Motoring

In my humble opinion, people can buy cars for some of the oddest reasons. Perhaps they buy it because it looks good and stands out in a crowd, because it’s fast, or they’ve always liked the manufacturer, or because they like the colour or quite simply, it fits within their budget.

But I see so often, probably too often that the vehicle they bought just doesn’t suit their life, or lifestyle, or, more probably, the kids. People buy a “people carrier” because as the name suggests, it carries people, large, and small. But these people carriers usually can’t carry much else, such as prams, luggage, get the dog in the back, picnics, chairs and everything else you need for a day out with the family. I see so often neighbours setting off for the weekend with a drive full of stuff to go in the car, but nowhere to put it, and mum & dad arguing over what goes, and what stays. So what is the best thing a parent can buy, for safety, comfort, practicality and space, well Volkswagen have a lot to offer, as do Ford, Peugeot, Citroen, Toyota and others, but let’s look at what VW currently have in the way a practical solution, and to help stop the driveway disagreements. 

I recently drove the much anticipated Multivan, the latest people carrier from Volkswagen and many regard this as the T7 Volkswagen started with the ‘T’ Series back in 1949, and based on the Beetle, with a water-cooled rear engine. You will remember it had a flat front and a split windshield, and today they are making a fortune, because they’re very collectible. Through the years VW introduced the T2, T3 and so on, until today we have an updated version of the T6 called the T6.1. It is available as many guises including a standard van, pick-up, crew-van and the ever popular Shuttle with either 8 or 9 seats and short or long wheelbase.

Then the Multivan came along and replaced the Caravelle 7-seater bus. Many thought the Shuttle would be discontinued in favour of the Multivan, but VW in their wisdom, correctly decided to carrying on building the Shuttle.

The Multivan is just so luxurious with seven individual seats with a 2-2-3 configuration, with the two centre seats able to turn around and slide back and forth. It is jam-packed full of technology and it just oozes opulence and quality. It is available with a choice of petrol, diesel or a plug-in Petrol to help save fuel, and reduce emissions, and VW only offer it with a DSG automatic gearbox. The Multivan is offered with either short, or long body, with the wheelbase remaining the same on both versions.

The T6.1 Shuttle is only available with diesel power, but does have the choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.

The Shuttle is available with long or short wheelbase and either 8 or 9 seats, the 8-seater has a double front passenger seat, whereas the 8-seat version has two individual ‘Captains’ front seats, the middle row has three individual seat and the third row a 3-seater bench.

So which is the best, or the one to choose? This all depends on your personal requirements. The Multivan is so luxurious and everything is high quality, full of technology and looks brilliant … but does lack a bit of space, especially in the luggage area, nowhere near as much as the T6.1.

The Shuttle is more like a van with windows, and seats, which is exactly what it is. But VW have been very clever in disguising the fact it is a van with windows, by making the interior look and feel very special, comfortable by using quality materials. The Shuttle is much more practical than the Multivan, you can get more people in it, and in the boot you can get dogs, bikes, trikes, proms, go to the tip, and so on. Whereas the Multivan is so good, and so precious you’d be frightened to put anything in it, it is… just too nice.

It is great though that Volkswagen actually offer you the choice, with these two very competent people carriers.

My choice, if you’re asking, would be the T6.1, just better for my lifestyle, four grandkids, dogs, always going to the tip, and the coast with buckets, spades, folding chairs, cool-box, all the usual rigmarole. So for me, the Shuttle suits me best, but I wouldn’t say no to a more expensive Multivan, but would have to restrict what I put in it.

It is not that long ago I can remember standing on Immingham Docks looking at some new Kias that had just arrived after their long journey from South Korea. The cars were, just alright, but not up to the standard of European or British cars, but they were trying their best in a tough market.

Move on seventeen years since the viewings at Immingham, and the models Kia is making now are unrecognisable from years ago.

I recently tested two of the latest models from Kia, the ever popular Sportage that has been a huge success for them, and the full-Electric EV6.

The EV6 is a great looking five-door crossover-coupé with some very nice, and bold lines to make the exterior design look very attractive, and stand out in a crowded car park.

As with most electric-cars the 0-100kph is pretty amazing, the EV6 is capable of doing this in 3.5 seconds, but the car I drove was a more leisurely 7.3 seconds, still quick though. With a full battery, and on a good day, it has a range of up to 328 miles, but on a bad day when the heating, or air-con is needed you can generally knock up to 25% of this range.

The interior is equally as impressive as the exterior, it is very modern, almost futuristic, like something out of a sci-fi movie. But everything seemed easy to use and intuitive.

Prices OTR in the UK start from £41,695.

The second Kia I have driven recently was the all-new Sportage, and although the previous model was really good, this new one is a massive improvement in all departments. The exterior design is sharp and crisp and looks great from every angle.

The interior has been changed dramatically, for the better, and the quality throughout the cabin is very high. The materials used, and fit and finish is up to a very high standard.

The car I had on test from Kia UK PR was the GT-Line Hybrid, that was ‘self-charging’, so like most hybrids, it charges the batteries when slowing down or going down a hill, stores the energy, so you can use it to power the electric motors; and that saves using the petrol engine to save fuel, and hence reduce emissions. This Kia technology is excellent and really does work, and saves precious and expensive fuel. During the time I had the car it averaged over 50mpg/4.7 litres per 100km.

I was expecting the new Sportage to be good, but was so much better than I expected.

Volvo were always regarded for many years as a “safe” car. People bought them because of their safety, and not always for their style and sharp looks. A Volvo was bought for transporting people and kids safely, and for their carrying capacity, the Volvo Estate was a hit globally.

But now Volvo have gone ultra-modern in terms of design and technology. The C40 is best described as a Coupe SUV, as it has all the advantages of a SUV, but the lines of a Coupe with its sloping roof, so does look a handsome car with some nice crisp lines, it’s sort of a “coupéfied” crossover.

Volvo have been working hard recently, first with plug-in hybrids, and now they are breaking into the Full-Electric market, and the C40 is an electric car, with Volvo saying 50% of its will be EV’s by 2025 and 100% by 2030, so a big job ahead for them, in a short space of time.

There are two versions of the C40: Recharge (single motor and front wheel drive 231hp) and Recharge Twin (two electric motors and all-wheel drive that produce equivalent of 402hp). I had the Recharge Twin on test, and it certainly goes, with a 0-100kph in just 4.7 seconds, but it did feel quicker than this.

The car has noticeably hardly any buttons, there isn’t even a start button, you fire it up by simply sitting in the drivers seat … yes the start button is under your bum. You then just put it in to drive or reverse, and away you go, no fumbling with keys, or looking for the start button, your bottom takes care of all of that.

The satellite navigation system and both the screens, one in the centre of the dashboard and the other in front of the driver are crystal clear, so accurate and precise, and is run on Google Maps, very impressive.

Volvo have also fitted their “Birds Eye” parking system. Now I thought Birds Eye did fish fingers and burgers, but no, they also help you park the car. This system works with external cameras all around the car, and the image of the car is super-imposed onto the central screen and it actually looks like there is a camera above the car. It is just so clever and accurate. I could go on and on about the brilliant technology the C40 has, but space is limited.

With a full charge the range on the Recharge Twin is around 350km, which is not bad, and most people can live with that on a day to day basis. But with all electric cars, especially in the UK, going on a long journey does need some planning, and always add extra time to charge the car up.

Prices are not cheap for the C40, starting at £44800 and going up to £58900 in the UK.

The nicest thing about an electric car is they are just so quiet. Turn off the radio, and it becomes such a peaceful and relaxing place to sit, no noise at all. It’s like riding on a magic carpet. Perfect.

Lastly, I just want to say thanks to Clive Brook Volvo Huddersfield for organising this test car.

I think it is fair to say that Honda went through some fairly dull years when it came to design. They seemed to rely on their good name, great engineering and faithful following, so styling didn’t really matter, so played it safe, not wanting to upset or lose their current customers. But the faithful got older, and Honda started losing ground, and customers.

But in recent years, the company has invested heavily in new, more modern designs, out with the old designers, and in with the new.

The all-new HR-V is a great example of this new fresh look from Honda. Crisp lines that run down the sides, a big bold front end, and a ‘coupe-Like’ roof-line in this cleverly styled SUV.

The HR-V is powered by a frugal 1.5-litre petrol engine called i-MMI (Intelligent Multi Mode Drive, and coupled to a smooth e-CVT automatic gearbox, and goes from 0-100kph in 10.7 seconds.

The HR-V has the latest Honda Full-Hybrid system fitted which adds dramatically to improved fuel consumption and reduces emissions. This hybrid systems works quite simply by having additional batteries that charge when you are slowing down, coasting or braking. The energy saved is then used to power the car, so the petrol engine is not used. Living in hilly Yorkshire this system works really well, for every hill you go down, you charge the batteries, and then this energy is used to go back up another hill. During the time I had the test car from Honda UK I got on average 63mpg (4.484 l/100km) so a good result I thought. With this hybrid system, like others on the market, you don’t have to think about doing anything, it’s all done for you automatically, clever stuff, eh…

The interior has also been well thought out with lots of standard equipment and all the on-board systems easy to fathom out and use, all very instinctive.

The seat ride height is higher than a typical hatch, and with it being a small SUV, you do get a better, commanding view around you.

There is plenty of storage space, and although the boot is not ‘over-big’ you can get quite a bit of luggage or shopping in it.

The rear seat has a clever mechanism, so it can lift up to give more storage space, and there is plenty of room under the rear seat for storage also, so much space in fact that you can actually lose stuff under it, I know, because I lost some shopping, it just disappeared in the huge cavity, like a black hole.

The petrol engine combined with the batteries and electric motors produce 131ps, so enough power for the coupe-like SUV.

The cost of the test car, the Advance in the UK costs £31,035 OTR, but you do get a lot of car, and equipment for your money.

During the week I had the Honda HR-V I liked it more and more every time I drove it, and when it was unfashionable not long ago to say you liked a Honda, this had now changed, and you feel good driving one, and seeing the excellent fuel consumption, helps you like it even more.

For those familiar with the Suzuki range of passenger cars will no doubt know the Swift and Vitara, these are the bread and butter for Suzuki.

Lesser known ones include the Ignis, Alto and Jimny, but also on that list is the S-Cross, which has never really attracted much attention, and probably bought by those who thought it was a Vitara, as they were very similar to look at. Only a close examination of the badge, for many could tell them apart. Different they were, with the S-Cross really being a slightly larger version of the ever-popular Vitara.

But now a new S-Cross has been launched, and it couldn’t be any different, what the previous model lacked in style, this all-new model makes up for. It has bold and striking lines that make the exterior look very handsome.

We drove this new car on the UK Press event in Cheshire, on a variety of roads and it proved to be good in all conditions. We did not however take it off-road, but with previous experience of using the Suzuki AllGrip four-wheel drive system, I can be pretty confident in saying it will be great on any slippery surface.

The new S-Cross is powered by a 1.4-litre BoosterJet petrol engine with 48v Mild Hybrid technology that produces 129ps, goes from 0-100kph in 10.2 seconds.

The mild Hybrid system, put quite simply is a way of generating electricity that is stored in a separate battery. This stored energy is used when accelerating away from standstill and helps reduce fuel consumption and reduce emissions. During the short time I drove the car it achieved 42.2 mpg (6.694 litres per 100 km) which for the type of roads and journey was a good result.

The interior, is well, a complete change, Suzuki have thrown everything away from the previous model, and started again, a huge step forward, in design, materials used and quality. It is comfortable, easily fits in five adults and enough room in the luggage compartment for plenty of luggage or shopping.

Suzuki have moved away from their usual badging, or naming, and instead replaced it with Motion and Ultra, they’ve kept it simple with just two models. I drove the Ultra 6-speed manual, and it was fully loaded with standard equipment, and the cost of this car in the UK is £29,799, a lot of car for your money. The Motion is not at all basic, and costs £24,999, but for the bit extra, I’d go for the Ultra.

I drove the car from England into Wales, and back then there were different rules for both countries, but the route only took us over the border for a short time, so didn’t need to get out the Rule Book.

This all-new S-Cross is such a departure from the previous car, and I can imagine those who had never considered one before, for a variety of reasons, might just be temped by this much improved one. It does offer a lot in terms of style, quality, design, fuel consumption and value for money.

i had a id.4 on test for a week from volkswagen uk press office, and it was the first time i had sat in one, i really hadn’t seen one up close before.

When it arrived at my house, the first thing that I was surprised at was, just how big it was, both on the outside, and the interior. To put the size into perspective, it is the same size as the VW Tiguan on the outside, but has much more room in the inside.

The ID.4 is the big brother of ID.3, and both came to the market around the same time, and both are fully electric.

The ID.4 has a 77kWH Motor, which translates to 204ps, it goes from 0-100kph in 8.5 seconds, a top speed of 160kph and a manufacturer quoted range of 490 kilometres but these figures are generally about 25% too optimistic. I charged it to 99% full and got a range of 252 miles or 405 kilometres, which in realty isn’t a bad range, and you can live with that. During the time I had the ID.4 I went to Lytham St Anne’s near Blackpool, a distance of 84 miles each way, and when I got back home, it still had 100 miles range left in the batteries. So no ‘range anxiety’ going to the coast and back.

I usually go to a public charging point to charge up the batteries as it is much quicker than charging at home. With the ID.4 using a 50kW charger you can get in around 120 miles in one hour, so from empty to full will take just under two-hours.

I liked most things on the ID.4, but the one thing I did find a little annoying was the position of the gear-shift lever (button) as, VW in their wisdom have decided to put it just above the windscreen wiper stalk, and not in the traditional and usual place of in the centre, in between the two front seats, I guess they moved it to a bit of a silly place, because they could, and for no other practical reason.

Although the ID.4 is quick, it is not throw you back in your seat quick, which makes a refreshing change for an electric car, and the way I see it, what you loose in acceleration, you gain in range, which suits me.

Volkswagen offer a 8-year 100,000 mile battery warranty in the UK, but not sure what they offer here in Europe.

Driving the ID.4 is a real pleasure and so easy to drive, all the controls, switches and the on-board systems are very intuitive (except the gear shift) and with minutes you instinctively know where everything is, and what it does, although I have heard other reports that say exactly the opposite, I’m not technically minded at all, but I seemed to manage to work it out relatively quickly, I even surprised myself.

With the batteries it is a heavy car, and although you cannot detect it weighs nearly two-tonnes, but at lower speeds, and going over uneven road surfaces you do notice it’s a heavy thing.

The price in the UK for the ID.4 First Edition is £40,800, but prices range from £34,595 to £55,485.

I recently drove a Audi Q4 e-Tron on a launch near Wetherby, but was only a day event so did not get chance to charge it from either home or a public charge point.

The official figures for the maximum range is just over 300 miles or 480km, but in my experience of having quite a few electric vehicles recently this is very optimistic and difficult to achieve. A more realistic figure would be around 380km, and even then you would need to drive it very carefully, and steadily. As a rough guide, you can generally knock around 25% of the claimed figures to get a better idea of how far it is likely to go.

The Q4 e-tron has an output of 150kW or equivalent to 204ps, and has a top speed of 160kph and goes from 0-100km/h in a very rapid 8.5 seconds, it is, like all electric cars, it feels really quick of the mark, and it just keeps going.

So what exactly is the Q4 Sportback well it is  mid-size SUV, but it looks more like a five-door Coupe with its sloping rear end, but it does look very handsome from every angle.

The Q4 is based on Volkswagen Group’s EV-only ‘MEB’ platform, which also underpins Skoda Enyaq iV, Cupra Born, and VW’s ID.3 & ID.4, so it has some good company. There are three battery options, with different ranges just to make it a bit more complicated, but I won’t go into the technicalities of this, even I struggle to understand it.

You would think with that nicely designed rear end, with its ‘Coupe-Like styling you would lose some valuable luggage space compared to the regular Q4 SUV, which is a bit more ‘boxy’.

And the sloping rear roof doesn’t really affect head room for rear passengers either, although it doesn’t have the most room of cars this size, it’s not bad, and room doesn’t get compromised for style, so it’s a bit of a win-win.

The interior is typically Audi, everything is up to a very high standard, Audi were the pioneers of bringing exceptional quality, fit and finish and brilliant materials to the mainstream, and in all the years they have been masters in building luxury, yet affordable cars, they are still leaders in this art.

It is a quick car, though not as quick as some other electric cars, but if you wanted to keep up with a hot-hatch on some twisty, windy roads, the Q4 could easily compete very easily, and safely. But in reality this is not a sports car, it is a family SUV, powered by electric.

I enjoyed the short time I spent in the Q4 e-tron, was fun, high quality, quick and quiet.

Porsche was founded in 1931 in Stuttgart by Ferdinand Porsche, and originally offered motor vehicle development, technology, consulting, but did not build any of its own cars.

One of the first contracts for the company was from the German Government to design a car for the people, for Volkswagen. This resulted in the design and birth of the original Beetle.

During WW2 VW turned its production to military vehicles, and Porsche produced many designs for heavy tanks, although not many of their designs were used.

At the end of WW2 in 1945, the VW factory went to the British and Major Ivan Hirst from Saddleworth, near Manchester was put in charge. Ferdinand lost his position of Chairman and was put in prison for nearly two years, but never tried. During his time in prison, Ferdinands son, Ferry decided to design and build a car he wanted to drive, and the original Porsche sports car was launched, the 356

If you like cars, then there’s not a right lot not to like about a Porsche, but many traditionalists have shaken their heads in disbelief over some models the company has produced over recent years. A large SUV Porsche, ridiculous, an Electric Porsche, outrageous you can hear them say at owners club meetings. But the simple fact is, that  whatever it looks like, whatever the drivetrain, they have sold in bucket-loads.

But I recently drove the second-generation 718 Cayman GT4, now this is what those Porsche owners will like. First of all, it looks like a Porsche sports car, typical lines and design, and from 500m away you know it’s a Porsche. It has the huge air-scoops on the rear body panels.

It is fitted with the new 9AE Evo engine that is a 4.0-litre flat six that produces 420ps, goes from 0-100kph in 4.4 seconds, and is coupled to a 6-speed short-shift manual gearbox, all very smooth, and more than enough power. It also has a top speed of 300kph, where permitted, which is hardly anywhere, especially here in Gibraltar, and doubtful you could get up to that speed on the runway, you might get up to 300kph, but not sure there’d be enough runway left to slow down. But the 718 does have a high-performance braking system to match its performance and acceleration.

The interior is most definitely a Porsche, slightly awkward to get into, and a bit more awkward to get out of, but there is a knack, and you’d soon get used to it. But if it was easy to get in and out of, the the traditionalists would say it’s not a proper Porsche. Once you are comfortably seated, the controls are easy to use, and very intuitive, but some of the suspension settings and dynamic controls would need a bit of thinking about, I just left everything as it was, and was perfectly happy.

The whole of the cabin oozes quality, yes it looks and feels very sporty, but during the time I drove it, it was very comfortable. It rode over the lumps and bumps on the roads in North Yorkshire with ease, and didn’t once feel too harsh, a good sign of clever engineering. I dare say if you pressed a few buttons, and levers near the gear-stick then the ride would form up, and might feel a bit more uncomfortable.

The 718 looks like a Porsche, drives like a Porsche, but more importantly, it sounds like a Porsche. On start-up, the engine and exhaust give out the most glorious ‘roar’ just fantastic.

The price of the test car in the UK is £75,348, which sounds a lot of money, but it is a lot of car. And it does have those Porsche badges on it.

Porsche do now offer a wide range of car sizes, engines, electric and prices, but think after driving the Cayman, I might just have joined the Traditionalists Brigade.

Who is it made by? How much is it? Where’s it built? What’s the range?

A lot of questions, but here are the answers….

I recently had a Polestar2 on test for a week from their UK Press Office. I was asked numerous times what was it, who is it made by, where is it built, how much is it and the big question what is it’s range..?… a lot of questions, but here are the answers.

Polestar2 is an all-electric Car, no engine, just batteries and motors. 

On the drivers door pillar there is a small label that says ‘Polestar, Volvo Car Corporation, Made in China’ so some of the answers are on the car. Polestar say they are an electric performance brand, sharing technology and engineering expertise with the Volvo Car Group, yet, they are going their own way.

As soon as you get into the Polestar2 you know it is different to anything else you have driven, it just somehow looks and feels different. It is crammed full of technology and some new ideas, and during the 7-days I had the car, I don’t think I found or used half of them.

The car is a All-Wheel-Drive as it has an electric motor powering each of the wheels, The battery and motors are 78kWh / 300kw so in Electric Car terms it has quite a bit of power, and not a bad travel range.

But from the batteries it produces a phenomenal acceleration, it really does throw you back in your seat, and where traffic and conditions allow, put your foot down and your passengers say words they very rarely say, and are generally too polite to say them, but the Polestar brings out the worst in them!!.. it’s official 0-62mph (0-100kph) is 4.7 seconds, but in reality it feels much quicker than that, it feels more like ‘what *** #@£’ as passengers put it.

The advertised range is between 292 miles (469km) to 348 miles (560km) but I charged it to 90%, as per the recommendation of Polestar and got it to 240 miles (386km) which isn’t a bad range to have. I used a local public charge-point, that had a relatively quick 50kw charge and in an hour put in 80 miles 128km, so from empty to 90% would take around 3-hours, whereas to put in 240 miles of petrol or diesel would take about 5-minutes.

Driving the Polestar is a fantastic experience, it is very comfortable, plenty of rear legroom, but it is the technology and systems that make it special. It has a brilliant ‘Birds-Eye’ view camera (and I thought they made Fish Fingers) that somehow, and I cannot fathom how it works, has the appearance of looking down on the car, and showing the image on the large screen on the dash. It is very accurate and makes parking very easy.

As you slow down, or brake then energy goes from deceleration to put a bit of charge into the batteries, so you find yourself trying to slow down at every available opportunity to try and top-up the battery, a really clever system.

The Polestar is full of goodies, all very impressive, and after a short while you quickly get used to the systems and soon become very intuitive and easy to use.

The downside of owning any Electric Vehicle is the time you need to put aside to charge it, and plan your days accordingly. It’s fine if you’ve got off-street parking and can charge at home. But if you need to rely on public charge points, like me, it can become a bit of a problem.

And now to the cost, in the UK prices range from around £50,000 to £60,000 depending on specification and options