Rampant depreciation raises laissez-faire fears in automotive EV scene
IAIN ROBERTSON Recognising that it used to be ‘fun’ to play ‘inflation-proofing’, Iain Robertson wonders what has happened to consumers fighting for better trade-in valuations and motor traders prepared...
Greater standardisation is needed to make EVs more consumer acceptable
IAIN ROBERTSON Increasingly, as we approach ‘E-Day’ in 2030, a number of pertinent management factors will find themselves under the microscope and Iain Robertson is intent on finding and...
Loyalty – an hugely under-rated ethos that will soon smack of desperation
IAIN ROBERTSON Receiving a press release from a renowned German carmaker led Iain Robertson to reflect on a sometime important aspect of humanity that may have been forgotten in...
Toyota Supra, the ‘Ru Paul’ of Teutonic sporty cars, now in BMW ‘lite’ form
IAIN ROBERTSON The consumer has every right to feel confused, when confronted by a BMW engineered coupe wearing Toyota badges, states Iain Robertson, but, while he cannot fathom its...
New BMW iX, due in late-2021, is an EV that is highly encouraging
IAIN ROBERTSON From weird and wacky, to plainly plugly, Iain Robertson has been seriously concerned about the design direction being adopted by the Munich-based carmaker, although the latest news...
Reasons to be cheerful: SIX brand-new Vanwall F1 racing cars
IAIN ROBERTSON On the 19th October 2020, 62 years to the day when British racing legend, Vanwall, won the first-ever F1 Constructors’ Championship, reports Iain Robertson, a small but...
Not all Minis are destined for the road, as exemplified by this E version
IAIN ROBERTSON Being TV-advertised at present, reports Iain Robertson, the Mini E is the fully-electrified version of BMW’s take on the illustrious model that is also fulfilling, in enhanced...
Latest VW Golf R plays ‘Whack-A-Mole’ with potential owners
IAIN ROBERTSON Possessing something of a fascination for prior iterations of VW’s hottest hatchback, Iain Robertson admits to concerns related to carmakers engaging with motorsport competitors and, when it...
Stuff a bit of Gazoo Racing up your Toyota C-HR for motoring enchantment
IAIN ROBERTSON Long-time fan of Toyota’s response to the Nissan Juke, Iain Robertson’s pro-C-HR stance certainly helped the Japanese carmaker to nail its colours to the mast, although he...
Aznom Palladium: either the wittiest, or twittiest, new car to ever break cover
IAIN ROBERTSON Seldom lost for words, Iain Robertson admits to struggling with one of the strangest ever attempts of a notional Italian carmaker to formulate an entirely new strain...
Bentley notoriety has hiked its GT Speed coupe to ‘most desirable’ status
IAIN ROBERTSON It is almost unwarranted that a car linked to gap-toothed caddishness, via gadabout Bentley Boys and more recent Germanic inferences should become an object of automotive pleasure...
Fiat has every right to be Cross but tantrum, or not, it might not save Tipo
IAIN ROBERTSON Four years ago, recalls Iain Robertson, sometime Italian car giant, Fiat, relaunched its Tipo model, with a comprehensively well-considered ‘offer’ to both private buyers and business users...
Octavia has earned the right for more but the latest plug-in vRS goes partway
IAIN ROBERTSON Life can be terribly unfair, states Iain Robertson, and never more so than in big, bad corporate world, where meritorious effort is often regarded as little more...
Can the new XE become the much-vaunted Mark Two in Jaguar’s line-up?
IAIN ROBERTSON Subtlety is the current buzzword in Jaguar’s styling suite but Iain Robertson, long-time Jaguariste, worries that living in the past may not be the answer to future...
Peugeot’s design language is almost ‘on point’ with new 308
IAIN ROBERTSON As a long-standing advocate for the Peugeot brand, Iain Robertson has always felt that, when left to its own devices, the French carmaker is capable of turning...
Fresh talent devises new Jaguar F-Pace that now looks/feels like a Jaguar
IAIN ROBERTSON Jaguar Cars has endured more than enough problems over recent years, states long-time brand fan Iain Robertson, and there is nothing quite like a vital blood transfusion...
If you like your hot hatch cocktail shaken and stirred, invest in a Renault Megane RS
IAIN ROBERTSON Both RS 300 and RS Trophy versions of the Megane have been under the surgeon’s knife, highlights Iain Robertson, in the process underscoring a pair of the...
Try to ignore the ‘schnozz’ on the latest BMW 128ti, as it is what lies behind it that matters most!
IAIN ROBERTSON Cyrano de Bergerac was a Gallic novelist, playwright and duellist, highlights Iain Robertson, yet he will forever be remembered for possessing a most sizeable nose, a factor...
Cute Ignis Auto provides practical space at a surprisingly high price
IAIN ROBERTSON Beware of a ‘catchpenny’ trait being exercised by Suzuki GB, warns Iain Robertson, as it entices unwary customers towards a rocky shoreline of its own creation, where...
Latest Rexton makes giant quality stride but retains Ssangyong honesty
IAIN ROBERTSON You can turn away now, states Iain Robertson, if your transport diet is governed by (at least) hybrid technology and definitely not diesel, but if you want...
Problematic British bike industry may have a new champion in Langen
IAIN ROBERTSON It does not matter that you cannot recall why sometime world-beating motorbikes were invariably British, highlights Iain Robertson, but they were and, despite several attempts to revive...
Dipping into VW Group’s enormous spare parts bins enables new Audi A3 hybrid development
IAIN ROBERTSON At a moment in time, when the automotive business is looking all shaky and EV charged, highlights Iain Robertson, it is heart-warming for fans of quality cars...
Hyundai installs ‘Grin’ factor as a vital component of its latest i30N model
IAIN ROBERTSON Grinning can be like yawning, highlights Iain Robertson, in that its innate infectiousness can start an unwitting and inescapable chain reaction but you can forget the yawn...
Ginetta Sportscars – The British survivor that seldom says ‘No!’
IAIN ROBERTSON The British specialist sportscar scene used to be vibrant, states Iain Robertson, but a combination of EU rules, Construction & Use legislation and the relative disappearance of...
Emerging from post-lockdown ‘slumbers’, LR Defender can think itself ‘holy’
IAIN ROBERTSON Some things in the big, bad commercial world do appear to be many-times blessed, states Iain Robertson, not least the LR arm of JLR, which, in his...
MC20, Maserati’s non-‘lecky’, old-skool supercar
IAIN ROBERTSON If you were a small volume specialist carmaker, suggests Iain Robertson, would you really want to tumble headlong into an uncertain electrified territory, when creating a sportscar...
Are you impressed by the BMW iX3? BMW hopes so…
IAIN ROBERTSON In being brutally frank about the new all-electric version of BMW’s latest X3 SUV model, Iain Robertson discovered that BMW’s attitude is gauged more towards name-dropping and...
Now you can have your Honda Civic Type-R in one of three versions
IAIN ROBERTSON Recalling that the last Type-R that he could fit into was the 2001 (EP3) 2nd generation model, Iain Robertson was enthused by the potential of a ‘softer’...
In a frenetic rush to get new EVs to market, little thought has been given to the used EV sector.
IAIN ROBERTSON While automotive electrification is very much a 21st Century development, reports Iain Robertson, fully electric vehicles have only been present in larger volumes within the past decade...
Nissan X-Trail – a used car reflection on a ‘staycationer’s’ delight
IAIN ROBERTSON Fashion can be such a passion-killer, states Iain Robertson, as he reflects on the 2007 Greek launch of a Mark Two Nissan staple and a few ‘secrets’...
Enyaq – more SUV ‘yaketty-yak’ from Skoda, with an EV twist
IAIN ROBERTSON Most unwittingly, although naming its first SUV ‘Yeti’ might disprove it, Skoda has blended conventional design with EV underpinnings, highlights Iain Robertson, that could create a...
GMA pulls another ace from its supercar hat in the T.50s Niki Lauda
IAIN ROBERTSON Like buses, a third may be along soon, as Iain Robertson reveals the details of yet another Gordon Murray creation, which sets the dial to ‘Phenomenal’ and...
Ice is ice, salt is salt but salt is corrosive, especially to unprotected surfaces
IAIN ROBERTSON Having learnt another disquieting message related to the pandemic, Iain Robertson is aware that government spending in ‘other’ areas (furloughing etc.) is restricting the funds available to...
British success story McLaren redistills its supercar formula in new Artura
IAIN ROBERTSON Accepting that McLaren is small potatoes alongside the volume carmakers, Iain Robertson is of the belief that the promotional value conveyed by it shines like a beacon...
Digitised VW Golf8 is major disappointment in GTi/GTD forms but might be on par as plug-in GTE
IAIN ROBERTSON The car that invented the GTi segment is waving goodbye to its long-held standard bearing status, writes Iain Robertson, with its latest triple-header of power units, which...
Focus-size C4 has a volume model viability for Citroen to prove…or fail
IAIN ROBERTSON Ever since the GS model of the 1970s, Iain Robertson has believed that the French carmaker has been battling so much with its inner demons that he...
‘Big Mac’ Murray concocts perfect supercar formula in all-new T50
IAIN ROBERTSON Lighter, faster, sleeker and equipped with fewer fripperies, South African import, Gordon Murray, flexes his well-groomed F1 muscles in ways that Iain Robertson believes to be standard...
Sometimes Citroen tries too hard to be earnest but C3 Aircross works
IAIN ROBERTSON Leafing through the PR blurb for the latest Citroen crossover led Iain Robertson into experiencing a mild bilious attack, so wordy and over-embellished was almost every other...
Acquiring a Land Rover – Should I buy new, or used?
IAIN ROBERTSON Quite intriguingly, since the period of UK national ‘lockdown’ ended, the car sales scene has gone haywire, reports Iain Robertson, crazy trade prices are but one aspect,...
St Tropez, top down, cruising effortlessly…you wouldn’t say ‘Non!’ to a Bentley!
IAIN ROBERTSON If there is one personal car that is guaranteed to open doors to high-end locations, it has to be a Bentley Continental Convertible by Mulliner and Iain...