YOU’VE got to feel a bit sorry for the Spanish at the moment, because yet again their top sporting hero has been blown into the gravel traps by a precociously talented blond haired German in a car built in a factory in Milton Keynes.
Fernando’s not been hearing the drums (or the national anthem) of late, so thank goodness for SEAT, who of course are a Spanish firm (owned by the Germans) who are starting to put together a decent portfolio of motor cars for us to buy.
ONE of the big box tickers about motoring journalism is getting the chance to try out a car long before anyone who might be in the market to buy one actually gets their bum in the drivers seat.
A privilege indeed, all the more so when the car park in front of you contains upward of a million quids worth of hot new talent.
IT’S just been driven off up the road, and as the highly distinctive burble from the twin exhausts gradually fades I’m genuinely sorry – really genuinely sorry – to see it go.
Porsche’s new Cayman created a lasting impression of a car that’s grown out of its shorts and is now ready to go toe to toe with its 911 big brother in long trousers.
THIS week I have mostly been driving a very quick Kia – a car that always gives you a good welcome when you slip behind the wheel and turn the key.
The pro_cee’d GT is the most eagerly anticipated new model in Kia’s history, their first real high performance offering – and while only 50 of the GT 1st Edition will be available for sale here in the UK, the good news is there are actually other variants that might cause you the odd laundry problem.
IS it at all possible in this day and age to slip an engine the size of an overgrown lawnmower under the bonnet of a quality car and – let’s put it this way – still get away with it?
Those of us who remember the days when a 1.2 engined car could barely struggle to the top of a hill under its own power would probably say no.
But those people at Volkswagen have proved us wrong. For the Golf range (and others in the VW stable, it has to be said) now offers the option of a modest 1197cc unit. And to be honest, it’s an eyebrow raiser.
YOU could never accuse Audi of not giving a you a wide choice – and now they’ve unveiled their 47th model range.
Not bad for a manufacturer who back in the 1990s had just a handful, and you didn’t have to take your shoes and socks off to count them.
OH dear. Oh dear oh dear. Looking for a decent crossover? Then your task just got a whole lot more difficult with the introduction of the Suzuki SX4 S-Cross.
Contrary to popular perception, they don’t just make motor bikes, and are now taking on the daddy of all crossover vehicles, Nissan’s Qashqai, with a vehicle that looks rather similar.
YOU’D like to think that Kia‘s latest version of the Carens has a stonking great big heavy duty battery under the bonnet.
Why? Because there are so many electrical sockets inside the commodious seven seater you could effectively run a small mobile office from in there.
PEUGEOT’S best selling 208 has been putting on a bit of weight of late so it can mix it with the bigger boys in the car park.
Enter, in the bleu corner, the 2008 Crossover – the little brother of the already popular 3008 of the same ilk.
EVER wondered what goes through F1 safety car driver Bernd Maylander’s mind as he sits at the head of a snake of multi million pound machinery when things go breasts up on a Sunday afternoon?
So do I. And one of the topics might well be how do I get out of this gull wing doored beast in a hurry if I need to.
The upward pivoting doors on the £165,000 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Coupe – the car he drives for work – can be a trifle deceptive.