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16 hours ago
Ian Dickson writes We might be frost-bitten and reaching for the thermal undies, but spare a thought for our cousins in Europe. I visited the Swiss and Italian Alps a few days ago for the Skoda Yeti Alpine Adventure where it reached an Arctic-feeling –17.5C But the country didn’t ground to a halt, planes weren’t delayed, people presumably didn’t miss work and life continued. Winter tyres and snow ploughs help, but its their preparedness that is most striking. Most of the roads here don’t even get gritted never mind ploughed. Anyway, enough of the rant – because I love driving on snow, especially when Skoda treated us to a makeshift special stage on a disused car park covered in thick ice. They even laid on a rally driver to teach us how to handbrake turn around cones - which was hilarious to begin with. The Yeti’s four-wheel drive made for some spectacular drifts, but it was out on the roads where it made the most sense. With its lofty ride height, 4wd and ...21 hours ago
Dan Trent writes: Top Gear is no stranger to criticism. So to hear moans like "the show has lost its innocence" and "the presenters [are] playing to their cartoon characters too much" isn't too shocking. Or at least it wouldn't be if they hadn't been said by Top Gear producer Andy Wilman. His recent blog over on the BBC site (read the whole thing here) is a very frank assessment of the state of Top Gear in this, the 14th series in the new format Wilman helped create back in 2002 and has been a key part of ever since. Wilman's blog responds to an apparent disappointment among fans that the show may have, to use a well known phrase, jumped the shark and the team are simply going through the motions. And to a degree Wilman seems to agree, admitting that Clarkson, May and Hammond may be playing up to their stereotyped roles too much and that some of the content has lacked the anarchic sense of fun seen in earlier series. But it's not quite the end of the road ...2 days ago
Pic by Riad Ariane Dan Trent writes: I'd never actually gone into a gravel trap before my little excursion at Oulton (I know, not for the want of trying, etc...), which probably explains my delusion that I could extract myself with the power of wheelspin alone. Wrong as it turned out and time for the little red arrow on my bumper pointing out the towing point to earn its keep. As well as looking like an idiot, spinning my wheels in the gravel trap did a pretty good job of shot blasting the paint off my beloved Speedline Turinis, as you can see from this pic: Annoying, because the wheels really were mint and hadn't, until that point, needed a refurb. But they did now, thence to Max Powder wheel refurbs in Hemel... And a dilemma. Standard silver or black or white? Hm. Now usually Iove black wheels and reckon they do wonders for a car. And white looks kind of Cup racer style too. And at £35/wheel +VAT both options were a tenner a wheel cheaper than silver. But it's ...2 days ago
Dan Trent writes: Having established a 403hp Evo on track tyres is rubbish (if amusing) in the snow yesterday I drove in with the Clio, the intention being to join the throng of French car nuts gathering at the Ace Cafe. But the Clio turns out to be rubbish in the snow too, having so much power it just spins its wheels no matter how gently you let the clutch out. So I bailed and headed for home and I got it up the big hill on the way home by sheer willpower alone I think. In the meantime CJ had popped round and swapped the Evo for Peter's Smart and when I woke to more snow this morning I thought 'what the hell, can't be any worse than the Clio'. I'd have stayed put but I had an important mission: fetch the Christmas turkey! Turns out the Smart is in fact ace in the snow. OK, I needed a helping shove from the postie to get me out of my road but once up and running it was unstoppable, enjoyable even. It's just a shame you can't switch the ESP off because it shows a ...3 days ago
Ian Dickson writes This Christmas I eschewed my usual trek up to Stranraer in Scotland to catch the ferry to Northern Ireland by opting to head through Wales instead. Partly, this was because I could break the journey up by spending the night at the in-laws in Cardiff, but also because I’ve been wanting to try this journey for ages. Several routes are available to the ferry terminal in Holyhead, but I went for the most direct and challenging option – right through the middle of Wales, a twisty, turny, dangerous but absolutely amazing route that connects the south with the north. And not a motorway in sight. Great – except that yesterday when I departed Cardiff at 7am the whole country was enveloped in snow and thick sheets of ice. The worst part was through the Brecon Beacons and then in Snowdoina, where my progress often slowed to a 40mph crawl to avoid disaster and the roads were, helpfully, un-gritted. I must give my long-term Laguna Coupe credit, ...
