My thoughts on all things motoring, press releases, reviews & techie stuff, from around the world.
Please note that the pictures of vehicles within this blog are used as examples of the specific press releases, on occasions, due to the lack of available official pictures, examples are re-produced.
ANY AND ALL PROFANITIES WILL BE REMOVED AND THE PERSON/S RESPONSIBLE WILL BE BANNED, NO EXCEPTIONS.
Purpose
I will try my best to provide detailed info on various cars and what is like to live with them, I have already produced a few for Jaguar-car-forums, I will do my best to be unbiased, but it will be hard for some cars. I will re-produce press releases and copy from other motoring news.
Showing posts with label Rear Parking Sensors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rear Parking Sensors. Show all posts
MG Motor UK’s stylish Supermini, the MG3, has been given a sophisticated new make-over for summer 2017. A premium leather interior now comes as standard, bringing even more luxury and comfort to the top-of-the range, yet still affordable MG3 Style+ model, which was voted a top five Supermini in the Auto Express Driver Power survey.
The MG3 Style+, with upgraded interior, also includes 16” ‘Diamond’ alloy wheels, cruise-control, automatic lights and windscreen wipers, as well as reverse parking sensors.
The super-fun Supermini brings masses of personalisation options too, with funky graphic packs allowing you to be as creative as you wish with your car.
The top-of-the-range model retails at only £11,695 – almost £5,000 cheaper than the equivalent Ford Fiesta.
Matthew Cheyne, Head of Sales and Marketing at MG Motor UK, said: “MG is all about making new cars accessible to a wide range of customers. We pride ourselves on delivering premium finishes for a much lower price than our competitors. The introduction of leather interior as standard on the MG3 Style+ highlights our commitment to offering a premium car at a highly affordable price.”
The MG3 Supermini is a great all-rounder, perfect for young drivers with its low insurance group rating and prices starting at just £8,695. Unlike many cars in its class, space is not compromised, with the MG3 capable of comfortably seating five, 6ft adults.
Following in the tracks of the Sandero, it is now the turn of the Logan MCV to join Dacia’s Stepway family.
The new Logan MCV Stepway enhances its credentials as a thoroughly modern and generously-proportioned estate car with a distinctly rugged look.
Playing to its major strength of practicality, the new Logan MCV Stepway carries over all the key qualities of the Logan MCV, from its impressively spacious interior space – including five proper seats – to a 573-litre boot, which is amongst the largest in any segment of the market.
New limited-edition S.E. Summit versions for each member of the Stepway family and the Duster.
The brand continues to grow and achieved record sales figures in 2016. In the 44 different markets in which Dacia is active, it sold 584,219 vehicles in total, representing a year-on-year increase of six per cent.
The Stepway family, one of Dacia’s biggest success stories, maintains its growing momentum with the addition of a fifth member to the Dacia range – the new Logan MCV Stepway – following the Sandero, Sandero Stepway, Duster and Logan MCV.
The new Logan MCV Stepway sports an undeniably muscular build, with an assertive personality that draws inspiration from the world of crossover styling, offering first class practicality and vast load space at an extremely competitive price.
The generously proportioned new Logan MCV Stepway carries over all the key qualities of the Logan MCV:
Impressive interior space, with five proper seats
A 573-litre boot – amongst the largest in any segment of the automotive market
On the design front, the new Logan MCV Stepway has a distinctly modern edge, including a new lighting signature, new interior updates, additional storage space and upgraded equipment specifications.
Distinctive styling
With its rugged good looks, eye-catching features and generous specification, the new Logan MCV Stepway is clearly a member of the Stepway family.
For easier ingress, its ground clearance has been increased to 174mm – 50mm more than that of the Logan MCV, while its high-up driving position ensures outstanding visibility.
At the front, the new Logan MCV Stepway sports a two-tone bumper as well as a satin-effect chrome skid plate, plus the fitment of fog lights.
The model similarly incorporates Dacia’s new lighting signature unveiled at last year’s Paris Motor Show and which imbues it with a dynamic and thoroughly contemporary appearance, with headlights that now incorporate LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL) in the form of four stacked rectangles.
This modern design results in a visibly wider look for the front end of the new Logan MCV Stepway.
The front bumper has been modified to exude an elegant yet athletic stance. Like the other models in the Stepway line-up, the new Logan MCV Stepway’s grille mirrors the black elements of the two-tone bumper, with the chrome rectangles rounding off its distinctive style in much the same manner as the Duster.
Meanwhile, seen from the side, the wheel arches and sills are accentuated by an exclusive trim that emphasises the model’s bold, powerful feel.
The new Logan MCV Stepway also comes with Dark Metal door mirror housings and Stepway decals on the front doors, along with Dark Metal longitudinal roof bars which further emphasise the model’s estate car lines.
At the rear, the tail lights are picked out in black, while the new Logan MCV Stepway’s two-tone bumper and satin-effect chrome skid plate are characteristic cues of Dacia’s Stepway range.
The new Logan MCV Stepway comes in a choice of two colours at launch – namely the brand’s iconic Azurite Blue and Mink – combined with new, 16-inch Stepway Dark Metal Flexwheel wheels. This smart, economical and attractive system comprises a slotted wheel trim design that fits over a similarly slotted rim.
A modern interior with more features than ever before
Inside the cabin, the new Logan MCV Stepway enjoys a new, more status-enhancing ambience first introduced several months ago in the new Sandero. This can be seen in the satin-effect chrome door releases, while the centre console fascia and air vents are trimmed by similarly-coloured surrounds.
The new Logan MCV Stepway comes with Dacia’s new four-spoke steering wheel – complete with horn push in the centre – in the brand’s Soft Feel finish, making it highly durable, easy on the eye and pleasant to the touch. The steering wheel mounted-controls are now better integrated, resulting in a more user-friendly and comfortable driving experience. In the middle of the wheel, beneath the Dacia logo, the word ‘Stepway’ is picked out in blue.
The upholstery fabric selected for the new Logan MCV Stepway first appeared inside the new Sandero Stepway. These seats feature a 3D weave for a greater sensation of depth, enhanced by top-stitching. The overall effect is an even more dynamic design.
More extensively equipped for enhanced comfort
The new Logan MCV Stepway will be available in Laureate trim only, featuring MediaNav Evolution, rear parking sensors, air conditioning, DAB radio and Hill Start Assist (HSA). Leather upholstery, reverse parking camera and height adjustment package are also available.
The vehicle’s interior features have been conceived to take the strain out of everyday motoring. The door-mounted front and rear electric window switches fall more easily to hand than before. For enhanced comfort, drivers now benefit from a one-touch function and a retractable centre armrest incorporated into the seat. Last but not least, the model is fitted with one-touch direction indicators and a lit glove box.
In addition to the many stowage areas located conveniently throughout the cabin, rear passengers are pampered by a ceiling light and a 12V power supply to connect and charge portable devices.
The new Logan MCV Stepway will be available with a choice of engine and transmission options:
Petrol: TCe 90 with Stop & Start (S&S) mated to a five-speed manual gearbox (combined cycle fuel consumption: 5.1 litres/100km / CO2 emissions: 115g/km).
Diesel: dCi 90 S&S coupled to a five-speed manual gearbox (combined cycle fuel consumption: 3.9 litres/100km / CO2 emissions: 100g/km).
Dacia continues to break its own sales records
In 2016, in the 44 markets in which Dacia models are sold, the brand achieved sales of some 584,219 units, representing a year-on-year gain of six percent. This positive trend can be seen across all of the regions in which Dacia is active, with no fewer than 28 countries establishing either new market share or new sales records.
The brand’s share of the passenger car and LCV market expanded by 0.1 percentage points to 2.4 percent in Europe, by 0.2 percentage points to 7.9 percent in Eurasia and by 1.1 percentage points to 19.4 percent in the Maghreb region.
In Europe, Dacia’s sales totalled 415,010 units – a new record and an increase of 10.8 per cent. The Sandero was ranked fourth in the B segment for retail customers, with the Duster second in the C segment for retail customers and the best-selling SUV in the same segment.
In France, Dacia reported a 12.1 per cent rise in overall sales to 112,111 vehicles, setting a new record as more than 110,529 passenger cars were sold to retail customers. Sales of the Sandero climbed by 24.2 per cent to make it the number two model amongst retail customers in France, with Dacia the fourth-highest selling retail customer brand.
In its other European markets, Dacia saw its sales increase by 10.4 per cent to 302,899 units. In Italy, the brand posted record sales of 52,272 units – a gain of 11.6 per cent. The brand was similarly successful in the UK, achieving sales of 26,562 (up 1.1 per cent) in a stable, business customer-oriented market. A new record was also established in Poland, as sales rose an impressive 29.3 per cent to 19,275 units.
In Switzerland, too, the brand enjoyed excellent growth, gaining 0.7 percentage points of market share to attain a new high of 2.2 per cent. This represented Dacia’s best year to-date in the country as it increased its sales by 39.9 per cent to 7,824 units.
In those Eurasian markets where it has a presence, Dacia has gained 0.2 percentage points to earn a market share of 7.9 per cent, with sales up by 5.8 per cent to a total of 90,926 units. The brand remains the market leader in both Romania and Bulgaria. In the former, Dacia sold 38,861 vehicles in 2016 to claim a 29.6 per cent share of the market. In Turkey, meanwhile, the brand broke new records in terms of both vehicle sales (47,529 units, up 6.3 per cent) and market share (4.8 per cent, up 0.2 percentage points).
In the Maghreb, Dacia’s market share stands at 19.4 per cent with 66,165 sales in 2016 – an increase of 1.1 per cent. The brand is performing particularly well in Israel, where the first Dacia showroom opened its doors only two years ago and where 4,246 sales – a climb of 65 per cent – provided the brand with a 1.5 per cent share of the market. Dacia continues to lead the way, finally, in terms of vehicle sales in Morocco with a market share of 26.6 per cent, translating into 43,408 vehicle sales in 2016 (up 16.1 per cent).
Over the last 12 years, Dacia has sold more than four million vehicles. Today, the brand stands out as a major player in the automotive market thanks to its clear policy of manufacturing attractive models that provide real value for money for the equipment they pack.
Dacia’s models are built at four different factories on two continents, with plants in Pitesti (Romania), Tangier and Casablanca (Morocco), and Oran (Algeria). The company’s policy is to produce as close as possible to its markets in order to adapt to the different needs of its customers as closely as possible.
In its attractive product range, Dacia is a popular thanks to its active community of followers, with some 3.5 million fans across its various social networks.
When you develop a car in the hotly contested family hatchback segment, you have a vast amount of great cars to compete with the Golf and Focus along with the Astra and Peugeot 308 are just a small amount of cars that you would be competing with.
So, you really have to have something special to draw sales away from those market leaders, and sometimes you develop a car that is good, very good in fact, yet does not sell in the numbers that you would like it too, this car is one of those, the Citroen C4 hatchback is a brilliant car.
The current C4 is part of a range of products, in name if not in build, the C4 Cactus, C4 Picasso and Grand Picasso, these cars are very successful, which begs the question why is the standard car not as popular, could it be that it it not as beautiful or dynamic as other cars in this segment, could it be that the car does not offer the same tech as others, or, maybe, its just a car that does not float peoples boat, i dont know why. The C4 is a great car, regardless of what other magazines and online motoring sites say, the C4 is a must when you're considering a new car, yes the car might not have the most modern of looks, but as you sit inside the car, the outside is of little concern, but inside the car is right up there, modern, great looking, nice soft touch materials, easy to reach switchgear, easy to use touchscreen and far more besides.
This model we tested is the C4 Flair PureTech 130 S&S 6-Speed Automatic, so a step up the scale, the Touch is the entry-level trim for the Citroen C4. It comes with 16-inch steel wheels with plastic hubcaps, heated door mirrors, a black cloth interior, a multi-function steering wheel with buttons to control the radio on it, six airbags, cruise control and storage drawer under the front passenger seat. You then move up to the Feel trim level which adds 16-inch alloy wheels, a leather steering wheel and gearknob, cruise control with a memory function for your most regularly used speeds, stop/start to save fuel in traffic and DAB digital radio. You also get Bluetooth to let you make hands-free phone calls, and there's a USB socket to let you play music from your mobile devices.
And lastly you come to the top trim level, the Flair takes everything the Feel model has and adds tinted rear windows, chrome-look door mirrors, rear parking sensors, automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, a noise-reducing windscreen and a seven-inch touchscreen to control the DAB digital radio. The interior has some nice touches like being able to change the colour of dash dials, something simple but a nice touch, the auto gearbox display shows which gear you are in, and if you move it into selectable, it shows which gear you're in and whether you need to move up or down the gear range. The exceptionally comfortable seats offer suitable bolstering where needed, the nice sized steering wheel, decent and proper hand brake lever, nicely damped buttons and soft feel stalks as well as well weighted doors, so that they close without needing to be slammed all make for a nice interior.
There is loads of space for the driver and passenger, and once the seats are in place, the rear passengers are well catered for, again with really comfortable seating, which then brings us to the boot, this is superb in available space, the car also comes with a number of cubby holes and spaces for oddments all around. The drive is equally as good and quiet, the car tested is the 1.2 litre PureTech turbo, it goes really well, and grips to the road equally as good, being a large car with a smallish engine, does affect the fuel consumption where the manufacturer's claimed figures being :-
Urban 46.3mpg
Extra Urban 67.3mpg
Combined 57.6mpg
Not the best mpg in the world, but also far from the worst, the car swiftly get to its top speed of 122mph, with a 0-62 time of 10.9 seconds, quite sedate, but should you give the car some "beans" you wont feel left wanting, it really does get up and go.
Being that it is the top spec car you can be assured that it will come well equipped, and you wont be disappointed here either :-
Cruise Control with Speed Limiter
TPMS
Stop & Start
Rear Parking Sensors
ABS
EBD
EBA
ESC
Traction Control
Auto Activation of Hazard Lights in Rapid Deceleration
Power Steering
DAB Digital Radio
7" Touchscreen
Panoramic Sunroof
Just a short selection of the available equipment that is fitted as standard on the car, along with many safety features giving the C4 a Euro NCAP Five Star rating, something that many people regard as a must have these days. The car also comes with 113g/km CO2, and is rated in the "B" road fund licence, together with a one year or 16,000 mile service length and a three year 60,000 warranty that the car comes with, making this a really good car to have. OVERALL The C4 is an extremely good car to own, ot goes very well, and stops equally as well, has comfortable seating along with nice touch plastics and fabrics, easy reach soft touch buttons, well weighted power steering and a raft of standard equipment. The car is great around town, with the start & Stop system helping to save a few pennies on fuel, and at motorway speeds, you can cruise along at 70mph and have a conversation with your passengers without having to raise your voice. The glass area makes for a brilliant all around view, with the addition of the panoramic sunroof, with multi position cover, means you can position the cover where you want it, to block out sunlight or have it right open to allow a very light and airy interior.
Yes you could buy a Golf or a Focus, a Megane or Astra or maybe the sister brands 308, but with a little checking online, you will see that you can locate the C4 with thousands of pounds off retail, bringing the asking price down to a really ow level..
All-new Audi Q2 available in dealerships from this weekend;
Five engine options available, including the 1.6 TDI 110 bhp SE starting from €32,490;
Q2 available in two trim lines: SE includes cruise control and smartphone interface; S-Line trim includes LED headlights and sport suspension;
The Q2 sports a striking look that melds coupé-style sportiness and compact SUV functionality.
The all-new Audi Q2 compact SUV is available to order in dealerships, Audi Ireland announced today.
Pricing for the 1.6 TDI 110 bhp SE starts from €32,490, likely to be Audi’s volume seller, and 1.6 TDI S Line starting from €35,790. A range topping 2.0 TDI 190 bhp quattro® S-tronic is also available.
There will be two petrol models, 1.0 TFSI and 1.4 TFSI, in the range. Pricing will be announced over the coming weeks.
The Q2 is available in two trim lines, customised to suit drivers’ preferences. The SE trim includes some of the most popular features from Audi, such as cruise control, smartphone interfacing and rear parking sensors.
The S-Line trim includes LED headlights, sport suspension, sport seats, drive select and an 18” 5-spoke Y design alloy steering wheel, in addition to the SE trim features.
The new Audi Q2: A closer look
The Audi Q2 is immediately striking: it melds a low-riding sporty coupé-style look with the familiar design of a compact SUV.
Inside, a large luggage compartment, with an auto boot lid as an option, provides up to 1,050 litres of space. The driver's seat offers a panoramic view of the road ahead, and the cabin can be customised with a variety of colourful trims.
The Q2 is equipped with the latest connectivity and infotainment technologies. Using the Audi smartphone interface, the driver can connect a suitable iOS or Android device to the dashboard USB port, allowing immediate access to the phone's navigation features, contacts, music and selected third-party apps. The optional Audi phone box lets the driver charge their phone wirelessly and connect it to the car's antenna for optimal reception.
Commenting, Henning Dohrn, Managing Director of Audi Ireland, said: “An all-new Audi for Irish customers, the Audi Q2 is an exciting combination of coupé sportiness and compact SUV functionality. The compact SUV segment is growing in Ireland and we are confident the Audi Q2 will attract new customers to the Audi brand. It demonstrates the brand’s passion for exploring new ways of designing and building premium cars for every driver.”
1941 was the year, the second world war was well and truly in full swing and a turn of events that year marked the start of something that would become a world famous name, brand and range of vehicles, now, regardless of where that name came from, that name today is synonymous with off road driving and beating the worst conditions that anyone can throw at it.
That name is Jeep, and the car that we have today is the latest in a long line a great cars, the new Renegade, it is very closely related to the FIAT 500X, with both being built in the same factory in Italy, but where the FIAT has the corporate 500 look, the Renegade is unmistakably a JEEP, you can not mix it up with anything else on the market, because it is those seven slits on the grill, that Jeep's have had since the very first ones, and continue to have 75 years later.
2016 is the anniversary of the first cars and it is the new car that carries the future well and truly on its shoulders, so what is it, well, it is a medium sized two wheel drive car with the 1.4 litre Multiair II engine, pushing out 140bhp, and please, do NOT think that because it is a medium sized car with a small engine that the car has no go, far far from it, Ii was well surprised, pleasantly so, that there is oodles of go in the car, and it keeps on giving, upto and beyond the national speed limit.
The ride is a little hard, well, after all it is a pseudo offroader, but it's not unduly so, and the road noise is nearly non existent, the car grips well on corners, and pulls away with verve, when pushed there is a lovely engine note, thats a little raspy, but it makes it feel like a sporty unit, it also stops really well too, the car seemed to ooze presence, and in that beautiful blue colour on our test car, it gained a significant amount of looks.
Inside the car and you soon get comfortable, the seats are very firm but keep you in place, you can move the seats and steering wheel about so that you always get a decent comfortable position, with all the buttons and switchgear easily to hand, like most cars these days, a lot of the running of the car is completed via a touchscreen system, and it is no different here, with plenty of options within the screen to play with.
The inside of the car is very airy and you feel like there is a load of space, mainly because there is, the car is box shaped, so you get maximum space, with significant room in the back for three adults to sit in reasonable comfort, the boot space is good too, with the split level you can put smaller items in the bottom, and larger on top, there is loads of nooks and crannies dotted about too, to take bottles, chocolate bars or whatever it is you like to carry around, the glove box is a decent size too, and not forgetting the "secret" under seat storage on the passenger seat, and i dont mean the draw you occasionally get on cars, on the Jeep you can lift up the passenger seat squab, and there is space beneath for items of value, camera's, wallets, purses etc.
Due to the size and nature of the car, you are not going to get very high fuel consumption figures, but the brand claims that this car can achieve :-
Urban Cycle 37.2mpg
Extra Urban 55.4mpg
Combined 47.1mpg
These figures are achievable, I prefer to see lower figures that you can get, than the inflated pretend ones that no matter how you drive you will still be 30-40% adrift of, the car runs with a 140g/km, not the lowest on the market, but on a par with similar cars, it can achieve with a back wind 0-62 in under 11 seconds, up to a maximum 112 mph, not that we managed to get that high, after all, 70mph is the UK top speed, not that you would know it the way some people drive.
I LOVE THE LITTLE MAN CLIMBING ON THE REAR WINDOW
AND THE JEEP ON THE FRONT WINDSCREEN, IT LOOKS BETTER THAN THE PICTURE SHOWS IT.
The car came with just three options
Special Pastel Paint £600
Rear Parking Sensors £270
Function Pack 1* £375
* The function Pack 1 contains External rear view mirrors with electrical drive folding and defrost, keyless enter 'No Go, Reversible and height adjustable cargo load floor, under seat storage and 230V/50Hz Auxiliary Power Outlet.
The car we tested with the options added on came to just over £22,000, it equates well against some of it's rivals, but then they do not have the heritage that this brand has, and I suppose it can be classed as America's Land Rover, a quick look on Youtube and you can find some video's of Jeeps doing things that you really could never imagine were possible, where LR's these days you would be nervous about taking your car off road incase it got a little scratch, the Jeep will jump at the chance to show you exactly what it is capable of doing, but remember, this car is only the two wheel drive version, so is less capable than its four wheel drive sibling.
Whether you take the car off road or not, your £22k does get you lots of toys:-
17" Aluminium wheels
Ambient lighting
Trailer sway damping
All Speed traction control
Star & Stop
6 airbags
Uconnect 5" DAB Radio with touchscreen Sat Nav and Bluetooth
Typre pressure management system
Electronic Stability control
Cruise control
Driver seat with electric lumber adjustment
Leather wrapped steering wheel
Speed limiter
Air conditioning
ECO Drive
Electronic parking brake
Electric windows all around
Just to name a few of the options that are featured on the car.
Over all, the Jeep fits nicely within the range, it is the starter model, and they go up from there until you get to the Cherokee SRT, now thats one car I would love to test, but I digress, the Jeep fills a market it has not been in, and with that it will not compete with itself, but it is hitting the competition, there are loads of these on the roads, I spotted 14 on just one journey, and I may have missed some.
I like the car, very much, I was expecting the usual stereotypes about US cars not able to go round corners, and so on, but this car has smashed those ill founded preconceived notions into millions of pieces, I came away from the car after it went back, wishing I had driven it more, and enjoying the experience a lot more.
VERDICT
This is a great car, is very capable, bags of room, comfortable, looks like a Jeep should, but performs like a car, and by that i mean, its quiet, frugal, grips the corners, pulls away nicely, and the auto box is brilliantly smooth, as you gently drive along, you can not feel the gear changes, you only know it has changed when you see the rev counter rise and fall, you have awesome amounts of all round vision, some of the best I have been in, to be honest, if your in the market for a capable car, and your budget includes pricing from £17.500, which is the base model price, then you would be getting a brilliant car, just because it is American, do not push it to one side, this is a car to be considered, The Motoring World Blog Jon Mower
