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SMART has always been something of a puzzle. You’d think a Mercedes-made small-car brand would be a sure-fire hit, wouldn’t you? If you look at the success BMW has made of MINI – admittedly with a fair bit of provenance behind it – the fact that Smart has never really taken off has been quite a surprise. Remember, this is the car that was born out of a relationship in the mid-nineties with Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch. It was small, it was safe and it was funky – but it was pretty awful to drive. To be fair, there have been plenty of cars over the years that haven’t been that good from behind the wheel, and it never stopped them from selling in big numbers. So maybe this is…

“If you’re not a fan of the large grille on the 4 Series, there’s good news: the 2 Series won’t feature it” BMW’S small-car line-up has moved almost exclusively to front-wheel drive in recent years, but fans of the brand can’t deny the successful results. Compact SUVs such as the X1 and X2 are sure-footed and economical, while the latest 1 Series offers more space and is still great to drive. However, there has always been one key outlier: the 2 Series Coupé. This small, rear-driven sports car with its six-cylinder engine options and raucous M2 edition has become a bit of a darling of the range, so purists should be thrilled to hear that BMW hasn’t gone cold on the idea of a less profitable, back-to-basics small sports car.…

AUDITT Price from: £33,795 AUDI’S style-focused TT has been on sale for seven years, but is arguably the new BMW’s closest rival. It offers two small rear seats and is available with a fairly conventional petrol-engined line-up, with the hotter TTS and five-cylinder TT RS sitting at the top of the range. The Audi is either front-wheel drive or quattro four-wheel drive, so it might not be quite as agile as the new 2 Series. TOYOTAGR SUPRA Price from: £46,010 TOYOTA will replace the compact rear-drive GT86 with the GR 86 in 2022, and it will come with 232bhp and a six-speed manual gearbox. In the meantime, the larger GR Supra is available. It shares its 2.0 and 3.0-litre engines with the 2 Series Coupé, but the GR Supra is…

“The most obvious switch with the as-yet-unnamed model is that it grows in size compared with Smart’s current offerings” “We have taken the opportunity to reinvent the brand” Gorden Wagener, head of design • EXCLUSIVE SMART is one of the most daring car brands to have been launched in the past 50 years, but it has be considered a billioneuro failure. That could change with the switch from pure Daimler ownership to a joint venture with Chinese giant Geely – and now we’ve had an exclusive preview of the car that will kick-start the revival. The concept seen here – previewed by our exclusive image, based on an official design sketch – will make its debut at this autumn’s Munich Motor Show and go into production in a barely changed…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @jimmybrods “This is the most powerful Manta A ever, with the ‘e’ in the GSe’s name standing for electrification” OPEL is blending classic looks with cutting-edge tech with its Manta GSe ElektroMOD, and has revealed the retro EV coupé’s full specifications. The classic Manta A Opel selected for the project was in need of restoration and has had its four-cylinder combustion engine replaced by a 145bhp electric motor. This sends power to the rear wheels through the car’s original four-speed manual gearbox, so it can be driven as a manual or, thanks to 255Nm of torque, drivers can leave the car in fourth gear and use it as a single-speed vehicle, like many other EVs. It has a 31kWh battery delivering a claimed range of 124 miles, while an…

FOLLOWING Genesis’s announcement that it will launch in Europe this summer, the brand has revealed its G70 Shooting Brake. This svelte, premium estate will be the fifth car Genesis brings to the continent, and it’s intended to rival the likes of BMW’s 3 Series Touring and the Audi A4 Avant. The Shooting Brake’s styling carries over plenty of the design elements we’ve seen on other Genesis cars, with a ‘Crest Grille’ featuring alongside the front ‘Quad Lamps’ to accentuate the car’s sporty profile. Identical in width, height and length to the G70 saloon on which it’s based, the G70 Shooting Brake is also more rakish than the average estate. There’s no side window after the C-pillar, with the tailgate sloping heavily to give a sleeker look. There’s still 40 per…