ekar B g n i toohS noetr A negawskloV | 1 202 e n u J 9
2021 GTV AWARDS
BUMPER 132-PAGE ISSUE IT’S BAC K!
VIEWS EVERY WEEK |
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Jaw-dropping looks, cutting-edge tech Yes, even Alfa is going electric
SPECIAL
ALFA’S BABY SUV
cars and the xige’s amazing last hurrah Great heroes who made them
DRIVE N
STARRING
USED NOBLE M12
A Ferrari for hot hatch cash
Lewis: exclusive interview The car maker like no other
Aston’s handling guru
Meet Mr Hyundai
NEW 508
PIONEERING PERFORMANCE AGAIN 360 hp–CO₂ From 46 g/km*–All Wheel Drive
Official Fuel Consumption in MPG (l/100km) and CO₂ emissions (g/km) for the new 508 PEUGEOT SPORT ENGINEERED range are: Combined N/A – 138.9 (0.0 - 2.0) and CO₂ 0 - 46 g/km. The fuel consumption or electric range achieved, and CO₂ produced, in real world conditions will depend upon a number of factors including, but not limited to: the accessories fitted (pre and post registration); the starting charge of the battery (PHEV only); variations in weather; driving styles and vehicle load. The plug-in hybrid range requires mains electricity for charging. The WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure) is used to measure fuel consumption, electric range and CO₂ figures. Figures shown are for comparison purposes and should only be compared to the fuel consumption, electric range and CO₂ values of other cars tested to the same technical standard. The figures displayed for the plug-in hybrid range were obtained using a combination of battery power and fuel. *Figures shown are for the new 508 PEUGEOT SPORT ENGINEERED. Information correct at time of going to print. Visit peugeot.co.uk for further details.
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‘A message could pop up saying ‘pay us £10k or I’l turn your brakes off’’
Issue 6466 | Volume 308 | No 11
NEWS
Alfa Romeo GTV Back as an EV in big line-up revamp 6 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé Four-door coupé detailed 10 Rolls-Royce New Coachbuild car every two years 12 Uber London is going EV-only; which EVs will it use? 14 Autonomous cars UK deciding laws to govern them 16
TESTED
Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final edition of true legend 20 Everrati Porsche 964 British firm turns 911 electric 24 Honda Civic Type R Subtler new Sport Line version 24 Audi Q7 55 TFSIe Seven-seat SUV as potent PHEV 25 VW Arteon eHybrid Shooting Brake ROAD TEST 26
AUTOCAR AWARDS 2021
Euisun Chung Hyundai and Kia’s visionary chief 38 Thomas Ingenlath Design boss and brand creator 44 Sir Lewis Hamilton Racing god, social campaigner 48 Richard Parry-Jones Engineer who saved Ford 54 Matt Becker Mind from which Aston DBX sprung 56 Klaus Busse Designer reviving Alfa, Fiat, Maserati 60 Eddie Hawthorne Retailer’s pandemic protection 64 Alison Jones Calmly sailing Stellantis in raging sea 66 Bentley’s Covid-19 taskforce That’s how you do it 68 Porsche Taycan Five-star car does North East 250 72 Alpina B3 Touring How Frank Sytner introduced us 80 Toyota GR Yaris Chief engineer on creating a great 84 Ariel Atom 4 Secrets of Britain’s Best Driver’s Car 88 BMW M5 E39-gen saloon is a used car champion 92 A110, Defender, Golf GTI Readers’ dream garage 96
OUR CARS
Citroën C5 Aircross PHEV family SUV final report 108 Ford Focus ST Toe to toe with a Skoda Octavia vRS 111 Volvo XC60, VW Golf PHEV issues, sublime hatch 113
EVERY WEEK
Jesse Crosse It’s like a 1960s Ferrari V12, only better 15 Jim Holder And now the good news from 2020/21 17 Steve Cropley In want of a Range Rover Sandero 19 Damien Smith Rallycross action from Lydden Hill 100 Motorsport round-up Indy 500, BTCC, Dakar, WRC 101 Motorsport interview Formula E, Extreme E boss 103 Your Views Classics chat, driver ‘aids’, YouTube fun 106 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 110 Matt Prior Why 1000bhp-plus is a show-stopper 130
DEALS
James Ruppert Cars most likely to fail first MOT 114 As good as new How to bag a Hyundai i30 N for less 117 Spied in the classifieds £17k Audi S1, £8.5k Up GTI 118 Used buying guide Noble M12, a Brit supercar hero 120 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenos 122 Road test index Track down that road test here 129 Autocar, ISSN number 1355-8293 (USPS 25185), is published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription price is $199.78. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Autocar, WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained at Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent. Autocar is published by Haymarket Automotive, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 3SP, UK, haymarketgroup.com Tel +44 (0)20 8267 5000 Autocar magazine is also published in China, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. TROUBLE FINDING Autocar is a member of the Haymarket AUTOCAR? Independent Press Standards is certified by BSI to Organisation (IPSO). environmental standard If you struggle to find a We abide by the Editors’ Code of ISO14001 and energy copy of Autocar in your local Practice and are committed management standard retailer or area, please to upholding the highest ISO50001 send an email to standards of journalism. If you connor.chappell@flgroup.co.uk think we haven’t met those who will investigate the standards and want to make problem for you. a complaint, contact autocar@haymarket.com. For more information, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk Autocar is a member of the organising committee of Car Of The Year caroftheyear.org
COMMENT
DRIVEN: LOTUS EXIGE BOWS OUT IN STYLE 20
AND OUR TOP AWARD THIS YEAR GOES TO… HAS THERE BEEN
a more successful transformation of a car fi rm over the past decade than that of Hyundai? Think of what it was 10 years ago: a maker of cars remarkable only for their price. The brand’s transformation started with its designs, then its dynamics, all while retaining that value, backing with long warranties and slowly ROAD TEST: VW ARTEON SHOOTING BRAKE 26 itbutupsurely improving the brand image. What is true of Hyundai is true of its Hyundai Motor Group sibling Kia, too. Now Hyundai is truly a worldclass car maker. It’s also one of the world’s most interesting, perhaps most comparable with Toyota in how it mixes making mass-market cars you’d want to own with being a pioneer of new technologies while trying to make affordable. It now makes some THE BEST CARS AND MOST TALENTED PEOPLE 36 them exciting performance cars, too, and is launching a premium brand, Genesis, ❝ to go after the German big three. That busiest and most transformative of decades was all overseen by a man who you’ve probably never heard of: Euisun Chung. The number of interviews he has ever given probably ❞ can be counted on one hand, given THOMAS INGENLATH ON HIS STEP UP FROM how keen he is to avoid any limelight. But this week, we give him the credit VOLVO DESIGNER TO POLESTAR BOSS 44 he deserves with our top honour – the Issigonis Trophy – at the 2021 Autocar Awards. Chung’s story, in his own words, stars in this special issue featuring all of our winners. We hope you enjoy reading about their success.
NOW I RULE THE WORLD – AT LEAST AS FAR AS WOOD FINISH IS CONCERNED
THE CARS THAT WILL REBUILD ALFA ROMEO 6
Mark Tisshaw Editor
mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com @mtisshaw
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5
Alfa to revive GTV as an EV in sweeping range renewal
A
Electric coupé to top a potential line-up of three SUVs, saloon, supermini and Spider
lfa Romeo is plotting a revival of the GTV as an electric four-door coupé flagship under a sweeping revival plan that will include a major
6 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
revamp of its model line-up, Autocar has learned. Seen as a technological flagship for Alfa Romeo’s future line-up, the modernday GTV is one of a number
of proposed new models being considered by the Italian brand’s new CEO, Jean-Philippe Imparato, to spearhead its embracing of electrification and
other key technologies. “There’s no announcement at this stage, but [in] the GTV I’m very interested,” said Imparato, the former Peugeot boss who took control of
Alfa Romeo in January. Autocar has been told that proposals for the revival of the GTV extend from a retroinspired two-door coupé to a contemporary four-door
coupé in the mould of the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé (see p10), with both electrified combustion engine and pureelectric drivetrains possible. There’s no clear indication yet as to the direction it will take, but planning documents referenced by Alfa Romeo insiders suggest that it could be targeted at the Tesla Model 3 and newly unveiled BMW i4 electric saloons. The GTV name has been used by a number of different Alfa Romeo coupé models over the years, most recently for a two-door 2+2 sold between 1995 and 2005. Under an earlier strategy, the GTV name was planned to be revived for a two-door version of the Giulia saloon. However, despite being developed to production maturity, its introduction was cancelled earlier this year. Imparato has some form for using retro designs to promote electric technology. During his time at Peugeot, he approved the much admired e-Legend concept, an electric
❝ GTV proposals extend from a retroinspired two-door coupé to a car in the vein of the 4 ❞Series Gran Coupé
coupé with muscle car styling inspired by the 504 Coupé. Although Peugeot ruled out a production version because it wouldn’t be commercially viable, Alfa Romeo’s more upmarket position could potentially justify a premiumpriced electric coupé. Major overhaul for the Alfa Romeo line-up Alfa Romeo is one of 14 brands controlled by Stellantis, which was officially formed in January from the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the PSA Group. Under Imparato, Alfa Romeo is preparing a groundup renewal of its line-up by the middle of the decade, with future models set to
be based around all-new platforms and electrified drivetrains from Stellantis. The revamp is aimed at achieving greater economies of scale and profitability. Imparato, who has established a 49-strong team of managers to steer the Alfa Romeo revival strategy, said that he believes it “has the potential to be the global premium brand of Stellantis”. With Alfa Romeo’s sales on a dramatic decline and its existing two models, the Giulia and the Stelvio SUV, already in the latter half of their planned seven-year cycles, Imparato is looking towards a newly developed range of hybrid and pureelectric models to drive growth. That line-up will
include successors to both the Giulia and the Stelvio. Imparato’s plans are backed by Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares, who has pledged investment in Alfa Romeo for the next decade. “It will move to electrification,” Tavares said, “but in a dynamic way. Imparato is an Italian citizen and is driving the brand with passion and vision for what needs to be done.” By 2025, just one Alfa Romeo model, the upcoming Tonale compact SUV, will use an FCA-developed platform. The rest will be based around one of three passenger car platforms originally developed by the PSA Group and made available to Alfa Romeo by Stellantis, giving the Italian brand access to pure-electric drivetrains in all but one of its planned future models. Development of the new Alfa Romeo line-up is being expedited in a process similar to that undertaken by Opel and Vauxhall after they were purchased from GM by PSA. Alfa Romeo is already ◊
STELLANTIS PLAT F O R M S O P E N T O A L FA STLA Small
STLA Medium
STLA Large
STLA Frame
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 7
Small SUV, dubbed the Brennero, will be the new entry-level Alfa
H O W VOLKSWAG E N T R I E D T O B U Y A LFA
8 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
∆ building on its existing
design activities in a bid to give future models the characteristic Italian stylistic flair and driving dynamics that Imparato says he considers to be central to its brand identity. Imparato has brought in Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos to head Alfa Romeo design. Formerly the head of design at Dacia, the 52-year-old Spaniard is best known for his work at Seat, where he was responsible for the latest Leon and the Arona, Ateca and Tarraco SUVs. Alfa Romeo will continue to operate in close company with Maserati under Stellantis ownership. The two Italian premium brands will pool more areas of their engineering and development activities as well as sales and service operations in moves aimed at improving their exposure in key markets, including the US and China.
Imparato’s arrival at Alfa Romeo has come too late to significantly influence its next model, the Tonale, which was conceived and largely developed under a number of predecessors. However, he is taking measures to ensure that the Audi Q2 and BMW X1 rival lives up to expectations. As previously reported by Autocar, the Tonale has been delayed until 2022 as engineers are put work on improving the performance of the plug-in hybrid version of the new SUV, which is based on the FCA-developed SmallWide platform. The Tonale will indirectly replaces the Giulietta, which ceased production last year after a run lasting a decade. Entry-level Brennero SUV due in 2023 The first Alfa Romeo model to really benefit from Imparato’s
and Stellantis’s leadership will be the firm’s upcoming third SUV, known internally as the Brennero. Set to be produced alongside successor models to the Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade in Poland from early 2023, it will form the future entry-level point to the Alfa Romeo line-up. It will be based on the PSA-developed CMP platform, now known as the STLA Small, which underpins a wide range of models, including the Citroën C4, the Peugeot 2008 and the Vauxhall Mokka. The STLA Small can house multiple powertrains, and the Brennero will be offered in both combustion-engined and pure-electric forms. Set to become Alfa Romeo’s first electric production model, it’s scheduled to run a 134bhp electric motor driving the front wheels in combination with a 45kWh (net) battery, which
T H E C A R S C H A R G E D W I T H R E V I V I N G A LFA R O M E O
Mito
Brennero
Tonale
Giulia replacement
GTV
Stelvio replacement
Spider should deliver a claimed range of around 200 miles. Key to the plans laid out by Imparato since his arrival at Alfa Romeo is the adoption of the STLA Large platform. Initially developed by fellow Stellantis brand Peugeot, it will be used for all future combustion-engined Alfa Romeo models as a replacement for the Giorgio platform that underpins today’s Giulia and Stelvio. Unlike the Giorgio, the STLA Large was developed to support electrification. This will allow Alfa Romeo to offer mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants of future models without expensive redevelopment of the Giorgio platform – something seen as vital to growing sales and helping the company return to profitability within the framework of increasingly tight emission
The Mito’s return❝ is considered essential to attract younger buyers back ❞to Alfa Romeo
In a recent media presentation, Stellantis suggested that the STLA Large platform will support pure-electric drive with ranges of up to 497 miles. Development of a pureelectric drivetrain for the new platform is already well under way in co-operation regulations both at home and to keep the good things with Japanese electric motor from the Giorgio platform. in key export markets. specialist Nidec and French There are opportunities The version of the STLA battery cell and battery Large platform to be adopted that we’re studying now.” It is yet to be confirmed when production company Saft. by Alfa Romeo is planned the Giulia and Stelvio will adopt to feature unique chassis Alfa Romeo Spider and the STLA Large platform. components. Engineering is Mito could also return However, insiders suggest already under way to adapt The GTV isn’t the only classic that successors to today’s various systems used by the Giorgio platform, including its models, due in 2023 and 2024 Alfa Romeo model being respectively, will switch to the considered for a revival. steering and suspension, to Imparato has also revealed the new structure, which is also new structure, which could that he has a personal liking for destined to be used by Maserati also underpin the new GTV. the Spider, suggesting that it Like the next Giulia and for its next-generation Ghibli could be brought back to the Stelvio, the GTV is proposed saloon and Levante SUV. company’s line-up. The last to be sold in mild-hybrid and Speaking to Autocar Spider model was produced plug-in hybrid forms, as well recently, the head of Alfa between 2006 and 2010. as with the option of a pureRomeo products, Daniel “I love the Spider. But allow electric variant. Guzzafame, said: “We want
me to bring Alfa Romeo to a certain level of economic performance, and then we speak,” he said of recent reports about reviving the two-seat convertible. Also under consideration as part of Alfa Romeo’s 10-year revival plan is a successor to the Mito supermini, which ceased production in 2018. Although it’s not confirmed, insiders close to Imparato suggest that it’s likely to be twinned with a follow-up to the Lancia Ypsilon, building off the same STLA Small platform as the Brennero, with a new five-door hatchback bodystyle for added versatility. The return of the Mito is considered essential to attract younger buyers back to the Alfa Romeo brand, although sources suggest that priority is currently being given to SUV models. GREG KABLE
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9
BMW reveals 4 Series Gran Coupé
B
M440i wil top new four-door line-up with 369bhp when it hits the UK in November
MW has rounded out the second-generation 4 Series range with the new Gran Coupé, which will be launched in the UK in November with a 369bhp M440i xDrive range-topper. The four-door coupé will join the existing Coupé and Convertible in the 4 Series line-up and is heavily based
on the four-door electric i4, alongside which it will be built at BMW’s Munich factory. The firm claims it offers enhanced handling ocer its predecessor, and its petrol and diesel engines will all feature mild-hybrid technology. The new 4 Series Gran Coupé is based on the same CLAR platform as the 4 Series Coupé
X4 M Competition now has 479lb ft
10 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
and i4, and it benefits from a similarly aerodynamically optimised design, including an active air flap control system and an almost sealed underbody. As with the rest of the 4 Series range, BMW has worked to make the Gran Coupé’s styling more distinct from the closely related
3 Series, and it retains the controversial large grille. UK cars will all come with BMW Live Cockpit Professional, which features a 10.25in digital instrument display. At 4783mm, the new car is 143mm longer than the original 4 Series Gran Coupé. It’s also fractionally wider and taller and features a broader track
than the latest 3 Series saloon. BMW claims the stretched dimensions allow for greater interior room, with five seats and a 470-litre boot, which is 39 litres bigger than previously. The 4 Series Gran Coupé will be available with a range of three petrol and two diesel models. The 420i and 430i use four-cylinder 2.0-litre
turbocharged mild-hybrid petrol units offering 181bhp and 241bhp respectively, while the 420d four-cylinder mildhybrid diesel has 188bhp and is available with rear-wheel drive or xDrive four-wheel drive. The range-topping M440i xDrive variant uses a mildhybrid 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit to produce 369bhp and 369lb ft, for a 0-62mph time of 4.7sec and a governed top speed of 155mph. This version has CO2 emissions of 181-193g/km and official fuel economy of 33.2mpg. An M440d xDrive version will eventually follow. As with the other 4 Series models, the Gran Coupé features lift-related dampers to control body movement and mode-specific variable sport steering, while an electronically controlled rear differential is standard on the M440i and optional on the 430i. UK models will get 18in alloy wheels and M Sport suspension as standard, along with M Sport styling details, leather upholstery and BMW’s online assistance package. M Sport Pro trim packages will be offered for each engine variant, adding 19in wheels, a rear spoiler, M Sport seatbelts, adaptive suspension and performance brakes. UK pricing had not been confirmed as Autocar closed for press. For the first time, BMW is developing an M4 Gran Coupé, which is due to arrive next year to sit alongside the M4 Coupé and M4 Convertible. JAMES ATTWOOD
Vauxhall Grandland gets big design overhaul VAUXHALL HAS GIVEN the Grandland a major mid-life overhaul, including a substantial exterior revamp to reflect the brand’s latest design language. The SUV went on sale in 2017, and the facelift brings it into line with the rest of the firm’s range. The new look is based around the Vizor grille, which has already
been adopted by the Corsa and Mokka. The rest of the Grandland has also had a design makeover, and it gains new side panels and bumpers. The side panels are now finished in body colour, with the underbody skidplates in black or silver. The Grandland will now also offer a two-tone paint finish with a contrasting roof. The car’s interior has also been extensively reworked. The dashboard has been rebuilt around Vauxhall’s twin-screen Pure Panel, which includes a digital instrument display and an infotainment touchscreen of up to 10.0in in size. Vauxhall has yet to detail the full powertrain line-up for the
revamped Grandland, but it’s likely to be unchanged from today’s. The firm will continue to offer a plug-in hybrid, with a 296bhp four-wheel-drive powertrain and up to 35 miles of electric-only running.
The new Grandland is due to go on sale this autumn. Full pricing and specifications will be revealed later, although a small increase over the current pricing, which starts at £25,165, is likely.
Reworked interior features new twinscreen dashboard
FIRST OFFICIAL PEEK AT NEW ASTRA
Vauxhall has given us the first official look at its next-generation Astra. Due to be revealed later this year, the new version of the long-running Ford Focus rival wil feature the British brand’s new Vizor gril e and wil be offered in both hatchback and estate forms. It will also gain a plug-in hybrid option.
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 11
Rolls plots more rare models
R
Drop-top £20m Boat Tail is likely to be followed by other special Coachbuild projects
olls-Royce is aiming to produce a new car from its Coachbuild division every two years, according to company CEO Torsten Müller-Otvös – but such projects will occur only if there is both demand from buyers and an “appetite” from within the company. The British firm recently unveiled the £20 million Boat Tail, an ultra-luxury four-seat GT created for three of its customers. The machine took four years to develop and was inspired by the one-off Sweptail, revealed in 2017. Müller-Otvös said customer demand for one-off models following the Sweptail prompted the establishment of Coachbuild as a full business unit. “Sweptail was a one-off with a particular client and received an unbelievable reception,” said Müller-Otvös. “We had a lot of enquiries from our clients if they would be picked to join the next Coachbuild project. We did that four years ago and, while doing that, ramped up the department. “Our idea is to maybe do one project every second year. Whether it’s three cars or one car will hinge very much on the idea of the clients and also on our appetite for doing it.” Müller-Otvös added that the firm is in a “very comfortable
12 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
position” where it can pick clients for future Coachbuild projects. He said the firm “wants to keep it very rare” and will ensure each project is an exclusive offering. “There’s no intention to boost any volume, because the intention clearly is to create projects that are significant for the brand’s history in 70-100 years or so, and that are truly unique pieces,” he said. “That also fits quite nicely into the heritage of Rolls-Royce with coachbuilding projects in the 1920s and 1930s.” Rolls-Royce has refused to confirm the suggested £20m price of the Boat Tail – a figure that would make it the most expensive new car to date – but Müller-Otvös said the expanded Coachbuild effort will not supplement the firm’s production models as the key business driver. “Our base is the business we are successfully in – Cullinan, Phantom, Ghost and so on – and that will stay our main business,” he said. “Commercially, Coachbuild is not a ‘make it or break it’ addition for the business. But it’s important for the brand aura and for the image of the brand to showcase unbelievable craft skills that we have developed over the years.” The Coachbuild operation will sit alongside the
T O R S T E N M U L L E R - O T V O S O N . ..
Breaking new car delivery records so far in 2021
Selling ‘experiences’ with Coachbuild and Bespoke
Why Rolls-Royce is skipping PHEVs for full EVs Coachbuild’s customers
firm’s existing Bespoke personalisation division, and Müller-Otvös said the two arms will complement each other. “Teaming Coachbuild with Bespoke will give us very lovely input into our Bespoke business,” he said. “It’s an amicable relationship and will lead to fantastic new ideas in that area. Already, 98% of all cars leaving the plant are fully Bespoke and that will enable clients to do more in future. “Bespoke benefits from the ideas and crafting on the Coachbuild side, and the other way round as well. Our designers and engineers have great ideas that will fuel both Coachbuild and Bespoke.” The Coachbuild programme has been enabled by the firm’s aluminium Spirit of Luxury architecture, which has the flexibility to accommodate different sizes of bodywork. The Boat Tail uses the engine and main underpinnings of the Phantom, but with nearly 2000 unique parts. Rolls-Royce is currently developing its first EV, tipped to be called the Silent Shadow, which is due by the end of the decade. Asked if the firm will eventually offer Coachbuild EVs, Müller-Otvös said: “Definitely. Inevitably. Once we go full electric, why would we stop Coachbuild?” JAMES ATTWOOD
Ferrari’s 2022 Artura rival to pack hybrid V6 FERRARI’S UPCOMING mid-engined hybrid supercar, which has been spied testing in prototype form ahead of a 2022 launch, is set to be the firm’s first model since the Dino to use a V6 engine. The machine, which will follow the SF90 Stradale as Maranello’s second hybrid model, is being developed under the internal codename F171. Although Ferrari has been tight-lipped about the car’s development so far, it is understood to feature a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine with a single electric motor for hybrid power. Unlike the SF90, which has a motor on the front axle to offer all-wheel drive, the new machine will be rear drive only. As with the SF90, the new model will offer limited
electric-only running, although it won’t be an expansive plug-in hybrid system. The engine is also tipped to appear in the forthcoming Purosangue SUV. An earlier prototype of the new hybrid was seen using a heavily modified LaFerrari chassis, but the latest one
features revised production bodywork, including fake exhaust pipes at the rear. The machine is set to rival the likes of the upcoming McLaren Artura, which also has a V6based hybrid powertrain. Along with the Purosangue, the new hybrid is likely to be
tasked with helping to expand Ferrari’s reach and line-up and will further the brand’s electrification programme. Earlier this year, the company confirmed that it will launch its first fully electric car, likely a twin-motor, all-wheel-drive two-seater, in 2025.
Latest prototype has adopted productionbased bodywork
CONFIDENTIAL VOLVO SALES BOSS Lex Kerssemakers believes SUVs will remain a popular choice with buyers in the future – and he says they can be efficient if used in the right way. “It’s still more efficient to drive in one car with six people than two cars with three people each,” he said. “We continue to see a market for bigger cars and SUVs. We just need to ensure they are properly powered with a range of batteries to ensure proper journeys.”
F171 will have a midmounted 3.0-litre V6 and an electric motor
FIAT TO TRANSITION INTO ELECTRIC-ONLY BRAND BETWEEN 2025 AND 2030
Fiat has committed to becoming an electric-only brand by 2030. To that end, it wil phase out all of the petrol and diesel models in its global portfolio from 2025. The Italian firm recently launched an all-new, electric-only version of its hugely popular 500 and has been considering the full switch to EVs for years, due to its focus on small cars. Boss Olivier François said this represents a “radical change”. The move wil further differentiate Fiat from other mainstream Stellantis brands, such as Citroën and Vauxhall. Fiat said its EV commitment wil also apply to countries where new ICE car sales are stil allowed after 2030. Fiat joins the likes of Bentley, Ford and Volvo in committing to offering entirely electric line-ups by the next decade.
STELLANTIS BOSS Carlos Tavares is open to adding more brands to the 13 already in the group, if an opportunity arises in China. He expects the market to open up from next January to allow foreign investment and ownership of Chinese domestic brands. “But right now,” he said, “I have enough on my plate.” SKODA STILL PLANS to offer stripped-out entrylevel models, but sales boss Martin Jahn said they won’t appear until the firm can increase production. Skoda has struggled to meet buyer demand in recent years and that’s been exacerbated by delays relating to the semiconductor crisis. Jahn said: “When we have a situation when production is bigger, we’re committed to these models.” HOW’S THIS FOR combining bang-on-trend tech? Canadian EV firm Daymak says its new Spiritus, due in 2023, will be the first EV that can mine cryptocurrency while parked. It will also be available for purchase using various cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin and Bitcoin. No, we don’t really understand, either. 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 13
Scramble to provide Uber EVs
U
Ride-hailing firm’s 2025 EV-only plan attracts established brands, Chinese and Arrival
ber’s decision to become electric-only in London by 2025 has created a scramble among car makers to secure the business of some 45,000 drivers who will soon have no choice but to dump their hybrids if they want to continue working for the American private-hirevehicle-hailing company. However, it’s not just the usual industry players angling for custom: also making a pitch will be Chinese EV giant BYD and nascent British EV maker Arrival, which both see ridehailing as a unique way into the UK car market.
The race is already starting. No new car with a combustion engine, whether it’s a hybrid or not, can be registered for private hire in London now. Uber says that 3.5 million trips have been undertaken in EVs (users can now specify one if they wish), and as part of its Clean Air Plan, the firm has launched a scheme to funnel cash into cheaper EV leasing to help its drivers switch over. Uber says its vehicles are currently between four and five years old on average, and it admitted in a paper published last year that “most ride-hail drivers drive second-hand”.
Arrival is creating an electric car specifically for private-hire use
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Uber wouldn’t say what its most popular car is, but the image of a reliable, frugal and slightly dog-eared Toyota Prius has become the symbol of a private-hire ride in the capital. But with Uber’s commitment to an electric future pushing its drivers to buy new for the first time, car makers both established and new have spotted an opportunity to scoop up buyers in the firm’s biggest market – especially as Toyota is late to the EV scene. In April, Hyundai signed a deal with Uber across Europe to offer drivers “discounted access” to its Ioniq Electric and Kona Electric models. This followed Nissan offering 2000 examples of its Leaf hatchback to London’s Uber drivers at a discounted rate. Some 1600 of the cars available to be hailed on the Uber app are now electric, with the Leaf, Kia e-Niro and Kona Electric the most popular. Uber cars aren’t acquired through fleet deals: its drivers in this country are classified as workers, rather than full employees, so must buy or
lease their own cars. This fact, combined with the scarcity of used EVs, means newcomer firms sense an opportunity. Arrival is best known for developing an electric van, but now it wants to target Ioniq is one of Uber’s most popular EVs Uber drivers and has signed a deal with the company to get access to lots of comfort and a host driver data to aid development of other changes. “I believe that dozens, if not hundreds, of an all-new car. This will be of minor improvements launched in just in two years’ will culminate to make the time, Arrival has promised. “The Prius wasn’t designed whole experience completely from scratch for this use case,” different,” said Elvidge. Arrival’s drawings show an Arrival senior vice-president Tom Elvidge (a former manager interior layout with a stowable front passenger seat, but it at Uber) told Autocar. insists that it isn’t moving into Arrival’s electric car will the territory of the dedicated offer a “command” driving London taxi made by LEVC. position for good visibility,
❝ First and foremost with ride-hail drivers, it comes down to money❞ in the pocket
WHERE WILL UBER DRIVERS CHARGE?
“The typical Uber driver also uses their car on their personal time, so really pushing too far onto the side of professional use can be a limiting factor,” explained Elvidge. Arrival plans to build its Uber car in the UK using its ‘microfactory’ small-scale production techniques – but it had better keep an eye on the final price. “First and foremost with ride-hail drivers, it comes down to money in the pocket,” said Peter O’Rourke, global head of marketing for Splend. This Australian ridehailing company recently set up shop in London to offer its rent-to-buy scheme to drivers who use not just rival Uber but also apps from Bolt, Freenow and others that pay out for deliveries of packages and food. Splend current offers the Ioniq Electric, the e-Niro and the MG 5 SW EV estate. Top of the three is the e-Niro in terms of design, according to O’Rourke. “It’s a knockout because of its size and shape, with lots of head room and leg room,” he explained. “In the back of the Prius, your knees are around your ears.”
But drivers also like the 5 SW EV for its space, value and long range. At 276 miles, it can drive for two days without charging on the average Uber driver’s daily tally of 120-150 miles. China could be a good source of good-value EVs beyond the MG estate. Indeed, Splend is currently in talks with BYD to import its EVs into London specially for ride-hailing use. O’Rourke didn’t mention any models, but the Chinese firm aims its E6 electric crossover, which has a claimed 250-mile range, at taxi drivers. “Ultimately, Chinese car manufacturers are making [electric] cars cheaper, which means we can purchase them cheaper and provide them to our drivers cheaper, which means more money in their pocket,” explained O’Rourke. However, any Chinese that do arrive in Britain – and indeed our own Arrival – will have to compete with established marques, and not just on price. “If you’re an Uber driver, you know the brand Toyota. You trust it. It’s your livelihood,” said O’Rourke. “Getting people to make this switch is hard.” NICK GIBBS
Average Uber does 120-150 miles daily, so charging must be daily
UNDER THE SKIN JESSE CROSSE
HOW FERRARI’S 1960s V12 WILL BE REINVENTED USING TECH OF TODAY
THERE ARE MANY ways of approaching the design of an all-new engine, but taking more than a little inspiration from Ferrari’s Colombo V12 surely has to be one of the best. The naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V12 forthcoming from British classic Ferrari experts GTO Engineering is an echo of the past brought right up to date using the latest engineering techniques and internal-combustion technology to produce an engine that will be lighter, cleanerrunning, more powerful and higher-revving than its 1960s counterpart. With a target power output of 460bhp and rev limit of 10,000rpm, the sound it will make at full chat is almost unimaginable. It’s designed to power the Squalo, a ground-up sports car design recapturing the spirit of 1960s Ferraris without being a recreation of one. Back in 1960, Ferrari moved from two single overhead camshafts to quad cams but stuck with two valves per cylinder, rather than increasing the number to four. The Squalo engine does just that, with quad cams and a total of 48 valves – 24 inlet and 24 exhaust. Four valves per cylinder is common enough in modern engines, and two smaller inlet valves allow great volumes of air to enter the engine than a single larger valve. One of the benefits is allowing the engine to draw in enough air at high revs, which is vital to achieve the lofty rev limit that GTO’s engineers are targeting. Drive is taken to the cams on the front of the engine as is usual: by a combination of gears and chains. The design of the front timing case in which the gears sit has been refined, as has the sump, while the two distributor caps are being designed in-house, because off-the-shelf components simply aren’t sufficiently good-looking. The engine is fuelled not by a bank of twin-choke downdraft Weber carburettors but by electronic port fuel injection with 12 individual throttle bodies (ITBs), one feeding each cylinder. The exact design of the ignition system is still being finalised, and the jury is still out on the use of distributors, but there will be a crank sensor and an ECU to control the fuelinjection system and engine management, and that may include the ignition as well. The engine has dry sump lubrication to
provide a consistent supply of oil to the engine’s moving parts under heavy braking and cornering forces. To reduce weight from those 1960s V12s, GTO’s designers have shaved off a few grams here and there by using hollow components in place of solid ones. Materials throughout the engine have been chosen to minimise weight and the starter motor is of a lightweight design. The designs of the clutch and flywheel are 25% lighter than the originals, and this has the twofold benefit of reducing weight but also inertia in the flywheel and crank assembly to improve response. The target weight is 165kg, which compares with the 176kg of a Ferrari 250 SWB’s V12 weighed by GTO Engineering. Some prototype components are being produced in-house using additive manufacturing (3D-printing) techniques whereby components are printed from powered metal. There’s also a possibility that some production components might be made in the same way that Porsche made them for its latest 911 GT2 RS.
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Legal groundwork laid for self-driving cars on UK roads
Future legislation hopes to tackle the big questions around vehicle autonomy
T
he UK government is developing legislation to permit autonomous cars to drive on public roads, addressing a range of issues such as insurance, liability and cybersecurity and establishing a legal framework to govern driverless vehicles. Known as the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act (AEVA), the legislation is spearheaded by the Law Commission (the body responsible for consulting with the public and relevant industries ahead of the introduction of new laws), and work has now begun on identifying how laws could be modified to accommodate autonomous cars. When complete, the legislation will apply to cars that can drive independently some or all of the time – effectively level three autonomy and above, as defined by SAE International. Many cars are currently available with level two features, such as lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control systems operating simultaneously. Level three is a big jump, featuring hands-off
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technology, which means the person at the wheel doesn’t drive at all when the system is engaged but must retake control when the car says so. The new Honda Legend, which was launched in Japan in March with a price tag of 11 million yen (£71,000) and limited to 100 lease sales, is said to be the first car available with officially sanctioned level three technology. Its Traffic Jam Pilot system was approved by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism last November as being allowed to operate the car independently at up to 31mph on major carriageways. The British Department for Transport (DfT) made a similar pledge this April when it announced that cars with automated lane-keeping systems (ALKS) would legally be allowed on the road before the end of this year, with their operation capped at 37mph. The DfT said it would “ensure the safe use of ALKS, including whether [it] met the definition of automation in the AEVA”, which is the first example of the legislation in action, even though it remains in the
Legal expert Jonathan Butler
consultation phase and isn’t expected to be complete or enforceable for some time. “It was enacted in 2018, but so far it just creates compulsory automated vehicle insurance. It’s really a three-year review of the regulatory framework for the safe deployment of automated vehicles,” said Jonathan Butler, the head of automotive at law firm Geldards and a member
PROJECTED SALES OF AUTONOMOUS V E H I C L E S W O R L D W I D E BY 2 0 3 0
of the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) board. Legal specialists developing the AEVA have already published two consultation papers on autonomous vehicles, and a report from a third is due later this year, having closed in April. “It’s going to work out how [the law] will look, not just in terms of obvious safety, as in accidents and injury, but
It wil work out how❝ the law wil look in terms of on-road safety, data privacy, cybersecuri ty and liability ❞
issues and when emissions testing was introduced into the MOT [in 2018]. You’re going to have cyber resilience forming part of it, because this is ultimately not just an in-car entertainment issue; it’s a safety issue. That’s no different from having a faulty airbag.” As legislation governing autonomous cars takes hold, England’s comparatively Thatcham’s Matthew Avery flexible legal system might in fact leave it in a better position During Autocar Business’s than other countries, at least The Truth About Autonomous in a legislative sense. Codified legal systems, common in Cars live web broadcast Europe, are typically black and last month, Thatcham Research director Matthew white about laws and penalties. Avery pointed out that many Although they offer certainty anufacturers already work to for cases with historically stablished barometers, such established circumstances, s ISO 21434 (a cybersecurity they’re allegedly less able to accommodate developing tandard designed for road subject matter. ehicles), but acknowledged “In the English legal that the risk would remain. system, you’ve got two “The problem with cyber sets: acts of parliament is that we really don’t know regulations, then common where the threat comes law, case law and so on – from [or] where the attack cases decided on their merits,” profile might be. Is [the said Butler. “The beauty of safety standard] good that is that it’s flexible, so gh yet? Probably not. you get justice based on the ut there’s certainly a lot factual circumstances of a f effort being put into it.” particular case, and any other Avery suggested that also in terms of cybersecurity ransomware is one of the most case that’s identical to it will normally have to follow that likely types of attack. “A lot and data privacy and making of cybercrime is for monetary decision. But the ugliness sure that liability issues are addressed,” explained Butler. gain, so you could maybe have of it is a lack of certainty. “There will be cases where ransomware so that vehicles He said the consultations someone will one day have to would initially look for “lacunas can’t start,” he explained. work out, within the body of the Butler took it a step or loopholes” in the law that regulations, what they mean in further, saying: “You would need to be addressed real life. So, does that mean the could have a message if autonomous cars are to be insurer carries the can? Does it pop up on your dashboard successfully rolled out. mean the manufacturer does? Liability has long been one saying ‘Pay us £10,000 or Does it mean the human being of the biggest hurdles for self- I will turn your brakes off’.” sitting in the car does? And if He added that the issue driving vehicles, with frequent so, to what percentages?” could become so pervasive questions about whether the Answering all of those that it would transcend manufacturer, the insurer or questions and, more individual legal issues and the person behind the wheel form part of wider regulation. importantly, bringing all of this is responsible for accidents. together in a seamless way “I would go as far as to “It might be that the law suggest that cyber resilience is to a global standard is the treats automated vehicles going to feature quite heavily, considerable task facing like pets,” said Butler, “and there’s the same kind of strict even as part of the MOT [test]. legislators around the world. JACK CARFRAE It’s just like environmental liability rule that applies to owners of animals: if they cause harm, the owner or user bears responsibility.” Cybersecurity is another area in which autonomous vehicles are subject to close scrutiny, because they rely on increasingly complex levels of connected technology, leaving them more vulnerable to hackers than cars of old, and this is yet another area that’s due to be addressed New Legend is first car with officially sanctioned level three tech at a legal level.
Jim Holder When you can’t fly to Spain, why not buy a van and sit in a field? ON REFLECTION, NOT all of the news in the past 18 months was bad – at least not for everyone and everything. Uncovered by data-crunching by Sophus3 and IHS Automotive, here are positives that emerged. G There’s a good chance that historians will determine the pandemic as the catalyst for the EV movement. EV sales across the EU14, EFTA and UK rose 106% year on year, while alternatively fuelled vehicles (chiefly plug-in hybrids but also those that use CNG, biogas and hydrogen) rose 60%. G Across Europe’s five biggest markets (Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain), Tesla was one of just three marques to record an annual rise in sales, largely thanks to the Model 3, ending the year with registrations up 51%. Only MG (+46%) and Ferrari (+4%) also recorded uplifts. G The old adage that the rich get richer rings true, according to data showing that the only market sector to grow in 2020 was upperend vehicles. Registrations rose 8% across the big five European markets, albeit doing almost nothing to stem the tide of every other sector being down 17-43%. G Maybe it’s because they remain the mainstream’s most aspirational car type, but web searches for SUVs
increased in 2020, taking a staggering 45% of all model pages viewed. Views also rose for city cars (likely driven by people wanting to avoid public transport), mid-size cars and MPVs. G Of the top 20 brands analysed, Audi alone held its nerve to eclipse its 2019 advertising spend. Across Europe, it was estimated to have spent £218 million, up 8% , with major campaigns supporting the launch of the new A3 and the E-tron GT. Only Renault (£291m) and Volkswagen (£235m) spent more overall. G The Ford Puma was the most advertised car, with spending in Europe topping an estimated £171m. It was followed by the Renault Zoe (£83m), Seat Leon (£75m), Renault Captur (£69m) and Ford Kuga (£61m). G With ‘staycations’ now our only option, campervans are selling out across the UK. One firm that builds a van described as being “sold in small numbers to a niche of enthusiasts” saw this turn into its second most popular vehicle during the crisis. G YouTube recorded 1.36bn views last year, up 20%. The most-viewed video posted by a European car brand was a French advert for the Volkswagen T-Cross. Autocar gained more than 35,000 subscribers, putting it on the cusp of 800,000.
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Our new all-electric range. Plug in, stand out. SEARCH: VAUXHALL ELECTRIC
EV range (WLTP Combined) miles and CO2 results for Mokka-e 136PS (100kW), Vivaro-e Life 136PS (100kW) and Corsa-e 136PS (100kW). Electric range up to 143 – 209 miles.* CO2 0g/km. Corsa-e, Mokka-e and Vivaro-e Life are battery electric vehicles requiring mains electricity for charging. Range data given has been determined according to WLTP test procedure methodology. The figures shown are intended for comparability purposes only and should only be compared other cars tested to the same technical standard. The range you achieve under real world driving conditions will depend upon a number of factors, including but not limited to: the accessories fitted (pre and post registration); charging frequency; personal driving style; vehicle payload and route characteristics; variations in weather; heating/air conditioning; pre-conditioning and battery condition. For more information, contact your local Vauxhall Retailer. *WLTP figure includes 50% payload. EV range assumes that vehicle has been pre-conditioned prior to journey.
l Drifting about today in my new Dacia Sandero Stepway, having recently given back a Bentley Bentayga, I’m beset by the feeling that, despite the opposed excellence of these cars, nobody has yet built me the ideal set of wheels – or even got close. What I want is a truly refined, fairly tall, four-metre-long hatchback that has good handling and a supple ride, whether it’s lightly or fully laden, and that generates an absolute minimum of wind and tyre noise. I don’t need high performance (just enough of it) but my priority is avoiding oppressive wind and tyre noise so that I can hear the hi-fi clearly while cruising on typical UK surfaces. In short, I need a much smaller Range Rover. I know that such a vehicle would be considered very pricey for its size but, like an increasing number of drivers, I’ve come to regard compactness as an asset. Why must we buy bulk to get capability? A couple of fantastic bits of customer service made my day after I had woken up worrying on two counts. First, despite much internet searching, I was still lacking the correct electrical connector for a trailer that I was about to tug halfway across England. Second, having spent too much time listening fruitlessly to phone music, I hadn’t managed to arrange adequate insurance for the vehicle (a motorbike) that I needed to carry. Within an hour, the problems had melted away. In an unlikely, fortress-like branch of Halfords buried in a car park in Stroud, near my home, a confident and knowledgeable woman behind the counter instantly found me the gadget that I needed for £6.95. Next, I boldly ditched my usual insurer for another that was advertising ‘specialist service’. After five minutes spent
Nobody has❝yet built me the ideal set of wheels ❞
cheerily imparting vital details, a nice bloke called James had arranged the cover I needed. A 240-mile journey then went perfectly, with the Sandero’s trip computer yielding just over 50mpg. The rest of the day was all smiles. It has been a strange delight for us at Autocar, putting together this annual Awards issue. The delight part is because we believe that it’s an important part of Autocar’s mission to recognise and praise the highest achievers of the motor industry. The strange part comes because we’ve done quite a lot of this year’s reporting remotely instead of meeting winners face to face. I would like to say that it has been difficult, but it hasn’t. We’ve all adapted and are quite proud of the result. I hope you enjoy it, too.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Charging points in my area of the Cotswolds are starting to sprout, like buds in May (or June). Not just that, but installers and operators are offering contactless bank-card payment, too. Praise be! The system is starting work.
If Land Rover put this on a hot wash, it would find at least one buyer
This era of Cherokee delivers lots of capability for the cash Good fun at the Curborough sprint track, near Lichfield, watching the first tranche of Autocar Shelsley Walsh Young Drivers Championship entrants getting a day’s driving instruction before tackling their first event there on 11 July. They were all raw recruits, but by mid-morning, they all really started to get going, which was sweet to watch. The competition aims to attract 17- to 21-year-olds, driving 1.2-litre Vauxhall Corsas that cost less than £3000, and entries are still open. Six rounds are planned this year; you can find full details at shelsleywalsh.com. One of my neighbours has just bought a seasoned 1990s Jeep Cherokee, several generations old, and I’m seized by jealousy, because I always wanted one. Of course, the moment has long passed. You could hardly imagine a less economical or refined vehicle, given that it’s powered by either a crude 4.0-litre six or a chuntering 2.5 turbodiesel. But back in the day, a few of us drove a couple of the things halfway up California’s Rubicon Trail (a Jeep stronghold) in company with a Range Rover, and the Jeep was by far the more capable, not least because it fitted neatly through many tight gaps between boulders. These days, you can get one on eBay for £1500. I’m proud of myself for resisting.
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 19
FIRST DRIVES NEW CARS TESTED AND RATED
LOTUS EXIGE SPORT 390 TESTED 27.6.21, HETHEL ON SALE NOW PRICE £64,000
After 21 years, Hethel’s intoxicating road-racer gets ready to bow out with new Final Edition models. How much wil it be missed?
20 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
W
e don’t always mourn the passing of truly unique cars. When the Audi A2 slipped away, no one really noticed (wrongly), and journalists weren’t exactly queuing up to pen an obituary for the drop-top Range Rover Evoque in 2018 (more understandable, that). But the Lotus Exige? This one hurts. After 21 years and three iterations, production is ending, along with that of the ultra-lightweight Elise and the GT- avoured Evora. Come winter 2021, the nal Exige will have left the factory, which is now gearing up for production of the altogether more rounded, Porsche 911-rivalling Emira coupé. That has got a new assembly hall with autonomous pallets that move chassis between stations, plus an improved paintshop. Even the facility constructing the extruded aluminium core is new and now sits near Hethel, having outgrown Lotus’s Worcester site. But here’s the big one, for anyone who has been living underneath a rock in outer space: the Emira is expected to be the nal combustionengined Lotus ever. It will blend attributes from the Evora and Exige and package it all underneath bodywork strongly reminiscent of the £2.04 million Evija electric supercar – yet it’s only a stepping stone. Owner Geely wants to make Lotus an EV-only brand by 2028, as well as increasing production from around 1500 cars annually to a figure in the tens of thousands. Plans are in place to make many of these extra cars in Wuhan, China, and to branch out into crossovers in the process, although Lotus will also grow its very healthy engineering consultancy further, notably with the development of an electric sports car platform with Alpine. In short, change is afoot. Given the Emira will be heavier and everything thereafter electrified, you could describe the fat-free Exige Sport 390 Final Edition tested here as the last of the Lotus old guard, Colin Chapman style. Essentially, it’s the one-last-gasp replacement for the Sport 350, which has been the entrylevel S3 Exige since 2015, when it replaced the Exige S. In temperament, the 390 is split roughly 60/40 road to
track, according to senior dynamics engineer Dan Peck, who says it has “all the best parts from the Sport 420 with the suppleness of the Sport 350”. Anyone craving more track-day attitude can escalate matters, as Lotus is also offering Final Edition versions of the Exige Sport 420 and the Cup 430. Assuming you’re not the one paying (the 390 costs £64,000, while the 420 is £82,675 and the 430 is a plump £100,600), you can quickly tell the three apart by looking at the rear wing. The 390’s is the smallest but also the most stylised, artfully folding over on itself, whereas the 420’s is wickedly bowed with meaty endplates and the 430’s is bigger still, mounted higher and arrow-straight above the rear deck. Not that any of the three wants for presence. Even as the light of its life force begins to icker, any Exige crams more visual impact in its Renault Clio-sized footprint than even the Lamborghini Aventador manages. Nearly. As for the hardware, the Sport 390 uses the familiar wet-sump Toyota 3.5-litre V6, mid-mounted transversely and as low as possible. To ratchet up the power from 345bhp in the Sport 350 to 392bhp here, the larger Edelbrock supercharger from the recently retired Sport 410 (keep up back there) has been fitted, along with that car’s three-inch exhaust system – up half an inch. The Sport 390 also benefits from a chargecooler so that it won’t suffer from heat soak and power shortfalls during track use, where grooved AP Racing brakes donated from the red-raw Cup 430 ought to prove their worth. Where the Sport 390 really differs from its Final Edition siblings, and where it makes its single biggest nod towards road over track, is at Tarmac level. Michelin’s Pilot Sport 4S tyre is used, rather than the same firm’s sensationally effective but less versatile Cup 2 tyre, and we shouldn’t underestimate that distinction. The 17in forged alloys are from British firm Rimstock and the double wishbones controlled by passive Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs, with passive anti-roll bars. (The Sport 420 and Cup 430 have three-way adjustable Nitron dampers and ◊
Steering wheel has been redesigned; gearshift mechanism is gorgeous 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 21
As ever when❝you fire up an Exige, you orget all the details and simply become absorbed
❞
Open diff makes the Exige tricky beyond the limit of grip; the Emira should change that ∆ three-way adjustable anti-roll bars.) Finally, the aero package is lifted from the Sport 350, albeit with the front splitter from the Sport 410, for an overall 115kg of downforce at 170mph. For reference, the Cup 430 makes 171kg, although the similarly conceived Dallara Stradale towers over both with an astonishing 853kg. But as ever when you fire up an Exige and ow it through a corner or three, you forget all the details and simply become absorbed in one of the most thrilling driving experiences around. Even today, in the era of the consecrated Porsche 718 Cayman
GT4 and Alpine A110, there’s nothing else that makes you so keenly aware of the physics involved, nor gives you the same pulsating feedback through unassisted steering and a beautifully stiff chassis. It’s a chassis that shines in Sport 390 trim – poised and rewarding of precision but also more willing to rotate on its Pilot Sport 4S tyres and therefore playful in a way the more serious Exiges rarely manage. The throttle-on transition between grip and slip remains just a touch unpredictable, and Lotus’s decision to fit the Emira with a Torsen-style
differential (Hethel has traditionally shunned any form of limited-slip diff, because it can corrupt the steering) is a tacit admission that this is an area in which it needs to raise its game. But in every other way, this chassis is a masterpiece. Fiercely throttleadjustable and very much at home on the track, it’s also supremely effective on the road, where the Exige’s tiny body seems to glide along once you’ve got some speed underneath it – which you will, because the exhaust bypass valve slams open at 4500rpm. Beyond that point, you will raise the dead and thoroughly enjoy doing so.
As for owning the Sport 390, I can see why you wouldn’t. There’s a reason why the Emira will have narrower sills, a higher hip point (although still lower than the Evora’s) and more luggage space. But if you’ve any inclination at all towards these unique sports cars, try an Exige while you can. Whatever the future holds, the chances of it yielding something that lets you play the Group C hero but is also, in the context of such machines, really quite usable isn’t just small; it’s probably non-existent. RICHARD LANE
@_rlane_
LOTUS EXIGE SPORT 390 FINAL EDITION
AAAAB
Supercharged V6 revs to 7000rpm; Final Edition also gets a new digital dash
RIVALS
EVERRATI PORSCHE 964 TESTED 2.6.21, OXFORDSHIRE ON SALE NOW
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FIRST DRIVES
London company modernises classic 911 with Tesla motors and carbonfibre panels
orsche won’t sell an electric 911 for some time, if ever, but a British firm is offering you the chance to own one right now – if you have a 964-generation (19891993) classic and a desire to swap its at six for a battery and motors. Everrati has broader plans involving other classics, and this wide-body 964 is intended to show what’s possible and the quality and driving experience it aims to offer. The result might be worthy, but your view on whether the effort is worthwhile will be coloured by your takes on old 911s and electrification. Our test car is powered by a pair of Tesla-sourced AC induction motors, which make a combined total of 500bhp and drive the rear axle through a common input shaft and a limited-slip differential. And as these motors are hung out behind the rear axle, this 964 remains rear-engined. Finding room for 53kWh of battery cells was a tougher task. Most of it went into the engine bay, but there’s also a secondary site up front, with a high-voltage cable linking the two. In addition, the need to manage the temperature of the batteries means that, unlike the original, this 964 features water cooling, having radiators behind its front bumper. Other changes include carbonfibre replications of the doors, bonnet, roof and rear deck and a retrimmed interior featuring Porsche’s own DIN-sized aftermarket head unit. Unusually for an electromod, Everrati’s 964 also gets a CCS port under its former petrol filler ap to support high-speed charging. From the right charger, this can top up the battery from 20-80% in 40 minutes. The prospect of a 911 without the friendly chatter of a at six from the rear is odd, and even after an hour, I still hadn’t got used to the Everrati’s lack of combustion noise. There are other sounds, more evident given the lack of engine distraction, with the 12V pumps that power the brake servo and power steering evident at low speeds and some whine from the motors under harder acceleration. Everrati is working on a fake exhaust note (you will notice the car still has tailpipe finishers), but I’m not sure that would feel any more appropriate. The performance is striking – well beyond that offered by even the most potent original 964s. The urge isn’t instant (there’s a very slight delay to the throttle response), but it pulls impressively hard well before the pedal is half down – and acceleration doesn’t start to diminish until you’re well beyond likely cruising speeds. Traction stays good even during full-bore launches; Everrati retains
Interior is retrimmed and discreetly updated; body looks the same but gets new panels Tesla’s traction control algorithm to prevent slip, but the intervention doesn’t feel obvious on dry roads. Cornering behaviour is another very obvious difference. As well as greater front-end bite, there’s much less of the rear-engined sensation that defines old 911s. Some dynamic traits survive (there’s still the feel of the nose lightening under hard acceleration and the ability to widen or tighten your cornering line with small throttle inputs), but the overall impression is more Cayman than 964. The decision to keep hydraulic power steering rather than make the easier switch to a purely electric rack was undoubtedly the right one for the helm’s weight and feel. And the ride is impressive over broken surfaces, thanks to Tractive adaptive dampers that blend discipline with impressive pliancy in their softer mode. The brake pedal is hooked up to upgraded Brembo calipers and big
discs, but the powerful regenerative of an updated classic 911 that won’t braking delivered through the rear leak oil or incur emissions charges. axle pretty much eliminates the need MIKE DUFF for friction retardation at everyday speeds for anything other than EVERRATI PORSCHE 964 SIGNATURE bringing the car to a final stop. Everrati’s conversion work costs a quarter of a million on top of a donor 964, so this car will always be fishing in a tiny pond for buyers: those with a love of classic 911s, a desire to move beyond combustion well in advance of any ban on burning hydrocarbons and, most of all, a very enviable bank balance. These are likely to be people who have extensive car collections and now want something entirely different – which this certainly is. But is it better than the original? As an experience, no. Indeed, it’s a reminder of how much of the 964’s appeal is due to the engine and its location. Yet viewed through a lens of RIVALS usability, rather than greenness, it’s not hard to see the enhanced appeal
AAABC
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HONDA CIVIC TYPE R SPORT LINE TESTED 13.5.21, WARWICKSHIRE ON SALE NOW
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Can a more civilised Type R really work or just dilute what originally made it special?
o you have a problem with the way the Civic Type R looks? Honda thinks you might, which is why there’s now this Sport Line version. It exists chie y to tone down the warzone aesthetic of what is surely the finest senior hot hatch of the current crop. The big casualty is the high-level rear wing – that see-it-a-mile-away identifier of Type R-ness. It has been replaced by something subtler, even if, should you inspect the undersides at its extremities, the new part still features vortex-generating fins. The wheels are downsized, too, from 20in on the Type R GT to 19in, although space remains for the fullfat car’s 350mm MMC brake discs. Those wheels wear what’s now the third different tyre Honda has fitted to its Ford Focus ST rival, after using Continental Sport Contact 6 rubber on the original and semi-slick Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s for the hardcore Limited Edition launched last year. It’s Michelin’s Pilot Sport 4 S rubber that has been called up
for duty this time – in our experience, just about the best road-focused tyre around, with soft sidewalls yet also plenty of precision and support. Finally, the red exterior pinstriping of the regular Type R has disappeared, as has the red cloth of the otherwise unchanged bucket seats, and some of the ordinary Civic’s soundproofing, removed from the regular Type R to save weight, has been put back in. That said, the Sport Line’s kerb weight is the same as before, at 1380kg – a class-leading figure. And the results? Well, visually, you can judge for yourself. Even the regular Civic is quite a punchy, aggressive-looking thing, and the Type R raises the temperature considerably, so even with its docked tail, the bulldog-ish Sport Line was never going to blend in like the Volkswagen Golf GTI does. You still have the triple-tipped exhaust, bulging wheel arches, unmissable bonnet scoop and chicken-wire galore across the front of the car. However, what really makes the
Sport Line worth considering is the combination of 19in wheels and the NVH improvements, because having spent plenty of time in the regular Civic Type R in the past few years, I can’t remember one ever being this pliant or quiet or generally well mannered in day-to-day use. Throw in the rev-matching function for the short-throw gearshift and you have something genuinely easy to bumble around in but that still, when you want it, exhibits the same seat-of-your-pants sense of occasion and integrity in the driving controls as the proper Type R. Maybe turn-in isn’t quite so crisp on the smaller wheels, but otherwise, the Sport Line takes apart B-roads every bit as well as the regular GT. It’s balanced, it’s supple and, above all, it’s sensationally quick. The Sport Line also gets the Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel from the GT and the alloy gearknob. What a joy that is to operate. In an era when plenty of hot hatches are offering only two pedals, the Honda doesn’t just have three to play with but the set-up is so good you
often change gear for the hell of it. It’s also worth remembering that the Civic, in any guise, is among the more commodious hatchbacks, and the driving ergonomics are spot on. As makers of GT sports cars have long known, a low-slung and supportive driving position is often also an inherently comfortable one. Whether or not you then pair that with an unforgiving suspension setup is another matter, but that’s not the case with the Type R Sport Line, which rides tautly but, in the context of its performance potential, also pretty serenely on most roads. All in all, for shrinking violets or for those who need their 316bhp hot hatch to be more than a weekend toy, the Sport Line would do very nicely. RICHARD LANE
@_rlane_
HONDA CIVIC TYPE R SPORT LINE
AAAAB
Subtler rear wing and smaller wheels feature outside and cabin is now a quieter, less red place 24 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
RIVALS
FIRST DRIVES
AUDI Q7 55 TFSIe TESTED 2.6.21, LINCOLNSHIRE ON SALE NOW
B
Luxurious seven-seat SUV gains second, less expensive plug-in hybrid powertrain
ack in 2007, SUVs in our major cities were being stickered with fake parking fines, courtesy of eco-campaigners trying to highlight how much damage they were doing to the environment. Then the SUV boom began and the campaign quietly fizzled out. Maybe they simply couldn’t print enough stickers once the vast majority of the population were driving SUVs. Or maybe it’s because of cars like this new plug-in hybrid Audi Q7, which arrives with the sense that it has to be slightly more eco-friendly as we all become ever more aware of needing to do our bit. The theory is all there, courtesy of a 3.0-litre V6 turbo petrol engine and an AC synchronous electric motor, which is integrated in the eight-speed automatic gearbox’s housing. Zeroemissions range is quoted as 27.329.8 miles, and we managed 23 miles from a full charge on a hot day with the air conditioning blowing hard. Overall output runs to 375bhp and 443lb ft. Despite being down on the Q7 60 TFSIe (449bhp and 516lb ft), the 55 TFSIe is hardly a slouch, with a 0-62mph time of 5.8sec – punchy considering the 2450kg kerb weight. A large part of that heft is down to the 17.4kWh lithium ion battery pack mounted under the boot oor; indeed, the diesel V6-powered Q7 weighs nearly 300kg less.
Ride isn’t as refined as you might expect; interior looks smart and is very spacious To be fair, though, the BMW X5 xDrive45e and Mercedes-Benz GLE 350de are both similarly weighty. Where those rival PHEVs do steal a march on the Q7 55 TFSIe, though, is in their much lower company car tax ratings: 7% and 6% against 17%. Elsewhere, this PHEV is very much standard Q7. The boot is smaller than usual, due to the battery (650 versus 865 litres), but the fit and finish are as clichéd and wonderful as ever. The PHEV gets the same dualtouchscreen dashboard layout as conventional Q7s, only it also presents a couple of hybrid drive options: Auto and Hold. Auto works out the best propulsion method to get you where you’re going as efficiently as possible, while Hold keeps the battery as charged as possible using energy recuperation during braking.
The integration of the two power sources is seamless. The car starts in EV mode, switching to Hybrid when either you need the extra oomph or the battery is at. It’s barely noticeable when the engine kicks in, courtesy of it being so smooth, and the way the electric motor fills in any torque gaps is impressive. Even with just the electric motor powering it, the Q7 is perfectly capable of mooching along a back road. You will want the engine to help for pulling onto a motorway, but the motor can cope with gentle acceleration demands. It’s only occasionally caught out, when energy is being harvested as you’re braking. As you transition from brake to accelerator, the car doesn’t coast as you would expect, so the balance is upset while it works
out that you actually want to be back on the throttle. But this aw is barely noticeable, and it af icts a lot of other electrified set-ups as well. A bigger foible is with the weight. As we’ve said above, this is a heavy car, and it doesn’t disguise that bulk as well as the X5. As it transitions through corners, you can feel the mass trying to catch up with you. What’s more, the 21in wheels on this Black Edition model thud over sharper bumps. The suspension isn’t as well isolated as the rest of the polished, largely relaxing driving experience has you expecting. As ever with a PHEV, the key to the Q7 55 TFSIe is in how often you can plug it in. If you have no charger at home or at work, the electric element just becomes a glorified paperweight. But even if you do have a charging facility in either of those locations, the X5 xDrive45e will make better use of it, with its bigger battery giving it greater exibility. So if you’re going to run a PHEV SUV (especially if you’re a company car driver), that BMW makes both more emotional and economic sense than this Audi. PIERS WARD
@piers_ward
AUDI Q7 55 TFSIe BLACK EDITION
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RIVALS
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 25
No 5527
ROAD TEST
LADROK NUGLO YHPARGOTOHP
Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake Updates to brand’s flagship bring plug-in power and an exotic shooting brake body
MODEL TESTED eHYBRID ELEGANCE Price £41,330 Power 215bhp Torque 295lb ft 0-60mph 7.1sec 30-70mph in fourth 8.9sec Fuel economy 44.8mpg CO2 emissions 27g/km 70-0mph 46.2m
26 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
T
he subject of this week’s road test is nothing less signi cant than the agship offering from the world’s second-largest car maker. The Arteon Shooting Brake may not be the most expensive Volkswagen on sale – that status is now held by the £77,195 Touareg R plug-in hybrid SUV – but it is the most eye-catching, is arguably the most interesting and, in architectural terms, sits squarely in traditional agship heartland: the four-door exec. The Arteon was first introduced in 2017, in saloon form. At the time, it felt like more than simply a replacement for the sleek Passat CC, presenting as ’s attempt to nally fill the considerable space vacated by its old line-leading saloon, the Phaeton, which was mothballed in 2013 after two generations and precious little interest from Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series buyers. Of course, the Arteon was very much a spiritual Phaeton successor, rather than a literal one, being a class and a half smaller, less expensive and endowed with a motor that took the form not of a 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 shared with Bentley but of a 2.0-litre in-line four. It would instead stand itself out with its striking looks and a combination of space, reasonable levels of opulence and, most of all, relative affordability for a GT-esque device. However, in the end it came out of the oven only lukewarm, and we concluded that it was “an interesting although slightly half-hearted crack at something genuinely different and appealing”. Duly, since then, the model has struggled to make an impact. Four years later and the Arteon gets another bite of the cherry. We’ve invited it back for a full road test not only because of the appearance of its exotic new shooting brake body, but also because now offers the car with an economical but punchy plugin hybrid powertrain that enhances its on-paper versatility. Is, then, the Arteon Shooting Brake eHybrid now a agship VW worthy of that status? DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
AAABC The resculpted rear bodywork
We like
We don’t like
Range at a glance
ROAD TEST
Shooting Brake body is different from that of the fastback Arteon from the B-pillar back. The rear wheel arches have been bulked up, too, to give the new derivative a slightly more aggressive stance.
been redesigned, as part of a raft of updates applied to the Arteon for the 2021 model year. Fundamentally, the MQB-based Arteon is otherwise much as before, but for two significant additions to the engine line-up that we’ll come to. The 1.5-litre petrol (available with manual gearbox only) and the 2.0-litre petrol and diesel units (with a dual-clutch automatic) have been the carried over and the punchy but strained-sounding 237bhp twinturbo diesel dropped. The surviving engines have been lightly revised, mainly with emissions-related equipment, and now range from 148bhp to 197bhp, with their efforts delivered to the front wheels alone, except for the 197bhp 2.0 TDI, which is paired exclusively with four-wheel drive. Although it has yet to make an appearance on UK price lists, the old 276bhp 2.0 TSI is expected to reappear before too long and would also be paired with a clutch-based Haldex all-wheel drive system. One of the newcomers is the eHybrid powertrain tested here. This is essentially the same PHEV powertrain found in the Golf GTE, only with a combined power output of 215bhp rather than 242bhp for some strange reason (given that the Arteon is the far heavier car). A 154bhp 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine ◊
increases the height of the Arteon by 19mm but leaves the overhang unchanged, so in length, this big VW continues to split the difference between the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series, whether or not you opt for the Shooting Brake derivative. As for the reason VW uses the term ‘shooting brake’ rather than ‘estate’, it comes down to the rake of the tailgate window, which is markedly shallow and akin to what we’ve seen in the past on the C218generation Mercedes CLS, with the glasshouse extending similarly deep into the D-pillar. The effect is dramatic enough, and there’s no risk the load-friendly Arteon would ever be mistaken for the Passat Estate, or any other regular estate model. At the back, the LED light clusters have also Passat CC’s exit paved way for Arteon
Charging port for the 13kWh drive battery is accessed by depressing a panel disguised in the gloss black plastic of the grille. The PHEV Arteon defaults to E-mode when started and can manage around 25 miles on battery power alone in real-world driving.
Elegance trim is equipped with 18in alloys as standard, although our test car was upgraded with striking 19in ‘Chennai’ wheels. They were shod with run-flat Pirellis, which do nothing to improve ride quality, in our experience.
VW has ‘sharpened’ the front-end design, with new daytime-running LEDs and a more shapely front bumper. The changes are subtle, though, and telling the difference between this car and the pre-facelift version isn’t easy.
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 27
mm069
xam mm0 9 9
ax
mm 1110m
mm 780
4552091 litr
mm2641
Weights and measures
Arteon continues to major on cabin space and the Shooting Brake is cavernous up front. The seats are generally comfortable but high set and a little unsupportive.
Typical parking space width (2400mm)
mm0302
thgieh egarag lacipyT
Kerb weight: 1734kg 2835mm 4866mm
Typical leg room 780mm 1871mm (without mirrors) 3680mm
Class-leading rear leg room is complemented by extra head room, as the Shooting Brake adds 48mm compared with the fastback. Have the panoramic roof, if you like.
50mm 175mm
Width 1050-1200mm
Height 440-650mm
Centre ∆ is paired with a 113bhp electric motor annexed to the dual-clutch gearbox, with electricity supplied by a 13kWh lithium ion battery beneath the boot oor. The Shooting Brake touts an official 35 miles of electric range (versus 37 for the 1kg lighter but more streamlined fastback). The other new derivative is more exciting. A fully edged R model has recently joined the Arteon’s line-up, with 316bhp and the same torquevectoring AWD system found on the latest Golf R. Images show it doesn’t want for kerbside presence, either. INTERIOR
AAAAC The Arteon comes in three trim levels: entry-level SE Nav, then 28 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
Elegance and R-Line, which are roughly on a par in terms of price but tilt the car towards either luxury or sporting cues respectively. In reality, the differences are subtle and every Arteon offers the kind of bulletproof perceived quality that was commonplace for VW until standards began to slip just a touch with the arrival of the Mk8 Golf. The Arteon hails from before that time, and while the steering wheel (with its slightly awkward at-panel buttons) has been updated to VW’s latest, the rest of the cabin is mostly unchanged. It’s an environment of hard lines, glossy surfaces, metal-dipped trim and, in the case of our test car, a rather fetching expanse of eucalyptus across the broad dashboard.
Length 1160-2020mm
Shooting Brake’s large boot has a wide aperture, but the drive battery robs 110 litres of volume compared with non-hybrid versions. Note also the substantial lip.
It’s also a cabin that prizes space above all else. Even the perched frontrow seating makes the scuttle ahead of you and beltlines on each ank feel refreshingly low, and anyone who goes for the panoramic roof will nd it only enhances the sense of expansiveness. Second-row leg room also remains at the very top end of the class, and the Arteon will facilitate families better than many regular mid-sized estates such as the 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class and Peugeot 508. As for raw carrying capacity, the VDA figure (which is determined by filling the boot with one-litre blocks) for the Arteon Shooting Brake is 565 litres, versus 563 for the fastback. However, VDA measures up to the parcel shelf only, and it’s in the space
above the load cover that the Shooting Brake makes its gains. That said, the eHybrid loses out on 110 litres of carrying capacity, because of its drive battery, and all versions of the car go without an adjustable boot oor, leaving a substantial lip. Note also that the Passat Estate is usefully more commodious. PERFORMANCE
AAABC You might think a rakish-looking
car like the Arteon Shooting Brake deserves a longitudinally mounted engine of, oh, six cylinders at least, and we’d be inclined to agree. However, the MQB platform that underpins this car permits only transverse mounting and four ◊
ROAD TEST
GTE button isn’t easily visible (it hides behind the gear selector), but pressing it ‘locks’ the driveline into hybrid mode, with the engine and motor both on duty.
Steering wheel is essentially the same as the Golf R’s Eucalyptus trim is a no-cost option and gives the solidly built but otherwise rather unadventurous cabin and is no ergonomic masterpiece. Buttons are easily pressed by mistake and phone control is absent. a little flair. It doesn’t extend into the rear, though.
Multimedia system
AAAAC
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 29
❝ cross-country It can sustain good pace and is reasonably agile ❞
∆ cylinders. And in the case of the eHybrid, that four-cylinder engine has a displacement of only 1.4 litres and on its own makes just 154bhp. Expectations relating to performance therefore need to be managed, even if the car does benefit from two sources of power, the electrical portion of which takes total output to 215bhp at maximum attack. As for weight, with 50 litres of unleaded aboard, our test car tipped the scales at 1783kg, which, although far from shameful in this class and only moderately above the claimed minimum kerb weight of 1734kg, is still considerable. The resulting power-to-weight ratio of 124bhp per tonne is comparable with what you’d get with only the quicker mainline hatchbacks, such as the Seat Leon 2.0 TSI 190. In GTE mode – a setting that unifies both power sources for maximum performance and is
selected via a dedicated button on the transmission tunnel – our test car turned in a 0-60mph time of 7.1sec, which beats the manufacturer’s claim of 7.8sec to 62mph but is leisurely by the standards of rival mid-sized PHEVs. Step-off is at least crisp and the delivery of drive generally linear, helped by slick fullthrottle upshifts from the six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, all of which makes the Arteon eHybrid an easygoing if unexciting performer. Of course, the Arteon eHybrid’s brand of everyday performance is more relevant and, in this area, the car is generally more compelling. The driveline defaults to EV mode when you start the car, and while gearshifts aren’t quite so smoothly executed when the gearbox is channelling torque from the electric motor alone, the Arteon eHybrid has good driveability as an EV. When more power is required, the engine fires
up gracefully and starts to quietly contribute, with only the faintest disturbance in the delivery of drive. HANDLING AND STABILITY
reasonably agile for its size, but this chassis lacks throttle adjustability and doesn’t have that ability to shrink itself around you on smaller roads. It never asks to be driven at all hard and doesn’t reward any efforts to do so. The Arteon Shooting Brake comes That said, the Arteon Shooting equipped with VW’s DCC adaptive Brake offers up more to the keen dampers as standard, and these give driver than the Passat and has more the chassis a good breadth of ability. to chew on dynamically than the In truth, though, there’s little reason Skoda Octavia or Superb can muster. ever to let the suspension stray from You can enjoy the process of owing its default Comfort setting. Reaping the VW down an A- or B-road, secure the benefits of the increased damping in the knowledge that the suspension force in Sport mode would require (MacPherson struts up front, multiyou to drive the Arteon eHybrid in link at the rear) will soak up the road a fashion that exceeds its dynamic surface without much fuss and yet sweet spot, because this is a car isn’t vulnerable to excessive oat. that prioritises secure roadholding Grip levels provided by the and accurate, measured direction Pirelli P Zero tyres are unlikely to changes over the sort of agility and be surpassed by even committed handling air you’d expect from driving. The uniformity of weight in BMW or Mercedes and, to some the steering is disappointing but to extent, Peugeot. The can sustain be expected, and the tuning – this is good cross-country pace and is an electrically assisted set-up with
AAAAC
It turns in easily, grips strongly and is utterly dependable, but you can’t fine-tune the cornering attitude with the throttle and it lacks the flair of its BMW and Peugeot rivals.
30 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
ROAD TEST
Track notes
FINISH speed-dependent gearing – is at least accurate and consistent. It’s not hard to get the car turned in to bends, after which it never strays from your chosen line, despite the conspicuous understeer balance of the chassis. Inert? Yes, but also dependable. COMFORT AND ISOLATION
AAAAC There’s little wrong with the
‘ergoComfort’ driver’s seat in the Arteon (the front passenger seat does without the same level of adjustability), beyond the fact that it positions its occupant a touch too high. BMW and Peugeot have the better of VW in this respect, with their lower, more heavily bolstered and generally sporting offerings, but in truth, a more relaxed set-up suits the Arteon, which doubles down with considerably more cabin space than either the 330e Touring or 508 SW Hybrid.
Unlike the R-Line Arteon, the Elegance is not fitted with the 20mm shorter suspension springs and wears only 18in wheels with tyres in possession of healthy sidewalls. However, our test car has been ‘upgraded’ with 19in wheels and therefore isn’t representative of the Arteon at its most pliant. The car still rides with good uidity at speed but certainly isn’t immune to bumpthump in town driving and generally doesn’t come across as being as sophisticated in its suspension movements as some rivals. It shouldn’t be the case that the red-hot 508 SW Peugeot Sport Engineered, with its 20in wheels, ultra-lowprofile tyres and road-hugging ride height, should deal better with the range of British road surfaces. The VW is at least noticeably quieter than the French car on the move and is in general well suited to touring duties. At speed, it’s calm, with fine
START ergonomics and all that cabin space contributing to the sense of ease. BUYING AND OWNING
what makes life dif cult for the VW is the existence of the 330e M Sport Touring, which starts at around £43,000, feels more luxurious within, is comfortably quicker and There’s a broad spread of prices is natively rear driven, with its among PHEV estates. At the top end, longitudinally mounted four-cylinder performance specials such as the engine. And we’d take fine handling Peugeot 508 SW PSE and Volvo V60 and the extra performance over an Polestar Engineered are closing in on extra 10% boot capacity any day. £60,000. At the other, the pragmatic As with any current mid-sized Skoda Octavia iV Estate slips in at PHEV, the Arteon’s electric driving less than £35,000. range is meagre, at around 25 miles In Elegance trim, the Arteon in the real world. Neither is the Shooting Brake sits somewhere economy potential of the 1.4-litre in the middle, costing £41,330, engine especially great, so unless with optional extras such as the you’re able to charge the battery nappa leather upholstery upgrade, frequently (or the car’s 14% benefit panoramic roof and ‘IQ Light’ in kind is advantageous to you), headlights then taking our test car consider first a straight petrol or to £46,820. For something so large diesel version. The latter would be and comfortable, with two power particularly well suited to longsources, and not without some sense distance duties, with the 66-litre of occasion, those figures don’t strike fuel tank giving the car a touring us as being unreasonable. However, range of around 900 miles. ◊
AAABC
ACCELERATION
Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake eHybrid Elegance (13deg C, dry) Standing quarter mile 15.5sec at 93.9mph, standing km 28.1sec at 114.0mph, 30-70mph 6.0sec, 30-70mph in fourth 8.9sec 30mph 40mph 50mph 60mph 70mph 80mph 90mph 100mph 110mph 3.0s 4.1s 5.4s 9.0s 11.4s 14.3s 23.3s 18.2s 7.1s
0
10s
20s
Peugeot 508 BlueHDi 180 GT Auto S&S (2018, 17deg C, dry) Standing quarter mile 16.7sec at 85.4mph, standing km 30.1sec at 111.2mph, 30-70mph 8.5sec, 30-70mph in fourth 9.7sec 30mph 40mph 50mph 70mph 80mph 90mph 60mph 100mph 3.1s 4.6s 6.6s 11.6s 14.6s 18.6s 23.4s 8.8s
0
10s
110mph
29.5s
20s
BRAKING 60-0mph: 2.74sec
Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake eHybrid Elegance (13deg C, dry) 30mph-0 8.6m
0
10m
Peugeot 508 BlueHDi 180 GT Auto S&S (2018, 17deg C, dry) 30mph-0 8.3m
0
10m
50mph-0
20m
23.2m
70mph-0
30m
40m
50mph-0
20m
22.7m
46.2m 70mph-0
30m
40m
44.6m
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 31
Data log
VOLKSWAGEN ARTEON SHOOTING BRAKE eHYBRID ELEGANCE On-the-road price Price as tested Value after 3yrs/36k miles Contract hire pcm Cost per mile Insurance
£41,330 £46,820 £16,925 na na 28E/£765
50 litres
TYPICAL PCP QUOTE
13 kWh
3 years/30,000 miles £622.08 Put down a deposit of £3500 and VW will match it. Thereafter, you’ll pay £622 monthly, with an optional final payment of £15,939, bringing the total amount paid to £44,722 against a retailer cash price of £41,330. APR is 4.6%
EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST Digital Cockit Pro, with 10.3in display Discover Media Nav infotainment with 8.0in touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Dynamic Chassis Control 18in Almere Adamantium alloy wheels LED self-levelling headlights Leather/‘Art’ velour upholstery 3-zone climate control Electric tailgate and door mirrors Dynamic Road Sign Display Leather steering wheel with paddles 6-way ‘ergoComfort’ driver’s seat Kingfisher Blue paint £650 19in Chennai alloy wheels £390 IQ Light LED headlights £1180 Rear tinted glass £320 Nappa leather upholstery upgrade £1145 Panoramic sunroof £1105 Eucalyptus interior trim inserts £0 Head-up display £530 Options in bold fitted to test car = Standard na = not available
TECHNICAL LAYOUT
Construction Weight/as tested Drag coefficient Wheels Tyres Spare
Type 6-spd dual-clutch automatic Ratios/mph per 1000rpm 1st 3.50/6.1 2nd 2.77/9.9 3rd 1.85/14.9 4th 1.02/20.8 5th 1.02/27.0 6th 0.84/32.8 Final drive ratios 3.75:1 (1st, 4th, reverse), 2.885:1 (2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th)
CHASSIS & BODY
Steel monocoque 1734kg/1783kg 0.29 8.0Jx19in 245/40 R19, Pirelli P Zero None (run-flats)
ACCELERATION
TIME (sec) 3.0 4.1 5.4 7.1 9.0 11.4 14.3 18.2 23.3 31.1 – – – –
ENGINE
Installation Front, transverse, front-wheel drive Type 4 cyls, 1395cc, turbocharged, petrol Bore/stroke 74.5/80.0mm Compression ratio 10.5:1 Power output 154bhp at 5000-6000rpm Torque output 184lb ft at 1550-5500rpm Hybrid assist AC synchronous electric motor: 114bhp, 243lb ft Drive battery 13.0kWh (gross), 10.0kWh (usable), lithium ion Total system power 215bhp at 5000-6000rpm Total system torque 295lb ft at 1750-3500rpm Power to weight 124bhp per tonne Torque to weight 170lb ft per tonne
TRANSMISSION
SUSPENSION
Front MacPherson struts, coil springs, adaptive dampers Rear Multi-link, coil springs, adaptive dampers
–
–
–
–
THE SMALL PRINT Power-to-weight and torque-to-weight figures are calculated using manufacturer’s claimed kerb weight. © 2021, Haymarket Media Group Ltd. Test results may not be reproduced without editor’s written permission. For information on the Arteon eHybrid Shooting Brake, contact Volkswagen UK Customer Care, PO Box 9004, Leeds LS1 9WA (0800 333 666, volkswagen.co.uk). Cost-per-mile figures calculated over three years/36,000 miles, including depreciation and maintenance but not insurance; Lex Autolease (0800 389 3690). Insurance quote covers 35-year-old professional male with clean licence and full no-claims bonus living in Swindon; quote from Liverpool Victoria (0800 066 5161, lv.com). Contract hire figure based on a three-year lease/36,000-mile contract including maintenance; Wessex Fleet Solutions (01722 322888).
32 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
TEST MPG Track Touring Average CLAIMED Combined Tank size Battery size Electric Combustion Total
23.9mpg 52.5mpg 44.8mpg 245.8mpg 50 litres 13.0kWh 22 miles 492 miles Circa 500 miles
EMISSIONS & TAX BRAKES
Front 312mm ventilated discs Rear 300mm solid discs Anti-lock Standard, with brake assist Handbrake type Electric Handbrake location Centre console
STEERING
Type Electromechanical, rack and pinion Turns lock to lock 2.1 Turning circle 11.9m
ACCELERATION IN GEAR MAX SPEEDS IN GEAR MPH 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 1 36mph 6000rpm 20-40 2.1 – – – – 30-50 2.4 3.1 4.3 – – 2 60mph 6000rpm 40-60 2.9 3.2 4.4 5.8 – 50-70 – 3.6 4.6 6.0 7.4 60-80 – 4.3 4.8 6.3 7.9 3 89mph 6000rpm 70-90 – 5.1 5.3 6.8 8.6 80-100 – – 6.7 7.9 9.4 4 125mph 6000rpm 90-110 – – 9.0 9.9 11.7 100-120 – – – – – 5 138mph 5111rpm 120-140 – – – – – 140-160 – – – – – 160-180 – – – – – 4209rpm 6 138mph* * claimed 180-200 –
ECONOMY
RPM in 6th at 70/80mph = 2135/2440
CO2 emissions Tax at 20/40% pcm
27g/km £75/£149
SAFETY
ABS, ESC, BAS, EBd, ESR, EDL, XDS, Lane Ass’t Euro NCAP crash rating 5 stars (2.0 TDI) Adult occupant 96% Child occupant 85% Pedestrian 85% Safety assist 82%
CABIN NOISE
Idle na Max rpm in 3rd gear 73dB 30mph 59dB 50mph 64dB 70mph 67dB
RESIDUALS 50
40
BMW 330e M Sport Touring VW Arteon Shooting Brake eHybrid Elegance
30
)s0001£( eulaV
MPH 0-30 0-40 0-50 0-60 0-70 0-80 0-90 0-100 0-110 0-120 0-130 0-140 0-150 0-160
Both Arteon bodystyles are built on the MQB modular platform, which positions the engine transversely but allows for four-wheel drive. The eHybrid does not, unlike some rivals, drive its rear axle, but remains front driven by its downsized petrol engine and an electric motor built into the gearbox. Weight distribution is good, at 53% front, 47% rear, helped by the 13kWh battery pack under the boot floor.
20 10 0 New
Peugeot 508 SW Estate Hybrid GT Premium 1 year
2 years
3 years
4 years
Arteon Shooting Brake generally does better than rivals from mid-tier brands but can’t match the BMW for residuals
Read all of our road tests autocar.co.uk
ROAD TEST Testers’ notes
RICHARD LANE The Arteon is an ideal candidate for a much larger drive battery; 60 miles of EV range would transform the use case for this car. Maybe the old-generation MQB platform doesn’t allow for it. Shame. MATT SAUNDERS This car left me feeling a little colder towards it than I was expecting. It certainly has plenty of presence but not much discernible character. Expect the R version to be far more compelling.
VERDICT
Striking PHEV appears radical but upholds VW’s traditions at heart
C
Spec advice
For a laid-back cruiser type, as this surely is, we’d avoid R-Line spec: the lower suspension springs will rob it of some ride quality, so stick with Elegance. Elsewhere, the panoramic roof is worth having, and we liked the eucalyptus wood trim.
ast an objective eye over the Arteon Shooting Brake and it’s difficult to level serious criticism at this flagship Volkswagen. It is priced sensibly in line with mid-sized saloons and estates but has a capaciousness that is easily a match for competitors in the class above. Topped off with what is an undeniably striking piece of exterior design, the Shooting Brake ticks all of the major boxes it should. This plug-in Jobs for hybrid version then offers good refinement and the potential for extremely low day-tofacelift day fuel consumption, although both attributes are dependent on your ability to charge the Give the modest the relatively small drive battery frequently. If you can’t do that, you’re better off with one electric range a useful bump. In the real world, of the regular models. 25 miles is pretty trivial. An increase in power Where the Arteon Shooting Brake falls down slightly concerns the more subjective wouldn’t transform the but would give it a elements. Considering the enticing – and athletic-looking – bodywork, the car offers little car more appeal as a dynamically for the keen driver to get his or her teeth into, and given that the eHybrid little premium family motor. Golf-style driving has two power sources to play with, the performance is also underwhelming. It’s a position is comfy but set too high for a GT-like comfortable, attractive and useful cruiser, but it’s not at all an exciting one. machine. ROAD 1 4 5 2 TEST RIVALS Verdicts on every new car, p122 Price Power, torque 0-62mph, top speed CO2, economy
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A bolt from the blue. Britishvolt are building the UK’s first gigaplant for EV batteries in Northumberland. britishvolt.com
34 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 35
AUTOCAR AWARDS 2021
WATCH THE VIDEO
autocar.co.uk
INTRODUCTION AUTOCAR AWARDS
THE AUTOCAR PODCAST
And although the pandemic prevented us from holding a ceremony for the second year running, we still wanted to highlight the industry’s superb achievements. It also didn’t stop us gathering many of the star cars at Brooklands and producing in-depth features on all of our winners. So join us in celebrating their amazing successes over the next 62 pages...
YECAL CUL DNA LADROK NUGLO :YHPARGOTOHP
W
elcome to the 2021 Autocar Awards in association with Britishvolt, our annual celebration of the finest cars and the people who created them. Through all the uncertainties over the past year, one constant has been the car industry’s ability to keep on producing innovative and brilliant new machines.
EUICHUNG SUN ISSIGONIS TROPHY
A key force behind the rise of Hyundai and Kia even before he became the group’s chairman, Chung is a visionary leader with a talent for being ahead of the curve. By Steve Cropley
W
hen Euisun Chung, 50-year-old chairman of the mighty Hyundai Motor Group, takes aim at an important target, you know he will hit it. That’s because, as well as being one of the world’s highest-achieving car executives, Chung (or ES, as he’s better known) has led the governing body of South Korea’s national sport of archery since 2005, during which time his countrymen have netted nine Olympic gold medals plus nationwide adulation. It makes a handy metaphor for Chung’s own consistently stellar performance as the visionary leader of his high-achieving company, the reason we’re proud to award him this year’s Autocar Issigonis Trophy for exceptional achievement and leadership in the motor industry. At Hyundai, remarkable progress has always been a fact of life. Founded in 1947 as an engineering and construction company by
Chung’s grandfather, Hyundai started making cars – Ford Cortinas under licence – in 1967. Early in 1974, it hired former British Leyland boss George Turnbull to make cars of its own design, and its first model, the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Pony, was on the market 18 months later. By 1978, Hyundai was selling cars in the Netherlands. By 1982, it was established in Britain. In 1986, it broke into the US market, shifting nearly 200,000 units in its first year. In 1990, total production passed four million cars a year. Even the Japanese, in their 1990s world-beating pomp, suddenly realised they would have to take Hyundai much more seriously. By 1994, the upstart Koreans had opened an R&D centre in Europe (Frankfurt) to increase product sophistication and quality. Four years later, Hyundai acquired struggling compatriot firm Kia and immediately began its resuscitation. Then, in 2000, the Santa Fe SUV, the car that began Hyundai’s
modern era, hit the market, by which point Hyundai’s researchers were already conducting serious experimentation into both battery and hydrogen fuel cell EVs, confident that they would play an important role in future mobility. At that stage, 30-year-old Chung had joined the family firm, having previously acquired a business degree from a Korean university, then completed an MBA at the University of San Francisco. He also worked for a period in New York. After a variety of increasingly responsible jobs, he took charge of Kia as president in 2005, in time to play a key part in the roll-out two years later of the group’s first allEuropean products, the Kia Cee’d and Hyundai i30, designed in Frankfurt by European engineers, built in Europe and aimed at European buyers. They were very good cars. During his five years at Kia, 2005 to 2009, Chung nailed his ◊
Hyundai’s first own-design car, with Giugiaro’s input, was 1975 Pony; Santa Fe marked new era; Chung is also Korea’s archery chief 38 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
ISSIGONIS TROPHY AUTOCAR AWARDS
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 39
∆ progressive colours to the mast. He hired distinguished European design boss Peter Schreyer to create an image of Kia as a world designleader, initially by building a series of in uential concept cars. The launch of the 2010 Sportage, universally admired for its style, caused a global stir. Kia became the group’s upstart, increasing sales by 70%, doubling its operating profit and growing more quickly than its parent. That raised inconvenient questions, at least on this side of the world, about when Hyundai would do something about its dowdier versions of similar cars.
Eventually, Schreyer took charge As he explained in a recent of design for both marques, perhaps interview for this award: because at that stage (2009) Chung “I want Hyundai Motor Group to be a first mover had become vice chairman of the whole Hyundai group. He succeeded and a game-changer, both his elderly father Mong-Koo (‘MK’) as in ideas and actions within chairman in October 2020, although the mobility industry. We’re it had long been acknowledged that striving for sustainable growth ES was the thought leader, especially and to fulfil what we see as our economic and social responsibilities on green issues and on pointing as a global corporate citizen.” his firm’s products toward their Chung rejects any practical use. He of visionary was simply allowed BEST -SELL ING HYUN DAI kind tag, though. “The to get on with the seed of an idea can job – at Hyundai’s TUCSON come from just one usual breakneck speed. person,” he says, “but it’s usually made better 2019, global by collaboration and teamwork. Early on [in my career] I learned the importance of teamwork – understanding one’s role and buying into a team-first mentality.” The Hyundai Motor Group marques are unique in being at the forefront of BEV and FCEV production. On BEVs, Chung says that Hyundai’s strong foothold “didn’t happen overnight” but is the culmination of years of research and development after they had spotted the opportunity relatively early. “We’ve moved fairly quickly compared to some,” he says, “because we’ve developed the ability to work at speed without compromising quality. As Kia’s boss, Chung brought in design chief Peter Schreyer to forge a fresh identity That mindset has given us the lead in 40 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
541,917
hydrogen fuel cell development, too, and is driving our transformation as a leader in smart mobility.” Hyundai is going to be a major player in this field – and soon. “We’ve vowed to bring 23 new Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs to market by 2025,” Chung says, “and we will do that with quality, customer satisfaction and safety as our highest priorities. By then, we plan to be selling a million BEVs per year worldwide and to take 10% of the global market.” Although some see battery and hydrogen fuel cell technologies as competitors, Chung isn’t among them. “We believe fuel cell and battery-electric technologies are complementary, not competitive,” he says. “One can’t replace the other. Hydrogen can be a useful carrier of renewable energies, which is crucial to help spread EV infrastructure and demand across the electricity grid. “We now have 20 years’ experience in this field and are stepping up our efforts for the development of a nextgeneration hydrogen fuel cell system applied not just to cars but to other forms of transport, such as urban air mobility, [maritime] vessels and trains. As part of this, we’ve ◊
ISSIGONIS TROPHY AUTOCAR AWARDS
The group sells cars in 193 countries through more than 5000 dealerships.
The world’s biggest single automotive plant BEST -SELL ING KIA SPORTAGE
2020, global
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9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 41
Chung spearheaded hydrogen push ∆ introduced HTWO, a new brand to represent our world-beating hydrogen fuel cell system.” Talking market conditions, I’m intrigued to hear Chung’s confidence that new-car sales can increase even in a saturated market like ours. He acknowledges that the market is “not without challenges” but reckons further expansion is possible if you build the right cars. “Environmental regulations are in uencing the way the European market develops,” he says, “but we are well prepared with many EVs in the pipeline and we’re the leading fuel cell technology provider. We’re also working hard to enhance brand awareness.” I’ve always been keen to understand why Korean companies, and especially the Hyundai Group, function so effectively when they have Japanese firms (very good and earlier into the market) on one side and the Chinese (huge, well financed and ambitious) on the other. How does that leave room for the Koreans? Chung’s powerful answer offers very little solace to his rivals… “Competitiveness is deeply ingrained in the Korean culture,”
42 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
he says, as is an appetite or success. Nowadays, using K as a prefix for a Korean product is becoming a global trend, such as K-pop or K-food. I also want to use the term K-mobility. The mobility market is growing fast in Korea, and Korean customers are expecting more from us. Our growth came through satisfying such customers, and I highly appreciate how our employees have kept us ahead of tech trends and customer expectations. “I also believe that the geographical in uence of strong countries near us has been a key motivator for our group. Korea as a country, society and economic powerhouse has come a long way in a relatively short period. We thrive in the face of adversity and see every challenge as an opportunity to reinvent
ISSIGONIS TROPHY AUTOCAR AWARDS
Our focus has always❝been to become an innovative mobility company that’s beloved and trusted by our customers ❞
1982 1998 1999
2005 2007 2013 2015 2015 2016 2018
ourselves and change perceptions of what we are.” Does this mean Hyundai won’t be happy until it’s the world’s biggest car firm? A few years ago, it rose to third after the Volkswagen Group and Toyota, but currently it’s more like fifth (Covid makes precise guring difficult) because of the emergence of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi and Stellantis. Various Chinese runners are moving up on the rails, too. “Becoming the biggest in scale has never been my top priority,” Chung says. “Rather, our focus has always been to become an innovative mobility company that is beloved and trusted by our customers. We’re proud to have made tremendous strides against the competition, and we will continue to prioritise being the best in disciplines like quality,
safety and customer satisfaction.” All of which leads us to the final burning question: does Chung, car magnate supreme and leader of a progressive group through complicated times, really love cars? He doesn’t have a car collection, he says, but cars have always been “a deep interest”. He drove a lot while studying in the US, he says, and before the pandemic made it a rule to drive as many rival models as possible. But in the end, it seems, the biggest driver for Chung is business… “My love of cars has fuelled my passion for the business,” he says, “managing the transformation from car maker to smart mobility solution provider and seeing what innovations we can deliver to our customers. Our focus is on the future. That’s what fuels my passion now.” L Chung, with the concept that helped to launch Hyundai N, calls cars “a deep interest” 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 43
THOMAS INGENLATH STURMEY AWARD
STURMEY AWARD AUTOCAR AWARDS
F
our years ago, Thomas Ingenlath, the winner of this year’s Sturmey Award for innovation, had no idea that he was about to become CEO of an entirely new kind of car company. He was fully occupied as the highly successful senior vice-president of design at Volvo, responsible for a much-praised improvement in the shape and character of a model line-up that had spurred a recovery in global sales. Despite the growing success, insiders like Ingenlath were well aware that if Volvo were to remain true to its brand values, there were certain cars that it could never make: bold cars, eccentric cars, performance cars, low-volume luxury cars and Marmite cars. So, in the latter part of 2016, an idea grew up within Volvo that their time-honoured ‘warm’ brand needed a ‘cool’ associate that could utilise as many existing components and systems as possible to make cars for an entirely different clientele. It soon emerged that one clear way of signifying coolness was to embrace electrification a decade before the rest of Europe’s car makers THE STEP UP would be forced to TO BEING A CEO do it. Another was “There’s very little time for selfto be far braver satisfaction. Life is a lesson, and with the styling you’ve learned it when you’re through. and more driverThe main thing I know is that it would centric with the have been a very big failure not to take vehicle concepts. this appointment. You can’t criticise To achieve the way things are done at the top, this, two things then shy away from putting were needed: yourself in the hot seat.” a brand name that would embody the values of the new marque and an inspired, experienced company boss whose own progressive way of thinking and personal cool would clearly show the new company’s direction of travel. Amazingly, Volvo already had both assets close at hand: the Polestar name that had been used since 1996 for a factory-associated racing team and on hot Volvo road cars; and the powerful personality of Ingenlath, Volvo’s outspoken, energetic and endlessly creative head of design. Polestar was at first an exploratory project of the kind all car companies have bubbling under the surface. Ingenlath explains: “[Volvo CEO] Håkan Samuelsson and [then R&D chief] Peter Mertens came up with an idea for Polestar that would be an entirely new challenge for us: a kind of electric Aston Martin, positioned well above Volvo among the exclusive luxury models. We worked on it for a couple of months, producing some fairly conservative design proposals and planning a model structure. “Then one night, Peter rang me with a different idea. He had been looking again at the Concept 40.2 design study that we had produced at Volvo, which people liked, and ◊ 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 45
Having played a key role in its premium revolution, Volvo’s chief designer was given control of an all-new brand – and created something very special. Steve Cropley meets him
Ingenlath turned his 2016 Volvo Concept 40.2 into production reality as the Polestar 2 ∆ suggested that it might be better talking about a new brand,” says as a Polestar model.” Ingenlath, “there’s so much more to Ingenlath thought about it for the job than just designing the cars. a night, because it would require “One day, I was in Håkan’s another big philosophy shift, but he office and he said to me: ‘Look, soon embraced the idea. It would Thomas, you’ve been doing what mean competing with Porsche’s you’re doing for 20 years. Maybe it’s and Tesla’s EVs and overlapping to time to challenge yourself, to take some extent with Volvo, but it was full control of this brand.’ He was still a better direction for the new offering me the chance to become marque, because it seemed far more CEO, with all the tools and power relevant to society than the electric that I would need for the job.” Aston Martin idea and offered Ingenlath’s new appointment was a much larger potential volume. announced in the middle of 2017, and “You couldn’t call it mainstream,” it seemed right from the beginning. says Ingenlath, “but it did have a The adoption of the 2 as Polestar’s relevance to many more car buyers.” pivotal model brought about changes Ingenlath rapidly became to the 1, the far more exclusive and engrossed in all aspects of the new expensive ‘announcement model’. marque. How would its values be It lost its chrome and became more communicated? What would its progressive in design. Ingenlath’s model range be like? How would colour and trim people came up with Polestars relate to the Volvo range? the idea of a logo in gloss white on a Who would buy them? These were matt white field (now an important all open questions. “When you’re Polestar feature), and it worked.
46 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
STURMEY AWARD AUTOCAR AWARDS GROWING THE POLESTAR RANGE “We have positioned our two current cars at the two extremes of our range, with the 2 as a kind of base model. We will play between the two with a couple more models and complete the range in 2024 to 2025.”
candinavian design. After ll, this is why we’re offering ngenlath our Sturmey Award: ecause he appears literally to ave shaped a new car brand. Coming after a pause over the hoice of words, his answer is a Polestar launched with stunning PHEV coupé urprise: “I’d say that’s correct. nd I’ll tell you why it’s a good ing: it means I don’t have to lay a role. I can be completely “It took me a few days to realise authentic. In the early years, a new that they were right,” he admits, brand needs to be driven with care, “but now I would hate to think of passion and love, not only for the car going back. One thing I quickly designs but also for the values you learned as a CEO is that I had to use to develop the whole operation. accelerate the way I adapted to If you can connect those to the leader, change. The company started that’s a big benefit, especially in the growing so fast that even after three early years. Later, it’s less important. months, some of its key procedures just weren’t relevant any more.” I’m concerned about my next question, because it’s not the kind of thing to which most company bosses would give a straight answer. Nevertheless, I put it to Ingenlath that Polestar appears to have been deliberately built in his own image: cool, modern, stylish, unaggressive, environmentally concerned and respectful of the core values of
WHY THE WORLD NEEDED YET ANOTHER CAR BRAND “It’s arrogant to suggest that we’ve achieved everything with the brands we already have. And we can’t let other regions – the US and China, principally – be responsible for everything that’s new. We’re certain that it’s possible to build a brand that will have its own space.” THE GUIDING STAR “We should never have the arrogance to suggest we’re the guiding star, only that this is an ideal and an objective. We need to stay humble. It’s a vision, not what we are.” THE POSITIONING OF POLESTAR AND VOLVO “We’re not yet positioned as we want to be in the public eye. The Polestar and Volvo brands are too close. That’s why we brought out the Polestar Precept concept: so that people would understand where we want to be in a few years. For now, it’s right to be seen as a child of Volvo, because that trust is worth a lot.” TWO SWEDISH BRANDS “History proves this can work perfectly well. In the past, we had Saab and Volvo: two very Swedish brands that were quite different. This can work again.” CHASSIS DIFFERENCES “The chassis of the Polestar 2 wouldn’t be acceptable for a Volvo, because the way it goes over a speed bump, the kids in the back would feel
After 70-odd years, nobody needs to be told about Porsche’s brand values: they know them. But in the beginning, it’s important.” Ingenlath reckons his reputation of “having an opinion on everything” got him the job. Polestar is extremely careful about all design matters, from its logos and letterheads to how it contacts prospective clients by mailshots, by offering access to travelling road test shows and by opening ‘brand centres’ in malls. In the UK, it has even encouraged its contacts to donate food to one of footballer Marcus Rashford’s charity drives. “People at Polestar can never be sure I won’t jump into the details of all these things,” Ingenlath grins.
People think desig❝n chiefs are driven by emotion, but actually they need a very good understanding of business ❞
it too much. I bank on that leading to a natural separation.” RAPID MODEL LAUNCHES “You need to be fast. Nobody gives you 20 years any more. Change is coming so fast. I think in the next five years, you really have to get your act together, otherwise you will be too late for the party.” POLESTAR’S SIZE PLANS “We can’t survive as a niche company; we need a certain volume to be sustainable. We want to be above 100,000 cars per year and to grow beyond that. But will we be on the volume trip that Tesla is following? I don’t see it. We want to be a premium marque, not striving to beat Volkswagen.” EUROPE’S EV POTENTIAL “It’s not all happening in China: look at what has been launched in Europe over the past 12 months. I believe – and I say this with pride – that Europe still has a good chance of being the leader in electrification. The race isn’t over.” THE GEELY RELATIONSHIP “They’re involved, they have opinions and they will hold us responsible if we do the wrong stuff. But their role is largely to be supportive. Of course, Li Shufu [Geely’s founder and owner] is heavily supportive of Polestar’s progress, but he and his team are smart enough to know that running the company is our job.”
His transition hasn’t been the huge stretch most imagine, says Ingenlath: “People think that chief designers are driven mostly by emotion and inspiration, but actually they need a very good understanding of business, economics and technology to be strong partners in discussions. You have to be well enough informed to win an argument, otherwise you’re not doing your job.” Still, one of the greatest pleasures he has found in being a CEO, despite all the different responsibilities, is a certain sense of freedom. “I have to say I love it,” he reveals. “To steer the brand and not be driven by what you offered in the past is a pure pleasure that you just don’t have as a designer. “I remember a few years ago doing a presentation to promote matt wood as a solution at Volvo. Everyone kept saying how great it was. At the end, I thought I had achieved something, but just as I was feeling good about it, someone said: ‘By the way, here in America we will obviously need polished wood.’ People in marketing always think their region is different. But now I rule the world – at least as far as wood finish is concerned.” L 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 47
X44
Hamilton has set up his own team, X44, to take part in the Extreme E electric off-road series
SIR LEWIS HAMILTON
EDITOR’S AWARD AUTOCAR AWARDS
EDITOR’S AWARD
A tumultuous 2020 gave one of Britain’s greatest-ever sportsmen fresh motivation to remain at the top of his game, as Mark Tisshaw discovers
I
n the last scene of season three of Netflix’s fly-on-wall series Formula 1: The Drive to Survive, we see a news reporter interviewing a young Lewis Hamilton. “As Lewis began to win, the fact that he was the only black face on the grid became an issue,” says the reporter. Hamilton is not talking about all the success he is having but instead about the racist abuse he has experienced while karting. “In the past years, I’ve had racist names called to me but lately anybody that’s said anything to me I just ignore them,” says a young Lewis. It cuts to his dad, Anthony. “We don’t get involved with people who have problems about whether we win or what colour we are,” he says. “We go out on our track and do our best.” The footage is heartbreaking. Here’s a young boy doing what he loves, with a dream to get to Formula 1 and maybe one day be world champion, but while having to face
discrimination and be grilled about it. No ‘How are you finding your karting?’ questions, just ‘What’s it like to be abused for the colour of your skin?’ “I was just eight years old,” says a 36-year-old Hamilton reflecting on the report, now talking as a seven-time Formula 1 world champion. “For someone to look down at a young eight-year-old and tell them they’re not going to achieve anything in life, they must be in a really bad place.” In May last year, 46-year-old black American George Floyd was murdered by a white policeman in Minnesota. The shocking footage was seen by the world and ushered in a global anti-racism movement – one of the most vocal leaders of which was Lewis Hamilton. “What happened with George brought up a lot of emotion,” Hamilton tells the Netflix show. “All of a sudden, these things that had been suppressed for
my lifetime bubbled to the surface. I can no longer stay quiet. “Every black kid in the world will at some stage experience racism. And it’s just a fact. When people call you names and the N-word is thrown around, when you’re told to go back to your own country when you’re in your country… There are literally millions and millions of people who will have experienced much, much worse [than me], and that needs to change.” Fuelled by his outrage at what had happened to Floyd, a new Lewis Hamilton lined up on the grid for the delayed first round of the 2020 season in Austria in July. The same driven race winner was still there,
one that would fire Hamilton to ever-greater success, but with it he became Lewis Hamilton the activist, the anti-racism campaigner and one of the de-facto leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement. Hamilton led other drivers in taking the knee at the start of races, held his Formula 1 leaders and peers to account with very public statements about racism in the sport and made a stand by, for example, wearing an ‘Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor’ T-shirt on the podium in Mugello. “The way I’m wired, I don’t really have a filter,” says Hamilton. “I say what’s on my mind. I’m not always too bothered about upsetting someone if it’s going to make a difference. What I think this ear [2020] has shown is when ou do have that success, what re you going to do with it? I’ll e damned if I’m going to win ll these championships and ave all this success and not se it to make change.” I watched the Netflix ◊
Hamilton is competing with a fresh impetus
❝ These things that had been suppressed bubbled to the surface. I could no longer stay quiet ❞
Hamilton took a rare trip into the gravel at Imola but is still the man they all have to beat ∆ show a couple of weeks before friendly and straight into thoughtful Trophies aside, success interviewing Hamilton, the recipient answers when asked whether last in F1 has earned him an of this year’s Editor’s Award, which year was the biggest of his career to MBE and a knighthood is given to an individual who has had date, as much for what happened off outstanding success personally or for the track as what happened on it. their company. Hamilton could have “Yeah, I think I would definitely won the award for what he did on say that last year was the biggest,” the track or off it last year. Put these he replies. “I spent my whole life achievements together and it was dreaming of getting to a certain one of the easiest decisions we had to point. I achieved that and then make for this year’s Autocar Awards. really came into what I would Watching that Net ix footage say my purpose is. certainly changed the tack of my “I always honestly felt that questions to Hamilton. In those few there must be a reason I’m here. minutes, he reveals so much more I’m the only person of colour racing about his drive and motivations than at the level I am, and I never really immediately after a grand prix when, understood that and what that with a microphone pressed to his means. Last year, that came to face seconds after getting out of the light and I was very honoured to car, he is asked about his battle with have the possibilities, platform a team-mate or what he thought of and good response from people his tyres. No, there’s another Lewis to be able to spark change.” Hamilton we should get to know, It’s one thing to want to speak out an interesting, articulate individual against such issues in society but who has achieved some incredible another thing to do it, particularly things from the most humble of with a profile as high as Hamilton’s. beginnings, all the while fighting Sportsmen and women have images those who, frankly for the large part, and endorsements to protect, which didn’t want him to be there. is why so few speak their We speak to Hamilton ahead mind on matters their of the Portuguese Grand Prix at words might influence. Portimão, which he would go on to So how long did it take win. We have just 15 minutes, and Hamilton to become your correspondent doesn’t mind comfortable being admitting to a few professional a role model, Record number of butter ies while staring at the empty and why do so few circuits Hamilton has chair on the other end of the Zoom of his sporting peers won at in Formula 1 call and waiting for our country’s have a voice on latest sporting knight to be seated. societal issues? Memories of the last (and much “Growing up in the public less successful) Formula 1 driver I eye isn’t always easy,” he says. interviewed – and who plainly didn’t “Whether you want to be a role want to be there – are still fresh in model or not, you are one, and your my mind and not helping my nerves. actions and words will influence But from the off, Hamilton is warm, others.” Hamilton chooses his words arefully to answer the second part of the question. “There are two sides to this,” he continues. One, [there is] a sense for ome people that they don’t eel knowledgeable enough o be able to speak on things. here are some things I’m not nowledgeable enough to speak n unless you do the homework. hat’s really what last year and Hamilton has reached a century of F1 poles Team-mate Valtteri Bottas (r) and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (l) are his closest rivals eally this year are about: it’s
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Last year❝ I was honoured to have the possibilities and platform to be able to spark change ❞
EDITOR’S AWARD AUTOCAR AWARDS never too late to learn. “It’s not our fault we weren’t educated on these things when we were younger. It’s been amazing to see that some people have gone out and done the homework themselves – watching documentaries, reading books. More people need to do it. “And then there is the other side: people feel it’s risky and don’t speak on it. How will your country see you, how will your fellow countrymen perceive you, and all these things. There’s a long way to go. Last year was about calling out and speaking out about it, but this year must really be about taking action. But there are still people who haven’t spoken about it, so there’s a long way to go.” That action includes Formula 1’s ‘We Race as One’ initiative, which has been given a greater – and fixed – platform this When Hamilton won his season to encourage first karting series, the diversity and tackle Super 1 National Kart discrimination. Before Championship each race, the drivers assemble on the grid and those who wish to can take a knee. Ten drivers are doing it this year, down from 14 last year, but this year the movement is more organised and the approach more unified after rather chaotic scenes last year. Hamilton said at the first race this year in Bahrain that he doesn’t think it’s the most important thing for everyone to kneel. “It’s what we do in the background that counts, making a positive change,” he said at the time. “We’ll see how we can work together so the sport takes more of a lead.” Hamilton wants to maintain the momentum by speaking out against racism and inequality to such an extent that it has become his main motivation to continue in the sport. “As I continue to grow, I understand the sheer mass and size of issues surrounding us,” he says. “I would love to be able to do everything and help people. You can’t do absolutely everything, but I do believe that since I have been in this sport, it has not been diverse. ◊
1995
A young Hamilton took tips from Autocar’s Chris Harris
Hamilton has led Formula 1’s calls for change following the murder of George Floyd 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 51
Mercedes
Every Formula 1 race of Hamilton’s career has been powered by a Mercedes engine
Imperious Hamilton won in Portugal after an early scrap with Verstappen “There are still teams that have not been held accountable, still people who refuse to believe it’s not a problem. You have leaders past and present who come out and say it isn’t an issue, so it’s an ongoing fight that is not going to be won in a really short space of time. “I’m heavily invested in it because I’m fortunate to be able to do what I love doing, which is racing, but on top of that, in the background, I’m on a lot of Zooms, holding uncomfortable conversations. Questioning. There’s a lot of work Mercedes are now doing to promote diversity in our team, which I’m really proud of. I want to see that happen more in other teams and the sport as well. That’s what’s really keeping me focused, and on top of that I get to go and do what I love doing. It’s given me a real reason for living, and I’m grateful for that.” For anyone thinking that the one-year contract Hamilton signed to stay with Mercedes just a few weeks before the season would be his last, think again. So, to Lewis the racer. I ask if he knows all his Formula 1 records and statistics, many of which are numbers increasingly rolling into three figures. “Honestly, I don’t,” he says. “The only one I’m of course aware of is how many championships I have.” Which is seven, in case you needed reminding, on top of the 100 52 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
pole positions, 98 wins, 169 podiums, 55 fastest laps and 3879 career points – and many of those are likely to have crept up following the Azerbaijan GP that took place after this was written. Statistically, Hamilton is Formula 1’s greatest ever. But its greatest-ever driver? We’re not debating that today (seek out Andrew Benson’s feature from the 13 November 2019 issue for an answer, if not the answer, to that one). What I am interested to know is how Hamilton is able to win cleanly and without controversy and with almost no mistakes, practically every time. “Well, I don’t! You saw me in the gravel,” is his response, following a rare excursion at Imola, where he went off while hunting down Red Bull title rival Max Verstappen. Were it not for an unrelated safety car incident just seconds later, Hamilton’s recovery drive to second place would have been unlikely. “I guess the dream for all of us is to be able to have foresight,” he continues. “None of us has that. So what is the second-best solution? It is being as best prepared as you can. It’s how much I prepare for a weekend, understanding the pros and cons of each decision I’m going to have to make. “Naturally some of that comes with experience, but being in the right place at the right time is something
I’ve been aware of since I went to the Autosport Awards as a kid, when I was 10 years old. I just happened to be there when Ron [Dennis, the then McLaren boss] was there and just happened to catch his eye. That sparked off lots of different things that have happened through my life.” Dennis signed an autograph for a young Hamilton that night, kept an eye on his progress and signed him as a junior driver soon after. “Even today: where you qualify, where you position yourself in the race, where you place yourself on track can have good or catastrophic effects,” says Hamilton. “It’s just learning how to balance those things, but it’s come with a lot of experience.” Not knowing stats is quite a common theme among the elite and most successful sportsmen and women, to whom the next triumph is always more important than the one just gone. Yet after 15 seasons in the most intense of sports, winning races in each of them and even with his work off the track to motivate him, how hard is it for Hamilton to remain at the sharp end of the grid especially after going through so much just to get there in the first place? “For me it’s more about the journey,” says Hamilton. “I have no idea what I’m going to be facing this year. Naturally
DREAM GARAGE What does a seven-time Formula 1 champion drive to the shops? “I still have a small collection of cars,” says Hamilton. “To be honest, I haven’t driven any of them for a long time. I was in Los Angeles just recently and have a MercedesAMG GT there, but I’m trying to move everything in my life to being sustainable and kinder to the earth. When I’m picked up by car, I try to make sure Mercedes makes it an EQC. At home in Monaco, I use an EQC and a Smart Brabus, even though I have a McLaren and a Pagani Zonda there. They haven’t moved in over a year and they’re just collecting dust. “I still love older cars like E-Type Jags and have always dreamed of having a [Ferrari] F40, but we’re moving in a direction of the world being more sustainable.”
EDITOR’S AWARD AUTOCAR AWARDS Mercedes is actively working to encourage diversity in its team
Fan favourite Hamilton has won at Silverstone no fewer than seven times
I expect every year to get harder – I don’t expect it to get easier and I’m looking at an incredibly intense season. We still have 21 races to go. That is long… It feels like we’ve had so much of the year already. But it’s going to get more intense and more and more demanding. “For me, just getting to Formula 1 is a huge milestone from where we started. That’s something I’ll always be incredibly proud of, because it was hugely down to the amazing work my family did, my dad did. The commitment from my parents was unimaginable for me. I find it hard to imagine people being so selfless, putting absolutely all their time and energy and money into me instead of being able to… In the world we live in today, people want to buy new cars, new homes, new clothes, to go out shopping and have good things, but my parents gave all of that up in order to look at the long haul and give me a better life than they had, and that’s pretty special.” It’s clear that inside Hamilton remains the person who came from humble beginnings, who grew up sleeping on his father’s sofa, all while chasing a dream to conquer a sport that had never even had a black driver let alone a black champion. Hamilton has been through it and emerged as a highly decorated racer, the best of his generation and arguably any other. He has the riches and lifestyle to go with it, too – two things that typically accompany great sporting or personal success, along with the opportunities they bring. Yet for some reason, his fame, fortune, outside interests and lifestyle choices have been held against Hamilton more than any British world champion of the past. I wonder what the difference is. People questioning Hamilton’s off-track interests – the music, the fashion and plenty more besides – is nothing new to the man from Stevenage. He has always viewed it as a
10
Number of races that Hamilton won in 2016 – but he still didn’t clinch the championship
Hamilton has long been known within F1 as a rain master
Hamilton took record seventh title last year way o making him even sharper on the circuit, rather than allowing it to become a distraction. “I can’t speak for everyone, but having creative outlets [is important],” he says. “We live in a time now where mental health is a problem around the world. We live in a world where people feel cooped up, people feel lonely, people feel helpless, so finding ways of turning negative energy, and whatever you may feel, and putting it into something positive and building, growing something is only positive. “Learning something new – whether an instrument, learning about fashion, designing your own clothes – it gives you a North Star to focus on and drive towards. I don’t see it as a negative. I started taking a journey on these other things a long time ago. Many years ago, it was often spoken about that it was a distraction, but I’d turn up and win the race. Now it’s accepted. In the past, you’d be put in a box and could only do one genre, but I think now we live in a time when it’s okay to be multifaceted.” Multifaceted: Lewis Hamilton is certainly that. He’s humble, grateful, intelligent, interesting, articulate, engaging and now statesmanlike in leading a movement. Oh, and a bloody good racing driver, too – one who deserves every plaudit, honour and success that comes his way. Accomplishments that are all the more impressive given where Hamilton has come from and what he’s been through to reach the summit. L
Bahrain 2020 and another win, but just getting to Formula 1 was “a huge milestone” 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 53
RI C HARD PARRY-JONES
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AUTOCAR AWARDS
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Few industry figures have been more deserving of a lifetime achievement award than the late ‘RPJ’. Steve Cropley remembers him
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couple of weeks before he died, I phoned Richard Parry-Jones, the Welsh-born engineer who in the early 1990s inspired a global shift in the desirability of Ford’s cars that endures today, to ask him to accept this year’s Autocar Lifetime Achievement award. Such has been his enduring in uence, not only at Ford but also across competitive brands, that he would have deserved this award in any year, but I felt safe to do it now because he was so conspicuously active, having just rejoined the board of Aston Martin. There could be no hint that ‘lifetime achievement’ meant impending retirement. Parry-Jones had won many awards but said he was especially happy to accept ours because he always said Autocar was the first to recognise his message of change. His management and engineering teams took notice because they “believed what they read in the paper”. We had a cheery
RPJ credited
very good,” Piëch told accessible, deeply Autocar with being me in a late-1990s enjoyable driving first to understand his characteristics. view that customers would interview. “I tried to hire him, but I Then we’d go out respond to better-driving found he was paid onto Lommel’s cars. The publicity helped more than me.” famous Track persuade management RPJ acknowledged Seven and discover and motivate his the story, smiled – driving at eleventeams. about the salary tenths – that it worked. and was gone. The first car to get the Parry-Jones rose to become full benefit of RPJ’s in uence was the Ford Mondeo of 1993 – the Ford’s chief technical officer and vice-president in charge of global Blue Oval brass was astonished by product development but retired the blizzard of positive publicity. in 2007 for a management and After that, tech briefings with consultancy career in the wider Parry-Jones became de rigueur. world. He had been off Ford’s payroll His greatest triumph will always for 14 years when the sad news of his be the 1998 Ford Focus, a car so death came through, but even so, far ahead of its rivals that it was they claimed a big place among the truly shocking. chief mourners. Within 24 hours, we Our last reminiscence, just had a statement from Bill Ford citing before RPJ rushed off to another appointment, concerned a comment a unique contribution that endures today. Ford subsequently took a page by Volkswagen Group supremo Ferdinand Piëch about the in uence in the magazine to underscore their debt and regret. Ford’s star engineer was having Just before the funeral, I rang Ford on the cars of his rivals. “Yes, he is resident and CEO Jim Farley o ask for reminiscences, but it urned out the two never worked ogether. Farley joined Ford rom Toyota just as Parry-Jones as leaving, yet his memories till pay a wonderful tribute: For all of us in the late 1990s, he Focus was the breakthrough roduct. Even at Toyota, we knew ord had the car to beat. I went Focus evolved into benchmarks like the RS n many test drives in Japan – nstantly swapping springs and ti-roll bars – that only made more obvious making great cars was about insight, more art than science. And we couldn’t do it as well as them. We just couldn’t do it. “It wasn’t until I joined Ford that I really understood what had been going on, the real contribution of RPJ and how it continues today. I tell you, man, in one way he’s still The 1993 Mondeo (above) cemented RPJ’s reputation; the Mk1 Focus (bottom right) will remain as perhaps his most enduring legacy alive and well.” L 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 57 exchange about how, at 69, he was “just getting the hang of it” and had many exciting projects ahead. To their credit, Ford’s 1990s management soon realised what a star they had. RPJ was uniquely brilliant not just at recognising the needs of individual customers (Ford had previously concentrated on eet managers) but at convincing top management his new way would change the company’s reputation and sell cars. That inspired generations of young engineers – at Ford and pretty soon via the Premier Automotive Group to Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin – to believe that great work would be recognised. We reminisced, too, about early sessions at the Lommel test track in Belgium, where Parry-Jones would put a new model on a hoist and talk passionately about how careful design of wheel offsets, brake cooling, engine mounts, suspension bits, exhaust hangers and discreet underbody aero all helped create a car with stable,
MATT BECKER
MUNDY AWARD FOR ENGINEERING
The widely regarded DBX has marked a turning point in the fortunes of Aston Martin. Matt Prior meets the man who can say ‘I made that’
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he winner of this year’s Mundy Award for Engineering is Matthew Becker, chief engineer – vehicle attribute engineering, at Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. That’s the formal introduction for a man who talks about cars with the sort of casual ease and disarming honesty that sometimes puts public relations people on edge. It would undersell Becker’s in uence to say he has been presented with the Mundy Award only for his work on the new DBX, Aston’s first sports utility vehicle. But there’s no denying that the excellent new 4x4 has broadened Aston’s range like never before, in a fashion that most of the company’s rivals have found crucial to turning a profit. And it’s Becker’s talent and experience that are at the heart of the car. The challenge, for a company of Aston’s size and which isn’t part of a wider automotive manufacturing
group, shouldn’t be underestimated. “I think any company that thinks doing an SUV is easy is wrong,” Becker tells me, while seated across a table in a meeting room at Aston Martin’s development works beside Silverstone’s Stowe circuit. “When we started on that project, I had worked on SUVs,” he says, “but pretty rudimentary passive ones; easy compared with this thing.” Prior to joining Aston Martin in 2015, Becker had worked at Lotus, both on its own road cars and in the engineering division, where he helped develop cars he can’t tell us about. Until moving to the Midlands, he’d been at Lotus for his entire career – and what seemed like longer. As the son of Lotus dynamics guru Roger Becker, Matt grew up around prototype cars. “Every time Dad would pick me up, he’d be in a different development Lotus: Europas, Elites, Excels, Esprits, everything,” he says. “I wasn’t forced to take this direction but it
was like a chip being inserted into my brain from an early age. I remember how Dad would drive. I’d ask why he was wiggling the car around and he said he was trying to feel the steering response, axle phasing, roll behaviour, whether the steering gave him all the information he needed. At 12 or 13, I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but that started the obsession and realisation that I wanted to go into vehicle dynamics.” Becker began his apprenticeship at 16, starting on the same day as Gavan Kershaw, now Lotus’s director of attributes and product integrity, and James Key, now McLaren’s F1 technical director. At first, Becker wasn’t allowed to get too close to vehicle dynamics – engineers were meant to be 23 before they could get a permit for test driving – but he spent some time being tutored by Alistair McQueen, Lotus’s famed develo ment driver,
Becker was hands-on with Aston’s highly regarded DBX from its inception, but his automotive engineering career began at Lotus 56 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
❝ Any company that thinks doing an SUV is easy is wrong ❞
ho realised the younger ecker had natural talent even though he’d already inned his dad’s company auxhall Carlton on the way to night out after giving it “the iggest clutch kick of my life” an effort to get it sideways ther too effectively). “I ended p specialising as an engine chnician,” says Becker. took until he was 21, “when a job came up as a junior development engineer on the Elise”, that his job began to involve driving. “It was basically doing a bit of everything, so I was helping develop the Elise’s metal matrix composite brakes, the heating and ventilation system, headlights, anything,” says Becker. “They still wouldn’t let
MUNDY AWARD AUTOCAR AWARDS
me too close to the dynamics, then eventually they said ‘Do you want to do some tyre development on the 111S?’ when we went to a 225 rear tyre with Pirelli. I thought ‘Finally!’, and that was the entrance to it.” The Series 2 Elise followed (“a much bigger change on the dynamics than people realised”) alongside myriad versions of the Elise and Exige platform, including the 340R and the 2-Eleven, plus confidential Lotus Engineering cars for other car makers. Then came an all-new Lotus. “Around 2007, the company wanted to do the Evora,” says Becker. “The Elise Series 2 was a development of a car that existed, but the Evora was a completely clean sheet of paper and my opportunity as a development lead to basically work
BECKER ON ROADS “In terms of dynamically challenging a car, I don’t think Norfolk is quite as good as the Midlands because you don’t get the elevation change and vertical inputs into the car.” However, he names the road between Lotus’s factory and the A11 as “one of the best steering roads” there is.
with the design and analysis teams and say ‘This is what I want this car to achieve’.” The Evora was a longer-legged GT car. “I’d spent so much time in Elises and knew how tiresome they became over long distances,” says Becker. “I wanted to create a car that was as agile as the Elise but a lot more comfortable, a lot more forgiving.” It won Autocar’s Britain’s Best Driver’s Car contest in 2009, but Becker will also admit that Lotus “made cars for engineers” rather than customers and that “you’d have to liquidise passengers before they’d fit in the back” of an Evora. On top of all ◊ The Elise has many fans, but Becker admits that Lotus was making cars “for engineers” 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 57
BECKER ON RACING “I wasn’t a massive fan of “We needed to racing but the past two years understand these I’ve done a reasonable amount in products and the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge. measure them to It’s not something I run after death to get the generally because it absorbs characteristics a lot of money but also a we wanted.” lot of time.” Pick a rival SUV
and, by and large, you’ll find it comes from a member of a big manufacturer group, with both the opportunities of scale and the drawbacks of having to fit into a niche that such an association entails. “We could say: ‘X car feels like that because of this number or that number,’” Becker explains. “But basically we generated what we wanted DBX to be because we’ve got the freedom; it gave us the chance to make something we
Becker moved to Aston Martin from Lotus in 2015; he says it was “a culture shock” ∆ that, the Evora’s generous steering McLaren. You’re not going to have lock, so useful for sliding the car that portfolio of experience, so I took around, meant the wider wheel wells a leap of faith.” badly offset the pedals. What followed was “the biggest “Towards the end of my time at culture shock of my career”, he Lotus, in 2014, I was thinking ‘Well says. On his first day, Becker was I’ve done Evora, what’s next?’, and handed six or seven printed sheets Geely [Lotus’s current owners] of acronyms and their explanations, weren’t around,” says Becker. a “Ford-speak” hangover of the He talked to a few different people, company’s time as part of Ford’s including Aston Martin, just when Premier Automotive Group, that he’s Andy Palmer, who had previously since either helped to drive out or tried to headhunt him, was appointed “just got to know them”. Aston’s boss. “I thought there’s some He started when the DB11 project kind of fate here,” says Becker. was already pretty well advanced, “Andy told me what the cycle plan but he was able to have a bigger hand was at Aston. I didn’t think there’s in the Vantage and is particularly anywhere else I could go that would fond of the DBS Superleggera. The give me such an opportunity to DBX, however, a four-and-a-half-year apply some of my knowledge and project, is very much a car Becker learn new things, unless you go to oversaw from the start. “We had to Porsche or Lamborghini, not even do tons of benchmarking,” he says.
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MUNDY AWARD AUTOCAR AWARDS wanted in terms of package for the car but also in terms of dynamics for the car. We were like ‘Yeah, these guys have done this’ because that’s the bandwidth they’ve got to work in. We didn’t have to do that.” The result is a car that was launched just as Palmer was ousted and new boss Tobias Moers was installed by new investors. “He’s one of the most technical CEOs I’ve worked with,” says Becker. “So much so that when I first met him, we were discussing bush differences on AMGs and he knew the different rates – axial, radial and torsional – on all of the different suspension bushes on the car.” British roads (and, you suspect, Becker) have persuaded Moers that sportiness
doesn’t have to come at the expense of isolation. “Tobias knows comfort is important certainly to Aston customers,” says Becker. “They don’t want a GT car that isn’t comfortable, so he gets that.” Moers arrived just in time to adopt a vehicle that has the best ride and handling blend in the class in the form of the DBX, and in Becker he has one of the world’s most eminent vehicle engineers. L
oth the Vantage (left) and DBS Superleggera benefited from Becker’s expertise
I had worked❝on SUVs, but pretty rudimentary ones – easy compared with this thing
❞
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 59
KLAUS BUSSE DESIGN HERO
As vice-president of design for Stellantis, Klaus Busse has embraced the challenge of reshaping Fiat, Maserati and Alfa for a changing world. Richard Bremner meets him
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ost design chiefs would be happy to surprise a motor show press day with a single, brightly lit, knockout concept. But at the 2019 Geneva show, Klaus Busse and his team fielded a pair of concepts that were considered best of show. One was the handsome Alfa Romeo Tonale, now delayed until next year, the other the Fiat Centoventi. The electric Centoventi was both a celebration of Fiat’s 120th birthday and a strong hint (we hope) of how the next Panda will not only look but also be propelled. Admiration for the Alfa revolved mainly around its handsome proportions and fine detailing, but the Centoventi explored the kind of city car we need for the 2020s, which is why it’s electric. Its examination of customer and environmental needs is appropriate to Fiat’s history of groundbreaking baby cars and perhaps a rejuvenation of the kind of deeper-thinking design that once
characterised Italy’s car industry. The Tonale and Centoventi have since been followed with two notable production models. The all-new electric Fiat 500 and the shapely midengined Maserati MC20 supercar are decidedly more exciting than the dull Fiat Tipo and the short-falling Maserati Ghibli of recent times. Busse leads design not only for Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Fiat but also Abarth and Lancia. It’s a quintet that has had him thinking long and hard about the essence of Italian car design and how cars fit in society, which has “dramatically evolved” from where he was 10 or 15 years ago. “Back then it was about trying to do something cool, beautiful, that gets noticed,” says Busse. “It was all about design, and I was very designcentric. Sure, there was a package, there was a customer, there was some functionality and it was all about quality. But today it’s very much about our role within society. “It’s easier to see this in the
500, but you also see it in the MC20.” For the new, electric 500, Busse and his team were working on something that is currently considered an icon. “Rather than just looking at new designs,” he continues, “we looked at society in the context of 1957, when the 500 was a big part of the democratisation of mobility and la dolce vita, while for the 2007 500 it was pop culture and the ‘yes we can’ political movement. There was a positive attitude in the world. “When work began on the car we released last year – a few years ago, of course – we thought: ‘Okay, what has changed in society?’” Unsurprisingly, Busse lists environmental awareness as the reason for the 500’s electrification, but he adds that while this thought process nevertheless occurred prepandemic, there were already “sober notes” within society: “There was uncertainty about where everything might be heading with technology.” ◊
Busse and his team created the Fiat Centoventi (above) and Alfa Romeo Tonale (top right) for the 2019 Geneva motor show 60 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
DESIGN HERO AUTOCAR AWARDS
Elegant MC20 reflects a more subtle approach to supercar design
“They make me look good”: Busse stresses that his designs are the result of teamwork The challenge for Busse’s team Despite acknowledging the risk was to acknowledge this shift in the of sounding pretentious, Busse cites new 500’s design. One way was to the Renaissance era as a distant launch the car with sophisticated in uence on Italian car design. colours – “something that re ects a “For Michelangelo, the beauty was more respectful approach”, he adds. in the creation of sculpture,” he More obvious has been the reworking says. “That is relevant for an Alfa of the 500’s face, a process happily Romeo. Evolution has trained us eased by the fact that, like the rear- to find beauty in objects with soft engined 1957 original, an electric 500 shapes under tension, whereas doesn’t need air intakes up front. angular and sharp objects have a Three proposals emerged, swiftly subconsciously negative impact.” whittled to two. One maintained the The Da Vinci inspiration for headlight position of the 2007 car, Maseratis revolves around the creating “a very optimistic look”, question of whether he was an while the lights of the other were engineer or an artist. “You could even much more upright, as with the argue that his art was born out of 1957 car, complete with a bonnet research from technology, and that, shutline sitting above the lights. for me, was very much guiding us “It produced a more serious look, with the MC20,” continues Busse. but people would have said: ‘They just went back to the 1957,’” says Busse. “They liked both, but how to combine the two?” Busse suggested a design that would split the lights horizontally, their upper sections lifting with the bonnet. “The upper part is the eyebrow and the lower part is the eye,” he explains. “It did add cost, but everyone was on board.” The changes are subtle, but as Busse says, “the car has matured as society has matured”. The same thinking applies to the Maserati MC20. “The societal part is incredibly important because the MC20 is a supercar,” says Busse. “It’s much harder to make a supercar relevant today. People might see it and think this car was bought by someone who is financially fortunate, but we wanted to add visual value to the environment. We wanted to create a rolling sculpture that people would appreciate and actually like to see in traffic; something that enriches the environment.” To that end, this is a (slightly) less amboyant supercar, whose subtlety suits the refined elegance of Maserati design. Unlike many other supercars, the MC20 “is not about air intakes and air outlets”. The car has Redesigning the Fiat 500 them, of course, but in their purest, has required Busse to minimalistic form. “They became factor in societal changes part of the sculpture,” says Busse. 62 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
DESIGN HERO AUTOCAR AWARDS
nd made a couple of mates, and we ended up going by chance Pforzheim University for a egree show”. Spotting a guy Merc SL featured earlier in Busse’s career ith a beard who they concluded ust be a lecturer, they asked they could show him their , , ortfolios. Their sleuthing was approach in the upper part of the car, off but – a happy coincidence – the but at the same time the lower part is bearded, besuited target was the closer to raw engineering.” person running Mercedes-Benz’s Amid all this, Busse has agonised design internship programme. over his right as a non-Italian to be Despite their portfolios being designing Italian cars. “But when declared “pretty useless”, they were I was sitting on a piazza in Torino invited to Mercedes to understand drinking espresso, which I like to the internship programme and, do, one day it dawned on me that after further study, were enrolled. espresso beans are not Italian. I The trio went to Braunschweig realised that not only me but also University, but after a year Busse many others – we have 14 or 15 found the course wanting and nationalities here – can consider instead joined Coventry University’s ourselves as coffee beans. The industrial design course, where he crucial thing is not the origin of the says he had “a really good time”. ingredient; the crucial part is the From there, he gained a place on process, which you follow to create the Royal College of Art’s vehicle that iconic Italian cultural beverage.” Busse, 51, is from Minden, a part of Germany that he says was “not an area where you would be exposed to a lot of car culture”. Instead, his interest was fired by television shows such as Magnum PI and The Fall Guy, in which the respective hero’s wheels were a Ferrari 308 GTB and a GMC truck. He went to art school
design programme. But instead of further study, Busse chose to join Mercedes-Benz full time in 1995, learning from luminaries including Michael Mauer, Steve Mattin, Stefan Sielaff, Peter Pfeiffer and Murat Günak. “I learned a lot not only about design but also management and leadership,” says Busse. “It was very helpful.” Although his decade with Mercedes was Busse’s “formative years”, he says he cannot claim “a single design” as his own. “It was always teamwork, and fighting for the team,” he says. A particularly big moment came when Busse created a full-size interior proposal for the 2001 R230 Mercedes SL. “I got to manage the budget and do it all,” he adds. That included overseeing the build of the full-size model, which was contracted out to specialist Stola in Turin.” “I remember the moment I walked into Stola for the first time,” he
I learned not only❝about design but also management and leadership ❞
recalls. “We opened the door to the workshop and there was a full-size model of my SL interior. There were five or six people looking at me saying: ‘Okay, tell us what to do.’ It’s then that you realise there’s expectation and responsibility, too. But it was an incredible moment.” Busse’s interior didn’t make it, although he later got to work on the next SL, as interior design manager. That programme was cancelled and, having seen this dream evaporate, Busse asked to be transferred to DaimlerChrysler’s US operations. What he did there you can read in the box above, but it was certainly a change from working on Mercedes SLs. A valuable change, too, that would eventually send Busse to Turin and an immersion in not one but five storied Italian marques. Busse is “extremely optimistic” for all of those brands, not least because the Stellantis merger has brought together what he calls “a hall of fame” of designers. But he underlines once again that he works as part of a team. “They make me look good,” Busse says. “They inspire me, and they do the hard work.” Of which there should now be plenty to come and, let’s hope, more that will actually appear in showrooms than it did under FCA. L 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 63
EDDI E HAWTHORNE OUTSTANDING UK LEADER
As CEO of Arnold Clark, one of the UK’s key car retailers, Eddie Hawthorne has been forced to steer his business through a calamitous past 14 months. Jim Holder finds out how he did it
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ut of adversity comes opportunity – although in the case of new and used car retailer Arnold Clark, its 200 dealerships and 12,000 employees, that opportunity has been brutally hard won. April 2020 represented the nadir of a terrible past 14 months. For the automotive retail sector in particular, it will be remembered for new car registrations that were down 97.3% year on year, while used car sales from April to June – dates that straddled lockdown and last summer’s subsequent easing of restrictions – were down 48.9%. They are days etched on CEO Eddie Hawthorne’s mind. “In that moment when we closed the doors, personally, as head of the business, I felt a huge wave of failure, because we had never shut down before,” he says. “There was so much at stake.” Arnold Clark was founded in 1954 by its eponymous owner, who went on to be dubbed the UK’s first billionaire car dealer and whose values and in uence still loom large over the business even after his death in 2017. It is one of the UK’s ‘Big Five’ dealer groups, consistently turning over more than £4 billion per year. Hawthorne, an auditor and chartered accountant by training, joined the firm in 1990 and took on leadership duties in 1998. Last year’s lockdown hit the business fast, hard and for longer than anticipated. “Genuinely, we thought we would be back by Easter last year,” continues Hawthorne. “We were told to plan for a month out at worst. Even that felt like a disaster, but the emotions swept through quickly. The first step was to accept that it wasn’t our fault – it was out of our control. That helped switch the mindset to one of: ‘How do we preserve our business? How do we protect staff? 64 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
How do we ensure we’ve got a viable business to return to?’ “We modelled it all but tried to look forward. The worst-case scenario was shutting a huge proportion of the business. I’d lie if I didn’t say it ashed through our brains. My board of directors and operations team were in daily contact from the moment we went home. But the mindset of problem solving and preparing to reopen was galvanising. We gave away our PPE, so we needed to find more; we needed to make screens in the bodyshops, which meant sourcing plastics and so on. Even in the darkest days we knew we wanted to be open to service NHS, emergency and key worker vehicles. We focused on solutions we could deliver.” Like many of his colleagues in the automotive retail sector, Hawthorne retells the story with a gravitas that underlines just how serious those months of closure were and just how hard-won the strides taken to ensure the darkest days haven’t returned even in the latest lockdowns. Through a combination of sharp cost control, a sometimes booming market (especially around used sales, where Arnold Clark moved fast to offer a nationwide £99 deposit system for any car sold online) and fast-paced change, profits have remained strong. “Car retailers were fortunate in being allowed to reopen earlier than some [non-car] retailers,” he continues. “That gave us hope, but even then we knew we had to move fast to make sure we could keep going, come what may, in future. New and used sales were strong coming out of lockdown, but at the same time we invested in accelerating our digital journey. We probably moved ve years forward in five months in terms of digital sales, the acceptance of them from
customers and so on. “We had to learn to do that. It’s another credit to our staff that they came in with the mindset to adapt and learn new skills in the craziest circumstances. We were asking ourselves how we shape the business for the future to navigate more problems while trying to deal with customers who had more time on their hands than they’ve ever had.” Hawthorne rates communication as the key element to keeping everyone motivated. “We’ve always tried to be an open, upfront, approachable board, led, of course, by myself. Our staff appreciate that,” he says. “Even if you’ve got to tell them bad news, then I believe you should do it with honesty: tell them why, and the reasons for it. Treat them with respect. We have an ‘Ask The Boss’ email that is open to everyone and comes into my office. In 2019, I got 111 questions; for the past year, I’ve topped 2000 now. I will answer them all, either myself or from the person
Arnold Clark is a key player in car retail
Prior to 2020, annual turnover was £4bn
OUTSTANDING UK LEADER AUTOCAR AWARDS BY THE NUMBERS BIGGEST CAR RETAILERS BY TURNOVER 1 Sytner £5.92bn 2 Lookers £4.70bn 3 Pendragon £4.51bn 4 Arnold Clark £4.46bn 5 Vertu Motors £2.98bn 1 Arnold Clark 2 Pendragon 3 Sytner 4 Inchcape 5 Marshall Motors
319,686 253,069 192,158 136,051 94,606
*Not all retailers declare sales figures by cars sold Source: Automotive Management 2020 AM100 review
Hawthorne says his award is for all at Arnold Clark: “We got through this as a team”
best placed to do so. By answering directly, you remove the vacuum of people feeling they don’t know.” Familiarity – and the confidence that has come with it – has also played a key role, says Hawthorne: “There was understandable anxiety around how safe our workers were, how they could do their jobs effectively, even whether they’d have a job longer term. But for most, that has lifted with time. We’ve demonstrated and learned what we can and can’t do, and we’ve been rigorous in our standards. The stress of the latest lockdowns has not been nearly as great, as we have learned to live with so much.” The journey isn’t over, of course, but Hawthorne – who, despite his insistence on accepting this Autocar Award only on behalf of all his workers, wins for his calm leadership, decisive actions and ability to move forward even in adversity during these most difficult times – talks about the future with positivity, eyeing more growth for the group. “In 2019, we sold 320,000 new and used cars,” he says. “Last year, we sold just over a quarter of a million, so that dented turnover. This year, I want to see us getting close to 320,000 again, and I think even with some of the challenges around new car stock levels, that’s possible. And then we’re chasing 400,000 cars a year within two to three years.” That kind of growth won’t come with a buoyant market alone, however, hinting that Hawthorne and his team expect to be on the front foot when it comes to expansion and acquisition, even beyond their status now as Britain’s biggest car seller by volume, a trend that has played out for some decades as car retailing has galvanised around the biggest players. “We want to grow in the right way, which has to be structured,” he says. “We’re a volume player, built on selling cars at scale. We’ve got some ideas around more click-and-collect centres, and a few other nice ideas in the pipeline I won’t share, but we’re confident in our future, despite what’s going on around us now.” That future is one that, Hawthorne is keen to stress, now, more than ever, belongs to every Arnold Clark employee. “It is very nice to be recognised, but I accept the award on behalf of Arnold Clark and Arnold Clark staff,” he says. “This award isn’t for me, it’s for all of us, because we all got through this together as a team. “Someone asked what I would have done differently with the bene t of hindsight. No sensible answer springs to mind, because we did everything we could to the best of our abilities. I joke that I should have retired last March, but the truth is that there’s been too much to do and the future looks too exciting. We’ve pulled through and I believe we can come back stronger than ever.” L 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 65
ALISON JONES OUTSTANDING UK LEADER
I The unexpected challenge of Covid was met
Stellantis inherited from PSA a strong lineup of electrified models
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We want❝to grow. We believe our products deserve to be used by more people ❞
OUTSTANDING UK LEADER AUTOCAR AWARDS
AUTOCAR’S GREAT WOMEN PODCAST Hear more from Alison Jones in the first of our Great Women podcasts, shining a light on the brightest and best talent in the automotive industry. To tune in, visit: tinyurl. com/34kh35tu
BENTLEY’ S CRISITASKFORCE S MANAGEMENT INNOVATION AWARD
Bentley’s fast-acting reaction to Covid-19 set a gold standard for crisis response that has served the company beyond all expectation. James Attwood finds out how it was done
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nnovation comes in many forms, and it’s not always about pioneering technology or groundbreaking hardware. Sometimes, such as in the midst of a global pandemic, the real innovation is found in identifying new ways of working, in decision making and in revamped processes, rather than production. During the course of the past 18 months or so, plenty of companies have been forced to reinvent their long-established working methods. But few in the car industry have done so more successfully than Bentley, which didn’t just weather a seven-week shutdown and months of sales disruption but went on to end last year recording record levels of production and sales. Key to that success was the innovation shown in the decisions and actions of Bentley’s Crisis
Management Taskforce (CMT) and executive board. Its efforts to combat Covid-19 extended beyond filling its Crewe factory with the masks, Perspex, social distancing and one-way systems that are now so familiar to all of us, but were rooted in developing a new way of working that allowed it to respond quickly to an ever-changing, frequently uncertain situation. It did that by making decisions at a speed that before last year would have seemed unthinkable in the car industry, especially for a 102-year-old company such as Bentley. “We had one board meeting in March when I proposed shutting the employee gym and stopping travel between our sites,” recalls Astrid Fontaine, board member for people, digitalisation and IT who chairs the CMT. “The board said: ‘Why should we do that?’ That was one Thursday. The following Thursday, we agreed
to shut down the plant and send everybody home. That was the speed with which things moved.” By the time Bentley suspended production on 19 March 2020, the CMT was holding multiple meetings a day. When the first was held that January, it was to gauge the impact of the novel SARS-Cov-2 virus on China. “We were looking at what it meant for our supply coming from China, our people travelling there to test cars and our Chinese customers. For whatever reason, we didn’t even think it would hit us,” says Fontaine. After more than a year of lockdowns and restrictions, it’s easy to forget how quickly, unexpectedly and completely Covid-19 changed the world in 2020. “The challenge with Covid was the breadth of ways it affected a business,” says Stephen Blanchard, Bentley’s risk and
overnance manager. “We had crisis management plan but it ery much focused on smaller ncidents: a fire at a supplier’s epot, for example. We had o rebuild it to capture all the perational and sales impact.” The CMT was restructured to six ‘buckets’, each focused n a different aspect of the siness, such as sales, IT, oduction and marketing. And the make-up changed throughout the pandemic, too. “ The diversity of people we got around that table was amazing,” says Fontaine. “People from different areas and functions, and more importantly from different levels. We had apprentices in there, with Adrian [Hallmark, CEO] Astrid Fontaine has chaired Bentley’s Crisis Management Taskforce since Covid struck; safety measures were implemented rapidly analysing and listening. We really 68 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
INNOVATION AUTOCAR AWARDS
showed that inclusiveness to listen to each other. We were all driven by a single purpose: to protect the people and protect the company.” As Covid-19 grew in Europe, first in Italy and then the UK, the CMT met with increasing frequency. “It was the biggest challenge Bentley had had in a long time,” says Blanchard. “The tempo was at out for a while.” The intensity was highest in the week leading up to 19 March. “The IT department did three days of pilots to test our remote working abilities,” says Fontaine. “By Thursday, we could see what was coming and converted the cafeteria and sports hall into IT service centres. It was all hands on deck to get colleagues’ machines updated with the latest software. It was incredible.”
Bentley has conducted more than 18,000 Covid-19 tests since April last year, returning just 272 positive results. So far, there are no confirmed cases of on-site transmission of the virus.
Despite restrictions, Bentley production increased in 2020
Fontaine adds: “It was decision making on steroids. We had a CMT meeting every morning and a board update every night.” The decision to close the factory occurred the week before the first UK lockdown was announced, which re cts Bentley’s proactive approach to controlling its own destiny. “The drive from the board was truly to think about the safety of our people,” says Fontaine. “When we saw it get out of control, the first thought was ‘let’s send everybody home’ – and we didn’t know for how long. We thought maybe two or three weeks. But we decided to get our people into safety, and then figure When production resumed last June, Fontaine welcomed staff back to the Crewe site out what to do.” ◊ 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 69
Bentley’s confidence has grown in the past year, says Stephen Blanchard (right) Figuring out what to do involved still working remotely) and to input from Public Health England explain to those coming back (PHE), Imperial College and the what to expect. wider Volkswagen Group. The What staff found on site was Bentley CMT’s initial safety plan, something of a moving target, which contains more than 250 with Bentley continually individual measures, was developed revising its measures as in-house and would go on to serve knowledge about the virus and as something of a blueprint for other government advice changed. brands across the wider VW Group. Again, that put an emphasis on spee Bentley was the first UK car maker and innovation: Bentley started to publish its PHE Covid-19 risk working on multiple solutions assessment, and was able to resume concurrently, so if Plan A failed, production – at first at 50% capacity plans B, C, D and so on were – after seven weeks. already in progress. The focus wasn’t just on safety “We learned about processed but also on making a welcoming thinking,” says Fontaine. “We looked environment for the on-site staff. For at each topic as a process. So how do example, plastic screens on the tables we know people have symptoms, how in the break area allowed colleagues do we know how they are feeling? to eat closer together. Fontaine How do we track that they are okay? says a lot of creativity went into the How do we know who is in selfmeasures: “People really trusted us isolation? How do we know who is to do the right thing. There was not a available to come to work? It always word of complaint.” came down to: ‘What is the process?’” Part of that trust stemmed from Key to powering Bentley’s another innovative approach: decisions was information. Bentley communication. Bentley’s comms was one of the first UK employers team performed a major shift, to implement a testing programme devoting the bulk of its time not to for its on-site employees – and their promoting its luxury machines to the families, in some cases. To date, it press and public but communicating has conducted more than 18,000 with the workforce. That was both to tests. That hasn’t just helped ensure maintain links with staff not on site staff were virus-free on-site: the test (more than half of the employees are results, along with other data, helped
Bentley’s safety❝plan served as a blueprint across the VW Group ❞
70 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
prov e va ua n ormat on. Bentley developed a whole suite of apps in-house – with much of the work done by apprentices – to variously log test results, allow for self-reporting of symptoms, let staff anonymously highlight any concerns and so on. Developing those apps has given Bentley “a lot of trust in our own abilities”, says Fontaine, adding that it is no longer outsourcing such development work. “We’re the only company in our group that has this complete dashboard of apps,” says Fontaine. “We can navigate the company on a direct basis with real-time facts and data. “Even now, we track everything on site: how many colleagues on site and any risks on site. We’re tracking colleague availability, who is sick, who is isolating, how many Covid cases, and now what percentage of colleagues have been vaccinated.” Such information has given Bentley the ability to plan ahead better: for example, it could see the likelihood of a second wave from the data, allowing the rm to prepare its production accordingly. And the firm could identify production areas likely to be short of staff, giving it time to respond. That also led to exibility: staff who had previously served in
Fontaine says many innovations will remain in place post-Covid
INNOVATION AUTOCAR AWARDS production roles were retrained, and apprentices were given cross-training in various areas. As a result, Blanchard says Bentley has developed more selfconfidence: “As a business, we’ve learned to trust ourselves more. We can apply that beyond Covid in how we react to things.” Beyond app development and cross-training, Fontaine says other innovations Bentley has shown in nding its way through the pandemic will remain: “We’ve learned stand-up meetings: shorter meetings, quicker decisions. And while we had a culture of listening to and engaging with colleagues before Covid, that has become even Bentley’s more emphasised. development We’re much more programme has carried on through the pandemic. Stephen open and willing for different Blanchard says: “That’s been opinions to a major challenge, trying to get be heard.” cars to the right locations with When Bentley’s moving regulations in different factory reopened countries – and keeping them last June after secret from the likes of the first lockdown, Autocar.” Fontaine spent the day at the main gate, welcoming the production staff back. She admits that she’d “never have thought” at that point that Bentley would then go on to set records for sales and production: “It’s just incredible.” That came at a time of unprecedented change for Bentley: since the start of the pandemic, the firm has unveiled its Beyond 100 plan and committed to becoming EV-only by 2030, and has also undergone a major restructure leading to 800 staff leaving, virtually entirely through voluntary redundancies. Fontaine says she is proud of the way Bentley managed both itself and its people through the pandemic. “In hindsight, you sometimes wonder how it worked,” she adds. “It was an unbelievable situation, and I’m just so proud of our colleagues.” L
Data-gathering apps were built in-house
Perspex screens allowed safe working
PORSCHE TAYCAN
FIVE-STAR CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS
FIVE-STAR CAR
The Taycan’s digital instruments are clear and easy to read, but the steering wheel obscures the light and chassis controls in its normal position.
Landscapes in this part of the world are as breathtaking as the Taycan’s acceleration hen I did a windswept, virgin: this is the first time I’ve storm-wracked drive experienced Porsche’s much-lauded around Scotland’s EV. Photographer Max Edleston and rugged North Coast I have a Taycan 4S, one up from the 500 in a Porsche bottom of the range, but what must Boxster T last January, I finished have been a wrist-spraining options with the casual suggestion that the workout has lifted its price from next time was likely to be in an EV. a basic £83,580 to a considerably Which was the original plan here: more serious £97,908. In addition to retrace steps in a Taycan 4S as to some of the usual ‘Porsche tax’ an adventurous celebration of its jewellery – painting the badge to five-star deification. match the bodywork has cost £168 Then two things happened. The and the electrically deployed charger first was a realisation of just how port adds £443 – this has brought busy the NC500 was likely to be a various dynamic enhancements. The couple of weeks after Scotland’s significant ones are the Performance stay-at-home restrictions eased, a Battery Plus for £3906, rear axle point reinforced by a total lack of steering for £1650 and 20in Taycan bookable accommodation when I Turbo Aero wheels for £1524. investigated logistics. The second First impressions are that the was the discovery of the North East exterior looks stunning but that 250, which takes in the eastern the cabin doesn’t feel up to the Grampians and much of rural seriousness of its options-adjusted Aberdeenshire. Yes, it’s a derivative price. The line between minimalist idea – see also the South West Coastal and basic is a fine one, and the 4S’s 300 in Galloway – doubtless inspired combination of glassy touchscreens in large part by the tourist-drawing and gloomy plastics are lacking in success of the NC500. But the map warmth and tactile joy. But there’s no confirmed it would offer both great time to dwell on this before the more roads and stunning scenery, plus important, and much more visceral, the adventure-adding challenge of a second impression overwrites it: limited charging infrastructure. that even the second-from-bottom I reach the generally agreed Taycan is ludicrously fast. NE250 start point, on the A93 at It doesn’t take long for the the Spittal of Glenshee, as a Taycan realisation to arrive. There
W
s little reason to stop at the tal of Glenshee itself. The lackened ruin of the village’s otel, destroyed by fire in 2014, till sits behind security fencing nd there is a distinct lack of ther diversions at 8.30am n a Wednesday. Not that the 93 heading north needs any istractions, this being road-destination itself. It is one of otland’s finest bits of Tarmac: beautifully surfaced, well sighted and with corners that range from tight and technical to the type that old-school rally co-drivers would call from the pacenotes as ‘absolute’, many laid over significant crests and dips. The Taycan takes to it like a salmon to a mountain river. Acceleration Glenshee Ski Centre has a café but only curiosity prompted a stop; you could cruise for hours in a 4S and never feel a need to pull over is instant, in a way that even the 74 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
FIVE-STAR CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS
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sharpest-reacting combustion engines can’t get close to. The 4S just goes. Even using no more than the top third of the throttle pedal’s travel, the longitudinal g-forces are close to uncomfortable. But it’s the 4S’s ability to generate lateral g that impresses more. Plenty of EVs can deliver huge straightline pace, but I can’t think of one that better controls its mass when changing direction. The combination of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres’ huge grip, torque-juggling all-wheel drive and the active rear steering work invisibly together to make it feel much more wieldy than anything weighing 2295kg should. I’ll learn plenty more about the Taycan over the next two days and nearly 400 miles, but everything that matters
is clear within the first 10 minutes. The summit brings a sign welcoming us to Aberdeenshire with the simple promise “From mountain to sea, the very best of Scotland”. A mile or so beyond is the Glenshee Ski Centre, with silent chairlifts and ski tows on many of the neighbouring slopes waiting for next year’s snowfall, if it comes. The centre’s café stays open throughout the year, although it is predictably quiet on what looks set to be a wet day in May. Most of the nearby mountains have only Gaelic names and the centre also takes a bilingual approach. Ski hire translates as ‘mal sgithidh’, apparently. Keep that handy in case you ever need it. Rain has started to fall as we North East 250 won’t disappoint, especially if you’re lucky enough to drive it in a Taycan continue onwards, the Taycan’s ◊ 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 75
Craigellachie has Dewar’s distillery – and one of the few DC chargers
∆ all-wheel drive system un ustered by increasingly wet conditions. We don’t stop at Braemar because we’re planning a break here on the way back, so we follow the River Dee towards the vast royal estate at Balmoral before slotting off towards Tomintoul on the A939 and another long stretch of moors and peaks, passing the smaller ski centre at Lecht. The scenery is fractionally less spectacular than around Glenshee, but the road is quiet enough that we’ve pretty much got it to ourselves. Probably unsurprisingly, the Taycan’s range display is falling faster than its The air odometer is adding suspension’s lift miles. The need for function was used fresh electrons is frequently for bumps and not pressing, with kerbs. It can geo-store locations so it deploys automatically.
80 miles to empty, but it’s clear we’ll need to recharge some way short of our planned overnight stop in Banff. Beyond Tomintoul, the road becomes tighter and busier as we enter single malt country, where the passing villages become a roll call of famous distilleries, Glenlivet, Ballindalloch and Glenfarclas following in quick succession. We stop at Craigellachie, where the Dewar’s distillery is pretty much in sight of one of the few available DC chargers hereabouts. Before starting the trip, I was warned by a previous Highland EV-er about the need to get an RFID card from ChargePlace Scotland to unlock local chargers. This turned out to be a close-run thing. Despite ordering the card a full two weeks before starting the trip, it reached
FIVE-STAR CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS me on the day of my departure. But without it, we would have been in a serious jam, given the near-total lack of alternatives and the fact that ChargePlace Scotland doesn’t have an app capable of unlocking its chargers. (The company says it is possible for an account holder to access a charger by phoning its call centre. Or, if that fails, presumably sending a telegram or carrier pigeon.) Craigellachie’s 50kW charger adds range at a less than searing pace, but after spinning out a fuel station sandwich and coffee for 50 minutes, it has given 38kWh and cost £11.03, the cheapest half tank I’ve ever paid for in a Porsche. The A95 that carries us north for the next stretch along the Spey valley is busier and slower, giving the
❝ Cruising refinement is nearly as impressive as the brutality o its short-notice perormance ❞
chance to experience the other si of the Taycan’s character. Cruising refinement is nearly as impressive as the brutality of its short-notice performance, the cabin quiet and the air-sprung ride pliant for a car capable of such athleticism. With the optional adaptive cruise managing distances, it’s a struggle to nominate any other car that would make lowintensity use feel so effortless. Following the river to the coast brings us to Spey Bay, which pretty much does what it says on the tin. Rain has stopped by this point and the view over the North Sea is clear and distant, the car park filled with people who have come here to look at both birds and seals. But from a car photography point of view, there is one obvious challenge: the impossibility of framing a shot containing both the Taycan and the water. That holds true as we follow the coast eastwards and through a succession of fishing and ex-fishing towns and villages: Buckie, Findochty, Portknockie and Cullen. Eventually, we brave a rocky car park to prove we did reach the coast. The day ends at Banff, a handsome town that faces the similar-sized fishing port of Macduff over the estuary of the river Deveron. We’ve chosen to stop here for no greater reason than the presence of another
of ChargePlace Scotland’s 50kW DC chargers, which the Taycan is left tethered to for a full charge. We seem to have arrived some way ahead of the tourist season and the Taycan is unusual enough to draw a small crowd of spectators. The next morning, we start early under grey skies and with the Taycan reckoning it has 200 miles of range. We’ve got 148 miles to cover. The B9031 carries us east through huge fields of oilseed and grain – the latter probably destined to end up as whisky. It’s not a particularly adventurous road, but it’s well suited to the Taycan’s ability to go from gentle cruise to face-bending acceleration. I soon learn to pass slower-moving traf c using no more than about half throttle so as not to create too startling a speed differential. The thought that there are two quicker versions above this in the heirarchy is shocking. Having failed to see any reason to stop as we pass through Fraserburgh, we make a point of pausing in Peterhead, the biggest town we’ve visited so far. This is the UK’s busiest fishing port and seems to be working almost at out as Edleston tries to set up a shot on a quayside crowded with huge trawlers. A few miles to the south is one of the must-sees of an ◊ 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 77
The motorised charging flaps seem like an expensive extravagance, because you still need to wrestle the charger head into the port.
Slains Castle, on a cliff top overlooking the North Sea, is worth a visit ∆ NE250 trip: the spectacular ruin of connection with the Slains Castle near Cruden Bay. oil industry, the city is Until fairly recently, it was possible the first place where we to drive a car up to what is left of the start to see significant front of the castle, but the track is now numbers of EVs, almost all blocked by a substantial concrete of them Teslas. block and I have to promise Edleston Which brings us to the final leg, it will be worth a half-mile walk into cutting westward to Peterculter a stiff headwind. It is. The castle is and then joining up with the River some way removed from modern Dee again, before following this health and safety standards, being all the way back to Braemar. The unguarded and having been left Taycan defaults to coasting rather open to the elements for nearly 100 than deploying regenerative years. When standing, one of its most braking when the throttle is lifted, famous visitors was author Bram regen being selected by a steering Stoker, who used it as the inspiration wheel button. On the steeper for the castle in Dracula, both downhill stretches, that has proved featuring vast octagonal halls. Even insufficiently strong to hold the at 9.30am, it’s genuinely spooky. Taycan at a fixed speed, so I’ve ended Beyond Cruden Bay, there’s a up setting the adaptive cruise control chance for the Taycan to stretch to stop having to ride the brake. But its legs on the A975, another road after two days of mild frustration, I of sweeping corners and distant finally learn that a longer press on horizons. Next comes the far less the regen button engages an adaptive interesting A90, for a dull schlep mode that increases the force in towards Aberdeen, pausing only response to a falling gradient or to have a quick look at one of the slower traffic ahead. vast offshore wind farms that line That removes a niggle from my the coast. The official NE250 route short list of complaints, leaving only suggests sticking to the main road one of significant note: do I like the and missing Aberdeen entirely, but Taycan’s steering? After more than we opt to take the diversion through 300 miles, I still can’t decide. The it for a chance to snap the Porsche in helm’s directness and precision can’t conjunction with some of its famous be faulted. Like the accelerator, granite architecture. Despite its the steering delivers slack-free
ront-end response pretty much s quickly as you can turn the heel. But although weighting s good and feedback is present, he lag-free immediacy also enies it some of the connection hat Porsche’s sports cars do o well, one that is definitely elped by the fractionally igger window between input nd effect. Even under the ardest road-viable cornering loads, the Taycan barely seems to roll – this without the optional electromechanical PDCC anti-roll – and the adhesion limits are high enough to give little encouragement to explore beyond them. I don’t. Braemar brings a final stop, and a final visit to a DC charger, in this Every charger we used worked. Wind farms (right) helped replenish the Taycan, which used 41.2kWh for every 100 miles on our trip case an eVolt one that happily also 78 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
FIVE-STAR CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS
❝ Even under the hardest road-viable cornering loads, the Taycan barely seems to roll ❞
works with the ChargePlace Scotland card. Even without this top-up, the Porsche has more than enough range to get back to Glenshee, but I want to give it a head start on its long journey south once handed back to Porsche. Braemar is a thoroughly nice place to spend an hour while the battery level creeps up, with many of the Teslas we spotted in Aberdeen – or possibly from further afield – seeming to have come here for lunch. We’ve still got the only Taycan, though – although that seems likely to change rapidly over the next few years. It’s nice to write a drive story about an EV without it turning into an extended complaint about the inadequacies of the charging network. The Highlands are still some way from the infrastructure
seen in more populous parts of the country, but there’s more than enough to support a modest adventure like this one. We never needed to wait for a charger and each charger we used worked first time. Eradicate such concerns and the Taycan moves beyond pretty much all criticism. Yes, it is expensive, but it is also as well engineered as any other Porsche and – even in 4S guise – quicker in the real world than any except its most exotic siblings. The cabin could be more exciting, the steering richer in low-intensity feel – and the £354 option of fake in-car engine noise triggered a gale of laughter before being turned off forever. But beyond the need to actually pay for it, this is the closest North East 250 offers a wide range of driver’s roads and the Taycan excels on them all thing yet to an excuse-free EV. L 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 79
The UK is one of Alpina’s strongest markets, yet its cars are still phenomenally rare here – which is just how owners like it. Consider the M4-rivalling B4 Coupé of the F32 generation: currently just 27 examples are registered with the DVLA, compared with 483 Ferrari 812 Superfasts and 46 McLaren Sennas. In other words, they’re hen’s teeth.
FIVE-STAR CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS
ALPI N A B3 TOURING FIVE-STAR CAR
Buchloe’s slick rocketships weren’t always so appreciated in Britain. Richard Lane meets the man who enlightened us
A
n interview with Frank Sytner always had the potential to lay waste to the 1400 words earmarked for the story of Alpina in this country. It was Frank’s older brother Alan who founded The Cavern Club in Liverpool, where The Beatles were discovered and made 292 appearances during the early 1960s. The two then went into business together and in 1968 founded their first car dealership in Nottingham, specialising in BMW. Over the next three decades, they grew the network to the extent that Roger Penske’s United Auto group was prepared to pay some $155 million for it in 2002. And that was merely Frank Sytner the hugely successful businessman. Over the years, he also fed a passion for motorsport, planted in 1954 by Alan, who exposed his 10-year-old brother to the howl of BRM’s V16 Formula 1 car at Aintree. Sytner started off racing an Austin A40 with another Frank – surname Williams – before moving to Formula Fords and competing in the kind of ultra-exotic historics that most of us dream about simply sitting in. Then, in 1988, the Liverpudlian hit a career high when he was crowned British Touring Car champion in a Prodrive-prepped E30 M3. ‘Fearless Frank’ was the nom de guerre, although reports suggest
that it belied a talent that few could match, amateur or professional. However, we don’t delve into any of that, because it would require an entire magazine supplement. In the wake of the new Alpina B3 Touring’s five-star road test, Sytner is calling from his home in Liguria to instead talk about another episode in his life. It was in summer 1981 that, having clocked the appeal that a brand like Alpina would radiate among car-loving Brits, he ew to Munich with Alan. They made a deal with Alpina’s remarkable founder, Burkard Bovensiepen (“an imposing, fearsome character”, but once you were on his wavelength, “absolutely wonderful”) to take responsibilities away from Tom Walkinshaw Racing’s wayward operation and become the sole UK importer of Alpina. It meant Sytner Nottingham would become the only place in the world outside Buchloe ever authorised to carry out BMW-to-Alpina conversions, and it was one car that really got the esoteric Bavarian ball rolling. “The B9 3.5 was the breakthrough car,” says Sytner, referencing the E28 5 Series conversion that Bovensiepen and his team had devised around that time, “because it was the first serious high-performance executive sporting saloon on the market”. That’s true: Mercedes-Benz’s products were still too luxury-focused, every Audi
understeered and BMW was yet to cotton on and deliver either the M535i or the very first M5. The B9 3.5 duly arrived with 245bhp, over just 181bhp for the 2.8litre six of the BMW 528i car donor and 218bhp for Munich’s top-rung 3.5-litre straight six, which Alpina comprehensively re-engineered and slotted into the 5 Series’ engine bay. Then as now, almost every dynamic element of the car was reimagined and it was topped off with a draping bodykit that didn’t just look superb but also really did reduce lift. What’s so interesting about the incipient UK operation is that, in the days before Alpina achieved full manufacturer status, type-approval compilations prevented cars being imported from Germany whole. Sytner therefore had to build – or rather convert – the cars itself, and it got the logistics down to an art. “We came to an agreement where they would send us all the parts, including engines, wheels, body parts, differential, suspension, tyres and badges, over in a container,” says Sytner, whose men (or, at first, Mark Adkin) would then piece together the B9 recipe. “The engine came out of the 528i and then went back with the transport company to Germany. As we started to take orders for cars, there was a constant ow of Alpina parts arriving in Nottingham, and ◊
Alpina’s B9 3.5 took the fast-saloon class by storm, prompting Sytner to produce punc y a ver s ng w on on agency 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 81
Many people don’t known that Andy Bovensiepen – current Alpina CEO and son of founder Burkard – was once a BMW suspension engineer, joining in the mid-1990s and working on the E46 3 Series and Z8 before moving into marketing and returning home to Buchloe in 2002. It’s hardly surprising that even today, the R&D relationship between BMW and Alpina is symbiotic.
Frank Sytner – aka Fearless Frank – seen in 2012, clad in Nomex after racing historics ∆ we had technicians who went to bear close comparison to several Buchloe, training how to produce the supercars, except the BMW has car.” Somehow this laborious process almost 12 cylinder-like exibility”; proved commercially viable. Then “quite unmentionable speed can be again, the B9 cost £24,100 when the commonplace”; “the driver of the Audi Quattro was £20,400 and the B9 will feel much more in control 528i SE just £16,925. It’s telling that of his destiny than he might in the these early RHD Alpinas were sold standard car”; “it can be trickled mostly to people from the motorsport through traffic using barely more world, and they were prepared to pay. than idling RPM”; “Bovensiepen’s When the B9 3.5 landed, it did so suggestion that this kind of ride and like a meteorite. Here’s a selection of handling compromise offers better fevered comments from John Miles’ all-round comfort on long journeys drive in 1983. (If you don’t know, than a car with softer suspension Miles was an Autocar road tester has to be right”. And on it went. at the time but had been Jochen Sytner describes last year’s full Rindt’s Team Lotus team-mate in F1 4000-word road test of the new B3 and was a leading chassis engineer Touring as a “eulogy”, but it certainly who worked on everything from wasn’t the first overwhelmingly the Vauxhall Astra to the Aston positive assessment of an Alpina Martin DB9, so take the following product from this magazine. as gospel.) “From a handling point Sytner, who had initially planned of view, the B9 is probably the best a career in advertising after leaving BMW we have come across – ever”; school early, knew exactly what it was “gear for gear, the mid-range times that he had on his hands with the B9.
Our road test B3 met a restored 1978 B7 Turbo Coupé at Buchloe factory 82 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
“I was able to use an arm of BMW’s advertising agency to create ads that a company our size couldn’t possibly afford,” he says, alluding to WCRS – the hottest ad agency in London in the mid-1980s, where the financial director had his own private jet. It was WCRS that coined BMW’s famous ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’ moniker and, in the year that British Gas was going private, launched the M635 CSi with ‘Where else would £41,000 earn you so much interest?’. What Sytner and two WCRSaffiliated creatives dreamed up was the famous ‘Executive jet, executive sports car’ advert, which appeared in Autocar. It played on the notion that the current crop of sports cars (represented by the Porsche 928 S, which was sandwiched anonymously between a B9 and a Hawker 700A borrowed from JCB boss Anthony Bamford) were now redundant with the arrival of this new uber-saloon, and it was a punchy message, even though grounded in reality. “To market something that really is genuinely good and pretty much unchallenged is a hell of a lot easier than marketing something where
FIVE-STAR CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS WHY THE B3 TOURING SCORED FIVE STARS Autocar attaches enormous importance to the idea that any five-star car should, among its numerous other strengths and attributes, somehow ‘move the game on’. With the Porsche Taycan or Toyota GR Yaris – the only other gong-worthy cars in 2021 – it’s not difficult to appreciate that gamechanging nature. Both reek of it. Equally, cars that are objectively superb but don’t break the mould generally don’t make the grade, falling half a star short. So where does that leave the Alpina B3 Touring, which as a mid-size performance estate is about as revolutionary as a toddler refusing to eat peas? Well, there’s another hugely significant metric of success that we Autocar road testers constantly refer to, which is ‘fitness for purpose’. And it’s here that the B3 Touring crushes the brief in a fashion that isn’t merely rare but perhaps unprecedented. If we were to plot a spider chart showing the attributes of ride quality, handling finesse, performance potential, build quality, interior opulence and all-round usability against the ideal for this kind of car, it would be lapping at every edge. It’s a beautifully conceived car, almost perfectly executed, and marries many strengths that taken individually would surely encroach on the abilities of specialist machines. The finest all-rounder on the planet today? We think so.
ast Germany, as it was a poor untry, but Burkard quickly plained the advantages,” ys Sytner. “In general, I don’t Early customers were proud of this sticker ink I ever heard him dwell on gatives. He found positives.” Bovensiepen, famously sessed with the economy of his difficult to justify,” says Sytner, who cars, was also a visionary, eloquently even today daily-drives an Alpina dipping into German politics as (an F30 D3 Bi-Turbo Allrad in Alpina required. Alpina’s 1999 pivot to diesel Blue but without Deko stripes). “The seemed sacrilegious, but he made it Alpina claim – everything that you work, to the extent that BMW relied will read in the advert – is true.” on Alpina’s expertise. It comes down Later in the 1980s, Alpina gained to that notion of fitness for purpose. type-approval so could send over “Burkard’s interest wasn’t just high complete cars. Sytner continued to performance,” says Sytner. “Part of y out to the factory, where, over a the subtlety was that you could go bottle of Barbaresco from Alpina’s 200 miles farther than you would cellars (wine dealing is a side hustle have been able to with another car.” that accounts for 15% of company Over the decades, guided first by turnover), he would discuss the next Burkard and now also by his son niche that the marque should exploit. Sytner can’t speak highly enough of his old friend Bovensiepen, who on 9 November 1989 was driving him to Munich airport when he cranked up the radio as the news that the Berlin Wall had fallen came over the airwaves. “Talk was mostly about how anyone could afford to absorb
Andreas, Alpina has grown, though not on a scale that might endanger its exclusivity. In the 1980s, around 600 cars were made annually, including those from Nottingham, and today the figure is still only around 1800. Sytner insists that were he still involved in the business, that would be different (“I wanted them to make the ultimate compact, fivedoor diesel, based on the original 1 Series”), although there’s no guarantee of that, because the two men weren’t aligned on everything. Sytner never liked the Deko decal set Burkard adored, on the basis that “in England, the majority of buyers wanted total discretion, otherwise they would stick with a Porsche”. Equally, because the E32-generation BMW 745i was never made available in right-hand drive, Sytner decided
The Alpina claim❝– everything that you wil read in the advert – is true ❞
to apply the B9 formula to the 735i, which was offered in the UK, in the process creating the first B7 (as we know the model today), but Bovensiepen allegedly never could quite warm to this “rare concoction”. That Sytner could get away with something like the B7 speaks volumes about the warmth and mutual respect in the relationship. As for Alpina’s future, Sytner has few concerns, whatever uncertainties lurk. “Andy’s skillset runs parallel with his father’s, only with even more professional engineering training,” he says. “I would expect the imagination of Andy and his team to [keep finding] the niche.” Final re ections are reserved for the simple phenomenon of Alpina. “Maybe I’m making all of this sound more important than it is. You know, it’s an alternative car brand,” says Sytner, feigning indifference. “But it’s the kind of thing you won’t really see again,” he quickly follows, with an intensity that reveals his true feelings. “It’s part of the past: entrepreneurial, the creation of something that shouldn’t have happened. How the hell did Burkard do it?” L 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 83
TOYOTA GR YARIS FIVE-STAR CAR
BR ITAISTN’ S BE AF FO RDERAB’SLE DR IV R CA
Toyota’s hardcore hot hatchback is already a fi ve-star car, but this, its chief engineer reveals to James Attwood, is only the beginning
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rom the moment Autocar first sat in a prototype version of the Toyota GR Yaris – in the simpler times of December 2019 – we had a sense it would do well in the world’s most comprehensive road test. That feeling was heightened after our first drive of the finished car, and again when it outstripped the Honda Civic Type R, Ford Fiesta ST and Volkswagen Golf GTI to claim our Britain’s Best Affordable Driver’s Car crown in November last year. But nothing was certain until our expert road testers took the GR Yaris to Millbrook for the most extensive and exhaustive test process going. Still, when the white smoke that signals an ultra-rare ve-star verdict finally rose from the secret bunker in which our testers debate their scores, we doubt many people were all that surprised. But it turns out that some very important people were: Toyota’s Gazoo Racing team, which had
developed the hot hatch. “We appreciated your kind words, but in my humble opinion we can never achieve the perfect car,” says chief engineer Naohiko Saito. “We had to start from scratch with this car, and we’d lost 20 years of experience. So this is just the start of development for our sports car. The important thing now is just to keep making it better for the future.” It’s worth remembering that while the GR Yaris is now virtually shorthand for hot hatch brilliance, that was by no means certain during its development. In fact, the very idea of the world’s largest car company, one with a reputation for building staid, sensible models (and hybrids), transforming the solidly dependable Yaris into a four-wheel-drive homologation-special pocket rocket still seems faintly absurd. That it happened is testimony not only to the Gazoo Racing engineers and the rm’s World Rally Championship team but also to
the support of the wider company – going right to the top. While part of the impetus for the GR Yaris was to provide the base for the nextgeneration Yaris WRC, the main driving force was company boss Akio Toyoda’s determination to prove that Toyota could develop a worldclass performance car in-house. He had already led Toyota’s return to performance cars with the GR Supra and GT86 (now GR 86), but he wanted to take that to the next level. “He wanted to show that we could put learning from motorsport into our road cars,” says Saito. “His passion to produce a sports car ourselves and make it in our own plant was key to development.” Toyoda, a regular competitor in races and rallies, didn’t just deliver a demanding brief and leave Gazoo Racing to get on with it: he was involved throughout the four-year development. While Saito’s job title
s GR Yaris chief engineer, e prefers to give that title to oyoda. “I would describe it as eading the project,” he adds. He discussed every aspect f the car with us, and took ecisions on many final specs.” It was also Toyoda who ushed the close relationship etween Gazoo Racing’s panese engineers and Tommi äkinen Racing, the Finnish firm run by the four-time world champion that oversaw Toyota’s WRC operation at the time. “Toyoda-san sent us to Finland, and we had a series of deep discussions with the rally team about how to develop a sports car using race and rally car technology,” says Development was overseen by Naohiko Saito (top right, second from left), with assistance from some luminaries of the WRC scene Saito. “They visited Japan at least 84 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
FIVE-STAR CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS
The new Yaris Rally1 car based on the GR Yaris had its first test recently ahead of its debut with the WRC’s new rules package in 2022. Unlike the naturally four times a year aspirated road car, the Yaris Rally1 all-wheel drive and we went to system, for the will feature a spec Finland many Toyota Celica hybrid powertrain, as times. We learned GT-Four that required by the new so much from them. went out of regulations.
“From the start, we foresaw the GR Yaris as a future homologation car, so we discussed what they wanted from that, about a low roo ine to improve the aerodynamics and a low body weight. They had a big motivation and were excited to be involved with developing a road car.” The rally team also helped Saito’s team develop knowledge in areas where it was lacking experience – particularly in the GR Yaris’s four-wheel drive system. It had been more than 20 years since Toyota last developed a high-performance
including now team chief Jari-Matti Latvala – sampled a prototype of the GR Yaris for the first time. By all accounts, that early test hack was so raw that it was borderline impossible production in 1999. to drive. Is that true? “There was nobody “Yes, this is fact,” says Saito with left in the company we could a laugh. “The rally drivers helped ask about it,” says Saito. “We found teach us how to manage torque the technical reports from the distribution. Latvala-san and development of the GT-Four, but Mäkinen-san could tell us how to the person who had signed off on manage four-wheel drive on surfaces it was retired. So we had to start such as snow and rain and Tarmac, from scratch. We just didn’t have and the changes we needed to make the knowledge. I think development for each surface. That was key to the of this type of technology has to be development of the GR4 system.” continuous and never stop.” That electronically controlled allThe realisation of how much work wheel drive system eschews a centre Toyota needed to do on its fourdifferential (it would have been wheel-drive drivetrain apparently too heavy) for a high-performance came when the firm’s WRC drivers – coupling in front of the rear axle. In
various drive modes it can send 60% of the power to the front and 40% to the rear (default mode), 50:50 (Track) and 30:70. It is combined with a manual handbrake that automatically disconnects the rear shafts when pulled. Toyota’s WRC stars weren’t the only test drivers, of course. As noted, Toyoda was involved in every step of the development and drove every test hack and machine. “He didn’t care if the prototype was difficult to control or may be dangerous,” says Saito. “He never gave up. He broke the car, and we fixed it. And then he tested it again. He didn’t just break the bodywork; he broke the transmission and he broke the driveshaft also.” To be clear, there’s no suggestion ◊ 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 85
This❝was a really important process: break it, fix it, make it stronger
❞
∆ t at oyo a ac s mec an ca sympathy or skills behind the wheel. Instead, this was a deliberate testing cycle inspired by the development of race and rally cars. “This was a really important process,” says Saito. “It was key to making it stronger. In motorsport, a vehicle has to be driven in the most severe conditions. During the GR Yaris development, Toyoda-san asked us to repeat the cycle: break it, fix it, make it stronger. In future, we can apply this development process to other models, including GR models and other Toyota models.” With the guidance of Toyoda and the WRC team, the GR Yaris began to take shape as a vehicle unlike anything else Toyota produces. That individuality goes beyond the allwheel drive system: the platform is a unique fusion of Toyota’s GA-B and GA-C platforms that has been designed to accommodate double-wishbone rear suspension, and the all-new, 258bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged engine is intended to allow for a future second-tier WRC2 competition car. Then there’s the lightweight bodyshell, which uses virtually nothing from the standard Yaris and makes copious use of aluminium and forged-carbon composite. At the 86 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
yoda (left) pushed right to the limit e est of the rally team, to aid with homologation of the 2022 Rally1 Yaris, the roo ine was lowered, a spoiler was added and the GR Yaris has just three, rather than five, doors. While the design and final engineering may have come from Gazoo Racing, those design features and technologies would not have been possible without the help of the wider Toyota company. “The powertrain department really worked on the engine, and the material engineering aided us with the lightweight body,” explains Saito. “The electrical systems and production engineers also provided amazing help. “We didn’t have many of the technologies we needed in-house, so everyone put in remarkable efforts to help us achieve the performance we wanted – and for an affordable cost.” That ‘affordable cost’ point is significant, and particularly so given the expense of developing such a singular car, one that will never sell in the sort of volumes for which the world’s biggest car maker would normally aim. But the company accountants are likely to be the only people who are, at worst, mildly unhappy with the result. Frankly, you can tell the GR Yaris is right just by admiring its
Yaris-on-steroids, rally-special hot hatch bodywork, or by prodding its genuinely xible lightweight bumper. And, as its double Autocar Awards success shows, it doesn’t disappoint when you drive it. You can see how happy Saito is with the finished product. He’s particularly proud of how little the car weighs: “There were so many efforts from engineers and suppliers to make it as light as possible: the lightest body with aluminium and carbon, the lightest engine, the lightest four-wheel drive system. We overcame so many challenges.” So the moment when Toyoda finished the final test of the final prototype and officially signed off on the GR Yaris for production must have been a pretty good one, no?
FIVE-STAR CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS “To tell you the truth, I understood that this was not really the final approval,” says Saito. “Akio Toyoda wants to keep improving cars. “What he gave us was just an ‘okay’ sign on the way. It was an approval to go with starting sales and to move on to the next step, to get approval and feedback from road customers and motorsport competitors, that we can use for the development of future cars.” Because, of course, as far as Saito is concerned, the GR Yaris isn’t a perfect car. In fact, there’s more to come. “We’re now not just getting feedback from rallies, but customers doing gymkhana and races and rally raids,” he says. “We are learning from them about how they want
to use the four-wheel-drive torque distribution or align the suspension. And we’re continuing to race it, so we can continue to make it stronger.” Excitingly, Saito says his team has a list of ways to improve the GR Yaris in the future. How many items are on that list? “I couldn’t count,” laughs Saito. “There are so, so many. We lost 20 years of development. And we’re only just starting.” L
ris’s development process will inform the next generation of Toyota sports cars
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ARI E L ATOM 4 BRITAIN’S BEST DRIVER’S CAR
For the past two decades, Ariel has been creating devastatingly effective driver’s cars that continue to punch above their weight. Matt Prior pays them a visit
W
ith back-to-back victories at Autocar’s Britain’s Best Driver’s Car contests and a fivestar road test verdict to its name, the Ariel Atom 4 is a car that punches above its weight. But so is the company that makes it. You’d be forgiven for driving straight past Ariel’s works, on the A30 Yeovil Road, just outside Crewkerne in Somerset, the first time you visit. It comprises some neat brick buildings that could be tidy barns or small industrial units. But from here come world-beating sports cars. Pull in and to your right is the service department. To your left is the production line, main offices and the R&D and engineering studios. Ariel is threatening to outgrow the place, but you wouldn’t know it from how well organised it is. It’s a neat site because Ariel likes to do things properly. Inspect an Atom 4 closely and you’ll note how it is beautifully assembled and nished.
I’ve come to see what a typical day is like at Ariel. I’m aware that general manager Tom Siebert does a bit of everything – and he’s spent plenty of time with us over the years – so I’m expecting him to tell me no two days are alike, but that’s not the case. “I do have a typical day – at the moment,” he says. “I get here at about 7.45am and spend until 10am doing emails. Then the phone starts ringing – customers, more business stuff. And a lot of my job is HR.” Over the years, Siebert has taken over more of the daily running of the business from his old man, founder Simon Saunders. “My job is just organising the whole thing, basically,” says Siebert. “From ‘matey’s going to fix those tiles’, to budgets and dealing with customers.” Phone up to order an Atom and there’s still a decent chance Tom, who oversaw the car’s development alongside his brother Henry Siebert-Saunders, or Simon, will answer.
Talking with customers, or to plebs like me, is apparently one of the more enjoyable parts of Siebert’s job, allowed by the company’s organisation. “I’ve spent a long time putting in a proper business structure, making sure that for the most part everything functions without having to micromanage people,” he says. Previously, he says, Ariel was really just a group of “mad men who wanted to drink cider and make cars”. But what cars they’ve turned into. And what a bike – the two-wheeled Ace is perhaps even more pleasingly nished than the Atom 4 and Nomad. “I think it helps that a lot of us are bikers,” says Siebert. “Because everything is on show, even if it’s not pretty it has to be nice from an engineering perspective.” Up next will be a new Nomad, currently in development but not as yet a real prototype, followed by the range-extended battery-electric ◊
Ariel crams a lot into its tidy, understated Somerset HQ. General manager Tom Siebert (top right) oversees the whole business 88 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
BEST DRIVER’S CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS
Even if people don’t want Atom 4 upgrades, parts will still be in demand. “Each year we add at least 75 customers,” Matt Childs notes.
The Atom 4 is in no hurry to give up its Britain’s Best Driver’s Car crown ∆ Hipercar. “It’s when you get Siebert. “I went and a physical car that I get excited,” worked in a motorbike says Siebert. “I like driving them shop and lived away.” Only and messing with them. Ultimately a few Atom 1s had been built it’s such a team effort here. We’re when “mother begged me to punching above our weight, so it has come and help the old man because to be. We take on board ideas from he was struggling”. He was only everyone, but Simon, Henry and I will supposed to help for three months, steer it the way we want to go. I’ve got “but I’ve never left”. knowledge of the models because I’ve That was in August 2000, and for been there from the start.” somebody who wasn’t into cars at That wasn’t planned. Simon the time, it’s clear they are now in Saunders had taken the Lightweight his veins. “I reckon we must have Sports Car Concept he’d shown at the made five or six Atom 1s when I 1996 British Motor Show and turned started,” he says, “though they were it into the Atom, and he was running pretty rudimentary. The last ones the company with a friend who fell were good and loads of them went to ill. “I’d had and raced bikes as a kid Japan, bizarrely. It’s one car we don’t and wasn’t interested in cars,” says have that I’d like for the museum.” L Workshop supervisor
90 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
BEST DRIVER’S CAR AUTOCAR AWARDS Parts manager
Chief engineer
If you want an Ariel in North America, you’re in luck: the Atom and Nomad are assembled there under licence by TMI AutoTech in South Boston (Virginia, not near the other Boston).
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USED CAR HERO AUTOCAR AWARDS USED CAR HERO
H ◊
BMW UK M5 is immaculate inside and out
For the avoidance❝ o doubt, some 23 years ater it was first introduced, you stil don’t need a aster amily saloon ❞
∆ And yet not unlike them at all in its ability to pin those neat little door mirrors back and then hurl itself into the middle distance at a rate that makes it feel more than contemporary enough, thank you very much. For the avoidance of doubt, some 23 years after it was first introduced, you still don’t need a faster family saloon, I assure you. Let’s cast our minds back to March 1998 and a certain Geneva motor show unveiling. The world’s defining super-saloon remained the Lotus Carlton. Nothing – save for a few four-door, tuning-house unicorns – had gone close to beating its 377bhp. Fast saloons still generally had six-cylinder engines, especially those made by BMW. But Munich’s M division E39 lays waste to the rule book. It had an all-new atmospheric 4.9-litre V8 making 394bhp, at a 94 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
time when the equivalent Audis and Mercedes struggled to top 350bhp. It had a rolling chassis that, by modern standards, actually looks quite ordinary: mainly stock E39 5 Series axles (admittedly with respecified coil springs, dampers, anti-roll bars, mountings and wheel carriers), recirculating ball steering and a mechanical limited-slip differential. Nothing clever. And yet the appearance of this car was undoubtedly the moment when the gun was fired on a horsepower race that’s been rumbling on among the predominantly German ruling powers of the fast executive car firmament ever since. For better or worse, this was the car that started it all. Like the suspension specification, the car itself looks simple and understated but still darkly
imply because it was the daddy f all E39s, itself one of the finest uxury saloons that any car maker as made before or since. It has pic built-in quality. Doors that lose with a heftier ‘whump’ Not all of the E39 M5 has aged so well han those on a Swiss high-speed train, double-glazed windows nd lovely over-engineered purposeful. There are no super uous details such as the beautiful carbonfibre aerodynamic addenda, mechanised ashtray that drops away nothing to make you feel like a into the transmission tunnel as you wally. The perfect, shrink-wrapped, swing its lid closed. They could have fuselage-like proportions of the E39 just made a deeper ashtray, sure, but are a considerable factor in the car’s that wasn’t how BMW rolled in the visual appeal, it must be said, but the celebrated Wolfgang Reitzle era. details also help. Our late-model test M division’s own little touches car, with its ‘corona ring’ headlights enrich that cabin just enough: (we should probably pick another the illuminated gearknob, those name for those today, shouldn’t we?) supremely clear instruments and had ice-cool daytime-running lights two-tone leather upholstery that before DRLs were a thing. stretches out so widely and seems So much about this car appeals to mix immaculate unborn buffalo
USED CAR HERO AUTOCAR AWARDS
CARS FOR SALE
in a modern performance car. That’s the biggest difference 20 years make. The V8’s audible presence is surprisingly delicate and reserved at ordinary speeds, but it raises its voice to a brassy, melli uous yowl beyond 4000rpm. It is always so responsive, though, and the elastic-feeling head of steam it builds on the way to full power on the far side of 6000rpm lives long in the memory. Unlike so many overblown modern equivalents, the M5’s chassis and steering work in most settings. It feels big but not huge; the suspension copes with narrower single carriageways with no little uency, provided the surface doesn’t get too rough or the inputs too spiky. The steering, meanwhile, is pretty moderate and measured but wellweighted and consistent. There’s just a hint of squidginess to the take-up of the recirculating ball set-up that’s detectable as you load it up for a corner, but thereafter it’s impossible to fault. The fairly relaxed but super-intuitive gearing it has suits the car’s slightly lazy, classic frontengined, rear-driven, long-wheelbase handling character like a glove.
Non-turbo V8 4.9-litre makes 394bhp balance is, it’s the M5’s wonderfully taut, stable and composed motorway ride that is its crowning glory. The suspension filters a little at speed and is always comfy and supple, but it keeps the car’s mass under effortless and eerily close control all the time. This car must have felt like Concorde when it arrived on our roads in 1999. For this one to feel as poised as it does, when closing in on 20 years of age, is nothing short of remarkable. Now, of course, the only thing that’s worrying me is how different the average 20-year-old BMW M5 might feel to one that’s been so lightly used and, at the same time, maintained without regard for cost at the hands of the company that made it. I suspect the answer to that question is ‘quite a lot’. One day, I certainly hope to find out, so here’s to there still being unleaded in the petrol pumps, and mountain goats in Cheddar Gorge, when I do. L
BMW M5 (E39, 1998-2003)
It rides with remarkable composure
No in-car wireless charging tech here hide with grumpy, decrepit rhinoceros just for the shock value. Well, it was the 1990s. Slightly heavy and springy-feeling controls make this car feel alive, connected and immersive to drive, in ways that modern M cars simply no longer can. They like a firm hand and a confident timed input, reminding you of what it’s like to think not just about what you’re doing with your extremities but also how you’re doing it. The car’s manual driveline does that particularly clearly. You’ll often double tap the clutch to give it an easier time, and always match the speed of crankshaft and driveshaft the old-fashioned way on downshifts. Meanwhile, a little out of pure respect, you squeeze both brake and throttle like you’re taking the stone out of an avocado: you never stab away at them like you might
Despite its size, the M5 is a fluent, agile thing to steer on twisting roads
“One of the besthandling cars on the planet. Beautiful to look at, simple, engaging, devoid of anything unnecessary and the right size to make best possible use of the UK’s B-roads.” “It’s bonkers, bril iant and utterly beautiful, and its relative rarity makes it a worthwhile investment.” “I love it because it’s French, not German, and it looks great.”
A110, GOLF GTI AND DEFENDER
READERS’ CHAMPIONS AUTOCAR AWARDS
READERS’ CHAMPIONS
We asked for your dream garage, comprising a fun car, a daily driver and a wildcard. James Attwood brings you the results
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ast your minds back, if you will, to those long, interminable days of lockdown. With many of us limited to remote working and essential journeys only, escapism was difficult to come by. Baking, maybe? Or doing a virtual marathon? Well, it turned out that I’m no good in the kitchen and running is hard work and hurts a lot. It was better, then, to spend time daydreaming about cars. So it’s no surprise that many lockdown hours were spent playing on configurators and scouting used listings online. Which brings us to a long-running debate: your dream three-car garage. Why three cars? Nobody is quite sure, although consensus has settled on it being the magic number of
machines needed to cover all your motoring needs. And so, for our Readers’ Champion award this year, we decided to put your lockdown musing to good use and assemble the ultimate three-car garage. We put a few rules in place, in order to guide you: a budget of £100,000, split among the three categories of car that we think all three-car garages should include: a daily driver (for around £30,000), something just for fun (for around £50,000) and a £20,000 wildcard. Let’s begin with the just for fun category, not only because it has the biggest guide price but also because it’s the fulcrum of our trilogy: work out your dream fun car and then pick the other two to fit your needs. Not to mention, this category has the most mphatic winner of the three in e form of the Alpine A110. That this compact coupé as your pick is no surprise. It mbodies everything that a sub50,000 car bought purely for un should be: it’s lightweight, ynamically scintillating and abulously good looking.
A110 was voted best car just for fun, Golf GTI as a daily driver and Defender as a wildcard
The only thing that weighs down the 1103kg A110 is the catalogue of platitudes that we’ve already thrown at it, including an ultrarare five-star road test verdict. There’s little we can meaningfully add here, except to say that the A110 lives up to every word of that praise on any road you could choose to thread it down. It’s wonderfully direct and agile yet also surprisingly soft and pliant, and its 1.8-litre fourcylinder turbo engine is rewardingly responsive and very characterful. All this puts the A110 into a sweet spot: comparable to the likes of the Ariel Atom and Caterham Seven in its handling and character but with refinement and grandeur – yet not a price – closer to Porsche territory. Alpine owners, you suspect, must have found lockdown immensely frustrating. Having an A110 parked outside and an order to only use it for essential journeys is just plain cruel. Pretty much every moment you’re not driving an A110 could be improved by driving an A110. It’s truly a car that you will want to drive every day. However, it’s not a car that many ◊
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“It’s stylish without being garish, reliable without being boring, and it always means the daily trip is to be anticipated.” “I nearly went or the GR Yaris, but the Gol GTI would be as good to drive and is more spacious and practical. It’s the ultimate one-fits-all car” ∆ actually would drive every day, because much of what makes it fun requires compromise. There are only two seats, the boot is tiny, all-round visibility is questionable and the push to save weight has resulted in some imsy interior trim. Those compromises are absolutely worth it for everything the A110 offers, but they’re also the reason that you need three cars in your dream garage. At some point you need to take the kids to school, pop to the supermarket or haul some rubbish to the tip. And that’s when you need a Volkswagen Golf. Of course you need a Golf. Many other daily drivers are available, but your votes re ect that when you want a well-honed all-rounder, Wolfsburg’s finest remains the car of choice.
Daily driver absolutely isn’t a pejorative term: this will be the member of your three-car garage that you will spend the most time in, calling on it to provide comfort, refinement and practicality while still being fun to drive. Tough task. We grouped together the votes for every type of Golf when picking the winners, but the single most popular variant was the GTI, so that’s what we sought out for our garage. And while the £33,525 starting price for a manual GTI is slightly above our budget, we reckon that some intense haggling will make it work and will be absolutely worth the hassle. The new Mk8 Golf GTI may stray a little more to the fringes of hardcore hot hatch territory, away from its traditional intoxicating balance,
Ignore the Renault bits and relish the great driving position; GTI was most popular Golf variant; Defender is basic, but that’s the point 98 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
READERS’ CHAMPIONS AUTOCAR AWARDS resulting in a slightly firmer, less rounded ride; but still, few cars are able to offer such dashing thrills when you take the long way to the shops, before it turns into a relatively benign family hatch to get your eggs and other fragile items home safely. But this award isn’t really about that GTI badge: virtually any Golf can perform supreme daily driver duties, whether it’s the entry-level 1.0-litre petrol, a diesel estate or, if you really want to stretch the budget, the hardcore R. That’s because, in all its forms, the Golf sits perfectly balanced in the very centre of the market. It’s big enough for a family yet small enough that it actually fits properly on British city streets. It’s upmarket enough to feel special and polished but mainstream enough to feel relaxing and comforting. The latest iteration isn’t perfect, as some of the reaction to its rather troublesome infotainment re cts. But the somewhat disproportionate disquiet caused by the dashboard’s
lack of physical controls could be seen as something of a back-handed compliment to the assumed all-round excellence of the ultimate daily driver. So with an A110 for sheer driving joy and a Golf GTI to make even the most mundane of daily chores eminently agreeable, do you even need a third car? We reckon you do, because for all their polish and brilliance, there are things you can’t easily do with our two other category winners. Like take them seriously off road, pop the bonnet and tinker away with them, use them to haul particularly unusual loads or do any of the other weird and wonderful things people love to do with cars. That’s why we left the final spot in our ultimate three-car garage for a new or used wildcard, costing up to £20,000. Unsurprisingly, this was the most open of all three categories in terms of votes – but the versatility that makes the original Land Rover Defender great helped it secure victory. We grouped all the wildcard used Defender ggestions together, ranging om run-down project cars to -military Wolf 90s. Certainly with £20,000 to pend, there’s a huge range of efender options. For our garage,
we opted for a ‘model’s own’ option, persuading Matt Prior to wheel out his well-used 90 Td5 XS from 2005. He paid around £12,000 for it and reckons that it’s still worth about the same now. And that bargain price is also good news for our three-car garage in the event that we can’t secure a discount on our Golf GTI. Prior’s car perfectly symbolises why the Defender makes such a ne wildcard: he has filled it with loads, used it to tow horseboxes, taken it down rough green lanes, used it as a daily driver and whiled away the hours tinkering on it with his toolkit. Essentially, if you can imagine a
motoring task that you couldn’t or wouldn’t do in an A110 or Golf, you could certainly do it in a Defender. And that, essentially, is the whole point of the three-car garage. Now is usually the time when we would contemplate which of the trio of cars we would choose if we could only keep one. But on this occasion, you can’t, really. They form the ultimate three-car garage because of their complementary strengths. And across three cars, possibly with spare change from £100k, all your motoring wants and needs are covered. All you have to do now is find room for them all… L
“It’s actually my current daily car. I can’t imagine it not staying in any dream garage. It’s just too useful to let go.” “It wil go anywhere and do anything but never looks out of place.” “I’m a fan of off-roading, so it would be sil y not to have a Defender.”
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TROPSROTO M
Damien Smith Racing can’t get much more intoxicating than Stratos versus RS200, can it?
WE CAN BANK ON RALLYCROSS Weekend action came thick and fast from BRX at Lydden Hil
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otor racing on a sunny May bank holiday Monday? It’s good for the soul, especially when spectators starved of action are allowed to ock back to the tracks in high numbers. I chose the Lydden Hill speed bowl, scooped out of a hearty slice of Kent countryside, for my bank holiday x, as the Five Nations British Rallycross Championship (BRX) begun its 2021 season by welcoming back grateful enthusiasts and their families, who baked in the sunshine we had all been waiting for throughout those grim months of lockdown. BETTER IN THE METAL
For a motorsport that was literally made for TV, rallycross offers one of the best bang-for-buck in-themetal racing spectacles out there. Created at Lydden in 1967 by ITV World of Sport producer Robert Reed to add something fresh and exciting to winter Saturday afternoon schedules, it has long outlasted cult presenter Dickie Davies and those old-
school general sports shows, which are now consigned to nostalgia-tinged distant memory (and YouTube). The British scene has been through its yumps and bumps since those halcyon days of the 1970s and 1980s, but it’s now thriving once again under the patronage of Pat Doran, a hardened veteran from the old days and a four-time BRX champion. Watching the incessant stream of quick-fire races a day after a sensational Indianapolis 500, it occurred to me that Doran is the slightly less refined and more earthy Roger Penske of British rallycross (after all, his main business is stone processing for the construction industry). Like Penske, Doran runs his series and owns its main venue, so he’s ideally placed to impose
In the Supernational class, one step down from the RX Supercars, Poland’s Slawomir Woloch slung his lairy BMW M3 (painted in cheeky works colours) around Lydden with admirable gusto. He appeared to lose out on the CRASH, BANG, WALLOP penultimate lap to Jason The RX Supercar class Bleasdale’s Vauxhall VX220, tops the bill and is the which made a late dive down Group B equivalent from the inside at the North Bend the glory days. At Lydden, hairpin, only for the pretty Irishman Derek Tohill’s little two-seater to lose time Ford Fiesta WRX conquered on the grass as its driver a hard-fought final as put the power down on Ollie O’Donovan’s Fiesta the way out. Woloch then and Andy Scott’s Peugeot chased down the leader 206 scrapped over second in over the last time around, a manner that on occasion now well clear of Bleasdale, appeared to cross the line but could do nothing about of ‘hard but fair’. It’s serious Paige Bellerby’s beautifully and at times scary stuff at driven Lotus Exige in what this level, especially with was the best race of the day. so much power under the RETRO MOTORS drivers’ right feet. STEAL THE SHOW Although the ‘moderns’ claim top billing, by far the most numerically dominant class is the crowd-pleasing Retro category, which is split into three. As you would expect, there are all sorts his vision on a sport that deserves a higher profile. Its short races, run over courses that mix asphalt and rough off-road with added joker laps through a slower detour, are perfect for the Instagram generation.
❝ Short races on courses that mix asphalt and rough are perfect for the Instagram generation ❞
MOTORSPORT Castroneves’s previous Indy 500 wins came in 2002, 2003 and 2009
Incredibly diverse Retro classes were fantastic to watch racing herein, but the prime cut in Super Retro is the surprisingly pristine black, white and gold Lancia Stratos of John Cross, who found better traction out of the slow corners to best Barry Stewart’s Porsche 911, sporting colours that echoed the classic Rothmans tobacco livery from the days when such things weren’t only allowed but accepted in racing without much question. It almost seems unreal now, given how much attitudes have changed. Steve Harris looked great in a mega-wing Ford RS200 (a rallycross meet wouldn’t be complete without one of those), but his chase of Andy Grant’s younger Ford Focus was in vain for 4WD/GPB honours. A better dice was that between Tony Lynch’s Toyota MR2 Mk1 and Terry Moore’s rapid Swiftune Mini in their final (it really was properly diverse!), the latter pulling a sweet move at the hairpin to win. Oh, and BRX has no joker laps for the older cars. They didn’t have such gimmicks back in the day, so they don’t bother with them now. The action was incessant during a day of rallycross, as the RX150 buggies buzzed around the 1300-metre circuit and one-make series for Suzuki Swifts and Minis offered further thrills – not to mention the odd spill.
BRX even has an Electro class for EVs, made up at this stage by a small Fiat 500 posse. It’s the future, apparently… But while the drivers gave it everything (to a soundtrack of total silence), it tended to be a good time to grab a coffee or answer a call of nature. At this level, electric motorsport has some way to go if it’s to become a properly engaging spectacle. WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE FIVE NATIONS?
The compromise that Doran’s dedicated team of event organisers had to accept last year (three guesses why) was a series of just three rounds, all held at Lydden. But this season they’re hoping to deliver the full five-nation avour. Ireland’s Mondello Park (another rallycross staple) will host the circus in July, then it’s on to Pembrey in Wales for the August bank holiday weekend. Knockhill will welcome the rallycross clans to Scotland in September, before a return to Lydden in November and an alluring climax at Spa-Francorchamps, of all places, in early December. The course in Belgium is the same as that used by the World Rallycross Championship, taking in Eau Rouge and Raidillon. The action should be spectacular, but don’t expect sunburn from that one.
Castroneves ties Indy wins record Hélio Castroneves achieved a record-tying fourth career Indianapolis 500 victory a fortnight ago. In a dramatic race, the 46-year-old Brazilian fought past youngster Álex Palou on the penultimate lap and then held on for the Honda-powered Meyer Shank Racing team. Castroneves was competing at Indy as a one-off, having left the Indycar Series for the IMSA Sportscar Championship back in 2017.
British Touring Car Rosberg team seals Championship race winner Extreme E double Senna Proctor will contest the Rosberg X Racing duo Johan remainder of the season with Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor the BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R squad, using the car made it two Extreme E wins that Dan Cammish drove in the from two events with victory in the final of the Ocean X Prix season opener. The 22-yearin Senegal. Their car survived old piloted a Hyundai i30 N a first-turn clash with the X44 Fastback for Excelr8 last year. team’s to take victory. Second went to Veloce Racing pairing Eriksson fired up for Jamie Chadwick and Stéphane Formula E’s Dragon Sarrazin, who were unable to Former BMW works driver Joel compete in the Saudi Arabia Eriksson will make his Formula E opener after a qualifying clash.
Audi signs all-star trio for Dakar Rally entry
BRX’s superminibased supercars are amazingly powerful
Proctor gets a Honda
Audi has signed an all-star lineup for its assault on the Dakar Rally in 2022, with 14-time winner Stéphane Peterhansel, three-time winner Carlos Sainz and long-time Ingolstadt works driver and former World Rallycross champion Mattias Ekström. The three men will be responsible for development of Audi’s new rallying 4x4, which will be driven on electric power from batteries recharged by a turbocharged petrol engine.
debut with Dragon Penske in the double-header in Puebla, Mexico, on 19-20 June. The 22year-old is standing in for Nico Müller, who will miss the event due to a clashing DTM round.
W Series returns to Channel 4 schedule
The female-only W Series of Formula 3 cars will again be broadcast live on Channel 4 in the UK, with F1 residents Alex Jacques and David Coulthard calling the races. The season will start on 26 June in Austria.
W Series will have nine races as it travels with F1
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WRC SCENE
Back in the WRC – at age 91 Safari is now shorter than Zasada recalls but still very tough
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1966 European rally champ is returning to top-tier action in Kenya
ardinia was a blast, but next it’s on to probably the most anticipated rally of them all: the Safari. For a while, the World Rally Championship’s visit to Africa seemed in doubt, but now it’s going ahead from 24-27 June, with 58 crews entered. The one we will be looking out for is #36, a Ford Fiesta Rally3. Its driver is Sobieslaw Zasada, who will smash the record for the oldest driver to start a WRC event – aged 91. Yes, you read that correctly. Less than a decade from his 100th birthday, the three-time European champion is about to take on the toughest rally in the world. He has plenty of experience, having contested the Safari eight times before – including a second-place finish
HOW IT WORKS
in 1972 at the wheel of a Porsche 911 S, behind Hannu Mikkola. His most recent entry was in 1997, when, already well into his 60s, he finished 12th in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III. Zasada had actually planned to tackle the Safari last year, but Covid got in the way. And don’t think for a minute that he plans to just potter around. “I’m really curious to see what rallies are like today, compared with the ones that I remember from half a century ago,” he says. “The Safari is my youth, and I still miss it – which is why I’m going back. I know I can do it, as I train a lot and I’m still in good physical condition.” Although the Safari is more of a sprint than a marathon
The Supercar class in British Rallycross
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asa a says e s s
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these days, nothing can trump experience. And while he’s surely not going to beat Björn Waldegård’s record of becoming the oldest overall WRC event winner (the Swede won the 1990 Safari aged 46), Zasada has a chance of becoming the oldest class winner by quite a margin, at almost exactly double
MOTORSPORT GREATS
HELIO CASTRONEVES
aldegård’s record age. If Zasada can do that, e would like to start a ampaign to enter him into ext year’s Junior WRC, hich also uses the Fiesta. ow about it, M-Sport? However, he will face ome strong opposition rom local drivers in the lass. In terms of sheer ambition, it’s hard to look beyond #49, driven by McRae Kimathi. He has a lot to live up to, as does the driver of #50, Evans Kavisi. It just goes to show that in Kenya, rally drivers are true heroes, with the Safari one of the last great adventures. But perhaps none is more heroic than the quietly spoken Pole who refuses to retire. ANTHONY PEACOCK
ALEJANDRO AGAG
MOTORSPORT
MOTORSPORT HERO
Formula E’s founder has confirmed his visionary status with a new venture that’s set to tackle climate change. Damien Smith meets him
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lejandro Agag hasn’t always been taken seriously in motor racing circles. Cynics were quick to scoff when this ex-politician and Spanish businessman founded Formula E, then launched the electric single-seater series in 2014. “When Alejandro first presented Formula E years ago, I laughed – and I was wrong,” admits McLaren Racing chief and Extreme E team co-owner Zak Brown. “He’s a real visionary and I wish more people in racing were as
commercially focused as he is. We’re in sports and entertainment, but the majority of motorsport starts with the question: ‘What are we going to do technically? By the way, I hope it works commercially.’ Alejandro decides what he wants commercially, then works out technically how he can do it. He has a balance other racing series could learn from.” Agag has come a long way since the early days of Formula E, as Autocar’s crowning of him as our Motorsport Hero award winner for 2021 attests.
I like ❝people criticising me. I have my own ideas and I’m convinced by them ❞
Today, having overseen Formula E’s growth into a full-blown FIA world championship featuring seven of the world’s major car makers, he has switched focus to his new baby. Extreme E is another pioneering series for EVs, this time for offroad SUVs, built around the twin pillars of combating climate change and promoting gender equality. Motorsport with a social conscience? Agag is an easy target for critics, but he doesn’t care. In fact, he feeds off the barbs they love to throw at him.
“I love it. I really like people criticising me,” he grins as we talk in a tent pod in the middle of the Al-’Ula desert in Saudi Arabia, in the midst of Extreme E’s fraught but ultimately successful debut event. “Criticism gives me motivation. I have my own ideas and I’m convinced by them. I respect others but I think mine are right! In this extreme adventure, I’m getting a lot of positive comments but also some more cynical – and I love them. They give me a great passion to prove others wrong.” ◊
Alejandro Agag is close to FIA president Jean Todt. Could he succeed his friend one day? “Extreme E is a great project and I’ve only just started, so I don’t want to go anywhere else at the moment,” he says. That’s not a ‘no’, then…
Formula E was derided at its conception but is now a big success
Extreme E off-road spectacle is tackling climate change and promoting gender equality Agag thrives on chaos, much like Formula 1’s TV rights in Spain just two other familiar motor racing in time to cash in on Fernando disruptors: Bernie Ecclestone Alonso’s double title glory, then later and ex-Benetton/Renault team he took over the Campos Racing chief Flavio Briatore, both former GP2 team. Among it all, he ended up associates the 50-year-old Agag (an unpopular) chairman of Queens admits have been an inspiration. Park Rangers after buying into Spot Ecclestone in his natural the football club with Ecclestone, environment during his Formula 1 Briatore and Lakshmi Mittal, then prime and he’d be darting in and out he founded Formula E with business of paddock motorhomes “fighting partner Enrique Bañuelos. Life has fires”, as he put it. Agag is the same. been a whirlwind. But he doesn’t “That’s where I feel comfortable, sound much like an eco-warrior. when there are problems,” he rattles “I don’t see myself as a saint – I’m off in his trademark machine-gun a businessman,” he confirms. “But delivery. “That’s where I operate I love businessmen that do good at better. When everything is normal… the same time.” Look, I’m clearly not a day-to-day So where did the climate change manager. So that’s why I want to ‘activist’ spring from? The short start new things.” answer is a place of pragmatic Agag was born in Madrid in 1970 opportunism. “The inspiration and enjoyed one of those othercame from a sponsor that didn’t worldly privileged international want to sign a contract in F1 for upbringings in his birth city, Paris environmental reasons,” he says. “I and New York. He is uent in was working on a deal with Bernie for English, Spanish, French and Italian, a sponsor for the race in Barcelona. and his political rise was astonishing We were almost there and then t following university. He was personal said: ‘We are not going to do it, assistant to the Spanish prime look at the trail of emails.’ People minister at 25. In 1999, at 28, he within the company wanted a became the youngest Spaniard to win sport that had sustainability, a seat in the European Parliament, that was ‘green’. That was the but he quit politics in 2001 and dived turning point, to say we have into business, including motorsport. an opportunity rather than a As partner with Briatore, he bought problem, that we could make
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contribution. That was out 15 years ago.” Just because the initial trigger as economic (and there’s othing wrong with that), don’t hink Agag is insincere about bition to make a positive impact on climate change. The Extreme E ‘legacy’ programme he’s created to justify the choice of remote and environmentally vulnerable locations needs refining, but it is early days. Face to face, he sounds almost evangelical on the subject. “I would like to create a great entertainment product, a great race at its heart, then I’d like its impact to be real on the climate action side,” he says. “I want this to be a real contributor to climate action, to take on real projects, to involve as many people as possible. I want Extreme E
MOTORSPORT
Agag says he was personally the first investor in Extreme E, then attracted “Chinese sports fans who had already invested in Formula E”. A ballpark figure on investment so far? He claims €40 million (£35m), but it looks like a great deal more.
AUDI AND BMW PULLING OUT OF FORMULA E
JUSTIFYING RACING IN SAUDI ARABIA
HIS DEFENCE OF WORKING WITH OIL COMPANIES
to be an agent to bring companies together to work on climate action.” He has invested heavily in EVs but openly accepts battery technology alone will not solve the world’s crisis. “I’m convinced the solution will be a combination of technologies,” he says. “I think EVs are great and we are pushing them, but they are not everything. They are clearly the best solution for cities [it’s why Formula E takes place on pop-up street circuits]. Hydrogen is very interesting. E-fuels I’m still not convinced by, but I’m open to be convinced. They work for motorsport, but I’m not sure they work for road cars. The question I ask is: ‘What if I put e-fuel into a car eet today?’ If you have a new engine, fine, but in a current engine, you still get emissions. You still get particulates and NOx, which is a big problem.”
He has a funny, pertinent analogy on e-fuels based around one of his own bad habits: “If you have solar or wind energy and that powers an electric car, that is zero emissions. But if you have solar energy to capture carbon [out of the atmosphere] and then you release that carbon back… it’s a weaker argument. People give me sh*t because I smoke cigars, that I’m emitting CO2 and I say, yeah, but the leaves of the tobacco plant I am
smoking have already absorbed the CO2 I’m emitting. A cigar is a cigar, a car in the city is a bit different.” Batteries carry big compromises, and Agag doesn’t hide from that. “Yes, they are produced from chemicals, that’s a fair point,” he says. “Batteries are not perfect. But the beauty of batteries is not only the reduction of emissions, which is very important, but also that electric cars operate [best] where people live, and that’s the key. If we clean the air of the
❝ to say we have The turni n g poi n t was an opportunity rather than a problem ❞
cities, we will be doing a huge service, because soon 80% of humans will live in cities. Only batteries can do it, because e-fuels still have emissions. That’s the compromise. The positive outweighs the negative effect of the chemicals used to make the batteries.” There’s that pragmatist again. We need idealists to educate and spread the word on climate change, but in the real world business leaders will make the biggest and most lasting impact – because they can, and increasingly because they have to. Agag works in the relatively minor corner that is motorsport, but he’s building an entertainment empire around new technologies and showcasing that they can offer spectacular action. He is making a difference. And if you don’t like it? He won’t lose sleep. Who’s laughing now? L 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 105
LETTER OF THE WEEK
Ken Christian worries over EV range being much worse in winter (12 May). In my BMW i3, the range displayed is based on recent driving history, and this will be the range you get if you continue the same driving programme. If you’ve been doing lots of short shopping trips from cold, you use a disproportionate amount of battery to heat up the car. If you continue doing short journeys, it doesn’t matter if your range is only 20 miles. The reality is that on longer journeys, you get much more. Last winter, my i3 was showing 95 miles when fully charged as opposed to the expected 120 miles. We drove 25 easy miles (50mph limit most of the way) and on arrival the car was showing 98 miles of range. So that’s 123 miles of actual winter range. Recently, we headed south down the M6 with an outside temperature of -2deg C and all systems on. After charging up at Stafford services, we had 120 miles of range at 95% charge and an outside temperature of 0deg C.
Dacia experience disappointed Richard are retired, low-mileage drivers, and this seemed to be the well-equipped small car that we were looking for. Following our order, I read many reviews of RHD cars in the UK. A few weeks later, I browsed the brochure online and noticed the Comfort was no longer listed as having sat-nav. It had also lost two speakers, and there was no mention of heated mirrors. On collecting our car, I mentioned these changes to the sales controller, who was rather of and about it (“oh, just use your phone app instead”) and had no idea if our car had satnav et al. It became clear during the andover that it was equipped as er the original brochure and all the ress reviews. He then told us that we ere ‘lucky’, as he expected the next ars delivered would be ‘new-spec’. I find it incredible that a car maker an reduce a spec but not the list price nd not tell its existing or potential ustomers of the negative changes. As an aside, my first impressions of the Sandero are very positive – better than my view of Dacia and its agents!
John Pendlebury Via email
I have a 2015 Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupé that I love to bits. On this car, the dreaded lane-keeping assistance (LKA) can be disabled for as long as you want by simply switching it off once when you first drive, and that’s that: you can happily forget all about it. If the next owner wants to, they can switch it back on. I have no complaints with this. Now the contrast with a newer Mercedes-Benz. I also have a 2019 A220, in which the dreaded LKA is automatically reinstated every time you go to drive. The deactivation is a cumbersome process. One has first to depress one of the buttons on the centre console. This brings up the relevant screen displaying various vehicle features, including the L thing. It can then be deactivated either by touching the screen or operating the infotainmentcontrolling touchpad on the centre console – both equally awkward.
Ronald’s 2015 S63 puts him in charge
Richard Wilkin Via email
This pantomime has to be repeated upon every start-up and, to add insult to injury, a permanent ‘nanny’ warning message and symbol are displayed in the instrument screen to indicate that the L is switched off! Piers Ward recently reported that he had a near-miss with a cat due to the LKA on his BMW 4 Series (Our Cars, 5 May). I know of several other drivers who have had close shaves due to the wheel being dangerously tugged out of their control.
I see that Renault is using the term E-Tech for its electrified cars (News, 12 May). An important ingredient of the Renault brand is its Frenchness. Not only does E-Tech look and sound global and unemotional but also, like the nomenclature of so many other electrified vehicles, uses the letter E in a non-standout way. Something like Tronique would tick all the boxes.
Euro NCAP has demanded that L default to on since 2017. It also dictates “deactivation shouldn’t be possible with a momentary single button push” – KC
In February, I ordered a new Sandero Comfort from our local Dacia dealer in Kettering, based on the excellent reviews it had received. My wife and I
Ronald McKellar Via email
106 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
It was good to see a proper Morris Oxford in Clash of the Classifieds (19 May). When I was small, my engineer father briefly had use of a dark-grey company one with a red leather interior to chauffeur two
Rodger Williams Ringwood, Hampshire
LETTERS
visitors from Ljubljana University. So inspired was he that his inherited Ford Prefect (which regularly took John Cleese-style thrashings) was quickly replaced with a three-on-thetree Austin Westminster in two-tone grey with a matching leather interior and overdrive, capable of the ton on the A23 downhill to Pease Pottage.
The original car magazine, published since 1895 ‘in the interests of the mechanically propelled road carriage’
Patrick Hogan Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
I’m a MEng Aerospace Engineering student at Nottingham University wanting to make a big impact in the world of motorsport. I’m looking for a summer job within motorsport and am willing to do whatever is required. I’m hugely passionate about my career aims and well versed in my subject choice. I got through to the final stages in various Formula 1 internship applications but lacked technical experience for that final step. I’m not worried about money or location – just a roof over my head and a chance to absorb the experience of technical minds involved in making racing cars as quick and safe as possible is more than payment enough. Any interest would be very gratefully received. Blake Kuhlmann Nottingham
Following your interview with sim racer Jimmy Broadbent (19 May), I would recommend to other readers a YouTube channel called GPLaps, run by an American sim-racing enthusiast who’s passionate about historic motorsport. He ‘drives’ old cars at places that many of us will remember from our youth, and some even older, while giving commentary about the tracks’ history, how to drive them and how the cars want to be driven. It was a real treat to go on board in an Auto Union Type C at a beautifully recreated 1937 Donington Park (with a corner between two farm houses!), take part in the 1923 French Grand Prix, discover the old Tripoli circuit, experience the terrifying red-brick banking at Avus and enjoy superb 1960s single-seater races at Pau and the old Nürburgring Südschleife, just to name a few of my favourites. Andy Turner Via email
McLaren 12C vs BMW M3 CSL
We explore depreciation and appreciation and what happens when two very different used cars cross at the same price point
Freedom special!
As we near 21 June, we reveal how you should fil your motoring summer
Honda Civic Type R
In the market for a hot Honda? Top choice. Here’s what to look out for
© 2021, Haymarket Media Group Ltd. Autocar, Motor, Autocar & Motor are registered trademarks. Circulation enquiries: Frontline Ltd, 1st Floor, Stuart House, St John’s Street, Peterborough PE1 5DD (01733 555161). Printed by William Gibbons, Wolverhampton. Registered as a newspaper with the Royal Mail. Member of the ABC. ISSN 1355-8293. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form except by permission. The publisher makes every effort to ensure contents are correct but cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Unsolicited material is submitted to Autocar entirely at the owner’s risk; the publisher accepts no responsibility for loss or damage. With regret, competitions and promotional offers, unless otherwise stated, are not available to readers outside the UK and Eire.
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Toyota Mirai
Toyota’s second crack at a hydrogen fuel cell car: has the tech moved on?
Genesis G80
Hyundai launches its premium brand in the UK with an executive saloon
EDITORIAL Email autocar@haymarket.com Editor Mark Tisshaw Editorial director, Automotive Jim Holder Editor-in-chief Steve Cropley Executive editors James Attwood, Rachel Burgess Associate editor Piers Ward Managing editor Sami Shah Editor-at-large Matt Prior Deputy digital editor Tom Morgan Road test editor Matt Saunders Road tester Richard Lane News editor Felix Page Staff writer Jack Warrick Junior reporter Will Trinkwon Used cars editor Mark Pearson Chief sub-editor Kris Culmer Group art editor Stephen Hopkins A editor Sarah Özgül Designer Rebecca Stevens Prepress manager Darren Jones Senior photographer Luc Lacey Photographer Olgun Kordal Junior photographer Max Edleston Videographers Tej Bhola, Mina Fakhouri SEO manager Jon Cook Picture editor Ben Summerell-Youde EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS European editor Greg Kable Used car correspondent James Ruppert Senior contributing writer Andrew Frankel Senior contributing editor Richard Bremner Contributing editor Mike Duff Motorsport editor Damien Smith Senior consulting editor Tom Evans Special correspondents Mauro Calo, Jesse Crosse, James Disdale, John Evans, Colin Goodwin, Hilton Holloway, Julian Rendell, Richard Webber Special contributors Max Adams, John Bradshaw, Claire Evans, Kiall Garrett, Giles Harper, John Howell, Steve Huntingford, Jack Johnson, Peter Liddiard, Darren Moss, Allan Muir, Will Nightingale, Doug Revolta, Louis Shaw, Alan Taylor-Jones, Will Williams, Neil Winn, Oliver Young MEDIA ENQUIRIES Tel +44 (0)20 8541 3434 Contact Natasha Perry (natasha@performancecomms.com) SUBSCRIPTIONS Tel 0344 848 8816 Overseas +44 (0)1604 251450 Email help@autocar.themagazineshop.com Contact Holly Skingle (subscriptions.team@haymarket.com) SYNDICATION ENQUIRIES Tel +44 (0)1962 867705 Contact Simon Fox (simon@foxsyndication.com) LICENSING ENQUIRIES Tel +44 (0)20 8267 5024 Contact Isla Friend (isla.friend@haymarket.com) BACK ISSUES Tel 0344 848 8816 Email help@autocar.themagazineshop.com ADVERTISING Classified +44 (0)20 8267 5365 Display +44 (0)20 8267 5541 Production +44 (0)20 8267 5814 Fax +44 (0)20 8267 5312 Director of sales and commercial partnerships Kate Hannam Sales manager James Hunter PRODUCTION Tel +44 (0)20 8267 5561 Head of production operations Trevor Simpson Senior production controller Lee Brister MANAGEMENT Managing director Rachael Prasher Marketing director Darren Pitt Publisher Charlene Harry Publishing and events executive Lydia Banton
CITROEN C5 AIRCROSS
Would we recommend this family SUV to those looking for a practical PHEV?
more important through the lens of
WHY WE RAN IT the typical buyer right now. To see if there’s more to this funky plugThat’s because SUVs are the cars in SUV than a tax-friendly CO2 rating in by far the greatest demand, while
here have been a hell of a lot of rsts within the car world in recent years, and the deluge shows no sign of slowing. The C5 Aircross PHEV was one of them, arriving last year as Citroën’s rst plug-in hybrid – and already the French firm has followed it up with another: its first mainstream electric car, the ë-C4. The ë-C4 will probably come to be viewed as much more of a landmark in Citroën’s long history, but I would argue that the C5 PHEV is probably 108 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
PHEVs are a more secure stepping stone into the future than EVs. Plus, they incur similarly low VED and BIK tax bills, thanks to their unbelievably high official fuel economy and low CO2 emissions figures. ‘Unbelievably high’ sounds quite strong, but the C5 PHEV officially should achieve as much as 222.3mpg. In its time with ex-road tester Simon Davis and then with me, it returned an average of 64.1mpg. That’s a more realistic figure for most people, because we weren’t able to charge the 13.2kWh battery especially regularly,
Laid-back driving experience was a mixed bag
due to our living circumstances. Mind you, had I been able to charge the battery at home, I reckon I could have chased the ‘unbelievable’ figure, because I only ever drive in town these days – and there are plenty more people who would get much better returns, if not quite 222mpg. When there was some charge in its battery, I found that the C5 operated slickly as a mock EV, being whisperquiet and as nippy as some full EVs. Plus, its regenerative braking was very strong in B mode, allowing me to eke out that energy. Back in the depths of winter, Davis was managing only around 17 miles in EV mode from an official 33, but I estimate that I got into the mid-20s
at a minimum in the warmer weeks. That’s decent, although there are more efficient PHEVs, plus some (pricier ones) with bigger batteries and thus longer electric ranges. If you have to pay £8 to top up the battery streetside, as Davis did in London (no surprise there), it’s probably not even worth it – and that’s troubling. But there are definitely cheaper public plugs to be found, and charging at home (if you can) overnight is a no-brainer. Aside from the practicalities and economies of the powertrain, I must confess that although I found the C5 PHEV pleasant to drive at first, its shortcomings became ever more noticeable as time went by.
TEST DATA
All the gear for filming Autocar videos fitted
LOVE IT
MILEAGE PRICES OPTIONS FUEL CONSUMPTION AND RANGE
It’s not 4WD, butr countryside neve worried this SUV
TECH HIGHLIGHTS
SERVICE AND RUNNING COSTS
Rear passenge liked sliding seatrss and plentiful space
SECOND OPINION
Most significantly, the primary reason why I couldn’t see eye to eye with my C4 Cactus a few years ago hasn’t fully been remedied. Citroën’s main point of brand distinction is meant to be supreme comfort. It even names the hydraulic bump stops in its otherwise regular EMP2-platform suspension ‘Advanced Comfort’. I’m sorry, but that’s a misnomer. The C5 has a very relaxed gait, but at times you feel as though you’re in a boat, and it makes you wince as it shudders across broken asphalt and thumps over potholes. Comments from rear seat passengers certainly weren’t anything about a magic carpet ride. Of course, the ipside of a focus on ride is usually that the handling
isn’t remotely sporty, and so it wasn’t here. The inclusion of a driving mode labelled ‘Sport’ in a car whose tyres squeal if you attack a roundabout at more than 20mph, which tones your abs when cornering and which enthusiastically nods if you brake sharply is an amusing little joke, even if the C5 PHEV can pull off surprisingly rapid acceleration. And that’s not to mention the fact that the automatic gearbox is often about as quick to pick a gear as the government is to shut our borders when a new Covid variant emerges. These gripes are unfortunate, because the C5 is otherwise a comfy car. It’s particularly spacious, the seats are large and well padded and there are three of them in the back – no little lump in the middle. The boot is big, too, and it contains a number of smart little containers in its oor for keeping your groceries in place. The touchscreen proved easy to operate and never once glitched out, in stark contrast to the utterly confounding one in my previous car, a Seat Leon. It’s just a shame that it also makes you adjust the air-con on the screen – even more so when there actually are some physical buttons.
DEPRECIATION
40 £36,845 30
)s0001£( eulaV
It operated slickly as a mock EV, being whisper-quiet and as❞nippy as some full EVs
20
£13,200
LOATHE IT
10
0 New
1 year
2 years
3 years
PREVIOUS REPORTS
Also of note is the interior: I’m fond of Citroën’s cabin designs, because they don’t chase the zeitgeist. In the C5, the ‘chocolate bar’ appearance of the seats is very welcoming, and the interesting variety of shapes on the dashboard and doors creates interest. I see quite a few C5s on the roads, and I’d love to know how many of them are PHEVs. Because while I’d pick a petrol, I can see how the hybrid would be ace for certain drivers. Mind you, I imagine that it will be picked primarily from the angle of ‘I want a C5’ rather than ‘I want a taxbuster’, given that there are PHEVs out there that are sharper to drive and/or make greater use of electricity. KRIS CULMER
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FORD FOCUS ST
Run-in with a quick Skoda helps put our hot hatch into context, for better and worse WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if it’s good enough to be a credible fast Ford hatchback flagship
ur Focus ST has only recently swapped the Wye Valley for the Surrey commuter belt, but it had an impromptu homecoming this week when I was asked to assist on a group test in the Brecon Beacons. It was the first proper bit of longdistance driving that I had managed since being handed the keys and an opportunity to see how it stacks up next to a Volkswagen Group rival. Near-constant rain on the outward journey meant being able to test the Slippery driving mode, which dials back the throttle mapping, ramps up the stability control and tames the electronic limited-slip differential. The ST still feels potent like this but stays impressively stable under a heavy right foot, which gives a lot
the ST is a hotter bet than the vRS of confidence on wet roads. Some torque steer remains, but not enough to wrench the wheel from your grip. Being able to toggle between driving modes with a button on the steering wheel means not having to take your eyes off the road, and the digital dashboard makes it obvious which one you’ve selected. That should ensure that you don’t accidentally engage Track when looking for Slippery – which would strip back the stability controls, rather than turn them up. Having a separate button dedicated to Sport mode is great, but it would be nice if pressing it a second time took you back to whichever mode you were in previously. In the dry, I’m torn between the sharper throttle response and louder exhaust note of Sport and the lighter steering
saloon than a traditional hot hatch. The Skoda offers a more sedate riving experience, too, with a softer ide and lighter steering, along with ess aggressively bolstered front eats. The Volkswagen Group’s amiliar EA888 2.0-litre engine s also more economical than the .3-litre Ecoboost, having managed motorway MPG figure in the low0s, whereas the Ford got 32mpg at est. For those frequently doing long ourneys, it would be easier to live ith the Octavia than the Focus – lthough not nearly as exciting. The Skoda is down on power by ome 30bhp compared with the ST, and the EA888 isn’t nearly as and softer dampers of Normal, sonorous as the Ecoboost. Both also so I frequently jump between the have synthesised exhaust notes that get louder in the sportier modes, but two. It’s a real shame that there’s Ford’s sounds more authentic. no custom mode here, as with the The ST is ultimately more Hyundai i30 N, but I guess that would be a little too much complexity entertaining, which should be near for what’s arguably one of the most the top of any prospective hot hatch straightforward hot hatches on sale. owner’s priority list. Also, you can’t It’s also one of the more practical have one in orange, which in my book ones, with a decent boot and plenty automatically gives the win to the ST. of room for rear passengers. I’ve even TOM MORGAN been able to fit in a commercial Euro TEST DATA pallet with the seats folded down. Still, for sheer breadth of ability, it’s hard to argue with the Skoda Octavia vRS that was waiting for me in Wales. It has nearly twice the boot space of the Focus ST and feels much roomier in the back – although when parking the pair nose to nose, it had never been clearer to me that the Octavia vRS is more a junior performance 9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 111
VOLVO XC60
Is its PHEV set-up a double act or soloists performing together?
So far in previous updates, we’ve discussed how big it feels (mid-size WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT is how its maker describes it, but To see if Netflix-style subscriptions such it’s wider than the original XC90, as Care by Volvo provide a blueprint for which shows just how big all cars – the way cars are ‘bought’ in the future not just Volvos – are getting); and how its electric-only range is hovering around 20 miles, even in ONCE YOUR VOLVO has been delivered to you by the Care by Volvo warmer weather – some way short in team and there’s no service or dealer percentage terms of the claimed 27. visit on the horizon, the experience of That’s not atypical of other plugliving with the car is just like that of in hybrids, but what happens when those who’ve acquired theirs by any that EV range expires is where the XC60 T8 diverges slightly. The other more traditional method.
Petrol and electric power sources could do with mediation
electric motor powers the rear wheels and a 314bhp, 295lb ft turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-litre petrol engine powers the front wheels. Put too much force through your right foot when there’s still some electricity left and that powerful engine cuts in with all the subtlety of a squeaky tannoy system with about 50% more power than you actually need. Run the battery at and the engine is much more sedate and progressive in its power delivery, just as the car is smooth, quiet and calm when running on electric power. Put them together, though, and they’re like a pair of naughty children who’ve had too much pop, which goes to show the challenges in getting two propulsions systems to work together. MARK TISSHAW
TEST DATA
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
Paradoxically, it can be easy to knock a car as good as this WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if the Mk8 Golf remains the world’s most rounded family hatch
ONE OF THE challenges of running a Volkswagen Golf long-termer is that there are certain traits you simply take for granted; things you just assume and accept that a Golf does well. That can cause two problems: it’s more noticeable when it falls in anyway short of those standards (see the Mk8’s touchscreen) and it’s easy to overlook the things it’s very good at. So a few recent work trips have given me the chance to offer praise where it’s due and highlight just how pleasing the Golf’s drive and handling are. Now, don’t mistake that for it being a hyper-handling hot hatch. Although the Mk8 is sharper than its predecessors in many ways, you wouldn’t mistake our machine for its GTI or R siblings. But it’s pleasingly direct, responsive and refined, capable of offering enough engagement to raise a smile on the right sort of road, without requiring
much compromise to practicality and comfort elsewhere. Which, for an everyday family hatchback, is a balance that I will happily accept. There’s another benefit, too: with our eTSI engine now well run in and some adjustment to my driving style, the average fuel economy is creeping up nicely. I’ve got it to around 47mpg – a decent effort for this sort of car. JAMES ATTWOOD
TEST DATA
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SRAC DESU
James Ruppert Renault Mégane is the most likely car to fail its first MOT test
FALLING AT THE FIRST HURDLE
Maybe we should avoid the most prolific first-time MOT failers
H
ere’s a two-part story that I will deliver in reverse order. That’s because every year, I get involved in a bit of real-life datamining from various MOT testing centres around the UK. It shines an inspection lamp on which cars failed their first MOT test, just three years after they were originally registered. It’s always great to see statistics that are based on real results and, in my experience, the MOT test doesn’t lie. The Renault Mégane isn’t aspirational but a budget choice, and that partly explains its poor performance; and that’s even more true of its distant cousin, the Dacia Sandero. With an eye-widening 23% failure rate putting the Mégane at the very bottom of the pile, is it worth buying a middle-order Renault? Probably not, but I was still drawn to a 2000 Mégane 1.6 RT with 80,000 miles at £395 with a full MOT. Three previous owners, petrol power and a manual gearbox: perfect. I really should be looking at a more recent model, though, so how about a 2018 1.5 dCi Sport Tourer Dynamique? That’s a diesel estate in English. At 35,000 miles with a full history and, most importantly, an MOT, it will cost you £9995 and officially deliver a whopping 76mpg combined. It’s practical, smart and ready for work. And that brings us to the Sandero, which is almost the epitome of the cheap and cheaply made cars that fail more often. It sounds like a cliché, but owners of cars built to a price expect
them to go the extra mile. It’s always better to shop at a dealer for one that has been fully checked and prepared. With that in mind, I came across a 2018 Sandero 1.0 SCe with 15,000 miles and a pukka warranty from a main dealer at £6300. That’s a petrol runabout that should exceed 50mpg. Hard-used vehicles are the ones that can suffer at MOT time. This explains why medium and large people-carriers, such as the Seat Alhambra (with a 21% first-time
❝ In my experi ence, the MOT test doesn’❞ t lie
failure rate) and the Ford Galaxy (19%) show up on the naughty list. What surprised me was also seeing the Volkswagen Touran MPV (21.7%) and the Volkswagen Scirocco coupé (19.6%) listed. Indeed, the Touran was a miserable second-worst. There does seem to have been a real dip in build quality from certain German manufacturers. Whereas it’s almost expected to see Renaults (the Clio has an 18.5% failure rate) and Citroëns (the C4 Grand Picasso scored 19.9% and the C3 18.3%) in the bottom 10, most wouldn’t expect to see any mainstream Volkswagens. What we can learn from all this is to shop carefully. There are lots of marginal cars out there, and our ability to check any car’s record on the web can save us a wasted trip. So next time, make sure to examine the list of prolific first-time failures.
Simple homework can save you the bother of all this
TALES FROM RUPPERT’S GARAGE
READER’S RIDE
It was great to hear from Andrew, who says: “As winter approached, I was keen to get into a nice warm car with heated seats. I had always quite liked the Volvo C30 and after a couple of weeks searching found myself arranging a deal with a garage in Nottingham to buy a 70,000-mile 2008 example. It was only a 1.6-litre petrol but was in very nice condition and well specced, plus it had the all-important working heated seats.
“The dealer agreed to replace the worn lower suspension arm bushes (a common issue; I heard the telltale knocking on the test drive) and put 12 months MOT into the deal. A few days later, I was driving it back up the M1. I’ve now had it for more than six months and 3000 miles and it has proven to be a very reliable (and warm) companion. It’s very easy to live with and feels well made. I plan on keeping it a bit longer yet.”
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Tel: 01455 882 885 www.beefregistrations.co.uk
HYUNDAI i30 N
USED CARS
AS GOOD AS NEW
This VW Golf GTI rival is keen value new and, says Mark Pearson, even better used
OUR TOP SPEC
N
ot too many years ago, a top- ight, thoughtfully engineered and seriously appealing Hyundai hot hatch would have been considered a ight of fancy, but in 2018 the Korean firm rocked perceived wisdom when it launched the i30 N, a sporting version of its smart but sensible i30 family hatchback. It worked, too. Hyundai’s Volkswagen Golf GTI chaser was deeply impressive and purposeful straight out of the box, with such driver’s delights as electronically controlled suspension, launch control, an automatic rev-matching function and an overboost facility to help with speedy overtaking. Under its stubby and attractive bonnet is a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that can be had in two avours: a standard 247bhp version and a 271bhp Performance variant that’s a fraction faster and gets upgraded brakes, stickier tyres and an electronic limited-slip differential that helps to meter out the power in tight corners. You also get an active exhaust on the
PERFORMANCE It’s our pick for its greater more powerful i30 N power and extra goodies such practical as its rivals, that sounds great and as 19in alloys, grippier tyres, because the boot is bigger brakes, electronic on the pokey side and even emits popping diff, electric seats and Performance versions sounds when you lift active exhaust. off the accelerator. have a (removable)
The handling is wonderfully composed, even on rough roads. Every i30 N has adaptive dampers that can be slackened to their most forgiving setting without compromising body control. Even a mid-corner ripple does little to alter the car’s stability. The steering is progressive in Comfort mode and builds weight in a linear manner, while the brakes are strong and give you confidence when tackling a challenging road. Aside from some purposefullooking sports seats, there’s little inside the i30 N to differentiate it from its lesser siblings, although at least the infotainment system is responsive and easy to navigate and all the controls are logically laid out and everything feels well built. It’s not quite as premium in its feel inside as the Golf GTI, but given that the i30 N costs less, you can forgive this. However, the i30 N isn’t as
chassis brace behind the rear seats that can be an obstruction when you fold the rear bench t. Rear passengers aren’t treated to quite the same amount of leg room as they are in the Honda Civic Type R, although head room is fine. Those up front will find plenty of room and the driver gets lots of adjustment in the seat and steering wheel. Electric seats are standard on the Performance, too. For those who don’t fancy a boxy hatch, there’s also a sleeker Fastback version, introduced in 2019, in the five-door coupé style. It’s worth noting that while the i30 N hatch is available in both forms, the Fastback comes in Performance guise only. Used prices are the same for all versions of the i30 N. You’ll need around £22,000 for a 2018 version, between £23,000 and £25,000 for a 2019 car and £25,000 to £27,000 for a 2020 one.
BMW M850i xDRIVE COUPE £6148 deposit, £1025 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year A straight-line mile-muncher that’s also happy to chow down on the odd technical B-road, this second-fromtop version of BMW’s reborn 8 Series could be all the M car you’ll ever need, even if the tetchy secondary ride leaves a little to be desired.
JAGUAR F-TYPE P450 R-DYNAMIC COUPE £4470 deposit, £745 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year Now that we know this will be the last V8 coupé Jaguar ever makes, it feels all the more special. Upgrades over the turbo four-pot model (apart from the sublime noise) include an electronic limited-slip differential and adaptive dampers.
PERFORMANCE
WILD CARD
FASTBACK
ONES WE FOUND
2018 Hyundai i30 N Performance, 10,000 miles, £23,999 2019 Hyundai i30 N, 30,000 miles, £22,000 2019 Hyundai i30 N Performance, 20,000 miles, £24,995 2019 Hyundai i30 N Performance Fastback, 4000 miles, £26,000 2021 Hyundai i30 N Performance, 400 miles, £27,995
FORD MUSTANG FASTBACK 5.0 GT AUTO £2964 deposit, £494 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year Hilariously misplaced it may feel on our quaint British roads, but the V8powered Mustang is one of the most characterful and endearing coupés on offer. There’s no turbo or hybrid trickery, though, so drink responsibly.
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LEXUS LC 500 COUPE £4044 deposit, £1348 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year Packing one of the two naturally aspirated V8s still on sale, this bruiser pairs luxury with brute force and doesn’t come up short dynamically. A recent update enlivened the auto ’box, improved the suspension and introduced some striking new colours.
NEED TO KNOW
Look at the tyres and find out how worn they are, whether they’re the correct size and if they’re the ones recommended by Hyundai. Performance versions use a specific Pirelli P Zero tyre that can be identified by an ‘HN’ marking on the sidewall. The standard 18in and Performance 19in alloy wheels can be susceptible to kerb damage if you’re not careful. In addition, they’re diamond cut, so they can take longer (and cost more) to repair than ordinary alloys. The i30 N hasn’t had any major concerns so far. Hyundai finished ninth out of 31 makers in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey.
BUY THEM BEFORE WE DO
Audi S1 Sportback Quattro £16,995 W
elcome to summer 2021. Not exactly balmy, is it? With Caterham Sevens and Lotus Elises still tucked up warm and snug in their garages, we need something more predictable and watertight for our B-road antics in the coming months. How about the S1? Packing the Volkswagen Group’s 2.0-litre EA888 turbo engine, this hot A1 arrived in 2014 as Audi’s answer to the Ford Fiesta ST and Volkswagen Polo GTI.
118 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
With a bespoke quattro four-wheel drive system, the S1 can put down its 228bhp effectively whatever the weather. And with 272lb ft of torque, it can hit 62mph in less than 6.0sec. There’s no sporting variant of the current second-generation A1, and it’s very rare for cars of this size to be equipped with such a complete four-wheel drive system. This fact, partnered with its high original launch price, means the S1 only looks all the more appealing today.
We’ve got our eye on this fivedoor S1 Sportback quattro in Competition trim and decked out in striking Misano Red. While the car’s infotainment system is now showing signs of its age, the interior quality is high and the original owner’s generosity with the options list means there’s cruise control, parking sensors and high-beam assistance. Plus you get the standard LED headlights, Bluetooth and climate control to play with.
This 2017-reg example has 46,000 miles on the clock, which is certainly nothing to worry about, especially as it comes with a full service history and has recently passed an MOT test. If you want supermini levels of urban manoeuvrability combined with the open-space amboyance of a full-sized hot hatchback, not to mention an upmarket interior and badge, then the S1 is really quite a compelling option. JACK WARRICK
£11,490
£8495
£7300
WILD CARD £27,995
USED CARS
ASH OF TH ASSIFIED
USED CAR DESK DOES BATTLE BRIEF
£3495
£4000
£7350
VERDICT
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NOBLE M12 HOW TO BUY A
Dramatic though it looks, the M12’s rear spoiler offered zero ground-effect benefit. It was added by Noble only as a marketing sop.
BRITAIN’S HALF-PRICE FERRARI
Leicestershire’s Noble M12 went down a storm when it was launched in 2001, and it stil offers a whole tonne of fun at affordable prices today, says Simon Hucknall
M
echanical complexity and expense mark out modern-day supercar ownership. But back in 2001, low-volume supremo Lee Noble launched his first eponymous model, the M12, which for the next five years held sway as not just a true Ferrari and Porsche rival but also one that didn’t break the bank to buy or to run. With an original starting price of £44,950, the M12 GTO came to market with a simple but effective recipe: a steel spaceframe chassis clad with a Le Mans-style glassfibre composite body; suspension by double wishbones all round; and power from a then relatively new all-alloy 2.5-litre Ford V6 (plucked initially from the Mondeo) twinturbocharged to produce 310bhp. 120 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
For a low-volume manufacturer, Noble achieved a high degree of production consistency, with fully trimmed rolling chassis supplied to its Leicestershire factory by South African firm High Tech Automotive. The Ford powertrain (infra dig to some but strong and thoroughly developed) was then fitted as part of final assembly. The first M12 GTOs received a warm welcome by press and public. With its trademark ‘Darth Vader in the boot’ soundtrack from its Garrett blowers, a 0-100mph time of just over 10sec and a 165mph top speed, it combined blistering performance with taught body control, strong grip and engaging handling. It was also surprisingly comfy on a long haul, with decent ergonomics
and noise insulation, as well as a relatively compliant ride quality. But the M12’s greater potential was obvious from the start, so in 2002, the GTO was replaced by the GTO-3, using the same Duratec unit but the 3.0-litre version from Ford’s Maverick off-roader. This increased peak output by 42bhp to 352bhp and brought a chunky increase in torque, reducing lag – but also banishing much of that signature turbo noise. However, the GTO-3 was a bit of a stopgap, as in 2003 it was superseded by the GTO-3R, which was sold until the end of M12 production in 2008. Identifiable by its faired-in headlights, the GTO-3R brought a slicker six-speed manual gearbox (the GTO and GTO-3 shared a weaker and more recalcitrant five-speeder)
driving through a Quaife automatic torque-biasing differential to deploy power more effectively to the rear. Then there was the pinnacle of M12 performance, the M400, its name representing the model’s horsepower per tonne. With 425bhp and a 0-60mph time down to 3.5sec, there were myriad technical changes: higher-lift cams, larger turbos, forged pistons and an oil cooler. Its chassis also gained Dynamics race dampers, a front anti-roll bar and Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres. An Alcantara-trimmed cabin and large side-pods for extra cooling are among the M400’s visual giveaways. It’s not our favourite version of the M12, though. Because as a hugely capable all-rounder, the GTO-3R hits the mark every time.
USED CARS HOW TO GET ONE IN YOUR GARAGE
Interior couldn’t be more basic; stereo is sited very awkwardly
AnMATTexpert’ s view WALTON,
BODYWORK The body is well made and strong but can be prone to ‘spider cracks’ around JETSTREAM MOTORSPORT “The M12 is pretty reliable with regular the clam-closure fixing screws and checks and maintenance. Some of our rear wing. Microblisters can appear in customers drive them every day, and hot conditions or if the car is stored in one has covered over 130,000 miles in a damp place; if either occurs, the only his from new, including track-day use, fix is a professional repair and repaint. and never had any major problems. ELECTRICS We recommend an annual service, These are fairly simple and troubleregardless of mileage. This includes everything from checking the hoses, free. High engine temperatures can oil and fuel lines, bushes and balljoints cause melting of the wiring’s protective coating, but this is preventable by to checking the bolts that hold the suspension together. We also change covering it with a heatproof sleeve. the oil and filter, spark plugs, fuel filter Moisture ingress can affect the fuse and relay blocks, which aren’t as well and auxiliary belts, bleed the brake fluid and clean out the K&N air filters. It sealed as in most mainstream cars. costs £555 – far less than an approved service for a Ferrari or Porsche.” Power upgrades are common. They generally start with adding more boost, GEARBOX a bigger intercooler and a hard-pipe Pre-GTO-3R models fitted with the kit. After that, a larger turbo, a freeropen diff and five-speed gearbox can flowing exhaust and an uprated fuel be problematic. This ’box is generally pump are needed to get up to 480bhp. weaker and can need rebuilding, especially if the car has done plenty of track work. Specialists like Jetstream replace the plastic cage bearings with £30,000-£34,999 steel ones and shot-peen and polish Early M12 GTOs. the gears to reduce imperfections. £35,000 -£41,999 ENGINE M12 GTO-3s in good condition. The M12’s engine is ‘bombproof’, according to Jetstream, with common £42,000-£53,999 faults restricted to just the exhaust More powerful M12 GTO-3Rs. manifolds being prone to cracking. Most will have been upgraded by £54,000 AND ABOVE now, but checking this is vital to avoid Hardcore M400s. the £940 cost of a stainless-steel replacement. Early M12s also came with a standard Ford sump; for spirited driving or even occasional track-day use, a more heavily baffled and largercapacity sump is recommended to avoid engine-wrecking oil surge. SUSPENSION AND BRAKES Due to the M12’s low weight (1050kg), its standard brakes and suspension generally have an easy life. But if you NOBLE M12 GTO-3R, 2004/ plan to take yours closer to its limits, 04-REG, 31K MILES, £46,250 Jetstream offers two coilover kits. The In very good condition, with a full first, at £1200, uses Gaz components, service history and a recent service, which retain the on-road compliance this five-owner car has just had a new but can be adjusted for faster driving. set of tyres and comes with 12 months’ The second, at just under £4000, was MOT. It’s almost standard, apart from developed for racing; it uses Bilstein an M400 shift mechanism and a remap damper units and Eibach RS springs. to raise power from 352bhp to 397bhp.
Buyer beware…
Also worth knowing How much to spend
It combined blistering❝performance with taut control, strong grip and engagi n g handl i n g ❞
One we found
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 121
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M12’s tail-lights aren’t its only bits from a Ford Mondeo
NEW CARS
TO
For full reviews of every car listed here, visit our website, autocar.co.uk ECONOMY EXPLAINED
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130 134 134 143 197
ALPINA
7.6 6.6 7.2 5.7 3.8
43.5 42.8 30.1 30.4 24.6
169-170 168 206-209 208 261
touring £66,665–£68,165 AAAAA B3Buchl4droe’saloon/5dr s take on 3 Series makes a case for being all the car you
could ever need. LxWxH 4620x1811x1430 Kerb weight 1865kg
3.0 BiTurbo 462 186-188 3.8-3.9 25.9 247 AAAAC B5 4dr saloon/5dr touring £95,000–£97,500
Is it the best alternative to an M5? Yes, at least from a practicality viewpoint. LxWxH 4956x1868x1466 Kerb weight 2015kg
4.4 V8 BiTurbo 599 200-205 3.5-3.7 23.5 272 AAAAC B7 4dr saloon £121,850
A 7 Series with a power boost gives BMW a worthy challenger to the AMG S-Classes. LxWxH 5250x1902x1491 Kerb weight 2060kg 4.4 V8 BiTurbo 599 205 4.2 D5 S 4dr saloon £64,355
24.4
3.0 BiTurbo XD3 5dr SUV £57,925
345 171
38.2
3.0 BiTurbo
330 158 4.9
264 AAAAC
The excellent 5 Series receives some Alpina tweaking to make it a bril iant cruiser. LxWxH 4956x1868x1466 Kerb weight 1870kg 4.9
192 AAAAC
Pleasant BMW SUV impressively enhanced with the usual Alpina toolkit. LxWxH 4732x1897x2015 Kerb weight 2015kg ALPINE
31.4
328
2dr coupé £48,990–£59,740 AAAAA A110 A much, much greater car and achievement than the sum of its
parts suggests. LxWxH 4180x1980x1252 Kerb weight 1080kg 1.8 Turbo 1.8 Turbo S
248 155 4.5 288 162 4.4 ARIEL
39.2 38.7
162 163
0dr open £39,950 AAAAB Atom Simple, purist concept remains but everything else has changed…
for the better. LxWxH 3520x1880x1122 Kerb weight 595kg CCCCC BCCCC ACCCC ABCCC
2.0 turbo
320 162 2.8
NA
NA
0dr open £38,000 AAAAA Nomad Well inside the top 10 list of our favourite cars. A revelation and a
riot to drive. LxWxH 3215x1850x1425 Kerb weight 670kg 2.4 K24 iVTEC
235 125 3.4
ASTON MARTIN
NA
NA
2dr coupé/2dr open £122,805–£127,005 AAAAB Vantage The faster, cleverer, more hardcore entrylevel Aston tops its
class. LxWxH 4465x1942x1273 Kerb weight 1630kg 4.0 V8
503 190-195 3.6-3.8 11.6
236
2dr coupé/2dr open £152,805–£165,130 AAAAA DB11 The stunning replacement for the already seductive DB9 is tyre
AACCC AABCC AAACC
shreddingly good. LxWxH 4739x2060x1279 Kerb weight 1875kg 4.0 V8 5.2 V12 AMR
503 187 4.0 10.8 230 630 208 3.7 13.4 265 DBS Superleggera 2dr coupé/open £231,730–£249,730 AAAAA
Effortlessly fast, intoxicating to drive: the big Aston is better than ever. LxWxH 4712x2146x1280 Kerb weight 1693kg
AAABC AAAAC
5.2 V12 DBX 5dr SUV £160,230
715 211
4.0 V8
550 181
3.7
13.5
306 AAAAB
Doesn’t try to be the biggest, fastest SUV, and may be all the more appealing for it. LxWxH 5039x1998x1680 Kerb weight 2245kg
AAAAB AAAAA
AUDI
4.5
19.7
269
5dr hatch £18,920–£31,760 AAABC A1QuitSportback e pricey, but a rounded car with plenty of rational appeal.
LxWxH 4029x1746x1418 Kerb weight 1105kg 1.0 25 TFSI 1.0 30 TFSI 1.5 35 TFSI 2.0 40 TFSI
94 118 10.8 48.7-50.4 128-133 114 126 9.5 46.3-51.4 124-139 148 137 7.7 44.1-44.8 142-145 LxWxH 3657x1627x1485 Kerb weight 1070kg 197 146 6.5 40.4 158 1.4 Tjet 145 143 130 7.8 38.7-39.2 162-164 1.4 Tjet 165 Turismo AAAAC 162 135 7.3 37.7-38.2 161-166 A3 Sportback 5dr hatch £23,300–£50,310 1.4 T et 180 Com zione 177 140 6.9 36.7 171 All the above but with the added convenience of a usefully larger 1.4 Tjet 180 Essesse 177 140 6.7 36.7 171 boot. LxWxH 4313x1785x1426 Kerb weight 1180kg 1.0 30 TFSI 114 128 9.9 48.7-52.3 124-132 3dr hatch/2dr open £30,650 AAABC 1.5 35 TFSI 695 148 137 8.2 44.8-48.7 132-142 A convincing trackday 500 with decent dynamic ability, but overly 2.0 TFSI RS3 quattro 394 155 4.1 29.7 214-216 irm ride spoils it. LxWxH 3657x1627x1485 Kerb weight 1045kg 1.6 30 TDI 114 126 10.4 61.4-68.7 111-119 1.4 T et 180 Rivale 1.5 35 TDI 177 140 6.7 36.2-36.7 171 148 135 8.1 56.5-61.4 119-131 ALFA ROMEO 4dr saloon £25,265–£51,310 AAAAC A3 Saloon 4dr saloon £34,995–£67,995 AAAAB Undercuts the case to own an A4. Upmarket interior and good to Giulia Handsome and special dynamically but lacks inesse and comes drive. LxWxH 4458x1796x1416 Kerb weight 1240kg as an auto only. LxWxH 4643x1860x1436 Kerb weight 1429kg 1.0 30 TFSI 114 131 9.9 50.4-52.3 123-128 2.0 Turbo Petrol 200 197 146 6.6 36.2 176-184 1.5 35 TFSI 148 139 8.2 46.3-48.7 132-139 2.0 Turbo Petrol 280 2.0 TFSI RS3 quattro 276 149 5.7 33.6 195 394 155 4.1 29.7-30.1 213-214 2.2 Turbo Diesel 160 1.6 30 TDI 158 137 8.2 53.3 135 114 131 10.4 64.2-67.3 137-143 2.2 Turbo Diesel 190 1.5 35 TDI 187 143 7.1 52.3 143 144 150 8.4 57.6-61.4 120-127 2.9 BiTurbo Quadrifoglio 503 191 3.9 28.5 230 ABARTH
3dr hatch/2dr open £17,310–£28,440 AAABC 595 The Fiat 500’s Abarth makeover makes it a true pocket rocket.
122 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
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5dr SUV £41,255–£73,995 AAAAB A4 4dr saloon £30,835–£58,025 AAAAC Stelvio Alfa’s irst SUV is a solid effort. Choosing the petrol version gives it High quality and competent but leaves the dynamic inesse to its charisma. LxWxH 4687x1903x1671 Kerb weight 1604kg rivals. LxWxH 4726x1842x1427 Kerb weight 1320kg 2.2 Turbo Diesel 190 2.0 35 TFSI 187 130 7.6 45.6 159 148 139 8.6 40.9-46.3 140-157 2.2 Turbo Diesel 190 Q4 AWD 187 2.2 Turbo Diesel 210 Q4 AWD 207 2.0 Turbo 200 Q4 AWD 197 2.0 Turbo 280 Q4 AWD 276 2.9 BiTurbo Quadrifoglio 503
STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED
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ph) d (m m p h y ) ) hp) er (b op spee -60/62 conoPmG/range O 2(g/km C T 0 E (M
3.0 TFSIe quattro 449 155 4.9 100.9-113.0 57-64 4.0 S8 quattro 571 155 3.8 24.1-24.4 263-265 3.0 50 TDI quattro 282 155 5.9 38.7-40.9 180-192 3.0 50 TDI uattro LWB 282 155 5.9 38.2-40.4 182-193 2.0 40 TFSI 187 155 7.3 40.9-44.8 143-187 2.0 45 TFSI quattro AAAAB 242 155 5.6 34.9-35.3 181-184 Etron 5dr SUV £60,600–£93,500 3.0 30 TDI 132 133 9.5 50.4-55.4 133-146 A rounded, uberluxurious addition to the premium EV niche. 2.0 35 TDI 148 136 8.9 50.4-55.4 133-146 LxWxH 4901x1935x1629 Kerb weight 2490kg 2.0 40 TDI quattro 187 146 7.4 50.4-54.3 137-148 50 quattro 71kWh 308 118 6.8 190 0 3.0 S4 TDI 342 155 4.8 40.4-40.9 181-183 55 uattro 95kWh 403 124 5.4 237 0 S quattro 95kWh 503 130 4.5 223 0 AAAAC A4 Avant 5dr estate £32,235–£83,170 AAAAB Classy and demure estate lacks the dynamic sparkle of rivals. Etron Sportback 5dr SUV £69,100–£95,100 LxWxH 4725x1842x1434 Kerb weight 1370kg Quick and classy EV builds on the solid foundations of its more 2.0 35 TFSI 148 136 8.9 39.8-44.8 143-162 upright sibling. LxWxH 4901x1935x1616 Kerb weight 2480kg 2.0 40 TFSI 187 148 7.5 39.8-43.5 147-162 50 quattro 71kWH 308 118 6.8 192 0 2.0 45 TFSI quattro 242 155 6.0 33.6-34.4 187-191 55 quattro 95kWh 403 124 5.7 242 0 3.0 V6 TFSI RS4 Avant 448 155 4.1 28.1-28.2 220-226 S uattro 95kWh 503 130 4.5 224 0 2.0 30 TDI 132 131 9.8 49.6-54.3 137-150 2.0 35 TDI AAAAC 148 132 9.2 49.6-54.3 137-150 Q2 5dr SUV £23,640–£45,635 2.0 40 TDI uattro 187 143-144 7.6-7.9 47.9-52.3 141-154 Audi’s smallest SUV is a decent stepping stone from the A3 to the 3.0 50 TDI Allroad quattro 282 155 5.3 38.2 194 Q range. LxWxH 4191x1794x1508 Kerb weight 1205kg 3.0 S4 TDI quattro 342 155 4.9 39.2-39.8 186-189 1.0 30 TFSI 114 122 10.3 44.8-47.1 135-143 1.5 35 TFSI 148 131 8.5 42.2-44.8 142-151 2dr coupé £37,900–£87,725 AAAAC 2.0 40 TFSI quattro A5Refreshed 187 141 6.5 34.0-34.9 184-187 coupé gets a sharper look and a refreshed interior. Stil 2.0 SQ2 TFSI 298 155 4.8 32.8-33.2 192-195 mundane to drive. LxWxH 4673x1846x1371 Kerb weight 1390kg 1.6 30 TDI 114 122 10.5 47.1-49.6 150-158 2.0 35 TFSI 148 140 8.9 41.5-45.6 141-154 2.0 35 TDI quattro 148 131 8.1 45.6-47.9 155-163 2.0 40 TFSI 187 150 7.2 41.5-47.1 141-154 2.0 45 TFSI quattro AAABC 242 155 4.8 34.9-38.8 180-184 Q3 5dr SUV £30,310–£61,585 2.9 V6 TFSI RS5 quattro 443 155 3.9 29.4-30.4 211-218 Typically reined and competent but feels more like an A3 than an 2.0 35 TDI 163 162 8.2 51.4-55.4 133-144 Audi SUV. LxWxH 4388x1831x1608 Kerb weight 1385kg 2.0 40 TDI quattro 187 146 7.4 50.4-54.3 135-146 1.5 35 TFSI 148 128-131 9.2-9.6 38.7-42.2 153-166 3.0 V6 S4 TDI quattro 345 155 4.8 40.4-40.9 180-184 2.0 40 TFSI quattro 187 136 7.4 31.0-32.5 197-207 2.0 45 TFSI uattro 227 144 6.3 31.0-31.7 201-205 AAAAC 2.5 RS Q3 quattro A5 Sportback 5dr coupé £37,900–£87,725 396 155 4.5 27.7-28.8 222-230 Reined, goodlooking fourdoor coupé is sadly short on charm and 2.0 35 TDI 148 128 9.2 47.9-49.6 150-154 2.0 35 TDI quattro inesse. LxWxH 4733x1843x1386 Kerb weight 1425kg 148 131 9.3 39.2-40.9 182-188 2.0 35 TFSI 148 139 9.1 40.9-44.8 144-158 2.0 40 TDI quattro 188 137 8.0 37.7-40.4 84-195 2.0 40 TFSI 187 150 7.5 40.9-44.8 143-158 2.0 45 TFSI quattro AAABC 242 155 5.8 34.4-35.3 183-187 Q3 Sportback 5dr SUV £33,035–£62,735 2.9 V6 TFSI RS5 Quattro 448 155 3.9 28.8-29.7 215-222 A more sporting take on the compact SUV, with similarly stable 2.0 35 TDI 148 135 9.1 50.4-54.3 135-147 handling. LxWxH 4500x1856x1567 Kerb weight 1460kg 2.0 40 TDI quattro 187 146 7.6 49.6-54.3 137-149 1.5 35 TFSI 148 126 9.6 39.2-41.5 154–163 3.0 S5 TDI quattro 345 155 4.9 39.8-40.4 183-187 2.0 40 TFSI quattro 188 136 7.4 30.7-32.1 199-208 2.0 45 TFSI uattro 227 144 6.5 31.4-32.1 200-208 2dr open £42,015–£64,055 AAAAC 2.5 RS Q3 quattro A5 Cabriolet 396 155 4.5 27.7-28.5 223-231 More practical than smaller options. Lowerpowered, steelsprung 2.0 35 TDI 148 126 9.3 48.7-51.4 145–152 2.0 35 TDI quattro trim is best. LxWxH 4673x1846x1383 Kerb weight 1600kg 148 126 9.3 40.4-44.8 166-183 2.0 35 TFSI 150 136 9.8 38.7-40.4 160-165 2.0 40 TDI quattro 188 134 8.3 38.2-39.8 185-195 2.0 40 TFSI 187 150 7.9 38.7-40.4 160-165 2.0 45 TFSI quattro AAAAC 242 155 6.5 32.8-33.2 192-196 Q5 5dr SUV £43,950–£71,750 2.0 40 TDI quattro 187 145 8.0 47.1-48.7 152-157 Appealing combination of Audi allure, affordable SUV practic al i t y and attractiveness. LxWxH 4663x1893x1659 Kerb weight 1720kg 4dr saloon £38,520–£79,375 AAAAC 2.0 45 TFSI quattro A6 242 147 6.4 31.0-33.6 191-206 Supremely wellconstructed but a bit soulless to drive. A smart 2.0 50 TFSIe quattro 249 148 6.1 128.4 49 ofice on wheels. LxWxH 4939x1886x1457 Kerb weight 1645kg 2.0 55 TFSIe uattro 363 148 5.3 108.6 56 2.0 45 TFSI quattro 242 155 6.0 35.3-37.2 172-182 2.0 40 TDI quattro 187 136 8.1 41.5-44.8 165-179 2.0 50 TFSIe quattro 299 152 5.5 166.0-177.0 36-38 3.0 SQ5 TDI quattro 344 155 5.1 32.8-34.4 216-224 3.0 55 TFSI quattro 335 155 5.1 32.8-34.9 184-196 2.0 40 TDI AAABC 201 152 8.1 47.9-51.4 145-155 Q5 Sportback 5dr SUV £44,145–£72,180 2.0 40 TDI quattro 201 153 7.6 45.6-47.9 155-163 Reduced accommodation and practic al i t y, but stil a reined and 2.0 45 TDI quattro Allroad 228 155 6.7 38.2 193 solid steer. LxWxH 4689x1893x1660 Kerb weight 2010-2150kg 3.0 50 TDI quattro 282 155 5.5 38.7-40.4 183-191 2.0 45 TFSI quattro 263 149 6.1 31.7-33.6 192-202 3.0 S6 TDI uattro 344 155 5.0 36.2 203-205 2.0 50 TFSIe uattro 297 148 6.1 176.6-188.3 36-38 2.0 55 TFSIe quattro 364 148 5.3 156.9-166.2 41-42 5dr estate £40,620–£112,840 AAAAC 2.0 40 TDI quattro A6 Avant 201 137 7.6 42.2-44.8 166-176 A capable and hightech throwback that’s a timely reminder of 3.0 SQ5 TDI uattro 336 155 5.1 33.2-34.4 216-222 what Audi does best. LxWxH 4939x1886x1467 Kerb weight 1710kg 2.0 45 TFSI quattro AAAAC 242 155 6.2 34-36.2 177-189 Q7 5dr SUV £56,935–£96,880 3.0 55 TFSI uattro 335 155 5.3 31.7-34.0 189-201 Unengaging to drive and light on feel, but the cabin is both huge 4.0 RS6 quattro 596 174 3.6 22.2-22.8 281-289 and classy. LxWxH 5052x1968x1740 Kerb weight 2060kg 2.0 40 TDI 201 149 8.3 45.6-49.6 150-162 3.0 V6 55 TFSI quattro 338 155 5.9 25.4-27.4 233-253 2.0 40 TDI quattro 201 150 7.8 44.1-46.3 159-167 3.0 V6 55 TFSIe quattro 376 149 5.9 TBC TBC 3.0 50 TDI quattro 282 155 5.7 38.2-39.8 187-195 4.0 SQ7 quattro 435 155 4.1 29.4-30.1 245-251 3.0 S6 TDI uattro 344 155 5.1 35.3 209 3.0 V6 45 TDI uattro 228 142 7.3 32.1-34.0 217-230 3.0 V6 50 TDI quattro 282 152 6.3 32.1-34.0 217-230 5dr coupé £48,085–£115,990 AAABC A7EasySportback AAAAC on the eye and to live with, but let down by stolid dynamics. Q8 5dr SUV £70,800–£123,100 LxWxH 4969x1908x1422 Kerb weight 1880kg Striking and effective coupéSUV rangetopper leaves us wanting 2.0 45 TFSI quattro 242 155 6.2 35.3-36.2 177-183 more. LxWxH 4986x1995x1705 Kerb weight 2145kg 2.0 50 TFSIe uattro 299 155 6.3 134.5-141.2 46-47 3.0 V6 55 TFSI uattro 335 155 5.9 25.9-26.4 243-248 3.0 55 TFSI quattro 335 155 5.3 32.1-34.0 189-199 4.0 SQ8 quattro 503 155 4.1 31.0-31.7 234-239 4.0 RS7 quattro 596 174 3.6 22.2-23.0 280-287 4.0 V8 RS Q8 quattro 592 155 3.8 20.2-20.5 314-318 2.0 40 TDI 201 152 8.3 47.9-49.6 150-156 3.0 V6 50 TDI quattro 282 152 6.3 32.8-33.2 222-226 2.0 40 TDI quattro 201 155 7.0 45.6-47.1 158-163 3.0 50 TDI uattro AAAAC 282 155 5.7 38.2-39.8 186-193 TT 2dr coupé £34,770–£66,080 3.0 S7 TDI quattro 344 155 5.1 35.3-35.8 205-208 Stil serves up plenty of pace, style and usabili ty for the money. I t ’s better to drive, too. LxWxH 4191x1966x1376 Kerb weight 1365kg 4dr saloon £73,330–£117,310 AAAAC 2.0 40 TFSI A8 194 155 6.6 40.4-41.5 154-158 Technical tour de force beneits from Audi’s knack of making very 2.0 45 TFSI 242 155 5.8-5.9 38.7-39.2 162-167 good limousines. LxWxH 5172x1945x1473 Kerb weight 1920kg 2.0 45 TFSI quattro 242 155 5.2 34.9-35.8 180-184 3.0 55 TFSI uattro 335 155 5.6 28.2-29.4 217-228 2.0 50 TFSI uattro TTS 302 155 4.5 34.9-35.3 180-183 3.0 55 TFSI quattro LWB 335 155 5.7 28.2-29.1 219-228 2.5 TT RS quattro 395 155 3.7 30.7 208-210 AAAAC TT Roadster 2dr open £34,320–£67,830
Plenty of pace and driver reward, along with prestige and design icon style. LxWxH 4191x1966x1355 Kerb weight 1455kg 2.0 40 TFSI 2.0 45 TFSI 2.0 45 TFSI uattro 2.0 50 TFSI quattro TTS 2.5 TT RS quattro
194 242 242 302 395
155 155 155 155 155
6.9 6.0-6.1 5.5 4.8 3.9
39.2-40.4 37.2-38.2 33.6-34.4 34.0-34.4 29.7-30.1
159-163 168-172 185-190 185-188 214-215
p d (m
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p d (m
2BriSeries Gran Tourer 5dr MPV £28,955–£39,475 AAAAB ngs a proper premium MPV to the table. Thirdrow seats aren’t
h)
NEW CAR PRICES
) mph y ) e r (b s p ee /6 2 n o m range (g/km P o w Top 0 - 6 0 E c o ( MPG/ C O 2 hp)
p d (m
adultsized, though. LxWxH 4556x1800x1608 Kerb weight 1475kg
218i 134 127 220i 181 137 216d 114 119 218d 148 127 220d 187 138 220d xDrive 187 135 3 Series 4dr saloon £31,590–£74,755
9.5-9.8 7.8 11.8 9.6 8.2 8.0
42.2-42.8 150-152 40.4-40.9 157-158 55.4-56.5 132-133 53.3-54.3 137-138 51.4-52.3 143-144 49.6 150 AAAAA
Latest 3 Series has a growth spurt, but size is no obstacle for an engaging drive. LxWxH 4709x1827x1442 Kerb weight 1450kg
318i £117,325–£157,030 AAAAC 320i R8Usabl2dre coupé but no less involving or dramatic for it. V10 is deliciously 320i xDrive 330i brutal. LxWxH 4426x1940x1240 Kerb weight 1590kg 5.2 V10 RWD 538 201 3.7 22.2 288 330e 5.2 V10 FSI quattro 567 201 3.4 21.9 294 330e xDrive 5.2 V10 Performance q’tro 610 205 3.1 21.7 295-296 M340i xDrive M3 Com tion 2dr open £126,015–£165,720 AAAAC 318d R8TakiSpyder 320d ng the roof off the R8 enhances the drama tenfold. 320d xDrive LxWxH 4426x1940x1245 Kerb weight 1680kg 5.2 V10 RWD 538 200 3.8 20.9 307 330d 5.2 V10 quattro 330d xDrive 567 200 3.5 20.5 313 5.2 V10 Performance tro 610 204 3.2 20.3 315 M340d xDrive
152 138 8.4 181 146 7.1 181 142 7.6 254 155 5.8 288 143 5.9 288 143 5.9 369 155 4.4 503 155 3.9 148 132 8.3-8.4 187 146 6.8-7.1 187 144 6.9 263 155 5.5 263 155 5.1 338 155 4.6 3 Series Touring 5dr estate £33,415–£52,375
BAC
44.1 145-146 44.1 144-146 41.5-42.2 153-154 40.9-42.8 150-156 188.3-201.8 37-38 TBC TBC 34.9 185 28.2 229 52.6-62.8 117-129 56.5-60.1 124-131 54.3-56.5 130-136 47.1-49.6 150-156 47.1 157-158 46.3 160 AAAAB
0dr open £165,125 AAAAB Towering everyday appeal. Arguably the best allrounder sensible Mono An F-22 Raptor for the road, only signiicantly better built. money can buy. LxWxH 4620x1811x1430 Kerb weight 1565kg 318i LxWxH 3952x1836x1110 Kerb weight 580kg 152 137 8.7 42.2 152-153 2.5 VVT
320i 181 143 7.5 42.2 152-153 330i 254 155 5.9 39.2-40.9 156-163 330e 292 143 5.9 176.6-201.8 32-37 2dr coupé £160,130–£209,230 AAAAC 330e xDrive Continental GT 292 140 5.9 156.9-176.6 37-42 Reined and improved in every area, making the Conti a superb M340i xDrive 371 155 4.5 33.6 191 318d grand tourer. LxWxH 4850x1966x1405 Kerb weight 2244kg 148 133 8.8 57.6-58.9 126-127 4.0 V8 542 198 3.9 23.9 268 320d 188 142 7.1-7.9 54.3-57.6 115-121 6.0 W12 626 207 3.6 20.8 308 320d xDrive 188 142 7.4 51.4-54.3 136-143 330d 263 140 5.6 45.6-47.1 158-163 2dr open £175,930–£224,630 AAAAB 330d xDrive Continental GTC 261 155 5.4 43.5-44.8 166-171 Immensely capable and reined opentop cruiser with effortless M340d xDrive 340 155 4.8 44.8 165 performance. LxWxH 4850x2187x1399 Kerb weight 2414kg 4.0 V8 AAAAC 542 198 4.0 23.3 275 4 Series 2dr coupé £40,060–£76,055 6.0 W12 626 207 3.7 20.2 336 A talented GT and bril iant Broad steer that’s very well equipped. LxWxH 4768x1852x1383 Kerb weight 1475kg 4dr saloon £156,130–£215,430 AAAAB 420i Flying Spur 181 149 7.5 42.2-44.1 146-151 New from the ground up, with the looks and technology of a class 430i 254 155 5.8 40.4-42.2 153-159 M440i xDrive winner. LxWxH 5316x1879x1483 Kerb weight 2437kg 369 155 4.5 36.7 175 6.0 W12 632 207 3.8 19.1 337 M4 Competition 503 155 3.9 28.2 228 420d 187 143 7.1 58.9-61.4 121-126 5dr SUV £151,830–£183,650 AAAAB 420d xDrive Bentayga 187 148 7.4 55.4-57.6 129-135 Crewe’s irst attempt at an SUV remains ahead of most luxury 2dr open £45,785–£54,005 AAAAC rivals. LxWxH 5140x1998x1742 Kerb weight 2505kg 4 Series Convertible 4.0 V8 542 171 4.5 21.7 302 Previousgen grand tourer with the abilit y to remove the roof has real talent. LxWxH 4640x1825x1384 Kerb weight 1700kg BMW 420i 181 146 8.2-8.4 34.0-35.8 181-183 5dr hatch £25,360–£37,685 AAAAB 430i 1MaySeries 248 155 6.3-6.4 32.8-35.3 183 not drive like a traditional BMW but deli vers on upmarket hatch 440i 321 155 5.4 29.7-30.4 194 M4 Competition values. LxWxH 4319x1799x1434 Kerb weight 1365kg 444 155 4.3-4.5 26.9-28.0 229 118i 138 132 8.5 46.3-47.1 130-134 420d 187 146 8.1-8.2 44.1-46.3 160 128ti 430d 261 155 6.1 40.9 157 254 155 5.9 39.2-39.8 180 M135i xDrive 435d xDrive 302 155 4.8 36.2 177 308 155 5.2 37.7-38.2 189 116d 114 TBC 10.1-10.3 60.1-62.8 119-123 118d 148 134 8.4-8.5 58.9-60.1 123-127 4 Series Gran Coupé 4dr coupé £36,660–£49,440 AAAAC 120d 187 144 7.3 55.4-57.6 129-133 Essential y a prettier 3 Series. Good, but not better than the 120d xDrive 187 TBC 7.0 52.3-53.3 139-142 regular saloon. LxWxH 4640x1825x1404 Kerb weight 1520kg 420i 181 146 7.5-7.7 34.9-37.1 172-173 2dr coupé £27,105–£75,355 AAAAB 420i xDrive 2A proper Seriescompact 181 144 7.8-8.1 25.8-33.2 182-183 coupé now. Could be better equipped, however. 430i 248 155 5.9 34.4-37.2 174 440i LxWxH 4432x1774x1418 Kerb weight 1420kg 321 155 5.1 30.7-31.7 188 218i 134 130 8.8-8.9 37.2-38.2 168-172 420d 187 146 7.4-7.6 46.3-51.4 151-152 220i 181 143 7.2 37.2-37.7 170-174 420d xDrive 187 144 7.5 43.5-46.3 160 M240i 430d 335 155 4.6-4.8 32.5 197 254 155 5.6 40.9-41.5 174 M2 Competition 404 155 4.2-4.4 28.5 225 430d xDrive 254 155 5.3 38.2-39.2 185 M2 CS 448 174 4.0 28.5 226 435d xDrive 308 155 4.8 39.2-39.8 183 AAAAB 2 Series Convertible 2dr open £30,675–£45,385 AAABC 5 Series 4dr saloon £39,270–£102,325 305 170 2.8 BENTLEY
NA
NA
Better than its 1 Series forebear but lacks truly distinguishing premium qualities. LxWxH 4432x1774x1413 Kerb weight 1440kg
218i 220i M240i
The perfect compromise between the comfy E-Class and dynamic XF, and then some. LxWxH 4936x2126x1479 Kerb weight 1530kg
520i 181 146 7.8 44.8-45.6 142-145 530e 288 146 5.9 117.7-128.4 32-43 530e xDrive 288 146 5.9 TBC TBC M550i xDrive 528 155 3.8 25.9 247 M5 Competition 616 155 3.3 25.4 252 Blends 1 Series platform with rakish looks, but lacks the coupé’s 520d 187 147 7.5 57.6-58.9 126-129 520d xDrive driver appeal. LxWxH 4526x1800x1420 Kerb weight 1350kg 187 144 7.6 54.3-55.4 132-135 218i 138 134 8.7 46.3-47.1 136-138 530d xDrive 261 155 5.4 51.4-52.3 143-145 M235i xDrive 302 155 4.9 37.2 172 218d AAAAB 148 138 8.6 58.9-60.1 123-125 5 Series Touring 5dr estate £41,845–£62,455 220d 188 148 7.5 56.5-57.6 129-131 The excellent 5 Series made in more practic al form. The 520d is stil the best. LxWxH 4942x2126x1498 Kerb weight 1630kg 2BMW’Series Active Tourer 5dr hatch £27,040–£38,775 AAAAC 520i 181 139 8.2 40.4-42.2 152-160 s FWD hatch is a proper contender but not as practical as 540i xDrive 335 155 5.1 34.9-35.8 179-185 some of its rivals. LxWxH 4342x1800x1555 Kerb weight 1360kg 520d 187 147 7.8 52.3-55.4 134-142 218i 134 127 9.3 44.1-44.8 143-145 520d xDrive 187 144 7.9 49.6-52.3 140-148 220i 181 142 7.4 42.2 151-153 530d 261 155 5.8 47.9 154 225xe 530d xDrive 248 125 6.7 88.3-100.9 44 261 155 5.6 46.3-47.9 160 216d 114 121 11.1 58.9 125-126 218d AAAAC 148 129 9.0-9.1 56.5 130-132 7 Series 4dr saloon £71,725–£90,465 220d 187 141 7.6 54.3 136-137 Rules on incar entertainment and diesel sophistication; otherwi s e 220d xDrive 187 138 7.5 51.4 144-145 too bland. LxWxH 5098x1902x1478 Kerb weight 1755kg 740i 338 155 5.5 34-35.8 180-190 750i xDrive 527 155 4.0 26.4 243-245 745e 283 155 5.1-5.2 104.6-141.2 46 730d 261 155 6.1 49.6-51.4 144-148 730d xDrive 261 155 5.8 47.1-47.9 155-158 740d xDrive 315 155 5.2 46.3-47.1 158-159 8 Series 2dr coupé/2dr open £74,640–£133,380 AAAAC 134 130 9.4-9.6 35.3-36.2 177-181 181 143 7.7 34.9-35.8 180-184 335 155 4.7-4.9 31.4 204 2 Series Gran Coupé 4dr saloon £26,780–£38,525 AAACC
Has dynamism to spare but not quite the breadth of abilit y of the best sporting GTs. LxWxH 4843x1902x1341 Kerb weight 1830kg 840i M850i xDrive M8 Competition 840d xDrive
335 155 5.0 33.2-33.6 193-194 523 155 3.7 24.8-25.2 255-260 623 155 3.2-3.3 25.2-25.4 252-254 316 155 4.9 40.4 183-184 8 Series Gran Coupé 4dr saloon £72,575–£123,880 AAAAC
Fourdoor grand tourer offers greater practicality than its twodoor siblings. LxWxH 5072x1932x1397 Kerb weight 1800kg 840i M850i xDrive M8 Com tion 840d xDrive
335 523 623 316
155 155 155 155
5.2 3.9 3.2 5.1
33.2 24.6 25.4 39.8
194 260 254 187
h) (mp ph p) r ( b h p e e d 6 2 m o m y n g e) / k m ) oP we Top s 0-60/ Econ(MPG/ra CO 2(g
5dr hatchback £17,015–£22,145 C3Funkyl Aircross ooking C3 gets a jackedup, rugged SUV look.
LxWxH 4155x1765x1637 Kerb weight 1088kg 1.2 PureTech 110 107 115 11.3 1.2 PureTech 130 127 124 10.4 1.5 BlueHDi 100 96 109 12.8 C4 5dr hatchback £20,990–£34,330
51.5 47.3 62.7
AAABC
141-143 150 126-128 AAACC
Interesting to look at but soft and unrewarding to drive. Electric ëC4 is better. LxWxH 4355x1800x1525 Kerb weight 1247kg
1.2 PureTech 99 TBC TBC TBC 122 1.2 PureTech 130 128 TBC TBC 54.7 120 1.2 PureTech 155 153 TBC TBC TBC 133 1.5 BlueHDi 108 TBC TBC TBC 114-115 AAAAC 1.5 BlueHDi 130 X1Pick5drofSUVthe £29,930–£40,580 129 TBC TBC 64.9 119 premium bunch but a tad unreined and has ordinary ëC4 50kWh 134 93 9.7 227 0 handling. LxWxH 4439x1821x1598 Kerb weight 1395kg sDrive18i 138 127 9.7 42.8 149-150 Grand C4 Spacetourer 5dr MPV £26,225–£32,320 AAAAC sDrive20i 189 138 7.4 40.9 156-157 Alternative MPV offers something fresh, comfy, spacious and xDrive20i 189 TBC 7.7 38.2-38.7 166-167 quietly upmarket. LxWxH 4602x1826x1638 Kerb weight 1297kg xDrive25e 218 120 6.9 134.5-148.7 50-51 1.2 PureTech 130 126 125-128 10.8 46.9 143-145 sDrive18d 148 126 9.3-9.4 55.4 133-134 1.5 BlueHDi 130 126 130 11.3 60.1 136-137 xDrive18d 148 126 9.3-9.4 50.4-51.4 145-146 2.0 BlueHDi 160 158 130 9.2 47.0 160-161 xDrive20d 187 136 7.8 49.6 148-149 AAABC C5 Aircross 5dr SUV £24,350–£35,850 5dr SUV £30,910–£46,775 AAAAC Smoothriding SUV has an easygoing nature, but not the most X2Proves crossovers aren’t always worse than the hatchbacks on dynamic. LxWxH 4500x1859x1670 Kerb weight 1530kg which they’re based. LxWxH 4360x1824x1526 Kerb weight 1460kg 1.2 PureTech 130 129 117 10.5 44.2 149-151 sDrive18i 138 127 9.6 42.8-43.5 148-150 1.6 PureTech 225 PHEV 223 140 TBC 184.0 50 sDrive20i 189 141 7.7 40.9-41.5 154-156 1.5 BlueHDI 130 129 117 10.4 57.3 138-139 xDrive20i 189 TBC 7.6 38.7-39.2 164-166 2.0 BlueHDI 180 174 131 9.4 47.3 163-165 xDrive25e 220 121 6.8 156.9 40-41 M35i 5dr MPV £21,875–£28,880 AAAAB 302 155 4.9 34.4 187 Berlingo sDrive18d 148 129 9.3-9.8 55.4 132-134 Boxy, slightly quirky and immensely practic al vanbased car xDrive18d 148 128 9.2 50.4-51.4 144-146 returns to top form. LxWxH 4403x1921x1849 Kerb weight 1398kg xDrive20d 185 137 7.7 49.6-50.4 147-149 1.2 PureTech 110 108 109 11.5 42.0-43.5 154-160 1.5 BlueHDI 100 101 109 12.3 55.6 141-148 AAAAC 1.5 BlueHDI 130 X3 5dr SUV £42,115–£80,225 128 116 10.3 54.2 144-149
Continues where the last one left off. Dynamically good and more luxurious inside. LxWxH 4708x1891x1676 Kerb weight 1750kg
xDrive20i 181 xDrive30e 288 xDrive M40i 355 X3M Competition 503 xDrive20d 187 xDrive30d 261 xDrive M40d 321 X4 5dr SUV £45,775–£83,145
134 130 155 155 132 149 155
8.3 6.1 4.8 4.1 8.0 5.8 4.9
35.3-35.8 179-181 134.5 51-54 31.4 204 24.8 261 47.1-47.9 154-156 45.6 161-163 43.5 171 AAABC
CUPRA
5dr hatch £34,495–£36,225 AAABC Leon PHEV powertrain is effective but makes for a confused take on the
hot hatch formula. LxWxH 4398x1799x1467 Kerb weight 1596kg 1.4 eHybrid
241 140 6.7
TBC
TBC
AAABC Leon Estate 5dr hatch £34,495–£36,225 More practical version of the most potent Leon blows as hot and
cold as the hatch. LxWxH 4657x1799x1463 Kerb weight TBC 1.4 eH brid 241 140 7 TBC TBC Downsized X6 is respectable enough if not lovable, but the X3 is a 5dr hatch £39,050 AAABC better option. LxWxH 4671x1881x1624 Kerb weight 1735kg Ateca xDrive M40i 336 155 4.9 31.7 203 First model from Seat’s standalone performance brand has decent X4M Competiton 503 155 4.1 24.8 259 pace and precision. LxWxH 4376x1841x1615 Kerb weight 1615kg
xDrive20d 187 131 8.0 xDrive30d 254 145 5.8 xDrive M40d 322 155 4.9 X5 5dr SUV £60,710–£113,045
47.1-47.9 161-165 2.0 TSI 300 296 153 5.2 32.5 197 45.6-46.3 159-163 5dr SUV £27,395–£43,840 AAAAC 43.5 169 Formentor Bespoke SUV delivers a wellrounded, surefooted and rewarding AAAAC drive. LxWxH 4450x1839x1511 Kerb weight 1569kg More capable, convenient, reined and classy SUV that’s a more 1.5 TSI 150 148 127 8.9 43.5-44.8 143-148 satisfying drive. LxWxH 4922x2004x1745 Kerb weight 2110kg 2.0 TSI 310 310 155 4.9 32.8-33.2 193-194 xDrive40i 335 155 5.5 27.7-28.2 227-231 DACIA xDrive45e 282 155 5.6 188.3-235.4 31 M50i AAABC 523 155 4.3 27.3 276 Sandero 5dr hatch £7995–£11,995 X5M Competition 623 155 3.8 22.1 304 A clever budget prospect but its limitations are unavoidable, even xDrive30d 261 130 6.8 41.5-42.2 175-179 after a facel i f t. LxWxH 4088x1848x1499 Kerb weight 1009kg xDrive40d 340 152 5.5 38.7-39.2 192-196 1.0 SCe 75 66 98 16.7 TBC 120 1.0 TCe 90 111 11.7 TBC 120 5dr SUV £62,410–£115,745 AAABC 1.0 TCe BiFuel X6 99 114 11.6 TBC 123 The world’s irst offroad coupé, but appearances make it dificult 5dr hatch £10,995–£13,795 AAABC to love. LxWxH 4909x1989x1702 Kerb weight 2065kg Sandero Stepway xDrive40i 338 155 5.5 28.0-28.5 225-230 A more expensive and slightly more rugged cheap car – but stil M50i 523 155 4.3 23.5 272 limited. LxWxH 4099x1848x1535 Kerb weight 1040kg X6M Competition 623 155 3.8 22.4 287 1.0 TCe 88 107 12 TBC 127 xDrive30d 254 143 6.7 42.2-42.8 172-176 1.0 TCe 100 BiFuel 99 109 11.9 TBC 130-131 xDrive40d 340 154 5.5 38.7-39.8 187-191 5dr estate £10,745–£12,105 AAACC Logan MCV £77,670–£95,745 AAAAC Lacks its stablemates’ charms but retains their cheapness. X7BMW’5drs lSUV argest SUV yet crowns the lineup, but faces strong LxWxH 4501x1733x15212 Kerb weight 980kg 0.9 TCe 90 competition. LxWxH 5151x2000x1805 Kerb weight 2395kg 89 109 11.1 47.1-47.9 131 xDrive40i 338 155 6.1 28.7 249-250 1.0 TCe 100 BiFuel 99 114 11.6 46.2 116 M50i 523 155 4.7 22.1 290 xDrive40d 340 152 6.1 36.2 203-204 Logan MCV Stepway 5dr estate £12,945–£13,745 AAABC Given a rugged makeover but stil lacks charm. Extremely hatch £39,690–£42,220 AAAAB practical, though. LxWxH 4528x1761x1559 Kerb weight 1090kg i3Our5drfavouri te highend small car happens to be an EV, and it could 0.9 TCe 90 89 104 12.4 44.3 138-139 change motoring. LxWxH 3999x1775x1578 Kerb weight 1245kg 1.0 TCe 100 BiFuel 99 108 TBC TBC 134 120Ah 167 93 7.3 181 0 120Ah S 5dr SUV £11,245–£20,145 AAABC 180 99 6.9 175 0 Duster A value champion. If cheap family transport is what you require, 5dr SUV £58,850–£61,850 AAAAC the Duster deli vers. LxWxH 4341x1804x1633 Kerb weight 1147kg iX3 1.0 TCe 90 Allelectric SUV is brisk, agile, reined and versatile. 89 103 13.5 46.3 139 1.3 TCe 130 LxWxH 4584x1852x1640 Kerb weight 2185kg 128 120 10.6 45.6 141 80kWh 1.3 TCe 150 282 112 6.8 TBC 0 148 125 9.7 44.8 143 1.0 TCe 100 BiFuel 99 106 14.4 TBC 146 £38,745–£51,270 AAAAC 1.5 dCi 115 Z4Better2dr tocoupé 113 113 10.3 57.7 128 drive than ever but makes a better opentop cruiser than 1.5 dCi 115 4x4 113 108 12.1 51.4 143 a true sports car. LxWxH 4689x1942x1293 Kerb weight 1485kg DS sDrive20i 195 155 6.6 39.8-40.4 160-161 sDrive30i AAABC 255 155 5.4 39.8 161-162 3 Crossback 5dr SUV £22,955–£38,600 sDrive M40i 338 155 4.6 35.8 181 First foray into compact SUVs comfortably competes with more establ i s hed ri v al s . LxWxH 4118x1802x1534 Kerb weight 1205kg CATERHAM 1.2 PureTech 100 98 112 10.9 80.4 127 2dr open £26,490–£53,885 AAAAB 1.2 PureTech 130 Seven 128 124 9.2 47.1 141 The 360 is the sweet spot, giving the Seven just the right hit of 1.2 PureTech 155 153 129 8.2 46.6-52.0 127-143 1.5 BlueHDI 100 performance. LxWxH 3100x1575x1090 Kerb weight 490kg 98 112 11.4 62.7 123 1.6 Sigma TiVCT 270 50kWh ETense 135 122 5.0 NA NA 132 93 8.7 191-206 0 1.6 Si ma TiVCT 310 152 127 4.9 NA NA 2.0 Duratec 360 5dr SUV £32,370–£46,550 AAABC 180 130 4.8 NA NA 7 Crossback 2.0 Duratec 420 210 136 3.8 NA NA DS’s irst premium SUV certainly has the right price tag, equipment 2.0 Su rchar ed 620S 310 145 3.4 NA NA and appeal. LxWxH 4570x1895x1620 Kerb weight 1420kg 2.0 Supercharged 620R 310 155 2.8 NA 1.2 PureTech 130 NA 129 122 10.2 42.2-46.0 143-152 1.6 PureTech 180 178 137 8.9 42.2 152 CITROEN 1.6 ETense 295 149 5.9 176.6-201.8 32-40 hatch £10,330–£14,300 AAABC 1.5 BlueHDi 130 C1Slig3drhtlyhatch/5dr TBC 121 11.7 54.1-55.3 143 cheaper than its Toyota sibling but less visually charming. 2.0 BlueHDi 180 EAT8 171 134 9.9 48.2 162-69 LxWxH 3455x1615x1460 Kerb weight 855kg FERRARI 1.0 VTI 72 71 99 12.6 58.9 109-110 AAAAC Portoino 2dr open £166,295 hatchback £13,995–£20,590 AAABC The entrylevel Ferrari has the power, the looks and the touring C3Funky,5drfresh look gives a lease of life, shame that underneath isn’t ability. LxWxH 4586x1938x1318 Kerb weight 1664kg 3.9T V8 the same. LxWxH 3996x1749x1474 Kerb weight 976kg 591 199 3.5 14.7-28.0 230-436 1.2 PureTech 82 79 107 12.8 51.3 130-131 1.2 PureTech 110 107 117 9.3 52.3 129-131 1.5 BlueHDi 100 96 115 10.6 67.0 117-118
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 123
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5dr MPV £31,320–£42,985 AAAAC i20 5dr hatch £18,605–£22,105 AAAAC S-Max Better to drive and better looking than most but not quite the Combines decent performance with good practicality and running class leader it was. LxWxH 4976x1916x1655 Kerb weight 1645kg costs. LxWxH 4035x1734x1474 Kerb weight 980kg
2.0 TDCi EcoBlue 150 148 123 10.3 2.0 TDCi EcoBlue 190 188 129 9.5 2.0 TDCi EcoBlue 190 AWD 188 128 9.8 Galaxy 5dr MPV £33,720–£42,985
47.1 43.5 40.9
159-160 170-171 181 AAABC
1.0 TGDI 100 98 1.0 TGDI 120 118 1.2 MPI 75 74 1.2 MPI 84 83 i30 5dr hatch £20,705–£25,545
113-117 118 99 106
10.8-11.4 10.2 13.6 12.8
47.9-49.6 129-134 47.1 137 47.9 134 45.6-47.9 134-141 AAABC
Huge sevenseat MPV. Easy to place on the road but not cheap to buy. LxWxH 4848x1916x1747 Kerb weight 1708kg As good as we’ve come to expect from Hyundai, but not one inch 2.0 TDCi EcoBlue 150 148 122-123 10.9 46.3 160 better. LxWxH 4340x1795x1455 Kerb weight 1194kg
2.0 TDCi EcoBlue 190 188 129-131 9.6-9.8 43.5 2.0 TDCi EcoBlue 190 AWD 188 128 10.6 40.4
171 184
1.0 TGDi 120 1.5 TGDi
118 118 11.1 157 130 8.6
45.6 121-122 42.2-46.3 142
2.0 TGDi 275 N Performance 272 155 6.1 34.0 188 2dr coupé £175,000 AAAAB Ecosport 5dr SUV £20,845–£22,045 AAACC 1.6 CRDi 115 AAAAC Roma 113 118 11.0-11.2 58.9-60.1 121-122 E-Pace 5dr SUV £30,490–£49,965 Gorgeous coupé is a proper grand tourer with a focus on usabilit y. Facelifted version of the pumpedup Fiesta is okay, but developing Jaguar’s second SUV looks enticing, but can it make an impact like AAABC the F-Pace’s? LxWxH 4411x1984x1649 Kerb weight 1775kg LxWxH 4656x1974x1301 Kerb weight 1570kg world roots show. LxWxH 4096x1765x1653 Kerb weight 1280kg i30 Fastback 4dr saloon £20,710–£30,310 3.9T V8 1.0T Ecoboost 100 2.0 P200 AWD 612 199 3.4 14.7-28.0 230-436 98 105 11.9 48.7 133 Combines good looks with sensible practicalities and dynamic 198 134 7.7 30.1 213 1.0T Ecoboost 125 2.0 P250 AWD 123 111 11.0-11.6 47.1 135 charm. LxWxH 4455x1795x1425 Kerb weight 1287kg 245 143 6.6 29.8 215 2dr coupé/open £203,476 AAAAA 1.0T Ecoboost 140 1.5 TGDI F8TheTributo 138 115 10.2 47.1 136 157 130 8.6 49.6-52.3 141-151 2.0 P300 AWD 295 151 5.9 28.3 226 1.5 TDCi EcoBlue 100 2.0 TGDI 275 N Performance 272 155 6.1 1.5 P300e last hurrah for the pure internal combustion V8powered 99 105 13.6 56.5 128 34.0 188 305 134 6.5 TBC TBC 2.0 D150 midengined Ferrari. LxWxH 4611x1979x1206 Kerb weight 1435kg 1.5 TDCi EcoBlue 125 123 113 10.7 53.3 139 148 124 9.5 42.7 174 3.9T V8 Tributo AAABC 2.0 D150 AWD 710 211 2.9 21.9 292 i30 Tourer 5dr estate £21,455–£26,295 148 120 9.9-10.1 36.5-41.8 177-188 AAAAC Another solid car. Good value and practic al but lacks excitement. 2.0 D180 AWD Puma 5dr SUV £23,640–£30,415 177 127-128 8.7-9.4 39.5-41.2 180-188 2dr coupé £200,300–£240,537 AAAAB Compact crossover inally has a class leader capable of appealing LxWxH 4585x1795x1465 Kerb weight 1245kg 2.0 D240 AWD GTC4 Lusso 236 139 7.0 37.1 200 1.0 TGDi 120 Another fourwheeldrive grand tourer Ferrari that is more usable to petrolheads. LxWxH 4186x1805x1554 Kerb weight 1280kg 118 117 11.4 47.9-49.6 130-139 1.0T Ecoboost 125 1.6 CRDi 136 AAAAC than the FF. LxWxH 4922x1980x1383 Kerb weight 1865kg 123 119 10.0 46.3 138 134 123 10.9 56.5-57.6 126-127 F-Pace 5dr SUV £40,860–£77,595 3.9T V8 592 198 3.5 13.5-25.2 253-477 1.0T Ecoboost MHEV 125 123 119 9.8 50.4 127 Credible irst SUV effort is as reined and dynamic as a Jaguar 6.3 V12 5dr hatch £23,840–£35,950 AAABC should be. LxWxH 4731x2071x1666 Kerb weight 1690kg 670 208 3.4 9.9-21.0 308-648 1.0T Ecoboost MHEV 155 153 124 8.9 50.4 127 Ioniq First attempt at electriication for the masses is a good effort. 2.0 P250 AWD 246 135 7.3 30.4 214-220 AAAAA Kuga 5dr SUV £26,765–£38,425 AAAAC LxWxH 4470x1820x1450 Kerb weight 1370kg 3.0 P400 AWD 812 Superfast 2dr open £263,098 394 155 5.4 28.8 222-230 2.0 P400e AWD More powerful than the F12, but with better road manners making Allnew version of popular SUV mixes dynamism with practicality 1.6 H brid 141 139 115 10.8-11.1 61.4-62.8 102 398 149 5.3 TBC TBC
it the star of the range. LxWxH 4657x1971x1276 Kerb weight 1630kg
and reinement. LxWxH 4614x1883x1678 Kerb weight 1698kg
A ’90s reboot that has been on a diet. Decent to drive and ample interior space. LxWxH 4368x1792x1495 Kerb weight 1195kg
A balanced, affordable and inelooking trackday car. Some of the inish isn’t quite up to snuff. LxWxH TBC Kerb weight 840kg
1.5T Ecoboost 120 117 115 11.6 42.2 152 11.2-20.0 320-572 1.5T Ecoboost 150 148 121 9.7 41.5-42.8 151 2.5 Ecoboost PHEV 223 125 9.2 201.8 32 AAAAA 1.5T EcoBlue 120 118 112 11.7 55.4 134 Plugin hybrid doesn’t do things conventionally. A 986bhp technical 2.0T EcoBlue 150 MHEV 148 121 9.6 56.5 132 2.0T EcoBlue 190 masterpiece. LxWxH 4710x1972x1186 Kerb weight 1570kg 188 129 8.7 47.9 159 4.0T V8 986 211 2.5 TBC TBC Mustang MachE 4dr crossover £40,350–£58,080 AAAAC FIAT Likeable, practical highrise EV has only a badge in common with 3dr hatch/2dr open £13,260–£32,995 AAABC its coupé namesake. LxWxH 4712x1881x1597 Kerb weight 1993kg 500 Superdesirable, supercute city car. Pleasant, if not involving to 68kWh 265 111 6.1 248 0 68kWh AWD drive. LxWxH 3571x1627x1488 Kerb weight 865kg 265 111 5.6 273 0 1.2 69h 68 99 12.9 47.1 136-141 88kWh 290 111 6.2 379 0 1.0 Mild Hybrid 69 104 13.8 53.3 119-121 88kWh AWD 346 111 5.1 235 0 Electric 21.3kWh TBC TBC TBC TBC 0 Electric 37.8kWh 2dr coupé/open £44,185–£55,185 AAAAC 116 116 9.0 199 0 Mustang American muscle built for the UK, in coupé and convertible forms. 5dr MPV £18,030–£21,330 AAACC What’s not to like? LxWxH 4784x1916x1381 Kerb weight 1653kg 500L A costly option but has some style to il out some of its missing 5.0 V8 444 155 4.8 23.5-23.9 268-274 5.0 V8 Bullitt substance. LxWxH TBC Kerb weight TBC 453 163 4.6 23.9 270 1.4 95hp 93 103-111 13.4 38.7-39.8 166-170 2dr coupé £420,000 AAAAC GT 5dr hatch £19,460–£26,060 AAABC The GT is back as a race car for the road. Compelling i f not perfect. 500X Familiar styling works rather well as a crossover. Drives okay, too. LxWxH 4808x1928x1692 Kerb weight 1912kg 3.5 V6 Ecoboost LxWxH 4248x1796x1600 Kerb weight TBC 650 216 3.0 TBC TBC 1.0 Firefly Turbo 120hp 118 117 10.9 42.2-45.6 142-153 1.3 Firefl Turbo 15 AAAAC 148 124 9.1 40.9-42.2 152-153 Ranger 4dr pickup £24,369–£47,889 Capable pickup becomes offroad monster in Raptor spec but 5dr hatch £12,025–£18,125 AAABC loses VAT incentives. LxWxH 5277x1977x1703 Kerb weight 1866kg Panda Hasn’t kept pace with its rivals, but sells robust, practical charm 2.0 EcoBlue 130 128 106 13.5 42.8 173 better than most. LxWxH 3653x1643x1551 Kerb weight 940kg 2.0 EcoBlue 170 158 109 11.8 40.4-43.5 184-207 1.2 69hp 2.0 EcoBlue 213 68 96-102 14.2-14.5 44.1 132 210 106 10.5 30.7 201-233 0.9 Twinair 85 83 103-110 11.2-12.1 37.2 166-168 3.2 Duratorq TDCI 200 197 109 10.6 32.1-36.2 221-231 1.0 Mild Hybrid 69 96 14.7 50.4-52.3 126-132 GINETTA AAABC G40 Club Car 2dr coupé £35,000 (+champ pack) AAABC Tipo 5dr hatch £17,690–£21,985 6.5 V12
777 211 SF90 Stradale 2dr coupé £400,000
2.9
1.4 95 1.4 TJet 120 1.6 Multi et II 120
93 115 12.1 36.2-36.7 TBC 1.8 Zetec 135 125 TBC NA NA 118 124 9.6 39.2 162-167 HONDA 118 124 9.8-10.2 53.3 132 5dr hatch £30,160–£32,160 AAABC E Tipo Station Wagon 5dr estate £16,990–£22,945 AAABC Eminently likeable, with good dynamics but a limited range and Estate version is more practical, which mixes well with its driving ambitious price. LxWxH 3894x1752x1512 Kerb weight 1520kg 100kW characteristics. LxWxH 4571x1792x1514 Kerb weight 1205kg 136 90 9.0 137 0 1.4 95 113kW 93 115 12.3 41.5 158 154 90 8.3 136 0 1.4 TJet 120 118 124 9.8 39.2 162 1.6 Multijet II 120 AAAAC 118 124 10.1-10.4 52.3 134 Jazz 5dr hatch £18,985–£23,385
Not the most compact or vivacious but has decent handling and is FORD cleverly packaged. LxWxH 4044x1694x1526 Kerb weight 1300kg 3dr/5dr hatch £16,640–£26,700 AAAAB 1.5 iMMD Fiesta 109 108 9.4-9.9 62.8 102-110 Dynamically superb and continues the Fiesta legacy. No longer the AAAAC class leader, though. LxWxH 4040x1735x1476 Kerb weight 1113kg Civic 5dr hatch £21,530–£39,995 1.1 75 73 103 14.5 53.3 121 A fresh look while remaining practical, reined and upmarket. Lacks FO
116-120 96-121 104-123 149 AAAAB
some dynamism. LxWxH 4518x1799x1434 Kerb weight 1275kg
116 116 116 187 119-127 125 148 AAABC
1.5 iVTEC 130 128 116-119 10.2-11.4 42.2 148-153 1.5 iVTEC Turbo 182 180 134 7.8 47.1-47.9 151 1.6 iDTEC 120 119 10.0 54.3-56.5 132-136 AAAAC CR-V 5dr SUV £30,810–£39,770
1.0 Ecoboost 95 93 105-113 10.6-13.8 1.0 Ecoboost MHEV 125 123 126 9.4 1.0 Ecoboost MHEV 155 153 136 8.9 1.5T Ecoboost 200 ST 197 144 6.5 Focus 5dr hatch £22,210–£33,260
55.4 56.5 55.4 42.8
1.0 Ecoboost 125 123 124 10.0 1.0 Ecoboost MHEV 125 123 124 10.0-10.3 1.0 Ecoboost MHEV 155 152 129-131 9.2-9.5 2.3T Ecoboost 280 ST 276 155 5.7 1.5 EcoBlue 120 118 117-122 10.0-10.8 2.0 EcoBlue 150 148 127-130 8.5-9.1 2.0 EcoBlue 190 ST 188 137 7.6 Focus Estate 5dr estate £23,370–£34,660
55.4 55.4 55.4 34.3 62.8 60.1 50.4
1.0T Ecoboost 125 123 123 10.3 1.0 Ecoboost MHEV 125 123 120-123 10.3-10.6 1.0 Ecoboost MHEV 155 152 127-130 9.4-9.7 2.3T Ecoboost 280 ST 276 155 5.8-6.0 1.5 EcoBlue 120 118 118-120 10.3-11.1 1.5 EcoBlue 150 148 127-129 8.7-9.3 2.0 EcoBlue 190 ST 188 137 7.7 Mondeo 5dr hatch/4dr saloon £25,565–£35,720
55.4 55.4 55.4 35.3 62.8 60.1 50.4
2.0 TiVCT h brid 187 2.0 TDCi EcoBlue 150 2.0 TDCi EcoBlue 190 2.0 TDCi EcoBlue 190 AWD
50.4 52.3-56.5 51.4 47.9-48.7
Better to drive and look at than before, and impressively good value. LxWxH 4378x1825x1471 Kerb weight 1369kg
Almost as good to drive as the hatch, but a Skoda Octavia wil carry more. LxWxH 4669x1825x1481 Kerb weight 1485kg
116 98-116 116 183 119 125 148 AAAAC
1.0 VTEC Turbo 126 124 125-126 10.2-11.2 47.9 124-141 1.5 VTEC Turbo 182 179 125-136 8.2-8.5 46.3 137 2.0 VTEC Turbo Type R 315 169 5.8 33.2 191-193 AAABC HR-V 5dr SUV £20,735–£28,420
Cleverly packaged and comfortable. Bland performance and forgettable, though. LxWxH 4294x1772x1605 Kerb weight 1241kg Tardislike SUV stalwart has lots of space for ive and a big boot. LxWxH 4605x1820x1685 Kerb weight 1515kg 1.5 iVTEC 130 1.5 iVTEC 182 1.6 iVDEC 182 2.0 iMMD hybrid NSX 2dr coupé £149,975
128 179 118 181
3.5 V6 hybrid
573 191
119 134 134 112
10.2-10.7 7.8 10.0-10.5 9.2
TBC TBC TBC 38.2
148-153 151 132-136 162 AAAAB
Honda’s supercar given a modern reboot, and it’s some piece of engineering. LxWxH 4487x1939x1204 Kerb weight 1725kg 2.9
HYUNDAI
26.4
242
5dr hatch £12,820–£15,620 AAAAC i10 Prioritises maturit y over fun, resulting in a car that is practical and
Does what great Fords do, by overdelivering on practicality, wellpriced. LxWxH 3665x1660x1500 Kerb weight 933kg handling and value. LxWxH 4871x1852x1482 Kerb weight 1455kg 1.0 MPi 67 97 14.6 53.3 114-120 184 148 188 188
116 131-133 138 137
9.2 10.7-10.9 8.9 9.1
124 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
134-142 1.0 TGDI 136-146 1.2 MPi 145-148 155-158
99 84
115 10.5 106 12.6
52.3 51.4
123 124
1.6 Plugin Hybrid 141 139 110 Electric 132 110 Kona 5dr hatch £21,060–£41,250
5.0 V8 SVR 550 AWD 548 178 4.0 23.1 275 2.0 D165 AWD 163 121 9.9 45.4 165-171 2.0 D200 AWD 197 130 8.0 45.4 165-171 3.0 D300 AWD 296 143 6.4 38.1 195-202 Hyundai’s irst crossover is the perfect blend of practicality, value 5dr SUV £64,495–£74,995 AAAAB and style. LxWxH 4165x1800x1550 Kerb weight 1233kg I-Pace 1.0 TGDi 120 2WD 118 112 12.0 44.1-44.8 142-147 Fast, reined and the irst of its kind from a European 1.6 TGDi 177PS 4WD 175 127 7.9 34.0-33.6 189 manufacturer. LxWxH 4682x1895x1558 Kerb weight 2133kg 1.6 GDi Hybrid 2WD 134 119 10.2 52.3 114-123 EV400 398 124 4.5 292 0 Electric 39kWh 134 96 9.6 180 0 JEEP Electric 64kWh 201 104 7.6 280 0 AAACC Compass 5dr SUV £27,100–£37,755 5dr SUV £69,495 AAABC Wants to be a catchall crossover but is beaten by more road Nexo Impressive effort that heads in the right direction for fuel cell cars. focused rivals. LxWxH 4394x2033x1629 Kerb weight 1430kg 1.4 Multiair II 140 LxWxH 4670x2060x1640 Kerb weight 1814kg 138 119 9.9 37.7 172 95kW fuel cell 1.4 Multiair II 170 4WD 167 124 9.5 32.5 209 161 130 9.6 42.0mpkg 0 1.6d MultiJet II 120 118 115 11.0 47.9 157 5dr SUV £28,495–£34,455 AAABC 2.0d MultiJet II 170 4WD 167 122 9.5 38.2 191 Tucson Classy, roomy cabin and predictable handling. A very competitive AAABC SUV. LxWxH 4475x1850x1650 Kerb weight 1379kg Renegade 5dr SUV £23,400–£36,500 1.6 GDi 132PS 130 113 11.5 35.3 178-180 Middling compact crossover with chunky looks but no obvi ous 1.6 TGDi 177PS 175 125-126 8.9-9.2 34.9-36.2 173-185 charm. LxWxH 4236x1805x1667 Kerb weight 1346kg 1.6 CRDi 115PS 113 109 13.7 48.7-49.6 135-137 1.0 GSE T3 120 118 115 11.2 38.2 151 1.6 CRDi 136PS 134 114-116 10.6-12.0 45.6-47.1 146-153 1.3 GSE T4 150 148 122 9.4 38.2-39.8 151 2.0 CRDi 185PS 182 125 9.5 40.9 172-180 1.3 Turbo 4xe 188 113 7.5 122.8-134.5 42-49 1.3 Turbo 4xe Trailhawk 238 124 7.1 117.7-128.4 51-53 5dr SUV £39,420–£44,465 AAABC Santa Fe AAAAC Another big Korean SUV with lots of space for not a lot of cash. Wrangler 2dr/4dr SUV £41,525–£51,850 Slick and comfy. LxWxH 4700x1880x1675 Kerb weight 1939kg Heavyduty offroader goes anywhere but lacks onroad manners. 2.2 CRDi 200 AWD 197 127 9.4-9.5 38.7-40.4 179-191 LxWxH 4223x1873x1840 Kerb weight 1827kg 2.0 GME 265 110 7.3-7. 6 25. 4 -26.4 248-254 JAGUAR 2.2d MultiJet II 200 4WD 197 114 9.5 28.8-30.4 243-247 £29,635–£40,140 AAAAB XETops4drthesaloon KIA pile thanks to outstanding driver appeal. Poised and AAACC engaging but reined. LxWxH 4678x1850x1416 Kerb weight 1450kg Picanto 5dr hatch £10,995–£15,795 2.0 P250 246 150 6.7 34-35.5 179-187 Nice drive and cabin but now overshadowed by ri v al s. 2.0 P300 AWD 296 155 5.9 30.8-32.4 197-207 LxWxH 3595x1406x1485 Kerb weight 935kg 2.0 D200 198 146 7.3 54.0-57.7 128-137 1.0 MPi 65 100 13.8 49.6-50.4 117-122 1.25 MPi 82 100-107 11.6-13.2 42.2-49.6 128-131 4dr saloon £33,925–£44,760 AAAAB 1.0 TGDi XFOutstandi 99 112 10.1 48.7 128-129 ngly broadbatted dynamically, plus a pleasant cabin. 5dr hatch £13,645–£20,145 AAABC LxWxH 4954x1880x1457 Kerb weight 1545kg Rio 2.0 P250 246 155 6.9 33.0-34.9 183-193 Looks great and is wellpriced, but nowhere near i ts European 2.0 P300 AWD 296 155 6.1 31.2-32.8 194-204 rivals. LxWxH 4065x1725x1445 Kerb weight 1155kg 2.0 D200 198 146 7.6 52.8-56.5 131-140 1.25 MPi 82 107 12.5 45.6-46.3 132-139 2.0 D200 AWD 198 143 7.8 48.9-51.3 128-137 1.0 TGDi 99 98 115 10.3 48.7 132-134 1.0 TGDi 118 116 118 9.8 44.8-47.1 139 5dr estate £37,735–£46,610 AAAAB XFSuperb Sportbrake AAAAC XF is now available in the more practical Sportbrake form. Ceed 5dr hatch £19,700–£29,020 It’s a winwin. LxWxH 4955x1880x1494 Kerb weight 1660kg Thirdgeneration hatchback can now compete for class honours. 2.0 P250 246 150 7.1 32-33.7 189-199 LxWxH 4310x1800x1447 Kerb weight 1315kg 2.0 P300 AWD 296 155 6.2 29.9-31.2 204-213 1.0 TGDi 118 116 116 10.9 47.9-50.4 122-126 2.0 D200 198 143 7.8 50.7-53.7 138-146 1.5 TGDi 158 156 128-130 8.6-8.9 43.5-46.3 129-135 2.0 D200 AWD 198 143 8.0 47.0-49.1 151-157 1.6 TGDi 201 198 142 7.5 38.2 153 1.6 CRDi 134 132 122 10.2 57.6 120 2dr coupé £54,510–£97,315 AAAAB F-Type A fullblooded assault on Porsche’s backyard, with noise, power Ceed Sportswagon 5dr estate £20,400–£30,540 AAAAC and beauty. LxWxH 4482x1923x1311 Kerb weight 1525kg All of the above, but with cavernous, more practical load space. 2.0 P300 296 155 5.7 29.9 215 LxWxH 4600x1800x1465 Kerb weight 1389kg 5.0 P450 444 177 4.6 26.0-26.8 239-246 1.0 TGDi 118 116 118 10.9 47.1 121-127 5.0 P575 518 186 3.7 26.4 243 1.5 TGDi 158 156 128-130 8.6-8.9 43.5-46.3 131 1.6 CRDi 134 132 122 10.2 57.6 121 2dr open £59,990–£102,405 AAAAB 1.6 GDi PHEV F-Type Convertible 137 106 10.5 118.3-217.2 33 Costs serious money, but you get a serious car with a likeable wild 5dr hatch £24,335–£29,835 AAABC side. LxWxH 4482x1923x1308 Kerb weight 1545kg Proceed 2.0 P300 296 155 5.7 29.6 217 Alluring and interesting, but not quite as special to drive as it looks. 5.0 P450 444 177 4.6 26.0-26.6 241-247 LxWxH 4605x1800x1422 Kerb weight 1405kg 5.0 P575 518 186 3.7 26.4 243 1.4 TGDi 138 136 127-130 8.8-9.1 42.8-45.6 141-146 1.5 TGDi 158 156 128-130 8.6-8.9 43.5-46.3 131-136 1.6 TGDi 201 198 140 7.2 39.3 163 1.6 CRDi 134 132 124 9.8-10.0 54.3-56.5 131 AAABC Xceed 5dr hatch £21,050–£34,905 10.8 10.6
256.8 194
26 0 AAAAC
Crossoverstyled hatch that drives well, but lacks practicality and polish. LxWxH 4395x1826x1483 Kerb weight 1332kg
1.0 TGDi 118 116 1.4 TGDi 138 136 1.5 TGDi 158 156 1.5 CRDi 134 132 1.6 GDi PHEV 137 Soul EV 5dr hatch £37,545
115 124 TBC 122 99
10.9 9.1 TBC 10.2 10.6
45.6 42.8 TBC 53.3 TBC
140-146 150-151 142-143 133 TBC AAAAC
Electriconly hatch with looks that divide opinion, but competitive range. LxWxH 4220x1825x1605 Kerb weight 1757kg 64kWh
201 104 7.6
280
0
4dr saloon £41,145 AAABC Stinger Sleek coupéshaped saloon has the appeal and dynamics to rival
Europe’s best. LxWxH 4830x1870x1400 Kerb weight 1717kg 3.3 V6 TGDi
360 168 4.7
27.7
233
p d (m
h)
h 2mp
h)
) mph y ) e r ( b s p e e / 6 2 n o m r a n ge ( g / k m P o w Top 0 - 6 0 E c o (MPG/ C O 2
y ) ) e r ( b s p e e / 6 n o m / r a n ge ( g / k m P o w Top 0 - 6 0 E c o ( M P G C O 2 h p)
hp)
5dr SUV £25,150–£39,395 AAABC Niro Kia’s first ull hybrid is a solid attempt but lacks the refinement o
p d (m
better rivals. LxWxH 4355x1805x1545 Kerb weight 1500kg
1.6 GDi Hybrid 137 1.6 GDi Hybrid PHEV 137 39kWh eNiro 132 64kWh eNiro 198 Stonic 5dr SUV £18,445–£22,505
101 107 96 104
1.0 TGDi
115
11.1 10.4 9.5 7.5
TBC TBC TBC 282
110-120 TBC 0 0 AAABC
9.9
46.3-47.1 137
5dr SUV £23,795–£33,680 AAABC Sportage AAAAB Good ride, handling and usabilit y. Looks good and is decent value. Discovery 5dr SUV £53,090–£68,050 LxWxH 4480x1855x1635 Kerb weight 1454kg The country bumpkin given elocution lessons without losing its 1.6 GDi 128 113 11.1 34.9-35.7 177-184 rugged capabili ties. LxWxH 4956x2073x1888 Kerb weight 2115kg 1.6 TGDi 2.0 P300 172 127 8.9 34.4-34.9 183-184 296 125 7.3 24.925.1 254-256
1.6 TGDi AWD 172 125-126 8.8-9.2 31.7-32.5 192-201 3.0 P360 355 130 6.5 26.026.4 241-245 1.6 CRDi 134 48V AWD 132 112 11.6 42.8-43.5 141-161 3.0 D250 246 120 8.1 33.4-33.7 220-222 3.0 D300 296 130 6.8 33.2-33.5 221-223 5dr SUV £38,845–£48,895 AAAAC Sorento LEXUS Kia moves upmarket with a smart, wellpriced and nicely appointed AAAAC sevenseater. LxWxH 4780x1890x1685 Kerb weight 1932kg CT 5dr hatch £26,275–£33,275 1.6 TGDi HEV 223 119 8.7 38.2-40.9 158-168 Hybridonly hatch has a poky cabin and mismatched character 2.2 CRDi 197 127 9.1 42.2 176 traits. LxWxH 4350x1765x1445 Kerb weight 1465kg 1.8 VVTi CT200h 134 112 10.3 53.2-54.3 118-119 KTM AAAAC ES 4dr saloon £35,210–£45,690 AAABC X-Bow 0dr open £57,345–£70,717
Eccentric looks and sharp handling but expensive. LxWxH 3738x1915x1202 Kerb weight 847kg 2.0 R 2.0 GT
290 143 3.9 280 143 4.1
NA NA
NA NA
Gatecrashes the Germancontrolled saloon market in a way the GS could never manage. LxWxH 4975x1865x1445 Kerb weight 1680kg 2.5 VVTi ES300h 218 112 LS 4dr saloon £76,910–£102,925
8.9
53.2
119 AAABC
Luxury saloon gets more tech and opulence but is let down by its 2dr coupé/open £167,110–£220,847 AAAAC hybrid powertrain. LxWxH 5235x1900x1460 Kerb weight 2270kg Huracán Junior Lambo mixes usability and drama skilully, in both coupé 3.5 V6 VVTi LS500h 348 155 5.4 30.7-36.6 175-208 and Spyder orms. LxWxH 4459x1924x1165 Kerb weight 1389kg 5.2 V10 Evo RWD AAABC 608 202 3.3 20.5 330-335 RC 2dr coupé £40,245–£79,940 5.2 V10 Evo 631 201 2.9 20.3 332-338 An alsoran, but the V8 RC F packs plenty o character and handles well enough. LxWxH 4695x1840x1395 Kerb weight 1736kg 2dr coupé/open £274,036–£482,412 AAAAC 5.0 V8 RC F Aventador 470 168 4.5 23.9 268 Big, hairy V12 has astonishing visuals and perormance. Handling AAAAC could be sweeter. LxWxH 4797x2030x1136 Kerb weight 1575kg LC 2dr coupé/open £80,100–£90,950 6.5 V12 S 730 217 2.9 15.4 499 Superblooking coupé shows flickers o what made the LFA great. LAMBORGHINI
486 LxWxH 4770x1920x1345 Kerb weight 1935kg 5.0 V8 LC500 457 168 4.7 34.8 184 AAAAC 3.5 V6 LC500h 354 155 5.0 24.3 262 5dr SUV £36,070–£47,820 AAACC NX 4.0 V8 631 189 3.6 22.2 325 Some good ideas, but dramatic ally o the pace to drive. LxWxH 4630x1845x1645 Kerb weight 1905kg LAND ROVER 2.5 VVTi NX300h 4WD 194 112 9.2 37.1-39.7 161-173 AAAAB Defender 90 5dr SUV £43,625–£98,505 AAABC Breadth o capability matches that o the fivedoor, with even RX 5dr SUV £51,575–£63,275 more kerb appeal. LxWxH 4583x2008x1974 Kerb weight 2190kg Low flexibilit y, but hybrid option makes a degree o economic 2.0 P300 298 119 7.1 24.6 259-260 sense. LxWxH 4890x1895x1690 Kerb weight 2100kg 3.0 P400 398 119 6.0 25.6 256 3.5 V6 RX450h 308 124 7.7 34.4 185 5.0 P525 518 119 5.2 TBC TBC 3.0 D200 AAABC 198 109 9.8 32.8 226 UX 5dr SUV £35,635–£43,900 3.0 D250 246 117 8.0 32.8 226227 Rereshingly di erent premium SUV is a credible, i not class 3.0 D300 296 119 6.7 32.7 226 leading, alternative. LxWxH 4495x1840x1520 Kerb weight 1620kg 2.0 250h 181 110 8.5 50.4 126 AAAAB 2.0 250h E4 Defender 110 5dr SUV £45,315–£101,150 181 110 8.7 47.0 136 300e 150kWh Promises, and delivers, unrivalled oroad perormance with 201 100 7.5 TBC TBC onroad niceties. LxWxH 5018x2008x1967 Kerb weight 2209kg LOTUS 2.0 P300 298 119 8.1 24.2 263 2.0 P400e AAAAC 398 119 5.6 TBC TBC Elise 2dr open £41,245–£49,145 5.0 P525 518 119 5.2 TBC TBC A delicate, vi v i d and unettered drive; i you want a dail y dri v er, 3.0 D200 198 109 10.3 32.2 230 shop elsewhere. LxWxH 3824x1719x1117 Kerb weight 830kg 3.0 D250 246 117 8.3 32.2 230 1.8 VVTi 220 217 145 4.2 36.7 179 3.0 D300 296 119 7.0 32.2 230 1.8 VVTi 246 242 151 3.8 36.2 177 AAAAB Range Rover Evoque 5dr SUV £36,850–£55,580 AAAAC Exige 2dr coupé/open £61,925–£102,925 6.5 V12 SVJ Urus 5dr SUV £174,641
759 217 2.8
15.8
Lambo’s second SUV is more alluring and aims to use the V8’s power better. LxWxH 5112x2016x1638 Kerb weight 2200kg
Refined, luxurious baby Range Rover has matured or its second generation. LxWxH 4371x1996x1649 Kerb weight 1891kg 2.0 P200 2.0 P250 2.0 P300 1.5 P300e 2.0 D200
Sharp, uncompromising track car. Unorgiving on the road. LxWxH 4084x1802x1129 Kerb weight 1125kg
198 134 8.0 248 143 7.0 298 150 6.3 298 132 6.4 201 120 8.5 Range Rover Velar 5dr SUV £46,110–£71,020
31.7 201 31.6 201 31.3 203 166.2-193.5 33-38 43.8 169 AAAAC
3.5 V6 VVTi 350 345 162-170 3.8-3.9 28.2 225-230 3.5 V6 VVTi 410 407 180 3.4 28.7 230 3.5 V6 VVTi 430 428 180 3.2 27.7 230 AAAAC Evora 2dr coupé £88,225–£95,725
2.0 P250 3.0 P400 2.0 P400e 2.0 D200 3.0 D300 MHEV
27.829.2 217-229 27.328.0 227-230 TBC TBC 41.6 168-178 36.1-37.2 199-205 AAAAB
4dr saloon £58,220–£103,590 AAACC Ghibli Maser’s compact exec has the allure but lacks power and is poorly
The most carlike Landie ever doesn’t disappoint. Expensive, though. LxWxH 4804x1930x1685 Kerb weight 1829kg 248 135 7.5 394 155 5.5 398 149 5.4 201 130 8.2 296 143 6.5 Range Rover Sport 5dr SUV £65,295–£114,915
Dynamically it puts nearly everything else in the shade. Shame about the interior. LxWxH 4084x1802x1129 Kerb weight 1395kg 3.5 V6 VVTi 410
404 174-190 4.1-4.2 25.7-26.7 248 MASERATI
finished in places. LxWxH 4971x1945x1461 Kerb weight 1810kg
2.0 Hybrid 325 158 5.7 33.2 192 3.0 V6 345 166 5.5 25.2 254 3.0 V6 S 424 178 4.9 25.0 254 Bigger and better; a cutprice Range Rover rather than a jumpedup 3.8 V8 572 203 4.3 23.0 279 Discovery. LxWxH 4850x2073x1780 Kerb weight 2111kg 2.0 P300 AAACC 298 125 7.3 26.1 245 Quattroporte 4dr saloon £81,285–£126,890 2.0 P400e PHEV 401 137 6.7 75.386.9 69 Now a ullsized executive limo, with some added flair. O the pace 3.0 P400 398 140 6.2 27.4 234 in several key areas. LxWxH 5262x1948x1481 Kerb weight 1860kg 5.0 V8 P525 3.0 V6 522 155 5.3 18.920.2 315 345 168 5.5 25.0 257 5.0 V8 P575 SVR 3.0 V6 S 572 176 4.5 19.6 331 424 179 5.0 24.8 257 3.0 D300 298 130 7.3 34.1 220-247 3.8 V8 572 203 4.5 23.2 277 AAAAB Levante 4dr SUV £64,635–£124,940 AAACC Range Rover 5dr SUV £83,465–£179,715
Wherever you are, the Rangie envelops you in a lavish, invincible Italian flair and good looks in abundance, but diesel not as sense o occasion. LxWxH 4999x2220x1835 Kerb weight 2249kg sonorous as petrols. LxWxH 5003x1968x1679 Kerb weight 2109kg
3.0 P400 2.0 P400e 5.0 V8 P525 5.0 V8 P565 SVAD 3.0 D300 3.0 D350
398 140 6.3 399 137 6.8 522 155 5.4 562 155 5.4 298 130 7.4 348 140 7.1 Discovery Sport 5dr SUV £36,765–£51,630
26.126.7 240 75.785.1 75 19.720.0 318-322 18.9 342 33.0 228-238 30.5-30.9 240-256 AAAAB
2.0 P200 2.0 P250 2.0 P290 1.5 P300e 2.0 D165 2.0 D200
30.1 211 30.1 211 29.7 214 143.4-158.6 40-44 41.5 179 41.5 179
Seven seats, at home on road and o road, plus newound desirability. LxWxH 4599x2069x1724 Kerb weight 1732kg 198 247 288 298 162 201
129 140 144 130 112 117
9.2 8.1 7.5 6.6 10.6 8.9
p d (m
h) (mp ph p) r ( b h p e e d 6 2 m o m y n g e) / k m ) oP we Top s 0-60/ Econ(MPG/ra CO 2(g
4dr saloon £24,800–£28,900 AAAAC A-Class Saloon 4dr saloon £26,190–£45,420 AAABC 3Refisaloon ned and dynamically satisying in a saloon bodystyle. Larger, more grownup A-Class adds premium touch to smallest LxWxH 4460x1795x1440 Kerb weight 1405kg Merc saloon. LxWxH 4549x1796x1446 Kerb weight 1465kg 2.0 eSkyactivX 186 183 134 8.1 6 4dr saloon £24,975–£32,355
TBC
2.0 SkyactivG 143 129 9.9 2.0 Sk activG 163 134 9.4 2.0 SkyactivG GT 191 142 8.1 6 Tourer 5dr estate £25,975–£33,685
TBC TBC TBC
114-117 1.3 A180 1.3 A200 AAABC 2.0 A250
134 134 161 143 221 155 215 149 302 155 1.5 A180d 114 128 2.0 A200d 148 141 CLA Coupé 4dr saloon £31,690–£59,110
A compelling mix o size, economy and perormance. Interior is a 2.0 A250e 2.0 AMG A35 4Matic letdown. LxWxH 4870x1840x1450 Kerb weight 1465kg
Kia’s first crossover is striking and reasonably good considering the value. LxWxH 4140x1760x1520 Kerb weight 1160kg 116
NEW CAR PRICES
h)
) mph y ) e r (b s p ee /6 2 n o m range (g/km P o w Top 0 - 6 0 E c o ( MPG/ C O 2 hp)
3.0 V6 3.0 V6 S 3.8 V8 GTS 3.8 V8 Trofeo
339 424 526 572
156 164 180 186
MAZDA
6.0 5.2 4.3 4.1
22.6 22.4 17.9 17.8
283 286 357 359
5dr hatch £15,940–£20,995 AAAAC 2Grown up, well made and drives with charm and vigour; engines
aren’t bril iant. LxWxH 4060x1695x1515 Kerb weight 1141kg 1.5 SkyactivG 75 74 1.5 SkyactivG 90 88 3 5dr hatch £21,800–£28,900
106 12.1 49.6 110-114 9.4-12.0 49.6
121 120 AAAAC
Pleasing dynamism teamed with good practicality and punchy diesel engines. LxWxH 4460x1795x1435 Kerb weight 1411kg 2.0 eSkyactivG 2.0 eSk activX 186
120 122 10.4 183 134 8.1
TBC TBC
124-127 118-121
8.9 8.3 6.3 6.7 4.8 10.2 8.2
42.8-48.7 133-137 48.7 133-137 42.2 154-156 256.8 25 32.9-36.7 177-187 56.5-64.2 126-129 58.9 127-131 AAAAC
152 152 167 AAABC May use A-Cl a ss underpinnings, but engineered to be much Attractively styled but only average to drive. sportier to drive. LxWxH 4688x1830x1444 Kerb weight 1490kg 1.3 CLA 180 LxWxH 4805x1840x1480 Kerb weight 1465kg 133 134 9.0 47.9 138-140 2.0 Sk activG 1.3 CLA 200 143 128 10.0 TBC 155 161 142 8.2 42.8-47.9 138-140 2.0 SkyactivG 1.3 CLA 250e 163 133 9.4 TBC 155 215 149 6.8 TBC TBC 2.0 SkyactivG GT 2.0 CLA 250 191 139 8.1 TBC 172 222 155 6.3 38.7-42.2 154-155 2.0 AMG CLA 35 4Matic 302 155 4.9 34.9-37.2 177-187 5dr SUV £22,930–£30,490 AAAAC 2.0 AMG CLA 45 S 4Matic+ 415 168 4.0 33.2 200-202 CX-30 Dynamic qualities, a classy interior and a handsome look set it 2.0 CLA 220d 185 152 7.1 53.3-57.7 132 apart rom rivals. LxWxH 4395x1795x1540 Kerb weight 1334kg 2.0 eSkyactivG 120 116 10.6 TBC 134 CLA Shooting Brake 5dr estate £32,690–£60,110 AAABC 2.0 eSk activX 186 183 127 8.3 TBC 127 The most practical o the A-Class range, but it suers or its challenging styling. LxWxH 4688x1830x1447 Kerb weight 1430kg 5dr SUV £27,230–£37,185 AAAAC 1.3 CLA 180 CX-5 133 130 9.2 35.8-40.9 140-141 Oers powerul diesel engines and strong perormance, plus a 1.3 CLA 200 161 140 8.4 35.3-40.9 141-142 welcoming interior. LxWxH 4550x1840x1675 Kerb weight 1575kg 2.0 CLA 250 222 155 6.4 37.7-40.9 157-159 2.0 165 162 125 10.3 TBC 152-154 1.3 CLA 250e 215 146 6.9 TBC TBC 2.5 194 2.0 AMG CLA 35 4Matic 302 155 4.9 36.2 183-191 191 121 9.2 TBC 182 2.2d 150 148 127 9.9 TBC 151-154 2.0 AMG CLA 45 S 4Matic+ 415 168 4.0 32.8 203-205 2.2d 184 2.0 CLA 220d 181 129 9.3 TBC 175 185 147 7.2 43.5-48.7 135-136 AAAAC BClass 5dr hatch £28,045–£38,245 AAABC MX-30 5dr SUV £28,545–£32,845
Classy and aordable allelectric crossover marred only by its limited range. LxWxH 4395x1795x1555 Kerb weight 1645kg
A slightly odd prospect, but practical and classy nonetheless. LxWxH 4393x1786x1557 Kerb weight 1395kg
Remains perectly poised and vibrant, even with a olding metal roo. LxWxH 3915x1735x1230 Kerb weight 1090kg
Merc ramps up the richness, but the engines and dynamics aren’t refined enough. LxWxH 4686x1810x1442 Kerb weight 1450kg
35.5kWh 143 87 MX-5 2dr open £23,800–£29,995
1.3 B180 0 134 132 1.3 B200 159 139 AAAAA 2.0 B250 161 139 Bril iantly packaged, priced and perectly poised but more vibrant 1.3 B250e 215 146 than the original. LxWxH 3915x1735x1225 Kerb weight 1050kg 1.5 B180d 114 124 1.5 SkyactivG 132 2.0 B200d 129 127 8.3 44.1 142 148 136 2.0 SkyactivG 184 2.0 B220d 181 136 6.5 40.4 153 187 145 AAAAA C-Class 4dr saloon £34,670–£80,017 MX-5 RF 2dr open £24,050–£30,155 1.5 SkyactivG 132 2.0 Sk activG 184
9.7
124
9.0 8.2 8.2 6.8 9.8 8.3 7.2
1.5 C200 181 149 7.7 2.0 C300 254 155 6.0 2.0 C300e 315 155 5.4 McLAREN 3.0 V6 AMG C43 4Matic 385 155 4.7 2dr coupé £137,230 AAAAC 4.0 V8 AMG C63 S 540C 503 180 4.0 The aordable end o McLaren’s spectrum isn’t any less enthralling 2.0 C220d 191 149 6.9 2.0 C300d to drive. LxWxH 4530x2095x1202 Kerb weight 1449kg 241 155 5.9 3.8 V8 533 199 3.5 23.2 276 2.0 C300de 302 155 5.6 AAAAA C-Class Estate 5dr estate £37,520–£81,217 570S 2dr coupé/open £150,905–£166,665 129 126 8.6 44.1 142 181 124-126 7.9-8.7 37.7-40.4 155
45.6 46.3 40.4 TBC 61.4 57.7 56.5
140-142 140-142 159 TBC 137-138 134-144 136-137 AAAAC
37.7-43.5 153-171 35.3-39.8 162-171 TBC TBC 28.0-29.4 221-225 25.5-25.9 245-247 45.6-53.3 131-145 43.5-49.6 145-157 235.4 32 AAAAC
Blisteringly ast and exciting supercar slayer with hugely appealing Decent practicality and antastic interior. It’s a shame that it’s only handling. LxWxH 4530x2095x1202 Kerb weight 1440kg ordinary to drive. LxWxH 4702x1810x1457 Kerb weight 1495kg 3.8 V8
1.5 C200 181 146 7.9 36.7-40.9 164-176 2.0 C300 258 155 6.0 34.5-38.7 166-181 2.0 C300e 316 155 5.7 176.6 35 3.0 V6 AMG C43 4Matic 385 155 4.8 27.4-28.8 226-230 4.0 V8 AMG C63 S best. LxWxH 4604x2095x1191 Kerb weight 1356kg 503 174 4.1 24.8-25.5 251-253 3.8 V8 592 204 2.9 23.2 276-277 2.0 C220d 192 145 7.0 44.8-51.4 147-149 2.0 C300d 241 155 6.0 42.8-47.9 149-168 2dr coupé/open £216,905–£249,220 AAAAA 2.0 C300de 720S 302 155 5.7 217.3 34 The start o an era or McLaren and what a way to begin it is. AAAAC LxWxH 4543x2059x1196 Kerb weight 1419kg C-Class Coupé 2dr coupé £40,105–£84,600 4.0 V8 710 212 2.9 23.2 276 Outgoing twodoor keeps a nice balance o styl e, usability and driver reward. LxWxH 4696x1810x1405 Kerb weight 1505kg £165,230 AAAAB 1.5 C200 GTWoki2drng’coupé 181 149 7.9 37.7-42.2 155-156 s most userriendly car to date is stil a McLaren first and 2.0 C300 258 155 6.1 35.8-39.8 161-175 3.0 V6 AMG C43 4Matic 385 155 4.7 28.0-29.4 221-225 oremost. LxWxH 4683x2095x1213 Kerb weight 1339kg 4.0 V8 612 204 3.2 23.7 270 4.0 V8 AMG C63 S 503 180 3.9 25.0-25.5 250 2.0 C220d 192 149 7.0 46.3-52.3 133-145 2dr coupé £252,230 AAAAB 2.0 C300d 4Matic 765LT 241 155 6.0 42.8-48.7 151-164 Longtail treatment puts a deliciously sharp edge on the 720S. 2dr open £43,680–£87,430 AAAAC LxWxH 4600x2161x1159 Kerb weight 1419kg C-Class Cabriolet 4.0 V8 755 205 2.8 23.0 280 Take all the good bits about the coupé and add the abilit y to take the roo o. Bingo. LxWxH 4686x1810x1409 Kerb weight 1645kg 2dr coupé £750,000 AAAAA 1.5 C200 Senna 181 146 7.9 36.2-40.4 167-168 2.0 C300 Astounding circuit perormance made superbly accessible. 258 155 6.3 34.0-37.7 173-184 3.0 V6 AMG C43 4Matic 385 155 4.8 27.4-28.5 229-231 LxWxH 4744x2155x1229 Kerb weight 1309kg 4.0 V8 789 208 2.8 22.7 280 4.0 V8 AMG C63 S 503 174 4.1 24.4-24.8 258 2.0 C220d 191 145 7.5 44.8-49.6 141-153 MERCEDES-BENZ 2.0 C300d 242 155 6.3 42.2-47.1 153-167 5dr hatch £24,095–£57,195 AAAAC A-Class AAAAC A little bit o luxury in a desirable, hatchbacksized package. CLS Coupé 4dr saloon £58,935–£78,700 LxWxH 4419x1992x1440 Kerb weight 1445kg Retains the sleek coupé style and has more tech – without losing 1.3 A180 134 134 9.2 47.9 134-138 its allure. LxWxH 4996x1896x1436 Kerb weight 1935kg 1.3 A200 161 140 8.2 47.9 135-145 3.0 V6 AMG CLS 53 4Matic+ 429 155 4.5 TBC 216 2.0 A250 221 155 6.2 41.5 155-165 3.0 CLS 300d 4Matic 261 155 6.4 TBC 168 2.0 A250e 3.0 CLS 400d 4Matic 215 146 6.6 256.8 25 325 155 5.0 TBC 191 2.0 AMG A35 4Matic 302 155 4.7 33.6-35.8 184-193 2.0 AMG A45 S 4Matic+ 415 168 3.9 33.6 204-207 E-Class 4dr saloon £39,745–£99,495 AAAAC 1.5 A180d 114 126 10.0 62.8 127-130 A wee bit pricey, and less sporting than its ri v als, but stil comy 2.0 A200d 148 137 8.1 58.9 129-139 and lu xuri o us. LxWxH 4940x1852x1452 Kerb weight 1680kg 2.0 A220d 2.0 E200 187 146 7.0 57.6 141 194 149 7.4 38.2 165-166 3.0 E450 363 155 5.0 31.7 204 2.0 E300e 315 155 5.8 188.3 41 3.0 AMG E53 4Matic+ 429 155 4.5 30.4 212-215 4.0 V8 AMG E63 S 4Matic+ 603 155 3.4 22.8-23.7 277 2.0 E220d 191 146 7.4 53.3 139-157 2.0 E300d 261 155 6.3 47.9 153-167 3.0 V6 E400d 325 155 5.1 42.2 176-188 2.0 E300de 302 149 5.9 217.3 39 AAAAC E-Class Estate 5dr estate £41,680–£101,495 562 204 3.1
23.2
276
2dr coupé/open £187,730–£203,730 AAAAA 600LT Lighter, aster and more athletic than the 570S. McLaren at its very
Far more practical than its rivals, but pricier and less sporty than those closest to it. LxWxH 4933x1852x1475 Kerb weight 1780kg 2.0 E200 3.0 V6 AMG E53 4Matic+ 4.0 V8 AMG E63 S 4Matic+ 2.0 E220d 3.0 E300d 3.0 V6 E400d 4Matic 2.0 E300de
197 429 603 191 242 325 302
144 155 180 142 155 155 146
7.7 4.6 3.5 7.8 6.6 5.3 6.0
31.0-35.3 29.7 22.6-23.3 50.4 40.4-46.3 40.9 188.3
173-174 216-219 282 148-161 156-159 181-192 41
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 125
e Pow
h) (mp ph p) r (bh p speed 60/62m onomG/yrange) 2(g/km) Ec (MP C O To 0-
h) (mp ph p) r ( b h p e e d 6 2 m o m y n g e) / k m ) oP we Top s 0-60/ Econ(MPG/ra CO 2(g
h) (mp ph p) r ( b h p e e d 6 2 m o m y n g e) / k m ) oP we Top s 0-60/ Econ(MPG/ra CO 2(g
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AAAAC Plus Four 2dr open £62,995 AAABC GLE Coupé 5dr SUV £72,725–£130,250 May not be your idea of a desirable luxury car, but it’s certainly an Morgan’s fourcylinder lifeblood model gets 21stcentury effective one. LxWxH 4946x2014x1716 Kerb weight 2295kg underpinnings. LxWxH 3830x1500x1250 Kerb weight 1013kg 3.0 GLE 400d 4Matic 2.0 327 149 5.7 33.6 219 255 149 5.1 38.8 165 3.0 AMG GLE 53 4Matic 432 155 5.3 25.7 244 4.0 AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic 603 174 3.8 TBC 280 Plus Six 2dr open £82,920–£90,590 AAABC Feels like progress in lots of ways, but not yet the driver’s car it 5dr SUV £101,495–£171,645 AAABC might be. LxWxH 3890x1756x1220 Kerb weight 1075kg G-Class 3.0 Massively expensive and compromised, but with character in 335 166 4.2 38.2 180
abundance. LxWxH 4866x1984x1969 Kerb weight 2550kg AAAAC E-Class Coupé 2dr coupé £45,520–£70,200 Big, laidback fourseat tourer. Borrows looks from the ravishing
S-Class Coupé. LxWxH 4846x1860x1431 Kerb weight 1685kg
2.0 E300 3.0 E450 4Matic 3.0 AMG E53 4Matic+ 2.0 E220d 3.0 E300d 4Matic 3.0 V6 E400d 4Matic
237 155 6.4 362 155 5.0 429 155 4.4 189 145 7.6 242 155 6.4 325 155 5.3 E-Class Cabriolet 2dr open £50,485–£73,750
31.0 180-182 29.1-31.4 201 30.1-31.4 212-215 43.5-50.4 154-155 42.2-47.9 166-167 TBC 189 AAAAC
2.0 E300 237 155 3.0 E450 4Matic 362 155 3.0 AMG E53 4Matic 429 155 2.0 E220d 189 147 3.0 E300d 242 155 3.0 V6 E400d 4Matic 325 155 S-Class 4dr saloon £78,705–£104,245
30.0 189-190 28.8-30.7 208 29.7-30.7 217-219 42.8-48.7 162-163 40.9-46.3 172 TBC 193 AAAAA
Reined and sophisticated fourseater in the same mould as the S-Class Cabriolet. LxWxH 4846x1860x1429 Kerb weight 1780kg 6.6 5.8 4.5 7.8 6.6 5.4
Mercedes has given the S-Class a refresh and an added boost of tech. LxWxH 5141x1905x1498 Kerb weight 1970kg
3.0 GLE 400d 4Matic 325 130 6.4 4.0 V8 AMG G63 4Matic 578 137 4.5 GLS 5dr SUV £75,610–£128,285
NISSAN TBC 281-282 AAAAC 18.6-18.8 373 Micra 5dr hatch £13,995–£20,145 Refreshed look and better handling makes it an enticing choice. AAABC Has i ts laws, though. LxWxH 3991x1743x1455 Kerb weight 1490kg 1.0 IGT 100 The replacement for the massive GL can stil seat seven in 91 111 11.8 50.4 123-129 1.0 IGT 100 comfort. LxWxH 5216x2030x1823 Kerb weight 2415kg 98 114 10.9 50.4 126 3.0 GLS 400d 4Matic 327 148 6.3 32.8 227 1.0 DiGT 117 115 121 9.9 47.9 133 MG AAAAC Leaf 5dr hatch £29,845–£37,710 £12,195–£13,495 AAABC Better looks, better value and better range from this secondgen 3Neatl5dryhatch tuned and nice sporty styling. Breaks the mould for budget electric hatch. LxWxH 4387x1768x1520 Kerb weight 1245kg 40kWh superminis. LxWxH 4018x1729x1507 Kerb weight 1125kg 147 90 7.9 168 0 1.5 VTiTech 62kWh 104 108 10.9 42.3 152 214 98 6.9-7.3 239 0 AAABC Juke 5dr hatch £18,595–£25,095 AAABC 5 SW EV 5dr estate £27,495–£29,995
Segmentirst electric estate could be all the realworld EV you need. LxWxH 4544x1729x1509 Kerb weight 1532kg
5dr SUV £27,160–£47,210 AAAAC 3008 Cleverly packaged Peugeot offers just enough SUV DNA to make
the difference. LxWxH 4447x2098x1624 Kerb weight 1250kg
1.2 PureTech 130 126 1.6 PureTech 180 178 1.6 Hybrid 223 1.6 H brid4 298 1.5 BlueHDi 130 126 5008 5dr SUV £29,585–£40,905
117 136 146 149 119
10.5-10.8 8.0 5.9 5.9 9.5
37.2 146-149 39.6 165-167 157.2-222.3 29 166.2-235.1 36 55.1 137-139 AAAAC
Less MPV, more SUV, and shares its siblings’ good looks. Competent Highriding, funky hatch is a compelling package. High CO2 igures, to drive, too. LxWxH 4641x1844x1640 Kerb weight 1511kg 1.2 PureTech 130 though. LxWxH 4135x1765x1565 Kerb weight 1605kg 126 117 10.4-10.9 46.0 150-153
53kWh 154 115 HS 5dr SUV £20,995–£32,495
7.7
1.5 TGDI 162 118 1.5 TGDI PHEV 254 118 ZS 5dr SUV £15,495–£30,995
9.9 7.1
1.3 DiGT 140 36.2-37.2 168 138 120 10.5 42.1-45.0 143-153 TBC TBC 1.3 DiGT 160 156 123-124 8.9-9.9 42.9-43.9 146-152 AAACC X-Trail 5dr SUV £26,835–£34,745 AAABC
coupé £140,000 AAAAC 1Li2drmitedrun sports GT delivers petrolelectric performance and
44.5kWh EV
8.5
163
78kWh
214
1.0 DiGT 117 0 113 112 AAACC Qashqai 5dr SUV £23,550–£30,070
10.4
46.3
135-142 1.6 PureTech 180 1.5 BlueHDi 130 AAAAB 2.0 BlueHDi 180
Goes big on metal for the money but covers its budget roots with The deining modern crossover. The Mk2 is better in all areas, mixed success. LxWxH 4574x1876x1664 Kerb weight 1489kg hence its popularity. LxWxH 4394x1806x1590 Kerb weight 1331kg
178 135 8.3 129 119 10.7 175 131 9.1 POLESTAR
39.6 57.3 47.3
168-170 139-142 164-166
Swedish styling. LxWxH 4586x2023x1352 Kerb weight 2345kg 2.0 plugin hybrid 596 155 4.2 353.1 29 Much improved on previous MGs, but stil lacks the sophistication There aren’t many cheaper ways of owning an SUV. Has a better AAAAC of its closest rivals. LxWxH 4314x1809x1611 Kerb weight 1190kg range of engines, too. LxWxH 4640x1820x1710 Kerb weight 1505kg 2 5dr hatch £49,900 1.5 VTiTech 1.3 DiGT 160 104 109 10.9 41.5 155 158 123 11.5 37.8-38.5 166-173 Highrise saloon takes the EV off in a development direction all of 1.0T GDi 1.7 dCi 150 109 112 12.4 38.6 166 148 121 10.7 44.5-47.5 155-171 its own. LxWxH 4607x1859x1478 Kerb weight 2048kg
3.0 V6 S500 L 429 155 4.9 2.9 S350d 282 155 6.4 2.9 S400d 325 155 5.4 SLC 2dr open £37,130–£54,101
32.5-34.9 184-202 39.8-42.8 173-190 38.2-38.7 192-196 AAABC
3.0 V6 AMG SLC 43 356 155 4.7 AMG GT 2dr coupé/open £108,320–£377,050
1.5 One 31.7-32.5 199 1.5 Cooper AAAAC 2.0 Coo r S
141
87
0
GT-R 2dr coupé £86,095–£102,095
AAAAC
402 127 4.2
292
0
290 170 4.9-5.1 296 170 4.7-5.3 339 177 4.4-4.6 396 182 4.5 718 Cayman 2dr coupé £46,150–£77,685
32.5 32.5 29.1 25.9
198 199 229 247 AAAAA
2.0 290 2.0 T 296 2.5 S 339 4.0 GTS 396 4.0 GT4 414 911 2dr coupé £84,700–£158,200
32.8 35.5 29.1 25.9 25.7
MINI PORSCHE Another small convertible exhibiting all the charm that a Mercedes Monstrously fast Nissan has been tweaked and sharpened. Stil a AAAAB blunt object, though. LxWxH 4710x1895x1370 Kerb weight 1725kg 718 Boxster 2dr open £48,010–£68,245 AAAAB should. LxWxH 4143x1810x1301 Kerb weight 1435kg 3dr Hatch 3dr hatch £16,400–£35,215 2.0 SLC 200 178 147-149 6.9-7.0 40.4 167 Threepot engines and cleverly designed interior make the Mini a 3.8 V6 562 196 2.9 20.2 316 Our idea of droptop heaven. Exceptional to drive, whether cruising 2.0 SLC 300 237 155 5.8 35.3-37.2 178 superb choice. LxWxH 3821x1727x1414 Kerb weight 1190kg or hurrying. LxWxH 4379x1801x1280 Kerb weight 1335kg NOBLE
101 121 10.1-10.2 49.6 130 AAABC 134 130 7.8-7.9 48.7-49.6 130-132 M600 2dr coupé £248,000–£287,600 189 145-146 6.7-6.8 44.1 145 Deliciously natural and involving; a bit ergonomically lawed. 160 LxWxH TBC Kerb weight 1198kg 4.4 V8 189 662 225 3.0 NA NA 4.0 V8 GT 522 193-194 3.7-3.8 21.9-22.1 289-290 PEUGEOT 4.0 V8 GT R AAAAB 577 198 3.6 22.1 289 5dr Hatch 5dr hatch £17,140–£24,850 4.0 V8 GT Black Series 718 202 3.2 TBC 292 Mini charm in a more usable package, but stil not as practic al as 108 3dr/5dr hatch £12,785–£15,790 AAABC Kerb weight 1240kg Sister car to the Aygo – and a distant second to most city car AMG GT 4-Door Coupé 4dr saloon £141,785–£146,785 AAAAB ri1.5valOnes. LxWxH 3982x1727x1425 101 119 10.6 49.6 130 rivals. LxWxH 3475x1615x1460 Kerb weight 840kg Fourdoor, fourwheeldrive GT is confusing to contemplate but 1.5 Coo r 134 129 8.4 48.7-49.6 131-132 1.0 72 71 100 13.0 58.9 110 impressive to drive. LxWxH 5054x1953x1447 Kerb weight 2100kg 2.0 Cooper S 175 146 6.9 44.1-45.6 141-146 4.0 V8 GT63 S 4Matic+ 630 196 3.2 21.4-22.1 294-298 3dr/5dr hatch £17,575–£33,975 AAABC 208 AAABC A big improvement for Peugeot, if not for the supermini class. Convertible 2dr open £20,830–£29,960 5dr SUV £43,495–£44,995 AAAAC A fun opentop car but compromised on practic ality and dynamics. LxWxH 3475x1615x1460 Kerb weight 1065kg EQA 1.2 PureTech 75 Compact SUV marks the entry point to Mercedes’ allelectric EQ LxWxH 3821x1727x1415 Kerb weight 1280kg 72 106 14.9 58.9 124 1.5 Coo r range. LxWxH 4463x1834x1624 Kerb weight 2040kg 134 128 8.8 46.3 138-139 1.2 PureTech 100 98 117 9.9 53.0 124-126 67kWh 190 2.0 Cooper S 1.2 PureTech 130 187 99 8.9 TBC 0 175 143 7.2 42.2 151 128 129 8.7 51.9 128 2.0 John Cooper Works 227 150 6.6 39.2 165 50kWh e208 136 93 8.1 194-217 0 5dr SUV £65,720–£74,610 AAAAB 1.5 BlueHDi 100 EQC 99 117 10.2 70 109-110 AAAAC Brisk, tidyhandling electric SUV has everything needed to do well Clubman 5dr hatch £22,395–£36,100 AAAAB on UK roads. LxWxH 4762x1884x1624 Kerb weight 2495kg Cheery and alternative Mini ‘sixdoor’ takes the brand into new 308 5dr hatch £21,310–£31,985 80kWh 400 4Matic 402 112 5.1 232-259 0 territory. LxWxH 4253x1800x1441 Kerb weight 1375kg Classy allround appeal makes it a serious contender, but rear 1.5 Cooper 134 128 9.2 47.1 136-137 space is a l i t tle tight. LxWxH 4253x1804x1457 Kerb weight 1190kg 5dr SUV £31,785–£65,350 AAABC 2.0 Coo r S GLA 175 142 7.3 42.2 152-153 1.2 PureTech 110 107 117 11.1 51.5 132 Not the most practical crossover but good looking and very decent 2.0 John Cooper Works All4 302 155 4.9 38.2 169 1.2 PureTech 130 126 128-129 9.1-9.6 48.5-51.9 132-135 1.6 Puretech 260 GTI to drive. LxWxH 4417x1804x1494 Kerb weight 1395kg 258 155 6.0 37.8 169 1.6 GLA 180 AAABC 1.5 BlueHDi 130 120 124 8.7-9.0 35.3-40.4 151-155 Countryman 5dr hatch £24,495–£37,650 126 127 9.8 62.1-62.7 120-121 1.6 GLA 200 152 134 8.1-8.4 34.9-39.8 151-155 Bigger than before, but stil more funky than useful. Stil not all that 1.3 GLA 250e AAAAC 135 137 7.1 TBC TBC pretty, either. LxWxH 4299x2005x1557 Kerb weight 1440kg 308 SW 5dr estate £22,260–£29,530 2.0 GLA 250 4Matic 204 143 6.6 32.5-35.8 172-174 1.5 Cooper 136 124 9.7 44.8 143 Estate bodystyle enjoys the classy appeal of the hatchback. 2.0 GLA 200d 150 127 8.6-8.9 TBC 140-150 1.5 Cooper All4 136 122 10.3 40.9 157-158 LxWxH 4585x1563x1472 Kerb weight 1190kg 2.0 GLA 220d 1.2 PureTech 110 188 136 7.3 TBC 141-149 1.5 Cooper S E All4 PHEV 217 122 6.8 156.9 41 107 117 11.6 51.5 134 2.0 AMG GLA 35 4Matic 302 155 5.2 TBC 186-198 2.0 Cooper S 192 140 7.5-7.6 42.2-42.8 151-152 1.2 PureTech 130 126 127 9.5-10.0 48.5-51.9 134-140 2.0 AMG GLA 45 S 4Matic+ 415 155 4.3 TBC 215-224 2.0 Cooper S All4 192 138 7.6 40.4 158-159 1.5 BlueHDi 100 99 111 12.3 54.9-63.8 115 2.0 John Coo r Works All4 302 155 5.1 1.5 BlueHDi 130 37.2 174 126 126 10.0 62.1-62.7 122-125 5dr SUV £36,905–£51,635 AAABC 2.0 Cooper D GLB 150 129 9.1 56.5-57.6 129-130 AAAAC Boxy SUV mixes roughandtumble styling cues and sevenseat 2.0 Cooper D All4 150 127 9.0 52.3 142-143 508 4dr saloon £27,460–£40,910 versatility. LxWxH 4634x1834x1659 Kerb weight 2085kg Stylish and likeable but lacking the polish of more premium rivals. 1.3 GLB 200 AAAAC LxWxH 4750x1859x1430 Kerb weight 1535kg 160 129 9.1 40.4 160-165 Electric 3dr hatch £28,100–£37,000 2.0 AMG GLB 35 302 155 5.2 32.5 198 Won’t break records on range or usability, but has plenty of zip and 1.2 PureTech 130 126 127 8.1 49.1 129 2.0 GLB 200d 1.6 PureTech 180 148 127 9.0 47.9 149-156 driver appeal. LxWxH 3850x1727x1414 Kerb weight 1440kg 178 143 7.9 44.0 146-147 2.0 GLB 220d 1.6 PureTech 225 188 135 7.6 47.9 156-158 33kWh 180 93 7.3 144 0 223 155 7.1 42.2 156 1.6 Hybrid 223 155 8.3 166.0-235.0 27-38 MITSUBISHI 5dr SUV £44,530–£93,330 AAAAC 1.5 BlueHDi 130 GLC 126 126 10.0 62.0 124 AAACC Not exactly exciting to drive, but does luxury and reinement Mirage 5dr hatch £10,575–£14,060 AAACC better than most. LxWxH 4656x1890x1639 Kerb weight 1735kg A straightforward hatchback – but not for the likes of us. 508 SW 5dr estate £29,060–£42,760 2.0 GLC 300 4Matic 255 149 6.2 34.4 187-198 LxWxH 3795x1665x1505 Kerb weight 845kg Bodystyle takes the edge off the 508’s style yet doesn’t fully 3.0 V6 AMG GLC 43 4Matic 388 155 4.9 27.4 233-245 1.2 MiVEC 79 107 11.7-12.8 47.9-55.4 113-121 address practic al i t y. LxWxH 4778x1859x1420 Kerb weight 1430kg 4.0 V8 AMG GLC 63 4Matic+ 462 155 4.0 22.2 289-291 1.2 PureTech 130 126 127 8.3 49.1 129 4.0 V8 AMG GLC 63 S 4Matic+ 502 155 3.8 22.7 294-296 ASX 5dr SUV £21,035–£26,805 AAACC 1.6 PureTech 180 178 140 8.0 44.0 149-150 2.0 GLC 220d 4Matic 1.6 PureTech 225 191 134 7.9 47.9 154-167 Decent engines, but otherwise an unexceptional crossover. 223 153 7.4 42.2 158 2.0 GLC 300d 4Matic 1.6 H brid 242 144 6.5 42.8 178-179 LxWxH 4355x1770x1640 Kerb weight 1260kg 223 155 8.3 166.0-235.0 27-38 2.0 GLC 300de 4Matic 302 143 6.2 TBC TBC 2.0 MIVEC 2WD 1.5 BlueHDi 130 148 118 10.2 37.7 171 126 129 10.1 62.0 127 2.0 MIVEC 4WD 148 118 12.5 34.4 185 AAAAC AAAAC GLC Coupé 5dr SUV £47,405–£95,155 2008 5dr SUV £21,030–£39,630 AAACC Compact crossover has most rivals licked, but class is stil waiting A coupéshaped SUV destined to be outrun by the X4 – unless Eclipse Cross 5dr SUV £22,545–£27,055 you’re in an AMG. LxWxH 4732x1890x1602 Kerb weight 1785kg Stylish, futurelooking midsized SUV shows where Mitsubishi’s for a gamechanger. LxWxH 4300x1770x1550 Kerb weight 1205kg 2.0 GLC 300 4Matic 1.2 PureTech 100 255 149 6.3 32.8 195-202 destiny lies. LxWxH 4695x1810x1710 Kerb weight 1425kg 98 115 10.9 52.0 125-127 3.0 V6 AMG GLC 43 4Matic 388 155 4.9 27.7 232-242 1.5 MiVEC 2WD 160 127 9.7 36.2-37.7 170-177 1.2 PureTech 130 128 122 8.9 50.6 132 4.0 V8 AMG GLC 63 4Matic+ 472 155 4.0 22.4-23.5 285 1.2 PureTech 155 153 129 8.2 46.6 141 4.0 V8 AMG GLC 63 S 4Matic+ 502 155 3.8 22.1 290-291 Outlander 5dr SUV £29,410–£44,225 AAABC 50kWh e2008 136 93 8.5 TBC 0 2.0 GLC 220d 4Matic 191 135 7.9 44.1 167-173 Creditable effort, but stil cheap in places: PHEV a boon for l e et 1.5 BlueHDi 98 115 11.4 62.7 118-120 2.0 GLC 300d 4Matic 242 145 6.6 40.9 182-184 users. LxWxH 4695x1810x1710 Kerb weight 1565kg 2.0 GLC 300de 4Matic 302 143 6.2 TBC TBC 2.0 MiVEC 4WD 148 118 13.3 32.5 196 2.0 MiVEC PHEV 200 106 11.0 139.7 46 5dr SUV £62,210–£120,773 AAAAC GLE AAACC The ML replacement isn’t inspiring to drive but does come with a Shogun Sport 5dr SUV £31,880–£33,880 classy interior. LxWxH 4819x2141x1796 Kerb weight 2165kg Has a itness for purpose that could appeal to those who tow or 2.9 GLE 450 4Matic 362 155 5.7 32.5 229 haul big loads. LxWxH 4785x1815x1805 Kerb weight 2100kg 2.0 GLE 300d 4Matic 242 140 7.2 39.2 198-207 2.4 DIDC 4WD 179 112 11.0 32.8 227 2.9 GLE 350d 4Matic 268 143 6.6 36.2 206-214 MORGAN 2.9 GLE 400d 4Matic 328 152 5.7 35.3 220 2.0 GLE 350de 4Matic 0dr open £40,846–£40,999 AAAAA 317 130 6.8 256.8 29 3 Wheeler 3.0 V6 AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ 432 155 5.3 26.7 246-248 The eccentric, characterful and bril iant Morgan is a testament to 4.0 V8 AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic+ 603 155 3.8 TBC 281 English creativit y. LxWxH 3225x1720x1000 Kerb weight 525kg 2.0 Vtwin 82 82 115 6.0 NA NA
Mil iondollar looks and a railgun V8, but extremely irm chassis 2.0 John Cooper Works 227 152 6.1-6.3 39.8 affects its usabilit y. LxWxH 4544x1939x1287 Kerb weight 1615kg 2.0 John Cooper Works GP 302 164 5.2 34
126 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
2.0 2.0 T 2.5 S 4.0 GTS
Scalpelblade incisiveness, supreme balance and outstanding driver involvement. LxWxH 4379x1801x1295 Kerb weight 1335kg 170 170 177 182 188
4.9-5.1 4.9-5.3 4.4-4.6 4.5 4.4
197 198 228 247 251 AAAAB
Wider, eighthgeneration 911 is stil eminently fast, and capable at all speeds. LxWxH 4519x1852x1300 Kerb weight 1565kg
3.0 Carrera 3.0 Carrera 4 3.0 Carrera S 3.0 Carrera 4S 3.0 T a 3.0 Targa S 4.0 GT3 3.7 Turbo 3.7 Turbo S
380 182 4.0 380 180 4.0 444 191 3.5 444 190 3.4 380 179 4.4 444 189 3.8 503 199 3.4 572 199 2.8 641 205 2.7 911 Cabriolet 2dr open £94,500–£167,357
27.4 233 26.9 238 27.4 234 26.9 239 26.9 239 26.4 244 21.7-21.9 283-304 23.5 271 23.5 271 AAAAC
3.0 Carrera 380 180 4.2 3.0 Carrera 4S 444 188 3.6 3.7 Turbo 572 199 2.9 3.7 Turbo S 641 205 2.8 Panamera 4dr saloon £71,765–£140,200
27.2 26.6 23.3 23.3
Fewer compromises than ever, if rewarding only at full attack. LxWxH 4519x1852x1297 Kerb weight 1585kg
236 241 275 275 AAAAA
Revamped big saloon is an absolute belter, making it almost the perfect grand tourer. LxWxH 5049x1937x1423 Kerb weight 1815kg
2.9 V6 2.9 V6 4 2.9 V6 4S 2.9 V6 4 EHybrid 2.9 V6 4S EHybrid 4.0 V8 GTS 4.0 V8 Turbo S 4.0 V8 Turbo S EHybrid
325 168 5.6 27.7 232 325 167 5.3 27.2 235 434 183 4.3 27.4 234 456 174 4.4 78.5-85.6 60 552 185 3.7 78.5-85.6 60 473 186 3.9 23.3 275 621 196 3.1 22.1 289 690 196 3.2 TBC TBC Panamera Sport Turismo 5dr estate £76,942–£142,444 AAAAA
The Panamera in a more practical form, and now it’s a goodlooking beast. LxWxH 5049x1937x1428 Kerb weight 1880kg
2.9 V6 4 325 163 2.9 V6 4S 434 180 2.9 V6 4 EH brid 456 174 2.9 V6 4S EHybrid 552 182 4.0 V8 GTS 473 181 4.0 V8 Turbo S 621 196 4.0 V8 Turbo S EHybrid 690 196 Taycan 4dr saloon £83,635–£138,885
5.3 4.3 4.4 3.7 3.9 3.1 3.2
79kWh 4S 93kWh 4S 93kWh Turbo 93kWh Turbo S
4.0 4.0 3.2 2.8
26.4 242 26.4 242 78.5-85.6 60 78.5-85.6 60 22.8 280 21.7 295 TBC TBC AAAAB
First allelectric Porsche shows the rest of the world how it should be done. LxWxH 4963x1966x1381 Kerb weight 2305kg 527 563 670 751
155 155 161 161
252 287 280 256
0 0 0 0
p d (m
h)
h 2mp
h)
) mph y ) e r ( b s p e e / 6 2 n o m r a n ge ( g / k m P o w Top 0 - 6 0 E c o (MPG/ C O 2
y ) ) e r ( b s p e e / 6 n o m / r a n ge ( g / k m P o w Top 0 - 6 0 E c o ( M P G C O 2 h p)
hp)
5dr SUV £48,965–£71,140 AAAAB Macan Spookily good handling makes this a sports utility vehicle in the
p d (m
purest sense. LxWxH 4692x1923x1624 Kerb weight 1770kg 2.0 242 139 3.0 V6 S 349 157 3.0 GTS 375 162 3.0 V6 Turbo 434 167 Cayenne 5dr SUV £61,380–£126,845
6.7 5.3 4.9 4.3
27.7 26.4 25.0 24.8
335 152 6.2 456 157 5.0 428 164 5.2 453 168 4.8 533 177 3.9 671 183 3.8 Cayenne Coupé 5dr SUV £66,320–£129,445
24.6 259 60.1-72.4 74 23.9 268 21.2 301 20.9 305 52.3-58.9 90 AAAAC
3.0 V6 GTS 4.0 V8 Turbo 4.0 V8 S EH brid
21.2 302 20.9 307 52.3-58.9 90
37kWh electric
81
81
12.3
162
132 9.2 143 7.7 155 5.3 140 7.8 124 11.1 132-135 8.6-8.8 133 9.2 145 7.9 142 7.3
40.9-45.6 141-157 39.8-40.9 162-168 33.2-34.0 188-194 148.7-188.3 33-42 56.5 131-132 54.3-56.5 132-135 53.3-57.7 129-140 49.6-51.4 140-144 47.9 157 AAABC
it’s no class leader. LxWxH 3840x1735x1495 Kerb weight 890kg 1.2 Dualjet 83 82 112 13.1 1.2 Dualjet 83 A rip 82 106 13.8 1.4 Boosterjet Sport 138 130 9.1 Swace 5dr estate £27,499–£29,299
TBC TBC 47.0
1.8 Hybrid 120 112 Vitara 5dr SUV £22,249–£27,049
TBC
111 123 127 AAABC
Rebadged Toyota Corolla Touring Sports serves as a useful addition to Suzuki’s lineup. LxWxH 4655x1790x1460 Kerb weight 1420kg 11.1
99 AAABC
Utterly worthy addition to the class drives better than most. 5dr hatch £16,445–£20,535 AAAAB Skoda’s supermini pl a tform has birthed a practic al but predic table LxWxH 4175x1775x1610 Kerb weight 1075kg Ibiza Reinvigorated Ibiza is more mature and takes the class honours compact crossover. LxWxH 4241x1793x1553 Kerb weight 1251kg 1.4 Boosterjet 127 118 9.5 TBC 128 1.4 Boosterjet Allgrip 127 118 10.2 TBC 140 from the Fiesta. LxWxH 4059x1780x1444 Kerb weight 1091kg 1.0 TSI 95 93 112 11.1 49.6 129 1.0 MPI 80 1.0 TSI 95
79 93
106 14.6 113 10.9
50.4-52.3 122-128 1.0 TSI 115 112 120 9.9 51.4 124-125 1.5 TSI 150 148 132 8.3 Karoq 5dr SUV £23,200–£35,195
1.0 TSI 110 108 122 10.9 51.4-52.3 123-126 1.0 eTSI 110 108 119 10.8 50.4-51.4 124-129 1.5 TSI EVO 130 128 129 9.4 49.6-51.4 124-128 1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 135 8.7 48.7 133 RADICAL 1.5 eTSI 150 148 135 8.5 47.9 130-132 0dr open £110,000 AAABC 1.4 eHybrid PHEV Rapture 201 137 7.5 TBC TBC Not as well mannered as some lightweights but spectacular in its 2.0 TDI 150 113 124 10.2 64.2-65.7 113-115 trackday element. LxWxH 4100x1790x1130 Kerb weight 765kg 2.2 Turbo 5dr estate £23,065–£37,470 AAAAC 360 165 3.1 NA NA Leon ST Goodlooking and responsive hatchbackturnedestate. 2dr open £145,000 AAABC LxWxH 4549x1816x1454 Kerb weight 1236kg RXC GT Designed for pounding around a track; out of its element on the 1.5 TSI EVO 130 128 130 9.7 49.6-51.4 125-128 1.5 TSI EVO 150 road. LxWxH 4300x1960x1127 Kerb weight 1125kg 148 135 8.9 47.9-48.7 132-133 3.5 V6 400 1.5 eTSI 150 400 179 2.8 NA NA 148 135 8.7 48.7 131-132 3.5 V6 650 1.4 eHybrid PHEV 650 180 2.7 NA NA 201 137 7.5 TBC TBC RENAULT 5dr SUV £18,605–£24,770 AAAAC Arona 2dr hatch £11,695–£12,395 AAABC Seat’s second SUV doesn’t disappoint, with it taki ng charge of the Twizy Zany solution to personal mobility is suitably irreverent and class dynamicall y. LxWxH 4138x1780x1543 Kerb weight 1165kg 1.0 TSI 95 impractical. LxWxH 2338x1381x1454 Kerb weight 474kg 93 107 11.2 51.4 124 MB L7e 1.0 TSI 115 17 50 NA 62 0 113 113 9.8-10.0 47.9-53.3 121-134 1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 127 8.3 44.8-45.6 140-143 5dr hatch £29,995–£31,495 AAABC Zoe AAAAB A far more practical zeroemission solution. Attractive price, too. Ateca 5dr SUV £23,670–£35,355 LxWxH 4084x1730x1562 Kerb weight 1470kg Seat’s irst SUV is very good. So good, in fact, it’s a Qashqai beater. 50kWh R110 107 84 11.4 233 0 LxWxH 4363x1841x1601 Kerb weight 1280kg 50kWh R135 1.0 TSI 110 132 87 9.5 232 0 108 112 11.4 44.1-46.3 139-146 1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 124 8.5 42.2-43.5 149-152 5dr hatch £15,895–£22,495 AAAAC 2.0 TDI 116 Clio 114 115 10.9 54.3-55.4 135-137 Plusher, smoother and much more mature. A car of substance as 2.0 TDI 150 148 126 9.3 55.4-58.9 141-166 2.0 TDI 150 4Drive well as style. LxWxH 4047x1728x1440 Kerb weight 1148kg 148 122 8.7 47.1-48.7 141-166 1.0 SCe 65 64 TBC TBC TBC 117 1.0 TCe 90 5dr SUV £29,140–£40,620 AAAAC 88 TBC TBC TBC 117 Tarraco 1.0 TCe 100 98 116 11.8 47.9-54.3 119 Seat’s largest SUV brings a hint of youthful exuberance to a 1.6 ETech Hybrid 138 112 9.9 65.7 96 practical category. LxWxH 4735x1839x1674 Kerb weight 1845kg 1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 124 9.9 38.7-41.5 155-166 5dr hatch £21,455–£36,995 AAABC 2.0 TSI 4Drive 190 Mégane 188 130 8.0 31.0-31.7 201-207 Stylish and reined but bland. TrophyR hot hatch an altogether 2.0 TDI 150 148 124 10.2 49.6-52.3 144-150 different prospect. LxWxH 4359x1814x1447 Kerb weight 1340kg 2.0 TDI 200 4Drive 197 130 7.8 41.5-42.8 172-178 1.3 TCe 140 138 127 9.5 46.3 133-136 SKODA 1.8 RS 300 298 162-163 5.4-5.7 34.9 184 1.5 Blue dCi 115 5dr hatch £14,365–£17,935 AAABC 113 118 11.1 62.8 117 Fabia Comfortable, affordable, easy to drive and attractive, but no more 5dr estate £22,995–£32,995 AAABC so than its rivals. LxWxH 3997x1732x1467 Kerb weight 1151kg Mégane Sport Tourer Stylish and reined estate car is stil bland like the hatch. Smaller 1.0 MPI 60 58 98 16.6 51.4-52.3 124-127 than its predecessor. LxWxH 4626x1814x1457 Kerb weight 1409kg 1.0 TSI 95 94 114 10.8 50.4-52.3 122-127 1.3 TCe 140 138 127 9.8 47.9 132-133 1.6 ETech PHEV AAAAC 153 111 TBC TBC TBC Fabia Estate 5dr estate £15,625–£18,825 1.5 Blue dCi 115 113 129 11.4 64.2 121 Far more practical, majoring on boot space while doing what a good Skoda should. LxWxH 4262x1732x1467 Kerb weight 1182kg 5dr SUV £19,095–£31,495 AAAAC 1.0 TSI 95 Captur 94 115 10.9 50.4-52.3 121-126 Jackedup Clio is among the better downsized options. Stylish and AAAAC luentriding. LxWxH 4122x1778x1566 Kerb weight 1184kg Scala 5dr hatch £17,265–£24,410 1.0 TCe 90 89 104 8.7 TBC 133-134 Undercuts ri v als on price and ushers in a sharp new design 1.3 TCe 130 138 122 9.2 TBC 134-135 language for Skoda. LxWxH 4362x1793x1471 Kerb weight 1381kg 1.6 ETech PHEV 156 107 10.1 TBC TBC 1.0 TSI 95 94 118 11.0 53.3 119-120 1.0 TSI 110 108 123 10.1 51.4-53.3 120-124 5dr SUV £24,695–£27,695 AAAAC 1.5 TSI 150 Kadjar 148 137 8.2 50.4-51.4 125-128 Fine value, practical, decent to drive and goodlooking, but the AAAAC Qashqai is classier. LxWxH 4449x1836x1607 Kerb weight 1306kg Octavia 5dr hatch £21,230–£33,745 1.3 TCe 140 138 124 9.8 45.6 143-147 Does comfort and practic ality like no other. Good, frugal engines too. LxWxH 4689x1829x1470 Kerb weight 1225kg 5dr SUV £28,895–£34,295 AAABC 1.0 TSI 110 Koleos 113 129 10.5-10.8 54.3-56.5 115-117 Koleos name returns and is a vast improvement on before, but no 1.5 TSI 150 148 143 8.5 52.3-53.3 121-123 1.4 TSI iV PHEV class leader. LxWxH 4672x2063x1678 Kerb weight 1540kg 201 136 7.7 TBC TBC 1.7 Blue dCi 150 148 118 11.8 45.6 161-162 1.4 TSI iV vRS PHEV 242 139 7.3 TBC TBC 2.0 Blue dCi 190 188 123 10.1 40.9 181-183 2.0 TSI vRS 242 155 6.8 40.9 157 2.0 TDI 116 114 131 10.3 68.9 109 ROLLS-ROYCE 2.0 TDI 150 148 143 8.7 64.2-67.3 109-115 2dr coupé £262,230–£301,710 AAAAB 2.0 TDI 200 vRS Wraith 197 154 7.4 56.5 130 An intimate and involving Rolls. Not as grand as some, but other 2.0 TDI 200 vRS 4x4 197 150 6.8 51.4 145 traits make it great. LxWxH 5285x1947x1507 Kerb weight 2360kg 6.6 V12 AAAAC 624 155 4.6 18.5-18.6 347-348 Octavia Estate 5dr estate £22,210–£34,975 Classleading amount of space and practicality. Comfortable, too. 2dr open £286,230–£345,630 AAAAB LxWxH 4667x1814x1465 Kerb weight 1247kg Dawn Essential y as above, except with a detuned engine and in elegant 1.0 TSI 110 113 125 10.6-10.9 53.3-54.3 118-119 convertible form. LxWxH 5295x1947x1502 Kerb weight 2560kg 1.5 TSI 150 148 139 8.4 50.4-52.3 123-126 6.6 V12 563 155 5.0 16.8-17.4 367-380 1.4 TSI iV PHEV 201 136 7.8 TBC TBC 1.4 TSI iV vRS PHEV 242 139 7.3 TBC TBC 4dr saloon £253,830–£286,230 AAAAC 2.0 TSI vRS Ghost 242 155 6.8 40.4 159 ‘Affordable’ Rolls is a more driverfocused car than the Phantom. 2.0 TDI 116 114 128 10.4 67.3 111 Stil hugely special. LxWxH 5399x1948x1550 Kerb weight 2360kg 2.0 TDI 150 148 139 8.8 62.8-65.7 112-118 6.6 V12 563 155 4.9-5.0 18.5-18.6 347-348 2.0 TDI 200 vRS 197 152 7.4 55.4 132 2.0 TDI 200 vRS 4x4 197 147 6.8 50.4 147 4dr saloon £367,830–£439,830 AAAAA Phantom 5dr hatch £25,105–£41,500 AAAAC Phantom takes opulent luxury to a whole new level. Superb LxWxH 5762x2018x1646 Kerb weight 2560kg Another great Czech value option that’s big on quality and space if 6.75 TV12 563 155 5.1-5.2 18.6-18.8 341-344 not on price. LxWxH 4869x1864x1469 Kerb weight 1340kg 1.5 TSI 150 148 137 9.0-9.2 40.4-44.8 142-157 4dr SUV £268,230–£309,030 AAAAC 2.0 TSI 190 Cullinan 188 148 7.7 38.2-39.2 162-168 Big, bold new 4x4 begins the next era for the brand, with a model 2.0 TSI 280 4x4 276 155 5.5 32.2-34.0 188-193 1.4 iV PHEV that convinces. LxWxH 5341x2164x1835 Kerb weight 2730kg 215 138 7.7 148.7-188.3 33-42 6.75 TV12 563 155 5.2 17.3-18.1 355-370 2.0 TDI 122 120 129 11.0 57.7-58.9 127 2.0 TDI 150 148 138 9.1 54.3-58.9 125-136 SEAT 2.0 TDI 200 197 151 7.9 51.4-53.3 140-145 AAABC 2.0 TDI 200 4x4 Mii Electric 5dr hatch £22,800 197 148 7.2 47.9 154
Not as desirable or plush as the eUp but nearly as good to drive. LxWxH 3557x1643x1474 Kerb weight 1160kg
h) (mp ph p) r ( b h p e e d 6 2 m o m y n g e) / k m ) oP we Top s 0-60/ Econ(MPG/ra CO 2(g
AAAAC Swift 5dr hatch £14,999–£22,070 AAABC Superb Estate 5dr estate £26,385–£42,780 Even more commendable than above, primarily thanks to its Given mature looks, more equipment and a hybrid powertrain, but
1.5 TSI 150 148 2.0 TSI 190 188 2.0 TSI 280 4x4 276 1.4 iV PHEV 215 2.0 TDI 122 120 2.0 TDI 150 148 2.0 TDI 150 148 2.0 TDI 200 197 2.0 TDI 200 4x4 197 Kamiq 5dr SUV £18,370–£25,350
Little different to drive than the standard car but certainly has an 1.0 TSI 115 113 121 9.3 49.6 129-130 appeal all of its own. LxWxH 4931x1983x1676 Kerb weight 2030kg 3.0 V6 AAAAC 335 150 6.0 24.4 263 Leon 5dr hatch £20,400–£37,980 3.0 V6 EHybrid 456 157 5.1 60.1-72.4 74 A creditable effort and a notable improvement in form, with plenty 2.9 V6 S 428 163 5.0 23.5 271 of niche appeal. LxWxH 4282x1816x1459 Kerb weight 1202kg 453 168 4.5 533 178 3.9 671 183 3.8
p d (m
enormous boot. LxWxH 4856x1864x1477 Kerb weight 1365kg
232 243 255 259 AAAAB
Refreshed look, improved engines and interior, and a better SUV overall. LxWxH 4918x1983x1696 Kerb weight 1985kg 3.0 V6 3.0 V6 EH brid 2.9 V6 S 3.0 V6 GTS 4.0 V8 Turbo 4.0 V8 S EHybrid
NEW CAR PRICES
h)
) mph y ) e r (b s p ee /6 2 n o m range (g/km P o w Top 0 - 6 0 E c o ( MPG/ C O 2 hp)
47.1-49.6 130-136 AAABC 46.3-47.9 133-139 SX4 S-Cross 5dr SUV £21,249–£28,049 A worthy crossover if not a class leader. Refreshed looks give a AAAAC lease of life. LxWxH 4300x1785x1585 Kerb weight 1160kg Yeti replacement may not have its forebear’s quirkiness, but it’s 1.4 Boosterjet 127 118 9.5 TBC 127 bril iant otherwise. LxWxH 4382x1841x1603 Kerb weight 1265kg 1.4 Boosterjet Allgrip 127 118 10.2 TBC 139 1.0 TSI 115 113 118 10.6 43.5-45.6 141-147 1.5 TSI 150 AAABC 148 126 8.1-8.3 42.8-44.8 143-149 Across 5dr SUV £45,599 20 TSI 190 4x4 188 132 7.3 33.2 191 Rebadged Toyota PHEV plunges Suzuki convincingly into several 2.0 TDI 150 148 127 9.0 50.4-52.3 142-148 new segments. LxWxH 4635x1855x1690 Kerb weight 1915kg 2.0 TDI 150 4x4 148 121 8.8 42.8 172-174 2.5 PHEV 182 112 6.0 282.4 22 TESLA 5dr SUV £26,630–£42,175 AAAAC Kodiaq AAAAB Skoda’s irst sevenseat SUV is a viable alternative to a traditional Model S 5dr hatch £79,980–£94,980 MPV. LxWxH 4697x1882x1676 Kerb weight 1430kg Large range makes it not only a standout EV but also the future of 1.5 TSI 150 148 123 9.3 37.2-39.2 164-172 l u xury motoring. LxWxH 4978x1963x1445 Kerb weight 2108kg 2.0 TSI 190 4x4 188 TBC TBC 32.1-32.5 196-200 Long Range 411 155 3.7 405 0 2.0 TDI 150 148 123 9.8 46.3-47.9 154-161 Performance 596 162 2.3 396 0 2.0 TDI 150 4x4 148 120 9.6 44.8-47.9 155-165 2.0 TDI 200 4x4 AAAAC 197 131 7.8 41.5-42.5 175-178 Model 3 4dr saloon £43,490–£56,490
Lowestprice, biggestvolume Tesla yet arrives in the UK after SMART wooing the US. LxWxH 4694x1849x1443 Kerb weight 1726kg 3dr hatch/open £21,700–£25,270 AAACC Standard Plus EQPricFortwo 235 140 5.3 267 0 Lo Ra e ey, EVonly twoseater has urban appeal but is short on 346 145 4.2 360 0 performance. LxWxH 2695x1663x1555 Kerb weight 1085kg
Performance 449 162 3.1 352 0 79 81 11.6-11.9 81-84 0 5dr SUV £87,890–£102,980 AAAAB Model X 5dr hatch £22,295–£23,445 AAACC A genuine l u xury sevenseat electric SUV that also has a large EQFourForfour doors give the Smart more mainstream practicality. Stil range. LxWxH 5036x2070x1684 Kerb weight 2459kg expensive, though. LxWxH 3495x1665x1554 Kerb weight 1200kg Long Range 411 155 4.4 348 0 Electric Drive Performance 79 81 12.7 84 0 596 163 2.6 340 0 Electric Drive
SSANGYONG
TOYOTA
5dr SUV £14,345–£20,345 AAABC Aygo 3dr hatch £12,690–£14,750 AAACC Tivoli Trails the Duster as the bestvalue small crossover – but not by Impactful styling does a lot to recommend it, but not as reined nor much. LxWxH 4195x1795x1590 Kerb weight 1270kg as practical as some. LxWxH 3455x1615x1460 Kerb weight 840kg 1.2 128 1.0 VVTi 126 112 TBC TBC 158 71 99 13.8 56.5 114 1.5 163 160 112 TBC TBC 161-164 AAABC Yaris 5dr hatch £19,910–£24,005 AAACC Styl i s h interior but ultimately a scaleddown version of bigger Korando 5dr SUV £20,395–£32,445
Competitive towing capabilities and generous kit, but stil lacks dynamics. LxWxH 4450x1870x1629 Kerb weight 1610kg
Toyotas. LxWxH 3495x1695x1510 Kerb weight 1310kg
1.5 VVTi Hybrid 114 109 9.7 65.7-68.9 92-98 172 AAAAA 159-164 GR Yaris 5dr hatch £29,995–£33,495 178 Focused, exhilarating allwheeldrive hot hatch is the most exciting Toyota in ages. LxWxH 3995x1805x1455 Kerb weight 975kg AAACC 1.6 AWD 253 143 5.5 TBC 186 Practical pickup has a reined engine and direct steering, but ride AAAAC needs reinement. LxWxH 5095x1950x1840 Kerb weight 2155kg C-HR 5dr SUV £26,885–£33,155 2.2d 181 178 115-121 12.2 TBC TBC Coupéshaped crossover certainly turns heads and impresses on the road. LxWxH 4360x1795x1565 Kerb weight 1320kg 5dr SUV £29,995–£39,895 AAABC 1.8 Hybrid Rexton 119 105 11.0 57.7-58.9 109-110 A vast improvement. Better on the road but without ditching its 2.0 Hybrid 181 112 8.2 53.3-54.3 119 argicultural roots. LxWxH 4850x1960x1825 Kerb weight 2102kg 2.2d 181 AAAAC 178 115 11.3-11.9 34.0 205-227 Camry 4dr saloon £31,635–£32,605 1.5 GDITurbo 160 119 1.6 D 2WD 133 112 1.6 D 4WD 133 112 Musso 5dr SUV £25,131–£35,031
12.0 12.0 12.0
TBC TBC TBC
Toyota’s biggest global seller returns to UK with ULEZfriendly SUBARU hybrid power. LxWxH 4885x1840x1445 Kerb weight 1595kg 5dr estate £34,770 AAACC 2.5 VVTi Hybrid Levorg 215 112 8.3 53.3 120-126 Impressively practical but only offered with an automatic gearbox 5dr hatch £24,480–£30,020 AAAAC and one trim. LxWxH 4690x1780x1490 Kerb weight 1568kg Corolla 2.0i 148 121 11.7 32.6 196 Rebranded hatch has rolling reinement, interior ambience and affable handling. LxWxH 4370x1790x1435 Kerb weight 1340kg 5dr SUV £28,335–£33,665 AAACC 1.8 VVTi Hybrid XV 122 111 10.9 57.6-62.8 102-112 2.0 VVTi Hybrid Nononsense crossover doesn’t quite make enough sense. 180 111 7.9 53.3-57.6 111-120 LxWxH 4450x1780x1615 Kerb weight 1355kg 1.6i 5dr estate £25,750–£31,955 AAAAC 112 109 13.9 TBC 180 Corolla Touring Sports 2.0i 154 120 10.4 35.7 180 More practical estate bodystyle proves just as capable with hybrid 180 power. LxWxH 4650x1790x1435 Kerb weight 1440kg 1.8 VVTi Hybrid 122 111 11.1 56.5-62.8 103-113 AAACC 2.0 VVTi Hybrid 180 111 8.1 53.3-56.5 112-121 5dr SUV £30,090–£50,895 AAACC RAV4 2.0i eBoxer 148 117 11.8 34.7 185 A solid option but ultimately outgunned by Korean competition. LxWxH 4605x1845x1675 Kerb weight 1605kg 5dr estate £33,770–£36,770 AABCC 2.5 Hybrid Outback 194 112 8.4 50.4-51.3 126-131 2.5 H brid AWD Acceptable in isolation but no class leader. 194 112 8.1 47.9-48.7 131-134 2.5 PHEV LxWxH 4815x1840x1605 Kerb weight 1612kg 302 112 6.0 TBC TBC 2.5i 172 130 10.2 33.0 193 5dr SUV £42,345–£57,490 AAABC Land Cruiser 2dr coupé £32,020 AAAAA A real goanywhere vehicle. Totally rugged and availa ble wi t h BRZ The GT86’s halfbrother looks great in Subaru blue. Cheaper, too. seven seats. LxWxH 4335x1885x1875 Kerb weight 2010kg 2.8 D4D 177 LxWxH 4240x1775x1320 Kerb weight 1242kg 201 109 12.7 29.1-31.0 239-250 2.0i 197 140 7.6 33.3 191 2dr coupé £47,395–£54,340 AAAAC GRBrinSupra SUZUKI gs welcome muscle, fun and variety to the affordable sports 5dr hatch £13,289–£16,769 AAAAC car class. LxWxH 4379x1292x1854 Kerb weight 1541kg Ignis Cute and ruggedlooking 4x4 city car capable of tackling roads 2.0i 250 155 5.2 TBC 167 bereft of asphalt. LxWxH 3700x1660x1595 Kerb weight 855kg 3.0i 335 155 4.3 34.5 188 1.2 Dualjet 87 106 11.8 52.9 126 1.2 Dual et SHVS 5dr hatch £24,875–£28,975 AAAAC 87 106 11.4 54.1 117 Prius 1.2 Dualjet SHVS 4x4 87 103 11.1 48.6 127 Better all round compared with its predecessors. Challenging looks, though. LxWxH 4540x1760x1470 Kerb weight 1375kg 1.8 VVTi H brid 120 112 10.6 58.9-67.3 94-109 Prius Plugin Hybrid 5dr hatch £32,645–£34,745 AAAAC
2.0i eBoxer 148 120 10.4 Forester 5dr estate £36,345–£39,335
35.7
Solid, spacious and wilfully unsexy. A capable 4x4 nonetheless. LxWxH 4610x1795x1735 Kerb weight 1488kg
Plugin version is clever and appealing. Seems more comfortable in its skin. LxWxH 4645x1760x1470 Kerb weight 1530kg 1.8 VVTi Hybrid 120 101 Mirai 4dr saloon £66,000
11.1
Hydrogen FCV
9.6
188.3-217.3 29-35 AAAAC
Europe’s irst ‘ownable’ hydrogen car, even if infrastructure isn’t quite mainstream. LxWxH 4890x1815x1535 Kerb weight 1850kg 152 111
66.1mpkg 0
0
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 127
NEW CAR PRICES WHAT’S COMING WHEN
h) (mp ph p) r ( b h p e e d 6 2 m o m y n g e) / k m ) oP we Top s 0-60/ Econ(MPG/ra CO 2(g
h) (mp ph p) r ( b h p e e d 6 2 m o m y n g e) / k m ) oP we Top s 0-60/ Econ(MPG/ra CO 2(g
h) (mp ph p) r ( b h p e e d 6 2 m o m y n g e) / k m ) oP we Top s 0-60/ Econ(MPG/ra CO 2(g
4dr saloon £27,085–£39,480 AAAAC Passat Lands blows on rivals with its smart looks, civilised refinement,
quality and usabilit y. LxWxH 4767x2083x1476 Kerb weight 1367kg 1.5 TSI EVO 150 1.4 TSI GTE PHEV 2.0 TDI 122 2.0 TDI 150 2.0 TDI 200
148 137 8.7 215 138 7.4 120 127 11.3 148 139 8.9 197 147 7.4 Passat Estate 5dr estate £29,340–£41,450
46.3-47.9 139-146 217.3 30 58.91 125 58.9-60.1 124-127 53.3 138 AAAAC
1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 133 8.9 1.4 TSI GTE PHEV 215 138 7.6 2.0 TDI 122 120 123 11.5 2.0 TDI 150 148 130-132 9.1 2.0 TDI 200 197 145 7.6 Arteon 4dr saloon £31,965–£41,980
44.8-45.6 144-151 201.8 33 57.6 129 56.5-57.6 128-132 52.3 143 AAABC
All the Passat’s redeeming eatures in spacious, practical estate orm. LxWxH 4767x2083x1516 Kerb weight 1395kg VAUXHALL
On sale July, price from £25,000 (est)
3dr/5dr hatch £16,440–£33,045 AAABC Corsa Refined, stylish and practical, but its engines aren’t so good.
LxWxH 4060x1765x1433 Kerb weight 1141kg 1.2 75 72 108 1.2 100 97 121 1.5 Turbo D 102 98 117 50kWh E 132 93 Astra 5dr hatch £18,890–£26,430
13.2 9.9 10.2 8.1
53.3 125 48.7-52.3 126-134 70.0 109-110 209 0 AAAAC
Good handling and nice engines, but its workingclass roots stil show through. LxWxH 4370x1809x1485 Kerb weight 1244kg 1.2 Turbo 110 1.2 Turbo 130 1.2 Turbo 145 1.4 Turbo 145 1.5 Turbo D 105 1.5 Turbo D 122 JUNE
108 124 10.2 54.3 119 128 134 9.9 54.3 119 143 137 9.7 54.3 121-124 143 130 9.3 50.4 129 102 124 10.2 65.7 113 118 127-130 9.7-10.2 64.2 115 Astra Sports Tourer 5dr estate £20,340–£25,125 AAAAC
More composed and practical than the hatchback. LxWxH 4702x1809x1510 Kerb weight 1273kg 1.2 Turbo 110 1.2 Turbo 130 1.2 Turbo 145 1.4 Turbo 145 1.5 Turbo D 105 1.5 Turbo D 122
SUMMER
108 124 10.0 54.3 119 128 134 9.5 53.3 119 142 137 9.0 54.3 119 142 130 9.2 49.6 129 102 124 10.2 65.7 113 118 130 9.8 55.4-64.2 116-113 Insignia Grand Sport 5dr hatch £23,765–£40,925 AAAAC
The goodlooking and techfil ed Insignia makes an attractive proposition. LxWxH 4897x1863x1455 Kerb weight 1714kg 2.0 Turbo 200 1.5 Turbo D 122 2.0 Turbo D 170
197 146 7.2 120 127 10.7 167 142 8.2 Crossland X 5dr SUV £19,330–£25,235
37.7 61.4 61.4
171 121 121 AAABC
1.2i 83 81 1.2i Turbo 110 108 1.2i Turbo 130 128 1.5 Turbo D 102 101 1.5 Turbo D 120 116 Mokka 5dr SUV £20,735–£37,970
47.1 142 47.1 140 44.1-48.0 136-146 61.4 120 55.4 137 AAABC
Vauxhall’s small SUV is competent enough but lacks any real character. LxWxH 4212x1765x1605 Kerb weight 1245kg 105 117 128 111 114
14.0 10.6 9.1 9.9 10.8
Radically overhauled crossover now comes with the option o batteryelectric power. LxWxH 4151x1791x1531 Kerb weight 1750kg 1.2 100 1.2 130 1.5 Turbo D 110 50kWh e
99 115 128 125 108 118 134 93 Grandland X 5dr SUV £24,800–£44,370
10.6 9.1 10.8 8.7
1.2 Turbo 130 1.6 Hybrid 1.6 Hybrid4 1.5 Turbo D 130
128 117 223 140 298 146 128 119 Combo Life 5dr MPV £23,010–£25,545
10.9-11.1 8.6 5.9 10.2
1.2 Turbo 110 1.2 Turbo 130 1.5 Turbo D 100 1.5 Turbo D 130
11.9 TBC 12.7 10.6
51.4 124 47.1-50.4 126-137 64.2-65.7 114 201 0 AAACC
Does well to disguise its 3008 roots but too bland to stand out in a congested segment. LxWxH 4477x1811x1630 Kerb weight 1350kg AUTUMN
45.6 141-147 192.0-210.0 34 204.0-225.0 32 54.3 136 AAABC
Vanbased people carrier is usable, spacious and practical, i not very pretty to look at. LxWxH 4403x1841x1921 Kerb weight 1430kg
WINTER
EARLY 2022
108 128 99 128
109 TBC 107 115
40.9 40.3 52.3 51.3
156 157 142-145 144
150kW 62kWh 150kW 82kWh
128 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
201 99 201 99
7.3 7.9
261 336
0 0
LxWxH 4784x1916x1499 Kerb weight 1792kg 2.0 T5 2.0 D4
248 140 6.8 187 130 8.2
35.8 47.9
180 155
VW’s flagship saloon is wellmade and luxurious but rather bland to AAAAC drive. LxWxH 4862x1871x1450 Kerb weight 1505kg S90 4dr saloon £56,025–£56,875 1.5 TSI 150 148 137 8.9 42.8-44.8 144-151 Volvo’s midsized exec majors on comort, styl e and cruising 2.0 TSI 190 187 149 7.9 36.2-38.2 168-178 abi l i t y. LxWxH 4963x2019x1443 Kerb weight 1665kg 2.0 TDI 150 2.0 TDI 200 2.0 TDI 200 4Motion
148 137 9.5 55.4-58.9 126-134 2.0 T8 Rechar e PHEV 384 112 5.1 TBC TBC 197 147 7.9 51.4-54.3 137-145 5dr estate £39,835–£60,405 AAAAC 197 145 7.4 46.3 159 V90 Luxury estate takes on the 5 Series and the E-Class. Comy and a 5dr estate £32,765–£42,780 AAABC good cruiser. LxWxH 4936x2019x1475 Kerb weight 1679kg Arteon Shooting Brake Hybrid option and estate bodystyle’s extra versatility enhance the 2.0 B4 197 112 7.9 40.9 158 Arteon’s appeal. LxWxH 4866x1871x1450 Kerb weight 1529kg 2.0 B5 246 112 6.9 36.6-40.4 159-175 1.5 TSI 150 148 135 8.9 42.2-43.5 145-153 2.0 B6 297 112 6.2 34.4-36.2 178-184 2.0 TSI 190 187 145 7.9 35.8-37.2 171-179 2.0 T6 Rechar e PHEV 335 112 5.9 TBC TBC 2.0 TDI 150 148 135 9.4 54.3-57.6 128-136 2.0 B4D 197 112 8.8 44.8-49.5 149-164 2.0 TDI 200 197 145 7.9 50.4-53.3 139-147 2.0 B5D 232 112 7.1 44.8-47.0 156-164 2.0 TDI 200 4Motion 197 143 7.4 46.3 161 5dr estate £46,985–£53,160 AAAAC V90 Cross Country 5dr MPV £28,580–£35,495 AAAAC Volvo’s large comy estate given a jackedup, rugged makeover. Touran Dull overall, but it’s a capable MPV, wellmade and hugely refined. LxWxH 4936x2019x1543 Kerb weight 1826kg 2.0 T5 AWD LxWxH 4527x1829x1659 Kerb weight 1436kg 250 140 7.4 32.5 196 1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 118 11.4 39.8-40.9 154-162 2.0 T6 AWD 310 140 6.3 32.5 196 2.0 TDI 150 148 128-129 9.3 50.4-52.3 142-147 2.0 D4 AWD 185 130 8.8 43.5 171 2.0 D5 AWD 228 140 7.5 40.9 181 5dr MPV £34,230–£35,595 AAAAB Sharan AAAAC Fullsized sevenseater oers versatility, space, VW desirability XC40 5dr SUV £25,275–£60,005 and tidy handling. LxWxH 4854x1904x1720 Kerb weight 1703kg Volvo’s take on the crossover aims to rival BMW, Mercedes and 1.4 TSI 150 148 122 10.7 37.2 180-189 Audi. LxWxH 4425x1910x1658 Kerb weight 1626kg 1.5 T2 126 112 10.9 40.4 158 5dr SUV £18,360–£27,785 AAAAB 1.5 T3 T-Cross 160 112 9.3-9.6 38.7-40.4 158-166 Compact crossover delivers a classy, substantial eel on UK roads. 2.0 B4 197 112 8.4 36.7-39.2 162-176 2.0 B5 LxWxH 4108x1760x1584 Kerb weight 1270kg 246 112 6.9 36.7 174-176 1.0 TSI 95 93 112 11.5 47.9 132-133 1.5 T5 Recharge PHEV 258 112 7.3 117.7-141.1 45-55 1.0 TSI 110 108 117 9.9-10.4 42.8-48.7 132-149 P8 Rechar e 78kWh 402 112 4.9 249 0 1.5 TSI EVO 150 147 124 8.5 46.3-47.1 136-138 AAABC XC60 5dr SUV £40,980–£64,090 5dr SUV/open £21,440–£40,735 AAAAC Looks like a small XC90 and carries on where the old one let o. A T-Roc VW’s junior SUV is beguiling and sophisticated. It drives rather well, good, capable cruiser. LxWxH 4688x1999x1658 Kerb weight 1781kg 2.0 B5D too. LxWxH 4234x1992x1573 Kerb weight 1270kg 246 112 6.9 36.7-38.1 168-176 1.0 TSI 110 108 115 10.8 43.5-46.3 133-146 2.0 B6D 296 112 6.2 34.0 190 1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 127 8.3-9.6 40.9-47.9 144-158 2.0 T6 Recharge PHEV 335 112 5.9 TBC TBC 2.0 TSI R 300 4Motion 2.0 T8 Rechar e PHEV 384 112 5.5 TBC TBC 298 155 4.9 31.7 201 2.0 TDI 115 113 116 10.4 56.5-60.1 137-146 2.0 T8 R’ge Polestar PHEV 399 112 5.4 TBC TBC 2.0 TDI 150 148 124 8.8-10.8 50.4-53.3 140-146 2.0 B4D 194 112 8.3 44.8-45.5 161-166 2.0 B5D 232 112 7.1 44.1 167 £40,800 AAAAC IDImpressi 4 5dr SUV AAAAC vely refined and versatile SUV marks VW out as a maker o XC90 5dr SUV £55,095–£75,090 fine electric cars. LxWxH 4584x1852x1640 Kerb weight 2124kg Clever packaging, smart styling, good to drive: Volvo’s closest thing 82kWh 201 99 8.5 TBC 0 to a class leader. LxWxH 4950x2008x1776 Kerb weight 1961kg 2.0 B5D 246 112 7.7 32.4 198 5dr SUV £24,915–£39,010 AAAAC 2.0 B6D Tiguan 296 112 6.7 90.7 210 An improvement on the previous model and wil continue to sell by 2.0 T8 Recharge PHEV 384 112 5.8 TBC TBC the bucketload. LxWxH 4486x1839x1654 Kerb weight 1490kg 2.0 B5D 232 112 7.6 41.5 178 1.5 TSI EVO 130 128 119 10.2 44.1-44.8 143-146 VUHL 1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 126 9.2-9.3 38.2-42.2 143-168 2.0 TDI 150 AAAAC 148 125-127 9.3 47.1-50.4 146-157 05 0dr open £59,995–£89,995 2.0 TDI 150 4Motion 148 124-125 9.3 43.5-45.6 163-171 Mexican trackday special has a pleasingly pragmatic and orgi v i ng 2.0 TDI 200 4Motion 197 134 7.5 42.8 172-177 chassis. LxWxH 3718x1876x1120 Kerb weight 725kg 2.0 DOHC Turbo 285 152 3.7 NA NA AAAAC 2.3 DOHC Turbo RR Tiguan Allspace 5dr SUV £32,195–£44,385 385 158 2.7 NA NA
Has all the Tiguan’s sensibility and refinement, now with the bonus o seven seats. LxWxH 4486x1839x1654 Kerb weight 1490kg
1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 123 9.5-10.0 37.2-39.2 164-176 2.0 TDI 150 148 126 9.7 44.8-47.1 164-165 2.0 TDI 150 4Motion 148 123-124 9.8 41.5 177-179 VOLKSWAGEN 2.0 TDI 200 4Motion 197 132 TBC 40.4-41.5 176-184 hatch £12,705–£23,555 AAAAC UpIt’s no3dr/5dr 5dr SUV £45,960–£63,415 AAAAC revolution, but VW’s hallmarks are in abundance. Touareg LxWxH 3600x1428x1504 Kerb weight 926kg Hints o ritziness and sportiness don’t impinge on this unctional 1.0 65 64 100 15.6 54.3 119 luxury SUV’s appeal. LxWxH 4878x2193x1717 Kerb weight 1995kg 1.0 115 GTI 113 119 8.8 51.4 125-126 3.0 V6 TSI 340 335 155 5.9 25.2-25.7 249-252 eUp 3.0 V6 TDI 231 81 80 12.4 159 0 228 135 7.5 33.6-34.4 214-219 3.0 V6 TDI 286 282 148 6.1 33.6-34.9 213-219 5dr hatch £17,125–£20,605 AAAAC Polo VOLVO A thorough goingover makes it more mature, but the Polo is stil a 4dr saloon £39,680–£51,100 AAAAC bit boring. LxWxH 4053x1946x1461 Kerb weight 1105kg S60 1.0 80 78 106 15.4 51.4 125 Freshaced saloon now sits comortably among the ranks o its 1.0 TSI 95 93 116 10.8 48.7-53.3 120-127 German peers. LxWxH 4761x1916x1437 Kerb weight 1616kg 1.0 TSI 110 108 121 9.9 53.3-54.3 118-119 2.0 B5 246 112 6.7 41.5 153 2.0 T8 Recharge PHEV 384 112 4.6 122.8-176.5 42 5dr hatch £23,355–£39,270 AAAAB 2.0 T8 R’ e PHEV Polestar 399 112 4.4 104.5 61 Golf Does exactly what everyone expects. Stil the king o the amily 5dr estate £34,855–£52,200 AAAAB car. LxWxH 4284x1789x1492 Kerb weight 1206kg V60 1.0 TSI 110 108 126 10.2 53.3 121 Spacious and comortable, with a characterul, Scandicool design. 1.5 TSI EVO 130 128 130 9.1 51.4-53.3 121-124 LxWxH 4761x1916x1427 Kerb weight 1729kg 1.5 TSI EVO 150 148 139 8.9 50.4-51.4 124-128 2.0 B3 161 112 9.1 40.9 155 1.5 eTSI EVO 150 148 135 8.9 47.9-49.6 129-133 2.0 B4 197 112 8.0 41.5 152 1.4 TSI PHEV 242 140 6.7 TBC TBC 2.0 B5 246 112 6.8-6.9 37.7-40.4 157-170 2.0 TSI GTI 2.0 B6 242 155 6.4 38.2 169 297 112 6.0 36.2 175 2.0 TSI 300 GTI 2.0 T8 R’ge PHEV Polestar 399 112 4.9 TBC TBC 296 155 5.6 38.2 167 2.0 TSI 320 R 4Motion 2.0 T6 Recharge PHEV 335 112 4.6 TBC TBC 296 155 4.7 36.2 177 2.0 TDI 115 113 126 10.2 67.3-68.9 107-110 2.0 B4D 197 112 7.6 47.0-50.4 146-156 2.0 TDI 150 148 139 8.8 64.2 116-117 2.0 TDI 200 GTD 197 152 7.1 54.3 137 AAAAC ID 3 5dr hatch £32,990–£42,290
A very mature electric car whose substance o engineering is central to its appeal. LxWxH 4261x1809x1568 Kerb weight 1730kg
V60 Cross Country 5dr estate £40,600–£40,775 AAAAC Brings extra ride height, allwheel drive and oroad body cladding.
WESTFIELD
2dr coupé £19,950–£35,800 AAAAC Sport Sport Turbo is very quick and un but not a patch on the
Caterhams. LxWxH TBC Kerb weight TBC 1.6 Sigma 1.6 Si ma 2.0 Duratec 2.0 Ecoboost Mega 2dr coupé £16,950
135 155 200 252
2.0 VTEC S2000
240 TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC TBC
NA NA NA NA
NA NA NA NA AAABC
Mega engine makes it rapid, but isn’t as un as Caterham’s R range. And you have to build it yoursel. LxWxH TBC Kerb weight TBC ZENOS
NA
NA
0dr coupé £26,995–£39,995 AAAAB E10 The latest in a long line o midengined British marvels. Expect a
dedicated ollowing. LxWxH 3800x1870x1130 Kerb weight 700kg 2.0 Ecoboost S 2.3 Ecoboost R
250 145 4.0 350 155 3.0
NA NA
NA NA
ROAD TEST
INDEX
The best new cars rated as only Autocar knows how
A road test in any other magazine might well be a short, subjective summary of a new car produced under almost any circumstances, but the Autocar road test is different. Specific, rigorous and detailed, it’s the closest examination we can give of any new model. It appears over at least eight pages and is close to 50 man-hours in the making every week. Most of what the road test process entails is designed to be strictly repeatable and fair. We benchmark standing-start and in-gear acceleration at a purpose-built test facility every week. We carry out both subjective and objective handling tests on both road and track, on the latter up to and beyond the limit of grip, so as to fully assess stability, drivability and limit handling appeal. And while benchmark lap times are sometimes taken, they’re never an end in themselves. We record and publish stopping distances, too, as well as taking cabin noise measurements at various cruising speeds and benchmarking either indicated or brim-to-brim fuel economy. We independently measure leg room, head room, boot space and certain key exterior vehicle dimensions, and we also weigh every car we test. Just as every new car is different, however, the road test has developed to be versatile enough, week by week, so as to best assess and reflect the suitability of each test subject to its intended purpose. It now includes modular sections describing in detail the limit handling of a new car, or its semi-autonomous assisted driving technologies or its off-road capability. All of this goes to bringing you the most thorough, relevant and fair test of a new car we can produce. The scores reproduced here are the ones we gave the cars at the time so they don’t necessarily represent what those same cars might score today were they rejudged using current class standards. But you can dig deeper into their attributes by using the magazine publication dates listed here to look up an old test in your own collection or on digital platforms such as Readly and Exact Editions, or you can order a back issue by phoning 0344 848 8816. In that vein, it only remains to wish you many happy hours lost in the many numbers of our road test archive and to thank you for reading. Ma Saunders, road test editor ABARTH
124 ider AAAAC
ALFA ROMEO
22.3.17
Giulia Quadrifo io AAAAB 29.3.17 Stelvio 2.2D 210 Milano AAABC 3.1.18 Quadrifo io AAAAC 9.1.19 4C S der AAACC 27.1.16
ALPINA
AAAAA
ALPINE ARIEL
AAAAA
AAAAA AAAAA
ASTON MARTIN
Vanta V8 AAAAB DB11 Launch Edition AAAAB ide S AAAAC AAAAA DBX AAAAB
23.5.18 21.9.16 20.3.13 28.10.20
BMW
1 Series 118i M S ort AAAAC 30.10.19 2 Series 220d Convertible AAAAC 1.4.15 M2 AAAAB 15.6.16 M2 CS M-DCT AAAAB 19.8.20 218d Active Tourer Luxur AAAAC 24.12.14 218i Gran Cou é M S ort AAACC 8.4.20 AAAAA 330d xDrive M S ort AAAAB 15.1.20 330e M S ort AAAAB 1.7.20 4 Series M440i xDrive AAAAC 6.1.21 M4 Com tition AAAAB 21.4.21 5 ries 520d M S ort AAAAB 31.5.17 M5 AAAAB 18.4.18 6 Series GT 630d xDrv M S t AAABC18.11.17 7 Se es 730Ld AAAAC 11.11.15 8 Series 840d xDrive AAABC 16.1.19 M8 Com tition Convertible AAABC5.2.20 M8 Com tition Co AAABC 3.6.20 i3 1.3S Ran e Extender AAAAC 21.2.18 i8 AAAAB 17.9.14 X1 xDrive20d xLine AAAAC 14.10.15 X2 M35i AAABC 25.9.19 X3 xDrive20d M S ort AAAAC 17.1.18 X4 M Com etition AAACC 13.11.19 X5 xDrive30d M S ort AAAAC 2.1.19 X7 xDrive M50i M Perf’nce AAAAC 9.9.20
CATERHAM
Seven 620S AAAAC
CHEVROLET
9.3.16
Corvette Sti a AAAAC
8.10.14
C3 Puretech 110 Flair AAABC C3 Aircross Puretech 110 AAABC C4 Puretech 130 Auto AAACC C5 Aircross BlueHDi 180 AAABC
28.12.16 7.3.18 26.5.21 13.2.19
At a 2.0 TSI 4Drive AAABC Formentor 2.0 TSI VZ2 AAAAB
23.1.19 3.2.21
CITROEN CUPRA
Proceed 1.4 T-GDi AAABC Xceed 1.4 T-GDi AAABC Niro 1.6 GDI DCT 2 AAABC e-Niro First Edition AAAAB S a 1.7 CRDi ISG 2 AAABC Sorento 1.6 HEV G-TDi 2 AAABC
LAMBORGHINI
27.2.19 20.11.19 31.8.16 1.5.19 2.3.16 20.1.21
Huracán Performante AAAAB 11.10.17 POLESTAR Evo RWD Cou é AAAAB 20.5.20 1 AAAAC 21.10.20 Aventador SVJ AAAAC 19.6.19 Urus AAAAC 3.7.19 PORSCHE 718 Boxster AAAAB 8.6.16 LAND ROVER S der AAAAB 1.4.20 Defender 110 P400 X AAAAB 13.5.20 Ca man S AAAAB 10.8.16 Discove Sport D180 AWD SE AAAAC Ca man GTS AAAAB 9.5.18 8.1.20 911 GT2 RS AAAAC 18.7.18 Range Rover Evoque P300e AAAAB Carrera S AAAAB 29.5.19 AAAAA 10.2.21 Ra e Rover 4.4 SDV8 AAAAB 12.12.12 enne Turbo AAAAC 5.9.18 Range Rover Velar D240 HSE AAABC Turbo S E-H brid AAABC 27.5.20 AAAAA 30.8.17 Ran Rover S 3.0 TDV6 AAAAB2.10.13 RENAULT AAAAA Zoe D nami AAABC 31.7.13 LEXUS Clio TCe 100 Iconic AAAAB 27.11.19 AAAAC LC 500 S ort+ 18.10.17 M ne 1.5 dCi D n. S Nav AAACC 17.8.16 NX 300h AAACC 1.10.14 RS Tro h -R AAAAC 23.10.19 RC F AAACC 18.2.15 Grand Scénic dCi 130 D n. S Nav AAABC ES 300h Takumi AAABC 6.2.19 25.1.17 LS 500h Premier AWD AAACC 6.6.18 Ka ar dCi 115 D n. S Nav AAAAC 21.10.15 Koleos dCi 175 4WD Si . AAACC 20.8.17 LOTUS Captur 1.3 TCe 130 S Edition EDC AAABC Elise Cu 250 AAABC 29.6.16 18.3.20 Evora S 2+0 AAAAC 30.3.11 Exi e S AAAAB 3.4.13 ROLLS-ROYCE AAAAA MASERATI Ghost AAAAB 13.1.21 Ghibli Diesel AAABC 12.3.14 Wraith AAAAB 21.5.14 Leva e Diesel AAACC 30.11.16 Dawn AAAAC 1.6.16 S Granlusso AAABC 8.5.19 Cullinan Black Bad e AAAAC 19.2.20
MAZDA
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21.1.15 31.7.19 2.9.20 17.2.21 9.9.15 26.2.20 30.1.19 23.11.16
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SUBARU
29.11.17 7.10.15
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FACTFILE
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT...
9 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 129
Matt Prior Will DS 9 attract with its Parisian chic better than the Citroën C6 did?
S
omeone cynical recently commented on Autocar’s website that DS models are routinely awarded two stars too few by our testers. Given that would have made the previous two DS cars we’ve tested worth a five-and-a-half stars out of five apiece, that seems harsh. And it would have made the 9, as tested last week by Steve Cropley – one of the finest reviewers who has ever worked in this business – a six-star car. No, four will be what it’s worth. The commenter’s implication, though, was that posh French cars are hard done by in the UK. Well, yes, they may be hard done by here, but not by us. We report as we find, but the car-buying public is harder to convince about cars like the 9. What struck me about Steve’s review of the 9 is that it contained a phrase from the importer that was the same, almost to the letter, as the one in a Cropley review of the Citroën C6, that loveable comfortable
KCIWRAW AD
130 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9 JUNE 2021
Posh French cars❝may be hard done by in this country,❞but not by Autocar
barge, of 2006: that success would be measured by selling the car in hundreds rather than thousands. The truth is that a large French saloon or hatchback could be a truly earth-shatteringly great motor yet still have trouble appealing to those who want a German badge on the nose of their car – and there are so many of them that the MercedesBenz A-Class is one of the top-10 selling cars in the country. Indeed, buyers shunned Citroën doing ‘posh’ so convincingly that its parent company invented the DS brand. In some ways, the C6 was if not quite earth-shattering then certainly uniquely compelling in its segment. I once drove one home from Austria in a single day, and it was supremely comfortable and easy-going. I got into a conversation at the Eurotunnel terminal with a guy who I thought was just plain interested in the car – but turned out to be a Citroën dealer curious as to who had bought one. Shame. With just the right level of quirk, the C6 remains terrifically good-looking too, I think. But browse the classifieds today and you will find just four for sale. In 15 years’ time, will this be the fate of the 9 as well? I If, like me, you were wondering why so many high-performance
EVs seem to have four-figure power outputs, an engineer suggested the answer to me recently. And it’s not just that, because EV motors all make a similar noise, you want some kind of sensory overload to engage you in the process, and that comes from truly uncomfortable acceleration. Although I’m sure that’s a factor. More so, he said, is maximising the sheer efficiency of it all. If you’re creating a car that might be used on a race track, or at least in some way as a performance car, you want it to stop quickly. And as EV batteries are heavy, that would require huge brakes. But that means a lot of kinetic energy would end up wasted as heat, and there are better things to do with it – if only it can be recovered. That recovery is possible, but only if you have traction motors beefy enough to recuperate high levels of energy very quickly. Fit those and the by-product is that, when asked to propel the car rather than decelerate it, they happen to make a lot of power. So, it turns out that these electric supercars don’t just have 1000bhp to help you go but also to help you stop.
Wil it drift? Skidpan session in a Mercedes-AMG A45 S youtube.com/autocar facebook.com/autocarofficial twitter.com/autocar autocar_official
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£5995
£2495
K3I AAR £750 K28 ABB £850 K32I ABB £650 A4 ACD £750 S9 ACD £650 CI8 ACE £750 R40 ACE £850 L55 ACE £750 N95 ACE £650 M28 ACH £650 K3I ACH £650 KI23 ADE £650 K23 ADM £850 K25 ADY £750 V70 ADY £650 S400 ADY £650 M24 AGY £750 6484 AH £2900 K24 AJC £650 C6 AJJ £950 KI2I AJP £650 X777 AJP £850 KI2I AJR £650 K25 AJS £850 K32I AJS £750 L3I ALF £850 R20 ALN £750 FI9 ALY £850 K2I ALY £950 ALZ 944 £750 K24 AMB £650 K24 AMC £650 DI9 AMG £I200 P26 AMR £650 L25 AND £650 FI0 ANG £I300 L24 ANG £I300 M9I ANG £II00 649 ANG £2500 M773 ANG £650 PI5 ANN £750 L3I ANN £I600 W9 APT £650 K27 ARB £650 P24 ARK £650 K23 ARN £650 K3I ARR £750 K24 ART £650 LI0 ARY £650 EI4 ARY £650 K24 ASK £650 KI23 ATE £I500 B8 ATR £I300 PII ATY £II00 K27 ATY £I200 K32I A £750 D2 AUG £650 L3I AVY £650 BAS 9I7 £I700 BAZ 630 £I200 BAZ 2426 £850 BAZ 4978 £650 BI0 BEC £I700 BEK 4A £2400
SPECIAL SELECTION
::::
SIL
Dealers in quirky cars and great plates at realistic prices
OUR offere PLATES are also but nodtebyWEothOWerNdeTHalers EM and PRICEcan offer BETTER ht from usS!! so25buyeyarstrs aig great service and amazing feedback!!
K24 NGY £750 R28 NNA £650 L24 NNS £I200 L24 NNY £850 K27 NNY £750 KI2I NNY £650 M24 NOR £650 K2I NSY £I300 K23 NTH £750 K2I OAK £650 L27 OHN £750 OIL 779 £950 M23 OLY £650 K2I OVE £750 HI4 PAG £650 E8 PAM £I600 M9 PAM £I500 CI0 PAM £I400 SII PAM £I200 G37 PAM £750 K99 PAM £950 K28 PAS £650 CI8 PAT £I200 S27 PAT £I400 K60 PAT £850 D89 PAT £750 PAT 95W £I500 D443 PAT £650 PBN 426 £950 DII PEP £950 L24 PEP £650 A9 PET £I300 I4I9 PG £I600 V5 PGW £750 K29 PHL £650 33I0 PJ £I800 RI2 PJW £650 P23 PMC £850 K27 PMC £650 L2I POP £650 3036 PP £2300 3382 PP £2I00 PPR 2I9 £I300 K2I PPS £750 PEII PPY £650 W9 PTR £950 DI2 PUG £650 8236 PZ £850 CI RAD £2500
BARGAIN BUCKET
£699
(Ferrari 550) £1295
£995 £995
£1395
£995
Great short reg plates for cash finders reward if you know anyone selling!!!
£495
URGENTLY WANTED
L2I RAD £750 K26 RAD £650 K2I RAH £650 N900 RAH £650 P23 RAJ £750 JI9 RAV £650 K26 RAW £650 VI4 RAY £II00 T26 RAY £I500 X66 RAY £I400 RAY 209W £II00 RBC 228 £I700 K28 RCH £650 RCT 85 £2700 CI RDW £750 RE I896 £2200 R2I REA £650 K28 REA £650 K2I REE £650 K2 REG £I400 C4 REG £I700 LIII REG £850 R444 REG £650 T3 REM £I400 G9 REM £I400 BI2 REW £650 REX IC £I300 D7 REX £850 K2 RGW £650 EI8 RJB £650 G7 RKS £I300 K3I RKS £750 RL 4807 £2200 M28 RLY £750 K2I ROB £I700 KI23 ROB £I500 V700 ROB £I400 ROB 829Y £I400 G5 ROD £I800 SI5 ROD £I500 ROD I3IW £750 ROG 9N £2500 ROG 22Y £I500 X2 RON £2900 H9 RON £2800 DI2 RON £I400 R2I RON £I500 W23 RON £I400 S33 RON £I400 RON 47A £I700 J66 RON £I400 E78 RON £950 S333 RON £850 RON 948 £3500 K24 ROS £850 S50 ROS £750 J900 ROS £650 MI4 ROY £I300 TI4 ROY £I200 ROY 60W £II00 F980 ROY £650 N999 ROY £850 K23 RRR £650 L2I RRY £850
G322 RRY £I700 S28 RSS £650 M29 RUS £850 RW I756 £2800 3497 RW £2400 K3I SAC £650 X4 SAG £750 K26 SAH £650 K29 SAL £I700 L3I SAL £I900 SAL 665X £950 K26 SAM £2I00 K25 SAN £850 R45 SAN £950 KI23 SAN £750 KI23 SAR £650 K26 SAS £650 NI2 SAV £650 J9 SAX £I300 M29 SAX £650 K23 SCH £650 KI2I SCH £650 P23 SEB £650 K29 SEB £650 N6 SED £650 K2I SER £650 J88 SER £650 N24 SHE £750 V90 SHE £650 SHZ 655 £750 KI23 SJB £750 M92 SJH £850 WI3 SJL £650 K26 SJM £750 KI23 SJM £650 KI2I SJS £650 K28 SJW £650 NI8 SLK £650 RI9 SLW £650 R8 SOP £750 K23 SRS £650 K3I SSH £650 K2I SSR £650 L2I SSS £650 N23 SSY £650 L99 STO £650 K27 STU £I600 KI23 STU £I500 D486 STU £750 SUE IC £6I00 EI4 SUE £I600 K23 SUE £I500 J63 SUE £I400 E282 SUE £750 SUE 9I8W £950 T66 SUL £650 N9 SUN £I500 CI SUS £I400 R6 SUS £II00 L27 SYD £750 M2I TAB £650 W8 TAL £950 K29 TAM £650 J7 TAP £II00
£495 AI8 TAP £650 K25 TAR £750 K27 TAR £650 TAZ 223 £650 L24 TCH £650 266I TD £I800 J3 TEB £850 Y5 TED £I500 Y32I TED £750 K333 TED £850 TED 879 £2900 M23 TEE £650 K26 TEE £750 TEL IY £3700 K24 TEL £650 M24 TEL £750 E5 TEV £I400 9390 TF £I500 B20 THE £750 K28 THE £650 F4I THE £3800 TIB 882 £650 L27 TOD £650 K28 TOM £I600 M60 TOM £I700 KI23 TOM £I500 K27 TON £650 L27 TON £950 TOT 348 £I200 46I5 TR £I400 K24 TRA £650 TRO 2Y £2200 K28 TTH £950 K2I TTS £750 K28 TTY £I500 TVS II7 £850 K28 TYS £2500 K3I TYS £750 K3I TYY £750 LI7 ULU £950 V28 USA £650 KI0 VAL £I400 CI4 VAL £I600 T50 VAL £I200 VAL I49 £3500 M666 VAL £750 VAL 899S £850 K23 VEN £650 K32I VEN £750 VJT 504 £750 K3I VOS £850 K29 WAD £650 RI2 WAL £650 P2I WAL £650 WIL 776 £I300 WIL 4735 £650 S7 WMS £I200 WS 3985 £I400 WUN 762 £850 N9 WYN £850 DI4 XEY £750 944 YPH £950 YSL 296 £650 S £850
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