Saab 9-3 2.0t Vector Review

Price as tested £23,205

The new 9-3 is Saab’s biggest-selling model and must compete in one of the toughest, fastest-growing market sectors.
Owner GM wants the car to be closer to the sports saloon norm without sacrificing too much of the individualism prized by loyal buyers and which gives new recruits a reason to pick it over a 3-series or a C-Class.
The new 9-3 must be both distinctive and conformist, and offer all the quality, dynamism and image buyers in this class expect.

The new Saab 9-3 shares much of its underpinnings with the new Vauxhall Vectra. Perhaps the biggest change made to the 9-3 is the switch from hatchback to saloon to match the market leaders.
The three petrol engine options are all based on the same all-alloy, four-cylinder L850 GM unit used in everything from Astra to Omega. Naturally Saab turbocharges it, and a choice of three different turbo pressures varies the output; the 2.0t tested here produces its 175bhp at 5500rpm and 195lb ft at 2500rpm.
Saab says that the front MacPherson strut and rear multi-link suspension is entirely its own work.
Most of the old Saab styling cues are retained; the wraparound screen, oval doorhandles, teardrop side glass and triangular-section rear lights.

We were slightly taken aback by the 7.7sec 0-60mph time we recorded in the 9-3, and the 22.2sec 0-100mph time. These are very impressive figures for a mid-range sports saloon, and immediately give you a clear reason to pick the Saab over the equivalent 8.9sec Audi or 9.6sec BMW.
It’s still more impressive when moving than away from the line though; witness a 30-70mph time of 7.1sec. Top speed is 136mph.
The ‘box action is reasonably short and light but notchy and no match for a BMW’s. The lack of vibration will impress all but the engine note, muted by the turbo, might divide; suitably silent for some, not sporty enough for others.
Around town the ride is quiet. The speed-sensitive power steering is very light at low speeds, and combined with the box and clutch actions makes for an undemanding drive.
Motorway refinement is good too, But drive quickly on more challenging roads and there’s a slight reminder of old 9-3 in the new car’s softness through corners and dips and loose damping over crests, effects which would be magnified in a car with standard suspension settings; ours came on sports springs.
You’re aware that you’re asking the car to play away from its town and motorway strengths, but others manage a broader spread of ability. The steering doesn’t weight up enough as the speed increases and remains frustratingly vague around the dead-ahead, but it is aided by that passive rear-steer which lends the car a keenness and security through bends.

The cabin looks and works like a Saab’s should. There’s a tall central dash section with all the major controls and displays mounted high to be closer to the driver’s line of sight.
There are firm, comfortable, high-backed seats with integrated head restraints, one-touch air vents, funky cupholders, folding rear seats and the ignition barrel down by the gear lever. Notable additions to the new car include an information display at the base of the windscreen which is particularly easy to read while driving.
The seats and driving position are excellent and the space in both rows and the boot puts the 9-3 near the top of its class. Only the quality of construction lets it down; some of the plastics have a sexy rubberised feel but others - the stalks and handbrake, for example - feel brittle and poorly finished. The standard kit level is generous and compares well with the rivals’.
Both the A4 2.0FSI and BMW 318i claim nearly 40mpg on the combined cycle; Saab claims just 33.2mpg, and we managed 30.1mpg on our touring route giving an acceptable 409 mile range. Buyers will have to balance the Saab’s extra poke against its extra thirst.

This is still a Saab, with enough of the marque’s hallmark features to keep diehards happy and interest new buyers. It has the pace and mechanical refinement of a premium sports saloon. But cornering aside, its dynamic abilities don’t get close enough to the 3, the C or even the A4 to cause them any anguish. It does enough to merit inclusion in a tough class, but not enough to lead it.

How much ?

• Price as tested £23,205
• Price as tested £25,870

How fast

• 0-30mph 2.9 sec
• 0-60mph no data
• 0-100mph 22.2 sec
• 0-150mph no data
• 0-200mph  no data
• 30-70mph  7.1 sec
• 0-400m  no data
• 0-1000m  no data
• 30-50mph in 3rd/4th  5.2 / 7.3
• 40-60mph in 4th/5th  6.8 / 12 sec
• 50-70mph in 5th  10.9 sec
• 60-0mph  2.8 sec
• Top speed  no data
• Noise at 70mph  72 dbA

How thirsty?

• Test average  26.4 mpg
• Test best/worst  30.1 / 12.8

Government figures

• Combined/urban  37.2 / 26.2 mpg
• CO₂ emissions  189 g/km

How big?

• Length  4635 mm
• Width  1762 mm
• Height  1466 mm
• Wheelbase  2675 mm
• Weight  1570 kg
• Fuel tank  58.0 litres

Engine

• Layout 4 cyls In Line , 1998 cc
• Max power 173 bhp at 5500 rpm
• Max torque 195 ft at 2500 rpm
• Specific output 86.6bhp per litre bhp per litre
• Power to weight no data
• Installation F
• Bore/stoke no data
• Compression ratio no data
• Valve gear 4 per cyl
• Ignition and fuel no data, Unleaded

Gearbox

• Type 5-speed Manual
• 1st 3.8 / 5.3
• 2nd 2.32 / 10.3
• 3rd 1.62 / 15.3
• 4th 1.27 / 20.2
• 5th 1 / 27.3
• 6th no data
• Final drive 3.51

Suspension

• Front MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar
• Rear Multi-link, coil springs, anti-roll bar

Steering

• Type Rack and pinion, speed-sensitive hydraulic power assistance
• Lock to lock 3.00

Brakes

• Front 300mm ventilated discs
• Rear 290mm discs

Wheel & tyres

• Size front 7.5Jx17in in
• Size rear 7.5Jx17in in
• Made of Alloy
• Tyres front 215/50 WR17
• Tyres rear 215/50 WR17

Seat Leon 1.8 20vT Cupra R Review

210bhp Leon outmuscles even the Civic Type-R

 Price as tested £17,000

A power struggle is being fought out on UK roads, a horsepower struggle to discover how much grunt you can put through the front wheels of a hot hatch. On the evidence here, the answer seems to be: quite a lot.
We gasped when Renault dropped a 172bhp motor into the tiny Clio and nearly fell over when Honda trumped that with the UK-built Civic Type-R, which packs 197bhp. But now Seat has upped the stakes again with a new 210bhp version of the Leon: the front-wheel-drive Cupra R.

The most significant change over the 180bhp Cupra is to the 1.8-litre turbo’d four which now gets a pair of intercoolers and inlet- and exhaust-manifold modifications. Power is boosted by 30bhp to 210bhp and torque by 26lb ft to a maximum of 199lb ft, all of it evenly spread from 2100-5000rpm.

Other changes include stiffer dampers which drop the car by 8mm at the rear, sturdier suspension mounts and relocation of the (thinner) front anti-roll bar mounts to improve the neutrality of the handling, as well as a quicker steering rack; 2.5 turns lock-to-lock compared to the 2.8 of the original.

These tweaks are backed up by huge 18in alloys through which you’ll see bigger Brembo discs all round. The R is also distinguished by its rear spoiler, side skirts and aggressive front bumper treatment.

Coming off the line gently to minimise speed-sapping wheelspin, the R scorched to 60mph in just 6.5sec, beating the Civic Type-R by 0.2sec and matching the time set by the Renault Clio Cup. From 30-70mph, where the disadvantages of front-drive no longer matter, the Seat takes just 6.0sec. But by 100mph, which the Leon reaches in 18.0sec dead, the tables have turned and the Civic and Renault have pulled out over a second lead, although only the Civic can top the 141mph the Leon managed around Millbrook’s banking.
The Leon also counters with the sort of in-gear muscle that helps make it a supreme overtaking tool. Aided by its flat, even torque curve, it simply strolls away from its rivals in any given gear: even in the tall 25mph per 1000rpm sixth it squirts from 50-70mph in just 7.5sec (Civic 8.9sec, Clio 7.9sec).

The engine itself is not tuneful or particularly charismatic, but it never becomes harsh, even at the red line. And that, together with the torque spread means the Leon is deceptively fast and relaxing to drive.

Putting over 200bhp through just the front wheels can so often end in tears, but Seat’s engineers have done a fine job of ironing out torque steer. At motorway speeds the ride though stiff is not uncomfortable, but tyre noise and bump-thump from the firmly damped suspension as it tries to soak up imperfections can make covering lumpy surfaces a chore. But the pay-off is superb body control over even the toughest roads, inspiring the driver with immense confidence.

So it’s a shame that the steering spoils the party. We’ve no qualms with the keener response of the quicker rack, but there’s less feel than there was and with no extra assistance on offer, the effort required to turn the wheel is now almost too great.

The Cupra R’s cabin is a black hole, broken only by the slightly cheap-looking white-faced dials, red stitching on the seats and smart leather-trimmed wheel and handbrake cover. The dash is showing its age, but the overall feeling of solidity is still impressive.

A huge range of steering and seat adjustment makes getting comfortable easy, even if they are set too high. And mention should be made of the superb £1200 Recaro seat option which includes special front chairs and individually sculpted rear seats and an emergency central perch in place of the ordinary bench.

The only other option is a full-screen sat-nav system; air-conditioning, a six-disc CD changer, front and side airbags and traction and stability control systems are all standard for the £16,999 price. That’s £1000 more than Honda charges for the Type-R, but the Seat counters with better equipment levels.

The R’s 211g/km CO2 figure is competitive considering the performance, as is the group 16 insurance rating. But our 23mpg average could dent a few wallets. Drive conservatively, though (and you will in this car, won’t you?) and you could easily top 30mpg.

It isn’t hard to make a case for the Cupra R despite its harsh ride and less than perfect steering. Stunningly rapid, able across country, and entirely practical as family transport, it’s absolutely one of the best hot-hatch packages on sale. That it costs only two grand more than the regular Cupra seals the deal.

How much ?

• Price as tested £17,000
• Price as tested £20,145

How fast

• 0-30mph no data
• 0-60mph no data
• 0-100mph no data
• 0-150mph no data
• 0-200mph  no data
• 30-70mph  no data
• 0-400m  no data
• 0-1000m  no data
• 30-50mph in 3rd/4th  no data
• 40-60mph in 4th/5th  no data / no data
• 50-70mph in 5th  no data
• 60-0mph  no data
• Top speed  no data
• Noise at 70mph  no data

How thirsty?

• Test average  no data
• Test best/worst  no data / no data

Government figures

• Combined/urban  32.1 / 22.6 mpg
• CO₂ emissions  211 g/km

How big?

• Length  4184 mm
• Width  1742 mm
• Height  1439 mm
• Wheelbase  2513 mm
• Weight  1376 kg
• Fuel tank  55.0 litres

Engine

• Layout 4 cyls , 1781 cc
• Max power 210 bhp at 5800 rpm
• Max torque 199 ft at 2100 rpm
• Specific output no data
• Power to weight no data
• Installation F
• Bore/stoke no data
• Compression ratio no data
• Valve gear no data
• Ignition and fuel no data, Unleaded

Gearbox

• Type U-speed Manual
• 1st no data
• 2nd no data
• 3rd no data
• 4th no data
• 5th no data
• 6th no data
• Final drive no data

Suspension

• Front MacPherson struts, wishbones, coils, anti-roll bar
• Rear Torsion beam, coil springs, anti-roll bar

Steering

• Type Rack and pinion
• Lock to lock 2.50

Brakes

• Front 323mm ventilated discs
• Rear 256mm discs

Wheel & tyres

• Size front 7.5Jx18in in
• Size rear 7.5Jx18in in
• Made of Alloy
• Tyres front 225/40 ZR18
• Tyres rear 225/40 ZR18

Maserati 4200 GT Review

Best Maser in decades

The new £59,950 Msaerati Coupé GT has a much more focused ambition than the outgoing 3200 GT, which wasn’t an especially polished product.
It wants to be an honest continent crosser in the traditional Gran Turismo sense, without sacrificing too much of the excitement associated with the world’s best-sounding car name. It also needs to justify Ferrari’s substantial financial commitment in resurrecting the Maserati brand, and to prove, at last, that you can look further afield than Zuffenhausen if there’s a £70k coupé on your shopping list.

Apart from the slightly raised bonnet line, the sad demise of the narrow LED rear-light strip, and a heavenly set of new 18in alloys, the new car looks little different.
Out goes the turbocharged V8 to be replaced with a unit of identical configuration but larger capacity and natural aspiration. Closely related to the V8 that powers the 360 Modena, the new 4244cc unit produces a sizeable 385bhp at 7000rpm and 333lb ft of torque at just 3300rpm.
Space constraints and the quest for perfect weight distribution have pushed the gearbox to the rear. The transmission itself is an all-new six-speeder offering the choice of manual or hydraulically actuated Cambiocorsa operation. Given the longer and less frenetic set of legs Maserati has given this car, it seems odd that a conventional automatic ’box isn’t also available.
Comprehensive modifications to the chassis include new spring and damper rates and the steering rack, arguably the 3200 GT’s weakest ingredient, has also been thoroughly revised to ensure a more linear response across the locks.

You can forget the numbers, ignore the technical data and just drink in what must be one of the finest engines currently in production.
This is a staggeringly fast car, one that will blast to 60mph in 4.9sec and 100mph in a scant 11.3sec. It needs every last ounce of that straight-line speed because the competition at this level is startlingly brisk: today’s basic Carrera will now hit the magic ton in just 10.1sec.
And it’s flexible; so happy is it to chug along at crank speeds barely above idle that you always find yourself running in one, even two gears higher than you might in a 911. But the shift is too obstructive and the clutch action too abrupt. There’s plenty of driveline shunt, too.
On its stiffest setting, the Skyhook adaptive damping reawakens all that was wrong with Maseratis of yesteryear, but to switch it off is to be released from poor-ride purgatory. Suddenly wheel travel seems to increase and rather than skip over bumps the car soaks them up and makes a pretty good fist of isolating the cabin.
There’s a price to pay in roll stiffness and outright body control, but the sacrifice is minute in real terms because the Coupé feels so much better planted that it actually gives you the confidence to carry much more speed. The steering is a happy compromise between feedback, clipping-point accuracy and motorway sneeze-factor imperviousness.
It’s a car of singular character, the Coupé. Not quite the precise B-road tool a 911 is, but still capable of raising pulses in all the right ways. But the real result is its cruising ability.

Even after allowing for its fantastic new engine, perhaps the most extraordinary thing about this car is, and always has been, it’s ability to carry four adults in reasonable comfort. If only the boot was capable of swallowing four people’s luggage.
The best news is that the driving position has been improved by dropping the seat 25mm, but the posture remains old-school Italian with the wheel set too far away, Poorly placed pedals don’t help, either: learn to heel ’n’ toe in this car and you’ll manage it in anything.
Maserati isn’t especially generous on the standard equipment front. Our car came with superb xenon lights, but then so they should be for £920 and seeing both cruise control (£325) and sat-nav (£1640) on the options list is rather too Scrooge-like for our taste. But interior build quality is out of the top drawer, so at least the money is being spent where it matters.
Likes a drink does the Maser: we struggled to coax much more than 300 miles at a time from the 88-litre tank.


There are, as there always will be with cars of irrepressible character, any number of objective reasons to strike the Coupé off your shopping list. The first, and most damning, is the spiteful manual gearchange, which doesn’t sit harmoniously in such an otherwise improved car. And it is a dramatic improvement over the outgoing model, a package with real cohesion that offers something currently missing in the market: a genuine alternative to the perennial Porsche. It has the pace, ride comfort and cabin space to slip into the GT role perfectly, and do so with all the charisma you’d expect of a Maserati.

How much ?

• Price as tested £56,650
• Price as tested £65,045

How fast

• 0-30mph no data
• 0-60mph no data
• 0-100mph no data
• 0-150mph no data
• 0-200mph  no data
• 30-70mph  no data
• 0-400m  no data
• 0-1000m  no data
• 30-50mph in 3rd/4th  no data
• 40-60mph in 4th/5th  no data / no data
• 50-70mph in 5th  no data
• 60-0mph  no data
• Top speed  no data
• Noise at 70mph  no data

How thirsty?

• Test average  no data
• Test best/worst  no data / no data

Government figures

• Combined/urban  16.1 / 10.8 mpg
• CO₂ emissions  400 g/km

How big?

• Length  4523 mm
• Width  1822 mm
• Height  1305 mm
• Wheelbase  2660 mm
• Weight  1680 kg
• Fuel tank  88.0 litres

Engine

• Layout V8 cyls , 4244 cc
• Max power 390 bhp at 7000 rpm
• Max torque 330 ft at 4500 rpm
• Specific output no data
• Power to weight no data
• Installation F
• Bore/stoke no data
• Compression ratio no data
• Valve gear no data
• Ignition and fuel no data, Unleaded

Gearbox

• Type 6-speed Manual
• 1st no data
• 2nd no data
• 3rd no data
• 4th no data
• 5th no data
• 6th no data
• Final drive no data

Suspension

• Front Double wishbones, coil springs,anti-roll bar, adaptive dampers
• Rear Double wishbones, coil springs, antil-roll bar, adaptive dampers

Steering

• Type Rack and pinion, power assisted
• Lock to lock 3.00

Brakes

• Front 330mm ventilated drilled discs
• Rear 310mm ventilated drilled discs

Wheel & tyres

• Size front 8Jx18in in
• Size rear 9.5Jx18in in
• Made of Alloy
• Tyres front 235/40 Z18
• Tyres rear 265/35 Z18

Honda Fit Electric Launches in Los Angeles

In the event the Los Angeles Auto Show ( LAAS ) lasting 18 to 27 Nov 2011, Honda, in addition to featuring all-new CR - V Fit also displaying an electric version of mass production.

Fit is equipped with electric -powered electric motor 92 is equivalent to 125.7 kW or PS. Intake of energy sources, obtained from the battery 20 kWh lithium ion battery power - the same as that used in the FCX Clarity. According to Honda, by plugging the cable in the socket voltage 240 volts, the battery can be fully charged in three hours. With this provision, the driver can tour the city as far as 198 km and 122 km out of town.


This car has three driving style options, Econ, Normal and Sport. By choosing Econ, then the driver can save power up to 17 percent of the Normal model. While the Sport,

Honda planning, marketing, electric Fit in the U.S. starting next year with a retail price of the proposed manufacturing ( manufacturer 's suggested retail price / MSRP ) 36 625 dollars by unit. As an initial marketing, Fit electric multiple units will be leased to utilities in California, Oregon, the summer of next year followed by the six other major cities early 2013. The cost of rent per month priced 399 U.S. dollars



Honda Fit targeting electricity production could reach 1,100 units in the next three years. However, this amount is still tentative can rise or fall according to demand in the market.

How to Detect Shockbreker Conditions For Car

Many contributing factors driving comfort, one good suspension performance. When these components are less good condition or damaged, would obviously interfere with driving, such as stability. Talk of stability, it affects the safety of driving 

Damage to the shockbreker can produce symptoms rolls down the road, because unsteady and maneuvering is not perfect. Control symptoms that are not controlled, such as oversteer. 

Detecting shockbreker declining performance can be from three sectors, namely visual, sound, and feeling. Here's an explanation that can be used to find out if your car shockbreker still functioning well.

Visual way 

The weaken performance of Shockbreker  can be due to the leak and we can see by the seepage of oil that sticks to the outside Shockbreker. Seepage could also have been covered by dust or dirt. So, to be sure, the dirt in Shockbreker must be held, whether there is the oil or not.

Oil seepage on Shockbreaker

The Voice

Shockbreaker strange noises, when the pass road is damaged or perforated. The sound is annoying and feels a little vibration on the steering wheel or deck near the pedals.

Filling and control 

For this condition, good sensitivity is required of the driver, because it involves the feeling. Another situation that can help is, the emergence of symptoms of excessive wobbling when driving, with a high speed. It could also arise from excessive swing, when passing through the road bumps or holes.

If one of the three conditions above happen to your vehicle, whenever possible, consult and do repairs in the workshop of your subscription. to maintain stability and comfort of the car while driving. Be sure to use the original components are still covered with the seal manufacturer to obtain maximum results.

Mini Coupe JCW review

Mini Coupe 1.6T John Cooper Works

Test date 16 October 2011  Price as tested £23,795

The new Mini Coupe is the first of the modern breed to look like a sports car

 The modern incarnation of the Mini has had a lot of ‘firsts’ claimed for it by its BMW parent. The first four-wheel-drive Mini, the first four-door version, the first diesel. And, now, Mini’s first two-seater (if you’re prepared to overlook the limited-run Mini GP special) and the first three-box body structure has arrived, too, in the shape of the Mini Coupé.

To us, it’s even more simple than that: the Mini Coupé is the first of the modern breed to look like a sports car. (A curiously shaped one, perhaps, but we will come to that in a moment.)
As manufacturers explore ever more diverse market sectors, this one – the ultra-compact two-seat coupé market – is, you might think, a particularly small niche. And you’d be right – Mini is expecting less than five per cent of its sales to be of this variant.

To make the numbers work, the similarities between the hatchback and the coupé are legion, and particularly so for the range-topping John Cooper Works model that we’re testing here, which rolls out of showrooms at a not inconsiderable £23,625 before any options are added.

Design

The potency of what is marketed as the

 After relaunching the brand in 2001, BMW became remarkably adept at moulding the Mini’s revamped shape into whichever format the original car’s genealogy permitted. Despite being impudently tagged to the Mini Moke, last year’s four-door, all-wheel-drive Countryman was a clear indication that the firm was now prepared to breach its own heritage-obsessed brief (and class boundaries) in the hunt for further profitability.

Doubtless, the purists will duly identify the Coupé’s squashed aesthetic as the culmination of BMW’s creeping cynicism towards the marque’s positioning, but the manufacturer’s expectations are more to unquestioningly embrace the new Peugeot RCZ and Volkswagen Scirocco as rivals.

In order to exploit a programme of extensive component sharing, the spiffy two-seater look has effectively been achieved by lopping off the standard roof and heavily raking the windscreen. Based on the cabriolet’s underpinnings (see Under the skin, p65) the Coupé’s dainty new lid is 29mm closer to the ground than the hatchback’s top and it has been hollowed out inside to maximise the subsequent headroom.

At the back, shallower glass tapers to meet an active rear spoiler – the first to be found on a Mini. The MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear axle set-up is carried over, although the Cooper models all feature firmer dampers and a beefier anti-roll bar than stock. Not so the JCW; its suspension is unchanged from the conventional car’s.

Unsurprisingly, the engine line-up also migrates intact. The Coupé’s bonnet houses three guises of the now-familiar 1.6-litre petrol unit, including the 208bhp version reserved for the JCW badge. For fans who prize economy over performance, there is also the prospect of the 141bhp 2.0-litre diesel unit currently found in all Cooper SD variants. All come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, and all save the JCW include a six-speed automatic on the options list.

On The Road

The Mini's strong brakes marshal its 1230kg with no problem

If you’re seeking a fast getaway in your Mini Coupé JCW, don’t be lured by that enticing black Sport button just ahead of the gearlever. Running in normal mode, the car responds quickly and in pleasingly direct proportion to the position of your right foot.

However, in an attempt to conjure an impression of even greater responsiveness, Sport mode ruins all of that. Press the button and that engine delivers significantly more of its maximum power and torque at narrower throttle openings. Over several runs, our testers couldn’t get used to the more aggressive throttle pedal mapping. Our 7.2sec two-way average to 60mph is adrift of Mini’s 6.4sec claim – and that claim is to 62mph, remember. A slight shortage of traction at the front axle also contributed to that shortfall.
At higher speeds, where traction matters less, the JCW earned its stripes – 30mph to 70mph through the gears took just 6.0sec, which is fast enough to mix it with Golf GTIs and their ilk.

A slick-operating gearchange and, away from Sport mode, a responsive and predictable engine make wringing speed out of the Mini Coupé very enjoyable indeed. Twin-scroll turbocharging is to thank for the lack of turbo lag in the powerplant, as well as its genuine forcefulness between 3000rpm and 5000rpm.
Refinement isn’t something that we’ve come to expect from a hot Mini, but the JCW Coupé is noisy even by Mini’s own standards. Between engine noise, plenty of wind noise and tyre roar unencumbered by any kind of cabin-insulating rear bulkhead, the Mini Coupé JCW produces 74dB of noise at 70mph, which is plenty. On wider tyres, a Scirocco R is some 4dB quieter. The Mini’s brakes are certainly impressive, however, and they stopped the car from 70mph in the dry in just 46.8m, which is a better result than the Ford Focus RS we tested in 2009.

A reinforced body, lower centre of roll and a focused suspension set-up give a certain amount of on-paper credibility to Mini’s claim that the new Coupé is a real sports car – and the driving experience delivers thrills and excitement aplenty. This Mini lacks absolutely nothing in the way that it dives at apexes. Brimming with mid-corner agility, it offers a great deal of driver involvement and a liveliness of handling character, too.
However, anyone hoping, as we were, for a radically different, more rounded and grown up dynamic temperament in this car than the one recognised in so many hot Mini hatchbacks we’ve seen over the past decade will be disappointed. Because the JCW Coupé is like a JCW hatchback that has been raised on a diet of sugar, caffeine and amphetamines: it’s edgy, boisterous and, at times, even a bit badly behaved.

On the right road – one with a smooth surface and a mixture of open, flat corners – or on a circuit, this car is riotous good fun. It turns in with incredible zeal and very little body roll, and it matches that prodigious front-end grip with easily accessed adjustability at the rear. The DSC system doesn’t allow the car’s mobile rear axle much freedom to roam, but with the system off you can take full advantage of it, even in the dry. And underlying that initial dynamic playfulness, the car’s chassis is a completely benign one that you can have real faith in.

Trouble is, most empty UK cross-country roads aren’t circuit-like. They’re uneven and unsighted, and the JCW Coupé just isn’t suited to them. This is the only Coupé model with runflat tyres as standard – low profile ones at that – and it rides in predictable thumping, crashing, unsettled fashion over expansion joints and the like, lacking the shock absorption needed to deal with a broken surface with any kind of authority or finesse. And over even more gentle crests and dips, the Mini’s tendency to torque-steer slightly doesn’t make your driving experience seem any more pleasant.

 

Living

Thanks to that grippy front end, you can carry lots of speed towards the apex of a corne

If you’re at all familiar with the Mini hatch, dropping yourself into the forward part of the Coupé’s interior is like seeing your partner after they’ve had a subtle haircut. You recognise everything, but there’s something ever so slightly different. 

In the Coupé, the dashboard is the same – save for some natty highlighting on the trim – with the same layout of switchgear, driving position and seats.

What’s different is the steeper rake of the windscreen, and there’s no denying that the curving roof, as it slopes quickly towards your head, does add a more cocooning and, we’ll admit, a more sporting feel to the Mini’s cabin.
The Alcantara-covered steering wheel of our test car helps that case along, too – there is barely a wheel in modern motoring that would not feel better with the application of a suede-like rim. The driving position is no more sporting than usual but, marginal loss of headroom aside, is as good as usual. Ergonomically, it’s sound, albeit with seats that some of our testers would have preferred to be bigger, and, particularly, longer under the thighs.
So far, so Mini. That is, of course, so long as you continue to cast your gaze forwards. Turn to the rear and it’s as if a bob cut has become a boot cut. The rear seats have gone, as too would the headroom if they had remained in place. In their place is a small shelf and a larger than expected cubby through to the boot. Given the general hopelessness of the hatchback’s rear seats, this entirely covered load bay might well make the Coupé a more usable alternative to the hatch for some buyers. Access is good, too, available as it is via a wide and lengthy, and heavy, rear hatch.
BMW’s ability to repackage the Mini’s basic formula as a convincing new product is matched only by its knack for convincing consumers that the result is desirable enough to pay a premium for. It’s a welcome surprise, then, to learn that at the cheaper end of the market at least, the Coupé has been priced very keenly indeed. Thanks to the entry-level Cooper model, the new line-up undercuts all of its nearest rivals by a comfortable margin.
Predictably, the JCW returns the brand to form, but even the top-spec car is broadly competitive, especially when its respectable 165g/km and potential 46.1mpg touring fuel economy are taken into account.

Verdict

The Mini Coupé JCW has instantly entertaining dynamic appeal and it will delight a great many. In its element, this Coupé is a lively, agile, fast and super-responsive driver’s car with a disarming, scruff-of-the-neck sort of character.
But on typical UK roads, its dynamic qualities just don’t surface often enough, endure long enough, or shine bright enough to eclipse its failings in other areas. Considering how much car you get for your cash, the JCW Coupé is not all that expensive. But it’s also noisy, has limited practicality and suffers the kind of rolling refinement that makes you wince over really bad roads.
We had hoped for a more three-dimensional, less contrived dynamic performance from Mini’s new sporting king. However, for all its vivacity, this car imposes serious and regrettable compromises that just don’t feature in the best £20k coupés.

How much ?

• Price as tested £23,795
• Price as tested £29,415

How fast

• 0-30mph 2.9 sec
• 0-60mph 7.2 sec
• 0-100mph 17 sec
• 0-150mph no data
• 0-200mph  no data
• 30-70mph  no data
• 0-400m  no data
• 0-1000m  no data
• 30-50mph in 3rd/4th  3 / 4
• 40-60mph in 4th/5th  4 / 4.9 sec
• 50-70mph in 5th  5.1 sec
• 60-0mph  2.76 sec
• Top speed  149 mph
• Noise at 70mph  74 dbA

How thirsty?

• Test average  33.6 mpg
• Test best/worst  46.1 / 13.2

Government figures

• Combined/urban  39.8 / 30.1 mpg
• CO₂ emissions  165 g/km

How big?

• Length  3728 mm
• Width  1683 mm
• Height  1378 mm
• Wheelbase  no data
• Weight  1240 kg
• Fuel tank  40.0 litres

Engine

• Layout 4 cyls , 1598 cc
• Max power 208 bhp at 6000 rpm
• Max torque 192 ft at 1850 rpm
• Specific output no data
• Power to weight no data
• Installation F
• Bore/stoke 77.0x85.8 mm
• Compression ratio no data
• Valve gear 4 per cyl
• Ignition and fuel no data, Unleaded

Gearbox

• Type 6-speed Manual
• 1st 3.31 / 5.9
• 2nd 2.13 / 9.1
• 3rd 1.48 / 13.1
• 4th 1.14 / 17.1
• 5th 0.95 / 20.5
• 6th 0.82 / 23.9
• Final drive 3.71

Suspension

• Front no data
• Rear no data

Steering

• Type no data
• Lock to lock no data

Brakes

• Front no data
• Rear no data

Wheel & tyres

• Size front no data
• Size rear no data
• Made of no data
• Tyres front no data
• Tyres rear no data

BMW 6 Series 640d M Sport Review

 

BMW 6 Series 640d M Sport

Test date 27 October 2011  Price as tested £66,745

Having launched the cloth-top version in the UK in March, BMW is now introducing the new BMW 6-series coupé. The closed-roofed two-door is billed as the firm’s ultimate grand tourer: a car with comfort, luxury, spaciousness, efficiency and high-end technology that’s unrivalled in its class.

But if this version of the 6-series really does prove to be a car of significantly greater substance than the last, it will probably be in no small part thanks to its engine, and the arrival of this 640d gives us our first chance to put BMW’s very latest 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged diesel under our road test microscope. Considering this car maker’s incredible track record in producing benchmark diesel motors, equally miraculous performance and efficiency are definitely on the menu.

Trademark BMW handling is perhaps what’s most in question. The more powerful 650i convertible tested earlier this year oozed competence but lacked precision, involvement and driver reward. So it’s for the 640d to show that M Sport spec and a fixed roof can sharpen the 6-series’ character.

Design 

BMW aimed for a more elegant, athletic look with the third-generation 6-series, with some success. The long bonnet profile, wide-hipped stance and taut surfaces of the new car make it more appealing, to these eyes, than the rather amorphous car it replaces.Sizable proportions help. At almost 4.9m long, it has grown 74mm.
The car’s underbody construction is a unitary body in white made of steels of various strengths, with aluminium used for the front suspension turrets. On top of that, the 6-series has a more innovative outer skin designed to boost rigidity and save weight. Aluminium doors and bonnet border plastic front wings, while the bootlid is made of a glassfibre-reinforced plastic composite. Despite the variety of materials used, the car’s paint finish is uniformly good and its panel fit consistent.

Like the 7-series and 5-series saloons, the 6-series is suspended via double wishbones at the front and BMW’s multi-link-style ‘integral’ rear axle. As standard fit, all versions have fixed-rate dampers, conventional anti-roll bars and electro-mechanical power steering with Servotronic speed-dependent assistance.

Adaptive dampers and anti-roll bars come as part of BMW’s Adaptive Drive options package. Our test car had them, adding reach to the car’s Performance Dynamic Control selector – which, in the 6-series, has a new Comfort+ setting to match Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Eco Pro.

The car’s 309bhp six-cylinder twin-turbocharged diesel engine is probably the technical high point (see Under the skin, p67). But amid options such as surround-view cameras, a night vision system, a head-up display and what’s described as the most advanced hi-fi audio system yet offered on a BMW are adaptive LED headlights with a cornering function. They light the road to the left and right of the dead-ahead dependent not only on speed and steering angle but also vehicle yaw rate. Trust Munich to come up with headlights capable of compensating for unexpected night-time oversteer.

On The Road

 

We wondered if the 640d would achieve both 150mph and 50mpg in our hands. In the end, it didn’t manage to quite hit those figures on the one-mile straight at MIRA’s proving ground or over our touring route. But a wind-assisted one direction maximum of 146mph at MIRA and 46.4mpg on a simulated motorway run are far from shabby for an 1840kg coupé.

When you start the six-pot diesel, it settles into a hushed, thrummy idle; rumbly but not clattery. Reach for a gear and you’ll find an electronic selector of the kind that we’ve become so familiar with that anything retaining a mechanical operation now feels old-fashioned. A mechanical connection would, however, remove the irritation that the lever will move yet not select a gear if you’ve not pushed the release button on its side far enough. It’s not a big deal, but we suspect neither would a fix be. Likewise, we’d prefer more confirmation that the ’box has dropped into park than just a light on the dash.

Watch our BMW 640d M Sport video review 90sec verdict
Still, the eight-speed gearbox itself is a unit that displays its competence and intelligence by shifting so smoothly and cleanly that, for the most part, it barely enters your consciousness that it’s doing it at all.
What does make its presence felt is the amount of performance on offer. From a standing start, the 640d is quite capable of overpowering its rear tyres and setting its ESP light ablaze as it heads to 60mph in only 5.3sec, and 100mph in just 13.1sec. If you’re at 30mph and ask for full throttle, just 4.5sec later you’ll hit 70mph. This is a car in which you’ll never want for performance, and it’s all delivered with a sound that’s the best automotive diesel noise this side of a Challenger II tank: extraordinarily smooth and powerful sounding, with no unwanted top-end overtones.

That the 640d can do all this while returning 46mpg at a cruise and comfortably 32mpg at any time makes this one of the finest powertrains available today.

It doesn’t take long in the 640d to realise that you’re at the wheel of a big car. It’s long but also wide, which makes threading it along tight streets no easier than it would be in one of the four-doors on which the 6-series is based. That should be no great surprise, but it is a shame this coupé doesn’t come with a greater feeling of natural agility and nimbleness of the sort that marks out, say, a Porsche 911.

Instead, think of the 6-series as a more natural rival, in size and demeanour if not in price, to a Mercedes CL; a long-legged, easy-going luxury cruiser rather than a sports coupé. Between the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, you’d find a Jaguar XK doing half the job of each. Question is, where does the BMW fit?
Closer to the Mercedes is the short answer. The longer answer requires an explanation beginning with the fact that, like so many high-end BMWs, the 640d rides on run-flat Michelin tyres and so seemingly demands adaptive damping dexterity before it’ll do the kind of work BMW wants it to.

The damping set-up can be moved from Comfort+ through a range of increasingly firm settings to Sport+, each bringing more body control at a loss of ride quality. On most motorway journeys, we left it in Comfort and found few places where the surface was so smooth that Sport or Sport+ provided an acceptable level of ride quality. If you do accept the harshness, you’ll find a level of natural balance and ability that does the BMW credit.

In any mode, the blend of ride and handling is seldom poor, just less optimised than we’d like given this car’s price – it lends the 640d a forever gently unsettling feeling that it’s not quite as good as it could be. What the 640d does always offer, mind, is an excellent level of cabin quietness and refinement. Few cars at this or any price feel quite so sophisticated and isolated from noise. The 6-series gets that bit of the grand touring regime spot on.

Living

Although its wheelbase has grown by 75mm, it still isn’t quite a proper four-seater. By class standards, the cabin is quite generous; luxurious up front, with more accommodating rear seats than you’ll find in anything short of a Mercedes-Benz CL. There’s enough rear headroom and legroom for small adults, but six-foot occupants still haven’t a hope of sitting line astern. In a 4.9m car, you’ve a right to better. But you couldn’t ask for a bigger boot: its 460 litres is within a couple of shopping bags of the big Merc’s, and 25 per cent more than a Jag XK’s.

Our test car came fitted with the sports seats, textured aluminium inlays and sports steering wheel that M Sport specification buys, but even without those augmentations, this would be a superbly agreeable place to spend time. There’s a fine driving position with plenty of adjustment, a set of clear instruments and an impressive mix of cabin materials, ranging from leather, through matt-finish aluminium, to solid tactile plastic. A fixed, 10.2in colour display screen dominates the whole fascia.

For UK buyers, that screen is part of the standard equipment roster, as is Dakota leather, electric memory heated front seats, an eight-speed auto, cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, and BMW Professional sat-nav with multimedia functionality.

But for all the comfort and apparent quality, you do expect a little more richness and piquancy from the cabin of a £60,000 car. Considering it’s priced so closely to Maseratis and Aston Martins, the 6-series’ cabin has a strangely cold, business-like ambience. It doesn’t really create a sense of occasion for the driver.
Provided you need to make no more than occasional use of those rear seats, the 640d has this section all sewn up. It’s cheaper than an XK Portfolio to buy and will retain 10 per cent more of its value over three years.

The deciding factor for many will be the 640d’s economy. It returned 45.5mpg on our touring economy test and is at least 50 per cent more economical than the next most frugal car in a class where petrol is still totally dominant.

Managing not to get seduced by the car’s long and expensive options list is the one caveat we’d advise. A fully loaded 640d M Sport will set you back £98,000, and it would be very easy to spend £85k on the car and still leave out the options that’ll add the most value at resale time.

 

Verdict

The BMW 6-series 640d is an easy car to admire. Few and far between are the coupés that can reach the other side of 140mph in less than a mile from a standing start, and fewer still have an engine that can also approach 50mpg on a gentle cruise.

But it’s the engine and transmission that play the starring roles in the 640d’s dynamic production. They have the diversity and the ability while the rest of the dynamic cast play a supporting role with competence, but not sparkle. The 640d is a supremely quiet cruiser but it only matches that with a truly compliant ride in its softest suspension modes, where it wants for tighter body control. Its cabin, too, is as clean and functional as you could hope for, but it is too short of ambience for a car with a price that starts with a six. Ultimately, the 640d is an easy car to like and live with, but a hard one to fall for.

 

How much ?

• Price as tested £66,745
• Price as tested £66,745

How fast

• 0-30mph 2.2 sec
• 0-60mph 5.3 sec
• 0-100mph 13.1 sec
• 0-150mph no data
• 0-200mph  no data
• 30-70mph  no data
• 0-400m  no data
• 0-1000m  no data
• 30-50mph in 3rd/4th  no data
• 40-60mph in 4th/5th  no data / no data
• 50-70mph in 5th  no data
• 60-0mph  no data
• Top speed  155 mph
• Noise at 70mph  65 dbA

How thirsty?

• Test average  32.6 mpg
• Test best/worst  45.5 / 12.9

Government figures

• Combined/urban  51.4 / 42.2 mpg
• CO₂ emissions  145 g/km

How big?

• Length  4894 mm
• Width  1895 mm
• Height  1369 mm
• Wheelbase  no data
• Weight  1790 kg
• Fuel tank  no data

Engine

• Layout 6 cyls , 3000 cc
• Max power 309 bhp
• Max torque 465 ft
• Specific output no data
• Power to weight no data
• Installation no data
• Bore/stoke no data
• Compression ratio no data
• Valve gear no data
• Ignition and fuel no data, Diesel

Gearbox

• Type 8-speed Automatic
• 1st 4.71 / 6
• 2nd 3.14 / 8.9
• 3rd 2.11 / 13.3
• 4th 1.67 / 16.9
• 5th 1.29 / 21.9
• 6th 1 / 28.1
• Final drive 2.81

Suspension

• Front no data
• Rear no data

Steering

• Type no data
• Lock to lock no data

Brakes

• Front no data
• Rear no data

Wheel & tyres

• Size front no data
• Size rear no data
• Made of no data
• Tyres front no data
• Tyres rear no data