review – Wild Speed

Range Rover Hybrid Review – Cruiser or Bruiser?

Aahh, the Range Rover, a rugged and capable automobile that has the ability to take on the toughest of mountains… Or is it?

It seems Range Rover has a new priority in mind, which is not to climb the tallest mountain in the world (although it jolly-well can), but to take the luxury car segment by storm.

The new 2013 Range Rover is up competing with the likes of the Bentley Flying Spur, Mercedes-Benz S Class and even the Rolls-Royce Ghost. It seems then, Range Rover have played their cards right.

We had the opportunity to test the Range Rover in its all-new Hybrid variant.

PERFORMANCE

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When someone mentions the word ‘Hybrid’, you never associate it with ‘Performance’ unless it’s an inter-galactic super-sonic missile like the McLaren P1 or the Porsche 918.

However, although the Range Rover is a big ol’ beast, it still packs a lovely torquey punch from its 3.0L SDV6 Diesel engine.

Combined, the Range Rover Hybrid produces a peak output of around 340hp and a torque figure of 700Nm allowing it to accelerate from 0-60 in just 6.5 seconds. That’s pretty impressive considering it’s 2394kg kerb weight.

On the note of weight, the entire hybrid system including the batteries adds less than 120kg to the cars’ weight. That is all irrelevant until you hear it only weighs 22kg more than the Range Rover Sport Hybrid.

The bottom line is, this car wasn’t made to do 0-60mph in 0.1 seconds, but engineered for inter-continent commutes. We think it’s the ultimate cruising machine.

ECONOMY

Now we’re in the Range Rover Hybrid’s comfort zone.

The Range Rover Hybrid produces a combined figure of 44.1mpg and emits just 169g/km of CO2. Again, that’s all irrelevant till you start factoring the fact that the base engine (TDV6) produces a combined figure of 37.7mpg and emits 196g/km of CO2.

The car also comes with a button called ‘EV’ . This is where the magic begins as explained by our friends at speedmonkey.co.uk-

EV mode allows the RR Hybrid to be driven up to 30mph for about a mile on the electric 35kW battery, perfect for creeping up your driveway at 3am.

INTERIOR

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The Range Rover has been labeled a luxury vehicle over the years, but this time, that understates this cars’ outright opulence.

There is lovely leather absolutely everywhere, on the dash, seats, center console, steering, door panels and even down below the seats. It’s not just any leather you find in Mercedes’ or BMW’s, this is sumptuously soft leather which oozes luxury.

The seats are supportive, the steering is lovely to hold and the center console is full of rich veneer.

You could spend hours in the Range Rover and never get tired or bored.

EXTERIOR

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The exterior is typical Range Rover, mahusive where it matters yet retaining elegance and finesse in its design.

JLR has done a fantastic job on making the new Range Rover look modern and elegant as it had some big boots to fill with the old Rangie’.

VERDICT

It really does succeed on being a successful Range Rover, it’s great off road, yet great on road. It’s definitely one of our all time SUV favourites.

Spied: Mercedes SLC?

These aren’t really spyshots. No really, Mercedes has put these pics online themselves. Without any further information or whatsoever. Many say this the new ‘baby SLS’ called the ‘SLC’. From the pics however, the dimensions are fairly SLS-ish. Or should Jaguar wet their pants for early F-type competition in the form of an SLC? What’s Benz up to now? And where is BMW?

A ‘Super Leicht’ Edition

If it is indeed the SLC, it’ll have to be quite a niche. Sitting in between all sorts of roadster convertibles like the SLK and SL model range. Most likely to also incorporate the aluminium spaceframe from the SLS and have the same front-engined rear-wheel-drive layout.

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Baby body = Baby price, right?

Compared to its daddy counterpart’s £170,000 price tag, the SLC will likely start around a Porsche 911 battling figure of around £85,000 which isn’t exactly ‘baby’ but still less than half of what the SLS AMG costs. Meaning Mercedes-Benz is likely to pull the same trick Jaguar did with the F-type.

What does it lose?

Unfortunately, the SLS AMG’s iconic gullwing doors won’t appear on the SLC, nor will its M156 6.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8.

Which engine options will be available?

A variety of brand-new engines will appear such as a new 4.0-litre turbo V8 that produces around 480bhp and will allegedly be in the next-gen C63 AMG. However, performance figures won’t halt there, a more powerful model using the same engine will be pushed to around 580bhp, while a planned turbo 3.0-litre V8 engine with around 350bhp will probably be more convenient. Don’t hold your breath there, a Black Series version will soon follow. Crazy right? Just leaves you to wonder, where is BMW?

BMW? We want a new Z8. Immediately.

*Update, this new pic shows off the dimensions of the car much better.

Driven: Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG

Since 2006, the GL-Class has been Mercedes-Benz’s definitive answer to the Range Rover Vogue, but its styling and design was quickly outdated after Mercedes-Benz started to update their designs in 2010. Also for this X164 model, we didn’t see an AMG counterpart, which meant the M156 AMG 6.2L motor never made an appearance, which is a shame seeing as the M156 engine is more-or-less a thing of the past now and it doesn’t seem we’ll be seeing a N/A AMG Engine in the future either!

Well now after 7 years, they have absolutely re-engineered and designed the new X166 Second Generation GL from top to bottom. The upside: it looks much bigger, the interior quality has been updated to a more luxurious standard, and the exterior design is finally very eye catching indeed.

Hmm, so what about AMG? Well, we are pleased to report that there is finally a GL63 AMG, and guess what? We’ve driven it! Let’s break it down for you:

PERFORMANCE

As with most AMG’s today, the GL63 AMG features AMG’s M157 5.5L twin-turbocharged motor which produces 557 bhp and a massive 760Nm torque. With all this power, it catapults the GL63 to 60 mph in just 4.9 seconds. For a car this big and heavy, can you imagine what that must feel like? Push hard enough and it’ll hit its limited top speed of 155 mph in no time what so ever. Even at the limiter, this car still wants to go faster!

So what sort of transmission must cope with all the beastly power that lurks beneath the hood of the GL63? Well, no other but the AMG SPEEDSHIFT PLUS 7G-TRONIC, which if anything else would not of been good enough. The transmission is absolutely snappy in its gear changes, it makes a great sound on the upshifts too!

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There were three settings: ‘Comfort’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport Plus’, we tended to leave it in Sport for the best combination of power and comfort. However, when you just want to haul along, in Comfort it feels like an ordinary GL350.

Although the car is quite heavy, it does handle particularly well around corners for its size, but then again, it’s not a car to rip around the Nurburgring and thrash some lap times, because this car is a City destroyer, this car will rip through the city at lightning fast speeds and do the same off-road. Yes, you guessed it, unlike the ML63 AMG, this AMG model can handle quite some tough terrain!

EXTERIOR

The exterior. Hmm, there’s only one thing to say about it! It’s absolutely humongous, you’ll feel like an ant next to this car, but it isn’t necessarily a bad thing, from inside it feels like an ML, but from the outside, this thing makes double-decker buses feel like they aren’t welcome. Okay, maybe it’s not THAT big but it is still a pretty huge car, especially compared to something like a Range Rover Vogue, BMW X5, Audi Q7. This is just one of the few cars in the world that will give you that superior presence on the road.

In terms of design, the new GL is a huge step up from its predecessor. The previous model was a quite bland and boring, it didn’t really give you a reason to turn your head, but its successor is a whole new story.

A chunkier front grille, diffuser and a more sportier bumper gives the GL63 credentials its rivals just can’t handle. With a chunkier grille, comes a chunkier badge which lets everyone on the road know you mean business. The side of the GL63 features 2 lines, one going across the side and the other just highlighting over the rear wheel arch. These lines give the GL63 a wider and muscly stance, but the rear wheel arch line in general really makes the GL63 look like it’s on steroids.

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The headlights and taillights are great on the road, and in terms of safety, probably one of the safest lighting systems around. On a more cosmetic approach, the lights are probably one of the greatest things about this car, in day-light, the LED’s are eye-catching and at night time, you will anticipate this car coming in the distance just to see what it is.

Those huge 21″ AMG rims finish off the job, adding the last piece of the jigsaw to create a good looking SUV.

INTERIOR

The interior has undergone a total overhaul, it is a much better place to be than its predecessor. The new Designo range of leathers feel great on the skin, the colours are rich and you won’t be able to find one part of the car where Mercedes-Benz have tried to cut cost because frankly, they haven’t. It feels very high-end inside, probably not as luxurious as a Range Rover, but then again the Range Rover is just trying too hard to be a Bentley. The Mercedes GL however, is very focused. There’s not much to tell you spent the extra premium to go for the GL63 but it still feels quite special.

At night time the cabin comes alive, ambient lighting cocoons the whole cabin with luminous light which somehow makes you feel relaxed. On a long journey, you will not be disappointed.

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Mercedes-Benz are really spot on with their audience, and with the GL, it’s no exception. The GL has 7-seats that can electronically fold making it more practical than ever. Another surprising this is when you have all the seats up, there’s still decent boot space in the rear.

A slight let-down is that this AMG model doesn’t feature the same sort of seats the E63 AMG, the whole feeling of the lumbar’s moving in to squeeze you round a bend makes you more comfortable to throw it around a corner.

VERDICT

The GL63 is a great car, even though its expensive price tag of £90K lets it down and as tested the one we drove was £112K. The upshot is that for the money, you’re buying a car that can perform, be a comfortable cruiser, a practical car and a ‘move over, slow driver’ car when you want it to. One of the best SUV’s around, we enjoyed our time with it.

Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG – 4.5/5.

Lamborghini Gallardo Successor

We have been waiting for this, with ‘we’ meaning every single sportscar enthusiast. With its countless special editions and botox injections over the past 10 years, the last of Gallardo breed bulls, the LP560-4, is nearing the production line finish.

A NEW BREED
For the first time, the supercarmaker from Sant Agatha Bolognese has been ‘spied’ taming a new breed. Going by a rumored project name of Cabrera. Lamborghini will finish the taming process later this year to present it to the world in the grazing of cars, the IAA Frankfurt. From the looks of it, the overall styling seems to be the calf of an Aventador and Sesto Elemento.

Not much is known about the specs of this new car. But lighter, more power, dynamic and fuel efficiency will probably be some of the key words of this new Lamborghini.

Driven: Bentley Continental GTC V8

The Bentley Continental name has been with us since 1952, making it one of the most oldest names still in production. However, five decades later, Bentley decided to make a complete change to the cars’ design. In 2003, the Bentley Continental GT made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, giving the world a sip of what Bentley is capable of under Volkswagen AG’s control.

The first Continental GT featured a 6.0 liter twin-turbocharged W12 engine which produced 552 bhp and 650 Nm torque. The Bentley Continental GT left a statement on every road it traveled on, whether it would be twisty roads or mile straights, it was hard to outrun such a car. A GTC (convertible) version soon followed.

However there were some downsides, especially fuel economy. The W12 could only ever achieve a claimed figure of 17 mpg which meant you were fueling up more than actually enjoying the cars raw power on the road. So, this begs a question, has Bentley given consumers a more fuel efficient option? Well, the answer is yes!

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PERFORMANCE

The brand-new Bentley Continental GTC V8 features a 4.0 liter twin-turbocharged engine which produces 500 bhp and an astonishing 660 Nm torque. With all that power at the drivers disposal, the GTC V8 can hit 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds, making it one of the fastest accelerating 4 seater convertible money can buy. Keep your foot down long enough and the GTC V8 will hit 188 MPH.

All of this brute force is bolted and sustained by an eight-speed automatic transmission instead of the six-speed in the W12. The ratios are also close together to give you the smoothest gear changes possible thus increasing fuel economy.

Bentley hasn’t just opted for a V8 in the chase of power, they’ve also thought about handling. The front wheels are carrying 25kg less than they do on its W12 counterpart, but the suspension rates have been revamped and geometry have been re-calibrated giving it an advantage over the W12.

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Compared to the W12, the V8 turns in that slight bit better into corners and it also grips well while negotiating tight bends, especially with the adaptive dampers helping you stay flat throughout corners. Amazingly, with all these ways to keep the car perfect around corners, it still retains being an absolutely comfortable long-distance cruiser.

What puts the Continental GTC V8 aside from the GT V8 is when you get on a nice straight road. There are just two steps here, the first is to simply ensure you have the roof down and the second is to absolutely floor the throttle. So, what happens? Well, at very low revs, you hear an amazing V8 burble which drops your jaw and at high revs you’re left absolutely speechless, you’d just want to do it over and over again!

Bentley has been thoughtful with the V8, even with fuel economy. The GTC V8 achieves a very modest 25.9 mpg which is not bad at all. It’s achieved through direct injection, an alternator programmed to charge the battery mainly during deceleration and a very cool bit of kit which shuts down 4 of the cars’ cylinders whilst cruising. Boot the throttle, and you have a V8, waft around town, and you have a V4.

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EXTERIOR

Compared to its predecessor, the new Bentley Continental GTC has a much more fluid design. It mixes a blend of Sportiness, Elegance and Beauty. The new GTC features beautifully sculptured curves which are only seen on the most beautiful of women, lines that are designed to cut through the air efficiently and low sporty looks designed to turn heads.

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At the touch of a button, the roof will go down, giving you a full view of that beautiful interior contrasted with the Bentleys’ pretty exterior. They both sing in perfect harmony.

It’s a very positive improvement over the previous Continental, which definitely makes the new Continental stand out over other cars on the market.

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INTERIOR

Describing the interior of a Bentley is just impossible. Words cannot defy the amount of luxury and quality that goes into a Bentley’s interior. In the case of this Continental GTC, saying it’s a luxury place to be just doesn’t do it justice.

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The seats are wrapped in sumptuous leather and beautifully quilted. The stitching is so detailed, it stands out from a mile back. No matter what your occupation or financial status, as soon as you sit inside the Continental GTC, you feel special instantaneously. The seats sink you in, whatever you touch feels absolutely lovely to hold and you’re forever rubbing the seats to how smooth they are.

At the end of the day, its expected, Bentley are experts in interior quality, and the GTC is no exception.

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VERDICT

Do we love the Bentley Continental GTC V8? Of course we do! It’s a must have if you can afford it, we really believe it blends two worlds into one package, the first being supercar potential and the other being a luxury comfortable long-distance cruiser. We love its V8 engine which roars when you want it to, then it can shut off while cruising so you get your typical Bentley quiet drive. The power delivery is sweet and handling is surprisingly good. We really believe that Bentley are getting somewhere in terms of performance and handling. Fuel economy has finally been sorted out too which is a great thing to know!

The only thing we think Bentley could improve on is their steering, the GTC V8’s steering was quite light and it doesn’t make you feel connected enough with the road. The upside is however that at the end of the day, the Bentley Continental is a long distance cruiser, it’s not at all a track ripping item. Around town it’s absolutely wonderful to drive, the light steering which initially made you feel disconnected from the road finally makes sense, it’s light so you can easily mooch around whenever you need to, but the most amazing thing we find about the Bentley is how easy it is to drive! Overall, a great package Bentley has offered.

Bentley Continental GTC V8 – 4.5/5.

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