TMW - The updated Isuzu D-Max Blade, better looks, better comfort and more kit.

After testing the last model, the Fury, i was given the opportunity to try the updated D-Max Blade Automatic, and to say this car, compared to the previous one, is a vast difference, is an understatement.

With only the AT35 and Yukon that sits above the Blade, you know that you are getting a well kitted out car. And you do, the car costs £27,999, but our car here today comes with some extra's

• Tow Bar - £187.50
• 13 Pin Towing Electrics - £140.004
• Special paint Pearlescent White - £250.00
• Bed Rug - £375.00
• Lazer Lights - £412.50

Taking this car to £29,364, now thats a lot of money, but you are getting a lot of car for that money, for a start you get a double cab, making access so much easier for back seat passengers, and to be honest i think it looks a lot better too as a Double, the car has had an update since the last time we tried one, and again, it looks far superior, with new look frontage, with new bumper and lights, it gives it a more muscular and purposeful look.

inside the car you get a full leather upholstery, with a better sat nav, buttons and switchgear all to hand and not miles away like you find in some other cars, it is also far more comfortable than before, and being an auto, its far easier to drive, why would anyone have a manual gearbox these days when auto's are just so good.

The Access for rear seat passengers as mentioned is really easy and once there they have loads of space to get comfortable, even with the front seats set further back, there is still enough leg room for anyone that would require lots of space.

The Blade can do a claimed 112mph, not that you would want to do that, it would be a little rough, driving at motorway speeds is perfect, comfortable and quiet, anything more and it does get a little noisy and rough, although the 1.9 litre is very capable, it is tuned more for "work" than leisure.

 The fuel consumption of the D-Max is claimed to be

• Urban 30.4mpg
• Extra Urban 40.9mpg
• Combined 36.2mpg

We found it difficult to get to those figures but we were not far adrift at all, and we were impressed at what was achievable, its also not the "cleanest" pick up on the market with 205g/km, but it is Euro 6 Compliant, if the car was able to achieve the combined figure of 36.2mpg it would give the car a touring figure of 605 miles between fill ups.

The changeable set up between 2WD and 4WD is with a dial, and allows the car to be able to be taken off road, we didn't do this, but with the large chunky tyres, going off the beaten track and onto more harsh terrain seems like it would be very easy indeed.

There is no getting away from the fact that this is a very large car, it handles as such, thankfully getting in and out of parking spaces is easy with the reversing camera, but it does poke out of the end of a normal sized bay, but to be honest most cars are getting this big, whereas parking bays are getting smaller, so something needs to be done.

Because the car is high up the list of models you can be assured that you get loads of kit, some of which are :-

• LED lights from and rear
• Tinted Windows, load liner (additional carpeted cost)
• Electric Windows
• Central Locking
• Keyless Entry and push Button Start
• Gear Shift Monitor
• Touchscreen with Multi Information Display
• Bluetooth
• DAB Radio
• Apple Car Play
• Android Auto
• Front and Rear USB Ports
• Multiple Speakers
• Loads of Storage
• Leather seats 
• Arm Rest
• Carpets
• Hill Descent Control
• Hill Start Assist
• Full Range of Safety
• 18" Alloys

And thats just the tip of the iceberg, there are far more toys to play with and believe me, you can spend a vast amount of time working out all the bits and pieces.

CONCLUSION

This new model, well updated, heavily, is a huge step forward and is far superior in all aspects, from drive, comfort, economy, safety and additional equipment, it is a more capable car than the model it replaces.

This car really moves the goal posts and by some way too, there are now more and more of this style car available in the UK, from Nissan, Renault, Mercedes, Ford and Volkswagen, each has their own capabilities, but the Isuzu D-Max combines all for a great price, you would be silly not to consider the car over and above the competition, thats just how good this car is !

The PSA Group has issued real world fuel figures for Europe via brand and models.

Following on from its 2016 commitment, the PSA Group has published the measurement results from the test protocol established with Transport & Environment (T&E) and France Nature Environment (FNE). This protocol has been used to measure consumption in real driving conditions for 58 PSA Group models under the supervision of the Bureau Veritas certification organisation, which has certified the accuracy and integrity of the results.

The measurements obtained on the 58 models make it possible to estimate the consumption in real-world driving conditions for more than 1,000 versions of Peugeot, Citroën and DS vehicles. 

For each model, the estimations have been made using the same engine and gearbox, plus three variants: body type, trim level and tyre dimensions.

On the occasion of the Geneva Motor Show, Peugeot, Citroën and DS brands offer to their customers the possibility to check their average consumption in real-world driving conditions by logging onto their respective websites. A web-based application will allow them to view this data for their model by entering its characteristics (body type, trim level, engine, gearbox and type of tyres).

Additionally, each client will be able to estimate own consumption based on the actual use of his vehicle (number of passengers, load, driving style, etc.). 

The application is available on the brands website in 6 countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. It will then be available progressively in the rest of Europe.

Building on the European RDE "Real Driving Emissions" project, the protocol measures fuel consumption using a portable emissions measurement system (PEMS*) installed on the vehicle.

The readings for the 58 models have been made on public roads (23 km on urban roads, 40 km on the open road and 30 km on motorways) under real driving conditions (air conditioning, luggage and passengers, hilly terrain, etc.).

Gilles Le Borgne, Executive Vice President, Quality and Engineering, for the PSA Group explained: "In line with the commitment we made to our customers, we are now publishing the real-world driving consumption figures for Peugeot, Citroën and DS models on our brands website. Our customers can now access comprehensive and transparent fuel consumption data. We will add the figures for NOx emissions in summer 2017".

Greg Archer, Director of Clean Vehicles at Transport & Environment, said: “The partnership with PSA Group highlights three key issues. First, that on-road tests to measure real CO₂ emissions are reliable, representative and reproducible. Second, that a car company recognises there is consumer demand for robust real world information. And third, in an era of 'alternative facts' and dishonest manipulations of emissions tests one company has seen transparency and openness as the way to re-establish trust with its customers – more carmakers need to follow its lead.”

Denez L'Hostis, President of France Nature Environnement adds : "We have recently suffered numerous periods of high levels of air pollution, putting into question vehicle emissions and we recognise the transparency displayed by PSA that pledged to measure various car emissions: CO₂, NOx and Particles. This commitment gives echo to strong citizen mobilisation in favour of knowing the truth about air pollution. This is a necessary step towards the implementation of measures to improve air quality and people’s quality of life".

Philippe Lanternier, Executive Vice-President, Corporate and Business Development at Bureau Veritas added: "Bureau Veritas can attest that the tests were correctly conducted throughout this major new campaign. Since it was first rolled out a year ago, and after a great many tests, the system has proven to be reliable. It could also be used for effectively measuring NOx emissions. We congratulate and continue to support the PSA Group in this initiative, especially since the issues around the reliability of pollution measurements and the improvement of air quality are only going to increase."

* PEMS : Portable Emissions Measurement System 

CITROËN  BRAND:

• France : http://www.citroen.fr/univers-citroen/technologie/consommation-usage.html
• Switzerland/Italian:http://www.citroen.ch/it/mondo-citroen/tecnologia/consumi-in-condizioni-di-utilizzo-reale.html
• Switzerland / german : http://www.citroen.ch/de/die-citroen-welt/technologien/verbrauch-bei-betrieb.html
• Switzerland / french : http://www.citroen.ch/fr/univers-citroen/technologies/consommation-a-l-usage.html
• Germany:http://www.citroen.de/markenwelt/technologie/transparenz-neues-messverfahren.html
• Spain: http://citroen.es/universo-citroen/tecnologia/consumos-en-uso-real.html
• Italy : http://www.citroen.it/mondo-citroen/tecnologia/consumi-ell-uso-reale.html
• UK http://www.citroen.co.uk/about-citroen/technology/real-use-vehicle-consumption.html

DS BRAND :

• France: http://www.dsautomobiles.fr/univers-ds/consommation-a-l-usage.html
• Switzerland / italian: http://www.dsautomobiles.ch/it/inside-ds/consumo-all-uso.html 
• Switzerland / german :http://www.dsautomobiles.ch/de/inside-ds/nutzungsverbrauch.html 
• Switzerland/french:http://www.dsautomobiles.ch/fr/inside-ds/consommation-a-l-usage.html 
• Germany :http://www.dsautomobiles.de/markenwelt/nutzungsverbrauch.html 
• Spain : http://www.dsautomobiles.es/universo-ds/consumo-en-funcion-des-uso.html 
• Italy :http://www.dsautomobiles.it/universo-ds/consumo-all-uso.html 
• UK: http://www.dsautomobiles.co.uk/inside-ds/consumption-based-on-usage.html 

PEUGEOT BRAND:

• France:http://www.peugeot.fr/marque-et-technologie/politique-environnementale/consommations-a-l-usage.html
• Switzerland / italian:http://www.peugeot.ch/it/marchio-e-tecnologia/consumo-all-uso.html
• Switzerland/german:http://www.peugeot.ch/de/marke-und-technologie/nutzungsverbrauch.html
• Switzerland / french : http://www.peugeot.ch/fr/marque-et-technologie/consommation-a-l-usage.html
• Germany : http://www.peugeot.de/marke-und-technologie/nutzungsverbrauch.html
• Spain : http://www.peugeot.es/marca-y-tecnologia/consumo-en-funcion-del-uso.html
• Italy : http://www.peugeot.it/mondo-peugeot/ambiente/consumo-all-uso.html
• UK: http://www.peugeot.co.uk/technology/engine-technology/consumption-calculator/

TDI-Tuning - The way for Jaguar owners to gain more pace.

British tuning designer and engineering firm TDI-Tuning’s products are more popular than ever among premium brand vehicles in the UK, with 10% of its tuning boxes fitted to prestige models of the Jaguar range.

As the UK market reports the highest half-year sale performance on record (new registrations are up by 7%) and buyers favour British vehicles, which account for the highest proportion of new registrations in the last five years, more and more high-end Jaguar performance vehicles are equipped with a TDI-Tuning box.

“Long gone are the times when premium brands considered diesel derivatives the poor relation,” says TDI-Tuning Principal Graeme King. 

“Recently, the new Jaguar XE won ‘Best Large Car’ in the 2015 Diesel Car magazine Awards, beating the equally prestigious BMW 3-Series. Fuel economy and performance are no longer mutually exclusive, and owners still look for ways to improve both.”   

The most popular Jaguar to have a TDI-Tuning box fitted is the XF 3.0 V6 model: equipped with a CRTD2 Twin Channel Digital Diesel Tuning Box with Boost control, power and torque go up from 271bhp and 443lb ft respectively to 341bhp and 514lb ft; top speed is increased by 10mph and fuel efficiency by 4/6mpg.  

TDI Tuning maintains a 100% positive feedback score through independent review service Feefo.

Some key points:

• TDI-Tuning designs and develops its own tuning boxes, which are then manufactured in Germany
• The boxes are easy to plug in and/or remove, require no special skills or specialist input, and can be fitted by the end user in less than 30 minutes  
• The vehicle will revert to standard when the box is removed - leaving no trace***
• The tuning equipment can be sent back to TDI-Tuning to be re-programmed for over 4,000 different models
• TDI-Tuning boxes start at just under £300
• TDI-Tuning offers finance on all purchases over £279 

***TMW COMMENT

It has to be said that if you leave the box in the car, attached, when your car goes into the dealer for any work to be completed, it could result in the warranty being voided, and infact you will lose any and all claims to the brand if any issues occur, either directly or indirectly through the use of ANY after market device.

if your unsure, ask your dealer, do NOT rely of any after market product documentation to clarify any legal points.

Mitsubishi declares that it rejects claims that it's MPG figures are misleading....

TMW THOUGHTS - We are all aware that the manufacturers do not give us correct numbers, this has been ongoing for decades, and we have just accepted it, and it is fun trying to get as high as you can, personally, I had a car that no matter how i drove it, it was so far wide of claimed, that after a few phone calls stating my case, the car was taken back.

I believe that there should be a set up like MIRA, where cars can be driven at their ideal speeds, for Urban and extra urban, and then you get a combined from that, the cars are driven on roads, properly, not in laboratories, not utilising various techniques to stretch out the MPG, just proper driving, by people not associated with the company.

That way, you get an independant report, with the numbers which were gained in a proper way, and I know that the manufacturers would all be up in arms, over it, as they would not be anywhere near the manipulated numbers, but at least the consumer can at long last get a proper figure, that they can achieve, and not some of these fairy tale numbers.

--------------------

A report published by WHICH? suggesting official MPG figures are ‘economical with the truth’ is rejected by Mitsubishi Motors UK. To measure a car’s official fuel consumption, manufacturers are required to use the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) and to display the results from this test on all technical and marketing materials. 

Car makers agree that the current test is out dated. It was created in the 1970’s and takes no account of current plug-in hybrid technologies, but manufacturers are required by law to put every new model through it and to publish the results. 

Most manufacturers, including Mitsubishi Motors, make clear that the figures are for comparison purposes and are not intended to reflect what customers might actually achieve, as this will depend on many factors including driving style.

The official NEDC figure for the Outlander PHEV is 148 mpg. However, with average UK daily commuting distances the vehicle can achieve considerably more than this. Longer journeys may reduce this figure but the Outlander PHEV will still return impressive economy. 

Even the 67.3 MPG suggested by WHICH? is good for a large 4x4 SUV like Outlander.

Lance Bradley, Managing Director, said: ‘The current test regime for emissions and fuel consumption is outdated and does the industry no favours but the suggestion that we in some way are misleading car buyers is well wide of the mark and irresponsible.’

Mitsubishi Motors UK has always made real life MPG very clear in its advertising and printed material. At the Outlander PHEV’s launch several top motoring magazines all reported on the ‘refreshing honesty’ with which the company had presented its real life MPG expectations.

MPG Marathon is won by Honda's Civic Tourer with an impressive 97.92mpg.

Honda engineers Fergal McGrath and James Warren, driving a Honda Civic Tourer, have won this year’s MPG Marathon eco-driving challenge in a nail-biting finish with last year’s champions, Nick Chapman and Rosemary Homer.

Over the two days of the event, which was again sponsored by ALD Automotive and TRACKER, the Honda pair expertly guided a Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC around the specially designated 330-mile route, recording an outstanding 97.92mpg.

However, it was a very close run thing following a determined and sustained challenge from reigning champions, Chapman and Homer, both employees of Leicestershire County Council, who, until last year’s event, had never even met before.

Again driving a 1.6 litre TDCi Ford Fiesta Titanium ECOnetic, the Leicester pair achieved an average of 97.08mpg, just fractions of a mile per gallon behind the eventual winners.

“Having won last year’s event at their first attempt, Nick and Rosemary so nearly became only our second pair of drivers to win the event for two years in a row,” said event organiser and Fleet World managing editor, Ross Durkin.

“Commiserations to them, but all credit to Fergal and James. Their performance in recording an average of 97.92mpg over the two days was quite exceptional given the challenging driving conditions that all the contestants faced.

“It is testimony to their expert eco-driving skills that they have emerged triumphant against a very strong field of competitors, including nine former champions, and shows what can be achieved with the current generation of eco-friendly models available on the market today.”

In third place overall were John Kendall and Paul Nieuwenhuis, who achieved a very creditable 95.00mpg in Citroen’s new C4 Cactus crossover. The pair drove the low-emission BlueHdi 100 Feel model which emits just 82g/km of CO₂.

Alongside the competition for the best outright MPG, the Marathon also challenged drivers to improve on the manufacturers’ official fuel consumption figures for their vehicle.

And claiming first place in this category were Marathon new-comers and current Ford motor racing stars, Louise Richardson, and her co-driver, Harrison Scott.

Louise 21, star of the family-run Richardson Racing team, is the first female racer of an EcoBoost Formula Ford car, while 18-year old Falcon Motorsport driver Harrison is current leader of the 2014 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship.

The pair were driving a powerful new Ford Fiesta ST-3 1.6 litre 182ps EcoBoost model with an official combined fuel consumption of 47.9mpg. But the racing stars blew that figure completely out of the water, achieving an astonishing 75.77mpg, over 58% better than the official figures.

“It was an outstanding achievement from Louise and Harrison in their first MPG Marathon and showed what can be done in terms of driving frugally, even in today’s modern, high-powered super-minis,” said Ross Durkin, who was presiding over the 14^th MPG Marathon to date.

 “They had to curb their natural racing instincts in trying to use as little fuel as possible over the two-day event and did so brilliantly,” he said.

In second place in the percentage improvement category was the pair of Richard Aucock and Katie Beck. Driving an all-wheel drive Subaru BRZ Sports Coupe 2.0i SE Lux with a combined fuel consumption of 36.20mpg, their performance of 55.42mpg was 53% better than the official figures.

Claiming third spot in this category were former rally star, Andy Dawson, and long time co-driver and motorsports journalist, Andrew Marriott, the 2012 MPG Marathon champions.

Behind the wheel of a new high-powered Ford Focus ST-3 2.0T 250PS with an official fuel consumption figure of 39.20mpg, the highly-experienced duo achieved 56.78mpg, some 44.84% better than the manufacturer’s own figures.

Other notable achievements this year included that from British Touring Car Championship stars, Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, both members of the 2014 Honda Yuasa Racing Team, who were driving a Honda Civic 1.6 litre diesel Tourer.

Taking part in their first-ever MPG Marathon, their performance of 80.23mpg saw them finish in ninth place in the field of 26 teams of competitors.

In the light commercial vehicle category, there was a quite brilliant performance from Dan Gilkes, editor ofVan Fleet World, and co-driver, Ray Penford.

Behind the wheel of Renault’s all-new Trafic SL27 Energy dCi 120 Business, the pair achieved 55.55mpg, the best overall mpg and also the best percentage improvement, being 16% better than the manufacturer’s official figures of 47.90mpg.

Day one saw the contestants start from the luxurious Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel, at South Cerney near Cirencester, and head for the Brecon Beacons, with a lunch stop in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, and an afternoon tea stop in Worcester.

On day two, they again set off from South Cerney, heading for Andover in Hampshire for a coffee stop and a lunch stop at the stately Bailbrook House Hotel in Bath.

In all, the course comprised a combined total of approximately 330 miles, although contestants were free to plan their own routes, provided they included a number of pre-agreed, fixed points, which made keen navigational skills essential.

All participating vehicles were again fitted with TRACKER tracking equipment so that event organisers knew exactly where each car was and how far it had travelled.

“Congratulations to all the contestants in this year’s MPG Marathon. There were some outstanding team and individual performances, some near misses and some great results.

“Above all else, this year’s event showed conclusively that the current generation of modern cars and vans are more fuel-efficient and more environmentally friendly than ever before, and are an outstanding testimony to the achievements of all the participating motor manufacturers,” concluded Ross Durkin.