Auto Express 1695

TEN years ago this week, I started my Auto Express career wandering around the Frankfurt motor show looking at cars like the BMW i3 Concept and the then-new Volkswagen up!. Now in 2021 (and over 500 issues of Auto Express later) I’m just back from the Munich show, where the i3 still looks as good today as it did then, but the up!’s days are numbered. Back in 2011, the i3 was one of very few electric cars at the Frankfurt show. This year in Munich, there were very few cars that weren’t electric. However, electrification was only one battleground in Munich; sustainability was also well and truly on the agenda. It was the theme for BMW’s stand – and the impressive free display in the city centre (British cities…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy • VW’s first bespoke compact EV to go on sale in 2025 • Target price of £17,000 and up to 248 miles of range WE’VE been wondering how Volkswagen would put everything it has learned from its first wave of pure-electric cars into the forthcoming generation of cheaper models. And now we know, thanks to this stunning concept, the ID. Life, which was one of the biggest debuts of last week’s Munich Motor Show. The ID. Life is designed to preview vehicles that will sit beneath the ID.3 hatchback in the VW EV line-up – and senior executives from the company have been quick to confirm that a production version is on the way. It seems likely that, given its five-door crossover bodystyle, it could become the ID.2,…

Former Audi, Bugatti and Skoda designer Kaban joined VW as head of passenger car design at the end of last year. Q Which vehicles did you take as inspiration for the ID. Life? A “We looked at the Golf, at the T1 (VW microbus); we even looked at the Type 181 [a boxy convertible sold as the Trekker in the UK]. That car gives maybe not the best aesthetic, but a good experience.” Q So how would you describe what you’ve ended up with? A “I think the ID. Life has its own character, and VW is always looking for that. The design is very clean, with almost no fussy details which can get old. Everything is built around simple shapes, straight lines and so forth. The division of colours…

VOLKSWAGEN CEO Ralf Brandstätter has confirmed that the ID.X electric hot hatch concept (far right) will go into production as early as 2022 as the ID.3 GTX. Speaking to Auto Express at the Munich Motor Show, Brandstätter said, “The decision is made. We have the ID.4 GTX and the ID.3 GTX will come to life.” He outlined that it won’t be quite as powerful as the 329bhp ID.X concept, so it’s likely to use the same 295bhp twin-motor powertrain as the ID.4 GTX. As a result, the smaller and relatively lighter ID.3 GTX is likely to undercut that car’s 0-62mph time of 6.2-seconds. Brandstätter also hinted that VW’s electric performance car future could go beyond the GTX tag, with R playing a part, as previewed by our exclusive ID.3 R image.…

WHILE VW is focusing on its electrified future, in the present the brand released prices for the updated Polo. The five-door supermini is on sale now, priced from £17,885 for the new entry-level Life trim fitted with VW’s 79bhp naturally aspirated 1.0-litre petrol unit. Stepping up to the turbocharged 94bhp 1.0 TSI adds an extra £940, and with claimed fuel economy of 54.3mpg and 118g/km CO2 emissions, it’s the most efficient powertrain in the line-up. Comfort-focused Style trim (right) is priced from £20,785 and comes exclusively with the 1.0 TSI engine. This model features big-car innovations new to the Polo, such as adaptive matrix LED lights and a 10.25-inch digital dash. The sportier R-Line trim also starts from £20,785, featuring 16-inch alloys and a sharper bodykit, as well as sports…

Yousuf_Ashraf@autovia.co.uk @ashrafoncars HOT on the heels of VW’s ID. Life will be a performance-focused GTX model, according to the brand’s sales and marketing boss, Klaus Zellmer. The ID. Life GTX is set to arrive soon after the eventual production version of VW’s baby EV crossover in 2025, bringing more power and a sportier chassis set-up, along with a host of cosmetic upgrades. Zellmer told Auto Express at the Munich Motor Show that the GTX name is set to be attached to every ID. model in the German brand’s line-up: “GTX, in the long run, is something that we want for every derivative,” he said. “So GTX is also something that we want to have, potentially, for the ID. Life”. This plan is integral to a new range structure that VW…