NOT so very long ago it was unheard of for purveyors of high class and high end machinery to contemplate adding an SUV to their rather exclusive ranks.
But slowly and surely they have. Rolls Royce have the Cullinan, there’s the Lamborghini Urus and even Aston Martin have got in on the act with their new DBX.
Heady stuff. And in this heady company Bentley’s V8 Bentayga is something of a snip, if you can couch something costing just south of £140,000 in those terms.
TASTY food; sundry electrical goods; a rather large wall that can allegedly be seen from outer space – we’ve all heard of the Chinese.
Now they seem intent on copying some goods rather larger than your average smart phone. Cars for the European market are next on the agenda for the peoples republic and rest assured they will be, shall we say, competitively priced.
An initial foray from the eastern outpost of communism has seen the rather well known MG brand back in business here.
SKODA might carry the label of VW Group’s budget brand, but there’s nothing down market about the fit and finish of their latest offering.
It’s a car that proves you really can have your cake and eat it, and while it might not be a Ritz afternoon tea Victoria sponge, it’s certainly no Tesco Value jaffa cake either.
Kamiq, the Czech manufacturer’s all new compact SUV, has a solid, well built interior to it that is as far removed from Skodas of old as chalk is to cheese.
THE world that the M-Class Mercedes-Benz entered 22 years ago was vastly different from today.
With but a handful of premium class SUV to pick from two decades ago, the choice now means you need more than your shoes and socks off to count up the alternatives.
The badge has changed from M-Class to GLE over the years, and with north of two million sales worldwide, there’s no question that it has been a success.
ASPIRATIONS. Everyone has them, and when it comes to cars, there’s guaranteed to be one out there that will meet your needs.
Audi’s Q8, the flagship coupe version of their big Q7 SUV, is such a car. Large and luxurious, it won’t see much off road action, if any, but then few SUVs do in any event.
HOW many cars have you driven that come with an Orrefors crystal gearshift lever as standard?
South of zero, I’d guess, but it’s one of the classy little touches you’ll find in Volvo’s latest XC60.
A car that is so well screwed together you’ll find the quality of finish hard to fault.
FANCY a Civic Type R but think the insurance premiums might be a bit on the unaffordable side? Here’s an alternative.
If you can forego the brutal power in favour of something more wallet friendly in terms of performance and economy, the latest Civic might just tempt you.
With the latest and menacing look of something hinting at more brutal underpinnings, the Civic EX Sport Line is what you might dub an insurance friendly package.
NISSAN’S Juke is a car that stands out from the crowd in any scenario – even before you throw a few litres of bright paint at it.
They even made sure the windows were open, because some of the latest ones have got a tango coloured coating inside too.
It’s quirky looks in its compact chunky body have made it a popular choice for those motorists who stray from the conventional. And there must be a lot of them about, because there are a lot of Jukes about too.
KIA are rapidly turning into the Kelloggs of the motor industry – a ‘cereal’ car producer, if you like.
It’s the sheer ‘Variety’ of cars on offer that earns them the tag. Not content with three body styles for the Ceed range (hatchback, Sportswagon and ProCeed) there’s now another.
Enter the XCeed, cunningly aimed to attract those of us here in the UK who are shunning the traditional hatchback in favour of the wide variety of crossovers and SUVs filling showrooms up and down the country.
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.