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Kia e-Niro
The novelty of simply
b e i n g e le c t r ic i s no lon ge r
enough and the e-Niro is
here not just because it
offers great range, useful
performance and excellent
refinement but also
because it’s more spacious
and practical than any
other affordable EV. It’s
de c e nt t o d r i v e , t o o.
Hyundai i30 N
Okay, it’s not quite the best
hot hatch in its class, but
it gets a damn sight closer
t h a n mo s t w ou ld h av e b e t ,
given this was Korea’s first
crack at the category. A
touch more finesse and it’d
b e r i g ht up t he r e. T h i n k
of it a s Hy u nd a i’s pr a c t ic e
car and you can see why
the establishment should
be afraid.
Toyota GR Supra
The Supra is back. And it’s good. There’s quite a lot of BMW beneath the
latest Supra but it retains a character of its own – and that character is fun,
compliant, quick and refined. It’s a rear-drive sports car that you can have
a good time in and yet drive daily with no qualms whatsoever. And if bits of
the inside are BMW, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Alfa Romeo Giulia (including the Quadrifoglio)
Spoiler alert: a BMW 3 Series sits inside the top five cars on sale, but the
Giulia is the next highest-placed compact executive car, which is quite a
feat for Alfa. For some, the Giulia is better to drive even than the BMW –
the Quadrifoglio undoubtedly is – but even cooking versions of the Giulia
are great fun, with a fine front-engined, rear-drive balance that helps you
overlook underwhelming parts of the interior.
Jaguar F-Pace
In time, the F-Pace will
come to be seen as the
saviour of Jaguar, the car
that tided it over until the
brilliant I-Pace could plot a
path to its future. Jaguar’s
first SUV is also easily
its best conventionally
powered car of the modern
era – great to look at and
no le s s g r e at t o d r i v e. A
pr op e r Ja g, i n ot he r w ord s.
Mercedes-Benz
E-Class Estate
It m ay no lon ge r b e t he
most capacious estate on
sale (take a bow, Skoda
Superb) but we still love
the big Benz wagon. The
quality of its interior, its
silken ride quality and the
fact that it’ll still swallow
more stuff than any rival
from BMW or Audi make
it ou r c hoic e i n t h at c l a s s.
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Audi E-tron
A lt hou g h it i s ba s e d on
the Q5 platform rather
than its own electric-
biased architecture, the
E-tron feels largely a
new-from-the-ground-up
EV and has the kind of
consistency to the way it
drives and the solidity
and appeal to the interiort h at w e ’ v e c ome t o e x p e c t
from Audis.
Suzuki Ignis
Not quite a supermini, not
quite an SUV, the Ignis is
compact and lovable in
equal measure. It’s good
to drive, looks pretty cool
and even has a clever
torque-filling mild-hybrid
drivetrain. This Suzuki
is a really likeable,
affordable and
characterful small car.
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