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BMW

revealed 10

UK car sales analysis More to it than a 30-year low 12

Car salvage Hard times for scrappers and repairers 14

Volvo Clever software will be firm’s new safety USP 16

TESTED

Pagani Huayra R Hardcore £2.3m V12 track special 24

Ora Lightning Cat UK-bound Chinese electric saloon 28

Volvo C40 Recharge Cheaper, single-motor variant 30

LMC MKII FIA Spitting image ’60s Cobra appraised 31

Citroën Ami Colour ROAD TEST 32

FEATURES

Mercedes SL v Porsche 911 AMG targets GT crown 40

One week in an Ignis The do-it-all family runaround 48

Mate Rimac He reveals his big plans for the future 52

Vegan interiors Is leather on a hiding to nothing? 54

OUR CARS

Vauxhall Astra Two of ’em report for long-term duty 62

Mazda CX-60 Why PHEV has us longing for diesel 63

Cupra Born Just an ID 3 in disguise? No way, José 64

Honda Civic It meets ancestral 3bhp three-wheeler 67

EVERY WEEK

Jesse Crosse How fuel cells continue to fight back 13

Jim Holder Can Tesla shrug off latest challenges? 15

Matt Prior Kei car Caterhams and a shrinking BMW 17

Steve Cropley Do we want Funky Cats on our drive? 19

Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 20

Damien Smith F1 personnel changes; WRC; LeJog 22

Your Views Losing faith in car makers; Ellis Journey 58

On this day 1924: Lambda driven; a roof revolution 61 Slideshow The wackiest concept cars ever made 82

DEALS

As good as new Mk2 Evoque: a ruddy muddy marvel 68

James Ruppert Bargain bangers – but only in red 69

Cult hero An RS Mégane that will warm up winter 70

New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenvo 72 Road test index Track down that road test here 81

COMMENT

BMW’S EYE-OPENING

VISION OF THE FUTURE

BMW’s i VISION DEE concept car, star of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (p4), previews a radically different next-generation 3 Series due in just two years that bears little to no relation to the executive saloon of the past five decades.

In its size, shape and proportions (and, of course, its styling), the next 3 Series will evolve more from its seventh to eighth generation than all previous iterations combined, and set the blueprint for all future BMWs as the first model from the firm’s muchhyped Neue Klasse architecture.

Neue Klasse is BMW’s future and will eventually underpin everything from high-volume models to its hottest performance cars. Such architectures are becoming commonplace across the industry, but in a brand as storied and so clearly defined as BMW’s they take on even greater significance for both the future and what they leave behind.

In the case of the 3 Series, its change in positioning marks the beginning of the end for the executive saloon as we’ve always known it, given how synonymous it was with the class.

Landmark moments like these seem to be occurring on a monthly basis, such is the rate of progress and the dramatic changes electrification brings.

youtube.com/autocar facebook.com/autocarofficial twitter.com/autocar autocar_official

‘Dee’ stands for ‘digital emotional experience’

❝

The head-up display unit is capable of projecting information across the full width of the windscreen ❞

Aradical tech-focused future beckons for the BMW 3 Series, as previewed by the new i Vision Dee electric concept car, described by the German marque as the “next level of human-machine interaction”.

Due to reach production in 2025, the UK-bound four-door saloon was revealed in concept form at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It is based on BMW’s Neue Klasse platform, an

all-new structure that is set to underpin a wide range of future internal-combustion-engined, plug-in hybrid and electricpowered BMW models.

The i Vision Dee’s key features include a range of new digital functions, such as a head-up display unit capable of projecting information across the full width of the windscreen – something the firm has already confirmed for Neue Klasse-platform-based models due out around the middle

of the decade. BMW says the move is aimed at taking the bond between the driver and the car beyond voice control and driver assistance systems and further into the digital and virtual world.

The concept – whose name is an acronym for the words ‘digital emotional experience’ –also previews a new monolithic exterior styling language that the German firm intends to introduce on upcoming production models.

BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said: “With the i Vision Dee, we are showcasing what is possible when hardware and software merge. In this way, we are able to exploit the full potential of digitalisation to transform the car into an intelligent companion.

“That is the future for automotive manufacturers –and also for BMW: the fusion of the virtual experience and genuine driving.”

The exterior styling – similar

to that seen on BMW’s Circular concept car unveiled at the 2021 Munich motor show –previews a new-look enclosed front. The traditional kidney grille, which has grown ever larger on recently launched BMW models, is replaced by two digital panels, each incorporating LED headlights as ‘phygital’ (physical-digital) icons. They alter in shape and size depending on the function they are asked to perform and also provide visual welcome 

Voice commands play key role but fabric has embedded controls

Traditional kidney grille is replaced by two separate digital panels, each incorporating LED headlights.

The lights alter in shape and size depending on their function.

BMW RETURNS TO MAKING COOL CARS

There must be some poor product marketing exec at BMW who cringes every time a particularly gopping design is signed off or a risky ad campaign gets the go-ahead.

Remember that promo video where the old 7 Series repeatedly shouted ‘bullsh*t’ at its tech-heavy iX descendant? That riled the loyalists. Then there was the £15-per-month-for-heatedseats controversy and the launch of an outlandishly styled, heavyweight PHEV SUV as the storied M division’s second bespoke

sports car. Certainly, the firm has been making good on designer Domagoj Dukec’s conviction that it’s not BMW’s goal “to please everyone in the world”.

But could the Dee concept spark a return to the understated but distinctive and highly competent BMWs from days of yore?

It certainly seems a more comprehensible and familiar proposition than some of the firm’s recent efforts.

It’s hardly conventionally ‘beautiful’ but it does achieve that coveted

balance between subtlety and panache that has been largely absent from BMW’s portfolio in recent years.

Indeed, it looks as if the resurrection of the ‘Neue Klasse’ moniker for new-era BMWs is more than just a nostalgia-fuelled marketing exercise. If the Dee shows anything, it’s that BMW can still make effortlessly cool products, and doing so would be a sure-fire way of pleasing customers both existing and prospective.

Cutting the bullsh*t, it’s the way forward.



and departure greetings. This gives the new concept its own facial expressions, claims BMW.

Further back, the bonnet of the i Vision Dee receives a deep central scallop, while the flanks have taut surfacing devoid of any feature lines or adornment.

The side window line is set lower than on any of its existing production models. The glass is designed to display personalised welcome messages, digital icons and a full-colour avatar of the driver.

The car also has an ‘e-ink’ treatment that allows different patterns and phygital icons to be integrated into certain sections of the exterior, including the C-pillar, which provides a digital reimagining of BMW’s classic Hofmeister

kink design element. This functionality was first showcased with a colourchanging iX concept at last year’s CES event.

The design theme established at the front is mirrored at the rear of the i Vision Dee, with two new-look light panels separated in the middle and incorporated into a high-set bootlid.

As well as hinting at the appearance of future BMW models, the i Vision Dee’s relatively short bonnet, long wheelbase and absence of overhangs also point to subtly altered three-box proportions for upcoming BMW saloons.

No official dimensions have been announced, although estimates put the length at around 4500mm – a touch

FELIX PAGE

Windscreen-wide head-up display can show driving-related info and augmented reality projection. It’s planned for BMW’s next generation of cars.

Side windows use special glass designed to display personalised welcome messages, digital icons and an avatar of the driver in full colour.

Large wheelhouses accommodate blanked-off wheels of up to 20in in diameter.

New-look and shorter front and rear ends preview the future profile of the next 3 Series. They also point to how future BMW saloons may look.

Concept’s minimalist look will be applied to other future BMWs

NEW-GEN BMW EV s WILL…

Have a range of up to 620 miles

Gen6 batteries will be fitted, using efficient cylindrical cells. They’ll be lighter than current packs, improve range and raise charging rates to 270kW.

shorter than today’s 3 Series.

Inside, the i Vision Dee showcases a newly developed operating system that BMW is planning to roll out in its next generation of models.

Incorporated into a simplified interior, the new head-up display has allowed BMW to do away with the traditional central infotainment display – a feature of its cars since the introduction of its iDrive infotainment platform in

the fourth-generation 7 Series in 2001. BMW says the system it is working on for its future models will allow the driver to manage the amount of digital content they are confronted with over any given journey.

The aim is to make the driving experience more intuitive and immersive.

To this end, its latest concept car also includes what it calls a Mixed Reality Slider. Using touch sensors incorporated

into a fabric-covered dashboard, it allows the driver to determine the amount of digital content shown within the head-up display.

BMW design boss Adrian van Hooydonk said: “With the BMW i Vision Dee, we are showing how the car can be seamlessly integrated into your daily digital life. It becomes your portal to the digital world – with the driver always in control. Implemented in the right way, technology will create worthwhile experiences, make you a better driver and simply bring humans and machines closer together.”

The i Vision Dee is the second of three different concept cars planned by BMW to showcase its Neue Klasse-platformbased models. The first, the

i Vision Circular, was centred on construction using recycled materials. A third concept car, said to focus on battery and drivetrain technology, is expected to be revealed later this year.

No drivetrain details of the i Vision Dee have been given, but BMW has already confirmed it is working on advanced new cylindrical battery technology that will dramatically improve the driving range of its Neue Klasse EVs as well as charging speeds. Meanwhile, a new sixthgeneration EV powertrain, being developed in-house, will improve efficiency and performance – attributes likely to be showcased by the third i Vision concept.

GREG KABLE

Feature vegan-friendly interiors

Vegan alternatives to leather will appear in future BMWs as the firm aims to reduce its CO2 footprint by 80%. The move is part of a goal to become carbonneutral by 2050.

Come in mega-powered M guise

BMW sports cars will continue into the electric era, bosses have confirmed.

A prototype is currently testing with a pioneering quad-motor, fourwheel drive system.

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The aim is to make the driving experience more intuitive and immersive ❞

will feature on home screen; slider will be backlit

VW ID 7 takes fight to Model 3

The all-new Volkswagen ID 7 has been closely previewed by this camouflaged prototype at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The ID 7, which had previously been known as Aero B in concept guise and during development, will be offered initially as a five-door liftback, with an estate model to follow.

It is the sixth model to be launched in the ID range and will initially sit alongside the Arteon and Passat, the latter of

which will be offered only as an estate in its next generation. In time, it will become VW’s sole offering in Europe’s shrinking D-segment because no further versions of the Arteon and Passat are due once the switch to EVs has been made.

“Globally, the saloon

segment is disappearing, even in China,” VW boss Thomas Schäfer told Autocar. “In China, it’s already happening in the low-price saloons. It is going down in Europe; it’s never been huge, except for a handful of markets, maybe Turkey, but we will definitely not bring a lot of

saloons. This is it [ID 7] and we converge onto that when we let go of the combustion engine.”

The MEB-based ID 7 is 4940mm long, 1859mm wide and 1529mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2969mm shared with the ID Buzz. This makes the ID 7 longer than both the Passat and the Arteon.

The CES show car wears the ID 7’s production bodywork but it’s wrapped in a special QR code-inspired camouflage to hide its final styling. A full reveal will happen in the second

quarter of 2023 before the car goes on sale later in the year.

VW has revealed little in terms of the ID 7’s technical details. However, the company confirmed that it will be offered with a range of up to 435 miles. That will be for a larger-battery model, a size of pack yet to be offered in an ID car. Initially, the ID 7 will have the existing 77kWh battery.

It will launch in two-wheeldrive form, followed in due course by a four-wheel-drive GTX model – ultimately giving a

Air-con

powertrain line-up that mirrors that of its main rivals: the Tesla Model 3, Polestar 2 and Hyundai Ioniq 6. The previous Aero name referred to its super-slippery shape and a drag coefficient as low as 0.23 is expected for the production model.

Inside, there are notable developments over the

ID models to date. The infotainment system has been overhauled to bring temperature controls to the main homepage of the 15.0in touchscreen and the physical temperature slider bar below the screen has at last been illuminated for night use. An augmented reality head-up display is standard. The ID 7 will be built at VW’s Emden factory in Germany alongside the ID 4, and exported to all markets except China from there. Chinese cars will be built locally.

Toyota poised to add electric option to new C-HR line-up

THE NEXT-GENERATION

Toyota C-HR is primed to take on the likes of the Kia Niro, moving upmarket by adding a plug-in hybrid powertrain to its ranks – and new images appear to show an electric variant is also on the cards.

Due on sale by 2024, the Mk2 C-HR will be a close sibling to the new Toyota Prius. It will be underpinned by the same TNGA platform and offered with the same mix of parallel-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.

The C-HR may also gain a battery-electric variant, placing it in direct competition with the

triple-powertrain Niro line-up. Autocar’s spy photographer said this test car is a pure-EV proposition, suggesting Toyota’s Small SU EV concept from 2021 – itself almost identical to the more recent C-HR concept (pictured, right) – is nearing fruition.

Toyota hasn’t confirmed whether an electric C-HR is in the works and wasn’t available to comment on these latest images as we went to press, but the fundamental similarities between the C-HR’s TNGA

platform and the EV-only e-TNGA architecture mean it would be technically feasible.

Alongside the technical reinvention, the C-HR will be restyled with a focus on the new-look ‘Hammerhead’ front-end design, which is being rolled out across the line-up to give Toyota cars a common identity.

Camouflage hides just how closely related to the concept the production car will be, but it’s clear that the distinctive C-shaped headlights and wraparound rear light bar will make it through to showrooms.

In line with similarly sized EV rivals, any electric C-HR is likely to be significantly more expensive than the parallel-hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants, commanding a starting price of roughly £40,000.

ID 7

Arriving at the end of 2023. Will be VW’s only D-segment EV.

last year.

ID 7 appeared at CES in production guise but with camouflage

EV would join PHEV to give C-HR a line-up to compete with Kia Niro

ID Buzz EV reimagining of iconic VW Microbus arrived

MARK TISSHAW

SPY SHOTS TOYOTA C-HR EV

This C-HR prototype is believed to be a battery-electric car

ID 7 will launch with a 77kWh battery; a larger pack will follow

Space Vizzion points to ID 7 estate

New Peugeot era takes shape

Striking-looking concept sets out radical path for future design and technology

The extraordinary new Inception concept “heralds a new era” for future Peugeot electric cars, which will make dramatic technological leaps and feature radically different designs from the company’s current offering.

Revealed at CES in Las Vegas – unusually for Peugeot, which left the US market in 1991 – the Inception is the first concept from recently appointed design boss Matthias Hossann and provides a mission statement for the brand’s future production vehicles. The firm will launch five new EVs in the next two years and go allelectric by 2030 in Europe.

Hossann told Autocar recently that upcoming Peugeot cars will take the lead from the new 408 saloon-SUV in “challenging conventional silhouettes”.

Certainly, the Inception bears no obvious relation to anything in the current Peugeot stable. Sitting low to the ground (its roof stands just 1340mm tall) and with a sharp, fastbackstyle silhouette, it is closest in form to the current 508 saloon but is substantially larger, measuring 5000mm long and 2100mm wide.

Its “generous” footprint highlights the flexibility of the new-era architecture that will underpin future production cars: the new STLA modular platform being rolled out to Peugeot and its Stellantis sibling brands from the middle of the decade. The Inception rides on the ‘Large’ version of this platform.

Here, it houses a 100kWh battery claimed to consume just 12.5kWh of electricity per 62

miles for a 500-mile range –far greater than any current Stellantis production car. Equipped with 800V charging hardware, it can top up more than 90 miles in five minutes, says Peugeot. Notably, the firm claims it can do this using induction technology, negating the need for a cable –although this feature is not yet confirmed for production cars. Power – all 671bhp of it – is

served up by a motor at each end for four-wheel drive and a sub-3.0sec 0-62mph time. This reflects Peugeot’s plans to make engaging performance a top priority for flagship EVs.

“Customers have high expectations of the electric car,” said product boss Jérôme Micheron. “Thanks to the new generation of our ‘BEV-bydesign’ platforms, we will meet their expectations.”

Together with the technical reinvention, the new platform has also

allowed a rethink of Peugeot’s conventional design cues. The Inception has been styled to suit “the digital world”, with crisp body lines and striking LED lighting.

The expansive glasshouse stretches almost end to end and, together with the removal of all physical controls and a traditional dashboard, maximises interior space.

Notably, the steering column has also been removed, replaced by an innovative ‘steer-by-wire’ electronic system like that offered on new EVs from Toyota and Lexus. Peugeot says this was developed prior to the

OFFICIAL PICTURES

Ram starts electric truck Revolution with 1500 concept

TRUCK MARQUE RAM has shown how it plans to “redefine” the electric pick-up segment with this bold-looking concept, revealed at CES in Las Vegas.

Ram 1500 Revolution shows off the firm’s new-look front end

ALFA ROMEO PAVES WAY FOR SUPERCAR

Alfa Romeo has shown the logo of a limited-run supercar, potentially called 6C, which it will launch this year. The emblem, shown at the end of a recent social media video, is the first official glimpse of the firm’s upcoming halo model.

Called the 1500 Revolution, the futuristic truck is the electric reimagining of the Ram 1500, itself the fifth iteration of the iconic Dodge Ram pick-up.

It brims with innovation, such as an augmented reality

head-up display, an extendable bed and third-row ‘jump seats’, which Stellantis-owned Ram claims to be an industry first.

The STLA Frame-based 1500 Revolution also showcases the truck maker’s new-look front end, which introduces an animated logo. This will first be fitted to the concept’s production version, the Ram 1500 EV, due to launch in 2024.

Other features that could

MERC STARTS OWN CHARGING NETWORK

Mercedes-Benz will launch its own charging network this year across Europe, China and North America. Hubs will be fitted with up to 30 350kW chargers per site for use by any EV owner. More than 2000 hubs will be built globally by 2027.

make production include the extendable payload. This enables the 1500 Revolution to transport slim loads up to 18ft in length using a clever passthrough storage system that links the rear bed to the frunk.

Ram has not yet disclosed the size of the battery or the power of the two motors. However, it has confirmed that the Ram 1500 EV won’t be sold in the UK.

Inception and notes that ‘most’ of the innovations on display are destined for production.

The Inception features a revamped version of Peugeot’s i-Cockpit set-up, which majors on touch-sensitive controls and behaves “like a video game in real life”. The distinctive new steering ‘wheel’, aptly called the Hypersquare, is claimed to offer a safer and simpler driving experience. It can fold away

entirely when the vehicle is configured to run in level-four autonomous mode, which will be possible with the new STLA Autodrive software integrated within this platform, to be replaced by a full-width display screen for passenger entertainment.

Peugeot plans to introduce the Hypersquare on a production car before 2030.

Production version of firm’s first concept will go on sale in 2025

‘Comfort Fit’ seats are said to adapt to the shape of each occupant

OFFICIAL PICTURES

OFFICIAL PICTURES

Sony-Honda firm reveals first car

SONY HONDA MOBILITY (SHM), the joint venture formed between the two Japanese industrial giants, has revealed the name of its new electric vehicle brand and shown off its very first prototype.

The EV brand will be called Afeela and it represents “a new relationship between people and mobility”, according to SHM CEO Yasuhide Mizuno.

The exact name of the first Afeela prototype, a four-door fastback saloon, has yet to be revealed, but SHM did confirm that it will be available for pre-order in the first half of 2025, before sales start at the end of that year. Deliveries are slated for spring 2026 in North America.

Inside, where there’s enough space for five occupants, digital screens are positioned on the

back of each seat and across the dashboard. The steering yoke is likely to control a ‘steerby-wire’ electronic rack.

SHM says the production model will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis technology (see below).

Powertrain details for the prototype have still not been detailed and nor has potential pricing or whether it will be sold in Europe.

ASTON DBS TO BOW OUT IN STYLE

The final iteration of the Aston Martin DBS will take the form of an ultra-limited special edition. Called the DBS 770 Ultimate, the V12-powered two-door coupé has been billed as the “flagship to surpass them all”. A total of 499 will be made.

New

called Afeela but

first car is as yet unnamed

QUALCOMM CREATES NEW CAR TO SHOWCASE ITS TECH

US electronics giant Qualcomm has created a concept car to showcase its next-generation in-vehicle

BYD REVEALS ELECTRIC AUDI R8 RIVAL

A rakish Audi R8-rivalling coupé called the U9 has been unveiled by BYD. It will be badged as a Yangwang – the Chinese firm’s new premium electric car brand. BYD also revealed the U8, a hardcore Mercedes-Benz G-Class-like off-roader.

FELIX PAGE

New car sales hit 30-year low

UK registrations of new cars in 2022 fell to 1.61 million but there are signs of a bounce

Five months of consecutive growth at the end of 2022 could not prevent UK new car sales falling to their lowest ebb in 30 years, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The decline – blamed primarily on supply chain shortages, especially of semiconductors – left total sales at 1.61 million units, 2.0% lower than 2021’s Covidaffected levels and around

700,000 lower than the figure for 2019, the most recent ‘normal’ year.

Despite the full year’s weakness, there was an 18% improvement in December sales (which totalled 181,000 cars). This was the latest gain in a trend the SMMT believes will lead to a 15% improvement in 2023 sales to about 1.8 million vehicles. The extra 190,000 vehicles will be worth around £8.4 billion, it estimates. Despite the difficulties of

FALL IN UK NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS

2022, the UK reclaimed its traditional position as Europe’s second-biggest car market behind Germany, a position it had conceded to France.

SMMT CEO Mike Hawes believes that despite recent warnings of weakening demand arriving in other consumer sectors, the car market’s slow improvement in component

availability, and therefore supplies of vehicles, combined with a pent-up demand from impatient buyers should allow the car market to buck a downward trend already being established for other consumer goods.

During 2022, component shortages led car makers to prioritise deliveries of (more expensive) zero-emission

vehicles. Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 16.6% of full-year sales, which sent them above UK diesel volume for the first time.

Plug-in hybrids accounted for only 6.3% of sales, a decline on the previous year, but more conventional hybrids also rose in popularity to capture an 11.6% market share.

STEVE CROPLEY

Kia tops 100,000 annual sales in the UK for first time

KIA SOLD MORE than 100,000 cars in the UK for the first time in 2022, more than tripling its volumes in the market from just 15 years ago and setting it on a path to further growth.

In total, 100,191 Kia cars left showrooms, placing it sixth among all manufacturers, with

a 6.2% market share. Its sales fell just 2000 units behind Toyota, in fifth place.

The manufacturer cited the Sportage, Niro and Xceed crossovers as the source of its success. The Sportage and Niro combined for 44,000 sales by the end of the third quarter of the year.

The Xceed, meanwhile, provided the brand with a late boost as the facelifted model arrived in showrooms as the year came to a close.

Of the cars that Kia sold in the UK during 2022, 43% (42,987) had a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or full-electric powertrain.

Q&A

PAUL PHILPOTT, PRESIDENT AND CEO, KIA UK

Kia UK boss Paul Philpott told Autocar how the company reached the milestone, including the challenges it had to overcome.

What was the plan?

“I started in 2007 when the brand was less than 30,000 sales per year. One hundred thousand was not a realistic target then. [Then] scrappage came along and took us past 50,000 in 2010/11: 100,000 became the obvious next target.”

How have your bosses in Korea reacted?

“I’ve not seen the headlines in the Korea Times yet… but we’re the first market in Europe to go beyond 100,000, and the first

outside of what was the big four of Korea, China, the US and Russia. So we’re only the fifth market globally to do so.”

What was the moment you knew you’d get to 100,000?

“When the third-generation Sportage launched in 2016, this car got to 40,000 in its peak year of 2017, and then 100,000 seemed a real strong possibility, not just a target to get to.”

Niro (left) played a key role for Kia; Soul bolstered EV line-up

Nissan’s Qashqai was the best-selling car in the UK in 2022

UK’S 10 BEST-SELLING CARS IN 2022

Nissan

SMMT BOSS CALLS FOR EV CLARITY

SMMT CEO Mike Hawes used the announcement to call on the government to expedite its longpromised Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate, which aims to flesh out many exceptions, penalties and compliance details that will apply to the sale and use of BEVs beyond 2024. Informed experts say documents may not be available until mid-year.

“Manufacturers’ innovation and commitment have helped EVs become the UK’s secondmost-popular car type,” said Hawes. “However, for a nation aiming for electric mobility leadership, this must be matched with policies and investment that remove consumer uncertainty over switching, not least over where drivers can charge their vehicles.”

JOGGER NOW UK’S CHEAPEST HYBRID

Dacia’s hybrid Jogger will arrive in April, priced from £22,595, making it the cheapest hybrid MPV on sale. The seven-seater, which is now available to order, has a 138bhp version of the electrically assisted 1.6-litre petrol engine also used by the Renault Clio E-Tech. Called the Jogger Hybrid 140, it is the brand’s first hybrid car.

UNDER THE SKIN JESSE CROSSE

FUEL CELLS: THE TECHNOLOGY THAT REFUSES TO BE BEATEN

Dacia Jogger Hybrid 140 is available to order now, from £22,595

AS THE WILL-IT-WON’T-IT story of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) continues to ramble on, BMW and Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK both announced new plans for FCEVs in early December. BMW has started producing a limited run of its iX5 Hydrogen, which will be used as technology demonstrators. Meanwhile, a consortium led by Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK is starting work on a project funded by the UK government, via the Advanced Propulsion Centre, to migrate the second-generation fuel cell system (as used in the Mirai) into a Hilux pick-up.

Since the global industry set out in the late 1990s to make fuel cell vehicles more or less mainstream by 2004, then singly failed, technology has moved on a lot. The obvious development is the arrival and fast maturing of automotive-scale lithium battery systems, which in only a couple of decades took BEVs from the level of dodgy prototypes to a common sight on the roads. We’ve also seen how hybrids have been stretched well beyond the original Toyota Prius to range-extended vehicles (series hybrids) and plug-in hybrids.

Once FCEVs had moved beyond the early prototype stage, they essentially became series hybrids but with hydrogen fuel cells to supply a steady stream of electrical power instead of an engine and a small battery to provide the punch needed for acceleration. The battery also stores energy from regenerative braking in the same way as other electrified vehicles. What’s also changed since those early days is that along with the battery technology, electric drivetrains are now well established in the commercial domain. In the BMW’s case, the drivetrain is taken from the fifthgeneration eDrive technology used in its BEVs and plug-in cars.

The other big change since those early days of FCEVs is the manufacture of the fuel cell stacks, comprising hundreds of small fuel cells (the equivalent of battery cells in a battery pack). One of the hurdles that had to be overcome was that early on, stacks had to be hand-assembled, but while the FCEV story may appear to have gone

quiet, plenty of work has been continuing in the background.

The stacking of cells in the BMW stack is now fully automated, and after that’s done, it’s compressed and inserted into a cast aluminium housing. The pressure plate that separately carries the hydrogen and oxygen to the stack is made from cast plastic and light alloy casting. BMW’s hydrogen fuel cell system produces 125kW and the powertrain 369bhp. There are two hydrogen tanks carrying 6kg of compressed hydrogen, which can be refilled at the pump in three to four minutes, giving a range of 311 miles.

While it may have looked as though little was happening in the field of FCEVs, the work has continued and the expertise in fuel cell design has grown. As well as BMW partnering with FCEV veteran Toyota on fuel cell development, Honda and General Motors are also partners and MercedesBenz maintains its links with the doyen of fuel cell development, Canadian company Ballard Power Systems.

FAST HYDROGEN FILL-UPS

In California, hydrogen filling stations are serving more than 8000 FCEVs. The average time taken to fuel one with 5kg of hydrogen is just over three minutes and the best is two and a half minutes, putting hydrogen refuelling times in the real world on a par with petrol or diesel.

Continuous power output of BMW’s fuel cell system has doubled while size and weight have reduced.

Vauxhall Corsa

Mini

Kia Sportage

Hyundai Tucson

Volkswagen Golf

Ford Kuga

Ford Fiesta

Car salvage sector faces upheaval

Various factors have created growth but also problems for scrappers and repairers

Rising used car prices are pushing those that would have previously been written off or scrapped back onto the roads, with many vehicles being repaired by insurers rather than crushed – and this has left the salvage sector searching for aid.

As a direct result of reduced new car supply and sluggish registrations, bangers that would normally be destined for the crusher are now worth more than scrappers had previously been willing to pay, meaning many cars are getting a second chance.

Covid has also contributed to the shortage of scrap cars: fewer cars being driven during the lockdowns meant fewer were crashed and scrapped. And the consequences of the pandemic linger on, with far fewer vehicles being written off today than were written off before the virus struck.

As a result, the demand for the recyclable parts and precious metals they contain has bumped prices of those cars fit only for the crusher

from around £50 three years ago to about £350 today –but this is still seemingly not enough to tempt insurers and owners to write off their damaged cars.

In the UK, there are around 2000 officially licensed End of Life Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) – governmentcertified scrap merchants that can issue Certificates of Destruction as they meet current environmental standards. Some reclaim vehicle parts for resale, while others separate out the various metals for recycling.

Both face competition from what the Vehicle Recyclers’ Association (VRA), the body representing ATFs, estimates to be at least 3000 illegal carbreaking operations that,

by ignoring the regulations, can undercut them.

Of the approximately 1.75 million cars scrapped each year in the UK, around 500,000 bypass legal processing and disposal this way.

That these operators exist has partly been blamed on cutbacks in government and council enforcement.

“Since 2008, enforcement has deteriorated and is virtually non-existent,” said Chas Ambrose, association secretary of the VRA. “A lot of legitimate businesses are letting their licences go and crossing the line. Enforcement departments have never recovered from austerity.”

Faced with higher prices for scrap vehicles, a vital revenue stream for ATFs

is the sale of salvaged parts to trade and retail customers. However, even here they are facing challenges, not least in the way some car makers restrict access to vital parts’ identification data, despite the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption, an EU law retained by the UK post-Brexit, imposed to remove these barriers.

UK AFCAR, an organisation comprising motor trade associations, breakdown assistance firms and car retailers, as well as representatives of the SMMT, is among those reviewing the current law ahead of its revision this year.

It claimed that car makers and their dealers are “stifling” competition by restricting access to tier-one parts suppliers as well as to vital technical information.

At the same time, it said, car makers are taking increasing numbers of spare parts out of what

it calls the “competitive arena” and classifying them as “captive parts” available only from them.

In addition, it said, car makers are designing systems to exclude independent repairers in order to “gain monopoly powers over key areas, including ADAS [active safety] and EV systems”.

The consequences of these actions are being felt by ATFs, according to Ambrose.

He said: “Block exemption hasn’t worked. For example, manufacturers put microchips in parts that make reselling a component that has been salvaged from a vehicle extremely difficult without the necessary technical information, which manufacturers control.”

235,000

Another problem ATFs face, said Ambrose, is accessing detailed parts data, without which they can’t accurately identify salvaged parts for resale.

Quantity in tonnes of EV battery material predicted to be recycled in the UK annually by 2040.

Source: Advanced Propulsion

“Some manufacturers

Despite its difficulties, the industry’s value has perhaps doubled in the past five years

More cars are being diverted from the crusher to the road

PLANS FOR END-OF-LIFE EV SUPPLY CHAIN

End-of-life EVs are destined to be highly sought-after by End of Life Authorised Treatment Facilities. In anticipation of the roughly two million end-of-life EVs that the industry expects to receive annually by 2045, EMR, a major recycling group, has partnered with an organisation called Recovas

to develop an end-of-life-EV supply chain for the industry.

Roger Morton, managing director of technology and innovation at EMR, said: “Our aim is to create a circular supply chain for batteries and, in the process, reduce the cost for end-of-life disposal for the vehicle manufacturer or last owner of the car to zero.

“By working in partnership with the Recovas consortium, EV manufacturers will develop simple design changes that greatly improve the potential to remanufacture, reuse or recycle their batteries at end of life. This will help to transform the economics of the EV market.”

won’t release the data, meaning the recycled part is almost impossible to sell,” he said. “They try to suppress sales of second-hand parts this way, because they’re a major threat to them. It’s frustrating, because the demand for cheaper parts has increased hugely in the past three years.”

Responding to these claims, SMMT boss Mike Hawes said: “Competition benefits the industry and the consumer, which is why the SMMT and our broad membership are working closely with government

and the Competition and Markets Authority to ensure future regulation reflects the complex and varied nature of the sector and addresses the rapid changes to technology and market behaviour.”

95%

Percentage of vehicle by weight going through car makers’ end-of-life takeback networks for recycling.

Source: SMMT

Thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom for ATFs. For example, demand for metals is rising, while the value of the industry itself has increased.

“Price trends are cyclical, but at present demand is increasing,” said Ambrose.

“There’s so much value in end-of-life vehicles now. A lot of the big recyclers have invested huge sums in computerisation, IT systems and warehousing. Despite its difficulties, the industry’s value has perhaps doubled in the past five years.”

JOHN EVANS

A DISTRACTED CEO, plummeting stock values, a raft of fines and investigations relating to performance claims, and parts and delivery issues. Yet potentially none of these things is the biggest issue facing Tesla as it heads into 2023.

Yes, Elon Musk’s purchase of and subsequent distraction by Twitter is an ongoing issue. How much capacity can one man have for running megabusinesses, and how much damage will he do to his other brands as he uses his own platform to expose his version of a functioning and fair media outlet? Certainly some customers’ loyalty is being tested.

So too Tesla’s share price fell a staggering 65% last year, in the process making Musk the first man to have lost $2bn (£1.7bn) in wealth – and losing him the title of world’s richest person.

Some are calling it a correction, a result of the markets finally seeing through some of the stardust and more accurately pricing Tesla according to its potential, but some worry that without that stardust, the firm’s momentum will falter.

at present, but Tesla’s most recent set of quarterly results were nevertheless a disappointment. Where it had seemingly been able to ride out many of the issues facing the wider industry (something for which it deserves enormous credit), it finally ran out of room.

Producing 1.3 million EVs (up 40% year on year) continued its remarkable run in many regards but fell short of projections.

However, within last quarter’s results is a potentially far bigger crisis. Tesla produced about 34,000 more cars than it delivered. It blamed Covid and logistical issues, but could it be that the company has finally reached the point where supply is greater than demand? Certainly some of the discounts it’s offering through its Chinese online stores suggest so.

Having more production capacity than customers is a first for Tesla, and likely to be magnified as the global recession grips harder, tax breaks for premium EVs retract and buyers become more keenly aware of the more toxic associations sticking to the brand.

Fresh demand for the services of End of Life Authorised Treatment Facilities is expected to come from an unlikely quarter in the shape of Stellantis. The car-making giant has announced plans to extend the life of its ICE cars by refurbishing them using parts recovered from end-of-life vehicles.

Regulatory wrist-slaps are nothing new for Tesla, but they’re gathering pace. Most recently, it was landed with a £1.8 million fine in Korea for overstating range in low temperatures, but the queue of investigations into everything from what defines self-driving through to the charging speed of its Superchargers is mounting.

Parts shortages and logistical issues are hardly unique in the car industry

Tesla’s achievements to date are remarkable, but what if its momentum really is facing reality? Only fools bet against Musk and Tesla, but even given its colourful history, this could be its biggest setback yet.

Discounting hints at desperation (in one key market at least), but as a firm that has famously never had to do marketing or much PR, Tesla finds itself with remarkably little weaponry in its armoury to stimulate demand.

Has Musk taken his eye off Tesla since acquiring Twitter?

Extending life of cars is important for sustainability

A MAJOR NEW CUSTOMER

Recycling

batteries from end-of-life EVs will be big business

Volvo’s focus on ‘digital seatbelt’

Techie CEO bets on code and chips to enhance safety; aims to win younger buyers

Volvo CEO Jim Rowan has said the car maker’s inhouse next-generation software will be its “three-point digital seatbelt” in driving future product and safety innovations.

The Briton was a surprise choice to replace Håkan Samuelsson at the Swedish firm in March last year, given all of his previous experience had been in the tech industry, most recently at Dyson.

Speaking to Autocar for the first time, he said he wants the EX90 – Volvo’s new flagship and first bespoke EV – to lead the automotive industry’s technological charge.

The £96,255 SUV – which is also key to Volvo’s target of selling 1.2 million cars (600,000 EVs) per year by 2025 – is described as a “software-driven” vehicle.

Thanks to a range of advanced sensors and technology, including the

first lidar system fitted as standard on a production car, it is claimed to eventually be capable of “unsupervised driving”.

According to Rowan, the EX90 showcases how Volvo will work with partner firms but keep development of key technology in-house.

“Auto companies are starting to understand next-generation silicon and its importance in design,” he said.

The EX90’s “application layer” – meaning the lidar, radar, camera and other sensors – is powered by an

Volvo

around 20%.

Nvidia Odin chip that can do 254 trillion operations per second (TOPS). This compares with about one TOPS for automotive chips a decade ago.

“The software stack, connecting the silicon to the application layer, is the part we really care about,” said Rowan. “That for us is the three-point digital seatbelt.

“We have a team of more than 700 people who write the perception and sensor fusion software. In other cases, firms have outsourced that, but we think it’s absolutely core, so we’ve kept it in house.”

JIM ROWAN’S KEY CHALLENGES

Volvo EX90 launch

The new electric flagship SUV has been revealed with a dual-motor powertrain priced from £96,255, but deliveries aren’t due until 2024. Volvo is working on lower-powered versions and lesser trim levels, potentially including five-seat cars. Expect prices for those to start at around £75,000.

with Volvo pushing further into the premium market.

The future of saloons

The firm has now launched three electric SUVs: the XC40 Recharge, C40 Recharge and EX90. A smaller ‘EX30’ will follow in 2024. But it has yet to indicate plans for electric saloon or estate models.

Growth

Volvo sold 483,304 cars in the first 10 months of last year, 15% of which were EVs. The 2025 goal is 1.2 million, 50% of them electric. That will require a major effort – especially

Rowan said that Volvo “won’t become slaves to having 40 different models” but will “look after the demographics that we think make sense”.

He continued: “We have customers who require different vehicles [and] different uses for vehicles. We will try to capture as much of that as we can.”

Key to this will be nextgeneration EV platforms. The EX90 uses the new SPA2 architecture, while an upcoming compact crossover that Volvo will reveal next year (tipped to be named the EX30) is likely to sit on the SEA platform for smaller cars.

Sustainability

Volvo has a goal to make its production facilities carbon-neutral and to reduce the life-cycle CO2 emissions of each car by 40% compared with 2018 levels by 2025.

That forthcoming urbanfocused electric crossover will be key to Volvo’s push to reach younger, Generation Z buyers – a demographic that Rowan said “we’ve never really spoken to before”.

The demographic is also behind Volvo’s foray into subscription sales.

Rowan explained: “If you bring a small SUV that’s competitively priced, with subscriptionbased ownership that you offer for three months, at a reasonably low cost, they won’t even go to the dealership, they will buy online. I guarantee that.”

JAMES ATTWOOD

Rowan is applying his tech know-how to the future-facing EX90

claims that lidar can reduce the number of serious accidents by

‘EX30’ small electric SUV is meant to appeal to Gen Z drivers

The EX90 uses a chip that can do 254 trillion operations per second

Matt Prior

TESTER’S NOTES

TO b Z3 OR NOT TO b Z3

The new Toyota bZ3 is an attractive, high-tech rival to the Tesla Model 3 using radical long-range battery tech from BYD – but it’s not coming to the UK. Or is it?

Asked about it, product boss Andrea Carlucci said: “Stay tuned.” With the similarly conceived Hyundai Ioniq 6, Nio ET5 and Volkswagen ID 7 due this year, perhaps Toyota could be persuaded to join the reinvigorated saloon segment.

SIMPLY THE BEST

“I knew [when] coming to Renault that Dacia was a big success,” said Renault engineering boss Gilles Le Borgne. “But when I saw the numbers, I said: ‘Come on!’ It’s a unique regime with frugal engineering, high volume, a good manufacturing footprint, very clever go-to-market appeal, no rebates and improved design. It’s a hit.”

There’s a criticism levelled at concept cars. Imagine, say, going to a hi-fi show where a major electronics maker displays a stereo that can not only play music but also make you tea, clean the floor and do your kids’ homework. It will arrive in three years’ time, you’re told, only when it does, it won’t brew, sweep or write. A little frustrating.

As such, Tesla boss Elon Musk once labelled concepts “lame” – although given that in 2017 he claimed the new Roadster would be available in 2020, do take his critique with whatever seriousness you deem appropriate.

So to the BMW i Vision Dee concept, which will have been confounding the ‘i’ component of commentators’ autocorrect functions since it was unveiled last week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

CAT’S OUT OF THE BAG

You might assume that Chinese EV brand Ora’s feline-themed model names were chosen to tie in with its cute and soft brand image, or perhaps playing to the online generations’ shared obsession with funny cat videos. But apparently it actually comes from a famous quote by former Communist Party leader Deng Xiaoping: “No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat, as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat.”

There’s some blah we have to sift through, of course: the “next level of human-machine interaction” stuff, plus the window glass designed to display messages and digital avatars,

Gadzooks!

and the fact that its paint changes colour, because it’s a concept.

But beyond all that is a car that’s a radical departure for modern BMW. Because while it has some details that will presumably be overlooked by the time it reaches production, this is, to my eyes, a good-looking new BMW. Gadzooks! It has pleasing proportions, clean lines, dinky overhangs and a horizontally stretched front grille.

It’s based on BMW’s upcoming Neue Klasse platform, reviving the name of saloons and coupés that it made in the 1960s and 1970s, themselves compact and big-windowed, predominantly with notable lateral slats at the front to accompany the vertical dual grille. It was successful then and is now.

In customer surveys, design is always named high on the list of why people choose the cars they drive. BMW says that aesthetically it’s not out to please everyone. A polarising design is fine if, while alienating one group of people, there’s an opposing faction for whom nothing else will do. But is there a coterie who see an iX and feel they absolutely must drive a car with the proportions of a manatee?

There’s distinctly less that’s overtly upsetting about the Dee, and yet I can imagine a bigger group of people wanting one because it has a great stance, whether or not it can make tea.

n The Japanese edition of Autocar ran a first drive of the new Caterham Seven 170 at the end of last month. Caterhams are popular in Japan, and the little Suzuki-engined Seven was designed predominantly for export, specifically developed to comply with Japan’s famous kei car regulations. It even has a narrower track and wings than normal Caterhams to meet the miniature footprint requirements.

The test car appeared in a typically minimalist Japanese specification, with bare bodywork, an aero wind deflector rather than a screen and the carbonfibre accessories – wings, nose and seats – that take the weight down to 440kg. And even though the 170 isn’t my favourite Seven derivative, I’ve seldom wanted a Caterham more.

Our Steve Cropley has a worse affliction than me when it comes to wasting time on car configurators, but with some minutes to kill, I came up with a modestly but perfectly enhanced 170 that offers change from £30,000. As someone perennially surprised by how expensive modern cars are, I don’t know how you would get more new-car fun for less.

It has pleasing proportions, clean lines, dinky overhangs and a horizontal grille

Vision Dee could hardly be any more different to the iX

Japanese kei spec looks fantastic on Caterham Seven

MONDAY

A big discussion point among my friends over Christmas concerned what new names manufacturers can apply to tomorrow’s cars, given that all the traditional bird/wind/weapon/ city/animal/explosion handles have been picked clean and that the ‘LxV62R’ solution (currently espoused by the likes of Toyota) is no better than a passport to confusion.

What stopped me in my tracks was the strong and consistent case made by one pal for the likes of Ora Funky Cat, which I had previously derided for a disastrous lack of gravitas. My friend’s point was that this name totally avoids the built-in confusion of others, leaves no doubt about modernity and opens a whole new seam of name supply.

My remaining Funky Cat problem concerns how such new-think labels will play with people who don’t know cars and will just think them weird. I guess that’s a problem we will just have to get over.

TUESDAY

My preoccupation with replacing the redundant family Volkswagen California camper van with an electric car received a boost when I linked up again with John Chambers of Guildford-based Tevo Solutions, which makes and sells go-faster bits for Teslas, mainly Model 3s. Last summer, he lent me a car for an Abingdon sprint, and four of us in Model 3s beat up most of a 100-car field.

Tevo has started offering a deeply impressive, semi-active suspension system that uses driveradjustable Tractive dampers with Eibach springs to provide classy body control in all modes.

Chambers has worked hard with Tractive to fine-tune the offered rates, which vary from

MY WEEK IN CARS

Steve Cropley

Comfort to Race. You select what you want from a neat panel on the fascia. This system, costing £8500 all in, really brings the Model 3 to life: it’s composed and quiet on potholed village roads but offers brilliant body control near the limit. It struck me as the ideal thing for taming the huge poke of the still-unique Model 3 Performance.

WEDNESDAY

While writing in this issue about the differences and similarities of my two long-term Vauxhall Astras, a 1.2-litre turbo petrol manual and a 1.6-litre plug-in hybrid automatic (see p62), I was staggered to discover that their official kerb weights differ by an extraordinary 30%,

AND ANOTHER THING

Progress! One public EV charger provider has at last discovered that customers need weather protection when it’s bucketing down and they’re trying to feed their cars with hundreds of volts.

This new charger bank from MFG, just off the M4’s junction 17, took a long time to get going, but it’s the best I’ve used.

at 1266kg and 1678kg. This isn’t apparent in the way they steer or brake, surely a compliment to the engineers who configured them. But for all the differences in weight, complexity and purchase price, in identical conditions both deliver an average of 54-56mpg. It makes me wonder whether all this PHEV effort is truly worthwhile – and whether the law makers who have done so much to encourage it have noticed such modest results.

THURSDAY

There were plenty of cars to drive at our place over Christmas, but mostly I found myself behind the wheel of a Renault Zoe, the pioneering electric supermini that has been around for a decade and is only now being challenged by decent rivals. The truth is that if we were to run a comparison against rivals, the Zoe might not come top, but there’s something particularly mature and well sorted about this sweet-driving little car that comes of having been built and improved across three or four iterations.

It’s always the same with easy-to-use EVs: when the car arrives, it’s billed as a second car but pretty soon it becomes the first choice, the one everyone slips into just to nip to the post office, while the gleaming and expensive household SUV only gets used for trips to Scotland.

Small EVs with a decent range are among the hardest cars to build and profitably sell, says the industry. But for us consumers, they’re the best for both convenience and driving fun. GET IN TOUCH

Small EVs with decent range are among the best cars

Renault Zoe was perfect Christmas sled for Cropley

Tevo’s latest Model 3 mods really appeal

MOTORSPORT

Damien Smith

RACING LINES

TRANSFER WINDOW FLIES OPEN

Time to analyse Formula 1’s team management merry-go-round

Amid the flurries of pre-Christmas snow, a blizzard blew through Formula 1 as four of the 10 teams announced changes at the top. Ferrari, McLaren and Alfa Romeo (which will become Audi in 2026) head into the new year with fresh team principals while, as I write, exactly who will lead the ranks at an increasingly sorry-looking Williams is shrouded in a blanket of midwinter fog.

Parallels to a football mentality on managers are easy to draw. It wasn’t like this when F1 teams were owned and run by men of steel such as Colin Chapman and Sir Frank Williams. Now those at the helms of increasingly corporate entities tend to be mere employees, and in a results-driven business, it’s all too easy for them to cop the flak and pay the price when performances fall short.

Driver transfers are only half the story now – just as player transfers are in the beautiful game. Although

for one of them, the recent shuffling of the pieces might carry particular resonance. Lando Norris could be described as F1’s Jude Bellingham. Both are phenomenal young talents with the world at their feet. But while Bellingham will face a wide choice of clubs vying for his services after shining at the World Cup, Norris is tied until 2025 to McLaren, a team that has fallen way short of providing him the winning car that he deserves. Will he negotiate a transfer? If so, when? And who will come in for him?

THE BIGGEST JOB

As expected, Frédéric Vasseur has switched from Alfa Romeo to don the Ferrari blazer after Mattia Binotto’s ‘resignation’. The Frenchman is well regarded for his years of success on

the nursery slopes, running the likes of Lewis Hamilton in GP2 (now Formula 2) at ART. His stock rose during a brief spell at Renault and then at Sauber (competing since 2019 as Alfa Romeo), and now he has the biggest management job in racing.

Like Jean Todt in 1993, Vasseur is an outsider coming in, but he has a crucial advantage: his predecessor has already completed the hard yards by masterminding a return to form with a quick car. Now the new boss must inspire the missing confidence and strategic edge shown by Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG.

Winning becomes a natural habit for the best teams, but Vasseur has yet to taste even a single F1 victory himself. As in football, patience will run thin and quickly if he doesn’t deliver. But will he

be given the time that he needs? If not, he will go the same way as Binotto.

SEIDL BETS ON AUDI

Andreas Seidl built a towering reputation in his three and a half years at McLaren, but it’s telling that the former Porsche World Endurance Championship team chief has chosen to return to the bosom of the Volkswagen Group by heading to Sauber now rather than stick with the plan in Woking.

The chance to lead a car-making giant into the premier league that it has long avoided is tantalising for a German engineer of increasing repute, especially in comparison to what he leaves behind. McLaren is banking on a new wind tunnel and simulator that aren’t yet operational to make the performance leap from midfield mediocrity. But is this team really a sleeping giant or merely a dinosaur that could still slip into the humiliating backmarker territory it occupied a few

McLaren team boss has left to work on Audi’s 2026 entry

❝

Those at the helm increasingly tend to be mere employees ❞

short years ago beside old foe Williams? Seidl’s career choice suggests he came to his own conclusion on that one. He has been replaced by an internal appointment, Andrea Stella, another well-regarded engineer and a safe pair of hands.

A penny for Norris’s true thoughts on the loss of Seidl, then. “Best of luck mate, I’m sure I’ll see you around,” he posted on social media when the Sauber/Audi move was announced.

Might they work together again one day? Alternative options can’t be ruled out. A seat beside Max Verstappen at Red Bull would be just the sort of make-or-break test that top drivers relish, while the dynamics of such a potent line-up represents boxoffice gold for F1 as a whole. What about Mercedes? The first question there is how long Hamilton, now 38, will maintain his form and hunger. Ferrari? That probably rides on Charles Leclerc keeping faith under his old friend Vasseur. So Audi… We know it tackles any motorsport campaign with full commitment, and it has the time and means to be competitive, especially if Seidl recruits well. A reunion with his former boss might well be Norris’s most logical option to properly unlock the potential that is frankly going to waste right now. As for Bellingham, his next move will be a big one. In fact, it might well define his career as good or great.

UNCERTAINTY AT WILLIAMS

In contrast to the other three teams facing twists at the top, Williams lost its leader without a successor to slide immediately into place. Like others with heavyweight backgrounds in the wider automotive industry, Jost Capito was

GOOD WEEK

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Hooray! M-Sport Ford has bucked its own pessimism, signing Hyundai departee Ott Tänak to lead its charge in 2023. Cue the promise of a titanic fight against Toyota Gazoo’s young champion, Kalle Rovanperä.

BAD WEEK

TRADITIONAL RACE VENUES

Qatar will replace Sebring as the host of the World Endurance Championship opener in 2024, while Saudi Arabia will do the same in F1 at the expense of Australia. It’s the way of the racing world these days.

much less convincing in the F1 spotlight. Accounts of the ex-Volkswagen executive’s leadership at Williams vary, but the outcome was the same: Williams is bottom of the constructors’ table with no obvious handholds for the climb it faces. Private investment firm Dorilton Capital is in charge, and such companies tend to have other priorities beyond heartwarming sporting achievement. Quite what comes next and for the long term has to be of concern for this fallen giant.

But for now, there’s a 2023 season to prepare for. The opening race is less than two months away, and the current white-heat intensity of preparation at each team will shape the year ahead. As for the new chiefs, time to settle in and get up to speed is an unknown luxury. F1 life is led at a sprint, even in the bleak midwinter.

Jost Capito wasn’t the saviour Williams so desperately needs

Land’s End to

John

O’Groats Reliability Trial TOP STEP

WHAT A WAY to finish the endurance rallying season. Hero-Era’s annual Land’s End to John O’Groats Reliability Trial for Historic and Classic Cars (better known as LeJog) once again proved how some classic car enthusiasts are a glutton for punishment, as an international cast of crews completed a gruelling schedule to make it to from the bottom of England to the top of Scotland.

A total of 1300 miles were logged over five days, made up of 33 regularity stages and 17 tests, with the final legs being held over 26 hours – with just a two-hour break in between.

The route this time ran up our island’s west side, past the gateway to the Scottish islands and across the rugged terrain of the northern Highlands.

Twelve medals were awarded for the best runs completed

with the fewest penalty points incurred, including six golds.

Stephen Owens took home the Hero Cup for his season’s efforts, having finished second five times, while Pete Johnson was crowned the Golden Roamer, or top navigator.

Hero-Era’s 2023 season will begin on 5 February with the Winter Challenge to Monte Carlo, the first of 16 events that the organiser will hold this year.

Massive variety of pre-1991 cars are eligible for entry

KEN BLOCK 1967-2023

Ken Block, famed for his outlandish Gymkhana video series, died last week in a snowmobile accident in Utah, US, aged 55. The American became a key figure in the burgeoning action sports scene by cofounding DC Shoes in 1994, and after selling up in 2004 pursued his passion for motorsport, founding Hoonigan Industries and going rallying. Meanwhile, he raised his profile with his series of increasingly bold videos, which featured him and his friends performing stunts in an increasingly diverse range of highly tuned cars and a wide variety of locations. This resulting fame, along with high-profile sponsorship, helped Block to further pursue his passion by competing in WRC events. He struggled to make an impression against the aces but was thrilled just to be part of the pinnacle. Later he switched his focus to rallycross, putting in creditable showings in the WRX. All the while, he continued with his videos. The last one, released in 2022, showed Block driving his new Audi Sport-prepared S1 Hoonitron EV. Block’s fame was far bigger than his motorsport record suggests, but he competed for the love of it, and his efforts and commitment drew in new fans who otherwise never would have watched rallying. To boot, he was pivotal in setting a new direction for online video, now a vast and significant field.

Stunning views were perhaps some solace for the five retirees

t’s no exaggeration to say that the Pagani Huayra R might be the most gloriously unnecessary car in the world. The Italian company’s previous creations are hardly likely to be used as daily drivers, but at least they can be used on public roads.

The Huayra R is both a track-only special and a piece of automotive art, a hypercar that feels frankly too beautiful to be risked in the environment it’s designed for.

Its otherworldliness is quickly proved when I arrive at the Vallelunga circuit near Rome in a rented Fiat Panda. The first thing I hear is what seems to be an old V12 Formula 1 race car on track, a howling, yowling exhaust note echoing around the empty grandstands. Are we sharing the track with a Ferrari 412 T2? Leaning over the pitwall reveals that the noise is actually coming from the Pagani factory’s 

 Huayra R demonstrator, at a volume that will surely exceed the limits at almost every track in the world. Apparently there is a quieter exhaust option, but Pagani has been allowed to come to Vallelunga with what are basically straight pipes.

Despite its name, the Huayra R has almost nothing in common with any of the previous road-legal Huayra variants. The only shared components are the door mirrors. It sits on an ultra-light carbonfibre frame built to satisfy FIA safety standards (although there are no plans to race it) plus a structural naturally aspirated V12 engine made in Germany by HWA, that being the former part of AMG that Mercedes-Benz didn’t acquire.

Horacio Pagani insisted on a switch from the twin-turbocharged V12 of the regular Huayra to reduce mass and improve responses, but the new 6.0-litre unit still makes 838bhp and revs to 9000rpm. It drives the rear wheels through a Hewland dog-ring transmission. It also needs to propel just 1050kg of dry mass. So let’s call it around 1200kg with fluids and an average-size driver.

The Huayra R is a track car but definitely not a race car. That’s true dynamically, with it giving you a friendlier driving experience than a real competition machine would, and also because of the dazzling high standards of fit and finish that Horacio Pagani insists on for all his cars. That applies to not just the bits on show, including optional naked carbonfibre bodywork and beautiful yoke-type steering wheel, but also to normally invisible components, from milled suspension arms to tiny bolts with ‘Pagani’ engraved on their heads.

Despite integral air jacks to make wheel changing easier, and which drop me excitingly as the engine is fired into life, getting rolling is easy, thanks to an anti-stall system and an electrically controlled clutch. But the end of the pit lane brings a sensory overload as the V12 starts to work. The exhaust note is glorious but almost uncomfortably loud, even through the padding of a helmet.

Performance is predictably massive, but so is your sense of security once the slick tyres have warmed through, with adjustable anti-lock braking and traction control standing guard. Although toweringly fast, the Huayra R is much less savage and unforgiving than a true GT racer. By happy coincidence, I drove a Lamborghini Huracán Trofeo Evo

on this track not long ago, and that felt edgy even when riding on what the mechanics admitted were gentleman racer’s suspension settings. The Huayra R feels more solid, less frenetic on turn-in and much more tolerant of mistakes. It’s much happier over kerbs, too; I suspect it would cope well with a bumpier track. As speeds rise, the Huayra R’s huge rear wing

Rate at which you slam up the ’box is incredible and accompanied by a spine-tingling scream

❝

Although toweringly fast, it’s much less savage and unforgiving than a GT racer ❞

Usual artisanal detailing overload has been swapped for racing cockpit replica

TESTER’S NOTE

The new HWA V12 is claimed to weigh just 198kg, meaning it’s 54kg less than the less powerful AMG twin-turbo V12 in the road-legal Huayra Roadster BC. MD

and diffuser also start to add to the sense of stability. With the wing in its highest downforce setting, the car can generate 1000kg of downforce at its top speed of 200mph.

The biggest challenge with getting the most out of the Huayra R is a common one for track specials: the need to bring the levels of physical strength necessary to deal with the high g-force loadings it can generate. I don’t think it’s unfair to suspect that those capable of paying the seven-figure price but not wanting to actually go racing might not possess motorsport levels of endurance. My neck muscles were starting to fade after five laps, although the car showed no signs of wilting, the massively powerful carbon-ceramic brakes still hauling off huge speeds without complaint.

Let’s be honest, though: the Huayra R isn’t just about driving. An owner won’t even need to leave the pit lane of a high-end track day to be the most envied person there.

Horacio Pagani admits that he was uncertain about the reception a track-only car would receive, the Huayra R being such a radical departure from its road-going predecessors. He didn’t need to worry: the full allocation of 30 examples has been sold, despite a

price tag that starts at €2.6 million (£2.3m) before taxes or any of the bespoke options that pretty much every buyer has opted for.

That’s an amount of money that could pay for multiple seasons in a real race car, but the Huayra R is still one of the most spectacular machines to ever grace a track. If you ever get the chance to see one in action, more especially to hear it, you should jump at the chance.

MIKE DUFF

PAGANI HUAYRA R

Closer to art than to motorsport, but that’s praise rather than criticism, considering its target market

AAAAB

Price

RIVALS Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, Lamborghini Essenza SCV12, McLaren Solus GT

Driving experience isn’t as hardcore as expected, but you’d still better hit the gym beforehand

TESTER’S NOTE

The boot hinges about halfway up the back, not up by the roof, and has a metal top rather than a parcel shelf.

The rival Nio ET5’s hatch design is a lot more practical. MA

ORA LIGHTNING CAT

With the Funky Cat now on sale in Europe and the UK, Ora is no longer totally unknown outside of China. The nascent marque, owned by the giant Great Wall Motor company, is busy expanding its range of electric cars, all of them with feline names. This latest one, called the Lightning Cat at home but the Next Cat over here, is more grown-up than the MG 4 EV-rivalling Funky Cat, being a roughly Ford Mondeo-size saloon.

While the Lightning Cat has quite a distinctive design, there’s obvious Porsche inspiration and the headlights look as if they’ve come straight off a Mini but, ultimately, the proportions just seem a bit off.

The interior is even more memorable. Step inside and you’re shown a start-up sequence of digital cats, complete with meows, going across the three instrument dials and then onto the central infotainment touchscreen.

The materials are of a good quality with plenty of leather, soft

plastics and microfibre, and it all seems generally well put together.

Also very good are the physical switches and dials on the centre console for the climate control, window demisting and drive modes, and for once the USB ports under the

‘floating’ centre console are easily accessible. There’s also a slot for wireless phone charging, along with, oddly, a sole cupholder. In a nice touch, the Lightning Cat verbally reminds you that you’ve left the key in the car or a phone in the charger.

The Lightning Cat’s sporty front seats are noticeably lower than its back seats, and the front passenger’s doesn’t adjust for height. At least they do also get a massage function, heating and cooling.

Chinese maker of quirky electric cars introduces us to another of its feline friends

Stretched version of the Funky Cat hatchback or a Panamera that’s eaten too many Christmas treats?

TESTED 7.12.22, SHANGHAI, CHINA ON SALE NOVEMBER (UK)

❝

The synthetic noise and lack of dynamics leave you feeling like you’re in a ’90s

arcade machine ❞

While the leg room in the rear is reasonable, there’s limited head space, due to the Lightning Cat’s sweeping rear lines.

This car is a pure saloon, rather than a liftback, and given the short reach of the bootlid, its motor is rather redundant. There’s a fairly pronounced sill to get luggage over and the wheel housings at the sides feel spongy, but at least the boot is capacious and you can fold down the rear seats by pulling straps.

That the floor in the back isn’t flat, there’s no frunk and the wheelbase is short for an EV of this length all show that the Lightning Cat rides on a converted ICE car platform – which has the amusingly apt name of Lemon.

Dynamically, it’s incapable of handling the amount of power that the Lightning Cat has in reserve in this ‘sporty’ dual-motor guise.

Any cornering at speed creates considerable front-wheel wallowing and sometimes leave the tyres scrabbling for grip. It may be like lightning in a straight line, but don’t expect it to continue being so when confronted by a turn.

Press the overly optimistic Supersport mode button on the steering wheel at your peril.

Accompanying all this action is a synthetic engine noise that, along with the lack of dynamics, leaves you feeling like you’re in a ’90s games arcade machine minus the feedback.

There aren’t any huge differences between the Eco, Normal and Sport drive modes, only really that Eco is particularly mild-mannered.

In addition, there are Custom and Goddess modes, the latter making the steering even lighter, the acceleration more linear and the regenerative braking gentler.

You can ramp up the regen, but after initially being strong, it tails off considerably at lower speeds and brings the car only down to a 5mph coast, never a full stop.

The steering is terribly light in all of the modes and gives no feedback, plus the steering wheel is quite large while also very thin.

In China, Ora seems to be aiming its Cats at female drivers, but this one is a rather fickle feline that struggles to express a personality. Potential purchasers would be better off saving some cash by buying the single-motor version and driving in a calm manner – or, a lot better still, buying one of the many much more lovable electric cars from the established brands.

MARK ANDREWS

ORA LIGHTNING CAT PERFORMANCE

Well laid-out interior and generous specification can’t make up for poor dynamics or surfeit of power

AACCC

Price ¥282,500 (£33,100)

Engine Two permanent magnet synchronous motors

Power 201bhp (front), 201bhp (rear)

Torque 251lb ft (front), 251lb ft (rear)

Gearbox 1-spd reduction gear, 4WD

Kerb weight 2115kg

0-62mph 4.3sec

Top speed 112mph

Battery 83kWh

Range, 373 miles (CTLC), economy 4.0mpkWh

CO2 , tax band 0g/km, 2%

RIVALS Polestar 2, Tesla Model 3

It’s quite happy doing this, but problems arise when you turn the wheel

Interior is an interesting blend of ’50s and modern, and nicely made too

TESTER’S NOTE

The backlit dash trim was inspired by the scenery of Sweden’s Abisko National Park, apparently. It is at least ambient lighting done a bit differently.

I quite like it. MS

VOLVO C40 RECHARGE

Very few cars better symbolise how electrification is affecting car design and opening up the art of the possible than the single-motor Volvo C40 Recharge.

Having joined the dual-motor C40 in production midway through last year, it’s broadly what you would expect. It costs a bit less, it has one driven axle rather than two and it has a slightly smaller battery. But dig a little deeper and you will find one key technical point that would have made a 20th-century product planner’s eyes roll. While the 2023model-year C40 (tested here, having just joined Volvo UK’s press fleet) has its motor on its front axle, the 2024-model-year C40 (which you’re more likely to get if you put down a deposit today, production being due to start this summer) will have its motor on its rear axle instead.

This will yield better cruising efficiency and a useful torque gain –and make this C40 the first car in my two decades of experience to switch layout midway through its life cycle.

And now we can say with some confidence how few customers are likely to notice. This is a car with many Volvo-typical strengths but an unlikely one to be a choice for anyone comparing EV rivals on paper. It doesn’t invite much driver engagement. Its performance and handling are of the kind for which adjectives like ‘fine’ and ‘okay’ could have been coined. But it’s comfy, quiet, pleasant, well equipped, reasonably practical and, as it’s quite compact, fairly easy to manoeuvre.

The C40 is the ‘coupé’ sister of the XC40 SUV. I’ve often been stuck to find rational reasons why someone might buy such a car, but the age of the EV is making it easier. Volvo says the single-motor C40 can go 4% farther on the motorway than the equivalent XC40, thanks to its more aerodynamic design, which the lab tests confirm. It’s not much, especially on a car that declined to ever promise more than 180 miles on a full charge, but where range is concerned, more is definitely more.

Unfortunately for Volvo, several rivals offer more battery capacity for similar money and would more dependably carry you 200 miles or so whatever the weather.

The C40 has plenty of accessible acceleration. It doesn’t feel hypersensitive to throttle inputs, nor does it flood its front wheels with so much torque as to trouble the traction control or bring on much steering corruption. Rather, it’s easy to drive and assured of character. Yet even around the national speed limit it has plenty of overtaking urge; and at low speeds, while the regenerative braking and pedal feel can be a bit inconsistent, it isn’t hard to drive smoothly with practice.

Grip, agility and body control combine to conjure the air of maturity and measure that you would expect of a Volvo. Ride comfort is typically good too, with plenty of suppleness out of town but little pitching or wallowing and just a bit of surface roar from the 19in wheels on coarser surfaces.

Rear space is a little below the class average but still sufficient for growing kids or smaller adults.

The boot is a good size and well furnished with hooks and the like.

Material quality feels quite high inside, while the digital technology is clearly presented, simple in theme and easy enough to navigate.

This is the kind of EV to be used and lived with, then – not noticed, enjoyed or often remarked upon. It really ought to offer better range, and the 2024 version will, of course. But if there’s any reason to hold on for the rear-motor version, I would guess that might be the only one.

MATT SAUNDERS

Electric coupé-SUV gains a cheaper, single-motor variant – but blink and you’ll miss it Price

Engine

Top

An appealing blend of compactness, practicality and relaxing character, but its range really should be longer

C40’s ride takes priority over dynamism; it has an interior ambience to match

@thedarkstormy1

TESTED 4.1.23, WARWICKSHIRE ON SALE NOW

AAABC

LMC MKII FIA

Don’t even think the C-word. The LMC MKII FIA isn’t an AC/Shelby Cobra, regardless of what your eyes are telling you. This puts it in fine company, the Cobra being one of the most copied cars in history, with rival rights holders having sued at points over official status. But although this car – sold by Le Mans Coupes of West Sussex – isn’t a sanctioned continuation, it offers a very similar driving experience to the original.

The Cobra was born from the marriage of light British bodywork and brutal American power, but it had to evolve throughout its life as it struggled to stay competitive on track, which is why LMC offers cars corresponding with different eras.

You can buy a replica of the early ‘slab-side’ car, a MKIII to represent the late ‘427’ or indeed the MKII FIA, which fits between these extremes, representing what’s often called the ‘289’, with ‘FIA’ referring to changes made for race homologation.

So although it’s wider and more muscular than the original, with a sizeable bonnet vent, the MKII FIA sits on the earlier 3in tubular-frame chassis and uses transverse leafspring rear suspension, this linking the top of the hubs on each side.

It certainly feels like an authentic 1960s experience, with heavy control weights and a chassis that makes clear that it has a limited tolerance for any amateur mistakes.

This is close to a spot-on replica of

TESTER’S NOTE

The array of chromebezelled instrument dials in the centre of the dashboard look period-correct but are too small to be easily read on the move. MD

what was one of the world’s fastest cars, and although tyre technology has advanced massively since then, there are no active safety features. Therefore the relationship between this car’s 410bhp V8 (a non-original 5.7 litres) and the rear wheels is entirely down to your right foot.

There’s more than enough adhesion to allow rapid progress without undue drama. However, the combination of the unassisted steering’s relatively low gearing and the way the rear axle surrenders grip when pushed soon discourages any inclination to explore the outer reaches of the handling envelope on tight and bumpy back roads. It does feel like it would be a riot on a wide, open race track, though.

A few changes have been made to allow the MKII to pass the IVA test, including discreet exhaust catalysts and a fuel injection system, albeit one that manages to look like an

original set of carburettors. This means there’s none of the low-down lumpiness common to highly tuned carbed engines, and apart from the knee strength needed to work the heavy clutch and the need to muscle the steering when manoeuvring, it’s easy to drive at everyday speeds.

Even looking like it has just left a pit lane, its suspension is pliant enough for acceptable comfort on lumpy roads. LMC reckons this makes it much more suited to everyday use than the much more aggressive MKIII, and beyond the inevitable buffeting from the lack of a roof or side glazing, it cruises well.

I did find one initially terrifying foible: the heavily offset driving position means the clutch is where your right foot expects to find the brake. However, I soon learned to cover the clutch with my left foot to better orientate the tight footwell.

The MKII may not be a Cobra, but

nor is it one of the myriad knock-off ‘Fauxbras’ that have shadowed AC’s icon for the past 60 years. Branding aside, it feels like the real thing.

MIKE DUFF

LMC MKII FIA

Has all the strengths (and foibles) of a true 1960s road racer. Possibly even better than the real thing

AAAAC

Price £118,000

Engine V8, 5686cc, petrol

Power 410bhp at 5400rpm

Torque 400lb ft at 3000rpm

Gearbox 5-spd manual, RWD

Kerb weight 1220kg

0-60mph 4.5sec (est)

Top speed 160mph (est)

Economy na CO2 , tax band na

RIVALS AC Cob ra, Shelby Cobra

If it looks like a Cobra and behaves like a Cobra, it must be a Cobra, right? Not quite…

Ford V8 supplies effortless performance and, for the brave, handling adjustability; cabin looks original, for better and worse

s modern motoring diverges from the old norm of big traditional car makers making big traditional cars, we see this now and again: someone branching out here and there with something novel, taking a chance, a rare bet, a delve into ‘mobility’.

What do, if we look back sufficiently far, the Sinclair C5, BMW C1 scooter, Reva G-Wiz and Renault Twizy all have in common? That’s right: they’re not offered here any more, and their manufacturers or importers don’t offer anything like them, either.

So a prolonged first run and a commissioned second series is not a given as we welcome the latest entrant into an uncrowded field, the Citroën Ami.

The idea was first shown as the Ami One concept at the 2019 Geneva motor show, gently rolling around the show stand itself, this cube on (relatively) huge wheels but with an interior straight out of the Transport for London design book, with blocky materials in light grey, highlighted in blue, orange or more grey (as here).

Like all concepts from big manufacturers, it was so well finished that even though it was basic, it screamed luxury like a concrete-walled bar.

The finished article, should there be one, wouldn’t be like that, they said. See how the doors are the same each side to save cost, and that the panels are the same front and rear for the same reason – though the rakish windscreen made it clear which way it was facing.

It was designed to tempt the young into driving, so it’s a quadricycle, not a car – which frees it from various small-car regulations and, in various EU states, lets those as young as 14 drive it (that’s not the case here). And now it has landed in production form, after a short shall-we-shan’twe from Citroën UK. But, basically, enough of us asked for it, so here it is – British ready and prepped for the Autocar road test.

DESIGN AND ENGINEERING AAACC

There’s nothing unusual in finding that a production road car is not as snazzy as the concept on which it was based. But in the Ami’s case, there is a definite ‘we don’t need to buy lunch out, we’ve got lunch at home’ vibe to it, where one is a gourmet slap-up and the other is a slice of cheddar between two bits of white bread. No mayo.

The cost-saving parts of the Ami, then, have stayed true to the concept. The doors are the same, hinged on their right, so the driver’s (it’s left-hand drive only) opens backwards, and the passenger’s conventionally. The body panels front and rear are the same, all quarterlights are too, and the quarter panels could swap

Range at a glance

ENGINES POWER FROM

Ami 8bhp £7695

My Ami Colour 8bhp £8095

My Ami Pop 8bhp £8495

My Ami Tonic 8bhp £8695

My Ami Cargo 8bhp £7995

TRANSMISSIONS

1-spd reduction gear

There’s no difference in mechanical specification between any of the five-strong Ami range, and only the Cargo has a significantly different interior specification because it includes a cargo separator that sits on the right-hand side of the cabin and stops boxes from sliding into your legs, as well as hiding them from outside view.

sides. Clues to which way the car is facing come from the colour of the lights, the roof, and the front and rear glass treatment.

The body is finished in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS, which is a versatile plastic used in everything from Lego bricks to pipework, but the closest subjective material finish to the Ami’s body is the stackable school chair you will have recently sat on at a school nativity.

Not unlike those, the Ami’s body is mounted over a steel frame, constructed in a Stellantis factory in Kenitra, Morocco, which also builds Peugeot 208s.

At 2.41m long and 1.39m wide, the Ami is a compact machine. But while there are two types of quadricycle – light and heavy, with slightly different laws for each, depending on where you live – that the Ami is electric always meant this was destined to be a heavy one (though these things are relative).

There’s a 5.5kWh lithium ion battery beneath it, an 8.04bhp electric motor (the 0.04 counts here), and an all-up weight of 471kg in this standard form. A ‘My Ami Cargo’ variant gets some interior cladding to increase luggage room and raises that to 478kg. The motor drives the front wheels through a single-speed reduction gear. Braking is by discs at the front, drums at the rear.

Because the battery is so small, you can’t fast-charge it – it would be like filling a cup with a fireman’s hose – so there’s a European twopin plug, to which you can mate a 

 Tiny door mirrors want cleaning often in poor weather. The good thing is that you can reach them from the driver’s seat to adjust. The bad thing is their limited range of visibility.

 Wheel trims are one of the fitted options on this Ami ‘Grey’ edition, as are a small side sticker and rear side-window stickers.



There’s no high- or low-beam option –the headlights are just always on. And pretty bright, too.



There’s no central locking so it’s a case of inserting the key and pushing the door release button for each of the doors. There’s a separate key for the ignition.

Ami One concept landed at Geneva in 2019

DIMENSIONS

PARKING

WHEEL AND PEDAL ALIGNMENT

The steering wheel is only slightly offset, but given it doesn’t adjust, it’s an easy driving position to find. Pedals are offset enough for right-foot operation. There’s no one-pedal-driving option.

HEADLIGHTS

LED headlights are standard and the only option. There’s no main beam but they’re surprisingly bright – easily good enough for the speed the Ami shows.

standard three-pin adapter or Type 2 converter (supplied), and whose cable folds into a neat recess behind the passenger door. On a standard domestic plug it takes a bit over three hours to charge from empty to full (3hr 15min on our watch), at which point the indicated range – we will come back to this – is 45 miles. Again, what’s after decimal points counts.



There are various other laws that define a quadricycle but an important one we will also return to is that the top speed has to be limited, so it is, to 27.9mph.

INTERIOR AAABC

What’s this? A key? Actually we don’t mind that at all, although it’s a

bit old-school that the key to unlock the doors is separate from the one that operates the ignition.

The doors open wide and easily, and are extremely light. The Ami is low and small so it’s no easier to get in or out of than a conventional car – though you are likely to have more space around you in a car park.

Inside you will find two seats, a steering wheel and a lot more plastic than on the outside.

Although this is a basic vehicle with little equipment, we will spend more time talking about the interior than in most luxury cars. Not because there’s too little to talk about in the ‘Performance’ section, but because honestly the Ami is all about its inside. More than

anything else it is, because it’s so few steps up from walking, a place to sit and be transported. Private transport and mobility in its purest form: and there’s something to like about that.

Two seats, then. They’re both hard and the driver’s is the only one that slides fore and aft. The backs are fixed, as is the steering wheel and two pedals. There’s a wiper and indicator stalk, and three buttons for the hazard warning lights, fan and heater.

There’s no central interior mirror but two small round external ones that can both be reached through the half-windows, which unlatch and swing upwards like a 2CV’s. You can reach them both from the driver’s seat. You can also see,

perhaps alarmingly close to your head, the welded steel framework that you wouldn’t want to make contact with in an accident. Quadricycles do not undergo the same crash tests as cars.

Flick the key. As a driver, look down to your left and you will see Drive, Neutral and Reverse buttons by the seat. There’s a conventional mechanical handbrake. As for controls, that’s almost your lot.

There is, however, a place to secure a phone on the dashboard, with a USB socket and an optional final button on the steering wheel, which would, if you set it up right, activate the voice control on your phone so you don’t have to touch the screen. 

Front cabin is spacious and, given the passenger and driver sit offset, feels more so than the width would suggest.

a bit of space behind the seats but access over the headrests isn’t straightforward. Perhaps most likely used for coats, if you’re not keeping them on.



Lower portion of the window swings open and, at least when new, sticks at your chosen angle. It’s a toss-up whether this or the fan is ultimately louder.

 There are orange pulls to close each door, with separate tags to release the catches, so the driver is ahead of them and the passenger is behind them.

Multimedia system

The Ami comes with no infotainment of its own, so if you really want to assess the sounds and navigation, you’ll have to take a look at your phone instead.

There is, though, a phone holder that slots into the dash and there’s a small shelf beneath it on which to rest the device. It grips a device well and you can move it and spin it depending on your preferred orientation. And it’s honestly no more difficult to push a button on a screen this way than on any conventional car’s touchscreen. A USB charger socket sits beneath it, too.

Models above the base Ami include a piece of hardware that allows the smartphone to hook up to a steering wheel button that, with the right app download, then allows one-push voice control. If you do want to hear some sounds loudly, though, you’ll have to provide your own speaker – and remember there’s only one USB socket to power whichever devices you put into the Ami.

 Three dash inserts include a cupholder, which is quite a stretch from the driver’s seat. Holder behind the wheel is designed for a stand-alone speaker.

There are neat touches elsewhere as the Ami makes a virtue of its basicness. The plastic cubbies on the dash are removable – the closest you can get to changing the car’s colour – but here matched to the colour atop the broad netted door bins and the fabric door pulls. A netted divider creates space for a carry-on-sized bag beyond the passenger footwell, though the hook above it is essential to prevent anything in there from toppling out. Given there’s a relatively flat open floor, having loose groceries rolling around by the driver’s feet is a suboptimal situation.

There’s a small area behind the seats (600x300x260mm) that would take shopping bags, but otherwise the footwell is the only storage area – and the rear window doesn’t open to post long loads through.

Citroën expects that many Amis will be used as urban delivery vehicles – the payload is 95kg and if you spec the Cargo pack, there’s a better divider that stops boxes

falling onto your feet, with 260 litres of space beneath it.

PERFORMANCE ABCCC

Well, it’s smooth. Let’s leave it at that, shall we? No? We must go on? Righto.

The Ami doesn’t have a creep function but in gear it resists rolling of its own accord, and throttle response is easy and smooth. This is a simple car to get rolling.

If you’re looking for incremental acceleration figures, well, keep looking, but it will hit 20mph from rest in a little over six seconds (it’s quite gravity dependent) and go on to a top speed of 28mph in about 10 seconds.

It will maintain that speed up most hills and on a downhill might even stretch to 31/32mph.

Maintaining a 28mph cruise, though, is best done on partthrottle. If you’re wide open on the gas, the Ami hesitates for a few seconds, every few seconds, like a bad taxi driver lifting off slightly

now and again. You can negate it by carrying a touch less open throttle.

Lift off completely and there’s very little feeling of regeneration; although the motor is still hooked up to the wheels and acting that way, the Ami rolls as convincingly as any sub-500kg car is likely to.

Brake pedal feel is really good and it stops very quickly. There’s no ABS so it’s up to the driver to modulate, but that’s easily done. And even if you do lock a tyre, it probably won’t matter.

What we do need to talk about, though, is range. Drive solely on 20/30mph roads in built-up urban traffic, where you would rarely trouble the modest top speed, and you will do okay – in fine weather, where you don’t need the heater or wiper or fan, you are likely to get your 40 miles.

But spend any prolonged time at or around the car’s top speed, which is eminently possible in suburban rather than congested city centre surroundings, and you’re looking at

less. And at the bottom end, it starts to get perilous.

An example: we set off with 17 miles of indicated range on some roads where maintaining 28mph was straightforward. After six miles, a warning light came on to suggest we were running short of range (six miles were indicated), and at an indicated three miles it went into a limp mode.

Like a radio-controlled car running low on battery, performance reduced to the extent that it took more than 40 seconds to reach a top speed downhill and refused to get out of the teens on an incline. Eventually, the Ami said we had one mile of range left, just 10 miles after setting off with 17 on the indicator. It was about 10deg C and drizzly, granted, and no doubt you would get accustomed to how it behaved and act accordingly, but still – worryingly poor.

If running at its top speed –which is very much urban driving, albeit uninterrupted – the Ami’s

 Light cars tend to be fun cars, and this one is too. But in most driving environments, the crashy ride, noise and lack of grunt are more likely to define your experience of it.

❝

for driving it on any 40mph or 50mph roads –forget it. Take a bus ❞

performance is hard to make a case for. And as for driving it on any 40mph, 50mph or, heaven forbid, national speed limit roads, for almost any length of time – forget it. Take a bus.

HANDLING AND STABILITY AAAAC

Given an Ami weighs less than 500kg, it would be hard to go wrong here. Almost every small, lightweight car is fun to an extent and so too is the Ami. It’s frontdrive, but given the paucity of power and torque, it doesn’t trouble grip at the front, nor torque steer. The steering is light, unassisted and 3.9 turns lock to lock.

That’s not a number that suggests it’s massively responsive, but bear in mind the wheels turn so much that the entire turning diameter is just 7.2m – as little as some cars’ turning radii.

So there’s some fun to be had. All that said, it’s very short, with a footprint not far off square and it’s

quite upright. If that reminds you of the original Smart City Coupé or Mercedes-Benz A-Class, you will remember that they could suffer from instability. You would have to be indulging in some extreme manoeuvres to tip an Ami over, but from that viewpoint it’s probably better it’s limited to 28mph.

COMFORT AND ISOLATION ABCCC

Well, at least when it’s running at idle and there’s no heater or fan blowing, there’s no more noise in an Ami than is ambient. Enjoy that while it lasts. This is an astonishingly noisy car given its low speed.

Partly it’s sound from outside. Listening back to our voice notes, you can hear passing traffic more than in any other car.

But most of the noise is of its own making. Switching the fan on –louder than a hand dryer in a public loo and about as effective – took the interior noise from 37dBA ambient

to 67dBA – louder than a Renault Mégane at 70mph.

Head to the top speed and it’s 71dBA in here. The motor whines away, too, and the ride is noisy –as well as crashily uncomfortable. This wouldn’t be so bad if you were going fast. But we’re still talking the realms of being overtaken by impatient drivers on 30mph roads.

The fan, at least, clears the windscreen relatively quickly –though if you need to give it a quick rub to demist, the inside of the screen is the one window that’s too far away to wipe. And if there’s a build-up of water or grime on the outside, visibility can be surprisingly poor to the front three-quarter, as well as around the thick B-pillars and in the small mirrors. For a car that’s so exposed, that’s troubling.

BUYING AND OWNING AAACC

The Ami is cheaper than the cheapest new car on sale – the

circa-£13,000 Dacia Sandero – by a big margin. But this is still at least a £7695 vehicle on the road.

On a PCP finance deal, you’re looking at putting £770 down and paying £100 a month for 47 months and still owing £4418 on it. If you want a splash of colour (though grey is the only base colour), you can add £20 or so to the monthlies.

Citroën does say you can run an Ami from £19.99 a month, though this requires nearly a three-grand deposit and leaves a £5000 balloon payment after two years, so this wouldn’t be our recommended way to get into one.

How much an Ami costs to charge will come down to your domestic tariff – but good work could be achieved here. And if you do the kind of driving that gets 40 miles out of it, you will be looking at over seven miles per kWh. Even if you don’t get the full 40, the Ami is a particularly efficient car. And let’s face it, there isn’t a great deal to go wrong.

CITROEN AMI COLOUR

On-the-road price £8095

Price as tested £8095

Value after 3yrs/36k miles £4700

Contract hire pcm na

Cost per mile na

Insurance na

TYPICAL PCP QUOTE

4 years/20,000 miles, £809 deposit £108.77

Citroën’s finance deals mean you can swap deposit levels and terms, but this typical one results in a £4418 final payment after four years, at 9.9% APR. Only 5000 miles a year and a 3.6p per mile excess but, honestly, we dare you to do more than that anyway.

EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST

Disc front brakes

Steel wheels

Heater

Alloy wheels na

Air conditioning na

Stereo na

Power steering na

Electric windows na

Central locking na

Alarm na

Remote locking na

Towhook na

Tinted windows na

Satellite navigation na

Options in bold fitted to test car = Standard na = not available

TECHNICAL LAYOUT

5.5kWh

CHASSIS & BODY

Construction Steel chassis, ABS plastic body Weight/as tested 471kg/na Drag coefficient na Wheels 5.0Jx14in Tyres 155/65 R14, Barum Brillantis Spare None

The steel spaceframe appears to have been welded by hand, given the quality of the visible welds in the cabin. An ABS plastic body is mounted atop. The frontmounted motor draws its modest power from the 5.5kWh battery towards the rear. Suspension comprises MacPherson struts at the front and semi-trailing arms aft. To match the unassisted everything else, the rack-and-pinion steering is unassisted.

MOTORS

Installation

Front, differential, front-wheel drive,

Type Permanent magnet synchronous motor

Power 8bhp Torque 29lb ft

Battery type Lithium ion

Battery capacity 5.5kWh (usable) Battery voltage 48V

Power to weight 17bhp per tonne Torque to weight 62lb ft per tonne

ACCELERATION ACCELERATION IN KICKDOWN

THE SMALL PRINT Power-to-weight and torque-to-weight figures are calculated using manufacturer’s claimed kerb weight. © 2023, Haymarket Media Group Ltd. Test results may not be reproduced without editor’s written permission. For information on the Ami, contact Citroën UK Ltd, Pinley House, 2 Sunbeam Way, Coventry, West Midlands, CV3 1ND (0800 197 2046, citroen.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).

SAFETY

NCAP

e find it hard not to feel conflicted about the Ami. This is an intelligently conceived car that’s built down to a price and for a very specific purpose – and we tend to like light, simple cars that have straightforward jobs and do them well. And in the absolute right set of circumstances, it works.

But for all of that, it’s painful to drive in all but the slowest of urban areas. There’s little luggage space, in poor conditions it’s hard to see out of and on anything other than congested roads it feels utterly perilous. And if you do find yourself staying at its top speed for prolonged periods, that eats into its modest range.

We’re loath to make new versus used comparisons in road tests because it’s almost always unfair on the new vehicle, but in the Ami’s case there are so few competitors, and its use case is so very, very limited, that it’s hard not to consider something older but far more accommodating and easier to live with. If it’s for strictly slow-urban use, gets you off a scooter, or your business would benefit in terms of branding, by all means take a look. But beyond a very specific set of criteria, it’s incredibly difficult to recommend.

MATT PRIOR

The single wiper leaves a big area to the right uncleaned. In lousy weather, the visibility on approach to roundabouts can be really poor.

MATT SAUNDERS

Folding and stuffing the cable into its little storage cubby is surprisingly fiddly.

Testers’ notes Spec advice

Jobs for the facelift

MICRO ELECTRIC

There’s not a lot of choice – pick the colour highlights you want and, if you’re using it for local deliveries, definitely spec the Cargo variant or have boxes under your feet.  Extend the wiper’s reach.  Quieten the fan.  Improve the range. Price

£13,000

£11,999 10bhp, na na, 48mph na, 93 miles

Who do you think

The DNA of the SL is a confused mixture of sports car and boulevard cruiser, but Mercedes-Benz passing responsibility for it to AMG surely signals a new firm focus on dynamics.

Richard Lane tests the theory against the finest rival out there

PHOTOGRAPHY MAX EDLESTON

People like Timo Nordheim have been embellishing the Mercedes-Benz SL story since the early 1990s, piping habanero sauce into dishes that you would never expect to blow your head off. As engine builders at AMG, for them it’s all part of a day’s work. Nordheim and his many forebears have been behind the rortiest, the most unhinged (hello, Black Series) and occasionally the most sublime SLs, as was the case when the debonair R129 was loaded with the 518bhp 7.3-litre V12 that AMG later supplied to Pagani. There has been so much to love, and yet in SL lore AMG was never more than a mere flavour.

Then, last year, big changes. The launch of the R232 SL signalled to the world that custodianship of the model name, not to mention the engineering programme, had been transferred away from the mother ship to Timo’s lot. That’s right: the aristocratic old SL given to potty-mouthed AMG. It’s like leaving your angelic grandma in the care of Noel Gallagher. Which, in fairness, could be hilarious.

It means Nordheim and co will no longer be external contractors roped in to amp up the SL ad hoc. Their work will be fundamental to every SL built. AMG versions of this long-snouted grand tourer will no longer be soft-bellied, Sindelfingenmade machines tickled around the chassis, stuffed with V8 muscle and sent out to dice with more bespoke-built prize fighters from other makes. Instead, in a radical overhaul of the famous model’s ethos, they will be conceived and developed from the ground up in Affalterbach, meaning that AMG is no longer just a flavour of SL but instead the flavour of SL. It’s a full personality transplant, aimed at turning the SL from topless grand tourer into the drop-top sports-cum-

AMG GT Roadster redundant. Question is, which AMG exactly are we getting here? Is it the one that turned out the gullwinged SLS from scratch and created a modern icon? Is it the one that makes the E63 uber-saloon, in all its softer but still perfectly judged, 600bhp glory? Or is it the one that’s gone off disastrously half-cocked with the four-cylinder plug-in hybrid C63? With the help of one very capable rival, today we will find out.

Note, though, that on the SL’s international launch, AMG CTO Jochen Hermann did juicily preface everything with something of a mic-drop moment. “When you look back into the history of the SL, you see that it all began with motorsport,” he said. “With the new model, we’ve attempted to make that link again.” Punchy. Never mind the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet we’ve got in tow; maybe we should have bagged a 911 GT3!

Despite the boulevard aesthetic of the new car, Hermann has a point. This latest SL is the first SL in history to feature back seats for a broader remit, it has returned to a rakish fabric roof and it’s nudging 1900kg at the kerb, which are all resolutely unmotorsporty things, but the AMG-built aluminium platform that it uses is absolutely fresh and will be shared with the upcoming second-generation GT. Given the wild success Mercedes has enjoyed on track with the GT3 racer, a replacement is surely a given – and, well, there you have a genuine motorsport link to the SL.

Thanks to Nordheim, we can also dismiss the half-cocked, downsizing scenario. His signature is found on our car’s engine cover, just above and to the side of the spot where the hot-vee turbochargers nestle, inches from the ram-air intake.

AMG builds only one hot-vee motor, and it ain’t no four-pot.

Indeed, few engines are more recognisable either from behind the wheel or from the pavement than AMG’s monster M177 4.0-litre V8, which has been in service for many years but for the SL gains new intake and exhaust plumbing as well as a specific oil pan. In our SL 55, it makes a relatively tame 469bhp but also a robust 516lb ft of torque, this from only 2000rpm. Not the most exciting figures, but if that’s what you want, the 195mph SL 63 will be your thing. There the same V8 is boosted to 577bhp and 590lb ft. And with electrical assistance, the upcoming PHEV will be beefier still. (Note that there’s a 375bhp, four-pot SL 43 at the foot of the ladder, too.)

As well as their powerplants, the SL 55 and SL 63 share a nine-speed automatic gearbox, 4Matic+ fourwheel drive and a rear-steering setup, but there the similarities end.

The suspension of our SL 55 is controlled by semi-active dampers and traditional anti-roll bars, while the SL 63 has a compensatory, crosslinked hydraulic system similar to that devised by McLaren. It sounds sophisticated, and given the SL 63 costs a Ferrari Portofino-matching £175,000, it should be. Meanwhile, the SL 55 comes in at just under £150,000, for which you also miss out on active engine mounts and a maximum-attack electronically controlled limited-slip differential.

So maybe in this trim, we’re not experiencing this repositioned SL at its most expressive and rewarding. Then again, does a bespoke AMG model actually need the technology toybox thrown at it to compete against something as polished as the 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet, at which this SL 55 is pretty squarely aimed, with its back seats and ambitious total sports car remit?

This Mercedes certainly makes extremely short work of the long, cold stint from London up to the North York Moors. Atmosphere 

To

facilitate fourwheel drive, AMG has moved from a transaxle in the current GT to a more traditional arrangement for the SL and forthcoming Mk2 GT. We can’t help wondering if moving that weight forward has neutered the playfulness of the chassis a little.

Cabriolet Carrera GTS drivers will get an earful once the top’s dropped

Fewer cylinders, fewer driveshafts, more MPG

Every AMG engine is hand-signed by its builder

in the care of Noel Gallagher ❞

❝

You wonder just how the 911 will be able to keep up. Where the SL imparts an easy confidence, it feels tetchy ❞

The fabric roofs on both cars go up and down easily enough and on the move. Both cars also offer decent protection from wind buffeting, although the SL’s deflector has to be put in place manually, which feels a bit incongruous on such an expensive car.

911 blends digital with traditional to sensational effect

Hood can be red, black, blue or brown Engines are located at opposite ends

 counts for so much in these kinds of cars, and the SL’s cockpit does the endless-bonnet/high-scuttle thing with conviction but stops short of subscribing to the claustrophobic, pillbox-style environment of the current, soon-to-be-retired GT. You don’t feel quite so buried within this car, backside cosying up to the back axle, and isolation from road roar is truly in another league not only to that of the thuggish GT but also to the 911. Surrounded by leather and crisp digital displays (which I could take or leave, although they do declutter the transmission tunnel nicely), you could reel off 500 miles in the SL without thinking, not least because the ride quality in Comfort mode is so well judged and the V8 so unobtrusive. Very nice. But equally, where’s the AMG-ness?

If you keep the powertrain and suspension modes backed off, the new SL does a rather good job of being the old two-seat SL, albeit without the opulently light-infused cabin and the cavernous boot – both of which were among the R231’s defining elements. Mercedes would reasonably argue that the rear seats

provide extra space. However, the ability to keep luggage safely, neatly secured and out of sight is useful. The 911 has the same problem, of course, but then it’s not trying to cover all the bases of an outright grand tourer. It’s the first sign that this SL might just be a bit confused.

No question, though: AMG’s effort outshines Porsche’s, with its highly sprung, engine-cradling, noise-generating rear axle, when it comes to covering big distances.

Once on the moors, it also proves itself to be crushingly effective cross-country, that plush motorway damping holding strong in the face of turbulent, rutted road surfaces and the 4Matic+ chassis generating so much traction that even all the V8 beans in second gear fails to unsettle things. Body control, whether for roll, pitch or squat, is genuinely superb and a fine canvas for the car’s performance.

The showpiece engine duly comes alive in anything more aggressive than the default Comfort mode, casually ripping through the gears. In this application, the M177 isn’t as animalistic as it is in the GT, but a 7000rpm scope and sharp responsiveness for such a burly brute of a motor mean it makes short work of the car’s considerable mass. You begin to wonder just how easily the 911 –with 473bhp, ever so slightly more powerful than its foe and also an almost unbelievable 255kg lighter – will be able to keep up…

At first it wouldn’t. Where the SL imparts an easy confidence, the 911 feels tetchy. Sure, these roads are damp and this particular Carrera GTS Cabriolet is solely rear-driven (and optioned with rear steering), but the stiffer car’s dynamic friskiness is down to more than the lack of front driveshafts. After the SL, whose front tyres are pressed into the road by the weight of its engine, the steering in the 911 seems light and disconnected and the nose more willing to wash wide.

Phenomenal driving position, mind. And the central tachometer is just spot on – refreshing, even, after Mercedes’ pixels. You get a thoroughbred ambience in here that’s sorely lacking in the SL, whose cabin feels in some ways derived from more mainstream cars, which it is. The 911 instantly feels more bespoke and special, if less materially comforting and less adept at dissolving giant mileages.

Back to the driving experience and, as you begin to push the 911 harder on the way into and out of corners, it exhibits more edginess, this time at the other axle, as flashes of oversteer enter the fray before the electronics cut in. For those first few miles of B-road, you almost hold it at arm’s length, like you would an obnoxious cat. There’s even a world in which this test now ends and the SL edges it, being the finer cruiser and, while far from boring, also that much more reassuring on the charge.

But then the 911 clicks, just as, in fairness, these rear-engined coupés from Weissach almost always do. Perhaps it has taken longer today on account of the fact that, as a GTS model with Turbo-derived suspension and a lower ride height than standard, this particular 911 Cabriolet is a tad further out of its comfort zone on a cold, wet moors road than it would otherwise be. But boy does it click, and now you’re really dialled into the experience.

You realise that what passes for steering feel in the heavy SL is simply weight and that the new EPAS system is much more heavily filtered than that in the 911. Neither of these racks possesses the detail of the hydraulically assisted system in the GT, but the 911’s does offer real communication once you’re in fingertip tune with it. The SL offers intuitive gearing and reassuring weight, but that’s it. In combination with a firm brake pedal that’s full of feel, this means you quickly learn to draw the 911’s nose into corners 

SL’s powered front axle pays dividends in these conditions

Not objectively subpar, but isn’t it a bit too E-Class in here?

 with grip and accuracy. The SL will do this as well, but there’s much less meaning and reward to it, just a command well executed.

The 911’s natural agility also begins to tell, and this is where no level of locked-down composure or grip is going to help the SL. It’s simply too tubby to be considered a proper sports car, and while the big body never pulls the car off your chosen line or out of shape, you feel as though it might, which is total anathema to any great driver’s car.

On the other hand, once you’re on the 911’s level, it will happily dart this way and that, and it carries pace through a quick S-bend that necessitates a confidence dab of braking in the SL. Where the SL impresses, the 911 enlivens. Its controls and general manner are that much more vibrant. The SL is hardly stuck in black and white, but the 911 is just so much more vivid when it matters and its synaptic afterimage lingers on post-drive.

The SL might have hit back with a tactic that its forebears have reliably, effortlessly and unrepentantly deployed over the years: on-demand oversteer. This is, perhaps, the very essence of AMG. Yet this car is oddly recalcitrant.

It will tighten its line on the throttle (although not by you coming off it, unlike the 911) but doesn’t do so as naturally as any longitudinally engined roadster from Affalterbach should. It clings doggedly onto that feeling of stability that seems to be its chosen calling card. It’s all very ‘fast grand tourer’, rather than ‘proper sports car’ and again makes you wonder: where’s the AMG-ness? Meanwhile, the 911 is trickier to balance but rewards precision and is willing to dance. It’s more fun.

What I wasn’t expecting was the extent to which this sentiment applies to the powertrain. Sorry, Timo. Your V8 is magnificent in so many ways, but next to the 911’s twin-turbocharged flat six, with its GTS-specific exhaust, it feels oddly blunt and one-dimensional.

In today’s conditions, it’s not quite as easy to fully uncork the near500bhp Porsche unit, but do so and its scope is that much greater; its part-pneumatic, part-mechanical aural character that much more interesting; and its combination of shift speed and throttle response that much more invigorating.

I think that in the rush to express our disappointment in the demise of atmo engines for non-GT 911s, we’ve

overlooked the heights that Porsche has hit with this 3.0-litre turbo unit. Only when you put it up against a certified blockbuster like the M177 (more civilised calibration or not) do you realise just how damn good it is. And the performance with which it endows the 911… The Porsche is the faster of the two here, all right. So where does this leave us? It’s pretty clear-cut, I would say. One way of framing the verdict is to ask: does the reinvented SL get closer to being a sports car than the 911 gets to being a long-legged grand tourer? Because if it does, chapeau AMG, as the result would be pretty compelling, even at £150,000. But no. The AMG is a fine cruiser, but the 911 is no horse and cart and even in Cabriolet form has the space and grace for day-long drives. Then, on those last 30 minutes from motorway to overnight, it will take the SL apart in almost every measurable way, and in several ways you can’t easily measure, too. That said, there’s clearly quite a bit of potential in the SL. If AMG can give the Mk2 GT the same handling flair as its predecessor but also the road manners of the SL and, say, disengageable front driveshafts? What a thing that could be. L

To say the Mercedes-Benz SL has been conflicted over the years would be something of an understatement. Ever since making its debut in 1954, Mercedes’ performance flagship has pinballed from out-and-out sports car to sunshine-seeking boulevardier and back again and again.

In fact, the first road car to receive the badge (it stands for Super Leicht, by the way) was arguably the most purebred sportster of them all and packed true motorsport pedigree. Essentially a rebodied version of 1952’s W194 300 SL racer (which won the gruelling 2000-mile Carrera Panamericana), complete with its 3.0-litre straight six, this was the iconic W198 300 SL ‘Gullwing’.

In 1957, Mercedes chopped the roof off to create the 300 SL Roadster,

Once you’ve got in tune with it, this car really sings

It’s super-secure but the brave can get its tail sliding

A VERY

LONG

America firmly in its sights. There was a 237bhp 5.0-litre V8 for the 500 SL, but this was a laid-back cruiser that quickly became discombobulated when the roads turned twisty.

In 1963, the all-new, extensively aluminium W113 arrived, its distinctive hard-top option with a concave roof earning it the ‘Pagoda’ nickname. Compact, lightweight and powered by a range of straight sixes, it was a proper sports car, especially in its original 230 SL guise. Yet increasing popularity in the US resulted in the car being made a little softer, with an automatic gearbox becoming a popular option as more people bought it to be seen rather than to speed in.

This vibe was fully embraced by the R107, which arrived in 1971 with North

Much better was the R129 of 1989, which despite its technology and luxury was actually a poised and engaging steer, thanks in no small part to its advanced multi-link rear axle. It was also the first SL to be given the

AMG treatment – at first independently and then again when the tuner was brought in-house. The original AMG SL 500 6.0 packed a 6.0-litre V8 with 374bhp, but the wildest was the SL 73 of 1997, with its magnificent 518bhp naturally aspirated 7.3-litre V12 – the same engine that Horacio Pagani would use for the Zonda.

Yet perhaps no car demonstrates the SL’s schizophrenic nature quite like the 2001 R230. A slightly bloated four-wheeled gin palace in cooking V6 guise, it could also be specified in V8-engined SL 55 and SL 63 guises, plus with a 610bhp twinturbo 6.0-litre V12 as the SL 65. Oh, and of course there was the SL 65 Black Series, arguably the most focused SL of the lot. Carbonfibre bodywork and a fixed roof shaved

250kg off the kerb weight, plus there was a wider track, fully adjustable suspension and 670bhp for the V12. It cost £250,000 (the Ferrari 599 was cheaper) and wasn’t as sharp or as involving as the 997-series Porsche 911 GT2, but its crushing performance and rarity (just 350 were hand-assembled) make it highly prized today.

2nd

1st

Road

roar hampers its GT credentials, but it’s stunningly complete in almost every other respect. Subtler than the SL but also more detailed and rewarding.

BUMP AND GRIND

How many of us are looking at downsizing our cars right now?

Among my default recommendations to anyone who wants a small, affordable, versatile car with room inside it and some character without remains the one that has just been delivered to my driveway: the Suzuki Ignis.

MONDAY, 10.23AM

I’m regularly telling people how much more useful these clever little cars are than you might imagine. Now it’s time to prove it. For the next seven days, this 3.7-metre-long, 1.2-litre city car will be the Saunders family’s only means of transport. Anywhere we need to go, we will go in this, and anything we need to carry will go in the boot – or it won’t be going. The office commute, the school run, the supermarket shop and the weekend football match will all be done in it, and I will also make some special trips to test the outer limits of this car’s capabilities. Thankfully, we have the right version: the range-topping Allgrip SZ5, with 82bhp, a manual gearbox and viscous-coupling-based fourwheel drive. A quick poke around and I remember all the features that impressed me the first time around: sliding rear seats, enough leg and head room for adults in both rows, plenty of cabin storage, a simple control layout and a touchscreen infotainment system that mirrors your phone on a wired connection. How much more do you really need?

TUESDAY, 5.05PM

A busy working day on the road started early today, with a quick 30mile dash to Silverstone for a track day, then home in time to collect the kids from after-school club.

The Ignis is going down a storm with them. They love its smiley,

cartoonish features and sandpit-toy proportions, so there are cheers when it turns up in the car park.

The youngest even forgets to ask what the Porsche 911 GT3 RS that I’ve been testing was like. (He later says he “prefers this to the SF90 you had the other week, Dad”. Take that, Maranello.)

This is a small car but a really well-packaged one, and there would be plenty of room in the back for child seats or booster seats if they were needed. As it is, much adjustment of those individually sliding back seats is made before we depart, just for the novelty factor.

The Ignis isn’t quite perfect for town driving, but its mild-hybrid powertrain is more than adequately torquey and very likeable.

Something with wider axle tracks that could span those island-like speed bumps more comfortably and whose automatic ’box could handle gearchanges itself might be easier to get on with. The Ignis’s throttle pedal is slightly over-sensitive when you’re on and off the clutch, but it doesn’t take too much getting used to.

WEDNESDAY, 8.52AM

My office commute is a long one: 106 miles door to door, split about 70:30 between motorway roads and cross-country A- and B-roads (and I know every bump and camber of the latter very well). It’s the kind of trip that a typical modestly powered city car might struggle with – but not the Ignis, I’m pleased to say.

It’s no particular motorway specialist. If you want to accelerate at more than a glacial pace to overtake, you will need to work the gearbox. And there’s plenty of wind noise from around those upright A-pillars above 60mph, although not as much as you might think from the 1.2-litre motor spinning away under that diddy bonnet. 

Ignis calmed Saunders down after GT3

How

With that said, having been a bit animated on more uneven surfaces (the live axle at the back doesn’t make for the finest vertical body control), the Ignis’s cruising ride settles down fine on the motorway. The driver’s seat is perfectly comfy. Even as a bigger and taller driver, I don’t feel as though I’m squeezed in over the controls. Visibility is great. And there’s plenty of space for your travel mug of coffee, if you can bear the inevitable comfort breaks.

Fuel economy, meanwhile, settles down to about 50mpg at a give-andtake 70mph average. That’s not stellar for something that weighs less than a tonne and has electrical assistance, I guess, and the fuel tank is only 30 litres. But even so, if longer trips are only on your menu occasionally, you could make it work if you were so inclined –and I’m still feeling that way.

THURSDAY, 2.26PM

A bit more of the road less travelled today. I met our photographer Max Edleston on some of Leicestershire’s prettier B-roads mid-morning for a spot of cross-country driving and accompanying snaps, and now we’ve decamped to a nearby quarry to investigate the Ignis’s off-road credentials.

On the blacktop, this is a car that I’m really enjoying. It’s not sophisticated, but it’s honest: unexpectedly tactile through the steering, light through the gearshift and with plenty of simple connected feel through the pedals (to the point where the thrust bearing on the clutch makes an endearing squeak when it’s cold). It bumbles along a bit on its slightly restive suspension, but that’s somehow part of the charm.

You have to work pretty hard to accrue enough speed to give the chassis a lot to do in the corners, but both grip and lateral body control are decent enough when you do, and the Ignis is narrow enough to give you plenty of road to aim at. It’s a surprising amount of fun – as little, light, modestly powered cars so often are.

When we arrive at the quarry, my worries are that the Ignis’s ground clearance (180mm) would come up short over the bumps and its Bridgestone Ecopia tyres would just spin when they hit wet mud. Both are mainly unfounded. The Ignis has an off-road calibration for its traction control and a hill descent control button – and it climbs and descends like a proper mountain goat. It’s light, it’s small and it just keeps going. But for a couple of brushes with muddy wheel troughs, it doesn’t bottom out anyway.

The steepest grades need a bit of a run up and full power in first gear, but away from the slopes, you have to avoid ruts and bigger bumps, which upset the car’s little wheels and simple suspension a bit. So the trick to successful progress here is all about judging your speed.

You won’t often be going fast enough to sample the handling

4WD, narrow tracks and just enough clearance make it capable here

Win or lose, they’ll still be happy after the game

Boot is adaptable enough for sleepovers

Thankfully in such an agile little car, there’s not much you can’t simply drive around and there are surprisingly few places where you can’t go.

SUNDAY, 3.35PM

Between an early kick-off for one of the kids on Saturday and all the other usual Dad’s Taxi driving commitments, the Ignis has had a busy weekend. It feels purpose-built for the sort of short-hop drop-offs and pick-ups that so many parents have to do, and cruises into parking spaces that the other mums’ and dads’ Audi Q5s and Land Rovers won’t fit into.

But the big-car points accrue unexpectedly once again when the time comes to drop them off at a friend’s sleepover. Two fold-up foam beds and sleeping bags fit into the boot no problem, leaving room for the kids in the back seats and the last of their luggage in the front passenger footwell.

The whole family going somewhere with cargo would be a stretch for the Ignis, no doubt. We could manage a day trip or a fairly

low-key shopping mission, but enough overnight bags for the four of us would be right at the limit of the Ignis’s cargo space.

The thing is, this week we just haven’t needed to travel like that –and everything we have needed the Ignis has provided very cheerily indeed. If it was mine, I reckon I would fit it with lifter springs, winter tyres and roof spotlights and pretend it was some modern take on an old Fiat Panda 4x4.

Actually, the more I think about it, that’s not too far wide of the mark. This couldn’t really be your only car for a busy and growing family of four, not even if you were desperate to prove a point. But if you’ve always thought modern city cars too small, slow or impractical to make a useful second car, the Ignis could so easily change your mind – and win a lot of your affection at the same time.

“How many Ignises could you buy for the price of an SF90, Dad?” the youngest asks when we’re out dropping off a coffee table for a friend who’s moving house (seats down, no problem). “You could have an army of ’em, James,” I tell him. But just one would do very nicely. L

Brilliant packaging makes this small car surprisingly spacious

‘All future cars will be self-driving’

So says Mate Rimac, creator of arguably the most impressive hypercar this century. But that barely scratches the surface of what this forward thinker is up to, as Steve Cropley finds out

The frustration of trying to report the life and times of Mate Rimac, 35-yearold Croatian-born inventor of the acclaimed Nevera EV hypercar and architect of a forthcoming Bugatti renaissance, is that by the time he gets around to announcing something, it’s already half-finished.

We meet in Rimac Technology’s temporary office in an industrial estate outside Warwick, ostensibly to talk about his plan to expand into the UK. But to do it, we have to squeeze into a small room off the entrance hall – because the surrounding spaces are crammed with the 51 beavering British

engineers he’s hired already.

Ten miles away at Wellesbourne (we learn), there are “about 100” more engineers working on an autonomous project called P3 Mobility, whose existence Rimac hasn’t even officially confirmed. Anyone who meets him finds a friendly and candid person, amazingly generous with his time, but it’s clear that to him, talking is nowhere near as good as doing.

Why the enthusiasm for British engineers, I ask. Croatia has great engineers, and so does Germany, which already has a Rimac outpost. “In Croatia, we have smart people, for sure, but not much experience,” he says. “And I respect German engineers a lot, but most of them have worked in big, safe OEMs

and haven’t seen hard times. British engineers are different. They often have to do things quickly, on limited funds. That makes them resourceful. And they’re more open to new stuff.”

Since the autonomous P3 Mobility project has been confirmed in our conversation, I ask why it has needed to be secret. “Two reasons,” he says. “One is the amount of hot air expended on this subject. So many promises are never delivered. We want to deliver before we talk. Two is that this is a tough project; plans change. If you announce something, changing gets difficult and we want to stay flexible.”

What exactly is P3? How will it affect people like me? “The aim is to give people the best form of city transport they can have,” says Rimac, “but convenience isn’t the only objective. We’re talking low cost, efficiency, safety and cleanliness too. There are new vehicles involved – our Wellesbourne team is working on them now – but we’re also designing a whole environment that will integrate into cities alongside existing transportation. Eventually, there’ll be fleets of thousands of robotaxis, linked to ‘mother ships’ where they’ll be charged, cleaned and serviced.

“People think autonomy will be the main issue here, but it isn’t. We believe all future cars will be self-driving, just as a phone makes a phone call. P3 Mobility will be all about convenience, but it’ll have to be integrated carefully. You wouldn’t want autonomous cars moving underground transport to the streets again. The secret is to add value to what cities have now. We already have letters of intent from various cities, including British, to take P3 further.”

However, Rimac’s candour runs out when I ask him for a launch date. Much has been achieved, but it’s too soon to talk about ribbon-cutting.

Given that Rimac is working at extreme ends of the transport spectrum – exclusive hypercars and mass transportation – I ask if he also has a plan for the middle ground. He has an easy answer and a harder one, and offers both.

“In a sense, we help the middle by working with others – partners like Hyundai and Porsche,” he says. Rimac Technology already has dozens of OEM client-partners, for which it tackles many tasks, usually complex. But Rimac himself has radical views on the future of car ownership that lead him to reject any idea of a Tesla rival.

“There will always be some who want to own cars,” he says. “People still own horses, after all. Enthusiasts will maintain their hobby and I’m one of them.

Rimac talks Cropley through his firm’s cutting-edge tech

Mate Rimac is a car enthusiast as well as an autonomy realist

Rimac’s Nevera EV is five years ahead of established rivals

“But to me, chasing Tesla would be like getting into the CD business in 2002, when MP3 players had arrived and we could already see Spotify on the horizon. It doesn’t seem right that people only use their second-biggest purchase 3% of the time. So I’m pretty sure car ownership will get smaller.”

Having watched other successful car firms expand fast, then fail, I ask Rimac how he plans to ensure his company will be around in 50 years. “I think about this every day,” he says, “and at present I don’t have the definitive answer. But part of the answer must be profitability. Bugatti is nicely profitable. Rimac isn’t, though we’re working on that. And P3 Mobility will take years. But I see preserving this company as the challenge of my life.” L

HOW BUGATTI AND RIMAC DIFFER

Mate Rimac has notched up many achievements in 13 action-packed years, but his headline-grabber has been launching the Nevera, his advanced EV hypercar, five or six years ahead of McLaren, Ferrari and the rest. Indeed, it is the capability and credibility of the Nevera that has induced the Volkswagen Group to hand Rimac the running of its problematic Bugatti marque, a source of wonderful cars for 20 years but a project that has always needed large investments and struggled to earn profits.

Mate Rimac sees the marques as different canvases. “Bugatti is about heritage, craftsmanship, pursuit of perfection and a hint

of aristocracy,” he says. “Rimac is wild and crazy, with an engineeringtechnology focus.”

Bugatti’s brand values are already well known, but Mate Rimac promises “technical, exciting stuff that’s really different” rather than continuing rebodying jobs on the same chassis. The obvious new model is a rear-drive Chiron successor “with zero carryover

from Nevera or anything else”.

Already well advanced is a series of later Bugatti models, some of which refer to the marque’s greatest cars of the vintage years. They will be diverse (“I don’t want to spend my time restyling”) and will include more ICE cars. “We have some very exciting combustion engines coming along,” says Mate Rimac, mysteriously.

“I’m still deciding about Rimac,” says the company’s founder. “I believe we have a five- or six-year lead and we must strive to keep it.

I’m trying to decide how to do that.

I have ideas but I can’t share them yet. One key decision is whether the leading designs in six years’ time are hypercars at all…”

❝

Chasing Tesla would be like getting into the CD business in 2002 when MP3 players had arrived and we could see Spotify on the horizon ❞

In 2023, even cars are becoming vegan.

But are manufacturers inadvertently doing harm to the planet by turning away from animal products?

Jesse Crosse investigates how the look, smell and feel of car interiors are changing, and asks whether all this makes for a better environment both inside and out

Time was when the most difficult question a manufacturer could expect at the launch of a new car would have been along the lines of: “What’ll it do?” Today, things have moved on and one of the key questions asked is: “What’s it made of?”

In the past decade, a new thread has emerged in the shape of the ethicality and sustainability surrounding the use of animal products. Greater awareness of these issues has added numerous layers of complexity to the business of making cars in the sense that reducing the carbon footprint and ethical considerations are becoming interwoven and possibly confused.

Campaigning by US charity Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and others has led to closer scrutiny of the animal products used in cars, for the most part focusing on interiors. Manufacturers have taken note and, for example, the Polestar 2 EV was announced in 2020 with an all-vegan interior incorporating recycled materials like cork and carpets made from fishing nets. It’s not an unusual approach

and most other big brands have been using recycled materials for years, but is the very use of the word ‘vegan’ to describe interiors trimmed in animal-free products controversial?

Veganism is described in various ways depending on who you ask but extends beyond not eating anything derived from animals or preventing animal cruelty. Peta’s view is that animals “are not ours to use, for experimentation, food, clothing, entertainment or any other reason”. So when a manufacturer describes an interior as ‘vegan’, is its purpose to meet all of those key vegan principles? Or is it designed to be an attractive catch-all to promote a product that can be enjoyed guilt-free, both green and ethically unburdened?

Vegan interiors are being promoted by a number of manufacturers now, and in 2020 Ford won an award from Peta for the Mustang Mach-E’s animal product-free interior. Sonja Vandenberk, Ford of Europe’s chief designer, colour and material, says: “Ford continuously reviews its product specifications and materials used in all components. Sustainability is a key consideration, factoring in customer feedback and demand, supply sources, related ethics, longevity of supply and so on.”

BMW will also launch cars with fully vegan interiors this year. It says leather-free interiors will reduce its CO2e (CO2 equivalent) emissions by 85%. Previously, 80% of emissions relating to its leather interiors came from methane gas produced by cattle, with the hide processing contributing just 20%. However, those figures would assume the cattle are raised specifically for their hide and not for food.

There is a sense that, having initially rushed to embrace vegan interior materials, some manufacturers now appear to be adjusting that approach to focus on animal welfare rather

HIDE AND SEEK

Although the focus is mainly on interior materials, animal products are used in other areas of cars too, and in some of the most unlikely places. While moving towards vegan interior materials from this year, BMW and Mini will still have animal products in them but “not visible to the customer”. Examples are: various waxy substances like gelatine used in protective coatings, lanoline used in paint, tallow (a form of animal fat) as an additive in elastomers and beeswax also used in paints. Tyre manufacturing has traditionally used stearic acid, derived from tallow, to enhance the flexibility of the rubber. Despite the trend towards luxury synthetic materials in cars, they have been in use for years. Audi made a big thing of its Jacquard Satin (made from cotton) seat upholstery way back in the 1980s and, while it appears to be suede, the hugely popular Alcantara is actually made from 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane.

than the full vegan philosophy.

In 2022, Polestar announced that it was introducing leather interiors but under strict conditions. “We have revisited materials and processes that go into making the Polestar 2, introducing updates that reduce the climate impact and increase material traceability,” said CEO Thomas Ingenlath. The word ‘traceability’ is one we’re hearing more of and has particular significance in relation to animal welfare. The firm went on to say: “We require that all leather used in Polestar products must live up to the strictest standards on animal welfare and the ‘Five Freedoms’ [explained in the box on p57], alongside being fully traceable 

Sustainable materials fill Merc’s Vision EQXX concept

Bridge of Weir is UK’s only manufacturer of automotive leather



and chrome-free. A new leather supplier, Bridge of Weir, meets our requirements.”

Mercedes is taking a similar approach and says that from the beginning of this year it will offer only sustainably produced and processed leather in its interiors, explaining: “The company requires its suppliers to comply with the Animal Welfare Committee’s Five Freedoms of animal welfare in livestock breeding.” Its partners, meanwhile, must “disclose their entire supply chain from the farming to the final product”. Leather can only be processed in tanneries that meet the ‘gold standard’ of the independent Leather Working Group.

This approach isn’t new to Bridge of Weir. The premium leather manufacturer, part of the Scottish Leather Group, has for some time undergone the most stringent, self-imposed independent life-cycle analysis and independent auditing by organisations such as the Leather Working Group. It has also invested millions into a waste product gasification plant producing

energy to power its plants in a circular process of carbon reduction.

Warren Bowden, head of sustainability and innovation at the Scottish Leather Group, says: “One of the arguments we keep hearing is you’re growing that animal for its skin. You would not grow an animal for 1% of its value and the hide represents approximately 1% of the total value of the animal.” This figure is echoed by livestock figures produced by the US Department of Agriculture. In both the US and Europe, hides are officially categorised as ‘by-products’ of food production, and on that basis Bowden believes it is “unethical” to waste hide that would otherwise go into landfill. Research commissioned by the US leather industry, based on 25 years of government data, echoes Bowden’s thinking. Were people to stop buying leather en masse globally, it would result in 300 million tonnes of hides disposed of annually, generating six million tonnes of surplus CO2 emissions.

Bridge of Weir says 98% of its hides come from the UK, the other 2% from Denmark because one customer requires that they do so. Both the UK and Denmark are in the highest category of the

World Animal Protection organisation’s Animal Protection Index. “We have 100% traceability of those hides so we can prove that the standard of animal husbandry is what it ought to be,” adds Bowden. On the subject of CO2, an independent life-cycle analysis (for the entire process from rearing cattle to the finished product) gives Bridge of Weir’s ‘circular’ process a score of 8kg CO2e per square metre of leather, claimed to be the lowest in the world published for leather.

One of an increasing number of companies offering alternatives is flourishing US/Japanese firm Ultrafabrics, established in 1999. It initially produced synthetic substitutes for leather but, says director of branding Nicole Meier, Ultrafabrics’ products have evolved far beyond that now and customers are more interested in new materials than leather lookalikes. “We never try to compete or compare ourselves to leather. People are much more educated in materials and our products are something for the future that are more technical,” she explains.

“Our clients’ customers are trendsetters and they want to offer them the latest and greatest, a material that doesn’t look like leather, but is

Imitation leather represents a middle ground for some Bridge of Weir prides itself on its eco credentials

The Range Rover SV and McLaren Elva use futuristic Ultrafabrics

WHAT ARE THE FIVE FREEDOMS?

They outline five key aspects of animal control developed following a UK government report in 1965. Since then, they have been adopted worldwide.

FREEDOM FROM HUNGER OR THIRST

By providing ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.

FREEDOM FROM DISCOMFORT

By providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.

FREEDOM FROM PAIN, INJURY OR DISEASE

By prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.

FREEDOM TO EXPRESS (MOST) NORMAL BEHAVIOUR

By providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind.

FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND DISTRESS

By ensuring conditions and treatment that avoid mental suffering.

cool to the touch, doesn’t crack or peel, keeps you cool, absorbs your body heat. I think those technical aspects appeal to people.”

Like Bridge of Weir, Ultrafabrics supplies both McLaren and Jaguar Land Rover and has high sustainability credentials. Its fabrics are all polyurethane-based, although Ultrafabrics is introducing a new 29% bio-based product called Volar Bio and aims to include 50% sustainable or recycled raw materials into its entire portfolio by 2030. From a CO2 perspective, its published figures claim greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing in 2019 amounted to 3.84kg of CO2 per square yard of fabric, equivalent to 4.6kg per square metre, using energy sourced from the Japanese grid.

Which raises the question: is synthetic or natural better for the environment? There doesn’t appear to be one, single answer to that question, mainly because of the lack of industry standards governing comparisons and whether they are including the entire supply chain in the same way. As Bowden points out: “You can’t compare apples with something else and you can’t just look at a number and say this is better than that.” L

BMW says its vegan interiors will slash carbon emissions

Ford got Peta approval for animal-free Mach-E interior

❝

People are much more educated in materials and our products are more technical ❞

YOUR VIEWS

Here since day one?

Vicky Parrott looks so young, so I was amazed when I read in her response to receiving a Caterham Super Seven 600 from James Disdale (‘Oh, you shouldn’t have’, 7/14 December 2022) that she “first drove a three-cylinder Caterham 160 years ago”. It just goes to show how looks can be deceiving. I really think she shouldn’t drive too fast at her age!

Michael Blackstein

Via email

Although Vicky is a very experienced automotive journalist, I would guess that was meant to say 16 years! – KC

Return to the dark ages

Having grown up in the era of postwar austerity, when everything in Britain was black and depressing (black cars, black telephones, black-and-white movies) while everything in America was bright and cheerful (various coloured cars, white telephones, Technicolor movies), my wife and I hate dark and depressing car interiors. And it’s significant that most of the more upmarket cars have light interiors.

For this reason, we haven’t replaced her beloved nine-yearold light and cheerful Nissan Leaf (which she has owned from new) with a longer-range version, as the only available interior now is black.

Looking at other models, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is available with a light leather interior but is rather expensive for a runaround, while the otherwise ideal and affordable MG 4 EV is dark and depressing – as are most other lower-end models.

Inside the car is where the buyer will spend his or her time. Yet while Autocar’s testers usually comment on the quality of a car’s interior, you don’t seem to appreciate the importance of ambience, which is created by colour: dark and moody or light and cheerful. Could you please in future detail the options?

Trevor Hunt

Theale, Somerset

We do take ambience into account, but we mustn’t let subjective matters figure too strongly in our verdicts – KC

LETTER OF THE WEEK

Wanted: one ordinary car

I’ve been a car lover since my early teens when I was given a grounding in mechanics by my uncle. As soon as I was old enough, I took my test, bought two Austin 1300s and made a good one out of them. A few rusty Austins followed until I was able to buy my first new car in 1984. Since then I’ve bought a new car every few years, always paying cash. Nothing fancy: Fiats, Vauxhalls, the odd Mazda, a Hyundai and a Seat.

My Ibiza does everything I need it to. It’s quick enough, refined enough, frugal and very well equipped. Due to Covid and my retirement, it has done only 11,000 miles, so what to do when it’s time to change? I will probably keep it for a few more years before going electric, but I don’t see an EV that I can afford right now anyway.

B-segment EVs all seem to start at double what I paid for my Ibiza, plus discounts are history, due to supply and demand issues, while makers and dealers are filling their boots with hugely wider margins.

For the past year or so, my wife and I have been looking to change her Suzuki Celerio. We would happily buy another, but like nearly all city cars, it has been discontinued. The Hyundai i10 is one option, but it costs about £13,500 – nearly double what the Celerio cost in 2017.

When I read car magazines now, I mostly see reviews of huge SUVs (which I wouldn’t have as a gift!), supercars and executive cars, most at £50,000-plus. So what are we ordinary motorists supposed to do?

The thrust of my point is this: why should I bother to maintain an interest in cars when the car industry doesn’t seem to have an interest in me? There’s hardly a glimmer of hope, with manufacturers queuing up to tell us that neither ICE nor EV city cars are commercially viable.

Maybe people like us are no longer of interest to the makers and dealers. After buying more than 20 new cars in 40 years, it feels that the pleasure of doing so will soon become little more than a memory.

Colin Reeve Wetheringsett, Suffolk

Plane wrong

I enjoyed your piece on the Range Rover and the Boeing 747 (‘Boeing Boeing gone’, 30 November 2022). As you said, these are iconic items of engineering, instantly recognisable.

However, you said the largest plane Boeing made before the 747 was the 737. Actually it was the 707, which spawned the smaller 727, then 737.

Nick Brunner Winchester, Hampshire

Why no recall?

I have a 2014 Volkswagen Golf with a DSG gearbox. Recently when I was with my two very young children, it suddenly lost power at a crossroads and became completely undrivable. Very scary. I had to be towed home, and if I hadn’t been in such a rural place, it could have been dangerous.

The car came up with “gearbox fault loss of pressure in mechatronic unit”. Why was there never a recall related to the DSG gearbox on this car in the UK when such a recall was issued in many other countries?

Adding to the issue, two years ago when having the cambelt changed by my local garage, they told me the gearbox would need an oil change. I took the car to Ipswich Volkswagen, but they told me the oil didn’t need changing as it was a “dry gearbox”.

I’m now told that my mechatronic unit sits in dirty oil. Had the oil been changed when I asked, would my car have had this problem?

Louise Cotton Via email

Volkswagen UK said: “This customer’s gearbox doesn’t have a service interval on the oil and thus shouldn’t need an oil change during its lifetime. Many of our DSG ’boxes do need an oil change (either every 40,000 miles or 80,000 miles), but a fair proportion don’t, and this is one of them. The cause of any

WIN Letter of the week wins this ValetPRO exterior protection and maintenance kit worth £48

DSG is a rather complicated component

Ellis Journey was balmy, London to Brighton Run barmy

WRITE TO autocar@haymarket.com

issues that this ’box might have aren’t due to the oil not being changed.

“As for the safety campaign the customer mentioned, our cars are often given different components and software to make them relevant to the markets they’re being sold in. An issue seen in one market doesn’t necessarily mean every market will have the same issue. Therefore there isn’t a safety campaign associated with this ’box.”

Diesel swindle?

Before the prices of fuel shot up last year, diesel was never more than 4p per litre different from petrol. Now there’s a 22-24p difference. Oil costs $80 per barrel now, just as it did last January. Back then, petrol cost just over 140p per litre and diesel 144p per litre. So why at the same price per barrel are petrol prices now in the mid-150s but diesel prices in the mid-170s?

Iain Gregory Via email

A significant proportion of Europe’s diesel supply has typically come from Russia, so its wholesale price has risen disproportionately as a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – KC

A summer jolly

I was interested to read about Will Rimell’s and Mark Tisshaw’s experience of participating in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (‘As old as the hills’, 7/14 December 2022). In particular, it made me to smile to read Tisshaw’s final comment of “I wish the whole thing took place on a sunny day in June”, because I have a solution to this. It’s called The Ellis Journey. The 2022 run took place on a glorious day in late July. The cars were all pre-1905 and they drove from Micheldever station in Hampshire to Datchet in Berkshire, recreating the first-ever car journey undertaken in Britain, by one Evelyn Ellis in 1895.

I should say that I’m not involved in the event in any way but merely a happy spectator of a brilliant motoring festival.

Here’s hoping for more sunny days for The Ellis Journey in 2023. Maybe Tisshaw would enjoy this trip more. Miles Bennett Via email

NEXT WEEK’S ISSUE

The original car magazine, published since 1895 ‘in the interests of the mechanically propelled road carriage’

EDITORIAL

Email autocar@haymarket.com

Editor Mark Tisshaw

Editorial director, Automotive Jim Holder

Editor-in-chief Steve Cropley

Magazine editor Rachel Burgess

Associate editor Piers Ward

Managing editor Sami Shah

Editor-at-large Matt Prior Road test editor Matt Saunders Deputy road test editor Richard Lane Road tester Illya Verpraet News and features editor Felix Page Deputy news editor Will Rimell Staff writer Jack Warrick

Editorial assistant Charlie Martin Editorial apprentice Jonathan Bryce Used cars editor Mark Pearson Chief sub-editor Kris Culmer Group art editor Stephen Hopkins Art editor Sarah Özgül

Senior photographer Luc Lacey

Photographer Max Edleston

Picture editor Ben Summerell-Youde Videographer Jack Harrison Social media executive Georgia Patmore

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Ruppert

FEATURE

CULT HERO ROAD TEST

FIRST DRIVE

ON SALE 18 JANUARY

GREAT REASONS TO BUY

ON THIS DAY IN 1924

LANCIA HAS OFTEN been highly innovative, and its 1922 Lambda torpedo tourer is among the most forward-thinking cars ever made.

It had a load-carrying unitary body, not a separate chassis, for much better rigidity; it scored a first with independent front suspension; it was a pioneer of braking all four wheels; and its 48bhp overhead-cam V4 was very

potent for its small size of 2120cc.

We met the Lambda 99 years ago, saying: “Being a thoroughly unconventional car, it is fitting that it should have a most unusual performance. Acceleration, together with a set of excellent brakes, enables one to average a surprising speed. Over 30mph can be kept up in perfect safety.

“The engine is very smooth,

Bentley contributes to debate about balloon tyres

“I want to know more about the benefits and the drawbacks of low-pressure tyres,” wrote our regular columnist Owen John. “A good deal of information is available but not exactly of the kind that is most valuable; and, so far, I have but gathered a considerable quantity of evidence both for and against.

“I am looking forward, in the regrettable absence of any official proof, to finding out if low-pressure tyres do slow cars, do eat petrol, do skid on grease, do roll, do improve immensely the running of a car, do splash the mud all over the place and, in short, whether their pros outweigh their cons.”

An opinion John certainly would have valued was that of one Walter Owen Bentley, who wrote us a letter detailing his experiences with “balloon tyres”.

The difference between the lowpressure Dunlops fitted to his 3.0litre Bentley saloon – 22psi front and 18psi rear – and the regular spares is clear to see (look left).

Bentley had found that all audible “evidences of unavoidable geometrical distortion instantly vanished”; that adhesion to the road was “pronouncedly greater”; that there was “no perceptible effect on performance” except to make the ride comfier; and that no nasty ‘roll’ was induced.

has a most healthy power of ‘revving’ on second, and a slight peculiarity of exhaust note due to the V set of cylinders.

“But it is more than the engine that makes the car fascinating. The steering is exceptional. It would be difficult to improve the driving position, the gearchange is easy, and becomingly sensitive.

“Best of all, the Lancia holds

to the road at any speed.

“Another marked good feature is the suspension, which enables the Lancia to travel a good 10mph faster than many other fast cars on really bad roads.”

Small upgrades were made in eight increments up to 1931, and even today Lambdas amaze with how modern they feel to drive.

KRIS CULMER

Demand grows for roofs

Dodge impresses again

The American

up

1917,

had

Britain

and affordable little cars. In summer 1923 it made a radical design change, effecting a lower and more modern look, plus a few mechanical updates. We found the latest tourer to be an “attractive proposition” for the low price of £355 (£17,115 in our money). We found the four-pot lively, smooth and flexible, and when stretched it took us to a fast 61mph. The steering was light and responsive, while the suspension dealt well with potholes and the cabin was reasonably comfy. Maintenance seemed easy as well.

Remarkably, it took 25 years from the invention of the car for one to be offered with a fully enclosed interior, that being the Cadillac Model Thirty of 1910. Demand for cars that didn’t force drivers to brave the elements soon became popular not just in the US but also here and in mainland Europe. This was a trend we noted in 1924 as progress was made in overcoming the not insignificant challenges of ventilation, rattle and rigidity. We also predicted that a corollary of this would be the improved design of open and convertible cars.

company Dodge

built

a solid reputation in

since

selling competent, reliable

1925 Lambda went for £107,000 at Bonhams in 2015

CARS

FEATURED THIS WEEK

New-era hatch arrives in 1.2 guise before design boss oversees a swap to the PHEV VAUXHALL ASTRA

FIRST REPORT

WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT

To judge how Vauxhall is doing in the big-volume but problematic hatchback market, now this crucial entrant shares key parts with Peugeot, Citroën and DS

Not sure why this is, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Vauxhall. Perhaps this is connected with the fact that reaching my London roost involves frequent trips across Vauxhall Bridge, close to where the venerable marque had its beginnings in 1903.

Whatever, I’ve always liked the workaday image of the cars, which have stayed successful and competent all these years without help from premium pricing (which maintains the health of some marques whose cars are no better). In recent years, I’ve approved of its ‘world’s only German-British marque’ mantra, which has seemed

appropriate to the modern range.

Things have changed, of course. Having been long associated with General Motors, Vauxhall and its German associate, Opel, have been acquired by Stellantis, a move that has required their long-time staple product, the Astra, to adopt this mammoth group’s EMP2 platform, most prominently shared with the Peugeot 308 but by Citroën and DS models as well. That means the powertrains and running gear are all new, too.

This makes running a new-generation Astra especially interesting and the most interesting of all is the 1.6-litre PHEV model. We were keen to try such a car, but production schedules meant the mid-spec (and likely very popular) GS Line model was the first available, powered by Stellantis’s 129bhp 1.2-litre turbo three-pot.

We resolved that I’d run one of these for a while, timing my move into the 1.6 PHEV model with the

availability of Vauxhall’s longserving design director, Mark Adams, whose key job has been to ensure this new car continues to have the soul of a VauxhallOpel, while progressing in all the directions an all-new car should take. We decided to meet at Caffeine & Machine, the buzzing hub for car enthusiasts just off the Fosse Way at Ettington, south of Coventry, and had both cars along for the ride.

Adams is one of those industry leaders who’s both approachable and an expert explainer. He made it crystal clear that Vauxhall’s positioning would need to be carefully restated because there were now more family marques in the Stellantis group, and the plan was to position Vauxhall at the same place in the spectrum as Peugeot (at the quality end of mainstream) while ensuring that there was no visual conflict and that buyers would see those two marques as entirely distinct.

SECOND OPINION

Mark Adams’ bold overhaul of Vauxhall’s design has been well received round these parts, and no model wears the new look better than the Astra, to my eye. Encouragingly, its premium-flavoured makeover is matched by a cushy ride and a decent tech offering, which means the Golf and Focus really do have something to worry about. FP

We did the classic Adams walkaround, during which he pointed out how familiarly Vauxhall design features – such as the Vizor grille and lights treatment, the central ridge of the bonnet, the strong rear haunches and the flared wheel arches – all strongly maintained the Vauxhall look but had all been “progressed” to make the point about modernity. In my time with the 1.2 GS Line, I’d already checked

CUPRA BORN HONDA CIVIC BMW i X KIA SPORTAGE

PEUGEOT 308 VAUXHALL ASTRA

Cropley is impressed by the seating position and inviting interior

the effectiveness of the car’s looks with friends and family members and established that they were content that these cars were very much fresh-faced new Vauxhalls.

This aligns with my own views. I’m especially impressed with both cars’ low seating position and sporty stance. Also the ‘detox’ principles of the simplified but inviting interior design. These are unashamed hatchbacks (offering the benefits of lower weight and lower frontal area) in an era when most designers are keen to blur the barriers between hatches and SUVs.

I also approve of Vauxhall’s willingness to build colourful cars – the Electric Yellow of the Ultimate PHEV is a definite improvement on the Vulcan Grey of the 1.2 GS Line –and combining bright body colours adds another level of distinction. The only issue (as I’m finding) is that keeping a colourful car looking good in winter can be quite a chore.

I’ve been surprised by the driving similarities between the 1.2 and 1.6 PHEV. Their steering, braking, ride qualities and handling balance are pretty similar. The steering is quick and heavier than many. The ride is firm but very well damped (and I’ve yet to notice a weight drawback in the PHEV, although the difference is a whopping 412kg). Both roll a bit on corners but not uncomfortably. They offer a tinge of stabilising

understeer and throttle steer a bit but never get close to oversteer.

I’ve yet to do many miles in the 1.6 PHEV, but I’m already at odds with the 42 electric miles officially claimed for it. In the dead of winter, ‘my’ car offers 18-20 miles via its own trip computer and delivers about 25 if you’re careful. I’m sure it’ll improve in warm weather, but I’m confident it’ll never reach 42 in my real world. Because I live 90-odd miles from the office, the PHEV is currently showing 59.9mpg over 1500 miles, not so much better than the basic 1.2 turbo’s early 50s. My routine isn’t ideal for PHEVs.

So far, I’m impressed with my Astra experiences. The car that Adams and his team have designed is perfectly credible as a Vauxhall and it competes pretty well with rivals in the patch. And the PHEV is a car I look forward to driving, which, you could argue, is the most important thing of all.

MAZDA CX-60

A petrol car with plug-in electric power gives

MILEAGE 4220

WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT

Mazda’s largest and priciest car is also its first PHEV. Does it make any sense?

We like the Mazda CX-5 for its impressive dynamics, lavish interior and handsome styling, but there’s no denying the economic pitfalls of its naturally aspirated, large-capacity petrol engine. The larger, heavier CX-60 uses that same thirsty 2.5-litre motor but because it’s a PHEV, you might assume this wouldn’t be a massive problem, because it can get you from A to B without needing the engine at all.

Or it could, if it were able to muster up anywhere near as much EV range as it says it will do on a charge, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to rely on plug-in power as much as I was hoping to.

When the weather was warmer, the range indicator told me I could expect nearly 50 miles from a charge, yet the reality was closer to half of that. And during the recent cold snap, the state-of-charge bar once told me the battery was a quarter full, which didn’t seem to tally with the estimated one mile of engine-off running it said it could provide. Hardly the consistency and clarity that an economically

LOVE IT

HEATED WHEEL AND SEATS

As the cold weather bites, the effective heating for the seats and steering wheel comes into its own… LOATHE

IT

AIR-CON FOIBLE

…It’s just a shame the air-con is so confounding. Auto mode seems to only want to heat my knees.

right?

minded PHEV owner might expect.

It would be a touch less irritating were the petrol tank large enough and the atmo motor suitably abstemious to allow for non-stop, long-distance journeys. But with the 50-litre tank fully brimmed, the CX-60 reckons it’ll go about 240 miles between stops – assuming the battery is empty. Overall, the economy readout is currently nudging a paltry 36mpg.

Sure, if I didn’t live in a flat and didn’t need to travel long distances on the motorway on a frequent basis, I’d be telling a different tale here. Indeed, my original plan was to commute exclusively on electric power and save the engine for the weekends, but the disappointing real-world range has played havoc with my logistics and I’m now in the awkward position where the CX-60 doesn’t really fit my lifestyle at all.

An EV (even one with a short range) would be a far more useful and affordable option for city driving, and a conventionally fuelled car – smaller, and without the weight of a PHEV drivetrain – would save money on longer runs. Marrying both in the same package? The worst of both worlds in economy terms. Incongruous though it may seem, the pure-diesel CX-60 due early this year could right a lot of these wrongs.

FELIX PAGE

OWN ONE? SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE steve.cropley@haymarket.com

STEVE CROPLEY

I’ve been surprised by the driving similarities between the 1.2 and 1.6 PHEV

the best of both worlds,

Cropley and design chief Adams (left) met at Caffeine & Machine

CUPRA BORN

WHY WE RAN IT

TTo see whether the Cupra is a new EV contender or just a gussied-up VW ID 3 hat the Volkswagen ID 3 has become so ubiquitous so quickly should come as no great surprise. In a brave new world where everybody wants to buy an EV but few know which one to go for, it’s natural to trust the world’s best-selling car maker to get it right. And there’s nothing wrong in that, especially when the car in question is so capable. For keen drivers, though, it’s just a bit… well, vanilla. So it hardly seemed the obvious place for Cupra, the VW Group’s hot-

headed Spanish arm, to start when building its first paprika-infused EV. Yet it didn’t take long with our Born to discover that there is a bit of magic at work in this car.

Take the looks: you can tell it’s an ID 3 underneath, but only if you know your cars. Few conventional hatchbacks I’ve driven in recent times have generated more intrigue: everyone wants to know what it is and whether they should buy it, because they all love how it looks. The bronze detailing inside and out may date in time, but here and now it looks great – aided on ‘my’ car by the optional (£840) Aurora Blue paint, the 20in ‘Hurricane’ alloy wheels and the tinted rear windows, which give it a dose of hot hatch intent that signals what’s to come.

In fact, the spec is worth singling out. Short of an electric tailgate (useful when pre-opening the boot to receive muddy dogs on a wet walk) and the inexplicable omission of keyless entry, I never found it wanting. The heated seats and steering wheel were a joy on cold mornings, the massage function was a luxury after a long day, the head-up display was a useful addition and the largescreen infotainment system offered all the functionality I could want – albeit frustratingly slowly, and occasionally making it unnecessarily difficult to find what I was looking for through its menus.

Such as the ‘Sport’ button, for instance. And it would be worth making it easier to find because

It was fun to drive enthusiastically yet also easy-going

when you’re in the mood, it makes quite a difference to the way the Born drives. The whole car feels stiffer, more agile, more alive. Cross-country, its nimbleness defies its whopping near-1800kg kerb weight – aided by having its battery pack sited so low down in the floor – and it’s genuinely entertaining thanks to the sharp steering combined with a throttle-adjustable rear-drive platform. As road test editor Matt Saunders points out (right), it would benefit from a less intrusive traction control system – it cuts in early to stop you having too much fun – but that’s only really going to be a consideration for a small percentage of buyers.

And when you’re not in the mood, it’s a pretty good daily companion,

Cupra’s first EV worked its way under our skin during its 5750-mile test. Here’s why

USABLE SPACE

CABIN STORAGE

SMART SEATS

SECOND OPINION

It’s been great having the Born on the fleet, because it’s definitely the kind of car you need to spend time in. Appreciating it just depends on context and perspective. My first couple of test drives in one left me underwhelmed, but the car at our ‘Best Fun EV’ test last autumn easily rose above rivals on driver appeal. All it needs, to me at least, is a slightly freer traction control system. MS

too. Our main gripes centre on a ride that’s a bit too firm around town and a lack of refinement: suppression of both road and wind noise is arguably better in my aged diesel VW Touran. The A-pillars that prevent you from getting a good sighting through a corner can also be a pain in everyday use, blocking your vision at a junction. The only problem to necessitate a return to the dealer was a regular shunt in the driveline, but it was something the engineers were unable to replicate –despite it happening once again on my drive home from the dealer.

But these are relatively minor gripes and more than compensated for by the Born’s general usefulness: it’s hugely roomy, front and back, with a boot whose practical shape makes it feel larger than the quoted 385 litres, and whose seatbacks drop at the pull of a lever to give a cavernous load bay. It’s not flat, because there’s no raised boot floor on my car, but it does have the benefit of the seatbelts being to one side of the opening, so there’s no fiddling around to avoid them getting caught in the catches when you raise the seatbacks.

That it’s taken this long to raise the spectre of range perhaps goes to show how little of a consideration it was – at least once I’d had my EVIOS charger installed, because the ability to top up at home makes life with any EV easier. The worst I ever saw indicated in the depths of the most recent cold snap was 140 miles from a 100% charge, but as soon as the heater blowers settled down, that climbed; and the best was 264, but I never got close to that. In daily use, the range was generally around 200 miles if you avoided the air-con where possible and drove

sensibly, which was perfectly good for everything except long, out-oftown runs – for which opting for the 77kWh Born might be a better bet.

You could never really call it groundbreaking, but there is something discreetly significant about the Born. Before this, electric cars really only fell into three camps: practical but mundane; fun but quirky; and brilliant but heinously expensive. Now we have an EV that’s to all intents and purposes a ‘normal’ car, but thanks to some nifty Spanish sleight of hand, it has real personality – and is easily entertaining enough to reward keen drivers. And all of that from a reskinned Volkswagen ID 3? Cupra, we salute you.

ALASTAIR CLEMENTS

LOATHE IT

JUST BUTTON IT

LANE KEEPING ASSISTANCE

It’s so intrusive as to be almost dangerous at times

HONDA CIVIC

Some things never change, as these two Hondas prove

RUNNING IT

Remember when Honda’s ad agency was on a roll?

‘Cog’ remains one of my favourite ads (give yourself a two-minute pick-meup by watching it again), but the one that really struck home at the time was ‘Impossible Dream’. That was the one where the chap rode/flew/drove/piloted most of Honda’s machinery across a series of landscapes. I’ve loved Japanese car brands for as long as I can remember but, boy, what a way to reinforce why.

It’s their sheer breadth of capability, their never-ending ability to always offer something slightly daft or different. Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda – they’ve all got form.

So to my current wheels. And also my 37-year-old wheels. They both neatly sum up why it’s difficult to not get excited about Honda. Here is a company that claims to build more engines than any other, from a hybrid that’s actually enjoyable to drive right through to Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 powerplant and countless outboard motors.

And, in the 1970s and 1980s, it created this: the Honda trike or, more correctly, the All Terrain

LOVE IT

THE COMFORT

Civic excels at this so is especially welcome after a long day at work.

LOATHE IT

WASHOUT

No warning when the screenwash ran out. Most un-Honda-like.

Cycle (ATC). Honda was so good at making ATCs that it had a 69% market share in 1984. My dad’s farm had a Honda quad bike, Honda mowers and Honda generators, so it was probably inevitable that when the ever so slightly younger me received the best present ever, it had a winged badge on the tank.

It’s a 72cc four-stroke, singlecylinder air-cooled overhead-valve engine, producing 3.4bhp and transferring that to the rear wheels via a four-speed centrifugal-clutch transmission and chain drive. It is brilliant fun.

And lethal. Trikes were involved in so many accidents in the 1980s that manufacturers effectively pulled them from sale. I’ve never had a shunt on mine (touch wood), because my dad always told me to treat it with respect. Be a lunatic and it’ll tip you off, but by using your weight and being careful with the throttle, you can really lean on it through corners, despite the lack of diff. I used to pretend I was Nigel Mansell on the gravel farm roads, sideways everywhere.

The gearbox is effortless and operated via a left-foot pedal. First is quite low, but once you’re into third and fourth, it soon gets plenty quick enough. It’s difficult to judge speed when you’re this low and

wind beaten, but I suppose it’s probably about 25mph flat out. But here’s the thing. Despite the trike’s iffy stability, the engineering integrity is second to none. Leave it for six months in a cold shed and it’ll start first pull. It is well looked after – I take it for a service about once every two years at a local motorbike dealer, hence getting the towbar fitted to the Civic (Autocar, 30 November 2022) – and it rarely lets me down. There’s the odd sooted-up spark plug if I don’t get the manual choke balance right, but I keep a couple spare so it’s never an issue. And you have to drain the carb after each use because modern fuel just gums it up if it sits for a week without being used. But it is 37 years old so a few quirks are to be expected. Take care of them and it runs effortlessly.

Much like the Civic. It’s going back to Honda soon and I’m already dreading the day. It’s the effortless engineering that I’ll remember: Honda has the hybrid system licked now so that minimal brain power is required when driving. There’s no need to plan ahead, unlike in an EV, and there’s nothing that graunches on the daily grind.

Some might call that boring. But when a brand makes as much brilliantly varied stuff as Honda does, it can do exciting elsewhere.

PIERS WARD

BMW iX

MILEAGE 6724 LAST SEEN 4.1.23

Heated seats with different levels of heat (warm, hot, internal organ baker) aren’t new but the iX has three stages of heating for the steering wheel. Its different levels of warmth aren’t so easy to distinguish and it’s probably a feature still best served as an on/off one, yet it’s an example of how tech laden and feature rich the iX is, whether the function needed to be added or not. MT

Kia Sportage

MILEAGE 2445 LAST SEEN 4.1.23

The deep storage in the Sportage’s centre console serves to remind me how worthwhile some features of more traditional interior car design are. It includes neat cupholders that pop out at the touch of a button to wrap around drinks but mean the space is useful for other things when a beverage isn’t in play. A simple, effective storage space. RB

Peugeot 308 SW

MILEAGE 4957 LAST SEEN 4.1.23

The first true test of the Peugeot’s practicality came with a week-long trip to Cornwall recently. The 548 litres offered by the 308 SW’s boot is more than enough for my own luggage, although I think it would be quite tight for a family of four. The privacy glass makes it nearly impossible to see inside too, which feels more secure. JW

Towbar comes into play to pull a Honda

USED CARS

What to buy, where to buy it and how much to pay

RANGE ROVER EVOQUE

Feel-good luxury meets off-road capability in shrink-wrapped form. Mark Pearson reports

The first-generation Evoque was such a handsome beast it would have sold by the bucketload even if it had handled like a shopping trolley. As it turned out, it didn’t handle like one, but it did gain a bit of a reputation for poor reliability.

Unsurprisingly, this second-gen car didn’t mess with the visual formula. It was a gentle but neat styling evolution of the first, while underneath it introduced a range of more powerful and efficient engines and some upgraded tech. It’s a lovely car, but guess what? You still might find yourself on first-name terms with your local Land Rover service manager.

It’s well laid out and there’s plenty of equipment

OUR TOP SPEC

S

Don’t write it off, though, because there is plenty to like here. To begin with, there were three power grades for both 2.0-litre petrol and diesel options. The petrol range consisted of a 197bhp P200, 247bhp P250 and 296bhp P300, while diesel lovers could pick from a 148bhp D150, 178bhp D180 and 237bhp D240. Merely a year after launch, the diesel range was revised to a 163bhp D165 and 197bhp D200. There was also a 305bhp plug-in hybrid, the P300e, for 34 miles

Standard kit is generous, but an S model also gets the Pro version of the Pivi infotainment and a few extra luxuries. Any trim level after this gets 20in alloy wheels that do the ride no favours.

of electric-only driving.

Aside from some frontwheel-drive versions of the D150 and D165, all Evoques have four-wheel drive and a nine-speed automatic gearbox.

Every version gets dualzone climate control, automatic lights and wipers, front and rear parking sensors, heated front seats and a 10.0in touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

A standard-fit rear-view camera was changed to a surround-view camera from late 2020 onwards.

Step up to S for larger, 18in alloys, leather seats and an upgraded Pro version of the infotainment system.

BUYER BEWARE

CHECK RECALL RECORD

Recalls have been issued for the following faults. An issue has been found with the emergency call system, which contacts the emergency services in the event of an airbag deployment or when the SOS button is pushed. The rubberised fuel return hose assembly may have been incorrectly manufactured. The second-row seatbelt assemblies may contain a physical seatbelt retractor part

that is of a different specification to that intended. An electrical overload event in the 48V electrical system may cause a failure of the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor. Check with a dealer to make sure all these works have been carried out.

RELIABILITY IS AN ISSUE

The Reliability Survey of our sibling title What Car? puts this second-gen Evoque in 36th place out of 39 cars in the family SUV class.

AS GOOD AS NEW

James Ruppert

SE adds 20in wheels and a digital instrument cluster while HSE has a Meridian sound system and adaptive cruise. R-Dynamic gives the Evoque a more sporting look. Top-spec Autobiography has 21in wheels, adaptive LED headlights and a panoramic glass roof.

On the road, it’s wonderfully refined, whichever engine is under the bonnet, and there’s very little wind or road noise. Ride quality is especially good on cars with 17in or 18in wheels, and traction in slippery conditions is excellent and grip levels are strong. It is, as you might expect, very capable off road, too.

Visibility is good aside from some fairly chunky roof pillars and a shallow rear window, but parking sensors and cameras mitigate some of those issues. Material quality is high, plus there’s even the option of finding an Evoque with a veganfriendly Eucalyptus textile pack.

The infotainment is a real step up from the previous car’s. It responds promptly to inputs and has a simple, more intuitive menu layout.

Space is good for tall people up front – even with the panoramic roof – and decent in the rear. A buggy or a set of golf clubs can be stowed in the boot without issue, and a standard 40/20/40-split folding rear seat improves flexibility, and those seats fold flat, too.

NEED TO KNOW

You’ll need at least £25k to get an early, entry-level D150. Spend £25k-£30k on a 2020 model, depending on trim, £30k-£35k on a 2021 car and £35k and above on a 2022 version.

The D150, D180 and D240 officially average low 40s to the gallon. This was improved to 46.3mpg for the D165 and 42.7mpg for the D200. Petrol models all average a smidge over 31mpg. The headline stat is the P300e PHEV’s official 188.9mpg.

Iwas challenged the other day to find cars in three broad price ranges – £1000, £5000 and £10,000 – with the stipulation that they were pre-2000 models and red. I didn’t think the task would be much fun, but it actually threw up some fascinating used buys. It confirmed to me that the death of the sub-grand banger has been greatly exaggerated. The one that caught my eye was a Volkswagen 1.4 Polo from 1998. The mileage was as diddy as the car, at just 43,000. I’d have had to travel to Belfast to collect it, but £550 seemed like a great deal. This car is small, light, frugal and simple to fix – just what we need at the moment, when cars are increasingly heavy and complicated. Mind you, this particular Polo was getting even lighter because of the rust, but it was a charming thing. One old boy owner and otherwise perfect.

P300 e

The plug-in hybrid is the fastest model in the Evoque range (060mph in 6.1sec) and it’s smooth around town and punchy on the motorway. It can officially travel up to 34 miles on electric power alone.

OUR PICK

Second up was a 1996 Land Rover Discovery V8, because I wanted to buy one. Despite having a fairly terrible experience with a diesel Disco 2, where the Td5 was the least of its problems, I rather like the idea of a V8. The advert was fairly off-putting, with its terrible collection of pictures, but the detail was interesting because here was a victim of the future London superextended ULEZ. It was up for £4250, had seven seats and looked like a well-used old-school family 4x4. I rather liked it, but didn’t buy.

all for £8990. It certainly seemed worth the money and is small and light like a roadster should be. Challenge completed, my eye was drawn to a saloon, specifically an Alfa Romeo 159. I had the choice of a freshly serviced 90,000-mile 2007 2.4 JTDm at £2995 or a 90,000mile 2.2 JTS at £2275. I went diesel, because we haven’t got one in this random group and it seemed more tidy and practical. It’s a lot of car for just £3000, proving that there are still plenty of interesting used car options out there.

BANGERNOMICS

Dealers love finance. They would. They earn commission on it. So you may get a discount, an extra warranty, a fresh set of mats or whatever if you buy using dealer finance. But it’s usually an artificial discount, a calculated inducement. For a real discount, pay cash and haggle hard.

HYUNDAI TUCSON

This spacious and decently refined car scored 100% for reliability in the same SUV class the Evoque did poorly in. It lacks the premium-badge appeal, though. Heart or head? Up to you…

WILD CARD

Then there was a Suzuki Cappuccino. These are adorable kei car things and the 1994 one I stumbled across was for the purposes of full disclosure in Cordoba red and in tip-top condition, with just over 50,000 miles. It had a full service history and a series of unadvisoried MOTs,

This £4250 Discovery V8 was a victim of the future London

KICKING TYRES

CULT HERO RENAULT MEGANE RS (M k2 )

he hot hatchback hall of fame is sure to have a fair few Renaults in it, one of them being the Mk2 Mégane RS (confusingly based on the Mk3 Mégane).

This fast and fun three-door arrived on UK shores in 2010 and spawned a plethora of variants, to the point that you can easily get in a muddle trying to differentiate them.

At the beginning, there was the RS 250, which packs a 247bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. This was joined by a Cup version that gained some go-faster goodies, including a limited-slip differential and the stiffer, lighter Cup chassis (which was also

available as an optional extra on the standard model).

But like a fussy Hollywood director, Renault wanted to do many more takes. In 2011, it came out with the RS 265 Trophy. This has 261bhp and unsurprisingly even more trackfocused bits and bobs, including special Bridgestone Potenza tyres. Only 50 ever came to the UK after it had broken the front-wheel-drive lap record at the Nürburgring. Its

time of 8min 7.97sec put it ahead of the Ferrari 360 Modena and V8-engined Audi RS4.

Then for 2012 came a facelift, a small power bump, an even faster Cup model and more. Indeed, we could probably go on forever.

What they all had in common, though, was that they were awesome to drive. Even the original RS 250 is mega, with its 0-62mph time of 6.1sec. Power is best

accessed by a heavy right foot and lots of revs, because that’s this turbo unit’s preferred state.

After said flooring, you will be blessed with enthralling speed and sound. It massively rewards keen drivers. Grip is plentiful, and the steering is well weighted and offers good feedback.

The ride is aggressive, though, especially on Cup-equipped cars. That’s the price you pay for such a high standard of handling.

For an even harsher set-up (the harshest, in fact), look no further than the RS 275 Trophy-R. This was designed for track use, so its Öhlins suspension isn’t forgiving in the slightest. You will be bounced

You’ll be blessed with enthralling speed and sound. It massively rewards keen drivers

WHAT WE SAID THEN

13 JANUARY 2010

“This is a more mature, less brutish hot hatch than the old R26. On initial inspection, it’s easy to confuse this maturity for a lack of soul. But that would be a mistake. Because get it on the right road (or better still a track) and the maturity melts away to reveal a hot hatch that is intimate, confidence inspiring and exceptionally talented.”

a time of 7min 54.36sec. To add to its already legendary status, Renault only ever brought 30 examples to the UK, making it a rare (and thus expensive) creation.

In 2016, the second generation of the Mégane RS bade farewell, and was followed two years later by the five-door RS 280 Sport, RS 280 Cup and RS 300 Trophy.

HOW TO GET ONE IN YOUR GARAGE

An expert’s view

MATTHEW ASHMORE, SELECT MOTORSPORT

“It really does a great job of keeping alive the RS spirit – the kind you get with some of the older, rawer models – while offering some comfort and good low-down torque to help with everyday driving. This is the main attraction to these cars, because they make good daily drivers. And with a few light modifications, they go extremely well on track. We work with them most days, taking them from standard road cars to modified track/race cars. Cambelts are pretty labour-intensive and it really pays to take them to a garage that’s familiar with them. It’s all too common to see timing issues resulting in lower power and economy/efficiency.”

Buyer beware…

ENGINE

Check the cambelt and water pump were changed when the car turned six years old or hit 75,000 miles. An RS needs 5W-40 fully synthetic oil, and make sure you look for oil leaks around the rocker and sump covers.

TRANSMISSION

The gearbox can suffer from noisy bearings, which is a costly issue to fix. On cars with more 60,000 miles, the dual-mass flywheel can develop a faint clicking or tapping. If you hear it, be warned that it only gets worse.

INTERIOR

Make sure the underfloor storage cubbies aren’t damp. Look for any splits and cracks in the driver’s seat bolsters. And when you start the car, check that the warning lights go out.

SUSPENSION

The anti-roll bar drop links can wear and the rubber top-mount bushes can split. The former can be identified by a slight knock. These are minor issues compared with worn lower swivel joints, signalled by a slight knocking noise that can turn into cracking on full lock. This will render the car undrivable, because the bottom of the suspension will try to pull itself outwards under acceleration and inwards under braking.

BRAKES AND TYRES

and thrown around on a rough B-road. While some will find this annoying, others will call it the hardcore edge of one of the most exciting hot hatches ever made.

Like the RS 265 Trophy that came before it, the RS 275 Trophy-R raised the bar for front-wheel-drive cars at the Nürburgring. In 2014, it set

The Mk2 certainly had a good run, setting two Nürburgring lap records and thrilling drivers on both public roads and tracks.

There are a good number of hot hatches that are more practical and relaxing than this Mégane RS, but few are so quick and so entertaining for the money.

Examine the edges of the discs for heavy lipping. With the front wheels at full lock, check the tyres’ inner shoulders for excessive wear. It’s best if the tyres are from a premium brand.

BODY

Check the windscreen scuttle drains for blockages. The rear wheel arches attract stone

Also worth knowing

For the 2012 facelift, Renault upped the power of the standard Mégane RS to 261bhp. However, this figure is only accessible when you press the ESP button; you have 247bhp in the car’s default mode. Holding down the ESP button turns off the stability aids. If you are looking to buy a facelifted Mégane RS, it’s worth checking this all works when you go for a test drive.

For Formula 1 fans, there was the Red Bull RB8 limited edition, which marked the Renault-engined team’s 2012 title wins with Sebastian Vettel.

How much to spend

£6000–£7999

Early RS 250s with around 100,000 miles on them, most sold privately. Their conditions are questionable.

£8000-£10,999

More RS 250s but some with the Cup chassis, as well as some fully fledged Cup cars. Mileages dip towards 50,000 at the top end of this budget.

£11,000-£15,999

Mostly RS 265s; some RS 250s with mileages below 50,000. Conditions are respectable and there are more independent dealers selling them.

£16,000-£19,999

A couple of RS 265 Trophys, plus some RS 275 Cup-S cars.

£20,000-£35,000

We could only find one Trophy-R for sale, and it’s listed for £34,625.

One we found

RENAULT MEGANE RS 275 CUP-S, 2015, 17,000 MILES, £18,995

The RS 275 Cup-S is a more roadfocused alternative to the RS 275 Trophy-R. The Öhlins suspension and Akrapovic exhaust were optional (this car has both) and more than 30 were made, but they’re still rare finds.

Kinda looks like a sports coupé and drives like one too

Power(bhp)Topspeed(mph)0-60/62mph CO2(g/km) Economy(MPG/range)

Between the various figures produced on the old-style NEDC, transitional NEDC Correlated and new-style WLTP laboratory emissions and fuel economy tests, it has become tricky to compare manufacturers’ claimed efficiency on the latest new cars. When you see a fuel economy and CO2 figure reference elsewhere, it’s often without explanation.

So, to provide as fair and clear a basis for comparison as possible, you’ll only ever read WLTP combined fuel economy and CO2 figures in Autocar’s first drive reviews, features and comparison tests – and on these data pages. Those are the aggregated results of four lab tests carried out across as many different cruising speed ranges – although they’re sometimes expressed as a range rather than as one specific figure to show the different results recorded by the heaviest and lightest available examples of the car in question (depending on optional equipment).

In road tests, you’ll also see our own independently produced real-world fuel economy test results for comparison with the lab test claims. We produce an average, track and touring figure for each car we test, as often as possible on a brim-to-brim test basis.

While ‘average’ represents the overall economy returned by a new car over a full road test and ‘track’ is relevant only to intensive performance testing (the length and conditions of which can vary slightly), ‘touring’ gives the best guide of the kind of economy you might see from a car at a steady 70mph motorway cruise.

We do real-world efficiency and range testing on electric cars, too, expressing the former in terms of miles per kilowatt hour, as manufacturers do increasingly widely by convention.

CCCCC Inherently dangerous/unsafe. Tragically, irredeemably flawed.

BCCCC Appalling. Massively significant failings.

ACCCC Very poor. Fails to meet any accepted class boundaries.

ABCCC Poor. Within acceptable class boundaries in a few areas. Still not recommendable.

AACCC Off the pace. Below average in nearly all areas.

AABCC Acceptable. About average in key areas, but disappoints.

AAACC Competent. Above average in some areas, average in others. Outstanding in none.

AAABC Good. Competitive in key areas.

AAAAC Very good. Very competitive in key areas, competitive in secondary respects.

AAAAB Excellent. Near class-leading in key areas and in some ways outstanding.

AAAAA Brilliant, unsurpassed. All but flawless.

a riot to drive. LxWxH 3215x1850x1425 Kerb weight 670kg 2.4 K24 i-VTEC 235 125 3.4 na na

ASTON MARTIN

Vantage 2dr coupé/2dr open £133,920–£158,420 AAAAB

The faster, cleverer, more hardcore entry-level Aston tops its class. LxWxH 4465x1942x1273 Kerb weight 1630kg 4.0 V8 510 190-195 3.6-3.8 25.7 264 4.0 V8 F1 Edition 535 195 3.6 24.3 264

DB11 2dr coupé/2dr open £166,070–£180,420 AAAAA

The stunning replacement for the already seductive DB9 is tyreshreddingly good. LxWxH 4739x2060x1279 Kerb weight 1875kg 4.0 V8 528 192 4.0 25.1 254 5.2 V12 AMR 630 208 3.7 21.1 303

DBS 2dr coupé/open £259,420–£279.920 AAAAA

Effortlessly fast, intoxicating to drive: the big Aston is better than ever. LxWxH 4712x2146x1280 Kerb weight 1693kg 5.2 V12 715 211 3.4 20.9 306

DBX 5dr SUV £168,420–£192,420 AAAAB Doesn’t try to be the biggest, fastest SUV, and may be all the more appealing for it. LxWxH 5039x1998x1680 Kerb weight 2245kg 4.0 V8 550 181 4.5 19.8 323 4.0 V8 DBX 707

Power(bhp)Topspeed(mph)0-60/62mph CO2(g/km) Power(bhp)Topspeed(mph)0-60/62mph CO2(g/km)

Kerb weight 1370kg 2.0 35 TFSI 148 137 9.2 39.8-44.8 143-162

40 TFSI 201 146 7.3 39.8-43.5 147-162

45 TFSI quattro 242 155 6.0 33.6-34.4 187-191

V6 TFSI RS4 Avant 448 155-180 4.1-3.9 28.1-28.2 220-226 2.0 30 TDI 132 131 9.8 49.6-54.3 137-150

148 132 9.2 49.6-54.3 137-150

201 150 7.1 41.5-47.1 141-154

quattro 242 155 4.8 34.9-38.8 180-184

163 162 8.2 51.4-55.4 133-144

40 TDI quattro 201 146 6.9 50.4-54.3 135-146

V6 S5 TDI quattro 339 155 4.6 39.2-40.4 184-188 A5 Sportback 5dr coupé £40,045–£91,750 AAAAC Refined, good-looking four-door coupé is sadly short on charm and finesse. LxWxH 4733x1843x1386 Kerb weight 1425kg

35 TFSI 148 139 9.1 40.9-44.8 144-158

40 TFSI 201 150 7.2 40.9-44.8 143-158

45 TFSI quattro 242 155 5.6 34.4-35.3 183-187

V6 TFSI RS5 quattro 448 174 3.9 28.5-28.8 222-224

35 TDI 148 135 8.4 50.4-54.3 135-147

40 TDI quattro 201 146 7.6 49.6-54.3 137-149 3.0 S5 TDI quattro 345 155 4.6 39.8-40.4 183-187 A6 4dr saloon £40,205–£80,640 AAAAC Supremely well constructed but a bit soulless to drive. A smart office on wheels. LxWxH 4939x1886x1457 Kerb weight 1645kg 2.0 40 TFSI 201 152 7.3 37.7-39.2 163-171 2.0 45 TFSI quattro 242 155 6.0 35.3-37.2 172-182 2.0 50 TFSIe quattro 299 155 6.2 217.3 31 3.0 55 TFSI quattro 335 155 5.1 32.8-34.9 184-196 2.0 40 TDI 201 152 8.1 47.9-51.4 145-155 2.0 40 TDI quattro 201 153 7.6 45.6-47.9 155-163 3.0 50 TDI quattro 282 155 5.5 38.7-40.4 183-191 3.0 S6 TDI quattro 344 155 5.0 36.2 203-205

A6 Avant 5dr estate £42,355–£116,624 AAAAC A capable and high-tech throwback that’s a timely reminder of what Audi does best. LxWxH 4939x1886x1467 Kerb weight 1710kg 2.0 40 TFSI 201 149 7.5 36.2-38.2 168-178 2.0 45 TFSI quattro 242 155 6.2 34-36.2 177-189 2.0 50 TFSIe quattro 294 155 6.2 217.3 31 4.0 RS6 quattro 596 155-174 3.6 21.9-22.6 283-294 2.0 40 TDI 201 149 8.3 45.6-49.6 150-162 2.0 40 TDI quattro 201 150 7.6 44.1-46.3 159-167 3.0 S6 TDI quattro 344 155 5.1 35.3 209

A7 Sportback 5dr coupé £54,265–£121,805 AAABC Easy on the eye and to live with, but let down by stolid dynamics. LxWxH 4969x1908x1422 Kerb weight 1880kg 2.0 45 TFSI quattro 242 155 6.2 35.3-36.2 177-183 2.0 50 TFSIe quattro 294 155 6.3 134.5-141.2 46-47 4.0 RS7 quattro 596 155-174 3.6 22.2-23.0 280-287 2.0 40 TDI 201 152 8.3 47.9-49.6 150-156

153-166

2.0 40 TFSI quattro 187 136 7.4 30.7-32.1 197-207

2.0 45 TFSI quattro 243 147 5.8 32.5-32.8 195

2.0 45 TFSIe 243 130 7.3 141.2 44-45

2.5 RS Q3 quattro 396 155 4.5 27.7-28.5 223-231

2.0 35 TDI 148 126 9.3 48.7-51.4 14552

2.0 35 TDI quattro 148 131 9.3 40.4-44.8 133-139

2.0 40 TDI quattro 197 139 7.3 38.2-39.8 173

Q4 E-tron 5dr SUV £43,290–£57,410 AAABC Practical, pleasant and efficient – if not quite a superior premium product. LxWxH 4588x2108x1632 Kerb weight 1890kg 35 125k 168 99 9.0 201 0 40 150kW 201 99 8.5 307 0 50 quattro 220kW 296 111 6.2 298 0

Q4 E-tron Sportback 5dr SUV £46,190–£63,005 AAABC Fastback variant of Audi’s mainstream electric SUV is agile and terrifically refined. LxWxH 4588x2108x1614 Kerb weight 1895kg 35 125kW 168 99 9.0 211 0 40 150kW 201 99 8.5 318 0 50 quattro 220kW 296 111 6.2 302 0

Q5 5dr SUV £47,045–£74,645 AAAAC

Appealing combination of Audi allure, affordable SUV practicality and attractiveness. LxWxH 4663x1893x1659 Kerb weight 1720kg

2.0 45 TFSI quattro 242 147 6.4 31.0-33.6 191-206

2.0 50 TFSIe quattro 249 148 6.1 128.4 49

2.0 40 TDI quattro 187 136 8.1 41.5-44.8 165-179

3.0 SQ5 TDI quattro 344 155 5.1 32.8-34.4 216-224

Q5 Sportback 5dr SUV £48,495–£77,095 AAABC Reduced accommodation and practicality, but still a refined and solid steer. LxWxH 4689x1893x1660 Kerb weight 2010-2150kg

2.0 45 TFSI quattro 263 149 6.1 31.7 - 33.6 192-202

2.0 50 TFSIe quattro 297 148 6.1 176.6 -188.3 36-38 2.0 40 TDI quattro 201 137 7.6 42.2 - 44.8 166-176

3.0 SQ5 TDI quattro 336 155 5.1 33.2 - 34.4 216 -222

Q7 5dr SUV £62,155–£99,840 AAAAC Unengaging to drive and light on feel, but the cabin is both huge and classy. LxWxH 5052x1968x1740 Kerb weight 2060kg

3.0 V6 55 TFSI quattro 338 155 5.9 25.4-27.4 233-253

3.0 V6 55 TFSIe quattro 376 149 5.9 108.6-113 56-58

4.0 SQ7 quattro 500 155 4.1 29.4-30.1 232 3.0 V6 45 TDI quattro 228 142 7.3 32.1-34.0 217-230 3.0 V6 50 TDI quattro 282 150 6.5 32.1-34.0 217-230 Q8 5dr SUV £70,340–£128,465 AAAAC Striking and effective coupé-SUV range-topper leaves us wanting more. LxWxH 4986x1995x1705 Kerb weight 2145kg 3.0 V6 55 TFSI

STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED

Kia Soul EV Urban

On sale February, price £32,795

With Kia’s growing range of electric SUVs hugely popular, it has created a cheaper variant of the Soul EV. Its smaller, 39.2kWh battery gives it a 171-mile range and can be charged from 0-80% in 54 minutes when using an 80kW charger. The motor makes 171bhp. This costs about £7000 less than the regular Soul, which has a 201bhp motor and 64kWh battery for a 280-mile range.

JANUARY

BMW i7, M3 Touring, Z4 update, Ineos Grenadier, Jaguar F-Type 75, Lamborghini Urus update, Urus Performante, Urus S, Mercedes-Benz A-Class update, B-Class update, Morgan Plus Four update, Plus Six update, Polestar 2 BST Edition 270

FEBRUARY

Citroën ë-C4 X, Ferrari SP3 Daytona, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Kia Soul EV Urban, Mazda CX-60 diesel, Mercedes-AMG C63, S63, Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, Peugeot 408

MARCH

Alfa Romeo Tonale PHEV, Audi Q8 E-tron, Q8 E-tron Sportback, SQ8 E-tron, SQ8 E-tron Sportback, BYD Atto 3, DS 3, 3 E-Tense, Lexus RX, Mazda CX-5 MHEV, Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, Peugeot e-208 update, Vauxhall Astra GSe, Grandland GSe

APRIL

Alfa Romeo Giulia update, Stelvio update, Audi R8 GT RWD, TT RS Iconic Edition, BMW XM, Dacia Jogger Hybrid, Honda CR-V, Lexus RZ, Mercedes-Benz CLA update, Peugeot 3008 PHEV update, Porsche 911 Dakar, Skoda Enyaq iV vRS, Toyota Corolla update, Corolla Touring Sports update

MAY

Aiways U5, Alpine A110 R, BMW 7 Series PHEV, M2 Coupé, X5, X6, Honda e:Ny1, Maserati MC20 Cielo, Mercedes-Benz EQT, Noble M500, Peugeot 508 update, Vauxhall Mokka Electric update

JUNE

Abarth 500e, Aston Martin DB11 update, BMW M3 CS, Honda ZR-V, Lamborghini Aventador successor, Lexus UX 300e update, Lotus Eletre, Ora Funky Cat GT, Peugeot e-308, e-308 SW, Praga Bohema, Vauxhall Astra Electric, Astra Sports Tourer Electric

JULY

Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato, Maserati Granturismo, Munro Mk1, Peugeot 5008 Hybrid, Porsche Cayenne update, Cayenne Coupé update, Volkswagen ID 3 update

AUGUST

Ferrari Purosangue, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Lucid Air, Pagani Utopia, Smart #1, #1 Brabus

SEPTEMBER

Ford Mustang, Mustang Convertible, Jeep Avenger, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Vauxhall Corsa update, Corsa Electric update

OCTOBER

Ford Puma ST Hybrid, Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Maserati Granturismo Folgore, MG 4 EV AWD, Nio ET5, Porsche Panamera, Rolls-Royce Spectre, Volkswagen ID Aero, Touareg, Volvo EX30

NOVEMBER

Aston Martin DBS 770 Ultimate, Bentley Mulliner Batur, BMW 5 Series update, Czinger 21C, Ford E-Tourneo Custom, E-Transit Custom, Kia EV9, Koenigsegg CC850, Maserati Grecale Folgore, Mazda MX-30 REx, Ora Next Cat, Polestar 3, Renault Clio update, Ssangyong Torres, Subaru Crosstrek, Toyota bZ Compact, C-HR, Volkswagen ID Buzz GTX, ID Buzz LWB, Volvo C40 Recharge update, XC40 Recharge update

DECEMBER

Citroën C3, Ferrari SF90 VS, Fiat supermini, Ford electric crossover, Maserati Grancabrio, Mercedes-AMG GT, Mini 3dr, 5dr, Polestar 4, Renault Scenic, Skoda Superb, Suzuki Swift, Volkswagen Passat Estate, T-Cross update, Tiguan

Power(bhp)Topspeed(mph)0-60/62mph CO2(g/km)

Economy(MPG/range) Economy(MPG/range) Economy(MPG/range)

Combo Electric Life 5dr MPV £31,110–£31,710 AAABC

Van-based people carrier is usable, spacious and practical, and now electric-only. LxWxH 4403x1841x1921 Kerb weight 1474kg 50kWh 132 84 11.7 174 0

VOLKSWAGEN

Up 3dr/5dr hatch £13,940–£24,085 AAAAC It’s no revolution, but VW’s hallmarks are in abundance. LxWxH 3600x1428x1504 Kerb weight 926kg

1.0 65 64 100 15.6 54.3 119 1.0 115 GTI 113 119 8.8 51.4 125-126 e-Up 81 80 12.4 159 0

Polo 5dr hatch £18,855–£27,805 AAAAC A thorough going-over makes it more mature, but the Polo is still a bit boring. LxWxH 4053x1946x1461 Kerb weight 1105kg

1.0 80 78 106 15.4 51.4 125

1.0 TSI 95 93 116 10.8 48.7-53.3 120-127

1.0 TSI 110 108 121 9.9 53.3-54.3 118-119

2.0 TSI GTI 204 149 6.5 39.8-41.5 155

Golf 5dr hatch £25,340–£42,190 AAAAB New strengths and familiar ones carry it back to the class lead, but only marginally. LxWxH 4284x1789x1492 Kerb weight 1231kg

1.0 TSI 110 108 126 10.2 53.3 121

1.5 TSI Evo 130 128 130 9.1 51.4-53.3 121-124

1.5 TSI Evo 150 148 139 8.9 50.4-51.4 124-128

1.4 TSI eHybrid 201 137 7.4 235.4 21-26

1.4 TSI GTE 242 140 6.7 235.4 27-28

2.0 TSI GTI 242 155 6.4 38.2 169

2.0 TSI 300 GTI 296 155 5.6 38.2 167

2.0 TSI 320 R 4Motion 296 155 4.7 36.2 177 2.0 TDI 115 113 126 10.2 67.3-68.9 107-110 2.0 TDI 150 148 139 8.8 64.2 116-117 2.0 TDI 200 GTD 197 152 7.1 54.3 137

Golf Estate 5dr estate £26,690–£44,535 AAAAC Wagon puts on a growth spurt and adopts the eighth-generation hatchback’s tech. LxWxH 4633x1789x1497 Kerb weight 1295kg

1.0 TSI 110 108 126 10.5 51.4 124

1.5 TSI 130 128 133 9.4 52.4 123

1.5 TSI 150 148 139 8.7 49.6 128 2.0 TSI R 4Motion 316 155 4.9 35.8 178 2.0 TDI 115 113 126 10.5 64.2 114 2.0 TDI 150 148 139 9.1 61.4 121 2.0 TDI 4Motion Alltrack 198 142 7.1 50.4 147

ID 3 5dr hatch £33,835–£40,550 AAAAC A very mature electric car whose substance of engineering is central to its appeal. LxWxH 4261x1809x1568 Kerb weight 1730kg

107kW 58kWh 143 99 9.6 263 0 150kW 58kWh 201 99 7.3 261 0 150kW 77kWh 201 99 7.9 336 0

Passat 4dr saloon £28,205–£40,820 AAAAC Lands blows on rivals with its smart looks, civilised refinement, quality and usability. LxWxH 4767x2083x1476 Kerb weight 1367kg

1.5 TSI Evo 150 148 137 8.7 46.3-47.9 139-146

1.4 TSI GTE PHEV 215 138 7.4 217.3 30 2.0 TDI 122 120 127 11.3 58.91 125 2.0 TDI 150 148 139 8.9 58.9-60.1 124-127 2.0 TDI 200 197 147 7.4 53.3 138

Passat Estate 5dr estate £32,215–£43,770 AAAAC All the Passat’s redeeming features in spacious, practical estate form. LxWxH 4767x2083x1516 Kerb weight 1395kg

1.5 TSI Evo 150 148 133 8.9 44.8-45.6 144-151 1.4 TSI GTE PHEV 215 138 7.6 201.8 33 2.0 TDI 122 120 123 11.5 57.6 129 2.0 TDI 150 148 130-132 9.1 56.5-57.6 128-132 2.0 TDI 200 197 145 7.6 52.3 143

Arteon 4dr saloon £38,255–£55,210 AAABC VW’s flagship saloon is well made and luxurious but rather bland to drive. LxWxH 4862x1871x1450 Kerb weight 1505kg 1.5 TSI 150 148 137 8.9 42.8-44.8 144-151 2.0 TSI 190 187 149 7.9 36.2-38.2 168-178 1.4 TSI eHybrid 218 138 7.8 217.3 30-31 2.0 TSI R 4Motion 316 155 4.9 31.0 207 2.0 TDI 150 148 137 9.5 55.4-58.9 126-134 2.0 TDI 200 197 147 7.9 51.4-54.3 137-145

2.0 TDI 200 4Motion 197 145 7.4 46.3 159

Arteon Shooting Brake 5dr estate £39,485–£56,085 AAABC Hybrid option and estate bodystyle’s extra versatility enhance the Arteon’s appeal. LxWxH 4866x1871x1450 Kerb weight 1529kg 1.5 TSI 150 148 135 8.9 42.2-43.5 145-153 2.0 TSI 190 187 145 7.9 35.8-37.2 171-179 1.4 TSI eHybrid 218 138 7.8 217.3 31-32 2.0 TSI R 4Motion 316 155 4.9 31.0 207 2.0 TDI 150 148 135 9.4 54.3-57.6 128-136 2.0 TDI 200 197 145 7.9 50.4-53.3 139-147

Power(bhp)Topspeed(mph)0-60/62mph CO2(g/km)

Taigo 5dr SUV £23,155–£30,555 AAABC Crossover-coupé-SUV-type thing fills a niche. Likeable enough. LxWxH 4266x1757x1518 Kerb weight 1407kg

1.0 TSI 95 95 114 11.1 51.4 124 1.0 TSI 110 110 119 10.4 51.4-52.3 124-125

1.5 TSI 150 150 132 8.3 47.9 138

T-Roc 5dr SUV/open £25,810–£41,750 AAAAC VW’s junior SUV is beguiling and sophisticated. It drives rather well, too. LxWxH 4234x1992x1573 Kerb weight 1270kg

1.0 TSI 110 108 115 10.8 43.5-46.3 133-146

1.5 TSI Evo 150 148 127 8.3-9.6 40.9-47.9 144-158

2.0 TSI 4Motion 188 135 7.2 36.2 177-178

2.0 TSI R 300 4Motion 298 155 4.9 31.7 201

2.0 TDI 115 113 116 10.4 56.5-60.1 137-146

2.0 TDI 150 148 124 8.8-10.8 50.4-53.3 140-146

Tiguan 5dr SUV £29,550–£48,540 AAAAC An improvement on the previous model and will continue to sell by the bucketload. LxWxH 4486x1839x1654 Kerb weight 1490kg

1.5 TSI Evo 130 128 119 10.2 44.1-44.8 143-146

1.5 TSI Evo 150 148 126 9.2-9.3 38.2-42.2 143-168

1.4 eHybrid 242 127 7.5 148-176 36-44

2.0 TSI 4Motion 188 133 7.4 33.2-34.0 187-192

2.0 TSI R 316 155 4.9 28.5 225

2.0 TDI 150 148 125-127 9.3 47.1-50.4 146-157

2.0 TDI 150 4Motion 148 124-125 9.3 43.5-45.6 163-171

2.0 TDI 200 4Motion 197 134 7.5 42.8 172-177

Tiguan Allspace 5dr SUV £33,785–£45,520 AAAAC Has all the Tiguan’s sensibility and refinement, now with the bonus of 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 TSI 4Motion 188 132 7.7 32.5 193 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

2.0 TDI 200 4Motion 197 132 na 40.4-41.5 176-184

ID 4 5dr SUV £36,550–£57,270 AAAAC Impressively refined and versatile SUV marks VW out as a maker of fine electric cars. LxWxH 4584x1852x1640 Kerb weight 1890kg 109kW 52kWh 148 99 10.9 213 0 125kW 52kWh 170 99 9.0 213 0 150kW 77kWh 204 99 8.5 317 0 220kW GTX 299 112 6.2 301 0

Touareg 5dr SUV £59,690–£71,170 AAAAC Hints of ritziness and sportiness don’t impinge on this functional luxury SUV’s appeal. LxWxH 4878x2193x1717 Kerb weight 1995kg 3.0 V6 TSI 340 335 155 5.9 25.2-25.7 249-252 3.0 V6 R 4Motion PHEV 462 155 5.1 97.4 66-68 3.0 V6 TDI 231 228 135 7.5 33.6-34.4 214-219 3.0 V6 TDI 286 282 148 6.1 33.6-34.9 213-219 VOLVO

S60 4dr saloon £44,580–£56,480 AAAAC Fresh-faced saloon now sits comfortably among the ranks of its German peers. LxWxH 4761x1916x1437 Kerb weight 1616kg 2.0 B5P 246 112 6.7 41.5 153 2.0 T8 Recharge PHEV 384 112 4.6 122.8-176.5 42

V60 5dr estate £41,325–£55,630 AAAAB Spacious and comfortable, with a characterful, Scandi-cool design. LxWxH 4761x1916x1427 Kerb weight 1729kg 2.0 B3 161 112 9.1 40.9 155 2.0 B4 197 112 8.0 41.5 152 2.0 B5 246 112 6.8-6.9 37.7-40.4 157-170 2.0 B6 297 112 6.0 36.2 175 2.0 T6 Recharge PHEV 335 112 4.6 362.6 18 2.0 B4D 197 112 7.6 47.0-50.4 146-156

V60 Cross Country 5dr estate £46,105–£50,595 AAAAC Brings extra ride height, all-wheel drive and off-road body cladding. LxWxH 4784x1916x1499 Kerb weight 1792kg 2.0 B5P 248 112 6.9 35.8 180 2.0 B4D 197 112 8.2 47.9 155

S90 4dr saloon £63,075–£67,825 AAAAC Volvo’s mid-sized exec majors on comfort, style and cruising ability. LxWxH 4963x2019x1443 Kerb weight 1665kg 2.0 T8 Recharge PHEV 384 112 5.1 na na

V90 5dr estate £44,725–£68,525 AAAAC Luxury estate takes on the 5 Series and the E-Class. Comfy and a good cruiser. LxWxH 4936x2019x1475 Kerb weight 1679kg 2.0 B4P 197 112 7.9 40.9 158 2.0 B5P 246 112 6.9 36.6-40.4 159-175 2.0 B6P 297 112 6.2 34.4-36.2 178-184 2.0 T6 Recharge PHEV 335 112 5.9 na na 2.0 B4D 197 112 8.8 44.8-49.5 149-164

V90 Cross Country 5dr estate £53,590–£59,860 AAAAC Volvo’s large comfy estate given a jacked-up, rugged makeover. LxWxH 4936x2019x1543 Kerb weight 1826kg 2.0 B5P AWD 250 140 7.4

Power(bhp)Topspeed(mph)0-60/62mph CO2(g/km)

WELLS

LxWxH na Kerb weight na 2.0 VTEC S2000 240 na na na na

ZENVO

TSR-S 2dr coupé £1,300,000 AAAAC Danish supercar employs a hammer-blow V8 and extreme aerodynamics. LxWxH 4815x2038x1198 Dry weight 1495kg 5.8 S/C V8 Auto 1177 202 2.8 na na

Legends is the second in a superb new series brought to you by the team behind Classic & Sports Car

As the magazine marks its 40th anniversary, we’re bringing together some of our favourite stories from the past 25 years, with this second edition celebrating the finest Stuttgart icons from the earliest 356s via both air- and water-cooled generations of the 911 to the frontengined models, mid-engined modern classics and mighty sports-racers such as the 917 and 956.

ROAD TEST

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 from the most recent road tests 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 you can order a back issue by phoning 0344 848 8816.

Matt Saunders, road test editor

a ride that impressed on the road and astonished across a

The

SLIDESHOW

The zaniest concept cars ever made

he whole point of the concept car is to push the boundaries of design and technology. But sometimes a car maker or design house doesn’t know when to stop. These are the concepts that were so over the top they were never going to reach the road in any form. Some have become legends but others were soon forgotten – the best thing that could have happened to them.

RICHARD DREDGE

Renault EZ-Ultimo 2018

The term ‘living room on wheels’ has been with us for a long time, but with this car the description is for once bang on the money. Better still, the EZ-Ultimo could drive itself, allowing you all to party en route to your, er, next party. Revelry had its limits, however, as there was only room for three people, despite the vehicle’s 5800mm length. It was designed to imagine a future of private super-luxury travelling. All-electric, it promised a range of 310 miles. Then company CEO Carlos Ghosn promised at the time of its arrival that a Renault robotaxi would be on the road in 2022. That idea proved elusive, as indeed is the man himself today, in ways that he couldn’t have possibly contemplated in 2018.

Ghia Action 1978

It’s not clear whether the time ran out or the money did, but Ghia managed to design just half a car with the Action. Having made a great start at the front, the company got as far as the B-pillars, then stopped. Born at the height of the wedge, the Action was penned by Filippo Sapino –perhaps most notable for his role in the Ford RS200’s design – and featured a rear-mounted Cosworth DFV V8 engine from Formula 1.

Citroën Karin 1980

With no new production models to unveil at the 1980 Paris motor show, British-born designer Trevor Fiore was ordered by his Citroën bosses to make a splash with a concept car – and make a splash he certainly did with the trapezoidal Karin. With a central driving position, the driver was flanked by a passenger on either side and behind, McLaren F1-style, although its headlights were more conventional, aping the Citroën SM’s.

Peugeot Proxima 1986

In 1986, the fastest, most glamorous Peugeot you could buy was a turbocharged, four-wheel-drive 205. But the firm unleashed its imagination to produce the four-wheel-drive Proxima supercar, featuring a twin-turbo 2.8-litre 24-valve V6 good for 600bhp. It was packed with near-fantasy kit that’s now everyday, including anti-skid control, sat-nav, cameras instead of wing mirrors, digital displays, autonomous braking and LED lighting.

Chrysler Voyager III 1989

Here was an idea definitely divorced from reality. Chrysler’s design team came up with a three-seat city car that could be mated to a separate rear pod, enabling the Voyager III to become a people carrier for eight. Each segment contained a fourpot petrol engine that could operate in concert. Its designer, Tom Gale, also gave us the Dodge Viper Mk1 and Mk2, plus the Plymouth Prowler.

Honda Fuya-Jo 1999

Shown at the 1999 Tokyo motor show, the Fuya-Jo was a cross between an armoured car and a supermarket trolley. It featured a minimal glasshouse and wheels that looked as though they had been stolen from a Lego set. The car was conceived as an urban runabout for bright young things in Tokyo on a night out and despite its size promised seating for four.

Rinspeed X Dream 1999

Truly in keeping with Rinspeed’s left-field reputation, the X Dream was a pick-up that featured a 5.5-litre Mercedes-Benz engine and offered little in the way of comfort or protection from the elements while also coming with its own hovercraft that hoisted off the back, presumably when you arrived at the beach. Oddly enough, it didn’t arrive as a precursor to series production.