The World Rally Championship is all about clipping seconds off your competitors, but the Toyota GR Yaris took years off me. Built to permit the company to take part in motor-sport’s toughest rally series and winning in 2018, the GR Yaris is probably the closest a driver will come to sitting in one of the actual WRC cars. For those of a certain age, or older, the GR Yaris rekindles the racy hot … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Honda CR-V 2.0i MMD AWD hybrid
Honda tends to hide its qualities very well, which probably explains why it may not be the first go-to brand for an SUV, and that would be a mistake for any motorist to make. Korean, German and British brands tend to hog the limelight and sales in this section of the market but the reality is the Honda CR-V can hold its own against some better-known names and is not only superior in certain … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Lexus NX450h + Takumi PHEV
Lexus has come a long way in a short time with its luxury compact SUV NX450h+. Launched in 2014, the Lexus NX range brought a new player into the compact luxury crossover sector and it made significant inroads before being replaced in 2021, but it’s still based on the latest Toyota RAV4 platform with refinements to the suspension. And that's no bad thing. The second generation introduces the … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Kia EV6 GT Line S 77.4kWh AWD
It’s official, Kia’s new generation pure-electric EV6 is the top-performing Car of the Year 2022. Earlier this month it beat 60 other new cars, electric and with internal combustion engines, to the coveted CoTY award judged by 59 motoring journalists from 22 European countries. It is the first Kia to win the internationally acclaimed award and set a very high standard for the new generation … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Volvo V60 Recharge PHEV R-Design
Volvo had a truly remarkable 2021 and with an enhanced range unfolding this year that success will continue. In a UK market which saw just 1% expansion, the Volvo line up increased 4% to 48,260 cars giving them a record 2.93% share of the British total. Most of that came from the new Volvo Recharge PHEVs and pure electric models which doubled in demand and accounted for 37% of registrations. … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Kia Sorento ‘3’ 2.2 CRDi
The original Kia Sorento was launched in 2002 as a utilitarian all-terrain vehicle and the various generations have accrued over three million global sales, says David Miles. Today's fourth generation Sorento is a vastly more sophisticated model than the first even though it still has the potential to be a 4x4 workhorse. With seven seats its more family-use orientated and with the 1.6 turbo … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Alfa Romeo Stelvio Lusso 2.0
Diversity has driven the car industry for over a century responding to the changing society it serves, so we shouldn’t be surprised when a traditional sporting brand looks at something different,writes Robin Roberts. Premium brands including Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Jaguar, Maserati and Porsche are examples which come to mind, but there is also the more affordable sporting Italian marque … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Toyota Prius AWD-i petrol-electric hybrid
Launched about a year ago was the new fourth generation Toyota Prius which had first use of Toyota’s New Global Architecture platform which in the case of the Prius lowered the ride height, gave a more engaging drive and improved the interior quality, writes David Miles. It also introduced to the Prius brand a more acceptable exterior body style now similar to subsequent other new Toyota models … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Ford Kuga 2.0 diesel auto 4WD
The very popular Ford Kuga mid-sized SUV first launched in 2008 is now in its second generation which was launched in 2012 and continues to be very popular with UK customers, writes David Miles. It remained in 2019 the second best selling SUV of any size just behind the British built Nissan Qashqai and ahead of the South Korean Kia brand’s Sportage. In the Spring of this New Year the all-new … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Volvo XC60 T8 twin engine
Volvo saw record UK sales in 2019, led by its SUV family including the XC60 series, writes Robin Roberts. British registrations went up 12% to over 56,200 with the compact XC40 taking 15,445 and the XC60 recording 11,766 sales as the brand out performed some other premium rivals in 2019. Globally sales topped its 93-years history with over 700,000 sales. This year will see more PHEV and BEV … [Read more...]
