FLASH DRIVES

What is a Flash Drive? On media days we get to drive cars for around an hour, which is great when you want to get a feel for it, but not necessarily enough for a full review, so these are our mini reviews.

Citroën C4 Sense PureTech 100

With an on-the-road price of just £21,860, the pretty much base spec C4 Sense first wowed me with its quirky and typical Citroën looks. Granted, it won’t be to everyone's taste, but sometimes it’s good to be different.

Available with three different power outputs (100PS, 130PS and 155PS), the former still had some umph, and the manual 6-speed gearbox was slick.

What Citroën do well is comfort, and whilst the C4 didn’t waft me along in Range Rover like comfort, with their 'Advanced Comfort' seats and clever Progressive Hydraulic Cushion Suspension, it was certainly one of the comfiest cars of the day. All this comfort did mean that it wallowed a bit around corners, and at 50mph it was the only car that went ever-so-slightly air-borne over a humpback bridge on my test route. Don’t tell Citroën that.

Because it’s a Citroën the interior is just as funky, and all the C4 models are well-equipped, even this affordable Sense trim features LED headlights, a 10” media display (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) and a whole host of driverassistance tech, including a city braking.

It did amuse me when I jumped in and tossed the key fob into the cubby hole and searched for the start button - it doesn’t have one, the entry-level Sense actually has a proper key that you actually put into an ignition and have to actually turn - how retro!

Inside there are plenty of open cubby areas to store things and two USB sockets on either of the centre console, which is a nice touch. The air vents on the dash are massive and allowed plenty of air-conditioned air to cool the cabin during this warm day.

I also appreciated that the heater controls are dials, which was a pleasant surprise, and the whole dash and steering wheel are quite high - or I was sitting low, whichever, it was a nice driving position.

Despite having adequate leg room for rear seat passengers, because of the sloping roof they’ll probably end up banging their heads whilst getting in and out until they get used to it.

It doesn’t matter which C4 model you opt for, with prices starting from £21,000 to £29,000, they represent excellent value for money, and hopefully I’ll get one for a proper review sometime soon.

Jeep CJ-7

Earlier on in the year Muddy Madam and I visited Millbrook for the annual SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) day - basically it’s like speed dating for cars, and amongst the many vehicles that we looked forward to driving was Jeep’s beautifully restored CJ-7.

Despite my eagerness to get it out on the hill route, there was also a slight trepidation as I knew that the 2.5ltr in-line 4 cylinder engine, producing a mere 87bhp and mated to a 4-speed manual gearbox, wasn’t going to be the quickest vehicle out there! Also, I was warned that due to the size of the tyres there would be a bit of ‘wallowing’ that I needed to be aware of.

Once strapped in we headed off, and so far so good, it felt great. We pulled over into the photo area, and I was able to have a thorough look around it. It really was immaculate, a museum piece in fact, which made me even more nervous about taking it on the hill route with must faster cars, tight bends, steep accents and descents, the odd adverse camber with a rumble strips thrown in for good measure - this may have been a bad decision.

Back on the hill route and the wallowing that I was warned about transpired to be something else - there was a good couple of inches play in the steering, and when I braked it was anyones guess in which direction I was going!

On one of the hills we barely managed to reach the top in second gear, in fact we had one of the many marshals that are scattered around the course egging us on, and just as I was about to slip the Borg Warner SR-4 ‘box into first, we made it to the top, much to everyones delight, and my relief.

On arrival back to the Jeep stand I have to admit I was relieved that my first ever CJ-7 experience was over, though it was still enjoyable, and given the chance I’d still love to buy one.

Toyota Yaris Cross Premier Edition

I’ve been looking forward to driving a Yaris Cross since I first set eyes on the media images many months ago.

At last month’s SMMT media day, over at Wetherby racecourse, I finally achieved my goal, albeit only for 20 minute drive, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

On road the 3-cylinder 1.5ltr hybrid engine may not be the quickest in its sector, but was nippy enough for me, and if you're gentle with the accelerator the Yaris Cross will run solely on electric power around town.

Along a twisty and very undulating country lane it handled itself better than some of the larger cars I drove during the event, even on 18” wheels. It was firm without being uncomfortable, and even being 2wd there was good grip and the sense of connection through its accurate steering.

Despite all the interior surfaces being plastic, the Yaris Cross is well appointed, and just like the Toyota Highlander and RAV4 that I’ve recently had on loan, there are plenty of places for your odds ’n’ sods - typical Toyota.

My only moan is that the steering wheel doesn’t rise high enough for my long legs, so during any tight manoeuvres I had to feed the steering wheel through my hands, like I did during my driving test. The front seats are comfortable and supportive, but in the back you’re limited to small children and Oompa Loompas.

The majority of models in the Yaris Cross range are two-wheel drive, but the higher trims, like Dynamic and Premiere Editions offer four-wheel drive, which is rare in the small SUV world, and hopefully very soon I’ll have one delivered to Muddy Towers for a proper test.