Ford B-Max opens up the MPV
15/02/12 15:24 Filed in: News
Ford has shown off the new door system that will give greater access to their new B-Max small MPV.
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Read More...New tech to woo the buyers
15/02/12 14:36 Filed in: Blog
It used to be that garages boasted when the cars on their used car lot had a heated rear window (HRW) or power assisted steering (PAS). But, now that almost every car has these, and much more, as standard the race is on to find technology to tease potential buyers.
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Read More...Vauxhall sharpens up the Zafira
15/02/12 13:29 Filed in: News | Road tests
The Vauxhall Zafira was one of the pioneers of a new smaller breed of MPVs (or minivans as our Transatlantic cousins would call them). Not much bigger than a car, the 1999 Vauxhall Zafira had room for up to seven passengers, with a particularly neat pair of rear seats that fold down to leave a completely flat load floor.
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Read More...New Fusion is really the new Mondeo
10/01/12 15:31 Filed in: News
What you see here is the new Ford Fusion. That may be exciting news in the USA. But, when we tell you this is also the new Ford Mondeo to be launched in Europe in early 2013, the interest level on this side of the Atlantic is bound to increase.
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Read More...New small SUV to join Vauxhall range
10/01/12 15:17 Filed in: News
These are the first official pictures of the new Vauxhall Mokka, a small SUV that will take Vauxhall into a new market sector when it is officially launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
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Read More...On starting grid for "world's greatest motorsport show"
03/01/12 14:17 Filed in: News
More than 80,000 motorsport fans are expected to descend on Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC), UK, on January 14-15 for the Autosport International show.
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Read More...Volkswagen Jetta comes out of the shadow
23/12/11 18:21 Filed in: Road tests
In Europe, at least, the Volkswagen Jetta has never really enjoyed the success it deserves. It started off its life as very obviously a booted version of the ever-popular Volkswagen Golf and has subsequently lived in the shadow of its hatchback sibling.
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Read More...Lexus hybrid hatchback aims for green halo
23/12/11 16:00 Filed in: Road tests
The Lexus CT 200h doesn’t have anything like that presence. Its appearance is of a neat, but not particularly distinctive hatchback. Unless you are bent on making an impression wherever you go, then the more low key looks are unlikely to be a problem.
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Read More...Chevrolet Orlando: a lot of car for the money
21/12/11 19:00 Filed in: Road tests
You certainly get quite a lot of car for your money with the Chevrolet Orlando. For a price starting at £16,410 you get a sizeable MPV with three rows of seats taking a maximum of seven people.
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Read More...UK's pothole-proof cars revealed
21/12/11 18:27 Filed in: News
Time was when road tests used to talk about taking cars over to France to try them out on poor road surfaces. Britain’s roads in those days were so smooth as to be not an effective test for suspension.
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Read More...Saab: All lives used up?
20/12/11 18:42 Filed in: News
The news that Saab is to enter administration is a bitter end to what has been a roller coaster since we ran the premature obituary on this blog exactly two years ago.
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New Ford Focus looks sure to maintain popularity
04/11/11 14:57 Filed in: Road tests
So just how do you replace a car that is as perennially popular as the Ford Focus? That must have been the dilemma facing the blue Oval when they embarked on the design for the third version of the Focus.
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Read More...Does Honda Jazz hit the right note?
03/11/11 14:47 Filed in: Road tests
Honda has given its Jazz hatchback a little bit more eco-warrior appeal by launching the Honda Jazz Hybrid. Sporting a green (of course) “Hybrid” badge on the tailgate, it announces to the world that you care about the environment. Or, at least, that is the intention.
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Read More...Subaru Outback missing snowy Alps
17/10/11 12:34 Filed in: Road tests
Some years ago Subaru handed myself and a colleague the keys for a Subaru Forester at Heathrow Airport and told us to drive to Geneva. It was a trip that earned a new respect for the Forester which, even in those days, looked a tad dated and in need of an interior makeover.
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Read More...New BMW 3 Series unveiled
16/10/11 16:39 Filed in: News
BMW has taken the wraps of the sixth generation of its BMW 3 Series, which BMW proudly state is the world’s best-selling premium saloon.
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Read More...Volkswagen Eos still impresses five years on
05/10/11 15:32 Filed in: Road tests
When the Volkswagen Eos was launched in the UK in July 2006, it was one of the early mainstream adopters of the folding metal roof. Since then, the coupé cabriolet has become a stylish option for many manufacturers.
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Read More...Kia Picanto asserts itself in supermini class
23/09/11 15:25 Filed in: Road tests
Yes, the Kia Picanto may not have the chic appeal of the Fiat 500, or a Mini, but it does have a crisply-designed fashionable suit of clothes that stands comparison with the likes of the Ford Fiesta.
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Read More...New British car maker debuts at Frankfurt Motor Show
13/09/11 21:49 Filed in: News
It’s not often that a new car maker joins the motor industry elite, let alone a new British car maker. But, there’s a new British name over one of the stands at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
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Read More...Jaguar unveils 'E-type' C-X16 Concept
07/09/11 09:06 Filed in: News
Jaguar has today released the first details and photos of the C-X16 concept – the car that is aimed at taking the Big Cat back into the market it used to dominate with the legendary E-type (or XKE as it was known Stateside) – ahead of its world debut next Tuesday at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.
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Read More...Jaguar XF refreshed
31/08/11 19:09 Filed in: Road tests
Jaguar has given its XF a mid-term refresh to help it stay competitive against German and Japanese offerings in the executive saloon market.
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Read More...Land Rover's Defender concept
31/08/11 15:55 Filed in: News
How do you replace something as iconic as the original Land Rover, more recently known as the Land Rover Defender?
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Read More...Ford Evos concept car points to future
30/08/11 10:29 Filed in: News
Drawing a lot of the attention on the Ford stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show will be the Ford Evos Concept, which Ford has said will guide much of its future design work.
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Read More...Audi confirms A8 Hybrid
24/08/11 16:23 Filed in: News
Audi has confirmed that it is to put a hybrid version of its Audi A8 flagship into series production, starting from the beginning of 2012. The first Audi A8 hybrids will reach the UK late next year.
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Read More...Porsche to unveil new 911
23/08/11 16:32 Filed in: News
Porsche is to unveil the new 911 Carrera at the Frankfurt Show next month. This will be a completely new generation of the iconic Porsche model that was first launched in 1963.
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Volkswagen's Up!
22/08/11 16:45 Filed in: News
Volkswagen has released the first photos of its new Up! in production form, prior to the debut at the Frankfurt motor show next month.
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Read More...Fiat shrinks 500 engine for economy
20/08/11 11:48 Filed in: Road tests
The Fiat 500 TwinAir is powered by a two-cylinder in-line transverse engine of 875cc. But it is still fun to drive and remarkably lively too.
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Read More...BMW shows new i brand
30/07/11 19:54 Filed in: News
BMW has shown two concepts from its proposed new i brand of low-consumption, low-emission cars.
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Read More...Peugeot 508: Nice car, shame about the gearbox
26/07/11 15:07 Filed in: Road tests
There we were, four motoring enthusiasts, talking in quite animated terms about the Peugeot 508 SW that was parked in front of us. I simply could not imagine the same having happened with the car’s predecessors.
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Kia Sportage strengthens its appeal
20/07/11 15:35 Filed in: Road tests
Compared with the rather nondescript design of previous Sportages, the new Kia Sportage has quite a sharp set of new clothes. It looks pretty good, although there are perhaps just a few angles that look not quite so cohesive. With those minor caveats, It got the thumbs up from my assembled jury of car enthusiasts.
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