Brits use 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 be enjoyed behind the wheel of this excitable version of the classic Fiat 500 city car. It looks simply stunning with the dark-trimmed brightly badged … [Read more...]
Roadtests
Revised Citroen C4 Cactus goes down new road
New technologies and higher quality trim have pushed up the price of the revised Citroen C4 Cactus, writes David Miles. Arriving in April and able to carry a new 18 registration plate is the revised Citroen C4 Cactus range of mid-sized five door hatchbacks with petrol and diesel engine options priced from £17,265 to £20,895. When the original quirky Citroen C4 Cactus was launched in 2014 it … [Read more...]
Business van: Peugeot Expert LWB 180 Professional +
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 good design has won awards and kept it up to date. There are … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Kia Picanto X-Line 1.25 MPI
The Kia Picanto five door city-car range launched in May 2017 and has gained an X-Line Crossover/SUV version for 2018. Although small City Car sales fell by 10% in the UK last year, close to 69,000 buyers were still attracted to this segment and Kia aims to boost its Picanto sales by a adopting the more desirable Crossover/SUV styling craze with their new X-Line versions from £12,595. Other … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Hyundai i30N Performance
Some car-makers shout about their performance models which can quietly disappoint, yet Hyundai play it the other way in the i30N and have a normal looking model which excites every time you take the wheel. The Korean brand has electrified the World Rally Championship and it’s now quietly building on that performance with its subtle yet sporty i30N fastback. You can choose the … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Volvo V90 T6 AWD Cross Country Pro Estate
With the demonization of diesel powered vehicles and the significant fall in oil-burner sales, a fall in the UK new car market of 25.6% in January on top of the 17.1% for the whole of 2017, it’s only natural that manufacturers are introducing more petrol engine options writes David Miles. Volvo for instance with their V90 estates have just added a T4 turbocharged 190hp four cylinder petrol unit … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Mercedes E 350 d AMG Line Estate
The fashion of buying saloons and hatchbacks is looking distinctly outdated with the clamour for must-have SUVs showing no signs of easing off. But the other interesting trend is the turn towards quality cars which hold onto their value over longer periods and which is being felt further down the buying chain. What goes around comes around, as Mercedes-Benz knows better … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Kia Stinger 3.3 T-GDi V6 GT
In a radical move, Kia has launched into the high performance executive hatchback sector after years of building family models and business cars. The South Korean brand of Kia launched in Europe in 1991 has moved steadily from budget to award winning mainstream models with long seven-year 100,000-mile warranties and successive years of record UK sales. The brand has recently entered the premium … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Citroen C3 Aircross Feel 110
It must be the French attitude towards life because it seems every few months we get a new Citroen joining the family. The newest arrival in the C3 range is the Aircross compact SUV but it could become an important member as this model series runs to over a dozen versions based on three trim levels, manual or sequential automatic transmission and 82-130hp diesel or petrol engines costing … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer 210hp
Not everybody is being seduced by the frantic must-have need for an SUV and there is still a small but important need for roomy large estates both with 2WD and 4WD and the Insignia Country Tourer is one option. Vauxhall’s first generation Insignia range of D-segment Hatchbacks and Tourer estates was launched in 2008 as a replacement for their Vectra models and they received a facelift in 2013 … [Read more...]