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...
End of an Elise era, as Lotus ‘does a Defender’ with promised replacements
IAIN ROBERTSON While there exists no connection between Lotus Sportscars and Land Rover, states Iain Robertson, observers cannot be blamed for thinking that they have been reading from the...
Vauxhall pacified by PSA-fied platform that dumbs down Corsa e
IAIN ROBERTSON Despite the carefully managed PR emerging from PSA Group, writes Iain Robertson, the latest electrified Corsa model is a pale shadow of the Corsa that preceded it,...
Minimalism starts with model-naming of the dichotomous Honda e
IAIN ROBERTSON Although it may have ‘lost its way’ for a few years, states Iain Robertson, Honda possesses an inherent power to surprise that never fails to excite the...
Seat’s most obliging, handsomest and best Leon hatchback ever!
IAIN ROBERTSON Easily the most focused version of the Seat best-seller, enthuses Iain Robertson, the latest Leon is by far the most striking in appearance, although he airs concerns...
Baby Bugatti reborn and reimagined with renewed investment potential
IAIN ROBERTSON One of the world’s most charismatic brands is undoubtedly Bugatti, to which Iain Robertson was uniquely privy on 15th September 1991, when it was relaunched by Romano...
BMW produces the most advanced Countryman Cooper S Works ‘Mini’ ever…at a price!
IAIN ROBERTSON Like the spotty teenager outgrowing his school uniform, at some point (coming soon!), reports Iain Robertson, BMW will awake to the realities of overstuffing its most compact...
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...
In a fast-improving EV market, is mythical range anxiety still a problem?
IAIN ROBERTSON When the first crop of modern EVs started to be sold/registered in the UK, one of the biggest reasons not to consider one lay in the lack...
Wondrously loopy, rally inspired i20N is Hyundai’s new retail weapon of choice
IAIN ROBERTSON Featuring more bells and whistles than a shopping car ought to, the latest hot hatch from Hyundai enthuses Iain Robertson with its cocktail of automotive Molotov components...
VW knows that if you wait long enough for a bus, three come at once and Clubsport GTi falls into the category
IAIN ROBERTSON Having been exceptionally critical of the ‘Golfate’, as Iain Robertson has christened the eighth generation of the popular German hatchback, following the RenaultSport Megane and Hyundai i30N,...
Divine Scandi inspiration leads Cyan Racing into P1800 resurrection
IAIN ROBERTSON As the motor racing arm of the Chinese Geely Corporation, Cyan’s Gothenburg (Sweden) base allows it to display greater free thinking than might apply to either Volvo,...
BMW produces the most advanced Countryman Cooper S Works ‘Mini’ ever…at a price!
IAIN ROBERTSON Like the spotty teenager outgrowing his school uniform, at some point (coming soon!), reports Iain Robertson, BMW will awake to the realities of overstuffing its most compact...
All-electric BMW i4 gives great dynamic account on German test track
IAIN ROBERTSON Fans of the Bavarian motorcars that all but dominate in the British company car sector are in for a future surprise, explains a satisfied Iain Robertson, who...
Nissan finally flips out with ‘all-new’ Ariya electric vehicle
IAIN ROBERTSON Poor old Nissan, the sometime Japanese carmaker that is heavily influenced by its French strategic partner, Renault, has taken an extraplanetary leap, reports Iain Robertson, into the...
Is a new BMW Mini news, or is it just another variation on a hackneyed theme?
IAIN ROBERTSON A limited edition run of just 325 units, spread across four models, has joined the Mini Countryman line-up as of this month, states Iain Robertson, who feels...
Mazda’s centenary highlights its SUV developments to perfection
IAIN ROBERTSON When celebrating important dates, car companies often reveal ‘secrets’ about their past and Iain Robertson was amazed to discover a 4×4 lineage within Mazda that owes a...
New-born El Born elbows Seat and Cupra into electrified territory
IAIN ROBERTSON Shown and presaged at last summer’s Liverpool exposition for Seat Cars, the Cupra El Born is now confirmed as the Spanish firm’s next fully electric model (a...
Change for change’s sake is now a British pandemic perspective
IAIN ROBERTSON The car needs a wash, the garden needs to be tended, the windows need to be cleaned and Iain Robertson awaits a clothing delivery from California, which...
Homage to C-Type is a dead cert for classic car collectors
IAIN ROBERTSON With a rallying call to Scots, fans, collectors and speculators, reports Iain Robertson, a faithful reproduction of Jaguar’s illustrious C-Type, the predecessor to both D and E-Type...
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...
For 4×4, if you want the best, forget the rest…Jeep Grand Cherokee L
IAIN ROBERTSON The last time Iain Robertson ventured Stateside to drive a Jeep, it was to contest the world’s toughest off-road trial, ‘The Rubicon Trail’, a drive so intense...
Big business BTCC goes hybrid…at last!
IAIN ROBERTSON For the past 62 years, the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) has shaped up to become the finest racing series in the world and Iain Robertson has...