THEGAYUK

Author: Stuart M Bird

  • CAR REVIEW | The New Mazda MX5

    ★★★★ Mazda MX5 | Say Hello to the only car you’ll ever need.

    We had a customer come in recently with a car that had died due to a lack of oil pressure. To put it right would have cost a fair bit of money. She said that she had always wanted a Mazda MX5 and I replied to her “You’re a long time dead, go treat yourself” So she did. Next thing I knew she was pulling into the workshop with a 5-year-old MX5.

    Had I known that Mazda were due to relaunch the next generation MX5 I would have told her to save her money and buy the new one. It’s rather good. And that’s it. This review is over. However, the editor wants more words said about the subject of this test so I am forced to rattle on with some extra words.

    There are two responses you get when you mention an MX5. From those who have never driven any of the four generations of car saying they are just cars for the hairdresser and those who have had one who can enthuse about it until they really bore you so much you actually want to slam your fingers in a door. Here in its fourth incarnation it has become even more of a driver’s car with an appeal for everyone. Even grown-ups with a child are catered for with the passenger’s seat coming with ISO fixings for the baby seat. If you want a sports car, have a baby and are single, Mazda have catered for you. The church, on the other hand, may frown at you but what the hell, you have a removable roof that makes you closer to God.

    Opening the roof is like opening a can of Pepsi and just as quick. It takes literally seconds to fold the snug roof down as it is to put up. So simple in its operation that I do wonder why I see so many MX5’s with their roofs up? It’s almost draft free too. On the model I tested there was an occasional whistle around the door window but this is the price you pay for a car with no roof. That roof can also take one battering from the rain. One bad down pour experienced with the car revealed no weakness in keeping the water out.

    Speaking of wonders I liked the kit you get with it. You couldn’t call it palatial but Mazda has created a car that gets back to the basics of what makes a good sports car.

    The everything at finger-tip reach cockpit comes with hip hugging heated seat, power windows, mirrors and air conditioning. It also comprises a DAB stereo and CD player pumping out the sounds through a Bose speaker system.

    The heads up display for sat nav, stereo and car information is controlled by a single wheel knob with a few buttons placed around it on the transmission tunnel and in its operation it works well, though why it needs another volume control here when there is one on the steering wheel was beyond me. One annoyance I had with this was that there was no mute button on the wheel. A more logical place for it to be.

    On the road is where the MX5 wins you over again and again. With the 1500cc engine and weighing in a little more over the 1989 original, it proved to be sensational. 0-60 comes up in 8.3 seconds and taking it to 7000rpm enables you to get the best from the smooth as silk revving engine. The power mutes itself at the 7500rpm redline where there is no noise and no fuss. A quick change up and it’s pulling away again. Keep the engine above 4000rpm and it’s entertaining all the way until you reach 6th gear and then it cruises along. On the motorway, it was almost always necessary to drop it down 2 gears to get the best overtaking performance. Sixth gear is long legged. And this is where the MX5 again makes you wonder why all cars are not like this. It’s relaxing to drive around town. The exhaust is muffled except for a little rasp that excites the senses and yet when you need the power it’s there just a few gears down.

    What makes the MX5 a hoot to drive was its lazy traction control. Playing with it for fun it wouldn’t get too messy though it did allow for some tail happy sliding that makes you feel alive or will wake you up on the morning commute should the coffee fail you. Nine out of ten times you would have backed off before the car would have sorted you out. Turn it off and your senses are woken to full adrenaline shots coming at you from every gland around your body. Everything talks to you demanding inputs here there and everywhere. And then when you have to be normal again, the car behaves like a shopping shuttle. Its suspension is a tad too soft in places. Hard acceleration forces the light beams to illuminate the sky when the back bites in. That said, make it too hard and the car looses its everyday attraction. Not once during my testing did I wish for another car. The ride around town being compliant and there was no back breaking jolts experienced over speed bumps or small pot holes. If you have to have just one car in your fleet then make it the MX5.

    Taking a look at the rest of the MX5 range I would say you are doing an injustice to yourself if you opt for the 2000cc engine. Apart from being a second quicker to 60mph, the rest of the performance figures aren’t really anything to write home about. You do get a little more grunt in power but I doubt it’ll give you the same joyous feeling the 1500 gives. It also won’t rev to beyond 7000rpm. And for its greater power you pay dearly at the fuel pumps too.

    I wouldn’t call them problems but things I didn’t like about the much-acclaimed MX5 was the use of carbon fibre type trim on the doors. I do dislike this material and it was out of place on this model. I also don’t like the bonnet badge. Its overstated nature is overbearing for the beautifully sculpted front.

    Likes

    Ease of roof

    Ride

    Smiles per mile

    Loathes

    Carbon fibre trim

    Lane assist

    Bonnet badge

    The Lowdown

    Car – Mazda MX5 1.5i Sport Nav

    Price – £23,105

    MPG – 47.1mpg (combined)

    Power – 131bhp at 7000rpm

    0-62mph – 8.3 seconds

    Top Speed – 127mph

    Co2 – 139 (g/km)

  • CAR REVIEW | Seat Ibiza FR Red Edition 1.2 TSI

    ★★★★ Seat Ibiza FR Red Edition 1.2 TSI | I’ll say it now and get it out of the way. The Ibiza has just too much Volkswagen about it.

    (more…)

  • CAR REVIEW | Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian

    I don’t know quite what I was expecting when l took delivery of the new and improved series 5 Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian pick-up.

    Visually you are made aware of its almost 5300mm in length. Its load bed length of 1470mm looked bigger than it actually was. The L200 range has come a long way since its launch in 1982 and the new model sees a subtle design change with some of the feminine curves replaced by straight lines making it look a little sturdier than the old model, while still being civilian friendly looking over the opposition from the likes of Nissan and Toyota. More importantly, there is now a city friendly tighter turning circle too. With 7 different guises of L200 pick-up available it is possible that every member of the family could find a pick-up to suit.

    The interior finish is rugged looking and the leather-covered seats are comfortable. All plastic surfaces practical and functional plastic of the hard variety that literally makes cleaning a wipe over. The fascia is laid out well and all the controls minus the heated front seat switches were within easy reach. The steering wheel housed controls for the stereo, phone and cruise control. It was all quite too civilised for what a pick-up should be. Thankfully l found some hard edge plastic under the switches on the steering wheel. An ideal edge for filing off that hard skin from a day’s graft on-site. This masculine touch was then ruined by the floor lighting. Nothing wrong with floor lighting l hear you say but the blue was just a touch 2000’s Lexus and even they don’t do it in blue anymore. Even more, Lexus was the pick-ups “Barbarian” signature illuminated in the kick plates.

     

    I developed a love/hate relationship with the inbuilt sat-nav and infotainment system. Its touch screen was easy to use for my thin fingers but having asked a real man we’ll call Dave to have a play, he moaned that its on-screen buttons were too compacted for his manly fingers. And the brightness of the screen at night was reminiscent to that of a Hollywood dashboard. So intense was the light l couldn’t use the sat-nav at night. The night option changed the colours making it harder to view quickly while on the move.

    On the road, this fully loaded pick-up will set you back £30,238.80 with no options available because it literally has everything thrown at it or for £2000 cheaper when bought with the manual gearbox. Traction control is quite essential in 2WD mode. The 2442cc in-line 4 16 valve DOHC turbo diesel MIVEC engine packs quite a thud in the back when needed.

    The price you pay for having a pickup that goes from 0-60mph in 11.8 seconds is that the 317 Ib.ft of torque at 2500rpm would spin the rear wheels without much provoking on moist surfaces. Select the 4WD and all the power was planted where you wanted it. Again on the road and over most surfaces it performed with car-like comfort and ability. The steering was nicely weighted more towards town driving ease with feedback of road ahead being well communicated through the thick-rimmed steering wheel. In 4WD mode, you could feel the front differential working via a slight rumble through the wheel.

    The engine could be heard if really pushed but in the normal day to day it was bearably audible from a cold start until fully warmed. All this power doesn’t come with an added fuel premium either and official figures suggest a respectable 43.5mpg giving a range of over 700 miles. With today’s fuel prices that’s quite commendable for a tank that’ll cost you about £80 to fill. 4WD’s have become greener and cleaner over the years and the Barbarian is one of the greenest.

    Remember that 5300mm in length l mentioned, in practice, it doesn’t feel that big on the road. Admittedly you will struggle to park it within a single bay at your local DIY store but the reverse camera and big mirrors make it an easy task. l am not the best at reversing anything bigger than a hatchback so the reverse camera was a nice addition and one of the best l have ever used. The lines that appear on the screen are just perfect for achieving your 10/10 parking space award. You shouldn’t find the Barbarian on that website where people park inconsiderately.

    I have to conclude that overall l was impressed by almost every aspect of the Barbarian. Its ease of driving, the quietness of the cabin, the way it was screwed together and even the engine bay was laid out in a simple logical layout. It was better than l thought it could and should be and if you were to have just one vehicle for work and play then this has to be high on the list. It’s car like applications such as one touch door handles, push start, full electric windows, climate control and cruise modes all add up to make this a civilised machine for not a lot of money when you consider what it can do and where you could go with it. l wasn’t able to trial its off-road ability so l have to take Mitsubishi’s word for it, though with its long established history and range packed full of 4WD models I’m pretty sure this could take you as far away from civilian life as you’d want to go on a weekend. Sadly the Barbarian being so civilised it’ll remind you all too soon that you have work on Monday.

    Pros

    Comfort
    Go anywhere ability
    More useful than you’d think

    Cons

    Blue LED lighting
    Dazzling sat-nav screen
    No hill descent control

    The Lowdown
    Car – Mitsubishi L200 Double cab Barbarian
    Price – £23,799.00 (£30,238.80 as tested)
    MPG – 43.5 mpg
    Power – bhp
    0-62mph – 10.5 seconds
    Top Speed – 109mph
    Co2 – 189g/km

  • CAR REVIEW | Mitsubishi ASX

    Launched in 2009 to high expectations, the Mitsubishi ASX failed to make an impact on the competitive Sports Utility Vehicle sector which at present is dominated by the Nissan Qashqai and Toyota Rav4.

    However according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, in 2014-2015 sales grew by as much as 20% for the ASX. This is already on top of Mitsubishi sales, in general, rising over the last 3 years. This might account as to why we are seeing more and more ASX’s on the road. Now 7-years-older and finally finding love on the forecourt, can it now start worrying the competition? I had one for a week to find out.

    Visually she’s aged well. It is still striking to look at and in a carpark full of small SUVs from the likes of VW and BMW it demonstrates a victory against the bland.

    Sadly the interior cannot be said to have impressed as much. While the seats were supportive and comfortable with an impossible to locate switch to heat them, the plastics were of the hard wearing type similar to what’s used in the man machines from Mitsubishi like in their L200 pick up. There lacked a soft touch feel about the cabin. This soft touch was further lacking in stupid imprinted signs on the door pockets and centre console saying “no cups!” Most annoying after all it’s my car and I’ll put cups where I want them. Bottles were allowed in the door pockets.

    Further annoyances were found with the lack of illuminated switches on the doors for windows and mirrors except for one flimsy light for the drivers switch. You forget how much you take for granted an illuminated switch in the dark. So instead of giving these lights, Mitsubishi added some sunshine lights into the glass roof panel and it screamed cheap electrical light tape found on a famous auction website. That said when the roof panel was open it did make the spacious cabin even more tardis like. It wasn’t an unpleasant place to be if I am honest.

    And then there was the satnav and its illumination horrors. In the day the system was like Dr Jekyll. However, come dusk and nightfall it became Mr Hyde. At night in day mode it was just too bright. Thankfully there is a switch that turns it to night mode. It then becomes too dark using blacks and blues in colour.

    So far there isn’t a lot to recommend this 7-year-old car and then you drive it. Two things stand out as negatives. Firstly there is an almighty amount of road roar in the back. At first, I thought I had the window open. Secondly, from a standing start, there is an awful delay that catches you out when pulling into traffic. This can be over come by trying to get a slight roll going before you push down hard on the accelerator. It is then that the 2.2-litre diesel engine mated to one of the smoothest 6-speed automatic boxes l have tried makes you feel like you’ve spent a million dollars. Mitsubishi gives you paddle shifts on the steering wheel too but unless you are really into spirited driving there is very little need to use them. The gearbox was always in the right gear.

    This impressive gearbox and power unit managed to further impress in its economy in 4WD where l found it at its best as a driver’s car and in road behaviour.

    In 2WD the economy according to the onboard computer was exactly the same over the same route of 31MPG. As you would expect in 4WD, traction was increased and it was also felt that the traction control system was less needed in keeping it where it was pointed. And then there are the headlights. Nothing fancy about these units, they didn’t even swivel. What they did give you though was a beautiful beam pattern and crystal clear view on even the grimmest of road conditions. Commuting through the wildness of Surrey I found there was little need to use the main beam.

    So the ASX was starting to make me appreciate it and its appeal so quickly lost on taking delivery was starting to make sense. There is bags of room inside and the cabin does have a tardis feel about it. The boot is very generous for this size of vehicle and rear seat leg room with my 6-foot frame behind the wheel was more than adequate. With this opulent amount of space must come a good heating system and it was good. And then it was bad. and then it was perfect. Call it what you like but there were times l felt like Goldilocks. Set to 19 degrees it would heat the cabin until it was as hot as the sun and then cool it down with blasts of cold. Only then would it settle to a perfect temperature. This lasted around 10 miles per journey and opening a window would only confuse it.

    Where this ASX really excels is in its price. The top end £24,899  model is £1400 more expensive that its 1.6-litre sister and that only comes in manual. You do pay more at the pumps if you go by official figures of over 10 MPG worse for the 2.2 but only 4 MPG over the extra urban. I, however, was not able to match even its lowest figure of 39.8 for the urban dash. Compare the top of the range ASX to its lowest family member and it £9,000 saving doesn’t make the 1.6 ASX 2WD look good at all unless you are after an estate looking vehicle with no functions. The ASX is already 10 years out of date, don’t do yourself a disservice and make it worse by opting for the lesser model.

    Overall all is not lost for the quite likeable ASX. According to the 14 owners on the Autotrader website, it scored 4.6 stars out of 5 and prices are set to become even more competitive with talk of a new model ASX coming in 2017. Need yourself an SUV with a 5-year warranty? Now is the time to talk to Mitsubishi.

    Pros

    Automatic gearbox

    Headlights

    Standout looks

    Cons

    Poor switch gear

    Road noise

    Throttle response from standing start

    The Lowdown

    Car – Mitsubishi ASX

    Price – £24,899 (as tested)

    MPG – 39.8 urban

    Power – 147 bhp (at 3500 rpm)

    0-62mph – 10.8 seconds

    Top Speed – 118 MPH

    Co2 – 152 g/km

    by Stuart M Bird

  • How To Keep Your Car Moving This Winter – Winter Driving Tips

    How To Keep Your Car Moving This Winter – Winter Driving Tips

    The festive season is upon us and travel around the country to visit loved ones, some not so loved ones and family is but part of it for most.

    (more…)

  • MOTORING REVIEW | Porsche: We’ve Never Had It So Good

    When the Gay UK received an invite to the Porsche experience l jumped at the chance and on a cold and frosty Monday morning l headed to Silverstone not really knowing what to expect other than testing 3 new cars that had been launched.

    (more…)