The Stuttgart sports car maker’s first diesel promises improved economy and lower emissions, but it’s still a Porsche at heart.
A 2,967cc, V6 turbodiesel engine shared with the mechanically similar Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg is Porsche’s way of answering criticism of its hitherto petrol-powered range, and particularly the aggressive Cayenne SUV.
It develops 236bhp from 4,000 [...]
Porsche might make very fast cars, but its nought-to-new technology time is not always spectacularly schnell. That, though, is the Porsche way. It has moments of revolution but generally believes more in evolution, of perfecting, polishing and purring over technology before cautiously setting it free.
It took about 20 years for the excellent twin-clutch PDK transmission [...]
They might not look that different, but Land Rover’s Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery have all been relaunched, with significant revisions.
The 2010 Range Rover, due on sale in July with “a slight price increase” (watch this space), has new engines, improvements to its brakes and transmission, as well as heightened levels of luxury.
Despite [...]
A hint of luxury is the last thing you expect from the stripped-out, “eco-friendly” cars that are presently fashionable. The cabins in VW’s BlueMotion and Skoda’s Greenline ranges, for example, normally resemble the Siberian Steppes because any superfluous fripperies have been deleted to save weight, and thus fuel.
Vauxhall’s Astra EcoFlex is a different matter entirely. [...]
Those knots in your neck, the skin stretched taut by central heating, shoulders hunched in a permanent shiver; everything starts to loosen with just a few watery rays of sun. How pathetically we Brits crave spring, the season that heralds entirely premature thoughts of shorts, garden furniture, barbecues… and roof-down motoring.
The UK is the second [...]
The onslaught of new models from Toyota continues apace with the all-new, third generation of its compact MPV. It is more spacious and versatile than its predecessor, with particular attention paid to comfort and driving dynamics.
All of the seats are now easier to fold and the luggage space is claimed to be increased, while underfloor [...]
Seat’s value-for-money new saloon is a lightly-re-engineered last-generation Audi A4, however Seat has entirely reworked the suspension and added the VW group’s latest two-litre, common-rail diesel engines and an interior lifted from the A4 Cabriolet.
In a trick borrowed from sister company Audi - which first used it on its big A8 - the Exeo (say [...]
BMW has unveiled its 5-series Gran Turismo, a car which, like the X6, somewhat defies description.
The company says it is “a car which combines an understated coupé-like silhouette with the luxurious interior of a 7-series, while at the same time giving the functionality of a 5-series Touring or X5″. So there you have it: it’s [...]