Speeding into the New Year

PREVIOUSLY unpublished information about the nation's speed cameras could be made available to drivers from next April under plans unveiled by the Coalition Government.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said this week that he wanted more information about all safety cameras to be made public, and suggested details such as accident rates and the options offered to motorists caught speeding should be made available as early as next April.

“Public bodies should be accountable and if taxpayers' money is being spent on speed cameras then it is right that information about their effectiveness is available to the public,” he said.

“The proposals I have announced today will help show what impact cameras are having on accident and casualty rates and also how the police are dealing with offenders.

This is in line with our commitment to improve transparency of government data so that the public are able to make more informed judgements about the work of local and central government.”

The Association of British Drivers said it welcomed the Government's announcements, which if fully approved will force road safety partnerships to publish more information, but said the scope of the information should go further.

“The ABD have years of experience attempting to get raw data out of elusive partnerships without success. Any data grudgingly released is invariably missing vital information or spun in a misleading fashion. This cannot continue,” said ABD Chairman Brian Gregory.

“Only when armed with the full information can the public see exactly what effect an individual camera has had. Of course, the raw data will also need to be ‘trend adjusted' i.e. casualties will have fallen everywhere over any recent ten year period due to huge advances in vehicle design.”

The Department for Transport said it will be working with police and local authority representatives as well as the Highways Agency to discuss the details of what should be published and how. The final requirements will then be confirmed in time for publication in April 2011.

Anyone expecting a New Year round up of the best cars, roads and things from 2010 should click here.

Fire up the... Mitsubishi ASX

ONE of the best things about driving new cars, I wager, is knowing that you're never going to come across a bad one.

Think about it; no matter what you make of the scores of models on sale right now, not one of them is going to fail to start up on a cold morning, make strange clicking noises when you do eventually set off or - worst of all - shed vital components when you're on the move. All things that have happened on the older machines I've actually owned, so you have to conclude that they just don't make ‘em like they used to. They make them much better.

This what I ended up pondering after driving Mitsubishi's ASX, because it occured to me that all cars, without a whisper of exception are now so startingly good that in fact anything less than class-leadingly excellent is in fact the new bad.

The ASX, particularly the 1.6 petrol version I've driven, is very, very good in all that areas that actually matter to motorists, particularly in how well it's screwed together and the utter sense of dependability it always gives you. The Japanese company's newest model, which comes with two or four wheel drive and blends Golf-esque size and dynamics with off-roader styling cues and practicality, is the kind of car you'd comfortably expect to survive a small nuclear blast.

It's also exceptionally practical, with plenty of room both up front and in the back, a big boot to carry all the things you don't need to hand, and lots of little storage bins and cubby holes for the things you do. It handles nicely too, keeping up with spirited driving whether you're on country lanes or dicing through gaps in busier traffic.

The particular engine I tried goes well enough and is refined enough for longer runs, but in many instances I found it lacked the mid-range punch I would have liked for overtaking, meaning the ASX is one of the few instances where I'd recommend the punchier, torquier diesel version.

But the problem with this car is not that it's bad, but that it's boring, with very little in the conservative styling outside and the unremitting dark grey of the dashboard to inspire you. The ASX is something you'd buy with your head, and it is a clever choice if you're looking for a solid, dependable crossover of a car.

But buy it with your heart? Not a chance.

More true grit from the Germans

THE radio news bulletin in the car on the way into Solingen was entirely in German, but I knew it was about the snowy conditions. I understood just two words; “London Heathrow”.

What you see above is a residential street in downtown Solingen, a German city where I'm currently on holiday, in the middle of the same snowy winter we Brits are going through. Don't be fooled by the massive mounds of the white stuff surrounding the parked cars; both the roads and the pavements have not only been gritted, but cleared as well. Something we don't seem to be able to manage in Sefton or West Lancashire.


When it snows in Germany the roads are cleared, the pavements gritted and shoppers put their gloves on and carry on. In Britain the public transport system is paralysed, entire airports shut down, cars crash on icy roads and pensioners slip on the frozen pavements. It’s bizarre, but we Brits as a nation just can’t cope with snow!

Last year I saw first hand how the entire region was caught out by an unusually high amount of snow. Searching questions were asked of the Government and the local councils, who promised that the scenario where entire towns were left ungritted wouldn’t happen again. It just has!

In England I’ve seen buses and trains cancelled, roads which look more like ice rinks, and even milk deliveries being carried out by tractor. Here, the most dramatic things I've seen are a Smart buried nose-deep into the snow, and a very elderly Citroen 2CV going about its business on snow chains.

The way everyone in Germany gets the roads cleared and just carries on, completely unfazed, never ceases to amaze me.

Compared to the chaos we’ve got, the Germans don’t know how lucky they are.

Fire up the... Abarth Punto

WHAT'S red and white and travels around Britain at breakneck speed? Nope, it's not Father Christmas, but Abarth's go-faster treatment of one of Fiat's best sellers.

This pimped-out Punto isn't, the marketing men insist, a Fiat at all, but an exciting and sporty hot hatch from Abarth, who if you reach for the history books have actually notched up quite a bit of motorsport heritage. It's just a shame that Fiat, who took over the motorsport outfit, then squandered its significance by using the name for sad cosmetic kits for Seicentos and Stilos, but since then it's made a bit of a comeback with the near-universally praised Abarth 500.

The question for this racy-looking road rocket, then, is really rather simple; is it the perfect Christmas present for the hot hatch fan, or is it an Abarth in name only?

The good news starts even before you step inside; like the little 500, it has one of the best bodykits I've seen on any of today's sportier superminis, having go-faster stripes where you'd want them, black alloy wheels, and nothing at all in the way of silly spoilers or big wings. There's something very Seventies about the big ABARTH logos running down the side, and the company's famed Scorpion badge will allow at least some bragging rights in the pub car park.

But even that doesn't get you past this car's biggest problem; whichever way you look at it the Fiat Punto, which the Abarth's based on, it's a car that's showing its age. Sure, it's still stylish, roomy and practical, but you get the sense, particularly when you're inside, that it's lost the edge to newer rivals.

It's also something you sense behind the wheel, because while the Abarth has a delightful scrabbly feel off the line, you always get the suspicion that its 180bhp isn't quite enough in a hot hatch market obsessed with horsepower. I'd buy it over the Abarth offerings of old, but over a Citroen DS3 or Renaultsport Clio? Sadly, I suspect I probably wouldn't.

And anyway; Abarth already makes a hatchback that really is worth every penny. The Abarth 500.

As published in The Champion on December 22, 2010

It's snow joke when you're not actually a rally driver

MY apologies to the annoyed-looking man across the road.

Regular readers will be delighted to know that my battle to get my No Claims Bonus recognised by the Rover's insurers has finally been won, after they finally accepted the mountain of paperwork I'd sent through as proof of me being a careful driver.

A reputation hard earned and very nearly ruined by tonight's weather.

Regular readers will also know that the idea of driving on snow doesn't terrify me as much as it probably should; in fact, I actually relish the challenge of ploughing through it, because it's a great excuse to practise your car control skills. That and secretly pretend you're about to win the Rally Sweden.

The old Life On Cars Mini was, as you'd expect, utterly brilliant on the white stuff, being light and nimble and perfectly balanced, which in turn meant when you did lose grip at surprisingly slow speeds it was an easy slide to catch. This could, I wager, be part of the reason why the original Mini Cooper S was a three-times Monte Carlo rally winner.

You might have forgotten the Renault 5's got rally pedigree too; true, all the high-profile victories might have gone to the mid-engined 5 Turbo but the front-engined one, which is far more closely related to my old £100 banger, actually proved quite a capable hot hatch in the handling stakes. While it was never as nimble as the Mini, it was a lot more reassuring.

So it's a shame the Rover 214, a bigger, heavier car which focuses more on opulent trim than opposite lock, hasn't quite passed the snow test. It's comfy, don't get me wrong, but it's also not a six-year-old schoolchild of car that wants to come out and play whenever it snows.

Put simply, I spun it. Sorry...

A special Christmas present for both our readers

THIS time last Christmas Toyota's tiniest offering got robbed of a not-at-all prestigious award, and it's all my fault.

Regular readers might recall that last year I offered up some honours to the good, the bad and the ugly of 2009, and that Toyota's radical little IQ got pipped to the post by Ford's Fiesta at the very last minute, largely because I wimped out and said the oriental city car's boot was too small.

Yep, it's time to revive the Life On Cars Awards, in a time-honoured tradition dating back to, oooh, this time last year. Only this time the job of working out what this year's best car was is even harder, because there's no less than five motors to mull over.

For starters, there's the Citroen DS3, which not only got shortlisted for the official European Car of the Year award but was also named by Stuff Magazine as the nation's trendiest car. I still think the clutch is a little lighter than I'd like but in every version I've tried is fabulously crisp through the corners, the interior gives off an air of quality and it looks great. It is that rare thing; a Citroen that's cool.

But it's got competition in the surprising shape of the Suzuki Swift, which I wasn't expecting to be anything Earth-shattering but it bowled me over by being a small sports car in disguise. I still think it's not quite as funky as its predecessor and that the boot lip's too high, but everything from its slick gearchange to its sense of fun when you drive it proved hugely impressive.

The car, I reckon, everyone at The Champion offices loved was Skoda's Yeti, which offers much more than just distinctive styling. It's like a Land Rover Discovery, but usefully smaller and much, much cheaper. If you like taking your dog for walks in the countryside, I cannot think of a better car for the job.

Certainly its roomier than the Honda's CR-Z, a sporty and slightly cramped coupe I drove and fell in love with on a couple of occasions this year. It achieves the historic feat of being the first hybrid car you'd actually want to buy because it's a nice car, and not as an eco-friendly statement. Good looking, revvy and fun to drive, it's a real contender.

It's only matched in the style stakes by our final contender, the Peugeot RCZ, which I've already had several arguments with readers over because I reckon it is truly beautiful. Striking, sporty and surprisingly practical, I'm not surprised Peugeot has had such a hit on its hands with this coupe.

It's a special treat for Champion-reading car lovers, and my way of saying Merry Christmas.

Open publication - Free publishing - More automotive

Volkswagen's black cab

EVER wondered what the iconic black cab would look like if a group of German engineers went about redesigning it?

That's the question Volkswagen have put to the public with its Taxi Concept Car, which it launched in London this week complete with a raft of what it calls “tongue-in-cheek” design touches.

Naturally, it's black and has a sign with the word TAXI written on it in large, luminous letters, but the rest of the details are either a) a tad fatuous or b) not really taxi-esque enough. The stylised Union Flag on the roof, for instance, would be fine as a sort of cheeky style statement atop a Mini Cooper, but unless you've somehow landed at Heathrow and made it to the exit without working out which country you're now in, I can't see it being much use on Volkswagen's reinvention of the cab.

What about, for instance, fitting a stereo that only plays MOR and Easy Listening? I have, for instance, only encountered these genres being played on sound systems in taxis, which in the happy haze of a drunken hour sound like a cross between an Enya cover of Fleetwood Mac's back catalogue and a blue whale giving birth. You can also never trace these mysterious radio stations the following morning.

Taxis, too, are usually equipped with a cheap, nasty faux leather you'd never see in any normal car; I know it's a cover designed to make it easy to clean a reveller's kebab/Smirnoff Ice vomit cocktail, but it's not a feature VW's mentioned on its taxi, which makes me think they haven't thought of it.

And don't forget the piece de resistance: the drivers themselves, who are more often than not lovely, intelligent people but on the very odd occasion seem to be opinionated chaps you'd be forgiven for assuming are practising for a BNP pre-entry oral exam. In the past friends and I have been forced into all sorts of conversations you thought had been left behind at Bernard Manning gigs, circa 1980.

Volkswagen misses out on these quintessentially British details, you see...