The automotive industry faced one of its most challenging years in 2020, contending with national lockdowns, plus factory and dealership shutdowns. Despite the pandemic, 1.63 million new cars were registered in the UK, compared with 2.3m in 2019 – a decline of nearly a third (29%), and the lowest total […]
The Vauxhall Corsa has been a familiar part of the UK motoring scene for 27 years and has consistently been among the biggest-selling cars. More than 2.1 million Corsas have been sold in the UK since then, but it’s always been eclipsed in sales terms by its arch rival, the […]
The Ford Fiesta was toppled from its traditional top spot as Britain’s best-selling new car by the Volkswagen Golf during February, according to the latest official figures. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported that 3,457 Golfs were registered compared to 3,123 Fiestas. In all, 79,594 new cars […]
New car sales may have dipped in 2019, but the latest official figures reveal that the used car market is buoyant. A total of 7.9 million second-hand cars change hands last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and there are no prizes for guessing which […]
The Ford Fiesta has been named Britain’s favourite new car for the 11th year in a row after easily topping the sales charts in 2019. Almost 78,000 new Ford Fiestas were registered last year, beating the 58,994 total of the car in second place, the Volkswagen Golf. It just pipped […]
The SEAT Ateca has won the inaugural UK Best Used Car Awards staged by leading online automotive marketplace, CarGurus. Recognising the best buys in the used car market across 13 categories, including city cars, superminis, small family cars, crossovers, SUVs and performance cars, the expert judging panel of motoring journalists also looked […]
Twenty years on from the launch of the game-changing Ford Focus Mk1 comes the fourth-generation car. And the good news is that Ford’s big-selling family hatchback has regained its mojo. Having owned a few Foci over the years, I should know. Ford has clearly listened to feedback because the new […]
We road test the rufty-tufty version of the UK’s best-selling new car, but is the Ford Fiesta Active distinctive enough to stand out in the compact crossover crowd? Ford claims the Active combines “SUV inspired styling with Fiesta driving dynamics”. A bold claim, and at first sight there are only […]
We drive the latest version of the big-selling Volkswagen Polo. Bigger, yes, but better than ever? What is it? The all-new Polo is the sixth generation of Volkswagen’s popular supermini originally launched in 1975. Some 14 million Polos have been sold worldwide (an estimated 1.4 million in the UK) and […]
Standing out in the supermini sector is quite an achievement – especially when it’s blessed with so many superb models. That, however, is exactly what Suzuki has achieved with the third generation Swift. And it’s just as well because it’s up against two recently-launched class leaders – the new Ford […]
