Author: Robin Roberts

With more people than ever now living in urban areas car makers are considering how they meet their requirements and the Toyoto Aygo X is the latest from one of the world’s biggest manufacturers. It first gave us the Aygo in 2005 but time and tastes change so Toyota has updated its original model and created the Aygo X, which has a chunkier and stronger look, better equipment and retains the agile abilities of its namesake. The Toyota Aygo X crossover comes in a choice of 8 models based on four trim levels, five-speed manual or automatic transmission and priced…

Volkswagen is an inherently conservative car maker which has thrived on compromises to please its customers and its latest line up is no exception, but excels nevertheless. Broadly similar in style to its Volkswagen crossover stablemates, Taigo actually falls between the shorter T-Cross and larger Golf-sized T-Roc in dimensions and a lot of the space is put to good use with a bigger boot. Volkswagen has poured through its parts bins and utilised petrol engines from the T-Cross and Polo and offers both manual or automatic transmissions in five, six or seven speed configurations including a dual clutch automatic. There…

The World Rally Championship is all about clipping seconds off your competitors, but the Toyota GR Yaris took years off me. Built to permit the company to take part in motor-sport’s toughest rally series and winning in 2018, the GR Yaris is probably the closest a driver will come to sitting in one of the actual WRC cars. For those of a certain age, or older, the GR Yaris rekindles the racy hot hatchbacks of the 70s and 80s, but with a lot more refinement and a bigger safety margin despite a lot more power to boot. Literally. Toyota worked…

It’s that time of year when parents and grand-parents don’t always pack into their car the holiday gear but rather the more mundane “stuff” accrued by offspring in universities and need to head home. What the students actually learn during a year at university seems to slide into the background and doesn’t include what to throw away or store so a family car can struggle to accommodate a student and their baggage. A few trips home in a year ensure the student’s stuff is regularly added to but come the day of reckoning and return to home for the summer…

Honda tends to hide its qualities very well, which probably explains why it may not be the first go-to brand for an SUV, and that would be a mistake for any motorist to make. Korean, German and British brands tend to hog the limelight and sales in this section of the market but the reality is the Honda CR-V can hold its own against some better-known names and is not only superior in certain respects but also significantly less expensive. The CR-V is Honda’s most popular SUV and available with 2WD or 4WD depending on which of the S, SE,…

For almost a decade it has dabbled in the EV market with plug in hybrid models of existing series but the dedicated pure battery e-tron series clearly shows its future intent. The e-tron programme is part of the parent Volkswagen Group’s technology being applied to its sporting Porsche brand but refined and engineered for Audi customers in particular. Audi is selling standard and RS versions of its technology with the latter adding more power and features in both SUV and sleek GT saloon styles and we tested the four-door lesser-powered version here at a more accessible price, but still a…

A Welsh firm which created the world’s first electronic breathalyser has secured a major export deal to supply hundreds of breath testing instruments to the Finnish Government, thanks to export support from the Welsh Government. Barry-based Lion Laboratories is set to supply 250 portable infrared breathalysing instruments for use by Finland’s Police, Border Guard and Prison Services. As well as providing the devices, the agreement will also see the company assist with their roll out and deliver full technical training to the country’s law enforcement teams. Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething today visited the company’s Barry HQ to congratulate the company…

When one of the world’s biggest vehicle makers launches a model you usually have to sit up and take notice, however, the Ford Ranger Raptor demands attention. Based on a conventional pickup which is one of America’s best selling vehicles, the Ranger Raptor SE has been given a performance make-over to cope with both European roads and a more demanding driving styles than encountered on the plains of the mid-West. As such it’s a compromise and in reality a unique vehicle at that which is too small to qualify as a CV for tax purposes and does not look anything…

Thousands of foreign “ghost drivers” are haunting UK roads, and it’s perfectly legal, writes Robin Roberts. They can even be driving with penalty points or be disqualified and no-one in the UK knows. Highlighting a strange loophole in the law, Claims Management & Adjusting is calling for all UK residents to keep the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency informed of their current address. A GB licence holder must immediately notify the DVLA of any change of address, this is stipulated at section 99(4) of the The Road Traffic Act 1988. Yet, under Section 99A(3), EU driving licence holders can drive…

Kia has built its reputation in the UK with its family-friendly SUVs so it was probably only a matter of time before introducing its compact SUV. Based on the Rio hatchback, the new Stonic has a longer body and stands slightly higher on the road with added ground clearance over the supermini stablemate. The Kia Stonic comes in eight versions: two engines and four trim grades –‘2’, ‘GT-Line’, ‘Connect’ and ‘GT-Line S’. The ‘2’ grade is offered with the 1.0-litre T-GDi engine developing 99bhp and six-speed manual transmission, which we tested or a dual-clutch automatic unit. Other versions get the new…