Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

In gear

Text Lisa Curtiss, James Kevin Mac Goris

Image Getty Images

The new BMW 330d surpasses all expectations on its test
drive, plus we rev it up for some race-action in Monaco

Hot hatch heaven

Check out the latest high-performance offerings to hit the road in 2009

Lovers of all things small and sporty with serious attitude are spoilt for choice this year as Ford, Fiat Renault and Alfa Romeo launch hot hatches.

Renault has introduced its most hardcore Renaultsport model to date – the R26.R – which has proved unbeatable in just about every twin or group test it has been through. It’s a Mégane, but not as we know it. It’s honed for ultimate performance with razor-sharp handling, and has been stripped to the barest essentials including room in the back seats, which is now taken up by roll-cage struts. Watch out later in the year for a new 2-litre turbo-charged 250bhp Renaultsport Mégane R26 and a 200bhp Renaultsport Clio.

If the R26.R is a highly strung, nimble Derby winner, the Ford Focus RS is a hard-pulling heftier hurdler. It looks and means business, and can pretty much match the Renault for sprinting pace, with no less than 300bhp and 324 lb-ft of torque with a sub six seconds sprint.

Alfa Romeo’s hot version of its MiTo cutie car was shown for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The MiTo GTA has a 1.8-litre 240bhp turbo engine and appears lower and meaner, sharing more of a resemblance to Alfa Romeo’s 8C supercar. It’s expected to be available throughout Europe from late summer.

Another Italian model with oodles of charm, this time with bite, is the Fiat 500 Abarth Esseesse. It may be a midget, but with 158bhp it’s no slouch.

If you like your cars kart-like to the extreme, this will seriously delight you. Agile, spritely, with the ability to turn on a sixpence and sporting rather fetching Scorpion graphics, the Esseesse has already beaten the much loved Mini Cooper S in a number of head-to-head tests.

Back to the future

Volkswagen launches a new GTi

It’s always risky resurrecting a classic, but sometimes it’s worth the dare. Following from the successful introduction of the new Scirocco, VW has launched its brand spanking new Golf GTi into Europe to early acclaim. The car has generous helpings of power and torque, taking it into the league of the excellent Audi S3 and Vauxhall Astra VXR. While the curvy and snubby appearance may not appeal to GTi purists, we’re sure lovers of sports hatches with less flashy looks will head to the showrooms in droves.

 

In the news…

F1 glitterati head to Monaco

If there’s one race on the Formula One calendar guaranteed to attract big screen superstars and pop icons, it has to be Monaco. Now firmly part of any A-lister’s diary, it has become even more of a lure for the beautiful people thanks to its indecently glamorous after-race parties and ever-increasing hordes of paparazzi to parade in front of. This year, look out for appearances from The Pussycat Dolls, Bond star Daniel Craig, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas and X Factor guru Simon Cowell, among others.

MAY DIARY DATES

10 F1, Barcelona, Spain; 17 World Touring Car Championship, France; 24 F1, Monte Carlo, Monaco; 31 World Touring Car Championship, Spain

TEST Drive

Not like diesels used to be

Behind the wheel of the new BMW 330d, James Kevin Mac Goris refl ects on three decades of the

German automobile maker’s ride from strength to strength

As a child I always enjoyed visiting my stylish and slightly bohemian uncle, whose kitchen and garage workroom counters seemed challengingly high, but whose BMW 2002 (in which I loved being taken for a spin) struck me as just the right size for a fast touring motorcar around the country roads that then crisscrossed the Dublin mountains and beyond.

The 330d I recently tried out is a better car than its predecessor in almost every respect – and its predecessor was an excellent car that was better than its own predecessor. Just what you’d expect from a marque committed to constant technological improvement. More powerful, faster, safer and above all bigger – this is the inbuilt value you buy when you purchase a new BMW. Drive today’s 3-series, and you feel you’re at the wheel of a car the size and performance of last decade’s 5-series. The current 5-series fits the slot of an erstwhile 7-series. Do you see the pattern? Today’s 7-series is looming over the large Mercedes buyers’ bracket and to replace a car the size of my uncle’s 2002, BMW now offers us the 1-series.

To simply say that BMW has come farther than most other manufacturers in the last 30 years is not enough. The whole world has come a long way in the last three decades, but BMW has resolutely kept ahead of the trend. This 330d I was driving is a case in point. A 3-litre diesel engine with an output of 245hp is impressive enough – add that to a supremely comfortable ride that’s both smooth and aggressive on demand, an engine noise that’s frankly a contradiction in terms, road handling that makes you feel safe even in the trickiest of traffic and a top speed of 250kmh… you start getting the picture.

In fact, in its class of car, I don’t think there’s anywhere better to sit than behind the wheel of a 330d. There’s the 335 of course, but given the marginal difference in performance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the 330 was the company’s flagship in the series. Which is a little bit what BMW wants us to think, I’d wager, after all, what other car manufacturer gives you better than what you’d expect in place of the best they could give you? The BMW 330d – when they say ‘they’re not like they used to be’, it’s a uniquely Bavarian conundrum.

Spec

■ Engine 2993cc
6 cylinder diesel

■ Acceleration
0-100kmh – 6.1 seconds

■ Output 245bhp

■ Top speed 250kmh

■ Consumption
per 100km
7.5l (urban cycle)

■ C02 emission 155gm

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