Author Archives: Rob Auchterlonie

VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT ESTATE: one of the exceptions to the rule

BACK in the day, I can recall sampling what was then the latest Volkswagen Passat – and getting a bit of a fright.

Moving the seat back to get a more comfortable position behind the wheel, I was suddenly aware I was rapidly getting closer to the boot than the dashboard. ‘Dear God’, I thought (or something like that….) they’ve forgotten to put stoppers on the end of the seat runners.

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MAZDA3 SKYACTIV-G: internal combustion will be around for a while yet

1730620_5883THE push is on to make the world a cleaner place – but the good old internal combustion engine is going to be plying its trade for some time yet.

That’s Mazda’s summing of the current situation, and they believe that until more renewable energy sources replace dirtier forms of fossil fuel and until charging times and charging infrastructure have dramatically improved, the engine as we know it will still be playing a major role for the next decade.

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PEUGEOT 508SW: bite hard and swallow – this can be inch perfect

1734566_231FOR all the knockers who smugly spout the line that French cars are all style and no build quality, here’s a bit of advice: bite hard and swallow.

There’s no denying the all new Peugeot 508 SW is a very smartly styled estate car – something the French have proved quite adept at over the years, although on the debit side there have been the occasional howlers along the way.

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DS 3 CROSSBACK: luxury compact SUV with a different accent

1773439_DS 3 CROSSBACK - Prestige 02LOOKS like our chums across the channel have had another one of those extended lunches swilling Ricard and smoking some exotic substances.

How else would they come up with something as wayward on the inside as the DS3 Crosshatch, something so completely opposite to the more restful and sometimes staid interiors we enjoy on a majority of cars these days.

Over the decades the French have been noted for coming up with some leftfield ideas and designs, and this one is no different.

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RANGE ROVER EVOQUE: upgrade for the real deal style icon

1714716_rangeroverevoquemy209327IN profile it might look as if someone big and heavy has sat on the rear of the roof but the Range Rover Evoque is a real deal style icon.

Its falling roofline and rising beltline gives it an aggressive, almost-coupe like appearance but it’s unmistakably a Range Rover. There are Velar touches to the latest variant – the slimmer front lights and the flush fitting door handles, and the odd bit of contrasting rose gold trim front and rear.

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