We got our hands on a 2005 ’55 Plate VW Passat 1.9TDi SE (105). I’ve personally always like the look of this shape VW Passat, they seemed to have taken a huge leap forward when compared at least aesthetics wise against the MK5. Like a Golf but bigger in size.

It’s true to say it looks somewhat smaller on the outside than the older Volkswagen Passat too however on the inside it’s quite spacious, with plenty of legroom for fully developed adults. The boot space on this is also very good, deep towards the rear seats but not very tall, causing concerns over very bulky items you may want to carry on a regular basis. The rear seats fold down too for extra carrying capacity.

Zee Germans did well in the looks department. They did even better on the CC model.


Being the SE ours came with Cruise Control, Climate Control, Half Electrically Adjustable Seats, Reverse Parking Sensors and Automatic Handbrake. A semi-decent spec line up.

It’s worth mentioning this particular car would be on a forecourt at today’s money, at £5995, at just 43k on the clock, somewhat of a bargain.

This Passat is equipped with the press in key as seen on BMWs which means you push the entire key fob into the dashboard to start the car, one click in and everything comes alive; fully push the key fob into the dash and the car starts.

You can get yourself very comfortable in the car with an adjustable arm rest, adjustable steering wheel and seats.

The rumble of the diesel engine isn’t that noticeable at all, just a small shake at start up and small vibrations when sitting still on idle, nothing intrusive at all.

To drive the car in my opinion sits just above the line of completely boring, if the gearbox wasn’t as good as it was, this car is a complete flat liner to drive. This is not a drivers or enthusiasts car at all.

The pull from the engine is very nice with the torque from that Turbo’d Diesel but not anything that we would describe as quick.

There is quite a bit of body roll in the corners but that’s to be expected as it sits so smoothly on the road. Road noise is apparent but nothing out of the ordinary.

The gearbox, as mentioned before, is very quick and snappy, something you’d probably want in a Hot Hatch and it has a very direct and sporty feel to the gear changes, something that seems/feels a little out of place in a saloon to be honest, however we are glad it’s as good as it is.

Fuel Economy was surprising, we reset the trip and did a very carefully driven 20 mile route, with manufacturer specs of around 45mpg+ combined, we managed 33mpg. Oh dear.

Over all, this isn’t a driver’s car, it’s a car aimed at the masses for the masses and as that is its intention, it’s a very good all round performer, if somewhat a little dull and dreary. Perhaps lived with for longer the fuel economy would improve.

We did experience a very annoying rattle from somewhere inside the dashboard which worried us aren’t these Germans supposed to build cars that last?

If you’re moving from an older Ford Focus, Peugeot 407 etc, this car will knock your socks off, however, if you’re thinking of an alternative to a similar age BMW 3 Series or Ford Mondeo…Think Again.

Go and test drive a Volkswagen Passat

I’m not going to compare this system to the Z5500 that it replaces, there are quite literally hundreds of arguments on that case all over the internet, so we’re going to take a fresh approach and just get on with reviewing the Logitech Z906.

The system comes in a very neat and tidy box with images of the product on the outside. Once opened a cardboard tray that sits on top houses all the necessary satellite speakers, remote control and the ‘Control Console’. Lift the tray out and you’re left with a foam wrapped sub-woofer, just like a beating heart or engine in a car, the size and beauty of this thing lets you know that IT is the life and soul of the party.

It looks a very simple affair but feels of good quality, with THX certification stamps on each of the satellite speakers you’re told they should have quality sound too. Brains to match the Brawn.

Hooking up the system couldn’t be more simple. You are given what seems like reams of traditional speaker wire to allow you to situate the satellites anywhere you need them. A secure but well known plastic sprung clip like you find on the back of CD Systems features on this kit to join everything up, no special connectors here for the speakers.

The back of the satellite speakers have a metal threaded hole, ready for you to wall mount them or locate them on floor standing mounts, of which you must purchase yourself separately as no mounts come in the package.

The console plugs into the back of the Sub-woofer as do all the other connections including simple RCA, Two Optical Inputs and a RCA Digital input too.

Our system is plugged into a PS3 Console via an Optical Cable so we could try out Gaming and Movies. Note that you do not get an Optical Cable in the box, it must be purchased separately.

First, we tried the new game Need for Speed: The Run. Acclaimed for it’s Theatrical music and Dolby Digital sound we thought it’d be brilliant for our purpose.

We also tried out Star Wars: Episode 1 on Blu-Ray and Cars 2.

When the Dolby Light is lit up on the console, you know you’re going to get the best quality sound output from your speaker set. The clarity is absolutely unbelievable, I’m personally yet to hear a mainstream/affordable home system that could beat this. From far away tweeting birds to huge rumbling explosions. The effect is brilliant.

The sub-woofer, is amazingly powerful and let me tell you this, you would not be disappointed. There are reviews out there that say it lacks punch, lacks rumble, lacks this, lacks that…these are all spawned from the Z5500 fanboys and don’t give a true representation of this set. The bass is deep, clear and loud enough to shake your floor, windows and give enough grief to the Neighbors.

This set is in no way whatsoever compromised in the power department, it’s ace!

I feel as though the movies and games have now got what they deserve, stunning sound to go along with the High-Definition visuals.

As with many surround sets the Logitech Z906 has a virtual surround mode, allowing stereo inputs or those from your standard TV or generally anything not broadcast in surround sound to be converted, by the Z906 to fill your room with glorious sound.

The Logitech Z906 does this with ease, cleverly sensing voices for the front speakers, music and rain to fill all speakers and noises to follow the general direction on screen, brilliant.

The Remote Control is a simple affair too, with just 7 Buttons in total. On/Off, Input, Mute, Level, Effect, Volume Up, Volume Down. That is all you need allowing total control of which input you want, what effect to have (Stereo, Surround, 4.1 Stereo) and to indivdually adjust the volume level of each pair of speakers.

Holding the input button for 5 seconds starts a test sequence which buzzes each speaker in turn to assure that you have the speakers in the correct place whilst accompanied by the speaker which is supposed to be buzzing, lit up on the console.

It is true that this system is probably designed for Gaming hence not having a HDMI input for truly lossless audio but unless you’re a complete audiophile you are not going to care one bit.

It’s a brilliant price, looks great and seriously improves your whole Gaming and Theatrical experience. I wouldn’t buy anything else at the moment.

Two of us decided it was time to go and now that all 3 presenters take part in this arena tour, this year was going to be better than ever.

We had paid £99 for platinum tickets each, this gave us a few extra perks over standard tickets, a copy of a TopGear Book, premium seating in the Track show, backstage access to the track paddock and backstage tour after TopGears Live Action Arena show.

The whole thing can easily be made into an all-day affair, with a huge exhibition hall, and two live shows.

The exhibition hall featured various cars from the TopGear challenges such as bikes from the Vietnam episode, a Lexus ‘Rozzers’ Police Car, Richard and James’s Iraq Cars and a few more. There’s a replica of the TopGear News Studio which we think could possibly have had a back drop to make pictures look a little more realistic but never the less, awesomely cool. The cool wall makes an appearance too.

Alongside TopGear stands, there were stands from AutoGlym showing off a Carbon Fibre Koenigsegg, JKs Ferrari Enzo, Mercedes CLK GTR and various other exotic rides.

Another major item at the exhibition was Citroens stand. The DS5 made it’s very first public appearance for all to see and sit in, brilliant.

The first show we saw was the Live Track Action. Having platinum tickets we got to be seated whereas with the normal tickets you had to stand. We managed to get very good seating and had a good view of the track, the start of the drag strip and where the presenters in this case Tiff Needell being the star presenter! Stood and Hosted the show, we wasn’t expecting to see him there!

The Track Action involved Group B Rally Cars, Drifting, star in a reasonably priced car and we were privileged to see Amy Williams our Gold Medallist Olympian! The treat for us though was that we got to see Sabine Schmitz racing a Bowler Nemesis, Lancia Stratos and a Mercedes C63 AMG around the track against various other racers.

Once the Track Action had finished we had the opportunity to go into the paddocks, here we met Sabine Schmitz (got an autograph and picture with her, very proud) and also had a good 10 minute chat with Shane from Boyzone, who is known for his love of cars and we have to say, his drifting was superb! We can only imagine how immense these racers are out on a big scale track. Incredible.

Oh yes, can we never forget, we also got to see the thing that’s banned from Argos and has no knee caps, all we know is, he’s the Stig. Seemingly incredibly Tall and Skinny in real life…is this the same person they use on the show? I guess nobody will ever know!

After rubbing shoulders with some motoring legends, it was now time for the Live Action Arena Show, AKA Jezza, Hammond and May causing havoc…but in real life, in front of you.

Their show can only be described as absolutely fantastic with Cars on fire, Motocross Stunt Riders doing back flips and of course, the 3 gentlemen acting as outrageously funny as ever.  This year’s theme was the Olympics, recreating motoring versions of curling, chariot racing and much more, one of the best hours of our lives. You need to go and see the show for yourself.

The £99 each, seemed like a huge amount before we got to the NEC, by the time we finished, it felt like small change. The prices of the various apparel, programs, lanyards, fridge magnets did seem on the pricey side but not any more expensive than other shows etc. Food, toilets everywhere, you were catered for in every way.

We’re going again next year, it’s a no brainer.

10 out of 10!

Our first look

The Citroen DS5 completes the super luxury, higher quality Citroen line up. The successful DS3 has just been followed up by the DS4 and the DS5 will be available from around March 2012. Prices are expected to be around the 25-30k mark.

The first time you see the car, it does take a little while to grasp what you’re looking at. The design is extraordinary and you’ll be gawping from every angle of the DS5 to try and take it all in.

The pictures we have here are taken from TopGear Live 2011 at the NEC in Birmingham; we might as well let all you lucky people see what everyone else did for the first time in the flesh.

The interior of the DS5 is just as awe inspiring, we haven’t seen a new car for such a long time that has caught the imagination quite like the Citroen does. It does look like it’s all over the place but a Jewel Type Analogue Clock, Head Up Display, Type Faced Fonts…it’s bonkers but in such a nice way.

When sitting in the DS5 you get the sense you’re sitting quite high up, this is probably to appeal to the Crossover lovers and everybody that doesn’t want to (Citroen Marketing Word Coming Up) CONFORM to the German masses. The low roofline and rather short windscreen make visibility…a thing of the past but still, you just want one!

This DS5 is the Hybrid4 with a 2.0Litre Turbo Diesel and Electric Motors allowing a combined woooosh of 197bhp when all motors are pushing hard. With just 99g/km of Co2 and the all-wheel drive this makes it a very economical car plus should be great when we get our next bout of snow. You do get the option of Zero-Emissions running when only the rear wheels are powering the car via battery.

The ride in the DS5 is somewhat hard. We’ve been told the Diesel only options are softer and possibly the way to go but the harsh ride in this one, is a tad off putting. We’ve got to remember the production run vehicles aren’t going to be out until March so who knows what could happen in the space of a couple of months.

We love the bonkers design, the alluring reality that anything goes in this car, the seating position, the luxurious interior and the option to have a Hybrid is also very appealing. Will this tempt the German buyers out of their 3-Series Touring or C-Class Estate? We’re not sure. We hope it does but at least the DS5 looks like it’s going to give a much better fight than the French luxo barges of the past.

Our sister company is an I.T Support/Consultancy firm looking after the needs and wants of Small businesses across the southwest of England. So when we heard they had found a bit of a bargain for a customer, we jumped in to get the facts and give our readers something to read.

The instructions and what you’d believe on the web info for this printer is that you’ll need two people to carry this beast. Albeit true because of the size of the box, the printer is actually very light considering its’ dimensions.

This is classed as a WorkCentre 6505 and is a Multi-Function Duplex Printer. It can Print on both sides of the paper automatically, Scan, Copy and Fax.

It’s very easy to get out of the box just unclip 4 plastic holders and the box lifts off its base no problem, as said before, it’s quite light but due to its size, 2 people are probably needed.

Once at its new desk the setup couldn’t be much simpler. After pulling off all the plastic and removing the stopper plastic from the toner, we were ready to go…or rather we were until we noticed a second box that came with the delivery. The duplex unit, this for some reason doesn’t come already in the printer, however a quick clip into place and we’re ready to go.

When switching on for the first time there are a couple of configuration items to be done on the built in screen, such as letting it print out a double sided config page and also setting up Faxing. This can easily be used as a standalone photocopier and fax machine.

We installed this as a Network printer as it will be serving 14 PCs. Pop the Disc into the DVD drive on any PC you want to install the printer and it really is very simple, install printer drive and install scanner. Finished. It sorted its own IP address out which is nice for any novice out there.

Once installed the test came, how quickly does it print and what’s the quality like from the 600x600dpi. Which admittedly isn’t the best but at this price range for an automatic duplexer, it’s brilliant.
The aim of this printer was to provide A4 Copies, print out parts books back to back and do the occasional leaflets run. Which so far, looks like it’s going to do them all well.

Scanning over the network works flawlessly and images come out a tiny bit grainy but absolutely perfect for office/business use.

Printing a range of documents and images we came to the conclusion that for the price (Circa £500) for all the functions this printer offers is amazing. No banding, no discolouration, no patches just solid, deep colour. Brilliant!

Other reviews have mentioned that the Toner is quite pricey, after scouring the internet we’d say they aren’t different from Average really. Being a new model printer at the time of the older reviews, as time goes on the toner gets cheaper.

Originally the idea was to have a Dell 2155cdn, the cost of Toner seems to be a tiny bit on the cheaper side but we got the impression scanning to any computer over a network, is a pain, after all we’re the I.T guys so need to make our customers lives as simple as possible. Also this printer will save a scan as a jpeg, the Dell won’t.

The only complaint we have is setting up the printer to scan from its control panel and dump the file into a folder on a computer. So instead of requesting a scan from inside a program, this printer can scan a document then save it into a shared folder from a list of computers that you set up. A very nice feature once you get it to work but Windows 7 seems to just play havoc with it. After you uninstall windows live essentials and allow port 139 to stay clear, it’s happy days.

Ok so we have another complaint, the way it looks. Ergonomically it’s actually very nice to use but to look at, the shape is fine, the colour however we don’t like. I thought this industry had moved away from the beige/cream colour and more into black and silver. Just seems a little old fashioned to us.

Having said that, we don’t think there could be a better printer at this price.

If you’re a small business or self-employed and are busy but don’t want the trouble and cost of employing somebody to answer the phones. You need a Call Answering Service.

In this day and age, the go-getters, the graduates, the inventors, the redundant are all out there, starting business’s and using this kind of service to elevate their status, seem bigger than they are and give real credibility to customers that there is a real person on the end of a telephone when they call, not just a busy message or voice-mail service.

Call a Real Person are one company that stand out from the crowd. They have featured in the Daily Telegraph and the Western Morning News, this review will only add to the collection of outstanding reviews the the company has deserved so far only adding to their brilliant reputation.

A massive 80% of all callers that get through to an answer phone when they call a business, will search and keep ringing OTHER providers until somebody answers. As soon as they’ve been acknowledged they are calm, seem valued and more likely to give you their custom. Just think of the times you’ve called somebody to sort out a problem or order an item only to find it impossible to get through to someone to get the ball rolling.

This is where Call a Real Person can help. They currently (at time of writing) have a 100% uptake rate, which means everybody so far that has trialled their service for free has stayed on and paid money for their service to enhance their own business. Based in Cornwall in the UK they have customers all over the world, stretching from Iraq to Southampton. Word is really getting around about these guys.

When calling in to ask about their service, I was talking with a lady named Chris. It turns out Chris is the Managing Director of Call a Real Person Ltd. From talking with Chris it became immediately obvious that she really knows her business, her product and most importantly…her customers.

As well as knowing her customers business’s to make the experience for a caller more seamless and professional, it seems as if she really cares about her customers too, you and I who pay Call a Real Person for the service they offer.

It couldn’t be any easier to get the service set up, letting know Chris how you want your calls to be answered, if you’d like extra information to be taken from your customers plus all your contact details. Once this has been completed, you are then given your own unique divert number.

This is the key. When you want them to answer your calls, divert your phone to your divert number and Call a Real Person will do the rest.

We used a dummy company for the review (would just like to say, we now use them for one of our other live companies so have kept their 100% uptake after a free trial, up to date).

We started by getting the odd person to call at differing times of the day between normal working hours 9 until 5, then bombarding them with 2 to 3 calls at a time (obviously being respectful that they are a busy and successful company we had no doubt our demands would be met) when doing this the results were brilliant, each and every time we called, we got through! This allowed us to leave our contact details with the ‘receptionist’ to pass onto the person we were calling.

Of course, the person they wanted to contact…was me. What surprised the callers was that after the first call they made, if they did it from the same number, they even personalised the call and used their name “Hello this is XYZ Company, how can I help you ‘Joe’?” That…is incredible. We later found out we had been put onto their new system which they are currently trialling and rolling out to all their customers. New customers are going straight onto the newer system and existing are being moved over as you read this.

When a message was left with them, with the customer believing that the person they were contacting was in a meeting, out the office or on holiday (whatever you want your customers to be told) it then got instantaneously sent via e-mail and if you choose, by a text too!

At the end of the day you receive a daily summary and at the end of the week you receive a weekly summary. This includes all the calls and messages that you have received over the time period and who has called the most. It’s clear they use an incredibly complex and expensive system which can only promote your business in the best possible way.

Features such as being able to send you a recording of the conversation they had with your customer which would be useful if a disgruntled customer had been abusive or if the ‘jist’ of the message would be hard to ‘get’ across in an e-mail/text message.

With their system once you have told them exactly where you live and described your building/office to them, they can even give directions to your premises. Call Answering Service, more like Receptionist Employee!

Nothing ceases to amaze me as I only thought this kind of personability could be obtained by hiring a full-time receptionist, not by paying a small price and farming it out to a specialist company like Call a Real Person.

Pricing…at first glance it seemed too good to be true as they were not the most expensive around, admittedly they aren’t the cheapest but by ringing around the competition, they offered the most what we’d like to call ‘Extras’ and most certainly seemed as if they cared about our custom more than the others.

We subscribed to the Real Assistant 25 service which allowed us 25 messages per month. Now we’ve been using the service in a ‘Real’ business the measely £46 that you pay to Call a Real Person each month has added much much more to the business and image. With the calls being answered we’re obtaining more clients and making more money. There is no doubt.

Their website is currently being revamped but this is the link www.callarealperson.co.uk and this is their phone number, 0800 0437136, let them know we referred you

Great Service, Great Prices, Great Customer Care. There hasn’t been a review so far on Mr Exclusive that has been so clear cut. If only more business’s out there conducted themselves as well as Call a Real Person.

If you need a Call Answering Service. You need Call a Real Person Ltd.

I was surprisingly unexcited about the vehicle and in comparison to the hype and hysteria Peugeot are making about the 508, I didn’t buy into it, not at first.

This is obviously the most depressing and rather sour introduction to the Peugeot 508 you’ll probably read, however, that’s the way I felt about the car and went away feeling a little deflated about the whole experience.

I won’t let that cloud my judgement and opinion on the 508 as you’ll see later on in the review.

I mean, this Peugeot 508, is the replacement for the 407. The 407 got a reputation for being pig-ugly, poorly built, depreciated faster than the heaviest falling rock from the highest peak in the world and was really in no way the 3-Series, A4 busting Saloon that it was up against.

Peugeot seem to think the 508 is, you’ll have to make up your own mind about that one.

Peugeot have gone to incredible lengths about how there is just so much attention to detail in the 508 Saloon and SW. Pointing out things such as the Star Shaped Led Daytime Running Lights, the word ‘Peugeot’ under the badge on the front, the extra door seals to quieten wind noise.

These maybe extra details but what does that really mean to me? I mean…Star shaped DRLs, they’re different and that does mean they will stand out, however, you can only get them on certain models and personally, I don’t think they give it that menacing motorway muncher look. They say the extra badge at the top of the front grille N.B the word ‘Peugeot’ alludes to how they used to be way back in the day, I was told that they did this because Peugeot are a proud and exciting company who are paving the way with their new cars and want to relive their glory days. Extra door seals, sound proofing are to make this a quiet ride, any quieter than the competition though? They’d already made a super French saloon that was quieter than a mouse’s whisper inside, the 607.

Doesn’t this sound a little like making a big fuss over nothing? Isn’t this a bit like saying, we didn’t make attention to detail, reliability, comfort a priority before but now we’re going to?

I’m just disappointed with all this hype, like seeing the trailers for blockbuster movies that show you all the best bits that eventually…let’s you down when seeing the movie in it’s entirety.

The outside of the car looks big, this is supposed to sit size wise in the middle of the now out of production 407 and 607. The impressive bonnet lines give a powerful nose to the car whilst a bulging shoulder line carries this through to the rear. The rear end looks a little, Hyundai or Suzuki esque but as seen on the GT trim and the glossy brochures with the twin exhaust pipes, does look like a little monster…nice It is by far better looking than the 407 and 607 and different than other manufacturers which make this as far as the outside goes, a new outlook on what saloons can look like.

The car we got was the 1.6 e-Hdi Active in Metallic Black. This was somewhat refreshing as usually, we only get the range topping models with all the goodies. The idea behind this move was that this model, should be the main stay for reps all over the country and being that this will be a very business led/fleet vehicle thanks to it’s incredible 115g/km of CO2.

The active doesn’t sport the Pseudo MacPhereson suspension the GT adorns on the front so we weren’t expecting a direct feel when driving, more of that later.

When you step in the 508 you can tell it’s better built than the 407 and 607, tighter gaps, soft touch plastics. The interior however, is very minimalistic. Don’t get me wrong the last thing you want are a million and one buttons for such an ‘executive’ motor, it seems to be a copycat of the VW Passat interior. Which I hear you say must be no bad thing? Where is Peugeots crazy French styling? People buy French cars because they aren’t German which are technically good but more often very plain and boring.

Remembering this is a car for professionals, sales reps and managers alike…it’s actually a good thing they made the interior the way they did. It backs up the argument that you ‘Should’ try a brand other than BMW, Audi or VW for your car. Which to us means a step in the right direction.

The room in the 508 is impressive, the rear leg room has vastly improved over the 407 and is sitting in the league of the 607. This is something all car manufacturers are getting better at with the modern day restraints of safety issues to look at. You’ll have no problem sitting 4 fully grown adults in the 508 on long journeys. The boot is huge and will fit your golf clubs and suitcases a breeze. Just be wary that the opening is actually quite narrow. The SW however makes a brilliant load lugger.

With the ignition clicked on, the dials move all the way to their maximum point and back again, just like in the Citroen DS3. Again another little feature that in the Sporty DS3 or RCZ give the sense you’re in a somewhat sporty vehicle, I see no need in the 508.

Turn the key and the engine rumbles into life, I was kind of expecting not to hear the little 1.6e-hdi but I suppose that is pushing it. To me it sounded no better or worse than the likes of the new Citroen C4 or now ageing C5. Select drive on the EGC 6-Speed gearbox and away you go, as with all of these ‘Clutched’ Semi-Auto boxes, unless you know how to drive them, they can be a little clunky to start with.

Whilst setting off, I had to stop to check the traffic before pulling out onto a busy main road, whilst waiting for a gap to appear the engine stopped. It is a very unnatural feeling but by using a reversible alternator when pressing on the accelerator to move off, the car starts in milliseconds and you’re away instantly. This is a very tidy system and over the ownership period of the vehicle, could save money and help the environment.

The 1.6 e-hdi carries 112bhp, which sounds like too little. For a fun and engaging drive, it is. For the motorway and steady cruising for a comfortable drive and to protect your MPG, it’s awesome. It does carry the car well and for every day driving, is perfect. Even without the fancy front suspension, the car handles well. Of course it’s a large saloon so won’t handle like it’s sporty cousin the RCZ but when compared to the 407, it’s ahead. The steering as with all modern vehicles, seems to lack the feedback to give you confidence in the corners. It is however very light so when commanding the 508 in your office car park or multi-story behemoths it’s just so so easy.

On the motorway the 112bhp is more than adequate, jumps from 40-60, 60-70 etc are pretty brisk and mean you won’t be held up by not being able to use the gaps to overtake to get to your meetings. With figures such as 60.1mpg being thrown around, this is easily achievable on a long drive and should leave you with a satisfying feeling considering the prices fuel these days.

Those extra door seals do a good job, noise is kept to a minimum and makes for a relaxing drive, better than what I was expecting to be truly honest.

Pricing is somewhat of an issue for the private buyer of the 508, with prices starting from around £18,000 you can agree with that, it’s when you take the leap to the other end of the scale at a massive £28,750 for the GT model. Wow. Peugeot as well as Citroen are pushing the quality, refinement and design of their new vehicles, along with minimal discounts hoping for better residuals. We can only see how this works out for them over the next 5 or so years but according to the PSA group, your purchase from them…is a wise one.

I will admit, I was probably a bit to critical of the 508, it’s a surprise to me as I am a fan of Peugeot owning 5 in my lifetime with 2 still in the household and one onto my father. Having owned the 607 I was expecting leaps and bounds and instead only really got a hop.

In summary, the 508 is a good car. Good diesel engine offerings, stay clear of the THP Petrols that are plagued by timing issues, co-developed with BMW who are now pulling them completely from their Mini for it’s new incarnation, gives confidence doesn’t it. Obviously try and get the best spec you can for your money, with additions such as Sat-Nav (RT6) and a head up display, there are lots of goodies to have and would make your long distance driving that more of a pleasure in what is essentially a brilliant cruising machine.

Go and have a test drive and see what you think, there is nothing better than hands on experience.

This phone needs to hold it’s own against the Sony, Motorola and HTCs most powerful offerings and we think this stands a mighty good chance at being the best all rounder.

Being equipped with a Dual-Core Processor, Wi-Fi, 1080p Video Recording…this thing is immense. If you look at the technical specs of this and compare it to the latest laptops and netbooks, it’s amazing.

We’re not going to go into too much detail about the ongoings of the Android operating system that comes on the Galaxy S2 but after the office staff using iOS for the past 2 years, it’s come as a real breathe of fresh air. Running Android 2.3.3 and with TouchWiz customisations that will enhance the users experience!

To look at, the Galaxy S2 does look a bit…plastic. The rear cover is mighty thin but then what can you expect when the whole phones thickness is comparable to a piece of paper at just 8.49mm! The front is one sheet of glass which houses one hell of a 4.3” Super AMOLED Plus touch screen with three buttons at the bottom, home (physical) plus two capacitive Extra Settings/Options (Touch) and Back (Touch) controls. Also on the front is a forward facing camera for those rather awkward video calls over the network. On the sides you’ll be greeted with a lock/on/off button and volume controls the opposite side. With a headphone jack at the top and a very small Samsung connection at the bottom, it makes for a very minimalist design. There is a slight gap around the edge of glass so maybe this could start to gather dust but the glass’s special coating does resist finger prints and scratches very well. The resolution of the screen is 800 x 480, don’t let this put you off as it’s only a tiny bit behind the norm. The colours are eye-popping, the viewing angles are incredible and blacks…are black!

Galaxy S 2 and iPhone 4:

You can see from the above picture the colours look more intense on the Galaxy SII when compared to the iPhone 4.

There are two nifty features that the screen does for you, one by using sensors on the phone it adjusts the backlight to give you the correct backlighting dependant on where you are. One issue we did find is that this must use the camera on the back to determine what the light is around you, when covered up with your fingers or hand whilst playing on games etc, the screen will lighten up and dim and generally jump around, which can get a little irritating sometimes but mostly does a good job.

By far the best thing we encountered was the outside mode. The phone will automatically sense when you are outside enjoying the sun in the broad daylight, adjusting the contrast on the screen this allows you to be able to see what’s going on! This feature, we could not live without!

From the moment you turn it on, to the moment you switch it off. It’s blisteringly fast. So fast you’ll wonder how you ever waited for things to load on your iPhone or HTC. Swiping the screens and opening apps is instant! Being Android you have the option of having widgets on your home screens allowing you to see the latest weather, or facebook status updates.

If you’re lucky enough to be on a network that supports it’s full dta network capabilities then you can expect up to 21.1mbps…yes you read that right 21.1mbps. Downloading things via the Network at over 300kb/s is just amazing, meaning you don’t have to wait until you get home to update your app or download those attachments in an e-mail.

The camera is also one of the best, shooting at 8 Megapixels you can be guaranteed to catch a lot of detail. The speed at which a shot is taken is what sells this to us, due to the dual-core processor you can take a picture, flip back to texting, back to the camera, shoot a full HD movie! It’s exemplary. With no slow down at all! One thing we noticed when taking pictures, on the phone they looked incredibly colourful and bright thanks to the screen, however when transferred to the PC, the pictures looked a tiny bit washed out. We’re running a 24” Samsung Monitor and although it may not be the latest model, it would give us practically the best outlook on what these pics look like, off the phone.

The following video was shot in 1080p mode. To watch just click the settings at the bottom right to make sure you’re watching in full HD, note your PC might not be able to cope with full HD but either way, this video of a review of a different product we used on a car gives a good idea of how clear and how detailed video recording is with the Galaxy SII:

Video Recorded in HD with Samsung Galaxy S2

Browsing the net is a sinch. With it’s pinch and zoom feature all the websites we looked at were set out just as they are on a PC. Zooming in is fast and effortless. There have been reports that in browser flash doesn’t work however, all you need to do is ‘enable plugins’ in the settings and you will have full flash enabled web glory. Flash…aaaahhhaaaaaaaaa. There’s nothing we don’t like about the browser, it’s well thought out and does a very good job.

The keyboard is brilliant. Very easy to use, very well spaced out an the predictive input is rather ingenious, we usually turn this off when testing but this time, a first…we kept it on. You will get the occasional moment of hitting the wrong key but you would on any screen due to the lack of definition/feel that you only get from a physical keyboard.

One thing we love about Android and one thing this phone does well, is offering it’s wifi as a personal hotspot. If you’ve forked out for a nice laptop, tablet or netbook, you can use the Data connection, via wifi to your devices to access the net wherever you can! This feature is incredible and at the speeds we’ve already spoken about you can look at the web as intended!

In summary this is in no doubt the best Android Smartphone on the Market at the time of writing. We can only dream of what might come in the SIII!

You want to be on a decent monthly pay plan or a pay as you go with data if you have this phone as it’s all about the internet. If you want a phone to text or make calls, stick with a generic Nokia of some kind. If you want the internet, social networking, video calling, more Apps than you can shake a stick at…the Samsung Galaxy S 2 is for you.

The new 6 series marks the end of the design renewals for BMW. All of the current range has been re-designed or face lifted. The new 6-Series actually shares the same underpinnings/platform as the new 7 Series which went on to become the Rolls Royce Ghost. Can they use the same platform that’s used on a soft and squidgy luxury motor on a Grand Tourer? Let’s see shall we.

As you can see from the pictures, this thing has been toned down. No longer does it have a rather bulbous front nose or that awkward boot line that protruded over the rear of the car. All I can say really, it looks…soft. I personally think that can’t be a BAD thing but also, I respected BMW for trying their new direction with the Bangle designs, way back when we saw the launch of the previous 5-Series. What a breathe of fresh air. BMW have lost it in the design stakes.

It seems the interior didn’t have too much of a refresh either, obviously the parts bins over at BMW had been given another go making this car feel more or less the same as a 3-series. In my opinion for a car that costs circa 75k, I want to feel special. Whilst talking about price, a fully kitted six will set you back around 94k.

Having said that there is a lovely low seating position which is unusual for GT Convertibles.

So this new 6 series has put on a couple of extra mm, It’s slightly wider (39mm) and slightly longer (74mm), sure it’s not masses but it does allow for a new structure under the metalwork for safety. This is something to note, the car is mainly made out of steel, but to strengthen the car, parts have been manufactured using ultra-high-tensile steel, this makes the car believe it or not 50% more torsionally rigid.

That extra 74mm does make the cabin feel a lot bigger, enough to say that very tall people would find it easy to fit in but even more remarkably the back seats could be used for average length journeys for even adults. Goes to show this car is more practical than the previous shape 6.

Reinforced sills, floor, B-Pillars and that now famous ultra-high-strength steel makes up the windscreen frame and automatically engaging roll over bars that pop up from behind the rear seats make this a safe car to be in.

They’ve tried to save weight where they can, how about a boot lid made of a fibreglass composite, cast aluminium doors, bonnet and front springs? The reason I tell you this is because despite their best efforts, the new car weighs around 80kg more than the outgoing model. Not the end of the world I’m sure you’ll agree but weight is a serious issue with modern vehicles, it needs sorting.

The vehicle comes with a double wishbone set up on the front and BMW’s multi-link at the rear, fixed rate anti-roll bars and passive dampers come as standard. Here’s where the options start, you can pay for ‘Adaptive Drive’ which includes adaptive dampers that adjust to the road conditions and style of driving and active anti-roll bars to create a more engaging sporty drive. A rather nice addition we like the look of but unfortunately didn’t have on our model was a four-wheel steering and variable ratio steering system. We’ve tried a similar (note loosely) on the Renault Laguna Coupé which by all accounts, increased responsiveness round the bendy stuff.

The model tested is a 650i, with a gorgeous all-aluminium 4.4 Litre petrol V8, which puts the down the power at the rear via an 8-Speed auto box. With the added turbo’s this extends it legs to a whopping 402bhp. Gulp. Putting out a whopping 443lb ft of torque.

BMW state the car can do a 0-62mph blitz in 5.0 seconds. If so this is an incredibly rapid car, we didn’t personally record the times of 0-62 but Autocar claim they did an average of 0-62 and got 5.6 Seconds. Only .6 of a second but it’s still slower. Autocar also claim the car is only half a second slower to 100mph than a Bentley Continental GT they tested in 2006! Amazing.

This engine receives a surprisingly good 28.9mpg on the motorway which actually for a V8 and when compared to the other cars in it’s class that struggle the 25 mark, means it’s quite frugal.

With figures like that, surely this car handles like an absolute dream. It’s true that overtaking power, rapid acceleration have the ability to munch those motorways or Grand Tours wherever you want to go, however the car does feel a little heavy and a little soft. It’s a good drive but I don’t think that it is ‘All That’ when compared to other cars in the range and as the 6-Series should be an alluring GT vehicle that should be able to ‘Get Down’ when the going gets tough, it feels like it lacks in the driving dynamics stage.

There is a bewildering array of technology and settings for different driving modes ranging from Comfort to Sport+. The Sport mode makes the car feel more precise but as with the Germans, it does make it feel a bit harsh when hitting any kind of imperfect road surface. The weight of the car must be the issue with the 6-Series, it’s by no means terrible, or even enough to say it ‘really’ effects the car so much we wouldn’t buy one because we would, it’s an outstanding vehicle but there just doesn’t seem to be a setting that makes the 650i feel like a good all rounder.

In all, this is a lovely car. It does make a great GT car and with it’s improved space and safety nothing in it’s class comes close. You can tell BMW have paid attention to detail on the new 6 series with it’s brilliant gearbox, engine and adaptive chassis.

The only downsides we can see, they’ve stolen parts from the BMW part bin for this vehicle which means it shares too much familiarity with the other BMW models and that for people that want a vehicle for a distinct driver experience,this isn’t the one. However that is all down the personal judgement because this is a well sorted car.

There’s definitely something in the water over at Citroen France. Not only do they release a new C3 and the almighty DS3. The C4, has been replaced.

This review took a little time in the making as we had previously been to it’s pre-dealer launch back in January and wanted to see how the public reacted to the new C4. You should know that we only give unbiased reviews so that we can tell you the rough with the smooth.

The new C4 seems to have divided opinion on the way that it looks. Previous C4 owners and Citroen fanatics think it’s become a little to conservative and quite frankly, we agree. No longer does it have mad rear lights that stretch from the roof to the bumper, but instead from the rear it looks nothing more or less than the Vauxhall Astra and other Euro boxes. It’s a shame because from the front, this thing does look aggressive. With no bonnet line, the edge of the ‘hood lips over the headlamps keeping it looking long, powerful and menacing in a rear view mirror. Nice.

The inside does get much better. 99.9% of all the people we have asked, love the interior of the New Citroen C4. It looks like an updated version of the C5′s interior which is honestly no bad thing. High quality materials with soft touch plastics, updated switch gear and a proper Speedo. For you Citroen fans don’t be upset because sitting in the middle of the Speedo is an LCD display, this can display the speed in digital numbers just like before.

There is a multitude of options and firsts for Citroen on this model. How does massaging front seats sound? A Blind-Spot monitoring system to make sure you don’t cause a massive RTC on the M5 or even the ‘Parking Space Gap Measurement System’ which as it says on the tin, lets you know if you can fit into a parallel space. Be warned, the system wants to give you LOTS of extra room so the more avid/gifted parkers amongst you, will be able to get it into spaces even the car itself doesn’t think you can fit in! What’s the point?

The original C4, was launched in a frenzy of clever marketing with the all famous dancing Robot adverts, I can’t help but think the new C4, kind of, just appeared. I personally don’t think the new C4 was an all out trailblazing adventure for Citroen like the old version was when launched. Part of me thinks it was brought out to ‘try’ and keep up and fit in with the other manufacturers that are doing so well in that size segment to maybe try and cash in that kind of success, because lets face it the old C4 never outsold the Focus or Astra did it?

So, it’s a bit above average to look at, it’s the quality it should be in today’s age on the inside and seemed to just appear without to much of a fanfare. Let’s have a look at the pricing.

Before I tell you the current pricing of the New C4. Please…Sit Down. The pricing has probably got the most attention out of all the aspects of the car due the high nature of them when compared to the outgoing version.

Take a look at the prices of the Vauxhall and the Ford and form your own opinion. Remember they have quite a range of different trim levels where as the C4 gets 3. VTR, VTR+ and Exclusive. The middle of the range model, what do you think? 16K? Well, for a slow and unexciting 95ps engine you’ll have to stump up £17,325. Move up to a 1.6HDI and you’re at £18,725. If you want to be super efficient go for the e-HDI which basically means a Stop/Start Semi-Auto…£20,125. Yes…20k for a Middle of the range vehicle. Gulp.

This all seems a little sombre for Citroen. There just doesn’t seem to be that spunk and pizazz that they’ve shown with the likes of the new C3 and DS3. Why not, we’ll come to that in a moment.

With the pre-dealer launch of the New Citroen C4 we were taken to Coventry and more importantly, Mira (Motor Industry Research Association). We all tried the car on various wet grip areas to see how it handled compared to the competition. The Astra, Focus and Golf.

The C4 did hold its own on the Wet Grip and Test Drives. We liked the ride comfort over the Astra and Focus. The car feels quite light on its rubber, is very quiet inside and handled very well around the wet grip track managing to remain in control on an incredibly wet surface at around 40mph into relatively tight corners. This thing is safe. A brilliant 5 Star Euro NCAP rating is something to boast around with the NCAP tests getting harder and harder.

All day, there is no doubt about it, we wanted to jump from the C4 into the Golf to see how they compare. Let’s face it. It’s the benchmark. Size wise the Golf is smaller, with a smaller boot and less room for occupants in the back. However, to drive, it’s sublime. It’s one of those cars you drive and it just feels right, so tight, quiet and smooth.

How’s this for a twist?

The C4 isn’t far from that however it is bigger and has the biggest boot size in its class at a whopping 408 Litres. Can you see what Citroen have yet again managed to do. Place itself in between the competition as the all-rounder. This is no bad thing as the new C4 genuinely is pleasing to look at if somewhat dull from the rear. Has a very nice interior and is big enough to do whatever you want and I’m sure Citroen has offers just around the corner, to make them that bit more affordable.

We genuinely like the car, everybody is bored of the Focus, the Astra is dull and the Golf…people don’t think they can afford. The C4 however…is the understated choice. Find your nearest dealer and go for a drive. You won’t regret it.