OCTOBER 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 147
X7 ★★★★★
Gah! Avert your eyes! Gaudy full-size SUV for
well-to-do folk who consider a Range Rover a bit too
subtle. We challenge you to spec one that doesn’t
instantly make babies cry at the sight of it > VERDICT
Big, comfy and excessive – just what a luxo-SUV
should be. May be a bad idea, but it’s nicely done
Z4 ★★★★★
The uglier of the BMW/Toyota siblings shines
more for its refinement and comfort than its
ability to set your hair on fire. Accomplished and
robust – the Smeg fridge of the sports car world
VERDICT Sweet, but more could have been done
to make it thrilling
i8 ★★★★★
Carbonfibre-constructed three-cylinder hybrid
supercar that’s fun for four, as fast as an M3 and
does 40 real mpg. Minor demerit: looks like it’s
crimping off a 911 > VERDICT Fascinating futuristic
sports car that’s big on the wow factor
BUGATTICHIRON ★★★★★
‘The Veyron was okay but why couldn’t it have
30 per cent bigger turbos and 300bhp more
power?’ Bugatti answers the question absolutely
nobody asked – and answers it loud > VERDICT
A £2.5m riot
CATERHAMSEVEN ★★★★★
For bobble-hatted Terry-Thomas wannabes and
the track-curious, the Seven comes in flavours from
160 triple to mental road racers > VERDICT 80bhp
160 is underpowered, 310bhp 620R verges on
lethal, 180bhp 360 model is just right
CHEVROLETCORVETTE ★★★★★
Farm machinery meets Spacelab in 460bhp V8
symphony of composite materials, leaf springs and
pushrods. Shame it’s left-hook only > VERDICT
£60k for a butch bargain berserker. £20k more
gets you the even berserker 650bhp Z06, and if
you’re feeling brave import yourself the ZR1.
Mid-engined version is on its way
CITROENC1 ★★★★★
Trying hard to escape the clutches of its sister
cars from Toyota and Peugeot, the C1 can have
a funky Airscape cloth roof and half-hearted
personalisation options. 1.0-litre has most pep
VERDICT Good, solid urban fare
C3 ★★★★★
Citroën produces a great small car by looking up
its own Wikipedia entry and remembering what it’s
good at; spacy, compliant and different
VERDICT Are Citroëns cool again? They’re
certainly getting there
C3 AIRCROSS ★★★★★
Funky mattress on wheels takes C3’s style and
puts it on stilts. Thankfully retains C3 Picasso’s
super-spacious interior and flexi seats > VERDICT
The Vauxhall Crossland X’s much more characterful
Gallic sibling
C4 CACTUS ★★★★★
Comfy, roomy, slightly sloppy family car, now
Airbump-free. Citroën claims it’s a hatch; it’s in fact
just as much a crossover as the previous one
> VERDICT A proper Citroën, with all the pros
and cons that involves
C4 SPACETOURER ★★★★★
> Defiantly anti-cool family shifter, with five or (in
Grand form) seven seats, previously known as
the Picasso. Touches like lower rear windows and
sprogwatch mirror make parents go weak at the
knees for its peace-and-bloody-quiet ambience
> VERDICT Drives like a shed, but at least it makes
Satan’s brood shut up
C5 AIRCROSS ★★★★★
> The biggest of all Citroën’s sofas on wheels, yet
capable of a smidge of off-roading. A family car
that works just as much for the driver as it does for
the passengers, so long as you don’t come here
looking for dynamic brilliance > VERDICT Have we
mentioned comfortable enough times yet?
BERLINGO MULTISPACE ★★★★★
> A wipe-clean tin lifeboat for cagoule-wearing
Thermos-sipping birdwatchers. Recently updated,
but still rattles and drives like a van. Is a van
> VERDICT Dogging cheap seats for aspiring
Bill Oddies
CUPRAATECA ★★★★★
> Seat spices up its stylish Ateca with powertrain
from a VW Golf R and chunky body kit. Then ruins
it by slapping on a copper badge with the style of
a tribal tattoo students got in Magaluf > VERDICT
It’s good but offers no reason to avoid the obvious
Golf R
LEON ★★★★★
> Much to the amusement of tyre manufacturers
everywhere, the front-wheel-drive Leon Cupra now
has 297bhp. GTI who? > VERDICT Ballistic, and
best bought with a manual transmission
DACIASANDERO ★★★★★
> Cheapest new car on sale, not the worst. Yoghurt-
pot plastics and pre-Glasnost styling can’t detract
from a spacious sub-six-grand runabout with
Renault engines, if that’s where your priorities rest
> VERDICT Austerity rocks. Right, Greece?
LOGAN ★★★★★
> Estate looks like a Sandero that’s reversed into
a phone box. Cavernous boot, but dreadfully
unrefined thanks to all the brittle plastic and tin
> VERDICT You put things in it. It will carry them
for you. You can take them out. Job done, at a
very low price
DUSTER ★★★★★
> It’s just had a major overhaul, which in
Dacia terms is akin to creosoting the shed and
tacking the roof felt down, but still a hardy 4x4 for
low-budget mud-pluggers and family folk; front-
wheel-drive versions keep costs ridiculously low
> VERDICT Like Crocs but way, WAY cooler
DS3 CROSSBACK ★★★★★
> This might be a case of imposter syndrome. Chic
and desirable hatch has turned into a crossover
shaped to new DS styling values. Kitsch interior of
its larger sibling adds some zest to an otherwise
lukewarm package > VERDICT We’re not convinced
this is an improvement7 CROSSBACK ★★★★★
> France’s idea of a premium SUV. Sharp-looking
interior and plenty of technology fitted as standard,
but from some angles it looks like an Audi Q5 in
half-baked drag > VERDICT Neatly done, but not
quite there. Expect plenty more from DS very soon
ELEMENTALRP1 ★★★★★
> As expensive as a used Porsche Cayman GT4,
more refined than any Caterham – and a weapon on
track > VERDICT Crazy, but worth it
FERRARI488 GTB ★★★★★
> We were worried the turbos would ruin it, but
the 488 is more playful and even easier to drive. A
stunning achievement > VERDICT The looks grow
on you after a while. Rivals better dust off their
gracious-loser faces
488 PISTA ★★★★★(^) recommend leaving the traction control switched > So clever even Ferrari’s own test drivers
on. Every bit as good to drive as it is to look at
VERDICT The ultimate Ferrari road car right now,
and it’s a V8
PORTOFINO ★★★★★
The transformation from California to Portofino
works a treat. It’s sweeter, sharper and more
practical, if ultimately lacking focus > VERDICT
Measurably better than the Cali in every way
812 SUPERFAST ★★★★★
Proof that Ferrari can still make truly epic GT
cars that fly the naturally aspirated V12 flag with
pride. The screaming 800hp engine is matched by
laser-guided handling > VERDICT GT? Supercar?
Astounding
GTC4 LUSSO/T ★★★★★
Two-door shooting brake looks like a Z3 M
Coupe battered by a giant spatula but thoroughly
capable all-wheel drive machine. V8-powered
Lusso T nudges price below distressing £200k
barrier > VERDICT Closest Ferrari has got to an SUV
(but not for long)
FIAT
TIPO ★★★★★
Dull, but good value and the best Fiat hatch since
the last Tipo – and that dates from 1988
VERDICT Only consider buying Fiats with
numbers, not names
124 ★★★★★
Mazda MX-5’s step-sister, seemingly intent on
undermining said darling hairdresser’s star turn
with its punchier 1.4 turbo blow-dryer. Awkward
style, for an Italian > VERDICT To drive, this is the
MX-5 you’ve been waiting for
PANDA ★★★★★
Spacious city car with ‘squircle’ obsession, as roly-
poly as its blobby looks suggest. Two-pot TwinAir
willing but thirsty > VERDICT VW Up costs less,
drives better and is nicer inside
500/C ★★★★★
Delicate job, modernising a retro cash cow.
Fiat’s approach pairs a korma-grade facelift with
updated tech and even more colour palette kitsch
VERDICT Fashion victims rejoice! The cupholders
actually work now
500L ★★★★★
> Bloated supermini-sized people carrier,
desperately attempting to cash in on city car’s chic.
Seldom has the point been so massively missed
> VERDICT In-car coffee machine option the only
purchase excuse
500X ★★★★★
> Compact crossover is the Arnie of the 500 range- limited in its range of abilities, but rather likeable
VERDICT Worthy Nissan Juke alternative works
the 500 thing well, especially after recent facelift,
new engines and cabin tech upgrade
QUBO/DOBLO ★★★★★
Postman Pat’s wheels? No. Pat’s long since
retired to the Caribbean, where he’s living off the
royalties and drives a red Bentley > VERDICT Van-
based MPVs. Practicality first, people second
FORD
KA+ ★★★★★
> Opposite of the old Ka (good to drive, decently
spacious, sexy). And Plus? Plus what? > VERDICT
Ahead of its time, and overshadowed by newer
arrivals, but still pretty good
FIESTA ★★★★★
> Still a peach to drive and now has an interior that
isn’t from the Dark Ages, even if material quality is
still a bit iffy. ST-Line version is suitably sporty but
Vignale too expensive to justify > VERDICT You can
thank the heavens they haven’t ruined it
FIESTA ST ★★★★★
> Less mad to look at than before and one cylinder
down, but one of the biggest hot hatch bargains
around. Fast, fun to drive and won’t wind you up
something fierce > VERDICT Buy one. You won’t
regret it
FOCUS ★★★★★
> Looks derivative but under the skin lies a compact
family car that’s great to drive. Ford is still throwing
plenty of chips the hatchback’s way > VERDICT The
spirit of the Mk1 is almost back
FOCUS ST ★★★★★
> Takes everything that made the Fiesta ST so
good and ups the scale, yet leaves room for a
punchy new RS to come. Shame it looks plain
now and costs as much as the (better) Honda
Civic Type R
> VERDICT Since when has a fast Ford not been
a bargain?
MONDEO HATCH/ESTATE ★★★★★
> Huge space and you can even have the plucky
little 1.0 EcoBoost engine > VERDICT Everybody
wants them new-fangled SUVs these days, but this
is a fine family car
ECOSPORT ★★★★★
> despite being crap first time round. Current version Ford’s half-arsed stab at a crossover sold in droves
looks half decent and isn’t built out of melted wheelie
bins > VERDICT Better, but still lags behind many of
the increasingly crowded field of rivals
KUGA ★★★★★
> The best-handling mid-sized crossover, but
French and Swedish interiors are leagues ahead
> VERDICT If you must
EDGE ★★★★★
> Looks good and drives like a Ford – a big,
ponderous Ford, hamstrung by 2.0 diesels and
slower than continental drift > VERDICT Comfy,
refined, irrelevant amid premium rivalsThe Good, the Bad & the Ugly