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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Jun
23
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
This week’s manufacturer news
LOTUS – Has announced the introduction of the new RGB special edition in both the Elise and Exige ranges. The special editions are being launched in recognition of Roger Becker, who was former Director of Vehicle Engineering at Lotus for 44 years before he retired in January 2010. The Elise SC RGB will have a 1.8 litre 218bhp petrol engine and will be priced at £38,550. The Exige S RGB will have a 1.8 litre 257bhp petrol engine and will be priced at £41,950. Both models will come with Sports and Touring packs as standard. The RGB special editions are due on sale in September 2010.
 VAUXHALL – Has revealed first official photographs of the new Astra sport tourer. It will have the same 2685mm wheelbase as the Astra hatchback, but with an extra 28mm added to its maximum load length. It will have a luggage capacity of 500 litres with the rear seats up and 1550 litres with the seats down. It will debut at the Paris Motor Show in September and is due in UK showrooms by the end of the year.
Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion – UK press launch, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
 The Polo Bluemotion is powered by an all new 1.2 litre three cylinder 12 valve common rail diesel engine that produces 75ps and is coupled to a five speed gearbox. This small engine has a CO2 emissions figure of just 91g/km and an official combined fuel figure of 80.7 MPG. It all sounds pretty good, but in my experience this combined fuel consumption figure is just impossible to achieve, even after driving the car in the very flat region of Gloucestershire and mainly on the M5, with the only hills in sight being the Welsh mountains miles over to the west.
 I drove the car at a constant speed of 70mph and it achieved an average of 54.5 MPG over a five mile period. I then re-set the on-board computer and dropped the speed to 55mph. The MPG figure then jumped up to an average of 76.9 MPG after covering a similar distance. OK, it wasn’t exactly a thorough scientific test involving thousands of miles of driving, but it did prove what we probably already knew - this type of vehicle’s fuel consumption figure is very much speed related and it is never going to achieve anything economically outstanding with a 1.2 litre TDI engine and a 5 speed gearbox at motorway speeds. However, you can be pretty sure that if you see a Polo up ahead travelling at a very sensible speed on the inside lane of the motorway, it will probably be a Bluemotion. When people purchase this sort of vehicle, having probably paid over-the-odds for a green car similar to the way in which you would pay more money for organic food, then you want to get the best out of it, much to the annoyance of other drivers.
The Bluemotion is a bit noisy on start-up and is likely to wake the neighbours if the driver has to leave early, but once the engine has warmed up the noise subsides. On the motorway however it is extremely quiet, with hardly any noise intrusion in the cabin.
Volkswagen has introduced start/stop on the 1.2 litre TDI and we found it to be very efficient. When the car comes to a standstill, the engine shuts down and as soon as the clutch is pressed the engine fires up and you are away in a fraction of a second.
 In common with all Bluemotion models, the Polo features lower aerodynamic drag over the standard model due to the addition of a new cooling system intake grille element, a front splitter and a small rear wing. Cooling ducts usually mounted in the front bumper have been relocated to the underside of the car and it also gets a set of side skirts, a new rear bumper and 15” alloy wheels with 185/60 low rolling resistance tyres.
The 0-62mph figure of 13.9 seconds doesn’t sound particularly quick but getting to 62mph in the quickest time isn’t the primary requirement for the driver in this type of car; it is how far it will go on a gallon of fuel.
The quality throughout the car is superb with fit and finish being excellent. The car possesses a good level of standard equipment which includes: air conditioning, cruise control, leather steering wheel, multi-function computer and driver/passenger seat height adjustment.
The Polo Bluemotion is priced at £14,445 on the road for the three door, with a £600 premium for the five door. This car offers low CO2 and a good MPG figure at half the cost of an electric car. You also don’t have to worry about suffering from ‘range anxiety’.
Test car – Audi Q7 4.2 quattro S Line
 I don’t know if it’s me that is getting smaller with old age, or if the Q7 has grown, but when I first saw it a few years ago, my first thought was “what a big car this is”. However, now that I have had some time to get used to it, the size of the Q7 almost seems normal. The new face-lifted Q7 has arrived and although the car has not received a large number of significant changes, enough have been made so that it is noticeably different to the old one. The car now has a bolder look, a wider stance and for some reason, it now looks even bigger.
 Like all Audi models, the Q7 oozes with quality. Every switch, the materials used and the fit and finish just shout out German premium excellence. When you sit in the car you are surrounded by craftsmanship that isn’t found in many cars that are sold in large numbers; this is something usually reserved for low volume, hand built cars. The Q7’s cabin is a great place to sit, as you are high up and have a commanding view of the road. The S Line badges on the car would give the initial impression that it is going to be an extremely hard and uncomfortable ride, but Audi has maintained the comfort, so you don’t feel every bump in the road. At the same time they have also managed to make the road-holding and handling feel more like a sports car than a large 4x4.
The Q7 has seven seats as standard and air suspension. The third row of seats are easy to get into and can easily accommodate two full size adults, but when the seats are up, there is not a lot of room for luggage or shopping. The second row of seats slide back and forth to provide more leg room for either the second row or third row passengers.
 The car we had on test was one of those ‘why?’ cars. Why did they send it, and why do they bother to make it? The Q7 is in a sector of the market that has seen a bit of resurgence recently, but these rises in sales do not last for long. It is also in a very crowded sector with plenty of good competition. This car was powered by a 4.2 litre FSI petrol engine that produces 350ps, goes from 0-62mph in 7.4 seconds and has a top speed of 154mph, where permitted. All very impressive, but now to the why questions: Why would anyone buy a large 4x4 seven seater with a large petrol engine? Why would Audi put one on their fleet when they have some really good economical diesel engines available? I can understand the odd one or two people in the country buying one, and it probably is one or two, maybe a footballer or multi-millionaire who really doesn’t care about running costs. The official combined fuel consumption figure for this car is 22.2 MPG, but our test car only managed this when it was being driven at a very sensible speed on the motorway. Overall, it managed an average of just 18.2 MPG according to the on-board computer. You fill it up, spend a fortune and your heart sinks when you find that you only have a range of 250 miles. To make matters worse, while walking from the fuel pump to the car, you glance at the tax disc and it says £950. Ouch...!!!
I like everything about the Q7; the quality, the comfort, the size, the quiet cabin, the badges and the image that they carry with them, but this car should not be in existence. In my opinion it should never have been built. The 3.0 litre TDI would be my first choice every time and I should imagine it would be with just about every other Q7 buyer. The new Q7 is an improvement over the previous car in most respects but I just wish it had come with a more economical engine that you can use on a day-to-day basis.
The cost of the test car is £52,645.
Test car – BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics
 BMW designers and engineers have managed to create a car that really shouldn’t exist or work. They have managed to do it by concentrating solely on getting the best fuel consumption and lowest CO2, and not by just a little bit, but by a lot. The engineers looked at everything in the car and took measures to improve whatever they could. The result is quite astonishing.
One area they concentrated on was the clutch where there is more noise and vibration at low engine speeds. They wanted to minimise this so they invented the centrifugal pendulum absorber, which has overcome this problem and also results in a smoother take-off. They have also lengthened the 6th gear ratio so the car can run at lower engine speeds, thus saving fuel. The chassis has also been lowered by 15mm and the engine has had friction minimised along with improved thermodynamics.
 So what does all this improved technology mean to the driver? Having used a 320d ED for a few days, it simply means that visits to the fuel station to buy diesel have been reduced. When driving it normally on motorways or around town, without really trying to achieve a higher MPG figure by being light-footed or constantly watching the on-board computer, it is almost impossible to get less that 54.4 MPG. I’m sure the claimed official combined figure of 68.9 MPG is achievable if the car is driven steadily and sensibly. The MPG I achieved is remarkable for a four door saloon car that produces 163ps, goes from 0-62mph in 8 seconds and has an amazingly low CO2 emissions figure of 109g/km.
For the company car driver the BIK is only 13% and the company can write it down by 100% in the first 12 months. The FD will be more than happy to sign a cheque for £35 for a year’s road fund licence (VED) and the driver will also be happy to have a quality BMW with great classic looks, smooth ride and the added benefit of low running costs.
The 320d Efficient Dynamics is based on the SE specification, so it has plenty of standard equipment. The price of the test car was £27,280 OTR.
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