Tag: smmt test day

New Aion V First UK Drive Review: The 317-Mile Chinese EV SUV You Shouldn’t Ignore

The new Aion V arrives in the UK as a spacious electric family SUV with 317 miles of range, a £36,450 starting price, huge rear-seat room and an eight-year ownership package that includes warranty, servicing, roadside assistance and MOT cover

The new Aion V has landed in the UK, and I got an early first drive at SMMT Test Day at Millbrook, where some of the latest cars are laid out like an automotive buffet and you try not to come away with indigestion, or an existential crisis about how quickly the car industry is changing. This is Aion’s new electric family SUV, and while the badge may still be unfamiliar to most British buyers, the proposition is anything but vague: 317 miles of WLTP range, £36,450 OTR, around 204PS, lots of equipment, loads of space and one of the most interesting ownership packages currently being offered on any new car in Britain. 

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New Nissan Micra Review: It’s an EV… But Does It Still Have a Spark?

New Nissan Micra Review
The all-new sixth-generation Nissan Micra returns as a fully electric supermini with Renault 5 underpinnings, retro-futuristic styling and up to 257 miles of range from under £22,000

The Nissan Micra has always been one of those cars that quietly got on with the job. It was never glamorous, rarely outrageous, and yet somehow became deeply woven into British motoring culture. Your mum had one, your driving instructor had one, your mate learned to heel-and-toe in one, and somewhere out in the sticks, there’s probably still a battered K10 surviving on sheer stubbornness and WD40 fumes. But now the Micra enters a whole new era because this all-new sixth-generation model is fully electric, thoroughly modern, heavily digitised and, perhaps most surprisingly of all, good value and rather likeable.

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1988 Nissan Micra GSX Automatic Review: The Tiny 50bhp Time Capsule That’s More Engaging Than Modern Cars

1988 Nissan Micra Reviewed
Driving this ultra-low-mileage 1988 Nissan Micra GSX Automatic proved that simplicity, lightness and honesty can still outshine modern motoring complexity

There was a time when cars didn’t need mood lighting, over-the-air software updates, lane departure nags, adaptive personalities or a touchscreen larger than a student bedsit television simply to survive the school run. There was a time when a humble hatchback existed purely to provide practical, affordable and dependable transport, and somehow, almost accidentally, managed to become charming in the process. This 1988 Nissan Micra GSX Automatic is one of those cars.

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BMW E46 330i Review: Why This Updated Classic Feels Better Than New Cars

BMW E46 330i Review
eBay’s upgraded BMW E46 330Ci proves that modern tech and old-school BMW magic might just be the perfect enthusiast combination

There are moments in this job when you climb into a car and within the first thirty seconds you already know you’re in trouble. Not mechanical trouble. Emotional trouble. The sort where your brain starts quietly whispering dangerous things like “you could absolutely own one of these; you could own one; you deserve to own one…” while your wallet begins sweating nervously in the background. That was me at the SMMT Test Day the moment I slipped behind the wheel of this silver BMW E46 330Ci Coupe, a car bought and modified by eBay as part of its “Tech Transformation Project”, intended to demonstrate how modern aftermarket technology can revitalise older cars without destroying the character that made people fall in love with them in the first place.

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