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Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news IN THIS issue we’re unashamedly devoting more pages than usual to electric cars. We’ve teamed up with colleagues on our sister title DrivingElectric to answer all your questions about living with an EV, and review every car with a plug that you can currently buy. We’re well aware that electric cars aren’t for everyone; I get plenty of E-mails from readers telling me precisely that. For many it’s petrol (or diesel) or nothing – and that’s fine, we get that. We’ll continue to balance what we write about electrified cars with more great stories about cars we love with internal-combustion engines. What none of us can avoid, though, is that our government (and others) have decided to ban the sale of…

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for your daily news updates All-new Peugeot crossovers expected in 2022 with fresh style 3008 may morph into coupé-SUV, 5008 to focus on practicality John McIlroy John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy PEUGEOT is planning a major overhaul of its 3008 and 5008 models for their next generations – due in 2022 – making the brand’s smaller crossover more of a coupé-SUV and refocusing the larger one on practicality and family-friendly usability, Auto Express can exclusively reveal. The two models were revamped completely back in 2016 and 2017, when they switched from being unfashionable pseudo-MPVs into more style-focused SUVs. They’re expected to be facelifted within the next six months, gaining fresh in-car tech and some more efficient powertrains on top of subtle revisions to their exteriors. But thinking further ahead, Peugeot’s chief…

First taste of 242bhp vRS Petrol, diesel and plug-in to be offered Christoph Richter CZECH Republic, Mlada Boleslav. It’s the location where Skoda was founded 125 years ago, and today it’s where we meet the company’s latest, and arguably most controversial model, the new Octavia vRS. For the first time, Skoda will make the vRS available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, alongside petrol and diesel options. It’s a big shift for a car which has long been a huge success story for Skoda: one in five Octavias sold in the UK is a vRS. To see how the firm’s Volkswagen Golf GTI rival is shaping up, we’ve been for a passenger ride with the man in charge of the car’s development, Skoda’s Board Member for technical development, Christian Strube. Despite…

Q4 Sportback concept revealed First Audi to use MEB platform James Brodie James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods THIS is the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron concept, a thinly veiled glimpse at an upcoming all-electric, baby coupé-SUV due in showrooms next summer. As per the brand’s naming conventions the concept is a coupé-SUV variant of the regular Q4 e-tron, which was first revealed at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Both the regular Q4 e-tron and Sportback version will launch together and become Audi’s first model based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform for electric vehicles. Audi claims that the concept is 90 per cent the finished article; a few detailed surface tweaks and the addition of door handles will be the only notable changes between this and the showroom model. Biggest alterations for the Sportback…

MG has launched an updated version of the ZS SUV, adding a range of styling and technology upgrades. The revised model is on sale now, priced from £15,495, climbing to £17,795 for the range-topper. Cosmetic revisions over the outgoing model include new 17-inch alloy wheels, a redesigned front bumper with fresh LED headlamps, a revised radiator grille and an updated rear bumper with a tweaked skid plate and fake exhaust tips. Buyers can also choose a new Battersea Blue paint finish. Inside, the old car’s eight-inch infotainment system has been ditched in favour of a new 10.1-inch unit, which offers support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. MG has also fitted a new centre armrest for the front seats. Rangetopping Exclusive variants add sat-nav, a 360-degree camera system, heated leather…

ELSEWHERE within Audi’s electric SUV ranks, high-performance S versions of the e-tron have been launched. Badged e-tron S and e-tron Sportback S, the two feature extensive powertrain and chassis revisions, alongside design changes inside and out. They are the only versions of the e-tron available with a larger 95kWh battery; the normal e-tron is now only available with a smaller 70kWh unit. The high-performance pair use a new three-motor set-up, with two electric motors powering the rear axle and one at the front, for a combined output of 489bhp and 973Nm of torque. Audi says 0-62mph takes 4.5 seconds and 223 miles is achievable on a full charge. Visually, the e-tron S gets a new front bumper, larger rear diffuser and 21-inch alloys as standard. Uprated air suspension and stronger…