As summer continues for the Southern Group, the month of August 2024 was another busy one. Among the highlights were the SGMW Heritage Day, some camping in cars, supercars, and even a motorbike review in these hallowed pages.
Read on for the highlights of what the SGMW got up to in August 2024.
SGMW car launch watch: SUVs and Coffee, hot hatchbacks, and a larger hashtag
August started on a cost conscious note with Vauxhall announcing the new Astra Griffin, a special edition model that cuts the starting price of the brand’s hatchback by nearly £3k. The Luton brand also announced the Mokka Coffe-e later in the month, which is a Mokka EV with an onboard espresso machine. Although we think that Vauxhall may have missed a golden marketing opportunity by not renaming the car to the Mocha Coffe-e. And yes, we’ll see ourselves out after that joke.
In mid-life refresh news, the Audi RS 3 got a minor update for 2024, which mainly consists of a tweaked front end and some new wheels. Volkswagen also revealed the new Golf R and Golf GTI Clubsport, which are still very fast with a starting price of £43k for the former and £41k for the latter. Bargains if you ask us. Lastly, Cupra has confirmed the new Tavascan EV will start from £47k. It’s the second EV from the performance orientated brand, taking its name from a Spanish village.
Regular cars were well catered for too, with pricing for the new Vauxhall Frontera announced, with £23.5k getting you the choice of the Hybrid or the EV. Late in the month, yet more SUVs arrived, with the new MG ZS Hybrid+ becoming the cheapest high-riding hybrid on the market, starting from £22k. Meanwhile, in Germany, the new Smart #5 electric SUV arrived, boasting a 340 mile range figure. A model name that will undoubtedly strike fear into automotive SEO editors and strategists everywhere.
SGMW test drives watch: a few glimmers of hope among the sea of SUVs
The test drives in August started strongly with the updated Toyota GR Yaris, a car that is still brilliant regardless of its higher price tag. The family estate also proved it’s not dead yet, with new Skoda Superb Estate earning rave reviews.
Among the wide array of new and updated models driven last month, the new Volkswagen California also won praise from reviewers, reminding us all that we need to ask VW if we can borrow one to go camping. Then, of course, there were many SUVs vying for attention from road testers, with first drives of the new VW Tiguan, Renault Symbioz, Skywell BE11, Hyundai Santa Fe, along with refreshed versions of the Kia Sorento and Sportage, and the Ford Puma.
2024 SGMW Heritage Day:
Last month, the SGMW teamed up with automotive PRs for its annual Heritage Day. A total of 20 members and 29 PR friends of the group made the trip to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in Hampshire for a day of test drives and catching up.
Joining the memorable crop of classic and modern cars brought along by members were 31 cars from manufacturers to test drive the day. As usual, the magnificent roads of the South Downs provided a memorable backdrop for the day’s driving activities.
Despite the mix of sunshine and showers, the day was another huge success for the group, with both PRs and members enjoying a variety of test drives. Nearly all of the test cars made it through the day unscathed, with only the Ford Capri 1.6 L suffering a fuel leak and the Volvo P1800 losing one of its ultra-rare hubcaps.
Here are a few social highlights from the day:
To read the full report for our Heritage Day, go here.
SGMW digital watch:
Kawasaki Z 7 Hybrid review: Kawasaki in charge with hybrid motorbike first – Andy Russell
A quarter of a century ago motoring writer Andy Russell drove the world’s first mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid car. Now Kawasaki has launched the tech in motorbikes with its Z 7 Hybrid.
Hyundai Santa Fe review – Maxine Ashford
Despite being forced to go camping in the new Hyundai Santa Fe, Maxine Ashford is full of praise for the all new fifth-generation model.
Read the Car Journo review here
Lamborghini Revuelto: Hybrid tech brings hypercar performance – Tim Pitt
Again, like in previous months, Tim Pitt proves that he has a very hard day job by flying to Italy to put the new Lamborghini Revuelto to the test – a model that is the brand’s first full-production hybrid.
Read the City A.M. review here
New Peugeot Partner review – Phil Huff
In his latest work for What Car?, Phil Huff drives the new 2024 Peugeot Partner to see what sets it apart from its badge-engineered stable mates.
Read the What Car? Review here
SGMW social watch:
In further supercar related tweets, Tim Pitt confirms for us that he really is living the dream by driving the electric Moke and a bunch of supercars in the same month.
With the announcement of the demise of the Abarth 595/695 line-up last month, Chris Rees takes the final model out for one last blast.
In fuel economy news, Phil Huff reveals his latest achievement.
Lastly, in F1 news, Peter Nunn reminds of the glorious era when racing limits weren’t a thing and six-wheeled F1 cars were.
