Long-term tests

There might as well be blue lights fitted to the roof of our long-term Volkswagen Golf. My family was recently plunged into chaos when my wife rupture…

I am starting to feel sorry for my Nissan Micra. If you've read any of the previous long-term reports on the supermini, you'll know that it's been giv…

Skoda has a rich rally heritage and Auto Express's road test editor, Oliver Marriage, has sampled it for himself, campaigning a Group A Fabia last yea…

Believe it or not, Fidel Castro and I have something in common, and it's not a love of big cigars or an interest in long speeches. It's a lot simpler …

It's amazing the amount of abuse that some cars can put up with. They are subjected to virtually no washing, servicing or TLC, and still they keep chu…

Fun to drive - that's most people's verdict on our long-term Citroen C2 VTS. But not mine. I never thought I'd say this, but I really couldn't give a …

I can't say I'm much into boats. Even though I used to live only a short walk away from a bustling little riverside repair yard, I have always been, w…

Bottoms up! That was the toast to the Toyota Corolla Verso after it proved the ideal companion on a booze cruise to France a couple of weeks ago. The …

I'm developing selective hearing. No, I'm not going deaf due to the children in the back of our new CLK, but friends and family are constantly express…

It's amazing what advertising can do for a car's image. Take our Mitsubishi Colt, for example. When we got the keys to the 1.5-litre DI-D Equippe last…

Listen carefully... our Smart has an undiagnosed illness. The ForFour is been getting noisier by the day.

My son Connor is desperate to follow in daddy's footsteps when it comes to earning a living. But as you can see, he's got a while to go before he can …

Everything's changing at the moment. Parliament has been dissolved before a General Election, the cardinals are electing a new Pope, and we've just be…

There have been two major surprises to running the V50 for the past eight months and 17,000 miles. Firstly, it's proved more practical than many in th…

When was the last time you paid any attention to a car alarm? Well, by the time it had sounded for the fifth time in a row, the system fitted to our n…

The message in our Driver Power 2005 survey was clear: people really love their Hondas.

It's been a slow start to life on our fleet for the Mazda 3 - literally. As consumer reporter, much of my time is spent in the city ferrying products …

In my last report (issue 841), I told you I had some winter tyres fitted to our long-term fleet's VW Golf, and as you can see, I'm pretty pleased I pu…

In the late Eighties, a chap in a suit wouldn't be seen dead polishing his pride and joy Skoda outside an upmarket residence. But how times have chang…

I'm sorry but it just won't wash! In last week's magazine, our Products section reported on the latest 'soft' car washes. While I can't vouch for the …

So my Italian love affair is soon to be over, with the departure of our long-term Fiat Panda, but in true romantic style, the experience hasn't always…

No, I haven't enrolled on a car mechanic's course, nor have I started bringing my tools into work. What you see in the picture is me with my 'Nissan M…

I was like a child on Christmas morning when I heard I would be running our long-term Toyota Corolla Verso

Oh no, I've turned into a boy racer - and it's all Citroen's fault. There I was, finally beginning to act my age, and then I get a C2 VTS to run as a …

As with any group of car buyers, the staff at Auto Express are a diverse bunch - and our long-term test fleet has to satisfy a real spread of requirem…

After five months on our fleet, the Crossfire Roadster had become a firm favourite. Few could resist its posing credentials, and as its return to Chry…

There's a bit of internal rivalry going on in our office concerning our long-term Mitsubishi Colt. As the newest member of staff, I've been made the c…

What's the mark of a good long-term car? Simple: the number of people who ask to borrow it. Ever since the Volvo V50 arrived last July, I've been inun…

Regular readers will know how highly we rate the new Ford Focus. It's one of the most important cars of 2005 - so we were anxious to have an example o…

Here are some economy figures for you. If you were driving a Laguna with a 3.0-litre V6 under the bonnet, Renault says you should return 28mpg. If it …

Does size matter? I always thought so. As Auto Express's consumer editor, I need a car capable of carrying the hundreds of samples we get through on o…

It hasn't taken long for us to get over our grief... the little red Roadster has gone, and in its place is an altogether more grown-up Smart

The brief was simple: transport two people and their luggage across France cheaply, efficiently and in comfort. Low European diesel prices and high fu…

Those who keep a close eye on the comings and goings of our fleet will notice our Honda Accord Tourer seems to have changed colour.

The Fiat Panda is a giant among cars - well, it is if you take it to Legoland and park it next to scale models of the London landmarks! Joking aside, …

Radio-controlled cars may be only a fraction of the size of the real thing, but when you have to transport 20 of them (for our forthcoming Christmas t…