Auto Express 1625

THIS week, Citroen’s ground-breaking Ami (above) went on sale in France. Sadly it’s not coming to the UK – yet. Let’s just remind you what the Ami is: it’s a small two-seat urban runabout that’s shorter and narrower than a Smart ForTwo, uses battery power for a range of 44 miles, and lets your smartphone do the job of an instrument binnacle. In short, it’s very clever – and very Citroen. Then there’s the cost. It’s gone on sale with a price from 6,000 Euros (£5,252) – or it can be leased for 2,641 Euros down (£2,311) and 19.99 Euros (£17.50) per month! In a world where public transport is increasingly looking like an unattractive proposition, an affordable personal transportation solution such as the Ami really does seem like the…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn MERCEDES is applying the finishing touches to two of its most important new cars of the decade: the EQA and EQB. The compact electric crossovers will rival the Tesla Model Y and form part of the German marque’s extensive 10billion Euro (£8.7bn) investment plan that will see it launch 10 EVs as part of the EQ project by 2022. The EQA, which is due to be revealed before the end of this year, will be unique in the premium crossover segment as the only fully electric compact crossover. Competitors from Audi and BMW are still years away from production, so Mercedes will hope to steal a march on its rivals by diving into the segment first. We knew of Mercedes’ intention to launch the EQA several years ago…

Vicky_Parrott@dennis.co.uk @VickyParrott AT the heart of every electric car is a battery. And if the UK government follows through on its promise of banning the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040, we’ll all be driving them in the not-too-distant future. Battery tech is advancing quickly, so to guide us through the developments Mercedes’ head of battery research, Professor Andreas Hinntenach (right), told Auto Express how the technology could evolve over the next 20 years. While today’s examples are already very sophisticated and enable a driving range of between 200 to 300 miles in many electric vehicles, they rely on lithium-ion cells that suffer from a number of issues. First, the precious metals they use, including lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt, are mined at great cost, financially and ecologically.…

Essentials SEATLeon Mk4 Entry point: £19,855 (1.0 TSI 110PS SE) Engines: 1.0 108bhp petrol 1.5 128bhp petrol 1.5 148bhp petrol 2.0 113bhp diesel CO2: 111g/km-133g/km Trim levels: SE, SE Dynamic, FR (FR Sport, Xcellence & Xcellence Lux later) ONSALE Now Essentials Skoda Octavia Mk4 Entry point: £22,390 (1.5 TSI 150PS SE First Edition) Engines: 1.5 148bhp petrol 2.0 113bhp diesel 2.0 148bhp diesel DSG CO2: 113g/km-130g/km Trim levels: SE First Edition, SE L First Edition, SE Technology (S, SE & vRS later) ONSALE June “A lower starting figure gives the SEAT Leon an early price advantage over the Octavia” “Cheaper Octavia S due before the end of 2020 will pretty much match the SEAT’s entry point” John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy THE new SEAT Leon is set to undercut its near-stablemate the Skoda…

Hyundai warms up its next hot hatchback THIS is our first official look at what will be the next car to enter Hyundai’s burgeoning performance car line-up: the i20 N. As we revealed a month ago (Issue 1,620), the company is in the final stages of developing a hot supermini to rival the Ford Fiesta ST and Volkswagen Polo GTI. Hyundai says the prototype you see on the right is undergoing winter testing in the Arctic Circle, and while the camo is slowly coming off to reveal the sporty bodykit, technical details are firmly under wraps. In a new teaser video on YouTube, Hyundai World Rally Championship driver Thierry Neuville puts the i20 N through its paces. Although the company has not confirmed any technical specifications, you can clearly hear…

Ford Puma ST bares its claws for first time THE new Ford Puma ST SUV will be revealed in the coming weeks, and this new teaser image (above) is our first official glimpse. It shows that the ST will gain a slightly sportier bodykit than regular ST-Line versions of the car, and a separate video clip of the car revving its engine all but confirms that threecylinder power will be sourced from the Fiesta ST, giving the Puma ST the same 197bhp power figure. It’ll be on sale in the UK by the end of the year, priced from around £27,000. Fresh Kia Sportage line-up goes on sale KIA has shuffled its Sportage SUV line-up for 2020, and the main change is a restructuring of the trim levels. Four trims…