Citroen DS3 ON THE ROAD

Review & Photos by Rob McSorley

At launch Citroen's DS3 had a lot to live up to spearheading the launch of the brands new premium DS range which promised to offer buyers a previously unseen level of premium luxury missing from the companies mainstream models. Entering the hotly contested premium hatch market dominated by the hugely successful MINI and Fiat 500 the DS3 had to be very good to succeed. Since then there have been further additions to the class from Audi and Vauxhall so we hit the road in a top spec DSport equipped with PSA's peppy 1.6 THP petrol engine to find out if it still has what it takes to compete.

Volkswagen Beetle Design 2.0-litre TDI DSG BRIEF ENCOUNTER

Review & Photos by Rob McSorley

It's no secret that currently retro is cool. You could be fooled into thinking that it all started with BMW's runaway success the MINI but Volkswagen’s Beetle predated it by a good few years. 

Sadly in comparison the 'new' Beetle seemed like a poor regurgitated imitation of the original Beetle. If you squinted hard enough it sure looked like a Beetle but everything else was pretty ordinary including its bland VW parts bin interior (dashboard vase aside) and so-so drive from its Golf derived underpinnings.

2012 saw the launch of this, the second generation car which promises to up the game in response to the now more crowded sector occupied by not only the MINI but Fiat's 500; not forgetting the 'anti-retro' Citroen DS3.