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Frustration as ULEZ scrappage scheme struggles to meet demand

Thu, 2 Nov 2023 08:08:42 +0000

Motorists are offered up to £2000 towards the cost of a ULEZ-compliant car

TfL and vehicle breakers inundated as thousands of Londoners apply for ULEZ grant

Motorists wanting to dispose of cars that don’t comply with London’s new Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and claim mayor Sadiq Khan’s scrappage scheme grant are saying that Transport for London’s processing system is struggling to cope and vehicle breakers are overwhelmed.

The ULEZ was expanded to cover all London boroughs on 29 August. To enter the zone free of charge, petrol cars must be at least Euro 4-compliant for NOx emissions, and diesel cars at least Euro 6 for NOx and particulate matter.

According to the RAC, there were around 700,000 non-compliant cars registered in Greater London when the zone was expanded.

On 30 January, Khan launched a £110 million scrappage scheme (later extended to £160 million), offering their owners a £2000 grant towards the cost of a ULEZ-compliant car, and already more than £100m has been claimed. TfL says that it aims to process grant applications within 10 days.

However, with the expanded ULEZ now in operation, applicants are reporting that it’s taking much longer.

One of them, Lucy Hill, who lives in Twickenham, said: “My application has been six weeks of ‘computer says no’.” Meanwhile, drivers claim that London’s breakers have received so many cars that they are unable to scrap them, preventing them from issuing the Certificate of Destruction required by TfL before it will issue the £2000 grant cheque.

Annie Moore, also of Twickenham, said: “As soon as my application was approved, I took my car to be scrapped, but I was told it would take three weeks to do that and issue the certificate.”

One breaker, Durnford Street Car Dismantlers of Tottenham, told Autocar that the number of vehicles it had received for scrapping had increased by 85% in the past three weeks.

“We’re not alone, and I know some breakers are struggling to issue Certificates of Destruction,” said a spokesman.

TfL says that if the car qualifies for the grant, the application should take 10 days to process and, following receipt of the Certificate of Destruction, it should take a further 10 for the grant cheque to be issued.

Including delays at breakers, this means that some Londoners are waiting well over a month to receive their £2000 payment.

A TfL spokesman said: “We apologise if anyone’s scrappage application is taking too long and we’re working hard to ensure that everyone is responded to as quickly as possible.

“Ahead of the ULEZ scrappage scheme expanding to all Londoners with a non-compliant car, we increased our resource to deal with the volume of applications.”

To qualify for the scrappage grant, a driver must live in a Greater London borough and have been the registered keeper of their vehicle since at least 30 January 2022. In addition, the vehicle must be insured and road taxed and have a valid MOT certificate.

ULEZ revenue to “decline sharply” by 2028

Transport for London expects revenue generated by the expanded ULEZ to drop sharply in around two years’ time before falling to “negligible” levels towards the end of the decade.

In response to a recent Freedom of Information request about forecasted revenue generation from the widened ULEZ scheme, it replied: “TfL estimates that the London-wide ULEZ could generate up to £200 million a year for the first two years following expansion on 29 August but that this will decline sharply to approximately £50m in 2025/2026.”

It added that by 2027/2028, proceeds are “projected to be negligible”, because the amount of noncompliant cars entering the capital will have dropped far below today’s 10% rate.

TfL noted that all money generated by its road charging schemes is required to be invested “in improving transport links in outer London”.

What is the ULEZ scrappage scheme?

The ULEZ scrappage scheme offers Greater London residents a £2000 award for scrapping a car that does not comply with the zone's emissions standards.

It was launched in January 2023 with £110 million of backing from City Hall, targeting Londoners on low incomes and disability benefits. In August, the scheme was extended to all residents of Greater London.

How does it work?

To apply for the scrappage scheme, you must be a resident of one of London's 32 boroughs. Your car must have valid insurance, road tax and MOT, and you must have been its registered keeper since 30 January 2022 or earlier.

If your application is approved, you must scrap the vehicle at a TfL-approved treatment centre within one month.

Do not scrap the car until TfL has approved your application and told you to do so, because this is likely to bar you from receiving payment.

The centre will provide a certificate of destruction that must send a copy of to TfL, as evidence the vehicle has been scrapped.

Once TfL has received and verified the evidence that you have scrapped your car, it will process the payment.

Beware that this payment can affect some means-tested income-based benefits, as it is officially treated as savings.

How do I apply for the ULEZ scrappage scheme?

You can apply for the ULEZ scrappage scheme on the TfL website.

First, you must log in to (or create, if you do not already have) your London Road User Charging (RUC) account on the site. Your name on the account must match that on your car's V5 and the photo ID you plan to submit as evidence.

You must then upload the following documents: your photo ID (such as a passport), proof that you live at a London address (such as a bill dated within the past three months), the front and second page of your car's V5, and your valid car insurance certificate.

TfL claims that it aims to process every application within 10 working days of its submission. You will be contacted via email if your application has been approved.

There are several hoops to jump through, but you can register your car as ULEZ-compliant if it meets a specific set of criteria.

Additional reporting by Charlie Martin

How to make a 12,000rpm Porsche engine

Thu, 2 Nov 2023 06:31:45 +0000

Four-valve M64 upgrade is for 993 and 964 Porsche 911s

Swindon Powertrain's £35k upgrade can double a 911's redline with aerospace tech and lightweight construction

Swindon Powertrain, the innovative producer of everything from Hyundai’s championship-winning BTCC engines to its own E-Classic electrified Mini, has come up with a four-valve cylinder head upgrade for air-cooled Porsche engines.

Specifically, the M64 Cylinder Head Kit is designed to fit and be completely compatible with the M64 engine, which graces the 964- and 993-generation 911s.

Having two inlet and two exhaust valves rather than one of each increases valve seat area, allowing more air into the engine at higher revs without compromising the speed of air entering, and exhaust leaving at low revs.

What that means for a naturally aspirated engine is good torque at low revs with the ability to rev higher and therefore develop much more power at the top end.

Swindon’s new heads open up the breathing of the Porsche engine such that it could rev to 12,000rpm, assuming the bottom end is built to withstand that. It’s a huge leap from the 993’s 6900rpm redline, the heads improving peak inlet air gas flow by 40% and exhaust gas flow by 66%.

Swindon boss Raphaël Caillé says the engine could produce as much as 125bhp per litre with the new set-up, depending on the build. Although Swindon isn’t making any specific power claims, that would equate to between 400bhp and 450bhp as opposed to the standard M64 engine’s 268bhp.

The production 964 and 993 Porsches originally had single-cam, two-valve-per-cylinder heads, so squeezing four valves and two camshafts into the same space, as well as figuring out how to drive two cams as opposed to one, proved quite the challenge.

The solution was to drive the exhaust cam from the inlet cam with a pair of gears, which meant the original production camshaft drive chain, its casing and all the related bits and pieces remain standard, with no modifications required.

The heads are cast from A356 aerospace-grade aluminium alloy and then CNC-machined along with the cam chests. Swindon can also supply a power steering drive to enable the 993’s power steering to be retained, bespoke pistons designed to work with the four-valve pattern and custom cam profiles to suit an engine builder’s preference.

Another advantage of the four-valve design is that the smaller valves weigh less and use lighter valve springs than the two-valve heads, reducing loads on the valve train.

The overall package is lighter too. Both inlet and exhaust valves are made from titanium, as are all the small parts like valve collets, shims, finger followers and shafts. The result is a 3.5kg reduction over the complete set of heads, relative to standard.

The £35,940 kit isn’t intended for casual DIY work, only the most skilled engine builders. The engine would need all the necessary bottom end modifications, including a change of crankshaft and other components, to withstand the additional revs and considerable increase in power.

What it offers, though, is the chance to build the ultimate air-cooled 911 with stupendous naturally aspirated performance and sound.

Ferrari, Rolls-Royce... BYD? Why Chinese EV firm calls Mayfair home

Thu, 2 Nov 2023 05:01:45 +0000

The BYD dealership in Mayfair is operated by Stratstone

New flagship site is a former JLR boutique; EV maker's three models range from £26,000 to £49,000

BYD’s UK launch plan has entered a key phase with the opening of a flagship showroom in the heart of Mayfair – the likes of which are usually reserved for the most prestigious brands around.

The Chinese electric car specialist’s new flagship site is a former JLR boutique on Berkeley Street. A Rolls-Royce dealer is opposite, there are Ferrari and Bentley showrooms on the same road and McLaren, Aston Martin and Porsche are among the other luxury brands with flagship retail spaces nearby.

BYD Mayfair is operated by Stratstone, itself owned by Pendragon – one of the UK’s largest car retail groups, with more than 160 dealerships.

Asked how newcomer BYD – which sells three models in the UK, priced between around £26,000 and £49,000 – merits a presence in such close proximity to these revered marques and a position in the Stratstone portfolio, Kim Costello, Pendragon’s chief marketing officer, told Autocar “it was a no-brainer” to open a Mayfair outlet.

“I think [the new BYD Seal saloon is] a fantastic product,” Costello said. “It combines the future of alternative fuel sourcing – in this case electric – with the style, technology and craftsmanship of a luxury vehicle.”

She added: “When you [as a brand] have a storefront in Mayfair, you kind of know you’ve arrived. I think BYD can hold its own on this street.”

BYD has been producing cars for just 15 years, yet it overtook Tesla as the world’s largest manufacturer of electrified vehicles last year and this August celebrated producing its five millionth electrified vehicle.

Having previously sold the e6 electric MPV in low volume in the UK, BYD has returned with three EVs – the BYD Seal, BYD Atto 3 crossover and BYD Dolphin hatchback – and will launch the Seal U SUV here in 2024.

The brand is on track to quickly establish itself as a credible threat to the likes of Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen in the UK market, but Costello said that recognition is a core objective at this early stage, so the prevailing priority for BYD’s Mayfair location is to introduce the British public to the still generally unfamiliar marque.

“This is the biggest thing,” explained Costello. “BYD is one of the largest car companies in the world, but nobody has heard of it in the UK, because it’s a new entrant.”

As part of this initiative, BYD’s trademark technological innovations are, unusually, placed front and centre in its publicity campaigns in the UK.

“We’re embracing it wholeheartedly,” said Costello of BYD’s technology-focused approach to marketing. She cited the puncture resistance of BYD’s ‘Blade’ batteries and the advanced voice-control functionality of its cars as two demonstrable technological assets that Pendragon can communicate easily to customers.

Quick turnaround times are crucial to BYD’s competitive edge; the Atto 3 and Dolphin reached customers just a few weeks after being confirmed for UK sale and the Seal is on track to arrive this month.

Costello said the company’s scale and efficiency minimises the risk of delays, which was an incentivising factor in Pendragon forming a partnership with it.

“Supply isn’t an issue, which is something that’s very attractive with BYD,” she said.

Vauxhall plots £22,000 urban electric car as entry model

Thu, 2 Nov 2023 05:01:45 +0000

The new city car will have a ‘Vauxhall 2.0’ look, like the Experimental concept

Supermini will sit below Corsa Electric in line-up as cheap EVs become a "big pull" in industry

Vauxhall is considering the development of an entry-level city car that will be priced from around £22,000, according to the boss of parent brand Opel.

The new entry point is envisioned as a diminutive, urban-oriented proposition to sit below the Vauxhall Corsa Electric – which opens at £32,445 – in a space similar to that previously occupied by the likes of the Vauxhall Adam and Viva.

That would make it a rival to the forthcoming Renault 5 and the Kia EV2. Florian Huettl, CEO of Vauxhall parent brand Opel, said a city car “was possible” as “there is space in the [new] range for a smaller model [than the Corsa]”, although he wouldn’t confirm if such a car had been designed.

Huettl hinted that the key to a Vauxhall city car would most likely be the development of new energy-dense battery chemistries, which will bring production costs down, enhance interior space and lower vehicle weight.

Reducing the overall size of battery packs would allow future small EVs to offer ranges similar to those of larger existing models while maintaining a compact footprint and low price point.

“That is the goal,” added Huettl. “Our target for the next generation is €25,000 [for an EV].” He added that cheaper electric cars are becoming “a big pull” within the automotive world, especially from customers, and the brand needed to react to this.

Vauxhall has several options it can use to engineer a future electric city car. Parent company Stellantis has a range of platforms, including the forthcoming STLA Small architecture, which will replace the E-CMP platform used by the current Corsa Electric, along with the Peugeot e-208.

The STLA Small architecture is designed to accommodate cars ranging from the A-segment to the C-segment, with batteries of between 37kWh and 82kWh.

It will also allow for a range of motors and power outputs, starting from around 94bhp – ideal for a small city car.

Figures released by Stellantis suggest that the platform, which is scheduled to underpin its first production car in 2026, can be used for cars as small as 3600mm long and 1700mm wide. Another option would be to adopt sister firm Citroën’s Smart Car platform.

This is being used for the recently revealed ë-C3 supermini, which will cost from £20,100 at launch. Citroën CEO Thierry Koskas recently hinted that this architecture could be made available for other Stellantis brands and be used by cars smaller than the average supermini.

“The Smart Car platform is supposed to go in the future in other vehicles from Citroën, maybe from other brands,” he said.

“This is a platform that will receive different vehicles, because it’s a very promising platform where we can do a lot of things – and not only, by the way, B-segment hatch cars.”

At this early stage, there has been no official indication that Opel-Vauxhall is actively considering launching a sibling model for the ë-C3.

Notably, though, it does sell its own version of the Citroën Ami – dubbed the Rocks-E – in various global markets.

However, Vauxhall will not initially attempt to match the mooted €20,000 price point of upcoming EVs like the Volkswagen ID 1. Huettl said: “The aim of €20,000 is, I think, unattainable. The cost of materials is too high.”

Mercedes E-Class Estate line-up topped by £78,835 PHEV

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 15:30:00 +0000

The new E-Class Estate will be sold alongside the new seventh-generation saloon

New E-Class Estate is slightly wider than its predecessor and has an EQS-inspired design

Pricing for the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate has been confirmed by its maker, with the £78,835 E300e plug-in hybrid in AMG Line Premium Plus trim topping the range.

Two 48V mild-hybrid powertrains will also be available in the UK at launch: the 194bhp E220d diesel and the 201bhp E200 petrol.

The E200 is the entry-level offering: the diesel engine costs £1290 more and the PHEV carries a £9095 premium.

At £57,930, the least expensive E-Class Estate available at launch is the E200 AMG Line, which counts adaptive headlights, two-zone climate control and heated seats among its standard equipment.

As before, the new E-Class Estate will be sold alongside the Mercedes E-Class Saloon, revealed back in April, for the model’s seventh generation.

It measures 28mm wider than the previous car and its wheelbase has also grown, by 22mm to 2961mm.

The new estate features 615 litres of cargo space, compared with 650 litres offered by the Volvo V90 and 586 litres in the Audi A6 Avant. With the seats folded down flat, cargo space rises to a van-like 1830 litres.

Plug-in hybrid models have 460 litres of boot space, which increases to 1675 litres with the seats folded, because of the location of the battery.

The model has also received a design refresh, with gloss black styling cues taken from the firm’s all-electric EQS model line-up. It features a sleeker roofline, while a new black panel stretches from the radiator to the headlights.

Mercedes has continued the digital-driven overhaul of its model interiors with the E-Class Estate. It has the latest, third generation of the firm’s MBUX infotainment system with augmented reality, voice assistant and online music streaming.

Also included is a suite of digital apps, such as TikTok, Angry Birds and Zoom. A sophisticated AI system can learn the driver’s habits and routines, suggesting specific functions it thinks the driver might use.

Level-four autonomous driving tech also comes in the form of an optional driverless valet parking function (previously an S-Class exclusive) in markets such as Germany, where the law permits it.

Engine outputs range from 194bhp to 375bhp and all are mated as standard to a nine-speed automatic gearbox.

They are also all paired with a gearbox-integrated starter motor, which adds a boost in power and torque, with improved efficiency and fuel savings when coasting.

The plug-in hybrid variant is also available from launch and features a 24.1kWh battery that gives up to 62 miles of electric-only range.

The estate gains single-chamber air suspension at the rear as standard for improved ride comfort, with the firm’s Airmatic system with adjustable damping optionally available. The car can tow up to 2.1 tonnes.

Additional reporting by Charlie Martin

New 2024 Skoda Superb to be revealed tomorrow

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 14:54:00 +0000

The car's exterior design was previewed in a series of new sketches

Flagship estate and saloon due next year with sleek design updates - and we've already driven it

The new 2024 Skoda Superb will be revealed tomorrow as the Czech brand's flagship model touting a sleek new design, thoroughly overhauled interior and complete technology revamp.

The car's exterior design was previewed in a series of new sketches, showing off the model’s sleek proportions in both estate and saloon forms. It gains several styling cues drawn from the firm’s new 'Modern Solid' design language, including reworked, sharper headlights, improved headroom and improved practicality.

The Czech firm revealed the model’s interior earlier this year, which will gain a total overhaul with the popular model featuring customisable rotary controllers, a new infotainment system and more sustainable materials.

The Superb’s retention of rotary dials looks likely to be a popular feature among buyers. Three of them are positioned below the 13.0in infotainment touchscreen, and they all feature a 32mm digital display and can be ergonomically pushed.

Skoda says the two outer dials can be set to control seat heating and interior temperature. The centre dial can be used to adjust the infotainment volume, fan speed, air conditioning, driving modes and the zoom of the sat-nav.

Elsewhere, the Superb gains four USB-C ports, massage seats and four-way adjustable lumbar support. The gear selector is also now positioned on the steering column.

The Superb, which we’ve already driven in prototype form, will be fully revealed later this year, with a radical visual and technology revamp. It’ll go on sale towards the end of 2023 with a choice of petrol, diesel and an electrified hybrid line-up.

Skoda has previously described its ICE models as “an important mainstay” during its transition to becoming an all-electric car maker. It said: “They fulfil the needs of customers as markets transition to e-mobility at different speeds."

The Superb will be joined by a refreshed Skoda Octavia, Skoda Kamiq and Skoda Scala models, all of which will arrive by 2026, as well as a second-generation Skoda Kodiaq.

They will all be sold alongside a new-look EV offering that will include an Octavia-sized electric estate, a £22,000 entry-level compact urban crossover, an SUV called the Elroq, a production version of the Vision 7S SUV concept and the Skoda Enyaq iV.

Arriving next year, the Superb will get fresh exterior looks, improved technologies and a redesigned interior. Key to boosting their appeal will be an extensive design overhaul, although the only details confirmed at this stage are new thin daytime running lights and redesigned rear lights.

“The Superb and the [second-generation] Kodiaq are two important cornerstones of the Skoda model range,” said CEO Klaus Zellmer, “which is why it’s so special for us to introduce the new generations of both models.

“The Superb is the flagship of our ICE portfolio and will continue to set standards in terms of comfort and space in its fourth generation, in both hatch and estate forms.

"We continue to offer the best of both worlds and meet our customers’ needs, so both models will also be offered with plug-in and mild-hybrid options.”

2024 Skoda Superb prototype first drive

The SUV trend is snowballing at quite a rate, but as a large family car, the Skoda Superb Estate is still one of the best. It might lack the visual presence of its Kodiaq stablemate, but it’s enormous, comfortable, fine riding and competitively priced, and it offers a wide range of engines that are cheap to run. So its fourth-generation successor will have big shoes to fill when it arrives in 2024.

The new Superb hatch and estate share much of their architecture with the jointly developed Volkswagen Passat. The styling is still smart but updated (such as with slimmer headlights and tail-lights) to bring it in line with the new Kodiaq, launching at a similar time. The new Superb Estate is 40mm longer and 5mm taller than its predecessor, with the vast boot increasing from 660 to 690 litres – more than in the Peugeot 508 SW and rugged-looking Citroën C5 X.

Prices, trim levels and specs will be confirmed in November 2023, but there will be a standard Superb, a sportier-looking Sportline version and the luxury-focused Laurin & Klement trim. The slightly raised and more rugged-looking Scout estate will not be offered in the UK.

At launch, there will be three petrol engines, two diesels and a plug-in hybrid, all fitted with an automatic gearbox as standard. The entry-level 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol is the only one with mild-hybrid tech. It’s smooth and quiet and has enough power if you don’t tend to carry a car full of occupants. For more grunt, there’s a 2.0-litre petrol with 201bhp or four-wheel drive and 261bhp. The most powerful 190bhp diesel also drives all four wheels, while the 148bhp diesel feels more lively than the 1.5-litre petrol, with plenty of torque that surges you forward effortlessly.

The plug-in hybrid makes a big leap in battery size and range over the outgoing Superb. As before, a petrol engine combines with an electric motor, but a 25.7kWh battery (the outgoing iV’s is 12.7kWh) is good for a 62-mile EV range. There’s the ability to charge at 50kW, while the slower, 11kW output will charge from 0-100% in two and a half hours.

The latest version of adaptive suspension (now called Dynamic Chassis Control Pro) is available and stiffens or softens the ride depending on the selected drive mode. On the prototypes we drove, we sampled only the Normal setting, which does a good job of ironing out bumps. The suspension remains settled, while body control over undulating roads is well contained. Earlier models of the outgoing Superb struggled to deal with this, resulting in a constant (if slight) ‘floating’ sensation. Overall, this option makes the Superb a calming long-distance cruiser.

Other than a slight grumble from the diesel motor on start-up, little engine noise filters through to occupants. There’s a minor level of vibration through the floor, but road and wind noise are well contained.

The Superb’s interior promises to be the most comfortable version yet, with even more space and a massaging function in the front. Rear passengers get a fold-down centre armrest that can now extend and slide forwards – handy when using the integrated tablet holder.

The gear selector is mounted on the steering column, which frees up extra storage space in the centre console. A 12.9in infotainment touchscreen will feature with user-friendly physical rotary controls.

In short, Skoda hasn’t jeopardised what made the Superb such a strong family car. If the Kodiaq is too bulky for you, or you don’t need seven seats, this car has a lot going for it.

Price Circa £35,000 (est) Engine 4 cyls in line, 1498cc, turbocharged, petrol, plus 48V ISG Power 148bhp Torque 184lb ft (est) Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic, FWD Kerb weight 1500kg (est) 0-62mph 9.2sec (est) Top speed 133mph (est) Economy 45mpg (est) CO2 145g/km, 34% (est) Rivals Peugeot 508, Volkswagen Passat Estate

Lack of diversity threatens future of automotive engineering

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 12:31:46 +0000

Diversity leads to more innovative solutions, says the Royal Academy of Engineering

Royal Academy of Engineering calls for diversity boost as figures reveal just 16% of workforce are women

A severe lack of diversity within the automotive engineering sector, especially with regard to the representation of women, is affecting the sector's ability to innovate as it faces up to new challenges and technologies.

That’s according to the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), which is pushing for more apprentices – from an array of backgrounds – to take up roles within the industry.

“We have a real gender issue in engineering,” RAE director Rhys Morgan told Autocar. Currently, just 16% of the engineering workforce are women. “There are just too few women going into engineering careers, and if you think they make up 50% of the population, that’s the difference we need to address.”

But it’s not just about getting more women into the workforce, Morgan said. “We also have to look at the broader aspects of diversity as well, such as different ethnic groups, and then socio-economic groups as well.”

Having a more diverse team isn’t simply a box-ticking exercise. It brings in “different ways of thinking and different ways of looking at a problem”, said Morgan.

“We can see that more diverse teams lead to better engineering outcomes. There are more innovative solutions.”

There have been some big engineering failures where there haven’t been diverse teams, Morgan pointed out – for example, crash test dummies, which are based on just the male physique and which didn’t consider pregnant women. “It really helps to make sure we are inclusive of all of society when we are conducting these engineering projects.”

Morgan cites the reputation of the industry, something that is determined by many at a young age, as an inhibitor of diversity.

“We need to highlight to young people, girls and boys, that there are many people like them working in engineering: they’re just not seeing them. It’s about making engineering role models much more visible,” said Morgan.

The RAE is looking to change this perception as part of its National Engineering Day, an annual event that falls on 1 November.

As well as looking to make the industry more diverse, the RAE is using the day to get more trainees into the workforce. It is predicted more than 78,000 new roles within automotive will be needed by 2040.

It follows a steady decline in the number of apprentices taking up positions, down 25% over the past five years.

“It is proving really damaging,” said Morgan.

“What we can clearly see is that if we are to meet our net zero goals, we have to have more engineers and technicians. In particular, if we are thinking about the electrification of vehicles, that’s a whole new cohort of technicians that we need to be developing – and apprenticeships are a key way of creating those key skills for our industry.”

New 2023 Polestar 4 is brand's lowest-carbon car

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000

The Polestar 4 will be priced between £50,000 and £65,000

Rakish SUV-coupé with up to 537bhp targets BMW and Porsche with a focus on maximising range

Polestar has confirmed that its new 4 SUV-coupé is its lowest-carbon car, after it was revealed at the Shanghai motor show as “the reinvention of the SUV coupé”.

It will enter the premium crossover segment as a pure-electric car to take on the Porsche Macan as the Swedish firm's fourth model.

Said to have the smallest carbon footprint of any Polestar model to date, it was tested during the firm's life cycle assessment (LCA) and found to produce 19.4 tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime, including production. The firm has been publishing LCAs for each of its cars since 2020.

Production takes place at Geely's SEA factory in Hangzhou Bay, which uses both solar and hydroelectric power and is said to employ production techniques that reduce emissions, such as low-carbon aluminium for smelting.

Fredrika Klarén, Polestar's head of sustainability, said: “To support our net zero goal, we set carbon budgets for all our cars. Throughout the product development of Polestar 4, its carbon budget has influenced everything from material choices to factory energy sources. Sharing the LCA enables us to show that we can strive for net zero.”

The firm has published individual CO2 figures for each specification of the 4, with the entry-level standard-range car producing 19.4 tonnes, the long-range car 19.9 tonnes, and the top-rung dual-motor car 21.4 tonnes. That makes it more carbon efficient than a Volkswagen ID 3.

When it arrives next year, the 4 will join the Polestar 3 SUV as one of the firm’s bespoke offerings, in contrast to the Volvo-based design roots of its first two models, the 1 and 2.

Like the £78,900 Polestar 3, the rakish, electric-powered 4 is positioned as a premium model to rival the likes of Porsche, BMW and Genesis. As such, it will be priced between £50,000 and £65,000, depending on whether a single- or dual-motor powertrain is chosen.

A focus on maximum range has shaped the design, according to head of Polestar design Maximilian Missoni. This is due to the positioning of the header rail, which most cars have and is sited around the rear roof area to add rigidity and strength to the vehicle’s structure. Notably, it will not come with a rear window.

The rail’s position is pivotal: lower it too much to ensure a slippery vehicle and the rail impedes head room, but keep it high for more interior space and it impacts performance by affecting aerodynamics.

Polestar’s solution for the 4, which is based on Volvo/Polestar’s largely aluminium PMA platform, is to both lower the header and move it behind the rear passengers’ heads. Doing so sites the header rail where the rear window would normally be, so a roof-mounted camera now aids rear visibility in lieu of the rear glass. The 4’s drag coefficient is 0.269. The Tesla Model S’s, for comparison, is 0.208.

Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath, formerly design head at Volvo, has been an influencing factor in how the 4 looks. Ingenlath joked that more conservative car makers would still be gauging reaction to the idea at customer clinics. “You are not a design leader if you have to go out and clinic,” he said.

The 4 crossover is just under five metres long, with a 102kWh battery pack (94kWh of usable capacity) and 268bhp in single-motor form or 537bhp as a dual-motor model. “It’s a very good addition to the 3,” said Ingenlath. “Polestar will cover the premium SUV segment in a comprehensive way, from €50,000 to, well… Does it ever end?”

Polestar’s designers say the 4’s interior has been inspired by fashionwear. The materials used are typically modern in feel but minimalist in design. Aside from one rotary knob on the centre console, there are no separate buttons for the climate or infotainment. It’s all touchscreen. Missoni said he thinks it’s more usable.

The rear cabin, which has a backlit panel stretching behind the seats, is “a modern elegant cabin with a button-free layout”, according to Missoni. The rear-view mirror can be flicked from camera screen to mirror so drivers can check on rear-seat occupants.

The 4 will be built in China and go on sale there first, with a staggered global rollout to follow. European sales are set to begin next spring.

Additional reporting by Jonathan Bryce

Tesla's electric car cost-cutting is a 'huge gift' for Ford

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 09:41:47 +0000

Lessons from Model Y can help Ford reduce cost of building Mustang Mach-E

Ford boss says Tesla "set the standard" with the Model Y and pledges to follow its lead on next-gen EVs

Tesla gave Ford a “huge gift” in demonstrating how to cut costs on electric car development and production, Ford CEO Jim Farley said.

Ford’s Model E electric division lost $1.3 billion (£1.07bn) in the three months to the end of September as it negotiated a “challenging market” for the Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV as well as investing in new EV products, the company said.

The firm is aiming to overturn Model E losses with its second generation of electric vehicles, which it aims to launch from 2025, starting with a new electric pick-up and a seven-seat SUV.

“A great product is not enough in the EV business any more. We have to be totally competitive on cost,” Farley told analysts on the company’s third-quarter earnings call. “Tesla actually gave us a huge gift with a laser-focus on cost and scaling the Model Y. They set the standard.”

Ford has said it will replicate some of Tesla’s innovations with the second-generation EVs – for example, by combining multiple underbody parts in a single ‘megacast’ piece.

The company has previously said it has stripped down a Tesla Model Y to understand the differences in cost between that and the rival Mach E. For example, Ford discovered that the wiring harness for the Mach E was a mile longer and 32kg heavier than that for the Model Y.

The Mach-E also uses a cooling system originally specced for combustion-engined vehicles, meaning it can withstand four times the pressure actually needed for EVs.

Farley told analysts that the company would produce 50% more in-house parts for the next-generation EVs, including castings, batteries, inverters, electric drive units and gearboxes. “This level of integration… will allow us to significantly reduce material costs," Farley said. Tesla famously brought far more parts production in-house, overturning a trend to outsource.

Ford will also overhaul its electronic architecture with the introduction of so-called zonal control systems that bring connectivity across the vehicle chassis. Like Tesla, Ford is also introducing the option of cheaper lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, with the first LFP Mach-E models arriving later this year in the UK.

Farley warned analysts of a bumpy ride ahead to overhaul its design methodology. “None of this will be easy, and it has some risk, and you’ve seen our competitors struggle as they build out and ramp up these capabilities,” he said, without naming those competitors.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously talked about the "production hell" of scaling up the company’s volume models, and recently spoke of Tesla “digging its own grave” getting the Cybertruck into production.

Electric Mercedes-AMG GT63 replacement due 2025 with 1000bhp

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 09:33:24 +0000

The AMG GT Four Door will be tasked with taking on the Porsche Taycan and Lucid Air

Performance saloon will be the first AMG model to sit atop the company’s dedicated AMG.EA platform

Mercedes-AMG is poised to begin advanced development of its first bespoke electric sports car, which will arrive in 2025 with innovative, UK-developed drivetrain technology that is likely to make it the firm’s most powerful road car yet.

Serving as an electric alternative to the snarling, V8- engined GT 63 4-Door Coupé, AMG’s first bespoke electric car will be tasked with taking on highly acclaimed and big-selling EV sports saloons such as the Porsche Taycan, Audi E-tron GT and Lucid Air.

AMG has already turned its hand to the Mercedes EQE and EQS duo to create warmed-up, 53-badged sports saloons with huge power outputs, but this new model will be designed from the ground up as a performance car.

As such, it is expected to place as much emphasis on dynamic performance and engagement as it does straight-line speed.

It will be the first car to use a bespoke performance-oriented EV architecture known as AMG.EA. This is understood to have been designed and engineered with an eye on facilitating the low-slung, sleek silhouettes that currently define AMG’s combustion sports cars.

Central to establishing this platform as a dedicated sports car architecture will be the deployment of highly advanced electric motor technology from British firm Yasa, acquired by Mercedes in 2021.

The Oxfordshire outfit’s disc-shaped axial-flux units, to be built at scale by Mercedes in Berlin, Germany, tout much higher power- and torque-density figures than conventional, sausage-shaped radial-flux motors.

As a result, they can weigh less, take up much less space and operate more efficiently. AMG has yet to give any indication of the precise implications of this technology for its upcoming production cars, but Yasa boss Tim Woolmer confirmed to Autocar that a motor bound for one of the German firm’s production cars weighs just 24kg yet produces 590lb ft of torque and 480bhp of power in its own right.

If used in tandem as part of a twin-motor system, it seems likely that the axial devices will result in a dramatic power boost over even the 751bhp AMG EQS 53 4Matic, potentially edging towards the 1000bhp and 1000lb ft marks.

For reference, AMG competitors BMW M and Audi have access to EV platforms capable of handling upwards of 1300bhp for their own next generation of sports EVs but they have yet to give specific details of their own direct rivals to AMG’s new super-saloon: the next-generation M3 and the RS6 E-tron.

Notably, a recent concept from Mercedes – the retro, wedge-shaped One-Eleven – houses both of its electric motors on the rear axle, suggesting four-wheel drive is not a given for AMG’s next-generation sports cars.

At its unveiling, bosses highlighted the packaging benefits of both twin motors featuring at the rear: the front end is able to be brought as close as possible to the ground for optimal aerodynamic efficiency, but the motors’ compact footprint means there is still room for a sizeable rear luggage area.

This suggests that any new electric saloon using such an arrangement can, in theory, tout the same practicality credentials as its V8-engined predecessor, making it a bona fide super-tourer. Prototypes for the electric GT 63 replacement are expected to start hitting the road in the coming months as the EV gears up for a market launch in 2025.

Our best look so far comes courtesy of the rakish, motorsport-themed Vision 2025 concept that AMG revealed last year, which is understood to be a close preview of the model’s shape, size and positioning.

Measuring 5100mm long and with a wheelbase of 3000mm, the concept is well placed to succeed the similarly sized GT 63.

Its proportions hint at a focus on interior space while maintaining handling and aerodynamic performance – with its wheels pushed into the corners and its silhouette defined by various wind cheating elements, including active aero components.

Mercedes exterior design boss Robert Lesnik said the Vision 2025 takes “full advantage of the new [AMG.EA] platform in both the design and the proportions”. He added that the plan for the production version is to create “a low and sleek saloon with outstanding aerodynamics and the space to accommodate four adults in comfort”.

Central to this pledge will be a new type of slimline, energy-dense battery design bespoke to AMG EVs. Mercedes-Benz has confirmed it will use a new silicon anode material from US firm Sila.

This is said to offer a 40% improvement in energy density over existing graphite anodes and thus substantially boost range – with the added benefit of freeing up room in the interior.

New-era AMG cars will follow the lead of their Benz-badged counterparts in adopting a bold cabin design centred on a full-width high-definition screen, as alluded to by the Concept One-Eleven. The 2025 saloon is described as a four-seater, but no doubt larger successors will make space for a third seat in the rear.

Q&A: Robert Lesnik, head of Mercedes-Benz exterior design

What were the design priorities for AMG’s first EV?

“We wanted a low car with a great stance and good practicality with four doors. The AMG.EA platform allows this. We did a lot of proportional models to get the shape right. The surfacing is super smooth - there are no redundant feature lines at all. You’ll notice elements from the Vision EQXX. Aerodynamics on a car like this is very important, both the reduction of drag and downforce. Active aerodynamics will feature on the production car. We have a lot of different ideas.”

How have you re-interpreted traditional AMG design elements?

“We’ve illuminated the grille to give it added prominence. With an electric car you don’t need a functioning grille for air management, but we wanted to give the concept a familiar face. It sits lower than on any other AMG model. We also reworked the headlamps with a new star design. We want it to be a new signature element. As on the Project One, the Mercedes-Benz logo is stencilled into the bonnet.”

What’s next for Mercedes-AMG’s EVs?

“The AMG.EA platform provides a lot of scope design-wise. We’re able to go much lower than with the EVA platform. I can’t give too much away but we don’t develop new platforms for just one model. The Vision AMG is a start. It is safe to say there will be other AMG-specific electric models in the future.”

JLR turns to second-hand parts to clear repairs backlog

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 09:33:05 +0000

Around 10,000 JLR customer cars across the UK are reportedly awaiting replacement parts

As 10,000 Jaguar Land Rover cars await repairs, second-hand parts are being used to keep owners mobile

The owner of a Range Rover Evoque has accused JLR of repairing her vehicle using second-hand parts, as the company struggles to source new, replacement components for thousands of its customers' cars.

As first reported by Car Dealer, a trade publication, around 10,000 customer cars across the UK are awaiting replacement parts, with around 5000 of them off the road at JLR dealerships. The crisis, which originated at the firm's newest parts facility, Mercia Park (below), was revealed by Andrew Woolliscroft, UK client director at JLR, during a dealer summit in October.

“Mercia is a bottleneck and we have a backlog of orders,” said Woolliscroft. The shortage of parts had “nearly stopped workshops from being able to operate," he added.

He said the company had run out of courtesy vehicles as well as the space required to store customers' cars for repair and predicted the crisis would last until the end of November.

Among those owners waiting for a part was Bob Archell. His Range Rover Sport P400e was diagnosed with a faulty wiring harness in April.

"I was on the phone so much to Land Rover I think they lost patience with me," he said. Its new replacement finally arrived in September but, by then, Archell had rejected the car. His case is ongoing.

Meanwhile, an employee at a JLR dealership has told Autocar that to beat the waiting list for new parts and speed up repairs, the manufacturer has instructed dealers to use second-hand parts.

"JLR has told retailers to source non-genuine parts to get cars fixed and out of their workshops for the last six months," he said.

"One JLR senior manager even suggested we use second-hand parts if necessary, although this was ridiculed by retailers."

Autocar contacted the employee to verify his claims but he did not respond.

However, they are backed up by an owner's experience of her four-year-old, diesel-powered Range Rover Evoque, which, after it broke down, was repaired by an official Land Rover dealer using second-hand parts.

The owner, Laura Brannock, who lives in Castle Douglas, says her car first broke down in April. It was eventually inspected in June by the dealer, who told her the new replacement parts it required wouldn't be available until early December.

In August, Brannock, who relies on her Evoque to take her son to regular hospital appointments, contacted Reject My Car (RMC), a consumer advocacy service, for its assistance.

Following its intervention, within days the parts became available and were fitted to the car. Brannock then drove it to RMC's offices near Glasgow so the company could inspect the repair.

Its engineer reported that it had been fitted with a refurbished engine and turbochargers, had very little oil and was displaying 23 fault codes.

"In our experience, the number one complained-of brand is JLR, with its failure to fix, due to lack of parts, the number one cause of customer rejections," said Ian Ferguson, founder and managing director of RMC.

He has advised Brannock not to drive the car while the firm pursues her case.

The dealer did not respond to Autocar's request for a comment but a spokesperson for JLR said that only genuine Land Rover parts had been used for the repair of Brannock's Evoque, that her vehicle was out of warranty and that she had been kept mobile at no cost to her.

Regarding the use of second-hand parts, they said: “It is JLR’s top priority to resolve the temporary parts delays some of our retailers are experiencing and minimise the impact to our clients.

“The use of parts locally sourced by our retailers for replacement and repair is a long-established practice in exceptional circumstances, provided those parts are fit for purpose and meet JLR specifications. This is clearly stated as part of any warranty agreement."

Top 10 cheapest new cars to insure

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 08:30:00 +0000

The Kia Picanto is one of the cheapest cars to insure and a good drive as well

From Dacia to Toyota, this is our guide to the most affordable new cars to insure in the UK

Car insurance is as expensive as it’s ever been, with premiums surging to an average of £924 per year, according to data from comparison site confused.com. Thankfully, there is still a wide variety of cars that come in substantially below that – as our guide to the 10 cheapest new cars to insure in 2023 shows.

Each quote is based on a 35-year-old male who lives in Swindon and works as a teacher. He commutes by car, parking it on the street during the day and in residential space overnight, and he drives 8000 miles per year. He has no points on his licence and a full 18 years of no-claims bonus.

Top 10 cheapest new cars to insure in the UK

1. Fiat Panda 1.0 Mild Hybrid (manual)

Annual insurance premium £474.77 Insurance group 8 List price £14,740

The cheapest new car to insure in the UK is the venerable Fiat Panda. The current model has been on sale for more than a decade, so isn’t quite up to the standard set by rivals like the Hyundai i10. Its analogue nature might appeal to some, however, and the low list price makes it a tad more compelling. If you do want a new Panda, you’ll have to move quickly. Production is set to end in the coming months, to make room for an all-new electric model.

Fiat Panda review

2. Toyota Aygo X 1.0 VVT-i Pure (manual)

Annual insurance premium £480.32 Insurance group 5 List price £15,990

The Toyota Aygo X is a solid city car, offering a playful interior, great ergonomics and a sophisticated chassis. It is on the expensive side given its small stature, though, and the 71bhp three-pot engine is almost rather wheezy. We found it dispatched 0-62mph in a ponderous 16.7sec, for instance.

Toyota Aygo X review

3. Hyundai i10 1.0 Premium [Nav] (automatic)

Annual insurance premium £510.18 Insurance group 1 List price £18,170

One of the best new city cars you can buy, thanks to assured handling and a roomy interior with more technology than many rivals. You’ll have to opt for the underwhelming 66bhp three-pot engine to keep insurance costs down, though.

Hyundai i10 review

4. Fiat 500 1.0 Mild Hybrid (manual)

Annual insurance premium £521.18 Insurance group 10 List price £16,790

Effectively a Panda in a fashionable dress, offered with the same four-seat layout and 1.0-litre mild-hybrid petrol engine. It’s good fun to drive around town thanks to light steering and the rev-happy nature of its engine. That said, it’s also got a lumpy ride and cramped cabin, and it isn’t as refined as alternatives like the Volkswagen Up, so it isn’t the best long-distance option. As with the Panda, you’ll need to move quickly if you want a new petrol 500.

Fiat 500 review

5. Kia Picanto 1.0 2 (automatic)

Annual insurance premium £527.51 Insurance group 1 List price £15,120

The Picanto feels slightly more dated inside than its Hyundai i10 sibling, but it’s also significantly cheaper to buy. It’s both comfortable and surprisingly good to drive, with a sense of agility seldom found in cars so cheap. Although the automatic gearbox brings insurance down, it does make the Picanto’s acceleration lethargic, so we’d recommend the manual instead. Besides, the £705 you save by opting for the manual more than offsets the cost it adds to the insurance premium.

Kia Picanto review

6. Dacia Sandero 1.0 TCe 90 Essential (manual)

Annual insurance premium £528.11 Insurance group 10 List price £13,795

Our favourite budget-friendly car for 2023 isn’t just the best-value car on sale right now, but also one of the best superminis outright. It’s as well built as any of its rivals, and it’s also a comfortable, fuel-efficient cruiser as well. That insurance is incredibly cheap only reinforces the case for the Sandero.

Dacia Sandero review

7. Seat Arona 1.0 TSI 95 SE (manual)

Annual insurance premium £529.91 Insurance group 8 List price £22,450

A former class leader and still a solid option if you’re in the market for a trendy crossover. Its interior looks and feels modern, although entry-level SE cars get only an 8.25in infotainment touchscreen. You might want to consider the step up to SE Technology, given it ups the screen size to 9.0in and adds a sat-nav system plus rear parking sensors – without increasing the cost of insurance.

Seat Arona review

8. MG 3 Excite 1.5 VTI-Tech (manual)

Annual insurance premium £529.38 Insurance group 7 List price £13,820

The MG 3 offers plenty of kit for the money asked, but that’s because it’s a decade-old supermini – and one that’s well off the pace dynamically. Its hard ride means you pogo your way down the road, and lots of wind and road roar make it into the interior. Unless the tech or seven-year warranty are must-haves, you can do much better by spending a little more cash. A next-generation model is set to arrive next year, bringing with it a hybrid powertrain.

MG 3 review

9. Dacia Sandero Stepway 1.0 TCe 90 Essential (manual)

Annual insurance premium £547.36 Insurance group 10 List price £15,295

A Sandero on stilts. The only real differences compared with the regular model are the boost in ride height and more rugged styling. That extra height does bring easier access and a slightly more commanding driving position, but whether that is worth an extra £1500 over the regular version will ultimately depend on your priorities.

Dacia Sandero Stepway review

10. Seat Ibiza 1.0 TSI 95 SE (manual)

Annual insurance premium £565.17 Insurance group 8 List price £19,715

The Ibiza remains a great choice six years after it was first introduced, thanks to its well-finished interior, responsive turbocharged engine and balanced chassis. The steering is overly light, but that’s the Ibiza’s only major failing.

Seat Ibiza review

Volkswagen Touareg

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 06:00:07 +0000

Facelifted SUV gains new tech and enhanced interior, but is it enough to challenge its luxury rivals? ‘Flagship’ is a term typically assigned to cars of luxury and class: when we see it tagged onto a press release of a new car, we expect a certain level of refinement and quality.It's perhaps slightly incongruous in the context of a Volkswagen – the people's car – but its large SUV, the Volkswagen Touareg, has been a quiet mainstay of the Volkswagen range since 2002.Even so, it has always been a slighly more affordable and level-headed alternative to the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne, despite sharing plenty of technology with the latter.Now, five years after the launch of the third-generation Touareg, Volkswagen has given its brand-defining SUV a an update so it can keep pace with its rivals, which have also been thoroughly refreshed recently.Much of the technological revisions are software related, with the facelifted Touareg gaining the previously optional Innovision Cockpit infotainment system as standard – 12.0in and 15.0in digital displays are available. There’s greater flexibility in the software, with upgrades made to HD map data and a new voice-control system with more conversational functionality.So is this ‘new’ SUV set to boost the 1.13 millions Touareg sales, or does it fall short of its German and Swedish rivals? Let's find out.

My Week in Cars: at the Royal Automobile Club with Andy Palmer

Wed, 1 Nov 2023 05:01:45 +0000

Ex-Nissan and Aston Martin boss joins Matt and Steve for a fascinating discussion and reader Q&A

In this very special episode of the My Week in Cars podcast, Steve and Matt are joined by Andy Palmer – previously COO of Nissan, CEO of Aston Martin and now known as the 'Godfather of EVs' – in front of a live audience.

Autocar readers were invited to the Royal Automobile Club in London to hear Matt, Steve, Andy and the rest of the Autocar team discuss the birth of the Nissan Leaf, the evolution of battery technology, the impact of Chinese manufacturers, why Palmer turned down the job of Tesla CEO and much more.

Palmer is well known as the driving force behind the first Nissan Leaf, which, according to Palmer himself, caused Nissan's marketing department to "pull their hair out".

The launch of the Leaf was an achievement which earned him the title of 'godfather of EVs', but he was also responsible for the Nissan Qashqai, a car which shaped its segment but which he admits to have initially been a "long burner". And later, in his subsequent role as CEO of Aston Martin, he is remembered for headlining the Geneva show in 2019 with an all-new range of mid-engined supercars.

Having left Aston Martin in 2020, Andy is now CEO of PodPoint, chair at Hilo and Inobat and much more besides, making him well placed to offer fascinating analysis of the UK's battery factory network, predictions on emerging technology and insight into the contest between European legacy marques and newer Chinese rivals.

Make sure you never miss an Autocar podcast. Subscribe to our podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts or via your preferred podcast platform. And if you subscribe and rate and review the pod, we'd really appreciate that too.

Vauxhall Astra

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 20:44:40 +0000

What else besides Mokka-inspired looks has Vauxhall given its old showroom darling? The backstory of the Vauxhall Astra tells you much about Vauxhall as a company, as well as the ebb and flow of volume car making on these isles.Having always been what we might now call a platform-engineered vehicle, the Astra was launched in the UK in 1980 as the successor to the popular Viva, but it differed from its predecessor technically in a number of significant respects. Even the Viva shared a floorpan and engines with its continental equivalent, the Opel Kadett, but while the Opel’s parts and panels were measured, cut and stamped out in metric millimetres, the Viva was designed, measured and made in imperial feet and inches.Like the eighth-generation version we are about to consider, the Astra Mk1 changed all that. It was also the first compact Vauxhall with front-wheel drive, and to offer a choice of both petrol and diesel engines. It quickly found a receptive market in the UK and continued the Viva’s sales success. Another six generations of the car followed onto Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port production lines over the proceeding four decades, during which time the Astra carved out a place as one of Britain’s biggest-selling new cars.But now, change has come to the car that so many have known. The Mk8 Astra is the first to have been designed and engineered entirely by Stellantis. It is the first that won’t be built in the UK in any form, with Vauxhall’s parent company now gearing up for electric commercial vehicle production at Ellesmere instead. Like the Vauxhall Corsa before it, the Astra switches from an old General Motors model architecture to a new one that makes it a technical relation of the current Peugeot 308 and 408, and the Citroën C5 Aircross and Citroën C5 X. But, unlike any Astra before, this one adopts both electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains in a bid to remain a relevant, responsible choice for the many thousands who will drive one.Range at a glanceWith the addition of hybrids and an electric version, the Astra’s UK model range has become slightly complicated. The Astra Electric and the standard petrol and plug-in hybrid versions come in a three-tier trim structure that starts with a Design-spec car and rises up through GS Line (as tested) to Ultimate. Individual options are few, so if you want IntelliLux adaptive headlights, a head-up display, wireless phone charging or a panoramic sunroof, you have to stump up for a top-spec model.There is also a separate range-topper, the Astra GSe, which comes only with a more powerful plug-in hybrid powertrain and a level of equipment that is roughly equivalent to Ultimate.The Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer estate has just joined the range and sells for a £1200 premium over the hatchback.A diesel engine was available from launch but remained on sale for less than a year before being discontinued.EnginePower1.2T 110PS109bhp1.2T 130PS*129bhpTurbo D†129bhpHybrid178bhpGSe224bhpVauxhall Astra Electric153bhp*Version tested †Discontinued

Skoda Enyaq Mk2 due in 2028 with 12-minute charging

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 10:57:29 +0000

The Enyaq's SSP platform is set to eventually underpin 80% of VW Group cars

Brand's first SSP-based car will get bespoke batteries and be built in the Czech Republic

The Skoda Enyaq will enter its second generation in 2028 as the Czech brand’s first car to use the Volkswagen Group’s new SSP electric car platform.

Speaking to Autocar at the unveiling of the new Kodiaq, Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer confirmed that Skoda will start using the SSP platform – set to eventually underpin 80% of VW Group cars – towards the end of the decade, with the Mk2 Enyaq the first to make the switch from the current MEB platform.

Skoda’s first SSP car will arrive in 2028 or 2029, he revealed, at around the same time as Volkswagen uses the architecture for an electric successor to the Golf.

“This is when the Enyaq – which, by the way, will be built in Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic – will be on SSP,” said Zellmer. Asked if the new Enyaq will be tangibly different from today’s car, Zellmer would only say: “We are still working on that.”

Given the success of the current Enyaq iV – Skoda’s first bespoke electric car – the brand is unlikely to stray too far from the formula as it gears up to launch a replacement model.

Last year, Skoda shipped nearly 54,000 Enyaqs and recorded a 41% year-on-year increase in the first half of this year, during which period the Enyaq was Europe’s ninth-best-selling electric car.

Expect a trademark focus on practicality to remain the prevailing theme but also for the second-gen Enyaq to adopt a radical new look in line with Skoda’s rugged ‘Modern Solid’ design ethos, which will make it an obvious sibling to the upcoming Space BEV electric seven-seater.

The next Enyaq will also benefit from wide-reaching technological advances due to be rolled out to VW Group production cars in the coming years.

The SSP structure – a highly adaptable modular architecture that can host various drivetrains and batteries according to the needs of each VW Group manufacturer – promises drastic improvements in range, efficiency, power and affordability compared with the current MEB structure, which is used by EVs from VW, Skoda, Cupra and Audi.

Chief among the technical changes is the introduction of a new ‘Unified’ battery structure, developed in-house, which will be shared across most VW Group model lines in the name of scale-led cost savings.

Early details suggest 800V compatibility will give a 10-80% charging time of as little as 12 minutes on average – compared with around 35 minutes for the current Enyaq – but specific capacities and ranges have yet to be confirmed.

VW Group CEO Oliver Blume has previously suggested that this new modular approach – under which a much higher percentage of components will be shared between cars and brands – means “most” SSP-based EVs can achieve cost parity with current combustion cars.

So it is reasonable to expect that the next Enyaq will come down in price to roughly match the five-seat Kodiaq. Another crucial upgrade for the SSP era will be the introduction of a new software stack, dubbed 2.0, which will bring – among other usability and functionality upgrades – the capacity for hands-free driving up to level four.

Q&A with Klaus Zellmer, Skoda CEO

Will the new Kodiaq be as popular as the last one?

“We’re hoping it will outsell the previous one, but the equation is different today compared to 2016: we’re adding battery-electric vehicles; we’re adding complexity; we’re adding subsidies; we’re adding tax advantages… So let’s see how that plays out, but with a plug-in hybrid version with an EV range of 100km [62 miles], you have a fair chance to capture an audience that potentially has range anxiety and isn’t fully buying into battery-electric vehicles because they [the drivers] go long distance.”

Is Skoda going after the premium players with its top-end cars?

“That is not our declared objective, but of course we grow with the market, and with our customers and their expectations when it comes to haptics, quality, function and intuitive design like the ‘smart dials’. At the end of the day, it’s value for money – and I think this equation for Skoda was always important: you get a lot of value for your money, which doesn’t mean you’re always the cheapest.”

When will we see Skoda’s electric city car?

“In the first half of next year we’re going to show the Elroq, so that’s the next battery-electric vehicle we will reveal. We don’t see the necessity to pull the cloth off the A-0 BEV, but customer clinics are very promising… It would be too early to show the car now because it won’t be available before 2025.”

Ford Fiesta review

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 09:41:00 +0000

We may not be getting a new Fiesta ever again, but Ford's icon lives on as a cheap, fun used buy The Ford Fiesta has been laid to rest but it’s going out on a high. This final generation of the long and loved line is a peach: great to drive, refined and practical.It’s also a really good buy as a used car, which is handy because that’s more or less your only way to get one now.There’s plenty of choice in the Fiesta range – not just in the sheer numbers on sale but also in the breadth of the model range. Take the engine line-up. The petrols include a 1.1-litre with 69bhp and 84bhp and a turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder Ecoboost in 94bhp, 99bhp, 123bhp and 138bhp states of tune.There’s also a 1.5-litre diesel with 84bhp or 118bhp, which was withdrawn from sale in 2020. Later models incorporate mild-hybrid technology in 1.0 Ecoboost 125 and 155 versions.You can even have your seventh-generation Fiesta as a raised-up SUV called the Active, or as an impressively agile 197bhp ST hot hatch.Trim choices are equally all-encompassing. Entry-level Style models have air-con and electric front windows, while Zetec adds 16in alloy wheels and a heated windscreen. You also get an 8.0in touchscreen infotainment system, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with Zetec and above. Titanium brings cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, and climate control, while B&O Titanium (there’s also a B&O Zetec) has an upgraded 10-speaker 675W sound system.Titanium X gets the B&O sound system as standard along with heated front seats. ST-Line and ST-Line X gain sportier exterior and interior styling and firmer suspension. ST-Line otherwise has the same equipment as Zetec, while ST-Line X is based on Titanium. Top-of-the-range Vignale has leather seats, a panoramic glass roof, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.But it’s the way it drives that sets the Fiesta apart. The 1.1 petrols and 1.5 diesels are pleasant enough but the 1.0 Ecoboost is the star. It’s punchy and refined and beguiling in any of its power outputs.Few superminis are more enjoyable to chuck around on a twisty B-road, too. The steering is precise and well weighted, grip is plentiful and the car has good poise. To top it all off, the ride is beautifully judged, both in town and on motorways, even with the firmer ST-Line models.Suspension noise is well suppressed too, giving the Fiesta a sense of solidity and big-car refinement.Inside, the areas you touch frequently all feel fairly upmarket and the Fiesta uses soft-touch material on parts of its dashboard, although overall it doesn’t feel quite as solidly screwed together as the Seat Ibiza or Volkswagen Polo.Still, it has plenty of room up front and a widely adjustable driving position. Two people of average height will be comfortable in the rear, but three in the back is more of an option for shorter journeys. Most models have a backrest that folds with a 60/40 split and the reasonably sized boot is relatively easy to access.Which is the best Ford Fiesta?Titanium: Two reasons for picking this trim. One, it comes with goodies such as ambient interior lighting, rear parking sensors, an automatically dimming rear-view mirror and a built-in sat-nav. And two, it’s good value.1.0 100 Ecoboost: Our favourite is the three-cylinder 999cc engine, and of the four versions on offer we would go for the 99bhp version because it’s fast enough at motorway speeds and is also pretty economical.We elected to test the Ford Fiesta in Active form, driven by Ford’s hybridised 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine and its seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, to find out whether a dose of SUV DNA has had a positive influence on this popular small car.By John Evans

Mazda MX-5

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 09:25:00 +0000

Fourth-generation MX-5 heads back to Mazda's roadster's roots, surpassing its predecessor in every area While everyone was swooning over the new Toyota GR86 and subsequently getting worked up that you can’t actually buy one, some might have forgotten that if you want a lightweight, front-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car with a manual gearbox, you could simply go to a Mazda showroom and buy a Mazda MX-5 all along.The current generation of the Mazda MX-5, codenamed the ND, was brilliant when it launched in 2015, and because it’s such a timeless concept, it hasn’t aged a day. It also helps that Mazda has kept it fresh with model-year tweaks here and there – some small, some quite significant.Other long-running nameplates, such as the Mercedes SL, have markedly changed in character throughout their run, but the MX-5 still fulfils much the same role as it did when it first went on sale in 1989.It came about as the result of an American wistfulness for cheap British roadsters on the one hand, and a Japanese firm’s readiness to speculate and innovate in order to make its global reputation on the other. ‘Mazda Experiment, Project Number Five’ would go on to become the world’s fastest-selling sports car.The idea of an affordable open-top was hardly new to Japan. Preceding decades had seen oddities such as the Datsun Fairlady, Honda S500 and Toyota Sports 800 emerge, often as their fledgling makers’ first production models. But by the end of the 1970s, with the demise of such icons as the Triumph Spitfire, MG B and original Lotus Elan, the segment was assumed to be in decline. It was these models, though, that Mazda dissected during the MX-5’s development, and they are among the reasons why it emerged in 1989 as a small, sub-one-tonne, front-engined, rear-drive, perfectly balanced home run.Ironically, the MX-5’s success found a counterpoint almost immediately in the lukewarm reception and ailing sales figures that greeted the all-new Lotus Elan, which emerged only a few months later, lumbered as it was by a higher price, lumpier looks and front-wheel drive. The first MX-5 – the NA – was arguably the model’s dynamic high point. Its successors were generally very good too, but they became progressively more powerful, bigger, heavier and that bit less exciting to drive. Until the current ND generation, that is. It was a return to the old template: shorter, lower, wider and – most importantly – lighter than its predecessor, the ND MX-5 comes with a choice of either 1.5 or 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engines and the promise of unparalleled ‘Jinba ittai’ – the manufacturer’s catch-all term for oneness between car and driver.Mazda MX-5 FAQsIs the Mazda MX-5 available as a plug-in hybrid or electric?No. The weight that current electrified powertrains bring with them is anathema to the philosophy of the current MX-5. Mazda is committed to keeping the MX-5 alive, however. In the first instance, this means that the current car will be developed to comply with the GSR2 safety regulations, but Mazda has yet to commit to a future powertrain strategy for the MX-5.What are the main rivals to the Mazda MX-5?As the world’s best-selling roadster, the Mazda MX-5 has effectively scared away any direct rivals. If you want a small two-seater convertible with rear-wheel drive, then the Mazda and the much more hardcore Caterham Seven are the only game in town. The Audi TT is going off sale soon and the BMW Z4 is much less of a driver’s car.If you don’t mind, or even want a roof, then the Toyota GR86 delivers a similarly uncomplicated and even more focused driving experience, though getting a spot on the waiting list will be tough. Other driver-focused options include small hot hatches, such as Ford Fiesta ST and Hyundai i20 N, while the only other remaining small drop-top is the Mini Convertible.How much power does the Mazda MX-5 have?There are two engines to choose from for the Mazda MX-5, both naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol units. The entry-level 1.5-litre delivers 129bhp, and the 2.0-litre 181bhp.What gearbox options are there for the Mazda MX-5?As standard all versions of the Mazda MX-5 get a six-speed manual gearbox, while a six-speed automatic is available as option on the 2.0-litre.Where is the Mazda MX-5 built?Mazda has several factories around the world, but the MX-5 is built exclusively at its Hiroshima facility in Japan. Assembled on the same line were at one point the Abarth and Fiat 124 Spider models, which used the same structure and interior as the Mazda, but different styling and powertrains.How many generations of the Mazda MX-5 have there been?Launched in 1989, the Mazda MX-5 is the world’s most successful two-seater sports car, with well over a million having been sold over four generations. The original set the template that the subsequent models have barely deviated from, each boasting similar exterior dimensions and kerb weight. The first MX-5 arrived in 1989, followed by the second, third and fourth generation models in 1997, 2005 and 2014 respectively. It is likely that there will be a fifth generation, but it is unknown when that might appear.Range at a glanceEver since its launch in 2015, the ND-generation MX-5 has been available with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder and a 2.0-litre four-cylinder, both naturally aspirated. In 2018, both got updated, but while the changes for the 1.5 were mild, the 2.0-litre got an extra 23bhp and a 700rpm-higher redline. All MX-5s come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, but the 2.0-litre can be optioned with a six-speed torque-converter automatic.Through the years, trim levels have come and gone, and there have been more special editions than stars in the universe. In 2023, the range starts with Prime-Line, which gets cloth seats and 16in wheels, and is only available in combination with the 1.5-litre engine. Exclusive-Line adds leather seats, auto headlights, parking sensors, AEB and better speakers. Homura is reserved for the 2.0-litre and has 17in BBS wheels and light grey leather seats.In 2017, Mazda added an RF (for ‘Retractable Fastback’) model with a metal folding roof to the line-up. It can be had with both engine options.VersionPowerMazda MX-5 1.5 Skyactiv-G (2015-2018)†*129bhpMazda MX-5 1.5 Skyactiv-G (2018-)*130bhpMazda MX-5 2.0 Skyactiv-G (2015-2018)†158bhpMazda MX-5 2.0 Skyactiv-G (2018-)181bhp*Version tested†Discontinued

Used Mazda MX-5 2005-2015 review

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 09:21:00 +0000

The Mazda MX-5 is still great fun, and more grown up in its third generation. For pure driving fun, little gets close The Mazda MX-5 hit the ground running and became so instantly iconic that it seems weird now to think that there was a time when it didn’t exist.It turned out to be, over its four generations (so far), the ultimate real-world enthusiast’s car and the biggest-selling two-seat sports car of all time.Oh, yes, of course, there were other dainty drop-top two-seaters that came before it and some that came after it, but Mazda's delightfully simple and properly screwed-together roadster delivered a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive answer to more than a million people’s prayers.You see, if you want affordable fun, the iconic MX-5 has always delivered in spades. The Mk1 car (the NA) was an analogue delight, the Mk2 (NB) a practical uptick, the Mk3 (NC) more refined and the latest Mk4 (ND) a dainty peach.The answer to the question of which one to buy is probably that you really need one of each. However, presuming the budget allows only one, we would start by discounting the first two generations, because they’re now well stricken in years, so to find a good one means shopping very carefully. We would dismiss the Mk4, too, as a nouveau venu.That leaves us with the Mk3, and that’s good, because this is a car that’s definitely still a sound purchase and starting to look like really good value.Launched in 2005, it was larger and heavier (by around 100kg) than the Mk2, but it offered more comfort and refinement. It was more powerful, too. Under the bonnet, you could choose between a 125bhp 1.8-litre or 158bhp 2.0-litre in-line four, the latter with variable valve timing and a limited-slip differential.A slick five-speed gearbox was standard on both, but track down a 2.0-litre in Sport trim and it will have a six-speed ’box, as well as 17in alloy wheels, stiffer suspension, traction control and heated leather seats.Unlike the previous MX-5s, this model was available in two different guises: the traditional soft-top roadster and a Coupé Cabriolet, which came with an electrically powered folding hard top that gave the refinement of a coupé but allowed you to get the wind in your hair at the touch of a button.For most, the 1.8-litre model will be fast enough out on the open road, and slightly cheaper to run. However, if you want to make the most of the MX-5’s agile chassis, the 2.0-litre is a blast.But straight-line speed isn’t what the MX-5 is about. What you will get for your modest outlay is what remains one of the best-driving cars available, regardless of budget. Both hard- and soft-top models are wonderfully agile.The steering is precise, while the chassis offers fluid handling with bags of grip. The ride is comfortable and controlled over broken surfaces, too, especially in the coupé, which has slightly softer suspension settings.The range was facelifted in 2009, when it gained a revvier 2.0-litre engine and tweaks to the suspension, front and rear bumpers, door mirrors and some enhanced cabin trim. SE replaced the old entry-level trim, while Sport Tech superseded Sport.A further facelift in 2013 brought changes to the front grille and lights and styling changes to the wheels, as well as such luxuries as sat-nav and standard-fit climate control.Mazda MX-5 2005-2015 common problemsEngine: The engine is mostly bulletproof, but it’s vital to keep the oil level at its correct level, so check that first. Look for oil smoke and listen for any strange noises emanating from the crankshaft. Older, higher-mileage cars can suffer broken wires in the coil-on-plugs. It has a timing chain, not a belt, but the tensioner can fail.Bodywork: MX-5s do rust, so go over it with a fine-toothed comb. Check under the bonnet, as well as the boot and chassis areas. Make sure the panel gaps all line up and watch for any overspray on bumpers. Check the clips securing the plastic panel beneath the wipers. They can channel water into the interior. Likewise, ensure the hood drain holes are clear and feel for damp carpets. Check the roof operation on early coupés.Interior: Watch for warning lights staying on, especially DSC (dynamic stability control), caused by battery disconnection.Transmission: Expect the action on five-speed and six-speed gearboxes to be stiff from cold but to loosen up. Listen for any suspicious noises from the rear diff.Suspension and brakes: Check the dampers. Listen for knocking from the front and rear anti-roll bar drop links, which last around 40,000 miles. Brake hard to check for pulling, because the calipers are prone to seizing.Roof problems: Whether you’re looking at a roadster or a Coupé Cabriolet, check the roof-folding mechanism and ensure that there are no signs of leaks, tears or damage. The Coupé Cabriolet’s roof can stick half-open, because of faulty position sensors. Careless owners can leave the roof down in poor weather, so check for damp patches and water marks on seats and carpets.Interior: Some owners complain of a strange buzzing noise from near the gearlever when the car is accelerating. Mazda says it’s nothing to worry about.Wheels and tyres: The wheels can be incorrectly aligned, so check for any signs of uneven tyre wear.In this used Mazda MX-5 buying guide, we’ll tell you how much fun it is to drive, how practical it is, and how much it’ll cost you to run. And, of course, whether a Toyota GT86, Subaru BRZ and BMW Z4, makes the better choice.

How much does it cost to charge an electric car?

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 08:53:29 +0000

The details of EV charging and the cost of it remain hazy to some; we address the key questions here

If you’ve been considering a move away from petrol or diesel, the first thing on your mind may well be how much it costs to charge an electric car.

It’s a great question to ask because this is where you make your money back. For example, an entry-level petrol Vauxhall Corsa is around £20,000 in cash. Whereas an electric Vauxhall Corsa is more like £30,000.

That £10,000 difference seems like it’d be hard to make sense of financially. But the good news is that if you plan charging ahead of time, and before you buy your car, there are huge savings to be made.

Even amid the cost of living crisis and varying energy rates, charging an electric car at home is usually much, much cheaper than filling a petrol or diesel car.

Especially when you can top up overnight, when electricity is at its cheapest.

However, the gap between EV and internal-combustion running costs narrows if you need to rely on the public charging infrastructure. For instance, using a public charger you’ll pay 20% VAT compared with the 5% for people using domestic electricity – and that’s before you factor in the additional cost of using a high-power DC rapid charger. Indeed, filling up using these points can cost almost as much as brimming the tank of an equivalent petrol car.

Of course, there are cheaper options, but they’re not as quick and usually not as conveniently located.

How much will it cost to charge my car at home?

The vast majority of electric car drivers charge at home where it’s not only cheaper, but also far more convenient, as it allows you to start the day with a full battery. Obviously, this depends on the car you’re charging and your electricity supplier’s tariff, but even with the recent hikes in electricity prices, you will still be saving cash on every refill compared with a traditional petrol or diesel car.

For example, when plugging in a Kia Niro EV with a claimed 285-mile range, it should cost around £18 for a full charge, based on the current average cost of 27p per kWh.

Some energy providers offer special tariffs for electric car owners, providing even cheaper rates for overnight charging. Octopus’s Intelligent scheme, which works with select EVs (or any EV connected to an Ohme ‘smart’ wallbox) gives a minimum of six hours of electricity per night at 7.5p per kWh. If you have a 7kW charger, that means you could recharge almost two-thirds of the Niro EV's battery for just £3.15. If you’re able to complete a full 64kWh charge solely on that off-peak rate, it would cost just £4.80 – a fifth as much as on the energy price cap.

Moreover, if your home has solar panels, some chargers can use this ‘free’ energy to charge your EV, further reducing bills. There are even trials running for bi-directional charging that allows you to ‘sell’ any surplus power from your EV back to the grid.

Home charging for company car drivers is more complex, owing to the need to prove how the energy has been used. However, drivers can claim 9p per mile for business trips in electric vehicles, which is the easiest way to avoid administrative headaches.

How much will it cost to install a car charging point at home?

It's possible to use the factory-supplied three-pin plug charger when refilling your EV's cells, but charging times are lengthy and most manufacturers claim this device is for emergency use only.

Either way, if you’re committed to EV ownership and you have access to a driveway or garage, it’s always best to use a dedicated wall-mounted unit, which can charge at up to 7kW, more than twice as fast as the three-pin alternative.

There are a number of different manufacturers to choose from, plus a choice of tethered (with a charging cable permanently attached) or untethered (allowing you to choose different sockets and cables for different cars) layouts.

Regardless of which one makes most sense for your EV, you will need a qualified electrician to check your household wiring is up to the task and then to install the box.

Prices vary, but you can expect to pay £500-£1000 for a home charger.

If you live in Scotland, bear in mind that the authorities there offer a £400 grant toward the cost of installing a charger.

Also keep in mind that if you're a home owner in a single-unit property and still haven’t bought your EV, a number of manufacturers are still offering a free wallbox and installation when you buy one of their electric models.

How much will it cost at a public charging station?

This is dependent on your car and the way you use it because there are numerous options when it comes to public charging stations. For instance, if you only need to charge when out and about infrequently, then a pay-as-you-go method is possible. It generally costs between 20p and £1 per kWh, with DC rapid chargers sitting at the higher end of the spectrum.

Instavolt works on this principle, requiring nothing more than contactless payment as when you need to top up, when it charges 75p per kWh. Other providers will charge an hourly rate (effectively a parking charge) plus a kWh charge for electricity consumed.

If you travel further afield more frequently, providers such as BP Pulse offer a subscription service with a monthly fee of just under £8, which gives you discounted rates (the brand reckons on a 20% saving compared with pay as you go) on many of its 9000 chargers, plus free access to a handful of AC units.

You’ll need a smartphone app to access them (or an RFID card for some of the older units), but once connected, you will be billed at 63p per kWh on the rapid (50kW and 150kW) chargers and 44p per kWh on the 7kW devices. It’s also possible to use many of the chargers on a pay-as-you-go basis with a contactless bank card, with a rate of 59p per kWh for 7kW AC chargers or 79p per kWh for 50kW and 150kW chargers.

Rival oil company Shell has its Recharge network, which has been rolling out 50kW and 150kW rapid chargers at its filling stations across the UK. These can be used on a contactless pay-as-you-go basis on a flat rate of 85p per kWh for its 50kW chargers, as well as its faster 150kW and 175kW.

These prices remain unchanged if you sign up to the Shell Recharge account, which bills you monthly for your use but also allows you to use more than 250,000 chargers from more than 250 providers across Europe. It’s also worth noting there’s a £20 pre-authorisation requirement on your card each time you plug in. Shell claims all electricity for its chargers comes from renewable sources.

Some hotels and shopping centres offer free charging to customers. The widespread use of smartphone apps for all providers makes it easy to see where the charging points are, how much they cost to use and and whether they’re free, so you can easily tap into a provider that suits your needs and budget.

Many manufacturers also offer simplified charging by giving access to numerous providers under their own charging scheme. For instance, Audi’s E-tron Charging Service account gives access to nearly 20 different energy firms, while all new E-tron models come with a voucher that covers the first 1000 miles worth of charging for free.

Tesla owners get their own dedicated rapid-charging Supercharger network, plus a number of Destination fast chargers at locations such as hotels. Owners of a Tesla Model S or Tesla Model X registered before 2017 are eligible for free charging, while some owners received 6000 miles of free charging if they bought their cars between 15 December 2022 and 12 January 2023.

For all other Tesla owners, there will be a charge: 49p during off-peak hours and 59p on-peak. Tesla also charges ‘idle fees’ if you remain parked up once you have a full battery, to reduce how long it takes for others to get connected. If the Supercharger station is more than 50% full, you will be charged 50p for every minute you’re parked in a fully charged car, rising to £1 if the station is completely full.

Tesla has also made some of its UK Superchargers available to owners of other brands of EV. On 30 August 2023, to mark the 10th anniversary of its European Supercharger network, Tesla made all its charge points in the UK free to use for all electric cars for the day.

If you need to charge an electric car at an apartment or flat and you don’t have access to a domestic wallbox, then the increasing number of lamp-post charging units will be of interest. Shell-backed firm Ubitricity is a major player with 7000 street-side chargers available, making it the biggest network in the UK.

With electricity trickling in at around 5.5kW it’s not the fastest, but you’ll pay 40p per kWh during the day and 37p per kWh between midnight and 7am. There’s a 35p connection charge and a £25 pre-authorisation fee to ensure you’ve got the funds for a full charge.

How much does motorway charging cost?

You will pay a little more to charge at a motorway service station, largely because most of the chargers there are fast or rapid units. Until recently, Ecotricity was the only provider at these locations, with around 300 chargers available, but it has now been joined by companies such as Ionity.

In the case of Ecotricity, it sold its Electric Highway network of chargers to Gridserve, which promises greater investment and more 350kW rapid chargers. Over the rest of the Electric Highway network, there’s the existing choice of both AC and DC charging options, all with a 45-minute maximum use time. There are only a handful of the 22kW AC fast chargers left, and these cost 49p per kWh.

The rapid DC chargers offer 120kW, 180 kW or 350kW charging and can be all be used on a pay-as-you-go basis at both its motorway services locations and Gridserve Forecourts, which are essentially stand-alone hubs on main trunk roads and provide amenities such as cafés and newsagents. The firm also recently revised its prices, with all DC charging rated at the same 69p per kWh, although its pre-authorisation requirement has been slashed to just £1, with the exception of its Super Hub and Rugby Services in Warwickshire, where the fee is £35.

Rival firm Ionity costs a little more for pay-as-you-go customers, with a price of 74p per kWh, but commercial tie-ins with EV manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz entitle drivers of these cars to lower rates. On the plus side, all of its units are capable of charging at up to 350kW.

Additional reporting by Charlie Martin

Used Ford Fiesta 2017-2022 review

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 08:51:00 +0000

For the eighth generation, Ford tread lightly with the new Fiesta. But does that compromise it as a good used purchase? For anyone under the age of 40, there has always been a Ford Fiesta. Such longevity confers on it the kind of rarefied status that makes a car synonymous with both the brand and its proclaimed values.Certainly, the outgoing model – launched back in 2008 – has been not only the bedrock for Ford’s sales in Europe but also the prime conveyor of its ‘Feel the difference’ dynamism and peach-pretty exterior styling.And although it never managed to be the cheapest, most practical or best-equipped supermini, the Fiesta's virtues repeatedly distinguished it as not only the car to beat in our eyes but also the default option for a new generation of downsizers and first-time buyers.Consequently – like Volkswagen with the Volkswagen Golf or BMW with the 3 Series or Porsche with the Porsche 911 – when it came to replacing the outgoing Fiesta with a new generation, Ford has opted not to drastically tamper with the formula.In fact, although the car ultimately earns an ‘all-new’ differentiation from its predecessor, some of it could rightly be described as a far-reaching overhaul rather than a white-space rethink.Instead, Ford’s stated aims have focused on addressing the issues that inevitably crop up when producing the same model for nearly a decade: renovating the styling, reinventing the interior, improving quality and fine-tuning the performance.The timing of this model's arrival was impeccable. The latest generation of rivals at the time – most notably, the Seat Ibiza and the Volkswagen Polo – could credibly claim to have exceeded the long-standing benchmark set by the Fiesta.As a result, this new version must improve on not only its predecessor’s impressive legacy but also the polished desirability of the competition. No pressure.2008-2017 Ford Fiesta engine line-up and trim levelsThis Fiesta was available in no fewer than six trim levels, including the semi-rugged Fiesta Active and the pocket rocket Fiesta ST hot hatch. Standard cars could be ordered in Trend, Titanium, ST-Line and Vignale trim.Entry-level Trend cars ride on 16in alloy wheels and get LED projector headlights, electric heated wing mirrors, a QuickClear heated windscreen, 8in touchscreen infotainment system with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, cloth upholstery and lane keep assist as standard.Stepping up to Titanium models adds rear privacy glass, chrome exterior trim, keyless start, cruise control and rear parking sensors, while Titanium X cars get 17in alloy wheels, LED rear lights, climate control and uprated B&O play stereo system, among other extras.ST-Line cars share more dynamic exterior design elements with the full-fat ST, and get a sports-tuned suspension, but otherwise shares a similar kit list to the Titanium trim. ST-Line X models step up to 18in alloys, and largely have the same extras as the Titanium X.Vignale cars have their own unique front grille, bodystyling and 17in alloy wheels. Inside, the front seats are heated and upholstered in Sensico artificial leather. Adaptive cruise, keyless entry, front- and rear parking sensors and a rear view camera are all included as standard.The engine line-up consists of a naturally-aspirated 1.1-litre petrol, available on base-level Trend cars only, and a 1.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost three-pot in a range of outputs. The 99bhp EcoBoost is sold in six-speed manual form only.The 123bhp and 153bhp versions included mild hybrid assistance for improved efficiency, but only the lesser-powered variant can be equipped with a 7-speed DCT automatic transmission. The range-topping ST got a bespoke 1.5-litre unit which producing 197bhp. Diesel engines were removed from the line-up entirely in 2020.

Toyota to begin steer-by-wire production in 2024

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 08:01:46 +0000

'One Motion Grip' now uses 200deg steering ratio instead of 150deg

'One Motion Grip' system is set to be offered initially on the Toyota bZ4X and Lexus RZ

Toyota is on track to put its steer-by-wire technology into production by the end of 2024 after making a significant upgrade to the system.

The key change to the steer-by-wire system, which means there is no mechanical link between the steering wheel and the wheels, is a new 200deg ratio instead of a 150deg ratio before to give the steering a smoother and more natural feel.

Toyota engineers working on the system, which is also known as One Motion Grip, said the new ratio gave the system an “easier, more familiar feel” for customers. The Japanese company has had “hundreds” of people from inside and outside the company test the system to ensure it is as intuitive as possible to drive.

Steer-by-wire is initially set to be offered on Toyota electric cars, including the Toyota bZ4X and the Lexus RZ. The technology has been developed to meet the world’s strictest legislation around by-wire steering systems, which had been Europe but has recently been surpassed by China.

Europe has created its own certification programme for by-wire steering systems, removing the need for a mechanical link between the steering wheel and the wheels as had previously been law. The system is already legal in Japan, while in the US, no such legislation exists. The UK would most likely follow the EU legislation, but this is not yet known.

Over-the-air software updates would be possible for the steering system. However, such remote updates are not currently allowed by legislation.

Engineers confirmed that the steer-by-wire system is also earmarked for the new modular architecture that will underpin Toyota and Lexus electric cars from 2026, starting with a new Lexus saloon inspired by the LF-ZC concept at the Japan Mobility Show.

Lexus design chief Simon Humphries said the adoption of steer-by-wire opened up huge possibilities for interior design. “We want the interior to be as open as possible,” he said. “You can get rid of the ‘bits and pieces’ and interior panels don’t have to cover anything. Go steer-by-wire and there are fewer mechanical bits to hide. It gives more and more freedom."

Toyota is also undergoing a further development of the steer-by-wire system called Neo Steer, which moves the accelerator and brake controls onto the steering wheel. This is the early stages of development, with no production date set, and the idea behind it is to provide 'mobility for all' for drivers who cannot use foot controls.

Driving the new One Motion Grip system

@autocar_official Lexus RZ prototypes will soon feature a steer-by-wire system – we got to test it out in Denmark #autocar #lexus #lexusrz #electriccars #newcars ♬ original sound - Autocar

A previous drive of a One Motion Grip system on a Lexus RZ left me impressed with the technology but hesitant as to whether it had a future because it was so far removed from steering as we know it today. It was too quick, too urgent and often left you having to apply lock on multiple occasions in the same corner - either adding more or taking it off.

This was with the old 150deg ratio but the new 200deg ratio makes it a lot easier and more intuitive to drive and you can at last see a way to production, where it can benefit the way people steer rather than have to relearn and compensate for something overly hyperactive.

The new ratio makes the steering feel less nervous and urgent while also keep its low-speed manoeuvrability. It’s all very natural and you quickly learn to place the car with precision and ease. It's much easier to reverse the car now than with the old ratio too, the system responding as you'd expect to small inputs.

We also got to try the Neo Steer system, which uses a paddle behind the wheel to brake with your left hand and an actuator for your right thumb to accelerate. This is far less mature and harder to drive anyway, with a much quicker 90deg steer-by-wire ratio. The accelerator and particularly the brake controls were not linear either and it's easy to get in a muddle.

The sentiment behind the system is fantastic and Toyota will soon hand a prototype over to a Japanese Paralympic athlete it works with for some real-world testing to further develop the system.

Mazda UK boss: Pragmatic 2035 ICE ban a relief for car buyers

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 05:01:45 +0000

Mazda is keen to continue using combustion engines, especially to extend the range of its EVs

Jeremy Thomson says the postponement will not change the pace at which electric cars are bought

The 2035 ICE ban pushback is a "relief" for car buyers, according to Mazda's UK boss, who called the government's decision "entirely pragmatic".

Jeremy Thomson told Autocar he was confident the five-year postponement will not change the pace at which electric cars are bought; the added time will be used as an extended transitional period and allow even more people to make the jump.

He said: "This change [to EVs] will come at a certain pace but it has to be measured. A seven-year timeframe to end the internal combustion engine was always going to be a challenge. [The pushback] is probably a relief for consumers."

The 2030 delay was confirmed last month as part of a series of timeframe amendments to key 'green' policies by prime minister Rishi Sunak. It brings the UK in line with other countries, including the European Union and Canada.

When asked what the next steps for Mazda were in this shift towards going fully electric, he said: "We have to do it in a paced way. This isn’t an overnight binary shift. We certainly believe in nuance, and within this industry, nuance is important so a binary switch between ICE and pure electric isn’t the Mazda philosophy and it’s not what we’ll do."

The majority of manufacturers – such as most under the Stellantis umbrella – have committed to an all-electric line-up by 2030. However, Mazda confirmed that it will continue to produce electrified ICE cars. The launch of the range-extended Mazda MX-30 R-EV, with those extra miles supplied by a rotary engine, is testament to that.

Thomson even hinted that the marque could still produce diesel drivetrains, depending on the government's taxation levels.

E-fuels could also be the next step, he said. "We [Mazda] may or may not be allowed to use the internal combustion engine with e-fuel or biofuel, which then could influence the 30 million cars that are running on combustion engines.

“We need to keep a broad reach, making sure we appeal to the many, not the few."

He has a similar attitude towards the ZEV mandate, which stipulates that from 1 January 2024, 22% of all manufacturers’ new car sales in the UK must be pure electric, rising incrementally every year until 2035.

He promised that Mazda will have "a good mix of cars that meet the expectations and ambitions of the government" and that it should get itself into a "penalty-free position using all of the flexibilities in the legislation".

Volkswagen ID 7 Tourer previewed as brand's first electric estate

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 21:13:28 +0000

The ID 7 estate will be revealed "in the coming months"

Estate to join line-up in 2024 alongside ID 7 saloon; brings aero-optimised body and 545-litre boot

Volkswagen has previewed an estate version of the ID 7 saloon ahead of an official reveal "in the coming months."

Named the ID 7 Tourer, it is underpinned by the firm's MEB platform, which is also used by the ID 3, ID 4, and recently-revealed ID 7 saloon. This platform is said to allow Volkswagen to maximise interior space via a long wheelbase and short overhangs.

Designed to be as practical as possible, Volkswagen has revealed it will have 545 litres of boot space with the rear seats folded up, and 1714 litres with them folded down, both figures which represent increases over the current Volkswagen Passat. The firm claims the boot itself is two metres long.

It has been developed with a strong focus on aerodynamics to maximise its range, with a smooth front bumper, rear lip spoiler, and door handles that sit flush with the bodywork. This helps to produce a drag coefficient of 0.24cd - just 0.1cd more than the saloon.

It is unknown what its overall range will be, however with the ID 7 saloon able to achieve 435 miles on one charge, it is fair to assume the estate will almost match that.

The ID 7 saloon was revealed earlier this year as the brand's long-awaited first electric saloon. It will rival the Tesla Model 3 with a brand new infotainment software, driving dynamics that major on long-distance travel, and that 435-mile range.

It will become available in Pro and Pro S guise, with customers in Germany currently able to pre-order cars in Pro specification from €56,995 (£48,844). For reference, the ID 4 starts from £38,845, with the more powerful GTX rising to £52,865.

The regular ID 7 will launch in Europe and China this autumn, with the US following in 2024.

Two batteries will be available: a 77kWh pack (used in existing ID models) giving a 382-mile range and 170kW charging; and a new 86kWh unit that allows 435 miles between recharges and top-ups at up to 200kW. In the fastest Pro S guise, a 0-62mph time of around 6.0sec is achievable.

The saloon measures nearly five metres long and has a wheelbase of around three metres, making it larger than the Volkswagen Passat, which it indirectly replaces, and closer in size to the Phaeton luxury saloon, which bowed out in 2016.

Its cabin majors on practicality but various touches ramp up the ID 7's luxury credentials, including a panoramic roof that switches from opaque to transparent at the touch of a button, optional massage seats, an augmented reality head-up display, interior ambient lighting with up to 30 colours, and a 15.0in infotainment touchscreen running a heavily overhauled iteration of Volkswagen's MIB software platform. Boot space sits at 532 litres, beating both the 470-litre BMW i4 and 425-litre Tesla Model 3.

Volkswagen has focused on making this new infotainment platform – shared with the facelifted ID 3 – easy to use. There is a new direct-access bar at the top of the touchscreen for quick access to core functions, for example, the main menu can be opened without closing any in-use app, the home screen can be configured to show icons for a driver's most commonly used apps and the main climate controls are now permanently hosted at the bottom of the screen to avoid scrolling on the move.

Perhaps most importantly, the controversial touch sliders for the temperature and volume controls are now illuminated, meaning they can be used safely at night.

Additional reporting by Charlie Martin

Exclusive: New Toyota Prius will go on sale in UK

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 21:13:08 +0000

Design overhaul brings Prius closer to the ground and extends wheelbase

Hybrid front-runner was originally removed from the market due to demand for SUVs

The new Toyota Prius will go on sale in the UK, Autocar can reveal, having earlier been removed from the market due to higher demand for SUV models.

Toyota originally cited an “evolving UK product strategy and changing market conditions” as the rationale for not offering the new, fifth-generation Prius in the UK when it was revealed last year.

It said at the time: “The new model represents a very different proposition to its predecessor, alongside a clear shift in UK consumer demand towards more SUV-style vehicles.”

It added that Prius sales in the UK paled in comparison with its other hybrids, such as the C-HR crossover and Corolla hatchback.

However, the Prius hybrid hatchback will now be offered in the UK, Autocar understands, with an official announcement to follow. The business case for the model is likely to have been bolstered by strong sales of parallel- and plug-in hybrids, both of which had grown in year-on-year market share in the UK by the end of September.

The new Prius is based on the latest version of the TNGA platform, which underpinned the previous-generation model, with substantial modifications to improve stiffness, refinement and stability.

Globally, it is available with two powertrains: a front-wheel-drive 2.0-litre parallel hybrid with 191bhp, and a four-wheel-drive 221bhp plug-in hybrid. The latter can cover 0-62mph in 6.7sec, which makes the current Prius the quickest to date.

The PHEV also receives a 13.6kWh lithium ion battery that is officially capable of providing 53 miles of driving under electric power alone.

A solar panel on the roof is said to add enough energy for up to around 777 miles of electric driving annually, but it is not yet confirmed whether this functionality will be available in the UK.

Inside, the Prius has been reinvented with a focus on material quality and driver comfort. A 7.0in digital driver display is fitted as standard, positioned to minimise distraction while on the move, and paired with a new-generation central infotainment screen based on that from the latest Corolla and Toyota RAV4.

On the decision to dramatically reinvent its hybrid flagship, Toyota said: "While the Prius has played a leading role in driving hybrid use, the current spread of HEVs through a wide range of models means it has reached a turning point.

"The development team decided to start from scratch and look at what the Prius needs to remain popular for the next 25 years. Based on a desire to renew the Prius itself and communicate the appeal of hybrid cars to an even wider audience, the Hybrid Reborn concept was created."

Since launch in 1997, Toyota has sold around 5.05 million examples of the Prius worldwide, which, it says, equates to a CO2 saving of more than 82 million tonnes. A variation of the hybrid system it pioneered is now available in all core Toyota models on sale in the UK.

In Germany, prices range between €45,290 and €52,690 (£39,500 and £46,000), positioning the Prius well above the parallel-hybrid Corolla (from £30,225 in the UK).

Additional reporting by Felix Page

Used Ford Fiesta 2008-2017 review

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 15:43:07 +0000

Its 47-year tenure as a new car might be over, but the icon lives on as a cheap, fun used buy The astonishing success of the seventh generation Ford Fiesta was based on two convergent facts.First, the sixth generation of Fiesta was good enough to lead the class from the moment of its introduction in 2008; second that introduction coincided with global economic meltdown forcing mass downsizing in the European car market. Suddenly people who’d never even considered a shopping car found themselves eye to eye with the Ford Fiesta. And perhaps to their surprise, they liked what they saw.At its launch in 2008, the seventh generation was as distinctive as the previous version was not. It was a genuinely handsome car, but like most modern Fords, ubiquity softened the impact of its design. It was given a nose job in 2013 as part of a number of visual tweaks, and new engines were introduced to ensure it continued to cut a dash. But while the success of the huge trapedozial grille treatment has been widely debated, the addition of the three-cylinder 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine was roundly praised.Predictably for a car that was the UK’s then top seller, the range is vast, overlapping the smaller Ford Ka at the bottom and the larger Ford Focus at the top.Aside from the three-pot Ecoboost engine in two power outputs, powerplants included a naturally aspirated 1.0-, 1.25-, 1.6- and turbocharged 1.6-litre petrols and a single 1.5-litre diesel engine in two guises. Trim levels were the familiar: Zetec, ST-Line, Titanium, Titanium X and a couple of hot ST models, most of which are available in three and five-door models. There are also the low-CO2 Econetic models to look out for.Perhaps the Fiesta’s biggest trump card was its big-car feel. At its 2007 launch, no other cooking supermini felt as solid or grown up, and its ride shamed cars from a class or two above. Handling offered a verve that even some hot hatches failed to match.Years on from the car’s original launch, can it still match the best of the used supermini class?Ford Fiesta 2008-2017 common problemsEngine: We go into more detail about the engine in ‘Also worth knowing’, but for the moment be content if the one you’re looking at has enjoyed regular oil and filter and coolant changes. The timing belt should be changed every 10 years or 150,000 miles but, ideally, more frequently. You buy an Ecoboost for its gutsy pulling power, smooth running and quiet cruising, so if it feels like the ancient and asthmatic 1.25 elsewhere in the range, it’s got a problem.Transmission: The gearlever feels spindly but shifts should be light and precise. If it graunches into first, expect expensive trouble ahead. Move briskly off in second and check for clutch slip.Suspension: This generation of Fiesta has an average reliability rating and its suspension is the biggest source of trouble. A recent MOT will reveal most current problems – bushes, springs and shocks being common advisories. Parts are reasonably cheap, though. Brakes: Fiestas quickly fall into the hands of those unable to afford maintenance so don’t be too surprised by deeply lipped front discs, paper-thin pads and zero evidence of biennial brake fluid changes.Interior: Check for dashboard warning lights and the operation of every last knob and button. Ensure the carpets, especially in the front footwells, aren’t damp. Water can get in through worn door seals so inspect these, too. Make sure the parcel shelf is present.Body: A self-respecting dealer will have most casual dents, scratches and kerbed wheels repaired; otherwise, you’ll be lucky to find a Fiesta that isn’t marked. Scrutinise panel gaps and check for overspray and ‘orange peel’. Cross-check the stamped VIN number with that shown on the V5.

Ford Ranger

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 15:38:45 +0000

The Blue Oval’s market-leading pick-up truck gets a major reworking You might think of a pick-up truck as a purely utilitarian vehicle, a tool simply to haul hay bales, sheep and building materials. But it appears that for many UK buyers, their Ford Rangers are much more than that.Take this for a stat: in the UK, 80% of Rangers of the last generation were ordered in Wildtrak spec. To those less familiar with Ranger trim levels, that’s the bells-and-whistles version with nice alloy wheels, leather upholstery, soft-touch interior materials and all sorts of other car-like features.It’s a trend that seems to have come from the US. The Ford F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle there for years, and quite obviously not all of them are farm trucks. A lot of them are lifestyle vehicles as well, suited to towing boats, transporting camping gear and the like.For 2023, Ford is introducing a new generation of its European pick-up, so with the genre’s evolved remit in mind, we are testing a Ranger Wildtrak with the mid-range 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged diesel engine to see how well it works on the road as well as off it.Range at a glanceThe new Ranger line-up is pretty extensive, with chassis cab, single cab and double cab options. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel comes with three power outputs, and there is one V6 diesel. The V6 petrol only comes in Raptor guise. If you want any of the more powerful engines, you will need to go for the double cab.VersionPowerFord Ranger 2.0 EcoBlue 170PS Chassis Cab168bhpFord Ranger 2.0 EcoBlue 170PS Single Cab168bhpFord Ranger 2.0 EcoBlue 170PS Double Cab168bhpFord Ranger 2.0 EcoBlue 205PS Double Cab*202bhpFord Ranger 3.0 EcoBlue 240PS Double Cab237bhpFord Ranger 2.0 EcoBlue 210PS Double Cab Raptor207bhpFord Ranger 3.0 Ecoboost Double Cab Raptor282bhp*Version testedTRANSMISSIONS10-spd automatic (Except 170PS) 6-spd manual (170PS only)Additional reporting by George Barrow

First ride: 2024 Mercedes-AMG G63

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:17:50 +0000

V8-engined Mercedes-AMG G63 will be offered with a ‘kinetic’ suspension set-up

Revised off-roader gets semi-active suspension option in G63 guise; due next year

An upgraded version of the internal-combustion-engined Mercedes-AMG G63 will launch alongside the long-awaited battery-electric EQG in 2024.

The off-roader, revealed here undergoing testing in prototype form ahead of a planned unveiling in the middle of next year, will receive a number of key developments, including a new semi-active suspension similar to that seen on the Mercedes-AMG SL and AMG GT sports coupés.

The ‘kinetic’ suspension set-up, which will be offered as an option on the V8-engined Mercedes-AMG G63, does away with traditional anti-roll bars and replaces them with a system that uses interconnected electrohydraulic flow valves that allow continuously variable rebound and compression damping.

This alters damping force from side to side and from front to rear depending on road speed, steering wheel angle, body movement, driving mode and external conditions.

The compression units of the dampers on one side of the new G63 are linked via the electrohydraulic flow valves to the rebound units of the dampers on the other side and vice versa.

When a wheel compresses, the piston within the damper extends upwards and hydraulic fluid flows across to the other side to support the rebound properties of the opposite damper.

This results in improvements in body control, ride quality and off-road performance, according to AMG, which is also developing kinetic suspension for other upcoming models.

The stiffness of the damping is controlled by two accumulators – one for the front wheels and another for the rears.

These nitrogengas-filled metal spheres use a flexible membrane to collect excess hydraulic fluid and distribute it into the flow valves for extra damping stiffness when required.

Because the compression and rebound properties act independently, the kinetic suspension is claimed to provide a wider tuning range between its minimum and maximum damping levels.

Replacing anti-roll bars with semi-active dampers also provides the G-Class with an as-yet-unspecified weight saving.

Wheel articulation is also said to have been improved. Further changes in store for the G63 in 2024 include the adoption of a new mild-hybrid powertrain.

Already used by the GLE 63, it combines AMG’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre petrol V8 with a 48V startergenerator that produces 21bhp and 184lb ft, for total outputs of 603bhp and 627lb ft.

New 2024 Mercedes G-Class first ride review

As we scythe down a narrow and bumpy country road outside Leipzig, Germany, during testing of next year’s G63, Ralf Haug, head of suspension at Mercedes-AMG, describes the G-Class’s new kinetic suspension set-up as “a significant leap in suspension development”.

The idea for the adoption of the kinetic suspension on the G-Class came after AMG started development of the advanced system for the new SL and GT, explains Haug.

“We saw the advantages it brought to our sports cars and immediately began thinking of what it could do for our offroad models,” he says.

It’s still early days, but if the prototype we’re riding in is any indication, development is already well advanced. It’s never easy judging a car from the passenger seat, but next year’s G63 appears to offer improved handling qualities and a calmer ride than those of today’s model.

The big surprise, however, is just how well the new suspension suppresses body roll. With the advanced dampers controlling the roll stiffness, there’s very progressive lean and, given the generous amount of suspension travel offered by the G-Class, limited body movement, even in tighter corners.

The ride also appears to have gained added suppleness across all of the driving modes. There’s clearly an improvement in on-road dynamics and, as AMG points out, a broader spread of on-road driving characteristics.

Another advantage of the kinetic system, says Haug, is improved traction. This is displayed to great effect on an offroad course, where the new G63 traverses tricky inclines and storms along sandy tracks with great authority and a level of surefootedness that few if any rivals could possibly match.

Used Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2012-2018 review

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 12:45:00 +0000

A stylish MPV with all the practicality you could ever need. But will it throw any second-hand curveballs? The Vauxhall Zafira Tourer's name is derived from the Arabic meaning ‘to succeed’.It was a good name for Vauxhall’s three-generation range of seven-seat people carriers, because that’s exactly what they did. I owned two – a Mk1 and a Mk2 – and appreciated their amenable driving manners and Flex7 easy-fold seat system.The Mk2 Zafira was launched in 2005 and clung on until 2014, two years after its posher sibling and the focus of this guide, the Zafira Tourer, arrived.That the old-stager lasted so long was largely down to its lowish price, but by 2014 it was easily outclassed. Still, if it’s a cheap and roomy MPV you’re wanting, a one-owner, 2014-reg Zafira 1.8 Design with 52,000 miles and a full history for £5750 looks like value.To its successor, then: the Zafira Tourer. It was launched in 2012, its job to offer an alternative to the likes of the Volkswagen Sharan and Ford S-Max while keeping the flexible interior features that made the standard Zafira so popular.It shared its platform with the then current Astra, so was longer and wider and therefore roomier than the older Zafira, as well as sharper-looking, with a striking ‘boomerang’ front light arrangement.Inside, it remained impressively practical. In fact, it was even more useful than the Zafira thanks to the traditional centre row of seats being replaced by three individual and sliding chairs (on some models the middle one can be shunted out of the way, allowing the outer pair to move inwards a little) and the adoption of the sliding FlexConsole storage system.Practical, yes, but also sophisticated: plusher fabrics and soft-touch plastics, a large windscreen that floods the cabin with light and options including a suite of driver assist systems, a panoramic sunroof and FlexRide adaptive damping all made the Zafira Tourer feel special.If today’s mix of used ones is anything to go by, diesel and petrol Tourers sold in roughly equal numbers. Regarding the petrol engines, most buyers chose the 138bhp 1.4i Turbo over the non-turbo 1.8. Turning to the diesels, the change to Euro 6 (the emissions standard became mandatory in 2015) fell slap in the middle of the Tourer’s production run.It means the 2.0-litre diesels available from launch were Euro 5, but the excellent 134bhp 1.6 CDTi, introduced in 2014, was actually Euro 6, so not subject to current ULEZ charges.From 2015, the 2.0 CDTi also became Euro 6, but just one variant, producing 168bhp, was offered. Fortunately, it’s a good ’un: impressively torquey from 1300-3500rpm and capable of 0-62mph in a fair 9.1sec.The Tourer was facelifted in 2016. Out went the boomerang lights (they never came back…) and in came the nose from the seventh-gen Astra. The interior was also updated with the latest IntelliLink infotainment systems.Throughout its life the Tourer was cursed with a baffling array of trims, but you only need bother with the most popular: SRi, SE and Design. At this age, condition is worth more than baubles, but Design has all you could reasonably want, including parking sensors, alloys and air-con, while SE sugars the pill with lounge seating, intelligent technology and automatic lights.SRi has sports seats and bigger wheels. ‘Salam alaikum’, as they say in Arabic.Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2012-2018 common problemsEngine: Beware a failing oil pick-up seal on Euro 5, 2.0 diesels. Low oil pressure, due to air in the oil, on cold mornings is a clue. Staying with the diesels, check the AdBlue level sensor isn’t illuminated.With the 1.6 CDTi engine or the 1.4i Turbo petrol, listen for noises from the timing chain and guides. Also with the 1.4i Turbo, listen for the engine squeaking. Remove the dipstick: if the squeaking stops, it needs a new crankshaft oil seal. Gearbox: If it’s a manual, check the action is smooth because sticky cables are a known issue, especially in winter. The cables are poorly sealed, allowing water to get in. Suspension: A recent MOT should pick up leaks, worn bushes and broken springs. If it’s the rare FlexRide system, check that all the modes work.Brakes: The rear brakes can corrode badly. If the rear of the car appears to shake or vibrate when you brake, a failed rear brake damper is the likely cause. Where fitted, check Hill Start works.Interior: Check the heated seats work, if fitted – owners have reported failed wiring looms, although a repair kit is available. Make sure all the seats slide and fold as they should. Check the carpets for damp caused by blocked windscreen drains, and failed door and tailgate seals. Test the infotainment system thoroughly.Body: Check the central locking works and that the tailgate closes securely (there have been reports of tailgates partially opening once on the move).

Volkswagen Golf GTI gets major overhaul for final petrol outing

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 09:46:52 +0000

The Mk8.5 Golf is due to be revealed early next year

More power, chassis upgrade and cabin revamp mark petrol hot hatch swansong

The Volkswagen Golf GTI is being prepared for one final outing with petrol power as the firm begins laying the groundwork for the hallowed performance badge’s electric future.

After VW revealed the striking ID GTI concept as a near preview of its first EV hot hatchback, based on the upcoming ID 2, its petrol forebear is gearing up for upgrades that look set to bring more power alongside dramatic technological advances and a wide-reaching interior rethink.

Due to be revealed early next year as part of the facelifted Golf line-up, the ‘Mk8.5’ GTI is tipped to stick with pure-combustion power, even as Volkswagen ushers in new mild-hybrid and longer-range plug-in hybrid versions of the standard Golf.

The hot hatch’s EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine produces 242bhp in the current car, giving it a 0-62mph time of 6.3sec and a governed 155mph top speed.

But that engine is tipped to be significantly updated for its final years in production, with the GTI Clubsport ramping output to 296bhp and the four-wheel-drive Golf R touting 326bhp in its most potent form.

The standard GTI’s focus on delivering ‘everyday performance’ means such lofty figures will remain the preserve of those range-toppers, but VW has confirmed the new Tiguan and Passat will be offered with a version of the petrol four-pot that lifts output to 262bhp.

Given the Golf uses the same MQB Evo architecture as those larger siblings, the possibility for that more potent motor to be used in the GTI is evident.

VW has yet to detail exact performance figures, but a 20bhp increase – along with an expected hike in torque to around 300lb ft – could drop the GTI’s 0-62mph time below 6.0sec and make it a closer match for the newer and faster Honda Civic Type R.

The power increase will come alongside revisions to the GTI’s chassis in pursuit of keener dynamics and enhanced rolling refinement. The latest iteration of the MQB platform, as used by the Tiguan and Passat, brings a stiffer rear axle carrier that’s claimed to improve rolling refinement and cornering performance, as well as a more advanced version of the DCC adaptive suspension system that made its debut underneath the current GTI.

Called DCC Pro, it allows for much more precise control of the compression and rebound of the two-valve dampers, which boosts isolation over rougher surfaces while allowing better absorption of road surface imperfections, even while cornering.

Also in the frame is a reprieve for the manual Golf GTI, in line with relaxations to the impending Euro 7 emission regulations that had previously threatened the stick-shift car’s viability.

Autocar previously revealed that the original plans for the new rules – initially set to be introduced in 2025 – would force the retirement of the six-speeder from the whole Golf line-up in a move to reduce VW’s fleet emissions.

But with the European Commission poised to relax the emissions testing requirements and delay their implementation, the route could be paved for a comeback.

Notably, though, the manual GTI is no longer on sale in the UK and the new US-market GTI 380 special edition was described by VW as marking the “final year of manual production”, so it seems more likely the uprated hot hatch will be equipped exclusively with a seven-speed DSG gearbox.

More certain is a wide-reaching revamp of the Golf’s cockpit and infotainment suite, aimed at rectifying the usability and reliability problems that have plagued the hatchback since its 2020 launch. Pictures from our spy photographers reveal that the Golf line-up will get the expansive new 12.9in touchscreen that has been introduced in its newer stablemates, together with a new-look 10.4in instrument display.

Both are expected to usher in simplified menu structures, quicker response times and improved functionality. As part of the overhaul, VW will also introduce light-up touch sliders for the climate controls, making them easier to operate at night.

The haptic controls on the steering wheel, another gripe, will be replaced by conventional switches and buttons, and the Golf will follow the recently refreshed ID 3 in adopting higher-quality materials throughout. The exterior revisions will be more subtle but massaged bumpers and reshaped headlights will be the key differentiators.

Looking further ahead, 2026 will mark the 50th anniversary of the GTI, which means one of the final entrants into the Mk8 family is highly likely to be a commemorative model to follow in the footsteps of the 2021 track-honed Clubsport 45 special edition.

The GTI ‘Edition 50’ will be conceived to showcase the GTI at its best, with bespoke styling, a power boost and an uprated chassis geared towards rapid lap times.

Two years later, in 2028, VW will reveal the ninth-generation Golf as an EV – the first in its line-up to use the new SSP architecture – complete with an uprated GTI hot hatch.

Driven: Toyota's manual gearbox for electric cars

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Lexus UX 300e is modified with Toyota GR86 pedals and gearshifter, plus rev counter

New software-based system aims to offer more driver involvement. Is it more than a gimmick?

Toyota intends to offer its manual transmission for electric cars as an option on its next-generation of EVs to ensure they’re not a “commodity”, and remain as fun and involving to drive as internal-combustion-engined cars.

The system, which has been in development for three years, will be a factory option for buyers of models created on the new modular architecture being developed for launch in 2026. It is almost entirely software operated, with hardware tweaks limited to a clutch pedal and gearshift borrowed from a Toyota GR86, plus a rev counter and some new switchgear to select the mode. Paddle shifts are possible, too.

Engineers say the system has been created as part of a move to make electric cars “fun to drive” and in response to chairman Akio Toyoda’s brief to ensure electric cars are not simply a “commodity”.

Driving the manual BEV

Toyota's manual transmission for electric cars is both remarkable and unremarkable at the same time. Countless cars have been made with involving manual transmissions over the years, yet this is truly a manual like no other, given it’s fitted to an electric car.

It warps your brain to some extent and you are successfully tricked into thinking it is not an EV. You start the car as normal and choose ‘D’ from the automatic selector. Then there’s a secondary ‘Engine start’ button, which fires up an engine sound - and a familiar one at that: a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

You engage first gear as you would with any manual car. The shift is short and precise and the clutch has heft to it. You can stall it as you can a manual car and also slip the clutch.

Acceleration is strong and you’re far more involved in the process than you would be in a normal Lexus UX 300e on which this ‘transmission’ is fitted. You soon forget you’re in a UX at all, a fairly unremarkable car, such is the extra involvement the system gives its driver.

All the usual manual features are there: engine braking, coasting and, most amusingly, no torque when you suddenly try and accelerate in top gear, which then brings with it the synthetic sound of parts of the cabin trim rattling. It sounds like a gimmick but it’s actually all rather believable.

There is work to do: the shifts don’t quite seamlessly balance the torque as you change up, yet still the result is a far more tactile and involving electric powertrain that begs to be sampled in a hot hatch or coupé straight away. A lack of driver involvement is a real concern in electric cars but this system, and similar ones being created by Hyundai’s N division, give hope that EVs can be involving and engaging to drive for enthusiasts.

Driving the On Demand BEV

Toyota is also developing ‘On Demand’ software for BEVs that changes the performance of the car to mimic certain other models. Installed on a Lexus RZ, a prototype version allows the performance of the car to cycle between a Toyota Passo supermini, a Toyota Tundra truck and a Lexus LFA supercar.

This prototype technology is at a far earlier stage of development than the manual BEV, requiring an engineer with a laptop sat next to you to change between the different ‘cars’ you can experience.

You start off with a Lexus RZ, which is all normal enough. Then suddenly power is sapped as the Toyota Passo is fired up; it feels like driving with the handbrake on and the cabin is filled with the sound of a small engine working a bit too hard. It’s rather impressive.

Not as impressive as the Tundra truck that comes next, which mixes a turbocharged V6 with a hybrid system. There’s urgency and growl as you accelerate and then silence as you lift off as the hybrid mode kicks in.

We finish with the LFA, which I was expecting to be bombastic but the artificial air to the system really struggles to be shaken here. The car feels like a very quick EV with a soundtrack from Gran Turismo playing through the speakers. It’s a laugh, but a novelty - an RZ is never going to feel like an LFA no matter how clever the trickery.

Toyota plans to offer more than 1000 different cars you can replicate in its next-generation EVs through its new Arene software platform. Based on this drive, it’s a far bigger gimmick than the manual BEV, yet the maturity of the manual BEV system shows that Toyota engineers know how to get there.

How BMW is using digital to target next generation of customers

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 05:01:47 +0000

BMW says this digitalisation approach is not at odds with its focus on producing the ‘ultimate driving machines’

Behind the scenes, the Munich firm is making seismic changes to its sales and marketing approach

BMW’s electric vehicle line-up is set to undergo dramatic change with the next-generation Neue Klasse models that will introduce a radical design language and advanced new technology. But, beyond the metal, the Munich firm’s sales and marketing approach is currently undergoing an equally seismic change.

As with several other manufacturers, the rise in demand for online sales has prompted BMW to switch to a new direct-to-customer ‘agency’ sales model, while the ubiquity of social media has – sometimes controversially – given the brand more control over its own message.

“We already leverage the possibilities of digitalisation in the vehicle itself with our iDrive [infotainment] system and in the customer process,” says Pieter Nota, who, as BMW’s board member for sales and marketing, is in charge of leading the digital transformation.

“We are preparing for a direct sales model, where we leverage the possibilities of digitalisation to build a direct contractual relationship between the customer and BMW – while still leveraging dealers, which will remain the first point of physical contact with the customer.”

Nota points to the My BMW app – which has been downloaded around 10 million times, with close to three million people using it regularly – as one example of how BMW extensively uses digitalisation. “You can direct certain vehicle functions, control charging and use a digital key, through the app – and it also allows us to reach out directly to the customer if we notice something wrong,” says Nota.

While the agency model has proven contentious with some dealers, who become brokers more than salespeople, Nota says the key reason behind the switch is about ensuring the firm can meet its high standards at every point on the customer ‘journey’.

“We have the aim of offering nothing more or less than the best customer experience in the industry,” he says. “That builds on the vehicle itself and expands to the whole customer interaction. It should be effortless and smooth, and the app and our new sales model will improve that process.”

BMW’s focus on digitalisation – both in terms of in-car technology and the focus on the smartphone app – could be seen as a distinct change from the firm’s long-standing focus on performance and producing the ‘ultimate driving machines’.

Put that to Nota and he says: “BMW customers are also very digital. They really want – and even demand – these types of digital functions. In China, the customer base is around 20 years younger than in Europe, and they expect technology from our brand.

“People choose a BMW because it is the ultimate driving machine, but they expect a product that will be digitally leading. What really makes a BMW is the integration of all these factors: the physical appearance of the car, interior design, the handling qualities – and also the quality and integration of digital features.”

Another aspect that has been significantly changed by digitalisation is BMW’s marketing strategy. Social media has given all brands the ability to more precisely market their products to specific customers. BMW’s approach has been controversial at times, because of some social posts that, judging by many of the replies, have been seen by some groups as aggressive and bizarre.

BMW now has a dedicated ‘house of communications’ site in Munich that hosts its marcom [marketing and communications] direct-to-consumer team. It's referred to internally as the ‘marcoms engine’ and Nota says it “really gives us a competitive advantage right now”.

He adds: “We brought the number of marketing agencies we use in Europe down from around 80 three years ago to just two right now, which allows for very precise direct targeting.

“The key is using specific channels to get the right message to the right consumer, and using social media to speak to consumers at different stages of the purchase funnel.”

Nota notes that BMW UK was heavily involved in the development of the ‘marcom engine’, adding that “direct-to-consumer targeting is incredibly important because we get much more efficiency and mileage from our marketing investment”.

Renault Clio E-Tech full hybrid: an icon re-energised

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 23:59:00 +0000

All-new hybrid system combines the very best of petrol and electric

With compelling style, advanced connectivity and an all-new hybrid system offering up to 550 miles* of range on one tank, Renault’s beloved hatchback is better than ever

For more than 30 years the Clio has charmed drivers with its urban-friendly dimensions, impressive practicality, charismatic driving character and unique French flair. In fact, over 16 millions Clios have been sold since 1990, making it France’s best-selling car.

Now, the new E-Tech full hybrid is building on that incredible legacy by injecting even more style in the way of sporty Alpine-inspired design cues, while adding a wealth of advanced infotainment and safety technology and a new cutting-edge hybrid system that offers punchy performance and up to 550 miles* of range – all without the need to ever plug in.

Configure your Renault Clio E-Tech

A truly electrifying driving experience

Designed for the cut and thrust of Paris’ hectic traffic, the Clio has always featured a range of fizzy engines that offer punchy performance and great levels of efficiency. Now, the new E-Tech is using electrification to take driving fun and fuel economy to new heights.

Crafted using expertise amassed by the Renault and Alpine Formula 1 teams, the E-Tech’s hybrid engine blends two electric motors with an advanced lithium-ion battery and a peppy petrol engine to offer 145bhp. The result: truly dynamic performance and 0-62mph in just 9.3sec.

When it comes to economy, the E-Tech engine and motor combination can be used in 14 different ways to truly maximise efficiency. This includes running on electric-only power around town to help save fuel, while also using the motors to fill any gaps in the petrol engine’s performance.

Couple this with an advanced regenerative braking system that pumps wasted energy back into the battery, and the E-Tech offers economy of up to 67.5mpg** and a total range of up 550 miles*. The best part? You’ll never have to plug in.

A true French verve, inside and out

Since its very first generation, the has been the star of the small-car class thanks to its head-turning looks and unquestionable French flair. When it comes to style, the new E-Tech maintains that true Clio DNA, while also injecting fresh, sporty looks both inside and out.

Up front, the assertive chrome grille works with the new two-dimensional Renault badge, half-diamond daytime running lights, a sculpted bonnet and deep air intakes to create a bold and distinctive face. Further back, the sweeping lines of the roof and doors feed back into a taut rear end that uses an integrated spoiler, striking rear bumper and sharp LED tail lights to leave a lasting impression.

Top-of-the-range esprit Alpine versions of the E-Tech add a dash of true sporty Alpine style with show-stopping 17in diamond-cut alloy wheels, a matte grey F1-inspired front air blade and exclusive badging to make sure everyone knows this isn’t any ordinary hatchback.

Inside, the E-Tech adopts a clean and elegant design. The interior uses high-quality eco-conscious materials throughout, with the coatings of the upholstery, doors and dashboard containing 60% plant fibres.

Opt for esprit Alpine trim and the interior of the Clio gets lifted even further thanks to striking blue, white and red stitching, performance car-like aluminium pedals and supportive racing seats.

Next-generation technology

For a small car, the E-Tech packs in a lot of advanced technology. On the dashboard, the high-definition 9.3in touchscreen*** is your portal to Renault’s intuitive EasyLink infotainment system, while the customizable 10in digital driver’s display*** puts vital driving and navigation information right where you need it.

Wireless Apple CarPlay® and Android AutoTM smartphone mirroring come as standard, allowing you enjoy all your favourite music, podcasts and apps with ease, while the touchscreen gives you access to Renault’s MULTI-SENSE technology, letting you change between three driving modes and even fine-tuning the ambient lighting on the dashboard and around the centre console to perfectly match your mood.

The My Renault app unlocks even more clever connectivity from your Renault by letting you track where your vehicle is at all times. Or, you can send destinations to your Clio’s onboard navigation system from the comfort of your home, and even check your Clio’s tyre pressures, fuel range and mileage before you set off.

As part of Renault’s Human First program to improve safety for all road users, the E-Tech comes with a wealth of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS****), including adaptive cruise control***, blind spot warning***, lane keeping assist and traffic sign recognition.

Small car, big practicality

Designed for the tight cobbled streets of France’s capital, the has always maintained its essential small car DNA, while also offering big-car practicality for adventurous families. Thankfully, the new E-Tech does the same.

At just 4053mm long and 1988mm wide, the E-Tech offers superb urban manoeuvrability. Yet, its clever modular seating design means that interior space is totally maximised. In the back, 16.5cm of legroom and plenty of headroom means even your tallest friends will be happy on those long road trips, while the large boot offers 301 litres of space as standard, and up to a whopping 1006 litres with the rear seats folded down – more than enough for taking pre-loved household appliances to the tip.

Finally, the E-Tech is available in three trim levels – evolution, techno and esprit Alpine – giving you plenty of choice when it comes to choosing the creature comforts most important to you.

LED headlights, automatic air-con, rear parking sensors and tinted rear windows all come as standard on evolution trim, while techno adds wireless phone charging and a high-quality Arkamys six speaker audio system. Finally, esprit Alpine models bring heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, among all the other design features we’ve already covered.

So, with buckets of French style, lots of advanced tech, bundles of practicality, and an efficient hybrid engine, those are all the reasons why the new E-Tech full hybrid is truly re-energised.

The new Renault Clio E-Tech full hybrid is priced from £21,295

The new Renault Clio is priced from £17,795

Configure your Renault Clio E-Tech

*Internal Renault source. Based on a full tank on Clio esprit Alpine vs WLTP fuel consumption. Real world driving results may vary

**WLTP test data. The official fuel consumption figure for Clio esprit Alpine is 67.5mpg, and CO₂ emissions are 97g/km

*** Available on esprit Alpine version

****It is your responsibility to stay alert, drive safely and be in control of the vehicle at all times. Driver assistance features have speed and other limitations and should not be solely relied on

Manufacturer recommended retail price. Model shown new Clio E-Tech full hybrid esprit Alpine at £24,095 excluding metallic paint.

Ferrari 296 Challenge is 690bhp V6 customer racer

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 15:56:47 +0000

The 296 Challenge was presented at the 2023 Ferrari Finali

Firm’s latest racer ditches road car’s hybrid powertrain and is much quicker than V8-engined 488 Challenge

Ferrari has unveiled the 296 Challenge as a record-breaking, track-only edition of the 296 GTB that ditches the hybrid system for a pure-petrol V6 with 690bhp.

Presented at the 2023 Ferrari Finali, the firm's celebration of its involvement in motorsport, it is the latest in a series of Ferraris developed specifically for the firm's customer-only championship racing title, the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli. It is also the first six-cylinder car to compete in the series.

On sale now at €318,000 (£276,851) before taxes, the 296 Challenge is the ninth racer developed for the series, replacing the V8-engined 488 Challenge.

Speaking at the unveiling, head of Ferrari Challenge Andrea Mladosic said it was a "giant leap from the analogical to the digital era". It will make its racing debut in the 2024 season of Ferrari Challenge, with its first race taking place in April in North America, before it comes to Europe in May.

The racer forgoes the 296’s electrified powertrain, drawing its power solely from a race-modified version of the standard car’s 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6 - the first V6 used by a Ferrari race car outside of Formula 1 since the 1960s.

Total output is rated at 690bhp - claimed to be a new power record for Ferrari’s racing series – and torque is rated at 545lb ft.

Asked why the firm decided to remove the engine's hybrid element, Ferrari's non-homologated vehicle leader, Manuela Cecconi, said: "We de-hybridised in favour of weight and ease of use for track work."

Ferrari said the removal of the hybrid system saved 140kg, the 296 Challenge weighing in at 1330kg.

The weight reduction has also been helped by the use of carbonfibre, which, according to Cecconi, is used only "where there is a clear difference in structure, performance, and weight”.

Following on from cars such as the F355 Challenge, F430 Challenge and 488 Challenge, the new car's specification closely relates to that of the 296 GT3, which made its debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona at the beginning of 2023.

As with the non-homologated racers that have gone before, aerodynamics have been a core focus for the engineering programme, resulting in downforce figures that are said to be unheard of in Ferrari's race series - mostly achieved through a carbonfibre, body-width rear spoiler that sits higher than the roofline.

At 155mph, the 296 Challenge generates 870kg of downforce when its spoiler is extended to its most severe angle. For context, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS generates 860kg of downforce at 177mph.

Cecconi said: "We gave it maximum downforce and minimum sensitivity to make the car as predictable as possible during the different dynamic conditions of the track."

It is said to generate 18% more downforce than the preceding 488 Evo Challenge and laps Mugello a whole two seconds quicker.

Its top speed is said to be slower than the 488 Evo Challenge, but Ferrari says it counters this by being faster through corners.

Stopping power comes from a braking system adapted and improved over the road-going 296's. Called ABS Evo Track, it features carbon-ceramic discs developed by Brembo specifically for the racing market, and chosen for their durability and resistance to wear. Ferrari claims the discs are three times longer lasting than those of the 488 Evo Challenge and the pads twice as long lasting.

Its overall dynamics and on-track behaviour have been developed to give the car as much rear-end precision as possible to make it more accessible to the customers who will purchase it.

Nio ET7

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 15:56:26 +0000

Well-sorted, lavishly equipped electric limo has tech wizardry to spare but the competition is fierce The Nio ET7 is a 5.1m-long saloon showcasing the full kaleidoscope of this very modern Chinese car maker’s tech and luxury and is Nio’s answer to the Mercedes EQS, BMW i7 and Tesla Model S.Mind you, it’ll be a while before you can get one in the UK, because Nio isn’t likely to start selling cars on our shores until 2024, and it’ll be the family-friendly Nio EL6 that arrives first.Still, the ET7 gets the company’s trademark battery-swap tech so (provided Nio gets a network of its stations functioning across the UK’s infrastructure) you’ll be able to drive up, have your depleted battery dropped out, and get a fully charged one installed in five minutes.If you want to charge rather than swap your battery, you’re looking at 140kW maximum DC charging for the 75kWh battery, or 180kW for the 100kWh, while the WLTP combined range is 276 or 360 miles respectively. The company is also offering a new, 150kWh semi-solid-state battery in the ET7 next year that’s said to be good for more than 600 miles of range. However, it’s still unconfirmed whether it will come to Europe or not.

Le Mans-winning Ferrari 499P spawns £4.6m track car

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 21:54:12 +0100

The Modificata is based on the 499P endurance racer that won at La Sarthe this year

Limited-run 777bhp track car for "gentleman drivers" is the most expensive Ferrari yet

Ferrari has made its Le Mans-winning 499P prototype racer available for purchase as a no-holds-barred track toy equipped with an 777bhp hybrid V6 and costing £4.6 million.

Based on the 499P endurance racer that claimed victory at La Sarthe this year (Ferrari’s first top-flight endurance outing in 50 years), the "strictly limited" track car is reserved for non-competitive use by "gentleman drivers".

Speaking at its debut at Mugello, Italy, the firm's non-homologated vehicle leader, Manuela Cecconi, said it has been designed "for customers to enjoy the thrill of a racing prototype", adding that it is "the firm's most exclusive project", with each car costing €5.1m (£4,620,600), excluding VAT.

It has been designed for a "very select clientele". Each buyer will have access to the car for two years and be able to take part in nine racing events organised by Ferrari each year. If the customer wants to use a specific racetrack at his or her own request, an additional fee will be charged.

The car spearheads the brand's new Sport Prototipi Clienti programme, which will enable customers to purchase modified versions of Ferrari’s race cars, though the firm did not comment on what subsequent Prototipi Clienti cars will be.

Power comes from the same mid-rear-mounted 3.0-litre hybridised V6 as the 499P, but the 499P Modificata's engine has been "pushed further" to produce a combined 697bhp. An additional 80bhp is on offer for seven seconds at a time, after the driver presses a red 'push to pass' button mounted behind the steering wheel.

The race car is limited by balance of performance regulations to a total output of 670bhp.

A Formula 1-derived 800V electric motor drives the front wheels and can be charged under deceleration and braking.

The firm remains tight-lipped on its 0-62mph time and top speed, but Ferrari racing driver Antonio Fuoco achieved 213mph during testing of the 499P racer and it is expected that the more powerful 499P Modificata will at least match this figure.

Ferrari said it was a "huge challenge" to engineer the powertrain so that the 499 Modificata’s on-track behaviour is accessible to customers with less experience. The engine mapping is said to have been tuned to easily manage torque, even at the car's limit.

While the firm did not comment on torque output, it has revealed that the electric motor produces 132lb ft, and in the 296 GT3, the V6 produces 525lb ft, meaning the two together could produce as much around 660lb ft in the Modificata.

During the development of the car's bespoke Pirelli tyres, Cecconi said the firm prioritised "vehicle dynamics and powertrain delivery management", meaning they are designed to withstand long, continuous runs with a bespoke tread pattern and are easier to manage during warm-up.

Not being homologated, its output is not restricted by balance of performance constraints, which allowed Ferrari to make the car "more accessible" for less experienced drivers, chiefly through aerodynamics.

The firm's ambassador driver, Olivier Beretta, commented on how "surprised" he was at how well the car performed "despite how far (the firm) pushed it".

Designed by Flavio Manzoni, renowned for sketching the F12 Berlinetta and Monza SP1, it relies heavily on ducts, channels and vents to smooth airflow over its cab-rear body.

At the front, thin headlights sit above a carbonfibre front splitter, with a flat bonnet and single windscreen wiper on the curved windscreen.

It also gets a bumper-width light bar at the back, as well as a large downforce-inducing rear spoiler, carbonfibre bumpers that leave the wheels and suspension exposed to the elements, and an air intake (also carbonfibre) that extends the length of the rear glasshouse. This helps cools both the V6 engine and the battery.

Its body sits on a carbonfibre monocoque chassis and uses F1-inspired push-rod suspension, which, according to Ferrari, has been "designed to maximise driving thrills and ensure that the car behaves predictably in all conditions".

The engine itself is load-bearing, forming a part of the car's backbone and increasing its torsional rigidity.

The interior is quite a bare for weight purposes, but it does feature a digital rear camera, fixed bucket seats, an adjustable pedal rack, and a racing steering wheel.

Mercedes C-Class

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 17:34:14 +0100

Is the C-Class still a mini S-Class? The W206-generation Mercedes C-Class is a transitional car for one of the world’s founding car makers, and yet it remains singularly important. It is the the first C-Class not to offer multi-cylinder combustion engines, for example, but also one of the last new Mercedes models of any series not to be engineered for all-electric power.Needless to say, that doesn’t mean it won’t be ‘electrified’. In fact, Mercedes is aiming to attract particular attention, and win some key European fleet business, with plug-in hybrid models. Rest assured, there are still traditional non-hybridised petrol and diesel models to choose from, as well as hot AMG versions.The C-Class, not being an SUV, might feel a bit old-school to some people. But there are plenty of other mid-sized executive saloons vying for your money. Some consider the BMW 3 Series as the de facto car in this segment, the Audi A4 has been on sale for an age but still feels wonderfully well made and the Jaguar XE offers something a bit more British feeling for those not after a car that's quite so Germanic.

Toyota Supra could revive GRMN badge with BMW M2 engine

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 13:44:24 +0100

The lower-slung GR Supra has uprated aero and drilled brakes

Upgrades fitted to Nürburgring test car hint at track-focused model

The Toyota GR Supra is set to gain an extreme new high-performance variant, potentially called the GRMN, with a significant increase in power and a tighter, more composed chassis.

A new variant of Toyota’s sports coupé was recently spotted testing at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Clad in camouflage, it wore a new fixed rear wing, as well as a tweaked front bumper fitted with canards and an aggressive-looking lower lip.

Under the bonnet, the hot new Supra could go as far as trading the BMW Z4-sourced ‘B58’ straight six – which puts out 335bhp and 369lb ft – for M division’s tuned ‘S58’ powerplant.

That engine, used by the BMW M3 and M4, swaps the B58’s twin-scroll turbochargers for a pair of single-scroll units and features a revised piston design with a larger bore and shorter stroke, as well as stronger internals to support the resultant power boost.

The result is a versatile engine with a wide range of outputs: from 454bhp and 406lb ft in the new BMW M2 to 552bhp and 405lb ft in the limited-run BMW 3.0 CSL.

Details remain firmly under wraps at this early stage, but should the new car adopt the S58, its 0-62mph time is likely to be cut well below the current car’s 4.3sec.

These spy shots also suggest that it will receive a revised suspension set-up that positions the car slightly lower than the regular model for keener cornering performance.

It sits on track-style 10-spoke alloy wheels and what appears to be a slimmer tyre profile than on the current Supra, suggesting there has been a reduction in unsprung mass to improve handling.

The brake discs have also been drilled to improve cooling, giving more consistent performance under repeated hard loads, such as on a circuit.

The fact that the car is being honed at the Nordschleife lends credence to speculation that a hot new Supra could revive Toyota’s GRMN nameplate, which stands for ‘Gazoo Racing, tuned by the Meister of the Nürburgring’.

The badge has only been used in Europe so far, for a supercharged hot version of the previous-generation Yaris. The appearance of the new Supra comes soon after Toyota CEO Koji Sato hinted that the GR performance division will continue to play a core role in the company’s strategy.

He said: “The Gazoo brand will be acknowledged for the future – and maybe we can even speed it up.” He also suggested that ex-CEO and keen racer Akio Toyoda, now chairman of the company, will contribute heavily to the development of new GR products.

Sato said: “Our ‘Master Driver’ [Toyoda] was also president of the company at the same time as he had a steering wheel in his hand for Gazoo. Now he is only chairman, maybe he will have a lot more time to develop cars for them?” The Supra GRMN could be launched in conjunction with a mid-life facelift of the regular car.

The Z4, with which the Supra shares its underpinnings, was subtly restyled earlier this year but received minimal mechanical alterations.

Farewell, Audi R8: one last blast in the V10 legend

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 13:43:33 +0100

5.2-litre V10 produces 562bhp and 604lb

Audi's mid-engined hero soon goes out of production – does it still hold up as a supercar?

We had left the main group of Audi R8s and were heading west. Fast. Somewhere on the border of Nevada and California, late of Las Vegas, heading for Death Valley. It was one of those roads you get in this part of the world: bullet-straight to the horizon, then a crest, then...

In our case, a state trooper coming the other way. So we’re in California, after all. I felt – how can I put this? – something of a tightening somewhere a chap would not want to be feeling such a thing, a primeval instinct to put distance between danger and your chances of fulfilling your biological obligation to the next generation.

Nor was I comforted by the fact that he was not at the side of the road with a speed gun. Only the night before in the lobby of some fabulously tasteless hotel, I’d been warned the law in this part of the world came with dashcams that could detect the speed of cars coming towards them.

The state trooper blasted past, almost as fast as a single expletive shot from my lips. Instantly my passenger leaned forward to look in the exterior mirror on his side, while I watched the one in the car.

And it was very impressive, as good a handbrake turn as I’ve seen executed at speed on a public road. Yes, that road was straight and wide, but so too was his Crown Victoria and he still spun it entirely within its own length, selecting neutral, flicking the steering, yanking on the bar, reselecting drive and jumping back on the gas with the aplomb of a seasoned pro. The only way I’d have been more impressed is if he’d got the lights and sirens going at the same time. But no: he waited until he was straight for that. “I think you’d better stop,” said a doleful voice from across the aisle. No shit, Sherlock.

He parked behind us, got out and slowly donned his big hat and obligatory Aviators before walking languidly over to us.

Window down. Contrite face. Don’t get out of car. Resist urge to say: “What seems to be the matter, officer?” Try not to think of the pocket- sprung mattress and Egyptian cotton you’ll soon be swapping for a concrete block and bloke with a spider tattoo across his face as a roomie.

Trooper reaches car. Frankel cowers. Trooper walks around car. Trooper then spends some time looking at its 4.2-litre V8 engine through the clear glass screen at the back. Frankel begins to wonder. Somewhere in the inky depths to which he has now sunk, a glint of light appears. Trooper starts to talk.

“Been a while since I’ve had someone moving that fast ’round here.”

“I probably was going a little quickly.”

He didn’t actually say “you’re darn tootin’”, but I could see he thought it. Instead, he asked where we’d come from and where we were going before abruptly changing tack.

“So what is this, anyhow?”

“It’s the new Audi R8,” I replied.

“That an Audi?” I don’t think he’d have believed it less if I’d told him I’d been obeying the speed limit.

“It’s an Audi. All-new. Mid-engined. Quite fas...”

“I can see that,” he interjected. “Well, I just want to say that’s the most goddam beautiful thing I’ve seen since I don’t know when.”

The glint of light became a shining shaft.

“Would you like to take a seat? I can run you up the road if you like.” I could see the inner turmoil with which he was now battling. He paused.

“Best not, but thank ya. Now be on your way. And do yourself a favour, boys: keep those speeds for when you’re back in Nevada. We don’t have many accidents out here, but when we do, they’re real accidents.”

How good was that original R8? Good enough to charm the ticket book of the California Highway Patrol straight back into his pocket. His handcuffs too, probably. That was 2007 and when, at the end of that year, Autocar asked its staff and contributors to name the best car they had driven all year, the R8 didn’t just win the vote: no one voted for anything else.

I’m now 16 years older and possibly a little bit wiser. The R8 has grown up too but hopefully only one of us is now nearing the end of their days. And as the rather more familiar mountain roads of South Wales flow under the fast-moving wheels of another R8, I find myself reflecting on what has been an interesting journey, not just through space, but time too.

Because while valedictory pieces such as these are meant to be fond farewells to a soon to be much missed car, the truth is that it won’t be all the R8s I’ll miss. Not even most. Just some.

There have been so many, haven’t there? So many different power outputs, specifications and special editions, and the good news for you is I have neither time nor space, nor frankly inclination, to detail them all. And yet the one I’m in right now? I’ll miss that very much.

The light went out on the first generation with the V10 engine: a load more power it didn’t need at the expense of an exquisite delicacy that had never visited any Audi before. A backward step.

Then, in 2015, the second-generation car, and the two things I loved about the first – the V8 engine and the fabulous manual gearbox that went with it – got pensioned off. The result was a car that seemed not to know what it was: too compromised to make it as a grand tourer, not nearly enough fun to cut it among the supercar set.

I remember gatecrashing an Autocar group test when the McLaren 570S first came out and it was startling how far off the pace the R8 had become of those it chose to rival. I think the others in the test were a Porsche 911 Turbo and an Aston Martin Vantage. The Audi got stuffed.

And had it been left at that, I’d never be writing these words now. But in 2017, Audi did a very un-Audi thing: it actually removed four-wheel drive from one of its cars.

It was meant to be yet another R8 special, but by making the first-ever rear-drive R8, Audi gave it something not even those first-generation cars could boast and the motoring press and, as it turned out, the public went wild for this lighter, better balanced, more predictable, communicative and, in all ways that mattered, better R8.

So the following year, once all 999 R8 RWS cars originally planned had been sold, the rear-drive R8 became part of the mainstream family.

Which is what I’m in now. Because Audi has known for a while the R8 is in for the chop and so not bothered to update it, a lot of the superficial stuff is feeling its age: the clunky nav, terrible DAB reception, old-looking dials and so on. But the stuff that actually matters is wondrous.

That V10, for instance – that’s right, the engine I thought spoiled the original R8. In this more mature car, it feels perfect, so smooth and characterful, possessed of a sound, throttle response and rev range that’s increasingly rare in these turbocharged times. And the fact that this is the low-powered version with ‘only’ 562bhp? I couldn’t care less.

It also works brilliantly well with the rear-drive chassis, blessed with enough mid-range torque to tax the car to the very limit, without ever threatening to overwhelm it. In an era when fast cars become ever heavier and more powerful, swifter to accelerate but more cumbersome, the R8 is the car that reminds you just how delightful it is to have a powertrain and chassis system that are actually in harmony.

And because so much enjoyment is there to be had flowing this car from point to point, carrying speed into corners, placing it on a pinhead and balancing the car on the throttle, you never feel inclined to resort to the instant gratification of just putting your foot to the floor, because it’s all the car’s really good for. Fast food is fine as far as it goes, but this is haute cuisine and you don’t need long behind its wheel to see how much more satisfying it is.

So the R8 has come almost full circle and at the time of its passing is once more the sophisticated, rewarding driving machine I remember of old. I won’t miss them all, but I’ll miss this one almost as much as the original. And, believe me, that really is saying something.

Audi R8 V10 Performance RWD Edition: Price and specifications

Price £154,976 Engine V10, 5204cc, petrol Power 562bhp at 8000rpm Torque 604lb ft at 6400rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch auto, RWD Kerb weight 1590kg 0-62mph 3.7sec Top speed 204mph Economy 22.1mpg CO2, tax band 291g/km, 37%

Toyota switches hydrogen FCEV focus to commercial vehicles

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0100

Mk1 Toyota Mirai was launched in 2014; Mk2 (pictured) arrived in 2020

Firm admits Mirai has “not been successful” but pledges to refine FCEV technology for passenger cars

Toyota is switching the focus of its hydrogen fuel-cell technology development from passenger cars to commercial vehicles.

Technical chief Hiroki Nakajima confirmed the change in approach at the Tokyo motor show.

The Japanese firm has long been a pioneer of FCEV technology, most notably with the Toyota Mirai, but wider uptake of hasn't materialised, partly due to the complexity of setting up a network of hydrogen fuelling stations.

"We have tried Mirai but not been successful," said Nakajima. "Hydrogen stations are very few and difficult to realise, so Mirai is smaller [in volume]."

However, commercial vehicles are considered far more suitable for hydrogen, not only due to the unsuitability of batteries to power them (due to the size and weight that would be needed) but also the ability to set up a more controlled fuelling network.

"For mid-size trucks, it's easy to deliver [a refuelling network] as it's mainly A-to-B" for journeys, said Nakajima. "Huge numbers of trucks go from A-to-B so you can operate stations with more stability. Commercial vehicles are the most important area to try and proceed on with hydrogen." Pick-up trucks also offered a potential use for hydrogen, said Nakajima.

However, Nakajima said Toyota "did not want to give up on [hydrogen] passenger cars" and was looking at ways to downsize components including the fuel cell stack and the tanks in order to make it applicable to different types of cars and broaden its appeal. "We are looking to downsize the hydrogen technology in passenger cars," he said.

The latest-generation hydrogen fuel cell in development is said by Toyota to half the cost of the current generation cell, while also improving durability to two and a half times that of a diesel engine. It also improves efficiency by 20%, something hugely significant in lowering fuel costs for commercial vehicles.

This new cell has been created with commercial vehicles in mind, but a half-size cell is also being developed to keep the technology open to cars still. Toyota is also exploring non-automotive applications for these smaller cells, including in the construction and medical industries.

The firm is also moving beyond cylinder tanks for hydrogen and has developed both a flat tank and a ‘saddle’ tank, that can have a prop shaft run over it. This saddle tank has been made to be able to swap straight into the space of an electric car’s battery also.

He also provided more details on Toyota's battery development, which will result in the firm launching its solid-state battery technology in 2027 or 2028.

This future technology has long been considered a game-changer for battery electric vehicles, having the potential to improve power density of batteries and thus reduce the size, weight and cost of them.

Nakajima said the first wave of solid-state batteries – which Toyota is developing in conjunction with oil giant Idemitsu – would be very expensive and their use in cars would initially be limited to a "high-performance car" or a car with "high-performance charging".

In the meantime, Toyota will introduce its latest lithium ion battery technology with its next generation of electric cars built on a new highly modular architecture from 2026.

Nakajima said this had been created with an ethos of downsizing components such as the e-axles, HVAC system and battery packs (which have been made as slim as 100mm) as much as possible to allow them to fit into a much broader types of car, including lower Lexus saloons and Toyota sports cars.

One such sports car concept using the new architecture is the Toyota FT-Se revealed in Tokyo.

"As much as possible, we want to realise a fun-to-drive image," said Nakajima.

The firm's imitation manual transmission will become a staple offering of fun EVs, said Nakajima, who said that such cars should "not just be high-torque, high-power; the goal is how we can provide that fun-to-drive image".

The software potential of the new architecture would also allow people to download different performance packs for their cars. Examples given included the performance of the Lexus LFA and the steering feel of the Toyota GR86.

Are carbonfibre wheels actually worth it?

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 07:01:45 +0100

Alpine A110R feels especially feathery – could this be down to its lightweight wheels?

Lighter wheels bring tangible benefits to handling, but there are more user-friendly materials

I'm almost kind of half-thinking about maybe being convinced by carbonfibre wheels. Almost.

In next week’s issue, you will find our annual Britain’s Best Driver’s Car contest, two of whose competitors (not a spoiler alert, I don’t think), the Alpine A110 R and Ariel Atom 4R, arrived on composite wheels. Both were expensive cars, but previously I’ve generally tried rims like this on high-end supercars.

Just a few weeks ago, I drove a Porsche 911 S/T, which doesn’t have composite wheels but does have magnesium ones. Porsche’s engineers were keen to point out the similar reason why they had used this material: a reduction in wheel weight.

In particular, it’s a reduction of unsprung mass: the bit on the road side of the springs, so the tyres, wheels, hubs, brakes, wishbones and so on. Reducing this is helpful dynamically. The lighter it all is, the easier it is to control the wheel’s movement.

I wondered if lighter wheels improved a car’s ride: the 911 S/T rolls more easily than the 911 GT3 Touring, with which it shares suspension hardware. But no, not particularly, said the engineer from Porsche.

What they do help is traction (because a lighter wheel is deflected less by bumps and then finds the road again more quickly) and acceleration and braking (because a lighter wheel has less rotational inertia than a heavier one). So it’s easier to get it going and easier to stop it. The car therefore feels – and is – more agile.

Again, this isn’t a spoiler, because you will have had the chance to read about them already, but the A110 R and Atom 4R do feel particularly feathery. Mostly this is because they are: the Ariel weighs 700kg, the Alpine 1082kg. But I do wonder how much the way they respond to even small throttle inputs – and they are particularly responsive – is down to their light rims.

I haven’t done back-to-back testing. One day I will. But in the past, I have noted the difference between Porsches with iron and carbon-ceramic brakes. And when I fitted lighter wheel rims (not carbonfibre) to my mountain bike, it steered, went and stopped a lot more easily. Those rims are a bigger proportion of the machine’s weight, though, so they will have a greater influence.

Australian company Carbon Revolution will make the carbonfibre wheels for the next Range Rover Sport SVR. It reckons it can make a 24in wheel that’s as light as an 18in alloy one; and that it can enhance stiffness in particular directions to reduce road noise transmission, or increase lateral stiffness, or mould more aerodynamic shapes, because it can choose the direction of the fibrous structure.

That fibrous structure, though, eh? I know what you’re thinking: they may be strong, but they’re not immune to kerbs and potholes. And I’ve had my eyes opened wide by the insurance excesses on test cars that have arrived with carbonfibre rims.

When I buckled an alloy once, a place in Northampton locked it into a contraption that rolled it round again in a few seconds. There certainly wasn’t a CT scan, as offered by some carbonfibre wheel repairers. So they’re probably not for me.

What’s more, I can’t quite shift that nagging feeling that seeing most cars on carbonfibre wheels would be like spotting a podgy cyclist wearing the full Lycra get-up. Yes, I’m sure the material offers aerodynamically sleek and easy-moving performance benefits, but if you really wanted to make a difference, you would probably start elsewhere.

China 'wake-up call' forces Nissan to reconsider affordable EV plans

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 12:07:05 +0100

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said EVs were coming down in price "massively" faster than it had predicted

Arrival of low-cost Chinese electric cars means Japanese brand will accelerate development of value models

The electric car market is “moving faster” than expected, with the arrival of low-cost EVs from China providing a “wake-up call” for traditional car makers, according to Nissan.

This has prompted the Japanese manufacturer to overhaul its development plans and look again at how to ensure that its EVs are affordable.

Speaking at the Japan Mobility Show (the Tokyo motor show), Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said EVs were coming down “massively” faster than it had predicted even in 2021 and the market had moved faster than it had expected when it set its 2030 plan in that same year.

“We thought the process was step by step, but it has accelerated a lot faster,” he said. “The Chinese have accelerated this in the market and beyond.

“We are having discussions on price. We’re looking at affordable pricing for EVs across the world. This is one of the key things going forward.”

Uchida said there was no timeframe for Nissan lowering its EV prices but that it was a live topic within the company and it “had a plan”.

He said there was an important distinction in ensuring Nissan’s cars were affordable and good value for money, rather than simply making smaller and cheaper EVs.

He wouldn't comment on whether or not governments around the world should introduce tariffs on Chinese cars to ensure greater parity with more locally produced models.

“As long as it's a fair market, competition is okay," he said. "We’re not talking about governments. There is a strong wave from China now and [we need to look at] how we address this as an EV pioneer – how to change our way of constructing EVs and be competitive in each market.’

China has given firms like Nissan a “wake-up call”, said Uchida, prompting Nissan to overhaul the way it develops EVs to keep pace and bring new technologies and models to market quicker.

Uchida referred to previous statements on EVs that entail simplifying drive-unit development and production, with the goal of bringing the cost of Nissan's e-Power hybrids into line with ICE equivalents around 2026, and said EVs are also set to benefit from the new approach.

Uchida has also overhauled the management structure at Nissan to ensure quicker decision-making and given greater power to each of its regional heads.

He talked of leading a “mindset change” at Nissan, “not talking about what we used to talk about to bring cars to the marketplace”.

He said the new development of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance was successfully moving forward and more information on this would be forthcoming.

More broadly, he said that more partnerships would be needed by all car makers, as “in this world, with the regulations we see for EVs", adding: "Doing this alone will be a huge challenge for us."

“If you want to change," he said, "you need to look at partnerships with others.”

Maserati Grecale

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 12:03:26 +0100

What happens when you put a ludicrous engine into a sensible car? Read on to find out Before we get to the driving impressions, it's useful to consider the Maserati Grecale in the broader context of the vast organisation that makes it. When the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merged into Stellantis, it was hard to see how so many brands could survive under the same umbrella. It still is, but as all of them were given 10 years to prove their worth, no hard decisions have been made yet.Already, some brands are making bigger moves than others. We have seen a few concepts from Lancia but no actual cars, and DS has yet to fully convince us that its products are more than diamond-encrusted Citroëns. A surprising early mover was Maserati, from which we have seen a brand-new but pleasingly old-school supercar in the Maserati MC20 as well as a four-seat coupé, the Maserati Granturismo, both of which will soon spawn electric versions. Even more important for sales volumes and profitability will be the subject of this road test, the Grecale.It is perhaps not as all-new as its stablemates, being based on the Giorgio platform that we know and love from the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio, and was widely presumed not to have much of a future. At the same time, that relation creates some stern internal competition. That’s not helped by Maserati charging at least £63,970 for a Grecale, and a teeth-sucking £102,480 for the V6 Trofeo that we are focusing on here. It will need to prove it’s more than an Alfa Stelvio with a trident and three portholes on each side, and then some.The Range at a GlanceModlesPowerFromGT296bhp£63,970Modena325bhp£70,925Trofeo523bhp£102,480Folgore500bhp+tbcThe GT and Modena versions of the Grecale use the same hybridised 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine, but it puts out slightly more power in the Modena.The Trofeo range-topper is the only Grecale with a six-cylinder engine and no electrification of any kind. Not much is known yet about the Folgore EV, but it is sure to pack a punch. Along with more power, the more expensive versions also have a bit more equipment as standard.

From the archive: on this day in 1955

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 07:01:45 +0100

Daimler boss’s wife ‘inspired’ feminine One-O-Four model

The fight for women's equality proves how far we've come since the early days

"Here - for the first time – is a car specially designed to appeal to the woman who has very definite ideas about the car she wants her husband to buy,” read an ad in 1955.

“While to all outward appearances this special One-O-Four is entirely suitable for everyday business use, [it also has many] luxury features carrying a strong feminine appeal.”

Today, of course, most women would find the idea of a car maker aiming to woo them with a special set of maps, rugs, a picnic set and an in-dash vanity case containing Max Factor cosmetics insulting.

Indeed, in motoring, as in most aspects of life, it has been a long struggle to eliminate chauvinism. It was actually a woman, Bertha Benz (the wife of Karl), who undertook the first car journey of significant distance in 1885 – and others soon joined her.

An anonymous Brit wrote to us in 1898: “When I made up my mind to have a motor and drive it myself, I found it quite easy. In fact, I think a woman would be a better driver than a man. I am surprised at not seeing more ladies driving [alone].”

However, society being as it was (women couldn’t yet vote or open a bank account and few had jobs), men often complained about this. “Women should not drive,” one asserted in 1905.

“Their place is in the home; they are out of place in a motor. Women have not the nerve to steer [one on] a crowded street.”

When Britain’s men had to fight in the Great War, driving jobs had to be filled by women – which was helpful to their cause. A lieutenant colonel wrote that many had joined up with no experience, making for “nerve-racking times”, but “since then thousands have acquired the necessary skill and experience and have been and are still replacing [men] with extraordinary success”.

It became more acceptable for women to lead independent lives in the 1920s, so many more took up driving. Elizabeth Butler noted the gender split at motor shows looked fairly even and “no firm builds one type of car for a man and another for a woman, their needs as drivers being practically the same”, while ‘Latona’ encouraged the nervous: “Has any woman ever admitted she could not use a pedal sewing machine? No! Well, if she can do that, which means using her feet, hands and brain at the same time, then she can soon drive a car.”

Yet at the same time, Owen John cried that motoring had “shortened their skirts and docked their hair, invented the flapper [a trendy, fun-loving young woman] as well as the flapper-bracket [the motorcycle pillion] and, worst of all, proved that women can be just as forward as men in the matter of driving”.

Editor Hugo Massac Buist wasn’t impressed, mind you: “It has been the fashion among certain writers on motoring to express openly or insinuate that the great majority of women drivers are more daring than skilful, to put it politely. With this contention we cannot agree.”

And he was proved right by the stats: all things being equal, men should have had 7.3 times as many crashes as women, yet it was 12.5 times in reality, we found in the 1930s. (Such a disparity, by the way, has continued to this day.)

Such bashing faded from our pages (if not common opinion) in the 1970s, but then motoring ads started centring more on gender roles and sex. “If it were a lady, it would get its bottom pinched,” boasted Fiat. “If this lady were a car, she’d run you down,” spat back a graffito.

Thankfully, this trend faded fast into the 1980s – whether due to feminist ideas becoming more accepted, more women getting their licences or women entering the workforce en masse, while we stopped publishing motor show pieces in which female writers focused on pretty colours, ease of parking and space for a pram.

In 1935, just 12% of UK driving licences were held by women. In 1975, less than 30%. Now it’s nearly 50%.

And while the industry is still predominantly male, women have an ever-growing role, with major concerns like GM and Peugeot – plus Autocar – being female-led.

We’ve come a long way, then, from there being just one making a Ladies’ Model to indulge its boss’s egotistical wife. Only 49 were sold, by the way, before the Dockers were sacked by a Daimler firm facing bankruptcy partly due to this folly and others similar.

Lamborghini stalls EV supercars amid synthetic fuel uncertainty

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 07:01:45 +0100

Lamborghini has used plug-in hybrid tech for Revuelto supercar

Boss believes synthetic fuels are an "easier leap" for supercar firm; its everyday cars will go EV first

Despite already committing to fully electrified models in other parts of its catalogue, Lamborghini will continue to take a watching brief when it comes to BEV super sports cars - and will only commit to them as and when decisions are made about the future of synthetic fuels.

Lamborghini Chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Autocar that his company “can afford to leave the door open for a few years yet."

"Synthetic-fuelled sports cars would be an easier leap for us, but we have to wait and see what the legislators decide about them, and whether we can get global agreement on their viability," Winkelmann said.

"We are a global company, so it’s no good if they are only allowed in one area. They have to be real and flying everywhere... The plan is for our everyday cars (the Urus SUV and new Lanzador GT) to both be fully electric by the end of the decade. For the super sports cars, we will be hybridised; and those cars will live for eight or nine years from now (until the early 2030s). And so, given that a typical development cycle for a new sports car is four years, we have some time yet to watch and wait until the picture becomes a clearer.”

“We certainly see a clear trend from our younger buyers towards sustainability,” Winkelmann went on. “The overall footprint of our brand in terms of the by-volume emissions of our cars is negligible; but our sense of social responsibility for the brand is much bigger, and we have to honour that.”

“The truth is, we just don’t know how much of our existing sports car customer base might already consider a BEV alternative. We’re not even asking yet. First, we have to prepare them in a way that is credible. You have to do things in the right order. With Lanzador, for instance, we came with a concept, a vision: something real. Only once people have seen it can you really judge if the market is ready.”

Winkelmann says he’s not daunted by the idea of Lamborghini going fully electric, even across its wildest and most enthusiast-targetted models, however. “When I look back five to six years, when we took the decision to go hybrid, it was a tough decision. Nobody thought it would be accepted. So you have to think of public opinion as a film, not a snapshot.”

“Clearly, there will be a moment in time when full BEV sports cars can be even more emotional than ICE. The power output is already so amazing. What we have to prove is not the performance, but the handling dynamism and the excitement.

“In fact, we can already see the time when battery energy density will allow to make even more agile EV supercars than the ICE ones we have today. With enough reassurance from us, we can make those cars even more emotional for our owners, too.

Winkelmann added the technology was for the firm to develop and prove, rather than waiting for other brands to move ahead.

"We know we are already not the first ones - but, when we get there, we want to be the best ones," he said.

“For me personally, I have not decided whether I prefer e-fuel or BEV for the super sports cars. For the daily driver models, there’s really no alternative to EV. My doubt on synthetic fuels is only to do with scalability. Come 2035 there will still be billions of cars on the road with combustion engines, and if we want to make the biggest difference to global emissions, the best way to do it, in theory, is with e-fuel. But I’m not convinced that’s viable.

“Right now, the whole industry is already investing in battery technology. So as an industry - and clearly not only for the benefit of brands like Lamborghini - we need greater consensus and focus.”

Editor's letter: Why Mazda isn't just looking at EVs

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 06:00:00 +0100

Mazda currently sells only one EV: the MX-30

Japanese brand believes carbon neutral should be the goal – and is looking at a broad range of technologies to reach it

It’s always fascinating to spend time in the company of Mazda, not least for its more nuanced view on the world and its way of doing things differently.

The latest example came at the Tokyo motor show (Japan Mobility Show) this week – easily the best motor show the world has had since the pandemic – where Mazda stood alone in not revealing a battery-electric vehicle but instead a rotary-powered electric range-extender in a concept that previews the Mazda MX-5 of the future.

Mazda CFO Jeff Guyton calls Mazda an “intentional follower” as a small car maker who sells in more than 130 markets, with different regulations for many of them.

When it has done EVs, it has of course done them differently, Mazda’s first EV being the Mazda MX-30 that intentionally had a smaller battery of 35kWh because Mazda felt that still provided the range people actually needed rather than what they wanted, the latter figure always higher. It has not been a commercial success and Mazda has since added a range-extender PHEV version - using a rotary, of course - to the MX-30’s line-up to boost its appeal.

“From a consumer standpoint, people often think that bigger is better, right?” Guyton told me in Japan. “The MX-30, I think, offers people a usable daily driving range. Doesn’t it make sense that if you have a 30-something kWh battery instead of a 100kWh battery, then three people can have those precious resources that are in that battery?

“Then we’ve got three drivers who are ostensibly driving carbon neutral instead of just one. It’s very logical and goes hand in hand with pragmatism in Japan.”

That pragmatism is a reference to why Japan’s automotive industry has persisted with hybrids for so long instead of electric vehicles, because it considers them better in the whole life cycle of a car, something also true of hydrogen, which is why companies like Toyota and Honda have been so keen to pursue it. Japan sees carbon neutrality as the goal and doesn’t dictate the technology about how to get there.

“In Japan, most of the energy we consume here is imported in one form or another. Japan has been keen to look at a total carbon life cycle than a lot of other countries. In Europe, we’ve had CO2 taxes for a long time but they only looked at the tailpipe.

“The economics of power generation in Japan means it is agnostic to all of that. Hydrogen and, I would argue, hybrids are about using less energy, period, or being more flexible about energy sources. The ability to think differently about what carbon neutral looks like: if it’s carbon neutral, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t have to be EV. It just needs to be carbon neutral to support environmental goals. It’s very pragmatic.”

Guyton cites “maturity of regulation and customer choice” as reasons why Mazda will not go all in on any technology, and it’s easy to see why when you have the indecision around EVs in the UK.

“It is very easy for politicians to follow the tailpipe and say ‘yep, there isn’t one’,” said Guyton in reference to why legislators may steer towards mandating the means to the goal as well as the goal itself. “But the science and technology has to evolve over time. Customer choice is also going to drive some of this stuff.

“I think in recent days we took a step back in the UK. I’m not that close to it, but I think in some respects it could be a step forward in terms of customer choice. I don’t know the discourse that happened but solving the carbon issue rather than mandating EV and I think we could globally evolve into that place.”

He acknowledges that that’s not going to be the case in China ("they’ve made it [BEVs] a dominant feature of their policy”) and there will be countries like Norway that go their own way.

“But I think over time customer choice and maturity about the solutions we might have, those are things that we can hope for.”

H2X Darling is 248-mile hydrogen van with KTM lightweight chassis

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:01:45 +0100

Darling is Australian firm H2X's answer to the Ford Transit Custom

Australian firm H2X partnered with KTM to create lightweight 'origami' chassis for fuel cell vehicles

Track car and motorcycle manufacturer KTM has partnered with Australian outfit H2X Global to create a hydrogen fuel cell van that benefits from the Austrian firm's lightweighting expertise.

The firm behind the X-Bow track car, and more recently the fixed-roof GT-XR supercar, partnered with H2X last year to co-develop a "revolutionary" lightweight platform aimed at reducing the cost of hydrogen fuel cell cars, trucks and buses, dubbed the 'Smart chassis'.

As part of the agreement, the two firms announced that they would collaborate on a new 'origami' chassis for H2X's light commercial vehicles, which is said to be "easier to produce and maintain and way more flexible for variants than a conventional chassis".

K2X said this new platform would enhance the sustainability of its manufacturing processes while reducing the cost of investing in tooling, "which is typically a cost driver in typical sheet metal forming process".

The first product to emerge from the partnership is a hydrogen-powered version of H2X's Darling, a mid-sized van in the vein of the Ford Transit and Vauxhall Movano, available in various sizes ranging from 4670mm long to 5324mm.

Revealed in prototype form, the Hydrogen Professional Van – as it is called – is at an early stage of development, with H2X claiming to be in discussions with "a key supplier" to verify and validate its viability.

H2X claims it has a payload of 3500kg, can tow up to 2550kg and has a range of up to 248 miles.

Technical details on the hydrogen-powered Darling remain under wraps, as does the extent of KTM's specific contribution to the project, but KTM Technologies' technical project manager Andy Schumacher said it was "thrilled to have collaborated with H2X Global".

"This partnership has allowed us to witness first-hand the innovative vision and dedication of H2X Global in pioneering hydrogen-powered solutions for the automotive industry," he added.

"As a company committed to pushing the boundaries of automotive engineering, KTM recognizes the immense potential of hydrogen technology in creating environmentally friendly and groundbreaking vehicles."

Hydrogen fuel cells are of particular interest to light commercial vehicle manufacturers, who tout the long range and short refuelling times offered by the technology as a boon for commercial operators. Stellantis offers a range of mid-sized fuel cell vans in Europe and various start-ups – including British-Canadian concern First Hydrogen – have voiced plans to commercialise their own takes on the formula.

This latest announcement comes just a day after Toyota revealed to Autocar that it was prioritising the development of fuel cell technology for commercial vehicles, having achieved limited success with its Mirai FCEV passenger car.

Top 10 best small electric cars 2023

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 14:40:00 +0100

The electric car may already be cheaper than you think, but it's set to get even cheaper. These are the best of the compact crop

The next three years are set to bring a new level of accessibility to electric car ownership. If the last decade has been about demonstrating that EVs can work for families and businesses, typically as part of two-car households and fleets, the coming years look set to show that they can be affordable - and viable - as superminis and city cars with genuinely tempting showroom prices and real-world figures for electric range.

Small hatchbacks have long been among the most popular cars in the UK; so why should that change with electric cars? Up until now, high prices have been in the way; as, to a certain extent, have packaging and weight. After all, the compact size, practical interiors and light, nimble handling of small cars couldn’t be more suited to our back roads and suburbs. It's simply that electric technology perhaps hasn't, thus far, delivered small cars quite to that recipe.

Batteries are expensive and more easily hidden in something SUV-shaped, which means that we’ve seen most of the innovation in the bigger segments, with the classes of larger EVs filling up quickly with very competitive models. It's also much easier to convince someone who's got two or three other cars to call upon that something on his or her driveway should be electric than someone with only one car, who depends upon it for everything - as supermini owners sometimes do.

Even so, there are already good options out there if you want to drive an electric car that doesn't take up more space than you need it to. With a bit of careful driving, some small EVs already crack 200 miles on a single charge. And if careful driving is not your style, there are a few options that even have hot hatch pretensions.

We’ve tested and rated every small electric car currently on sale; and we've also got a close eye on the coming crop that's still in the pipeline. Here is our rundown of those we consider to be the very best.

Best small electric cars 2023

1. Peugeot e-208

Pros: Good battery range for the price, comfortable ride, decent performance

Cons: Soft suspension impacts body control at speed, some low-rent materials, slightly cramped rear seats

As a traditional combustion-engined supermini, the Peugeot 208 doesn't do an awful lot to stand out from the crowd. However, in all-electric guise, our road testers reckon it's one of the most appealing small cars there is. That’s thanks to its mix of genuinely usable range, strong performance, value, practicality, style, perceived quality and, last but not least, driver appeal. Essentially, it deserves to figure highly if you're shopping for your first electric car.

This Peugeot's materially rich and distinctive interior distinguishes it just as clearly as the stylish bodywork. Its practicality is on a par with the Renault Zoe's and better than a Mini Electric's. Both of those aspects are key considerations for cars like this.

During our testing, we found that the e-208’s refinement beats both of those arch rivals, too, while performance is still fairly strong. Certainly, you get an adequate dose of that electric-motor-enabled zip.

The car also rides with a suppleness missing from some smaller EVs, which often struggle to contain their body mass on the road; while in its higher-speed body movements, it doesn't feel as heavy as its main rivals. The steering is striking for its directness, although body control deteriorates a little if you drive more enthusiastically.

Even so, it's the roundedness of the e-208's driving experience that really impresses. Its claimed range of 225 miles isn't to be sniffed at, either; and with a longer-range version (248 miles) imminent, with a little more motor power to sweeten the deal, it sits pretty at the top of this chart of obvious reasons.

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2. Fiat 500

Pros: Handsome styling, decent tech, drives well at speed

Cons: Overly high driving position, so-so real-world range, poor pedal placement

Fiat's model range is now slightly confusing, because the old car lives on as the Fiat 500 Hybrid (despite being only a mild hybrid). The one you want, however, is the new electric 500. It might look familiar, but it's only when you see them side by side that you realise the new electric 500 is completely new.

Fiat has done a marvellous job at retaining the modern-day 500's cute retro looks, while making it into a car for the modern age. Because it was developed as a purely electric car from the outset, it has a fairly sizeable (for a small car) 42kWh battery and a theoretical WLTP lab test range of 199 miles, although we discovered that translates to more like 140 miles in real-world use. There is a cheaper Fiat 500 Action model with a 24kWh pack, but we don’t think the financial savings are great enough to offset the much shorter range.

The electric Fiat drives substantially better than any other 500 as well, with its 117bhp motor making it surprisingly zippy and fun for a city car. Yes, we found the steering to be quite light, but there's plenty of grip and an absence of body roll - and while it's not exactly at home on the motorway, it copes remarkably well.

The interior is also a massive improvement over previous 500s too. It's still quite plasticky, but it looks great, the seats are comfortable and the infotainment is logical and responsive. There's even a convertible model with a roll-back canvas roof. It's still not great for tall drivers, though, and it goes without saying that you shouldn't plan on carrying adults in the rear very often.

Inflation and the death of the Plug-in Car Grant have not been kind to the electric 500's list price, though. At launch, you could buy one for under £20,000, but now the range starts at £28,195. If you want the longer-range version, you’ll need to fork out at least £31,195. That's a fair chunk of change for such a tiny tot, but we’re still quite fond of this tiny, fashionable EV that’s surprisingly good to drive when you escape the city.

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3. Vauxhall Corsa Electric

Pros: Decent real-world range, refined

Cons: Not much fun to drive, cramped rear seats, imperfect driving position

Vauxhall's sibling to the Peugeot e-208 doesn't quite have the same style or imaginatively configured interior of its sibling, but because it’s largely the same underneath, it’s still one of the best small electric cars.

Early versions were a little behind the Peugeot on range, but an update in 2022 that added a taller final drive ratio and a standard heat pump lifted the range from 209 to 222 miles; and now, a battery capacity hike and new electric motor has lifted it again, this time to 246 miles.

The Corsa Electric's facelift also brought with it a thoroughly revised front end, and a new multimedia system. Unfortunately, it also comes with a chunky price increase, up to at least £35,125.

The Corsa might be a little plainer than the Peugeot, but to our eyes, it still looks handsome enough; especially in its latest form. The driving experience combines genuine 220-mile everyday battery range with keen and competent handling and a comfortable ride, while 100kW DC rapid charging compatibility as standard should be a selling point too. Vauxhall also has purchase incentives for a free home charger installation and access to a special home energy tariff.

Vauxhall's large UK dealer network and the brand's desire to offer some decent discounts have helped to make this one of the UK's best-selling EVs, converting people who hadn't previously considered electric motoring. Our testers reckon it's certainly good enough to leave the right kind of impression.

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4. Mini Electric

Pros: Good fun to drive, handsome styling, punchy performance

Cons: Poor real-world range, small battery, not particularly practical

The Mini Electric brought all of the fun factor you expect of the brand to the compact EV segment when it arrived in 2020 – albeit packaged with a few equally typical usability restrictions. Based exclusively on the three-door Mini bodyshell, the Mini Electric adopted the powertrain from the now defunct BMW i3 S, giving it a very healthy 181bhp and 199lb ft of torque.

We found performance to be notably stronger than many of the cars you might compare it with in this list, while we enjoyed the grippy, darty and agile handling: all the enduring dynamic traditions of the Mini brand. We like it a lot.

Range is the catch. Mini claims 143 miles, but in reality, depending on how and where you drive it, you're more likely to get between 100 and 120 miles. And that's in a car with a pretty small boot and whose back seats are tricky to access and of little use for anyone but younger kids anyway. Then there's the fact that, with prices starting at a little under £30,000, this clearly is the most cost-effective compact EV.

Yes, the Mini is still one of the more enjoyable small EVs, but the short range means it’s no longer good enough to be at the top of this list. The good news is that an all-new version should land early next year with bigger-battery options. We’ve had a brief go in a prototype and it’s even better to drive than the current one, too.

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5. Mazda MX-30

Pros: Upmarket interior, smart styling, sharp steering

Cons: Range is too short, impractical rear doors, not as light as it should be

Mazda has never been afraid to do things its own way, and the approach it has taken with its first all-electric car is no different. The MX-30 is therefore not quite what you might expect, but it's an appealing proposition all the same.

Toy-car looks are wrapped around an unusually small battery pack – just 35.5kWh, giving an official range of 124 miles – because Mazda believes owners simply won't need more (and increasing the size of the battery would mean unnecessary cost and weight).

The car is reasonably spacious within, has an SUV-lite body that is very much on trend, and is trimmed in interesting materials that give the cabin a singularly cosy and likeable atmosphere. It also includes distinctive 'suicide' rear doors - a nod to the brand's old rotary-powered RX-8 coupé - but we found them slightly impractical in day-to-day use.

Dynamically, the MX-30 also stands out - although only when you're travelling with a bit of pace on an interesting road. With 143bhp and 199lb ft, the electric motor didn’t blow our socks off in a straight line, but the weighting of the MX-30's steering and the supple manner in which the suspension transfers weight while cornering are genuinely reminiscent of the MX-5 sports car. Around town, however, we found it a little plain.

Rapid charging at up to 50kW is possible so, if the limited range works for you, there is plenty to like about the unusual Mazda MX-30. And if it doesn't, there's always the rotary-engined, range-extended REV version. See? Mazda likes different - so do we.

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6. BYD Dolphin

Pros: Long range, good value, very well equipped

Cons: Woolly handling, frustrating control interfaces

If you are after value for money, particularly for an EV, the incoming Chinese manufacturers are a good place to start. The latest company with big plans for Europe is BYD, which is rapidly building a full range of electric cars. Its smallest model, for now, is the Dolphin.

It is by no means the best car on this list, but given the entry-level model costs £25,490, rising to £30,990 for the fully loaded long-range version, some of its flaws can be excused.

The handling is quite woolly and the leatherette is a bit naff, but the main problem of all BYDs is that the infotainment system is infuriating. Even though the screen is huge, it hides important settings in deep submenus and doesn’t integrate with phone mirroring very well.

However, you get all the equipment you could possibly wish for, the ride is fairly plush and real-world range that’s comfortably over 200 miles is not to be sniffed at. The Dolphin is also a tad larger than the other cars on this list, so it offers more interior space as well.

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7. Honda E

Pros: Eye-catching styling, zippy performance, sophisticated ride and handling

Cons: Short battery range, expensive, small boot

Honda has taken a left-field approach with its first all-electric car, the Honda E - which is unusually compact for an electric car, and innovative in several ways.

A rear-mounted motor promises packaging efficiency (although the car itself fails to follow through with it), while all-independent suspension heralds the ride and handling sophistication of a bigger car.

The E is available in 134bhp and 152bhp forms, but neither has quite the battery capacity of rivals: 35.5kWh gross is all you get here, which makes for a claimed WLTP range of 136 miles maximum (with the car rolling on 16in wheels). In testing, we struggled to get much more than 100 from our test car, which had 17in rims.

To drive, the E feels plush, composed and easy to operate, with medium-paced steering but a tight turning circle, and moderate but responsive performance. It didn’t excite us, and it doesn't offer the last word in background body control, but it's a relaxing zero-emissions city car and its alternative styling is exceptionally endearing. It's helped here by genuine one-pedal driving, which, once mastered, delivers greater driver engagement and enhanced efficiency.

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8. GWM Ora Funky Cat

Pros: cutesy looks, plush and spacious interior, decently mature ride and handling

Cons: lacks some features, buggy infotainment software, light steering, limited range

The Ora Funky Cat, from Chinese car manufacturing group Great Wall Motors, might grab your attention or any number of reasons. It's a fairly large and practical car amongst its peers, after all, with a fairly eye-catching price. It's called... what it's called, which may also raise a smile. It's even based on a model platform that GWM has christened 'LEMON' - although quite what that acronym stands for, or why you'd want to use it, is unclear. And, for an extra laugh, its brand model badge even looks a little bit like a cat's behind.

The car underneath all of that is a mixed bag. It's certainly spacious by class standards, and moderately attractive - although, while rear legroom is generous, rear headroom is hamstrung by the car's under-seat battery location.

There are plenty of notes of material richness about the cabin, but as many cheap touches also. The infotainment system has plenty of functionality but a fiddly and infuriating layout of very small controls.

On the road, the car rides and handles well enough, but it steers discouragingly lightly, and has quite roughly tuned electronic stability control. Performance is quite strong when the battery is fully charged, but it deteriorates notably as it nears depletion. Cabin noise isolation is also a clear weak point for the car.

Overall, its consistency of finish, and depth of apparent engineered-in integrity, that the Funky Cat lacks. It's not a terrible car - but it shows that plenty of Chinese brands still have a lot to learn.

COMING SOON

Dacia Spring

If you’re looking for a small electric car, chances are you’re also looking for an affordable electric car; and if there’s one thing electric cars have tended not to be very good at thus far, it’s being affordable.

But you can trust Dacia to be big on value. It’s finally bringing the Dacia Spring Electric to the UK in 2024; and while you can't buy one quite yet, we've already driven one - and know that, despite being based on the Indian-market Renault Kwid and its price likely starting below £20,000, it’s a very decent and genial little car.

Of course, you don’t get something for nothing, so the range is fairly short: the claimed 140-ish miles should translate to something between 110 and 120 miles in mixed real-world driving. Its 50kW DC charging speed isn’t much; but then the battery is only 26.8kWh so it’ll still fill up quickly.

On the road, the Spring has a breezy, agile and energetic way about it that speaks of its lightness and compactness, and while you won’t confuse its refinement and performance for that of a Mercedes S-Class, or even a Peugeot e-208, it’s all much better than you might expect for the money.

Where the Spring betrays its value positioning the most is in the interior, with a lack of adjustability in its driving position and fairly rudimentary materials. Then again, the 2024 facelifted version that the UK will get ought to improve those things.

With the Sandero, Jogger and Duster, Dacia has proved it’s an expert at injecting a bit of flair into a cabin without breaking the bank, so that bodes well.

Citroen e-C3

The Stellantis Group will open up its assault on the bottom end of EV ownership with the Citroen e-C3. While the group's other superminis come with steeper price tags, this one is set to level with the BYD Dolphin, at about £25,000.

With styling inspired by the Citroen Oli concept, and a battery range of almost 200 miles according to WLTP lab testing, the e-C3 will be built in Europe, in Slovakia.

Stay tuned for a first drive verdict soon.

Renault 5

The Renault Zoe, which dominated the emerging market for small electric cars for so many years, is now out of production - and when it's successor comes, it could be a game-changer for Renault.

The Renault 5 is due to appear in 2025, with a retro design that references the famous Renault hatchback of the 1980s. It's expected to bring particular handling and ride sophistication to the electric supermini class, with all-independent suspension and a platform related to that of the larger Megane E-Tech.

Renault is already on record that it's aiming to beat the price of the outgoing Zoe with the car - so we can expect sub-£30,000 affordability to go with those retro looks.

Mini Cooper E & SE

The BMW Group is moving the electric Mini upmarket in its second-generation form. Rebranded as the Mini Cooper E and Cooper SE, the new car - which is due on sale in the UK in late 2023 - opens up with 181bhp of power, 40.7kWh of battery capacity and a claimed 190 miles of electric range.

But opt for the pricier Cooper SE instead and you'll get 215bhp, and up to 250 miles from the battery.

The car has been developed in a joint venture between BMW and China's Great Wall Motor, but will continue to be build at BMW Plant Oxford, Cowley.

Volkswagen ID 2

Volkswagen's new, front-drive 'MEB Entry' model platform will bring us the all-electric successor to the long-serving VW Polo in 2026, when the Volkswagen ID 2 goes on sale.

Wolfsburg is aiming for a starting price of around £22,000 for the car, and will offer it in 38- and 56kWh versions, with the latter targeting a 280-mile range.

The car will mark a key shift in Volkswagen design philosophy, seeking to reference iconic VWs of the past like the Beetle, Golf and Polo, rather than being quite as progressive and forward-looking at the larger ID 3.

It will also have a racey Spanish sister car - the production version of the Cupra Urban Rebel, the Ravel - although don't expect this version to come quite as cheap.

BYD Seagull

This is the car that could really put the 'budget' in budget EV motoring. The Seagull is an A-segment-sized supermini smaller than most in this list. It made its debut at the Shanghai motor show early in 2023; and with battery of capacity of up to 38kWh, it touts range of up to 252 miles in its domestic market.

There's no confirmation on European-market availability as yet - but if it comes, expect it to be priced very competitively indeed: possibly from as little as £15,000.