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93 MOTORING ROAD TESTS BY NICK FLETCHER


OUR MOTORING COLUMN, BY THE EXPERIENCED AND AWARD WINNING LOCAL MOTORING JOURNALIST NICK FLETCHER HELPS OUR READERS CHOOSE THE BEST OF THE LATEST CARS.


SUZUKI JIMNY SZ5 ALLGRIP


SUZUKI’S TINY FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE JIMNY HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MANY YEARS IN VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED FORM BUT NOW THERE IS AN ALL-NEW VERSION WHICH LOOKS LESS CUTE AND MORE FORMIDABLE. New Jimny is still very small but has more purposeful


styling and looks quite cool, an important element in an image-conscious market. It still has selectable 4WD with low-ratio transfer box which means it is amazingly capable off road, often able to venture into terrain that larger 4WD models cannot cope with. Powered by a 1.5 litre 100 hp petrol engine and 5-speed manual gearbox (there is a 4-speed auto option), the Jimny has a 0-60 mph time of 12 seconds and top speed of 90 mph. Average fuel economy is 41.5 mpg and emissions are 154 g/km. Prices start at £15,499, though my top- spec SZ5 Allgrip test version cost £17,999 and is very well equipped with automatic air-conditioning, cruise control, digital radio and CD player, Bluetooth, LED headlights, rear privacy glass, alloy wheels, and sat-nav with touchscreen and smartphone link. Safety features include stability control, lane departure warning, hill descent control and tyre pres- sure monitoring. The cabin is narrow but functional, with good dashboard


layout and comfortable seating.The two rear seats will ac- commodate adults but luggage space is then very limited at just 85 litres. But with the rear seats down flat, the load space of 377 litres is larger than in the previous Jimny. There is very


THE JIMNY CAN DOUBLE AS A NEAT VERSATILE RURAL VEHICLE WITH


STRONG OFF-ROAD AND TOWING ABILITY.


little cabin stowage space – a tiny glovebox, very slim door-pockets and a couple of cup holders is about all you get. The Jimny can double as a neat versatile


rural vehicle with strong off-road and towing ability, or as a practical and nimble city car with eye-catching cachet. On tarmac, ride


quality is firm but quite acceptable and the handling is agile thanks to revised steering which gives much-improved feed- back and a greater sense of control. I found the 4-speed auto transmission rather over-busy but most buyers will go for the slick manual gearbox. The previous Jimny had a lot of friends and this updated and enhanced version will win many more. It looks good, drives well, and there is nothing truly comparable or as capable at the price.


FORD ECOSPORT TITANIUM


FORD’S ECOSPORT IS A SMALL SUV WITH NEAT STYLING WHICH PROJECTS A ROBUST IMAGE AND MOST MODELS ARE WELL-EQUIPPED AND KEENLY-PRICED SO YOU SEE A LOT OF THEM ON THE ROAD, UNDERLINING FORD’S STRONG PRESENCE IN A CROWDED SUV MARKET. The EcoSport is priced from £17,850 and offers petrol and diesel engines and several trim levels, with my Titanium test model with 1.5 litre diesel engine, manual gearbox and all- wheel-drive near the top of the range and priced at £23,655. You get a lot of standard kit including large alloy wheels,


roof rails, part-leather upholstery, automatic air-conditioning, cruise control, sat-nav with touch-screen and connectivity features including smartphone mirroring, auto headlights


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