http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Shared/Handlers/RSSHandler.ashx?&N=503&Ns=P_Publication_Date|1CAR Online | Reviews RSS Feed(c) 2012, Bauer Media. All rights reserved.30A Ford Focus with a 1.0-litre engine! Isn’t that like getting Charles Hawtrey to compete for World’s Strongest Man, or sending Samson into battle after a crewcut? In one of the most extreme downsizing examples yet, Ford has plumbed an...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Ford-Focus-10-Ecoboost-review/Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:15:00 GMTReviewsThis is the Jaguar XKR-S Convertible, a 542bhp drop-top with a £100,000-plus price. A Jaguar XKR-S Convertible? Sounds a bit wrong to me. Can you imagine Porsche doing a GT3 cabrio? No, but then the XKR-S coupe and GT3 are very different...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Jaguar-XKR-S-Convertible-2012-CAR-review/Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:00:00 GMTReviewsThis is the Volkswagen Up, a little city car we’ve been excited about ever since the first rear-engined and rear-wheel drive concept was unveiled in 2007. Alas a layout akin to the original people’s car (the Beetle) proved too expensive...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Volkswagen-Up-5dr-2012-CAR-review/Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:00:00 GMTReviewsThis is the new 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5. And if you haven’t guessed already, that means it’s a hybrid version of BMW’s 5-series executive saloon. Essentially it’s an electrified 535i, and rather idiosyncratically the addition of 150kg of extra weight has...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/BMW-ActiveHybrid-5-2012-CAR-review/Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:45:00 GMTReviewsThis is the new Mini Roadster, and it’s the penultimate Mini model (the Countryman-based Paceman arrives in 2013) before a whole new range of baby Brits start to appear in 2014. The Roadster is a mix of what we already...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mini-Roadster-Cooper-S-2012-CAR-review/Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:00:00 GMTReviewsThis is the huge Volkswagen Group’s smallest hot hatch, the VW Up GT. First unveiled as a concept car at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show, CAR has just driven a prototype version of the 108bhp baby GTI. Click here for more...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/VW-Up-GT-prototype-2012-CAR-review/Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:00:00 GMTReviewsThis is Fiat’s third-generation Panda, which goes on UK sale in February 2012. Fiat has buffed up interior quality and features over the outgoing car’s, and plumbed in the TwinAir two-cylinder turbo engine, which was the version we drove. This...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Fiat-Panda-TwinAir-2012-CAR-review/Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:03:00 GMTReviewsSeat Alhambra to the rescue - 27 January 2012 At the last count, the Seat Alhambra has won more glittering prizes than the movie Titanic (seven in the UK alone, but also garnering best MPV nods throughout Europe – including...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/Long-term-tests/Seat-Alhambra-SE-TDI-DSG-2012-long-term-test-review/Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:00:00 GMTReviewsColdplay: with their catchy melodies and inoffensive lyrics, those lovely British lads epitomise mainstream rock music. Now I reckon there’ll be a lot of Coldplay-ed in the new 2012 Mercedes B-class. Both are middle-class, family-friendly and rather safe. Apparently, the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mercedes-Benz-B200-Sport-2012-CAR-review/Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:36:00 GMTReviewsMercedes claims to have invented the original performance 4x4 with its ML55 AMG in 1999. This Mercedes ML63 AMG is the third generation of the German firm’s hot off-roader and, despite the eye-watering fuel consumption and price tag, its predecessors have...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mercedes-ML63-AMG-2012-CAR-review/Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMTReviewsThe new Subaru XV is a curious thing. Despite the styling iniquities visited on the likes of the once-wholesome Forester and Impreza of late, there is still a tremendous groundswell of goodwill towards Subaru out there. Which makes it all...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Subaru-XV-20-D-2012-CAR-review/Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:19:00 GMTReviewsThis is the Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe Black Series, a £100k rival for Porsche’s 911 GT3, Maserati’s MC Stradale and BMW’s M3 GTS. The C63 Black has a more powerful 6.2-litre V8, unique motorsport-inspired suspension, and that Black Series badge...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mercedes-C63-AMG-Coupe-Black-Series-2012-CAR-review/Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:00:00 GMTReviewsThe DS5 is Citroën’s most innovative car since the 1970s. It’s a beautiful, five-seat family car that looks like the lovechild of an MPV and an estate, and it bloods Peugeot-Citroën’s unique diesel/hybrid powertrain. The result should be a hatchback...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Citroen-DS5-Hybrid4-2012-CAR-review/Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:00:00 GMTReviewsSwindon’s most famous export (aside from Billie Piper) has had a re-boot. The all-new, ninth-generation Honda Civic will go on sale in January 2012, and gently evolves the space-age Civic of 2006 – itself a radical departure from the safe,...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Honda-Civic-22-i-DTEC-2012-CAR-Review/Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMTReviewsA new BMW 3-series is a big deal. The default sports saloon accounts for one third of BMW’s sales so the Munich firm can’t afford to get it wrong. Read on for CAR's first drive review of the new BMW...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/BMW-320d-SE-2012-CAR-review/Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:54:00 GMTReviewsThis is the fourth generation Lexus GS, but it’s not about to take on the hegemony of Audi, BMW and Mercedes in Europe as there are still no plans for a four-cylinder diesel. There /is/ a new 2.5-litre V6 petrol...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Lexus-GS450h-F-Sport-2012-CAR-review/Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:47:00 GMTReviewsSo this is the electric version of Mazda’s Demio (that’s the Madza 2, to you and I), the company’s first modern all-electric car. It’s a development tool, and not aimed at production yet. If you’re reading this with a fair...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mazda-Demio-EV-First-Drive-2011/Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:20:00 GMTReviewsSeat's not built a city car since the Arosa (itself twinned with the VW Lupo). Now history's repeating itself, with the simultaneous launches of the VW Up, Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo. Here we review one of the toppier Seat...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Seat-Mii-10-SE-74bhp-2011-CAR-review/Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:06:00 GMTReviewsThe latest December 2011 issue of CAR includes an epic supercar twin test: Lamborghini Aventador vs Lexus LFA. Jethro Bovindon referees, and you can watch some quick video clips here. Plus road test editor Ben Pulman gives his second opinion...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Lamborghini-Aventador-vs-Lexus-LFA-2011-a-second-opinion2/Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:05:00 GMTReviewsIn an age when Clios and Minis have 200bhp, Golfs and Meganes sport 250bhp, and the hottest A3 and 1-series offer up over 300bhp, Suzuki’s new Mk2 Swift Sport is a breath of (modest) fresh air. The four-cylinder engine remains...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Suzuki-Swift-Sport-2011-CAR-review/Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:27:00 GMTReviewsEither this is the moment you’ve been waiting for since the first 991-spec Porsche 911 prototypes were spotted testing on the road back in 2008, or you should look away now as we drive the first of many iterations of...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Porsche-911-Carrera-S-2012-CAR-review/Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:23:00 GMTReviewsWhat factors contribute to the size of your typical family? Costs, contraception, the size of the family home, the fear of having an uneven-numbered odd-one-out, divorce? One of my overbearing concerns has always been the limiting effect a larger family...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mercedes-R350-CDI-L-2011-CAR-review/Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:26:00 GMTReviewsCan you spot the difference? No? Come on, look really closely. In fact don’t bother, because although this is a thoroughly revised 2012 model year Nissan GT-R, it looks absolutely identical to the 2011 model. So the Nissan GT-R is...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Nissan-GT-R-2012-CAR-review/Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:20:00 GMTReviewsHonda is nothing if not attentive to its customers. This, allied to bullet-proof build quality, metronomic reliability and ironclad residuals, explains why so many of them keep coming back for more. So it’s hardly surprising that it was to its...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Honda-Civic-18i-VTec-EX-GT-2011-CAR-review/Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:00:00 GMTReviewsOn 20 May 2011, CAR was allowed behind the wheel of a Toyota FT-86 development mule to get our own driving impressions and to give feedback to Toyota’s engineers during a secretive test session in Germany. Now, as the car is...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Toyota-FT-86-coupe-2012-CAR-review-/Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:55:00 GMTReviewsThe Audi Urban Concept is a frantic fusion of home-made soapbox racer, bubble car, quad bike, go-kart and electric runabout, creating something all-new to tempt environmentally-conscious urbanites. CAR was granted rare access to road test (okay, scoot around a closed-off car...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Audi-Urban-Concept-2011-CAR-review/Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:00:00 GMTReviewsJudging by the frequency you see Kia’s third-generation Sportage on the roads, British buyers are captivated by its combination of Dolce & Gabbana looks at Matalan prices. But in the fiercely contested crossover market is the 1.7 CRDi front-wheel drive Sportage...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Kia-Sportage-17-CRDi-2WD-2011-CAR-review/Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:09:00 GMTReviewsOn paper the new Ginetta G60 looks likely to be a bit of a disaster: it’s had a painful birth, morphing from Farboud to Farbio to Ginetta over an agonising decade or so; it has a humble Ford V6 with...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Ginetta-G60-2011-CAR-review/Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMTReviewsThis is Audi’s R8 GT Spyder, and you can think of it in one of two ways: it’s a drop-top version of the R8 GT, itself a lighter and more powerful version of the already sublime R8 V10 supercar; or...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Audi-R8-GT-Spyder-2011-CAR-review/Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:30:00 GMTReviewsWhich is the best new sports car of 2011? Forget your pricey McLaren MP4-12Cs and Lamborghini Aventadors, and think about the other end of the spectrum. In the new November 2011 issue of CAR Magazine (on sale now) we’ve pitted...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Porsche-Cayman-R-vs-BMW-1-series-M-Coupe/Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:17:00 GMTReviewsThe 520d makes up the majority of BMW 5-series sales here in the UK – its blend of performance, frugality, space and low C02 emissions means it’s hard to beat, particularly for company car drivers. But here’s a thing: the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/AC-Schnitzer-ACS5-20d-2011-CAR-review/Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMTReviewsThis is the Ariel Atom Mugen. With a little help from Northamptonshire-based Mugen Euro (the European arm of Mugen, Honda’s favoured tuning partner) ten of these £50k Atoms are being built to celebrate the skeletal track car's tenth birthday. There's...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Ariel-Atom-Mugen-2011-CAR-review/Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:45:00 GMTReviewsThis is Kia’s new Rio, a B-segment rival for the Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta, VW Polo, Vauxhall Corsa and Peugeot 207. It costs from £10,595 to £14,895 and comes with a choice of four engines: 1.25-litre and 1.4-litre petrols, and 1.1-litre three-cylinder...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Kia-Rio-14-2011-CAR-review/Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMTReviewsThis is the new Audi S8, a £80k and 513bhp über-limo Ingolstadt believes will take on Jaguar’s XJ Supersport and Mercedes’ S63 AMG. The new S8 is purposely positioned away from the other circa-500bhp Audi limo, the A8 W12. That...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Audi-S8-2012-CAR-review/Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:21:00 GMTReviewsYears ago, whilst attending an advertising copywriting course, I recall being warned that any attempt to dub any product ‘The Art of….’ would result in instant dismissal. Happily, I was spared this indignity, shortly thereafter being summarily ousted, instead, for...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Maserati-Grancabrio-Sport-2011-CAR-review/Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:51:00 GMTReviewsVauxhall is replacing the Zafira with the new Zafira Tourer - and it also isn't. Eh? What's with the new Vauxhall Zafira Tourer? Well, the new Zafira Tourer you see here will be in addition to today's Zafira MPV. Rather like...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Vauxhall-Zafira-Tourer-2011-CAR-review/Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:00:00 GMTReviewsThe CLK is dead, the E-class Coupe has been pushed upmarket, and the CLC is a horrible old little hatchback. Which, until now, has left Mercedes without a rival for BMW’s 3-series Coupe and Audi’s A5 Coupe. Step forward the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mercedes-C250-CDI-Coupe-2011-CAR-review/Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:05:00 GMTReviewsCAR has driven the new Ferrari 458 Spider for a special 12-page feature in the new November 2011 issue of CAR out on 19 October. Read on for our first drive review of the new 458 Spider supercar - and...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Ferrari-458-Italia-Spider-2011-CAR-review/Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:50:00 GMTReviewsThe new October 2011 issue of CAR Magazine stars the new F10-era BMW M5 on the cover - and we gathered together the greatest M cars ever made to find out where the new 2011 M5 fits in the canon. Don't...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/BMW-M5-2012-CAR-review/Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:32:00 GMTReviewsOf all the Bentley cars, the Continental GTC may seem the model that adheres least to the company’s core values. Isn't it more of a Californian sun-drenched wafter, the frivolous, less masculine offering, rather than a British upper-class bruiser like the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Bentley-Continental-GTC-2011-CAR-review/Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:52:00 GMTReviewsThere's a special treat for Porschephiles in the new October 2011 issue of CAR Magazine: we've nabbed the first ride in the new 991-spec Porsche 911 - alongside rally ace Walter Rohrl. The new 911 is one of the highlights...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Porsche-911-Carrera-S-2012-first-ride-with-Walter-Rohrl/Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:41:00 GMTReviewsCAR Magazine has tested the new F10M era BMW M5 saloon, the fifth generation of Munich's high-performance saloon. You can read our full 20-page feature in the new October 2011 issue out today. We've tested the new M5 - and compared...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/BMW-M5-F10M-2011-CAR-video-review/Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMTReviewsPeugeot Citroen have been showing Hybrid4 concepts for three years now - and finally the wait is over. The new Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 is here - and we've driven it. UK sales start in November 2011. This is a significant...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Peugeot-3008-Hybrid4-2011-CAR-review/Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:00:00 GMTReviewsMini-logoed London buses, references to go kart-like handling, and a load of old nonsense about adventure. Yes, we’re here again with another Mini and all the usual brand messages are being poured out by the bucketload. This rather camp caravan...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mini-Coupe-JCW-2011-CAR-review/Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:48:00 GMTReviewsThe Cayenne is the Porsche we all loved to hate. But is the Cayenne SUV now firmly accepted in the Porsche firmamentr? After all, most now understand the well worn argument that it funds the sports cars we all love. Porsche...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Porsche-Cayenne-Diesel-2011-new-CAR-review/Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:00:00 GMTReviewsGot £20k? Then this lovely Caterham Seven Supersport can be yours. Okay, it’ll be yours as a pile of bits – it’s £19,995 in kit form, but £22,995 fully built – but a Caterham fanatic might describe it as a bargain....http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Caterham-Seven-Supersport-2011-CAR-review/Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:45:00 GMTReviewsFirst, some history. AMG has been updating and upgrading mid-size two-door Mercs for much longer thank you might think. The go-faster business began in the late 1970s with the W123 range – it came in three different AMG tuning stages,...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mercedes-C63-AMG-Coupe-2011-CAR-review/Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:00:00 GMTReviewsAmid all the repositioning of the Mercedes roster – the C-class Coupe is essentially the new CLK, but there's a E-class Coupe that uses C-class parts too – the C-class saloon remains a no-nonsense, reliable choice in the compact exec segment....http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Mercedes-C220-CDI-facelift-2011-CAR-review/Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:00:00 GMTReviewsRental cars. Not what they used to be. So when I touched down in Italy on my recent summer holiday, imagine my delight when my cheapest-possible-small-estate package turned out to be the new 2011 Ford Focus Estate – one of...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Ford-Focus-16-TDCI-Edge-2011-CAR-review/Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:36:00 GMTReviewsJust a few months after launching the Panamera petrol hybrid, Porsche is serving up an alternative maximum efficiency GT: the Panamera Diesel. It can, says Porsche, cover 745 miles on its 80-litre tank. If you’ve got a capacious bladder, an...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Porsche-Panamera-diesel-2011-CAR-review/Fri, 22 Jul 2011 10:40:00 GMTReviews