I may have trouble with one horse power (horseback riding), but give me 355 horses and I am on my way. I had the luxury experience to drive a new 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S while in Switzerland, which was made available from the hotel Palace Luzern. The Palace Luzern, in conjunction with Porsche, makes available, for the price of the gas, a Porsche for guests staying at the hotel to drive. You only need to provide your signature, acknowledging the insurance responsibility, and you are presented the keys and a map for your drive around the breathtaking area surrounding Lucerne, Switzerland. As any good race car driver or actually any driver would do, I had to check out all the features available to me for my drive. So, what did I have to work with? A 6 speed manual transmission, a 6 cylinder 355 hp engine at 6,500 rpm with 295 lb-ft torque at a compression ration of 11.8-1; translated, I was not going to be riding behind any cars during my drive.
To balance out the ride there is a 4-piston aluminum monobloc fixed calipers, vacuum servo, ventilated, and drilled, ABS braking system, as though I was going to need this feature, but it was nice to know that it was there. The weather was favorably warm for a late October journey through Switzerland, so of course we had the sunroof open and we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. Lucerne is located in such a beautiful location with the mountains and the lakes surrounding it, although having traveled a bit of Switzerland I guess that this statement would fit most of Switzerland. It was a bit hard taking in the scenery when most of the surroundings are a blur, but we did slow down as we passed through the many charming towns. Short shifting and powering through turns, downshifting for speed so we could watch the cars in our rearview mirror; I believe that Debra had wished we had a 3 point harness for a seatbelt. We cruised a few hours north of Lucerne before doubling back to meet with a friend in the town of Willisau where we went on a tour of the Diwisa Distillery where they make Xellent Swiss Vodka. I, being of sound mind, body, and remembering the insurance note I signed regarding the Porsche, did not partake in any of the samples. We enjoyed the educational and informative tour of the Diwisa Distillery, but alas it was time to fire-up the engine and cruise back to Lucerne, though we did take a few turns to extend our seat time. Recalling my physics classes, "two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time," translated, that is what the accelerator pedal was for; I used this feature to its proper functionality. The navigation system worked to perfection as it told me in a calm and engaging voice 'where to go,' and I enjoyed it. Debra noted how smooth the ride was regardless of the speed, so our experiment was a success.
It鈥檚 supremely comfortable and unmatched when it comes to off-road ability, but it鈥檚 also one of the most practical cars you can buy and will easily seat seven people in comfort. The Land Rover has the biggest boot and also has more kit in HSE Luxury form - despite being cheaper to buy. Running costs are a little high, though. BMW鈥檚 first foray into the luxury SUV segment is a success. The X7 is good to drive, comfortable and has nearly as much space inside as the Discovery, while its cabin is of an even higher quality. BMW鈥檚 infotainment set-up is brilliant as well, and there鈥檚 lots of boot space with all seven seats in place. It loses out to the better-value Land Rover here, but is still a top choice if you鈥檙e after a huge, luxurious SUV. The finishing order here could easily be flipped if you鈥檙e a company car buyer, because the efficient XC90 T8 is much cheaper for business users to run. It鈥檚 great for those who cover short distances, because you can run in ultra-quiet and low-cost EV mode. The Volvo is slightly outclassed here for luxury, practicality and comfort, though, which is what many buyers will be looking for in this class. But it鈥檚 still a great choice. The Audi Q7 is a lower-cost option if you鈥檙e after a big, premium SUV, so with our budget here you can get into a high-spec Black Edition model. The Q7 is spacious and has a top-quality cabin, but it isn鈥檛 as luxurious or as advanced as the Land Rover or BMW. It's possible to buy a nearly new Range Rover at this budget; we found a few with delivery miles only for around 拢75,000 in Vogue form with Land Rover鈥檚 diesel V6. The Range Rover is more luxurious than the Discovery inside, but it doesn鈥檛 have seven seats.
When the first Range Rover Evoque came out in 2011, it wowed onlookers with concept car-like looks. For this new version, Land Rover saw little need to change the styling because customers have always loved it - you could argue that the Evoque was the first SUV that could be considered cool. What customers found less cool were the original Evoque鈥檚 refinement and cabin space, so plenty of emphasis has been placed on both areas when developing this new model. But buyers didn鈥檛 want it to be any bigger on the outside and, being a Land Rover, it still needed to perform off road. It also had to be more frugal, so space for mild hybrid setups was required, too. As a result, the structure of this new car is almost completely new and significantly stronger than before - the only metalwork carried over is the door hinges. This stiffer structure, revised engine mounts and overhauled suspension are said to increase comfort and refinement significantly.
And the good news is that it all seems to have worked. From behind the wheel, the Evoque feels very much like the baby Range Rover you鈥檇 hope it would be. The ride quality on the 20-inch wheels of our test car - wheel sizes range from 17 to 21 inches - is excellent. In comfort mode, it offers a similar floaty feeling to the air-suspended larger members of the Range Rover family. The trade off is that it isn鈥檛 as fun to drive as a BMW X1, but grip is strong and the steering precise enough. The optional adaptive dampers seem redundant though: the differences in ride and handling between comfort and sport modes are so subtle that there鈥檚 barely any point changing them. Under the bonnet, the Evoque gets the same range of 鈥業ngenium鈥?four cylinder engines used by the last car. This time, however, all but the most basic 148bhp diesel get a 48-volt mild hybrid system.
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