Author: Robin Roberts

A South Wales software development expert has joined forces with a furloughed pilot to get a potentially lifesaving project off the ground. Richard Blackwell of Tiger Bay productions has been working with temporarily grounded Flybe pilot Josef Mauris to 3D manufacture visor face-shields and using a friends’ network of about 40 people to make, assemble and distribute they have about 2,500 in stock. Using crowd-funding to buy the raw materials for the 3D printers they plan to ramp up production from the original 500 a week using 15 printers to thousands a week as more printers join the production. Richard,…

You have to admire Jaguar, which has gone through tough times yet always produces some head-turning desirable cars.  The latest Jaguar XE saloon is a good case in point and offers a very broad range of eye-catching four-door saloons in rear and all-wheel-drive as it pitches against predominantly German rivals as well as Swedish saloons. The range explained: There are approximately 50 models in the four-door range spread over eight trim levels with rear or all wheel drive, petrol or diesel engines, six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission  from £31,500 to £45,835, but the flagship 600hp 5.0V8 is a staggering…

Auto Vivendi, one of the UK’s leading providers of supercar-related lifestyle experiences run by two Welshmen, has taken delivery of six Aston Martins at the company’s sports car home and global headquarters, Gaydon.   The six Aston Martins comprise Vantage, DB11 Volante, DBS Superleggera and three DBS Superleggera Volantes, and account for 25 per cent of Auto Vivendi’s collection of cars amassed by its Welsh directors Richard Thomas of Maesteg and Craig Williams, from Usk.  Offering a breadth of characterful supercars to cater for every occasion, this latest acquisition spans each model currently offered by Aston Martin, this is the first…

When a car-maker gives a model a name it risks being memorable, forgettable, laughable, unpronounceable or ultimately it means little, but in the case of the Skoda Superb, it actually means a lot. It’s the 125th anniversary of Skoda in 2020 and for 85 years it has been making models with the name Superb. There’s probably a strange truth in the fact that many people will have actually ridden in a Skoda Superb but, for a variety of reasons, they may not have appreciated that particular taxi ride. To me it seems the Superb has become the taxi of choice…

Every manufacturer loves to cram features into their model to make as much money as possible, but the Suzuki Jimny has something few ever include, a free smile. The standard-spec smile is something so many modern cars lack but the simple Suzuki has it in spades. And thensome. The original Suzuki Jimny dates from 1970 and the Light Jeep 10 which was remarkable for its abilities against much more powerful 4×4 rivals, but it was the SJ series which really won the hearts of Europeans and UK buyers in the 1980s and for the best part of three decades afterwards.…

The more you drive, the more energy you save with the latest Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid. It sounds illogical but it’s true because the familiar standard 1.6 litre petrol engine is now joined by a more sophisticated electric motor and battery system which recovers energy lost during braking. This recovered energy when transformed and pushed into the 8.9KWh traction battery means its pure electric range grows as the miles pass. What’s more it will charge from flat in a little over two hours from a 7KW point and it has an electric only range of 39miles. The highly refined powertrain…

Heavy rain, snow showers, ice and mud can combine to make any possible winter journey an impossibility unless you have a big and expensive 4×4, or you cannily drive a Suzuki Swift SZ5 Allgrip. This is the hatch that’s a match for many winter road washouts or white-outs. What’s more it will not break the bank or cost you high maintenance bills for just a few weeks work when really needed. Then, when you don’t need to utilise its Allgrip or 4×4 firmness, you can relax and enjoy its competitive urban commuter qualities. Suzuki has a big reputation in the…

A new toll system for  using the Severn bridges is being considered by a consortium led by English councils from the West Country. They are likely to be part of a M4 & M5 road tolling scheme to discourage traffic and encourage motorists to use public transport or share vehicles, primarily to reduce traffic jams in Bristol, but also along the motorway corridor in south Wales. While the bridges may well escape specific fees and their maintenance cost fall on Welsh Government, the plan from the West of England Combined Authority would probably mean tolls charged at the eastern end…

The original Hybrid Recreational Vehicle from 1999 was a more sober suited trendsetter but a lot has happened in two decades as fashions changed. More manufacturers have poured into the market for practical but performance edged cars, some without any real credibility, but others have made an impression. The range topping 182ps HR-V Sport CVT is definitely a driving delight. The HR-V range of manual or continuously variable automatics come with a choice of 1.5 petrol or 1.6 diesel engines in five trim levels from just over £19,000 to about £29,100. Top Turbo-Sport petrol models using the engine from the…

In my experience, if they are not larger than life, rock stars tend to be small and noisy performers, and the Fiat Rockstar lived up to expectations. Very much the noisy baby in the extensive Fiat family of cars, the 500 has been one of its most successful and in 2019 passed the 3million sold mark. That success has been down to the fact it meets the needs of so many at comparatively modest cost and the clever stylists and engineers within Fiat are continually reinventing the 500 with unique and distinctive names and trims. Our test of the sub-900cc…