08/04/17 15:42 Filed in:
Road testsThe latest to join the UK hybrid market is Kia with the launch of the new Kia Niro. The Niro was unveiled at the Chicago Motor Show last year and this is Kia’s first dedicated hybrid model, with a plug-in hybrid version to follow soon. Under the skin it shares some of the technology with the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid hatchback.
Read More...Tags: Kia,Hybrids,Crossover
11/03/17 15:37 Filed in:
Road testsI was quite impressed with the last
Suzuki SX4 S-Cross that I drove. But, in retrospect I can see that it did lack a vital element for a crossover. It looked a little bit tame.
Read More...Tags: Suzuki,Crossover,4x4,SUV
06/03/17 12:04 Filed in:
NewsGeneral Motors and the PSA Group have announced an agreement that will take GM’s Opel and Vauxhall European subsidiaries to join Peugeot and Citroen as part of the the PSA Group.
Read More...Tags: Vauxhall,Opel,Peugeot,Citroen
03/03/17 12:17 Filed in:
NewsEncouraged by the huge success of the Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover has launched the new Range Rover Velar to fill the gap between the small Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport.
Read More...Tags: new cars,LandRover,4x4,SUV
02/02/17 11:51 Filed in:
TravelWith the pound no longer going so far in various holiday destinations around the world, maybe you are looking at opportunities to enjoy a road trip adventure closer to home. Or, maybe you are reading this outside the UK and are tempted by the opportunity to explore here while the exchange rate is favourable.
Read More...Tags: Road trips,Travel
16/12/16 17:11 Filed in:
Road testsThere’s growing competition in the luxury SUV market with established players like the Range Rover, the BMW X5 and Audi Q7 being joined by the latest Volvo XC90 and the
Jaguar F-Pace. To meet this challenge, Lexus has given its Lexus RX a makeover.
Read More...Tags: Lexus,4x4,SUV,Luxury
27/11/16 16:33 Filed in:
Road testsOn the hill roads above Loch Lomond, I settled back into the comfortable seats of the McLaren 570S. I admit that the first few miles had been slightly more frenetic as I got used to the car while threading my way through the heavy afternoon traffic west of Glasgow.
Read More...Tags: McLaren,Supercar
16/11/16 15:25 Filed in:
NewsJaguar has unveiled its I-Pace electric concept car and there is a little bit more interest in this concept, because Jaguar have confirmed that the I-Pace will go into production. The production version of the I-Pace will be revealed next year and will go on sale in 2018.
Read More...Tags: new cars,Concept,4x4,SUV,electric
29/10/16 10:41 Filed in:
PhotosWhat do you do when you see a brace of Ferraris lurking in the soft evening light of the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, Italy?
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28/10/16 15:27 Filed in:
Road testsUntil recently one of the cars that sat on our driveway was the outgoing Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDI, so I feel quite well placed to spot the differences between it and this new Tiguan.
Read More...Tags: Volkswagen,SUV,4x4
18/10/16 14:01 Filed in:
Road testsI’ve tested the Toyota Prius a few times in the past. The Prius was the first modern-day hybrid launched almost 20 years ago, going on sale in 1997 in Japan. This time I am driving the fourth generation model built on a completely new platform.
Read More...Tags: Toyota,Hybrids
27/09/16 15:20 Filed in:
Road testsWhen news first filtered out that
Jaguar was seriously looking at building an SUV, there were raised eyebrows in some quarters. Why Jaguar would want to produce an SUV when their sister company, Land Rover produced nothing but SUVs?
Read More...Tags: Jaguar,4x4,SUV
24/09/16 14:01 Filed in:
Road testsWhen the first news of the Range Rover Evoque Convertible broke I remember my reaction. It could probably be summed up in four words: “That’s just wrong”. But, why is it wrong? Probably just because no other mainstream manufacturer has ever offered a stylish compact convertible SUV like it, so we don’t have a preconceived idea of why it might be good and who would want to buy one.
Read More...Tags: 4x4,LandRover,SUV,Convertible
14/09/16 17:31 Filed in:
Road testsThe new Alfa Romeo Giulietta has been around since the Geneva Show in 2010 and came second in the European Car of the Year Awards the following year. Now there is a new model – the Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.4 Sprint MultiAir. Based on the existing 1.4-litre unit, the Sprint power unit is tuned and re-mapped to produce 150 bhp.
Read More...Tags: Alfa,Sports
05/09/16 15:36 Filed in:
Road testsFirst impressions count and, when I first saw the new Mazda 3 at the celebrity race for the Australian Grand Prix a couple of years ago. it struck me as one of the most cohesive family car designs currently on offer from any Japanese manufacturer.
Read More...Tags: Mazda,Saloon,Hatch
01/09/16 12:24 Filed in:
Product testI was feeling confident that we had followed the instructions of our sat-nav, but we ended up travelling 16 kilometres up the A15 to Parma. To add insult to injury, we then had to pay the toll, before turning round and heading back, again paying for the privilege!
Read More...Tags: Sat-nav,GPS
21/08/16 18:00 Filed in:
PhotosThe inaugural Royal Deeside Speed Festival took place in the stately grounds of Kincardine Castle on Deeside.
Read More...Tags: event
05/08/16 18:44 Filed in:
NewsSuzuki now has two superminis to offer buyers, but they see them appealing to subtly different markets. The Swift is seen as their supermini with a bit more of a sporty image. The new Baleno, produced in India, will be aimed at buyers whose main motoring priority is practicality.
Read More...Tags: new cars,Suzuki,Supermini
16/07/16 15:15 Filed in:
Road testsIt is some time since I have driven a Toyota Auris, so my first reaction on seeing this road test Auris was to check the details. I still tend to think of a Toyota Auris as being a compact family hatchback and sitting there in front of me was seemed quite a sizeable family estate car.
Read More...Tags: Toyota,estate
03/07/16 17:10 Filed in:
PhotosThe Grampian Transport Museum in the Aberdeenshire town of Alford, was the place to be for motoring enthusiasts on July 3, for the annual Speedfest.
Read More...Tags: event
29/06/16 10:57 Filed in:
PhotosA photo stop at the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena, Italy.
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27/06/16 12:33 Filed in:
News | PhotosOn a recent trip to Italy we spotted the new Maserati Levante on the A14 autostrade near Imola. The car appeared so suddenly we had no time to get cameras organised, so this was taken on an iPhone.
Read More...Tags: prototypes,Maserati,Spyphotos
03/06/16 14:14 Filed in:
Road testsIn my student days, one of my classmates turned up one day in an elderly Fiat 500. I became the unofficial mechanic and, on one occasion I was trying to fettle the car, I asked the proud owner why she had bought the 500. “It looked like it needed a mummy,” she replied.
Read More...Tags: Fiat,Supermini
26/05/16 15:30 Filed in:
Road testsSuzuki has carved itself something of a niche for producing not just cars at the smaller end of the market, but also cars that offer four-wheel-drive to keep you moving when the going gets tough.
Read More...Tags: Suzuki,Crossover,4x4
09/05/16 11:13 Filed in:
Road testsIt was inevitable that comparisons would be made with the resurrected Mini brand, when Fiat produced their new Fiat 500 in 2007. Like the Mini and Volkswagen Beetle before it, the new Fiat 500 echoed the cheeky looks of the original. In Fiat’s case this was the tiny rear-engined Fiat 500 produced from 1957 to 1975.
Read More...Tags: Fiat,Crossover
22/04/16 11:02 Filed in:
NewsShell has taken the unusual step of producing a concept car which, were it ever to go into production, could deliver significant energy savings.
Read More...Tags: Concept,Shell,economy,Fuel consumption
21/04/16 11:48 Filed in:
NewsMitsubishi has confirmed that it has discovered that fuel consumption testing data submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan has been improperly presented in order to improve fuel consumption rates. The testing method was also different from that required by Japanese law.
Read More...Tags: Mitsubishi,Fuel consumption
11/04/16 11:49 Filed in:
BlogIt’s that time when many of us will be planning to escape the chill of spring and head to warmer, sunnier climes for a well-deserved break. A road trip in the USA is one of my favourite holiday pursuits, so if you are heading Stateside for the first time, here are some tips for drivers.
Read More...Tags: Travel,USA
19/03/16 13:41 Filed in:
Blog | NewsDriverless cars have been
big in the news for some time. But, recent news stories this month have brought renewed focus on the issues involved.
Read More...Tags: Driverless,autonomous
04/03/16 15:15 Filed in:
NewsIf you have been to see the Bond film
Spectre, you may believe that you have seen the new Aston Martin already. But, the reality is that the Aston Martin DB10 in the film was not the real successor to the long-lived DB9. That successor has just been launched at the Geneva Motor Show and it is the DB11.
Read More...Tags: new cars,Aston Martin,Supercar