Category Archives: Vehicle type

Estate/Sport Tourer, GENESIS, Motoring, Sports saloon and hatches

Shooting star a real looker

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GENESIS G70 Shooting Brake

By Bill McCarthy

There was a time, long, long ago, when if you described an estate car as slick and chic, you would hear the flapping of white coats. Traditionally seen as barges on wheels, sorry Volvo, they were highly practical and extremely capable – but good looking? I don’t think so.

Designers have upped their game and in the case of GENESIS have produced one of the most stylish estates, or Shooting Brake if you like, on the road.
The designers have cleverly targeted their audience with trim and styles with more appeal to younger buyers and the Shooting Brake, is a prime example.

The term is supposedly from turn-of-the last century England, where it referred to a car used to transport a hunting party and its gear. “Brake” refers to a chassis that was used to break in horses.

It eventually just came to refer to early wagons in general. 

This vehicle is a premium and elegant model designed to take on German market leaders and just like them, has a significant price tag that can be quickly increased by a host of optional features. On this case over £11k worth.

It features a sleek, coupe-like profile accentuated by the signature crest grille quad lamps and the well-known Bentley-inspired winged bonnet badge.

This variant adds a dark-chrome finish for the window surrounds and front grille, with a dark tinted chrome mesh insert. It also features 19-inch alloys with red Brembo brake calipers. The rear of the vehicle is designed with a single-piece glass hatch that accommodates part of the light cluster and a “floating type” integral spoiler. 

The vehicle is a premium model with state-of-the-art technologies, quality materials, and a finish that creates a fighter jet cockpit appearance. The car is centred on a 10.5-inch HD infotainment screen and 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster that controls connectivity and navigation functions. It also operates the impressive sound system. The Genesis Connect system offers voice recognition, live updates, and smartphone integration.

The turbo-charged two-litre turbo petrol engine mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox drives the rear wheels and that delivers rapid, but not stunning pace, and uninspiring fuel economy, hovering around the 30mpg mark. 

However the interior is spacious and luxurious, with a range of high-end features. Notably, it is equipped with artificial intelligence that learns about the driver and builds on existing state-of-the-art advanced autonomous driver assistance technology. 

One of the standout features is the pair of main binnacle dials that transform into cameras to show the road ahead when the indicator is activated. This feature contributes to pedestrian and cyclist safety.

Given the slick silhouette of the vehicle, boot space is not huge, with 465 litres of space, but this expands to a 1,535-litre load area with 40:20:40 split-fold rear seats offering significant stowage space.

On the road, the 245bhp engine delivers smooth acceleration and powers to 60mph in under seven seconds.

 It is also a fine motorway cruiser, just whispering along at higher speeds, with plenty of torque in reserve for acceleration and overtaking.

Drive modes include Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Sport+ modes allow the driver to choose between fuel economy and sporty driving by adjusting steering, suspension, throttle, and transmission response.

The ride and handling are excellent, with tuned suspension and electronically controlled adaptive dampers that reduce the impact of potholes while providing agile handling for such a large car. Additionally, a mechanical limited slip differential improves handling and traction on winding roads.

Factfile

Genesis G70 Sport Shooting Brake 2.0T

Price: £41,995

Mechanical: 247PS, 1,998cc, four-cylinder petrol engine driving rear wheels via eight-speed automatic transmission

Max Speed: 146mph

0-62mph: 6.9 seconds

Combined MPG: 30.2

C02 emissions: 200g/km

Bik rating: 37%

Warranty: Five years/unlimited miles

Isuzu, Pick-up/4x4

Arctic warrior takes on the toughest terrain

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Isuzu D-Max Arctic AT35

By Bill McCarthy

If anything defines the phrase full-fat off-road beast, then surely it will be this D-Max on steroids.  But that’s the point of this vehicle.

It’s about its capability and this has been recognised as Isuzu UK again secured the prestigious Pick-Up of the Year 2024 award from Company Car & Van magazine. This marks the third consecutive win for the Isuzu D-Max in this category, a testament to its unrivalled performance and versatility in meeting the needs of small to medium fleets.

This Arctic version, designed in collaboration with Icelandic off-road specialists Arctic Trucks, who know a thing or two about harsh off-road conditions, is a showstopper.

This vehicle is huge as discovered on a trip to a supermarket with the tightest of tight parking  spaces, squeezing it in, 35-inch tyres included, was a tricky manoeuvre.

Featuring a 1.9 litre diesel engine, it comes in either manual, or in this case an automatic transmission. It offers two all-wheel-drive mode, low and high range gears plus a locking rear diff for the most challenging conditions.

Cliches abound. It does what it says on the tin etc and just one look gives the impression of huge off-road capability, from the 35-inch rubber on 17-inch alloys, to huge wheel arches with massive ground clearance of a minimum of 266mm, running plates, flared wheel arch extensions, and roof rails.

The flat bed has a remote lockable roller cover and the tailgate has a soft opening and closing for ease of access.

Built on the best-selling Isuzu V-Cross model, it features strengthened chassis, Bilstein Performance Suspension which has  35 degree approach angle, 34 degree breakover and ramp angle of 22 degrees, allowing it to overcome the most challenging of obstacles.

Those mighty wheels and tyres give it the capacity to tackle anything from Iceland’s ‘fire and ice’ environment, to rain forests and harsh desert conditions. It’s pretty good for a small business or for use in a farming environment.

The 1.9 litre, 164PS turbo diesel engine delivers 360Nm of torque, a towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes and a payload of more than a tonne.

 The interior is pretty impressive as well with premium black leather finish which features bespoke Arctic branding and badging, a nine-inch multimedia system that provides navigation, connectivity for smartphones and infotainment via an eight-speaker sound system. There are even dedicated locking wheel nuts and an Arctic Trucks torque wrench. 

It is packed with high equipment bells and whistles, the kind of equipment found on premium motors.

On or off-road, the driver always feels in control thanks to the high driving position and numerous safety aids in place. Clearly designed for off-road work, on the road it performs OK, considering what it is although it tends to bounce around a bit, especially on lesser roads.

But the enhanced suspension means it feels pretty stable otherwise, particularly on bends and corners. It’s a more than adequate motorway cruiser as well.

The diesel, mated in this case to an auto box, is pretty noisy, but offers enough grunt to get out of tight situations while economy at a claimed 30-odd mpg is pretty good for such a heavy four-wheel drive vehicle. 

Safety is key with a vehicle of this nature and it features Traffic Sign Recognition, Automatic Windscreen Wipers and Emergency Lane Keeping, Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking to keep drivers safe.

Factfile

Isuzu D-MAX Arctic AT35

Price: £52,499 CVOTR

Mechanical: 1898cc 164PS four cylinder diesel engine driving all wheels rear wheels via eight speed automatic transmission

Max speed: 112mph

0-62mph: 12.4 seconds

Economy: 30.3mpg

CO2 emissions: 241g/km

Insurance group: 42

Warranty: 5yrs/125,000 miles