BRIEF IMPRESSIONS: A VARIETY OF CARS DRIVEN BY 'WHEELS-ALIVE' AT THE SOCIETY OF MOTOR MANUFACTURERS AND TRADERS’ 2014 TEST DAY SOUTH Kim Henson reports… Every year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) hosts a driving day specifically for motoring writers from the south of the U.K, and I always find this a very useful occasion for driving a number of cars from different makers, … [Read more...]
Contributors
Paul Frère
Serge Dubois / Editions Sergio Leone Price: €49 256 pages Distributed by: la Fondation Roi Baudoin, 21 rue Brederode, Brussels 1000 Paul Frère died in 2008 aged 91 and this is the first posthumous work on one of the world’s foremost autojournalists to appear. Still professionally active until his last months, the Belgian was a top flight racing driver in the 1950s and after winning Le Mans … [Read more...]
The VW Golf Story
Russell Hayes Price: £40 288 pages Behemoth Publishing, www.behemothpublishing.co.uk ISBN: 978-0-9928769-0-6 Russell Hayes’s encyclopedic yet extraordinarily entertaining History of the Cortina appeared in 2012 on the 50th anniversary of Ford’s famous saloon. Now Hayes has done it again, this time with the VW Golf, arguably a much more significant car. He shows how the Golf grew out of … [Read more...]
Ferrari 250 GTO Workshop Manual
Glen Smale, Haynes, July 2014 ISBN: 978 0 85733 384 1 MRP: £25 156 pages Some years ago Haynes reinvented its famous workshop manual series as feature books on notable aeroplanes, boats, submarines and…..motor cars. The latest issue on the last-mentioned covers perhaps the most famous Ferrari of all time, the 250 GTO. Last of the dual purpose road and racing Ferraris, a mere 36 were built … [Read more...]
Please release me
The other day, the lad who works for me was looking puzzled (actually that happens quite often, but I digress). On enquiry, he explained that he had been looking in vain for the bonnet release catch/handle, on a modern Peugeot… He was surprised to find that this release catch/handle was in fact located on the left hand front door pillar, so is only accessible when the door is open. Now what … [Read more...]
Skoda Yeti
Skoda's new Yeti is assessed by Tom Scanlan... Skoda is on a bit of a roll at the moment, with buoyant sales figures. The Yeti can take some of the credit. The new version is available as either a 4-w-d car or, as in the test model, a front wheel drive version. This car is equipped with the least powerful of the 2-litre diesel engines, with 110 PS (140 PS and 170 PS outputs are also available) … [Read more...]
Nissan Qashqai 1.2 Acenta
Tom Scanlan tries out a second generation version of the ever-popular Qashqai Travelling in the new Qashqai was a pleasure. This new version of a popular car has raised its own bar. The seats are very comfortable with good lower-back support for the driver, who also gets a tilt/telescope adjustable steering-wheel. The instruments showed clearly, both in daylight and at night with … [Read more...]
Latest Volkswagens Sampled
Kim Henson drives two of the latest VW Polos plus the new Golf SV and the rapid Golf R... As model names, Polo and Golf have in each case been with us for around four decades, but of course these justifiably popular Volkswagen models have evolved as the years have passed, and – as has always been the case – the latest versions represent current ‘state of the art’ design and … [Read more...]
Suzuki 4WD range First impressions
Suzuki's Four Wheel Drive range, summarised by Tom Scanlan... Not a lot of people, it seems, know that Suzuki makes cars and not just bikes. They may have only 1.5% of the UK car market but buyers who move into a Suzuki for the first time tend to stay with it. No wonder, really, considering the value for money the cars offer: they seem well-made, with good quality materials and with generous … [Read more...]
Audi A6 Ultra
Tom Scanlan road tests the refined, sophisticated Audi A6 Ultra diesel. The end result of all the experience Audi has gained on the race-track with their unrivalled success over fifteen years at Le Mans is proof of the worth of motorsport. The A6 Ultra is probably the quietest four-cylinder diesel car I've driven, and perhaps six-cylinder cars could be included in that. The engine is the … [Read more...]
Bratislava or Bust… They Made It!
‘Everything Keeps Going Right’ was a Toyota advertising slogan of a few years ago, and thankfully it held true for a group of friends who drove a 16 year old RAV4 to Bratislava (and back again!) in aid of the Dementia UK charity. Kim Henson reports… Recently on Wheels-Alive I wrote about a group of first year medical students who were about to set off in an ageing Toyota RAV4 on the exciting … [Read more...]
Devon Delights in a Suzuki SX4 S-Cross 1.6 DDiS SZ4
Kim Henson waxes lyrical about a long weekend touring in south Devon. You may already have seen and read the Wheels-Alive Road Test elsewhere on our website, covering the Suzuki SX4 S-Cross 1.6 DDiS SZ4. We rated the model as an attractive, practical and fuel-efficient ‘crossover’ (for more information on the vehicle itself, please have a look at our separate Road Test, by clicking HERE). … [Read more...]
Suzuki SX4 S-Cross 1.6 DDiS SZ4
An attractive, practical ‘crossover’ vehicle seeking to provide enjoyable and economical family motoring… Suzuki’s fresh-faced SX4 S-Cross looks very good on paper, but how does it shape up on the road? Kim Henson reports, test driving a range-topping turbo diesel SZ4 version. Today’s ‘crossover’ models (effectively combining the best attributes of saloons, hatchbacks, estate cars and sport … [Read more...]
Bratislava or Bust…On a long journey for dementia sufferers
Kim Henson meets a young enthusiast from Dorset driving an old Toyota to Bratislava to help raise funds for a charity supporting dementia sufferers and their families… These days there is much talk in the news about dementia. So there should be, with an estimated 800,000 people in the UK (plus many millions more, around the world) suffering from this awful affliction, which is a progressive … [Read more...]
Citroën C1
Citroën’s happy little C1 city car has been replaced by a brand-new C1, complete with a smiley face. Citroën reckons the new car’s front has just that, along with the company’s trade-mark 3D rear lights. Tom Scanlan reports... In Citroën’s now-established tradition, the cars also come in a range of new colour combinations, both outside and in, and that will certainly help attract two main … [Read more...]
Isle Of Wight excursion in an Austin A60 Cambridge
Kim Henson continues our series which looks at the enjoyment that touring by cars, new or old, can still bring, this time covering a happy trip to the Isle of Wight in a classic ‘family’ Austin… BY CAMBRIDGE TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT The vehicle used for this trip means a great deal to me. It was purchased by my grandfather in June 1973 and has been in\my family ever since. During that time I’ve … [Read more...]
John Price Williams samples the new MG3 Form Sport
What defines an MG? The marque has had a long sporting tradition since building its first car some 90 years ago, though the badge has been stuck on Maestros, Metros and Montegos, among other less distinguished models, all quite some distance away from the original concept of a two-seater sports car. I recently had the chance to test the MG3 - the latest offering, a slick, spacious good-looking … [Read more...]
Kias of Today sampled, July 2014
Kim Henson drives a selection of models from the current Kia line-up… I have been impressed by Kias since first having a five door Pride for a week-long road test… That was back in 1992, and at the time I rated the car as a cost-effective, competent hatchback, and which was a state-of-the-art machine in its time. In fact my findings were confirmed by a friend who bought a Pride in the early … [Read more...]
No reversing lamps?
Yes, we know that electronic control over many aspects of modern vehicles is definitely here to stay, but in my garage we can’t help wondering if manufacturers over-complicate things in this area, ‘just because they can’… It’s all very well incorporating high levels of technology into new vehicles, and indeed, for some customers this may be a selling point. However, when those same cars are … [Read more...]
Wot, no oil?
These days car engines are generally VERY expensive to rebuild or repair, and to me it always seems a shame – and a costly mistake – that so many drivers seem to care so little about what’s going on under the bonnet that they ignore early warning signs of trouble… Sure, it gives me work, but I always (still) get upset when a mechanical unit that, given a little basic care and attention, has the … [Read more...]
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