Category: Lifestyle

Taking A Toy Boy To Silverstone With Toyota GB

Toy Boy Toyota

‘He’s my toy boy, toy boy. I’m out with my toy boy, toy boy. And when I get to take him home, I know he’s gonna love me right’

Now don’t worry, I’ve not lost the plot. I was fortunate one week in February to be given the keys to Toyota GB’s Mk1 MR2. It came with Toyota’s state of the art cassette player and I found a mixtape with Sinitta’s hit ‘Toy Boy’ and if ever there was a song that suited a car, it was this.

It all started after I contacted Graham from Toyota press about a future article I was planning to write about the MR2 Vs Fiat X1/9. He suggested I come over, collect the car and take it to an event Toyota GB had organised at Silverstone with the Vintage Sports-Car Club (VSCC) called the Parallel Pomeroy Trophy. It dates back 70 years and was devised to find the best GT car. For Toyota, it consisted of 4 tests. I couldn’t really say no now could I.

All that was needed was to collect the car and pay the £30 entry fee that was going towards Toyota’s chosen charity for the past couple of years, Guide Dogs for the Blind. Toyota has been sponsoring the training of 4 dogs and lifetime costs of one. That’s around £55,000. https://www.guidedogs.org.uk

The MR2 was collected and a look around some of the heritage fleet Toyota keep was shown. The MR2 was a lovely little car and had undergone an extensive restoration that also came with some words of advise about being sympathetic to the newly built engine. So no pressure there then considering the weekend Toyota had planned!

Tests centred around a slalom handling course, flat out short distance and a series of forward-backward-forward etc strip where you had to stop within the boundaries of some pre-set cones. Penalties were issued if you messed it up. Suffice to say, I did. Twice! Annoyingly.

In total, there were 38 Toyota’s ranging from a 1971 Corolla coupe to the 2018 Yaris GRNM with everything in-between included 4 generations of Prius and a Hilux. All this was made even more serious when we were issued with number decals to apply to our cars. All road going cars (the rules stated that ALL entrants must be road legal) were instantly turned into race cars. Applying numbers to a car just makes them racy. The MR2 had sharp looks, an engine making borborygmi noises behind you and sporting potential to start with. The immaculate 1973 Crown estate however didn’t.

That said, it didn’t stop Eddie Bellringer beating me and the MR2. His times showed commitment at EVERY level. If I’m honest, I got beaten by practically everything out there including Steve Cropley from Autocar magazine in an Mk1 Prius. That said, Alan Bradley from the Motoring Podcast, in his Yaris GRMN, also got beaten by the Crown Estate.

This was the first Parallel Pomeroy event PR and social media manager, Scott Brownlee and his team had organised and it went very well, even down to the weather. There was however only two Toyota PR team members taking it for the team. Product and technical, Mr Richard Seymour in an iQ and PR student, Mary Nicholls in a Prius. She also beat me in a Prius.

Well, let’s not leave you in suspense. Richard in the iQ won. The smallest car with the smallest engine with the impossibility of positioning a car with a cone within the wheelbase won the event. Which went to show that Richard of product and technical either knew his stuff and the iQ or it was a fix? Either way, it’s a long way to fall when you are at the top, I’m wondering what Toyota could put him in next time.

An MR2 perhaps?

As for me, it was a blast and a really good day was had by all those who attended. So it is with great thanks to the Toyota GB team for letting me have the MR2 for a few days prior to the event.

6th March 2019
CAR REVIEW | Range Rover Velar R Dynamic HSE D300

★★★★☆ | Range Rover Velar R Dynamic HSE D300

What Have We Got?

We have a puzzler this week. This is Range Rover’s mid-sized concept-cum-cross over that fits between the Evoque and Range Rover Sport. The puzzler is that the Velar is quite large in the visuals and dimensions.

Driving

It’s a silky blend of driving styles. The 3-litre V6 diesel pushes out 300hp at 4000rpm. 700nm of torque is from 1500rpm. From a standing start, it will thunder the slippery shaped Velar to 60 in 6.1 seconds. To be honest, it feels quicker and there is grunt available from whatever speed.

Sport mode, comfort or economy, throttle response is quick. There is no hunting for a gear or waiting for the ECU to decide what to do with the EGR valve etc. Quick rapid progress is one of the key features of the Velar.

The Velar shares a platform with the Jaguar F-Pace and yet feels better planted, better poised on the road and all the more fun. The AWD system puts the power down more evenly around the vehicle.

Inside

The layout is all familiar with the Range Rover Sport we reviewed in 2017. Touch screens for the controls split on to 2 screens. There are 2 buttons. The stop-start, hidden by the facia panel and another on the centre console that hides a cup holder. This button does not work with the fluidity of the rest of the Velar’s interior.

Other than that, it is well thought out. The seats have so many bits that move, that it is impossible to get uncomfortable and there is space for everyone, even the tallest of both drivers or passengers or both.

Living With It

Sheer size doesn’t translate to bulk on the move. The Velar is reasonably agile on its air ride and easy to navigate around country lanes. Thankfully this model came with the 360-degree angle camera pack and I can’t recommend it enough, especially when parking in tight spots like supermarkets or your own driveway where someone has decided to park their car like it’s the largest car in the world.

The Verdict

I was unsure of the Velar at first. I couldn’t make up my mind if I liked them or not. Its sleek looks lack the blunt Range Rover bulk but this doesn’t distract from it. You could call it a ‘designed’ Range Rover Sport. It certainly doesn’t feel any cheaper than the top model. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Its road manners are rather exemplary and it lacks the wobble of the Range Rover Sport. This alone makes the Velar more big estate car than SUV or cross over but this is what it is, a cross over and it does it all very well. Dare I say it, I liked the Sport and all that it stood for, I like the Velar more. It’s just, the Velar, this Velar, is expensive. Range Rover Sport price expensive.

Love

Smoothness of engine

Fit and finish

Ride

Loathe

Price

Cup holder cover

Plastics around dashboard

The Lowdown

Car – Range Rover Velar R Dynamic HSE D300

Price – £73,330 (as tested)

MPG – 44.1mpg (combined)

Power – 300hp

0-62mph – 6.1 seconds

Top Speed – 150 mph

Co2 – 167 (g/km)

3rd March 2019
CAR REVIEW | Getting Dirty with the new Jeep Wrangler

We managed to get ourselves an invite to drive the new Jeep Wrangler recently.

The email invitation read;
“We would like you to be among the first to drive this exciting new car, and invite you to join us for a special drive event in the Lake District. There will be opportunities to drive the cars on- and off-road.”

Off-road you say? We love getting down and dirty so didn’t need asking twice.

Jeep are very proud of their heritage. They started making vehicles in 1940 for the Army and have been making civilian vehicle since 1945. That’s some pedigree.

They describe their all-new Jeep® Wrangler as the ‘Go Anywhere, Do Anything’ 4×4 that blends together excellent on-road performance with legendary off-road capability.” We’ll be the judge of that.

We won’t go mad about the details. We’ll tell you more about that after we’ve had one on test for a while. What we will say is that, depending on spec, it includes two advanced four-wheel drive, active, on-demand full time systems – Command-Trac and Rock-Trac – plus Tru-Lock electric front- and rear-axle lockers, Trac-Lok limited slip differential and electronic front anti-roll bar disconnect. We can tell you first hand that this stuff is unbelievable. It makes you feel invincible, like you could drive anywhere, over anything.

The format for the event was simple. Pick a car, get in and follow the leader.

Ardent Off Road looked after us and guided us along the course, helping us through the most challenging parts and keeping us safe.
These guys are amazing. They run off-road tours and training sessions for the public and emergency services etc, they run holidays and events in the UK and abroad and lots more. They are really good guys and absolute experts when it comes to anything off road.

Our day consisted of 3 different off road sessions with some road driving in between.
The first off road session was a very challenging, uphill rock crawling section, the second was woodland, heavily rutted with big rocks all over the place and the third was even more rocks with steep steps and big drops.

The Ardent guys kept things moving, guiding us through the perils but kept it safe and fun…..lots of fun.

Our car was a Jeep Wrangler Sahara 2.2 diesel 2 door and was really really nice. The Sahara is the entry level and crucially, comes with road biased tyres. No big chunky, nobblies here, they’re standard fit on the Rubicon.

Despite this, it was truly awesome off road. I mean, really impressive. Ardent took us up some really technical and challenging routes; rock crawling in the rain, fording in the woods and much worse. Even on road biased tyres our Wrangler didn’t struggle. It’s was jaw dropping, breathtaking and more fun than you can imagine.

It’s easy to use too. The auto gearbox was simple, just put it in drive and select 4×4 low ratio, then go and get dirty. Some modern 4×4’s seem to have a million settings. The Wrangler has some buttons like hill decent but we didn’t use them. It is very simple to use and unbelievably effective.

We’ll get one on test and do you a road test review. If it sunny, we’ll even show you it’s other party trick and take the roof and doors off too for a bit of fresh air fun.

27th February 2019
The Good, the Bad and The Ugly. Corsa C 2000 – 2006

The Vauxhall Corsa C 2000 – 2006

An irrelevant look at a certain car.

You’ll be glad to have read that this Corsa was only available for six years. In the big scheme of motoring giants, six years is a pretty short notice and they only change the car that quickly if it just so happened to be crap.

Well, dear reader, your luck is in. They were. There wasn’t much to recommend about the Corsa C and yet, in the UK at least, it was a big seller. From 2002 to 2005 it was always in the top 3 on the sales charts but that doesn’t mean anything. Celine Dion’s Titanic song spent way too long in the charts and that was shit. Thankfully our Cher kept it from being the top-selling single of 98.

Speaking of the great white hope of the ocean, one thing Corsa C did well was taking in water. These little Titanic’s of GM were exceptionally good at this, they let water in both at the front by the fuse box (water and electrics are such a good mix) and around the rear lights. Take that Titanic and your single gash!

This did dampen Corsa C drivers’ spirits. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Left unchecked, the water would pile in and the mould pile up and out. I’ve seen many Corsa C’s with all the penicillin you can eat on the seats! It’s like infection control on wheels. MRSA, dead in a Corsa C. C-Diff? Don’t make me laugh. Doesn’t stand a chance. You might get Legionnaires disease from all that stagnant water, but only one to six out of 20 die from that, so the odds are pretty good on survival. And remember, Corsa C is packed with antibiotics.

To understand if your Corsa C has a water problem, you need to drive it with vigour. Here was the problem. It wasn’t very nice to drive. The interiors were pretty much all grey in colour and that sort of summed up Corsa C.

Engines were standard units of GM-type (I’m sort of losing the will to type now) but the three-cylinder did have a nice trick up its sleeve. It vibrated through the bloated body causing motion sickness to the point where you either stopped or chundered into the pool of sogginess in the footwell, adding something new to the cesspit that is also called the passengers’ footwell.

I suppose if I have to give Corsa C one selling point, it would be the boot opening. It was large and practical for a hatchback-cum-driveway skip. What followed with Corsa D was worse.

But I’m talking Corsa C and it’s a bad car. Catch the bus.

Liked this check out:

Toyota Yaris 1999 – 2005: Good, Bad or Ugly?

VW Polo 2002-2009: Good, Bad or Ugly?

27th February 2019
Brands are receiving backlash over healthy eating social posts

Brands are being warned over the posts they publish on social media, particularly over the subject of healthy eating.

CREDIT: ©-belchonock-Depositphotos

Topics covered over social media in 2019 cover a variety of subjects, the one surrouding healthy eating can cause a Twitter storm if not handled in the right way warns industry experts, which came with the warning “For brands venturing into this topic, it is essential to consider planning in advance and staying away from political and divisive subjects”.

The latest immediate future report, using data analysed from Brandwatch, looks at the rising ‘healthy eating’ and ‘healthy food’ conversations on social media in the UK. Whilst most posts are positive, there is a significant number of passionately angry and disgruntled ones. The backlash spikes around those organisations pushing the healthy eating agenda such as brands, government and celebrity chefs.

Anger drives social sharing.

Katy Howell, CEO at immediate future, says, “Shares, accounting for almost 40% of social posts, are driven by two core behaviours: anger (and some pretty spicy language), at the affordability and cost of eating healthy food; and the making of healthy foods, from recipes and planning, to food origins.”

Social data analysed using social intelligence tool, Brandwatch, shows that 39% of posts around cost, mention the issue of affordability of healthy food options and 30% declare eating well is expensive. And it’s the 42% men on social, talking healthy eating, that tend to rant the most!

Rising year on year healthy eating is predicted to continue an upward trend on social. The conversations don’t just spike in January, they run through the year as UK consumers are increasingly conscious of, and educated about, what they eat. For relevant brands this is an opportunity to raise awareness and engage with consumers in a shopping category that is burgeoning.

Katy continues, “Joining the healthy food trends is perfect for food, fitness and weight-loss brands. However, companies must plan. Awareness of the topics that both spark debate and anger should form part of your brand’s approach. Transparency and authenticity are key if you don’t want to be battling negativity on social.”

The report, reviews a year’s worth of social data, looking at posts that mention healthy eating and healthy foods and it’s available for free at http://po.st/eatwell

20th February 2019
CAR REVIEW | Honda CR-V, 2019

★★★★☆ | Honda CR-V

Hot on the heels of every manufacturer it would seem these days, Honda has released a new SUV. Not so totally new because the CR-V has been a staple part of Honda’s UK line-up for many decades.

Here, however, Honda is showcasing their new petrol and more importantly, a hybrid drive system. Again, nothing new from Honda except this time it is fitted into their large SUV.

The CR-V demonstrates two things, Class-leading space and an increase in size. All common factors with a new launch. 2 things, however, do stand out and that is space inside is very much on the generous side and the overall feel of the car is not so large that it feels like a nuisance to drive on narrow country lanes.

THEGAYUK tried two models back-to-back. Both front wheel drive but with two different powertrains. Firstly the hybrid with a CVT gearbox and a petrol manual.

Between the two models, one thing is very evident between the two models and that’s the ride. The all petrol drove better. It was softer, compliant and more engaging to drive. No doubt this is due to the lack of excess weight in the rear from the hybrid system. Another is silent running. While the petrol could be raucous when pressed, the hybrid with its near silent electric motors became all too familiar in whine from the CVT gearbox.

The CVT is not to my liking and I was a bit disappointed. Honda’s press release mentioned a unique intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) with clutch lockup between petrol and drivetrain when in engine mode. It still behaved like a conventional CVT system and the paddle shifts on the steering wheel didn’t make much of a difference except when it ‘sport’ mode. On the plus side, its transition between battery, petrol or both was seamless.

Combined economy varied between power units. 53.3mpg for the Hybrid and 44.8mpg for the all petrol. That seemed a lot for the petrol to achieve, despite its lighter agile feel and the hybrid also struggled to achieve those figures. But there are 2 things standing in the way. Review cars are hardly driven softly and combined figures are not those in the real world. However, we did see a constant 45+ mpg in the Hybrid. So the penalty for that heavy feel looks like it could be offset by less time at the pumps.

There were other good points to be seen in these SR mid-range models and that is in its fit and finish. There was a lot to like. General tactility was top class with soft feel where you expected it to be hard plastic. The wooden effect inserts, however, were not universally liked but I liked them. The effect is pretty good. It’s not luxury wood but then at £31,565 for the Hybrid and £31,435 for the petrol, neither is the price.

And this is the key to the CR-V. It’s price. In this segment, the CR-V SR offers a lot of car for the money, it’s just at the moment I am struggling to justify to myself that the hybrid is better. If it was my money I’d go for the all petrol.

Love

Looks

Quality inside

Value

Loathe

CVT gearbox

Rear doors lack sound deadening

Less agile feel in the hybrid model

The Lowdown

Car – Honda CR-V SR petrol/hybrid models

Price – £ £31,435 / £31,565 (as tested)

MPG – 44.8/53.3 mpg (combined)

0-62mph – 9.3/8.8 seconds

Top Speed – 130/112 mph

Co2 – 143/126 (g/km)

18th February 2019
The Good, The bad and the Ugly. Toyota Yaris 1999 – 2005

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Embed from Getty Images

An irrelevant look at a certain car.

The Toyota Yaris 1999 – 2005

The Toyota Yaris, the Greek goddesses of charm and beauty. Well not quite. According to Wikipedia, “Yaris” is derived from “Charis”, the singular for Charites. And this thankfully is as complicated as Toyota’s little toaster on wheels gets.

Her beauty didn’t last long because you might have noticed that almost ALL Yaris’s have a dented panel below the rear bumper. You do wonder if they actually came from the factory like that.

OK, I’m being unfair and what I am about to write pretty much gives the game away. The Yaris isn’t a bad car. And despite its oddball looks, it’s not ugly either. Here is a car that was miles away from the dull forgettable Starlet that it replaced. You might want to Google “Starlet” because you would have forgotten what it looked like by now.

Walk around the Yaris and you’ll greet its cutesy looks with affection. Its rounded face and slabby sides were in keeping with the populous of the time in that we were all getting a bit portly. What we needed was to walk more. What you needed was a car that broke down.

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The Yaris didn’t break down. You just couldn’t stop the bloody things. So reliable were they, that they won customer satisfaction awards all over the place. Here was a city car that didn’t cost much to buy, cost even less to run and could be abused like no other car. If ever there was a car that made the manufacture absolutely no money in after sales, here it is.

Getting inside was a doodle too. Big wide doors on the 3 door, or slightly smaller doors on the 5 door, opened up the grey cabin. The driving position was high too. It gave good visuals and speaking of visuals, it also came with a far-out digital pod, slap-bang in the middle of the dashboard. This was a revelation. Digital displays were still alienating customers, others had tried and failed. Toyota gave a 2 finger salute and shoved it in there. It worked. It was crystal clear. You couldn’t wish for anything better.

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And the ride wasn’t that bad either for a shopping cart. It all worked well. So you would expect this to be a massive sales flop. A little Toyota with a high driving position that’s easy to get into, surely only the granny brigade bought these. Absolutely not. It was universally approved by all.

There is no escaping it, the Yaris is a good car.

17th February 2019
Jaw Dropping Harley Scrambler

Fastec Racing, based in Newmarket, is an engineering company who manufacture custom parts for everyone from race teams to joe public. To promote their work (and because they live and breath bikes) they have built a string of show bikes. One of the latest is this disrespectful, insolent Harley Sportster Scrambler / Tracker. This bike reeks of attitude and bad manners but man, it looks like it’s fun.

Originally an XL1200 Sportster, it’s been rebuilt, piece by piece from the ground up. The engine has had a complete nut and bolt rebuild including brand new pistons and barrels. Exhaust gasses exit fast and loud through some hand made stubby pipes

One of the most impressive tricks up the sleeve of this mischievous Harley is the electrical system. The old Harley wiring was ripped out and replaced with a Motogadget M-unit blue. This is the heart of the entire onboard electrical system and controls everything from the ignition to the lights to the alarm and everything else electrical. The coolest thing about this system is the Bluetooth capability. All of these features and more can be controlled from an app on your phone. Remote start, engine diagnostics, positioning and a whole host of other stuff.

The rear frame overhang on the standard Sportster has been cut off behind the upper shock mounts and an upswept rear hoop has been seamlessly grafted in, following the line of the fame, from swingarm pivot to upper rear shock mounts. An in house fabricated short rear mudguard and hand fabricated oil tank, ignition cover and custom made short seat gives the bike a tough, hard as nails look and those CNC’d footpegs have a steampunk kind of vibe.

A Suzuki GSF 1200 Bandit rear wheel has been expertly squeezed into the rear with a Fastec brake calliper mount and spacers. Up front, there’s a Bandit 1200 front end; forks, wheel and brakes. That’s not as easy as it sounds. The bandit forks are beefier than the Harley forks and the spacing is wider to allow for the wider front wheel. To accomplish this, Fastec designed and manufactured a custom set of yokes to take the 43mm Bandit stanchions. The forks are held tight with one of their own Suzuki Bandit fork braces. Bars are mounted on custom risers with machined handlebar grips, all made in house.

Why a Bandit front end on a Harley? The GSF Bandit is a great bike to modify and always has been. By grafting on a Bandit front end they get a twin disc front brake setup and a wider front wheel allowing for a much broader choice of rubber.

Talking of rubber, this scrambler/tracker runs Heidenau K73 supermoto tyres to give that hardcore look and still offer plenty of grip, with 120/70-17 up front and 160/60-17 at the back.

The icing on the cake is the paintwork, taken care of by Hilary at Hurricane Airbrush Art.

17th February 2019
Ford: Spending some time with the old gang

Heritage is Everything

THEGAYUK were invited to visit Ford UK’s heritage centre to check out the delights that lay hidden in Dagenham. Finally, the threat of a visit with Charlotte was finalised and l had the pleasure of spending a few hours at the site with the very informative Ivan who oversees the repairs and restorations of the cars.

Classic cars account for quite a big market in the UK and the world. Indeed you only need to look at the latest car shows to see old bangers being given new leases of life buy some mechanics that to be quite honest are as much of the eye candy on screen as the cars are. I’ll spare their blushes, however, there are three that l professionally stalk on Twitter.

It was quite strange driving around the Dagenham site. The place isn’t what it once was with car manufacturing sadly being undertaken elsewhere but you get lost in a vast size of the site, the dreams that were made at Ford, the labour upheavals and who could forget the 1968 strike by the ladies of the sewing room who made the seat covers. Apparently, Vera Sime, Dora Challingsworth and the ladies were quite a handful but their strike action resulted in the Equal Pay Act of 1970.

So to Ford UK, I go to check out their shed of dreams. I don’t mean to be rude when l call it a shed, the standing joke is that it is just that, found on the outskirts of the Dagenham site. I’d heard about the shed before and only seen pictures of what it was like. Entering the shed took me right back to the ’80s with an Mk2 Fiesta that greets you at the door.

You then walk around the corner and there are the dreams Ford wished upon you back in the day. It was like looking into a box of Quality Street, all these gems hidden under plastic covers. It’s a sight to be seen and despite there being almost every Ford l grew up with being there, this is only a small part of the show.

It was interesting to see The Focus in almost all its generations being tickled with the polish ready for shipping to Germany for the launch of the new 4th generation Focus. Ford Germany don’t have what we have in the UK you might be surprised to know.

Ivan and his team were more than happy to explain what was going on and despite the backing by the FoMoCo, they too also suffer from what every classic car fan does and that’s lack of available parts. You would have thought Ford could just make them up again, sadly that isn’t the case.

Thankfully for Ivan and his team, there is Burton Ford who specialise in Ford replacement parts and a good network globally that can help. And that’s what it all comes down to, enthusiasm and a support network. And it’s that network that has helped Ford GB create an enviable array of its past history and a part that I hope to enjoy over the next year.

Trouble is, what do I want to savour first?

Many thanks to corporate affairs manager, Charlotte Ward and Ivan for the invite and time given.

14th February 2019
RESTAURANT REVIEW | BOWLS, London

★★★★ | BOWLS, Soho, London

One of the tastiest, and fun, and coolest restaurants in Soho is not on the trendy streets of Old Compton Street or Dean Street, it’s on that walkway called St. Anne’s Court. Most people use St. Annes Court for easy and quick access to Wardour and Dean streets. But next time you pass through St. Annes Court, look for BOWLS – and go right in.

Once you walk in you will be enveloped in warmth, with smells that you can’t quite put your fingers, and tastebuds, on. And once you are shown to your seat, you will feel like you’re in a friends house. All of this is due to owner and manager Zarifa Ragimova. Moscow born, she has really put her heart and soul into this restaurant, which is just over 2 months old. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu London, and her hard work here has paid off. Right next to the bar as you walk in there is a painting of her co-created by her boyfriend Will – it’s stunning. And further in you can see bowls on the main wall from all over the world, and heading downstairs there is a clever and stylish lit up guardrail, and downstairs the walls are painted in tropical style – beautiful! Oh, and let’s not forget the food.

BOWLS menu is a mix of Jamaican, South American, and Southeast Asian – a combination that really really works. Starting with the Painkiller Slush from their cocktail menu – it sure was a killer – deliciously so! With Gosling’s and Koko Kanu Original Jamaican Rums, orange, pineapple and coconut, this yellow looking drink, served in a coconut bowl, was ever so sweet and ever so delicious – the best drink I’ve had in a very very long time. My dining companion had the Bloody Marley – and while it was not an actual bloody mary, it was more of a cocktail, with white tequila botanical tea, bloody mary mix and lemon and tomato juice – and quite refreshing he said. Lots of other drinks to try, which I will on my next visit! £8.50 each.

The food menu is nice and concise, and not overwhelming at all. From the choice of six starters, we had the BBQ Jerk Chicken Wings (3 very large pieces – at only £5.50), with mango and spring onions, which was assigned a hot chilli symbol on the menu but was not very spicy but was finger-lickin’ good. The BBQ glazed pork belly bao – two – were very large, but a bit on the dry side. Perhaps a bit more BBQ would’ve made them tastier.

However, when it comes to the main portions – the Greedy Bowls – BOWLS excels. 5 mild choices, 2 medium choices, and 3 hot choices are on the menu. As I am a wimp, I had the mild Braised beef cheek. It sure was a cheek – a very large one at that, and was served with sweet potato mash (superb), sauerkraut and pickled carrots. The combination of all this was very clever, and wonderful. And while the beef was oh so tender and delicious, mild was just a bit too hot for me. I would’ve liked to have seen a non-chilli dish on the menu, but since Caribbean, South America and South East Asian foods are known for their spiciness – perhaps it’s not an option. My friend gobbled up his Laksa – a large soup dish with prawns, fish slices, tofu, and vermicelli noodles – which fell into the Hot category – but the hot spiciness level didn’t hinder him. He said this Singaporean dish was perfectly spicy.<

And for dessert, we had to try two of their three items on the menu. The Chocolate Truffle Cake was just to die for. Warm, very rich, and not too big, it was a nice large finger slice with a bit a fruit on top. And The Churros were just divine. Served with a wonderful white chocolate & raspberry dip, the dozen or so were crispy, warm and luckily not drowning in sugar – for a perfect finish.

Other dishes on the menu that might take your fancy include Tuna Poke, Zari- Pho- Braised Pork Belly, Homemade Broth, Soft Boiled Egg, Chilli, Thai Basil, Bean Sprouts, Spring Onion and Flat Rice Noodles, and Pan-fried Sea Bass or perhaps a Coconut Rundown Curry. Starters (Prawn Tostado, Butternut Squash croquettes, and Seared Tuna Salad) and sides (Cassava fries, fried plantains, kimchi and Truffled Courgette Fries) all sound oh so very good. Perhaps for the next visit.

‘BOWLS make dishes taste better’ – this is their tag line, and they are right. The food, from the starters to the main dishes, are served in varying designs and in bowls from large to small, and all pure comfort food. And the vibe is FUN! Having walked by the restaurant a few times in the past couple months, it’s constantly buzzing and busy – and with its central location, makes it a great place to meet friends after work as well as a nice weekend meal. You might also catch a night when the DJ is on the decks – all to make BOWLS extra spicy. I guarantee you will leave Bowls feeling satisfied, nourished and deeply contented, an experience that is good for the soul, and the tummy!

https://bowlsrestaurants.co.uk

27 St Anne’s Court,
Soho, London W1F 0BN
020 3146 0445

soho@bowlsrestaurants.co.uk

LUNCH
Monday – Friday: 11:30 am – 3:30 pm (last reservations at 3 pm)
Saturday: 11:30 am – 4:30 pm (last reservations at 4 pm)
Sunday: closed

DINNER
Monday – Wednesday: 5 pm – 11 pm (last reservations at 10.30 pm)
Thursday – Saturday: 5 pm – midnight (last reservations at 11:30 pm, Reduced menu available only between 10:45 pm – 11:30 pm)
Sunday: closed

11th February 2019
TECH REVIEW | Zumo 396 LMT-S Sat Nav

★★★★★ | Zumo 396 LMT-S Sat Nav

These days, most of the cars I drive have factory SatNav. If not, I’ll use my Google maps on my phone in a holder, simples.

On the bike, I have persevered for ages, trying to strap my phone to a holder or, if it looks like rain, stopping regularly to check google maps on my phone then carrying on for a bit.

On the bike, I had to say enough was enough. The phone doesn’t work in the sun, isn’t waterproof and just isn’t practical. Time for a dedicated SatNav.

Garmin came to the rescue with the devices a rugged unit, comes complete with bar mounts (and suction mount for the car) and it has a glove-friendly, sunlight-readable 4.3″ display; resistant to fuel vapours, UV rays and harsh weather.

It’s rammed with features like WiFi updating, adventurous routing (forget boring A road slogs), live traffic, speed cameras and weather, as well as on-screen notifications from your phone and hands-free calling if you connect it to your Bluetooth headset. You get free lifetime maps too.

This Garmin is a genuinely clever bit of kit. To really turbocharge it you need to connect it to an app on your phone (doesn’t use much data at all) and then you get live traffic updates and re-routing options, notifications for sharp curves, speed cameras, rail and animal crossings, schools and slower traffic and even Incident notification (to alert the contact of your choice in the event of a crash by sending them a link to your location). Now that’s clever.

The more I use it, the more features I discover, like the fatigue warning that flashes up after a couple of hours, offering you suggested stops nearby.

There’s a TripAdvisor app for ratings of nearby restaurants, hotels etc and a Foursquare app for a list of restaurants and things to do nearby, I don’t really use that much but it’s a pretty good feature.

You can mount the unit easily with the supplied bar mount and brackets.

It has a decent battery: A full charge seems to last for about an hour and a half, then dims to 40% brightness and it’s around 3 hours in total until it turns off. You can, however, either hardwire it with the kit supplied (direct to battery or ignition) or plug it into a USB type 12v charging socket. The satnav simply clips to a spring-loaded holder so it’s really easy to unclip it from the bike when you’re at your destination.

The sidebar is fully customisable. Smart notifications can include alerts of emails, missed calls, SMS, WhatsApp, social media and more. Even things like elevation, traffic and other items like fuel stops ahead, trip data, weather (it’ll show you the expected weather at three points along your planned route), phone and the media player.

You can select what categories of alerts are shown, or turn them off altogether vid the apps menu.

The Zumo 396 LMT-S has car, motorcycle and off-road profiles. These affect the default route planning, map view, tools displayed, avoidances and off-route recalculation modes.

Stopping to check my phone has been a massive pain in the arse. I have to keep taking a glove off to get the touch screen to work. One of my favourite things on the Garmin is the touch screen. It works with a gloved hand… bliss. I’m sure others have it but it’s such a relief.

The Garmin Zumo 369 LMT-S seems to be very well sealed from the weather, I haven’t had an issue yet and have been out in pretty heavy rain.

Navigation is really good. That’s what this is about after all. The top bar shows information about the upcoming turn and distance, that kind of thing. There’s a clear map which you can change to suit you, and as you approach your exit, a clear illustration of your motorway junctions makes it easy to understand which lane to be in. Positioning accuracy is great and it doesn’t seem to lag much at all.

I’ve been running the Garmin Zumo 369 LMT-S in my car next to Google maps on my phone as a comparison.

I think Google Maps is slightly better when suggesting the best route and rerouting around traffic or issues. Google just seems to have slightly better information. Only slightly though and that’s more than offset by the myriad of awesome features on the Zumo.

The other main benefit I find with Google Maps is the address search. I visit customers all week. That means I don’t always know their address. With Google, I search up the business name and usually just click ‘directions’, which ports that info into Maps. Most aftermarket SatNavs I’ve used, including this Zumo (unless I’m doing it wrong), don’t have a great business name or address directory function.

In my opinion, this is a great unit. It’s bike specific, waterproof, touch screen you can use with a gloved hand and can see it in daylight and all the other cool features.

I really like it. It’s made a massive difference to my riding.

Available from Amazon for under £60

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11th February 2019