Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SLEEK NEW HARLEY’S SILENCE IS GOLDEN
Three things I thought I’d never say: a) None for me, thanks. I don’t drink. b) My, that’s a really nice spreadsheet. c) I have seen the future, and its name is Harleydavidson.
Well, I take back the third one: the Milwaukee company has produced just about the most astonishing bike I’ve ever ridden.
And it’s even more remarkable coming from a firm known for variations on a traditional V-twin cruiser theme which critics say hasn’t changed much since the war.
When Harley unveiled the original Livewire in 2014, it was intended to be a concept and not for production, and when I rode it back then, it was fascinating but flawed: the range in eco mode was 53 miles, and a piffling 29 miles in power mode. The 0-60mph figure of just under four seconds was decent enough for a bike weighing 210kg, with power and torque figures of 74bhp and
52lb ft, but handling was a bit sluggish thanks to a long wheelbase and a fat back tyre.
Well, when Harley decided to actually put it into production, its backroom boffins rolled up the sleeves of their white coats and got to work, and it shows.
It now looks much sleeker than the prototype, and Harley reckons the range is now a more acceptable 80-140 miles, depending on the riding mode you pick and level of hooliganism.
But the real surprise is yet to come, with power and torque now up to 105bhp and 86 lb ft, and as in all electric motors, available from zero rpm. Twist the throttle, and even though the weight is now 249kg, in sport mode it leaps forward like a starving greyhound after Bugs Bunny, reaching 60mph in 2.8 seconds and soaring on seamlessly to 115mph, all the while accompanied by a supersonic whoosh.
And while I’d always thought that the sound of a petrol engine, particularly a V-twin, was an essential, visceral part of biking pleasure, it’s incredible how glorious it is zooming along in almost perfect silence.
Handling, once you’ve got used to the sporty riding position and gripped the ‘tank’ with your knees to take your weight off the bars, is light and neutral, and braking, once you’ve got used to not having a gearbox to provide engine braking, is stable and linear.
In fact, I can think of only one thing wrong with this remarkable machine:
I haven’t got 29 grand to buy one.
Harley Davidson Livewire
Price: £28,995 (before EV grant)
Engine: Harleydavidson Revelation with 15.5 KWH rechargeable energy storage
System power: 105bhp
Torque: 86Ib ft
Colours: Black, yellow, orange
Volkswagen should score a double whammy when it comes to sales of this car – given the popularity of crossovers and fast motors.
It’s is a high performance SUV that fits the bill nicely, hitting two bullseyes in one. But can the T-roc roll over its rivals?
To create the car Volkswagen went to the stores and dug out the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and the rest of the drivetrain it used in the Golf R, including 4Motion four-wheel drive and a DSG sevenspeed gearbox.
The Golf R is no longer on sale, but there’ll be another one based on the Mk8 Golf in showrooms soon. Meanwhile, I reckon VW can bank on the T-roc R selling nicely even though it’s not cheap.
The on-the-road price for our test car is £36,905 without options. That’s similar money to Seat’s Cupra Ateca and Audi’s SQ2, both with the same 2.0-litre turbocharged engine as the T-roc R.
The vital numbers for this hot T-roc are 296bhp, 155mph and 0-62mph in 4.8sec.
The car looks cool from the outside. Ours is Lapiz blue metallic, unique to the R and not available on lesser T-rocs. Worth having as people will realise you’re driving the fast one. The quad exhaust tailpipes also give the
game away, as does the rear diffuser. Standard wheels are 19inch ‘Pretoria’ alloys. They also look cool and classy – shame the same description does not apply inside. Acres of hard scratchy plastics are forgiveable in an entrylevel car in the low 20 grands, but for a £36k high-performance version the lack of quality is a bit