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Road Test: Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTec Hybrid

Posted by Alex Bale Thursday, February 21, 2013

Price as tested: €52,200

+ Smooth, efficient, seamless hybrid system, classy, comfy
– Very little really
= Merc's first on-sale hybrid is a cracker, right up with the Lexus GS450h

The problem with hybrids is that they never work. Hmmm. That last statement may need a bit of explaining and context. OK, here goes; the problem with hybrids is not precisely that they don’t work (clearly they do, as they go, stop and steer) but that they never seem to work quite as well as you want them to. Hybrids are very clever, very good for lowering your official emissions figure and therefore your annual motor tax bill and very good for making you feel like you’re doing your bit for the environment. What they tend not to be very good at is returning anything like their claimed fuel consumption figures in real-world driving.

Partly, that’s a weight issue. All those batteries and electric motors add mass and complication to a car and the inertia of that mass has to be overcome every time you accelerate. Partly, it’s a driving style thing. To get the best economy out of a hybrid (or any car for that matter) you just have to drive like a saint, or as if a baby panda has taken up residence under your throttle pedal.

So it was that I came to the Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTec Hybrid expecting to be disappointed. And yet, it had a surprise for me. It may have a long-winded name but actually, the E300 is one of the more simple hybrids around. It’s not expected to do duty as a pure-electric vehicle for anything other than short bursts, so its weight and complication are kept to a minimum. In fact, the E300 weighs just 110kg more than the standard E250 CDI diesel upon which it is based. That makes it only the third diesel hybrid car to go on sale (following on from the French pair of Peugeot 3008 Hy4 and Citroen DS5 Hy4) and, I’d argue, the most successful yet.

Instead of a massive stack of batteries eating into boot and cabin space and pushing up the kerb weight, the E300 has a smaller 19kW lithium-ion battery that’s actually packaged within the engine bay. That feeds a 27bhp electric motor which is neatly packaged within the existing casing of the seven-speed 7G-Tronic automatic gearbox. The idea behind all this extra gubbins is to give the E300 the power and grunt of a big V6 diesel while retaining the economy and emissions performance of a smaller-capacity four-cylinder engine.

And, on paper, it works rather brilliantly. A standard E250 CDI diesel, with a manual gearbox, returns Co2 emissions of 130g/km, giving you an annual road tax bill of €270. An E300 BlueTec does 109g/km, depending on which size of alloy wheel you spec it with. That means you’ll pay just €190 a year to tax it. Perhaps not the biggest consideration for someone spending north of €50k on a new Mercedes, but nice to know all the same.

Speaking of the price tag, there’s a major benefit there too. A very basic E250 CDI, with an optional automatic gearbox, in Classic trim, costs €51,665. An E300 BlueTec in the same trim, but with a standard automatic gearbox, costs €52,200, which seems like not a major extra expense. But wait, it gets better. A regular E300 CDI V6 diesel, to which a BlueTec Hybrid is more or less comparable in terms of performance, costs €64,160 and costs €390 a year to tax. This whole hybrid thing is looking pretty good.

Of course, this is the point where a hybrid’s on-paper performance tends to fall down and disappoint. But actually, the E300 BlueTec rises the the challenge quite well.

I think the key here is the gearbox. Hybrids tend to have very annoying gearboxes, whether it’s the CVT in a Prius that lets the engine rev and roar annoyingly any time you ask for a bit of acceleration, or the EGS gearbox in the Citroen or Peugeot cars which seems to pause for a long and deep thought between every ratio. The Merc’s conventional wet-clutch automatic transmission is a revelation in this respect. You ask for acceleration; you get some. You back off and cruise, and everything goes quiet again. Gear changes are done without fuss, noise or pause. In hybrid terms, it’s an unusually lovely experience.

It’s a very refined powertrain as well. You’ll most likely start off in electric mode, and considering how small the battery is, you’ll go for a surprising distance before the diesel engine kicks in. When it does, you’ll know all about it as there’s little or no hope of entirely disguising the noise of a DERV engine firing up from a cold start, but once everything warms up, it’s a very smooth, refined unit. What will also surprise you is how often, in motorway and main road cruising, the engine shuts down and the electric motor takes over. Known as sailing, this effect can dramatically cut your long-range driving fuel consumption.

Ah yes, the dreaded question of fuel consumption. Mercedes quotes an average consumption figure of 4.3-litres per 100km, or 65mpg. Will you be surprised if I tell you we didn’t manage to match that? Of course not, but if an average of 6.0-litres per 100km on our brief test drive (47mpg) seems like the traditional hybrid disappointment, then perhaps it shouldn’t be. For a start, from an engine with more power and grunt (590Nm) than the standard E250 CDI, that’s a match for the conventional diesel’s fuel consumption, and on top of which, I reckon you’d easily get the E300 to average around 5.0l/100km without too much effort.

There’s not much point in pronouncing on the handling and ride, as our test car was the outgoing-shape E-Class, and there’s a new, sexier-looking E, with tweaked and improved suspension arriving any time soon. Suffice to say that like almost all E-Class models that have come before, what it loses to rivals like the BMW 5 Series in terms of outright precision, it makes up for in terms of comfort and quietness.

No, the E300 BlueTec isn’t going to save the planet, the wales or the endangered salamander, and nor thankfully does it claim to. It is, instead, a well-engineered, good to drive car with a distinctly well-thought-out hybrid transmission installation that will save you money on fuel and tax, relative to other, similar cars. And it’s one of the first hybrids we’ve ever driven that’s not a disappointment.

Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTec Hybrid 
Price as tested: €52,200 
Capacity: 2,143cc
 Power: 201bhp + 27bhp electric motor 
Torque: 590Nm combined 
Top speed: 250kmh
 0-100kmh: 7.8sec 
Economy: 4.3l-100km (65mpg) 
CO2 emissions: 109g/km 
Road Tax Band: A3. €190
 Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 86% adult, 77% child, 59% pedestrian, 86% safety assist.

Road Test: Audi A3 2.0 TDI 150 Sport

Posted by Alex Bale Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Price as tested: €40,733

+ Sexy looks inside and out, quality, image, badge, refinement, engine
– Not sporty enough to drive, cramped rear seats
= As classy and desirable as it ever was

There is a checklist of qualities that you can bring to a road test of pretty much any new Audi, and almost every model in the range will quickly have a full complement of tick marks. Handsome good looks? Check. Beautiful, and beautifully made interior? Check and check. Frugal engine? Check. And a chassis that falls on just the wrong side of the line marked ‘entertaining?’ Um, yeah, check.

So, does the new A3 hatchback fill in the check list blanks? Yup, every single one. Dubliner David Caffrey, who holds a starring role in Audi’s design studio, is the man behind those George-Clooney-good-looks, and while the A3 doesn’t do much to separate itself from its predecessor (or indeed from most of the rest of the Audi range) it’s undeniably good looking and desirable.

That’s a story that gets even better on the inside. Audi has long been considered the one and true master of car cabin design and execution and with the new A3 the Ingolstadt meister is truly playing at the top of its game. Considering that the A3 is a (relatively) affordable model within the Audi range, the interior style is even more impressive. From the way the ultra-thin sat-nav and infotainment screen rises from the dash top, to the lovely twist and click motion of the air vents to the wonderfully comfortable seats, this is a class act that makes most rivals look clueless. Quite apart from the clear instruments and the lustrous levels of quality, there are the little touches. Check out the circular air vents. Pull out the little knob in the centre of the vent, and the air flow switches to a radial pattern that distributes air evenly around the cabin. Push it in again and the flow switches to a more direct pattern for when you just want to get cold or hot air to your face. Brilliant.

The cabin isn’t flawless though. The biggest problem is simply a lack of space in the rear seats. I know that the A3 is only a three-door, and that a more spacious five-door Sportback version has just arrived on these shores but still – the A3 is a car pitched at upwardly mobile families as much as it is at trendy singletons, so the fact that having my 2-year old in his car seat behind me made me crank my seat uncomfortably far forward is a pretty poor performance.

Under the bonnet, the performance is rather more rounded. Yes, most customers will go for the more frugal and affordable 105bhp 1.6-litre TDI diesel engine, but our test car came with the gruntier 150bhp 2.0-litre TDI diesel – an engine somewhat more befitting of the company that brought us the original Quattro and the bewitching R8 supercar. You may be aware that for the past decade Audi has been crushing every rival at the legendary Le Mans 24hrs race with an unbeatable squadron of diesel-powered racing cars that are not only more frugal than the opposition but more powerful too. That’s the kind of patth the A3’s 2.0-litre engine treads. Not only does it provide invigorating motive thump (100kmh comes up in a GTI-esque 8.6secs) but it can return a genuine 55mpg and its 109g/km Co2 emissions puts it in the new Band A3 for road tax, with an annual bill of €190. That’s little short of amazing performance and the fact that it does it in such a quiet, refined fashion is just the cherry on top.

Which makes it all the sadder that the A3 just can’t quite provide a truly engaging dynamic performance. It’s a long-standing Audi issue, but it remains true that the cross-town rivals from Bavaria, BMW, invariably give more to the driver. The perspective only of the committed enthusiast? True, but then if you’re not bothered about how it drives then why are you shelling out all the extra on a premium brand? There’s nothing wrong with the way the A3 drives – its steering is nicely weighted, its ride just the right amount of firm, its grip levels unimpeachable – but the final spark of enjoyment is missing. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but it is.

That fact makes the A3’s price list an uncomfortable read. Our test car, in Sport trim, carries a price tag of €31,500 which the options on our car (including leather and Alcantara seats, sat-nav, 18” alloys, climate control and parking sensors among others) pushed to north of €40,000. That’s a hefty price for a compact car and one made an even tougher sell by the fact that Volkswagen’s hugely impressive new Golf is now on sale, offering an even better driving experience and similar levels of quality for a lot less cash.

That said, the A3 is impressive and I have no doubt that it will find many firm fans amongst those willing to spend extra on a shinier badge. And hey, how many expensive German cars can truly claim Irish heritage?

Audi A3 2.0 TDI 150 Sport
Price as tested: €40,733
Price range: €25,100 to €39,820
Capacity: 1,968cc
Power: 150bhp
Torque: 320Nm
Top speed: 216kmh
0-100kmh: 8.6sec
Economy: 4.1l-100km (68mpg)
CO2 emissions: 109g/km
Road Tax Band: A3. €190
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 95% adult, 87% child, 74% pedestrian, 86% safety assist.

Road Test: Opel Mokka 1.7 CDTI SE

Posted by Alex Bale Thursday, February 7, 2013

Price as tested: €26,495

+ Styling, handling, quality
– Noisy & outdated engine, tight rear seats and boot
= Firmly underscores Opel's premium ambitions

Opel really needs a hit right now. The company has lost no less than €17-billion in the past decade and a half and while its paymasters at General Motors in Detroit have stuck with Opel through thick and (very) thin, patience is running low. So, with minimal surprise, Opel is having a crack at the fastest-growing segment in European motoring. At a time when the market for cars in Europe as a whole is either stalling or falling, SUVs, especially of the small and efficient variety, are charging ahead, taking buyers out of conventional hatchbacks and saloons. Score a hit here, and it will lift Opel as a whole.

No pressure then, but the Mokka gets of to a good start by looking really, really good. With the sporty bodykit fitted to our SE-spec test car, you could even accuse it of looking over-styled, but it succeeds where its key rival, the Nissan Juke, fails; it’s looks distinctive and exciting without being actively ugly.

Inside too, the styling is a success. Now, the brown, brown and beige colour scheme of our test car was, it must be admitted, a tad eye-watering and most conservative Irish customers will stick to plain old black, thanks very much. But if Opel is serious about its ambitions to break into the premium car market, then the Mokka’s cabin at least makes that ambition start to look realistic. Although it basically pinches existing parts and styling from the likes of the Astra and Insignia, it’s an especially successful casserole of parts, and the levels of quality seem to be very high. OK, so the fact that our car was an SE model, which came with leather seats and steering wheel (both of which were heated) and a bevvy of options such as Sat Nav, Bluetooth and more doubtless lifted the ambience, but the basic structure, design and quality are what really shone through.

It’s a shame then that as soon as you turn the key, some of that premium sheen is dispelled. Opel’s 1.7-litre CDTI diesel engine is both efficient (in terms of its economy and Co2 emissions) and powerful (130bhp and 300Nm of torque make the Mokka feel pretty peppy) but the noise and vibration are distinctly old-school. The engine’s basic design dates back to an early-nineties Isuzu unit and it shows, badly. It shakes the whole car on start-up, clatters noisily until you reach a steady cruising speed and has a bad habit of stalling on a light throttle around town. Opel is working on a brand-new 1.6-litre diesel to replace this engine (it makes its debut later this year in the facelifted Insignia saloon) and, frankly, it can’t come soon enough. Mind you, even given all that, the 1.7’s 65mpg potential and 120g/km Co2 rating (€200 a year road tax) are enough to make it still the engine of choice, and at least that punchy mid-range grunt is pleasing.

So too is the Mokka’s dynamic performance. This is an SUV that is actually fun and engaging to drive. The steering is nicely balanced and weighted and you can fling the Mokka through corners with enjoyable abandon. The only mark against the chassis is the fact that the sort of short, sharp, numerous bumps that so afflict our roads can make the Mokka feel a bit too bouncy and skippy, reminding you that underneath is a pretty simply-engineered Corsa chassis.

We do have some concerns over the practicality of the Mokka though. A 356-litre boot sounds pretty good on paper, but in reality it’s just never quite big enough. Many of these cars will be bought by growing families, and a big, three-wheeled buggy is almost enough to overwhelm to boot space. Likewise, space in the back seats is a touch too tight. It’s actually better for tall-ish adults, able to squeeze their knees into the cutouts in the backs of the front seats, but for younger children, perched up and forward in bulky child car seats, space is on the tight side and parents will find themselves cranking their seats forward, taxi-driver-style, to keep the younglings happy.

While all that makes the Mokka sound like a bit too much of a mixed bag, we actually came away from the car quite liking it. Its style and genuine premium-quality feel are very appealing, and it will eventually get the new, smoother diesel engine it deserves. If the likes of the Skoda Yeti has the Mokka beat for cabin and boot space, then at least the Opel can hit back with swaggering style, a quality not to be underestimated in this part of the market.

The €64-million question of whether it will be a hit, or a big enough hit, for Opel will remain unanswered for now, but what’s not in question is that Opel’s first foray into the compact SUV world is well-judged.

Facts & Figures
Opel Mokka 1.7 CDTI SE
Price as tested: €26,495
Range price: €19,995 to €29,495
Capacity: 1,686cc
Power: 130bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Top speed: 187kmh
0-100kmh: 10.5sec
Economy: 4.5l-100km (64mpg)
CO2 emissions: 120g/km
VRT Band: A4. €200 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 96% adult, 90% child, 67% pedestrian, 100% safety assist

News: Updated Kia Sorento goes on sale

Posted by Alex Bale Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The new 2013 Kia Sorento goes on sale in Ireland this week .Powered by an improved and more economical 2.2 197bhp diesel engine both trim levels available Ireland will be fitted with All Wheel Drive as standard. The Sorento is a 7-seater with the EX model priced at €37,990 and the Platinum model at € 41,790. Astonishingly, given the similar looks to the model that came out in 2010, it's all-new from the ground up.

The EX entry level model features AWD as standard and also comes with a generous level of comfort and safety equipment .Standard on the EX are 17” Alloys, roof rack, parking sensors, climate control front, manual heating/air con in the rear and Bluetooth .

The major spec differences on Platinum are Panoramic Sunroof, Leather Upholstery with Heated front seats, driver’s seat with 6 way power adjustment, rain sensor, rear privacy glass, reversing camera and HID headlights.

The upgraded Kia Sorento SUV incorporates significant changes, including a re-engineered body shell, an improved R2.2.diesel engine for better fuel economy with lower emissions, improved ride, handling and refinement, additional high-tech convenience and safety features, plus a fresh, new look for the exterior.

“During the last decade, Sorento has earned widespread regard with Irish and European drivers . Kia has listened to customers all over Europe and our engineering and design teams have responded in creating the upgraded Sorento, The result is a new Kia model which is not just a cosmetic exercise but represents a major step forwards for our popular SUV which is sure to bring back existing Sorento customers and competitive owners who are becoming increasingly aware of the design ,engineering and quality that Kia offers “ , commented James Brooks Managing Director of Kia Motors Ireland.

“On a more practical level we are delighted to be offering a D segment 7 seater SUV that comes with AWD drive as standard at a very competitive price, unlike our major competitor in this segment where AWD is only available on higher trim models “ added Mr.Brooks .

To give the upgraded Sorento a fresh look that reflected the new model’s stronger structure, premium quality and enhanced specification, Kia’s design team restyled the upgraded vehicle’s front and rear, creating larger areas of body-colour surface. Careful attention to surface detailing cut aerodynamic drag to Cd 0.34.

Kia’s designers developed new front and rear bumpers with unconventional upright fog lights, a new front grille and headlamps with LED positioning lights, and a new tailgate with reshaped LED combination lamps. Depending on model, the Sorento’s updated styling can be completed with 17-inch, 18-inch or new, optional 19-inch alloy wheels.

A new two-part glass panoramic sunroof with a single powered roller-blind shade will be available.

Inside the upgraded Sorento’s cabin, numerous enhancements create a refreshed ambience, with premium high-tech equipment available on some models and an extended choice of options

Access to the cabin is improved by the lower ride height (down by 10 mm), and the cabin floor has also been lowered, increasing legroom by 30 mm (second row) and 9 mm (third row).

Kia’s engineers have implemented a host of measures to reduce NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) to ensure that the upgraded Sorento boasts even greater refinement than the previous model, making it one of the quietest vehicles in its class.

In the upgraded Sorento, the 2.2-litre, 197bhp TCI (turbo charged inter-cooler) engine features a new exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system which reduces CO2 emissions by 14% – down to as little as 155 g/km. Maximum torque is 436 Nm (automatic models) and 421 Nm (manual). The reduction in CO2 emissions from 171 to 155 brings the new Sorento into the C band for Irish customers with road tax of just €390 per year .

Every upgraded Sorento model will feature a manual or automatic six-speed transmission carried over from the previous model

The 4WD drivetrain is an ‘on demand’ system that delivers 100% of engine torque to the front wheels during all routine city and highway driving. Whenever a front wheel loses grip a percentage of torque (up to 50%) is automatically transferred to the rear wheels. In severely slippery conditions the driver can select ‘Lock Mode’ which delivers 50% of torque to both the front and rear axles.

Kia chassis engineers worked hard to ensure that while the upgraded Sorento gives rewarding responses to driver inputs, it also delivers a sophisticated ride/handling balance to rival the best vehicles in its class.

While the basic specification of the suspension is unchanged – front MacPherson struts and a multi-link set up at the rear – the subframes which support the suspension are completely new, stronger designs. They give more precise location of the suspension components and have revised mounting bushes to dampen vibrations. Larger suspension bushes, longer trailing arms at the rear and HPD (High Performance Dampers) work together to improve ride comfort and stability.

For precise vehicle control and good ‘feel’ the upgraded Sorento’s steering is now more direct, with 2.95 turns of the wheel lock-to-lock. Kia’s new FlexSteer™ system is an option, providing Normal, Sport and Comfort modes with three different weights to match customer preference.

When it was introduced in 2009, the second-generation Sorento was awarded a 5-Star Euro NCAP safety rating. Today, official crash test standards in Europe are much tougher and Kia engineers re-visited the upgraded Sorento’s structure and safety equipment to ensure that the new model will also win the accolade of a top safety score in Europe’s Euro NCAP and the USA’s official NHTSA crash tests.

Extensive revisions to the body shell, which already incorporates a higher percentage (70.4%) of high-tensile strength steel than most vehicles in its class, have improved front, side and rear impact protection. Hot stamping is used to heat steel to 900º C and press immensely strong components for the front bumper, centre floor member and rear floor side members – improving crashworthiness.

A bracing bar between the top of the front suspension towers is fitted and the bodyshell’s torsional rigidity has been raised by 18%, enhancing refinement and creating a stronger foundation for the suspension and steering, which benefits ride comfort and directional stability.

Inside, the upgraded Sorento are fitted with up to six front, side and curtain airbags, while for maximum stopping power, all upgraded Sorento models are equipped with larger diameter (320 mm) ventilated front disc brakes.

All upgraded Sorentos will be fitted with an AHS (active hood system) which raises the trailing edge of the hood during a collision to reduce the severity of pedestrian injury. Also standard on the new Sorento are active safety technologies including ESC (electronic stability control), VSM (vehicle stability management), and HAC (hill-start assist control), which prevents slip-back during stop-start driving on inclines.

News: Citroen C3 Picasso gets updated

Posted by Alex Bale Thursday, January 31, 2013

One of our favourite cars, the Citroen CS Picasso (check out our recent long term test HERE) is getting an update and freshen up for 2013, but sad to say, there's a small note of disappointment in the news.

On the outside, the C3 Picasso is, frankly, looking better than ever, with a revised front bumper and the latest Citroën chevrons; together with the addition of LED daytime running lights for a fresh new look as standard on VTR+ models. Two striking new body colours are also introduced; Ink Blue and Pearlescent White.

Inside, little has changed overall but there is a new trim called Mistral ‘Mixou’ cloth, which is specified as standard on the VTR+ model. An electro-chrome rear view mirror is now included in C3 Picasso’s Automatic Pack option at no extra charge and there are new 16” ‘Blade’ alloy wheels as standard on the VTR+ version.

As before, the the Special Edition C3 Picasso CODE comes with an array of additional equipment; including striking black or white ‘Clover’ 17" alloy wheels, panoramic sunroof, chrome door mirrors and roof bars; for a great value step-up cost of just €500. That's the model we had on our long term test and we'd unreservedly recommend it.

But there is a faint disappointment in the engine department. In the UK, the Picasso now comes with an updated 115bhp 1.6 diesel engine, while we just get the old 90bhp version – hardly the quickest thing around. Still, the 115bhp version would bump up both the price and the Co2 ratings, so perhaps we should be thankful for small mercies.

Prices start from €20,995 for the VTR+ model and €21,495 for the Code.

Road Test: Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDI Elegance

Posted by Alex Bale Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Price as tested: €24,265

+ Simplicity, quality, reliability, space, practicality, price, styling, comfort
– A few rough edges showing through to go with that price tag, indifferent handling
= As practical and sensible as they come but we'd save up the extra for the new Octavia

If I were to say that the new Skoda Rapid is both and at once a return to classic form for Skoda and something of an unfortunate step backwards, would that be too confusing? Possibly, so let me explain.

Pre-1998, Skoda was to most people a joke and not an especially funny one. Decades of decrepitude under communist rule meant that Skoda had been starved of development funding and any reason to produce competitive, interesting cars. That changed, dramatically, with the launch of the original Octavia, funded and developed by Skoda's new owner, Volkswagen. At once, the yoke of communism was thrown off, and Skoda marched happily forwards into a new capitalist reality. Successive models, from the Fabia to the second generation Octavia to the Superb to the utterly brilliant Yeti underpinned that reality with success, both critical and financial. And with sophistication. In fact, sit into a Yeti or a Superb today and you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between affordable Skoda and aspirational Audi. They are that good.

But there is now an increasing trend in the motor industry towards making cheaper cars, something that the car buying public is lapping up, as the success of Dacia shows. Make something simple and affordable, and you will capture the wallets, if not the hearts, of many. So it is with the Rapid. Skoda has taken a step back from its shiny, sophisticated recent past and looked further back, to the eighties and beyond, when it made simple, affordable, useful cars. (Never mind the inept comedians of the eighties who castigated Skoda – its cars even then were better by far than their reputation would have you believe.)

The Rapid is a family-sized hatchback that occupies an unusual middle ground between the likes of the Polo and Fiesta on one side and the Golf and Focus on the other. It's narrower by far than a Focus, but also much longer, the upside of which is a cabin that, while not very broad, has lots of leg and head-room for tall passengers in both front and rear, and a massive 550-litre boot that makes the trunks of even cars like a Mondeo or Passat look underfed.

So, it pushes all the practical buttons and it's not short of sophistication either. The engine in our test car was the cutting-edge VW Group 1.6 TDI diesel, and with 105bhp and 250Nm of torque, it's both swift and economical. Skoda claims 4.4-litres per 100km fuel consumption (64mpg) and if we didn't quite manage that, we easily broke the 50mpg barrier. 114g/km Co2 emissions is a touch high though, especially when you consider that a VW Golf with essentially the same engine gets closer to 100g/km, and that means your annual tax bill will be €200. It's here that you'll find the first chink in the Rapid's armour though. The engine (or possibly its installation) is fine, but nothing more. Acceleration feels noticeably slow-witted unless you push the oddly-weighted throttle pedal all the way to its stop, and refinement isn't terrific until you settle down at a chosen cruising speed.

Inside, Skoda has made great efforts to make the cabin look and feel as sophisticated as its bigger brothers, while still costing less. It's a neat trick, and Skoda almost pulls it off. The dials are clear and look like expensive watch faces. The steering wheel feels pleasant to hold and the driving position is both comfortable and well sited. But you'll notice that there's no switches in the front to control the rear windows, the grab handles in the roof clang back into position without a nice, soft motion and the plastics on the doors and dash-top, while still of good quality, don't have that nice touchy-softy-squishy feeling.

Because of all that, the Rapid feels a distinct degree less sophisticated than its Skoda cousins. Now, that's fine in the sense that it's also much cheaper. Prices start at just €16,515 (for the 1.2 MPI petrol; an engine best avoided if you want to (a) accelerate or (b) save fuel) and the pick of the range, the 1.2 TSI turbo petrol in Ambition spec, is just €19,550, with almost identical Co2 emissions to the diesel. All well and good, and those prices include standard electronic stability control – a significant benefit.

But it just doesn't feel as good to drive as it either should or could have. The rear suspension has been done on the cheap, relatively speaking, and uses simple torsion bars instead of the more modern multi-link setup as found on most Octavias. That means the boot is massive, but the Rapid does tend to clatter over bumps, and it never feels very well sorted at the front, either. Cornering is a somewhat lazy, imprecise process with vague steering and a sense of detachment. It's a good motorway cruiser, mind, with well suppressed engine noise and only a small amount of road and tyre noise.

I guess it depends what you want from a car. The Rapid is keenly priced, practical, spacious, ruggedly built, should prove reliable and hits its marks in terms of economy and emissions. It even looks quite nice. But I reckon Skoda buyers, by and large, have moved on recently and are enjoying the sheen of quiet luxury on recent models. So, perhaps it would be best to hold off buying, save up a little more, and get your hands on the impressive new Octavia that arrives in March. The Rapid's backward glance to a simpler, more practical time is appealing in many ways, but we all want to feel a little more sophisticated these days, don't we?

Facts & Figures
Skoda Octavia 1.6 TDI 105bhp Elegance
Price as tested: €24,265
Range price: €16,515 to €24,265
Capacity: 1,598cc  
Power: 105bhp  
Torque: 250Nm   
Top speed: 190kmh   
0-100kmh: 10.4sec  
Economy: 4.4l-100km (64mpg)   
CO2 emissions: 114g/km  VRT Band: A4. €200 road tax  
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 94% adult, 80% child, 69% pedestrian, 71% safety assist

Road Test: Honda Civic 1.6 I-DTEC SE

Posted by Alex Bale Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Price as tested: €23,795

+ Terrific engine, quality, space, practicality
- Dynamically not as sharp as it should be
= Lovely engine but doubters will still need convincing

Just over a decade ago, Honda didn't make Diesel engines. In spite of the great advances that, even that long ago, had been made in making diesels smoother, gruntier and more refined, Honda regarded them as anathema. Too noisy, too smelly and just not us, old boy. We'll stick to high-revving, lightweight VTEC petrol screamers, thanks.

Given that, it was a pleasant surprise that the original 2.2-litre i-DTCi engine was, and remains, so good. And if it has taken this long to get a second, more compact, Honda diesel to the market then at least, as with John Mills' pint at the conclusion of Ice Cold In Alex, it was worth waiting for.

Honda's new 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine makes its debut in the Civic, a car which pushed Honda Ireland's sales up by a healthy 12% last year, against the background of a stagnant market. And given that the Civic's lonely 2.2-litre diesel, even with its Band A emissions, excluded Honda from the bulk of the c-segment market, its expectations for the new engine are commensurately high. It's expected not just to expand overall Civic sales, but to do so while simultaneously taking over most of the 2.2-litre's sales.

Just as well then that Honda's engineers haven't simply sleeved-down the old 2.2 to make a 1.6. The engine is new from the sump up and Honda claims that it's the lightest engine in its class. So sylph like is its weight that Honda has retuned the Civic's front suspension and steering to take advantage, with claims for improved feel and agility being made.

Honda makes great claims for its refinement, even fitting an active acoustic damping system in the cabin, and the result is indeed hushed; you only get a distinct diesel clatter when you venture beyond 2,500rpm. Better again is the performance. The 120bhp Honda gets from its 1.6 makes mincemeat of the similarly sized engines in the rival Ford Focus and VW Golf (95 or 115bhp and 105bhp respectively) and the i-DTEC engine makes a decent fist of convincing you that it's much larger in capacity,thanks to largely lag-free delivery and solid mid-range punch.

We doubt you'll ever match the claimed fuel consumption of 3.6-litres per 100km (78mpg) in real world driving, but on our brief test drive, we got 4.6l/100km (61mpg) so it's not what you'd call thirsty. 94g/km bests the standard Golf (albeit not the BlueMotion model) and Focus and means you can tax your Civic for €180 a year.

So, with the engine now bang-on the par for the class in terms of size, and potentially even class-leading in terms of its overall performance, can the Civic now meet the mighty Golf and Focus head-on?

Well, not quite but it's closer than it was before. The current Civic, when launched, seemed too detached in its driving style and too crude in its ride quality. Honda's decision to continue with a simple torsion bar rear suspension brings boons in weight, affordability and space efficiency, but it's simply not at the races when compared to Ford and VW's more complex multi-link rear ends.

So what happens is; you barrel happily into a corner in your shiny new Civic, enjoying the recalibrated steering which, while still a touch too light, feeds back a little better than before. You also notice, and enjoy, the fact that the lightweight engine means the front end is more eager to sniff out the apex. The Civic lacks the outright driver involvement of some rivals, but it's still a fun drive.

And then you hit a mid corner bump and feel the rear end bang, hop and skip. It's not as bad as the reaction you'd get from the VW Beetle (which we tested this week also and which has a similar rear suspension arrangement) but it still feels unacceptably crude compared to the best of the competition.

Which is a shame, as the rest of the Civic feels so sophisticated. I've heard some colleagues complain that the cabin feels 'too Japanese', and I can kind of see the point. The multi-level displays, a mix of analogue and digital, won't be to all tastes and yes, the surfaces and materials don't have that final Volkswagen-esque sheen of touchy-feely niceness. But the sense of sheer quality in the assembly is easily noticed. Honda has better chops when it comes to bolting together cars that last than most (even the vaunted Germans, and notwithstanding the 2.2 diesel's habit of having an expensive flywheel-related off-day) and you can feel that sense of quality in the cabin. It's very much a love/hate thing (as is the exterior styling) but for what it's worth, I like both. It's more distinctive by far than either a Toyota Auris or Mazda 3 and feels more special than a Focus or Golf. It's also more versatile, with a big cabin and those clever back seats that either fold flat horizontally or flip up vertically, like cinema seats. The payload options are almost infinite and it's the only mid-size hatch with which you'll feel truly smug in the IKEA car park...

Prices start from €23,975 for the SE model; a touch more than a Focus or Golf but it is better equipped, including climate control, stop-start and alloys as standard. If you buy into its quirkiness, or Honda's engineering-led image, then it's a more interesting alternative to the mainstream masses, and one with a deeply impressive new engine. John Mills was right, all those years ago...

Facts & Figures
Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC SE
 Price as tested: €23,975
Range price: €21,895 to €30,395
Capacity: 1,598cc  
Power: 120bhp  
Torque: 300Nm
  Top speed: 207kmh
  0-100kmh: 10.5sec  
Economy: 3.6l-100km (78mpg)
  CO2 emissions: 94g/km 
VRT Band: A2. €180 road tax  
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 94% adult, 83% child, 69% pedestrian, 86% safety assist

Road Test: Volkswagen Beetle Sport 2.0 TDI 140

Posted by Alex Bale Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Price as tested: €28,695

+ Sexy looks, improved cabin quality and space, comfort, quality, engine

– Cheap rear suspension spoils the dynamic performance, expensive

= Grooviest looking car on the road today, but Golf is still superior

How do you review an icon? How do you pass judgement on something that's already a pillar of history? If you went on a date with Scarlett Johannson (or Brad Pitt, take your pick) would you spend dinner assessing their skin tone, their haircut, the cut of their clothes? Or would you just revel in simply being in their presence?

That's the problem facing this bitten, cynical car critic when it comes time to review the new Volkswagen Beetle. The original Beetle was the first car to break the Ford Model T's record as the best-seller of all time (a mantle since passed to the Toyota Corolla) and made a remarkable journey from being the apple of a cruel dictator's eye, to being the car of choice of the California counter-culture to its final resting place as a revered classic and a beacon of simple, rugged engineering.

Then Volkswagen attempted to have its cake and eat it. Based on a concept car, the second generation Beetle launched (with, shock, front engine and front wheel drive) in the late nineties to acclaim for its cute, cartoony styling but to criticisms for its poor interior packaging and a deeply lacklustre driving experience. Not to mention the fact that it was more expensive than the more practical Golf which replaced its ancestor, but which shared engines and chassis with the new Beetle.

Now, the record has come around again, and there's a third generation Beetle. Again, it's based on the same platform as the Golf (albeit the last-generation, MkVI Golf, not the current car) and again it's trading heavily on its iconic past.

It's very, very hard not to be sucked in by those retro lines. The overly-curved, cartoonish look of the second Beetle is gone, replaced by a car with a flatter, more aggressive roof and square, straight lines to add tension. Frankly, it's brilliant and I was instantly suckered. There are few, if any, other cars on the road right now as good looking as this and it draws a more obvious line between the original Beetle and the Porsche sports cars it inspired.

Inside too, things are better than before. Out goes the silly flower vase and in comes a neat instrument pack and a touch of the Fiat 500's cabin ambience. Obviously retro but still modernly functional. There's much better space in the back and the boot is far more practically sized and shaped than was the case on the last Beetle.

The engine's a belter too. VW's 2.0-litre 140bhp diesel engine has been around for a while, but in the Beetle it proves itself still a youthful performer. Theres's as much punch as you could wish for through the gears, yet it will still return a 50mpg average without too much effort. Stop-start would be nice for traffic duties, but hey, you can't have everything and it's refined enough to make you believe, just for a moment, that it might be petrol.

It's just a pity that the chassis isn't up to the standards of the engine, especially when the new Golf is able to provide such a classy driving environment. The Beetle's not bad, it's just not as good as it could be. The steering (which communicates with you through quite a big wheel) is nicely, even sportily weighted and the Beetle turns into corners with alacrity and precision. The problem comes from the rear suspension. The Beetle is, primarily, designed and built for the US market where price is king, so to keep costs down, VW has stuck with an old-fashioned torsion-bar rear axle. It's mechanically simple, compact (which helps with the boot space) but it cannot provide the sophistication of a more modern multi-link setup. Hit a mid-corner bump when rounding a fast corner and you'll see what I mean. The rear end thumps, kicks and even skips a little a times. It's never actually unstable, but it feels and sounds uncomfortable and discourages you from enjoying the drive.

Which is a shame, as the Beetle is a remarkably charming car. It's not just the styling this time around, as the cabin, engine and, for much of the time, the driving experience are up to snuff. The problem is, as ever, that the Golf is more capable, more spacious, more affordable and better to drive. There is a reason that the original Beetle was replaced by the original Golf and that reason hasn't really altered in the past forty years. Yes, it is a bit like taking Scarlett Johannson out and asking if there are any more at home like her, but that's the simple truth.

Facts & Figures 
Volkswagen Beetle Sport 2.0 TDI 140

 Price as tested: €28,695 

Range price: €20,695 to €30,445 

Capacity: 1,968cc  

Power: 140bhp  

Torque: 320Nm

  Top speed: 198kmh

  0-100kmh: 9.4sec  

Economy: 4.9l-100km (57.6mpg)

  CO2 emissions: 129g/km 

VRT Band: B1. €270 road tax  

Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 92% adult, 90% child, 53% pedestrian, 86% safety assist

Road Test: Mazda 6 2.2 SkyActiv-D 150 Sport

Posted by Alex Bale Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Price as tested: €31,795

+ Handsome, frugal, fab to drive, solid
– Pretty much nothing
= As good a mid-size saloon as you'll find

An expensive Swiss watch has become a deep desire for so many of us. The thought of the expensive weight of all that carefully assembled stainless steel and titanium, our wrists tingling at the very thought of being topped by the logo of Omega, Rolex or Tag Heuer (delete according to taste), it's a status symbol we'd all love to have. But sadly, few of us will ever afford such a timepiece. Shame.

But what if I told you that you could have something just as good, possibly even better, for a lower cost, simply by trading in your timepiece's Swiss postcode for one from Japan? It's well known in high-end watch circles that, proud though the Swiss boys are of their products and movements, they collectively weep with jealously at the carefully crafted work of Seiko. The famed Japanese watch maker can produce wrist-wear of staggering reliability and accuracy, and no small amount of beauty, for a fraction of the cost of a Rolex.

There's something similar going on in the motoring world, too. Many of us desire a slick German sports saloon; we want our driveway to be adorned with the star of Mercedes, the four rings of Audi or the Munich colours of BMW, but their prices are just out of reach. So what if I told you that you could have a car as good to drive as a 3 Series, better looking than an A4 and more reliable than a C-Class, and all you have to do is pop into your Mazda dealer?

Most of the new 6's rivals come with 1.6 or 2.0-litre Diesel engines with outputs of around 115 to 120bhp, Band A emissions and a price tag circling the €26,000 mark. The Mazda, by contrast, has a price tag of €31,795 (for the diesel Sport model, which Mazda Ireland reckons will be its strongest seller), has a 2.2-litre engine with a muscular 150bhp and 380Nm of torque (an even more powerful 175bhp, 420Nm version is also available) and yet still hits that Band A emissions target, with 108g/km costing you just €180 a year to tax.

How has Mazda done this? Carefully, is the short answer. Its SkyActiv programme, which debuted on last year's very impressive CX-5 SUV, isn't one big whizz-bang fuel saving system but rather, like BMW's EfficientDynamics, a series of incremental improvements in every area. A little less friction here. A saving of a kilogram there. A touch less wind resistance somewhere else. It all adds up and the final sum of these parts is that low Co2 figure and a commensurately low fuel consumption of, claims Mazda, better than 65mpg on average. Part of that efficiency comes from a combination of i-Stop that kills the engine when you're waiting at the lights and a new system called i-ELOOP which uses a capacitor (like a battery; it reacts faster than a conventional battery but won't hold a charge for very long) that can power the electrical systems for up to a minute, independent of the engine, and recharges in just seconds from leftover braking energy. Clever stuff and the re-start time of the i-Stop is impressively fast.

Even so, I doubt you'll be able to match that fuel figure in real world driving, partially because almost no car ever does match its claimed figure, but partly because it's very hard to resist driving the new 6 in a somewhat brisk fashion. The last generation of 6 felt solid, planted and even a touch hefty to drive. This new one continues that tradition in part, but there's also a new-found litheness, a sense of fluidity and a truly engaging driving experience. The steering is the outright star here, feeling almost Jaguar-like in its combination of weight (except at parking speeds when it can occasionally get oddly heavy) and with great levels of feedback. It's a very confidence inspiring car, the 6, and even at very high continental motorway speeds, feels safe, secure and reactive. The ride quality, as long as you don't go for the optional 19" wheels, is also exceptionally supple.

Refined too. There's a rustle of wind noise around the mirrors at 120kmh and a touch of road and tyre noise on coarser surfaces, but the SkyActiv diesel 2.2 is impressively quiet and even manages to sound a little bit entertaining at higher rpm, with a gruff warbling noise rather than the usual bland diesel blare.

The cabin marks a particularly high point for the 6. It's very similar to the CX-5's to look at, but the quality of the materials has kicked up a notch and while it's a touch dark at times, it's also a terrifically comfy and pleasing space in which to spend time, helped in no small part by a well-located driving position and expensive-looking, clear instruments. There's good space in the back too although the boot is a touch smaller than much of the competition. Family buyers will be pleased to see that Mazda is emphasising the safety levels of the 6, with a host of new electronic aids including a city braking system that slams on the anchors if it senses you're going to run up the back of the car in front, a lane keeping warning and a blind spot monitor, as well as radar guided cruise control.

It's also a very good looking car, much more obviously so in the flesh (so to speak) than in photos, where the sweeping lines are more obvious and the muscular stance more noticeable.

That €31,000 price tag may hurt the 6's chances though. Its rivals all have significantly lower price points, even if they are for lesser engines with less equipment. Mazda is effectively competing with bottom-end versions of the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 at that price too, and while it's a lovely car, that's a tough battle for any mainstream car maker, and Mazda has as yet no plans to try and match or beat the Koreans in the warranty war; three-year unlimited mileage is your lot.

But just as a Seiko will have true watch afficionados nodding in quiet respect, so I reckon this new Mazda 6 will have true car fans doing the same. Gorgeous, lithe to drive and solidly built, and with astonishing fuel efficiency, it's an early nod for one of the best cars of 2013.

Facts & Figures Mazda 6 2.2 SkyActiv-D Sport 150 
Price as tested: €31,795 
Range price: €28,745 to €38,895 
Capacity: 2,191cc 
Power: 148bhp
 Torque: 380Nm 
Top speed: 211kmh
 0-100kmh: 9.1sec
 Economy: 4.2l-100km (67mpg)
 CO2 emissions: 108g/km VRT Band: A3. €190 road tax 
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested

News: Renault's Captur wants to box the Juke

Posted by Alex Bale Friday, January 11, 2013

They may be part of the same group, and even share a chassis, but the new Renault Captur is most definitely muscling in on the Nissan Juke's compact SUV territory.

Teased earlier this week and now revealed here in full, the Captur takes both chassis and styling cues from the just-launched new Clio but bulks everything up into a much more muscular shape. Is it just us or are there hints of the old Avantime in the overall shape and stance? Maybe just us. Whatever, it's a handsome beast and that is just as true on the inside, where again Clio elements have been taken, put on a bit of muscle and are looking pretty darned good.

Renault is claiming best in class fuel economy and the two key engines will be the TCe three-cylinder petrol turbo and the long serving 1.5 dCi diesel, an engine which should see the Captur's emissions fall as low as 96g/km.

The Clio has already been much praised for its dynamic performance, so we can hope that the Captur will prove as invigorating to drive. Will the fact that it's shorter (slightly) the the Juke compromise interior space too much though? We'll find out when the Captur makes its public debut at the Geneva motor show.

Between this the and Peugeot 2008, it's looking like a good year for compact French SUVs...

News: Lexus strikes at 3 Series with dramatic new IS

Posted by Alex Bale Wednesday, January 9, 2013

You're looking at the first pics of the ultra-aggressive face of the new Lexus IS, the compact sports saloon that Lexus is hoping will, at long last, really take the fight to the heartland of the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4.

Depending on how you feel about the styling of the current Lexus GS, you may or may not love the new IS' styling, with that outrageous sucked-in grille (vampire fangs, anyone) but while we're sitting slightly on the fence at the moment, we're loving the way the grille design makes it look as if the Lexus badge is being sucked into a black hole. Cool.

Of more practical concern, the new IS is going to be longer, more spacious (good – the current one is way too small inside) and lighter. The driving position is going to be lower and more overtly sporting too, and just have a gander at those gorgeous all-digital instruments. They've been lifted more or less straight from the fantabulous V10 LF-A supercar.

There is a concern that Lexus is going to hobble itself with regard to engine choice though. Once again, only two powerplants will be available but this time around there's no diesel option, or at least none has been officially announced. For now, you'll have to choose between a 2.5-litre petrol V6 IS250 (which no-one in Ireland is going to buy) or a new IS300 Hybrid. Now, we're not 100% sure what the petrol engine component of the IS300 will be just yet, but it is already rumoured to have Co2 emissions in the region of 99g/km. Now, seeing as Toyota can get around 85g/km out of the Prius; 1.8-litre petrol hybrid, we're going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the Lexus' unit will be rather more muscular.

Will being a hybrid hold the IS back, in sales terms, against the more conventional, but very engaging to drive, BMW 320d and Audi A4 2.0 TDI? Yes, it very well could, although it should be noted that the hybrid-only GS450h is at least as engaging and enjoyable to drive as any diesel 5 Series, so if the same engineers are working on the IS300 then perhaps, at last, we'll have a compact hybrid that's as good to drive as a diesel, but just as (if not more) economical and efficient.

We'll find out more when the IS gets its official public unveiling at next week's Detroit Motor Show.