Auto Express 1476

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news WELCOME to one of the most important issues of Auto Express this year, where we reveal the results of our Driver Power survey. We all know how much the cars we buy and the way we buy them is changing, which is why we’ve made changes to our survey to make it more in-depth and more relevant to car buyers than ever. The results we’re publishing first reflect owners’ satisfaction with new cars – models that are still currently on sale and are aged between two and 12 months. If you’re about to buy a new car, it’s unmissable reading with quite a few surprises – at the top and bottom of the chart. In our next issue, we’ll be counting…

Top story First for news every week EXCLUSIVE IMAGES @Jonathan_burn THE third-generation Volkswagen Touareg will take a marked leaped forward in terms of technology, design and connectivity and aim to give the brand a further push into a more premium market to help it rival the likes of Audi and BMW. Our exclusive images reveal how the allnew Touareg could look when it makes its global debut at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Luxurious range-topping models could hit £70,000 as they aim to steal sales from the Range Rover, Auto Express understands. Volkswagen is positioning itself as the more mainstream premium brand within the VW Group, and closer to the likes of Audi in terms of prestige than Skoda or SEAT. The first real push into that market comes with the…

EXCLUSIVE IMAGE @LobAllan “Project One will be the first production car in history to use a contemporary F1 engine” MERCEDES-AMG’s F1-engined hypercar, codenamed Project One, will use a plug-in hybrid powertrain and develop upwards of 986bhp (1,000hp) from a 1.6- litre V6 engine and four electric motors, the German manufacturer has announced. It’s the first time in history an engine from a contemporary Formula One car has appeared in a production vehicle. The debut of Project One is scheduled for the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, while first customers will take delivery in 2019. Our exclusive main image shows what they can expect. Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, told Auto Express at the recent Nürburgring 24 Hour race, where Project One’s hi-tech powertrain was unveiled, that this would be “the…

OFFICIAL @johnmcilroy “There are no rules. There’s nothing written down to say that all ‘Project’ cars have to be Jaguars” LAND ROVER could get its own limitededition ‘Project’ vehicles to sit alongside the exclusive Jaguar Project 7 and new XE Project 8, according to the boss of the brand’s Special Vehicle Operations division. Just months after SVO revealed the Discovery Project Hero (right) at the Geneva Motor Show, brand chief John Edwards has confirmed plans have been discussed to create limited-run Land Rovers in a similar vein to the recently revealed Jaguar XE SV Project 8. The 592bhp Project 8 (Issue 1,475) is lined up to make its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed later this month. It’s the most powerful Jaguar saloon car ever, and even outperforms…

SPIED A NEW Dacia Duster is in the pipeline, and has been caught on camera for the first time – but the car isn’t expected in UK dealers until late summer 2018. These first pictures show that Renault’s budget sub-brand is still keen to keep the model under wraps. But the overall form of the upcoming second-generation Duster closely follows that of the current car, so we’re expecting an evolutionary look rather than a completely new design. As such, an emphasis will be placed on making the current shape more fashionable. Don’t expect a luxury makeover, though – it will still be a utilitarian vehicle with an affordable price tag, offering buyers lowfrills motoring on a budget. Basic versions will still get plastic bumpers, wheelarches and steel wheels, but plusher…

SPIED JAGUAR’S first fully electric car, called the I-Pace, has been spotted completely undisguised while filming a television commercial in Monaco during the Formula E racing weekend last month. The spy shots, taken by reader David Dalgleish, show that the newcomer will carry over the vast majority of the I-Pace concept’s styling cues and proportions; Jaguar has previously mooted that around 80 per cent of the concept’s design would transfer to the finished model. The TV commercial being filmed also plays on the Jaguar’s electric powertrain. According to our reader, the story is that the I-Pace drives past a sleeping cat, which remains undisturbed due to the silent running of the electric motors. Due on sale next year, the I-Pace will have a range of up to 310 miles. Its…