In the lead up to the introduction of the all-new Swift Hybrid this Spring, Suzuki has reflected over the last 40 years of evolution of its highly popular and important global model and provide an insight into its development since 1983. This evolution and development since it created the first city car to break out of the Japanese-only compact town car has provided the engineers at Suzuki Motor … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: KIA Picanto 1.0 T-GDi GT Line S
With motoring costs soaring a lot of drivers are downsizing and face the dilemma of what to buy, yet do not realize how good a modern small car can be. In fact, a recent study found the typical family car today has over £32,700 of features fitted as standard which were not there a decade ago and after adjusting for inflation. We recently found ourselves facing a 400 miles trip with our Kia … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Toyota Yaris GR Sport
Toyota dominated this year’s World Rally Championship and hopes some of this success will spread into its sophisticated city car, the Yaris. It launched the Yaris GR Sport about 12 months ago and my test drive really took me back, more than a year, to a time when hot-hatchbacks were all the rage and any car which had a rally or racing pedigree was guaranteed to be a winner on a Monday after a … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: MINI Electric Shadow Edition
The coming of the electric car age is going to make us all re-evaluate our motoring lives and what we expect from them, much in the same way as the diminutive Mini drove a change in our lives over 60 years ago. So it seems reasonable that the MINI Electric might just do what its petrol forebears did and change our views towards electric cars of today. While some brands are locked in stretching … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Honda e Advanced
Honda is currently taking a different lane down the electric highway opening for us in Britain and Europe and selling the Honda e city car. While most car makers want to get us into their small to medium sized hatchbacks and crossover models, Honda e is unashamedly a model intended for commuters and staged longer journeys. It’s essentially a city car with style and sophistication. With a … [Read more...]
The “bubble-car” is reborn with electric power
The new light electric vehicle based on the Isetta bubble-car will hit the streets after all. Manufacturer Artega had run into difficulties but now ElectricBrands has bought the company and together with the XBUS is expanding its product range with another sustainable, eco-friendly electric car boasting a modern retro style. Driving in urban areas can often be expensive and nerve-wracking: we … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Citroen AMI
As the UK Government maps out a motoring future of only electric cars on our roads, the Citroen AMI will be coming to a kerb near you in 2022. AMI is the product of Citroen’s advanced design studio, engineered by Altran Technologies and is assembled in Morocco. Whatever your opinion of this quadricycle city-car it has attracted 14,000 UK drivers who have registered an interest and some 1,400 … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Honda Jazz EX
Two decades have defined the refined the Honda Jazz city car. From its earliest beginnings the Jazz offered unrivalled practicality with its really clever Magic Seats for three passengers but can also completely flip flat into a van-like carrier, or their bases can be folded up to take tall items lodged in the footwells. No other rival can do that. The latest Mk4 version comes in five models, … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Honda e Advanced
The power of dreams is going electric with the Honda e. As if to really differentiate the design from anything which has gone before as the company begins its transition to full electric power, the Honda e is a completely new model from the ground up. Honda e is meant to be a commuting car so its battery size, motor and performance have been engineered for this purpose, rather … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Volkswagen Polo Active 95
Today’s Volkswagen Polo clearly demonstrates city cars do not have to lack the refinements of much larger models. For 46 years, the VW Polo has been seen as the city car with status. While some drivers opted for cheaper competitors from rivals, the Polo-person was perceived as a more mature driver who appreciated sound engineering and valued a stronger resale price. However, … [Read more...]