u/CarwowTom

I've always thought the BMW X5 was the best big, posh SUV, and a week with this 30d version has just cemented that feeling. It just does everything so, so well - it's fantastic to drive, comfortable on the motorway yet amazingly agile on a back road for something so vast. The interior feels great, and there's even a good mix of physical controls with the iDrive rotary dial still in place. Dare I say that it even looks quite discreet next to some of the latest BMWs?

https://www.carwow.co.uk/bmw/x5

This is a naturally-aspirated petrol hatch with a manual gearbox. There are fewer of those on sale than there are V12 supercars. On paper, it's easy to see why - the performance is underwhelming, the fuel economy only so-so. But it didn't take me long out on the road to appreciate what the Mazda 3 is all about.

It's a car that feels as though it was designed by drivers, for drivers - not as an appliance, or a mobility service, or an app ecosystem, but as a car. Of the 900-odd miles showing on this car's odometer when Mazda picked it up, I was responsible for about 700 of them - and I loved every minute.

https://www.carwow.co.uk/news/10716/why-you-should-buy-the-mazda-3-tom-wiltshire

It's a YES if you...

- need a lot of rear seat space

- like the styling (I do)

- want a long warranty and a decent reliability record

- want something that's fun to drive without being too uncomfortable

But consider carefully because...

- the engine is rubbish - gutless and thirsty

- there's no hybrid or PHEV option yet

- the touchscreen-led interior is a step back from the old CX-5

- equipment can be quite stingy on the lower models

Read my full review for the in-depth lowdown...

https://www.carwow.co.uk/mazda/cx-5

I'm up in Scotland on the media launch of the new CX-5. The full Carwow review is of course incoming, but is there anything you want to know in the meantime?

Jaecoo is the biggest automotive success story in the UK market since Tesla - the Jaecoo 7 SUV took top spot in sales in March and the brand's achieved remarkable volumes in barely a year on sale. And that's despite the cars being only mediocre - the 7 looks good, has lots of equipment and doesn't cost very much, but it's fairly rubbish to drive.

So what's the response going to be to the new Jaecoo 8? It's bigger and much posher than the 7, with a genuinely great plug-in hybrid system. It's also not half bad to drive. It's comfy on faster roads and more nimble than you'd expect round town.

It's still not great for keen drivers, feeling wobbly and not very confidence-inspiring on a twisting B-road. And though it technically has a third row, it's not particularly useful - so think of this as a five-seater with a big boot rather than a proper Land Rover Discovery replacement.

Our pre-review (before we got to drive the car) has been one of the most popular pages on the Carwow site for weeks now. I'm really interested to see if the Jaecoo 8 can capture sales in the same way as its smaller brother did. It's certainly a better car.

Read my review here: https://www.carwow.co.uk/jaecoo/8

(looks like I have a signature pose...)

Chinese cars are beginning to dominate the market, and it's easy to see why when you look at the prices. Many of them undercut the 'Western' equivalents by thousands of pounds, and even if they're a little bit worse, that sort of price difference attracts attention - especially when the price of everything else is going up.

Some of them are undeniably crap, mind. But these ones aren't. https://www.carwow.co.uk/chinese-cars/cheap

To be fair, that's probably a stretch, but I had this Transit in for testing alongside a modern SUV, and when the time came to do a long journey, I picked the Transit. All the controls are so well-judged, it just feels like you're driving an extra-large Focus rather than a commercial vehicle. This range-topping Trail version is also super-cool.

That brings other issues, mind. I don't like the touchscreen, which has been nicked from Ford's passenger cars. It works okay, but I think a working vehicle has to major on the physical controls - things you can press and twiddle while you're wearing gloves, or when your hands are filthy and covered in oil.

How does it do as an actual commercial vehicle, though? Well, it can't carry as much payload as a Renault Master and the reliability record is far from faultless, so as a purely rational purchase there are better options out there. Especially if you're just trying to spend as little as possible - it's a good £8,000 pricier than a basic Fiat Ducato.

You can read my full review with details on the cab, dimensions, payloads and more here: https://www.carwow.co.uk/ford/transit-lcv

Plenty to see at the 2026 Commercial Vehicle Show, taking place this week in the Birmingham NEC. From new brands to interesting things from companies we already know, it's always fascinating to see what's new in the world of CVs. And it's fun because it's so different to a traditional motor show - instead of quoting horsepower, punters are more interested in running costs and load capacity.

https://www.carwow.co.uk/news/10618/commercial-vehicle-show-roundup-2026

Say hello to the Aion V. This is genuinely the first Chinese brand that's taken me completely by surprise, and that's because it's entering the UK in a much quieter way than most of the others.

It's being imported to the UK by distributor Jameel Motors, but that doesn't mean it's some niche cottage manufacturer. Parent company GAC is the third-largest EV manufacturer in the world after BYD and Tesla.

So what about the car? Well, it does some things really well - it's crazy spacious, charges quickly, and has probably the poshest-feeling interior of any Chinese EV to date. Aion's also offering eight years of warranty, breakdown cover, servicing and MOTs, which is a really strong selling point especially as it stays with the car - so a five-year-old Aion V will still have as much warranty cover as a brand-new VW ID3.

Less good is the infotainment (surprise surprise) and the way it drives - it's fine, just dull and not that comfortable. And with so few dealers, it's unlikely to make waves in the way Chery or MG have.

Interested? Read the rest of my review here: https://www.carwow.co.uk/aion/v

The new Tiggo 4 is a self-charging hybrid SUV that costs from £19,995. What?

That makes it comfortably the cheapest full hybrid SUVs, and in fact it's only a couple of hundred pounds off being the cheapest hybrid entirely - beaten by the MG3 and Fiat Grande Panda. So it's easy to forgive a lot of its foibles.

Thing is, it doesn't have too many - the hump in the boot floor is annoying, and it's not any fun to drive but generally it's spacious, well-equipped and decently comfortable. Car enthusiasts steer clear, but the Tiggo 4 certainly ticks a lot of the sensible boxes for not much money at all. A Dacia Duster Hybrid is over £25,000, if you want another indicator of just how cheap the Tiggo 4 is...

Read my full review here: https://www.carwow.co.uk/chery/tiggo-4

... and I think it's fair to say it's not much of a looker.

On the specs front, it's a little quicker than the recently revealed BMW i3, but is significantly down on range. While BMW claims 560 miles to a charge in official tests, the C-Class tops out at 473 - even accounting for the slightly smaller battery, that's not great. Nor does it charge up as quickly.

Inside, the highlight (or not, depending on how much of a technophile you are) is the vast 39.1-inch Hyperscreen that'll be available on top models. I've used this setup in the GLC Electric and though it looks a bit daunting, it works fine - I don't much like how it turns the dash into a cliff-face, though.

Build quality is decent, especially compared to Merc's current line-up which creak like a sailing ship when you go prodding about various bits of trim. And I love the frunk, which operates with just a press on the Mercedes logo - no need to root about in a footwell.

So what do you think? Would you opt for this over the BMW i3 - or is there something you'd buy instead of either of them?

https://www.carwow.co.uk/mercedes/c-class/news/10600/new-mercedes-c-class-electric-first-impressions-tom-wiltshire