Semi-conventionality gives Volvo ‘XC’ a niche viability
IAIN ROBERTSON Not all estate car owners want an SUV in their driveways, states Iain Robertson, who understands the craze but much prefers the subtlety (by comparison) of an...
The Joy of Pregnancy Number Four
I was never the broody type. Indeed in my twenties some of my friends started longing to settle down and have children, but this was never my plan, instead...
VW tries to button back convention with all-new T-Roc…but fails
IAIN ROBERTSON In creating a rival to the Audi Q2, Skoda Karoq and Seat Ateca, from within its own competitive stable, suggests Iain Robertson, Volkswagen felt compelled to stick...
An ultimate car, at an ultimate price, carrying the ultimate moniker
IAIN ROBERTSON “You commit yourself to such a level where there is no compromise. You give everything you have; everything, absolutely everything.”, so stated Ayrton Senna and British success...
Living with a Suzuki Baleno – Report 14 of 42
IAIN ROBERTSON With innumerable other motoring tasks on his plate, Iain Robertson has simply not had sufficient time to put many miles on Baleno in the past month but...
The sad story of the disappointed wee boy and the Jaguar he wanted to see
IAIN ROBERTSON It is that time of the year, when the nights draw in and Santa Claus is on his way, that Iain Robertson remembers the youngster, whose levels...
The incredible case of the Citroen C3 Aircross
IAIN ROBERTSON Some new cars get slipped into the market with minimal fanfare, highlights Iain Robertson, their manufacturers believing that those models can achieve what they need to, without...
Trevor’s Week for 25th January 2018
There is a lot in the media at the moment about deer and the need for a cull. Despite the number of road casualty deer on the Ashdown Forest...
Peugeot transforms 5008 from MPV to SUV most succinctly
IAIN ROBERTSON Admitting that he ‘finally gets it’, Iain Robertson has gained a proper marketing perspective on what defines the archetypal ‘family car’ in the modern era, albeit one...
Welsh Witterings: What is Veganuary all about?
With the task of New Years Resolutions out of the way, and mumblings about going dry (going alcohol-free ) for January you may well have missed Veganuary. Veganuary is...
Madly-named GT could be Kia’s pinnacle achievement
IAIN ROBERTSON Kia Cars, part of the South Korean Hyundai Group, could be said to have addressed the zeitgeist with any of its most recent models, states Iain Robertson,...
Lexus wants and deserves a slice of Europe’s top coupe business
IAIN ROBERTSON Helped by Toyota parentage, Lexus is a brand that enjoys niche interest in the UK but, if none of its previous models earned the respect of Iain...
Legendary drives – 7
IAIN ROBERTSON Sometimes, legendary drives occur from a need to satisfy business demands and, in the case of the Suzuki Swift launch exercise, writes Iain Robertson, it was a...
Work-van, or play-bus? If you have not noticed the modded-van scene, you may be myopic!
IAIN ROBERTSON While the bulk of car-buying focus may have been towards ‘SUV’ in recent times, notices Iain Robertson, another specialist sector has been wedged between the light commercial...
New Arteon aims even higher to bridge ‘Four-Rings’ gap
IAIN ROBERTSON VW needs a top-drawer offering to its present line-up, highlights Iain Robertson, one that hacks into brand superiority, rather than a feeble hope of it, and a...
Is the annual ‘booze-cruise’ another motoring thing of the past?
IAIN ROBERTSON Judging by unhurried queues at Dover, reports Iain Robertson, when he tripped to France and Belgium between Christmas and the New Year, it would appear that the...
Robertson’s Auto-almanac, Car-of-the-Year and portent of the future
IAIN ROBERTSON Combining his year’s efforts with an ‘award’ for his favourite model, Iain Robertson also ponders about what might happen over the next twelve months in a motor...
Forces Cars Direct bucks national trends
IAIN ROBERTSON From its City of Lincoln base, reports Iain Robertson, a specialist service provider has taken the standard motoring business methodology and turned it on its head, to...
Gareth Butterfield thinks Kia’s Optima has the power to stand out among its rivals
Despite hybrid propulsion being a relatively new technology in the motoring world, the range of vehicles available is, if you’ll forgive the awkward choice of adjective, rather polluted. Even...
‘One size fits all’ crossover is not a bad start-point to Renault’s line-up
IAIN ROBERTSON To a world besotted by SUV, writes Iain Robertson, Renault’s evergreen little Captur in its most recent revised form, seems to have captivated the zeitgeist, proving that...
The sad story of the disappointed wee boy and the Jaguar he wanted to see
IAIN ROBERTSON It is that time of the year, when the nights draw in and Santa Claus is on his way, that Iain Robertson remembers the youngster, whose levels...
Two super-hot cars and a rich seam of success for McLaren
IAIN ROBERTSON Without doubt, the greatest automotive success story running in the UK now is that of McLaren, writes Iain Robertson, a name most familiar for its Formula One...
Mazda’s improved CX-5 shows that human touches are still preferable
IAIN ROBERTSON Inevitable model updates occur cyclically for the majority of carmakers, highlights Iain Robertson, as a means to introduce line improvements, as well as attract new customers to...
Living with a Suzuki Baleno – Report 13 of 42
IAIN ROBERTSON The first annual service was due, the door rubbing strips had to be applied, the winter tyres fitted and it needed insurance, reports Iain Robertson, as his...
Is the Mitsubishi L200 still worthy of its reputation as a solid and driveable pick-up? Gareth Butterfield takes it for a spin
BEFORE the latest incarnation of the Mitsubishi L200 was launched, back in 2005, you could draw any pick-up truck you liked with a ruler – just by etching out...
Golf continues its drive for Volkswagen teeing-off with new TSi
IAIN ROBERTSON As the world’s largest carmaker, you might fairly expect VW to get its products absolutely right, highlights Iain Robertson, but he has started to doubt the integrity...
‘Why not?’ would make an equally good name for MG’s enticing new ZS
IAIN ROBERTSON When you consider the quality of Chinese motorcars imported to the UK, writes Iain Robertson, the few examples that have trickled-in have not exactly been of the...
Kia continues on its uninterruptable niche-filling progress with all-new Stonic
IAIN ROBERTSON When ‘cutesiness’ and ‘practicality’ combine they create undeniable ‘attractiveness’, states Iain Robertson, following his first drive of yet another Kia model that manages to meet the zeitgeist,...
Gareth Butterfield spends a week in the well-appointed new Lexus IS
I LIKE it when a car manufacturer sticks to its principles. And, occasionally, it can really pay off. Take Lexus for example with this, the latest IS saloon. Lexus...
Landy – the off-roader that has a home in many British hearts
IAIN ROBERTSON Developed in the immediate post-WW2 period by Rover Cars’ head designer, reports Iain Robertson, while purists may shudder at the reality, Land Rover owes its existence in...
Cost-effective Country Tourer makes estate management easy
IAIN ROBERTSON There was a time, states Iain Robertson, prior to an epidemic rash of SUVs, when possessing the right vehicle for collecting visitors and their luggage from the...
Car as compromise?…not through Forces Cars Direct!
IAIN ROBERTSON It does not matter what is your viewpoint, the modern motorcar is invariably a compromise, writes Iain Robertson, although Lincoln-based Forces Cars Direct (FCD) ensures that its...
Gareth Butterfield drives the new Toyota Yaris Hybrid
SMALL cars are bigger than they’ve ever been. Actually, that made more sense in my head, but allow me to explain. Look at the current Vauxhall Corsa. It’s now...
Vauxhall does a great job with its latest crossover; pity the name is unadventurous
IAIN ROBERTSON Fully aware of the PSA-Vauxhall buy-out situation, Iain Robertson revels in the ‘all-new’ (to Vauxhall, anyway) Grandland X model that grows its SUV portfolio to three models,...
Living with a Suzuki Baleno – Report 12 of 42
IAIN ROBERTSON It is a year since a brand new Baleno entered the motoring life of Iain Robertson and, as is typical, time has flown but his appreciation for...
Forces Cars Direct bucks national trends
IAIN ROBERTSON From its City of Lincoln base, reports Iain Robertson, a specialist service provider has taken the standard motoring business methodology and turned it on its head, to...
Hyundai covers almost all bases with seminal Ioniq
IAIN ROBERTSON In a ‘made-you-look’ moment, Iain Robertson hopes to draw attention to a car that truly warrants it; a near-perfect can of ‘three-in-one’, by which EV, hybrid and...
Book Reviews
IAIN ROBERTSON Digging into the latest book releases, Iain Robertson enthuses over a pair of enthralling tomes from the marvellous Porter Press stable, a Le Mans retrospective from...
Stelvio presents a mountain to climb for Alfa Romeo
IAIN ROBERTSON Immensely enthused by the test drive he undertook in the latest AR Giulia earlier this year, Iain Robertson has high hopes for the much-vaunted, first SUV to...
Women’s Work is never Done – NATURAL CLEANING RECIPES
The world we live in is full of man-made chemicals and the biggest organ of our bodies, the skin, is often subjected to contact with chemicals every day, whether...