Autos

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Thursday – Curves In All The Right Places

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Jeremy I’ve always loved driving the Audi TT and the VW Scirocco looks pretty neat too – apart from a rather odd rear end. So when I saw the Peugeot RCZ for the first time, I was eager to give it a go. Now I have one parked outside and I’m impressed.

There’s no doubt Peugeot’s designer coupe turns heads. It looks fantastic from most angles and I can tell you it is exceptionally well built, with a quality interior and, surprisingly, a huge boot.

I’ve only covered about 20 miles so far but the 156bhp version is livelier than I expected. It feels faster than the 8.3 second 0-60mph time, so I can only imagine the 200bhp petrol is even more fun.

The rear +2 seats are much smaller than the TT, especially leg room, which is non-existent. But up front, it’s a comfortable and refined place to sit, wrapped in an electrically adjustable driver’s seat that’s also heated.

I’m still not sure about the profile of the boot though. The back end seems to extend slightly further than it needs to. I’m turning a blind eye for now but I would have gladly accepted a smaller boot for a more pert bottom!

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Tuesday – Quietly Confident

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Jessica This is a car with a quiet reputation and clearly there are those in the know.  We all know they are out there but take little notice.  Actually stopping and looking at it (even in white) the lines are effective, the shape although small is in good proportion from front to back and I like the hard top version for those times when living through an English summer there is no hope of driving California style in sunglasses and bikini.

Once I got into the car and got over just how little it is particularly for my long limbed frame, I began to enjoy myself.

The dash and console have minimum equipment without missing the basics, the screen sensibly reverts to simply telling the time when not in use, which I much prefer.  Many cars have so much going on that one glance down and you may as well be talking on a phone it is so distracting.

Not so here, there are no distractions from the business of driving,  with a gear stick in a classic sports position and easy to reach, handling that is sharp and authentic, gears that allow you to really drive, road holding is impressive this car is fun and attractive.

Clearly big dogs, large amounts of luggage or children are out of the equation here, which makes it even better as it is  purely a car for the self, an individualistic driving experience without breaking the bank.

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Monday – Sit Here

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Jeremy For its size, the Suzuki Swift is immensely practical and well-equipped. With the rear seat fold down (no split-fold option), we managed to fit two large dogs in the back on Sunday and a load of shopping.

But it made me smile this morning when I sat in the driver’s seat and spotted a little logo in the door pocket, shaped like a water bottle. Just in case you wondered what the round hole was for in the pocket, Suzuki designers felt it needed a water bottle symbol to remind you.

It made me wonder what else they could do to make driving a car foolproof. Jeep and other American brands often have a rash of ‘reminders’ dotted around the dashboard stating the bleedin’ obvious.

These include ‘objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear’, plus in 4x4s, a graphic of the vehicle about to topple over. It’s supposed to warn you how steep an incline you can drive across before falling sideways…

My favourite though also comes from America but has nothing to do with motoring. It’s a sticker affixed to the top of a step ladder. It simple warns users – ‘stop here’.

I’m now searching the Swift for more timely reminders. There must be one on the seat somewhere reminder me to ‘sit here’.

 

 

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Sunday – No Flies On Us

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Jeremy What is it about white cars that attracts flies? The front of our Swift Sport looks like it has driven through a plague of the little blighters – a photographer’s nightmare, if we had one.

This morning, the car was covered in more of them, basking in the sunshine. Not for long though. Fifty yards down the road and the Swift was buzzing along at high speed blowing the cobwebs off.

Remarkable how the front of the Swift looks like a Mini – except the Suzuki is considerably cheaper and goes around corners a lot better a standard Cooper.

It’s still putting a smile on my face – shame about the acres of plastic trim on the inside and the fact you can’t spec it up with sat nav and leather seats. Otherwise, I’ll take a grey one, please.

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Saturday – Lesser Spotted Swift

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Jeremy Anybody who remembers the last generation Swift Sport might have feared the change to this current model a couple of years ago would water down the fun. Not a bit of it.

I’ve found it much more fun than the popular Ford Fiesta Zetec S – it also looks that little bit different to the ubiquitous Ford which I’ve seen several of already today.

The six-speed gearbox fitted in the latest version makes for a much more usable drive, quieter motorway speeds and improved performance. It also squeezes out a few more mpg, although you might struggle to achieve the 44mpg claimed because the Suzuki encourages drivers to push along.

On the down side, the boot is tiny! It looks slightly bigger than the Vauxhall Adam but not by much. You can fold down the back seats easily enough and increase the load area to 500 litres but four people and their luggage won’t fit!

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Thursday – White Bling Thing

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Jeremy The Swift Sport has just arrived and appears to have brought summer with it. Small, sparking white and rather cute, I get the feeling I’m going to get along fine with this lukewarm hatchback.

There is nothing spectacular about the styling of the Suzuki but it looks purposeful – like a little car that wants to be driven.

Inside, unlike the slightly overcooked Adam we tested last week, the trim is no frills and functional. There is plenty of plastic and the buttons and dials are more budget than bold. However, what it lacks in chic it makes up for in driving performance!

I’ve only driven the Sport a couple of miles and it’s already put a smile on my face – even though I don’t like white cars!

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Monday – The Fun of Golfing

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Jessica Yesterday morning, as I drove through Stroud in my trusty 200,000-mile BMW, I passed the entrance to ‘Wheel Nuts 2013’. It’s a classic car rally where many beautifully preserved cars were trekking, with every owner happy and excited at the gate about the fun day ahead.

It got me thinking about how much we love old cars – cars that have character, cars that remind us of times and stages of our own. I think we love a design ethic to translate across the years and to find some nostalgia in a car that is available now. Somehow VW have managed this with the Golf.

If I think back many years to a pale blue Golf I had with go faster black stripes, I felt the ghost of the original as I started to drive CarCouture’s current Mark VII version. With all its modern features and no nonsense dashboard, it still has the fun, drivability and reliable feel that I remember  from my own Golf – just wrapped in a modern casing.

VW has developed the shape and embraced technological developments but the essence of this car, which has always existed in a special category of its own in terms of demographic uptake and no nonsense fun, is very much there.

It is sound on the road, corners well and the handling is excellent. So altogether, it is a  car you could take anywhere at any stage of your life and still have a little fun.
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Tuesday – Knickerbocker Glory

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Jessica I know it isn’t all about colour or indeed size, however, a Range Rover in cherry red that looks like it should be proudly sitting on top of a Knickerbocker Glory is somewhat of an anomaly.

Colour does matter and how the colour ranges are put together for any car manufacturer is a mystery to me, colour has its own visual language and interpretations, it speaks volumes.

Driving around in a red Range Rover Evoque was a little disconcerting, I didn’t feel a proud moment when I met it for the first time at the station en route to (rainy) Cornwall, I wanted to get in quickly and drive away before anyone would stop and wonder what I had been thinking when I chose that colour for that car.

Colour aside what does the Evoque evoke, what is it trying to be, is what I found myself asking.

Well, it’s sporty in an urban, I want a four wheel drive way, the lines are stylish and it does say Range Rover on the bonnet!  The price tag suggests a deep pocket so I found myself wondering on the target demographic …
Too small to fit a family and their luggage, too urban to warrant having one if you lived in a rural area where winters are a problem.  So that leaves a school run car for a 2.2 family or a weekend run around for a professional person or professional couple who want to play at sporty country pursuits (not polo as you would have trouble fitting the kit in!) still not really sure as the week comes to a close.
Either way it leaves me wishing that the handling on the motorway was more refined, although it drives well in town and on B roads, but the exterior does not fit with the driving experience for me and I would be prepared to bet that professional sporty types might want a more refined motorway experience too.
There was a rather strange rubberised covering on the dash area and sorry to mention colour again but red perforated leather look seats (not matching the exterior colour ) which although comfortable were looking a little worse for wear after only one week of use.
Overall, because the Evoque looks good so I  was very much looking forward to a dash down to Cornwall, despite the colour,  but for the £40,000 I found this Range Rover a little disappointing.
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Saturday – Evoque Illuminations

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Jeremy I’ve just returned from a horribly early, Saturday morning drop off at Bath railway station. It’s the first time I’ve driven the Evoque in the dark but two contrasting points have now surfaced.

The first is that I was flashed countless times on the trip by irate, oncoming drivers who though my headlights were on full beam. They were not but still worried that I might have my fogs on, I pulled over in the morning mist to check those too. If the wheels od the SD4 are blingtastic, wait until you see the lights! I feel like one of those juggernaut drivers who adorn the front of their cab with a spectacular display.

The second point is that the Evoque has the funkiest door tread plates I’ve seen in a long time. They illuminate in blue in the dark – brilliant!

And finally, have you ever seen larger door mirrors on a car? My neighbour’s young son has decided to call the Evoque  the ‘Range Rover Elephant’ because they look like giant ears. Not bad for a five-year-old.

CarCouture is heading off to Cornwall this afternoon, to an organic Dairy Ice Cream farm, near Tintagel. The lane to the farm should prove a good test for all those off-road buttons on the centre console…

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Sunday – A Car For All Seasons

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Jeremy It’s the last day for our 6 Series Convertible and, predictably, it’s raining! The soft-top has been down for about 20 minutes in ten days. What the hell happened to spring?

Despite the climatic challenges, this is the most accomplished convertible on the market today. It is an outstanding grand tourer, eating up the miles on our trip to Le Mans, as well as coping with cobbled streets and twisty A-roads en route through Normandy.

Big convertibles can look clumsy and awkward (just consider the Mercedes E-class) but the BMW is eye-catching from every angle. A sophisticated and elegant machine, can you think of a cabriolet that ticks quite so many boxes?

Jessica The BMW is so refined that for a convertible, you wouldn’t know it was a soft-top. The rear end is much prettier than the previous version, with a much more sculpted boot line. It’s a convertible that works on every level, with so much technology, refinement and style that it more than merits the price.