First Drive
First Drive : Land Rover Defender Electric prototype
First thing’s first… After reading this, don’t head over to your local Land Rover dealer and expect to be able to hand over a deposit for a new Defender Electric. Land Rover will tell you it’s an engineering programme evaluating whether battery power is suited to the most arduous of terrain and conditions – and, [...]
June 4, 2013
· 
Keith Adams · 
27 Comments
First Drive : Nissan LEAF
John Slavin The Nissan LEAF receives its first facelift, and although it doesn’t look much different, it receives a raft of changes that makes it more usable, and affordable, with an innovative battery leasing programme. Most importantly for AROnline readers, it’s made in Britain, adding a small but important chunk of output from Britain’s largest car [...]
April 18, 2013
· Keith Adams · 52 Comments
First Drive : Jaguar F-Type
Honest John The Jaguar F-Type has finally arrived, more than 50 years after Jaguar launched the E-type to an awestruck world. And Jaguar is back to building sports cars, to complement its grand tourers and saloons. Just as the E-type’s separate passenger tub and engine frame were revolutionary in their day, the F-Type breaks new [...]
April 17, 2013
· Keith Adams · 40 Comments
First Drive : MINI Clubvan Cooper D
Keith Adams takes a trip to Reims in France to see if the Clubvan makes a convincing case for itself as the ultimate lifestyle light commercial vehicle. And, of course, whether it’s suited to Champagne deliveries… Club Express As assignments go, this is not a bad one. We’re to pick up a new MINI Clubvan [...]
February 23, 2013
· Keith Adams · 66 Comments
First Drive : MINI John Cooper Works GP
Considering the MINI is due for replacement in 2014, the number of new variants rolling out of Cowley in its final few months shows that the brand is keen to maintain buyers’ attention. For its latest version, MINI is reviving the limited edition two-seat 2006 Works GP, creating the fastest production version of them all. [...]
January 31, 2013
· Keith Adams · 62 Comments
First Drive : Dacia Sandero 0.9 TCe
AROnline and its merry band of readers seems to have adopted the Dacia Sandero as one of its own. As Britain’s cheapest new car weighing in at just £5995, it has a lot going for it – and if it has flaws, they’re forgivable for the money. Aren’t they? John Slavin, Honest John The Dacia [...]
December 5, 2012
· Keith Adams · 70 Comments
First Drive : MG6 GT 1.9DTI SE
We’ve been waiting such a long time for this car and there’s a lot riding on it. The MG6 was launched amidst a sense of quiet optimism at Longbridge in May 2011 but, very quickly, it established itself as a slow-seller. Many people blamed the lack of marketing and publicity; and even more decried it for the absence of [...]
November 21, 2012
· Keith Adams · 68 Comments
First Drive : MINI Paceman
David Ross, Honest John You have to admire the MINI brand. What started out as the ‘new’ MINI back in 2001 has expanded into a range of models including the Clubman, the Roadster and the Countryman. The latter raised a few eyebrows when it was unveiled and hasn’t proved universally popular among the critics, while [...]
November 10, 2012
· Keith Adams · 53 Comments
First Drive : Jaguar XF Sportbrake
David Ross, Honest John You can forgive Jaguar for the rather elaborate name. What we used to call an estate is now rather more grand thanks to the Sportbrake label. But then this is more than simply an estate version of the XF. The Sportbrake is a key model for Jaguar as it looks to [...]
November 6, 2012
· Keith Adams · 42 Comments
First Drive : MG6 in New Zealand
China-built MG makes its mark Ross Kiddie, New Zealand Herald The MG marque has made a comeback on the New Zealand market, this time carrying the marks of its Chinese makers. The famous British brand of sports cars and convertibles has relaunched here under the direction of British Motor Distributors. MG, an abbreviation for Morris [...]
September 8, 2012
· Keith Adams · 16 Comments
First Drive : Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost
Keith Adams spends a week behind the wheel of Ford’s astonishing 1.0-litre Focus EcoBoost – and wonders if this UK designed three-pot really does represent the beginning of the end of the diesel in Blighty… Twenty twelve – is it the beginning of the end of the popular diesel in the UK? It certainly seems [...]
July 25, 2012
· Keith Adams · 77 Comments
First Drive : Range Rover Evoque ED4 Pure Coupe
The Evoque has been a massive hit for Land Rover – as soon as it was launched, demand for the stylish mini-SUV-crossover with concept car looks outstripped supply, and a waiting list has built up. But despite that, it seems that we’re seeing Evoques everywhere – and good British design on our roads is back [...]
May 11, 2012
· Keith Adams · 11 Comments
First Drive : Vauxhall VXR8 Maloo
Over the past ten years, the VXR brand has slowly established itself as the bad-boy performance badge for people who are looking for something a little ragged than the usual European opposition. Of course, this reputation for wildness has been ably assisted by the addition of the Monaro in 2004 – a badge-engineered Holden that [...]
March 29, 2012
· Keith Adams · 39 Comments
First Drive : Jaguar XKR-S Convertible
Keith Adams Speaking to Jaguar engineers, one thing that they’re particularly proud of is just how little separates the XKR-S Coupe and the Convertible dynamically. They’ll tell you that it does what it needs to at the Nurburgring Nordschliefe, and can complete the lap in a time that starts with a ‘seven’. So, seriously capable. [...]
February 16, 2012
· Keith Adams · 22 Comments
What the papers say : MINI Coupe
Keith Adams AROnline‘s invite to the MINI Coupe launch in Austria coincided with one broken foot, so we’ve yet to sample the delights of Britain’s newest coupe first hand. It’s a fascinating car, the R58, and one that’s certainly dividing the opinions of our readership – but the undoubted facts are that it’s well judged [...]
September 23, 2011
· Keith Adams · 17 Comments
What the papers say : Range Rover Evoque
Keith Adams The Range Rover Evoque has gone down a storm if the first tranche of drives at the International launch are anything to go by. It’s a genre-busting car, which Land Rover is hoping, will encourage style conscious user-choosers out of their Audi TTs and into something a whole lot more practical. We’ve yet [...]
July 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 35 Comments
First Drive : Lotus Evora IPS
Keith Adams An amazing thing happened back in 2008 - global sales of two-pedal cars overtook their three-pedal counterparts. Roads have become more congested and so fewer people want the bother of a clutch. That’s why so many supercars are fitted with paddle-shifters – and why Lotus has launched the Evora IPS – Intelligent Precision Shift. IPS adds £1800 [...]
June 19, 2011
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
First Drive : Jaguar XKR-S
Keith Adams There’s no doubt about it – Jaguar is on form right now. The marque has a three-car range that it can truly be proud of, is generating record profits and looks set for a huge production increase with the arrival of the XF 2.2D later this year so it’s on the back of this burgeoning [...]
June 7, 2011
· Keith Adams · 48 Comments
First Drive : MINI Cooper SD
Richard Aucock MINI has officially done what aftermarket tuners have been doing for years: fit a big-capacity motor to a car which still competes in a small capacity sector.
May 3, 2011
· Keith Adams · 42 Comments
Track Test : Potential buyers evaluate the MG6 1.8T TSE Fastback
Words: Clive Goldthorp Photographs: Simon Davies/Pegasus Photographics AROnline’s Editor, Keith Adams, has already given readers his First Drive impressions of the new MG6 1.8T TSE and, like our colleagues at Autocar, Auto Express and CAR Magazine, he concluded that ‘it’s rather good, with one or two rough edges.’
March 26, 2011
· Clive Goldthorp · 9 Comments
