Ford cars

ENGINES – While it’s easy to think this particular Focus has ben around for a long time - in reality it has – engine development never stood still. This generation of Focus boasts some of Ford’s finest engines, with the quiet and refined petrol motors perfectly complementing the more frugal diesel units.EXTERIOR – Despite …

MILLIONS of boy racers can’t be wrong. Ford has had the lion’s share of the hot hatch market well and truly sewn up for the best part of two decades (if not longer), and despite the questionable taste of some of the owners, they’ve bought Fords with good reason – they know how to make a good hot hatch.There have been some …

ENGINES – Do remember that being a big car the C5 needs a good size engine to power it along. Predictably, the diesel motors make the most sense: plenty of power and torque on demand and a much longer range between fill-ups. And don’t dismiss the 1.6 HDI motor – it’s small but willing.EXTERIOR – Citroen’s large family car …

THERE aren’t many market sectors that Ford isn’t involved in, but there are one or two in which the firm wants to up its game.The VIP shuttle segment is one of those, dominated at present by German brands with van-derived luxury taxis that give the sort of luggage space, seating configuration options and road presence that …

THE compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) market is a booming one. Far and away exceeding the expectations of the various manufacturers, cars like Ford’s Kuga, Skoda’s Yeti, Volkswagen’s Tiguan and Nissan’s Qashqai have captured the imagination of an army of buyers.And then there’s Toyota’s RAV4, the compact SUV credited …

HISTORICALLY Ford is rarely first to market with a segment-busting model, but when it does make the leap the results are often enough to silence even the harshest of critics. The Blue Oval’s first generation Kuga ‘soft roader’ was a good example of this working practice. It wasn’t the first out of the traps but it was a …

ENGINES – Don’t expect to choose from a wide range of engines - it is a small car after all. If it’s just urban driving you’ll be doing, any of the petrol units will easily do the job. If you're going to be carrying loads frequently, go for the 1.6 over the 1.4-litre unit. Longer distances, more passengers and bigger loads …

CONTRARY to the old saying, growing up appears to be anything but a hard thing to do in the car business. This trend is most obvious in the supermini sector, where once small, feature-poor cars have been transformed into mature and capable all-rounders.Of all the usual suspect to have experienced this transformation, Ford's …

FORD has been onto a winner with the Fiesta for decades. Its engineers always seem to conjure up the right combination of accessibility, user-friendliness, driving dynamics and, latterly, efficiency.An update was due, though, and a series of new engines has been added to fresh family styling and some innovative new technologies …

ENGINES – With a good choice of both petrol and diesel engines, the deciding factor will be how many miles you do each year. Unless you pound the nation’s motorways daily a petrol C-Max will likely be kinder on your wallet. It’ll also be quieter too, yet be just as capable of tackling the school run and weekly shop as the …

IF THERE'S one thing prospective Jaguar buyers have been missing, it's an estate car. A traditional load-lugger has been conspicuously absent from the firm's range, and an omission its rivals have capitalised upon for many years.Given the recent change of ownership from Ford to Tata and the slew of new or revised products …

ENGINES – Alongside the predictable petrol offering from Ford (1.2-litres), from launch the Ka was also available with a 1.2-litre diesel motor. Both units perform well and the latter is pleasingly refined. Neither turn the Ka into a mini GTI though, but the greater torque of the latter can be helpful when the car is loaded.EXTERIOR …

SINCE the rise of the recent downsizing trend, adding value to small car platforms has become key to securing sales whether buyers are trading up or down. Ford hopes its new B-Max compact people carrier will tempt buyers from both sides of the financial fence, with its mix of practicality, kit, looks and clever sliding …

DEVELOPMENT of a new hot Ford is big news in Britain. We love them, and when it comes to the ballistic RS models the UK is far and away the company’s biggest European market.But before you get all the way up to that level of madness there are Ford’s ST models, which aim to offer more of a balance between performance and …

ENGINES – Like its close rival Peugeot-Citroen, Renault has been a successful proponent of the humble diesel engine. For high mileage drivers the units offered with the Megane deliver high levels of refinement and economy. For the rest of us the quiet, and sometimes turbocharged, petrol motors are no less appealing.EXTERIOR …

WE'RE constantly being told that downsizing is the future. In order to save fuel, money and the planet, small has become big business. Skeptics will no doubt have visions of large cars with small, asthmatic engines, but modern technology - turbochargers, superchargers, trick fuel injection - can work miracles with only …

THERE’S a new word being said a lot at Volvo and it’s, er, ‘new’. The last few years have seen the Swedish car maker leave the protective shelter of a less than proactive Ford and engage with a more progressive organisation on the other side of the world.For some time now China has been a popular destination for Western …

THE COMPACT premium saloon market is dominated by the big German firms. As a nation we put a considerable emphasis on the badge and associated brand image, which is why the mainstream – Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen – are often overlooked even if their cars drive well and are groaning with kit.With that in mind, Suzuki’s …