The all-new Skoda Scala, a C-segment five-door hatchback, is in effect the replacement for their Rapid range and sits between the Volkswagen Group’s Czech brand Fabia supermini and larger C/D segment high selling Octavia model ranges, writes David Miles. Currently prices range from £16,595 to £23,315 and the initial line-up is relatively simple with 1.0-litre TSI petrol 95 and 115hp … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Mazda3 2.0 122ps Sport Lux 5dr
A lot is being pinned on the all-new Mazda3 hatchback, and deservedly so. Launched in the UK in spring 2019, it is competing in a tough sector of family and company cars but its about to get a big boost this autumn. The new Mazda3 hatchbacks initially came with either a 122ps 2.0-litre Skyactiv-G petrol or 116ps Skyactiv-D diesel engine, in five trim levels: SE-L, SE-L Lux, Sport Lux, … [Read more...]
New Tesla Model 3 is safest EV on the road
The new Tesla Model 3 is the safest electric family car you can buy, according to destruction testing by Euro NCAP engineers. The Tesla Model 3 debuted with a perfect five-star score in the frontal offset deformable barrier crash test, a mainstay of Euro NCAP’s assessment since its inception in 1997. It recorded 96% for adult occupant protection, 86% for child occupant protection and 74% for … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Kia Ceed 1.6 T GDI GT
It’s all change with Kia as it moves up a gear. The Korean carmaker has recorded its best-ever UK half year sales figures with 53,232 new cars delivered to customers by the end of June 2019. That performance bucked the general market trend and surpassed 2018’s half-year figure of 51,506 by 3.35 per cent. The new Ceed series runs to nearly 20 models using petrol or diesel engines from 1.0 … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2.2 TD Q4 Super
Italian cars have reputations for being racy. But Alfa Romeo has taken its time to enter the booming SUV sector with its Stelvio, the first of its kind from the brand after it debuted the Kamal concept car at the Geneva motor show in 2003. A lot has happened in the meantime and any car-maker with an eye on the future must make an SUV, and the Stelvio is one of the last to enter the … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Kia Ceed 2 1.6 GRDi Eco
Kia has firmly planted itself in the UK family market with the mid-sized Ceed. This rival to the Focus, Astra and Golf has been comprehensively re-engineered for 2019 and it’s wider and longer, has good headroom and a decent sized boot and comes very well equipped and finished. The new Ceed comes in five-door hatch or sports wagon bodystyles, based on three engine options, two transmissions … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Skoda Rapid Spaceback SE Sport 110ps
Space is a confusing place, and it’s not been helped by the Skoda Rapid Spaceback landing in showrooms. The Rapid hatchback neatly filled a gap in the Skoda range between the Fabia and Octavia but then the Czech car maker added Spaceback, which not an estate but a hatchback as well. From the outset it has to be explained that the Rapid hatchback has a roomier boot but the Spaceback gains … [Read more...]
Vauxhall’s new model arrives September
Vauxhall’s all-new Combo Life will arrive in showrooms in September from £20,530. Aimed at active families and empty nesters, the Combo Life comes in two trims, Design and Energy, with Energy models available as either a five- or seven-seater. Customers can also choose between two wheelbases: standard and XL. It includes petrol and diesels with either manual or automatic transmission. Priced … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Fiat Panda 4×4 1.3
Italian singers are often short in stature but big in heart and voice, just like the Fiat Panda 4x4. The cheeky all-wheel-drive car is part of a compact 12-model range sharing a 5-door body. It provides a choice of 900cc or 1.2 litre petrol engines along with a 1.3 diesel, in five trim levels and even offers a semi-automatic for the easiest of lives either in town or country, and with front … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Peugoet 5008 Auto 130 petrol
The French love family life and it shows in the Peugeot 5008 series of SUVs. Developed from the firm’s smaller 3008 SUV, the larger seven seater SUVs are available with Active, Allure, GT Line, GT Line Premium and GT specification levels depending on the engine chosen. While Peugeot’s platform has simply been extended to offer more room and luggage space the powertrains are … [Read more...]