Spring Clean Motoring Part 2: A Slippery, Frugal Cat

It's little over a month to go until the Evolution Motor Show silently whooshes once more along to the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston. Amongst the cars on show this year, the one you'll hear coming above the low hum of futuristic electricity is the new Jaguar XE, which will showcase the company's latest green tech.

Sleek lines for both form and function - muscular body work is sleekest Jag ever

Sticking to a more traditional format for a small executive saloon car, the XEs currently on the market are powered by a selection of all-aluminium petrol and diesel units, each of which aim to squeeze as much out of every single drop of fuel as possible. At the sharper end of the range is the supercharged 3.0 V6 from the base F-Type, sure to give XE blistering performance, but return less of a saving at the pumps.

The headline economy figures come with Jaguar's Ingenium diesel engines, which are likely to be the most popular on UK roads. Utilising variable exhaust valve timing alongside aftertreatments for the gases emitted, the 2.0-litre turbodiesel unit manages to give 160 horsepower and 280lb-ft of torque whilst producing only 99g/km of CO2, putting it in the lowest UK tax band with a cost of precisely zero pounds per year. If you fancy a bit more grunt and can stomach handing over 20 of your pounds to the government each year, there's a more powerful 177hp Ingenium diesel, which, despite the power upgrade, still produces just 109g/km.

Jaguar haven't just focused their quest for efficiency on the engines; the whole car has been considered, examined and worked on to make the whole package as clean and green as possible. The bodywork is as sleek as can be, making the XE the most aerodynamic Jaguar ever, with a drag coefficient of just 0.26. On the Ingenium diesels, there's the option of a six-speed manual running with low-viscosity oil and pseudo dry-sump lubrication to assist in putting the power to the rear wheels. Part-time all-wheel-drive is available on the more powerful diesel, but only with the 8-speed ZF box. This improves traction but adds weight and lessens economy, but makes perfect sense for those in colder climes.

In no way does this efficiency come at the expense of performance in the XE - Jaguar would never allow that. The smallest Jaguar is also the lightest and the stiffest, showing that the petrol V6 is not the only thing carried over from the F-Type sports car. The XE showcases more of Jaguar's aluminium monocoque technology, and they claim that this is the first time such a thing has been seen in the mid-size segment. 

The XE surrounds the driver with technology

Inside, the XE draws upon the design of its flagship big brother, the XJ, with a subtle wraparound dash that aligns along the door line giving a very secure feel. Jaguar's new InControl infotainment system dominates the centre of the dash, which should be a welcome improvement over the previous unit, which felt sluggish in a world dominated by smartphones and i-things. 

The XE - incredibly efficient, drives like a Jag should

An expected above-70mpg fuel economy combines with vast service intervals of 21,000 miles makes the Jaguar a strong contender for the ideal mid-size saloon fleet car. On paper alone it appears to dethrone the mighty 3-series in many ways. The proof is in the punch, so to see for yourself if the XE truly is the king of its class, head along to the Evolution Motor Show at the Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston on the 16th April 2016.

Some Things To Be Excited About At Geneva 2016 If You Can't Afford A Bugatti Chiron

If you haven't already heard about it, the new Bugatti Chiron has been unveiled ahead of it's official launch at the Geneva Motor Show this week. Its astronomical power figure of 1,478 horsepower is surpassed only by the £1.9 million price tag, and that's all just fine.

If you can afford to buy the Chiron you probably already have access to somewhere with enough room to enjoy all of that power, and maybe even get it up to it's top speed which is claimed to be around 261mph. But what about the rest of us mere mortals? What is there for us to enjoy?

The Opel GT Concept, with its boss.

Oddly, the first thing that caught my eye at Geneva was Vauxhall / Opel's GT Concept. This tiny coupe may not have reached the realms of reality yet, but fingers crossed some of the ideas will trickle through from the matrix to our dimension. The concept, a two-seater could see production as a front-drive car with a 1 litre, 3-cylinder engine putting out around 143bhp. This should keep running costs nice and low, whilst also delivering punchy performance. It's early days yet, but this fairly un-Vauxhall car could put the company into competition with sports car stalwarts like the Mazda MX-5, which is very dangerous territory indeed.

Bedroom walls across the land should be sorted, with Lamborghini unveiling their bonkers new Centenario LP770-4 poster child. Produced as a 100th birthday present to honour the company's late founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, the Centenario will see very limited production at just 20 coupes and 20 roadsters. At the heart of it's carbon fibre body sits a higher-revving version of Lambo's legendary V12 engine, with power output upped to 759bhp. It runs the Bugatti very close for price, but this car is built as much to dwell in the imagination of children, spitting flames and spinning wheels in a very exciting manner, as it is to hide under covers in the ultra-secure garages of the super rich.

Interesting headlamp arrangement adds to asymmetry and alliteration.

At a very different end of the spectrum, Morgan will be bringing along their EV3, showcasing a 'pre-production phase' of their take on what an electric vehicle should be. Sticking to form, the EV3 is a super light three-wheeled two-seat roadster, using a combination of carbon fibre and aluminium body panels built around an ash frame to give a weight of less than 500kg. Up front, the 1983cc V-Twin of the current car is replaced with cooling fins for the 20KWh lithium battery, which combine with a liquid-cooled 46kW electric motor to zip the whole thing from 0-60 in under 9 seconds. The range, thanks no doubt in part to the car's tiny weight, is slated to be up to 150 miles.

Pininfarina have also brought their idea for a performance car with a progressive drivetrain: the H2 Speed utilises hydrogen fuel cell technology which has been track-tested by GreenGT, a company focussed on bringing hydrogen fuel tech to motorsport. The H2 produces 503 horsepower and is capable of 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, and with the only exhaust being water vapour, this makes it the world's fastest steam cleaner. Having been draped in Pininfarina magic, the H2 Speed is also the world's prettiest steam cleaner, with sleek lines and a paintjob that harks back to the 1969 Ferrari Sigma Formula One show car, presented to the public by the Italian design house at the Geneva show that year. If this is a showcase of what a hydrogen powered sports car could be, then I for one can't wait for a Formula H racing series.

Speaking of sleek lines, how could we ignore the new Aston Martin DB11, which sneaked its way into the public eye at the start of the week. The successor to the DB9 shows off heavy styling influence from the bespoke DB10, wielded by James Bond in Spectre, with added aggression from the limited-run One-77. The aluminium body incorporates aerodynamic elements, including a special AeroBlade system, consisting of cleverly hidden ducts beneath the C-pillars which channel air over the back end, helping to reduce rear lift. Under the bonnet sits a new 5.2 litre, twin-turbo V12 pushing out 600bhp. Whilst the Aston may not be within most peoples budget (including mine!), it'll certainly drop a few jaws as it barrels along the motorway.

Thought I'd treat you to a nice big picture of the DB11, for obvious reasons.

Oodles Of Character But Nowhere To Put It - Abarth 595 Road Test

Abarth have been warming up various Fiats since the 50s. With a refreshed 500 having hit UK roads back in September, what does the future hold for Fiat's sportier small cars? To find out I thought I'd pop in on some of the current models in the Italian stalwart's tuning arm's roster.

A 595 Yamaha Factory Racing which was hiding the day I went to drive it

I had hoped to get my hands on a Yamaha Factory Racing special edition Abarth 595, launched to celebrate Abarth's ties to the FIM MotoGP Championship, which comes with the 160bhp iteration of the gutsy 1.4 T-Jet engine, uprated suspension and a Record Monza exhaust system which promises to be very loud.

Sadly, there were no YFR-edition cars available on the day of my test, so instead I hopped behind the wheel of a 'normal' 595 with the 140bhp engine to get to grips with. The standard 595 is no slouch however, still managing a 0-62 time of 7.6 seconds. It doesn't take a lot of power to move this car around, weighing only just over 1,000kg.

The car I did drive was still a delight

The seating position is unusually high for such a small car, something I've noted in both the Abarth and the standard 500. I can foresee this becoming an issue for passengers who regularly suffer motion sickness, the raised seating combining with the car's sharp handling to give potentially disastrous results. The pedal box, too, seems to be situated at an unusual angle to the seat, and, particularly in stop-start driving, the angle at which I was pointing my foot in order to operate both the brake and the accelerator became quite a strain.

Once seated, the amount of premium touches the car has been dressed with become apparent - first and foremost being the chunky leather, flat-bottomed steering wheel. This lends a very big-car feel to what is undeniably a very small car.

The sports wheel is to the regular 500s steering wheel like what eating a Yorkie feels like after a Galaxy Ripple

Looking through the wheel, the retro dials have been replaced by an all-new TFT display, which displays information about the car - from the usual revs and speed, to g-force indicators and something called an 'Eco Index' - more on that later.

The digital dials are a welcome distraction from some of the other elements in the cabin. Retro dash trim aside, in between the garnish of new tech a lot of this car is still very recognisable as carry-over from the car the Abarth is (distantly) based on - the previous-generation Fiat Panda.

Nice premium garnish over basic underpinnings inside

Turning the key, it would be easy to forget that the teeny bonnet hides just a 1.4 as the burble from the exhaust combines with the chunky wheel to add to the illusion of 'bigness'. Elbows out driving it is.

Burbling my way into early-afternoon Edinburgh sunshine, it wasn't long before my fingers were drawn to the 'Sport' button. This announced my arrival to the roads of Leith, with the exhaust barking and spitting it's way through the Shore. Sport mode also sharpens the throttle response, making the tiny Abarth like a poison-tipped dart, slicing it's way into the smallest of gaps with incredible precision.

As expected with an Italian car, revs are required to make the most of this in-town gap-grabbing prowess. At low speeds, before the turbo kicks in, the engine can feel quite slow on the uptake. The firmer suspension and heavier steering add to a pay off that lead to me turning sport mode off in town - though on better maintained roads this would be less of an issue. With a car as small as the 595, it feels like it could easily be lost down one of the many potholes that litter the landscape around the north edges of Edinburgh.

As the roads opened out towards the west I re-engaged sport, taking a moment to admire the turbo dial jutting from the dash top. This takes on a red hue in sport, a trick car companies have been using for a while now to emphasise their cars' Jekyll and Hyde sporting potential.

The 595 is a very Jekyll and Hyde car: around town it can be comfortable, compliant and even economical; but push that little button by the air-con and suddenly it pops and cracks and snaps at the heels of the Astra in front which has been hogging the outside lane on the bypass for the last mile.

The car doesn't settle well in Sport mode, and the infectious bite to the controls was turning me into a crazed lunatic, unable to settle myself. Popping back into normal mode on the bypass, I noted through exuberant driving, I'd been afforded an ' Eco Index' score of 2.5 out of a possible. Dr. Jekyll was displeased with my right foot. Settling into a cruise, it wasn't long before the digital dial crept back up to hover around 5.

Returning the keys of the Abarth, I felt a slight lump in my throat. Ominously, there will be no Sat Nav integration into the new screens, and whisperings from Turin seem to hint that Abarth will not be working their magic on the new-edition Fiat 500, instead making way for a fast version of the imminent 124 Spider, which will go on sale later this year.

Whilst a base-spec Abarth 595 undercuts gutsier competitors like the Fiesta ST and Mini Cooper S, to get close to their levels of performance in the Italian car you need to spend a lot more and opt for the 180bhp Competizione spec car. Either of those rivals would do very well to best the tiny Abarth on character though, something that the 595 has in larger quantities than could be squeezed into it's miniscule boot. (I'm assured roof bars are available.)

Tiny boot left after space taken up by oodles of character and fun

Spring Clean Motoring Part 1: Jealous Green 'i's

GreenFleet Scotland has released a sneak preview of some of the eco-flavoured vehicles that will be showcased at this year's Evolution motor show.

The two day event, held at the Royal Highland Centre at Ingliston, focuses on innovations in green technology, and aims to educate companies and individuals alike in the virtues and reality of environmentally conscious motoring. But, unlike most motor shows where the cars are precious objects held high on a plinth, visitors to Evolution get the chance to get seriously hands-on with the cars - and there's even the opportunity to get behind the wheel on Inglistons 1.03 mile long circuit.

Over the next few weeks in the run up to the show, McMotors will be bringing you a preview of each of the cars that will be available to sample at the show. If you're near Edinburgh on the 16th April you can come along and try them for yourself!

An i3 from last year's Evolution motor show

The first car we'll be looking at is one of the stars of last year's show. The BMW i3 is a prime example of one of the giants of the car world taking green technology and injecting a bit of experience and know-how to produce something that packs a punch whilst still managing to help protect the environment.

It may look a tad high up and humdrum, but with an electric motor pushing out 125kW (roughly equal to 170hp) and 184lb/ft of torque it's no slouch, managing 0-60mph in just 7.2 seconds. It can (briefly) show the previous generation V8 M3 a clean pair of heels off the line, and though it may only have a top speed of 93mph, in pure EV mode it can do all this whilst producing no carbon dioxide whatsoever.

Suicide doors prove the i3's innovation isn't limited to its powertrain

The car comes off-the-shelf as a standalone EV or with a petrol range extender, essentially an engine that isn't connected to the wheels in the traditional sense, but which instead charges the batteries, giving an impressive and useful range of 185 miles.

And, being an electric vehicle, all of that power is available from a standstill. No turbo lag, no powerband to chase up the rev range, and this low down grunt helps make the i3 perfect for gap-hunting inner-city driving.

BMW have shared a lot of technology between the i3 and it's bigger, sportier brother, the i8. This includes a carbon fibre passenger compartment - both strong, making it incredibly safe in an accident; and light by keeping the centre of gravity in the floor of the car with the batteries. It's strength isn't the only thing keeping occupants safe, as BMW's Driving Assistant system is available as an option which keeps a constant lookout to try and prevent potential collisions even happening.

The somewhat flasher i8, poaching attention from its wee brother

The car is connected too, with an app for smartphones, which allows the owner to check where they parked their i3, and what range is left in it. You can even lock your i3 from anywhere remotely, as long as you have your phone, helping put to rest those feelings of 'did I lock it' anxiety.

Having driven an i3 at last year's Evolution show, I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on another one this year to see how it stacks up against newer rivals to the eco-car market.

GreenFleet is hosting events at Ingliston for companies and fleet owners on the 15th April, with the show being open to the general public on the 16th April.