Innholdsfortegnelse for 08/06/2016 i Autocar

Citroën has applied for 20 patents surrounding its discoveries Citroën has revealed the first details of a new suspension system that will replace its 60-year-old hydropneumatic system from next year — and the company has allowed Autocar an exclusive drive of a C4 Cactus prototype equipped with it (see sidebar, opposite). The system is so new that it doesn’t yet have a name. It’s the most eye-catching part of an all-encompassing suite of changes called Citroën Advanced Comfort, which the firm is developing to enhance what it sees as one of its traditional core values: comfort in the cabin and on the move. The new suspension has been developed in-house and will be exclusive to Citroën within the PSA Group “for the time being”. It replaces classic bump-stops in a…

NISSAN’S FUTURE MODELS are set to be able to accommodate pure electric powertrains, opening up the possibility of all-electric versions of the likes of the Juke and Qashqai. “We’re leaders in crossovers and a leader with Leaf and we will combine those two in the future,” said Gareth Dunsmore, director of the Nissan’s zero-emission business unit. At present, Nissan’s electric models are built on dedicated EV platforms. Dunsmore said this would always be the preferable option, but the “next step is a platform fit for EVs from day one”. These platforms would also be engineered to take internal combustion engines and other drivetrain technology. Dunsmore added: “I hope EV stands up within that [platform] and people see it as environmentally friendly, fun and cost-efficient.” He also hinted that Nissan was…

If the theory holds true, what you’re looking at is the greatest version of the greatest sports car there has ever been and almost by right, therefore, one of the finest street machines ever conceived. Here, the operative word is ‘street’. The new 911 R was conceived because there was a sense in Porsche’s Motorsport department that the idea of adding ever more grip via the media of additional downforce, stiffened suspension and wider tyres was not indefinitely extendable. Few such concepts are. In the GT3 RS, it had developed an extraordinary track day machine, a car designed to ripple your cheeks under the massive lateral acceleration it’s able to develop and to be set up in such a way as to extract not only optimal lap times but also…

The Tiguan is a bastion of the family SUV market and an all-round sales success in what is a crucial heartland for Volkswagen. This is our first drive in the new, second-generation model on UK soil and also our first go in the four-wheel-drive model, which will account for 70% of sales. The Tiguan, which ranges in price from less than £23k for a 1.4 TSI model to slightly beyond £35k, can count everything from the smaller Nissan Qashqai and its ilk, up through the Honda CR-V and on to the BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz GLC as rivals. It’s a suave and surefooted package. From the moment you slide into the hip-height seats and fire up the 2.0 TDI diesel engine, to the time you slide back out…

HONEST DUSTER I’m on holiday in the Azores and I’m driving a new Dacia Duster. My petrolhead instinct tells me this car should be terrible, but it isn’t. In fact, on the patched-up roads of Sao Miguel this car is as enjoyable as my BMW 320d. Yes, the headlining is made of the remains of 1970s underpants, the boot carpet is a piece of old underlay and the cabin plastics are a direct descendant of a Morris Marina’s. But the seating position is faultless, the 1.5-litre diesel is willing, the gearchange is sweet and the suspension is supple yet taut. It’s honest. It wears its cheapness on its sleeve yet manages to convey the kind of fun that was once had with a warm hatch. It makes me question my…

The first month behind the wheel of our Levorg has whizzed by and allowed us to ascertain some of the ways in which this new-generation Subaru estate lives up to the reputation of its most successful forebears, as well as some of the differences. As the Levorg approaches the 7500-mile mark (having arrived with 5400 miles on the clock), it has shown that it’s certainly a different kettle of fish from the burbling first and second-generation Imprezas. The four-cylinder boxer engine was once well known for its character and attitude, but the Levorg’s turbocharged 1.6-litre engine lacks some of the charm of Subarus of old. That is not necessarily a bad thing, because the 168bhp output seems a far more usable and mature proposition. The engine is incredibly smooth and…

READER’S CAR: BMW 5-SERIES Kiran Palmar’s dad has a 2003 BMW 530d SE in metallic Orient Blue. “Dad is second owner,” says Kiran. “It cost £14,250 in 2007 and only had 19,000 miles on the clock. It has now covered just over 49,000 miles. There have been no major mechanic problems, just normal maintenance items such as a battery, tyres, discs and pads. The only modification is a high-performance K&N air filter, which we fitted ourselves — a nice easy job. My dad uses Shell V-Power diesel, which really does make a difference!” SEND YOUR BANGERNOMICS TALES TO JAMES Twitter: @Bangernomics Email: james@bangernomics.com WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK: HOT HATCHES A remarkable number of 1980s hot — GTIs and, er, GTEs — are at my local garage…

Crossovers 1 Nissan Qashqai From £18,600 Virtually invented the crossover segment. The latest version, subtly , . 2 Ford Kuga From £21,000 Bigger and bolder than its predecessor, but it’s the unmatched dynamics that make the Kuga a tempting option. 3 BMW X1 From £28,300 Pick of the premium bunch. A bit unrefined to drive, but little compromised over a conventional hatch. 4 Mazda CX-5 From £22,300 Larger than you’d think; probably better, too. Skyactiv diesel engine is one of the best. Interior less compelling. 5 Renault Kad jar From £18,000 Qashqai-based crossover is as practical — and almost as good — as its Nissan rival. Lacks some refinement Visit autocar.co.uk for all of our Top Fives…

WE FELT THE difference before we’d driven half a city block. On the day we tried Citroën’s new ‘hydraulic cushion’ suspension in its C4 Cactus prototype, the company insisted we take a standard car along for the ride — and drive it first. On a short but challenging route of narrow country roads, jittery surfaces, cobbles, tight turns and speed bumps outside schools, the standard Cactus was poised, flat riding and easy to drive. How realistic is it to expect a better performance than this, I wondered. This car already beats most of its price peers for ride and refinement. The difference was enormous. Anyone would have noticed it. The seats felt quite different on first contact with my backside: initially soft like an old DS’s, but on second thoughts…

Aston Martin and Red Bull showed a full-sized model of their AM-RB 001 hypercar to prospective owners at last month’s Monaco Grand Prix, ahead of its launch in the summer of 2018. The models are all clay or plastic at this stage, according to Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer, but they are “70% to 80% there in terms of appearance” and will lead to working prototypes by spring next year. “We have a full-sized model of the surfaces as they stand, which is going through regulatory validation, so we’re checking things such as seat position, eye position and visibility,” Palmer told Autocar. Just 99 cars will be road-going. The AM-RB 001 will be sold in certain markets only, according to Aston Martin design chief Marek Reichman, because “it’s difficult at…

It’s now a premium contender. It’s a bold car, one that dares you to like the cut of its confident jib At last, we’ve got a fresh opportunity to break out the wardrobey, Lovejoyish, antique dealer clichés. A new big Volvo estate has arrived. The V90 is the second model in Volvo’s urgent resurgence. The V90 (and its S90 saloon sibling, more on which another time) follows the XC90, which was Volvo’s newest car last year but will be its oldest in just three years’ time. All large Volvos – S60 upwards – will be on the same SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) platform. It’s a mostly steel monocoque, with aluminium in places. Volvo sees no point in wedding itself to a particular material when a metal mix can be stronger,…

The all-new Mercedes-AMG C 63 Cabriolet completes a quartet that includes the saloon, estate and coupé and, like them, it comes in two forms: the 479bhp C 63 or the full-fat C 63 S. We hear so much about cars with enormous power outputs these days that it’s easy to become desensitised to them, so let’s contemplate the C 63 S’s stats for a moment: it makes 503bhp and 516lb ft from its bi-turbo V8, which propels this two-tonne drop-top to 62mph from rest in 4.1sec. This is a four-seat convertible, remember, and that’s almost Porsche Carrera GT territory. The mechanicals are familiar. Two turbos nestle between the V8’s cylinder heads, a set-up that improves throttle response, AMG says. Power goes through a seven-speed MCT automatic gearbox to the rear…

At Morgan, they’re used to visitors arriving late. Even if the traffic flow through the notorious M5 roadworks doesn’t impede their progress, new arrivals will still wander the confusing roads of the lower Malvern Hills for a while before discovering Pickersleigh Road and the cluster of old factory buildings that has been Morgan’s home for all but three of the past 106 years. 9.30am When I arrive at the reception centre, I run the gauntlet of Morgan’s ever-present visitors. They throng the place. The company shows nearly 30,000 souls a year through its Malvern Link site and needs 15 part-time guides (mostly Morgan owners) to handle it, which is partly why they charge £20 a head for the pleasure. On this Tuesday, people are already forming happy groups for factory…

Small cars, big prices I’ve often thought how I’d like to own any of the small, open-topped cars you review, like the Ariels and Caterhams. Not as a track day car but for my commute. I see them as an alternative to a motorbike or scooter. I drive to work every day in a five-seat car by myself, with nothing in the boot and at most a bag with my tablet in and packed lunch, so one of the above cars would be ideal. But it strikes me how expensive they are, considering that for the most part they have fewer materials and gadgets than normal cars. That’s down to things such as low volumes, being hand-built and the quality of the parts and materials, but does it have to…

Two important lessons we’ve learned about owning a car like the Pre-Owned 2013 Bentley Continental GT V8 we’ve been running this past five months and 7000 miles — and in two starkly different senses, they concern the special places it can take you. On one hand, you can enjoy a very special lifestyle if you choose to join others in the Bentley community — such as the group I’ve just met on a three-day owner event called Bentley Extraordinary Drive that affords numerous chances to enjoy fine cars and the things that usually go with them. On the other, the Bentley can make ordinary activities special, as colleague Allan Muir discovered while filling the Conti’s boot with plants, pots, tools and bags of compost for a garden overhaul. “Most luxurious…

1 Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 (1997-1999) The Skyline GT-R is a high-tech tour de force, beloved by the PlayStation generation and worshipped by anyone who likes taking roundabouts at obtuse angles. The GT-R’s twin-turbo 2.6-litre straight six was rated at 276bhp, but many were good for 300bhp and 400bhp was easily achievable. Expect 0-60mph in under 5.0sec and a top speed of around 155mph. In corners it’s invincible, with four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. The cabin is surprisingly drab, but there’s room for four. Most GT-Rs are imports, and all will be modified. Expect bodykits, trick suspension and more mods than a Demon Tweeks catalogue. Pay upwards of £10k for a good one. 2 Nissan 200SX (1994-2001) If you don’t fancy a full-fat GT-R, why not consider its younger sibling,…

Mazzanti Evantra Millecavalli Early 2017 The second model from the Italian supercar maker will produce 986bhp — 36bhp more than LaFerrari. The Evantra’s twin-turbocharged 7.2-litre V8 can propel it from 0-62mph in 2.7sec and up to a top speed of 250mph. Just 25 will be built. Price £700,000 (est) SUMMER 2016 Alfa Romeo Mito facelift, Giulietta facelift, Alpine A120, Aston Martin DB11, Audi RS4, A4 Allroad, A3 facelift, Q2, A6 facelift, A7 Sportback facelift, Bentley Flying Spur V8 S, BMW 740e, 3 Series GT, Bristol Project Pinnacle, Chevrolet Camaro, Citroën C3, Detroit Electric SP:01, DS 3, Ferrari F12tdf, GTC4Lusso, Fiat 124 Spider, Ford Edge, S-Max Vignale, Honda NSX, Hyundai i10, Infiniti QX30, Q60, Jaguar F-Type SVR, Karma Revero, Koenigsegg Regera, Maserati Levante, McLaren 675LT Spider, 570S GT, Mercedes-AMG SL 63,…

‘We had a strong message with the original A5 that we wanted to keep’ Audi’s new A5 coupé will go on sale in the UK this November. The sister car to the new A4, with which it shares its MLB architecture, replaces a model that has been in production for nine years. Audi didn’t wanted to stray too far from the formula of the original A5, which has sold 330,000 units over its life, but instead wanted it to be “more elegant and sharper-looking”. Frank Lamberty, design boss for the B9-designated family that includes the A4 and A5, said the design philosophy for the second-generation A5 was: “Make it better. Sharpen it. Make it sportier and more elegant. We had a strong message with the original A5 that we wanted…

Hyundai is set to launch a high-performance version of the upcoming new i30, currently known as the i30N, next year. Albert Biermann, the former BMW M division executive who now heads the South Korean car maker’s new N performance division, confirmed that the turbocharged hot hatchback will be launched late next year and that two other N division variants will follow it shortly afterwards. The i30N is powered by a new turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, driving the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. A competition version of this car took part in the recent Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race in Germany. Power figures have not yet been revealed, but a video of the motor being tested on a dynamometer showed a peak of 260bhp.…

A longer range would make the Leaf a much more mainstream option Nissan’s next-generation Leaf electric hatchback, due in 2018, will be offered with a series of different battery pack options, one of which could provide a range of up to 340 miles. Such a range figure would make the Leaf a much more mainstream option and reduce, if not eradicate, range anxiety for those who have so far been put off by the limited range of electric cars. Nissan heavily previewed the next Leaf with the IDS concept at the Tokyo motor show last November. That concept car featured a 60kWh battery pack, which was said to offer a range of between 310 and 340 miles. Nissan’s Gareth Dunsmore, director of the company’s zero-emission business unit, revealed that such…

MERCEDES-BENZ HAS unveiled its new E-Class Estate, which is set to go on sale next month. The Audi A6 Avant and BMW 5 Series rival is expected to command a £2000 premium over the E-Class saloon, which is priced from £34,870. The new wagon takes its cues from the smaller C-Class Estate, with a less angular appearance and a more flowing form than before. Inside, the cabin is almost identical to that of the latest E-Class saloon, with an optional dual-screen instrument and infotainment system. At 670 litres with the rear seats up, load capacity is 25 litres down on that of its predecessor but 105 litres up on the A6 Avant and 110 litres more than the 5 Series Touring. The new E-Class Estate will be offered with the…

From 1960 until 2015, the citizens of Cuba were banned from purchasing foreign-made cars. Indeed, Havana is still awash with nostalgia-inducing early Cold War-era motors, but a few weeks ago they briefly drove alongside a brand-new model straight out of Ingolstadt. The Q2 has been in the pipeline for four years. This “99% finished” version is a fraction under 4.2 metres long and sits on the Volkswagen Group’s now well-utilised MQB platform. Therefore, the Q2 shares most of its underpinnings with the slightly longer, lower and narrower A3 hatchback. Audi says the Q2 can’t be pigeonholed, but from where we’re standing, this is a small SUV in the mould of a Nissan Juke or a Mini Countryman. It looks a bit more interesting than most other modern Audis, thanks largely…

Can it really be 20 years? Back in 1996 there was a bloke called John Major in Downing Street, Charles and Diana were still married, Max Verstappen was not even a glint in Jos’s eye and no one had even heard of Harry bloody Potter. And yet that drive in the original Lotus Elise remains hard-wired into my brain as if it were yesterday. Even following on from supercars such as the Jaguar XJ220, McLaren F1 and Bugatti EB110GT as it chronologically did, it’s remarkable that it was there at all, for this was not a normal era. I remember the poise and the extraordinary steering but most of all the joy borne from the certain knowledge that the Elise was going to do what all those bigger, faster, more…

That there are Ferrari racing cars is a surprise to no one. That Ferrari makes road cars is equally unshocking. A Ferrari rally car, though? That’s a different matter. This Ferrari 308 GTB is not any old rally car, either, but one built to Group B regulations – the early 1980s fire-breathing formula that led to rally cars becoming so fast and so dangerous that it changed the face of the sport for ever. Officially, this was never a Ferrari project. Italian race team Michelotto built around a dozen 308s to Group 4 regs in the late 1970s. When Group B arrived, Michelotto figured any rules that spawned a Lancia Stratos would suit a contemporary mid-engined Ferrari, too, so the team built four 308s to compete in the European and…

A few feet from the busy A31, the latest weapon in Hampshire County Council’s fight against potholes is hard at work. A bright yellow truck, with a hydraulically operated boom extending from a large container on its back, over the cab and towards the road ahead, is slowly and noisily making its way along a lay-by, its driver searching for potholes. When he finds one, he stops the vehicle and extends its ‘proboscis’ towards the hole, into which it blows compressed air, scattering any debris. Hot bitumen emulsion is then sprayed in and around the sides of the dry and pristine cavity. This seals the pothole and creates a bonding layer for the precisely targeted, high-velocity blast of aggregate and bitumen mix that follows. Next, the proboscis releases a ‘pad…

A Renault Twingo 133 Silverstone GP seemed cheap at the price It is always nice to welcome a car owner back to the used car fold. That’s because David’s Fiat 500 is going back to the contract hire company and he has £5000 to fund a similar replacement. Let the fun begin, then, as we persuade someone who has presumably bought a 500 for style that, at least for real driving substance, a Ford Fiesta is going to be a better-value option. He won’t get one with the latest Aston Martin micro-grille, of course, but all the fun-to-drive ingredients will be there. Within the buying budget, the obvious option has to be a 2011 1.25 Edge from a large franchised dealer with a warranty, a reasonable 35,000 miles, a good…