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...]
First Drives
Weekend roadtest: Genesis G70 saloon
The arrival of the Genesis brand marks a new beginning in the motor trade but with the old fashioned value of personal service behind it.Head of Genesis UK sales Jonny Miller said the brand’s philosophy is built around the customer and giving them a buying experience which exceeds expectations and creating a long term relationship.Genesis is the luxury division of Hyundai and after … [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...]
First drive: Mazda3 186ps GT Sport
Just when you think things couldn’t get better, Mazda has improved its acclaimed Skyactiv engine technology, writes Robin Roberts. Constant engine development and software revisions have improved combustion and power, reduced emissions and extended economy in the latest e-Skyactiv X. We tried it out in the newest popular Mazda3 186ps GT Sport, costing from just over £28,000. The … [Read more...]
First drive: Suzuki Jimny LCV
One of Britain’s most eagerly awaited new models hits showrooms on Monday and it’s almost certainly going to lead to a “brown market” price war. The Suzuki Jimny LCV will be limited to about 400 sales this year and they are expected to be snapped up even more quickly than the Jimny lightweight 4x4 SUV two years ago. Priced from about £16,700 before VAT as a commercial vehicle the Jimny LCV will … [Read more...]
First drive: Mazda MX-30
Making its move into the electric generation of modern cars, the Mazda MX-30 lands squarely in the middle-ground of the market. Based on the stable-mate CX-30 crossover costing about £2,500 less, the MX-30’s 35.5kWh lithium-ion traction battery has added weight to the platform. Mazda has kept this as low as possible and not utilised a heavier battery as in some rivals and last year, the MX-30 … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Ford Focus Active X Vignale
Ford say their new passenger cars are going all electric in Europe and will not have internal combustion engines from 2030, writes David Miles. Their commercial vehicle ranges will follow that move a couple of years later and by 2026 all their new cars in Europe would be fully electric or plug-in hybrids. But for the here and now in addition to conventional petrol and diesel labelling the … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Suzuki Across PHEV SUV 2.5
Partnerships between automotive manufacturers are now commonplace as they share costs to bring to market more and more lower exhaust emission models, writes David Miles. They're needed to meet tightening CO2 targets and avoid financial penalties if overall range emissions fail to meet new targets. One of these emerging partnerships is between Japanese brands Toyota and Suzuki. Toyota is … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: MINI John Cooper Works GP3
Following the success of the two previous MINI GP models introduced in 2006 and 2013, the new limited edition MINI John Cooper Works GP3, is the most powerful and fastest production MINI ever sold, writes David Miles. Just 3,000 of these models will be built at MINI Plant Oxford for global sales with 575 of them available to UK customers. They are priced from £35,345 on-the-road … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: BMW 420i M Sport Coupe
In these days of health and safety in this Covid era holding mass motoring media product test driving events is not easy, you need space. And to meet that space requirements for this week’s BMW UK Media Showcase event of their new and updated models they used an aircraft hangar at the Bicester Heritage Centre for the media to assemble and collect their test drive cars. This event heralded the … [Read more...]
