Mercedes-AMG C63 review: Can this muscle car disguise itself as a sophisticated saloon? February 29, 2016 Price: £60,060 0-62mph: 4.1secs Top speed: 155mph MPG Combined: 34.5mpg ★★★☆☆ | Design ★★★★★ | Performance ★★★☆☆ | Practicality ★★★☆☆ | Value Elvis Costello famously said, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture” – and he had a point. I could tell you the Mercedes-AMG C63’s soundtrack is like a Wagnerian opera, or a [...]
The Toyota Mirai is the car you can buy – today – that only emits water February 23, 2016 At a modernist house in North London – designed, built and rented out by one of the partners at Norman Foster’s firm – Toyota showed me the future of the car. It’s a long, funny-looking four-door contraption called the Mirai, with exaggerated rear wheel arches and a fittingly modernist front end. Other car companies talk [...]
Bentley Bentayga review: behind the wheel of the the world’s fastest luxury SUV February 15, 2016 As the second hour standing in LAX’s dreadful arrivals queue passed, I realised my schedule was going hopelessly awry. I still had a 130-mile drive to Palm Springs: in LA traffic, four hours or more. Factor in no food and nearly 24 hours without sleep, and Bentley’s Bentayga luxury SUV launch seemed to be in [...]
The Ford Focus RS is the perfect blend of practicality, performance and visceral thrills February 8, 2016 The verdict Design | ★★★★☆ Performance | ★★★★★ Practicality | ★★★★ Value | ★★★★☆ A working class hero is something to be,” declared John Lennon in 1971. Was it mere coincidence that Ford had just launched the Escort RS1600, a road-legal rally car that brought power-slides to the masses? OK, so, yes, it definitely was a coincidence, but I’m [...]
How the Jaguar F-Type bagged us an invite to party with Kendall Jenner February 3, 2016 There are four bungalows situated behind the high walls of the notorious Chateau Marmont, each one the location of countless rock n’ roll parties. Mine has a particularly macabre claim to fame; the master bedroom was where comedy icon John Belushi checked out permanently. It’s a modernist LA pad, with floor-to-ceiling windows, whitewashed brick walls, [...]
Audi R8 supercar is up there with McLaren and Aston Martin January 26, 2016 The plan was to fly to the South of France at 9am, then spend the rest of the day driving around the glorious Var region. But fog-related delays meant we didn’t arrive at Paul Ricard until darkness was setting in. The next morning there was rain of biblical proportions. That’s not the ideal way to [...]
Range Rover Sport SVR motoring review: is it as brilliant as it is brawny? January 18, 2016 The Oxford English Dictionary defines a sports car as, “A low-built car designed for performance at high speeds”. That makes the modern “sports utility vehicle” – high, heavy and often cumbersome – seem a contradiction in terms. However, not all SUVs are created equal, and the 162mph Range Rover Sport SVR is faster and more [...]
Lexus GS F review: the fast and furious GS F is an altogether different kind of Lexus January 14, 2016 If you think Lexus is all about holier-than-thou hybrids… you’re almost right. But, like the accountant who swaps his suit for suspenders at weekends, the Japanese carmaker has a naughty side. Meet the new GS F: a V8-engined super saloon that laughs in the face of rainforests. The ‘F’, in case you were wondering, stands [...]
McLaren 570S motoring review: A sports car built for the city December 7, 2015 The Porsche 911 is the Volkswagen Golf of the sports car world. Nobody will flame you for buying one, but nobody will raise an eyebrow or turn a head, either. Solid, reliable and trustworthy, it’s like a pair of sensible shoes, albeit one that can reach 200mph. That’s why Audi did such good business with [...]
Mini Clubman motoring review: Mini’s big dream has been realised with the Clubman November 30, 2015 The Mini hatch is a popular car for good reason. Not only does it look good, it feels suitably luxurious inside and it’s great to drive. Perhaps this is why it’s sold by the bucket-load – even edging into the top 10 best selling cars of 2015 so far. But the Mini has never excelled [...]