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Honest John
Honest John (honestjohn.co.uk) has great Audi news, photos, videos and more
Wednesday, Dec 3
Audi A4 B6 Avant
Elsewhere at www.honestjohn.co.uk you'll find a test of the new A4 saloon range. It covers driving impressions of the 130bhp 2.0 litre petrol manual, the 150bhp 1.8T petrol quattro manual, the 130bhp 1.9TDI five-speed manual; the 180bhp 2.5TDI V6 quattro six-speed manual and front drive versi...
Sunday, Jun 8
Audi A4 B8 Avant Road Test
Just as night follows day, the wagon version of a new car follows the saloon. But an A4 Avant is more than just an estate car. It’s a brand in itself. I remember the launch of the A4 B6 Avant in Berlin. The saloon had been out for at least 9 months. Yet nevertheless the excitement on the faces of people i...
Monday, Jun 2
Ford Kuga Road Test
What do you do when you’re second last to join the party? Everyone else has been there for hours. Some even from 5 o’clock. So how do you suddenly become life and soul? For the small SUV shindig, Ford made its Kuga best to drive. There are gimmicks, of course. Including a hatchback within a hatchba...
Monday, Apr 28
Audi A3 cabrio Road Test
We tested the new A3 Cabrio on a perfect day. Half way through our drive the skies opened and it rained cats, dogs, frogs and fishes. Ideal weather to check Audi’s claim that you can get the roof over your head in 9 seconds flat. Audi made some interesting claims about that roof. The advantages of f...
Wednesday, Jan 30
VW Tiguan Road Test
Oh, no, not another 4x4. Are the roads really that bad? What next: an Audi Hiawatha? By my count the VW Tiguan numbers the 63rd SUV on the UK market. Should you be even remotely interested? Well, first there’s the badge. VW reliability might not be as legendary as it was. But that Beastie Boy medal...
Friday, Oct 19
SEAT Altea Freetrack
When I first drove the SEAT Altea I didn’t like it. And that was not because the launch was in Watford rather then Altea. I couldn’t get on with the way the tall body handled, the 140 diesel that bogged down then catapulted the car forward, and the coalface of a dashboard. But since then it’s been a...
Thursday, Oct 4
Audi A4 B8
Updated Tuesday 22nd January 2008 Just as Porsche has developed increasingly sophisticated solutions to overcome the fundamental imbalance of an engine overhanging the back wheels, Audi has had to do the same job at the front. Worst of all were the old iron block five-cylinder Audi 100 d...
Tuesday, May 29
Chevrolet Captiva
Despite the protestations of earth huggers, four-wheel-drive cars seem to be breeding at an alarming rate. Not too long ago the Vauxhall Frontera had the ‘Sports Utility Vehicle’ niche pretty much to itself. And if you wanted something bigger you could have a Discovery, a Shogun or a Range...
Monday, Apr 23
Ford New Mondeo
There are three minor faults with the new Mondeo. In strong sunlight the dash vent grille reflects in the windscreen. You can’t always easily see the information display in the centre of the instrument cluster. And the quality of the cable manual gearshift varies from car to car. But that’s it....
Saturday, Apr 21
Audi R8
Fallen out with Ferrari? Patronised by Porsche? Anguished by Aston Martin? Jaded by Jaguar? Few cars have been as eagerly awaited as Audi’s new R8, already sold out in the UK until late 2008. Advance orders have been taken since 2005. You can’t wangle yourself onto the waiting list. So the onl...
Thursday, Apr 19
Audi A5 and S5
Friday 20th April 2007 Styled by a team led by Walter d’Silva, the man responsible for the Alfa Romeo 156 and the current SEAT Leon, the A5 has had quite a long gestation. We first saw it as the Nuvolari concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2003 and it’s taken four years to hone and refine it into th...
Saturday, Jan 27
Audi S3 2007
Sunday 28th January 2007 Sweet car. Now you’d think that a 265PS four-wheel-drive hatchback hiding behind Audi’s aggressive barbeque grille would be anything but sweet. But this is a sports car that’s as happy to pootle through town as it is to claw its way round greasy corners at ridiculou...
Monday, Jan 22
Audi A4 B7 2005 RHD
Wednesday, 1st Dec 2004 Updated 23rd January 2007 In September 2004 I lucked into a cancellation for first drive of the new LHD Audi A4 2005 model, before even its official launch at the Paris Motor Show. On that occasion I got to drive a 2.0 TDI 140 6-speed manual Avant and a 3.2 V6 petrol Multitr...
Monday, Jan 15
Toyota Auris
Tuesday 16th January 2007 First, let’s get one thing straight. It’s “Owris”, like “Audi”, not “Ooris”. We can’t have you mispronouncing the successor to the world’s best-selling car ever. The Auris hits Britain’s streets on 1st February. Apart from rapidly depleting dealer stocks, the Co...
VW Passat 2001
There is no doubt that VW has improved its 2001 model-year Passat over the Passat it replaces. The body structure is 10% stiffer. Equipment levels are higher. Prices are down 10-15%. But the question in the minds of people like me was how good could it be compared to the new Ford Mondeo which shif...
Thursday, Nov 2
Volvo C30
Friday 3rd November 2006 Those nice people at Volvo are only planning on selling 5,000 C30s in 2007. They’d better make some more. If the idea was to turn a Ford Focus into a rival for the Audi A3, then Audi must be worried. First the looks. The C30 isn’t just a good looking car, it’s exquisite. A lot o...
Monday, May 29
Audi Allroad 2006
Tuesday 30th May 2006 If you are in any doubt about the purpose of this car, just take a look at that front. For a couple of thousand more than a standard A6 Quattro Avant SE (and for less than the S Line), you get the full hunting, shooting and fishing version with self-raising suspension and an...
Saturday, May 27
Citroen C6
Sunday 28th May 2006 Until now, if you wanted a prestigious £30,000 - £40,000 saloon car you could choose between an Audi, a BMW or a Mercedes. Or a Jaguar or a Lexus if you didn’t want to give your money to the Germans. Now Citroen offers the sort of genuine alternative that only Citroen ever cou...
Friday, May 27
VW Passat 2005
VW engineers can’t make up their minds what to do with the engine of the Passat. At first it was longitudinal, slung ahead of the front wheels like an Audi’s. Then, in 1988, they laid it horizontal across the car, like the Golf’s. Then, in 1996, they went back to Audi-style longitudinal. Now we ha...
Friday, Feb 4
Audi A6 Avant 2005
Elsewhere on this site you’ll find a near rave review of the Audi A6 4.2 quattro tiptronic saloon, the 3.0V6 TDI quattro tiptronic saloon and the 3.2 V6 petrol SE front-drive 6-speed manual saloon. So, for driving impressions of those engines, please go to that test. Here I get to drive the 2.7V6 T...
Saturday, Nov 27
Peugeot 307 & 407 SW
Two road tests in one this time, and a mystery solved for anyone wondering why Peugeot builds a 407SW as well as a 307SW. Also a paradoxical comparison between the 136bhp 2.0 HDI 16v in the smaller 307SW, and the 110bhp 1.6 HDI 16v in the larger 407. To make sense of the two cars, the 307SW is best tho...
Sunday, Sep 12
Audi A4 B7 2005 First
Bit of a scoop, this. By chance I lucked into a cancellation for first drive of the new Audi A4 2005 model, before even its official launch at the Paris Motor Show. I had to rush to get this on site, so please excuse any missing bits. As you can see from the photos, the A4 has been completely facelift...
Thursday, Sep 9
Mitsubishi Colt
Like the Honda Jazz before it, the new Colt and its sister car the SMART Forfour have brought a breath of fresh air to small hatchbacks. (More about the ventilation system later.) I first sat in the back of one for a rest at the Motor Show, and was amazed at the amount of room in there. It’s a proper,...
Friday, Jul 16
Jaguar S-Type V6 Diesel
BMW offers big diesels. Mercedes offers big diesels. Audi offers big diesels. All with better economy, lower C02s and therefore lower BIK tax for company drivers than equivalent petrol models. And now that British bosses are leaner, hungrier and more cost-conscious than the fat cats they u...
Monday, Jul 5
VW Touran DSG
Visitors who read my original road test of the VW Touran 2.0 TDI 16v (which follows), will have got the impression I wasn’t exactly impressed. So why did I step out of the same car with a Direct Shift Gearbox smiling from ear to ear? It could be that VAG have responded to criticism with one or two t...
Tuesday, Jun 1
Lexus IS 200 Sport
I remember the launch of the Lexus IS200 at the 1998 Motor Show. There was a lot to feast your eyes on because the same show also saw UK launches of the Jaguar S Type, the Rover 75 and the E46 BMW 3-Series. The Rover 75 and the Jaguar S Type seemed satisfyingly retro (the Rover more so than the Jag) an...
Wednesday, May 19
Audi A6 2004
Wow! I could have begun this test with a bit of model history, or some techno-babble or a quote. But let's not mess around. The new A6 is fantastic. And so far removed from the old one it shouldn't even be thought of in the same breath. This account covers three models: the 3.0TDI quattro SE 6-speed T...
Saturday, Feb 21
Volvo V50
Last year I wrote a rave review of the new Volvo S40. It was the first time for a long time a car had exceeded all my expectations. That test covers the 170bhp and 220bhp 5- cylinder automatics, so if they are the engine and gearbox combinations you are interested in, you’d better read it after th...
Friday, Dec 5
VW T5 Caravelle
Remember the old Audi straight five TDI? It appeared in the Audi 100, the 100 A6, the Volvo 850TD and early V70 TD, and, of course, in the VW T4 Caravelle. A great engine, especially with the six-speed box. But marred by an injector pump that had a habit of slipping out of timing, a timing belt tha...
Wednesday, Jul 9
Volvo S60 and V70 R Road and Track Test
Technobabble alert. To pitch its 300bhp Type Rs against Audi’s 340bhp S4, BMW’s 343bhp M3, Mercedes 354bhp C32 AMG and Mercedes forthcoming 371bhp C55AMG, Volvo had to come up with a better way of getting its power to the road. Volvo calls it ‘Four C’ active chassis technology. The four ‘C’s s...
Friday, Jun 6
SAAB 9-3 Convertible
If you’ve got the money you have three new soft tops to spend it on: The new Audi Cabrio, the new Mercedes CLK Cabrio and now the new SAAB 9-3 convertible. Add the BMW 3-Series and the Volvo C70 to your soft topping list and there’s plenty of choice out there. Like the CLK, the improvements in the n...
Wednesday, Apr 9
Honda Accord and Tourer 2003
These days, if you make a mass-market ‘family car’ you’re in trouble. Because the mass is moving out of this market. No one spending their own money wants to be seen in a rep’s special any more. Unless, of course, they’re buying it at such a knockdown price they can’t help themselves. They’d far r...
Tuesday, Apr 1
Audi A8 2003
How can I say this? Okay, sorry Audi, I’m a Mercedes man. I’m more at home in a Mercedes E Class or S Class than any other car. I was especially at home in the LHD only Mercedes S500 4-Matic. So the new Audi A8 Quattro was in trouble from the start. And then, just to compound the misery, we got landed wit...
Wednesday, Mar 26
Audi A3 2003
Well, it handles. That’s for sure. The old A3 was pretty good for its day. The Golf Mk IV and the Octavia took handling a step back. The SEAT Leon brought it forward again. But the new A3 shifts the goalposts altogether. Outside, it’s chunky good looking and Audi-like. First with the new corporate tw...
Saturday, May 18
Audi Cabrio 2002
At breakfast on the day of the new Audi Cabrio press launch, some radio ‘Dr Death’ was warning that 1,600 Brits a year die of skin cancer. He gloomed that one reason is our obsession with convertibles; something it seems we share with the Germans. After all, you don’t see many French and Italia...
Thursday, Jun 21
Audi A6 2001 update
Like fellas, some cars have a mid-life crisis, some have a mid-life facelift, and some have both. The Audi A6 has just had the lift and tuck. It started life as a big softy. Squishy, absorbent suspension soaked up the potholes on the Northhamptonshire roads where I first drove it. But that wasn'...
Thursday, Feb 15
Audi A4 B6
You may have seen a previous road test of the new Audi A4 on my site. Since then I've driven a wider range of models and sampled how the car feels with right-hand drive. So this is a more complete and up-to-date revision of what you read before. It covers the 2.0 litre petrol, 1.8T litre petrol Quattr...
Monday, Jan 15
Toyota Auris
Tuesday 16th January 2007 First, let’s get one thing straight. It’s “Owris”, like “Audi”, not “Ooris”. We can’t have you mispronouncing the successor to the world’s best-selling car ever. The Auris hits Britain’s streets on 1st February. Apart from rapidly depleting dealer stocks, the Co...
VW Passat 2001
There is no doubt that VW has improved its 2001 model-year Passat over the Passat it replaces. The body structure is 10% stiffer. Equipment levels are higher. Prices are down 10-15%. But the question in the minds of people like me was how good could it be compared to the new Ford Mondeo which shif...
Monday, Dec 18
VW Lupo versus SEAT Arosa
Earlier in the year I was very impressed by VAG's new three-cylinder 1.4 litre 75bhp TDI engine in the revised Polo. It also seemed the ideal engine for the new Audi A2. So, in theory, the same engine in the shorter, lighter Lupo should work even better. The specification sounds fine. Height-adj...
