range rover

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Sunday – 7 Up

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Jeremy – Seven people, one large dog. The Discovery has to be one of the largest 4x4s on the road but with all seven passenger seats occupied, today I ended up in the front with a Hungarian Viszla on my lap while Jessica drove us out.

I’m not sure anybody has ever cracked the problem of how to carry seven people in an off-roader AND their luggage. Once the third row of seats are folded out of the floor in the Discovery, there isn’t even enough room for a suitcase in the luggage area.

With three children in our party, at least we know that the Land Rover would survive the test of time and the arms and legs of many little people. The seats may be covered in luxury leather but I’m sure you could put an angry calf in the back without having to worry!

Two of the children decided it would be much more fun to get into the third row of seats from the rear door, rather than via the side ones. No problem. This is a true Land Rover, built to cope with anything and very, very robust.

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Saturday – Square-Cut

cropped-d4_10my_hse_loc_070909_15_lowres.jpg Jeremy As predicted, Jessica isn’t too struck on Discovery styling. Even before the Land Rover arrived, she was recounting how her previous experiences with the Discovery hadn’t been too successful.

For once, I was rather smug when she tootled off to the gym this morning because I know the current version is nothing like the last one she drove in 2002. Having rumbled around Mongolia in a Discovery 3 and owned a V8 petrol model for a mad moment (11mpg anybody?), there is no comparison with the dated original.

So by the time she had returned, the latest Disco was receiving rave reviews for it’s performance, comfort and all round good motoring experience.

The square-cut styling, however, left her cold. Because she was brought up in a world of Range Rovers, I can sort of see her point. The Discovery does look a little utility but at least we both agree that it totally does what is says on the tin.

 

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Friday – There’s Something In The Trees!

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Jeremy – The grass up the lane to Car Couture HQ is about 6ft high at present. Thick, bushy grass that is still waiting for a spot of rain so it can grow some more between the trees. It’s good camouflage for the postman in his red Citroen van but I could see the Discovery coming from about half a mile off when it was delivered this morning.

It’s big, very big. Parked next to the outgoing Peugeot 508, you start to remember why the Land Rover has such a presence on the road. You can’t bloody miss it, that’s why.

However, I fear that there is going to be a split decision when Jessica and I get around to discussing the styling. For me, it’s sharp, uncluttered lines look as good now as when the new model was launched in 2009. Jessica is probably going to compare it’s brick-like shape to, well, a brick.

Two weeks in the Discovery should give us plenty of time to form an opinion. I’m off to read a very weighty manual…

 

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Sunday – CR-V Does Dorset

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Jeremy This weekend we have brought the CR-V on a trip down the A303 to beautiful Beaminster, in Dorset. We’re visiting friends who organise Buckham Fair (www.buckhamfair.co.uk) with their neighbour Martin Clunes.

If you were trying to tell an American how beautiful England is, you would probably end up describing the area around Beaminster. Thatched cottages, local events every weekend and the sort of winding, narrow roads American’s hate!

The CR-V is perfect for this kind of terrain – it’s not a monster like the Range Rover or X5 and can squeeze into passing places on country lanes. There’s a lot of that going, especially in the summer when the tourists descend on the coast area around Bridport.

The CR-V has a really useful reversing camera that lights up the navigation screen when in use. It’s especially good because the CR-V does have some substantial rear pillars that restrict over the shoulder visibility.

And we are getting 45mpg out of the 4×4, which I think is pretty decent too. It’s too hot to have the sun blinds open on the glass roof but in the cooler evenings, the extra light it affords is brilliant.

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Tuesday – Hands Free

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Jeremy It’s impossible scribbling about the V40 without coming back to safety features. So today I set out to test the Park Assist Pilot – the system that allows the car to steer itself into a parking space.

Now, I’ve been lucky enough to drive a Formula One car, scream around Le Mans in a race-winning Peugeot, and hitch a seater with mad motorcyclist Robbie Maddison but I think I was more nervous about letting a car park itself with me in the driver’s seat.

With Pilot switched on, I drove the V40 along a quiet road with parked cars either side. The system actually identifies a space that is big enough and once I had come to a stop, I took my hand off the wheel, engaged gear and gently accelerated.

I was parking between a 2011 Range Rover and a Fiat 500 – so I was quite anxious not to ding either. The steer wheel automatically starts to turn as the car goes backwards, slowly, slowly putting you perfectly into the space.

When the V40 comes to a stop, all I had to do was engage first gear and again, the steering was done for me. It took two reverse moves and two forward to complete the parking operation but it worked perfectly.

That said, I can park equally as well and much quicker! However, if you aren’t a great parker and like the reassurance of Pilot, it’s probably well worth the money.

 

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Saturday – Start Me Up

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Jeremy I’ve got no idea what car Mick Jagger drives but it probably isn’t a Volvo. I know he stuffed his DB6 in a well-publicised accident in London in 1966 but even a quick tweak of the internet hasn’t come up with any more recent answers.

I should ask Jessica because she had a dance with him a few years back – I can see him in an S-Class, an Aston or one of the very latest Range Rovers that ooze quality from every rivet. You’re right – he probably has all three.

If he didn’t want to get spotted leaving a gig then the V40 would do the job. It’s fairly anonymous if he doesn’t want to get seen and, if he does, well it also rather cool in a kind of ‘man of the people’ something different type way.

Driving the V40 around this weekend, it’s turned plenty of heads. The profile looks long, low and very slippery, while sitting in the driver’s seat, it’s a very well thought out cockpit. I’m feeling less than anonymous.

Right, I’m off to watch the Stones do Glastonbury. The great unwashed will be passing my door tomorrow night and Monday on their way back home. If you are one of them and see Mick climbing into something interesting, do let us know…

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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 – It Really Does What It Says On The Tin…

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Jeremy I have a friend who lives in splendid isolation, near Cordes-sur-Ciel, in France. She is spending her retirement camped by the swimming pool but earned part of her estate from dreaming up the advertising slogan ‘it does what it says on the tin’.

If Maddy was road testing the Sorento, that would probably have been her headline. It’s not the most remarkable 4×4 SUV but if you want a no-nonsense seven-seater for a modest price, look no further.

With England bathed in sunshine today, it’s not been hard to find excuses to get out of the office. I’ve dropped the back five seats of the Kia and been to the dump, picked up a lawn mower from the service garage and swotted up on the form for Badminton Horse Trials this weekend. It’s bound to rain…

The Sorento is going to come in handy, no doubt battling for a space in a muddy press car park with assorted Land Rovers and Range Rovers. We will be six-up with three dogs, so it should be a true test of the Sorento’s resolve!

Today I’ve struggled a little finding a good driving position in the Kia. I either feel too close to the pedals, or too far back, which results in me constantly crashing the gearbox because I’m depressing the clutch far enough. It’s happening so much I’m wondering if it’s my bodily proportions.

Otherwise, the leather seats in the KX-2 model are big and comfortable, like your favourite armchair. There are three proper seats in the middle row while the rear, fold-up pair are for little people only.

This model also lacks a sat nav as standard but the radio console is touchscreen and setting up Bluetooth for a mobile phone is the easiest system I have used to date.

Fingers crossed for good weather this weekend…

 

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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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Monday – Riding The Range

Jeremy The Range Rover Evoque may be packed with technology but there wasn’t much it could do when CarCouture ran out of signal to write our blog entry in Cornwall on Sunday.  Installed at an organic dairy farm, we had to turn our hands to making ice cream instead.

I did offer the Evoque for carry six churns from the milking parlour to ice cream unit but the boot is so small, we  could only hope to squeeze three churns in at at time.

The general feeling among the farming community around Tintagel is that this Range Rover is really best used by city folk. You certainly wouldn’t want to splatter the chrome wheels and leather interior with too much cow dung.

The Evoque did cope admirably with the farm track – and that was without touching the terrain settings button once. The farm staff thought that so much technology only meant that more was likely to go wrong. They may be right but I’ve enjoyed my week with the Evoque.

It does fidget a little on high speed motorway journeys and noise levels from the 20-inch wheels are high but Evoque does look fantastic, drives beautifully and has returned 31.2mpg during a week of hard driving. Not bad for a permanent 4×4 designed for city folk.