Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
The Legacy has always been a key model in the Subaru family. Over the past 20 years, 3.6 million have been sold. Besides sheer numbers, it has also been instrumental in raising the overall image of the marque.
It was the Legacy RS that led Subaru’s foray into the World Rally Championship. Though a first-timer, the car did remarkably well and the lessons learnt were put to good use when Subaru came up with the Impreza WRX. The WRX is one of the most successful cars in the history of the WRC series. +Continue Reading
Every time a new E-Class comes to town; the birds stop chirping and the car jungle notices. Few cars can match its influence and reputation. The last time that happened was more than half a decade ago, when the W211 generation car came along. Between its quad oval headlamps and the flowing silhouette, Mercedes created a beauty.
Seven years on, Mercedes comes out with this. Known internally as the W212, it’s a sedan that looks like it was drawn with an Etch A Sketch. Instead of subtly evolving the Wall’s design, Mercedes went off tangent. The old car’s smooth lines have been hacked into hard angles, the pretty oval headlamps have been chiselled into a rhombus shape. The E-Class is Mercedes-Benz’s biggest seller, sold to the most conservative of buyers. It is its golden goose. The risks of breaking from the mould are enormous, arguably greater than the time BMW roiled out its Bangled 7 Series.
Obviously, signing off the W212 this way was by no means a casual decision. To get an idea of where it is going, we must consider the car alongside its predecessor. Cue the W211. The irony is that it’s the delicate and pretty W211 that’s the oddball in the brand’s tradition. Merc 4-doors were always known for their image of vault-like solidity and chunky design. +Continue Reading
On the surface, the Z4 sDrive23i looks like a typical watered-down entry-level model. Compared to the sDrive35i, it has no iDrive, its electric seats don’t have adjustments for the lumbar support and its suspension cannot be tweaked on the fly.
There’s less fire under its belly, too. But BMW didn’t just pop up in a smaller engine than the one in the 35i. The naturally aspirated 2.5-litre engine in question has been tuned to make 204bhp instead of the full 218bhp when applied to the 325i. But for a car that’s chasing after the crowd attracted to the Merc SLK200, BMW is still offering a lot – both in terms of power and equipment level. There’s real substance to be more than a Z4 for cheap (it’s relative). The 23i uses a conventional 6-speed automatic instead of the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT) in the 35i. If nothing else, the automatic is proof that you don’t need the newfangled DCT to have fun. +Continue Reading
Equipment level remains very high, with powered adjustments for everything – keyless entry and engine start, as well as the thoughtful auto hold feature. The seats are wrapped in a mix of leather and alcantara, something associated with far more premium cars. What has changed for the updates is the instrument cluster and steering wheel. The dials are taken from the Passat CC, the most handsome-looking thing to ever wear the Passat name. The steering comes from the latest Golf.
It takes more than a new tiller and a fascia to justify a review here, of course. More significant is the arrival of the 7-speed dual clutch transmission (DSG in VW-speak) for the 1.8-litre engine. The usual strengths of the 7-speed DSG over the 6-speed automatic apply. It feels more direct, gives better economy (claims 15% less under the urban driving cycle) and delivers improved acceleration (half a second quicker to 100km/h). Not quite so good is how the dry-clutch DSG doesn’t work as well in low speed situations as the traditional automatic, it hesitates. But the gain in efficiency over the already quite good automatic has the effect of making the 160 horses from the engine feel that much stronger. +Continue Reading
Now, if Volkswagen is the people’s car, then Skoda, which comes under the Volkswagen Group, should be the people’s VW. Coming from the ex-Communists Czech Republic, Skoda is tasked to be the most accessible brand under the group, representing such egalitarian virtues as honesty and value. With Volkswagen nudging itself upmarket, Skoda’s positioning seems perfectly sound and appealing.
The proposition is perhaps best illustrated by the Octavia vRS. First launched in early 2008, the car’s underpinnings can be traced to the Volkswagen Golf. Its 2-litre engine is turbocharged like the Golf GTI’s. For 2009, the vRS picked up one other GTI-esque ingredient: the dual-clutch transmission. It replaces the 6-speed manual. +Continue Reading
Despite being the biggest sports utility vehicle in our roads, the Audi Q7 hasn’t been noticed and has generally been flying under the radar in the three years it’s been around. To address this, it’s just been given a visual fillip. The facelift is a subtle one, with the addition of Audi’s now-customary look-at-me daytime running lights in the headlamps. The indicator lamps and some bits of the tail lamps now feature LED.
Perhaps more significantly, equipment level is up and all Q7s come with gigantic 20-inch wheels, along with an S-Line body kit, all to sharpen the Q7’s looks and reduce its hulking mien, although it’s still not svelte by any means. There aren’t any major changes inside either – just the judicious addition of some chrome bits and improved MMI graphics. Otherwise, the cabin ambience and layout remain as before: unadventurously styled but cohesive. The Q7 remains the big, comfy all-purpose luxury liner that it has always been. It’s considerably bigger than the SUV norm (it’s up there in A8 territory length-wise). +Continue Reading
The Legacy has always been a key model in the Subaru family. Over the past 20 years, 3.6 million have been sold. Besides sheer numbers, it has also been instrumental in raising the overall image of the marque.
