Innholdsfortegnelse for 10/02/2016 i Autocar

VOLKSWAGEN HAS confirmed plans for a “family of new Tiguans” following the success of the first-generation model. Speaking at the first media drives of the new Tiguan in Sweden this week, Jochen Böhle, head of product development for VW’s compact car line-up, confirmed development was progressing on up to three Tiguan models. The standard car will be joined next year by a long-wheelbase (up by 110mm to 2791mm) version with up to seven seats that is unlikely to reach the UK, while a style-led coupé variant (below) is planned to reach showrooms in 2018. “We are planning to introduce a family of Tiguan models in coming years,” Böhle said. “Tiguan has developed into a sub-brand and we intend to build on it. “The coupé was not originally on the plan,”…

The next-generation Bentley Continental range will be significantly lighter than the outgoing one, boss Wolfgang Dürheimer has said. The first third-generation Continental model to appear should be the GT coupé in 2018. It will be followed by a new GT Convertible and the Flying Spur four-door saloon. Like the firm’s new Bentayga SUV, the Continental’s bodyshell will be a hybrid-materials structure, with assorted high-strength steels reinforcing a body made mainly from aluminium. The current car is steel-bodied. This change will contribute to a mass-reduction effort that should drop the car’s weight substantially below the 2375kg of today’s GT. However, it will not fall below two tonnes, Dürheimer said. The next Continental will be based on a new platform called MSB and co-developed by Bentley and Porsche. It will also be…

Liverpool-based BAC will begin work this year on a stablemate for its £125,000 Mono single-seater. The aim is to boost total production from 20 a year to more than 100. The company, spun off an automotive design consultancy established in Germany about a decade ago by Liverpool-born brothers Neil and Ian Briggs, currently employs 24 people but wants to expand to nearer 60 by building more cars and moving more of its assembly operations in-house. Development director Neil Briggs said BAC (which stands for Briggs Automotive Company) will first increase Mono production from the current two or three cars a week to four towards the end of the year. The intention is to cut its present year-long waiting list and help to cope with demand from the existing stable of…

Mercedes-Benz is preparing to take on the Audi A6 Allroad with a high-riding version of the upcoming E-Class Estate. The E-Class All Terrain is set to be the first in what a high-ranking source has described as “a range of new crossover models” that will be added to Mercedes’ line-up in the coming years. Due to be launched in October, the plush new four-wheel-drive estate will be pitched as an alternative to Mercedes’ dedicated SUVs. A £40,000 price for an entry-level E200 model is expected. The starting point for the E-Class All Terrain is the yet-to-be-revealed fifth-generation E-Class Estate. Both models will share the same aluminium and steel body. Recent spy photographs confirm that the E-Class All Terrain is visually differentiated from its regular estate sibling by a series of…

Honda will preview the exterior design of the next-generation Civic with a prototype at the Geneva motor show next month. The Civic Hatchback Prototype, seen in this teaser sketch, will point to the styling of a new Civic due for launch early next year. Clues to the design of the new car can be seen in the Civic saloon already on sale in the US. The prototype has the same tail-light design, although its central twin exhausts and revised roofline suggest the Geneva show car will have a sportier look. The new Civic will be made at Honda’s Swindon plant for export to all of the Japanese manufacturer’s global markets. Honda is making a fresh, £200 million investment in the plant to prepare for the car’s production. POWER BOOST FOR…

It doesn’t seem more than five minutes ago that Skoda was launching its latest Octavia vRS, but in fact, we were first introduced to it back in 2013. The higher-powered 230 petrol model followed late last year, and only now are we getting our first go behind the wheel of the recently added 4x4 version. But before you start conjuring up images of a roomier, cut-price Volkswagen Golf R, Skoda is offering the vRS/4x4 combination as a diesel only. It is the VW Group’s strong 181bhp 2.0 TDI, though, and a six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic gearbox is standard. Both hatch and estate variants are available, too. Prices start at £27,515 for the 4x4 hatch, while the estate costs a further £1200. Only an automatic vRS 230 costs more in the…

Reading Steve Cropley’s drive in the Toyota Mirai got me thinking (‘Drink to the Future’, 27 January). If we all took up hydrogen cars in this country and each car produced 0.8 litres of water per 10km, there could, in the future, be upwards of 30 million cars at an average of approximately 10,000km per year. By my reckoning, that would be 24 billion litres of water either on the road or forming clouds of vapour every year — from UK cars alone. In the USA, with 253 million cars, the figure would be 202 billion litres of water vapour per year — quite a flood. Can the drainage system cope? I noticed the next article in the week’s magazine is ‘Floody Hell’. A bit close for comfort, perhaps? John…

Mileage 3648 We’ve passed 3600 miles in the Tivoli, so its surprising list of capabilities is trodden ground. To rain on the parade, then, the handbrake button has failed, retreating inside the lever and only returning when teased out manually at every traffic light. It’s not a profound or life-endangering fault, but it is at best an inconvenience and at worst a precursor to dinged bumpers. So, not wanting to take any chances, I took the car to my local Ssangyong dealer, where the lever was quickly fixed under warranty — the dealer adding that the problem has occurred on many Tivolis.› A quick phone call seemingly alerted Ssangyong to the issue, although with fewer than 1000 Tivolis on the road and four other model lines with limited production numbers,…

Autocar’s star ratings explained Inherently dangerous/unsafe. Tragically, irredeemably flawed. Appalling. Massively significant failings. Very poor. Fails to meet any accepted class boundaries. Poor. Within acceptable class boundaries in a few areas. Still not recommendable. Off the pace. Below average in nearly all areas. Acceptable. About average in key areas, but disappoints. Competent. Above average in some areas, average in others. Outstanding in none. Good. Competitive in key areas. Very good. Very competitive in key areas, competitive in secondary respects. Excellent. Near class leading in key areas, and in some ways outstanding. Brilliant, unsurpassed. All but flawless. Any car that has had a full Autocar road test is highlighted in yellow. FOR FULL RESULTS see page 83…

Smart Fortwo Cabrio Spring The open-top version of Smart’s dinky city car comes with a 70bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder or 89bhp turbocharged 0.9-litre engine. A short wheelbase makes it nervous at speed, but it’s agile and highly manoeuvrable through town. Price £13,265 SPRING 2016 Abarth 595 facelift, Alpina B7, Ariel Nomad Supercharged, Audi S8 Plus, S4, RS6/RS7 Performance, R8 Spyder, SQ7, SQ5, BMW M2, M4 GTS, 225xe Active Tourer, 330e, 3 Series GT facelift, X4 M40i, Bugatti Chiron, Cadillac CT6, Chevrolet Camaro, Detroit Electric SP:01, Elemental RP1, Ferrari 488 Spider, Fiat Tipo, Ford Focus RS, Ranger, Mustang, Infiniti Q30, Hyundai i20 Active, i20 1.0, Jaguar F-Pace, XE AWD, XF AWD, Kia Sportage, Optima, Kahn Speed 7, Koenigsegg Agera RS, Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster, Huracán LP580-2, Huracán Spyder, Centenario LP770-4, Land Rover…

THE VAUXHALL MOKKA X has been revealed ahead of its public debut at the Geneva motor show next month. Despite the new name, the X is essentially a facelifted version of the current Mokka. It gains an updated exterior, a new engine and a larger roster of technical features. The new engine is a 152bhp turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol unit. When mated to Vauxhall’s six-speed automatic transmission in the Mokka X, it has a claimed combined economy figure of 42.8mpg and CO2 emissions of 154g/km. The 1.6-litre diesel engines from the existing Mokka are retained for the X. They come in 108bhp and 134bhp guises and are both good for a claimed 68.9mpg combined in two-wheel-drive Ecoflex form. A six-speed manual is standard with all engines and stop-start technology is also…

WARM AND HOT hatches could be given a lifeline through rapidly emerging sales opportunities in China and elsewhere in Asia, although the sales rise could lead to the performance of the cars being watered down. It is understood that sales of performance versions of standard cars have grown significantly in China in recent years as a car culture has developed among a generation of buyers wanting to drive rather than be driven. Given the cost of developing warm and hot hatches, plus the limited sales potential of such cars in Europe and the US, the growth in interest in sales across Asia is seen by some manufacturers as an opportunity to strengthen the business case for continuing to develop such models. As well as Renault Sport, Ford Performance is another…

SMART IS PREPARING to launch electric and Brabus performance versions of its city cars. They will make their debuts at the Geneva motor show next month. Smart will offer pure electric versions of the Fortwo coupé and cabrio and the Forfour. US sales will start late this year and European sales in early 2017. “We’re looking into fast-charge solutions and ways of integrating electric Smart infrastructure into certain cities,” said the head of Smart, Annette Winkler. “Around 60 to 80 miles from a full charge is probable.” Smart has confirmed further details of the hot Brabus versions of the Fortwo and Forfour, due this summer. “We’ll be keeping the turbocharged 0.9 three-cylinder engine and dual-clutch automatic gearbox we have already, but there’ll be a bigger turbo,” said Smart product manager…

Skoda is considering new range-topping engines for the Superb and Fabia, hinting at a new twin-turbo diesel for its executive model and at a desire for a Fabia vRS to become reality. A flagship 237bhp four-cylinder diesel engine, already fitted to the Volkswagen Passat, would slot into the Superb above the current 187bhp 2.0 TDI. As with the Passat, all-wheel drive and a dual-clutch automatic gearbox would most likely be standard. Despite Skoda’s significant success in rallying with its Fabia, continual investment in its team and popular past Fabia vRS models, there are still question marks over whether a new hot version of the supermini will be made. However, a source said the chassis could handle more power and a business case was now being investigated for the model. FLOW…

THE SUBARU XV crossover has been facelifted, with tweaks to the engines, chassis and styling. The chassis upgrades are claimed to improve the ride and grip of the XV, while engine updates have improved the economy and emissions of the 2.0-litre petrol and 2.0-litre diesel engines. Styling changes include new front foglight surrounds and a new lower grille and bumper treatment. The exterior upgrades mark the second part of a two-step facelift. The interior changes, including a new steering wheel and a revised infotainment system, are already in place. The facelifted XV will go on sale next month, with prices remaining unchanged.›…

The second-generation Tiguan is the first all-new model to emerge from Volkswagen since it became embroiled in the diesel emissions scandal. First revealed at the Frankfurt motor show last September, the neatly styled SUV represents a big break from its highly successful predecessor, not only in terms of appearance and engineering but also in positioning and ambition. Having recorded a healthy 2.6 million sales worldwide with the first-generation Tiguan since its introduction in 2007, Volkswagen has decided to expand the range in a bid to extend the model’s reach into new market segments. The standard five-seat model driven here is just one of three Tiguan derivatives set to join the line-up over the next two years. A seven-seat long-wheelbase variant (due in 2017) and a more sportingly styled coupé (2018)…

If you love cars, you’ll probably want to own and drive a hot hatch, fast coupé or performance saloon from the 1970s or 1980s. Except you can’t. Well, if money is no object, you can, but if you have any remnants of common sense, you’ll pass. Those old cars are wonderfully analogue and visceral, but there is no way they’re worth tens of thousands of pounds. We live in an era when Ford Sierra Cosworths fetch £100k and a Mk3 Ford Escort with a turbo attached is auctioned for £60k. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be like this. The recently ‘classicised’ used car market may have gone mad, but you can still buy brilliantly affordable, characterful and automotively important cars really easily. Models from the 1990s onwards are currently overlooked…

‘A Mini is a fairly remarkable used car proposition, because it hardly seems to depreciate’ Model to buy Cooper S with Chili Pack Price new £14,395 Model to avoid Mini One with no options Price range £990 (2002 Mini One) to £8179 (2011 Cooper S Chili) Things move swiftly in the motor trade, and if we had delayed photography for a day, the car you see here would have been sold and a cheaper example would have taken its place. As it happens, this immaculate Convertible is the cheerleader for what is the most successful automotive brand relaunch ever. Let’s take a closer look at what we have here. It’s a Mk1 R52 for the anoraks, a Cooper Convertible that has covered just 24,000 miles, all backed up by a…

‘It drives fantastically well, with no unwelcome knocks, bangs or crashes’ Model to buy 3.0 petrol (yes, honestly) Price new £44,020 Model to avoid LPG conversion Price range £2500 (2001 3.0) to £6990 (2006 3.0d Sport) Having bought two in quick succession, I think I know these footballers’ favourites pretty well, and I like this 4.4-litre V8 one a lot. Unlike many I’ve seen, it is described honestly as being tatty. Except that compared with the V8 X5 I bought a while back, it really isn’t. There is no warranty and it is a straight trade sale with no comeback at £3295. The catch for some might be a recent replacement engine. But hey, it has just been replaced, so what could go wrong? It drives fantastically well, with no…

I’ve driven it off road, always for laughs, and always I’ve troubled its capabilities not at all Land Rover Defender owners wave when they pass each other. At least, most do. Given that an estimated 70% of all Series Land Rovers and Defenders ever made – 2,016,933 vehicles – are still on the road, that’s a lot of waving. Naturally, being English, it can be a bit embarrassing, but it comes with the territory. But it felt to me like there was a difference between the waves I shared with other Land Rover drivers on Thursday 28 January and the ones offered on 29 January. On the Friday morning, production of the Land Rover Defender ceased, the factory fell quiet and an inordinate number of people seemed to know it:…

While Mercedes’ delayed entry into the segment has left it faced with a legion of prospective buyers already wedded to their BMW X3s and Audi Q5s, the GLC is spot on in terms of looks, interior panache, practicality and, at least from the 250d, performance and economy. Our reservations mostly concern trim level foibles that pebble-dash gratifying pliancy and plushness with wearying thumps and leave the steering short on consistency. Faced with a full line-up of tried and tested rivals, and not having driven the GLC on its air springs option, we’d place the AMG Line slightly behind the more modest and accommodating versions of the X3 and XC60. Rating its overall desirability, though, is far easier: there’s much of it, and some diligence with the option boxes ought to…

That the Land Rover Defender I was running has only recently returned to its maker means the swap from one long-term test car to another has been rather more protracted than usual, with each continually reminding me of its respective merits. Chief among the XC90’s is that it’s a car keen to keep you comfortable for lengthy amounts of time. Its first-rate seats are thoroughly comfortable and matched by a steering column with more adjustment than you’d need. The fuel range is easily over 500 miles, too. Funny what a difference that makes. When the fuel gauge on the Land Rover (no more than 300 miles between fills) reached halfway, it’d begin playing on my mind that, on the kinds of journey I usually do, I might have to plan…

READER’S CAR: CITROEN SAXO Simon Ford was out shopping with his family when he bumped into an old mate who offered him a Citroën Saxo for £300. It was a 2000 five-door 1.5 SX diesel with 87,000 miles on the clock and loads of history. “My wife and I looked at each other and nodded,” says Simon. “I thought it’d make a great mother’s day present, and my eldest daughter had just passed her driving test. I know it’s going to give my wife and daughter a few years’ hassle-free Bangernomics motoring.” SEND YOUR BANGERNOMICS TALES TO JAMES Twitter: @Bangernomics Email: james@bangernomics.com WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK A reader asked if he should buy a Land Rover Discovery 2 he’s been offered. I said no — based…

Volkswagen’s leading engineers have been challenged by company boss Herbert Diess to create an electric car that can be as iconic as the Golf. The secret plan, uncovered by Autocar, has been hatched by Diess as a crucial pillar in the firm’s attempts to rebuild its reputation in the wake of the emissions scandal and is described as a watershed project similar in depth to the multi-billion-pound engineering undertaking that spawned the i3 at BMW, his former employer. Diess has told Volkswagen’s engineering bosses to create “the Volkswagen for the digital age”, and the top engineering talent at the firm’s Braunschweig R&D centre is already working on the new car, which is tentatively due in 2019. Diess has challenged his team to set new benchmarks for electric performance as well…

Renault will use its new Formula 1 team to increase the profile of its Renault Sport performance sub-brand, which is looking to China and emerging markets for further growth of both its sales and product range. At an unveiling of the new F1 team in Paris last week, company chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn revealed that Renault’s high-performance division would split into two co-operative parts — Renault Sport Racing and Renault Sport Cars — with the aim of increasing worldwide brand awareness and sales of cars. Renault Sport Cars, which has been concentrating recently on increasing the global reach and the appeal of its models, is now responsible for the GT versions of the Mégane, Clio and, from later this year, the Twingo. Renault’s F1 return coincides with an increase…

RENAULT BOSS CARLOS Ghosn is targeting annual sales of 735,000 cars in China when the firm’s road car operation there gets up to speed. Renault has forged a joint venture with Chinese car-making superpower Dongfeng. Last week the first fruits of the deal, a new 150,000-capacity factory, opened in Wuhan in central China. The factory will build two Renault-badged crossovers for the Chinese market to take advantage of an explosion in the popularity of high-riding cars. The market for crossovers and SUVs in China grew by 53% last year compared with 2014. Renault is one of the last of the major European makes to forge a joint venture to enable it to build and sell cars in China. Previously, Renault sold fewer than 25,000 cars a year in China, and…

The Ferrari GTC4Lusso — the new name for the facelifted FF grand tourer — has been revealed ahead of its global debut at next month’s Geneva motor show. The updated car gets styling upgrades and aerodynamic improvements to mark it out from its predecessor, including a new grille with integrated air intakes, new air vents on the rear wing, a roof-mounted rear spoiler and a new diffuser. Ferrari says the result is a drag coefficient “substantially lower” than that of the FF. Ferrari says the GTC4Lusso will be aimed at a younger audience than the brand has traditionally targeted. Powering the GTC4Lusso is the same 6.2-litre V12 already used by the FF but with power raised from 651bhp to 680bhp. Torque is rated as 514lb ft at 5750rpm, with 80%…

The 1.0-litre engine has that curious offbeat hum that characterises three-pot engines — endearingly so Last time we reviewed the Hyundai i20, we reckoned that it might take the arrival of a turbocharged 1.0-litre engine before it came of age. Well, here it is. The engine is a triple, like a lot of 1.0-litre units, and can put out up to 118bhp in some applications, but it has a steady 99bhp here. That’s the same as the i20’s existing naturally aspirated 1.4-litre four, so the 1.0 T-GDI is jointly the most powerful engine in the i20 range. However, at 99g/km, it’s also the second lowest in the range on CO2 emissions, behind only the 1.1-litre diesel (84g/km). The 1.0 is a few hundred quid cheaper to buy than the diesel…

‘Buy carefully and only go for cars with a full history. Completely ignore the mileage’ JUST OUTSIDE OF Birmingham, in the middle of pretty much nowhere, is a farm where Bradley Mitchell lives, along with his family, dogs, chickens, horses and an awful lot of cars for sale. With his old friend David Jones, they run Hunters Lodge Cars and buy motors they actually like. “The secret for us has been interesting cars,” says Mitchell. “For a while, we did do the boring stuff. It was very dependent on the marketplace. I love the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra as day-to-day workhorses and they are fine for traders with a car lot that has passing trade. But we have found that people will travel here to see our quirky stock.”…

Model to buy Passion Price new £7865 Model to avoid Brabus Price range £850 (left-hand drive 2001 Pure) to £7995 (2014 Pulse) If any car was designed to be enjoyed as a used buy, the Smart is it. It is often criticised for being a lot of money to pay for a couple of seats and not much boot but, at just £3295, this is a bright little thing to use and enjoy. The 2008 top-spec Passion here has what every buyer wants, and that’s a full Smart service history with five official stamps. The panoramic roof is a nice touch and there is air-con, a CD player, 15in alloy wheels and rain-sensor wipers. Most impressive of all, it’s bright yellow. This is what every funky urban assault vehicle ought…

Model to buy 2.0 GT Price new £24,200 Model to avoid 2.3 T5 Price range £795 (2001 2.5) to £2500 (2005 2.0T) Personally, I’m a big fan of these Volvos and ideally I’d prefer one with a solid tin roof. At the very least, that stops the infamous Swedish scuttle shake. However, on a bitterly cold but bright day, this C70 convertible looks like the perfect cheapie buy as a prelude to spring. I know this is getting boring, but when I pop open the glovebox, out comes a booklet full of main dealer and garage stamps, which confirm the 119k mileage. For many, this 2.0-litre model is the least interesting of the entire line-up. The engine options range from sluggish (2.0) to sensationally quick (T4), and buyers would be…

THERE ARE VARIOUS schools of thinking when it comes to the Defender. Like most people, I have a childhood Defender story: my best mate’s dad ran the local pig farm and we spent quite a bit of time charging up and down Dorset lanes in one. His was a dark green double-cab 110 with canvas cover, and as far as I was concerned at the age of 14, it was pretty much the coolest thing on the road. Of course, as soon as I learnt to drive and had my first chance behind the wheel, some of that love fell away. My left leg was used to a Renault Clio’s comparatively silken clutch, so the lactic acid soon took hold. Also, my back hurt, and I quickly realised why my…

Our 2 Series Active Tourer is donning some battle scars, although not when it comes to parking in tight spaces. In our last update we mentioned that our longterm BMW had been subjected to an unsolicited scraping by an HGV while waiting at a junction. The impact may have occurred at low speed as the traffic trundled by at the busy intersection, but the jolt it caused was enough to shunt the BMW forwards. The majority of the damage was on the rear portion of the Active Tourer’s driver’s side, with the front escaping from the worst of it. The sum total of damage included three scrapes to the rear passenger door, with two fairly deep intrusions into the Estoril Blue paintwork, some damage to the rear panel by the…

1 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG (2003-2006) AMG’s tarted-up Mercs can be a bit brash in their bodywork, but the E55 AMG, based on the third-generation E-Class, is nicely understated. There’s power, pace and poise, of course, but to look at its sedate four-door body (there’s a five-door estate, too) you might not guess it. A 469bhp 5.4-litre supercharged V8 propels this taxi-rank Merc from 0-62mph in just 4.7sec and on to 155mph, while AMG air springs mean you can chuck it into bends without fuss. It rides well, too, and can cruise across Europe flat out all day. The interior and oily bits are pretty bombproof, but check carefully for rust. You can buy one now with 100,000 miles behind it for as little as £8000. 2 Audi S8 (2006-2009) The…