Aston Martin Vanquish S review: Lotus steal Matt Becker has transformed this model from glitzy to genius January 3, 2017 To make Aston Martin’s new models drive as beautifully as they look, CEO Dr Andy Palmer went to the company that makes some of the best-handling cars in the world: Lotus. There, he hired a genius called Matt Becker, who’s already helped deliver the divine new DB11. Now the first of Aston’s existing cars to [...]
BMW 530D XDrive SE review: When a car is this good to drive, why let it drive itself? December 12, 2016 B MW flew me out to Portugal to drive the new 5 Series and made such a song and dance about its Autonomous Drive technology, you’d think it had reinvented the self-steering wheel. Frankly, I hated it. Yes, the 5 Series will drive itself for 30 seconds at a time on straight roads, and will [...]
Forget the Prius. The hybrid Hyundai Ioniq is soon to become the Uber car of choice October 17, 2016 The meteoric rise of Uber minicabs means more and more of us are familiar with the passenger experience in the backseat of an (invariably slightly stained) Toyota Prius. Indeed, an investigation by Motoring Research found the Prius minicab to be more ubiquitous in London than even Addison Lee’s black Ford Galaxys. But is it any [...]
Ferrari GTC4Lusso review: The four-seater is now even more likely to scare its three passengers witless September 26, 2016 If you own a Ferrari, you sometimes get sick of driving. Turn up to a birthday party or a barbeque and you literally have to spend hours giving people joyrides, one by one, when you’d rather be eating burgers. Or trying to fully savour the jealousy of your ex, who’s now married to a Hyundai-driving [...]
Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe review: The 1960s classic car has been reborn, and is more thrilling than any comparable Porsche September 12, 2016 Ah, the weekend toy. The car you own as much for the kudos as the fun of driving it. The weekday family SUV demands a certain conformity if it’s not to embarrass the family it’s bought to transport. But such restrictions don’t apply to that special something you keep in the garage. And what could [...]
Review: The new Aston Martin Vanquish Volante July 28, 2014 There’s a certain inevitability about Aston Martin; it’s impossible to discuss it without referencing James Bond. Even when BMW was the brand supplying 007’s cars, he was thought of as an Aston driver. The British sports car firm delights in the association, as you perhaps would if you could call upon the power of the [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
