|
The Mercedes Benz E-Class has always been the benchmark for premium brand midsize sedans, thanks to its reputation for comfort and prestige. As a result – at least in Switzerland – it seems to be the default choice for many chauffeuring services, embassies, and even UberBLACK drivers. But things aren’t easy for the E-Class; facing tough competition from the likes of Volvo, BMW, Audi and even Lexus. So the E-Class always has to be that bit more appealing if it is to remain on top, and having spent a few hours with a new E300, I find out what makes it stand out over the rest.
Volvo is probably the best at making family wagons, and in recent times they’ve gotten rather stylish. The new sleek-looking V60 wagon is the latest addition to Volvo’s portfolio.
Lotus has revealed the 3-Eleven 430, a run out edition of the hardcore track focused 3-Eleven, and dubbed as Lotus’ quickest street-legal sports car.
The much anticipated track-focussed version of the Ferrari 488 GTB is here, and it’s called the 488 Pista.
Details of the latest version of what is probably one of the most hardcore, track-ready street cars are here, the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
Kia have been having a good run over the past few years in terms of having a product line-up with good-looking models, however things seem to be changing especially when you look at the new Kia Niro. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it outright ugly, but it’s still not really a car that you would buy based on its looks alone. So, with two weeks to use it as my daily runabout, I had more than enough time to find out what other good qualities it has, and if other well-established hybrids such as the Toyota Prius deserve to be overlooked in favour of this new offering.
When I finished my very short test drive in the new V90, I came out thinking that this is not your stereotypical Volvo. Gone are the days of boring, square family station wagons, and in comes the elegant, exciting, and thoroughly modern way of getting around with your family.
A muscle car favourite from 1971 is this week’s standout car, the Dodge Shakedown Challenger concept from this year’s SEMA show.
The idea of an old car with new underpinnings is not entirely groundbreaking, nevertheless it’s always interesting to see what modern technology can do to classic cars. In the case of the Shakedown Challenger, it comes equipped with a 392 HEMI crate engine – the same 6.4-litre HEMI V8 found in other modern Dodge SRTs – and a Viper Tremec T6060 six-speed manual transmission. When you think of a Toyota Land Cruiser, you probably think of a big, rugged 4x4 with legendary durability and great off-road capability. The last thing you’d think of is a big hulking mass that can reach 220mph, but that’s exactly what the Land Speed Cruiser is – revealed by Toyota at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. The car is powered by a twin-turbo 5.7-litre V8 engine that pumps out an incredible 2000hp (Yes, 2000hp!), and sends that might through a beefed up racing transmission. There is no video of the 220mph run yet, but these shakedown runs do make for some interesting viewing.
Here are the latest additions to what is already an impressive Mercedes-AMG portfolio, the E63 4MATIC+ and E63 S 4MATIC+.
Apart from an aggressive new design, there are two things that stand out with the new E63 saloons: the horsepower figure and the new 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive system. The cars come powered with a 4.0-litre, twin-scroll, twin-turbo V8 with direct injection, tuned to produce 612hp and 850Nm of torque in the E63 S, and 571hp and 750Nm in the normal E63 version. Power is sent through a nine-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT transmission, which gets rid of the torque converter of a traditional automatic transmission and puts in a wet start-off clutch instead. |
Categories
All
Archives
January 2021
|
