There are plenty of reasons 2016 will go down as an annus horribilis. Valid ones. Here are some slightly more petty examples of car-related stuff that got us wound up in 2016. Bah, humbug and all that!
Not driving a Giulia Quadrifoglio
This isn't a tantrum about being passed over for a drive in one of 2016's
most exciting cars
. Our man Mike Duff got the gig and, with snapper Tim Brown, more than did this emotive and significant arrival justice. Motoring hack small talk in 2016 has mainly centred on who has and who hasn't though. And, frankly, I'm fed up of hearing how bloody brilliant it is and want to have a go myself! Yes it's heavy, yes we're only getting the auto and, yes, the German rivals are both favourites of mine, setting the bar very high in terms of expectation. But I love the unapologetic looks, I love the romance of that insane
7min 32sec 'ring lap
and I love it that, like its test driver, Alfa Romeo has properly rolled its sleeves up and got stuck in
I really like Porsches and I have a huge amount of respect for high performance four-cylinder motors, so the
718 Cayman
(and its Boxster brothers) in all their downsized, forced-induction glory should be right up my street. But they're not. Yes the new engine is powerful, efficient and (so Dan keeps banging on about) full of
engineering wizardry
, but it just doesn't feel worthy of a chassis as brilliant as the Cayman's. The motor just seems to lack any character and goes about its business in such a soulless way that, despite the car being one of the best sports cars on sale today, I could never imagine spending my money on it.
2016 has been light on automotive disappointments, but one stood out like a turd in a souffle. I can understand why Fiat has tried to distinguish its version
of the MX-5
from Mazda's, it's just that pretty much every change has made it worse, especially in the
range-topping Abarth
. I know some people prefer the way it looks, but I can't see the front end without thinking of Dame Edna's glasses, and the bigger overhangs and chunkier flanks make it look clumsy and inelegant next to the minimalist Mazda. The turbo engine isn't short on punch, and the Fiat and Abarth will certainly be more tuneable than the basic Mazda. But it's a laggy, boorish unit compared to the MX-5's naturally-aspirated jewel of a motor. But the real problem is the firmed-up suspension, revealing the sort of scuttle shake I thought just didn't happen any more. The MX-5 floats, the Abarth clumps like it's wearing diving boots.
Is it just me, or is WSB really starting to lose its shine? Yes, we have another Brit champion in the shape of the brilliant Jonathan Rea, and Chaz Davies and Tom Sykes did their best to stop it being a cakewalk. But was anyone watching? Some awesome rides from Leon Camier and Chaz aside, it's just not engaging. MotoGP was also a bit of an anti-climax as, once again, Rossi's challenge faltered at the end. On the metal front, how does Honda keep getting it wrong with the CB1100? When we heard about a sportier model the news sounded promising, then the CB1100RS arrived and showed absolutely no style or potential. And then, to rub salt into our wounds, they showed the flat track CB1100 TR concept bike that looked amazing but, according to its designers, has a snowball in hell's chance of being built! And when will Suzuki's new cool small capacity bikes arrive? Oh, autumn... nice one!
BMW M2
and the 718 Porsches are cars I've really enjoyed this year, but each have a significant black mark against them as manuals: the awkward rev-matching tech. It shouldn't be such an issue; manuals and heel and toe are two of the best bits of driving for me, so why force buyers to forgo all driver aids just to rev match?
The M2 compels you to disable the traction control to switch off the auto rev-match, and Porsche only allows DIY heel and toe in Comfort mode for the Boxster/Cayman. In Sport and Sport Plus, you must again turn off the driver aids. Why? It just seems to add unnecessary risk. Not quite blipping your downshift enough is far less dangerous than not correcting your accidental powerslide enough. Let's hope more follow the lead of Nissan and Aston with a simple on/off switch.
(Matt Bird)
Mercedes infotainment screens
Sitting in a Mercedes is a luxurious affair. Supple leather with stylish plastics and lovely mood lighting welcome the driver but, once you get settled, your eyes turn to the
infotainment screen
, which gives the impression of being an afterthought. It may be argued that plenty of people attach phones or sat-navs to the windscreen or the air vents or for the simple reason of ergonomics; however other manufacturers have better designed the infotainment screen in the dashboard. In making the driver feel that the screen wasn't an afterthought but part of the design process, I think drivers are more likely to use it. To Mercedes' credit however, the
E-Class
and S-Class interiors have far more pleasing screen appearances, but I feel they missed a trick again by not reducing the bezel size.
[MotoGP image: LAT Photo]
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