YEARS ago I was a dissenting voice in the regular debate over Escort v Astra.
Even when it switched to Focus v Astra I was unwavering in my opinion (for what it counts for) and could never fully understand or appreciate why everyone banged on about the Ford – competent as it was – when the Vauxhall was patently a better family car.
Nothing that came out of Dagenham swayed my opinion and just for good measure, I thought the Astra was neater looking too.
1955 – a memorable year that saw my first birthday, the resignation of Winston Churchill as PM due to ill health, the legendary Dam Busters film was released, Clarence Birdseye began selling fish fingers in the UK, and across the channel in Paris a car called the DS made its debut at their motor show.
Which was the most notable occasion can be argued in pubs the length of the A1, but with the sad exception of Sir Winston, we’re all still around.
ON the drive this week we have a hatchback that has all the outward appearance of a washed-too-often and shrunken Qashqai.
Nissan’s new Pulsar certainly toes the family line in terms of looks, and proves to be a roomy alternative to some of its main competition in the market.
TO SAY Audi’s A4 been part of a German blitzkrieg of the UK premium sector would be something of an under-statement.
The big three Hermanns (Audi/BMW/Mercedes Benz) account for a whoppingly large portion of the classy sector of the market, so when one makes a move the others take note.
And rightly so because the all new A4 – with its focus set on comfort and technology in equal measure – is a car to seriously consider if you’re in the £30,000 plus buying bracket.
IT’S a touch concerning when you start up your Kadjar in the morning to be greeted with a message telling you that the air quality is ‘very polluted.’
Speaks volumes about living in fairly close proximity to a major grid road in Milton Keynes as the traffic stops and starts its way into the city. And it also says a lot about the times we live in.
AVENSIS Tourer a bit big for you? Try out its baby brother stablemate – the 21st century version of a car that sold by the transporter ship load for Toyota back in the day.
The Auris, while admittedly good, has a fight on its hands for your money as there are a lot of similar cars ranged against it.
What it needs to be is, like the Corolla before it, all things to all families while at the same time living up to that well-earned world car tag.
IT was a small car that got the Spaniards off their donkeys and behind a steering wheel back in 1953 and it’s a small car – in the guise of the Ibiza – that is the mainstay of SEAT’s sales success here in the UK.
Back in those early days the 925 staff could only manage to churn out five cars a day.
Now the total figure produced stands north of 16 million and SEAT UK have seen six successive years of sales grown, bolstered by the Ibiza and the excellent Leon.
WHITE goods come in all shapes and sizes and prices these days, and the right car can be everything you’ll ever need.
Click the air con on warp factor whatever and it’ll turn into a fridge. Crank up the heating up and allofasudden it’s a cooker.
But slip one of the VW Group’s excellent diesel engines under the bonnet – in this case the 2.0 190ps one – and it’ll turn into a very acceptable user-friendly car that moves a bit.
And if it’s got a Skoda badge on the front and says Superb on its rump, then you’re quids in.
BACK to the Future is finally in the past, but for Peugeot it’s a case of the past IS the future.
The firm that brought us the 205 GTi 30 years ago has now pulled another trump card from up its sleeve in the shape of the new 308 GTi.
And if ever there was a full on performance model in the Peugeot range then this is it. Just like the 205 GTi was back in 1985.
IT’S been a struggle – a struggle going on for some three decades – but it looks like Jaguar might at last have come up with something capable of taking on the seried ranks of Johnny Boch.
For too long the Germans have held sway in the battle for sales in the premium sector. And rightly so. You can’t argue against the quality of the cars Audi, Mercedes and BMW line up for your approval.
But now they’ve got a bit of opposition from a car built here in the UK and spouting Land of Hope and Glory from its shiny exhaust pipes.