The first “Yankee” Fiat has officially arrived: big, spacious, with a competitive price and that retrò feeling that makes it so American. The Freemont is here to stay and with its unique style will take the place of three different vehicles in the Fiat range - Chroma, Multipla and Ulysse - considered maybe a little too old for the job.

A crossover between a SUV and a mini van, Fiat Freemont can be regarded as Dodge Journey’s little baby. In fact, the reason why the Freemont is so aesthetically similar to the Dodge is that Fiat planned to sell an average of 30,000 units in Europe before the end of 2011, and simply they didn’t have enough time to develop a new design. But despite the two vehicles being almost identical in shape, it’s the technical details that make the real difference.

Continue reading: Fiat Freemont's road test: the feedback

1 comment

After our piece on the Opel HydroGen4 and how it’s being overtaken by modern electric cars, here we with a golden question – just how fun can an electric sports car get? We got to know the Venturi Volage open top electric at the Challenge Bibendum, with our guys from Autoblog.it. The event is the perfect setting for such a drive given that the Volage takes advantage of its collaboration with Venturi, together with Michelin who was sponsoring the event.

We saw it back in 2008 at the Paris Motor Show, and here it is finally to electronically rumble its way onto the list of the most powerful electric supercars. As per usual with Venturi, the technology is top class, with a flat platformed, all-wheel drive model with a carbonfibre chassis that gets weight down to 1,075 kg, batteries included (they weigh 350 kg). That’s impressive by any sports car standard, let alone electric.

The thing that really hits us about the Venturi Volage though, is its engine setup. It makes use of Michelin Active Wheels technology. Basically the active wheel is one inside which the engine and suspension setting is inserted. This means that we get four-wheel drive because each wheel is driven by its own electric motor of 55 kW, totaling 220 kW, or nearly 300 hp. Venturi told us that the electric motors per wheel are in fact, two: one for the suspension and one for actually driving the vehicle. That makes eight motors on one car.

Continue reading: Venturi Volage test from Bibendum Challenge

0 comments

The Citroen DS4 is very difficult to sum up – even the press guys from Citroen themselves are unsure of just how to define this model. It’s not strictly speaking a coupé, although it is sometimes compared with the Scirocco. It looks dynamic and sporty, but it is also spacious and adaptable with room for four passengers and all their luggage. A sedan then? But the wheelbase is quite high off the ground, in the new crossover style.

All-in-all, driving the DS4 is like having access to three different cars, each in the same percentage. Does it work? We’ll find out later, but Citroen has been careful to provide three balanced personalities, without going overboard. The car has character in true DS style, providing an alternative to the more sober and formal C4. In fact, we think Citroen could only have done this with the new DS range – letting their imagination have some freedom but while designing something with just the right curves and straight lines, well proportioned, elegant and less audacious than the DS3.

Okay for the design front, then. The windows are perfect (and Citroen is particularly proud of them) and we’re quite taken with the hourglass-shaped C pillar, which would have been exaggerated if Citroen hadn’t matched it to a chubby rear. The only problem with this design is that it looks great but means you can’t actually open the rear windows, which is a problem exacerbated by the good-looking doors, themselves not particularly accessible or practical. In short, you wouldn’t want to be shut in the back of the car for too long. The DS4 is dead sexy, but not always particularly functional. Peculiarly French, you might say.

Continue reading: Citroen DS4 test drive

1 comment

The Lancia Ypsilon insists on being evaluated in terms different to the standard roominess (or lack of it), driving style and fuel efficiency of other compact vehicles. After 25 years on the market, and four generations, the Ypsilon city car is still the chic, elegant vehicle it always was – it hasn’t lost the bourgeois feel that so defines it in a segment of functional, citycar makes.

In perhaps inverse proportion to its size, the 2012 Ypsilon has been packed with personalisation options. It comes with 16 different exteriors, four two-tone colour options, and six separate interior trims all aimed at making your Ypsilon individual. Lancia CEO Olivier Francois, is insistent when he talks of luxury: accessible luxury, luxury at your fingertips, the right to luxury. What’s more, the new Lancia Ypsilon maintains its premium status ambitions while introducing a new practicality that previously was absent on the small car.

The five-door setup has been a clever choice, both on the practical and the aesthetic front. The Ypsilon is very distinct, with an almost coupé look and a quirky rear end borrowed from the Lancia Delta, but adapted to the smaller model. Our only gripe is that the area between the rear doors and bumper has nothing to break up the single piece of panelling. In any case, the Ypsilon has a lower, more slanted look than its predecessor, with a determined front end, which brings it into the modern era of car design where nearly everything has a sloping roofline. It’s also sportier, which will help it appeal to the male market if that’s to happen in the future.

Lancia Ypsilon test pics

Continue reading: Eurocarblog new Lancia Ypsilon test drive

0 comments

The Lamborghini Aventador is supposed to be the ‘replacement’ to the Murcielago but apart from keeping some of its Lamborghini characteristics, it’s not entirely accurate to consider the new raging bull merely a development of the model it will substitute. In the first part of our Aventador test drive we looked at the styling differences of the new Lambo, but now we get down to the nitty gritty of it all - the new Lamborghini V12 engine.

The Aventador is much longer than the Murcielago and was meant to improve some of the rougher aspects of how the previous model drove. And despite its larger size, the improvements in the way the Aventador handles can be noticed straight away. It’s efficient, easy to handle and even elegant to drive at times. It’s also more responsive than the Murcielago and that’s evident from the acceleration out of the first corner at Vallelunga.

We can’t yet say whether the Aventador will have a long life as Lamborghini’s real model for the 21st century but the new V12 is quite an evolution on what has come previously. It has a lot of personality: smart and fast as a track car, but also easy to use despite its 700 hp.

Continue reading: Eurocar Lamborghini Aventador test drive part two

0 comments

Over the next few days, we’ll be bringing you excerpts from our test drive of the new Lamborghini Aventador. The test comes from our colleagues at Autoblog.it and as a preface to what we’ll be writing, we should say that Italians driving an Italian supercar will only give you positive news. Not that there’s a lot to criticise about the Aventador - it’s just that the locals when testing feel like they’re driving a piece of their own history.

The Murcielago was a truly extreme supercar - both in looks and in performance it could compete with the other supercars on the market, but was part of that Lamborghini style that makes these Italian exotics a bit different. The Raging Bull offering has always played its own tune, in a history of excessiveness, horse power and an image that was never concerned about being politically correct.

But the Aventador is truly the next chapter in this story, and takes the Lamborghini style and performance into its new era. On the track at Vallelunga is where we discovered just how it does that. The new V12 from Sant’Agata can pull off a series of superlatives from even the harshest detractor. It’s been put together with that attention to detail which defines modern supercars, and indicates the new generation in Lamborghini history.

Eurocar Lamborghini Aventador track test drive

Continue reading: Eurocar Lamborghini Aventador test drive part one

0 comments

Here are live test pics of our Alfa Giulietta test drive, in which our colleagues at Autoblog.it got to drive the new Alfa Romeo hatch over 100 km, between track driving and street driving. While the Alfa MiTo was a much-awaited car and has been an important model for Alfa and its launch into the compact segment, the Giulietta is essential to Alfa for a brand revival, and in terms of building a new, quality vehicle in a competitive segment.

The Giulietta looks better in person than in pictures, and overall the muscular design and the combination of colours and accessories is very pleasing. The front is still quite prominent and if you’re in the market for the Giulietta, you might want to splash out on some bigger wheels as the 16-inch design can get a bit lost (the 18-inch wheels on the Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde are much more attractive), but other than that we’re looking at quite a sexy little hatch.

The thing that gives us most relief about the Giulietta is that it isn’t just constructed around Alfa good looks. The first good impressions of the interior, with a BMW 1 Series style dash, a lovely mix of leather, alcantara and metal finishes, are only confirmed the more you come into contact with this new Alfa Romeo. Let’s face it though, to compete in this segment Alfa’s new C EVO platform had to be good, comfort and safety had to be very good and price had to be appealing. It’s not an easy feat but the Alfa Giulietta seems to pull it off quite well.

Alfa Romeo Giulietta test drive

Continue reading: Alfa Giulietta test drive pics and Giulietta Quadrifoglio track drive

0 comments

The Audi E-Tron test drive by the Los Angeles Times is seen in this video, although it’s unlikely to tell you anything you didn’t already know. We don’t get an idea of what it feels like to actually drive the E-Tron, and the torque figures quoted are likely to be those of the wheels, and not the output shaft, which has created some controversy.

The driver of this test, Dan Neil, gives us some insight into what kind of car the E-Tron is like in his written article. He says:

Like all electric cars, the batteries are the biggest concern. The e-tron uses a lithium-ion pack sourced from Sanyo with a total capacity of 53 kWh, but only about 43 kWh is usable storage. Max discharge is a healthy 230 amps. According to Krauter, the car will have two settings for regenerative braking, one normal and one sporty — which is to say, you lift off the gas and the aggressive regen will instantly slow the car down as if it had piled into a load of sand. No coasting.

Continue reading: Audi E-Tron test drive video

0 comments

The Car of the Year prizes have been dominated by the Germans with many being awarded one of Autobild’s “Golden Steering Wheel” awards. The Porsche Panamera won the luxury car category, beating the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S Class, while the medium to large sedan category was won by the Audi A5 Sportback, followed by the BMW 5-Series GT and the Mercedes E Class.

Among the compact class, a nice win for the new Opel Astra, beating the Skoda Yeti, which came in second ahead of the Renault Megane. In its sector, the Renault Scenic emerged ahead of the Toyota Verso and Peugeot 5008, and among the small cars the Volkswagen Polo won over the Citroen C3 and Hyundai i20. The Toyota Prius took out the ecological prize, followed by the Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion and the Mercedes S400 Hybrid.

The supercar category was dominated by the new Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing, followed by the Audi R8 Spider and the Aston Martin One-77. The finalists for overall COTY are the Citroën C3 Picasso, Mercedes-Benz E-class, Opel Astra, Peugeot 3008, Skoda Yeti, Toyota iQ and Volkswagen Polo. Take your bets now…

0 comments

The guys from Quattroruote took the Alfa Romeo 8C spider for a track test drive, and have said that this is one of the best spider interpretations of a coupé that’s on the market. The engine is the same eight-cylinder housed on the coupé, and given the excitement of having the roof down, you can hear it all without anything between you and the rumble.

We’d hazard that it’s not quite as competitive to a Ferrari or Aston Martin as the test team says, but then, we weren’t there. According to the track test, the 8C Spider has great responsiveness in acceleration and a nifty shift that helps you corner neatly and quickly.

A new feature on the 8C Spider is the four carbon ceramic brake discs, a welcome addition according to Quattroruote. The brake pedal has a lot of feel (apparently enough that you can even brake with your left foot, if so inclined) and the brakes engage straight away without any lag often typical of carbon ceramic brakes when they’re still cold.

The 8C Spider weighs about 90 kg more than the coupé, but the track test proves it to be agile, sincere and easy to drive, giving all the fun you’d expect from a supercar and from a spider. A satisfying car to drive, the 8C Spider has soul. Unfortunately all 500 models have already been sold…

Continue reading: Alfa 8C Spider first drive impressions

0 comments