Auto Express 1720

WHAT a time to start a new venture in the car market. Spoticar seems like such a great idea, yet it was launched last year in the middle of twin perils: a global pandemic and the biggest supply shortage the car industry has ever seen. In case you missed it, Spoticar is a new used-car programme from Stellantis and is set to cover its multiple and varied brands: everything from Fiat and Jeep to Citroen and Vauxhall. In effect, it replaces all the various makers’ own used car programmes, like Vauxhall’s Network Q, but currently only covers former PSA manufacturers Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Vauxhall. It makes complete sense to group all these firms’ used-car stock under one roof, especially since we’re more likely to shop across brands and categories…

Alex_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @AxleIngram ● Jogger offers 1.0-litre turbo petrol at launch; hybrid due next year ● Bags of practicality in a compact 4.5m package is car’s trump card IT’S not often that a new car takes us by surprise, when something we’ve seen on the horizon perhaps intrigues, delights, or disappoints in a way we weren’t expecting. But in the case of the all-new Dacia Jogger, we’re almost lost for words. When a car tries to be too many things, it frequently falls short of mastering any of the various briefs set out for it, instead sitting awkwardly between several categories without mastering any of them. Approach the rather odd-looking Jogger and you fear it might be due the same fate. Is it an estate? A traditional MPV? And is there…

Darren_wilson@autovia.co.uk THERE was a eureka moment during my family’s test of the new Jogger when I suddenly realised that my fully grown son was sitting in the third row, with his son’s buggy slotted in beside him, and that there were still two rows in front of him. It’s then that I became aware of the flexibility in this still-compact car: it was now a six-seater, with a hefty load bay thrown in. The brief from our road-test team was a simple one: to throw a mid-spec Jogger at my family for a morning, get them to jump aboard and put its practicality and versatility to the test. My wife Dawn, son George, grandson Zack and I were all curious to see how the UK’s cheapest seven-seater could accommodate the…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods ● New SUV on sale this year ● Fresh look, new tech inside THE next BMW X1 will mark a revolution for the German brand, as it prepares to evolve a winning recipe and produce a car aligned with the brand’s wide-reaching electrification strategy. To do this, the X1 will move to an updated version of the current car’s platform, allowing BMW to offer petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and fully electric versions of its Audi Q3 rival. The X1 is BMW’s second most popular SUV and its fourth best-selling car globally, so this new one really matters at a time of delays, disruption and dwindling deliveries throughout the automotive world. Spied numerous times during its lengthy development programme, the car will make its debut in the second half…

Dean_Gibson@autovia.co.uk @DeanGbsn ● MPV is largest ID model yet ● Passenger and van versions THE latest model to join Volkswagen’s ID electric line-up has been revealed, in the shape of the ID. Buzz. It’s an minivan that’s based on the same platform as the ID.3 electric hatchback, but it takes design inspiration from the classic VW Type 2. It uses a 201bhp electric motor driving the rear wheels, combined with a 77kWh battery. VW hasn’t confirmed driving range yet, but we’d expect around 250 miles to be possible. A 170kW charging system is fitted, so the battery can go from five to 80 per cent capacity in 30 minutes from a DC source. Bi-directional charging means that not only will you be able to charge the car at home, you’ll…

THE LOOK of the first Lotus SUV may have been leaked ahead of the car’s scheduled unveiling later this month. These newly discovered patent renders filed by Lotus could be the final design of the model, currently known by the codename Type 132. Slim headlights, a full-width rear light bar and angular grille suggest a sportiness to rival the likes of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Tesla Model Y and Porsche’s forthcoming pure-electric Macan. Door mirror cameras, flush-fitting handles, a split rear spoiler and various ducts should all help to lower the electric SUV’s drag coefficient to boost range and performance. The new model will sit on Lotus’s ‘Premium Architecture’ – one of the firm’s four new platforms designed for wide-ranging electrification.…