Innholdsfortegnelse for 30/11/2016 i Autocar

Anew range-topping Lexus LS saloon will be launched with the option of hydrogen power in 2019, as the firm looks to capitalise on the leadership in fuel cell technology established by the Toyota Mirai of its parent company. Lexus’s rival to the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Jaguar XJ and Mercedes-Benz S-Class will be based heavily on the LF-FC concept car that was unveiled by Lexus at the Tokyo motor show in 2015. It is also expected to be sold with the choice of a V8 hybrid powertrain with around 535bhp. “We know how to make fuel cells and the only challenge is how to package a fuel cell in a car that also needs a certain level of performance,” said Lexus Europe boss Alain Uyttenhoven, without confirming plans for…

NEXTEV’S NIO EP9 hypercar will pave the way for the brand’s electric BMW 5 Series rival, which is due to be launched in China late next year. The car will be badged ES8, for Electric Saloon 8, and have an aluminium body and a choice of battery chemistries. Sales in Europe are possible but not confirmed and NextEV won’t yet commit to global engineering homologation to include European standards. In a bid to attract future buyers to the Nio brand, six EP9s will be built in a limited production run and the model will be used in China as a high-speed demonstrator for thrill rides around the Shanghai circuit. NextEV’s team of engineers in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, designed and built the 1360bhp two-seater using knowledge and some components from NextEv’s Formula…

Seat is set to launch a four-wheel-drive Leon Cupra hot hatch with more than 300bhp. It will supersede the front-drive Cupra 290 to become Seat’s hottest car and rival the Volkswagen Golf R, with which it is likely to share its engine and all-wheel drive system, and the Ford Focus RS. The new model, which is due next year, will make use of an uprated version of the Cupra 290’s turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and Haldex four-wheel drive technology. It’s likely to use a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and get more aggressive styling.…

“It provides some major grip on circuits, yet still with adjustability in the handling” Lotus is continually rolling out improvements to its light and fast sports cars and making them lighter and faster in the process. It’s a fine strategy that has made its Elise, Exige and Evora models better than ever and is now finally making the company money. The Lotus that was brilliant to drive but required you to excuse the rest of it is no more. Last year’s Exige Sport 350 is one of the poster childs for this new Lotus era. But in line with the new strategy, Lotus has used it as a base on which to improve, made it faster and lighter and created the Exige Sport 380. Look at the name and the…

“Downforce feels like a form of witchcraft I’m yet to grasp. Its effect through Eau Rouge is astonishing” Downforce has been increasing the performance of racing cars for more than half a century, turning 50mph corners into 90mph ones and slashing the lap times of single-seaters by so much that even supercars with twice the power look pedestrian by comparison. “Downforce is basically free grip,” says Matt Beers, director of driver development company Position One Motorsports and team manager and chief engineer of Gulf Racing, which competes in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with a Porsche 911 RSR. “With the added grip it brings, you can go a lot faster than with just the mechanical grip provided by the tyres. But it’s harder to build up to it; you have…

Worth the weight? The road test of the Nissan GT-R shows the insidious effect of weight (Autocar, 16 November). The GT-R’s 1752kg weight stopped it coming close to its fabled 2.8sec 0-60mph time. I compete in hillclimbs in a Subaru Impreza WR X STI Spec C Ltd. Subaru took 90kg out of the Spec C and it shows: my time at Loton Park this year was wit h i n 0.3sec of a 600bhp GT-R – and I’m no Senna. It’s time car makers focused properly on weight reduction. Should cars be taxed on weight as well as emissions? They would stop quicker, burn less fuel and do less damage to things they hit. Sean Toms Shrewsbury, Shropshire WIN Letter of the week wins this ValetPRO exterior protection and maintenance…

When the Subaru Levorg arrived on our fleet, I spotted the fanboy ‘SU13 ARU’ numberplate straight away. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it wasn’t long before I noticed that I was getting thumbs- up or waves from other Subaru drivers (a welcome change from other gestures I’ve had directed my way). It happened a lot and I’d like to give a special mention to a fellow Levorg commuter in Stockbridge, who, without fail, gave a friendly wave each morning as he passed me. This unexpected attention might seem a trivial point to make, but it’s an illustration of the interesting proposition that the Levorg is. It has its shortcomings and its frustrations, but you feel part of the Subaru community driving it. Would you get…

This 276bhp Superb hatch was a straight swap for the 150bhp diesel wagon that snapper Stan Papior had been running – although he still rather likes this one, such are the Skoda’s qualities. And it has plenty of them, chiefly that it’s exceptionally spacious and comfortable. This Laurin & Klement-spec hatch, though, gives up small amounts of both, so it’s a good job the Superb has loads to spare. The ride on this variant is a little heavier than our estate’s, not because the springs and dampers are different, but with four-wheel drive and a dual-clutch automatic gearbox (useful though they are), it carries about 200kg more than the car it replaces. It’s still incredibly comfortable, and whether on adaptive dampers or not (we’ve tried both, and this car has…

MILEAGE 127,219 LAND ROVER SERIES 3 It’s winter time and the Lorry has come into its own. It’s a damp, cold condensation trap, slightly misfirey and rather full of real life. There is a distinct chuff from the exhaust, too, but that can wait until the spring. What happens, though, is that one of the three warning lights in the speedometer binnacle has been staying on. Red is the engine light, blue is main beam and the other one is the ‘cold start’, or choke. That one remains lit. However, when I stop, do some shopping and restart, the light has gone out. That’s NFL: Normal For Landies.…

“The Mk1’s 1.6-litre engine makes 123bhp. For a car weighing just 1105kg, that’s plenty,, Autocar recently paid tribute to the Suzuki Swift Sport, due to be replaced next year by an all-new model. Why the fuss? Because with the passing of the current car, a glorious chapter in hot hatch history will close. For 10 years, and through two generations (Mk1 2006-2011, Mk2 2012 on), we’ve been enchanted by the Swift’s blend of low price, low weight and naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine, perfectly matched to the car’s chassis. The new model may be even lighter than the current car, which weighs 1045kg, and, if leaked images are any guide, we know it’ll look sharper, although still unmistakably a Swift. However, it’ll have a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine, meaning that, sadly, the…

Mercedes-Benz SL From £72,500 Big, luxurious drop-top is classier than a royal stud farm. Few cruisers feel more special for the money. Mercedes-Benz CLS From £46,500 Original added-desirability four-door is almost as refined to drive as it is to behold. Shooting Brake is rather elegant Porsche Panamera From £63,900 Technically brilliant — but lacking a bit of soul and visual allure. V6 diesel is an outstanding long-distance car Audi A7 From £45,900 Curiously droopy looks don’t ›latter an otherwise impressive machine. Packed with gadgetry. BMW 6 Series From £59,400 Munich’s big GT comes in two-door, four-door and drop-top guises. All feel heavy and just a little bit ordinary.…

"The aim was to improve the ride of what is already one of the most comfortable cars in the class" The seventh-generation Ford Fiesta has been revealed, including a new Fiesta Active model that tackles the current crossover trend. The jacked-up, SUV-like trim is claimed to combine “rugged SUV styling with hatchback practicality and true Fiesta driving dynamics”. Ford is also adding a luxurious Vignale model to the range, complete with quilted leather seats and an extensive range of kit, in order to address the growing popularity of higher-end trim levels. The Fiesta’s styling has changed dramatically over the years, but Ford has taken an evolutionary approach with this seventh-generation model. Eight years into its life, the current Fiesta remains the UK’s best-selling car. Referring to the less than dramatic…

"A more expensive variant of the i5 could offer a range of up to 404 miles between charges" BMW is future-proofing its business by accelerating plans to add more electric and petrol-electric hybrid models to its regular line-up and i sub-brand, sources close to the company have revealed. Future all-electric models include a Mini hatchback, X3 and 3 Series, alongside new i models, namely the i5 saloon, an i6 SUV and an all-electric i8 sports car. The shift away from traditional combustion-engined models towards alternative-drive offerings comes as BMW seeks to reinvent itself as an electric mobility, autonomous driving and internet-based services-led company. In a strategy paper tabled by its chairman, Harald Krüger, BMW has laid the foundations for a series of operational changes that are aimed at transforming the…

A hot Toyota Auris will be the first model to come from the firm’s new Gazoo performance road car brand, named after its motorsport arm. Gazoo, which is akin to BMW M or Mercedes-AMG, will focus on performance-orientated road cars. Toyota’s existing sports car, the GT86, will be renewed in 2018-2019 (see separate story), but the firm considers that model to be more of a track car. That’s why the Auris will be the first to receive the Gazoo treatment, with the new hot hatchback due to be unveiled next year. A company source revealed there would be a hot version of all mainstream Toyotas apart from the Prius. That includes the C-HR crossover. The Toyota Gazoo Racing works team tested a competition prototype of the C-HR at the Nürburgring…

General Motors infamously killed its first electric car, the EV1, having realised that the US in the mid-1990s was not ready for an electron-fuelled future. Two decades on, GM’s Chevrolet Bolt arrives not as atonement for the rational decision to euthanise its forebear but as an acknowledgement that the world has changed. It’s a change that the Bolt is leading. No, it doesn’t entirely answer the criticisms commonly levelled at EVs – that they cost too much and can’t go far enough on a charge. But it moves the goalposts on both of them. In the US, the Bolt costs just under $30,000 (£24,350 at current exchange rates) once a $7500 federal tax credit is applied. That’s cheaper than the BMW i3 but more expensive than the Nissan Leaf, yet…

Those poor, unfortunate cheats at Audi are in trouble again. This time it’s for another few lines of software code that allow cars to fiddle an emissions test. Cue the predictable long faces, furrowed brows and tutting disapproval of the mainstream media, which we’ve no need to repeat on these pages. I’m not excusing it and neither should anyone else. But before heaping even greater scorn on top of a growing pile, a would-be critic really ought to spend a few hours in the company of a modern automotive engineer and get some perspective on the endless list of often conflicting targets they’re expected to hit for almost every facet of a new car’s state and function. What an irony, then, that if you’re an engineer working down the road…

“Much of the electrical computer software will be carried outside of the car, in the cloud” Two weeks ago, with the help of Coventry-based car creation company Envisage Group, we set out to design a car to suit the demands and desires of car users in 2025 to 2030 – both to investigate the future of cars and to understand the sheer complexity of modern-day car creation. Our car would be Volkswagen Golf-sized, battery powered and capable of carrying five occupants in great comfort and potentially up to seven. It would utilise all of the technological developments we and Envisage’s experts could realistically forecast for the next 15 years while also remaining fundamentally practical and affordable. Autocar’s journalists would play the role of client, laying down the concept’s fundamentals. The…

BUYING USED Best buys for £5k We reveal the secrets to snaring high-quality bargains in the secondhand car market FIRST DRIVE New BMW 5 Series A prototype drive impressed us, but now we assess the definitive model MOTORSPORT Ari Vatanen’s road trip Rally legend in a BMW M4 GTS on his favourite roads. Yes, really ROAD TEST Audi TT RS Our expert testers’ verdict on Audi’s answer to the Porsche 718 Cayman S SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p34…

On the way back to London from Leeds last month, the Tucson came over all sickly and began limiting power in third and fourth gears. The engine warning light came on, too. Desperate to get home and disinclined to spend an evening awaiting recovery on the M1, I ignored the issue and continued south. Faithful as a wounded husky, the Tucson delivered me home – and was fine for the next few days. Then a colleague had the same problem while commuting in our car, to the point where he thought that he might come to a halt on a long incline. It was clearly time to consult a dealer. That was easier said than done. Hyundai apparently has only three main dealers in south London – which, given the…

Rover 414 SLi Angyl Roper has a 1994 Rover 414 SLi manual, in Flame Red. It was bought for £275 with 107,000 miles and some MOT, at night, in the rain, and driven home. “It had a suspected blown head gasket which turned out to be a leaking radiator and thermostat housing, both of which are fixed,” says Angyl. “The car had a worn-out clutch, worn-out front brakes and low gearbox oil. First it got new discs and pads, a new radiator, new clutch (someone had put the clutch plate in the wrong way round, so it felt like it was worn out), new driveshaft seals and new gearbox oil. With all that attended to, it’s a perfectly reliable, serviceable car.” SEND YOUR USED CAR TALES TO james@bangernomics.com…

An expert’s view MARTIN BUCKBY, NEWMANS SUZUKI “Swift Sports are never any trouble. We tend to see younger cars, but we’ve just had a driving instructor part-exchange his 180,000-mile 2012 Swift for a new one. Granted, it’s not a Sport, but it feels tight as a drum and shows what these cars are capable of. The latest Sport is superb. I did a 600-mile round trip in one, starting at 3am. I had no backache and the new HID lights, which work on dip as well as main beam, took a lot of stress out of the night-time stint. It’s a great car.” if the annual check has been carried out by a Suzuki dealer, the 12-year anti-perforation warranty is still live. Also check for a grounded underbody and bodged…

STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED 0-20% Inherently dangerous/ unsafe. Tragically, irredeemably flawed. 20-35% Appalling. Massively significant failings. 35-50% Very poor. Fails to meet any accepted class boundaries. 50-60% Poor. Within acceptable class boundaries in a few areas. Still not recommendable. 60-65% Off the pace. Below average in nearly all areas. 5-70% Acceptable. About average in key areas, but disappoints. 70-75% Competent. Above average in some areas, average in others. Outstanding in none. 75-80% Good. Competitive in key areas. 80-85% Very good. Very competitive in key areas, competitive in secondary respects. 85-92% Excellent. Near class leading in key areas, and in some ways outstanding. >93% Brilliant, unsurpassed. All but flawless.…

Lotus Cars had a positive cash flow for the first time in its history in August and is now able to fund development of a new generation of models, starting with an all-new Elise in 2020. Lotus boss Jean-Marc Gales initiated a turnaround plan when he joined the company two and a half years ago. The plan focused on improving the existing product range, cutting overheads and making the company financially stable and self-sufficient, something it has previously been able to do. The improvement of existing products has resulted in significantly upgraded versions and derivatives of the Elise, Exige and Evora, including a launch in the US for the Evora in the summer, the early success of which has now pushed Lotus into the black. Now Gales and the Lotus…

MASERATI HAS FIRMED up its radical plan to launch a battery-powered version of the two-seat Alfieri sports car and has set a launch date of 2020 — a year after the conventionally powered Alfieri is due to arrive. Rumours of the electric sports car surfaced in the summer, but Maserati is now understood to have solidified the electric model as the second powertrain of the new Alfieri. It will be launched a year after the twin-turbo V6 petrol-engined Alfieri makes its debut 2019. The Alfieri concept shown in 2014 was powered by a V8 and was slated for production this year, but the revised launch has made a more efficient V6 the favoured option. By the time Maserati is ready to launch a compact two-seater, EU fleet average CO2 limits…

TOYOTA HAS CONFIRMED that the GT86 sports car will continue into a second generation, with a likely on-sale date of 2018-2019. “The GT86 is at the stage where it’s being decided on the next one,” Toyota Europe boss Karl Schlicht revealed. “Then a chief engineer will be assigned and away we go.” The 197bhp rear-wheel-drive GT86 has carved out a niche as a fun driver’s car, but like most sports models, its strong early sales have subsequently subsided. “The GT86 will carry on,” said Schlicht. “The car serves a big purpose. We are not getting out of that business. Sporty cars go through their phases. It’s our intention to continue with that car.” Continued co-operation with Subaru also looks likely but is as yet unconfirmed. “Will it be with Subaru?”…

“If the E63 S makes a lot of anything, it’s torque: 627lb ft of it, from 2500-4500rpm” When will the wider world have another Lotus Carlton moment? When will it sit up with a start and say: “A 600bhp, 190mph family saloon car? Are you completely mad?”? Anyway, here’s one. There are so many new cars. So many new Mercedes cars. You’d almost be forgiven for patting it on the head gently, knowingly, as it passes. Another new AMG. Welcome to the world, son, we know your brothers: dominated by their engines, lots of tyre smoke, that sort of thing. Sit yourself in that little niche over there, the one marked ‘hot rod’. Well, don’t. This car isn’t like other recent AMGs. Well, it is, but it’s not only like…

“This 2.0-litre diesel is the most powerful in the range” There’s a new flagship model in the second-generation Peugeot 3008 line-up and you’re looking at it. The 1.2-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel variants we’ve driven already have shown that the 3008 has substance to match its style. This model’s 178bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine, paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, is the only powerplant you can have in the new range-topping GT trim. It’s the same engine found in the 308, 508 and DS 5, but it’s expected to account for only a 5% slice of the 3008’s sales. We’re keen to see if it deserves to attract more buyers than that. One of the new 3008’s most significant areas of improvement over its predecessor is the interior, and it remains…

An SUV has become a must-have for car makers like Maserati, so the firm deserves credit for not low-balling its entry. The Levante could have been a reworked Jeep Cherokee – a prospect to send shivers down the spine of anyone with affection for the firm’s 100-year history. Instead, it is in keeping with the brand’s recent output, being a good-looking, slightly odd-sized and semi-luxurious but not-quite-fast-enough mixed bag. As with the Ghibli, Maserati has invested the Levante with the diesel engine it had available rather than the one the car really needed. We have no trouble believing that the lighter, quicker V6 petrol model makes for a better car, while a more dynamically stimulating option might well have proved more successful in challenging the established supremacy of the Porsche…

“It needs to be an ideal combination of family runabout, sports SUV and luxury car” Forget the bells and whistles: our new Audi SQ7 is the full symphony. A harmonic of soft hide, brushed metal, muted ambient lighting, brute power and high-end tech. Lavishly equipped as standard yet laden with more than £24,000 of extra kit, it’s plush and then some. For starters on the ‘included’ list of our super-SUV, there is the wondrous 4.0-litre V8 diesel, complete with three blowers. Yup, three. But you probably know that since we talked all about it in the Autocar road test (26 October), where it got 4.5 stars. I won’t dwell on it long here. Suffice to say that in the brief time I’ve had the car, the stupidly potent ocean of…

AS AN AUTOCAR reviewer, swapping from vehicle to vehicle is part of my job, and I rarely get to stay in any one car for an extended period. I’m not complaining about having a cornucopia of cars to drive, but it can be nice to get off the treadmill and just ‘live’ with something for a bit. Certain models make this more desirable than others, but when I needed wheels for a week in Wales (and a spur-of-the-moment blast to Blackpool) with my friend Ellen and her daughter Georgi, I was happy to bag the long-term A4 for the trip. Its velvety 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine supplies the sort of effortless speed that makes all the difference when you have the best part of 1000 miles to cover. And yet…

Mitsubishi Shogun It’s hard to believe that the Mitsubishi Shogun is still on sale; the current model has its origins in the third-gen car launched in 2000. That iteration of Shogun makes for a great off-roader these days, with space for all the family if you choose a seven-seat version. A tidy, early 3.2 DI-D with reasonable miles and history can be yours for less than £4000, with the cleanest, lowest-mileage examples topping out at £8000. Keep in mind, though, that while the Shogun is generally reliable, parts are getting scarce, meaning even a simple fault could cost a bit to put right. Land Rover Defender Get a good Landie and it’ll see you through almost anything. You pay for this, of course, with the on-road experience, which isn’t exactly…

MERCEDES-AMG S63 FACELIFT | MID-2017 The current S63 hot coupé first appeared in 2014, a year on from the regular sixth-generation S-Class. Now, a facelifted 2017 S63 has been seen at the Nürburgring, sporting revised bumpers and lights. There will also be a power increase over the current car’s 577bhp, although it’s not yet known by how much. Price£130,000 (est) DECEMBER 2016 Lamborghini Centenario, Mini Clubman JCW, Tesla Model X EARLY TO MID-2017 AC Cobra, Cobra 378, Alpina B3S, B4S update, D4 update, Alpine A120, Atalanta sports car, Audi RS1, RS3 saloon, BMW 5 Series saloon, 5 Series Touring, M4 facelift, M5, X2, Bristol Bullet, Bentley Bentayga Diesel, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Citroën C3, C3 Picasso, Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T, LaFerrari Aperta, Fiat Panda facelift, Ford Ecosport facelift, Fiesta, Honda Civic,…