Sold in over 190 countries around the World, the latest Land Cruiser and Toyota’s all wheel drive technology has 65 years of history in their tracks, writes David Miles. The hard-core Land Cruiser has a legendary reputation for toughness, reliability, durability and go-anywhere capabilities whether its jungle, desert, mountain, war zones, peace keeping and humanitarian aid, holiday tour … [Read more...]
Roadtests
Weekend roadtest: Volvo V90 AWD Ocean Race
Big, bright and brimming with technology, the Volvo V90 Ocean Race Edition echoes the round-the-world racing yachts of the same name. They are eye-catching on the water, but the special edition big estate is every-inch a head-turner on the road in its white bodywork with grey and orange details, unique wheels and highlighted interior leather stitching and contrasting orange seat-belts. All … [Read more...]
New Ford Focus redefines family motoring
Britain’s best selling family car moves up several gears in September with the new Ford Focus. Building on its reputation for good handling from its launch 20 years ago, the newest generation is brimming with the latest technology under the all-new stronger bodies, including the latest Dragon petrol engines from Bridgend along with a new eight-speed automatic transmission. The new Focus … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Peugeot 3008 2.0-Litre Diesel 8-speed
One manufacturer banking on development of the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicle Test Procedure is the PSA Group, and it could pay big dividends for them later this year, writes David Miles. Peugeot, Citroen, DS and now Vauxhall/Opel are not only retesting new vehicles, they are introducing revised engines and new transmissions to provide more realistic fuel economy and CO2 … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross4 AWD auto
It may be over a century old, but Mitsubishi is very much up to date with the Eclipse Cross SUV. The normally conservative Japanese car-maker is now part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance and the Eclipse Cross is the last to be designed and built before it was subsumed, but that’s not to decry its all round excellence. There are eight versions of the Eclipse Cross, all petrol, with a … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Lexus CT200h Luxury
The Lexus CT200h is in its sixth year of production and for a final throw of the dice before its replaced it has some useful styling and equipment updates for the 2018 model year. The CT200h is the steppingstone model into the premium Lexus brand which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year of being introduced by Toyota. The CT200 range was a big move to providing a range of premium … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Vauxhall Viva Rocks 1.0
The greatest challenge to any car designer is getting the most of what you are given, and when Vauxhall’s team wanted to create a very compact SUV they looked to the Viva. The original Viva was a boxy saloon built in Ellesmere Port, now home of the Astra, from 1963 to 1979 and that spawned what you might call an SUV – a Services Utility Vehicle. Better known as the Bedford HA van it was a … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport GSi
The new Vauxhall Insignia range of Grand Sport five door D-segment hatchbacks and Sports Tourer estate were launched last year and in March this year the flagship higher performance GSi versions in both body styles arrived in UK showrooms, writes David Miles. Prices start from £33,415 on-the-road with both engines costing the same, only the price of the body style differs. In addition … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Range Rover Evoque 2.0 Si4 Petrol
The Range Rover Evoque is one of the most successful models in the company’s long history and it looks like maintaining that position for many years to come with its latest engines, writes Robin Roberts. Land Rover has played a very careful game of balancing global diesel demand with cleaner petrol technology and the new Si4 series achieves the best of both worlds in the … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Honda Civic diesel
Honda believe in playing the long game, writes David Miles. Its first car to arrive in the UK in 1973 was a Japanese built Civic 1.2-litre petrol two door saloon and last year the tenth generation Civic, a lower medium sector five door hatchback went on sale and it’s built in Britain at Swindon Plant and exported globally to over 70 different countries. UK Civic sales are close to 20,000 … [Read more...]