CAR Reviews

Ooh, a compact exec estate. What combination of sport/tourer/Avant/wagon is it called? None: the Mercedes C-Class estate is, well, just that. Plain old estate. And the largest premium-class estate at...

The world’s fastest rollerskate is back, then? From spring 2008, yes. And those mentalists at Brabus have gone and made it even faster, too – by giving it 30 per cent more power. 30 per cent! Now it...

What’s all this then? A Laguna with the agility of a Porsche Boxster. Through a slalom, it will turn in instantly, change direction with comparable speed – but not hint at the dreaded pendulum. Your...

The new Mini Clubman: one weird-looking car It sure is. Devoted fans of all things Mini – and there have been more than a million buyers since BMW first unleashed its lesson in retro pastiche in July...

GT Speed? I guess the clue is in the title... Right. Think of the Speed as a big GT GTi. It’s still offers the same luxury appeal as the original Conti GT launched in 2003, but looks meaner and goes...

I'm sorry, did you say this was a mid-life facelift for Audi's luxury A8? Fair enough – the cosmetic changes aren't that exciting. In fact, they're really rather difficult to spot, being limited to...

I'm sorry, did you say this was a mid-life facelift for Audi's luxury A8? Fair enough – the cosmetic changes aren't that exciting. In fact, they're really rather difficult to spot, being limited to...

Stop-start? Is the Mini doing a little bit of Prius copying? Sort of. Stop-start systems are nothing new (manufacturers have been experimenting for decades) but they certainly have been made...

Eco hatch Stop-start? Is the Mini doing a little bit of Prius copying? Sort of. Stop-start systems are nothing new (manufacturers have been experimenting for decades) but they certainly have been made...

The Impreza turns sensible but who is going to buy it? Subaru is either extremely brave or taking a very big risk. With its new hatchback Impreza, it's deliberately moving away from the established...

What’s this, some refugee from last weekend’s Grand Prix invading CAR Online? No, this is in fact a road car. Well it’s road-legal anyway. It’s the Caparo T1, nee Freestream, and it’s the closest...

Are you sure this is really a new Peugeot? Yes. Well. Peugeot has this 'feline' design theme going on that buyers lapped up on the 206, a hatchback that sold above its station simply through visual...

What’s this, an estate version of the Kia Ceed hatchback? Yep, but it’s called SW. Sounds a bit more aspirational than plain old estate, you see. The Ceed hatchback isn’t a bad starting point. It was...

So this is Merc’s answer to the new BMW M3... Got it. Hot C's have long been part of Mercedes' line-up, but none has had us quite as excited as this, the C63 which as the name suggests, gets the big...

A big Citroen saloon? Surely they’ve learnt by now that these don’t sell... Apparently not, but when you have a heritage as rich and idiosyncratic as the DS, SM and CX then perhaps you’ll never learn.

Saloon Why is Renault even bothering to make another Laguna? Because the so-called D-segment isn’t dead, yet. Although this market sector peaked at 3.4m European sales in 1998, nearly one million cars...

So, is this the new Chrysler 300C then? In a way, yes. The 300C gets a refresh late this year – and it’s likely to be the last for the popular and increasingly genre-defining American executive car.

A Fiat family hatchback...that actually looks good. What's going on? Yes, Fiat is in the midst of a resurgence, what with the very pleasant Grande Punto, the cheery Panda and the soon-to-be-a-legend...

This looks like a Japanese-market mini or a US Scion... Bingo! That's exactly what the Materia is. It's sold in Japan as both a Toyota and Daihatsu, and it's not even new to mainland Europe, where...

What’s this, a secret new Aston? No, but it’s not a bad guess. This is, in fact, a high-quality makeover based on the Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG. Make that high-quality and expensive, because once you’ve...