RIDE AND JOY

The area formerly known as the Brecon Beacons was visited T recently by the new Prince and Princess of Wales. Apparently their cavalcade of limousines wasn't quite as impressive as ours, though.
Standards matter - and if not the royal family, you can always depend on Autocar to set them.
Well, at least, as far as transport is concerned.
If this comparison exercise had been an owners' club meeting instead, none of us assembled participants would have even approached the expected dress code requirements. Luckily, we had a job to do - and it was thanks to a reader whose name you will know.
Formula 1 racer turned motorsport magnate Jonathan Palmer consumes his weekly issue of Autocar as avidly as you do, and at a recent meeting with us he bemoaned the state of ride comfort in modern cars - that it hadn't advanced as quickly as so many other dynamic facets.
"Why don't we get a bunch of the most comfortable and very best-riding new cars together, along with something much older," he suggested, "and take a considered view on the state of the art?" How could we decline? The standard-bearers we assembled, in descending order of price, were the recently updated Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII, Bentley Flying Spur V8 Azure, Range Rover P440e Autobiography and BMW i7 xDrive60 M Sport. Some 10 tonnes and nearly a million quid's worth of brand-new, super-luxury metal, then (and we were still upstaged, as Dr P arrived in his no-doubt-fine-riding Agusta helicopter).
Another reader and friend of Autocar, Joe Ward, generously brought along his recently restored 1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III as a yardstick by which to measure the accomplishments of the new boys.
Denne historien er fra May 24, 2023-utgaven av Autocar UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9500+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra May 24, 2023-utgaven av Autocar UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9500+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på

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Steve Cropley
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CUPRA TERRAMAR
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NISSAN MICRA
Can the magic of the Renault 5 also help spark a renaissance at Nissan?

THE ANTI-AGEING FAMILY SUV
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BYD DOLPHIN SURF
Cheap yet fully equipped Dacia Spring rival arrives with 154bhp, 193 miles

Matt Prior
You might have heard that Caterham has found a new engine supplier in Horse (decent name, I think), a joint venture between Renault and Geely.

YOUR VIEWS
I finalised my purchase of a new Suzuki Swift Motion this week and had an interesting chat with the car salesman.