MINI Countryman goes hardcore

EARLIER this week I suggested MINI’s newest model - the four wheel drive Countryman - wasn’t really in the spirit of its cult classic predecessor.

BMW are obviously keen to prove otherwise because they’ve just revealed a hardcore rally version, which is much more like it.

With the same red colour scheme and foglight-heavy frontage as the Monte Carlo rally winners from the 1960s and stylised union flag on the windscreen, you can’t help feel the car’s makers are going for a bit of a Paddy Hopkirk nostalgia in their attempts to win the 2011 World Rally Championship.

What do you think?

Fire up the... Mitsubishi Shogun

IT'S big, brash, and an unapologetic throwback to another age, but by gum you'd want it on your side in a fight.

Mitsubishi's latest Shogun is the perfect car should you ever decide Southport needs a regime change, so indomitable are its looks, build quality and hard-as-nails off-roader stance. Paint the letters ‘U' and ‘N' onto the bonnet of the very white 3.2 diesel version I tested and you could even pass yourself off as a peacekeeper, because this is exactly the sort of tough trooper of a vehicle the United Nations swears by. It's good enough for them, but is it still good enough for us?

Clamber up into the seven-seater cockpit and you'll be impressed not only by the vast amounts of space it offers, but also by the fit and finish of the interior itself - flashy it isn't, but you get the impression it was built for tougher jobs than the school run. In fact, the only passengers who will be complaining are the rearmost ones, because you'll struggle to keep anyone over six feet tall happy in the third row of seats for long.

Out on the road the Shogun drives exactly how you'd expect a tall four-wheel-drive weighing it at three tonnes to, with the 168bhp V6 pulling well enough but being lumbered by the way the body rolls into the corners. The handy rear camera helps make parking a doddle and the oodles of torque are perfect for towing trailers and caravans, but you'll never escape the sheer size of the Shogun.

But it's biggest problem is the same one which affects all of the really big off-roaders, because buying one of these is bound to attract the unwanted attention of bystanders, who don't care what you have to tow or carry. Driving a Shogun - or a Discovery or Grand Cherokee for that matter - seems to attract an endless series of dirty looks, flicked fingers and scathing remarks.

The Shogun is tough as nails, unstoppable on the rough stuff and a titan of the towing world. But politically correct it isn't.

As published in The Champion on October 6, 2010

Fire up the... Peugeot 3008

PEUGEOT'S 3008 is the platypus of the car world, and that's not a criticism of the way it's styled.

Although it's one of the more smartly-styled models from the French firm's fast-expanding range, the smaller sister to the seven-seater 5008 is going to give you a headache if you look at it for too long, because it gets increasingly tricky to fathom what it is. Is it a big hatchback or a small people carrier, and - if it's the latter - why's it been given just the five seats?

It's a question being posed by a growing number of car manufacturers, who between them have founds lots of you who need more space than you'd get in a Golf or Focus, but don't want to go to the expense and trouble of getting a full-blown MPV.

Unlike the 5008, where you never quite forget that you're at the wheel of a people carrier, the smaller and sportier relation shrink-wraps itself around you, a feeling helped by the intuitive controls and the surprisingly sprightly feel you get from the steering and suspension. It's not a stealth trackday contender by any means, but nor is it something which is going to let you down through a lack of communication on a slippery country lane.

But it's on the inside where it impresses most, with not only a generous helping of space both up front and in the back, but a big boot and plenty of hidden cubbyholes for the kids to hide things in. Stylistically it feels a generation further on than the 308 hatchback it's based on, with a quality finish throughout.

Both it and the very similar 5008 we tested earlier this summer make a more convincing buy than the clumsy MPVs of old - including Peugeot's own 807 - but despite the sportier drive I'd still go for the seven-seater, because in this market you never know when you're going to need the extra seats. If you don't, you might as well buy a normal hatchback.

The good news is that no matter how confusing the 3008 is, it's far from being a bad car.

As published in The Champion on September 15, 2010

Scooter, off-roader or broken steering rack - which makes the best Mini?

WHEN is a Mini not a Mini?

That's the question I've put to myself over the past week after immersing myself in three new variations of the small car, and I'm still not sure if I've found the answer. BMW are banking on stretching their smallest model as far as it can go, but is bigger really better?

First off, the Countryman, which despite having had nine months to get used to the idea is still a stretch too far for MINI (I always cap up the remake, just as BMW still insists we all do). Having now driven it on the best motorways, fast thoroughfares, bendy B roads and knobbly car parks North Yorkshire can throw at it I can tell you that it's a solidly-constructed, quite stylish rival to the likes of Nissan's Quashqai, and despite the addition of four wheel drive feels more handy hatchback than junior off-roader. As much as it annoys me to say it, it's a good car.

But is it a Mini? At more than a metre longer than the 1959 original, not a chance.

Yet while BMW can do bigger, MINI can do smaller, which is exactly what they're toying with by sticking Britain's most famous car badge on a scooter. For the record, I actually think this is an excellent idea, particularly as I always regarded the Mini as a four wheeled graduation from the Mods 'n' Rockers world of the original Vespas and Lambrettas of the Sixties.

If the Countryman is a sop to the miserable modernity of taking Chelsea tractors on the school run, an electrically-powered scooter seems to somehow hark back to the defiant sense of mischief which made the original Mini so much fun. Cool, cheap and clean to run, I reckon this is a much better attempt to expand the MINI brand than a bloated off-roader.

But there's one Mini, new or old, that's always going to be better than any other. Mine.

You probably thought I'd forgotten about the one car that appears alongside every Life On Cars entry, but the truth is that until now it's been sat around on a driveway in Southport, sulking because its steering rack is so broken it actually made the car dangerous to drive. But it's back, and - thanks to spending a weekend with a mechanic friend changing the car's single worst component - it now drives better than I've ever known it.

It still looks tatty but it now drives in a way even a 2010 Countryman can't; it drives like a Mini, which means it flits telepathically from corner to corner the instant you flick the tiny steering wheel. It might be slow, unreliable and not terribly safe, but it's far more fun, cleverly packaged and admired by passers by than a certain car launched by a certain German company in 2001 could ever hope to be. I like the new MINI, in the same way I like the remade Italian Job, an awful lot, but I'll always love the timeless original more.

The honest answer is I don't know when a Mini isn't a Mini. But I definitely know when one is.

I'd rather have a Suzuki Swift than a 170mph Lexus

This is one of the contrived conclusions I've come to after spending a day driving a selection of newly-launched cars around the Yorkshire countryside, after which I sat down and pondered whether I really am The Champion office petrolhead. I'll say it again; I'd rather have a Suzuki Swift than a 170mph Lexus.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders test drive days for the media are a bit like speed dating for cars, and it was at one of these events today that I somehow managed to persuade a nice man working for the Toyota/Lexus press office to lend me the keys to the Lexus IS-F, a banzai belter of a saloon that's being dubbed the Japanese M3. No, I don't know why he thought it was a good idea either.

Don't get me wrong; I loved the Lexus, primarily because it's by far and away the most bonkers car I've ever been allowed to drive. Anyone not familiar with this four-door flyer might dismiss it as a normal Lexus saloon with a bad Max Power bodykit on it, but the first moment you mash your right foot into the floor and get the 414bhp V8 to strut its stuff is sublime and scary in equal measure. It is intoxicatingly, frighteningly and licence-losingly fast.

Which is why I couldn't recommend it, because its strongest suit, the tidal wave of torque it offers up, is also its biggest drawback. The moments when you feel the explosiveness of this car's engine are just that; moments, because within seconds you've shot up to speeds you really shouldn't be doing. It's an addictive hit of epic acceleration, but get hooked and it'll get you into trouble.

I'm actually beginning to wonder whether I hanker for horsepower at all. A week after whinging that a wheelspinning Jag was completely outclassed by Escorts and Polos in an endurance race, I've realised that an entirely different bit of Japanese automotive engineering to the Lexus is a belter for Britain's highways and byways.

Suzuki's new Swift is about as far from the IS-F as I can imagine, but a combination of balletic handling, a flick-of-the-wrist gearchange and a sweet engine that sings rather than roars made it far more fun in the real, Gatso-ridden world. It's as if someone's stolen a Mazda MX-5, one of my favourite sports cars, disguised it as a small shopping car, and then put it on sale.

It really is that good.

Full road tests of the ten cars David Simister drove in Yorkshire will be posted on the Fire Up The... page in the coming weeks.

Fire up the... Toyota IQ

TOYOTA'S tiny IQ isn't new but it's still top of the city car class thanks to a blend of zany styling and clever packaging.

Smart drivers definitely won’t need a high IQ to get the point of Toyota’s smallest model, which defies conventional car logic by squeezing four seats into a space where you'd normally struggle to get two. The IQ is similar to the Smart in so many ways and yet so much smarter where it matters, with a better Euro NCAP safety rating, cheeky styling straight out of a Pokémon cartoon, and surprisingly surefooted handling.

Admittedly it’s not going to give you hot-hatch style thrills if you venture out of its natural habitat of crowded town centres and onto the country lanes but it’s still fun to drive, mainly because it’s so easy to hustle through tight spaces and because of how its engine sounds.

Toyota say it has a 1.0 litre petrol engine but – sounding like an F1 car when you push it and eerily quiet when you don’t – this particular powerplant is one which will delight most drivers. It's just a shame then that the nannying dashboard reminders to change up and down through the gears are constantly pestering you, proving an annoying bit of gadgetry you don't need when you're trying to make progress.

Anyone who expects MPV levels of space is going to be disappointed, the boot is practically non-existent, and it’s not cheap in the way the Aygo, Toyota’s other baby offering, is.

But what it does do is answer age-old questions about how to fit four people into a very small amount of space very intelligently, and its styling is cool in a uniquely Japanese sort of way.

It’s not perfect but you can’t help loving it.

As published in The Champion on September 29, 2010

All that Jazz

IF you've got £3,000 lying around after Fresher's Week your best bet is to spend it on a Honda Jazz, a survey into reliable student motors has discovered.

Warranty Direct said this week after carrying out a survey of all the cars likely to be bought on a student budget of just £3,000 that the smallest car Honda makes is also the most reliable to take to university.

“Sending a son or daughter off to university can be a worrying experience for a parent, so having the peace of mind that you’ve sent them off in a car that’s less likely to break down is a bonus,” said Warranty Direct managing director, Duncan McClure Fisher.

The Vauxhall Astra is second in the list, and Toyota’s trusty Yaris completes the top three recommendations for students looking to blow their loan on something automotive this semester.

But if the Jazz just won't cut it parked outside the halls of residence, here's the survey's top ten student motors, including their reliability rating:

1) 18.53 Honda Jazz (02-08)
2) 26.90 Vauxhall Astra (04-09)
3) 27.35 Toyota Yaris (99-06)
4) 27.99 Nissan Micra (02-10)
5) 30.11 VW Lupo (99-05)
6) 37.99 Fiat Punto (03-06)
7) 41.24 Ford Fiesta (02-08)
8) 41.49 Smart FourTwo (03-07)
9) 41.75 Daewoo Matiz (98-03)
10) 48.74 Citroen C3 (02-10)

Mud, madness and the birthday of a British icon

HERE'S a date you probably haven't got scrawled into your diary - this week, believe it or not, is Jaguar's 75th birthday.

So far, the Coventry company's survived The Blitz, the ravages of several recessions and even the worst British Leyland can throw at it, which a couple of Life On Cars-reading mates and I thought was worth celebrating. Until we saw the mud.

The idea was brilliant; take a rotten Jag with a touch too many miles on the clock to a dirt track in Prestatyn, put up against a field of more mundane motors in a six-hour endurance race, and watch it win with style. Admittedly, the 19-year-old XJ40 we'd picked wasn't one of the Big Cat's proudest moments, but it's still a car from a company with seven Le Mans wins, a string of rally victories and a slightly successful F1 team to its name. We couldn't lose.

Unfortunately, the race took place on the same drenched day Southport's Air Show got cancelled, meaning the track was a quagmire of squelch and mud even Range Rover owners would think twice about tackling. The race commentator, sat snugly in his caravan, put in perfectly as the field of Micras, Polos and Escorts raced past; we were driving 3.2 litres of pure wheelspin.

I never thought I'd say this, but the Jag was just too big and too powerful, and with no grip we spent most of the time powersliding pointlessly as cars your mum used for the school run ten years ago tore ahead. We were losing, but because we were in a Jag, we were losing with style.

Our muddy outing is about as far from Jaguar's string of Le Mans as you can possibly imagine, but I loved every minute of each chaotic lap, made more terrifying still because the steering wheel seemed to have little to no influence over where the big Jag was heading. It was a rubbish and yet utterly brilliant addition to Jaguar's proud motorsport pedigree.

And here's the best bit; unlike the cocky whippersnappers who laughed every time their machines lapped ours, the Jag actually crossed the finish line, even if it was sliding sideways at walking pace. We might have been a long way off winning but we did the entire event, to quote an old Jag ad slogan, with grace, space and pace. A fitting tribute to the Big Cat, then.

The maker of Britain's most beautiful cars is 75 years old, and we found a smashing way to mark the occasion. Literally.

Fire up the... Alfa Romeo MiTo

CREATING a car must be a piece of a cake compared to the innuendo-laden challenge of coming up with a name for it.

Choosing the right words can be the difference between your latest model being lauded as a cool classic in the making or laughed at as an unfortunate joke, but given the chance, what would you come up with? Personally, I've always thought NyLa - as in New York to Los Angeles - is clever, rolls off the tongue nicely and comes preloaded with evocative imagery of cross-country adventures. And I reckon at least one Alfa Romeo marketing man will agree.

The company's chosen MiTo, as in Milan to Torino, as its moniker for the car it hopes will beat the MINI at its own game, but while it's neat I also reckon it's open to misinterpretation. Other motoring writers think it could be construed as meaning “Me Too”, but I don't think it's going to be long before someone cruelly christens this otherwise cool supermini as My Toe.

Which is a shame, because ambigious name aside it hits the right buttons long before you drive it. The styling - usually one of Alfa's strong points - is easily the most divise of the Italian firm's entire range, with other commentators reckoning it's got the upright stance of an old Austin A40, but the way they've incorporated cues from the 8C supercar has easily more verve than either the increasingly familiar MINI or the strait-laced looks of Audi's upcoming A1.

But it's the interior which comes across best with the baby Alfa, which thanks to sports car touches like dashboad pods for the instruments and a steering wheel surely stolen from an old sports car could come from a car costing several times as much, and any lingering memories of Alfa interiors being screwed have been long forgotten. I never thought I'd say this, but even the seats look like they've been styled rather than designed.

On the road it feels refreshingly more sporty than the Fiat Grande Punto it shares a platform with, but in terms of sheer sportiness you're still better off sticking with the MINI, despite it beating BMW's efforts elsewhere.

The My Toe's got the substance to back up its very Italian sense of style, which in the image-driven market largely dominated by the MINI is going to count for a lot.

Just remember to pronounce its name properly.

As published in The Champion on September 22, 2010

The best five roads in Britain

Article submitted for the second edition of Shoestring Travel Magazine

SIXTY miles is an awful long way to go for a cup of coffee.

The A4086, which winds its way through the mountains of North Wales between Betwys-Y-Coed and Caernarfon, isn't exactly renowned for its abundance of Costas, Neros and Starbucks. It's also long way to the nearest tea shop, but chances are if you've come this far you'll know the real rush lies not in caffeine but the road itself.

The Llanberis Pass.

Britain's wild and desolate places are peppered with mountain passes which snake through the scenery to villages miles off the beaten track, and you either understand the adrenalin-fuelled appeal or you don't. If you're smitten with Britain's hidden scenery and like driving for driving's sake, the nation's mountain passes have been hand-crafted for the petrolhead in you.

Head to any of the country's more mountainous corners and you're bound to stumble across the hairpin bends, rollercoaster dips and crests, and deserted straights which make twisty little lanes linking obscure villages Britain's best driving roads.

With a rented set of wheels, a good satnav system and a real sense of adventure at your disposal, any of these fabulous five should provide hours of full-throttle fun:

The Evo Triangle, Denbighshire, Wales

So named after the British motoring magazine, which uses the B5401 from Cerrigydrudion heading north past Llyn Brenig, the A543 to Pentrefoelas and the A5 back to Cerrigydrudion as a heady cocktail to get the best from a car.

Quiet, fast-paced and blessed with lush scenery, it's a great way to spend an afternoon behind the wheel, with the visitor centre at Llyn Brenig proving a relaxing stopping point and a handy chance to discover more about the region's heritage.

Cat and Fiddle Run, Derbyshire and Cheshire, England

It's a hard to believe a road so unmistakeably rural lies just a stone's throw from Macclesfield in the north west of England - but that's exactly why the A537 proves so popular with bikers and drivers alike. The eponymous pub at the top is also well worth the trek, offering miles of unspoilt views on the menu.

The high number of accidents on this twisty climb towards Buxton have left the local police little choice but to keep a close eye on your drive - stick to the 50mph speed limit or you'll run the risk of a hefty fine - but even with the constant nuisance of motorbikes in your rear mirrors this Peak District mountain pass still offers dramatic backdrops and a healthy sense of danger.

Buttertubs Pass, North Yorkshire, England

Track down the remote Yorkshire Dales village of Thwaite and in return you'll be rewarded with the start of the Buttertubs Pass, a rollercoaster ride which tantalises and terrifies you in equal measure.

With a sheer drop of more than 500 feet and a weak-looking fence always on your left hand side, it's not a drive for the faint-hearted, but play it sensible along this route and it proves an irresistable mix of powerful landscapes, driving challenges and occasional geological titbits (the Buttertub rock formations, about halfway along the route, are well worth the stop).

Carry on past the end of your route along the Cliff Gate Road towards Settle and you'll also get to discover the grandeur of the Ribblehead Viaduct, jewel of the Settle to Carlisle Railway.

Hardknott and Wynrose Passes, Cumbria, England

A real car killer of a road, but treat both your vehicle and the hard climbs of this part of the Lake District with respect and what you'll get in return are some epic views from the ceiling of Cumbria.

Approaching from the A590 in western Cumbria, both passes come in quick sucession, with the Hardknott proving the much harder of the two, but get these roads right by keeping an eye on brakes and engine temperature and Ambleside, in the heart of the Lakes, is but a short and scenic drive away.

The Llanberis Pass, Gwynedd, Wales

A simply stunning snake of tarmac through the heart of Snowdonia, although it can get crowded in the height of summer with ramblers, cyclists and rock climbers.

Finish off your ice-cream in Betws-Y-Coed, leave the A5 at Capel Curig and head up the moutain route towards Caernarfon, watching out for brake fade on the way down again. With everything from lakes, mountains, valleys and villages crammed into less than 15 miles, it's an unforgettable experience.

To sample some of the best roads in Yorkshire in Cumbria, click here to find out more about The Mountains and Museums Run being organised by Life On Cars next month.

Life On Cars treated to subtle facelift

YOU only have to look at the car above for a lesson in why not to mess with things too much.

A decade ago, Hyundai took its Coupe, one of the most pretty and pert shapes ever to come out of South Korea, and decided to treat it some Frogeye Sprite-style headlights and a redesigned rear bumper to keep it up to date against younger rivals like Ford's Puma. What they actually managed to do was make the best-looking car in the range into something spectacularly ugly. It lasted two years before being scrapped altogether in favour of the Ferrari-esque lines of the current model.

I mention this an example of how not to do a facelift, which is what I've just treated this blog to. Since being launched in July last year it's been treated to just one update, when I changed the font colour from orange to blue and the shameless Life On Mars spoof logo to the one which appears in The Champion newspaper, but that's been it so far.

That's why the latest nip/tuck job is definitely a "blink and you'll miss it" affair, with the emphasis on making this site easier to use rather than anything prettier to look at.

All of which means, in the subtle taps across the top of this page, you now get:

Clickable links to the Life On Cars fleet, pictured to the right, to respond to everyone who wants more updates on the Mini, MGB and Renault 5. No more rummaging through the archives, just click on the pic of the classic of your choice!

A dedicated Fire Up The... section, meaning you can get to all the test drives (and there are a fair few) in an instant.

A radio section to listen back to all those slightly banal interviews from earlier this year (and are due to return in the next month).

Instant access to the Life On Cars Magazine, after lots of you said you were impressed with this venture into the world of car magazines. Another, I promise, is due sooner than you might think.

Details of events, including one next month you're all invited to, and the opportunity to plug your own classic car events (that's you, Roger!).

Contact details so you can get in touch easily, including details of the Life On Cars Facebook page.

There's also a Newspapers section due soon, so anyone outside of the Southport area can see the Life On Cars column as it appears in print, as well as the features from GR8Life Magazine. I'm also planning on a Car Clubs section so if you're in a club in the north west, send over your details and I'll stick them on here.

You can go back to reading about cars now...

Peel P50: tiny car, big investment

SUPPOSE you landed a spot on business-savvy BBC show Dragon's Den. Given five smirking tycoons and an audience of millions, what would you pitch?

So far the series has put serious amounts of cash behind a brand of spicy sauce, a treadmill for dogs, an indie band and a teddy bear that doubles up as an MP3 player, so they're not averse to making the occasional odd investment. But a four-ft-long car last made on the Isle of Man over forty years ago? Thanks to James Caan, the Peel is making a comeback!

Most peoples' experience of this miniscule motor is still the slightly ridiculous Top Gear episode from a couple of years ago, shown below, when all 6 ft 5 of Jeremy Clarkson squeezed himself in for a quick spin around the BBC News offices in London. He jokingly said it was the future, but James Caan is serious enough to stack a whopping £80,000 in its favour.

Both the Peel P50 and the Trident, were powered by ancient moped engines when they first appeared in the early Sixties but when it's given the Dragon's Den treatment it'll be propelled along by an eco-friendly electric unit and cost around £8,000, which is about the same as you'd pay for the four-seat treatment you'll get in a Fiat Panda. But no matter how hard you try, you can't get a Fiat Panda into an elevator, and that's the P50's party trick.

Regular readers will already know I'm a big fan of fun little cars; along with owning an original Mini, I've admired the clever packaging of Toyota's tiny IQ since it was launched last year, and the Gulliver's World proportions of the Peel just take things to a surreal new level. In much the same way as you want a phone that fits in your pocket, you know you want a car you can leave in that cupboard under the stairs at night.

Would I buy one? Absolutely, although Champion Media Group might have to take a more liberal look at its car parking policy if I do. I'd leave mine next to my desk in the newsroom.

The wonders of Wales from behind the wheel

YOU might not know it yet, but there’s a reason why they call the limestone cliffs that linger over Llandudno the Great Orme.

The official website of the café complex sitting at the top of this stunning piece of seaside geology recommends that you reach it either by a Victorian tramway or Britain’s longest cable car ride, but both, I reckon, sell the place short. If you want to enjoy the journey then you’ve got to head for the twists of turns of the access road instead. That’s what makes it great, and there’s no better way to enjoy it than in an open-top sports car.

St Tudno’s Drive is like a stretch of tarmac that’s been stolen from a mountain pass in the Alps by people who love driving and then draped over a British backdrop for our own enjoyment, so exciting are the series of crests and hairpins which catapult you from sea level to an eatery almost 700 feet above. It’s places like these that make motoring exciting, and the whole of North Wales is awash with them.

Don’t think my trip to one of the most captivating corners of the British Isles was just for fun, though; I was here for a birthday bash, because it’s 20 years since the first examples of Mazda’s MX-5 started arriving on our shores. Time flies when you’re having fun.

You have to remember what small roadsters were like in 1990 to appreciate the original MX-5’s impact - apart from the front wheel drive Lotus Elan, there weren’t any - and after years of no sports cars at all drivers were suddenly treated to an soft-top, rear wheel drive roadster which reminded us of decades ago when everybody drove around in MGBs, Triumphs and Austin-Healeys. It might have been a shameless copy of the original Lotus Elan, but nobody cared because they loved it.

Two decades later and almost every car company now offers its own sports car, but even though the latest 2.0i Sport Tech version is a little flabbier than the lithe original it’s still an absolute delight to drive. It’s something it actually seemed keen to show off on the way up the Horseshoe Pass, an inviting road heading between Ruthin and Llangollen. By combining its flick-of-the-wrist gear change with inspiringly precise steering, it just goes where you want it to.

If anything I reckon it’s actually better than Britain’s own old sports cars, because unlike them the MX-5 actually works and means you can spend your weekends in the countryside, rather than the garage. Just make sure you share the driving with whoever you take along for the ride, otherwise they’ll forget it’s a driver’s car and start going on about the interior being too cramped, the boot too small and the ride too firm.

It’s also got the same problem most convertibles have when it comes to roof-up visibility, but I reckon the Mazda’s folding fabric roof is easier and faster than the metal most of its rivals come with. You can have metal origami as an optional extra, if you insist, but while you get added security it’s slower to shelter you and it weighs the little lightweight roadster down.

While it does have just the two seats it’ll still do everything you’d expect a £20,145 car to do, and although I wasn’t expecting it in something so single-mindedly sporty it was great to have toys like cruise control, a CD autochanger and a Bluetooth system at my fingertips. But you’ll forget all of them on a cross-country blast, because even when it’s not its birthday the Mazda’s partying, and you’re always invited.

That’s the feeling I got when I spotted a group of MX-5 owners out on their own adventures in one of Snowdonia’s more remote valleys, because they all smiled the smile you get when you’ve got a sports car at your disposal. Even though they owned MX-5’s from the model’s early days they all agreed on that what they own is so much more than a way of getting to work and back. It’s a go-kart with a CD player.

There are roomier, comfier cars out there but if you drive simply because you enjoy it you can’t go far wrong with an MX-5, particularly if you’re the sort of person who deliberately takes the long route just so they can go over the Llanberis Pass on the way.

It might be 20 years old, but the Mazda MX-5 isn’t as good as the British sports cars of yesteryear. It’s much better than that.

Read the full story in the Autumn edition of GR8Life magazine, out now, and in the Life On Cars magazine.

Getting lost with satnavs

SATNAVS. Do you know where I'm going with this one?

I'm genuinely lost with the latest wheeze from the world of satellite navigation, and not in the sense that I've been guided to a remote Scottish village when I actually wanted help getting to Newcastle. Ford has launched a guidance gizmo which lives in your rear view mirror.

A satnav in your rear view mirror? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one, but I just can't shake the suspicion that it sounds at best distracting, and at worst just a little bit dangerous. But if you've got a spare £299 lying around in a box and a new Ford on order, you can find out for yourself.

Before anyone asks, no, I haven't tried it out, but I'm not entirely sure whether I'd want to, because I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with satnavs.

For every excellent example I've seen there's always been another which insists, in increasingly annoyed tones, that the M55 doesn't go anywhere near Blackpool. Or one that tells you to turn right once you've driven PAST the junction. I had one once which denied the existence of a small village in Staffordshire altogether.

But the beef I've got with Garmin's tie-in with Ford isn't about the gadget but where you have to look to see the streets virtually laid out - a small screen just to the left of your rear view mirror, which means you're clocking what's behind you to see what's ahead. Do you ask strangers stood behind you for directions? Nope, me neither, and I'd no sooner have a satnav screen in my rear mirror than I would in the door mirror, the cupholders or the passenger footwell. It's just not somewhere I'd instinctively look for directions.

The conumdrum was cracked long ago by the car industry; if you have to have a satnav it should sit in front of you, so you're not taking your eyes off the road when you're trying to work out where Winchester is. Whether it's the dashboard job you get on a Ferrari 458 or a Tom Tom taped to the windscreen of an ageing supermini, it's better than having to look in your rear view mirror. Or you can save yourself £290.46 and not bother, because the latest AA road atlas costs £8.54.

Rear view mirrors are where tailgating Transit vans live.

Event: The 26th Lancashire Classic Car and Bike Show

Copy courtesy of Andrew Greenwood's Classicshows

Happening at: Hoghton Tower, Nr Preston, Lancs, PR5 0SH. It's n the A675 (the old Preston to Blackburn road) 3 miles from junction 3 of the M65.

On: Sunday 12th September 2010 10am-4pm

Admission: All Adults £6, Children 7-14 £2, Parking Free

Organised by: Andrew Greenwood’s Classic Shows, 26 Westgate, Honley, Holmfirth, West Yorks. HD9 6AA Tel: 01484 667776

Fax: 01484 666923 Mobile: 07831 281284

The 26th Classic Car and Bike Show will be a stunning gathering of classic vehicles assembled at Hoghton Tower near Preston, Lancashire. There will be an array of vehicles ranging from pre 1950’s such as Singer, Morris, Riley, Rover & Humber to modern day classics such as the MG, Porsche, TVR, Mercedes & E-Type Jaguar; plus BSA and Velocettes in the Classic Bike Section.

Hoghton Tower is a well known local venue classic vehicle events at Hoghton Tower have been running continuously for almost two decades and continue to be a very popular feature of the classic vehicle movement calendar in the northwest. We always get around 400 classic cars, a decent turn out of classic bikes and around 25 autojumble and trade stands.

There are 14 clubs booked in, travelling from the surrounding area such as Wigan, Cheshire and other parts of Lancashire these include: Wigan Classics OC, Cheshire Classics OC, Stag OC, Lancashire Capri etc.

In addition to the 90+ Club vehicles on display, there is a further 400 private individuals. As always there will be a full range of makes & models represented from the Austin 7’s and Morris 8’s of the 1920’s and 30’s to the Mg’s Triumphs, Jaguars and Morris Minors, Fords of the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s.

There are categories for pre 1950 vehicles, 1950’s, 60’s & 70’s saloons, post 80’s cars, sports and convertible vehicles, American, Military, Kit and Custom and Commercial vehicles. All Classic vehicles arriving on the day are welcome to participate in the show as normal, although owners who have not pre-booked will be charged the normal customer admission price on the day.

As always there will be an arena, commentator and all day concours competitions. An excellent way to end our season in this beautiful part of the country.

Further Details: Please see our new website for full details www.classicshows.org

Fire up the... Citroen DS3

THE hot hatch hits of yesteryear have been remixed and re-released by pop pickers Citroen for the first of the firm's new luxury lineup.

Check out the company's sporty DS3 hatchback and it's obvious that the styling's definitely straight out of 2010, and defiantly not retro like its MINI and Fiat 500 rivals. It's got some clever styling cues, like the way the side pillars never quite reach the roofline, but it's not a car you could ever mistake as something that's escaped from a motoring museum.

Citroen want you to think of it not as a conventional Citroen, but something with a bit more punch and prestige altogether, because it's an £11,700 entry ticket to a whole new brand being launched by the company. The pretty five-door DS4 is set to arrive in showrooms next year, but for now it's the three-door DS3 which is hoping to bring in younger and trendier buyers.

Anyone used to the old C2 or Saxo VTS is going to be in familiar territory the first time they take the new arrival to a twisty corner - it's a blast, in the same way the best hot hatches are. The too-light clutch takes a little time to get used to and you always seem to sit a little higher than you'd like, but these are minor gripes with a grippy and involving Yorkshire Terrier of a car which snaps at the ankle of much bigger motors.

But cast your eyes back to the cabin itself and you'll find you're in a very different world, with swathes of metal giving the dash a shine of quality, and plenty of space for you and your passengers. It's clear Citroen is determined not only to take on the MINI with the DS3, but the likes of Alfa's MiTo and Audi's A1 too.

Whether launching a brand-within-a-brand to entice the trendy twentysomethings is going to work is something only history will tell us; Mazda tried a similar trick twenty years ago with the Xedos lineup, and never quite pulled it off. But if the DS3's a sign of things to come, Citroen could be onto a winner. It's that rare thing; a Citroen that's cool.

If you want to charm people with retro chic, get a Fiat 500. But if you want something that's funky and fun-to-drive in a thoroughly modern way, you've got to have one of these.

As published in The Champion on September 8, 2010