BBC Top Gear UK – February 2021
English | 157 pages | pdf | 106.99 MB
Welcome at BBC Top Gear UK Magazine February 2021 Issue
Should I be concerned that I can’t recite my wife’s phone number and I struggle to remember my age but, clear as crystal, locked away in a heavily guarded corner of my brain is C331 UDD – the reg of my first car? A red Renault 5 GTL. Called Bertha.
No surprise, then, that when I saw pictures of Renault’s crack at reviving the 5 as an affordable, pure electric hatch my heart melted a bit, followed by a warm fuzzy feeling and an impulse to dig out some old photos. I love it. I love the proportions, the crisp arches, the vertical tail-lights. I love the idea of buying one when it eventually goes into production and it being my four-year-old’s first car, 13 years from now.
I also realise that translating an icon into a modern homage will always stand accused of being lazy design. “Why not create something fresh and forward thinking, rather than leaning on past glories?” What, like the Zoe? A brilliantly sorted car these days, but do I want one? Not really. Do you?
For me, successful design has instant attraction and lasting appeal; it’s something that improves your day just by resting your eyes on it. If my positive vibes around the new 5 are because Renault is mercilessly tweaking the heart strings of anyone who used to roll around in a smoky, dented old Cinque… then good on them. But I also think the 5 looks sharp enough to charm a younger generation, who neither knows nor cares what a Renault 5 is. If that’s not good design, what is?
We’re entering an era where every small electric hatchback is going to be broadly based on the same battery/motor underpinnings, so interesting powertrains can no longer be differentiators. It has to be the hat on top – along with a palatable price/range ratio – that flogs these cars to the customer. And, as Paul Horrell, a man with a richer vocab than I, points out, “Heritage is what the incumbents have as a bulwark against start-ups.”
And just in case you needed a reminder of the 5’s credentials, behold the majesty of the Turbo in our rally-special group test. For me, the standout car on a day I’ll never forget. But perhaps I’m just biased. Bertha has a lot to answer for.
Enjoy the magazine issue, Jack Rix
Download from:
NitroFlare