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Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news WELL that makes a change: this week we’ve been behind the wheel of some of the most important – and most exciting – cars we’ve driven for a while, and there isn’t a hint of electrification in sight. Let’s start with the Aston Martin DBX: it’s a simply astonishing car. Quite how chassis guru Matt Becker and his team have managed to make an SUV handle more like a sports car is something I can’t fathom. The combination of clever engineering and use of modern technology has produced a car that’s sensational to drive. It’s also got a fabulous 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 under the bonnet that catapults the DBX down the road at an incredible rate of knots, and it sounds…

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for your daily news updates Eighth-generation Golf GTI driven for the first time Revised suspension and electronics boost performance Andreas May THIS is the latest instalment of a 44-year-long genre-defining machine. It’s the all-new Volkswagen Golf GTI, back for an eighth-generation and still arguably the most iconic version of VW’s hatch. Once again it’s an exercise in evolution, rather than engineering brute force. The new GTI provides power, performance and front-wheel drive economy in a package that’s more pliant and affordable than the range-topping Golf R. As such, the new GTI uses the same platform and engine as its predecessor. Power stands at 242bhp with 370Nm torque, though, which means that the standard GTI now develops as much power as the Mk7 Performance model. However, that’s a figure…

Will benefit from S-Class tech Due to go on sale in mid-2022 Jonathan Burn Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn THINGS move fast in the premium SUV market, and Mercedes is already under way with the development of a thoroughly overhauled version of its mid-sized GLC. Due to be launched in the middle of 2022, the GLC will round off one of the busiest periods in the Germans firm’s history as a flurry of new models heads to showrooms. The GLC is one of the newer members of Mercedes’ SUV family, launched back in 2015, but it already contributes a huge chunk of the company’s profits. SUVs account for more than 33 per cent of the firm’s global sales, and the GLC is the brand’s best-selling SUV in the UK. To ensure the Mercedes…

First Skoda on MEB platform Real car revealed 1 September Alex Ingram Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram PRODUCTION of the Skoda Enyaq iV draws ever closer, and these new official sketches give us our clearest look yet at the new all-electric crossover ahead of its official launch on 1 September. The images confirm that the Enyaq iV will draw plenty of inspiration from the Vision iV concept that was revealed last spring. Some of the showcar’s details, such as the slim headlights and rear-view cameras, will fall by the wayside for the production car, but the overall shape and dimensions (a footprint between that of a Karoq and a Kodiaq) remain familiar. The top edge of the bold front grille dictates the shape of sharp creases along the bonnet; this angle then also…

THE new Kia Sorento has gone on sale in the UK, with a choice of three trim levels and prices starting from £38,845. The Korean brand’s latest SUV flagship is being launched with a choice of two powertrains – a 226bhp/225Nm 1.6-litre petrol hybrid, and a 199bhp/440Nm 2.2- litre diesel – but a plug-in petrol hybrid is expected to join the range later this year. All versions of the car will have seven seats, and even the entry-level ‘2’ spec (which comes only with petrol power) includes LED headlights and tail-lights, 17-inch alloy wheels, USB charge ports for all three rows of seats, dual-zone airconditioning, a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and an eight-inch infotainment system that includes Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a reversing camera. Stepping up to ‘3’ trim…

PSA’s premium brand DS is expected to treble its model range in just a couple of years, Auto Express can reveal. DS has already confirmed that a DS 9 saloon (above) will join the existing DS 3 Crossback and DS 7 Crossback early next year, but the brand’s UK boss Alain Descat has said that further expansion is planned. Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Descat said, “We are going for a six-car showroom.” After the DS 9 saloon, two versions of a new DS 4 model – spied testing earlier this year – are expected to follow in both hatchback and Crossback forms. They’re likely to sit on a new version of the PSA EMP2 platform that will allow full electrification rather than just plugin hybrid tech, as on current…