Author: Robin Roberts

In the automotive sector there are rarely surprises, except with the SsangYong Rexton. The Korean company has been making 4×4 models for over 65 years, a little less than Land Rover but it has evolved just like its better-known UK rival. Today’s Rexton is the fourth generation since being introduced in 2001 and it retains the rugged reputation it has earned among those who really need a genuine serious off-roader and added a lot more refinement and value. It is about the same size as a Range Rover but half the price and it has won Best Value 4×4 awards…

New car registrations collapsed to a 24-year low last month, despite bulging orders which car-makers cannot supply. UK new car registrations fell by -14.3% to 243,479 units in March, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Wales bucked the trend and saw 9,523 new cars registered with the new 71-plate in March, a 2.52% rise on the same time last year and the only part of Britain to record any improvement. The statistics also showed pure battery cars registrations soared 78.7% in the month compared to 12 months ago and reached 39,315 cars, together…

Volkswagen has played a waiting game and very carefully entered the burgeoning battery car sector with its ID.4. VW has dabbled with small electric versions of its cars beginning with the Up! and its Golf-sized ID.3 hatchback is sold exclusively across Europe, but the larger ID.4 is a global car which will have the world at its wheels. It cleverly mixes the enormously popular MPV style with advanced electric powertrains and the designers have used this sector to provide a lot of interior room when side by side against challengers. There are four battery and powertrain versions and six separate…

A UK pilot scheme in Cardiff to prosecute drivers who block yellow boxes at junctions has been so successful it will be rolled out nationwide this summer. But the RAC is concerned the regulations on design and markings is so vague it will lead to hundreds of drivers being wrongly given PCNs, which are very costly to contest. Now the RAC wants Government to update guidance on yellow box junctions to avoid councils wrongly issuing fines. RAC warns of ‘an avalanche of penalty charge notices being wrongly issued to drivers’ once councils are allowed to enforce box junctions, and commissions…

Cupra is inviting you to join the Q-car queue with its latest Leon 2.0TSi. Based on the family-friendly SEAT Leon, the tuning arm’s version is a return to the hot-hatch era with a car which pushes out 245ps, can exceed 150mph and covers the indicative 0-62mph mark in under 6.5 seconds. Q-cars are essentially “sleeper” or quiet cars which are not overtly sporting but which nevertheless pack a punch and fully reward drivers with a smile which extends across the face. Cupra Leon comes both semi-estate and the Hatch version we tested but they are mechanically the same. Our test…

The world’s first rating system for the safety of autonomous cars is being developed by accident experts in Britain. Crash testers at Thatcham Research outside Reading have worked with global systems engineers, car makers and the Law Commission to draw up the safety ratings which could be applied to models in the same way as the familiar Euro NCap stars. The development comes as Mercedes-Benz in Germany announced that it will accept legal responsibility for collisions that occur in its cars fitted with an ‘L3’ Automated Lane Keeping System, when directly caused by a fault with its technology but not…

It’s official, Kia’s new generation pure-electric EV6 is the top-performing Car of the Year 2022. Earlier this month it beat 60 other new cars, electric and with internal combustion engines, to the coveted CoTY award judged by 59 motoring journalists from 22 European countries. It is the first Kia to win the internationally acclaimed award and set a very high standard for the new generation all-electric car built on an entirely new platform, which we’ll see developed for other Kia, Hyundai and Genesis models in the near future. Launched late in 2021, we really liked the car when we had…

Seven years from launch and two years after it added a mild hybrid model to the Vitara range, Suzuki has not skimped on kitting out their new-age full hybrid Vitara SUV. The wait has been worth it as it represents much better value than its closest eight rivals. Every model gets braking assistance, blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise, seven airbags, Smartphone connectivity, remote key, navigation and climate control. On top of this standard SZ-T trim you can select SZ5 with big sunroof, polished alloys, suede upholstery, parking sensors both ends and Allgrip…

The Ceed has sown success for Kia in Britain. Launched at the end of 2021, this third generation five-door hatchback to be built in Slovakia gives nothing away to rivals and beats most with its equipment and value. But that’s almost doing it an injustice because it actually drives extremely well too with front strut and rear multi-link suspension putting it in a sporting class which doubles as a load lugging family hold all as well. The third best seller in the Kia range comes in a selection of seven versions based on two petrol and one hybrid diesel, three…

Britain is a very lucrative if sometimes specialist car market and that’s what newcomer Genesis is counting on with a small model range which includes the G70 Shooting Brake. This semi-estate designed for the European market and no-where else appeared in late 2021 alongside a saloon and two larger SUVs with simple choice of petrol or diesel engines. The G70SB can be specified in any of three trims and the upper level with the most powerful engine get four-wheel-drive as opposed to the standard rear wheel drive transmission. The standard price of the G70SB is £40,700 but ours came with…