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Motors
458 Spider is a true modern classic
The start of November is such a predictable time of the year. In just a matter of days the relative warmth of an October Indian summer has faded into single figures, the daylight hours are decreasing and that all too familiar chill is in the air. It's blustery, raining and rather depressing, actually. It's time to admit defeat and dig out your wintery coat.
Or you could take your convertible out, drop its roof...
Model Y deserves huge sales figures
I tend to shy away from manufacturers’ obsequious press releases when they land in my inbox.
There’s seemingly an award for everything these days, whether it’s safety-related or to do with customers’ satisfaction but, on the whole, the gushing praise means my brain switches off after about five seconds.
They’re always so biased but one was emailed to me earlier this year which made me read further, and it was to do with...
911 GT3 builds on its decades-old reputation
IT’S amazing how quickly the Yorkshire Dales’ flora bursts into its springtime hue - lush greenery seemingly sparks into life after months of slumber when the sun finally makes its long-awaited return - while blankets of wild garlic smother Swaledale’s downright gorgeous valleys, filling the air with a sweet-smelling aroma as you navigate through its tree-lined routes.
The tarmac warms, instantly setting the perfect stage for a memorable, life-changing drive. Having headed a
Kia's life-changing pace leaves a lasting impression...
SOMEONE at this newspaper once thought it was wise to buy a Kia Rio in about 2012 for reporters to use in their respective patches. It was a truly terrible thing to look at, drive and use and if you’d have told me that the same manufacturer would release something with almost 600bhp a decade or so later, I simply wouldn’t have believed you.
What a turnaround it’s been for Kia. They are rapidly...
Nissan's new EV is a sure-fire winner
MANUFACTURERS - in their quest to appease the world’s governments’ unquenchable thirst for lower emissions - tend to take an existing, traditionally-powered model and turn it into an EV.
Just about everyone’s done it and to be fair to them, they’re pretty decent cracks, too: all-electric Golfs, Minis and so on and so forth have all become some of the most popular EVs on the market.
However, there hasn’t been many ground-up EVs,...
Manual gearbox transforms the Supra
ON first glance, the ‘new’ Toyota Supra is a much-changed proposition from what it was when I was a youngster in the mid-1990s. Back then it was all about twice-or-thrice-the-original-power modifications, quarter-mile drag times and beating Nissan Skylines.
Again, on first glance, it appears much more mild: it shares its platform with the underwhelming BMW Z4, has an eight-speed automatic gearbox and while it’s undeniably low slung and rear-wheel drive, its exotic looks coul
All-electric UX takes on Tesla’s dominance
OUR government’s unquenchable thirst to reduce emissions is happening at an alarming pace and manufacturers are doing all they can to meet that requirement. While bans on internal combustion engines are on the horizon, if you can’t be bothered with plug-ins and want an economical, kind-to-the-environment car in the meantime, Lexus has the market pretty much covered with its hybrid line-up.
However the marque - synonymous with technology and a real front-runner in producing...
Fifth-generation Discovery is the perfect family car
AT long last, I have found the dream family car. It costs a fair chunk, but if you can, you absolutely should because it has no drawbacks whatsoever.
A rare beast indeed but it’s one that combines decent pace, good fuel economy, space, looks and luxury - it’s the brilliant Land Rover Discovery in D300 guise.
That name’s been an ever-present fixture in the line-up since 1989 - that’s a year before I...
Q5 is the perfect family car
IT isn’t difficult to see why Audi’s become quite possibly the most accomplished, all-round manufacturer in recent years - each model they’ve revealed has been an absolute peach.
In that time its familiar-but-popular A-badged cars, from the dinky A1 to the limo-like A8, have been joined by Q-badged variants which offer everything you’d expect of the marque, albeit in a loftier package.
The Q7 was the first to take the fight to cars like...
GV80 takes on Europe's best
“Excuse me, is that a Bentley?”
It’s a question Genesis GV80 owners will become accustomed to hearing and while it’s high praise indeed being compared to a Bentayga that costs four times as much, the unfamiliar brand’ deserves no end of praise as they’ve absolutely hit it out of the park.
Genesis is to the Hyundai Motor Group what Lexus is to Toyota - a more premium, luxurious arm that’s going into battle...
UX continues Lexus' purple patch
LOVE it or loathe it, the government’s unquenchable thirst to reduce emissions is happening at a rapid pace and manufacturers are doing all they can to adhere to ever more stringent rules.
While bans on internal combustion engines are on the horizon, if you can’t be bothered with tedious plug-ins and want an economical, kind-to-the-environment car in the meantime, Lexus and its Toyota sister brand have the market pretty much covered.
Let’s start...
Fourth-generation Sorento the best yet
OVER the last few years I've driven pretty much everything in Kia’s range and I've been impressed by them all in their own way, but the Sorento four-by-four raises the bar to a whole new level.
Launched back in 2002 as the South Korean company's first SUV, the fourth-generation model is a marked move on design-wise from the pretty simply-styled third version.
Whereas the previous car would appear a little archaic - in...
Little T-Cross hits high notes
REMEMBER a time when families only had the option of choosing between humble hatchbacks, a saloon or its estate version? The motoring world’s a very different place in 2020 and just about every manufacturer has branched out into the complex world of SUVs.
You’ve got large ones, middling ones and smaller ones - no matter what your budget is, there’s something for everyone. Take Volkswagen, for example. Whereas before you had the Golf and...
Class-leading Volvos shine in congested sectors
IT wasn’t too long ago I used to scoff at Volvos whilst going about my day-to-day business. I used to believe they were boring, bought by two types of people: sensible Simons in their big saloons on their way to their middle-management office jobs or middle-class, school-run mums who have a few quid but don’t want to appear too flashy amongst the Range Rover Sports and Audi Q7s outside the gates.
Don’t get me...
Seven-seat Tarraco impresses
IF I’d received a Seat Tarraco several years ago, I’d have scoffed at its family-friendly traits and probably come to the rapid conclusion - incorrect, I now hasten to add - that it was a boring creation that was about as appealing to me as watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Then fatherhood happened. The life-changing impact of having a child - a tiny bundle of joy who somehow requires more additional equipment on mundane...
Ibiza FR remains the go-to choice
CAST your mind back to being a young motorist and, if you’re like me, you’ll remember two things: the sheer excitement at the prospect of owning your first performance car and then the crushing disappointment when the insurance quotes roll in.
The car of my youth was the Renaultsport Clio, available in various guises in mark two form, and I ended up spending the best part of £2,000 to insure a 182 Trophy aged 21....
Throwback GT86 is something to be remembered
ASK a keen driver to tell you their ideal on-paper spec for a performance car and you can all but guarantee three things will appear before anything else: a naturally aspirated engine, a manual gearbox and rear-wheel-drive.
It’s a tried-and-tested recipe, one which has appeared on countless greats throughout the years, and unfortunately it’s something that’s all but extinct in today’s market as manufacturers ditch high-revving screamers in favour of smaller capacity engines with a...
Middle-level F-Type is the sweet spot
PRETTY, isn’t it? Jaguar’s F-Type might have been around a few years now but it’s one of those cars you never fail to have a second look at when one elegantly prowls by. Whether you opt for the coupe or convertible, they just have a knack of looking right.
You absorb all of its intricacies: its wide front grille, the thin rear lights and the downright gorgeous side profile. It may have made its debut...
Abarth-fettled Fiat feels its age
ONE of the motoring world’s most simplest of pleasures is barrelling down a countryside lane in a lightweight car that’s brimming with feel. It’s why I’ve always preferred hot hatchbacks to any other type of car. They’re simple, in most cases affordable and blindingly quick point-to-point, meaning they have an uncanny ability of embarrassing cars worth much more.
Hot hatches - which belie their humble origins and turn into crazed, corner-loving terriers at the first...
New Megane proves to be a hit
I’VE always been a fan of French cars. Although regular models have not traditionally been as good as their rivals, they’ve always been unique and a more interesting choice in a world of monotonous hatchbacks.
Cars like Citroen’s original DS, the 2CV and C6 immediately spring to mind, while Renault’s back catalogue brims with brilliant-but-flawed creations. ‘Style over substance’ is a term often associated with cars from across the English Channel, but having a quirky...
