2019 Kia e-Niro review

WHAT HAVE we here? A £30,000-ish pure-electric SUV that has a range of nearly 300 miles and comes with Kia’s famous seven-year warranty, providing peace of mind about the technology? If you’ve been considering electric car ownership but have been put off by worries over battery range or Tesla’s sky-high prices, the Kia e-Niro is shaping up to be the car that finally wins you round.

True, it’s not the most stylish of SUVs out there — you can pick up an uber-cool XC40 for the the same money — but it’s also far from ugly. The e-Niro marks itself out from the standard Niro hybrid thanks to a solid front grille, which houses the charging port, and flashes of blue trim near the daytime running lights and round the air intakes. The e-Niro also has differently styled alloy wheels which, like the grille, aid aerodynamics and efficiency.

Similarly, the interior is comfortable and practical rather than exciting and stylish. The tone is set by the slick 8in touchscreen that comes with sat-nav, a JBL stereo, reversing camera, and compatibility with Apple Carplay and Android Auto. It’s easy enough to use, and there’s the back-up of the row of buttons below the screen to help navigate the system while you’re driving.

Elsewhere, there’s a lot of black in the cabin but the blue flashes around the air vents and mood lighting system for the centre console help lift the ambience. And all those black bits are quite nice anyway, with leather, soft-touch plastics and piano black trim.

Front passengers will be comfortable enough; the driver’s seat comes with 8-way power adjustment and lumbar support. But adults in the back don’t fare so well; head and shoulder room is OK, but a small hump in the floor and not much space for your feet make you feel a little cramped.

The boot is a decent size, though: the car’s batteries are underneath rather than between the rear wheels, so the e-Niro’s boot is about the same size as that of the Nissan Qashqai.

The Kia e-Niro is a bit more practical than a Nissan Leaf, but it’s also more expensive

And the e-Niro is a lot of fun to drive. With instant acceleration, you’ll zip sharply off from the lights and out of junctions. It is comfortable and, of course, there’s no noise beyond what comes from the tyres and airflow, thanks to that electric drivetrain.

The car has three drive modes that you can alternate between via a dial on the centre console – eco, normal and sport. Keep the car in eco mode and you can expect the range to increase. Switch to sport and the e-Niro feels much sportier to drive, but the range will drop.

Of course, charging takes a long time. If your e-Niro is completely out of battery it can take nearly 10 hours to completely recharge at home. But then again, if you’re at home and it’s sitting on your driveway doing nothing, it might as well be topping up.

The Kia will also take a much faster 100kW rapid charge, enabling the battery to get back up to 80% full in 54 minutes. Unfortunately, at the time of writing you’ll struggle to find a 100kW charger in the UK. More likely you’ll be able to plug in to a 50kW public charger, which will should be able to get you from zero to 80% in 75 minutes.

Rapid charging isn’t terribly kind to the batteries but, as mentioned earlier, at the time of writing Kia says the battery is covered by the same standard seven-year/100,000 mile warranty applies as the rest of the car. We wouldn’t leave it without charge for a long time, though, as that tends to kill the battery (it’s called bricking); we’ll wager mistreating it like that will appear as a caveat in the warranty terms and conditions when the e-Niro goes on sale.

Kia has been generous with standard equipment but, although it’s good value compared to a Tesla or Jaguar I-Pace, at a whisker below £33,000 it’s similarly priced to the forthcoming Tesla Model 3 and more expensive than the Hyundai Kona EV and Nissan Leaf, albeit a bit more practical. For that kind of money, many buyers may prefer a fairly posh petrol or diesel SUV. Then again, there are potentially some serious fuel savings to be had.

Having weighed up the pros and cons, you may be sorely tempted. The problem is that you’ll have to wait until April 1 next year before you can put your order in. On the plus side, that does give you plenty more time to think things over.

Find out how much you could save on the Kia e-Niro at carwow (not on sale at time of publishing)

 

Kia e-Niro rivals

Hyundai Kona Electric
£29,495 — £36,295
See how much you could save at carwow

Nissan Leaf
£29,690 — £32,890
See how much you could save at carwow

Jaguar I-Pace
£64,495 — £81,495
See how much you could save at carwow

The post 2019 Kia e-Niro review appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.

source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/first-drive/2019-kia-e-niro-review/

2019 Renault Kadjar review

IT’S ALWAYS fun when I meet a Kadjar owner. “What car do you own?”

“A Kadjar.”

“Bless you.”

But the success of Renault’s mid-size SUV is no joke — 450,000 have been sold worldwide since it launched in 2015, and now here comes the refreshed version with a heap of decent styling, trim and engine updates that should keep the ball rolling.

The Kadjar was never the most striking of cars to look at — its design could be described as “generic crossover” — but it’s not ugly by any stretch, and the new model brings some extra aesthetic appeal, with a wider front grille, LED running lights and front fog lights on every model, new rear light clusters and bumper, and three new paint colours to choose from. Iron Blue is a particularly interesting one, given that iron generally isn’t blue.

The new Kadjar’s dimensions remain the same inside and out but the number of trim levels has been slimmed down, from five to four, starting with “Play” and moving up through “Iconic” and the new “S-Edition” to the range-topping GT Line.

Prices start at £20,595 for the entry-level Kadjar; a fraction more than the most basic Nissan Qashqai, which is exactly the same car underneath (although everything a customer can see or touch is unique to the Kadjar, Renault says). But the pricing is very reasonable given that the SEAT Ateca and Ford Kuga, two of the 40 major competitors, cost upwards of £21,880 and £22,910 respectively.

And don’t think Renault is skimping on kit, to keep costs down; the entry-level Kadjar Play is packed with 17-inch alloy wheels, tinted windows, automatic headlights, rain-sensing windscreen, rear parking sensors, cruise control, climate control and a more responsive 7in touchscreen as standard.

Renault said it listened to customer feedback, resulting in changes such as backlit window and mirror controls, with one-touch opening on all four windows and larger door bins to hold a 1.5-litre drinks bottle. The most noticeable change over the old Kadjar is to the air conditioning controls, with the new three-dial system being much smarter than the previous, more fussy arrangement.

Materials inside remain largely unchanged, though. That’s not a bad thing, with a mix of hard and soft-touch plastics, and leather brought into the mix on the top grade. The “3D effect” quilted fabric seats are comfortable and there’s plenty of space in the front, with decent room in the rear, too.

It’s odd that DAB digital radio is only available on Iconic spec-and-up Kadjars, but all models’ infotainment systems can run Apple Carplay and Android Auto, meaning even owners of the Kadjar Play can get BBC 6 Music, Virgin Radio and so on via their smartphone.

Carplay and Android integration also means that the built-in TomTom LIVE sat nav, which is also available from Iconic trim upwards, is immediately redundant, given apps like Google Maps and Waze do a superior job and will be more future-proof, arguably.

The £22,095 Iconic model looks more worthwhile when you consider that it adds 19in alloys, front parking sensors, reversing camera, keyless entry, roof bars, folding mirrors, and air vents and USB sockets for the rear passengers.

Go for the S-Edition (from £23,595) and you get full LED headlights, LED fog lights, chrome detailing on the skid plates, unique upholstery with blue stitching and a panoramic sunroof.

The top-spec GT Line (from £25,095) brings a full leather interior with heated front seats, 360-degree cameras, puddle lamps, hands-free parking and a blind-spot warning system.

Renault has revised the engine range this time around, with eight engine and transmission options. If you want petrol, there are 138bhp or 158bhp options, while the two brand new diesel motors come with 113bhp or 148bhp.

The smaller petrol and diesel can be mated to a seven-speed auto gearbox, while the larger engines come with a six-speed manual only, and the bigger diesel can be either two- or four-wheel drive. There’s no hybrid at this time, but Renault’s family car product planner told me they’re working with Nissan on electrified powertrains for the next Kadjar and Qashqai.

We drove both petrol motors and the larger diesel, and both ‘boxes. The petrols both proved quite diesel-like in their mannersFddo, with oodles of torque above around 1,700rpm. They also pull well over a wide power band, meaning low-speed manoeuvring is a doddle and overtaking is just as painless. They do sound a little gruff for petrol engines at low revs, though.

The six-speed manual transmission is so smooth it’s like the box is full of treacle, but it’s a long lever with a long throw, and is quite loose in the gate. The automatic shifts cogs quickly and generally picks the right one at the right time, but we slid the lever across to allow manual shifting through twisty sections of road, as acceleration out of corners can be a little hesitant if left to the computer.

Interestingly, fuel economy and emissions levels actually improve with the automatic transmission, according to the latest official tests. By choosing it over the manual you’re looking at 51.3mpg rather than 47.9mpg on the entry-level petrol Kadjar, and 131g/km instead of 134g/km of CO2. It’s the same story with the diesels, according to the figures published by Renault, so we’d got auto if buying one for ourselves.

Handling and ride quality are much the same as before, with body roll noticable when compared to a hatchback, though not excessive, and a decent feel through the wheel. Renault says they focused hard on comfort when it came to tuning the suspension, but our test cars proved to have a relatively firm ride, meaning bumps in the road (there were plenty of broken roads in Sardinia, making it quite a good indicator of what to expect in the UK) are transferred through the chassis. It’s not an uncomfortable ride by any means, but we’d seriously consider a model with 17in wheels over the 19s, if we were speccing our own Kadjar.

We also got a taste of the 148bhp diesel in 4×4 guise on a dedicated off-road course. Crossovers like the Kadjar aren’t true off-roaders but Renault were at pains to prove the Nissan-derived system can handle more than a gravel driveway during the car’s international launch.

It can be set to two-wheel drive, automatic four-wheel drive — whereby it detects loss of traction and diverts up to 50% of the torque to the rear wheels — or “Lock”, which gives you a permanent 50:50 front-rear split, up to 50kph (31mph).

We stuck a manual Kadjar 4×4 in Lock mode and took it around a dedicated off-road course, which included deep mud ruts, moguls and 25-degree lean angles (the pics in the gallery are of this exact course), and it didn’t skip a beat.

Most impressively, the water splash— which was deep enough to bring a chill to the footwell — was shrugged off without breaking a sweat. The Kadjar can wade to a depth of 450mm, apparently.

I was genuinely shocked by its off-road prowess, especially given it was fitted with road tyres and the largest 19in alloys. A proper off-road enthusiast may be interested in details such as 200mm of ground clearance, an angle of attack of 17 degrees and an angle of departure of 25 degrees. Most of us just need to know that the 4×4 Kadjar is a surprisingly capable machine on the rough stuff.

Bad things? Well, the wind noise from the large wing mirrors is quite noticeable at speed, and Renault hasn’t managed to eradicate the irritating squeaks and rattles around the cabin. But overall the new Kadjar (gesundheit) is a more compelling proposition than ever, and still at a very competitive price.

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Head to head

Renault Kadjar vs Seat Ateca

	2019 Renault Kadjar GT Line TCe 140 EDC Auto	2019 SEAT Ateca SE Technology 1.5 TSI EVO DSG 150 PS
Price (OTR)	£25,895	£26,730
Power	138bhp	148bhp
0-62mph	9.6sec	8.6sec
Top speed	126mph	123mph
Economy (official combined)	51.3mpg	49.6mpg
CO2	131g/km	129g/km
Boot space (seats up)	527 litres	510 litres
Dimensions (L x W x H)	4,489mm x 1,836mm x 1,613mm	4,363mm x 1,841mm x 1,615mm

The post 2019 Renault Kadjar review appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.

source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/first-drive/2019-renault-kadjar-review/

2018 Ford EcoSport Mk 2 review

YOU KNOW those vertically-challenged men at the gym, with tiny legs but hulk-like biceps? That’s the Ford EcoSport.

Not because it’s lacking in the height department; far from it, in fact — this second-generation EcoSport is jacked up to the max, as one of those weight-lifting enthusiasts might say (but then again, might not). It has up to 19cm of ground clearance, an astounding wading depth of 550mm (the famously tiny-but-tough Suzuki Jimny 4×4 can only wade through 320mm of water) and towers a full 11cm over the Seat Arona, a class-leading rival.

But the EcoSport is stunted in the length department, being just a fraction longer than the Fiesta supermini on which it’s based. With those lofty and ford-crossing credentials but tiny footprint, on paper it has the potential to be a great car for town and country, offering a commanding view of the road in a package that’s easy to park.

But, with high sides and short wheelbase, you’d be forgiven for assuming it’s a bit of a dog’s dinner, both to drive and and aesthetically. Surprisingly, that’s way off the mark.

Let’s start with the way it looks. Yes, it does have odd proportions but the post-2014 EcoSport is by no means an ugly car, and the refreshed-for-2018 version is rather good-looking, especially in the ST-Line trim with optional 18in wheels and Tiger Eye (bright gold) paint, which is what was delivered to us for review.

It managed to pull off tough and stylish at the same time, helped in no small part by the fact that Ford dropped the much-maligned spare wheel on the rear tailgate when it launched the second-gen car.

The good news continues inside, with a greatly improved interior for 2018, with all versions getting an 8in touchscreen that helps free up clutter. The overall look of the dashboard is grown-up but stylish, with chrome accents here and there and leather trim on the steering wheel and handbrake. Overall build quality is a cut above most rivals, too — we’d go as far as to say Ford has reached VW levels in this regard.

“Ford’s deal with Bang & Olufsen means that you can have one of the finest sound systems on any car”

Standard tech levels are impressive, too. All cars get air conditioning, an air-conditioned glovebox, electric windows front and back, DAB radio and Ford’s SYNC smartphone connectivity, as well as the ability to run Android Auto / Apple Carplay via your phone, including navigation from Google, Waze and others. And Ford’s deal with Bang & Olufsen means that, if you go for a Titanium or ST-Line model and fork out the extra £350, you will have one of the finest sound systems on any car. Seriously.

The way it drives also impresses, with a good weight to the steering and keen handling, given its high-riding stance. We had the all-wheel drive version (only available with the 1.5-litre diesel engine), which proved grippy in damp, autumnal conditions with leaves littering the roads, but we thought better of giving it a serious off-road challenge — despite the wading credentials, the EcoSport isn’t really meant to be a hardcore 4×4.

But if you’re hoping for the sublime ride quality of the Fiesta, you’ll be disappointed; the reworked suspension is much firmer, to reduce body roll, which means the EcoSport has a harsher ride and is nowhere near as good at absorbing the bumps and potholes of Britain’s broken roads. It’s not terrible, though, and the larger alloys with “painted on” tyres fitted to our test car won’t have helped with shock absorption — we’d recommend going for the standard 16in wheels, or the ST-Line’s regular 17s.

Engine choice can make a big difference to tax and economy. There are three EcoBoost petrol engines, with power outputs of 100PS (99bhp), 125PS (123bhp) or 140PS (138bhp), and the 1.5-litre diesel with 100PS or 125PS.

We had the latter, which offers decent thrust and surprisingly free-revving refinement for an oil burner, but coupled to the 4×4 transmission and 18in wheels, the official fuel economy figure drops from 60.1mpg to 52.3mpg (actually, it was more like 44mpg for us, in the real world) and CO2 leaps from 123g/km to 140g/km — a rise only the tax man can love.

The sweet spot is probably the front-wheel-drive 125PS petrol, which promises over 50mpg and up to 125g/km of CO2. This engine is also the only one that can be mated to an automatic gearbox, but avoid that if possible as, again, economy and emissions suffer considerably.

Any real problems with EcoSport? Well, there’s the interior space; fine up front but don’t expect any more room in the rear seats than you’d find in a Fiesta.

The boot isn’t huge either, holding 356 litres of luggage up to the parcel shelf, but its square opening makes it a much more useful load lugger, especially when you fold down the rear seats to make use of the full 1,238 litres.

Getting things in and out isn’t always easy, though, because while the tailgate has lost the spare wheel from the first generation EcoSport, it still opens from the right side like a door, rather than up like a standard hatchback. That means that if you park with the rear of the car too close to a wall or another parked car, you can’t open it fully. It’s a bizarre bit of design that suggests Ford is more concerned with hanging on to a quirky sales gimmick than making life easier for customers.

You might be able to forgive the EcoSport its irritations, though, as there’s enough good stuff going on to make it worth a look for anyone in the market for a small crossover. It’s a tough and expanding market, and rivals like the Seat Arona and Volkswagen T-Roc are arguably all-round better propositions, but Ford has caught up with VW on style and quality. If you’re a Fiesta driver and want something almost as short but more hulking up top, this is a fine choice.

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Head to head

Ford Ecosport vs Volkswagen T-Roc

	2018 Ford EcoSport ST-Line 1.0 EcoBoost 125PS	2018 Volkswagen T-Roc Design 1.0 TSI 115 PS 6-speed manual
Price (OTR)	£21,545	£21,320
0-62mph	11sec	10.1sec
Top speed	111mph	116mph
Economy (official combined)	53.3mpg	55.4mpg
CO2	119g/km	117g/km
Boot space (seats up, to tonneau)	356 litres	445 litres
Dimensions (L x W x H)	4,096mm x 1,765mm x 1,653mm	4,234mm x 1,819mm x 1,573mm

The post 2018 Ford EcoSport Mk 2 review appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.

source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/2018-ford-ecosport-mk-2-review/

2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE review

LET’S CONSIDER the most memorable part of 1997’s big screen dinosaur romp, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The giant T-Rexes? Nah. Richard Attenborough as John Hammond, the park’s lovable santa-alike owner? Close, but no. It was, in fact, the twin off-road prepped Mercedes MLs, one of which is used to help keep a giant laboratory from sliding off a cliff. Well, delay it, anyway.

The ML has come a long way since those Tyrannosaurus-bothering days. Now in its fourth generation, and having had a name change along the way, the new five- or seven-seat Mercedes GLE’s main job is to steal sales from the Audi Q7, BMW X5 and Land Rover Discovery.

Next to its more conservative alternatives, the Mercedes GLE’s exterior design is quite striking. Its large grille, with imposing Mercedes three-pointed star, combine with bonnet domes and prominent LED headlights give a butch look at the front, while at the rear, more LED lighting and a wide, squat stance continues the granite-hewn aesthetics.

And Mercedes has continued the in-your-face styling inside, where you’ll find sweeping lines, piano black trim and chrome accents. It’s all far more interesting to behold than the efforts from Audi, BMW and Land Rover, even if Audi still manages to offer the best build quality of the lot by a small margin.

BMW still makes the best infotainment system, but Mercedes is only just behind. The GLE comes with two huge 12.3in screens that sit side-by-side and look quite simply sensational. The right one can be controlled by touch or via a central controller at the base of the dashboard. The menus are simple to follow, too, and it’s worth adding Mercedes’ brilliant augmented reality to the sat-nav.

Tall adults sat in the GLE’s first two rows will be very happy. Rear knee room, in particular, is extremely generous, while even adding a panoramic sunroof doesn’t hinder head room in the back. A warning, though: if you go for a seven-seat model, the rearmost seats are best left for small children.

Two engines are available from launch — a four-cylinder 300 d diesel, and six-cylinder 450 petrol with a 48-volt hybrid system for electric boost assistance and improved economy. The 300 d is quick enough and returns respectable fuel economy, but is a little vocal when pushed hard. The 450 petrol is much quicker, yet also smoother and quieter, but will demand more fuel in return.

We’ve also tried the 335bhp, six-cylinder diesel 400 d, which will join the range later. It suits the GLE better than the other two engines, providing strong performance yet smooth operation and decent driving range between fills.

Don’t expect the GLE to out-handle a BMW X5; Mercedes has focused on comfort and quiet and in both respects the GLE is very good, if you pick the right model.

Entry-level 300 d diesels can’t have air suspension, so feel less settled over ruts and bumps. The 450 and 400 d get air suspension as standard and feel more comfortable both in town and on the motorway. All lean more through tight corners than an X5, though, and don’t steer with quite as much precision, although on the plus side, all keep wind and road noise nicely at bay on the motorway.

The Mercedes GLE has just one trim: AMG Line. It comes brimming with standard equipment but Mercedes has made adding options simpler by grouping them into packs such as Premium and Premium Plus. These include things like memory seats, wireless charging for your smartphone and keyless entry. Mercedes’ optional Driving Assistance package also includes more of the latest active safety systems, including one of the best semi-autonomous systems on sale.

Despite all this equipment and tech, the GLE is, broadly speaking, priced in-line with the Audi Q7 and actually slightly undercuts a BMW X5.

So, if your large premium SUV will often carry more than five passengers, then a Land Rover Discovery is still the best choice, while keen drivers should look to the BMW X5 for the most fun. But if the GLE is big enough for you, and comfort, quiet and tech are paramount, then stick your name down for a test drive, pronto.

Find out how much you could save on a Mercedes-Benz GLE at carwow

 

Mercedes-Benz GLE rivals

Audi Q7
Price: £53,250-£80,095
See how much you could save at carwow

BMW X5
Price: £57,495-£75,205
See how much you could save at carwow

Land Rover Discovery
Price: £47,405-£70,405
See how much you could save at carwow

The post 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE review appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.

source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/2018-mercedes-benz-gle-review/

2018 Ford Focus Vignale review

SINCE IT was first introduced, in 1998, the Ford Focus has been winning hearts and minds across the UK with its combination of great handling, spacious interior and low running costs. It’s business as usual with the latest 2018 model, but what you see here is something quite different: the new high-end, range-topping Focus Vignale.

Vignale was originally an Italian coachbuilder in the 1950s and Ford now adds the Vignale badge to its most expensive, luxurious and tricked-out models, including the Fiesta, Edge, Mondeo, S-Max and now, this Focus, available in standard hatchback of estate form.

Officially, it costs from £25,800, with the top-of-the-tree diesel-powered version priced upwards of £29,550, which is enough to make a few eyes water.

The Focus Vignale is immediately obvious thanks to it’s chrome detailing: on the front grille and around the side windows, and the 18in alloy wheels are also covered in the stuff. It’s a subjective matter, of course — this website’s editor loved the look of the Fiesta Vignale’s chrome rims — but to this reviewer’s eyes, all the bling makes the Focus look a tad outdated. Especially if you were to park one next to an upmarket rival like the Mercedes A-Class.

There are more unique Vignale touches inside. The main upgrade over a ‘standard’ Ford Focus are the Vignale’s leather seats — they are supple yet supportive enough to ensure you don’t slide around through high-speed corners. The seats are heated and cooled as standard with a wide range of adjustment.

The dashboard is covered in leather but the material feels closer to plastic than a fine Nappa, while the stitching seems a little low-rent too. Build quality is also inconsistent, particularly the centre console which isn’t as solidly constructed as those of Vignale’s German rivals.

However, space in the back of the Ford Focus Vignale is up there with the best in class, meaning two adults will be perfectly comfortable on a long trip and three kids shouldn’t complain either.  

The boot is average for the class and you don’t get an adjustable boot floor, but the shape of the load area is square and practical. However, all of this is available on the regular Focus for less money.

The Focus Vignale gets roughly the same selection of nippy and fuel-sipping engines as the regular Focus. The 1.5-litre petrol is the pick of the bunch thanks to good performance, low running costs and a pleasing exhaust note.

You can have your Focus Vignale with an automatic eight-speed gearbox but it’s not the best in this class, so only go for it if you really need to. In any case, the standard-fit six-speed manual really is a match for the very best ‘boxes out there.

Driving the Focus Vignale is much the same as driving any other Focus – there’s plenty of grip around tight corners and little body roll. The accurate steering gives you confidence when placing the car on the road and the car’s suspension is comfy enough to iron out the worst roads.

The only real complaint is that the car’s 18-inch wheels — unique to the Vignale — do produce a considerable amount of road noise at motorway speeds.

So, the best bits about the Ford Focus Vignale are really connected to the Ford Focus part, not the Vignale. While it’ll make for a plush company car, there’s little reason to go for one over a Titanium X version, which will save you around £2,500.

Or, if you really do want a premium hatchback, for similar money you could get that Mercedes A-Class with similar equipment and better tech.

See how much you could save on a Ford Focus Vignale at carwow

 

Ford Focus Vignale rivals

Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Price: £22,850 – £35,435
See how much you could save at carwow

Audi A3 Sportback
Price: £22,190 – £32,040
See how much you could save at carwow

BMW 1 Series
Price: £22,450 – £40,400
See how much you could save at carwow

Volkswagen Golf
Price: £18,340 – £27,910
See how much you could save at carwow

The post 2018 Ford Focus Vignale review appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.

source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/first-drive/2018-ford-focus-vignale-review/

2019 Audi R8 V10 Performance review

BEFORE THE original Audi R8 arrived in 2006, the idea that Audi would be able to build a Ferrari-rivalling supercar was met with more than a raised eyebrow. Yes, the company had a history of rallying success but when it came to road cars, Audi was at the time largely known for rather lumpen (if powerful) saloon and estate cars.

Then the motoring press drove the car. And loved it.

The R8 had four-wheel drive but unlike other quattro Audis, power was primarily sent to the back wheels. This meant that, most of the time, the R8 handled a rear-wheel drive supercar. A good one, too.

Throw in an open-gated manual gearbox and a NASCAR-esque 4.2-litre V8 engine, pinched from that year’s RS 4, and you ended up with a machine of which the gods themselves would be proud. Some experts even said it was better than a Porsche 911, an idea that nevertheless resulted in much smirking at dinner parties.

Amazingly, the R8 has only got better with age. In 2008 the aluminium-bodied supercar got the 5.2-litre V10 from the Lamborghini Gallardo and by 2013 the quick-shifting S Tronic DSG automatic gearbox had replaced the original — and clunky — robotised R Tronic auto.

The DSG proved such a success that by the time the current R8 was launched in 2015, the manual gearbox had been dropped entirely. The charismatic V8 was also killed — you now got two V10s to choose from. Nevertheless, 50kg had been shaved from the R8’s weight.

It’s with this backstory that we meet the latest in the lineage — the R8 V10 Performance, which replaces the old top-of-the-range V10 Plus.

Most easily spotted by the horizontal air vents that run along the edge of its bonnet and the huge grille that stretches across the back of the car, the facelifted R8 V10 Performance gets 612bhp and 428Ib ft of torque — up from 602bhp and 398Ib ft in the Plus – a better-equipped cabin and, well, that’s about it.

Unsurprisingly, you’d struggle to tell the difference between old and new model to drive because both deliver an experience that is dominated by the engine’s laser-like responses and screaming noise at the top of its rev range.

Banging through the DSG gearbox’s seven speeds is tantamount to willingly giving your neck small doses of whiplash but doing so gets you from 0-62mph in 3.1 seconds, and the R8 will top 205mph.

Impressive stuff, but the difference between the naturally-aspirated R8 and its turbocharged competition is that you need to squeeze every last rev out of the engine to get best from it. And newer supercars are also starting to surpass the R8 in corners, but you’re talking small percentages.

The R8 is a hoot to drive, but it’s the day-to-day drudgery of modern driving where the Audi comes into its own

The Audi’s standard carbon-fibre-reinforced ceramic disc brakes effortlessly scrub speed as you turn into a bend, but the level of feedback offered by the steering isn’t quite as detailed as you’d like. That said, the acres of grip on offer mask the loss of the finer details and the steering is still extremely quick and accurate.

The four-wheel-drive system, meanwhile, makes corner exits easy, either locking to the Tarmac like velcro or letting you wag the tail with a dab of throttle, depending on how loose you set the car’s Drive Select.

All of which makes the R8 a hoot to drive, but its when you can’t have fun that the Audi really comes into its own, because it’s also still amazingly good at the day-to-day drudgery of modern driving.

Sat behind the steering wheel, visibility is excellent and the R8 has the kind of cabin quality that makes a mockery of many supercars. The huge Virtual Cockpit display, meanwhile, remains a paragon of usability and for 2018 it comes with Android Auto and Apple Carplay, plus a reversing camera, as standard.

Sure, you only get two seats but they’re spacious enough even if you’re tall and there’s a decent amount of room behind them for soft bags. Factor in the luggage compartment between the front wheels and the R8 has enough space for you and a partner to get away for a weekend.

So, the R8’s gone full circle. In a time when even Ferrari’s mid-engined supercar is turbocharged, the Audi represents a pocket of resistance for the naturally aspirated engine.

The R8’s gone from being perceived as the anodyne choice to offering one of the most satisfying experiences the supercar world has to offer.

Find out how much you could save on the Audi R8 at carwow (not on sale at time of publishing)

 

Audi R8 V10 Performance rivals

Mercedes-AMG GTR
Price: £142, 945
See how much you could save at carwow

Honda NSX
Price: £144,895
See how much you could save at carwow

Nissan GT-R
Price: £81,995 – £151,995
See how much you could save at carwow

The post 2019 Audi R8 V10 Performance review appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.

source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/first-drive/2019-audi-r8-v10-performance-review/

2019 Honda CR-V Hybrid review

A HYBRID version of the Honda CR-V might not exactly get the pulse racing but for Honda, this is a crucial new entry into its model line-up. “This is our most important powertrain for last 10 years,” Honda UK’s managing director told us at the car’s launch in Seville, Spain. “It’s a really big car for us.”

Why? Because since the dieselgate crisis, in which VW was found to be cheating diesel emissions tests and anti-diesel reports in the media subsequently reached fever pitch, sales of Honda’s oil-burning CR-Vs have been tumbling. So much so, in fact, that the company decided to ditch the fuel entirely for the latest (fifth) generation of its mid-size SUV, which launched earlier this year in petrol form only.

And this has happened with the SUV market still booming, and every car maker finding gaps in their product line-up to fill with the high-riding soft-roaders.

So Honda needed an “electrified version” of its long-running CR-V — the first in a raft of new hybrid models as the company aims for two thirds of its cars to be electric or hybrid by 2025 — ready to take the diesel’s place as the sole alternative to the 1.5-litre petrol model. Honda expects 50% of CR-V sales to be hybrid next year.

But if you’re a diesel SUV owner looking to upgrade, don’t think the CR-V Hybrid is a direct replacement — there are a couple of important things for you to know. Read on.

Of course, Honda is no stranger to hybrids. Its first — the original Insight — arrived in 1999, around the same time as the Toyota Prius. But while Toyota stuck at it, and the Prius went from strength to strength, Insight sales were slow and Honda took a less confident approach, with piecemeal offerings in the intervening years. Honda’s attempts have proven marginally less efficient and less practical than those of its Japanese rival, which has now rolled out hybrid tech to most of its models.

So Honda’s latest attempt had better be a good one.

Before we get to the economy and performance bit, it’s worth pointing out that, as SUVs go, the latest CR-V is quite attractive, and the hybrid model gets a few unique details that help lift the exterior even more, including chrome trim along the door sills and rear tailgate.

Inside there’s good news, too. Honda’s reputation for top build quality is evident, with tight and flush gaps between panels. The mix of leather with soft- and hard-touch touch plastics help lift the cabin, with the only questionable material being the wood-a-like veneers on the dash and door trim, which appear to have come off a laser printer rather than a tree. It’s relatively inoffensive, though.

The 7in touchscreen is standard across all models and a vast improvement on Honda infotainment systems of the past, but fans of Android Auto and Apple Carplay will be pleased to hear that both are standard across the range.

There’s acres of space up front and in the rear, where even giant people have plenty of leg room, thanks to a 30mm increase in distance between the wheels over the previous generation car (cabin space has increased by 50mm, in fact). Sadly the seats aren’t that deep, meaning taller passengers’ knees hang a long way off the squab, and the passenger and rear seats’ low position mean hips end up below the knees.

But the rear floor is almost flat, even in the 4×4 models, and rear passengers get two USB sockets even in base SE specification – clearly Honda understands its customers’ need to keep the kids in the back entertained. The boot is vast and square with higher spec models getting kick-to-open power tailgates.

“If you’ve been sensing a ‘but’ coming, well done… the CR-V Hybrid is a bit of a weakling when it comes to towing”

So what’s it like out on the road? Well, let’s get our heads around the hybrid system for a moment. Without getting overly technical, Honda’s “Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive” (i-MMD) uses a 2-litre petrol engine to power a generator motor, which in turn sends power to either a lithium ion battery pack or an electric propulsion motor, which drives the wheels.

There’s a front-wheel drive model but also an all-wheel-drive model, with power being sent to the rear mechanically via a prop shaft, rather than adding an extra electric motor to the back axle, as you’d find in a Lexus NX or RX.

Under some circumstances, the petrol engine can drive the wheels directly but Honda has done away with any form of gearbox, so this only happens between around 50mph and 75mph, via a “lock-up clutch” and single ratio. This is at the engine’s revs-per-minute “sweet spot”, Honda says, providing maximum efficiency for motorway driving.

At lower speeds there’s also an EV mode, with the car able to run on pure-electric power for around 1.2 miles, meaning some zero emissions running in urban environments. We found we could get at least that range on electric power, in fact.

The good news for buyers is that they don’t need to know any of this, really, as the car’s computer will work out the best mode to run in at any given time.

More important to customers will be what it all means for performance and efficiency: peak power is 181bhp, with 232lb ft of torque, which enables a zero to 62mph time of 8.8 seconds in FWD guise, and 9.2sec for the AWD model, with a top speed of 112mph for both.

Neither version feels at all sluggish, and while the sound from the engine is unlike you’d expect from a traditional petrol automatic car, it relates more closely to the speed you’re travelling at than the Toyota Hybrid Drive system; the Toyota’s “planetary gearbox” and continuously variable transmission systems means the engine can be screaming away with the car seemingly making comparatively sluggish progress. Honda’s i-MMD has a much more “natural” engine note and power delivery.

Not that you’ll hear it much; noise is kept in check thanks to extra sound deadening and active noise cancellation, via the stereo speakers. That does mean tyre noise is more evident, as is wind noise, mainly around the larger wing mirrors, but it’s certainly at more-than-acceptable levels.

The Hybrid system is pretty decent in the fuel economy and emissions stakes, with the front-wheel drive CR-V Hybrid rated at 120g/km of CO2 and average fuel economy of 53.3mpg, and the four-wheel drive version only a little less efficient, with CO2 emissions of 126g/km and average fuel economy of 51.4mpg.

We found the 4WD model averaged more like 42mpg, with the 2WD version getting around 47mpg; lower than most diesel CR-V drivers have been achieving, according to owner forums, but certainly impressive for a big car like this. And when you factor in the higher prices at the pump for diesel fuel, the potential for diesel cars to be banned from cities in the future, and pricing similar to the petrol automatic, the CR-V Hybrid is starting to look like a seriously good proposition.

Handling errs on the sporty side, and the suspension gives the car a slightly firmer ride than some rivals, but it’s not jarring over broken roads and it means the CR-V doesn’t roll much through corners, and remains stable. We preferred the 2WD model in most situations, as it felt noticeably more sprightly.

Interestingly, it has paddles behind the steering wheel but they’re not for changing gear — there are none, remember. Instead, they decrease or increase the amount of force applied to the regenerative braking, changing how quickly the car decelerates when lifting off the throttle. Having it on max doesn’t increase how much battery is topped up, we were told; it recoups the same amount, but over a shorter distance.

Strangely, it resets back to the least resistance after a few seconds, so you then have to use the left paddle again to add resistance; this is because it’s meant to mimic a downshift in gears, and is designed for use as you approach a corner — like using engine braking.

Standard across all trim grades are safety features such as auto emergency braking with forward collision warning, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control and traffic sign recognition.

Honda’s active cruise control and steering assist is one of the best we’ve tried, actually, with strong support in turning the wheel allowing you to cruise for miles with just the lightest of touches.

If you’ve been sensing a “but” coming, well done… the CR-V Hybrid is a bit of a weakling when it comes to towing. Whereas the petrol model can pull up to 2,000kg (braked) and Toyota’s rivalling RAV4 Hybrid can tow up to 1,650kg, Honda’s CR-V hybrid is only rated up to 750kg. This rules it out if you want a car for pulling a caravan or large-ish boat.

Also of note is that the CR-V Hybrid is strictly a five-seater, whereas the petrol model can now be specified with a third row of seats. And be aware an all-new Toyota RAV4 is on the way.

Those negatives aside, this a compelling alternative to the current RAV4 Hybrid, with an enjoyable driving experience, decent economy, plenty of tech as standard and heaps of interior space. It’s definitely worth a test drive when it arrives in showrooms in February 2019, but if you have a lot of towing to do, you’ll have to go for the petrol or nip across to the Toyota dealership instead.

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Head to head

Honda CR-V Hybrid vs Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Drive

	2019 Honda CR-V Hybrid SE AWD	Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Design AWD
Price (OTR)	£32,065	£34,030
0-62mph	9.2sec	8.4sec
Top speed	112mph	112mph
Economy (official combined)	51.4mpg	50.4mpg
CO2	126g/km	127g/km
Boot space (seats up, to tonneau)	497 litres	501 litres
Towing capacity (braked)	750kg	1,650kg

The post 2019 Honda CR-V Hybrid review appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.

source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/first-drive/2019-honda-cr-v-hybrid-review/