Ferrari 488 Spider review: This most perfect of sports cars has a lasting effect on Adam Hay-Nicholls, who gets cosy with it in Maranello July 7, 2016 The 488 Spider drove me to drink petrol. There was no warning when it ran out of fuel. OK, the gas light came on about 40 miles back but the way I was driving it, with ‘race’ mode selected on the manettino dial and some heavy application of the right pedal, that distance came and [...]
Audi S5 Quattro review: Efforts to improve on this masterpiece deserve our respect but not our necessarily our love July 4, 2016 How do you improve upon a masterpiece? Would Van Gogh’s sunflowers look better if they were brightened up in Photoshop? Perhaps Exile on Main Street needs some AutoTune tweakery to smooth out Mick Jagger’s trademark drawl? Such was the task facing Audi in replacing the A5, the car that designer Walter de Silva called his [...]
What it’s like to take on one of the world’s toughest race tracks in the 2017 Nissan GT-R June 27, 2016 Nearly 50 drivers and motorcyclists have died at Spa-Francorchamps since the first race there in 1922. Nestled in the lush green hills of the Belgian Ardennes, this tortuously twisty circuit is second only to the Nurburgring for morbid notoriety. So it’s with some trepidation that – having signed a lengthy disclaimer – I don my [...]
Range Rover Evoque car review: Are you convinced by the daring of this big topless release from Land Rover? June 20, 2016 The Range Rover Evoque has been around since 2011 and is in danger of becoming last year’s must-have. With an ever-increasing number of upmarket SUVs on the market (including competition from within JLR – Jaguar has recently launched the larger F-Pace SUV), how could Land Rover make a statement by offering something a bit… daring? [...]
Lamborghini Huracan LP 6104 motoring review: I drove this monster to the school gates to prove to my son that I was the coolest Dad in the playground June 13, 2016 Spec Price: £181,895 0-62MPH: 3.2 secs Top speed: 202mph CO2 G/KM: 280g/km MPG combined: 22.6mpg The verdict Design ★★★★★ Performance ★★★★★ Practicality ★★☆☆☆ Value ★★☆☆ Like many men with children, I aspire to be a ‘cool dad’. I foist my musical choices on my children (“This album got five stars in Mojo!”), still wear trainers at every opportunity and [...]
The Audi SQ7 is a torque monster and the world’s most powerful diesel SUV June 6, 2016 Torque: it’s easy to feel, but difficult to explain. As my physics teacher once told me, “power is the speed you hit the wall. Torque is how far you take the wall with you”. If you do need to move a tonne of bricks, cemented or otherwise, the Audi SQ7 is the perfect choice. With [...]
You may love many cars in a lifetime, but you only ever have one first love. For me, it was an Aston Martin June 6, 2016 With 568 British horsepower it’s quite appropriate I should pay a visit to Her Majesty’s stud. Driving down Kings Avenue towards the Sandringham Estate I spotted the stables to the right, a big ‘ER’ embedded in the brickwork, and swung my Aston Martin through the open gate. Within seven seconds a royal protection officer arrived [...]
Heineken hopes F1 will help its beer zoom off shelf June 1, 2016 Brewing giant Heineken is reportedly close to tying up a five-year £100m deal to sponsor Formula One. The sport is more globalised than ever, with races now taken place in extremely lucrative markets across the Middle East, America and eastern Europe. Although many consumer brands have sponsored the sport over the years – with Red [...]
Jaguar Land Rover in for bumpy ride as profits fall despite stellar sales May 30, 2016 The UK’s largest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover’s sales increased 28 per cent to 158,813 vehicles in the fourth quarter ended 31 March, thanks to a strong demand for the Jaguar XE compact saloon, nicknamed the “baby Jag”. Despite reporting bumper sales, the British luxury car manufacturer saw its pre-tax profits fall to £1.56bn, down from £2.6bn [...]
Mercedes-Benz GLS review: can it topple the Range Rover as the S-Class of SUVs? May 27, 2016 The trouble with making the best car in the world is that you become a target for everyone else obsessed with doing better. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a wondrous machine whose chauffeurs, so often seen parked up in London watching the in-car TV, should count themselves very lucky indeed. But they’d be luckier still in [...]