While most SUVs are tending towards the ‘soft-roader’ approach, Holden’s Colorado 7 will take you off the beaten path, along with up to three tonnes of whatever you want to pull.
The seven-seater segment seems to be busting at the seams with options. We’ve recently had the Mistubishi Outlander and Mazda CX-9, and I swapped the Colorado for a Kia Sorento with seven pews. Who is having all these children? At least with the Colorado you Read the rest of this entry »
Sometimes it’s not practical or desirable to have an SUV because of parking, fuel economy and certain ‘social pressures’ meted out by people that pedal everywhere and grow courgettes. And you might be too fashion conscious to have an MPV/people mover. So what do you do with your 4 or 5 progeny when you want to take them to zoo?
This particular scenario is where 7-seat station wagons come into their own: if your life circumstances or beliefs prevent you from preventing life, there’s a fashionable, fuel-efficient, practical, environmentally friendly option waiting for you to take the keys, and it comes in the shape a Peugeot 308 SW.
But let’s get something clear: by ‘fashionable’ we don’t necessarily mean ‘pretty’. The Peugeot is not the best looker, even though in stretched form it’s certainly sleeker than its hatchback brothers, but it’s tidy from most angles and does carry a European badge and that means a lot in certain circles. It’s also a fact that the Peugeot of today looks a lot better than the Peugeot of three years ago – the design is moving in the right direction.
Fuel efficient it definitely is. Cruise quietly along the motorway at 100kph in the 2-litre turbodiesel and the 163 horses sip only 5 litres per hour. And with 340 torque monsters churning away, there’s some pep if you need to get moving. This is a nice improvement over the previous 308 SW we tested back in 2008.
Practical is its middle name. Seven seats ensure that you don’t have to leave anyone behind, and all the rear seats can be completely removed if you want a station wagon to transport DIY supplies on the weekend. The full cargo capability is 2149 litres. It’s also got lots of airbags and every type of emergency braking, stability, and traction control system you need to keep it on the black stuff and out of the trees. Read the rest of this entry »
Funnily enough, when I walked up to Peugeot to pick this 4007 up, I casually glanced in its direction and thought, why has someone parked an Outlander there? You see, I’d only seen the 4007 in front three-quarter and rear-three quarter view, and both of those slightly obscure its Outlander origins.
If you’ve read any of the Mitsubishi Outlander reviews we’ve written then you’ll know that it’s a solid SUV contender, and the 7-seat option adds practicality. However, what Peugeot does to make the 4007 is take it and make it better. It’s like a ‘finishing school’ .
Gone (praise the deities) is the slightly annoying CVT gearbox (the main thing I don’t like about the Outlander). In its place is a conventional 6-speed, dual-clutch automatic with a sport mode and a leather-bound gear shifter. The sport mode, as you would expect, changes down earlier and up later, but in typical French fashion it’s fairly ambivalent, and this actually works well. Some manufacturers overdo it on the sports mode; Peugeot has given it just enough extra verve to make it useful.
Second, possibly because of the revised weight distribution it definitely feels slightly less wallowy, but doesn’t compromise on comfort. The suspension setup on the two vehicles is the same – a Macpherson strut up front and multi link with stabilizer at the rear.
Third, there’s an aftermarket satellite navigation system by Pantera which forms part of the rear view mirror. In theory (and when it’s working), this is a really good system. It’s easy to see – you’re used to glancing at your rear view mirror – and it’s touch screen, with a fairly intuitive interface. It didn’t work all the time though; the signal dropped out occasionally and I couldn’t find the reason why as it was a clear, sunny day. The system also includes phone integration and will play music.
Fourth, Peugeot has some customleather seats made here in NZ, and they’re wide and comfortable. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s always nice to have a little bit more. Like chocolate bars that come in ‘king size’ allowing that all-important extra bite. Or that mini-series on TV that begins with a double episode. Whatever way you look at it, a good thing is only really bettered by more of a good thing. With that in mind Nissan has taken its current good thing, the big-selling Qashqai and given it just a little bit more size. The enlarged Qashqai +2 now has the space for a third row of seating, allowing two more passengers and boosting total potential capacity to seven occupants. While the Qashqai was a gamble at the start being billed as a modern alternative to the traditional 
hatchback it was a risk that paid off handsomely, with more than 500,000 sales globally. Then it was facelifted for 2010 and has since been well received again. But is this larger +2 model a step too far? Car and SUV spent some time with the part crossover, part people mover to get the answers.
At first glance it’s difficult to distinguish the Qashqai +2 from its standard sibling, but look closer and its dimensions are clearly chunkier. The +2 is 211mm longer to allow for the extra seat and the wheelbase has increased by 135mm. Additionally the body is taller with a flatter roofline allowing for better headroom throughout and there’s a handy 55-litres of extra cargo space. In terms of exterior design the +2 differs little from the standard model and benefits from the smoother look brought with the recent mid-cycle facelift. Raked headlights at the front and LED two-piece fittings at the rear help give the Qashqai a distinctive look but the standard 16-inch alloys struggle to fill the raised guards. The larger Qashqai boasts some practical features like integrated roof rails, tough black plastic mouldings all round, and longer rear doors than the standard model to help entry and exit from that third row of seats.