VAUXHALL INSIGNIA: infotainment on the move

insignia 4IT was, on the face of it, probably the most under-anticipated car scheduled to turn up ready for appraisal. Boy, how wrong can you be?

Vauxhall’s Insignia has never been a car that has evoked more than mild interest in me – about as likely to spark a reaction as an impassioned plea from the other half for a bit of retail therapy.

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DACIA SANDERO STEPWAY: acceptable alternative?

sandero stepway 1HOLIDAY trippers will be more used to the name Dacia than car buyers in the UK – but that’s a situation that is changing by the day.

We hired a Dacia Logan earlier this year on a jaunt to Tenerife and despite the fact that in true rental car trim it had almost bald tyres and a dent or scrape on every panel, it did its job well conveying us round the island’s holiday hotspots.

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RENAULT CAPTUR: also available in black….

Captur 6THERE’S wacky and there’s wacky. And then there’s the Renault Captur – their seemingly off the wall slant on the current fad for producing supermini crossovers.

Talk about polarising opinion. I’ve yet to see one that wasn’t resplendent in a combination of colours and our test mule this week is no exception – oyster grey in the main, but with a metallic orangey bronze roof and exterior trim detailing that makes it stand out in any car park.

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SEAT LEON SC: a sporty Spanish coupe

Leon SC 2YOU’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.

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PORSCHE CAYMAN: a truly snappy performer

Porsche_Cayman_0007IT’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.

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