The world’s best selling car and most successful British-built, the Toyota Corolla, goes from strength to strength. Toyota has been building cars in Britain since 1992 when the Burnaston, Derby factory came on stream as Toyota’s first manufacturing centre in Europe. In June it assembled its 4.5M model, a Corolla Hatchback to add to the over 46M Corolla models built worldwide since 1966, … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Skoda Scala Monte Carlo 1.5 TSI Hatchback
The five door family sized C-segment Scala hatchback was launched towards the end of last year but it’s only now the range-topping Monte Carlo sports spec level is introduced, writes David Miles. The Scala was effectively a replacement for Skoda’s underwhelming Rapid range and sits between the Czech brand’s Fabia supermini sized hatchback and estate models and the highly rated … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Mitsubishi ASX Exceed 4WD
Family-friendly Mitsubishi Motors know how to stir up arguments. The latest third-generation Mitsubishi ASX is now better able to take on rivals than the immediately preceding products with its bolder styling, well revised and updated interior and cutting edge convenient technology. For 2020, Mitsubishi fitted a more powerful 150hp 2.0 litre petrol engine and choice of five-speed manual … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Audi A7 Sportback TFSI hybrid
The Audi A7 Sportback range of premium four door large coupe models gains a new PHEV plug-in hybrid TFSI e quattro variant to its line-up, writes David Miles. This also heralds the arrival of the Q7 TFSI e quattro, A8 TFSI e quattro and A6 Saloon TFSI e quattro PHEV models plus the Q5 TFSI e quattro has also recently arrived. Together they create a formidable presence in the overall Audi … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: MG ZS Exclusive BEV
From its conception almost a century ago, MG stood out as a performance brand on a shoestring and that simple value endures today with a modern twist. In the 1920s, Morris Garages cars tuned versions of standard family models and today the Chinese-owned MG marque sells family cars but has been one of the first to offer the latest pure electric versions at down to earth prices when compared to … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Kia XCeed FE 1.4 Auto
So what is the new Kia XCeed?asks David Miles. Well it’s a Crossover styled member of the Ceed C-segment family that is also made up of the Ceed five door hatchback, Ceed Sportswagon estate and the ProCeed Shooting brake models. The Ceed family is Kia’s third best selling model range after the Kia Sportage mid-sized SUV and the Picanto Picanto city car. All new Kia passenger cars are covered by … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Suzuki Vitara SZ5 Allgrip Hybrid
The new Suzuki Vitara 4x4 with latest hybrid technology is a sign of things to come from this Japanese brand which consistently punches above it weight, writes Robin Roberts. It learned a lot when launching the first hybrid technology in 2016 and building on that with the added benefit of its strong and impressive all-wheel-drive experience which is available throughout the Suzuki range of cars … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Suzuki S-Cross 1.4 Boosterjet SZ-T Hybrid
Fire-up the S-Cross: I’m back road testing new cars again now the UK’s pandemic lockdown rules have been relaxed to a certain extent, says David Miles. The rule changes mean that car manufacturers, importers and dealerships are getting back on track and some of us motoring media types are partially able to sample new models. However availability of test cars will be spasmodic and limited due to … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Locked down with a Peugeot 2008
Lockdown has been a learning experience for everyone, including the policeman who pulled me over for a routine check. Now I have spent over three months behind the wheel, some of the time, in the newest Peugeot 2008 and that’s a long time when we normally have to experience a test car in a matter of hours during a new model launch or in a week of extended test driving. So the lockdown rules have … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest; Peugeot 2008 GT Line PT 130 manual
With over a million Peugeot 2008 models made since launch in 2013, it was already a success before the new second generation was announced at the end of 2019, writes Robin Roberts. But in just a few months a lot has changed as the world copes with the coronavirus pandemic and Peugeot is like all makers struggling to get its newcomer into showrooms and drivers’ hands. It has … [Read more...]