Author: carcoutureblog

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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…

 

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Mazda MX-5 – A Dolly Parton of a Car

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Sorry if we have been conspicuously absent over the last few days – what with Dolly Parton at Glastonbury, Costa Rica at the World Cup and Murray at Wimbledon it’s been something of a magical summer weekend. I’ve been skipping around the Cotswolds in the MX-5 reminding myself why it’s great to live in this country.

I spent nine years living in Ireland and France – quite long enough to make you truly appreciate the good bits. I can even overlook the bad bits these days, like fat cyclists in Lycra, Tesco strawberries – they turn grey before you even get home – and the ITV Brazil commentary team.

Even my dog seems happy to sit it out in the passenger seat of the MX-5. He sits with his head above the windscreen when the top is down, ears blowing in the wind and dead flies stuck in his teeth. Quite glorious.

Next up on these pages is a couple of days in a Volvo XC60 before I head off to Spain for a tour of Andalucia on a Harley-Davidson. I was  considering not scribbling for a week but provided there is some wifi, the plan is to upload from various locations en route. Shame Spain is out of the World Cup – would have loved to have been in a Tapas bar for a match. I may have to make do with Nadal Vs Murray instead…

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Mazda MX-5 – Bottom Trouble

 

vbv.jpgA friend of mine is currently cycling to five capitals in five countries in five days. Easy? Well, it would be on mainland Europe but he and his team are going a slightly harder route – Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin. Oh, and then home again!

I mention this because the thought of 180 miles a day in the MX-5 for a week would be enough to give me a sore arse. Five days in the saddle is quite beyond comprehension.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The Mazda has good seats but they’re not exactly suited to long distance travelling. And if you have long legs, the driving position isn’t that clever, even with adjustable steering column (up/down but no reach).

You can follow the boys at:

https://www.facebook.com/CapitalChallenge5x5

I think the team would prefer the seat of the Mazda right now whatever…

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Mazda MX-5 – Bites Like A Suarez

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There’s more than a hint of irony in the fact that the referee from the Uruguay – Italy match has the nickname Dracula. It’s more for the cut of his slicked-back hair than his ability to sink his nashers into unruly players.

I once interviewed a girl who thought she was a vampire, sleeping in a coffin and trying to buy blood from her supermarket – until they found out she was drinking it! Maybe Tesco should sponsor Suarez and cut out the need for him to nibble anyone?

I listened to the Uruguay match in the MX-5 last night. Top down, hurtling around corners and enjoying the Mazda’s sublime handling to the full. There’s something about the low-slung driving position and brilliant chassis that encourages you to push on at every opportunity.

If only the 1.8 engine had a little more power to match the, erm, bite of the handling, this would be the perfect, all-round sports car…

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Mazda MX-5 1.8 – Simple Pleasures

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The MX-5 has been around for about 27 years and it’s still one of the best two-seater sports cars on the market. Not the fastest, not the best equipped but as a package, it ticks plenty of boxes.

Why does it work? Because Mazda keep it simple. Like a modern day MGB, the MX-5 stays faithful to the front engine, rear-wheel drive approach that has suited several generations of sports cars.

What the MX-5 needs now is an updated engine. Both the 1.8 we have on test this week, and the 2.0 tested last year, are barely adequate power units, both in terms of performance and fuel economy.

The engines serve up just enough bhp to make both models entertaining but I can’t help thinking that Mazda must have something better in development that will give the MX-5 an injection of youthfulness that it is starting to need…

 

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Mazda MX-5 – Raising The Roof

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The interior in the picture above is what you really want your MX-5 to look like. It’s the top spec model with sat nav and all the trimmings. Car Couture’s 1.8 SE, on the other hand, is basically basic.

Of course, £18,495 isn’t going to buy you an awful lot of two-seater roadster these days but you can at least look forward to fantastic handling and drivability in the entry-level version.

Perhaps we have come to expect too many features in our cars these days. The SE has been stripped back to the bare minimum and that takes some getting used to!

Perhaps most disappointing of all is the operation of the manual folding roof. Lowering the canvass is easy enough but raising the roof is hard work. It demands a certain amount of precision to to get the securing hook in the right slot. Perhaps most frustrating of all is that you can’t really do it without getting out of the car…