The Week UK – 23 August 2019

LEISURE 39

24 August 2019 THE WEEK

Consumer

New cars: what the critics say

Tips of the week... how to

spot afake review online

And for those who

have everything...

DS 3Crossback

from £21,555

Auto Express

Entering the compact SUV

class out of the blue is a

“big ask”. DS is the

Peugeot/Citroën group’s

premium brand, and the

DS 3Crossback is trying

to compete with posh

models like the Audi Q2

and Mini Countryman.

There are plenty of “smart

touches” here to justify its

price: generous kit, stand-

out design. But the biggest

challenge DS faces is

convincing buyers that it’s

on the same level as Audi.

The Daily Telegraph

Few SUVs catch the eye

like the DS3Crossback.

While not “conventionally

pretty”, with its frowning

face and sculpted sides,

it looks like nothing else

on the road. Inside, it’s

equally “stylized”, with

adiamond motif applied

from corner to corner.

There are lots of modern

touch-sensitive “buttons”,

but they’re not responsive

enough.Afirmly city-

oriented car, it’s also quite

cramped in the back.

Autocar

This isa“surprisingly

forgettable” car to drive,

though there’s nothing

very wrong with it. It’s

short on “agility and feel”,

but goes round bends

well. The 1.2-litre turbo

petrol engine (available

with 100bhp, 128bhp or

153bhp) and the 1.5-litre

diesel “blend performance,

refinement and economy”

well. The DS3Crossback,

then, is intriguing, but it

doesn’t always back up

style with substance.

●Ignoreone-andfive-starreviews.Writers

either“haveanaxetogrind”,orarelazy,

over-exuberantorsuspicious.Everythingin

betweenismuchmorereliable,especiallya

positivereviewthatadmitssomedefects.

●Treatreviewswithcapitalisedwordslike

“AMAZING”and“FANTASTIC”,orthose

thatreadlikeadverts,withcaution.

●Lookforlength,anddetailaboutthe

productitself–lessaboutdeliveryspeedor

howitwasboughtforthereviewer’saunt.

●Amazonsays90%offakereviewsare

computer-generated,sowatchoutformany

five-starreviewspostedinquicksuccession,

andre-usingthesamewordsandphrases.

●Lookforsignsofhumanity:anoccasional

typo,anecdoteorregionaldialect.

●Spotpaid-forfakeswrittenbyhumansby

clickingonareviewer’sprofile.Dothey

reviewseveraldisparateproductseachday?

●WebsiteslikeFakespotandReviewMeta

willtrytoweedoutfakereviewsforyouif

youpasteintheURLoftheproduct.

SOURCE: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH SOURCE: WIRED SOURCE: THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

SE

The Somnox Sleep Robot isa2.5kg

cuddly, breathing jelly bean that’s meant

to put you to sleep faster. As it slowly

expands and contracts, your breathing

should synchronise to its steady pace,

putting you to sleep. It can also play gentle

music and white noise, or emit whale song.

£549; meetsomnox.com

ThePoets’ Pathsaretwocircularwalks,

eacheightmileslong,fromDymockin

Gloucestershire,whereRobertFrost,Rupert

BrookeandEdwardThomasalllived

between1911and1914(ldwa.org.uk).

The86-mileJohn Bunyan Trailhitsmany

sitesassociatedwiththePuritanauthor

ofThe Pilgrim’s ProgressinBedfordshire,

wherehewasborn(britishpilgrimage.org).

Foratourthroughamoreurbanlandscape,

The Larkin Trailisathree-partwalkthrough

25locationsconnectedwithPhilipLarkinin

Hull(thelarkintrail.co.uk).

The51-mileColeridge WayinSomerset’s

QuantockHillsfollowsthefootstepsof

SamuelColeridgeandWilliamWordsworth,

whowalkedandwrotetheirseminalwork

Lyrical Balladsthere(visit-exmoor.co.uk).

OntheLaurie Lee Wildlife Way,acircular

six-milewalkaroundthewildlife-richSlad

Valley,youcanstillidentifymanyofthe

placesmentionedinCider with Rosie

(gloucestershirewildlifetrust.bigcartel.com).

The best... children’s party decorations

Where to find...

literary walks

corations

OURCES: THE INDEPENDENT/LONDONEVENING STANDARD/COUNTRYLIVING.COM

Tissue Paper Fan

corationsIfyou’re

ngtosticktoa

htbudget,this

ckofthreehanging

perfansisgreat.

elargestis40cm

diameter,soyou

n’tneedmany,

dthey’rebright

deye-catching

(£3.50;

hobbycraft.co.uk).

Flamingo Party PiñataThis

strikingpiñataissuretobea

hitwithchildren.Youhaveto

fillityourself,butit’seasyto

assembleandthere’snoglue

involved,soyoumighteven

beabletoreuseitifitdoesn’t

getcompletelydemolished

(£20.50;merimeri.co.uk).

Djeco Dinosaur Origami Papers

Withthisbeautifulorigamiset,you

canmakesomedinosaurdecor

withyourownkidsbeforethe

partystarts,orsetthe

gueststowork.Aset

contains24sheets

andthereare

eightdifferent

dinosaurdesigns

(£5.50;birdkids.co.uk).

Silver Glitter

Star Candles

Somethingas

simpleasastar-

shapedcandlecan

giveahugeboost

toabirthday

cake.Comingina

packofsix,theseare

andtheyburnevenly(£8.25;merimeri.co.uk).

Mini Tutti Frutti Honeycomb GarlandThis

colourfulgarlandismadeupofsevendifferent

honeycombpaperfruitsthatlooklikethey’vebeen

choppedinhalf.Itlooksfestive,andit’sfunfor

childrentoassemble(£7;rexlondon.com).

T

Dec

tryi

tigh

pac

pap

The

ind

wonwon

and

and

too

hob

bothfunandelegant,

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