Britain’s oldest 4x4xFar is back. Over 70 years after the model which became Defender was unveiled and three years after the last series was axed by Land Rover, a new 21st century model is a star of the Frankfurt motor show and order books now open for the first long wheelbase five-door models, followed soon after by a shorter wheelbase three-door model and a commercial series. A genuine modern … [Read more...]
Survey shows evs with worst depreciation
A new study shows striking differences in the depreciation of ten popular electric and hybrid cars from their purchase price three years ago to their current value. InsuretheGap.com found that the pure electric Renault Zoe lost the most value, depreciating by 61% in three years from its purchase price of £19,988 to only £7,830 value in 2019. According to a 2019 Opinium survey, … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Toyota Corolla Touring SE 1.8 Hybrid
The enduring and enterprising Toyota Corolla is a firm favourite with British car buyers and it’s easy to understand why after a week with the 1.8 Sports Excel estate hybrid, writes Robin Roberts. This spring , the 12th generation Corolla replaced the oddly-named, smaller and less attractive Auris series of models and it brought with it the latest self-charging hybrid technology which … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Toyota Corolla Excel 2.0 Hybrid estate
In March this year the Corolla name returned to the Toyota line-up of passenger cars 14 years after the Auris name replaced it, writes David Miles. Like the Auris range it replaced, the 12th generation five-door Corolla Hatchback and Touring Sports estate petrol and hybrid models are being built in the UK at Toyota’s Burnaston factory in Derbyshire for European markets. In addition there is a … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Lexus ES 300h ES Takumi
The new seventh generation front wheel drive ES 300h self-charging petrol-electric hybrid D-segment executive class saloon is the first ES range ever to be sold in the UK and Western and Central Europe, writes David Miles. Although we are only just getting the ES, the original ES launched the Lexus brand in 1989 alongside the LS flagship saloon. The ES has become the brand’s most popular saloon … [Read more...]
Mid-week motoring: First drive Toyota Corolla
One of the best known names on a car has returned, writes David Miles. Some 14 years after the Toyota Auris name replaced the Corolla we see the return of the World’s best-selling car brand name – Corolla - and it’s on sale in the UK from the new registration plate change month of March. The past generation Corollas achieved over 46-million global sales since they were launched in 1966 and … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (Plug-inHybrid Electric Vehicle) finished another strong sales year in 2018 as the UK’s best-selling plug-in hybrid vehicle with 8,701 vehicles registered, an increase of 16% over 2017. The uprated Outlander PHEV was launched last September with improved EV and petrol-engine performance and increased efficiency resulting in the new WLTP figures of 139mpg and 46g/km … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Lexus RX450h
There are no shortage of SUVs, small, medium, large and very large, petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all electric are all available depending on the model and from ‘budget’ buys to ‘upper-class’ premium brands, all cashing in on the seemingly unstoppable public demand, writes David Miles. Sales of SUVs of all sizes now account for over 35% of the European new car market, a figure more … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Lexus CT200h Premium
The Lexus CT200h set the bar for the hybrid revolution in the compact premium sector when it arrived in 2011, and its raised its game still further with the latest version, writes Robin Roberts. Using the well-engineered powertrain from its sister company’s Toyota Prius introduced in 1997, the Lexus CT200h has been further retuned and it is and impressive combination of petrol and … [Read more...]
Tradelines 3 October
BorgWarner is developing solutions for nearly every propulsion equation an Original Equipment Manufacturer is trying to solve. The company is leveraging its in-house technology development to deliver clever hybridization and electrification technologies to assist OEMs in producing high-performing, energy-efficient vehicles. The Wankel rotary engine will be reborn by Mazda as a … [Read more...]