In the much-troubled year of 2020 new car sales across the globe stalled and even the must-have Crossover/SUV styled vehicles saw their sales flatten, writes David Miles. According to JATO Dynamics reliable new car sales figures, although such vehicles still accounted for 40% of all cars sold in Europe there was no growth. They added ‘Over the last six years, SUVs have been a consistent driver … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Volvo V60 Recharge
Volvo is now well known for their commitment to full electrification of all their models by 2025, writes David Miles. They have recently confirmed they will develop and assemble their own electric motors at their powertrain plant in Skovde Sweden. The very first Volvo from 1927 was powered by a petrol engine from the same factory. Currently many vehicle manufacture’s electric motors are … [Read more...]
Christmas 2020 roadtest: Aston Martin DBX
Christmas cheer comes in the shape of the new Aston Martin DBX, writes Robin Roberts.Aston Martin is a survivor in a world of hard knocks and is now looking for a smoother ride with their latest DBX sports utility vehicle. After 100 years of making some of the most sought after sports cars in the world it has applied its knowledge to what it sees as a family car, albeit for a well off … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Toyota C-HR Dynamic 2.0 Hybrid
Continuous improvement is the philosophy of Toyota and few car makers have as much experience of evs, launching its Hybrid Synergy Drive in 1997, and is rolling out more models every few years, writes Robin Roberts. The Toyota C-HR is a good example of continuous improvement, first introduced to the UK in 2018 with a 120bhp 1.8 litre petrol engine which helped it notch up over 50,000 … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Jeep Wrangler 4-Door, Night Eagle
Its big, its brash, its still the iconic all-American 4WD SUV, writes David Miles. But the modern Jeep brand is owned by Chrysler and they are part of the Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles conglomerate which in turn is now in partnership with the PSA Group of brands. Following the recent merger the FCA and PSA groups together will be known as STELLANTIS, the world’s 4thlargest global automotive … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Volvo XC40 B5 AWD R-Design Pro
To their credit Volvo Cars was the first established car maker to commit to all-out electrification and is the only brand to offer a plug-in hybrid variant of every model in its line-up, writes David Miles. I was scheduled to test drive Volvo’s latest award winning SUV, the compact XC40 but in its PHEV plug-in hybrid form.Unfortunately, Covid arrangements at the Volvo vehicle … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Ford Fiesta ST3 3-door
More than any other car in modern times, the Ford Fiesta has defined British motoring and the ST-series is the most desirable, particularly among rally fans. Consistently one of the top selling cars in the UK market, the Fiesta is the right size for thousands of buyers looking for three or five door jack-of-all-trades transport. It has appeared in the top ten list every year since 1977 and has … [Read more...]
Suzuki Swace heading for showrooms
The British-built Suzuki Swace estate is about to go on sale. A badge-engineered facelifted version of the Toyota Corolla Hybrid Estate made in Derby with 1.8 litre petrol engines from Deeside, the newcomer will be sold in SZ-T and SZ5 trim. The nominal boot space of 596 litres rises to 1,606 litres when the back seats are dropped and the boot floor is reversible to take wet or … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Suzuki Ignis SZ5 Allgrip
City slicker meets countryside pony is how I would describe the top specification model in the revised Suzuki Ignis range, writes David Miles. All models now have a new 1.2-litre four-cylinder K12D Dualjet Hybrid petrol engine offering WLTP CO2 emissions from 114g/km and combined cycle fuel economy from 55.7mpg for the 2WD models. And you will note from those last few words I say 2WD model so … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Audi A3 Saloon 35 TDI 150hp automatic
Affordability and suitability is now more relevant than ever in modern times, says David Miles. Do we actually now need a large and expensive business model for long journeys, do we actually need to go anywhere as business is less about face to face and more about emails, zooming or phone calls? Do we need a large car for just one person? As an example of car downsizing do we need an Audi A4 … [Read more...]
