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Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news IT DOESN’T seem that long ago that if you wanted an electric car in the UK, you could choose either a Nissan Leaf or a Tesla. The speed of acceleration (sorry!) in the EV market, particularly over the past 12 to 18 months, has been nothing short of incredible. Now, the current Nissan Leaf is no longer a standout model, although the forthcoming Ariya could reverse the brand’s EV fortunes. But Tesla is still at the top of its game, as recent sales figures show, with the Model 3 often one of the UK’s biggest-selling cars. In this issue we’re putting the latest Tesla to the test, as the Model Y faces the brilliant Audi Q4 e-tron. This coincides with Tesla…

Yousuf_Ashraf@autovia.co.uk @ashrafoncars Visit autoexpress.co.uk for your daily news updates • Mid-life update for entire Focus hatchback and estate range • More efficient engines, plus greater connectivity than before SUVS are everywhere these days, but buyers aren’t turning their back on family hatchbacks completely. These five-door models remain popular with private and fleet customers, which is why Ford has unveiled a new, updated Focus, to keep its family hatch fighting fresh against newer rivals. The revised Focus starts from £22,465 and offers a subtle new look, updated interior tech and plenty of trim changes. The refreshed range begins with the entry-level Trend variant, followed by Titanium, with the sporty ST-Line model heading the range alongside the toughened-up Focus Active and tweaked Focus ST hot hatch. The restructured line-up does away with…

Q What was the thought process behind this new front-end design? It’s a fairly significant departure from the current look. A“The new Focus has been designed to update the interior and exterior of the car in a modern and expressive way. It’s inspired by Ford’s ‘human-centric’ design philosophy. The big changes here are the bonnet and front facia, including the headlamps and grilles. The height of the bonnet is taller than before by about 30mm, and we moved the Ford blue oval to the centre of the grille. It makes the car look more proud, and the bonnet look longer. “The grille is bigger than before, with a trapezoidal shape for the ST-Line that makes it visually wider. On top of that, we have two-tone colours for the grille of…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods • Forthcoming electric four-door coupé spied testing • Engineers working towards a 311-mile range “Proportions will be similar to the Ioniq hybrid’s, with a long bonnet and a low-set glasshouse” HYUNDAI’S electric sub-brand will follow up the impressive Ioniq 5 crossover with a low-slung electric four-door coupé in 2022. Badged Ioniq 6, it will rival cars such as the Tesla Model 3 and BMW i4, and will offer the most range of any Hyundai EV yet, thanks to continued development of the 800-volt E-GMP platform now used across the Hyundai Group’s various brands. The new car has been spied testing ahead of its anticipated unveiling next summer, and rumours suggest that Hyundai has pushed the car’s debut back for some key engineering tweaks, which are intended to increase…

BACK in April 2020 Auto Express was lucky enough to sit in the driver’s seat of Hyundai’s Prophecy Concept for our first taste of Hyundai’s all-electric future. The rear-hinged doors are pure concept-car theatre, but they open gracefully, presenting a comfortable, reclined driver’s seat. There’s more theatre as the dash rotates at the touch of a button, and an additional slim shelf beneath the curved screen turns upright to reveal the fully digital instruments. Yet there’s still no steering wheel. In its place are two joystick-like handles, one on the door, the other on the centre console. It makes it feel like you’re playing a video game rather than sitting in a car, and we couldn’t help but be reminded of the handles of a vacuum cleaner. Two things that…

• Longer lasting, fuel-saving and recyclable • For mass market, but goes on sale in Asia first in 2024 THE Uptis airless tyre has been demonstrated in public for the first time – and its maker, Michelin, says passengers in an Uptis-equipped car couldn’t tell the difference between its potentially game-changing new tech and traditional tyres. “The Uptis is as revolutionary as the radial tyre was in the 1940s,” says Cyrille Roget, the company’s technical and scientific communication director. “Tyres have been around for 130 years now, and we’ve never been able to find a complete solution to punctures, irregular pressure and sidewall damage. “One of the best things was that after a few moments driving with Uptis, people didn’t realise it was any different,” he said after a recent…