Volkswagen’s ID.3 is their first purpose-built electric car and it’s good. About the same size as a Golf, the new modular electric drive matrix powertrain and floorpan gives it the interior space of the larger Passat. The flexibility of the floorpan is mirrored by the range of batteries and motors that can be chosen to power it in a handful of specifications, Pure 45kWh, Pro 58kWh and … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Nissan Leaf e-Tekna
The Nissan Leaf is the world’s best selling electric passenger car and it’s easy to see why, writes Robin Roberts. Often the benchmark for newer rivals, the Leaf’s a genuine five-seater with a good practical range over 200 miles and comes with a sensible choice of domestic or fast charger cables. The second generation, Sunderland-built Leaf is sold in three grades, Acenta, N-Connecta and Tekna … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Citroen C3 PureTech 110
When a car-maker refreshes and updates one of its best selling models their rivals and customers had better take notice and the new Citroen C3 deserves that attention. It underwent an extensive makeover last year but global events overshadowed it so it was good to catch up with the compact five-door model a short time ago. The third generation C3 was launched in 2016 and has secured over … [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...]
Sunday drive: Peugeot 208 GT Line 1.2 PureTech 100
Keep calm and carry on – for now, for this new model road test I slipped behind the wheel of the all-new Peugeot 208 ‘supermini sized’ 5-door family hatchback recently announced as the European Car of the Year 2020, writes David Miles. With the World in turmoil on health grounds and the automotive industry in meltdown with previous poor global sales due to economic reasons now made far … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Ford Fiesta Active Edition 1.0T Ecoboost
Ford has put a lot of eggs in its family car basket as it seeks to build sales in difficult and highly competitive times. The best-selling Fiesta has been given a new name at the top of its range, a crossover series called Active, which is probably more widespread in appeal than the stablemate and slightly dull EcoSport suv. Now, not so many years ago the Active would have been a regular version … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: New Vauxhall Corsa 1.5 Turbo D 102hp
The fifth generation Vauxhall Corsa range is now in UK showrooms and ready for the ‘20’ new registration plate sales month of March, writes David Miles. This time around the Corsa is only available as a five-door hatchback and sells in the ‘supermini’ sector of the new car market. The Corsa has been Vauxhall’s best selling range with over 2.1-million sold since it first launched … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: BMW 1 Series 118i auto M Sport 5-door
The third generation BMW 1 Series range of 5-door hatchbacks is now with us, writes David Miles. In a change from previous versions this generation is predominately made up of front wheel drive versions with transversely mounted engines which have a shorter bonnet, the cabin area moved forward within the car’s footprint and the rear seat knee room is increased with a larger boot so it’s a roomier … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Skoda Superb SE L 1.5 5dr
When a car-maker gives a model a name it risks being memorable, forgettable, laughable, unpronounceable or ultimately it means little, but in the case of the Skoda Superb, it actually means a lot, writes Robin Roberts. It’s the 125thanniversary of Skoda in 2020 and for 85 years it has been making models with the name Superb. There’s probably a strange truth in the fact that many people will … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Hyundai Ioniq Premium SE PHEV
The more you drive, the more energy you save with the latest Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid, writes Robin Roberts. It sounds illogical but it’s true because the familiar standard 1.6 litre petrol engine is now joined by a more sophisticated electric motor and battery system which recovers energy lost during braking. This recovered energy when transformed and pushed into the 8.9KWh … [Read more...]
