SEAT is dipping its toe in the market waters in its Mii pure electric five-door city car with the promise of many stablemates over coming years, writes Robin Roberts. The Mii petrol models replaced with the first all-electric car from the Spanish subsidiary of the German VW Group shows how international the focus has become because it’s made in Slovakia. Developed from the Mii city car … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: New VW Golf Life 1.5-litre TSI 130hp
The new eighth generation Volkswagen Golf arrived in the UK at the end of March and after the lockdown period deliveries are now underway so this is our first opportunity to test drive the latest Golf 8, writes David Miles. The new Golf 8 model as it’s known is initially available in five door hatchback form and it has a lot to live up to as its ancestors sold more than 35-million units over … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Ford Kuga ST-Line X 2.5 PHEV
After the Coronavirus lockdown Ford is in full delivery mode with the all-new third generation Kuga SUV 5-door range, writes David Miles. That’s good timing as pent-up demand by UK customers saw overall new car sales increase by 11% in July but sadly remain nearly 42% down for the year-to-date. The Kuga is crucial in Ford’s sales performance as it is their third best selling model range … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Toyota Corolla Design 2.0 HB Touring
The world’s best selling car and most successful British-built, the Toyota Corolla, goes from strength to strength. Toyota has been building cars in Britain since 1992 when the Burnaston, Derby factory came on stream as Toyota’s first manufacturing centre in Europe. In June it assembled its 4.5M model, a Corolla Hatchback to add to the over 46M Corolla models built worldwide since 1966, … [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...]
Weekend roadtest: Mazda CX-30 2.0 180ps 2WD GT Sport
I have always been sceptical of the car awards bandwagon, until now. In the week I was testing the Mazda CX-30 I learned it is one of the SUV finalists in the 2020 World Car Awards, and it is probably justified being included. Even before it was introduced, CX-30 picked up a five-star Euro NCAP rating for its adult occupant safety and range of i-Active sense safety features such … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Kia XCeed ‘2’ 1.0 T-GDi
So what is the new Kia XCeed, asks David Miles. Well it’s the latest member of the Ceed C-segment family that until recently comprised the Ceed five door hatchback, Ceed Sportswagon estate and the newer ProCeed Shooting brake models, making it Kia’s third best-selling model range after the Sportage mid-sized SUV and the Picanto city car. They account for around 10% of Kia’s total annual new car … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Kia XCeed 1.4 TGDi FE automatic
Kia Ceed has been one of the outstanding success stories of the first two decades of the millennium and as we enter its third a new chapter begins with the XCeed, writes Robin Roberts. Hatchbacks have given way to SUVs over the last ten years and now this sector is further developing with the full size models being joined by compact versions which do everything of their larger … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Vauxhall Astra 1.2 145ps EliteNav
If proof was needed that sleeping giants are a threat, then the Vauxhall Astra proves it with the facelifted models now reaching showrooms, writes Robin Roberts. The model has been a staple of the Vauxhall brand for 40 years as the eighth-generation arrives and it’s arguably the best, and has benefitted from input by new owners Peugeot Citroen. A new or revised range of engines … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Mazda3 2.0GT Sport 180ps
Some cars are just in your face, over-hyped and over-sold, but not the Mazda3. This refreshed and revised mid-sized model has an appeal with its restrained but attractive styling, purposeful fittings and ultra efficient powertrains. Oh and a growing list of awards, particularly with a “family” cachet to them. Perhaps, not surprisingly, its economy has won praise from those canny Scottish … [Read more...]
