Innholdsfortegnelse for 5/10/2016 i Autocar

At an exclusive pre-launch event near Barcelona, Nissan took the unusual step of allowing us to drive two near-production prototypes in the company of their major opposition: a 1.2-litre four-cylinder Volkswagen Polo (the class refinement standard) and a Renault Clio powered by a 0.9-litre petrol triple (the powertrain standard). The Micras were a basic-spec 1.5-litre diesel and a mid-spec model using the same 0.9-litre turbo as the Clio. The route was a decent test: it started with some ragged, crowned blacktop pocked with the kind of bumps you normally drive around (we didn’t), plus faster, bumpier asphalt that tested the body control over the suspension’s entire stroke. There were bumpy corners, both quick and slow, plus a fast and evil blind one with a closing radius, then a few miles…

BMW has showcased a new design direction in the shape of the Concept X2 SUV, according to the car’s project manager, Peter Heinrich. A production version of the Concept X2 will follow in 2018 and closely match the styling of the Paris concept. It’s likely to cost around £30,000 and will be pitched as a rival to the Range Rover Evoque. Designing the Concept X2 has been a valuable opportunity for BMW to demonstrate that it doesn’t want to adopt a ‘Russian doll’ design language, according to Henrich. Rather than being an X1 with the rear end lopped off, the X2 is a clear reimagining of BMW’s approach to its usual SUV-coupés, as seen with the existing X4 and X6. The body is wider and more aggressive than the X1’s,…

Audi unveiled its first RS3 saloon at the Paris motor show. The new model is based on the standard A3 saloon and is the first car to be launched by Audi’s rebranded Audi Sport division. Power comes from a new, lightweight 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo engine that produces 394bhp and 354lb ft — respective 32bhp and 11lb ft rises on the existing RS3 hatchback. Drive is sent to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and 0-62mph takes 4.1sec. The RS3 saloon will go on sale next summer.…

JAGUAR CONFIRMED in Paris that a new XF Sportbrake will make production next year and released an image of a camouflaged model undergoing testing. The XF Sportbrake will be built on the same aluminium architecture as the saloon and also share its engines, meaning a 2.0-litre diesel will be the base unit, with 3.0-litre V6 petrol and diesel engines sitting higher up in the range. A 2.0-litre petrol engine, which was launched recently, will also be included with both variants of the XF. The photographed XF Sportbrake uses this 2.0 petrol unit, suggesting it will be available in the estate model from launch. Power outputs for the engine line-up range from 161bhp to 375bhp. As with the XF saloon, drive will be sent to the rear wheels through a standard…

Mercedes-AMG will launch a new mid-engined hypercar powered by a Formula 1 drivetrain in 2018. The company’s retiring R&D boss, Thomas Weber, confirmed the new model on the eve of the Paris motor show. The new Mercedes will challenge the Aston Martin and Red Bull-developed AM-RB 001. It will spearhead a growing Mercedes-AMG range that will expand by a further 10 models throughout 2017. Mercedes-AMG’s closed, all-carbonfibre hypercar will be powered by the “entire current F1 powertrain”, according to officials, with drive going to all four wheels. This confirms a 1.6-litre petrol engine capacity and the use of both forms of energy recovery system found in modern F1 cars: the MGU-K, which converts mechanical and heat energy into electrical energy that can be stored for later deployment, and the MGU-H…

Jeep’s new Compass has been revealed in Brazil, ahead of its public debut in the US in November. Built in the Brazilian city of Goiana, the new Compass is a Nissan Qashqai rival based on a stretched version of the platform that underpins the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X. Its styling is influenced by the latest Grand Cherokee. Expect both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive variants, with 17 powertrain options around the world. It will go on sale in Europe in the second half next year, with more details to come when it appears at the Los Angeles show next month.…

“With 118bhp, the Electric is the least powerful Ioniq, yet it is also the quickest” This is our first chance to drive the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq on UK roads. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve already tried the hybrid version. With a plug-in hybrid to follow, the Ioniq is a key part of Hyundai’s plan to have 22 ‘green’ cars in its range by 2020. Underneath all three versions is the same platform that underpins the Kia Niro. There’s plenty of high-strength steel to help rigidity, along with aluminium panels and other componentry to reduce weight. Unlike the Niro and the two hybrid Ioniqs, the all-electric version does without independent multi-link rear suspension, despite costing nearly £29,000 before any government grant. Instead, it has a torsion beam rear…

Along with the rest of the Audi A3 range, the plug-in hybrid Sportback e-tron has had a nip and tuck, with an injection of tech on the inside and a tweaked appearance externally. It remains mechanically unchanged, though. That means it still carries a 1.4-litre petrol engine and electric motor in the front, both driving through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, and under the rear seats lives an 8.8kWh lithium ion battery. All that equates to a combined output of 201bhp and a 0-62mph time of 7.6sec, along with combined fuel economy of 166.2mpg and just 38g/km of CO2. As with many hybrids, there are some drawbacks. Aside from a higher list price than mainstream A3s, it has to lug around the weight of its electric motor and battery, impacting…

“No other car makes you feel more secure than the Bentley ” Running fast towards my rendezvous with the Aston Martin DB11, the challenge it is about to take on is clear. The Bentley Continental GT Speed under my right foot doesn’t feel like a car in need of replacement at all. Indeed, I’d argue the greatest trick it ever pulled is not to have lived a life this long – it’s already in its 13th year – but to have become so improved within that span as to be a better car today relative to its peers than when it was new back in 2003. Usually, cars just don’t do that. And if it seems odd to be banging on about a rather old Bentley in a test whose…

Do the rallycross cars feel much quicker than DTM cars when accelerating? “Yeah, for sure they do, because 0-100km/h is 2.4sec or 2.5sec max, so that is pretty fast. They are fun because of the speed and the way we compete.” How do you approach a rallycross race? Do you ever hang back? “It’s always attack in a rallycross race. You have to know which battles to go for, of course, but you always go full attack. It’s more heat of the moment, so you have to be sharp and see if there’s a moment whether to take it.” How difficult is it to set up a World Rallycross car? “You need to be spot on with the set-up. The start is so important, you need to be good off…

FIRST DRIVE New Audi Q5 Pre-production next-generation SUV faces a rugged test in Central America MOTORSPORT Porsche 919 in London What happened when the hybrid racer hit the streets of the UK capital ROAD TEST Aston Martin Vantage GT8 Vivid, visceral, track-focused Vantage examined by our experts SPECIAL FEATURE Suzuki Swift Sport The next hot Swift is going turbo, so we celebrate the current naturally aspirated one SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p46…

IT’S THE LITTLE things now. The Hyundai and I bedded in months ago, since when Tucsons have become a regular sight (best colour: Ara Blue). It’s also been easily long enough for me to tally up the idiosyncrasies. Number one has been the sat-nav, issues with which have become more noticeable since I’ve been using it to guide me from my (new) doorstep rather than having it pilot me to far-flung places I won’t ever get to know. With said doorstep now in south London, my typical journey has changed from 15mph on the M25 to 5mph through Lambeth. And where before the nav proved generally effective in getting me from A to B, heavier traffic can cause it problems – chiefly with the diversions it comes up with to…

Be a Renault Sport F1 Team player Renault Sport does performance hatches so effortlessly and so well and they end up being such good value a few years down the line, thanks to our old friend depreciation. So it is hard not to be drawn towards this 2007 Mégane F1 Team R26. It even has a full service history to account for its 90k mileage. The £5490 asking price seems very reasonable. Enthusiast Evora up for swapsies Privately sold Lotus models are always good buys when the seller is an enthusiast owner. This Evora looks like a case in point. It has a dealer history for complete reassurance over the 42k mileage and a series of modifications and options that make it so much more fun. It’s for sale at…

1 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG (2003-2006) Soon after the turn of the millennium, Mercedes confirmed that a 5.4-litre V8 producing 469bhp and 520lb ft would turn its then-new E-Class into a demonic super-saloon. Restrained looks, a luxurious interior and a diverse breadth of abilities make a 2003 example with 92,000 miles on the clock a compelling buy. We found a few for sale for around £11,400. 2 Audi S6 (2006-2011) Once upon a time, a big, naturally aspirated V10 was a desirable powertrain for a super-saloon. In the mid-2000s Audi shoehorned a Lamborghini-related 5.2-litre V10 into its S6, giving it 429bhp and the exhaust note of a supercar. We found a few decade-old examples of this underrated super-saloon on sale with around 90,000 miles on the clock, all hovering around the…

“The new Discovery has been designed from the inside out to provide seating for seven adults” Land Rover’s all-new, fifth-generation Discovery is faster, lighter, more economical and cleaner-running than the model it replaces, even though it is bigger inside and out. The new model adopts many styling cues from the influential Discovery Vision concept unveiled at the 2014 New York motor show. Its sleek and curvaceous lines deliberately ditch the square-jawed toughness of the outgoing Discovery 4 to make way for the first of the new Defender family, promised for 2018-2019. “The new Discovery represents a massive shift in design terms from the current one,” said design boss Gerry McGovern. “But I think we’ve managed it without losing the essence of its practicality, capability and versatility.” Much of the Mk5…

After 33 years, Nissan is at last launching an all-new European-designed Micra with the unabashed aim of beating the supermini class leaders at their own game. Over four previous generations, Nissan has been content to target middle-rank rivals such as the Toyota Yaris and Suzuki Swift but without ever topping the sector, and the strategy has had some success. More than seven million Micras have been sold so far, half in Europe. Now, using more modern proportions, dynamic styling and hardware shared with the next-generation Renault Clio (with which the Micra will also share a production line), the company wants to challenge the market-leading Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo and won’t mind if it also steals Clio sales. “This Micra has been created to be a flagship,” said product manager…

“The rear wheels are driven by a single 350bhp Formula E motor” Renault has previewed its next-generation design language with the unveiling of a high-performance electric two-seat GT concept. The sleek coupé, called Trezor, which means ‘treasure’ in French, is the latest creation of design boss Laurens van den Acker, who has held the role at Renault since 2009. Over the past six years and using the design language pioneered in 2010’s Dezir concept, to which the Trezor is clearly and deliberately linked, van den Acker has restyled every production Renault. He recently signalled the completion of his journey by unveiling a lightly revised version of the 2012 Clio. Now the cycle begins again, with the Trezor design study hinting at what will follow. “This car signals a new beginning,…

THE UPGRADED RENAULT Zoe will offer a maximum real-world range of about 186 miles from a full battery charge, according to the French manufacturer’s electric vehicle programme chief, Eric Feunteun. Renault unveiled a new version of its electric hatchback, the Zoe Q90, at the Paris show. The car features a new, more dense ZE40 battery that offers a claimed range of 250 miles when measured on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) test. Although the maximum 250-mile range has been matched in a test drive around Paris’s Périphérique ring road, where low speeds and stop-start conditions conserve battery power, more varied driving will reduce that figure. Renault’s ‘real-world’ claim of 186 miles represents the greatest range offered by any mainstream EV apart from Teslas and eclipses that of Zoe rivals…

STRONG BRITISH CAR production figures don’t mean that the expected challenges posed by Brexit are over, say UK manufacturers. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, warned that the UK’s recent car export success had come during pre-referendum trading and the industry could not depend on the same business environment in future. “These results have come about because around £10 billion has been invested in our industry over the past five years,” he said. “It was a huge help with model development and with R&D. And best of all, we were — and still are — in the single market.” Hawes said the industry was deeply concerned about future conditions, with investment in danger of “leaking away” because of a lack of investor confidence. Ahead…

BRITAIN’S BLOODHOUND SSC land speed record project has announced Geely as its new “prime sponsor and official automotive partner”. The deal with Volvo’s parent company and China’s seventh-largest motor manufacturer revives the labouring venture, which aims to push the land speed record beyond 1000mph on a specially prepared track in South Africa in 2018 after setting a new 800mph record there next year. The project has been practically mothballed since the start of the year when testing plans were put on hold — with the car about 85% built — because of a lack of finance. Geely’s new financial contribution is understood to be worth millions and means that long-planned UK shakedown trials at Newquay airport can now take place in July 2017, before the 800mph attempt in September at…

The C350e is another reason to weigh up the advantages of plug-in hybrid power over a conventional diesel engine in your next compact executive saloon. With the Volkswagen Passat GTE, Volvo V60 D5 Twin Engine, Audi A3 Sportback e-tron and BMW ‘iPerformance’ 330e, there are now plenty of ways for benefit-in-kind tax payers to combine premium-brand ownership with a sub-50g/km electrified powertrain and end up in a faster and more efficient company car for a lower monthly outlay than that of a mid-range diesel. And it might offer value to a private buyer with the right kind of usage in mind. Like the Passat GTE and unlike the V60, the C350e has an electric motor mounted in line with the combustion engine and upstream of a seven-speed automatic transmission. With…

MODEL TESTED NSX Price £143,950 Power 573bhp Torque 476lb ft 0-60mph 3.3sec 30-70mph in fourth 4.1sec Fuel economy 25.2mpg CO2 emissions 228g/km 70-0mph 40.7m Skidpan 1.14g Many wonderful and stupendous cars have emerged from Japan since Soichiro Honda’s firm launched the S500 in 1963, but none of them has resonated internationally with the force or sheer mystique of the NSX. Conceived in the mid-1980s pomp of Honda’s (and Japan’s) supreme confidence that there was nothing being done in Europe that could not be bettered domestically, the ‘New Sportscar eXperimental’ was inspired by the F-16 fighter jet, built to outmatch a Ferrari 348 and underpinned by a chassis breathed on by Ayrton Senna. When it went on sale in 1990, the NSX’s exotic combination of materials and expertise – the monocoque…

“These cars are fun, fast and wild. They make me smile the most” Few other sports can match World Rallycross for its sheer spectacle. The speed of the cars, the frenetic pace of the racing and the amphitheatre-like circuits make for epic entertainment. A Formula 1 grand prix looks like an endurance race in comparison. Perhaps because of this excitement, many top drivers have joined the FIA World Rallycross Championship despite its relative infancy; it has been running for only three years in its current format. This season’s favourite for the World RX title, Mattias Ekström, is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid and also one of the sport’s greatest ambassadors. “You always have to go for full attack in a rallycross race,” says the Swede, who…

“While the Edge feels huge inside, driving and manoeuvring it couldn’t be easier” Ford started 2016 by declaring that we should ‘unlearn’ what we believe the Blue Oval stands for and embrace the new direction it is taking. Three cars are heading this brave new venture: the Focus RS mega-hatch, the GT supercar and what we have here, the new Edge. The arrival of Ford’s large, range-topping SUV has most likely come as unwelcome news to the existing players in the segment, with Ford’s dealer network and market share giving it a strong position. This isn’t the first time Ford has imported a large SUV from the US. Previously, in the 1990s, it was the Explorer, which was put up against premium European rivals – although it’s safe to say…

Let’s face it, the Ibiza’s cabin is typical of many VW Group cars. So why bother talking about the nice knobs and dials on the dash when they’re the same as the ones you get in a Golf? And what’s the point of mentioning the clean design of the centre console when Skodas use the same basic layout? Then there’s the steering wheel, which, to the dismay of one Autocar road tester, is another VW Group flat-bottomed job. But while I agree with Mr Taylor-Jones that flat-bottomed wheels should be the preserve of tightly packaged supercar cockpits, I do love the feeling of the Ibiza’s perforated leather in my hands. And what of the dials? Again, their basic shape and layout are familiar, but the Cupra gets white backlighting and…

MILEAGE 127,000 LAND ROVER SERIES 3 Water leaks. I bet you didn’t see that coming in a Land Rover with Oxford Dictionary-sized panel gaps combined with early 1980s Brummie build quality. Soggy carpets — yes, it has a mouldy set — are just a fact of life. Indeed, the moisture on the floor and dripping from the metal roof have resulted in several family passenger boycotts, depending on the conditions. Essentially, if it isn’t condensation-based, it sneaks past the door rubbers and into the footwell. Always has done. Always will do.…

The E39 M5 is still, 18 long years after the first cars took to the road, a thrilling experience Even if the E39 BMW M5 (1998-2003) had never turned any of its four, bespoke 18in Chrome Shadow alloy wheels (they’re easy to kerb and about £150 each to repair), we’d still be talking about it for its exhaust note alone. Idling, the 394bhp 4.9-litre V8 with double Vanos variable valve timing, eight throttle bodies and a free-flow exhaust is full of menace. Provoked, it explodes into vein-popping rage. Parking the Lotus Carlton of 1990 conveniently to one side, the M5 is often credited with firing the starting gun on the modern-day saloon horsepower race, whose present pace-setters include the 552bhp M5 and 577bhp Mercedes-AMG E63 S. But as any fule…

Elemental RP1 From £75,000 A tweaked Ford Ecoboost engine makes it fast, but it’s the beautiful handling that leaves a lasting impression. BAC Mono From £79,000 A sublime attempt to recreate the single-seater driving experience for the road. Utterly incomparable. Radical RXC500 From £143,000 Radical’s revision of its road car delivers the power previously missing. A Nürburgring record holder in waiting. KTM X-Bow From £143,000 Austrian motorcycle maker’s take on a track day special. It’s hard not to fall for the wonderful driving manners. Vuhl 05 From £60,000 Mexican track day car has a pragmatic and forgiving chassis. Turbo engine isn’t the most characterful.…

Volkswagen’s new electric five-door hatchback, the ID, will be its first dedicated electric car on sale when it reaches showrooms in 2020, according to the firm’s electric car project boss, Christian Zenger. However, there will be “quite a fast roll-out” of other cars based on the same electric-only MEB platform, which can accommodate anything from an “SUV to a limousine”, said Zenger. He added that more EV concepts would be revealed ahead of that date. Autocar has previously reported that an electric SUV will be unveiled next year as a concept, and an electric saloon and sports car are also planned. The ID concept, which will be priced similarly to a Golf in production form, uses an electric motor delivering 168bhp. It can cover 0-62mph in under 8.0sec and has…

Honda wants the new Civic Type R — previewed in Paris by a thinly veiled concept — to be the “best-ever front-wheel-drive hot hatch” when it goes on sale late next year after a Geneva show debut in March. Honda kept technical details close to its chest at Paris, but Autocar understands the Civic Type R will remain front-wheel drive in a class that’s increasingly dominated by all-wheel-drive models. Honda will rely on the new Civic’s wider chassis to improve grip and handling stability, along with a new aerodynamic package that includes two rear spoilers and a front splitter. “We have a lot more downforce from the design and aero package,” Type R chief designer Daisuke Tsutamori told Autocar. Tsutamori’s design features an unusual front end, with airflow to the…

THE BOLD STYLING of Hyundai’s RN30 concept will be largely carried over to the production i30N hot hatch on sale next year — and the concept also drops a very heavy hint that Hyundai is not planning to stop there, with an even more exciting version on the cards. Earlier this year, Autocar reported on Hyundai’s ambitions to make an ultrahigh-performance version of the new i30N aimed squarely at the Ford Focus RS. The Paris show car, and its prototype sisters that Hyundai development boss Albert Biermann admits exist, are tacit confirmation that work is well progressed. The regular i30N will have front-wheel drive, a six-speed manual gearbox and a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine producing around 260bhp. However, the RN30 has a heavily developed, 375bhp version of that engine, with forged…

AUDI’S SECOND-generation Q5 will go on sale early next year, with a 500bhp RS Q5 range-topper to follow. Buyers will be able to choose between five engines at launch: a 2.0 TDI in 148bhp, 161bhp and 187bhp forms, a 2.0 TFSI with 249bhp and a V6 3.0 TDI with 282bhp. Audi will also add an SQ5 to the range, which will use a tuned version of the 3.0-litre V6 diesel with around 325bhp, while the most potent RS Q5 will arrive in the second half of next year. That model, which has been developed alongside the second-generation RS4 and RS5 at the German car maker’s Audi Sport division, formerly Audi quattro GmbH, will feature a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine, tuned to develop close to 500bhp. Torque vectoring features on…

The ‘tipping point’ when electric cars become fully established as a new technology is expected to be reached in February next year, according to Jürgen Schenk, Mercedes-Benz’s electric car boss. Quoting the mathematical theory of technology adoption, electric cars are expected to break through the 1% share of the global car market early next year. Currently they make up 0.6% of the market. “One per cent is the point at which the technology can’t be stopped and it is here to stay,” said Schenk. “And the tipping point in Europe is not far away either.” Electric cars currently have a 0.4% market share in Europe, with the 1% threshold forecast to arrive in early 2018. Once 50% market share is reached, the technology will start to take over from the…

THE LEXUS UX concept, unveiled in Paris, is expected to reach production in toned-down form as a replacement for the CT200h, as the brand looks to capitalise on the trend for smaller SUVs. The UX is designed to be a VW Golf-sized SUV that sits below the NX in the current range, according to exterior designer Stefan Rasmussen. It is also meant to signify what the broader Lexus range could look like in the future. “It’s a car for urban areas, so I wanted it to be robust but agile and look strong in the city,” Rasmussen said. The five-door SUV features suicide rear doors and rear-facing cameras, linked to interior screens, mounted in place of exterior mirrors. Lexus describes the cabin as featuring “imaginative technologies for an immersive driver…

“It does a good job of mimicking the styling of the raunchy ST” This sporty-looking version of Ford’s Focus family hatch is designed to rival the likes of Renault’s new Mégane GT-Line and the Vauxhall Astra Tech Line. It has much of the visual swagger of its hotter full-house ST sibling but nothing like the same amount of power under the bonnet. On the outside there’s a full bodykit, including a large rear spoiler and side skirts, plus a gloss black honeycomb-style grille and dark surrounds for the foglights. Sports suspension and 17in alloy wheels painted in Rock Metallic grey complete the exterior alterations. On the inside there’s a black headlining, sports seats with red stitching and a perforated leather steering wheel. You step in over an ST-Line kick plate…

The last thing you expect to get from a cutting-edge hybrid super-sports car is an abiding sense of familiarity. And yet, where a less carefully considered car maker might have used the NSX’s pioneering powertrain to create tricks and gimmicks in the driving experience and force it onto the fringes of its class, Honda has managed to deploy world-first powertrain technology with a superb lightness of touch. It has used unconventional means to perfect, rather than reinvent, the conventional junior supercar. And it has produced a very rare breed of mid-engined exotic as a result: one that doesn’t shout about its potential or impose itself on your senses but is instead a very mature and complete driver’s car that simply says: “I’ve got the bases covered. Go on, enjoy yourself.”…

“The Balance of Performance process should ensure that the 570S is no faster over a lap than the Cayman” You’re doing a track day in your Porsche Cayman. It’s the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Ahead, you catch a glimpse of a shard of automotive exotica. As you power through Becketts, you pick out the shape of a LaFerrari. It disappears on the straight because you have 370bhp to its 950bhp, but by the time you’ve reached the exit of Stowe your windscreen is full of Ferrari once more. You nip by under braking for Vale and as you leave Club and look in the mirror again, it’s gone. This is not a fantasy. It may be that the Ferrari driver wasn’t trying hard, but in a day spent driving the…

No experience can prepare you for a passenger lap with Mattias Ekström in his S1 quattro. In comparison, a LaFerrari feels sluggish off the line, and the S1’s jolting sequential gearbox turns you into a nodding dog dashboard ornament impersonator. In order to prevent Ekström from benefiting from outlawed practice laps of the rallycross course, for the passenger lap we’re running on the first sector of Barcelona’s grand prix circuit instead. He takes turn one with a heavy right foot and an armful of opposite lock, then the same again in turns two, three and four. I’m not sure any corners are taken with anything less than 75% throttle, which means that for much of this short lap we’re breaking the UK motorway speed limit while travelling completely sideways. The…

You say potato… Another Spider has appeared and, once again, 70 years after Alfa Romeo (I think) introduced the term, we, in our near-xenophobic Brit obtuseness to foreign languages and against all common sense, continue to pronounce it as though it has something to do with arachnids. The use of the term was an attempt to use the prestige of the English language as a publicity tool to sell a nippy, sporty car. It doesn’t take a degree in linguistics to realise that the letters ‘i’ and ‘y’ have a closed sound and the cars are thus ‘speeders’. Please help to spread the gospel. DH Clampton Barrow-in-Furness WIN Letter of the week wins this ValetPRO exterior protection and maintenance kit worth £58.95…

How on earth do you hit a Smart? Apparently, quite easily. Yes, ours is now sporting a long, rather ugly scrape on the nearside of the rear bumper, complete with the light-coloured paint of its attacker. Luckily, there’s only the tiniest of marks on the exposed silver Tridion safety cell next to it, so hopefully that can remedied with a rubdown and some touch-up paint. With the Smart being a city car, I suppose it’s inevitable it’ll get dinged, especially in public car parks such as where this offence took place. I guess the car’s minuscule size actually counts against it, because some drivers simply don’t see it in time. Still, the sheer selfishness of the driver in question has made me investigate to see if CCTV footage of the…

Nissan Micra Kenny Smith really knows his cars and was surprised when his niece Kirsty rolled up in a Nissan Micra that Uncle Kenny hadn’t approved. “She spotted a tidy 1999 Micra with nine months’ MOT for sale at £275 in the local paper and promptly purchased it,” he says. “However, it just shows that having common sense when looking at a used car for sale is just as useful. Six months on, it has been an ideal first car, despite having a GPS tracker fitted that all insurers now seemingly insist on these days so that young people can use the roads. Apart from a loose exhaust heat shield, it has been perfectly reliable.” SEND YOUR USED CAR TALES TO james@bangernomics.com ,…

An expert’s view DARREN PARKER, JAMES PAUL BMW SPECIALISTS “The E39 5 Series was a great era and the M5 is the ultimate. It’s fantastically well built. We’ve sold around 50 over the years, but it’s getting much harder to find a decent one with reasonable mileage. If I were offered one now, I’d be all over the suspension and steering, checking for wear. Anything with an M badge on it isn’t cheap, so I’d consider general parts costs, too.” Buyer beware… • CHAIN TENSIONER Plastic chain tensioner is sensitive to the wrong oil. Replace it and the chains if the work hasn’t been done recently. • VANOS UNIT You need to hear the car start from cold and warm. It’s noisy if it’s failing. • RUNNING-IN SERVICE Check the…