Motoring Road Tests by Ian Strachan
Ian Strachan is a motoring and business writer and PR
consultant. He can be contacted on 01543 490932 or 07949
202596 or via email: ian@strachan13.freeserve.co.uk
Road test - Volkswagen Tiguan
06-03-2010 11:50Volkswagen’s Tiguan is the company’s first offering the compact sports utility vehicle sector, and as you’d expect from the German manufacturer, it’s very good indeed.
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Road test - Nissan Qashqai
03-03-2010 11:56Nissan’s oddly named crossover vehicle, the Qashqai is actually named after a nomadic tribe to be found in the mountains of south-west Iran.
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Road test - Peugeot 3008 Crossover
01-03-2010 20:40Suddenly “crossover” vehicles are coming at us from all directions. And Peugeot – no slouches when it comes to pioneering motoring trends – has pitched in with the Peugeot 3008.
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Road test - Skoda Yeti
18-02-2010 07:32It was sort of appropriate that I was driving along the snow-packed lanes of North Yorkshire in a vehicle named after the Abominable Snowman.
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Road test - Fiat Qubo
09-02-2010 17:53You could never accuse Fiat of coming up with something conventional. And they’ve done it again with Qubo. This cube on wheels is well named, and it‘s packed with nice touches.
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Road test - Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 CDTI Hatch
29-01-2010 07:50From Cresta to Victor to Cavalier to Vectra and now Insignia. One thing Vauxhall has always excelled at is upper medium family cars. The Insignia, voted 2009 Car of the Year, is no exception.
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Road test - Citroen C3 Picasso
21-01-2010 18:21There’s something about Citroens which is unmistakably French. Slightly quirky looking, and idiosyncratic, with lots of little touches – largely good – which are just….well, different in a Gallic sort of way.
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Road test - Land Rover Discovery 4
04-01-2010 19:00There’s something about Discoverys and Range Rovers which no other maker has managed to replicate. Maybe it’s the commanding driving position, or the high dashboard, or the armchair-comfortable front seats, or the powerful surge of noise and torque when you dip the throttle or a combination of all of those things. But no other 4x4s are quite like them.
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Road test - BMW Z4 sDrive 23i
12-12-2009 11:53The excellent two-seater BMW Z4 has a tin top for the first time. The successful roadster has been given a two-piece electro-hydraulic hard top which can be raised or lowered in just 20 seconds.
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Road test - Volvo V70
02-12-2009 18:35Volvo has come a long way since its “box on wheels” image of the past. The new generation of Volvos are have much softer, more sculptured lines than their bulky predecessors, and are all the better for it.
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Road Test - Audi A4 Avant 2.0 TDI Quattro
24-11-2009 18:54The new Audi A4 Avant is so good it’s almost boring. Good looks, smooth ride, pinpoint handling, a frugal yet well-powered engine and a comfortable, roomy, well-specified interior all add up to everything you could want in a car of this size.
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Road test - VW Jetta Bluemotion
08-11-2009 11:30The medium-sized Volkswagen Jetta just keeps getting better and better. Often overlooked as “boring”, the latest Jetta is anything but, setting new standards in the medium sector.
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Road test - Alfa MiTo 1.4 Veloce
29-10-2009 08:06The Alfa MiTo is a cocktail. Everything Alfa Romeo has learned about sporting performance been mixed together to produce a compact car that looks good, performs brilliantly and is great fun to drive.
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Road Test - Skoda Octavia SE 2.0 TDI
09-10-2009 16:09Skoda has certainly done enough no longer to be the butt of motoring jokes. And the latest Octavia has wiped the smile off the faces of a few more prestigious manufacturers.
The new Octavia is a serious competitor to more established rivals - and it starts from not much more than £11,000.
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Road Test - Chrysler 300C
29-09-2009 07:49The Chrysler 300C is an impressive car in more ways than one. This big, distinguished looking car is a real head turner, with its Bentley-like refined appearance, but it's also a pleasure to drive.
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Road Test - Nissan X Trail 09
29-09-2009 07:46The wide range of 4x4 vehicles available today is mind-numbing. The choice used to be simple. Now there are all-wheel drive options across most sectors in all shapes and sizes.
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Road Test - Volkswagen Passat CC GT 3.6 V6
11-09-2009 15:03It looks like a Mercedes. It sounds like a Mercedes. It drives like a Mercedes. - But it’s not a Mercedes. It’s a Volkswagen Passat.
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