Innholdsfortegnelse for 06/07/2016 i Autocar

Britain’s new car market is feared to be heading into a post-Brexit decline destined to knock sales back to 2.4 million a year in 2017 — a loss of around 250,000 units. The disappointing forecast has emerged as the car industry grapples with the fallout of the vote for the UK to leave the EU, an outcome that has hit sterling and business confidence and is negatively impacting investment. “These are early days,” said a spokesman at market researcher IHS Global, “but we are in a negative shock situation and the initial assessment is a decline in the market.” New car sales were expected by IHS Global to hit 2.7m by the end of this year, a small increase on last year’s 2.6m. However, the negative effect on the UK…

Citroën has unveiled a new C3 supermini that’s described by company CEO Linda Jackson as “a comfortable car with real personality set to appeal to new customers”. The new C3 is the second model in Citroën’s new-era makeover, after the C4 Cactus. Its styling is in the same mould as the C4 Cactus, from the slimline running lights and low-mounted headlights to the matt black lower body and distinctive Airbump side protection panels. It’s compact, at 3.99 metres long, but there’s an extra 2cm of shoulder room compared with the outgoing model and a decent 300-litre boot. The new C3 is based on the upgraded Platform A, which is closely related to the structure under the DS 3 and the C4 Cactus. The C3 will be sold as a five-door…

A FACELIFTED VERSION of the Renault Clio RS hot hatch is set to go on sale in the UK in October, with exterior tweaks and a raft of mechanical upgrades and options. The Renault Sport model is powered by a 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine in either 197bhp or 217bhp guise, with Sport, Cup and Trophy chassis options. The more powerful engine is available only with the Trophy chassis, which is the most track-focused. The Clio RS Trophy hits 62mph in a claimed 6.6sec and has a top speed of 146mph — 0.1sec and 3mph better than the Ford Fiesta ST200. On the outside, the Clio RS has been tweaked in the same ways as other models, with revisions to the grille, headlights and rear bumper. It is also the first…

VOLVO HAS NO plans to introduce fully autonomous cars in the future, saying it believes the partial system it is close to bringing to market is preferable. “We have no ambition to have a car that could drive in urban environments from A to B,” company CEO Håkan Samuelsson said at the unveiling of the new 40-series concepts recently. “If you’re a normal consumer, is that really what you are dreaming about? We believe more that in a situation where it’s not really fun to drive, you can switch on the autopilot and then sit back and do something else, using that time more productively. That is the product we are developing.” Volvo will begin a wide-scale trial of its Intellisafe Autopilot next year, with 100 XC90s equipped with the…

Once, a coupé was just a coupé: a fixed-roofed, two-door, sleek-roofed thing traditionally for two people. Well, as the new Mercedes GLC Coupé demonstrates, those days are long gone. The GLC Coupé is quite definitely an SUV, based on the firm’s GLC, but given a dose of sloping-roofed style. Like the GLC, it shares its underpinnings with the C-Class while borrowing the GLC’s bonnet, wings and lower door panels. It sits lower than the GLC, however, and is slightly longer. The GLC Coupé will be looking to tempt people away from the BMW X4, but the Porsche Macan is the one to beat for us. Engine options begin with two versions of Merc’s ageing 2.1-litre four-cylinder diesel in the 220 and 250 d. By October there will be the V6…

‘I was kidding myself that I’d achieved my dreams. When Aston came knocking, it woke me up’ When senior auto executives pose next to their company’s classic products, you often get the strong impression that their heart isn’t really in it. Their job is to sell new cars, not old ones, after all. Somebody else has already taken credit for the back catalogue, so it’s likely nothing more than a scenic backdrop. That’s not the case here, with Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer standing next to this gleaming 1980 V8 Vantage and wearing the grin that comes from the pride of ownership. The Vantage hasn’t been borrowed for the photo shoot; it’s Palmer’s own car, bought last year for a sizeable amount of his own money and having only just…

Whether or not Ariel makes a chauffeur-driven car (Tester’s Notes, 15 June), the point is that small manufacturers can innovate in ways that are too risky for mainstream car makers. I would like a small manufacturer to offer a modest yet interesting compact, lightweight car that is tall enough to accommodate four or five adults and is easy to get in to and out of. “But it would be boring,” some petrolhead is bound to bleat. No it wouldn’t. You do not need a squillionth of a second faster to 62mph or a top speed so far outside the speed limit as to be meaningless. Read in the same issue what fun an old Ford Fiesta or new Mazda MX-5 can be. The big car makers are constrained by their…

The astute among you might notice a slight change in my car — that it’s now black, rather than the previous ‘Hurricane Grey’. That’s because my original 308 GTi was involved in a serious accident on a Belgian motorway and was written off. This was an accident in the truest sense of the word, with those driving being innocent parties. Thankfully, the occupants are fine other than a couple of broken bones and will soon be fully recovered. Before I talk about the new one, which is identical in every way other than the colour, it’s worth doffing a cap to the 308 GTi. Details aside, the incident highlighted just how effectively the car protects the people inside it from harm. The so-called crumple zone responded impressively to the head-on…

Mileage 9910 “Dad, I’m bored.” Forty-five minutes into any journey, it’s always the same. We do spelling, we do maths, we do a quiz… no matter what, 45 minutes later the kids are bored. But now I have the answer, and it comes in the form of three roof-mounted buttons that control the OnStar system. OnStar encapsulates the connected but disparate functions of creating an in-car wi-fi hotspot, allowing you to phone a call centre to ask for route information (which can then be automatically uploaded to your sat-nav system), detecting if you’ve had an accident and alerting the emergency services, tracking the car’s whereabouts and showing you the status of various aspects of your car via your smartphone (from tyre pressures to the fuel level). So far, the wi-fi…

READER’S CAR: RENAULT MEGANE We have met Peter Marsh before, not least because he has a great eye for a bargain. Well, sometimes… “The worst ‘bargain’ I ever bought was a 2006 Renault Mégane dCi 150,” he says. “It leaked, its windows failed and it was like being in a 1980s nightclub as various warning lights would light up, go out and then light up again. It had all the go of a caravan and the keyless entry and start system was ridiculous, and yet I liked it. It was a hateful thing, but it was only five years old when I paid £1600 for it.” SEND YOUR BANGERNOMICS TALES TO JAMES Twitter: @Bangernomics Email: james@bangernomics.com WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK: MOT TESTING Get get your proof…

Superminis 1 Ford Fiesta From £10,000 Not a class-beater in every regard, but its dynamics are so far ahead of the curve that it’s currently unassailable. 2 Mini From £14,000 Three-pot engines and cleverly recycled interior make the Mini a superb choice. Second to Fiesta on value, though. 3 Mazda 2 From £12,000 A very grown-up and well-made supermini. Drives with real charm, too. Engine not quite so appealing. 4 Volkswagen Polo From £11,300 Still the sensible choice in a lot of ways: usable, refined, easy-going, desirable and very solidly built. 5 Renault Clio From £11,100 An attractive and practical proposition and still pleasingly . handling great, so. Visit autocar.co.uk for all of our Top Fives…

Eagle-eyed Mini enthusiast Neil Burgess recently noted that the Mini Vision Next 100 concept, which was unveiled to hint at the company’s future direction, bears a passing resemblance to a vehicle from its recent past: the ACV30 concept car. Anniversary Concept Vehicle 30 was sprung on an unsuspecting world to mark the 30th anniversary of Mini’s victory on the Monte Carlo Rally, with Rover using the 1997 running of the classic event to reveal the car. The look of the ACV30, which was badged as a Mini Cooper S, came from one of the abandoned styling proposals for the new Mini, which was then still four years from launch. The ACV30 showed that the hallmark design elements of the classic Mini, such as the hexagonal radiator grille and large circular…

THE ‘REBOOTING’ OF the Citroën brand will continue with the launch of a mid-sized SUV and eventually extend to an eight-model line-up of passenger cars, according to the firm’s boss, Linda Jackson. Citroën’s new mid-sized SUV — based on the Aircross concept — was recently confirmed for production at at the PSA Group factory in Rennes from early 2018, after originally being pencilled in to be built outside the EU. Jackson also confirmed that the brand will launch two new electric vehicles — one in the B-segment in 2019, the other in the C-segment in 2020. Product director Xavier Peugeot said despite the expressive styling of the C4 Cactus and new C3, the firm remains committed to the C and D-segments with more conventional models such as the C4 and…

RENAULT IS POISED to enter the lightweight pick-up truck market with its new Alaskan. Based on the Alaskan concept seen last year, it will go on sale later this year in South America before being considered for other markets, including the UK. Sharing parts with Nissan’s NP300 Navara, it has 230mm of ground clearance and can tow a class-leading 3.5 tonnes. The Alaskan is powered by a choice of two four-cylinder diesel engines, making 158bhp or 187bhp. Buyers can choose from a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearbox and opt for four-wheel drive. As standard, the Alaskan is rear-wheel drive. Four-wheel-drive variants come with an electronic limited-slip differential that brakes wheels that are rotating faster than others in order to increase traction.…

An actuator can give a little positive or negative lock on the rear wheels, to increase either agility or stability Stick a square body on the back of a coupé and, inevitably, it’ll get called a breadvan. Curious. The Ferrari GTC4 Lusso – facelift of the five-year-old FF – is Maranello’s take on the theme. Ferrari likes having a front-engined four-seater in its range. By default, it has been a V12, and so it is here. Until the FF arrived, replacing the 612 Scaglietti, what it never had was four-wheel drive. The FF did and the GTC4 Lusso still does now, but the new car also has four-wheel steering, thanks to a development of the system that appeared on the F12tdf last year. An actuator on the toe-link on the…

The Volkswagen Up has received a shot in the arm thanks to the addition of a turbocharger to its 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine. Considering that the car is quite a giggle even without boost, a bit more power and a lot more torque promises to make it an absolute riot. The new turbocharged engine comes as part of a revamp for the whole Up range that brings revised styling, updated technology and some new colours and wheels. We’ve been hopeful that VW would add a bit more power to the Up since it wheeled out a performance concept years ago. Not that this is an Up GTI, GT or any other hot or warm version. No, this 89bhp motor slots into the regular line-up, so there’s still hope for an even…

Not everyone cared for the Phantom’s styling, but one thing no one doubted: this was a Rolls-Royce In the north-east corner of a small graveyard next to a remote 13th century church, found down an overgrown path in the heart of rural Monmouthshire, lies the grave of Charles Stewart Rolls. In all, he spent just fewer than 33 years on this earth, an age at which most of us would be happy still to think we were embarking on life’s great adventure. Yet in that time Rolls became an avid balloonist and a racing driver and aviator of international renown. He broke the land speed record (albeit unofficially) and toyed with powered flight long before the Wright Brothers took to the skies, and while many remember that it was Louis…

Mercedes-AMG’s decision to create a range of more affordable V6-engined saloons, estates, coupés and roadsters to complement its V8s is great news. The SLC may not be an ideal way to launch the ‘43’ sub-brand, but it does prove that AMG wants its lesser models to be exciting and engaging – no less seriously sporting for being a little more usable. Which we applaud. It’ll take a while to get used to the idea of an AMG that’s a bit less vigorous than some of its rivals, of course, but although the SLC 43 meets your performance expectations more meekly than you might expect, there is more power to come from AMG’s V6. The SLC 43 is easier to recommend to some, but tougher to most. Engaging handling gives it…

Mileage 2724 Our new three-cylinder Golf has taken us on our first family foray: a drive to the River Medway in Kent, for a day of messing about on the river. It was a nice day out for us but a potential challenge for a medium-sized car with a 1.0-litre petrol engine. If it had been the ancient 1000cc- engined Morris Minor I once owned, a day of lethargic acceleration would have been guaranteed. However, loading the Golf up with children and grandparents — and the mother of all family picnic hampers — wasn’t the nightmare travelling in a tiny-engined car with four passengers and their luggage would once have been. On flat sections of road, the extra weight was barely noticeable. Only steep hills fazed the engine a fair…

1 Mazda MX-5 Conran Edition (1999) Mazda teamed with British designer Jasper Conran to create a couple of limited-edition versions of its perennially popular roadster. The model is based on the 1.8i S variant and comes in either black with a black leather hood, interior carpet and leather upholstery, or a platinum silver and red combination. Other goodies include a leather and aluminium steering wheel and a Sony CD player and Minidisc multi-changer — a once cutting-edge addition that betrays the car’s age. Only 500 were made (100 in silver and 400 in black); each will be numbered. They’re available on the used market for around £2150. 2 Volkswagen Beetle Fender (2013) Classic guitar maker met motoring icon in this unlikely match-up. Underneath it is a standard contemporary Beetle, fitted…

Super-saloons 1 Jaguar XFR From £65,500 Balanced fluent handling with crackling expressive V8 power. Usable and relatively well priced. The sweet spot. 2 Mercedes-AMG C 63 S From £66,800 Mercedes-AMG’s best hot four-door of a big bunch. Chassis is uncompromising but engaging with it. 3 BMW M3 From £56,600 Sharp, lean and as precise as a scalpel. Incredibly well mannered but a bit reserved at low speeds. 4 Mercedes-AMG E 63 S From £84,700 Bigger and softer than the C-Class and almost as much fun. Likeable, but not as communicative as some rivals 5 Jaguar XJR From £92,400 Doesn’t quite ape the bang-for-buck value of the XFR, but has chiselled style and performance kudos to burn. Visit autocar.co.uk for all of our Top Fives…

Luxury SUVs 1 Range Rover Sport From £61,300 Now bigger and better. A cut-price Range Rover rather than a jumped-up Discovery — and the best here by a mile. 2 Volvo XC90 From £45,800 The XC90 is cleverly packaged, smartly styled, competitively priced and pleasing to drive. 3 Porsche Cayenne From £49,600 The current model is more agile, more stylish and more sporty-feeling than before. A great interior, too. 4 Land Rover Discovery From £41,600 Looks like an outmoded hulk in this list, but it can still do everything you’d ever want it to. Seven seats, too. 5 Audi Q7 From £47,800 Biggest Audi is typically unengaging to drive but fast and light on its feet. Cabin is both huge and brilliantly classy. Visit autocar.co.uk for all of our Top…

It is the fastest Aston yet and the first road car created by Adrian Newey This is the Aston Martin AM-RB 001, the hypercar built in collaboration with Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing that is the fastest, most advanced Aston yet and the first road car to be created by the foremost F1 designer, Adrian Newey. Autocar was granted exclusive access to this full-sized model of the two-seat AM-RB 001 ahead of its official unveiling at Aston’s Gaydon headquarters on 5 July. A total of 99 road cars will be built, as well as 24 track cars. In its track specification, the AM-RB 001 will, Aston boss Andy Palmer maintains, be capable of lapping Silverstone at the same pace as an F1 car in race trim. The partnership has…

How versatile do you want this car to be? “My view on that harks back to what I learned from my father, who was a vet. He had a Mini Cooper and a Lotus Elan, and he used them for everything, farm visits included. So I grew up with the idea that a performance car should also be capable of taking its owner to the shops or the theatre and be comfortable doing it. So our car will combine two technologies: it will be docile, but extremely quick. The synergies with Aston Martin are obvious.” But it’ll have its own engine and chassis? “Of course. The engine is a very compact, bespoke, naturally aspirated V12. And the car itself will have quite a lot of downforce. But it’ll be a…

A LARGE SEAT SUV could be launched at the turn of the decade, according to the firm’s UK boss, Richard Harrison. Such a car was previewed by the Seat 20V20 car last year, but at the time it was described as a concept to inform the styling of the new mid-sized Ateca, a rival to the Nissan Qashqai, and an upcoming smaller crossover to rival the Nissan Juke. However, Seat’s anticipated growth curve, driven by the SUV launches and a refreshed Ibiza supermini that’s due before the turn of the decade, will open up new opportunities for the brand. “There’s a healthy debate going on as to where we go next,” said Harrison. “Today we sell cars that cover 52% of the market; by the end of 2017 that will…

Honda considers its new NSX to be “a platform” rather than a single model, meaning that a whole host of different versions are likely to be launched over the model’s life cycle. According to NSX project boss Ted Klaus, Honda is contemplating convertible, lightweight, non-hybrid and all-electric versions, one of which is set to wear the Type R badge. The NSX, which will reach the UK in right-hand drive form this autumn, will initially have a hybrid powertrain, with a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 combining with three electric motors for a total 573bhp output. The car is currently in production in the US, in a new factory in Ohio called the Performance Manufacturing Centre. Honda intends to use the new facility to produce the different versions in order to get a…

Now in its third generation, the Audi A3 has received a fairly significant facelift – not that you’d probably notice at first glance. From the outside, there are new headlights and tail-lights, a sharper, broader grille and some new colours and wheels, but the family hatchback’s classy looks carry over fundamentally as before. Under the skin, there’s a choice of two new engines (a 1.0-litre triple and a 2.0-litre turbo petrol four) and additional safety kit. Inside, you can opt for Audi’s 12.3in Virtual Cockpit configurable digital display in place of conventional instruments, while connectivity has been enhanced with the addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You also have the option of an Audi ‘phone box’ to improve your phone’s signal and to charge wirelessly, should your device be…

For 10 years, the Nissan Qashqai has been to the nation’s driveways what a loaf of medium-sliced white is to its bread bins. Ubiquitous. Essential. Standard. Assured of what they’re getting, a generation of young families has made the British-built Nissan virtually its default choice. It has provided us with a standard, too: the one we’ve used to measure practically every affordable crossover that has followed in its wake. Typically, all have been found wanting. The Qashqai has proven to be the best not because it was first or cheap or even overtly brilliant but because it was a savvy mix of practicality, efficiency, functionality and understated desirability. Although Nissan likes to claim credit for the fortuitous half-spark of originality that helped establish the industry’s gravy train segment, its real…

ALFA SALES WORK REQUIRED I just tried the new Alfa Romeo Giulia, and I love it. It’s elegant, nice to drive and decently made, and its road manners won me over, but I won’t buy one. Alfa dealers and salesmen are nowhere near what is expected in this premium segment. At my local dealer, the car in the showroom was dirty and a piece of plastic close to the A-pillar was already loose. The salesman wasn’t very polite. Inside, not a single glass of water, nor a coffee, nor a brochure was offered. At another dealer, the same problems. If Alfa is to really succeed and thrive again, it must improve this. The brand experience is light years apart from what one gets at a BMW dealership. I know what…

Life has been easy. It is a night and day improvement over any previous A4 I’m old enough to remember the first A4’s launch in 1994, old enough also to remember and test a couple of generations of Audi 80 that went before it. Indeed, and somewhat to my horror, I discover this is the seventh generation of compact Audi saloon I’ve come to know in a professional capacity. And until now you could say pretty much the same thing about the lot: they were all great-looking cars with excellent build quality, class-leading interiors and absolutely nothing whatsoever to hold the interest of the enthusiast driver. I can’t recall a group test in this magazine between an A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class in which the A4 didn’t come…

Kadjars are becoming a more common sight, although for now they’re outnumbered by Nissan Qashqais by a ratio of roughly loads to one. I was wondering which offered the better value, so I did a bit of nosing through configurators. Trouble is, spec levels aren’t directly comparable. The cheapest 1.5 dCi Qashqai, in Visia trim, costs £20,375, while the cheapest 1.5 dCi Kadjar, in Expression+, is £20,395, for which you get two similarly equipped cars. However, to get the Nissan with an infotainment system similar to our Dynamique S Nav Kadjar’s R-Link 2 set-up, you’d need to spend £23,810 on an N-Connecta Qashqai, compared with £22,995 on a comparably manual gearbox-equipped Renault (or add £1200 for our car’s dual-clutch ’box). Then again, that Nissan gets some extra safety kit that…

A 2004 Audi S4 Avant with a fashionable Alcantara interior was tempting British Car Auctions claims that values have reached their highest point ever — or, at least, yet. Apparently fleet, lease and part-exchange vehicles are in huge demand, and the result is rising values. The average price of a used car is now £8261, to be very precise. It won’t last, because high summer means holidays and lots of others things for people to do rather than lurk around car lots. Average prices always vary depending on when you’re buying and where you are, and to many, £8000 sounds like a lot to spend on a used car. It is, though, a reflection of the fact that new car buyers are spending more, and there is, of course, the…