Description

It’s a bumper issue for news, with all the cars destined for the Frankfurt motor show making their debut in the November 2017 issue of DieselCar and EcoCar magazine, including the new Dacia Duster, the facelifted Ford EcoSport, upgraded Kia Sorento and the Vauxhall Insignia GSi, amongst a long list of others.

In this month’s twin test, we pitch two of the most expensive diesels on sale in the UK, the Bentley Bentayga and long wheelbase Range Rover. We’ve also been behind the wheel of the all-new Volkswagen Polo, the updated Mazda CX-3 and Ford Mondeo Nero Vignale. And with a 4×4 theme to this month’s issue, we test the Volvo V90 Cross Country, Skoda Octavia Scout, Land Rover Discovery Sport SD4 and Renault Kadjar 4×4.

In this month’s A-to-Z, it’s focused on everything you need to know about towing, 4x4s and off-roading. Richard Dredge meets members of the Land Rover CVC register, which specialises in factory owned and significant models from the company’s past, including some rather special Freelanders, Discoverys and Range Rovers. Elsewhere, Gavin Braithwaite-Smith says goodbye to Skoda’s Yeti in great style, and James Fossdyke goes sand duning in a Nissan Navara pick-up.

In EcoCar, we’ve got the first information on Nissan’s second-generation Leaf, news about Jaguar’s electrification plans, and take a look at the MINI Electric Concept, the updated BMW i3 and the Honda CR-V Hybrid. We also test the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid on UK roads for the first time.

Tested:

• Bentley Bentayga Diesel
• Ford Mondeo Nero Vignale 2.0 TDCi 5-door
• Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE Dynamic Luxury 2.0 TD4 4WD
• Mazda CX-3 2WD SE-L Nav
• Range Rover LWB SVAutobiography 4.4 SDV8
• Renault Kadjar Signature dCi 130 4WD
• Skoda Octavia Scout 2.0 TDI 4X4
• Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid Business Plus 1.8 VVT-i
• Volkswagen Polo Beats 1.6 TDI
• Volvo V90 Cross Country D5 PowerPulse AWD

Long-term test reports:

• Audi A3 Sportback S line 2.0 TDI
• Citroen C3 Flair BlueHDi 100
• Ford Edge Titanium 2.0 TDCi Automatic
• Kia Optima Sportswagon GT-Line S 1.7 CRDi Automatic
• Mazda3 SE-L Nav 1.5 5-door
• Mitsubishi ASX 4 1.6 DI-D 4WD
• Peugeot 3008 Allure BlueHDi 120
• Renault Scenic Dynamique S dCi 130
• SEAT Leon ST SE Dynamic Technology 1.6 TDI DSG Automatic
• Skoda Octavia SE L 2.0 TDI
• Suzuki Ignis SZ5 SHVS 1.2 Dualjet Mild Hybrid

Features:

• 4×4, Off-road and Towing special – an A-To-Z
• Land Rover CVC Register – An insight into the owner’s club that is interested in Land Rover owned and special vehicles of historic value
• Sand dune driving in a Nissan X-Trail pick-up
• Goodbye Skoda Yeti

Used Car Buyer’s Guide

• Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 V6 TDI (2014-onwards)