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Ssangyong Rexton

11/18/2021

SsangYong launched the Rexton in 2001 and the current — much improved — second
generation model came in 2017.

A mid-lifecycle refresh for the 2021 model year ushered in a number of useful revisions bringing improved performance, refinement and equipment levels. A stand-out ‘facelift’ made the point.

'SUV' is the generic term now for anything that aspires to look the part. ‘Crossovers’, which are little more than jacked-up hatch-backs, vie for the description even if a basic four-wheel-drive (4x4) system is not even an option. On the other hand, there are some impressive 4x4 SUVs which cope well with the odd venture off-road and make good towing vehicles.

Toyota Land Cruiser

10/10/2021

Toyota’s original Land Cruiser reached its 50th Anniversary in 2000 and went on to a global total of 10m units in 2019. It is Toyota’s longest-running vehicle line.

The European Land Cruiser (J15) is known elsewhere as the Prado. In Spanish and some related languages it means meadow-land — from the Latin pratum.
The larger (J20) Land Cruiser is a much-evolved successor to the original. Briefly on sale in the UK and Ireland (1998-2000) as the ‘Land Cruiser Amazon’, it was a hugely accomplished 4x4 with an awesome 4.5-litre, V8-cylinder Diesel engine.

That, larger still Sequoia and Hilux pick-up-based 4 Runner/Hilux Surf don’t come here. Main markets are North America, Russia and Middle East with a whole range of big V6/V8 petrol engines – having oil wells in the neighbourhood clearly useful.

Isuzu D-Max

9/19/2021

The new D-Max reached dealerships at the end of March, due to Covid, before the UK press introduction could be held. It also coincided with a major market upheaval.

Mitsubishi had announced a withdrawal from Europe but then Nissan said it would not bring the new Navara here post closure of its Barcelona plant. Projected sales could not justify the expense of meeting increasingly onerous EU legislation.

Current L200 and Navara will stay on sale while stocks last - L200 until the Autumn, say. Stocks of Barcelona Navaras will last a little longer (Spring 2022 perhaps). Now only four are left standing: Ford Ranger; Toyota Hilux; D-Max; SsangYong Musso.

BMW 330e Touring xDrive

6/20/2021

It’s almost 50 years since BMW’s then advertising agency in the USA coined the phrase: 'The Ultimate Driving Machine'. There are not many 1975 strap-lines still in use. How does a plug-In hybrid estate car then, 4WD notwithstanding, measure up?

BMW rationalised its line-up in the 1960s into a range of 2 and 4-door saloons and coupes. These 1500, 1600, 1800 and 2000 models led to the ‘executive’ size 5 Series, compact upper mid-size 3-Series and large 7-Series of the 70s. The ‘sports saloon’ had arrived and that ‘strapline’ summed it up.

The first ‘Touring’ in 1968 was a three-door hatch but the 1988 Touring was different. A distinct estate version of the 3 Series it had sleek looks, performance and enough practicality to attract a strong following. BMW now had a ‘sports estate’ too.

Toyota Hilux

6/19/2021

Next year will mark a half-century for the Hilux here. Now the eighth edition of Toyota’s
pivotal pick-up has been given a ‘mid-life’ revamp.

A 10 or 11-year production run has been the norm hitherto — seventh generation came in 2005 and current eighth in 2016.

But much goes on during each product cycle. A new 2.5 D-4D 120 engine arrived in
2006 and a 3.0 D-4D 170 unit added in 2007. A limited-run 200ps version appeared
in 2008 and a revised 2.5 D-4D the following year.

Interiors grew more comfortable and equipment levels improved: touch-screen connectivity, rear-view camera, etc. Edition 8 debuted with Toyota’s new ‘Global Diesel’ 2.4 litre engine. A taller and wider vehicle, off-road capability was also enhanced. Variants such as “nvincible X and Limited Edition were introduced in 2018, and active safety features in 2019.

Bentley Flying Spur

12/29/2020

Most of our readers are unlikely to have Bentley on their shopping lists. But there are a number of employees that have such vehicles as company cars.

I have had conversations in the past with fleet managers of financial institutions, and at boardroom level almost anything goes.

Whether we have any significant financial institutions left in the UK in the post-Brexit era remains to be seen, but while the Flying Spur (and other Bentleys) are currently only available with petrol engines, the luxury marque has plans to electrify its entire line-up over the next five years, and fully electric models are on the way.

Ford Ranger

12/21/2020

Big company marketing clout aside, Ford’s success with the Ranger is text-book stuff. Systematically climbing the ‘league-table’ with the current generation launched in 2015, it retained the top spot for both UK and mainland Europe last year.

Still at number one this year the aim now is to consolidate sector leadership through to 2022 and next-generation model.

A joint Ford-Volkswagen project to replace both current Ranger and VW Amarok (2022), it’s part of a broad alliance between the two. Ford has the design lead on the pick-up which will come from its plant in South Africa.

Mazda CX-30

8/9/2020

Tougher regulation and ‘more realistic’ WLTP fuel economy and emissions testing have put the squeeze on car makers. It’s a huge struggle to get the figures below the line to avoid future (draconian) fines if model range averages are over the limit. This has led some to introduce ‘softer’ cross-over SUVs with a lower roof line.

Partly perhaps, the rationale for Mazda’s CX-30. However sleek the look, total frontal area is key to a car’s aerodynamics. The greater the area the more the drag. The more the drag the heavier the ‘mpg’ and, with that, up too goes the emissions count.

Based on the latest Mazda3 (2019) the CX-30 came soon after for the 2020 model year. Not just here for its looks and mpg/emissions, it fills in between the smaller CX-3 (no longer sold here) and larger CX-5 and also, to an extent, Mazda3 and 6.

Kia Sportage

8/9/2020

Kia has been Hyundai’s 'other half' since 1998 when the latter acquired a majority stake during that decade’s Asian economic crisis.

The Sportage line dates back to 1993 but the model which made it a real contender in the broad and highly competitive compact SUV/crossover market was the third edition of 2010.

In a sector which tended towards a cautious sameness, the new Sportage was a stand-out car of style and presence. Evolving the previous model’s design theme, current (fourth generation) car came in 2015 and revisions for the 2019 model year saw new engines and transmissions with a mild hybrid set-up for diesel variants.

Further adjustments to the range and equipment levels were made in May this year.

Mazda6 Tourer

8/22/2019

Mazda manages to compete, and be competitive, in the global mainstream without the advantage of massive corporate scale. Toyota and Volkswagen vie for the top spot with 9-10 million car and SUV sales a year. Mazda sold 1.5+m last year predicting growth to 1.6+m this year.

So, if you don’t have the scale you have to be smart. The Mazda6, for example, seems entirely conventional – front-wheel drive; saloon or estate bodywork. But, like the whole range, it is the result of a total re-think on how a vehicle is built from R&D to procurement, logistics, production process and engineering of the vehicle itself.

It’s been branded “SKYACTIV”. Engines are SKYACTIV-G (gasoline/petrol) or SKYACTIVE-D (Diesel). And, here in the Autumn (initially in the new Mazda3), there is SKYACTIV-X. Truly ground-breaking, it runs on petrol but combines both a spark ignition (petrol) and compression ignition (Diesel) combustion process.

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