Car review: The BMW i8 July 21, 2014 We'd stopped the BMW i8 alongside Loch a’ Chroisg to swap drivers and stretch our legs. A bunch of us had flown up from Farnborough that morning to Inverness, and we were heading around the top of Scotland in a crazy five-hour drive, before flying south again mid-afternoon. Minutes later, the Land Rover Discovery that [...]
Review: the new Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake July 15, 2014 According to the Jaguar ads, half the country is queuing up to test drive the new F-Type. It probably won’t disappoint either, given how attractive it is and what a delight it is to drive. But there’s a deal-breaker: practicality. The F-Type only has two seats and it has a tiny boot, making it great [...]
Review: The astonishing new Tesla Model S July 8, 2014 Some have already judged the first bespoke effort from cutting-edge American electric carmaker Tesla as the second coming of the automobile. But can the Tesla Model S possibly justify the hype? It’s certainly a lot of pressure to heap on a premium executive saloon. Yet Tesla chief executive Elon Musk appears to be one of [...]
Big Benz: a no frills Mercedes crossover July 1, 2014 It took some time to convince my wife that she should be driving something a bit more “off-road”. She didn’t buy into the whole mums-in-their-Range-Rovers thing, and would have been happier with a posh saloon. Now she’s one of the legions to have bought into the crossover genre and swears by her Kia Sportage. Everyone [...]
Motoring review: Porsche 911 Targa 4S June 10, 2014 The dream of convertible motoring rarely matches reality. Dream: bathing in the sun. Reality: baking in the sun. Dream: breath of fresh air. Reality: a breath of noxious toxins and cow poo. As a result, you tend to leave the roof up most of the time and suffer, irony of ironies, a darker and more [...]
Car review: Volvo v60 Polestar June 2, 2014 You know the Volvo you’re driving is something special when all of Sweden turns to stare as you go by. Sweden is Volvo’s home – almost every house has at least one parked outside – so you’d think people would be sick of the sight of them. But this is the V60 Polestar, and it [...]
The M3 is back and in rude health May 26, 2014 After killing off one of its most iconic models, BMW has found an ingenious way to bring the M3 back to life BMW’s marketing department accidentally killed the M3. For four generations it epitomised everyday Porsche-humbling performance, and had been a hit in the City ever since the original 1980s M3 became a stockbroker pinup. [...]
Not convinced? May 26, 2014 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… AUDI RS 4 PRICE: £56,545 0-62MPH: 4.7 secs TOP SPEED: 155mph CO2 G/KM: 249g/km MPG COMBINED: 26.4mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Two Stars PERFORMANCE Four Stars PRACTICALITY Five Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Three Stars PORSCHE MACAN TURBO PRICE: £59,990 0-62MPH: 4.8 secs TOP SPEED: 165mph CO2 G/KM: 208g/km MPG COMBINED: 31.7mpg THE [...]
Mid-market, middle of the road May 19, 2014 The new Jeep Cherokee arrives with plenty of fancy tech, but does it do enough to justify the price tag? The new Jeep Cherokee is stuck between a rock and a hard place – and that’s nothing to do with its off-road ability. The American brand is still something of an outsider in the UK, [...]
Not convinced? May 19, 2014 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… AUDI Q5 2.0 TDI QUATTRO SE PRICE: £34,155 0-62MPH: 0.9 secs TOP SPEED: 124mph CO2 G/KM: 159g/km MPG COMBINED: 47.1mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Three Stars PERFORMANCE Three Stars PRACTICALITY Three Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Three Stars RANGE ROVER EVOQUE SD4 PURE AUTOMATIC PRICE: £32,710 0-62MPH: 8.0 secs TOP SPEED: 121mph CO2 G/KM: 159g/km MPG COMBINED: [...]