APRIL 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 133Our cars
Lexus RX450h L Premier
Month 3The story so far
The Lexus RX is a smooth, quiet,
luxury SUV with not a sporting
bone in its body
+Calm cabin; unburstable Lexus
quality throughout; seven-seat
practicality- Fuel economy more thirsty than
hybridy; infotainment joystick
Price £61,995 (£63,635 as tested)
Performance 3456cc V6 hybrid,
259bhp, 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph
Efficiency 47.1mpg (official), 29mpg
(tested), 138g/km CO2 Energy cost
20.4p per mile Miles this month
1092 Total miles 2664LogbookVo l vo S 9 0
Month 2The story so far
Not another diesel SUV, but rather
one of those old-fangled saloons.
With a petrol engine to boot!
+Excellent seats; decent
touchscreen; the feeling of serenity
every time you’re aboard- Tight engine and town running
means consumption is currently
under 30mpg
Price £44,920 (£49,370 as tested)
Performance 1969cc turbo 4-cyl,
247bhp, 6.8sec 0-62mph, 140mph
Efficiency 42.2mpg (official),
28.1mpg (tested), 156g/km CO2
Energy cost 20p per mile Miles
this month 158 Total miles 744LogbookHonda CR-V 1.5T
Month 2The story so far
Six years ago the CR-V got the
all-rounder nod over the likes of the
Kuga, RAV4 and Freelander. Today,
however...?
+Slick gearchange; easy to drive;
comfortable up front; dog happy- Electric handbrake/hold a pain in
the arse; full-beam lights hopeless
Price £31,745 (£32,295 as tested)
Performance 1498cc turbo 4-cyl,
171bhp, 9.8 sec 0-62mph, 130mph
Efficiency 42.8mpg (official),
32.8mpg (tested), 151g/km CO2
Energy cost 17.5p per mile Miles
this month 627 Total miles 1509LogbookSuzuki Swift Sport
Month 5The story so far
The current Swift seemed like a
very promising basis for the return
of the Swift Sport – but in reality it’s
not quite hitting the mark
+Frisky fun when you’re feeling
playful; can pass as a sensible
supermini in town- Uncomfortable; expensive; noisy
on the motorway
Price £17,999 (£17,999 as tested)
Performance 1373cc turbo 4-cyl,
138bhp, 8.1sec 0-62mph, 130mph
Efficiency 47.1mpg (official),
38.6mpg (tested), 125g/km C02
Energy cost 14.4p per mile Miles
this month 407 Total miles 6400LogbookWelcome to the
cheap seats
The whole raison d’être of our
Lexus RX L is the 11cm stretch that’s
squeezed in an extra row of seats.
But what are chairs six and seven
like to use? With just the two kids, I
don’t use the third row often, but it’s
been pressed into action for a couple
of school runs and drives back from
the pub.
These are not supersized, front-
row cinematic thrones – think
instead pop-up occasional cheap
seats out back. They’re nowhere
near as spacious as those in the
Land Rover Discovery, but they’re
beautifully engineered, rising at
the touch of a button in the boot;
pre-teens will be just fine. And when
stowed, this loadbay is HUGE, at
966 litres.
TIM POLLARD
@TimPollardCars
And if you lose
your phone?
Even before the sleep deprivation, I
could never really remember where
I parked our car. Now, running on
empty 10 weeks into becoming a
family of three, I’m often unsure
whether I’ve showered and I
definitely don’t have a bloody clue
where I last left the S90.
Step forward Volvo’s On Call
app, which has a map to remind you
where your car is. You can turn on
the lights too, in case you’re really
struggling – and sound the horn if
you’re an arse. It also lets you lock
and unlock the doors and start the
engine remotely on cold mornings.
I’m not sure I want another car
idling in London, but knowing
where it’s parked is a literal step in
the right direction.
BEN PULMAN
@thebenpulmanDrawing board
disaster ahoy
Every new Honda brings with it a
growing suspicion that whatever
inspirational art once adorned
the walls of the company’s design
studio has lately been replaced by a
large, glossy blow-up of a bucket of
smashed crabs. Not content with
having turned the once agreeably
futuristic Civic into a cacophony
of conflicting rhombi, Honda’s
designers have now set upon the
CR-V with equally vexing vim.
Adding layer upon layer of diverse
ingredients may be an admirable
approach to the construction of
a Scooby Snack, but it rarely cuts
the mustard when smeared onto
pressed metal. When will the
quality of an everyday Honda’s
couture properly reflect the quality
of the engineering?
ANTHONY FFRENCH-CONSTANTBubbling
under
Month five with the Swift has not
been ideal. After the windscreen
got cracked – one of those things
that can’t be helped – I had it
replaced. No drama, job done... or
so I thought. But following some
particular heavy rain, colleague
James Taylor went for a drive in the
Swift Sport only to find the cabin
getting increasingly sodden.
As I sat in his dry, warm Ford, I
read his increasingly frantic SOS
messages: ‘There’s a puddle in the
cupholders and my left knee is wet.
Never seen that before. Must be
from the screen.’
Suzuki confirmed his suspicions:
the sealing fault appeared after the
windscreen replacement. We’re
about to try again. Wish us luck.
CURTIS MOLDRICH
@Khurtizz