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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Read More...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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Read More...Mazda's diesel sport impresses
11/07/11 11:29 Filed in: Road tests
Mazda has decided to do something about this, by giving their cars a stronger brand image and greater appeal. It was with that in mind that I accepted the keys to the Mazda 6.
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Read More...Buying a car? Choose wisely.
10/07/11 11:03 Filed in: Road tests
With fuel prices having risen 70% since 2000 and nothing but further increases in prospect, the chances are your choice of used car will have fuel economy pretty near the top of the list.
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Read More...Golf downsizes engine for greater economy
24/06/11 15:20 Filed in: Road tests
The 1.2-litre Golf is part of Volkswagen’s strategy of downsizing to smaller engines in the continuing search for more better economy and lower emissions. I’ve driven Volkswagen’s 1.4 TSI engines before, but can a 1.2 TSI possibly work in this size of car?
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Read More...Gearchange takes edge of Citroen C5
10/06/11 16:02 Filed in: Road tests
It’s a mark of Citroen’s success in revitalising their image that I didn’t have the usual wave of apathy when I saw a Citroen C5 on my road test list. The new Citroen C5 is quite a stylish offering and the road test car looked quite the executive saloon sat outside our door.
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Read More...Mini range expands: Now, the coupe
06/06/11 20:39 Filed in: News
For the first time the Mini range gets the addition of a two-seater coupe, which MIni say gives the ‘ultimate in go-kart feeling’ to the already agile Mini handling.
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Read More...Volvo tests new technology to cut fuel consumption 20%
01/06/11 19:41 Filed in: Road tests
Volvo says it is testing new flywheel technology that it says will not only make a four-cylinder engine feel like a six-cylinder, but will also reduce fuel consumption by 20%. Read More...
Suzuki's small family "crossover"
26/05/11 18:21 Filed in: Road tests
A year ago I brought you my first impressions of the Suzuki SX4, which is probably best described as small hatchback/SUV/MPV crossover. The model I tested then was the front-wheel-drive 1.6-litre. This time I had a chance to try the four-wheel-drive version with the new two-litre DDiS engine.
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Read More...Audi A1 downsizes the prestige car
23/05/11 15:23 Filed in: Road tests
Audi hasn’t had a competitor in the small hatchback class since the avant garde Audi A2, with its aluminium body. But, it must have been impossible for the product planners at Audi to ignore the gap it left in their range, especially seeing the success that BMW was having with its Mini brand.
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Read More...Jaguar to build C-X75 hybrid supercar
08/05/11 12:14 Filed in: News
Jaguar has confirmed that it will launch the remarkable Jaguar C-X75 concept car as an exclusive hybrid supercar.
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Read More...Volvo's concept car is designed to provoke
27/04/11 21:32 Filed in: News
For Volvo, now owned by Chinese company Geely, the Shanghai Motor Show is obviously of particular importance and so it was appropriate that they used the event to launch a concept car designed to provoke discussion about the future design direction for the company.
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Read More...Hyundai turns up the appeal with small MPV
24/04/11 17:25 Filed in: Road tests
Hyundai say their aim with the ix20 was to produce a car “with the style of a supermini, the space of an estate car and the economy of a city car”. A bold aim, indeed.
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Read More...New, new Volkwagen Beetle unveiled
22/04/11 21:15 Filed in: News
There were various debates at the time of the Volkswagen Beetle, then Mini, revival about the various merits of the two retro designs. Questions were asked how you could update a model like the Beetle that was just a modern lookalike of a classic car from the past. Since then, of course, we have had others, like the new Fiat 500.
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Read More...Eyebrow-raising performance on Skoda Fabia VRS
22/04/11 19:43 Filed in: Road tests
Surely everyone has now revised their view of Skoda as the producers of reliable, well-built and worthy motor cars? But, possibly there are a few of you out there who still think that the Czech manufacturer’s products are a bit staid and therefore appeal to, what shall we say, an older clientele?
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Read More...Update Jaguar XF and XK for 2012
21/04/11 21:40 Filed in: News
Jaguar has unveiled its refreshed XF saloon at the New York Auto Show. Following a trend among prestige manufacturers, the updates are significant but subtle.
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Read More...Honda's hybrid coupe
12/04/11 19:26 Filed in: Road tests
The Honda CR-Z is a sporty 2+2 Coupe, but, under the skin, it shares much of the technology from the Insight. For the CR-Z the engine is bigger at 1.5-litre, rather than the 1.3-litre version in the Insight.
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Read More...Alfa Romeo Giulietta – putting on the style
01/04/11 14:05 Filed in: Road tests
Alfa Romeo had lost its way somewhat. But now it is back, producing cars that look like an Alfa Romeo should. One glance and you get the impression that every road behind this car’s wheel will as exciting as driving the famous Amalfi Coast!
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Read More...Jaguar's XJ purrs into the 21st century
26/03/11 17:25 Filed in: Road tests
Have our roads got much worse very quickly? I mean really quickly. Like the last 24 hours? These were the thoughts running through my mind as I crashed and thumped over surface imperfections and potholes. I think that was the point when I realised just how impressive the new Jaguar XJ actually is.
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Read More...New report demonstrates decade of CO2 emissions progress
16/03/11 15:11 Filed in: News
A new report, published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, shows that emissions of new cars has fallen by 20% since 2000. Whereas in 2000, only 1% of new cars produced less than 130 g/km of CO2, 40% of new cars are now in that low-emission bracket.
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Read More...Scirocco R adds sporting appeal
10/03/11 16:23 Filed in: Road tests
I was very smitten with the new Volkswagen Scirocco when I tested it in October 2008. So, when the performance Scirocco R appeared on my list of cars to road test, I was, needless to say, enthusiastic to try the higher performance version.
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Read More...UK heads for ‘Third World’ roads as £3 million a day pothole crisis deepens
07/03/11 11:19 Filed in: News
Drivers could be forking out nearly £3 million every day – or £1 billion a year – to repair cars damaged by Britain’s crumbling roads, according to Potholes.co.uk.
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Read More...Audi A3 concept goes saloon and sporty
05/03/11 15:05 Filed in: News
With a clear eye on the American market (which is not so smitten by hatchbacks as we are in Europe) Audi has taken a new four-door saloon concept, based on the A3, to the Geneva Motor Show.
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Read More...Virage returns to Aston Martin stable
05/03/11 15:03 Filed in: News
The name Virage is back in the Aston Martin catalogue with the launch of a new Virage at the Geneva Motor Show.
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Read More...Mini concept shrinks back to original size
05/03/11 15:01 Filed in: News
For those who complained that the new Mini was too big compared with the original, Mini have the answer. The Mini Rocketman Concept was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.
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Read More...Lamborghini's new 700hp flagship
05/03/11 12:11 Filed in: News
Lamborghini has continued the tradition of giving its cars the name of a bull. The new Aventador is named after a particularly courageous specimen from the world of the Spanish Corrida. Aventador was the name of a bull that entered into battle in October 1993 at the Saragossa Arena, earning the “Trofeo de la Peña La Madroñera” for its outstanding courage.
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Read More...80 years on, Morgan re-engineers three wheeler
05/03/11 11:57 Filed in: News
The three wheelers of the sixties, seventies and eighties were all one front wheel and two at the rear, the famous Morgan three-wheeler of the 1930s offered sports car thrills with two front wheels and one rear. That car still holds the distance speed records for one-litre cars.
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Read More...Saab looks boldly to the future
04/03/11 19:38 Filed in: News
Saab has signalled its future design direction under its new ownership with the Saab PhoeniX concept car unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.
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Read More...Nissan 370Z roadster even more a sports car
23/02/11 16:31 Filed in: Road tests
I could have guessed it would snow. I mean, having a Nissan 370Z Roadster in January is just asking for it and sure enough the weatherman gleefully obliged.
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Read More...Toyota's other hybrid model, the Auris
19/02/11 10:58 Filed in: Road tests
The benefit of being first to market is that you establish a name for yourself. So it was with the Toyota Prius – the first mainstream hybrid car – which was launched onto the Japanese market in 1997. But it has taken until recently for Toyota to widen the range of hybrids under the Toyota brand. The first non-Prius Toyota hybrid to come my way is the Toyota Auris Hybrid.
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£2.25 billion road maintenance backlog in Scotland
17/02/11 12:10 Filed in: News
The shocking state of the roads in UK was thrown into sharp relief by a report released yesterday by Audit Scotland that stated that less than two-thirds of Scotland’s roads were in an acceptable condition and that the backlog of maintenance had now reached £2.25 billion.
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Read More...BMW Vision concept showcases technology
16/02/11 19:55 Filed in: News
BMW will be giving its Vision ConnectedDrive concept car at the Geneva Motor Show. A two-seat roadster the concept is aimed at showing the potential of current and future in-car technology and how it could aid comfort, safety and ‘infotainment’.
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Read More...WRC takes a backward step on UK TV
15/02/11 18:51 Filed in: Blog
What a disappointment! The DriveBlog household had become avid viewers of the WRC coverage on Dave, the TV channel. Now, as we start what could be one of the most interesting World Rally Championships for years, where do we turn?
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Read More...Ford C-Max
03/02/11 15:00 Filed in: Road tests
With its latest C-Max, Ford has recognised there is a demand for different sizes of small MPV. Some people only need five seats. Others want the ability to pack extra members of the extended family and are looking for a family MPV that can accommodate seven.
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Read More...Ferrari FF first pictures
21/01/11 17:06 Filed in: News
The official Prancing Horse web site, Ferrari.com, has revealed the first photographs of the new FF, the company’s most powerful four-seater ever, and its first ever four-wheel drive car.
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Read More...New Touareg impresses at a price
21/01/11 15:02 Filed in: Road tests
Ever since Volkswagen came, a little late, to the SUV market with the Touareg, I have had a soft spot for their big off-roader. Designed in parallel with the Porsche Cayenne, it is big, comfortable and very capable.
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Audi press on with quattro for A1
14/01/11 17:24 Filed in: Blog
Speaking with a motortrade insider about the benefits of four-wheel-drive in winter weather, like we have experienced in this country with a vengeance over the last couple of months.
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A Ford Focus, but not as we know it
13/01/11 15:05 Filed in: Blog
When we headed out to the parking garage at the airport in Florida, we thought we knew what we were getting as our hire car. It was, after all, a Ford Focus – one of the most common cars on European roads.
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Read More...Glasgow start for Historic Monte-Carlo
01/01/11 19:20 Filed in: News
The Monte Carlo Rally Historique will celebrate the centenary of the famous rally when it returns to one of the traditional start points – Glasgow’s Blythswood Square on Thursday, January 27.
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