Category : New Cars
First Drive: Volkswagen Golf GTE
There’s an obvious niche for this car to fill. With surprisingly high economy for the power available, a quarter of all Golfs registered in the UK this year have been the GTI, GTD or … Read More »
First Drive: Audi A3 e-tron
Sector: Lower medium Price: £29,950 (after £5,000 Plug-in Car Grant) Fuel: 176.6mpg CO2: 37g/km Much like the video market of the early 1980s, where VHS and Betamax jostled for public acceptance (and let’s not … Read More »
First Drive: Volkswagen e-Golf
Whether that’s a pro or a con depends on personal taste. This isn’t a glaring billboard for a company’s environmental credentials, but the e-Golf takes an unfamiliar technology and slots it into a familiar … Read More »
Long-Termers: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV GX3hS
That said, it is possible to exceed that figure. Mitsubishi reckons on a maximum range of 32.5 miles under battery power, so the car is capable of covering average commuting distances on batteries alone. … Read More »
First Drive: Nissan e-NV200
Indeed, with 187lb/ft of torque on tap from a standstill, the electric van is actually quicker to 60mph than its 1.5dCi counterpart and more agile around town too. Rather than joining forces with Alliance … Read More »
Road Test: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV GX4hS
Like the Vauxhall Ampera, it's been a long time coming. Mitsubishi showed the PX-MiEV concept car back in 2011 and launched the car in Japan shortly afterwards, enjoying demand so strong that it had … Read More »
Road Test: Infiniti Q50S Hybrid
That’s a tough segment to crack. Volvo and Lexus have struggled in the past, Jaguar and Alfa Romeo are readying new models, and Infiniti is a relative unknown at present. UK sales last year … Read More »
First Drive: Volkswagen e-Caddy Maxi
However that looks set to change. While Volkswagen was at pains to point out that it isn’t launching anything yet, and that they are purely an engineering exercise, we have tried both an e-Caddy … Read More »
Road Test: Lexus GS 300h SE
For Lexus, it’s been a valuable development. The CT 200h arrived as a competitive premium C-segment rival in 2011, and the four-cylinder IS 300h finally made large hybrids a viable proposition against the default … Read More »
Road Test: Renault Kangoo ZE ML 20
Yet new models are on the way, with Nissan promising its e-NV200 and both Peugeot and Citroën showing electric vans at last year’s CV Show, though we’ve yet to see any of these on … Read More »
First Drive: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
Thing is, with electric cars, we’ve heard all of this before. Every single one seems to be launched with the claim it is a ‘game changer’. The problem is it’s a game not many … Read More »
Long Termers: Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTEC Hybrid SE Estate
With dog and kids to cart about, downsizing just isn’t an option for me, and even previous long term cars such as the 5 Series Touring and Q5 have on occasion felt a bit … Read More »
Long Termers: Vauxhall Ampera Electron
It’s worth mentioning that the company has been working with EVs since at least the 1980s and that really shows. The Ampera is absolutely stuffed with innovation, which doesn’t necessarily make it attractive to … Read More »
Road Test: Lexus CT 200h Advance
But Lexus made the shrewd move of not joining the crowd. Now adopted across the range, the CT took on what has traditionally been a diesel-heavy sector with a single drivetrain option – a … Read More »
Long Termers: Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTEC Hybrid SE Estate
However, I now have six months with Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class diesel hybrid, and even in the first couple of weeks things are looking up. What is initially striking is how much time it spends running … Read More »
Road Test: Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid
The Panamera S E-Hybrid, a high performance, low-carbon luxury car, competes in a corporate-dominated market sector, and offers a glimpse of some of the Group’s most advanced hybrid technology. So this is a really … Read More »
Long Termers: Vauxhall Ampera Electron
Having spent a lot of time working out the most efficient way to use the car, I’ve come to the conclusion that the range-extended drivetrain really doesn’t need much to make real-world economy figures … Read More »
Silverstone Fleet Show 2014: Off-roaders on test for first time
The Show organisers have decided to make the new off-road facilities at Silverstone available for test driving at the Fleet World Fleet Show for the first time, so that fleet managers can test the all-weather capabilities of … Read More »
Long Termers: Vauxhall Ampera Electron
As temperatures have dropped, I’ve found myself growing accustomed to using the cabin heaters almost every morning – before I unplug the car from my wallbox. Operated from a button on the key, which … Read More »
Road Test: Volkswagen e-up!
Volkswagen has been hinting at this model since its concept car namesake was first shown in 2007, and it forms part of plans to put an electrically-driven model in every sector that the Group … Read More »
