women's motoring & cars & car reviews for women
Paul Harmer
London-based freelance photographer and founder member of Women and Wheels
Homepage: http://www.paulharmer.com
Posts by Paul Harmer
Rear view mirror with a difference
Jun 1st
We like this – and it’s going to be law in the States by 2014, so you can rest assured it’ll be coming here soon. Much better than some of the in-dash systems we’ve used recently (although they’re better than nothing).
Your ordinary rear-view mirror houses a small, very bright monitor that shows you what’s happening right behind your bumper. The aim is to avoid hitting small children, and in fact the American legislation is called the Kids Transportation Safety Act. This version is made by Gentex and they’ve already made 1.25 million of them in 2010 alone!
An intelligent response to Intelligent law-making we say.
Skoda Superb Greenline II Estate
May 28th
I was so taken with the green jelly babies provided so thoughtfully on the launch of Skoda’s Greenline Range, that all I could initially think about was where I could get some more. After nearly choking on the vast amount I managed to cram into my mouth and Paul having a panic attack as one got stuck up his nose (don’t ask) it was time to get down to the serious business of getting to know our Skoda Superb estate.
I have a vague recollection of having been in a Skoda Superb last year as we were chaffeured around an event, but this was the first opportunity I had had of driving one.
While the Superb is by no means the most expensive estate car that we have sampled, once you appreciate all that it has to offer its relatively modest price becomes even more attractive. This Greenline II model comes in at £25,335 thanks to a few added extras (electric boot, KESSY keyless system and parking sensors) but the Sat Nav and leather are standard – very enlightened. And with this Greenline II model, which figures across their whole range of vehicles, Skoda say you’re also getting a cleaner, greener and better car.
All words though, so lets look at the figures. The Greenline II Superb, which let’s not forget is a very large estate, rewards you with over 64 mpg on a combined cycle and churns out only 114 g/km of CO2, which not only means it’s cheaper to run but it comes in the band C for tax which will set you back a mere £30 a year. And on top of all this, the Superb is a good looking car that has so much leg room in the rear it feels like a limousine.
However, it doesn’t feel as if you’re driving a huge car, and even from the outside, it doesn’t look like a giant, but just a good looking estate, and the green credentials of this range does make sense in today’s world, especially if you cover some distances.
So why might you choose this car over all the other lovely looking estates that are in the market place eagerly waiting to seduce you? More >
Mitsubishi Outlander
May 28th
To own a Mitsubishi Outlander, you have to get over all those associations with the dreaded letters S.U.V. Or for those who never let it bother them in the first place then this is a great car to suit an active family’s needs. The Outlander has style, space, versatility, presence (whether you like it or not) and can cope with all the grotty weather that the UK can throw at it. It’s also really quite good to drive.
That excellent drive is partly down to the twin-clutch gearbox which essentially makes all the changes smooth and quick whether you’re in automatic or manual mode. You have the option of the paddle shifts which quite frankly leave me cold (always have done, not just on this car). I even noticed that the boys tired of them after their initial childlike enthusiasm.
It’s also partly down to the way the Juro glides over bumps and humps, which it does very well. It feels slightly ungainly in the bends though. I thought the girls were winding me up every time we went round a corner quickly. Their sound effects resembled a very lively fairground ride, although it’s always easier cornering when holding onto the steering wheel – maybe they were being thrown around more than I thought. I would describe it as slightly wobbly, although Mitsubishi describe it as athletic. Somewhere in the middle is probably right. More >
My Honda PXC Scooter Economy Run
May 28th
Honda’s challenge was fuel economy, my challenge was to ride a bike for a whole day without falling off.
I was all worked up for riding a 125 geared bike having passed my CBT a year ago (thank you Honda), and with two recent refresher sessions under my belt I felt as prepared as I could have been.
My second refresher session was up in Derbyshire in what I consider real biking country. Here the roads are notoriously dangerous for bikers with signs all over the place telling people to watch their speed, think Bike etc, but what great roads they are! I was so amazingly thrilled to ride a bike through Matlock Bath – sadly not at the weekend when all the bikers come out to play. But I did it in the rain, even stopping for a cup of tea where I imagined thousands of bikers before me had stood. It made my day.
So kitted out by a small and innocuous looking shop, again in that fabulous town of Matlock Bath (so neat inside, you can tell it’s organised and run by a woman) I felt up to the challenge and was prepared for the forecasted rain. More >