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CAR TRAVEL Irish Car & Travel Magazine
carandtravel.ie
Summer 5
TAKING YOU PLACES WITH THE BEST WRITERS
5008 part of Peugeot's roll
No knees in Raffles
Sky view C3
REVIEW This latest version of the Citroen C3 supermini has been shapeshifted somewhat, though still retaining the basic style and design cues of its first generation. The main difference in the review car was the panoramic windscreen which goes from the scuttle right back to behind the driver's head. There have been Opels with this feature before, but I never got around to driving them. And the Citroen C4 Picasso has had it, and I did. What you have in this new C3 is a really good driving experience. A surprisingly good one. I say that last knowing that it could be interpreted as having not expected the car to be good, but it really means that it is more than the good that I did expect. Before I go there, let's look at the style and substance. The overall curves of the original have been stretched a little, and window lines tweaked with some chrome detailing. The front has gained a rather less glitzy styling that other models in the brand's range have shown in recent years. And that's to the good. The inside has been given the new dashboard treatment which the DS3 premium Mini competitor has, maybe with a tad less sophistication for obvious reasons. But the quality of the trim materials is at the high end. A shift back to a more traditional instrumentation than in the generation one C3 is a welcome move. It's a roomy car. It feels it, too. There's room for my legs, head, fairly broad shoulders. And I wouldn't be seriously uncomfortable in the back seats on a run . Maybe the airiness of the panoramic windscreen has something to do with that sense, at least up front. Yet, I'm not sure it's for me. OK, if I was
New C3 i to view
living with the car for more than the standard week, I suspect this is an issue that would just melt away. But I was all the time conscious of the rail over my head on which the sunblind contraption was set. To the point that, most of the time, I pulled it forward to a 'standard' roof configuration. The review car was the 1.4 HDi version, a frugal powerplant which in this size car also gives it a punchy fun character. As well as, so far, an easy tax rating (I wouldn't count on cheap green road tax lasting beyond the next Budget of Desperation, though; money has to be gathered to maintain TDs' salaries). That engine verve encourages a bit of fun driving. And, if anything else, Citroen has a pedigree in good handling, whether in esoteric or traditional suspensions. The underpinnings of the C3 are in the
latter category, and there's a mix of ride and roadholding that's as good a combo as you might ask for in the segment. Sporty performance comes in highpower versions of standard cars. It isn't in the basic C3, and it wouldn't be appropriate. What you get in this one is the kind of driving feel that will take you comfortably the kind of short and longer distances that buyers in this segment need. OK, Ford has this part of the Irish business in a stranglehold in Ireland with its Fiesta. That doesn't mean the latest C3 isn't as good. My own opinion, mind, but I think it is. Brian Byrne.
is open
Five for Giulietta The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class has gone on sale with prices from â‚Ź98,600 ex works, which is â‚Ź12,400 below the former 320CDI model which is replaces. The car competes in the luxury car segment. The first model here, and the one expected to be the volume seller, is the S350CDI version. The brand expects to sell around 100 units of the S359CDI in a full year in Ireland. Over 3.3 million S-Classes have been sold since it was introduced in 1951.
A million X5s BMW's X5, long the aspirational vehicle for the wellheeled of the higher suburbs with family loads to haul, has just sold its millionth copy. The X5 is dubbed a Sports Activity by BMW to differentiate from common or garden SUVs, and was first launched 11 years ago. Features have included the option of seven seats, permanent AWD, and a cachet all of its own.
Insignia 4x4 diesel Opel has added its Adaptive 4x4 system to its 2.0 diesel engine in the Insignia for the first time. The 160hp engine has also been refined along with the other diesel versions, a year on from the car's initial launch. Across Europe, almost half of Insignia customers who order the 2.0 turbocharged petrol engine add Adaptive 4x4 to their choice. The combination is especially suitable to the Tourer version.
REVIEW Peugeot are on a roll right now when it comes to family cars with their 3008 and its larger sibling 5008 people carriers which both offer great fuel economy, low emissions and impressive performances. Both are powered by Peugeot's superb 1.6 HDi diesel engine. This is the only engine available in the 5008 here. It's so quiet and refined you can almost hear even the faintest whisper coming from the back! And it drives just like a big saloon. An Eco gearbox option is offered for another €1,000. A good alternative to automatic drivers faced with high road tax costs in this country. All are in Band B for road tax. However, I haven't rented a mob to see how the car would manage an extra load. This is a stylish 7-seater with lots of room and very versatile seating. Three trims are offered, SE, SX and SV. Prices start at €26,995. The car under review is the 110bhp, SX version priced from €28,995. While the real emphasis, though, for me was on driver comfort and new technology, I can really appreciate how the 5008 ticks all the boxes for a growing family. It's a good, easy-todrive car for everyday use. The ride is smooth and the steering nicely weighted. And there's room for everyone. Occupants enjoy huge head and legroom and the test car also had a temperature control on the sides of the middle row. The outside look is actually of quite an elegant car for an MPV. Inside, the quality of the fit and finish, the huge space and comfy seating all impress. You sit up high in this one, with the big, steeply raked windscreen - and low scuttle line - providing great visibility, while the
Peugeot 5008
large rear window allows a clear view out behind. Deep side mirrors also help but there's no blind spot in the driver's one. All seats are individual ones. They gently support your back right the way up to your shoulders and the head restraint is straight up behind as it should be. Middle row seats are all the same size, but the very back two are a tad smaller. Getting in and out of these rear two seats isn't at all difficult due to the flexibility of the middle row seats. These second row ones can be adjusted in almost every way, or folded into the floor for more carrying space. The very rear two can also be folded flat opening up a very big boot area. If you require more length to carry longer items, just fold the back of the front passenger seat for a vanlike cargo area. Dials are simple and stylish, white on black. The trip computer has a special feature where you can enter in the distance to your destination and it shows your progress. It also showed
an average fuel return of 6.3 L/100 kms (44.84mpg) for my lengthy time with the car. The slick six-speed gear shifter is on a raised section of the lower sweep of the central stack which makes it close to hand and the gears shift effortlessly. Standard equipment across all three models includes ESP, ABS, ASR, electronic brake force distribution, six air bags, electric parking brake with hill hold. It is the only car in its segment with curtain airbags that protect all three rows of passengers. Also standard is an ISOFIX child seat system in the second row. A Parrot Bluetooth connection was added to the dash of the review car. The SX trim adds air conditioning, cruise control, front fog lights, electric childlocks, as standard, while the top SV models adds a Cielo roof, USB box, head up display, rear parking aid, privacy glass and 17-inch alloy wheels. It is priced from €30,995. Trish Whelan.
OLD FAVOURITE: Trabant, 1957-1991 A model that became a marque, the Trabant's beginnings lie in the division of Germany after WW II, when the Zwickau Automobile Factory began production of a version of the pre-war DKW F8, first under the control of the Soviet occupation authorities, and later the East German government. The Trabant brand itself was established in 1957 when the P50, was launched. The P601 of 1964 had a substantially-rebuilt 594cc engine, with 26hp on tap, and was destined to remain in production for almost 30 years without major change. Incidentally, for East German ordinary folk, there was a 10-year waiting time
from order, partly because a large proportion of the Trabants were being exported to the Soviet Union as part of a war reparations programme. However, as even the Soviet cars improved, the Trabant and particularly its very polluting engine proved less easy to export. In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, and the subsequent opening of the borders between East and West Germany allowed a flood of used VWs and Opels to become available that were technologically and in comfort and style terms decades in advance of the Trabant. In 1990, the final P601 was built and a production run of VW Polos was begun. The very last Trabant rolled off the assembly line in 1991, and was immediately transported to a local museum.
When knees are a no-no Raffles Hotel in Singapore has become just the second member of my 'St Peter's Club'; it is so far only the second place in the world where I've been refused admission because of my knees. Or, more precisely, because I was wearing shorts. "Are you returning to your room, sir?" this little guy in immaculate white uniform asked as he held the door open. "No, I'm meeting someone." "Ah, sir ... I'm afraid, for the gentlemen, it is long trousers only in the foyer." He led me from the doorway and back outside towards a wicker chair set under shade well out of any offensive view by the properly dressed patrons. "You may sit here, sir." So I did. Mind you, if it hadn't been for the fact that I was meeting somebody, I'd have had the same
attitude to the place as when I was turned away from St Peter's Basilica; if God doesn't want me in His house dressed like this, do I really want to be in His house? Then I figured it wasn't God who ran the place, but His minions. And God doesn't run Raffles either, but somebody's minions do. Funny thing, when I was here the other day, I got into the foyer in the same dress without a problem, but then it was through a back door. Maybe Heaven works the same way? Anyhow, even if I couldn't get to have a drink at the Writers Bar, off the foyer, I did have a bit of lunch in the Courtyard, and did a little bit of work (including this piece), which was very nice. Brian Byrne.
Offıcial Government Fuel Consumption Figures (litres per 100km/mpg) and CO2 Emissions (g/km). Highest: DS3 1.4 95hp : Urban 7.6/37.2, Extra Urban 4.8/58.9, Combined 5.8/48.7 and 134 CO2. Lowest: DS3 1.6HDi 16V 90hp: Urban 4.9/57.6, Extra Urban 3.4/83.1, Combined 4.0/70.6 and 104 CO2.
NEW CITROËN DS3 Anti Retro is a movement. A new movement that believes in the principle of customisation with 38 combinations of body and roof colour. That believes in spacious, high quality interiors. That believes in hi-tech kit, USB connections and Hi-Fi with Bluetooth.® That believes in choice, petrol and diesel models. Believe in Anti Retro and never look back. For more information on new DS3 please visit www.citroen.ie
CRÉATIVE TECHNOLOGIE
www.citroen.ie