Nissan Qashqai (+2)

Nissan Qashqai, I clearly remember the first day I read about Nissan’s new car Qashqai on Top Gear Magazine on 2007. It was totally something different than the existing model range and I was not able to pronounce it properly. Actually, with many people we had the same issue. We were trying to develop a phonetic and which end up totally wrong!

Qashqai was the leader of front-wheel drive small size SUV segment. Before Qashqai, only front-wheel drive concept was a bit risky. Because, it was contradicting with the mentality of SUV. Manufacturers were hesitating to remove the four-wheel or all-wheel drive system from an SUV. I was not that sure that, it would receive this success. However, it did!

Actually one my dear friend Ferruh Uztuğ was one of the first people in Turkey who bought the Qashqai. It was a bit risky decision and I didn’t wish to stop him from this exciting purchase. Hopefully, it was a gambling end up with win! Later on, Qashqai became so popular and strength its new segment of front-wheel driven small SUVs. Even the Land Rover followed this lead by front-wheel driven Evoque and Freelander.

I drove this car couple of times and it was way better than the Almera and Primera. Even the Nissan realised that those cars are terrible, and went into production. Once again, Qashqai is a great example of integration of cleaver and contemporary design with competitive features. And it was so successful, they introduced +2 model later.

The engine options are; 1.6-lt (117 PS) and 2.0-lt (140 PS) petrol engines and 1.5-lt (110 PS), 1.6-lt (130), 2.0-lt (150 PS) diesel engines. The best option will be the 1.6-lt diesel! 5-Speed, 6-Speed manuals; CVT and 6-Speed auto transmissions; front-wheel and all-wheel drive options are available across the range.

For pricing and specifications, please follow the Nissan's web site.

Ferruh Uztuğ is Professor at Department of Communication Sciences at Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey.

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Nissan

Range Rover Evoque Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham’s limited edition Range Rover Evoque is finally revealed! As I mentioned yesterday, I was expecting to see something a bit catastrophic and hopefully I was wrong. Beckham’s edition looks really nice and there is no design bit that ruins the harmony. On the contrary, Beckham edition looks a bit muscular than feminine. Exterior matte finish black with black forged 20-inch wheels turns this limited edition into a really muscular car. I was expecting to see some flashy colours of this fashion season but Beckham did not wish to spoil the Evoque with contemporary fashion.

Interior looks way much better! The hand stitched vintage inspired leather seats are completed with rose gold-plated accents. And here we can see that, Victoria Beckham places her signature! There is one thing I never liked in a car, gold. Unfortunately, this very valuable material may not improve the harmony of a luxury vehicle, instead it sometimes ruin the harmony. However, Evoque Beckham is not covered with gold inside, and I did not see it with my own eyes. So, I don’t want to be so brutal while criticising but, I still consider it as a minus for this vehicle.

It did not finish yet, when you buy this limited to 200 Evoque, you will have also get a four pieces of Victoria Beckham leather luggage and a hand-sewn leather wallet for owner’s manual with her signature (I hope she signed them by herself, not a printed signature). When you consider the price Victoria Beckham’s fashion line, these four pieces of leather luggage is a bargain. If you would like to buy them from Net-A-Porter, you would definitely pay more money than an Evoque.

Unfortunately, Beckham’s limited edition is only available with coupe version. And that’s a pain when you wish to get onto rear seat. Because, it is impossible especially if someone is as tall as Victoria Beckham with skyscraper heels tries to get onto back seats, the result will be a fail! 

In general, this car is way much better than I expected from Victoria Beckham. Unfortunately, they did not stop inspiring the Evoque from the fashion and they priced as £79,995 not £80,000. Sorry but it is very very expensive. You can buy a proper Range Rover or a Porsche 911 or Mercedes SL for this price. I know this is a limited edition and it has to be priced like this but this is too expensive, I am sorry!

Here is the technical information and details of the features:

• A collaboration between British fashion designer Victoria Beckham and the Land Rover Design team, led by Gerry McGovern
• Range Rover Evoque Special Edition four-seat coupé featuring bespoke luxury and sporting details
• Finest quality materials and craftsmanship
• First ever Land Rover to feature exclusive hand-finished matt paint
• Santorini gloss black detailing contrasts with stealth-like paintwork
• Unique 20" gloss black forged alloy wheels with rose-gold accents
• Rose-gold plated grille surround and badging
• Soft vintage inspired tan semi-aniline leather interior seats with hand-finished feature stitch, semi-aniline leather door inserts, armrests and cubby lid.
• Exclusive rose-gold plated interior accents
• Unique and ultra-luxurious mohair floor mats and microsuede headlining
• New interior trim materials include Grand black lacquers veneers, textured aluminium and soft-feel black paint
• Bespoke four-piece leather luggage set
• Hand-sewn leather wallet for owner's manual signed by Victoria Beckham
• Powered by the lightweight, all-aluminium 240PS 2.0-litre petrol engine
• Four-wheel drive and Land Rover's award-winning Terrain Response® system.
• Limited to a maximum of 200 vehicles worldwide with first vehicles allocated to Chinese customers
• Range Rover Evoque Special Edition will be hand-finished by  Land Rover's Engineering to Order division (ETO)
• Indicative pricing is from £79,995 (GBP)

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Land Rover

Range Rover Evoque Victoria Beckham Edition

Victoria Beckham and Range Rover = Evoque! Unfortunately this happened. Land Rover preferred Ms.Beckham as the brand ambassador of the Evoque. I was expecting to see her all the time on TV or media with an Evoque but, this did not happen. Actually, Evoque and Beckham relationship seemed to end up before starting. Or we thought it like that!

Since the first time, I saw the Ms.Beckham with the Evoque, I was expecting to see a limited edition Evoque with animal print interior with lots of tattoos around the vehicle. In addition, specially designed storage for her heels and handbags, in case she needs to change them!

In order to see how the Beckham Edition looks like, we have to wait until it is revealed at Beijing Motor Show tomorrow in China.

World Car Awards

I am not into too much about World Car of the Year award however, this year I really appreciated the winner! Volkswagen UP. Most of the times, I am not paying very high attention to  this award and sometimes I really don’t agree with their decision. But, Volkswagen is a realy revolutionary car for urban transportation without scarifying ride comfort or ergonomy. I really like the UP and it would be a great solution to tiring and boring urban transportation.

They also awarded, Range Rover Evoque as the World Design Car of the Year, Porsche 911 as the World Performance Car of the Year and Mercedes-Benz S250 CDi as the World Green Car of the Year. I agree with Evoque, they created a new path for the urban SUV market and developed a new design language. 

Mercedes-Benz S250 CDi offers the smallest diesel engine (2,2-lt), the lowest consumption 5,7lt/km diesel and cleanest CO2 level 149g/km on its segment. 

However, I would not award the new Porsche 911. Because, its steering wheel replaced by an electric steering wheel that reduces the connection with the road and McLaren MP4-12C offers much better performance levels than the 911.

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Mercedes, VW