Car and Driver News: March 2015

March 31, 2015

This is Honda’s adorable S660

Aww, isn't it cute? This is the Honda S660 roadster, the spitting image of the S600 concept shown at the 2013 Tokyo show. Only now it's real, unveiled it you-can-actually-go-and-buy-it production form.

At least, you can if you live in Japan. The S660 will only be offered in its home market, which makes us very sad. Sweet Lord Of Baby Roadsters, we want one.

This micro roadster is the spiritual successor to the legendary, Nineties-tastic Honda Beat, joining cars like the Suzuki Cappuccino and Daihatsu Copen in the highly underrated, diddy-drop-top Kei car class.

Under the current rules, Japan's Kei-jidosha can be no more than 3.4m long and 1.48m wide, with tiddly 660cc engines.

So, in essence, what you have here is a two-thirds scale version of the new NSX. There's a driver-focused cockpit, mid-mounted, 660cc three-cylinder turbo engine sending power to the rear wheels through a short-throw six-speed manual.

A seven-speed flappy-paddle CVT is available, but you don't want it. Because, like the similarly-sized Caterham 160, we're told the Honda development team engineered the S660 to put a smile on your face.

Even though the tiny engine kicks out just 63bhp, the car only weighs 830kg. The aluminium and steel sub-frame is, we're told, stiffer than the old S2000. We suspect it should be able to handle the fearsome power.

With a 45-55 front-rear weight bias, Honda says its engineers set out to ‘maximize the fun of turning'. But despite the RWD layout, don't expect much in the way of micro-drifts: the S660 boasts brake-based torque vectoring for tidier cornering.

If you want to hear the tiny three-cylinder turbo thrumming away, all you have to do is peel off the roll-up canvas roof to exposure yourself to the elements.

The S660 is available in two trim levels - standard and Launch. Honda expects to shift 800 of these £11,000 baby roadsters a month, but will make no more than 660 examples of the special ‘Launch' edition.

But unfortunately only in Japan. Kei cars run into trouble with US and European crash test legislation, so we won't be getting it over here. However, there is the possibility that Honda could adapt the S660 to bring it in line with our strict crash regs.

If you're debating whether to do so, Honda, the answer is: yes. Do it. Bring it here. In the brightest colour possible.

McLaren 570S: it’s here at last

After months of teasing it's time, at last, to come face to face with McLaren's new sports car. Called the 570S, its name apes the 650S it sits a rung (and £50,000) below in the McLaren range, a methodology that appears to run throughout the car.

That styling, for starters. Many design cues are shared with the 650S: the shape of the LED headlamps and the way they feed into the front aerodynamic setup stands out, as does the overall silhouette of the car.

Tom Ford: why I'm excited by the 570S

Sam Philip: why the 570S leaves me cold

Put the two side-by-side and some differences become clear, though. The rear pillars are open buttresses on the 570S, a move which aids engine cooling as well as providing 8kg of extra downforce, though overall the car has a balanced aero profile. The dihedral doors are also more sculptured, though operate via a simpler hinge mechanism.

But the shared DNA is clear, and with big brother's P1 rear styling called upon too (though with a fixed rather than hugely extendable wing), there's a certain Russian doll feel to McLaren's range.

Though despite the 570S being Woking's cheapest, least powerful model, it's actually 18mm longer and 187mm wider than a 650S. So rather than being billed as the 'baby' McLaren, we're told it's the most accessible and useable, those extra inches allowing for a roomier interior and more luggage space.

McLaren's carbon tub chassis construction is used - yielding a 1313kg dry weight - but its sills are 83mm lower for easier cabin access. Conversely, it's a move which has actually added a little weight to the tub.

Shared DNA continues in the mid-mounted engine, McLaren again calling upon a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8, though featuring around 30 per cent new components. Its outputs are 562bhp and 443lb ft, putting the 570S very slightly north of the Porsche 911 Turbo S.

Add a driver and fuel and you're looking at Golf GTI mass in something with more than twice the power. The result? A 204mph speed, via a 3.2-second sprint to 62mph and a 9.5-second 0-124mph time. Chief engineer Mark Vinnels told TG that "bragging rights figures" were the team's starting points, but plenty of other, more subjective attributes were important too.

At around £145,000, the 570S will be £50,000 cheaper than the 79bhp-healthier 650S. Money has been saved over its sibling by not including any moving aero, slimming down the equipment list and cutting the use of exotic materials, carbon in particular.

Carbon ceramic brakes are standard fit though, as are some fairly serious Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres. And like its big brother, the 570S is rear-driven through a seven-speed paddleshift gearbox.

While it's not fully hydraulic, the suspension offers up familiarity too. There are Normal, Sport and Track modes operating on double wishbones with adaptive dampers, though it's distanced from a 650S by its fitment of rear anti-roll bars.

"The range from comfort to track settings is wider", Vinnels told TG. "It has a faster steering ratio [than the 650S] and stiff tyres. It's an easy car to throw around. It's not a soft car. The benchmark was the 911 GT3." This we like to hear.

Inside, McLaren's 'IRIS' touchscreen infotainment system continues, which won't exactly warm the cockles of anyone who's experienced its oft-patchy performance in the past.

Better news comes from a flash new TFT instrument cluster and swathes of leather, while the view out of its big windscreen ought to be as exemplary as in the 650S, and Vinnels claims his team is particularly proud of over-the-shoulder visibility too, a traditional supercar weak spot.

The 570S kicks of McLaren's ‘Sports Series' range of cars, with more models to follow, an open-top Spider almost certain. It debuts this week at the New York motor show, before sales start later in the year, with the Porsche 911 Turbo S and Audi R8 V10 Plus - cars which already twin eye-wobbling performance with everyday nous - firmly in the 570Ss crosshairs.

They're very good cars. Does the not-quite-baby McLaren stand a chance?

March 27, 2015

First UK drive: Jeep Renegade

It looks a bit... cute for a proper Jeep, no?

True, the Renegade might be a bit bug-eyed-friendly, but it can definitely do the off-road business.

In regular 4WD Limited spec, on standard road-biased tyres, it got me over rocky obstacles and up and down mud-slathered slopes, along some steep side inclines, and wound between trees as its tyres clawed over cross-axle holes and slippery roots. The tight turning circle and small size actually get it places that would wedge a bigger SUV.

And there's more: in a few weeks you'll be able to order a Trailhawk version. That comes with a dual-range transmission, 30mm extra ground clearance and underbody protection, and chunky-treaded tyres. That's pretty serious wilderness spec.

You're saying all of this matters?

So far, about half the Renegades ordered across Europe have been 4WDs. That will probably tail off over time to favour the FWD-only spec, but even so it's far higher than with most of the small crossovers. Mainly, 4WD is important because, y'know, this is a Jeep.

It might be small, it might be built in Italy, but heck it's got to live up to the name. If Jeep is to continue aligning itself with ‘freedom to roam', there has to be the substance to back up the claim.

Back in the urban wilderness, what about the FWD ones?

They look pretty much the same as the 4WD. All that's missing are the '4WD lock' and terrain calibration buttons on the centre console. On the road, they feel pretty much the same.

And exactly how is that road drive?

Very tidy. The suspension is taut, so there's a fair amount of vertical movement even at speed. But there's little of the shimmy, rock and wobble that affects too may crossovers. In return for the firm springing, you get agile and responsive cornering.

The steering has an oddly artificial, almost magnetic-feeling, self-centring action, but you do get used to it and then it's an accurate and trustworthy control. The body feels very solidly built, with nary a shudder even over big pot-holes. They must have beefed it up well for the off-road duty.

Main issue with the FWD is that the stiff anti-roll bars mean it'll lose traction if you floor it out of a tight bend, and then the electronic control hacks down the power pretty sharpish.

Engines?

The ones that matter are the 140bhp MultiAir petrol, which is flexible enough but needs (and enjoys) revs if you want to get a move on. It sounds a trifle dieselly at mid revs but chirrupy and Italian nearer the red-line.

Then there's a 1.6 diesel for the CO2/tax-conscious. Most expensive is the 2.0 diesel in 140 and 170bhp forms. It's not the very quietest of its kind, but it's drowned at speed - as all the engines are - by the noisy tyres. Let's face it, Renegade buyers probably aren't looking for the quiet life.

Certainly not in the styling department...

Especially in the brighter colour options, the whole ensemble can rather set your visual cortex a-quiver. The design reverberates with the brick-outhouse riffs of classical big American SUV, but scaled down for the European streetscape.

It means a host of blocky design elements and jewellery all crammed together. But rather than shouting over each other for your attention, they harmonise quite well.

Inside?

Again, there's a lot going on visually, but it's carried through with conviction and built with up-to-class thoroughness. Most versions get good graphical displays including sat-nav, and there's a decent range of standard and optional safety kit.
The driving position is very sound, and the Renegade is decently roomy in the back - there's not an ocean of knee room but the high seats mean plenty of foot space. Besides the tall roof is good for rear headroom, which you can't say of its relative, the Fiat 500X.

Ah yes. Which should I buy?

The 500X comes down the same line and has the same chassis, engines and technologies, except it lacks the hardcore off-roading options. And of course it has a very different approach to style - it speaks to the visual traditions of Fiat's home in Turin rather than Jeep's in Toledo, Ohio. It's unlikely people will cross-shop...

A message from TopGear.com

As you'll have heard, the BBC Director-General Tony Hall has delivered his Clarkson verdict. As you'll also have heard, the Beeb won't renew JC's contract when it expires in a few days.

First up, we'd like to thank all of you for your comments and feedback through this difficult period. Believe us, we have been taking it all on board - even the really shouty bits - and we're sorry that the nature of the investigation meant we couldn't engage in the discussion before now.

None of us has found the past month easy, and we know some of you suspect this spells the end for Top Gear.

It doesn't. The DG's statement confirmed that the BBC will work to renew Top Gear TV for 2016, and of course we'll bring you any news on that front as soon as we have it. Hall also stated that the BBC will look into how it can put out the remaining programmes from the current series.

In the meantime, TopGear.com will continue to bring you the sharpest, funniest automotive coverage, the biggest exclusives and the oddest road trips. Right now, there's more astonishing stuff going on in the world of cars than ever before, and we reckon you deserve to know about it.

That isn't to underestimate the incalculable contribution of JC to making Top Gear what it is. He's a big, big hole to fill, and the team you've trusted to make the world's greatest motoring show will be figuring out over the coming months exactly how to do that.

And, while we're here, we'd also like to take this chance to give a shout out to Top Gear TV's brilliant production team, who are unquestionably the most talented in the business.

So go for it. The comments are open and we're listening.

March 26, 2015

Classic arcade racer Out Run goes 3D

On the auspicious occasion of its 28-and-halfth-ish birthday, retro Sega classic Out Run has been released in remastered form for the Nintendo 3DS.

The new edition takes full advantage of the handheld console's party trick, pumping out proper 3D visuals without requiring you to wear a pair of embarrassing plastic glasses.

Arriving in arcades in 1986, Out Run was arguably the first game to really capture the majesty of an epic road trip in digital form. Rather than closed circuits, it offered sweeping open roads, an urgent soundtrack and - by the standards of the day at least - spectacular scenery that evolved as you barrelled across the continent.

The only bad news is that the game's iconic chop-top Ferrari Testarossa has undergone some slight cosmetic surgery. Turns out its appearance in the 80s original wasn't approved by Maranello, so it's been tweaked just enough to avoid stumbling into an unpleasant lawsuit.

This minor purist grumble aside, this 3D remake is absolutely the best way to play this stone-cold gaming classic, and exactly the sort of history lesson we can get behind.

There's even an optional mode that replicates the rubbery steering wheel and lurching, clunking motion of the original cabinet. For the full 1980s amusement arcade effect, though, you'll want to pour an entire jumbo Fanta onto your carpet before commencing play.

As with most ancient arcade games, it's mercilessly difficult, but that just means the £4.50 it costs to download from the Nintendo eShop will last you far longer than pumping the equivalent amount in pound coins into the machine used to.

Oh and if you're after some fresh pub ammo, how about this related morsel: there was only ever one officially sanctioned Ferrari Testarossa Spider produced, designed by Pininfarina and given as a gift to then Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli in 1986, the exact same year that Out Run was released...

March 25, 2015

Video: Rally driver rolls it, carries on

The Finns are known as the coolest customers in the world of motorsport. And things don't get much cooler than spectacularly rolling a rally car in the snow, then carrying on like it was no big deal.

That's exactly what Jari Huttunen and his co-driver Marko Vartiainen did in their Opel Astra at the Runni Rock Ralli over in Finland, after losing control and hitting a snowbank during their run.

Skip to around the 2m50s mark in the video to see Huttunen getting very significantly out of line, sending the Astra into a full-fat double barrel roll.

Were the pair shaken up after such a tumble? Absolutely not. With typically Finnish insouciance, they simply continue with their run, just as committed as before the crash.

It's a move the late Colin McRae would have applauded, and incidentally something the flying Scot did himself during the 2006 X-Games. Click these blue words to watch the sadly missed 1995 WRC Champion rolling it close to the finish line, but carrying on to pick up a silver medal. Heroic.

America’s 290mph, 1700bhp hypercar

Remember when the Bugatti Veyron nudged 1000bhp and the world gasped? That may be just ten years ago, but how quickly we've become accustomed to such power is nothing short of daft.

The latest far-into-four-figures contender is this, the svelte though seemingly styling-free LM2 Streamliner. It's the work of Lyons Motor Company in the US, who will pull the cover off it - an action we imagine will be very smooth indeed - at next week's New York motor show.

You want stats? Its twin-turbocharged V8 drives all four wheels through a seven-speed sequential gearbox.

It produces 1700bhp at a dizzying 9000rpm, while 1610lb ft of torque - the equivalent of four Ferrari 458s, or 24 Renault Twingos - is available from just 4000rpm. It's fair to say this should be a rapid car.

And with carbon fibre body panels sitting atop a carbonfibre chassis, it weighs as much as a Golf, at a claimed 1406kg. Its performance is predictably outrageous, then, with Lyon's quoted figures being 0-60mph in 2.2secs, 0-100mph in 4.1secs (!) and 0-200mph in 11.1secs.

It reaches the magic two-zero-zero via an 8.8-second quarter-mile, we're told, crossing the line at 174mph in the process. Its top speed is quoted as "290mph est". There are stability control and ABS systems in a presumably fruitless attempt to keep the heebie-jeebies at bay.

And the simplicity of its styling is matched under the skin, Lyon promising a 99 per cent reduction on a typical car's wiring, with everything controlled via a ginormous 16-inch touchscreen, though quite how its signals are transmitted we're not told. LED headlights and electronically adjustable suspension complete the tech highlights.

If you're wondering why a car with performance that far outstrips even the world's fastest - the Hennessey Venom GT - has slipped under the radar, then you do so with good reason. It's not quite real yet. A prototype will be on show in NYC next week, though; significant as it's the city which will be home to Streamliner manufacturing.

"The LM2 Streamliner is the first American hypercar that will counter the best performing and exclusive vehicles from Europe," Lyon says. For that, read Pagani, Bugatti, McLaren and Ferrari. What chance success?

March 24, 2015

First drive: Mercedes-Benz C350e

What's this?

It's the C350e, the second car in a 10-vehicle plug-in line-up that Mercedes will unleash on the world between now and 2017.

Headlined, perhaps unwisely, by M-B as its Hybrid Offensive, this attack on the plug-in market started with the S Class Plug-In Hybrid and will reach through the Mercedes range to include models of all shapes and sizes. It's mostly targeted at the US, where hybrids not diesels are the preferred fuel-saving engine. But it's coming here, too.

What's the news about this car?

The first bit is that, as part of its re-naming of all the models and derivatives, Mercedes has stopped shouting that it's hybrids are PLUG-IN HYBRIDs and instead just given them an ‘e' badge.

What haven't changed are the official figures promising astonishingly low fuel consumption and emissions, combined with healthy performance. The C350e's vital statistics are 275bhp/442lb ft with 134.5mpg and 49g/km of CO2.

How does it do that?

By mating a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine to a 60kW electric motor, then adding a list of other refinements that offer a high level of complexity. You don't so much drive the C350e as pilot it.

Apart from the five transmission modes there is also a choice of four operating rules that allow the driver to choose the level of the electric motor's intervention. The sensible thing to do is stick it in Hybrid mode and leave it there.

Any other tricks?

Several. The car talks to you via the new haptic feedback throttle pedal. In the same way lane departure warnings buzz the seat and pulse the steering wheel if you get offline, or don't see a car in your blind spot, the C350e's pedal gives you feedback on how to save fuel.

In electric-only mode it builds pedal resistance when you are about to summon the petrol engine. It also gives a double impulse through the pedal when the radar reckons you can switch off the engine and coast to save energy.

What's it like to drive?

At town speeds, in full electric mode, the standard air-suspended C-Class rides and drives superbly. Smooth, silent, responsive, it feels every inch the mini-S-class it wants to be.

But get out on the open road, ignore that building throttle pedal pressure to get more performance, and the calm is broken by the droning petrol engine. At that moment, the car loses all its luxurious feeling and you are left wondering why you'd shell out serious exec money for this sort of noise.

To be fair, there isn't another hybrid system that uses a four-cylinder engine that is any quieter than this one. But we expected Mercedes to set new standards in sound control here, and, to be frank, it doesn't. Sound processor anyone?

But is it any fun to drive?

Fun isn't the word this C-Class was designed around. Intelligent efficiency was its mission and it meets that aim on all fronts. It's perfectly wieldy on all types of road, sips fuel, has a sumptuously comfortable cabin - possibly its best feature - and doesn't offend visually in any way. So job done.

Should I buy one?

Depends completely on your lifestyle. If you live on the edge of a city and spend a lot of time in or around towns, you'll love this car, which is available in saloon and estate formats. It will save you a fortune on fuel, tolls and even parking costs.

But if you spend a lot of time in the country or ploughing a furrow on the motorways and A-roads, there really isn't much point. You're still better off with a pure diesel.

It’s the new Jag XF… on a high-wire

This is the new Jaguar XF, unveiled today in the traditional surrounds of, um, a high-wire over the River Thames.

We're not, in truth, exactly sure why the second generation of Jag's 5-Series-battling saloon was unveiled on a high-wire over the River Thames. Something, we assume, to do with highlighting the MkII XF's new, lighter, even-more-aluminium-intensive structure, rather than a pitch for a new rival to the Emirates Air Line.

For the new big brother to the new XE is light indeed. Employing 75 per cent aluminium in its construction, Jag has managed to shave up to 190kg from the kerbweight of the outgoing XF, while improving torsional stiffness too.

The second-gen XF is fraction shorter and lower than its predecessor, and slippier too: Jag claims a drag coefficient of just 0.26, and a kerbweight 80kg below anything else in its class.

It'll be frugal, too. The new XF gets its pick of JLR's ‘Ingenium' range of modular diesel engines, launching with a pair of 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbos of 161bhp and 178bhp outputs. Equipped with the standard six-speed manual - there's an eight-speed auto available, too - it'll officially return over 70mpg, and CO2 emissions of 104g/km, which Jag reckons is a class-leading figure for a non-hybrid.

The black-pump averse get the choice of three petrol options: a two-litre turbo four making 237bhp, and Jag's familiar 3.0-litre supercharged V6 in 335bhp and 375bhp flavours.

No screaming supercharged V8 for now, but you'd be a fool to bet against it making an appearance at some juncture.

As before, the XF is rear-drive as standard, but like the updated F-Type, it'll be available - in some markets at least - with four-wheel drive. Also like the F-Type, you can have the XF with adaptive damping and Jag's 'Configurable Dynamics' package.

Jaguar heralds the XF as the ‘most advanced' car it has ever offered, highlighting its 10.2-inch touchscreen and serious processing power. Here's hoping its infotainment arrangement moves the game, as it's a department in which JLR has fallen behind its German rivals in recent years.

No word on prices yet, but expect them to remain similar to the outgoing car, with the base diesel starting around £30,000. The XF will be manufactured at JLR's Castle Bromwich facility, with the first cars landing this autumn.

We'll bring you more at its land-based unveil at the New York show next week. Reckon this has what it takes to mix it with the 5-Series and E-Class, not to mention the Audi A6, Passat, Lexus GS, Infiniti Q70, etc, etc, etc?

March 23, 2015

This is Saleen's 730bhp Mustang

Late last year, reputed Mustang-modder Saleen teased us with a render of its upcoming 302 ‘Black Label' Mustang. That car was originally slated to get 640bhp, but having hit print on the Photoshop file and made the car a reality, Saleen has found the power figure has swollen to a healthy 730bhp. Excellent news.

That additional 90bhp makes the power gulf between the Black Label and the stock V8 Mustang a near-on 300bhp. That's a lot. And quite an achievement, as the Saleen uses the same ‘Coyote' block as all other V8 Mustangs, albeit enhanced with a twin-screw supercharger. Torque? About 600 lb ft. Enough.

To handle the extra oomph, the chassis has been overhauled. To the new Stang's independent suspension, Saleen S4 springs, shocks, swaybars, and bushings have been added, so the ‘Black Label' can be set up for road or track.

According to Saleen, the car can achieve ‘hyperspeed'. We're not exactly sure what hyperspeed equates to in an imperial unit of speed, but we do know that 15-inch dimpled rotors and multi-piston brakes bring the car back down from it with ease.

Downforce has increased by stretching and widening the proportions of the car. The front's been extended by an inch and a half, the rear gaining an extra two inches. A classic Saleen rear wing has then been plonked on top to balance the downforce created by that gaping front splitter. Carbon fibre bits marginally lighten the kerbweight to 1678kg, which, in the grand scheme of weight saving, is the equivalent of throwing a couple of deckchairs off the Titanic.

Inside, there's black leather and suede seats, a new stacked gauge cluster, heritage steering wheel and plenty of badging and stickers to remind you're in something a bit more special than stock.

If 730bhp is too much go for you, Saleen also offers a ‘White Label' Mustang with a measly 450bhp, thanks to new fuel injectors, some changes to the engine's breathing and a more aggressive exhaust. You don't want that one. You want this one.

First drive: the Infiniti QX80

Good grief, what is it?

An Infiniti QX80. Infiniti's biggest, weightiest offering in America. It's not a car we're ever going to get in Britain.

So, er, why?

Two reasons. Firstly to show Infiniti's breadth outside of Europe, and secondly, because it was there.

Where?

Atlanta airport. Photographer Greg Pajo and I had flown out to America to see Nissan's GT-R LM car in action. We were at the hire car desk and I was offered an upgrade. It was $10 a day and the lady at the counter told me that since it was a quiet time of year, that basically allowed me to pick whatever I liked when I got out to the car park. That in itself was worth ten bucks a day.

So why the QX80?

We'd just got off a long haul flight and had a three hour night time drive ahead of us. I wanted something comfy. I wanted something with satnav and a lazy engine. So I looked around the car park and since the QX80 was about the biggest thing out there, it was hard to see past. It was also odd looking and made me curious. And new. Brand new. Just 60 miles on the odo. Better still it had a 5.6-litre V8 with 400bhp, a seven speed auto gearbox and a cabin you had to hoist yourself up to like a chunky trucker.

And did it get you where you needed to go easily?

It did. The satnav was easy to programme once I'd worked out the useful-looking rotary dial behind the gearlever had precisely nothing to do with the touchscreen system and instead only handled 4wd matters, and tugging the gearlever back to Drive took even less effort than releasing the foot-operated handbrake. After that I took little notice, because it was late and Greg and I were too busy talking about Nissan's LMP1 car, his draughty house and my tearaway kids. It was only the next day I took proper notice.

And..?

Not good. Turns out that despite its grand, faux-Georgian looks, underneath, the QX80 is based on a Nissan Patrol. So yes, with 400bhp it has enough get-up and go, and the gearbox is smooth and snappy enough, but the Patrol is a rough ‘n' rugged utility vehicle, while this is trying to be something much more sophisticated. OK, it draws a veil over the worst of the Patrol's bad road habits, but the steering is hopelessly slow witted and hit any roughness and the suspension jitters and shakes. You can feel its agricultural roots coming back to haunt it. A Range Rover this is not.

There must be a ‘but...' coming?

There is. It only cost me £30 a day and I got to hand it back after three days. Also, in America, it costs $63,250, which works out at £43,125, about the same as a fully loaded Land Rover Discovery Sport, which won't be half as loaded with kit as the Infiniti, or half as big.

Tell me about the kit.

It had everything from radar cruise and ventilated chairs to a third row of seats that fold themselves out the way electrically. Very slowly, frustratingly slowly, but electrically nonetheless. Same goes for the tailgate. In fact, such was the hassle of pushing-button-and-waiting that we ended up stowing most of our gear on the back seats. The back doors opened manually. In fact that looked like the place to be - the two big seats separated by a huge console.

To be fair there's a giant amount of space inside and the seats are comfortable, but much like the exterior a feeling of faux-ness pervades. The leather is that overly-perfect shiny stuff and I thought questionably lacquered wood veneers had gone out of fashion in the Nineties. Apparently I was wrong.

Anything else you'd like to share with the group?

Visually, it's the car that taste forgot. Look at that front end, just look at it. It'll put you right off your dinner. It did sit well on Interstates, chunking through the miles in high gears at minimal revs. Still only managed 23mpg, though - and that's with the UK gallon conversion applied. I can see why people buy them, but it's a façade of a car - there's no depth or personality to it, no intrinsic or identifiable Infiniti traits. They've done a reasonable job of gussying up a Patrol so's most buyers won't notice or care where it's come from, but it still doesn't help me know what Infiniti is or what it stands for. Posh Nissan is still about as far as I can get with it.

March 20, 2015

Lotus celebrates 20 years of Elise

The Lotus Elise is 20 years old. That's a sentence strong enough to make even the younger, chirpier members of the TG office go slightly wistful, staring into the middle distance muttering "20? Already?"

It's true, though. And Lotus is marking two decades (and nearly 32,000 sales) since its little roadster's 1995 Frankfurt show debut in the only way the car industry knows how: a good old special edition.

In the Elise's case, though, it's truly deserved. The tiny two-seater reinvigorated Lotus all those years ago, its sweetly balanced dynamics and oh-so-right Julian Thomson design mated to an accessible £19,000 price tag.

That may make the £39,900 Elise 20th Anniversary Edition look a right rip off, but apply 20 years of inflation to the original Elise's price tag and you stop just short of £32,000. And that's pretty much what a base Elise will cost you now.

So what does your extra cash buy you here? The 20th Anniversary uses the Elise S's more potent, supercharged 1.8-litre engine, with a handy 217bhp and 185lb ft with which to shift its 914kg.

That's 10kg down on a standard Elise S, thanks to some lightweight wheels and sports seats, while air con and a stereo are optional rather than standard.

As such, 0-62mph takes 4.6secs while the top speed is 145mph. The first ever Elise may have weighed a scant 731kg, but with just 118bhp, it was over a second slower to 62mph.

Lotus describes it as a special, rather than limited edition, and the 20th Anniversary effectively replaces the Club Racer model in the range. As such, there are no production numbers being toted.

Nevertheless, there are 20th Anniversary decals ahoy, and you've a choice of four ‘classic Elise' colours: blue, green, yellow and silver.

We're big fans of the Elise here, and this is undeniably a very lovely way to give it the ‘This is your Life' treatment. But it's also Porsche Boxster money. To which dealer would your £40,000 be lobbed?

March 19, 2015

Meet the all-electric BMW… of 1972

The loveable lump of orange metal in the video below is the world's coolest electric car you've probably never heard of. It's the 1972 BMW 1602e, and it's excellent.

Conceived as a prototype in 1969, this battery powered Beemer premiered at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, conveniently in time for the OPEC crisis. Why was it cooked up? To showcase that BMW could sustainably build cars that allowed the world to enjoy fresh air.

The engineering behind it was rudimentary. Twelve standard 12V Varta lead-acid car batteries were hooked up, and stored on a pallet under the bonnet of the 1600's engine bay. The whole package weighed in at a whopping 350kg, though BMW tells us the setup could be recharged, or removed as a single unit and replaced with a freshly charged pack. If you had a forklift to hand.

Then there was a Bosch electric motor with a peak output of 43bhp (32kW), positioned in place of the manual gearbox, hooked up to the rear wheels via intermediate gearing and a prop shaft. BMW also fitted a radial fan to keep everything cool.

Was it fast, you ask? Erm, not really. The iBeemer could accelerate from 0-31mph in 8.0 seconds, before topping out at a heady 62mph. BMW reckoned on a range of 19 miles when driving at a constant 31mph, which wasn't bad by 1972 standards. It even had regenerative braking, the motor doubling as a generator to recharge the batteries during deceleration.

At the 1972 Olympic Games, BMW used the two prototype vehicles as support cars for the marathon, though even then they recognised that "the specific drawbacks of the electric drive could only be resolved by advances in the field of battery technology".

BMW would have many further shots at solving the battery range issue - from the 1975 LS Electric, the 1981 325iX, the 1991 BMW E1 and E2, the E36 electric 325, and the Mini E - until it hit upon the next coolest electric car that you probably have heard of. Enter the BMW i8...

Of course, BMW weren't the only ones experimenting with electric cars in that period: the Sixties and Seventies saw the Electrovair and the Electrovette, zero-emission versions of the Corvair and Corvette. The history of the electric car, in fact, stretches right back to the 1880s...

March 18, 2015

First drive: the Infiniti QX80

Good grief, what is it?

An Infiniti QX80. Infiniti's biggest, weightiest offering in America. It's not a car we're ever going to get in Britain.

So, er, why?

Two reasons. Firstly to show Infiniti's breadth outside of Europe, and secondly, because it was there.

Where?

So why the QX80?

And did it get you where you needed to go easily?

And..?

There must be a ‘but...' coming?

Tell me about the kit.

Anything else you'd like to share with the group?

First drive: Mazda CX-3

What’s this?

It’s the little brother to Mazda’s likeable CX-5 crossover. This CX-3 is a smaller, supermini-based car squarely aimed at the Nissan Juke and Vauxhall Mokka.

The CX-3's handsomely proportioned, chunky body sits on the platform of the new Mazda 2, which is Good News. We're fans of the 2's deft handling and general cheeriness, brought about by a hefty dollop of Mazda's weight-saving ‘SkyActiv' engineering.

It's Mazda's philosophy of saving weight to improve agility and help the ozone layer, too. It's paid dividends not just in the new MX-5 roadster - which we expected to be a hoot - but the 2, 3 and 6 family too. So, a tidily styled crossover on those underpinnings promises to be a very good little car.

Well?

Sounds silly, but there's good news about the CX-3's drive before you so much as start the engine. Still intent on perfecting its ‘horse and rider in harmony' mantra, the CX-3 embarrasses all its rivals for driving position adjustment. The steering wheel telescopes and raises generously, and the supportive seat goes pleasingly low. Immediately, you're that bit more integrated into the car, not perched up on a barstool.

And once you have actually set off, the CX-3 is a decent steer. The controls haven't been over-lightened, so you appreciate the weighting of the quick steering and direct, short-throw manual gearbox. It resists understeer more gamely than some rivals, and grips stubbornly. It's quite firmly sprung at the rear though - the CX-3 reacts to bumps like a front-suspension mountain bike, by cushioning the front axle but bounding up at the rear.

You're not exactly going to take it for a dawn thrash on a Sunday, but the Mazda's easily as capable as the Juke. Just with a better driving position.

What about the engines?

Only three to choose from. The 1.5-litre turbodiesel is a vocal four-cylinder unit that develops 148bhp and 199lb ft, good for a claimed 70mpg and 105g/km. The petrols defy convention by shunning turbos, Mazda adamant that its 2.0-litre engine in 118bhp or 148bhp tune is the smarter choice in ‘the real world', thanks to sharp throttle response and more realistic fuel economy.

Weirdly, the petrol engine is happiest at low revs, where you find moderate shove but little noise. A cursory trip to north of 4000rpm summons a thrashy drone from the motor - not that pleasant. And sure, the turbo shove of a VW Tiguan is a mite more convenient. It's not a deal-breaker, just something you have to adjust your driving style for.

And on the inside?

Mazda has got its head down and set about improving the cabin quality. The CX-3's basic dashboard is lifted straight from the 2 supermini, which itself owes a tip of the hat to the MX-5. A good start, then.

The dials, head-up display and air vents are clustered tightly around the view ahead. There's the usual ‘floating' touchscreen standing atop the scuttle, and recent improvements to the iDrive-style rotary controls have made navigating it that bit more user-friendly.

Dubious material choices marginally blight the cockpit - textured plastic mimics a sort of carbonfibre effect, and there's other plastic masquerading as metal. But it does feel driver-centric and sporty, with lashings of red to lift the ambience without looking contrived.

What about space?

More than a Nissan Juke or Vauxhall Mokka, and on a par with the Renault Captur and even funkier Citroen C4 Cactus. Children will have no complaints, and four adults on-board is possible without leg cramp and cricked necks. Boot space pitches in at 350 litres, but our main bugbear is a side-effect of the styling.

That arching beltline and the chunky rear pillars look ace, but they conspire to limit light into, and visibility out of, the CX-3's rear. Dead behind is okay, but the over-the-shoulder view is irritatingly limited. Mind you, the Jeep Renegade and Nissan Juke suffer exactly the same annoyance.

Enough to put you off?

Certainly not. Looking smart is half the battle won for a titchy crossover, but the CX-3 holds cabin space, well-judged equipment and good handling to help strengthen its case, despite the price: the cheapest CX-3 comes loaded with toys like touchscreen-nav, cruise control, heated electric mirrors and 16-inch alloys, but costs from £17,595. Bold move. A fully-loaded automatic diesel CX-3 sporting all-wheel drive, LED lights and intelligent wipers knocks on the door of £25k.

It's a crowded class, this jacked-up supermini game, but even with that price tag and those noisy engines, Mazda has stormed into the mix with a proper contender.

First drive: Range Rover Sport SVR

Next steps

Book a test drive

Order a brochure

What's this, then?

It's the Range Rover Sport SVR. As is the modern way, Land Rover has teased us mercilessly with the promise of its fastest, most powerful car ever.

The RRS SVR made lots of lovely old cars look a bit crusty at the Goodwood FOS last year, and again a few months later at Pebble Beach. It takes something special to upstage the stars of those particular shows.

That teaser video for the RRS SVR made a Spitfire sound like an Austin 1100 on three cylinders. How does it sound?

We'll come back to the noise, just as soon as we can think of a suitable analogy. Absorb the following information for now: it costs £93,450, has a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 that pumps out just shy of 550bhp, 502 torques, and despite its size and weight can bodyslam to 62mph in a faintly worrying 4.5 seconds and onto a top speed of 162mph (it could go even faster).

And although we're glad we weren't actually in the Sport SVR when the stopwatch was running, you've got to admit a Nürburgring lap time of 8min 14sec is good going. A new record for an SUV, in fact.

SVR? What's that all about?

This is the first product to emerge from JLR's Special Vehicle Operations division, whose 20,000 square foot HQ is now up and running on the site of the old Peugeot factory on the outskirts of Coventry. Fair to say that SVO's concoctions are likely to be a bit saucier than the Pug 309 diesels that used to pop off the line back in the day.

When it's fully up to speed, SVO will generate annual revenue of £1bn and employ 900 people. We're still a bit non-plussed about exactly where SVR sits in the overall JLR product matrix - for example, will there be a Jaguar XE R SVR? - but if this Rangie Sport is anything to go by, they will get our full attention.

It's not that lairy to look at...

Agreed. And this is a good thing. SVO's top engineering man is former Williams guy Paul Newsome, and he's recruited a bunch of ex-F1 dudes to make sure the Sport SVR really works, rather than just looking like a two-tonne tart's handbag.

Check out the new front bumper, whose extra intakes improve airflow to the charge air coolers. There are extra ducts for the brakes, and a scoop to funnel air into the pad box, too. The rear spoiler reduces lift and drag. It's available in seven colours, including the SVR-exclusive Estoril blue, none of which are screechingly TOWIE-esque, thank God.

But what you notice most are the wheels, all 22 inches of them, which are so enormous the designers needed to add spats to the arches to accommodate them and the 295/40 section rubber that's wrapped around them.

Continental developed the tyres specifically for this car, and much credit they deserve, too.

Twenty-two inches? Should we have our osteopath on speed dial?

Well, firstly the 22 inchers are optional (21-inch is standard). Secondly, the way this thing rides is arguably the single most impressive thing about it. Yes, it throws itself down the road with almost apocalyptic abandon, and its eight-speed 'box smears through its ratios 50 per cent faster, but what use is all that grunt if the chassis can't manage it properly?

The regular Sport's aluminium structure is obviously a great place to start, and there's ally in the trick multi-link suspension, too. Air sprung with adaptive, magnetic dampers, the Sport SVR patters a little bit on coarse surfaces, but the rest of the time it's magic. The bushing in the rear subframe has been beefed up, and the electric power steering has been tuned to deliver noticeably more ‘heft'.

It could have been a thunderously clod-hopping experience. But it's so expertly judged that this isn't a car that needs to be manhandled or wrestled into submission. It glides and flows in a way that often has you scratching your head in wonderment.

So it handles, then...

Oh yes. The RRS SVR pull 1.3g in peak cornering. There's also a software upgrade for Range Rover's Active Roll-Control, whose actuators respond to body movements up to 1000 times per second. But it automatically defers to the standard map if the system detects that the car is off-road. By which we mean, actually off-road and not exiting through a hedge backwards.

Off-roading? You're kidding, right?

Nope. We really did some. Those same Continentals - SportContact 5s - that deliver serious grip on bumpy Cotswold B-roads and can turn in that daft Ring lap time are also capable of scaling a boggy hill-side.

The SVR's wading depth is 850mm, the same as the regular car, and its approach, breakover and departure angles are only slightly compromised by the extra bits it wears.

Anything you don't like?

If we're being picky, we're not totally sold on the SVR's interior. Its German rivals - Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Merc AMG SL63 and BMW Ms X5 and X6 - are all better executed, and just feel that bit more special. The multi-media system is off-the-pace, too.

No point quibbling with the combined fuel economy figure of 22.3mpg - if you're in the market for one of these, you're not going to bat an eyelid as you fill that 105-litre tank with super juice.

Thought of an analogy for the noise yet?

Gah. No. The Sport SVR features a two-stage active exhaust, with bigger diameter pipes. At low revs, the valves close off two of the four exhaust exits, until around 3000rpm.

At which point, if you're on the throttle everything's open and all hell doesn't just break loose, it tap dances on your synapses. It sounds like a top fuel dragster. It's a candidate for best-sounding car ever. And crucially, it knows when to shut up. Just throttle-off, or push a button. It's brilliant.

Sounds like this SVO lot had fun doing the SVR...

We reckon. It's rigorously engineered, but has soul, too, which is where it scores over its various Teutonic nemeses. They're off to a flying start. Next!

March 17, 2015

First drive: Renault Megane GT220 Tourer

Next steps

Book a test drive

Order a brochure

What's this, then?

It's the Renault Megane GT220 Sport Tourer. A long name for an even longer car, and another entrant into the pleasingly bustling hot hatch estate market.

Wearing a GT rather than an RS badge, it's not quite an Alsatian-friendly version of the Nürburgring-honed Trophy-R. But the GT220's front wheels are driven by what's essentially a detuned version of its fighty sibling's 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine, albeit around 50bhp lighter here, with 217bhp on tap.

It's far cheaper, too. This Sport Tourer kicks off at £24,245, just £15 more than a five-door GT220.

Is it quick?

The GT220's 7.6-second 0-62mph time is nearly two seconds down on that Trophy-R, but then this is a car with far more equipment and three more seats on board. And its 149mph top speed ain't bad at all.

What's important, though, is that it feels swift, its engine is muscular, easy-going and quite appealing in its soundtrack. Thumbs up too for its satisfying six-speed manual gearbox, the GT220's only transmission option. If only the current RS Clio could run a similar combination.

What else makes it hot?

There are bigger front brake discs than the standard Megane, and unique Renaultsport-fettled suspension. Over rutted urban roads, there's predictable firmness: welcome if you want to know where your money's been spent, less so if you just want to shuffle through town without fuss.

Out on more open, undulating roads, though, the fettling makes more sense. Here's an estate car with uncanny agility and body control. The steering is light and rather free of feel, but that's the case for most modern hot hatches. What matters is that the GT220 is intuitive and very easy to drive briskly.

Where the Renault falls down against its sportier competition - the Ford Focus ST and SEAT Leon Cupra ST, in particular - is its lack of torque management on the front axle. It's simply not as focused as those two, and there's no limited-slip differential or torque vectoring to help you power out of a corner.

You'll find a very hardcore differential on Renaultsport's full-strength Megane, and it's merely evidence that the GT badge used here is for less committed products. If you have seats full of children and a boot full of pushchairs and/or pets, though, that will feel entirely fitting.

Anything else family-friendly?

There's a whole caboodle of standard equipment. Climate control, a reversing camera, satnav, LED running lights and a posh stereo are all on the kit list, which goes someway to justify the Megane costing a smidge more than that friskier Focus ST, which is sparser in equipment.

While this generation of Megane is knocking on a bit now - it was first introduced in 2008 - the interior feels nicely appointed and possesses a bit more character than that Leon Cupra. How successful the Megane's latest facelift has been on the outside is a subjective decision you'll have made yourself.

So should I buy one?

It's a nice car, this, but it has tough competition in the shape of the cheaper Focus and more scintillating Seat. Skoda offers its identically powered, though much more capacious, Octavia vRS estate for a smidge under £25,000, too.

Good as it is, the GT220 Tourer's not a podium finisher in a small but strong class. Peruse a few online outlets, though, and there are new examples with £8000 lopped off. Suddenly its appeal spikes. Tempted?

First drive: BMW M135i

Next steps

Book a test drive

Order a brochure

What's this, then?

The refreshed version of a modern cult: the BMW M135i. When the ugly-but-fast M Performance 1er arrived in late 2012, it sported a unique combination in the hot hatch melting pot: a straight-six engine, rear-wheel drive, and a price tag south of £30,000.

Forum conversation exploded, dealers fought to meet demand, and the likes of the A45 AMG and Golf R had a serious fight on their hands. Boy, did we like this car.

So why has BMW interfered with it?

Calm down, it's only a facelift. From the front, the news is good - the frowning headlights and Halloween pumpkin expression are gone, replaced by a resolved, friendly 3-Series face. Those silver intake surrounds are a bit fussy, but we'll forgive that. Perhaps less successful is the rear, where the old square lights have been junked for BMW's L-shaped units. It's supposed to make the car look wider and more planted, but the shapes are, to these eyes, a tad gloopy.

What about under the skin?

The refreshed M135i has a dash more poke, but it's not especially faster.
Previously, the M135i's 3.0-litre turbocharged six gave away a nominal 6bhp to the M235i two-door, but you can forget the pecking order one-upmanship now. It's history.

The 1er too has graduated to 322bhp, while BMW claims its revisions haven't impacted the manual's 35mpg capability. As is the way, the automatic wins out with a notional 37.7mpg.

What if I want to go heroically sideways?

Then you probably don't value your licence or rear tyres. Still, if hooning's your thing the M135i still isn't the finished article. Partly because it wrenches huge grip from the road thanks to equal weight distribution and its inherent balance, so it needs plenty of provocation. And partly because you get an open rear differential as standard, so the inside rear wheel spins under power in a bend, rather than the whole axle overspeeding to kick the tail out.

If that's a dealbreaker for you, hold fire until the even more powerful BMW M2 coupe arrives late this year...

BMW will supply you, or rather, your dealer with a locking slippy diff to tighten up the M135i's rear axle and improve corner-exit traction (or tomfoolery), but it'll set you back two grand and isn't really necessary, unless you're planning track days or a weekend break at Her Majesty's pleasure. Via Kwik-Fit.

What if I don't want to go heroically sideways?

Move to Europe. Over on the continent, BMW offers a 4x4 M135i xDrive, complete with the sublime eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard, which behaves like a whip-crack dual-clutcher when you're hammering it and slurs its shifts like a chauffeur once you've grown up. For us Brits, you can still spec the slushbox, but it's rear-drive only.

So, you lose a few tenths in the 0-62mph stakes, but rear-drive remains the 1er's USP, and besides, it keeps the car lighter. The engine's power delivery is so linear that traction isn't an issue here unless you're clumsily brutal with the throttle.

Does it sound good?

Ah yes, the soundtrack. A topic of much teeth-gnashing among Beemer-ites of late, following the M4, which sounds like Satan's dustbuster, and the M5, which sounds great if you like Subaru Imprezas. The M135i too uses stereo trickery to enhance its timbre, but it's so well-executed, you'd never know.

For a kick-off, it sounds obviously six-cylindered, in contrast to, say, a VW Golf R, which changes its mind between imitating four, five or six pots at varying revs.

More importantly, the M135i's voice doesn't turn crackly or strained as it hungrily homes in on its 7000rpm redline. The accompanying throttle response is ace for a turbo motor, and it pulls all the way to the cut-out. If you're unenthused by the four-bangers in the Mercedes ‘45 ‘crew and quick Golfs, look no further. Audi's 362bhp five-pot RS3 could be a tougher test...

Grippy, quick, sonorous - what's not to like?

The 1's steering is still a weak spot - the wheel itself is a new M Sport item and streets ahead of the ugly and uncomfortable old wheel, but there's too much assistance and too little feedback from the tyres - the A45 AMG does the ‘feel' thing better despite having to also multitask unruly grunt through its front wheels.

You're also denied the gearshift quality of the best in the pocket rocket business (step forward, Fiesta ST), but that's moot - the shift isn't as notchy as regular BMs, and we're just grateful there's still an option to have three pedals.

Should I buy one?

Yes, accepting it's tiny inside and and no longer quite the sub-£30k bargain. The M135i is now £31,195; add a few oh-go-on-then goodies like widescreen nav and the sublime adaptive dampers and that becomes £34,000. The M135i is easily talented enough to drive to justify that, but it's not good enough at carrying people - the cramped rear will fob plenty off into the roomier Golf R.

Those who stick with the BMW get one of the best driving and sounding hot hatches around. And now it looks a bit happier about it.

First drive: BMW 6-Series

Next steps

Book a test drive

Order a brochure

A new BMW 6-Series?

Well, a facelifted one, though give yourself the rest of the day off if you've spotted the tweaks.

Still here? Then get squinting and note more angular front lights, wider ‘kidney grille' nostrils complete with cool blade-like strakes, and lightly rehashed bumper details. Ultra BMW geeks will salivate over new alloy wheel options and the inclusion of a sports exhaust as standard across the range.

Q-car fans will appreciate the inverse snobbery of the new exhaust set-up - the cosmetic twin oblong outlets house two pipes each, so what you're actually getting is four pipes, masquerading as a subtler two. It actually sounds rather tasty too. But more of that later.

Which 6-Series is this?

We drove the 650i model - the big seller in the 6-Series' heartland US market. As per usual, the numbers stuck to the bootlid bear little resemblance to what's actually under the bonnet: 650i equals a 4.4-litre, twin-turbocharged V8.

BMW's M Division engineers get terribly upset if you refer to it as a detuned M6 engine - the flagship M car enjoys all sorts of juicy bespoke bits like stronger pistons and high-performance turbos left on the parts shelf for this car.

That being said, this 650i is hardly lacking in grunt. Serving up 444bhp (up a hefty 42bhp on the pre-tweak 650i), it's lopped 0.3 seconds off its 0-62mph personal best, now dispatched in an M4-worrying 4.6 seconds. And that remains constant whether you opt for the two-door coupe, the soft-top, or the still-gorgeous four-door Gran Coupe.

Economy has also climbed marginally across the range, to a theoretical 32.9mpg for the hard-tops and 31.7mpg in the cabrio.

So it is fast?

Yes. It's not so much the headline power stats that grab you on the road as the 479lb ft torque output - a mere 22lb ft shy of the regular M6. If you're a wafter not a charger, this powertrain will be right up your alley.

While you can climb up and down the eight-speed automatic gearbox to your heart's content by tapping the alloy paddleshifters, the V8 is so muscular you're best off leaving it mooching along in fifth or sixth gear. Never are you bereft of enough shove to roar past the lowly peasants in their 2- or 4-Series.

Speaking of noise, the coupe offers a muted bellow through its trick new exhaust, but the Convertible is a proper giggle. With the roof neatly retracted in 15 seconds (activated on the move for maximum poseur points) you're privy to an amusing collection of snorts from the turbos and old-school crackling during gearchanges and on the overrun.

How is it to drive?

Predictably, this is no B-road monster. The 650i flipping fast (if you're okay with, ahem, 17mpg), but Six's sheer girth is at least two sizes too big for the sweeping Portugese mountain roads on which we drove the car, yet alone your average crooked British route.

And while the high-speed body control is exemplary for such a boat, that inertia is always lurking, waiting to catch up with the cruel reality of physics. As a payoff for the high-speed composure, the ride's also just a touch busy about town too. Not jarring, but you're just more aware of the surface beneath your tyres than you might hope to be.

Far better to toggle the Dynamic Chassis Control from Sport to Comfort (or the indistinguishable Comfort Plus) and mooch about at middling speeds. The 650i is a true pleasure cruiser, not a speedboat.

Anything else?

A few quick-fire niggles. The cabrio's wind deflector does an ace job of looking after your barnet, but it does prohibit access to the back seats. Then again, the rear seating is good only for children and the vertically challenged. Heads of state look elsewhere.

The interior itself is hardly memorable too - it's nicely finished and as ergonomically resolved as an iPhone, but lacking fizz. You could be in that peasant's 4-Series, almost. Some of the i3 and i8's daring needs to drip into the next 6er if it's to continue justifying a £75,000 tag.

And those natty fully digital dials? Very nice, right up until you drop the top and the sun's reflection obscures your revs, fuel gauge and, ah yes, speed. Sorry, officer.

Should I buy one then?

If you're in the UK, the diesel 640d makes infinitely more sense than the lusty 650i. If you live somewhere where space is as plentiful as oil, then the big petrol will be a much better bet. The (two-seater) Mercedes SL offers the coupe-cabrio double-act in one car, and Maserati's GranTurismo is more seductively styled, and badged but suffers a dated interior.

Which leaves the 6-Series in the same rut it's hovered around since BMW revived the badge - a fine but clinical machine lacking that crucial ‘see one, want one' factor.

Nissan GT-R LM won’t race at Silverstone

Bad news if you're a fan of Nissan's mad new GT-R LM racer - and let's face it, who isn't?

The LMP1 racer has failed a crucial crash test, which means that, due to the vagaries of homologation, it now won't make its racing debut at Silverstone in three weeks' time.

Unfortunately, there's more. The GT-R LM is also unlikely to make it to the starting grid at Spa on 2 May, either, the team focusing all its efforts on getting as much testing done as possible before the main event - Le Mans, on 13-14 June.

There's no way of prettying this up: this is a massive setback. FIA crash test regulations stipulate that there has to be 30 days between homologation being granted and the first race, and since the second crash test won't happen until next week, that simply doesn't leave enough time for the GT-R LM to hit its scheduled competitive debut on the 12 April.

The fix necessary to get the car through the crash test isn't a big one apparently, just a bit of beefing up to the carbon front roll hoop. But it needs time, and that's the one thing Nissan is running out of.

Although homologation should be in time to allow the car to race at Spa, it's understood the team will also miss the second of the eight-round World Endurance Championship (WEC) calendar.

That means the GT-R LM will make its competitive debut at Le Mans. When it has to run flat out for 24 hours. It's a big ask for an unproven - and radically different - racer.

If there's a silver lining to the Nissan's current woes, it's that without the need to travel to both Britain and Belgium for the early races, it can focus on testing, testing, testing. Which might, ironically, give the GT-R LM a better chance at Le Mans...

Nissan's 1250bhp Le Mans racer explained

What's Nissan's LMP1 racer like to drive? TG speaks to Jann Mardenborough

First drive: the new Ford Edge

What's this?

This is the 2015 Ford Edge, a complete next-gen version of the model that was launched in the US back in 2006, then refreshed in 2011. It's built on the same platform that underpins the new Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max, so there's lots of familiar technology from the get go. But the big news is that it's going to join the UK line-up this autumn as a 2016 model.

What's it for?

In the US, the Edge nestles between the Escape (our Kuga) that outsells it three to one and the Explorer SUV that sells twice as many every month. That might make it sound like a marginal model, but it's not - the Edge has sold a solid 10,000 units a month almost since launch. The point is that crossovers of all shapes and sizes are the vehicles of choice in the US - and increasingly the rest of the world, too.

OK, so that's why it's coming here. What's it going to compete with?

More clues again from the US - the Edge has the highest transaction price of any vehicle in its class. So it's generally perceived to be a relatively premium thing. The styling and technology is as important to its customers as its ability to swallow a mall-load of shopping, which it can with ease. Following that lead, rather than competing with Nissans and Hyundais, Ford UK wants to stack the Edge up against premium competitors such as the Audi Q5 and the Volvo XC60.

How does it compare with those two?

Difficult to say for sure at this point as there is going to be a laundry list of changes before it's unleashed on UK shores, but there are some positive signs. It's bigger inside and out than either of the European cars with up to 10cu ft of extra cargo space with the rear seats up. So it feels appreciably roomier and more spacious to drive or ride in.

The chassis has also been tightened up and there's now multi-link suspension at the rear, so road manners are fine. The ride is on the comfortable side, the cabin is well hushed thanks to acoustic glass and a 360-degree engine bay/bonnet seal, and visibility is excellent as you sit quite high in the car. The Edge Sport offered the best control and the most fun, but a large amount of that was down to the 2.7-litre 315bhp twin-turbo V6 engine.

And why's that a problem?

We won't get this engine - or either of the other two all-petrol units, a carryover V6 and a twin-scroll turbocharged 2.0-litre in-line four. UK-bound Edges will be - Ford is still working on the final spec - fitted with one of two turbo-diesel 2.0-litre engines: a 178bhp unit or a slightly meatier 207bhp motor, as per the Mondeo, with which it shares its platform.

Any other obvious changes?

There will be minor styling changes, less chrome and better interior materials in the Euro cars. Plus an extra flash of tech to include stuff like traffic sign recognition, Gen3 collision avoidance, and intelligent speed assistance. The UK cars will also include the first application of an enhanced active parking assistant that can now deal with perpendicular (i.e. side by side) parking as well as parallel (to the kerb). But not the upgraded SYNC 3 central operating system. This ditches the Microsoft package in favour of a QNX box of tricks, which is said to be faster and less complicated.

What's it like to drive?

Easy is a word that springs to mind. The steering wheel is canted forward quite markedly and the dash is low, which can make it feel quite van like. But, with all the glass and slim pillars, it gives great all round vision. We'll have to wait and see what the Euro chassis settings are like, but if they are comparable to the US Sport model, all should be well. It is also sure-footed thanks to a wide stance and active all-wheel drive. Think of it as a bigger, wider Kuga and you'll be about right.

Should I buy one?

If you like the look of it, sure. It's bound to be several grand less to buy and a few bob less a month to lease and it'll be loaded with tech. The HMI of the Audi and Volvo are still a little more premium, but they will be no more reliable. It's not as mould-breaking as the S-Max, nor as suburban as the Kuga. But definitely worth a try.

March 16, 2015

First drive: VW Polo Blue GT

Next steps

Book a test drive

Order a brochure

What's a Blue GT, then?

It's VW's attempt to mate its fuel-sipping Bluemotion technology with the Polo GTI's sportiness. Bluemotion is a badge you're probably more familiar with from the back of lane-hogging Passat diesels, but this smartly appointed little Polo aims to change that.

Smoked headlights and a subtle bodykit echo the GTI, while big-car tech like adaptive cruise control and collision detection is available. And no, you don't have to have it in blue...

I need some numbers.

Prices start at £17,860, making it £1000 cheaper than a Polo GTI. The Blue GT has a smaller, 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine, which is 42bhp lighter, with 148bhp. Its 7.8sec 0-62mph time is a second behind the GTI, then, but its 60.1mpg fuel consumption and £20-a-year tax bill aim to make it far cheaper to run.

Such parsimony is helped along by cylinder deactivation. Two of the TSI engine's four cylinders cut off under lighter throttle loads, such as when you're cruising at sensible motorway speeds. Refinement doesn't dip too much, and you'll struggle to spot the switch initially.

Spend more time with the car and the subtle change to two-pot thrum becomes more perceptible, but it's never offensive. And it actually serves to encourage greener (or should that be bluer?) driving, competitive instinct piqued as you seek to find the sweet spot where good progress can be made on half-power.

How does it drive?

It's a comfortable and capable thing. They probably aren't the exciting buzzwords you'd ask of a hot hatchback, but then this resolutely isn't one, no matter how much of a visual impression it's trying to pull off.

With a supple ride, light, intuitive steering and decent grip levels, it's an easy car in which to make brisk progress, and easier still with the optional DSG paddleshift gearbox. VW's ‘XDS' electronic differential setup helps control power at the driven front axle, though the aggressive, front-end wrenching fun of a proper diff isn't on the menu.

The engine feels as far off the GTI's pace as its numbers suggest, and it's not brimming with character. But it's silky smooth and for those who care about cars, petrol remains infinitely preferable to diesel, especially in a car this small.

That's all quite faint praise.

Yep, and it's reflective of how we feel about this car. It's pleasant - very pleasant, in fact - and if your heart's set on one, there's no chink in its armour significant enough for us to put you off.

But it's hard to escape two things: the cheaper 1.2-litre petrol is very nearly as enjoyable to drive, and with our average consumption failing to top 45mpg, the Polo GTI isn't as far off economically as the official stats portray. This is a Jack-of-all-trades that hasn't really mastered any of them. The Polo is a very good car, but it remains best at the ends of its range rather than the middle.

First drive: the new Ford Edge

What's this?

What's it for?

OK, so that's why it's coming here. What's it going to compete with?

How does it compare with those two?

And why's that a problem?

Any other obvious changes?

What's it like to drive?

Should I buy one?

March 13, 2015

The first 725bhp Mustang has landed

Here's the very first production version of a tuned Mustang that produces more power than a Lamborghini Huracan and punches dangerously close to an Aventador SV. It's called the ‘Rocket'.

It's the brainchild of Galpin Auto Sports, the tuning arm of the largest Ford dealer in the US, designed by Henrik Fisker (the same man who did the Aston DB9, BMW Z8 and Karma), built in conjunction with GFMI Metal Crafters and first unveiled to the world at last year's Los Angeles Motor Show.

The one you see above is the very first production version, revealed at Amelia Island yesterday - where there are many great auctions occurring - and looks positively evil.

You see, GAS has taken the standard, 5.0-litre new Mustang, and strapped a whacking great Whipple supercharger onto its banks. The dial was then turned up to 725bhp; a significant jump from the standard car's 418bhp.

Cast your eyes over the Batman-spec bodywork and you'll notice a minor facelift. There are new headlights, a carbon fibre front splitter and rocker panels, a more aggressive rear diffuser and stealth black 20in alloy wheels.

We're told the exhaust system is also new, coming via Magnaflow, together with suspension componentry from Steeda.

No word on price, but if you want one, best to give Galpin a shout. Reckon the tuner has done a good job here?

Watch how FF7 dropped real cars out of a plane

"We're freefalling at 130 or 140mph... these cars have a mind of their own, they're doing whatever they feel like." So says Luke Aikins, an aerial camera flyer on Fast & Furious 7.

He's one of five camera guys who jumped out of a plane to film actual cars - well, shells - being rolled out of a C-130 cargo plane. Yep, that stunt was real.

In this newly released behind-the-scenes clip from the upcoming Fast & Furious 7 movie, we see how the film makers used an actual cargo plane, actual cars, a helicopter to capture it and some men with cameras freefalling, to capture a rather audacious stunt. That's a lot of metal and flesh in the air, falling together. Wowser.

Have a watch of the clip above, and stay tuned - we'll have much, much more from the new FF7 film coming soon. From a simple drag race in a bright orange Supra, to throwing real cars out of a cargo plane - whatever will they think of next?

March 12, 2015

You have to buy this midget racer

Here is a classic American racing car from the late 1940s, once owned by an American Racing Driver's Club ‘Hall of Famer', since fully restored and up for auction.

It's also really quite excellent. Internet, meet the Kurtis Kraft Midget Racer. We suspect you will immediately need this in your life.

Built in 1948 and originally raced by Ed Bowman, it was subsequently bought by Bobby Albert - the ARDC Hall of Famer - in the late 1970s, who restored it in the shape of the ‘Bulldog Ofy' that Albert drove.

It was purchased from Albert's estate in 2007, and again treated to another full restoration, part of which includes a fully rebuilt 1.6-litre CC Ofenhauser four-pot racing engine with Hilborn fuel injection and around 100bhp.

The Kurtis Kraft will be offered up for auction at Gooding & Co's Amelia Island sale that kicks off tomorrow (13 March) in the States. It's the same auction that will host the sale of the similarly excellent Porsche 911 GT2 we showed you a couple of weeks ago, as well as a number of other cool classics.

Oh, the estimated price of this midget-sized excellence? Between £30k and £43k ($45k-$65k).

Is this the most fun you can have with 8bhp? TG drives two pocket classics

Pics via Gooding & Co

First drive: Morgan Plus 8 Speedster

Next steps

Book a test drive

Order a brochure

Wait: that's a new Morgan?

We'll grant you this appears to be a Morgan from the Malvern company's old school. And next to the fancy new Aero 8, it perhaps looks a generation or two older. But the beauty is in the detail.

See, those archaically styled panels sit atop similar underpinnings to that new car. Morgan's more sophisticated aluminium chassis eschews the need for tree-felling, while a BMW-sourced 4.8-litre V8 engine provides more than ample power to the rear wheels.

How much, exactly?

367bhp. Which in light of the new Audi RS3 and Ford Focus RS, probably doesn't sound a vast amount for a sports car asking of £69,995 before some irresistible bespoke optioning.

But then look closely and assess what you can't see; a windscreen and roof are conspicuous by their absence, as is much beyond heated leather seats in the way of creature comforts. This Plus 8 Speedster is Morgan going all GT3 RS on us, and as a result, this is a V8-powered sports car weighing around 1100kg. That's near Cayman GT4 power in something the weight of a Fiesta.

And try 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds without a windscreen and you'll deem it fast enough. Especially with not a single bit of electric jiggery pokery between its 367 horses and the rear tyres, which on our test car, were some very track-biased Yokohamas. It's the kind of recipe we've not really seen since the heyday of TVR.

Weren't TVRs a bit, er, animalistic to drive?

They certainly were. And unsurprisingly, this Speedster will indulge informed bravery or punish clumsy stupidity in a similarly stark manner.

But there's a far friendlier edge to it. Start getting too greedy with the throttle pedal - and in the light wintry conditions we were ‘blessed' with, that could include fourth-gear half-throttle in a straight line - and you'll receive progressive warning signs from the rear axle. With über-crisp throttle response and feelsome steering, accurate reactions to this are easy.

And with nothing between your ears and the car's key sounds but air, your awareness of its behaviour changes are heightened. You'll also revel in rifling up and down its six gears, the engine's cacophony of pops and crackles supremely addictive and the manual shift (ignore the optional auto, we implore you) providing genuine physical pleasure to your lower arm.

Wow.

Yep. The satisfaction lies in the mechanicals. Based on Morgan's newer chassis, this is a good thing to drive, even if the wheels are somewhat short of travel over bumpy roads. It can't trickle down a challenging road with the ease of an Elise, but then an Elise doesn't have a drivetrain as supreme as this. Pick any gear at just about any speed and this V8 just oozes torque, happy to rev to its limits or easy as pie to stroke effortlessly along. Spec the £1400 side-exit exhausts (you must) and it's one of the finest exemplars of eight-cylinder soundtracks on sale.

There's a cruise control system fitted, and while it may appear completely superfluous in a luxury-stripped Morgan, it becomes rather handy for keeping things sane on the motorway.

The motorway? Surely this is just a B-road and trackday sort of car?

It is, but it's a perfectly comfortable way to travel between those places. So long as you prepare. We survived sub-zero commuting in it, but it required clever use of layers and studious use of a helmet. Suitably wrapped and snuggled in, though, it's a genuinely cosy place to be. And you'll bring ceaseless amusement to those in the cars around you.

£70,000 is a lot.

It certainly is. It's a Cayman GT4 with a few tasty options. Or a used Lamborghini Gallardo. But then neither of those will be anywhere near as beguiling as the Speedster. And neither will win you as many admiring glances or off-the-cuff petrol forecourt conversations.

There are few cars as raucous and anti-socially vocal that we've attracted not a single negative reaction in. And it provides as much, if not more joy for those sat inside. It may be Morgan's silliest car, but it's arguably its best.

Pages

March 31, 2015

March 27, 2015

March 26, 2015

March 25, 2015

March 24, 2015

March 23, 2015

March 20, 2015

March 19, 2015

March 18, 2015

Next steps

March 17, 2015

Next steps

Next steps

Next steps

March 16, 2015

Next steps

March 13, 2015

March 12, 2015

Next steps