If fortunate enough to buy a high performance coupe, the Aston Martin Rapide S will surprise you and must be on your list, Christmas or anytime, writes Robin Roberts. Not only does it carry the highly desirable Aston Martin name, but the sleek coupe hides four passenger doors and four figure-hugging seats with reasonable room inside so it’s more practical than you might … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Peugeot 508 Allure BlueHDi 130 manual
If style alone sold cars, the new Peugeot 508 would be soaring success, writes Robin Roberts. In an age when we are told SUVs and Crossovers are the golden ticket in the lottery of life, the new 508 makes you think again and realise there is still room for a successful shape to challenge modern so-called wisdom. It looks like a smoothly styled saloon but it hides a fifth-door at the … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Land Rover Discovery Td6 HSE
As Discovery approaches its 30th birthday it has matured into a luxury cut price alternative to the flagship Range Rover series. That’s not a bad thing as a number of rivals have moved into this sector since the Range Rover laid down the challenge to produce a true luxury off-roader and now the Discovery can offer challengers a real battle for the business based on an immense off-road … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Vauxhall CrosslandX 130ps
With a third of all new European sales going to the SUV market it’s a sector no car-maker can ignore and Vauxhall is going for it big and small time with its new models. The Crossland X introduced as an urban SUV with front wheel drive only and with a low waistline and big windows to help navigate town traffic, while the luggage capacity is also more than a … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Ford Fiesta Active X
There is a global love affair with SUVs, 4x4’s, off-roaders and crossovers, call them what you will, and they come in all sizes and capabilities at hugely varying cost. But the demand has been so great that it has even spawned SUV styling to be added to affordable hatchbacks and expensive premium brand saloons/estates as manufacturers cash-in on the craze. The newest of the sudo-SUV arrivals … [Read more...]
First drive: Audi Q8 sharpens range
Britain’s booming SUV market has a new player, writes Robin Roberts. The Audi Q8 raises the game for the company as the new flagship in its sporting range and it’s also a real challenger to rivals from Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Maserati, as well as Bentley. The new five-seater-only Q8 has a coupe-styled five-door body with quattro drive and 48v mild-hybrid 286ps 3.0TDi … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Range Rover Evoque 2.0 Si4 Petrol
The Range Rover Evoque is one of the most successful models in the company’s long history and it looks like maintaining that position for many years to come with its latest engines, writes Robin Roberts. Land Rover has played a very careful game of balancing global diesel demand with cleaner petrol technology and the new Si4 series achieves the best of both worlds in the … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Kia Stinger 3.3T-GDi V6 GTS
The Kia Stinger 3.3V6 is going to lift eye-brows and expectations for the Korean brand. Its £40,000-plus price is expensive for those use to its stablemates while its styling, performance and refinement will have drivers of rival German brands thinking why couldn’t they save money and move into this newcomer. With input from former Audi and BMW leading engineers perhaps we … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Toyota C-HR 1.8 Hybrid
Toyota's experience in hybrid technology has given them an edge with their distinctive C-HR SUV, writes David Miles. It's a compact five door with 1.2T petrol, or 1.8 petrol electric hybrid, powertrains and the latter underpins the Prius hybrid, and the C-HR uses the Global Architecture platform of the Prius. Unlike the blandly styled Prius the C-HR (Coupe High Rider) is a very different … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Kia Stinger 2.0 petrol
Kia is rapidly rolling out its range of new executive sporting models with the Stinger series now getting a 2.0 turbo-petrol alongside the initial 3.3V6 petrol, and a 2.2 diesel is due very soon, writes David Miles. Kia’s impressively styled Stinger five door Grand Tourer arrived at the end of last year powered by a 3.3-litre twin turbo V6 T-GDi 365hp, 500Nm petrol engine and I recently … [Read more...]