ROAD TESTS BY MOTORING JOURNALIST TIM SAUNDERS
Advanced motorist Tim Saunders regularly reviews vehicles from the leading manufacturers. Videos on his youtube channel have been watched more than 350,000 times.
His first report on a BMW 520i was published in the Dorset Echo when he was 17 (just after passing his driving test) in 1995. He went on to become business and motoring editor at the Bournemouth Echo. Now, his engaging and informative reviews are published in magazines across the UK. "Your pieces are a great addition to our magazines," says Chanel Hosfield, Editor of Life Publications.
Honda HR-V 1.5
By Tim Saunders
Motorists are an unloved species. They suffer from high taxes, profiteering and potholes. And it’s never going to get better, especially in a recession.
It makes buying a vehicle a really really tough decision and one where the head must rule the heart. This is an area for good, sensible accountancy.
Enter the Honda HR-V. Poring over numbers is boring, thankfully this electric hybrid is anything but. With its striking design, with hints of sporty coupe about it, it is a striking SUV that’s high enough up from each and every atrocious road surface for the driver to almost forget about those dastardly potholes that are getting bigger and bigger. On one road local to me I have seen the road starting to open up with a long crater forming down the middle. In no time at all third world roads are going to be of better quality.
When fuel prices continue rising but more importantly so does the Earth’s temperature, we have to work smarter and Honda claims that this vehicle will return up to just over 60mpg, helped by the fact that it can silently crawl along in EV mode, ensuring that on a full 40 litre fuel tank it can travel up to around 460 miles with emissions as low as 94g/km.
Although the front is quite bold and straight with slanting headlights, it grows on you. The rear is home to straight lines. It’s certainly an interesting exercise in design. The black roof together with the black alloys contrast nicely against the premium sunlight white pearl two tone paintwork.
Inside, the substantial tweed seats are edged with expensive cream leather. We’re not just talking rich tweed though because down the middle of the seat is a chequered flag strip, adding to the luxurious yet sporty feel. The cream theme continues on the dash making a pretty bright and airy cabin that has a high quality feel. The seats are comfortable and supportive. There’s a power boot lid and the boot itself is large enough for a family’s needs.
While the speed limiter is a good idea, I find it awkward to operate but probably the more familiar I become with it the easier it will get. Travelling down hill with the speed limit set at 30mph a loud buzzer goes off as we hit 32mph. I shout at the children in the back thinking they’re messing about with seatbelts but then realise that the noise is the result of the car exceeding the set speed. At best this is frustrating at worst it could cost you points on your licence. I expect a speed limiter to stop the car from going faster than the desired speed - some vehicles are fitted with such systems.
A trip to Somerset allows me to put the HR-V through its paces. We crawl through many sets of roadworks starting on the M27 in Hampshire through Wiltshire right to our destination. At these ridiculously low speeds at least I can rest in the knowledge that we’re in EV mode so not polluting. When there are opportunities to travel as fast as say, 50mph, which is quite rare during the day, along this route, the Honda is quite capable.
I find the large front a little awkward when parking because I’m not completely sure how much space I have but it’s easy enough to manoeuvre.
It’s at night when the fun is to be had. The roads are clear so there are just those pesky speed cameras to bear in mind. The engine can be a little noisy when over revved which can happen when you put your foot down due to the automatic gearbox. However there are gearshifts either side of the steering wheel allowing the driver more control of the gears if preferred. I have few complaints about the H-RV, it’s a joy to drive and most importantly the driver arrives at their destination without any aches or pains – I can’t say the same of the Nissan Qashqai.
Facts at a glance
Hyundai Ioniq 6
By Tim Saunders
Is blazing your own path in life, rather than following the crowd, important to you? The curvaceous Hyundai Ioniq 6 with its striking design should appeal to such drivers.
Evocative retro design from the 1950s is the unique feature of this luxury electric saloon. So much more appealing than anything the bland competition is offering. Until now this area was monopolised by Smeg with its fridge freezers. The Hyundai’s sloping back reminds me of a VW Beetle, Porsche or the Citroen CX but it’s more pronounced and lower to the ground. It is like a rounded updated CX without the rising suspension. Unlike the aforementioned it has an electric bootlid and other design touches include detailing on the bumpers and a clear plastic strip on the rear spoiler. As an electric car it’s vital that it is aerodynamic so the considered design no doubt gives it low drag, too. While I appreciate and applaud the unusual door handles – that you push in on the right hand side, which then sees the handle rise from the door on the left that opens it – these are fiddly, awkward and impractical when arriving at the car with the children’s school bags. Although it is funny when the children first try to get in the car and they are stood there scratching their heads but it doesn’t take them long to master it. Traditional door handles are certainly easier to operate and good design should be easy to use, in my book.
The striking overall design of this modern Citroen CX or slightly squashed and elongated Beetle, certainly catches the attention of the passenger in a builder’s van crawling along beside us in a rush hour traffic jam on the M27 one Friday night. He can’t take his eyes off it.
And the designers have not just concentrated on the exterior, they have sprinkled some character inside, too. In the cabin there are fins, reminiscent of 1950s Cadillacs, protruding from either end of the dashboard. Here’s a car that makes me smile. And I need that at the moment. It’s really heartening to see that good design is not dead. Opening the glovebox sees a tray slide out rather than it simply falling open in the usual manner. It’s all quite refreshing. That said, I don’t warm to the column gear selector being on the right hand side of the steering wheel. It’s awkward for me and just slows me down. But again, cars of the past had such things and they’ll probably sell more of these in the States than here anyway - it frees up space on the centre console for the electric window switches, too.
Hyundai reckons it’ll travel over 300 miles on a full charge. I don’t know about that because it is delivered to me with a range of 116 miles, which is enough for us to drive to the school cross country awards at Waterlooville where Heidi(11) and Henry(8) are competing. They come 23 and 76 respectively out of a few hundred children from schools across Hampshire.
In common with all other electric cars I find the reading will advise say, 116 miles when you park up, and then when you start it again you’ve somehow lost four miles. I’ve mentioned before how I struggle with the luxury of electric cars and the fact that everything inside is electric, which of course drains the battery, which frankly, is infuriating. In my eyes there’s no room for great luxury in an electric car. My main luxury is having warm feet, which this model provides. What annoys me is for instance, that Heidi in the back has heated seats and can turn them on whenever she likes without a care about the range being affected. Well, why don’t you go and charge it up? I hear you ask. I have a busy life and don’t have time to queue or wait to charge it. I have no plans to have a home charger either as I remain unconvinced about this expensive technology.
Acceleration is lightning quick as we’ve come to expect from these vehicles but of course you can’t drive at that speed for long without the range plummeting.
This is probably the biggest electric car you’ll come across; it’s a luxury saloon, far more eye-catching and characterful than a Tesla and with that aim in mind Hyundai has succeeded and surpassed that.
The name is interesting too. Ioniq. If you go back to your physics at school an ion is an atom or group of atoms that carries a positive or negative electric charge as a result of having lost or gained one or more electrons – so an eminently appropriate name for a car. Perhaps the ‘iq’ relates to intelligence quota… for the driver who has something about them.
Facts at a glance