Innholdsfortegnelse for 1702 i Auto Express

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk ● Production bZ4X sits on new e-TNGA platform, here in 2022 ● Up to 280 miles of range and 150kW rapid charging AFTER decades of experience with hybrid cars, Toyota has finally branched out into fully electric vehicles, officially unveiling its 2022 bZ4X SUV, the Japanese brand’s first bespoke EV. As the first car in Toyota’s bZ all-electric sub-brand, the bZ4X’s styling closely follows the concept revealed earlier this year, while it’s the first Toyota based on a new dedicated e-TNGA EV platform. This houses a 71.4kWh battery for a claimed range of 280 miles. Water cooling (a first for Toyota) should help range and durability. Two powertrain options will be available, the first a front-wheel-drive set-up offering 201bhp and 265Nm of torque for a 0-62mph time of 8.4…

No estate version of new Fabia, says Skoda SKODA has dropped plans for a new Fabia estate, blaming stricter CO2 emissions rules and electrification. “We will be discontinuing some ICE products more quickly, particularly against the backdrop of increasingly stringent emissions legislation in Europe (Euro 7), compliance with which is associated with high costs. Following this decision, there will be no successor to the Fabia estate,” said the company. High fuel prices mean duty is frozen again FUEL duty has once again been frozen at 57.95p per litre. Scrapping the planned increase in his 2021 Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “With fuel prices at their highest in eight years, I’m not prepared to add to the squeeze on families and small businesses.” Howard Cox, founder of campaign group FairFuel…

Elemental fires up new electric track car TRACK car manufacturer Elemental has revealed its first electric model, the RP1 EV (above). With a 560bhp motor and a 40kWh battery, it has a claimed range of 180 miles on the road, while Elemental says it can complete 20 laps of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit at race speed before needing a recharge. The 0-60mph sprint takes 2.5 seconds while the top speed is unconfirmed, but an aero pack delivers 1,000kg of downforce at 150mph. Prices have not been confirmed. West Yorkshire on top of fast-charge league WEST Yorkshire has the highest proportion of fast EV chargers of any county, with 57.89 per cent of its 285 chargers being fast. Dorset and Norfolk are second and third respectively – with rates of…

“We’re committed to making sure the UK’s EV charging network is accessible for all, with inclusively designed chargepoints available for drivers across the UK. We have partnered with national disability charity Motability to commission the British Standards Institute (BSI) to develop accessibility standards for public electric vehicle chargepoints across the UK. “These standards, to be finalised in summer 2022, will provide industry with guidance and drivers with a new clear definition of ‘fully accessible’, ‘partially accessible’ and ‘not accessible’ public EV chargepoints – allowing drivers to more easily identify which chargepoints are suitable for their needs. In addition, we are seeking views through the Future of Transport Regulatory Review consultation on proposals to mandate accessibility standards for UK public chargepoints, including the area around the parked vehicle/chargepoint.” WHAT AUTO EXPRESS ASKED: Does…

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.consumer-ombudsman.org RMIF: 0845 305 4230 Scottish Motor Trade Assoc. 0131 331 5510 Problems with…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 550/1,600 litres LIKE many premium car makers, BMW is pushing ahead with a flurry of fully electric models. Its iX and iX3 electric SUVs have received excellent reviews recently, but until combustion-engined cars are legislated off the road, BMW won’t give up on them completely, which is why it’s updated its strong-selling petrol and diesel-powered X3 premium off-roader. Renewed competition in the form of the Audi Q5, which was facelifted last year, an updated Volvo XC60 that launched recently, and a new Mercedes GLC waiting in the wings is also strong motivation for BMW, with tweaks to the tech and looks the main focus for this model’s revisions. The new car is still recognisably an X3 from the outside, although its styling has been sharpened…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy AS a brand, Skoda made its name on value and practicality, but while the firm still trades on those strengths, it has earned a reputation for decent performance cars over the past couple of decades, too. We’re still waiting for a vRS version of the company’s first bespoke EV, the Enyaq, but the firm has launched this 80x SportLine model to fill the gap until it arrives. In fact, it is now the most powerful Skoda on sale. The rear-mounted electric motor that features on other Enyaqs has been joined by another at the front, delivering a total output of 261bhp and 425Nm of torque. The battery capacity is a usable 77kWh, as it is on regular Enyaq 80 models, but the dual-motor configuration impacts range a little,…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy FOR many, Rolls-Royce remains an iconic brand built on sophistication and luxury, but the British firm has been quietly courting younger customers with its Black Badge-series cars. They now account for more than a third of the company’s sales; on the Cullinan SUV, it’s more than 40 per cent, and the Ghost is the newest Black Badge member. Here, then, is what you get for your money – anywhere north of £300,000, by all accounts, and comfortably beyond £400k if you start customising. The Ghost’s 6.75-litre V12 engine has been retuned to produce 592bhp and 900Nm, gains of 29bhp and 50Nm respectively. There’s also a new profile for the car’s Planar Suspension and tweaks to the four-wheel steering and drive systems. A new adaptive exhaust teams up with…

MODELTESTED: Volvo XC90 B5 AWD Inscription Pro PRICE: £66,885 ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4cyl mild hybrid, 232bhp Running costs 34.2mpg (on test) £99 fill-up/37% tax Practicality Boot (7/5/2 seats) 451/1,102/1,951 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 7.6 seconds/112mph THE Volvo XC90 is available in three trim levels, the top two of which come with upgraded Pro variants, too. As an Inscription Pro, this is the most luxurious model in the range, just like the GV80 it competes with. At £66,885, it’s pricier than its rival, and that’s before options; walk into a main dealer today, and the car you see here would set you back £73,395. Design & engineering THE launch of the Mk2 XC90 back in 2015 marked a new era for Volvo from which it has not looked back. The brand’s flagship…

Genesis GV80 14.5-inch Touchscreen Key features: Five years’ free software updates THE Genesis infotainment set-up is similar to those used by parent group Hyundai – no bad thing, because the menus are logical and the graphics are clear. They’re even better here, thanks to a huge, 14.5-inch touchscreen. The on-screen tiles are large and clear, and climate controls are kept separate, mixing physical knobs and touch-sensitive buttons on a panel below. Loading times are slow, though; the process of typing a postcode on screen and the system loading the route took 36 seconds – the XC90’s Google-based system did the same in a lightning-quick 15 seconds. A digital driver’s display sits beside the GV80’s infotainment screen. The layout imitates traditional analogue instruments, and on top-spec models it can display the…

SOUND SYSTEM BOTH test cars were equipped with uprated hi-fi systems. Genesis’ set-up is branded Lexicon, part of the group that owns Harman Kardon and Bang & Olufsen among others, while Volvo uses Harman Kardon as a mid-level upgrade, with top-spec cars borrowing from Sussex-based Bowers & Wilkins. The Lexicon system, complete with 21 speakers and a 1,050-watt output, is great – particularly impressing with its powerful bass delivery – but the Volvo’s 19-speaker, 1,400-watt B&W set-up is sublime. Where drum sounds can begin to sound harsh in the Genesis, the Volvo’s clarity remains excellent – mid-to-high frequencies are a strong point. Both set–ups will please music lovers, but the XC90 has one of the very best systems available in a new car on sale today. As a £2,150 extra,…

Pete_Gibson@autovia.co.uk Running costs 37.3mpg (on test) £70 fill-up £155 or 34% tax Practicality Boot capacity 450 litres MY Cupra Formentor’s odometer has just tipped over 8,800 miles, and the sharp-looking Spanish SUV is really starting to prove itself, I’m pleased to say. Of course, I pushed it into action as my weekly workhorse as soon as it arrived, but the cars I run for Auto Express also have to pass the Gibson family test, and a journey to Scotland on holiday earlier in the year highlighted that, despite its swoopy styling, the Formentor is practical; more so than my previous car, the Ford Puma, but then you’d expect that from a bigger, pricier machine. It excelled on the trip from our home in Essex to Edinburgh, easily taking the amount…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk Q What’s wrong with wiper? THE rear wiper on my car judders every time it’s used. It’s worse when it’s triggered by selecting reverse and when the glass is dry, but even on a wet screen it’s noisy. There seems nothing wrong with the motor or blade. What’s the problem? Tim Sanders, E-mail A THIS sounds as if the blade has gone hard and no longer flexes as it changes direction. Rear wipers are often neglected because, unlike the front ones, a poor wipe is not often seen. Replacement is probably a good idea and a rear blade only costs a few pounds. Q Checking lights on my own I’VE been having trouble with the brake lights on a trailer I use for taking rubbish to…

CERAMIC coatings have long formed part of a professional detailer’s armoury and they have recently started filtering down to the DIY user. The best still require comprehensive preparation, which may be beyond the amateur, so producers have come up with easier-to-use versions. We try three solutions here. From Autoglym there is a simple apply-and-wipe spray. Gtechniq’s version goes on through a hose attachment, while Diamondbrite adds protection via a snow foam lance. So, do they work? We applied each to a prepared bonnet to maker’s instructions and then monitored water beading over just short of six months. We also factored in price and ease of use. Overall, we were impressed with all three. The more conventional Autoglym had the edge, but it was close with Gtechniq. Diamondbrite didn’t have their…

WE need to talk about VAT and its role in preventing drivers buying pure-electric cars. In his Autumn Budget last week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak barely mentioned Value Added Tax, never mind the harm it does to EV retail prices. Truth is, VAT is seriously hitting affordability, and killing sales in showrooms that must sell more of them to meet the Government’s own eco targets. Pure electric cars are genuinely costlier to build in the first place so, for the end consumer, they’re naturally more expensive than equivalent combustion-engined models. That’s fair enough and justifiable – if financially painful. But the excessive “profit” the Government makes on every EV sold to a private driver is unfair and indefensible, even if grants are available for sub-£35,000 cars. The flavour-of-the-month EV is not…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods ● Next 3dr Hatch shares platform with new electric crossover ● Next Countryman could be joined by the Urbanaut THE future of MINI will be bolder than ever as the brand prepares to launch a new generation of vehicles from 2023. Most of these new cars will be fresh versions of old favourites, but the company is also planning a brave expansion outside its usual territory, and it will introduce two entirely new models in the near future. One of these new models will be a compact electric SUV, which will be built in China on a new platform being developed jointly by BMW and Chinese firm Great Wall. This new electric crossover will be built alongside the next 3dr Hatch and will share its technical underpinnings. The…

Luke_Wilkinson@autovia.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson ● Great Wall spin-off’s ID.3 rival available to order next month ● Range of up to 261 miles and an 80 per cent charge in 50mins CHINESE car maker Great Wall has confirmed that its ORA CAT 01, a pure-electric hatchback from its new EV spin-off brand, will be available to order in the UK from December with a starting price of around £25,000. Deliveries are scheduled for the first half of 2022. The ORA CAT 01 made its European debut at the Munich Motor Show earlier this year and will rival the Volkswagen ID.3. At 4,235mm long and 1,825mm wide, both cars are a similar size, but ORA’s aggressive pricing strategy means it undercuts the cheapest ID.3 by almost £5,000. The CAT 01 is based on Great…

Chris_Rosamond@autovia.co.uk EQUAL ACCESS FORALL ● EV charger providers must act ● Equality Commission agrees THE Department for Transport has declined our repeated invitations to state whether public chargepoint providers have a present day duty to make provision for disabled people under the Equality Act. Auto Express is campaigning for a rapid acceleration in the provision of accessible public charging infrastructure, and we asked for a formal statement after highlighting the issue of chargepoint providers failing to comply with the Act. The DfT told us it’s not prepared to comment specifically but offered a generic statement detailing its longer-term ambitions on current accessibility. However, the Shadow Minister for Green Transport, Kerry McCarthy, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have been more forthcoming. “Those with disabilities should never be an afterthought…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress HOT TOPIC London’s ULEZ FROM: Stuart Coster WHAT is Transport for London’s excuse for hammering motorists with the expanded ULEZ when there are countless diesel buses and taxis still driving all over London? This seems more like a cash-grab to me than anything else. FROM: Simon Maxted I WAS sent a £120 fine for driving through the Birmingham clean-air zone when taking my two-year-old daughter to hospital with a fractured arm. Your first thought in an emergency is not to check how to pay a clean-air fee! Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk ■ “Clean-air zones enable the rich to do as they please; everyone else is priced out.” Joseph Lynn ■ “Deaths have been attributed to dirty urban air. There’s good reason behind these zones.” NB ■ “An…

AUDI Q5 Price from: £44,510 WE drove Audi’s updated Q5 earlier this year, and like the X3, it boasts mild-hybrid tech, upgraded infotainment and plenty of refinement in a practical and premium body. Plug-in power is available. LR. DISCOVERY SPORT Price from: £32,430 THE Discovery Sport has something over these rivals – seven-seat capability, which gives this premium SUV plenty of flexibility. Prices are affordable lower down, while there’s lots of choice, including a PHEV. VOLVO XC60 Price from: £42,485 VOLVO has updated its XC60 recently, with all cars featuring mild-hybrid or plug-in hybrid power. A new Android Automotive infotainment system has given the car’s tech an overhaul too, which it needed.…

Luke_Wilkinson@autovia.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson Running costs 34.0mpg (off icial) £78 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 4.9 seconds/155mph “It can get from 0-62mph much faster than the Ford Focus ST and Honda Civic Type R” PERFORMANCE SUVs have hit the mainstream in recent years, with even die-hard petrolhead brands such as Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini and, soon, Ferrari, wanting a piece of the action. At the smaller end of the scale, Audi was one of the first to enter the hot crossover class with its SQ2, a compact, more affordable alternative to stalwarts such as the Porsche Cayenne and Range Rover Sport. Now, halfway through the small SUV’s lifecycle, the hot Audi has been refreshed to keep it competitive. In the main, updates for the facelifted SQ2 are mainly cosmetic, focusing on new front and…

1st VOLVO BOTH SUVs have their own distinct strengths, and in the end the verdict is so close that it has to come down to cost. Based on the monthly PCP most buyers now choose, the XC90 deserves the nod. Engine aside, it’s better to drive than the Genesis and is slightly more practical. The Google tech is a big improvement on Volvos of old, and safety and ownership scores are both excellent. 2nd GENESIS WHILE it takes second place here, the GV80 still holds a huge amount of appeal. It feels special inside, it holds its value marginally better than the Volvo, has more standard kit and costs less to buy outright – although not on finance. The five-year care package gives great peace of mind, too. It isn’t…

6 ISSUES FOR £1 Then if you continue to subscribe after your trial you pay from just £26.99 every three months (saving you 43%). If for any reason you’re not satisfied you can cancel at any time and receive a refund on any unmailed issues. WELCOME TO THE FAMILY We offer every subscriber a free welcome gift when they come on board. This month get a bottle STP® Complete Fuel System Cleaner worth £14.99. DELIVERED FREE Every issue is delivered to your door, free of charge. It’ll arrive in paper packaging, too, making it easier than ever to recycle. For convenience, scan our QR code with your camera phone for quick access to our secure online store! YOUR FREE GIFT Subscribe to Auto Express today and get a free STP®…

Porsche at Le Mans 70 Years Glen Smale (Motorbooks, quartoknows.com) Price: £60 Rating: PORSCHE has been present at every single running of the Le Mans 24 Hours since 1951. This book covers the history of the last 70 years, year-by-year and race-by-race, with detailed reports and results for each one, making it a great reference title. It’s also beautifully printed and filled with excellent photographs. The Cars of BMC Graham Robson (Veloce, veloce.co.uk) Price: £30 Rating: THIS is essentially an encyclopaedic directory of all the brands and cars that made up the British Motor Corporation. There’s plenty to enjoy about this account of a tumultuous time in the British motoring industry – including an appendix with profit figures for each year. A little lacking in detail in places, but that’s…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@autovia.co.uk Q Will it cost me a fortune to fix my car’s heated seat? THE heated passenger seat in my car has stopped working. My local independent mechanic said it wasn’t a fuse so he couldn’t fix it. He advised me to take it to the dealer, but warned it could be pricey. Is that so? Kevin Wilson, E-mail A AS your mechanic says, if the cause of the heated seat failing isn’t a blown fuse, it could be an expensive fix involving stripping the seat to replace the heating element. This may be more trouble than it’s worth, when you could perhaps source a second-hand replacement for your seat from a vehicle dismantler. It’s worth getting a dealer to take a look, though, because this…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods ● Four-wheel drive fitted as standard on new 55 and 63 models ● Convertible expected in UK next year, priced from around £85k “Up to 62mph, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the fronts by up to 2.5 degrees, to aid turn-in and low-speed manoeuvrability” MERCEDES has set out to prove that you can teach an old dog new tricks with a little help from AMG. The result is the new SL, which was developed by the German manufacturer’s performance wing. Fewer than one per cent of the vehicles Mercedes sold globally in 2020 were sports cars. But the brand and AMG have gone back to the drawing board with the SL, which it wants to position as a sportier offering more in keeping with…

Luke_Wilkinson@autovia.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson FOLLOWING its ID.4 electric SUV, Volkswagen has revealed its new ID.5 coupé-SUV. It’s on sale early next year, and prices for the swoopier car are expected to start from around £47,000. The ID.5 is based on VW’s MEB platform, but compared with the ID.4 the smoother shape reduces drag, upping the claimed range to 323 miles. UK buyers will have a choice of three electric powertrains, all fed by a 77kWh battery. The entry-level 172bhp ID.5 Pro will go from 0-62mph in 10.4 seconds, while Pro Performance models have 201bhp for a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds. The sportily styled GTX gains an extra motor on the front axle for a combined output of 295bhp and fourwheel drive. Its range drops to 304 miles, but it cuts the 0-62mph…

THE DfT recently announced a package of grants worth £620m for EV cars and charging infrastructure, and with thousands of chargepoints being installed every year we asked if the Department is taking any steps to ensure recipients of its funding protect the rights of disabled people to access supported projects. The DfT declined to offer any comment beyond its statement below, but the Equality and Human Rights Commission – the UK’s national equality body – provided an unequivocal statement on the responsibilities of chargepoint providers under current law: “EVs are vital to the fight against climate change. They must be accessible to everyone,” it said. “All businesses, including those installing public chargepoints for EVs, must make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people aren’t unfairly disadvantaged. Otherwise they risk breaking the…

A NEW software update for Audi’s e-tron SUV has unlocked more range from the car’s 95kWh battery. Unlike many new EVs however, the update can’t be carried out over-the-air and has to be performed at dealers; it only applies to e-tron 55 models, too. The extra 12.5 miles of range (now a claimed 276 miles in total) has been achieved by unlocking more usable battery capacity, with software updates enabling more efficient decoupling of the electric motor on the car’s front axle, plus improvements to the cooling of some electrical components. Meanwhile charging remains at 150kW, so when hooked up to a rapid charger the car can reach 80 per cent in 30 minutes; 70 miles of range can be added in 10 minutes at the maximum rate.…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk Performance 0-62mph/top speed 3.8 seconds/155mph BMW’s mid-life refresh for its X3 SUV and X4 coupé-SUV models also extends to the high-performance M models, and this new X4 M Competition is our first chance to sample the updated range-topper. Like the regular cars, much of the focus here has been placed on keeping the X4 M looking sharp, while also boosting the technology inside. However, the previous car – along with its X3 M Competition counterpart – was hardly a smooth-riding SUV, so BMW has conceded that work needed to be done here and has widened the gap between the driving modes. In Comfort the X4 M’s chassis is a little more supple, helped by new 21-inch forged alloys that save 2kg per corner. However, this looser control over the…

Yousuf_Ashraf@autovia.co.uk @ashrafoncars Performance 0-62mph/top speed 4.8 seconds/166mph THE Mach 1 is the hottest Mustang you can buy in Europe and represents what will likely be a last gasp for the V8 engine. With an uprated motor and chassis tweaks as part of the track-bred makeover, the Mach 1 also receives a bespoke aero package that adds 22 per cent more downforce compared with the base car, and a whole heap of visual aggression thanks to a deep front splitter and a boot spoiler. The defining feature is a pair of large nostrils embedded in the front grille, which feed the 5.0-litre V8 engine and pay tribute to the Mustang Mach 1 of 1969. An upgraded induction system and a performance exhaust ensure that if you’re somehow not seen, you’ll certainly…

MODELTESTED: Genesis GV80 3.0D AWD Luxury 7 Seat PRICE: £62,915 ENGINE: 3.0-litre 6cyl, 274bhp Running costs 33.8mpg (on test) £112 fill-up/37% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 727/2,144 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 7.5 seconds/143mph OUR GV80 test car was a five-seat model, although for an extra £500 you can order an extra pair of seats to align more closely with the XC90, which we’ll use for the basis of this comparison. In this top-spec luxury trim the GV80 is priced from £62,915, but the addition of the Innovation Pack (£3,900) and metallic paint (£750) bumps that figure up to £67,565. Design & engineering GENESIS isn’t exactly a standalone. It’s a premium offshoot of the Hyundai empire, which means its models share many platforms, engines and tech with a wide range of…

USED: Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid PRICE: £65,000 ENGINE: 3.0-litre 6cyl, 456bhp FOR similar cash to these two new SUVs, it’s possible to bag a 2018 Porsche Cayenne with a super-frugal plug-in hybrid powertrain. It’s sharper to drive and plusher than either, and delivers all the performance you’d expect, but with potentially tiny fuel bills. USED: Range Rover 4.4 SDV8 Vogue SE PRICE: £65,000 ENGINE: 4.4-litre 8cyl, 334bhp LUXURIOUS though our two contenders feel, neither can match the opulence or the image of the Range Rover. Refinement and comfort are first-class, while the V8 diesel delivers effortless shove. We found several 2018 models for £65k.…

Steve_Walker@autovia.co.uk Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 585/1,710 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 8.2 seconds/99mph SKODA had never built an electric car from the ground up before so, in theory, the Enyaq could have been an unmitigated disaster. Except the modern car industry doesn’t really work like that – and the Volkswagen Group definitely doesn’t. This might be Skoda’s first purpose-built EV, but it has the now-ubiquitous VW MEB platform as a foundation, and with it all the other tech we’d already seen in numerous VWs, Audis and SEATs. It’s also a Skoda, so the crisp but conservative design, roomy cabin and “Simply Clever” ice scrapers and umbrellas were expected. The Enyaq is as much of a journey into the unknown as the last time you peered into your fridge, but that’s fine…

New watch emulates Pininfarina Battista AUTOMOBILI Pininfarina and BOVET 1822 have created a new timepiece to go alongside the electric Battista hyper GT car. The watch (above) is inspired by detailing on the supercar. Sapphire crystals on both sides display the mechanism, and every detail has been created to connect the design with the car, with Pininfarina hallmarks like the flying bridge above the dials. The Battista Tourbillon features a bespoke movement, and just 90 will be built. V8-engined P1800 in Hot Wheels bid A BESPOKE Volvo P1800 gasser drag racer has been selected as the UK finalist for the Hot Wheels Legends Tour. The tour aims to seek out the very best and most extreme classic, modified and race cars, with the overall winner to be made into a…

CO2/tax 161-201g/km £155 Running costs 28-40mpg (2.0T 280) £90 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 5.7 seconds/143mph SUVs first became popular with the masses in the 1990s, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that more overly sporting brands such as Porsche took an interest. Not all car makers were convinced, though, and several prestige or semipremium brands decided to sit it out, rather than risk the wrath of die-hard enthusiasts. Alfa Romeo was one of them, and it’s easy to see why: its USP for a long time has been a focus on driving pleasure above all else, and launching an SUV isn’t the best way of expressing that. But it became clear that buyers wanted an SUV so the firm relented. Admittedly the Stelvio hasn’t been a runaway success, but…

Stephen_Errity@autovia.co.uk • Verstappen 12 points in front • Form book favours Red Bull RED BULL’S Max Verstappen takes a 12-point drivers’ championship lead into this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, following a nail-biting contest with Lewis Hamilton last time out in Austin, Texas. The omens are good for the Dutchman, who won at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the nation’s capital, Mexico City, in both 2017 and 2018. However, his team boss Christian Horner has told the media he thinks previous performance should be discounted ahead of this year. “I think you’ve got to chuck the form book away,” he commented. “It’s very tight between the two teams. Mexico has been a good track for us, but it’s been a good track for them [Mercedes] as well. So we don’t underestimate…