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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Jun
30
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
This week’s manufacturer news
 FORD – Will debut the new Mondeo on 25th August at the Moscow Motor Show. The range will feature two new engines: a new 2.0 EcoBoost 240ps petrol and a 2.2 TDCI 200ps diesel. Further details and pricing are yet to be announced and it is expected to go on sale in the UK in October this year.
JAGUAR – Has announced the XKR 75 limited edition is to make its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 2nd July. The model is being introduced to celebrate Jaguar’s 75th anniversary and will be available with an enhanced 5.0 litre supercharged V8 530ps petrol engine (510ps on original XKR). Features exclusive to the XKR 75 will include an aerodynamic body pack, an improved sports exhaust, red brake calipers and 20” Vortex alloy wheels. Production will be limited to 75 units and it will be available to order from July 2010 priced at £85,500 on the road.
MINI – Is to introduce the One Minimalist. On sale from tomorrow, it is available with a 1.6 litre 98ps petrol engine that has reduced CO2 emissions of 119g/km. It is priced at £12,950 on the road.
First driving impressions – Vauxhall Ampera, UK press event, Henley-On-Thames
Today I drove the future of the motor industry – it is simple and it works. The new Ampera shares the same platform as the Astra and there is a possibility that it may be built in the UK at Ellesmere Port. It has four seats, a full size boot and is a fairly normal looking car.
 Here is the procedure for those that are not interested in what goes on under the bonnet: you put the key in, press the ignition button, put it into drive, let the handbrake off and drive it just like any other automatic car. The next part is not so easy to explain but probably no more difficult than describing in words how a petrol or diesel engine operates. For the technically minded amongst you: the Ampera is powered by a 16kWh battery, but only half of this is used as the other half is saved for the future if and when the first half of cells start to die. This gives the battery an extended life (it also has a full 10 year/150,000 mile warranty). The Ampera’s battery can be charged to full capacity from a regular home socket in just 3 hours and can be driven solely on battery power for up to forty miles. There is no ‘quick-charge’ system available as GM believe that this method deteriorates the battery quicker.
 Now for the really intelligent aspect that makes this electric vehicle so different to any other. It has a 1.4 litre petrol engine (the same engine that is used in the Corsa) which is positioned at the front of the car under the bonnet as normal. This petrol engine (they used a petrol unit and not diesel as a petrol engine saves on weight) does not power the wheels. There is no direct connection between the engine and the wheels; the engine is actually used as a generator to charge the battery. When the battery becomes low on charge the petrol engine fires up and re-charges it; not quite as simple as that but to all intents and purposes that is the principal.
 It is very difficult for Vauxhall to calculate CO2 and MPG figures for the Ampera, as in theory if you only ever do up to forty miles on electric power only, then it is zero CO2 and infinite miles per gallon (at least per gallon from your fuel tank). However, using the standard testing method, GM has calculated that it will do 175 MPG with CO2 emissions of 40g/km, which is quite remarkable. Despite it being electric-powered the Ampera goes from 0-62mph in 9 seconds and has a top speed of 100mph. During our test drive we easily cruised on the motorway at 70mph. It is quick, quiet and comfortable.
 If you only ever travel short distances then the engine will never fire up and the fuel in the tank will go stale. GM has overcome this problem by having the engine start periodically so that it uses some of the fuel and lubricates the engine.It accelerates and brakes just like a conventional car and after a few minutes you soon forget that you are driving an electric vehicle. The advantage this car has in comparison to other electric vehicles is that it won’t inflict ‘range anxiety’ on the driver, as it should never run out of power and you should never have to worry about getting home.
Electric vehicles are the talking point at the moment. Someone said last week: “Never before have so many people been involved in a project where so few cars will be sold”. Vauxhall expect to sell around 5,000 units per year in the UK and first deliveries are due early 2012.
Pricing for the Ampera is expected to be £30,000 less any government subsidies, if these are still being offered both now and when the car is launched. At £30,000 it does look to be amazing value for an electric vehicle with no ‘range anxiety’.
Test car – Jaguar XJ 3.0 V6 diesel Portfolio standard wheelbase
Jaguar has not played safe with the exterior design of the new XJ and this will either backfire seriously on sales, or put them firmly in the 21st century. The design is not to everyone’s taste and Jaguar has said that they are offering customers a modern looking executive saloon and moving away from the three-box design that they have had for countless years. It is a design that the German premium manufacturers still prefer.
 I like the front end, as I think it looks very modern, aggressive and every bit a Jaguar; it is just how you would imagine a Jag should look like. However, the back end is a bone of contention as some love it and others don’t – in my opinion, I think it’s a mess. If you could liken the new XJ to a shop, then the front is most definitely M&S and the rear is Aldi.
 A car like the XJ is generally used as private hire, executive transport and as a red carpet chauffeur car. It is normally bought by a business to do a job, either new or especially used; very few cars in this sector are bought by private buyers. So is the new XJ fit for this purpose? Can it perform a function it was designed to do – to carry passengers from A-to-B in comfort and luxury? The answer in my experience of using the car for a few days is no. Admittedly, the car we had on test was the standard wheelbase and Jaguar do recommend the LWB (they are offering deals on the LWB version to chauffer companies). I took three passengers out one night and the person sat behind me asked me to move the seat forward as they felt a bit cramped. I then moved the seat and I felt that I was too close to the steering wheel. The boot space is also not ideal as I got two standard size suitcases in and it was fairly full with just those. Having some sleek, sporty lines may be good on paper, but in reality they are not practical. Sporty lines are for sports cars, not executive saloons. Also, the door handles – which are generally the first thing you touch on a car – felt very flimsy and are not up to the standard you would expect to find on a car like this.
 However, the quality of the interior is excellent and Jaguar has managed to retain the look of the traditional cars in this area, although I’m not sure the 4” wide plastic-wood panels on the doors work too well. There is plenty of leather and chrome which I thought was in-keeping with this sort of car, but others think that it is all a bit too fussy and unnecessary. There are a couple of annoying features: Firstly, the rear speaker surrounds that may have looked great in the design studio do cause a lot of reflection in the rear window. Secondly, the new style instrument panel that sits behind the steering wheel offers the driver a very clear display, but this is also reflected in the side window and you can clearly see the rev counter and speedometer just above the driver’s door mirror. Seeing the reflection every time you look in the mirror is very off-putting, especially when driving at night.
 The 3.0 litre V6 diesel engine produces 275ps, goes from 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds and has a top speed of 155mph. It has an official combined fuel consumption figure of 40.1 MPG, but during the time we had the car it achieved an average of 36.7 MPG according to the on-board computer, which is a good result for this type of vehicle. The CO2 emissions figure is 184g/km and it is priced at £64,400 on the road.
The engine was silky smooth, but the ride did seem to be bit choppy and was described by one passenger as ‘fidgety’. It never really seemed to settle and much like the interior space, it is not up to executive saloon standards. Maybe Jaguar has created a sporty saloon that handles well, but is that what customers who buy this type of vehicle want? Jaguar must think so.
This sector of the market is getting more and more difficult for manufacturers as sales around the world diminish. The Jaguar badge, brand, modern styling and heritage may help them succeed where others are failing, but the size is an issue. Chauffeur and executive taxi companies may just play safe when buying used XJ’s and stick with the German premium brands.
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