Motoring: vauxhall’s mini challenger,
N ITS quest to become more upwardly mobile and cool, Vauxhall has unveiled its new small, but perfectly formed, upmarket urban runaround called . . . Adam (pictured right).
The cute city car is set to hit our showrooms in January, priced around £11,000, after its official world debut at the Paris Motor Show in September.
The premium styling and feel is clearly aimed at fashionconscious buyers of the iPod — or should that be iPad? — generation. It offers so many variants of colour and trim that owners can stamp their personality on it, though there will be three basic levels: fashionable and colourful Jam, elegant and sophisticated Glam, and sporty and racy Slam.
Designer Mark Adams — really, that is his name — said that with almost unlimited colour, fabric and kit combinations: ‘It’s unlikely you will find two identical Adams out there.’
Aiming to take on the likes of BMW’s British-built Mini and the Fiat 500, to my eye its styling owes more than a passing nod to Citroen’s upmarket DS range, which has transformed the French car-maker’s image.
Codenamed Junior throughout its development, Adam has fascinating smartphone features in the pipeline. Drivers will simply link their smartphone to the car’s central 7in touchscreen, which will become the ‘brains’ for the system. That way the driver is not stuck with outdated in-car satnav maps or a music or video player.
If the technology moves on, you change or upgrade your smartphone, not your car.
Three petrol engines are offered, including a 1.2-litre and two 1.4-litre versions, but there’s no diesel.
ALWAYS been a big fan of Honda’s ubiquitous and ultra-practical CR-V off-roader — despite some shortcomings such as its tendency to be thirsty. So I am intrigued by the ‘all-new’ fourth generation of the Britishbuilt Japanese off-roader, which Honda revealed this week before it goes on sale in October.
It hopes to conquer the thirst problem with a super-frugal 1.6litre diesel, which is set to follow next year. Honda’s making a big deal about its bold new face and styling. Frankly, it doesn’t look that different from the one it replaces.
But people buy Hondas because they are reliable, not because they look like Leonardo DiCaprio or Scarlett Johansson. I’m looking forward to driving it. AND then along came a Spider. A 196mph McLaren MP4-12C Spider to be precise — but only if the roof is down. Put it back up and you’ll get up to 204mph, says McLaren.
The British-built supercar has blown its top to look like a worthy rival to Italy’s Ferrari and accelerates from rest to 62mph in 3.1 seconds. You can buy one now from £195,500 — about the price of a flat in Woking where it’s built. Deliveries from November. WEBSITE Mumsnet and car magazine What Car? have joined forces to review vehicles for mums on the run. Mumsnet Cars
(mumsnet.com/cars) has been created ‘to fill a gap in the market for clear, family-friendly advice for car-buying parents’.
The site aims to offer ‘straighttalking’ reviews ‘ written by Mumsnet users and answer all the real questions parents often have about cars, including: “Will it fit three car seats?” ’ plus expert insight from What Car?