Auto Express 1495

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news WHO believes in fate? Two weeks ago, we reported on the dramatic rise of hi-tech vehicle theft. Last week, I became the latest victim. It was a textbook case. My test car was parked up overnight on my driveway in a quiet suburban area of North London. The next morning it was gone. I still had the keys; it had simply vanished. With a tracking device on the car, I immediately called the maker’s On Call service, which I’d subscribed to, to see if it could be traced or immobilised. The chap on the line was very sympathetic, but explained I would need to speak to the police first before he could do anything. So that’s who I called next, to…

▪ Three petrol and two diesel motors at launch ▪ Range of personalisation options as VW goes ‘emotional’ Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowle AS far as safe bets go a small, Golfsized Volkswagen SUV has to be among the best. In fact, you might well wonder what took the company so long. VW, of course, has had plenty on its mind recently, but with the SUV bandwagon showing no signs of slowing, there’s still plenty of time to jump on. And jump on is what VW has done with the T-Roc, a car that’s also supposed to usher in a new level of emotion among the brand’s cars. Now your, our and VW’s definition of emotion will probably vary, but in this case it means a small SUV that features some cute design…

▪ Exclusive images give away secrets of storming new super SUV ▪ Promises class-leading driving dynamics, V8 power and 4WD Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn JAGUAR Land Rover’s recent commitment to adding an electrified powertrain to every new model launched from 2020 doesn’t appear to be coming at the expense of raw performance. The Jaguar F-Pace SVR will be the next model to emerge from JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations division (SVO), and it’ll be one of the most powerful SUVs the British brand has ever produced. Auto Express understands that the car – previewed in our exclusive images – will make its global debut at next year’s New York Motor Show, before going on sale in the UK towards the end of 2018. Priced from around £70,000, it’ll become the most powerful and…

▪ Striking Polestar 1 due in 2019, on subscription service James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods POLESTAR, the former performance subbrand of Volvo, has revealed its first standalone model, the Polestar 1. It goes into production in 2019, will be built exclusively at a new facility in China and will be available to markets worldwide, including the UK, but in left-hand drive only. The production-ready coupé has been unveiled alongside news of two further all-electric Polestar products in the pipeline: a Tesla Model 3-rivalling saloon and a larger SUV. These models will be called Polestar 2 and 3 respectively. The Polestar 1 is touted as an “Electric Performance Hybrid”. It makes use of a 338bhp 2.0-litre fourcylinder petrol engine powering the front wheels and a starter motor generator injecting an additional 39bhp, while a…

Special new BMW SUVs at the double BMW has added two new trims to its SUV line-up: the X5 Special Edition and X6 M Sport Edition (above). Both will be available in the UK from December. The X6 is finished in Long Beach blue with carbon fibre interior trim strips, which are exclusive to the M Sport Edition. The model is offered across all engine options on the X6, with the exception of the M50d. UK has world’s first Zero Emissions Zone OXFORD is set to introduce the world’s first Zero Emissions Zone (ZEZ) by banning petrol and diesel cars from its city centre from 2020. The plan – a joint proposal by the city council and Oxfordshire county council – is to ban conventional fuel vehicles in parts of…

▪ British firm launches new flagship open-top grand tourer without a V12 ▪ Fabric roof and a host of personalisation options are available Dan_Smith@dennis.co.uk ASTON Martin has revealed the new DB11 Volante, a convertible version of its flagship sports car. First customers will take delivery of the soft-top during the first quarter of next year. The convertible shares the same bonded aluminium structure that also underpins the DB11 coupé, but it comes exclusively with the 503bhp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8; there’s no V12 Volante available. Power is fed to the rear axle, which features a limited-slip differential, through an eight-speed paddle-shift automatic gearbox. Aston Martin has opted for a traditional fabric roof, which is made up of eight layers, rather than a complex folding metal arrangement. The hood takes 14 seconds…