If you’re in the market for a tasteful, good looking SUV then the forecourt is your oyster. In fact, the only thing on 4 wheels in which you are even more spoilt for choice is the new breed of compact SUV which has surfaced and become king of the road for the last few years.
No matter how deep your pockets are, there is a compact SUV for you. Looking for something on the cheap? Look to the Far East for the likes of the Nissan Juke, Kia Sportage or Mazda CX-5. Few more pennies in your pocket? Well where do you begin? BMW X3, Audi Q3, Volvo XC-60, Volkswagen Tiguan or perhaps a Range Rover Evoque. Clearly what this world does not need is another compact SUV to make that decision even harder.
So with that Porsche have announced that following from the sublime Cayenne, they’re going to throw their lederhosen into the ring with the release of the Porsche Macan. This long awaited lump of German steel is set to be Porsche’s best seller with sales estimates of 55,000 to 75,000 being suggested.
The range topping twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine will kick out just shy of 400bhp, which sounds like a bit of a threat to those in BMW’s M-Sport skunkworks. Other than that there will feature several four-cylinder engines, including 2.0-litre turbocharged petrols and diesels, which would make the Macan the first Porsche with less than 6-cylinders since the 968.
Prices are expected to start at £36,000 for the basic V6 models and with it’s (although somewhat disguised) striking good looks and tasteful ride height and size there’s no surprise that this is expected to be a top seller. We can expect more information and images over the next 12 months before its release next year. But for now I can imagine there are some worried looks going around the offices of the Macan’s competition.
Evolution. It occurs over millions of years. It is natures way of finding perfection in a world of organized chaos. Porsche over the decades have used the very same principle of natural selection to rebel against the conformity of the sports car world. No matter what anyone says, putting the engine in the boot is illogical. However, Porsche with their flag ship of the 911 have made it work and not only is the car of great success in the show room, it is also the most successful race car to ever have existed. It is the definitive sports car and the 997 rage was simply unrivaled in its efficient delivery of performance. At this point I would like to level with you… I am not the 911’s biggest fan. I like them, but I do not love them in the same way I adore an Aston Martin. They are fantastic machines but I feel that they lack the character and soul that the afore mentioned has. If a Porsche 911 were a guest at a party it would not dance on the tables, crack a questionable joke or vomit on the hosts cat. It would politely mention its occupation and spend the rest of the evening surveying the houses paintings. It is fantastically functional like a spoon and for that it is greatly appreciated, but it is not as memorable as struggling to use chopsticks in a chinese restaurant. But now their is an all-new 911 that claims to be only the third complete reincarnation of the car. Can you teach a 48 year old dog new tricks?
This is the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S, though still unmistakably a 911, the cars further pronounced profile is rather handsome. In particular the rear with its broad hunches and aggressive detailing does tick the “pleasing to the eye” box. As always with Porsche, it is not a styling revolution but an evolution. That said, the cockpit is class leading in design and functionality. Our car fitted with Porsche’s optional PDK 7 speed gearbox had brilliant interior architecture with bold lines and fantastic attention to detail. Everything tangible has taken a real step up in terms of quality over its predecessor. The seats deserve particular admiration as the support they offer in every area is faultless. The cars boot has also increased slightly in capacity making an already practical car that little more helpful on a day to day basis. These are all great points about the new 991 911, but as someone once told me, “the only real way to experience a 911 is to drive one.”
The moment that its 3.8 litre flat-six is fired up a change in demeanour is instantly established. The burble of the car at idle is much deeper giving this 911 a hint of testosterone even whilst not in motion. But this best selling single turns into an album of greatest hits when you open taps! The sound this car produces is a really throaty progressive roar that is intoxicating. Hit sport plus and not only does it blip the throttle on downshifts, but the exhaust crackles and spits making short bursts of acceleration feverishly addictive. Clicking through the gears is effortless with millisecond changes taking place with the precision of a laser guided smart bomb. That said, leaving it in automatic unveils a new trait of the Porsche 911. Softening the suspension settings and quietening the car down transforms the dramatically involving machine into a luxurious grand tourer. No 911 before it has dialed out the road, tyre and engine noise better than this. It is a car you could cover vast distances in without even realizing. It has not taken anything away from the cars biblical performance, but it has added a new dynamic that the 991 911 is all the better for.
The steering may no longer be belt driven but the engineers for this car have created the most perfect balance of precision in its new electric system. It is sharp, well calibrated and still offers that all important feedback that true drivers crave. A byproduct of this is that the 997’s signature understeer has been eradicated. The carbon ceramic breaks in our test car were sublime bringing this 911 to a rapid halt from speed in mind boggling distances. You are never afraid to really push this car because you know you will always be able to stop. It encourages you to drive exuberantly with torque vectoring allowing for even more vigorous changes of direction.
This 911has almost left me speechless. The Germans have addressed everything that hindered the previous model. They have improved upon their formula for success by giving the car the ability to be tranquil, by giving it more definition, by giving it the latest performance tech. But better than all this, Porsche has given the 911 a soul.
Precision engineering. Performance focused accuracy. Efficient, intelligent and 100% functional. All of this is very stereotypically German but there is one manufacture in particular that can claim all of this as an everyday occurrence. Porsche’s are the world’s most purchased performance machines and for the past 48 years they have been refining one model that today is the very definition of the brand. The 911 is a car that many struggle to comprehend as there is often little change on a new cars part from its predecessor. Yet if you take a few steps back what the world is witnessing is evolution in action. From one car to the next only a few benefits are gained but over the decades they collectively add up culminating in a car so well engineered that it defies logic. These days you can get a 911 in almost every flavour imaginable from convertible to coupe and everything in between. Would you like turbo’s with that? How about drive train and gearbox selections? The combinations that are possible form numbers we dare not quote. However there has always been one 911 that exemplifies the breed. One three digit labelled car the strikes fear into the heart of competitors, excitement for those in the passenger seat and pure driving pleasure for the one behind the wheel. Ladies and gentlemen, the GT3.
Porsche do bring faster incarnations of the 911 to the road in the forms of the GT2 or even GT3 RS but they are not so much cars for the road as racers with indicators. The GT3 is the perfect combination of refinement, ok it still has scaffolding in the back, and race derived performance. The car requires the driver to use it in a set way to gain the most from it, to really think about the inputs he or she is making. It is not a machine for those looking to strike a pose at every street corner and let me assure you the second you take it for granted it will bite.
As with tradition this 911 is powered by a flat-six loaded into the rear. The 3.8 litre produces 435BHP that will accelerate the car to 62MPH in just 4.1 seconds. Top speed is 194MPH more than qualifying for that intrigued expression you now wear on your face. Yet the thing to note about the GT3 is not how fast it moves, but the way it moves.
From the moment that engine burbles into life to your last few seconds in the car you can feel exactly how the Porsche philosophy has benefited this car. The steering is superbly weighted allowing for the very precise placement of this astonishing machine. The gearbox may now be seen as old hat by the likes of Ferrari but the connection with the car that is created when slamming through the gears with this 6 speed manual is almost unrivalled. It is not easy but use it correctly and the rewards the GT3 will bestow on you are almost beyond value. The wide track, front splitter and rear wing all work in tandem giving high levels of down force consistently. Combine that with 430Nm of torque and you are in driving heaven. Everything about this car is tailored for somebody who can really appreciate what the designers at Porsche were aiming for. Some will find the ride too firm, others the gear changes too clunky and to those people I say go and buy another 911 as this clearly isn’t the car for you.
From within the cabin the howling engine will fill your eardrums and as it is naturally aspirate the sounds is an even sweeter symphony. As previously mentioned the rear seats in this 911 are absent and are instead replaced with various beams to improve the cars rigidity. That’s not to say it is completely void of creature comforts as there is a whole host of quality fabric lining the interior, racing seats and an onboard computer that does all the fancy music stuff in addition to giving you live telemetry.
At £89,785 it is quite costly in the grand scheme of Porsche but as far as competition goes the Germans have thrived on value for money. Personally I’m not really a Porsche man but this car, this next evolutionary step is not only the best GT3 yet, but also one of the best sports cars money can buy.
As some of you may know I have quite the reputation for being extremely hostile towards eco-friendly cars. It is not due to a hatred of the polar bear but because they offer very little in turn for the compromises you make. The quality of the materials have been downgraded to save weight, the power levels bound in electronic shackles to save fuel, they are made numb and unpalatable all in the name of equaling the MPG of a diesel Golf. Owning a car is a convenience, I don’t want to be nagged by the communist display that the way I’m driving has cause 32 seal deaths. The only way manufacturers will get me and many others to save the environment is by producing a car that is as at least as good as a conventional petrol engine and cost roughly the same. I can’t review a car and make an exception for faults just because its a Hybrid in the same way I can’t make exceptions just because a car is blue. They all have four wheels and a motor so are dealt with in equal measure.
Nissan has recently produced Europe’s first all-electric family car named the LEAF. I have no doubt you will have heard of it as the pro’s and con’s of ownership have been batted about the media a fair bit of late. Regardless of various facts and figures the key thing is that it is being aimed at everyone meaning that it has the opportunity to make or break the electric car through its first impressions. If its great then people who would have bought a Focus for example could see that traveling 100 miles for less than £3 is worth the investment. However if it turns out to be a reincarnated Micra with the power of a pencil sharpener then that will become peoples first thoughts on future EV’s. Sallyann Tanner EVRM at Westover Nissan Bournemouth has very kindly provided us the opportunity to test one of the first LEAF’s in the UK to see if an electric car could ever be a viable alternative to combustion.
Seeing the LEAF for the first time did make me raise an eyebrow. The comically bulging headlights and protruding rear end don’t necessarily make a feast for the eye yet viewing them as a whole, and not just in isolation, the car could appeal to those wanting a quirky take on the conventional. Stepping inside the car is much like visiting Switzerland in that everything is very cleanly designed and ergonomic. You would have a hard job spotting astraight edge as even the dashboard begins to curve long before the instrument panel. The seating is fantastically comfortable and the entire cabin with its aluminum buttons, futuristic LCD screens as well as large quantities of space gives it a very premium feel. The boot is exactly the size you would come to expect from a hatchback of this size meaning good news for shopping mums.
Starting the LEAF has more in common with turning on a digital camera than a car; you push a button, a series of tones are heard followed by the screens illuminating, and then you are ready to take a picture or in this case drive. There is 0% noise and had I closed my eyes I would not have believed for a second the car had been started. The dashboard offers an array of telemetry from everything battery related to a very subtle “tree” that grows in the corner of the display to reflect how environmentally friendly your driving is. That is the key word there “subtle” as unlike other eco-worriers the LEAF does not brand you as a barbarian for turning the air-conditioning on, it just behaves in a very unintrusive manner and calculates how much battery it is using. Driving this car is exactly the same as driving an automatic, just take your foot off the break and away you go. In motion it is as silent as it is when stationary due in part to its exterior architecture. Nissan have gone to extreme lengths to eliminate any sound that could irritate passengers such as wind against the mirrors, all of a sudden those sculpted lights make sense. It is like driving a church but with the wooden pews replaced with some of the most comfortable seats in the class. The car corners surprisingly well giving the driver good turn-in thanks to a low centre of mass and firm but not uncomfortable suspension. The steering is light to cater for the vast variety of customers who will purchase a LEAF but it is far from unresponsive. Yet the best thing about driving this car is the way it accelerates. The electric motor provides the cars torque instantly making it feel as if you are being pushed along by a wave of air. The sensation is almost indescribable as there is literally no other car on sale today that can achieve this feeling of weightless velocity. Using the resistance in the electric motor to charge the battery whilst coasting or breaking may not be anything new for Hybrids but in an EV it is a tool that if use well could extend the range drastically. With all these hugely positive traits “range anxiety” soon dissipates in the LEAF.
Getting down to the nitty-gritty the Nissan LEAF will, according to Nissan, cover 100 miles, though in real world conditions that only drops to a very respectable 96. Charging the cars 48 laminated lithium-ion batteries from empty with a standard 240 Volt socket in your house will take around 10/12 hours. However Nissan can arrange for a 16amp Home Charger can be fitted and this will charge it in 8 hours! There will be ‘Rapid chargers’ appearing all around the country at commercial sites and this will allow an 80% charge in 30 minutes. The Rapid Charging units will be available at all the 25 EV Nissan Dealerships and will be rolled out to others dealerships in the future. Large stores such as John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer have also indicated that Rapid Chargers will be installed outside their stores soon.
The cost of buying the car is a top-spec Focus rivaling £26,990 with a government grant of £5,000. However 60,000 miles of driving according to our maths would save you a further £5,000 in fuel bills. The purpose built lithium-ion batteries are also a breakthrough in battery tech as Nissan say that 5 years of use will only result in the pack being at 80% health. Servicing cost are also much lower than those of combustion engined cars due to the lack of moving parts.
SO whats the verdict? Well being absolutely honest, before I tested the LEAF I was extremely skeptical about electric cars and saw them as an environmentalists hobby. I wasn’t expecting the Nissan to change that but due to this car being the opposite of every other eco-wagon and more like a normal car, I can now see that in the coming years electric will become just as prominent as petrol and diesel. I am completely sold on the LEAF and urge each and everyone of you to try it for yourself because no matter what you read here you will still have doubts until you experience it for yourself. A very interesting claim from Nissan saying that so far everyone who has taken a test drive has purchased a car. over 30,000 pre-orders can’t be far wrong.
Porsche is a brand that over its lifespan has become one of the big players in the automotive industry. To go up against the likes of heavyweights namely Ferrari and Lamborghini is an admirable accolade but to emerge as the unquestioned market leader is something no other manufacturer has done before it. Porsche has always provided the Italians with a serrated thorn in their sides but for the past 47 years that job has been immortalized in three digits. 911. The 911 is the worlds best selling sports car offering comfort, precise German engineering and performance at a reasonable price. Despite have it’s engine in the wrong location, in the rear over the axel, the German companies persistence over decades has slowly backwards engineered this questionable formula into a success.
Porsche engineers have often been remarked as lazy, changing the absolute minimum from model year to model year. However those who know how Porsche works can take a step back and see that each car is not a revolution but an evolution. Every incarnation a slight improvement on the last, slowly moving towards becoming the ultimate sports car.
This is the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S and being the top of the Carrera line it must impress without question as this will become one of the manufacturers top sellers by the end of the year. For those who don’t know the 4S is a four-wheel-drive variant of the Carrera S in theory making it one of Porsche most usable models for any driver. This particular 4S has Porsche’s new PDK option that entails a 7 speed dual clutch gearbox being pair to the cars 3.8 litre flat-six. Ticking the PDK box does more than just add £2,500 to the overall price as gear changes become faster than what is humanly possible with a manual, and the 0-62MPH time drops to an exhilarating 4.5 seconds (4.3 seconds with the sport+ option.) Oh and 420Nm of torque also comes in very handy on B-roads when the heavy right foot is required for overtaking.
With the classic flat-six producing 385BHP the 4S is never short on power and being naturally aspirated does mean that under brisk acceleration the engine note is clear, crisp and captivating. Inside it is your standardized Porsche interior it functional and being brutally honest, slightly dull fascias and consoles. Seating has GT comfort levels though you must remember that in the world of 911’s “seats four in comfort” translates to “seats 2 and a half.”
On the road the car is very responsive giving the driver pinpoint accuracy through thecorners. Fears of the heavily weighted rear snapping back have been put to bed many years ago and now the 911 is a real tool to encourage performance driving and not deter it. The sequential gearbox is a masterpiece offering quick changes through wheel mounted paddles as opposed to the standard 6 speed manual. Hitting the sport button on the Carrera is a must as the dampers firm up and the ride get all the most exhilarating. These days a 911 like this driven cautiously will even achieve 27MPG, though ours was much closer to 11…
In all the small changes to this years Carrera 4S are as small as ever however it is a winning combination. This car is the reason you could justify a performance car in your life as it’s reasonably practical and for a starting price of £79,123 you must question anybody who buys anything else. That said the Audi R8…
It has been a very long time since Peugeot last built a car you would want to be seen in let alone part with your hard earned pounds for. In fact the last Peugeot I would have bought is the rather simple yet brilliant 106 and that was back in the 90’s. The reason why so many automotive journalists tend to avoid praising the French brand is due to them building a) cars that are embarrassingly ugly, b) cars that fall apart at the mere thought of being owned for longer than 6 months, or c) cars with engines so pitiful that a spotty teenager on a scooter makes a faster getaway from the lights. So when asked to review the new Peugeot RCZ I was thinking that this could only go badly.
However I was in London at the unavailing of this cars concept form a few years ago and I remember being in awe of its design work. The bold curves that make its silhouette so prominent, the roof arches that form a single yet definitive line on the machines profile and not forgetting the double-bubble roof that is fresh from the racing forefront. Two years later and you would imagine that all the creativity from the concept has been castrated for the finished road going product… But thinking that was my first mistake. I purposely arranged to test the car after dusk to insure I wouldn’t be mocked for using it, but after giving it the once over I rather wished there was an audience. The voluptuous shapes from the concept had made it onto the finished RCZ, not modified or changed but identical to what I left behind on that show stand in 2008. It is a very good looking machine and not just for a Peugeot, but any car.
This particular model is the top spec GT with the optional 200BHP THP petrol engine. It comes paired with a 6 speed manual and will merrily do 39.8MPG to provide at the very least some ecological reasoning to a possible purchase. The GT with this engine will cost just over £25,000 which is very reasonable considering that the nearest competitor is a £27,130 Audi TT with no equipment at all. Inside the RCZ it is like something from the the starship enterprise as muscular leather seats fill the cars interior whilst you are surrounded by an ultra modern console. It does give off a very high quality feel with aluminum trimmed instruments and art-nouveau shapes. The feeling of being in a cabin is most welcome
In motion the RCZ is very well composed gliding from corner to corner. Though in comparison to competitors it doesn’t really attack a bend with as much vigor, but it does lend itself to be placed on the apex of corners very easily. The 200BHP engine produces a rather sweet note as you work through the gears and also provides much torque making city driving that bit more entertaining. The RCZ comes equipped with a deployable spoiler for extra downforce in combination with the very efficient double-bubble. The ride is a little firm for my liking as running trough a rutted town does give the effect that there is an Earth tremor occurring outside, however you will find this with all coupes as it is the trade that must be made for performance.
The car seats four on paper but realistically that is two adults and two children under the age of four. The boot on the other hand is something to be marveled at as it is capable of swallowing everything from the weekly shop to a baby cow thanks to the latest Peugeot TARDIS technology.
So there it is the surprisingly economical, partially practical, very attractive, well built Peugeot RCZ. The best thing? This being the top specification means there is several options below it and the result is that you can get all of the above, be it with a smaller engine, for less than £20,000. Now that is a price Audi can’t afford to match.
Porsche, a badge that has become defined by three numbers. The 911 is by far and away the world’s bestselling sports car and for many reasons I agree with its owners for giving it that title. Porsche engineering is some of the world’s best as they have proved time and again that despite putting the engine in the wrong place there is always a way to make it mechanically sound. But what if the engineers were unshackled from this tradition and did something very un-German, get creative. In 2005 that is exactly what happened and the result was something absolutely profound. Five years later we have finally got hold of the machine to see just how much of a German rebellion it was. We are of course talking about the Porsche Carrera GT.
Looking at this car is much like watching a revolution unfold. Its appearance is very much classic Porsche from many angles but from others it can be likened more to a streamlined fish. The whole car is supremely sculpted with every linehaving a connection and every curvature precisely angled along the bodywork. I’m not going to say it is a beautiful car but what I will say is that it certainly makes a statement of intent with a presence as strong as gravity. I think the Germans would describe its aesthetics as functional.
What you have to remember about this car is that many of its components were originally designed for a Le Mans racer but thanks to changes in regulations they found a use for them in the Carrera GT. One such component is that gargantuan 5.7 litre V10 that produces a mammoth 605BHP. More power than god? Debatable, but one thing we know for sure is that it is one of the most powerful cars we have ever laid hands on. The car is also equipped with race suspension fresh from the Porsche GT1 and a 6 speed manual gearbox. The entire car is built on a carbon fibre monocoque chassis that not only keeps the weight down but also increases structural rigidity. In fact this car is so strong that Porsche could add those removable roof panels without having to strengthen the floor. The culmination of all this is a machine that is mid-engined and can achieve 0-60MPH in 3.9 seconds and won’t stop until it gets to 209MPH. Traveling at those warp speeds means that the car also has 15 inch carbon breaks fitted as standard as well as a spoiler that deploys once the car reaches 75MPH.
The cockpit is something that many Porsche owners would find familiar as features such as overlapping gauges also appear in the Carrera GT. In the centre sits a column that stretches from the floor to the top of the dashboard wearing various buttons and holding a Beachwood gearstick. An interesting design feature and one that I very much like but I’m not so keen on the wood, it just looks a bit out of place on a car that is the equivalent of a high-tech Swiss army knife.
When the car is given life its V10 fizzes as the starter motor does its job and is then followed by the engine barking into life. At tick over the Carrera is surprisingly civilised emitting a slight hum as it waits patiently to be used for its purpose. This refinement slowly deteriorates as the car picks up speed with excited bursts from the engine escaping at every opportunity. Open the taps and you will soon forget about this cars German origins as it makes no apologies for the V10 howl that fills every orifice of your body. The acceleration is astonishing not because of the time it takes but because of the way it never yields, it just keeps getting faster at the very same rate you set off at. I have never experienced anything like it! In the turns the car is equally impressive as the aerodynamic body cuts through the air and the rear spoiler drives the rear tyres into the ground. One word to describe the handling would be responsive, it is just so direct, you point it where you want to go and it’s gone.
It may be five years old but it can still keep todays youngsters in line. Only 1500 Porsche Carrera GT’s were ever made and each sold for over £300,000. Worth the money? Well let’s put it this way, there are many ways to experience an adrenaline rush; you can ski down a mountain, fight bears or even fall out of a plane but none of these compare with the pure rush you get from unrelenting speed. And the Porsche Carrera GT, well that’s the ultimate aphrodisiac.
Man has always strived to conquer nature; for millions of years we have fought predators, mastered fire and built shelter in order to combat the gods will. After overcoming tough terrain we began to put our higher brain function into use. Instead of clambering over rock formations like mere apes we began to redefine the way our species became mobile. Enter the 4X4, a mode of transport that didn’t ask how far we could get but rather how easily can we get there. Today I am reviewing a car that takes the 4X4 a step further, a car that asks a different question. How fast can we get there?
This is the all-new Porsche Cayenne or to be more specific the new Cayenne S. Now Cayenne’s in motoring circles may come with a reputation of being driven by the Chelsea squad but they have always been commended for their uncanny ability to tackle nearly any terrain at criminally insane speeds. Porsche’s new car has gone through a metamorphosis turning from something that resembles a troll, to a much more sociably acceptable or rather a more palatable form. The design work might not be a radical new direction but you have to admit that it looks much less like a tumour in comparison to its predecessor.
The Cayenne S conceals a 4.8 litre V8 engine that has the power of 400 ultra-efficient horses that aids this car in achieving some remarkable figures. The 0-62MPH dash is completed in a staggering 5.9 seconds and can go on to reach a top speed of 160MPH. That makes this two tonne goliath as fast as its little brother the Boxster, which I shall remind you is a light weight two seat sports car. So it has the speed to scuttle up Mt Everest in 45 seconds but that is nothing without the capability to give Mother Nature a right hook. The Cayenne comes with a descent control system that will keep the car at a constant speed whilst navigating your way down from a steep decline. It does not however have a low range gearbox which is a necessity out in the wilderness, so are we to see Cayenne’s scattered across the countryside? Well, no as the boffins at Porsche have developed the cars 8 speed gearbox to have a low first gear negating the need for a separate system. Pair that with a lockable centre differential and it makes this one rapid 4X4. Ok so it’s not going to compete with the likes of the Discovery but its impressive none the less.
Inside it is extremely comfortable as it takes the garnishing’s of the Panamera and uses them to its own ends. The seats are very supportive and something to take particular note of is that rear occupants have adjustable seats also. The boot in the new Cayenne uses the latest in TARDIS technology as it is much bigger than what it appears to be on the outside. With the rear seats up and pushed all the way back the minimum amount of boot space is still a colossal 580 litres, more than enough to swallow ¾ of the moon. Every cayenne comes standard with cruise control and to be perfectly honest that’s a very good thing as the majority of these cars will only live to stalk the motorway.
On the road the Cayenne S is exhilarating as it whisks you briskly towards its top speed without a hint of surrender. The chassis is taught allowing for accurate and meaningful turn in as well as balanced levels of comfort. My only real criticism of this car would be that it does all the day-to-day stuff with ease, so much so that you feel that it doesn’t really need you there. Now that’s fine if you’re just looking for a quick and practical way to transport the family but as a driver’s car it’s not all that involving.
Don’t get me wrong the Cayenne S is a mechanical masterpiece and at £54,000 I would argue that it almost makes the much more expensive turbo model unworthy of its price tag. But I can think of a particular British manufacturer that produces a competitor and given the choice I think it’s the Range Rovers keys that would end up in my pocket.
Nissan are well known for making small city cars, the rather tame 350Z and one other… The Skyline. A name that petrol heads the world over will never forget, particularly the early 90’s incarnations. You see back then the UK was in recession and so nobody really had that much money, UK output was at an all-time low and so the industry started to collapse. Much like today performance cars were something envied to the highest degree, however with no money Porsche weren’t just going to hand the keys over. Enter the Nissan Skyline R32, a car that gave a new meaning to bangs for your bucks! The car itself was cheap as chips and with a GT-R variant that offered 2.6 litres and AWD; it soon became an icon to the public. Here for what little money you have, you could get Ferrari beating performance. 320BHP under your right foot was more than enough to leave all your problems in a cloud of tyre smoke.
2008 brought the recession in another form, the dreaded credit crunch. Thanks to banks giving loans to paperboys so they could buy a Lamborghini, we are all in a situation where nobody has very much money once again. For 6 years it was absent from our roads, but now it’s back in the form of its most legendary model. The recession rupturing Nissan GT-R.
This all new car is mind bending in every aspect, for £55,500 you can get a car that laps the Nüremburgring faster than a £129,000 Porsche 911 GT2. The GT-R is nearly one third of the price yet manages to top trump the German in every conceivable way. In fact it will completely annihilate almost any super car you put in its path. Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911’s are allbanished by this cars breath-taking performance figures. Its twin-turbo 3.8 litre engine produces 485BHP and in conjunction with a super-fast DCG gearbox/AWD it will do 0-60 in 3.6 seconds. The car will not yield until it reaches its top speed of 191MPH.
The car may have a rock hard ride but this is a small price to pay for the ability to change direction so quickly. The AWD system is balanced perfectly to cancel out under steer when driving in a lively manner; the result is that any input into the wheel is immediately translated into action. The seats have to be secured to the chassis of the car with high density bolts as the G-force generated by this could rip the standard components clean out of their fittings. Nitrogen fills the tyres as air was deemed “too unstable”. That is almost beyond comprehension, the air we breathe too unstable!
Looking past the crazy numbers sits a rather well equipped four-seat coupe. The boot could fit an elephant calf and the rear seats actually have the capacity to seat two adults. The GT-R is a large car but it is by no means trickier to park than its rivals as vision from the cockpit is ample. So there you have it, a true David among Goliaths. Anybody wishing they hadn’t just ordered that new Lamborghini?
After having a discussion in the office we came to the conclusion that we may have been going a bit over the top with the vast number of supercars we have reviewed of late. The result of this is me being told to leave the Mercedes SLS for another day and go and find a hybrid to review. Brilliant, from 200MPH gods to the scourge of the roads, but then again they didn’t say what hybrid.
This is the new Porsche Cayenne S, no really, it is an all new car and not just Porsches usual trick of changing the headlights. The Cayenne has always been hailed as one of the ugliest cars to ever stalk the earth, making passers-by projectile vomit on sight. However if you could hold down the carrot chunks and get behind the wheel you would soon find that despite its looks it was a phenomenal bit of machinery. You see it might be a 4X4 but it does run on Porsche power meaning that it will happily do 80MPH over just about anything. This thoroughly redesigned Cayenne is much less likely to scare your children and truth be told, I rather like the design with its purposeful stance yet understated persona.
This being the Cayenne hybrid it receives Porsches first petrol electric motor that can do a claimed 34.4MPG. Now for a car of this size with 333BHP and can reach 150MPH that’s quite the achievement. The hybrid starts at a rather costly £57,609 but then again it is a premium product and not a BMW X5. Our car had a few more toys, ok £12,000 worth of extras, making it just over £69,000. So is it worth your hard earned pounds?
Inside of the Porsche is a genuinely nice place to be as many design features have been lifted from the Panamera which we phrased specifically for the quality of its interior. The seats hold occupants firmly in place whilst offering ample support for the lower back and legs. The driving position is fantastic allowing for a good peripheral view without the requirement of the common 4X4 driver’s seat wriggle manoeuvre that can often be viewed at junctions. In the back passengers have a good level of leg room as well as fully adjustable seats that allow for optimum comfort. The boot is in fact a near bottomless pit that will willingly swallow bags, push chairs, dogs and a medium sized cow if you require it to. The interior in general is near faultless and looking at it you can really tell it cost the owner a shiny penny or two.
The V6 hybrid engine under the bonnet can propel this car to 62MPH in 6.5 seconds rivalling many sports cars on sale today. This is the Cayenne S’ strong point as for such a big car it really does shift. 324lb of torque aids in this cars speed and agility though this is sometimes compromised by its own 8 speed automatic gearbox. It just seems to change up and down at will regardless whether you are in the process of going around a corner or even pottering along a B-road. Another thing that castrates this cars performance in the very fact that it is a hybrid. Regenerative breaking systems, such as the one found in this Cayenne, use magnets in the breaks to generate a voltage to charge the electrical element of the car. That’s great for the environment but makes judging when the hybrid will stop difficult as the system acts like an extra set of breaks.
Overall the Porsche Cayenne S hybrid is a brilliant combination for those looking for a practical yet premium solution to transporting the family at a fair pace. However everything I dislike about it is due to the changes made to create a hybrid. In my opinion if you are willing to spend this sort of money on a car like this you might as well buy the Turbo model and enjoy life a little more. Ok so your fuel bill grows but your enjoyment from not having the ball and chain attached to the Cayenne will outweigh your environmental guilt.
