The Honda Accord 2008!!!
The 2008 model may not look too different to the previous Accord, but under the
surface, it is indeed all-new. The styling isn't a radical departure, but this
car is wider and lower-riding, and it comes with revised petrol engines, a new
diesel, much-modified suspension, improved body rigidity, a thoroughly
overhauled chassis and improved safety features.
Developed to be a more rewarding drive and to feel more upmarket - Honda
engineers have been checking out the likes of the BMW 3-Series, Audi A4 and
Mercedes C-Class in their attempt to get close to the class leaders - the new
Accord is a more expensive car than its predecessor - and it does feel like a
quality product. It is refined, quiet and smooth-riding, with a modernised
cabin, high levels of equipment, gadgets and devices, and well-designed,
comfortable seats.
As before, saloon and Tourer estate bodystyles are on offer. Sadly, the new
Tourer - although now more elegant-looking - is nowhere near as cavernous as the
outgoing model, nor is it as versatile.
Prices start from £19,260 (2.0 ES saloon) with diesels from £21,060 and Tourer
estates from £20,560. Deliveries begin in the UK on 1 June 2008 (saloon) and 1
September (Tourer).
Nissan Murano (2008) Review
The Murano was first launched in the UK in 2005 and,
although fairly accomplished in its own way, hasn't exactly set the car market
alight, selling just over 1,000 units a year.
The new version, due in the UK in October 2008 but already available in the US,
has a new body that maintains the slightly arty feel that made the original
iteration distinctive. A new front end includes a revised grille, lights and
bonnet, with more pronounced wheel arches. At the back, there's a new shape to
the rear window and large LED tail-lights. The interior has also had a makeover.
Mechanically, there have a been a number of other changes, including revisions
to the 3.5-litre V6 that have added 35bhp, taking the power output up to 265bhp,
and torque has also been increased to 248lb-ft. The engine is mated to a second
generation of Nissan's Xtronic CVT (continuously variable transmission)
gearbox.Mechanically, there have a been a number of other changes, including
revisions to the 3.5-litre V6 that have added 35bhp, taking the power output up
to 265bhp, and torque has also been increased to 248lb-ft. The engine is mated
to a second generation of Nissan's Xtronic CVT (continuously variable
transmission) gearbox.
And there's also something of a contradiction at the heart of the Murano: its looks will appeal to fairly trendy, design-conscious metropolitan buyers, but this is exactly the kind of audience that baulks at being thought of as planet-destroyers, so a 3.5-litre V6 engine is likely to be beyond the pale for them.
There's also a caveat to our review: we tested an early
US-spec car, so there's likely to be some fine-tuning done
before it arrives in the UK in the autumn of 2008.
The price is yet to be confirmed, but it's thought that
there will only be a small premium of the £30,190 charged
for the previous iteration.
Range Rover Sport Coupe for sale - finally...
When Land Rover announced the ‘Stormer’ concept back in 2004, it seemed just too ’sport’ a car for A Range Rover. But we were wrong - sort of. The Stormer did make it in to production as the Range Rover Sport. Admittedly, it did lose some of the edge that the Stormer had. And it was only a 4/5 door. Nearly, but not quite.It has been rumoured for some time that Land Rover will eventually launch a ‘Proper’ Stormer, but that now seems somewhat less likely as the LSE Range Rover Sport Coupe is now close to reality, and it’s going to be available in Range Rover Showrooms soon. But there are only going to be 20 available in the UK.
Ferrari California - top up...
They’ve shown it with the top down, because it’s going to look awful when the
top’s up” was the theme of nearly every email and conversation after that piece.
And I thought you all might have a point. There are lots of good-looking cars
that really lose it when the top goes up. But we needn’t have worried. It looks
stunning when the top is in place, as the picture here testifies as with all the
images here, Now I agree that Rosso is the default colour for a Ferrari. But
they are a bit common. So it’s nice to see this picture, just released, in
something different. And in this case it’s a homage to the original California -
Azzurro California blue.
Just 14 seconds to raise or lower the roof makes it as quick as anything else
out there. There’s room in the back for small children (or legless adults) and
more than enough power to keep most of us happy.
BMW X6 - on sale end of May
Now it’s fair to say that I’m not the biggest BMW fan in the world. I’ve
done the BMW bit, and they are, on the whole, very well-sorted drivers cars. But
they’re a bit lacking in soul. And they do unfortunately attract a certain
amount of hostility in the general public. But some of it is justified when you
come across the morons in their M3s driving as if the road was their own
personal Fiefdom. But BMW are pretty good at niches, and the new BMW X6 on sale,
Although based on the underpinnings of the hugely successful X5, the X6 is
radically different. In pictures it seems to be quite a dinky 4×4, but don’t be
fooled. This car is big. It’s longer, wider and lower than the X5, but you still
sit up high, so the 4×4 view out is still there. And it has some very
interesting detailing, not least the dramatically sloping roofline and massive
rear tailgate. This really is a very different looking car. The interior is
beautifully finished but, unlike its sibling the X5, there is no seven seat
option. In fact, the X6 has just four seats. This isn’t a multi-people, all
purpose 4×4. It’s a big, bold coupe on stilts. Now I actually like this car.
It’s big, it’s well finished and it handles. There’s a good range of engines,
and the range-topping 4.8 twin turbo is a good performer, managing the 0-60
sprint in not much more than 5 seconds.
This is a good alternative to the Range Rover Sport or Cayenne. Capable. Worth
having
Toyota Auris
After 40 years of Corollas, even Toyota has had enough. It's been a huge
international success, but the compact family hatch has achieved 32 million
sales without causing much of a quickening of anyone's heartbeat. Most of its
success has been outside of Europe, where Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and the
French manufacturers have done better by offering at least a little pizzazz.
With the Auris, Toyota claims to have designed a car in Europe for Europe. At a
glance it's just another Corolla, but it's actually an all-new car. Toyota has
noticed the drift from regular compact hatchbacks to mini-MPVs like the Ford
C-Max and Renault Scenic, and has responded by making the Auris taller and
roomier than the Corolla, which it replaces, although the Corolla-based Verso
continues in production.
The Auris is available as a five door built at Toyota's UK plant in Burnaston
and a three-door built in Turkey. There are two petrol engines: a 1.4, and a new
1.6 with variable inlet and exhaust valve timing, which is likely to be the big
seller, alongside the 2.0-litre D-4D. There's also an entry-level 1.4-litre
diesel, and the range topper is a 2.2-litre diesel, available with three or five
doors.
There are four trim levels: T2, available with the petrol engines; T3, which
most buyers are likely to go for; T Spirit, which is available with the big
selling engines but only with the five-door body; and the most powerful diesel
model is dubbed T180, with its own specification.
Lexus LS 460
It doesn't seem like 16 years since Lexus changed the way the world thought
about luxury cars.
Until then luxury meant a high-falutin European brand, a Rolls if you could
afford it, or a Merc if you couldn't. Luxury was defined as much in terms of
wood and leather as it was ride and refinement.
And then the LS400 appeared, whisper quiet and smooth as a crown green bowls
lawn, and things were never the same again. Indeed all that stopped it ripping
the heart out of the European luxury car market as surely as it did in the US
was the fact that we're a continent of badge snobs and could not countenance
abandoning our Mercedes, BMWs and Audis for what we knew, at its heart, was a
Toyota in a dinner jacket.
But this LS460, the all-new third generation of Lexus limo, is out to change all
that and you'll know without reading another word that in one critical regard at
least it has an appeal neither of its predecessors could claim: it looks right.
While the LS400 was visually a rather dull imitation of an S-Class Mercedes and
the LS430 one of the most startlingly ugly luxury cars ever conceived, the LS460
uses the same 'L-finesse' design language that makes its IS and GS little
sisters so attractive and distinctive - and is all the better for it. Its lines
flow, its proportions are near perfect and its detailing nicely resolved.
Behind those attractive lines lies probably the most technically sophisticated
car ever to come to market. No car can drive itself but, as we will find out,
sometimes the Lexus makes you wonder. There will be just one engine at launch in
the New Year, an all new 4.6-litre V8, although a more expensive hybrid dubbed
the LS600h will come along in the summer, available with a long or regular
wheelbase.
Jaguar X-Type (2008-) Review...
Seven years in the car business is an eternity - but that's how long
Jaguar's X-Type has been on sale. So when put up against the likes of the
fresh-faced dynamic go-getters from BMW, Audi and Mercedes, the smallest Jag has
the cards well and truly stacked against it.
Instead of eyeing up a nice bungalow in Eastbourne, Jaguar hasn't retired the
old campaigner, but instead opted for the automotive equivalent of calling in
Trinny and Susannah to stave off those tired looks and inject some life back
into their 3-Series rival.
The new updated X-Type boasts almost 500 changes both inside and out, despite
the small Jag still looking pretty much like the car that was first launched
back in 2001. In comes a new mesh grille, revised front and rear bumpers, a
splitter vane (to make the car look wider) new wing mirrors reprofiled side and
sill mouldings and a new roof-mounted antenna pod. Oh, there's also a new Jaguar
badge on the rear boot.
It's also been lowered - apparently to improve its stance - and to herald the
X-Type's sporting intentions.
Is it any better for the changes? We think so, yes. It's not a revolution, but
the upgrades have been sensible. There's also a new auto box to go with the
144bhp 2.2-litre diesel and the interior has been given some new bits and a wash
and brush-up. If you consider the kit, detailed later in this review, the £21
grand starting price is not looking too shabby, and that's before you've even
negotiated a discount.
Jeep Compass Preview...
The Compass is Jeep's first ever front-wheel-drive biased car - although it does come with a 4x4 system, this Jeep is not destined for any off-piste action. Based on the same platform as the Dodge Caliber, the Compass squares up against conventional family cars like the Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf, in much the same way as the Nissan Qashqai
Two engines are offered, a Volkswagen-sourced 138bhp 2.0-litre diesel and a 168bhp 2.4-litre petrol. The diesel comes with a six-speed manual gearbox, and the petrol a five-speed manual or the option of a CVT automatic
Volkswagen Touareg R50 (2008) Review
Here's a simple question: would you shell out just under £61,990 for a
'sporting' VW 4x4 when you could buy an equivalent Porsche Cayenne GTS for
£54,000 or pay for £61,000 for a Range Rover Sport?
If the badge on the front (or back) is important to you, and making a statement
about your wealth is your thing, then this question is a no-brainer. You'll
simply walk by the VW dealership and give the smart-looking R50 nothing more
than a passing glance.
Then again, if you think all that Range Rover and Cayenne nonsense is the
preserve of footballers and jumped-up city bankers, then this might be your
thing.
There is no getting around the fact that the R50 is horrendously expensive: it's
a 4x4 equivalent of the Volkswagen Phaeton - a lot of money for... a Volkwagen.
Sort of undermines the 'Peoples wagon' badge doesn't it?
What you can say about the R50 though is that it's a) terrifically fast and b)
shamelessly bling. To go with the oversized wheelarches, 21" alloys and roof
spoiler is the 5.0-litre V10 TDI used on the lower-specced Touareg Altitude,
with the R50's engine uprated from 309bhp to 343bhp. As well as the power boost
there's an extra 73lb-ft of torque, which means the R50 delivers an alarming
627lb-ft at just 2,000rpm. It may seem like VW is over-egging the omelette but,
y'know, it can tow a Boeing 747, if you like...
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