AE Drives All-New i10, Says it's Hyundai's Best Car Ever
The all-new Hyundai i10 city car is a model that the Koreans are very optimistic about, as it is the first of 22 new models that will be rolled out in Europe by 2017.
Redesigned from the ground up, the new entry-level Hyundai is bigger than its predecessor, features higher quality materials and a more attractive design both inside and out – especially the top-spec model UK magazine AutoExpress tested in this video review.
But what is the new Hyundai i10 like to drive? The reviewer found the car to be a lot more refined than the outgoing model, quieter inside and fun to sit inside. The ride is described as comfortable and very similar to what a bigger car feels like.
The reviewer also noted the car’s generous equipment and the higher quality materials used in the cabin - especially those that the driver touches the most often. However, everything else is made from hard plastic.
He fails to mention anything about the engine (an 86hp (87PS) 1.2-liter four-cylinder petrol unit), though, so I assume there wasn’t much worth talking about..
Scroll down to watch the video for yourself.
By Dan Mihalascu
Audi Becomes 4th Best Selling Brand in the UK!
It's pretty clear now that the efforts of Germany's premium carmakers to expand their reach into more popular segments and niches are beginning to pay off in numbers, as believe it or not, Audi has jumped to fourth sport in the UK's overall sales chart, just behind Ford, GM's Vauxhall (Opel for the rest of Europe) and Volkswagen.
The brand with the four-ring logo has already matched its 2012 sales record of about 123,000 units this year, and is expected to flirt with the 145,000 mark by the end of December. As of now, Audi has captured a 6.4 percent share of the UK market compared to 5.9 percent for BMW and 4.8 percent for Mercedes-Benz.
"We have been building to this since 1967," said Audi's UK arm. "We now have our strongest demand ever. Customers are voting with their feet. There is a flight to premium, and premium is where the profits are made."
What's even more impressive about Audi's feat is that it was achieved without having a single model in the top 10 list of the UK's best selling cars. "We are not dependent on any single model and have no overheated segments," said Audi.
The German premium carmaker has increased its offerings from 17 models in 2001, to 47 today, and is expected to grow to 60 by as early as 2015, with new additions such as the Q1 small crossover.
Audi pointed out that about 30 percent of all models sold in the UK are all-wheel drive quattro models, while it will also sell more than 1,100 RS performance cars in the country this year.
Euro Honda Civic Equipped With 1.6 i-DTEC Diesel Impresses in UK Efficiency Competition
We don’t need to remind you that one of the reasons why Honda didn’t sell too many of the new shape Civic hatchbacks in Europe was the lack of a small capacity diesel engine. Now, it’s here, and according to first impressions, it lives up to the hype that was created around it, and is at least on par with what the European manufacturers are doing, bar Renault’s 1.6 DCi that is both more powerful and has more torque.
Now, it has taken part in a UK efficiency competition called the MPG Marathon, a corporate-sponsored event aiming to find out which car is Britain’s most efficient new model. The Civic, powered by the 1.6 i-DTEC diesel was one of the highlights, and after completing the 367-mile (588 km) drive, it averaged 84.87 mpg UK (70.6 mpg US or 3.32 l/100km) – it surpassed its official claimed figure of 78.5 mpg UK (65.4 mpg US or 3.6 l/100km).
This put it in third place overall, lagging just 4 mpg UK behind the winner, the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic, which itself was followed by the also very efficient Renault Clio.
Both cars are from one class below, so the Civic’s performance is definitely a highly commendable one – CO2 emissions were kept low too, at 94 g/km.
Moreover, even with the small displacement, reviews have said it’s by no means a slouch on the move, with 118 hp on tap and 300 Nm. There’s an acceleration run video posted below, illustrating its spritely nature.
By Andrei Nedelea
EVO Picks Its Favorite Track Car for 2013
The videos uploaded by EVO, particularly in recent months, have been some of the more enjoyable ones to watch from a sea of clips that the internet has to offer. Now that they have uploaded a twenty three-minute-long video of their attempt to pick out 2013’s best track car, I cleared up twenty-three minutes in which I would do nothing else, in order to watch it.
Part of what made me stay until the end was their (British-biased) selection of candidates for the title: McLaren 12C GT Can-Am, Caterham Seven 620R, Radical RXC, BAC Mono, Litchfield Subaru BRZ Spec S (supercharged from 200 to 280 hp), Mini JCW GP, Ariel Atom 3.5 Supercharged and Porsche Cayman S.
The track chosen to try out the cars on was Blyton Park, which seems to be placed on very flat ground with no features (it’s marginally better as a setting than Top Gear’s airfield). Still, the typically British overcast day probably made for some nice beauty shots.
I won’t tell you which they chose as their favorite, but I will tell you that it’s not the Porsche – it was severely outnumbered by Brits, and it was much more of a usable road car than pretty much all the other models, except, perhaps the Mini.
By Andrei Nedelea
Nissan Tries to Convince Us the Note Can Float, But Why? [w/Video]
New car launches can be boring, especially when they follow the same classic set-up. However, Nissan wanted something special for the UK launch of the new Note, so it turned the small B-segment car into a boat of sorts.
Nissan literally launched the specially-adapted Note Boat on the Eton Dorney Lake in the UK, along with three superstar Olympic rowers: Helen Glover, Sophie Hosking and Polly Swann.
The carmaker says the Note Boat “provides a visual demonstration of Note's exciting technologies”, more specifically the sliding rear seat (turned into a single stroke seat for a rower), the rear doors, which open to almost 90 degrees allowing the fitting of a pair of oars which can move through an almost entire rowing stroke, and the Around View Monitor 360-degree parking system, which helped the rowers see where they were going and keep their lane.
The Note’s Around View Monitor with Safety Shield technology features four cameras - one in the front, one at the rear and one under each door mirror - providing a helicopter-style top down view.
I’m not sure what point Nissan wanted to make with this publicity stunt, other than the Note can be placed onto a raft and claim it’s a rowing boat by fitting a pair of oars. Imagine if the event went wrong – that would have definitely got a lot of media coverage.
As for the Note that prefers roads to lakes, UK deliveries kicked off on October 1, with Nissan receiving 3,860 orders so far.
By Dan Mihalascu
Londoner Celebrates Five Years' of Supercar Spotting with Rowdy Video
Some folks find all those exotic and not so exotic but always rowdy supercars revving their high-powered engines as they freely roam the streets of London utterly annoying, while others love every single moment and just can't wait for the next model to pass through.
In fact, some people are so obsessed with London's supercar scene that they have created YouTube channels dedicated to recording these rare vehicles, like "Supercarsoflondon" or SOL for short, which has been at it since 2008.
This week, they're celebrating the fifth anniversary of the channel with an 18-minute long video that contains footage from – yep, you guessed it, the past five years.
If you have some time to spare, you can watch it right past the jump.
Man Explains Why he Bought and Loves his Aston Martin Rapide
The day cars will no longer be a source of joy for their passionate owners will be the day on which we will know that the world is nearing the end… It’s not the most encouraging of prospects, and while there is a sense that the day is drawing ever closer given the direction the industry is going in, it’s not here yet; if cool cars continue to be made, we will be able to keep it at bay, and save the world.
We had a look at this owner spotlight video by AutoTrader UK that focuses on Cliff Graham, from Southport in the UK, and his prized silver four-door Aston Martin Rapide. He is so invested in his words that his presentation of why he bought his car, how he uses it and why he loves it makes perfect sense, even if the Rapide wouldn’t necessarily be everybody’s first choice in its price bracket.
After all, aside from looking and sounding pretty cool, it’s flawed in so many ways as a practical, usable car that it can’t be recommended based on logic alone. But then again, if logic and reason were the reasons behind why people bought Astons in the first place, the company would have gone out of business long ago, because they are lagging behind the pack from a technical and technological standpoint – good thing AMG came along to sort one of their problems…
Where they win points back is through the sentiments that they stir up inside their owners, a phenomenon best described by the video discussed here. Check it out after the virtual jump.
By Andrei Nedelea
Review on What Makes Skoda's Rapid Spaceback Tick
Skoda now has two Rapid variants for prospective buyers to choose from. You’d be forgiven for not knowing which to buy, as both are actually hatchbacks, but one looks like a sedan and gives you more boot space for carrying bags, while the other has less of it, plus a premium edge, if you go for the panoramic roof model that has glass extend down the tailgate for a surprisingly posh overall effect.
UK magazine AutoExpress recently reviewed the latter and did not have a hard time justifying both models, in the end. The Spaceback is pushed forth as a more youthful choice, and it will be an especially important model in the UK, where small sedans are shunned in favor of hatches (and more recently crossovers).
The rest of the package is standard Rapid, with its good and bad points, and even the mechanical tweaks it benefits from don’t really make it any different to the regular model, according to the review. Check it out after the virtual jump.
By Andrei Nedelea
SsangYong Launches Prettier Rexton W in the UK, Starts from £21,995
SsangYong is not a carmaker renowned for beautiful design (remember the first-generation Rodius?), but things have started to change with the launch of the recently facelifted Korando. The Mahindra & Mahindra-owned Korean carmaker has begun taking design more seriously, and that can be seen on the restyled Rexton W as well.
Arriving in the UK this winter, the Rexton W features consistent visual upgrades both inside and out. The SUV features a new face with more expressive headlights, as well as minor modifications that make it look contemporary. Inside, the cabin features a refreshed look thanks to aluminum-effect and chrome finishes.
The SsangYong Rexton W has seven seats, with the third row of seats stowing behind the boot floor. Standard equipment includes cruise control, air conditioning, electric and heated door mirrors, leather covered steering wheel and gear knob, and radio CD with iPod and Bluetooth connectivity. The EX model also gets an electrically operated memory driver’s seat, leather upholstery, privacy glass, sunroof and rear parking sensors.
The Rexton W retains its body on frame construction, low range and towing capability of up to 3 tons (6,000 lbs). It is powered by a 2.0-liter e-XDI200 turbo diesel engine developing 155 PS (153 hp) and 360 Nm (265 lb-ft) of torque between 1,500 and 2,800 rpm. The engine is mated to a standard 6-speed manual transmission, with a 5-speed Mercedes-Benz T-Tronic automatic being available as an option.
Active safety features include Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Active Rollover Protection (ARP), ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Hill Descent Control (HDC). Dual front and side airbags are standard as well. Order books are open, with prices starting from £21,995 (€25,810) for the base EX model.
By Dan Mihalascu
Jota Mazda MX-5 GT with 203HP Goes from Concept to Production
If you fancied the Mazda MX-5 GT Concept shown at last year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, then you'll be happy to know that the Japanese company has green lighted its production, albeit through its racing partner Jota Sports, which had helped build the original study, and only for the UK.
Mazda had hinted at a production version of the car, but in the end, it decided to let Jota Sports be the one to offer the MX-5 GT.
"Following a year of development and testing, Mazda handed over the project in its entirety to Jota in 2013 for the Le Mans specialist race team to take the car to market independently as a Jota Mazda MX-5 GT," said Jota Sports in a statement.
Priced at £29,995 (about US$48,500 or €35,200), the GT costs £10,000 (US$16,200 or €11,800) more than the MX-5 Roadster Coupe 2.0-litre Sport Tech upon which it is based, and comes with a 3 year standard Mazda warranty for all non-modified parts and an aftermarket extension to cover all modified parts.
What you get over the standard car is a tuned version of the 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four producing an extra 45hp, lifting output from 158hp (161PS) to 203hp (206PS) and cutting the 0-60mph (96km/h) time by 1.5 seconds to 6.4 seconds. According to Jota Sports, the car hits a limited top speed of 140mph (225km/h), with a "minimal change to fuel consumption".
To improve handling, there's an uprated and re-tuned Bilstein dampened suspension, while additional features include a carbon rear diffuser and leather Recaro seats. Customers can also further enhance the MX-5 GT with the option of a carbon rear boot lip spoiler, a carbon front splitter and Jota's road and track Öhlins suspension kit.
The GT comes in three colors, white pearl, true red and aluminium silver metallic, all with a brilliant black roof and anthracite alloy wheels.
Note: The white car in the gallery is the production model, while the orange is last year's MX-5 Concept GT
Subaru Launches XV Black Limited Edition in the UK from £24,495
Subaru has launched the XV Black, a new limited edition model of its compact crossover available in the UK. Based on the existing SE model, the XV Black features an exclusive Crystal Black Silica paint and offers a number of unique visual upgrades that make the car look more rugged.
These include front, rear and side silver-resin underguards, front and rear mudflaps, a cargo step panel and a foldable cargo tray. Inside, the Subaru XV Black comes with heavy-duty rubber floor mats.
The special edition is available with either the 2.0-liter Boxer diesel engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission or the 2.0-liter Boxer petrol unit and a Lineartronic automatic transmission.
Standard equipment includes the Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) system, front, side, curtain and knee airbags, 17-inch alloy wheels, daytime running lights, heated front seats, wiper de-icers, cruise control, folding door mirrors, dual-zone air-conditioning, rear view safety camera, Bluetooth, HID headlamps, and rear privacy glass.
The all-wheel-drive XV Black is priced from £24,495 (€28,885) with the 2.0i Lineartronic and £24,995 (€29,475) with the 2.0-liter Boxer diesel. Compared to regular XV models, the XV Black also offers a better value for money, as the extras fitted as standard to the XV Black are £600 (€707) cheaper than if they were fitted separately as options to other models in the range.
By Dan Mihalascu
