The Week UK 01Feb2020

LEISURE 39

1February2020 THE WEEK

Consumer

SageBambinoPlus

assle-freeandcomp

smachinehasa

mplethree-button

terfaceformaking

neortwocups,

ndforoperatingthe

and.Itheatsupinju

eeseconds(from£

hnlewis.com).

New cars: whatthe critics say

Tips oftheweek... how to

govegan, andstick toit

And for those who

have everything...

FordPuma

from£20,545

What Car?

Back inthe 1990s,

the Ford Pumawas a

small, sportycoupé.

So it’salittleodd that it

has“morphed” intoa

smallSUV –but it ’s

certainlyagood one.

It uses the kind of

mild hybrid engine

technology that you’d

usually expect to find

in amuch more expensive

car, “allowingitto

combinenippy acceleration

with remarkably thrifty

fuel economy”.

Auto Express

So far, there’s onlyaone-

litre turbocharged petrol

engineonoffer, with

either 123bhp or 153bhp.

It’s an excellentengine,

with acleverEcoBoost

mechanism to shut down

one of its threecylinders

when it’s not needed. The

Puma is “a realpleasure”

to dr ive, and though it can

be loud,it hasa“fluid,

sure-footed feel thatonly

Ford seems to be ableto

manageint he mainstream

family-car class”.

The DailyTelegraph

The Pumahas adistinctive

“tough toy car” look, and

an “airy”,comfortable

interior. There areafew

cheapmaterials inside,but

thereis als oa“wealth”

of innovation–from

zip-off seat covers to a

height-adjustable floorfor

theimpressive 456-litre

boot.Generous entry-level

spec includes pre-collision

breakingand massaging

seats.The Puma might just

be “goodenough to be

crowned Carof the Year”.

●Decidewhyyou’regoingvegan,whether

it’sfor your health, the environment or

animal welfare, and then read up on it.

You’re more likely to stick to your decision

if you know why your convictions matter.

●Re-stock your cupboards full of vegan

cooking basics:adairy-free spread (Flora is

now fully vegan), veggie mince (handy for

bolognese and chilli), oat milk (try Oatly

Barista Edition), and vegan mayonnaise (try

the Hellmann’s one, or Follow Your Heart).

●Learn to check the labels–eggsand milk

are often hidden ingredients.

●Most wines, barring French ones, are

vegan, even if they don’t carry an official

label. If in doubt, buy new world wines.

Most spirits and champagnes are vegan.

●Most toiletries are tested on animals,

as are many cleaning products. Look for

vegan/cruelty-free labels, or use brands like

Ecover, Method, Lush and The Body Shop.

●Don’t throw away your non-vegan clothes

–phase them out gradually.

SOURCE: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH SOURCE: LONDON EVENING STANDARD SOURCE: THE SUNDAY TIMES

SOURCES: T3/THE INDEPENDENT/THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

If you sometimes find yourselfoutand

about,desperately cravingahome-made

smoothie, theSmoovii is what youneed.

The portableblender (about the size of

awater bottle)can mix about 20drinks

on asingleUSB charge.

£40;smoovii.com

One of the first places to lay outaspecial

winter garden, the 40-acreCambridge

University Botanic Gardenis filled with

glowing orange and red dogwoods and

willows (£6; botanic.cam.ac.uk).

Endsleigh,inDevon,exhibits the “genius”

of the 18th century landscaper Humphry

Repton, with water charging under paths

and down rock faces (£5, or free with lunch

or afternoon tea; hotelendsleigh.com).

Stourhead,the National Trust’s landscape

garden in Wiltshire, hasabeautiful lake,

temples and “magnificent” conifers (from

£17.40; nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead).

Formerly home of the architect Clough

Williams-Ellis,Plas Brondanw,inGwynedd,

has fascinating topiary, alleys and stairways,

as well as views of the peaks of Snowdonia

(donations welcomed; brondanw.org).

Kew’s Garden in Sussex,Wakehurst,

suffered greatly in the Great Storm of 1987,

but was subsequently rethought in new and

interesting ways (£14; kew.org/wakehurst).

The bes t...non-pod coffee machines

Where tofind... winter

gardens tovisit

ECF01Availableinlotsof

Smeg’scoffeemachineis

etentandwellmadeasit

Perfectlysimpletouse,it

eatespressosandalsohas

otherandacupwarmer

78;amazon.co.uk).

Sa It

may look fiddly, but this

bean-to-cup machine

does the complicated

bits for you and makes

outstanding coffee. You

pour in whole beans,

select your coffee on the

colour touchscreen and

it does the rest (£1,799;

johnlewis.com).

aristaTSSmart

letsyouchoose

ferentvarieties

swellasfive

rentstrengths.It

nalsosaveupto

ghtpreferences

membersofthe

milydon’thave

startfrom

ratchwitheach

p(from£680;

mazon.co.uk).

e

h

Particularlyslick,

thankstoitsrose-gold

accents,thisoneisabit

unusualinthatitcanuse

bothpodsaswellas

coffeegrounds.It’salso

excellentvaluefor

money(from£217;

amazon.co.uk).

Melitta Ba

This model

from 21 dif

of coffee, a

diffe

can

eig

so

fam

to

scr

cup

am

s

act,

steam

ust

£199;

Ha

th

sim

int

on

an

wa

th

joh

SageOracleTouchIt

Smeg

colours,S

as compe

is stylish.

makes gr

amilkfro

(from £ 2

Breville

One-Touc

VCF108

Particularlyslic

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