With two doors on one side and one on the other, the Hyundai Veloster always turned heads, and now its new high performance turbo-charged version will put them in a spin. The turbocharged version of the Veloster 1+2 door coupe will be available in showrooms tomorrow from £21,995 and is the first to feature Hyundai’s 1.6-litre T-GDI engine with a … [Read more...]
First Drives
Weekend roadtest: Kia cee’d Sportswagon
Confidence comes as standard in the new Kia Cee’d Sportswagon. On sale this week as seven models alongside the successful cee’d hatchback, the new estate not only succeeds but moves up from the former SW estate. Kia UK md Mike Cole says there is growing aspirational value in an estate or wagon model and the replacement for the cee’d SW is designed and … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: New Audi A3 builds on success, delivers more
The Audi A3 v.3 is going to do for the brand in Britain what computerfiles would call system restore, with the latest upgrades you’d expect thrown in. Originally launched in 1996, the Audi A3 was arguably the first modern compact executive car and after the v.2 series debuted in 2003 it grew to account for about 20pc of the brand’s UK sales, until the A1 … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: New Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet
With hopefully a bit more sunshine to come this year, the Golf GTI Cabriolet is now more tempting with its GTI 2.0-litre 208bhp turbocharged petrol engine. There hasn’t been a go-faster cabriolet version of the Golf for nearly two decades and despite its fabric roof is instantly recognisable as a GTI with its distinctive ‘telephonedial’ alloy wheels, twin … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Ford Focus ST
The all-new Focus ST is now in a Ford dealership showroom near you and it will be appearing at your local cinema from the 3 September. The car will be the real star in the new film version of the 1970’s TV series The Sweeney. In this remake for cinema you will find that cops Regan and Carter, now played by Ray Winstone and Ben Drew, have not only … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Toyota Prius Plug-In
As the name suggests the latest model to join the third generation Prius hybrid five door hatchback family is the Plug-In version, writes David Miles. This new addition can be charged from mains electricity to extend the driving range of the electric power only mode. The new Prius Plug-In becomes the flagship of the family and it is Toyota’s first … [Read more...]
Weekend twin-roadtest: BMW 116 and M6
As the official high profile vehicle supplier to the London Olympics, with 3,200 EfficientDynamics cars and 800 other vehicles and cycles and the event starting this week, you might think BMW already has enough on its plate. Despite the increased brand awareness the Olympics brings for the BMW premium brand, the ‘day job’ of selling cars must go on … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Audi A6 allroad
Audi doesn’t do crisis, that’s the message from a confident UK MD as he prepares to launch the comparatively small selling but highly profitable and desirable A6 allroad. The new, third generation allroad is in showroom on 7 July and its already heading towards some eager buyers. Such is the demand for the ever increasing number of new and revised Audi … [Read more...]
Ford pin future savings and success on EcoBoost engines
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...]
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...]
