Well we had our test drive yesterday, we had the car for a full hour so enough to time check the car out properly.
Initial impressions from the outside, the car looks quite a bit smaller than the others on our list, the Tiguan and the XC40. Space for passengers was also tighter for front and rear passengers, which was surprising as the dimensions were very similar on paper. The boot was also quite small.
I was dissappointed that you had to insert a key to start the car, as both the other cars had keyless start, but hey ho. The digital cockpit, was ok, I wasnt blown away by it, but a lot better than the BMW X1 which looks like it hasnt changed since the 80’s. The kids found the seats comfortable, more so than the XC40 R design we test drove.
I was actually pleasantly surprised by the auot gearbox mated to the 1.5 petrol engine, we took it around the streets of North London as well as the A406, good pick up and overtaking ability. MPG wise, i was getting around 26, but I wasnt hanging around so not surprising.
The biggest dissappointment for us was the ride. We got the S line model and it felt absolutely rock hard, with every imperfection in the roads being felt by all of us. To the point where the kids started getting headaches towards the end. This car also had the upgraded 20 inch alloys so i’m sure that contributed to the very harsh ride. We currently have an E class mercedes 2011 model, and that car felt like gliding on air afterwards.
So unfortunately for us it is a definite NO. The teeth shattering ride aside, the car just felt too small and not really practical for a family of 4. That along with the very high AP compared to the other 2 means its off our list. We have a test drive booked in for the tiguan next saturday, but at the moment the XC40 is top of the list.