Land Rover Freelander SE3

The introduction of Land Rover's Freelander SE3 in this country coincided with the trials for the company's global G4 outdoor adventure competition—basically, a renaming of the grueling Camel Trophy off-road challenge, which has run in impossible places such as Borneo. Thus, we were able to try out some of the driving sections set up in Nevada to eliminate contenders seeking a place on the U.S. team.

One was a narrow autocross track with a few berms and hills on it, another was an off-road course with steep hills and rutted, tortuous sections. Apart from weeding out contestants, the two courses helped convince journalists that the Freelander SE3 does indeed have some of the famous off-road capabilities usually considered to be Land Rover's heritage. That's perhaps a surprise in light of the Freelander's monocoque body (albeit with various underfloor box-section structures), full-time four-wheel drive, and lack of hard-core off-road devices such as low-range gearing or locking differentials. Instead, the Freelander makes do with a center viscous coupling, a low first gear, and ABS-managed hill-descent control.

It may surprise you to learn that once you've abandoned the low-range, locked-up off-road driving style and adapted to the somewhat faster hill-approach technique required of the Freelander, the little Landie gets over some pretty tough terrain.

Not that most of the sport-utility market cares. Hence the metamorphosis of what we used to expect of a Land Rover—a mud slogger with solid axles and transfer-case, low-range four-wheel drive—into what we get with the Freelander; that is, the same basic mechanical equipment as in a thoroughly house-trained Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, or Ford Escape, all rolled into a similarly cute, compact SUV package.

And now, to further reduce the utility of an already pretty small vehicle, the SE3 is a two-door, despite sharing nearly the same dimensions as the original five-door Freelander. Let's see, where else has this formula worked? But listen, the SE3 offers something status-conscious suburbanites will buy into, particularly if they live in a sunny, preferably coastal environment: detachable sunroof panels and rear roof section for open-top operation while surfing, boating, or just plain posing.

To adopt the look, you just pop out the sunroof panels, remove the roof-rack rails, and detach the rear canopy. That's at home, before you leave, of course. There's nowhere in this small vehicle to carry the stuff. But there is a softtop option that you could take along in case of rain.

Small it may be, but spartan it is not. The rear window is powered. Standard equipment includes a nine-speaker Harman/Kardon stereo with an in-dash CD player. A six-disc changer is also available.

The stock seats in the SE3 are black vinyl (Land Rover calls it Technical Fabric), which is something like the mutant's skin in the X-Men movie. They also look hose-washable, but waterproof seat covers are listed among the options, so they probably are not. Other than these few items, the SE3's equipment list reads much like that of its five-door sibling. Unchanged are the vehicle's 2.5-liter V-6, five-speed Jatco automatic with manumatic override, all-wheel-drive system with center viscous coupling, four-wheel traction control, hill-descent control, all-terrain anti-lock brakes, and power rack-and-pinion steering.

There are some revisions to the five-door '03 Freelander that the SE3 inherits. The ventilation system has been replaced with a unit that moves more air with less noise, and the gas tank has been enlarged to 16.9 gallons.

Naturally, we expect performance and handling from the convertible Freelander to be similar to that of its five-door sibling. Its curb weight slots within the range of the five-door's, and the gearing is identical. Well, no one will accuse it of being overpowered. Although the 174-hp V-6 needs to be spurred on to make decent time, the noises it makes are pleasant, and the acceleration is acceptably quick.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 2-door truck
BASE PRICE: $26,995
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, Siemens MS43 engine-control system with port fuel injection
Displacement: 152 cu in, 2497cc
Power (SAE net): 174 bhp @ 6250 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 177 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 5-speed automatic with lockup torque converter
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 101.0 in Length: 177.7 in Width: 71.1 in Height: 69.2 in
Curb weight: 3600 lb
C/D ESTIMATED PERFORMANCE:
Zero to 60 mph: 10.2 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 40.3 sec
Standing 1/4-mile: 17.8 sec @ 79 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 109 mph
PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city driving: 17 mpg
EPA highway driving: 20 mpg

Source From : http://www.caranddriver.com/

Hyundai ix20

Meet the Hyundai that’s dressed for success! The Korean company has enjoyed a boom in small car sales over the past few years, and the bold-looking ix20 supermini-MPV is another model that’s set to be a big hit in the UK.

It’s the second car to carry the manufacturer’s European family face and the ‘fluidic sculpture’ design language that debuted on the ix35 crossover this year.

The swept-back headlights and wide hexagonal grille translate well to the smaller body, and the sloping roof and narrow C-pillars ensure that the ix20 has a more dynamic stance than boxy rivals such as Citroen’s C3 Picasso. Chrome surrounds in the foglamps and headlights are a neat touch, as are the wraparound tail-lamps and roof spoiler.

Inside, the cabin is sturdy and robust, with a high-quality feel. The blade-shaped door handles, chunky gearstick and leather-wrapped steering wheel exude class, and there’s an asymmetric ‘eco’ pattern on
the seats and speaker covers to match the grille – the inspiration comes from the skeleton of a leaf, according to Hyundai.

The ix20 certainly has strong green credentials, with class-leading CO2 emissions figures of 114g/km. Fuel consumption is similarly low, with stop-start, low-rolling-resistance tyres and an alternator management system contributing to combined economy of 65.7mpg.

Behind the wheel, the ix20 is everything you’d expect from a supermini-MPV. The steering is set up for ease of use, rather than hard cornering. Although the suspension copes with swift changes of direction, the ix20 feels much more at home on the motorway, where its supple ride and refinement shine through.

This is the first car that Hyundai has developed and tested on British roads, so the right-hand-drive versions get a set-up designed specifically to cope with our broken tarmac.

While the 1.4-litre diesel model we drove delivers strong economy figures, it doesn’t impress as much as the rest of the car. The unit is sluggish below 1,700rpm, and becomes noisy and somewhat strained higher up the rev range.

The Hyundai is still more refined than its Kia Venga sister model, but unless you plan on regularly driving long distances or carrying particularly heavy loads, the similarly sized petrol version is the more civilised choice. That being the case, practicality is a top priority, and the firm is keen to point out that, despite its size, the ix20 has more luggage space than a Volvo V50 estate.

The rear seats offer three-way adjustability, and slide independently to make the roomy interior even more flexible. When folded flat, storage space expands to 1,486 litres – comfortably more than the larger i30 hatchback.

Running costs have deliberately been kept as low as possible – services are needed only every 20,000 miles. There’s also an unlimited five-year warranty, and the ix20’s two insurance groups below most of its rivals.

Prices have yet to be confirmed, but the base-spec Classic should cost around £11,500, while the fully-loaded Style pictured here rises to just over £13,000.

So despite the recent injection of style in its cars, the ix20 ensures Hyundai still stands for value for money.

Source From : http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/258373/hyundai_ix20.html#ixzz1D3tgHRtU