Category: Cars

What I think about the new Audi A7?

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date February 17, 2019

I know I was supposed to be writing this blog article months ago, such as May 2018. However, I have postponed it with no reason other than being lazy. Interestingly, during this time, the Audi Mayfair dealer has closed down and the place is now a Metro Bank branch.

To avoid any confusion, Audi did not become Metro Bank and introduce a competitor to Apple Pay; Audi Pay, where you need to drive your Audi car to the card reader to make a payment.

Anyway, let’s go back to the Audi A7. It is brand new! It shares the same modular platform as the MLB Evo and its interior is exactly the same as the A8, although with less wood. The Audi A7 offers similar driving assistance systems to the A8 and by the time you read this article, it will be offering AI-based level-three semi-autonomous driving feature. This is a rather useless feature, because it is only enabled when you are on a highway (autobahn).

The interior of the Audi A7 is a squeezed version of the A6; you need to make yourself shorter to have comfortable long journeys on the rear seats. However, it is not like a coupe car, and the rear leg room is better than the previous version.

As you may expect, the A7 may tend to understeer, because the engine sits too far away from the front-axle. Also, the Quattro and the transmission moves the weight balance into the front and you understeer.

Everything is controlled by touch screen, which is really annoying. Audi have applied an oleophobic coating to the glass touchscreens and it looks really bad when you use them. Also, you have to stop the car to change a minor setting.

Overall, it is a new car, it has new engines, and lots of tech. But it shares lots of things with the other VW Group vehicles. If you have a family and do not wish to have a traditional family car, go for an A7.

Tags Audi, Audi A7

Cars

BMW 7 Series Facelifted!

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date January 20, 2019

Today BMW revealed the facelifted 7 Series in China, featuring a really strong front end. The new 7 Series features the largest BMW kidney grille, inspired by BMW’s latest SUV: the X7. This design change signals that BMW is planning to differentiate between luxury models by using unique design language; in other words, through massive BMW kidney grills.

Other than that, you will not be able to see a major difference between the interior and the rear end of the 7 Series and previous models. However, there is bad news for the emerging markets: the 740e plug-in hybrid model with the 2.0-litre petrol engine is to be replaced by a 745e plug-in hybrid with a 3.0-litre petrol engine. It is likely that BMW is going to sell a version of the 745e with a 2.0-litre petrol engine to the emerging market; however, the rest of the world will face the new larger engine.

The new 7 Series offers an improved version of the existing Driving Assistance Plus; in addition, BMW has received permission to run fully autonomous cars in China. It must be noted that this will not make an impact on the 7 Series right now, but it is an important milestone.

The 7 Series still offers a level two semi-autonomous driving mode; this will be more than enough for stressful long journeys, as it is always useful to have a second eye while driving.

In other news, if you are planning to buy a Rolls-Royce Ghost, you will, in fact, be buying an outdated BMW 7 Series: the Ghost is based on the previous generation 7 Series and, in all honesty, the facelifted 7 Series offers a greater level of interior luxury.

Overall, the new 7 Series looks really exciting and will definitely challenge the ageing Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

[columns_row width=”half”]
[column]

[/column]
[column]

[/column]
[/columns_row]

Photo credit // BMW

Tags 7-Series, BMW, BMW 7-Series

Cars

This is What I Think About the New Range Rover Evoque

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date December 29, 2018

The second generation Range Rover Evoque has been unveiled. Whilst the first generation Evoque was a game changer in this segment, also keep in mind the world was a different place back in 2010! The second generation brings less of a revolution. In 2011, people were not expecting too much in terms of technological features from a car and also the Evoque emerged looking like something from out of this world.

However, things have changed a lot during the seven-year time period. We are now an extremely well-connected society; everything we do is through our smart phones. We communicate across all devices and the Apple Watch 4, for example, is more powerful than the iPhone 4 from 2010!

It is therefore unsurprising that the unveiling of the second generation Evoque has not create the same vibe as last time. It is, arguably, just a smaller version of the Range Rover Velar. It does not provide drivers with the highly sophisticated driving assistance systems that can be found in the Mercedes-Benz GLC and the BMW X3. Despite being a new car, the Evoque is still at least five years behind its competitors.

Does it look outstanding? Unfortunately, no. It is just a smaller Velar and this will make people perceive the Evoque as a half-baked Range Rover Velar. The second generation Evoque does not bring any distinctive characteristics compared to the first.

Considering the positives, the engine is improved, as you would expect, and the interior is built better than previously. Is this enough, however, to attract people to purchase the second generation Evoque?

[columns_row width=”half”]
[column]
[/column]
[column] [/column]
[/columns_row]

Photo credit // Land Rover

Tags Evoque, Land Rover, Range Rover Evoque, SUV

Cars

Second Generation Range Rover Evoque | Coming soon…

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date November 19, 2018

Range Rover Evoque is back! The second generation will be revealed on November 22nd, 2018. Am I excited like the last time? No!

Unfortunately, Land Rover could not manage to close the gap between the German rivals in terms of driving assistance and semi-autonomous driving technologies. The Land Rover brand is now concentrating on being a luxury product rather than a functional product and therefore their focus is not on technological developments. While Land Rover have improved their infotainment and other driving assistance systems during the last seven years, there is still a ten-year gap between the German rivals.

For this reason, I am not particularly excited about the second-generation Range Rover Evoque. The Land Rover PR team’s effort indicates that they would like to position the car as a luxury product that can perform off-road. However, they have not signalled any technological improvements. Furthermore, the same creative concept, the wire sculpture, has been used again. So, my expectations regarding the second generation Evoque are very low.

I am sure that the new vehicle will look good and have improved driving performance. It will also offer more technological features than the first generation. However, I am not expecting to see a Mercedes-Benz GLC, BMW X3, Porsche Macan, or Audi Q5 rival here. These rivals are maximising luxury, efficiency, and technology.

Will the second generation Evoque sell well? Yes, it will. However, I do not think that Land Rover will be able to sustain their sales figures over the next seven years, as they did with the first generation. Consumer tastes are changing and as people focus more on technology and other experiences, buying a car is no longer something for everyone. A car may spend up to 80% of its life stationary, not being used, meaning that buying an iPad or an iPhone is a more appealing option for many. When a person has to spend money on these gadgets on instalment, they are likely to hesitate to commit a monthly payment to a product that will not be used 80% of the time.

Photo Credit // Land Rover

Tags Evoque, Land Rover, Range Rover Evoque

Cars

The New Mercedes-Benz GLE

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date October 16, 2018

Mercedes-Benz recently revealed the fourth generation GLE (otherwise known as the ML or M-Class). The first generation was recognised as entirely ground-breaking when it was first revealed in 1997. Prior to it being unveiled, the SUV did not exist; Mercedes-Benz created a new market. They did quite well with a half-baked vehicle. Despite this problem, it was a really good-looking vehicle.

Then the second generation of M-Class arrived. Despite the widespread improvements across every dimension of the car, the design did not benefit from the revamp, resulting in the M-Class becoming known as the most boring SUV.

The third generation failed to escape the boring reputation and was simply an average SUV. I, personally, couldn’t find a single reason to own one. One addition to the third generation that was interesting, however, was that Mercedes-Benz dropped the rear-differential lock and made it a proper soft off-roader. Additionally, the facelifted ML became the GLE!

We are now graced with the presence of the fourth generation of this historic brand and the design reached a different level. It looks hilarious and it kind of resembles the early sketches of the M-Class in the mid-1990s. Despite its melted LEGO design, it has some good tech underneath. Now, if you lose traction, the suspension system increases the pressure on the wheels to increase the traction, which is a brilliant trick! Unfortunately, Mercedes-Benz has yet to outline whether the new GLE has the rear differential lock or not.

Keep in mind, if you buy a 4-cylinder version, it will contain the old 4MATIC system. If you buy the larger engines, you will benefit from the new 4MATIC system that, currently, very little is known about.

Worth to buy? Kind of! The BMW X5 looks like an estate car and the Audi Q7 looks quite interesting. The Range Rover is being a Range Rover. Literally, it is up to you.

Photo credit // Mercedes-Benz

Tags GLE, M-Class, Mercedes

Cars

Bugatti Divo

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date September 12, 2018

The Bugatti Divo. If you already own a Bugatti Chiron or a Chiron Sport I am sorry to say that your cars are not slower. Bugatti has just revealed a new model called the Divo that doesn’t get up to 400 km/h! It can only do 379 km/h, so be aware that someone will be able to overtake you!

Although it is a new variantion of Chiron, the Divo still uses a historic piece in the form of a W16 engine that is largely based on the VW VR6 engine from the late 1990s. It still produces 1500-HP from its 8-lt W16 engine and costs €5-million. This time Bugatti decided to make a car that is designed to handle.

The Divo is 35kg lighter and has 90kg more downforce than the Chiron. The wide front splitter guides more air to the cooling system, and the rest of the vents are designed to create an air duct. The rear spoiler is 23% wider than the Chiron (1.83-mt) and is there to increase the aerodynamic force in order to increase the car’s handling.

Veyron and Chiron are not very well known for their cornering abilities. Due to their heavy engine, heavy gearbox and luxury items, the Veyron and the Chiron are as agile as a castle on a curvy road.

Bugatti realised this problem and decided to reduce the weight of the Chiron and re-engineer the aero dynamic structure of the vehicle so as to improve the handling and, as a result, we have the Divo. However, when you play with aero dynamics for better handling, you scrap your top speed.

You might be saying 1500-HP is a lot. However, the aero dynamic friction is really high at higher speeds and to increase the top speed beyond 300 km/h you need lots of horsepower!

Long story short, the Divo is a hardcore version of the Chiron, and shows what it really can do. It handles better, is track focused and more aggressive.

How has this happened? Bugatti’s current CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, used to be Lamborghini’s CEO. He was the person behind the Reventón, the Gallardo as the Sesto Elemento and the Aventador as the Veneno and Aventador J.

He knows how to impress customers and make their wallet lighter by offering a lighter car. We can see the same strategy with the Bugatti.

As Bugatti stated when the Chiron was released, there won’t be any cabrio versions, so we have to be ready for more aggressive Chiron derivatives.

Honestly, I like the Divo and the story behind making a Bugatti that can’t achieve 400 km/h. Winkelmann showed that Bugatti is not just all about the top speed, and I am glad he did it, because it was getting ridiculous. The Veyron was a great masterpiece for its time! The early 2000s was the era of top speed and we were all really impressed with the Veyron. However, the world has changed and Bugatti needed to change to survive, and to avoid being stuck in 20th Century.

Will I be able to let you see any photos of this car? Unfortunately not. As the London Bugatti dealer is no longer part of the Bentley dealership, I can’t get inside the HR Owen Bugatti showroom and take photos. I have tried my luck a couple of times and it didn’t work. As I understand it, since HR Owen moved the Bugatti into a separate branch, they want to attract real clients instead of people like me. As a result, I unfortunately won’t be able to post any close-up photos of the Divo.

Photo credit // Bugatti

Tags Bugatti, Bugatti Chiron, Bugatti Divo

Cars

The New VW Touareg

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date September 2, 2018

When the VW Touareg was first revealed it was a quite shock to the automotive industry. It was introduced along with the Phaeton, and they were clear signals to the automotive market that VW is changing.

The first generation Touareg was a really good SUV. It featured two differential locks, a low-range gearbox and air suspensions. Also, most of the interior was shared with the Phaeton, which means that it was shared with the Bentley Continental GT.

Now, we have the new Touareg, 3rd generation. The Phaeton is gone and the Bentley Continental is based on the Porsche Panamera modular platform. However, this time, the Touareg shares the MLBevo modular platform with the Bentley Bentayga, the Audi Q7 and the Porsche Cayenne.

When you buy a brand new VW Touareg you are buying a Bentley Bentayga on budget. When you look at the technical details, what you will see is that the Touareg and the Bentayga are siblings. The only differences are the exterior and the interior parts.

Unfortunately, the interior part is where you have a massive difference.

And, I didn’t have a chance to drive one. However, if you are planning to buy one, you won’t make a wrong choice. I accept that the Touareg looks a bit boring and ordinary. On the other hand, what you are buying is a car sharing the same infrastructure as a Bentley.

3rd generation VW Touareg — 3.0 V6 TDI engine with 210 kW / 286 PS

Photo Credit // VW

Tags Touareg, VW

Cars

The Audi Q8

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date August 22, 2018

Audi have recently revealed a brand new SUV, the Q8. You might be thinking, how is it different from the Q8 and Q7? Basically, the Q8 looks better and is a bit shorter. The Q7 is for families, while the Q8 is for people who have an active lifestyle. This is because the Q8 is a coupe SUV. This is a pointless cliche from the automotive PR industry.

Basically, the Q8 is a bit more luxurious than the Q7. It is tidier thanks to its smaller size. It shares the same interior touches with the Audi A7 and A8. It has two massive touch screens!

The Quattro is still here with a mechanical centre differential and the capability to transfer the ‘majority’ of the power to a single axle. That’s a really diplomatic way of saying that their locking differential is not capable of 100% locking, so don’t try it for heavy off road.

Overall, I really like the Audi Q8. It offers a much better exterior design than the Q7 and you can see some resemblance to the Q2, whose design I really like. The Q8 is not a heavy off road vehicle and it is promoted as a coupe SUV with a four-door layout. And, for the first time, I really like the Audi SUV.

[columns_row width=”half”]
[column]

[/column]
[column]

[/column]
[/columns_row]

Photo Credit // Audi

Tags Audi, Audi Q8

Cars

Audi City Mayfair, London is Closed Down

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date July 30, 2018

Audi London City has closed down. On 30th June, 2018, the iconic London Audi dealer in Mayfair closed its doors for good. I didn’t know that it was going to happen and it happened all of a sudden.

This dealership has been there for more than 20 years and was one of the first digital Audi dealers. I had many good memories there and took hundreds of photos.

Closing down such as an iconic dealer was a big shock.

Therefore, I wanted to write this post and share the photos I took ovet the years at the Audi Mayfair dealership.

[columns_row width=”half”]
[column]

[/column]
[column] [/column]
[/columns_row]

Tags Audi

Cars

The New Bentley Continental GT at HR Owen, London

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date July 14, 2018

The new Bentley Continental GT is basically a mansion on wheels. Even though it shares the same modular platform with the Porsche Panamera, it is still 2.2-tonne! However, you are getting lots of luxury. You might be saying that a massage seat is available with the Renault Megane, but you get more than a massage seat in a Bentley.

You will get state-of-art attention to detail making for a luxury experience. The new Continental’s interior is a luxurious visual experience, and you love looking at the details.

Even though the S-Coupe offers better and more enhanced driving assistance systems and a little bit more comfort, you won’t get this visual experience with a Mercedes-Benz.

Long story short, the new Bentley looks stunning from the inside. It offers an average level of technology. However, the Bentley team told me that they will be transferring more technology directly from the Porsche. As they share the same platform, implementation will be easy.

The Bentley Continental GT is designed for long journeys. It is not a car to compete with or race a Ferrari.

[columns_row width=”half”]
[column]