Lancashire Times

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Has Polestar Just Made The 4 Better?

Michael Atkins
Motoring Correspondent

Polestar has just revealed the new 4 SUV, and it might be one of those cars that makes you question why the original existed in the first place. Rather than replacing the Polestar 4 Coupé, the new SUV sits alongside it, taking the same fundamental design and editing it into something considerably more practical, without getting rid of what made the Coupé interesting.

P.ublished 7th September 2026

Mazda’s New Cx-5 – A Yorkshire Test

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Having attended the Scottish launch of Mazda’s new CX-5, I was keen to try in on my home patch. I didn’t manage to drive an all-wheel-drive version, so the press office kindly sent one north for me to try over an extended period.

P.ublished 5th September 2026

Supercar Sunday At Grantley Hall

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Fab Ferraris.

Sunday 6th September saw supercars from across the country make their way to Grantley Hall, near Ripon. This prestigious hotel hosted what was to be their largest event of this type.

P.ublished 7th September 2026

Kia EV2 – UK Launch Review

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

At last, we are seeing a raft of smaller, more affordable EVs hitting the market. As I have said previously, not everyone either wants or can afford a large, expensive EV. So, electric cars for the masses it is then, and what a good thing that is. Kia’s foray into this market is the new EV2, one of the most hotly anticipated new cars of this year.

P.ublished 1st September 2026

Harrogate's Classic Car Sunday A Great Success

The grey and damp of last Sunday morning was enlivened by the colours and sounds of an eclectic selection of classic and sports cars that congregated in Prince’s Square, Harrogate. They had gathered for the latest edition of Classic Car Sunday, a ‘cars and coffee’ style breakfast meet up for like-minded car enthusiasts.

P.ublished 1st September 2026

Lepas – The Brand Launch

A warm and sultry night in old London town was the location for the formal brand launch for Lepas in the UK. Regular readers will already have seen my review of the Chinese manufacturer’s first car, the L8, Lepas-L8-Launch-Review However, this was a chance to meet the full team and find out what the future plans are.

P.ublished 29th August 2026

Expert Tips For Driving In A Downpour + Little-Known Law You Need To Know

After one of the hottest and driest summers on record, the last thing most Britons would be expecting is heavy showers and thunderstorms. However, that’s what the Met Office is predicting this week, with a Yellow weather warning.

P.ublished 27th August 2026

I’ve Been Twingoed And I Liked It!

The right cars at the right time. That would seem to sum up French manufacturer Renault at the moment. First it introduced us to the all-electric Renault 5, a car that is selling exceptionally well. They are everywhere, with most in vibrant colours making them easy to spot.

P.ublished 22nd August 2026

Britain's Roman Road Revival – Classic Cars Gear Up As 500-Mile Coast-to-coast Adventure Prepares To Hit The Road

Hotel Victoria the Loxley

A new charity motoring event is putting history and heritage in the driving seat by taking classic car enthusiasts on a unique journey across Britain’s ancient Roman road network, celebrating the country’s major landmarks, spectacular landscapes and independent hospitality businesses.

P.ublished 19th August 2026

Fiat Panda - Is It Really That Grand?

Michael Atkins
Motoring Correspondent

Back in 2024 the Stellantis group revealed to the world the brand-new Fiat Grande Panda. It got a great reception for its styling cues and character, but the manufacturing of this model only started in late 2025. Although it has been on the market for over 9 months now, it is still a rare sight here on UK roads.

P.ublished 17th August 2026

Don’t pay more for your car hire: my top ten tips for keeping the bills down if you’re driving abroad

Jane Hawkes
Consumer Expert

Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay

Millions of Britons heading overseas this summer could be paying far more than they need to for their car hire. That’s the warning from our consumer expert Jane Hawkes, who is advising holiday makers to book car hire well in advance and be confident in saying no to upselling at the desk.

P.ublished 15th August 2026

Family Cars Don’t Have To Be Dull – Cupra Formentor

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

For those that don’t already know, Cupra is the high-performance arm of Spanish car manufacturer SEAT. In 2018, Cupra was spun off to become its own sub-brand, with all future models from the marque wearing Cupra’s arrow-shaped emblem. The company’s first standalone model was the Formentor, a car that put the Cupra brand firmly on the map.

P.ublished 15th August 2026

Lepas L8 Launch Review

Rewind a couple of years, and most UK car buyers had never heard of the Chinese car giant Chery. They certainly do now with the company storming the UK sales charts with its Omoda and Jaecoo brands. Just last month, the Jaecoo 7 and 5 models were in fourth and seventh positions, respectively, in the chart of UK registration figures.

P.ublished 8th August 2026

Flat Battery? CTEK To The Rescue

As regular readers will know, I have an ageing fleet of cars. When I am organised, I usually have each car connected to a CTEK trickle charger. However, there are times when I want to head out for a drive, only to find a car with a flat battery. If you’ve ever messed around with jump cables, you will know what a performance that can be.

P.ublished 4th August 2026

First Drive – Isuzu’s D-Max Electric Pickup

Isuzu first showed us its D-Max EV at the Commercial Vehicle Show earlier this year. It made the headlines, being the first fully electric pickup in the UK to provide over 1-tonne payload, 3.5-tonne towing capacity and permanent four-wheel drive.

P.ublished 1st August 2026

BMW iX3 Review – Polished, Poised And Distinctly BMW

This is an exciting time for BMW. The company’s UK CEO, David George, has confirmed that we can expect to see more than 40 new vehicles by the end of 2027. The first of the ‘Neue Klasse’ (New Class) range of cars is the iX3, launched earlier this year to UK media at the firm’s UK base in Farnborough. I was lucky enough to attend.

P.ublished 25th July 2026

Harrogate MG Show 2026 Fast Approaching

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Sunday 2nd August will see MGs from across the UK flock to Pateley Bridge near Harrogate for the 40th annual MG show. Bigger and better than ever, the event will also incorporate the MG Owners Club Northern National gathering.

P.ublished 22nd July 2026

Vauxhall’s Mokka With Added Fizz – New GSE Launch Review

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Vauxhall has a long history of performance models. It all began with the Astra GTE way back in 1984. Taking on the Golf GTi, the fuel-injected hot hatch boasted a naturally aspirated 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine producing 115bhp. This was enough to launch the GTE from rest to 60mph in a competitive 8.5 seconds.

P.ublished 22nd July 2026

Win A New Ioniq 3 With Hyundai

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Hyundai Motor UK has launched its biggest-ever competition, giving one member of the public the chance to win an all-new IONIQ 3.

P.ublished 18th July 2026

New Musso Rhino Launched By KGM

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Let’s start by saying I’m a big fan of pickups. In my rural neck of the woods, they are popular with both working owners and those who use them for leisure purposes. With the recent tax changes, their popularity is in decline as double-cab models are now classified as cars for benefit in kind.

P.ublished 11th July 2026

Living With The Skoda Fabia 130 Edition

For the past few days, I have been living with Skoda's latest version of the renowned Fabia. Please don't assume this is an article about any ordinary version though, this is about the limited edition 130 Edition. The model first arrived late last year to celebrate the manufacturer's 130th anniversary.

P.ublished 9th July 2026

Reinventing A Classic - Renault 4 Reborn

The motoring press has been most impressed with the new Renault 5. Praise has been heaped on it from all quarters and it’s easy to see why. However, lurking quietly in the shadows is another new and equally exciting EV from the French manufacturer, namely the Renault 4.

P.ublished 4th July 2026

New BMW X5 Revealed

The new fifth-generation BMW X5 has just been revealed. It is the first BMW model engineered to support five drive systems, including hydrogen, as part of its global line-up. A few key facts:First all-electric BMW iX5, with a WLTP range of up to 525 miles and fast 460 kW DC charging.

P.ublished 3rd July 2026

Range Topping Defender OCTA In The Dales

I’m a big fan of the Land Rover Defender and have been lucky enough to drive it in all body styles and with most of the different engines too. I was therefore intrigued when Land Rover launched the OCTA edition, clearly something special, but with distinctly premium pricing.

P.ublished 29th June 2026

Nearly Time For The Festival Of The Unexceptional - Tickets Still Available

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Those who like cars, will love the 2026 Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional. Thousands of memory evoking cars will return to the lawns of Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire once again on Saturday 25th July along with the best line-up of entertainment seen since the show was launched 12 years ago.

P.ublished 29th June 2026

Mazda6e – UK Launch Review

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Mazda has undoubtedly been one of the slower manufacturers to electrify their range. Up until fairly recently, the MX-30 had been the company’s only fully electric offering, and it has now been discontinued. Fear not, as I have just returned from the UK media launch of the new Mazda6e, and after a long drive through North Wales, I am ready to give my verdict.

P.ublished 27th June 2026

The Morgan Coupé is Back After a Decade

Morgan have just unveiled their latest creation, once again partnering with Italian design consultancy Pininfarina. The Midsummer Coupé is a demonstration of the new chapter the Malvern-based company is entering into - coachbuilding. The Midsummer is no new name to the Morgan line-up.

P.ublished 25th June 2026

Hot Dog Season – Beware Or Risk A Fine!

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

As is now the case, we are being warned to expect very high temperatures this week in most parts of the UK. It is summer after all, so what do we expect. And, I’m old enough to remember the hot summer of 1976. Yes, really! Most dog owners are exceptionally responsible and will walk their dogs during the cooler parts of the day. But what if you need to travel by car?

P.ublished 22nd June 2026

Mitsubishi Returns With An All-New L200 Pickup

Mitsubishi stopped selling its range of vehicles in the UK in 2021, but now the Japanese company is back with two new vehicles. At the recent launch event, I got to sample both the L200 pickup and the Outlander PHEV. The latter is a story for another day. This is the seventh generation of the L200 and it has been on sale in other markets for quite some time.

P.ublished 20th June 2026

Honda's New Super-N Compact EV Launches

Honda has revealed that its new Super-N compact EV will be priced from just £18,995 when it goes on sale in the UK. Designed to deliver an exciting and uplifting small car experience and fine-tuned on British roads, Honda says the Super-N promises a unique dynamic performance and an affordable route to electric mobility that fully showcases the brand’s’ joy of driving’ philosophy.

P.ublished 19th June 2026

Bentley's Visitor Centre Opens To The Public

Bentley Motors is now welcoming members of the public to its visitor experience centre, CW1 House, located next to the factory in Crewe where it’s free for everyone to sit in a Bentley.

P.ublished 13th June 2026

Is Audi Saving the Desirable Supercar?

Audi this past week released their latest model, the Nuvolari a reimagination of their Concept C study car from last year. It is their replacement for the much-loved R8, and it certainly wasn't on many people's radars. The Nuvolari will be the fastest production car to ever leave the factory in Ingolstadt, reaching a top speed of 218 mph.

P.ublished 13th June 2026

Arctic Trucking – A Week Of Adventures

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

The Arctic Truck AT35 is designed for those who intend to boldly go where no pickup has any right to go, whether that’s wandering through the frozen wastelands of Scandinavia and Iceland or wading through deep rainforest in warmer climes.

P.ublished 13th June 2026

Time To Go Golfing!

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

When the Golf GTI was launched in 1976, no one could have guessed that the 108bhp Volkswagen, with its red grille surround, black wheel arch extensions and golf ball gear knob, would soon become the world’s most successful compact sports car. Only 5,000 units were planned, but in the first year alone dealers sold 10 times as many.

P.ublished 30th May 2026

Is The Ferrari Luce The Real Apple Car?

Ferrari earlier this week revealed the final stage of their three-step unveil of their brand new electric car, the Luce. It is the first electric vehicle to come out of the famous Maranello manufacturer, and it has caused quite a stir. It is such a different direction from what they have previously created, but this was supposedly by intention.

P.ublished 29th May 2026

The Upcoming Jaguar TYPE 01 – A Designer’s View

It has been over a year and a half since our screens were lit up by a pink form which was meant to be from an iconic British brand. That brand being Jaguar and it is set to announce this coming autumn the new Jaguar Type 01 production car. Until now we have only seen the concept car, the Type 00 and a few cars testing in camouflage.

P.ublished 26th May 2026

Van Life – A Week With Kia’s New PV5

I attended the launch of Kia’s PV5 van just before Christmas, and I was able to try it in both commercial and passenger guises. I came away impressed, not just by the way it drove, but also by the affordable pricing for a fully electric van. Keen to try one for an extended period, I have just enjoyed a week behind the wheel of a top-spec passenger PV5 Plus and can now report further.

P.ublished 23rd May 2026

Polo Goes Electric

The new Volkswagen ID. Polo is undoubtedly one of the most important small EVs for the UK, because it takes a familiar badge and turns it into an affordable electric hatchback aimed squarely at mainstream buyers.

P.ublished 16th May 2026

Mazda CX-5 First Drive

Eager to get behind the wheel of Mazda’s all-new CX-5, a quick trip to Scotland gave me the opportunity to put the car through a thorough test on challenging and mostly traffic-free roads.

P.ublished 9th May 2026

Warrantywise Publishes Its 2026 Reliability Index

Warrantywise – a UK provider of extended used car warranties – has released its 2026 Reliability Index, analysing 1.6 million UK repair data points and highlighting a key reality for used car retailers: higher-value vehicles do not necessarily mean lower repair risk, particularly as they move into later-life ownership, with large SUVs and executive saloons featuring heavily at the lower…

P.ublished 7th May 2026

Civilised Civic – Honda’s Hatch Get Some Updates

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

The Honda Civic has been around forever. Well, over fifty years to be precise. A few years ago, I got to drive a first-generation model, which was an absolute delight. A small car, with delicate controls and modest performance, it had much to commend it over its European rivals of the day.

P.ublished 2nd May 2026

Volvo ES90 Launch Review

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

There’s something rather reassuring about a Volvo. I’ve owned a few. Not exciting in the shouty, chest-thumping sense, nor especially concerned with turning heads, but reassuring in the way a well-built dry stone wall is reassuring – solid, purposeful, and quietly confident in its own abilities.

P.ublished 25th April 2026

Celebrate Classic Cars At Eden Camp’s Drive It Day This Weekend

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Eden Camp is proudly participating in Drive It Day on Sunday 26th April, in partnership with Coast and County Radio, for what promises to be a special day celebrating classic cars and heritage. Drive It Day was established in 2005, and is now an opportunity to celebrate transport heritage.

P.ublished 22nd April 2026

Isuzu Unveils Its New D-Max Electric Pickup

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

Isuzu UK has shown The New Isuzu D-Max Electric Vehicle (EV) in right-hand drive at the Commercial Vehicle Show 2026. Announced in 2025 and previously shown in a European format, the new D-Max EV is the first fully electric pick-up in the UK to provide over 1-tonne payload, 3.5-tonne towing capacity and permanent four-wheel drive.

P.ublished 21st April 2026

The God’s Country Classic Car Rally 17 October 2026

Proud Yorkshiremen and women have often called our county ‘God’s Own Country’ Inspired by this description a small group of local business leaders including the Chair of the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust Ed Anderson, the former Chair Tom Ramsden and two prominent Yorkshire businessmen Jonathan Turner and Jonathan Sands OBE have come together to showcase our County with a Classic Car Rally w…

P.ublished 17th April 2026

Touring, BMW-Style. The i5 On Test

There is something quietly reassuring about a BMW Touring. For decades, it has been the thinking driver’s estate—subtle, capable, and possessed of a certain Teutonic restraint. Now, with the arrival of the BMW i5 Touring, that familiar formula is reimagined for the electric age.

P.ublished 11th April 2026

Forming A Close Bond - Daniel Craig And BYD's DENZA Brand

BYD group has announced that British actor Daniel Craig is launching a new campaign for DENZA, its premium technology-oriented automotive brand, to coincide with its global expansion in 2026.

P.ublished 30th March 2026

A Quick Peaq!

Škoda Auto is set to expand its portfolio in mid-2026 with the fully electric Peaq SUV, based on the Vision 7S concept. Built on the Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) platform and produced in Mladá Boleslav, the model becomes the Czech car manufacturer’s new electric flagship.

P.ublished 30th March 2026

Electric Van Life – Farizon SV On Test

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

The Farizon SV is a new Chinese built, all electric van that has recently entered the UK market, aiming squarely at established models like the Ford Transit, Vauxhall Vivaro and Renault Traffic. It is backed by Geely, the same automotive group behind Volvo and LEVC.

P.ublished 28th March 2026

Ineos Grenadiers Now On RNLI Duties

Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor

As an official vehicle partner of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), INEOS Automotive has delivered the first batch of Grenadier 4X4s to support the charity’s vital lifesaving search and rescue work.

P.ublished 24th March 2026

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