Author: Robin Roberts

Diesel cars are a dying range but all I can say is long live the Skoda Octavia Estate turbo-diesel. It’s going to become a model we will look back upon and ponder; wonder why such a thoroughly good all rounder has to be replaced by much more expensive, less practical and, frankly, less satisfying electric rivals. It’s one of the oldest model names in the Skoda stable and still accounts for about half of the brand’s European sales but the fact its semi-estate shape and diesel engine have become unfashionable in the eyes of many buyers suggests we need to…

It has been working on electric cars for many years so it was probably only natural that modernising its best selling Golf family car would feature in its approach to the future, and the ID.3 fills the sector in which its petrol and diesel hatchback did so well before it led to the e-Golf. The pure electric ID.3 is a very worthy successor, if expensive particularly when you look at the price of options, but it’s not alone as moving to electric power is not cheap. More importantly, Volkswagen do it better than most rivals. The ID.3 was the first…

To mark National Pothole Day, Go.Compare Car Insurance can reveal the top ten counties in England and Wales whose roads are most peppered with potholes today (Monday 15 January). Topping the peak pothole list was Derbyshire County Council, which reported 215,787 potholes over three years between January 2020 and December 2022. Two more northern counties took the 2nd and 3rd place spots, with Durham and Lancashire County Councils featuring respectively, with more than 180,000 potholes reported in the same three-year period. The comparison site submitted more than 300 Freedom of Information requests to councils across England and Wales to find…

Honda’s product range is one of the most diverse on the market but it’s all steadily heading in one direction towards pure battery power over the next few years. In the meantime, and probably being very wise to hedge bets about the roll out of the battery electric vehicle industry, Honda has given us the widest choice and the family friendly CR-V series. The Honda CR-V was launched in 1995 as the Japanese manufacturer wanted to capitalise on the rapidly developing SUV sector and it was made in Swindon for a number of years before the plant closed. It is…

The UK new car market has recorded its best year since the pandemic as a strong December up 9.8%, wrapped up the 17th month of consecutive growth. Some 1.903 million new cars reached the road during 2023 – an increase of 17.9%, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. In Wales last year, registrations reached 66,761, a rise of nearly 16% over 2022 and it was incredibly nailbiting for retailers with just three car sales separating the mid-three models, a unique acheivement. Growth was driven entirely by fleet investment as the previous year’s supply…

It’s a familiar problem; you have to pick up a Christmas tree and somehow get it home along with maybe a few other seasonal plants and excited children. Or perhaps you are reading this in the New Year and are having a clear out instead! Most motorists resort to tying the netted tree onto their roof and hoping it stays there but the flexible seating in the Skoda Karoq offers a more practical packaging solution unless you have a very long tree. The split folding rear seats drop in an instant to take an average sized tree and leave room…

Now here’s my prediction for 2024: the BYD Seal is going to make a splash in the sporting saloon sector. Up to now, Europe has been the leading provider and market for four-doors and something a little special in the family sector, but that is likely to change over the coming 12 months. China’s BYD (it stands for Build Your Dreams) launched its Atto 3 SUV and Dolphin hatchback in Britain in 2023 and it’s just rounded them off with the Seal saloon. Still more will be introduced next year as the dealership network rises towards 90 outlets over 12…

The third SUV in their line-up after the Jazz and CRV, the third generation Honda HR-V comes only with a petrol-electric powertrain utilisig two electric motors and an Atkinson-cycle petrol engine for greater efficiency as a hybrid and it showed with our overall and effortlessly achieved economy. It has been produced between 1998 and 2006 and then from 2013 to the present day. The mid-size, five-door SUV is a five-seater with the accent on technology along with comfort. Honda has fitted a comparatively small 1.5 litre engine but the electric motors give it a useful boost and effective all-wheel-drive. The…

I was lucky enough to attend the UK launch of the TT Coupe in Leeds in 1999, a year after it went into production and on sale in Germany and now, a quarter of a century on, production has ceased. In that time there have been only three generations of the car but it developed from Coupe to Roadster and even teased an Off-Road Concept coming with a bewildering range of four, five and six cylinder engines and a host of special editions over its 25 years. Named after the legendary Isle of Man TT Races where Audi predecessors, DKW…

If you have used a Nokia 3310 mobile phone, Apple i-pad or ridden on a new Transport for London electric bus, then you have already experienced BYD technology. The Chinese battery technology business which has powered these landmark products has a global footprint powering many familiar items and is about to become a major player in the electric car market. The biggest company you’ve probably never heard of is now assembling a UK network of over 30 showrooms working with some of Britain’s major groups and in 12 months time will be more than doubling this number on the back…