Innholdsfortegnelse for 1683 i Auto Express

WITH Audi racing and development driver Frank Stippler at the wheel of the new RS 3 prototype, the brand’s wealth of engineering detail and technical information is brought to life – and how. Stippler immediately selects the RS Torque Rear mode for the RS Torque Splitter diff to highlight the car’s new-found sense of agility, led by the rear axle. Even from the passenger seat the car seems easy to balance on the throttle, with the engine serving up more than enough power and torque to sustain a slide, with Stippler making very few corrections with the steering wheel to keep the RS 3 arcing gracefully in a drift. However, the new RS Torque Splitter offers more than just the ability to slide around, because in RS Performance mode the…

THE UK government is in talks with six companies about building gigafactories for battery production. Ford, Nissan, LG, Samsung, InoBat Auto and Britishvolt – the latter of which is the only firm to have publicly announced its plans to build the UK’s first gigafactory in Northumberland – are involved in discussions, the Financial Times reports. Securing gigafactory investments is vital for the UK’s car industry beyond 2035 because new post-Brexit rules of origin mean British-built electric cars with imported batteries will be slapped with tariffs when exported to the EU, which remains the UK’s biggest trading partner.…

MASERATI’S next-generation all-electric GranTurismo has been caught undergoing testing ahead of making its debut next year. Unlike some premium EV rivals such as Porsche’s Taycan, the new Italian EV will still feature GT styling, with a long bonnet and a two-door body. The sports coupé is expected to have a-three-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain – originally outlined by Maserati back in 2019 – which could offer up to 860bhp. To be competitive in this sector an electric GranTurismo would have to offer around 300 miles of range.…

Public votes in Ford Puma ST Gold Edition FORD has revealed the Puma ST Gold Edition (above), the result of an unusual fan survey to help the manufacturer’s product experts choose everything from exterior paint to seatbelt stitching. The firm says it received 275,000 votes in the series of polls, and it has confirmed that the model (based on a regular Puma ST) will go on sale later this year as a limited edition. There’s no word yet on UK availability or pricing. More Tucsons offered in sporty N Line trim THE sportier N Line version of Hyundai’s new Tucson will cost from £34,900 with hybrid power, the company has said. The variant, which gets a fresh grille, a revised front bumper and different interior trim, is already available in…

MOYOSOLA Fujamade works as contract hire relationships manager for Kia in the UK. Following the publication of last year’s Brit List, she contacted Auto Express to open a discussion about the approach the car industry needs to take to improve diversity. Her feature on the subject will be published in Auto Express in a few weeks, but here she gives her reaction to this year’s Brit List. “I WAS once told that persistence and patience would be the two things that would see me through my career, and while I must agree in part, I do also believe in knocking down doors every now and again. Breaking down barriers for me has been in its simplest form about not being afraid to speak out. Also, having a mentor has been…

THE following provide help with motoring problems. Some services are free, others charge a fee or operate on premium-rate lines (p), while some offer advice for members only (m) Legal AA: 0345 850 1130 (m) RAC: 0330 159 1446 (m) 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: 0113 222 2010 AA: 0800 316 3564 DVLA: 0300 790 6802 RAC: 0808 164 1923 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…

Steve_Fowler@autovia.co.uk @stevefowler “What impresses most is just how comfortable, quiet and easy the Q4 e-tron is to drive” Performance 0-62mph/top speed 8.5 seconds/99mph IF you have any remaining doubts about the seriousness with which Audi is taking electrification, the new Q4 e-tron SUV is not only the fourth new model in the brand’s EV line-up, it’s also expected to become the company’s second biggest seller overall, after the A3 hatchback. It has the increasingly popular combination of electric power and SUV styling, and unsurprisingly, as the name suggests, sits slap bang in the middle of the existing petrol and diesel-powered Q3 and Q5 models in terms of size. It’s also the first Audi to be built on the Volkswagen Group’s electric MEB platform, shared with Volkswagen’s ID.3 and ID.4, Skoda’s…

MODEL TESTED: Vauxhall Mokka-e Elite Nav Premium PRICE: £31,200 POWERTRAIN: 50kWh, single e-motor, 134bhp Running costs 3.9 miles/kWh (on test) £6.50 fill-up/£0 or 1% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 310/1,060 litres Performance 0-60mph/top speed 8.7 seconds/93mph THIS is the second-generation Vauxhall Mokka, but it shares little more than its name with its predecessor. The all-electric Mokka-e starts from £29,340, and the Elite Nav Premium tested here costs £31,200. The only optional extra fitted to this test car is the eye-catching Mamba Green metallic paint finish, which adds a further £650. Design & engineering THE Mokka follows on from the Corsa supermini and Vivaro van to become the third model in the Vauxhall line-up to be offered with a fully electric powertrain. As with the Corsa, the firm’s compact SUV aims to…

NEW: Audi Q3 35 TFSI Sport PRICE: £31,690 POWERTRAIN: 1.5L petrol, 148bhp FOREGO electrification, and the Q3 offers a premium take on the compact SUV formula. A base 35 TFSI petrol has the measure of the EVs’ performance, and Sport trim is well equipped, with 18-inch wheels, LED headlights and sports front seats. USED: Tesla Model S 75D PRICE: £31,000 POWERTRAIN: Dual motor, 415bhp DIP into the used market, and it’s possible to get into Tesla ownership for the same price as these EVs. We found a 16-plate, 75D model, good for a real-world range of 230 miles and a rapid 0-62mph time of 4.2 seconds, available for just over £31,000.…

Richard_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @rsp_ingram MERCEDES is not a manufacturer to rest on its laurels. It’s a company that, over the past three decades or so, has invented entire model niches, sub-brands, and sporty spin-offs in an attempt to cover every corner of the new-car market. As the world opened its eyes to electrification, Mercedes was at the forefront once again. As a result, it now offers mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains across much of its line-up, with fully electric models already here too, and more on their way. The EQC – a Jaguar I-Pace-rivalling SUV with a 250-mile range and room for five passengers – was the first, but Merc’s new EVs are arriving thick and fast. The flagship EQS is just around the corner, and the V-Class-bodied EQV all-electric passenger van…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk Q Looking for a cam with more IS there a dash cam available that incorporates speed-camera alerts? If so, is there a particular one that you can recommend? Mick Saul, E-mail A THERE are a few units that offer alerts, but the one we have tested is from speed-camera specialist Snooper. We reckoned its DVR-5HD (shown above – expect to pay around £180) was good value if you were considering buying a separate cam and detector, although the high-definition, 1080P footage was not as good quality as the best available. Q Lance a lot to shift the mud MY car often gets really muddy because I live in a rural area, so I want to get a snow-foam lance for my pressure washer. Are there any…

THE quickest way to clean your car’s interior is with a cordless vac, and now there are two new options to consider. The Proscenic and Simply models are both claimed to be ideal for in-car use, so to see if they are worth your cash we put them up against our current favourite, the Gtech MK2 K9. We used our usual mix of grit and dirt ground into a mat to test their pick-up power, plus checked their practicality, especially in tricky areas such as under and down the sides of the seats. We also factored in accessories, battery size, versatility, weight, ease of use, and cost. If you want to do a complete clean, then you need the Gtech. It’s heavier and more expensive, but you won’t need to…

Search more than 60,000 cars with competitive finance. Order online, delivered to your door, 14-day money-back guarantee WHEN SUVs started to become a mainstay of the new-car market, you needed a lot of cash to secure one, with high-end models such as the original BMW X5 leading the vanguard. Things are rather different today. While SUVs may not quite be ten a penny, they’re certainly far more affordable than they once were, thanks to an ever-increasing number of models and classes, including small SUVs. And naturally these cars become even more affordable on the second-hand market, where attainable SUVs proliferate. Take the Dacia Duster, for example. The second-generation model tested here builds on the Mk1 car’s foundations with slicker looks and tech, and greater levels of comfort. The funky-looking Suzuki Ignis is…

TOYOTA-Lexus and Hyundai-Kia – the smartest motor manufacturing groups in Asia, if not the world – have again upset the automotive apple cart. And they’ve left many outwitted rivals scratching their heads as they struggle to match the quality, tech prowess and mental strength of these firms. Right now, Toyota-Lexus should be loyally singing from the motor-industry song sheet that reads “100 per cent-electric cars are the greatest thing since sliced bread”, but it’s not. In recent days, Director Shigeki Terashi stated that up until 2050 there will be a wide selection of vehicles and power units, not just EVs. “It’s too early to concentrate on one option,” he insisted. Toyota’s Chief Technology Officer, Masahiko Maeda, backed him: “Some people love battery-electric vehicles, but others don’t see the current technologies…

Steve_Fowler@autovia.co.uk @stevefowler ● New JLR boss reveals luxury price point of great British brand ● Design of new family of Jaguars has already been signed off JAGUAR Land Rover CEO Thierry Bolloré has shone new light on his plans to reinvent Jaguar as a luxury car brand. Bolloré’s ‘Reimagine’ strategy has already revealed plans to reposition Jaguar and take it all-electric with a whole new product range arriving from 2025. But in his first interview since taking charge of JLR last September, Bolloré has told Auto Express that the initial design work for a new family of Jaguars has been completed and that the brand will be competing against Bentley, with prices in the region of £100,000. Auto Express understands that the new Jaguar family is likely to comprise three…

PCM 6.0 adds Android Auto to Porsches ANDROID Auto will be offered across the Porsche line-up for the first time, with the introduction of a new version of the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment system on new cars. PCM 6.0 integrates smartphone mirroring for Android devices alongside updated live services for navigation with improved traffic prediction, hazard warnings and improved natural language recognition. Menu layouts and graphics have been updated, as has the Porsche Connect smartphone app. Drivers’ tiredness revealed by survey FOUR million UK drivers have fallen asleep behind the wheel, research suggests. In an IAM Roadsmart survey of 1,000 motorists one in 10 respondents admitted to having been so tired that they temporarily closed their eyes while driving. The same number have hit the rumble strip due to…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy THE UK car industry must do a better job of selling itself to wider society if it is to attract more women and people from minority backgrounds, says a top exec. Bentley boss Adrian Hallmark, who heads our annual list of the top 50 Britons in the global car industry (page 18), says that making people aware of the diverse needs and strengths of the automotive sector will help as firms actively pursue a more representative workforce. The Crewe brand announced ‘Unifying Spur’ in May, a five-point programme focusing on outreach, recruitment, succession planning, culture and development. The Brit List panel, which includes Auto Express editor-in-chief Steve Fowler, has once again highlighted the shortage of women in the line-up, along with poor representation of BAME executives. “We’ve got…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy THE car industry has been through another 12 months of turmoil – and there’s no sign of it easing up any time soon, what with the continuing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, a global shortage of semi-conductors and the varied approaches by regions and countries to electrification. You’d be a brave person to want to second-guess the path ahead over the next 18 months, let alone the next five years. It does seem, though, that the world’s top car manufacturers are happy to turn to, or retain, British expertise to help guide them through these choppy waters. Our panel of industry experts had a harder job than ever to pick just 50 candidates for our annual rundown of the top British executives in the business – many of them…

MODEL TESTED: Kia e-Niro 2 39kWh PRICE: £30,345 POWERTRAIN: 39kWh, e-motor, 134bhp Running costs 4.8 miles/kWh (on test) £5 fill-up/£0 or 1% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 451/1,405 litres Performance 0-60mph/top speed 9.5 seconds/96mph THE Kia e-Niro has long been an Auto Express favourite; it scooped our Affordable Electric Car of the Year award back at the 2019 New Car Awards. This latest variant comes with a smaller battery than the rest of the range to make it more affordable – but does it offer enough to compete with the Mokka-e? Here, it’s priced from £30,345, with no optional extras. Design & engineering THE Kia Niro made its debut back in 2016 as a petrol-electric hybrid to rival the Toyota Prius. Two years later a plug-in hybrid version followed, while…

CHARGING WHILE many buyers will be able to charge their cars overnight at home, the ability to score a fast top-up on the public charging network will come as a bonus for drivers wanting to cover higher mileages. Both The Mokka-e and the e-Niro offer DC charging through a CCS socket, but the Vauxhall has a 100kW on-board charger, compared with the Kia’s 77kW system. As a result, Kia quotes a 54-minute wait when charging the 39kWh battery from 0-80 per cent, while Vauxhall’s 50kWh unit will go from 10-80 per cent in as little as 31 minutes. The rate of charging slows for the final 20 per cent, so the final few kilowatt hours take the longest to add. It’s also worth bearing in mind how you need to…

SEAT Leon e-Hybrid CREATIVE director Darren Wilson has been getting creative with charging his plug-in SEAT Leon. He has struggled at his driveway-less London home, but during a recent week away in Lincolnshire, he was able to top up at friends’ and family’s houses. Despite the light-hearted ribbing about putting 50 pence in the meter, Darren was able to fully charge the Leon using firstly an internal, then an outside domestic plug socket on their driveways. This enabled him to run the car mostly on electric power for the week. The overnight charge on the outside socket was more convenient than leaving the house door open, and the car was more or less charged after four hours – no problem on a gated driveway on a sunny day. Trips included a…

FIRST TEST EV Reel Price: £129.99 Rating Contact: shop.greenflag.com MAKE the switch to an electric or plug-in hybrid car and you’ll soon get used to plugging in instead of filling up, but you’ll also have to become familiar with the occasional wrestle with a grimy and tangled charging cable. If you like to keep things neat – and keep your hands away from the dirt – then the new EV Reel gives you somewhere to safely store your Type 2 cable in the boot of your electric or hybrid car. The design has some neat touches, such as a place to store an RFID card for accessing charge points, and Velcro to stop the reel sliding around your boot. The reeling-in process works well too, and it’s certainly quicker and neater…

Formula E: Racing for the Future Sam Smith (Evro Publishing, evropublishing.com) Price: £35 Rating: THIS is a good, comprehensive account of Formula E – officially licensed and written with the help of experts. There’s technical analysis from an engineer, as well as views from drivers and a foreword by the founders. Very well put together, and ideal for fans of the all-electric racers. Driving Through Life Brian Darwent (Michael Terence Publishing, mtp.agency) Price: £6.99 Rating: THIS little book is really quite a pleasant read – the author simply takes you through his motoring life, starting with a 1939 Austin Cambridge and continuing right through to the modern day. It’s anecdotal and quite entertaining, if a bit short – and you’ll want to look elsewhere for detailed history, driving impressions or…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk Q High cost to fix my air-con leaves me hot and bothered THE air-con system on my 15-month-old car no longer pumps out cold air, and the dealer wants £280 to regas it because this is not covered by the warranty. Can you suggest how I can get this solved for less money? LN, E-mail A THE £280 charge does seem a bit steep, so it could be worth asking if there is a goodwill gesture to reflect how soon after purchase the car has needed a regas. You could also consider shopping around for a cheaper quote from an independent garage, although do be sure any work is performed in line with the manufacturer’s requirements in order to maintain your warranty. Ask the dealer…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk ● RS Torque Splitter for new hyper-hatch ● Features ‘Torque Rear’ drift mode ● 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds AUDI has revealed specifications for its new RS 3, with the brand’s hyper-hatch offering almost 400bhp and a new four-wheel-drive system that features a clever new rear differential with a drift mode. The RS 3 uses Audi’s familiar 2.5-litre turbocharged, five-cylinder petrol engine, producing 395bhp and 500Nm of torque. While torque is up by 20Nm compared with its predecessor, power remains the same. However, Audi has focused on broadening the engine’s power band, with its maximum now produced from 5,600rpm-7,000rpm. The maximum 500Nm torque output is produced from 2,250rpm-5,600rpm and is sent to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and a new all-wheel-drive system. Combined with launch control,…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● Minor revisions for budget SUV ● New auto gearbox offered DACIA has hit the headlines in 2021 with grand announcements including all-new cars – and hybrid tech – for the coming years, but the budget brand’s latest news is a facelift for the popular Duster SUV. The updates aren’t radical, but this is a facelift designed to see the car through until 2023. The Duster continues to sit on an architecture originally introduced in Renaults and Nissans almost two decades ago. But there are still potentially useful revisions, including styling tweaks, an updated cabin and a new dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Outside, there are new daytime running lights and LED indicators at the front, plus a different set of tail-lights, a new rear spoiler and fresh wheel designs…

GLOUCESTERSHIRE has the highest proportion of illegal car modifications. The county, with a population of 637,100, saw 925 offences in 2020 – equivalent to 1,452 per million people. Norfolk, home to 907,800 people, saw 1,127 offences – equivalent to 1,241 per million people, placing it second. Third was Northern Ireland, with 1,179 per million people. Data from 36 UK police forces acquired by Compare the Market via a freedom of information request placed Gwent at the bottom of the list. The Welsh county, with a population of 594,200, saw only four illegal car modifications in 2020, equivalent to seven per million people. The 1,161,100-strong county of Nottinghamshire saw 54 offences in total – 47 per million people – while Cambridgeshire, with its population of 855,800, had 47 offences, equating to…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress HOT TOPIC Changing gears FROM: Andrew PM A MANUAL gearbox adds a level of interaction to the driving experience that an automatic can’t match. SUVs make perfect sense with an automatic, but sports cars are not the same when you don’t have a traditional gearstick to use. FROM: Christopher Buxton IT’S pointless to learn a method of driving that will soon be historical. Driving schools across the country should abandon cars with manual gearboxes and embrace new technologies. Manuals do not have a future. Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk ■ “Just came back to a manual after five years of autos – it’s a much better driving experience.” Debbie Allen ■ “Recently switched from manual to auto. Good for cruising, but not as fun for cornering.” Alan Papprill…

2012 ANDY PALMER EX-Aston boss now has a wide portfolio of interests, including bus maker Optare. 2013 IAN ROBERTSON STOOD down from the BMW board in 2018; has also had affiliations to UK firm Dyson. 2014 STEVE ODELL EX-Ford exec now has posts at wood maker Accsys and mining firm EVRAZ. 2015 ALAN BATEY FORMER boss of GM North America is now an investor in semi-conductor firm Skyworks. 2016 MIKE MANLEY THEN-FCA chief Manley is now head of The Americas for Stellantis group. 2017 LINDA JACKSON SHAKE-UP at Stellantis has placed our 2017 winner at a new role: CEO of Peugeot. 2018 DUNCAN ALDRED BOLTON boy Aldred is still in charge of General Motors’ Buick and GMC divisions. 2019 RICHARD PALMER AFTER the merger of PSA and FCA, Palmer is…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk Running costs 44.1mpg (official) £72 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.5 seconds/128mph NOT every manufacturer can claim it coined the crossover sector let alone popularised it, as Nissan’s first and second-generation Qashqais did. The original captured the imagination of millions, while the second built on that with even more style to back up the substance. However, the pace of development moves quickly, so it’s time for a new replacement. The third-generation Qashqai is a striking machine; designed in the UK, it gets a new interpretation of the brand’s V-Motion grille, and strong surfacing means it will turn heads – style counts in this sector. The Qashqai has an all-hybrid powertrain line-up. Key to that will be what Nissan calls its e-Power tech. This uses a 1.5-litre engine as a generator…

Vauxhall Mokka-e Multimedia Navi Key feature: Satellite navigation BOTH in terms of appearance and features, the Vauxhall has the Kia beaten. Sat-nav is standard, while the information is presented on a 10-inch screen with sharp graphics. The black background of most menu pages means that it’s neither too distracting nor a strain on the eyes – even at night. The Mokka scores further points with its fully digital instrument panel. It’s a fairly simple set-up that presents its information clearly, and looks much more modern than the Kia’s smaller seven-inch screen. However, the Vauxhall’s tech is far from perfect. The user interface is a little fiddly, with simple functions such as typing in a postcode taking more steps than is necessary. Loading times aren’t great either, and the responsiveness of…

Swiss maker rolls out unique watches TO complement Rolls-Royce’s latest commissioned car, Swiss firm Bovet has teamed up with the car maker to create a pair of tourbillon timepieces (above) for the vehicle’s owners. The gentleman’s and lady’s models can be worn on the wrist, used as a table clock, pendant or pocket watch, and even be placed in the car’s dash. Each took 3,000 hours to develop and make, and could easily be considered priceless. Want something similar? Contact Rolls-Royce and begin designing your own bespoke model. Charging app adds subscription options EV charging service Zap-Map has launched new subscription services, Zap-Map Plus and Zap-Map Premium. The former adds more filters to the search, lets users add multiple vehicles, removes ads, and adds support for What3words addresses. It costs…

Performance 0-62mph/top speed 7.2 seconds/136mph Running costs 56-58mpg (xDrive20d) £68 fill-up CO2 /tax 127-132g/km £130-£155 WHEN BMW launched its first SUV, the Mk1 X5, in 1998, it rewrote the rules on how a full-sized 4x4 could drive. Previous SUVs were ponderous, but the first-generation X5 didn’t feel all that different from a regular estate car such as the 5 Series Touring. BMW’s engineers had seemingly managed to change the laws of physics, and this is a practice they’ve been deploying ever since, with an ever-expanding range of SUVs now running all the way from X1 through to X7. As the smallest of the bunch, the X1 is no poor relation; it’s desirable thanks to lower running costs in comparison to its larger siblings and more compact dimensions, plus a raft of…

Stephen_Errity@autovia.co.uk ● First time in Africa since 2002 ● Tanak promises new approach THE World Rally Championship heads to Africa for the first time since 2002 this weekend, for the long-awaited return of the popular Safari Rally to the series’ calendar. The gruelling event’s comeback to World Championship status was originally set for 2020, but had to be postponed by a year due to the pandemic. Travel rules continue to pose a challenge, however, with M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson and team principal Rich Millener both managing the Ford squad’s efforts remotely from the UK due to Kenya being on the ‘red list’ for travel. With the Safari not having had World Championship status for so long, and pre-event testing not permitted, none of the current crews has experience of its…