Description

Land Rover has evolved the Range Rover Evoque, and we have the first details of the second-generation car. We’ve also been testing the Citroën C5 Aircross on some pretty disgraceful roads in Morocco, and that bodes well for when the car arrives here in the UK next February. Both the Ford Focus Estate and Vignale have been tested by James Fossdyke this month, and we’ve got behind the wheel of the facelifted Mazda6. Vauxhall’s Grandland X has been updated with a new 1.5-litre diesel engine and we test it this month.

Hyundai’s new Santa Fe faces one of its strongest opponents, the Kia Sorento – which one wins in this tough SUV showdown? Ford’s Ka+ is on test with its new 1.5-litre TDCi engine and Honda’s Civic has sprouted a boot for a new four-door saloon edition, and we deliver our verdict. We’re a big fan of the hatchback, so is the four-door version as good? In EcoCar, Honda’s CR-V Hybrid is put through its paces by Phil Huff, and we drive the facelifted version of the Skoda Fabia in 1.0 TSI Colour Edition guise. Right at the top of the Lexus range, the LS 500h is aiming to redefine the luxury car market – read our verdict on the near £100k car.

As it’s the Christmas edition, we’ve got some fun features too, including a race across Europe in a Citroën 2CV and Tesla Model X. Each of these vehicles have challenges, with the tin snail barely able to hit the UK legal limit and the electric car needs charging regularly, but which one arrives first in the South of France? Seán Ward takes a trip to the Peugeot museum in Sochaux and we’ve got the annual Christmas Crossword to give your brain a workout. There’s also some Christmas gift ideas in our three-page Product Inspector.

There are also all your favourites including Doctor Diesel, Marketplace, The Extra Mile, Buying, Maintaining and Selling, and the most up-to-date data section in the business.

Tested:

• Citroen C5 Aircross Flair Plus BlueHDi 180 Automatic
• Ford Ka+ Zetec 1.5 TDCi
• Ford Focus Vignale 2.0 EcoBlue Automatic
• Ford Focus Estate ST-Line 1.5 EcoBlue
• Honda Civic Saloon SR 1.6 i-DTEC
• Honda CR-V Hybrid SR 2WD
• Hyundai Santa Fe Premium SE 2.2 CRDi AWD Automatic
• Kia Sorento GT-Line S 2.2 CRDi AWD Automatic
• Lexus LS 500h Premier AWD
• Mazda6 GT SportNav+
• Skoda Fabia Colour Edition 1.0 TSI
• Vauxhall Grandland X Sport Nav 1.5 Turbo D BlueInjection

Long-term test reports:

• Audi Q5 S line 2.0 TDI quattro
• Dacia Logan MCV Stepway Laureate dCi 90
• DS 7 Crossback Performance Line BlueHDi 180 Automatic
• Ford Kuga Vignale 2.0 TDCi AWD Automatic
• Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC SR
• Kia Stinger GT-Line S 2.2 CRDi Automatic
• Mazda6 Tourer GT Sport Nav+
• Nissan Leaf Tekna Automatic
• Peugeot 5008 GT BlueHDi 180 Automatic
• SEAT Ibiza FR 1.6 TDI
• Suzuki Swift 1.0 Boosterjet Hybrid SZ5

Features:

• EcoCar Citroen 2CV vs Tesla race across Europe
• Sochaux Peugeot museum
• Christmas crossword
• Christmas Product Inspector gift guide

Used Car Buyer’s Guide

• SsangYong Tivoli

Regulars

• News and views
• What’s On
• Marketplace Statistics
• Marketplace In The Pipeline
• Marketplace What’s New
• Doctor Diesel
• Tuning News
• Highway Cod
• Legal i
• The Extra Mile
• Buying, Selling and Maintaining
• Product Inspector
• EcoCar News and views
• EcoCar Marketplace
• EcoCar Bright Spark