Auto Express 1452

THERE are many car brands that need a big 2017, but few more so than DS. When it split from Citroen a couple of years ago, it was very much a ‘soft’ launch; there was no genuinely new product. Instead it has concentrated on building its infrastructure in preparation for a major assault. It’s a strategy that has meant progress has appeared slow. But when I caught up with sales and marketing boss Arnaud Ribault at the new DS Urban Store in the Westfield London shopping mall, he made it clear that the vision for DS remains on track. “Yes, the volume has decreased [since launch],” he said. “But that is fine with our strategy as we have a good transformation in brand image. The most important work we do…

@stevefowler THINGS are changing at Volkswagen – and fast. Stung by the emissions crisis of 2015 and seeing much of the company’s senior management change, 2016 was all about finding a way forward. And 2017 will see the first signs of the changes the new team in charge is making, not only to the company and its products, but also the way it does business. According to VW’s new board member with responsibility for product development, Dr Frank Welsch, it’s all about “cars, cars, cars”. He told us: “We have lots of exciting new cars coming and that’s the best way to react to what has happened in the past.” But VW has also discovered something it has kept hidden in the past – emotion. And Dr Welsch is promising…

YOU’LL have to wait 12 months before you can buy one, but the up! GTI will be well worth the wait. Amazingly, VW has managed to instil the Golf’s grown-up GTI talents in the brand’s smallest car. It’s not superquick – a 0-62mph time of around 8.8 seconds proves that – but small fast fun isn’t only about a sprint time. Although our South African test of a prototype model was rather devoid of corners, you could still detect a spirit in the up! GTI that could launch a new generation of hot hatch fans – especially when you realise the up! GTI’s stats are in line with the Mk1 Golf GTI that did the same thing 40 years ago. The diminutive size of the up! means only a…

THE Arteon is the car that VW says encapsulates its new, more emotional approach to its design, and product development boss Dr Franck Welsch is clearly excited by it. “Did you see how the new front looked when the car is in your rear-view mirror?” he asked. “It’s got much more purpose with the wider grille running into the headlight units, which get a new LED look.” Sadly, we haven’t had the view of an undisguised car that Dr Welsch has, but even behind the swirly camouflage you can see the shape of a large-ish five-door with an Audi A5-style curve to the rear. And yes, that nose does look interesting. Although the Arteon is a replacement for the unloved Volkswagen CC, it’s bigger and, VW hopes, more upmarket to…

“Things are normal in the back seat, but it slides forward to give those in third row more legroom” VOLKSWAGEN’S Tiguan SUV is set to become more of a rival for the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Nissan X-Trail when a sevenseat version arrives next summer. It’s called the Tiguan Allspace, and we’ll see it first when it gets its world debut at next month’s Detroit Motor Show, but Auto Express was able to drive pre-production versions on the dirt tracks of the Kalahari. There was very little disguise on the cars we drove so it was difficult to distinguish the Allspace from the standard Tiguans also on test; just a longer rear door marked it out. And that’s because 110mm of the 220mm extra length of the Allspace…

■ SUV enjoys fifth refresh, with sleek and upmarket push LAND Rover is on a roll. Its Discovery Sport is selling like hot cakes, and the Range Rover flagship has taken on – and beaten – the Bentley Bentayga, so the pressure is on for the all-new Discovery to continue the success story. There’s certainly no denying the imposing Discovery has some big boots to fill. Over the past three decades, the first four generations of this rugged and practical SUV have racked up an amazing 1.2 million sales. To find out if the new model deserves to wear the Discovery badge, Auto Express grabbed the keys to a pre-production model and headed out on to the testing terrain of the Blair Atholl estate in Perthshire. For this test we’re…