David Duffy

Mini designer Alec Issigonis would probably have had a wry smile on his face if he had lived to see the car built to celebrate the 60th birthday of his little classic.

Slip behind the wheel of any Bentley and it’s hard not to feel you are metaphorically looking down on everyone else on the road.

If you are looking for a well-built, attractively-priced car then Skoda has the answer in the Octavia. But not everyone wants to drive something quite so large.

With sales of sports utility vehicles continuing to soar, you might wonder if there is any place left for the good old estate car.

Volvo’s stated aim is that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by 2020 and judging by a drive in some of its latest models, that goal could be more realistic than it sounds.

When Toyota’s RAV4 first burst on to the motoring scene in the mid-1990s it was a compact, cheeky chappie determined to cause a stir.

There are simply two ways of tackling your 30th birthday – either you start stressing or you party.

Most carmakers like to slip in a little ‘surprise and delight’ in new models – think Jaguar’s throbbing red starter button, Mini’s colour-changing interior lighting, even twinkling stars in the roof-lining of the Vauxhall Adam.

Few cars on earth go to such lengths to keep you on the straight and narrow as Volvo’s S60.

As impressive as the stylish new SsangYong Korando is from the outside, the real surprise sits unseen under the bonnet.