Motoring - page 5

The DS3 was first introduced in 2009, and designed by Mark Lloyd, with badges on it. The Citroen DS ran from 2009 until 2016, and then the Citroen Chevron badges were ceremoniously removed, and the DS Logo took its place. But getting people to accept the fact that it is no longer a Citroen is not as easy as was first thought. And to give an example, my 6 year old grandson, said he wanted a ride in the Citroen, I said it was a DS, then he said, he had a hot wheels DS3, and that was a Citroen, so I had to explain to him, but he wasn’t impressed.

The DS3 Crossback is the latest in the DS range, and is basically the five-door version of the very popular three-door DS3, despite which logo it was wearing. Like the original hatch it is very distinctive, and like all cars from Citroen and DS, it is certainly quirky. When the original DS3 was launched it hit the right spot, and became the small car to be seen in, and appealed to all age groups and male and female alike, this love of the DS3 lasted for years, and still continues, Citroen just got it right from day one.

The car we had on test was the Prestige Pure Tech model fitted with the frugal 3-cylinder 1,199cc turbocharged petrol engine that produces 155 hp. It goes from 0-62mph in 8.2 seconds, and has a top speed, where permitted of 129 mph. this engine was coupled to a very smooth 8-speed automatic gearbox.

The price range for this ‘Premium’ 5-door hatch is a bit hard to understand at first, and the UK list price ranges from £22,000 to nearly £40,000. But the high end price is for the electric version ,the 100Kw E-Tense La Première. 

The interior is striking, and DS have tried, and possibly achieved the effect of a posh French handbag. There are diamond shapes everywhere, on the dash, the speakers and air-vents. The French are renowned for their design of clothes, accessories, perfumes etc, and DS are trying to cash in in French tradition and what the French are good and famous for, and translate this into a motor car. 

The infotainment system is a bit fiddly, and easy to press a button, or an icon, you didn’t intend to. The sat-nav operation is initially difficult to use and understand, but I guess in time you would get used to it, but it is not as intuitive as many other systems we have used, but probably in time you would get used to it.

The Crossback comes at a time when three-door hatches are not as popular as they once were. The DS3 has had a good long run, but the buying public are getting more used to having the advantages of five-doors, for the ease of getting in and out, putting babies and small children in the back is so much easier on your back, and older people like having a rear door. Many manufactures recently have ceased producing small three door hatches in favour or five doors, and even going to the trouble of ‘hiding’ the rear door handle to give the impression it is a more sporty three-door hot hatch. So hence the Crossback five-door, it will be bought by DS lovers, but need a smaller car, but the beauty of having those all important rear doors.

The design has not been compromised by adding the extra two doors; in fact, if anything it looks even more stylish. It does look different to the other small SUVs on the market which are a bit boxy and conservative, which has to be a good thing. 

All versions of the DS3 have flush door handles which pop out on demand from the key, or simply by touching them.

The ride and handling are good, though not brilliant, but this is a fairly tall SUV, and not a sports car, which makes it the ideal ride for all the family and friends, they won’t complain that it is uncomfortable, just the opposite.

The DS is very French, the interior is a bit blingy, but is refreshingly different and you do feel as you are surrounded by quality. It is a comfortable car to ride in, like all the old DS and Citroen cars, so the tradition has carried on in this car.

A good-looking car, but the price just seems a bit high, compared to some other very good, similar sized SUVs. But its handsome styling may be worth that extra bit of money.

The C5 Badge has been around for quite a while now, the first one was introduced in 2000, and replaced the Xantia and was in production until 2007. The second generation, and a much improved, and less French, and more German looking was launched in 2007 and ran until 2017.

Now Citroen have decided to make the new C5 into a SUV, put Aircross on the end of it, and hey presto, they now have a car that is so much more ‘today’ – and offers customers a handsome looking machine, with practicality and flexibility.

The car we had on test was the C5 Aircross Flair+ powered by a 1,199cc 3-cylinder turbo-charged petrol engine. Looking at the size of the car, and then looking at the size of the engine, you would think, no-way would this work. This 3-pot engine produces 129hp, goes from 0-62mph in a respectable 10.5 seconds, and a top speed, where permitted of 117mph. This engine was coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox, and has Stop-Start as standard. 

Other engines available are a 1.6-litre petrol 178hp and a 2,0-litre diesel 178hp and a 1.5 diesel that produces 128hp.

The C5 Aircross measures 4,500mm long, 1,859mm wide and 1,670mm tall, but looks bigger than it actually is.

Big Citroens, going back as long as I can remember have always had the impression of large luxurious, and very comfortable motors. I can remember sitting in the rear of a DS19, and thinking then just how fantastic it was, so unlike the British cars my Dad drove. The DS was more comfortable than our old, worn out settee in the lounge. This new large Citroen has all the characteristics and comfort I remember from all those years ago, it really is quite luxurious, and remember – it is a SUV as well. 

Despite ‘comfy’ seats, the C5 is also helped in the comfort department by having Progressive Hydraulic Cushions on each shock absorber to help keep the suspension controlled and give this SUV a very soft ride, yet its handling is not compromised. There are however other cars in the market that do have a firmer ride, better handling, but at the cost of a more choppy ride.

I’m not entirely sure where the Aircross name comes from, and not sure how it translates into other languages. But Aircross is used by Citroen on other cars, and it is their name for SUV’s or Crossovers. Citroen have always been a bit quirky, and the C5 Aircross is no different, but if you want to stand out in a crowd, then your designers need to think ‘outside-the-box’ – and I hate that phrase, but it does work in this instance.

The car we had had keyless-start, and to start and stop the engine, you have to press a button on the dash. Unlike many other push-buttons that you just have to lightly touch to fire up the motor, and again lightly touch it to shut it down. This C5 took quite a good push to start the car, not a problem but you have to get used to it.

Many of the cars controls, including the heating and cooling are operated through the 8-inch touchscreen, and the icons on the screen are difficult to operated while driving and you do have to try and rest your hand on the dash to ensure you hit the right button.

The interior quality is up to a high standard with plenty of soft-touch materials used, so the interior is very acceptable.

The C5 Aircross is competitively priced, with prices starting from £24,435 and going up to £32,000. The car we had on test was priced at £28,935.

If you want a very comfortable, good looking and practical SUV, then the C5 AIRCROSS could be for you. If you want a more dynamic drive, a car you can throw round corners, and possibly make the kids ill, then look elsewhere.. 

From the front there is hardly any difference to the well-loved, and very popular standard Q3, if in fact you can call a Q3 standard. But move to the side of the car, and a whole new world opens up. There are sharper creases on the doors, and the engineering to produce such perfectly shaped metal. Go around the back and it has a sloping roof, and looks like a very sexy coupé. The front wings and rear wings with their contoured haunches over the rear wheels look quite dramatic, a very handsome looking SUV.

Audi have produced this car to offer customers something a bit different, those loyal to the brand, and there are plenty of them could have gone elsewhere to buy a good-looking SUV, but to combat any deserters Audi have come up with the perfect solution.

The car we had on test was the Q3 Sportback 35 TDI S Line with the S-Tronic automatic gearbox that has a UK basic price of around £37,000, but the test car had a few nice options that bumped the price up to nearly £43,000.

Like all new Audis, it has the new badging system that is a bit difficult to explain, especially to friends and neighbours when you are in a rush. This Audi had 35 on the rear door, and people always say, bet that goes, having a 3.5-litre engine. When in reality, the 35 is a power range that is applicable to both petrol and diesel engines, good idea in principal, but not sure it works in reality.

This 35 TDI produces something that we do understand, and that is a 2.0-litre diesel that produces 150ps, goes from 0-62 mph in 9.3 seconds, a top speed of 127 mph, where permitted.

The interior space for passengers appeared to be about the same as the Q3 Hatch. Luggage space with the rear seats folded down is 1,400-litres, and with the rear seats up it is a very handy 530-litres. You would think with it having that sloping-coupé-like roof it would lose some space, but not at all, it probably has more room than some of its competitors.

Driving the car around Yorkshire for a few days proved it can ride the potholes and lumpy roads very well, and felt solid and safe, and has loads of standard safety equipment. In other words, typical Audi.

The interior is very similar to the Q3 Hatch, with very few changes, but there really don’t need to be any changes as the Q3 has plenty of modern design features. Although the plastic and trim at eye level, and those you are looking at all the time are up to a very high standard. But look a bit lower down and they can feel a bit hard and scratchy.

The infotainment system on the Sportback is the same as the Hatch, you get a 10-inch touchscreen as standard and a 10-inch digital Virtual Cockpit display that replaces the conventional analogue dials. These screens are so easy to use and very intuitive. This is reflected in all the systems, including the standard satellite navigation system and telephone system.

The Q3 Sportback is a lovely car to drive, it has a raised seating position so makes vision so much better. It is quiet, with hardly any road, wind or engine noise, thanks to its advanced sound insulation system, including the insulated windscreen.

Audi have designed and developed a very attractive 5-door SUV Coupe that looks brilliant from every angle, a car that will appeal to a wide range of people, and is bound to sell well. 

One is the XC90 B5 with Mild Hybrid, and the other the XC60 Plug-in.
The B5 replaces the D5 and the B-Badge means MHEV (Mild-Hybrid). These engines will become the default engine in the Volvo ranges

Two great Hybrids from Volvo, both very similar, yet both very different.

The Mild Hybrid system recuperates energy lost while braking and decelerating. The power that is generated and saved in the batteries is then used to assist the combustion engine under acceleration. This system not only helps with fuel consumption, but also reduces emissions.

The powertrain is the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel that produces 232bhp, goes from 0-62 mph in 7.6 seconds and has a top speed of 137mph, where allowed. This engine is coupled to a very smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox.

The XC90 has seven-seats as standard, but despite the integration of the 48-volt system, the boot does not lose much space, and still has 680-litre with five-seats in place. With the third row in the up-position, and seven seats in use, there is still space for luggage or supermarket shopping.

A full leather interior is standard on all models, and over the past few years, Volvo have gone overboard on getting the cabin up to a very high level of quality, and they’re now very prestigious. 

The XC90 is a good looking large SUV. It has bold lines and is very appealing. It started life back in 2002 with the MK1, the MK2 took over in 2014, and even though it has been on the market for 18 years, it still looks a fresh and modern car.

It is a pleasure to drive, so comfortable and the high seating position helps the driver see far in front of them, and passengers can see over walls and generally get a better view of the world and in a very luxurious surrounding.

The second Hybrid we had on test was the XC60 T8. The T stands for Twin-Engine as this car has the ability to be powered by either the petrol engine, or on pure electric – hence the Twin Engine.

The XC60 could be classed as a smaller version of the XC90, but only has five-seats. It has the same platform as the XC90 Volvo’s Scaleable Platform Architecture (SPA), and this platform can be increased or decreased in size to accommodate different sized vehicles. A clever way of both saving money on development costs and also easy for the designers and engineers.

The XC60 T8 has a 2.0-litre petrol engine that produces a massive 400bhp, a top speed of 140 mph (where permitted) goes from 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds. It does feel quick to drive, but it doesn’t feel as fast as the numbers suggest, it is off like a rocket, but there is no drama with it, it just sits glued to the road. Likewise, on open country twisty roads, it sticks to the road like it is on rails. Some might say it is not much fun to drive for all that power, but bear in mind this is a SUV, and not a two-seater sports car.

But the T8 has the added advantage of being a Plug-In which gives it a very low C02 figure of 49g/km. On the front passenger side wing, there is a small flap, similar to the fuel flap. In the boot, in a very nice black bag that holds two cables, one for quick charging with round five-pins, the other is a standard three-pin plug.

With zero miles in the battery I put the car on charge from a standard plug in my garage, although it had to be done during the day, as the garage door would not shut, and I didn’t want to leave it open overnight.  I was pleasantly surprised to see just how long the cable was. Some other manufacturers are a bit stingy when it comes to cable length, but the Volvo had plenty. Good in one respect, but get two long cables, and it takes up quite a bit of room in the boot. It took just over six-hours to charge it fully and on the dash it said ‘Charging complete’ and showed 18 mile range. A bit of a distance from the claim of ‘up to 28 miles’.

But 18 miles I suppose isn’t bad if you are just going to do short runs during the day, or night. But it is surprising just how quickly those 18 miles disappear, and you are back to normal petrol engine driving.

I personally think the interior of the XC60 is better than the XC90, it just seem more plush and perhaps of an even higher quality. Maybe a trick of the eye, but it certainly was superb.

The XC90 T8 is a great drive, as comfortable as its bigger brother the XC90 and a real pleasure to drive, and no lack of power.

It was up to Windermere for the UK Press launch of the new Jeep Wrangler.

On first inspection the Wrangler didn’t seem to have changed much, it was still a rugged looking, go-anywhere JEEP, and every inch this iconic vehicle.

Jeep got its name when the US Government want a General Purpose vehicle, mainly for the Military, and became known as the General Purpose, or GP for short. The GP quickly turned into Jeep, and so the brand was born.

We set off in the Wranglers in convoy along the shore of the Lake, and as soon as we got in, you could see, feel and smell the improved quality, it is now almost premium in the cabin. After climbing up into the seats, like getting into a truck, it is surprising to find such a luxurious interior.

After a few miles on some twisty, narrow country lanes, where the Wrangler behaved perfectly, it was time to do a bit of off-roading.

We were warned it could get a bit severe in places – an understatement if ever there was one. The first bit of the off-road course was quite tame, just grass, mud and small stones to go over. Then we saw the hill we had to go up, and presumably, back down again. This section of the testing was gruelling, not only for the car, but for us too. Talk about being thrown around, up and down, left to right, right to left, and all virtually at the same time. 

The Wrangler took us an a mountain climbing exercise, we were literally climbing a mountain. Well probably not exactly a mountain as they don’t have mountains in the Lake District, but pretty close to it. 

Everything put in front of it, it managed to get over, up over it, or plough through it. After over an hour of being frightened to death going up, there was a JEEP at the top of the hill with tea, coffee and bikkies. Not sure how it made it up there without spilling everything out of the flasks. But a well earned short break – next problem… getting back down again, oh heck… another hour of being chucked about.

The Wrangler is powered by two all-new engines: a 2.2 MultiJet 2 turbo diesel that produces 200hp, the other is a 2.0-litre petrol that produces 272hp.

This new car has new styling all round, giving it a fresh appearance, but still on first looks, does look similar to the previous Wrangler, it does have a lowered beltline with larger windows for better visability, but there are enough changes to spot the difference. The interior is much improved with increased storage space, presumably to store more sick-bags..!!

The Wrangler is available as a short wheelbase two-door, or the longer wheelbase four-door. With either model you can take off the roof panels making it an open-top.

Back in the cars to make the descent, and back to civilisation. Checking we were in 4L (Full-time four-wheel drive – Low Range) took a deep breath, and headed back down the steep incline, littered with large rocks, boulders, slippery mud, streams of water, and just about everything nature could throw at us. 

But all the systems worked perfectly, the four-wheel drive, the traction control, the hill-descent, all operated together, all in perfect harmony. To get us back on solid ground back down the hill, or as we preferred to call it, the mountain, just sounds better, and more realistic.

This Wrangler is almost unique in the car world, just a handful of similar competitors that are luxurious that look as good in the city, as they do in rural settings. Cars that are fairly comfortable in every day situations on normal roads, but turn into really capable go-anywhere, do-anything vehicles – really clever engineering, not sure how they do it, but they do, and JEEP have had plenty of years to practice, and get it right.

Prices for the new JEEP Wrangler start from £44,865 and
go up to £48,365.

The Clio has been a huge success for Renault, selling over 15 million globally since its launch in 1990, surprisingly there have only been four models in 30 years, so why make changes when it is selling so well. But now the 5th Generation has arrived, and we drove it in the Cotswolds.

As you get in the car, you can instantly see and feel the much improved plastic and trim, and a whole new design. There is more space and the front seats are 26mm thinner which give more rear legroom. The interior now looks and feels more premium, there is more soft-touch plastic and materials. The cars we drove had the optional Smart-Cockpit which features both a 9.3-inch multimedia screen and a 10-inch TFT instrument cluster.

Just about everything in the interior of the new Clio faces towards the driver, including the centre console, which does make the passenger feel a bit left out, they will say to the driver, ‘its all about you’…… the interior certainly represents a Revolution.

The first car we drove was the second car in the range, the Iconic and was powered by the TCe 100 3-cylinder petrol engine and coupled to a 5-speed manual gearbox. I did not realise while driving the 100hp car that it was actually a 3-cyliner engine, it certainly didn’t sound like one, or drive like one. It is fairly quick and goes from 0-62mph in 11.8 seconds. It has a combined fuel consumption figure of 54.3 mpg and has stop-start as standard and a C02 OF 99g/km.

This new MK5 Clio is shorter by 12mm, but is 66mm wider and is slightly lower, but despite it being that tiny-bit shorter, there is more interior space that the MK4. The boot size has also increased from 330-litre to 391-litre, and a different shaped rear door helps loading and unloading much easier.

The second car we drove around The Cotswolds was the R.S Line fitted with the TCe 130 and coupled to the EDC Automatic gearbox, and a smooth gearbox it is too. This 4-cylinder engine produces, as you would guess, 130hp, goes from 0-62mph in 9.0-seconds and has a combined fuel consumption figure of 49.6mpg. As we tootled around the lovely and scenic parts of Gloucestershire it was comfortable and effortless.

The models in the range are: PLAY –  starting from £14,295 OTR, ICONIC starting from £15,295 OTR, S EDITION starting from £17,295 OTR and R.S LINE priced from £17,795 OTR.

The exterior has not really changed much, as it retains the familiar profile of the MK4, but the MK5 has now got a bonnet with sculptured ribs, the grille is larger, and has some subtle chrome embellishment. The front bumper is more pronounced, and a different central air scoop that enhances the cars lines, but also helps the engine cooling. The roof now has ‘Shark-Fin’ antenna and the ‘hidden’ rear door handles remain in the C-Pillar. But the most noticeable feature are the new lights, especially the front LED which now have the Renault ‘C-Shaped’ daytime running lights. The exterior is more of an Evolution.

But it is underneath the car, and the bit you can’t see that has changed the most, as it gets a brand-new platform. Renaults new CMF-B (Common Module Family B-Segment) modular platform was developed at the Technocentre in Guyancourt. This new Clio structure and mechanicals are new compared to the previous generation Clio.

This new platform adds improved safety, efficiency, refinement and technology integration. It also improves soundproofing and insulation. The windscreen is also new and this has been treated with sound insulation to reduce wind and engine noise.

Joining the line-up in 2020 is the E-TECH with full hybrid powertrain which is a first for the Clio. This system will use a new-generation 1.6-litre petrol engine that’s mated to an innovative multi-mode gearbox and a pair of electric motors that are powered by a 1.2kWh Lithium Ion battery. This system limits energy waste and has quick regenerative battery charging. 

In terms of technology, engines, safety, platform and dynamics, and the interior this 5TH Generation Clio is a huge step forward and is clearly a Revolution, but the Exterior is really little changed, and is merely a facelift, and this is clearly an Evolution.

But the Clio will still continue to be a popular small hatch, liked by both new and used car buyers.