Not convinced? November 24, 2014 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… FORD MONDEO TITANIUM 2.0 TDCI ECONETIC PRICE: £24,995 0-62MPH: 9.5 secs TOP SPEED: 130mph CO2 G/KM: 109g/km MPG COMBINED: 67.3mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Two Stars PERFORMANCE Three Stars PRACTICALITY Five Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Three Stars MAZDA6 2.2 SE PRICE: £22,095 0-62MPH: 9.0 secs TOP SPEED: 131mph CO2 G/KM: 104g/km MPG COMBINED: 67.3mpg THE VERDICT: [...]
Car review: Kia goes electric with the Soul EV November 17, 2014 The cute and nimble Soul EV is a confident entry into unknown territory for the South Korean carmaker. Ferrari likes to limit the number of cars it makes to retain exclusivity and encourage strong resale values. In contrast, mainstream car brands want to sell as many vehicles as they physically can (it doesn’t [...]
Car review: BMW’s new X6 is niche but nice November 10, 2014 It was rather unfair on the woman who’d just parked her new Mini Countryman. I walked across the street to check it out and she assumed I’d come to admire it. In fact, I wanted a closer look at this ugly, lardy monstrosity. I was baffled that anyone would buy one. A three-door Mini, [...]
Not convinced? November 10, 2014 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… RANGE ROVER SPORT 4.4 SD V8 PRICE: £82,650 0-62MPH: 6.9 secs TOP SPEED: 140mph CO2 G/KM: 229g/km MPG COMBINED: 32.5mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Four Stars PERFORMANCE Three Stars PRACTICALITY Four Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Two Stars BMW X5 M50d PRICE: £64,020 0-62MPH: 5.3 secs TOP SPEED: 155mph CO2 G/KM: 173g/km MPG COMBINED: 42.8mpg THE VERDICT: [...]
Take a BOAT through green lanes: Byways Open to All Traffic are the countryside’s best-kept secret November 5, 2014 Most Londoners don’t drive for pleasure – quite the opposite; it’s a chore, a practicality, something to get out of the way as quickly as possible. But it needn’t be like this. For those in the know, there’s a way to seek adventure and discover corners of the UK that nobody has explored in decades, [...]
Car review: The Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster is a new breed November 3, 2014 The British classic may have Mercedes money behind it now, but it’s sharper and more powerful than ever. Aston Martin, which is rightly known for making beautiful British cars, nevertheless has one small problem. For far too long, its cars have looked, well, the same. The company’s employees and a small number [...]
Not convinced? November 3, 2014 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… FERRARI 458 SPIDER PRICE: £198,997 0-62MPH: 3.0 secs TOP SPEED: 199mph CO2 G/KM: 307g/km MPG COMBINED: 21.2mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Five Stars PERFORMANCE Five Stars PRACTICALITY One Star VALUE FOR MONEY Three Stars PORSCHE 911 TURBO S CABRIOLET PRICE: £142,140 0-62MPH: 3.1 secs TOP SPEED: 198mph CO2 G/KM: 227g/km MPG COMBINED: 29.1mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN [...]
Car review: Porsche Cayman and Boxster GTS October 27, 2014 Welcome to driving Nirvana. This week we have a pair of cars that deliver total vehicular enlightenment; it doesn’t matter whether you opt for the convertible Porsche Boxster GTS or the hardtop Cayman GTS coupé, both are simply sublime. With those three letters (which stand for “Gran Turismo Sport”) Porsche has injected attitude into the [...]
Car review: The Lexus NX 300h is an eco-friendly drive that doesn’t skimp on gadgets October 13, 2014 Pulling away in a car on a wave of silence still doesn’t make sense in my brain. I’ve driven plenty of electric and hybrid cars, but every time I gently move off from a standstill on a peacefully eerie surge of current-fed calm, it still gets me. I’m experiencing this soothing yet unsettling [...]
Car review: The Morgan Roadster may be unwieldy, but it’s a joy to ride September 22, 2014 Sometimes life throws you a curve ball – my drive in the Morgan was one. This was no ordinary road-test; no private jet awaited at the Harrods terminal at Stansted, the London Morgan dealership simply arranged for a Roadster to be delivered to my home. The plan then was to drive 400 miles [...]