Giantkiller: Suzuki Swift 1.2 SZ4
Make no mistake, the small car market is a tough environment in which to exist. Look beyond the cutesy appearance and cheeky persona and you’ll find that the modern supermini is a tough little cookie. I won’t go as far as saying it’s a war out there, but there’s a battle for supremacy being fought and small cars don’t pull their punches.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the best selling car in the UK in 2010 and therefore the biggest selling small car was the Ford Fiesta, with some 103k finding new homes. The Vauxhall Corsa sold over 77k, the Volkswagen Polo notched up nearly 46k with the Mini knocking on the door of 42k. This isn’t to mention the likes of the Fiat 500, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Micra and a plethora of other superminis jockeying for position. Read more 
Brief encounter: MINI John Cooper Works Coupé
Social media has revolutionised the business of new car launches. When I were a lad, I had to turn to Autocar & Motor to read all about forthcoming new cars or spy shots. Alternatively, I’d flick through the pages of the local rag or rely on a certain TV programme that used to air at 8.30 on a Thursday night. Well, as Robert Allen Zimmerman may have said, the times they are a changin’. Read more
The Final Car
On the Beach is a post-apocalyptic novel by Nevil Shute. In it, Shute charts the final days of folk living in Melbourne, Australia – one of the last places on earth to remain free of radiation poisoning. Life in the northern hemisphere has been all but obliterated and it’s only a matter of time before the entire southern hemisphere suffers the same fate. It’s an immensely terrifying and heartbreaking book to read as Shute delves deep into the personal lives of the last few people on earth who witness the end of civilisation. Read more
PetrolBlog takes a SEAT…
“Which one would you take home then?”. That was the question posed as the inaugural ‘#SEATtweetup’ drew to a close earlier this month. Taking a long, hard look up and down the line up of new SEATs, I couldn’t help myself from focusing on the Ibiza. The problem was, this just happened to be the MK1 Ibiza – 1989 vintage. Oh dear. Read more
Ton’s Real World Dream Barn
PetrolBlog’s Dutch correspondent flies over with details of his Real World Dream Barn. He’s clearly not afraid to bend the rules a little!
As you may or may not have not have read in my bio, for as long as I can remember, I’m not really much of petrol head, but all the more a Porsche head. So when thinking about a Real World Dream Barn, I could easily fill the whole list with ten Porsches and be perfectly happy. Or just buy a 959 and be done. Read more
Duncan McVitie’s position on the Lotus Elan M100
Duncan McVitie takes a break from French Fancies to write some words on the Lotus Elan. No, not that one, the M100…
Winter. The most logical time of year for me to write a blog about a convertible – since I refuse to use mine in the rain or snow, I may as well write about it.
So, continuing with the theme of glorious failures from my Avantime blog, may I present to you the Lotus Elan M100 – a car touched by genius, but unjustly overlooked. Read more
Motorway walks for drivers and dogs!
They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but I’ve never heard anyone say you should never judge a book by its title. So you’ll forgive me for being slightly excited about the prospect of reading a book entitled ‘Walking the dog – motorway walks for drivers and dogs‘. Read more
Black Magic VW: Gary’s Volkswagen Santana
When was the last time you saw a Volkswagen Santana? According to How Many Left? there are just seven left on Britain’s roads, making the 4-door saloon quite a rare sight. It was actually no more than a B2 Passat sedan, making the Santana some kind of retro Shatchback hero.
Amazingly, some 194,000 Santanas were produced between 1981 and 1985, before the Santana name was dropped in favour of the Passat saloon. Three years later, in 1988, the B2 Passat was replaced by the B3 and the Santana was banished, in the UK at least, to automotive history. In China the name may live on, but in the UK, you’re more likely to hear Santana on the Ken Bruce show than see one on parked on your local high street. Read more
The Rancho’s back – courtesy of Duncan McVitie
One of the first cars to feature on PetrolBlog was the delightful Talbot Matra Rancho. You can see the update from March 2010 here.
But now, perennial French car fan, Duncan McVitie has put together this short video to show the Rancho in all its glory. Look out for a daring motorway exit, some aerial acrobatics and a trip through the jungle. Sadly, there’s no appearance this time from Rancho fan, Johnny Mathis. Read more
On safety
Tom Richards on the subject of safety in motor sport, which is all too topical following this weekend’s traffic events.
I’m currently reading a book called ‘The Limit’ by Michael Cannell and, given Dan Wheldon’s tragic death during the Las Vegas Indy 300, it seems particularly relevant right now. Read more
Richard’s VW Polo GTI: Good Times Imminent?
Another guest blogger on PetrolBlog? This is becoming quite a habit. A good habit of course and at least it stops me flooding the interweb with yet more waffle. This time I’m delighted to welcome Mr Richard Gooding of the rather excellent PoloDriver.com. A Volkswagen fan of many years, Rich Gooding has just taken the first step on the GTI ownership ladder, buying a 2001 Polo GTI. Why did he choose the hot shot Polo and what does an early example of VW’s smaller iconic-badged hatchback offer? Read more
PetrolBlog’s somewhat simple guide to Winter Tyres
Until last year, you’d be forgiven for thinking that winter tyres didn’t exist in the UK. But with the winter 0f 2010/11 bringing with it a dumping of snow for the third consecutive year, not to mention another bout of freezing temperatures, it seemed as though everyone was talking about winter rubber. A sudden surge in demand meant that stocks ran low and a fair amount of mix messages meant that there was a considerable amount of confusion surrounding the subject. Read more
Duncan McVitie remembers the Renault Avantime
More words from Duncan McVitie, this time on the brilliant PetrolBlog favourite, the Renault Avantime. Over to you, Duncan.
“How is Ming the Merciless these days?” asked the cashier in the filling station. “Eh?” was my reply. As usual, I was the epitome of eloquence. He pointed to the car sitting at pump six. “That spaceship on wheels is yours, isn’t it?” I nodded. “Well, in that case you must be Buck Rogers.” I gave him a non-commital grunt, paid for the fuel and walked back to my car, a Renault Avantime, wishing that the standard equipment list had included a ray gun for use against smart arses. Read more
Rob experiences the Caterham Slalom
Rob’s been having fun with a Caterham. Here’s what he thought of the Slalom Experience, Silverstone.
The back of the car begins to slide left and I start to apply corrective steering. The back continues to slide round and I twirl the tiny steering wheel further. My brain throws the message through – “we’re going to spin“. The steering hits full lock. Instinct says to lift off the throttle but I know that if I do that I’ll definitely spin and I won’t be quick enough to catch it. So a very gentle lift off the throttle is just enough to stop the back becoming the front, as it were, and we accelerate towards the next gate.
It’s five days after the British Grand Prix, I’m at Silverstone and I’m driving a Caterham Roadsport SV for the first time in my life. Now, just to get it in context I’m actually in Car Park 49 just outside the main gate of the circuit, and not thraping the little Caterham round the actual circuit. Unfortunately. Read more
An Italian first car? Just the job, says Ton Dumans
What’s this? Another guest blogger on PetrolBlog? This time we’ve gone all continental and are delighted to welcome Mr Ton Dumans from Holland. Ton has discovered a couple of things recently. First of all, Ton stumbled across PetrolBlog itself and secondly, Ton tasted PetrolBlog’s official food of choice, the Hobnob. Having successfully passed the gruelling PetrolBlog initiation test, Ton has signed up as a member of the team.
In his first post, Ton takes a look at two cars he helped some non-petrolhead friends source and purchase. Based on the images, we’d say that Ton would make an ideal personal shopper for those looking to buy a first car in Holland. Sadly, the cost of insurance may put these cars out of reach of new drivers in the UK… Read more
Ryan’s Italian Job: Fiat Strada & Lancia Beta Spider
I was recently contacted by a chap from the States who felt encouraged to email PetrolBlog having read this earlier piece on the Fiat Strada. Turns out that the chap, a Mr Ryan Kooken, has a rather brilliant taste in motor cars. Not only does he own a Fiat Strada himself, but he also has a delightful Lancia Beta Spider. So that’s two Italian cars from the 1980s. Mr Kooken, PetrolBlog salutes you sir. Read more
