Author: carcoutureblog

by

Renault Twingo – Red Trim Spells Danger (or a lot of cleaning at least)

twinCar Couture likes anything that isn’t off-the-peg – this week’s Twingo has a funky interior equipped with a Sport Pack. Well, I think it does as even with the specification sheet for the car, I’m not entirely clear as to what’s on board.

There are so many options and packs you could spend a week deciding on how to personalise your Twingo. It’s moderately confusing and indecisive buyers need not apply…

The £850 pack also includes 16-inch alloys and black side decals. However, it’s the part red seat upholstery and other red trim parts that concern me. In my experience, red soon turns grubby and can spoil the appearance of any interior.

So while you might like the thought of standing out from the crowd, I’d opt for something a little less in your face for the interior trim. The Twingo cabin is cool enough without it…

by

Renault Twingo – I’ve Been Twingoed. How Do I Get Into The Boot Of This Little Car?

 

nvnvn

Before we go any further, can somebody tell me how to get in the boot?

The lovely lady who delivered the Twingo opened the hatch for me when she arrived. I put my bag in and drove away. Later, when I arrived home, I couldn’t open it.

I tried the ‘boot opening’ button on the key-fob (they never work, do they), I tried pressing the Renault badge logo on the lid. Then I ran my fingers under the lip of the boot in search of a button to press.

Several minutes later, I was tearing at the back seats. Unable to open to boot. Eventually, the only way to retrieve my Christmas shopping was to fold the seat backs and reach in from there.

Why should I revert to the manual? Getting in to the boot should be as intuitive as opening a side door.

Eight hours later and I still can’t get in. I can be stubborn too Mr Twingo..

 

by

Maserati Quattroporte S – Or Renault Twingo? Life Can Be Cruel At Times…

854598_JL4_9020

Car changeover days are rarely as painful as this… So, I’ve just handed back the keys to the Quattroporte and taken delivery of a Renault Twingo. In white. With black stripes. Ouch.

You might think I have a twisted sense of logic but the fact is, the Maserati is my favourite motor of the year. It’s not a Jaguar, a Porsche or a Ferrari but a crazy grand tourer with the maddest interior I’ve seen in decades.

Yes, it was the interior ‘wot won it’. There have been more beautiful cars than the Maserati (Jaguar F-Type, Bentley Convertible, Porsche Boxster) but that brown and blue cabin in the Quattroporte just took me back to the 1970s, when Lancia and Alfa created cabins of beauty and desire.

So, for the man with his flies down, go buy that Ferrari. Me? I’m a Maserati man and I’ve pledged to buy my own by Christmas next year. Writing my note to Santa now…

by

Maserati Quattroporte S – 410bhp On Slippery Roads? Just Don’t Press The ICE Button…

631822_Maserati Quattroporte (17)

Bentley has invited me ice driving in Sweden in January but I had just as much ‘fun’ travelling to Kingham Station this morning. That twin turbo V6 puts 410bhp to the back wheels – enough to make even a rear-wheel drive BMW look good on ice.

Because the Quattroporte is also very long, the slightest tweak of the accelerator sends the back of the car swinging out at an alarming rate.

And what about that ‘ICE’ button on the auto transmission? Well, it has nothing to do with chilly conditions! ‘Increased control and efficiency’ is actually a fuel-saving device for urban driving, so don’t be fooled.

The best advice I can give anybody driving a Maserati in the snow are the words a Ferrari test driver gave me in the snow-capped mountains of the Alps once. Quite simple, don’t press the accelerator, ‘squeeze your toes…’

 

 

 

by

Maserati Quattroporte S – An Unusual Interior That Somehow Works, Like Marmalade & Stilton

695351_Maserati Quattroporte GTS (1)

Nobody else would dare do it – a brown leather interior complemented by a blue dashboard! Welcome to the wonderful world of Maserati.

And just like stilton and marmalade on toast, somehow the daredevil Italians have pulled it off. It works brilliantly and makes Mercedes, Porsche and all the rest of the grey-seat manufacturers look more than a little dull.

Even the alcantara headlining is brown – a £1,158 option yes but damn it looks good. There’s a stunning red interior available too that really is amazing.

I’m loving the Quattroporte. It’s a big car for manoeuvring at low speed but apart from that, why are you even considering a four-door Porsche??

by

Maserati Quattroporte S – Sinister front grille + unknown quantity = rapid progress in the outside lane….

695348_Maserati Quattroporte GTS (21)

I have this theory that people move out of the outside lane of the motorway only if they really, really have to. Why else would people be such arses about it when they are slowing down a car travelling behind them?

It seems the best way to ‘encourage’ drivers to move over is appear behind them in a car with a seriously intimidating front end.

Contenders for this would be the Audi Q7 (Clarkson once said you could nail it to a church door to keep the devil at bay), the latest Range Rover, the Jaguar XFR-S and the Quattroporte.

However, you should pick the Maserati because it also has the advantage of being so rare outside of London that people haven’t got a clue what is coming up behind them in their rear-view mirror.

Sinister front grille + unknown quantity = rapid progress in the outside lane….

by

Maserati Quattroporte S – Why £15K Will Buy You Something Cooler Than A Ferrari…

631791_Maserati Quattroporte (12)

My noisy neighbour has just bought a Ferrari. A sixtysomething banker, he took the obvious route to middle-aged gratification. A least it wasn’t a 911.

However, if he was really looking for Car Couture cool, something that doesn’t just shout money and bling, there’s only one Italian car worthy of serious consideration – a Maserati.

Yep, I’d rather own a ten-year-old, £15,000 Maser than ANYTHING in a Ferrari showroom.

It’s flawed, prone to the occasional breakdown and secondhand prices aren’t great but a Maserati has an understated cache you will never achieve in a prancing horse.

Join us for a week in the Quattroporte and you might understand why…

by

Kia Pro_cee’d GT – Bells, Whistles, LEDs And An (Annoying) Digital Soundtrack

kia7

Bells, whistles, LEDs and an (annoying) digital soundtrack – the Proceed GT has them all. Hot hatch buyers want a car that looks like it means business and Kia’s first offering in this marketplace does just that.

The Korean car maker shifts more than 65,000 vehicles a year in the UK, although it’s unlikely many will be GTs. However, the coupe is a statement of intent, it shows what the company is capable of.

At £20,000, the entry-level version we’ve had on test for the past week is great value for money. It’s more cost effective than a Renault Megane RS or a Ford Focus ST. Perhaps more importantly, it has a rarity value neither can match.

Unfortunately, it can’t match the rivals for driving experience either.  But if you want bangs for your bucks, the Proceed GT has to be worth a test drive…

by

Kia Pro_cee’d – 7-Year Warranty Puts It Streets Ahead of The Rest…

kia5

So I spent last night looking at cars to buy. Not that I need one but a friend wants to spend £10,000 on ‘a little something for the weekend’. An occasional car which had to be fun, reliable and preferably open-top.

After several hours of automotive porn, I narrowed it down to either 2011 Mazda MX-5, or a 2008 BMW Z4. Later versions of both come with a folding hard-top but these were top spec softies.

In the end, I opted for the Mazda – perhaps the most iconic two-seater ever made. But the exercise also made me think about whether I might ever choose the Proceed if I was doing the same research in five years time, searching for a cheap coupe.

If I had to rule out the Audi TT (too expensive) and the VW Scirocco then the answer might be yes. Why? Because like all Kias, the Proceed comes with a seven year warranty and that puts it streets ahead of the rest…

 

by

Kia Pro_cee’d – The Incredible Singing Car (and it’s bloody annoying)

kia4

Technology is a wonderful thing but sometimes I think we go too far. I’ve never really believed in the merits of ‘bendy’ headlights that turn with the car, or lane departure warning systems that just distract the driver by vibrating the steering wheel.

There seems to be a lack of understanding between what manufacturers think we need – often in the cause of safety – and what we actually do need. Take the Kia’s ignition system welcome tune.

That’s right, every time you slot the key in the steering column, the car plays a little ditty, something that over the course of several years will become as annoying as the beep of a checkout scanner in a supermarket.

I don’t know how checkout people survive that beep day after day after day… But I do know that I’d probably last two weeks owning a Pro_cee’d before attacking the speaker system with a chisel and hammer. It will drive you nuts and I imagine there;s something in the glovebox that tells you how to switch it off but it does beg the question…

WHY do we need it Kia!!!