3
Nat Barnes checks out the newest family cars
MAZDA CX30 On sale December/January
est from £20,500
Sitting between Mazda CX3 and CX5
crossovers, this Mazda CX30 looks like a CX4
and is the perfect size for a CX4, but it’s not
a CX4. The reason is that Mazda already
uses that name elsewhere, hence this car is
badged as the CX30. Ok, so it doesn’t offer
many surprises in the form of its styling or
shape, but as we love Mazda’s current family
styling, that’s no bad thing.
The CX30’s smart exterior lines are
matched inside with an interior that borrows
largely from the new Mazda 3 and with a
similar engine line-up too including the firm’s
new frugal Skyactiv-X petrol engine. With
choice of front or four-wheel drive in the
range and given the ongoing British love
affair with crossovers, it’s hard not to see this
CX30 being a success.
PEUGEOT 508SW On sale now
From £26,845
We’re already big fans of the Peugeot 508
repmobile, its smart styling, good driving
manners and superb interior proving that
there’s life still left in the family car market
for mainstream brands. That’s only
strengthened more so with the arrival of
Peugeot’s new SW estate model.
Over your left shoulder there’s a decent
boot of 530 litres with the rear seats up
or an impressive 1780 litres with them folded
down, while there’s also a ski hatch and
handy buttons inside the boot to lower
those back seats remotely. A slightly taller
roof than the standard hatchback model
means that there’s slightly more headroom
in the back, too.
CITROEN C5 AIRCROSS On sale now
From £23,225You don’t need us to tell you
what an enormous
success that the Citroen
C5 Aircross has been
for the French
manufacturer. An
incredible 50,000
of these models have
left the showrooms
since it went on sale in
January this year, making
it the firm’s third best seller
and Citroen’s SUV rangeaccounting for almost one in three sales.
Along with the smaller C3, we think
that the C5 Aircross is one of
the best-looking crossovers on the
market today and, while it’s not
available with four-wheel
drive, it has the option of
Grip Control which is a
good halfway measure.
Boasting Citroen’s latest
range of petrol and diesel
engines, there’s a plug-in
hybrid version due for- Inside, there’s a
superb interior with up to
1630 litres of boot space and
excellent on-road comfort.
RENAULT KOLEOS On sale now
From £27,520Renault has introduced a host of
tweaks for its Koleos flagship with
a host of refreshed details to its
exterior as well as an enhanced
interior with upgraded equipment
and also two more powerful turbo-
diesel engines.
Both new engines offer more
performance and fewer emissionswith 150bhp or 190bhp and 143g/km
and 150g/km, the latter with
four-wheel drive.
Inside, as well an improved
infotainment system including Apple
Carplay, there are new soft-touch
materials throughout, better driver
aids including pedestrian detection
for the emergency braking system
and a new two-stage recline function
for the rear seats. LED headlights
are now also standard across
the entire range.VOLVO XC40 On sale now
From £28,965Volvo’s superb XC40 small crossover has
stormed to success, even among the popular
larger XC60 and XC90 models. Now the XC40
range has a number of revisions to improve
performance and choice in the line-up. There’s
an increase in power for the 1.5-litre T3 petrol
engine to 163bhp and for the first time it also
comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Meanwhile, the 2.0-litre T4 model is available
in two-wheel drive form for a saving of £1,400
compared to its four-wheel drive counterpart.
Furthermore, all R Design spec models get gear
change paddles behind the steering wheel,
while there’s also auto-folding door mirrors, a
12v outlet in the boot and a load protection net.
The XC40 range will be further boosted early in
2020 with the arrival of a plug-in hybrid version
in the T5 Twin Engine.SSANGYONG TIVOLI LE On sale now
From £17,745The Ssangyong Tivoli is probably one of the best
crossovers you’ve never heard of. Smart styling,
good road manners and good value, in a market
that’s currently booming it certainly deserves to
be on many more shopping lists. This new LE
special edition comes with a choice of petrol or
diesel engine and manual or automatic gearbox
and is based on the existing ELX trim but has a
look closer to the top Ultimate spec.
The LE gets a black roof, electric folding
mirrors, black 18in alloy wheels and a roof spoiler
and is also available with new striking ‘Orange
Pop’ paintwork (which we especially like) as well as
more traditional silver and black. Also included
as standard are cruise control, heated seats,
reversing camera and a seven-inch touchscreen
with Apple Carplay and Android Auto.We think that the
C5 Aircross is one
of the best-looking
crossovers on the
market today