I drove 15 cars in a day and this £35k hybrid was | Tech News

It can usually really feel as if the UK car market is one SUV after one other, nevertheless it isn’t. A reminder of this is the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) annual check day. It’s held on the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire and it’s an alternative for journalists and content material creators to get behind the wheel of the newest cars of all shapes and sizes.

Some of the cars are new, some are nearly-near, some are used, some are fast, some are sluggish, some are great, some are good, and some are none of these issues. It’s an alternative for journalists to be taught a new car or refresh themselves of an previous one. Driving to Millbrook in my beloved MINI, to me one of the best driving used cars on the market, I was capable of pattern 15 cars in complete. And under is what I assume was the best (and worst).

fifteenth: Aion V – £36,450

The Aion V is a model new SUV from China. It retails from round £36,000 and it was exhausting to get a learn on on the SMMT Test Day, in half as a result of I wasn’t capable of take it on the Alpine Handling Course. As a consequence there’s a small asterisk hooked up to this abstract. However, when I took it to and on town course, it stopped, it steered, it moved, and ticked the bins one would hope a household SUV. It was mushy and had a large boot, however I was left with more questions than solutions total.

*Unable to take it on the alpine handling course in contrast to the others.

14th: Smart #1 – £29,960

Growing up in the late-Nineteen Nineties and early-2000s Smarts had been small and intelligent cars. I keep in mind the Four Two and Four Four and the gorgeous Smart Roadsters with their tiny engines. This #1 is a small-ish electric SUV which is much less straightforward to make use of than different small-ish SUVs – in half attributable to its large touchscreen. It additionally isn’t as enjoyable to drive, and has a key you may’t put on a key ring.

It has regenerative braking, nevertheless it comes in and out at instances you don’t need it too, comparable to in the center of corners. What it does have going for it’s that it’s good to have a look at and isn’t as costly as some rivals, however please give us some more buttons.

thirteenth: Jaecoo E5 – £27,505

The final time I drove the Jaecoo E5 on the Goodwood Media Day earlier this 12 months I wasn’t that impressed. The journey in specific felt exhausting, like there wasn’t any give in the suspension. I was instructed it was low cost and it seemed, felt, and drove prefer it. However, the E5 I drove on the SMMT Media Day was a very completely different animal; undoubtedly higher damping, undoubtedly more really feel, undoubtedly felt higher put collectively. Not a class chief, however an enchancment.

twelfth: Chery Tiggo 9 – £43,105

Having pushed the Chery Tiggo 8 and not been that enamoured with it I was braced for the Chery Tiggo 9. I recall being instructed by somebody it was the company’s flagship model. When the Jaecoo 7 is promoting great weapons it’s received to be one hell of a ship. It’s not unhealthy, nevertheless it’s not great both. At the tip of the day it’s a large, mushy, and snug box that grips, stops, and steers. Not a large bar admittedly, nevertheless it does genuinely really feel nicely put collectively and far more refined than I was anticipating.

eleventh: Jaecoo 7 – £29,210

I have a quiet, more of a whisper now I’ve written it, admiration for Jaecoo 7. Dubbed the ‘Temu Range Rover’, it has change into fairly the staple on British roads, the primary Chinese car to take action I would say. Truth be instructed it stunned me. It felt, and this isn’t a criticism, like an previous Land Rover Freelander, and that was a enjoyable car to drive. The Jaecoo 7 is broad, nevertheless it has a short wheelbase, however doesn’t play any methods on you. Like different Chinese SUVs, and different SUVs for that matter, it had a little understeer, nevertheless it felt higher at cornering than its best-selling competitor the Ford Puma.

tenth: Peugeot 308 SW – £31,195

Sometimes all you need is one thing reassuring, snug, and relaxed. A non-electric property car is one of these issues. So is the Peugeot 308 SW fortunately. It’s received good pull; it’s low to the ground, and with a large boot, it ought to have room for a lot of the package and caboodle a household wants. One factor I did discover was that when you put the seat and steering wheel in the improper place, albeit the correct one for my driving wants, the highest of the steering wheel blocks the instrument binnacle (that bit the place your speedo and different data is). Not a main mark down given the circumstances, simply fascinating. I’d beforehand pushed a quicker saloon model of this car and that was one of the best ones I drove in 2024.

ninth: MG Cyberster

Now this is one thing you don’t come throughout each day, an electric two seat convertible sports activities car with scissor doorways. Made by Anglo-Chinese company MG, it manages to evoke some of the spirit of Sixties/70s motoring – when MG was recognized for building their MG B and MG B GT – with trendy reliability. Being sincere, this meant the outer wheels felt a bit spongy after they had been loaded up, however in our potholed world this most likely isn’t such a unhealthy factor. The scissor doorways and entire shebang round opening and closing them felt a bit gimmicky, nevertheless it doesn’t make the MG any much less pleasurable to drive.

eighth: Nissan Micra – £21,495

The Nissan Micra has been round for many years now, and the newest model shares a platform with the frankly good Renault 5. But don’t go pondering it’s a Renault sporting a completely different coat, even when some of the controls are the identical. Whilst the new Nissan has the Renault’s nimbleness, chassis steadiness and powertrain, it differs in that it is a little bit softer. Softer isn’t unhealthy by the best way, I like the truth that regardless of the actual fact they share a platform, the 2 cars have completely different personalities. Decent car this, I sit up for seeing if will probably be mirrored in gross sales.

seventh: BMW Z4 – Around £45,000

Besides my own car, this was the one one with a guide gearbox I drove all day on the Test Day. One of the great issues about guide gearboxes is that, more than in different cars, they pressure you to assume and interact even more with what you’re doing. To get probably the most out of a guide car, whether or not it’s from a efficiency or economical perspective, it’s important to take into consideration while you change gear. Despite it is heavy clutch and barely offset pedals, the BMW Z4 was first rate to drive and reminder there are nonetheless good driver’s cars on the market. It additionally had the legal guidelines of physicsl working for it with its low weight and highly effective engine. However, I should admit while it was one of the higher cars on the SMMT check day, I would buy its coupe cousin the Toyota Supra.

sixth: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – £65,800

When the Hyundai Ioniq 5 got here out many thought it seemed, from the aspect, just like the well-known Lancia Delta Integrale, however greater. That well-known and stunning Italian car went on to dominate the World Rally Championship. Having now pushed the N model of the Ioniq 5, I am intrigued to know how a model of this car with a pair of slick tyres would truthful in opposition to Lancia’s present Rally 2 offering. It grips and grips and grips via the corners, flat as pancake in an virtually Terminator like fashion. It’s very pleasurable to drive a car as hooked up to the highway, and pushing in opposition to the legal guidelines of physics, like this one.

fifth: Kia PV5 – £32,995

The Kia PV5 is an electric MPV, and there aren’t many of these round. What it’s although, is jolly good, so good I named it the best electric car I drove all day on the SMMT Test Day in a latest article. It handles nicely, it’s sensible, it doesn’t roll an excessive amount of in the corners. If you’ve received a giant household and need to get that giant household from place to position, contemplate it. It appears cool too which helps.

4th: Maserati Granturismo – £191,820

The most costly and strongest car on this checklist, the Maserati was great enjoyable. I liked how lithe it felt, how pressing, and thrilling. Apart from needing to watch out for that low nostril, it was a pleasure.

third: Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid – £18,995

With the likes of the Citroen Ami (I know that’s a quadricycle however let me have this one), the Picanto, returning Citroen 2CV, potential return of the Ford Fiesta, and continuation of the MINI Cooper Hatch, it looks like small cars are set for a resurgence. Those cars, each present and future, may have a job preserving up with the Fiat Panda Hybrid for proving that a small sensible car with a small engine could be this good.

2nd: Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio – £87,056

I’ve at all times had a mushy spot for the Giulia Quadrifoglio. It’s a car that jogs my memory that cars could be locations not simply to flee to, however to assume, typically to a life altering extent. However, even from a purely goal mechanical standpoint, it’s a car that’s gentle on its ft, enjoyable to drive, and simply a pleasure. It reminds us what we’ll miss if the world goes quiet and we lose the combustion engine fully. We need more cars like this, bravo to Alfa Romeo for preserving it in their line-up.

1st: Honda Civic eHEV – £35,945

The Honda wins this arms down predominantly for the mixture of its impeccable handling and its clever powertrain. I’ve not pushed many cars that deal with this nicely, this sharply, this communicatively. It evokes confidence and you quickly neglect that petrol engine and hybrid system are doing a intelligent dance below the bonnet. As it’s a comparatively sizeable hatchback, it’s sensible too.