Find your Vauxhall AstraOffers from our trusted partners on this car and its predecessors...Find your perfect new carFrom:£307 pmOr are you looking to sell your car?9/10 sellers got the price they expectedAdvertisementVerdictWe've endured a troubled start to life with the Vauxhall Astra, although that’s mainly through no fault of its own. Let’s hope getting a few more miles under its wheels will see some of our initial reservations disappear.
Mileage: 305Economy: 48.0mpg
The retu of a car with a plug to the Adams’ drive required a few spiders to be made homeless before I could take advantage of our Astra’s PHEV tech.
The Wallbox charger had been dormant for almost a year when the Astra arrived and had become clogged with webs, leaves and other debris. A quick wipe and the charger was ready, but there was no chance to use it before the Astra was parked up for more than a week through no fault of its own.
A country lane at night, low-profile tyres and a pothole added up to a three-hour wait for recovery and another hour to get home in our ill-fated first trip in the GSe. There’s no spare in the Astra thanks to its batteries, (which also squeeze boot space), and no sealant can fix a pothole pinch puncture in the sidewall a couple of centimetres long.
Then, Vauxhall’s tyre partner ATS hardly covered itself in glory getting the Astra back on the road. Thanks to a missed appointment, it was a week later before we could tackle our second trip in the car.
After running a series of برچسبها :
VerdictThe stylish Tonale stands out, while the tech on board has been effective on the whole. The PHEV version only really makes sense if you can charge it regularly, otherwise fuel economy takes a hit.
Mileage: 9,061
Economy: 35.3mpg
It’s time to say goodbye to our long-term Alfa Romeo Tonale, but over the six months I’ve had the keys, my opinionon its looks hasn’t dulled at all. It really is a stylish car, and one of the best bits of its design for me are the LED lights both front and rear. Not only do they look really stylish, but the shorter days and dark winter evenings have also highlighted how effective they are, too.
Since moving to the south coast, I’ve noticed a definite lack of street lighting. That’s great if you want to enjoy the night skies with less light pollution than in the city, but you really notice the need for good illumination of the roads when driving, or even the pavement when running.
The Alfa’s headlight clusters are great, though. The design, with two pairs of triple light clusters, harks back to the Montreal and SZ sports cars, but with adaptive matrix LED bulbs, the light they deliver is as good as in any mode rival.
More reviews Car group testsIn-depth reviewsRoad testsAnother thing that has come in useful are the illuminated doorhandles. My parking space is overshadowed by a tall hedge, and when combined with the Alfa’s Montreal Green metallic paint, it can be very difficult to see. But as you approach the car with key in h برچسبها :
VerdictI’m looking forward to exploring the benefits of these all-season tyres over the next few months. With negligible trade-off in performance, ride or refinement, it already seems a no-brainer. Full verdict to come!
Mileage: 3,390 (replacement car)
Efficiency: 2.8 miles/kWh
It's the same story every year. We get a short spell of cold weather and the British public panics. Meteorologists give us plenty of waing, yet society still grinds to a halt at the slightest sign of snow.
But I decided 2024 would be different. So before the sub-zero temperatures set in, I booked the Genesis Electrified GV70 into my local HiQ centre to get its existing Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres swapped for a set of Goodyear Vector 4Seasons.
These tyres are widely considered the very best of their type, triumphing in our all-season tyre test in 2023. At around £170 each (235/55 R19), they’re not cheap, though that’s roughly on par with big-brand alteatives from Continental and Pirelli. Our products editor, Kim, is a huge advocate of cross-climate tyres and immediately confirmed I’d made a sensible choice. He runs similar on his own cars and told me: “They give great confidence in winter.” Particularly with him living at the top of a hill.
More reviews Car group testsIn-depth reviewsRoad testsI’ll be running this car into the spring and early summer, so I chose an all-season design rather than full-on winter tyres – allowing me to assess the pros and cons in all cond برچسبها :
VerdictIf you need a Honda with a bit more boot space than the angular HR-V has to offer, the ZR-V is it. So far it’s doing everything well, combining great driving manners, efficiency, comfort and style.
Mileage: 4,606
Economy: 47.4mpg
Having spent time living with Honda’s excellent HR-V recently, I was pleased to be offered its bigger brother, the ZR-V, for a few months. The ZR-V not only offers usable room in the boot for our (not-excessively) Large Munsterlander dog (the HR-V’s sloping tailgate meant the load bay was just too confining), but also has a similarly spacious cabin and more oomph from a 2.0-litre petrol/twin electric motor hybrid set-up. It’s lifted from the Civic hatch, along with its entire platform, whereas the HR-V has a 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain.
Our ZR-V Sport arrived just before the Christmas break, with its ‘Still Night Pearl’ paintwork set off by a handsome set of chunky black-painted 18-inch wheels. While it’s similar in outline and proportion to any number of medium-SUV rivals, Honda’s designers have developed a sleek exterior with edges rounded like a newly-wetted bar of soap. Slim LED headlamp clusters and A-pillars, plus an unusually smooth roofline – the press info mentions a laser-brazing technique that eliminates join lines on the roof panel – and simple, unembellished flanks combine to good effect, but I’m not sure whether the ZR-V’s finer design points will stand out to casual observers. I’m pretty sure the exterior could happily pass as a برچسبها :
Find your Genesis GV70Offers from our trusted partners on this car and its predecessors...From:£616 pmOr are you looking to sell your car?Find your highest offerAdvertisementVerdictAside from a failed charge – probably not the car’s fault – we’ve been very impressed by the Genesis ownership experience. Car makers can bang on about how they stand out from the crowd, but initial experience suggests Genesis could be a cut above the rest.
Mileage: 5,055
Efficiency: 2.9 miles/kWh
The Genesis GV70 in the main picture has a different number plate to the one that first arrived on our fleet late last year. The colour, interior trim and spec are identical, but the car itself is new.
I’d enjoyed the company of OE23 YWW for almost a month, and had covered nearly 700 miles running festive errands around town, with the occasional trip out of London for work. I’d also driven the car, fully loaded with the family in tow, to visit my parents for Christmas – all without issue.
When we arrived, my dad kindly moved his BMW i3 out of the way and I plugged the GV70 into his home wallbox. I didn’t think anything of it, and being relatively late at night, left it charging and headed for bed.
Except when I woke up, the Genesis Connected Services (GCS) app was showing a range of just 34 miles – pretty much exactly how I’d left it eight hours earlier. Assuming the app simply wasn’t communicating with the car, I shoved on some shoes and went to investigate. Yet before I’d even hit the unlock button برچسبها :
First drives and group tests make up a big part of what we do at Auto Express, but we also think it’s really important to put some of the most important new makes and models through long-term testing. After all, what better way is there to find out whether a new car is worth your money than by living with it on a daily basis?
Over the last 12 months, we’ve been in everything from sports cars to vans, and we’ve even had a broad mix of traditional petrol and diesel cars, as well as hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and pure electric cars. Most of our test fleet has come through with a clean report card, although some have given us grief, and one was even crashed into! So what do our long-term testers think of their cars over the last year? Read on to find out.
Range RoverSteve Fowler, Editor-in-Chief
Mileage: 16,078 miles
MPG: 36.2mpg
In the 30 years that he’s been writing about cars, Editor-in-chief Steve Fowler has been lucky enough to run three Range Rovers – not bad considering there have only been five generations. It was at another milestone – Auto Express’s 1,800th issue – that he said a sad farewell to his latest, an L460-generation D350 HSE in Fuji White. Steve’s Range Rover impressed him hugely with its quality, comfort and design. He covered huge distances, and it averaged 36.2mpg – just above the official figure. It was especially capable on numerous trips to Liverpool, when its long-distance ability and adaptive cruise control shrank the miles and the mpg rose above 40mpg.
H برچسبها :
VerdictWe love the Citroen C5 X. It’s a great car to just jump in and drive on long or short joueys. It feels solid and comfortable, with impressive safety and tech features. We are just hoping for improved fuel-economy figures.
Mileage: 3,391
Economy: 32.2mpg
After nearly three months testing our Citroen C5 X, it’s fair to say that I’m still smitten. In fact, my initial draft of this report sounded so positive that it read like I’d switched into car sales. That was until I did some last-minute MPG number crunching.
In my first report I’d mostly been driving around South London while enjoying the head-tuing hatchback’s warm, enveloping interior. With a surprising level of comfort and bags of tech to play with, all was good. However, I needed to get away and add in some proper motorway mileage.
That chance came with a trip up north to visit some universities with my youngest son Harry and wife Dawn. We also planned to visit Harry’s grandparents in Lincolnshire.
Motorway driving proved even more warm and soothing than urban motoring. Those super-comfy electrically adjustable heated leather seats (a £1,600 Hype Black Ambience option) really take the weight off.
The C5 X seems designed to do that across all aspects of driving. The adaptive cruise control is easy to operate from the buttons on the steering wheel and gives clear readings in the head-up display (along with speed, speed-limit signs and lane assist). The car adjusted position to the vehicle in fr برچسبها :
VerdictYes, there were a few niggles with the Alpine, but overall we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time with the A110 GT. It’s a great cruiser and stacks of fun on the right road or when belting around a track.
Mileage: 13,825
Economy: 34.8mpg
There were some big questions that needed answering conceing the practical appeal of the Alpine A110 GT when it first joined our fleet. We knew it was one of the great driver’s cars at any price. But what about the ownership experience? The limitations of its diminutive two-seat cabin and its pair of tiny luggage areas? Or the build quality of its partially hand-made, overtly French-feeling interior?
Would these elements drive us slightly nuts over the six months we were due to keep our A110 GT, or would the good bits be so good that the bad bits would be forgotten about? And what about the aftersales support when it needed a service? Would that be comparable to what you’d expect and receive from a Porsche franchise, or would the A110 feel much like any other Renault when it came to dealer support?
In the end, would we recommend the A110 to a good friend if they asked “Should I buy one?” Or did its impracticalities get the better of us after 13,825 miles, seven months and one full annual service later?
More reviews Car group testsIn-depth reviewsRoad testsI’d love to tell you that the Alpine behaved faultlessly during its time with us but, sadly, I cannot. At one point the sat-nav system went completely wonky, abandoning me in the m برچسبها :
VerdictOverall, I’m a fan of the BMW X1 so far when, initially, I feared I might be anything but. Maybe I’m growing up? Maybe a good-to-drive small SUV is just what I’ve been missing all these years? I think it’s a bit of both.
Mileage: 2,189
Economy: 41.1mpg
The third-generation BMW X1 is a Marmite kind of car if ever there was one, mostly because of the way it looks. Some hate the grilles, others think they give the new X1 serious road presence.
Either way, in Frozen Pure Grey matt paint and with enormous 20-inch M-Sport wheels at each coer, the car certainly tus heads – in a way the previous-generation model never quite managed to.
What’s more radical, arguably, is its all-new high-tech interior, in which you’ll find almost no buttons whatsoever. Instead you get screens – and lots of them, some huge, some small, but all of them designed to make your on-board experience more interactive – once you’ve leaed how to interact with them in the first place. Depending how tech-savvy you are, this will either happen quite quickly, quite slowly, or possibly not at all.
I’ve spent three weeks with our xDrive23i M Sport and I’m now pretty familiar with its tech. I’ve installed the My BMW app on my phone and the car has only tried to park itself a couple of times when I’ve not asked it to, while the lane-departure system can be a bit over-zealous. Overall, though, I’d say I’m gelling with the X1’s on-board tech.
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