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Giles Smith

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First Drive review: 2016 Infiniti Q30

A bulbous design straight from a funfair’s hall of mirrors is squeezing into the crowded family hatchback market — and somehow it works
Published 18 January 2016
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First Drive review: 2016 Audi A4 Avant

Audi’s classy A4 estate costs £3,400 more than its VW Passat sibling, but it’s worth it for the silent cabin alone
Published 11 January 2016
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First Drive review: 2016 Lexus RX 450H

When Lexus set about refashioning the RX SUV (the Japanese brand’s most successful car to date and therefore not lightly meddled with), one of the...
Published 28 December 2015
2016 Renault Megane review

First Drive review: 2016 Renault Megane GT-Line

A provocative ad put the Mégane on the map but it eventually fell behind its rivals. This new car has some zing in its tail at last.
Published 21 December 2015
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First Drive review: 2016 Mini Cooper D Clubman

It may be the biggest Mini yet but it is comfortable, handles beautifully and has a design feature that could just catch on
Published 30 November 2015
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First Drive review: 2016 Bentley Bentayga

Quiet in the back, Mr Traditionalist: Bentley’s first 4x4 tackles off-road challenges with all the refinement you would expect
Published 23 November 2015
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First Drive review: 2015 Mercedes-Benz C 250 d Sport...

The C-class coupé looks stylish and dependable, but beneath that cute exterior is a road-eating monster waiting to get out
Published 08 November 2015
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First Drive review: 2015 Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell

I am standing on a forecourt by Heathrow next to a Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell, and the man from Hyundai
Published 12 October 2015
Vauxhall Astra review

First Drive review: 2015 Vauxhall Astra

The archetypal British family motor has gone a little bit posh. Its drivers may finally be noticed...
Published 28 September 2015
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First Drive review: Audi A4 (2015)

Strange to think, but there was a time before the Audi A4. Just imagine: a time when the world had yet to know the complex pleasures
Published 21 September 2015
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First Drive review: 2015 BMW 3-series (facelift)

The BMW 3-series is 40 years old. Incredible to think that the world’s most trusty sports saloon...
Published 07 September 2015
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First Drive review: Caterham Seven 270 R

It must be 16 years since I last drove a Caterham Seven. I have a photograph from that time
Published 24 August 2015