Innholdsfortegnelse for 1565 i Auto Express

1. SEAT el-Born shows off identity of first electric SEAT ● Based on MEB architecture ● Due to go on sale in 2020 John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy THIS is the new SEAT el-Born concept, a close preview of how the Spanish maker’s first all-electric family car will look when it arrives next year. SEAT’s star of the Geneva show, the el-Born is the sister of the Volkswagen I.D. hatchback. It shares that car’s MEB chassis architecture and will be produced at the same plant in Zwickau, Germany. It’s likely to go on sale in the first half of 2020. The overall length looks similar to that of a SEAT Leon, but the larger 20-inch wheels confirm the suggestion, made last year by SEAT’s R&D boss Dr Thomas Rabe, that the car would…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy THE MINI Electric is on its way, although its official name will have changed to MINI Cooper SE by the time it lands in UK dealerships at the start of 2020. Auto Express has had a chance to get behind the wheel of a prototype of the all-electric hatchback, which will be unveiled in the summer and built at the company’s plant in Oxford. The MINI Cooper SE is, in effect, a three-door MINI equipped with much of the electrical architecture from the BMW i3 city car. It’ll have a usable 29kWh of battery capacity, delivering similar real world range to the 94Ah i3 that’s just been replaced – so around 120 miles between charges. The car weighs about 130kg more than a comparable Cooper S with an…

Write to: Watchdog/Letters, Auto Express, Dennis Publishing Ltd, 31-32 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress HOT TOPIC Bentayga Speed FROM: Chris Grimmel WHEN I see a car like this, I’m reminded of the maxim that the biggest luxury wealth brings is the luxury of choice. The normal Bentayga is available, as is the Cullinan for those after greater luxury, and the Urus for those wanting edgier looks. FROM: mr cul de sac I HAD the pleasure of spending some time in a Bentayga recently and I found it was absolutely smashing. The model is so luxurious and comfortable. A shame it’s all for nothing when you step back outside and take a look at the exterior, though. Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk ■ “World’s fastest SUV? What about boot…

Practicality Boot 375 litres Running costs 138mpg (official) £50 fill-up Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @rsp_ingram WHEN the BMW 3 Series went hybrid for the first time three years ago we loved the outcome: it was a genuinely dynamic and desirable plug-in company car contender. It took a while for the firm to electrify its signature product, but this time round things are different. The new 330e arrives on the coat tails of the regular line-up’s launch. In fact, you’ll be able to order one from July, with prices likely to start from just under £40,000. Under the bonnet lies a 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain generating 249bhp. The 330e also boasts an XtraBoost system for the first time, adding an extra 41bhp (for 289bhp) at the touch of a button. BMW says the new…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram THE new Mazda 3 has already laid claim to being one of the most exciting new family cars we’ve seen for a while, but not for what’s found under the bonnet. We felt the 2.0-litre petrol SkyActiv-G motor lacked a bit of poke on our first encounter with the sharp-looking new Volkswagen Golf rival (Issue 1,560). A more powerful, hi-tech SkyActiv-X petrol, developed specifically for Mazda’s new platform, will join the range later in the year, so the 1.8-litre diesel driven here is the punchiest option for now. The hefty 270Nm peak torque comes in from just 1,500rpm, so unlike the petrol, the diesel pulls with little effort in higher gears. It’s by no means perfect, though. The main issue is turbo lag. It makes it tricky to…

MODEL TESTED: Vauxhall Combo Life XL 1.5 Turbo D 100 Energy 7st PRICE: £23,760 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 101bhp THE new Vauxhall Combo Life shares much with the Citroen, including its 1.5-litre diesel engine and five-speed manual transmission. In Energy trim it’s slightly cheaper, at £23,760. Design & engineering THE Combo Life is based on the same EMP2 platform as the Berlingo and has an identical 101bhp 1.5 diesel and five-speed manual gearbox. So it’s no surprise that it feels very similar to its Citroen rival. Park the two cars side by side and the likeness is clear to see. The panel and door designs look identical, for example, and you can see how close the styling is in our pictures if you ignore the branded front ends on each model.…

NEW: Peugeot Rifter PRICE: £23,740 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 101bhp THE Rifter is the third sibling in this EMP2 family and shares its chassis and powertrain with the Citroen and Vauxhall. It features Peugeot’s i-Cockpit interior design with digital dials, so has the edge for tech. It’s also refined and comfortable, like its siblings. USED: Skoda Kodiaq 2.0 TDI SE L PRICE: £22,995 ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4cyl, 148bhp SKODA’S Kodiaq is our favourite seven-seat SUV, and a used model makes a great buy. We found a 2.0-litre TDI 150 with just 22,000 miles for less than £23,000. The Skoda is more comfortable and has some great tech, but it’s not as big or as practical.…

Peugeot’s cordless tool range powers up PEUGEOT has launched a new range of cordless power tools. The EnergyHub line-up (above) comes from Peugeot Outillage – a sister company of the brand’s passenger car business. Buyers can take their pick from drills, a jig and circular saws, angle grinder, restorer and a multifunction cutter/sander. All the tools feature a two-tone colour scheme, inspired by the Coupe Franche look available on the brand’s 3008 and 308. The range kicks off at 89.90 Euros (around £78) and can be purchased at www.boutique.peugeot.com. Name your 500 to get free window sticker MOPAR, the Fiat Chrysler group’s aftermarket parts department, is offering Fiat 500 owners personalised stickers free of charge. The window sticker gives drivers the chance to display their model’s ‘name’ and build on the…

SCREENWASH is a motoring essential, shifting bugs and keeping the washer nozzles flowing when the temperature drops. But a growing number of products are adding a rain repellent to help keep screens clear. Drivers tend to love or loathe rain repellents. Fans revel in the way water beads away without the need for wipers, while critics dislike the mist-like smear that follows the sweep of the blades. If you’re a fan, a rain-repellent screenwash adds beading as you clean the glass, cutting the time it takes to apply a standalone rain repellent. But which screenwash is best? We mixed eight to find out. How we tested them KEEPING the screen clean is still the focus, so we repeated the methods of our conventional screenwash test (Issue 1,557). We baked a…

● Mercedes struggles with tyres ● Big crash for Red Bull’s Gasly Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk FERRARI continued to show strongly as Formula 1 pre-season testing ended on Friday, wrapping up eight days’ running in total across two weeks at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. A crash for Sebastian Vettel due to wheel rim failure on the Wednesday was the only major setback for the Italian squad. New recruit Charles Leclerc set his fastest lap time of testing on Thursday, going around in 1:16.231, but was pipped by team-mate Vettel on Friday. Both of the red cars also continued to set strong long-run pace. Leclerc said afterwards: “I think we are looking strong. Whether [the other teams] are sandbagging a little bit, we don’t know, and we will only find out…

Bespoke Bugatti sold for record high price Bugatti has introduced a new one-off car for one very special customer. Called La Voiture Noire, it’s based on the Chiron and keeps that car’s quad-turbo W16 engine, developing 1,479bhp. However, it also features an exterior inspired by the iconic 1936 Type 57 SC Atlantic. On show at Geneva, the bespoke Bugatti has already been sold for €11 million – roughly £9.5 million. That makes it the most expensive new car ever sold. Next Porsche Macan will be pure-electric Porsche has revealed that the next-generation Macan will go all-electric when it enters production early next decade. The new electric Macan will be based on an architecture called PPE, jointly developed by Porsche and Audi. It’s the first production vehicle to be confirmed on…

● 21 displays on dashboard ● Capable of wireless charging James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods KIA has unleashed a wild new electric concept at the Geneva Motor Show, and says the car could be re-imagined for production early next decade. It is called Imagine by Kia and takes the form of tall-roofed C-segment saloon with a sharp, fastback-style rear end. Powertrain specifics have not been outlined, with the brand saying only that the concept is underpinned by a low-mounted battery pack capable of wireless charging. “It’s a large C-segment car – the vehicle size that’s incredibly popular in Europe – but the only things it holds on to are Kia’s brand values,” explained Gregory Guillaume, Kia’s vice president of design. “I think of it as a category-buster”. The front end of the concept…

THE following provide help with motoring problems. Some services are free, others charge a fee or operate on premium-rate lines (p), while some offer advice for members only (m) Legal AA: 0345 850 1130 (m) RAC: 0330 159 1446 (m) Which?: 01992 878329 Citizens Advice Consumer helpline: 03454 040506 Local Trading Standards Local Citizens Advice Bureau Used car inspections AA: 0800 056 8040 RAC: 0330 159 0720 Technical advice AA: 0370 142 0002 (m) Driving licences DVLA: 0300 790 6801 Car registration/history HPI: 01722 422422 AA: 0800 316 3564 DVLA: 0300 790 6802 RAC: 0330 159 0364 Traffic information AA: 0906 888 4322 RAC: 09003 444999 (p) Problems with dealers The Motor Ombudsman: 0345 241 3008 Consumer Ombudsman: www.consumer-ombudsman.org RMIF: 0845 305 4230 Scottish Motor Trade Assoc. 0131 331 5510…

MODEL TESTED: Ford Grand Tourneo Connect 1.5 TDCi EcoBlue Zetec 7st PRICE: £22,410 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 99bhp FORD revealed a facelifted version of its Transit Connect van last autumn, and the updates have also been applied to this Tourneo Connect people carrier. The ‘Grand’ version we’re testing features seven seats and a longer wheelbase. It costs £22,410 in Zetec trim with a 1.5-litre diesel engine. Design & engineering THE Tourneo Connect comes in standard and long-wheelbase versions, with our Grand model having the biggest distance between its wheels of this group. That should mean it offers plenty of interior space. As part of the range update last year, the Ford is now available with a set of more efficient engines, including the 99bhp 1.5-litre diesel in our test car. The…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk @AE_Consumer Q Best budget washer I’D love to buy a pressure washer, but I don’t have anywhere to store one, plus they cost a bit more than what I want to spend. Are there any budget alternatives? Mike Swinburn, E-mail A IF you can stretch to £120 or so, the Hozelock Pico has a small footprint and packs down to less than 40cm high. If that’s still more than you want to pay out, try a decent spray gun attached to the end of your garden hose. Our pick is the Draper 7 Pattern 25342 (above), which costs less than £10. Q Microfibre cloth tips SOMEONE told me that drying a car by wiping it with a microfibre towel could damage paintwork. Is this right and…

SWIRLS and light scratches are the curse of modern paint, and Angelwax has a new solution to restoring that gloss finish. A10 “all-in-one hybrid compound” is the latest addition to the brand’s ceramic-infused Enigma range, so how does it perform? We also looked at Meguiar’s multi-test-winning Ultimate Compound “color and clarity restorer”. Both products were used on a tired bonnet with light marks; we tackled sections by hand and with a drill-powered dual-action machine polisher. A10 also claims to leave a protective finish, so we checked for beading at the end, and finally factored in makers’ prices. Meguiar’s is still our pick. While it trailed on the bonnet, it’s far cheaper. A10 works well, but protection is limited and it’s pricey. “We tackled sections by hand and with a dual-action…

YOUR VIEWS ON YOUR CARS 2018 Results RAV4 Factfile Years: 2013 to present CO2: 122g/km Fuel economy: 53.2mpg (Hybrid FWD) Best options: Sat-nav, all-round parking sensors, leather seats, LED headlights Used prices: From £8,771 OVERALL SCORE 89.79% Bars show where model finished out of 75 vehicles in our 2018 new car survey. The longer the bar the better • GOOD “INTERIOR quality is hard to fault. Four years into ownership and it feels as fresh as it did when new.” “Integration of the hybrid system is faultless; it switches between modes seamlessly.” “Stereo system is fantastic. It has a good tonal quality and plenty of adjustability.” “It’s quicker than I expected, so much so that I drive it in Eco mode most of the time.” “The RAV4’s ride is smooth…

Motoring’s most outspoken and opinionated columnist sounds off “We’re talking about the globally significant VW Group selling proper, basic, inexpensive, Asian-built cars” PERSONALLY, professionally and spiritually, the Geneva Motor Show is the only place to be for someone in my line of ‘work’ in early March. If you consider yourself a committed petrol, diesel, LPG, electric or hydrogen head, you should be there, too. Believe it or not, you could pop over and back in 18 hours for far less money than you might imagine. Hurts me to admit this, but it’s considerably cheaper and more convenient to take the plane than the car. The fact that the show venue is a 10-minute stroll from Geneva Airport is another compelling reason to fly. This year, most of the exhibitors deeply…

Deputy editor, Auto Express ASTON’S Geneva blitz stirs memories of Lotus’ infamous five-concept assault on the 2010 Paris show, with then-boss Dany Bahar unveiling a line-up so ambitious that it was hard to find anyone who thought it could ever happen. It couldn’t. Andy Palmer might have had one eye on the Aston share price as he whipped off the covers in Geneva, but promises tend to count for more when they’re the work of a company that has an increasingly strong track record of delivering. The key model already looks like being the Vanquish. Bringing the 003 to market as a limited-run hypercar is one thing. But taking on Ferrari on its mid-engined home turf? That may just be the boldest Aston Martin ambition in the company’s 106-year history.…

● F8 Tributo replaces 488 GTB ● Twin-turbo V8 has 710bhp Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson NOT wanting to be outdone by Aston Martin (Page 8), Ferrari has also unveiled a new mid-engine supercar at this year’s Geneva Motor Show: the F8 Tributo. The new model is a replacement for the 488 GTB, but uses the same platform and engine as the outgoing car. As such, what you’re looking at is in some ways a facelift of a facelift, given that the 488 GTB was developed from the 458 Italia. Regardless, the new bread-and-butter Ferrari benefits from a clever and in-depth redesign, more efficient aerodynamics, more power, less weight and more tech than its somewhat short-lived predecessor. Overall, the F8 Tributo is 40kg lighter than the 488 GTB and it stands out from…

Cheapest version of Model 3 goes on sale THE long wait for the entry-level Tesla Model 3 is over. The ‘Standard Range’ version of the electric BMW 3 Series rival has gone on sale in the United States, priced from $35,000 before delivery fees. Tesla claims a range of 220 miles, 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 130mph. Boss Elon Musk has revealed that it’ll come to Europe in six months, but has warned it’ll be more expensive than in the US because of local taxes. Right-hand drive cars for the UK look likely to arrive in 2020. Delays on main roads increased in 2018 THE average delay on motorways and major A roads in England rose by 3.9 per cent in 2018. Journeys on the Strategic…

James_Batchelor@dennis.co.uk @JRRBatchelor We raise daily step count at Geneva IT’S that time of the year again; I’ve been wearing away shoe leather and breaking into a sweat to see the most amazing concept cars and the cars you’ll be buying soon. The Geneva Motor Show is the first big European show of the year, and we’ve been there filming all the important cars. Ford grabs hot hatch fans with Focus ST ONE big brand that won’t be at Geneva, however, is Ford. The Blue Oval has instead revealed one of its big stars of 2019 early. The new Focus ST will arrive later this year with petrol or diesel power and in hatchback and estate bodies. Head to our channel to find out more. You can watch any of our…

Running costs 31.4mpg (official) £65 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 5.1 seconds/170mph EVEN in its basic form, the mid-engined 718 Boxster is one of the finest open-top sports cars money can buy. However, Porsche has upped the ante with the 718 Boxster T. The firm has carried over the pared-back ethos from last year’s 911 Carrera T to the basic 2.0-litre Boxster. So the T gets the full PASM sport chassis – which drops the ride height by 20mm – plus the Sport Chrono pack, a torque-vectoring differential, sports exhaust and active drivetrain mounts. While the standard leather steering wheel is almost perfect, the £531 optional Alcantara wheel and gearknob made our car feel more special. The PCM infotainment unit has been removed to cut weight, with a storage cubby replacing…

MODEL TESTED: Citroen Berlingo XL BlueHDi 100 Flair PRICE: £24,125 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 101bhp THE Citroen Berlingo name has been around since the mid-nineties, attached to vans and people carriers alike. This is an all-new version, and with the 101bhp 1.5-litre diesel engine and a manual gearbox, it costs £24,125 in top-spec Flair trim. Design & engineering THE Berlingo is based on a commercial vehicle, but the platform is used very widely. It shares its architecture with the Vauxhall Combo Life in this test, plus Peugeot’s Rifter. In fact, this EMP2 set-up underpins a number of products across those three brands’ ranges. Here we’re testing the long-wheelbase XL model with seven seats. It has sliding rear doors for access to the rear chairs, and a big tailgate at the back.…

Citroen Berlingo Connected nav Standard Key features: Sat-nav, smartphone link BERLINGO’S infotainment system is better equipped than both rivals’ as standard, because it includes navigation. This set-up is one of the best in any Citroen car, because there are physical heating and ventilation controls underneath the screen. These are often found in a fiddly menu screen in the brand’s other models. The touchscreen isn’t the most responsive unit; the Tourneo’s set-up reacts more quickly to inputs, so is less frustrating to use, and the Ford’s SYNC3 system loads more quickly. The Citroen’s graphics look modern and the eight-inch screen is large, yet some menus are confusing. A £100 wireless phone charging pad was fitted to our test car. There’s a USB port on the screen bezel if your phone doesn’t…

Alfa Romeo Giulia Issues 1,534, 1,544, 1,550 Audi A6 Avant Issues 1,555, 1,558 CupraAteca Issue 1,564 Dacia Duster Issues 1,561, 1,564 Ford Fiesta ST Issues 1,552, 1,557, 1,561 Hyundai Kona Electric Issues 1,551, 1,556, 1,561 Mazda 6 Issues 1,549, 1,555, 1,560 MercedesA-Class Issues 1,550, 1,559 Mercedes X-Class Issues 1,547, 1,557, 1,563 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Iss 1,545, 1,553, 1,559, 1,562 Nissan Leaf Iss 1,533, 1,551, 1,555, 1,560 Suzuki Swift Sport Iss 1,532, 1,541, 1,544, 1,559 Volkswagen Polo Issues 1,549, 1,558, 1,562 VolvoV60 Issues 1,553, 1,560…

NEW PRODUCT Britax Römer Advansafix IV R child seat Price: £250 Contact: www.britax-roemer.co.uk THE latest addition to the line-up of child seats from Anglo-German company Britax Römer is the multi-stage Advansafix IV R, which is suitable for kids aged from around nine months to 12 years old. Developed and tested at the brand’s German centre, the Group 1/2/3 ISOFIX seat is designed to provide enhanced safety for toddlers right through to older children. For infants up to 18kg or around four years old, the seat is used with a five-point harness that retains the child within the protective shell. In the event of an impact, forces are designed to be distributed over five points. Larger kids use the Advansafix IV as a high-back booster with deep protective side wings, strapping into…

Bunty Halwart Schrader (Veloce Publishing, www.veloce.co.uk) Price: £19.99 THE interesting tale of vintage car addict David Scott-Moncrieff (aka ‘Bunty’) is written in full co-operation with his son. It details a wonderfully eccentric and eclectic collection, with everything from aged hearses to a vintage steamer, as well as a whole host of Rolls-Royces. A good read, if a little haphazardly arranged. Ford Transit Custom Diesel Manual Haynes Publishing (www.haynes.com) Price: £22.99 THIS is the first manual published since the death of publishing firm founder John Haynes, and is a prime example. It’s a simple guide to a vehicle owners are likely to repair themselves – in this case, the hard-working Transit. Written in trademark plain English, it’s still a model of common sense and a source of trusted information. FR Legends…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk @AE_Consumer Sponsored by Q Can daughter get cash back? MY daughter’s car was in the garage for a recall, and the dealer serviced it without asking. She paid up, but can she reclaim her money, because she didn’t authorise the work? Barry W, E-mail A IF she did not agree for the work to be carried out, it should not have been done and she was not obliged to pay. Lodge a formal complaint in writing, asking for the money back. It’s worth alerting your local Trading Standards agency, too, because your daughter may not have been the first or last person the garage tries this on. Q Confused by speedo reading I RECENTLY took delivery of a new Kia Sportage and have noticed the…