Auto Express – August 20, 2019

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk SpecialIssue 93

Newontheshelves PRODUCTS

Knowaneventcomingsoon?

[email protected]

news,

deals&

events

LET CHRIS CONTROL YOUR

PHONE AS YOU’RE DRIVING

Kingsleyaimsattwin

RangeRoverupgrade

SPECIALISTKingsleyCarshaslaunched

apairofupgradekits,allowingowners

ofclassicRangeRoverstoimprovetheir

vehicleswithoutalteringtheirlook.

Thefirstisabrakeupgrade(£5,994).

Itfitsallclassicmodels(above)andcan

cleara16-inchwheel,withfour-piston

calipersattherearandsixatthefront.

SecondistheFastRoadSuspension

kit(£3,474),whichupgradesdampers,

springs,anti-rollbarsandbushesto

improvethebasiccar’sroadholdingand

handling,withoutupsettingtheride.For

moredetails,visitkingsleycars.co.uk.

ForzaHorizon4adds

TransittoFord range

THEarsenalofFordsavailabletoplayin

racinggameForzaHorizon4hasgrown,

withthearrivalofaMk1Transit.

Horizon4includesahugeline-up

ofFordmodels,rangingfromtheF-150

Raptortothe2003FocusRSand2017

GT.TheTransitismodelledafterFordof

Britain’simmaculateheritageexample.

ForzaHorizon4isavailabletoplay

onXboxOneandWindowsPC,andis

thefirstinitsseriestobebasedina

fictionalrepresentationoftheUK.

AmericanandBritish

carsfetedatPrescott

PRESCOTTHillClimbinGotherington,

Gloucestershire,ishostingitsannual

American-themedclassicfestival,but

thistimewithanAnglo-Americantwist.

TheweekendofOctober5-6will

featurecarsfrombothsidesofthe

Atlantic.Adedicatedshown’shine

sectionwillbeopentoBritishand

American-builtmotors,andallmanner

ofcarclubsareexpectedtoattend.Live

musicandhillclimbrunsarealsotaking

place,plusthe‘WallofDeath’.Advance

ticketscost£25fortheweekendandcan

beboughtfromprescott-hillclimb.com.

DISTRACTEDdrivingcankill,whileusing
yourphonebehindthewheelcanlandyou
withsixpenaltypointsanda£200fine.So
somethinglikeChris,whichisdesigned
topreventboth,isagoodidea.
Combiningsatellitenavigation,Bluetooth
phonehook-upandanaudioplayer,Chris
linkswithanapponyourAndroidhandset
(Applecompatibilityisduelatesummer),
andallowsyoutocontrolfeaturesthatmany
motoristsrequire,whilekeepingyourphone
safelyinagloveboxorpocket.
It’sasleek,good-lookingunitthatwill
respondtobothvoiceandgesturecontrol.
Youcanaskittonavigatetoadestination,
dictateatextorWhatsAppmessage,play
musicormakeacall.Youcanalsouse
gesturestoturndownthevolume,skip

tracks,andotherfunctions.Boththevoice

recognitionandgesturecontrolsworkwell.

That’swherethegoodnewsends,

however.AlthoughtheHERE-basedsatellite-

navigationdirectionsweredecent,theroute

wasslowtoload,andthebasicturn-by-turn

graphicswerenotgoodenoughinadevice

thatcostsasmuchasthis.

YoucanalsoforgetaboutlinkingChris

toyourcar’sstereoviaBluetooth;itcan’tdo

thatatthesametimeasconnectingtoyour

phone.To makemattersworse,there’salso

noaccesstostreamingservices.

Giventhisunit’spriceandhowgood

Apple’sSiriandGoogleAssistantare,you

wouldbebetteroffforgettingChris,putting

yourphoneinacradle,andusingitsown

voice-recognitionsoftware.

FIRSTTEST

ChrisDigitalAssistant
Price:£299Rating:★★★★★
Contact:www.amazon.co.uk

CARmakersmaybedoingtheirbittothwartkey-
cloningthieves,butyoucantakemattersintoyour
ownhandswiththenewVectaPersonalSafe.Not
onlycanitprotectyourkeys,butitalsohasaFaradaybag;
withyourfobinside,itblocksthesignal,frustratingcloners.
Thesafe’sslimdesign,withsteeplychamferededges,is
intendedtoblendintoahallway,officeorbedroom,andithas
fastopeningwithafour-digitcodeandone-touchclosing.It
alsohasSecuredbyDesignaccreditationfromtheUKPolice.
Insidethere’sarackforconventionalkeysplusaremovable
valuablestray.Itdoesn’tneedmainspowerandthere’san
LCDdisplaytoindicatewhenthebatteriesneedreplacing.

NEWPRODUCT

VectaPersonalSafe
Price:£129Contact:www.amazon.co.uk

ConnectedChrisworksviaanappon

yoursmartphoneandcanbeoperatedby

eithervoicecommandorgesturecontrol

Security

Batteriespower

safe,whichhas

valuablestray

andkeyrack

“Thebasicturn-by-turngraphicsarenotgood

enoughinadevicethatcostsasmuchasthis”