The Week UK - 29.02.2020

LEISURE 43

29 February 2020 THE WEEK

Consumer

unobtrusive. It keeps track

of all your activity during

the day, sets your goals and

monitors the quality of your

sleep (£83; amazon.co.uk).

New cars: whatthe critics say

Tips oftheweek... ho

to beabetter tourist

hose who

have everything...

Mazda 2

from£15,795

Autocar

The Mazd a2is an often

forgotte nsupermini;its

previousversion “probably

deserved more attention

than it got” .This new

one is certainly a

“multitalented” car, and

is particularl y“frugal”

thanks to Mazda’smild

hybrid technolo gy.Itwill

still struggle to compete

with th eclass leaders –

the Ford Fiesta andSeat

Ibiza–but this is now

a“much mor eversatile

andcomplet ecar”.

The DailyTelegraph

The interior design steals

much fromMazda’s

excellent MX-5sportscar,

with “slivers of chrome,

andsmallbut cr isp, easy-

to-rea dinstruments”. The

materialsfeeldurable,

though notvery plush,

andspace is limited, with

a280-lit re boot and no

chance of seating three in

the back comfortably.The

cardoesn’t get Mazda’s

latest infotainmentsystem,

leaving it withaversion

that feelsslightly “dated”.

Auto Express

There are two 1.5-litre

naturally aspirated petrol

engines on offer,a74bhp

and a89bhp.The mild

hybrid tech makesfor

“very smoothrestarts” on

urban streets. But thisisan

“unashamedcity car” that

is happiest up to 40mph

andfeelsalittl e“gutless”

elsewhere,unlike rivals

with three-cylinder turbos.

In the end,despite an

update ,the Mazda2can’t

quitemanagetok eep up

as areal “classcontender”.

●Askyourself:doyouwanttogotoa

place, or show people you’ve been to a

place? The need to snap proof ofatrip has

becomea"driving force" of over-tourism.

●Readabit more aboutyour destination

thana“best of” list to find more unique,

less crowded places to visit. Reading up on

the history, politics or culture ofaplace can

also make your visit more engrossing.

●Plan activities you actually enjoy–ify ou

don’t like going to museums at home, is it

worth standing in the queues at the Louvre?

●If you’re takingacruise, chooseasmaller

vessel, which not only means fewer tourists

but also access to places others can’t reach.

●Read up on local customs and problems

so you can be less intrusive. In Iceland, for

example, tourists are being told to avoid off-

roading and walking on delicate mosses.

●Double-check if the type of lodging you

have booked (such as Airbnb) is legal in the

country, or if it has been causing problems

in the property market, as in Barcelona.

SOURCE: BBC SOURCE: THE MAIL ON SUNDAY SOURCES: TOMSGUIDE.COM/WIRED

SOURCES: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH/THE INDEPENDENT/T3

If you findyourself exhaustedbyt he

“smart”revolution, thislow-tech wooden

treadmill could provide some welcome

respite. Supposedly,you even burn extra

calorieson theNOHrD SprintBokbecause

it is powe red exclusivelybyyourlegs.

£5,295; conranshop.co.uk

AutodeskSketchBookiseasytouse,and

has avariety of digital pens, pencils and

brushes to experiment with, as well as

handy tools such as perspective guides

and curved rulers (free; Android, iOS).

Designed to feel just like drawing on paper,

Adobe Photoshop Sketchlets you use

virtual pens, pencils, pastels, inks, acrylics

and watercolours. Work can be exported

and edited asalayered file on Photoshop

or Illustrator (free; Android, iOS).

ArtRagewants to recreate how it feels

to draw with different materials, offering

tactile tools likeapaint roller andapalette

knife, as well as oil paints that “feel” thicker

to use on the screen (£5; Android, iOS).

Chock-full of professional-grade features,

Procreateby Savage is for those who

take their digital art seriously. It lets you

do everything from creating your own

brushes, to changing textures and pressure

curves (i.e. the sensitivity of your pencil).

It is designed for use on iPads (£10; iOS).

The best... fitness trackers

fordigital drawing

HRWith

design,

nt tracker

onitor for

s. It can

rsleep,

when

cycl e, as

some

rom your

s.com).

tch, but tracks

from steps to

st feature is

rt rate dial in

it can look

ularities in

and record

you can

ur phone

ngs.com).

ther than

activity–heart

unt –this

ll guide you

of workouts

erformance.

hone app,

rhit strength

dyour stroke

mming (£66;

2 Withatough glass

ber strap,the Versa

gthe best of

rs toasmart

receive calls and

et reminders and

mart payments and

otify (£179;

ow And for th

u

a proper wa

everything f

sleep.Itsbe

asmallhear

themiddle:

outforirreg

yourpulsea

anECGthat

checkonyo

(£130;within

MoveECGThis

ckerlookslike

tch but tracks

MoovNowRat

trackinggeneral

rateandstepcou

budgetdevicewi

throughaseries

and track your pe

Using its smartp

you can see your

when boxing, an

speed when swim

amazon.co.uk).

Withings M

unusualtrac

a proper wa

Apps...

for digital drawing

Withings Pulse

aclear ,attractive d

this isanexcellen

and heart rate mo

all sort of workout

also monitor your

and wake you up w

you’re inalighter

well as passingon

basic notifications fr

phone (£90; withing

Garmin Vívosmart 4Given

that Garmin wantyou to

wear this device all day

and night,itbodes well that

it is particularlysleek and

FitbitVersa 2

faceandarub

2aimstobrin

fitnesstracke

watch.Itcan

messages,se

beusedforsm

controllingSpo

johnlewis.com).

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