Innholdsfortegnelse for May 31, 2023 i Autocar

The Range Rover Sport’s performance flagship has arrived as the fastest and most powerful production Range Rover yet, offering supercar performance at 2560kg thanks to a 626bhp 4.4-litre V8. Called the SV – dropping the ‘R’ suffix of the previous car – it is the latest project from JLR’s Special Vehicles team and is “the most dynamic and technologically advanced” version of the sports SUV yet. Based on the latestgeneration Range Rover Sport, the new halo SV is one of Land Rover’s final new combustion cars. JLR, under its Reimagine transformation plan, will launch a Range Rover EV next year, before the Land Rover Discovery Sport, Range Rover Sport, Evoque and Velar go electric from 2025. Pushing out 626bhp from a 4.4-litre BMW-sourced engine, which is twin-turbocharged and mildly hybridised,…

The battery-powered Astra represents “almost the last piece in the jigsaw” in Vauxhall’s electrification push, boss James Taylor has said, with the firm set to go EV-only from 2028. In particular, the Astra Electric Sports Tourer will be one of only a handful of estate EVs on the market, giving the British brand a footing in a segment today served by only the MG 5 EV. However, it’s the hatchback that’s expected to dominate sales when it arrives in June (six months before the estate) and, along with the facelifted Corsa Electric supermini that was revealed last week, draw in new customers, said Taylor. “It’s really important for us to have an electric Astra in the line-up,” he said. “We’ve dominated and won in the segments we’ve launched the pure-electric…

ROLLS-ROYCE CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös has categorically refuted the idea that post-Brexit trading obstacles – lambasted loudly in recent weeks by local car and component manufacturers – threaten the firm’s ability to carry on building cars in Sussex. “We are obviously committed to Goodwood. I have always said it and continue to say it,” he said. “We are not in any position where we would go out and start fishing for money, particularly after we decided that Spectre will be built in Goodwood.” Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares recently suggested that unless the UK renegotiated with the EU over punitive ‘rules of origin’ tariffs, which would vastly increase the cost of building cars for export, the company would be forced to consider the viability of its Ellesmere Port and Luton factories –…

As the UK government’s 2030 ban on new combustion-engined cars approaches, questions are being raised about whether alternative fuel solutions could present a cheaper and easier mediumterm means of reducing emissions – most notably carbon-neutral fuels. A report by the Transport Select Committee recently accused the government of “putting all its eggs in one basket” by effectively mandating a widespread transition to battery-electric vehicles from 2035. The report cited shortcomings in EV charging infrastructure and a shortage of raw materials, which may prevent a smooth transition to EVs. “As the cliff edge of 2030 (2035, 2040 and 2050) approaches and minds are concentrated, reality will bite,” it said. The committee urged a “reality check” on the government’s transport strategy. “Addressing the existing [petrol and diesel] fleet will be decisive in…

‘One that got away’ is what we titled a feature last autumn (5 October 2022), in which a bunch of our writers each named a car we should have bought when we had the chance, but didn’t. And now probably never will. I plumped for the Alfa Romeo SZ because, well, if nothing else, won’t you just look at it? I was an impressionable teenager when it came out in 1989, adored it in reviews of the time. Fifteen years later, I almost kidded myself I should buy one when they were under £20,000. Scared off it by stories of unobtainable body panels, I spent much less on a Ducati – right era, right colour, right country. Close enough, then, and as close as I ever got to an SZ.…

No, you’re not looking at a rogue spread from Classic & Sports Car. The Pembleton T24 you see here is as fresh to market as any other car on these pages, the only difference being that its raison d’être is eschewing, rather than celebrating, new technology. Pembleton was formed in 1999, initially producing chassis for selfbuild, vintage-style three-wheelers, of which around 400 were sold. Since then, Phil Gregory has passed on the company to his son Guy, who has become its very youthful MD. Pembleton now produces two roadready models: the V-Sport threewheeler and the T24. Both cars are hand-built in small numbers (10 per year for the T24) by a highly skilled team of five in a small village deep in rural Worcestershire. If you perceive vintage cars to…

The Astra will finally gain an electric option this year, which Vauxhall hopes will enhance the stalwart model’s already strong popularity and is said to be “almost the last piece in the puzzle” of the Stellantis-owned British brand going electric-only by 2028 (see p12). Wholesale electrification of a brand always raises the question about the future of sporty models, so we’re pleased to report that Vauxhall hasn’t quietly killed off its GSi sub-brand – whose long heritage includes fondly remembered Novas, Astras and Carltons – but relaunched it as GSe (with ‘Electric’ replacing ‘Injection’ after ‘Grand Sport’). The first models to be sold under this banner are the Grandland SUV and the Astra. An electric hot hatch to get things going, then, right? Surprisingly, no. The Astra GSe is powered…

Depreciation: it can be as much a friend as an enemy. It shrinks the value of your wheeled assets but can also bring once-unattainable dreams within reach. The idea of cheap Ferraris and Porsches is almost as old as the brands themselves, but as clichéd as the ‘Ferrari for the price of a Ford’ story is, the excitement of this possibility never wanes, so we make no excuses for once again testing the waters. You must still spend the price of a very decent set of new wheels – a range-topping Kuga, for instance – to buy a Ferrari of sufficient calibre to ensure that its presence in your garage doesn’t quickly sour. For a Porsche, however, the story is rather different. Those for the price of a Fiesta –…

MILEAGE 9307 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT What lessons can be learned from this most old-school of current offerings? “Yeah, I can tell you’re a city boy. Dr Martens are crap. No grip.” I thought I had come well prepared to learn how to drive my Toyota Land Cruiser off road in my shin-high bovver-boy boots, but evidently not. At least I’ve pleased my Surrey 4x4 Tours & Training instructors, Gareth Jex and Tim Harrower, by remembering to bring a coat, a cap, gloves and, most importantly, some lunch. Both are hardcore enthusiasts, as evidenced by their fully trickedout and liveried-up old Land Rover Defenders sat outside the learning emporium – absolutely not a shed, you understand – in their plot of hilly, muddy forest near Farnham. I’m here to do…

No more Brits abroad I’m in my early seventies and regard myself a true car nut. I’ve been a mechanic and still work supplying equipment to garage workshops. I’ve just returned from a holiday in Mallorca, and it highlighted what bad shape the British industry is in. I saw some Minis and a few Range Rover Evoques, but that was it. What a terrible end to the British car industry. Not that long ago, our cars would have been everywhere. The most popular brands were Peugeot and Renault, but worryingly there were a fair number of new Chinese brands to be seen. France, Germany and Spain all build cars in high volumes, but Britain does almost nothing. Wouldn’t it make sense for our government to build factories and give tax…

The problem with the admirable Lotus Elise is that while all that pure and animal-like intercommunication between car and driver makes for an unparalleled synthesis of automotive pleasure, especially on a racetrack, the car is not much cop if you want to travel further than the local pub or you need to take your children to school. Enter, stage left, the Evora – a 2+2 Lotus with all the swagger and a three-section composite body (with easily replaceable plastic bumpers) but with a token nod towards comfort and touring. Launched in 2009, it seemed to be the answer to either numerous prayers or the question no one posed. Naturally, it is not a Mercedes S-Class rival. Peak behind the welcoming front seats and you will see an extra pair of…

Troubles and dangers on Safari TATA’S OWNERSHIP OF JLR has made it warmly regarded in the UK – banishing from memory the ignominy the Indian firm brought upon itself here in the early 2000s. Tata began making commercial vehicles in 1954 and quickly grew to dominate that market in India, giving it confidence to branch out into cars in 1991, first with a 4x4. There was a healthy niche for cheap off-roaders here in the ’90s, convincing Tata to export its new Safari. At £3000 below the already cheap Daewoo Musso, it looked attractive on paper. The reality, though, was the exact opposite. Although it off-roaded without drama, it seemed unhealthy after, its gearbox particularly suffering. On the asphalt, it was seriously sluggish, 0-60mph taking 19sec. Its 1.9-litre turbodiesel four…

A ston Martin has created what it calls “the world’s first super tourer” with the stunning new DB12 – a brutish, V8-toting successor to the acclaimed DB11 and a car that marks the start of a bold new era for the Gaydon firm’s sports car family. With its arrival coinciding with Aston’s 110th birthday and the 75th anniversary of the DB nameplate, the DB12 is fundamentally based on its predecessor but a raft of widereaching and hugely significant upgrades have been carried out to its powertrain, chassis and interior with a view to claiming a competitive edge over the Ferrari Roma and Bentley Continental GT. Aston chairman Lawrence Stroll has previously said the replacements for the DB11, Vantage and DBS frontengined sports cars will be more like “all-new cars” than…

Kia has committed to expanding its line-up of small electric vehicles in the coming years – including a new electric city car and a compact crossover – as part of a wider ramp-up of its bespoke EV-branded model range. The Korean firm will launch 15 new electric models globally by the end of 2027, which includes a major focus on the European market, with a goal of growing electric sales by nearly a third in the next seven years. Although Kia will continue to offer multi-powertrain models such as the Niro – which can be equipped with electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains in the UK – it is also expanding its line-up of EV-branded models. The current offering includes the EV6 crossover and flagship EV9 but will eventually expand…

ALPINE AND LOTUS have ended their collaboration on the development of an electric sports car architecture that was expected to spawn successors to the Alpine A110 and Lotus Elise. The two manufacturers signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in January 2021, agreeing to conduct a “comprehensive feasibility study” for the cars. In a statement last week, Alpine said: “Lotus and Alpine have been collaborating on a future EV sports car vision for more than two years, during which time a strong relationship between the two companies has developed. “As with any collaboration following an MoU, the outcome was not guaranteed. We have decided not to progress with the joint development of a sports car for Alpine. “This is a mutual decision reached amicably, and we will continue to discuss other…

New variants of the Rolls-Royce Spectre EV will follow the launch of the standard car later this year. A more potent ‘Black Badge’ is “already engineered”, according to CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös. Autocar was also advised to “watch this space” for a drophead convertible variant and there was even a suggestion that Rolls could show an ultraluxurious and highly bespoke take on its EV at next year’s Villa d’Este, in the vein of the £20 million Phantom-based Boat Tail.…

Hopefully you look forward to getting your copy of Autocar every week, but you won’t wait for the mag with the same anticipation as the engineers who design cars. For them, an entire career can rest on the opinion of journalists. As a result of this, the R&D headquarters of one Asian car maker has a test called the Cropley Hump, which is now part of the evaluation regime of every new model it launches. It came about because of a throwaway comment by editor-in-chief Steve Cropley in his weekly column. He said he got a pretty good idea of a car’s ride quality and body control within a few seconds of driving because it had to deal with the speed bump in the company car park. This was picked…

MONDAY Few things are more reassuring than hanging out with people who are even crazier about cars than you. It validates your nuttiness. Today, I spent time with two such pals: long-time Autocar contributor Richard Bremner (current owner of 13 cars, from Morris 1300 GT to BMW 6 Series, via Abarth 124 Spider) and Martin Buckley, who has been a prolific writer for our sister organ Classic & Sports Car since Noah read The Beano and keeps a similar-size collection (from Renault 16TS to Rolls-Royce Cloud, via NSU Ro80) in a fine old barn a couple of villages away. Bremner you will know quite well, because his life and times are sometimes discussed in these pages. Buckley needs more introduction. He’s one of those people whose cars honestly are his…

Jazz music has endured in popularity as many of its contemporaneous genres have withered into history, and so too has its Honda namesake, which has just been updated while a supermini cull is occurring. Essential to its ongoing viability are its relatively high price and the low-emissions impact of Honda’s innovative e:HEV powertrain. ‘Update’ is more accurate than ‘facelift’ in this instance, because said hybrid system has been the primary target of Honda’s attention, with design changes very limited. That applies to both the 4x4-mimicking Crosstar here (chosen by 28% of UK customers) and the regular models – which now include one with revised chassis settings to offer “a more engaging experience”. Honda’s e:HEV system comprises two electric motors, a battery and a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an e-CVT,…

Had you in 1986 suggested that a BMW M3 and a Range Rover could be considered tools for the same job, you would have been jeered off the Autocar premises and on the receiving end of a call from occupational health. This was the year BMW presented its fizzing new lightweight homologation coupé to a world in which showroom-fresh Range Rovers were still, amazingly, largely unchanged from the Spen King-designed haute pathfinders that went on sale back when man first landed on the moon. It was an era when both vehicles still existed in their primordial, archetypal forms and weren’t so much chalk and cheese as chemically pure calcium carbonate and room-temperature Époisses of eye-watering funk. The fantasy two-car garage we nerds love to concoct was invented precisely to celebrate…

“We tried to develop a design philosophy that isn’t based on dogma” It can be hard to cut through the guff when car brands put a name to their future design strategy. Modern Solid, Sensuous Sportiness and the like – vague terms cooked up in the great marketing microwave in a bid to draw a clean link between every product in a brand’s line-up. And now there’s Opposites United – not an ill-conceived dating app but Kia’s vision of a range of cars taking inspiration “from the contrasts found in nature and humanity”. Unroll those eyes, though, because upon dissection, this name proves a refreshingly succinct summary of the contrasts between severe and soft and curvesome and clean-cut that have won the latest crop of Kias such high praise from…

MILEAGE 4710 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Audi’s inceptive performance EV is a class act, but what’s it like to live with? Three months into my stint with this electric Audi and preconceptions about how chaotic the relationship would be have mostly left the building. I am surprised by this; people who know me and my driveway-less, routine-less existence are surprised by this; even people who know me and my situation and own an electric car themselves are surprised by this. I’m simply not suffering as much as I feared – and they cheekily hoped – I would be. Or, indeed, at all. The lack of torment is partly because, in the Audi, what you see on the range display is generally what you get. This gives you blessed certainty, and…

I’m considering purchasing a Mazda CX-60, so imagine my horror when I read your road test of 10 May. Surely the rear wheels losing grip in a corner is a serious, dangerous fault. For a motorist who has covered as much as half of his annual mileage on bumpy, remote country roads, head toss, a crashy and wooden secondary ride and an inability to deal with road imperfections are also serious problems. This is the maker of the legendary MX-5 – how could it have fumbled the ball so badly? Perhaps it should consult a British car maker on how to tune suspension for our roads or engage the services of someone like Mike Cross or Matt Becker. I believe an immediate response is warranted and all CX-60s sold with…

An owner’s view JIM HOLDER “I had an Evora S and loved it. For me, every journey felt like a special occasion, and it even handled commuting with aplomb. Its ride and handling balance and its steering were all terrific, and its engine was silky smooth. I had the IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) automatic gearbox in mine, which fared well, but I think most would prefer the manual. The optional Recaro seats in my car were a joy, wonderfully comfortable and supportive. Mind you, getting in the car could be a bit of a squeeze. Our only trip to a Lotus dealer was when a fuse blew when we tried to use the windscreen wipers while they were iced to the windscreen, which was entirely my fault.” Buyer beware… ENGINE…

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…

THE NEW ASTON Martin DB12 represents a giant leap forward from the DB11 and a vital change of emphasis for the embattled but ambitious Gaydon company. However, even more crucial than a model change has been the appointment, exactly one year ago, of 77-year-old Amedeo Felisa as Aston CEO. Italian-born Felisa ran Ferrari for eight successful and highly creative years until he retired in 2016, but he was persuaded back last year to replace former AMG chief Tobias Moers at Aston. Since then, it has become apparent that the management and leadership styles of the two men could hardly be more different. Whereas Moers was strident and combative (sparking resignations among key staff), Felisa has communicated a desire for market-leading standards by being mild-mannered and emollient: he was a popular…

ACCLAIMED CAR DESIGNER Giorgetto Giugiaro says he hopes he can work with Hyundai on future projects, having played a fundamental role in shaping its historic and current line-up. The Italian designer behind all manner of icons – from the Mk1 Volkswagen Golf to the Lancia Delta – recently teamed up with Hyundai to recreate the long-lost 1974 Pony Coupé concept he designed: a two-door reworking of the hatchback that established the Korean brand as a volume maker. Asked by Autocar if there is a future for the partnership between his GFG Style outfit (founded with his son Fabrizio in 2015) and Hyundai, he said: “We hope. We would certainly have the desire to be involved in new projects. It’s always important to have influence and creative ideas from somebody outside.”…

Rolls-Royce is considering swapping from conventional batteries to hydrogen fuel cell powertrains for its future electric cars once the technology is mature enough to be commercialised at scale. The new Spectre – which made its European debut at Villa d’Este in Italy last week – is the Goodwood firm’s first EV and will enter production in September with one of the largest batteries fitted to any production car, at 120kWh. It has a claimed range of more than 300 miles and charges rapidly at 195kW. However, CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös says the unique positioning of a Rolls-Royce, and the specialised use case of the average owner, opens up the possibility of considering hydrogen as an alternative fuel in the future. Speaking to Autocar at the Spectre’s debut, Müller-Ötvös responded to the…

EURO 7 EMISSIONS regulations are due to come into force in July 2025 and, as well as being the toughest yet, their scope goes beyond the usual tailpipe emissions and takes in EVs as well. For the first time anywhere in the world, cars, vans, lorries and buses will be regulated for particulate emissions from brakes and tyres too. For brakes, that means the tiny particles of dust they generate, and for tyres, it’s the production of microplastics as they wear. So far, it’s unclear how tyre makers plan to reduce microplastics beyond slowing the wear rate, which is effective and has other benefits as well. But with brakes, component manufacturers are already ahead of the game with some all-new technologies. One example is the Green Caliper from Continental, which…

VOLVO EX30 Volvo’s new entry-level model will be available with two battery sizes and both single-and dual-motor powertrains when it’s launched in November. The Swedish brand’s sustainability centre manager, Anders Nyth, said: “From launch, we will offer it with two battery variants – a smaller variant, 51kWh, which is an LFP [lithium-iron-phosphate] battery, and then we have the NMC [nickel-manganese-cobalt] variant, which is a 69kWh battery.” The longest-legged version will be capable of driving up to 298 miles between charges. Volvo has also said that the EX30 will be its most environmentally friendly model to date. It is claimed to have the smallest lifetime carbon footprint of any Volvo produced to date, 25% smaller than that of the current C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge. This reduction in lifetime emissions is…

Unreconstructed? That’s putting it mildly. Take a walk out to Hatzenbach on Saturday night at the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the real world quickly becomes a detached and distant place. The only thing that’s sophisticated out here is the level of thought that has gone into the overblown campsite erections of the seriously committed who pay their annual week-long pilgrimage. Your brain pounds to a heady mix of comically bad Euro beats and the blaring engines of the high-octane racers that flash past in a glow of head-and tail-lights. The race rumbles on, the bonfires burn… have another beer, soak it all in and turn a blind eye to the odd bit of casual sexism. What year is it again? The Nordschleife’s jewel of a race hosts a cult like…

There is about £2500 between the list price of this mid-range four-cylinder diesel example of the new Volkswagen Amarok and the equivalent Ford Ranger with which it shares so much. Both pick-ups are arriving in UK showrooms at roughly the same time, are built in the same South African factory and have the same ladder-frame chassis, suspension and powertrain hardware. However, while Ford continues to bowl at the volume pick-up market with the Ranger, its new commercial vehicle bedfellow VW is sticking with the Amarok’s familiar ‘lifestyle pick-up’ premium positioning. And, on the evidence of our first UK drive, the VW may just about carry off that billing. The funny thing is the Amarok has a broader derivative range now than it did in first-generation form. It’s offered as a…

‘Deproduction’ sounds like a mis-spelling in a biology lesson, but it’s what one vehicle salvaging company has started doing in Poole, Dorset. Think of it as car production in reverse. Mounted on wheeled carriers, end-of-life cars travel along steel tracks, pausing at a series of four work stations where technicians dismantle them, placing their components in large hoppers. These are then wheeled to another area, where they’re checked, catalogued, cleaned and photographed prior to being sold to bodyshops, garages and the public. It’s vehicle salvaging with a difference. Rather than mindlessly eviscerating old motors with hydraulic cutters and dropping the disembowelled carcasses into a crusher for bailing, the recycling approach taken by Charles Trent Ltd is methodical and surgical. There’s still an old shell to dispose of, but even this…

MODEL TESTED DESIGN • Price £38,990 • Power 201bhp • Torque 229lb ft • 0-60mph 7.0sec • 30-70mph 6.2sec • Economy 3.4mpkWh • Max DC charging speed 89kW • 70-0mph 45.9m Would you rather drive a Build Your Dreams or a Funky Cat? Some of the latest entrants to the European car market are certainly making a mark with memorable names. The latest is the BYD Atto 3 electric crossover. There is (some) sense to the name. An attosecond is onequintillionth of a second – so short it can’t yet be measured. The idea is that BYD is pushing the limits of what’s possible. It’s called 3 because it’s based on BYD’s own e-Platform 3.0. But if ‘Atto 3’ is still a bit too safe for you, you’ll love what…

MILEAGE 5990 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Ssangyong’s first EV can stand out among a slew of reputable rivals – and show that the firm has a future My exploration of the UK’s charging network has included visits to several speedy charging stations across London and various motorway service stations over the past month. I’m slowly starting to build a picture of which chargers are most effective, as well as those I’d rather avoid. I’ve had good experiences at Gridserve chargers, which have almost always operated at consistently high speeds. So sticking with Gridserve for my stops has worked out well so far, save for approaching the occasional bagged-up charger, although I’ve yet to visit one of those posh electric forecourts. I’ve also had good experiences with Ionity…

MILEAGE 4763 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if going all-electric broadens the appeal of Renault’s family hatch My Mégane recently paid a trip to the workshops at Renault to see if the technicians could trace its occasional reluctance to make meaningful contact with charging stations, and in its place I was lent an entry-level Equilibre version, which made a fascinating contrast. At £35,995, it’s a useful £2500 cheaper than my mid-range Techno model, but it took me some time to work out where those savings had been made. Perhaps more surprising was the fact that I instantly felt more at home in the cheaper car and less cramped – which is surely impossible, bearing in mind that structurally and dimensionally the two are all but identical. It was…

BUYING GUIDE Britain’s best used car bargains Steve Cropley and Richard Bremner dust off their wallets and get sleuthing to find some second-hand star buys FEATURE BYD We investigate where the Chinese EV giant has come from and where it’s heading INTERVIEW Meet Mr Headlight As light tech continues to rapidly evolve, we meet the man who helps all see at night EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Hyundai Ioniq 6 Electric streamliner is certainly eyecatching. Is it objectively good too? DRIVEN Alpine A110 R UK drive of Alpine’s lightweight track-focused special SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p22…

Today, most major car makers avoid any engine with more than 2.0 litres and four cylinders – and have forgotten how to spell the word diesel. So the new Mazda CX-60 SUV, fitted with a newly developed straight-six 3.3-litre diesel, is a contrarian wonder. It seems akin to opening a new trilby factory today. But this is just another instance of Mazda eschewing conventional wisdom. Here are some others. Mazda MX-5 1989 Two-seat roadsters were very popular in the 1950s and beyond, and UK firms such as MG, Lotus and Triumph dominated. However, by the time MG closed its Abingdon factory in 1980, the market was assumed to be dead. Not so, decreed Mazda’s honchos: they realised that the market suffered from a lack of supply, not demand, and in…