Keith Ward assesses Volvo’s award-winning XC40… OFF to a flying start is Volvo’s new XC40 compact SUV – already named European Car of the Year among its crop of early gongs and with UK sales quickly racking up to 2,000 a month, making it the company’s most successful new model launch ever on these shores. While there is an immediately striking family resemblance to the already established … [Read more...]
Road Tests
Our in-depth appraisals of new cars available in the UK
Latest Audi RS5 Coupé (V6) – Road Test
2018 Audi RS5 Coupé – larger, lighter, faster and cleaner. David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) tells all… My latest new model road test starts with an apology. This road test was supposed to be about the very new Audi A7 Sportback but unfortunately it was damaged before delivery to me. However those on-the-ball Audi UK PR people substituted it with the 2018 RS5 Coupé 2.9 TFSI 450 hp quattro, … [Read more...]
Renault Clio Dynamique S 110dCi – Road Test
Robin Roberts (Miles Better News Agency) test dries Renault’s Clio, powered by their 1.5 litre diesel engine… The Renault Clio was launched before the worldwide web became a part of everyday life and after 27 years it’s what is now considered Edition 4.2. It’s been a part of the British motoring scene for over a generation, and it keeps reinventing itself. Successive advertising campaigns … [Read more...]
BMW X Factor News and New X3 Road Test
BMW’s X-Factor SUVs and the new X3 tried and tested… By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). According to the latest data from authoritative motor industry sources the figure of three, or of a third, seem to be the most recently used; diesel new car sales have fallen by a third, SUV sales are up by a third, women drivers now own a third of UK cars, BMW’s X SUV models now account for a third … [Read more...]
Audi A8 – Road Test
Audi A8’s autonomous driving technology – but it’s not faultless... ...says David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) The new range flagship Audi A8 luxury saloon, in standard or long wheelbase forms, arrived in the UK earlier this year and it’s the first car in the world to be built for the forthcoming age of autonomous driving, claims Audi. All that’s required is legislation changes to allow … [Read more...]
Mazda CX-5 2.2D – Road Test
Not to be overlooked in the SUV market, Mazda’s CX-5 2.2D Sport Nav Automatic is a worthy contender… By Robin Roberts (and Miles Better News Agency) Mazda has a reputation for quietly getting on with the job and building some great if unassuming cars, such as the CX-5 large SUV. It also proves it’s not a one-trick pony, best known for the stunning sporty MX-5 two-seater. It also builds a very … [Read more...]
Audi Q2 1.0 TFSI – Road Test
Kieron Fennelly assesses Audi’s compact SUV, in three cylinder 1.0 litre form… It has become almost impossible to keep up with the range of Audis now available – the company currently offers no fewer than 53 models in Britain and says it will launch 21 new models in the next couple of years. A much faster rate, it claims that its rivals at Mercedes and BMW. It has also gone from 0.5% of the UK … [Read more...]
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 1.5 Turbo – Road Test
David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) assesses Mitsubishi’s Eclipse Cross 1.5 Turbo petrol 4WD auto in a week of use in real life conditions… After 100 years of autonomy Mitsubishi Motors last year became part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance so the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, mid-sized sports SUV/Crossover, could be one of the last models they independently design and manufacture. Platforms, … [Read more...]
Fiat 500X SUV – Road Test
Fiat’s 500X compact SUV – not to be forgotten. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). Such has been the huge growth in demand for SUV/Crossover types of vehicles that manufacturers right across the car industry have flooded the market with their offerings so it’s easy to forget or overlook some of those that have been with us for a while. One such range is the Fiat 500X compact SUV, first … [Read more...]
Isuzu D-Max Blade Double Cab Pickup – Road Test
Niche is Nice… Robin Roberts (Miles Better News Agency) assesses Isuzu’s D-Max Blade Auto Double Cab Pickup. The specialist vehicle market is where the money is to be made if you have the right products selling at the right prices, like the Isuzu D-Max Double Cab pickup. Isuzu will be one of many pick-up manufacturers and importers airing their wares at this week’s Commercial Vehicle Show at the … [Read more...]
DS 7 Crossback SUV – Road Test
Now on sale in the UK – DS 7 Crossback. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). The all-new DS 7 Crossback arrived in the UK in March this year and was heralded as their first purpose-built DS model, not as in the past a top spec Citroën. DS Automobiles became a global brand in its own right in 2014 and before that the DS label was used for higher spec Citroën models. Of course the DS … [Read more...]
Skoda Karoq – Road Test
Keith Ward assesses Skoda’s impressive five door mid-size Karoq SUV… SUCCEEDING the successful Yeti in Skoda’s expanding SUV line-up is a very different-looking animal. The Karoq is more conventionally good looking and rounded than its boxy predecessor with the big windows, and a lot less distinctive. You may be hard-pressed to pick it out from many other SUV’s in the office or supermarket car … [Read more...]
SsangYong Rexton ELX auto – Road Test
Robin Roberts (Miles Better News Agency) assesses this sizeable and user-friendly all wheel drive SUV… The world of serious, big 4x4 SUVs is an exclusive one, and they don’t come much more exclusive than the SsangYong Rexton. “What?” is a question I rightly anticipated from a number of drivers when I suggested the same point to them. It begs explanation, so here we go. To put the company … [Read more...]
Latest Toyota C-HR 1.8 Hybrid – Road Test
The 2018 Toyota C-HR Compact SUV 1.8 Hybrid… …Tried and tested by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). The Toyota C-HR (Coupé-High Rider) is a compact five door SUV with 1.2T petrol or 1.8 petrol electric hybrid powertrains, the latter underpins the latest Prius hybrid, and the C-HR uses the same new Global Architecture platform as the Prius as well. Unlike the blandly styled Prius the … [Read more...]
Latest Peugeot 5008 GT Line 2.0 Diesel – Road Test
Now more taxing… David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) assesses the 2018 Peugeot 5008 GT Line 2.0 diesel SUV. Don’t let the anti diesel lobby or increased Government taxes put you off buying the Peugeot 5008 2.0 litre, 150 hp turbodiesel seven seat large SUV – it remains fit-for-purpose. Some large SUV styled vehicles, which can carry up to seven people and tow up to 1,800 kg 3,968 lb) when … [Read more...]
Hyundai i30N hot hatch – Road Test
The new Hyundai i30N rally-bred fast hatchback… Assessed on the road by Robin Roberts (Miles Better News Agency). Some car-makers shout about their performance models which can quietly disappoint, yet Hyundai play it the other way with the i30N and have a normal looking five door mid-sized hatchback model which excites every time you take the wheel. The Korean brand has electrified the World … [Read more...]
Subaru XV compact SUV – Road Test
NEW SUBARU XV COMPACT SUV – A LIMITED RANGE WITH NICHE APPEAL. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). Although Subaru is a brand with increasing sales in the North America and Australasia, in the UK the firm has always been and still is a niche choice, appealing to older customers with an individual desire to own something different. It is failing to attract a new generation of younger … [Read more...]
Abarth 595 Competizione 180 – Road Test
The Abarth 595 Competizione 180 Manual pocket-rocket. Fun in the city – test-driven by Robin Roberts (Miles Better News Agency)... Brits used to relish small high performance cars, and thank goodness the Italians still build them like the Abarth 595 Competizione. While the UK may have grown up and developed a taste for family hot-hatches, there is still a lot to be enjoyed behind the wheel of … [Read more...]
Peugeot Expert LWB 180 Professional Plus – Van Road Test
Robin Roberts test drives a large and thoroughly practical load carrier… Sometimes, it’s what you cannot see very easily which really impresses about a new vehicle, such as the Peugeot Expert LWB Professional Plus. This award-winning big van comes with a very good pedigree and blends utter practicality with useful performance. It was launched and went on sale in 2016 but its popularity and … [Read more...]
2018 Ford EcoSport compact SUV – Road Test
Ford’s latest EcoSport compact SUV – better but not best. David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) gives his assessment… The latest Ford EcoSport compact SUV is the best yet after a troubled start in 2014. Under Ford’s then current ‘One Ford’ global vehicle policy, to meet the demand for SUVs, which started in 2010 and has grown rampantly since then, Ford brought their Brazilian designed chunky … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- …
- 33
- Next Page »