Significant changes to A1 could make Audi’s ‘baby’ THE small car king
IAIN ROBERTSON Since 2010, writes Iain Robertson, Audi has been producing a junior league hatchback that fits the urban environment to perfection but an all-new entry point to the...
Peugeot’s 308GTi honours the past, while meeting the present
IAIN ROBERTSON Were you to take an indulgent trip back-in-time to the roots of ‘GTi’, highlights Iain Robertson, you would discover a world of minimalism, with a concerted sliver...
Gareth Butterfield wonders if the hybrid Kia Optima makes sense in a diesel-dominated world
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 in...
MALTA DIARY: Malta’s key to Japanese hearts – fresh tuna and sushi
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: My Blog: There are not many countries that Malta exports to more than it...
On-road explorers drawn to VW’s California campervan can now go ‘XL’!
IAIN ROBERTSON When Volkswagen Group decided to create its own caravanette, in the California version of the Transporter van, it set the market alight, highlights Iain Robertson, but it...
Honda revises its CR-V to demonstrate positive signs of growth
IAIN ROBERTSON While Iain Robertson has believed for a number of years that Honda is like a spent match, he still hopes that a glimmer of its once accepted...
Welsh Witterings: A Survival Guide to Working with Children
They do say ‘’never work with animals and children’’ and I can quite honestly say that is extremely sound advice. As a mother of four young children aged 9...
Tyres…four, black safety devices, to which we seldom give a second thought
IAIN ROBERTSON It is very easy to tinker with tyres and become overly-zealous, hints Iain Robertson, yet there are still thorny legal issues surrounding them that we ignore at...
Prestige and pedigree of the Jaguar brand in a small SUV
Prestige and pedigree of the Jaguar brand in a small SUV – what’s not to like about the new E-Pace? Asks Gareth Butterfield JAGUAR’S marvellous F-Pace was the marque’s...
Dynamic and luxurious DS7 factors-in abundant French style and capability
IAIN ROBERTSON While the PSA Group has been desperate to ape Teutonic style and build quality of late, reports Iain Robertson, with the enticing DS7 it no longer needs...
Marvellous new Mazda CX-3 line-up is now available
IAIN ROBERTSON Not just a growing favourite of SUV fans but also a personal choice of Iain Robertson, the compact Mazda CX-3 has been ‘under the knife’ to enhance...
Revised Santa Fe assumes up-market stance for Hyundai
IAIN ROBERTSON A stalwart of Hyundai’s SUV/crossover offering, the next generation Santa Fe model, states Iain Robertson, benefits from new styling and a re-gauging of its place in the...
Model X, for when normal technology just does not go far enough
IAIN ROBERTSON If indulging in six-figure cost motorcars, states Iain Robertson, you can expect a blend of standards-altering features and elements of ‘unobtainium’ that will bamboozle lesser mortals and...
Gareth Butterfield spends a week in the 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...
Tesla, the car firm that isn’t, and its slightly crazy Model S
IAIN ROBERTSON Okay, Tesla is not for everybody, writes Iain Robertson, although, ironically, it could be, when you look at its broader portfolio, but its car ‘products’ are ground-breakingly...
MALTA DIARY: The spirit of Enterprise – Worker-Participation to the fore – at the ‘brothels’!
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: My Blog: Many marvel that after almost 2,000 years of foreign domination, different languages,...
Living with a Suzuki Baleno – Report 23 of 42
IAIN ROBERTSON Being grateful for the value of a three years, new car warranty and the efficiency of the supplying dealer (Cropley Suzuki, Boston), highlights Iain Robertson, Baleno is...
The best Jeep yet?
Here’s why the Compass is on Gareth Butterfield’s radar IN case you hadn’t noticed, Jeep has been chipping away, quite successfully, at the European market share over the last...
Trevor’s Wildlife Week for 30th August 2018
Poorly Canada Goose on the bank of the River Cuckmere There are certain calls that you receive that when you hear the scenario your heart drops and last week...
Domestic luxury Toyota is just unavailable in the UK, which is sad.
IAIN ROBERTSON Some cars are destined for consumption strictly in their home markets, states Iain Robertson, which is the case with Toyota’s much-vaunted Century limousine, although its ‘RR-esque-ness’ might...
Gareth Butterfield welcomes Alfa Romeo’s first foray into the SUV market
THE very thought of Alfa Romeo building an SUV is enough to have some of the brand’s biggest fans breaking into a cold sweat. But, let’s be honest, they’re...
Karoq avoids ‘old crock’ references and delivers a cracking Skoda
IAIN ROBERTSON When you read most of the advertising clap-trap that surrounds most new car promotions, suggests Iain Robertson, it becomes very easy to assume cynicism, although Skoda is...
When you cannot get a Defender, it has to be a Wrangler
IAIN ROBERTSON While he would prefer to heap praise on a Land Rover, Iain Robertson is only too aware that Jeep has an indefatigable reputation for true off-road competence...
Citroen takes a ‘blue-sky’ approach to soft-top motoring
IAIN ROBERTSON Drop-tops, rag-tops, convertibles and cabriolets are all car types that seem to inhabit our psyches, writes Iain Robertson, none more so than in our present...
Gareth Butterfield wonders if the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross might be the brand’s best SUV yet
THE Mitsubishi Eclipse, if you’re well-versed enough in the global car market to remember it, was a reasonably odd-looking coupe which once featured in the Fast and Furious movie,...
All-new booted A-Class will provide good reasons to go Merc!
IAIN ROBERTSON As soon as the Teutonic Trio entered market-share battles, writes Iain Robertson, both design and engineering headed south (!), although Merc has made a clear investment in...
Gareth Butterfield tests an all-wheel-drive version of the justifiably popular Suzuki Swift
THIS is the new Suzuki Swift 4×4. And what, I hear you ask, is the point of that? Why would you buy a small car with four-wheel-drive when there...
Volvo sidesteps ‘poverty-spec’ deftly with its baseline V40 Cross Country
IAIN ROBERTSON Renowned for its unique classlessness, Volvo’s market stance is engagingly positive and its run-out V40 model (set for replacement next year) satisfies the suggestion by Iain Robertson...
Gareth Butterfield finds out whether Volvo’s XC40 can live up to the high standards of its stablemates
WHEN Volvo launched the latest version of its range-topping XC90 SUV I fell for it hook, line and sinker. As an overall package, it’s sublimely comfortable and effortless to...
The Curious Tale of the Dichotomous GRMN
IAIN ROBERTSON It is not an advertisement for a new Harry Potter episode, although the GRMN in question is a wicked little beast, suggests Iain Robertson, as he tackles...
Budapest
Do you know the song Budapest by George Ezra? () You know → „My house in Budapest, My hidden treasure chest“? Well, I do. It’s what pops up to...
Gareth Butterfield has a wild ride in #Kia’s new #Stinger GTS
I CAN’T help but marvel at Kia. It doesn’t seem long ago that the Korean firm was peddling iffy and impossibly hatchbacks, almost becoming the next Skoda as the...
#Brazil, much more than a football lovers’ country! – World Meanderings (n°65)
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny Without any doubt Brazil is not a next-door country for European travellers. Brazil is so large and has much...
Summer 2018 Book Reviews – 3 (non-motoring)
IAIN ROBERTSON Armed with a shelf-load of the latest titles, the following books have a strictly NON-motoring flavour, from authors new and renowned and established publishers, which Iain Robertson...
Welsh Witterings: Dining on Aberystwyth’s Pier
This Friday evening my family and I decided to indulge in dinner with a view so we headed off to the Pier Brasserie in Aberystwyth. I had never dined...
Volvo’s new V60 heralds a return to form for a most progressive brand
IAIN ROBERTSON For the past few years, Volvo has embarked on a reformulation strategy that is intended to drive it into the future, remarks Iain Robertson, and it is...
Summer 2018 Book Reviews – 2
IAIN ROBERTSON Armed with more of the latest titles, the following books have a strictly motoring flavour, covering both superstars and a renowned marque and Iain Robertson recommends them...
Gareth Butterfield tests the #Lexus NX SUV
NOT that anything has physically changed, but in the few years the Lexus NX has been on sale, its looks seem to have softened somewhat. When I first saw...
Motoring Life with a Suzuki Baleno – 21st report of 42
IAIN ROBERTSON Although promising that he is not counting, Iain Robertson cannot help but notice that he is precisely halfway through his Suzuki ‘ownership’ programme and while leasing relieves...
If #Volvo made fruit squash, its #XC40 would be the most unctuous ever
IAIN ROBERTSON Volvo’s primary remit at present, suggests Iain Robertson, is a need to incorporate credibility and capability in a vibrant model range that can be expanded, or shrunk,...