Alex Grant
First Drive: Skoda Octavia
Sector: Lower-medium Price (March 2013): £15,990-£23,240 Fuel: 52.3-74.3mpg CO2: 99-124g/km Since the first model launched in 1999, the Octavia has become a backbone of the Škoda range. Reliable, practical … Read More »
Road Test: BMW 520d Gran Turismo M Sport
Sector: Executive Price: £40,305 Fuel: 53.3mpg CO2: 139g/km Next to the excellent 5 Series range, and the equally popular X5 and X6 SUVs, the 5 Series … Read More »
Renault offers free domestic charging units for ZOE customers
The funding package, announced in February, offers a 75% discount for home charging points, but doesn’t cover installations at work addresses. Renault will provide the additional … Read More »
User-chooser fleet focus for Ford’s fastest models
The UK is a vital market for Ford’s sportiest models, with 50% of Europe’s ST-badged cars sold here. Some 5,000 examples of the 180bhp Fiesta ST … Read More »
Electric Volkswagen up! to launch in Q4 2013
The e-up! will make its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, four years after its concept car namesake broke cover at the same … Read More »
New cars over 25% more fuel-efficient than in 2000, finds SMMT
The New Car CO2 report – released today (14 March) by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) – found that the number of sub-100g/km … Read More »
Road Test: Hyundai Santa Fe
SECTOR: Large SUV PRICE: (March 2013): £25,270-£34,015 FUEL: 41.5-47.9mpg CO2: 155-202g/km With an eye on Europe’s biggest sectors, Hyundai has proved itself very capable of benchmarking and … Read More »
Geneva News: Mitsubishi to launch part-electric Outlander Commercial
The commercial version of the outgoing Outlander sold largely to specialist fleets such as the Environment Agency and telecoms companies who needed its four-wheel drive capability. … Read More »
Nissan reveals upgrades for Sunderland-built "Euro LEAF"
To date, global LEAF production has taken place in Japan, but from this year it will be localised to the markets where the car is sold. … Read More »
More is less: Save money by buying more expensive fuel
‘Spiralling fuel costs mean most motorists are looking to spend as little as possible to fill up, which makes super unleaded fuels seem an unnecessary expense … Read More »
First Drive: Citroën C3 VTR+ VTi 82
Sector: Supermini Price: £12,890 Fuel: 62.8mpg CO2: 107g/km Next to the C3 Picasso and limelight-stealing DS3, the C3 has always looked a bit like the introvert … Read More »
Road Test: Škoda Rapid 1.6 TDI CR Elegance
Sector: Supermini Price: £17,850 Fuel: 64.2mpg CO2: 114g/km Despite the name, and its 1980s namesake, sportiness isn’t woven deep into the Škoda Rapid. However, Rapid should … Read More »
What lies beneath
As 2012 drew to a close, most car manufacturers were celebrating a strong year of retail sales growth in the UK. Against a backdrop of ongoing … Read More »
First Drive: Citroen C5 2.2 HDi 200 Exclusive
Sector: Upper Medium Price: £28,795 (Feb 2013) Fuel: 47.9mpg CO2: 155g/km With the D-segment squeezed from all sides by niche segments, efficient and capacious lower-medium models and … Read More »
Road Test: Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet
Sector: Convertible Price: £29,310 Fuel: 37.2mpg CO2: 177g/km The Mk7 Golf is already in the UK, so launching a GTI Cabriolet based on the outgoing model … Read More »
Lexus outlines fleet aspirations for sub-100g/km IS hybrid
The IS 300h is the first time Lexus has had a hybrid version of its compact executive car. It uses a 2.5-litre petrol engine and electric … Read More »
Road Test: Honda CR-V EX 2.2 i-DTEC
Sector: Crossover Price: £30,995 (Feb 2012) Fuel: 48.7mpg CO2: 154g/km Demand for four-wheel drive vehicles is as weather-dependent as barbecues, de-icer and umbrellas. So, for once, … Read More »
A dozen for ‘13
Citroën DS3 cabrio Citroën has sold more than 200,000 DS3s globally since the supermini launched three years ago. It’s been an important part of reinventing the … Read More »
Road Test: Hyundai Veloster Turbo
Sector: Coupe Price: £21,995 Fuel: 40.9mpg CO2: 157g/km There are some cars which, regardless of faults, niggles or eventual sales volume, have the sort of irrepressible … Read More »
Road Test: Honda CR-Z GT (2013)
Sector: Coupe Price: £23,050 Fuel: 54.3mpg CO2: 122g/km The Honda CR-Z has always had a hard task on its hands. This was pitched as the model that … Read More »
Road Test: Mercedes-Benz A250 Engineered by AMG
Sector: Lower Medium Price: £28,775 (Feb 2013) Fuel: 44.1mpg CO2: 148g/km The arrival of the latest A-Class must have caused a lot of furrowed brows, finally … Read More »
Road Test: Porsche 911 Carrera 3.4 PDK
Sector: Coupe Price: £73,836 Fuel: 34.4mpg CO2: 194g/km When Porsche launched the first 911 in 1963, economy meant losing two cylinders and most of its straight-line … Read More »
First Drive: Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC
Sector: Lower-medium Price: £19,400 – £23,175 (Jan 2013) Fuel: 78.5mpg CO2: 94g/km Honda was a latecomer to the diesel market, and it has not exactly blazed a … Read More »
Road Test: Volvo S60 D5 SE Lux Start/Stop
Sector: Compact executive Price: £31,845 Fuel: 62.8mpg CO2: 119g/km Until recently, if you wanted a high-power, low-carbon compact executive car, your choices were fairly limited. BMW … Read More »
Plugged-in fleets to save 75% on fuel costs, says report
The findings are the result of the trust’s recently completed Plugged-in Fleets initiative, run in partnership with Route Monkey and EDF Energy, and funded by Transport … Read More »
Road Test: Porsche Boxster
Sector: Roadster Price: £37,589 Fuel: 34.4mpg CO2: 192g/km While the Boxster is a relative newcomer to the Porsche range, it's arguably the model with the longest … Read More »
Detroit News: Lexus announces sub-100g/km IS hybrid
Heavily influenced by the LF-CC concept car shown at last year’s Paris Motor Show, Lexus says the new car is targeted at offering best-in-class driving dynamics, … Read More »
Volvo to drive for more SME business through dealer network
The manufacturer’s UK registrations climbed 1,000 units last year against 2011, but business sales were static and Motability fell slightly due to changes in the legislation, … Read More »
Road Test: Volvo V40 D2 SE Lux
Sector: Lower Medium Price: £23,595 Fuel: 78.5mpg CO2: 94g/km The V40 joins a rapidly changing premium C-segment, and like some of its rivals Volvo is plugging … Read More »
Renault Twizy joins Domino's Pizza delivery fleet
Based out of the franchise in Old Town’s High Street, Domino’s delivers until 5am all over the city, so the electric vehicle’s silent running allows it … Read More »