www. l i f eonca r s . b l o g spo t . com

J A N u A r Y 2 0 1 1J A N u A r Y 2 0 1 1I s s u e T h r e eI s s u e T h r e e

CCAARR OOFF TTHHEE YYEEAARR

The best car from a year of Champion test drives

SPEC

IAL ISSU

E

MMoouunnttaaiinndduueeEvent of the

Year 2010

EVENT: MiniMadMerseyside Lakes Tour 2010

DATE: Sunday, June 13, 2010

LOCATION: Hardknott Pass summit, Cumbria

CAR: Austin Mini Mayfair, 1983

FEELING: Priceless

4 Life On Cars

For events takingplace throughout

2011 go to the LifeOn Cars blog at:

lifeoncars.blogspot.com

EdITOR david Simister

dESIGNER david Simister

www.lifeoncars.blogspot.com

E-MAIL david.simister@hotmail.co.uk

PhOTOGARPhY:

Manufacturer photography courtesy of the Society of Motor

Manufacturers and Traders (as Newspress); all other photography by

david Simister.

Read Life On Cars each Wednesday in The Champion newspaper, on

the web at www.lifeoncars.blogspot.com and on the radio on

www.champradio.co.uk from January 2011

© Life On Cars 2010

Best event2A jaunt over some of Cumbria’s most challenging roads with a bunch of

likeminded car enthusiasts, almost killing the now-gone Life On Cars

Mini in the process

Created by

IT might be icy outside

but none of these cars are

the kind you'd be wise to

give a frosty reception!

Anyone who's read the

last two issues of the Life

On Cars Magazine is going

to be in for a shock;

there's no news, no test

drives and none of the

usual features, although

they will be back early in

2011.

But what you do get is a

festive feast of some of

the very best cars from

the past 12 months, rang-

ing from the strangely

sublime Skoda Yeti, the

ever entertaining Mazda

MX-5, Peugeot's beautiful

RC Z and many more, in a

special issue given over

entirely to the good, the

bad and the ugly of 2010.

What wins? Well you'll

have to read on to find

out, but what I can say is

if the car that has won

isn't a collectable classic

in 25 years' time, some

hat-eating may be on the

menu.

If you’re still not swayed

then head straight to

page 14, for a round up of

the best cars from the

year to come.

There's just time to men-

tion about the next issue,

which looks at the many

events taking place over

2011. If it's anything like

last year, it's going be be

a belter.

Life On Cars wishes bothof its readers a happyChristmas and a full throttle New Year

In this issueIn this issue

The class of 20094The winners and losers from last year’s first-ever Life On Cars awards,

including the Ford Fiesta, which took the overall honours, and the

hideous Skelta sports car, which definitely didn’t

2010’s hopefuls6The quintet of cars which proved particularly impressive and enjoyable

throughout this year this far, picked from a cast of dozens of motors

launched over the past 12 months

Car of the Year8From a electrically-powered MINI Cooper to a 170mph Lexus, this

year’s offered some great motors. So it was no easy decision but the

best car Life On Cars got to drive in 2010 was the [cont. page 8]

Best drive12The fun bit.... trying to work out which of the sports car we got lucky

enough to drive provided the biggest grin for your money. It’s a tough

job, but someone’s got to do it

Special award10Which goes to a car, person or event which has somehow marked itself

out as worthy of extra recognition. Even if in this case the victor is in

fact one of last year’s winners.

Best road13It isn’t the M6 between Preston and Warrington, put it that way. It’s

the best from the challenging corners, swooping straights and hairpin

bends from a year of driving

Best bargain16Not the MGB GT which cost £200 to buy, because it still isn’t finished

yet. Nope, this is the story of a French hatch which impressed right up

until the day it met its maker

Best surprise11Often you can tell whether a car’s going to be great even before you

get behind the wheel. In the case of one particularly manic MPV,

though, you definitely couldn’t

Car of theYear 2010

3Life On Cars

The hits of 201114From the MG 6 to the McLaren MP4-12C, they’re all here in our special

guide to next year’s most exciting arrivals. Except the cracking Toyota

FT-86, which doesn’t arrive until the year after that. Pity really

4 Life On Cars

TThhaatt wwaass jjuusstt ssoo22000099......

These are the winners - and in some caseslosers - from the inaugural awards last year

Life On Cars car of the year 2009 - Ford Fiesta: The award went not to 2009’s best car but

the one I liked the most. It was a toss-up between the IQ and Ford’s Fiesta, and on the basis

that I might have to carry things as well as people, the Ford just snatched it.

Worst reliability -

Vespa PX125: I know

it’s not a car, but any

machine badly built

by someone with no

understanding of

electronics means a

truly scary reliability

record.The Lady Gaga Award for Questionable Style goes jointly to the Aus-

tralian-built Skelta, which has looks to scare small children.

5Life On Cars

The utterly alive sensation from the Morgan

4/4 meant it won the award for Best Drive of

2009, although the sheer speed of BMW’s Z4

and the sprightly handling of Volkswagen’s

Scirocco earn them honourable mentions.

The award for the car I was most looking

forward to - Jaguar XJ: To be honest, I still

am looking forward to the groundbreaking

XJ, because despite getting used to its erm,

challenging looks I still haven’t driven one

yet. The runner up for this award went to

the truly stunning Ferrari 458 Italia, which

predictably I haven’t tried for size either.

Toyota IQ: So chuffed

was I with the tiny

IQ’s packaging and

handling that I had to

invent a special

award just to get it in

last year. On page 10

of this issue, though,

all will be resolved...

The Llanberis Pass, in

North Wales, might

have won the award

for Best Road but

even that wasn’t as

much fun as a cara-

van banger race in

Carnforth, which won

the Best Event award

with ease.

Spectacular and silly

in equal measure, it’s

still a great way to

waste a Bank holiday

weekend, and for

much less than you’d

think.

6 Life On Cars

CCaarr ooff tthheeYYeeaarr:: tthheesshhoorrttlliisstt

These are the five cars which left moreof an impression than any other after

being given the Life On Cars treatmentand exactly what makes them special

“It's an invitation to sample

two extremes of driving

and quite possibly a first in

motoring; a hybrid car

someone interested in driv-

ing might actually want to

buy.”

July 2010

“if the DS3's a sign of

things to come, Citroen

could be onto a winner.

It's that rare thing; a

Citroen that's cool.”.

September 2010

Citroen DS3Citroen DS3

Honda CR-ZHonda CR-Z

Car of theYear 2010

7Life On Cars

“Almost everyone who

came across the Yeti

loved it for exactly the

same reason; if you have

a dog and enjoy going for

walks in the muddy coun-

tryside, you're going to

struggle to better the

Yeti without resorting to

much more expensive ma-

chinery. Buy a Yeti and

your Labrador is going to

love it. Luckily, so will

you.”

August 2010

“On the road the Swift is

far more fun than you'd

ever expect it to be. It's

balletic rather than bal-

listic and relies more on

its finely-balanced sus-

pension than its 1.2 litre

engine to put a smile on

your face, but the charm-

ing rasp from the exhaust

and the wonderfully com-

municative steering egg

you on into every corner.”

October 2010

“A warning: do not buy

this car if you don't like

being looked at!

So stunning is the riot of

curves, dips and lines lav-

ished on the RC Z, the

pretty Peugeot hoping to

take on Audi's TT at its

own game, that you're

going to get other road

users pointing and star-

ing. This isn't a car for

the self-conscious.”

October 2010

Peugeot RC ZPeugeot RC Z

Suzuki SwiftSuzuki Swift

Skoda YetiSkoda Yeti

Green but brilliant

8 Life On Cars

WINNER : Honda CR-ZWINNER : Honda CR-Z

Green but brilliant

9Life On Cars

The Honda CR-Z is

only the second car to

win this award but it

did it because it pulls

off the historic feat of

being the first hybrid

you’d actually want to

buy as a keen driver.

Sure, its clever mix of

petrol and electric

propulsion means it’ll

keep Greenpeace

happy, but the real

smiles are kept for the

one behind the wheel,

because it’s a delight

to drive.

Sure, the £20,000 GT

is an expensive way

to get just 122bhp,

and it’s a tight

squeeze into the rear

seats, but the slick

styling, revvy V-TEC

engine and crisp cor-

nering ability soon

make up for it.

Impressive as the

DS3, Swift, RC Z and

Yeti all are, they’re

narrowly beaten by

this brilliant blend of

green and mean in a

sporty package.

Car of theYear 2010

WWhhiittee hheeaatt

BLAME the Ford Fiesta.

Because last year's Life On

Cars car of the year award

should have gone to this.

Last Christmas, 2009's

most radical car got

robbed, and it's all my

fault.

You're probably snigger-

ing as you read this, won-

dering how on Earth

someone who's been lucky

enough to drive a Morgan,

a BMW Z4, a 414bhp Lexus

supersaloon and a V8-

powered Cobra replica

could possibly hold Toy-

ota's IQ in such high es-

teem. It is, after all, a lot

more expensive than the

similarly small Aygo. And

it's too tall. And it looks

like it's escaped from the

set of the next Pokemon

movie.

That's what I thought of

Toyota's tiniest offering at

Life On Cars

David Simister needed tobe sure Toyota’s IQ was asgood as he remembered it,

so he took it to its topspeed at the MillbrookProving Ground earlier

this year to find out

10

first, right up until I

opened the door and dis-

covered the world's

biggest car company had

somehow achieved the im-

possible; their ridiculous

two-seater Smart rival

did, in fact, seat four.

What's more, I could even

get into the back!

The IQ is easily the

most ingenious piece of

small car packaging since

the original Mini - a car

I've a known soft spot for -

went out of a production

a decade earlier, but it

managed it while still get-

ting all the things you'd

expect on a much bigger

motor, including a 5 star

Euro NCAP rating, into the

mix. It is engineering

alchemy, and it makes the

Smart look like the class

clown.

What's more, I'd driven

one very briefly in North

Wales last year and fallen

in love with its surprising

steering and handling, but

just to be sure I borrowed

another one at a test

track day in Millbrook ear-

lier this year. despite it

packing a 1.0 litre, three-

cylinder engine it shot all

the way up to 100mph on

the high speed bowl, and

on the twisty Alpine cir-

cuit it never felt anything

less than safe and sure-

footed, if not outwardly

sporty.

But in the end it was

the non-existent boot that

cost the little IQ the ulti-

mate honour to the Ford

Fiesta, which is also bril-

liant but in far more fam-

ily-friendly way. Which is

a shame, because whereas

that car is the best Fiesta

ever and by far away the

best supermini you can

buy, the IQ is so original in

its thinking that nobody

else has caught up with it

yet.

The Toyota IQ isn't the

fastest, the roomiest, the

prettiest or even the most

entertaining car on offer

today. But it is the

smartest, and on that

front there's still nothing

to touch it.

SpecialAward 2010

11Life On Cars

EVERYONE'S switching to

smaller motors at the

moment, and now it

seems even daddy Cool

has downsized.

daddy Cool's old Vaux-

hall Zafira GSI was a

cracking people carrier

but I reckon if he got re-

vived in another slightly

cheesy TV campaign he'd

probably be driving the

new Meriva, which in 1.4

Turbo form is probably

the unlikeliest driving hit

I've ever come across.

Whisper it quietly, but

a car designed for the

North Circular rather

than the Nurburgring is

an absolute joy to drive.

Vauxhall's second ge-

neation of the Meriva

might be an upright MPV

rather than a hot hatch

but, particularly in the

sporty Turbo spec, it has

a manic sense of urgency,

and is beautifully bal-

anced on both the bumpy

and the bendy bits of the

school run.

It's also joined the se-

lect group of cars that

have suicide rear doors,

which sound dramatic but

basically open backwards

rather than forwards to

make getting in a little

easier. Mazda's RX-8 and

the Rolls Phantom have

pulled off the same trick

in a bid to pull off spec-

tacular rather than spa-

cious, but on the Meriva it

means you can get into an

interior that feels very

well screwed together a

few seconds faster.

The Meriva's a small

MPV and by definition not

the sort of thing to set

your pulse racing, but

whoever made the Astra,

Insignia and Tigra look so

stylish has managed the

same trick with what

should be a be a boxy

shopping wagon.

It's not the kind of car

you want to warm to but

the Meriva's magic stems

from being a hugely prac-

tical and good looking lit-

tle car which just happens

to go like strink when you

least expect it.

daddy Cool, I reckon,

would definitely approve.

Opposite: david Simister took the IQ up to

100mph on the track earlier this year.

Above and below: It really does seat four,

part of the reason Aston Martin are basing

their Cygnet city car on the IQ. Vulgar IQ

for Sports, bottom, not so impressive

Surprise ofthe Year

Vauxhall MerivaVauxhall Meriva1.4 Turbo1.4 Turbo

dESPITE driving all sorts

of deliciously entertain-

ing cars throughout 2010

there was only ever going

to be one winner of this

award. Mazda's MX-5.

Even in the darkest

depths of winter I found

myself, sat snugly inside

my heated, leather-lined

Rover, looking longingly

at a tidily-driven example

of the world's best selling

sports car. Once you've

driven one, you end up

addicted.

The rear-wheel-drive

roadster might be in its

third generation but it's

still proving popular be-

cause it offers you only

the basic thrills you need

to have a ball on Britain's

12 Life On Cars

Why Mazda’sMX-5 is still a

sports carmasterpiece

back roads, meaning that

once you get behind its

cute looks it's still an ab-

solute joy to drive.

I got my first go in one

in May, when I tried one

with the optional folding

metal roof around the

Millbrook Proving Ground,

and ended up hooked on

its sublime steering, deli-

cate handling and revvy

little engine. I needed to

work out a reason to get

another go.

Luckily, 2010 saw the

20th anniversary of the

car's UK arrival, so on that

basis I managed to borrow

one, take it to North

Wales, and spend a week-

end rediscovering the re-

gion's best driving roads.

Out of all the cars I've test

driven this year, I've never

been so reluctant to hand

back the keys!

There are roomier,

comfier cars out there but

if you drive simply be-

cause you enjoy it you

can’t go far wrong with an

MX-5, particularly if

you’re the sort of person

who deliberately takes

the long route just so they

can go over a remote

mountain pass on the way.

If anything I reckon it’s

actually better than the

old British sports cars it's

so often accused of mim-

icking, because unlike

them the MX-5 actually

works and means you can

spend your weekends in

the countryside, rather

than the garage. Just

make sure you share the

driving with whoever you

take along for the ride,

otherwise they’ll forget

it’s a driver’s car and start

going on about the inte-

rior being too cramped,

the boot too small and the

ride too firm.

Put this way; I've also

driven a V8-powered AC

Cobra replica, a Lexus IS-

F, a BMW Z4 and a Peugeot

RC Z coupe, and I'd still

recommend the light little

Mazda over any of them.

But you’ll forget all of

them on a cross-country

blast in an MX-5, because

even when it’s not its

birthday the Mazda’s par-

tying, and you’re always

invited.

Driver’scar 2010

TThhee ffaammoouussffiivvee

13Life On Cars

TRACK down the remote

Yorkshire dales village of

Thwaite and in return

you'll be rewarded with

the start of the Buttertubs

Pass, a rollercoaster ride

which tantalises and

terrifies you in equal

measure.

With a sheer drop of

more than 500 feet and a

weak-looking fence always

on your left hand side, it's

not a drive for the faint-

hearted, but play it sensi-

ble along this route and it

proves an irresistable mix

of powerful landscapes,

driving challenges and oc-

casional geological titbits

(the Buttertub rock for-

mations, about halfway

along the route, are well

worth the stop).

Carry on past the end

of your route along the

Cliff Gate Road towards

Settle and you'll also get

to discover the grandeur

of the Ribblehead

Viaduct, jewel of the Set-

tle to Carlisle Railway.

As roads go, it’s hard to

find a better one.

Buttertubs Pass, Yorkshire: All road images courtesy of Google Earth.

Is this the UK’s most enjoyable road?

UUtttteerrllyyBBuutttteerrllyy

Best roadof 2010

EAT your greens. What

used to be your mother's

teatime message is now

the verdict of a group of

automotive experts from

across Europe.

They've chosen the

Nissan Leaf, an electric

car with a battery range

of 100 miles and a a pric-

etag of nearly £24,000, as

the official 2011 car of

the year because, like

salad, it's good for you.

But why would you want

to eat salad when GR8Life

can lay on a ten-course

feast of the real show-

room stars of what's shap-

ing up to become a

vintage year for great

cars?

The Audi RS3, for in-

stance, is also a practical,

five-door hatchback, but

unlike the Leaf it packs a

Porsche-matching 340bhp

punch, thanks to the same

twin-turbocharged engine

which has already worked

with great effect in the

RS version of the TT

coupe. At a touch under

£40,000, it's most expen-

sive A3 the company has

ever made, but it's an A3

with attitude.

It's the first of a raft of

new models being intro-

duced by the German

motor maker this year,

but the one everyone's

got their eye on is the

cute new A1, being intro-

duced in a bid to steal

sales from BMW's hugely

successful MINI brand.

Spiritual successor to the

long-forgotten Audi 50 of

the 1970s, it's not as

style-conscious as the

MINI and Fiat 500, but it

will introduce the cachet

of the famous four-ringed

logo to a new generation

of drivers.

But the MINI's makers

aren't going to let that

happen without introduc-

ing a little competition,

and hot on the heels of

last year's Countryman

come the Coupe and

Roadster, in yet another

expansion of a model

range originally based on

the reinvention of a small

car classic. This time,

though, the new arrivals

are smaller and sportier

than the base car, and

should prove a hit for any-

one with a love of the

small and sporty in their

cars.

Another British reinven-

tion is also expected to

come to the country later

this year - albeit with a

little help from the Chi-

nese - when MG launches

its first truly new models

in over a decade, in the

form of the MG 3 and MG

6 hatchbacks. Fans of the

traditionalist sports cars

which once wore the

iconic octagon badge

might take a little con-

Life On CarsLife On Cars’ top tips’ top tipsfor a cracking 2011 -for a cracking 2011 -

plus the experts’ picksplus the experts’ picks

Europe’smagnificent

seven

ThESE are the cars a

number of motoring

journalists from across

Europe picked as their

favourites of 2010.

Not that we agree with

their winner...

1) Nissan Leaf

(pictured above)

2) Alfa Giuletta

3) Vauxhall Meriva

4) Ford C-Max

5) Citroen DS3 and C3

6) Volvo S60 and V60

7) Dacia Duster

Life On Cars14

MG revival

Read more

motoring news and

road tests from

David Simister on

the blog online

at www.

lifeoncars.blogspot

.com

15Life On Cars

vincing, but it's hard to

argue with a very modern

take on a famous marque

that's been away from

British showrooms a little

too long.

Italy's MG, you could

argue, is Alfa Romeo, who

after gaining near-univer-

sal praise last year for the

Golf-chasing Giuletta

hatchback are about to

unleash their gorgeous

Giula saloon in Britain

later this year. As the re-

placement for the 159 it's

going to face some very

tough competition, but if

looks were anything to go

by it'd seem the Milan

manufacturer's already

onto a winner.

Certainly it's going to

be exciting in the visual

stakes than BMW's 3-Se-

ries, which the spy shots

seem to suggest follows

the current car's conserva-

tive take on the junior ex-

ecutive saloon. Yet with

the outgoing version now

a regular fixture in the

sharp end of the new car

sales charts, you can bet

it won't be long before

you're seeing the new

2011 model on roads

everywhere.

The company's new 6-

Series is a much better

bet if you want to get no-

ticed, particularly as it'll

arrive first in convertible

form just in time for sum-

mer. Shedding some of its

predecessor's more con-

troversial curves, it's a

poised and elegant propo-

sition, particularly if

you've got the 4.4-litre

eight-cylinder engine in

the new BMW 650i Con-

vertible to power you

along effortlessly.

It would be a surefire

contender for the title of

2011's most headturning

convertible - if it wasn't

for the first Porsche

Speedster in a generation,

which provided you can

actually find one of these

limited edition sports cars

is a real treat for the

eyes. The 911 Speedster

might have 402bhp, 3.8-

litre flat-six engine - sat

behind the rear wheels in

true Porsche tradition -

and a very modern type of

gearbox, but style-wise

it's straight out of the

James dean movies of the

1950s. If ever there was a

tip for a coveted classic of

the future, this is it.

That and the spiritual

successor to the fastest

car ever to come out of a

British factory, which fi-

nally goes on sale later

this year. McLaren's snap-

pily titled MP4-12C is the

company's first road car

since the 240mph F1 of

the 1990s, and it's hoped

it can capitalise on its

Lewis hamilton reputation

to steal sales from the

Ferrari 458 Italia. Oh, and

it'll cost just £168,500.

Alternatively, you can

save yourself more than

£100,000 by going instead

for the new Lexus CT200-

h, which isn't anything

like as fast but fights back

by being far more practi-

cal and having the novelty

of being the firm's first

ever small car, pitched as

a Japanese rival to the

BMW 1 Series.

It's also powered by the

company's proven hybrid

engine technology, mean-

ing that as well as promis-

ing up to 68mpg it's also

good for the environment.

It's a car that lets you

eat your greens but - like

all the other star cars of

2011 - will prove a delight

to drive and own as well.

New BMW models

Opposite: The new

McLaren promises

to be one of 2011’s

fastest arrivals.

Right, from top:

The Audi RS3 will

be the company’s

fastest ever hatch;

BMW’s 6-Series is

in UK as a cabrio

first; the stunning

Porsche 911

Speedster is £140K

but already sold

out; a few rungs

down the ladder

sees Audi trying to

take on MINI with

its baby A1; fun

and frugal are

combined in the

CT200-h, a BMW 1-

Series basher from

Lexus; and last but

not least, the MINI

range expands yet

again with the

curvy Coupe and

Roadster

16 Life On Cars

1995 Renault 5:

A SPECIAL prize, then

for the most reliable

car I've ever owned,

which finally reached

the end of the road

earlier this year.

Regular readers

might remember how

excited I got when I

paid just £100 - the

price of a first class

rail ticket - for a

Renault 5 last Janu-

ary, which I initially

gave a reception

frostier than the win-

try weather which

was gripping Britain

at the time. It was,

after all, a boxy

French hatchback

with faded paint-

work, a suspicious

amount of hay in the

footwells and ice ac-

tually frozen into the

rear tyre treads, ef-

fectively blessing it

with racing slicks at a

time of black ice and

snow. I bought it not

only because it was

cheap, but because

its unknown reliabil-

ity record was still

better than my 1983

Mini, which wasn't

working at all.

Since then it's been

as far north as dum-

fries, as far south as

London and along

some of the country's

most challenging

roads in Yorkshire,

Cumbria and North

Wales in between,

and over 11 months

and just two oil

changes it never

broke down.

Icy weather? Jour-

ney across the coun-

try? Minimal

maintenance? Not a

problem for the

seemingly indestruc-

tible little Renault,

which no matter

what you asked of it

always burst into life

at the first opportu-

nity.

Unfortunately, even

two weekends' worth

of welding wasn't

enough to stop it fail-

ing its MOT earlier

this week, and the

news was far worse

than I'd feared. To re-

pair the rot beneath

the front wings would

take weeks and cost

far more than the old

girl's worth, so after

16 years and 123,000

miles it's finally

reached the end of

its working life. As

sad as it seems, she

was off to the scrap-

yard.

I won't miss the

clattery old engine or

spartan interior but I

already miss lots of

things about it, in-

cluding its ridicu-

lously spacious

interior and its sur-

prisingly sporty han-

dling. But most of all

I'll miss it as a bar-

gain buy; £100 for al-

most a year's worth

of malady-free mo-

toring is going to be

hard to beat.

I loved it because it

never let me down.

How one ancient French hatchback wormed its wayinto David Simister’s heart - and then got scrapped

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