Independent Reviews of New and Used Cars

With the original A1, this Ingolstadt maker pioneered the idea of a premium supermini. With this second generation version, they aim to perfect it. Jonathan Crouch tries the 30 TFSI variant.

The Verso has always been a car you bought because it made sense. This one though, does a bit more than that. Its compact seven-seat family layout still ruthlessly ticks almost every practical box. And it remains a solidly appealing take-it-as-you-find-it, get-the-job-done kind of vehicle that's thoroughly user-friendly, especially with its easy-to-operate seating system. As before, you'll find that almost nothing will go wrong and that everything will feel just right. All that we've known since the third generation version of this Toyota was launched in 2009. The difference with this facelifted MK3 model though was that this recipe came with the injection of a little extra luxury and a lot of extra personality. True, those aren't the attributes that will have first prompted you to buy a People Carrier but in a closely-fought market where every contender seems similarly specced, they're the things that can make the difference. And they created in this car a quieter, smarter, more efficient, more comfortable and just plain better Verso. Overall, there are few more practical, more reliable or better built choices from this era in this segment. So with this MPV, you can make a head choice with a bit of heart too.

The BMW i8 Roadster re-defines the art of open-topped sports car design. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

ŠKODA's Scala claims to bring something a little different to the family hatchback class. Jonathan crouch takes a look.

BMW's 8 Series Convertible is a big step forward from its predecessor, thinks Jonathan Crouch