Author: Robin Roberts

Honda has a lot of experience building their capable Civic, and it really shows in the latest line up of a model which can trace its ancestry over 54 years. Today, the Honda Civic hybrid comes in Elegance trim from £34,325, Sport beginning at £35,945 and our Advance version from £39,295. The entry model includes a lot of driving safety systems and heated front seats while the mid-range car also has a heated steering wheel, wireless charging and privacy glass with the top version also gaining a big glass sunroof, leather upholstery, premium Bose sound and adaptive driving beam. The…

The eight-year long warranty with the new Aion V is going to be a big attraction to buyers. Back that with eight years servicing, eight years AA roadside assistance, eight years of MoTs and you have the ‘great eight’ incentive. What’s more, each Aion V comes with the promise of an AA technician who will come to your home and do a regular scheduled service if it cannot be done by one of its dealer partners which will rise from an initial 25 outlets to about 100 over the next four years and the first will be named at the…

The UK new car market grew by 24.0% to reach 149,247 last month, according to the  Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and the 2 millionth BEV was registered. The increase reflects a rebound from an unusually weak April last year, when buyers pulled purchases forward to March to beat incoming vehicle tax increases, including the application of VED and the Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) on battery electric vehicles (BEVs). While April remains a traditionally low volume month, magnifying year-on-year variation, this was the best outturn since 2019’s 161,064 units. Growth was recorded in all sectors, led by fleets, up…

If you are coming around to the idea that battery electric vehicles are the new norm, the Polestar 4 SUV possibly will take you back. While the pure EV sector is becoming baffling with its new Chinese entitled brands, the Polestar pedigree goes back a bit further and to a surprising beginning. Polestar Racing was created from the Swedish touring car racing team of Flash Engineering founded in 1996 before Volvo acquired them in the summer of 2015 and made it the halo brand for performance models. Volvo, you may know, had established a name in rally and racing history…

Driving enthusiasts of a certain age will fondly remember how Skoda seriously challenged and embarrassed the most expensive works rally teams with its comparatively cheaper Flying Fabias. And in national and club rallies across Europe they can still pull out a few surprises. When skill and low weight combined, the flying Fabias really set the pace for others to follow. Now, a different set of standards ensure the regular production Skoda Fabia 130 can show a clean pair of wheels to competitor models. While some car-makers have all but withdrawn from the warm hatchback sector to pour money into the…

The total fleet rose by 1.4% to 42,549,649 vehicles in 2025, according to new Motorparc data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The number of cars in use rose by more than half a million – or 1.4% – to 36,676,185, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth and the second largest volume increase since 2016, driven by a recovering new car market and high build quality supported by a vibrant aftermarket.1 Van and truck volumes also grew to record levels, up by 1.4% to 5,175,598 and 0.2% to 626,566 units respectively. The UK’s bus and coach fleet,…

Electric car registrations are accelerating driven by huge manufacturer discounts. The UK new car market grew by 6.6% in March, typically the busiest month of the year, with 380,627 new vehicles registered, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Registrations in Wales saw the smallest rise of just 5.85% to 12,275 cars in March compared to a year ago but nationally, the performance marks the best March – and best month overall – since 2019 but behind the statistics is the dramatic decline in diesel registrations pushed by escalating fuel costs. Growth was driven primarily by private demand,…

SEAT knew what they were doing when launching the original Arona compact crossover in 2017 and it has become one of the brand’s best sellers with revisions in 2021 and 2025. Using platforms and powertrains from within the Volkswagen Group it reduced costs but not quality when pitching into the all-important family sector. Being not too big under 4.2 m long and taking up to 828 litres of luggage with small and mid-sized engines, it offers real challenges to competitor models, ironically including parent VW models which use the same technology. Arona has been constantly revised and improved and now…

Volkswagen has eased off the throttle to becoming a pure electric brand and wisely continues to develop its semi-electric mild hybrid line up. The Tiguan MHEV is one of the third generation of this highly popular model, its best seller worldwide including 29,800 registered in Britain last year. In a world and market where change happens and then goes in a different direction, you have to give buyers what they want for their needs. And the Tiguan fulfills many roles very well as a people’s car. It features attractive, premium styling, a wide range of drivetrain options, a high-quality interior…

The UK new car market rose by 7.2% in February to 90,100 registrations, according to the latest figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, but EV demand is slowing again. The growth brings the highest February volume in 22 years, although the month is conventionally lower volume and therefore more volatile, with many buyers preferring to wait for the March number plate change. Demand was largely driven by recovering private retail registrations, up 17.6% to 35,227 units, while fleet uptake grew by 1.8% and the lower-volume business segment declined by -12.7%. Fleets remained the largest source of…