(Photographs by VMP/Glen Smale)

" ... one car manufacturer back in 1978 took on a challenge that until that time had not been considered. On a winter’s morning, a group of engineers under the leadership of Dr. Ferdinand Piëch, took a prototype Audi to a notoriously difficult stretch of road in Austria where, under the gaze of the company’s management, the four-wheel drive saloon car made its way up the almost impossibly steep and snowy mountain pass ..."

Photographs by Glen Smale (© VMP)

What better way to find out what the Seat Altea XL is like to live with, than to put it to the test in the very environment in which it is intended to be used, namely a long journey, taking in both motorway and city driving?

First stop on the route was Stuttgart in Germany for a visit to the Porsche Museum and the Mercedes-Benz Museum followed by the Geneva Motor Show, and then the long track back to Wales.

(Photographs by Glen Smale)

 9 September, 2010

Introducing a radical new model in the motoring world is not a frequent occurrence, as the penalty for creating a flop is huge not just in financial terms, but also the company can be branded as a bit ‘flaky’ should the market not approve. And so when Kia unveiled its Soul concept at the 2006 Detroit Motor Show, the press and public alike were impressed not only by the new style, but by the Korean company’s bravery in the face of possible criticism. Fortunately the response was overwhelmingly favourable and the production model was introduced at the Paris Motor Show two years later.

(Photographs by Glen Smale)

Yours truly is not a big fan of niche market cars that are little more than posers, but this Legacy is a great car to live with.

Strong design, attractive styling and good quality are all characteristics you could list when talking about the Legacy. All too often, manufacturers introduce models into a certain niche in the market, simply because they see a competitor entering that sector and feel that they cannot risk being absent from that sector for marketing reasons.