Road Test Review – April

Power to people as slump looks distant
There was no time for fooling around in April – we carried out more road tests in this month than any other in 2008. Take a glance around these pages and you can see just how the new car market has changed in only a few months.

The recession was a distant storm on the horizon. While it was taking grip in the US, the financial crisis certainly hadn’t affected the launch of high-performance models in the UK. All thoughts would only switch to saving money later in the year. For the moment, car buyers didn’t have mpg on their minds – it was bhp which was on centre stage.

Our lead test in April proves the point. Here we had four saloons (only one of which wasn’t brand new) returning
an average of 16.2mpg. Our guilty pleasures were made up of the Lexus IS F, BMW M3 saloon, Audi RS4 and Mercedes C63 AMG.

The Japanese model had the biggest thirst, averaging only 15mpg over a route that included many hours of relaxed motorway cruising. Another sports star of the month was Mitsubishi’s new Evo X. We were happy to welcome the latest version of the Japanese legend on to our long-term fleet – but with petrol prices creeping up, it was becoming a brave option for anyone with a long journey ahead of them. Not only were drivers lucky to achieve 20mpg, the saloon needed filling up every 200 miles, too.

Super-saloon shoot-out
Mercedes C63 AMG vs Lexus IS F vs BMW M3 vs Audi RS4 (Issue 1,006). What a test! Both the Mercedes C63 AMG and Lexus IS F were brand new, while the M3 saloon had yet to prove itself. All three met our old favourite, the Audi RS4. Two days of hard driving later, we had big grins on our faces. We’d have been happy to keep the keys for any of these four-doors. Mercedes’ C63 AMG finished first, edging out the M3 with its breadth of abilities. The RS4 narrowly beat the Lexus to third place.

Best-kept secrets 
Unsung heroes honoured in 10 classes of the new car market (Issue 1,009). Plenty of fine new cars are launched that come up against such well rounded rivals, they never secure a group test victory. Yet that doesn’t mean they don’t offer something special – or that one of them might not turn out to be perfect for your specific needs.

For Issue 1,009 we brought together 10 unsung heroes from different ends of the market. Highlights included the ultra-reliable Toyota Yaris and Vauxhall’s top-value performance saloon, the VXR8.

Legacy diesel vs 9-3 diesel 
Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer vs Saab 9-3 Sportwagon (Issue 1,006). Did we really fit two estate cars into an X-ray machine? No. We have to confess that the combination of some clever photography and hi-tech computer wizardry brought you Auto Express’s most distinctive road test picture of April.

Unfortunately, the cars left less of an impression – both remain an incredibly rare sight on British roads. And in the end, Saab’s twin-turbocharged 9-3 Sportwagon proved simply too talented for Subaru’s all-new boxer diesel-engined Legacy Sports Tourer and took the honours in this head-to-head.

Evo X vs rivals
Mitsubishi Evo X vs Audi S3 vs Subaru Impreza STi (Issue 1,008). This test stood out for all the wrong reasons – coming to a verdict caused heated arguments. We were all disappointed by Subaru’s latest Impreza STi as a package, and all agreed Audi’s S3 is great to own. But the Evo X divided opinion. Some testers liked its gentler temperament; others couldn’t forgive it for being less exciting to drive than its predecessor. It secured victory this time, but didn’t prove the big hit of 2008 that many anticipated.