Twinkle Twinkle Little Car: The Vauxhall Adam: A Women's Eye Car Review
Hot on the rear tyres of the Fiat 500 and the Citroen DS3
comes this chic little number from Vauxhall: the all-singing, all-dancing,
all...driving Adam. So-named as a mark of respect for the founder of Vauxhall’s
sister company
Opel: Adam Opel. Shame he
wasn’t called Brenda or Sheila, because this is surely the most female targeted
car of recent years, alongside the Beetle and the Mini.
Apparently there are over a million different combinations
of customisable features to be made with the Adam, so you can be sure your car
will really be as unique as you.
With so much choice (and I’m really not complaining-I’ve
always supported a woman’s right to choose) it can be quite difficult to make a
decision about exactly which trim/bodywork colour/ added extra to opt for.
(The optional multi-colour ceiling lights are a really fun extra, though). Luckily even the most basic option-the Jam- comes with alloy wheels,
air-conditioning, digital radio, Bluetooth and daytime running lights. All
models also have 6 airbags as standard.
With racing foot pedals and retro style rounded dashboard
dials, the style of the Adam is most definitely fun and funky. This is not at
the expense of the practical side though. With extensive inbuilt monitoring
systems throughout-including a tyre pressure monitoring system that I would
find absolutely indispensible-no more grovelling around on dirty garage
forecourts to test your tyre pressure-the Adam peeps have thought of just about
everything possible to make owning one a breeze. (There’s even an integral bike
rack hidden away in the rear section).
Seat belt sensors include ones for rear seats and Bluetooth
connection is integral to the infotainment section. I did find myself becoming
a tad obsessed with the mpg monitor though, which could be distracting until
the novelty wears off, as it’s quite obscurely hidden amongst other data on the
dials.
To drive the Adam is much to be expected: a smooth runner,
with not too much of a punch from 0-60 (ranging from 11.1 secs to 14.4) but
with good handling for a car that you feel you’re riding quite high in.
The real downside is space: this car is most definitely
targeted at a female audience with no children in tow. The boot is tiny...you
could probably fit a baby in there, but you’d have to throw the buggy out with
the bathwater.
Price: from £11,255-£14,295
MPG: Combined: 55mpg
CO2 emmissions: 118 g/km
Three engine choices: 1.2 and two 1.4’s, all petrol engines
NCAP rating: 4 Stars
Labels: womens online driving magazine
Event Horizon: The Peugeot 308CC (Coupe Cabriolet): A Women’s Eye Car Review
We headed for the horizon at Sandbanks peninsula on a lovely
hot day to get the utmost benefits from this little top-down, snub-nosed
beauty.
The Peugeot 308CC came up trumps on the roof-down stakes,
with no wind buffeting at all in the cosseted confines of the front cabin. Once
we’d mastered (mistressed?) the need to put the boot tray in place in order to
retract the hard roof, the hood could be manoeuvred in to position at whim (if
that whim is going at less than 7mph that is). Heated leather seats and head
rests (the AIRWAVE scarf) will keep you toasty on the chilliest of days, with
the roof down.
We also love the fact that the foot pedals are high enough
for most footwear (is this intentional, Peugeot?) Many women will wear high
heels when driving, regardless of road safety advice: it’s good to see that
some car manufacturers are taking note of this and combining this aspect of car
design into their manufacturing process (although it might, of course, just be
coincidence).
As a female of the species, it’s also nice to have a bit of
a rapport with your car: hence the thumbs-up for the welcoming way in which the
retracted wing mirrors, prick up, and out, on remote unlocking. We’re sure this
is primarily a bid to keep your mirrors out of harms’ way, but it doesn’t hurt
to feel that your car is ‘waking up’ to your arrival.
The vaguely futuristic look of the Peugeot 308CC is
complemented by the tardis-like spaciousness to be enjoyed in the front cabin.
At the same time the retro-look dashboard (a host of chrome-ringed dials) is
tasteful, sporty and refined. The flat-bottomed look of the leather steering
wheel provides easy handling and is aesthetically pleasing.
Visibility is good,
but is compromised when the roof is up, on rearward manoeuvres. The two backseats
are sufficient for two small people, but two adults may benefit from employing some
yoga stretches on completing extended journeys, as well as some yoga positions
en route.
Daytime running lights fit snugly around the front fog
lights, and the streamlined shape of the rear end is accentuated by a slash of
red LEDs. The passenger doors are heavy. Very heavy. This is good in terms of
protection, and an early morning muscle work-out, but not so handy when you are
trying to manoeuvre small children into and out of the car...with arms full of
shopping. I may be being picky but I did also find the suspension a bit clunky
at times.
All in, the Peugeot 308CC is a fantastic coupe and cabriolet
in one: a safe, sure and punchy drive with fantastic insulation from the wind with the
roof down. Hats off (or in fact, left on) to Peugeot for this feat of
aerodynamic excellence.
Price: £22,850 to £27,550
Model driven: 308CC Allure HDi 163 OTR price: £27,250
Euro NCAP rating: 5 Star Adult Occupancy
3 Star Child Occupancy
2 Star Pedestrian
Engine: 1.6 to 2 litre
CO2 Emissions: 128g/km to 172g/km
0-62 in 9.7 secs
Max Speed: 129 mph
Transmission: 6 speed manual
Boot space: Roof Up: 465 litres (but you might need to
juggle a folded buggy around a bit to get it to fit)
Roof Down: 266 litres
Colours available: White, Black, Aluminium, 2 Greys, Mocha, Sky Blue, Egyptian Blue, Red
A
Me-Mo Car Review
Labels: womens online driving magazine
Renault Capturs the Imagination
Renault Capturs
the Imagination
On
Renault’s open day on 2nd July they displayed some of their
flexibility in range: from the ready-to-personalise Captur, to the
superscrimper Sandero Stepway (part of the Dacia) range and on to my true love,
the queen of green Zoe, their fully electric supermini.
Renault Captur: Colour
Rapture
Kicking off with the
Captur, it seems that most of the major car manufacturers are finally taking
note of the fact that cars are much more than their constituent parts...we have
the Fiat 500, the Vauxhall Adam, the Citroen DS3 (not to mention Minis and
Beetles)...and now the Renault Captur, along with its’ myriad of customisable
colour collections. The new Renault crossover supermini starts in price from
£12,495 (more economical than its main counterpart the Nissan Juke) and is
supplied with removable, washable car seat covers. There is also a removable
board in the boot to create extra boot capacity-up to 377 litres.
An easy handling mid-size
car, comfy seats, and great economy, both in purchase price (from £12,495) and
mpg: the diesel model makes 76.4 mpg and coughs out only 95g/km in carbon emissions.
The Dacia Sandero:
Thrifty and Nifty
The Dacia Sandero comes in seven colour
options and is available from the (practically spare change price) of £5995. Or,to
put it another way, this car costs about
the same as the whole cost of the sound system in a Bentley Mulsanne.
I
drove the diesel version (starting price £8395) which racks up a very
respectable 74.3 mpg. A few niggles: I couldn’t find a way to adjust the height
of the steering wheel (and neither could the mechanics, so think we can assume
that you can’t) but the seat adjusts well to accommodate a comfortable driving
position.
There
is also no way to release the boot lock, unless you manually use the key to
unlock: not great if you are juggling buggies and small children.
The
gear box is a bit clunky, but acceleration is good. All in all, a super thrifty
buy for a more than capable vehicle.
The Renault
Zoe: Queen of Green
With
estimated running costs at less than 75% of those of a petrol or diesel car,
electric vehicles have come a step closer to practical everyday ownership with
the introduction of the Renault Zoe. Government incentives of a £5000 grant towards
the purchase price of EV’s (electric vehicles) means that the entry level Zoe
can be yours for £13,995 (OTR price £18,995).
The
ultra serene and quiet Zoe (equipped with a ‘voice’ to alert pedestrians of your
existence, at speeds up to 18mph) is a true trailblazer in the EV stakes (in
fact, the ONLY trailblazer on the market at the moment!). Replete with all
manner of high tech specs (a pre-conditioning mode allows you to pre-set the
interior temperature of the car before entering) Zoe drives like a silent,
surreal dream.
I
asked Renault about the feasibility of long trips and re-charging points:
apparently WelcomeBreak motorway service stations are the forerunners in EV
charging facilities, and there are many more charge points across the country
(check them out here: http://www.nextgreencar.com/electric-cars/charging-points.php).
The Zoe will run for between 90-100 miles in summer and 60-70 miles in winter
(more electric power is taken up with heating, defrosting etc)...but these are
both very conservative estimates. The range of the Zoe is estimated to be
approximately 130 miles, on average, on full charge. The only extra expense of
the actual car is the pre-required lease of the battery, at £70 per month.
Labels: womens online driving magazine
Bentley Motors and Lalique Crystal get hitched
Bentley Does it: Lalique Crystal and Bentley Motors
get Hitched
A 2.30 am alarm call sweeps me out of the best dream
possible: I’m driving an enormous, powerful and graceful car along beautiful
tree-lined roads. Does this have any Freudian significance I wonder? Probably
not- I’m just about to embark on my dream assignment...driving a Bentley
Mulsanne from Strasbourg in France back to Mayfair in London, staying at
stunning hotels, eating exquisite food and with an en route education in the
history of Lalique crystal and perfume.
You could say that I’d been asked to bear witness to the
union of two of the most quintessentially luxurious brands imaginable: the
wedding of Lalique Crystal and Bentley Motors and the fruit of their union:
Lalique for Bentley Crystal Edition Perfume (for Men). Their select issue of
just 999 collectors’ pieces combines a freshly created and exclusive perfume,
in a Lalique crystal flacon, embellished with the charismatic ‘Flying B’
Bentley mascot. The scent is an original concept of perfumier Mylene Alran from
the French perfume house, Robertat, commissioned by Bentley motors. It combines
top notes of select orris butter (one ton of iris root produces just 2 kilos of
orris butter) with white cedar wood and patchouli, leaving the base notes to
amber and musk. The resultant aroma is masculine and sensual. The combination
of crystal artwork, legendary Bentley symbol and exquisite fragrance (all
presented and preserved in a mahogany box) constitutes the one-off collector’s pieces:
at £3000 a bottle.
Travelling business class from Heathrow to Strasbourg, and
transferring to the hotel in a Bentley, Salomon, the chauffeur, explains to me
that at least 80 Bentleys are usually employed for the purpose of MEPs at the
European Parliament. Can I pick up a good deal on a second hand one I ask him?
It appears that if I could, the mileage on the clock would be very reasonable:
sometimes they only travel about 30km a day.
My first stop was the 4 star Cour du Corbeau Hotel, an
historical gem of a building, originally constructed in 1580 and latterly patronised
by European Royalty. A full renovation and lavish refurbishment has catapulted
it in to the Best Hotel in France 2013 category. A mere cassock’s throw from the impressive
Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral of Strasbourg ( a great place to cool down in the
heat) the hotel marries exposed stone and newly laid slate flooring with chic
decor and timbered facade and interiors, with ease.
Evening arrived, and I found myself in a queue of
journalists waiting to kiss a rather cute (and cashmere bedecked) French guy
goodbye-should I take a chance and hope he hadn’t noticed that we haven’t even
met? I decided to behave myself and hobbled off to the Michelin starred Au
Crocodile restaurant, with the rest of the crew, in my poor excuse for footwear
in the 93 degree heat (a pair of fake snakeskin winklepicker slingbacks) for a
sumptuous 5 course meal.
Morning saw the start of the Bentley/Lalique experience proper:
asked to choose my drive colour preference (these were definitely my kind of
guys) I plumped for the Windsor Blue. A little (Bentley) bird told me that it
has been known for the Bentley paintshop in Crewe, England, to follow customer
colour directives based on a showroom customer’s nail varnish-the sales guy
going so far as to paint his own nail in that colour as a guide to the finished
bodywork colour (which, in this instance, was cerise) Now that’s what I call
customer service.
The Bentley, luxury choice of British monarchs, was now my dream
car come to fruition. The Mulsanne packs the George Foreman punch of a 6.75
twin turbo V8 engine in to a supremely muscular body (complete with George
Foreman smiling grille) and glides effortlessly from 0-60 in 5.1 seconds, the engine maintaining a
low-key growl. In fact noise, or the lack of it, is very noticeable in top
range luxury cars such as the Mulsanne. It’s easy to feel detached from the
rest of the world in your own little bubble of peace and calm (a veritable
Bubble Car) My fellow occupants hadn’t revealed the secret to their satisfied
grins, until half way through the journey: integral back massage seats both
front and rear to ease away those little niggles. The subtle curvature of the
bodywork , and the vast bonnet up front gives a fabulous feeling of security
(it doesn’t have a European NCAP rating but you can bet that it would be off
the graph). The Mulsanne can achieve a top speed of 184mph-no mean feat for a
car weighing in at 2.6 tonnes: as some background history to the car’s success,
W.O.Bentley first used aluminium pistons in his engines in the 1920’s, which
weighed lighter, were cooler and increased power output.
Optional extras include a Naim for Bentley premium in-car
audio system, voted clear winner in a recent Fifth Gear blind listening test,
easily beating competition from Bowers & Wilkins in Jaguar, and Audi’s Bang
& Olufsen system. The rear seats are adjustable and rear seat passengers
can enjoy their own infotainment system, along with an optional integrated WiFi
hotspot for constant internet access. The polished mahogany woodwork and deep
pile Wilton carpets ooze class and comfort whilst I found the exterior look of
the car (not liked by all-but, I’m sure, carved on the template of cupid’s
bottom) curvy and sexy. Gliding along the motorway, as if on a waft of (speedy)
air, we arrived at Wingen-sur-Moder for a fantastic tour around the Lalique
factory.
Rene Jules Lalique (1860-1945) was initially a jeweller and
then moved in to glassware and crystal glass design. He was elevated to notoriety
partly by the patronage of stage stars such as Sarah Bernhardt and was iconic
in the Art Deco movement of the 1920’s. The tour took us from the burning
furnaces of the glass-blowing floor, to the delicate finishing off rooms, where
the beautifully crafted glass sculptures are refined by hand. Two hundred and
twenty craftsmen and women contribute to every stage of the manufacturing
process. The crystal glass Bentley/Lalique perfume flacon alone has four
finishing off processes in the latter stages to ensure the stopper is airtight.
A tour of the Lalique museum uncovered yet more exquisite works of art and we
emerged, blinking, in to the heat, to consume the 300km to Reims, home of
champagne, in the cool comfort of the air-conned Mulsanne.
Nestling in the suburbs of Reims is possibly its best kept
hotel and gastronomic secret: the Hotel A Lallement with its Michelin starred
restaurant: l’assiettechampenoise (http://www.assiettechampenoise.com). I was
becoming accustomed to travelling large, but when I opened the door to my
suite, I couldn’t stop myself from bursting in to a loud guffaw; the room was
palatial. My only regret was that I wasn’t spending much time in it: dinner was
at 7 and with a 7 course meal, with 7 different types of champagnes and wines,
A Lallement really did hit the jackpot.
The next day comprised the last leg of the Bentley/Lalique extravaganza,
driving up from Reims to Calais, through
the Channel tunnel and on to Mayfair in London. Our destination this time was
the Westbury hotel in Mayfair , old haunt of Jackie O and just a gemstone’s throw away from Lalique’s
London flagship store. I delivered the Mulsanne with a flouirish (and a small
tear in my eye) to the awaiting doorman, happy to have escaped any untoward
scrapes in the bustling London traffic.
Daniel, Lalique’s head of communication and PR, talked us
through the delicate blending process of the select ingredients used in the
Lalique for Bentley Crystal Edition Perfume (for Men). We saw the finished
product, replete with Lalique Crystal Flacon and mahogany storage box, and
whiffed the legendary woody perfume (and with a perfume this complex, it really
is possible to smell the different layers of the perfume, over time).
Evening was upon us and we said our fragrant farewells, after
yet another gastronomic dining indulgence in the Westbury Hotel.
It’s often not until you actually see the intense labour and
detail to craftsmanship that go in to producing something of beauty that you
are made aware of its intrinsic value: at once, the marriage of the two brands,
Bentley and Lalique, made perfect sense:both are emblematic of prolonged
processes of manual labour and craftsmanship and pure attention to detail. Both
espouse values of heritage and artisanship. Their 999 offspring will surely be
very highly prized collector’s pieces for both Bentley and Lalique aficionados.
Labels: womens online driving magazine
