Showing posts with label 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2. Show all posts
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Audi TT 2 0 TFSI review
Audi’s sports coupe is the cheapest in India and still packs a punch.
With the Audi TT 2.0-litre TFSI Quattro, the carmaker has made available the cheapest sports coupé in India. And even with the Rs 50 lakh price tag, you still get 208bhp, all-wheel-drive grip and all the appeal you would expect of a slick sports coupé.
Audi has priced this TT Rs 15 lakh cheaper than the next two-door coupe, a considerable gap, but one that comes at a cost. The TT 2.0-litre makes do with four cylinders (the Z4, SLK and 370Z have no less than six) and it gives away roughly 100bhp to them as a result.
So is it worth it, or are there any serious shortfalls?
The TT’s seats are low-slung, its dash beautifully built and rather sporty. The upholstery is red and black and the triple air-con vents are angled towards the driver. The dials are beautifully crafted. The seating position is really low, with the dashboard in front of you, rather than below, and the flat-bottomed steering wheel is ideally placed. If there’s one grouse it is with the audio system’s display. The old-school Audi red dot-matrix display looks a bit old-fashioned. Still, it’s a tiny grouse in an otherwise well-built cabin. There’s plenty of space for the front passengers, all-round visibility is good and every switch and dial is cleanly styled and perfectly weighted in its operation. The rear seats, though, are rather cramped and even people of average height will have to sit hunched. But fold the rear seats and you get a very useful 700 litres of boot space, making the TT a rather practical two-seater for touring.
More importantly, the 2.0-litre, direct-injection turbo-petrol motor is responsive and lively. It makes its peak torque of 35.7kgm all the way from a low 1600rpm and on to 4200rpm, and it’s this wide powerband that makes the TT particularly nice to drive. The engine pulls cleanly from low revs, the midrange is particularly strong and there is decent shove all the way to the engine’s 6200rpm redline. The TT 2.0 TFSI gets Audi’s six-speed DSG auto, which is a pretty good match for the engine’s power characteristics and is responsive to paddleshift inputs.
The TT will accelerate to 100kph in 6.49sec, which isn’t shatteringly quick, but more than adequate for this kind of car. In fact, the car feels faster than its times suggest because of the engine’s wide powerband and the aurally pleasing growl it makes as the needle winds its way to the red part of the tachometer.
It’s a stiff chassis on a stiff suspension setup and one that isn’t particularly suited to our roads. The suspension works silently enough, but you tend to bounce and jiggle over uneven surfaces and the ride is excessively fidgety over anything but the most perfect surfaces – this makes it rather tiring to drive on Indian roads. Our car came fitted with adjustable dampers, but even with it set on ‘normal’ the ride is uncomfortably stiff. However, find the right road and the TT will delight with its short wheelbase-aided nimbleness and four-contact-patch grip. There’s little body roll, the engine’s flexibility and responsive gearbox all add up to quite a lot of fun on a twisty road. The weak point of the TT’s dynamic envelope is its steering and the problem is not with its accuracy but more with the absence of feel.
To conclude, the TT is a stylish, adequately quick and fun sports coupé. All Audi has to do now is fix the ride.
So is it worth it, or are there any serious shortfalls?
The TT’s seats are low-slung, its dash beautifully built and rather sporty. The upholstery is red and black and the triple air-con vents are angled towards the driver. The dials are beautifully crafted. The seating position is really low, with the dashboard in front of you, rather than below, and the flat-bottomed steering wheel is ideally placed. If there’s one grouse it is with the audio system’s display. The old-school Audi red dot-matrix display looks a bit old-fashioned. Still, it’s a tiny grouse in an otherwise well-built cabin. There’s plenty of space for the front passengers, all-round visibility is good and every switch and dial is cleanly styled and perfectly weighted in its operation. The rear seats, though, are rather cramped and even people of average height will have to sit hunched. But fold the rear seats and you get a very useful 700 litres of boot space, making the TT a rather practical two-seater for touring.
More importantly, the 2.0-litre, direct-injection turbo-petrol motor is responsive and lively. It makes its peak torque of 35.7kgm all the way from a low 1600rpm and on to 4200rpm, and it’s this wide powerband that makes the TT particularly nice to drive. The engine pulls cleanly from low revs, the midrange is particularly strong and there is decent shove all the way to the engine’s 6200rpm redline. The TT 2.0 TFSI gets Audi’s six-speed DSG auto, which is a pretty good match for the engine’s power characteristics and is responsive to paddleshift inputs.
The TT will accelerate to 100kph in 6.49sec, which isn’t shatteringly quick, but more than adequate for this kind of car. In fact, the car feels faster than its times suggest because of the engine’s wide powerband and the aurally pleasing growl it makes as the needle winds its way to the red part of the tachometer.
It’s a stiff chassis on a stiff suspension setup and one that isn’t particularly suited to our roads. The suspension works silently enough, but you tend to bounce and jiggle over uneven surfaces and the ride is excessively fidgety over anything but the most perfect surfaces – this makes it rather tiring to drive on Indian roads. Our car came fitted with adjustable dampers, but even with it set on ‘normal’ the ride is uncomfortably stiff. However, find the right road and the TT will delight with its short wheelbase-aided nimbleness and four-contact-patch grip. There’s little body roll, the engine’s flexibility and responsive gearbox all add up to quite a lot of fun on a twisty road. The weak point of the TT’s dynamic envelope is its steering and the problem is not with its accuracy but more with the absence of feel.
To conclude, the TT is a stylish, adequately quick and fun sports coupé. All Audi has to do now is fix the ride.
Fact File
Price Range (in lakhs)*
| Ex-showroom price | Rs 50 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) |
Engine
| Type | 4 cyls in-line, 1984cc, direct-injection, turbo-petrol |
| Power | 208bhp at 4300-6000rpm |
| Torque | 35.7kgm at 1600-4200rpm |
Transmission
| Gearbox | 6-speed DSG |
Dimensions
| Length | 4198mm |
| Width | 1842mm |
| Height | 1353mm |
| Wheel base | 2468mm |
Chassis & Body
| Weight | 1380kg |
| Tyres | 245/45 R17 |
Performance
| 0-20 | 1.07 |
| 0-40 | 1.86 |
| 0-60 | 3.08 |
| 0-80 | 4.53 |
| 0-100 | 6.49 |
| 0-120 | 9.12 |
| 0-140 | 12.45 |
Thursday, September 12, 2013
2012 Mazda 2 GX
Today Im just going to be adding just one car. Work has ensured I dont get enough time to update this review blog on a frequent enough basis. Anyways onto another subcompact car.
Introduction: The Mazda 2 is the smallest car in Mazdas global lineup lineup, its known as the Demio in Japan. Originally made in 1996, the Mazda 2(known as the 121) started out as a small wagon-like vehicle in the segment. To Mazdas surprise it sold very well in Japan. By the 2nd generation in 2002 the 121 name was dropped for the simpler 2 and had mostly gained more modern styling. The car came with much available optional equipment ie. ABS, EBD, etc. now of which is mostly standard. By 2007 Mazda introduced the 3rd generation once again making modest improvements. This would be the first time this car would be available in North America in 2010. The current car is based on the same platform as the Ford Fiesta, the similarities however end from then on.
As with most economy cars, there isnt much interesting history about them. However this particular car I was surprised with how long it took for it to arrive. As Im writing this post, the design is pretty much the same as what it was back in 2007 so its now a 6 year old design with no real notice of a new one on the horizon. Still as with any new Mazda Im always eager to see how it drives.
Performance: The North American Mazda 2 only comes with a 1.5L 4-cylinder engine. It produces 100 hp and 98 lb.ft of torque available with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic. With the automatic its acceleration from 0-100 km/h is a bit more than 10 seconds, manuals are near 9 seconds. Despite being the weakest car in the segment it doesnt feel that slow although its not going to win a drag race anytime soon. Noise levels as the car is accelerating is acceptable. Fuel economy is really this engines primary weakness in the segment, due to its aging design and being one of the lightest its still not all that great.
My Score: 6/10 - The engine is acceptable despite its low power, hurt primarily by fuel economy.
Handling: As with any Mazda, how it handles is one of the key items which has put Mazda on top. Well...I got to say Mazda did an excellent job at engineering this cars chassis. When put to some tough corners this Mazda 2 is rather stable and very competent. Due to its slightly tall hatchback body you will notice some body roll but not enough to outright scare you. Even during fast cornering I didnt notice much understeer. The steering feel among the segment is without a doubt the best, the rest all feel artificial and overboosted in feel, this car retains power assist which is a much more superior feel. I really enjoyed driving the Mazda 2 and even with rather capable and fun handling the ride comfort doesnt suffer. This is an agile subcompact that none of the others come close to for making the driver enjoy the task that is driving.
My Score: 10/10 - Handles well, rides well and is actually fun despite being in the economy section.
Interior: This segment of cars is known for being rather no frills until lately with the Fiesta and Sonic adding a lot of gimmicks. The Mazda 2 being an older design has stuck to the older ways and very much looks no frills. It actually comes with power locks and power windows but its lacking in modern feel and modern features like bluetooth connectivity. The digital gauges are indeed rather outdated in look. Much of the dash is made of hard plastic, you will find very little that seems luxurious. However the layout is very simple and is mostly intuitive, theres not much to get lost with. The seats are surprisingly comfortable. The visibility on this particular car is pretty good apart from its short hood where seeing the front is rather difficult. The build quality is rather good, all Mazda 2s for North America are built in Hofu, Japan.
My Score: 6/10 - No frills basically, while lacking in features its not missing critical features either, and its well made, apart from its outdated look nothing else seems wrong.
Styling: The Mazda 2s styling was done before Mazda introduced their standard Nagare smile that is currently seen on the 3 and 5. As a result its a cross between the two retaining a conventional looking grille but since its introduction the Nagare smile was added although its a lot smaller in this car meaning a front plate covers it up mostly. The rest of the car is rather simple and fits with the whole cars bubbly and friendly looks. This is the most conservatively styled of the Mazda cars but considering how some love or hate the 3s looks, the 2 is more likely to not cause such divisions.
My Score: 7/10 - Its mostly conservatively styled, it looks good for the segment while not divisive its also not ground breaking either.
Value for money: This is where things are a bit interesting. Yes the interior is outdated and rather cheap looking, but when the car starts under $15K yet comes with many features people expect as standard it doesnt seem so bad. My advice though is if youre thinking of a GX buy the convenience package, its just a slight bit more but includes A/C and a few interior features that the base GX lacks. Given the GX + Convenience package, its still an excellent value. The car simply put drives really well, and its rather likable. If one was going for the GS trim, thats not good value, but this particular level Id say its the best priced. No stupid gimmicks in this car means nothing extra to go wrong.
My Score: 10/10 - A lot of the car looks cheap inside, but based on how it drives and what you get...it is cheap and then some.
Conclusion: With all thats said and done, I actually really liked this car. Its one of those cars that doesnt feel like a total downgrade as far as the driving experience goes. Its cheap, fun and rather practical. Im not put off by its rather simple nature, yes I do wish it came with some new modern features. However, one of the hardest things to engineer into a car is charm and this car funny enough has it. It doesnt give a great first impression when you just sit inside of it, after a proper drive though its very very easy to like it. I enjoyed the 1st gen Honda Fit when it was available because it was so nice to drive I was upset that the current 2nd gen was much more boring. However after trying this car out this car, this is even better to drive than the first Fit. Truthfully all I want in a next Mazda 2 is the Shinari styling(seen in the new 2014 6), modern interior connectivity, preferably nicer materials, but keep everything else. This is one of those cars where I come off thinking a theoretical Mazdaspeed 2 would actually be amazing. The Fiesta sold better than the Mazda 2, but truthfully this is the better car.
Overall: 39/50 - Overall a rather nice subcompact vehicle, an updated interior is actually all it needs.
Read more »
Introduction: The Mazda 2 is the smallest car in Mazdas global lineup lineup, its known as the Demio in Japan. Originally made in 1996, the Mazda 2(known as the 121) started out as a small wagon-like vehicle in the segment. To Mazdas surprise it sold very well in Japan. By the 2nd generation in 2002 the 121 name was dropped for the simpler 2 and had mostly gained more modern styling. The car came with much available optional equipment ie. ABS, EBD, etc. now of which is mostly standard. By 2007 Mazda introduced the 3rd generation once again making modest improvements. This would be the first time this car would be available in North America in 2010. The current car is based on the same platform as the Ford Fiesta, the similarities however end from then on.
As with most economy cars, there isnt much interesting history about them. However this particular car I was surprised with how long it took for it to arrive. As Im writing this post, the design is pretty much the same as what it was back in 2007 so its now a 6 year old design with no real notice of a new one on the horizon. Still as with any new Mazda Im always eager to see how it drives.
Performance: The North American Mazda 2 only comes with a 1.5L 4-cylinder engine. It produces 100 hp and 98 lb.ft of torque available with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic. With the automatic its acceleration from 0-100 km/h is a bit more than 10 seconds, manuals are near 9 seconds. Despite being the weakest car in the segment it doesnt feel that slow although its not going to win a drag race anytime soon. Noise levels as the car is accelerating is acceptable. Fuel economy is really this engines primary weakness in the segment, due to its aging design and being one of the lightest its still not all that great.
My Score: 6/10 - The engine is acceptable despite its low power, hurt primarily by fuel economy.
Handling: As with any Mazda, how it handles is one of the key items which has put Mazda on top. Well...I got to say Mazda did an excellent job at engineering this cars chassis. When put to some tough corners this Mazda 2 is rather stable and very competent. Due to its slightly tall hatchback body you will notice some body roll but not enough to outright scare you. Even during fast cornering I didnt notice much understeer. The steering feel among the segment is without a doubt the best, the rest all feel artificial and overboosted in feel, this car retains power assist which is a much more superior feel. I really enjoyed driving the Mazda 2 and even with rather capable and fun handling the ride comfort doesnt suffer. This is an agile subcompact that none of the others come close to for making the driver enjoy the task that is driving.
My Score: 10/10 - Handles well, rides well and is actually fun despite being in the economy section.
Interior: This segment of cars is known for being rather no frills until lately with the Fiesta and Sonic adding a lot of gimmicks. The Mazda 2 being an older design has stuck to the older ways and very much looks no frills. It actually comes with power locks and power windows but its lacking in modern feel and modern features like bluetooth connectivity. The digital gauges are indeed rather outdated in look. Much of the dash is made of hard plastic, you will find very little that seems luxurious. However the layout is very simple and is mostly intuitive, theres not much to get lost with. The seats are surprisingly comfortable. The visibility on this particular car is pretty good apart from its short hood where seeing the front is rather difficult. The build quality is rather good, all Mazda 2s for North America are built in Hofu, Japan.
My Score: 6/10 - No frills basically, while lacking in features its not missing critical features either, and its well made, apart from its outdated look nothing else seems wrong.
Styling: The Mazda 2s styling was done before Mazda introduced their standard Nagare smile that is currently seen on the 3 and 5. As a result its a cross between the two retaining a conventional looking grille but since its introduction the Nagare smile was added although its a lot smaller in this car meaning a front plate covers it up mostly. The rest of the car is rather simple and fits with the whole cars bubbly and friendly looks. This is the most conservatively styled of the Mazda cars but considering how some love or hate the 3s looks, the 2 is more likely to not cause such divisions.
My Score: 7/10 - Its mostly conservatively styled, it looks good for the segment while not divisive its also not ground breaking either.
Value for money: This is where things are a bit interesting. Yes the interior is outdated and rather cheap looking, but when the car starts under $15K yet comes with many features people expect as standard it doesnt seem so bad. My advice though is if youre thinking of a GX buy the convenience package, its just a slight bit more but includes A/C and a few interior features that the base GX lacks. Given the GX + Convenience package, its still an excellent value. The car simply put drives really well, and its rather likable. If one was going for the GS trim, thats not good value, but this particular level Id say its the best priced. No stupid gimmicks in this car means nothing extra to go wrong.
My Score: 10/10 - A lot of the car looks cheap inside, but based on how it drives and what you get...it is cheap and then some.
Conclusion: With all thats said and done, I actually really liked this car. Its one of those cars that doesnt feel like a total downgrade as far as the driving experience goes. Its cheap, fun and rather practical. Im not put off by its rather simple nature, yes I do wish it came with some new modern features. However, one of the hardest things to engineer into a car is charm and this car funny enough has it. It doesnt give a great first impression when you just sit inside of it, after a proper drive though its very very easy to like it. I enjoyed the 1st gen Honda Fit when it was available because it was so nice to drive I was upset that the current 2nd gen was much more boring. However after trying this car out this car, this is even better to drive than the first Fit. Truthfully all I want in a next Mazda 2 is the Shinari styling(seen in the new 2014 6), modern interior connectivity, preferably nicer materials, but keep everything else. This is one of those cars where I come off thinking a theoretical Mazdaspeed 2 would actually be amazing. The Fiesta sold better than the Mazda 2, but truthfully this is the better car.
Overall: 39/50 - Overall a rather nice subcompact vehicle, an updated interior is actually all it needs.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
USED BMW M3 Coupe 2 door 2007 Cars For Sale Prices Under 30000
USED BMW M3 Coupe 2 door 2007 Cars For Sale Prices Under $29,000 gbp with cars images
10000 miles - car
BMW M3 Coupe 2 door 2007, 57 reg, 10000 miles, finished in Any, Essex, South East England, UK,, We want to buy your E92 M3. If you are thinking of selling or part exchanging your new shape M3 (Convert...
Source: compucars.co.uk/1045465
Location: Bury Farm, Epping, Essex, CM16 5JA
10000 miles - car
BMW M3 Coupe 2 door 2007, 57 reg, 10000 miles, finished in Any, Essex, South East England, UK,, We want to buy your E92 M3. If you are thinking of selling or part exchanging your new shape M3 (Convert...
Source: compucars.co.uk/1045465
Location: Bury Farm, Epping, Essex, CM16 5JA
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