Our own 'Santa Claus', alias David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) delivers… ‘A CHRISTMAS CRACKER’ ROAD TEST– THE NEW 308 GTI BY PEUGEOT SPORT In the PSA, Peugeot, Citroen and DS, group of brands Peugeot’s aim is to move their brand up-market and part of this process is to further inject some sporting pedigree into a family best known in the main for their fuel efficient, family and business … [Read more...]
Contributors
Mazda’s latest MX-5 Road Test
LIFTING THE LID ON A SECOND OPINION ‘Car of the Year’ in Japan – driven by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) Actually my colleague covered the UK press launch for the new fourth generation Mazda MX-5 a few months ago at its media launch, but these one day events only allow for a brief period of time in the car. So what is the new MX-5 really like to live with? My week long test driving … [Read more...]
Range Rover Evoque (2016 model year) First Impressions
2016 MODEL YEAR RANGE ROVER EVOQUE FIRST DRIVE by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) The Range Rover Evoque for 2016 gets a mid-life refresh, but most importantly those updates include the use for the first time of Jaguar Land Rover’s own 2.0-litre Ingenium turbodiesel engines, which replace the previous Ford manufactured 2.2-litre units. First launched to great acclaim in 2011, the … [Read more...]
The Goddess – still amazing at 60!
The Goddess at 60: Citroën’s design icon retains its timeless beauty Dave Randle is your guide to this sleek, evocative, ahead-of-its-time machine… Although the years immediately following World War Two in Europe were a time of rationing and austerity, they also saw an upward shift in public expectations and the first flowering (if that’s the word) of consumerism. Many returning service … [Read more...]
Subaru Levorg ST GT First Impressions
Our man at the wheel is Robin Roberts… It has been a long time coming but at last the Subaru Levorg is now on sale. The natural successor to the popular Legacy Tourer is more compact outside but bigger inside. The car comes to the UK in a single GT trim level, with continuously variable belt drive automatic transmission and a new direct injection turbo-petrol “boxer” 1.6 litre engine – which … [Read more...]
Let There Be Light (and you can do it yourself!)
A bulb not illuminating? Don’t panic. Kim Henson advises on quick and easy ways to check the system yourself, restore operation and keep your car legal as well as safe… It’s a fact of life that although motor car bulbs usually last for a very long time (and some modern types have the potential to survive ‘indefinitely’ unless physically damaged), eventually they will fail. Inevitably this … [Read more...]
Jaguar XJ First Impressions – plus the latest product news from Jaguar Land Rover
JAGUAR AND LAND ROVER ROLL OUT THEIR 2016 MODELS David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) reports, and takes to the wheel of the revised 2016 model year Jaguar XJ Saloon… First, Jaguar Land Rover ('JLR') activities It is that time of year when 2016 models are rolled out by most manufacturers eager for the publicity to get customers placing orders for their latest updated products. High … [Read more...]
Triumph Stag – A classic comes good
Julian Leyton reflects on four decades of knowledge and experience of these fascinating grand tourers… For my sins I had the, perhaps dubious, pleasure of working in all three divisions of one of the largest British Leyland dealer groups throughout most of the 70s, meaning that I saw Stags from Sales, Parts and, toughest of all, Service perspectives. Launched a couple of years before I … [Read more...]
Michelotti (and the Triumph Stag) – ‘A free pencil…’
2015 marks the 45th anniversary of the launch of the Triumph Stag. Dave Moss looks back at the car and its talented instigator, Giovanni Michelotti... In 1968, the Triumph Stag - and various other shadowy prototypes - were oddball survivors in the new BLMC stable. At the time marque plans were being fiercely guarded and nurtured by previously-independent operations then recently joined in an … [Read more...]
DeLorean DMC-12 – A (back to the) future classic…
Thirty years after the first 'Back to the Future' film arrived, Kim Henson looks back at the evocative car which starred in it (but in fact pre-dated it too)... Whether you are a fan of the model or not, the ‘dare to be different’ DeLorean DMC-12 made news from the moment it was conceived. Production started in February 1981 at a purpose-built factory at Dunmurry, Belfast, at the … [Read more...]
First ‘enhanced’ audio video eBook on Porsche 911
Glen Smale delivers an innovative eBook treat for Porsche 911 enthusiasts... Performance Car Publishing, an all-Welsh team in South West Wales, has published the first in a series of new enhanced eBooks. Believed to be a first in the field of automotive publishing, this eBook will cover the design and development of the iconic Porsche Carrera RS 2.7, originally unveiled in 1972. The … [Read more...]
Getting More Enjoyment and Information from ‘Wheels-Alive’
Kim Henson advises... If you have just discovered ‘Wheels-Alive’, you may be interested to know that there is a wealth of information within the site, in addition to the most recent features, which are listed on the ‘Home’ page. While of course this website does cover in-depth analysis and driving of new cars, that's only one aspect of it, since the site also incorporates so much more – … [Read more...]
Honda HR-V SUV Road Test
HONDA RETURNS TO THE COMPACT SUV MARKET WITH THEIR LATEST HR-V RANGE by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) Honda first put a toe in the compact SUV sector in 1999 with the original HR-V in both three and five door body styles. Recently they have re-entered this fast growing sector with the latest HR-V available with petrol and diesel engines options but only as a five door and only with … [Read more...]
Mitsubishi ASX Road Test
LATEST MITSUBISHI ASX COMPACT CROSSOVER ADDS TO SALES GROWTH By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) Since 1983 Mitsubishi have been well known for their off-roaders, starting with the tough and durable Shogun three and five door range, winner of the Dakar rally for numerous years. But times change as customer’s buying requirements alter due to the higher rates of tax imposed to force down … [Read more...]
Renault Kadjar SUV Road Test
THE RENAULT KADJAR – ANOTHER IMPORTANT NEW MID-SIZED SUV CROSSOVER by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) Before you scour the words in this new model test drive for what the word Kadjar means, it doesn’t seem to mean anything – it’s just a name hatched up by those creative marketing types. You know - the people who came up with oddball names for other Renault new cars such as Twizy, Zoe, … [Read more...]
DS 4 First Impressions
THE NEW DS 4, ONE MODEL WITH TWO BODY STYLE OPTIONS First drive by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) DS, the standalone premium brand under the parentage of Citroën, is introducing their latest DS 4 range in November 2015 with two distinct and stylish five door body styles, the DS 4 Hatchback and the DS Crossback; all are front wheel drive. The latter version in terms of styling and a 30mm … [Read more...]
Testing Times – Brief Impressions from the SMMT Test Day South 2015
BRIEF FIRST IMPRESSIONS – CARS DRIVEN AT THE SOCIETY OF MOTOR MANUFACTURERS AND TRADERS’ 2015 TEST DAY SOUTH Kim Henson was there… The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) hosts an annual driving day specifically for motoring writers from the southern part of Britain. Without exception I find this a very useful occasion for driving a variety of vehicles from different … [Read more...]
Why Austin’s Smallest Car Hails from the Welsh Valleys
Some 66 years on, Dave Moss remembers the disabled Welsh miners who produced 30,000 cars... Pengam, on the outskirts of Bargoed in south Wales, is a pretty unlikely place for a car factory - but its product was a pretty unusual car. Deep in the Rhymney Valley, landlocked by hills, eighteen tortuous miles north of Cardiff and almost as far from Ebbw Vale and Merthyr Tydfil, for years the … [Read more...]
Early Discoverys in the South West
Dave Moss reflects on the introduction of Land Rover's first Discovery, in 1989. Looking down the time tunnel to the Plymouth-based UK launch of the Land-Rover Discovery in October 1989, 26 years now feels like several lifetimes in automotive history. The launch was masterminded by the marque's new owner, British Aerospace, which had somehow recently been persuaded by the government to buy … [Read more...]
Fiat 500X First Impressions
Kim Henson test-drives Fiat’s new ‘crossover’ model in deepest Wiltshire… Through automotive history Fiat has rightly been highly praised for its expertise and flair in producing highly effective ‘compact’ vehicles, and the huge popularity of the ‘new’ 500 (in fact introduced eight years ago now) is testament to this. To give some idea of the public’s love for this car, U.K. sales in 2008 were … [Read more...]
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