CAR Reviews

The Hy-wire? Sounds like a circus act… Don't be fooled. It’s a very significant bit of technology. When General Motors unveiled AUTOnomy at the Detroit Motor Show five years ago, the oddly compelling...

The Hy-wire? Sounds like a circus act… Don't be fooled. It’s a very significant bit of technology. When General Motors unveiled AUTOnomy at the Detroit Motor Show five years ago, the oddly compelling...

It looks like a slightly more colourful Exige - what's the story? This is the Exige 265E - the fastest ever Exige and the first bio-ethanol Lotus. The digits 265 denote the 265PS power output, or...

How does a hydrogen-powered RX-8 work – and no technobabble please... It's simple. The RX-8's rotary engine can run on either petrol or hydrogen, which is stored in liquid form in a second fuel tank.

So this is the car that will save Smart? Given that it’s now Smart’s only model, yes. The Roadster was canned at the end of 2004 and the ForFour last year, leaving only the original two-seat city car.

It looks like a slightly more colourful Exige - what's the story? This is the Exige 265E - the fastest ever Exige and the first bio-ethanol Lotus. The digits 265 denote the 265PS power output, or...

So this is the car that will save Smart? Given that it’s now Smart’s only model, yes. The Roadster was canned at the end of 2004 and the ForFour last year, leaving only the original two-seat city car. It keeps the ForTwo name, despite no longer having to distinguish itself from its deceased bigger brother. Sales of the other two were...

If 4Motion means four-wheel drive, what’s this Bluemotion all about? Nothing to do with four-wheel drive - or going fast. It’s Volkswagen’s ecological brand applied to the most efficient and...

Dodge Demon Roadster. Great name, but this is just a concept car right? For now, yes. But like pretty much all of Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler's concepts, this one is driveable and we have driven it. The...

That’s one hell of a Vauxhall you've got there... Don’t let the badge fool you. It reads Vauxhall but underneath that chunky sheetmetal is Holden’s new Commodore Clubsport R8 with a higher spec GTS...

Is Nissan pulling a fast one? This looks the same as the old X-Trail It’s a dead ringer for the one that's just been discontinued, isn’t it? Incredibly, it’s totally new, right down to the engines.

Looks like a bit of a beast. Is this another warp-enabled starship from AMG? Yep. This is Mercedes’ big CL-class coupe fitted with AMG’s ballistic 6.0-litre V12 bi-turbo engine and a bunch of...

Isn’t the Ford GT pretty tasty already? Yes it is, but this model is even more special. Ford has actually stopped producing the GT so it decided to do something exceptional with the last handful of...

Black Series? Sounds posh and a little edgy. What's all that about then? AMG groups its cars into five divisions. The Black Series machines are second only to the borderline psychotic and...

Superminis From its name I’m guessing this is a successor to the 206 SW Exactly right. Making an estate version of a supermini might not be a popular pastime for many car companies but Peugeot...

Volkswagen took their time unleashing this handsome devil Yes, the previous VW management dithered, discussed and delayed the project until it was almost past its sell-by date. In July 2007, two full...

Nissan's new-for-2007 350Z is still a cracker The 2007 350Z looks the same as the old one, doesn’t it? If you look carefully there’s a bulge in the bonnet and therein lies the story. The new-for-2007...

Is this 4.2-litre diesel Q7 just playing another part in the Audi master plan for world dominance? When you’ve spent a gazillion euros developing the world’s most powerful V8 diesel engine it would...

A six-wheeled Citroen pick-up truck? Are you serious? Certainly am. And with its weird Cruise Crosser, Citroen is too. Pick-ups are big business, particularly in the UK where people have started...

This Mazda looks vaguely familiar – the 3 is hardly new is it? True, but the new turbo diesel engine under its bonnet is. Mazda has finally got around to boosting its 3 line-up with the big 2.0-litre...