Honda’s first production petrol-hybrid, the Insight, made its appearance here 10 years ago to motoring journalists and a small bunch of earth-loving folk. It was a mini celebrity of sorts. After all, few have seen an electric-petrol car in the metal, save for those who were at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show and saw the Honda J-VX concept.
This subcompact hatchback, which measures less than 4m long and weighs a scant 838kg, was the first Honda to feature its proprietary Integrated Motor Assist system. This is basically a clever electrical motor that adds 13bhp to the 70bhp produced by the 1-litre, 3-cylinder engine, and charges a series of commercial grade D-size nickel-metal hydride batteries behind the seats. +Continue Reading
It was extremely pleasant to drive, with more than adequate performance in city driving and a range of approximately 160km. Its only problem, like all pure electric vehicles, is that each re-fueling duration is six to eight hours, a far cry from the 10 minutes or so for a normal vehicle.
Despite great strides in battery technology, especially over the last three decades, the energy storage density of the best of its kind is still no match for the internal combustion engine’s liquid fuel. +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.
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
This subcompact hatchback, which measures less than 4m long and weighs a scant 838kg, was the first Honda to feature its proprietary Integrated Motor Assist system. This is basically a clever electrical motor that adds 13bhp to the 70bhp produced by the 1-litre, 3-cylinder engine, and charges a series of commercial grade D-size nickel-metal hydride batteries behind the seats. +Continue Reading
