Price: £22,295
Top speed: 124mph
0-60mph: 9.8 seconds
MPG: 64.2
CO2: 113g/km
Do you love doing any of these things at the wheel: driving barefoot, blasting your horn while stationary, accelerating through puddles? If so, you are breaking the law. All are illegal. Swooshing through a puddle, even if the kids in the back are chanting, “Do it do it do it,” could win you three points on your licence. How about this scenario? You’ve drunk too much so you decide to sleep it off in the car before driving home when you’ve sobered up. Nope, that’s illegal, too: you can be charged with drink driving. How about flashing your lights at oncoming motorists to warn them of a speed trap? No way, that’s also illegal. A driver in 2011 was fined £440 for doing so after being accused of “obstructing the police”. Finally, what about unclipping your seatbelt to reverse? Actually, you’re OK there – reversing is the only manoeuvre during which you are not required to wear a seatbelt.
These lapses in road knowledge come from a survey by Warranty Direct. Despite the fact that there are almost 200,000 accidents annually in the UK, it seems most of us don’t know the small print of the Highway Code and despite the fact there are almost 200,000 driving accidents annually in the UK, many of us still don’t know our axles from our exhausts. We all need to try harder, but the one that really hacks me off is the puddles. I love sluicing through water. Last week, I had a particularly gratifying result and drenched a small dog in a tidal wave of icy run-off.
It would be a stretch to recommend a car on its puddle-nebulising abilities, but if that’s what you are after, Kia’s Optima Sportswagon gets five stars.
With great looks, tonnes of space and a smart cabin, Kia’s new model is, in fact, all you really want in a large and quietly luxurious brood lugger. The family estate is one of the most overlooked cars when it comes to aesthetics – can you even name an estate worth a second glance? But this Kia, with its long lines, tiger-nose grille and blistered wheel arches, manages to be both understated and elegant. The boot is huge (552 litres – or 736 bottles of wine if that helps you visualise the space). Back row seats can be folded with one touch and luggage rails and a powered tailgate all add to its practicality.
The car comes solely with a 1.7-litre CRDi diesel. It’s hardly thrilling but it gets the job done efficiently and without complaint. I found it a little noisy at idle and under acceleration, but when cruising on the motorway it was smooth and compliant. It does almost 65mpg and has CO2 emissions of just 113g/km. Excellent figures, but in a post-NOx world, what many now want is a petrol engine.
There’s a bountiful level of kit on board: the 8in satnav powered by TomTom is excellent, while the car is bursting with active safety features, from emergency braking to smart cruise control. Then there is Kia’s seven-year warranty. Ultimately, though, the real test of a car (aside from how it splashes through water) is does it feel like a deal? In this case, that’s easy – yes.
Car sharing with a difference
Whether you own a classic sports car and would like to earn a little money to offset the cost, or would love to hire something special car for a special occaision or even just want to drive something a little different, then this new car-sharing site Turo could be just what you are looking for.
Established in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, the app was the first of its kind in the US and now has a global community of over 2m screened travellers and 110,000 vehicles for rent. Now the service is being launched in the UK.
Speaking in London, Turo CEO, Andre Haddad said: ‘Launching in the UK is another tremendous milestone on our path to achieving our mission of putting the world’s one billion cars to better use. Our vision for Turo is wherever you are, you can rent the perfect vehicle for your next adventure. The launch means that even more travellers can access the perfect vehicle in over 4,500 cities in North America and now the UK.’
It’s incredibly simple and cost effective. Perhaps the best way to think of it is as an AirBnb for cars. Have a look and see what you think? The UK service is now live nationwide. Visit www.turo.com for more information.
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166
