Ladies & Men the New Reasonably Priced Car is.....

Words by Rob McSorley

Here at DriverVIBE we aren't afraid to hold our hands up when we are wrong. 

We recently decided to hazard a guess as to the BBC’s new “Reasonably Priced Car” that would be revealed on the first episode of series 20 of the popular show. We were sure it would be Dacia’s Sandero as not only is it the cheapest car you can currently buy in the UK but it would also have been amusing to watch it hurtling around Top Gear's test track in Dunsfold, Surrey.

So if you haven’t yet watched the first episode of Top Gear which aired yesterday (30th June 2013) we can reveal that the new car is......a red Vauxhall Astra 1.6 litre Techline which costs £17,345. With a 113 bhp 16v petrol engine under the bonnet the Astra can hit 0-62 mph in 10.9 seconds and onto 118 mph. It is the fastest “Reasonably Priced Car” to feature on the show but only by a narrow margin. 

To mark the cars arrival (as the team have done previously) a star studded party was arranged by the team to make a start on the lap time wall. Celebrities that turned up for supermarket part food included Jimmy Carr, Brian Johnson, Joss Stone and Warwick Davis.

The most amusing part of the event was the arrival of 3 ft 6 in tall Warwick Davis who came prepared with his two pedal extensions. Richard Hammond asked Warwick why he only had two extensions to which Warwick answered “one for the accelerator and one for the brake”. Hammond then revealed that the Astra was in fact a manual making Warwick one extension short.

Richard Hammond however came to the rescue by fashioning a clutch pedal extension made by attached an empty Pringles can to the pedal using masking tape which surprisingly worked very well. The next problem was that the Astra’s newly fitted racing bucket seats were mounted too low for Warwick to see the dials or over the dashboard. Again Richard came to the rescue with several supermarket bags filled with bread that Warwick had to sit on. 

Unsurprisingly Warwick struggled to get the Astra around the track screeching off onto the grass on several occasions but still posted a lap time of 1:46.8 ahead of Rachel Riley, Charles Dance, Joss Stone and Mike Rutherford. The fastest celebrities on the new leader-board were Brian Johnson, Jimmy Carr (with recently whitened teeth!) and David Haye with times of 1:45.1, 1:45.6 and 1:46.8 respectively.

Perhaps James May will get his own way next time the search is on for a new “Reasonably Priced Car” by using a Dacia Sandero but in the meantime the Astra will just have to do.

Catch Top Gear on Sundays, 8:00 pm on BBC2 for more hillarous "Reasonably Priced Car" action.

All photographs and text are the exclusive property of Rob McSorley (except where stated otherwise). They are made available for your personal viewing enjoyment only. No images are within the Public Domain. The photographs may not be copied, reproduced, redistributed, manipulated, projected, used or altered in any way without the prior permission of Rob McSorley (info@DriverVIBE.co.uk).

Revised Vauxhall Insignia Revealed

Words by Rob McSorley

Today Vauxhall have released first pictures of its revised Insignia range which includes the popular Hatchback and Tourer body styles.

Changes to the styling include a larger front grill with prominent badge, revised lower front bumper and new headlights with standard LED daytime running lights across the range. The rear has also been heavily revised with new taillights that stretch onto the tailgate as seen on the Cascada cabriolet. There’s also a revised rear bumper and new alloy wheel designs across the range.

In the cabin Vauxhall have addressed the criticisms leveled at the button-heavy dashboard so has simplified the design in the revised car grouping switches together in relation to their functions. There is also said to have been a hike in the quality of the materials used and buyers can spec a new eight-inch touch screen infotainment system with the ability to sync with mobile devices as well as downloading apps.

 

Two new engines have been introduced consisting of 167bhp 1.6-litre and 246bhp 2.0 litre SIDI turbo petrol units. It is expected that the new 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine will be launched in the Insignia in the next year or so. Other engines in the range have been revised for extra economy, performance and lower emissions which include the 2.0 turbodiesel which will also get Vauxhall’s new five-speed and six-speed manual gearboxes. Some versions of this engine emit just 99g/km of CO2

Under the skin there have been changes made to the suspension including new bushes, revised dampers and anti-roll bars to improve the car’s refinement, handling and road holding which has always been little more than average. The electric power steering has also gained new software to improve weighting and feel on the move.

The biggest news however is the reduced prices of the revised model that shave thousands off the list price compared to the current car. For example the entry-level model now costs £16,279 which is £1,771 less than before.

The revised model goes on sale today with first deliveries in October.

All photographs and text are the exclusive property of Rob McSorley (except where stated otherwise). They are made available for your personal viewing enjoyment only. No images are within the Public Domain. The photographs may not be copied, reproduced, redistributed, manipulated, projected, used or altered in any way without the prior permission of Rob McSorley (info@DriverVIBE.com).