Refreshed, refined and ready to convince you that a big estate car can outperform the even bigger SUVs, the Audi A6 allroad quattro really takes some beating. Updated with a choice of the latest four petrol and diesel engines, the third generation A6 allroad went on sale this year and uses the same lightweight construction technology we had seen in the … [Read more...]
Roadtests
Weekend roadtest: Infiniti M35h GT Premium
Infiniti is the premium brand from Nissan rather like Lexus is the premium brand from Toyota. But unlike Lexus, Infiniti does not aim to be a volume brand and sells only in 34 markets around the World with the USA being its most successful. Recently they have upped their PR function to gain their brand a higher profile and of course they are sponsorship … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Lexus CT 200h
The Lexus CT 200h has laid down a marker in the balance sheets of business drivers. Here’s a medium sized executive car which feels like a larger premium model but delivers the sort of economy and low emissions you would find on a smaller model. It slashes under the 100gkm barrier and comfortably sits in Band A and we found it almost returned 60mpg in … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Hyundai Santa Fe new generation
First deliveries of the new Santa Fe SUV begin on 15 October and they cannot come soon enough for Hyundai. The original model was one of the most strongly associated with Hyundai and brought popular SUV attributes to the mass market with the reassurance of a strong warranty. The new third-generation includes the first 2WD model and this will open up new … [Read more...]
First impressions: Hyundai Veloster Turbo SE
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...]
Weekend roadtest: Ford Focus Titanium 1.0T Ecoboost
It’s said that a little bit of what you fancy does you good, and that is the case with the Ford Focus Ecoboost 1.0 litre. This is a big car with a little heart, but you’d hardly know it from the performance which pours out of the engine, available with 99bhp or the 124bhp output as tested. Focus has consistently been a best seller for Ford and its … [Read more...]
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...]
