VAUXHALL really are going for the X factor with their latest models to hit the market.
Hot on the wheels of the all wheel drive Mokka X comes the Crossland X – more compact and bijoux, looking a bit like a fatter and pumped up Adam because it shares that floating roofline from the small hatchback.
But Crossland is pure SUV, albeit on the smaller end of the spectrum, easily picked out by its two tone paintwork and styling.
SPANDAU Ballet gave us Communication back in the heady 70s – and now another well known German name is giving it a new slant.
The accent in Volkswagen’s latest incarnation of the multi million selling Golf is very much on communication – ironically at a time when motorists are being urged to abandon our mobile phones on the move (which is a pretty stupid thing to do in any event) and concentrate fully on being the nut behind the wheel.
The 2017 Golf, with its new engines, new technology and revised styling – though it still looks very much like a Golf – is on average around £650 cheaper than the model it replaces.
IF we were to indulge in a game of ‘Spot the Difference’ we could safely use the SEAT Leon as the subject matter.
I’ve looked long and hard, underneath and inside out, and bearing in mind the fact I’ve owned one for the past three years, I can’t for the life of me find too much has visibly changed with the Leon, 2017 version.
And why should it? No one ever attempted to reinvent the wheel, so when you’ve got a package that is to all intents and purposes one of the best medium hatches out there, you’d be a fool to invoke widespread changes just for the hell of it.
VOLVO’S growing reputation for buliding fine cars means that radar screens in all sectors are lighting up to their presence.
And none more so than in the big executive saloon class, where their latest S90 lays its cards firmly on the boardroom table as a viable alternative to the BMWs, Audis and Mercs that have occupied the prima parking spaces in the corporate car park for quite some time.
S90 is a replacement for the ageing S80, but there are few similarities, the newcomer being a very significant leap forward in terms of quality.
HATS off to Kia – they’ve taken a long hard look at what fits the bill over here, gone away and, like the Koreans have done with the mobile phone industry, cloned the best.
So now, as well as a pretty decent all round range of cars, they’ve added a newie to the list – their first estate version.
IT’S Kia’s first ever UK market hybrid car and they’ve found a simple way to make it appeal to the British motorist – a heated steering wheel.
And purely by coincidence, the arrival’s of the Korean manufacturer’s latest offering saw the first really cold days of winter, giving us the chance to sample it at first hand(!).
RENAULT’S Scenic was the car that, back in the 1990s, invented a class of car that has captured the hearts and wallets of the motoring public.
And now it’s got a lot more scenic – its new for 2017 distinctive profile has given it a much needed boost in a sector where there are a lot of similar machines vying for attention.
With the C segment mopping up one million sales across Europe each year, it’s a race you’ve got to be in.
ONLY a fool would rip apart a winning combination – and Audi on past performances aren’t about to do that.
And so we have in front of us today the 2016 incarnation of a vehicle that carried the tag of being the first true premium product in the compact class.
CAR manufacturers seem hell bent these days on turning us into a nation of budding racing drivers.
Just look at the number of buttons on your average steering wheel – not quite as many as Red Bull’s star man Daniel Ricciardo has to contend with admittedly – but it’s a growing trend to put as much control at your fingers tips as is possible.
And it’s not just your sporty models that are guilty. Cars like the new Hyundai Tucson are having a stab at it as well.
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 range topper, its twin engined XC90 T8.
With its twin engine set up, it showcases the future for Volvo, one of the features of which will be the distinctive Thor hammer headlights you’ll also find here lighting the way.