With an unrivalled warranty, grown-up looks and commendable economy, can the Kia Rio put up a fight against some well established rivals such as the Vauxhall Corsa? I was given the chance to find out during a week spent with the car pictured, which comes in at almost £22,000. This may look like a lot of money, and indeed the Kia is priced £2,500 more than the highest spec Suzuki Swift. However, it is around £2,000 cheaper than the Vauxhall which has been a best-in-class seller for years. The Rio range starts from a much more affordable £16,150 and standard…
Author: Graham Baalham-Curry
Having driven a handful of Mazda CX-5 models since first launched a decade ago. The second and current generation came to market around 2018. This quietly confident model suiting the needs of many, it has become a good seller for Mazda. But I was somewhat confused as to why I had custody of the model pictured and tested. At a quick glance it doesn’t look any different to the car I reviewed within the previous twelve months, so I assumed a new engine had been added to the range. When sitting down to write about what Mazda offer within the…
With the motorsport season pretty much concluded for the year, a question many ask is what happens at the end of the competitive racing season? “Well, some drivers are not ready to put their cars away for the winter,” explains Donal O’Neill. “Some have bought new cars and want to try them out. Some just want to have fun, without the pressure of having to win. For these reasons the 500MRCI, who run Kirkistown Racing Circuit, put on a Rally Test Day in December and another in January/February. Donal, who’s the circuit manager, continued, “At the most recent one on…
We get to grips with the Subaru Forester which received a hybrid system a while back and find out if electrification is the way forward for the Japanese maker. Regular readers will know that I have a huge affection for the Subaru brand which stems from my time following and competing in rallying. It’s a brand that has always produced cars based around performance, agility and a rugged ability. In recent years, however, the performance aspect has been lacking. And although I was very critical of the self-charging hybrid’s performance in a previous first-drive article, but I take some of…
As a self-confessed petrolhead I have spent many an hour around a dyno. Be it as part of a group day where car owners bring their road vehicles to see who can claim the most horsepower, or the setting up of carburettor’s on an old rally car, there is a demand and need for such ‘rolling roads’ within the automotive industry. However, recent news to me was that the agricultural sector also relies on similar dyno technology. Not only to assess the output of machinery, but to fine-tune and increase the HP and frugality of a huge fleet of machinery…
First launched in the UK after the turn of the millennium, the Honda Jazz has blended seamlessly into an urban landscape. Setting about its daily duties with ease, this little car has never created a fuss thanks to strong reliability and more practicality than you would expect. Although its silhouette has not changed a great deal over its generations, this Honda retains its stance as a mini MPV. There was a time when MPVs were all the rage, but somewhat less practical SUV’s have taken over in the last decade. Looking similar in size to rivals such as the Ford…
Suzuki has always been highly regarded as one of the most affordable and reliable vehicles on the market. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I tested the now discontinued Celerio model, which cost something in the region of £6,000 brand new. Since the announcement of Brexit cheap motoring no longer exists, even for Suzuki, who’s most affordable model in the UK starts at over £15,000. I can see perfectly the look on a colleagues face if I told them that I had just spent north of £46,000 on a Suzuki. It would be akin to mine when I realised…
When it comes to pick-up trucks many manufacturers offer them somewhere within their line-up of passenger vehicles but for Isuzu pick-ups are all they do. Self-named the pick-up professionals, Isuzu has been the go-to for hard-working fleets for many years. Focusing solely on just one vehicle, their multi award winning D-Max offers something for everyone. The range starts with a utilitarian model which suits the needs of a farmer or the likes of Northern Ireland electricity perfectly. D-Max then offers progressively more as you move up the range towards a nicely styled family-friendly model with much more tech. If budget…
At the start of this year I got to experience the most practical of the KIA Ceed family with its Sportswagon model and I can see its appeal. In a recent article I touched on the Ceed family from Kia, as I reviewed its sleek and stylish shooting brake model, the Proceed. This family caters for everyone however, as it features a 5-door hatchback and a crossover SUV Style XCeed as well as the estate model talked about here. This latest Ceed Sportswagon incorporates Kia’s brand-new corporate logo and now, having received a comprehensive update in its third generation, is…
British Rally Championship returns to Ulster with revamped calendar for 2023… The Motorsport UK British Rally Championship has today [24 October] revealed a brand-new look to the series for 2023, as it announces an exhilarating calendar for the season ahead. In a revised roster, Britain’s premier rallying series will feature seven events across the four home nations, with rallies in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. It will also return to mainland Europe as it visits Belgium for the first time since 2019. The new-look calendar will once again see the Rally2 contenders form the topflight and will battle for…
Korean manufacturer Kia have a vast family within their Ceed model but what happens when you outgrow the entry-level hatchback, when you’re too cool for the Sportwagon, and when you’re too stylish for the crossover styled XCeed? You go and order the head of this family, the Proceed, that’s what happens. Referred to as a shooting brake, this incredibly sleek Kia takes inspiration from both an estate car and a coupe giving it an appearance that would make anyone look twice. Although not offering the true practicality of an estate, the Proceed offers a higher spec than its siblings. Looking…
For the past fifteen years Nissan has been at the forefront of an SUV revolution on our roads and we drive the latest incarnation of the pioneering vehicle which started it all. The Nissan Qashqai was first launched in 2007; it was joined then by much more utilitarian yet more established vehicles such as the Kia Sportage and the Hyundai Tucson. But, it was the Nissan that soon became a family favourite thanks to having a much more quality feel about it. The aforementioned Korean rivals have subsequently upped their game, forcing Nissan to do the same in an overcrowded…