Author: Robin Roberts

Revised, repriced and released this Spring, the Subaru Forester is ready to take on rivals in the serious SUV sector in 2025.  Launched in 1997 on the back of a very impressive rallying impact by Subaru, the Forester was aimed squarely at the expanding SUV sector but in particular the country dweller who’d appreciate simple yet effective full-time all-wheel-drive. Here was something to pull a horsebox or agricultural trailer or possibly actually tow your Impreza to an event. Over five million have been sold. The new Subaru Forester range comprises the Limited from  £38,995, Field at £41,545 or Touring £44,100.…

Skoda has something for everyone in its family friendly range beginning with their baby suv, the Kamiq. Launched in 2019 as Skoda’s smallest suv, the Kamiq shares its floorpan with the Seat Arona and Volkswagen T-Cross, but offers more interior room. To maintain family resemblances, the Kamiq shares a similar face to the larger Skoda SUVs, the Karoq, Enyaq and Kodiaq but comes as a more compact package. To keep down costs and with space limitations,  the engines are not hybrid but the biggest version has a clever cylinder deactivation feature allowing it to automatically run on half of its…

The new flagship Mazda CX-80 is poised to make a big impression in the luxury multi-seat SUV sector. New car sales went and are going through a tough time but it must be said that in 2024 Mazda did better than most. Mazda UK sales director Laura Brailey told us global registrations for the brand rose 11% last year to a record 1.4 M and in Britain it intended to lift its current 117 dealership outlets to about 126 by filling open points by 2026. “We have seen a downturn in private sales but we know more people have moved…

The Ford Capri name is back and turning heads some 55 years after the original model. The first Ford Capri designed by the same man who styled the Ford Mustang was produced from 1969 to 1986 and covered three generations with two million models registered. Originally made in Ford Halewood, Liverpool plant, the new all-electric Capri uses the Volkswagen Group platform and battery and is assembled in Cologne, Germany. Whether or not you consider the new Capri launched in 2024 is a worthy successor to the original you cannot fail to spot some styling influences in the latest version, probably…

The Government has announced a relaxation of electric vehicle sales targets to help the car industry in the face of trade tariffs from the US and a slow take up for pure electric cars without manufacturer incentives costing them millions of pounds. It is what the motor industry and component suppliers have been asking for over the last few months when it became apparent the planned introduction date of  2030 would not be achievable. It has already slipped back on the Continent. Now, a ban selling new pure petrol and diesel cars will still come into effect in 2030, but…

A brand which has accelerated from racetrack to road has to be something special, so the Cupra Tavascan deserves consideration if you’re looking for an edgy everyday car. Developed from the SEAT Sport series into the Cup Racing range nearly 30 years ago the Cupra line up represents the most powerful and advanced sophisticated series from its parent partner. Cupra became a brand in its own right in 2018 with a very hot-hatchback but, of course, the market has evolved in three decades and now it’s distinctive triangular copper coloured badge is thrusting forward on a range of SUVs. The…

The Ford Puma has consistently featured in Britain’s top ten popular cars for all the right reasons. From launch in 2019 as natural evolution of the Fiesta hatchback, the Puma SUV has fitted the bill for thousands of families. It’s fairly compact dimensions enclose a deceptively practical and versatile body with a clever mild hybrid 48-volt power pack assisting a surprisingly small 1.0 Ecoboost three cylinder petrol engine. The combination is good with generally seamless power delivery and good economy potential and in the case of our test car the added refinement of a seven-speed automatic sequential transmission to ease…

The familiar Tivoli mid-sized suv has been relaunched and refocused to take on rivals which offer less to an increasingly cost-conscious client base. Introduced in 2015 under a SsangYong badge before the manufacturer ran into trouble and then relaunched as KGM with improvements inside and out in 2024 so we have just one trim level, the K40, with a 1.5 litre petrol engine and choice of manual or automatic transmission in just five colours. The models rise from £23,030 for the manual version to £24,550 for the automatic, but there are a host of purchase and pcp options available Taking…

Value for money rarely comes with the sophistication and refinement of the Skoda Superb SE L Estate. Skoda introduced the Superb range in 2001 and it has gone through to the fourth generation, growing in size at each point until the current version based on a stretched version of the VW Group’s MQB Evo platform, also underpinning the largest models in the family group with VW or Audi badges. There are hatchback and estate bodystyles with a wide choice of petrol, diesel or phevs power from just under £37,000 to almost £45,100 but there may be offers on some models…

A century after the brand was created, MG sports cars have been reimagined for today’s motoring generations. The 2024 launch of the MG Cyberster turned heads with the two-seater convertible’s dramatic styling and opened-eyes with its performance as the world’s first fully electric open-topped sports car. It was a brave decision by MG’s Chinese owners SAIC but thinking out of the box set them apart and put them in a place any manufacturer would want to be – in demand. With designers and engineers based in the traditional home of MG at Longbridge, Birmingham, and colleagues in Shanghai, China, the…