Best car for the school run Volvo XC60
If in doubt, go Swedish. The staple of the school run for generations, Volvo makes cars of immense practicality and, most importantly, safety. They also look nice and drive well. Five seats, plenty of space in the boot and a good driving position. ‘Designed to simplify and improve your life,’ they say. We can agree with that.
Best car for doing the school run with dogs Volvo XC90
As above, but bigger. First introduced in 2002, the XC90 is the ultimate people mover. Jeremy Clarkson has owned three and once described it as ‘designed by someone who must’ve had children due to its practicality’. Like him or loathe him, he does know a thing or two about cars.
Best first car Volkswagen Polo
What else? The ultimate ‘starter car’, Polos are easy to drive, practical, economical, cheap and when your child inevitably dings it, easy to fix. The only issue is trying to remember which one is yours in the university halls car park.
Best car for driving extremely quickly with golf clubs in the boot McLaren GTS
Late for a tee-time? The McLaren GTS has you covered. First things first, some stats— twin-turbocharged V8 engine spitting out 626bhp; 0–62mph in 3.2 seconds; top speed 203mph; room for two sets of golf clubs in the boot. It’s odd to think of a McLaren as practical, but the GTS is as good as it gets when combining everyday use with eye-watering speed and performance. It only weighs 1,520kg, too.
Best EV for everyday living Polestar 2
Denne historien er fra September 03, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra September 03, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
