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Short ‘n sweet, to the point. These are our no-frills Sprint Reviews:
What you need to know: The Volvo V40 is a stylish and modern mixture between hatchback and estate, blessed with a talented chassis and wide array of superb engines. “Cross Country” means exactly that – it can cross parts of the country but (at least in this guise) is not a 4×4 or even all-wheel-drive.
What you need to know: The Volkswagen Caddy is a small family van with big space and sensible features. It’s available in two lengths, two trim levels and with two Turbo-diesel engines and two gearboxes – or five combinations thereof. This “Alltrack” model is the cool, extra-urban, cross-over version.
What you need to know: Like most local cars – especially cool ones – the Volkswagen up! had been around for a while before it landed here. It’s what the Golf used to be – affordable hatchback transport for the Volk. It’s also what the Polo used to be – smaller and more affordable than a Golf.
What’s it about? Volvo have got canny with presenting a big SUV with a small 2litre, 4-cylinder engine and making it so stylishly desirable and fantastic to drive that you’ll want one… if you’re happy to pay the hefty price tag that is. We tested the T5 Inscription, an upper power level version of the new XC90 and were suitably impressed.
What it is: A bright orange with black short wheel base Landy. Unfortunately unavailable for purchase (unless you can bribe someone to sell you theirs second hand) as they’ve all been snapped up!
What you need to know: We somehow haven’t had much exposure to the Ford Figo except for a tired specimen picked up from a rental company. This here was our first proper, week-long test of this budget car and presented itself in the new-generation sedan with 1.5-litre petrol engine and range-topping Titanium trim.
What you need to know: The Freelander is no more. Remember that square, compact, slightly drab-looking Land Rover? Well, quite a few of my acquaintances bought its practical boxy shape and – save for owners of early examples – are happy chappies and don’t look like they’ll upgrade their Landies any time soon.
What you need to know: The Opel Adam is a modern, stylish and compact city car in the mould of Audi’s A1 and the desirable Mini. Arriving rather late to this party of trendy runabouts, Opel even named it after its founding father and gave it plenty of style and proper technology to stand a fighting chance.
What you need to know: The Jaguar XE is the latest attempt from this British manufacturer to stir up that German pot of 3-Series, A4 and C-Class. With newer technology and Jaguar’s stunning design cues, the XE should stand a better chance than its X-Type predecessor. If it weren’t for that annoying exchange rate…
I’ve always associated an Opel Corsa with those vibrant sea-green or metallic purple bubble-like cars that almost every acquaintance and student seemed to drive at some point in the late 90s. The new Opel Corsa is a far cry from these simple cars and I absolutely loved our recent test model.