David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) drives the new range-topping Vitara On sale from January 2016 is the latest addition to the Suzuki Vitara compact five door SUV range. The new Vitara range was launched eight months ago when it replaced the larger, durable, tough, well-liked and long serving 4x4 Grand Vitara range. Now there is an additional model in the softer styled SUV Vitara range - … [Read more...]
Road Tests
Our in-depth appraisals of new cars available in the UK
MG Sales Record – and Revisiting the MG3 in a short Road Test
Chris Adamson looks at the continuing growth of MG, and drives the 2016 MG3 New MG registrations in the UK topped the 3,000 mark last year (2015) setting a record figure for the famous British brand since its acquisition a decade ago by Chinese car giant SAIC Motor. This was almost 1,000 more than in 2014 and surpassed the 2013 and 2014 sales figures combined. Driving the sales success was … [Read more...]
Book Review: No Speed Limit – Sixty Years of Road Testing Classic Cars
A ‘Must read’ title for all motoring enthusiasts, reviewed by Kim Henson Author: Stuart Bladon Published by: The History Press (www.thehistorypress.co.uk) 272 pages (paperback) UK Price: £14.99 ISBN: 978-0-7509-6491-3 I was very much looking forward to reading this book, not least because Stuart Bladon is one of the most accomplished, knowledgeable and … [Read more...]
New Year Road Test: The latest Honda Jazz – Music to new ears in 2016?
David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) gives his verdict… The new third generation Honda Jazz went on sale in September with a new 1.3-litre petrol engine, new larger platform, more interior space and smarter looks. The re-styling now might improve the appeal to a younger group of family customers rather than the older generation who were its main users. Prices will range from £13,495 to … [Read more...]
New Peugeot 308 GTi from Peugeot Sport – Road Test
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...]
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...]
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...]
Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC Sport Road Test
Civic Pride… Kim Henson assesses Honda’s 1.8 i-VTEC Sport version. Dynamically styled, providing eager performance and with an excellent, proven reputation for reliability, it is no surprise that Honda Civics are liked and respected by the buying public. The current Civic range was updated in the spring of 2015, notably featuring revised frontal styling (incorporating a new front bumper … [Read more...]
Peugeot 308 SW Allure THP 110
Big-hearted, but powered by a compact 1.2 litre three cylinder petrol engine, Peugeot’s stylish 308 estate is assessed by Kim Henson… About a year ago as I write (4th March 2015) Peugeot’s 308 was crowned ‘European Car of the Year’ at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. It won the award by a handsome margin too, scoring 307 points, compared with the runner-up BMW i3’s 223 points, and the … [Read more...]
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – Best Of Both Worlds?
A Plug-in Hybrid Electric Sports Utility Vehicle? What a good idea… Kim Henson test-drives Mitsubishi’s innovative 4x4 Outlander PHEV... It takes some doing to combine, within a single Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), electric propulsion (primarily for local runs), a petrol engine, four wheel drive, true practicality in a range of roles, and cost-effective operation. However, with their already … [Read more...]
BMW 335d xDrive
WOW! Yes, if it’s wow you want, here’s the car, says Tom Scanlan Of course, there are loads of cars that can wow us, but this one also offers so much more, especially, in the Touring version tested, practicality for the family driver. The car weighs well over two tons (even with BMW’s ‘lightweight’ engineering) and has 313 hp at 4,400 rpm. This is an impressive, but not huge, figure. But the … [Read more...]
Audi A3 Cabriolet
Following its launch earlier this year, we have now had the chance for a full road test of the Audi A3 Cabriolet. Tom Scanlan reports... The fabric hood opens or closes in eighteen seconds and can be deployed at speeds up to 31 mph. On a 70 mph dual carriageway, the £230 optional wind deflector kept buffeting up front to a minimum and the noise levels, even at the national maximum speed, were … [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...]
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...]
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...]
Suzuki Swift 1.3 DDiS
GENUINELY INEXPENSIVE TO RUN? These days, cars offering true economy of operation are much in demand, so how does Suzuki’s diesel-powered Swift ‘supermini’ shape up? Kim Henson evaluates the model over 1,100 miles. The first Suzuki that I had the pleasure of driving was a three cylinder Alto, way back in the summer of 1981. This compact five door hatchback impressed with its clever design, … [Read more...]
Mercedes-Benz CLS 250 CDi Blue Efficiency Shooting Brake
The Shooting Brake – originally a car that carried shooting parties -– is Mercedes’ name for their eye-catchingly sleek CLS estate car. It’s expensive, but great to drive and impressively frugal. I drove the 250 CDI Blue Efficiency version almost 1500 miles. Quite a fair amount of this was on motorways in the UK, France and Belgium and along German Autobahns. That meant much time was spent at … [Read more...]