Auto Express April 22, 2015

IF there’s one thing to take from this year’s Driver Power, it’s that you’re happier than ever with your cars – we’ve seen an increase in the satisfaction levels, with the models placed in fourth, third and second scoring so highly they would’ve topped our survey in previous years. Which makes Lexus’ achievement with the new IS all the more impressive, knocking the three-time champion, the Skoda Yeti, off the top spot. It’s no flash in the pan for Lexus. All its models score highly, including the new NX SUV in sixth place – this car has only been on sale a matter of months, yet owners are already thrilled to bits. Customer satisfaction is something that Lexus has always valued highly, so much so that when we went to…

Essentials Vauxhall Corsa VXR Price: £17,995Engine: 1.6-litre 4cyl turbo petrolPower/torque: 202bhp/280NmTransmission: Six-speed manual,front-wheel drive0-62mph: 6.5 secondsTop speed: 143mphEconomy: 37.7mpgCO2: 174g/km ON SALE Now • We get behind the wheel of range-topping performance supermini • Optional Performance Pack brings limited-slip diff, bigger alloys VAUXHALL’S VXR brand has quite a cult following in the UK – so much so that 60 per cent of General Motors’ hot European cars end up here. In eight years, a total of 9,000 examples of the old Corsa VXR were sold to British buyers. Step forward the new version, which has been designed to take on the brilliant Fiesta ST, and on paper it has the Ford licked. The Corsa packs 202bhp against the Ford’s 180bhp, while 0-62mph takes 6.5 seconds (6.9 seconds for the ST).…

THE Mercedes GLC Coupé concept has been revealed at this week’s Shanghai Motor Show, previewing a new model that’s likely to appear soon to take on the BMW X4 It also drops a big hint to how the standard GLC will look when it’s launched in June. The GLC Coupé gets a raised ride height, oversized grille and sloping roofline, and has a very similar rear end and boot spoiler to the larger GLE Coupé the brand revealed a couple of months ago. Mercedes says the show car is near-production-ready. This latest coupé SUV sits on huge 21-inch wheels, and has a bluff front end with a very short overhang. The darkened door pillars emphasise the sleek lines, with the bulges in the bonnet and large air intakes hinting at…

SVELTE and sporty cars, with a nod towards practicality, are the order of the day at Mercedes. According to AMG CEO Tobias Moers, the new AMG GT (driven on Page 40 ) won’t be a one-off: as well as a high-performance Black Series version of the coupé, there will be a family of bodystyles. A Roadster is certain, but more intriguing is the idea of a four-door. Moers couldn’t give a timeframe, but was positive about such a car. However, he said it would require a different platform from the AMG GT Coupé. This could be lifted from the C-Class, as the C 63 AMG version already uses the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. PAGE 40 : AMG GT first UK drive…

PEUGEOT caught the attention of the Shanghai Motor Show this week with a brand new concept: the 308 R HYbrid. Developed by the company’s in-house racing division, Peugeot Sport, the plug-in hybrid hatchback produces an astonishing 493bhp from a 1.6-litre turbo and electric motors on each axle, making it four-wheel drive. The 308 R HYbrid is loosely based around the 308 R Concept that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2013 – a decision on whether to build that car still hasn’t been made – but the newcomer ups the game in terms of performance. As well as converting it into all-wheel drive, Peugeot Sport has widened the front and rear tracks by 80mm and added beefier brakes. The powertrain combines the 267bhp 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo found in the…

AUDI gave us another glimpse of its future in Shanghai, with the new Prologue Allroad concept. The design study is a jacked-up version of the Prologue Avant seen at the Geneva show in March, and features a 724bhp petrol-electric hybrid powertrain. The high-riding estate hints at what to expect from large production Audis in the next decade. This includes an adaptation of the trademark grille, swept-back headlamps and sleeker, curvier profiling. It gets a 77mm increase in ground clearance over the Prologue Avant, plus SUV body cladding around the arches and bumpers, skid plates and roof rails. It’s 185mm longer than the current A6 allroad, hinting at either a large next-generation model or a Mercedes CLSstyle A7 ‘Shooting Brake’ in more rugged form.Under the bonnet is a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol…