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Road Test: Volvo S80 2.4 4dr [140bhp] | Top Gear

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The best things don't come in threes, they come in fives. You know, like the Jackson Five, high fives, five gooo-old rings, five Porsche 911s, er...oh yes, and this five-cylinder Volvo S80.So on this occasion, then, why, you may ask, does five=good? Well, we've already tested a six-cylinder, twin-turbo Volvo S80 T6 and found it to be something of an irrelevance. Quick, most definitely, yet lacking in driver excitement as well as being low on prestige for its high sticker price.

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and this five-cylinder Volvo S80.So on this occasion

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twin-turbo Volvo S80 T6 and found it to be something of an irrelevance. Quick

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yet lacking in driver excitement as well as being low on prestige for its high sticker price.This new entry-level five cylinder S80 somehow makes an awful lot of sense. For starters

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
just look at that price. At a deeply reasonable £22

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300 less than the T6. And despite an on-paper deficit of one cylinder and 132bhp

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it also convincingly retains all the qualities of its plusher and dearer cousin.Comfort is what it's all about. Relax into the huge cabin and the seats offer just about the right blend of support and squashiness. The driving position is multi-adjustable and claustrophobics will love the acres of elbow wiggling space available in all directions.Only Volvo's nannying safety efforts disturb the calm in the cabin

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the headlights staying permanently on and an alarm grating away to tell the driver off for removing his or her seatbelt

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even if only to reverse into the garage.Still

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those whose journeys take in the joys of the Watford Gap and Scratchwood Services will appreciate the fact that this S80 is a supreme motorway cruiser. Unlike the lumpy ride of every other Volvo I can think of

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this car smooths over broken surfaces which still avoiding nausea-provoking remoteness from the road.Its in-line five-cylinder

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2.4-litre 20-valve powerplant also settles to an unintrusively refined cruise. Power output might initially seem stingy at 140bhp (there's also a 170bhp version on the five-cylinder theme for an extra £1

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575) but any shortfall really isn't noticeable - this engine pulls strongly through the gears. It even produces an excellent burble when pushed

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just like the in-line fives that powered Audi's 80's Quattro rally cars - well almost.More power

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isn't always the finest idea. This lowliest five-cylinder S80 also feels lighter on its feet

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its saner output being a better match for the S80's stable and composed - although in no way exciting - front-wheel0drive chassis.Like I said before

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five really can be best. Just let's not mention Five Star

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The best things don't come in threes, they come in fives. You know, like the Jackson Five, high fives, five gooo-old rings, five Porsche 911s, er...oh yes, and this five-cylinder Volvo S80.

So on this occasion, then, why, you may ask, does five=good? Well, we've already tested a six-cylinder, twin-turbo Volvo S80 T6 and found it to be something of an irrelevance. Quick, most definitely, yet lacking in driver excitement as well as being low on prestige for its high sticker price.

This new entry-level five cylinder S80 somehow makes an awful lot of sense. For starters, just look at that price. At a deeply reasonable £22,930 it's a full £13,300 less than the T6. And despite an on-paper deficit of one cylinder and 132bhp, it also convincingly retains all the qualities of its plusher and dearer cousin.

Comfort is what it's all about. Relax into the huge cabin and the seats offer just about the right blend of support and squashiness. The driving position is multi-adjustable and claustrophobics will love the acres of elbow wiggling space available in all directions.

Only Volvo's nannying safety efforts disturb the calm in the cabin, the headlights staying permanently on and an alarm grating away to tell the driver off for removing his or her seatbelt, even if only to reverse into the garage.

Still, those whose journeys take in the joys of the Watford Gap and Scratchwood Services will appreciate the fact that this S80 is a supreme motorway cruiser. Unlike the lumpy ride of every other Volvo I can think of, this car smooths over broken surfaces which still avoiding nausea-provoking remoteness from the road.

Its in-line five-cylinder, 2.4-litre 20-valve powerplant also settles to an unintrusively refined cruise. Power output might initially seem stingy at 140bhp (there's also a 170bhp version on the five-cylinder theme for an extra £1,575) but any shortfall really isn't noticeable - this engine pulls strongly through the gears. It even produces an excellent burble when pushed, just like the in-line fives that powered Audi's 80's Quattro rally cars - well almost.

More power, as the T6 proves, isn't always the finest idea. This lowliest five-cylinder S80 also feels lighter on its feet, its saner output being a better match for the S80's stable and composed - although in no way exciting - front-wheel0drive chassis.

Like I said before, five really can be best. Just let's not mention Five Star, bunches of five or the Famous Five.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
The best things don't come in threes, they come in fives. You know, like the Jackson Five, high fives, five gooo-old rings, five Porsche 911s, er...oh yes, and this five-cylinder Volvo S80.

So on this occasion, then, why, you may ask, does five=good? Well, we've already tested a six-cylinder, twin-turbo Volvo S80 T6 and found it to be something of an irrelevance. Quick, most definitely, yet lacking in driver excitement as well as being low on prestige for its high sticker price.

This new entry-level five cylinder S80 somehow makes an awful lot of sense. For starters, just look at that price. At a deeply reasonable £22,930 it's a full £13,300 less than the T6. And despite an on-paper deficit of one cylinder and 132bhp, it also convincingly retains all the qualities of its plusher and dearer cousin.

Comfort is what it's all about. Relax into the huge cabin and the seats offer just about the right blend of support and squashiness. The driving position is multi-adjustable and claustrophobics will love the acres of elbow wiggling space available in all directions.

Only Volvo's nannying safety efforts disturb the calm in the cabin, the headlights staying permanently on and an alarm grating away to tell the driver off for removing his or her seatbelt, even if only to reverse into the garage.

Still, those whose journeys take in the joys of the Watford Gap and Scratchwood Services will appreciate the fact that this S80 is a supreme motorway cruiser. Unlike the lumpy ride of every other Volvo I can think of, this car smooths over broken surfaces which still avoiding nausea-provoking remoteness from the road.

Its in-line five-cylinder, 2.4-litre 20-valve powerplant also settles to an unintrusively refined cruise. Power output might initially seem stingy at 140bhp (there's also a 170bhp version on the five-cylinder theme for an extra £1,575) but any shortfall really isn't noticeable - this engine pulls strongly through the gears. It even produces an excellent burble when pushed, just like the in-line fives that powered Audi's 80's Quattro rally cars - well almost.

More power, as the T6 proves, isn't always the finest idea. This lowliest five-cylinder S80 also feels lighter on its feet, its saner output being a better match for the S80's stable and composed - although in no way exciting - front-wheel0drive chassis.

Like I said before, five really can be best. Just let's not mention Five Star, bunches of five or the Famous Five.

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Road Test: Porsche 911 S 2dr PDK | Top Gear

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Even the seats are all-new, and superb. But some things never change. The 997 fires up with arich baritone gurgle that'll be familiar to anyone who's travelled in a 911. Yes it's that flat-six engine, making that noise. It's one of the reasons we come here, time and again. An aural drug.

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and superb. But some things never change. The 997 fires up with arich baritone gurgle that'll be familiar to anyone who's travelled in a 911. Yes it's that flat-six engine

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making that noise. It's one of the reasons we come here

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
time and again. An aural drug.Then there's the 911's throttle response - there's no inertia

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
just response. Nor do you need any finesse pulling away - no 911 has ever been easier to drive. The new gearbox is never less than brilliant. No 911 has ever been this refined

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it's quiet and compliant - in 'normal' mode

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anyway - and smothers surface imperfections brilliantly. This 911 minds its manners.Naturally

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and feels fast pretty much all the time: 0-60mph takes 4.8secs

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top speed is 182mph. But bury your right foot in third

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and its engine begins to howl its signature tune. The 997 has Porsche's Variocam-plus variable intake timing and a redesigned induction system

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so it feels as if it has the lungs of Pavarotti himself.There is seamless urge throughout

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800rpm. You soon get hooked; reading the rev counter in anticipation - helpfully

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it's the dial right in front of you. Soon you're moving through traffic at volcanic pace

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irrespective of the weather. We saw 160mph

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in greasy conditions. Yet the car handles it with supreme confidence

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and ensures that you can too. The 997 has all the uniqueness of a classic 911

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am I trying to find them. Yet on a badly surfaced

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the Porsche's handling is never less than electric. Perhaps its steering isn't as impressive as a 911's usually is -it's too light at low speeds - but it gets better the harder you go. And while the 997 loses the bobbing nose

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the pattering front wheels and the steering wheel jiggle

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accompanied by a new composure. The 997 is almost wholly resistant to under - andoversteer. And all this in 'normal' mode (Sport is best left for track-day work - the ride's fidgetiness doesn't bring enough payback).The best Porsche 911 yet? I'd say so. Probably the best sports car

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full stop. Not to mention a bargain at £65

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safer and prettier. I don't know what your average druid is looking for

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Even the seats are all-new, and superb. But some things never change. The 997 fires up with arich baritone gurgle that'll be familiar to anyone who's travelled in a 911. Yes it's that flat-six engine, making that noise. It's one of the reasons we come here, time and again. An aural drug.

Then there's the 911's throttle response - there's no inertia, no dead time, just response. Nor do you need any finesse pulling away - no 911 has ever been easier to drive. The new gearbox is never less than brilliant. No 911 has ever been this refined, either. Despite those huge tyres, it's quiet and compliant - in 'normal' mode, anyway - and smothers surface imperfections brilliantly. This 911 minds its manners.

Naturally, it can turn rude in an instant. And, of course, it's fast, and feels fast pretty much all the time: 0-60mph takes 4.8secs, top speed is 182mph. But bury your right foot in third, and its engine begins to howl its signature tune. The 997 has Porsche's Variocam-plus variable intake timing and a redesigned induction system, so it feels as if it has the lungs of Pavarotti himself.

There is seamless urge throughout, but a definite, utterly addictive kick arrives at 5,800rpm. You soon get hooked; reading the rev counter in anticipation - helpfully, it's the dial right in front of you. Soon you're moving through traffic at volcanic pace, overtaking with room and time to spare, irrespective of the weather. We saw 160mph, in greasy conditions. Yet the car handles it with supreme confidence, and ensures that you can too. The 997 has all the uniqueness of a classic 911, and none of its vices.

And, boy, am I trying to find them. Yet on a badly surfaced, undulating road, the Porsche's handling is never less than electric. Perhaps its steering isn't as impressive as a 911's usually is -it's too light at low speeds - but it gets better the harder you go. And while the 997 loses the bobbing nose, the pattering front wheels and the steering wheel jiggle, the traction out of corners remains, accompanied by a new composure. The 997 is almost wholly resistant to under - andoversteer. And all this in 'normal' mode (Sport is best left for track-day work - the ride's fidgetiness doesn't bring enough payback).

The best Porsche 911 yet? I'd say so. Probably the best sports car, full stop. Not to mention a bargain at £65,000. The 997 is faster, safer and prettier. I don't know what your average druid is looking for, but this answers all my prayers.

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Even the seats are all-new, and superb. But some things never change. The 997 fires up with arich baritone gurgle that'll be familiar to anyone who's travelled in a 911. Yes it's that flat-six engine, making that noise. It's one of the reasons we come here, time and again. An aural drug.

Then there's the 911's throttle response - there's no inertia, no dead time, just response. Nor do you need any finesse pulling away - no 911 has ever been easier to drive. The new gearbox is never less than brilliant. No 911 has ever been this refined, either. Despite those huge tyres, it's quiet and compliant - in 'normal' mode, anyway - and smothers surface imperfections brilliantly. This 911 minds its manners.

Naturally, it can turn rude in an instant. And, of course, it's fast, and feels fast pretty much all the time: 0-60mph takes 4.8secs, top speed is 182mph. But bury your right foot in third, and its engine begins to howl its signature tune. The 997 has Porsche's Variocam-plus variable intake timing and a redesigned induction system, so it feels as if it has the lungs of Pavarotti himself.

There is seamless urge throughout, but a definite, utterly addictive kick arrives at 5,800rpm. You soon get hooked; reading the rev counter in anticipation - helpfully, it's the dial right in front of you. Soon you're moving through traffic at volcanic pace, overtaking with room and time to spare, irrespective of the weather. We saw 160mph, in greasy conditions. Yet the car handles it with supreme confidence, and ensures that you can too. The 997 has all the uniqueness of a classic 911, and none of its vices.

And, boy, am I trying to find them. Yet on a badly surfaced, undulating road, the Porsche's handling is never less than electric. Perhaps its steering isn't as impressive as a 911's usually is -it's too light at low speeds - but it gets better the harder you go. And while the 997 loses the bobbing nose, the pattering front wheels and the steering wheel jiggle, the traction out of corners remains, accompanied by a new composure. The 997 is almost wholly resistant to under - andoversteer. And all this in 'normal' mode (Sport is best left for track-day work - the ride's fidgetiness doesn't bring enough payback).

The best Porsche 911 yet? I'd say so. Probably the best sports car, full stop. Not to mention a bargain at £65,000. The 997 is faster, safer and prettier. I don't know what your average druid is looking for, but this answers all my prayers.

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Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe 2dr

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Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe 2dr | Top Gear

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Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe 2dr

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"So," says our driver, "Lamborghini." As he swings the nose of the Merc E-Class through the gates of the Sant' Agata factory something deep down in the pit of my stomach squirms, just the once.Excitement? Well, yes of course. But let's be honest here, it's nerves as well, nerves and maybe a little fear. After all, this is the place where they build the monster cars.

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Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe 2dr

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Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe 2dr

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"Lamborghini." As he swings the nose of the Merc E-Class through the gates of the Sant' Agata factory something deep down in the pit of my stomach squirms

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
nerves and maybe a little fear. After all

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this is the place where they build the monster cars.Today though should be a low stress day because we are here to drive what is being billed as the most useable and most user friendly Lambo yet

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the Gallardo. Or to use its affectionate soubriquet

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the 'baby Lambo'.Baby Lambo my ass. This one looks just as big and bad and brutal as anything that's gone before it. The original design was based on an Italdesign-Giugiaro style proposal. This was subsequently reworked by the Lamborghini Centro Stile team. It certainly isn't difficult to spot similarities between the Gallardo and Lamborghini Centro Stile's other recent work

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the Murcielago.Look at the car from the side and especially after examining the rear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it comes almost as a shock to notice how exquisitely beautiful it is. But still

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
there's something verging on the unsettling

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'Sure. Step in. We'll have a blast. But no guarantees which time zone or galaxy we'll end up in OK?'Insert the key into the ignition

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turn it once and there's an electronic whirring buzz behind your ears as the fuel pump takes a good

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
long draught. There's no starter button to bother with

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
all you've got to do is turn the key the rest of the way.Anyone driving a standard Ferrari 360 Modena has a hale and hearty 400bhp at their disposal

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but your discerning Porsche 911 Turbo customer can trump that with 414bhp from that unburstable boxer unit. Lamborghini

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
has gone one better. Actually make that two better if we are counting the number of extra cylinders over the Ferrari

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and 78 better if we are counting the extra bhp over the Porsche. Lamborghini has given the Gallardo a 492bhp V10.This V10 engine is awesome. There's a world of torque on offer. Lamborghini says that 80 per cent of the total 376lb ft is available from as low as 1

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
500rpm and it feels believable. Then there is a world of horsepower to revel in at high revs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with the engine not mustering its full 492bhp until 7

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
800rpm. The combination of big power and massive torque is a fantastic one and the screaming of the engine adds another almost live

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
almost animal dimension.You get the same feeling under hard deceleration

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
thanks to the massive ventilated discs - 365 x 34mm at the front and 335 x 32mm at the rear - stuffed inside the alloy wheels and combined with the ABS and EBD systems.After the size of the thing

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the next confidence booster is the steering. It is superbly weighted and ultra direct. Think Lotus Elise but bigger and you are on the right track. Choose a line and the Gallardo sticks to it.If you buy a Gallardo

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there's probably a lot more technology under the skin now than there might have been had Lamborghini still been operating under its own steam and not Audi's. A lot of that technology is clearly in place to help keep the car on the road. But do not confuse safe with boring

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
for that is so not the case with this car. OK

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
ever feels like it is doing everything for you. Behind the wheel you don't

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you sit at the epicentre of a storm of raw excitement. The Lamborghini line these days is that even with all the German technology and engineering

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
twistier roads where it feels trully amazing.Could you live with one every day though once you have handed over the estimated £120

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000 price and taken delivery early next year? I'd definitely have it over a Porsche 911 Turbo or a Ferrari 360. Of course the proof will be when we line up all three cars together

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I don't think I'll care very much. But that's for another day. Here we are back at the factory. With the Diablo you used to utter a little sigh of relief on returning

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for this is one car you never want to hand back. Not ever.Angus Frazer

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"So," says our driver, "Lamborghini." As he swings the nose of the Merc E-Class through the gates of the Sant' Agata factory something deep down in the pit of my stomach squirms, just the once.

Excitement? Well, yes of course. But let's be honest here, it's nerves as well, nerves and maybe a little fear. After all, this is the place where they build the monster cars.

Today though should be a low stress day because we are here to drive what is being billed as the most useable and most user friendly Lambo yet, the Gallardo. Or to use its affectionate soubriquet, the 'baby Lambo'.

Baby Lambo my ass. This one looks just as big and bad and brutal as anything that's gone before it. The original design was based on an Italdesign-Giugiaro style proposal. This was subsequently reworked by the Lamborghini Centro Stile team. It certainly isn't difficult to spot similarities between the Gallardo and Lamborghini Centro Stile's other recent work, the Murcielago.

Look at the car from the side and especially after examining the rear, it comes almost as a shock to notice how exquisitely beautiful it is. But still, there's something verging on the unsettling, something alien that whispers, 'Sure. Step in. We'll have a blast. But no guarantees which time zone or galaxy we'll end up in OK?'

Insert the key into the ignition, turn it once and there's an electronic whirring buzz behind your ears as the fuel pump takes a good, long draught. There's no starter button to bother with, all you've got to do is turn the key the rest of the way.

Anyone driving a standard Ferrari 360 Modena has a hale and hearty 400bhp at their disposal, thanks to that marvellous V8, but your discerning Porsche 911 Turbo customer can trump that with 414bhp from that unburstable boxer unit. Lamborghini, however, has gone one better. Actually make that two better if we are counting the number of extra cylinders over the Ferrari, and 78 better if we are counting the extra bhp over the Porsche. Lamborghini has given the Gallardo a 492bhp V10.

This V10 engine is awesome. There's a world of torque on offer. Lamborghini says that 80 per cent of the total 376lb ft is available from as low as 1,500rpm and it feels believable. Then there is a world of horsepower to revel in at high revs, with the engine not mustering its full 492bhp until 7,800rpm. The combination of big power and massive torque is a fantastic one and the screaming of the engine adds another almost live, almost animal dimension.

You get the same feeling under hard deceleration, thanks to the massive ventilated discs - 365 x 34mm at the front and 335 x 32mm at the rear - stuffed inside the alloy wheels and combined with the ABS and EBD systems.

After the size of the thing, the next confidence booster is the steering. It is superbly weighted and ultra direct. Think Lotus Elise but bigger and you are on the right track. Choose a line and the Gallardo sticks to it.

If you buy a Gallardo, there's probably a lot more technology under the skin now than there might have been had Lamborghini still been operating under its own steam and not Audi's. A lot of that technology is clearly in place to help keep the car on the road. But do not confuse safe with boring, for that is so not the case with this car. OK, so it does give you a lot of help, but it never, ever feels like it is doing everything for you. Behind the wheel you don't, for one moment, feel left out of the action. Instead, when you drive it hard, you sit at the epicentre of a storm of raw excitement. The Lamborghini line these days is that even with all the German technology and engineering, the Latin spirit still rules the car, especially on smaller, twistier roads where it feels trully amazing.

Could you live with one every day though once you have handed over the estimated £120,000 price and taken delivery early next year? I'd definitely have it over a Porsche 911 Turbo or a Ferrari 360. Of course the proof will be when we line up all three cars together, and even then, if I'm proved wrong on a technicality, I don't think I'll care very much. But that's for another day. Here we are back at the factory. With the Diablo you used to utter a little sigh of relief on returning, but all I feel now is despair, for this is one car you never want to hand back. Not ever.

Angus Frazer

# data[].attributes.body.processed
"So," says our driver, "Lamborghini." As he swings the nose of the Merc E-Class through the gates of the Sant' Agata factory something deep down in the pit of my stomach squirms, just the once.

Excitement? Well, yes of course. But let's be honest here, it's nerves as well, nerves and maybe a little fear. After all, this is the place where they build the monster cars.

Today though should be a low stress day because we are here to drive what is being billed as the most useable and most user friendly Lambo yet, the Gallardo. Or to use its affectionate soubriquet, the 'baby Lambo'.

Baby Lambo my ass. This one looks just as big and bad and brutal as anything that's gone before it. The original design was based on an Italdesign-Giugiaro style proposal. This was subsequently reworked by the Lamborghini Centro Stile team. It certainly isn't difficult to spot similarities between the Gallardo and Lamborghini Centro Stile's other recent work, the Murcielago.

Look at the car from the side and especially after examining the rear, it comes almost as a shock to notice how exquisitely beautiful it is. But still, there's something verging on the unsettling, something alien that whispers, 'Sure. Step in. We'll have a blast. But no guarantees which time zone or galaxy we'll end up in OK?'

Insert the key into the ignition, turn it once and there's an electronic whirring buzz behind your ears as the fuel pump takes a good, long draught. There's no starter button to bother with, all you've got to do is turn the key the rest of the way.

Anyone driving a standard Ferrari 360 Modena has a hale and hearty 400bhp at their disposal, thanks to that marvellous V8, but your discerning Porsche 911 Turbo customer can trump that with 414bhp from that unburstable boxer unit. Lamborghini, however, has gone one better. Actually make that two better if we are counting the number of extra cylinders over the Ferrari, and 78 better if we are counting the extra bhp over the Porsche. Lamborghini has given the Gallardo a 492bhp V10.

This V10 engine is awesome. There's a world of torque on offer. Lamborghini says that 80 per cent of the total 376lb ft is available from as low as 1,500rpm and it feels believable. Then there is a world of horsepower to revel in at high revs, with the engine not mustering its full 492bhp until 7,800rpm. The combination of big power and massive torque is a fantastic one and the screaming of the engine adds another almost live, almost animal dimension.

You get the same feeling under hard deceleration, thanks to the massive ventilated discs - 365 x 34mm at the front and 335 x 32mm at the rear - stuffed inside the alloy wheels and combined with the ABS and EBD systems.

After the size of the thing, the next confidence booster is the steering. It is superbly weighted and ultra direct. Think Lotus Elise but bigger and you are on the right track. Choose a line and the Gallardo sticks to it.

If you buy a Gallardo, there's probably a lot more technology under the skin now than there might have been had Lamborghini still been operating under its own steam and not Audi's. A lot of that technology is clearly in place to help keep the car on the road. But do not confuse safe with boring, for that is so not the case with this car. OK, so it does give you a lot of help, but it never, ever feels like it is doing everything for you. Behind the wheel you don't, for one moment, feel left out of the action. Instead, when you drive it hard, you sit at the epicentre of a storm of raw excitement. The Lamborghini line these days is that even with all the German technology and engineering, the Latin spirit still rules the car, especially on smaller, twistier roads where it feels trully amazing.

Could you live with one every day though once you have handed over the estimated £120,000 price and taken delivery early next year? I'd definitely have it over a Porsche 911 Turbo or a Ferrari 360. Of course the proof will be when we line up all three cars together, and even then, if I'm proved wrong on a technicality, I don't think I'll care very much. But that's for another day. Here we are back at the factory. With the Diablo you used to utter a little sigh of relief on returning, but all I feel now is despair, for this is one car you never want to hand back. Not ever.

Angus Frazer

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD Overland 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD Overland 5dr Auto | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD Overland 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
It's not exactly the school run. We're 5,000 feet up in a white-out blizzard. The tarmac disappeared way back, the verges shortly afterwards and now the sky's thick with snow. All I can see are the thin poles marking the edges of where a road once was.There are wolves and bears outside, pools of steaming mud just off the road and a drop of several hundred feet into a canyon just, well, somewhere over there. Fortunately, I am in a school-run motor.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD Overland 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD Overland 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
It's not exactly the school run. We're 5

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
000 feet up in a white-out blizzard. The tarmac disappeared way back

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the verges shortly afterwards and now the sky's thick with snow. All I can see are the thin poles marking the edges of where a road once was.There are wolves and bears outside

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
pools of steaming mud just off the road and a drop of several hundred feet into a canyon just

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I am in a school-run motor.It's a big 4x4. A Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD Overland

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
in fact. It's just another day in Montana and I'm in Yellowstone Park where despite warning notices about charging bison and scalding mud

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
several dozen people get gored and boiled to death every year. (Pause for cruel joke about Americans.)A charging bison can do 30mph - which would comfortably catch our Grand Cherokee in this white stuff. Even if it isrunning in Quadra-Drive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which is Jeep's sophisticated torque-sensing 4x4 system and more capable than most.However

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I digress. The ability to cope with white-out blizzards is rather a theoretical requirement in the suburban jungle where this Grand Cherokee is most likely to be put to work. There

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
big plush four-by-four off-roaders are one of the vehicles of choice for rather different reasons. Status and physical presence being two of these.The Grand Cherokee has been a tad left behind on both those counts by newer arrivals

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
like the BMW X5 and M-Class Mercedes. It didn't help its own cause by preferring good ol' - but expensive - US V8 grunt to the maybe less inspiring but more frugal diesels of its rivals.A Daimler diesel was slotted into one model of the big Jeep a year back and now the same unit has found its way into the range-topping Overland to provide the sort of posh oil-burner we Europeans apparently want.Which means it comes with all the trimmings - a 10-disc CD player

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
redwood burl trim for the dash and five-spoke alloys - plus rock rails to protect the sills should you be eccentric enough to actually take it off road. The ride has been improved for 2003models

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and brakes and steering have both been made lighter - quite why the latter was thought necessary is hard to fathom as steering the big Jeep has never raised a sweat. Nor was the ride exactly brick-like.The five-cylinder 2.7-litre common-rail diesel has the sort of easy-going pull you expect from such a unit. It produces 163bhp but

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
000 revs. It fulfils all the requirements of a modern diesel: it's quiet (aside from a little background chattering noise at start-up)

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
feels comfortable at motorway speeds and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
doesn't entirely disgrace itself when called upon to out-accelerate a bison from a standing start.The Overland is being built in Austria for the Euro-market

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but is unashamedly Yank in the soft seating

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and feel and style of the cabin. And why not? A few days Stateside reminds you that this is a place where going off-road means a whole lot more than putting two wheels up on the kerb.Kevin Blick 

# data[].attributes.body.value
It's not exactly the school run. We're 5,000 feet up in a white-out blizzard. The tarmac disappeared way back, the verges shortly afterwards and now the sky's thick with snow. All I can see are the thin poles marking the edges of where a road once was.

There are wolves and bears outside, pools of steaming mud just off the road and a drop of several hundred feet into a canyon just, well, somewhere over there. Fortunately, I am in a school-run motor.

It's a big 4x4. A Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD Overland, in fact. It's just another day in Montana and I'm in Yellowstone Park where despite warning notices about charging bison and scalding mud, several dozen people get gored and boiled to death every year. (Pause for cruel joke about Americans.)

A charging bison can do 30mph - which would comfortably catch our Grand Cherokee in this white stuff. Even if it is

running in Quadra-Drive, which is Jeep's sophisticated torque-sensing 4x4 system and more capable than most.

However, I digress. The ability to cope with white-out blizzards is rather a theoretical requirement in the suburban jungle where this Grand Cherokee is most likely to be put to work. There, big plush four-by-four off-roaders are one of the vehicles of choice for rather different reasons. Status and physical presence being two of these.

The Grand Cherokee has been a tad left behind on both those counts by newer arrivals, like the BMW X5 and M-Class Mercedes. It didn't help its own cause by preferring good ol' - but expensive - US V8 grunt to the maybe less inspiring but more frugal diesels of its rivals.

A Daimler diesel was slotted into one model of the big Jeep a year back and now the same unit has found its way into the range-topping Overland to provide the sort of posh oil-burner we Europeans apparently want.

Which means it comes with all the trimmings - a 10-disc CD player, suede and leather trim, powered seats, redwood burl trim for the dash and five-spoke alloys - plus rock rails to protect the sills should you be eccentric enough to actually take it off road. The ride has been improved for 2003

models, and brakes and steering have both been made lighter - quite why the latter was thought necessary is hard to fathom as steering the big Jeep has never raised a sweat. Nor was the ride exactly brick-like.

The five-cylinder 2.7-litre common-rail diesel has the sort of easy-going pull you expect from such a unit. It produces 163bhp but, more importantly, 295lb ft of torque from under 2,000 revs. It fulfils all the requirements of a modern diesel: it's quiet (aside from a little background chattering noise at start-up), isn't too thirsty (29.1mpg), feels comfortable at motorway speeds and, while it isn't exactly quick, doesn't entirely disgrace itself when called upon to out-accelerate a bison from a standing start.

The Overland is being built in Austria for the Euro-market, but is unashamedly Yank in the soft seating, lush ride, and feel and style of the cabin. And why not? A few days Stateside reminds you that this is a place where going off-road means a whole lot more than putting two wheels up on the kerb.

Kevin Blick

# data[].attributes.body.processed
It's not exactly the school run. We're 5,000 feet up in a white-out blizzard. The tarmac disappeared way back, the verges shortly afterwards and now the sky's thick with snow. All I can see are the thin poles marking the edges of where a road once was.

There are wolves and bears outside, pools of steaming mud just off the road and a drop of several hundred feet into a canyon just, well, somewhere over there. Fortunately, I am in a school-run motor.

It's a big 4x4. A Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD Overland, in fact. It's just another day in Montana and I'm in Yellowstone Park where despite warning notices about charging bison and scalding mud, several dozen people get gored and boiled to death every year. (Pause for cruel joke about Americans.)

A charging bison can do 30mph - which would comfortably catch our Grand Cherokee in this white stuff. Even if it is

running in Quadra-Drive, which is Jeep's sophisticated torque-sensing 4x4 system and more capable than most.

However, I digress. The ability to cope with white-out blizzards is rather a theoretical requirement in the suburban jungle where this Grand Cherokee is most likely to be put to work. There, big plush four-by-four off-roaders are one of the vehicles of choice for rather different reasons. Status and physical presence being two of these.

The Grand Cherokee has been a tad left behind on both those counts by newer arrivals, like the BMW X5 and M-Class Mercedes. It didn't help its own cause by preferring good ol' - but expensive - US V8 grunt to the maybe less inspiring but more frugal diesels of its rivals.

A Daimler diesel was slotted into one model of the big Jeep a year back and now the same unit has found its way into the range-topping Overland to provide the sort of posh oil-burner we Europeans apparently want.

Which means it comes with all the trimmings - a 10-disc CD player, suede and leather trim, powered seats, redwood burl trim for the dash and five-spoke alloys - plus rock rails to protect the sills should you be eccentric enough to actually take it off road. The ride has been improved for 2003

models, and brakes and steering have both been made lighter - quite why the latter was thought necessary is hard to fathom as steering the big Jeep has never raised a sweat. Nor was the ride exactly brick-like.

The five-cylinder 2.7-litre common-rail diesel has the sort of easy-going pull you expect from such a unit. It produces 163bhp but, more importantly, 295lb ft of torque from under 2,000 revs. It fulfils all the requirements of a modern diesel: it's quiet (aside from a little background chattering noise at start-up), isn't too thirsty (29.1mpg), feels comfortable at motorway speeds and, while it isn't exactly quick, doesn't entirely disgrace itself when called upon to out-accelerate a bison from a standing start.

The Overland is being built in Austria for the Euro-market, but is unashamedly Yank in the soft seating, lush ride, and feel and style of the cabin. And why not? A few days Stateside reminds you that this is a place where going off-road means a whole lot more than putting two wheels up on the kerb.

Kevin Blick

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.8i 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.8i 3dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.8i 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
A jibe often directed at people carriers is that they're just vans with windows. Well, the Citroen Berlingo Multispace really is - and unashamedly so. Not that you wouldn't guess as much. A funky paint job and colour-coded upholstery, seatbelts and carpet can't disguise the Multispace's working class upbringing - it takes more than a blonde wig to pass as Claudia Schiffer.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.8i 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.8i 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
A jibe often directed at people carriers is that they're just vans with windows. Well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Citroen Berlingo Multispace really is - and unashamedly so. Not that you wouldn't guess as much. A funky paint job and colour-coded upholstery

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
seatbelts and carpet can't disguise the Multispace's working class upbringing - it takes more than a blonde wig to pass as Claudia Schiffer.But the Multispace does share the two most important benefits of its workmanlike origins - space and practicality. Thanks to its height

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the boot space is eminently more usable than an estate and when the easy-to-fold rear seats are down

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the boot could swallow a small mountain and still have room for two bikes to explore it on. In this respect

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it would appeal to the sort of outdoor funster who needs space to stow surfboards/skis/bikes etc. Owners of a less adventurous nature will undoubtedly experience a dramatic surge in popularity among friends with bulky loads to shift at weekends.However

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Multispace has pretentions beyond being just a simple workhorse. OK

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
90bhp engine is lively enough without resorting to the whip

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
direct handling and comfortable ride from its more blue-blooded Citroen stablemates.The lofty driving position and acres of glass allow for panoramic views of the surroundings which is just as well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
there aren't many diversions inside. Standard features include power steering

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
upper and lower storage nets and a full cabin-width storage shelf

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
access for rear passengers is relatively stress free

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
thanks again to the prodigious height - I'm six foot and could have worn a top hat with impunity. And with the world's largest electrically-operated folding sunroof at your disposal you can enjoy full wind-in-the-hair motoring.I've never been a fan of the ubiquitous all-rounder

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the Multispace makes a decent fist of combining estate

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
995. If you can live with the slightly absurd looks (I couldn't) and ignore the poncy lifestyle image

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it makes for a practical and spacious car. On a bright

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you might even convince yourself it's funTim Oldham

# data[].attributes.body.value
A jibe often directed at people carriers is that they're just vans with windows. Well, the Citroen Berlingo Multispace really is - and unashamedly so. Not that you wouldn't guess as much. A funky paint job and colour-coded upholstery, seatbelts and carpet can't disguise the Multispace's working class upbringing - it takes more than a blonde wig to pass as Claudia Schiffer.

But the Multispace does share the two most important benefits of its workmanlike origins - space and practicality. Thanks to its height, the boot space is eminently more usable than an estate and when the easy-to-fold rear seats are down, the boot could swallow a small mountain and still have room for two bikes to explore it on. In this respect, it would appeal to the sort of outdoor funster who needs space to stow surfboards/skis/bikes etc. Owners of a less adventurous nature will undoubtedly experience a dramatic surge in popularity among friends with bulky loads to shift at weekends.

However, the Multispace has pretentions beyond being just a simple workhorse. OK, it's no thoroughbred sprinter, but the 1.8-litre, 90bhp engine is lively enough without resorting to the whip, and it has inherited its neat, direct handling and comfortable ride from its more blue-blooded Citroen stablemates.

The lofty driving position and acres of glass allow for panoramic views of the surroundings which is just as well, as, in true utilitarian style, there aren't many diversions inside. Standard features include power steering, electric front windows, upper and lower storage nets and a full cabin-width storage shelf, invaluable for, oh, anything.

Despite only being a two-door, access for rear passengers is relatively stress free, thanks again to the prodigious height - I'm six foot and could have worn a top hat with impunity. And with the world's largest electrically-operated folding sunroof at your disposal you can enjoy full wind-in-the-hair motoring.

I've never been a fan of the ubiquitous all-rounder, but the Multispace makes a decent fist of combining estate, convertible and hatchback skills, and for a fairly reasonable £11,995. If you can live with the slightly absurd looks (I couldn't) and ignore the poncy lifestyle image, it makes for a practical and spacious car. On a bright, sunny day with a bunch of mates, you might even convince yourself it's fun

Tim Oldham

# data[].attributes.body.processed
A jibe often directed at people carriers is that they're just vans with windows. Well, the Citroen Berlingo Multispace really is - and unashamedly so. Not that you wouldn't guess as much. A funky paint job and colour-coded upholstery, seatbelts and carpet can't disguise the Multispace's working class upbringing - it takes more than a blonde wig to pass as Claudia Schiffer.

But the Multispace does share the two most important benefits of its workmanlike origins - space and practicality. Thanks to its height, the boot space is eminently more usable than an estate and when the easy-to-fold rear seats are down, the boot could swallow a small mountain and still have room for two bikes to explore it on. In this respect, it would appeal to the sort of outdoor funster who needs space to stow surfboards/skis/bikes etc. Owners of a less adventurous nature will undoubtedly experience a dramatic surge in popularity among friends with bulky loads to shift at weekends.

However, the Multispace has pretentions beyond being just a simple workhorse. OK, it's no thoroughbred sprinter, but the 1.8-litre, 90bhp engine is lively enough without resorting to the whip, and it has inherited its neat, direct handling and comfortable ride from its more blue-blooded Citroen stablemates.

The lofty driving position and acres of glass allow for panoramic views of the surroundings which is just as well, as, in true utilitarian style, there aren't many diversions inside. Standard features include power steering, electric front windows, upper and lower storage nets and a full cabin-width storage shelf, invaluable for, oh, anything.

Despite only being a two-door, access for rear passengers is relatively stress free, thanks again to the prodigious height - I'm six foot and could have worn a top hat with impunity. And with the world's largest electrically-operated folding sunroof at your disposal you can enjoy full wind-in-the-hair motoring.

I've never been a fan of the ubiquitous all-rounder, but the Multispace makes a decent fist of combining estate, convertible and hatchback skills, and for a fairly reasonable £11,995. If you can live with the slightly absurd looks (I couldn't) and ignore the poncy lifestyle image, it makes for a practical and spacious car. On a bright, sunny day with a bunch of mates, you might even convince yourself it's fun

Tim Oldham

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volvo S60 2.0 T SE 4dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
There's no flies on our long-term Volvo S60. Not now that they've been scraped off after that 5,000-mile trip to the northernmost tip of Norway (see page 138). After such a demanding trek, which saw the screen gain a huge crack, and the passenger-side door mirror mysteriously lose its cover, we packed the car off for a recuperative service and a replenishment of missing or broken parts. This lightened our account to the tune of £808.98 (including £80 plus VAT for its first service). It came back the same day, ready for action - like commuting to Hertforshire.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
There's no flies on our long-term Volvo S60. Not now that they've been scraped off after that 5

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
000-mile trip to the northernmost tip of Norway (see page 138). After such a demanding trek

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and the passenger-side door mirror mysteriously lose its cover

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
we packed the car off for a recuperative service and a replenishment of missing or broken parts. This lightened our account to the tune of £808.98 (including £80 plus VAT for its first service). It came back the same day

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
ready for action - like commuting to Hertforshire. The good news is that the driver's seat is still as supremely comfortable as ever. The bad news is that there's a CD stuck in the player and although the handbrake lever has had some attention (before

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it had too much travel before engaging fully)

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's still not as good as it could be.Colin Ryan

# data[].attributes.body.value
There's no flies on our long-term Volvo S60. Not now that they've been scraped off after that 5,000-mile trip to the northernmost tip of Norway (see page 138). After such a demanding trek, which saw the screen gain a huge crack, and the passenger-side door mirror mysteriously lose its cover, we packed the car off for a recuperative service and a replenishment of missing or broken parts. This lightened our account to the tune of £808.98 (including £80 plus VAT for its first service). It came back the same day, ready for action - like commuting to Hertforshire. The good news is that the driver's seat is still as supremely comfortable as ever. The bad news is that there's a CD stuck in the player and although the handbrake lever has had some attention (before, it had too much travel before engaging fully), it's still not as good as it could be.

Colin Ryan

# data[].attributes.body.processed
There's no flies on our long-term Volvo S60. Not now that they've been scraped off after that 5,000-mile trip to the northernmost tip of Norway (see page 138). After such a demanding trek, which saw the screen gain a huge crack, and the passenger-side door mirror mysteriously lose its cover, we packed the car off for a recuperative service and a replenishment of missing or broken parts. This lightened our account to the tune of £808.98 (including £80 plus VAT for its first service). It came back the same day, ready for action - like commuting to Hertforshire. The good news is that the driver's seat is still as supremely comfortable as ever. The bad news is that there's a CD stuck in the player and although the handbrake lever has had some attention (before, it had too much travel before engaging fully), it's still not as good as it could be.

Colin Ryan

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.5 TD Laredo 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.5 TD Laredo 5dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.5 TD Laredo 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
I'm at the back of a rollercoaster, watching the carriages ahead crest the highest point of the track, Hangman's Hill. In turn, each one drops off the top and disappears rapidly, almost vertically, downwards. But these are not rollercoaster carriages at all, they're Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredos plummeting to the ground.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.5 TD Laredo 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.5 TD Laredo 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
watching the carriages ahead crest the highest point of the track

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
each one drops off the top and disappears rapidly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
downwards. But these are not rollercoaster carriages at all

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
they're Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredos plummeting to the ground.Now it's my turn. I select first in the low ratio 'box

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
breathe deep and the car careers off. Staying clear of the brakes to avoid skidding

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I rely totally on the turbodiesel engine's braking to keep things in hand. There's a scream

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's the engine. Just as it sounds like it'll burst

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the track levels out and I'm back in control. Earlier

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the higher gearing of the automatic and lower compression of the petrol motor meant the descent was much quicker.The 2.5-litre Turbotronic engine isn't nearly as powerful as its petrol buddy

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but there's so much torque (205lb ft at 1

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
800rpm to be exact) that off-road it will pull itself up hills at idle. Drive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is part-time 4x4. In normal conditions it's rear-driven

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but you can manually shift to high-ratio 4x4 or low-ratio 4x4 on the move. Also manual is the five-speed gearbox

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
slow and agricultural and there's no space next to the clutch for your left foot to rest. So

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the automatic petrol car is much more pleasant. It's a damn sight quicker and quieter

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
too. The diesel's power band is very narrow and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
though it will get to 97mph at some stage

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it complains loudly when worked hard.On A and B roads it's frustrating as the Grand Cherokee's road manners are among the best. It handles well without too much body roll and gives you more confidence than a Discovery. On motorways the engine stays schtum thanks to seriously high gearing which means you've got little acceleration

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but at least it's comfortable. Adding to your comfort is a long list of standard goodies including air con

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
alloys and alarm/central locking - all for £26

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
495.The petrol Laredo costs exactly the same. Or at least it does until you start driving

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
when the diesel's fuel consumption advantage makes itself known. Where the four-litre gulps fuel at 13mpg in town and 18.2 on the combined cycle

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the diesel manages a less terrifying 23mpg and 29.7mpg. I'd have the petrol version

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but then I do have a company Overdrive cardNik Berg 

# data[].attributes.body.value
I'm at the back of a rollercoaster, watching the carriages ahead crest the highest point of the track, Hangman's Hill. In turn, each one drops off the top and disappears rapidly, almost vertically, downwards. But these are not rollercoaster carriages at all, they're Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredos plummeting to the ground.

Now it's my turn. I select first in the low ratio 'box, creep forward, breathe deep and the car careers off. Staying clear of the brakes to avoid skidding, I rely totally on the turbodiesel engine's braking to keep things in hand. There's a scream, but it's not me, it's the engine. Just as it sounds like it'll burst, the track levels out and I'm back in control. Earlier, in the four-litre petrol car, it'd been hairier, the higher gearing of the automatic and lower compression of the petrol motor meant the descent was much quicker.

The 2.5-litre Turbotronic engine isn't nearly as powerful as its petrol buddy, but there's so much torque (205lb ft at 1,800rpm to be exact) that off-road it will pull itself up hills at idle. Drive, unlike the four-litre, is part-time 4x4. In normal conditions it's rear-driven, but you can manually shift to high-ratio 4x4 or low-ratio 4x4 on the move. Also manual is the five-speed gearbox, but the change is long, slow and agricultural and there's no space next to the clutch for your left foot to rest. So, when it comes to on-road driving, the automatic petrol car is much more pleasant. It's a damn sight quicker and quieter, too. The diesel's power band is very narrow and, though it will get to 97mph at some stage, it complains loudly when worked hard.

On A and B roads it's frustrating as the Grand Cherokee's road manners are among the best. It handles well without too much body roll and gives you more confidence than a Discovery. On motorways the engine stays schtum thanks to seriously high gearing which means you've got little acceleration, but at least it's comfortable. Adding to your comfort is a long list of standard goodies including air con, electric windows, power steering, cruise control, twin airbags, alloys and alarm/central locking - all for £26,495.

The petrol Laredo costs exactly the same. Or at least it does until you start driving, when the diesel's fuel consumption advantage makes itself known. Where the four-litre gulps fuel at 13mpg in town and 18.2 on the combined cycle, the diesel manages a less terrifying 23mpg and 29.7mpg. I'd have the petrol version, but then I do have a company Overdrive card

Nik Berg

# data[].attributes.body.processed
I'm at the back of a rollercoaster, watching the carriages ahead crest the highest point of the track, Hangman's Hill. In turn, each one drops off the top and disappears rapidly, almost vertically, downwards. But these are not rollercoaster carriages at all, they're Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredos plummeting to the ground.

Now it's my turn. I select first in the low ratio 'box, creep forward, breathe deep and the car careers off. Staying clear of the brakes to avoid skidding, I rely totally on the turbodiesel engine's braking to keep things in hand. There's a scream, but it's not me, it's the engine. Just as it sounds like it'll burst, the track levels out and I'm back in control. Earlier, in the four-litre petrol car, it'd been hairier, the higher gearing of the automatic and lower compression of the petrol motor meant the descent was much quicker.

The 2.5-litre Turbotronic engine isn't nearly as powerful as its petrol buddy, but there's so much torque (205lb ft at 1,800rpm to be exact) that off-road it will pull itself up hills at idle. Drive, unlike the four-litre, is part-time 4x4. In normal conditions it's rear-driven, but you can manually shift to high-ratio 4x4 or low-ratio 4x4 on the move. Also manual is the five-speed gearbox, but the change is long, slow and agricultural and there's no space next to the clutch for your left foot to rest. So, when it comes to on-road driving, the automatic petrol car is much more pleasant. It's a damn sight quicker and quieter, too. The diesel's power band is very narrow and, though it will get to 97mph at some stage, it complains loudly when worked hard.

On A and B roads it's frustrating as the Grand Cherokee's road manners are among the best. It handles well without too much body roll and gives you more confidence than a Discovery. On motorways the engine stays schtum thanks to seriously high gearing which means you've got little acceleration, but at least it's comfortable. Adding to your comfort is a long list of standard goodies including air con, electric windows, power steering, cruise control, twin airbags, alloys and alarm/central locking - all for £26,495.

The petrol Laredo costs exactly the same. Or at least it does until you start driving, when the diesel's fuel consumption advantage makes itself known. Where the four-litre gulps fuel at 13mpg in town and 18.2 on the combined cycle, the diesel manages a less terrifying 23mpg and 29.7mpg. I'd have the petrol version, but then I do have a company Overdrive card

Nik Berg

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Mini Hatchback Jack Knight Hot Rod 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback Jack Knight Hot Rod 3dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback Jack Knight Hot Rod 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
This is the Mini Hot Rod, and it's probably the quickest road Mini ever built. But my first responsibility, once inside this extraordinary machine, is to try not to mark the pristine sheet-alloy footwells, for it's been custom-built by Mini specialist Jack Knight for an unnamed German customer (probably a BMW high-flyer - remember, BMW owns Rover) and it's also one of Rover's Frankfurt and Earls Court show cars, so it needs to stay pretty.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback Jack Knight Hot Rod 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback Jack Knight Hot Rod 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and it's probably the quickest road Mini ever built. But my first responsibility

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is to try not to mark the pristine sheet-alloy footwells

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
for it's been custom-built by Mini specialist Jack Knight for an unnamed German customer (probably a BMW high-flyer - remember

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
BMW owns Rover) and it's also one of Rover's Frankfurt and Earls Court show cars

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so it needs to stay pretty. There's no ignition key; just flick a couple of dash-mounted switches before strapping into the four-point harness seatbelt

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
otherwise you won't reach those switches. With the engine running you'll instantly want some ear protection

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
such is the din from the highly modified A-Series engine and straight-cut gears

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
hardly shielded by the uninsul-ated bulkhead and interior. Having clacked the Quick-Shift stick across the slotted gate into first

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
build up some revs and gingerly engage the clutch. The Hot Rod energetically squirts forward but strong arms are needed because the tiny suede-rimmed wheel determinedly fights its way back to the straight ahead. But careful now

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the steering's heavy but it's also super-responsive and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
coupled with the ride quality of a toboggan

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
any sudden or ill-considered input could easily result in a Mini-shaped hole in a nearby hedge. With a slight graunch grab second before the needle hits the 7

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the whining transmission accompaniment would indicate that you're travelling at speed in reverse. But no

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and in very short order you'll need third

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
fifth. With such low final gearing it's not long before you're up to about 110mph and climbing. By now the noise

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
now primarily from the induction and exhaust of the engine

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
REALLY VERY LOUD INDEED. Keep the throttle buried and there's more speed (and noise) to come if you wish

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but as your every sense is already receiving a hefty battering

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
those powerful four-pot calipers and vented front discs soon beckon. And don't forget there's no synchromesh so a nice blip of the throttle as you double de-clutch to a lower gear is de rigueur.So

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
380cc 16-valve double overhead cam Weber fuel-injected 160bhp engine (and all the other tweaks) make it as involving and demanding as a road car can get. It's not for popping to the shops; in fact

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I wouldn't even classify it as pract-ical transport. It's a furious funster

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so unless you're a committed and affluent mini maniac

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
forget it.For the cost of this Mini Hot Rod you could own a brand new BMW M3 Cabrio or a Range Rover 4.6. On the other hand

# data[].attributes.body.value
This is the Mini Hot Rod, and it's probably the quickest road Mini ever built. But my first responsibility, once inside this extraordinary machine, is to try not to mark the pristine sheet-alloy footwells, for it's been custom-built by Mini specialist Jack Knight for an unnamed German customer (probably a BMW high-flyer - remember, BMW owns Rover) and it's also one of Rover's Frankfurt and Earls Court show cars, so it needs to stay pretty.

There's no ignition key; just flick a couple of dash-mounted switches before strapping into the four-point harness seatbelt, otherwise you won't reach those switches. With the engine running you'll instantly want some ear protection, such is the din from the highly modified A-Series engine and straight-cut gears, hardly shielded by the uninsul-ated bulkhead and interior.

Having clacked the Quick-Shift stick across the slotted gate into first, Ferrari style, build up some revs and gingerly engage the clutch. The Hot Rod energetically squirts forward but strong arms are needed because the tiny suede-rimmed wheel determinedly fights its way back to the straight ahead. But careful now, the steering's heavy but it's also super-responsive and, coupled with the ride quality of a toboggan, any sudden or ill-considered input could easily result in a Mini-shaped hole in a nearby hedge.

With a slight graunch grab second before the needle hits the 7,500rpm red line. Blindfolded, the whining transmission accompaniment would indicate that you're travelling at speed in reverse. But no, you're going forwards, fast, and in very short order you'll need third, fourth, and then, you guessed it, fifth. With such low final gearing it's not long before you're up to about 110mph and climbing.

By now the noise, now primarily from the induction and exhaust of the engine, is, hear this, REALLY VERY LOUD INDEED. Keep the throttle buried and there's more speed (and noise) to come if you wish, but as your every sense is already receiving a hefty battering, those powerful four-pot calipers and vented front discs soon beckon. And don't forget there's no synchromesh so a nice blip of the throttle as you double de-clutch to a lower gear is de rigueur.So, as if you didn't already know, this is no ordinary Mini. Its 1,380cc 16-valve double overhead cam Weber fuel-injected 160bhp engine (and all the other tweaks) make it as involving and demanding as a road car can get.

It's not for popping to the shops; in fact, I wouldn't even classify it as pract-ical transport. It's a furious funster, so unless you're a committed and affluent mini maniac, forget it.For the cost of this Mini Hot Rod you could own a brand new BMW M3 Cabrio or a Range Rover 4.6. On the other hand, if you really like Minis...

Tom Stewart

# data[].attributes.body.processed
This is the Mini Hot Rod, and it's probably the quickest road Mini ever built. But my first responsibility, once inside this extraordinary machine, is to try not to mark the pristine sheet-alloy footwells, for it's been custom-built by Mini specialist Jack Knight for an unnamed German customer (probably a BMW high-flyer - remember, BMW owns Rover) and it's also one of Rover's Frankfurt and Earls Court show cars, so it needs to stay pretty.

There's no ignition key; just flick a couple of dash-mounted switches before strapping into the four-point harness seatbelt, otherwise you won't reach those switches. With the engine running you'll instantly want some ear protection, such is the din from the highly modified A-Series engine and straight-cut gears, hardly shielded by the uninsul-ated bulkhead and interior.

Having clacked the Quick-Shift stick across the slotted gate into first, Ferrari style, build up some revs and gingerly engage the clutch. The Hot Rod energetically squirts forward but strong arms are needed because the tiny suede-rimmed wheel determinedly fights its way back to the straight ahead. But careful now, the steering's heavy but it's also super-responsive and, coupled with the ride quality of a toboggan, any sudden or ill-considered input could easily result in a Mini-shaped hole in a nearby hedge.

With a slight graunch grab second before the needle hits the 7,500rpm red line. Blindfolded, the whining transmission accompaniment would indicate that you're travelling at speed in reverse. But no, you're going forwards, fast, and in very short order you'll need third, fourth, and then, you guessed it, fifth. With such low final gearing it's not long before you're up to about 110mph and climbing.

By now the noise, now primarily from the induction and exhaust of the engine, is, hear this, REALLY VERY LOUD INDEED. Keep the throttle buried and there's more speed (and noise) to come if you wish, but as your every sense is already receiving a hefty battering, those powerful four-pot calipers and vented front discs soon beckon. And don't forget there's no synchromesh so a nice blip of the throttle as you double de-clutch to a lower gear is de rigueur.So, as if you didn't already know, this is no ordinary Mini. Its 1,380cc 16-valve double overhead cam Weber fuel-injected 160bhp engine (and all the other tweaks) make it as involving and demanding as a road car can get.

It's not for popping to the shops; in fact, I wouldn't even classify it as pract-ical transport. It's a furious funster, so unless you're a committed and affluent mini maniac, forget it.For the cost of this Mini Hot Rod you could own a brand new BMW M3 Cabrio or a Range Rover 4.6. On the other hand, if you really like Minis...

Tom Stewart

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 1.9 GT TDI 115 5dr [6 speed]

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 1.9 GT TDI 115 5dr [6 speed] | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 1.9 GT TDI 115 5dr [6 speed]

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
I must admit that I'm not the most technically minded of the Top Gear staff. If ever the topic of conversation swings around to torque or compression ratios, I'm the first to get my coat. So you can imagine my anxiety when presented with the VW Golf GT TDI PD - a car whose defining characteristic is a new 1.9-litre turbodiesel engine.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 1.9 GT TDI 115 5dr [6 speed]

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 1.9 GT TDI 115 5dr [6 speed]

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I must admit that I'm not the most technically minded of the Top Gear staff. If ever the topic of conversation swings around to torque or compression ratios

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I'm the first to get my coat. So you can imagine my anxiety when presented with the VW Golf GT TDI PD - a car whose defining characteristic is a new 1.9-litre turbodiesel engine.With something this significant

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it isn't as if I can just gloss over the engine and offer a simple treatise extolling the virtues of the MkIV Golf - you've no doubt heard more than enough about that already. Fortunately

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I came across a brilliant website with the gloriously inspirational name of www.howstuffworks.com.Following an afternoon being pleasantly diverted by the workings of the internal combustion engine - and the toilet

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
telephone and fax machine - it was time to tackle the Scrabble nightmare that is the GT TDI PD. First up

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
PD is the abbreviation for the German Pumpe Düse - that's the new fuel injection system which replaces the highly-efficient TDI 110bhp engine. The ingenious bit behind the new system is that it combines the injector and pump into one unit for each cylinder

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a method which gives much higher pressure. With me so far? Well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the higher injection pressures mean better mixing of fuel and air which allows more fuel to be burnt cleanly in each cylinder.And how does this manifest itself in real terms? Well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
whereas maximum power is only up to 115bhp on the new model - an increase of just 5bhp - torque is increased by a whopping 20 per cent. The 210lb ft at 1

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
900rpm offers more grunt than a Venus Williams forehand. OK

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the TDI surges ahead in excellent fashion. The 0-62 time may fall on slightly the wrong side of 10 seconds

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the hike in torque means that everyday acceleration - the 30-50-type stuff - is very brisk. Brisk enough for this to be the only Golf where traction control is fitted as standard.However

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the tale doesn't end at the Golf's off-the-line performance; in truth

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's even more accomplished at motorway speeds. Coupled to a six-speed gearbox

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
500rpm with plenty of torque on tap to kick on should the need or desire arise.I'd happily give you the low-down on VW's six-speed

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but I've got the learning bug and I'm off to read how the refrigerator works...Tim Oldham

# data[].attributes.body.value
I must admit that I'm not the most technically minded of the Top Gear staff. If ever the topic of conversation swings around to torque or compression ratios, I'm the first to get my coat. So you can imagine my anxiety when presented with the VW Golf GT TDI PD - a car whose defining characteristic is a new 1.9-litre turbodiesel engine.

With something this significant, it isn't as if I can just gloss over the engine and offer a simple treatise extolling the virtues of the MkIV Golf - you've no doubt heard more than enough about that already. Fortunately, I came across a brilliant website with the gloriously inspirational name of www.howstuffworks.com.

Following an afternoon being pleasantly diverted by the workings of the internal combustion engine - and the toilet, telephone and fax machine - it was time to tackle the Scrabble nightmare that is the GT TDI PD. First up, PD is the abbreviation for the German Pumpe Düse - that's the new fuel injection system which replaces the highly-efficient TDI 110bhp engine. The ingenious bit behind the new system is that it combines the injector and pump into one unit for each cylinder, a method which gives much higher pressure. With me so far? Well, the higher injection pressures mean better mixing of fuel and air which allows more fuel to be burnt cleanly in each cylinder.

And how does this manifest itself in real terms? Well, whereas maximum power is only up to 115bhp on the new model - an increase of just 5bhp - torque is increased by a whopping 20 per cent. The 210lb ft at 1,900rpm offers more grunt than a Venus Williams forehand. OK, there's a little turbo lag, but the TDI surges ahead in excellent fashion. The 0-62 time may fall on slightly the wrong side of 10 seconds, but the hike in torque means that everyday acceleration - the 30-50-type stuff - is very brisk. Brisk enough for this to be the only Golf where traction control is fitted as standard.

However, the tale doesn't end at the Golf's off-the-line performance; in truth, it's even more accomplished at motorway speeds. Coupled to a six-speed gearbox, you can cruise sub-2,500rpm with plenty of torque on tap to kick on should the need or desire arise.

I'd happily give you the low-down on VW's six-speed, three-shaft layout gearbox, but I've got the learning bug and I'm off to read how the refrigerator works...

Tim Oldham

# data[].attributes.body.processed
I must admit that I'm not the most technically minded of the Top Gear staff. If ever the topic of conversation swings around to torque or compression ratios, I'm the first to get my coat. So you can imagine my anxiety when presented with the VW Golf GT TDI PD - a car whose defining characteristic is a new 1.9-litre turbodiesel engine.

With something this significant, it isn't as if I can just gloss over the engine and offer a simple treatise extolling the virtues of the MkIV Golf - you've no doubt heard more than enough about that already. Fortunately, I came across a brilliant website with the gloriously inspirational name of www.howstuffworks.com.

Following an afternoon being pleasantly diverted by the workings of the internal combustion engine - and the toilet, telephone and fax machine - it was time to tackle the Scrabble nightmare that is the GT TDI PD. First up, PD is the abbreviation for the German Pumpe Düse - that's the new fuel injection system which replaces the highly-efficient TDI 110bhp engine. The ingenious bit behind the new system is that it combines the injector and pump into one unit for each cylinder, a method which gives much higher pressure. With me so far? Well, the higher injection pressures mean better mixing of fuel and air which allows more fuel to be burnt cleanly in each cylinder.

And how does this manifest itself in real terms? Well, whereas maximum power is only up to 115bhp on the new model - an increase of just 5bhp - torque is increased by a whopping 20 per cent. The 210lb ft at 1,900rpm offers more grunt than a Venus Williams forehand. OK, there's a little turbo lag, but the TDI surges ahead in excellent fashion. The 0-62 time may fall on slightly the wrong side of 10 seconds, but the hike in torque means that everyday acceleration - the 30-50-type stuff - is very brisk. Brisk enough for this to be the only Golf where traction control is fitted as standard.

However, the tale doesn't end at the Golf's off-the-line performance; in truth, it's even more accomplished at motorway speeds. Coupled to a six-speed gearbox, you can cruise sub-2,500rpm with plenty of torque on tap to kick on should the need or desire arise.

I'd happily give you the low-down on VW's six-speed, three-shaft layout gearbox, but I've got the learning bug and I'm off to read how the refrigerator works...

Tim Oldham

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
A few years back my next door neighbour proudly showed me his shiny new top of the range Volvo 360, expecting me to marvel at the quality of its construction. Instead I was amazed that anyone would buy a car with such a nasty interior and basic specification - for so much money. My mind was made up when I had to have a lift in it and it spun on a slightly frosty country lane.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
A few years back my next door neighbour proudly showed me his shiny new top of the range Volvo 360

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
expecting me to marvel at the quality of its construction. Instead I was amazed that anyone would buy a car with such a nasty interior and basic specification - for so much money. My mind was made up when I had to have a lift in it and it spun on a slightly frosty country lane.Fast forward 10 years and things have improved massively

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but not necessarily in every respect. Although the cars don't generally have a poverty spec any more

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the interiors are still among the most uninspired designs currently available. The facia is a huge expanse of grey plastic with a few token wood inserts

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and sitting with it in front of you doesn't exactly make you feel special.But the instrumentation itself is very clear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and the ergonomics are excellent. Getting comfy in the large leather chairs is simplicity itself

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
whether you're sitting in the front or the back - although rear seat legroom could be a bit more generous.Visibility is compromised by the thick B-pillars

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but you can't expect Volvo to abandon all its values can you? Safety and Volvo have always been synonymous with each other

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and the Swedish marque isn't about to give that up.What it has given up is appallingly poor in car entertainment. Although a decent stereo radio cassette was the norm on cars in the old 360 GLT's sector

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
that model had to make do with a crappy mono radio. But the system fitted to the T5 is one of the best available. A CD autochanger and power galore make for a sound that matches some of the better aftermarket installations available.Although it's a saloon

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
allowing the capacity to be used as usefully as possible. The boot itself is huge

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as we've now come to expect from the current generation of high-backed designs on the market.The driving experience always used to be the last thing on the mind of Volvo's engineers

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but mercifully things have changed. In T5 form the S60's driving experience is something to savour - phenomenally reassuring brakes allied with barmy acceleration mean it's easy to have some fun behind the wheel.If anything the problem is that the car is too quick and refined

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
leading to frequent occurrences of travelling well beyond the speed limit without noticing. Overtake somebody on a de-restricted B-road and you could easily be into three figures by the time you've got past.To keep up with the latest trends Volvo has installed a Tiptronic-style gearbox in the T5. Leave it in auto mode and there's a real sense of urgency using kickdown - resort to manual changes and the car feels even quicker.On the outside the car is typically understated in a Swedish kind of way - spoked 17-inch alloy wheels are all that hints at the car's performance but there's nothing else to give the game away.So if the last Volvo you sampled was a late 80s example - or even an S40/V40 - it might be time you revisited the marque. You should be pleasantly surprised.Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.body.value
A few years back my next door neighbour proudly showed me his shiny new top of the range Volvo 360, expecting me to marvel at the quality of its construction. Instead I was amazed that anyone would buy a car with such a nasty interior and basic specification - for so much money. My mind was made up when I had to have a lift in it and it spun on a slightly frosty country lane.

Fast forward 10 years and things have improved massively, but not necessarily in every respect. Although the cars don't generally have a poverty spec any more, the interiors are still among the most uninspired designs currently available. The facia is a huge expanse of grey plastic with a few token wood inserts, and sitting with it in front of you doesn't exactly make you feel special.

But the instrumentation itself is very clear, and the ergonomics are excellent. Getting comfy in the large leather chairs is simplicity itself, whether you're sitting in the front or the back - although rear seat legroom could be a bit more generous.

Visibility is compromised by the thick B-pillars, but you can't expect Volvo to abandon all its values can you? Safety and Volvo have always been synonymous with each other, and the Swedish marque isn't about to give that up.

What it has given up is appallingly poor in car entertainment. Although a decent stereo radio cassette was the norm on cars in the old 360 GLT's sector, that model had to make do with a crappy mono radio. But the system fitted to the T5 is one of the best available. A CD autochanger and power galore make for a sound that matches some of the better aftermarket installations available.

Although it's a saloon, the rear seat folds 60/40, allowing the capacity to be used as usefully as possible. The boot itself is huge, as we've now come to expect from the current generation of high-backed designs on the market.

The driving experience always used to be the last thing on the mind of Volvo's engineers, but mercifully things have changed. In T5 form the S60's driving experience is something to savour - phenomenally reassuring brakes allied with barmy acceleration mean it's easy to have some fun behind the wheel.

If anything the problem is that the car is too quick and refined, leading to frequent occurrences of travelling well beyond the speed limit without noticing. Overtake somebody on a de-restricted B-road and you could easily be into three figures by the time you've got past.

To keep up with the latest trends Volvo has installed a Tiptronic-style gearbox in the T5. Leave it in auto mode and there's a real sense of urgency using kickdown - resort to manual changes and the car feels even quicker.

On the outside the car is typically understated in a Swedish kind of way - spoked 17-inch alloy wheels are all that hints at the car's performance but there's nothing else to give the game away.

So if the last Volvo you sampled was a late 80s example - or even an S40/V40 - it might be time you revisited the marque. You should be pleasantly surprised.

Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.body.processed
A few years back my next door neighbour proudly showed me his shiny new top of the range Volvo 360, expecting me to marvel at the quality of its construction. Instead I was amazed that anyone would buy a car with such a nasty interior and basic specification - for so much money. My mind was made up when I had to have a lift in it and it spun on a slightly frosty country lane.

Fast forward 10 years and things have improved massively, but not necessarily in every respect. Although the cars don't generally have a poverty spec any more, the interiors are still among the most uninspired designs currently available. The facia is a huge expanse of grey plastic with a few token wood inserts, and sitting with it in front of you doesn't exactly make you feel special.

But the instrumentation itself is very clear, and the ergonomics are excellent. Getting comfy in the large leather chairs is simplicity itself, whether you're sitting in the front or the back - although rear seat legroom could be a bit more generous.

Visibility is compromised by the thick B-pillars, but you can't expect Volvo to abandon all its values can you? Safety and Volvo have always been synonymous with each other, and the Swedish marque isn't about to give that up.

What it has given up is appallingly poor in car entertainment. Although a decent stereo radio cassette was the norm on cars in the old 360 GLT's sector, that model had to make do with a crappy mono radio. But the system fitted to the T5 is one of the best available. A CD autochanger and power galore make for a sound that matches some of the better aftermarket installations available.

Although it's a saloon, the rear seat folds 60/40, allowing the capacity to be used as usefully as possible. The boot itself is huge, as we've now come to expect from the current generation of high-backed designs on the market.

The driving experience always used to be the last thing on the mind of Volvo's engineers, but mercifully things have changed. In T5 form the S60's driving experience is something to savour - phenomenally reassuring brakes allied with barmy acceleration mean it's easy to have some fun behind the wheel.

If anything the problem is that the car is too quick and refined, leading to frequent occurrences of travelling well beyond the speed limit without noticing. Overtake somebody on a de-restricted B-road and you could easily be into three figures by the time you've got past.

To keep up with the latest trends Volvo has installed a Tiptronic-style gearbox in the T5. Leave it in auto mode and there's a real sense of urgency using kickdown - resort to manual changes and the car feels even quicker.

On the outside the car is typically understated in a Swedish kind of way - spoked 17-inch alloy wheels are all that hints at the car's performance but there's nothing else to give the game away.

So if the last Volvo you sampled was a late 80s example - or even an S40/V40 - it might be time you revisited the marque. You should be pleasantly surprised.

Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.6i 16V Forte 5dr

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Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.6i 16V Forte 5dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.6i 16V Forte 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
We've all been passed many times by white vans steaming down the outside lane as the driver 'pushes the envelope' once again on his way to a plumbing emergency. This Berlingo Multispace is basically the same beast with the added advantage of rear seats (and windows), a set of sliding doors and some truly inspired trim combinations.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.6i 16V Forte 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.6i 16V Forte 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
We've all been passed many times by white vans steaming down the outside lane as the driver 'pushes the envelope' once again on his way to a plumbing emergency. This Berlingo Multispace is basically the same beast with the added advantage of rear seats (and windows)

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a set of sliding doors and some truly inspired trim combinations.Mr Magoo might mistake the Berlingo for an MPV

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the basic shape has few people fooled. It's a van with windows. It is also deceptively big

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with huge front doors and cramped rear sliding doors which have an irritating tendency to spring back at you. Citroen has gone to some lengths to distance the Multispace from the white-van image

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
fitting it with 'Esprit' upholstery and a choice of vivid colours

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
including 'Wicked Red'. The overall effect is a bit like a trip to an Early Learning Centre

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
though doing nothing for your street-cred

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is a boon around town. Other drivers let you out of junctions

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
no-one cuts you up and builders gesticulate their encouragement as you zip past.But it isn't aimed at upwardly mobile twenty-somethings

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Multispace is for families and this is where it comes up trumps. With two sliding doors access to the Multispace is easy. While

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it sports almost excessive headroom and a utilitarian dash.This model

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Multispace 'Modutop' (not a Pokémon character

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
comes with a storage system on the ceiling for items you couldn't fit in the boot. Place a mobile phone in the driver's overhead bin and pull away sharply from the lights

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and an unpleasant Nokia/forehead interface takes place. Ouch. The Modutop option includes various small pockets and hatches

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as well as five individual sunroofs and an auxiliary set of vents. The boot space also deserves special mention. Although large

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
corrugated plastic which promises to knock seven shades out of your shopping at the slightest corner

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so luggage nets are a must.Driving the Berlingo is fun. It's no sports car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but unloaded it can provoke a grin. The controls are over-light and flimsy feeling

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and the upright driving position is straight from the van

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it still loves to be thrown about. Also the skinny front tyres are easily provoked into comedy screeching through corners. Powering the Multispace is a range of 1.4-

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as well as a 1.9-litre diesel engine. This 1.6-litre unit is frugal and perfectly adequate around town; only on motorways does the lack of torque and breeze-block aerodynamics limit progress.So who would buy one? The same people who buy Renault's Kangoo presumably. The 1.6I 16v Forte costs a measly £9

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
plus an extra £500 for the Modutop option. Compare this with a £12

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
995 Zafira and you'll see what good value it is. For families on a budget the Multispace is almost perfect

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a practical interior and low running costs.If you can live with the utilitarian image and are prepared to swallow a little pride

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Citroen is worth a look. Ultimately this is a car you will buy with your head and not with your heart.

# data[].attributes.body.value
We've all been passed many times by white vans steaming down the outside lane as the driver 'pushes the envelope' once again on his way to a plumbing emergency. This Berlingo Multispace is basically the same beast with the added advantage of rear seats (and windows), a set of sliding doors and some truly inspired trim combinations.

Mr Magoo might mistake the Berlingo for an MPV, but the basic shape has few people fooled. It's a van with windows. It is also deceptively big, with huge front doors and cramped rear sliding doors which have an irritating tendency to spring back at you. Citroen has gone to some lengths to distance the Multispace from the white-van image, fitting it with 'Esprit' upholstery and a choice of vivid colours, including 'Wicked Red'. The overall effect is a bit like a trip to an Early Learning Centre, just not as fun.

The strange appearance, though doing nothing for your street-cred, is a boon around town. Other drivers let you out of junctions, no-one cuts you up and builders gesticulate their encouragement as you zip past.

But it isn't aimed at upwardly mobile twenty-somethings, the Multispace is for families and this is where it comes up trumps. With two sliding doors access to the Multispace is easy. While, up front, it sports almost excessive headroom and a utilitarian dash.

This model, the Multispace 'Modutop' (not a Pokémon character, I'm assured), comes with a storage system on the ceiling for items you couldn't fit in the boot. Place a mobile phone in the driver's overhead bin and pull away sharply from the lights, however, and an unpleasant Nokia/forehead interface takes place. Ouch. The Modutop option includes various small pockets and hatches, as well as five individual sunroofs and an auxiliary set of vents. The boot space also deserves special mention. Although large, it is finished in a hard-wearing, corrugated plastic which promises to knock seven shades out of your shopping at the slightest corner, so luggage nets are a must.

Driving the Berlingo is fun. It's no sports car, but unloaded it can provoke a grin. The controls are over-light and flimsy feeling, and the upright driving position is straight from the van, but it still loves to be thrown about. Also the skinny front tyres are easily provoked into comedy screeching through corners. Powering the Multispace is a range of 1.4-, 1.8- and 1.6-litre 16v units, as well as a 1.9-litre diesel engine. This 1.6-litre unit is frugal and perfectly adequate around town; only on motorways does the lack of torque and breeze-block aerodynamics limit progress.

So who would buy one? The same people who buy Renault's Kangoo presumably. The 1.6I 16v Forte costs a measly £9,480, plus an extra £500 for the Modutop option. Compare this with a £12,300 Scenic or a £13,995 Zafira and you'll see what good value it is. For families on a budget the Multispace is almost perfect, with loads of room, a practical interior and low running costs.

If you can live with the utilitarian image and are prepared to swallow a little pride, the Citroen is worth a look. Ultimately this is a car you will buy with your head and not with your heart.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
We've all been passed many times by white vans steaming down the outside lane as the driver 'pushes the envelope' once again on his way to a plumbing emergency. This Berlingo Multispace is basically the same beast with the added advantage of rear seats (and windows), a set of sliding doors and some truly inspired trim combinations.

Mr Magoo might mistake the Berlingo for an MPV, but the basic shape has few people fooled. It's a van with windows. It is also deceptively big, with huge front doors and cramped rear sliding doors which have an irritating tendency to spring back at you. Citroen has gone to some lengths to distance the Multispace from the white-van image, fitting it with 'Esprit' upholstery and a choice of vivid colours, including 'Wicked Red'. The overall effect is a bit like a trip to an Early Learning Centre, just not as fun.

The strange appearance, though doing nothing for your street-cred, is a boon around town. Other drivers let you out of junctions, no-one cuts you up and builders gesticulate their encouragement as you zip past.

But it isn't aimed at upwardly mobile twenty-somethings, the Multispace is for families and this is where it comes up trumps. With two sliding doors access to the Multispace is easy. While, up front, it sports almost excessive headroom and a utilitarian dash.

This model, the Multispace 'Modutop' (not a Pokémon character, I'm assured), comes with a storage system on the ceiling for items you couldn't fit in the boot. Place a mobile phone in the driver's overhead bin and pull away sharply from the lights, however, and an unpleasant Nokia/forehead interface takes place. Ouch. The Modutop option includes various small pockets and hatches, as well as five individual sunroofs and an auxiliary set of vents. The boot space also deserves special mention. Although large, it is finished in a hard-wearing, corrugated plastic which promises to knock seven shades out of your shopping at the slightest corner, so luggage nets are a must.

Driving the Berlingo is fun. It's no sports car, but unloaded it can provoke a grin. The controls are over-light and flimsy feeling, and the upright driving position is straight from the van, but it still loves to be thrown about. Also the skinny front tyres are easily provoked into comedy screeching through corners. Powering the Multispace is a range of 1.4-, 1.8- and 1.6-litre 16v units, as well as a 1.9-litre diesel engine. This 1.6-litre unit is frugal and perfectly adequate around town; only on motorways does the lack of torque and breeze-block aerodynamics limit progress.

So who would buy one? The same people who buy Renault's Kangoo presumably. The 1.6I 16v Forte costs a measly £9,480, plus an extra £500 for the Modutop option. Compare this with a £12,300 Scenic or a £13,995 Zafira and you'll see what good value it is. For families on a budget the Multispace is almost perfect, with loads of room, a practical interior and low running costs.

If you can live with the utilitarian image and are prepared to swallow a little pride, the Citroen is worth a look. Ultimately this is a car you will buy with your head and not with your heart.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Seat Ibiza 1.9TDi Sport 3dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
With summer here the 'Great Right Forearm Tan Competition' is under way and I, for one, am feeling confident. The rules are these: at the first sign of sun, wind the driver's window right down and let your forearm hang nonchalantly on the sill. Come Autumn, the winner is the person with the deepest, most evenly spread right forearm tan. I ought to mention that extra points are awarded for the hairiness of the arm and the volume of the stereo once the window is down. The Ibiza offers several advantages for me. To begin with, adjusting the temperature is a bit tricky.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
With summer here the 'Great Right Forearm Tan Competition' is under way and I

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
am feeling confident. The rules are these: at the first sign of sun

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
wind the driver's window right down and let your forearm hang nonchalantly on the sill. Come Autumn

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the winner is the person with the deepest

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
most evenly spread right forearm tan. I ought to mention that extra points are awarded for the hairiness of the arm and the volume of the stereo once the window is down. The Ibiza offers several advantages for me. To begin with

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
adjusting the temperature is a bit tricky. Turn it under 18 degrees and it applies an ambiguously-titled 'Lo' temperature

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which tends to be too 'lo' for me. Window down

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
for a balmy breeze. Then there's the great stereo

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with a booming bottom-heavy pitch. As for the forearm

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I'm going to cheat and use a wig. And my nemesis? That'll be Barry Stag

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
whose well-matted mahogany finish and 200-watt speaker system earned him the grand prize last year.Robert Bright 

# data[].attributes.body.value
With summer here the 'Great Right Forearm Tan Competition' is under way and I, for one, am feeling confident. The rules are these: at the first sign of sun, wind the driver's window right down and let your forearm hang nonchalantly on the sill. Come Autumn, the winner is the person with the deepest, most evenly spread right forearm tan. I ought to mention that extra points are awarded for the hairiness of the arm and the volume of the stereo once the window is down. The Ibiza offers several advantages for me. To begin with, adjusting the temperature is a bit tricky. Turn it under 18 degrees and it applies an ambiguously-titled 'Lo' temperature, which tends to be too 'lo' for me. Window down, then, for a balmy breeze. Then there's the great stereo, with a booming bottom-heavy pitch. As for the forearm, I'm going to cheat and use a wig. And my nemesis? That'll be Barry Stag, an independent plumber from Dagenham, whose well-matted mahogany finish and 200-watt speaker system earned him the grand prize last year.

Robert Bright

# data[].attributes.body.processed
With summer here the 'Great Right Forearm Tan Competition' is under way and I, for one, am feeling confident. The rules are these: at the first sign of sun, wind the driver's window right down and let your forearm hang nonchalantly on the sill. Come Autumn, the winner is the person with the deepest, most evenly spread right forearm tan. I ought to mention that extra points are awarded for the hairiness of the arm and the volume of the stereo once the window is down. The Ibiza offers several advantages for me. To begin with, adjusting the temperature is a bit tricky. Turn it under 18 degrees and it applies an ambiguously-titled 'Lo' temperature, which tends to be too 'lo' for me. Window down, then, for a balmy breeze. Then there's the great stereo, with a booming bottom-heavy pitch. As for the forearm, I'm going to cheat and use a wig. And my nemesis? That'll be Barry Stag, an independent plumber from Dagenham, whose well-matted mahogany finish and 200-watt speaker system earned him the grand prize last year.

Robert Bright

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volvo C70 2.3 T5 2dr Auto | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Volvo C70 cabrio T5 The C70 has been around a long time, and it's no longer available in fixed-roof form. But the convertible soldiers on and although it arrived after its coupe sibling, it has still been around since 1999. So with rivals like the forthcoming CLK and A4 rag-tops, the open C70 has got its work cut out trying to keep up. While safety, style and performance are all selling points for Volvo's cars, they're also key attributes for its German counterparts - so what is there to steer potential buyers towards the Volvo camp?

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Volvo C70 cabrio T5 The C70 has been around a long time

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and it's no longer available in fixed-roof form. But the convertible soldiers on and although it arrived after its coupe sibling

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it has still been around since 1999. So with rivals like the forthcoming CLK and A4 rag-tops

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the open C70 has got its work cut out trying to keep up. While safety

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
style and performance are all selling points for Volvo's cars

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
they're also key attributes for its German counterparts - so what is there to steer potential buyers towards the Volvo camp?As you'd expect there are the usual Volvo virtues of strong build quality

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
excellent ergonomics and - in T5 form as tested - plenty of poke. Too much poke in fact

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
because while Volvo's turbocharged petrol cars are always good for a laugh in a straight line

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
they tend to come unstuck (literally) when the roads get wet or you need to put the power down in a real hurry.With little more than delivery mileage on our test car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it didn't seem very fair to cane it - but then few drivers are likely to either. Even with the odometer showing just into three figures

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the chassis can't cope with sudden bursts of power - especially when the going gets twisty. But at least the brakes are strong and the automatic transmission is beautifully smooth.Remove all the badges from the interior and you'd instantly be able to guess you were sat in a Volvo - it may be dull to look at but it is user friendly. It's just a shame that it moves about so much on uneven surfaces - the scuttle shake is probably the worst of any drop-top I've ever driven. Well anything from the last 20 years or so

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
anyway.Raising and stowing the hood is simplicity itself

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with everything done for you at the touch of a button. There are no catches (well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
anway) and whether the roof is up or down

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
noise levels are perfectly acceptable. At high speeds you'll want to put the side windows up

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but that's the case with just about any convertible

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so it's no hardship.Although the roof mechanism is neatly designed

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's always nice to have a hard top option

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
dismal winters. Volvo doesn't offer that route

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so you're stuck with a roof that gives pretty awful rear and rear three-quarter visibility when it's up - something that's not helped by a rear window that's way too small.Also too small is the boot

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which is robbed of space by the roof when it's stowed. That's expected

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but rivals now offer mechanisms that help increase space with the roof up - not so the Volvo. At least the cabin is a bit more spacious - fitting four people in is a possibility as long as they're not all six-footers. The seats are all very comfortable as well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
although the two-tone leather of our car was of questionable taste and the heated seats really need an intermediate setting if you're not to fry your backside.With all-new prestige convertibles on the horizon from just about every manufacturer in the sector

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's hard to see the Volvo lasting much longer. In isolation it's not bad

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the raft of rivals it's about to face will present a pretty convincing challenge.Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.body.value
Volvo C70 cabrio T5 The C70 has been around a long time, and it's no longer available in fixed-roof form. But the convertible soldiers on and although it arrived after its coupe sibling, it has still been around since 1999. So with rivals like the forthcoming CLK and A4 rag-tops, the open C70 has got its work cut out trying to keep up. While safety, style and performance are all selling points for Volvo's cars, they're also key attributes for its German counterparts - so what is there to steer potential buyers towards the Volvo camp?

As you'd expect there are the usual Volvo virtues of strong build quality, excellent ergonomics and - in T5 form as tested - plenty of poke. Too much poke in fact, because while Volvo's turbocharged petrol cars are always good for a laugh in a straight line, they tend to come unstuck (literally) when the roads get wet or you need to put the power down in a real hurry.

With little more than delivery mileage on our test car, it didn't seem very fair to cane it - but then few drivers are likely to either. Even with the odometer showing just into three figures, the engine had plenty of go, but the chassis can't cope with sudden bursts of power - especially when the going gets twisty. But at least the brakes are strong and the automatic transmission is beautifully smooth.

Remove all the badges from the interior and you'd instantly be able to guess you were sat in a Volvo - it may be dull to look at but it is user friendly. It's just a shame that it moves about so much on uneven surfaces - the scuttle shake is probably the worst of any drop-top I've ever driven. Well anything from the last 20 years or so, anyway.

Raising and stowing the hood is simplicity itself, with everything done for you at the touch of a button. There are no catches (well, not in the literal sense, anway) and whether the roof is up or down, noise levels are perfectly acceptable. At high speeds you'll want to put the side windows up, but that's the case with just about any convertible, so it's no hardship.

Although the roof mechanism is neatly designed, it's always nice to have a hard top option, for added safety, security and comfort in our long, dismal winters. Volvo doesn't offer that route, so you're stuck with a roof that gives pretty awful rear and rear three-quarter visibility when it's up - something that's not helped by a rear window that's way too small.

Also too small is the boot, which is robbed of space by the roof when it's stowed. That's expected, but rivals now offer mechanisms that help increase space with the roof up - not so the Volvo. At least the cabin is a bit more spacious - fitting four people in is a possibility as long as they're not all six-footers. The seats are all very comfortable as well, although the two-tone leather of our car was of questionable taste and the heated seats really need an intermediate setting if you're not to fry your backside.

With all-new prestige convertibles on the horizon from just about every manufacturer in the sector, it's hard to see the Volvo lasting much longer. In isolation it's not bad, but the raft of rivals it's about to face will present a pretty convincing challenge.

Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Volvo C70 cabrio T5 The C70 has been around a long time, and it's no longer available in fixed-roof form. But the convertible soldiers on and although it arrived after its coupe sibling, it has still been around since 1999. So with rivals like the forthcoming CLK and A4 rag-tops, the open C70 has got its work cut out trying to keep up. While safety, style and performance are all selling points for Volvo's cars, they're also key attributes for its German counterparts - so what is there to steer potential buyers towards the Volvo camp?

As you'd expect there are the usual Volvo virtues of strong build quality, excellent ergonomics and - in T5 form as tested - plenty of poke. Too much poke in fact, because while Volvo's turbocharged petrol cars are always good for a laugh in a straight line, they tend to come unstuck (literally) when the roads get wet or you need to put the power down in a real hurry.

With little more than delivery mileage on our test car, it didn't seem very fair to cane it - but then few drivers are likely to either. Even with the odometer showing just into three figures, the engine had plenty of go, but the chassis can't cope with sudden bursts of power - especially when the going gets twisty. But at least the brakes are strong and the automatic transmission is beautifully smooth.

Remove all the badges from the interior and you'd instantly be able to guess you were sat in a Volvo - it may be dull to look at but it is user friendly. It's just a shame that it moves about so much on uneven surfaces - the scuttle shake is probably the worst of any drop-top I've ever driven. Well anything from the last 20 years or so, anyway.

Raising and stowing the hood is simplicity itself, with everything done for you at the touch of a button. There are no catches (well, not in the literal sense, anway) and whether the roof is up or down, noise levels are perfectly acceptable. At high speeds you'll want to put the side windows up, but that's the case with just about any convertible, so it's no hardship.

Although the roof mechanism is neatly designed, it's always nice to have a hard top option, for added safety, security and comfort in our long, dismal winters. Volvo doesn't offer that route, so you're stuck with a roof that gives pretty awful rear and rear three-quarter visibility when it's up - something that's not helped by a rear window that's way too small.

Also too small is the boot, which is robbed of space by the roof when it's stowed. That's expected, but rivals now offer mechanisms that help increase space with the roof up - not so the Volvo. At least the cabin is a bit more spacious - fitting four people in is a possibility as long as they're not all six-footers. The seats are all very comfortable as well, although the two-tone leather of our car was of questionable taste and the heated seats really need an intermediate setting if you're not to fry your backside.

With all-new prestige convertibles on the horizon from just about every manufacturer in the sector, it's hard to see the Volvo lasting much longer. In isolation it's not bad, but the raft of rivals it's about to face will present a pretty convincing challenge.

Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Lexus IS 250 SE 4dr Auto | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
There are four grades IS250, SE, SE-L to be topped off with the Sport (due early next year, along with the IS220d diesel).All cars, from the base model up, get a six-speed manual as standard, eight airbags, cruise, a 13-speaker stereo with six-CD changer, keyless ignition, climate and alloys.The SE gets heated/cooled leather and 17-inch alloys (instead of the base car's 16s) and the SE-L gets parking sensors and a few other bits as well as the bigger rims.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
SE-L to be topped off with the Sport (due early next year

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
climate and alloys.The SE gets heated/cooled leather and 17-inch alloys (instead of the base car's 16s) and the SE-L gets parking sensors and a few other bits as well as the bigger rims.The one we're waiting for is the Sport; it rides on the 18-inch rims that the IS could do with and comes with a more sporting suspension set-up.There are quite a few cost options like the usual multimedia and sat nav/sunroof gubbins

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the basics are all pretty well covered.The bonus news is the price. All this for a starting price of £22

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
500 for a Sport when it gets here in January.You can imagine the BMW engineers getting hold of this new IS250 somewhere in a darkened warehouse and torturing its secrets out of it with military-grade intrusion software and miniature toffee hammers

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
while swearing softly in Bavarian and trying to think of an excuse.The less hardy marketeers have already sloped off down the pub to get slowly drunk and sing secret corporate karaoke songs about the good old days when Lexii were merely confidence-boosted Toyotas and BMW could sell you a bent piece of angle iron and we'd all pay extra for the rust.You can imagine it

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
because it's very hard not to be impressed with this new IS250. And very hard to imagine that when the early-adopter atmosphere of the noughties gets a handle on the whole anti-hero image thing

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
BMW is going to have to try much harder to sell you a car. And the chaps at Lexus are going to be very happy indeed.

# data[].attributes.body.value
There are four grades IS250, SE, SE-L to be topped off with the Sport (due early next year, along with the IS220d diesel).

All cars, from the base model up, get a six-speed manual as standard, eight airbags, cruise, a 13-speaker stereo with six-CD changer, keyless ignition, climate and alloys.

The SE gets heated/cooled leather and 17-inch alloys (instead of the base car's 16s) and the SE-L gets parking sensors and a few other bits as well as the bigger rims.

The one we're waiting for is the Sport; it rides on the 18-inch rims that the IS could do with and comes with a more sporting suspension set-up.

There are quite a few cost options like the usual multimedia and sat nav/sunroof gubbins, but the basics are all pretty well covered.

The bonus news is the price. All this for a starting price of £22,400 for an IS250 manual, rising to £26,500 for a Sport when it gets here in January.

You can imagine the BMW engineers getting hold of this new IS250 somewhere in a darkened warehouse and torturing its secrets out of it with military-grade intrusion software and miniature toffee hammers, while swearing softly in Bavarian and trying to think of an excuse.

The less hardy marketeers have already sloped off down the pub to get slowly drunk and sing secret corporate karaoke songs about the good old days when Lexii were merely confidence-boosted Toyotas and BMW could sell you a bent piece of angle iron and we'd all pay extra for the rust.

You can imagine it, because it's very hard not to be impressed with this new IS250. And very hard to imagine that when the early-adopter atmosphere of the noughties gets a handle on the whole anti-hero image thing, BMW is going to have to try much harder to sell you a car. And the chaps at Lexus are going to be very happy indeed.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
There are four grades IS250, SE, SE-L to be topped off with the Sport (due early next year, along with the IS220d diesel).

All cars, from the base model up, get a six-speed manual as standard, eight airbags, cruise, a 13-speaker stereo with six-CD changer, keyless ignition, climate and alloys.

The SE gets heated/cooled leather and 17-inch alloys (instead of the base car's 16s) and the SE-L gets parking sensors and a few other bits as well as the bigger rims.

The one we're waiting for is the Sport; it rides on the 18-inch rims that the IS could do with and comes with a more sporting suspension set-up.

There are quite a few cost options like the usual multimedia and sat nav/sunroof gubbins, but the basics are all pretty well covered.

The bonus news is the price. All this for a starting price of £22,400 for an IS250 manual, rising to £26,500 for a Sport when it gets here in January.

You can imagine the BMW engineers getting hold of this new IS250 somewhere in a darkened warehouse and torturing its secrets out of it with military-grade intrusion software and miniature toffee hammers, while swearing softly in Bavarian and trying to think of an excuse.

The less hardy marketeers have already sloped off down the pub to get slowly drunk and sing secret corporate karaoke songs about the good old days when Lexii were merely confidence-boosted Toyotas and BMW could sell you a bent piece of angle iron and we'd all pay extra for the rust.

You can imagine it, because it's very hard not to be impressed with this new IS250. And very hard to imagine that when the early-adopter atmosphere of the noughties gets a handle on the whole anti-hero image thing, BMW is going to have to try much harder to sell you a car. And the chaps at Lexus are going to be very happy indeed.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Cowbells are clanking away in the awesome Bavarian mountain vista when the bark of a well-thrashed flat six engine splits the idyllic calm. Excellent, this'll be the freshly facelifted Porsche 911 then...

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Cowbells are clanking away in the awesome Bavarian mountain vista when the bark of a well-thrashed flat six engine splits the idyllic calm. Excellent

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this'll be the freshly facelifted Porsche 911 then...The lurid yellow example that's presently beckoning for a blat in the direction of the Austrian border has been subjected to the latest instalment in the series of gradual tweakery that's been ongoing since the 911 first hit the road some 37 years ago. If Porsche started to use Mitsubishi's system of nomenclature for outlandishly quick performance cars

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this one would be the 911 Carrera Evo XXVII.First of the useful improvements this time around is that

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's respectably louder. Superb car though it was

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the '996' generation of 911s introduced scarcely four years ago was found by many of those jammy enough to try it out to be missing some of the unique character of its predecessors

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
gaining in its place a dose of overly effective refinement. Porsche's boffins have now added a vergröerter Sportsauspuff

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
or an enlarged sports exhaust to the rest of us

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
tuned to just squeeze through EU noise regulations.Taking a peek around inside

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
there are a couple more handy additions. The steering wheel is now a neat three-spoke jobby as standard

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
unwelcomed shiny plastics have been banished from all immediately obvious switches and trim

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a glovebox has sprouted out of the dashboard as has

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a large cupholder.The engine's capacity has also been increased from 3.4 to 3.6 litres

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
connecting rods and pistons. Also added is a VarioCam Plus system borrowed from the 911 Turbo which adjusts inlet valve lifts depending on how hard you're pushing

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
squirting in extra air/fuel when it's needed. The upshot is a 20bhp power increase to 320bhp

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a 15lb ft torque increase to 273lb ft and a modest boost in fuel economy too.There's a strong punch of torque from very low revs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
assisted by the carefully spaced ratios of the strengthened six-speed manual gearbox. By 6

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
000rpm there's still more excitement to be experienced

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the yowl emitting from behind my ears upping in volume and a hefty extra surge pummelling the car up the road until a further gear is called for as 7

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I flick a glance at the clock. The airport is 120 miles away and we're meant to be checking in in just over an hour's time. No problem. Push a little harder and despite its performance potential

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this rarely feels an intimidating car to dice with. It simply corners flat with oodles of grip and fully informative feedback through the steering. More fettling has been going on underneath

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
new suspension geometry and a wider front track combining to make it even more sweetly balanced than before. The bodyshell has been stiffened up while the alloy wheels are lighter and are available in a fresh choice of designs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with ten-spoke 17-inchers as standard and delicate optional five-spoke 18-inchers fitted to our test car.We soon come to a section of slip road that tightly curves back on itself. Even in our rear-wheel-drive Carrera

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Porsche Stability Management system resists cutting in to hamper progress in these dry conditions.A lengthy stretch of derestricted autobahn now lies between here and Munich. The speedo's needle is squirreling upwards yet the car remains reassuringly stable

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
having shrugged off the lightness at the front end that could be felt in previous 911s. Finally approaching the exit road

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the four-piston brake callipers over cross-drilled discs haul it all in with complete confidence. Just 58 minutes after setting off

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
we're there.There's one last obvious addition that I need to briefly mention. Gone are the headlamps shared with the Boxster and arguably modelled on a bloodhound's peepers

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
replaced by the more aggressive units sported by the Turbo. The cleanly spherical headlamps of the last '993' generation of 911s still do better it for me

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but in all other respects the 911 you're looking at here is just a nose away from perfection.

# data[].attributes.body.value
Cowbells are clanking away in the awesome Bavarian mountain vista when the bark of a well-thrashed flat six engine splits the idyllic calm. Excellent, this'll be the freshly facelifted Porsche 911 then...

The lurid yellow example that's presently beckoning for a blat in the direction of the Austrian border has been subjected to the latest instalment in the series of gradual tweakery that's been ongoing since the 911 first hit the road some 37 years ago. If Porsche started to use Mitsubishi's system of nomenclature for outlandishly quick performance cars, this one would be the 911 Carrera Evo XXVII.

First of the useful improvements this time around is that, as mentioned, it's respectably louder. Superb car though it was, the '996' generation of 911s introduced scarcely four years ago was found by many of those jammy enough to try it out to be missing some of the unique character of its predecessors, gaining in its place a dose of overly effective refinement. Porsche's boffins have now added a vergröerter Sportsauspuff, or an enlarged sports exhaust to the rest of us, tuned to just squeeze through EU noise regulations.

Taking a peek around inside, there are a couple more handy additions. The steering wheel is now a neat three-spoke jobby as standard, unwelcomed shiny plastics have been banished from all immediately obvious switches and trim, a glovebox has sprouted out of the dashboard as has, perplexingly, a large cupholder.

The engine's capacity has also been increased from 3.4 to 3.6 litres, thanks to a new crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons. Also added is a VarioCam Plus system borrowed from the 911 Turbo which adjusts inlet valve lifts depending on how hard you're pushing, squirting in extra air/fuel when it's needed. The upshot is a 20bhp power increase to 320bhp, a 15lb ft torque increase to 273lb ft and a modest boost in fuel economy too.

There's a strong punch of torque from very low revs, assisted by the carefully spaced ratios of the strengthened six-speed manual gearbox. By 6,000rpm there's still more excitement to be experienced, the valves opening even further, the yowl emitting from behind my ears upping in volume and a hefty extra surge pummelling the car up the road until a further gear is called for as 7,500rpm approaches.

On the road, I flick a glance at the clock. The airport is 120 miles away and we're meant to be checking in in just over an hour's time. No problem. Push a little harder and despite its performance potential, this rarely feels an intimidating car to dice with. It simply corners flat with oodles of grip and fully informative feedback through the steering. More fettling has been going on underneath, with re-valved dampers, new suspension geometry and a wider front track combining to make it even more sweetly balanced than before. The bodyshell has been stiffened up while the alloy wheels are lighter and are available in a fresh choice of designs, with ten-spoke 17-inchers as standard and delicate optional five-spoke 18-inchers fitted to our test car.

We soon come to a section of slip road that tightly curves back on itself. Even in our rear-wheel-drive Carrera, the Porsche Stability Management system resists cutting in to hamper progress in these dry conditions.

A lengthy stretch of derestricted autobahn now lies between here and Munich. The speedo's needle is squirreling upwards yet the car remains reassuringly stable, having shrugged off the lightness at the front end that could be felt in previous 911s. Finally approaching the exit road, the four-piston brake callipers over cross-drilled discs haul it all in with complete confidence. Just 58 minutes after setting off, we're there.

There's one last obvious addition that I need to briefly mention. Gone are the headlamps shared with the Boxster and arguably modelled on a bloodhound's peepers, replaced by the more aggressive units sported by the Turbo. The cleanly spherical headlamps of the last '993' generation of 911s still do better it for me, but in all other respects the 911 you're looking at here is just a nose away from perfection.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Cowbells are clanking away in the awesome Bavarian mountain vista when the bark of a well-thrashed flat six engine splits the idyllic calm. Excellent, this'll be the freshly facelifted Porsche 911 then...

The lurid yellow example that's presently beckoning for a blat in the direction of the Austrian border has been subjected to the latest instalment in the series of gradual tweakery that's been ongoing since the 911 first hit the road some 37 years ago. If Porsche started to use Mitsubishi's system of nomenclature for outlandishly quick performance cars, this one would be the 911 Carrera Evo XXVII.

First of the useful improvements this time around is that, as mentioned, it's respectably louder. Superb car though it was, the '996' generation of 911s introduced scarcely four years ago was found by many of those jammy enough to try it out to be missing some of the unique character of its predecessors, gaining in its place a dose of overly effective refinement. Porsche's boffins have now added a vergröerter Sportsauspuff, or an enlarged sports exhaust to the rest of us, tuned to just squeeze through EU noise regulations.

Taking a peek around inside, there are a couple more handy additions. The steering wheel is now a neat three-spoke jobby as standard, unwelcomed shiny plastics have been banished from all immediately obvious switches and trim, a glovebox has sprouted out of the dashboard as has, perplexingly, a large cupholder.

The engine's capacity has also been increased from 3.4 to 3.6 litres, thanks to a new crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons. Also added is a VarioCam Plus system borrowed from the 911 Turbo which adjusts inlet valve lifts depending on how hard you're pushing, squirting in extra air/fuel when it's needed. The upshot is a 20bhp power increase to 320bhp, a 15lb ft torque increase to 273lb ft and a modest boost in fuel economy too.

There's a strong punch of torque from very low revs, assisted by the carefully spaced ratios of the strengthened six-speed manual gearbox. By 6,000rpm there's still more excitement to be experienced, the valves opening even further, the yowl emitting from behind my ears upping in volume and a hefty extra surge pummelling the car up the road until a further gear is called for as 7,500rpm approaches.

On the road, I flick a glance at the clock. The airport is 120 miles away and we're meant to be checking in in just over an hour's time. No problem. Push a little harder and despite its performance potential, this rarely feels an intimidating car to dice with. It simply corners flat with oodles of grip and fully informative feedback through the steering. More fettling has been going on underneath, with re-valved dampers, new suspension geometry and a wider front track combining to make it even more sweetly balanced than before. The bodyshell has been stiffened up while the alloy wheels are lighter and are available in a fresh choice of designs, with ten-spoke 17-inchers as standard and delicate optional five-spoke 18-inchers fitted to our test car.

We soon come to a section of slip road that tightly curves back on itself. Even in our rear-wheel-drive Carrera, the Porsche Stability Management system resists cutting in to hamper progress in these dry conditions.

A lengthy stretch of derestricted autobahn now lies between here and Munich. The speedo's needle is squirreling upwards yet the car remains reassuringly stable, having shrugged off the lightness at the front end that could be felt in previous 911s. Finally approaching the exit road, the four-piston brake callipers over cross-drilled discs haul it all in with complete confidence. Just 58 minutes after setting off, we're there.

There's one last obvious addition that I need to briefly mention. Gone are the headlamps shared with the Boxster and arguably modelled on a bloodhound's peepers, replaced by the more aggressive units sported by the Turbo. The cleanly spherical headlamps of the last '993' generation of 911s still do better it for me, but in all other respects the 911 you're looking at here is just a nose away from perfection.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volvo S60 2.0 T SE 4dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, every one knows that Volvos are square affairs, from one driven by the older driver, or by drama teachers. Who else fills their brochures with acronyms like SIPS, IC and WHIPS?""The very nature of the car - and I draw from a quote of the founders of Volvo, Assar Gabrielsson here; 'Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is - and must remain - safety'".

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
every one knows that Volvos are square affairs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
or by drama teachers. Who else fills their brochures with acronyms like SIPS

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
IC and WHIPS?""The very nature of the car - and I draw from a quote of the founders of Volvo

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Assar Gabrielsson here; 'Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is - and must remain - safety'"."The S60 is by its very nature

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Volvoish." "All of the five seats in the S60 have three-point belts

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
dependant on the severity of the impact. In the event of an impact to the side of the car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) spreads the force of the impact away from the cabin and through pillars

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
floor and roof of the car instead.""The WHIPS system built into the front seats helps to prevent whiplash injuries and there are even ISOFIX attachments for child seats in both the front and back of the car"."In conclusion

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
drive a S60 and you're driving a tank. You could point this at buildings and come out safely the other side."The defence council takes to the stand."Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
my learned friend would have you believe that nothing has changed in the past ten years." "But in fact quite the opposite is true

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a new generation of younger Volvo drivers has emerged - people who'd never have thought have driving Volvos a few years ago are now happy to buy from the marque.""Take the S60 for example. Peter Horbury

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Head of Design at Volvo said of the S60; 'When designing the Volvo S60

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
we wanted to create Volvo's most dynamic sporty saloon ever - a car with a difference' - and that's exactly what the S60 is. A car with a difference.""The outside styling is more curved than you've ever seen on one of the bad old Volvos

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with a simple and straight forward design - but it's certainly not old fashioned.""Take the S60 out on to the road

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and that's where you'll really notice the difference

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it is one of the easiest cars of its size to drive - period. The 180bhp 2.0-litre goes about its business in an eager and efficient manner ensuring refined comfort - not normally two words associated with drama teachers"."Sure

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the traditional values of old Volvo are still there

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but these days they are combined with young and dynamic new designs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
like that of the S60. Buy an S60 and you'll get a roomy

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and not the last will recognise that..."Ladies and gentlemen of the jury

# data[].attributes.body.value
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, every one knows that Volvos are square affairs, from one driven by the older driver, or by drama teachers. Who else fills their brochures with acronyms like SIPS, IC and WHIPS?"

"The very nature of the car - and I draw from a quote of the founders of Volvo, Assar Gabrielsson here; 'Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is - and must remain - safety'".

"The S60 is by its very nature, Volvoish." "All of the five seats in the S60 have three-point belts, even the airbags think for themselves, inflating in two stages, dependant on the severity of the impact. In the event of an impact to the side of the car, SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) spreads the force of the impact away from the cabin and through pillars, floor and roof of the car instead."

"The WHIPS system built into the front seats helps to prevent whiplash injuries and there are even ISOFIX attachments for child seats in both the front and back of the car".

"In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, don't let the new curvy design fool you, drive a S60 and you're driving a tank. You could point this at buildings and come out safely the other side."

The defence council takes to the stand.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, my learned friend would have you believe that nothing has changed in the past ten years." "But in fact quite the opposite is true, a new generation of younger Volvo drivers has emerged - people who'd never have thought have driving Volvos a few years ago are now happy to buy from the marque."

"Take the S60 for example. Peter Horbury, Head of Design at Volvo said of the S60; 'When designing the Volvo S60, we wanted to create Volvo's most dynamic sporty saloon ever - a car with a difference' - and that's exactly what the S60 is. A car with a difference."

"The outside styling is more curved than you've ever seen on one of the bad old Volvos, and the interior again, is more modern and rounded. Sure, the Swedish themes are there, with a simple and straight forward design - but it's certainly not old fashioned."

"Take the S60 out on to the road, and that's where you'll really notice the difference, Ladies and Gentlemen. Quite simply, it is one of the easiest cars of its size to drive - period. The 180bhp 2.0-litre goes about its business in an eager and efficient manner ensuring refined comfort - not normally two words associated with drama teachers".

"Sure, the traditional values of old Volvo are still there, but these days they are combined with young and dynamic new designs, like that of the S60. Buy an S60 and you'll get a roomy, well-built, well-designed compact executive car, and anyone in this millennium, and not the last will recognise that..."

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the decision is yours...

C. Boorman

# data[].attributes.body.processed
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, every one knows that Volvos are square affairs, from one driven by the older driver, or by drama teachers. Who else fills their brochures with acronyms like SIPS, IC and WHIPS?"

"The very nature of the car - and I draw from a quote of the founders of Volvo, Assar Gabrielsson here; 'Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is - and must remain - safety'".

"The S60 is by its very nature, Volvoish." "All of the five seats in the S60 have three-point belts, even the airbags think for themselves, inflating in two stages, dependant on the severity of the impact. In the event of an impact to the side of the car, SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) spreads the force of the impact away from the cabin and through pillars, floor and roof of the car instead."

"The WHIPS system built into the front seats helps to prevent whiplash injuries and there are even ISOFIX attachments for child seats in both the front and back of the car".

"In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, don't let the new curvy design fool you, drive a S60 and you're driving a tank. You could point this at buildings and come out safely the other side."

The defence council takes to the stand.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, my learned friend would have you believe that nothing has changed in the past ten years." "But in fact quite the opposite is true, a new generation of younger Volvo drivers has emerged - people who'd never have thought have driving Volvos a few years ago are now happy to buy from the marque."

"Take the S60 for example. Peter Horbury, Head of Design at Volvo said of the S60; 'When designing the Volvo S60, we wanted to create Volvo's most dynamic sporty saloon ever - a car with a difference' - and that's exactly what the S60 is. A car with a difference."

"The outside styling is more curved than you've ever seen on one of the bad old Volvos, and the interior again, is more modern and rounded. Sure, the Swedish themes are there, with a simple and straight forward design - but it's certainly not old fashioned."

"Take the S60 out on to the road, and that's where you'll really notice the difference, Ladies and Gentlemen. Quite simply, it is one of the easiest cars of its size to drive - period. The 180bhp 2.0-litre goes about its business in an eager and efficient manner ensuring refined comfort - not normally two words associated with drama teachers".

"Sure, the traditional values of old Volvo are still there, but these days they are combined with young and dynamic new designs, like that of the S60. Buy an S60 and you'll get a roomy, well-built, well-designed compact executive car, and anyone in this millennium, and not the last will recognise that..."

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the decision is yours...

C. Boorman

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volvo C70 2.0 T 2dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Knowing that there's normally no time to try different versions of the same car, the start point when we first test a model is often the top of the range. Lots of bells and whistles, (normally) stacks of performance and unless the car is a real duffer dynamically it'll get a reasonable review.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Knowing that there's normally no time to try different versions of the same car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the start point when we first test a model is often the top of the range. Lots of bells and whistles

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
(normally) stacks of performance and unless the car is a real duffer dynamically it'll get a reasonable review.So in an attempt to revisit some of the models and try them out in a lower spec

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
an entry level C70 was booked for test. Having driven the completely mental T5 version

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which has far too much power for our gatso-ridden roads

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it would be interesting to see how the car fared with just a 2.0-litre light-pressure turbo unit under the bonnet.Ignoring the oily bits for now

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with refinement that's beyond many of its competitors. The car is far larger than it seems with swoops and curves disguising its bulk very well. The benefit of such generous proportions is plenty of space for rear seat passengers and a boot that you can actually fit things into - even if it is a bit too shallow.Volvo's svelte coupe has been around for a while now

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it still looks classy and stylish. The profile strikes just the right balance between understated and flash while the 17-inch wheels lift the whole appearance - it's a shame there's so much clearance between the top of the tyre and the wheelarch. There's also virtually no chrome adornments on the C70 at all

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
yet it doesn't look bland despite the amount of bodywork.Thankfully the interior is just as inviting as the exterior. The leather trim looks great and the token wood inserts are enough to lift the interior without making it look tarty. The C70's fascia is also much more attractive than the slabby dashes in the S60 and S80 - and not only does it look good but the instrumentation is clear and the ergonomics are excellent. The only fly in the ointment is the heating and ventilation set up

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which is ugly. At least it all works well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with dials for passenger and driver temperatures.As a driver's car it's not that great

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as the gearchange is a bit baulky and there's not a lot of feel from the brakes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
although they work well enough. The ride is compliant enough around town but on motorways it can be quite fidgety

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
especially in the inside lane (thanks to the ruts worn by all the trucks).The disadvantage of such a large bodyshell is it needs something larger than a 2.0-litre engine to pull it along with any conviction. But then if you opt for the mental T5 version you'll have no shortage of convictions - enough to lose your licence. So by process of elimination the 2.4T is the best option

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as it offers enough power to cope with the C70's generous proportions without gulping fuel at a wallet-busting rate.Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.body.value
Knowing that there's normally no time to try different versions of the same car, the start point when we first test a model is often the top of the range. Lots of bells and whistles, (normally) stacks of performance and unless the car is a real duffer dynamically it'll get a reasonable review.

So in an attempt to revisit some of the models and try them out in a lower spec, an entry level C70 was booked for test. Having driven the completely mental T5 version, which has far too much power for our gatso-ridden roads, it would be interesting to see how the car fared with just a 2.0-litre light-pressure turbo unit under the bonnet.

Ignoring the oily bits for now, the C70 isn't a bad place to be, with refinement that's beyond many of its competitors. The car is far larger than it seems with swoops and curves disguising its bulk very well. The benefit of such generous proportions is plenty of space for rear seat passengers and a boot that you can actually fit things into - even if it is a bit too shallow.

Volvo's svelte coupe has been around for a while now, and it's a familiar sight on our roads, but it still looks classy and stylish. The profile strikes just the right balance between understated and flash while the 17-inch wheels lift the whole appearance - it's a shame there's so much clearance between the top of the tyre and the wheelarch. There's also virtually no chrome adornments on the C70 at all, yet it doesn't look bland despite the amount of bodywork.

Thankfully the interior is just as inviting as the exterior. The leather trim looks great and the token wood inserts are enough to lift the interior without making it look tarty. The C70's fascia is also much more attractive than the slabby dashes in the S60 and S80 - and not only does it look good but the instrumentation is clear and the ergonomics are excellent. The only fly in the ointment is the heating and ventilation set up, which is ugly. At least it all works well, with dials for passenger and driver temperatures.

As a driver's car it's not that great, as the gearchange is a bit baulky and there's not a lot of feel from the brakes, although they work well enough. The ride is compliant enough around town but on motorways it can be quite fidgety, especially in the inside lane (thanks to the ruts worn by all the trucks).

The disadvantage of such a large bodyshell is it needs something larger than a 2.0-litre engine to pull it along with any conviction. But then if you opt for the mental T5 version you'll have no shortage of convictions - enough to lose your licence. So by process of elimination the 2.4T is the best option, as it offers enough power to cope with the C70's generous proportions without gulping fuel at a wallet-busting rate.

Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Knowing that there's normally no time to try different versions of the same car, the start point when we first test a model is often the top of the range. Lots of bells and whistles, (normally) stacks of performance and unless the car is a real duffer dynamically it'll get a reasonable review.

So in an attempt to revisit some of the models and try them out in a lower spec, an entry level C70 was booked for test. Having driven the completely mental T5 version, which has far too much power for our gatso-ridden roads, it would be interesting to see how the car fared with just a 2.0-litre light-pressure turbo unit under the bonnet.

Ignoring the oily bits for now, the C70 isn't a bad place to be, with refinement that's beyond many of its competitors. The car is far larger than it seems with swoops and curves disguising its bulk very well. The benefit of such generous proportions is plenty of space for rear seat passengers and a boot that you can actually fit things into - even if it is a bit too shallow.

Volvo's svelte coupe has been around for a while now, and it's a familiar sight on our roads, but it still looks classy and stylish. The profile strikes just the right balance between understated and flash while the 17-inch wheels lift the whole appearance - it's a shame there's so much clearance between the top of the tyre and the wheelarch. There's also virtually no chrome adornments on the C70 at all, yet it doesn't look bland despite the amount of bodywork.

Thankfully the interior is just as inviting as the exterior. The leather trim looks great and the token wood inserts are enough to lift the interior without making it look tarty. The C70's fascia is also much more attractive than the slabby dashes in the S60 and S80 - and not only does it look good but the instrumentation is clear and the ergonomics are excellent. The only fly in the ointment is the heating and ventilation set up, which is ugly. At least it all works well, with dials for passenger and driver temperatures.

As a driver's car it's not that great, as the gearchange is a bit baulky and there's not a lot of feel from the brakes, although they work well enough. The ride is compliant enough around town but on motorways it can be quite fidgety, especially in the inside lane (thanks to the ruts worn by all the trucks).

The disadvantage of such a large bodyshell is it needs something larger than a 2.0-litre engine to pull it along with any conviction. But then if you opt for the mental T5 version you'll have no shortage of convictions - enough to lose your licence. So by process of elimination the 2.4T is the best option, as it offers enough power to cope with the C70's generous proportions without gulping fuel at a wallet-busting rate.

Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
The Germans probably have a word for it, schnardenfaffon or something like that. It's that feeling that you experience when your initial, scornful dismissal of something that has been over-enthusiastically described, mellows to reluctant delight once experienced.Porsche's engineers are rather proud of the electric roof adorning the new 911 Cabriolet and the fact that, for the first time ever, it can be raised and lowered by using the remote control. "So," they explained, "you can finish your coffee at the outdoor café and then just press the button from your table."

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
schnardenfaffon or something like that. It's that feeling that you experience when your initial

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
scornful dismissal of something that has been over-enthusiastically described

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
mellows to reluctant delight once experienced.Porsche's engineers are rather proud of the electric roof adorning the new 911 Cabriolet and the fact that

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it can be raised and lowered by using the remote control. "So

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
"you can finish your coffee at the outdoor café and then just press the button from your table."Can you imagine it? You'd look like the world's biggest... well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as soon you get that little control unit in your sweaty palms

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you just have to point it at the car and push the button. Believe me

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you really have no choice.No matter how hard you purse your lips together in a gesture of defiant

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you can't help the corners curling upwards in the flickering beginnings of a tiny appreciative smile as the roof lifts itself up and folds away

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
out of sight.The old 911 Cabriolet did none of these beautiful things. Even if you were rich enough to afford the £70

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
785 asking price for the outgoing four-wheel-drive version

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you still had to faff around with a non-cooperative tonneau cover and then drive around in a car with a back end that looked like it should be Mary Poppins-propelled.From the rear and side the new two-wheel-drive 911 Cabriolet - yours for £71

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
450 but with a year-long waiting list - is a much more handsome and elegant looking car than its predecessor. Its side profile is almost more speedster than cabriolet and although its rump sits high and fat

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it still looks fast and aggressive. The argument continues to rage over the new car's front. I'd go for the old car's styling every time. The new 911's headlamps just don't look right to my eyes.Ears are

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
another matter. Bury the now non-floor-mounted accelerator pedal and the 3.4-litre water-cooled engine is a fine thing to listen to. Admittedly it's not quite as raspy as the old air-cooled engine

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you sit much further from the source of the noise thanks to the rear child-seat-cum-storage-area. But the sounds still reach your ears and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
strong and promising.The performance may not be quite the sizzling variety as sampled by my colleague Mr Stewart in the Turbo S 911 on the following two pages

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it's most satisfactory all the same. The top speed's cited at 174mph - that could be an interesting little test in baseball-cap aerodynamics - and Porsche claim 0-62mph in 5.4secs.More impressive than mere statistics is the way in which the boxer engine manages to combine its tremendous sprinting ability with flexibility. There's plenty of torque available

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
whichever one of the six ratios of the manual gearbox you happen to be in.At high speeds

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's very hard not to be impressed with the sheer calmness and civility of the 911's cockpit. Of course there's plenty of wind noise

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but with the side windows up and and the air-deflector in place there is actually very little wind inside the cabin - just enough to ruffle the back of your head.While it still feels firm

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the new cabriolet offers a considerably less crashy ride and very

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
very little body shake. But despite the steering having lost some degree of the old model's knife-edge sharpness

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this car is still hugely entertaining with massive reserves of grip and cornering ability. Drive it hard over a twisty road and it definitely feels much more like a raw roadster than a soft cabriolet.Sadly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Summer's end usually heralds a less satisfactory side of motoring for cabriolet drivers. Stuck in murky December traffic with the roar of noisy buses filtering its way into the cabin and rain drops plinking on the fabric roof is certainly not much fun. Soon you begin to wish you'd spent your money on a car more capable of insulating you from the scummier side of motoring. But with this car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
that's not a problem. Simply drive it into your garage and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
fit the smart-looking hard top that comes as standard

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
twin airbags and a CD player.Although luggage space isn't vast

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the 911 Cabriolet is a massive step forward compared with the old model. It's now a sports cabriolet that's also a comfortable long-distance tourer. It's civilised in the extreme. But that's praise which Porsche

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is reluctant to accept for fear it also implies that some of the old character has gone. It's a clear case of snarbodenzau

# data[].attributes.body.value
The Germans probably have a word for it, schnardenfaffon or something like that. It's that feeling that you experience when your initial, scornful dismissal of something that has been over-enthusiastically described, mellows to reluctant delight once experienced.

Porsche's engineers are rather proud of the electric roof adorning the new 911 Cabriolet and the fact that, for the first time ever, it can be raised and lowered by using the remote control. "So," they explained, "you can finish your coffee at the outdoor café and then just press the button from your table."

Can you imagine it? You'd look like the world's biggest... well, you know what I mean. But the truth is, as soon you get that little control unit in your sweaty palms, you just have to point it at the car and push the button. Believe me, you really have no choice.

No matter how hard you purse your lips together in a gesture of defiant, cold cynicism, you can't help the corners curling upwards in the flickering beginnings of a tiny appreciative smile as the roof lifts itself up and folds away, zig-zag fashion, out of sight.

The old 911 Cabriolet did none of these beautiful things. Even if you were rich enough to afford the £70,785 asking price for the outgoing four-wheel-drive version, you still had to faff around with a non-cooperative tonneau cover and then drive around in a car with a back end that looked like it should be Mary Poppins-propelled.

From the rear and side the new two-wheel-drive 911 Cabriolet - yours for £71,450 but with a year-long waiting list - is a much more handsome and elegant looking car than its predecessor. Its side profile is almost more speedster than cabriolet and although its rump sits high and fat, it still looks fast and aggressive. The argument continues to rage over the new car's front. I'd go for the old car's styling every time. The new 911's headlamps just don't look right to my eyes.

Ears are, fortunately, another matter. Bury the now non-floor-mounted accelerator pedal and the 3.4-litre water-cooled engine is a fine thing to listen to. Admittedly it's not quite as raspy as the old air-cooled engine, while compared with the smaller Boxster, for example, you sit much further from the source of the noise thanks to the rear child-seat-cum-storage-area. But the sounds still reach your ears and, even from low revs, the note is deep, strong and promising.

The performance may not be quite the sizzling variety as sampled by my colleague Mr Stewart in the Turbo S 911 on the following two pages, but it's most satisfactory all the same. The top speed's cited at 174mph - that could be an interesting little test in baseball-cap aerodynamics - and Porsche claim 0-62mph in 5.4secs.

More impressive than mere statistics is the way in which the boxer engine manages to combine its tremendous sprinting ability with flexibility. There's plenty of torque available, whichever one of the six ratios of the manual gearbox you happen to be in.At high speeds, it's very hard not to be impressed with the sheer calmness and civility of the 911's cockpit. Of course there's plenty of wind noise, but with the side windows up and and the air-deflector in place there is actually very little wind inside the cabin - just enough to ruffle the back of your head.

While it still feels firm, the new cabriolet offers a considerably less crashy ride and very, very little body shake. But despite the steering having lost some degree of the old model's knife-edge sharpness, this car is still hugely entertaining with massive reserves of grip and cornering ability. Drive it hard over a twisty road and it definitely feels much more like a raw roadster than a soft cabriolet.

Sadly, unless you chase the Winter sun south, Summer's end usually heralds a less satisfactory side of motoring for cabriolet drivers. Stuck in murky December traffic with the roar of noisy buses filtering its way into the cabin and rain drops plinking on the fabric roof is certainly not much fun. Soon you begin to wish you'd spent your money on a car more capable of insulating you from the scummier side of motoring. But with this car, that's not a problem. Simply drive it into your garage and, with the help of a friend, fit the smart-looking hard top that comes as standard, along with air-con, leather, twin airbags and a CD player.

Although luggage space isn't vast, the 911 Cabriolet is a massive step forward compared with the old model. It's now a sports cabriolet that's also a comfortable long-distance tourer. It's civilised in the extreme. But that's praise which Porsche, in an agonising twist of emotions, is reluctant to accept for fear it also implies that some of the old character has gone. It's a clear case of snarbodenzau, or something.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
The Germans probably have a word for it, schnardenfaffon or something like that. It's that feeling that you experience when your initial, scornful dismissal of something that has been over-enthusiastically described, mellows to reluctant delight once experienced.

Porsche's engineers are rather proud of the electric roof adorning the new 911 Cabriolet and the fact that, for the first time ever, it can be raised and lowered by using the remote control. "So," they explained, "you can finish your coffee at the outdoor café and then just press the button from your table."

Can you imagine it? You'd look like the world's biggest... well, you know what I mean. But the truth is, as soon you get that little control unit in your sweaty palms, you just have to point it at the car and push the button. Believe me, you really have no choice.

No matter how hard you purse your lips together in a gesture of defiant, cold cynicism, you can't help the corners curling upwards in the flickering beginnings of a tiny appreciative smile as the roof lifts itself up and folds away, zig-zag fashion, out of sight.

The old 911 Cabriolet did none of these beautiful things. Even if you were rich enough to afford the £70,785 asking price for the outgoing four-wheel-drive version, you still had to faff around with a non-cooperative tonneau cover and then drive around in a car with a back end that looked like it should be Mary Poppins-propelled.

From the rear and side the new two-wheel-drive 911 Cabriolet - yours for £71,450 but with a year-long waiting list - is a much more handsome and elegant looking car than its predecessor. Its side profile is almost more speedster than cabriolet and although its rump sits high and fat, it still looks fast and aggressive. The argument continues to rage over the new car's front. I'd go for the old car's styling every time. The new 911's headlamps just don't look right to my eyes.

Ears are, fortunately, another matter. Bury the now non-floor-mounted accelerator pedal and the 3.4-litre water-cooled engine is a fine thing to listen to. Admittedly it's not quite as raspy as the old air-cooled engine, while compared with the smaller Boxster, for example, you sit much further from the source of the noise thanks to the rear child-seat-cum-storage-area. But the sounds still reach your ears and, even from low revs, the note is deep, strong and promising.

The performance may not be quite the sizzling variety as sampled by my colleague Mr Stewart in the Turbo S 911 on the following two pages, but it's most satisfactory all the same. The top speed's cited at 174mph - that could be an interesting little test in baseball-cap aerodynamics - and Porsche claim 0-62mph in 5.4secs.

More impressive than mere statistics is the way in which the boxer engine manages to combine its tremendous sprinting ability with flexibility. There's plenty of torque available, whichever one of the six ratios of the manual gearbox you happen to be in.At high speeds, it's very hard not to be impressed with the sheer calmness and civility of the 911's cockpit. Of course there's plenty of wind noise, but with the side windows up and and the air-deflector in place there is actually very little wind inside the cabin - just enough to ruffle the back of your head.

While it still feels firm, the new cabriolet offers a considerably less crashy ride and very, very little body shake. But despite the steering having lost some degree of the old model's knife-edge sharpness, this car is still hugely entertaining with massive reserves of grip and cornering ability. Drive it hard over a twisty road and it definitely feels much more like a raw roadster than a soft cabriolet.

Sadly, unless you chase the Winter sun south, Summer's end usually heralds a less satisfactory side of motoring for cabriolet drivers. Stuck in murky December traffic with the roar of noisy buses filtering its way into the cabin and rain drops plinking on the fabric roof is certainly not much fun. Soon you begin to wish you'd spent your money on a car more capable of insulating you from the scummier side of motoring. But with this car, that's not a problem. Simply drive it into your garage and, with the help of a friend, fit the smart-looking hard top that comes as standard, along with air-con, leather, twin airbags and a CD player.

Although luggage space isn't vast, the 911 Cabriolet is a massive step forward compared with the old model. It's now a sports cabriolet that's also a comfortable long-distance tourer. It's civilised in the extreme. But that's praise which Porsche, in an agonising twist of emotions, is reluctant to accept for fear it also implies that some of the old character has gone. It's a clear case of snarbodenzau, or something.

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.1 TD Limited 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.1 TD Limited 5dr Auto | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.1 TD Limited 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
They came, they saw, they conquered. They went to award dinners and won things. That is pretty much the story of Jeep in the UK. A remarkable tale of success in which cynical British buyers with an in-built and largely justifiable distrust of all things American automotive, were won over by the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee off-roaders.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.1 TD Limited 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.1 TD Limited 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
they conquered. They went to award dinners and won things. That is pretty much the story of Jeep in the UK. A remarkable tale of success in which cynical British buyers with an in-built and largely justifiable distrust of all things American automotive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
were won over by the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee off-roaders.Of course the image helped and the marketing. But the product was right too. Well priced

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
just as good off-road as their Japanese and European rivals and much better than most on-road

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Cherokee and the Grand cleaned up on group tests. The only complaints concerned a lack of interior space

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
surprising for machines built to convey lardy US citizens about.When the new Grand Cherokee arrived in the UK at Easter

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it dutifully continued where the old one had left off

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
by beating a Land Rover Discovery and a Mercedes-Benz M-class in a TG group test. The only thing missing from its armoury was a diesel engine

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which for a big off-roader is a problem.That hole has just been filled with the arrival of a 3.1-litre

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
five-cylinder turbodiesel. It's built by the Italian company VM Motori and produces 138bhp. The horsepower might not sound that fantastic

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the torque - the stuff that makes engines good for pulling things - is. With 283lb ft it produces almost as much torque as the 4.7-litre V8. It can tow loads up to 3

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which is one big caravan or two heavily genetically modified pigs.So what's the new Grand Cherokee turbodiesel like? Well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
unless the boys at Chrysler fancy a few beers and a good night out

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
they really shouldn't buy tickets for the annual

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
to bring this beating about the bush to an end

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the new diesel engine is a bit noisy.To be fair

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Grand Cherokees we sampled were pre-production units

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
although it's difficult to see how the racket is going to diminish. The problem doesn't manifest itself at cruising speeds

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and while the response of the automatic gearbox is fine

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the response of the engine isn't. It's ear piercingly harsh.OK

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so if you buy a diesel off-roader you know you are going to have put up with a certain amount of noise. But where we may have gotten used to Jeep besting the opposition

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this time it's way off the pace. Arch rival Land Rover does a much better job with its still newish five-cylinder turbodiesel the TD5

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
more refined and more economical. The similarly powerful but less torquey Discovery returns 30.1mpg on the official combined mpg cycle

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Grand Cherokee a rather poor 24.1mpg.In between fuel stops it rides well and although the steering's a bit woolly it handles tidily on-road. It's also got kit to turn any Land Rover owner as green as their wellies; aircon

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
leather and CD player all come as standard. So does a three-year/60

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
000-mile warranty. All that's missing is peace and quiet.

# data[].attributes.body.value
They came, they saw, they conquered. They went to award dinners and won things. That is pretty much the story of Jeep in the UK. A remarkable tale of success in which cynical British buyers with an in-built and largely justifiable distrust of all things American automotive, were won over by the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee off-roaders.

Of course the image helped and the marketing. But the product was right too. Well priced, well equipped, just as good off-road as their Japanese and European rivals and much better than most on-road, the Cherokee and the Grand cleaned up on group tests. The only complaints concerned a lack of interior space, surprising for machines built to convey lardy US citizens about.

When the new Grand Cherokee arrived in the UK at Easter, it dutifully continued where the old one had left off, by beating a Land Rover Discovery and a Mercedes-Benz M-class in a TG group test. The only thing missing from its armoury was a diesel engine, which for a big off-roader is a problem.

That hole has just been filled with the arrival of a 3.1-litre, five-cylinder turbodiesel. It's built by the Italian company VM Motori and produces 138bhp. The horsepower might not sound that fantastic, nor the 0-60mph time of 13.5seconds, but the torque - the stuff that makes engines good for pulling things - is. With 283lb ft it produces almost as much torque as the 4.7-litre V8. It can tow loads up to 3,500kg, which is one big caravan or two heavily genetically modified pigs.

So what's the new Grand Cherokee turbodiesel like? Well, unless the boys at Chrysler fancy a few beers and a good night out, they really shouldn't buy tickets for the annual, Quiet Diesel Engine Awards dinner. Or, to bring this beating about the bush to an end, the new diesel engine is a bit noisy.

To be fair, the Grand Cherokees we sampled were pre-production units, although it's difficult to see how the racket is going to diminish. The problem doesn't manifest itself at cruising speeds, but floor the accelerator, and while the response of the automatic gearbox is fine, the response of the engine isn't. It's ear piercingly harsh.

OK, so if you buy a diesel off-roader you know you are going to have put up with a certain amount of noise. But where we may have gotten used to Jeep besting the opposition, this time it's way off the pace. Arch rival Land Rover does a much better job with its still newish five-cylinder turbodiesel the TD5, which is quieter, more refined and more economical. The similarly powerful but less torquey Discovery returns 30.1mpg on the official combined mpg cycle, the Grand Cherokee a rather poor 24.1mpg.

In between fuel stops it rides well and although the steering's a bit woolly it handles tidily on-road. It's also got kit to turn any Land Rover owner as green as their wellies; aircon, alloys, leather and CD player all come as standard. So does a three-year/60,000-mile warranty. All that's missing is peace and quiet.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
They came, they saw, they conquered. They went to award dinners and won things. That is pretty much the story of Jeep in the UK. A remarkable tale of success in which cynical British buyers with an in-built and largely justifiable distrust of all things American automotive, were won over by the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee off-roaders.

Of course the image helped and the marketing. But the product was right too. Well priced, well equipped, just as good off-road as their Japanese and European rivals and much better than most on-road, the Cherokee and the Grand cleaned up on group tests. The only complaints concerned a lack of interior space, surprising for machines built to convey lardy US citizens about.

When the new Grand Cherokee arrived in the UK at Easter, it dutifully continued where the old one had left off, by beating a Land Rover Discovery and a Mercedes-Benz M-class in a TG group test. The only thing missing from its armoury was a diesel engine, which for a big off-roader is a problem.

That hole has just been filled with the arrival of a 3.1-litre, five-cylinder turbodiesel. It's built by the Italian company VM Motori and produces 138bhp. The horsepower might not sound that fantastic, nor the 0-60mph time of 13.5seconds, but the torque - the stuff that makes engines good for pulling things - is. With 283lb ft it produces almost as much torque as the 4.7-litre V8. It can tow loads up to 3,500kg, which is one big caravan or two heavily genetically modified pigs.

So what's the new Grand Cherokee turbodiesel like? Well, unless the boys at Chrysler fancy a few beers and a good night out, they really shouldn't buy tickets for the annual, Quiet Diesel Engine Awards dinner. Or, to bring this beating about the bush to an end, the new diesel engine is a bit noisy.

To be fair, the Grand Cherokees we sampled were pre-production units, although it's difficult to see how the racket is going to diminish. The problem doesn't manifest itself at cruising speeds, but floor the accelerator, and while the response of the automatic gearbox is fine, the response of the engine isn't. It's ear piercingly harsh.

OK, so if you buy a diesel off-roader you know you are going to have put up with a certain amount of noise. But where we may have gotten used to Jeep besting the opposition, this time it's way off the pace. Arch rival Land Rover does a much better job with its still newish five-cylinder turbodiesel the TD5, which is quieter, more refined and more economical. The similarly powerful but less torquey Discovery returns 30.1mpg on the official combined mpg cycle, the Grand Cherokee a rather poor 24.1mpg.

In between fuel stops it rides well and although the steering's a bit woolly it handles tidily on-road. It's also got kit to turn any Land Rover owner as green as their wellies; aircon, alloys, leather and CD player all come as standard. So does a three-year/60,000-mile warranty. All that's missing is peace and quiet.

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.6 John Cooper Works 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.6 John Cooper Works 3dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.6 John Cooper Works 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
The Works kit is the only performance gene-splice that doesn't affect your Mini's five-year servicing deal or warranty. This is worth knowing, because it's also as far as you'll want to go before you lose sight of what a fast Mini is all about.The new bits consist of a flap that reduces pressure losses in the air intake, bigger injectors and tweaked engine software, as a response to the upgrades to the Cooper S. That means 210bhp and 181lb ft, plus Works suspension and 18in wheels.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.6 John Cooper Works 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.6 John Cooper Works 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
The Works kit is the only performance gene-splice that doesn't affect your Mini's five-year servicing deal or warranty. This is worth knowing

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
because it's also as far as you'll want to go before you lose sight of what a fast Mini is all about.The new bits consist of a flap that reduces pressure losses in the air intake

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
bigger injectors and tweaked engine software

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as a response to the upgrades to the Cooper S. That means 210bhp and 181lb ft

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
plus Works suspension and 18in wheels.Small changes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the car feels utterly manic. In the wet

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
even the lean amounts of extra power and torque make it spin an inside wheel all too readily

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but in the dry it's one hell of a laugh. Think of all the French hatchbacks you ever loved without the Kit Kat foil build quality and tendency to bite back. The wheels are far too big

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
though - there's not enough squash to tell you what's going on with the grip.You need to drive one before you commit around £4k for the kit to add to a Cooper S

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it'll liven up a Mini to the point of a rictus grin. 

# data[].attributes.body.value
The Works kit is the only performance gene-splice that doesn't affect your Mini's five-year servicing deal or warranty. This is worth knowing, because it's also as far as you'll want to go before you lose sight of what a fast Mini is all about.

The new bits consist of a flap that reduces pressure losses in the air intake, bigger injectors and tweaked engine software, as a response to the upgrades to the Cooper S. That means 210bhp and 181lb ft, plus Works suspension and 18in wheels.

Small changes, but the car feels utterly manic. In the wet, even the lean amounts of extra power and torque make it spin an inside wheel all too readily, but in the dry it's one hell of a laugh. Think of all the French hatchbacks you ever loved without the Kit Kat foil build quality and tendency to bite back. The wheels are far too big, though - there's not enough squash to tell you what's going on with the grip.

You need to drive one before you commit around £4k for the kit to add to a Cooper S, but if you're still in the mood, it'll liven up a Mini to the point of a rictus grin.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
The Works kit is the only performance gene-splice that doesn't affect your Mini's five-year servicing deal or warranty. This is worth knowing, because it's also as far as you'll want to go before you lose sight of what a fast Mini is all about.

The new bits consist of a flap that reduces pressure losses in the air intake, bigger injectors and tweaked engine software, as a response to the upgrades to the Cooper S. That means 210bhp and 181lb ft, plus Works suspension and 18in wheels.

Small changes, but the car feels utterly manic. In the wet, even the lean amounts of extra power and torque make it spin an inside wheel all too readily, but in the dry it's one hell of a laugh. Think of all the French hatchbacks you ever loved without the Kit Kat foil build quality and tendency to bite back. The wheels are far too big, though - there's not enough squash to tell you what's going on with the grip.

You need to drive one before you commit around £4k for the kit to add to a Cooper S, but if you're still in the mood, it'll liven up a Mini to the point of a rictus grin.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Audi A8 4.2 Quattro 4dr Auto | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Saddam Hussein could be on the back seat stroking his 'tache and still no one would pay attention. Cruising along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice - home to the posiest poseurs on the whole French Riviera - not even a single eyebrow is raised. You see, this A8 is just so understated. I really wouldn't expect anyone to drop their panties in surprise and cry out 'my God, it's the revamped Audi A8' as I trundle past. But as facelifts go, this one's exactly in keeping with the A8's stealthily subtle character.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Saddam Hussein could be on the back seat stroking his 'tache and still no one would pay attention. Cruising along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice - home to the posiest poseurs on the whole French Riviera - not even a single eyebrow is raised. You see

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this A8 is just so understated. I really wouldn't expect anyone to drop their panties in surprise and cry out 'my God

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's the revamped Audi A8' as I trundle past. But as facelifts go

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this one's exactly in keeping with the A8's stealthily subtle character.For starters the biggest

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
poshest Audi is now blessed with a bigger and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
slightly shinier grille. There's a little sub-grille underneath too

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
plus separate foglamps and extra aluminium rubbing strips

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
none of which provoke any extra stares. The new wheels attract no added attention too - because even the giant 18-inchers on my car look alarmingly like Halfords plastic hubcaps.From a distance

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
an A8 is (still) a wider A4. You don't see many around on British roads because its restrained looks are exactly what stops owners from wearing their bank balances on their bonnets in quite the same way that a big Merc or BMW allows them too. Put simply

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
not enough people have been noticing the A8's hidden virtues. So while all those fat cats are busy bothering their secretaries rather than concentrating on the best wheels for the business

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
they're missing out on a thoroughly excellent luxury motor.Excellent

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
if not quite perfect. Heading into the twisty hairpin- covered hills of Grasse

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the 4.2 quattro version I'm in proves to have plenty of grunt for the job. Its rather muted 4.2-litre V8 engine now benefits from five valves per cylinder (count them

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
there's 40) with the result that - wahey - an extra 10bhp has been squeezed out. Bang the lever down a couple of ratios on the five-speed Tiptronic 'box (which tends to get a little confused when left in auto mode) and the 310bhp total is plenty for charging up the steepest inclines.Those wiggling bends aren't much of a problem either. This A8's big rubber and 4x4 quattro driveline sees the power put down ruthlessly to each wheel. ESP stability control (no

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
silly) means all that grip is even harder to shake loose.To match the all-aluminium body

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
much of the running gear is now aluminium

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
partly for the sake of weight watching. Though the ride is now softer too

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
its low-speed lumpiness remains the one area where the A8 is anything other than utterly sophisticated.Me

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I'll slip into the A8's firmly supportive seats

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
let the climate control keep me as cool as my car and allow the sat-nav to show me the way home. Drivers of the plushest BMWs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
will have to carry on trying so hard to let everyone know that they've made it.I'll be the smug one

# data[].attributes.body.value
Saddam Hussein could be on the back seat stroking his 'tache and still no one would pay attention. Cruising along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice - home to the posiest poseurs on the whole French Riviera - not even a single eyebrow is raised. You see, this A8 is just so understated. I really wouldn't expect anyone to drop their panties in surprise and cry out 'my God, it's the revamped Audi A8' as I trundle past. But as facelifts go, this one's exactly in keeping with the A8's stealthily subtle character.

For starters the biggest, poshest Audi is now blessed with a bigger and, erm, slightly shinier grille. There's a little sub-grille underneath too, plus separate foglamps and extra aluminium rubbing strips, none of which provoke any extra stares. The new wheels attract no added attention too - because even the giant 18-inchers on my car look alarmingly like Halfords plastic hubcaps.

From a distance, an A8 is (still) a wider A4. You don't see many around on British roads because its restrained looks are exactly what stops owners from wearing their bank balances on their bonnets in quite the same way that a big Merc or BMW allows them too. Put simply, not enough people have been noticing the A8's hidden virtues. So while all those fat cats are busy bothering their secretaries rather than concentrating on the best wheels for the business, they're missing out on a thoroughly excellent luxury motor.

Excellent, if not quite perfect. Heading into the twisty hairpin- covered hills of Grasse, north of Nice, the 4.2 quattro version I'm in proves to have plenty of grunt for the job. Its rather muted 4.2-litre V8 engine now benefits from five valves per cylinder (count them, there's 40) with the result that - wahey - an extra 10bhp has been squeezed out. Bang the lever down a couple of ratios on the five-speed Tiptronic 'box (which tends to get a little confused when left in auto mode) and the 310bhp total is plenty for charging up the steepest inclines.

Those wiggling bends aren't much of a problem either. This A8's big rubber and 4x4 quattro driveline sees the power put down ruthlessly to each wheel. ESP stability control (no, not the mind-reading sort, silly) means all that grip is even harder to shake loose.

To match the all-aluminium body, much of the running gear is now aluminium, partly for the sake of weight watching. Though the ride is now softer too, its low-speed lumpiness remains the one area where the A8 is anything other than utterly sophisticated.

Me, I'll slip into the A8's firmly supportive seats, relax in its airy high-quality cabin, let the climate control keep me as cool as my car and allow the sat-nav to show me the way home. Drivers of the plushest BMWs, Jaguars, Lexus and Mercedes, meanwhile, will have to carry on trying so hard to let everyone know that they've made it.

I'll be the smug one, though. And of course, no one will ever know why.

Peter Grunert

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Saddam Hussein could be on the back seat stroking his 'tache and still no one would pay attention. Cruising along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice - home to the posiest poseurs on the whole French Riviera - not even a single eyebrow is raised. You see, this A8 is just so understated. I really wouldn't expect anyone to drop their panties in surprise and cry out 'my God, it's the revamped Audi A8' as I trundle past. But as facelifts go, this one's exactly in keeping with the A8's stealthily subtle character.

For starters the biggest, poshest Audi is now blessed with a bigger and, erm, slightly shinier grille. There's a little sub-grille underneath too, plus separate foglamps and extra aluminium rubbing strips, none of which provoke any extra stares. The new wheels attract no added attention too - because even the giant 18-inchers on my car look alarmingly like Halfords plastic hubcaps.

From a distance, an A8 is (still) a wider A4. You don't see many around on British roads because its restrained looks are exactly what stops owners from wearing their bank balances on their bonnets in quite the same way that a big Merc or BMW allows them too. Put simply, not enough people have been noticing the A8's hidden virtues. So while all those fat cats are busy bothering their secretaries rather than concentrating on the best wheels for the business, they're missing out on a thoroughly excellent luxury motor.

Excellent, if not quite perfect. Heading into the twisty hairpin- covered hills of Grasse, north of Nice, the 4.2 quattro version I'm in proves to have plenty of grunt for the job. Its rather muted 4.2-litre V8 engine now benefits from five valves per cylinder (count them, there's 40) with the result that - wahey - an extra 10bhp has been squeezed out. Bang the lever down a couple of ratios on the five-speed Tiptronic 'box (which tends to get a little confused when left in auto mode) and the 310bhp total is plenty for charging up the steepest inclines.

Those wiggling bends aren't much of a problem either. This A8's big rubber and 4x4 quattro driveline sees the power put down ruthlessly to each wheel. ESP stability control (no, not the mind-reading sort, silly) means all that grip is even harder to shake loose.

To match the all-aluminium body, much of the running gear is now aluminium, partly for the sake of weight watching. Though the ride is now softer too, its low-speed lumpiness remains the one area where the A8 is anything other than utterly sophisticated.

Me, I'll slip into the A8's firmly supportive seats, relax in its airy high-quality cabin, let the climate control keep me as cool as my car and allow the sat-nav to show me the way home. Drivers of the plushest BMWs, Jaguars, Lexus and Mercedes, meanwhile, will have to carry on trying so hard to let everyone know that they've made it.

I'll be the smug one, though. And of course, no one will ever know why.

Peter Grunert

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Porsche 911 GT1 2dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
The GT1 exists as a result of current GT sports car racing regulations. These rules are confusing to say the least, but in a nutshell - a splendidly over-simplified splinter of a nutshell - the GT1 class is supposed to be for roadgoing supercars. And at Le Mans' pre-qualifying session, manufacturers of GT1 cars must provide one road-legal version for scrutiny in the paddock. That car must also be 'for sale' at a price not exceeding US $1 million. To keep costs down, you understand.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
The GT1 exists as a result of current GT sports car racing regulations. These rules are confusing to say the least

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but in a nutshell - a splendidly over-simplified splinter of a nutshell - the GT1 class is supposed to be for roadgoing supercars. And at Le Mans' pre-qualifying session

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
manufacturers of GT1 cars must provide one road-legal version for scrutiny in the paddock. That car must also be 'for sale' at a price not exceeding US $1 million. To keep costs down

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you understand. For Le Mans in '96 the works Porsche team showed up with two never-seen-before fully-fledged GT1 racers and a 'display' road car. Long before they'd managed a one-two in the GT1 class and second and third overall

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but to no avail. This year they tried the same trick (though crashed and burned while leading) but so did Nissan

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
who had at least started off with a true road car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
responded with race-only long-tail bodywork. But

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the firm is now geared up to build around thirty 911 GT1 road cars and sell them to the public (except in the USA - no airbags) at around £550

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
depending on the exchange rate. And should you decide to sell your car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
what you'll get is a racing car; one that hasn't been sanitised or compromised for street use. Yes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
there's carpet and a choice of colours for seat leather and exterior paint

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and the dash and instrumentation are of familiar 911 stock. The seat belts

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
are convenient three-point inertia reel items. But the driving sensations

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
are pure racer. Much more so than a 911RS

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
more so than a Diablo or even an F50. It's about on a par with a mid-'60s racing GT40

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the GT1's a car that you're not exactly sorry to get out of. Nobody ever claimed that racing cars are pleasant places to be. They're not. They're built to win

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
not to cosset passengers. And here's the dilemma. Why put up with the noise

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the restricted steering lock and outward vision

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the sealed windows (though 'production' versions will have small sliding apertures)

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the alarming tramlining on imperfect public roads

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
risk and sheer all-round impracticality of it all if you're not going to don Arai

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Nomex and five-point harness and race the damn thing where it really belongs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
on the track? So you may as well buy a pukka racing GT1. I tell you

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the whole thing beats me - except for the obvious benefit for Porsche of winning at Le Mans.Anything else? Well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it broke before we'd finished our day of driving and photography. Worse still

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Porsche's race technicians would have to change the right-side shaft as well. And yes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Porsche say they have never had a driveshaft break on any GT1. Not in testing

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
racing or on the road. That beats me too.Tom Stewart

# data[].attributes.body.value
The GT1 exists as a result of current GT sports car racing regulations. These rules are confusing to say the least, but in a nutshell - a splendidly over-simplified splinter of a nutshell - the GT1 class is supposed to be for roadgoing supercars.

And at Le Mans' pre-qualifying session, manufacturers of GT1 cars must provide one road-legal version for scrutiny in the paddock. That car must also be 'for sale' at a price not exceeding US $1 million. To keep costs down, you understand.

For Le Mans in '96 the works Porsche team showed up with two never-seen-before fully-fledged GT1 racers and a 'display' road car. Long before they'd managed a one-two in the GT1 class and second and third overall, other teams cried 'cheat', but to no avail. This year they tried the same trick (though crashed and burned while leading) but so did Nissan, Panoz, Lotus and Lister, while McLaren, who had at least started off with a true road car, responded with race-only long-tail bodywork.

But, to Porsche's credit, the firm is now geared up to build around thirty 911 GT1 road cars and sell them to the public (except in the USA - no airbags) at around £550,000, depending on the exchange rate.

And should you decide to sell your car, house, all its contents and more to buy one, what you'll get is a racing car; one that hasn't been sanitised or compromised for street use. Yes, there's carpet and a choice of colours for seat leather and exterior paint, and the dash and instrumentation are of familiar 911 stock. The seat belts, too, are convenient three-point inertia reel items.

But the driving sensations, the harsh ride, the mechanical mayhem, are pure racer. Much more so than a 911RS, more so than a Diablo or even an F50. It's about on a par with a mid-'60s racing GT40, but less smelly. In other words, the GT1's a car that you're not exactly sorry to get out of. Nobody ever claimed that racing cars are pleasant places to be. They're not. They're built to win, not to cosset passengers. And here's the dilemma. Why put up with the noise, the absence of real oomph below 5,000rpm, the turbo lag, the restricted steering lock and outward vision, the awkward entry and exit, the sealed windows (though 'production' versions will have small sliding apertures), the near-zero ground clearance, the alarming tramlining on imperfect public roads, and the responsibility, risk and sheer all-round impracticality of it all if you're not going to don Arai, Nomex and five-point harness and race the damn thing where it really belongs, on the track?

So you may as well buy a pukka racing GT1. I tell you, the whole thing beats me - except for the obvious benefit for Porsche of winning at Le Mans.

Anything else? Well, yes. Unfort-unately, it broke. Worse, it broke while I was driving which, for whatever reason, makes a tester feel grim. Worse still, it broke before we'd finished our day of driving and photography.

Worse still, the cause was the left rear driveshaft, which costs almost £3,000, plus labour. Worse still, Porsche's race technicians would have to change the right-side shaft as well. And yes, you guessed, still even more worser again, Porsche say they have never had a driveshaft break on any GT1. Not in testing, qualifying, racing or on the road. That beats me too.

Tom Stewart

# data[].attributes.body.processed
The GT1 exists as a result of current GT sports car racing regulations. These rules are confusing to say the least, but in a nutshell - a splendidly over-simplified splinter of a nutshell - the GT1 class is supposed to be for roadgoing supercars.

And at Le Mans' pre-qualifying session, manufacturers of GT1 cars must provide one road-legal version for scrutiny in the paddock. That car must also be 'for sale' at a price not exceeding US $1 million. To keep costs down, you understand.

For Le Mans in '96 the works Porsche team showed up with two never-seen-before fully-fledged GT1 racers and a 'display' road car. Long before they'd managed a one-two in the GT1 class and second and third overall, other teams cried 'cheat', but to no avail. This year they tried the same trick (though crashed and burned while leading) but so did Nissan, Panoz, Lotus and Lister, while McLaren, who had at least started off with a true road car, responded with race-only long-tail bodywork.

But, to Porsche's credit, the firm is now geared up to build around thirty 911 GT1 road cars and sell them to the public (except in the USA - no airbags) at around £550,000, depending on the exchange rate.

And should you decide to sell your car, house, all its contents and more to buy one, what you'll get is a racing car; one that hasn't been sanitised or compromised for street use. Yes, there's carpet and a choice of colours for seat leather and exterior paint, and the dash and instrumentation are of familiar 911 stock. The seat belts, too, are convenient three-point inertia reel items.

But the driving sensations, the harsh ride, the mechanical mayhem, are pure racer. Much more so than a 911RS, more so than a Diablo or even an F50. It's about on a par with a mid-'60s racing GT40, but less smelly. In other words, the GT1's a car that you're not exactly sorry to get out of. Nobody ever claimed that racing cars are pleasant places to be. They're not. They're built to win, not to cosset passengers. And here's the dilemma. Why put up with the noise, the absence of real oomph below 5,000rpm, the turbo lag, the restricted steering lock and outward vision, the awkward entry and exit, the sealed windows (though 'production' versions will have small sliding apertures), the near-zero ground clearance, the alarming tramlining on imperfect public roads, and the responsibility, risk and sheer all-round impracticality of it all if you're not going to don Arai, Nomex and five-point harness and race the damn thing where it really belongs, on the track?

So you may as well buy a pukka racing GT1. I tell you, the whole thing beats me - except for the obvious benefit for Porsche of winning at Le Mans.

Anything else? Well, yes. Unfort-unately, it broke. Worse, it broke while I was driving which, for whatever reason, makes a tester feel grim. Worse still, it broke before we'd finished our day of driving and photography.

Worse still, the cause was the left rear driveshaft, which costs almost £3,000, plus labour. Worse still, Porsche's race technicians would have to change the right-side shaft as well. And yes, you guessed, still even more worser again, Porsche say they have never had a driveshaft break on any GT1. Not in testing, qualifying, racing or on the road. That beats me too.

Tom Stewart

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
The new Porsche 911 Turbo. Everything you hoped for, it is. Which means that it's currently the most accessible supercar in the world.You might note that I mean what I say; not necessarily the fastest - although with a 480bhp 3.6-litre twin-turbo boxer six, it's by no means limping along, hitting 62mph in under four seconds and on to 189mph - but the one car capable of tearing around like a superhero no matter who is at the wheel. Which actually makes it more impressive, not less.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
The new Porsche 911 Turbo. Everything you hoped for

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it is. Which means that it's currently the most accessible supercar in the world.You might note that I mean what I say; not necessarily the fastest - although with a 480bhp 3.6-litre twin-turbo boxer six

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
hitting 62mph in under four seconds and on to 189mph - but the one car capable of tearing around like a superhero no matter who is at the wheel. Which actually makes it more impressive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
not less.New electronic all-wheel drive makes the most of turbo power provided by a pair of new variable-vane 'chargers

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
apportioning torque across the axles with the kind of seamless thrust that can only mean that megabits of tech are making damn sure you fire off as fast as is inhumanly possible.It truly makes bits of your brain fizz

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and is all the more impressive for the fact that the car is so well sorted that if you switch off all the electronic minders

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Turbo still barely wheelspins before sucking the horizon down in one swift gulp.On the move there's a notchy gearbox to contend with - a bit like a meatier version of the manual in a VW Golf GTi - and a remarkably supple ride. Yes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Turbo is still a firm car - but secondary damping over broken surfaces is excellent.The reason that the 'standard' mode can be so supple is the fact then when you push on

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Porsche has another couple of tricks up its vents. Push the PASM button and adjustable electronic dampers screw the car into the road by a decent amount

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
making steering feel more direct and deleting both an element of bodyroll and initial understeer.Go for the full Big Mac and press the 'Sport' button and you get racer's package; less traction control

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
more direct exhaust - the lot. You also get more intimate with the bumps that didn't even make your bottom move before. But you also get more feedback

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
more insistence and more thrills.This is where the Turbo starts to have ever-so-slight issues. This not a visceral car - nor a particularly emotional one. For instance

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it really will not make any measure of oversteer

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
simply because it is not the fastest way around a corner. This is both admirable and slightly annoying.Yes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you can provoke crass low-speed movement

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
showing off isn't really on the cards. A remarkably unfussy-looking way around a corner that actually disguises the sheer hardcore speed of the thing.Similarly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the car is slightly muted � making it simply not sound that fast. Being sense-led animals

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a car gets at least an extra 20mph on the top speed if it sounds quick - just ask any Saxo owner. Full throttle gives you an engine disposing with its sound rather than revelling in it. It doesn't sing - it merely exhales.All of this makes the Turbo feel more spaceship than racecar. A brief spin down a country road with one of my all-time heros Walter Rohrl showed me that the Turbo is capable of insanity of the highest order (138mph on a single track road around a corner over a blind crest - yes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
without apparent effort.You don't fight a turbo

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
wrestle it or tame it. You simply point it at the place where you want to be an teleport there via the medium of one extended shout of "Aaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhh...".It will tear off your head if you know what you're doing

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and gamely snatch your ears off if you don't. It's an incredibly impressive car. But it somehow hasn't got the absolute element of the Super about it.If you had to drive something this fast everyday

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but if it was a highdays and holidays treat motor

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
there cars out there that move more heart then head.

# data[].attributes.body.value
The new Porsche 911 Turbo. Everything you hoped for, it is. Which means that it's currently the most accessible supercar in the world.

You might note that I mean what I say; not necessarily the fastest - although with a 480bhp 3.6-litre twin-turbo boxer six, it's by no means limping along, hitting 62mph in under four seconds and on to 189mph - but the one car capable of tearing around like a superhero no matter who is at the wheel. Which actually makes it more impressive, not less.

New electronic all-wheel drive makes the most of turbo power provided by a pair of new variable-vane 'chargers, apportioning torque across the axles with the kind of seamless thrust that can only mean that megabits of tech are making damn sure you fire off as fast as is inhumanly possible.

It truly makes bits of your brain fizz, and is all the more impressive for the fact that the car is so well sorted that if you switch off all the electronic minders, the Turbo still barely wheelspins before sucking the horizon down in one swift gulp.

On the move there's a notchy gearbox to contend with - a bit like a meatier version of the manual in a VW Golf GTi - and a remarkably supple ride. Yes, the Turbo is still a firm car - but secondary damping over broken surfaces is excellent.

The reason that the 'standard' mode can be so supple is the fact then when you push on, the Porsche has another couple of tricks up its vents. Push the PASM button and adjustable electronic dampers screw the car into the road by a decent amount, making steering feel more direct and deleting both an element of bodyroll and initial understeer.

Go for the full Big Mac and press the 'Sport' button and you get racer's package; less traction control, a raised ABS ceiling, faster throttle response, more direct exhaust - the lot. You also get more intimate with the bumps that didn't even make your bottom move before. But you also get more feedback, more insistence and more thrills.

This is where the Turbo starts to have ever-so-slight issues. This not a visceral car - nor a particularly emotional one. For instance, it really will not make any measure of oversteer, simply because it is not the fastest way around a corner. This is both admirable and slightly annoying.

Yes, you can provoke crass low-speed movement, but the diffs are so clever, showing off isn't really on the cards. A remarkably unfussy-looking way around a corner that actually disguises the sheer hardcore speed of the thing.

Similarly, and as with all Turbos, the car is slightly muted � making it simply not sound that fast. Being sense-led animals, a car gets at least an extra 20mph on the top speed if it sounds quick - just ask any Saxo owner. Full throttle gives you an engine disposing with its sound rather than revelling in it. It doesn't sing - it merely exhales.

All of this makes the Turbo feel more spaceship than racecar. A brief spin down a country road with one of my all-time heros Walter Rohrl showed me that the Turbo is capable of insanity of the highest order (138mph on a single track road around a corner over a blind crest - yes, the road was closed, but I was shaking like a leaf), without apparent effort.

You don't fight a turbo, wrestle it or tame it. You simply point it at the place where you want to be an teleport there via the medium of one extended shout of "Aaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhh...".

It will tear off your head if you know what you're doing, and gamely snatch your ears off if you don't. It's an incredibly impressive car. But it somehow hasn't got the absolute element of the Super about it.

If you had to drive something this fast everyday, there is no other choice, but if it was a highdays and holidays treat motor, there cars out there that move more heart then head.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
The new Porsche 911 Turbo. Everything you hoped for, it is. Which means that it's currently the most accessible supercar in the world.

You might note that I mean what I say; not necessarily the fastest - although with a 480bhp 3.6-litre twin-turbo boxer six, it's by no means limping along, hitting 62mph in under four seconds and on to 189mph - but the one car capable of tearing around like a superhero no matter who is at the wheel. Which actually makes it more impressive, not less.

New electronic all-wheel drive makes the most of turbo power provided by a pair of new variable-vane 'chargers, apportioning torque across the axles with the kind of seamless thrust that can only mean that megabits of tech are making damn sure you fire off as fast as is inhumanly possible.

It truly makes bits of your brain fizz, and is all the more impressive for the fact that the car is so well sorted that if you switch off all the electronic minders, the Turbo still barely wheelspins before sucking the horizon down in one swift gulp.

On the move there's a notchy gearbox to contend with - a bit like a meatier version of the manual in a VW Golf GTi - and a remarkably supple ride. Yes, the Turbo is still a firm car - but secondary damping over broken surfaces is excellent.

The reason that the 'standard' mode can be so supple is the fact then when you push on, the Porsche has another couple of tricks up its vents. Push the PASM button and adjustable electronic dampers screw the car into the road by a decent amount, making steering feel more direct and deleting both an element of bodyroll and initial understeer.

Go for the full Big Mac and press the 'Sport' button and you get racer's package; less traction control, a raised ABS ceiling, faster throttle response, more direct exhaust - the lot. You also get more intimate with the bumps that didn't even make your bottom move before. But you also get more feedback, more insistence and more thrills.

This is where the Turbo starts to have ever-so-slight issues. This not a visceral car - nor a particularly emotional one. For instance, it really will not make any measure of oversteer, simply because it is not the fastest way around a corner. This is both admirable and slightly annoying.

Yes, you can provoke crass low-speed movement, but the diffs are so clever, showing off isn't really on the cards. A remarkably unfussy-looking way around a corner that actually disguises the sheer hardcore speed of the thing.

Similarly, and as with all Turbos, the car is slightly muted � making it simply not sound that fast. Being sense-led animals, a car gets at least an extra 20mph on the top speed if it sounds quick - just ask any Saxo owner. Full throttle gives you an engine disposing with its sound rather than revelling in it. It doesn't sing - it merely exhales.

All of this makes the Turbo feel more spaceship than racecar. A brief spin down a country road with one of my all-time heros Walter Rohrl showed me that the Turbo is capable of insanity of the highest order (138mph on a single track road around a corner over a blind crest - yes, the road was closed, but I was shaking like a leaf), without apparent effort.

You don't fight a turbo, wrestle it or tame it. You simply point it at the place where you want to be an teleport there via the medium of one extended shout of "Aaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhh...".

It will tear off your head if you know what you're doing, and gamely snatch your ears off if you don't. It's an incredibly impressive car. But it somehow hasn't got the absolute element of the Super about it.

If you had to drive something this fast everyday, there is no other choice, but if it was a highdays and holidays treat motor, there cars out there that move more heart then head.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Follicles straining, hair tugged backwards, eyes squinting from the flow of air surging over the top of the windscreen. Any closer to this Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet's 190mph top speed and I could risk going totally bald.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
eyes squinting from the flow of air surging over the top of the windscreen. Any closer to this Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet's 190mph top speed and I could risk going totally bald.I'm sampling the bouffant-demolishing potential of the fastest 911 drop-top to date. A bee implodes on the windscreen - it's just met with the forces generated by this car's twin-turbocharged

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
3.6-litre flat-six engine. A mighty 420bhp is unleashed at 6

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
accompanied by 413lb ft of torque available from 2

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
700rpm; that's sufficient to despatch 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds.For the record

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the only time Porsche has brought us a production 911 Turbo Cabriolet before was 16 years ago; it generated 300bhp

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
covered 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds and topped out at 161mph.The current Turbo Cabriolet is 60mm wider than regular 911 soft-tops and it's built tougher too. The sills are twice the usual width

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with extra high-strength steel plates linking up to the A- and B-pillars. The additional structural stiffening adds 70kgs to the car's weight.Thankfully no performance penalty can be felt. In fact

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
after having flicked the switch on the centre console and waited 20 seconds for the triple-layer hood to be folded away

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
my senses (and hairline) are being exposed to an even greater battering than they'd receive from within the snug confines of a 911 Turbo coupe.There's no perceptible delay before the turbos set to work. As air is forced over the intercoolers

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I find myself holding on and grimacing as the car hammers forwards. There's no trouble transmitting all that power to the road

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the four-wheel-drive system sending between five and 40 per cent of the drive to the front wheels through a viscous coupling. I snap the gearbox up through its six ratios

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
cross-drilled discs provide a brief rug-rearranging opportunity on the approach to a corner.The straights shorten and the potholes increase in frequency

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
threatening to reveal any structural weaknesses resulting from the process of lopping the Turbo's roof off. Even here

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
most of the sharpness of the coupe can be experienced.As with the Turbo coupe

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this is an easy car to get the best from. It's agile and never intimidating

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
information being shrieked back through the throttle pedal

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
steering and brakes as successions of bends are dealt with. Extreme lateral forces leave me straining against my seatbelt

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the 225-front and 295-section rear tyres worn on 18-inch hollow-spoke alloys latching on hard to the tarmac. There's rarely the need to call the Porsche Stability Management system into action - at least

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
on these roads and in these baked-dry conditions.The PSM system is a standard fit

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a BOSE sound system and an aluminium hard-top. Revealing plenty about the intentions of potential 911 Turbo Cabriolet customers

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Porsche says just five per cent are likely to fork out the £5

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
fade-resistant Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
while at least 40 per cent are expected to pay £1

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
961 for the five-speed Tiptronic S automatic with manual-shift mode

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
choosing to rest their left foot at the expense of an increase in weight and a reduction in performance.Considering the considerable £96

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
those Turbo Cabriolet buyers will be relieved to learn that there is a way to tell their purchase from the C4S Cabriolet that we First Steered last month - a car which handles just as well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
sounds even more spectacular and costs £26

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
200 less. The Turbo boasts a tail spoiler which sprouts an even more unsubtle secondary wing as the speeds rise above 75mph

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
providing confirmation that this is the widest 911 in terms of more than just its measurements.Peter Grunert

# data[].attributes.body.value
Follicles straining, hair tugged backwards, eyes squinting from the flow of air surging over the top of the windscreen. Any closer to this Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet's 190mph top speed and I could risk going totally bald.

I'm sampling the bouffant-demolishing potential of the fastest 911 drop-top to date. A bee implodes on the windscreen - it's just met with the forces generated by this car's twin-turbocharged, intercooled, 3.6-litre flat-six engine. A mighty 420bhp is unleashed at 6,000rpm, accompanied by 413lb ft of torque available from 2,700rpm; that's sufficient to despatch 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds.For the record, the only time Porsche has brought us a production 911 Turbo Cabriolet before was 16 years ago; it generated 300bhp, covered 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds and topped out at 161mph.

The current Turbo Cabriolet is 60mm wider than regular 911 soft-tops and it's built tougher too. The sills are twice the usual width, with extra high-strength steel plates linking up to the A- and B-pillars. The additional structural stiffening adds 70kgs to the car's weight.Thankfully no performance penalty can be felt. In fact, after having flicked the switch on the centre console and waited 20 seconds for the triple-layer hood to be folded away, my senses (and hairline) are being exposed to an even greater battering than they'd receive from within the snug confines of a 911 Turbo coupe.

There's no perceptible delay before the turbos set to work. As air is forced over the intercoolers, I find myself holding on and grimacing as the car hammers forwards. There's no trouble transmitting all that power to the road, the four-wheel-drive system sending between five and 40 per cent of the drive to the front wheels through a viscous coupling. I snap the gearbox up through its six ratios, then the brakes with their inner-vented, cross-drilled discs provide a brief rug-rearranging opportunity on the approach to a corner.

The straights shorten and the potholes increase in frequency, threatening to reveal any structural weaknesses resulting from the process of lopping the Turbo's roof off. Even here, most of the sharpness of the coupe can be experienced.

As with the Turbo coupe, this is an easy car to get the best from. It's agile and never intimidating, information being shrieked back through the throttle pedal, steering and brakes as successions of bends are dealt with. Extreme lateral forces leave me straining against my seatbelt, the 225-front and 295-section rear tyres worn on 18-inch hollow-spoke alloys latching on hard to the tarmac. There's rarely the need to call the Porsche Stability Management system into action - at least, on these roads and in these baked-dry conditions.

The PSM system is a standard fit, as are electrically-adjusted leather-trimmed seats, climate control, a BOSE sound system and an aluminium hard-top. Revealing plenty about the intentions of potential 911 Turbo Cabriolet customers, Porsche says just five per cent are likely to fork out the £5,355 required for the optional hard-core, fade-resistant Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes, while at least 40 per cent are expected to pay £1,961 for the five-speed Tiptronic S automatic with manual-shift mode, choosing to rest their left foot at the expense of an increase in weight and a reduction in performance.

Considering the considerable £96,130 asking price before such extras, those Turbo Cabriolet buyers will be relieved to learn that there is a way to tell their purchase from the C4S Cabriolet that we First Steered last month - a car which handles just as well, feels nearly as quick, looks mostly similar, sounds even more spectacular and costs £26,200 less. The Turbo boasts a tail spoiler which sprouts an even more unsubtle secondary wing as the speeds rise above 75mph, providing confirmation that this is the widest 911 in terms of more than just its measurements.

Peter Grunert

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Follicles straining, hair tugged backwards, eyes squinting from the flow of air surging over the top of the windscreen. Any closer to this Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet's 190mph top speed and I could risk going totally bald.

I'm sampling the bouffant-demolishing potential of the fastest 911 drop-top to date. A bee implodes on the windscreen - it's just met with the forces generated by this car's twin-turbocharged, intercooled, 3.6-litre flat-six engine. A mighty 420bhp is unleashed at 6,000rpm, accompanied by 413lb ft of torque available from 2,700rpm; that's sufficient to despatch 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds.For the record, the only time Porsche has brought us a production 911 Turbo Cabriolet before was 16 years ago; it generated 300bhp, covered 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds and topped out at 161mph.

The current Turbo Cabriolet is 60mm wider than regular 911 soft-tops and it's built tougher too. The sills are twice the usual width, with extra high-strength steel plates linking up to the A- and B-pillars. The additional structural stiffening adds 70kgs to the car's weight.Thankfully no performance penalty can be felt. In fact, after having flicked the switch on the centre console and waited 20 seconds for the triple-layer hood to be folded away, my senses (and hairline) are being exposed to an even greater battering than they'd receive from within the snug confines of a 911 Turbo coupe.

There's no perceptible delay before the turbos set to work. As air is forced over the intercoolers, I find myself holding on and grimacing as the car hammers forwards. There's no trouble transmitting all that power to the road, the four-wheel-drive system sending between five and 40 per cent of the drive to the front wheels through a viscous coupling. I snap the gearbox up through its six ratios, then the brakes with their inner-vented, cross-drilled discs provide a brief rug-rearranging opportunity on the approach to a corner.

The straights shorten and the potholes increase in frequency, threatening to reveal any structural weaknesses resulting from the process of lopping the Turbo's roof off. Even here, most of the sharpness of the coupe can be experienced.

As with the Turbo coupe, this is an easy car to get the best from. It's agile and never intimidating, information being shrieked back through the throttle pedal, steering and brakes as successions of bends are dealt with. Extreme lateral forces leave me straining against my seatbelt, the 225-front and 295-section rear tyres worn on 18-inch hollow-spoke alloys latching on hard to the tarmac. There's rarely the need to call the Porsche Stability Management system into action - at least, on these roads and in these baked-dry conditions.

The PSM system is a standard fit, as are electrically-adjusted leather-trimmed seats, climate control, a BOSE sound system and an aluminium hard-top. Revealing plenty about the intentions of potential 911 Turbo Cabriolet customers, Porsche says just five per cent are likely to fork out the £5,355 required for the optional hard-core, fade-resistant Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes, while at least 40 per cent are expected to pay £1,961 for the five-speed Tiptronic S automatic with manual-shift mode, choosing to rest their left foot at the expense of an increase in weight and a reduction in performance.

Considering the considerable £96,130 asking price before such extras, those Turbo Cabriolet buyers will be relieved to learn that there is a way to tell their purchase from the C4S Cabriolet that we First Steered last month - a car which handles just as well, feels nearly as quick, looks mostly similar, sounds even more spectacular and costs £26,200 less. The Turbo boasts a tail spoiler which sprouts an even more unsubtle secondary wing as the speeds rise above 75mph, providing confirmation that this is the widest 911 in terms of more than just its measurements.

Peter Grunert

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volvo V70 T5 SE 5dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Felicity Kendal was about as sexy as middle-class icons get. She was a suburban nymph, with a cheeky nose, a naughty giggle and the ability to make darning a sock look like the first stages of foreplay.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Felicity Kendal was about as sexy as middle-class icons get. She was a suburban nymph

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a naughty giggle and the ability to make darning a sock look like the first stages of foreplay.She was an attainable semi-detached sex kitten... but

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I suppose I'd better mention this: our Volvo V70 Estate long termer (another middle class icon). Admittedly it's not as lovely as (the very lovely indeed) Felicity

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it is a symbol of middle England that ranks up there alongside cricket on the green and a pint of warm ale. Alas

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
its boxy looks are about to be replaced forever by a new and slinkier design

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
will be sad to see it go.Love it or hate it

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Sweden's second-most-famous export after Abba has been ferrying the kids to school

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
catching criminals and giving crash-test dummies everywhere a safer ride for over 30 years

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it could quite easily have never made it into production. In fact

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
had the company been even remotely good at selling what it made

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
then Acacia Avenue would be a Volvo-free zone.As it happened

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Assar Gabrielsson (one of Volvo's founders) looked at the firm's stock of 1

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
500 unsold chassis and decided to use them to build vans. The result was the Duett

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which sold massively well and saved Volvo from going bust. Surprisingly for a country that took a risk on such daft ideas as the sauna and wanting to conquer Finland

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it took another 10 years before the Swedes plucked up the courage do go really mad and stick some windows in the back of one of their vans. The result was the first ever Volvo estate.The first purpose-built estate came in the shape of the curvy Amazon

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but this was followed in 1967 by the 145 which sported the now-classic boxy Volvo silhouette. Not only did it offer the ultimate in space efficiency

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it was also one of the first cars to boast energy-absorbing crumple zones front and rear in an effort to make those inevitable elk collisions more bearable. Thanks to some clever marketing

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Volvo became synonymous with safety as well as load lugging.Volvo's dominance of the estate car market cont-inued throughout the '70s

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
to the extent that when the 740 was penned

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it was designed initially as an estate car and then later converted into a saloon. Subsequently it's been a story of evolution rather than revolution

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
right up to our very own V70.There's still an element of style snobbery in the office when it comes to those boxy looks

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but there's no doubt a Volvo estate doesn't have quite the same stigma attached to it that it once did. If anyone in our office had to choose one car to make do with all the time

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
we might tell you it'd be a sexy little sports car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it would actually be the ultra-versatile Volvo.Editor Kevin and Art Director Marcel are oft seen collecting nicely designed (but flatpack-tastic) home furnishing from IKEA in it

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Hayley Day has been known to strap a bed mattress to the roof (we have numerous theories as to the reason why)

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
while the DIY fraternity (Sock and Hayley Ward) like to stick as closely as possible to Assar Gabrielsson's original concept and treat it like a van with windows.It's also popular with the keep-fit brigade

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
to the extent that Motoring Editor Angus even insisted on getting a roof-mounted bike rack for it. Sadly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
he's forgotten how to balance and has failed to use either the bike or the rack during it's entire nine-month tenure.As for Tom and I

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
well we both use it for transporting kids

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but he doesn't because a quirk of the rear seat-belt design means he can't strap in two kiddie seats as well as getting a third

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
bigger child in the back. Tom is the one marked out by an arrow in our TG family photo opposite.I'll tell you just how good it's been to live with a bit later

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but in the meantime don't take our word for it

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
listen to what these other people have got to say...So what's our car been like to own? Well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it might not have done an astronomical mileage

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
shifted a priceless Chippendale or even hared round a race track

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but our very own V70 has been through plenty - and it hasn't exactly had an easy time of it

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
either. In our efforts to transport everything from furniture to photographers' camera equipment

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the back seats have been up and down more times than a drug-dependent kangaroo - and this gives the Volvo an instant advantage over your average people carrier.Firstly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
that right-angle-based design and long body might not look the best

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it does enable you to get the most ridiculous amount of stuff inside. Secondly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this car has got to have just about the best thought-out folding rear seats imaginable. Not only do they fold down to provide a properly flat load bay

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
even the rear headrests fold neatly out of the way.Driving when fully loaded is undoubtedly the Volvo's forté

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and its engine is just about up to the job. Unladen

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the 170bhp five-cylinder engine produces a mildly-meaty exhaust note and once you get the thing wound up

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you can make reasonably swift progress. It's not the torquiest of engines

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which means it needs a good revving in order to pull away cleanly. The fact that we didn't bother to tick the self-levelling suspension option means that the back end squats under loads

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
if you're planning to do much in the way of load lugging we reckon it'd be money well spent.It might not be the most invigorating car in the world to drive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but that doesn't matter when you are on the motorway

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
because it's supremely comfortable. This Volvo is both stable and quiet while at high speed and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
once you have taken the time to mess about with the clumsy manual seat adjustment

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it has got to be one of the most comfortable cars in which to undertake long-distance journeys. And there's no need to break up the trip unnecessarily frequently either

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with a healthy 350-mile-plus range between those garage stops - thanks to the 25.2mpg fuel consumption figure that the Volvo has turned in during its time as one of our Top Gear test cars.There are a couple of irritations

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and they are mainly caused by Volvo's nanny-state approach to safety. Thanks for your concern

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but we are all responsible adults who are quite capable of turning on a car's headlights when the need arises. Secondly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
there's Volvo's insistence that you only use their specially-designed (and I'm sure ultra-safe) child car seats. That's all fine

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but why make them so damn complicated to fit and the baby so inaccessible from the front seat

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
these are all forgivable things when you're in possession of a stereo with an in-car CD-autochanger and top surround-sound system. One of the dash-mounted speakers might look like a bit of an afterthought

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
spray some champagne around the interior

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
shut your eyes and you could quite conceivably be in the Royal Albert Hall

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the sound reproduction is that great.Of course our car has been a picture of reliability too

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's just a baby next to some of the other multi- thousand-mile motors we've featured in the previous pages. Servicing has been reasonable

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
000-mile service setting us back a penny-pinching £124. The only upcoming cost looming on the horizon is the price of a replacement set of front tyres.Top car then

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and if I may be so bold as to quote the great bard Rik Mayall in one of his finer Young Ones moments: "Felicity

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you fill me with electricity." We're pleased to say our own middle-class icon does exactly the same for usZac Assemakis

# data[].attributes.body.value
Felicity Kendal was about as sexy as middle-class icons get. She was a suburban nymph, with a cheeky nose, a naughty giggle and the ability to make darning a sock look like the first stages of foreplay.

She was an attainable semi-detached sex kitten... but, before I get too carried away, I suppose I'd better mention this: our Volvo V70 Estate long termer (another middle class icon). Admittedly it's not as lovely as (the very lovely indeed) Felicity, but it is a symbol of middle England that ranks up there alongside cricket on the green and a pint of warm ale. Alas, its boxy looks are about to be replaced forever by a new and slinkier design, and we, at least, will be sad to see it go.

Love it or hate it, Sweden's second-most-famous export after Abba has been ferrying the kids to school, towing caravans, moving wardrobes, catching criminals and giving crash-test dummies everywhere a safer ride for over 30 years, but it could quite easily have never made it into production. In fact, had the company been even remotely good at selling what it made, then Acacia Avenue would be a Volvo-free zone.

As it happened, Assar Gabrielsson (one of Volvo's founders) looked at the firm's stock of 1,500 unsold chassis and decided to use them to build vans. The result was the Duett, which sold massively well and saved Volvo from going bust. Surprisingly for a country that took a risk on such daft ideas as the sauna and wanting to conquer Finland, it took another 10 years before the Swedes plucked up the courage do go really mad and stick some windows in the back of one of their vans. The result was the first ever Volvo estate.

The first purpose-built estate came in the shape of the curvy Amazon, but this was followed in 1967 by the 145 which sported the now-classic boxy Volvo silhouette. Not only did it offer the ultimate in space efficiency, but it was also one of the first cars to boast energy-absorbing crumple zones front and rear in an effort to make those inevitable elk collisions more bearable. Thanks to some clever marketing, Volvo became synonymous with safety as well as load lugging.

Volvo's dominance of the estate car market cont-inued throughout the '70s, to the extent that when the 740 was penned, it was designed initially as an estate car and then later converted into a saloon. Subsequently it's been a story of evolution rather than revolution, right up to our very own V70.

There's still an element of style snobbery in the office when it comes to those boxy looks, but there's no doubt a Volvo estate doesn't have quite the same stigma attached to it that it once did. If anyone in our office had to choose one car to make do with all the time, we might tell you it'd be a sexy little sports car, but it would actually be the ultra-versatile Volvo.

Editor Kevin and Art Director Marcel are oft seen collecting nicely designed (but flatpack-tastic) home furnishing from IKEA in it, Hayley Day has been known to strap a bed mattress to the roof (we have numerous theories as to the reason why), while the DIY fraternity (Sock and Hayley Ward) like to stick as closely as possible to Assar Gabrielsson's original concept and treat it like a van with windows.

It's also popular with the keep-fit brigade, to the extent that Motoring Editor Angus even insisted on getting a roof-mounted bike rack for it. Sadly, after insisting on such a luxury, he's forgotten how to balance and has failed to use either the bike or the rack during it's entire nine-month tenure.

As for Tom and I, well we both use it for transporting kids, which I think it's great for, but he doesn't because a quirk of the rear seat-belt design means he can't strap in two kiddie seats as well as getting a third, bigger child in the back. Tom is the one marked out by an arrow in our TG family photo opposite.

I'll tell you just how good it's been to live with a bit later, but in the meantime don't take our word for it, listen to what these other people have got to say...

So what's our car been like to own? Well, it might not have done an astronomical mileage, shifted a priceless Chippendale or even hared round a race track, but our very own V70 has been through plenty - and it hasn't exactly had an easy time of it, either. In our efforts to transport everything from furniture to photographers' camera equipment, the back seats have been up and down more times than a drug-dependent kangaroo - and this gives the Volvo an instant advantage over your average people carrier.

Firstly, that right-angle-based design and long body might not look the best, but it does enable you to get the most ridiculous amount of stuff inside. Secondly, this car has got to have just about the best thought-out folding rear seats imaginable. Not only do they fold down to provide a properly flat load bay, but also, thanks to some clever design, even the rear headrests fold neatly out of the way.

Driving when fully loaded is undoubtedly the Volvo's forté, and its engine is just about up to the job. Unladen, the 170bhp five-cylinder engine produces a mildly-meaty exhaust note and once you get the thing wound up, you can make reasonably swift progress. It's not the torquiest of engines, however, which means it needs a good revving in order to pull away cleanly. The fact that we didn't bother to tick the self-levelling suspension option means that the back end squats under loads, though for £500, if you're planning to do much in the way of load lugging we reckon it'd be money well spent.

It might not be the most invigorating car in the world to drive, but that doesn't matter when you are on the motorway, because it's supremely comfortable. This Volvo is both stable and quiet while at high speed and, once you have taken the time to mess about with the clumsy manual seat adjustment, it has got to be one of the most comfortable cars in which to undertake long-distance journeys. And there's no need to break up the trip unnecessarily frequently either, with a healthy 350-mile-plus range between those garage stops - thanks to the 25.2mpg fuel consumption figure that the Volvo has turned in during its time as one of our Top Gear test cars.

There are a couple of irritations, however, and they are mainly caused by Volvo's nanny-state approach to safety. Thanks for your concern, Volvo, but we are all responsible adults who are quite capable of turning on a car's headlights when the need arises. Secondly, there's Volvo's insistence that you only use their specially-designed (and I'm sure ultra-safe) child car seats. That's all fine, but why make them so damn complicated to fit and the baby so inaccessible from the front seat, when they are ensconced?

Still, these are all forgivable things when you're in possession of a stereo with an in-car CD-autochanger and top surround-sound system. One of the dash-mounted speakers might look like a bit of an afterthought, but put on the right CD, spray some champagne around the interior, shut your eyes and you could quite conceivably be in the Royal Albert Hall, the sound reproduction is that great.

Of course our car has been a picture of reliability too, though with a mere 13,079 miles on the clock, it's just a baby next to some of the other multi- thousand-mile motors we've featured in the previous pages. Servicing has been reasonable, with the first 10,000-mile service setting us back a penny-pinching £124. The only upcoming cost looming on the horizon is the price of a replacement set of front tyres.

Top car then, and if I may be so bold as to quote the great bard Rik Mayall in one of his finer Young Ones moments: "Felicity, Felicity, you fill me with electricity." We're pleased to say our own middle-class icon does exactly the same for us

Zac Assemakis

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Felicity Kendal was about as sexy as middle-class icons get. She was a suburban nymph, with a cheeky nose, a naughty giggle and the ability to make darning a sock look like the first stages of foreplay.

She was an attainable semi-detached sex kitten... but, before I get too carried away, I suppose I'd better mention this: our Volvo V70 Estate long termer (another middle class icon). Admittedly it's not as lovely as (the very lovely indeed) Felicity, but it is a symbol of middle England that ranks up there alongside cricket on the green and a pint of warm ale. Alas, its boxy looks are about to be replaced forever by a new and slinkier design, and we, at least, will be sad to see it go.

Love it or hate it, Sweden's second-most-famous export after Abba has been ferrying the kids to school, towing caravans, moving wardrobes, catching criminals and giving crash-test dummies everywhere a safer ride for over 30 years, but it could quite easily have never made it into production. In fact, had the company been even remotely good at selling what it made, then Acacia Avenue would be a Volvo-free zone.

As it happened, Assar Gabrielsson (one of Volvo's founders) looked at the firm's stock of 1,500 unsold chassis and decided to use them to build vans. The result was the Duett, which sold massively well and saved Volvo from going bust. Surprisingly for a country that took a risk on such daft ideas as the sauna and wanting to conquer Finland, it took another 10 years before the Swedes plucked up the courage do go really mad and stick some windows in the back of one of their vans. The result was the first ever Volvo estate.

The first purpose-built estate came in the shape of the curvy Amazon, but this was followed in 1967 by the 145 which sported the now-classic boxy Volvo silhouette. Not only did it offer the ultimate in space efficiency, but it was also one of the first cars to boast energy-absorbing crumple zones front and rear in an effort to make those inevitable elk collisions more bearable. Thanks to some clever marketing, Volvo became synonymous with safety as well as load lugging.

Volvo's dominance of the estate car market cont-inued throughout the '70s, to the extent that when the 740 was penned, it was designed initially as an estate car and then later converted into a saloon. Subsequently it's been a story of evolution rather than revolution, right up to our very own V70.

There's still an element of style snobbery in the office when it comes to those boxy looks, but there's no doubt a Volvo estate doesn't have quite the same stigma attached to it that it once did. If anyone in our office had to choose one car to make do with all the time, we might tell you it'd be a sexy little sports car, but it would actually be the ultra-versatile Volvo.

Editor Kevin and Art Director Marcel are oft seen collecting nicely designed (but flatpack-tastic) home furnishing from IKEA in it, Hayley Day has been known to strap a bed mattress to the roof (we have numerous theories as to the reason why), while the DIY fraternity (Sock and Hayley Ward) like to stick as closely as possible to Assar Gabrielsson's original concept and treat it like a van with windows.

It's also popular with the keep-fit brigade, to the extent that Motoring Editor Angus even insisted on getting a roof-mounted bike rack for it. Sadly, after insisting on such a luxury, he's forgotten how to balance and has failed to use either the bike or the rack during it's entire nine-month tenure.

As for Tom and I, well we both use it for transporting kids, which I think it's great for, but he doesn't because a quirk of the rear seat-belt design means he can't strap in two kiddie seats as well as getting a third, bigger child in the back. Tom is the one marked out by an arrow in our TG family photo opposite.

I'll tell you just how good it's been to live with a bit later, but in the meantime don't take our word for it, listen to what these other people have got to say...

So what's our car been like to own? Well, it might not have done an astronomical mileage, shifted a priceless Chippendale or even hared round a race track, but our very own V70 has been through plenty - and it hasn't exactly had an easy time of it, either. In our efforts to transport everything from furniture to photographers' camera equipment, the back seats have been up and down more times than a drug-dependent kangaroo - and this gives the Volvo an instant advantage over your average people carrier.

Firstly, that right-angle-based design and long body might not look the best, but it does enable you to get the most ridiculous amount of stuff inside. Secondly, this car has got to have just about the best thought-out folding rear seats imaginable. Not only do they fold down to provide a properly flat load bay, but also, thanks to some clever design, even the rear headrests fold neatly out of the way.

Driving when fully loaded is undoubtedly the Volvo's forté, and its engine is just about up to the job. Unladen, the 170bhp five-cylinder engine produces a mildly-meaty exhaust note and once you get the thing wound up, you can make reasonably swift progress. It's not the torquiest of engines, however, which means it needs a good revving in order to pull away cleanly. The fact that we didn't bother to tick the self-levelling suspension option means that the back end squats under loads, though for £500, if you're planning to do much in the way of load lugging we reckon it'd be money well spent.

It might not be the most invigorating car in the world to drive, but that doesn't matter when you are on the motorway, because it's supremely comfortable. This Volvo is both stable and quiet while at high speed and, once you have taken the time to mess about with the clumsy manual seat adjustment, it has got to be one of the most comfortable cars in which to undertake long-distance journeys. And there's no need to break up the trip unnecessarily frequently either, with a healthy 350-mile-plus range between those garage stops - thanks to the 25.2mpg fuel consumption figure that the Volvo has turned in during its time as one of our Top Gear test cars.

There are a couple of irritations, however, and they are mainly caused by Volvo's nanny-state approach to safety. Thanks for your concern, Volvo, but we are all responsible adults who are quite capable of turning on a car's headlights when the need arises. Secondly, there's Volvo's insistence that you only use their specially-designed (and I'm sure ultra-safe) child car seats. That's all fine, but why make them so damn complicated to fit and the baby so inaccessible from the front seat, when they are ensconced?

Still, these are all forgivable things when you're in possession of a stereo with an in-car CD-autochanger and top surround-sound system. One of the dash-mounted speakers might look like a bit of an afterthought, but put on the right CD, spray some champagne around the interior, shut your eyes and you could quite conceivably be in the Royal Albert Hall, the sound reproduction is that great.

Of course our car has been a picture of reliability too, though with a mere 13,079 miles on the clock, it's just a baby next to some of the other multi- thousand-mile motors we've featured in the previous pages. Servicing has been reasonable, with the first 10,000-mile service setting us back a penny-pinching £124. The only upcoming cost looming on the horizon is the price of a replacement set of front tyres.

Top car then, and if I may be so bold as to quote the great bard Rik Mayall in one of his finer Young Ones moments: "Felicity, Felicity, you fill me with electricity." We're pleased to say our own middle-class icon does exactly the same for us

Zac Assemakis

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe SE 2dr E gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe SE 2dr E gear | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe SE 2dr E gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
It's definitely fast, but the bare figures don't tell the whole story, eliminating just 0.2 of a second to 62mph versus the regular car and a paltry few more mph top end - so you have to play around in-gear to really get a feel for why this car seems so involving.It certainly cranks more quickly past the benchmarks, but there's an urgent delivery from the V10 that's more impactful than simply a relatively insignificant 20 brake on a car that's nearly 500 ponies up in the first place.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe SE 2dr E gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe SE 2dr E gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the bare figures don't tell the whole story

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
eliminating just 0.2 of a second to 62mph versus the regular car and a paltry few more mph top end - so you have to play around in-gear to really get a feel for why this car seems so involving.It certainly cranks more quickly past the benchmarks

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but there's an urgent delivery from the V10 that's more impactful than simply a relatively insignificant 20 brake on a car that's nearly 500 ponies up in the first place.The downside is that e-gear isn't anywhere near as lovely as the Ferrari F430's F1

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
thumping unceremoniously from one gear to the next and never quite hitting the sweet spot in the rev-range that means a slight lift is unnecessary.You still have to learn to drive the Gallardo quickly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
if only to mitigate some of the worst excesses of the gearbox. When you do

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's a bloody brilliant thing.Damp conditions on the test route meant allowing a little more time for the tyres and brakes to get some therms embedded

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but pitching in hard with standing water on the floor and still exiting the corner with the car pointing the right way is a joy.Especially in a Lamborghini with a five-litre V10 blaring out back

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and especially when you remember to hold onto a gear for the full 8

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
000rpm screamer. The balance is just superb - lift off hard

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but not quite transparently enough when you can carry so much speed.Similarly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
like a Porsche 911 Turbo with a mid-engined layout.Tractable

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
helpful and ultimately easy to drive incredibly quickly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but less simple to extract the last percentile from. It requires muscle and hustle

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the rewards are worth snuffing out.It's also pretty damn practical for something that looks so exotic. The SE gets leather and aircon

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
along with a colour reversing camera (not that it needs it really) and satnav.Comparisons to the Ferrari are impossible to avoid

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so I won't try. Both are brilliant at being genuine 95-per-cent chunks of supercar pie.But the way they do it will appeal to different drivers and different attitudes. The Ferrari

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is the sweeter and better-sorted car - rear-wheel drive and E-diff working in almost ethereal harmony.The F1 gearbox the nearest thing they've yet got to a reason not to have a clutch since 7G-Tronic in modern Mercs. And it's the one to have if you're going to be a purist about it. But the Gallardo is scrumpy to the F430's Chablis.It's that little bit rawer and more brutal

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but just as effective in real terms. The recent advances with Ferrari's differential in the F430 have neutralized rather than negated the Gallardo's fourwheel drive stompability

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it just goes to show that there are more ways than one to skin a dynamic cat.With the SE

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but doesn't quite match the Ferrari for feel. Saying that

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and confoundingly - I prefer the way this one looks. Especially in white. Bugger. 

# data[].attributes.body.value
It's definitely fast, but the bare figures don't tell the whole story, eliminating just 0.2 of a second to 62mph versus the regular car and a paltry few more mph top end - so you have to play around in-gear to really get a feel for why this car seems so involving.

It certainly cranks more quickly past the benchmarks, but there's an urgent delivery from the V10 that's more impactful than simply a relatively insignificant 20 brake on a car that's nearly 500 ponies up in the first place.

The downside is that e-gear isn't anywhere near as lovely as the Ferrari F430's F1, thumping unceremoniously from one gear to the next and never quite hitting the sweet spot in the rev-range that means a slight lift is unnecessary.

You still have to learn to drive the Gallardo quickly, if only to mitigate some of the worst excesses of the gearbox. When you do, it's a bloody brilliant thing.

Damp conditions on the test route meant allowing a little more time for the tyres and brakes to get some therms embedded, but pitching in hard with standing water on the floor and still exiting the corner with the car pointing the right way is a joy.

Especially in a Lamborghini with a five-litre V10 blaring out back, and especially when you remember to hold onto a gear for the full 8,000rpm screamer. The balance is just superb - lift off hard, and the precise steering communicates, but not quite transparently enough when you can carry so much speed.

Similarly, the brakes are powerful, but get very, very hot. It feels, as I've said before, like a Porsche 911 Turbo with a mid-engined layout.

Tractable, helpful and ultimately easy to drive incredibly quickly, but less simple to extract the last percentile from. It requires muscle and hustle, and more than a little concentration, but the rewards are worth snuffing out.

It's also pretty damn practical for something that looks so exotic. The SE gets leather and aircon, along with a colour reversing camera (not that it needs it really) and satnav.

Comparisons to the Ferrari are impossible to avoid, so I won't try. Both are brilliant at being genuine 95-per-cent chunks of supercar pie.

But the way they do it will appeal to different drivers and different attitudes. The Ferrari, ultimately, is the sweeter and better-sorted car - rear-wheel drive and E-diff working in almost ethereal harmony.

The F1 gearbox the nearest thing they've yet got to a reason not to have a clutch since 7G-Tronic in modern Mercs. And it's the one to have if you're going to be a purist about it. But the Gallardo is scrumpy to the F430's Chablis.

It's that little bit rawer and more brutal, but just as effective in real terms. The recent advances with Ferrari's differential in the F430 have neutralized rather than negated the Gallardo's fourwheel drive stompability, but it just goes to show that there are more ways than one to skin a dynamic cat.

With the SE, the Gallardo is even more appealing, but doesn't quite match the Ferrari for feel. Saying that, and confoundingly - I prefer the way this one looks. Especially in white. Bugger.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
It's definitely fast, but the bare figures don't tell the whole story, eliminating just 0.2 of a second to 62mph versus the regular car and a paltry few more mph top end - so you have to play around in-gear to really get a feel for why this car seems so involving.

It certainly cranks more quickly past the benchmarks, but there's an urgent delivery from the V10 that's more impactful than simply a relatively insignificant 20 brake on a car that's nearly 500 ponies up in the first place.

The downside is that e-gear isn't anywhere near as lovely as the Ferrari F430's F1, thumping unceremoniously from one gear to the next and never quite hitting the sweet spot in the rev-range that means a slight lift is unnecessary.

You still have to learn to drive the Gallardo quickly, if only to mitigate some of the worst excesses of the gearbox. When you do, it's a bloody brilliant thing.

Damp conditions on the test route meant allowing a little more time for the tyres and brakes to get some therms embedded, but pitching in hard with standing water on the floor and still exiting the corner with the car pointing the right way is a joy.

Especially in a Lamborghini with a five-litre V10 blaring out back, and especially when you remember to hold onto a gear for the full 8,000rpm screamer. The balance is just superb - lift off hard, and the precise steering communicates, but not quite transparently enough when you can carry so much speed.

Similarly, the brakes are powerful, but get very, very hot. It feels, as I've said before, like a Porsche 911 Turbo with a mid-engined layout.

Tractable, helpful and ultimately easy to drive incredibly quickly, but less simple to extract the last percentile from. It requires muscle and hustle, and more than a little concentration, but the rewards are worth snuffing out.

It's also pretty damn practical for something that looks so exotic. The SE gets leather and aircon, along with a colour reversing camera (not that it needs it really) and satnav.

Comparisons to the Ferrari are impossible to avoid, so I won't try. Both are brilliant at being genuine 95-per-cent chunks of supercar pie.

But the way they do it will appeal to different drivers and different attitudes. The Ferrari, ultimately, is the sweeter and better-sorted car - rear-wheel drive and E-diff working in almost ethereal harmony.

The F1 gearbox the nearest thing they've yet got to a reason not to have a clutch since 7G-Tronic in modern Mercs. And it's the one to have if you're going to be a purist about it. But the Gallardo is scrumpy to the F430's Chablis.

It's that little bit rawer and more brutal, but just as effective in real terms. The recent advances with Ferrari's differential in the F430 have neutralized rather than negated the Gallardo's fourwheel drive stompability, but it just goes to show that there are more ways than one to skin a dynamic cat.

With the SE, the Gallardo is even more appealing, but doesn't quite match the Ferrari for feel. Saying that, and confoundingly - I prefer the way this one looks. Especially in white. Bugger.

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A200 CDI Elegance SE 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A200 CDI Elegance SE 3dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A200 CDI Elegance SE 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
The A range is vast. Petrol engines run from 1.5-litre 95bhp and 1.7 116bhp, through the two-litre I drove, to the upcoming two-litre Turbo. The diesels are all two-litres, but called A160CDI, A180CDI and A200CDI to signal their varying outputs from 82bhp to 140bhp. Autotronic is optional, and there's the three-door body to think of, as well as three trims - Classic, Avantgarde (the choice) and Elegance (fey veneer and some bilious brown trim options).

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A200 CDI Elegance SE 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A200 CDI Elegance SE 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
The A range is vast. Petrol engines run from 1.5-litre 95bhp and 1.7 116bhp

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
to the upcoming two-litre Turbo. The diesels are all two-litres

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
A180CDI and A200CDI to signal their varying outputs from 82bhp to 140bhp. Autotronic is optional

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and there's the three-door body to think of

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Avantgarde (the choice) and Elegance (fey veneer and some bilious brown trim options).Usually

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
sensible things are a bit on the the worthy-but-dull side. But even though the A-Class is no riot to drive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's so well thought out it transcends that. In fact

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I found myself getting a mild case of the hots for it.A three-door MPV? They must be mad...Mini-MPVs are about putting practicality way ahead of style in your priorities. Owning a three-door is pretty much the opposite. So a three-door mini-MPV sounds as likely as a tin windscreen. But it's here (above) and it looks swish.Like any three-door version of a hatch

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the B-pillar (that's the one your front seatbelt is attached to) has been moved back

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
lengthening the door to make it easier to wriggle behind the front seat to reach the back. Merc has also curled the roof metal down more than in the 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
visually lowering and curving the roofline. The rear wheelarches are bigger than the five-door's too.A three-door A-Class has a logic if you aren't always hauling passengers. It has all the room

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it looks neater and it's several hundred quid cheaper. Use the difference to plunder the options list.

# data[].attributes.body.value
The A range is vast. Petrol engines run from 1.5-litre 95bhp and 1.7 116bhp, through the two-litre I drove, to the upcoming two-litre Turbo. The diesels are all two-litres, but called A160CDI, A180CDI and A200CDI to signal their varying outputs from 82bhp to 140bhp. Autotronic is optional, and there's the three-door body to think of, as well as three trims - Classic, Avantgarde (the choice) and Elegance (fey veneer and some bilious brown trim options).

Usually, sensible things are a bit on the the worthy-but-dull side. But even though the A-Class is no riot to drive, it's so well thought out it transcends that. In fact, I found myself getting a mild case of the hots for it.

A three-door MPV? They must be mad...

Mini-MPVs are about putting practicality way ahead of style in your priorities. Owning a three-door is pretty much the opposite. So a three-door mini-MPV sounds as likely as a tin windscreen. But it's here (above) and it looks swish.

Like any three-door version of a hatch, the B-pillar (that's the one your front seatbelt is attached to) has been moved back, lengthening the door to make it easier to wriggle behind the front seat to reach the back. Merc has also curled the roof metal down more than in the 5dr, making the side window shallower, visually lowering and curving the roofline. The rear wheelarches are bigger than the five-door's too.

A three-door A-Class has a logic if you aren't always hauling passengers. It has all the room, it looks neater and it's several hundred quid cheaper. Use the difference to plunder the options list.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
The A range is vast. Petrol engines run from 1.5-litre 95bhp and 1.7 116bhp, through the two-litre I drove, to the upcoming two-litre Turbo. The diesels are all two-litres, but called A160CDI, A180CDI and A200CDI to signal their varying outputs from 82bhp to 140bhp. Autotronic is optional, and there's the three-door body to think of, as well as three trims - Classic, Avantgarde (the choice) and Elegance (fey veneer and some bilious brown trim options).

Usually, sensible things are a bit on the the worthy-but-dull side. But even though the A-Class is no riot to drive, it's so well thought out it transcends that. In fact, I found myself getting a mild case of the hots for it.

A three-door MPV? They must be mad...

Mini-MPVs are about putting practicality way ahead of style in your priorities. Owning a three-door is pretty much the opposite. So a three-door mini-MPV sounds as likely as a tin windscreen. But it's here (above) and it looks swish.

Like any three-door version of a hatch, the B-pillar (that's the one your front seatbelt is attached to) has been moved back, lengthening the door to make it easier to wriggle behind the front seat to reach the back. Merc has also curled the roof metal down more than in the 5dr, making the side window shallower, visually lowering and curving the roofline. The rear wheelarches are bigger than the five-door's too.

A three-door A-Class has a logic if you aren't always hauling passengers. It has all the room, it looks neater and it's several hundred quid cheaper. Use the difference to plunder the options list.

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Chrysler 300C 3.0 V6 CRD 4dr Auto

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Road Test: Chrysler 300C 3.0 V6 CRD 4dr Auto | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Chrysler 300C 3.0 V6 CRD 4dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Rio Ferdinand... as celebrity car endorsements go, the Chrysler 300C needs no more help to confirm its cool status.Add to that a choice of meaty petrol engines capable of moving nearly two tons of metal to 60mph in less than seven seconds and you've got a car to lust after. And that's despite the fact that Wayne Rooney ordered one too.However, the 300C has two problems: it's not quite good enough to tempt drivers of established German exec rivals, and even the smaller V6 engine will take an age to fill at the pump.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Chrysler 300C 3.0 V6 CRD 4dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Chrysler 300C 3.0 V6 CRD 4dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Rio Ferdinand... as celebrity car endorsements go

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Chrysler 300C needs no more help to confirm its cool status.Add to that a choice of meaty petrol engines capable of moving nearly two tons of metal to 60mph in less than seven seconds and you've got a car to lust after. And that's despite the fact that Wayne Rooney ordered one too.However

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the 300C has two problems: it's not quite good enough to tempt drivers of established German exec rivals

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and even the smaller V6 engine will take an age to fill at the pump.But so committed is Chrysler to cracking the UK market with this car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the 300C will be available with three-litre

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's a much more efficient choice than the V6 or V8 petrol engines

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
averaging a claimed 34.9mpg on the combined cycle.Best news

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is that the Merc-sourced V6 serves up a class-leading 376lb ft torque

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which means there's plenty of urge even from tiny revs. The engine works well with the auto 'box and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the criticisms levelled at the petrol models remain - the 300C has a sharp low-speed ride that turns a little floaty at speed. In other words

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
even with suspension adjusted for European roads

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it holds everything together reasonably well if you carry speed through twisty B-roads.The 300's good for carrying passengers too - it'll sit five adults in comfort and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with the myriad driving positions available

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you'll be the cosiest of them all. Build quality is still a bit patchy in places

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but should you want to carry more than three sets of golf clubs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Chrysler will soon be able to sell you an estate version. Both models will find their way into Chrysler dealerships early next year.Prices for the diesel saloon have been pegged at the same level as the V6 petrol

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
750 is one thing that does compare favourably with the Germans.The big question is

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
should you buy one? That depends on what you're looking for. If you're used to BMW/Merc quality

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
think twice. If you want something different with a bit of kitsch gangster cool then go ahead - we dare you.Paul Regan

# data[].attributes.body.value
Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Rio Ferdinand... as celebrity car endorsements go, the Chrysler 300C needs no more help to confirm its cool status.

Add to that a choice of meaty petrol engines capable of moving nearly two tons of metal to 60mph in less than seven seconds and you've got a car to lust after. And that's despite the fact that Wayne Rooney ordered one too.

However, the 300C has two problems: it's not quite good enough to tempt drivers of established German exec rivals, and even the smaller V6 engine will take an age to fill at the pump.

But so committed is Chrysler to cracking the UK market with this car, it has an answer: from January, the 300C will be available with three-litre, 218bhp, diesel power.

As you'd expect, it's a much more efficient choice than the V6 or V8 petrol engines, averaging a claimed 34.9mpg on the combined cycle.

Best news, though, is that the Merc-sourced V6 serves up a class-leading 376lb ft torque, which means there's plenty of urge even from tiny revs. The engine works well with the auto 'box and, from inside the car at least, remains quiet.

On the road, the criticisms levelled at the petrol models remain - the 300C has a sharp low-speed ride that turns a little floaty at speed. In other words, even with suspension adjusted for European roads, it still feels American. For its size, though, it holds everything together reasonably well if you carry speed through twisty B-roads.

The 300's good for carrying passengers too - it'll sit five adults in comfort and, with the myriad driving positions available, you'll be the cosiest of them all. Build quality is still a bit patchy in places, though.

There's also a huge boot, but should you want to carry more than three sets of golf clubs, Chrysler will soon be able to sell you an estate version. Both models will find their way into Chrysler dealerships early next year.

Prices for the diesel saloon have been pegged at the same level as the V6 petrol, which at £25,750 is one thing that does compare favourably with the Germans.

The big question is, should you buy one? That depends on what you're looking for. If you're used to BMW/Merc quality, think twice. If you want something different with a bit of kitsch gangster cool then go ahead - we dare you.

Paul Regan

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Rio Ferdinand... as celebrity car endorsements go, the Chrysler 300C needs no more help to confirm its cool status.

Add to that a choice of meaty petrol engines capable of moving nearly two tons of metal to 60mph in less than seven seconds and you've got a car to lust after. And that's despite the fact that Wayne Rooney ordered one too.

However, the 300C has two problems: it's not quite good enough to tempt drivers of established German exec rivals, and even the smaller V6 engine will take an age to fill at the pump.

But so committed is Chrysler to cracking the UK market with this car, it has an answer: from January, the 300C will be available with three-litre, 218bhp, diesel power.

As you'd expect, it's a much more efficient choice than the V6 or V8 petrol engines, averaging a claimed 34.9mpg on the combined cycle.

Best news, though, is that the Merc-sourced V6 serves up a class-leading 376lb ft torque, which means there's plenty of urge even from tiny revs. The engine works well with the auto 'box and, from inside the car at least, remains quiet.

On the road, the criticisms levelled at the petrol models remain - the 300C has a sharp low-speed ride that turns a little floaty at speed. In other words, even with suspension adjusted for European roads, it still feels American. For its size, though, it holds everything together reasonably well if you carry speed through twisty B-roads.

The 300's good for carrying passengers too - it'll sit five adults in comfort and, with the myriad driving positions available, you'll be the cosiest of them all. Build quality is still a bit patchy in places, though.

There's also a huge boot, but should you want to carry more than three sets of golf clubs, Chrysler will soon be able to sell you an estate version. Both models will find their way into Chrysler dealerships early next year.

Prices for the diesel saloon have been pegged at the same level as the V6 petrol, which at £25,750 is one thing that does compare favourably with the Germans.

The big question is, should you buy one? That depends on what you're looking for. If you're used to BMW/Merc quality, think twice. If you want something different with a bit of kitsch gangster cool then go ahead - we dare you.

Paul Regan

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Skoda Superb 2.5 V6 TDI 160 Edition 100 4dr Tip Auto

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Road Test: Skoda Superb 2.5 V6 TDI 160 Edition 100 4dr Tip Auto | Top Gear

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Road Test: Skoda Superb 2.5 V6 TDI 160 Edition 100 4dr Tip Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
That Skoda would be celebrating 100 years of production is not something anyone would've put money on 20 years ago. But here we go, with the Superb Edition 100, a limited run of its flagship saloon, with extra bits and pieces.There are only going to be 500 of these, with 200 earmarked for our shores, which says something about the confidence with which Skoda regards its presence in the UK.

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Road Test: Skoda Superb 2.5 V6 TDI 160 Edition 100 4dr Tip Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Skoda Superb 2.5 V6 TDI 160 Edition 100 4dr Tip Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
That Skoda would be celebrating 100 years of production is not something anyone would've put money on 20 years ago. But here we go

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with extra bits and pieces.There are only going to be 500 of these

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which says something about the confidence with which Skoda regards its presence in the UK.Exactly who is going to shell out for an 'exclusive' version of an already hen's-teeth-rare luxury Skoda remains to be seen

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
however. But just in case that who turns out to be is you

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
here's what you can expect.The top-spec 160bhp

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
100 over the formerly range-topping Elegance. What that buys you is something called Black Magic pearl effect paint

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
'Cubic' 17-inch alloys and twin chrome exhausts.Inside there's Edition 100 badging

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
exclusive leather upholstery and a fetching piano-black finish on the dashboard.Slightly more convincing returns for the 100's hefty premium are satnav

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
bi-xenon headlights and cruise control.Mated to a Tiptronic auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and one that you'll appreciate in any trim.Fancy coughing up a bit more cash to help Skoda see out their centenary? No

# data[].attributes.body.value
That Skoda would be celebrating 100 years of production is not something anyone would've put money on 20 years ago. But here we go, with the Superb Edition 100, a limited run of its flagship saloon, with extra bits and pieces.

There are only going to be 500 of these, with 200 earmarked for our shores, which says something about the confidence with which Skoda regards its presence in the UK.

Exactly who is going to shell out for an 'exclusive' version of an already hen's-teeth-rare luxury Skoda remains to be seen, however. But just in case that who turns out to be is you, here's what you can expect.

The top-spec 160bhp, 2.5-litre V6 TDI will set you back £23,205, just £2,100 over the formerly range-topping Elegance. What that buys you is something called Black Magic pearl effect paint, 'Cubic' 17-inch alloys and twin chrome exhausts.

Inside there's Edition 100 badging, floormats and kickplates, exclusive leather upholstery and a fetching piano-black finish on the dashboard.

Slightly more convincing returns for the 100's hefty premium are satnav, acoustic rear-parking sensors, bi-xenon headlights and cruise control.

Mated to a Tiptronic auto, the 2.5 V6 diesel Superb is a smooth, refined and nicely understated drive, and one that you'll appreciate in any trim.

Fancy coughing up a bit more cash to help Skoda see out their centenary? No, nor do we really.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
That Skoda would be celebrating 100 years of production is not something anyone would've put money on 20 years ago. But here we go, with the Superb Edition 100, a limited run of its flagship saloon, with extra bits and pieces.

There are only going to be 500 of these, with 200 earmarked for our shores, which says something about the confidence with which Skoda regards its presence in the UK.

Exactly who is going to shell out for an 'exclusive' version of an already hen's-teeth-rare luxury Skoda remains to be seen, however. But just in case that who turns out to be is you, here's what you can expect.

The top-spec 160bhp, 2.5-litre V6 TDI will set you back £23,205, just £2,100 over the formerly range-topping Elegance. What that buys you is something called Black Magic pearl effect paint, 'Cubic' 17-inch alloys and twin chrome exhausts.

Inside there's Edition 100 badging, floormats and kickplates, exclusive leather upholstery and a fetching piano-black finish on the dashboard.

Slightly more convincing returns for the 100's hefty premium are satnav, acoustic rear-parking sensors, bi-xenon headlights and cruise control.

Mated to a Tiptronic auto, the 2.5 V6 diesel Superb is a smooth, refined and nicely understated drive, and one that you'll appreciate in any trim.

Fancy coughing up a bit more cash to help Skoda see out their centenary? No, nor do we really.

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Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 2.0 GTi 3dr | Top Gear

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This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Golf GTi, so you'd think that after a quarter of a century of development the car would still be the hot hatch of choice. For some it is, while for others it's just a shadow of its former self.While you can't deny the Mk4 GTi is much larger than its Mk1 ancestor, it's not necessarily any less fun. Unless you opt for the 2.0-litre version rather than the 1.8T.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Golf GTi

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so you'd think that after a quarter of a century of development the car would still be the hot hatch of choice. For some it is

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
while for others it's just a shadow of its former self.While you can't deny the Mk4 GTi is much larger than its Mk1 ancestor

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's not necessarily any less fun. Unless you opt for the 2.0-litre version rather than the 1.8T.At the risk of getting into cliches involving chalk and cheese

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the fact that there are two different versions of the Golf GTi

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which are so different means it's impossible to simply give a verdict on whether or not the Golf GTi is any good any more.While the 1.8T is wieldy

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
accelerative and generally great fun to pilot

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the 2.0-litre feels disappointingly lethargic and not a car that's worthy of that hallowed GTi badge on its rump. Indeed

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a top speed of just 121mph and a 0-60 time of over 10 seconds feels as quick as it sounds: not very.Of course whichever version you opt for

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you know you're going to get a great driving position

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
superb ergonomics and strong residuals. But in the turbocharged car you also get higher levels of kit

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
considering it costs over #2000 more than its normally aspirated counterpart.So if you opt for the 1.8T it's brilliant and if you opt for the 2.0-litre it isn't brilliant at all. But now that the turbodiesel GTi is upon us things are even less clear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
much greater fuel economy and just as much performance as its petrol-fired counterpart. Oh dear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this Golf GTi debate really is a lot more complicated than it first appears...Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.body.value
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Golf GTi, so you'd think that after a quarter of a century of development the car would still be the hot hatch of choice. For some it is, while for others it's just a shadow of its former self.

While you can't deny the Mk4 GTi is much larger than its Mk1 ancestor, it's not necessarily any less fun. Unless you opt for the 2.0-litre version rather than the 1.8T.

At the risk of getting into cliches involving chalk and cheese, the fact that there are two different versions of the Golf GTi, which are so different means it's impossible to simply give a verdict on whether or not the Golf GTi is any good any more.

While the 1.8T is wieldy, responsive, accelerative and generally great fun to pilot, the 2.0-litre feels disappointingly lethargic and not a car that's worthy of that hallowed GTi badge on its rump. Indeed, a top speed of just 121mph and a 0-60 time of over 10 seconds feels as quick as it sounds: not very.

Of course whichever version you opt for, you know you're going to get a great driving position, excellent build quality, superb ergonomics and strong residuals. But in the turbocharged car you also get higher levels of kit, which it should, considering it costs over #2000 more than its normally aspirated counterpart.

So if you opt for the 1.8T it's brilliant and if you opt for the 2.0-litre it isn't brilliant at all. But now that the turbodiesel GTi is upon us things are even less clear, as the oil-burner offers more torque, much greater fuel economy and just as much performance as its petrol-fired counterpart. Oh dear, this Golf GTi debate really is a lot more complicated than it first appears...

Richard Dredge

# data[].attributes.body.processed
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Golf GTi, so you'd think that after a quarter of a century of development the car would still be the hot hatch of choice. For some it is, while for others it's just a shadow of its former self.

While you can't deny the Mk4 GTi is much larger than its Mk1 ancestor, it's not necessarily any less fun. Unless you opt for the 2.0-litre version rather than the 1.8T.

At the risk of getting into cliches involving chalk and cheese, the fact that there are two different versions of the Golf GTi, which are so different means it's impossible to simply give a verdict on whether or not the Golf GTi is any good any more.

While the 1.8T is wieldy, responsive, accelerative and generally great fun to pilot, the 2.0-litre feels disappointingly lethargic and not a car that's worthy of that hallowed GTi badge on its rump. Indeed, a top speed of just 121mph and a 0-60 time of over 10 seconds feels as quick as it sounds: not very.

Of course whichever version you opt for, you know you're going to get a great driving position, excellent build quality, superb ergonomics and strong residuals. But in the turbocharged car you also get higher levels of kit, which it should, considering it costs over #2000 more than its normally aspirated counterpart.

So if you opt for the 1.8T it's brilliant and if you opt for the 2.0-litre it isn't brilliant at all. But now that the turbodiesel GTi is upon us things are even less clear, as the oil-burner offers more torque, much greater fuel economy and just as much performance as its petrol-fired counterpart. Oh dear, this Golf GTi debate really is a lot more complicated than it first appears...

Richard Dredge

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Road Test: Peugeot Partner Combi 1.9D 5dr

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Road Test: Peugeot Partner Combi 1.9D 5dr | Top Gear

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Road Test: Peugeot Partner Combi 1.9D 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
This is not to get your sympathy, but I was burgled a few months ago. I reckon it must have been kids, because they didn't nick the telly or the video, just some cash. Anyway, I phoned the police and they sent round a nice lady to dust for fingerprints. She turned up in a Peugeot Partner, the van version of this - the Partner Combi.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Peugeot Partner Combi 1.9D 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Peugeot Partner Combi 1.9D 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but I was burgled a few months ago. I reckon it must have been kids

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
because they didn't nick the telly or the video

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I phoned the police and they sent round a nice lady to dust for fingerprints. She turned up in a Peugeot Partner

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the van version of this - the Partner Combi.Of course

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
her van was full of things like aluminium powder

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
brushes and other scene-of-crime stuff. My Combi has windows and foldable rear seats. But there's still plenty of room to put things: two in-floor stowage bins

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
another bin under the glove compartment and a big

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
square boot with a plastic-covered floor.If

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I did apprehend any culprits down a narrow alleyway

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
getting them in the back would be simple. For the Partner is fitted with handy sliding rear doors. And as headroom is very generous

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
one wouldn't have to put one's hand on the suspects' heads as

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
they climb in - like the police have to with the saloon cars.Despite the quite decent ride quality

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you can never really shake the feeling that you're in a cheered-up van. The cheap stereo

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the boominess of the cubic cabin and the lack of dual electric mirrors and aircon

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
go with the lukewarm 1.9-litre diesel engine to underline the vehicle's utilitarian air.The great Homer (Simpson

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
that is) was once asked by wife Marge if their marriage was all he'd imagined it would be. I thought there'd be more driving around in a van solving crimes was his reply. And that's kind of the difference between my fingerprint lady's van and this Combi. Somehow the van's more interesting.Colin Ryan 

# data[].attributes.body.value
This is not to get your sympathy, but I was burgled a few months ago. I reckon it must have been kids, because they didn't nick the telly or the video, just some cash. Anyway, I phoned the police and they sent round a nice lady to dust for fingerprints. She turned up in a Peugeot Partner, the van version of this - the Partner Combi.

Of course, her van was full of things like aluminium powder, ink, brushes and other scene-of-crime stuff. My Combi has windows and foldable rear seats. But there's still plenty of room to put things: two in-floor stowage bins, generous door pockets, another bin under the glove compartment and a big, deep, square boot with a plastic-covered floor.

If, while in a Peugeot Partner, I did apprehend any culprits down a narrow alleyway, getting them in the back would be simple. For the Partner is fitted with handy sliding rear doors. And as headroom is very generous, one wouldn't have to put one's hand on the suspects' heads as, handcuffed, they climb in - like the police have to with the saloon cars.

Despite the quite decent ride quality, you can never really shake the feeling that you're in a cheered-up van. The cheap stereo, the boominess of the cubic cabin and the lack of dual electric mirrors and aircon, plus the un-car-like seating position, go with the lukewarm 1.9-litre diesel engine to underline the vehicle's utilitarian air.

The great Homer (Simpson, that is) was once asked by wife Marge if their marriage was all he'd imagined it would be. I thought there'd be more driving around in a van solving crimes was his reply. And that's kind of the difference between my fingerprint lady's van and this Combi. Somehow the van's more interesting.

Colin Ryan

# data[].attributes.body.processed
This is not to get your sympathy, but I was burgled a few months ago. I reckon it must have been kids, because they didn't nick the telly or the video, just some cash. Anyway, I phoned the police and they sent round a nice lady to dust for fingerprints. She turned up in a Peugeot Partner, the van version of this - the Partner Combi.

Of course, her van was full of things like aluminium powder, ink, brushes and other scene-of-crime stuff. My Combi has windows and foldable rear seats. But there's still plenty of room to put things: two in-floor stowage bins, generous door pockets, another bin under the glove compartment and a big, deep, square boot with a plastic-covered floor.

If, while in a Peugeot Partner, I did apprehend any culprits down a narrow alleyway, getting them in the back would be simple. For the Partner is fitted with handy sliding rear doors. And as headroom is very generous, one wouldn't have to put one's hand on the suspects' heads as, handcuffed, they climb in - like the police have to with the saloon cars.

Despite the quite decent ride quality, you can never really shake the feeling that you're in a cheered-up van. The cheap stereo, the boominess of the cubic cabin and the lack of dual electric mirrors and aircon, plus the un-car-like seating position, go with the lukewarm 1.9-litre diesel engine to underline the vehicle's utilitarian air.

The great Homer (Simpson, that is) was once asked by wife Marge if their marriage was all he'd imagined it would be. I thought there'd be more driving around in a van solving crimes was his reply. And that's kind of the difference between my fingerprint lady's van and this Combi. Somehow the van's more interesting.

Colin Ryan

# data[].attributes.title
Retro review: the 237bhp Vauxhall Zafira VXR

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Retro review: the 237bhp Vauxhall Zafira VXR | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
A throwback to our 2005 review of Vauxhall's bonkers seven-seat performance MPV

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Retro review: the 237bhp Vauxhall Zafira VXR

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
There are two ways of looking at the Zafira VXR. Try to see it as a sporting car and you find that it isn't. Oh, it's fast, but otherwise it's not that good, certainly nowhere near as much fun as the Astra VXR. See it as an MPV, though, and it's an absolute hoot.MPV stands for multi-purpose vehicle: if you're sprogged-up on some journeys and going solo on others, then this is your thing.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Retro review: the 237bhp Vauxhall Zafira VXR

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
A throwback to our 2005 review of Vauxhall's bonkers seven-seat performance MPV

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Retro review: the 237bhp Vauxhall Zafira VXR

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
A throwback to our 2005 review of Vauxhall's bonkers seven-seat performance MPV

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.description
A throwback to our 2005 review of Vauxhall's bonkers seven-seat performance MPV

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
There are two ways of looking at the Zafira VXR. Try to see it as a sporting car and you find that it isn't. Oh

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
certainly nowhere near as much fun as the Astra VXR. See it as an MPV

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and it's an absolute hoot.MPV stands for multi-purpose vehicle: if you're sprogged-up on some journeys and going solo on others

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
then this is your thing.All the fundamentals are in place. From your big Recaro seat you grip a fat steering wheel that's connected to a direct rack

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
gaining you a sharp attack into bends and front-end grip that seems completely incompatible with your vehicle's boxy outline. There is also a decent amount of suspension travel

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and the motorway ride is perfectly tolerable.The high C of G comes home to roost in tight corners

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
though. To keep it all under control they've had to fit gigantic anti-roll bars

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which means the inside wheel is always trying to spin away the turbo torque. The traction control then brakes that wheel so often that

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I actually had brake fade. That might be an unusual situation

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but every sharp corner highlights a lack of feel and finesse as this strange beast tries to overcome the laws of sportiness. It's effective

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the driving position is too high to make you feel sporty - it's so lofty and upright I was reminded of the last time I drove a combine harvester - and the dash-mounted gearlever has a complicated linkage and hence weaves a sticky path amongst its six gears. Still

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the high eyepoint gives you a sightline advantage. Best stick to open roads and overtaking. It does that riotously well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
thanks as much as to the 236lb ft of torque as to the horsepower.OK

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
back to the MPV bit. The interior of a Zafira is so damn clever it goes beyond being merely practical and actually gets close to gadget territory - that particular place in a chap's brainspace where you want one

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
not because you really need all its functions

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but because you enjoy dreaming up situations where you just might.A word of caution

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this isn't the ideal Zafira. Go for a diesel. After all

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
if you drive the VXR as 237bhp and 225/40 R18 tyres invite you to drive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
everyone aboard - but especially the poor saps pinned in row three and denied both a view forward and much ventilation - will be getting motion discomfort on a cataclysmic scale and your footwells will be awash with vomit.

# data[].attributes.body.value
There are two ways of looking at the Zafira VXR. Try to see it as a sporting car and you find that it isn't. Oh, it's fast, but otherwise it's not that good, certainly nowhere near as much fun as the Astra VXR. See it as an MPV, though, and it's an absolute hoot.

MPV stands for multi-purpose vehicle: if you're sprogged-up on some journeys and going solo on others, then this is your thing.

All the fundamentals are in place. From your big Recaro seat you grip a fat steering wheel that's connected to a direct rack, gaining you a sharp attack into bends and front-end grip that seems completely incompatible with your vehicle's boxy outline. There is also a decent amount of suspension travel, so it copes well with broken backroads, and the motorway ride is perfectly tolerable.

The high C of G comes home to roost in tight corners, though. To keep it all under control they've had to fit gigantic anti-roll bars, which means the inside wheel is always trying to spin away the turbo torque. The traction control then brakes that wheel so often that, on one twisty hilly section, I actually had brake fade. That might be an unusual situation, but every sharp corner highlights a lack of feel and finesse as this strange beast tries to overcome the laws of sportiness. It's effective, but it isn't fluent.

And, of course, the driving position is too high to make you feel sporty - it's so lofty and upright I was reminded of the last time I drove a combine harvester - and the dash-mounted gearlever has a complicated linkage and hence weaves a sticky path amongst its six gears. Still, the high eyepoint gives you a sightline advantage. Best stick to open roads and overtaking. It does that riotously well, thanks as much as to the 236lb ft of torque as to the horsepower.

OK, back to the MPV bit. The interior of a Zafira is so damn clever it goes beyond being merely practical and actually gets close to gadget territory - that particular place in a chap's brainspace where you want one, not because you really need all its functions, but because you enjoy dreaming up situations where you just might.

A word of caution, however. If you're always seven-up, this isn't the ideal Zafira. Go for a diesel. After all, if you drive the VXR as 237bhp and 225/40 R18 tyres invite you to drive, everyone aboard - but especially the poor saps pinned in row three and denied both a view forward and much ventilation - will be getting motion discomfort on a cataclysmic scale and your footwells will be awash with vomit.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
There are two ways of looking at the Zafira VXR. Try to see it as a sporting car and you find that it isn't. Oh, it's fast, but otherwise it's not that good, certainly nowhere near as much fun as the Astra VXR. See it as an MPV, though, and it's an absolute hoot.

MPV stands for multi-purpose vehicle: if you're sprogged-up on some journeys and going solo on others, then this is your thing.

All the fundamentals are in place. From your big Recaro seat you grip a fat steering wheel that's connected to a direct rack, gaining you a sharp attack into bends and front-end grip that seems completely incompatible with your vehicle's boxy outline. There is also a decent amount of suspension travel, so it copes well with broken backroads, and the motorway ride is perfectly tolerable.

The high C of G comes home to roost in tight corners, though. To keep it all under control they've had to fit gigantic anti-roll bars, which means the inside wheel is always trying to spin away the turbo torque. The traction control then brakes that wheel so often that, on one twisty hilly section, I actually had brake fade. That might be an unusual situation, but every sharp corner highlights a lack of feel and finesse as this strange beast tries to overcome the laws of sportiness. It's effective, but it isn't fluent.

And, of course, the driving position is too high to make you feel sporty - it's so lofty and upright I was reminded of the last time I drove a combine harvester - and the dash-mounted gearlever has a complicated linkage and hence weaves a sticky path amongst its six gears. Still, the high eyepoint gives you a sightline advantage. Best stick to open roads and overtaking. It does that riotously well, thanks as much as to the 236lb ft of torque as to the horsepower.

OK, back to the MPV bit. The interior of a Zafira is so damn clever it goes beyond being merely practical and actually gets close to gadget territory - that particular place in a chap's brainspace where you want one, not because you really need all its functions, but because you enjoy dreaming up situations where you just might.

A word of caution, however. If you're always seven-up, this isn't the ideal Zafira. Go for a diesel. After all, if you drive the VXR as 237bhp and 225/40 R18 tyres invite you to drive, everyone aboard - but especially the poor saps pinned in row three and denied both a view forward and much ventilation - will be getting motion discomfort on a cataclysmic scale and your footwells will be awash with vomit.

# data[].attributes.field_standfirst
A throwback to our 2005 review of Vauxhall's bonkers seven-seat performance MPV

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Ford Fiesta 1.25 Zetec 3dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
The Ford Fiesta has been around for so long now that most of you will probably have driven one at some time. As such, you'll probably be expecting a small, thrill-free hatchback fit only for first-time drivers and midwives.Well, if so, think again. This Fiesta 1.25i Zetec is a natty motor. It's let down a bit by its conservative exterior - yes, it has had a facelift, but it only hints at the millennial design found on other Fords. But drive the thing and you'll soon forget about the lack of pizazz on the outside.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
The Ford Fiesta has been around for so long now that most of you will probably have driven one at some time. As such

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
thrill-free hatchback fit only for first-time drivers and midwives.Well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
think again. This Fiesta 1.25i Zetec is a natty motor. It's let down a bit by its conservative exterior - yes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it only hints at the millennial design found on other Fords. But drive the thing and you'll soon forget about the lack of pizazz on the outside.The first thing you notice as you pull away from the kerb is the engine. The 1242cc

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
electronic injection lump seems a step up from the average supermini's and pulls keenly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
making town driving a more involving experience.Soon

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you lean into it to counteract the expected body roll from a mushy suspension

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but there is none! The car remains composed

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and it soon becomes a joy to hurl the thing round corners faster and tighter than you'd dare in other small hatches.So it's fun around town

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but can it earn its keep on the open road? Yes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
pretty much. That Zetec engine can take you to 103mph and cruises quite happily on the motorway. My criticism here would be that the standard power steering

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is too light for fast cruising and demands attention to avoid drifting off line. The option of a light 'city' mode and a stiffer 'normal' mode (as in the Fiat Punto) would be a boon.So

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the exterior design is nothing special and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the same is true of the inside. Grey 'rhino-hide' plastics cover dash and doors giving an atmosphere as sexy as a hospital corridor

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
while seats are similarly dull (though the driver's offers manual height adjustment and basic lumbar support). On the bright side

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the instrument panel is quite stylish. Space up front is adequate

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but is ridiculously cramped in the rear.But you get driver's airbag

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
ideal for those of you who don't judge by appearances really.

# data[].attributes.body.value
The Ford Fiesta has been around for so long now that most of you will probably have driven one at some time. As such, you'll probably be expecting a small, thrill-free hatchback fit only for first-time drivers and midwives.

Well, if so, think again. This Fiesta 1.25i Zetec is a natty motor. It's let down a bit by its conservative exterior - yes, it has had a facelift, but it only hints at the millennial design found on other Fords. But drive the thing and you'll soon forget about the lack of pizazz on the outside.

The first thing you notice as you pull away from the kerb is the engine. The 1242cc, 16v, Zetec, electronic injection lump seems a step up from the average supermini's and pulls keenly, making town driving a more involving experience.

Soon, as you swing through your first corner, you lean into it to counteract the expected body roll from a mushy suspension, but there is none! The car remains composed, and it soon becomes a joy to hurl the thing round corners faster and tighter than you'd dare in other small hatches.

So it's fun around town, but can it earn its keep on the open road? Yes, pretty much. That Zetec engine can take you to 103mph and cruises quite happily on the motorway. My criticism here would be that the standard power steering, whilst light around town, is too light for fast cruising and demands attention to avoid drifting off line. The option of a light 'city' mode and a stiffer 'normal' mode (as in the Fiat Punto) would be a boon.

So, the exterior design is nothing special and, sadly, the same is true of the inside. Grey 'rhino-hide' plastics cover dash and doors giving an atmosphere as sexy as a hospital corridor, while seats are similarly dull (though the driver's offers manual height adjustment and basic lumbar support). On the bright side, the instrument panel is quite stylish. Space up front is adequate, but is ridiculously cramped in the rear.

But you get driver's airbag, engine immobiliser, sunroof, tinted glass, seven-spoke alloys, body-colour bumpers and more, all as standard. So, ideal for those of you who don't judge by appearances really.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
The Ford Fiesta has been around for so long now that most of you will probably have driven one at some time. As such, you'll probably be expecting a small, thrill-free hatchback fit only for first-time drivers and midwives.

Well, if so, think again. This Fiesta 1.25i Zetec is a natty motor. It's let down a bit by its conservative exterior - yes, it has had a facelift, but it only hints at the millennial design found on other Fords. But drive the thing and you'll soon forget about the lack of pizazz on the outside.

The first thing you notice as you pull away from the kerb is the engine. The 1242cc, 16v, Zetec, electronic injection lump seems a step up from the average supermini's and pulls keenly, making town driving a more involving experience.

Soon, as you swing through your first corner, you lean into it to counteract the expected body roll from a mushy suspension, but there is none! The car remains composed, and it soon becomes a joy to hurl the thing round corners faster and tighter than you'd dare in other small hatches.

So it's fun around town, but can it earn its keep on the open road? Yes, pretty much. That Zetec engine can take you to 103mph and cruises quite happily on the motorway. My criticism here would be that the standard power steering, whilst light around town, is too light for fast cruising and demands attention to avoid drifting off line. The option of a light 'city' mode and a stiffer 'normal' mode (as in the Fiat Punto) would be a boon.

So, the exterior design is nothing special and, sadly, the same is true of the inside. Grey 'rhino-hide' plastics cover dash and doors giving an atmosphere as sexy as a hospital corridor, while seats are similarly dull (though the driver's offers manual height adjustment and basic lumbar support). On the bright side, the instrument panel is quite stylish. Space up front is adequate, but is ridiculously cramped in the rear.

But you get driver's airbag, engine immobiliser, sunroof, tinted glass, seven-spoke alloys, body-colour bumpers and more, all as standard. So, ideal for those of you who don't judge by appearances really.

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Volkswagen Touran 1.6 FSI S 5dr [5 Seat]

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Touran 1.6 FSI S 5dr [5 Seat] | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Touran 1.6 FSI S 5dr [5 Seat]

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
I'm not known for being punctual. If I go to a concert, I normally miss the first song. At the cinema, I miss the opening scene then accidentally knock someone's popcorn over. I'm on first-name terms with airport tannoy announcers. But I'm not as bad as Volkswagen.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Touran 1.6 FSI S 5dr [5 Seat]

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Touran 1.6 FSI S 5dr [5 Seat]

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I'm not known for being punctual. If I go to a concert

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I normally miss the first song. At the cinema

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I miss the opening scene then accidentally knock someone's popcorn over. I'm on first-name terms with airport tannoy announcers. But I'm not as bad as Volkswagen.Considering how long the Renault Megane Scenic has been around - and other hatchback-based midi-MPVs like the Astra-derived Vauxhall Zafira and Citroen Xsara Picasso - the German giant has been a bit slow on the uptake. If a company can raise platform-sharing to a fine art (the Skoda Octavia and the Audi TT being cases in point)

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
then what's so difficult about doing a Golf-based MPV?Strangely

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
on the morning that Volkswagen flew us off to Spain to get a first drive in one

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I got up at five (am) and was the first one to arrive at the terminal. I fell asleep in the lounge and missed the plane. Not really. As it is

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I fell asleep on the plane and missed the lounge. But I digress.Actually

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Touran isn't based on the Golf as we know it. It has a platform that incorporates elements of the MkIV Golf

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but also bits of the next generation Golf.The MkV platform is said to be the most tunable the company has yet produced. I'm pleased for them. Should we also feel pleased for future Touran owners?Naturally

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
they'll enjoy the removable second row seats

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the drawers under the front seats and the plethora of cupholders. They'll think the air-conditioned glovebox will be a nice touch and might even find a use for the 12v socket and underfloor stowage areas in the boot.I took the version with a 1.6-litre FSI petrol engine

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which consumes petrol at an average rate of about 38mpg

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but needs quite a bit of time to get anywhere. I liked the Touran's ride quality

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as it absorbs uneven tarmac nastiness awfully well.I didn't take to the slightly notchy six-speed gearbox. Or indeed the new electrically-assisted steering rack

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which gave me no idea what the front wheels were doing. The lack of direction change on the approach to a corner forced me to conclude that they were understeering with little provocation.And if the Touran's interior is a hint at the Golf to come

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
then the lack of quality plastics will disappoint all but VW's accountants. Take the badge away and I could have been in a Seat or Skoda.I got to the evening's press conference (late) and discovered that the Touran also comes with a gutsy two-litre diesel engine and an option for seven seats. The only way to drive a car with both

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
was to get up early the next morning and book it.So I was the first one up. And there they were. The extra two seats in the back that can fold into the boot floor. The Zafira can compete on this level but its seats are

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a smidge smaller than the Touran's supplementary set.This diesel engine is more like it too. Torque and subsequent urge from this oil-burner is undoubtably superior.Is the Touran package superior enough to make a belated impact? The Picasso's a big seller. The Scenic remains popular and the Zafira's versatility stands it in good stead. So far

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the motoring public have managed well without a VW midi-MPV. Yes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a good safety package and standard equipment list

# data[].attributes.body.value
I'm not known for being punctual. If I go to a concert, I normally miss the first song. At the cinema, I miss the opening scene then accidentally knock someone's popcorn over. I'm on first-name terms with airport tannoy announcers. But I'm not as bad as Volkswagen.

Considering how long the Renault Megane Scenic has been around - and other hatchback-based midi-MPVs like the Astra-derived Vauxhall Zafira and Citroen Xsara Picasso - the German giant has been a bit slow on the uptake. If a company can raise platform-sharing to a fine art (the Skoda Octavia and the Audi TT being cases in point), then what's so difficult about doing a Golf-based MPV?

Strangely, on the morning that Volkswagen flew us off to Spain to get a first drive in one, I got up at five (am) and was the first one to arrive at the terminal. I fell asleep in the lounge and missed the plane. Not really. As it is, I fell asleep on the plane and missed the lounge. But I digress.

Actually, the Touran isn't based on the Golf as we know it. It has a platform that incorporates elements of the MkIV Golf, but also bits of the next generation Golf.

The MkV platform is said to be the most tunable the company has yet produced. I'm pleased for them. Should we also feel pleased for future Touran owners?

Naturally, they'll enjoy the removable second row seats, the drawers under the front seats and the plethora of cupholders. They'll think the air-conditioned glovebox will be a nice touch and might even find a use for the 12v socket and underfloor stowage areas in the boot.

I took the version with a 1.6-litre FSI petrol engine, which consumes petrol at an average rate of about 38mpg, but needs quite a bit of time to get anywhere. I liked the Touran's ride quality, as it absorbs uneven tarmac nastiness awfully well.

I didn't take to the slightly notchy six-speed gearbox. Or indeed the new electrically-assisted steering rack, which gave me no idea what the front wheels were doing. The lack of direction change on the approach to a corner forced me to conclude that they were understeering with little provocation.

And if the Touran's interior is a hint at the Golf to come, then the lack of quality plastics will disappoint all but VW's accountants. Take the badge away and I could have been in a Seat or Skoda.

I got to the evening's press conference (late) and discovered that the Touran also comes with a gutsy two-litre diesel engine and an option for seven seats. The only way to drive a car with both, I was told, was to get up early the next morning and book it.

So I was the first one up. And there they were. The extra two seats in the back that can fold into the boot floor. The Zafira can compete on this level but its seats are, if memory serves, a smidge smaller than the Touran's supplementary set.

This diesel engine is more like it too. Torque and subsequent urge from this oil-burner is undoubtably superior.

Is the Touran package superior enough to make a belated impact? The Picasso's a big seller. The Scenic remains popular and the Zafira's versatility stands it in good stead. So far, the motoring public have managed well without a VW midi-MPV. Yes, the Touran might be too late, but with good engines, a good safety package and standard equipment list, it shouldn't be too little.

Colin Ryan

# data[].attributes.body.processed
I'm not known for being punctual. If I go to a concert, I normally miss the first song. At the cinema, I miss the opening scene then accidentally knock someone's popcorn over. I'm on first-name terms with airport tannoy announcers. But I'm not as bad as Volkswagen.

Considering how long the Renault Megane Scenic has been around - and other hatchback-based midi-MPVs like the Astra-derived Vauxhall Zafira and Citroen Xsara Picasso - the German giant has been a bit slow on the uptake. If a company can raise platform-sharing to a fine art (the Skoda Octavia and the Audi TT being cases in point), then what's so difficult about doing a Golf-based MPV?

Strangely, on the morning that Volkswagen flew us off to Spain to get a first drive in one, I got up at five (am) and was the first one to arrive at the terminal. I fell asleep in the lounge and missed the plane. Not really. As it is, I fell asleep on the plane and missed the lounge. But I digress.

Actually, the Touran isn't based on the Golf as we know it. It has a platform that incorporates elements of the MkIV Golf, but also bits of the next generation Golf.

The MkV platform is said to be the most tunable the company has yet produced. I'm pleased for them. Should we also feel pleased for future Touran owners?

Naturally, they'll enjoy the removable second row seats, the drawers under the front seats and the plethora of cupholders. They'll think the air-conditioned glovebox will be a nice touch and might even find a use for the 12v socket and underfloor stowage areas in the boot.

I took the version with a 1.6-litre FSI petrol engine, which consumes petrol at an average rate of about 38mpg, but needs quite a bit of time to get anywhere. I liked the Touran's ride quality, as it absorbs uneven tarmac nastiness awfully well.

I didn't take to the slightly notchy six-speed gearbox. Or indeed the new electrically-assisted steering rack, which gave me no idea what the front wheels were doing. The lack of direction change on the approach to a corner forced me to conclude that they were understeering with little provocation.

And if the Touran's interior is a hint at the Golf to come, then the lack of quality plastics will disappoint all but VW's accountants. Take the badge away and I could have been in a Seat or Skoda.

I got to the evening's press conference (late) and discovered that the Touran also comes with a gutsy two-litre diesel engine and an option for seven seats. The only way to drive a car with both, I was told, was to get up early the next morning and book it.

So I was the first one up. And there they were. The extra two seats in the back that can fold into the boot floor. The Zafira can compete on this level but its seats are, if memory serves, a smidge smaller than the Touran's supplementary set.

This diesel engine is more like it too. Torque and subsequent urge from this oil-burner is undoubtably superior.

Is the Touran package superior enough to make a belated impact? The Picasso's a big seller. The Scenic remains popular and the Zafira's versatility stands it in good stead. So far, the motoring public have managed well without a VW midi-MPV. Yes, the Touran might be too late, but with good engines, a good safety package and standard equipment list, it shouldn't be too little.

Colin Ryan

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Road Test: Volvo S60 D5 SE 4dr | Top Gear

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Volvo has, by its own admission, been a little late in joining the exciting party that is the modern diesel executive class. While Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been knocking out diesel engines good enough to impress even the most ardent diesel haters, Volvo has been holding off fitting oil-burners beneath the bonnets of its S60 and S80 range.

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been a little late in joining the exciting party that is the modern diesel executive class. While Audi

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been knocking out diesel engines good enough to impress even the most ardent diesel haters

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Volvo has been holding off fitting oil-burners beneath the bonnets of its S60 and S80 range.'Big deal

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
87 per cent of premium cars sold there are powered by diesel engines and the figures for France

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Austria and Italy are similarly high. Even in the UK

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Volvo expects that diesel sales will account for one in every five S60s and S80s sold.So there you are; if you are a car manufacture trying to flog executive metal you need a diesel

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it needs to be a jolly good one these days.Of course Volvo has had diesel engines before

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but those were bought in from Audi. This one is all the Swedish company's own work. Named D5

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
401cc 163bhp turbo unit is in showrooms now in the S60 and S80 ranges and will also eventually be fitted to the V70 estate.It all seems to be pretty high-tech stuff. The turbocharged aluminium unit uses second-generation common-rail technology

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which means that the fuel is injected into the cylinders at a very high pressure

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
fuel economy and emissions.We weren't able to run a fuel check on the launch in France

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so for now we've just got Volvo's official figures of 47.1mpg for the S60 and 46.3 for the S80. But I can tell you that in the S60

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the engine feels very good indeed. A peak of 163bhp may not sound that much but the torque is very strong at 250lb ft; that's even more than the beefy T5 petrol engine produces. The D5 S60 may not be capable of filling its front wheelarches with plumes of tyre smoke like the T5 can

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but if you are determined to put down some rubber exiting a junction

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
then this diesel will do it. It also likes being revved and has a sweet-sounding engine

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
especially for a diesel. Any fears that a combination of Volvo and diesel would add up to a double helping of dull are (happily) deeply unfounded. Drive the smart-looking saloon in a manner more like its makers intend and not only does it give you a chance of getting close to the claimed fuel figures

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it is also a fairly rewarding experience. The engine is smooth

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
refined and reasonably quiet and has enough clout to row steadily along in higher gears on very low revs.The lightweight diesel engine has thrown neither ride nor handling out of kilter and it works well with the five-speed manual gearbox. Well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
though I wasn't as convinced by the S80 drive. Although the larger car is only 20kg heavier and 0.3secs slower to 62mph

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it felt less lively and arguably more suited to an automatic gearbox

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an option which Volvo tells us will be available shortly.Prices start at £20

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
340 for the S80. Volvo is charging only a small premium over the equivalent petrol models. The D5 has taken its time getting here

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but it's definitely been worth the wait.Angus Frazer

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Volvo has, by its own admission, been a little late in joining the exciting party that is the modern diesel executive class. While Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been knocking out diesel engines good enough to impress even the most ardent diesel haters, Volvo has been holding off fitting oil-burners beneath the bonnets of its S60 and S80 range.

'Big deal,' I hear you say, through a yawn. Well, it is if you're Belgian. Apparently, 87 per cent of premium cars sold there are powered by diesel engines and the figures for France, Austria and Italy are similarly high. Even in the UK, Volvo expects that diesel sales will account for one in every five S60s and S80s sold.

So there you are; if you are a car manufacture trying to flog executive metal you need a diesel, and with the aforementioned competition, it needs to be a jolly good one these days.

Of course Volvo has had diesel engines before, but those were bought in from Audi. This one is all the Swedish company's own work. Named D5, the five-cylinder, 2,401cc 163bhp turbo unit is in showrooms now in the S60 and S80 ranges and will also eventually be fitted to the V70 estate.

It all seems to be pretty high-tech stuff. The turbocharged aluminium unit uses second-generation common-rail technology, which means that the fuel is injected into the cylinders at a very high pressure, to ensure good response, fuel economy and emissions.

We weren't able to run a fuel check on the launch in France, so for now we've just got Volvo's official figures of 47.1mpg for the S60 and 46.3 for the S80. But I can tell you that in the S60, the engine feels very good indeed. A peak of 163bhp may not sound that much but the torque is very strong at 250lb ft; that's even more than the beefy T5 petrol engine produces. The D5 S60 may not be capable of filling its front wheelarches with plumes of tyre smoke like the T5 can, but if you are determined to put down some rubber exiting a junction, then this diesel will do it. It also likes being revved and has a sweet-sounding engine, especially for a diesel. Any fears that a combination of Volvo and diesel would add up to a double helping of dull are (happily) deeply unfounded. Drive the smart-looking saloon in a manner more like its makers intend and not only does it give you a chance of getting close to the claimed fuel figures, it is also a fairly rewarding experience. The engine is smooth, refined and reasonably quiet and has enough clout to row steadily along in higher gears on very low revs.

The lightweight diesel engine has thrown neither ride nor handling out of kilter and it works well with the five-speed manual gearbox. Well, it does in the S60, though I wasn't as convinced by the S80 drive. Although the larger car is only 20kg heavier and 0.3secs slower to 62mph, it felt less lively and arguably more suited to an automatic gearbox, an option which Volvo tells us will be available shortly.

Prices start at £20,750 for the S60 and £22,340 for the S80. Volvo is charging only a small premium over the equivalent petrol models. The D5 has taken its time getting here, but it's definitely been worth the wait.

Angus Frazer

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Volvo has, by its own admission, been a little late in joining the exciting party that is the modern diesel executive class. While Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been knocking out diesel engines good enough to impress even the most ardent diesel haters, Volvo has been holding off fitting oil-burners beneath the bonnets of its S60 and S80 range.

'Big deal,' I hear you say, through a yawn. Well, it is if you're Belgian. Apparently, 87 per cent of premium cars sold there are powered by diesel engines and the figures for France, Austria and Italy are similarly high. Even in the UK, Volvo expects that diesel sales will account for one in every five S60s and S80s sold.

So there you are; if you are a car manufacture trying to flog executive metal you need a diesel, and with the aforementioned competition, it needs to be a jolly good one these days.

Of course Volvo has had diesel engines before, but those were bought in from Audi. This one is all the Swedish company's own work. Named D5, the five-cylinder, 2,401cc 163bhp turbo unit is in showrooms now in the S60 and S80 ranges and will also eventually be fitted to the V70 estate.

It all seems to be pretty high-tech stuff. The turbocharged aluminium unit uses second-generation common-rail technology, which means that the fuel is injected into the cylinders at a very high pressure, to ensure good response, fuel economy and emissions.

We weren't able to run a fuel check on the launch in France, so for now we've just got Volvo's official figures of 47.1mpg for the S60 and 46.3 for the S80. But I can tell you that in the S60, the engine feels very good indeed. A peak of 163bhp may not sound that much but the torque is very strong at 250lb ft; that's even more than the beefy T5 petrol engine produces. The D5 S60 may not be capable of filling its front wheelarches with plumes of tyre smoke like the T5 can, but if you are determined to put down some rubber exiting a junction, then this diesel will do it. It also likes being revved and has a sweet-sounding engine, especially for a diesel. Any fears that a combination of Volvo and diesel would add up to a double helping of dull are (happily) deeply unfounded. Drive the smart-looking saloon in a manner more like its makers intend and not only does it give you a chance of getting close to the claimed fuel figures, it is also a fairly rewarding experience. The engine is smooth, refined and reasonably quiet and has enough clout to row steadily along in higher gears on very low revs.

The lightweight diesel engine has thrown neither ride nor handling out of kilter and it works well with the five-speed manual gearbox. Well, it does in the S60, though I wasn't as convinced by the S80 drive. Although the larger car is only 20kg heavier and 0.3secs slower to 62mph, it felt less lively and arguably more suited to an automatic gearbox, an option which Volvo tells us will be available shortly.

Prices start at £20,750 for the S60 and £22,340 for the S80. Volvo is charging only a small premium over the equivalent petrol models. The D5 has taken its time getting here, but it's definitely been worth the wait.

Angus Frazer

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Road Test: Lexus IS 200 2.0 Sport 4dr | Top Gear

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Back in our February issue, we put our long-term Lexus IS200 Sport on trial (see TG 89), charged with masquerading as a sports saloon, and with you, dear readers, as the jury. You heard the argument for the prosecution, stating that this, the littlest Lex, merely aped the archetypal BMW layout of straight-six engine and rear-wheel drive, but didn't have the substance to go with the style. The defence in turn stated that the IS200 was actually a very capable, good-looking, fun car. And after having deliberated, digested and cogitated, you, the public, have spoken.

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we put our long-term Lexus IS200 Sport on trial (see TG 89)

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
charged with masquerading as a sports saloon

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as the jury. You heard the argument for the prosecution

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
merely aped the archetypal BMW layout of straight-six engine and rear-wheel drive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but didn't have the substance to go with the style. The defence in turn stated that the IS200 was actually a very capable

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
have spoken. It wasn't a unanimous verdict - we had 43 guilty votes - but by a sweeping majority

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
not guilty. It may drive away from the dock

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
its status as a sports saloon assured. Justice has been servedColin Ryan

# data[].attributes.body.value
Back in our February issue, we put our long-term Lexus IS200 Sport on trial (see TG 89), charged with masquerading as a sports saloon, and with you, dear readers, as the jury. You heard the argument for the prosecution, stating that this, the littlest Lex, merely aped the archetypal BMW layout of straight-six engine and rear-wheel drive, but didn't have the substance to go with the style. The defence in turn stated that the IS200 was actually a very capable, good-looking, fun car. And after having deliberated, digested and cogitated, you, the public, have spoken. It wasn't a unanimous verdict - we had 43 guilty votes - but by a sweeping majority, the Lexus IS200 has been found, most definitely, not guilty. It may drive away from the dock, a free car, its status as a sports saloon assured. Justice has been served

Colin Ryan

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Back in our February issue, we put our long-term Lexus IS200 Sport on trial (see TG 89), charged with masquerading as a sports saloon, and with you, dear readers, as the jury. You heard the argument for the prosecution, stating that this, the littlest Lex, merely aped the archetypal BMW layout of straight-six engine and rear-wheel drive, but didn't have the substance to go with the style. The defence in turn stated that the IS200 was actually a very capable, good-looking, fun car. And after having deliberated, digested and cogitated, you, the public, have spoken. It wasn't a unanimous verdict - we had 43 guilty votes - but by a sweeping majority, the Lexus IS200 has been found, most definitely, not guilty. It may drive away from the dock, a free car, its status as a sports saloon assured. Justice has been served

Colin Ryan

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Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD Limited 5dr Auto

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Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD Limited 5dr Auto | Top Gear

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Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD Limited 5dr Auto

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Jeep's latest package is noticeably bolstered by the inclusion of a totally new 218bhp Mercedes-sourced three-litre V6 diesel that replaces the previous incarnation's ropey old 2.7 CRD. Expected to account for around 85% of UK sales, it's this diesel unit that warrants attention here.There is a 5.7-litre Hemi V8 on offer as some sort of white-knuckle flagship, but with a hefty price tag, less torque than the diesel and eye-watering fuel returns, it doesn't make an enormous amount of sense.

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Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD Limited 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD Limited 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Jeep's latest package is noticeably bolstered by the inclusion of a totally new 218bhp Mercedes-sourced three-litre V6 diesel that replaces the previous incarnation's ropey old 2.7 CRD. Expected to account for around 85% of UK sales

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's this diesel unit that warrants attention here.There is a 5.7-litre Hemi V8 on offer as some sort of white-knuckle flagship

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
less torque than the diesel and eye-watering fuel returns

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it doesn't make an enormous amount of sense.The 3.0 CRD Limited

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is a decent punt at an on/off-road Jack-of-all-trades. It doesn't handle quite with the confidence of BMW's X5

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
000 cheaper and would give the German a bloody good hiding away from the asphalt.There is a catch

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
though. Jeep's budget has undoubtedly gone on striking this delicate balance between on-the-road and on-the-range

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and the cabin is discernibly down on quality as a result. Dash plastics are immediately cheap to the eye and most sound pretty hollow to the touch.Disappointing contact points like the wobbly handbrake instil further doubts in the Grand's final fit and finish

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and grab handles that are scarcely in reach

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
if your idea of a weekend away involves pumping the Arkansas air full of lead and filling the hose-down boot with still-twitching carcasses

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
then you probably already have a Grand on order. It'll be hard to make your case to UK buyers

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
who have the seven-seat Discovery and nearly £4k change in their pockets

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but this is a car that ably fulfills its purpose.Matt Master 

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Jeep's latest package is noticeably bolstered by the inclusion of a totally new 218bhp Mercedes-sourced three-litre V6 diesel that replaces the previous incarnation's ropey old 2.7 CRD. Expected to account for around 85% of UK sales, it's this diesel unit that warrants attention here.

There is a 5.7-litre Hemi V8 on offer as some sort of white-knuckle flagship, but with a hefty price tag, less torque than the diesel and eye-watering fuel returns, it doesn't make an enormous amount of sense.

The 3.0 CRD Limited, at £32,895, is a decent punt at an on/off-road Jack-of-all-trades. It doesn't handle quite with the confidence of BMW's X5, but it's over £3,000 cheaper and would give the German a bloody good hiding away from the asphalt.

There is a catch, though. Jeep's budget has undoubtedly gone on striking this delicate balance between on-the-road and on-the-range, and the cabin is discernibly down on quality as a result. Dash plastics are immediately cheap to the eye and most sound pretty hollow to the touch.

Disappointing contact points like the wobbly handbrake instil further doubts in the Grand's final fit and finish, and grab handles that are scarcely in reach, in an off-roader mind you, smack of myopic initial design.

Still, if your idea of a weekend away involves pumping the Arkansas air full of lead and filling the hose-down boot with still-twitching carcasses, then you probably already have a Grand on order. It'll be hard to make your case to UK buyers, who have the seven-seat Discovery and nearly £4k change in their pockets, but this is a car that ably fulfills its purpose.

Matt Master

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Jeep's latest package is noticeably bolstered by the inclusion of a totally new 218bhp Mercedes-sourced three-litre V6 diesel that replaces the previous incarnation's ropey old 2.7 CRD. Expected to account for around 85% of UK sales, it's this diesel unit that warrants attention here.

There is a 5.7-litre Hemi V8 on offer as some sort of white-knuckle flagship, but with a hefty price tag, less torque than the diesel and eye-watering fuel returns, it doesn't make an enormous amount of sense.

The 3.0 CRD Limited, at £32,895, is a decent punt at an on/off-road Jack-of-all-trades. It doesn't handle quite with the confidence of BMW's X5, but it's over £3,000 cheaper and would give the German a bloody good hiding away from the asphalt.

There is a catch, though. Jeep's budget has undoubtedly gone on striking this delicate balance between on-the-road and on-the-range, and the cabin is discernibly down on quality as a result. Dash plastics are immediately cheap to the eye and most sound pretty hollow to the touch.

Disappointing contact points like the wobbly handbrake instil further doubts in the Grand's final fit and finish, and grab handles that are scarcely in reach, in an off-roader mind you, smack of myopic initial design.

Still, if your idea of a weekend away involves pumping the Arkansas air full of lead and filling the hose-down boot with still-twitching carcasses, then you probably already have a Grand on order. It'll be hard to make your case to UK buyers, who have the seven-seat Discovery and nearly £4k change in their pockets, but this is a car that ably fulfills its purpose.

Matt Master

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Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 3.2 V6 R32 4MOTION 3dr

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Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 3.2 V6 R32 4MOTION 3dr | Top Gear

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Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 3.2 V6 R32 4MOTION 3dr

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Luckily for us, VW decided upon the letter R to signify its hot new 3.2-litre Golf and not S, like its Audi stablemate. Today's launch venue is the pretty German town of Rinteln - chosen as its postcode is R32. If the new Golf had been an S32 we'd have been in Grindleford.Now I'm sure Grindleford is lovely, but I checked my map and failed to find a spectacular series of freshly-surfaced bends with easy access to an unrestricted autobahn. And with the fastest-ever Golf to play with, that's just the sort of topography one likes to see.

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Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 3.2 V6 R32 4MOTION 3dr

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Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 3.2 V6 R32 4MOTION 3dr

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VW decided upon the letter R to signify its hot new 3.2-litre Golf and not S

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
like its Audi stablemate. Today's launch venue is the pretty German town of Rinteln - chosen as its postcode is R32. If the new Golf had been an S32 we'd have been in Grindleford.Now I'm sure Grindleford is lovely

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but I checked my map and failed to find a spectacular series of freshly-surfaced bends with easy access to an unrestricted autobahn. And with the fastest-ever Golf to play with

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
that's just the sort of topography one likes to see.The R32 is based on the not-too-shabby V6 4Motion

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
has a twin cam V6 bored and stroked out to 3189cc

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
has a completely redesigned intake system

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
continuous adjustment for the intake and exhaust cams and a saucy twin pipe exhaust. The upshot of this is enough horsepower - 240bhp at 6

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
250rpm - to potentially see off a Subaru Impreza.In a bid to banish the torque steer that afflicts powerful front-drive cars

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
there's the 4Motion 'intelligent' 4WD system

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
complete with Haldex coupling in the rear diff. Sensors monitor wheel slip and divert power to give traction to the wheels where it'll be most appropriate.Linking engine and wheels is a six-speed manual gearbox and providing stopping power are ABS and EBD-equipped ventilated disc brakes from the Passat. 18-inch OZ alloys wearing 225/40 tyres glue the whole ensemble to the road. The standard Golf suspension is stiffened and lowered by 20mm and the steering rack is now faster.Visual clues to the transformation would pose a challenge to Miss Marple

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though. The bumpers are beefier and at the front incorporate larger air intakes with mesh inserts. The twin chrome exhausts also differentiate this from lesser GTis. Not exactly flamboyant.Inside there's more to the transformation. Chiefly

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the front seats are deep buckets designed by Konig and with a part leather trim as standard (full hide is one of the few options). The dash and doors are trimmed with real brushed aluminium. The pedals are alloy too and there are R logos on the steering wheel

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gear lever and dash.Standard spec includes electric windows

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motored mirrors along with Xenon headlamps

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
side and curtain airbags.All this leaves the R32 as the best specified Golf of all time and the mechanical specification promises plenty. But can it deliver?Yes and no. The initial urge from the V6 is stupendous. Traction off the line is superb

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
although making a jerk-free getaway in less hurried circumstances can be tricky. However

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a full-bore standing start delivers a 0-62mph time of just 6.6 seconds. Yet the engine behaves in the opposite way to most sporting-oriented lumps - oddly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the more you rev it the less it responds. This engine is also deployed in the Phaeton luxo-barge and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
although it's been remapped for more eager initial performance

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
they seem to have left the higher rev range alone.The six-speed gearbox isn't always the easiest to engage and attempts at swift shifts can result in a missed gear. The brakes don't have a huge amount of feel

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but do work superbly and showed little sign of fade despite repeated high-speed stops. The ABS

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is rather over-enthusiastic. Even in the dry

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the warning light flashes well before the tyres begin to protest. There's a very

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
very large amount of mechanical grip from those fat tyres and you'd have to have seriously misjudged things to find the limit on the road in the dry. Wet roads see the front end push wide in traditional VW style. And also in traditional VW style

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
there's little to be done short of pulling the handbrake to bring the back end round again.Throughout this

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the steering is having a reasonable go at keeping the driver posted. The turn-in is better than previous sporting Golfs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but there's still some vagueness around the straight-ahead and it remains remote compared with rival hot hatches and rally-reps.The German tarmac is particularly smooth

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so judging ride comfort should be reserved for a British back road. There's plenty of urge

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and plenty of fuel consumed too. Its mpg is 24.6

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the R32 will present a sizeable investment for the 700 Brits who'll take delivery between now and the end of 2003.Yes

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the Golf doesn't quite carry the same cachet

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and it certainly doesn't have the driving edge that Imprezas and Evos offer.Nik Berg

# data[].attributes.body.value
Luckily for us, VW decided upon the letter R to signify its hot new 3.2-litre Golf and not S, like its Audi stablemate. Today's launch venue is the pretty German town of Rinteln - chosen as its postcode is R32. If the new Golf had been an S32 we'd have been in Grindleford.

Now I'm sure Grindleford is lovely, but I checked my map and failed to find a spectacular series of freshly-surfaced bends with easy access to an unrestricted autobahn. And with the fastest-ever Golf to play with, that's just the sort of topography one likes to see.

The R32 is based on the not-too-shabby V6 4Motion, has a twin cam V6 bored and stroked out to 3189cc, has a completely redesigned intake system, continuous adjustment for the intake and exhaust cams and a saucy twin pipe exhaust. The upshot of this is enough horsepower - 240bhp at 6,250rpm - to potentially see off a Subaru Impreza.

In a bid to banish the torque steer that afflicts powerful front-drive cars, there's the 4Motion 'intelligent' 4WD system, complete with Haldex coupling in the rear diff. Sensors monitor wheel slip and divert power to give traction to the wheels where it'll be most appropriate.

Linking engine and wheels is a six-speed manual gearbox and providing stopping power are ABS and EBD-equipped ventilated disc brakes from the Passat. 18-inch OZ alloys wearing 225/40 tyres glue the whole ensemble to the road. The standard Golf suspension is stiffened and lowered by 20mm and the steering rack is now faster.

Visual clues to the transformation would pose a challenge to Miss Marple, though. The bumpers are beefier and at the front incorporate larger air intakes with mesh inserts. The twin chrome exhausts also differentiate this from lesser GTis. Not exactly flamboyant.

Inside there's more to the transformation. Chiefly, the front seats are deep buckets designed by Konig and with a part leather trim as standard (full hide is one of the few options). The dash and doors are trimmed with real brushed aluminium. The pedals are alloy too and there are R logos on the steering wheel, seats, gear lever and dash.

Standard spec includes electric windows, climate control, cruise control, heated seats, CD stereo, motored mirrors along with Xenon headlamps, ESP, rain-sensing wipers plus front, side and curtain airbags.

All this leaves the R32 as the best specified Golf of all time and the mechanical specification promises plenty. But can it deliver?

Yes and no. The initial urge from the V6 is stupendous. Traction off the line is superb, although making a jerk-free getaway in less hurried circumstances can be tricky. However, a full-bore standing start delivers a 0-62mph time of just 6.6 seconds. Yet the engine behaves in the opposite way to most sporting-oriented lumps - oddly, the more you rev it the less it responds. This engine is also deployed in the Phaeton luxo-barge and, although it's been remapped for more eager initial performance, they seem to have left the higher rev range alone.

The six-speed gearbox isn't always the easiest to engage and attempts at swift shifts can result in a missed gear. The brakes don't have a huge amount of feel, but do work superbly and showed little sign of fade despite repeated high-speed stops. The ABS, in the dry at least, isn't over-eager to chip in, either.

The ESP, though, is rather over-enthusiastic. Even in the dry, the warning light flashes well before the tyres begin to protest. There's a very, very large amount of mechanical grip from those fat tyres and you'd have to have seriously misjudged things to find the limit on the road in the dry. Wet roads see the front end push wide in traditional VW style. And also in traditional VW style, there's little to be done short of pulling the handbrake to bring the back end round again.

Throughout this, the steering is having a reasonable go at keeping the driver posted. The turn-in is better than previous sporting Golfs, but there's still some vagueness around the straight-ahead and it remains remote compared with rival hot hatches and rally-reps.

The German tarmac is particularly smooth, so judging ride comfort should be reserved for a British back road. There's plenty of urge, and plenty of fuel consumed too. Its mpg is 24.6, but today we're well into the teens.

So, heavy on the gas and, at £22,340 in the UK, the R32 will present a sizeable investment for the 700 Brits who'll take delivery between now and the end of 2003.

Yes, it undercuts the Audi S3, but the Golf doesn't quite carry the same cachet, and it certainly doesn't have the driving edge that Imprezas and Evos offer.

Nik Berg

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Luckily for us, VW decided upon the letter R to signify its hot new 3.2-litre Golf and not S, like its Audi stablemate. Today's launch venue is the pretty German town of Rinteln - chosen as its postcode is R32. If the new Golf had been an S32 we'd have been in Grindleford.

Now I'm sure Grindleford is lovely, but I checked my map and failed to find a spectacular series of freshly-surfaced bends with easy access to an unrestricted autobahn. And with the fastest-ever Golf to play with, that's just the sort of topography one likes to see.

The R32 is based on the not-too-shabby V6 4Motion, has a twin cam V6 bored and stroked out to 3189cc, has a completely redesigned intake system, continuous adjustment for the intake and exhaust cams and a saucy twin pipe exhaust. The upshot of this is enough horsepower - 240bhp at 6,250rpm - to potentially see off a Subaru Impreza.

In a bid to banish the torque steer that afflicts powerful front-drive cars, there's the 4Motion 'intelligent' 4WD system, complete with Haldex coupling in the rear diff. Sensors monitor wheel slip and divert power to give traction to the wheels where it'll be most appropriate.

Linking engine and wheels is a six-speed manual gearbox and providing stopping power are ABS and EBD-equipped ventilated disc brakes from the Passat. 18-inch OZ alloys wearing 225/40 tyres glue the whole ensemble to the road. The standard Golf suspension is stiffened and lowered by 20mm and the steering rack is now faster.

Visual clues to the transformation would pose a challenge to Miss Marple, though. The bumpers are beefier and at the front incorporate larger air intakes with mesh inserts. The twin chrome exhausts also differentiate this from lesser GTis. Not exactly flamboyant.

Inside there's more to the transformation. Chiefly, the front seats are deep buckets designed by Konig and with a part leather trim as standard (full hide is one of the few options). The dash and doors are trimmed with real brushed aluminium. The pedals are alloy too and there are R logos on the steering wheel, seats, gear lever and dash.

Standard spec includes electric windows, climate control, cruise control, heated seats, CD stereo, motored mirrors along with Xenon headlamps, ESP, rain-sensing wipers plus front, side and curtain airbags.

All this leaves the R32 as the best specified Golf of all time and the mechanical specification promises plenty. But can it deliver?

Yes and no. The initial urge from the V6 is stupendous. Traction off the line is superb, although making a jerk-free getaway in less hurried circumstances can be tricky. However, a full-bore standing start delivers a 0-62mph time of just 6.6 seconds. Yet the engine behaves in the opposite way to most sporting-oriented lumps - oddly, the more you rev it the less it responds. This engine is also deployed in the Phaeton luxo-barge and, although it's been remapped for more eager initial performance, they seem to have left the higher rev range alone.

The six-speed gearbox isn't always the easiest to engage and attempts at swift shifts can result in a missed gear. The brakes don't have a huge amount of feel, but do work superbly and showed little sign of fade despite repeated high-speed stops. The ABS, in the dry at least, isn't over-eager to chip in, either.

The ESP, though, is rather over-enthusiastic. Even in the dry, the warning light flashes well before the tyres begin to protest. There's a very, very large amount of mechanical grip from those fat tyres and you'd have to have seriously misjudged things to find the limit on the road in the dry. Wet roads see the front end push wide in traditional VW style. And also in traditional VW style, there's little to be done short of pulling the handbrake to bring the back end round again.

Throughout this, the steering is having a reasonable go at keeping the driver posted. The turn-in is better than previous sporting Golfs, but there's still some vagueness around the straight-ahead and it remains remote compared with rival hot hatches and rally-reps.

The German tarmac is particularly smooth, so judging ride comfort should be reserved for a British back road. There's plenty of urge, and plenty of fuel consumed too. Its mpg is 24.6, but today we're well into the teens.

So, heavy on the gas and, at £22,340 in the UK, the R32 will present a sizeable investment for the 700 Brits who'll take delivery between now and the end of 2003.

Yes, it undercuts the Audi S3, but the Golf doesn't quite carry the same cachet, and it certainly doesn't have the driving edge that Imprezas and Evos offer.

Nik Berg

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Porsche's designers and engineers have been pilfering from the 911 Turbo parts bin, making off with the Turbo's front and rear ends, wider track and wheel arches, suspension, brakes and wheels, to produce a sort of lookalike which comes with four-wheel drive but does away with Turbo-tastic performance and, of course, the Turbo-tastic price too.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Porsche's designers and engineers have been pilfering from the 911 Turbo parts bin

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
making off with the Turbo's front and rear ends

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
to produce a sort of lookalike which comes with four-wheel drive but does away with Turbo-tastic performance and

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Turbo-tastic price too.But it's not just the looks which have been addressed. Benefiting from the tweakery which went on across the 911 range earler in 2001

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the C4S starts up and makes a noise from its twin tail pipes akin to a horse snorting

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which basically means that compared to the pre-facelift water-cooled models

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it now sounds like a proper Porsche.Take the time to look around and there isn't much evidence that this is anything out of the ordinary. It's only when you belt up that any visible attempt at marking out the C4S makes its presence felt - namely by a set of bright-yellow

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which wouldn't look out of place holding up the pinstripes of a champagne guzzling

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
wad-flashing 1980s yuppie stockbroker type.Still

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
set aside such fashion faux pas for a moment and this could well lay claim to being the most rounded Stuttgart powerhouse yet. With 320bhp at 6

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
800rpm and 273lb ft ready to roll from 4

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
especially when the roads turn wet or snowy or icy.Unfortunately

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Porsche's PR department had neglected to arrange such a test drive for us. However

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I felt confident enough to really get stuck into the turns without fear of ending up backwards. The C4S has the feeling of being pure 911 - with alive steering that wriggles slightly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
that light front end which is wonderfully sensitive to camber and pitch

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the rear is perfectly planted as you power through a bend and the inside front wheel lifts just a smidgen.It's all hugely enjoyable stuff. But the clever bit is that - on dry roads at least - you don't really feel as if you're in a four-wheel-drive car. The C4S still feels driven from the rear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
probably because that's where the bias lies.A constant minimum of five per cent of grunt is sent to the front

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but that can change to up to 40 per cent should the nose lose traction. As if to prove the point

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
when punted out of a T-junction on a healthy dose of gas

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's perfectly possible to set the C4S into a tailslide (with the stability management turned off) before the power is sent forwards.The penalty for having a car with proper 911 hips

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
more traction when the weather turns nasty and monstrous stopping power (as if the standard 911 anchors weren't up to the job in the first place)

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is a bit more weight and a fraction less performance on paper than a Carrera 2. But across country

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you can guess which one you'd feel more confident getting from A to B quickly in.The C4S makes all the right noises

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
all the right moves and all at the right price - especially weighed up against the regular Carrera 4 and the Turbo. As an all-rounder

# data[].attributes.body.value
Porsche's designers and engineers have been pilfering from the 911 Turbo parts bin, making off with the Turbo's front and rear ends, wider track and wheel arches, suspension, brakes and wheels, to produce a sort of lookalike which comes with four-wheel drive but does away with Turbo-tastic performance and, of course, the Turbo-tastic price too.

But it's not just the looks which have been addressed. Benefiting from the tweakery which went on across the 911 range earler in 2001, the C4S starts up and makes a noise from its twin tail pipes akin to a horse snorting, with a flatulent 'brap', which basically means that compared to the pre-facelift water-cooled models, it now sounds like a proper Porsche.

Take the time to look around and there isn't much evidence that this is anything out of the ordinary. It's only when you belt up that any visible attempt at marking out the C4S makes its presence felt - namely by a set of bright-yellow, colour-coded seatbelts, which wouldn't look out of place holding up the pinstripes of a champagne guzzling, wad-flashing 1980s yuppie stockbroker type.

Still, set aside such fashion faux pas for a moment and this could well lay claim to being the most rounded Stuttgart powerhouse yet. With 320bhp at 6,800rpm and 273lb ft ready to roll from 4,250rpm, you're talking the kind of thrust, which really does need four-wheel drive, especially when the roads turn wet or snowy or icy.

Unfortunately, Porsche's PR department had neglected to arrange such a test drive for us. However, on the bone-dry roads around Lake Garda, Italy, I felt confident enough to really get stuck into the turns without fear of ending up backwards. The C4S has the feeling of being pure 911 - with alive steering that wriggles slightly, that light front end which is wonderfully sensitive to camber and pitch, and the feeling that, with all the weight over the back axle, the rear is perfectly planted as you power through a bend and the inside front wheel lifts just a smidgen.

It's all hugely enjoyable stuff. But the clever bit is that - on dry roads at least - you don't really feel as if you're in a four-wheel-drive car. The C4S still feels driven from the rear, probably because that's where the bias lies.

A constant minimum of five per cent of grunt is sent to the front, but that can change to up to 40 per cent should the nose lose traction. As if to prove the point, when punted out of a T-junction on a healthy dose of gas, it's perfectly possible to set the C4S into a tailslide (with the stability management turned off) before the power is sent forwards.

The penalty for having a car with proper 911 hips, more traction when the weather turns nasty and monstrous stopping power (as if the standard 911 anchors weren't up to the job in the first place), is a bit more weight and a fraction less performance on paper than a Carrera 2. But across country, you can guess which one you'd feel more confident getting from A to B quickly in.

The C4S makes all the right noises, all the right moves and all at the right price - especially weighed up against the regular Carrera 4 and the Turbo. As an all-rounder, it's pretty much perfect.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Porsche's designers and engineers have been pilfering from the 911 Turbo parts bin, making off with the Turbo's front and rear ends, wider track and wheel arches, suspension, brakes and wheels, to produce a sort of lookalike which comes with four-wheel drive but does away with Turbo-tastic performance and, of course, the Turbo-tastic price too.

But it's not just the looks which have been addressed. Benefiting from the tweakery which went on across the 911 range earler in 2001, the C4S starts up and makes a noise from its twin tail pipes akin to a horse snorting, with a flatulent 'brap', which basically means that compared to the pre-facelift water-cooled models, it now sounds like a proper Porsche.

Take the time to look around and there isn't much evidence that this is anything out of the ordinary. It's only when you belt up that any visible attempt at marking out the C4S makes its presence felt - namely by a set of bright-yellow, colour-coded seatbelts, which wouldn't look out of place holding up the pinstripes of a champagne guzzling, wad-flashing 1980s yuppie stockbroker type.

Still, set aside such fashion faux pas for a moment and this could well lay claim to being the most rounded Stuttgart powerhouse yet. With 320bhp at 6,800rpm and 273lb ft ready to roll from 4,250rpm, you're talking the kind of thrust, which really does need four-wheel drive, especially when the roads turn wet or snowy or icy.

Unfortunately, Porsche's PR department had neglected to arrange such a test drive for us. However, on the bone-dry roads around Lake Garda, Italy, I felt confident enough to really get stuck into the turns without fear of ending up backwards. The C4S has the feeling of being pure 911 - with alive steering that wriggles slightly, that light front end which is wonderfully sensitive to camber and pitch, and the feeling that, with all the weight over the back axle, the rear is perfectly planted as you power through a bend and the inside front wheel lifts just a smidgen.

It's all hugely enjoyable stuff. But the clever bit is that - on dry roads at least - you don't really feel as if you're in a four-wheel-drive car. The C4S still feels driven from the rear, probably because that's where the bias lies.

A constant minimum of five per cent of grunt is sent to the front, but that can change to up to 40 per cent should the nose lose traction. As if to prove the point, when punted out of a T-junction on a healthy dose of gas, it's perfectly possible to set the C4S into a tailslide (with the stability management turned off) before the power is sent forwards.

The penalty for having a car with proper 911 hips, more traction when the weather turns nasty and monstrous stopping power (as if the standard 911 anchors weren't up to the job in the first place), is a bit more weight and a fraction less performance on paper than a Carrera 2. But across country, you can guess which one you'd feel more confident getting from A to B quickly in.

The C4S makes all the right noises, all the right moves and all at the right price - especially weighed up against the regular Carrera 4 and the Turbo. As an all-rounder, it's pretty much perfect.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Lexus IS 200 2.0 4dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Recently, it's been alarmingly easy to provoke a bout of fisticuffs in the Top Gear office. You simply needed to make a suggestion as to what the next car to join our long-term test fleet should be to provoke a ruckus.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's been alarmingly easy to provoke a bout of fisticuffs in the Top Gear office. You simply needed to make a suggestion as to what the next car to join our long-term test fleet should be to provoke a ruckus.Just a couple of years ago

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the funsters among us were winning the car-choice battle. Hence we ended up with a bunch of long-termers that tipped the balance just a smidge too far towards the silly side. Our car park bulged with such niche products as a Hyundai Coupe

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a Mazda MX-5 and a BMW M-Roadster. All great fun... except for those with sprogs or DIY crud to shift around.Since then

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
mature members of the TG team have been multiplying likes guppies. So

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the priorities of prams and nappy-changing clobber have taken over; for some

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
at least. The pro-practicality backlash has arrived in the form of such sensible wheels as a Volvo V70

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a Nissan Primera and a Skoda Octavia diesel estate.A compromise was clearly required to calm the fast-escalating conflict of interests. The search was on for a car that would keep all of us happy: something that boasts four-door good-sense

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is sufficiently gadget-laden to ease the commute home and yet is also stylish and good fun to drive.Peace eventually broke out with the arrival of our Lexus IS200 Sport. It's compact enough to never feel a handful

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
yet has the four-person carrying capacity to keep the more prolific TG testers sweet. For the £23

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the IS200 is also remarkably well-specified.The junior Lexus has been accused of plagiarising the BMW 3-Series and it is

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
remarkably like an old-shape 320i to drive (which is a good thing). Just like the Beemer

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
24-valve straight-six engine feeding its modest 153bhp to the rear wheels. Similarly

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
its cleanly-revving power-plant needs a thorough caning to give anything like its best. Now the engine has bedded in over nearly 2

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it seems to permanently live between the beginning of its power band at 4

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
250rpm.A six-speed 'box helps make the best of such buzzy antics. Unfortunately

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the IS200 displays some jerky driveline shunt if the combination of gear ratio

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
revs and clutch isn't perfectly matched up.Whereas the latest 3-Series suffers dulled responses

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the IS200 is eager to play. Dump the kids at granny's

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
switch the traction control off and even our Sport-spec car's whopping 17-inch rubber can be provoked to slip free and give a naughty shimmy at the back. A Torsen limited-slip differential helps keep slidiness both progressive and reassuringly controllable.More Sport clobber includes natty drilled alloy pedals

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
stainless-steel sill trims and the world's most subtle rear spoiler. Life with the Lexus is made easy by the sort of add-ons thrown in as standard that would see you draining a year's salary on the options list of its German rivals. Aircon

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
in-dash CD-autochanger are all included.So

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
have we had any problems with the IS200? No

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and we wouldn't have expected to after such a short time - especially considering the Lexus marque's impressive showing in recent JD Power customer satisfaction surveys.Contention has only briefly returned to the TG team regarding why we're too technophobic to have sussed out how to work the optional flip-up satnav system

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
what the point of the magnifying rear-view mirror is

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and who should clean the already-grubby cream seats and carpets.Overall

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the IS200 is keeping more of us happy more of the time than any of our recent long-term test subjects... which leaves me free to enjoy our Ford Racing Puma long-termer when it arrives at the office in May!Peter Grunert

# data[].attributes.body.value
Recently, it's been alarmingly easy to provoke a bout of fisticuffs in the Top Gear office. You simply needed to make a suggestion as to what the next car to join our long-term test fleet should be to provoke a ruckus.

Just a couple of years ago, the funsters among us were winning the car-choice battle. Hence we ended up with a bunch of long-termers that tipped the balance just a smidge too far towards the silly side. Our car park bulged with such niche products as a Hyundai Coupe, a SEAT Cordoba SX coupe, a Jaguar XK8 coupe, a Jeep Wrangler, a Mazda MX-5 and a BMW M-Roadster. All great fun... except for those with sprogs or DIY crud to shift around.

Since then, mature members of the TG team have been multiplying likes guppies. So, the priorities of prams and nappy-changing clobber have taken over; for some, at least. The pro-practicality backlash has arrived in the form of such sensible wheels as a Volvo V70, a Nissan Primera and a Skoda Octavia diesel estate.

A compromise was clearly required to calm the fast-escalating conflict of interests. The search was on for a car that would keep all of us happy: something that boasts four-door good-sense, that has a decent boot, is sufficiently gadget-laden to ease the commute home and yet is also stylish and good fun to drive.

Peace eventually broke out with the arrival of our Lexus IS200 Sport. It's compact enough to never feel a handful, yet has the four-person carrying capacity to keep the more prolific TG testers sweet. For the £23,000 asking price, the IS200 is also remarkably well-specified.

The junior Lexus has been accused of plagiarising the BMW 3-Series and it is, indeed, remarkably like an old-shape 320i to drive (which is a good thing). Just like the Beemer, it's blessed with a two-litre, 24-valve straight-six engine feeding its modest 153bhp to the rear wheels. Similarly, its cleanly-revving power-plant needs a thorough caning to give anything like its best. Now the engine has bedded in over nearly 2,500 miles, it seems to permanently live between the beginning of its power band at 4,500rpm and the red line at 6,250rpm.

A six-speed 'box helps make the best of such buzzy antics. Unfortunately, just like the last generation 3-Series, the IS200 displays some jerky driveline shunt if the combination of gear ratio, revs and clutch isn't perfectly matched up.

Whereas the latest 3-Series suffers dulled responses, the IS200 is eager to play. Dump the kids at granny's, switch the traction control off and even our Sport-spec car's whopping 17-inch rubber can be provoked to slip free and give a naughty shimmy at the back. A Torsen limited-slip differential helps keep slidiness both progressive and reassuringly controllable.

More Sport clobber includes natty drilled alloy pedals, stainless-steel sill trims and the world's most subtle rear spoiler. Life with the Lexus is made easy by the sort of add-ons thrown in as standard that would see you draining a year's salary on the options list of its German rivals. Aircon, heated seats, part-leather trim, electric windows, alarm and a six-disc, in-dash CD-autochanger are all included.

So, have we had any problems with the IS200? No, and we wouldn't have expected to after such a short time - especially considering the Lexus marque's impressive showing in recent JD Power customer satisfaction surveys.Contention has only briefly returned to the TG team regarding why we're too technophobic to have sussed out how to work the optional flip-up satnav system, what the point of the magnifying rear-view mirror is, and who should clean the already-grubby cream seats and carpets.

Overall, however, the IS200 is keeping more of us happy more of the time than any of our recent long-term test subjects... which leaves me free to enjoy our Ford Racing Puma long-termer when it arrives at the office in May!

Peter Grunert

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Recently, it's been alarmingly easy to provoke a bout of fisticuffs in the Top Gear office. You simply needed to make a suggestion as to what the next car to join our long-term test fleet should be to provoke a ruckus.

Just a couple of years ago, the funsters among us were winning the car-choice battle. Hence we ended up with a bunch of long-termers that tipped the balance just a smidge too far towards the silly side. Our car park bulged with such niche products as a Hyundai Coupe, a SEAT Cordoba SX coupe, a Jaguar XK8 coupe, a Jeep Wrangler, a Mazda MX-5 and a BMW M-Roadster. All great fun... except for those with sprogs or DIY crud to shift around.

Since then, mature members of the TG team have been multiplying likes guppies. So, the priorities of prams and nappy-changing clobber have taken over; for some, at least. The pro-practicality backlash has arrived in the form of such sensible wheels as a Volvo V70, a Nissan Primera and a Skoda Octavia diesel estate.

A compromise was clearly required to calm the fast-escalating conflict of interests. The search was on for a car that would keep all of us happy: something that boasts four-door good-sense, that has a decent boot, is sufficiently gadget-laden to ease the commute home and yet is also stylish and good fun to drive.

Peace eventually broke out with the arrival of our Lexus IS200 Sport. It's compact enough to never feel a handful, yet has the four-person carrying capacity to keep the more prolific TG testers sweet. For the £23,000 asking price, the IS200 is also remarkably well-specified.

The junior Lexus has been accused of plagiarising the BMW 3-Series and it is, indeed, remarkably like an old-shape 320i to drive (which is a good thing). Just like the Beemer, it's blessed with a two-litre, 24-valve straight-six engine feeding its modest 153bhp to the rear wheels. Similarly, its cleanly-revving power-plant needs a thorough caning to give anything like its best. Now the engine has bedded in over nearly 2,500 miles, it seems to permanently live between the beginning of its power band at 4,500rpm and the red line at 6,250rpm.

A six-speed 'box helps make the best of such buzzy antics. Unfortunately, just like the last generation 3-Series, the IS200 displays some jerky driveline shunt if the combination of gear ratio, revs and clutch isn't perfectly matched up.

Whereas the latest 3-Series suffers dulled responses, the IS200 is eager to play. Dump the kids at granny's, switch the traction control off and even our Sport-spec car's whopping 17-inch rubber can be provoked to slip free and give a naughty shimmy at the back. A Torsen limited-slip differential helps keep slidiness both progressive and reassuringly controllable.

More Sport clobber includes natty drilled alloy pedals, stainless-steel sill trims and the world's most subtle rear spoiler. Life with the Lexus is made easy by the sort of add-ons thrown in as standard that would see you draining a year's salary on the options list of its German rivals. Aircon, heated seats, part-leather trim, electric windows, alarm and a six-disc, in-dash CD-autochanger are all included.

So, have we had any problems with the IS200? No, and we wouldn't have expected to after such a short time - especially considering the Lexus marque's impressive showing in recent JD Power customer satisfaction surveys.Contention has only briefly returned to the TG team regarding why we're too technophobic to have sussed out how to work the optional flip-up satnav system, what the point of the magnifying rear-view mirror is, and who should clean the already-grubby cream seats and carpets.

Overall, however, the IS200 is keeping more of us happy more of the time than any of our recent long-term test subjects... which leaves me free to enjoy our Ford Racing Puma long-termer when it arrives at the office in May!

Peter Grunert

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Road Test: Nissan Pathfinder 4.0 V6 T-SPEC 5dr Auto

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Road Test: Nissan Pathfinder 4.0 V6 T-SPEC 5dr Auto | Top Gear

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Road Test: Nissan Pathfinder 4.0 V6 T-SPEC 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
You've developed a need for the extra space and practicality you reckon a nice big SUV can provide, plus there's that slight hankering for a touch of the Action Man since you got the house rather than the flat.The kids are getting bigger, and with the escalation of street-weaponry - what seems like every other suburbanite toting some two-tonne-plus Gorgon - you don't want to be left with a pointy stick when the rest of the world has just racked another round into the breech of their semi-automatic.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Nissan Pathfinder 4.0 V6 T-SPEC 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Nissan Pathfinder 4.0 V6 T-SPEC 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
You've developed a need for the extra space and practicality you reckon a nice big SUV can provide

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
plus there's that slight hankering for a touch of the Action Man since you got the house rather than the flat.The kids are getting bigger

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and with the escalation of street-weaponry - what seems like every other suburbanite toting some two-tonne-plus Gorgon - you don't want to be left with a pointy stick when the rest of the world has just racked another round into the breech of their semi-automatic.The problem being that the seven-seat Discovery 3 looks a bit too far away when you add up the mortgage

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so why not a Nissan Pathfinder?It's got all the faintly militaristic visual expression of the Land Rover - check out those small

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
square windows and the unapologetic boxy shape - and it's big enough to stare down all but the most committed kerbside bully.It also comes with a comprehensive spec for just under £34k (T-spec) when a TDV6 Disco HSE drops the bank balance by some eight grand more.So what we have here is the slightly less green four-litre V6 petrol

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the car voted most likely to be painted white and used by the UN in the next war-torn country.It's not that the Pathfinder isn't exactly what you expect from a big Nissan 4x4. The engine is more than powerful enough

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the ride and handling almost eerily composed (if a bit wobbly when really pushed)

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and the interior accommodation more than satisfactory

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
for the money.It's more that the Pathfinder feels utilitarian

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
for some almost undefinable reason. Where the Disco feels like an off-roaded premium car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Pathfinder feels like it's a pickup truck that's had a load of leather and some nice interior bits lobbed in its direction.Maybe it's the fact that the Pathfinder gave three of the test team backache

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
no matter how much we tried to adjust the seating.It could be that the Navara pickup underpinnings are showing through

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
or that the SUV game has just not so subtley moved on from when the Pathfinder was conceived.It has to be said

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
for the money and speed and street presence

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Pathfinder four-litre is actually quite a handy piece of kit

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
in the same manner as a Grand Cherokee. But we'd rather have a Landy or even an M-Class. 

# data[].attributes.body.value
You've developed a need for the extra space and practicality you reckon a nice big SUV can provide, plus there's that slight hankering for a touch of the Action Man since you got the house rather than the flat.

The kids are getting bigger, and with the escalation of street-weaponry - what seems like every other suburbanite toting some two-tonne-plus Gorgon - you don't want to be left with a pointy stick when the rest of the world has just racked another round into the breech of their semi-automatic.

The problem being that the seven-seat Discovery 3 looks a bit too far away when you add up the mortgage, so why not a Nissan Pathfinder?

It's got all the faintly militaristic visual expression of the Land Rover - check out those small, square windows and the unapologetic boxy shape - and it's big enough to stare down all but the most committed kerbside bully.

It also comes with a comprehensive spec for just under £34k (T-spec) when a TDV6 Disco HSE drops the bank balance by some eight grand more.

So what we have here is the slightly less green four-litre V6 petrol, the car voted most likely to be painted white and used by the UN in the next war-torn country.

It's not that the Pathfinder isn't exactly what you expect from a big Nissan 4x4. The engine is more than powerful enough, the ride and handling almost eerily composed (if a bit wobbly when really pushed), and the interior accommodation more than satisfactory, both in terms of space and quality, for the money.

It's more that the Pathfinder feels utilitarian, for some almost undefinable reason. Where the Disco feels like an off-roaded premium car, a blue-collar Range Rover, the Pathfinder feels like it's a pickup truck that's had a load of leather and some nice interior bits lobbed in its direction.

Maybe it's the fact that the Pathfinder gave three of the test team backache, no matter how much we tried to adjust the seating.

It could be that the Navara pickup underpinnings are showing through, or that the SUV game has just not so subtley moved on from when the Pathfinder was conceived.

It has to be said, for the money and speed and street presence, the Pathfinder four-litre is actually quite a handy piece of kit, in the same manner as a Grand Cherokee. But we'd rather have a Landy or even an M-Class.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
You've developed a need for the extra space and practicality you reckon a nice big SUV can provide, plus there's that slight hankering for a touch of the Action Man since you got the house rather than the flat.

The kids are getting bigger, and with the escalation of street-weaponry - what seems like every other suburbanite toting some two-tonne-plus Gorgon - you don't want to be left with a pointy stick when the rest of the world has just racked another round into the breech of their semi-automatic.

The problem being that the seven-seat Discovery 3 looks a bit too far away when you add up the mortgage, so why not a Nissan Pathfinder?

It's got all the faintly militaristic visual expression of the Land Rover - check out those small, square windows and the unapologetic boxy shape - and it's big enough to stare down all but the most committed kerbside bully.

It also comes with a comprehensive spec for just under £34k (T-spec) when a TDV6 Disco HSE drops the bank balance by some eight grand more.

So what we have here is the slightly less green four-litre V6 petrol, the car voted most likely to be painted white and used by the UN in the next war-torn country.

It's not that the Pathfinder isn't exactly what you expect from a big Nissan 4x4. The engine is more than powerful enough, the ride and handling almost eerily composed (if a bit wobbly when really pushed), and the interior accommodation more than satisfactory, both in terms of space and quality, for the money.

It's more that the Pathfinder feels utilitarian, for some almost undefinable reason. Where the Disco feels like an off-roaded premium car, a blue-collar Range Rover, the Pathfinder feels like it's a pickup truck that's had a load of leather and some nice interior bits lobbed in its direction.

Maybe it's the fact that the Pathfinder gave three of the test team backache, no matter how much we tried to adjust the seating.

It could be that the Navara pickup underpinnings are showing through, or that the SUV game has just not so subtley moved on from when the Pathfinder was conceived.

It has to be said, for the money and speed and street presence, the Pathfinder four-litre is actually quite a handy piece of kit, in the same manner as a Grand Cherokee. But we'd rather have a Landy or even an M-Class.

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Volkswagen Passat C Turbo 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Passat C Turbo 5dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Passat C Turbo 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
A diesel Rolls-Royce? Surely not. But Rolls-Royce is now owned by Volkswagen, which has just stated that the engine of the future is diesel-fuelled. And the German firm has just unveiled an innovative new oil-burning engine and put it in a Passat.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Passat C Turbo 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Passat C Turbo 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
A diesel Rolls-Royce? Surely not. But Rolls-Royce is now owned by Volkswagen

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which has just stated that the engine of the future is diesel-fuelled. And the German firm has just unveiled an innovative new oil-burning engine and put it in a Passat.Now the Passat doesn't make the same statement as a Rolls

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but this one has leather seats and wood on the dash

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and fast. What makes its new engine new is that diesel fuel is injected into the combustion chamber at a much higher pressure than normal. The result: more efficient combustion

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
fewer emissions| and it actually smells cleaner. Seriously.The four-cylinder

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
1.9-litre turbo engine develops 115bhp (five more than the current 1.9 TDI) and an impressive 210lb ft of torque at 1

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
900rpm. On the road that translates to pretty quick and plenty of low-end oomph. Like all oil-burners it gets noisy in the upper rev range

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it's probably the best diesel engine I've driven.Interested Brits must wait until the end of the year. So far

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
only the Passat comes with this engine - but you never know where else it could end up...

# data[].attributes.body.value
A diesel Rolls-Royce? Surely not. But Rolls-Royce is now owned by Volkswagen, which has just stated that the engine of the future is diesel-fuelled. And the German firm has just unveiled an innovative new oil-burning engine and put it in a Passat.

Now the Passat doesn't make the same statement as a Rolls, but this one has leather seats and wood on the dash, and it's quiet, and fast. What makes its new engine new is that diesel fuel is injected into the combustion chamber at a much higher pressure than normal. The result: more efficient combustion, higher torque, fewer emissions| and it actually smells cleaner. Seriously.

The four-cylinder, 1.9-litre turbo engine develops 115bhp (five more than the current 1.9 TDI) and an impressive 210lb ft of torque at 1,900rpm. On the road that translates to pretty quick and plenty of low-end oomph. Like all oil-burners it gets noisy in the upper rev range, where it also runs out of puff, but it's probably the best diesel engine I've driven.

Interested Brits must wait until the end of the year. So far, only the Passat comes with this engine - but you never know where else it could end up...

# data[].attributes.body.processed
A diesel Rolls-Royce? Surely not. But Rolls-Royce is now owned by Volkswagen, which has just stated that the engine of the future is diesel-fuelled. And the German firm has just unveiled an innovative new oil-burning engine and put it in a Passat.

Now the Passat doesn't make the same statement as a Rolls, but this one has leather seats and wood on the dash, and it's quiet, and fast. What makes its new engine new is that diesel fuel is injected into the combustion chamber at a much higher pressure than normal. The result: more efficient combustion, higher torque, fewer emissions| and it actually smells cleaner. Seriously.

The four-cylinder, 1.9-litre turbo engine develops 115bhp (five more than the current 1.9 TDI) and an impressive 210lb ft of torque at 1,900rpm. On the road that translates to pretty quick and plenty of low-end oomph. Like all oil-burners it gets noisy in the upper rev range, where it also runs out of puff, but it's probably the best diesel engine I've driven.

Interested Brits must wait until the end of the year. So far, only the Passat comes with this engine - but you never know where else it could end up...

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 2.0 GT TDI 170 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 2.0 GT TDI 170 3dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 2.0 GT TDI 170 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Everything's meant to get bigger and better when it's replaced, right? So when VW launched the new MkV Golf GT TDI back in 2004, it confused us all by slotting a less powerful diesel engine under the bonnet.You see, the MkIV had the 148bhp, 1.9-litre TDI, but the new car could only muster 138bhp. Thankfully, the current German obsession with horsepower means that Volkswagen was unlikely to leave things like that so now, the Golf has been given 168bhp to play with. Much better.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 2.0 GT TDI 170 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf 2.0 GT TDI 170 3dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Everything's meant to get bigger and better when it's replaced

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
right? So when VW launched the new MkV Golf GT TDI back in 2004

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it confused us all by slotting a less powerful diesel engine under the bonnet.You see

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the new car could only muster 138bhp. Thankfully

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the current German obsession with horsepower means that Volkswagen was unlikely to leave things like that so now

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the Golf has been given 168bhp to play with. Much better.It's the same two-litre unit that serves just about every other Volkswagen Group product

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but the turbo boost and injectors have been altered to give it the extra oomph.It's certainly got plenty of that

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
as this Golf is seriously rapid. Plant your foot and you can feel the in-gear punch easily

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
even if you should find yourself sailing along quite happily at 100mph on some de-restricted German autobahn.In fact

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the only trouble is that Volkswagen hasn't quite managed to iron out that last bit of diesel rattle that afflicts this engine. It's much better than it was with the old 1.9-litre unit

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but still can't match the best that some car makers have to offer. As such

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the most powerful production diesel Golf to date (some disclaimer) is good

# data[].attributes.body.value
Everything's meant to get bigger and better when it's replaced, right? So when VW launched the new MkV Golf GT TDI back in 2004, it confused us all by slotting a less powerful diesel engine under the bonnet.

You see, the MkIV had the 148bhp, 1.9-litre TDI, but the new car could only muster 138bhp. Thankfully, the current German obsession with horsepower means that Volkswagen was unlikely to leave things like that so now, the Golf has been given 168bhp to play with. Much better.

It's the same two-litre unit that serves just about every other Volkswagen Group product, but the turbo boost and injectors have been altered to give it the extra oomph.

It's certainly got plenty of that, as this Golf is seriously rapid. Plant your foot and you can feel the in-gear punch easily, even if you should find yourself sailing along quite happily at 100mph on some de-restricted German autobahn.

In fact, the only trouble is that Volkswagen hasn't quite managed to iron out that last bit of diesel rattle that afflicts this engine. It's much better than it was with the old 1.9-litre unit, but still can't match the best that some car makers have to offer. As such, the most powerful production diesel Golf to date (some disclaimer) is good, but not great.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
Everything's meant to get bigger and better when it's replaced, right? So when VW launched the new MkV Golf GT TDI back in 2004, it confused us all by slotting a less powerful diesel engine under the bonnet.

You see, the MkIV had the 148bhp, 1.9-litre TDI, but the new car could only muster 138bhp. Thankfully, the current German obsession with horsepower means that Volkswagen was unlikely to leave things like that so now, the Golf has been given 168bhp to play with. Much better.

It's the same two-litre unit that serves just about every other Volkswagen Group product, but the turbo boost and injectors have been altered to give it the extra oomph.

It's certainly got plenty of that, as this Golf is seriously rapid. Plant your foot and you can feel the in-gear punch easily, even if you should find yourself sailing along quite happily at 100mph on some de-restricted German autobahn.

In fact, the only trouble is that Volkswagen hasn't quite managed to iron out that last bit of diesel rattle that afflicts this engine. It's much better than it was with the old 1.9-litre unit, but still can't match the best that some car makers have to offer. As such, the most powerful production diesel Golf to date (some disclaimer) is good, but not great.

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Land Rover Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 SE 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Land Rover Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 SE 5dr Auto | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Land Rover Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 SE 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
It's a Discovery skeleton, but six inches shorter and wearing the skin of a midget Range Rover. This version has a 2.7-litre Jaguar V6 turbo diesel engine and visually is a little bit calmer than most RRSs currently worrying urban streets.But like all other Sports, the TDV6 drinks in parameters from myriad information systems and arranges for them to be siphoned off to untold terabytes of processing power. All this so that the whole thing doesn't flop flaccidly into the nearest King's Road cafe.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Land Rover Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 SE 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Land Rover Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 SE 5dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but six inches shorter and wearing the skin of a midget Range Rover. This version has a 2.7-litre Jaguar V6 turbo diesel engine and visually is a little bit calmer than most RRSs currently worrying urban streets.But like all other Sports

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the TDV6 drinks in parameters from myriad information systems and arranges for them to be siphoned off to untold terabytes of processing power. All this so that the whole thing doesn't flop flaccidly into the nearest King's Road cafe.It's a Land Rover vehicle that was developed at the Nürburgring to keep its 'driver's pedigree' for goodness' sake.So

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but let's not get carried away. The steering is remote

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but accurate when you get used to it. The suspension does a great job of keeping it all going in the same direction and on the same piece of road that you suggest via the wheel.The ride comfort is noticeably better on the 19in wheels than the 20s on the Supercharged car

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but that might have something to do with different suspension settings for the diesel engine.And it's the diesel that stops me hating the RRS. Diesel engines suit SUVs in a common-sense world. Yep

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but if you pay the bills it makes no sense - if only because you have to stop so bloody often to stuff your wallet into the fuel tank.But the Jag unit made 35.4mpg

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
still with the same ZF six-speed auto - and the mighty off-road 'Terrain Response' system

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which most owners will look at blankly and then forget about.It's the most reasonable of all the versions

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
if you don't want to look like a London ad-executive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
because it's actually worth the money and doesn't make you look like an extra from Boyz 'n' the Hood.

# data[].attributes.body.value
It's a Discovery skeleton, but six inches shorter and wearing the skin of a midget Range Rover. This version has a 2.7-litre Jaguar V6 turbo diesel engine and visually is a little bit calmer than most RRSs currently worrying urban streets.

But like all other Sports, the TDV6 drinks in parameters from myriad information systems and arranges for them to be siphoned off to untold terabytes of processing power. All this so that the whole thing doesn't flop flaccidly into the nearest King's Road cafe.

It's a Land Rover vehicle that was developed at the Nürburgring to keep its 'driver's pedigree' for goodness' sake.

So, it's not bad to drive, but let's not get carried away. The steering is remote, but accurate when you get used to it. The suspension does a great job of keeping it all going in the same direction and on the same piece of road that you suggest via the wheel.

The ride comfort is noticeably better on the 19in wheels than the 20s on the Supercharged car, but that might have something to do with different suspension settings for the diesel engine.

And it's the diesel that stops me hating the RRS. Diesel engines suit SUVs in a common-sense world. Yep, a big V8 might be nice, but if you pay the bills it makes no sense - if only because you have to stop so bloody often to stuff your wallet into the fuel tank.

But the Jag unit made 35.4mpg, still with the same ZF six-speed auto - and the mighty off-road 'Terrain Response' system, which most owners will look at blankly and then forget about.

It's the most reasonable of all the versions, if you don't want to look like a London ad-executive, because it's actually worth the money and doesn't make you look like an extra from Boyz 'n' the Hood.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
It's a Discovery skeleton, but six inches shorter and wearing the skin of a midget Range Rover. This version has a 2.7-litre Jaguar V6 turbo diesel engine and visually is a little bit calmer than most RRSs currently worrying urban streets.

But like all other Sports, the TDV6 drinks in parameters from myriad information systems and arranges for them to be siphoned off to untold terabytes of processing power. All this so that the whole thing doesn't flop flaccidly into the nearest King's Road cafe.

It's a Land Rover vehicle that was developed at the Nürburgring to keep its 'driver's pedigree' for goodness' sake.

So, it's not bad to drive, but let's not get carried away. The steering is remote, but accurate when you get used to it. The suspension does a great job of keeping it all going in the same direction and on the same piece of road that you suggest via the wheel.

The ride comfort is noticeably better on the 19in wheels than the 20s on the Supercharged car, but that might have something to do with different suspension settings for the diesel engine.

And it's the diesel that stops me hating the RRS. Diesel engines suit SUVs in a common-sense world. Yep, a big V8 might be nice, but if you pay the bills it makes no sense - if only because you have to stop so bloody often to stuff your wallet into the fuel tank.

But the Jag unit made 35.4mpg, still with the same ZF six-speed auto - and the mighty off-road 'Terrain Response' system, which most owners will look at blankly and then forget about.

It's the most reasonable of all the versions, if you don't want to look like a London ad-executive, because it's actually worth the money and doesn't make you look like an extra from Boyz 'n' the Hood.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Lexus SC 430 4.3 2dr Auto | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
This isn't a Nineties R&B video, and not even a better ride is going to keep the honeez sweet now...

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
This is the engineering equivalent of a hip replacement. The old tart that is the SC430 is battling the ageing process with an 11th-hour suspension revision. The refined if improbably vulgar Lexus roadster has always been criticised for its clumsy ride

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so in a bid to delay entry to the automotive knacker's yard

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the bods have fiddled about and made it much smoother.And it really does the job. The SC is now phenomenally slick

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and with such a complete absence of road and wind noise

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
has become the sort of car in which you could happily cross continents. It's still a fine engine too

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and the controls are set up to encourage the bare minimum of driver input.But shut the stable door as smoothly as you like; for Toyota's premium two-plus-two the horse has long since bolted. Negative impressions of this South Beach special are ingrained

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and it'll take more visible changes to reverse that. En route to pick up your BMW 630i convertible

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
ask yourself this: can a car that still packs a tape deck really command a £52k price?

# data[].attributes.body.value
This is the engineering equivalent of a hip replacement. The old tart that is the SC430 is battling the ageing process with an 11th-hour suspension revision. The refined if improbably vulgar Lexus roadster has always been criticised for its clumsy ride, so in a bid to delay entry to the automotive knacker's yard, the bods have fiddled about and made it much smoother.

And it really does the job. The SC is now phenomenally slick, and with such a complete absence of road and wind noise, has become the sort of car in which you could happily cross continents. It's still a fine engine too, and the controls are set up to encourage the bare minimum of driver input.

But shut the stable door as smoothly as you like; for Toyota's premium two-plus-two the horse has long since bolted. Negative impressions of this South Beach special are ingrained, and it'll take more visible changes to reverse that. En route to pick up your BMW 630i convertible, ask yourself this: can a car that still packs a tape deck really command a £52k price?

# data[].attributes.body.processed
This is the engineering equivalent of a hip replacement. The old tart that is the SC430 is battling the ageing process with an 11th-hour suspension revision. The refined if improbably vulgar Lexus roadster has always been criticised for its clumsy ride, so in a bid to delay entry to the automotive knacker's yard, the bods have fiddled about and made it much smoother.

And it really does the job. The SC is now phenomenally slick, and with such a complete absence of road and wind noise, has become the sort of car in which you could happily cross continents. It's still a fine engine too, and the controls are set up to encourage the bare minimum of driver input.

But shut the stable door as smoothly as you like; for Toyota's premium two-plus-two the horse has long since bolted. Negative impressions of this South Beach special are ingrained, and it'll take more visible changes to reverse that. En route to pick up your BMW 630i convertible, ask yourself this: can a car that still packs a tape deck really command a £52k price?

# data[].attributes.body.summary
This isn't a Nineties R&B video, and not even a better ride is going to keep the honeez sweet now...

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.5 Cooper 3dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.5 Cooper 3dr Auto | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.5 Cooper 3dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
So the saying goes, history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. The demise of the original Mini fits the former but there's a risk its rebirth could spiral into the latter, especially with this automatic. The styling always makes me feel like I'm sitting in a Sloane Ranger starter kit, but now the world's Crispins and Zaras will be relieved to hear that their previously put upon left hand is finally free to permanently clamp itself around a mobile phone or grande mochaccino while nipping along High Street Ken.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.5 Cooper 3dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mini Hatchback 1.5 Cooper 3dr Auto

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
then as farce. The demise of the original Mini fits the former but there's a risk its rebirth could spiral into the latter

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
especially with this automatic. The styling always makes me feel like I'm sitting in a Sloane Ranger starter kit

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but now the world's Crispins and Zaras will be relieved to hear that their previously put upon left hand is finally free to permanently clamp itself around a mobile phone or grande mochaccino while nipping along High Street Ken.Well

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
not quite nipping. The CVT automatic gearbox is OK

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and attempting to floor it exposes the sluggish acceleration and kickdown. (It's no surprise that the manual is over two seconds faster at 0-62mph.) In Steptronic mode

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it still lurches slightly with each change.This is the irony

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
of course. Even if you think the Mini's trying too hard to be cool

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
you still know you're in for a fun drive with the manual version. Inevitably

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
much of that gets drained out of the automatic. It still handles superbly and grips the road assuredly but you don't get much of a chance to exploit it. And the auto transmission will cost you £980 on top of the starter price for the privilege.In fact

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the optional extras our car had pushed the price up towards a Cooper S version. That said

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's still a better all-round buy than any of the competition. And after all

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
who'd be seen dead pulling up outside Gordon Ramsay's in a Toyota Yaris?Robert Bright

# data[].attributes.body.value
So the saying goes, history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. The demise of the original Mini fits the former but there's a risk its rebirth could spiral into the latter, especially with this automatic. The styling always makes me feel like I'm sitting in a Sloane Ranger starter kit, but now the world's Crispins and Zaras will be relieved to hear that their previously put upon left hand is finally free to permanently clamp itself around a mobile phone or grande mochaccino while nipping along High Street Ken.

Well, not quite nipping. The CVT automatic gearbox is OK, but in traffic it can feel a bit jerky, and attempting to floor it exposes the sluggish acceleration and kickdown. (It's no surprise that the manual is over two seconds faster at 0-62mph.) In Steptronic mode, it becomes a bit quicker off the mark, but it still lurches slightly with each change.

This is the irony, of course. Even if you think the Mini's trying too hard to be cool, you still know you're in for a fun drive with the manual version. Inevitably, much of that gets drained out of the automatic. It still handles superbly and grips the road assuredly but you don't get much of a chance to exploit it. And the auto transmission will cost you £980 on top of the starter price for the privilege.

In fact, the optional extras our car had pushed the price up towards a Cooper S version. That said, it's still a better all-round buy than any of the competition. And after all, who'd be seen dead pulling up outside Gordon Ramsay's in a Toyota Yaris?

Robert Bright

# data[].attributes.body.processed
So the saying goes, history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. The demise of the original Mini fits the former but there's a risk its rebirth could spiral into the latter, especially with this automatic. The styling always makes me feel like I'm sitting in a Sloane Ranger starter kit, but now the world's Crispins and Zaras will be relieved to hear that their previously put upon left hand is finally free to permanently clamp itself around a mobile phone or grande mochaccino while nipping along High Street Ken.

Well, not quite nipping. The CVT automatic gearbox is OK, but in traffic it can feel a bit jerky, and attempting to floor it exposes the sluggish acceleration and kickdown. (It's no surprise that the manual is over two seconds faster at 0-62mph.) In Steptronic mode, it becomes a bit quicker off the mark, but it still lurches slightly with each change.

This is the irony, of course. Even if you think the Mini's trying too hard to be cool, you still know you're in for a fun drive with the manual version. Inevitably, much of that gets drained out of the automatic. It still handles superbly and grips the road assuredly but you don't get much of a chance to exploit it. And the auto transmission will cost you £980 on top of the starter price for the privilege.

In fact, the optional extras our car had pushed the price up towards a Cooper S version. That said, it's still a better all-round buy than any of the competition. And after all, who'd be seen dead pulling up outside Gordon Ramsay's in a Toyota Yaris?

Robert Bright

# data[].attributes.title
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A140 Classic 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A140 Classic 5dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A140 Classic 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
M-B claims fuel consumption averages 10 per cent better than before, despite the extra power. The turbo petrol engine and the two top diesels come with a six-speed manual gearbox; the rest make do with five. Optional is the CVT system which Merc has decided to call Autotronic.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A140 Classic 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A Class A140 Classic 5dr

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
M-B claims fuel consumption averages 10 per cent better than before

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
despite the extra power. The turbo petrol engine and the two top diesels come with a six-speed manual gearbox; the rest make do with five. Optional is the CVT system which Merc has decided to call Autotronic.It's not just the new rear suspension and wider track that ought to help the road manners. The dampers have a special valve in them that allows the oil inside them to move freely as the car passes over small bumps

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
giving a pliant ride. But when the damper stroke is longer

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
stiffening the damper so there's enough body control for good handling.The rear seats don't slide

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
flat floor the cushion of the 2/3 section can be hidden under the boot floor. An option pack allows the entire rear seats as well as the front passenger seat to be physically removed

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
turning the mini-Merc into what's basically a van with windows.Mercedes sold 1.1 million of the first A-Class in seven years. Good going

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
especially given the elk-test scare that caused a redesign almost as soon as the thing hit the market. Merc will be hoping for a smoother launch this time. The car goes on sale on the Continent this Autumn

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
following here next Spring.If the elk-induced rollover didn't dent the old car's image

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the sight of them with missing hubcaps and orange easyCar stickers certainly did. That'll have to change too.Mercedes is also looking for profit. The old one hardly made money

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
will sell for more cash. If you want a truly baby Merc now

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
buy a Smart Forfour. But if you're after a bigger

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
more desirable A-Class then here it is. Merc must be hoping the original car has created 1.1 million people who are looking for just that.

# data[].attributes.body.value
M-B claims fuel consumption averages 10 per cent better than before, despite the extra power. The turbo petrol engine and the two top diesels come with a six-speed manual gearbox; the rest make do with five. Optional is the CVT system which Merc has decided to call Autotronic.

It's not just the new rear suspension and wider track that ought to help the road manners. The dampers have a special valve in them that allows the oil inside them to move freely as the car passes over small bumps, giving a pliant ride. But when the damper stroke is longer, the valves close, stiffening the damper so there's enough body control for good handling.

The rear seats don't slide, but fold and tumble forward, and to make a long, flat floor the cushion of the 2/3 section can be hidden under the boot floor. An option pack allows the entire rear seats as well as the front passenger seat to be physically removed, turning the mini-Merc into what's basically a van with windows.

Mercedes sold 1.1 million of the first A-Class in seven years. Good going, especially given the elk-test scare that caused a redesign almost as soon as the thing hit the market. Merc will be hoping for a smoother launch this time. The car goes on sale on the Continent this Autumn, following here next Spring.

If the elk-induced rollover didn't dent the old car's image, the sight of them with missing hubcaps and orange easyCar stickers certainly did. That'll have to change too.

Mercedes is also looking for profit. The old one hardly made money, whereas this one, being bigger, will sell for more cash. If you want a truly baby Merc now, buy a Smart Forfour. But if you're after a bigger, more desirable A-Class then here it is. Merc must be hoping the original car has created 1.1 million people who are looking for just that.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
M-B claims fuel consumption averages 10 per cent better than before, despite the extra power. The turbo petrol engine and the two top diesels come with a six-speed manual gearbox; the rest make do with five. Optional is the CVT system which Merc has decided to call Autotronic.

It's not just the new rear suspension and wider track that ought to help the road manners. The dampers have a special valve in them that allows the oil inside them to move freely as the car passes over small bumps, giving a pliant ride. But when the damper stroke is longer, the valves close, stiffening the damper so there's enough body control for good handling.

The rear seats don't slide, but fold and tumble forward, and to make a long, flat floor the cushion of the 2/3 section can be hidden under the boot floor. An option pack allows the entire rear seats as well as the front passenger seat to be physically removed, turning the mini-Merc into what's basically a van with windows.

Mercedes sold 1.1 million of the first A-Class in seven years. Good going, especially given the elk-test scare that caused a redesign almost as soon as the thing hit the market. Merc will be hoping for a smoother launch this time. The car goes on sale on the Continent this Autumn, following here next Spring.

If the elk-induced rollover didn't dent the old car's image, the sight of them with missing hubcaps and orange easyCar stickers certainly did. That'll have to change too.

Mercedes is also looking for profit. The old one hardly made money, whereas this one, being bigger, will sell for more cash. If you want a truly baby Merc now, buy a Smart Forfour. But if you're after a bigger, more desirable A-Class then here it is. Merc must be hoping the original car has created 1.1 million people who are looking for just that.

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Road Test: Ford Fiesta 2.0 ST 3dr | Top Gear

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
A quick, fun B-road tool thanks to great chassis and torquey motor. Those stripes, though - cheeesy!

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
And the chassis handles it easily. For a start it grips like a demon. The springs

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
dampers and anti-roll bars are stiffer all-round. The basic idea is to make the front end steer faster

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
even though there's an extra hunk of engine sitting on it

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so a faster steering rack went in. Then the rear has more roll resistance

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so you can play about with it on the throttle. It works a treat - like any Ford

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it seems to be understeering but the harder you yank on the wheel

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the more front grip you seem to get. It's a real little terrier.Then there's the brakes: bigger all-round

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
which is the first time ever on a Fiesta. Which isn't just terrific for stopping right now

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it'll also be handy for all those kids tarting up their STs a few years down the line. Big spokey alloys over green-painted rear drums is soooo not a good look.And yet

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and yet... I think it could have been more urgent. There's just a little softness to the steering and throttle. It makes it easier to drive

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
makes it feel more like a Golf GTI. But is that supposed to be the point here?That said

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
I made Barry the photographer sick. Sorry

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
going easy highlights another thing about the ST - it's actually very civilised and certainly doesn't feel two whole size classes down from a Golf GTI. Wind noise is low

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the suspension is generally pretty quiet

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and if you drive on the torque curve the engine won't wake the dead. In most Fiestas the cabin is cheapskate and drab

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but big curvy seats and some extra brightwork do dress it up a bit in this ST

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
so it's no longer a deal-breaker.But look outward

# data[].attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and enjoy the kick you get out of pelting it along the road. The ST makes the very best of everything it's got. 

# data[].attributes.body.value
And the chassis handles it easily. For a start it grips like a demon. The springs, dampers and anti-roll bars are stiffer all-round. The basic idea is to make the front end steer faster, even though there's an extra hunk of engine sitting on it, so a faster steering rack went in. Then the rear has more roll resistance, so you can play about with it on the throttle. It works a treat - like any Ford, it seems to be understeering but the harder you yank on the wheel, the more front grip you seem to get. It's a real little terrier.

Then there's the brakes: bigger all-round, and even a set of discs for the back, which is the first time ever on a Fiesta. Which isn't just terrific for stopping right now, it'll also be handy for all those kids tarting up their STs a few years down the line. Big spokey alloys over green-painted rear drums is soooo not a good look.

And yet, and yet... I think it could have been more urgent. There's just a little softness to the steering and throttle. It makes it easier to drive, makes it feel more like a Golf GTI. But is that supposed to be the point here?

That said, there is real feist in this Fiesta, and because I was enjoying it, I made Barry the photographer sick. Sorry, Barry. Still, going easy highlights another thing about the ST - it's actually very civilised and certainly doesn't feel two whole size classes down from a Golf GTI. Wind noise is low, the suspension is generally pretty quiet, and if you drive on the torque curve the engine won't wake the dead. In most Fiestas the cabin is cheapskate and drab, but big curvy seats and some extra brightwork do dress it up a bit in this ST, so it's no longer a deal-breaker.

But look outward, and enjoy the kick you get out of pelting it along the road. The ST makes the very best of everything it's got.

# data[].attributes.body.processed
And the chassis handles it easily. For a start it grips like a demon. The springs, dampers and anti-roll bars are stiffer all-round. The basic idea is to make the front end steer faster, even though there's an extra hunk of engine sitting on it, so a faster steering rack went in. Then the rear has more roll resistance, so you can play about with it on the throttle. It works a treat - like any Ford, it seems to be understeering but the harder you yank on the wheel, the more front grip you seem to get. It's a real little terrier.

Then there's the brakes: bigger all-round, and even a set of discs for the back, which is the first time ever on a Fiesta. Which isn't just terrific for stopping right now, it'll also be handy for all those kids tarting up their STs a few years down the line. Big spokey alloys over green-painted rear drums is soooo not a good look.

And yet, and yet... I think it could have been more urgent. There's just a little softness to the steering and throttle. It makes it easier to drive, makes it feel more like a Golf GTI. But is that supposed to be the point here?

That said, there is real feist in this Fiesta, and because I was enjoying it, I made Barry the photographer sick. Sorry, Barry. Still, going easy highlights another thing about the ST - it's actually very civilised and certainly doesn't feel two whole size classes down from a Golf GTI. Wind noise is low, the suspension is generally pretty quiet, and if you drive on the torque curve the engine won't wake the dead. In most Fiestas the cabin is cheapskate and drab, but big curvy seats and some extra brightwork do dress it up a bit in this ST, so it's no longer a deal-breaker.

But look outward, and enjoy the kick you get out of pelting it along the road. The ST makes the very best of everything it's got.

# data[].attributes.body.summary
A quick, fun B-road tool thanks to great chassis and torquey motor. Those stripes, though - cheeesy!

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Some resources have been omitted because of insufficient authorization.

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The current user is not allowed to GET the selected resource. The 'view any unpublished content' permission is required.

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The current user is not allowed to GET the selected resource. The 'view any unpublished content' permission is required.