The original Kia Sorento was launched in 2002 as a utilitarian all-terrain vehicle and the various generations have accrued over three million global sales, says David Miles. Today's fourth generation Sorento is a vastly more sophisticated model than the first even though it still has the potential to be a 4x4 workhorse. With seven seats its more family-use orientated and with the 1.6 turbo … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Nissan Leaf e-Tekna
The Nissan Leaf is the world’s best selling electric passenger car and it’s easy to see why, writes Robin Roberts. Often the benchmark for newer rivals, the Leaf’s a genuine five-seater with a good practical range over 200 miles and comes with a sensible choice of domestic or fast charger cables. The second generation, Sunderland-built Leaf is sold in three grades, Acenta, N-Connecta and Tekna … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Skoda Octavia SE L iV hybrid estate
Skoda really is on a charge with its award winning Octavia. The most successful Skoda ever sold in Britain with over 500,000 delivered in four generations has picked up a clutch of awards, notably the latest for its family values as selected by an international group of Women Car of the Year judges. As part of the Volkswagen Group, Skoda has made 100,000 traction batteries for the hybrid models … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Hyundai Tucson Ultimate 1.6 T-GDi 150ps
Hyundai has built its UK reputation on family values competitive pricing and an ever-expanding range of SUVs. While it’s just announced its latest player on the street, the Bayon SUV, it success has largely been down to the Tucson, itself comprehensively facelifted for 2021. Since its launch 17 years ago, Tucson has become Hyundai’s best-selling SUV with 7 million sales globally … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Peugeot 3008 Allure 1.2L PureTech 130
The Peugeot 3008 mid-sized SUV unveiled in 2008 has regularly been renewed until we have the latest tweaks, writes David Miles. When originally launched the 3008 was ahead of the game in terms of being a family affordable SUV and was instrumental in the growing popularity of such models. Peugeot call it ‘new’ but I’d say revised. Now the compact SUV market sector has mushroomed during the last … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Alfa Romeo Stelvio Lusso 2.0
Diversity has driven the car industry for over a century responding to the changing society it serves, so we shouldn’t be surprised when a traditional sporting brand looks at something different,writes Robin Roberts. Premium brands including Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Jaguar, Maserati and Porsche are examples which come to mind, but there is also the more affordable sporting Italian marque … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Ford Focus Active X Vignale
Ford say their new passenger cars are going all electric in Europe and will not have internal combustion engines from 2030, writes David Miles. Their commercial vehicle ranges will follow that move a couple of years later and by 2026 all their new cars in Europe would be fully electric or plug-in hybrids. But for the here and now in addition to conventional petrol and diesel labelling the … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Citroen C3 PureTech 110
When a car-maker refreshes and updates one of its best selling models their rivals and customers had better take notice and the new Citroen C3 deserves that attention. It underwent an extensive makeover last year but global events overshadowed it so it was good to catch up with the compact five-door model a short time ago. The third generation C3 was launched in 2016 and has secured over … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Fiat 500X Sport 150
Fiat know a lot about turning the ordinary into the extra-ordinary, like they have with the hotter version of the very popular 500 series, writes Robin Roberts. Their best seller for 60 years, the Fiat 500 is boosted by the X Sport, given a beefier 150bhp 1.3 litre four-cylinder engine in the top model tested with a silky automatic transmission & column paddles. If you’ve had a good … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Ford Fiesta ST-Line Edition 1.0 mHEV
One of the many recent updates to Britain’s best-selling car in 2020 was the introduction of mild hybrid support for their 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder turbo petrol 125 and 155hp petrol engines used in the Fiesta and other Ford model ranges, writes David Miles. But it’s the latest Fiesta 1.0 mHEV 6-speed ST-Line Edition 5-door version I am trying for this part of the lockdown period priced at … [Read more...]
