Auto Express 1478

WHAT makes a successful car manufacturer? There are undoubtedly many measures of this, but two clear fundamentals are the ability to sell cars and then the capacity to keep the people who have bought those vehicles happy in the long term. In this week’s issue we concentrate on the latter, as we count down the brands you rate most highly in our Driver Power manufacturers’ chart. The results, of course, are based on thousands of your responses to our car ownership satisfaction survey. As ever, there are clear winners and losers, but one performance I think is especially noteworthy is that of Lexus. In the badge-obsessed premium car market, Toyota’s upmarket arm continues to carve out a distinct niche for itself as a credible alternative to the German establishment. That’s…

▪ Evolutionary look but advanced new platform for small car star ▪ Larger, more mature VW model will go on sale in UK in October @LobAllan “It’s 81mm longer than before and only slightly shorter than the Mk4 Golf of the nineties” Drive shows that comfort is key ALTHOUGH the covers have just been pulled off the new Polo, we joined VW’s development team in South Africa for an early taste of the supermini in Issue 1,469. Our drive confirmed that the Polo is shaping up to be the most comfortable version of the supermini VW has built to date. The model we drove featured a 94bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo, paired with a five-speed manual gearbox. We found the engine to be best suited to gentle progress, with a gearchange…

▪ Subtle look for new flagship hatch ▪ Choice of manual or auto box @LobAllan ALONGSIDE the new Polo, Volkswagen has also introduced the hot new GTI model. The sporty hatch has the new Ford Fiesta ST in its sights with a new and more powerful engine, and is expected to go on sale slightly later than the standard version of the supermini (see Page 6). VW’s all-new GTI continues the model’s trend for ‘upsizing’ its engine. The previous car went from 1.4 litres to 1.8 litres in its lifecycle, and now the new GTI sees engine capacity increase again to 2.0 litres. The new direct-injection turbocharged motor produces 197bhp, which is an increase of 8bhp over the previous car. By contrast, the new Fiesta ST produces an identical power…

@jimmybrods KIA has revealed the latest addition to its burgeoning SUV range in the form of the all-new Stonic – a new Nissan Jukesized crossover which the Korean brand expects to become one of its bestselling models when it goes on sale in the UK before the end of the year. The small SUV market is booming and Kia is after a slice of the profits. The Stonic is set to sit beneath the Sportage and Sorento in the range, and serve as a rival for the likes of the Juke and Renault Captur, as well as the new Hyundai Kona (driven on Page 16). In order to make the new Rio-inspired crossover stand out in this increasingly crowded marketplace, Kia promises this is its most customisable car to date.…

SamNaylor_AE CITROEN is preparing a ‘bold’ new version of the C4 Cactus that will see the car morph from a crossover into a more conventional hatchback, Auto Express understands. And our exclusive image (above) shows how it could look. With the C3 Aircross, revealed last week, and the C5 Aircross seen at the Shanghai Motor Show in April, the current C4 Cactus will be squeezed out of its position in the range, as the new cars fulfil the maker’s need for superminisized and mid-sized SUVs respectively. Citroen CEO Linda Jackson told Auto Express: “The C4 Cactus is about ready for its mid-life change, and it will evolve slightly. The way that we will change it will mean that it will fit even better into the core model strategy. You know…

@AE_Consumer DRIVERS may soon have to list all of their car’s options on an insurance application, which could result in more expensive policies for some, Auto Express can exclusively reveal. Peter Shaw, CEO of the insurance industry body Thatcham Research, told Auto Express: “We are working with car manufacturers and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders over sharing of optional fitment data with the insurance industry.” He said that this would allow insurers to more accurately price premiums in the future. According to Shaw, complex options like driver assistance systems which rely on radar sensors fitted around the car have, in part, caused repair costs to “rise by 32 per cent in the last three years”, yet insurers are currently left in the dark about which owners have such…