Auto Express September 16, 2015

WHEN the Sports Utility Vehicle was invented, the use of the word sport referred more to the owner’s lifestyle than the ability of the car. In spite of what some makers may have claimed, sticking a large engine in an SUV doesn’t make it a sports car. Thankfully, the Sports Utility Vehicle is coming of age – and living up to the name. The Jaguar F-Pace is proof of that. It has to be – the thought of Jaguar being anything other than a sporting car is unforgiveable. It may have taken an age for the company to finally reveal the images (perhaps that’s what the F stands for), but it’s been worth the wait. It’s no wonder, as our exclusive story reveals this week, Jaguar is going to concentrate…

FOLLOWING years of speculation and months of teaser shots, Jaguar finally took the wraps off its first-ever SUV at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week. The F-Pace has been designed as a rival for the Audi Q5 and Porsche Macan, but is significantly larger and more luxurious than both. It will be priced from £34,710, and the first cars will arrive in showrooms in April. There will be rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive versions, as well as petrol and diesel, manual and automatic models – with the top-spec cars lifting the 375bhp supercharged 3.0-litre V6 from the F-Type. We were treated to a preview with chief designer Ian Callum at the brand’s Coventry HQ. According to Callum, the F-Pace is completely against the ethos of the Jaguar brand he joined 15 years…

THE F-Pace may be Jag’s first-ever SUV, but as we reported with our exclusive images back in June (Issue 1,375), a smaller ‘sub-Evoque’ model could also join the range at a later date. However, Auto Express has learned that this focus on SUVs may come at the expense of the brand’s Sportbrake models; there’s no word yet on new XE or XF estates. A Jaguar spokesman told Auto Express the new SUVs would “fill the gaps” left by the defunct estate models. He said that now the XE, XF and F-Pace are up and running – with recent tweaks to the XJ, too – the brand could “look at other places for growth”. “Whether that’s coupés, convertibles or crossovers, just wait and see,” he said.…

THE fourth-generation Renault Mégane has been revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show, introducing a striking new design and vastly improved interior. Inheriting its face from the new Talisman family saloon, the Mégane makes use of the same sharp C-shaped LED daytime running lights. The now familiar oversized badge from the Clio and Captur is also evident, while the rising waistline gives way to a slimmer rear window profile. The rear is inspired by the Clio and Kadjar, too, but the bold stretched tail-lamps are distinctly different. These will remain illuminated both during the day and at night, with top-spec models boasting sharp LED signatures. The new Mégane is now based on the same CMF platform which underpins the larger Qashqai from sister company Nissan, meaning the hatch is 25mm lower…

ELSEWHERE at Renault, Auto Express has learned that the company is considering a manual gearbox option for the next-generation Clio RS. Talking to Auto Express at the World Series by Renault event at Silverstone earlier this month, Renaultsport Technologies managing director, Patrice Ratti, hinted that a host of improvements are being considered for the next fifth-generation hot hatch, including the option of a manual transmission. “We will definitely keep the EDC (automatic) transmission,” Ratti told us. “But the next Clio may also have a manual option.” He also revealed Renaultsport will develop a more responsive chassis and steering set-up for the next-generation model, following widespread criticism of the current car. An all-new model is unlikely to arrive any time before 2017. “A host of improvements are being considered for hot…

THINGS are moving fast at Porsche – the 911 range has only just made the switch to turbocharging (see Page 17), and this week the sports car maker unveiled a 592bhp, all-electric, Tesla Model S-rivalling concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Called the Mission E, the four-door, four-seat saloon shows how Porsche envisions “the future of the electric sports car”. And that future could be closer than you think. At the VW Group’s annual conference in March, a presentation from senior execs revealed Porsche would produce an all-electric saloon – with the Mission E the clearest indication yet of Porsche’s plans. And it could arrive as early as 2017. The Mission E is a fusion of 918 hypercar aggression and Panamera proportions. It sits incredibly low to the ground at…