Road test BMW Z4 sDrive 35i

Road test

BMW Z4 sDrive 35i

12 out of 20

£37,060

Driven March 2009

(See other road tests)

BMW has well and truly jumped on the bandwagon with the latest Z4. The SLK might have had a folding hard-top since its launch in 1996, but BMW was late joining the party. The 3-Series Convertible only got one in the latest generation and now the Z has finally gained it as well.

The bare figures are this: the roof lowers and raises in 20 seconds, prices start at £28,645 for the 23i and get to £37,060 for the 35i that we've just driven. Oh, and it'll do 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds with the dual clutch gearbox fitted.

So it's not what you'd call slow. The twin-turbo straight six is the highlight of the whole car - it sounds absolutely brilliant. Low and deep to start off with before getting to a wail over 6,000rpm. It's far more enthusiastic than an SLK.

For those worried that this hard-top has made it handle worse than the old Z4, panic not - even though this latest Z4 weighs 100kg more than the last one, there's a sharpness to the steering and chassis that was lacking before. But it's still not the last word in dynamics that you know BMW would dearly love it to be.

That's BMW's whole raison d'etre, and so far no recent BMW Roadster has managed to hit it spot-on. Each generation improves things from the woeful Z3, but this one is still a bit disappointing when you think of something like the Porsche Boxster. There's now electronically controlled damping on the Z4 as an option, but even this can't quite tighten everything up enough. Roof up, you can certainly feel the extra weight up there as it pitches and rolls a bit more through corners. Roof down works better.

As such, the Z4 moves closer to the driving nirvana of the Boxster and pulls further away from the SLK. But it's still not the roadster version of an M3 that BMW so desperately wants.

Piers Ward

Road test Jaguar XK R Review

Road test

Jaguar XK R

16 out of 20

£72,400

Driven February 2009

(See other road tests)

Here are the raw figures for the new Jag XKR: the all-new 5.0-litre engine produces 510bhp and 461lb ft. There are also alterations to the dampers (they're now constantly variable), and the same trick diff you get at the back of the XFR appears here.

What those stats don't do justice to is the way this new engine has moved the XKR on. It sounds more powerful (the exhaust note is spot on for volume), feels more up for a fast drive. Not that the XFR suffers from a lack of poke, but the XKR - with the same engine as the XF - seems to be slightly more eager to get to wherever you're going. In point of fact, it's only a tenth quicker than the saloon to 60mph.

It also feels slightly sharper to drive. The brakes are still a bit soft for my liking, but the way the XKR turns into a corner is seriously accurate. What you do is rewarded by the car following suit exactly, which means that it's an encouraging process. No hairy moments here.

Other alterations to the exterior and interior are pretty minor. You now get Jag's weird take on the gearlever, which at least looks more modern than the old ‘J' stick. But really it's all about that engine.

Piers Ward

Audi R8 V10 Road Test Review

Road test

Audi R8 V10

17 out of 20

£99,575

Driven February 2009

Audi hasn't transformed the R8 by adding a pair of cylinders. Not like Porsche transforms the 911 by adding a pair of turbos anyway. No, the R8 V10 is basically an R8 V8 that's faster, a little grippier, and better equipped.

Which means it's the perfect everyday-use supercar. A Gallardo (with which the Audi shares an engine) is too noisy to be more than a special-occasions car. And if ‘everyday' includes the British winter, well you won't want to be getting by on 2WD.

The 525bhp engine has an astonishing spread of power, pulling hard from low in the rev range and getting pregressively and implausibly stronger all the way to an 8,700rpm red-line.

And the magical, predictable, transparent handling of the V8 car isn't messed up by the extra power. This is a car that always seems to be on your side.

The launch price looks high, but at least it doesn't need any extras. The R Tronic and the carbon-ceramic brakes are both a waste of money unless you want to do track days. And actually this isn't a track-day car.

It's too civilised for that.

Paul Horrell

Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S Review

Road test

Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S

18 out of 20

£89,860

Driven March 2009

(See other road tests)

This is the finest large sporting saloon in the world. It sits at the top of a distinguished and expensive heap, including the V10 Audi S8, the 525bhp Mercedes S63 AMG and the all-new BMW 7-Series V8 twin turbo, and it trounces them all in different ways.

High praise indeed, but this new Quattroporte Sport GT S is that good. All the planets seem to have aligned at Maserati with this car, and the combination of a raft of small changes makes it completely rock.

First, a catch-up with the Maserati model line-up, in case it's overtaken you lately. Anything with an ‘S' means the new wet-sump 4.7-litre V8 is under the nose. So, the GranTurismo coupe comes in standard (4.2-litre) and S (4.7) forms. The coupe S uses a version of Ferrari's F1 ‘flappy paddle' robotised manual 'box, fitted at the rear in a transaxle layout.

This Quattroporte Sport GT S gets a very similar 4.7-litre engine, tweaked to give 433bhp (8bhp more than the standard QP S and 38bhp more than the 4.2) but mated to a conventional ZF automatic gearbox - the same 'box you'll find on Jags, Mercs and BMWs, but tweaked to Maserati's high-revving requirements. It is a fantastic auto - quick to change in manual mode, and smooth and direct in automatic, a perfect match for the car's character.

One more feature worth noting is that this QP Sport does not get the adaptive ‘Sky Hook' suspension of other Masers - it gets stiffer springs all round and sits lower, but you can't adjust it. Fine. We'll take what the engineers think is best. Cosmetic changes like darkened headlight lenses, black concave grille spars and oval pipes complete the picture.

At the end of all that, what you have is a striking-looking and strongly built saloon with tremendous handling, a car that can be quiet and comfortable when it needs to be. Then, hit the Sport button, and some flaps open in the exhaust to send the sound straight through. This is one of the very, very greatest engine sounds - a delectable V8 howl, a spine-tingling note that will have you driving through towns in Sport mode with the windows down in first gear at 4,500rpm, just to hear the sound bouncing off the walls.

Then there's the handling, aided by an engine that sits entirely behind the front axle line, effectively making the car front-mid-engined. Its ability from turn-in to apex is electric and instant, with steering that gives you plenty of feel. Weight balance is 49 per cent front, 51 per cent rear, aided by a fuel tank that sits behind the rear seats and cuts into the boot. Who cares? Not us.

Bring on the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Rapide. The Quattroporte Sport GT S awaits them, unblinking and unafraid. No full-sized four-door car goes harder or better.

Bill Thomas

Vauxhall Corsa VXR Arctic White review

Road test

Vauxhall Corsa VXR Arctic White

11 out of 20

£17,225

Driven March 2009

It's a bit of a nutter, this Corsa VXR. It ain't a regular one, see - this is the ‘Arctic Edition' and just 500 will be made. Which, as the more astute of you may have realised, is Very White Indeed. Whiter than a polar bear's wotsits.

It has a few differences over the standard car, but first let's talk about the exhaust. Because this one is hillarious. Hilarious in a good way, you'll understand, as it rips through traffic and crackles on the overrun like a south London gunshot, sending shoppers diving for cover into shop doorways. Made by Remus and developed by Triple Eight racing (the guys who sort Vauxhall's race cars), it buys you an extra 14bhp and about 1,000 decibels too. The only way to drive this is with the windows down, a baseball cap on and some sort of drum and bass arrangement on the stereo. You won't be popular, but you'll be having fun.

And now for the other changes. In short, Vauxhall has saved you a trip to Halfords. It has distinctive 18-inch alloys, painted black to match the new wing mirrors and tinted sliding glass roof. You get all the scoops and wings from the standard VXR too, painted in that lovely Glacier White paint, which is bright enough to dazzle Mr Magoo.

That exhaust takes power from the 1.6 turbo to 204bhp and will shave a smidge off the 0-62 time, though Vauxhall only quotes the time of the standard car, 6.8 seconds. It drives exactly the same as the standard car, so expect a moment of turbo lag before the front wheels get all flustered as the engine gets on boost and sends them a rush of power. It gets that power down alright - just - but doesn't feel especially refined in how it does it: it's all-or-nothing, and a bit frenzied.

So if you can stick the chavvy image, you'll love it. If you don't care about a slightly hyperactive power delivery, you'll love it. Otherwise, you're better off keeping your £17,225 safe for now and waiting for a new Fiesta ST, if it ever arrives...

Dan Read

Volkswagen Golf GTI Review

Road test

Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk VI

17 out of 20

£22,000

Driven March 2009

With the incoming Focus RS monopolising REM sleep for most of our hot hatch devotees, the Mk VI Golf GTI might have slipped unnoticed onto our streets this summer. But it won't for two reasons. The first is that it is very good. The other, that it's been styled in the way that an RS aficionado would approve of. That he might have done himself, in fact, through mail order catalogues and Superglue.

Volkswagen has taken the truly excellent Mk V GTI and tweaked it in various vital respects. The engine is slightly lighter, but provides more power with better economy. It now has a limited slip diff to better harness that extra power, and an adaptive chassis that does comfy, not so comfy, and sporty at the touch of a button. The exhaust note is also astonishing and surely unprecedented in a 2.0-litre German hatchback.

So far so good. Positive progress. But the new GTI has also been restyled in a fashion that seems intended to deprive the aftermarket modders of much in the way of Sunday afternoon fun. New grille, headlights and fog lights at the front, new side skirts and wider, symmetrical exhausts at the rear. The wheels have also had their inserts painted black. None of this looks bad per se, but it's all a teeny bit like a first date in Nandos. Mind you, the Focus RS driver is in the Chicken Cottage.

Matt Master