Innholdsfortegnelse for 1643 i Auto Express

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson • Grand Wagoneer is aiming high • Hi-tech with hint of ’60s classic NEXT year’s new Range Rover will have fresh competition in the form of the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. This is a reborn version of the company’s original flagship that first appeared in 1962, and it’ll go on sale in the US in early 2021. There’s no word yet on whether it will be available in the UK, but when it reaches the American market it will take Jeep into new territory, with a price range expected to start from around £100,000. Although technically a concept for now, the Grand Wagoneer’s styling is very representative of what the showroom model will look like. It shares the same bluff front end and boxy panelling as Jeep’s current model…

CONCERN Lack of public charging points REALITY Charge point reliability and availability need to improve; home charging for people without driveways and garages is also problematic. CONCERN EV ranges are too low REALITY The average driver covers just 20 miles a day, and many EVs have 200+ mile ranges; long trips and high-mileage drivers will require en-route top ups, though, so infrastructure is crucial. CONCERN EVs are too expensive REALITY EVs are pricier than petrol and diesel cars, but costs are coming down and will continue to do so, while running costs bring big savings. CONCERN Electricity network can’t cope REALITY National Grid has largely put this concern to rest, with infrastructure improvements already being introduced and smart charging managing demand.…

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson HOT on the heels of the revised Peugeot 3008 comes the new 5008. The seven-seater gets new tech and a refreshed design, and will go on sale in the UK at the end of this year, alongside the new 3008. The most noticeable changes have been made to the 5008’s exterior styling; the car now shares the same family face as the 208 hatchback and 508 saloon, with a large, frameless radiator grille, similarly shaped headlamp units and a pair of extended, hook-shaped LED daytime running lights. Inside, Peugeot has revised the 5008’s infotainment set-up. There’s an updated version of the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and an all-new 10-inch infotainment screen that controls the car’s interior functions. A series of seven ‘piano keys’, which provide convenient access to…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram • 4x4 introduces plug-in power • New diesels and trim level, too LAND Rover’s new Defender has barely been in showrooms six months and it’s already received its first update. Among the changes comes the introduction of a plug-in hybrid model, which becomes the most fuel efficient yet most powerful version yet. Badged the P400e, the PHEV powertrain is the same one found in the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport PHEVs, so there’s a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine, an electric motor and a 19.2kWh lithium-ion battery. It has a combined output of 398bhp and 650Nm, which is enough to help the Defender crack the 0-62mph benchmark in 5.6 seconds. Possibly more important for owners, though, is the fact that the plug-in model can tow up to 3,000kg.…

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.consumerombudsman.org RMIF: 0845 305 4230 Scottish Motor Trade Assoc. 0131 331 5510 Problems with makers The Motor Ombudsman: 0345 241 3008 Financial problems Financial Ombudsman: 0800 023 4567 Safety concerns/recalls DVSA: 0300 123 9000…

BY 2030, it’s estimated that around 60 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities. As more people migrate to urban areas, the final leg of the logistics journey will become ever-more crucial, and technology is helping to transform it for the better. Many of the latest electric vans have already adopted cutting-edge on-board tech to help with the last mile. Alice Axtell, product manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, says use of data is key in understanding efficiency. “If you look at some of the really big fleets, they can tell you who their best drivers are, who uses the least fuel, who’s the most efficient, she says. “And I think absolutely that kind of data is really important.” Next generation Technology will be at the heart of…

sean_carson@dennis.co.uk A FEW years after Alfa Romeo launched its excellent Giulia compact executive saloon, BMW brought out an all-new 3 Series that was as dynamic as ever but offered more comfort and refinement, as well as a lot more technology. While the two cars’ model cycles are offset by a few years, it hasn’t stopped Alfa updating its handsome four-door to keep it competitive against some of the best in the business, including that BMW, the Mercedes C-Class, Audi’s A4 and the Jaguar XE. All are great cars. The Alfa always had dynamic ability on its side – we’ll come to that in a moment – but what it lacked was the tech to rival its competitors. So for this MY20 car, the brand has improved its infotainment, with the…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods THIS is the Renegade 4xe, and as Jeep’s first plug-in hybrid, it’s quite a moment for the famous off-road brand. The Renegade 4xe uses a 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo that drives the front wheels in tandem with an 11.4kWh battery pack and electric motor powering the rear axle. Longitude and Limited (driven here) models use a 128bhp version of the petrol engine and a 59bhp electric motor, for a combined total of 187bhp. The Trailhawk version gets more power, however, with a total output of 237bhp. More important are the fuel economy and emissions figures. Jeep claims between 122.8 and 134.5mpg, with CO2 ranging from 49-52g/km. Benefit in Kind tax costs company car drivers 12 per cent, and a 31-mile range is claimed on a full battery. With…

Audi A3 MMI Nav Plus Standard Key features: Twin-screen set-up The A3’s infotainment has trickled down from more expensive Audi models and features a 10.1-inch touchscreen, supported by a 10.25-inch dashboard. The screen responds rapidly to your inputs and it features haptic feedback. The graphics are great, too, and the system provides plenty of flexibility thanks to its features – although you can use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto if you’d prefer. The phone tech works really well, thanks to the system’s fast responses, but the standard infotainment’s menus are also easy to navigate. The digital dash panel ahead of the driver is highly configurable and can show the nav map in full screen, as well as control the multimedia tech. It’s not positioned in the dash quite as well…

products@autoexpress.co.uk AS with so many things at the moment, our annual summer tyre test is the same, but different. We’re as determined as ever to ensure you have the knowledge to buy the safest tyres for your car, yet our test changed due to travel and distancing restrictions. Handling on wet and dry roads was rated by Auto Express, but for the first time at the MIRA proving ground in Nuneaton, Warks. The braking, aquaplaning and cabin noise tests were done at Goodyear’s facilities at Mireval, France and in Luxembourg by proving ground staff. Not ideal, but our thanks go to Goodyear for its efforts in making the test happen in these difficult times. We tested the world’s top-selling tyre size – 205/55 R16. We last looked at this in…

FALKEN starred in last year’s SUV tyre test, where it came close to securing a first victory. But that was with the FK510 SUV, and the ZE310 we’re testing here had a much harder time this year. Just as with the Pirelli (above), a joint ninth finish actually represents only small deficits across the majority of tests. The Falken was happiest in the deep water of the aquaplaning tests, where it took two podiums. It was only a few percentage points behind the best in tests where performance gaps are usually large. It was less effective in the shallower depths of the wet handling and braking tests. It was just shy of two metres off the best in braking, but was a bit of a handful on the handling track.…

ANOTHER new tyre, this time from the Hankook stable, where Laufenn is an associate brand. It’s not well known in the UK – even the experienced tyre professionals at MIRA hadn’t heard of it – but this performance suggests there’s a fair bit of Hankook’s original-equipment development experience in the S Fit EQ+. The stand-out result has to be that win in dry braking, which it just snatched from Maxxis. However, that didn’t translate into a similar performance on the handling track where it was eighth, albeit just half a second off the best. It felt soft in the turns and lacked sharpness beyond the initial turn-in, requiring plenty of lock through the longer turns. It was similarly restricted by a lack of front-end grip in the wet. That made…

FINNISH winter tyre specialist Nokian shook up the established order back in 2019, when it took victory in our SUV test with its Powerproof. This time it is the turn of the Wetproof touring tyre, which was launched to take the fight to the premium brands in 2018. The Wetproof couldn’t quite match the win of its bigger brother, but it still managed to put some big names behind it. The heart of its success was in the wet disciplines, where it finished second only to the Michelin across the four tests. While it was a few places off the top, it managed to stay close to the best performers. In wet braking it was fifth, but just a metre or so off the best. It was even closer to…

IT can’t be stressed enough that this is a very closely matched result and there are no bad tyres here – unlike in some of our previous tests. Pirelli won’t be happy, but pushing the P7 up the results wouldn’t take much, while fuel economy doesn’t help an otherwise decent result from Falken. It may be still be able to hack it, yet you can’t help but feel there needs to be a Dunlop BluResponse 2. And although Continental’s result remains a mystery, it’s a delight to drive in the dry. There’s next to nothing between the next three with Laufenn impressing on its debut, Bridgestone proving a frugal option, and Maxxis continuing its performance progress. “This is a very closely matched result – there are no bad tyres here”…

CO2/tax 82-102g/km Free-£150 Running costs 72-91mpg (1.6 HDi) £63 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 11.1 seconds/117mph PEUGEOT is one of the world’s oldest car brands; in the 130 years it’s been making vehicles it’s produced no shortage of family favourites. Many of its most appealing models have been hatches – not least its brilliant 205, which many reckon was one of the automotive high spots of the eighties. Trying to come up with sequels to such a talented all-rounder was never going to be easy and Peugeot hasn’t always managed to recreate the magic that was present in its eighties’ cars. However, the second-generation 308 hatchback had plenty to offer, thanks to its stylish design, composed ride, engaging driving experience and high-quality interior. And as a used buy this smart model…

HOW OUR GUIDE WORKS PERFORMANCE: This is the manufacturer’s claimed acceleration time for a car, and is measured from 0-60mph or 0-62mph (0-100kph), in seconds. ECONOMY AND EMISSIONS: The combined economy figure in miles per gallon and its emissions in grams per kilometre of CO2. Figures are the best achieved in the latest WLTP tests, but will vary according to equipment and are unlikely to be representative of everyday efficiency. INSURANCE: Group rating as quoted by the Association of British Insurers. WARRANTY: Next to each manufacturer’s name is the basic warranty period in months and miles for the mechanicals, corrosion and paintwork. EVs and hybrids will have dedicated battery cover. LIST PRICE: This is the on-the-road figure and includes VAT, delivery to dealer, 12 months’ road tax, number plates and…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods • Advanced newcomer takes comfort and convenience to next level • First to use fresh platform that will underpin all marque’s saloons THIS is the all-new Mercedes S-Class, boldly hailed by the brand as “the best car in the world”. It goes on sale in Europe in December, priced from around £82,000. The S-Class is the first Mercedes to be based on a new generation of the firm’s MRA platform for saloon cars. This means that alongside the model’s traditional fastidious approach to luxury and comfort, the new version is an important milestone for the company. It comes with a technological revolution inside the cabin that will set the tone for the next C-Class and E-Class. Mercedes has confirmed two versions for the European market, based on a…

THE UK’s drive towards an electrified vehicle fleet will require a vast expansion of public and workplace chargers, according to fresh research. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) recognises home charging accounts for 60 per cent of all top-ups, but claims the UK will need 341,000 to 430,000 charge points by 2030, up from 22,613 today. An estimated 5.2 to 6.7 million EVs will be on the road by then, when 50 to 70 per cent of new-car sales are expected to be ultra-low emission vehicles. The ICCT says 30 per cent more public charge points must be added every year to meet this demand, while recommending these points should be fast chargers in order to facilitate quick changeovers between sessions. The government initially planned to outlaw sales of…

ELSEWHERE at VW, the firm has revealed the new Golf Estate, which lands in UK dealerships at the end of the year. The new wagon is considerably longer than before, with a gain of nearly 35cm taking it to 4,633mm, while the wheelbase increases by 66mm. As a result, boot capacity is 611 litres with the rear seats in place, and 1,642 litres with them folded. That’s a gain of 22 litres over the Mk7 Golf Estate, but it’s still 50 litres less than you’ll find in the latest Skoda Octavia Estate. The Golf’s luggage area contains bag hooks, fastening rings and load-bay lighting as standard, while a powered tailgate and foot-gesture control are available. The relatively modest gain in boot space reflects that VW has used the extra length…

HOT TOPIC Council road closures FROM: Paul Biggs ROADS need to work for everyone, not just cyclists. Most people drive to their destination, often out of necessity. We never voted for the roads to be closed to cars and councillors didn’t campaign on it. It also delays emergency vehicles. FROM: AV LOCAL authorities wanting to encourage people out of their cars seem not to have considered that lockdown was predominantly over warm months. Come winter, the utopian vision of people cycling and walking everywhere will lose appeal. Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk “Drivers fund road maintenance via VED and fuel duty. Why should cyclists have priority?”Andy Raine “These measures damage the economy and increase pollution from worsened traffic.”Stephen Hawkins “Do the people who have introduced these closures drive anywhere themselves?…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods MY favourite Bond car chase comes courtesy of Pierce Brosnan, Famke Janssen, a winding Alpine road heading towards Monte Carlo, a peloton of unsuspecting cyclists, and a red Ferrari F355 GTS taking on Bond’s silver Aston Martin DB5. Far from being the movie that made the DB5 Bond’s ultimate Aston of choice, Goldeneye was a bit of a low point for MI6’s most famous agent, because for the next few movies he had BMW company cars. Goldeneye’s chase between Maranello’s brand-new targa and Newport Pagnell’s grandfather clock would be the last Aston-badged action we’d see until Q handed over the keys to a vanishing Vanquish in Die Another Day. Of course, the benefit of a floating timeline means that while Bond rarely changes, everything else around him –…

Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @rsp_ingram THE Audi e-tron has been on sale for a little more than a year now, and as is the way with the German company’s product cycles, it’s time to welcome the coupé-inspired e-tron Sportback to the UK. The recipe, as you’d expect, follows the format Audi has already applied to the Q3 and upcoming Q5. The e-tron Sportback’s sloping roofline sacrifices two centimetres of rear headroom for a shape that’s claimed to be more aerodynamically efficient. It’s certainly more eye catching – although whether that’s for better or worse, we’ll leave for you to decide. However, this is still a 2.5-tonne SUV that not only looks huge, but feels it from behind the wheel, too. On the move, the newcomer is all but indistinguishable from the existing e-tron.…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn AMID a turbulent 2020, you’d be forgiven for thinking that new-car projects would have been put on hold, as car makers respond to see-sawing sales figures and fast-shifting buyer trends, not to mention the upheaval in their own working patterns. But in fact, the car industry seems determined, as is often the case, to pull itself out of the current mess by bombarding us with new models. There’s a particularly hectic period coming up where some fresh vehicles are arriving a few months later than planned, but in general the launch schedule is as busy as ever over the next 12 months and beyond. The dominant trend – more so than ever – is electrification. Pretty much every car company has its own take on pure EVs trundling…

NEW: Audi Q3 35 TFSI Sport PRICE: £31,620 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 148bhp IF space is more important than kit, for similar money to our A3 with options you could pick up a Q3 with the same engine in Sport trim. It gets most of the same equipment but a lot more space, practicality and, some might say, style. USED: Jaguar XE D180 R-Dynamic HSE PRICE: £29,950 ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4cyl, 178bhp ALTERNATIVELY, if you’re buying premium then badge image is important to you, so how about a fully loaded but lightly used 2019 Jaguar XE in D180 R-Dynamic HSE spec? With plenty of kit, it’s lots of premium and practical car for the money.…

Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @rsp_ingram Running costs Official range/tax 144 miles/£0 Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 211/731 litres THE MINI has always been one of the finest-handling small cars on sale and a model closely associated with the phrase ‘handles like a go-kart’; so much so that MINI even makes reference to it in places. Keeping true to that term, the three-door hatch has retained its playful handling with each new generation, building on a tried and tested formula with more powerful engines and clever chassis tech. But as well as all the usual petrol models, the zero-emission Electric version of the Oxford-built runaround still handles exactly like you’d want and expect a MINI to. The single electric motor makes 181bhp and 270Nm of torque, so it’s got the grunt to rival even the…

AS brand licensee Goodyear’s focus switches to its own products, the development of Dunlop tyres looks to have been put on the back burner. This tyre has been around since 2013, won this test in 2014, and was a close runner-up in 2017. There will have been tweaks and upgrades to the product over the years, but fundamentally this is still a seven-year-old design. And the opposition – not least stablemate Goodyear – has moved things on. Despite its age, it is still a deep-water star, taking the win in a straight line and a close third in the lateral test. Sadly that didn’t translate to wet handling, where it struggled, and it needed more than three metres longer to stop than our winner. On track it was limited by…

ALONGSIDE the run-flat DriveGuard this is Bridgestone’s tyre for the touring market, which available for a broad 14 to 21-inch wheel range. When we tried it in 18-inch form back in 2018 we felt it was more of a tyre for smaller sizes, where drivers were looking more for comfort over driving dynamics. And the result in this year’s test goes some way to supporting that view, because it finished a few percentage points closer to our winner. There is little to choose between fourth to sixth place here, but the T005 is the one you want if you cover high mileages, because the Turanza will cut fuel bills by around four per cent compared with the Maxxis or Laufenn. And that hasn’t been achieved by totally compromising wet grip…

THE Primacy 4 is another prime example of how our SUV tyre test last year upset the conventional order. The Primacy 4 finished at the bottom of the table in equal seventh, a little further from the front than our bottom two here. It was as if the French maker had turned the clock back to its focus on fuel economy at the expense of wet grip. But thankfully this car-sized version is a much more balanced design. It was the top performer overall in the wet tests, despite not winning an individual assessment. Three podiums and a fifth were enough to see off its rivals. There was a similar feel to the Nokian on the track, where the strong front end gripped on the throttle through the longer turns,…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk • Touring cars’ 2020 season gets under way • Champion Michelisz set to defend title THE FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) finally gets its 2020 season under way on 12 September, becoming the last major motorsport series to get back to racing following the forced Covid-19 shutdown. Zolder circuit in Belgium is the venue for the opening round of the considerably compressed and shortened 2020 schedule, which is only visiting European countries. Salzburgring in Austria was due to host the curtain-raiser, but the promoter there cancelled the event due to Covid concerns, forcing a switch to Zolder, which has hosted rounds of the European Touring Car Cup and World Touring Car Championship in the past. On track, the reigning WTCR champion Norbert Michelisz is back to defend his…

Daimler CEO WE sit down with the boss of Mercedes-Benz to see how the pandemic has affected the company Q THE UK Government is looking to ban the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars by 2035. Do you feel that is realistic? A WE’VE made a very clear strategic decision that the future of mobility will eventually be emission free – we call it Ambition 2039. The future will be emission free and now we are going there. We’ve put the stake in the ground with 2039, but it cannot be achieved by 2035. I don’t think we need to debate that too much at this point in time – we need to get on with it, to solve the problem. And that’s what we’re doing. Q THE…

Hugo_Griffiths@dennis.co.uk @hugo_griffiths A VAST survey of almost 18,000 drivers has found almost half will consider an electric car when it is time to replace their current vehicle. The poll of 17,628 AA members, conducted with ITV’s Tonight current affairs programme, found 47 per cent of motorists will consider an electric vehicle for their next car, with women (49 per cent) slightly more likely to be mulling over an EV than men (46 per cent). People living in London were most likely to say they would look at EVs (56 per cent), while 60 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 will consider going electric when it’s time to upgrade, a figure that fell to 56 per cent for 35 to 44-year-olds, and 48 per cent of those aged 55…

AN all-new version of one of the UK’s biggest-selling crossovers, the Vauxhall Mokka, is heading into showrooms with petrol, diesel and electric power. The only petrol engine available is the PSA Group’s familiar turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder unit. Two outputs are available: the entry-level model produces 99bhp and 205Nm of torque, while the range-topping variant offers 128bhp and 230Nm of torque. Vauxhall will also offer the Mokka with a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine linked to a six-speed manual gearbox. The brand says it’ll return up to 65.7mpg on the WLTP combined cycle, with CO2 emissions of 114g/km. Above the combustion-engined models sits the pure-electric Mokka-e. It’s powered by the same electric drivetrain found in the Vauxhall Corsa-e and Peugeot e-208, which comprises a 50kWh battery pack and a front-mounted electric…

Fresh looks, tech and safety kit for latest Q2 AUDI has refreshed the Q2 small SUV for 2020 (above), updating the styling as well as adding new in-car and safety tech. Matrix LED headlamps are available for the first time, while the front and rear bumpers have been redesigned. Inside, all but the base versions now feature the 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit digital display, while standard safety kit now includes autonomous emergency braking. Top-spec models add to that semi-autonomous parking. Plug into the digital-only World EV Day THE inaugural World EV Day kicks off this week, and Auto Express and sister site DrivingElectric.com are the official media partners. A purely digital event, World EV Day is on 9 September and is designed to help consumers learn about the sustainability benefits of…

VOLVO has expanded its premium Care by Volvo subscription scheme to the whole of the UK, following a trial period in London. Buyers will pay a flat rate for access to a Volvo vehicle, including all servicing and maintenance costs. The scheme is priced noticeably higher than for a conventional PCP finance deal, but it incorporates much more flexibility; a 30-day trial is included, and the cancellation notice period is a mere three months. Prices start at £559 per month for an XC40 T3 Momentum, and also include digital online sign-up and dedicated customer care. Insurance remains an add-on cost due to UK regulations; you can take out a Volvo policy or source your own cover.…

INSURANCE companies have failed to pass on savings to consumers, following a 48 per cent reduction in the number of claims in the second quarter of the year, thanks to roads that were significantly quieter due to lockdown. Data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) shows a huge fall in claims between April and June 2020, and while average premium costs are at a four-year low of £460, it’s claimed that the industry has saved £1bn as a result of reduced payouts. Data from the Cabinet Office shows that the amount of vehicles on the road was at 1955 levels at the peak of the lockdown in April, when traffic was down by 73 per cent. James Blackham, chief executive of pay-per-mile insurance firm By Miles, said the way traditional…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram THIS is the Renault Captur E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid. The newcomer takes Renault down a different route to many electrified competitors in the compact crossover class, such as the Peugeot e-2008 and Kia e-Niro, which offer buyers of small SUVs a fully electric alternative. With the exception of the battery, the Captur E-Tech shares much of its powertrain with its Clio Hybrid stablemate; the engine is a 1.6-litre petrol unit, which is supported by two electric motors. One drives the front wheels in EV mode and offers up to 205Nm of torque. The second is a more compact unit, which operates as part of a starter/generator system. It enables the petrol engine to kick into life almost instantly when needed, and also to harvest brake energy to top up…

sean_carson@dennis.co.uk BMW’s M Division has always been about fast saloons, and the new M8 Gran Coupé is one of the fastest four-doors out there. Available in the UK only in Competition spec, its 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 makes a massive 616bhp and 750Nm of torque – enough to hurl even this 1,980kg car from 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds, thanks to four-wheel drive. As with the latest M5 Competition, you can decouple the front axle and make the M8 rear-drive only if you want, but this also disables the traction control – and to do that is to undersell the M8. Its long wheelbase means it does what big M Division saloons do best, with plenty of control and balance. Yes, it’s large and yes, it’s weighty, but there’s a surprising level…

LED LIGHTS THESE cars’ ‘faces’ are heavily influenced by their LED light signatures. The Audi’s look has been subtly tweaked over its predecessor, with sharper LEDs, a more defined grille and super-precise creases in the bodywork. In comparison the Mercedes is a little curvier, but with its LEDs flanking the down-turned grille, it’s equally as striking, and both cars look the premium part. TECH THIS is one of the massive areas that defines this sector of the market – and one area where the A3 has really caught up. Its predecessor was lacking, and when the A-Class arrived it really moved the game on. The Merc still feels at the cutting edge of the class, while Audi has used know-how from its high-end models to load the A3 with the…

NO firm wants to prop up the results – especially with a new tyre – but that’s the case for Formula One supplier Pirelli. Although the Cinturato P7 name has been around since 2009, this is a new tyre launched this year. As is Pirelli’s wont, the name is the same, but some call it the C2 to distinguish it from its predecessor. It already enjoys multiple original equipment listings, as did the previous version and, although a joint-ninth finish is not what the Italian maker would want to see, there are positives. This test is one of the closest we have conducted, and the P7 was less than two per cent behind our winner. On track that deficit was split pretty equally between wet and dry. In the former…

IT’S hard to know what’s going on with Continental’s PremiumContact 6. In 2018, albeit in 17-inch form, this tyre was our winner. A year later, at the same Uvalde proving ground but in an SUV size, it was fifth, with none of its trademark wet-weather prowess to see. Instead, we got a super-frugal tyre. This time, with the 16-inch version, we got something in between. Gone was the economical SUV tyre, and this version would use around four per cent more fuel than the frugal Goodyear. Some of its wet-weather performance also returned, and while aquaplaning is not a design priority for the German manufacturer, it was a little further off the pace than we expected. Its focus on braking was definitely back because it took a win in the…

TAIWANESE producer Maxxis was a regular in our tests in the noughties, and last featured in 2010. It didn’t trouble the leaders then, but now it’s making waves in tests, not least in our sister title Evo’s look at 18-inch tyres in 2019. It would have been a contender for the win had Evo been able to buy it in time for the test. With that result in mind, we were looking forward to trying its 16-inch offering, the Premitra 5 HP5, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s been around since 2016, yet it saw off several newer designs. The Premitra delivered a mixed bag of results, with the high being a win in curved aquaplaning, backed up by a very competitive fourth in the straight-line assessment. It was also fourth…

NEW for 2020, the EfficientGrip Performance 2 takes a debut win by the narrowest of margins. When Goodyear launched the new design earlier this year, it claimed the newcomer had a 50 per cent longer life than its predecessor and outperformed Michelin, the accepted durability master. The natural trade-off for longevity is wet grip, and we’ve not seen Goodyear taking its usual place among the leaders in these tests. It was fifth across the four tests but, like some others, stayed close to those at the top of the results. Although it was a tenth or two off the best it felt good behind the wheel, with a strong front but a rear that was kept in check. Move across to the dry track and the latest EfficientGrip came into…

Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk Q Why pay more VED for lower CO2 emissions? IN your Mercedes GLA versus Volvo XC40 test (Issue 1,637), you say the XC40 produces more CO2 than the GLA 220. So why does the Mercedes cost £475 a year in road tax, when the Volvo only costs £150 per year? Anthony Lovett, E-mail A THE price as tested is £43,260 for the Mercedes and £39,450 for the Volvo. After the first year, which is based on CO2 emissions, all new cars pay a flat rate of £150 per year (with concessions for hybrids and EVs). But cars costing more than £40,000 new are charged a £325 annual supplement from years two to six. As such, the figure is £150 for the sub-£40k Volvo and £475 for the pricier GLA.…

IF you fancy yourself as a tough, high-profile big shot who tells weaker individuals what they can and can’t do, you have to practise what you preach, right? So that’s no cigarettes for anti-smoking campaigners; no illicit affairs for those who promote family values; no venison for vegetarians. Similar rules surely have to apply when it comes to transport-related matters. For example, if anti-car campaigners really do hate cars and the people who use them, how about having the courage of their convictions by not driving, or travelling aboard? Trouble is, they often do. At the BBC’s Broadcasting House in London, I once had a late-night, on-air debate with car-loathing (though very nice bloke) Charles Secrett, ex Friends of the Earth. After the programme it was clear he hadn’t made…