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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Mar
17
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
This week’s manufacturer news
 FIAT – Has announced the introduction of the 500C Pink special edition. The 500 Pink hatchback was launched in January this year, with 500 units available to the UK. Just 300 units will be offered to the UK for the 500C Pink. Based on the 500 1.2 Pop, standard features include: special pink paint, 16” alloy wheels, leather steering wheel/gear knob and Blue&Me infotainment. The 500C Pink starts at £13,500 on the road.
First driving impressions – Mercedes-Benz E Class cabriolet, international press event, Majorca
 You would have thought that Majorca in early March would be the perfect place to hold the launch and first drive of a new cabriolet car. It wouldn’t be overly hot, so you would avoid getting burnt in the sun and it would be just warm enough to enjoy driving with the roof down. Unfortunately, the day before we arrived in Palma the island had had some quite heavy snow. There had been a landslide on one of the test routes and when we touched down the pilot told us it was 1°C, so the location was not ideal after all.
We got into the cars and it started to rain, so it was a good way of testing the roof for any leaks and not surprisingly, there were none. The new acoustic hood was the next test; was it any quieter than the previous CLK cab? Yes it is. The noise levels in this car are no different to that of a coupe with a fixed metal roof. This new hood also keeps the warmth in, as the thickness of the new soft-top is 23.5mm and it has three separate materials of varying thicknesses. The roof goes up or down in 20 seconds and is operational up to a speed of 20mph. When the roof is up, the boot is a reasonable size but when it goes down, you have to manually move a section in the boot and this reduces the space dramatically. There were two of us in the car and we struggled to get two small pull-along cases into the boot, so all of our hand luggage had to go on the back seat.
 This car is every bit a Mercedes-Benz, with the quality, fit and finish all being superb. However, it does lack some excitement in the way it drives. It is a good, steady, honest cabriolet that is not masquerading as a sports car and doesn’t mislead you into thinking it is one. It doesn’t leave you with a desire to drive it quickly; it actually does just the opposite. Once behind the wheel, you do not have any inclination to beat anyone away at the traffic lights, you don’t want to throw it around corners and you have no urge to break any speed limits. It’s a luxurious cruiser and there is nothing wrong with that.
 We drove a selection of engines that will be offered to the UK, but the best by far, and the one which will no doubt be the best seller, was the E220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY. It produces 170ps and is available with either a 6 speed manual gearbox with hill-hold assist, or a 5 speed automatic. The manual has a combined MPG of 53.3 and a CO2 figure of 143g/km. The automatic does 45.6 MPG and has a CO2 figure of 162g/km. The manual has never been a popular choice with Mercedes-Benz buyers. Only 2.5% were sold on the CLK cabriolet, but with a much improved gearbox and with hill-hold, the take up of manual transmission on the E Class cabriolet must surely prove more appealing.
The new E Class cabriolet is 4,698mm in length, making it 46mm longer than its predecessor. This extra room is particularly noticeable when sitting in the rear; it means that getting in and out of the back is relatively easy and even easier when the roof is down. The new cabriolet is a strict four seater model, as it only has four seat belts.
 Now to the part where we had to disagree with the engineers and press people: This new car has a new innovation fitted as standard to all UK cars, but is a cost option of around 700 euro in Europe. The AirCAP technology, that was invented 20 years ago but has only just come to market, is a wind-deflector that electrically pops up above the windscreen at the touch of a button. It is not speed sensitive and does look a bit silly when you are town driving as it looks as if a part of the windscreen is falling off. We did receive  some looks and pointed fingers, so you must remember to put it down to avoid any sniggers. Mercedes told us that when you sit in the rear with the deflector up, the wind and noise around your head is reduced dramatically. I sat in the back whilst we drove at speeds varying from 50kph to 120kph with the deflector down and I had plenty of wind through my hair. Put the deflector up at the same speeds and it is exactly the same; it made no difference whatsoever. There was probably less wind around the chest area but not around the head. It seemed to us that Mercedes may be over-selling this technology. In the wind-tunnels during testing it may have proved successful, but on a windy day in Majorca, it was pretty useless. Or maybe it was just the wrong sort of wind in the Balearics? What does work well however, is the new and improved ‘AirSCARF’ that blows warm air from the headrest directly onto your neck. It provides comfort while the roof is down and does keep you nice and warm. AirSCARF is an optional extra and costs an additional £350.
There is no doubt that safety has become a tradition with all Mercedes-Benz cars. The standard safety features are endless and the company does do everything it can to protect the driver, passengers, other road users and pedestrians. The technology involved is some of the best available. This, like all Mercedes-Benz cars, is safe and solid.
The best selling year for the CLK cabriolet was in 2004 when 4,392 units were sold. In 2005 it was 3,715, 2006 was 2,734, 2007 was 2,458 and in 2008 sales went down to 1,464.
Prices start at £33,270 for the E200 CGI petrol 184ps. The E220 CDI manual is priced at £33,880 and the auto at £35,395. The top of the range E500 cabriolet is priced at £53,390.
First impressions – Renault Wind, Megane coupe cabriolet and Fluence, Aubevoye, France
Renault Wind – There is very little choice in this sector of the market for a fun, two seat convertible with relatively small, economical engines. There are no direct competitors, but anyone interested in this market must also consider Peugeot 207CC, Mini convertible, Mitsubishi Colt CC, Fiat 500C and Mazda MX-5. The Wind’s closest rival however, would have been the Vauxhall Tigra but this has now been discontinued, and another which is close in comparison would have been the Fiat X-19. All these competitors are similar in price but very different types of cars; the only real similarity between them is that they are all convertibles.
 We were not given any information on pricing at Renault’s R&D facility in France, but the Wind is expected to start from around £15,000 when it goes on sale in the UK in July. This will be for a fully loaded model with a long list of standard equipment including air conditioning, remote central locking, one-touch electric windows, front fog lights, height adjustable leather steering wheel, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, height adjustable driver’s sports seats and 16” alloy wheels. There will not be a base model at launch, which is a pity, as a more affordable car at a lower price might have attracted younger customers to the Renault brand. The Wind is based on the Twingo Renaultsport platform and will be available with a choice of two petrol engines: a 1.6 litre 16V 133hp and a 1.2 litre turbocharged TCE 100hp.
The car has a metal roof which folds into the boot, going up or down in twelve seconds. There is a button located in front of the gear stick that you hold down to put the roof down, and lift up to put roof up. The boot lid opens backwards and the roof section pivots backwards as it goes into the boot, storing everything neatly. It is quick, simple and effective.
The cars we saw were early pre-production models but the quality looked to be reasonable. The plastics used on the doors and dash were acceptable for this type of car and for the price range. The seats were comfortable and the interior offered plenty in terms of leg and shoulder room. There is plenty of cabin stowage available, with a small shelf and cubby boxes behind the seats.
We were told by Renault engineers that due to its chassis tuning by Renaultsport, it will be fun to drive and its handling, braking and steering will be superb.
This clever, 3.83m, two seater car has a boot that is reasonable in size and is nimble and agile. It is a good, everyday practical car that turns into a very nice open-top sports car on a warm, sunny day.
Renault Megane coupe cabriolet – This all new convertible is due in the UK in mid June and the improvements in terms of style and quality are easy to see.
 The large glass/metal roof folds into three parts and stows neatly away into the boot. The boot lid folds backwards and drops down towards the floor to create a huge opening for the roof to go into. As with all tin-top convertibles, the rear end never looks as attractive or neat as one with a much lighter, stow-friendly cloth roof. The metal part of the roof is finished in gloss black so it actually looks like a convertible and not a coupe. This is something that was often criticised on the current car and on some other tin-tops, as they just don’t look like convertibles.
The windscreen has been moved forward 10cm to allow easier access, as the top of the windscreen is now more out of harm’s way, meaning that you are less likely to bang your head. It also means that the front seat passengers have more of a view of the sky and it does not obscure the sun as much as the previous model.
The styling is just so much better than today’s car; it is such an improvement. It looks lower and sleeker and is more in proportion, despite it having an overly-large boot, but the designers have managed to make it look good from every angle.
There will be a choice of petrol and diesel engines, though the final line-up has not yet been decided. Renault’s EDC (Efficient Dual Clutch), which is similar to VW Group’s DSG transmission, will be available with some engines including the 1.5 dCi.
The coupe cabriolet will be built alongside the Scenic and Grand Scenic at Renault’s Douai plant in France. The Renault Megane convertible was the most popular open-top, four seater car for many years, but after a slew of rivals were introduced, it lost its market dominance. However, the styling of this new car should get many of those customers back into Renault showrooms.
Renault Fluence – We were picked up at the airport in a diesel powered, five door car that is currently sold in some European countries, but it will not be brought into the UK. The Fluence is built at the Bursa plant in Turkey.
 The UK will get an electric version of the Fluence in the next couple of years and it will have a range of 160km and produce the equivalent of 95hp. The battery will be able to be charged in three ways: on a standard charge (between four and eight hours), on a quick charge (20 minutes) or on immediate solution (three minutes), which is where the car is charged using the exclusive ‘quick-drop’ rapid battery exchange system.
The Fluence is 4,820mm in length, 1,882mm wide and 1,520mm high, so it is a large hatchback to compete in the D sector. It looks like a normal car and lacks any quirky styling.
In the hour we spent in the Fluence we found that it had plenty of room for five adults, was comfortable and the quality seemed to be up to a fairly high standard.
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