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Stinger – Time To Catch Up With Kia’s Range-topper
Kia is South Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles, now producing over 1.5 million vehicles in 13 plants in 8 different countries. Rewind a decade or two and the cars on offer were undoubtedly worthy, affordable and just a bit dull. How times have changed as the current range encompasses stylish…
Mazda6 Tourer - The Kuro Edition
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
A recent Mazda drive day presented the opportunity to try out some of their popular range of cars. It was the rather distinctive Mazda6 that immediately caught my eye, the model in question being a Kuro special edition, limited to 100 cars in the UK. First a memory refresh… The current…
5:00 AM 24th July 2021
Cool Convertible – Honda S800 Driven
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
Never one to pass up the opportunity to drive something interesting, I was delighted to see that Honda had bought along a couple of classic cars to their recent range day event. The red S800 immediately caught my eye and although there were cars that I needed to drive, this was…
6:00 AM 19th July 2021
Don’t Let Your Tyres Ruin Your Summer Holidays
Where not to change a tyre - A vehicle stopped for a tyre change in the outside lane of the M1 earlier this year. Highways England traffic officers were deployed but the vehicle left the scene shortly before they arrived.
We all know that uncomfortable sun burn or a brush with a jellyfish are capable of ruining a summer holiday, but have you thought about the effects under-inflated tyres might have on your break or day trip this summer?
3:58 AM 24th July 2021
Next Phase Of M1 Bridge Improvements Set To Commence
A map outlining where work is taking place along the M1 in the Rotherham and Sheffield areas
The next phase of improvements to make South Yorkshire motorway bridges safer, more dependable and durable begins later this month (July). Highways England is investing more than £17 million this financial year to enhance bridges and structures along the M62 and M1. In South Yorkshire specifically, maintenance teams will continue work around…
9:08 PM 23rd July 2021
A Honda Sort Of Day
Every now and then car manufacturers kindly stage range days. It is a chance for busy journalists to catch up on cars they have yet to drive, or indeed refresh the memory banks. The good folk at Honda have done just that, and I was delighted to take full advantage of…
10:46 AM 18th July 2021
Charging Etiquette For Electric Car Owners
Unwritten rules at the charging bay Electric car owners in the UK are being offered advice on the unwritten rules at public charging points. The team of experts at LeaseElectricCar.co.uk have put together their tips for new EV owners on the etiquette rules to follow. Public charging points can generally be found in…
3:47 AM 17th July 2021
Weird Road Signs From Around The World
The world’s most unusual road signs have been named by researchers - and even the most experienced drivers could be baffled by some of them. From Kangaroos Ahead to Deaf Cat Crossing the world’s most weird and wonderful road signs have been identified in a new study by car rental…
3:44 AM 17th July 2021
Traffic Bulletin: A1M Closure Between Junction 60 (Bradbury) And Junction 62 (Durham)
Highways England is advising drivers that the A1M in County Durham is closed in both directions between Junction 60 (Bradbury) and Junction 62 (Durham) due to a serious incident. Drivers are asked to avoid the area and allow extra time for their journeys. North bound traffic is advised to follow the solid…
9:21 PM 15th July 2021
Volvo XC90 T8 – A Fully Charged Review!
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
Volvo is continuing its drive for full electrification of its range, with the aim to improve the quality of air in our cities and also to increase the success of the business. By 2025, some 50% of Volvo car sales will be fully electric. In the meantime, every new Volvo launched from…
7:46 AM 15th July 2021
Darlington Body Shop Enjoys Rapid Expansion
The Darlington body shop of North-East dealer group, Drive Motor Retail, has gained approved repairer status for the MG franchise alongside eight other car manufacturers in the past twelve months. Approval status for MG was achieved in the last month, making it the ninth different manufacturer the Darlington body shop has…
2:11 PM 13th July 2021
Lada Niva On Test – Yes Really!
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
I bet you had forgotten all about the Lada Niva. It would be wrong to say they were a familiar sight on UK roads, but I do remember seeing them in the 1970s and ‘80s. A little research tells me that Niva is Russian for field and undoubtedly, traversing uncompromising territory…
6:00 AM 12th July 2021
Suzuki Jimny Is Back In Light Commercial Form
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
I make no secret of the fact that I like the Suzuki Jimny. I owned several of its SJ predecessors in the 1980s and recall not only their character but also their considerable prowess off road. The fourth-generation model was launched in 2018 to much acclaim and I recall fondly the…
4:00 AM 10th July 2021
Nissan’s European Driving Expert Delivers A Motoring Masterclass With JUKE
As many city and country dwellers look to venture onto roads familiar and new for long-overdue trips, Nissan deploys its world-class driving talent to help motorists truly unlock the fun that the open road offers. From the nuances of smooth throttle inputs and steering balance to the technology that helps drivers…
4:00 AM 10th July 2021
Jaguar I-PACE Provides Ground Support For All-electric Flight Speed Record Bid
The all-electric Jaguar I-PACE is the towing and support vehicle for a UK-led programme aiming to claim the electric flight speed record later this year, with a target of 300+mph. The Rolls-Royce ‘Spirit of Innovation’ team has already completed key ground-testing and taxiing ahead of the first test flights…
7:16 AM 7th July 2021
A1(M) Resurfacing Brings Safer, Smoother Journeys In Yorkshire
Resurfacing of the A1(M) between junction 35 (Wadworth Interchange) and junction 34 (Blyth Interchange) will mean safer, smoother and quieter journeys for road users. w80[Highways England will carry out the work on the southbound carriageway from Monday, 5 July. This is expected to be completed by the end of the month.] As…
8:59 PM 4th July 2021
Defender Delights In A Smaller Package
How do you reinvent an icon? This is something that has vexed the good folk at Land Rover for many a year. The much-loved old version had clearly reached the end of its life, though good examples will be sought after for ever and a day. A vehicle with global appeal…
5:50 PM 3rd July 2021
Weekend Cars: Subject: DVLA Busts 9 Myths Around SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification)
Each year around 3.4 million vehicles are declared as being “off the road” (Statutory off Road Notification or SORN) – sometimes for just a few months at a time. March 2020 saw the highest number of SORNs being made of any month in the past decade, with over half a…
4:01 AM 3rd July 2021
Harrogate MG Show 2021 Fast Approaching
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
Sunday 8th August will see MGs from across the UK flock to Pateley Bridge near Harrogate for the 35th annual MG show. Bigger and better than ever, the event will also incorporate the MG Owners Club Northern National gathering. w80[Amongst the highlights: Largest display of MG cars in the North of England…
11:43 AM 27th June 2021
Yorkshire Motorway Bridges And Structures Set To Receive Summer Facelift
A map outlining where work is taking place along the M1 in the Rotherham and Sheffield areas
Motorway bridges in South Yorkshire will benefit from a multi-million-pound investment from Highways England as part of an extensive programme to help protect the region’s structures. The company, responsible for modernising, maintaining and operating England’s motorways and major A-roads, is investing more than £17 million this financial year to look after…
7:10 PM 25th June 2021
Formidable Formentor – Cupra’s Handsome SUV On Test
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
For those that don’t already know, Cupra is the high-performance arm of Spanish car manufacturer SEAT. It has produced hot variants of the Ibiza, Leon and latterly the Ateca. In 2018, Cupra was spun off to become its own sub-brand, with all future models from the marque to wear Cupra’s arrow-shaped…
9:52 AM 25th June 2021
Online Driving Licence Renewals For Over 70s Soar As 6 Out Of 10 Now Go Online
New figures released today (Tuesday 22 June) by DVLA show that around 6 out of 10 over 70 year olds who renewed their driving licence last year did so online. The figures also show that in 2016, just 43% of those renewing their driving licence at the age of 70 or…
2:15 PM 22nd June 2021
Estate Car Excellence The Jaguar Way – XF Sportbrake On Test
The second generation of the Jaguar XF has been on sale since 2015. In a competitive market, that will never do, so at the end of 2020 a facelifted car went on sale. The company’s emphasis over the last few years has firmly focussed on SUVs, this burgeoning market being hard…
8:08 PM 21st June 2021
It’s Tucson Time! Hyundai’s New SUV On Test
Sales of SUVs show no signs of abating. It is therefore unsurprising that manufacturers are regularly updating or replacing their offerings, all in the hope of a slice of the action. Hyundai has done just that with its popular mid-size Tucson, the all-new model having gone on sale in January. Three trim…
4:00 AM 19th June 2021
Updates To The Highway Code Will Make Roads Even Safer
Highways England has drafted updated guidance for The Highway Code with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to help road users better understand how motorways and high-speed roads operate. More than 3,200 people and organisations responded to a consultation on the guidance, with their comments directly leading to it being…
4:00 AM 19th June 2021
In The Beginning…. The Genesis Brand Arrives In Europe
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
Genesis has now brought its range of Korean premium luxury cars to the UK and this week saw me travel south to grab one of the sought-after spaces on the UK Media Launch. Was it worth the trip? Well, after many months of lockdown restrictions, it was a delight to…
9:18 AM 14th June 2021
It’s Nearly Time For The Festival Of The Unexceptional
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
As we are slowly released from lockdown, we welcome the return of the Classic Car Show. Many of us car enthusiasts are desperate for a fix of automotive loveliness. However, so many shows now follow the same theme. Expensive classics, polished to perfection, often arriving on a trailer, and set…
6:00 AM 12th June 2021
Opinion
Weekend Cars: Steady Increase In Car Production; But Are Electric Vehicles Really The Way To Go?
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Richard Bartlett-Rawlings, partner and automotive specialist at RSM, writes: ‘It’s good to see another year on year increase in UK car production in April 2021; however, this is unsurprising as the global pandemic stopped production this time last year. The most concerning data is the reduction since March this year,…
4:15 AM 29th May 2021
£1 Billion A66 Upgrade Takes To The Skies – And Twitter
The latest surveys are a mix of traditional (above) and very 21st century (below, showing a surveyor launching a drone) (pictures not from the A66 project)
Highways England has taken to the troposphere and the Twittersphere as it works to deliver the £1bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project. In one of the most extensive aerial surveys of its kind, drones are taking to the skies along the A66 between the M6 in Cumbria and the A1(M) in North…
9:39 AM 27th May 2021
JCT600 Starts Work On £9m New Ferrari Showroom And Service Centre In Leeds
JCT600 has started work on the highest value project it has ever undertaken – the construction of a new stand-alone, two-storey official sales and after sales centre for Ferrari in Leeds, plus an adjacent service centre. The eight-month project represents a £9m capital investment by the Yorkshire-based automotive retailer and…
12:37 PM 26th May 2021
Taking To The Roads This May Bank Holiday?
If you are using your vehicle for the first time in a while this May bank holiday, Highways England Traffic Officer Dave Harford has some important advice. Some cars have been rarely used in recent months, so it’s essential to make sure they’re fit for purpose. You may also feel…
10:04 AM 26th May 2021
Road Funding Drop This Year Could Pay For 9.5 Million Pothole Repairs
Councils could repair more than 9.5 million extra potholes with the funding lost from local road maintenance budgets this year, analysis by the Local Government Association reveals today. Overall capital funding allocated to councils for local road maintenance this year by the Department for Transport is £1.39 billion – down from…
5:00 AM 22nd May 2021
Highways England Innovation Helping People Have Their Say On M56 Upgrade
Drivers, residents and businesses are being encouraged to say what they think of the £85 million M56 upgrade in Cheshire. Highways England is currently working to install an extra lane in each direction of the motorway between junction 6 at Hale and junction 8 at Bowdon, backed by extra technology to…
10:21 AM 18th May 2021
Honda Jazz – Lifestyle Crosstar Model On Test
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
Inexplicably, the Honda Jazz has tended to appeal to a more mature driver in the UK. It is not so in other countries where the model’s considerable virtues are appreciated by buyers of all ages. Launched earlier this year is an all-new Jazz, with an intriguing Crosstar variant on offer for…
7:54 PM 17th May 2021
Honda Civic Type R – As Thrilling As Ever!
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
The Type R version of Honda’s latest Civic has recently had an update and a ‘Rallye Red’ GT variant has just graced my driveway. A full Yorkshire test was in order! The heart of the Type R has always been its high revving VTEC engine which endows the racy Honda with…
3:25 PM 13th May 2021
Local Car Customization Business Finds Direction During Lockdown
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
Deep into lockdown one and during the initial stages of the pandemic, Jamie Booth, pressurised from his current corporate employer to work whilst furloughed, began to pave a new path for himself. His desire was to detach himself from the corporate clutches and thus 'Prime Customs' was founded. Wishing to offer…
4:40 PM 10th May 2021
All-New Isuzu D-Max On Sale – First Drive Review
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
There has been a mass exodus from the pickup truck market, a little strange when not so long ago manufacturers were rushing out new offerings, keen to get a slice of the action. So, what has happened? It seems that contrary to predictions, buyers didn’t flock to trade in their SUVs.…
11:02 AM 3rd May 2021
The Italian Job Comes To Yorkshire – Be Part Of It!
Fans of the iconic film The Italian Job (who drive a MINI car or any vehicle or recent counterpart that featured in the film) looking for a post-lockdown family get-away will simply love this Autumn's 'staycation MINI driving holiday' set in the picturesque Yorkshire Countryside. The 3-night/4-day 'Yorkshire Job' will kick…
3:24 PM 28th April 2021
Dacia Debuts All-New Sandero
A car for just £5,995? That was just how much you had to pay for the Dacia Sandero when it first went on sale in the UK in 2013. You got a car capable of seating four adults, a simple engine and not much else. UK buyers were a little…
4:15 PM 26th April 2021
Measures To Boost Safety On All Lane Running Motorways Accelerated
Transport Secretary confirms radar technology will be in place before any new stretch of ‘All Lane Running’ motorway is opened pledge comes as Highways England publishes report detailing progress made to boost safety, while setting out ways in which improvements will be sped…
3:30 PM 21st April 2021
Trés Comfortable! The New Citroen C4 Is Here
Do you remember the old Citroen C4? No, me neither but there is now an all-new model on sale, ready to captivate and excite. It is a distinctive looking thing too. Rakish coupe looks meets an SUV’s stance, which may well tick a lot of boxes. Rivals are few and…
3:49 PM 9th April 2021
Polestar 2 - First Drive Review
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
You may not be familiar with the Polestar name, but that is all about to change. In the not so distant past, Polestar was the performance branch of Volvo, breathing a little magic on their top-flight offerings. You can still buy Polestar engineered versions of S60, V60 and XC60 models. For…
2:33 PM 7th April 2021
On Test – New Bridgestone Weather Control Tyres
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
I have always been fastidious when it comes to the tyres fitted to my cars. It does not matter how good the car or how capable the driver, worn tyres are a recipe for disaster. Living in the North of England, where temperatures are low for what seems like half the…
2:16 PM 6th April 2021
Is The New Toyota Hilux The Pickup Of The Crop?
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
Can you believe that the Toyota Hilux has been around for over 50 years? No, me neither. Like most vehicles from the Japanese manufacturer, it has a well-earned reputation for reliability and longevity. More than eighteen million examples have rolled down the production line and many older trucks are still…
2:04 PM 6th April 2021
Cool Caddy California Camper – New From Volkswagen
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
Last year saw sales of motorhomes and campers skyrocket and with this year likely to be another without foreign travel, this trend looks set to continue. Those looking at second-hand models will be aghast at the prices being asked. So maybe it is time to consider a brand spanking new vehicle,…
3:09 PM 31st March 2021
Taking To The Roads For The First Time In A While? Here’s Some Advice From A Highways England Traffic Officer
If you are using your vehicle for the first time in a while, Highways England Traffic Officer Dave Harford has some important advice. Some cars have been rarely used in recent months, so it’s essential to make sure they’re fit for purpose. You may also feel out of practice if you…
2:46 PM 30th March 2021
Ground Investigations Underway On £1bn A66 Dualling Project
Highways England is going beneath the surface of the A66 dualling route using technology to see what lies below this varied landscape. These ground investigations will help to refine the design of the £1 billion A66 trans-Pennine upgrade and are now underway at locations along the route in Cumbria, County Durham…
12:21 PM 20th March 2021
Mazda Goes Electric - MX-30 Launch Review
As manufacturers rush to offer electric cars to a still largely sceptical audience, Mazda has taken its time with a more considered approach. It sees the electric car as something to compliment its range of internal combustion engine vehicles, at least for the next few years. Sensible, I would say. As…
1:12 PM 19th March 2021
Take Your SEAT – Tarraco Has Plenty To Choose From
For the growing family, a multi-seat SUV must still rank as the most suitable transport. I can recall happy days out with a gaggle of children in our family people carrier. And then there was the period when my youngest son was captain of our local junior football team, so…
8:01 AM 14th March 2021
Renegade 4xe – Jeep’s Green, Mean, Off-road Machine
Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
For many the name Jeep conjures up images of a large, capable 4x4 powered by a burbling V8 engine. Either that or soft top Wrangler, the origins of which date back to the Willys Jeep from the second world war. The Renegade on test here is an entirely different beast, especially…
2:03 PM 7th March 2021
Major Repairs To Make Your M60 Journeys Smoother And Safer
A project to carry out major repairs to the M60 road surface near Stockport will require two full weekend closures next month. The clockwise carriageway will be closed between junctions 1 and 2 from 9pm on Friday 12 March until 5am on Monday 15 March, and again from 9pm on…
5:28 PM 25th February 2021
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