Auto Express 1556

WHILE many things remain uncertain as we enter 2019, particularly in the UK’s political climate, the next 12 months in the car industry look set to be the most groundbreaking we’ve had for some time. The industry has been shifting towards electrification for a number of years; Nissan and Renault have been the main protagonists, encouraging people to make the switch to e-mobility with the Leaf and ZOE respectively. While both are convincing alternatives to a petrol or diesel hatchback, they have always demanded some sort of compromise from buyers – on cost, range or quality. However, 2019 could be the year that the electric car is no longer considered a left-field alternative to petrol or diesel but rather the first choice. An avalanche of new EVs will land in…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● Skoda to give next family car coupé look, plus higher-grade cabin ● Petrol and diesel remain; plug-in hybrid and 48v mild-hybrid likely SKODA is gearing up to launch a true rival for the VW Golf and Ford Focus, the Scala, in the first half of this year – but the Czech manufacturer is also preparing a radical overhaul for its biggest-selling model and established family car, the Octavia. The new Octavia should be revealed in the second half of 2019, with a public debut likely at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the autumn. The huge probable gains made by the Scala over its unloved predecessor, the Rapid, should gift Skoda with plenty of scope to upgrade the Octavia, its biggest-selling model globally. And insiders say the fourth-generation…

“New T-Cross-sized all-electric SUV could have a price tag of less than £20,000” James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods VOLKSWAGEN has already extensively previewed how it intends to build and structure its eagerly awaited line-up of all-electric I.D. vehicles from later this year, but Auto Express understands that a new, undisclosed member of the I.D. family is being planned by executives in Wolfsburg. While the production I.D. hatchback will be the starting point for the brand’s upcoming all-electric line-up when it goes on sale in the autumn, it might not be the cheapest for long. A small, T-Cross-sized all-electric SUV is being considered, and it could go on sale with a price tag of less than £20,000 early next decade. Our exclusive main images preview how it could look. With a footprint similar to…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy TESLA has proved that it’s possible for a car company to go from nothing to one of the industry’s biggest stories in just a few years. But the established brands already know they’ll face dozens of so-called ‘disruptors’ over the next decade. One of the freshest arrivals is Rivian, and Auto Express has had a chance to catch up with the man behind the firm. Robert ‘RJ’ Scaringe is a graduate of the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been an entrepreneur for most of his life. But as a lifelong car fan, he’d worked out by his early twenties that he really wanted his own auto company. There were plenty of false starts over a nine-year period, as Scaringe adjusted Rivian’s ‘raison d’etre’. But when the…

NEW research claims diesel black cabs in London emit up to 30 times as much NOx as petrol cars of the same age. In a study that saw 100,000 vehicles’ emissions measured with beams of light and portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS), scientists from The Real Urban Emissions Initiative (TRUE) also found Euro 5 cabs produce 50 per cent more NOx than Euro 3 and 4 cars. Mayor Sadiq Khan called the report “damning”, although he added it was “encouraging” that nearly 1,000 taxi drivers had switched to electric cabs. LEVC said its new electric TX “will gradually replace” diesel black cabs; the company aims to get 9,000 TXs on the capital’s streets by 2020.…

PORSCHE has revealed the 718 Cayman and Boxster T, two new lightweight and driver-focused variants of its entry-level sports cars. Following on from the 911 Carrera T, the ‘Touring’ variants are stripped of any unnecessary weight and equipped as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox, although auto buyers can still choose the automatic PDK transmission if they prefer. The diet includes ditching the regular cars’ infotainment systems (buyers can re-install the set-up if they wish), and swapping the standard door pulls for nylon straps. Both T models will use the smaller of the two engines in the Boxster and Cayman line-ups: a 2.0-litre four-cylinder, producing 296bhp and 380Nm of torque. Top speed is 171mph and manual cars will sprint from 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds, with PDK models taking 0.2 seconds…