Innholdsfortegnelse for 1603 i Auto Express

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk ● Vision T unveiled at LA Show previews Hyundai’s new design ● Company says it will strongly influence a new car we see in 2020 HYUNDAI used the Los Angeles Motor Show to preview a next-generation C-segment SUV that will arrive in 2021 with plug-in power and an appearance that’s “muscle car in SUV form,” according to one of the brand’s chief designers. Called the Vision T concept, it is, in essence, an early glimpse at the next-generation Tucson (which has already been spied testing on public roads), although Hyundai has yet to confirm as such. The concept has been envisioned with plug-in power, but no details have been released. Instead, it’s all about showcasing the design direction Hyundai will take next. SangYup Lee, head of Hyundai’s Global Design…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk ● We drive car on road and on the Nürburgring ● Beautiful handling, and rock solid at 170mph LET’S get one thing clear straight away: the Hyundai RM19 you see here is not a prototype of a production car that will appear in a year or so. Instead it is, according to the Hyundai engineers who have built it, a rolling test bed for various technologies that will appear in the future. So that’s the PR side of things out of the way. Because what I can also tell you is that the RM19 is very much the Mk1 prototype of a Hyundai that will enter production in Mk2 form costing a lot less than £100,000, possibly as soon as 2021. It’s fitted with the 390bhp powertrain from Hyundai’s…

MEANWHILE Toyota revealed its new plug-in hybrid RAV4 in Los Angeles. Called the Prime in the US – although it’s unlikely to have that name when it reaches the UK next year – it’s powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, a lithium-ion battery pack and two electric motors. The combined output of 298bhp gives the car a claimed 0-60mph time of 5.8 seconds and an all-electric range of 39 miles. It also has Toyota’s electric all-wheel-drive system, with the petrol engine and one electric motor powering the front axle, and the second motor driving the rear axle. The specifications of UK models have yet to be confirmed, but US versions get a few styling revisions over the standard car, such as a unique grille, piano-black exterior trim, a new…

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk AUDI has broadened its range of hot RS models with the launch of the new RS Q8 at the LA Motor Show. The rapid SUV will be pitched as a rival to the BMW X5 M and Porsche Cayenne Turbo. As expected, the RS Q8 wears an aggressive bodykit with larger front air intakes, a blacked-out radiator grille, deeper side skirts, flared wheelarches and a large rear diffuser that houses the trademark RS oval exhaust tips. As standard, the RS Q8 rides on 22-inch alloy wheels. Inside, there’s a pair of heated, cooled and massaging sports seats, an RS-branded Alcantara sports steering wheel, aluminium pedals and a range of RS-specific displays for the SUV’s digital gauge cluster and 10.1-inch infotainment system. The car is powered by the same 48-volt…

tristan_shale-hester@dennis.co.uk IN general terms, £8,000 is a lot of money. For that you could fill up the tank of an average family car approximately 114 times, or buy 2,133 copies of Auto Express. On the new-car market, though, £8,000 doesn’t go all that far. For example, the best-selling new car in the UK, the Ford Fiesta, starts at £15,995. But you could save £8,000 if you opted for a £7,995 Dacia Sandero Essential instead. True, it’s not the best-equipped car in the world, but it covers the basics with electric front windows, a DAB radio and air-conditioning. Which made us think: is it worth sacrificing the sharper handling and better interior of a Fiesta to save £8,000? And if you did, what could you do with that money? To find…

MODEL TESTED: Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport 1.6 200PS SRi VX-Line Nav PRICE: £26,365 ENGINE: 1.6-litre 4cyl, 197bhp VAUXHALL’S Insignia Grand Sport is an Auto Express New Car Awards winner, having taken the crown this year in the Large Family Car category. This 197bhp 1.6-litre petrol model was taken off sale just before we went to print, but there will be plenty of models available new from dealer stock. It costs £23,365, while there is a 1.5-litre model with 163bhp available that costs £24,825 in SRi VX-Line Nav trim. Design & engineering THE Vauxhall’s engine is only a little larger in capacity than the 1.5-litre engine in its rivals, but it produces 197bhp and 300Nm of torque, so performance is excellent. It’s fitted with a six-speed manual gearbox. Like the VW…

FOR years Mercedes’ mid-size SUV model wasn’t available in the UK due to constraints of converting it to right-hand drive, but that changed in 2015 with the launch of the brand’s GLC. Now, four years later, the car has rather fallen by the wayside under the onslaught of other premium off-roaders. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Jaguar F-Pace, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Porsche Macan and Volvo XC60 all occupy this space, showing just how crowded this area of the market is. However, it’s BMW that Mercedes has always fought closely, and the X3 is the car most closely aligned to the GLC – which is why we’ve pitted the two together here. This test will be fought on many fronts, so let us see how the Mercedes…

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Audi e-tron Issues 1,579, 1,585, 1,594 BMW 3 Series Issues 1,576, 1,584, 1,597 Citroen Berlingo XL Issues 1,579, 1,591 Ford Focus ST New arrival Honda CR-V Hybrid Issues 1,576, 1584, 1,591 Jaguar I-Pace Issue 1,588, 1,595, 1,602 Jaguar XE Issue 1,593 MINI Clubman New arrival Renault Mégane R.S. Issue 1,581, 1,593 Skoda Scala Issue 1,600 SsangYong Musso Issues 1,590, 1,598 Suzuki Jimny Issue 1,601 Toyota Corolla Issue 1,602 Volkswagen Touareg Issues 1,580, 1,585 Volvo S60 New arrival…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk ● Ogier’s Toyota move blamed ● Lappi left searching for drive CITROEN has brought an early end to its current World Rally Championship programme and will not contest the 2020 season with its C3 WRCs, it has confirmed. The French brand cited six-time world champion Sebastien Ogier’s decision to leave the team at the end of this year as the main reason for its early departure. In a statement, it explained: “Citroen has taken the decision to pull out from its programme without a first-class driver available to fight for a world title following Ogier’s departure.” However, the statement also refers to the company “reinforcing its marketing focus on brand strategy, to address the current stakes regarding energy transition with the launch of a new generation of electrified models”.…

Motoring’s most outspoken and opinionated columnist sounds off “Kia has been transformed from a no-hoper to a borderline premium player in just a couple of decades” I’VE spent much of my life working out of the world’s car capitals: Beijing, Detroit, Paris, Seoul, Tokyo, Turin, Wolfsburg, and not forgetting once-notable motor industry hamlets such as Dagenham (now a 100 per cent vehicle production-free zone), Longbridge (very quiet) and Swindon (almost gone). But at this time of the year at least, the epicentre of the automotive world is Los Angeles. For starters, late November marks the arrival of the World Car Awards (officially, the largest consumer automotive competition on the planet) LA Test Drives programme, in which dozens of WCA judges/jurors/executioners from all corners of the globe drive and score the…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk ● 390bhp from 2.0-litre turbo engine ● Precursor to halo model for N division ALONGSIDE the Vision T concept (see Page 12) at the Los Angeles Motor Show, Hyundai also unveiled the RM19 prototype. It signals the Korean firm’s intentions to launch a performance car that will act as a halo model within Hyundai’s N division. The name, RM19, refers to the prototype’s ‘Racing Midship’ configuration, which is something that Hyundai claims will give the vehicle “supercar-level handling balance”. The RM project has been in the works at Hyundai since 2012 and has resulted in three separate concept cars. The difference with the RM19 is that this is a running prototype. It’s powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine taken from Hyundai’s TCR racer, as well as that…

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk ● 200-mile battery range likely ● UK sales due to start in 2021 THIS is the Lexus UX 300e, the Japanese firm’s first all-electric vehicle, which was revealed at the Guangzhou Motor Show in China. The UX 300e will go on sale in the Far East next year, before reaching the UK market in 2021. The compact crossover is powered by a 54.3kWh lithium-ion battery, which feeds an electric motor mounted on the front axle. The powertrain develops 201bhp and 300Nm of torque, and offers support for 50kW fast-charging. Lexus also claims that its new electric SUV will cover 250 miles between charges, although that figure is according to the old NEDC test regime. A WLTP figure has not been revealed, but around 200 miles seems likely under the…

Pininfarina poised to reveal EV concept car ALL-electric Italian luxury brand Automobili Pininfarina has teased the first of a new range of models set to follow its existing Battista hypercar. The Pura Vision concept (above) will be revealed at the annual Pebble Beach car show event in California next August. The production version will be the first of four new cars to arrive before 2025. It will use a new ‘skateboard’ electric-car platform and take its inspiration from historic GT designs such as the Alfa Romeo Superflow with its glass canopy. Government’s car tax losses triple to £94m THE amount of revenue lost due to people not paying road tax has tripled since the abolition of the paper tax disc in October 2014. Department for Transport data shows an estimated…

James_Batchelor@dennis.co.uk We take part in the epic London to Brighton run, and take a look at the new Honda Jazz. See both at youtube.com/Autoexpress. Is Vauxhall’s new Corsa the top ’mini? IT’S been the year of the supermini, with a flood of newcomers arriving to fight for class honours. One of the newest, the Renault Clio, went straight to the top, beating Ford’s Fiesta. But can the brand new Vauxhall Corsa pull off a similar surprise? Our Alex Ingram finds out in this film. We guide you round new Aston DBX SUV THE Aston Martin DBX is finally here. I say finally, because it’s been in the making for four years and previewed in a series of teaser images. Recently, I had the chance to ride shotgun in a prototype both…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress Write to: Watchdog/Letters, Auto Express, Dennis Publishing Ltd, 31-32 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP HOT TOPIC Lister’s hot I-Pace FROM: P Lowen THIS looks absolutely lovely. Its value-for-money is rather dubious, but there’s no doubt it’s uber-premium. The standard Jaguar I-Pace won World Car of the Year for good reason, so let’s hope the Lister SUV-E will be even better still. FROM: Ben Clark VERY cool concept, but how feasible is it in reality? Electric cars are still at the cutting edge of design and Jaguar put a lot of hard work, expertise and money into developing the I-Pace. Can a smaller firm like Lister genuinely improve it? Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk ■ “Great idea to cut some weight off the car, but £125,000 seems an aggressive…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk TRISTAN’S trip demonstrates how the list-price savings between a Fiesta and a Sandero would fund a healthy splurge over a weekend in France (and, in case you’re worried, I’m told he did have to hand everything back, apart from – thankfully – the oysters). But if it’s such a no-brainer, how come Britain’s car buyers keep choosing the Fiesta? The answer is in the small print of the comparison box on the previous page. It shows that while there is a yawning chasm between the two cars on cash price, the difference on a PCP finance deal – which is how four fifths of private customers in the UK get their superminis – is more of a hop, skip and a jump. Stick down the same £3,000 deposit for…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk IT’S pretty reasonable to suggest that the Corsa ranks higher than any other success story in the Vauxhall brand’s history. Since the first model went on sale in the UK 26 years ago (later than Europe; the Corsa A was our Nova), Vauxhall has sold a staggering two million of them. Even though the previous version was getting a bit long in the tooth, it still managed to outsell any other model in the brand’s range by more than two to one, and rank in the top four overall in UK sales this year. And now there’s an all-new version. Last week, we sampled the Corsa, but that model had a 128bhp 1.2-litre turbocharged engine that we won’t be getting in the UK. So now we’ve tried a petrol…

MODEL TESTED: Skoda Superb 1.5 TSI 150 SE L PRICE: £27,725 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 148bhp THE Skoda Superb has always been highly competitive in this class, because it’s one of the most spacious cars around. Here we’re testing an SE L model with the 1.5-litre petrol engine and a manual transmission, which costs £27,725. Design & engineering THERE are a few external changes for this updated Superb; new headlights, a new grille and redesigned bumpers are the most significant alterations. It’s still based on the widely used VW Group MQB platform, which means it shares parts and engines with many other models. The new Superb will be available in 2020 with plug-in hybrid technology, but here we’re looking at a 1.5-litre petrol with a six-speed manual gearbox (a DSG auto…

Skoda Superb Amundsen touchscreen sat-nav Standard Key features: Nav, smartphone link AN eight-inch Amundsen touchscreen system is fitted as standard on SE L trim. A larger Columbus set-up is available for £1,210 and adds an 9.2-inch screen, a DVD drive and integrated WiFi. We’d stick with the Amundsen, though, because it’s still a great system. You get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus sat-nav, and the screen itself is very good. It’s responsive, looks sharp, and is quick to load up. The menus are bright and easy to understand, so it’s quick to get to the functions you need. The Superb is now available with a digital instrument cluster, too, but this costs £465 and wasn’t fitted to our test car. It’s called Virtual Cockpit, which is the same name…

BMW’s CLAR architecture is now well known, but the X3 was one of the brand’s earlier cars to be launched on this platform. The underpinnings have gone on to be used in the 3 Series, for example, a car that rides and handles superbly. However, the driving behaviour of SUVs such as these is often a compromise, because they have a higher stance and weigh a great deal. For example, the X3 is 1,750kg – albeit lighter than the 1,835kg Mercedes – but BMW has done its best to tune out any dynamic shortcomings, so the X3 steers and handles comparatively well. The ride does have a slightly firmer edge than the Mercedes’, though, even if it deals with big bumps just as well. Despite this firmer sensation, the X3…

Dawn_Grant@dennis.co.uk MY new fleet car is here, and the latest MINI Clubman has so many features that I feel like I’m going back to school learning about them all. After a little while without running a car, I’m glad to be back in one, and I’m even more glad that it’s this particular car. Looking at the specifications on paper, our Clubman should be perfect for my life in south-west London. Being a MINI, it’s small enough that I shouldn’t have any trouble fitting into tight car parks or down streets with vehicles that are parked all over the place. But because it’s the larger Clubman model, the MINI should also have enough room for family trips – and even though I’ve only had the car a short while, my…

WHEN it comes to getting jobs done in the dark, such as loading, repairing or sorting out breakdowns, having a head torch in the car is a big help. Easier to use than a conventional torch and always lighting where you’re looking, a head torch is one of the most practical tools you can own. In our last multi-test (Issue 1,592) the Coast FL13R became our new champion, and here it’s going up against two new rechargeable models from Draper and Sealey. We tested each torch during a series of jobs on the car and in the garage, as well as outside and for distance use. We looked for comfort, beam spread, ease of adjustment, and practicality, while additional features such as a flashing mode, red beam, zoom function and…

Hyundai R&D boss Albert Biermann, Hyundai’s head of research and development, talks to Auto Express about the future of the N brand’s halo car and how RM19 will affect other models. Q This car is pure concept, but how will it inform a production model? A “At this point, it’s not really clear whether we will bring it to a customer or not. Will it just look like this or will we make a new upper body on it? It’s all not there yet. But the concept would be pretty much clear – mid-engined, rear-drive.” Q What about power? Could electrification play a role? A “Oh yes. We’ve made a whole new chassis, but the chassis was also developed so that we can incorporate more power sources. And we are…

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk ● Prices start from £180,000 ● Upgraded air suspension MERCEDES has revealed a Maybach-badged version of the new GLS, designed to take on the Bentley Bentayga at the top end of the luxury market. The Mercedes-Maybach GLS shares its platform and body with the standard GLS SUV, but has a redesigned front bumper, radiator grille and rear bumper. It’s also fitted with Mercedes’ Multibeam LED headlights and 22-inch alloy wheels as standard, although 23-inch alloys are available as an optional extra. It comes with a pair of active running boards, which are hidden behind the SUV’s side skirts. When one of the car’s doors is opened, the step automatically deploys and the air suspension system lowers by 25mm, to make access that little bit easier. Buyers can specify the…

Karma unveils electric concept with 1,085bhp KARMA Automotive has revealed a new electric hypercar, called the SC2 Concept, at the recent Los Angeles motor show. The car has an all-electric, all-wheel-drive powertrain, which includes a motor mounted on each axle. The headline figures read: 1,085bhp and a 0-60mph time of less than 1.9 seconds. The concept is powered by a 120kWh lithium-ion battery pack that offers a claimed range of 350 miles. Councils earn £930m surplus from parking COUNCILS in England made a surplus of almost £1 billion from parking operations in the 2018/19 financial year. The figures, reported to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and analysed by the RAC Foundation, show 353 councils in England took in a total of £1.746 billion from parking operations, making…

Vicky_Parrott@dennis.co.uk ● First taste of electric SUV ● 99kWh battery and 333bhp SITTING in the back of a camouflaged Mach-E as it’s driven around an airfield on the outskirts of Los Angeles is a surreal experience, but it does give a taste of what this all-new, pure-electric SUV has to offer. When the regular Mach-E goes on sale at the end of 2020, it’ll be offered with both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive, with two battery options, and with three power outputs: 255bhp, 282bhp and 333bhp. Our four-wheel-drive 4X model has the big 99kWh battery and highest power output. The first thing that really strikes you is how much space there is. Even with the optional fixed glass roof, there’s room for someone well over six feet to stretch out.…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk ● Body able to withstand sledgehammer blows ● 0-60mph in just 2.9 seconds TESLA boss Elon Musk has stunned the world once again with the unveiling of the all-new Cybertruck at the company’s Design Centre in Los Angeles. The Cybertruck is big: it’s 5,885mm long, 2,027mm wide and 1,905mm tall, so it’s actually longer than a Rolls-Royce Phantom. Tesla also says it can take a payload of up to 1,587kg, there’s 2,832 litres of lockable exterior storage and it will tow up to 6,350kg. The load bay is 1,981mm long. Musk also confirmed that the most powerful Tri-Motor, all-wheel-drive model will do 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds, hit 130mph and can travel over 500 miles on a charge. In the US that model will cost $69,900 (about £54,400), but the…

THE following provide help with motoring problems. Some services are free, others charge a fee or operate on premium-rate lines (p), while some offer advice for members only (m) Legal AA: 0345 850 1130 (m) RAC: 0330 159 1446 (m) Which?: 01992 878329 Citizens Advice Consumer helpline: 03454 040506 Local Trading Standards Local Citizens Advice Bureau Used car inspections AA: 0800 056 8040 RAC: 0330 159 0720 Technical advice AA: 0370 142 0002 (m) Driving licences DVLA: 0300 790 6801 Car registration/history HPI: 01722 422422 AA: 0800 316 3564 DVLA: 0300 790 6802 RAC: 0330 159 0364 Traffic information AA: 0906 888 4322 RAC: 09003 444999 (p) Problems with dealers The Motor Ombudsman: 0345 241 3008 Consumer Ombudsman: www.consumer-ombudsman.org RMIF: 0845 305 4230 Scottish Motor Trade Assoc. 0131 331 5510…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk MERCEDES has the healthiest SUV line-up in the business. But the German firm appears to have spotted a gap nobody else knew existed and created this, the new GLB, which takes its SUV tally up to eight. Rather than stick with its predictable and (let’s face it) rather dull Russian-doll approach to styling, Mercedes has given the GLB a far more boxy and purposeful look. In fact, from some angles there’s more than a whiff of baby G-Wagen about it. It’s a welcome tonic to the current crop of rather repetitive SUV silhouettes. Despite sitting in the segment beneath the more premium GLC, there’s only millimetres between the two cars; the GLB may be 22mm shorter and slightly narrower, but it’s 24mm taller. To give it a unique selling…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk WE like the Alfa Romeo Giulia here at Auto Express, and why wouldn’t we? It’s a great-looking saloon car that drives very well. But it had some issues, mostly around the quality of its interior, plus a lack of connectivity and autonomous safety kit. Enter the 2020-model year Alfa Giulia you see here, which doesn’t look or even drive a whole lot differently from the original, but whose interior has been significantly improved. Not just visually and in its quality, but also from a technical point of view. Inside, not only is the centre console far more premium in both look and feel, but there’s also a better-looking and more functional new set of digitised instruments. Plus the big infotainment screen to the side of these can be operated…

MODEL TESTED: Volkswagen Passat 1.5 TSI SEL PRICE: £27,380 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 148bhp THIS refreshed Volkswagen Passat has new tech and some small cosmetic changes, just like the Superb. In SEL form with the 1.5-litre petrol engine, matching its Skoda rival very closely, it costs £27,380. Design & engineering UNLIKE the other cars in this test, the Passat really is a saloon, with a separate cabin and boot. The Superb and Insignia have hatchback tailgates, despite their saloon-like body shapes. This is a key distinction, because there are relatively few actual saloon cars in this class now, so if you prefer having a separate boot and cabin, the Passat is the only option, at least in this test. Like the Superb, the VW’s front has had a small redesign, and…

NEW: Toyota Camry Hybrid Design PRICE: £29,995 ENGINE: 2.5-litre hybrid, 175bhp THE Camry offers something a little different. It’s a traditional hybrid, so there’s an electric motor and a battery that’s charged using the engine. A Passat GTE is available, but this is a plug-in model, so the Toyota is the only normal hybrid in this segment. USED: BMW 520i M Sport PRICE: £23,799 ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4cyl, 181bhp YOU don’t even need to stretch to £27,000 to get into a great large saloon. We found several used examples of the current BMW 5 Series with around 10,000 miles that cost less than £24,000. It rides and handles brilliantly, and has lots of space.…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk Takeaway is a hot problem Q I LIVE some way from the town where we buy a takeaway treat every so often. Trouble is, the food is tepid at best when we get home and has to be reheated. What’s the best way to keep it warm? Simon French, E-mail A YOU could invest in an insulated bag, which will help retain heat and slow its loss. A more costly solution is a cool box which also heats. The best from our Issue 1,570 test was the Mobicool G35 (above, £116.96 from amazon.co.uk), which can heat to 65 degrees C. It has a 35-litre capacity and works both on 12V and mains power. Removing track day marks Q AFTER a track day my car is streaked with black marks…

Buick Riviera Norm Mort (Veloce Publishing, veloce.co.uk) Price: £15.99 THIS is a pretty small title for the price, but we enjoyed the period adverts and photos, which are characteristically American: bright, cheerful and retro. There’s no denying the Riviera is one of the most striking cars of its time and there’s a decent potted history of the 1963-73 model here, but you’ll get through it fairly quickly. Porsche 911: The Practically Free Supercar Robert McGowan (Starbunker, starbunker.com) Price: £15.99 WHILE this is clearly written from a die-hard enthusiast’s perspective, the author isn’t so blinkered as to ignore the 911’s flaws, which is good. You’ll need to read it cover to cover to benefit most, although it’s quite a short read, so this isn’t a hardship. There’s lots of buying advice…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk Engine seized out of warranty Q MY BMW’s engine has seized due to a lack of oil, although I didn’t get a warning light. And the dealer has voided my warranty because I didn’t service the car on time. What can I do? JA, E-mail A THE service schedule was not followed, so you will have difficulty. You could commission an independent engineer to see if the problems were linked to the servicing delay but this would be at your own expense, and it’s unlikely the dealer will change its mind. Asking for a goodwill payment may be your best option. How smart are motorways? Q IF the speed limit on a motorway gantry reduces as you drive under it, can you be fined? And,…

ESTEBAN Ocon is set to make his on-track debut for the Renault F1 team, driving in the Pirelli tyre test on the Tuesday and Wednesday following this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale. The 23-year-old Frenchman spent 2019 as Mercedes’ reserve driver, having made his debut for Manor in 2016 and raced for Force India in 2017 and 2018. He has been signed by the works Renault squad in place of Nico Hulkenberg, with Daniel Ricciardo remaining in the other car. Williams’ George Russell, who like Ocon is a Mercedes-affiliated driver, could take over Ocon’s role for the Silver Arrows at the Pirelli test. Canadian Nicholas Latifi – who’s believed to be a strong candidate for the second Williams race seat in 2020, alongside Russell – would get some…