Volvo V40 Cross Country: car review | Martin Love | Technology ...

Posted: 06 Dec 2014 10:00 PM PST

Box of tricks: the tough new Volvo V40 Cross Country.

Price £23,320
MPG 74
Top speed 130mph

A nice man from Volvo phoned me up this week and asked if I'd like to go to a film premiere. How glamorous, I thought, my mind a heady whirl of flashbulbs, red carpets and starlets in strapless dresses. Car manufacturers have long used films as a vehicle (sorry) to give their cars some personality. Where would Aston Martin be without Mr Bond? Would Mini be the quirky lovable motor we take it for without the antics of Mr Bean? But who would Volvo be striking up a movie partnership with? Probably some Scandinavian beauty with a lust for adventure set in a frozen landscape.

In fact, the film stars a marmalade-munching bear from Darkest Peru – Paddington. Mr Brown, his adoptive father, is a risk assessor and drives a Volvo. Of course he does. To be fair, Paddington was created by Mr Bond, Michael Bond, and the new movie is brilliantly funny, warm and touching – though purists may raise an eye at scenes of mild flirtation, transvestism and a bout of light swearing.

Safe as houses: the luxurious interior of the V40.

The film is a perfect family movie, and what car says family more than Volvo? In 1927 the firm's founders, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, laid out their vision: "Cars are driven by people," they said, "and so the guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo is safety." Now the company's stated goal is that by 2020 nobody shall ever be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo.

The latest model to join battle to make that ambition a reality is the V40 Cross Country. It is a pumped version of the more metropolitan V40. From the outside this means juicier suspension, higher ground clearance, bash plates under its nose and tail, and skid plates down each side. But don't let its rugged looks and aggressive detailing fool you. The Cross Country is a total wuss when it comes to confrontation. It's been fitted with a host of smart gadgets and gizmos, which Volvo calls IntelliSafe, to keep you, your passengers and your car out of harm's way. These technologies don't just keep you in one piece after a crash – they actively prevent a collision happening in the first place, despite your best efforts. At Volvo they don't recognise the word "inevitable".

The road ahead: the V40 takes technology to new levels.

City Safety works at up to 31mph and slams on the brakes if the car senses a low-speed smash. Electronic Stability Control applies just the right amount of brake and reduces engine power to stop you skidding if the car senses the road is greasy. Collision Warning with Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection (Dog Detection is in the pipeline) takes avoiding action if the car senses… you get the idea. Hats off to you if you actually manage to crash a Volvo. Paddington has a gift for mayhem – maybe he should be unleashed as a Volvo test driver?

So far, so safe. Stepping past Volvo's death fixation, what about the living? Inside you'll find a ménage of stitched leather, tactile rubber and polished chrome, all topped off with a panoramic roof and seven modes of ambient "theatrical" lighting. The new Sensus Connected Touch programme turns the 7in display screen into an onboard computer – you can stream Spotify and access it with a voice-controlled function: simply say the name of a song, and within seconds it's playing. Then there's the engine: the V40 is blessed with the powerfully efficient new D4. Fast and responsive, it offers 187bhp on tap, a 0-62mph time of 7.7 seconds and just 104g/km CO₂. Round bends, the car feels balanced and agile. On straights, it feels eager and poised. In all, it's everything you'd expect. And it looks great in marmalade orange.

Get a grip: a Bentley dancing on ice.

Bentley's flagship and highly exclusive ice-driving experience, Power on Ice, will have two extra participants in 2015, after Bentley donated two spaces as prizes for the very first time to a new international charity, Care2Save. All proceeds from a public competition will provide funds to improve excellence in hospice and palliative care around the world. The competition will run from 1 December 2014 to 8 January 2015, with entries costing just £1. There is no limit to the number of entries possible and they can be made through the website www.care2save.co.uk/bentley/. Bentley is also donating exclusive gifts for those who buy a number of entries in the charity draw, including a tour of Bentley's factory in Crewe.

Set in the icy north of Finland, Power on Ice elevates the concept of ice driving to the extreme, with the most powerful Bentley line-up yet. Throughout the four-day adventure, the winners will push a range of Bentley cars beyond the limitations of every-day driving, starting with the first ever chance to drive the Continental GT3-R on ice. With expert in-car tuition from Bentley's ice-driving team and four-time World Rally Champion, Juha Kankkunen, piloting the cars on his personally designed tracks, it is just one part of this amazing event. Hosted at the boutique hotel of Chalet Ruka Peak there are also snowmobile rides, ice-karting and night-time Huskey-sled safari adventures to reindeer farms. Each place normally costs €11,340. Spend a pound or two, raise money for a good cause and maybe end up having the ice-driving experience of a lifetime – sounds like a win win situation...

Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166

2015 Nissan X-Trail | New Car Review - AutoMiddleEast.com

Posted: 02 Sep 2014 01:20 AM PDT

Looks:

Being the first model to carry the X-Trail nameplate into its third generation, the 2015 Nissan X-Trail is quite a big deal for the brand, and it should be. Unlike the first generation model which could have been mistaken for a toaster on wheels, the third generation model is genuinely good looking, with taut headlamps and razor sharp contours coming together to form an aggressive countenance, while pentagonal tail lamps and a black diffuser adorn the rear end.

Feels:

A drastic improvement over its predecessors, the X-Trail is no longer a plastic haven with more resemblance to a work truck than a family SUV. Chasing after a slightly higher strata of society, the 2015 X-Trail welcomes a panoramic moon roof, a blend of plastic inserts working their way into the dashboard and door panels, and silver surrounds around the A/C vents and components along the centre console. Available as a 5-seater and a 7-seater, we reckon the fiver makes a lot more sense for a car with a wheelbase of just 2,705mm.

Engineering:

Adequately equipped for a family SUV, the 2015 Nissan X-Trail ensures you and yours are safe on the road with the Lane Departure Warning system and Blind Spot Monitoring systems working in harmony. Once at your destination, the Around View Monitor makes sure parking is an absolute breeze, and the no-touch tailgate – which works by just waving an object in front of the sensor – makes sure loading up when your hands are full, is no issue whatsoever either.

On offer:

At the heart of the X-Trail sits a 2.5 litre 4-cylinder engine which whips out 170 horsepower at 6,000 RPM and 226 Nm of torque at 4,400 RPM. Mated to a CVT transmission, which allows for manual shifting with six makeshift points, the X-Trail is capable of hauling up to 1,500 kilograms and delivers its power through either a 2WD, or 4WD layout.

Verdict:

Definitely on the right path to success, the 2015 Nissan X-Trail is sure to be seen in abundance across the streets of the UAE very soon. Priced at just AED 75,000 to AED 120,000, the X-Trail is an impressive AED 15,000 cheaper than the Mazda CX-5 and a whopping AED 32,000 more affordable than the Honda CR-V. If it wasn't its looks, its price point is sure to get you.

Car Reviews

Friday, 12 December 2014

Volvo V40 Cross Country: car review | Martin Love | Technology ...

Volvo V40 Cross Country: <b>car review</b> | Martin Love | Technology <b>...</b>

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