VW’s up-market Arteon gains significant power boost
IAIN ROBERTSON Available in the UK for little more than a year, VW’s up-market Passat-with-a-coupe body is a trendsetter for the German brand, states Iain Robertson, that illustrates the...
BMW tackles next-gen JCW models in comic-book style
IAIN ROBERTSON Entering its 19th year as a staple of the retro-styled new car scene, reports Iain Robertson, the BMW-produced Mini has always been boosted, enhanced and repurposed more...
Gareth Butterfield drives the latest version of the trend-setting Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
Twenty years from now, if we look back at a potted history of the electric car, we might just be looking back on the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV as one...
All-new BMW X5 targets higher ground in all respects
IAIN ROBERTSON Amazingly, no less than X5s have found owners since its launch 19 years ago, highlights Iain Robertson, the South Carolina, American-built, multi-activity vehicle having set a...
MALTA DIARY: The EU Member States’ Rule of Law – Malta is small, so bully it!
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: My Blog: May I request all readers to inform me and let me know which...
Welsh Witterings: a final goodbye to Gannets Bistro of Aberystwyth
Gannets Bistro was a well known and cosy restaurant in Aberystwyth and I was deeply saddened to find that the owners shut the doors for the last time back...
Mildly-revised Renault Kadjar strengthens the firm’s place in the SUV scene
IAIN ROBERTSON While sitting comfortably in the middle of Renault’s three-strong SUV range, writes Iain Robertson, the Kadjar is by far the most in-demand of its models, with almost...
Seat reintroduces seven-seats to its line-up with new Tarraco SUV
IAIN ROBERTSON It is most useful that Seat can share VW Group technology, states Iain Robertson, as it needs a bigger car to replace its aeons-old Alhambra MPV, therefore,...
Living with a Suzuki Baleno – Report 27 of 42
IAIN ROBERTSON Despite a choice of cars parked in his driveway over the festive period (only two!), Iain Robertson decided to resort to Baleno for the annual Christmas traipse...
Gareth Butterfield reviews the cheap and cheerful, but not cheap and nasty Dacia Duster
You’ve got to doff your cap to Dacia. Here’s a company which is aiming to introduce budget cars into a world of rapidly rising prices and increasing heights of...
A journey to the centre of earth at the Pit of Padirac – Meanderings through France n° 171
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny If exploring the Pit of Padirac won’t quite take you to the centre of the earth, it will however...
New branding and hot new Seat grab the motoring headlines
IAIN ROBERTSON Using the opportunity to launch not just a new model but also a new sub-brand, highlights Iain Robertson, Seat is entering the most sporting SUV segment with...
Ranjit Recommends: The Snowman
Choreographed by Robert North, The Snowman has several elements of ‘Show-man’ when he waves mid-air thus complementing the orchestra whilst playing the timeless Christmas tune ‘Walking in the Air’....
Gareth Butterfield tests the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid
I can remember the launch of the original Rav4. I can also remember the motoring journalists of the time going mad for it. Here was a car that ticked...
Forget ‘fear’ tactics, Brexit harbours hassle for motorists
IAIN ROBERTSON Our most recent festive period created a number of headlines about ‘refugees’ attempting to gain access to UK shores, recalls Iain Robertson, but, for those of us...
Robertson’s Auto-almanac, Car-of-the-Year and portent of the future
IAIN ROBERTSON As usual, Iain Robertson reflects on the past 12 months and about what might happen over the next twelve months in a motor industry that continues to...
Gareth’s Favourite Article of 2018; Gareth Butterfield spends a week in the lavish new Land Rover Discovery
DAY ONE THE new Land Rover Discovery has arrived and, crikey, it’s big. It’s actually imposing, rather than simply being dimensionally obscene. It sits high on its air suspension...
Trevor’s Wildlife Week for 27th December 2018
Our new veterinary theatre “The Dave Fox-Dossett Theatre” has been put to good use this week with its first surgical case. Rescuers attended a severely injured hedgehog in Ditchling...
What have they done to our handbrake levers?
IAIN ROBERTSON Contemplating the parking brake situation and relying on information provided by people far smarter than he is, Iain Robertson delves into handbrake technology and wonders about...
Kodiaq vRS throws caution to the wind, as Skoda’s hottest SUV ever
IAIN ROBERTSON Testing the latest version of a popular Skoda model serves to enhance the Czech brand’s image at its highest ebb, states Iain Robertson, as he got down...
Gareth Butterfield wonders whether the new Clio still has its French flair after all these years
BELIEVE it or not, we’re now on our fourth Renault Clio. The pretty and stylish small hatchback that introduced us to the phrase “va va voom” and the cute...
Six of our best great meals of 2018 – Meanderings through France n° 169
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny All through the past year we have had the opportunity to dine in many restaurants in France and abroad....
Renault creates provocative potency with new Megane R.S.300
IAIN ROBERTSON You can see the looks of long-awaited design efficacy in the eyes of Renault personnel as they unveil their hottest of hot hatches, writes Iain Robertson, as...
Why Gareth Butterfield thinks the new small Mercedes is a class act
CONSIDERING the entire A Class model history, this new version appears to tread a very similar path to its predecessor, which was a huge departure from the first A...
Swift Sport is a ‘hot hatch’ that should never be judged by its ‘cover’
IAIN ROBERTSON Spot a badge and indulge may seem like an inevitable course of action but Iain Robertson has reflected on the Sport version of Suzuki’s charming little Swift...
Top-selling Range Rover Evoque is given total reconfiguration
IAIN ROBERTSON Available to order now, inspired by the super-smooth Velar model, an all-new Range Rover Evoque breathes fresh life into the marque’s entry-level model, states Iain Robertson, for...
Gareth Butterfield finds there’s still plenty of sparkle in the Suzuki Swift Sport
THE last Suzuki Swift Sport surprised everyone, and became the unlikely darling of the small hot hatch world. It was fun, fast, nimble and exciting and, more than anything,...
GLADIATOR! – Stretched, muscly and purposefully realigned Jeep
IAIN ROBERTSON Weighing-in like a Hollywood blockbuster, an all-new super-truck has made its debut at the annual LA Motor Show, comments Iain Robertson, that turns the entire pickup truck...
MALTA DIARY: Time to legalise prostitution and end the sham?
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: My Blog: In 1968 Malta, together with the Republic of Ireland, was regarded as the...
Living with a Suzuki Baleno – Report 26 of 42
IAIN ROBERTSON Preparing the car for the winter onslaught is immensely important, writes Iain Robertson, and, while his Baleno is now just over two years old, it has...
Vastly improved Vitara is all-new in all but its basic visual form
IAIN ROBERTSON To avoid SUV weariness, Suzuki produces the most user-friendly, stylistically different but recognisable rival to the current crop of compact activity vehicles, writes Iain Robertson, while retaining...
Gareth Butterfield takes the latest Toyota Rav4 for a test drive
I CAN remember the launch of the original Rav4. I can also remember the motoring journalists of the time going mad for it. Here was a car that ticked...
Trevor’s Wildlife Week for 29th November 2018
Well its certainly getting colder at now as we head into winter. Our wildlife will be making the most of any fruit on trees and bushes now to make...
Suzuki’s enticing new Ji…NO! FORGET IT! It’s unavailable!
IAIN ROBERTSON Despite reports to the contrary, some aspects of the UK motor industry are in a vibrant state, suggests Iain Robertson, not least the SUV sector, which, for...
Kia turns winning Ceed into class perfection
IAIN ROBERTSON By introducing an overall atmosphere of ‘pleasantness’, highlights Iain Robertson, South Korean carmaker, Kia, has injected a calm confidence into all of its models but the latest...
Gareth Butterfield ponders whether the Toyota Land Cruiser still has a place in the SUV sector
Solid, dependable, iconic and unstoppable are all names that have been metaphorically riveted on to the muscular haunches of Toyota Land Cruiser over the years. It defines the term...
Not all SUVs are actually SUVs and Suzuki S-Cross is a case in point
IAIN ROBERTSON It is almost too easy to classify a car like this Suzuki as a ‘sporting utility’, highlights Iain Robertson, who likens the S-Cross to more low-line and...
Living with a Suzuki Baleno – Report 25 of 42
IAIN ROBERTSON The value of good servicing is seldom underscored more succinctly than when driving back from the garage afterwards, states Iain Robertson, as Baleno undergoes its second annual...
Ranjit Recommends: The Bothy
The Bothy is the latest addition in a host of successful bar & restaurant chains by Drake & Morgan. Situated in the epicentre of West India Quay, The Bothy...
MG3 is now packaged to new peaks
IAIN ROBERTSON Inspecting more closely the compact MG3, observers are made aware of the amount of influence that western car markets can heft upon overseas’ carmakers, writes Iain Robertson,...