Monday, September 26, 2005
Volvo S60 D5
I HAVE always had a soft spot for Volvo’s S60. While everyone else ignores it in favour of its German premium rivals, for a long time I’ve admired its svelte body, long- legged nature and the supreme level of comfort it offers. car rental uk
But it is no sports saloon in the mould of BMW’s 3-series. It lacks the involving steering and supple chassis which its German rival majors on. But I defy anyone to name a more comfortable car in this class. car rental uk
The seats are something else – generously padded, they make long distance work a treat.
But as soon as you corner enthusiastically you slide off the side – it’s then that you realise they are designed to cosset rather than grip you. So instead of thinking of the S60 as a sports saloon, I prefer to call it a GT. It has that loping gait which suits the grand tourer title down to a tee.
Even the gear change has a long, lazy feel about it. car rental uk
But this doesn’t matter too much, because such are the reserves of power on offer from this new D5 diesel engine that even a lazy gearchange doesn’t blunt your progress.
This engine is something else. At 185bhp it rockets the S60 to the top of the sub-3.0-litre diesel premium upper-medium power charts.
But it doesn’t feel like a diesel because it revs keenly and cleanly all the way up to the red line, all the while emitting that unusual Volvo five-cylinder howl which has become the firm’s trademark.
Mid-range power is very strong, which makes overtaking anything between the 50-70mph mark so easy that it doesn’t even need you to change down into fourth gear. Leave it in fifth, roll on the throttle and the S60 picks up its skirt and surges forward. The ride is biased towards comfort, although this can be changed by pressing the 4C button and switching from Comfort to Sport. car rental uk
This firms up the ride, but to be honest there’s little point as it just turns the S60 into a hard-riding car rather than a more toned sports saloon.
And the steering is nothing to write home about either. The actual turn-in is quite direct, but there’s none of the feedback you get from a 3-series. And while we’re talking steering, the turning circle on the S60 is poor. Several times while driving the car I went to park in a space and completely missed it as there’s not enough turn on the wheels.
But on the plus side, the interior is a triumph, with a sloping centre console mounted slightly towards you and fairly high up, meaning most controls are within your eye line. car rental uk
But it is no sports saloon in the mould of BMW’s 3-series. It lacks the involving steering and supple chassis which its German rival majors on. But I defy anyone to name a more comfortable car in this class. car rental uk
The seats are something else – generously padded, they make long distance work a treat.
But as soon as you corner enthusiastically you slide off the side – it’s then that you realise they are designed to cosset rather than grip you. So instead of thinking of the S60 as a sports saloon, I prefer to call it a GT. It has that loping gait which suits the grand tourer title down to a tee.
Even the gear change has a long, lazy feel about it. car rental uk
But this doesn’t matter too much, because such are the reserves of power on offer from this new D5 diesel engine that even a lazy gearchange doesn’t blunt your progress.
This engine is something else. At 185bhp it rockets the S60 to the top of the sub-3.0-litre diesel premium upper-medium power charts.
But it doesn’t feel like a diesel because it revs keenly and cleanly all the way up to the red line, all the while emitting that unusual Volvo five-cylinder howl which has become the firm’s trademark.
Mid-range power is very strong, which makes overtaking anything between the 50-70mph mark so easy that it doesn’t even need you to change down into fourth gear. Leave it in fifth, roll on the throttle and the S60 picks up its skirt and surges forward. The ride is biased towards comfort, although this can be changed by pressing the 4C button and switching from Comfort to Sport. car rental uk
This firms up the ride, but to be honest there’s little point as it just turns the S60 into a hard-riding car rather than a more toned sports saloon.
And the steering is nothing to write home about either. The actual turn-in is quite direct, but there’s none of the feedback you get from a 3-series. And while we’re talking steering, the turning circle on the S60 is poor. Several times while driving the car I went to park in a space and completely missed it as there’s not enough turn on the wheels.
But on the plus side, the interior is a triumph, with a sloping centre console mounted slightly towards you and fairly high up, meaning most controls are within your eye line. car rental uk
Friday, September 23, 2005
Honda CR-V 2.2iCDTi
MY initial excitement about a bespoke Honda bike rack fitted to the CR-V was fairly short lived.
The Honda was whisked off to a dealership which promptly fitted the rack and returned the car with a bike rack which is certainly bespoke. Car rental uk
On the positive side, the bikes can be securely locked to the rack, unlike those portable carriers. It is very stable with no wobbles – even at high speeds – and it is easy to load as the bikes don’t have to be lifted very high.
However, I was expecting one of those little gadgets like you buy in Halfords for about £50, but it is more like a mini trailer. It juts out almost a metre from the back of the CR-V but only accommodates two bikes. car rental uk
It can be removed, but it is a cumbersome and difficult manoeuvre. Opening the rear door is impossible unless you tilt the rack and again this is a difficult operation. Since the rack has been fitted, all shopping bags now have to sit on the back seat and my usual reverse parking technique has gone out of the window with all that extra clobber on the back.
The final sting in the tail is the price. It costs a whopping £700 to have the rack attached to the CR-V – I could have bought a second car for the same price. car rental uk
I’ve since discovered that Argos now sells a portable bike rack for 4x4s. It fits over the spare wheel, carries three bikes and costs a mere £69.99. Buying one of these would leave £630 over Honda’s version, enough for a week’s cycling holiday in the South of France.
Bike racks aside, the CR-V is a joy to drive. It is still returning a healthy 36.1mpg, slightly lower than my last figure, but lugging a couple of mountain bikes around could have been the cause.
Honda has also been very clever with the compact styling and useful storage areas inside the cabin. There are cup holders and cubby holes almost everywhere. The dash-mounted cool box only stores two cans of drink but is useful on long journeys and the retractable tray in between the driver and passenger seats is handycar rental uk
The Honda was whisked off to a dealership which promptly fitted the rack and returned the car with a bike rack which is certainly bespoke. Car rental uk
On the positive side, the bikes can be securely locked to the rack, unlike those portable carriers. It is very stable with no wobbles – even at high speeds – and it is easy to load as the bikes don’t have to be lifted very high.
However, I was expecting one of those little gadgets like you buy in Halfords for about £50, but it is more like a mini trailer. It juts out almost a metre from the back of the CR-V but only accommodates two bikes. car rental uk
It can be removed, but it is a cumbersome and difficult manoeuvre. Opening the rear door is impossible unless you tilt the rack and again this is a difficult operation. Since the rack has been fitted, all shopping bags now have to sit on the back seat and my usual reverse parking technique has gone out of the window with all that extra clobber on the back.
The final sting in the tail is the price. It costs a whopping £700 to have the rack attached to the CR-V – I could have bought a second car for the same price. car rental uk
I’ve since discovered that Argos now sells a portable bike rack for 4x4s. It fits over the spare wheel, carries three bikes and costs a mere £69.99. Buying one of these would leave £630 over Honda’s version, enough for a week’s cycling holiday in the South of France.
Bike racks aside, the CR-V is a joy to drive. It is still returning a healthy 36.1mpg, slightly lower than my last figure, but lugging a couple of mountain bikes around could have been the cause.
Honda has also been very clever with the compact styling and useful storage areas inside the cabin. There are cup holders and cubby holes almost everywhere. The dash-mounted cool box only stores two cans of drink but is useful on long journeys and the retractable tray in between the driver and passenger seats is handycar rental uk
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
BMW 523i
BMW makes excellent engines. Few other manufacturers produce such a wide range of motors that combine performance, economy, character and reliability.
From the punchy 2.0-litre diesel up to the storming 5.0 V10 in the M5, BMW has an engine to suit any buyer. car rental uk
But there has been the odd runt in the pack. Generally they are at the bottom of each range: the 116i and 318i smack of engines for those desperate to drive a BMW but who don’t have the resources to do it properly. car rental uk
In fact, many of the entry-level four-cylinder petrol BMWs over the years have attracted derisory attention, which might well be why the 5-series Touring range starts with a six-cylinder, in the form of the 523i SE. car rental uk
It has a good pedigree, being hewn from the same lightweight block as the 258bhp 3.0-litre motor, and featuring high-revving Valvetronic technology.
The 523i isn’t actually a 2.3-litre engine. It’s a 2.5-litre unit, the same as in the 525i but with less power. It has 174bhp, while the full-fat 525i has considerably more with 215bhp. But the new 520d will have 167bhp, and that leads to a question which is not easy to answer in the positive for the petrol. Why would you buy a 523i? car rental uk
BMW is about to have all the bases covered at this end of the market. The forthcoming diesel will do the job from a running cost point of view, as well as having a lot more grunt than the 523i, which is useful if a driver uses the Touring for heavy loads.
The 525i will offer the sportier power delivery that some drivers want from a petrol-engined car. So what does the 523i offer?
Less performance, for one. With four up and load on board, the lack of power and torque is noticeable.
Although it has a respectable 0-62mph time of just under nine seconds, it is in the mid- range that it lacks punch. car rental uk
Being a BMW six-cylinder, it makes a brawny noise under acceleration, and is whisper quiet when cruising, but compared with what the bigger petrol offers and what the small diesel will, it doesn’t come up to the mark. Its combined fuel consumption figure of 32.5mpg is also almost identical to the 525i at 31.7mpg, so there is no great advantage there either.
The main one is price: the 523i is £600 cheaper. But it will be £900 more expensive than the 520d.
Everywhere, BMW has a model that has it licked.
Viewed in isolation against other manufacturers’ efforts, the 523i is a decent engine in a good car. But line it up against the other engines in the 5-series range and it looks weedy, with not especially good fuel economy and high-ish emissions.
So it boils down to this: the 523i is a car for drivers who really don’t want a diesel but can’t stretch to the extra money required for a 525i. In this case, the 523i is the Touring for them.
From the punchy 2.0-litre diesel up to the storming 5.0 V10 in the M5, BMW has an engine to suit any buyer. car rental uk
But there has been the odd runt in the pack. Generally they are at the bottom of each range: the 116i and 318i smack of engines for those desperate to drive a BMW but who don’t have the resources to do it properly. car rental uk
In fact, many of the entry-level four-cylinder petrol BMWs over the years have attracted derisory attention, which might well be why the 5-series Touring range starts with a six-cylinder, in the form of the 523i SE. car rental uk
It has a good pedigree, being hewn from the same lightweight block as the 258bhp 3.0-litre motor, and featuring high-revving Valvetronic technology.
The 523i isn’t actually a 2.3-litre engine. It’s a 2.5-litre unit, the same as in the 525i but with less power. It has 174bhp, while the full-fat 525i has considerably more with 215bhp. But the new 520d will have 167bhp, and that leads to a question which is not easy to answer in the positive for the petrol. Why would you buy a 523i? car rental uk
BMW is about to have all the bases covered at this end of the market. The forthcoming diesel will do the job from a running cost point of view, as well as having a lot more grunt than the 523i, which is useful if a driver uses the Touring for heavy loads.
The 525i will offer the sportier power delivery that some drivers want from a petrol-engined car. So what does the 523i offer?
Less performance, for one. With four up and load on board, the lack of power and torque is noticeable.
Although it has a respectable 0-62mph time of just under nine seconds, it is in the mid- range that it lacks punch. car rental uk
Being a BMW six-cylinder, it makes a brawny noise under acceleration, and is whisper quiet when cruising, but compared with what the bigger petrol offers and what the small diesel will, it doesn’t come up to the mark. Its combined fuel consumption figure of 32.5mpg is also almost identical to the 525i at 31.7mpg, so there is no great advantage there either.
The main one is price: the 523i is £600 cheaper. But it will be £900 more expensive than the 520d.
Everywhere, BMW has a model that has it licked.
Viewed in isolation against other manufacturers’ efforts, the 523i is a decent engine in a good car. But line it up against the other engines in the 5-series range and it looks weedy, with not especially good fuel economy and high-ish emissions.
So it boils down to this: the 523i is a car for drivers who really don’t want a diesel but can’t stretch to the extra money required for a 525i. In this case, the 523i is the Touring for them.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Mercedes-Benz B class
MERCEDES-BENZ is hitting back. Tired of volume brands narrowing the quality gap to its premium products, it is pitching its new B-class straight into the fleet heartland of MPVs like the Vauxhall Zafira as well as at hatchbacks like the Golf Plus.
By introducing the range at £16,995 for the B150, Mercedes is hoping to tempt company car drivers to trade in their current set of mainstream wheels to upgrade to a large hatch bearing the coveted three-pointed star. car rental uk
It expects to move 1,500 units during the remainder of this year, and 6,000 to 7,000 in 2006. At least 75% of these will be conquest sales, it predicts. The fleet market is expected to account for a third of total volume. car rental uk
The B-class’s target audience is the young and well-educated, and Mercedes-Benz expects 65% of its customers to be aged under 40. Unlike its smaller A-class sibling, mostly bought as the second car of the household, this model is designed to be the customer’s main transport.
Mari Dyson, product executive for the B-class, says this new market is of huge importance to the premium marque. Consequently the B-class’s arrival has been backed by an innovative marketing campaign. This has seen the creation of 44 individual 20-second TV adverts – one for every day of its launch campaign – each designed to demonstrate the car’s versatility.
This is supported by print and online advertising, and WAP downloads to customers mobile phones. The marketing bill alone comes to £4 million. car rental uk
Dyson said: ‘A lot of the onus is on us to drive the user- choosers to our dealers. ‘There’s a lot of direct marketing going out, and the website has been very busy. In fact more people have actively registered their details for this car than any other car we have launched.’
Residual values will differentiate it from the volume fare. CAP predicts prices after three years/60,000 miles in the high 30s for the diesel, which is five to six percentage points higher than volume MPVs such as the Vauxhall Zafira and Volks-wagen Touran, while it is at similar levels to the Golf Plus, which has nowhere near the adaptability.
Six powerplants are available, comprising two turbodiesels (B180 CDI and B200 CDI) and four petrols (B150, B170, B200 and B200 Turbo), all of which are offered in the A-class.
The B150 won’t be here until November, but all other versions are launched on September 15.
The range has two trim levels, standard and SE. Buyers will be underwhelmed by the standard trim, which includes steel wheels and black exterior details, so many people are expected to spend £950 upgrading to the more generous SE. car rental uk
At this level the B-class has a more eye-catching appearance, gaining 16-inch alloy wheels, chrome body details and a chrome radiator grille. Inside, the SE gets leather steering wheel, gear knob and handbrake lever, plus automatic headlight and wiper controls.
Both B200 models auto- matically get SE specification anyway, and the B200 Turbo receives even more equipment as well as a sports pack.
Depending on the depth of the buyer’s pocket, the B-class can still be up-specced from a list of more than 50 extra-cost options, including a removable passenger seat system and two choices of panoramic sunroof.
In the versatility stakes the B-class is left slightly behind by the volume mini-MPVs such as the Vauxhall Zafira or Mazda5 with their abundance of storage areas. Yet its passenger seats can be folded down easily, creating luggage space 60 litres larger than a C-class estate.
Naturally, there’s an array of safety systems including ABS with Brake Assist, ESP, traction control and six airbags. The B-class also has Mercedes-Benz’s’ new steer control system. When the car begins to oversteer, this automatically increases resistance in one direction to encourage the driver to correctly steer against the skid.
Mercedes expects it to perform well in Euro NCAP crash tests later this year. The A-class, with which it shares some architecture, gained five-stars for adult occupants and four stars for child occupants.
A similar sandwich floor concept is used on the B-class, ensuring that in a frontal collision the engine and transmission are pushed down beneath the cabin rather than back into the occupants. car rental uk
By introducing the range at £16,995 for the B150, Mercedes is hoping to tempt company car drivers to trade in their current set of mainstream wheels to upgrade to a large hatch bearing the coveted three-pointed star. car rental uk
It expects to move 1,500 units during the remainder of this year, and 6,000 to 7,000 in 2006. At least 75% of these will be conquest sales, it predicts. The fleet market is expected to account for a third of total volume. car rental uk
The B-class’s target audience is the young and well-educated, and Mercedes-Benz expects 65% of its customers to be aged under 40. Unlike its smaller A-class sibling, mostly bought as the second car of the household, this model is designed to be the customer’s main transport.
Mari Dyson, product executive for the B-class, says this new market is of huge importance to the premium marque. Consequently the B-class’s arrival has been backed by an innovative marketing campaign. This has seen the creation of 44 individual 20-second TV adverts – one for every day of its launch campaign – each designed to demonstrate the car’s versatility.
This is supported by print and online advertising, and WAP downloads to customers mobile phones. The marketing bill alone comes to £4 million. car rental uk
Dyson said: ‘A lot of the onus is on us to drive the user- choosers to our dealers. ‘There’s a lot of direct marketing going out, and the website has been very busy. In fact more people have actively registered their details for this car than any other car we have launched.’
Residual values will differentiate it from the volume fare. CAP predicts prices after three years/60,000 miles in the high 30s for the diesel, which is five to six percentage points higher than volume MPVs such as the Vauxhall Zafira and Volks-wagen Touran, while it is at similar levels to the Golf Plus, which has nowhere near the adaptability.
Six powerplants are available, comprising two turbodiesels (B180 CDI and B200 CDI) and four petrols (B150, B170, B200 and B200 Turbo), all of which are offered in the A-class.
The B150 won’t be here until November, but all other versions are launched on September 15.
The range has two trim levels, standard and SE. Buyers will be underwhelmed by the standard trim, which includes steel wheels and black exterior details, so many people are expected to spend £950 upgrading to the more generous SE. car rental uk
At this level the B-class has a more eye-catching appearance, gaining 16-inch alloy wheels, chrome body details and a chrome radiator grille. Inside, the SE gets leather steering wheel, gear knob and handbrake lever, plus automatic headlight and wiper controls.
Both B200 models auto- matically get SE specification anyway, and the B200 Turbo receives even more equipment as well as a sports pack.
Depending on the depth of the buyer’s pocket, the B-class can still be up-specced from a list of more than 50 extra-cost options, including a removable passenger seat system and two choices of panoramic sunroof.
In the versatility stakes the B-class is left slightly behind by the volume mini-MPVs such as the Vauxhall Zafira or Mazda5 with their abundance of storage areas. Yet its passenger seats can be folded down easily, creating luggage space 60 litres larger than a C-class estate.
Naturally, there’s an array of safety systems including ABS with Brake Assist, ESP, traction control and six airbags. The B-class also has Mercedes-Benz’s’ new steer control system. When the car begins to oversteer, this automatically increases resistance in one direction to encourage the driver to correctly steer against the skid.
Mercedes expects it to perform well in Euro NCAP crash tests later this year. The A-class, with which it shares some architecture, gained five-stars for adult occupants and four stars for child occupants.
A similar sandwich floor concept is used on the B-class, ensuring that in a frontal collision the engine and transmission are pushed down beneath the cabin rather than back into the occupants. car rental uk
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Mazda RX-8
ACCELERATE to 90mph, take your hands off the steering wheel and slam on the brakes. That was the introductory instruction to a day with Prodrive for Mazda RX-8 drivers.
No way was I going to do something so foolhardy. But a minute later, I’d done just that – and lived to tell the tale. car rental uk
Anyone’s instinct behind the wheel is to stay in control, not to hand over the reins to a mere piece of metal – but the RX-8 rose to the challenge, bringing us to a halt exactly where Rod the instructor had predicted.
I shared my driving experience with half a dozen RX-8 owners courtesy of Mazda, which initially offered the free ‘professional driver development programme’ for a limited period to new buyers. car rental uk
That was 6,500 drivers and nearly two years ago. The scheme has proved so successful that it has been extended to meet continued customer demand.
All the owners I met were pretty impressed with their vehicle choice, apart from a few gripes alluding to slight corrosion, particularly on the optional silver ‘fins’ some of them had specified, and fuel economy. car rental uk
It’s true that parsimony is not the RX-8’s best attribute (Fleet News testers have rarely managed the claimed combined mpg figure of 24.8mpg and the car drinks oil) but, as we were told: ‘You don’t buy a sports car like no other to be frugal.’
The aim of the Prodrive course is to inform as well as to entertain and it lived up to its promise. Instructors included advanced driving specialists, Class 1 police drivers and former rally and race drivers. They were all friendly and jargon-free.
The exercises are designed to show off the Mazda’s state-of-the-art active and passive safety features as well as its performance and handling capabilities.
So the half-day track section includes a session on the skidpan with safety features temporarily disabled to demonstrate the advantages of ABS, EBD and traction control.
Circuit driving and high-speed braking are covered and speed merchants can test out their vehicles in safety, though probably not to the RX-8’s limits (said to be 0-60mph in 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 146mph). car rental uk
RX-8 owners are likely to have a good idea already that they have purchased what amounts to a performance driving bargain. Anyone who hadn’t is likely to be in no doubt after their day out with Prodrive
No way was I going to do something so foolhardy. But a minute later, I’d done just that – and lived to tell the tale. car rental uk
Anyone’s instinct behind the wheel is to stay in control, not to hand over the reins to a mere piece of metal – but the RX-8 rose to the challenge, bringing us to a halt exactly where Rod the instructor had predicted.
I shared my driving experience with half a dozen RX-8 owners courtesy of Mazda, which initially offered the free ‘professional driver development programme’ for a limited period to new buyers. car rental uk
That was 6,500 drivers and nearly two years ago. The scheme has proved so successful that it has been extended to meet continued customer demand.
All the owners I met were pretty impressed with their vehicle choice, apart from a few gripes alluding to slight corrosion, particularly on the optional silver ‘fins’ some of them had specified, and fuel economy. car rental uk
It’s true that parsimony is not the RX-8’s best attribute (Fleet News testers have rarely managed the claimed combined mpg figure of 24.8mpg and the car drinks oil) but, as we were told: ‘You don’t buy a sports car like no other to be frugal.’
The aim of the Prodrive course is to inform as well as to entertain and it lived up to its promise. Instructors included advanced driving specialists, Class 1 police drivers and former rally and race drivers. They were all friendly and jargon-free.
The exercises are designed to show off the Mazda’s state-of-the-art active and passive safety features as well as its performance and handling capabilities.
So the half-day track section includes a session on the skidpan with safety features temporarily disabled to demonstrate the advantages of ABS, EBD and traction control.
Circuit driving and high-speed braking are covered and speed merchants can test out their vehicles in safety, though probably not to the RX-8’s limits (said to be 0-60mph in 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 146mph). car rental uk
RX-8 owners are likely to have a good idea already that they have purchased what amounts to a performance driving bargain. Anyone who hadn’t is likely to be in no doubt after their day out with Prodrive
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Audi A6 3.0 TDI quattro
IT is a testament to Audi build quality that, despite having been on the Fleet News test fleet for nine months, when I first got into our A6 it felt as if I could have been driving it out of the showroom on its maiden voyage. car rental uk
I moved from the test fleet’s Saab 9-3 Convertible, which itself is no Amish homestead when it comes to luxury, but the Audi is overpowering in its grandeur and presents a definition of prestige motoring.
Outwardly, its appearance is deceptive. You would not know from looking at it that the latest incarnation of the A6 is the longest and widest car in its class. And it is 120mm longer and 45mm wider than its predecessor. car rental uk
Inside, there is a massive amount of space to the point of being Tardis-like. But unlike Dr Who’s dated time-travelling box, the Audi is a vision in subtle opulence and superb construction.
The twists in logic continue when you drive it. The light steering, whisper-quiet diesel engine and seat comfort make the driving experience of the A6 like that of a smaller car. car rental uk
There is plenty of choice in the A6 range of engines. The entry-level model comes with the 177bhp 2.4-litre V6 SE and then there’s the 255bhp 3.2 FSI SE and the newly-introduced 2.0-litre turbodiesel and 176bhp 2.7-litre TDI, with the range topping off with the 335bhp 4.2-litre V8 in the quattro SE. car rental uk
Our model is powered by the 3.0 TDI engine, delivering a maximum 225bhp at 4,000 revs and a 0-62mph time of 7.3 seconds.
Being an automatic, there is a frustrating lag in initial acceleration but then be prepared to re-live the scene in Star Wars when the Millennium Falcon goes into hyperspace. It is that impressive.
There is no loss of composure, however, thanks to the latest model’s extra length and width. Speed-related power steering stops the steering wheel feeling too loose at high speeds, though this leaves little for thrill seekers who are after ‘seat-of-the-pants’ motoring.
But if you want to get somewhere as fast as the UK legal system allows and arrive cool and calm for a meeting, the A6 is the car to choose. car rental uk
I moved from the test fleet’s Saab 9-3 Convertible, which itself is no Amish homestead when it comes to luxury, but the Audi is overpowering in its grandeur and presents a definition of prestige motoring.
Outwardly, its appearance is deceptive. You would not know from looking at it that the latest incarnation of the A6 is the longest and widest car in its class. And it is 120mm longer and 45mm wider than its predecessor. car rental uk
Inside, there is a massive amount of space to the point of being Tardis-like. But unlike Dr Who’s dated time-travelling box, the Audi is a vision in subtle opulence and superb construction.
The twists in logic continue when you drive it. The light steering, whisper-quiet diesel engine and seat comfort make the driving experience of the A6 like that of a smaller car. car rental uk
There is plenty of choice in the A6 range of engines. The entry-level model comes with the 177bhp 2.4-litre V6 SE and then there’s the 255bhp 3.2 FSI SE and the newly-introduced 2.0-litre turbodiesel and 176bhp 2.7-litre TDI, with the range topping off with the 335bhp 4.2-litre V8 in the quattro SE. car rental uk
Our model is powered by the 3.0 TDI engine, delivering a maximum 225bhp at 4,000 revs and a 0-62mph time of 7.3 seconds.
Being an automatic, there is a frustrating lag in initial acceleration but then be prepared to re-live the scene in Star Wars when the Millennium Falcon goes into hyperspace. It is that impressive.
There is no loss of composure, however, thanks to the latest model’s extra length and width. Speed-related power steering stops the steering wheel feeling too loose at high speeds, though this leaves little for thrill seekers who are after ‘seat-of-the-pants’ motoring.
But if you want to get somewhere as fast as the UK legal system allows and arrive cool and calm for a meeting, the A6 is the car to choose. car rental uk
