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
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
IN a world where cars are getting bigger and heavier, the Mazda2 is a refreshing deviation from the norm.
Compact and bijou, it also makes a compelling case for anyone considering a hybrid before it gets taken away from the buying option on your shopping list. Continue reading
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
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.
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
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
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
IT’S only been 12 months since BYD started selling their electric cars here in the UK – and now they’re branching out into the plug-in hybrid market.
I’m going to go all Michael Caine here because not a lot of people know this (it was news to me) but BYD was the first manufacturer to mass produce a PHEV back in 2008. It wasn’t exactly a success, but the game has moved on.
KIA shed their bargain basement tag many years ago now, but a good value package is still very much what motorists are buying into.
‘Sportage’ is a bit of a misnomer as it’s not really that sporty, but it’s a car that very adequately does all the boring bits of daily life – weekly shopping, the school run, commuting – and does it with a bit of style. Continue reading