Petrolhead Blog

The Mark 5 Golf GTi was a welcome return to what a Golf GTi should be like.  This particular one being reviewed here is 16 years old at date of review, so it’s interesting to see how it has stood up to the test of time. See the review below and let me know what […]

This is the first video review for a car that I own, so it is always going to be a good review.  Having said that, I did point out what is not done well alongside the aspects of the Jaguar that I really like. The roadholding, power delivery and driving comfort in this Jaguar are […]

One of my all time favourite car designs, the Alpine A110 was on sale from 1962 to 1977 after a launch at the 1962 Paris motor show.    Initially sold with an underpowered engine lifted straight from the R8, this 1.0 litre powerplant was upgraded continuously throughout the lifetime of the car, ultimately culminating in […]

The birth of my second daughter was precluded by a high speed run through the city traffic following a police car that was escorting me to the hospital.  The initial advice from the police driver was to flash my lights if I couldn’t keep up – she obviously didn’t know me at all.   When we […]

Finally recognising that they had a reputation for making outdated albeit fast road cars, 1971 allowed customers to enjoy the new Bora (internally known as the Tipo 117) which was a large step forward for Maserati.  Bought out by Citroen some three years earlier, this was the first car to be completely designed from scratch […]

In 1976, FIAT decided that the time had come to replace the 124 Abarth Group 4 Rally car with a more competitive offering, so the new 131 was designated as the basis for progression.  As per other manufacturers, FIAT subscribed to the Win-on-Sunday Sell-on-Monday thinking and picked the 131 as a car that could be […]

As with every other manufacturer in the 1970s, Renault had arrived at the conclusion that victories in motorsport raised brand awareness and translated into higher sales.  But what they couldn’t sell to the public were F1 cars, which was where the motorsport success was being achieved.  To address this issue, in 1978 they announced the […]

Mark I Initially known as the Rover 3 litre, 1958 saw Rover launch the hugely popular P5 as a replacement to the P4 model.  Over the years, many improvements were added to this car with the culmination being the P5B model in 1967, but the humble Mark I made do with a 3.0 litre inline […]

I first drove this generation (2006 – 2014) of the Jaguar XK while I still had my Audi A5 … and I thought it a particularly nice car to cruise along in or when I felt inclined to open the taps a bit. The driving position, roadholding, looks and V8 noise from the twin exhaust […]

Created in 1964, the Berlina Corsa replaced the racing version of the 1000 Berlina that had been launched in 1962.  While the racing version was successful, the 1962 Berlina only produced 68bhp from the following setup: 982cc, overhead valve in-line 4-cylinder with single Weber downdraft carburetor 5-speed close-ratio gearbox (advanced in the 1960s) 4-wheel disc […]

Following on from the C2 variant of the Vette, the C3 Corvette Stingray (all one word this time) was launched in 1967 and carried on until 1982.  This really long production run also encompassed new sales records in 1979 when over 53,000 models were purchased by an enthusiastic public. The chassis for the C3 was […]

Over the years I’ve enjoyed going to various Motor Shows – be they in Geneva with machines like the Porsche 918 being launched or the RDS Classic Car Show in Dublin featuring older and specialist motors from the various sands of time.  Seeing the new machinery presented and understanding where it is taking us in […]

Very much a super coupe due to its behemothic dimensions, the CL500 never really featured in my car universe as a machine I’d like to have. Until I test drove the C215 variant (ie the previous generation) many years ago and found it super comfy and quite quick.  The only thing that put me off […]

Every so often a car is launched that will forever live in petrolhead lore.  Cars like the Mercedes-McLaren SLR and the Subaru WRX.  And here we have another one of these, the Lancer Evolution from Mitsubishi.  There were many variants over the years, but my favourite has always been the Evo 6. Launched in January […]

Every so often I think I’d like to have a classic car sitting in the petrolhead fleet.  Why?  Well, for a few reasons: They are a nicer design They are less complicated so I can actually do some of the maintenance myself They are cheaper to run Cars in Ireland over 40 years old are […]

In 2013, Hyundai decided they needed a performance division to rival BMW’s Motorsport M division, Renault’s RenautSport RS division and Mercedes AMG arm.  They unveiled their ‘N’ logo alongside the 2014 WRC car and hired Alfred Biermann to eventually run the Hyundai High Performance Vehicle & Motorsport Division  (Yes, that Alfred Biermann who was involved […]

I’m sure you’ve heard of Albert Biemann … but for those who haven’t, he has the pedigree of being a previous man-in-charge at BMW’s M division.  So he knows a thing or two about making slow cars go faster.  And be good to drive.  And all that. So when I read that Mr Biermann was […]

Produced between 2004 and 2010, the CLS (codenamed C219) was Mercedes’ first foray into the fastback segment of the market.   Based on the E-Class (W211) range sold from 2002-2009, the CLS had less of everything for passengers (boot space, headroom and legroom) but was more expensive than the E-Class on which it was based … […]

2012 saw VW introduce the seventh generation of the Golf – this version debuted at the Paris Motor Show and shared its MQB platform with the Audi A3, Seat Leon and Skoda Octavia.  Lighter and larger than the 6th generation of the Golf, this version of VW’s ever popular small car also offered GTI, GTI […]

After I had my gas guzzling Audi S8, I needed something that, while quick and fun to drive, had to be a lot cheaper to run.  Being a fan of fast Audis, I bought an old Audi S3 but was never really blown away by its driving characteristics.  The interior had great seats and a […]

I have been a fan of the Mercedes SL range forever but my favourite generation of these cars was the R129 variant that was on sale from 1989 to 2001. This review covers the SL280 version that I borrowed from Karl Goodwin motors – thanks again to Karl for lending me the car. These cars […]

For most of the 1980s, MG was used as a badge to designate a high performance variant of a Rover car, in a manner similar to how Abarth was to FIAT.  However, all that came to an end in 1995 when the MG F went on sale.   History When the car was designed, the Rover […]

Launched in 2002, the original Volvo XC90 set high standards for the SUV segment – it was good to drive, had a huge boot even with the 7 seats up and could actually drive on the rough stuff with ease.  So when Volvo launched the second generation in 2015, there was a lot of expectation […]

Not every day the opportunity comes along to review a Lamborghini, so naturally I jumped at the chance.  A big thank you to Joe who owns this magnificent machine and to Karl Goodwin motors for facilitating the review. To date, the only Ferrari I had driven was a Ferrari Mondial.  The most powerful car I’d […]

Over the years, the BMW M3 has grown in size and packed on a few kg resulting in the current version of the car not feeling quite as dynamic as the original.  BMW have recognised this and their latest M series monster, the M2, goes back to where the M3 started with  huge rear tyres […]

I ran an Audi A5 3.0TDi S line with the Sportback body (Audi speak for 5 door hatchback) for a few years.  This car was great to drive with a well balanced chassis and torque delivered early in the rev band.  I also found the interior comfortable and thought it looked great too. On the […]

I have to be honest here – I had never heard of an Audi SQ5 until one blew my doors off on a motorway during a trip to the UK.  Stopping into the next service area, it happened that the car was parked in there and I got a chance to have a look. Launched […]

The Renault Clio 172 was the third hot Clio that the petrolheads in RenaultSport produced.  The Clio 16v set the standard and the Clio WIlliams raised that standard so expectations were high for this model launched in 1999. First generation Based on the first generation of the Clio, the 172 was a three door variant […]

One word .. RenaultSport.  The petrolheads amongst you will feel a tingle of anticipation at that word as this division within Renault gave us some great cars over the years, such as  Renault Clio Williams (no, the Williams F1 team had no input to this motor) RenaultSport Clio 172 / 172 Cup RenaultSport Clio 182 […]

Like many of us, my car has been sitting still for a while without getting any sort of TLC.  Dust and bird droppings were starting to annoy me and I found that access to water for washing the Jaguar was getting tricky.   I used to follow a 3-sponge 3-bucket system for washing my cars but […]

I’m a big fan of the Audi S range of models.  Yes, I know you’re here to read about a Porsche Cayenne, not an Audi, but check out this nugget of information.  The Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid that we are looking at here is a Porsche SUV that has taken the 328bhp supercharged engine from […]

In the past I have owned a BMW 520d MSport.  That particular car was a UK import with a 2009 reg, making it the E60 generation with the N47 diesel engine.  Yes, that diesel engine with the timing chain issues … I owned that car for about 18 months or so and quite liked the […]

Popular Science awarded their 2003 “Best of What’s New” award to the Porsche Carrera GT, internally known as the 980 and placed on sale from 2004 to 2007.  This legendary machine from Porsche also claimed first place on the Top Sports Cars of the 2000s list and eighth place on the Top Sports Cars of […]

Between 1996 and 2003 TVR channeled the guard dog Cerberus to the underworld, according to Greek legend, by offering the Cerbera for sale.  It was the first 2+2 offered by TVR and also the first car to use TVR’s own engine range.  Note that TVR actually refer to their 2+2 solution as a 3+1 solution […]

Manufactured from 1999 until 2006, the TVR Tuscan Speed 6 was powered by TVR’s straight six engine in a 3.6 litre capacity and a 4.0 litre capacity in quite a few different configurations.  As with all TVR models, there are no driver aids such as traction control nor abs systems.  They don’t offer airbags either […]

As a successor to the Ferrari 360, the type F131 was sold as the Ferrari F430 and launched at the Paris Motor Show.  It was available from 2004 through to 2009.   Design Again, design of Ferrari’s latest model went to Pininfarina.  With the same Alcoa aluminium chassis as the 360 alongside the same doors and […]

As a successor to the very popular Ferrari 355, the Type F131 was launched in 1999 as the Ferrari 360.  Utilising a brand new aluminium chassis and adopting a space frame approach to the construction, this Ferrari moved away from the traditional pop-up headlamp units and wedge shapes. Modena 8,800 hardtop models were produced during […]

In 2002 and running until 2006, TVR launched the T350 as a replacement to the Tamora.  Utilising a 3.6 litre version of TVR’s Speed Six engine, the car was available in Coupe (T350C) and Targa (T350T).  Not as many targas were sold as the roof panels proved troublesome. The car’s aerodynamic lines, apart from being […]

Now that many of our cars are laid up with the global pandemic raging, I thought this would be a good opportunity to present a video guide on what sort of regular maintenance checks your car would benefit from. I am going to adopt the FLOWER term that is widely used within the motor Industry, […]

The BMW Z8 was officially launched to the public in 1999 with a design that was almost identical to the concept that had been previewed at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show.  With only 5,703 models sold from 2000 to 2003, the Henrik Fisker designed car never really sold in the quantities expected by BMW. Design […]

Engineering brothers Martin and Friedhelm Wiesmann founded the Wiesmann car company in 1988 to construct and sell hand built convertibles that could be customised to requirements.  It was a grand idea that ultimately failed in 2014 but was bought out by a new team – hopefully the new range of cars are just as good […]

Announced in 1992 on the 40th anniversary of the Belgian concessionaire at a special reception in the Palais de Cinquantenaire in the heart of Brussels, the 456 replaced the 412 and marked a return to the V12 2+2 layout.  The 456 was also the last Ferrari model to incorporate pop-up headlights in its design – […]

Colin Chapman, the Lotus boss, saw an opportunity in 1980 to move the Lotus road-car range upmarket with the introduction of the Esprit Turbo.  This was a logical step after his initial moves in 1974 with the launch of the Eclat and the Esprit launch in 1975 (replacing the Elan and the Europa). History 1970 […]

Back home in sunny Ireland and we’re all in lockdown.  So I thought I’d take this opportunity to review a Jaguar S Type that is parked on the driveway.  This model is an X206 variant from 2007 in SE trim and is powered by the Ford/Peugeot 2.7 diesel engine (spoiler alert – this is a […]

We’re all familiar these days with AMG as a tuning arm of Mercedes – basically they are to Mercedes what Abarth are to FIAT.  Headquartered in Affalterbach in Germany, AMG was originally an engineering firm in its own right that initially specialised in improving Mercs.  They got so good at this that in 1999 Mercedes, […]

In its time, the Lancia Delta Integrale was one of the fastest cars to travel along a winding road.  This was thanks to its four wheel drive system, inspired by the likes of the Audi Quattro, and its punchy two litre turbo powerplant. Development Designed by the legendary Giorgetto Giugiaro and released in 1979, the […]

The Mercedes 500E.  Looks like a bog standard Mercedes, unless you know what you’re looking at.  This in reality is a Porsche wearing a Mercedes badge. Porsche engineering The 80s/90s transition period saw Germany in a recession, which of course meant that high performance car manufacturers like Porsche were not selling as many cars as […]

The 205 was launched by Peugeot in 1983 and nearly won the European Car of the Year award in it’s first year.  The secret of it’s success was its adoption of brand new, modern technology as opposed to raiding the parts bin a la British Leyland. The 205 had MacPherson struts at the front and […]

1980 at the Geneva Motor show, Audi turned the automotive world on its head with the unveiling of the Audi Quattro.  Available originally in left hand drive only, the original (ur) Quattro had a 2144c turbocharged 5 cylinder engine punching out 200 bhp and using a simple electromagnetic system of differentials to drive all four […]

The Ferrari 328 (internally known as the F106) was the final evolution of the normally aspirated V8 powered 2 seat series from Ferrari and was announced in 1985 at Frankfurt alongside the Mondial 3.2.  In typical Ferrari fashion, the 328 referred to the engine size (3.2) and number of cylinders (8). Differences over the 308 […]

July 1976 saw BMW begin to develop the second generation of the 3 series, internally codenamed the E30 and intended to replace the E21 series.  The final design was signed off in 1978 and the car was launched onto the market in November 1982.  Improvements over the E21, apart from the obvious external styling differences, […]

GTD are a small firm in Poole who first started out as agents for KVA GT40 Replicas.  Not long after getting started in the business, though, they started to upgrade components on the KVA model and before long, their very own GTD40 was born. In 1980, Ray Christopher had started his drawings around the new […]

Like every other teenage petrolhead when I was growing up, the Lamborghini Countach had center place on my bedroom wall poster collection.  The futuristic shape coupled with the scissor doors really sparked my imagination. Prototype The LP500 was shown at the 1971 Geneva Motor show.  At this time, the Countach was planned as a limited […]

As with a lot of the best cars in Ford’s history (like the Shelby Mustang and the GT40), the Sierra Cosworth was born out of a recognised need to be competitive in motor racing.  Reaching out to Cosworth for assistance, Ford senior management were presented with an option to solve this problem that would utilise […]

Over 400,000 Tipo 116 coupés and saloons were sold between 1972 and 1987.  Better known as the Alfa Romeo Alfetta, this car was the first time this manufacturer adopted a drivetrain layout where the clutch and transmission were located at the rear of the car (for weight distribution and balance reasons).  This rear transaxle layout, […]

Project R424 began in January 1976 and ran with a shortened development period, resulting in the launch of the Chrysler Sunbeam in 1977.  With time and money against the project, Chrylser targeted the Avenger rear wheel drive chassis to provide the underpinnings for the new Sunbeam.  Using a platform already in production meant that the […]

Announced at the 1965 Paris Motor Show, the Bentley T-series was the “performance” version of the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow – Bentley having been bought by Rolls Royce in 1931 and becoming known as the sports arm of RR.  Available as a four door saloon, a long wheelbase four door saloon, a two door saloon […]

Rolls Royce launched the Corniche name in 1971 when they renamed the two door coupe based on the Shadow that had been on sale since 1966.  Mulliner-Park Ward, a long time Rolls Royce subsidiary, built all the bodies for the coupe and convertible versions, having first learned how to press body panels as this Rolls […]

Porsche followed their successful 356 with the 901 show car in 1964.  However, thanks to a trademark infringement being handed to them almost straight away, the 901 never saw the light of day and was instead renamed the 911. Debuting in 1964,  the 911 was sold alongside the 356 for its first year.  An evolution […]

Claimed to be the world’s fastest four seater production car, the V8 Vantage built upon Aston Martin’s reputation as the car everyone aspired to.  If the 1960s tie-up put Aston Martin on the map, the 1970s Vantage ensured you could travel that map quickly! History David Brown wanted to sell a genuine four seater with […]

From 1972 to 1979, Lamborghini marketed a competitor to the Ferrari Dino and the offerings from Porsche.  The Urraco, created as a 2+2 by Bertone, was intended to break into the high volume, lower priced market that both these manufacturers occupied to much success.  Unfortunately for Lamborghini, because the car took so long to design […]

Firstly, let’s deal with the “Is it a Ferrari or not?” question.  The answer is yes, it is a Ferrari.  Designed by Pininfarina on Ferrari’s brief and built by Ferrari, this car was launched in 1969 as a model that would homologate the 1.6 V6 powerplant that Ferrari planned on using for their F2 campaign.  […]

Launched in Ireland and the UK in 1967 and to the rest of the world at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1968, the MkI Ford Escort was an instant runaway sales success with in excess of 177,000 car being sold by the beginning of 1970.  It ran for six generations for the next forty […]

Launched in 1970 at the New York Auto Show, the Pantera was the replacement for DeTomaso’s Mangusta.  While the new car’s chassis was based on that of the Mangusta, the body was an all new design by Tom Tjaarda at Ghia while the engine was a new Ford V8.  DeTomaso had sold Ford on the […]

Triumph launched the Spitfire in 1962, to much acclaim.  But the bean counters at Triumph realised that they needed a hardtop version to combat the MG MGB, so in 1963 Giovanni Michelotti was handed a basic Spitfire and asked to come up with a Coupé version. The resultant styling was deemed a success, but the […]

Mainly in response to the Lamborghini Miura, the 365 GTB/4 was launched by Ferrari at the 1968 Paris Motor Show.  An evolution of the 275 GTB/4, this new car boasted a larger 4.3 litre quad cam V12 engine, fuelled by 6 Weber carbs and punching out 350bhp instead of the earlier car’s offering of 300bhp. […]

Following on from the earlier series of Mustang’s that were tweaked by Carroll Shelby (see here), Ford launched a facelifted Mustang in 1969.  This model of Mustang was a completely different machine to earlier versions, even extending the range to include a Grande luxury version.  However, we’re not interested in that one, we’re interested in […]

Unveiled to a stunned public at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961, the Jaguar E-Type offered 150mph speed clothed in elegant proportions for only £1,500.  At that time, equivalent offerings from Mercedes and Ferrari were far more expensive. Series I The first production series ran from 1961 through to 1968, with a simple construction to […]

1968 – the year when a production car from a tiny British manufacturer was sold with over 300bhp, anti lock brakes and four wheel drive as standard.  1968!  That was way ahead of its time …    The original Interceptor was launched in 1966 with a distinctive shape created and built by the Vignale company […]

Whilst being a tremendous sales success for Ford in the 1960s, the Mustang lacked a proper performance image in the marketplace and did not fit within the Ford Division Total Performance program.  Lee Iacocca, then Ford general manager, approached Shelby American and asked them to build high performance variants of the Ford Mustang from 1965 […]

Launched in 1959 and sold until 1967, the “big Healeys” were very successful in their day and are still much sought after by collectors.  It began life as an open 2+2 sports car but had, by the end, become a proper convertible, losing the +2 option which only fit children anyway! MkI – BN7 and […]

Announced in 1965 as an evolution of the DB5, the DB6 was four inches longer than its predecessor to give the rear seat occupants a bit more space.  However, the most obvious design difference is the flat vertical tail panel with the slight kick up on the bootlid – this was not mere flattery but […]

Initially launched in 1963, the ‘Vette Sting Ray was designed as a viable competitor to the vastly superior European sports cars on offer at the time.  It introduced a brand new chassis which offered much improved handling through the use, for the first time, of proper independent rear suspension (made up of control arms, shock […]

It’s that time of the year again, where I get another year older but nothing else seems to have changed much.  Generally at this time I start thinking about what new gadget I’d like, and this year it seemed appropriate to play with the idea of replacing the XF. Now, as per usual, I need […]

In production from 1960 to 1963 with 954 examples produced, the Pininfarina designed 250GTE was created to fulfil the demand for a 4 seater Ferrari coupe.  This was Ferrari’s first foray into production of four seater models on a large scale,  and it paid off financially during the 1960s for the Italian manufacturer.  With a […]

I’m starting to wonder about the integrity of the NCT.  And I say this with good reason.  Those of you following the story of my XF’s NCT will know that it was failed on a rear suspension imbalance.  (In case you’ve only joined the story on this post, here are the first and second parts).  […]

Several times recently, I’ve commented that modern cars are all very similar in design these days.  This has prompted me to create this quiz around hatchbacks currently on sale in 2020.  I’ve removed all the badging and licence plates, and grey scaled everything so the manufacturer’s distinctive colours won’t give the game away. How many […]

I’m a huge fan of estate cars (station wagons if you’re reading in the USA).  I love the idea of a machine that handles like a car but has all the space to carry everything I need to go from point A to point B, with a few side trips in between to add more […]

I have to admit a soft spot for the Fiat 500.  Of all the retro modern cars announced around the same time (eg VW Beetle, Fiat 500, etc), this is the only one that is a modern design but reflects the image and character of the original.  If I lived in a city I could […]

When I need cars to review, I generally reach out to local dealerships and ask can I borrow whatever is there that’s caught my eye.  And, as you can imagine, some of the time they don’t want to play ball. So this page is a list of the dealerships that have played ball and lent […]

Not a fan of the previous generation of the Land Rover Discovery with it’s bland design … I was therefore looking forward to reviewing the later version that was launched in 2017, as it looks better and seems to have a better build quality. This version on review today is a 2017 2.0 TD4 HSE […]

This time I have a 2016 Jaguar F Pace 20d AWD on review, again borrowed a local dealer, Kevin Giles Motors, for review.   This is Jaguar’s first foray into the SUV market, and in my opinion they’ve scored.   Look at the review videos below to see my opinion on this offering from Jaguar.   […]

I’ve borrowed a 2016 Mercedes A200d AMG from a local dealer, Kevin Giles Motors, for review.   I like this version of the A class from Merc – its a much better shape and interior than the original one they launched.  Having test driven two cars already in this hatchback segment, the Peugeot 208 and the […]

I’m typing this as I sit here waiting for my turn in the NCT Centre.  I generally travel to the Mullingar as the NCT staff here understand that the cars they are testing are people’s pride and joy and they tend to treat them with respect. Unfortunately it seems that everyone has cottoned onto this […]

The time has come for my XF to undergo it’s NCT.  Because the Jag has not reached the ripe old age of ten yet, she has to go through the NCT every two years.  For those not in the know, the age rules are as follows: Once a car is four years old, it must […]

Firstly, I drive a Jaguar.  However, I bought the XF myself after comparing it to a Merc, an Audi and a BMW, it is not a sponsored car and it’s my first Jag, so please don’t assume any sort of Jag bias here.  Secondly, I sat in both an F-Pace and an E-Pace recently enough […]

The featured image on this post above is a Citroen SM, a car that was far ahead of its time and a result of Citroen purchasing Maserati and shoehorning a Maserati V6 into stylish coachwork that benefitted from the uber-sophisticated Citroen suspension. And why am I highlighting this car?  Because the PSA group and FCA […]

At the Geneva motorshow in 2010 I made a beeline for the Lotus Evora.  I was anxious to see this new Lotus, as I had recently test driven a Lotus Elise and discovered that you had to synchronise your breathing with your passenger – if they were inhaling I had to be exhaling such was […]

Turkey have announced another attempt at creating their own auto manufacturing industry.  President Erdogan announced the TOGG SUV in recent weeks.  The TOGG consortium, called Turkey’s Automobile Initiative Group was established during 2018, and is a joint undertaking between the Anadolu Group, BMC, Kok Group, mobile phone operator Turkcell and Zorlu Holding, the parent of […]

Aston Martin have announced their version of the SUV, called the DBX.   And there’s some pressure on this car, as Aston Martin are relying on this car for company survival.  This is an interesting situation – Astons have always been expensive cars but I thought they were cars that were selling quite well, albeit with […]

Where I live, we regularly get power outages due to high wind or some farm beast deciding to knock over an electricity pole.  Therefore, I think I might be justified in saying that we don’t quite have our power supply infrastructure up to the level of modern civilization. But Leinster House (where our government sits, […]

Car designs today, by and large, are all very similar.  While I currently drive an XF from 2014 that I think looks fantastic, in reality it isn’t all that different from other 5 door large hatchbacks from Kia (Stinger), Ford (Mondeo), BMW (4 series GranCoupe), and so on.  If I gave you a series of […]

The 205 GTi is held in high regard in petrolhead circles … with good reason.  I’ve seen polls where the 205GTi is voted as the best car of the decade (CAR magazine, 1990).  It also won many world rally championship rounds, and was a common sight on roads when I was growing up.   The […]

On location in Greece, I took the 108 from Peugeot on review.  For this drive I used the 1.0 petrol engine that is supplied by Toyota and also found in the Toyota Aygo (spoiler alert – this is a lively engine well matched to this little car, but it’s 5 speed auto box struggles with […]

On location in Greece, I took the i20 CRDi from Hyundai on review.  For this drive I used the 1.1 3 cylinder diesel engine (spoiler alert – this is a great diesel engine with power when required and a nice gearbox, but it’s let down by some poor thinking on the interior as regards the […]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my fellow petrolheads.  It’s that time of year again, when I start thinking about the sort of exotic machinery I’d like to have on my driveway.  I usually pick an amount of money (that I never seem to have), and try to see how I would […]

I just read on Reuters that Rivian have secured a further $1.3 billion investment in their electric vehicle startup, bringing the total valuation to over $7billion.  This got me intrigued, as I’ve never heard of Rivian until now. To date, Rivian have received investment from Blackrock Inc, Amazon and Ford.  Based in Plymouth, Michigan, Rivian […]

I used to tell people that I drove a Porsche Turbo.  And it’s true, I did.  But not a 911 turbo … I might have left that bit out. I owned a 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo, the first generation turbo with 220 bhp.  And this car was in Guards Red, as Porsche call it.  It […]

Winter has arrived, and with it my daily driver, the 2014 XF,  has decided that it needs some help.  The rear tyres are at the tread limiters, but what reminded me to do some winter checks were my brake pads.  Today the car gave me a Low Brake Pad warning … but not which set […]

When Porsche first introduced the Cayman, they sold it with engines that slotted perfectly in the middle of the power outputs produced by the Boxster and the grand-daddy of all, the 911.  A real shame, as the chassis balance and overall dynamics of the Cayman suggested that, given the right powerplant, it could really be […]