2019 Porsche 911 Speedster First Drive Review
It's so often the way; the best drive is proving to be the one after the cameras stop rolling. Producer George Peck and I are on something of a mission to get the 2019 Porsche 911 Speedster back vaguely on time, and I am doing my best to shrink Sardinia. Fortunately the Italian island isn't riddled with motorways, so the most direct route is also proving to be a spectacularly good piece of road. Well surfaced, wide enough and winding through undulating terrain -- it is just wonderful. It's one of those drives that you get drawn into, gradually getting quicker and quicker as you get more and more comfortable with how the car's moving, how the tires are behaving. And how is the 911 Speedster moving? Very much like a GT3 -- as you'd expect. Or rather, as you'd hope, because you never quite know what dynamic effect the removal of a roof will have on a car until you drive it. Given the expertise housed within Porsche's GT cars department it would have been a surprise if the Speedster had emerged with the torsional stiffness of an uncooked wurst, but there's always the faint possibility.
Fortunately my Speedster was parked on cobbles when I first got into it this morning, so within the first few feet of driving all worries had been banished. No sensations of shake, no feeling of flex. Even when, later in the day, the limited-slip differential was locked and the Speedster was sliding out of Sardinian switchbacks, the sense of precision and stability was everything you'd expect. Not that all the sensations in the Speedster are quite the same as in a GT3. For starters, the suspension is very, very slightly softer. It uses the same springs but the dampers have been retuned because, like the 911 R, this is seen as car that will spend more time on the road than track. This road-bias is also the reason that the 21-inch wheels of the concept cars have been replaced with the normal 20-inch items from the GT3. Same design, too, which I think is a bit of a shame. For reasons of practicality, a couple of other details from the two concept cars have also been quietly ditched, namely the small, pointy wing mirrors and the central fuel filler cap. The mirrors I understand, but I haven't seen anyone complaining about awkward fueling arrangements on Singers.
Research online and list down all your preferences, as well as figuring out the terminologies associated with luxury cars or sports cars, including the engine they have and so forth. This way, you can be upfront with the salesperson of the premium cars dealership by saying the details of the car you like. You also need to discuss your preferred price range, but don't be afraid in rounding it up so you have a wider range of models on the top of the heap. Of course, it is important to show proof regarding your financial capabilities. The sales staff will inform you about various maintenance plans, brands, gearing options and models that are presently available or will soon be. By having proper communication and negotiation with the dealership, you will be able to get a decent plan at the most affordable rate. Take note that dealers seldom allow potential car buyers to test drive a car right then and there. In order to help you decide on which cars to consider, browse the internet and watch test drive videos or unbiased reviews of your shortlisted cars.
Is this the greatest SUV ever built? I think it just might be. At the very least, it's the greatest machine ever to wear the revered Range Rover badge. The Range Rover SVAutobiography - to use its full name - represents the best of the best from the vaunted British brand - and the creator of the luxury SUV category. It brings together all of the finest qualities that we've come to expect of a Range Rover - luxury, performance and off-road capability - and amplifies them to their very extremes. How special is it? Well, it costs almost twice as much as the "standard" Range Rover Vogue - a car that has stood astride the SUV market for almost half a century and is still widely acknowledged as the benchmark for this segment. 346,830 (plus on-roads) price tag, you could buy three fully kitted-out Range Rover Sports, a dozen Nissan Qashqais or 17 Mazda CX-3s. The SVAutobiography is the latest flagship from Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, who have bestowed upon it mind-blowing performance, and a metres-long list of technology and luxury items.
As a luxury vehicle it rivals anything we've ever sampled - from Mercedes-Benz's magnificent S-Class, Audi's latest A8 or sporty limos like the Maserati Quattroporte and Jaguar XJ. The Rangie shades them all for sheer opulence and over-the-top features, from the quilted leather trim to the pillow-soft, electrically-adjusted headrests, and the concert-hall quality audio system. The rear seats, while technically able to accommodate three occupants, are primarily set up as twin "executive class" armchairs - heated, cooled and electronically adjusted in every direction - with a reclining pitch of up to 40 degrees. There is even a "hot stone massage" function, putting business class airline seats to shame. Rear-seat passengers can close the massive doors with the push of a button, and rest their weary legs on heated calf rests and footrests. For the left-hand rear passenger, legroom can be optimised by pushing a button which retracts the front passenger seat - rolling and tilting it forward to free up almost a metre of legroom.