Over the Easter holidays my family and me boarded a plane to Ireland before the Iceland volcano erupted. It was an annual family gathering and as I have not been there for one before I thought it was about time I showed my face.

My dad had organised a rent-a-car for the family and to my disappointment heard the dreadful news that it was a Ford Focus Diesel. It’s not the Focus part that turned my stomach, it was the six-letter word diesel. My family all own diesel cars, including the worst one of them all. The Rover 220. It’s loud, slow and a horrible green colour. Therefore its nickname is The Tank. The diesels sit on the driveway thanks to the father, who is one of these crazy select few who seem to think that diesels are better than petrols.

As we landed in Ireland we headed over to the rent-a-car desk only to be told we wouldn’t be getting a Focus. It was April 1^st and didn’t know whether it was an April Fools prank but instead we were given a Vauxhall Insignia Petrol. Petrol! This put a big grin on my face and a frown on my dads’. We would be driving around Ireland without the loud grunt coming from the exhaust. It would also be a first that when the engine started it wouldn’t wake the whole neighbourhood.

The Insignia is very easy on the eye and I have been a fan since their release last year. They have a sporty look to them but also have family in mind. The boot space was generous as we squeezed in our suitcases, but as it went back far it wasn’t deep enough. But as we only had the car for a week and didn’t intend on using the car much it was ok for us.

It was then time to set off on our journey and as I took a seat at the back I felt very enclosed within the car. The seat wrapped itself around me and left me feeling very comfortable. The only complaints I have to make about the rear seating is the slanted roof that limits head room. I was constantly hitting my head on the slant and if I were any bigger it would be a big pain in the backside. The other problem was the high doors. The whole frame was high up restricting my view out of the window and the theme ran throughout the whole of car.

As we tootled down the motorway the ride was mediocre. The car’s suspension would find every dip and bump in the road surface and certainly let you know when it found one.

It was when we got onto the country roads that would really test the car. As we went round every twist and turn the car didn’t seem to be as smooth as first thought. I didn’t know whether it was my dads’ driving as he is used to a diesel engine with a lot of torque or petrol was beginning to let me down. He still kept the same pattern of being lazy with the gears and changing at low revs. I was hoping that 40 minutes into the journey he would have seen the light and converted to petrol. But I was wrong.

When going up hills the car seemed to develop a huge amount of lag. The father dropped gears bringing up the revs but still the car refused to respond. I was beginning to think my dad was right but I didn’t want to agree with one of these diesel fanatics.

The following day I asked if I could drive the car back from the shops. To my amazement I was given the keys. This has never happened before. I felt like a child in a sweet store as I unlocked the car.

I inserted the keys and started the engine. I looked down to release the handbrake but only to realise there wasn’t one. With a puzzled face I queried my dad as to how you take it off. A simple Park button was in its place instead. This was the first I had seen one of these contraptions on a standard family car.

After playing around knowing what dial does which, we were off. The first thing I noticed was the gearbox. It was very clunky and wasn’t much movement with the stick. This meant it was hard to find the correct gear and took a few changes to come to grips with it.

We left the town centre and headed up hill and I began to realise my dad was making sense, much to my disappointment. The car was very slow and the rev needle didn’t want to go past 3,00rpm no matter how hard you had your foot on the accelerator. I tried everything to push the 1.8 litre engine up the hill but it was one fight I wasn’t going to win.

I wasn’t going to win the battle with the clutch either. When leaving junctions I tried releasing it slowly, quickly, finding the bite but nothing worked. After a long journey you would develop a bad case of clutch foot. It was very heavy, usually I like a heavy clutch as I can find the bite and roll on it but with the Insignia it was like finding a needle in a haystack.

The poor visibility from the back seats again ran all the way through to the front. The high dashboard and slanted sweeping roof made it difficult to see out of.

Vauxhall’s bid to enter the Insignia into a market already dominated by the likes of Honda, Toyota and Ford has not got off to the best of starts. There are multiple problems with the car and I wish I had enough time to let you know of them all.

The best parts of the car are its looks inside and out. The sweeping body makes the car very elegant and straight away pulls you in, but you must resist. It must be why so many of them were littered over Ireland’s roads. The men who walked into a Vauxhall dealership and left with an Insignia have shot themselves in the foot with a great big rocket launcher. Their wives have probably left them and taken the children, they’ve lost their job and nobody wants to be seen with him out in public. Vauxhall should rename it the Medusa or Marriage Wrecker.

After a week of owning the car it was about time to hand back the keys with much delight to my father. For the first time in a very long while I was given the opportunity to show him how petrols are better than diesels and I was let down. Back to the drawing board for me.

The steep £18,000 Vauxhall are asking for the basic model is still in dire need of improvements. For the very top of the range you will be requiring a deep wallet to cover the £30,000 asking price. For that amount of money you get a 2.8 litre V6 turbo fitted with a VXR badge.

The car got us from A to B, but with a struggle. If you are looking to buy this car I would look elsewhere as this car should remain a rent-a-car.

Formula 1 Update

As you may have noticed there has not been any recent posts relating to Formula 1 on this page. I have created a new page for all F1 news that can be found on the link below.

www.shane901.wordpress.com

Mini Goes Big

Mini has now officially ruined its’ own name single handily. They have announced the release of their new SUV, the Countryman, to hit UK stores in September.

Things come in fours with this Mini. It is the first Mini to get four doors, four seats and a new four-wheel drive system, but the ‘ALL4’ drive system will only be available to those who purchase the Cooper S and Cooper D. With this option the torque will be split 50-50 between front and rear wheels, with the choice to send it all to the rear if things get slippery.

This Mini is still in touch with its smaller, original brother as all five launch engines, two diesels and three petrols, are all taken from the existing line-up. The Countryman has been designed to be road-focused allowing customers various options to improve the ride and grip available, armed with a sufficiently deep wallet of course.

While many SUVs on the market at the moment are packing high litre engines that are full of grunt, the Countryman stores a weak 181bhp 1.6 litre turbo, which is only available with the fastest model in the range, the Cooper S.

With all the extra space in the Countryman provides compared to other Minis, Mini has produced a glamorous interior. The first thing that will catch your eye is the rail that runs right through the middle, which Mini has named, well, the Centre Rail (genius). The rail allows you to attach a multiple array of moveable storage boxes to it. The two rear seats can replaced for a three-seater bench at no extra cost, which is nice of Mini as the other optional extras are certainly not for the people who are tight with their money.

While this may all sound glamorous for a new big Mini, prices for the basic model are expected to start at £17,000. Yes you read that correct. That is without any of the optional extras.

It is certainly a sexy looking car and a different approach from the bosses at Mini HQ, but it is certainly not a Mini that first made its name for its lack of size.

Busy Schedule

It has been a busy schedule for Formula 1 recently. This week saw three launch events from the main title rivals: Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren.

First, Ferrari. They revealed their car on Thursday at their Maranello headquarters and have pinned high expectations on it already. Hopeful of releasing a car to take them back to the front of the grid after a dismal 2009 season. The new F10 will be driven by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and a long awaited return for Felipe Massa. The new car certainly looks more aggressive than last years, but whether that is due to the new regulations or it will help with performance, we will have to wait and see.

The new driver line-up is one of the strongest on the grid, certainly competing with Hamilton and Button at McLaren. Stefano Domenicali, team principal, has predicted that Alonso will win another title during his three-year contract. No mention on Massa's hopes though.

Friday saw the launch of the eagerly awaited McLaren MP4-25 at the Vodafone headquarters in Newbury. After a successful second half to last season, there are a lot of expectations for this team to do well, which they should as they have the current back-to-back world champions. But will it be another Hamilton and Alonso partnership?

While Button may be champion, he faces some stiff competition to hold the crown, coming from team-mate Hamilton and veteran Michael Schumacher. Will the competition between team-mates distract them from what matters? The title.

Finally, Mercedes revealed their livery and the most anticipated driver line-up at the very beginning of the week. Formally Brawn GP, they have retained the higher ranks that lead Brawn to both titles, Ross Brawn and Nick Fry. Similar to the Ferrari and McLaren, a lot of hopes ride on this team.

Having one of the most successful drivers in Formula 1 history, Schumacher, does he have what it takes to win another title at the age of 41? Ross Brawn has said there will be no favouritism amongst drivers.

While the three main competitors have revealed their cars, no one has forgotten about the presence of Red Bull. Having a very strong 2009 season finishing second in both constructors and drivers, will they be the team that the other teams looking over their shoulder?

Saab Live To Fight Another Day

Over the coming weeks it was announced that Saab was going to go under due to lack of investment. General Motors were already prepared to let the Swedish ship sink, that was until Spyker sent out their sea rescue.

Spyker, the small Dutch supercar maker, was a definite surprise to take over ownership. While it is not expected that Spyker won't be involved in the long-run, they have saved thousands of jobs. GM allowed Saab to sink after trying to save money by building cars that had no individuality or spark, but instead dressed up the Vauxhalls in ball gowns.

But it wasn't just in the GM years that Saab made poor cars, they did that themselves pre-GM. While they are selling 100,000 cars a year on average, their rivals BMW, Mercedes and Audi are selling 10 times that. With that amount of sales it gives them the power to and resources to develop and build such fine cars.

While Saab stays afloat now, far too few people did the one thing that could of keep afloat: buy a Saab.

Schumacher Returns

It is official! Michael Schumacher has come out of retirement to race along side Nico Rosberg at Mercedes next year.

Retiring at the age of 37, in 2006, the 40-year old, 41 in January, has reportedly signed a one-year contract thought to be worth £6.2 million.

Previously attempting a comeback last season to stand-in for Felipe Massa after his injury, it was not to be after a motorcycle accident last February. But this time it has the green light.

Personally, this is fantastic news as the seven-time world champion has been my idol since a very young age. He is the greatest driver to have graced the world of Formula 1. But while I, like many others, are hugely anticipating his return to the grid in March, will he live up to the expectation? Will he be able to outclass the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel?

Recently we were set the task of filming a one minute video on xmas shopping. Unfortunately I was unable to upload the video due to technical faults, but it can be found on my group mate's page at http://sportsjournalist-9.blogspot.com/

Farnham Local News

Radio news by shane90