One in four of the new Ford Focus Hatchback and five door Estate models to be sold in the UK will be ordered by customers with the company’s new British designed 1.0-litre, three cylinder, Ecoboost petrol engine. Two versions are available, 99bhp and 123bhp with CO2 emissions of 109 and 114g/km and combined cycle fuel economy of 58.9mpg and 56.5mpg … [Read more...]
First Drives
New Vauxhall Astra VXR goes for the burn
The Vauxhall Astra GTC has been given the automotive equivalent of a workout to beef up its looks and power, and created the newest VXR. A natural successor to the previous generation Astra VXR and stablemate to other VXR models in the range, Vauxhall will sell more VXRs in Britain than the rest of Europe and it’s anticipated to take 10pc of GTC volume or … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Toyota Yaris Hybrid
The arrival of the Toyota Yaris Hybrid in July brings the latest low emission petrol-electric technology to the mainstream supermini B-segment in Britain. Arriving as the flagship of Toyota’s best selling model series in Europe, the Yaris Hybrid has been developed from the stable-mate Auris series, itself based on the Prius, but with smaller nickel … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Skoda Citigo
The smallest Skoda in modern times is big news in the city car sector. The Skoda Citigo 16-model series is available from launch on 1 June with manual gearbox in three-door body style and a five-door and automatic will follow this autumn. For now there is a new single 1.0 litre three-cylinder petrol engine electronically tuned to give either 60 or 75PS … [Read more...]
Weekend road test: New Seat Ibiza
Redesigned, revised and re-engineered under the bonnet, the fifth generation Seat Ibiza hits UK roads. Britain is the third biggest market for Seat in Europe with just under 2pc of share but the Ibiza takes 3.5pc in its sector and last year its 125 UK dealers sold more than 19,000, over half of all Seat models. Since it was launched in 1984 there have … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Peugeot 508RXH
Peugeot is making its most determined bid so far to break into Britain's modern executive sector with the introduction of the 508RXH. It was first to bring the hybrid diesel/electric drivetrain to market with their 3008 Hybrid4 crossover SUV models in February this year and is moving this technology upwards into the D-segment with the larger 508 series. … [Read more...]
Less is more with latest Peugeot 208
Less weight, less money, more engine options, more fuel economy, more interior space and potentially more desirability should bring more sales for the new Peugeot 208 which replaces the 207 hatchbacks. The new 208 range of three and five door supermini sized hatchbacks go on sale in the UK on 28 June 2012. The new three cylinder 1.0/1.2-litre indirect … [Read more...]
First impressions: Roadster is new Mini marvel
The two seater drop-top Roadster is the sixth model range for the BMW owned Mini range and it's British built. It is being produced alongside the Mini Hatch, Clubman estate, Convertible and two seater Coupé on which it is based. The arrival of the new model sees the assembly plant on the outskirts of Oxford, the press shop in Swindon and the Hams Hall … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest : Vauxhall Ampera
Vauxhall open a new chapter in Britain’s automotive history with the introduction of the range extending Ampera in May. Unlike a conventional hybrid which runs an internal combustion engine alongside an electric generator, the Ampera is an electrically driven car which uses either liquid cooled lithium-ion batteries good for about 50 miles of zero … [Read more...]
Alfa TCT gears up to change perceptions
Alfa Romeo is confident the new Giulietta TCT will change the way we look at the marque and build on the success it has enjoyed over the last 12 months when it bucked the trend for the market. The sporting Italian brand saw sales hit a nine year high of 11,563 cars and registrations soared 30.8pc in a market which saw most rivals go down 4.4pc. The … [Read more...]
