INDEX Team Motopia 4 New car news 5 New car news 7 Road test: Honda Civic Type R 8 News: Car giveaway 10 Road test: Lexus IS 220d 12 Classics: Jaguar XJ Series Kim Henson - Road Test Editor Taco Jonkman - Photographer Melissa Terry - 14 Goodwood Festival of Speed & Classic Car Specialist & Motorcycle Correspondent Editor 15 Motorcycle news CONTACT: [email protected] • [email protected]. Tel: 07737 924 511 16 Motorsport: /Rallye Sunseeker 17 Motorsport: Safari with SCORers 18 Road test: Ford Focus 19 Road test: VW Tiguan 20 Servicing 21 Commercial test: ...a heatwave courtesy of Honda, a thundering and classics. Go online to see pictures of the Easter Volkswagen Golf Estate FAestival nof Speded pre vietw, bhright eCus tomf spoells art eWecekenad histsoric tcar racing sat Th.ru.xto.n. 22 Commercial news Beaulieu with BTCC intervals hailing at Thruxton fol- At the ‘business’ end, we have details on tax 23 Directory lowed by some cloudy classics and blustery bikes – changes and news on a couple of new entries to the a generally unpredictable climate! ‘van’ sector. Summer is looming and then it will be time to Look out for Salisbury’s first two-storey new car Published by Motopia Creative Ltd. whip off those tops. Unless, of course, it persistent - showroom opening towards the end of May. Penton Registered in England No: 6372603 ly rains again and washes away even more of our Motor Group has been working hard to create the Printed in the UK by THE MAGAZINE precious road surfaces. No wonder so many people perfect space to display its gleaming motors.. It will PRINTING COMPANY www.magprint.co.uk drive 4x4s. They appreciate the good suspension. be a joint celebration to welcome Suzuki’s new Talking about suspension, if you like fast and arrival, the Splash! AND, they’re giving away a Swift To protect our environment papers used in this publi - bumpy, check out my unusual experience with the in a competition with Spire FM. cation are produced by mills that promote sustainably Southern Counties Off Road Club – not for the faint Don’t forget, features past and present are managed forests and utilise Elementary Chlorine Free hearted or weak stomached. available online at www.motopia.co.uk, where we process to produce fully recyclable material in accor - Fancy something tamer? You might enjoy read - keep you up to date with news on all fronts, plus dance with an Environmental Management System ing about the new VW Tiguan compact SUV on videos, reviews, photographs, thousands of used conforming with BS EN ISO 14001:2004. review this month. You can also watch the video cars for sale, and details of local motoring busi - review at Vision News TV, under the nesses. lifestyle/motoring tab. Finally, we hope you enjoy this issue, crammed This month Kim explains the joys of Jaguar XJ full of interesting motoring nuggets like the 17-foot Series and Daimler ownership. Now there’s a clas - long smaaaaaaart and a C.R.A.P idea from BMW. sic with class. Taco’s been out shooting rally cars Melissa Terry, Editor † i Swift GLX The new Suzuk 5 door from £ 5 ,51 ) 9 l * a c i p y t APR ( 0% Penton Suzuki 48 Churchfields Road, Salisbury SP2 7NW MAKING A SWIFT EXIT JUST GOT MORE AFFORDABLE 01722 322828 www.pentonmotorgroup.com † 1.6 GLX The Suzuki SX4 from £ 99 0,9 ) 1 l * a Swift range official fuel consumption figures in mpg (L/100km): urban c i from 31.0 (9.1) to 49.6 (5.7), extra urban from 46.3 (6.1) to 68.9 (4.1), p combined from 39.8 (7.1) to 60.1 (4.7). Official CO2 emissions from y 124g/km to 171g/km. t R ( SX4 range official fuel consumption figures in mpg (L/100km): urban AP from 28.8 (9.8) to 44.1 (6.4), extra urban from 44.1 (6.4) to 61.4(4.6), 0% combined from 37.1 (7.6) to 53.3 (5.3), CO2 emissions from 139g/km to 182g/km. Swift: 0% APR (typical) finance. Minimum 50% deposit required. †Model shown is the Swift 1.5 GLX 5 door available at £9,515 on the road (metallic paint available at extra cost). 0% APR (typical) finance over 2 years is subject to availability for vehicles privately registered between 1 April 2008 and 30 June 2008 from participating Authorised Suzuki Dealers only. *With a deposit of 50% required . Credit is available to persons aged 18 years or over, subject to status. SX4: 0% APR (typical) finance. Minimum 50% deposit required. †Model shown is the SX4 1.6 GLX petrol available at £10,999 on the road (metallic paint available at extra cost). 0% APR (typical) finance over 2 years is subject to availabil - ity for vehicles privately registered between 1 April 2008 and 30 June 2008 from partici - pating Authorised Suzuki Dealers only. *With a deposit of 50% required . Credit is available to persons aged 18 years or over, subject to status. Indemnities may be required. SX4, MORE SPACE, LESS EXPENSE Terms may vary. For full details contact your local Suzuki dealer. April May 2008 3 News Helping hand with interest rate cut “BY REDUCING the interest rate to five per cent, The Bank although March car sales figures were up slightly on of England is giving the economy chance to make up 2007, the outlook for 2008 remains uncertain unless some of the ground lost during the ongoing credit interest rates stay low. crunch,” said Sue Robinson, director of the RMI’s She adds: “Interest rates have a huge impact on the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA). affordability of new cars, as so many are purchased via Ms Robinson continues: “Retailers, including car deal- finance deals. Hopefully with the continuing fall in interest ers have felt the pinch during the last few months, and rates, the availability of car finance will remain strong.” Helen Hayes (Teenage Cancer Trust), Allan Winn (Brooklands), Lord March, Cover story Robert Reid (RBF) and Valerie Mills (Brooklands) Goodwood good sport ALMOST £100,000 was handed over to three charities chosen to benefit from the major motorsport Date for your diary: events held at Goodwood in 2007. Salisbury Motor Show Lord March was present at at Wilton House - Goodwood House to hand over a June 14th and 15th cheque for £51,766 to Teenage Cancer Trust, the nominated benefici- SEAT Leon FR 550 – in Citrus –has designs on BTCC racers ary for the Festival of Speed 2007. The donation will be the perfect start for the TCT Southampton Appeal, due to be launched shortly. The campaign aims to raise £1.5m to provide facili- ties for teenagers and young adults with cancer, and will be based at Southampton General Hospital. SEAT IS giving style-conscious car of these models being made avail - ing the diesel theme, the ‘550’ Former World Rally Champion bFuyers thRe chance t o staind osut fro m bable –r is baisedg on the phopular Lteon spark Robert Reid was also in attendance shares the same 170 PS, turbo the pit lane crowd with the launch of FR TDI, with a raft of unique styling charged 2.0-litre TDI that powers the on behalf of the Richard Burns a new, race-bred Leon special edi- and equipment additions ensuring it Leon FR TDI. Performance, there - Foundation, which organised rally tion. looks every inch the track star. fore, is distinctly spirited. rides for the TCT youngsters and The unveiling of the exciting new Building on the already racy FR’s This 135 mph car blasts from helped co-ordinate fundraising activi- Leon FR550 coincides with SEAT base, the new model adds particu - rest to 62 mph in a mere 8.2 sec - ties. Also present and receiving a Sport UK’s determined assault on larly grippy bucket-style seats with onds, yet is also capable of offering cheque for £41,200 was Allan Winn, the 2008 BTCC crown. The sporty integrated head restraints, fully 47.1 mpg on the combined Northants-based team once again arch-filling 18” ‘Draco’ alloy wheels, Director of the Brooklands Museum, cycle, and as much as 56.5 mpg out promises to be at the business end a USB connection (for ultimate iPod who joined forces with Goodwood at of town. All this, and CO2 emissions of the grid as drivers Jason Plato and or MP3 connectivity) and, naturally, the Revival in 2007. of just 161 g/km, add up to a tempt - Darren Turner bid for glory in their unique FR550 tailgate badging. radical, diesel-powered, Leon TDI On top of this, the ‘550’ package ing ‘hot hatch with a conscience’. racers. gives buyers the chance to turn Despite the exclusive nature of And to celebrate SEAT’s latest heads with a dramatic paint job. the vehicle, and all the extras inside BTCC campaign, the firm is offering Available hues include high fashion and out, there’s precious little premi - hardcore fans the chance to get Candy White and Black Magic along um to be paid for the FR550. The THE WINNER of our great behind the wheel of their very own with two shades of grey, SEAT-trade - car, available to order now at SEAT Thruxton Karting competition BTCC-inspired Leon. mark Emocion Red and the striking, dealerships nationwide, costs was Mr G Curtis of Andover. The special edition FR550 – lime green, Citrus. £18,405 RRP – a modest £400 Congratulations Mr Curtis.We ‘550’ representing the total number Under the bonnet, and continu - more than the standard FR 2.0 TDI.