ATLAS F1 - THE JOURNAL OF FORMULA ONE MOTORSPORT
On The Road
Automotive News and Reviews for the Petrolhead

By Garry Martin, England
Reuters Motoring Commentator



  Renault to Launch New Clio in January

French carmaker Renault said it would launch a revamped version of its small Clio car range at the start of next year.

Europe's fourth biggest carmaker, which is currently rolling out new versions of its popular Megane family that are crucial to revive the firm's profits, said the first versions of the new range would go on sale in January.

Renault said the current version of the compact and curvy car had sold 3.8 million units since its launch in 1998, but did not give sales forecasts for its successor.

  Ford Recalls 343,250 Minivans

Ford said that it will recall 343,250 Ford Windstar minivans worldwide after a U.S. government compliance test showed that a rear seat could become dislodged in a crash.

The recall, which includes 257,000 of the model year 2001 to 2003 minivans sold in the United States, comes after the rear seat came loose during tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), said Ford spokesman Glenn Ray on Friday.

Ray said that Ford disagrees with the procedure for the NHTSA test, which used straps to pull on seats in a parked vehicle to simulate forces in a crash. The third-row bench seat failed in the NHTSA tests, but Ford will replace both the third- and second-row seat latches. Ford conducts a different test to measure stresses in a crash, and the automaker is unaware of any incidents of seats becoming dislodged in a real crash, Ray said.

"We had some issue with the mechanics of the test," Ray said. "When we conducted (Ford's own) test, which we believe is more real world representation, we never had a problem with that latch," Ray said.

However, Ford will recall the vehicles, and will send notifications to Windstar owners later this month, telling them to take their vehicles to a dealer to have the seat latches replaced at no cost, Ray said.

  CLK is Drop-Head Gorgeous

Mercedes-Benz is the unquestioned uber-meister of the convertible art, the Manchester United of cabriolet premier league, the de Veere of the drop-top. Fuelled by demand from Hollywood assistant producers and sunshine state starlets, Mercedes has conjured up the world's richest panoply of canopies.

Just look at the current line-up. The SL has stamped its universal mastery as the best convertible in the world, the SLK brilliantly re-invented the 1930s idiom of the folding hardtop and, brand new this year, the convertible version of the CLK coupe adds a dash of practicality to the genre. If you want a convertible with four full seats, the CLK is the new class act on the block.

Fabric Top

The Mercedes CLK coupe is the new class act on the blockHaving made the folding hardtop an icon with the SLK and then the new SL, it may seem surprising that Mercedes has reverted to a fabric top for its CLK. But it's not that surprising if you give it some consideration. Firstly, making a metal roof on a car this big and still retaining space for luggage and passengers is a real challenge. Secondly, the quality of Mercedes' soft-top is so good that it hardly seems worth bothering.

All you need to do is flip a switch in the centre console and the roof glides away effortlessly. Yes, it curmudgeons its way into available boot space like a hungry shark snapping its jaws shut. But it leaves more space than, say, a Saab convertible.

The roof itself has more layers than the philosopher's onion: peel one away and apparently there will always be another underneath. Which is why, when you have the roof up, it might as well be a metal roof. Hood down and the airflow is a refined waft about the ear. At least, it is for front passengers; those in the rear will need earmuffs to remain comfortable in British weather conditions.

Machine Metal

The roof does not intrude too rudely into passenger space and so there remains generous space for four adults, although shoulder room in the rear is at a premium and it can feel quite claustrophobic in the back with the roof up. But the cabin is beautifully appointed and, in Avantgarde trim as tested, boasts some gorgeous-looking machined metal trim.

When you chop the roof off a coupe, you expect the body to lose some rigidity. Compared to the old-shape CLK convertible, it certainly is stiffer but compared to the CLK coupe, there is plenty of discernible scuttle shake. However, Mercedes has managed to retain much of the composed ride and secure handling that distinguishes the CLK coupe. It is not a sports car in the same way as a BMW 330Ci convertible, but it corners in a tidy, secure and safe fashion.

Not in the Sports Car League

One further issue with convertibles is their generic portliness. The CLK has to contend with a weight of 1.75 tonnes, somewhere between heavyweight and super-heavyweight. It needs a V6 engine to lug it around and the 3.2-litre 215bhp engine fitted to the CLK320 I drove is certainly up to the job, though I can't imagine the entry-level four-cylinder 1.8-litre CLK200 ever getting off the line. In 320 form, progress is sprightly enough but it's certainly not in the sports car league. BMW's 330Ci will get to 60mph in about 6.8 seconds; the Merc takes almost a second and a half longer.

If you're pressing hard, engine noise can be surprisingly intrusive. It's a pleasant enough engine note but in a car that is obviously geared towards comfort rather than sporty pretensions, noise levels should be lower than this. In other respects refinement is excellent: the ride quality is air-mattress smooth and the automatic gearbox (standard on the CLK320 but a £1450 option on the lesser 200K and 240 versions) is silken in its operation.

My major quibble is over the price tag: at £38,705, it is over £5,000 dearer than the most expensive BMW 330Ci convertible and over £9,000 more than the most expensive Audi A4 Cabriolet. And of course most owners will want to spend more on options, which are equally pricey: leather seats cost £1,250, sat nav is £1,890, a multi-CD player is £350 and metallic paint an extra £600.

But quality has its price and there's no escaping the CLK's ambience of thought-through richesse. It slots in as comfortably the most desirable of the current crop of Northern European sun-seekers.

Written by David Summer Smith


© 2003 Reuters Limited. Click for Restrictions
© 2007 autosport.com . This service is provided under the Atlas F1 terms and conditions.
 
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Volume 9, Issue 46
November 12th 2003

Atlas F1 Special

Interview with David Coulthard
by David Cameron

Season in the Sun
by David Cameron

2004 Countdown Facts & Stats
by Marcel Borsboom & Marcel Schot

Columns

On the Road
by Garry Martin

Elsewhere in Racing
by David Wright & Mark Alan Jones

The Weekly Grapevine
by Tom Keeble



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