Our Take on the Car Market
Summer 2008
“Our (Summer 2008) Take … “
May saw a bit of a pause in the upward swing of the SUV. But a month’s figures do not mean that the end is nigh for the No.1 hate-object of the “Ranters and Levellers of the Green Gospel”. What we’ll probably see is a widening gap between the larger luxury SUVs with premium badges and the lighter stuff.
And there’s plenty of new light ‘Sport Utes’: Subaru Forester, VW Tiguan & Ford Kuga just arrived; Renault Koleos (July); Audi Q5 and SAAB 9-4X later this year.
Renault-Nissan’s SUV-lite lineup is strong: X-Trail (‘proper’ 4x4); QashQai (hatch-SUV); Koleos (SUV-hatch crossover). Apart from the 4x2 ‘faux SUV’ (just silly) models, these all exploit the X-Trail’s solid 4x4 system to various degrees.
The Koleos continues the new Laguna ‘understated’ look (but it’s neat) including the better quality interior and ride quality is good – even when on the odd foray off-road. It doesn’t have locking differentials and low ratio gear set for serious all-terrain work but the price/equipment trade off is pretty competitive.
Talking
of which,
SsangYong of S.Korea (now
Chinese-owned) is back with 4x4s (Rexton & Kyron) which offer a lot of
SUV for the money - the larger 2.7 Diesel Mercedes-derived as is the
auto gearbox. Despite a stop–go past here they are highly regarded “out
East” apparently and the aim is to rebuild the sales network.
It might not be ‘Austerity Britain’ yet but some cars which couldn’t be better timed are S & SW versions of the new Peugeot 308 and FIAT’s Bravo ECO model.
The
308 S replaces the 307 Estate while the SW evolves the previous MPV-like
theme into the newer car which has enough space for a 5+2 seating
layout. A stylish alternative to an out and out Compact MPV the HDi
models with 6-speed gearboxes (at last) are an appealing proposition –
if rather pricey. Peugeot has also launched a GT THP 175 version of the
308 again with the new 6-speed box.
FIAT’s revival is the stuff of auto industry legend right now and work continues as the company tries to regain customers for larger cars. Bravo, launched here last year, now totals 17 versions – the latest three being two 1.6 ‘Multijets’ and an Eco option – with asking prices from £10,995 to £16,355. The Eco pack manages to combine gutsy performance with frugal mpg and CO2 of 119 g/km.
As with other new generation FIATS build quality has been transformed and, although driving position adjustment could be a bit more all-encompassing, it is now a highly credible five door ‘Euro-Hatch’. It also carries a five year warranty.
First of many, no doubt, as Hyundai-Kia with their i30 and Cee’d cars home in on the major players having offered five and seven year warranties from Day One. The Summer battle lines for the lower medium sector are well and truly laid out.