Stuart Milne
Stuart has been a motoring journalist for more than 25 years, writing and editing for a wide range of consumer titles. Today, Stuart is responsible for the smooth running of whatcar.com and all of its related social and digital channels. And he’s the man responsible for making sure you're able to find What Car?’s industry-leading content whenever you search for it.
He spent nearly five years as executive editor at Auto Express, and a further five as editor at Carbuyer. Prior to that, he worked as digital editor at What Car?’s sister title, Autocar and relaunched its website in 2012. Stuart’s CV also includes the deputy editor role at Auto Trader following a slight career twist as a new and used car sales executive.
More recently, he’s contributed to Expert Reviews as a product tester and as a freelance PR consultant at automotive communications agency Red Marlin, working across a diverse range of clients in the tech, classic car, manufacturing management and component supply industries.
Stuart is an expert in:
- New and used car retail
- Car finance
- Electric cars
- Consumer advice
- Family cars
- Child seats
- Product testing
Stuart Milne Q&A
What’s the best piece of advice you could offer a car buyer?
Understand your finance options, because it’s very easy to buy a good car badly. It’s not hard to spend weeks or even months poring over car reviews and taking test drives, but so often the process of paying for it isn’t given much thought. You should fully understand all the finance options open to you, be that PCP, hire purchase, cash or leasing and the pros and cons of each. And always bear in mind that if you’re not planning on keeping your car at the end of the agreement, a PCP may not be the best financial move.
What’s the best car you’ve ever driven?
It’s the question I’m most frequently asked, and it’s a tough one to answer. As a car enthusiast, taking a Lotus Evora around the highlands was surely my most memorable drive, and I still find classic cars utterly beguiling. But I’m equally enchanted by common or garden models which are utterly fit for purpose. And for my very personal circumstances, it’s the Skoda Kodiaq which ticks every one of my boxes: utterly practical, economical in the right spec, well built, decent to drive and handsome. I’m a sucker for those ‘Simply Clever’ features like the umbrellas in the doors, too.
What will the car market look like in 20 years?
As far as the new car market is concerned, it’ll be mainly electric with a bit of hydrogen. The ‘h2’ market will have several decades of catching up to do, and like the widespread adoption of diesel years ago, its feasibility hinges on the introduction of HGVs that run on the stuff. The arms race to install ever-larger batteries in electric cars will be over and the focus will be on lighter, more compact batteries driving improved economy. The public charging infrastructure will have improved further, but EVs will spend less time plugged in thanks to faster charging speeds allowed by new battery technology.
As for the used car market, and the cars of today - many of which will be approaching modern classic status by then - the future is less clear. But however road pricing, VED and fuel tax plays out, the cost of driving an ICE car will likely become more expensive. Nevertheless, we’ll still be able to enjoy them, and the increased costs involved will mean they’ll remain cherished.
