Ferrari California T Handling Speciale review with price and specs: a £150,000 delight, but better suited to the Tuscan Hills than the Tooting school run May 23, 2016 Everyone should have a ‘bucket list’ – a checklist of things to do before kicking the bucket. Yours might include a meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant, a bungee jump or running a marathon dressed as a rhino. Mine was driving a Ferrari. Now, I should explain that, in eight years as a journalist, I’ve been [...]
Morgan gives its 65-year-old car a racing makeover. Introducing the Morgan AR Plus 4 May 16, 2016 There is an office deep within Morgan’s ‘frozen in time’ Malvern HQ, where there hangs a picture of Sir John Harvey-Jones. He was the star of Troubleshooter, the 1990 BBC TV series that made Morgan famous again. “Modernise or die” was Sir John’s advice for the firm. It didn’t. But neither did it die, and [...]
Jaguar F-Pace S Diesel review: Can the company keep pace with its first family-friendly SUV? May 9, 2016 Price: £51,450 0-62MPH: 5.8 secs Top Speed: 150mph CO2 G/KM: 159g/km MPG Combined: 47.1mpg ★★★★☆ | Design ★★★★☆ | Performance ★★★☆☆ | Practicality ★★★★☆ | Value A Jaguar really shouldn’t be doing this. I’m driving a distant relative of the E-type down what feels like a near-vertical drop, splashing up a crater-laden gravel road and [...]
Classic cars and super-yachts at Mallorca’s most luxurious rally event, the Oris Rally Clásico at Puerto Portals May 6, 2016 Thanks to its clubbing capital Magaluf, Mallorca has developed an unfair reputation as a place full of barely-clothed, sunburnt Brits, all clambering over each other to contract the latest, greatest sexually transmitted disease. There are a few locations actively attempting to repair that perception, though, by attracting lovers of sport and culture to the island, [...]
BMW M2 review: we test it to the limit by racing former F1 driver Timo Glock April 29, 2016 I am following ex-F1 driver Timo Glock, in the new BMW M2 around the Laguna Seca racetrack in California. He’s fast. His name sticks in my mind as the F1 driver who Lewis Hamilton needed to pass, in the last race of 2008, in order to win the world championship for the first time. Hamilton [...]
The new Volvo XC90 is more luxurious than the equivalent Jaguar, with the loveliest SUV interior this side of a Bentley Bentayga April 29, 2016 The Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription feels incredibly Swedish, in the best possible sense; classy and restrained, with a hint of noir about it. If a forensic psychologist arrived at your door in one of these, investigating the murder of your business associate, you would be very worried indeed. It eloquently answers any misgivings we might [...]
The first ever right-hand drive Mustang hits British shores – but has the trip been worth it? April 25, 2016 It’s a damp, autumnal morning at the Pebble Beach golf resort on the coast of California, a couple of hours north of San Francisco. During the summer, it’d be nudging 30 degrees, and keen golfers would pay $495 a game while their partners enjoyed the luxury spa. This morning, though, it’s just me and a [...]
Porsche 718 Boxster review: Is this four cylinder Porsche even better than its predecessor? April 18, 2016 Design: ★★★★☆ Performance: ★★★★★ Practicality: ★★★★☆ Value: ★★★☆☆ Price: £52,972 0-62MPH: 4.2 secs Top speed: 177mph CO2 G/KM: 167g/km MPG combined: 38.7mpg Midway through its life, the Porsche Boxster has a new name – 718 Boxster – and a new pair of turbocharged four cylinder engines. For a marque synonymous with the sonorous flat-six, this could be [...]
The new Porsche Macan road test: it’s all things to all men April 13, 2016 Subtlety is not my Porsche Macan Turbo’s strong suit. In fact, it feels rather out of place. I’ve driven it to the Goodwood Members Meeting, a rather exclusive affair reserved for owners of historic cars, experienced racers, and the tiny handful of civilians who managed to get their hands on tickets. The throngs that come [...]
Is SEAT’s new Leon the new hot-hatch hero? April 11, 2016 For many, the 1980s were the halcyon days of the hot hatchback. Yet as the next decade dawned, joyriding, ramraiding and soaring insurance premiums brought this go-faster fairytale to an abrupt end. Until now. We’re currently in the midst of a second golden age for the hot hatch. And while classic heroes like the Peugeot [...]