With all the hype surrounding climate change, you’d be forgiven for thinking that now is not the best time to launch a new off-roader. Yet the market for compact SUVs has never been busier.
This week we’ve lined up the UK’s four latest arrivals: two are brand new from firms with relatively limited experience in the 4x4 class, while the other pair are replacements for much loved originals that have been around for years.
Contrary to popular belief, car makers don’t leap on bandwagons without considering the consequences. So, to find two doing so at the same time is very unusual – especially in a sector which is supposedly in decline. However, companies as big as Vauxhall and Citroen rarely get it wrong.
The former’s Antara enters a segment that the Frontera vacated four years ago. It has much in common with Chevrolet’s Captiva (which we tested in Issue 968) and prices start at less than £20,000, but it has no seven-seat option and only two powerplants are on offer.
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