Recreation

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Tuesday – Fairy Lights

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Jeremy One of the reasons I like our silver HSE Discovery is that Land Rover has resisted the temptation to turn this particular vehicle into a bling thing.

You know the sort of 4x4s I’m talking about – the ones that never get muddy tyres and have been loaded with chrome wheels, blacked out privacy glass and side steps (if you can’t step up into a 4×4 what are you doing driving it?).

So today I was slightly taken aback to find that I was driving around conservative north Yorkshire sporting fairy lights on the front of the Discovery. That’s right – the Disco has sidelights that look like something you would drape over a council house at Christmas.

No privacy glass, no chrome wheels but headlights that are quite shocking to behold in the Dales or elsewhere. Fortunately, it’s possible to turn them off and still be seen in the daytime…

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Wednesday – Wet Wet Wet

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Jeremy Come camping in Wales… Even Jason Plato smirked yesterday as I left Silverstone, after telling him Jessica and I were off on a four day walking holiday in the Élan Valley. He had obviously seen the weather forecast.
We met a group of friends at the camp site and were midged to the edge of reason before retiring to sleep in the back of the Discovery. It was probably all that kept me sane in the crazy night of rain that followed.
I can’t tell you how much rain fell but it’s still falling now. at least last night I got to know the Land Rover intimately. Pop the back two rows of seats flat and you have enough room for an inflatable mattress. While the rest of the 30-strong party suffered in sodden tents, ours were pretty luxurious surroundings.
We walked for three hours today and soaked to the skin, I made an executive decision to book in to a hotel at Devil’s Bridge and empty the Discovery of wet clothes and one bedraggled dog. For a brief moment i felt like we had let the side down, as they are all camping on a bleak hillside somewhere. actually, maybe not…!
No picture today – wifi at this establishment must have been affected by the rain too.

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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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Wednesday – What’s In Your Glovebox?

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Jeremy It’s a little known fact that Jessica has an issue with car manuals. Being a fashionista, it’s not the way they look, the fabric manufacturers use on the cover or the feel of the material, it’s more about why we have car manuals in the first place.

Flicking through the RXH manual together this morning, I could feel the argument about to surface again. She believes that all instructions should simply be available online – and that we should tap in via our smartphones or laptops.

This would not only save a small forest of trees (have you seen the size of car manuals these days?) but free up space in the glovebox. It would also provide dedicated manuals for each model. For example, the RXH manual is really just the same as a standard 508 estate handbook and therefore, extra complicated. It’s the same for most cars these days. You very rarely get a manual that is specific to your car.

So, while I think part of the joy of owning a new car is sitting in the driver’s seat and digesting endless pages of dashboard trivia, her argument does have some weight, provided you own a smartphone of course.

I have to agree with her that the RXH manual isn’t the easiest to navigate. I’ve certainly struggled with the DAB radio instructions, operating the tailgate and adjustment to the head up display screen. But imagine life without car manuals – what else would a man do on a Sunday morning…?

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Tuesday – Knuckles

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Jessica Well done Peugeot for creating a hybrid diesel, it must be the way forward. The problems of battery weight and power storage are still areas where everyone is looking for answers but without getting these cars into the mainstream it will be slow progress.

The RXH is a lot of car. It even feels weighty and the steering adds to the mood as it requires more than the usual amount of effort to turn the wheel.  Furthermore, the gears seem to be very ponderous, which again is something drivers don’t expect with modern cars.

The beautiful dashboard is laid out with many buttons and safety gadgets, all offering a range of noises and alarms. There’s certainly enough here to give Volvo a run for its money!

The 508 has a sporty and well designed speedo, while a range of clearly laid out options for the transmission allowing a sense of choice  and ultimately, control.

For a family estate though which is clearly aiming to compete with the Audi estates and possibly Mercedes it is a handsome car with well designed seats, a considered external and internal aesthetic, plus a sense of presence.

And I’m not sure if it’s mothers who will potentially be driving this car but they will need to have sensible short nails! I had some awkward moments trying to open the central arm rest via a side-mounted button. In the end it became a fumbld knuckle job!

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Sunday – Ministry of Sound

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Jeremy Don’t try this at home readers but there must have been at least one moment in your driving career when you have set off from a standstill with a door open?

Today I was in a mad rush to post some letters in the quietest village lane in Gloucestershire when a horse lorry appeared from nowhere behind me. I slammed the items in the postbox and, in a bid to prevent a delay, attempted to drive off in the Peugeot with the door still open.

Now, cars have warning noises for perfectly good reasons – think safety belt, boot open and parking sensors. However, the RXH has more driver alert sounds than a wayward space shuttle.

The safety belt warning is quite calm but insistent, the parking sensor chime nothing too offensive. Then you hear the ‘door left open’ blast and it makes you skip a heart beat. It’s the sort of wailing noise you imagine they sound when a nuclear reactor has gone in to meltdown…

It actually scared the hell out of me and I won’t make a habit of it. Of course, the solution is not to try and drive with you car door open – except the sound is so terrifying I almost fell out and under the horse lorry instead. I’m not sure which is worse…

 

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Wednesday – High Flying Mazda

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Jeremy I’m just back from interviewing Declan Clifford – the UK’s top cable wakeboarder. Number two in the last world championships, he could jump over the Mazda2 without a take-off ramp!

The hottest day of the year so far was the perfect moment for me to have a masterclass from the youngster. It was like learning to drive all over again and I went flying every time I was dragged from the bank by the cable pulley.

It’s my last day with the Mazda and I wasn’t really looking forward to the 300-mile round trip in the supermini. Suffice to say, the 2 was a lot better than I expected on a long dustance, high-speed run.

It does lack power from a standing start and can be sluggish uphill but once you have the engine wound up, it fair zips along. Noise levels are pretty low at motorway speeds but I think the next generation 2 would benefit from a sixth gear.

It’s been a fairly uneventful week in the Mazda, which is probably what any prospective buyer wants to hear! I’d say this was the perfect car for urbanites, espeically those who have to make the odd longer distance drive.

The styling still works five years after launch, interior space is excellent and because it’s a Mazda, it’s unlikely to let you down any time soon. Great fun but the Sport we drove just needs a slightly more powerful engine…

 

 

 

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Monday – 2 Good

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Jeremy Funny how car companies go through peaks and troughs with their range of cars. The arrival of the Mazda2 in 2007 was a definite turning point for the Japanese manufacturer.

The 2 was an instant hit and went on to win World Car of the Year in 2008 – no small achievement. Perhaps because the car it replaced, the rather dull 121, was nowhere near as good and just a re-worked Ford Fiesta.

The Mazda2 is still a sibling of the Fiesta but looks much prettier, despite having no major bodywork design overhaul since launch five years ago.

Light, fuel efficient and exceptionally well engineered for a little car, it’s still a match for some of the very latest supermini offerings, such as the current VW Polo, Honda Jazz and Kia Rio.

But when a new version is surely launched over the next year or two, I think there’s every chance the Mazda2 could go to the top of the pile.