2015 BMW 7-Series _ car news

BMW 7-Series Review

The 2015 BMW 7-Series ranks 2 out of 6. This ranking is based on our analysis of published reviews and test drives of the BMW 7-Series, as well as reliability and safety data.

The 2015 BMW 7-Series’ comfortable cabin, poised ride and new diesel engine impress critics, though they say that some rivals offer sharper handling and more opulent interiors.

Test drivers write that the base BMW 740i’s turbocharged six-cylinder engine provides ample power, though they note that the new diesel-powered 740Ld feels more powerful, and it gets better fuel economy as well. Auto writers say the 750i's muscular twin-turbocharged V8 delivers stunning acceleration. Other available trims include the ActiveHybrid7, the performance-oriented Alpina B7 and the V12-powered 760Li. The 7-Series comes standard with an eight-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is optional. The 740i gets an EPA-estimated 19/29 mpg city/highway, which is fairly good for the class, while the 740Ld gets 23/31, which is great for a super luxury car. Some reviewers say the 7-Series handles with athleticism, but others think it isn’t as fun to drive as cars like the Jaguar XJ and Porsche Panamera. The 2015 7-Series receives praise for its accurate steering and powerful brakes, and critics say its smooth ride makes it a great companion for high-speed cruising.

While auto writers agree that the 2015 BMW 7-Series has top-quality interior materials, some think the cabin design is too understated compared with its competitors’. Supportive front seats and spacious rear seats, especially in the long-wheelbase (L) models, help enhance the 7-Series’ appeal among critics. The 7-Series offers a good amount of trunk space for the class. Automotive journalists write that the 7-Series’ iDrive infotainment system is user-friendly and has a sharp display. Standard features in the 2015 BMW 740i include leather upholstery, heated front seats, front and rear parking sensors, a rearview camera, quad-zone automatic climate control and BMW’s iDrive infotainment system, which includes navigation, a USB port, Bluetooth, satellite radio and smartphone app integration. Available features include forward collision warning with automatic braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, a surround-view parking camera system, active parallel park assist, night vision with pedestrian detection, a Harman Kardon or Bang & Olufsen surround-sound audio system, a head-up display, a dual-screen rear-seat entertainment system, ventilated and massaging front seats and a heated steering wheel. Long-wheelbase models are available with features like power-adjustable rear seats with heating, ventilating and massaging features.

2015 Chevrolet SS - car news

Chevrolet SS Review

The 2015 Chevrolet SS ranks 3 out of 11 . This ranking is based on our analysis of published reviews and test drives of the Chevrolet SS, as well as reliability and safety data.

Automotive journalists are impressed with the 2015 Chevrolet SS' sporty handling, powerful acceleration and high-end interior.

The 2015 Chevrolet SS comes with a standard V8 engine that test drivers say delivers exceptional acceleration. A six-speed manual or automatic transmission is available, but some reviewers find the automatic has sluggish downshifts. Even for a V8-powered sedan, the 2015 SS' fuel economy is low, at an EPA-estimated 14/21 mpg city/highway with the automatic transmission. According to auto journalists, the Chevrolet SS has athletic handling, responsive steering and controlled body motions through turns. Reviewers comment that it also has a comfortable ride on rough roads.

A handsome interior and high-end materials are hallmarks of the 2015 Chevrolet SS, according to automotive critics. The front seats are comfortable and roomy, they say, and they comment that legroom in the back seats is generous. For the class, the SS has a reasonably large trunk. The 2015 SS comes standard with navigation, Bluetooth, a USB port, a nine-speaker Bose audio system, a rearview camera, a head-up display, forward collision warning, lane departure warning and Chevy's voice-controlled MyLink infotainment system with an 8-inch touch screen. A power sunroof is optional. Test drivers think the controls on the SS' center stack are logically arranged and say that MyLink’s voice recognition system is easy to operate.

New Audi R8 V10 Plus review

If you were asked to draw up a list of the most important supercars ever made, what would you pick? The gorgeousLamborghini Miura – recognised as the first real supercar – has to be in there, as does the McLaren F1 – a 242mph bullet and the world’s fastest production car for 12 years, until the Bugatti Veyroncame along and re-wrote the rule-book.

A controversial one, sure, but we’d say the original Audi R8 is just as deserving of a place on that list. Launched in 2007 it didn’t have the shock-factor of a Lamborghini, or the top speed of a Bugatti, but it was more approachable and useable than any supercar that had gone before. Quite simply, it made amateurs look like driving gods, while still turning heads and making all the right noises.

The first R8 is an impossibly tough act to follow, so you can’t blame Audi for sticking closely to the first-generation formula. This is an entirely new car from the wheel bolts up, but rather than reinvent the R8, its added some more power, taken out some weight, fitted a sharp new body and interior and ladled on every last electronic aid at its disposal to make this new R8 faster on one hand, and more usable than ever on the other.

As Audi’s design department recently proved with the new A4, it’s not adverse to simply redrawing and old shape with a series of sharper lines, and it’s more of the same with the new R8. The proportions are identical to its predecessor (in fact it’s 11mm wider, 12mm lower and 14mm shorter, but you wouldn’t know without using a tape measure) so the sharper front grille, full-LED headlights and claw-like separators in the front intakes are the most notable new features.
 
The side blade is now split in two by the shoulder line and the rear is a little wider and flatter that before, with trapezoid-shaped exhausts instead of oval pipes. But to be fair to Audi, the R8’s classic mid-engined, cab-forward stance naturally adds drama to the design. Put it this way, if one burbles past you on the high street, you’re going to turn and look.
 

The interior is another exercise in quality and minimalism from Audi, although there’s a feeling that it’s been held back somewhat by the brilliance of the TT. The 12.3-inch ‘virtual cockpit’ behind the wheel is just as dazzling, and as easy to control via the button-heavy steering wheel or the large rotary dial on the centre console. However, the air-con controls are separate switches, rather than integrated into the vents as on the TT, which doesn’t look quite as special. The seating position, however, is millimetre perfect – you sit low with your feet outstretched and the deep-dish steering wheel pulled up close to your chest. Visibility is significantly better in all directions than the Huracan, too – especially out the rear screen.

 

British-built Honda Civic Type R to be exported to Japan

The Swindon-built Honda Civic Type R hot hatch will be sold in Honda's home market from this autumn

Honda has announced that its new Civic Type R hot hatch will be exported to Japan with sales in Honda's home market beginning as early as this autumn. 

The news is another significant boost for Honda's UK manufacturing plant in Swindon which is already set to receive £200 million in investment as it becomes the global production hub for the next generation Honda Civic 5-door. 

The news of plans to export the Civic Type R to Japan came right from the top with Honda's new CEO Takahiro Hachigo including the announcement in his inaugural speech early this morning. The 167mph hot hatch is the flagship performance model in the Civicline-up and Honda's Swindon manufacturing facility is the only production base for it in the world. Series production of the Type R started last week as the Swindon plant's 3,000 employees began the process of fulfilling the orders on what is reportedly a growing waiting list for the hot Civic.  

Reacting to the announcement, Philip Ross, Senior Vice President for Honda Motor Europe, said; "we’re delighted that the European Civic Type R will be sold to customers in Honda’s home country of Japan. Customers are really excited about this car and we’re developing a significant order bank here in Europe. Exporting the car to Japan will only serve to increase demand further, which is great news!"

VIDEO: Honda Civic Type R vs rivals

Hardcore Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series spotted testing

More track-focused Mercedes-AMG GT spotted testing for 2016 debut, set to go head-to-head with Porsche 911 GT3

Mercedes is preparing a more hardcore 'Black Series' version of its latest supercar, the AMG GT. The track-biased model is likely to debut in late 2016, and will get more power and sharper handling to take on the Porsche 911 GT3 and newly renamedAston Martin Vantage GT12.

Details remain scarce on the new model, but we expect this to bear the traditional 'Black Series' nameplate reserved for the hardest and fastest AMG cars in the range. Even though the AMG GT is a brand new car and the Black Series variants usually appear at the end of the model's lifecycle, it seems Mercedes is already underway testing.

Jaguar F-Type R Coupe : Preview and Release Date

Jaguar F-Type R Coupe : Overview

The Jaguar F-type R coupe tops Jaguar’s new sports-automobile vary; it’s the most powerful series-production Jag model ever. It responds accurately to even the tiniest of steering inputs through an exceptionally stiff body. It is fearsome, loud, and fast.

Does that description appear fitting for a Jaguar, that for many years has been the place you opt for snug high-speed sitting rooms? Chief engineer Mike Cross replies: “It’s time for a change. This automotive may be a ton of than just the coupe version of the Jaguar F-type roadster. It’s a high-performance sports automobile with a totally totally different character.”

“Utterly completely different” would possibly be overstating things a touch, but it did strike us as more intense than the already totally committed Jaguar F-type roadster. The coupe has the same basic dimensions and proportions as the convertible and comes with the identical interior, which is relatively slim. It options a beautiful, sweeping roofline with a rear window that reminds us a bit of the E-type coupe. The roof panel is obtainable either as aluminum or panoramic glass, that adds concerning seven pounds. Weight, especially in the roof, could be a major perform­ance killer. It’s no stripped-down Porsche GT3 RS, this automotive.

But the biggest visual payoff is at the rear, due in part to the wonderful absence of a spoiler—a minimum of, a comprehensible one. When the car exceeds 70 mph, an air deflector nesting within the tapered shut-line rises to cut back carry by a claimed 265 pounds. It retracts once more once you impede.

Besides its silhouette and rear end, it is the R coupe’s precise driving dynamics that distinguish it from the high roadster version, the Jaguar F-type V-eight S. Thank the automobile’s very rigid aluminum unibody. Hydroformed aluminum beams that sweep up the A-pillars, along the roof edges, and back to the beltline replace the structural contribution of traditional B-pillars. Cross asserts that the Jaguar F-type coupe is the most torsionally rigid production automotive Jaguar has ever designed.

Its extraordinary rigidity enables the R coupe’s sharp steering and sensitive adaptive dampers, that respond to road-surface changes every 0.5 second. The web effect for the driving force: detailed data on road conditions with no need for hyper-stiff springs and shocks.

The direct-injected and supercharged 5.zero-liter V-eight comes with 55 additional horsepower than the V-eight S roadster for a total of 550 horses at 6500 rpm, simply a hair a lot of than Jag’s 1992–1994 XJ220 superflop. In the F coupe, that’s enough stonk to push the car over 186 mph. A higher prime speed would need more durable tires, so to save lots of prices, Jaguar engineers limited the