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Joe Simpson
Car Editor
Joe is Pocket-lint’s car editor; a role he recently moved into having written about cars for the site since 2010. Joe has a Masters in Car Design and has been working in the automotive industry for over 12 years. Joe worked for Ford in North America, before becoming a consultant to the car industry - specialising in developing future strategies and conducting user research. Previously he’s worked with brands from Audi to Volvo from his base near Leeds, UK. A regular at the major global auto shows, Joe has been a commentator and journalist for over 10 years, and besides Pocket-lint has written about design, cars and technology for Car Design News, Stuff, Core77, The Guardian and Wired. He’s also lectured internationally and teaches on the Vehicle Design Course at London’s Royal College of Art. As Pocket-lint’s primary car guy, he’s driven almost every important new car over the past five years and is fascinated by the way cars and technology are coming together. He’s just finished writing a chapter in a book about Autonomous cars, too. He likes the fact that his work allows him to further his love of travel, is a hopeless Apple addict and outside of work is busy being sleep deprived by two young sons, trying to keep his old Alfa Romeo working and wondering where to store a growing collection of trainers. He wants to run, but currently doesn’t.
Twitter: @joesimpson
Latest articles from Joe
Think Volvo and what do you think? Our bet is that in among a top three list of words you'd have 'safety', 'Sweden' and… 'estate car'. Indeed, Volvo's history is littered with estate models (and safe ones at that). Its first arrived in the UK as long... Read more
After the Golf, the smaller Polo is Volkswagen's best-selling car in the UK. It's easy to overlook, but the Polo is everywhere. To our minds, however, it's always had a bit of an odd image. It just doesn't manage the same 'royalty' status in small car... Read more
BMW only started making SUVs in 1999. Some 20 years on it has a range of six SUVs (which will shortly grow to seven, with the massive X7). The X4, the company's mid-size SUV, is the latest of the crop to get a refreshed look.The first-generation X4 effectively... Read more
The Arteon is a new name in the Volkswagen range, and – in an indirect way – a replacement for the old Passat CC. Based loosely on the Passat saloon, the Arteon is the sort of car you might buy if you fancy a slightly bigger and better value alternative... Read more
We were first mesmerised by BMW's hybrid sports coupe back in 2014. And on some of the best roads that Scotland has to offer, no less. Back then, the BMW i8 was received with much hyperbole. We said at the time: "In many ways, [the BMW i8] redefines the... Read more
Formula E is billed as the electric future of car racing. Ten teams, each with two drivers, compete in identically set-up, electric battery-powered race cars.Formula E kicked off its first seen in September 2014, and the last race of season four – which... Read more
This is what's called putting your money where your mouth is: because this is a review of our BMW i3. Yes, Pocket-lint went out and bought an electric car many months ago. So think of this coverage - highlighting both good and bad points - as a truly-lived-with... Read more
Take one perfectly normal 5-door Volkswagen Golf. Ditch the engine and regular transmission. Install a 36kWh electric battery and single axle electric motor. Et voila. You've got the recipe for the e-Golf, pronounced 'ee-Golf'. It's the fully electric... Read more
Say it slowly: K-i-a Sting-er G-T. Nope, it still sounds funny.Excuse us for poking fun at a name, but can you imagine walking into a party and saying to someone: "Yes, I drive a Kia Stinger GT"? It makes you sound like you've just walked off the set... Read more
The BMW X-series car revolution began in 1999, with the X5. Since then we've had X6, X4, X3 and X1. But BMW has never made an X2. Until now.So what is it? The X2 shares much of its underpinnings with the X1 SUV. But, shock-horror for a BMW, it's based... Read more
What does the future look like? It's a perennial question, one that for cars feels more pertinent than ever. What you're looking at here is the Aicon, and it's what the future looks like according to Audi.You'll know that cars are becoming battery powered... Read more
After months of teasing we're in Portugal and behind the wheel of Jaguar's great future hope – the i-Pace electric SUV. It's the first of the mainstream premium brands to take the fight to Tesla. Specifically, the Tesla Model X SUV.Hold on a second... Read more
This is the Skoda Karoq, which, as the little brother to the 7-seat Skoda Kodiaq SUV, joins the ranks to replace the Skoda Yeti.There will be a few people who mourn the passing of Skoda's small crossover, because the Yeti was distinctive, compact, space-efficient... Read more
Are you ready to plug-in yet? In an environment where many are shunning diesel, yet where many petrol models still don't deliver stellar fuel economy (and have a tax bill to go with them), plug-in hybrids look like the ideal option for the discerning... Read more
You'll have noticed them on your street, down at the supermarket or parked outside your office. There might even be one on your driveway. The SUV - or crossover - has become one of the UK's favourite types of vehicle.Thousands are replacing their old... Read more
The Volkswagen Golf is Europe's best-selling car. When we reviewed the MK 7 back in 2013 it gained a coveted full-marks score. But five years is a long time in the car world, and with the forthcoming Golf MK 8 (as it will be called) still a couple of... Read more
Audi owns the fast estate car genre. Mercedes might make some enticing AMG-models which allow you to bring the dog and kids along, but no car defines that genre better than the Audi RS4.From March 2018 the RS4 arrives in its fourth-generation guise, available... Read more
"E-Pace? Is that the electric one then?," asks a man inspecting our Jaguar SUV as we're taking photos of it for this very review.Despite Jaguar launching its all-new electric i-Pace SUV at the Geneva Motor Show – because, you know, in the car world... Read more
How much do you want an SUV? It might have escaped your notice, but every other car we now review seems to be an SUV or crossover. And every time someone tells us they've bought a new car, it's called something like Qashqai, Kodiaq or Kumquat (ok, yes,... Read more
We've driven it under camouflage, on ice in northern Sweden, and swooned at it in concept form in LA, but today Jaguar unveiled the production I-Pace - its electric SUV, that you can order from today.Remarkably, it looks the twin of the concept car first... Read more
The XC40 is Volvo's third SUV, and its smallest to date. It slots in below the larger XC60 and biggest-of-the-bunch XC90, being the first time the company has offered a vehicle in the booming market that Americans refer to as a "company utility vehicle".... Read more
The last Peugeot 5008 was a traditional MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle). And nobody wants one of those anymore. So for 2018, the 5008 has been reinvented as – you guessed it – an SUV (Sports-Utility Vehicle).It seems like barely a day goes by without... Read more
The Honda Civic is a funny old car. It's a real challenge to pinpoint who, exactly, it's aimed at, yet equally difficult to fault – despite historically boasting a number of irksome quirks. It's billed as a family car. A competitor to the evergreen... Read more
Mid-sized SUVs have become hugely popular over the past few years – particularly at the premium end of the market, if they're wearing the right German badge. The Mercedes GLC Coupe is most certainly wearing a badge of desire. But yes, you read that... Read more
Byton. It's not a name you're likely to have heard. But you might want to remember it, because the auto company has big plans, and by unveiling its concept SUV at CES 2018 it impressed many.Funded by Chinese money (aren't all new car companies these days?)... Read more