Volvo XC60 T8 Twin Engine Polestar Engineered

By Nigel Wigmore

A MYRIAD and sometimes mystifying choice of engines, body and interior specifica- tions is on offer to new car buyers today.
The emphasis now of course is on sales of all-electric cars. This has been given fresh impetus by the Green Alliance think tank’s suggestion that the 2040 ban on new diesel and petrol car sales be brought forward by a decade.
Meanwhile, back in the 2020 world of cars, this week I have been driving a Volvo XC60 SUV (sport utility vehicle) powered by one of a new mild-hybrid range of engines.
It has a diesel designated B5, combines an established 2.0-litre 235hp diesel engine with a 48-volt battery, a “kinetic energy recovery system” and an integrated starter generator. Volvo says the system improves fuel economy by up to 15 per cent in “real-world driving” terms and produces lower NOx emissions. Continue reading →

By Nigel Wigmore

THE pleasantly aesthetic design of the first generation Nissan Juke — launched in 2010 — gave the car its indi- viduality and flair.
There was something about this first Juke that reminded me of Ferrari’s famous prancing horse logo.
Apocryphal or not, Enzo Ferrari is supposed to have told Ferrari to put his son’s prancing horse on their cars’ logo to bring them good luck.
My take on the visual impact of the early Juke may be in the minority but Nissan cannot complain about its sales record.
This crossover SUV (sport utility vehicle) has sold well. In Japan at launch orders totalled 10,943 units in its first month, beating Nissan’s target of 1,300. European and US figures also exceeded expectations. The Juke made its debut at the 2010
Geneva Motor Show and was introduced in the United States at the 2010 New York International Auto Show.

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By Nigel Wigmore

Photographs by Matt Seymour

IT’S enough to make even the most hardened of motorists go misty-eyed with nostalgia.
Vauxhall, one of the oldest established carmakers in Britain, has come out fighting in 2020 for its place in one of the world’s toughest car marketplaces.
Nowhere is this determination more evident than in this week’s drive, the all-new fifth-generation Vauxhall Corsa.
This model has been a truly popular car of the people, with more than 2.1 million Corsas sold in the UK since the model’s launch back in 1993.
Indeed, the Corsa has been as favoured down the years in Europe where it has sold more than 13.5 million cars.
To give the brand credit — and its new owners, the French carmaker Peugeot — Vauxhall has dusted itself off for a 21st century style bid for its place in the global market.
So the new Corsa comes to you in
all forms — with a choice of fully electric, petrol or diesel powertrains.
Like half the nation in the early part of a new year, the Corsa has been slimming.
Vauxhall says the new Corsa has undergone “a significant weight loss”, with the new model weighing in from 980kg — 108kg less than the outgoing model.
What does that mean? Vauxhall says this new lightness of being means the new Corsa benefits from better performance and handling, and increased efficiency, whatever its power source.

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