“I have always fancied an Aston Martin,” said a friend who has recently come into a bit of money. “You’d be better off with a Kia Ceed,” I immediately answered. At that point, some time ago, I was talking in purely theoretical terms. Having come very close to buying an Aston Martin 30 years ago and having known many Aston …
Škoda Scala, a grown-up family car
There’s something about the new Skoda Scala at which you may stare in disbelief. No, it’s not the rather mundane shape of the five-door hatchback body. Nor is it the entirely inoffensive but unremarkable interior. No, this car is not decked out with eye-catching go-faster flashes on the flanks or plastic trims on the wheel-arches. In fact, it’s nothing that …
Kia Picanto 125 X-Line S, one of the best small cars for 2020
There’s often something that immediately strikes you about a new car. Take the Kia Picanto X-Line S…it was the colour. Was it yellow? Was it green? The answer lay inside the car. The yellow. (I concluded) accented on the dash and door armrests. The whole effect gave the car a sort of funky appeal. Perhaps more to young people than …
The umpteenth generation Volkswagen Passat, MY2020
View PostThe Nissan Leaf – Immense fun to drive
Here’s a surprise: the New Nissan Leaf is pretty good to drive in a higher performance style. That’s not something you’d expect to hear every day down at the pub, where they are likely to jeer about milk floats and dodgem cars. Part of the reason is, of course, electric power. With 62Kw instantly on tap from its electric motor, …
The Mazda CX-30 Skyactiv-X Crossover Reviewed
View PostYeah! – The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
‘Blown away!’ ‘Wiped out!’ ‘Confused?’ That’s the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio for me after just one week… Alfa’s Porsche – eater has at its heart a 2.9-litre, 510 bhp V6 engine that can shoot you to 62 mph in a mere 3.9 seconds. Madness, really—who needs it? Ah, well there’s still room in this world for petrol-heads. And you need to …
The Alfas are coming, New Alfa Romeo, Stelvio and Giulia for 2020
Southern Italy was the location for a recent big coming-out party for revised versions of the appealing Alfa Romeo Giulia sports saloon and Stelvio SUV The cars have just been announced for the UK and will go on sale in January next year. What’s new? Well plenty in terms of the interior, infotainment also the upgrading of Advanced Driver Assistance …
The Ford Tourneo Courier reviewed
View PostHyundai Santa Fe Reviewed
As I walked away from the Hyundai Santa Fe for the last time, at the end of its week’s press loan, I turned to give it one last look. “You great lump,” I said, affectionately “To look at you, nobody would ever guess how great you are.” Standing as tall as an armoured car on vast Continental 235/55 R19 tyres, …
BMW 3 Series M Sport, Perfecto
View PostJaguar XF Sportbrake, maybe a timeless classic
How fickle are the fancies of the car lover! How cruelly our over-heated infatuations wane and our epicurean tastes grow sated and jaded. When the Jaguar XF Sportbrake first came down my drive for a week’s test loan in 2012, I thought it one of the loveliest cars I had ever set eyes upon. Following in the coupe-style of the …
