Britons have a legendary love affair with sports cars and few are as all-consuming as that for the Maserati GranCabrio Sport. The head-turning 2+2 GranCabrio is the open-topped version of the coupe Gran Turismo and the Sport is the more powerful of the available engines. The Maserati GranCabrio Sport is a big, traditionally engineered Italian sports car with a beefy V8 up-front and driving … [Read more...]
Roadtests
Weekend roadtest: Volkswagen Golf GT 1.4TSI ACT 5dr
The latest Volkswagen Golf is in its seventh heaven. Not only is it the seventh generation model in the highly successful series over 34 years and 26 million sales, but it brings the latest engine technology into play, and that means giving you half an engine if necessary in the version tested. It is the first model in the Volkswagen group on UK roads to have active cylinder technology, which … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: SEAT Leon 3rd generation
Image by Matt Vosper The new SEAT Leon sees the biggest launch in the company’s history for a decade and blends the latest engineering with cutting-edge style which has been a signature of the Spanish brand. In showrooms this month, the five-door Leon pitches into the C-segment and it will be joined in July by a three-door SC unveiled at the 2013 Geneva motor show and later this year a … [Read more...]
New Skoda Octavia delivers surprises and sophistication
The name is the same but the new Skoda Octavia is a whole new ball game. The first in the Skoda range to be developed on the latest modular platform from parent Volkswagen Group, the Octavia is bigger inside with an extended wheelbase to provide more room but its also 100kg lighter. This not only reduces fuel consumption because it allows smaller engines to be used, but it also improves the … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Audi A3 Sportback 1.4TFSI
Image by Matt Vosper If you want to spend wisely when selecting a new C-segment five-door hatchback, it’s going to be hard to better the “real deal” that is the Audi A3 Sportback, says David Miles. In his presentation of the all new longer wheelbase car to the UK media this week, Jon Zammett Head of PR for Audi UK said, “The new A3 Sportback is designed for technology literate people, the … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Peugeot 508 RXH HyBrid4 dE
When so many executive cars are the same it takes something special to stand out from the suited ranks, such as the Peugeot 508 Diesel Hybrid4. Introduced in 2012, Peugeot pioneered diesel & electric powertrains under the 3008 in February and quickly expanded into the D-sector with the larger 508 series last May. Under the bonnet is a combined advanced turbo-diesel engine and electric … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Fiat 500L
The Italian elections show up divisions in opinion which are echoed in the new Fiat 500L. It’s a Fiat 500, isn’t it? Is it an MPV ? Is it a hatchback? Does it have the street-wise cheeky charm of the little 500, or the comforting rounded shape of a mamma who will look after your every need? The frontal appearance resembles the Fiat 500 in a way that suggests it has undergone plastic surgery … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: MG6 GT SE Hatchback
If enthusiasm and loyalty alone sold cars, the MG brand would be a best-seller in Britain. There are a lot of drivers who have memories and money enough to buy one of the new models now being rolled out of the factory in Longbridge which was once home to the Rover Group and before that, British Leyland. The plant on the southern edge of Birmingham now builds saloons and hatchbacks which carry … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Honda CR-V 2.0 i-VTEC EX
Long before Cross-overs became the new name in showrooms, the Honda CR-V was carving out a niche for itself. The British-built SUV combines the useful all-weather feature of 4x4 with the day to day practicality of a big estate. With such good manners, an intelligent 4WD transmission, and no real drawbacks why would you want to not have the real thing? But if you did want to save a little … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Kia cee’d Sportswagon 1 1.4CRDi
Kia’s solid UK growth at a time when the rest of Europe looks very shaky is down to building cars people want to buy, like the cee’d. The popular five-door hatchback was last year joined by a new roomier Sportswagon, which appealed to the eye with its flowing lines wrapping around a higher carrying capacity and luggage weight. So you have the best of both worlds, a bigger car and a sleeker one … [Read more...]