What's outside today 45 - 1915 Ford Model T

Outside Ford's Dunton Technical Centre last weekend, that is. This year is the 100th anniversary of the Ford Model T and Ford offered us the chance to use it for the Verdict, albeit on private roads. This is the car with Ivan Bartholomeusz, one of the people who looks after Ford's UK Heritage Collection, which is kept in a big warehouse in Dagenham, rather than in a museum.


This car is a lot of fun, once you get used to the bizarre pedal arrangement shown below. The left-hand pedal engages first gear in the depressed position and second gear (there are only two forward gears) in the raised position. Between the two is neutral. The centre pedal is reverse, and the right-hand pedal is the footbrake. The lever is a transmission brake - when applied, it also puts the car into neutral. The throttle is operated by a stalk on the steering wheel, rather than any of the pedals. It sounds absolutely impossible, but it's not too difficult to grasp with a bit of practice.


One interesting fact I picked up from the chaps at Ford; while these cars are very old and exceptionally appealing, they are in fact not worth very much. Ford simply made too many of them for them to be particularly valuable.

What's outside today 44 - Vauxhall VXR8

Tear-stained hankies today when the man from Vauxhall came to take this one away - it's brilliant.


The VXR8 is the successor to the much-loved Vauxhall Monaro, and like the Monaro, it's really an Australian Holden, in this case the sportiest version of the latest Commodore.


This car is aimed at BMW's M cars, Mercedes AMG models, the RS Audis and the 'R' Jaguars but it's a lot cheaper and a lot less intimidating - you can just get in and drive the thing.


Much of the VXR8's appeal derives from this, its 6.0 litre Corvette-derived V8 engine; you might expect this to be a slow-revving, lazy affair, but it's actually quite zingy. The same goes for the automatic transmission fitted to our test car which was a quick-shifting six speeder, rather than a slushy, slurry four-speeder of the sort usually associated with US cars.


I haven't driven any of the less powerful Australian Commodores, but the VXR8 is so good, I wonder whether Vauxhall has considered bringing these cars over as a delayed replacement for the Senators and Omegas that were so popular with users such as the police.

What's outside today 43 - Mercedes R280 CDI

Actually, this has just gone back, but I forgot to take the usual shots of it outside my house. I have to admit, my previously negative feelings towards this rather oddball car have mellowed a bit, but I still have difficulty seeing who would actually buy one.

A lot of good kit under the rather unusual styling - in particular the V6 diesel engine and the Mercedes seven-speed automatic transmission.

What's outside today 42 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI

This is a good car coveted by bad people, so I'd better be a bit circumspect about locations and dates - these were taken a few days ago outside a budget chain hotel in the South of England.


Of course the STI is faster than the 1.5R we tested a few weeks ago, but the family resemblance is unmistakable, despite the vast difference in power and the STI's body mods.


The STI is surprisingly docile when driven gently and it isn't noisy or harsh at all.


The interior isn't much fancier than that of the 1.5R, but that's because all of the money has been spent under the bonnet, as this shot shows.

What's outside today 41 - Mercedes C Class estate

Actually, this one went back today.


It's the new estate version of the latest C Class - the C220CDI Sport estate automatic, to be precise. Normally I'm not a fan of bodykits, but this AMG effort works pretty well - although I'm not convinced that switching the Mercedes star from the traditional location on the top of the bonnet to the middle of the grille is a great idea.


In the past, the idea of fast bodywork like this on a humble 220 diesel Mercedes would have been a bit of a joke, but this one really is fast enought to live up to the looks.


Overall this is a good effort, but I wish Mercedes could get back to producing the classy sorts of interiors it offered in the past. This is an area in which the company has lagged behind in the last few years - it's getting better again but the problem is that the competition isn't standing still.

What's outside today 40 - Fiat 500

Excellent service from Fiat's press department, which got this to me this morning after I contacted them about a booking for the 500 on Monday afternoon. Normally, our press car bookings involve a lead time of several weeks, so Fiat's performance was especially impressive given that the 500 is one of those cars everyone is trying to get their hands on at the moment. Although I'm quite booked up at the moment, I thought I'd better grab the chance to slot this one in when I could.


I haven't had a chance to drive this yet, but I'm sure that looks alone are going to carry the reinvented 500 a long way.


In styling terms, it's much more convincing than some other retro efforts such as the VW New Beetle and Chrysler PT Cruiser - in particular, Fiat has done well to keep the proportions and general look of the original 500 when the new car has a front-mounted engine instead of the rear engine of the old car.


Of course, the car Fiat will be hoping to emulate with the 500 isn't the New Beetle but the BMW MINI - that will be a tougher nut to crack but I think Fiat may be able to do it if the dealer back-up and so on is as good as the car.

What's outside today 38 - Kia cee'd SW

This is the Kia cee'd SW - a welcome visitor to my drive, although it did overstay that welcome slightly when there was a glitch in the arrangements for returning it to Kia.


Just in case you thought Kia's very busy Department for Silly Names hadn't got its hands on this one, perhaps I should mention that in some countries, this estate version of the cee'd isn't called the SW but the Sporty Wagon. Actually, the more I think about the name Sporty Wagon the more I like it - it just sounds so cheerful.


Anyway, I'm a fan of the cee'd and in particular the value for money it offers and the SW has done nothing to dent my enthusiasm for it, offering, as it does, generous rear seat room and luggage space.


This test car has a petrol engine, but the sweet 1.6 diesel that's available is better; I notice Kia still has a special offer that means you can get a diesel cee'd for the same price as the equivalent petrol model. That deal's a steal.

What's outside today 37 - Vauxhall Antara

This is Vauxhall's newish SUV, the Antara. It looks remarkably similar to the Chevrolet Captiva which is hardly surprising given that they are more or less the same car.


Unlike the Captiva we tested for the Verdict last year, this car has a diesel engine, a much better choice for a heavy 4x4.


Where the Antara disappoints a bit, perhaps because it tries a bit too hard, is with its interior; our top-end SE spec test car was fitted with lashings of leather and wood which didn't quite come off - looked a bit over the top IMHO. I suspect the less expensive versions may actually have nicer interiors.


The Antara isn't bad to drive though - flat, fairly car-like handling and a high driving position make for a relaxing drive on long journeys.

What's outside today 36 - Kia Picanto Ice

Actually, this went back yesterday but I've only just had a chance to post these pics.


I'm not sure the facelift the Picanto recently underwent did its looks any favours but apart from that I was pretty impressed.



What's best about the Picanto is that it offers four doors, lots of equipment and enough space, at a pinch, for four adults. That's pretty remarkable when you consider it's a whole class - at least in terms of price - below mainstream European cars such as the Polo and Clio.


It's not a bad drive either - more evidence that Kia is on the up.

What's outside today 35 - Volvo C30 F

This one went back today. It's the bioethanol-capable version of the C30 - it uses the same 1.8 litre engine as the Ford Fusion FFV that featured on the Verdict last autumn. The fuel itself is called E85 because it's 85% bioethanol and 15% petrol (the petrol is required for cold starting in northern Europe, apparently).


I had a chance to do the standard C30 about a year ago and I think its a fairly nice machine - and a good-looking one as well. I have to say I'm a bit surprised there aren't more on the roads, although pricing that's a little bit on the high side may be holding it back.


Unusual colour scheme - it's a sort of off-white pearlescent paint. More evidence, I suppose that the manufacturers are trying to find, if not the new black, then the new silver metallic.


Anyway, I've been testing and reporting on E85 capable cars since they first appeared in the UK about two and a half years ago and progress has been painfully slow - the car manufacturers and the supermarkets are often held up as the bad guys when it comes to environmental matters but in this case they've done their bit by making the cars and the fuel available. It's the government that's let the side down by not providing bigger tax incentives for renewable fuels, along with us, the car-buying public, for not buying the cars or the E85.

What's outside today 34 - Skoda Fabia

This is a bit of a cheat - the Fab, as I like to call it, was actually a visitor to my drive shortly before Christmas but I've had a lot of non-car stuff to deal with lately, so I've only just got around to posting this.


Liked this one quite a bit - it's very big inside and very easy to get in and out of for a small car. The other thing I liked about this particular car was its three cylinder diesel engine. Not everyone likes the slightly raggedy beat these engines have but I'm a fan.


One or two things I wasn't so keen on where our particular test car was concerned. The rather drab green metallic paint didn't really show off the Fabia's styling to its best advantage - this model looks a lot better in lighter and brighter colours as these show up, for example, the black roof pillars better. Also, the mid-level '2' trim on the test car features a lot of light grey plastic; the cheaper '1' and more expensive '3' have an all dark-grey set-up that is a lot more tasteful.


The only real drawback of the Fabia, though, as I mentioned in my piece for The Verdict is that the larger Octavia - also an attractive car - is not much more expensive.

What's outside today 33 - Mercedes E-Class taxi

Outside the main railway station in Hamburg that is. The only car I've been in over the last 24 hours was a W210 E-class estate taxi that took me from here to my hotel last night.


The W210 (the version of the E-Class built between 1995 and 2002) has always been considered a bit of a poor relation in quality terms compared with its predecessors, the W123 and the W124, but I noticed that the one I was in last night was still running well with over 400,000 km on the clock. The only area in which these cars seem to show any significant deterioration is their damping, which tends to give the impression of being a bit worn and floaty. The diesel engines always sound super-fit, and the interiors stand up well, even on the W210, it seems.

Even so, as the photo shows, other cars are making inroads into German taxi ranks these days - look at that Touran, for example. That would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Mind you, in Schwerin in eastern Germany I did see a Dacia Logan being used as a taxi earlier this year. At least things haven't slipped that far in prosperous Hamburg - yet.

What's outside today 32 - MINI Cooper Clubman

Although I love the BMW MINI, I have to confess I was a bit sceptical about the Clubman, especially after all that fuss about the 'door on the wrong side' (the second side door on the right-hand side of the car, which opens into the traffic when the car is parked at the side of the road in RHD markets).


But a few hours with this car were enought to dispel any doubts. It goes just as well as the standard version, and coped easily with a long trip north to Newcastle for the Verdict on Saturday and Sunday. I needed a few cans of Red Bull on the return leg but the Clubman itself was as fresh as a daisy when it arrived back at 1.30 this morning.


I think the combination of maroon metallic (well, Nightfire Red as BMW call it) and silver pillar trim on this particular one looks brilliant and the divided rear van-style doors are fantastic.


I also think the Clubman's stretched styling looks better than that of the normal MINI - especially, and somewhat perversely, on the left-hand side where the lines aren't spoiled by the fussy shutline of that second side-door.

What's outside today 31 - Volvo V70

Volvo's big new estate.


I must admit I rather like modern Volvos' styling - the strong shoulder line inspired by that on the old 140/240 mixed with smooth curves produces a look that's both handsome and distinctive.


Not sure about the back end though, which looks a bit awkward.


Still, as I discovered on my recent trip to Gothenburg, there's no better car than this to have a crash in. Heading west with this one for the Verdict.

What's outside today 30, Blast from the past 11 - 1977 Ford Capri 1.6L

A fine example from Ford's own collection.


Apparently it was donated by the proverbial one careful lady owner, and it's done only 25,000 miles from new.


Verdict testing this weekend in - where else - Essex.


From a driving point of view, the Capri really shows its age - especially where the brakes are concerned - but it has a certain charm, nevertheless. This 1977 model just predates the facelift that produced what was widely but unofficially known as the Capri Mk III, the one that featured so heavily in The Professionals.

What's outside today 29 - Honda CR-V

This is broadly comparable with the Chevrolet Captiva and the Land Rover Freelander 2 which have featured on the Verdict over the last few months.


The Freelander represents a particularly interesting comparison. The first Freelander and the first CR-V had fairly similar styling, which was hardly surprising given that Honda and Rover would still have been close partners during the early part of the two cars' development, although AFAIK they never actually shared any parts.


Honda has just launched the third generation of CR-V - the car tested here - while the Freelander is just into its second model generation, which gives you some idea of the funds available to the two manufacturers for new development.


The two cars are now very different in appearance; Land Rover has very successfully kept the best elements of the first Freelander's styling while at the same time linking its smallest 4x4 more directly in visual terms to its more expensive models such as the Range Rover. Honda's car looks good but a bit anonymous given that it doesn't have sixty years of 4x4 design heritage to tap and therefore has to do its own thing. The Freelander's interior is a lot classier as well, in my opinion.

The CR-V is very car-like to drive - there's very little roll on corners for example - although I'm not especially keen on the steering. Diesels work best in something like this, and Honda's petrol engines, which tend to be revvy with a strong top end would normally be the exact opposite of what you'd want, but the petrol unit in our test car worked reasonably well.

What's outside today 28 - Mercedes A150

Testing with readers in and around London this weekend.


What's interesting about this car is that, give or take a couple of options, it is the cheapest new Mercedes you can buy - prices start below £14K. What I'm trying to work out with our reader-testers' help is whether this is cheap for a Mercedes or expensive for a smallish hatchback.


Haven't reached a conclusion on that question yet, but in general this is a likeable car; small petrol engines are very much out of vogue at the moment, but the one in this car is surprisingly smooth and lively Plenty of interior space, too, and a tasteful all-black interior. Doesn't feel quite as solid as Mercs of old, though.

What's outside today 27 - Kia Kee show car

Frankfurt am Main, 18.10.07. Outside Kia's impressive new European headquarters - in fact on a quiet piece of road at the exhibition complex that hosts the Frankfurt motor show.


A bit of a lull in the Verdict testing programme this week, but I was kept busy carwise on Thursday with the opportunity to nip over to Germany to drive Kia's Kee design study. The chance to get behind the wheel of manufacturers' show cars, prototypes or design studies is a rare privilege. Normally, car-makers are extremely nervous about letting journalists anywhere near a car that isn't the finished product, so it was interesting not only to be able to sample the Kee but also get a long chat with its designer Peter Schreyer, formerly of Audi.

The picture shows the car being loaded onto its transporter after a few days of being sampled by UK motoring journalists, a process which it survived in one piece - presumably much to the relief the people at Kia, who were about to ship it straight out to the LA motor show, where I'm sure it will appeal to the Americans.

Herr Schreyer was very generous with his time when explaining his work to us - I hope my forthcoming piece for the Indy will do this interesting story justice.

What's outside today 26 - Virgin Pendolino

My dirty little secret - I may be a motoring journalist but I also enjoy a nice long train journey. I'm on an off-duty visit to Manchester at the moment and I decided to let the train take the strain - here it can be seen this afternoon at journey's end at Piccadilly station. A very good job it did too.


A special thank you, too, by the way, to the bearded one for providing so many laptop power points on his new rolling stock.

Today's trip reminded me of another journey I took on the West Coast Main Line way back in 1984. A student friend of mine who was a bit of a train-spotter tipped me off that the British designed and built tilting train, the APT (Advanced Passenger Train) was running as an unadvertised relief train on services between London and Glasgow. With his help, I was able to make sure I got a ticket for the APT, which I remember as a great performer - I experienced none of that stuff about spilt coffees and queasy stomachs that filled the British press at the time and finished the APT off. I think I read somewhere that the queasiness was caused by the amount that various hacks had to drink on the demonstration trips rather than the characteristics of the train itself, although I don't know how much truth there was in that.

Anyway, apparently, our British tilting train technology ended up in Italy where it was incorporated in the Pendolino line on which Virgin's trains serving the Northwest are based, so it made it onto the WCML in the end.

What's outside today 25 - Ford C-Max Flexifuel

Outside my parents' place in Gloucestershire, that is - Morrisons is slowly expanding its network of forecourts that provide bioethanol-based E85 but any test of an E85-capable car still means heading for East Anglia or the West Country where the main clusters of pumps are to be found.


Same story as before - the fuel is slightly cheaper than unleaded but not by enough to offset the typical mpg penalty suffered when running on E85 (variously estimated at up to 30%). More movement is needed on the tax front before E85 can really take off - but if the fuel pricing can be got right, the E85 thing is a great concept. Unlike, say, LPG, E85 doesn't require a separate tank; cars like the C-Max FFV can run on any mixture of petrol and bioethanol in a single tank. And Ford doesn't charge a premium for FFV models, so you can buy one and just wait for the price of E85 to come down. If it doesn't, you can just run on unleaded without any drawbacks.


BTW renewable fuels have come in for a bit of criticism over the last year or so. It's important to bear in mind that bioethanol has nothing to do with the recent fuss about palm oil, which is an issue connected with bio-diesel. I'm still convinced renewables are an important part of our motoring future - if we're to have one at all - as long as sustainable and efficient methods of production can be enforced, either legally or by pressure from well-informed consumers asking lots of questions.