DRIVING MISS DASHBOARD
Fast facts Fuel consumption – Jaguar Land Rover claims the car can do up to 83mpg. On pure electric mode you can travel up to 31 miles. Road tax – As a sweetener £15 for first year then £440, as opposed to over £1,000 for a traditional Range Rover. Safety – Depending on the model there are features like Lane Assist (stops you from veering our of lane on motorways), blind spot monitor, air bags a-go-go. Media - A traditional looking (i.e. not sci-fi) touch screen system to access DAB radio, satnav, blue-tooth connection, you get the picture. That Bling Thing – Being the ultimate in bling, it sure is flash inside. The seats recline so far you could actually sleep in it. This season’s colours – A whopping 32 colour options. Well, you wouldn’t expect anything else from a Range Rover, surely.
As you’d expect from Range Rover, the interior is luxury incarnate. Before the car was delivered I was telling my children what I particularly liked about it – and mentioned the fridge (the hot and cold box in the middle of the two front seats). On first inspection one of my kids was verging on indignant - “but you can’t fit a chicken in there, mummy!” Point taken, but it does chill chocolate to create that perfect snap!
So where better to go and try out this twist on a classic than The Cotswolds Distillery – our local distiller
So yes, it is a most luxurious “motor”. What other (not uncommon) car has the smoothest of leather seats, with leg rests for all passengers and the driver, coupled with a steering wheel as smooth as the proverbial silk? But did I feel like I was joining the eco green revolution driving it? Well, in a word, no. It’s a huge whale of a car that still smacks of ostentation and tradition, not innovation. At least the car’s manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover are moving in the right direction, so when they’ve perfected their ingredients for a pure electric version I’ll look forward to toasting that. Cheers!
The drive – Incredibly comfy to sit on those fine ‘perforated Windsor’ leather seats – and a dream for those in the back – as long as you’re not travelling around too many country lanes, as it can roll about quite considerably – and made a couple of my passengers feel a tad nauseous (cue comments about my driving style). Trim – Three price options of Vogue, Vogue SE and Autobiography, offering soft, luxurious leather upholstery and a range of alloy wheels and added extras – from safety features to widgets. And the usual beeping parking sensors a-plenty – rear and side. Beep beep beeeeep! Automatic or manual – Being a twin engine or hybrid, it’s automatic – with an 8-speed 4-wheel drive gearbox. As you’d expect, there are loads of touch button options so that you can opt to save your electricity for driving in town, as well as buttons for driving across raging rivers and deserts….(say no more!) Optional extras – The one that really did it for me was the ‘hot stone massage’ seats. It’ll cost ya though. But for the ultimate in footballers’-wives-style bling, you can have your name engraved on the treadplates! Warranty – A lengthy 8 year or 100,000 mileage Price – from £87,600
Tasting tours of Cotswolds Distillery are available every day. See their website for information cotswoldsdistillery.com Follow Alexandra on Twitter @MissDashboardUK and Instagram @MissDashboard for a refreshing take on cars.
COTSWOLD-HOMES.COM
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