The new eighth generation Volkswagen Golf arrived in the UK at the end of March and after the lockdown period deliveries are now underway so this is our first opportunity to test drive the latest Golf 8, writes David Miles. The new Golf 8 model as it’s known is initially available in five door hatchback form and it has a lot to live up to as its ancestors sold more than 35-million units over … [Read more...]
First Drives
Sunday drive: Ford Puma ST-Line X hybrid-petrol
Ford revealed its new 5-door Crossover – you could call it a compact SUV – towards the end of last year with UK deliveries scheduled in January, writes David Miles. However the COVID-19 lockdown derailed delivery to over 7,000 early adopter customers awaiting this new addition to the market place and more than 90% have chosen the petrol/hybrid 48V mHEV models. My initial test drive programme … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Skoda Scala Monte Carlo 1.5 TSI Hatchback
The five door family sized C-segment Scala hatchback was launched towards the end of last year but it’s only now the range-topping Monte Carlo sports spec level is introduced, writes David Miles. The Scala was effectively a replacement for Skoda’s underwhelming Rapid range and sits between the Czech brand’s Fabia supermini sized hatchback and estate models and the highly rated … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe
The first BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is the smallest member of BMW’s dour door coupes comprising 4 Series Gran Coupe, 6 Series Gran Turismo and range flagship 8 Series Gran Coupe, writes David Miles. The new 2 Series Gran Coupe with four passenger doors, a sleek coupe silhouette and front and four wheel drive models architecture also extends the existing 2 Series line up of the rear wheel drive 2 … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: New Vauxhall Corsa 1.5 Turbo D 102hp
The fifth generation Vauxhall Corsa range is now in UK showrooms and ready for the ‘20’ new registration plate sales month of March, writes David Miles. This time around the Corsa is only available as a five-door hatchback and sells in the ‘supermini’ sector of the new car market. The Corsa has been Vauxhall’s best selling range with over 2.1-million sold since it first launched … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Audi Q3 Sportback
As Audi so aptly puts it their new Q3 Sportback is a different slant on their Q3 SUV, writes David Miles. It’s a variation on the Q3 theme, familiar versatility but now with a racier coupe inspired side profile and rear end styling themes. But will this edgier dynamic design give Audi a sales edge in the over supplied medium sized SUV/Crossover market sector where numerous brands have stepped … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Jaguar XE Reims
In true racing tradition of tight timing, Jaguar set an embargo date and time last week of one minute past midnight to announce their special edition Jaguar XE Reims model with just 200 units for sale solely in the UK, writes David Miles. By 0.945am the same day I was sat behind the wheel of the car giving it a very brief test drive around the winding but traffic-busy Warwickshire country … [Read more...]
BMW boost their electric offerings
The figures speak for themselves with the latest line-up of new BMW PHEV plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on offer with more models to come, writes David Miles. This week BMW UK held a media test driving event with most of their PHEV models available for test driving. This coincided with this week’s United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in Madrid until 13 December. At this … [Read more...]
Mazda CX-30 order books open
The new Mazda CX-30 enters the booming SUV sector in January. Sitting between the CX-3 and CX-5, the newcomer is priced from £22,895 for the 26 models in five trim levels, with rear or 4WD and 122ps or 180ps 2.0 litre Skyactiv petrol engines, 6sp manual or automatic transmission. Both units feature the latest compression ignition petrol engine in two power outputs and have 24v mild-hybrid … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Electric nation is just a notion for now
In the first nine months this year official figures show that UK sales of Battery Electric Vehicles have risen by 122.1% over the same period last year to 25,097 registrations, writes David Miles. But before we think the motoring world has really changed that is still only 1.3% of all new cars sold. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles like Mitsubishi Outlander, have sold just 22,773 units - a fall … [Read more...]