test drives

By Tim Saunders

Night driving is an excellent way of putting a car through its paces because the roads are clearer – it does also test a driver’s abilities. I get to do this with the third generation Kia Sportage as I return from GuilFest’25 late at night. The roads are clear and it’s so much more fun than the crawl we endure during the day. But you have to have your wits about you, not just second-guessing other motorists who seem even less competent than usual at this time of night but also anticipating any wildlife making its way onto the roads. You don’t want to kill a deer.

Even in economy mode the 1.6-litre engine is responsive and engaging to drive. It’s the ideal vehicle for Britain’s terrible roads because it soaks up the potholes and tackles speed bumps with ease. Outside my son Henry’s school the road has been dug up – yet again - for gas works and a temporary rubber speed bump has been installed. The Kia’s excellent suspension handles this well, too. At GuilFest we need to park in a massive field and have to drive quite a way across to find our space. Although we bump all over the place, it’s great fun and still feels solid when abused like this.

The sat nav could be better. In common with most it tells you to go on the motorway but I want to go the more picturesque back way from Locks Heath to Guildford so bend it to my will by driving to Wickham on to Alton and finally it gets the message. Guidance leaves a little to be desired, telling me to go left or right on occasions when it should be straight ahead. But we get there without too much aggro. Driving on the back roads we spy fields of wildflowers and a variety of surfaces that allow for travelling at all speeds from 30mph up to the national speed limit.

“It feels too large,” says Caroline, who prefers a smaller vehicle. I know what she means but after a while you get used to it and it does provide very capable family transport while looking smart on the outside.

Inside it’s comfortable, equipped with lots of gadgets and most importantly for me a six-speed manual gearbox, which provides that proper traditional driving experience. There’s an electric handbrake and a push button start.

The back of the rear seats can be adjusted, too, which is a nice touch and the boot is massive, especially when the seats are down. It’s really easy to put the seats down, too. All of this means that I can take lots of rubbish to the tip, which is really helpful.

Facts at a glance

Video

By Tim Saunders

Porsche performance at a fraction of the price. That’s the Genesis GV60 Sport Plus luxury SUV.

Thanks to the Boost button positioned on the steering wheel it is possible to travel from 0 to 60mph in just 3.7 seconds. The same as a Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid. The top-of-the-range Genesis is priced at £66,900 compared to the Porsche, which starts from £154,000.

There are three driving modes and probably the two most important are Eco and Sport for obvious reasons. Interestingly when Sport is engaged the lumbar supports tighten up and embrace the driver. A neat touch that is often found in far more expensive cars.

You can feel the G-force when Boost is pushed; it should come with a health warning – we’re all pushed back in our seats and I can feel my face being reshaped with the pressure. No plastic surgery required here! “Go on press it again Dad,” urges Henry (9). “Go on Dad, go on.”

“We’re in a 40, Henry, I can’t do that, you’d lose my licence,” I reply. He does enjoy himself.

All this adrenalin can make things a bit sweaty and so it is helpful that the front seats are cooled (they’re also heated). The back seats are heated.

Electrically powered vehicles are that bit quicker than traditional petrol or diesel versions meaning that cars like this demand utmost respect and attention from the driver. More so than usual. Great care needs to be taken when reversing and parallel parking because you just need to touch the pedal and the car moves quickly.

Illuminous yellow brake callipers hint at the capabilities of this luxury vehicle while enhancing the strong side profile of the pearlescent jade green test model. That illuminous yellow appears on the seat stitching. I’m not so keen on the GV60’s front or large rear, which I feel lacks character.

This fully electric rear wheel drive and pretty futuristic looking Genesis has a range of around 250 miles per full charge and as with all electric vehicles there are fast chargers that will replenish it in around half an hour but they’re hard to find and don’t always work. But it’s also possible to use a three-pin plug (cables supplied in the boot) but charging will take 24 hours.

It gets a thumbs up from the children who enjoy the space in the back. “Even in the middle there’s room because the floor’s flat, not like in a traditional petrol-engined car,” says Heidi (12).

The interior is full of interest with different fabrics including a bit of suede on the doors and roof lining and leather seats, giving it a unique feel. We all enjoy the panoramic glass roof and the electric blind that covers it splits in two when it retracts. The door handles are circular and the gearbox dial rotates when the car starts or stops and lights up at night, giving it a similar appearance to an eyeball… All very flash; the children like it. The high end music system is by Bang & Olufsen, say no more. Like all modern life, this vehicle is integrated for use with a smartphone but this is one step too far for me. Living life by app goes against my grain.

The personalised number plate: GV60 FAB reminds me of that popular ‘60s TV show, Thunderbirds. That does make me smile.

It seems a pretty efficient vehicle and the range remains encouraging throughout the test, even after using Boost, which is a surprise because I expect it to suddenly plummet. During one trip, a delivery driver on a moped keeps egging us on to go faster in a 30mph zone. When we enter a 50mph zone, I gently push the accelerator and can’t see him any more in my mirrors. That quick acceleration is enjoyable.

Externally, the GV60 is a striking vehicle that stands out from the crowd of electric vehicles. It possesses that special quality that makes pedestrians and motorists do double takes.

The unwelcome death knell of the chainsaw starts up once again in our neighbourhood and we’re very concerned about the hundreds of year old oak in a garden behind our house. I drive round and speak to the tree surgeon by the roadside and the moment I pull up, his eyes fall on the Genesis and he’s ready to speak. Oh the respect. Would this have happened if I was in any other car? I do wonder. It seems that cars are like clothes these days. People instantly weigh you up as a result. In the same way that a Savile Row suit might impart confidence and command respect, so too, it seems, does the GV60.

“It’s the fastest and best car we’ve driven Dad,” concludes Henry.

Video

By Tim Saunders

Nearly thirty years ago I owned an old Ford Fiesta XR2 and really enjoyed it for its bucket seats, rasping exhaust and its stealth. It was lower to the ground than the standard Fiesta with a bigger 1.6-litre petrol engine. I am reminded of my youth when I find myself behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 n-line, the modern day equivalent of my old hot hatch. Although the n-line can be quick it is also possible for it to return over 50mpg thanks to the choice of three driving modes: standard, sport and eco. It has a tiddly one-litre turbocharged GDi petrol engine coupled to a 48 volt mild hybrid system but despite this if driving in sport mode the range drops like a stone. With its 98bhp there is a little more oomph under the bonnet than the 84bhp that I enjoyed with my XR2 all those years ago.

With its purposeful styling, it’s an appealing hot hatch for today. It’s interesting that this model is fitted with a seven speed DCT gearbox and a traditional handbrake. Oh I would prefer a traditional five or six speed manual gearbox, which would really enhance the experience for me but this automatic box can be driven like a manual just by pushing it to the right and then up and down. This reminds me more of a computer console. However, I do enjoy the sound emanating from the exhaust as we go along, even at the slowest of speeds.

My son Henry (9) has discovered that the driver’s window can be opened and closed from the keyfob. This seems to be a growing trend because we’ve just driven a VW Golf whereby all the windows and the sunroof could be opened or closed by the keyfob.

We all like the black cloth trim and the seats are comfortable and supportive. The front seats are heated as is the steering wheel. There’s air conditioning, power folding wing mirrors, a sat nav and a good quality radio. The boot is a reasonable size and the detachable flooring is easy to clean when for instance you’ve returned from the tip…

I put it through its paces on a trip to the Isle of Wight. “There’s a motorbike behind us,” says my wife as I slow down in a 30mph zone.

“Uh, no that’s us,” says Henry (9), who enjoys the boy racer tone of the twin exhausts.

The island provides a variety of roads and there are some sharp inclines. The i20 holds the road well and corners nicely but I do find that despite being advised that the car is returning 48mpg the range drops quite sharply showing that during the day we seem to have driven 100 miles, which doesn’t ring true.

Facts at a glance

By Tim Saunders

“There’s no charge in it,” reveals the delivery driver of the VW Golf GTE plug in hybrid. “You’ll need to charge it. I’d do it on a three-pin plug in your home and it’ll take ten hours or so. Much better and more cost effective than using one at a petrol station or supermarket.”

Interesting, I think while at the same time thinking damn, driving isn’t as easy as it used to be. It’s an inset day for my son Henry (9) so I haven’t got time to mess about charging the car up. I’ve got to entertain, so we drive it to Gosport, have a picnic, go to the park and then play tennis as it’s a glorious day. We keep watching the dials on the dash for the battery which reads 0% charge yet it seems to still be driving on electric mode because we actually gain range, so I can’t quite fathom it all out. So I do some research and find that it can travel up to 81 miles on electric power alone, and gains range by charging from the mains or using the petrol engine to recharge the battery. Ah, so that’s what’s happening then.

I can see though how if the car is regularly charged then the fuel in the tank will stay there for some time. I don’t get round to charging it up before I go on a journey to Essex, about a hundred miles from my Hampshire home. Now, it’s interesting to note that nothing actually happens to the battery charge other than the occasional reading of 99.99mi/kwh on the screen but the percentage charge doesn’t alter from 0%. However, on the way back and I’m driving in the same manner, in eco mode, while crawling along in endless queues on the M25 the car’s battery records a 4% 4 mile charge. I do think the car should automatically start in eco mode rather than the less efficient comfort mode.

I have a confession to make, I leave the charging kit at home during my trek to Essex. Why? Space. The boot simply isn’t large enough for my family’s luggage. I have to remove the parcel shelf, too. We stay at Lee Valley Caravan Park where we discover that residents qualify for free EV battery charging. Yes, I kick myself but there’s enough fuel in the tank for it not to really be a problem. If it were a long-term loan, I’d be fed up.

Over the course of the test we all warm to the GTE. It can pootle with the best of them or it can outperform many a car at the traffic lights or on the motorway. You’ve got to be careful because this front wheel drive hatch has so much power going to those front wheels that the tyres won’t last long if you’re not careful. Personally, I would prefer a completely manual gearbox but instead there’s a DSG automatic one that can be driven like a manual thanks to the paddleshifts on the steering wheel. The driver gets a head up display where the speed is projected onto the windscreen in front of them.

The build quality on this the Mark 8 is excellent, as you might expect. Here is a car that feels that it can go on and on without complaint. The seats are supremely comfortable and the front ones are heated, which I really appreciate after I’ve been kayaking and am a bit cold and wet. Henry discovers that you can push all the windows down using the keyfob or indeed back up while shutting the sunroof. He’s a clever boy.

There’s rear privacy glass and a contemporary look to this, the latest Golf. We like the red brake callipers and the special grey/blue finish. “If I was flash,” says my wife Caroline, “I’d like the rear IQ lights that shut down one by one as the car is locked and light up as it is unlocked. That’s quite flash, I think and I haven’t seen other cars do this. I also like the VW hologram that is cast down on the ground at night, which is very cool.”

Facts at a glance