Herald Express; Torquay (UK)

Just Right for These Hard Times

TIMES might be hard but there's no doubt - we've never had it so good, writes John Powell. Never had it so good, that is, if you happen to be a car driver and you are on the look out for a new car. OK, I know there's a credit crunch on and motor manufacturers are squealing, quite rightly so, but even they admit that maybe as many as 1.7 million new cars will be bought this year. That figure might be well down on the 2.1 million sold last year, and the 2.4 million the year before, but it's sti...

Audi's Q5 Proves Its Worth

WITH most of its immediate rivals mid-range with their offerings, Audi could hardly have chosen a better time to bring out the Q5, writes Reg Burnard. Apart, that is, from the fact that the country is in deep recession and the car market has been falling like a lead balloon. But, Audi hasn't become second only to BMW in the posh car sector without boldness and, in some part, brilliance. The company takes the view that the market is still there; so go forth and sell.

Slash Your Fuel Bills by Pounds 300 ; Jeremy Walton Faces a Fuel Saving Challenge - and It's All Down to a Driver's Right Foot

WANT to save Pounds 300 or more on your fuel bills? Of course, but you don't have to buy expensive kit to save that cash and lower your carbon tyre-print. How? As I found out in a recent urban driving challenge, the answer is in your right foot. Using the accelerator and the brake sparingly also has obvious safety benefits. Such driver sensitivity yields astonishing economy benefits, besides extending tyre and brake life to save you more.

New Polo Promises to Be a Breath of Fresh Air

WITH motorists down-sizing and down pricing their cars due to the escalating cost of motoring, the new Volkswagen Polo, which goes on sale on October 16, should be well place to retain sales in the highly competitive supermini sector and steal buyers from the bigger end of the market, writes David Miles. Five-door models, built in South Africa, are the first to arrive and three-door versions, built in Spain, will be here by the end of the year.

Classic Car Drivers Rally for Poppy Appeal

THE Healey Drivers' Club autumn run - the eighth Exmoor Rut for classic cars - takes place on October 11 this year with the chosen charity being the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal. The run starts at the South Devon Railway's Buckfastleigh Station, where there will be a collection organised by Royal British Legion members, with the first cars "flagged away" just before 10am. The cars will pass through the Haldon Forest to Exeter and then along the Exe Valley to Dulverton before heading up...