• Why the Fiat 500 is the ultimate retro revival

    Why the Fiat 500 is the ultimate retro revival
    Fiat captured the 1957 car's spirit in 2007 with great effect - and it's worked for 20 yearsWhat goes into a successful retro revival of an old car?
    For a good example, let's look at the Renault 5. The consensus is that it gets all the key features right. Much like the original 5, it's great to drive and even better to look at, but at its core it captures that classless spirit that the car always had. Just as with that car (and even more so in the modern era of PCP finance and leasing), almost a
  • MX-5 for the family? Manual Mazda 3 is an everyday driver's delight

    MX-5 for the family? Manual Mazda 3 is an everyday driver's delight
    Much of what the five-star MX-5 so great is evident in this humble hatchbackI worry about the future of smaller car firms. With so much new technology to invest in and develop and new rivals flooding the market, the relative minnows are getting squeezed.
    That's why, like many of its contemporaries, Mazda is increasingly reliant on partnerships, sharing development with Toyota and Changan. Such deals give a firm like Mazda a path into the future, but the fear is that they lose some of the individ
  • Why car buyers should still care about depreciation

    Why car buyers should still care about depreciation
    PCP deals have put depreciation out of mind for most motorists, but it could soon bite backWhatever happened to depreciation?
    There was a time when it was car buyers' main concern. Now, not so much. Perhaps the popularity of PCP finance deals is the reason. With the car's minimum future value guaranteed, a vague promise of equity at the end of the term to put towards the next one and lower monthly payments than hire purchase, PCPs might just have brushed the spectre of depreciation under th