| Nissan Qashqai: <b>car review</b> | Martin Love | Technology | The Guardian Posted: 25 Oct 2014 11:00 PM PDT Blue velvet: the Qashqai now boasts new technology to smooth the ride. Price £18,265
MPG up to 74.3
Top speed 118mph Back in 2006, when Nissan first dropped the "crossover" on to an unsuspecting motoring public, we were all snuffling around like misguided moles, happy in the knowledge that a family hatchback was just that: a boring car with four doors and a sensible boot. What fools we were! Nissan saw things very differently. They thought the family hatchback should be chunky and funky. They thought it should look like a 4x4 even though it was just for cities and school runs. They thought it should be elevated, durable, modern… And so they invented the Qashqai. Sadly, Nissan also thought their new car had to be edgy, challenging and modern – designspeak for coyote ugly. That high back, the overbite, the unsettling dimensions: it all added up to make the crossover one of the most ungainly body shapes on the road. Despite that, or maybe because of that, the Qashqai has won friends all over the world. So many, in fact, that it's totally outstripped all Nissan's hopes and sold at twice the rate they expected.  Inside story: the well-designed interior of the roomy new Qashqai. The Qashqai is an all-British affair. It's designed in Paddington, its technical centre is in Cranfield, it's marketed from Rickmansworth and it's built in Sunderland. Along with the Note and the Juke (another assault on the eyeballs), Nissan Sunderland has now made more than 7m vehicles – 80% of which have been exported to 97 markets around the planet. The Qashqai is, in fact (dad-joke alert), a cashcow! So what's this second-generation model like? Well, like the outgoing one, it is elevated, durable, modern – and still ugly. It now has a weirdly protruding nose and an assertive stance that makes it look aggressive. If the first was a crossover, then this has truly crossed over. It's now more SUV than saloon. Qashqai Mk II is longer and wider than Mk I, which results in increased cabin space. But the five-door option with two extra seats in the boot is no longer offered. Power comes from a choice of four engines: 1.2- and 1.6-litre turbo petrols, plus 1.5- and 1.6-litre diesels. The diesel engines come from Nissan's sister company, Renault. These days motor manufacturers hop in and out of bed with each other faster than suburban swingers. Economy is impressively frugal, especially in the 1.5dCi diesel, which will do an amazing 74.3 miles to the gallon. The Qashqai comes in three trim levels, all of which feature a generous range of smart in-car wizardry. Among the highlights are automatic headlamp-dipping, moving-object detection and low-speed collision avoidance. The car also boasts some very fancy new technology. "Active trace control torque vectoring" is a complicated way of saying the car brakes its wheels individually to help you stay in control around high-speed bends. "Body motion control" means the car constantly dabs the brakes to smooth out movement over bumps and rough roads. Both result in an extremely comfortable, composed and controlled ride. Inside, the Qashqai is a lot plusher than you would expect for a family workhorse. It's practical and tough, yet has an unmistakable air of no corner having been cut in production. Considering all this, it comes as no surprise that WhatCar? named the Qashqai its car of the year for 2014. And best of all, you don't have to look at it when you are driving… Revving up on Regent Street  Classic appeal: come and enjoy the vintage motors on Regent Street. On Saturday 1 November, Regent Street, London W1 will see the return of the annual Regent Street Motor Show, the UK's largest free-to-view motoring extravaganza. From Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus, the capital's world-famous shopping street will be closed to through traffic, making way for hundreds of display cars that will be on show in the middle of the street, including vintage and performance cars, racing cars, family and eco cars. Featured in the Bonhams Veteran Car Zone, there will also be 100 veteran cars in the EFG International Concours d'Elegance which will all be taking part in the annual Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, the next day. Now in its 10th year, the Regent Street Motor Show attracts a large number of manufacturers keen to display their newest products to an audience made up of car fanatics, tourists and shoppers alike. Last year saw a record 400,000 visitors come to the Mile of Style to peruse the huge amount of machinery on display. It's a fantastic day out, totally free and a lot more fun than Christmas shopping, so why not go along and see for yourself? For more details, go to regentstreetmotorshow.com Don't drink and drive It's the party season, it's dark and the roads can be treacherously slippery – all the more reason therefore to be incredibly careful you don't drink and drive. On top of that, new evidence suggests that one in five convicted drink drivers are caught the morning after, often due to unintentional drink driving. Just 3-4 drinks the night before could be enough to put you over the limit the next day. An award-winning pocket-sized breathalyser from Alcosense could be a real lifesaver. They are accurate, quick and easy to use and available from Halfords and Boots nationwide. Disposable single-use tests cost £5.99 for a twin pack, and prices for the reusable kit start at £39.99. For more details, go to alcosense.co.uk Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166  |
| On the road: Seat Cupra 280 PS – <b>car review</b> | Technology | The <b>...</b> Posted: 24 Oct 2014 10:00 PM PDT 'The Cupra isn't yet the prince of hatchbacks but you sense its possibilities.' Photograph: Simon Stuart-Miller for the Guardian Great Queen Street runs through central London, from Covent Garden along to Holborn. At its eastern end is the site of the former Blitz Club, where a plaque was recently placed to commemorate Spandau Ballet's first gig there, 35 years ago. On the afternoon of its unveiling, I arrive to collect the band's singer, Tony Hadley. The ceremony is running late, so I sit in the fury of London traffic and acquaint myself with the Seat Leon Cupra. It might be competing with the likes of the Renault Mégane RS or the Vauxhall Astra VXR, but the Cupra's more obvious comparison is the Golf GTI – the car on which it's based, and with which it shares an engine. The Seat has considerably more clout – at 276bhp, 59bhp more than the GTI – and it has an extra gear. On our shuffle west through the city later, we won't experience the Cupra's full mettle, but for the time being its bucket seats make it a comfortable place to wait. "This is nice," Hadley says as he climbs in. "It's a Seat?" You have to marvel at the polish of the performer – forever grateful to be wherever they are. "Birmingham," he might as well have said, "it's wonderful to be here tonight." Hadley and I chase ghosts through the city. "The Blitz was a wine bar," he reminisces. "And then on Tuesday nights Steve Strange and Rusty Egan took it over and it became the Blitz Ritz Club. Boy George was the hat-check chappie. And there was Marilyn, and God knows who else. It was a very creative place, and we were the musical guardians of it in a sense." The Cupra isn't yet the prince of hatchbacks but you sense its possibilities; a slight improvement in the handling would put it up there with the Mégane (for now, it's a tad heavy-footed). It takes corners sweetly, thanks to its gigantic wheels – particularly the limited slip differential on the front ones. It makes a good, quiet city car. We edge our way through Soho, Hadley reminiscing about the 1980s (next week sees the release of a documentary about the band, Soul Boys of the Western World). "Back then London was a very different place," he says. "In the late 70s and 80s it was a very exciting period for music, art, fashion. In the early days Blitz was very electronica and very angular, and the fashion was very futuristic – people dressing up like Captain Scarlet. You could still shock the establishment. London still is a very buzzy place, there's a seediness about this area that I quite like..." He looks out of the window. "Oh!" he says. "There's Robert Plant!"  Tony Hadley. Photograph: Laura Barton/Guardian I drop Hadley at his hotel, and take the Cupra out for a proper run. As well as its speed (it's the fastest hatchback on the market), it offers a range of driving profiles that allows you to move from Comfort to Sport to Cupra modes – though truthfully, these don't feel overwhelmingly different. Still, there's a dynamism to the Cupra that's appealing, a sharpness to its drive and its look. It's not quite Captain Scarlet, but has a sense of style and excitement all its own. Price From £25,690
Top speed 155mph
Acceleration 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds
Combined fuel consumption 42.8mpg
CO2 emissions 154g/km
Eco rating 6/10
On the stereo 'One Direction – they remind me of the Monkees' • Follow Laura on Twitter |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee: <b>car review</b> | Martin Love | Technology | The <b>...</b> Posted: 18 Oct 2014 10:00 PM PDT Prize fighter: the multi-award winning Cherokee. Price £37,705
MPG 37.7
Top speed 126mph  White mischief: Jeep's new Grand Cherokee Photograph: PR An ancient woman, bent over two sticks, shuffles up to me in the pretty market square of St-Fort-sur-Gironde, where we are on holiday. "Monsieur, cette voiture est grosse," she croaks, indicating the giant Jeep Grand Cherokee next to me. She hasn't a tooth in her head and, though she seems to be smiling, I'm not sure she is. Maybe she thinks it is gross? I bluff it out: "Oui," I say in fluent schoolboy-ese. "C'est énorme… comme un éléphant." I'm very pleased with this, but all I get is more gum and a sour look. She shuffles off, leaving me feeling a little self-conscious. But that's how I've been feeling all week. Compared to the rickety Renaults and crabby Citroëns puttering around these quiet roads, this mighty Jeep has felt rudely, almost defiantly healthy – like a buffed bodybuilder strutting past a bunch of anaemic goths. With its military-grade wheels, glinting seven-bar grille and imperious sneer, it's been a tank parked on France's prettiest lawns. On the plus side, it made mincemeat of the day-long drive slicing down France from top to bottom. The Jeep may have been designed for giving Mother Nature a good thrashing, but on France's long A-roads, the SUV was a revelation. A host of driver aids meant I could flick on the adaptive cruise control and let the car take the strain. At one point the laser-activated speed system allowed me to cover more than 100 miles without touching either the brake or the throttle. The only problem was that half of Britain also seemed to be on the road. The French radio bleated the traffic news with worrying words like "embouteillage" and "malheureusement" jumping out at us. In the end we drove 650 miles in 12 hours, doing 30.1 miles to the gallon at an average speed of 54mph. Long journeys always turn me into a stats geek.  Inside story: the comfortable interior – perfect for long journeys. The Grand Cherokee has been in production for 21 years and this is an update of the fourth-generation model. It now boasts an incredibly generous standard kit list and a slightly cleaner and leaner diesel engine. Climb inside and the Jeep has a functional layout that's very easy to live with. There are silvery finishes to buttons and dials, and leather seats that wouldn't be out of place in a gentlemen's club. The dashboard is now digital and you can choose the info you want to display – for instance switching the speedo to kph when in France. Although, worryingly, the satnav still seemed to think we were in the UK and kept telling me to go the wrong way at roundabouts. Jeeps have a proud offroad heritage and there's a rotary dial to adjust the suspension according to the terrain you encounter: the Selec-Terrain offers a choice of auto, snow, sport, sand/mud and rock. There's an all-new eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox to replace the clunkier five-speed box and changes now are pretty slick and smooth. The posher models also come with air-suspension so the ride matches the velvety gear change. There are a couple of niggles. There are few storage cubbies up front and the door pockets are so narrow you skin your knuckles trying to retrieve your péage tickets. There is no left foot rest – irritating in an automatic. And the foot-operated parking brake rubs the side of your shin (a small detail, but these little things build up when you're in the car for 12 hours straight). One sweet touch that caught my eye was the tiny image of an original 1945 Willys Jeep hidden in the lens of the front lights. Jeep really has covered a lot of miles since then… Put Britain back in the driving seat  Lorries on the A2 in Kent. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA Britain desperately needs more lorry drivers. It has been publicised recently that the UK logistics industry is facing a major skills gap, leaving an estimated 30,000 driver vacancies to be filled. Although there are 285,000 HGV drivers in the UK, there are now more Polish registered vehicles going to mainland Europe from the UK, than there are UK registered vehicles. And yet, there are thousands of HGV driver jobs being advertised in the UK. Becoming an HGV driver is a fairly straightforward process and HGV training is available at locations across the UK. So, for those looking for work or fancying a career change, why not fill one of these vacancies and help the industry put the UK back in the driver's seat. Keeping cyclists safe  The evolution of cycling. The RAC has just launched a new scheme offering Personal Accident Insurance cover for cyclists. It offers financial protection in the event of a serious injury or disability sustained during a road accident whilst cycling. It can help with hospital or recuperation costs, or loss of earnings whilst out of work. You can insure yourself only, or include your partner and children on your policy. Financial benefits depend on the level of cover; and can cover accidental death, permanent disability, hospitalisation and temporary disability. Personal Accident Insurance will cover you when you are cycling if you get hit by any type of vehicle while on the road whether for leisure or for work, while waiting at traffic signals or if you have to make a bicycle repair or repair a puncture at the side of the road. For more details, go to rac.co.uk Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166 Apologies, the correct photograph has now been used |
| On the road: Citroën C4 Cactus – <b>car review</b> | Technology | The <b>...</b> Posted: 17 Oct 2014 10:00 PM PDT 'The Citroën C4 Cactus deals well with bumps, leaf mulch and the occasional need to brake fiercely when a pheasant runs into the road.' Photograph: Simon Stuart-Miller for the Guardian 'I was just staring at this fence, thinking, 'You mustn't crash into the fence, Katy.' Then I basically accelerated." Katy Brand is sitting in the passenger seat of our Citroën C4 Cactus, recalling the intensive moped course she had to take for a recent role. "I'd never been on a moped before," she says. "I felt vulnerable, and dangerous – to myself and to anyone near me. And I had what the instructor called 'target fixation'. Which I think is just a nice way of saying, you're really crap at riding a moped." Today we are rolling along the country lanes of Hampshire, close to Brand's home. She drives a Citroën, too – a C3 that, unlike the Cactus, "has two drinks holders that actually fit drinks" (this one's don't). Nor does her Citroën suffer from the peculiar armrest next to the driver's seat, which, when folded down, makes it virtually impossible for anyone with arms to change gear. Still, the Cactus is a pleasant drive. It's a little perplexed by the windy roads, and calls for plenty of gear changes, but deals well with bumps, leaf mulch and the occasional need to brake fiercely when a pheasant runs into the road. "I like very loud hip-hop to drive to," Brand tells me, incongruously, as we drive past a row of thatched cottages. "The only problem with driving to hip-hop is that you do end up driving a lot faster." I can picture her, I say, zooming through her idyllic village, blaring out Jay Z. "Yes," she nods. "Speeding past the duck pond, waving to the vicar." I feel similarly discordant driving the Cactus in the countryside, largely because its design – a dimpled strip down each side – makes it look faintly like a giant sports shoe. It even gets puzzled looks in the city, when I drive home later on. It has other oddities: the layout, for instance, with its strangely plummeting boot; the fact that both rear seats come down in one plank, limiting the possibilities of carrying people and cargo. Then there is the snugness of the cabin, which means that every time I change gear, I half grope Brand's thigh. She's polite about it, though. It has a touch-screen display that, while sleek, proves mildly infuriating – not least because it includes the temperature control, so you have the faff of scrolling through menus before you can cool the car. In the end, we just roll down the windows. Brand doesn't drive the distances she used to; when she was on the comedy circuit, she would be heading up and down the motorway, back and forth from gigs, quite regularly. "I used to like driving late at night and just having that time on my own," she recalls. "I do like driving in silence. It's just the nicest way to clear your head: driving on an empty motorway at 1am with absolute silence. It almost gets quite meditative." Marriage, too, has changed her approach to driving. "I'm worried that since I got married I'm becoming one of those women who doesn't drive on motorways any more," she admits. "Which I'm horrified by." If she ever wants to reclaim her daredevil motoring spirit, she could get a moped. She shakes her head: "Never again." Price £17,190
Top speed 117mph
Acceleration 0-62mph in 9.3 seconds
Combined fuel consumption 60.1mpg
CO2 emissions 107g/km
Eco rating 7/10
Cool rating 6/10
On the stereo 99 Problems by Jay-Z • Katy Brand's film Walking On Sunshine is out now on Blu-Ray and DVD, courtesy of Entertainment One. Follow Laura on Twitter. |
| On the road: Volkswagen e-Golf – <b>car review</b> | Technology | The <b>...</b> Posted: 03 Oct 2014 10:00 PM PDT 'The e-Golf is Volkswagen's electric version of its 40-year-old classic.' Photograph: Simon Stuart-Miller Late Thursday afternoon, and Ricky Wilson and I are riding through the streets of Bloomsbury in a Volkswagen e-Golf. We've got the windows down, Toploader's Dancing In The Moonlight on the radio, spilling out on to a throng of American tourists near Russell Square. They look on, meat-faced and unmoved. When I collected Wilson, he climbed in with a carrier bag full, he claimed, of everything we would need for our mini roadtrip (to north London via the dry cleaner): "Some crap crisps. Capri-Sun. Haribo," he said. "And the only CD in my car: New Woman: Party Starter. I don't know how long it's been there – I've never seen it before." The e-Golf is Volkswagen's electric version of its 40-year-old classic. You wouldn't really be able to discern this from the exterior, save for its LED headlights, sealed grille and alloy wheels. The difference lies in the throbbing heart of its lithium ion battery. Do lithium batteries throb? Not quite yet, perhaps. While a frontrunner in the electric vehicle market, this is not really the car for major roadtrips. It purports to have a range of about 118 miles before it needs charging, at home or on the street (recharge time eight to 13 hours); though when my colleague later borrows it, the range claim begins to look dubious – it runs out of juice near Reading services. It's lightweight, just 1.5 tonnes, bobbing about on the breeze like thistledown. Yet it never feels flimsy; there is real precision to its handling, happily curving the capital's mini roundabouts. Because it's nigh-on soundless, you notice other details: the tick-tocking of the indicator, the squeak of the steering wheel beneath your palms. And without the buffer of engine noise, you feel more attuned to the world outside: cyclists, pedestrians, small flights of birds. Wilson's busy telling me about his Range Rover and his Mini, and the motorbike that he can't technically drive but keeps in his garage all the same and sometimes sits on and goes "brum brum". I ask him what he thinks of the e-Golf. "Um, it's fine," he replies noncommittally. I'm going to turn off the funk so you can hear how quiet it is, I say. I mute Jamiroquai and we drive in silence. "For me, it kind of doesn't fulfil anything," says Wilson. "If I was going for an electric car, I'd want it to scream electric car. I'd want lightning bolts on the side and a plug on the back." There is a plug but, to Wilson's disappointment, it's concealed where the petrol cap would be. The thing is, I quite like the e-Golf. There's something unexpectedly pleasing about a quiet car in a busy city. You're moving stealthily through the hubbub in a peaceful little bubble. It feels like modern travel: clean, soft and easy. I wait for Wilson outside the dry cleaner. When he returns, folding a bundle of woollens on to the back seat, he brings the loudness of the outside world, struck afresh by the recognition that TV fame has brought – his role as a judge on BBC1's The Voice has meant that he now gets waylaid on even the shortest of errands. Today he is on his way to write songs for the next Kaiser Chiefs album, a task at once exhilarating and daunting. "It feels like a mountain to climb," he says. "Making the last record consumed my life. Afterwards, you realise that what took a year, and all that travel, and all that emotion, is just 46 minutes of noise." And then, just for a moment, we sit there and enjoy the silence. Price £27,090
Top speed 87mph
Acceleration 0-62mph in 10.5 seconds CO2 emissions 0g/km
Eco rating 9/10
On the stereo The demos I get sent
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