Friday, December 09, 2005
Honda
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
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
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Volvo S60
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, December 02, 2005
New Passat Revealed
Volkswagen has revelaed the first pictures of its eaglerley waited new passat, which will be officially revealed later this year. Car rental uk
A significant lea in quality over the current model, which itself forged an upmarket reputation eight years ago. Car rental uk
On the outside, cues from the concept C and R show cars such as the large chrome grill are evident and are set to make their way onto future VW's. On the inside cabin quality levels area said to move the current cars reputation on even further. Car rental uk,
Handling has been omrpoved also, thanks to a new four-link rear suspension system and a bodys thats some 54% stiffer. Car rental uk,
A significant lea in quality over the current model, which itself forged an upmarket reputation eight years ago. Car rental uk
On the outside, cues from the concept C and R show cars such as the large chrome grill are evident and are set to make their way onto future VW's. On the inside cabin quality levels area said to move the current cars reputation on even further. Car rental uk,
Handling has been omrpoved also, thanks to a new four-link rear suspension system and a bodys thats some 54% stiffer. Car rental uk,
