Letter from Europe: March 2017- F1, Tiguan, QX30, QX80, Jaguar F-Pace

  

By Andrew Frankl
European Bureau Chief  
The Auto Channel

Readers who follow Formula One will have seen that Bernie Ecclestone’s 40 year old reign has come to an end. The new owners-Liberty Media- have sacked him and ever since then have been promising all sorts of exciting things. Before anybody gets too excited let me tell you that nothing but nothing will change in the near future. The diary is firm, they cannot add races and can only delete one if a circuit goes bust . Not unheard of, I hasten to say. Technical regulations- those too are fixed for 2017.  

Longer term there will be new circuits, maybe different engines, more entertainment before and after the race . The new technical boss is Ross Brawn, former team manager at Ferrari and later at Mercedes. He left-pushed?- the German firm before it became successful.

Of course Bernie is not the only recent casualty, the man who made McLaren hugely successful-Ron Dennis-is also out of the picture.

But at the end of the day let’s get serious. F1 is lacking in personalities. NASCAR has them in abundance and of course tennis stars Nadal and Federer are show stoppers. As were the 49ers. This weekend’s Super Bowl barely rates a mention in the local paper. So apart from Lewis Hamilton who is a brilliant driver and a great character what does for F1 do for an encore? Bottas?

He is F1’s answer to sleeping pills. Vettel? He is  a 4 times World Champion but  shy and reticent. Raikkonen used to be fun, not any more. New owners  Liberty Media are essentially an entertainment company. They will have to pull their  socks up if they want to succeed. I say good luck but be patient.

Moving swiftly on to VW I have just read that in spite of all the scandal relating to emission , cheating and all that had it been an American company the penalty would have been a fraction of what it was. Ford have had their scandals, GM have had their scandals not to mention Firestone tires . Consequently reading that VW sell more cars than Toyota came as a huge surprise to me. Maybe because the whole thing was blown out of all proportions in the States especially if one looks at pollution from heavy duty trucks or coal powered power stations. Anyway, most people ignored the scandal and voted with their wallets. Having braved the recent storms in California I am not altogether surprised. The 2017 VW Tiguan took quite a battering wading through water, mud and howling gales. It came through with flying colors.

The 2 liter engine DOHC 16v turbo-4cylinder engine was not exactly dynamite but it got me there. The interior was far too dark , verging on depressing. Silly. As is the warranty.  3 years for this, 5 years for that , 12 year for something else. By and large car dealers are very good at wriggling out of warranties as I found out to my cost over the years. Like  any  insurance company. Oh, you had a cough when you were 2 years old?! That is a pre existing condition. They  regret and you know what that means. I think we’ve all been there before.

The trick with VW is to go for the cheapest option. Step son Alan just bought a wagon with a stick shift for under 20 thousand dollars and loves it. The build quality is excellent , plenty of room for three kids and luggage-what more can you ask for?

For the record the 2017 Tiguan 2.0 T S sells for 25, 860 dollars and for that money it really is fully equipped.  Incidentally the seals on the doors are exceptional, not one drop in the car under at a time when road conditions were the worst I’ve ever experienced.

During the storms of ’17 I had three  other cars/SUVs come to my rescue. The first-Infiniti’s QX 30 was a lot of fun at least until I got to the car wash. Sorry, said my friend, you will have to pay double. If you look at the pics you will see why. The QX30 is a co-production with Mercedes-Benz which obviously has some cost advantages but some drawbacks as well. I won’t bore you with the details, if possible I prefer cars/SUVs which are designed in house.

Take the QX 80 which I regard as my savior. Getting to the airport n the biggest storm I’ve ever witnessed the QX came through just fine. It didn’t stall, the wipers worked feverishly to get me through, superb seating position helping me to avoid the biggest holes in the roads of San Francisco , just wish I could have pointed it the other way towards Squaw Valley. The price is a pretty hefty  90 thousand dollars but I am sure it could be negotiated down by least 10 big ones, second hand these must e an absolute steal. I admit that the fuel consumption is nothing to write home about but it really depends where you live.

If you commute in a big city, the QX is probably too big, too cumbersome and too thirsty. On the open road with a light right foot getting over 20mpg is easy .

The love affair between Jaguar and me goes back to the early 70s. The cars were made n Brown’s Lane in Coventry and while they looked amazing the build quality was iffy to say the least. Mostly due to electrical supplier Lucas the cars became a butt of jokes in the United States.

No more! The 2017 F-Pace I have been driving in and around San Francisco is nothing short of amazing. The driving position is exceptional as are the instruments. But beware. While  you can drive the F-Pace off the block no trouble the various buttons, switches and the screen do need some time spent on them. Not necessarily a  college degree but a son or even more so a grandson would come in very handy!

The 300 hp supercharged 3 liter V6 is just the ticket, it even purrs like a real Jaguar, not a coincidence I am sure. The fuel consumption is a bit disappointing at 20 miles per gallon, my spies tell me that there is an all-electric version on the way to take on Tesla. That will be fascinating indeed. So much so that I would be happy to put down a deposit. The price of the current car does of course depend on the specifications. The one I had costs nearly 70 thousand dollars and there is a waiting list! There are less expensive versions starting at around 50 thou.

The trunk is enormous and with the  back seats folded down it’s time for a baby grand piano.

See you all next month. AF