Glendal's Favorite Reviews
Glendal's Favorite Reviews
The Audi Q8 feels quite a lot like its Q7 stablemate on the road, which is unsurprising given the fact the two share a platform and drivetrains. That鈥檚 great if you鈥檙e looking for a deft and reasonably sharp handling big SUV, but not so if you鈥檙e looking for something that鈥檚 more rewarding to drive. The BMW X6, Porsche Cayenne and Range Rover Sport are all more obviously sporty, but given the philosophical conundrum big 鈥榮porty鈥?SUVs present, it鈥檚 no surprise some owners are more impressed by comfort. All Q8s sold in the UK come on advanced adaptive air suspension, and on its softest setting the car is softly compliant while resisting roll admirably in corners. The Dynamic setting is less rewarding, as although the Q8 will tackle corners with little body roll and prodigious levels of grip, the ride quality becomes distinctly rough around the edges. Unless you鈥檙e on perfectly smooth tarmac, it鈥檚 hard to see the advantages and the compromises are considerable. Steering feel is like every other Audi, which means it offers no sense whatever of the road through the steering wheel rim, but is accurate and responsive to inputs anyway. The 8-speed automatic is not a dual clutch device but a torque converter gearbox, and can be a little hesitant off the line. The Q8 is supremely quiet at speed, with barely any wind noise and very well muted engine and road noise. The Audi Q8 arrived first in the UK with only 3.0-litre V6 鈥榤ild-hybrid鈥?diesel engine in the 50 TDI. It鈥檚 an impressively smooth and refined set-up, and with 282bhp offers rapid acceleration too. The petrol option is a 335bhp 3.0 V6 55 TFSI which will do 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds, and has a top speed of 155mph. More additions to the engine line-up are expected in due course, including an etron plug-in hybrid.
The selection process of the European Car of the year 2013 has started and provincial list has been released. There are no categories or sub categories, the only purpose is to find a "single, decisive winner". The features on which the cars will be judged are : "design, comfort, safety, economy, handling, performance, functionality, eco friendliness, driver satisfaction and value for money". The jury has 58 members who are all journalists from 22 countries, each member is chosen on their country's car market and its importance. In late December the provisional list which has 35 nominees will be narrowed down to seven cars with simple vote. In the second round each member is responsible of assigning 25 points to five cars with not more than 10 points to a single model. Each member will also provide written justification of the points given. The organisers of the event are main players of automotive journalism industry including, Auto (Italy), Autocar (UK), Autopista (Spain), Autovisie (The Netherlands), L'Automobile Magazine (France), Stern (Germany) and Vi Bilagare (Sweden).
The COTY 2013 will be held in Italy. Let's have a look at our favourites in the list. Audi A3 is the pioneer to use Volkswagen's MQB chassis making it lighter and stronger than its predecessors. The choice of Audi engines include 1.4 turbo and 1.8 turbo in petrols and 2.0-litre diesel turbo. It comes with an excellent interior and a sharp sporty look. BMW has hit back with its new 3 series just when it was being thought that it has lost its way. The new 3 series comes with many on the board improvements, sleek design, charismatic interior and most of all a great driving experience which had been best selling point of BMW cars. BMW engines offered in 3 series are 2.0 four-cylinder turbo and 3.0 straight six turbo in petrols and a 2.0 four-cylinder turbo in diesels. The main reason of Ford B-Max in our favorites is its innovative design of handy sliding doors and missing B-pillars.
This model ticks all the right boxes and is available in front wheel drive for the first time, it gives all the looks of a 4x4 but the drive is as smooth as any on road car can have. It has a roomy y interior and loads of boot space. The CR-V is available in 2.0-litre petrol and diesel Honda engines. Mazda 6 is a very well built car with a slinky look. It is very well equipped, even the entry level TS trim comes with climate control, cruise control and many safety features. The drive is great and the price is affordable. Toyota Auris: Auris is not the only car making in the list by Toyota. The second generation Auris has a different look (in a good way) than its predecessor. It is also offered in hybrid which gives an edge over its rivals like Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra Tourer.
