Steve Rogers

ELECTRIC, hybrid, petrol... what to do? Anything but dirty diesel it seems, but it is certainly kicking off in the car business and we are all over the shop when it comes to the type of car we should buy.

Before getting down to business we need to clear up any confusion. This is a Fiat 124 Spider and not a Mazda MX-5.

LET’S be honest; Skoda has had to put up with a lot of grief over the last 25 years. Even the might of Volkswagen-Audi providing a solid foundation, not to mention a string of good cars, did not stop the baseless prejudices.

There is a sure fire way of finding out if your car is well built.
Never mind the quality of the materials or the delicate stitching on the seats and door cards.

THEY say buying a house is stressful, well buying a new car is going that way as well. Anyone heading out to buy a new motor is faced with 44 brands offering nearly 400 models. Mind boggling or what? The reality is we have more or less made up our minds after hours trawling the internet but still need to sweep the showrooms to make sure we are getting the best deal.

ASK any motoring journalists to pick the best roads for testing a car and the majority will say the north of Scotland. The number two choice is closer to home: North Wales. The region is blessed with roads that flow over open moors and through valleys, just what you need when trying to get the feel of a car.

LIKE the look of this... it could be your next car. This is Zoe, one of the more affordable electric cars, and from the way things are moving, we might all be driving an electric or hybrid powered car within the next decade.

WE have been waiting a while for Nissan to make the Micra mighty again. Six years to be precise. It was a car that had such a great start in life, hitting the ground running in 1983, taking the European Car of the Year title 10 years later, and making an even bigger mark with the lovable frog-eyed front and shot off tail styling of the third generation model.

IF EVER proof were required that our driving needs are rapidly changing, then look no further than Mazda. Its best selling car will soon be a bulky SUV. What’s going on? Our habits have changed; we have been well and truly seduced by the high-driving sports utility.

WOMEN can be really fussy when it comes to cars. Well the one living in our house is. Had my wife been writing about the newVolkswagen Golf estate she would have a complained about its hard ride, its bland design and plain interior.