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Inside TrackThe online diary by the people behind MSN Cars
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July 03 Volvo DRIVe drives onRichard Aucock writes: Volvo doesn’t stand still. No sooner had it launched a 64mpg C30 – and no sooner had MSN Cars put it to the test for 6 months – it then went and previewed an even better one. Add Start/Stop, yield 72mpg and 104g/km, QED.
As I’m the C30 man here, I nipped across to have a shot. You can read my views on it soon… but, while I was there, I managed to collar some Volvo execs. Why had my car become out of date so fast? Seems it’s all down to pride.
‘Volvo has been heavily criticised in Sweden, for producing unenvironmental cars,’ director of CO2 Peter Ewerstrand told me. ‘We know this is unfair – but wanted to prove it, too. Our engineers thus got to work.’ The first result was the original C30 DRIVe – and they haven’t stopped since.
‘We’ve got a 139g/km V70. A 159g/km XC60. And a V50 load-lugger that emits little more CO2 than a Honda Insight.' And reason why Volvo won’t be rushing out a small hybrid Prius rival any time soon. ‘What’s the point? Current cars are just as economical, and somewhat cheaper…’ Ewerstrand even said a 94mpg C30 perhaps isn’t that far away.
Where does that leave today’s range? This is where we were confused – we assumed the DRIVe was getting Start/Stop as an addition. Well, it is… but the non-start-stop version will also be sold. This will be £250 cheaper and average 62.8mpg.
Why Volvo’s doing this, we don’t know. All that extra economy, for just £250 more? You'll save that in fuel costs alone, never mind retained values. In addition, the Start/Stop version also gets our car’s cool rear diffuser and hatch spoiler; the standard DRIVe has to do with just the shiny Libra wind-cheating alloys.
Odd. But, it could make our long-termer a real rarity. DRIVe-look C30, lacking Start/Stop? We’ve known full-on limited editions with a shorter lifespan; what price collectors seeking them out and bidding high in 30 years’ time? Makes me half tempted to leave a time capsule hidden in it somewhere…
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July 02 So GTI, where’s the magic?
Dan Trent writes: Clearly CJ really rather likes the Golf GTI we’ve got in at the moment. Not hard to see why – it is a spectacularly good looking car and turns heads like few others. Not bad for a mere Golf! Criticising it seems almost unfair. I mean, it looks fabulous, goes like stink, handles brilliantly, doesn’t use outrageous amounts of fuel, is comfortable and well built, etc, etc.
And yet I can’t help but find myself pining for the previous Mark 5 version. Maybe the old rose tints are clouding my vision but that car felt just that bit more raw and exciting. Seems weird to moan about a car because it’s too good but the new grown-up GTI seems to have lost something in the transition from Mark 5 to Mark 6. Dan --- Links: --- Share It
July 01 Ibizas in the moonlightcj hubbard writes:
Well, all right – more like Ibizas in the florescent light. I’m currently on the launch of the SEAT Ibizas FR, Cupra and Bocanegra – three hot SEATs, one fun time. They’ve quite a heritage these cars. Especially the Cupra. And so SEAT has collected examples of all the previous versions and plonked them on a patch of grass in the middle of the hotel. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be particularly enamoured of the white original pictured above. It’s a Cupra GTI 16v, which was (apparently – feel free to prove me and the SEAT UK PRs wrong) never sold in the UK. Just check out that interior upholstery amongst the images in the short gallery below.
Full first drive of all three new SEAT Ibizas is coming soon. With 1.4-litre twincharger engines, up to 180hp and standard seven-speed DSG transmissions they ought to be a riot. But are they? --- Links: Official: sleek new SEAT Ibiza ---
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Panamera is up the creek without paddles Dan Trent writes: I’ve been back in Germany again, this time to drive the Mercedes E63 AMG – the latest in a long line of V8 powered mega Mercs and an interesting comparison with the Porsche Panamera I was driving last week.
Anyway, like the Panamera the Merc has a seven-speed gearbox, even if it works in a completely different way. At least AMG has opted for proper paddle shifters – big, aluminium jobs engraved ‘up’ on the right and ‘down’ on the left. Easy, right?
So why does Porsche still persist with the confusing two-way shifters for the PDK gearbox? At dinner on the Panamera launch we put this to a Porsche drivetrain engineer he sighed with weary resignation. It seems we journos all get very excited about this and moan incessantly about the buttons. Owners, on the other hand, are apparently happy with them – a clear case of differing opinions between those who write about cars and those who actually go out and buy them.
But will Porsche relent and go for the one up, one down system everyone else seems to have settled on? Don’t hold your breath, though our man did concede it might be offered as an option one day. In the meantime tuners like Gemballa will sell you a paddle-equipped wheel for your PDK Porsche
Nice to know somebody is listening! Dan --- Links: Mercedes SL63 AMG video roadtest --- Share It
June 30 Flat out in the Panamera
Dan Trent writes: The Porsche Panamera Turbo will, its makers claim, do 0-62mph in four seconds dead with the Sports Chrono pack and run out to 188mph. Not bad for a luxurious four-seater coupe weighing not far off two tonnes. Will it though? Only one way to find out… God bless the Autobahn eh? And the novelty of being able, legally, to drive at speeds that would see you locked up back home never wears off. For the record we did see an indicated 300km/h – just 2mph short of the 188mph official maximum – but, dur, the camera wasn’t running. So you’ll just have to trust me on that one. There’s so much technology on this car too, like air suspension that lowers the car by a massive 25mm in its sportiest setting. And this awesome folding rear wing that pops out above 56mph and then adjusts in two further stages at 100mph and 127mph. This being a Turbo you get an even fancier, expandable version:
My personal preference? Well the Turbo is awesome. But – and the Porsche people are going to hate me for this – my favourite was this Panamera S on 20-inch wheels with PCCB ceramic brakes and a manual gearbox in place of the PDK double-clutch transmission the PR people wanted us to concentrate on. I got the impression the Porsche PR team realise that if they let hacks drive a manual car they’ll usually witter on about how great it is and how much more involving it is to drive when in fact most customers couldn’t give a stuff and will tick the box that says Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe. Fair play to them – Porsche’s double-clutch gearbox is one of the best in the business, not to mention the one with the best name.
Reminds me of a drive in a manual Cayenne GTS on the launch. I’m no fan of the Cayenne but I had such a hoot driving it I almost renounced every bad word I’d ever written about the thing. In my giddy overexcitement I asked the PR guy how many manuals Porsche has sold. ‘About 33,’ he said. What, per cent? ‘No, 33…’ No doubt Porsche is expecting a similar take up on the Panamera. Dan --- Links: --- Share It
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