Auto Express 1527

JAGUAR’S new I-Pace has been four-and-a-half years in the making and, as you’ll read on Page 24, it’s certainly been worth waiting for. The electric SUV is the birthchild of Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart (above), JLR’s technical design director. After 23 years at BMW, and playing a role in the creation of the German firm’s i Division, he knows a thing or two about EVs – and with the I-Pace it shows. But even Ziebart didn’t spot the gap in the market for luxury electric vehicles. He wasn’t alone – bosses at Mercedes, Audi, Ford, Toyota and Honda (among others) all missed buyers’ appetite for high-end EVs. Tesla got there first and showed the established powers within the automotive industry the massive opportunity they had missed. Without Tesla, would cars such…

• Dramatic new rival to X6, GLE Coupé and Range Rover Sport • Packed with luxury and driving technology from A8 limousine “The Q8 is shorter, wider and lower than the Q7, which helps to give it a sporty stance” John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy AUDI has added an all-new model to its SUV line-up – the Q8. It’s the sister vehicle to the Q7 and a new entry in the popular coupé-SUV sector. The Q8 is 4,986mm long – so it’s about 66mm shorter than the Q7 – but it shares that car’s wheelbase and is longer overall than both of its obvious rivals, the BMW X6 and Mercedes GLE Coupé, as well as the Range Rover Sport. It’s also 27mm wider than the Q7 and this, along with a lower roofline,…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram THIS is the all-new BMW X5; the fourth generation of the large SUV. The German brand has sold 2.2 million examples since the car made its debut in 2000, and the latest version looks to build on that success in the face of stiff opposition from the likes of the Audi Q7 and Volvo XC90. Longer, wider and taller than the outgoing X5, the new model takes on a mild styling evolution. The most notable change is at the front: huge kidney grilles, with active flaps to improve aerodynamic efficiency, dominate the car’s face. They’re flanked by a pair of headlights with optional laser technology, able to shine up to 500 metres ahead on full beam. At the back, the split tailgate gives access to a 640-litre boot.…

“It’s a proper sports car, with sweeter steering and a stiffer chassis” mail@autoexpress.co.uk BMW has an unusually candid way of describing the key difference between the old and new Z4. It now admits the previous version was a model to drive on a Sunday afternoon, because it wasn’t really a true-blue sports car. But the new Z4, which we’ve tried here in Z40i prototype form, is a car to drive early on a Sunday morning, BMW says, before the sun has come up and when there’s no one else around; the inference being that the previous model was a softie at heart, while this new one has become a proper driver’s car. And do you know what? Having driven this virtually production-ready Z40i prototype on both road and track, with…

“Drivers caught speeding could receive a warning, with no action taken if no other offences are detected” SPEEDING drivers could soon be given a warning instead of points and a fine, under new plans by Police Scotland. According to the force, drivers in Scotland caught over the limit could receive a warning, with no action taken if there are no further speeding offences detected within three months. Drivers caught speeding within that time frame would be issued a ticket for the second offence. Police Scotland has yet to disclose the thresholds that would trigger a warning over a fine. Current rules allow police to issue a warning instead of a fine, but no official record is made. By formalising the system, officers would be able to accurately track speeding infractions.…

THE price of petrol and diesel at the pumps of supermarket forecourts has risen every single day since March, according to a new analysis of fuel costs. On 26 March, the average cost of a litre of unleaded from one of the ‘big four’ supermarkets (Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco) stood at 116.66p, while diesel was 119.35p. By 23 May, those prices had risen to 124.74p and 127.69p respectively, according to the RAC, which conducted the research. The increases were blamed on the rising cost of oil, together with poor pound to dollar exchange rates which are having a negative effect on the dollar-based wholesale oil price for UK consumers. RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “This is the worst series of consecutive daily supermarket price rises we’ve seen since…