Innholdsfortegnelse for 23/03/2016 i Autocar

HEADING OUT OF Mercedes’ vast Stuttgart factory, we’re in the passenger seat of the GLC Coupé for an early ride. The prototype we’re in uses one of three chassis options, in this case a steel-sprung variant with variable damping control called Dynamic Body Control. Set to be introduced as a running change on the GLC SUV later this year, it provides the choice between three levels of damper stiffness via Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Select system: Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus. Switching between the three modes, the GLC Coupé feels more firmly underpinned than the regular GLC SUV. Given the generous ride height, body control is tidy. It feels nicely tied down when loaded up in corners and resists float over undulating roads with impressive composure. The ride quality is also very…

QUICK FACTS PRICE £160,798 ON SALE AUGUST This Handling Speciale package-enhanced California T is Ferrari’s attempt to prove that its folding hard-top model can be a proper sports car as well as a Mercedes-Benz SL-style, GT-into-roadster high-speed cruiser. Ferrari offered a Handling Speciale package for the normally aspirated California back in 2012, upping power by 29bhp to 483bhp and stripping 30kg out of the aluminium structure. The car had stiffened springs, quicker reactions for the adaptive magnetorheological dampers and 10% faster steering. Since then, the California has gained a twin-turbo engine with 552bhp and 557lb ft (up from the old car’s 372lb ft), and the changes have been broadly welcomed. Now the turbocharged California is established, Ferrari is again offering a Handling Speciale option, upping spring rates by 16% front…

MODEL TESTED 1.6 BlueHDi 120 Prestige • Price £19,495 • Power 118bhp • Torque 210lb ft • 0-60mph 9.9sec • 30-70mph in fourth 12.8sec • Fuel economy 58.7mpg • CO2 emissions 94g/km • 70-0mph 53.5m The artist and fashionista super-mini formerly known as the Citroën DS3 made a splash when it was launched in 2010, but ekeing out its success story over a full model cycle is proving a challenge for the newly founded DS Automobiles. Worldwide, the DS 3 has now reached almost 400,000 owners, and nowhere is it more popular than in the UK. But its popularity is slowly declining. By 2015, fewer than 50,000 units were being delivered inside the EU – in a year when Mini almost tripled that tally with three-door and five-door hatchbacks. Attempts…

Andrew Frankel reminded me of some of the more interesting cars that were around in a different motoring era (‘The Wild Bunch’, 2 March) — much of which was awful and forgettable, even if you ran an ‘interesting’ car. Unreliability, dealer indifference, cars that wore out and fell to bits in three years… the list goes on and on. No wonder the Honda NSX seemed more miracle than car. Where my memory diverges somewhat from Andrew’s is the premise that these twitchy icons and their ilk made ‘real’ drivers. A normal distribution curve covering all drivers from excellent to awful existed then, as it does now. The difference is that passing a driving test in 1980 was a doddle and could be done with a minimum of training and expense.…

Despite previously reported niggles, the Tivoli should be praised for its talents. It’s easy to forget that even with all the included toys, leather and extras, our car only costs £155 more than an entry-level Honda HR-V. It has also becoming apparent that the Tivoli is a bona-fide mile-eater and feels most at home devouring motorways, several junctions at a time. A trip to Ikea was a delight. The Tivoli swallowed the haul with ease, although the high boot floor meant a larger load might have called for some seat folding. The wells on either side of the boot floor are useful for smaller items, provided they’re put there in the first place rather than falling into them while on the move. Despite my obscure earlier gripes, the Tivoli never…

1 Toyota MR2 (2000-2006) Shop for a little wind-in-the-hair fun at around the £2k mark and you might automatically pick a Mazda MX-5. However, you shouldn’t overlook the Toyota MR2, especially this pretty and desirable third-generation model. This two-seat, mid-engined roadster weighs just 975kg. Power comes from a 138bhp, 1.8-litre VVT-i engine, with the dinky drop-top seeing off 0-60mph in 7.9sec and hitting 130mph. Later models went from five-speed gearboxes to six, and handling is peachy. The MR2 is notoriously tyre sensitive, though, so check pressures and condition carefully and fit only makes that are known to suit it. Parts can be pricey, too. 2 Subaru Impreza Turbo (1992-2000) You can take your pick of Imprezas at this price, but this amenable and adaptable first-generation car is considerably better looking…

Track cars 1 Ariel Atom 3.5R From £64,000 Everything learnt by Ariel during the past decade has been poured into this update. It shows. Sublime. 2 Radical RXC500 From £143,000 Radical’s revision of its road car delivers the power previously missing. A Nürburgring record holder in waiting. 3 BAC Mono From £79,000 A sublime attempt to recreate the single-seater driving experience for the road. Utterly incomparable. 4 Lotus Exige V6 Cup From £63,000 Lighter and stiffer, the Cup is Lotus’s idea of a track-day Exige. Predictably, it’s brilliant. Easy to live with, too. 5 Caterham Seven 620R From £50,000 Supercharged engine provides Chapman’s imp with even more grunt. Usability suffers; acceleration does not. Visit autocar.co.uk for all of our Top Fives…

SUBARU HAS REVEALED the next-generation Impreza at the New York motor show. The new model is underpinned by an all-new structure, called Global Platform, which will be used for all future Subarus, including a new WRX STi, which is tipped to be a four-wheel-drive performance hybrid. The UK is unlikely to receive the Impreza saloon pictured here, instead taking a five-door hatchback version. Subaru is also keen to ensure that even standard versions are good to drive; our spy shots have shown the car being benchmarked against the Ford Focus and Mazda 3. The new Impreza will be larger than before, with the wheelbase extended by 25mm over the outgoing model. Overall length is up by 41mm and width by 38mm. Height has been reduced by 10mm for a sportier…

TVR has signed a deal with the Welsh government to set up its new manufacturing plant in Wales. The new facility is scheduled to open in 2018. Confirmed in a speech by Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones yesterday, it will be sited next to the new Circuit of Wales, which is nearing completion at Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, 25 miles north of Newport. The British sports car company, formerly based in Blackpool, was bought from Russian ownership in 2013 and is being brought back to life by a consortium of wealthy enthusiasts led by computer games magnate Les Edgar. They plan is to establish a new range of cars, very much in the mould of those that went out of production in Blackpool in 2006. Edgar has always said the…

AUDI CAN LEARN from Tesla by being “more agile, faster and taking more risks”, according to the firm’s new boss of technical development, Stefan Knirsch. The VW Group recently announced it would invest heavily in electric and autonomous car technology up to 2025. Speaking in response to that, Knirsch said: “There are things we can learn from Silicon Valley, but also things they could learn from us.” Knirsch added: “The point about learning from Tesla is increasingly less relevant in some ways. In Silicon Valley terms, they are not considered fast-moving or risk-taking, and less so as they have to invest in manufacturing facilities and focus on profits.”…

The Ateca has been engineered as a ‘sporty lifestyle vehicle’ QUICK FACTS PRICE £24,500 (EST) ON SALE AUGUST Considering that the Nissan Qashqai is in its second generation and has sold by the bucketload, you could argue that Seat is a bit late to the SUV party. However, it’s hoping to make up ground quickly. From May it will open order books on this new Ateca, and the Spanish car maker has also confirmed that a smaller Juke rival will appear next year. The Ateca’s finer details are yet to be finalised, but so far we know that there will be three trim levels, with prices starting at £17,990 for the S, followed by SE, then a range-topping Xcellence model, which should come in at under £30,000. Engines will include…

The rules are that blind prejudice rules. We wanted to name the top 50 cars on sale today, ranked in order of excellence, regardless of which class they sit in and how much they cost. Doing so is not an exact science. So we relied on our experience and our expertise, and we argued about it. When several staff and contributors named their top 50 cars, we all agreed on 37 of them, leaving only 13 contentious. As for the top five, we concurred on at least three, with no more than eight in the reckoning overall. In the end, no one felt any car here had been hard done by. Which left just two things in doubt: in which order do you put the top five and what is…

Six years ago, the DS 3 became the first model from PSA’s fledgling premium brand – and today, it remains its best advert. Retaining better handling and a healthy slug more driver appeal than you’ll find in most of its rivals, it remains one of the more recommendable cars of its type in our book. Particularly so, in fact, if your mind is made up on diesel power. The 3’s engine may not have the fun factor of Mini’s Cooper SD lump, but it’s refined, stout-hearted, efficient and relatively clean. However, we regret that DS’s revisions haven’t done more for the 3’s static appeal or competitiveness. It’s very debatable if the car’s new look adds to its allure or simply muddles it – and the interior wants for distinguishing quality…

Mileage 5960 I can see that the XC90 is going to become one of ‘those’ cars. “Matt, we’re going to drive to the Geneva show…” began a colleague looking for a car into which he could squeeze three people and lots of camera kit. “Here are the Volvo keys,” I said. So they went, and they liked. They liked that it has lots of storage cubbies and large door pockets, ideal for snacks and drinks. They liked the satellite navigation, as do I (although I haven’t yet found how to cancel a destination, only pause it). They liked its refinement and how easy it is to drive, too, although one preferred the steering’s extra heft in Dynamic mode rather than the standard Comfort setting in which I always leave it.…

I was rather taken by a 2006 Rover 25 Streetwise, but then I am truly odd How far would you go to buy a secondhand car? I’m not asking whether you would rob a bank first, but just how far would you travel to look at and then collect a motor? Over the years I’ve been on some pretty epic journeys to pick up cars, but I was young and adventurous then. Now, though, I’m old and tired and tend to want to go and look at a few cars in a day, rather than eating too many motorway service station fry-ups. In the old days, most car shopping was fairly local, but the interweb has opened up the world to our laptops. So, in defiance of the march of…

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…

Aston Martin and Red Bull — traditional supercar maker and the championship-winning F1 constructor — have confirmed they are working on a project to design and build “the next-generation hypercar”. Insiders say it will be superior in acceleration, top speed and circuit performance to any road car yet made and is likely to be superior to all but the most focused race cars. News of the joint Aston Martin and Adrian Newey-led Red Bull project was first broken exclusively by Autocar last summer, but the project was formally confirmed last week ahead of the F1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Badged an Aston Martin but currently known by the codename AM-RB 001, the car is being created in a specially dedicated design studio inside Aston Martin’s Gaydon HQ. Around 99 units…

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the GLC Coupé, a sportier version of its recently launched GLC compact SUV, at the New York motor show. Aimed at the BMW X4, Porsche Macan and upcoming Jaguar F-Pace, the high-riding five-door will initially be offered with the choice of a 2.0-litre petrol engine and a 2.1-litre diesel in two different states of tune. Prices are expected to start at around £38,000, a premium of around £3000 over the standard GLC. Originally previewed as a lightly veiled concept at last year’s Shanghai motor show, it shares the GLC’s C-Class-based underpinnings and will be produced alongside it at Mercedes’ Bremen plant in Germany. The GLC Coupé shares its bonnet, front wings and lower door panels with the GLC, but it receives new, more sportily styled bumpers, a…

Bentley has revealed how its luxury saloon might look in the year 2036, incorporating autonomous driving technology, 3D-printed components and even a holographic butler to cater to the needs of passengers. The image above shows the kind of interior a car from the luxury end of the manufacturer’s portfolio, possibly a Mulsanne, could conceivably have two decades from now. The lounge-style rear cabin features two sofa-like seats positioned opposite each other and infotainment screens made from flexible, 0.5mm-thick material mounted to the side panels. The conceptual creation is the work of Bentley’s 50-strong design team led by Stefan Sielaff, who joined the company as director of design in July last year. “This explains how the interior of Bentleys have to develop and in particular how the luxury experience has to…

The hard-top version of the Mazda MX-5 has been reinvented for the fourth-generation model. Unveiled at the New York motor show, the MX-5 RF has been named for its retractable fastback roof design and takes on a Porsche 911 Targa-style aesthetic characterised by hinged rear pillars and a powered, stowable middle section and rear window. Hard-top MX-5s account for more than half of all UK MX-5 sales, and Mazda predicts that won’t change this time around, despite a premium of around £2500 over the £18,495 starting price of the regular car. Other differences from the soft-top MX-5 include the addition of a six-speed automatic gearbox option, alongside the existing six-speed manual, and the introduction of new ‘premium’ Machine Grey paint. The MX-5 RF gets the same 1.5 and 2.0-litre petrol…

The Dawn has deliberately been made a little more relaxed in character than the Wraith QUICK FACTS PRICE £250,000 ON SALE NOW Given the amount of new engineering the Rolls-Royce Dawn contains, it seems too glib to call it a mere Wraith drophead. True, it is closely related to the Wraith (and the longer-wheelbase Ghost saloon that spawned it), but 80% of the car’s outer panels are new, and the underbody structural work that has gone into substantiating two eye-catching claims Rolls makes for it – that it is “the quietest open-top car ever made” and “the most rigid four-seater convertible available today” – speak of a separate, exhaustive engineering programme. And so does the driving experience. This is a big car, at nearly 5.3 metres long, with the same…

JAGUAR HAS ANNOUNCED that it will build nine ‘brand new’ XKSSs to original specification in a bid to replace unfinished cars that were lost in a factory fire 59 years ago. Built by Jaguar Classic at the firm’s Experimental Workshop in Warwick, the cars will be made using period production methods to ensure that each one is as technically close to the 1957 originals as possible. The car maker says its team of engineers can call upon its recent experience of building ‘new’ Lightweight E-Types last year to make these methods as accurate as they can. The XKSS was originally designed as a road-going version of the D-Type, which dominated Le Mans with three consecutive wins between 1955 and 1957. Twenty-five XKSSs were planned for production, but a fire at…

AMERICAN EXPRESS Following on from Nick Tiley’s letter about right-hand-drive post vans being used in Switzerland (Your Views, 9 March), I thought I would suggest the American solution for the UK. The US Post used a right-hand-drive adapted Jeep called the DJ5, which had a sliding door and plenty of mirrors to aid the fast delivery of post and the safety of the driver where, of course, they drive on the right. For some reason, they were only two-wheel drive. Tim Boles via email BUGGED BY BUGATTI The Bugatti Chiron seems to be everything that Jim Holder says: a triumph of engineering and an icon for the young (News, 2 March). It’s also unnecessary, outrageously expensive and, to me, not particularly attractive. Most important, it’s not a true reflection…

Few performance icons have faced such intense scrutiny in their transition to the turbocharged age as the BMW M3, now badged M4 in coupé form and costing nearly £75,000 as tested here. That’s serious money. But the M4 is a serious car. Common themes arise when discussing the M4. Those with fleeting experience — perhaps a customer test drive or a magazine group test — return critical. The harsh ride, the binary throttle response and enthusiasm to launch into wild oversteer have disappointed (or scared) many; likewise the apparent lack of charisma in the 425bhp, twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre straight six. On brief exposure, the M4 seems to raise more questions than it answers, simultaneously falling short on some key M character traits. Time with the car seems to elicit more favourable…

Our Discovery Sport is always a welcome sight at the end of a stressful day at work. More so than in most cars, slipping into the driver’s seat immediately makes me begin to unwind — a trait the compact SUV shares with its bigger, more luxurious siblings, I’m pleased to discover. Even before I’ve buckled up and pressed the engine start button, I can feel myself relaxing and looking forward to a soothing drive home. I attribute this ability to make occupants feel at ease to the car’s excellent driving position, the spaciousness of the cabin and the simple functionality of the controls. The seats are supremely comfortable, and I like the fact that while they are mounted high enough to give a great view out, they aren’t so lofty…

READER’S CAR: VOLVO S80 Journalism student Martin Tilbrook bought a 119,000-mile 2001 Volvo S80 2.4 auto for £600 a month ago and has since covered 3000 miles. “I drove with a mate from York to the Geneva show. We covered 1600 miles through rain, sun and snow and all that went wrong was a blown brake light bulb. I’ll be keeping it a while now. As the car seemed distinctly underwhelmed by the whole Geneva thing, I plan to take it back to its roots with a tour of the Volvo factory in Gothenburg later this year — a 2300-mile round trip.” SEND YOUR BANGERNOMICS TALES TO JAMES Twitter: @Bangernomics Email: james@bangernomics.com WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK: PHOTO FAILS You’d have thought that sellers taking rubbish pictures…