Innholdsfortegnelse for 1524 i Auto Express

CONTROVERSIAL doesn’t really sum it up, but the reaction to Rolls-Royce building an SUV, and then to the car itself, has been somewhat mixed. A few weeks ago, I was invited down to Rolls’ sprawling headquarters in Goodwood to see the new Cullinan. I’ll admit to being apprehensive; the camouflaged spy shots hinted at a brute of a car that would be less private club and more club hammer. Could Rolls-Royce, the most luxurious car maker on the planet, really produce an SUV with the grace that’s become synonymous with the brand? The answer is yes and no. Rolls-Royce’s design boss Giles Taylor told me that he was encouraged to “go big” with “a functional aesthetic that offers no apology”. He’s done that alright. So can such a ‘high-sided’ car…

BLACK-box insurance policies are meant to help young drivers secure affordable cover, but a mistake by one provider saw a teenager’s premiums soar. Cheryl Crean from Cardiff took out a black-box policy with General Accident for her daughter, 18-year-old student Cydney, in January this year. But in April, mother and daughter were shocked when they received a series of E-mails saying Cydney had been speeding in her Fiat 500 on three separate occasions. Cydney was adamant she had not even been driving at these times, but General Accident, which is owned by Aviva, said it would be cancelling the policy, with Cheryl forced to hand over £150 in admin charges. Worse still, Cydney would have to inform any future insurer she’d had a policy cancelled, potentially increasing future premiums significantly.…

Running costs 54.3mpg (official) £51 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.4 seconds/124mph James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods THE Ford Fiesta needs absolutely no introduction, and with its latest model Ford is expanding the best-selling supermini’s appeal even further – hence the addition of the new Fiesta Active. This SUV-inspired hatchback says a lot about where the new car market has been moving over the past few years, and it could well be a package holding mainstream appeal. Ford certainly thinks so. The firm predicts up to 15 per cent of Fiestas leaving UK showrooms could be jacked-up Active models. It’s not just a single variant, either, because three separate sub-trim levels are available, plus there is a healthy spread of powertrain choices. Visually, the rough-and-ready makeover comprises new bumpers, sills and wheelarches shod with…

Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @rsp_ingram WHETHER you’ve got £350 or £300,000 to spend, there’s always a fast, fun car to suit your circumstances. From sports saloons and hot hatches to SUVs and supercars, the world of quick and quirky cars is more diverse than ever. Here, we round up our top picks across six key price bands, with some real budget options. We’ve everything from bargain bangers to high-end hypercars. Not sure what to buy? Over the next 30 pages our experienced testers highlight their top choices, plus details to look for in the classifieds. We’ve picked out key specs, plus guide prices and interesting facts on each car – giving you a simple route to your next fast and fun purchase.…

Volkswagen up! GTI Price: £13,750 Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl turbo Power/torque: 113bhp/200Nm 0-62/top spd: 8.8 secs/122mph THE up! GTI is the baby of VW’s performance line-up. If you compare its specs with those of the 1976 Golf GTI, the two are virtually identical; there’s even little between them when it comes to size and practicality. The up! started life as a city car, but VW has done a commendable job of turning the dinky runabout into an entertaining hot hatch. Its tiny 1.0-litre turbo gives out a modest 113bhp, but despite this it feels eager to rev – and the slick six-speed manual gearbox encourages you to make the most of the power. The steering is quick and accurate, while the 1,070kg kerbweight means the car feels light and nimble. WHY…

Pictures: Pete Gibson, Otis Clay Location: Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, Leics YOU might be wondering what a small French-registered sports car with an unfamiliar badge on its nose is doing lined up against two firmly established German sports models. For readers with a longer memory, though, this is an exciting moment: far from being a new manufacturer hoping to take on two of the greats, Alpine is a name with a history of motorsport victories and beautiful sports cars. The Alpine brand has some heritage to it, then, but is this new A110 model a return to the glory days of the sixties, or has the French marque got left behind during its absence from the market? The A110 is built at the firm’s plant in Dieppe, where its parent company’s Renault Sport models…

Running costs 23.0mpg (on test) £67 fill-up/£450 or 37% tax Practicality Boot 305 litres Performance 0-60mph/top speed 3.5 seconds/155mph Braking 70-0/60-0/30-0mph 45.7/33.5/8.4m MODELTESTED: Audi TT RS PRICE: £52,480 ENGINE: 2.5-litre 5cyl, 395bhp THE RS is the flagship of the Audi TT range, and at £52,480, it’s also one of the priciest models in the line-up. Still, with 395bhp this car has some pretty serious performance up its sleeve. It’s the most powerful model here, but also the heaviest, so can it match two talented rivals for pace and handling? Design & engineering WHILE the other models here are bespoke mid-engined sports cars, the TT RS is based on the same platform as the far more conventional Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3. It uses the VW Group’s versatile MQB platform, but…

Martin_Saarinen@dennis.co.uk @AE_Consumer THE supermini SUV is the latest vehicle sector manufacturers are busy trying to conquer. Buyers love them, so we will be running a new SEAT Arona for the next six months to see what all the fuss is about. At a glance, the Arona looks remarkably like our previous SEAT Ibiza. This is because it sits on the same platform – but don’t think of it as merely an Ibiza with a raised ride height; the Arona is slightly longer and taller than its supermini stablemate, and comes with more luggage space. We’ve gone for sporty FR spec, which brings stiffer suspension and pumped-up styling. Inside, there’s a standard-fit eight-inch touchscreen that includes smartphone integration. In fact, the SEAT’s tech is something I’m keen to investigate later on,…

FIRST TEST MX vs ATV All Out Price: From £34.99 Available for: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC Contact: mxvsatv.com MX vs ATV All Out returns to game consoles after first hitting the big time back in 2005 on PS2 and Xbox. The new version features off-roading action on motorbikes, quads and in dune buggies, which can all be tuned and personalised by gamers. You can mix up vehicles in one race to create some pretty wild action as well. There are also supercross tracks and point-to-point cross-country routes, plus freestyle skill events and time trial battles. One big plus point is that you can play with two people on a splitscreen. But it also features an online multiplayer mode allowing 16 gamers to join in if you want to hang…

FORMULA One has moved a step closer to adding a new US grand prix to the calendar in 2019. Authorities in Miami, Florida, have agreed to staging the event on city streets that have already hosted IndyCar and Formula E races. In a statement, Sean Bratches, MD of Commercial Operations with F1, said: “F1 in Miami represents a fantastic opportunity to bring the greatest racing spectacle on the planet to one of the world’s most iconic cities, and we are delighted that the journey is under way.” F1 has a patchy history of success with street racing. US events in Detroit and Long Beach were well received, but a trip to Phoenix in the early nineties was short-lived. It’s a similar story in other countries, with Singapore and Azerbaijan on…

“Civic saloon features more conventional styling, with a restrained, simpler rear bumper design“ A SALOON version of the Honda Civic is to go on sale in the UK, joining the five-door hatchback in the range. It arrives in showrooms in August and is likely to carry a small price premium over the five-door version. The four-door saloon first launched in North America in 2016 and will come to the UK despite the challenging saloon market. It also fills the void left by the Civic Tourer in the range by offering an alternate bodystyle for buyers. Unlike the hatch, which is produced at Honda’s UK factory in Swindon, Wilts, the saloon will be built in Turkey and shipped here. The Civic saloon is based on the same platform as the five-door…

THIS is the Aston Martin DB11 AMR, the first production model from the British brand’s newly formed performance arm. A rival for the Mercedes-AMG S 63 Coupé, the AMR directly replaces the V12 DB11 in the marque’s model line-up and gains subtle mechanical and styling improvements. Aston has tuned the 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 to develop 630bhp – an increase of 30bhp – while torque remains unchanged at 700Nm. Those tweaks and an improved shift calibration for the eight-speed automatic gearbox have cut the 0-62mph sprint time by two tenths to 3.7 seconds, while the top speed rises by 8mph, to 208mph. Elsewhere, the AMR gains a revised suspension set-up and forged 20-inch wheels. The roof and buttresses are finished in black, the tail-lights are smoked and there’s a mix of…

AN all-electric SUV will be the first model from Aston Martin’s revived luxury brand Lagonda, the company has confirmed. First revealed by Auto Express back in March, the unnamed SUV has now been teased in official sketches (below) and will arrive in 2021. It will be joined by a saloon two years later based on the Lagonda Vision Concept first seen at March’s Geneva Motor Show. The SUV will use a re-engineered version of the platform from Aston Martin’s upcoming SUV, the DBX, and it should be capable of up to 400 miles on a single charge.…

Running costs 40.9mpg (official) £93 fill-up Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @rsp_ingram THE Touareg has been a constant for Volkswagen since 2003. It was the firm’s first off-roader, and paved the way for the now four-strong SUV line-up. However, with the current car now more than eight years old, VW has decided to give the model a complete overhaul. So for 2018, the Touareg is new from the ground up. It is 77mm longer and 44mm wider than before, and shares many of its internals with cars such as the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne. It’s a more considered design than before, the wider stance and lower roof (-7mm) giving a squatter, sportier stance. The wraparound LED tail-lights provide a purposeful signature at night, too. But the biggest changes come inside, where the Touareg…

Running costs 26.4mpg (official) £79 fill-up James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods A TALL, mid-sized coupé-SUV with supercar levels of performance would appear to be the answer to a question not many people are asking. But Mercedes is never afraid to fill a niche segment, so meet the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S 4MATIC Coupé, to give the new model its full name. Under the skin it gets the full AMG treatment, so it’s powered by the familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 unit developing 503bhp and 700Nm of torque. The engine is capable of more, but it feels the right amount in the GLC 63 S Coupé. As such, the quoted 3.8-second 0-62mph sprint time feels easily achievable. It’s an amazingly flexible motor, too. Flick the optional AMG Performance exhaust button and the unintrusive burble from…

Ford Puma Price: From £350 Engine: 1.7-litre 4cyl Power/torque: 123bhp/157Nm 0-62/top speed: 9.2 secs/126mph FORD was on sparkling form in the late nineties, and the Puma was one of its greatest hits. It dropped a pretty body on to Fiesta underpinnings which, with a few choice upgrades, resulted in one of the best-handling front-wheel-drive cars of the decade. A snappy five-speed gearbox is mated to one of three engines, but the sweet Yamaha-developed 1.7-litre is the one to have. With so many used examples to choose from, Pumas remain an absolute bargain. We found a 1.7 with 12 months’ MoT for only £375, but you’ll want to spend £1,000-£2,000 to pick up the best examples. Rust is the Puma’s Achilles’ heel; it bubbles up from inside the rear wheelarches and…

“Aston wasn’t quite as fast as equivalent 911, but its thumping V8 sounded glorious” Aston Martin V8 Vantage Price: From £27,999 Engine: 4.3-litre V8 petrol Power/torque: 380bhp/410Nm 0-62/top spd: 5.0 secs/175mph THE roots of the Aston Martin Vantage can be traced back to 1977, and the name is one of the most iconic in the British car industry. An all-new Vantage has just landed in the UK, so prices of the outgoing version have now fallen to a reasonably affordable level. The V8 Vantage in question is an early 2006 model with a thumping 4.3-litre engine. Delivering ‘only’ 380bhp meant it wasn’t as fast as the equivalent Porsche 911, but it sounded glorious. In 2008, Aston updated the Vantage with a larger 420bhp 4.7-litre engine; those versions will carry a…

Running costs 34.4mpg (on test) £55 fill-up/£450 or 28% tax Practicality Boot (front/rear) 100/96 litres Performance 0-60mph/top speed 4.6 seconds/155mph Braking 70-0/60-0/30-0mph 44.0/33.2/8.3m MODELTESTED: Alpine A110 Premiere Edition PRICE: £51,805 ENGINE: 1.8-litre 4cyl, 249bhp THE Alpine A110 isn’t a new name; it’s shared with the sixties icon from which it takes its design inspiration. This is an all-new car, though, and uses a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive layout just like its namesake. It’s a thoroughly modern sports car with a 249bhp turbocharged petrol engine. Design & engineering THIS new Alpine sports car was designed with the philosophy of the original A110 in mind, and is even built at the home of the Alpine brand: Dieppe, in France. That philosophy includes an emphasis on saving weight, and it’s a real achievement that the…

Running costs 36.4mpg (on test) £78 fill-up/£140 or 37% tax Performance 0-62mph/top speed 7.4 seconds/144mph Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 560/1,665 litres THIS new GSi isn’t exactly a like-for-like replacement for the old Insignia VXR, but it’s currently the most potent version of Vauxhall’s versatile family vehicle, and the brand has gone to great lengths in reworking the model to deliver more engaging handling. That means the car gets a ‘Sports chassis’ set-up with a 10mm lower ride height, as well as FlexRide adaptive dampers with a Competition mode as standard. However, even in the more comfortable Tour setting, riding on large 20-inch alloys, the GSi is firm. It crashes into bumps and is more unsettled on poorly surfaced roads, plus you feel that sitting in the sports bucket seats as…

Performance 0-62mph/top speed 5.8 seconds/169mph Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn GETTING my hands on the keys to our Civic Type R is becoming increasingly difficult. It’s a car that has too much power and presence to be left lingering in the car park. However, every time I manage to pry the keys from a colleague, they always report back with the same mixed verdict: “It’s fantastic, but I couldn’t live with the way it looks.” Of course, styling is subjective, but I appear to be one of very few in the Auto Express office who has taken to the look of the Type R. I like how brave and bold Honda has been with the design; the Civic is unmistakably Japanese, with razor-sharp lines, blistered arches and lots of intricate details. It’s automotive…

THISWEEK’S HOT KIT NEW PRODUCT Davanti Terratoura all-terrain tyres Price: TBA Contact: www.davanti-tyres.com HOT in the wheeltracks of its new run-flat range, UK manufacturer Davanti has expanded its line-up further by launching the Terratoura all-terrain tyre. It promises a refined ride on the tarmac and extreme ability away from it with a 50/50 on/off-road bias, plus is claimed to deliver strong winter performance. It is only the seventh all-terrain tyre to be given the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3-PMSF) certification for its performance on snow, making it suitable for a wide range of tough driving conditions. Davanti says that during its assessments and benchmarking tests in Spain, Finland and at the Millbrook proving ground in Bedfordshire, the Terratoura outperformed all-terrain tyres made by established premium brands, posting shorter stopping distances on…

DASH cams are enjoying huge growth, with over 2.6 million on the road today. Drivers can not only receive insurance discounts, they can also send footage of illegal driving to the police. Since our last test in Issue 1,489, manufacturers have introduced models with 4K recording, while others still rely on 1440p (and lower) quality to help motorists in accidents. More dash cams also incorporate mobile apps so sharing and downloading footage is easier. To find out which is the best for your money, we hit the road in daylight and after dark with eight cameras. PRODUCTGROUP TEST 16|5|2018 Every week, we extensively test all the latest car kit from tyres to trim cleaners. Log on to www.autoexpress.co.uk to look through our huge online test archive How wetested them CLARITY of…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler THE inexorable rise of the SUV has finally reached the pinnacle of luxury motoring – Rolls-Royce – with the launch of the new Cullinan marking a number of firsts for the British brand. Not only is it its first SUV, it’s also the first Rolls-Royce with a tailgate and the first model that the company is happy to say is family orientated. The Cullinan claims to set new standards at the top of the luxury SUV market. It’s a proper go-anywhere 4x4, too, but with the mantra that it has to be ‘effortless, everywhere’. And the price? Expect to pay around £230,000. In the metal, the Cullinan is surprisingly shapely and smaller than you’d expect; at 5,341mm, it’s only 2mm longer than a Ghost, although it’s 216mm wider,…

AUTO Express reader Ian Bryant will spend the next 12 months behind the wheel of a brand-new Nissan Leaf after winning our Issue 1,487 competition. Ian, from Wraysbury in Berkshire, took delivery of the Leaf from Auto Express editor-in-chief Steve Fowler at West Way Nissan in Hanwell, Middlesex. The Leaf will be replacing a BMW 120d that Ian currently uses for his daily commute to his role as deputy IT director for the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Ian had already taken a test drive of the Leaf before collecting his car and couldn’t hide his excitement at taking his fully-specced Tekna model away. “I was really surprised when I took the test drive,” Ian told us. “I was expecting it to be a very different driving experience, but in many…

A PARKING ticket is now issued every six seconds in the UK, as new figures reveal the number of fines handed to British motorists has soared by nearly a million in the past 12 months. According to the RAC Foundation, last year saw 5.65 million parking fines given to drivers, up 20 per cent from the 4.71 million dished out in 2016. A decade ago there were less than 500,000 fines handed out in the whole year, with 2017 representing a 10-fold growth over 10 years. The surge in fines is partly attributed to the rise in private parking companies that use Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency information to issue penalties to drivers who may have overstayed by mere minutes, or who haven’t been able to pay because of dodgy…

WHEN car manufacturers disappear, the vehicles they made live on for much longer, often changing owners for years before they finally end up in the scrapyard. Cars from brands such as Chrysler, Saab and Lancia can still be bought in quantities on used sites, but what about spare parts and servicing? With no dealers around to help out, to whom can owners turn? It turns out that there’s a wide web of independent specialists catering for those who still drive products of defunct brands. We spoke to six of them to find out if the living dead are still worth owning and what spare parts and servicing are like. SAAB Weald Automotive, Kent TWELVE years ago, Saab main dealer technician Darren Worsley grew sick of commuting and set up his…

Peugeot 205 GTi Price: From £6,000 Engine: 1.9-litre 4cyl Power/torque: 130bhp/165Nm 0-60/top spd: 7.8 secs/127mph IS the Peugeot 205 GTi the greatest hot hatchback of all time? In terms of sheer excitement, it makes a strong case for itself. Whether you choose the revvy 1.6 or the brawny 1.9-litre engine, performance is strong, and both versions are hooked up to a delightful five-speed manual gearbox. Then there’s the handling – brimming with feel and the sort of agility only a sub-900kg sports car can possess. It thrills as much now as it did in 1984, and on the right road it still holds giant-killing potential. The fun, desirability and increasing rarity are reflected in GTi values. Expect to pay upwards of £6,000 for a high-mileage 1.6, while the 1.9 still…

“V8 offers a heavyweight sound with pops, bangs and burbles” Ferrari 488 GTB Price: £183,984 Engine: 3.9-litre V8 twin-turbo Power/torque: 661bhp/760Nm 0-62/top spd: 3.0 secs/205mph IF you had to provide a car to perfectly encapsulate what Ferrari is about, the 488 GTB would top the list. It’s stunningly sleek, has a V8 mounted behind the seats and sends power to the rear wheels. The engine is the perfect riposte to those critical of turbocharging: there’s virtually no lag, and it provides a heavyweight V8 soundtrack complete with pops, bangs and burbles. The 488’s looks aren’t just for show. Its bodywork boosts downforce by 50 per cent over the 458, without increasing drag. The result is a car that can corner harder and faster than ever before. It’s not surprising, then,…

Running costs 24.6mpg (on test) £78 fill-up/£450 or 34% tax Practicality Boot (front/rear) 150/275 litres Performance 0-60mph/top speed 3.9 seconds/177mph Braking 70-0/60-0/30-0mph 44.0/32.9/8.1m MODELTESTED: Porsche 718 Cayman S PDK PRICE: £53,853 ENGINE: 2.5-litre 4cyl, 345bhp THERE are plenty of options when you’re picking a 718 Cayman. First, you can choose between the standard car and this 2.5-litre 345bhp S model. Then there’s the manual or PDK auto boxes; it’s the latter we have to match its rivals, at £53,853. Design & engineering LIKE the Alpine, the Porsche 718 Cayman S’s engine is situated behind the driver and within the wheelbase of the car. While the Porsche’s unit also has four cylinders, it’s a flat-four, with the pistons moving in and out in a ‘boxer’ motion rather than up and down…

VAUXHALL has drawn upon its recent history to find an applicable tag for its faster, sub-VXR vehicles, and brought back a famous badge with the Insignia GSi. We’re testing the car here in diesel Sports Tourer form (there’ll also be a petrol version added later in the year) to see if the hotter Insignia adds extra performance to an already impressive package. The tuned-up diesel motor produces more power, which means the newcomer is an obvious rival for the Volkswagen Passat Estate 2.0 TDI in R-Line trim. The VW offers space, pace, efficiency and a lovely interior that’s loaded with equipment, so the Insignia faces tough competition here. While the GSi has more power, it’s also pricier than the Volkswagen, so does this combination work in its favour, or will…

Performance 0-62mph/top speed 11.4 seconds/118mph Practicality Boot (7/5/2-seat modes) 233/572/1,737 litres Running costs 44.8mpg (on test) £66 fill-up Steve_Walker@dennis.co.uk “ONE day, I’m going to buy my very own MPV.” It’s not a phrase you’re likely to hear uttered by a starry-eyed youngster who’s just seen a heavily laden people carrier pull into a car park. MPVs are just not a category of car that lots of folk aspire to. People are forced into MPVs out of necessity, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Renault’s Grand Scenic is an MPV and during our test we’ve come to appreciate its simple versatility and its valiant attempts at not appearing too family focused or practical to the casual observer. Now it’s time to say goodbye – while coming to a conclusion on…

Performance 0-62mph/top spd 7.2 secs/142mph CO2/tax 109g/km (C 220 BlueTEC) £20 or £140 FOR as long as we can remember, the compact executive car market has consisted largely of the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class. One or two rivals have cropped up along the way, with the Jaguar XE now a key contender, but for more than 20 years most buyers in this class have gravitated towards one of these three. It’s easy to see why they’re so popular, although the car that really stands out is the C-Class. Thanks to its three-pointed star badge, it’s seen by many as the ultimate status symbol. But whereas a Mercedes used to be only for the very wealthy, the model is now mainstream; not that this makes it any…

THE World Rally Championship hits Europe this weekend for Rally Portugal, one of the founding events of the series and also one of its toughest rounds. In many ways it’s similar to the last rally in Argentina, with fast gravel stages that see the lead cars sweep the dust clear of the stages to allow drivers behind to set faster times. Last year’s event was won by Ford’s Sébastien Ogier, who currently leads the WRC standings, 10 points ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. Ogier matched Markku Alen’s record five wins in Portugal in 2017, so will be hoping for a good run to make it a record six triumphs in the Portugese event. But with Neuville breathing down his neck and Argentina winner, Ott Tänak, looking to build on his…