Suzuki has not skimped on kitting out their new-age full hybrid Vitara SUV and it represents much better value than its closest eight rivals. Every model gets intellingent braking assistance, blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise, seven airbags, Smartphone connectivity, remote key, navigation and … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Honda Jazz EX
Two decades have defined the refined the Honda Jazz city car. From its earliest beginnings the Jazz offered unrivalled practicality with its really clever Magic Seats for three passengers but can also completely flip flat into a van-like carrier, or their bases can be folded up to take tall items lodged in the footwells. No other rival can do that. The … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Cupra Formentor V2 e-Hybrid 204ps
The head-turning Cupra Formentor e-Hybrid is a genuinely new model in the booming family SUV sector where its stablemate SEAT brand has done so well. Formentor’s the first model designed and developed for the brand and this spring picked up the highly valued five-star safety award from Europe’s toughest crash testers. This new brand formerly launched with … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Toyota Highlander Excel 2.5 Hybrid AWD
Individuals are getting larger and so are our cars, so it was the right time for the Toyota Highlander to be introduced to the UK market. Highlander is the company’s largest SUV and has been brought to European showrooms for the first time after 20-years on sale in Japan and America, brimming with fourth generation self-charging hybrid system to maximise … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Lexus ES300h Takumi
Life is full of surprises but few are as welcome as the Lexus ES300h Takumi saloon delivers. A larger successor introduced in 2019 to the Lexus GS series, it has the advanced petrol & electric powertrain developed by parent Toyota over some 25 years. The experience shows. While some car makers are only now coming to terms with hybrid power, Lexus has … [Read more...]
Suzuki Swace heading for showrooms
The British-built Suzuki Swace estate is about to go on sale. A badge-engineered facelifted version of the Toyota Corolla Hybrid Estate made in Derby with 1.8 litre petrol engines from Deeside, the newcomer will be sold in SZ-T and SZ5 trim. The nominal boot space of 596 litres rises to 1,606 litres when the back seats are dropped and the … [Read more...]
Hybrids are mystery to a third of drivers
A survey by DesperateSeller.co.uk has revealed that 30.9% of UK consumers simply don’t understand hybrid cars. A poll on the used car website in July 2020 asked “What is a hybrid car?” and gave three options: a) One that can use at least two means of propulsion; b) One that does NOT have an internal combustion engine; and c) One that can run on both petrol … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Hyundai Ioniq Premium SE PHEV
The more you drive, the more energy you save with the latest Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid, writes Robin Roberts. It sounds illogical but it’s true because the familiar standard 1.6 litre petrol engine is now joined by a more sophisticated electric motor and battery system which recovers energy lost during braking. This recovered energy when … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Suzuki Swift SZ5 Allgrip
Winter weather is a great leveller for motorists, writes Robin Roberts. Heavy rain, snow showers, ice and mud can combine to make any possible winter journey an impossibility unless you have a big and expensive 4x4, or you cannily drive a Suzuki Swift SZ5 Allgrip. This is the hatch that’s a match for many winter road washouts or white-outs. What’s more it … [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 … [Read more...]
