The Northern Group Drives: October’s Road Test Reviews

Despite the rapidly dwindling daylight hours, the Northern Group’s members have continued to drive as many new cars as manufacturers will let us over October 2024.

For the most part the weather has held its worst back for proper winter, allowing for more events in our region as well as elsewhere both in the UK and abroad. Members have continued to road-test loan vehicles from home too, with a wide range of car types passing through their hands this month.

Chair Andrew Evans and social media manager Andrew Harris have been able to live the high life with a spin in the Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II. The latter remarked that the car (which Rolls-Royce calls a “high-sided vehicle”) “offers a driving experience unlike any other” in the Yorkshire Times, while the former commented on GTPlanet that it’s “not so much a car as it is a piece of theatre”

On the more everyman side of SUVs, we had some drives in the Nissan Qashqai this month also. Steve Howarth, for 50Plus Magazine, praised the e-Power system, while Julie Marshall commented on Nissan’s relentless improvements to the car that launched the sector for the Yorkshire Post.

Chinese marque Omoda visited our region with its 5 and E5 models in October, and attending members gave their thoughts in their various outlets.

That includes Andrew Walker, who wrote about both cars for Company Car and Van and was impressed by the specification and safety tech, while George Loveridge commented on the value for money and road presence of the newcomers for Driving Around.

Our YouTube channel managers Annabelle and Ben Quirk also put the cars head-to-head on their PlanetAuto channel, but in both cases praised the Omoda twins’ practicality and value, and felt the cars were “fun to drive”.

Of course one name is almost synonymous with electric vehicles, and Will Kilner was testing the facelifted Tesla Model 3 for the Telegraph & Argus. He noted that “you’d still struggle to find a better all-round package in this segment” than the revised 3.

A trio of members were driving small electrified hatchbacks this month too. George Loveridge drove the all-electric MINI for Driving Around, stating that it’s “a fun and practical option”, while Julie Marshall was in the Mazda 2 Hybrid for the Yorkshire Post and found it “brilliant around town”.

Frederic Manby meanwhile was embarking on a long-distance trip up the country in a Peugeot 208 GT. Along with an unexpected reference to Kill Bill, our meetings and membership secretary wrote that the car “bristles with quality”, also for the Yorkshire Post.

At the other end of the powertrain pendulum, Mike Torpey spent a little time with the Maserati Gran Turismo Trofeo, writing for Car Review UK that the second generation of this sports car is “beautifully engineered and oozes pedigree”.

We round out this month as we started, with three reviews of some considerably larger fare. Ben Harrington was driving the Kia EV9 for Driving Torque, noting that the £65k start price was steep but the biggest Kia was “a great all-round package and it has some real road presence”.

Steve Teale spent some time with a sibling vehicle, commenting in the Yorkshire Post that the Hyundai Tucson is the best of the brand’s three main SUV offerings and the perfect car for middle England.

Finally our off-road specialist Damian Turner was in — what else — a Land Rover, covering the Defender 110 75th Anniversary for The Mud Life. This, he says, is “not just a nod to the past, it’s a glimpse into the future of adventure-ready SUVs”.