Author: Robin Roberts

This is a good question for any bar quiz or testing a motoring enthusiast: What roomy family car comes with luxury-car features for about £30,000? As new car prices go through their own sunroofs, desirable features are left out and some dealers struggle to clear showrooms to fewer customers walking in there is an underlying issue; demand is failing to meet supply. Legacy European brands had a hard time since the Covid Pandemic, then along came the drive towards zero emissions and ill-thought-out legislation based on wet finger-in-air targets with many bad decisions taken as a result by politicians and…

It has again been a very strong month for BEVs, and Kia has led the way as it prepares to launch its new small EV2 series. The New Automotive Electric Car Count indicates: – Strongest August for BEV registrations: BEVs captured 30% of all new car registrations in August 2026, with sales surging 30% year-on-year – spurred in part by shifting fuel market dynamics. – Record Month for Electric Vans: BEV vans reached an all-time high 17% market share, comfortably outperforming the real-world ZEV Mandate target of 15.7%. – ZEV Mandate Surplus: Strong year-to-date BEV performance (25.5% vs. the 24.6%…

Skoda has traditionally been a conservative car-maker but it’s undergone a transformation this decade as it responded to changing buying habits and the arrival of electrified cars, notably from the Far East. Initially it was a little slow responding to the new challenges but as part of the Volkswagen Audi Group it quickly developed some very good cars to offer buyers who loved the brand. The all-electric Skoda Enyaq SUV was unveiled in 2020 and the Coupe two years later as a more stylish family five-seater alternative. There’s a little difference in their luggage space with the SUV taking up…

While the tidal wave of the latest electric powered models washes into showrooms, one conventional car floats above them and remains an example of simplicity, style and sales success over a stunning and enviable 37 years. The Mazda MX-5 not only saved Mazda’s fortunes in the 1990s but it also effectively revived the traditional affordable sportster sector which seemed doomed under the wheels of hot-hatchbacks from accountant-administered big brands. Conceived, created and delivered by a dedicated design department working for Mazda, the joint American & Japanese project reached public exposure in Chicago in 1989 and buyers’ fell in love with…

Whatever happens to the planed zero-emissions mandate with its stuttering schedule for implementation there is no denying it is bringing us some interesting and desirable models. But few of the newcomers will have the ‘history’ of Xpeng, which like Tesla of America, was rooted in technology and software rather than motor cars. Not to be phased for the future of mobility, Xpeng is also designing a flying car complete with a carrier. It produced the G6 a couple of years ago but as rivals came out with their models, Xpeng decided it could do better and made about 20,000 changes…

The Kia EV4 is a landmark model for the brand as their first zero emissions hatchback and Fastback saloon, and it will seriously challenge the Continental luxury brands. The hatchback is built in Slovakia with a slightly smaller bootspace than the Fastback assembled in Korea and both models have a choice of 58.3kWh standard battery or 81.4kWh long range pack, in three trim levels, Air, GT-Line or GT-Line S, but with a special edition Motion derivative for now as well. Prices rise from £30,995 for the EV4 hatchback with the Gov car grant to £46,995 for the Fastback GT-Line S…

With the previous headline rush into pure electric cars now  faltering, there is growing appreciation of what a good petrol car can do for a manufacturer, as in the Kia Picanto GT-Line S. While some rivals had axed their city cars or effectively moved them up market and therefore into more expensive territory, Kia adopted a policy of keeping open their options for the maximum number of buyers to choose. So, the entry level Picanto series has been given a make-over for 2026 and the third generation since 2003 has been carefully refreshed. It comes in Pure, GT-Line and GT-Line…

With VAT-free home charging from October, now is the time to put in your order for the BMW iX3 50 and just hope you’re not stuck in a queue of customers. That will be the only annoying fact if you want to get your hands on the World Car of 2026. It really is very, very good. If you think electric cars are boring, this Neue Klasse BMW iX3 will destroy any illusions you may have. BMW learned a lot with their first evs and the appearance of rivals, and engineered a car with a completely new floorpan together with…

There is an almost ageless and timeless appeal about the Honda Prelude coupe. It has always been a highly popular part of the Honda line-up and showed the Japanese engineers not only build very competent family cars but, given encouragement, can turn out a capable coupe which turns heads and delivers smiles-better-performance. It has the classic profile or silhouette of a sporting coupe which might be drawn by a child and this familiarity probably explains the popularity we saw on test. Our week with the latest seventh generation Prelude and, in fact the one after a 25 years gap from…

The popularity of the Volkswagen Golf has hardly dimmed since it was launched over 52 years ago, and there is little sign of this achievement being changed with the GTE phev version.   There is a mind-boggling range of hatchbacks and saloons with a wide range of engines and selective trim levels, and we have been testing the only phev petrol model GTE with a beefy and practical petrol-electric powertrain. The plug-in system means the car will cover more than 80 miles on a full charge while the proven 1.5 litre petrol engine will ease it along at 53mpg, so a combined…