Diesel Car – Christmas 2018

Land Rover has evolved the Range Rover Evoque, and we have the first details of the second-generation car. We’ve also been testing the Citroën C5 Aircross on some pretty disgraceful roads in Morocco, and that bodes well for when the car arrives here in the UK next February. Both the Ford Focus Estate and Vignale have been tested by James Fossdyke this month, and we’ve got behind the wheel of the facelifted Mazda6. Vauxhall’s Grandland X has been updated with a new 1.5-litre diesel engine and we test it this month.

Hyundai’s new Santa Fe faces one of its strongest opponents, the Kia Sorento – which one wins in this tough SUV showdown? Ford’s Ka+ is on test with its new 1.5-litre TDCi engine and Honda’s Civic has sprouted a boot for a new four-door saloon edition, and we deliver our verdict. We’re a big fan of the hatchback, so is the four-door version as good? In EcoCar, Honda’s CR-V Hybrid is put through its paces by Phil Huff, and we drive the facelifted version of the Skoda Fabia in 1.0 TSI Colour Edition guise. Right at the top of the Lexus range, the LS 500h is aiming to redefine the luxury car market – read our verdict on the near £100k car.

As it’s the Christmas edition, we’ve got some fun features too, including a race across Europe in a Citroën 2CV and Tesla Model X. Each of these vehicles have challenges, with the tin snail barely able to hit the UK legal limit and the electric car needs charging regularly, but which one arrives first in the South of France? Seán Ward takes a trip to the Peugeot museum in Sochaux and we’ve got the annual Christmas Crossword to give your brain a workout. There’s also some Christmas gift ideas in our three-page Product Inspector.