Vauxhall

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Saturday – Big on Style

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Jeremy ‘It’s not an Audi A1!’ A point I have made to a couple of interested onlookers as I drive the Adam this week. I think it’s mainly down to the contrasting roof colour – a popular options on the A1 – which gets the Vauxhall plenty of admiring glances.

The styling of the Adam isn’t retro cool – just modern cute. There are none of the old style buttons on the dashboard like the Mini or the Fiat 500, just a neatly laid-out look that works very well on the eye AND from a functional point of view.

I’m just back from a major Saturday shopping trip and had to use the passenger footwell for a few of the bags because of the lack of bootspace in the Adam. If I hadn’t had a back seat passenger I would have dropped the rear seats. Vauxhall should consider a more family-friendly stretched Adam – just like Fiat has done with the 500.

So, the little Adam is starting to grow on me. If I lived in London it would be a great city car. If only it was ore fun to drive on the open road…

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Friday – A Sound Machine

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Jeremy  The Adam is aimed at a youth market – so in a bid to feel 21 again, I’ve been listening at Absolute 80s Radio on the baby Vauxhall’s thumping stereo. It sounds great – even Dire Straits!

It’s amazing how in-car entertainment systems have become so good. DAB helps of course but using Bluetooth to ‘suck’ music from my phone to the unit is another simple and safe benefit. No fiddling with CDs, USB cables or AUX-in wires.

For a little car, the Adam boxes above its weight in the infotainment department. A touchscreen display makes it even easier to use, although there was no sat nav in our test car.

I’ve just returned from a couple of days sea-kayaking in Scotland and at Bristol Airport, I had a real struggle finding the Adam. In fact, I thought it had been stolen when I couldn’t see it in the car park. The car is so small, it was completely hidden being a Range Rover Sport and Ford Focus.

The boot area is just big enough for two large rucksacks and not much else. Dropping the split-fold back seats helps but for a long weekend away, this is really a car that is only big enough for two adults and all their kit. At least it’s big on style.

 

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Thursday – More Reliable Than A Beautiful Woman?

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Jeremy The president of Ferrari, Luca Montezemolo, told me yesterday that his cars are like beautiful women. However, a Ferrari was more desirable ‘because you can have dinner with a beautiful woman and then feel disappointed’. There speaks a man who knows.

I was tempted to ask him his opinion of the Vauxhall Adam but then thought better of it. After all, in his opinion, the only other rival to Ferrari is Porsche, which he regards politely as ‘quite a good sports car too.’

Ferrari is investing big euros in developing the Maranello factory, making it more eco-friendly and modern. It’s a sprawling site and the 3,000 staff can use any of the 150 bicycles dotted around the place for transport. I think the Adam (if it had a Fiat Group badge) would be a great alternative for them.

Like Montezemolo‘s beautiful women, it’s fantastic to look at and turns heads. However, driving back from Heathrow last night, it was quite clear that the Vauxhall is definitely a car for city use only. Cute as it is, the supermini feels uncomfortable on the motorway, is dominated by tyre noise (could it have been the optional 17-inch alloys?) and gets the jitters in a crosswind.

Many Adam buyers will opt for the Vauxhall purely on looks alone. But this is one car you really do have to take for a test drive if you are planning long journeys at high speed. Oh, and the rattling dashboard mentioned yesterday? My iPod in the glovebox!

 

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Wednesday – Talking Italian

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Jeremy I’m in Italy for a Ferrari press conference and have noted that the country is full of small, madly driven cars. Yes, there are Fiat 500s by the legion but the Italians seem to have embraced the small car ethos in every shape and form. They still drive them with wild abandon though, that will never change.

Just what Italians would make of my purple Vauxhall Adam I wouldn’t like to guess. With black, 17-inch alloys, purple leather trim and a dash of chrome, I imagine it would have the same effect as a leggy blonde crossing the piazza at lunchtime.

It had the same impact on me when I first saw it. Distinctly different and a designer’s dream. The drive to Heathrow yesterday was therefore something of a disappointment. I could forgive the 1.4 for feeling a tad underpowered but the little Adam failed to sparkle on some fast, winding A-roads.

It felt sloppy when driven hard into corners and the steering was, at times, vague. There is also an incredibly annoying rattle coming from somewhere around the glovebox. I’m going to have to remove my belongings and see if it is the car, or if it is my fault. I suspect it is the former.

High-speed motorway driving isn’t the Adam’s strongest point but with some hefty right foot and a gear-change on steeper inclines, I was able keep up with the flow. It’s at its best around town though, posing in the High Street.

The Adam is such a pretty, distinctly different car I want it to be a winner for Vauxhall. Let’s see what tomorrow brings…

 

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Tuesday – A Car In A Million

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Jeremy After the seven-seat giant that was the Kia Sorento, CarCouture today drops down a few sizes to the Vauxhall Adam. And what a great-looking car it is!

Vauxhall seems to have taken the best bits from other superminis, then blended them altogether to create the Adam. (Does anybody recognise that rear-end? Reminds me of a Ford Ka).

First impressions are good. It’s compact and neat on the outside, with a very funky interior that is a delight to behold. Like the Fiat 500, the dashboard trim matches the colour of the exterior bodywork and the seats at least look stylish, if a little short on legroom in the rear.

So, what it’s like on the road? Well, I’m just heading off on a two-hour drive to Heathrow, to attend a Ferrari press event in Italy. That should give me enough time to report back tomorrow when I am holed up in Maranello.