Innholdsfortegnelse for 1899 i Auto Express

SUMMER holidays meant two weeks in France, and the difference in how drivers there are treated, and how they act, was stark. I’ll start with where they get it right, and the big one is parking. From town to beach to shopping centre, we didn’t have to pay for parking once. Head down to Camber Sands on the south coast of England for more than three hours and you’re looking at £24. A few hours in a town centre car park won’t be much better, so we saved enough money for a couple of family meals out on holiday. It really highlighted just how reliant UK councils are on motorists coughing up to park their car everywhere they go, plus the fines that are increasingly franchised out to private enforcement…

MEET the car that is set to lead Audi into a new era. The Concepts C marks a pivotal moment for the brand, headed by a fresh leadership team with a philosophy that will dramatically change the way its cars will look and feel. It bears no relation to any current Audi, and digs through the firm’s illustrious history to inform and inspire the overall design. There are clear references to cars such as the Auto Union Type C racer from the thirties, as well as more modern creations like the Audi TT and original R8. The Concept C’s historically relevant design features include the rectangular grille and narrow slats on the rear bodywork, but others – such as the slim lighting – point towards a much more contemporary look…

THIS is our best look yet at the new Cupra Raval, a small, sporty electric supermini that will be arriving next year to try its luck against the MINI Cooper and Alpine A290. The Raval’s arrival has been a long time coming, with Cupra first hinting at the prospect of an entry-level EV back in 2021 with the UrbanRebel concept. A more toned-down version was revealed a year later, but the car pictured below is a camouflaged version of the roadgoing model. It was shown for the first time at a preview event to the 2025 Munich Motor Show, where Cupra’s Tindaya concept was also unveiled. The Raval is the first member of the Volkswagen Group’s ‘Electric Urban Car’ family to arrive, followed by the VW ID. Polo and ID.…

THE SUV’s relentless rise has put the skids under estate cars, but this Vision O concept shows Skoda believes the bodystyle has a future into the 2030s. The huge but aerodynamic five-door model is a design study that majors on autonomous driving, an AI-powered digital assistant and a cabin that alters according to your circadian rhythm (body clock). Skoda says the ‘O’ in Vision O represents the car’s circularity, with the floor trimmed in scrap leather, the use of plant-based materials, seat covers knitted from recycled polyester and material that can be recycled more easily. But boss Klaus Zellmer vows the O also nods to Octavia, the brand’s best-selling car. “I’m really looking forward to sharing our Octavia concept car,” he told Auto Express recently. “It’s going to create a…

THE list of cars eligible for the Government’s Electric Car Grant has gained the new Skoda Elroq – the reigning Auto Express Car of the Year – and the Skoda Enyaq. Both qualify for a £1,500 discount on their list price and join two other Volkswagen Group EVs – the Cupra Born and Volkswagen ID.3 – on the list. Some variants of the Enyaq qualify for the £1,500 grant, too. This is because they use the same powertrain and platform as the Elroq and are under the £42k limit to qualify for the ECG. At the same time, the Toyota bZ4X also now receives a £1,500 discount after slotting into Band 2 of the ECG. The same goes for the marque’s Proace City Verso MPV, while the mechanically similar large…

THIS is the BYD Seal 6 DM-i, a car that manages to buck current trends in the new-car market in not just one, but two key ways. The first is perhaps a surprising one from the biggest EV brand in the world, because the Seal 6 DM-i shows that BYD hasn’t fully turned its back on the internal-combustion engine. The company dabbles in plug-in hybrids, too. In fact, ‘dabbles’ might be underselling it somewhat. BYD’s one PHEV offering so far in the UK market, the Seal U DM-i SUV, has sold more than 10,000 units in 10 months, making it the most popular model in the brand’s line-up here. The second, and more welcome, break from the norm is that the 6 DM-i isn’t joining the number of SUVs that…

THIS is Mercedes-AMG’s flagship sports car, the GT, and for its second generation, there’s a wide range of models to choose from. The flagship GT 63 S E Performance edition offers insane straight-line performance courtesy of its mix of V8 and electrical power, while at the base of the range there’s a four-cylinder turbo in the GT 43. Between those two are a pair of good old-fashioned V8s; there’s no hybrid assistance, no big batteries, just a noisy 4.0-litre engine with lots of cylinders backed up by a pair of turbochargers. Here we have the marginally less potent option, the AMG GT 55, which sits below the GT 63. And it’s clear from the off that this is the sweet spot of the range. The V8 isn’t at its most…

THE Skoda Enyaq has been a strong seller for the firm in Europe, and it’s one of our favourite Volkswagen Group EVs, too. It’s been updated with a new look (which applies to the SUV and the Coupé) for 2025, plus there’s more tech across the range, along with improved performance and efficiency. MOTORS & PERFORMANCE THERE are three battery options, and the model names are loosely based on their size. The Enyaq 60 has a 63kWh pack, while cars badged Enyaq 85 have an 82kWh unit. The Enyaq vRS doesn’t get a number in its name and features an 84kWh battery. The different battery sizes come with unique power outputs. There’s a single electric motor driving the rear wheels on 60 and 85 cars, and these have 201bhp and…

THERE are no two ways about it, the latest Honda Civic Type R has become an expensive and indulgent kind of car. In this day and age, you could even call it a misfit, with its eye-watering £52k price tag, six-speed manual gearbox and four-seat configuration. But where it counts – on the road, or better still on a track like Brands Hatch – there is no other hot hatch that can touch the latest Type R. It is, quite simply, the fastest and arguably most thrilling front-wheel-drive car there has ever been. So we were more than a little excited about the prospect of running one for six months, just to see how much more civilised (or otherwise) it might be beside its more raucous predecessors. There are precisely…

SNOW TESTS FOR the snow elements, we went to Goodyear’s ‘Arctic Center’ facility in Saariselkä, northern Finland. Conditions were just cold enough for consistency for our snow laps, with track temperatures ranging from minus seven to minus four degrees Celsius. The handling evaluation was on a short but demanding 0.8km (0.5-mile) track, with one significant drop and rise, a couple of quick transitions that test handling balance and lateral grip, and a number of tight corners to check braking and traction. We tested braking from 50-5kph (30-3mph) and acceleration from 8-30kph (5-20mph), averaging a number of runs from two days. WET TESTS AS usual, wet and dry tests were done at Continental’s Contidrom near Hannover in Germany, the most northerly and therefore coldest, regular tyre-test facility in Europe. We started…

I KNOW that “don’t be afraid to try new things” sounds like a phrase parents say to picky kids while trying to feed them something not dinosaur-shaped, or perhaps by your partner when they buy you a tandem bike as an anniversary gift. But it’s also an idea worth bearing in mind when choosing your next car. We like what we know. That’s how certain brands are able to earn such loyal customers – whether it’s exceptional build quality, frugal engines or (these days) how easy they make turning off the speed-limit warning. We probably all know someone who has only ever bought cars with a particular badge on the boot-lid, year-after-year, decade-after-decade. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, though. There are, after all, a number of benefits…

WE adore small cars at Auto Express. They’re fun to throw around on a B-road, cheap to run and easy to park. Add all that together and you can easily create a great three-car garage for the price of an average electric SUV. That’s exactly what we did with a search through the Auto Express used-car classifieds. 1 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI £10,995 THE Mk7 Volkswagen Golf GTI is a jack of all trades, and more than a decade after it was launched, it remains a benchmark for modern hot hatches. The spacious cabin, 380-litre boot and impressive refinement make it great for daily life. Plus the interior is supremely well built, and includes all the Golf GTI’s signature touches, such as tartan upholstery on the sports seats. Then when the road…

TODAY’S Renault Clio – Europe’s best-selling car in 2025 – is a tough act to follow. But it’s getting old, so Renault has unveiled this angular new hatchback to replace it in 2027. This sixth-generation car will come with hybrid and pure-petrol power as Renault maintains its two-pronged attack; the 4 and 5 models address the growing EV market, while the Clio and baby SUV Captur aim for those keen to stick with combustion. From a styling point of view, the target, according to design project director Paula Fabregat-Andreu, was to “elevate Clio and make it the most desirable, expressive and dynamic” car in its class. Slightly longer, wider and taller than the outgoing fifth-generation car (an extra 67mm, 39mm and 11mm respectively, despite sitting on the same CMF-B platform),…

THIS is the Volkswagen ID. Cross Concept: our first look at the brand’s £25k small electric SUV that will arrive towards the end of 2026 as a rival to the likes of the Renault 4 and Ford Puma Gen-E. The ID. Cross, unveiled at this week’s IAA Mobility show in Munich, will be the all-electric alternative to the T-Cross that arrived in 2018. It’s the same arrangement as with the petrol VW Polo supermini and its zero-emissions ID. Polo counterpart that’s arriving next year. The naming strategy for VW’s EVs keeps the ID. moniker that the firm has used for several years now, with the first model to wear it being the ID.3 hatchback. But the brand now wants to capitalise on the status and familiarity of badges such as…

SKODA’S Epiq electric SUV has leapt closer to launch with a ‘show car’ that looks suspiciously production-ready. The 4.1-metre-long five-seater is Skoda’s equivalent to the ID.Polo and Raval: all share lower-cost LFP batteries and e-motors to boost scale. litre boot. Lots of interior practicality is promised, plus wireless charging. The show car gets a production-ready bumper and number plate housing, parking sensors and big alloys. Skoda has said the finished car – launching in mid-2026 – will cost the same as its Kamiq petrol equivalent, making good on its promise of a £25,000 EV.…

A FEW weeks ago, we caught a glimpse of a new breed of Mercedes models (Issue 1,894) – cars that will be defined by their bold styling and, in the case of the new GLC with EQ Technology, a heavily illuminated front end. Now, the groundbreaking SUV has been revealed in full at the Munich Motor Show, just days after its main rival: the all-new BMW iX3. Probably most significant – aside from the polarising styling – is the tech buried within. Sitting on the new, all-electric MB.EA architecture (this car is not mechanically related to the existing combustion-engined model), the new GLC features 800-volt technology, a two-speed transmission and the air-suspension system from the flagship S-Class. Headline figures include a 94kWh battery good for a preliminary 700km (435-mile) range…

AN attractive electric hatchback is set to hit the UK next summer, if Hyundai’s Concept Three goes into production as the new Ioniq 3, in the same way as the company has previously done with its show cars. Strip away the Concept Three’s coach-style doors, funky interior and styling extravagances – including big wheels and a pixel-screen grille – and you’ll have the basis of a Volkswagen ID.3 rival. It could potentially be priced from around £28,000 to position the Ioniq 3 between the Inster and Kona Electric SUV in Hyundai’s EV line-up. The 4,288mm-long concept is larger than an ID.3, and 52mm shorter than Hyundai’s i30 petrol hatchback. “We wanted Concept Three to have a very sporting stance with a clear silhouette defined by aero hatch profile and typical…

PORSCHE’S long-awaited, all-electric Cayenne will launch next year with a little trick up its sleeve – wireless charging technology. Following the BMW 530e iPerformance PHEV (offered with an optional 3kW wireless charger in 2018), the Cayenne will be the first pure-EV with 11kW wireless charging. Porsche says that around 75 per cent of its electrified cars are charged at home – which is where it expects the wireless charging method to be popular. The floor plate that Porsche has developed measures 117cm by 78cm and stands 6cm tall. You have to install it on a private car parking space, connect it to the mains and park your Cayenne EV over the top of it, making sure the pad sits between the wheels.…

THINK of a premium executive estate, and the Audi A6 Avant could easily be the car that springs to mind. For five generations, this upmarket load-lugger has delivered comfort and space to match arch-rivals such as the BMW 5 Series Touring and Mercedes E-Class Estate. And now there’s an all-new sixth-generation model hitting UK showrooms. The first batch of cars come in Launch Edition and Launch Edition Plus specifications, with the latter having everything but the kitchen sink thrown at it as standard equipment – although with a price tag in excess of £67,000, you’d expect it to feature plenty of goodies. Highlights include adaptive air suspension, four-zone climate control, a Bang & Olufsen 3D sound system, acoustic glass, gloss-black exterior detailing and matrix LED lighting that offers a dazzling…

TOYOTA’S first Beyond Zero (or bZ) model got a mixed reaction when it arrived in 2022. Some would even argue that it was a bit of a disappointment, considering the brand’s vast experience of battery tech with its hybrid vehicles. We’ve tested the four-wheel-drive version before, but now it’s the turn of the front-wheel-drive model to prove its mettle. MOTORS & PERFORMANCE THERE are two powertrain options available in the bZ4X, both based around the same 71.4kWh battery that has been offered since the model’s launch. The front-wheel-drive version has a single 201bhp electric motor, while the X-Mode dual-motor, four-wheel-drive variant has a total output of 215bhp split evenly between the two axles. That’s unusual when you consider that rivals such as the Enyaq use one motor as the main…

All-season Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 DESIGNED as a year-round fitment, the all-season tyre is gaining popularity in the UK and European countries with a similar weather mix – less snow but plenty of cold, wet conditions. Although winter tyres prioritise snow performance, all-season tyres combine some snow ability with better performance in cold wet and cold dry conditions. They are also designed to work through the heat of the summer, hence the name. The winning all-season tyre from our 2024 test, the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3, gave a snow performance that put it on par with the sixth-placed Vredestein Wintrac Pro+. Last year, in milder conditions at the upper limit for winter tyres (close to 7deg C), the all-season tyre went on to out-perform the winter tyres in…

THE first week of September pretty much had it all: transport chaos and unintended comedy, state-sponsored rip-offs, a bargain in the showrooms plus major product births (Audi TT), deaths (Porsche Boxster and Cayman) and marriages (RoboBallet AI helping car-building robots work more harmoniously). Also, there was further proof that the much-hyped ‘alternative to the car’ is as unreliable as ever. This thanks to some (not all) bus and train ‘workers’ being unable to shake off a seemingly incurable addiction to their drug of choice – industrial action. A perfect example of the most recent misery, money-wasting and mayhem caused by such strikers was at Wembley Stadium. Almost 200,000 people bought tickets for major concerts at the venue on 7 and 8 September. But because these (and other) dates became train…

RENAULT is keen to pitch its new supermini as on a par with the class above in terms of equipment and quality, and from our experience at the preview event we found that it at least partially delivers on this. The top half of the cabin gets plenty of soft-touch materials, with the sculpted fabric running across the dash and onto the door panel, where it meets the crystal-effect ambient lighting, a particular highlight. But there are plenty of cheaper hard plastics on the lower half of the cabin, which isn’t unusual in the small-car sector. Rear passengers have good headroom and legroom, but the biggest weakness from our early experience is that it feels narrow on the inside. Three adults are a no-no in the rear, and even the…

THIS is not the next Batmobile. It’s the new Cupra Tindaya concept, which points the way to a driver-focused flagship SUV for the brand that could rival the forthcoming BMW iX3 and Alfa Romeo Stelvio. Late last year, Auto Express broke the story of Cupra’s intention to launch a new flagship electrified SUV that would sit above its newly launched Terramar and Tavascan. It was also going to be the car that would lead the brand into the US market, although that plan has been postponed for now. Nevertheless, the Tindaya indicates Cupra is still up for the challenge of taking on the likes of BMW, Alfa and others. The dramatic concept also shows us the next evolution of its design language, and how the Spanish company will continue to…

BMW’s new-generation iX3 has been revealed, boasting 500 miles of range for £58,755, making it the longest-travelling electric car on UK sale. And this is for the mid-range, all-wheel-drive 50 xDrive model. Next year, BMW will announce a cheaper, rear-wheel-drive 40 variant, with a range set to top 600 miles on a single charge. The engineers say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to engineer a new generation of BMW, hence the Neue Klasse (new class) name. It brings a new chassis, and fresh electric drivetrain, driver-assistance systems, cockpit experience, electronic architecture and software, all clothed in a fresh design. “We believe this design effectively skips a generation of BMWs. It’s taken four years of work to design something very reduced, very clean, which hopefully looks effortless,” BMW group design boss…

THE Polestar 5 has finally been revealed in its full production trim, with some eagerly awaited technical specs confirmed, too. When it reaches customers in the next few months, the model will cost from £89,500 for the Dual Motor Launch Edition and £104,900 for the Dual Motor Performance. These prices significantly undercut a Porsche Taycan model-for-model, and the Swedish car largely beats it in terms of power and range, too. Polestar has gone all out to design and develop its electric GT from a blank sheet of paper. It’s not just the car that’s new, but also the team behind it, the engineering facilities and even the plant it will be built in. The Polestar 5 range will launch with two variants that share most of their technical elements, including…

JLR has admitted that it has been the victim of what it describes as a “cyber incident”, making it one of several large UK firms to be attacked over the past six months. The attack reportedly began on 31 August, with JLR stating that the situation has “severely disrupted” car production and parts sourcing; staff at its plant in Halewood, Liverpool, where the Range Rover Evoque is produced, have been told to stay home until the matter is resolved. With September being a crucial month for new-car sales and production due to the arrival of the new 75 registration in the UK, Auto Express asked the firm how long it would take for production to come back online, but JLR was unable to provide an accurate timescale. Nevertheless, the company…

IT’S hard to keep track of all the new Chinese brands entering the UK market, but as our deep dive into Chery at its launch event suggested, this is one to be reckoned with. Our experience of the company begins with the Tiggo 7, which is a rival to the Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage. There are lots more alternatives to the Tiggo 7 from within the wider ‘Chery Automobile’ group, which includes the Omoda and Jaecoo brands. The three are looking to consolidate on very strong recent sales figures, with the Jaecoo 7 becoming the sixth best-selling car in the UK this August and the group growing its market share to 2.96 per cent – up from 2.1 per cent – as recently as June. There’s no reason why…

NEW Car Day always causes great excitement in the Wilson household. Everyone is keen to take a tour, fiddle with the infotainment and offer an opinion. These days, my grandchildren, Zack (five) and Hope (three), like to get involved, too. The dynamic duo immediately christened our Cupra ‘The Batmobile’. Okay, there are more radically styled cars about than our Timanfaya Grey Terramar; but as the dark nights return, they’ve been captivated by the distinctive Cupra logo in its massive bat-like puddle lights on either side of the car. Once inside, the deep red wraparound interior lighting has spiked their imagination, and I’m with them. The exterior is distinctive and more sporting than its Volkswagen Tiguan or Skoda Kodiaq siblings. Swooping lines and the aggressive front grille make a statement, suggesting…

THIS year’s winter tyre test returns to the big-selling 225/45 R17 size. Snow may be rare for some of us, but winter tyres guarantee that you have the best solution for the worst weather, and they are so much better than summer tyres in the coldest months, even without the white stuff. In our last two tests of this size, the Continental WinterContact TS 870 has emerged victorious, and it returns hoping to secure what would be a remarkable hat-trick. The opposition has been busy, though. Bridgestone finished a close second last time and brings its new Blizzak 6, while third-placed Goodyear competes again with its UltraGrip Performance 3 and Vredestein brings its Wintrac Pro+. Michelin joins the contest with its new Alpin 7, Falken brings its updated Eurowinter HS02PRO,…

THE budget Triangle performed decently in the snow and was okay in the dry, but was bottom of the table in all the wet tests. The Falken (seventh) has useful wet and dry handling, plus is refined, while the Vredestein (sixth) showed no specific strengths but scored okay overall. Fifth place on its debut was a fine result for the LingLong, which claimed the fastest lap in the dry, but was the least economical tyre. The fourth-placed Michelin had a slight bias to snow, but drove well in the wet and was the second most economical. The Bridgestone (third) performed well in all disciplines, but especially in the cold wet and dry. Goodyear (second) topped five tests, but was beaten by the superb Continental, which also won five tests to…