Innholdsfortegnelse for 6/12/2017 i Autocar

The Jaguar I-Pace will go on sale in the UK in March next year – the same month that it receives its world debut at the Geneva motor show – and it will be with customers from the summer. The model is Jaguar’s first electric car and built on a bespoke aluminium-intensive architecture. It will be the second Jaguar model to be built overseas, production due to take place by contract manufacturing firm Magna in Graz, Austria, where the E-Pace is also being built. The I-Pace is now in the final stages of testing at the ‘tooling try-out’ stage, where the prototypes, like the one pictured here, are made using production tooling for the first time and are 99% representative of the finished car’s hardware. As the pictures show, the…

There aren’t too many more refined and luxurious ways to travel than in a Range Rover. Yet there is a way of making a Range Rover more refined and luxurious: electrify its drivetrain. Land Rover’s first plug-in hybrid system, which finds its way onto the Range Rover Sport at the same time as the Range Rover mothership, combines a longitudinally mounted 296bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a 114bhp electric motor that is housed in the casing of an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The motor draws power from a 13.1kWh lithium ion battery pack located at the rear of the car and charged via a port in the front grille. That battery allows for up to 31 miles of electric-only driving at speeds no faster than 85mph (it runs as a…

I’m going to say it now, and invite all comers to shoot me down: we’ve never had a tougher competition to discover Britain’s Best Driver’s Car (BBDC). Which is not to say that the competition has never been tougher, for that would imply we were unable to make up our minds without hours of agonising and extemporisation. We’re better than that. Here, we have clear winners and equally well-defined losers. This was not one of the closest competitions in years, but it was the toughest. Why? Three factors: Britain, November and Castle Combe. Britain, to be fair, has been common to all but one of the 29 BBDC events. We did once use a track in the south of France, but after we’d realised we’d had to fill the fuel…

MODEL TESTED COOPER S WORKS 210 3DR Price £22,155 Power 207bhp Torque 221lb ft 0-60mph 7.2sec 30-70mph in fourth 8.4sec Fuel economy 30.6mpg CO2 emissions 136g/km 70-0mph 53.6m The market for the go-faster Mini has become somewhat muddled and fragmented since the arrival, in 2015, of the top-of-the-current-series-production-pile John Cooper Works. Since then, we’ve had the ultra-low-volume stripped-out 228bhp John Cooper Works Challenge limited edition, complete with adjustable suspension, Cup tyres and £32k price. Then the slightly less rare but still limited Cooper S 210 Challenge Edition, built to celebrate the return of the Mini Challenge racing formula. And finally, last year, the Cooper S Works 210: a permanent addition to the factory range that copied the mechanical recipe of the 210 Challenge Edition but was available with less lavish…

The Lynk & Co 01 is being built at a new plant in Luqiao, east China, owned by Geely but operated by Volvo. The plant will build some versions of the XC40 alongside it. Some 4500 people work there, the capacity is 200,000 cars a year and quality standards are identical to other Volvo plants. The launch of a Chinese-made car built to a standard that will give it a genuine chance in the European market is a significant development, but perhaps the more interesting story about Geely’s new Lynk & Co sub-brand is the innovative way it is planning to operate in Europe when sales begin in late 2019. Behind its grammatically challenging brand name, and its mission to appeal to millennial buyers, Lynk is closely related to Volvo,…

SPECIAL DOUBLE ISSUE Celebrating the best of 2017 Including our cars, moments, people and pictures of the year and, of course, our famous Christmas road test DRIVEN New Alpine A110 Storied French firm is back, but is its first offering a Cayman beater? FIRST DRIVE Alfa Stelvio Quadrifoglio Does Alfa’s 503bhp fire-breather have some of the Giulia’s magic? EVERY WEEK OUR CARS The ‘long-termer’ awards The merits of Autocar’s test fleet are debated and celebrated USED BUYING GUIDE Ford Mustangs from £15k The previous-generation pony car could make an excellent import A YEAR IN CARS Steve Cropley’s year Our man looks back, and tells you how to survive the festive period SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p60…

MILEAGE 16,363 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT The once-trailblazing MPV is now more akin to an SUV than ever, but is it just as charming and usable? Has traffic ever been worse in this country? I doubt it. There was a newspaper headline the other day (on the front page, no less) that claimed £9 billion was lost to the UK economy each year as a result of people sitting in traffic jams. Unfortunately for me, a quieter life in the country just isn’t an option, and the start and end point for my daily driving is slap bang in the middle of Transport for London’s zone two, which means I’m close to slap bang in the middle of the city itself (zone one being ‘peak traffic’). Which also means lots…

MILEAGE 128,102 LAND ROVER SERIES 3 Five months after going away for a refit, my Land Rover (also known as ‘The Lorry’) has well and truly returned. The change has been remarkable. I was told that the new parabolic springs would make a difference the ride and, golly gosh, they do. Many still maintain that no Series Land Rover is any good on the road, but they haven’t driven The Lorry. The core is pretty much the old vehicle, albeit with some added fresh paint, rubber and sundries. I’m looking forward to some adventures. More details and excitement to follow...…

Porsche Cayenne £18,995 If you’re going to go all out and buy a large Porsche SUV (and assuming fuel economy isn’t your top priority), you might as well make it a petrol one, and here’s a turbocharged 493bhp 4.8-litre V8 to consider. Headline figures include 516lb ft of torque and 0-60mph in 4.9sec, all from something roughly the size and weight of an aircraft carrier. Its price of £18,995 looks quite good for such performance. Bring the dog too. Mazda MX-5 Mk1 £1995 It’s winter so now is obviously the time to buy that convertible you’ve always promised yourself. And now is also the time to buy a Mk1 MX-5, a bona fide future classic. This nimble first-gen roadster is the neatest of all the various versions, being lightweight, simple…

Mercedes-Benz S-Class From £66,000 Opulent, advanced, incredibly re ined: the S-Class is the classic limo, expertly realised and utterly persuasive. ★★★★★ Range Rover From £73,000 Whether outside the Dorchester or atop Ben Nevis, the Rangie shrouds you in an invincible sense of expense. ★★★★★ Tesla Model S From £59,900 Superior range doesn’t just make it a standout electric car; it’s also one of the best luxury options around. ★★★★★ BMW 7 Series From £64,000 Rules the roost in terms of in-car entertainment and diesel powertrain sophistication, but otherwise too bland. ★★★★☆ Jaguar XJ From £56,000 No other car company is currently mixing sportiness and re inement with the skill of Jaguar. It makes the XJ a rare blend. ★★★★☆…

“Powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, the four-wheel-drive Urus can achieve 0-62mph in 3.6sec” Lamborghini chief Stefano Domenicali has insisted that the Italian company’s “visionary” new Urus SUV fits perfectly alongside its lineup of supercars. The 641bhp Urus – described by Lamborghini as a ‘super-SUV’ – was unveiled in Bologna, Italy, on Monday. Powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, the four-wheel-drive Urus can achieve 0-62mph in 3.6sec, with a top speed of 190mph. It will cost around £165,000 on the road. Domenicali says that level of performance reflects a machine that “elevates the SUV to a level not previously possible”. He said that the Urus is “a true Lamborghini in terms of design, performance, driving dynamics and emotion, as well as drivable every day in a range of environments”. He…

“The long-awaited two-seater will go on sale in the UK alongside an updated version of the i8 Coupé” BMW has unveiled the definitive production version of the i8 Roadster at the 2017 Los Angeles motor show. The long-awaited two-seater will go on sale in the UK next month alongside an updated version of the 2+2 i8 Coupé. The i8 Roadster will be priced from £124,730, which is £12,000 more than the i8 Coupé. Both models will feature a 369bhp plug-in petrol-electric driveline. The arrival of the i8 roadster comes more than five years after it was originally unveiled as a concept at the 2012 Beijing motor show and almost two years since a more production-based concept was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. During its lengthy gestation…

Of all the hardware on the new BMW M5 – and there is a lot of hardware on the new BMW M5 – there is one piece of kit of which BMW engineers are particularly proud. It’s a little black box that sits beneath the bonnet, and Dirk Hacker, BMW M division’s vice president of engineering, says that it is “the real breakthrough”. What they call the Central Intelligence Unit integrates the controls of all the new M5’s hardware subsystems in one place. I think it’s a bit like the one in the latest Ferrari 812 Superfast: it considers all of the inputs you’re making, and all the feedback the car is giving it, to, Hacker says, “control every subsystem governing lateral and longitudinal dynamics”. An automotive one ring to…

The Porsche GTS models are long established now as usually the best of their respective ranges, picking and mixing the best bits from the options list to add the cherry on top of the very appealing sports car cake. Dodgy metaphors aside, the Cayman GTS features the desirable dynamic options – PASM dampers, PTV Plus limited-slip diff and Sport Chrono – that many buyers choose already, then adds a little more power, some nice new wheels and a few styling tweaks. It all comes in at a price that’s similar to what those options would cost separately. As a result, the car feels very much like a regular Porsche Cayman, not that this is a bad thing. Our test was limited to a few laps of the Ascari circuit in…

Ford Mondeo Alex Moore bought this 1996, 2.0-litre petrol Mondeo for £130 in 2009 and named it ‘Sabine’. He says: “It was bought to take part in the Czech Wrecks banger rally. Initially we painted it in bright green emulsion (a horrendous sight). It was repainted matt black after that and then we went for the ‘rat’ look by adding a rusty bonnet. It’s amazingly clear of rot underneath. “Sabine has done the Stelvio Pass numerous times, been to the Arctic Circle, turned heads at Monaco and even done the Transfagarasan Highway in Romania.” SEND YOUR USED CAR TALES AND READERS' QUESTIONS TO james@bangernomics.com…

“With its 0-62mph time of 6.3sec, it was the 20v Turbo everyone wanted, then as now” When the conversation turns to future classics, the Fiat Coupé is rarely mentioned. The government scrappage scheme of 2009 wiped out many of them and prices for the couple of thousand or so remaining were on the floor around five years ago. Today, they start at about £1000 for runners but decent cars cluster around the £5000 mark. And then there’s nothing until you reach £10,000, where the best low-milers are to be found. The most expensive late-plate versions can be as high as £20,000. We’re talking 20-valve, standard and Turbo, but mostly Turbo, models, by the way. The original 16-valve is almost non-existent, due to not only scrappage schemes but also its suitability…

Mercedes-AMG C 63 S From £69,200 Another superb creation by Mercedes-AMG, with the coupé huge fun out on the open road and docile enough to use around town. ★★★★★ BMW M4 From £57,000 Has the grip, precision, pace and all-round civility but lacks some of the dynamic charm of its rivals. ★★★★☆ Mercedes-AMG C 43 From £47,600 Not as bombastic as the full-fat C 63, but the 3.0-litre V6 is compelling in its own right. The C 43 is also luxurious and well-built. ★★★★☆ Alpina B4 From £59,000 Twin-turbo engine is more dramatic but less well-mannered than M4’s, but Alpine’s take on the car is better on the road than the track. ★★★★☆ Audi S5 From £47,000 The S5 is a great grand tourer, with a relaxed cosseting nature, but…

Porsche 718 Boxster From £39,600 Our idea of drop-top perfection is also an outstanding sporting two-seater. Exceptional to drive. ★★★★★ Audi TT Roadster From £32,000 Plenty of pace and driver reward, along with Audi’s distinctive brand prestige and design-icon style. ★★★★☆ Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet From £42,000 Genuine four-seat cabrios are rare birds, particularly when they’re as re ined and sophisticated as this one. ★★★★☆ BMW 4 Series Convertible From £34,900 Mixes sporting driving dynamics with ine engines and usable back seats. Folding metal roof provides security. ★★★★☆ Vauxhall Cascada From £24,500 Lacks a premium badge but little else. Competent, comfortable and not troubled by sporting ambition. ★★★★☆…

FORD FIESTA ST | FEB 2018 Ford’s next pocket hot hatch is due in showrooms early in the new year. In addition to fresh exterior look, it will feature a 1.5-litre three-pot petrol that produces 197bhp. Its 0-62mph time is 6.7sec, which is 0.2sec faster than the outgoing car’s. Price £19,000 (est) DECEMBER Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Audi A8, Mercedes-Benz X-Class, Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Seat Arona, Toyota Yaris GRMN, Volkswagen T-Roc, Touareg, Vauxhall VXR8 GTS-R JANUARY 2018 Alpina D5 S, Bentley Continental GT, BMW M3 CS, Ford Fiesta Active, Hyundai i30 N (right), Jaguar E-Pace, Jeep Compass, Kia Picanto X-Line, Stinger, Land Rover Discovery SVX, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport updates, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport PHEVs, Lexus LS, Maserati Ghibli update, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross,…

“The new CLS will be saloon only. The Shooting Brake will not be replaced” The new Mercedes-Benz CLS will spawn a sporting CLS53 model from its AMG performance division, the maker confirmed at the car’s unveiling at the Los Angeles motor show. The new CLS is the third generation of the saloon model that Mercedes insists on billing as a four-door coupé. The new CLS53 will join the mechanically identical E53 Coupé and E53 Cabriolet models in a three-strong lineup of new AMG models to be unveiled at the Detroit motor show next month. All three feature a newly developed in-line six-cylinder engine with mild-hybrid properties. The new powertrain will usher in electric boosting via an integrated starter motor for added performance potential in Mercedes’ answer to the likes of…

LOTUS’S NEW OWNER, Geely, is already working on ambitious plans for its new British subsidiary, having only completed its purchase of a majority stake in the Norfolk-based firm two months ago. This includes a decision, to be made very soon, on whether to produce a Lotus SUV. Geely executives are already considering which platform it would be built on. The same Compact Modular Architecture that underpins both the Volvo XC40 and Lynk&Co 01 is the most obvious candidate. The flexibility of this platform means that it has been designed to accommodate high-performance applications, including cars featuring a powered rear axle. Beyond its SUV plans, Geely is determined to keep Lotus making sports cars and sees strong growth potential in the brand. At the launch of the Lynk&Co 01 in China…

“The recovered energy could be used to drive ancillaries or a hybrid motor” 1 FROM HOT GAS TO WATTS Liquid-cooled semi-conductor modules exploit the Seebeck effect so an electric current is generated between the ‘hot side’ heated by exhaust gas and the ‘cold side’. 2 PROTECTING THE MODULES Hot exhaust gas can damage the modules if they get too hot on one side. Flip-flop valves at each end of the TEG periodically switches the direction of flow to prevent that. 3 SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL The compact TEG device can sit between the cylinder banks of a V6 or V8 engine, downstream of the catalytic converter. The electricity generated is stored in a battery. AUK project aimed at recovering energy from waste exhaust heat could improve fuel consumption of internal combustion…

When you read the letters ‘GTI’, whether it’s in the first sentence of a car review or on the grille of a hatchback, you think ‘Golf’ – don’t you? Bet you just have. Can’t help but. The Golf GTI celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, after all; and although Volkswagen has been trying to for more than two decades now, it has never quite successfully developed its defining hot hatch identity into a proper performance sub-brand. There have been good attempts to do that (think Lupo GTI) and not so good ones (Mk3 Polo GTI, anyone? No, thanks) since the mid-1990s, of course. But now there’s a new and more concerted bid to turn ‘GTI’ into an established family of models, and it involves the forthcoming Up GTI city car…

What you see here is a new high-water mark for blisteringly quick Seats. Limited to just 799 examples, the Cupra R is the most powerful road car the brand has built and the culmination of a procession of ever faster variants of the third-generation Leon. However, before any talk of how good it might be to drive, there are two potential impediments to ownership you should be aware of. The first is that a scant 24 of those cars will make it to the UK, although not all are yet spoken for. The second hurdle is rather more serious because, at £34,995, the Leon Cupra R is £4000 more expensive than our current hot hatch class leader – Honda’s Civic Type R – yet no more compelling on paper. Those…

It comes as little surprise to discover Mercedes-Benz has gone light on the stylistic changes in its mid-life facelift of the S-Class Coupé. Since its launch in 2014, the big two-door has gained a strong following for its svelte appearance. There are some tweaks to the exterior, three trim and upholstery lines and some upgraded technology. Most significant, though, is the new twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 in the four-wheel-drive S560 4Matic Coupé, driven here. The engine replaces the twin-turbocharged 4.7-litre V8 used by the previous S500. It has an extra 13bhp, at 462bhp, along with the same torque at 516lb ft. The power delivery is linear, extending to the 6200rpm redline in one wonderfully muscular surge on a loaded throttle. Engaging Sport driving mode opens a series of flaps to increase…

It has been three years since we were last at Castle Combe for a Britain’s Best Driver’s Car (BBDC) contest. That was the 25th running of our event, also known as ‘Handling Day’, and on that occasion Ferrari’s 458 Speciale took the honours. But what was remarkable about Combe then – as, we hope, now – is that despite it being one of the fastest race circuits in the country, its age-old bends, lumps and bumps actually make it a real challenge for a road car. So, too, are the country lanes that criss-cross this part of Wiltshire. If a road car can impress at sensible speeds on difficult terrain like this, it can impress you everywhere. So as autumn neared winter last month, we were back, with bleak November…

“Want a given response? You input the necessary command. The 911 obliges” Just five marks, then, out of a possible 200, separated first place from second, with two judges placing the McLaren first and two of us placing the Porsche first. Handily – given I’m the judge writing this bit – I’m one of the ones who placed it first. In my eyes, there’s still nothing that can quite touch the 911, and this 911 in particular, for sheer entertainment on both road and circuit. That a 720S is faster isn’t in doubt. That it steers magically, rides brilliantly and is ergonomically set up ideally for fast road and circuit driving is beyond question. But that the Porsche is better than it as a driver’s car by all useful yardsticks…

I have just read the email you published from Bob Bull (Your views, 15 November) and agree with his precise point: who actually wants an autonomous car? I grant you there are occasions when most drivers would engage this function but, ignoring the cost implications of this feature, I see many situations where this type of vehicle could be quite unsafe. Let me project one situation. The occupants are driving in a not-too-desirable neighbourhood when a group of undesirables stand in front and behind. The ‘driverless’ vehicle is now unable to move because it’s programmed to stop hitting any obstacle in its path. I will let you imagine the outcome of such a situation. Will the human in charge be able to take control and take the necessary action in…

MILEAGE 15,511 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see how well suited this luxury off-roader is to executive travel When the Discovery arrived on the shores of Lake Autocar, it had received a service at Land Rover HQ because it was wearing around 10,000 miles on its odometer. I rather like that because, although no car should actually be feeling tired or rough after 10,000 miles, that’s usually the kind of mileage after which cars disappear from us, rather than arrive with us, which sometimes hides the nitty gritty of running it. This brings me to the kind of use we’ve given the Discovery since it rocked up here, which has involved lots of nit and, indeed, grit. It’s mostly workaday commuting stuff. But, ah, what commutes, my friend: first to…

QUESTION I want to buy a first-gen BMW Mini Cooper. Is there anything to look out for? Peter Haynes ANSWER The older models need a bit of money spending on them. Due to owner neglect, there are scrappy ones around. Check the brakes, central locking motors, suspension track rod ends, power-steering pump, exhaust back box… plus the alternator might have gone by now and is not cheap to replace. QUESTION I loved my old Subaru Justy; I’d like another but I can’t find one. Any alternatives? Elizabeth Mann ANSWER I rather liked Daihatsu’s micro 4x4s, especially the Terios. Suzuki does charming small all-wheel drives, so a Jimny should not be out of the question. Then there is Mitsubishi’s tiddler in the shape of the Shogun Pinin. Most of those can…

“The car feels so light by modern standards that it positively dances on its toes” As a teenager, during the Great War, I owned a brace of old Alfasuds, culminating in the handsome Giorgetto Giugiarodesigned Sprint. These delightful little rust-buckets had spirited handling but not much in the way of roadholding, so they were the perfect car for an enthusiastic learner to acquire new skills in. I loved them, as did the motoring magazines of the day. However, there was a fly in this Italian love ointment, and it was born on the day Volkswagen decided to take the sparkling fuel-injected 110bhp 1.6-litre engine and uprated chassis bits from its Mk 1 Golf GTI and drop them into its shapely Scirocco. And what a shape it was. This jewel of…

An expert’s view JOHN CARTLIDGE, DIRECTOR, MIDLANDS CAR SERVICING “I fell in love with the Fiat Coupé the moment I saw a new one on a car transporter. It was being delivered to the Fiat dealer where I worked as a mechanic. I now specialise in the model, selling and servicing them. Prices fell to an all-time low five years ago but, in the past 18 months, they’ve started picking up. You can get a decent car from as little £3000 but rarer versions such as the LE and Plus in mint condition command far higher prices. For example, I have a very nice 2001-reg 20v Turbo Plus in pearl white with 38,000 miles for £20,000.” Buyer beware… • ENGINE Camshaft wear is an issue on 16v engines so check…