Category: Car Tests

We vividly remember the roaring sound of the Skoda 130 RS coupés in the legendary Boucles de Spa, now decades ago. These works rally cars showed dramatically the craftmanship of these men in Mlada Boleslav. In 1986 the Skoda 130 almost won the legendary event in the Belgian ardennes, and this on Czech winter tires.

In the presently held Legend Boucles de Spa our rally master Freddy Loix is nowadays to be seen behind the wheel of the historic Skoda Group B 130…

And this sporting tradition continues in today’s production cars. Because the Skoda men fully know the secrets of designing and building a thoroughbred sporting car, with excellent handling and exhilarating performance.

The 230 HP Octavia Combi RS , being now the fastest production Skoda Octavia ever produced, showed this all the way again in our test. Just read on…

Hans Knol ten Bensel

Continue reading “We drove the 230 HP Skoda Octavia Combi RS: the delight of sportiness” →

Don’t we wish it all: a perfectly engineered and elegant car with silky smooth yet massive power, a delightfully fast and alert gearbox, steering with precision, hugging you behind the wheel like a thoroughbred Gran Turismo. A car where every meter you drive it is an automotive adventure of the highest order.

Well, such a car is this A4 Avant, engineered to perfection by the Audi men and women. A car, where we (almost) run out of superlatives to describe for you the unique experience of driving it.

Just read on…

Hans Knol ten Bensel Continue reading “We drove the Audi A4 Avant Sport 2.0 TFSI 252 HP S Tronic Quattro: the delight of experiencing sportiness to perfection…” →

A Dacia never fails to please and surprise us. So cleverly made with existing, well honed Renault technology and “savoir faire”, they are built to offer you very nice transport at a very attractive cost.

When we heard that the latest Sandero is not only offered with the new generation Renault TCe 3 cylinder 90 HP petrol engine, but also with the recent Renault “Easy-R” automatic transmission, we were very keen to test it for you. Just read and look further…

Hans Knol ten Bensel Continue reading “We drove the Dacia Sandero Anniversary 2 TCe 90 HP Easy-R: technology and comfort for all…” →

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It is wrong to say that today’s cars lack character and personality. Our recent drive in the Mini One masterfully proved the contrary. Behind the wheel of this Seat ST , we again had – as the name of this car puts it – a wonderful automotive experience, one of driving a true thoroughbred, well built car displaying sportiness, stamina and agility, both on and off-road!

Indeed we loved this Seat every meter we drove it, just read our experience(s) here…

Hans Knol ten Bensel

Continue reading “We drove the Seat Leon ST X-perience: the one with the lion’s heart…” →

Faithful readers know it: we always value very highly mechanical refinement in cars. There is one make which goes to the greatest lengths in ensuring their products drive and handle as smoothly as possible, and that is Lexus. Needless to say that we are keen to test for you their automobiles, and see what they have in stake for you.

This time we were behind the leather covered wheel of a sporting member of the Lexus family: the RX 200t F Sport, which is built to deliver outstanding performance, combining this with equally top level refinement and premium class comfort. All this packed in a dramatically styled compact SUV body and cabin, and you will agree that this Lexus is a car which certainly merits a closer look…

Hans Knol ten Bensel

Continue reading “We drove the Lexus RX 200t Executive: the magic power of smoothness.” →

We belong to this generation of car lovers who saw the birth of the original mini. We sat in the first year of our motoring life behind the awkwardly raked wheel of such an original Morris Mini-Minor with its unwieldy long shift stick and its willing BMC 4 cylinder 850 cc engine.

With as the only go-faster accessory a central, big bore end muffler. It gave the right sound, but did not make the car faster at all. Nevertheless, it certainly added drama and pleasure to our first Mini experience. The car belonged to a friend, was sprayed in bold dark blue and we had the steel wheels painted black. We went flat out with it almost everywhere, as the chassis was well up to its 36 horsepower or so.

Boy, did we enjoy this. Armed with these positive memories we now slid behind the wheel of this contemporary icon, an orange yellow 5 door Mini One D. What a luxury cabin! Our eyes browse with disbelief over the numerous dials and switches. They are reminiscent of the minute toggle switches in the original, but are looking rather more like the more sturdy switches which were plentiful in the BMC Mini Cooper S rally cars, scattered under and above the Halda Tripmaster.

The plentiful instrumentation in the black cabin, also evoking the BMC Rally monsters, makes us also feel like Paddy Hopkirk, and we are deeply impressed. We can only applaud the BMW styling people who succeeded in retaining the aura of the original Mini in this car. But after all, driving is believing, so read further…

Hans Knol ten Bensel

Continue reading “We drove the Mini One D: an icon which seduces more than ever…” →

Living your everyday (urban) life on electric power now seems the way to go. Our governments want it, and will effectively promote it when they have the money to do so. Urban citizens in Europe and all over the world are convinced that ecological e-power will be the mobile lifeblood of our future cities. Indeed, not only the kind of energy, also the mobility concepts themselves are dramatically changing, and will be ever more individual and tailor-made through car renting and sharing. Clever, well made state-of-the-art compact electric vehicles, also with a distinct premium character, are needed for the modern (urban) public, and BMW is building it with this 3i. We drove it extensively for a week, and here are our findings…

Hans Knol ten Bensel

Continue reading “We drove the BMW i3 Rex: all the cleverness of “zen” e-power…” →

Our test car came in fiery “Power Red” color, and fittingly so. Because it drives like a “pur-sang”, clings to the road and steers with such precision, that it awakens in you all the pleasures of car driving, which you thought were forever lost in our everyday cars. Well, this Astra proves you wrong. It brings a smile on your face, whenever you slide behind the wheel, and start up its smooth and throbby three cylinder thoroughbred engine. Because driving adventure will be yours to taste for every inch you move with this Astra.

Hans Knol ten Bensel

Continue reading “We drove the Opel Astra 1.0 T 105 HP: stellar driving pleasure…” →

Nissan has acquired a vast experience in building SUV’s which win car loving hearts all over our globe. Their new X-Trail amply proves the point, as well as the Qasqai for that matter. This latest model strikes an ideal balance between looks, roominess, frugality and, last but not least, build quality and refinement. We drove the smooth and silent petrol engined version of this X Trail, with a 1.6 liter four cylinder under its hood, mated to the six speed manual gearbox. A wonderfully refined and frugal combination…well suited to this SUV which is so effortless to drive.

Hans Knol ten Bensel

Continue reading “We drove the Nissan X-Trail DIG Turbo 1,6 Liter 163 HP : a world class SUV with oriental refinement…” →