as a decent car – despite being two wheels short of a chassis. The latest Harley is worthy of mention on Car Couture because it looks so good and is a vast improvement over the outgoing model.

Designers have given the King a more aggressive look for 2017, as these first pictures show. Find your inner George Clooney with mini ape handlebars, a lowered profile and all-black engine finish.

Harley says new front forks and rear shocks have improved the handling and ride comfort too. The King is fitted the latest Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine with extra grunt and better cruising speed.

Prices start at £19,995, with the choice of four colours.