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John Simister

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First Drive review: 2015 Peugeot 308 GTi 270

Published 02 October 2015
By John Simister
Peugeot used to make some of the best hot hatchbacks around. Cars that were laugh-out-loud fun – machines such as the 205 GTI, which charmed not just car nuts but anyone who loved the feel of a fast,
The Sunday Times Driving Placeholder

First Drive review: BMW X1 (2015)

When the original X1 was launched, in 2009, BMW had an ugly duckling on its hands. A mishmash of hatchback and SUV, the car looked so gawky that mums…
Published 24 September 2015
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First Drive review: Skoda Octavia vRS 230 (2015)

I was never much good at differential calculus when I was at school. Had I been, maybe I would have been an engineer rather than a journalist...
Published 03 September 2015
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First Drive review: Hyundai Tucson (2015)

Half the world seems to think it needs an SUV. They are everywhere, tall, bold family holdalls with a tough, don't-mess-with-me demeanour. Some have...
Published 29 July 2015
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First Drive review: Lotus Evora 400 (2015)

The Lotus Evora, looking like an upscaled Elise, arrived in 2009. Now it has been reworked into the Evora 400, a car that pulls off the same trick...
Published 23 July 2015
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First Drive review: Seat Ibiza (2015)

The launch of this revised Seat Ibiza is not about a stylish new look or a radical line-up of engines that will go easy on the planet and a driver's...
Published 09 June 2015
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First Drive review: Ford S-Max (2015)

The new Ford S-Max is possibly the world's only full-size MPV that doesn’t look, and drive, like the No 29 bus
Published 27 April 2015
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First Drive review: Ford C-Max (2015)

MPVs have always had an image problem. Even in their early days they were seen as boring; a sign that the driver
Published 13 April 2015
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First Drive review: Audi TTS roadster

A biblical deluge in Mallorca cramped this new roadster’s style but when the clouds parted, a proper sports car emerged...
Published 09 February 2015