Author Archives: Rob Auchterlonie

AUDI A5 AVANT: a car for all reasons

THE estate car was the ‘go to’ vehicle of choice back in the day for the family man who needed a car for all reasons.

Seemingly a dying breed of transport for quite a few years since the advent of the SUV, there’s still a place for them on our roads.

Audi knows that, and their latest A5 Avant (the posh name for an estate) replaces the A4 Avant on a brand new platform. Continue reading

BYD SEALION 7: all electric with quality fit and finish

WHILE electric car sales in the UK have slowed to rush hour speed, there doesn’t seen to be any stopping BYD in their quest to get to the front of the queue.

Their latest all-electric offering, the SEALION 7, is an SUV version of the saloon Seal and is their fourth model to hit the UK in the last couple of years. Continue reading

SKODA ELROQ: interesting proposition with a tempting price

SOMETIMES you’re left scratching your head wondering how car manufacturers come up with their model names.

But the answer is fairly simple. They just make them up. Hence the new Skoda Elroq is a mix of ‘electric’ and ‘Karoq’ – a portmanteau in some circles.  Continue reading

TOYOTA PRIUS EXCEL: sleek looks boost its appeal

THE past week has been spent in near silent driving mode, in the latest incarnation of a vehicle that has been the transport of choice for a multitude of mini cab drivers here in Milton Keynes. And probably elsewhere.

Yes, the Toyota Prius is back on sale in the UK, only this time the third generation of the car that was an early forerunner of electrified performance is an altogether sleeker proposition aimed at a different buyer. Continue reading

KIA EV3: the heart and Soul of an electric SUV

KIA’S electric car range has been rendered soul-less – but only because they’ve replaced the Soul EV with the EV3 as its smallest electric car in the range.

The newcomer sits below the Niro EV, EV6 and EV9, and you don’t have to look too hard to see a strong family resemblance between the smallest and the largest. Continue reading

HONDA HR-V: compact SUV ticks the eco boxes

IT used to be one of life’s great mysteries as to why Honda could make some great road car engines but the ones in the back of F1 cars were, to put it bluntly, a bit of a dog.

They put that one firmly to bed with their link up with Red Bull Racing but thankfully some things never change – their passenger car engines still seem as unburstable as ever.

Continue reading

CUPRA FORMENTOR V1: updates boost appeal of SUV crossover

ON first glance it might not strike you as an SUV but what’s before you here can be viewed as a more butch version of the popular Ateca.

The CUPRA Formentor is aimed squarely – or, rather, not-so squarely – at buyers who want an SUV that doesn’t look box-shaped and boring. Not that the Ateca is boring.

Sleek, stylish, sporty and decently equipped, it also scores well as a family car. Continue reading

KGM ACTYON: premium attention to detail

WHILE the push towards electric goes on, figures show there is still a very healthy demand for the good old internal combustion engine.

Figures for last year show that around a million motorists said ‘no thanks’ to full electric power and continued to opt for the ICE route.

With that demand very much in mind, that’s why the only option you have if you’re considering KGM’s all new Actyon is a 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine. Continue reading

HYUNDAI TUCSON ULTIMATE: inside and out update for best selling SUV

THERE are more SUVs on the roads than even cyclists these days, but few catch the eye like the latest Hyundai Tucson. 

Pronounce it however you like (there is really only one way) but it’s striking sculpted looks and bold signature grille make appreciation something of a Marmite moment. Judging by sales, it’s certainly not putting people off. Continue reading