Chris Evans On The Mercedes A 200 AMG Line
The first thing I had to do when this week鈥檚 test car arrived was ignore the colour, a particularly bright pillar-box red. Mercedes calls it Jupiter red - whatever, it still didn鈥檛 look at all right. Fine perhaps on a VW, Ford, Kia or Honda but not on a Merc, which was such a shame. This car looks so much classier in one of Mercedes鈥?subtler shades - mountain grey, for example, or iridium silver, or even polar white, pictured below. In the hideous tone I was sent, it looked more like a sunburnt pig than an aspirational wannabe hot hatch created in an attempt to hook the next generation of luxury-car buyers. This is what鈥檚 known as an AMG Line - ie, not really an AMG, but something that鈥檚 supposed to look and feel a bit like an AMG. I have never seen a bright-red AMG in my life. Compared to last week鈥檚 all-our Christmases-have-come-at-once-Bentley, I thought the A 200 was going to be a run-of-the-mill, practical and prosaic affair. Well, not so. Not so at all - at least to begin with. Mercedes has treated its entry-level baby Merc to a full-on cosmetic makeover, the result of which is a much prettier car than its predecessor. A fact that became patently obvious the moment I serendipitously pulled up to a 2016 200 Series (bizarrely in that same blooming red - weird). Although the overall silhouettes of the two cars are similar, the main features of the new model benefit from a major rethink. The front and rear light clusters, for example, have come in for some severe streamlining, along with a host of new scoops, air intakes and racy fins.
Volkswagen has been slogging through the trenches of the Great Hot Hatch war for 43 years. The Golf/Rabbit GTI has been on the front lines since the beginning, and has fended off competition from France and Japan quite well. In the newest extra-performance version of the GTI鈥擶hich Volkswagen unveiled in near-production 鈥渃oncept鈥?form last year鈥攊t channels its TCR race car to create a 286 horsepower version of the turbocharged 2-liter hatch. And if you live in the U.S. That boost in power comes with an optional 5 mph boost in top speed to 161 mph, and a 0-60 sprint of just 5.6 seconds. The GTI TCR also comes with a bunch of standard equipment, including a locking differential, cross-drilled brake rotors, and LED headlights to name a few. The GTI TCR will only be available in 3-door body style, and with a 7-speed DSG transmission. 44,295 price tag. Visually, the TCR will be differentiated with a few decals bearing the name, black exterior mirror caps, rocker covers, a front splitter, a new roof spoiler, and a rear diffuser. The car will also project 鈥淭CR鈥?onto the pavement below when you open the driver鈥檚 door. You can opt for a honeycomb pattern decal set for each side of the car, carbon door mirror caps, and a black painted roof. 3640 to the price tag.
The Honda Civic Type R has long been the king of front-wheel drive hot hatches and as more and more of this market heads down the all-wheel drive route, the Type R shows no signs of giving up its crown. However, there is a new VW Golf GTI model on the market which might just have what it takes to knock the Honda off its perch and establish itself as the front-wheel drive hot hatch to buy. This new GTI, officially dubbed the VW Golf GTI TCR, only hit the market at the start of this year and sits at the top of the GTI range. While it is not as potent as the limited-edition Golf GTI Clubsport S which quickly sold out a couple years ago, it is still a very impressive piece of kit. Also Watch: Is The 2019 Hyundai Veloster N Any Match For The Honda Civic Type R? Does that mean it is good enough to take on the Honda Civic Type R? Autocar set about finding out with their latest track test. Powering the Golf is a 2.0-liter TSI turbocharged four-cylinder engine offering up 286 hp at 5400 rpm and 6400 rpm and 280 lb-ft (380 Nm) of torque between 1950 and 5300 rpm. This engine is mated as standard to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission driving the front wheels and helping launch the hot hatch to 100 km/h (62 mph) in a brisk 5.6 seconds and a 250 km/h (155 mph) top speed. While these figures are impressive, it鈥檚 worth mentioning that they don鈥檛 quite match the Honda. In fact, the Honda pumps out 306 hp and 295 lb-ft (399 Nm) of torque from its 2.0-liter four-cylinder and much to the pleasure of driving enthusiasts, is sold exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission.
A winding country road in a picturesque corner of Somerset has been named as the best to drive on in the UK. Data scientists pinpointed the B3135 from Cheddar to Ashwick, which meanders through the rolling Mendip Hills, as the most pleasant to cruise along. Second is Forres to Alford, in Scotland, a stunning 70-mile drive through the Cairngorms National Park, with the A701, from Moffat towards Edinburgh, Scotland, in third. They also looked at how many 鈥榚ngaging鈥?corners would be encountered, levels of traffic and sites with low incident reports to compile the detailed list. Share 146 shares The research was created by Volkswagen in collaboration with traffic and navigation app Waze, to support Volkswagen鈥檚 鈥楪TI Superdrives鈥?programme within the app. Taking fourth spot is the A4069, also known as the Black Mountain Road, which takes in the stunning scenery of the Brecon Beacons in Wales. The single-track Hardknott Pass is number nine on the list. Harknott Pass, pictured, is thought to be the steepest road in England. It's popular with cyclists who like a challenge. Rounding off the top five is the A82 near Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands.
Also making the list are the A380, B3021 and B3026 in Old Windsor (sixth), the B4089 Alcester to Wilmcote (seventh) and the stretch between Draycote Water to Warwick (eighth). The Hardknott Pass, a winding single track road in the Lake District, which is thought to be the steepest road in England, is number nine on the list. Also making the top ten is the A675 stretch between Bolton and Blackburn in Lancashire. The GTI Superdrives function within Waze lets drivers know when they鈥檙e coming close to one of the roads on the list via a GTI badge popping up when the app is active. If they are within 12 miles of a GTI Superdrive road, motorists are able to tap on the badge to receive directions to it. Alison Jones, director of Volkswagen UK, said: 'Our GTI badge quite simply stands for driving joy. Working with Waze, we wanted to offer more drivers the chance to get off the often congested 鈥榖eaten track鈥?and instead experience the simple pleasure of driving once more. While Finlay Clark, UK country manager of Waze, added: 'Waze has always helped people save time on journeys, now we鈥檙e helping people discover great driving roads that are all about joy, not speed.
