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Inside TrackThe online diary by the people behind MSN Cars
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July 25 Harewood hillclimb in the new Grande Punto AbarthPeter Burgess writes from the Fiat Grande Punto Abarth launch:
You can’t beat the roads of Yorkshire for testing out a new hot hatchback, but throw in great weather and the chance to take a car up the world famous Harewood hillclimb and it’s a day to savour. I set off at 9am this morning in a white Grande Punto Abarth from Harrogate for a blast via Otley, Pateley Bridge and West Tanfield on a very roundabout route to Harewood. The Abarth may have ‘just’ 152bhp, which sounds distinctly average next to the 207s, Corsa and Clios, but it’s all very accessible when you tread on the throttle and the turbocharger does its business. You’ll get the full SP next Monday in our full first drive of the car.
But it’s hard to hold back on the Harewood experience. The hillclimb has been there for decades, but recently extended to actually start on a downhill section before winding its tortuous way through tight hairpins and between farm buildings to the very top. The Punto tackles it with confidence, and even though you can’t switch off the ESP stability system, it’s very soft in its application. Drive the hill right and the Punto simply hunkers down, the tyres grip hard and it turns in sharply.
The steering isn’t the best, without much feel even though there is plenty of weight, but you get used to it. Harewood was also the only chance to try the Grande Punto Abarth with the Esseesse pack which adds 30bhp, some lovely white alloys and a set of suspension and brake mods. It’s noticeably faster up the hill, as it should be for another £3.5k, but the experience was over before I knew it, so final judgement on that will have to wait.
Finally, did you know that the Esseesse tuning pack is shipped over from Italy in special Abarth wooden crates for the dealers to fit to your car? Incredible. Peter --- Links: A very quick drive in the Audi TTS
Best in show - Dan's vote!Pics by Matt Farrington-Smith Dan Trent writes: OK, here's the verdict you've really been waiting for. I'd like to think. Now camping out in the boot is one way of making sure you are first in queue for a drive but here I am in the Renault Megane R26.R, the super hardcore take on the R26 - already one of my favourite cars as it stands. There are lots of impressive stats but for me the £22,960 pricetag is one of the most impressive - amazing considering the car's potential.
Another favourite of mine is this - the Aspid. The first time I walked past it I gave it a quick glance and thought 'eugh!' but CJ convinced me to take a second look after getting very excited by the double disc brake system. Yes, we really are that geeky... Anyway, once the shock of the looks subsided I started delving deeper and the combination of Caterham performance and dynamics, amazing build quality and astonishing technology had me stunned. And then I heard about the sub-3sec 0-62 time.
Check out the interior too and the neat F1 style steering wheel with all the controls and dials incorporated into one unit. And if you go to a track you can even download telemetry from a previous lap by a pro driver and it will flash up braking points on the steering wheel for you. Seriously cool. As is the air suspension system, supercharged Honda engine, wing-like doors - OK, I'll shut up now.
Then the Lotus Evora. I'm still not totally sold on the looks but after spending a bit more time on the Lotus stand and chatting with a super keen product guy I'm coming round to it. And whatever you think about the outside just look at the interior. Now that's unlike any Lotus that's gone before. I'm hoping that from behind the wheel it lives up to the promise - I can't wait to find out. Farbio is another car I've got a bit of a soft spot for, this white supercharged GTS looking especially beguiling. And it seems my inclusion of Farbio boss Chris Marsh in an earlier blog has been getting him some attention too. Sorry Chris! So there you go. A bit of a speed freak's guide to the show but you can read about the green cars elsewhere on the site! Dan
July 24 ECOnetic air conditioning day dreamsRIchard Aucock writes:
Looking more closely at the new Ford Fiesta information, something’s surprised us. The ECOnetic, that’s grabbing all the headlines? Well, its £11.845 list price is just attractive as its superb styling. Just one thing. That’s without air con.
A/C is, apparently, a £500 option on the ultra-eco Fiesta – taking it up to £12,345. Which is, as you no doubt know, a fair chunk more than our SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive long-termer. Not a problem – the Fiesta is a much more modern, stylish car than the ageing Ibiza, and its punchy 1.6-litre diesel is likely to be nicer to use, as well. But, we’re intrigued.
See, when the VW Polo Bluemotion was launched, only the model without air con got the famed 99g/km CO2 figure. Models with a/c pushed up to 104g/km – meaning they lost the advantage of free road tax. Somehow (nobody’s still quite sure how), Volkswagen has corrected this anomaly, meaning all Bluemotions now qualify for sub-100g/km status. But has Ford learnt the same trick? Will must-have a/c nudge it up over the 100g/km mark? We’re intrigued, on the case, and finding out as we speak…
Oh, and just one more note. The ECOnetic is the first ultra-small eco car to get a gearshift indicator. Apparently, coupled with the trip computer, Ford’s measured really tangible benefits from drivers equipped with this tech. And the shift lights really are best-advice meters, rather than just cynical rpm-based, fun-stopping gearshift reminders. The man who designed it told us so… therefore, do as it says, for best eco gains! --- Links: British International Motor Show complete coverage On order: Seat Ibiza Ecomotive
Very quick drive in an Audi TTSPeter Burgess writes:
We had an Audi TTS delivered to the office yesterday and being such a beautiful evening I pulled rank and grabbed it overnight. As the picture shows, it’s stunning in this vibrant blue – and it’s equally stunning to drive. With the 2-litre turbo uprated from 200PS in the regular TT to 272PS, there’s everything to like. A quattro chassis makes its appearance in the 2-litre TT for the first time, and the engine/drive train combination is simply awe-inspiring. There’s a pleasing, more meaningful burble to the exhaust system, but what really hits home is the torque. As soon as the engine is on the boil – 2,000rpm upwards – there is such a solid slug of acceleration that it’s pretty pointless taking it anywhere near the read line. Change up at 5,000rpm and there’s another punch in the kidneys a clutch pedal away. Couple all this to never ending levels of grip and it’s hard to imagine much that will topple this TTS on a typical British road trip. But then CJ asked me to guess the price. £30k-ish? Not a chance. The base price is almost £35K and this car is £41k with all the bits. Audi does take the p**s unashamedly. How about £385 for mobile phone preparation. Why isn’t Bluetooth standard? It is on a £130 Sony cd/radio/USB head from Halfords? Boxster S anyone? I am off now to drive the new Fiat Grande Punto Abarth. I am pretty excited about the rejuvenation of the Abarth brand, and hope it pushes Fiat up with BMW and its Cooper derivatives of the Mini. I am driving to Harrogate in a Citroën C5 Tourer diesel, and my plan is to cover the 200 miles at strictly legal motorway speeds to see what economy I can eke out of it. Peter --- Links: For a fast take away try the Corsa VXR 888
Hyundai does the splitsRichard Aucock writes: Well, I’ll be. There’s me, sat in the back of a centrally-hinged Hyundai. Yes, a centrally-hinged Hyundai, that’s been chopped in half. Here is the company’s novel way of demonstrating the i30’s iPod compatibility – and you, dear reader, can get to sit where I sat, too!
The Hyundai PR man told us the idea came from wanting to get a real-life working dashboard, to show how easy it was to plug in iPods and MP3 players. “The plan was to use a pre-production car – these, by law, have to be sent to the crusher, anyway. Then, I thought, why not use the whole front end of the car – how cool would that be? And then, I reckoned, if we were chopping it in half, why not use the other half, too..?”
That’s how it came about; after the Motor Show, Hyundai plans to use it as a dealer demo, too. “The thing is, it still drives.” No! “Yes – there’s a plate in the floor that covers a bolt. Hook it all up, and it goes, under its own steam. Mind you, it does flex a bit more than standard…”
--- Planning it all outRichard Aucock writes: As one Motor Show day ends, another one begins. Just before we were kicked out of the halls, we spotted these guys on the Ford stand, crowding round a colourful piece of paper. What were they looking at? Why, the show floor layout plan, turning the Ford stand from a journo’s paradise into… today’s fleet show special.
Sorry for the blurry image, but I really couldn’t get any closer. Nevertheless, hope it shows the sheer level of intricate planning that goes into everything that you see on the show stands. If it’s there, it’s there for a reason…
--- July 23 Car fans flock to the motor show
Dan Trent writes: After two days in our air conditioned retreat at the British International Motor Show ExCeL is starting to feel like a home from home. And while the relative peace and quiet of the press day on Tuesday was handy for getting round the cars and catching up on the industry goss, now the show is open to the public the atmosphere is really building. And this isn't even the first proper public day - tickets for today's 'VIP preview day' costing quite a bit more.
It's not hard to see which stands are causing all the fuss either. Nissan's GT-R has a constant throng around it, the adjacent simulators the closest most showgoers are going to get to driving the thing - even those who've actually paid a deposit. Patriotic pride seems to be sending a lot of people Jaguar's way too.
The Ford stand is also getting the crowds too, the Fiesta proving very popular and the dramatic Focus RS drawing lots of star struck fast Ford fans. Alfa Romeo's stand is also very well attended, though we suspect it's not just the cars proving popular here...
We'll be expecting another surge soon too, as workers from nearby Canary Wharf - and central London itself - hop on the DLR and take advantage of the cheap 'after work' ticket price of just £5. With the doors open til 9pm there's no reason not to! Dan
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