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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Mar
24
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
This week’s manufacturer news
 MITSUBISHI – Has announced pricing for the all-electric i-MiEV. It is priced at £38,699, less the government’s allowance of £5,000, making it £33,699 including VAT. First deliveries in the UK are expected in January 2011.
SEAT – Has announced a limited edition Ibiza model: the Ibiza SC ‘Goodstuff.’ The Goodstuff is based on the 1.4 85ps SE three door but has additional equipment including 16” alloy wheels, climate control, TomTom satellite navigation with cradle and dock, iPod Nano 8GB, Nokia hands free Bluetooth connection and external Goodstuff badging. The Goodstuff celebrates the partnership between Seat and pop star Shakira, and the title comes from Shakira’s forthcoming European tour which Seat are sponsoring. The Goodstuff is priced at £11,995 on the road.
SMART – Is introducing a limited edition Fortwo model called the Edition Urbanstyle. It is finished in matt grey paint, has dark painted 15” 6 spoke alloy wheels and Nappa leather upholstery. It is priced at £11,495 for the 71bhp and £11,980 for the 84bhp.
First driving impressions – Seat Ibiza ST, Barcelona
 The Ibiza ST (sports tourer) is the third member of the family; the five door hatchback and the sports coupe being the other two. This ST is a practical and versatile small estate with very little competition in the sector. The closest rivals are the Peugeot 207 SW, Renault Clio sport tourer, Skoda Fabia Estate and even the Mini Clubman.
This size of estate has never been popular in the UK, and if it had, then Ford and Vauxhall would have produced a car to fill the gap. The French competitors have been semi-successful, especially with the 207 SW which has sold in limited yet regular numbers, but the preference of the British buyer has been and always will be the hatchback. However, this new contender, with its good looks, might just find a new niche in the market.
 The Ibiza ST measures 4.22m in length compared to the hatchback at 4.05m. The majority of this extra length is in the boot, as the luggage capacity has increased from 292 litres to 410 litres. The largest in this sector is the Fabia, with 480 litres of useable luggage area. The cargo area in the ST is easily accessible, as the floor is relatively low and the width of the tailgate is wider than it is on the hatchback. The rear light cluster has been moved to create this larger opening. For maximum load space, the rear seats can be folded to being almost flat, but the squab part has to be lifted up before the seat back can be dropped down.
We drove the Ibiza ST around the IDIADA test track near Barcelona, where there is no speed restriction. There were many cones out for us to manoeuvre around at fairly high speeds and the ST did handle particularly well in all circumstances and conditions.
 There is a large choice of engines in the Ibiza range: the entry level 1.4 litre 85ps petrol, a 1.2 litre TSI 105ps petrol, a 1.2 litre TDI CR 75ps diesel (including an ecomotive version with sub-100g/km CO2) and a 1.6 litre CR 105ps diesel. Out of all the engines we tested, surprisingly the most impressive was the 1.2 litre TSI 105ps. It is quiet, has more than enough power and is extremely economical. It will be introduced shortly into the Ibiza range.
There will be three models in the range: S, SE and Sport. Prices start from £12,070 for the 1.4 litre 85ps and the ST has a premium of £800 over the five door hatchback.
First driving impressions – Fiat Doblo, UK press launch, Henley-On-Thames
 The Doblo was launched in 2000 and since then over one million have been sold worldwide. OK so it’s not pretty, but the new Doblo is so much better than the current model in just about every department. The styling may not be to everyone’s taste, it isn’t cool or trendy to drive one and some may not want to be seen in one at all, but you don’t buy this type of vehicle to show-off in; you buy one because it is practical and offers brilliant value for money. It is not a status symbol; it is a working vehicle. However, the new Doblo is more than just a van with windows. It is comfortable, the quality is a vast improvement and Fiat has tried and almost succeeded to build some style into this van. It is very difficult to take a work-horse and make it look like a car; almost impossible.
 Design is one thing, practicality is another, and the Doblo falls into the latter category. It really is a versatile, family-hold-all type of vehicle. The standard vehicle has five seats which offer plenty of leg and head room for five adults and there is a huge area behind the rear seats for a mass of luggage; you could get three months supply of shopping for a family of four in there. Fiat also offer the family pack which includes seven seats, lever-opening rear side windows and longitudinal roof bars at a cost of £800. The seats on the third row are individual, full size seats that provide an ample amount of leg room; they are every bit as comfortable as the rest of the seats in the car. The 2nd and 3rd row of seats are easily accessible and with the large sliding doors, it makes lifting children into child seats seem effortless. The runners on these doors have been cleverly integrated into the bodywork so that they are almost invisible.
 There is a choice of three engines in the Doblo: a 1.4 litre 95bhp petrol, 1.6 litre MultiJet 105bhp diesel and 2.0 litre MultiJet 135bhp diesel. On the launch I only drove the diesel engines and found the 1.6 litre to have more than enough power. It was as good as the 2.0 litre was, but the smaller diesel would be my choice as it has a CO2 figure of 138g/km and a combined fuel figure of 54.3 MPG, so it is fairly cheap to run.
Prices start from £12,295 on the road for the 1.4 litre 95bhp petrol Active, going up to £17,945 on the road for the 2.0 litre MultiJet diesel Eleganza Family.
First driving impressions, Vauxhall Movano, UK fleet launch, Millbrook
The Movano has not had the amount of success it deserved over the past few years, and its market share has been less than what was expected. The main reason has been the poor quality and reliability problems, which has made operators look to other manufacturers and not give Vauxhall a second chance.
 The exterior has been changed to give it a more appealing look and the large, bold front end really works well. The Movano is built alongside the Renault Master at the light commercial plant in France and Vauxhall told us that the improved build quality was evident everywhere on the new van.
The derivative naming does come across as being a bit complicated and you do need those large rear doors to fit all of the letters and numbers on. A derivative example is L3 H2 R 3500 2.3CDTI 125. L3 is the length; there are four to choose from (L1 to L4), H2 is the height; there are three to choose (from H1 to H3), R is rear wheel drive (if it says F then it is front wheel drive) and 3500 is the gross vehicle weight (there are four GVW’s available: 2800, 3300, 3500 and 4500). All new Movano models are fitted with a 2.3 litre CDTI diesel engine with three power outputs available. These are badged as: 100 for 100ps, 125 for 125ps and 150 for 146ps. Easy.
The interior is an entirely different place to sit in than the current Movano. The quality is a big improvement and the driving position seems to be a lot better. The whole cabin has improved ergonomics and overall feels like a much nicer environment. All new Movano models have a six way adjustable driver’s seat with armrest and a dual bench passenger seat. The cabin is now 20cm longer, which means that it feels much larger and it provides more in terms of comfort.
The Movano is not just available as a panel van; chassis cabs and crew cabs are offered in various lengths and a large variety of bodies are available from the factory.
Servicing has now gone from every 18,000 miles to 25,000, making it cheaper to run and this means that it is off of the road for less time.
 We drove a few Movano vans around the Millbrook testing ground, with front and rear wheel drive, a variety of power outputs and in different lengths/heights and found them all to have enough power, even with a load on-board. The engines were all really quiet as well and the standard six speed gearbox was silky-smooth.
Vauxhall are offering free Bluetooth, air conditioning and trip computers on all new Movano models ordered before July.
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