Toyota GR GT, fun family mobiles for £20k...

... and bad cars that are actually good

By Cam Tait / Tuesday, 9 December 2025 / Loading comments

The year may be drawing to an end, but we’ve still got a stack of reviews and news stories to get through before we can even begin to think about roasting turkeys. With that in mind, we’re kicking off today’s episode of The Gassing Station podcast with both a review and what might turn into a pretty sizeable news story. On the former, Sam’s been busy driving the new Alpine A390 electric crossover and seems reasonably impressed by it, even if it’s lacking a little theatre. He also spoke with company CEO, Philippe Krief, who revealed that the next A110 could be adapted to run a hybrid combustion engine despite being built on a pure-EV platform. Does that mean an ICE-powered A110 could be back on the cards? We certainly hope so.

Alpine isn’t the only one still (seemingly) ploughing ahead with piston power, as Toyota’s finally taken the covers off its new GR GT. Not only does it come with an all-new, twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, but it’s been developed from the ground up by Gazoo Racing (hence the lack of Toyota badges on it) alongside a bewinged GT3 car, so it’s a proper thoroughbred. That got Sam and I wondering: is Toyota now the most exciting carmaker for enthusiasts right now? Hard to imagine that the company known for the Camry, Prius and, not so long ago, the Auris, could chuck out so many hits. On top of that, the announcement of the all-electric Lexus LFA Concept alongside the V8 GR GT suggests buyers will eventually be able to choose between EV and combustion power, which is infinitely better than being forced to have one powertrain over another.

Speaking of choices, PHer Kingdom35 is looking to chop in their Kia ProCeed GT for something a little more executive and “classy”. Armed with a budget of £20,000, they’re thinking of either an Alfa Romeo Guilia Veloce, Mercedes C 300 Coupe or maybe even a Jaguar XE S, but Sam and I think we can do better than that. My offering is this 2019 Hyundai i30 N Fastback, which ticks the performance box with 275hp and an Albert Biermann-approved chassis, while also being a touch more understated in gloss grey. Sam, however, went in big with this 997 Porsche 911 Carrera 2. It’s an annoyingly good find, being both a manual and relatively low miles, and at £17,995 it undercuts my i30 N by a little over £600, too. Of course, you can chip in your own suggestions on the topic here.

Finally, we dive into a post started by PHer shed driver about cars that are universally disliked, but in reality are actually quite good. You’ll find lots of support for the Fiat Multipla in there, especially the froggy pre-facelift, as well as the Lexus SC430, Vauxhall Zafira and even the Austin Allegro. Sam and I put some suggestions forward, and you can do the same at the link here. But, you know, maybe give the podcast a listen first, eh...

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