Since its launch in 1999 the Skoda Fabia has been inextricably linked to the Seat Ibiza and VW Polo, sharing its chassis, engines and more with the other two VW group superminis. While the VW has always been the “premium” model and Seat the youthful one, the Fabia (surprising vRS models asides) has sat somewhere […]

It’s fair to say that recent months have marked a bit of a breakthrough in electric cars, with a host of new manufacturers bringing EVs to market. But for Nissan, EVs are nothing new and its Leaf is already onto its second generation as other companies just get going with their first. The first generation […]

In the same week that I drove the Abarth 595 esseesse, I also drove the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio. That the 179bhp front-drive hot hatch left as big a grin on my face as the 503bhp rear-drive super saloon says either a lot about me or about what a great job Abarth’s tuners have done. The […]

During a break on the launch of the new Volvo S60 a colleague asked me if I’d found anything to dislike about it yet. I told him I hadn’t and even now I’m still struggling to come up with much. Perhaps there’s a touch of road noise from the 20-inch alloys and maybe the engine […]

Family hatchbacks have had it hard for a while as crossovers gain popularity but car makers still have faith in them and the last year has seen several key models renewed and relaunched to meet demand. Along with the Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla, Kia’s Ceed has been given a wholesale going over, new from […]

The Outlander PHEV has been a massive success story for Japanese brand Mitsubishi in recent years. It’s a repeated best-seller in the hybrid market and has been credited with turning the firm’s fortunes around in the UK. But alongside this alternatively-fuelled newcomer and the recently launched Eclipse Cross, Mitsubishi has continued to produce one of […]

‘It’s the anti-car.” So said one owner of the previous-generation Jimny when we got chatting about this latest model. He’s got a point. While so many new vehicles go out of the way to embody a certain lifestyle while trying to meet everyone’s needs, the Jimny is a car designed to fulfill a particular brief, […]

I ran a Skoda Kodiaq as a long-term car not long after its release and loved it. I occasionally wished it had the more powerful 187bhp diesel engine but not once did I sit in it and think “what this needs is twin turbos, 20-inch wheels and a tonne of Alcantara”. Still, it seems that […]

Readers of a certain age will remember the MG ZS name with a touch of fondness. Back in the early noughties, Rover somehow found some money to turn its humdrum 45 into a praise-worthy hot saloon, which it badged as the MG ZS. That was then, though, and now the name adorns yet another competitor […]