Living With - 2013 BMW 320i X-Drive M-Sport Touring

Peter Jenks has already written about his Morgan Plus 8. Here he reviews his BMW 320i X-Drive M-Sport Touring.

Peter Jenks' BMW 320i X-Drive M-Sport Touring

What car are we talking about?

Delivered on 21 June 2013 it is a normal looking BMW 320i Estate with a few differences. I bought it to replace a Range Rover Evoque which was terminally unreliable, plus the seat was uncomfortable and I grew to hate it. We bought it because 2 winters in a row we’d been trapped in our home due to packed snow on the lane in front of the house. The Evoque was wonderful in the snow and ice. But it isn’t a car and I grew to hate it.

So the BMW seemed the answer: a sensible, sporty estate with X-Drive, BMWs proper full time four wheel drive, normally biased 60% rear but can be up to 100% front or rear as the computers think fit.

Then I added “M Sport,” a nice body kit and some other under the skin changes to make it more “sporty”.

It is finished in Sapphire black, a metallic black and inside with burgundy red leather. On the outside all badges have been deleted. Why red leather? Because on the M Sport grey wasn’t an option, only brown and black: a black car with black or brown inside? No thanks!

Add to the basics some options:

• Sport auto transmission, 
• Full power seats with heating and memory, 
• Pro sat-nav/computer 
• Full i-Phone integration 
• HK audio, 
• HID Adaptive lights 
• Panoramic glass roof 
• ”HUD” or head up display 

All the other electronic driver’s aids I ignored: having experienced them on another car I felt they are mostly distracting and can be irritating, though it I did a lot of motorway driving the adaptive cruise control would be worth considering.

So 18 months and almost 15,000 miles later what are my impressions?

Mostly good, the engine took the best part of 5000 miles to loosen up nicely and now in SPORT drive + SPORT gearbox modes it is quick, although it sounds a bit rough at high revs and it drinks fuel.

Indeed the engine sound at cold idle is almost diesel like, quite gruff and with an obvious rattle but once warm and above 1500 rpm it becomes quite smooth, but a silky BMW 6 it isn’t and the throttle response flatters to deceive: turbos may give great gobs of low rev torque by instant throttle response is no longer an option. .

The electric steering is better than many, not too light and very direct with a reasonable amount of weighting but little true feedback. Placing the car on the road is easy, as is parking.

Cornering, especially on twisty back roads seems, at first, to be amazing. The car feels glued and despite my best efforts I’ve not got the traction control warning to come on, clearly I must try harder! With full time 4-wheel drive able to put 100% of the power to either end of the car as needed the way it goes round sharp uphill bends is remarkable. But to have any fun at all it has to be thrashed, hard work and costly in terms of fuel consumption and I get the feeling the car would rather not, if you don’t mind. Driven normally it is secure and bland.

Really the car also needs more power! With just over 180bhp and a sophisticated 4WD system it is a terribly safe and a bit tedious. Sadly unlike in Germany and the USA the 330i 6 isn’t offered here, but you can always go silly and with the Alpina! Autocar liked it and you can have it as an X-drive estate!

With winter tyres on it the ride is slightly better, it is quieter and the cornering seems to be just as secure as on summer tyres, but at over 80 mph there is some directional instability and the winter tyres will howl quite well if pushed very hard More about tyre noise later.

It is averaging just 32.5mpg, but this includes urban driving: on longer motorway drives high 30s are easy and I’ve seen 42 mpg, providing that the sport drive and gearbox modes are not selected. Yes they bring the car alive, but at a cost.

Conversely using the “eco-pro” mode improves fuel consumption further at the expense of dulling all responses: it is best suited to motorway driving with the cruise control. The car loses all personality and becomes mind numbingly boring.

The “stop - start” mode works well with the auto box, it can be disabled either by switching it off or by putting the transmission into sport mode.

The engine seems to use no oil, although the lack of a conventional dipstick to check is a slight concern that BMW clearly believe I need not worry about. The car will tell me if it needs oil!

Indeed the car will tell me of its needs in general, though the very clear display. It takes time to learn the complexity of the system, which is driven through the i-drive controller and not a fussy and slow touch screen.

Although it is a spacious car with impressive rear room the car feels small to the driver, clearly it is designed to make the driver feel good sitting snugly in his cockpit with all of the instruments clear and un-fussy and the sports seats easy to adjust and very comfortable. The “HUD” works perfectly, giving the driver no excuse not to know how fast he is going and making the satellite navigation system voice commands almost superfluous as they appear in the display when needed, as do the cruise control and audio control displays. Talking of navigation systems this one is clear and up to date, although some postcode entries are not as simple as they should be it is generally easier to use than most.

The way the Professional Navigation System integrates audio, radio including an excellent DAB system and an iPhone is impressive with many additional and useful features available through a BMW “App”. It also has a split screen system allowing, for example, the main screen to show the moving map and the sub screen to show what is on the radio or audio system. Not to opt for the Harmon Kardon audio upgrade would be to waste most of the benefits that come with the combination of an i-phone and the navigation system.

Heating, ventilation and the other creature comforts work as expected, although the powered and memory seats are not as good as the Mercedes equivalents in our other car, despite costing the same. The lack of a memory for the passenger side is just petty.

Conversely the adaptive discharge lights are impressive and effective, with BMW’s signature “angel rings” surrounding the 4 light units and acting as daytime running lights. The auto dip is almost spooky, with the 4 lights each controlled separately and the outer pair turning so that the verges are illuminated on quasi main beam without dazzling the car in front! They are much better than the lights on the Evoque or my wife’s Mercedes coupe: indeed they are the best headlights I’ve ever experienced.

The standard reversing aid works well, I didn’t opt for the rather expensive front system and rear camera as the car seems easy to place. I feel that the optional panoramic opening glass roof is essential as without it the car can feel claustrophobic due to the black head lining and mostly black interior, relieved only by the wine red leather seats!

Downsides? A few:

Other than the total lack of driver engagement the noise in the car can be tiring: why?

BMW is obsessed with run flat tyres. On a well-surfaced modern road they are impressively quiet but on the sort of crushed stone top dressing beloved by the UK Highways Authority on Motorways through the 80s and 90s they are unacceptably noisy at more than 50 mph. At times I was reduced to wearing earplugs, which is simply unacceptable.

After much debate I dumped them for a set of Toyo Proxies, a vast improvement. Quieter and improved steering response as well. But with no spare I’m reliant on the BMW “inflator and goo” kit. That and an RAC membership…!

Although the mirrors can be folded when parking there is no automatic locking setting so the driver has to remember to fold them back before leaving the car.

Another serious irritation is that the rear wiper doesn’t turn on when the front wipers are on and reverse is selected. Instead if the rear wiper is on it goes from intermittent to continious, but you have to remember to turn the rear wiper on first.

That is it: I think it is incredibly well made and engineered, other than the rear wiper it does exactly as expected. But overall it is a bit soulless. I’ll keep it for the three years until I retire, but after that? I doubt it.

By Peter Jenks

Tweet

Living With - Morgan Plus 8

In March 2014 I drove the Morgan Plus 8 press car and wrote a review of it.  Morgan Motors went on to sell the car to a chap called Peter Jenks who has charmingly called it Tarka, "Because it's brown and 'otter than the Roadster."

Peter has kindly sent us his thoughts on Tarka, and compares it to his 2009 Roadster, Aldermog.

Peter Jenks' Morgan Plus 8

Plus 8 vs. Roadster…

They looks superficially similar, but how different are they?

I’ve now driven Tarka the 2014 Plus 8 around the roads I know, so I can start to make a comparison whilst Aldermog, our 2009 Roadster, is still fresh in my mind.

Let’s start with “Fit and Finish”. In many ways Tarka is very much improved: under the dash and into the footwells the soft leather extends as it does in my wife’s Mercedes, a vast improvement. It is actually quite difficult to see or feel any lose wires. But there are still some hangovers from the Roadster, for example the hex head screws holding the door hinges are still mild steel and have rusted: why, oh why, can’t they use stainless steel? The hinges are stainless anyway.

Moving on to comfort: this is where the difference shows. The car rides like a modern car, the suspension is controlled and the car passes over small road damage almost imperceptibly and deals with sleeping policemen without a concern. The ride is actually more controlled than that of our Mercedes E 350 Coupe. Inside the high back sports seats with seat heaters are as good as any high end seat, but for the broad of hip they might be a bit too snug! The extra 10cm cockpit width makes a big difference on a long run. I got the dealer, Williams Automobiles, to trim the inside of the side screens, this has finished off the cockpit perfectly and it is draft free. The hood has a separate lining and driving 'hood up' it is warm and dry, indeed the heater is powerful and infinitely controllable with modern electrically driven controls.

The radio is mounted in sight of the driver, a novel improvement and the car comes with a full 6 speaker installation. I’ve fitted my Alpine CDE 136 BT and it works perfectly: it is a DAB unit and as in the Roadster the DAB reception with a simple powered splitter works very well. The sound quality is as good as any other basic sound system in a modern car.

Overall the car is very significantly quieter than Aldermog, at least until the loud pedal is exercised, when it produces a wonderful rasp from the exhaust, drops a gear or two and rockets forward.

There a few in-cockpit negatives, two that are easy to sort are the lack of a transmission tunnel locker and the ever useless door straps. I’ve fitted Librands door checks: this also replaces the rusting set screws and I’m working with Austin at Williams to develop a locker to go over the transmission tunnel between the seats. It will also act as an elbow rest! The more difficult challenge is the insane open ended glove box under the dash. Quite how this has been allowed to exist is beyond me: all it needs is a small 10cm x 10cm square of aluminium attached to the base of the glove box. Easy in construction but very difficult now.

Finally, to the important bit: how does it drive? I’ve only lightly explored the envelope, due to a combination of darkness, wet roads and lack of time. But Tarka certainly has lots of power and the right foot needs to be very controlled on cold wet and greasy roads, I was driving into a supermarket car park and needed to apply a little throttle to get over some speed bumps: the back end stepped out sideways about a foot…the road was wet and perhaps there was diesel about, but the sort of care any biker will understand is needed.

On the open road it is another matter: the car can be driven as a lazy tourer, letting the smooth auto box do everything or by putting the gear lever into “Sport” and using the steering wheel paddles it becomes a quick and responsive thing. The noise when accelerating hard is sinful, it sounds exactly how a big V8 should but so often doesn’t. My “friends” at the BMW dealership were most impressed, not just with the noise but the overall product. Tarka’s unusual colour was also considered to be really good, distinctive yet subtle.

Manoeuvring in confined spaces is not as convenient as in Aldermog, other than the hydraulic power steering is a bit lighter: but not massively so. The big problem is the lock, or lack of it. The lock is worse than Aldermog, quite how that can be I’m not sure! Once on the road I like it, much faster response to input than Aldermog and some semblance of feedback, not much but more than the electric power assist on my BMW. I know there are those who feel for track use the steering is slow to respond to rapid steering inputs. Perhaps, but that isn’t going to worry me: I have little time for the “how fast is it round Nurburgring?” method of comparing cars.

Driving at night showed the 7” headlamps up as weak. I’ve asked Williams to investigate fitting a pair of Wipac auxiliary main beam lights, they are certainly needed. Meanwhile I’ll fit the head lamp units with LED sidelights I had on Aldermog, they are better than the standard units.

By Peter Jenks

Tweet

Living With - 2003 Audi RS6 Avant

Andrew Dryburgh reviews his 2003 Audi RS6 Avant

I'm very fortunate to work in car sales for a great Audi dealership where I get to drive some truly astonishing cars every day. Despite being associated with the Audi brand for nearly 12 years I genuinely still surprise myself with the quality of our cars, often using a different model of the range for my commute to try them in a real world drive.

In addition I’m lucky enough to have a company car which I use for 95% of my motoring. However a great deal of my enthusiasm for cars is for slightly older vehicles hence I’ve usually owned my own car in addition.

When I saw that Matt from www.speedmonkey.co.uk encouraged readers to write about their own cars I felt very motivated to write, and that brings us to this article. This isn’t about new a Audi product recently launched, nor do I have a used example of this car for sale.

So tonight, Matthew, I’m going to write about my own car.

What is it?

A 2003 Audi RS6 Avant.

Most people are well versed in this car.  The simple version is an A6 Avant with wide body, wide track, and a 4.2 litre V8 petrol motor equipped with 2 turbochargers and quattro permanent all wheel drive. In 2003 when it was new the performance figures would have been the stuff to win bragging contests down the pub. 450ps (444bhp) power, 560Nm torque, 0 - 62mph in 4.9 secs and a top speed limited to 155mph (where legal).

When I started working at an Audi dealership in 2003 the company owner had an RS6 Avant. It didn’t take long to get under my skin. I remember saying at the time I would own one. I even kept a brochure from when they were new. I got mine in 2008. I don’t do finance or loans and although I’m in the motor trade it still represented a significant chunk of money to spend on my debit card when I bought it.

“They’re around £5,000 - £15,000 at the moment, right? Should I buy one?”

Good heavens, no! Well, not unless you take account of the following:

The RS6 was around £70,000 when new and is a very complex machine. Even if you can afford the present second hand price the regular maintenance and repair costs will always end up being those of a £70,000 car. Brakes are roughly £1,000 at the front and only slight less at the rear. The cam belt (ideally including water pump and thermostat) are changed every 4 years. It requires a service each 12 months or 10,000 miles. Driven (im)properly the tyres will last 5000 miles and will set you back £850 - £1,000 for 4. It will average 15 - 20mpg of super unleaded.

Some of the technology on board is now outdated but a major advantage is that in this day and age you can do a lot of research on a particular model using internet forums even before you view and test drive them. If you buy at the cheap end of the market you’re likely to buy a problem car. From research I knew to watch out for 2 main faults:

All C5 RS6s have a 5 speed ZF tiptronic gearbox with steering wheel mounted manual over-ride gearshift controls (the gearbox is shared with the earlier A8 6.0 W12) and Audi felt it was up to the job of dealing with the power and torque. It wasn’t, and for many owners the gearbox failed causing repair bills of £4,000 - £7,000. It turns out that ZF say the gearbox should be serviced with the fluid and filter replaced throughout the car’s life. Audi on the other hand marketed it as “sealed for life” and isn’t a repair option but a “replace” option. A handful of owners have developed their own manual gearbox conversion at great expense to then go for crazy power outputs from engine and turbo mods.

From the factory the RS6 was the first model in the Audi line up to receive “Dynamic Ride Control” (often referred to as DRC) suspension where the shock absorbers are linked diagonally across the car via an equalisation valve giving very effective (almost “active” in feel although it’s a passive system) anti-roll, anti-dive, and anti-squat behaviour. This made the 2 tonne RS6 (1880kg unladen weight, 2440kg fully laden!) strangely agile for its size. For many owners this first generation DRC system has failed numerous times, and when it’s not working the car feels “drunk” and wallowing at best, and dangerous at worst.

As these issues could prove potentially ruinous on costs I read all the forum advice and tried to buy the best car I could.

Even so my car has had both these faults. The gearbox was rebuilt by a ZF agent, and the suspension replaced by adjustable coil-overs and upgraded anti roll bars. The handling is amazing in comparison to standard and the Audi DRC will never fail me again. My ride height can be adjusted however the ride quality has been compromised somewhat.

Experience has shown me that Goodyear Eagle Assimetric tyres feel best on the car.

The repairs were expensive at the time but curiously I’m not put off by them. Averaged out over the months of ownership it’s actually cost me very little per year. The fact that the car is somehow more “mine” due to the minor modifications makes it feel more a part of me.

Also as you start to get into the ownership “circles” on various web forums (I would suggest www.rs246.com is the best place to start) you’ll learn of the excellent Audi RS performance specialist businesses around the UK who can help you fix and get the best out of your RS6. 

I’ve had the suspension, ECU remap, transmission ECU remap and gearbox service done at “Unit20” in the Wirral as it’s closest to Scotland. Drivers further south will likely use “MRC”.

Regarding all of the above, maybe I’m being harsh on the old girl.

The Good:

It’s a car with exterior styling that has aged incredibly well. It blends in with formal and informal occasions. It doesn’t shout too loudly to attract the undue attention of the “Boys in Blue”. In short - it fits in everywhere.

It feels absolutely planted on the road in all weathers. There is serious grip to be exploited if your family and dog aren’t in the car to feel sick.

The performance is epic. The torque (especially after the re-map was done) comes in with comically high levels of shove from about 1,500rpm transforming into serious power as the rev counter makes its crazy rush towards 6,000rpm, and the in-gear times from 30 to XXX leptons are astonishing. The quattro traction means you can exploit this performance where others struggle to put down their power.

The car is luxurious and spacious. With the rear seats folded the practicality means anything from fun driving to family holidays to trips with rubbish to the local recycling centre can be done in one car. Mine averages about 18mpg overall, BUT driven carefully on vacations abroad this has shown to rise to 27mpg (for the record - this is slightly better than the lower powered S4 V8 I had before). For the performance potential available the economy is amazing! I’ve often compared this to other large “sensible” family cars like Discoverys, and suspect they’ll average close on the same economy with no driving enjoyment.

Mine is a 2003 model in “Mugello Blue pearl effect” with “Silver” leather upholstery, alcantara headlining in silver, “Poplar Agate” wood inlays (I know - but I’ve grown to love them), electric tilt/slide solar panel sunroof (uses PV panel to power the cabin ventilation while parked) and GSM phone preparation (if you’re using a 1990s Nokia 6310i physically linked to the car via a cradle).

It has an excellent BOSE Hi-Fi, a great Sat Nav system which is getting out of date but is very effective and has taken us on many trips through the UK and France, it has MP3 playing capability from SD card readers x 2 in the Nav unit, a 6CD changer, electric Recaro seats and electric steering column and I can easily fit a bike rack on top in minutes.

It’s getting old and is painfully behind the times on technology compared to the modern Audis I sell. It feels a little but vintage to drive compared to brand new cars. It lacks Bluetooth, iPod integration or the ability to run on 95ron unleaded. The suspension is pretty hard on poor roads, and my right knee aches when I’ve been driving it for a long time. Mind you that might be more to do with my right knee than the car…

I hate starting sentences with “but”, but all of that is part of the car’s charm. In fact I’ve been out in it for most of today, and it’s still an event to drive it.

It’s been all over the UK. To LeMans (Pistonheads camp site), Goodwood, the D-day beaches in Normandy, Legoland, Brittany, Ski resorts in the Alps, driving tours with friends…

So perhaps if you ask that question again:

“They’re around £5000 - £15000 at the moment, right? Should I buy one?”

Yes - you probably can’t afford not to.

All of this writing has made me think… There is a current model in the Audi model range with approximately the same dimensions, the same engine size, same nominal power output, and similar weight. It shares the commonality of an Avant body shell, automated transmission with manual gearshift mode, high performance in a luxury car. I’ve been living with it for nearly 5 months as my day to day company car, and it might be quite interesting to do a comparison review… That can be my next episode.

By Andrew Dryburgh

Twitter: @drybeer
Instagram: drybeer

Tweet

Living With - Vauxhall Insignia Elite Nav TDCi 163

Mark Turner of Blacktop Media reviews his Vauxhall Insignia

I have to be honest - I didn’t take to the Vauxhall Insignia.

When it was revealed in 2008 I was indifferent at best. The shape was generic and the car was forgettable.

I recently saw a press release about one of the ‘new’ Insignia models which caught my eye. A rather naughty, provocative little number.

The wheels had grown in diameter and the old tweed jacket had been replaced with a sharp, Saville row suite.

My curiosity challenged me to look deeper.

The delivered car was an Insignia Elite Nav 2.0TDCi. It is a very handsome car. The elegant, flowing lines are adorned in thick, luxurious, black metallic paint, accentuated by the suave chrome window surrounds.

The Insignia had a plethora of toys, Bluetooth, navigation, leather, electric everything and the list goes on. It really is a well specified car.

Now, I’m not a fan of unnecessary electronic ‘aids’ and like most modern cars, unfortunately the Insignia has plenty.

Everything you want to use seems to need a physics degree to work out and the traction control and ESP make sure you don’t try and enjoy yourself. Fortunately, the Bluetooth is simple and works very well but the Touch-pad controller for the Touch R700 IntelliLink infotainment system is hopeless. It isn’t fluid and the display looks dated.

I’ve seen lots of integrated systems that look almost beautiful. The Insignia's isn’t one of those.

It was functional, but I couldn’t help thinking that in a couple of years it will look like an antique, a bit like those massive TV’s we all laugh at now.

The sat-nav is virtually pointless. It wore me down and I reverted to using my phone it was so dire.

While I’m kicking the old girl, the electrically adjusted seats need a swift kick.

When you turn off the ignition the plush leather drivers seat is supposed to quietly slide back just enough to make exiting the car easier. (I can honestly say I have never needed to slide my chair back to get out of a car. Clearly, the Insignias target audience do).

Upon entry, the chair returns to it’s previous position…….sometimes. In my experience 50% of the time it did what it was supposed to, the other 50% of the time it slid all the way back, trapping the legs of rear seat occupants, then just defiantly stayed there.

The maniacal drivers seat didn’t annoy me as much as I expected, mainly because I was busy playing ‘electronic handbrake roulette’. It’s quite a common game these days and can be played in most executive cars.

You stop and flick the handbrake button, then see what, if anything, happens. If you are lucky the handbrake engages, leaving you wondering if it will randomly release or you will have to burn the clutch out trying to pull off while the ridiculous, pointless, electronic handbrake reluctantly submits.

On the plus side, it drives well. It’s very comfortable, very well appointed, well put together and didn’t falter all weekend.

The cabin does a great impression of a luxury executive car. It’s distinguished, chic and somehow feels familiar, closing the gap between mid-range saloon cars and their revered luxury cousins.

The Insignia performs well, handles well and if I had a slight criticism about the driving dynamics, it would be aimed at the brakes. They are fine, but not great. After a spirited 10 minutes I pulled up at a junction to find the front brakes smoking. There was a hint of fade and vagueness when you put some heat in to them.

I would seriously consider an Insignia if I was a rep with a company car budget around the £25k mark. Mine would be in this exact spec and colour.

Then again, £25k is Mondeo Titanium X Business Edition territory. That’s a tough battle to win.

Tweet

Living with - VW Golf GTi Mk5

Paul Eldred reviews his own Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk5

I’ve just realised that I’ve owned my Mk 5 Golf GTi for over 6½ years - this is the longest I’ve ever owned a car … so it must be good? In all honesty I bought the Golf as a means to preserve the mileage and condition of my Audi RS4, which was “relegated” to being a weekend toy. The Golf had a pretty tough act to follow and the two cars are not in the same class at all and it would be unfair to try to make any comparisons.

From my previous article about the RS4 you may realise that I’m not averse to a little bit of subtle modification to a car - I’m not a fins, spoilers and wheels type bloke - but performance and safety mods type. So it wasn’t long before the Golf had a treat at MRC Tuning in Banbury. First off was a cat-back exhaust and a remap but was soon followed by a de-catted downpipe and a sports cat (but only because the original cat failed) and a tweak to the map . The car is now very useable and quick, providing 264bhp which is quite a way up from the stock 200bhp quoted for the car.

I bought the car with about 18,000 miles on the clock and the day after I bought it, it broke down - miles away from home and in a really heavy rain storm. The car was recovered by VW and taken to a garage in Buckinghamshire and (at my insistence) VW paid for hotel accommodation as they couldn’t provide a hire car that late in the day.

Anyway - VW replaced a couple of coil packs and the cat under warranty. Sadly about three years after that there was a fuel injector failure which resulted in the car being recovered by the RAC to a garage. Oddly enough, on both these occasions, my partner’s mother was in the car with us … omen or just jinxed?

The car has been serviced every 10,000 miles and now has 127,000 miles on the odometer and has had two breakdowns in the 6½ years that I’ve owned it - now I don’t reckon that’s bad. I’ve had the driver’s side seat bolster repaired as it is badly attacked by buttons on my trouser pockets - but again you’d expect this with a car with this mileage. Surprisingly the clutch is still the original, despite handling that level of power so is a testament to the build quality of the car.

Over the last few years, we’ve used the car for road trips to watch the Barcelona F1 and visiting friends in the South of France - a good cruiser with plenty of room for the return trip loaded with crates of wine.

I’ve already said that the car is no match for the RS4, but really the performance is pretty impressive, as you can imagine with 264bhp on tap, the car is no slouch. Given good tyres and a dry road the front wheels grip pretty well, but, as expected, the front will break traction if provoked by some spirited acceleration. I’ve never noticed any torque steer but she does tend to tramline a bit when the tyres are towards the end of their life - but again that can be expected. Understeer? Yes of course, but generally the car has pretty good handling and lived up to the hype that was around when the car was launched. I may put stiffer ARBs on at some point. The car has the standard halogen headlights but I wish the previous owner had specified Xenons. The only thing that was disappointing from day one was the quality of the radio/CD player (RCD300), which I’ve subsequently replaced with a DAB version which has far better sound quality, and means I can listen to PlanetRock whilst driving!

The Monza II alloys are prone to kerbing as the tyres and hub are pretty much flush - I would consider some alloygators after they are refurbished next time.

If only VAG had a 4WD version of this car with that 2litre turbo engine rather than the heavier 3.2l V6 lump - that would be my ideal. However, I guess they do have that - it’s called the Audi S3 (but it only has three doors).

To date, this has been the easiest car to live with in all my years.

All photos: Paul Eldred

The video below shows Paul's Golf GTi on the rolling road at MRC Tuning

Tweet

Volvo V60 R-Design DrivE Long Term Review

Richard Eaton reviews his own Volvo V60 R-Design DrivE

Have you ever seen a Volvo looking so sporty? Courtesy of JJP Automotive Photography

Image courtesy of JJP Automotive Photography

As a petrolhead with a list of previous cars including Lotus', numerous GTI's, Saab Turbo's, Impreza Turbo's etc etc then 5 years ago if you'd said I'd be a Volvo estate owner I'd have thought you were mad. In the words of Dudley Moore in the movie Crazy People I'd always viewed Volvo's as "boxy but good". I've also always hated diesel engines and think they should only be destined for tractors and Land Rovers. So how come 18 months ago I collected a brand new Volvo V60 R-Design, and whisper this next bit, the eco friendly 1.6 diesel DrivE version...

My previous car was a Saab 9-3 2.8 V6 Turbo Sportwagon. Owning a dog and having 2 young children meant that a 2 seater sports car or a 3 door hot hatch wasn't really practical any more. If I was going to have to compomise and have a sensible estate car then it was going to have over 250bhp :) The Saab fitted the bill and reminded me why big turbos are great, and the capacity of the engine meant no lag issues either. 

It also reminded me how thirsty a big turbo car can be when driven enthusiastically which isn't much fun with current fuel prices. At the same time I was thinking about this, we were planning to be living abroad for 3 months in central Europe that involved a 3000 mile round trip and lots of travel while out there. I started looking around for a new car that would have friendlier fuel bills and of course everything that got headline grabbing MPG figures was a) diesel and b) pretty new. 

This got me looking at personal leasing and I spotted a silly deal on Volvo V60s. The great thing was that it was a short lease of just 18 months and was for the sporty R-Design version. The only downside was that it was the eco version with a paltry 115bhp :( 

I really liked the looks of the R Design version and after spending some time poking around them I arranged a test drive to see if I could live with the engine and the huge drop in power. With my sensible head on I decided that I could, and then spent a couple of weeks deciding on exactly what I wanted.

The first thing to decide was colour. I've always had a thing for black cars as nothing can beat the shine you get from a freshly polished black car. The downside of course is keeping them clean. As my previous 4 cars had been black I quite fancied a change. In the end I shortlisted black, white, and red. 

Black was good for all my previous reasons but the trim contrasts around the front of the car and diffuser were lost. White really suited it, especially with the dark wheels, and I've never actually owned a white car. Again though, the contrast was lost with the silver wing mirrors and silver trim elsewhere. 

In the end I went for red as both the black and silver constrasting trim worked really well. Then it was on to the options list where I went for what I considered was the absolute minimum. These were parking sensors, upgraded audio system, and privacy glass. I went for parking sensors as my last couple of cars had them and I'd got used to them. I also knew I'd never forgive myself if I did manage to reverse into something by not having them! 

I did find the lack of them as standard as a strange ommision on a premium car though. The next thing was the upgraded audio that I went for.  Not really for the upgraded speakers/amp etc (which really is stunning by the way) but for the bluetooth handsfree phone integration. Again, a surprising omission on a new car these days. Finally I went for the privacy glass as I knew we'd be spending 3 months abroad in 30 degrees and I wanted to minimise the heat for my children and dog. It also looks fantastic and transforms the look of the car and compliments the dark wheels as Volvo's privacy glass is "proper" limo black. That was it, Volvo ordered...

Fast forward 3 months (I'll spare you the delivery delay story due to the company that delivers all cars to Volvo dealers going bust!) and I went to collect my shiny new car. As soon as I saw it I knew I'd made the right choices of colour and spec, it really did look fantastic.

My first view of my V60 when collecting

Even now I still think it's a great looking car and still fairly rare on motorways full of A4s and 3 series. There are some lovely lines on it, especially with the raked rear profile and swage line that runs right from the front to the rear. This gets more and more pronounced towards the rear of the car where the rear lights emphasise this even more.

The rear or rear 3/4 are the best angles of the car in my opinion as it's very different to any other car out there. The R-Design's rear diffuser and large chromed exhausts (one placed at each side of the diffuser) help to make this work even more. The front end is decent with a purposeful look but is a little safe and nose heavy in comparison to the rest of the car.

I think the rear 3/4 is the best view

So now I'm about to give the V60 back to the leasing company what do I think after clocking up 16,000 miles over 18 months?

Handling/ride/speed

It's the R Design so has lowered sports suspension and 18" wheels. Having driven a non-R Design S60 I noticed that this setup is noticeably stiffer and definitely less prone to body roll through corners. It is a fairly hard suspension setup but not uncomfortably so. 

The great build quality and sound proofing shields you from any harshness or jarring too. The turn into my steep driveway is my quick test for a decent handling stiff chassis. At low speeds as you turn into it a well sorted chassis cocks the rear inside wheel. The V60 passes this test :) 

Out on the road it feels planted with lots of front end grip, well weighted steering, and decent feel for this type of car. The heavy diesel engine becomes apparent though when really pushing on through sharper corners and the overall lack of power leaves it wanting when you really want some fun. 

To get the most of it off the line then it needs some revs so it's on turbo when you dump the clutch, otherwise nothing really happens until the turbo spins up which is disappointing. In day to day driving it's actually pretty usable for most situations though and doesn't feel too slow to make sensible progress. I simply adjusted my driving style and where previously I'd have quickly and safety overtaken a car I now stay behind until a larger safer gap appears.

Comfort/convenience

This is where the V60 really excels. As mentioned previously, I drove across Europe to the Czech Republic which was over 1500 miles that I covered in 2.5 days. Even covering that sort of mileage in a short space of time I never had a single ache, pain, or complaint. The seats are that good that even after driving all day I could have quite happily got back in the car and done it again. 

A combination of cruise control, a comfortable motorway ride, decent visibility, quiet cabin, and excellent audio system meant that I was completely relaxed and the miles and time just flew by. The car's interior is also a really nice place to be and pleasing on the eye. It's simple enough not to be fussy but interesting enough not to be bland. The R Design adds lots of chrome that spices things up nicely and everything feels decent to the touch and is great quality. 

It's got a good sized colour screen in the centre of the console that is modern looking, clear and readable. This is used to display most information like settings, radio, parking sensors, and works well. There are some other nice touches that have been really well thought about that you only appreciate when living the car for a while. One such thing is the front passenger seat that folds completely flat. 

When out in Czech I was refurbishing an apartment and this was great for moving large long pieces of wood. Otherwise these wouldn't have fitted in the car or any other cars of this size. I also found the ski hatch to be useful as I sometimes give presentations and the folded projector screen fits perfectly through this. As for the boot itself then it's not huge like the big old square Volvos of the past. The boot is still big enough for a practical family car but the styling obviously takes it's toll and sacrifices some boot space.

A rather full boot when about to board a ferry across the channel

Even my dog loves the interior

So what's bad about it?

Not much to be honest. I wasn't a fan of the electronic parking brake to start with as I was never sure which way was on or off. After a couple of weeks you soon get used to it though. To some people the ability to use its auto-disengage for easy hill starts is probably a great feature too. The only other niggle is the real life MPG figures compared to the quoted ones. Volvo quote 62 MPG but I always hover around the 50 MPG mark. I have a short 10 mile mainly motorway commute to the office and only get 48 MPG on this trip which is no doubt down to the cold start. On my euro trip then even fully laden (and I mean fully laden!) with cruise set at 70mph I averaged 52 MPG which I was pretty impressed with. I've never managed much more than that though so always take the official figures with a pinch of salt.

So, 18 months on I still think it's a fantastic car and I'll actually be sorry to see it go later this week. Even though the V60 has just had a minor facelift it is still a lovely looking, practical family car. It's great to drive, has excellent build quality, and yes I'd have another one. I guess that's as good as a recommendation for a car as you can get.

Still looking great 18 months on

Tweet

Living with - Alfa Romeo GT

The car - 2005 Alfa Romeo GT JTD
Owner - Stu Rush

I promised to do an honest non-biased write up of owning and driving daily my Alfa GT JTD. I suppose if I had to use a phrase, it would be "Living with", quite fortunate then that this is exactly what it is.




A little history

I'm fortunate that I've known my GT since new as it was first owned by my Alfa-fanatic boss. She had it serviced on the dot and never went above 2000 revs when the engine was cold. It was their third car on the driveway, so had lower than average miles. It was well maintained, hence why I bought it as soon as she mentioned she was thinking about selling. I bought this in September 2011 with 51000 miles on the clock, the car was first registered on January 1st 2006.

First Impressions

The Alfa Romeo GT was launched in 2004, making it nine years old now.  So how does the exterior styling hold up? Has the Italian bella lost her looks? This depends on where you stand, literally. Viewed from the front the headlights are similar to the hatchback cousin the 147 and Great Aunt the 156, dating it as far back then as 1998 and yes, it's looking a little tired.

No multi LEDs here or even blue tinted halogens, but the grille is still unique, that great big Alfa shield taking centre stage like a knight's standard, which is exactly how it was intended to be. This makes it easily identifiable and with the registration plate out on the left hand side it makes a change from the norm.

I have discovered a drawback to this, if you enter the prepay parking car park at *London Olympia, you will still have to get out and speak to the attendant as the automatic number plate recognition cameras cannot see the whole of the plate.  Not a big inconvenience, unless you were one of the several cars stuck behind me the other day.

*other car parks are available





From the sides though this car is still simply gorgeous, not at all dated. The panels and doors that look like they were sculpted from Italian marble by Michelangelo on his victory lap are wonderful, but are also magnets for supermarket shopping trolleys and people-carrier passenger doors, due to the lack of protective strip. Which had they been there would have ruined the aforementioned handy work of Mr Angelo. The rear is, erm...tidy. The high boot does cause some slight visibility issues when reversing, coupled with the smallish rear window, but hey, you spend 99% of the time going forwards right? And it does have rear parking sensors for the squeamish.

Inside, and the toys

Now, opinions are split between us GT owners on this. Yes, leather seats were standard and jolly good they are too with firm sports style bum holders with good lumbar support and after a few hours you still feel pretty much ok. I've owned a 2005 Mondeo and a 2002 Volvo V40 and both had better comfort on long journeys but I think Alfa got the mix of style and substance right considering this is a GT coupe and not a large repmobile or mini cab. The downside though is the plastic dashboard, looking old and even a tad cheap, which is a shame when I think of what they could have done for the same money. Let's remember though that the interior also shares a lot with the 147 and it was cheaper and easier to 'borrow' that rather than start all over again. Poor show there from the purse holders at Fiat.

So what do you get in the GT? Mine is the first batch, not a special edition Blackline or Cloverleaf or even a Q2, so no Bose sound system. The stereo headunit is functional, CD player, 18 presets etc etc. On the plus side, stereo control from the steering wheel is standard, very handy as the head unit buttons are obviously designed for delicate Italian hands and not the rest of us, who bizarrely may actually want to change stations on the motorway at 70mph!

Standard again are aircon and heated front & rear screens and now this is good - individual heater settings. So should your passenger insist that they cannot travel below 25.5°C they can, whilst you relax at a chilly 24°C. Genius. Of course, I'm being sarcastic.  Why bother with that but not improve the dash? I know what I would prefer. The layout of the dials and gauges really is superb for the driver - sporty, easy to read and at night when illuminated, just damn sexy.

The trip computer is basic but useful and has fuel consumption, temperature and tells you the amount of miles left in the tank, though experience tells me to advise you not to trust that. Imagine being in the foot hills of Tuscany at 3am and asking a friendly Italian chap if he thinks you have enough fuel to get to the nearest petrol station -  lots of arm waving & Si Si but you're still not convinced he's telling you the truth or the football scores from Serie A.

Also as standard are ABS and traction control, which can be switched off for erm.. fun.

I digress. The rear seats collapse forward, making the inside huge, thus revealing what many already guessed. The GT is based on the 156 saloon running gear, giving you a very large two door coupe with saloon car boot space. I've had two greyhounds and two suitcases in there on a 3 hour journey, with the dogs stretched out fully and there's still space for your girlfriends shoes, so you know I'm talking serious cavern back there.

Engine and other oily bits

Mine is the 1.9 JTD 16v. This is shared with the Fiat Ducato and Vauxhall Vectra, making it a little cheaper for some parts then going to an Alfa dealer (please note that I would never recommend going to an Alfa dealer for an out of warranty service or part, unless you have more time than God and more money than a high street coffee shop chain on tax returns day). The engine gave 150bhp from the factory and it's pretty torquey, with lots of low down power throughout the six gears. Aside from typical diesel turbo lag, it's a great if a little noisy power plant - and on the motorway is a lot quieter.

You can easily cruise at 90mph (not in this country, and of course that is hearsay) all day long. I've had mine remapped to 190bhp, which got rid of a lot of the turbo lag and gives me smoother acceleration in higher gears. I'm no boy racer any longer but it's nice to have. Of course, this can lead to early turbo and transmission/clutch woes but it was my choice. There are several recommended tuning houses with Alfa experience.

This engine in the JTD Alfa's is noted for EGR clogging issues, but it can be removed by a competent DIYer and cleaned, replaced and as good as new. Mine failed but I bought a new one that was fitted by my local indy Alfa/Fiat garage, not too cheap but my skills and patience are limited. Other than that, it's a good strong engine and unless you have ragged it, even the turbo is known to last a long time.

One important tip though is to check when the timing belt is due to be changed. Alfa handbook says 72000 miles, however owners will tell you from experience that 50,000, or even 35,000 miles is the max. The main reason is that the the water pump is connected to this same pulleys, and this has a notoriously bad plastic design, which can give way therefore taking your timing belt and valves with it. Ignore this advice at your peril!

The gearbox is good, with usual diesel short ratio 1st gear but great leggy higher gears for long pulls throughout the rev range. It's worth noting that the GT has a heavy clutch as normal, but you soon get used to this.

The Fun Stuff

OK, so is it worth the niggles of owning an ageing Alfa Romeo? Yes. What? I have to explain more? OK, let's talk grin factor. Huge, huge amounts for a non supercar or high spec Beamer or Audi. It handles fantastically on corners, even the heavier oil burner. It's a firm ride sure, but it's a GT coupe after all.

On a safe, smooth (yeah, good luck finding one) country lane on a quiet afternoon you can give the impression to other motorists that you are on various happy pills and have possibly just escaped from an institution for the mentally unstable because all they will see is your dumb, grinning face as you exit a bend or crest a hill. This is the main reason to buy the GT, it is so much fun to drive, even on busier roads. I have had many cars but this is the most fun. The double wishbone suspension is efficient and feels safe and firm in a turn. The turbo diesel gives a nice pace, and I'm talking the standard 150bhp here. Not a great car to race from the lights, with an official time for 0-60 at a shade over 9 seconds but when you get going it's plenty for legal use. I cannot praise the torque on this car enough, it feels like it will last for ever.

Daily Driving

I use my GT every day to work and back and weekends, like the rest of you for trips to the shops. I do around 140 miles per week and return on average 42mpg. Of course on motorway journey it goes way way higher, in to the 50's. My commute is 10 miles each way at 50-60mph, which is nice as it keeps that EGR clean with regular driving to flush out those nasty carbon deposits. Oil use is surprisingly low, I had the 2.0 twinspark 156 petrol previously and that uses a lot more than the diesel during it's healthy state. Oh, and avoid potholes, as the firm ride acerbates these and this can result in early demise of your suspension, see Niggles below.

Niggles and What To Look For

Apart from the aforementioned timing belt (and I cannot stress enough the need to check that on this engine) there are not too may notable regular failings. The biggest is probably the suspension - the upper wishbones are notorious for failing early, sometimes as little as 15-20,000 miles and the lower wishbones are not much better, with bushes coming a close third. This is annoying because it's a quality issue Alfa knew about way before the GT was designed. It was first noted on the 156, which you recall has the same running gear as the GT and 147. Again, bad form from Alfa on that one. To get my uppers and track control arm replaced cost around £300. Finally, lower turbo hose is a common failure, as there's a screw or bolt on the gearbox that can rub against it and pierce it. Easily fixed by getting a silicon one with lifetime guarantee for around £50, which is what I did before mine failed, as a preventative measure.

And in conclusion...

Of course I love it, it's why I keep it on the road. It's far from perfect of course but touch wood, it's never let me down in 18 months and 15000 miles. Would I change anything? Yes, I''d get the V6 with it's 3.2 petrol engine. However that's not practical for my wallet, so as a daily driver this car is great. Diesel frugality with sports handling and Italian goddess looks, all for 5k. Feel free to ask me anything about this and I'll be honest with you.

Ciao!

Tweet

Living with - 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe

Tom Smith reviews his own car, a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe

I’m going to come right out and say this, I don’t like my C63.  I should, but I don’t. I fell in love with it on the test drive when I bought it, but living with it, that is a different thing. There, right at the start I am going to upset people who love them, but I have my reasons and honestly they are good ones, (albeit lots and lots of very small ones)!

First, the good bits…

Engine. 6.3ltr V8. Honestly, it is outstanding. In every gear it shines right up until the redline, (even better approaching the redline), it is a work of art. It is an AMG hand built engine and by goodness it shows. AMG really are very good at making engines just that little bit better and this engine is one such example. Worth buying for the noise alone.

Chassis and suspension. Again, AMG tweaked so very good. For a large coupe it rides very well. In many new cars you are overwhelmed with buttons and settings that “let” you tune the car to your personal taste. However, in my experience this tends to end up as a mess (yes Audi I’m looking at you). AMG on the other hand have set the car up for you and you can’t change it. Frankly it works, I still find myself enjoying the ride on UK roads and that in it self is quite an impressive feat.

Lights. OK, so not really something I often even think about in a sports car but seriously the lights on the AMG are amazing. I have the advanced version fitted to my car, projectors that adjust the beam inside the light bit. I’m not sure how it works but it does. Easily the best lighting system I have every used on a car (and I have had a few).

Now if you like cars, that little lot above might lead you to conclude that the AMG is actually a very good, fast and fun 2 door coupe. However, while there are times I drive the car hard (normally to pick my children up from school), where it shines like a diamond in a goat’s ass (I had to look that one up on urban directory), most of the time I drive it to work and have to live with the myriad of issues this car has……

Built by Mercedes!

Yes, that is the main issue I have with this car. All the AMG bits are outstanding. Everything else (built by Mercedes) is total rubbish. Mercedes cannot build cars, period. If you have some romantic notion that Mercedes is a quality car manufacture please give it up now. Honestly in my 20 year car buying history I have never ever been so disappointed with a car and its manufacturer.

Firstly if I may, I would like to list some of the issues I have with the AMG: rattles (lots of), poor UI design between the command system and the driver display screen, poor DAB reception, missing functions in DAB, rubbish voice command system, poor handbrake design, the comedy speakers that hurt your ears, cheap plastics inside the car, steering wheel controls that don’t control the functions you need, fuel warning icons that don’t work, command system that won’t work with iPhone, heated seats that turn themselves off, a sat nav whose voice you can’t turn off, the USB charging point that won’t charge an iPhone and honestly the list goes on and on and on.

These are lots of tiny things, but it is the death by a thousand cuts. These are the issues that kill an outstanding engine and make the car a nightmare to live with. Now I know there are some people who will think I’m a fool for listing all these details and that I should shut up and just drive it, but this is my opinion and it was me who spent the money, so in my eyes, I want what I paid for and this is where Mercedes have totally missed the mark.

One example of the detail Mercedes gets wrong are the phone controls on the steering wheel. They are dead until you use the phone (doesn’t sound too bad does it)? But what if you want to redial a number you just rang? Well use the phone button on the main console because the steering wheel buttons don’t work. Seriously, they don’t work! They only work for an incoming call or ending a live call, nothing else. This is typical of the crazy design, nothing works as you expect and some of it (iPhone data connection) doesn’t work at all. When I wrote to Mercedes asking what they were going to do about the lack of data connection via an iPhone they said, “sorry, buy the new C63 (my13), that works with iPhone”. Brilliant. Again when I pointed out that some DAB stations were not displaying the radio data as they would (gave them the stations and the data) they agreed and said “ah yes this is a known problem; we will fix it some time in 2014”….

Frankly (and this won’t win me any friends in the C63 community), I think that Mercedes buyers in the main are a bit non-technical, otherwise they would be up in arms about just how badly designed (technology wise), the car is.

You note I haven’t mentioned (until now) the fuel consumption. It’s a tad heavy but (and keeping in mind all the above), I have never resented the constant trips to the fuel pump. I knew it was thirsty when I brought it, but the engine is so good, all of the time, I just don’t mind it one bit. Funny.

So, after only 4 months I have decided to sell it. Tomorrow I am driving an R8 V10 followed by a weekend with a C2 991. Honestly I can’t wait, not just because they are great cars but because the C63, just isn’t for me……

(Quick update: I bought the 911).

What about you? Did you find any of the issues I have experienced?

Feel free to follow me on twitter #findtomdotcom

Tweet

Living with - Skoda Octavia vRS

Graham King (of Headboltz) reviews his own car - a Skoda Octavia vRS

People have different ways of judging their financial health. Some judge it by whether or not they can afford a holiday. Some by if they can get that new laptop they've had their eye on. My aim is to have (or at least find) enough spare cash to change car as often as possible. And that's happened quite a lot: after nine years of car ownership, I'm now on number 12.

I've sort of lucked into my latest purchase, coming into an inheritance. And sad though the loss was, suddenly having a pretty sizable wedge of cash dropped into my lap was something of a relief. Because I could finally afford to get rid of my knackered old Focus.

Actually, that's doing it a disservice as it had hardly had an easy life. Even though it was only an 05-plate, it had already done 99,000 miles when I bought it nearly two years ago, which is a lot for a 1.6 petrol. I added another 17k, so it was starting to feel decidedly decrepit. And that wasn't all. It always suffered intermittently from an oddly strangulated power delivery that I never got to the bottom of. Equally, the clutch and gearbox always felt like they were on the cusp of exploding. And since it was a three-door, it wasn't really practical enough, either.

But the biggest problem was that it was frankly rather boring. Brilliant sure, but boring. There just wasn't anything about it that hooked into my emotions. In every quantifiable way, it was a fantastic car. And of course, being a Focus, it was huge fun to hammer down a favourite Yorkshire moorland road. But there was no soul, no character. And I just can't put up with that.

So what to replace it with? I set myself a budget of £7,000 and decided I wanted rear-wheel-drive and six cylinders. Only two cars fit the bill: the BMW 130i and the Nissan 350Z. But the Nissan is only a two-seater and the BM's ride is intolerably hard (at least in M Sport trim, which was all I could find). So they were both out. I scoured the interweb for something else and boiled my options down to one car: the Skoda Octavia vRS.

It ticked all the boxes. It has four doors, it's not that expensive to run and, crucially, it's pretty rapid and a decent steer. I found one on a 10-plate at CarGiant in London (amazing place - literally thousands of cars to choose from and a completely pain-free buying process) and snapped it up as fast as I could. Even the fact it had 85,000 miles didn't put me off. After all, I was getting it three or four grand than cheaper than it'd be with average mileage. And if you didn't know, you couldn't tell - it's as tight as a drum.

Two weeks and 1,200 miles later I'm loving it. Inevitably there are a few niggles. The throttle pedal is hinged on the floor, which is taking some getting used to - I keep putting my foot on the wrong part of it, so pulling away gets a bit jerky, plus it makes heel-and-toe downshifts virtually impossible. The brakes are hard to modulate if I stand on the pedal, too. And the handling seems to work on a need-to-know basis.

But that's it. In every other way, it's pretty awesome. It's plenty fast enough, with a particularly fullsome mid-range that makes overtaking an absolute doddle. It's very comfortable, despite the 18-inch wheels. The grip in bends immense. There's enough space in the back to swallow a large easy-chair. The stereo's fantastic. And it's even only a couple of MPG less economical than the Focus. Basically, it's a hugely capable thing.

But that list is rather rational. And you never love anything on a rational basis, least of all cars. You love something because of its character, which is something my Octavia vRS has in quantities the Focus could only dream of. The exact nature of that character is a bit hard to pin down, but let me ask you this: do you have a friend you've known for years, you can't remember why or how you became friends but you always have an amazing time with them? The Octavia vRS is that friend.

Here's to a long and happy relationship.

Thanks to Graham.  Check out Headboltz here, and follow Graham on Twitter here

Tweet

Living with - Audi TT Mark 1 3.2 V6 Coupe Manual

Colin Hubbard reviews his own car - an Audi TT 3.2 V6

In 1995 Audi showed a futuristic concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show which was a sleek good looking coupe and maybe a teaser of a replacement of the retired Coupe Quattro. In 1998 they started selling that very same car called the TT with near identical exterior and interior, with the exception of the mirrors. It was based upon the Golf Mk4 platform to save development costs of an entirely new chassis.

The name was taken from the legendary Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) Race where German motorbike manufacturer NSU competed.  NSU were bought by the VW Audi Group in 1969 and Audi were so proud of the heritage they revived the TT name in this very car.

We should by now stop taking Audi for granted as they have signed off and more importantly released such greats in the past as the RS2 and Short Wheel base Audi Sport Quattro S1 so the TT was no surprise when they deliver a concept car for the road. They have in more recent times grown even bigger plums creating the R8 which was a successful Supercar straight out of the box.

Anyway, from launch there were just 1.8 litre turbo cars in 180 or 225bhp states of tune and both with a Haldex derived Quattro four wheel system. The Haldex system basically drives the front wheels all the time with 95% of the power and when these wheels are overwhelmed an electronic clutch opens to release varying rates of power to the opposite axle's wheels. The transition from front wheel drive to four wheel drive is seamless so you may as well be driving a four wheel drive car but with benefits of reduced rear tyre wear and better fuel economy. It’s a renowned system appearing on all sorts of cars such as the Bugatti Veyron and various Lamborghinis albeit the rear wheels being primarily driven.

The pinnacle of the TT range is the 3.2 V6 which shared the engine with the Mk4 Golf R32 and wasn’t released until 2003. It uses a VR6 engine developed originally from the Golf Mk3 and Corrado. The VR comes from the German words for short inline engine of Verkürzt and Reihenmotor and the 6 believe it or not from having 6 cylinders. It is a compact unit with a narrow angle V of only 15 degrees and is also described as a staggered six with its compact length originally suited to front wheel drive models but later developed to work in the Haldex equipped TT.

I have previously owned a 225 TT Coupe and it always felt lacking in the go department.  Maybe there was something wrong but it just didn’t feel as fast as it should with do 225 horsepower. The 3.2 litre engine more than cures the power deficit of the 1.8 cars with 247 bhp and 236 torques which is available at the majority of the rev range so I never find it lacking when I need to press on. The book quotes the 0-60 as 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 155mph which is firmly into Boxster territory.

Having owned this car for 2 months now I fall for it more every day.  15 years after the shape was launched and it still looks stunning, in my opinion more so with the V6 extras and anthracite wheels. When originally designing the car Audi took on board what it’s modifiers of early Golfs did and introduced them onto the TT - items such as an aero filler cap and deleted rear wiper, external aerial or side mouldings to highlight the lines of the body. The smooth curvy body with a low roof height works well on the Golf platform and the V6 added a deeper front spoiler and more aggressive rear spoiler to give the stance some attitude.

By far the best part about the car is the noise she makes.  The V6 makes a glorious burble extending to a howl toward the limiter.  If you closed your eyes when it drove past you’d be sure it was something exotic and to me it is. There’s 2 exhaust boxes at the rear and as standard one is fully open with the second opening at higher revs but I have disabled the flap so it’s permanently open which gives me a permanent grin even when pootling around. At lower revs you hear the engine's multi cylinder beat at the front and a burble from the rear exhaust boxes and once you exceed about 4,000rpm the decibels increase to create some motoring sonic harmony.

So we’ve determined it’s a looker and makes the right noises but the engine's also a cracker in terms of punch, it pulls quicker towards the upper rev range but also makes more noise up there which is very addictive when caning it and very satisfying to thrash. The Americans often say ‘there ain't no substitute for Cubic inches’ but I would counter this with ‘there ain’t no substitute for multiple cylinders’ as the best way to get a glorious voice is by adding cylinders and especially in a V configuration. You may be able to tune a 4 pot turbo to create more power than a V6 but you don’t get the same satisfaction of noise delivered which is massively part of the driving experience. My wife who isn’t a petrolhead recently stole it for 2 weeks by claiming there was a spider in her car and she couldn’t drive it in case she saw it, I don’t believe her and think it was just an excuse to get friendly with the grey burbler.

Being a Quattro car means secure handling and thus equipped with a sporty set up from the factory means it sticks to the road like John Prescot to a pie. I haven’t found it’s limits yet in the dry despite some serious tomfoolery and find it just digs deeper and deeper into the road. Yes it doesn’t want to play like its rear driven rivals, there’s no oversteer or understeer but I like the planted feeling and the confidence to keep the engine on the boil whenever I want.

On the V6 models the battery was moved to the boot to even the weight distribution and it has much higher front tyre pressures to cope with the heavier front end of the 3.2 litre engine. The damping is spot on and the springs not too crashy like modern day S-Line equipped Audis so back lane progress is swift as you don’t have to worry about bottoming out or bending an alloy on rogue potholes.

Mine's the cream of the crop of TT’s being equipped with a manual gearbox -  and it’s a good one - a sweet, swift action with 6 closely ratioed gears keeping the engine in its upper rev sweet-spot. The clutch has a positive feel and because it’s a manual you have more of an interaction with the car, working the engine to its optimum revs, clutch in, accurate shift action to the next forward cog, modulating the throttle at just the right time to release the next gear. Manual gearboxes are becoming unfashionable with twin clutch autos becoming faster and better (on paper) for emissions so I was ecstatic to find this manual car with a sweet change action.

The steering is a little dead and offers little feedback but I have found a cure for this. When it went into the garage for some work they advised it had worn bushes on the rear of the front wishbone. I looked for a replacement and found an article about how when the TT was released there were multiple high speed crashes involving clueless yuppies and so Audi made some changes to the suspension, added a rear spoiler and ESP.

The changes to the suspension were to replace the front wishbones with ones with much larger rubber bushing taking a lot of precision out of the steering to make it more stable. It was as unstable as a Segway with a bad battery but they had to react to the claims it was dangerous. So I found that a few companies that now make metal inserts for the ‘safe’ wishbones which replicate the size of the originals.  I will be installing these and reporting back with my findings, I hope that it makes the steering more focused without sending me down the modifying route of trying to make it handle even better.

The brakes are adequate for the job being oversized front discs with 2 piston callipers and a standard GTI set-up at the rear. I haven’t experienced any fade to date and they modulate well at lower speeds without being too overservoed. I’m sure they will work much better when I paint the callipers red!!

The inside's an opulent nice place to be, cosy in that it’s quite small in there but it’s still capable of taking 2 small kids in the rear, 2 adults up front and a whole week's shopping in the boot (minus the beer obviously!). It’s referred to as a 2 plus 2 but that’s not quite right because you cannot get an occasional adult in the rear unless they are officially 4 feet tall, or have no head. Its not just the lack of legroom, which you could understand, and move the front seat forward but the head height.  This is highlighted by the various stickers advising caution when closing the boot when there are rear passengers as the glass will slam on their head if sat upright. I wouldn’t be so mean as to put an adult in the back but the kids absolutely love it as the rear seats are a perfect fit and they think of it as their little den, a throbbing gurgling (the car not the kids) den!

The design of the interior is pure concept car with beautiful touches like metal dimpled circular rings dotted about from the gearshift surround to the heater surrounds you rotate to adjust and a metal lift down flap with ‘TT’ on for the stereo when not in use. The front seats are a good place to be, they could have more support when cornering but overall are a comfortable place for a 3 hour journey. The V6 was treated to an all alloy gearknob which looks great but is not as comfortable in feel as leather one.

There aren’t many true rivals to this car, being a 2 + 2 (questionable), four wheel drive, V6, manual, in fact I can’t think of any so the closest are BMW 130i and Golf R32. It beats the mechanically identical Golf on handling as its got a lower centre of gravity and the BMW on looks as it’s much sexier and sleeker than the ugly 130i even though the BMW is much more playful. It’s entirely down to preference, style over substance maybe but my preference is the VAG product.

As I don’t do many miles the running costs don’t bother me, 25mpg on average isn’t great but with that engine tone I really don’t care, tax is only £280 per annum and servicing’s cheap being done by me in my own garage. I can’t see me being hit with any major bills either, parts are freely available at a reasonable price and the clutch replacement is only a grand.

Every car has its bad points and currently I can find only two. The first is that the roofline is low and curves in aggressively from the side window line so whilst there’s plenty of headroom looking ahead when you look sideways you bang your head on the side of the roof lining.  It’s hugely annoying every time it makes contact. Second is when the screenwash is getting low, a cartoon squirter appears on the dash display and won’t turn off until you fill up. You can see it there flashing away at you like a garden sprinkler as the rage grows inside, if only you could turn it off Audi!!!!

To sum up it’s a great looking car, a future classic that hasn’t lost its good looks in 15 years and fitted with the best gearbox and engine combo it’s a joy to drive and enjoy. Considering I change my cars every 12 months or so at this moment in time I want to hang onto this one for as long as possible until petrol becomes more expensive than Vodka and that’s about the highest praise you’ll get from me.

Article by Colin Hubbard

Tweet