Thursday, 23 March 2017

First Drive review: 2017 Land Rover Discovery

THINK OF a Land Rover and you’ll probably conjure up an image of a farmer taking bales to the top field or a coastguard pulling a boat across a beach. Whatever the conditions outside, says the subliminal sales pitch, Land Rovers look after the people inside. It’s not just a matter of engineering pride; it’s crucial to sales.

So the new Land Rover Discovery has a lot to live up to. Though many customers won’t tackle anything steeper than the speed bumps in the Waitrose car park, it needs to win its spurs by being a genuine off-roader, not just a family-friendly SUV.

The latest version (strictly the Discovery 5, but Land Rover is simply calling it “new”) can carry seven, including the driver, and goes head to head with German rivals such as BMW’s X5 and Audi’s Q7, and Far East contenders such as Hyundai’s Santa Fe. But whereas those offer gadgets galore or long warranties, with the Discovery you get something else — a hard-to-define sense that when you’re out in the wilderness, it won’t let you down.


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Which is why I’m gunning a £50,000 car up a 40ft dune in the middle of the desert on a gradient that would challenge a dune buggy. The sand is doing nothing for the pristine paintwork but everything for its credentials. And somehow the wheels seem to be finding grip, even axle deep in the loose surface. The car’s electronics keep it inching up the slope by making tiny adjustments to the braking and throttle response. If it were remotely alive, I’d say it was enjoying itself.

The good news is that the car stays true to Land Rover’s tradition of a high-up “command” driving position and “stadium seating” (passengers are higher than the row in front), and that sets it above its rivals in every sense. Instead of a proper low-range gearbox, there’s a kind of computerised off-road expert that distributes torque between the wheels and decides whether to lock or unlock the differentials.

Park it next to the Range Rover, the Discovery Sport or the Evoque (or the newly unveiled Velar, for that matter) and you would have trouble telling them apart

Diehard 4×4 enthusiasts will be horrified, but it works quite well. Land Rover’s trademarked Terrain Response system offers settings for slippery surfaces such as snow and grass, sticky ones such as mud and steep and uneven ones such as rocks, though Land Rover, when asked, struggled to explain why such manual settings were needed, given that the car can supposedly sense the conditions and make its own adjustments.

For those who care about such things, its approach, departure and breakover angles are a decent 29, 27 and 21 degrees respectively, and ground clearance is 284mm — 43mm more than that of the old Disco. It has a wading depth of 900mm — any deeper and it floats, the company says. There are some clever features its predecessor did not have, notably the fold-flat seating, which you can control with buttons near the tailgate, via the driver’s touchscreen or even through a phone app. And there’s also a wristband to lock and unlock the car, so no need to carry the key in your jogging bottoms or kayak.

Park it next to the Range Rover, the Discovery Sport or the Evoque (or the newly unveiled Velar, for that matter) and you would have trouble telling them apart

It’s a lot of vehicle for the money, but this Land Rover has a problem, and it has nothing to do with terrain. The pressure to expand its clientele has caused a rift between the old guard and the new. It’s not enough, it seems, for Land Rovers to be sturdy, go-anywhere vehicles. The patronage of farmers and coastguards no longer pays the bills. The company has gone all aspirational, using Victoria Beckham as a “creative design executive” and a new marketing vocabulary, consisting of terms such as DNA and sustainability. As a commercial strategy, it has worked. Land Rovers are as popular in Dongguan and Dallas as they are in Devon. Sales of the Discovery worldwide top 1m.

But you can apply only so much gloss before the workhorse you’ve painted over becomes unrecognisable. Purists will say the new Discovery has made too many concessions. The Discovery 4 seemed altogether more rugged with its distinctive squared-off — some would say brutalist — look and its bomb-proof ladder chassis. By trying to reduce weight (getting rid of the ladder chassis) and improve aerodynamics, the designers have created a successor with distinctly ho-hum looks. Park it next to the Range Rover, the Discovery Sport or the Evoque (or the newly unveiled Velar, for that matter) and you would have trouble telling them apart, size excepted. That’s fine in terms of brand consistency, but the once distinctive Discovery now looks like a clutch of other SUVs.

Land Rover’s riposte to this criticism is that the vehicle can still cope with anything that’s thrown at it and yet can transport a driver and six passengers in comfort. Hence its decision to let me subject the car to the punishment it’s now putting up with. It copes well up to a point, but there are flaws.

The engine in the £43,495 entry-level Discovery is disappointing — a 2-litre diesel made at Land Rover’s new engine plant in Wolverhampton. In the lunar landscape of Bryce Canyon national park, Utah, it felt underwhelming. Some higher-spec versions of the car have a 3-litre diesel, but that dates from 2004 and is still produced at Ford’s Dagenham engine plant. It’s been upgraded from 2.7 litres, but the performance and economy of the 3-litre diesel Discovery are at best average.


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Why is there no diesel-electric hybrid? Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV has shown that a plug-in hybrid SUV is not only possible but practical. It’s all very well for Land Rover to recruit Bear Grylls and Ranulph Fiennes as ambassadors, but it rings a little hollow when the vehicle you’re driving through the wilderness is a stove on wheels and a rather dated one at that.

Land Rover says not to rule out a hybrid, or even an all-electric version, but will go no further than that. Some readers may recall a prototype diesel-electric hybrid from 2006. Called the Land-e, it is apparently still on the drawing board, and the company says it “can’t comment on speculation about future products”.

Come on, Land Rover: there’s no excuse, especially when you have one of the world’s most advanced engine plants. A greener Discovery is not just Bear Grylls; it’s bare minimum.

Jeremy Clarkson is away

Write to us at driving@sunday-times.co.uk, or Driving, The Sunday Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

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source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/first-drive-review-2017-land-rover-discovery/

Wednesday, 22 March 2017

Six-Second Nissan GT-R

AMS Performance Sets New World Record at TX2K with Six-Second Nissan GT-R

For most drag racers, traction can be the hardest part of the sport. It seems like All Wheel Drive would be a no-brainer for quarter-mile competition, but weight and complexity of sending massive power to all wheels have been a challenge until now. AMS Performance has been at the leading edge of pushing Nissan’s GT-R into uncharted territory. A decade of innovation has outgrown the original engine, so they engineered a new block, heads, and internals using the latest in CNC tooling. Last year in Detroit resulted in a 7.14 @ 212 mph.

Knocking at the door of a six-second pass is nothing short of amazing. And doing so reliably in a full frame street legal car requires many late nights and usually a fire extinguisher. Such was the case last weekend at the beginning of TX2K17. A small fire on the first shakedown pass evolved into an all-nighter, as they rebuilt the engine for another attempt. Usually, the first pass on a new engine is simply to get the drive line warmed up and verify a proper break-in. But since they are very confident in their own hardware, a full boost pass resulted in the quickest quarter-mile ever by an AWD car.

GTr-World-Record-9- Mobile Window Tint and Film Removal

At first, the timing lights signaled a speed of 196 mph which is slower than before, but then it flashed an elapsed time of 6.93 seconds…. This is not a tube frame dragster with a fiberglass body. It may have sticky tires and a roll cage but it is a real Nissan GT-R. Only a handful of street legal cars are capable of going this fast, so our hats are off to the crew of AMS Performance for raising the bar. Stay with us for more updates from the race, and a preview of FL2K17 later this summer.

AMS Performance Sets New World Record at TX2K with Six-Second Nissan GT-R

http://blog.dupontregistry.com/videos/ams-performance-sets-new-world-record-tx2k/embed/#?secret=9BXWrg0ZBG

D.I. Auto Care
4747 E Elliot Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85044
Phone: (480) 233-1529

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Source: http://cardetailingphoenix.com/index.php/2017/03/22/six-second-nissan-gt-r/




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Callaway Corvette AeroWagen

Jay Leno Drives the Callaway Corvette AeroWagen


Last month Peter Callaway revealed the latest in custom Corvettes. The AeroWagen is a shooting brake conversion with a bold new style. Three decades of building bespoke Corvettes have led to innovations in power and aerodynamics which have culminated in 757 hp and 777 lb-ft of torque. Those numbers are based on the Z06, but the package is available for Stingray and Grand Sport also. It centers around a new 2.3-liter supercharger that is so massive it requires a hole in the hood. Because the blower has its own intercooler, boost pressure is increased and heat is removed. To set it apart from lesser impersonations, the new hatch gives Corvette a Shooting Brake roofline and more storage capacity out back.

Callaway-Corvette-AeroWagen-3-Auto Glass Repair and Replacement

Jay Leno is no stranger to Callaway’s creations, so he invited Peter and his father Reeves to the garage for a flashback to the 80’s. While his father was busy making Callaway a leader in Golf Clubs, Reeves developed a twin turbo kit for the C4 Corvette. Chevrolet was so impressed with the design, it became a production option from 1987 to 1991. Working their magic on everything from Alfas to Z28s, Callaway Cars in Old Lyme, CT has been a fixture in our magazine since we began. The AeroWagen Kit is available for all Corvette Coupes for $15,000, and the supercharger upgrade is $18,000. You will get a nice discount ordering a completed car from their factory once production ramps up. Stay with us for more Callaway updates and Corvette news.

D.I. Auto Care
4747 E Elliot Rdhttp://blog.dupontregistry.com/news/jay-leno-drives-callaway-corvette-aerowagen/
Phoenix, AZ 85044
Phone: (480) 233-1529

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Source: http://cardetailingphoenix.com/index.php/2017/03/22/callaway-corvette-aerowagen/




source https://cardetailingphx.wordpress.com/2017/03/22/callaway-corvette-aerowagen/

McLaren F1 “Hyper-GT”

First Look at the McLaren F1 “Hyper-GT” Successor

The McLaren F1 will finally have a true successor, thanks to the English automaker’s upcoming “Hyper-GT” car, codenamed BP23. While it has not been given a true name yet, McLaren does have a bit to say about the car.that this will be the most aerodynamic road-going model that they have ever created.

 mclaren-bp23-Car-Detailing-and-Window-Tint

First off, McLaren does note that this will be the most aerodynamic road-going model that they have ever created. To give us an idea of how the aerodynamic will look, they have released a teaser image of the car. This image can be seen above.

McLaren Special Operations (MSO) will be creating BP23, with development already underway. Even though the car hasn’t even started being produced, all 106 examples of the car have already been pre-sold. Why 106? This is the same number of McLaren F1s that were created back in the day.

Expect the first McLaren BP23 examples to be delivered in 2019.

All McLaren For Sale

D.I. Auto Care
4747 E Elliot Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85044
Phone: (480) 233-1529

 

First Look at the McLaren F1 “Hyper-GT” Successor

http://blog.dupontregistry.com/mclaren/first-look-mclaren-f1-hyper-gt-successor/embed/#?secret=TEfrzeXq0Y

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Monday, 20 March 2017

The Clarkson Review: 2017 Renault Scénic

IN THE olden days, cars were made from steel, and that’s only right and proper. Steel is as manly as Tarzan’s scrotum. Horny-handed sons of toil mine the iron ore using dynamite and huge excavators, and then this is turned into steel in giant foundries that are hot, dangerous and noisy. A steel foundry is the exact opposite of Jane Austen.

Today we live in different times. Cars can no longer be manly, because it is now offensive to be in possession of a penis. Or to let it do your thinking. This means cars must be kind to the environment and economical and cheap and safe, and that means they must be made from plastic.

There was a time when we laughed at plastic cars. The Reliant Robin was plastic, and so was its big sister, the Scimitar, which was driven by Princess Anne. It is obligatory to mention this, in the same way as when someone sees a swan, he must point out it can break a man’s arm.


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The British firm TVR never really made it into the big league because, while its cars were fast and pretty and gruntsomely male, we all knew that behind the bellow and the leather the bodies were made from GRP. Which is plastic. Like a canoe. Or a lavatory seat.

Today, however, you will find plastic panels on almost every car made. And it’s easy to see why. It’s light, which means less fuel is needed to cart it around, and that means fewer emissions. What’s more, it’s cheaper than steel, which means greater profits for the car manufacturer, which means your pension fund is healthier. And on top of that, you never hear of plastics companies going on strike and throwing stuff at policemen, whereas steelworkers are always outside the plant, round a brazier, shouting. Which is bad for the just-in-time production techniques used at every car factory in the world.

The trouble is that you can always tell when a panel on a car is plastic. And I don’t mean when you tap it; I mean when you look at it. There’s something about the way it’s curved or creased, and there’s something too about the way it looks when painted. All of this stirs your limbic system, which says, “That’s crap.”

There was a white Toyota hybrid of some kind outside the office yesterday and its back end was a futuristic blend of shapes and creases that could never have been achieved if it had been made from steel. It put me in mind of a Star Wars Stormtrooper, and those Stormtrooper suits, you just know, are made from plastic and could therefore not withstand a pebble from David’s sling, let alone a blast of green from a space laser gun. And that’s Toyota’s problem. Your eyes tell you it looks great. But your soul is saying, “It’s rubbish.”

And that brings me on to the snappily named Renault Scénic Dynamique S Nav dCi 110. Pop into your dealership, and within about five minutes, no matter how gormless and cheaply suited the salesman might be, you are going to be slack-jawed in amazement and ready to sell your children for the chance to own such a thing.

It’s got a head-up display, for crying out loud. And I don’t mean a system like those you find in high-end BMWs and the F/A-18 Hornet, where the information you need is projected onto the windscreen. I mean a system where a panel rises electrically from the top of the dash. You’re going to be seriously excited when you first see this in operation.

“The new Scénic is like one of those Korean music centres you could buy for £25.99 in the 1980s”

Then there’s a massive glass sunroof with an electric blind, an 8.7in touchscreen, DAB radio, leather upholstery, cruise control and a system that wakes you up if you’re getting drowsy, along with more systems that keep you in the correct lane and ensure your lights dip automatically when a car is coming the other way. It can even recognise road signs.

You can change the colour of the interior lighting, and you get blacked-out windows in the back in case you need to give Puff Snoop a lift to a gig. And all this stuff is provided as standard for £25,445. Which, on the face of it, makes this car the bargain of the century.

Then you’re going to step out of the cabin to take in the exterior styling, and you’re going to like that too. As a general rule I loathe cars of this type and I’ve loathed the Scénic more than all the others. But this … this is very, very attractive.

Obviously, it isn’t a racing car. Yes, it has racy 20in wheels, but there’s a perfectly ordinary 1.5-litre diesel engine that turns fuel into a dribble of performance; 0-62mph takes 12.4 seconds, which would have been considered woeful 30 years ago. But which today, in health-and-safety Britain, is par for the course.

Then the salesman is going to tell you it’s capable of 72.4mpg. I don’t doubt for a moment that this is true. In the same way as I’m capable of running the 100-metre sprint in roughly the same time as Usain Bolt. In normal use you won’t get anything like 70mpg out of it, but it’s still very economical.

And practical. The rear seats, I admit, are a bit of a squash if you are burly or long, but the boot’s huge and the floor moves about to make it versatile as well. You can even buy a longer version that has seven seats.

So here we have a good-looking, well-equipped, practical and economical car that is exceptional value for money. Lovely.

Except it isn’t. Because the more you look at it, the more you realise there’s something wrong. And what’s wrong is: a lot of this car is made from plastic. And somehow you know. Which means you know it’s crap.


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And I’m sorry, but all that equipment provided as standard? For 25 grand? It sounds tremendous, but it does make you wonder about the quality of it all.

And the more you wonder, the more you start to think that maybe the new Scénic is like one of those Korean music centres you could buy for £25.99 in the 1980s. They had the flashing lights and twin tape decks and graphic equalisers. But they were in no way a substitute for the mix’n’match alternatives from Garrard, Marsden Hall, Akai, Teleton and so on.

There’s another problem too. Look up now and say to your family, “I’m thinking of buying a Renault Scénic Dynamique S Nav dCi 110”, and see if anyone is the slightest bit interested . . .

Thought not.

 

Head to head: Scénic v C4 Picasso

Renault Scénic Dynamique S Nav dCi 110 Citroën C4 Picasso Flair BluHDI 120 S&S
Price £25,445 £25,650
Fuel economy 72.4mpg 74.3mpg
CO2 100g/km 100g/km
Boot space 506 litres 537 litres

 

Write to us at driving@sunday-times.co.uk, or Driving, The Sunday Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

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source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/clarkson/the-clarkson-review-2017-renault-scenic/

Friday, 17 March 2017

Abarth 595 Turismo review (2017 on)

THE Fiat executive who came up with the idea for the Abarth 595 must have a wicked sense of humour. Preposterous in many ways, it begins life as the little Fiat 500, which, even with the turbocharged version of the company’s 0.9-litre two-cylinder motor, could be described as having the get-up-and-go of a snail. Then Abarth, Fiat’s in-house tuning company, shoehorns in a 1.4-litre T-Jet turbo engine, and all hell breaks loose.

The engine comes from bigger Fiats, such as the Tipo, and is usually tuned to produce 118bhp. But that wouldn’t do for Abarth’s engineers; they turn up the wick and furnish the diminutive 595 with 143bhp. Sounds better, doesn’t it? Well, that’s just the base version …

There’s also the 595 Turismo, the variant we tested, which has an extra 20bhp, and the range-topping 595 Competizione, which goes up to 11, or rather 177bhp. It’s not quite the craziest 500-based Abarth – that title belongs to the 187bhp 695 Biposto – but on the bonkers scale the 595 sits between “mildly unhinged” and “approach with caution”.

It’s not just the power that’s hare-brained, or even the power-to-weight ratio (the 595 Turismo tips the scales at a fraction over a ton), but the power to size. It has similar dimensions to Michael Jordan’s left training shoe, and it’s a similar shape, too. Its closest rival is the Mini Cooper S, but in comparison the Mini looks like a giant.


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Other touches too give you a sense that the guys at Abarth were having a bit of a laugh with the 595 Turismo. Hit the Sport button and the handsome, fully digital instrument panel switches to show, most prominently, a G-meter. Yes, a G-meter, which records the sideways force generated as you go round bends. It’s the sort of gadget made famous by the monstrous Nissan Skyline and more commonly seen in supercars. When it pops up in front of you in the Abarth 595, it’s hard to keep a straight face.

The 595 moves with comical speed – through its native environment of narrow city streets, it goes like a demonic rat through a laboratory maze. Best of all, it feels fast at any speed, especially the convertible 595C version, roof down. It’s easy to have fun without breaking any speed limits.

Selecting Sport mode also triggers an increase in throttle response and adds weight to the steering. The latter is lively but not jittery, with decent feedback about the front tyres’ grip. Despite the 595’s high sides, compared with its length, body roll is kept under control in the Turismo – “frequency selective” dampers are fitted to the rear suspension to increase roadholding and stability. The setup results in very little understeer, too, with plenty of grip at the front, even when you’re pulling hard out of corners.

It’s not all good news, though. As with a Smart ForTwo, the short wheelbase means bumps in the roads are pronounced, and every sleeping policeman feels like Everest. The suspension deals with this shortcoming well, though, and the 595 Turismo isn’t a tooth-rattler.

The Turismo’s exhaust note is not over the top — it’s not a popping and crackling fire-breather — but it makes a rorty and eager noise reminiscent of a lion growling through a didgeridoo.

Inside, the sound is sufficiently deadened even in the soft-top; at 70mph, more noise comes in through the windows than the canvas above your head. Being subjected to a constant din on a long journey can be exhausting; not a bit of it with the little Abarth 595.

It has what Clarkson might describe as the classic problem associated with Italian cars, namely it is designed for gorillas

It’s also not short of kit. Our test car came with rear parking sensors, electric roof, sat nav (albeit with a small screen, but then this is a small car), climate control, DAB and Bluetooth, and the infotainment system was easy to use. It also included apps, although it was unclear how useful they were.

A few other neat touches are evident. The edges of the 12V (what used to be called the cigarette lighter) and USB sockets are illuminated with LEDs, and the circular instrument binnacle is fully digital and really quite cool.

Abarth 595 interior

It’s not all good news, though. Annoyingly, the infotainment system froze when the map updated, forcing us to switch it off and on. The 595 also has what Jeremy Clarkson might describe as the classic problem associated with Italian cars: it appears to have been designed for gorillas, with the pedals too close and the wheel too far away (there’s height adjustment on the steering wheel, but it can’t be brought closer to you). At least the seats in the Turismo are wonderfully supportive.

The aluminium gearlever is surprisingly long, appearing to have the same stalk as the plain old Fiat 500 – sports car enthusiasts might expect a short-throw lever. It’s not the most satisfying box with which to shift through the gears as you have to row, rather than flick up and down.

Also, the electric window buttons are in the centre, next to the gearlever, rather than on the door, which takes a lot of getting used to.

The driver’s seat goes forward and back, and can be pumped up to adjust the height, but the lever, on the left of the seat squab, is a similar shape and length to the handbrake, which sits right next to it in this narrow car. More than once we went to pump up the seat and found ourselves about to perform a handbrake turn. Still, almost locking the back wheels while doing 50mph on a dual carriageway is rather exciting.


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There’s little space in the rear, of course, but you could get two children in there, assuming they’re not in rear-facing child seats, and the boot is adequate for a supermarket run, as long as you’re not feeding the 5,000.

Final grumble: putting the 595C’s roof all the way down blocks the rear view over the back seats.

The thing is, all the niggles become rather endearing. It’s imperfect in the same way your children are imperfect, and you wouldn’t try to sell them off every time they wound you up. Would you?

The sheer silliness of the thing lends it charm. The Abarth 595 is great fun, a car with character and verve, and not many can claim that these days.

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source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/abarth-595-turismo-review-2012/

Thursday, 16 March 2017

Mini Countryman review (2017 on)

FROM a car maker once known for making some of the smallest and cheekiest runarounds on the road comes the Countryman, the not-so-mini Mini.

From 1959 to 2000 Minis were perfect for nipping through traffic and slotting first time into a parking space. Yet here’s a Mini that towers over traffic and does the parking for you.

This second-generation Countryman has grown over its immediate predecessor too. Not just a little bit; it’s positively ballooned.


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There’s a reason, of course. Drivers have been telling the company, now owned by BMW: “We love our Mini … but it would be great if it was a bit more spacious, like our friends’ Nissan Qashqai.” The 2010 Countryman felt like a Mini first and a family car a very distant second.

So the Countryman now offers “five full-sized seats”, according to Mini. That’s as long as your definition of “full-sized” is two adults in the front and three children in the back. Three adults on the rear seats would be a squash and a squeeze, but three children sit comfortably, even with one in a high-backed child seat.

There’s masses of legroom in the back, thanks in part to the car’s much-increased wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles), and the bench seating, which can slide backwards and forwards.

The boot’s bigger too. The original Countryman carried 350 litres of gear; this one packs in 450 litres, enough even for those with “an insatiable hunger for adventure”, says Mini. Perhaps, if loading up the weekly Waitrose shop counts.

Despite all this growing-up, Mini hasn’t lost its sense of fun. One option on the new Countryman is a padded seat that folds out from the underside of the boot’s false floor to cover the back bumper; it’s described as a picnic bench but is more use as a comfortable place to park your bottom while you pull off muddy wellies.

Mini Countryman review (2017-on)

The cabin is pure Mini. The dashboard lights up like a Wurlitzer jukebox, the glowing-red engine start switch looks as though it was pinched from Nasa, there’s selectable mood lighting (which you’ll probably never change) and you can alter the way the car responds, using the mode switch at the base of the gearstick.

Some of the main instrument dials look small and cheap, but the stowage space is excellent, with big door bins in the front and back and cupholders galore. Rear passengers even get their own air vents.

What lets the new Countryman down is the driving position. With the manual gearbox, you have to sit much closer to the steering wheel than you’d like, because if you don’t you can’t depress the clutch pedal properly. It’s an uncomfortable arrangement — and the eight-speed automatic gearbox will add £1,595 to your bill.

The engine range is the same as in the rest of the Mini family. The Cooper has a 134bhp three-cylinder turbocharged petrol, and the Cooper S has a 189bhp 2-litre four-cylinder turbo. For the barmy, there’s a 228bhp John Cooper Works version.

The backbone of the diesel range is the Cooper D, which is a four-cylinder with 148bhp. The power jumps to 187bhp with the Cooper SD, but the Cooper D — tested here — is all most people will need. Priced from £24,425, it officially returns up to 65mpg and emits 113g/km of CO2. In our hands it averaged 45mpg, but in long-distance 50mpg should be feasible. There’s also a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid, which, at £27,085 after the government grant is taken into account, could come into its own if diesels faces punitive tax rises and other charges.

The Cooper D engine is well insulated and smooth-sounding, and the car surged forwards confidently from low in the rev range, with a big helping of torque from 1500rpm. You could change up a gear at 2000rpm and never venture further round the revs dial. But given a full head of steam it will nip from 0 to 62mph in under nine seconds.

Mini Countryman review (2017-on)

There’s a bit of wind noise from the car’s boxy body, but the refinement is otherwise impressive. What’s a surprise is the firm ride; despite our test car wearing petite 17in wheels with medium-profile (and therefore reasonably pliant) tyres, every lump, bump and pothole made its presence known in the cabin.

The Countryman’s trump card is its handling. Many SUVs in this price range seem designed by committee, whereas the Mini feels as though someone who enjoys driving invested time and energy in making the Clubman keen and responsive in most conditions. You can throw it about and it doesn’t go to pieces.

We didn’t get to try an ALL4 four-wheel-drive version. It’s a good system in other Minis, but unless you know you’ll need the added traction it affords, you’d be better off saving the money — £1,600 — or spending it on the seemingly endless options Mini offers drivers.

The not-so-mini Mini has grown up, and we think it’s all the better for it. The Countryman II doesn’t force compromise on families as its predecessor did, but it’s still fun to drive and fun to be around.

The post Mini Countryman review (2017 on) appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.



source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/mini-countryman-review-2017/