Auto Opinions

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The Range Rover Evoque looks fantastic. Not sure about the yellow paint job above but it definitely stands out.

The interior is a fantastic place to be. Great design and materials make the cabin a very appealing place to be. The leather seats and chunky rotary gear lever are particular highlights.

One thing to note from driving the Evoque is that the three-door model is not that easy to get into. The rear is tricky to access and the doors open too wide for easy use in car parks.

I'd choose the five door and would be a very happy customer.

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The Ssangyong Korando is the Korean company's mid-size SUV.

I drove it a few weeks ago and can report that it is not up to the class standard. Having said that it is not terrible to drive and you get a lot of car for your money.

It is very roomy and definitely the car that Ssangyong has produced.

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The Kia Sorento is a car that I "nothing-ed." I neither loved nor hated it, I just had no opinion about it.

I got to drive one recently and was very pleasantly surprised. Buyers get a lot of car for their money and the 7-year warranty is a pretty attractive feature.

I just wish Kia would do away with the red lcd screen for the radio. It looks very dated and detracts from the whole cabin.

[autoopinions]

Snow has been falling again in south west London. Car buyers are wondering if they should get a 4x4 to cope with winter driving conditions.

The Skoda Yeti is a popular SUV that is available as 2WD and 4WD. Skoda used to have a reputation for truly awful cars but since being taken over by the Volkswagen Group this is no longer the case.

The Yeti is a very capable and high quality little 4x4 that could easily wear a VW badge. The simple styling and great packaging are a real plus and the refinement is really appealing.

When the Yeti first came out there was a 9-month waiting list in the UK and I can easily see why. Even Jeremy Clarkson liked it!

I think VW is missing a trick by not importing this to the States. It could be badged as a VW and I'm sure would be a big seller.

[autoopinions]

Up until last week, I had never driven a Focus before. One of the best-selling cars in the UK, the latest Ford Focus is good to drive, has a higher quality interior finish than I was expecting and looks good.

My only issue with the car was that I found some of the switchgear confusing. Presumably daily use would sort that out but it was annoying when I jumped in quickly and was trying to figure things out.

Overall, the Ford Focus is fun to drive and roomy but I would still probably opt for a Golf...

[autoopinions]

The new Audi A3 is a premium hatch that will undoubtedly be a huge success for the German brand. 

The styling is more aggressive than the previous generation and to my eye looks fantastic. 

The previous A3's interior was of a very high quality. The interior of the 2013 model is something else! It really is like something from the class above. The switchgear and plastics are very tactile and solid and the super-thin screen that comes out of the dash is a great design feature.

[autoopinions]

The Audi A3 was first released in 1996. The company's first small car since the Audi 50, it introduced the premium hatch which would later become a very competitive sector.

As you can see the styling is more evolution than revolution but why would you mess with something that works so well.

[johnny-escobar]

458 Spyder in matte green

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Mmmm matte green!!

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Matte blue Audi R8!

The R8 was introduced in 2006 and still looks fantastic.

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This is not the experience that I had of the Renault Twizy! Mine was in the snow in south west London. Luckily I had the new windows.

The Twizy is a great idea but doesn't quite work in the UK. Our weather is far too unpredictable for a car with no windows, no heating and minimal rain protection (even with the windows).

Fun to drive, a bit like a go kart but can't compete with others.

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I spotted this BMW 2002 while wandering around London. The 2002 was extremely popular and was a predecessor to the ubiquitous 3 series.

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The McLaren P1 looks like something from another planet. Love it!

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More and more cars are now available with adaptive cruise control that allows the driver to set the speed and distance from the car in front and the car does the rest. I'm not sure how useful this feature is on over-crowded British roads but it is pretty clever and should pave the way for driverless cars and road trains which sound excellent.

The Golf Mk7 comes with Front Assist and that includes the creepy "third eye" you see above. It looks pretty odd but I'm sure we will all get used to seeing them in the future. Soon these systems will be better hidden I would bet. Remember when parking sensors first came out and they were hideous additions to bumpers? Now these systems are pretty neatly camouflaged, especially on the more luxurious cars.

[autoopinions]

The new Ford Kuga is part of Ford's "ONE Ford" mission. Previously North American and European models have been quite different. The increased cost of developing a range of similar cars has meant that the manufacturer has decided to create a range of 'world' cars to boost profits.

I got to drive the new Kuga and was impressed by the fit and finish, the way that it drove and clever touches like the power boot lid. I was unimpressed by the fuel economy and the cost. It seems that Ford might be saving money with their "ONE Ford" plan but these savings are not being passed on to the consumer.

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Jaguar has recently announced the new F type and the XF Sportbrake. This brought my attention back to the brand and reminded me of the XFR.

I drove Jaguar’s sports saloon a few months ago and again last week. I have a real soft spot for this car.

It has effortless power delivery, an interesting and well put together interior and some clever technology.

I drove the XFR back into London on the M3 and was impressed by its comfort and pace.

The XFR is a great car. I’m not a huge fan of saloons so would probably opt for a Sportbrake version and if it came with AWD I’d be even happier.

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I desperately wanted to like the Toyota Auris Hybrid. I have mixed views about hybrids and was hoping that driving Toyota's latest one would swing them in a positive direction.

Unfortunately I thought the Auris was very disappointing. I found the interior drab and unappealing, the constant beeping while reversing absolutely infuriating and the noise from the CVT gearbox drove me mental.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing all hybrids. I loved pulling away from junctions in almost complete silence and was mesmerised by the graphics that told me how eco-friendly I was being. I also think that plug-in hybrids are good for city-dwellers and suburbanites. I was just disappointed I guess.

[autoopinions]

I drove the Mazda CX-5 back to London from snowy Wales earlier on in the week. I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. The CX-5 looks great, is fun and car-like to drive and surprisingly roomy inside. The drive took over 3 hours but couldn't have been easier. The Mazda benefits from an awesome sat nav supplied by TomTom and is extremely comfortable. My one criticism is that the quality and design of some of the dashboard plastics is not up to the same standard as some of the European rivals. They're just not quite as nice to the touch. Other than that the CX-5 is a great car that is a pleasure to drive both on and off the road.