The Northern Group Drives: November’s Road Test Reviews
While sunsets after 4pm may be a distant memory now as we hurtle towards the solstice, Northern Group members have still been busy putting the miles in on whatever we can get our collective hands on.
November 2024 certainly had its moments, but the 30+ active members have been behind the wheel of numerous vehicles on product launches and driving days around the country, and the usual short-term loans too.
Vice chair and social media manager Andy Harris has been pretty busy this month, and we’re starting off with his thoughts on the Hyundai Santa Fe for the Yorkshire Times — which he says is “a compelling package” with real “character and presence”. Will Kilner, writing in the Northern Echo, adds that it has “taken great strides forwards” from the predecessor car.
David Thomas also reviewed the flagship Hyundai for his AutoBears YouTube channel, concurring that it’s a “huge step up from the fourth generation, and that was one of the best cars in its class”:
Sibling brand Genesis is also featuring this month, with a pair of drives of the regular petrol GV70 and its “Electrified” stablemate.
Will Kilner, in the Telegraph & Argus, describes the petrol car as “more than a match for its more established German rivals”.
George Loveridge, now managing our YouTube channel, was in the battery-powered version, and comments on Driving Around that its “quality and exclusivity is a great way to go from A-B”.
We’ve also got a duet of Ford Puma reviews. Andy Harris had the ST model, and described it in the Yorkshire Times as “a well-rounded package that’s well-suited to UK roads”.
Meanwhile Annabelle and Ben Quirk reviewed the ST-Line X, stating that “it’s a pleasure to drive the Puma, and that’s whether pootling around villages or zipping up and down the motorway”:
Honda features in our round-up twice too, with reviews in the Yorkshire Post. Julie Marshall, our handbook editor, drove the HR-V in hybrid guise, remarking that it “can hold its own with the opposition”, while meetings secretary Fred Manby was in the Jazz Crosstar and found its “mature – or sensible” nature easy to live with, despite getting lost…
Fred Manby had a more Superb time in a Skoda, agreeing in the Yorkshire Post that it’s a car that “lives up to its name”.
Steve Howarth was spending some time with the Suzuki Across for 50plus Magazine, remarking that its “excellent hybrid powertrain makes it one of the best PHEVs around”.
Meanwhile Andy Harris (again!) was in a closely related vehicle in the shape of the fifth-generation Toyota Prius for the Yorkshire Times. He noted that it’s “a genuinely desirable machine that offers efficiency, performance, and style in one package”.
Newcomer Naveed Hussain was driving the Nissan X-Trail for his Naveed4Speed YouTube channel, commenting that even though it’s “not a sporty car … it feels quite capable in the turns”:
Ben Harrington was also in a Nissan, finding the current iteration of the Juke more “refined and is far easier to live with” than the original on Driving Torque.
Mike Torpey, writing for Car Review UK, was taking some time with the Volvo EX40, and found the renamed XC40 Recharge to be “practical, classy, comfortable”.
We’ll hand the final words this month to Andrew Walker at Company Car and Van, regarding a pair of electric vehicles. He drove the new Volkswagen ID.7 GTX, finding it the “electric VW that feels like a VW” he’s been waiting for, while the MINI Aceman “delivers plenty of Mini magic”.
