Whoever decided that drivers should have either practicality or performance clearly lacked vision. For much of its existence the estate car or stationwagon was just a practical workhorse. Aside from o

Ididn’t know Richard Parry-Jones when I travelled to Saint-Tropez in January 1993 to drive a new Ford. But without knowing it, I was already feeling his influence. The car was the replacement for the

It’s probably unwise for a lowly road tester to even attempt a Churchillian tone. Thankfully, I’m only paraphrasing. Have we reached the end for the conventional, established, petrol-swilling hot hatc

= new entry this month. Cars in italics are no longer on sale. Issue no. is for our most recent major test of the car (D = Driven, F = feature, FF = Fast Fleet). Engine shows details of the car’s comb

From drama to silky smoothness, the V8 does it all. Here are our favourites…

Price new: From £18,950 Price now: £16,000-25,000 Engine: 1.8-litre, four-cylinder petrol Gearbox: Fivespeed manual Power/torque: 118bhp/165Nm 0-60mph: 5.8 seconds Top speed: 126mph HAD Lotus not come