Independent Reviews of New and Used Cars

The improvements made to this E-Class Coupe - the more efficient engines, the smart looks, the extra equipment - have certainly been welcome but the essence of its appeal has changed very little. As you'd expect, it delivers the powerful, luxurious, Grand Touring sports coupe brand values you'd expect from a £40,000-£65,000 luxury Mercedes coupe. In driving it, in owning it, you feel another more elegant level away from owners of the brand's less aspirational C-Class Coupe. And a cut above the sporting two-door models that car competes with, coupes like BMW's 4 Series and Audi's A5. There's a maturity and a class here that these sportier rivals lack. They could never be considered as a wise and cost-efficient alternative to spending £30,000-£40,000 more on a Maserati GranTurismo or BMW 6 Series. This Mercedes could be. And that about sums it up.

Volvo's MK3 model S60 saloon has the market's most elite mid-sized executive saloon models in its sights. If you're thinking of something 3 Series-sized, Jonathan Crouch thinks you should also consider an S60 too.

A ŠKODA Octavia was once the least sophisticated of all the Volkswagen Group's family hatchback products. Not any more. Almost nothing has been held back for this third generation version, which now features a hi-tech 1.0-litre TSI entry-level petrol engine, the option of adaptive damping further up the range and more sophisticated optional smartphone connectivity. The two bodystyles - hatch and estate - both feature smarter styling and are mated with TSI petrol or TDI diesel power. Petrol-wise, the range now starts with a clever 115PS three cylinder unit in the case of the entry-level version. Above that sits a 150PS 1.5 TSI derivative or a 2.0 TSI vRS variant offering 230 or 245PS. Diesel drivers choose between 1.6 or 2.0-litre TDI units and there's the choice of six main trim levels - S, SE, SE Technology, SE L, Laurin & Klement and vRS. 4WD is an option with the 2.0 TDI engine.

The fifth generation Honda's CR-V makes plenty of sense in Hybrid form, thinks Jonathan Crouch