The third generation Skoda Octavia range of family sized – C-segment five door hatchbacks and estates is the brand’s equal top seller along with the new supermini B-segment Fabia hatchbacks and estates. The Octavia’s mainstream model line-up is wide ranging with prices from £16,525 for the lowest spec five door hatchback with a 1.2-litre, 105hp turbocharged petrol engine up to £28,205 for the … [Read more...]
Roadtests
Citroen C4 Picasso 150 Exclusive
The Citroen C4 Picasso is a car which comes with an ahah. With the family MPV sector booming but so many models almost indistinguishable the C4 stands out from the rest. Not only is it very different from the outside with its finely detailed lights and body style but inside you enter a new-world experience with its column gear selector on the automatic we tested, the very big centrally … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Peugeot 308GT Hatchback
The award winning Peugeot 308 range of family friendly C-segment sized five door hatchbacks and SW estates has received an injection of sportier GT versions. The GT hatchback comes with a choice of two sports engines, a 1.6-litre THP turbocharged direct injection petrol unit with 205hp mated with a six-speed close ratio manual gearbox and priced at £24,095. For higher mileage users there is … [Read more...]
Weekend Roadtest: Tesla Model S P85D
The Tesla Model S P85D has to be the ultimate veggie option, a super-car you can order without any animal components. While most supercar dealers want to upsell leather and natural fibres for trim and upholstery, Tesla allows the greenest drivers of all to de-select them. Instead you can have synthetics or materials not derived from animals but plants for the ultimate pure-electric green car … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Audi A3 Sportback e-tron
I have just had a longer driving spell with Audi’s first PHEV plug-in hybrid, the A3 Sportback e-tron. The A3 is Audi’s best selling model range with 45,581 sales last year putting it into the UK’s top ten sales chart for the first time. It finished the year in eighth position. The A3 range comprises of three door hatchbacks, the five door Sportback, four door saloons and the cabriolet. … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Mazda2 1.5 115ps SportNav
Mazda is breaking new ground with the latest city car. It has based the fourth generation new Mazda2 on the larger CX5 stablemate after its joint venture which produced the Ford Ka came to an end. The result is a larger Mazda2 than before which not only creates more room that makes it ride and handle better than before but it has also allowed Mazda to develop a new infotainment system in the … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Skoda Fabia Estate 1.4TDI
The ‘supermini B-segment sized Skoda Fabia five door hatchback range was launched in January this year with prices from £10,600 and immediately was voted What Car? magazines Car of the Year and other awards have followed. Now the five door Fabia Estate range has joined the line-up priced from £12,460. With the same specification level options and a similar engine line-up the difference … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: SEAT Leon X-Perience 2.0TDI 150
SEAT hopes its newest estate will have the X-factor to win over thousands of UK buyers. A natural successor to the Ibiza, Exeo and Cordoba sports tourers, the newest addition to the Leon line-up offers a useful 587 to 1470 litres loadspace and room for up to five. There are SE and SE Technology trim levels with the emphasis on more sophisticated sound and nav systems in the latter, variable … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Suzuki Jimney is big on character & small on price
This year is the 45th anniversary of Suzuki’s first compact SUV and their Jimny is their current version which went on sale in 1998. Suzuki’s tiny SUVs have amassed sales close to eight million sold into 188 global markets. Today’s Jimny is priced from just £12,195 for the SZ3 version and £13,645 for the higher specification SZ4 or £14,545 for the SZ4 automatic. All versions use a … [Read more...]
Weekend Roadtest: DS3 DSport Plus 165
There are many hot-hatches, but only one DS series which stands out from the crowd. DS models were launched by Citroen in 2009 and became the sporting range, but at the Geneva show in 2015 it was announced the DS would become an individual brand within the PSA Peugeot Citroen family. That’s 50 years after the famous and large Citroen DS series was created and established the brand’s luxury … [Read more...]