HERE’S a new car from SEAT that looks a lot like a scaled-down Leon – and why not?

It’s big brother has been doing the business for the Spanish manufacturer for a few years now so no one should feel in the slightest way guilty if some of the styling cues that made Leon such a hit were borrowed for the latest Ibiza.

In a world where the Fiesta has been the undoubted king for decades, the Spanish upstart throws down the gauntlet and gives a very strong hint that the family favourite Ford might not have it all its own way for much longer.

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SYNCHRONICITY. Some of you out there will remember that great album from Police back in 1983. And there’s a ‘Sting’ here too….

I’ve got the album in our vinyl collection but I can confirm that the Alfa Romeo Giulia is sadly lacking in it. Synchronicity, as we know it in motoring parlance, that is.

You might be able to find it somewhere in the depths of the impressive entertainment system on board, but if you’re a believer in the adage that you never get a second chance to make a first impression then this conceivably might not be the car for you.

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PEUGEOT’S 3008 doubled its desirability when it was given a fresh new look earlier this year – so expect the new 5008 to do much the same.

It’s a big step forward from the first generation model – almost unrecognisable from the version launched in 2009 as an MPV, and has now morphed into a C sector seven seat SUV.

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THEY say you’re safer in a modern day Volvo than going for a walk with the Green Cross Code man.

In fact the only injury you could conceivably incur is banging your head on the rear opening tailgate of the latest XC60 – but you’d have to be the world’s tallest man because it opens high and well out of the way of normal mortals.

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THP 270. Remember that figure because it’s highly relevant here. That’s the horsepower Peugeot Sport have managed to coax out of the modest 1.6 litre engine under the bonnet of their 308 GTi.

A car that – with its two tone paintwork – looks like something for the boy racers out there to be dribbling over.

Well, it is, and it isn’t. They’d all like to get their backsides into the drivers seat, but I seriously doubt they’d have the skill/experience/cojones required to adequately control all those horses if their Nike Air Max is too heavy on the loud pedal.

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IN a world where downsizing seems to be the norm these days, Vauxhall have, as they’re entitled to do, gone completely in the other direction.

In an attempt to occupy as much tarmac as they can with their latest Insignia Grand Sport, they’ve made it almost the equivalent size of the also rather large Mercedes-Benz E Class.

Now obviously there’s a kudos/snob value thing at work here.

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IN a world where retro is cool, a few years ago Fiat brought back to life a car that they originally unleashed back in 1957.

It still has its cutesy looks, and if you’ve never experienced the original it doesn’t look a lot bigger. But it is.

Compare old and new side by side and the difference is startling, even though the 500 circa 2017 is a small city car.

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PEOPLE all over the place are suddenly waking up and rubbing their eyes in disbelief – Nissan have made a Micra they’ll be queueing up to buy.

The rather staid and workmanlike versions of latter years have given way to one that has definitely been eating its Shredded Wheat in big bowlfuls, and morphed into a shape that is the polar opposite of the car it replaces.

At the risk of alienating all those motorists who drive the old Micra with a travel rug on their front seat passenger’s knees, this might be a step too far for you.

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BACK in the day when the driving examiner put a tick in the box that said I was safe to take to the Queen’s highways on my own, entry level cars – or poverty-spec as they were sometimes known – were about as luxurious as a cave.

But not any more, The car under scrutiny here, Kia’s three cylinder 1.0 Picanto 2 (actually one up from the bottom step of the ladder) might be down in the £10k price range, but there’s a reassuring amount of comfort to be had for your money.

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