The "I just drove a..." Thread

[Man of Steel]

I only had the family car for two days, no complaints about the seats although they did not made a real impression on me.

[Ferrer]

2012 Mercedes-Benz A180 CDI 7G-DTC AMG Sport

Quick Spin.

Since I have already tested the A-Class, I will skip the usual article structure and go straight to the differences with the A200 CDI I tested earlier and the aspect which I’ve been able to explore further this time.

This car has the new 1.8 litre diesel engine in the 109bhp entry level version. Like its more powerful brother it is smooth and silent, but in this case it simply doesn’t have enough oomph to make a pleasant drive. You’ll struggle to get past 150km/h and overtaking manoeuvres have to be a well planned effort. I’d simply avoid it and go at least for the 136bhp version.

In the open road I’ve been able to test the handling of the car properly, and I can definitely report that my suspicions were true, it errs more on the safe rather than the fun side. Grip is plentiful, but the rear struggles to play and the steering is far too light. Ride was somewhat better, but not perfect and the roads were we tested it were smoother than the ones on which I drove the A200 CDI.

Overall, a version to avoid in my opinion.

[Ferrer]

2012 BMW 118d 5 door

A year ago BMW introduced the second generation of the car that was meant to change the game for premium C-segment hatchbacks 8 years ago. Fast forward to 2012 and not only it hasn’t changed it but BMW is bottling it out with front wheel drive successors. But for now we still get to enjoy BMW’s legendary rear drive driving dynamics in a compact package.

In terms of engines there are new 4 cylinder petrol units, but the diesels carry over almost unchanged, all evolutions of the familiar 2 litre block. In our case it’s the 143bhp 118d version with the same power rating as the previous version.

But let’s start on the outside. While brand new, this cars still carries the usual BMW proportions of long bonnet and smallish cabin. The detailing is somewhat less successful, with oversized headlamps and common-or-garden taillights. Overall though it’s pretty much the same as before, so if you liked it, it’ll be find with you and if you didn’t you still won’t like the new one very much.

Inside you’ll quickly find a good driving position, especially if you are familiar with BMW’s. You can sit very low down with stretched legs and the steering and gear lever fall easily in your hands. It’s not all perfect, though, because in terms of ergonomy this car loses badly to its predecessor and other rivals. The test car had BMW’s Professional Radio and Bluetooth, controlled through and i-Drive and controls on the steering wheel and information featured in a central, dashboard-mounted screen. I simply couldn’t fathom it out. It’s not easy or intuitive to use, at least for the non-initiated, and it distracts you too much from driving. Fit and finish is good, and there’s more space inside and in the boot than before but again not exactly the car for transporting stuff or people.

On the move, the engine is classic a BMW diesel unit. It feels fast for the announced power but it’s not particularly refined or quiet. On some occasions you can clearly feel vibrations from the steering wheel or gear lever. There’s noticeable turbo lag under 1800-2000 rpm, but once this point is passed there’s no arguing with the performance. Another place where BMW needs to improve is in the Stop-Start system, harsh and slow compared to rivals.

The gearbox again, is classic BMW business. Slightly hard to operate, but excellent if you go for it. Precise and with short throws, it is an excellent ally for spirited driving. The clutch is easily manageably, probably slightly softer than in older BMWs.

So far so good, then. You are almost expecting me to finish off this review by saying that the handling is just perfect and that you should stop wasting your time reading this and go out and buy one. But not so fast on this one, it’s not that it is bad, it’s just that BMW has softened it down and as a result it has gone from what was, in my opinion, one of the best handling car to something that it is not exactly bad but it is not as precise and as natural as once was.

Rest assured that traditional BMW assets remain, like an incisive front end, the excellent weight distribution and playful rear end; although it has to be said the new electric power steering is far worse than the old system; and it is now much more comfortable (even on the test car’s 17 inch wheels) but it has lost the ultimate communicability the old car had. It’s now more noble and forgiving at the limit, but it is far more imprecise.

Overall though it still is an impressive package and the best handling car in class. I just wish it was a bit more like the old car. In terms of value for money, it’s business as usual, it starts at about 24 grand, but if you are sensible with extras it almost makes sense. Certainly recommended.

[Ferrer]

2010 Peugeot RCZ HDI

Introduced as a concept car in the 2007 Frankfurt Motorshow it was one of those cars that immediately captured the public’s imagination. So, it wasn’t really surprising that Peugeot decided to introduce a production version in 2010, fortunately keeping the concept’s styling almost unchanged.

The range has three engine options, two four cylinder petrol engines developed in collaboration with BMW, with 155bhp and 200bhp and a 2 litre diesel from PSA with 163bhp. Our test car has the latter fitted, paired with a 6 speed manual gearbox.

As we’ve said the styling is the party piece of this car. From pretty much any angle it looks spectacular and a special favourite of mine is the double bubble roof, which seems Zagato-inspired. Only real let down for me is the front, which looks a bit too much normal Peugeot.

The inside feels welcoming, but the seats could be better. A good driving position is easily found and space is plentiful in the front. Rear seats are pretty much useless except for emergencies; I’m a bit over 1.70m and I touched the roof. On the other hand, boot is massive. Fit and finish has nothing to envy cars of other, so-called, premium brands.

Starting it up, it sounds like a diesel from the outside, but once you are inside it has to be recognised that Peugeot has done a terrific job with sound deadening and isolation, and it barely feels like a diesel, even when you push. It is also seriously smooth, with no vibrations to be felt from pedals, steering or gear lever even at low revs. Performance? There’s plenty. This is a seriously quick car, and best of all it’s an effortlessly quick car. There’s no need to thrash it. Any gear, any revs, just put your foot down and you get a very satisfying surge forwards. Really, really impressive.

6 speed manual gearbox is equally good, smooth and with short throws and clutch that is easily managed. Furthermore it feels very comfortable around town, in start stop traffic.

Being a sporty coupe and with such a capable drivetrain combination you’d expect a similarly competent chassis. Well, we will start with the good news; after so many electric power steering setups is a relief to drive a proper hydraulical one. All of a sudden you are reminded what means a communicative and properly weighted steering, and this in turn means that you can attack apexes with more confidence. Handling, however, is not as interesting, unfortunately. The car has, as standard, 235/45 R18 tyres which are simply too big. As a result grip is massive but you’ll have to go pretty fast to explore the limits of the car; where you’ll find that the rear end doesn’t want to come to play. So bit of a mixed result in this area.

Ride is firm and you could even call it a tad harsh, which is possibly to be expected in a car of this type, but it could possibly benefit from smaller wheels. On the up side though, it is very stable and it feels like it has big car-like driving dynamics, which is appreciated at high speeds in the motorway.

Overall then a compelling case for a GT more than a B-road blaster. It is not cheap, starts at about 27.000€ and well equipped diesel like our test car can be had for about 32-33 thousand, which is serious money. But if you consider the overall package I think it is more than worth it.

(Sorry for the truly awful picture)

[Ferrer]

2012 Mercedes-Benz B200 CDI 7G-DTC

Mercedes-Benz’s B-Class is the MPV companion to the recently launched A-Class hatchback. The B-Class was actually launched before the A-Class and it premiered the new chassis, new engines and new gearboxes.

The exterior follows the new Mercedes-Benz styling language and it blends nicely with the car. It makes it look modern and contemporary but without being too much over the top.

The interior is spacious and comfy, and the only aspects to comment here are that the driving position is not quite as good as the hatchback, due to the type of car. You sit straighter and much higher up and it feels like your feet are over the pedals (i.e. you push down rather than forward). Also, since it was raining and the wipers had to be operated, I discovered that the indicators and the wipers are on the same stalk, left of the steering wheel. This can be come confusing at times.

Since it shares much of the running gear with A-Class, I’ll go straight to the parts that were different on this car compared to the others I drove previously; which are the 17 inch wheels and the 136bhp diesel engine (tested on the open road).

Wheels first, and I have to say it is a much more agreeable setup. You hardly lose anything on cornering and grip and the ride is much improved. Especially in the B-Class, but also on the A-Class, this makes a lot of sense since you won’t go exploring the laws of physics in an MPV and you benefit from a comfortable ride all the time.

The engine, which had impressed me so much in Barcelona in the A-Class, wasn’t quite so impressive in this application. It is indeed improved from the, anaemic frankly, 109bhp entry level version and at low speeds it has a correct punch, but once you’ve passed 70 or 80km/h (~40-50mph) it is not quite so good. If you want to extract a decent pace it is foot down all the time. I guess that the bulk and size of the B-Class don’t help either, but still I’d go with the 170bhp 220 CDI version if I wanted the car.

[Ferrer]

2012 Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI Automatic

The current C-Class Merc marks the third generation of the C-Class line (fourth if you count the original 190). Unveiled in 2007, it has recently been facelifted to give it a more modern and contemporary appearance. The car in question has 2.2 litre diesel engine with 170bhp paired to the seven speed automatic.

The styling has the classic Mercedes-Benz restrained and refined appearance, elegant and subtle if not particularly stylish or interesting. I have to say, though, that I personally preferred the old headlamps, the new ones have an odd shape that is not entirely harmonic.

On the inside you get a well built, if pretty conventional interior. A good driving position is easily found, however I found the seat a bit too high even in its lowest position. A dated touch is the pedal operated handbrake, which feels a bit out of touch in 2012. The colour screen inside of the speedometer is another nice touch.

The engine is a four cylinder 2.2 litre turbo diesel with 170bhp. It is not quite as refined as the newer 1.8 litre engines from Daimler, especially at full throttle and at higher revs. I would put it on par with equivalent BMW engines. In terms of performance it’s not bad, but not quite as fast as the 170bhp power rating leads you to believe.

The seven speed automatic gearbox is a conventional torque converter equipped automatic gearbox instead of the newer dual clutch arrangements. It has a very smooth operation but the shifts aren’t particularly fast compared to the dual clutch gearbox. It also seems to take away quite a lot of oomph from the engine and it hangs on to gears for too long if you mash your foot on the throttle, effectively killing acceleration. I guess it’s not bad as an automatic (all torque converter automatic behave about the same), but with “only” 170bhp and with the diesel engine characteristics the downsides become very evident. I would avoid it and go for the manual.

On the move though, the chassis provides a very welcomed satisfaction. It’s been long since I last was in something that rode, steer and handle as good as this car does. In a way it reminds me of old BMWs, only with added comfort. The front end finds the apex of corners easily and when you put the foot down it’s the back which responds; there’s basically no understeer at all. Best thing of all is that, unlike BMWs, it doesn’t feel intimidating or nasty at the limit. And on top of all it rides properly with great lineal stability.

As with all premium German cars, all of this comes at a cost and our test car retails for more than 40.000 € (with not many extras), but on this case I would say they are entirely justified. Avoid the automatic gearbox, be rational with the options (as always on the premium Germans) and you can have something that’s pretty excellent.

[Ferrer]

2010 Volvo C30 2.0D

Volvo’s sporty looking 3 door hatchback, the C30, was introduced in 2006 and facelifted in 2010. It’s now on its last legs, with a replacement due in 2013 or 2014 based on the recently unveiled V40. I anyway got a chance to spend time behind the wheel of one recently to see what’s what.

On the outside I personally think that the integration of the new Volvo face in the old C30 design isn’t very successful. The original front end is far more elegant and restrained and suits better the rest of the car. Other than that it is a stylish three door hatchback, with nice touched like the glassy tailgate.

Moving to the inside of the car, the interior feels modern but minimalist, very Swedish in an Ikea sort of way, but fortunately everything fits and there are no squeaks or rattles… the driving position though is slightly odd and the seats aren’t perfect, but there’s tons of space in the front and in the back. Boot is tiny however.

The test car had the 2 litre four cylinder diesel engine, found in various other PSA and Ford cars (the one in the RCZ is distant relative for instance). The really interesting unit here is Volvo’s own five cylinder engine and this four cylinder isn’t available any more; but unfortunately no 5 cylinder was available. In this application the 2 litre puts up 136bhp. It is by no means a scorching engine but if you keep the revs up it provides reasonable performance. Although not bad the NVH levels of this engine has been clearly surpassed by other rivals, such a Mercedes-Benz’s newest four cylinder diesels.

The gearbox is a six speed manual unit. It has a curious, and slightly annoying, clutch which feels soft and hard at the same time. It’s not difficult to be smooth with it, but it’s not a nice feeling and could become very dissatisfying with time. The gearbox is slightly notchy but throws aren’t overtly long.

Sharing the chassis with the second generation Ford Focus, one of the most praised cars of the segment in terms of handling, there were high hopes for the little Volvo. If we start on the steering, again it is so pleasing to have a proper hydraulic setup rather than an electric even if Volvo’s isn’t the best of this type and it could do with a bit more feel. In terms of handling, though, all is well. Despite the ultimate understeer with power on, the car feels poised and balanced and there’s plenty of lift-off oversteer to be had. The handling is both playful and confident. Excellent marks there, Volvo. Ride is correct, especially aided by the (relatively) small 16 inch wheels.

I have to say, I quite liked the car, but I can only imagine that the 5 cylinder makes it a much better proposition. The 4 cylinder makes it feel a bit mundane. On the plus side the driving dynamics are excellent, the design is different and the quality is good. On the down side, the driving position isn’t perfect and the clutch-gearbox could definitely be improved.

All in all, though it’s not a bad choice at all.

[Ferrer]

A weekend with...

a 2012 Citroën DS4 e-HDI 110

Citroën has been run recently a promotion to get the public to know their DS range. The programme consists of extended test drives, and they were kind enough to lend me a brand new DS4 for 72 hours. The DS4 is Citroën's entry to the burgeoning premium C-segment which includes heavyweights like the BMW 1 Series, the Audi A3 or the Volvo V40 to name just a few.

To be brutally honest, I've never been to keen on the DS4. I've never understood the point of SUVs, leave alone slightly raised car that's neither one thing nor the other, but for the purpose of objectivity I tried entering this test free of prejudices. Who knows, maybe Citroën had pulled it out, it had broken the laws of physics and made something really great. If the DS3 I drove late last years was any indications the foundations for good car certainly were there.

But they haven't. Let's cut straight to the chase here, it's awful. It's the worse car I have driven since... well since the Abarth 500 possibly, or to put things into perspective since I last drove a modern Audi. Let's run through all its features to see what makes this such a waste of metal, glass and plastic.

But to bring a bit of positiveness let's start with the good things of which, despite everything, there are some. The styling is not bad, distinctive but not over the top, the ride height makes it look a bit ungainly though. The inside is a nice place to be, and the seats massage you as you go along. Visibility is good all round and space isn't bad, even if the back seat is slightly cramped; the panoramic roof also helps the sense of space. Another plus is the 6 speed manual gearbox, smooth and easy to use, short throws which allow slick, fast gear changes with ease.

But then positives stop and things start to go wrong. First there are the ergonomic problems. The inside is festooned with buttons, switches and screens; and pretty much all of them are impossible to understand without resorting to owner's manual. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The engine, a 110bhp 1.6 litre diesel, has one of the narrowest power bands I've ever seen. Below 2,000rpm there's pretty much no power at all, then the turbo kicks in (rather violently...) and there's not much point in insisting beyond 3,500rpm. So all the oomph is concentrated in about 1,500rpm. That means you've got fully concentrate if you want to extract all the performance the car. Not that there's many performance to be had though, the little four cylinder struggles with the big pseudo-SUV body of the DS4.

And then there's the chassis. And here is where things really start to go wrong. For a start you sit rather high up, even in the lowest setting. The fact of the matter is, this is a tall car. And this takes an effect on handling; there's a lot of understeer and there's not much that can be done about it, although the massive grip from the 225/45 R18 tyres hide it a bit, but what it really lacks is body control, i.e. this is not a poised an balanced car. The massive tyres let it grip and go quite hard but it's never pleasant of enjoyable. It's more utter grip than handling that's doing the job here and you are not invited to play.

Fine, you may be thinking, it's not a B-road blaster, what's wrong with that? And I say, nothing as long as it rides properly. Which it doesn't. In another chapter of the sporty is cool, let's give it a preposterously stiff suspension with unnecessary big silly wheels we find this, the Citroën DS4. The car simply crashes about in all the bumps, potholes and creases it finds on the road in such a way it makes the ride comfort intolerable. Honestly, this has to stop; it's just a bloody 110bhp front wheel drive diesel hatchback, it doesn't need a suspension setup ready to tackle a racing track.

To summarise, it neither handles nor rides, the infotainment system is unfathomable and the engine is useless. The test car, loaded up with everything retails for about 26 grand, which may not sound bad in terms of the equipment you get, but when a 12 Hyundai can show you the way round a corner and a pothole, the toys are hardly able to distract you from the major shortcomings of the car; which is failing at actually being a car.

As a living room? Great. As a car, you'd better look somewhere else...

[henk4]

As a car, you'd better look somewhere else...

try a normal C4 then, it seems to have a normal suspension too.

[Ferrer]

2012 Audi A3 2.0 TDI

I've driven so many different cars lately that I'm starting to have a bit of a car journalist syndrome... anyway Audi is presenting the new A3 just outside my office so I went to have a look to see what's what.

And first things first I think it was the new one, because as far as I'm concerned they look exactly the same from the outside. Don't take that as a criticism though, because I think it's one of the more cohesive and elegant, silly big grille aside, designs of the current C-segment contenders.

On the interior things are not so classic. The cabin has a new ultramodern layout, with a very clean and sober design. There aren't many buttons and pretty much everything is controlled through a panel of knobs and buttons in the centre console. The fit and finish it the classic top Audi quality and the instrumentation and dials are clearly legible, no digital nonsense. Only downside is the screen in the middle of the dashboard with goes up and down, which is a bit distracting if it's up; and it has to be if you want to fiddle with good deal of the cars functions.

The drivetrain combo is a highlight. In this case it's the new 2 litre diesel four cylinder with 150bhp paired to a 6 speed manual. The gearbox is correct, easy to operate and use with smooth gear changes. The engine though is a peach. It's smooth, silent and powerful; but best of all it's one of the most linear diesel engines I've ever driven. There's no turbo lag at all and it pulls strongly from very low revs all the way up to the redline almost. Top marks for the Volkswagen Group here.

Being an Audi I had set might sights low when it came to driving dynamics. However on this occasion I was wrong. For start, and this is a very welcomed change, this car rides properly. Even on the optional 18 inch wheels it's reasonably comfortable, it doesn't crash about with speed bumps or unsettle with potholes. Really a surprise on this aspect. In terms of handling, well with the 225/45 R18 tyres there's more grip than handling, but although there's pretty much no understeer at all rear end isn't very playful either. Steering is quite inert, but so is in most cars with electric power steering systems so no surprises here. What this car did have is the Audi Driver Select system, which basically allows different setting for the steering the throttle and the suspension. The only appreciable difference was heavier steering in dynamic mode but still not much feel to be had; didn't seem to be of much use to me.

All in all I have to say a good effort from Audi. I'd say it's a better car than the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, if only because it rides better. The engine is probably not quite as smooth as Merc's new 1.8 litre diesel (although it's not far), but in every other aspect it completely beats Daimler's four cylinder. The comparison with the BMW 1 Series is more difficult. I think that overall the BMW is probably still the better car (although there are certainly some NVH and overall refinement issues), especially in terms of handling but compared to the old 1er BMW have ruined the car and I'd be annoyed to pay money for something that's worse than before.

Who would've thought it, an Audi that gets Ferrer's "well it's really not bad" stamp of approval. However there's still something that niggles me. And it's the fact that underneath this is the same as the new Volkswagen Golf and new Seat Leon. And I wouldn't like to buy one and get the feeling, that yes it's not bad but I could've had the same for less money.

[jcp123]

Ferrer, where are you sourcing these cars? You said you were simply going for dealership test drives most of the time? I'd like to get in on the test driving action some more.

[Ferrer]

Well two people of my circle actually want to change their car, so that's where I've been getting most of my drives lately. Also, my office in L'Illa, which is a big shopping mall in the centre of Barcelona, and many car manufacturer launch their new cars there offer test drives; this way I've driven the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class, the Audi A3, the Seat Ibiza SC, the Nissan Leaf or the Smart Fortwo.

[jcp123]

Well two people of my circle actually want to change their car, so that's where I've been getting most of my drives lately. Also, my office in L'Illa, which is a big shopping mall in the centre of Barcelona, and many car manufacturer launch their new cars there offer test drives; this way I've driven the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class, the Audi A3, the Seat Ibiza SC, the Nissan Leaf or the Smart Fortwo.

Very nice!

[Kitdy]

18 inch wheels on an A3. Trololololol.

Fezzizzle, what other current Audis would you accept? R8? A8?

[Ferrer]

18 inch wheels on an A3. Trololololol.

Fezzizzle, what other current Audis would you accept? R8? A8?

Everything seems to use 18 inch wheels lately and oversized tyres. But I guess that's a discussion for the "State of the Car" thread.

As for Audis. A3 aside (which I still wouldn't buy) the R8 intrigues me. It's the first Audi since the A2 that I think that they have maybe done a really good job with it. It certainly intrigues me.

The A8 has interesting aluminium construction, but it has the silly mechanical layout. And anyway if you want aluminium there's the Jaguar XJ...