The hot-hatch has been reborn for Gen-Z, and there’s a thumbs up from their parents too if they want to enjoy driving a Toyota Yaris hybrid. The one-time must-have cars for the young drivers of the 1970s seemed to die out in the first decade of this century, but someone forgot to tell Toyota. It launched the original Yaris in 1999 and the second … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Toyota Yaris GR Sport
Toyota dominated this year’s World Rally Championship and hopes some of this success will spread into its sophisticated city car, the Yaris. It launched the Yaris GR Sport about 12 months ago and my test drive really took me back, more than a year, to a time when hot-hatchbacks were all the rage and any car which had a rally or racing pedigree was … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Kia Picanto 1.0 T-GDi GT-Line S
The Kia Picanto 1.0 T-GDI GT-Line S is a rarity, and it’s all the better for that. In a market dominated by so many look-alike, take-it-or-leave-it cars, the Picanto not only visually stands out but leaves others standing in the Formula Fun race. You cannot help but turn and look at this cheeky chappie and if you slip behind the wheel you’ll emerge with a … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Honda Civic Type R GT
Honda is best known for its sensible family cars, and then there is the rebel Civic Type R, writes Robin Roberts. In my experience, every family has a rebel in its ranks, the wacky wayward one who may be a boisterous brother, an unconforming uncle, a shout-out-loud sister or audacious aunty. The Honda Civic Type R comprises just two versions separated … [Read more...]
Suzuki Swift Sport returns this summer
There’s a warm new hatch coming this summer. An all new,lighter and quicker Suzuki Swift Sport goes on sale from 1 June with a £1,500 reduction for the first month making it £16,499. It copies the dramatic Champion Yellow of the Suzuki Works Junior rally car and inside there are sports seats and trim detailed with red accents. Developed from the … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Hyundai i30N Performance
Some car-makers shout about their performance models which can quietly disappoint, yet Hyundai play it the other way in the i30N and have a normal looking model which excites every time you take the wheel. The Korean brand has electrified the World Rally Championship and it’s now quietly building on that performance with its subtle yet sporty … [Read more...]
