Innholdsfortegnelse for 25/01/2017 i Autocar

The rise of car sharing and new ways of owning and accessing cars over the next decade could cause companies to sell fewer cars, according to Audi sales and marketing boss Dietmar Voggenreiter. However, he said there would be more active customers and a greater number of miles travelled, despite fewer sales. He also expects “different criteria” for gauging the success of a car company instead of just numbers of cars sold. Audi’s strategy for the past few years has been to reach annual sales of two million units. It sold a record 1.871m in 2016. Voggenreiter said the new strategy, as part of the Volkswagen Group’s Strategy 2025, was geared towards a “sharing economy”, with “more ride sharing and more mobility”. He said: “It will be different — more…

“The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in the line-up, but its R&D boss isn’t ruling out more in the future” Volvo’s crucial new XC40 compact SUV will be launched this autumn, R&D boss Henrik Green has confirmed. Speaking to Autocar at the Detroit motor show, Green said the XC40 will be the first model to use Volvo’s CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed. “There’s a big chance it’ll be one of the most successful cars in our line-up,” he said. The family of 40-series models, which is also set to be sold in the US, will represent “a significant part of growth in the next three to four years”, said Green. The XC40, which will rival the BMW X1 and Audi…

The next-generation Skoda Yeti, which is due to be revealed in April, will move towards the styling of the big Kodiaq SUV while retaining its distinctive character, according to design boss Jozef Kaban. “The car will be a younger brother to the Kodiaq, with some of its elements,” he said. “We’re at the stage where Skoda models all have a similar character of look. We’re now trying to retain that while differentiating them.” Talking about the Yeti, Kaban added: “We went a little bit away from the square-ish design. It worked in Europe but not globally. Some people love it and some people find it a bit too different.” The Seat Ateca rival will switch from the Volkswagen Group’s PQ35 platform to the ubiquitous MQB architecture, which also underpins the…

NORFOLK-BASED sports car maker Zenos Cars has entered administration, the company has confirmed. The firm blamed a recent downturn in trade as the primary reason, adding that a spate of cancelled export orders late last year caused a funding shortfall, which ultimately led to the company’s demise. Irvin Cohen and Gary Shankland of Begbies Traynor have been appointed as administrators. Zenos boss Mark Edwards said: “It is with great disappointment that the board has had to take this step. We still believe that our products offer unrivalled affordable fun and we had already made very good progress in developing the next product in our strategy.” Zenos was set up in 2012 by ex-Caterham and Lotus employees Edwards and Ansar Ali. Ali departed the firm for McLaren in 2015 but remains…

“That there’s no increase in power or torque is absolutely no hardship at all” Right, now pay attention, because this is where it gets complicated. The Nissan GT-R – this one is the R35 generation – has been around since 2007. Which, yes, means that people are starting to ask Nissan for an all-new one, but Nissan hasn’t finished with this version yet. Nissan introduces upgrades to the GT-R most years, but for 2017 the regular version received its biggest alterations so far: a power increase, a new interior layout (a most notable change) and aerodynamic upgrades inspired by the existing GT-R Nismo, the range-topping special racy version. There were enhancements to the chassis stiffness, too. The Nismo variant already had a stiffer chassis, but that stiffness was achieved by…

“It feels less like a jacked-up utility car and more like a typical hot hatchback” BMW’s ‘big Mini’, the Countryman, was the car introduced seven years ago to lead the transformation of the firm from early-noughties-era-musthave-supermini to fully-fledged-brand-in-its-own-right. That it hasn’t so far done that too well may be because it’s not immediately obvious what it has added to the Mini range. By mixing too many vehicle types and relying too much on established notions of what a Mini is, rather than what it might be, the outgoing Countryman ultimately failed to carve out a recognisable identity of its own. And although the new one is bigger and better in some respects, it fails in much the same way. The Countryman is intended as a crossover, yet it may be…

Renault has learnt the salient lesson of the crossover well. Much as the Nissan Qashqai was a remodelled hatchback at heart, so the flamboyant new Scenic remains fundamentally an MPV, its function and recognisability only tweaked to the extent that its presence and appearance suggest a likeable revision to conventional thinking. Faulting the logic is difficult, because out of the end of it has popped the kind of objectively handsome product that typically arouses plenty of buyer interest. But building the world’s best-looking MPV does not equate to building the best. The VW Touran is among the drabbest-looking cars on sale, yet its place at the sharp end of the class is assured, because its utilitarianism is offset against the obvious quality of the driving experience. The Scenic’s failure to…

I must be dreaming. The Brazilian driver sitting next to me is wearing a name badge that reads ‘Senna’, we’ve just overtaken racing legend Derek Bell at over 130mph and in the door mirror is a McLaren F1 in hot pursuit. If this all sounds too fantastic to be true, then you are not one of the 31 McLaren owners enjoying the ultimate driving adventure. Each one has paid up to £50,000 to take part in the first official tour organised by the Surrey-based supercar maker. A week-long drive across the homeland of Bruce McLaren, the Epic New Zealand Tour is a return to the company’s spiritual home in the southern hemisphere. It’s also a chance to drive the cars to their full potential and pay homage to the great…

“Before even a lap is completed, I’m facing the wrong way ” Racing is expensive. Even Formula Ford, a series developed in the late 1960s to provide an affordable entry point for young drivers, has been forced into the stratosphere, with a full season costing anywhere between £150,000 and £300,000. Thankfully, there are a number of domestic series that allow club racers to enjoy the thrills of motorsport for a fraction of the cost. One of these is the MotorSport Vision Racing-run Monoposto (Italian for ‘single-seater’) Championship, which promises cost-effective and competitive racing for a variety of single-seat race cars. The top class, Mono F3, features a mix of ex-Formula 3 cars and BARC Formula Renaults. Front-running team Absolute Media invited us to have a go in driver Chris Hodgen’s…

With seemingly every car maker trying to build autonomous models, did any stop to think that they are organising their own demise? If the future for cars is to travel at the same speed in computer-controlled lanes, then the car becomes purely transport. At this point we will simply buy the cheapest available; brand identity will be pointless. Think back to your last bus or train journey. Did you care who made the thing? What type of velour covered the seats? As long as it gets us there, who cares? There’s another question: if a car is autonomous, do you need a driving licence? You don’t need one to sit in the back of a taxi. Simon Lees Caerphilly WIN Letter of the week wins this ValetPRO exterior protection and…

“The Ka+’s ride is superb, absorbing ruts and potholes with ease” Our new Ka+ is a radically different prospect from the two generations of Ka that preceded it. That much is obvious simply by looking at its five-door bodystyle. Like the original three-door Ka, which changed Europe’s city car landscape with its cheeky demeanour and nimble handling, this new one is based on Fiesta underpinnings, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. This new car is a good 260mm longer and also wider and taller than the Ka Mk1. Ford’s intention with the Ka+ is for it to major on practicality and affordability, not only to buy but also to run and insure. Although it is shorter than the Fiesta in length, there’s enough interior room to carry two…

A Seat city car that’s sporty by name City cars can be sporty, or at least have ‘sport’ as part of their name. So for this Seat Mii, which has a numerically satisfying 44,000 miles while being on sale for £4440, Sport spec means funky Ania alloys, sat-nav and air-con. A buyer should also be pleased that it was recently serviced. A Levorg with added extras I don’t really understand ‘Levorg’ as a model name, given that it’s a fairly ugly word. And the car itself isn’t that pretty, but in this case it doesn’t matter because much of it has been hidden under an STI bodykit. This 2015 18,000-miler comes with lots of kit and leather, along with a Lineartronic continuously variable gearbox. And it’s all yours for £18,450.…

Renault Mégane RS 250 Cup Our love of fast Méganes is no secret, so you can understand the excitement of knowing that one of the best can be bought for just £10,000. That’s a great price for a car that cracks 62mph in 6.1sec and will hit 156mph flat out. Best of all, prices seem to be bottoming out as enthusiasts pick up used examples from more flighty early owners, so now is the time to get in on this top-notch hot hatch. For this sort of money, you’ll be looking for a 2010 250 Cup with around 65,000 miles. It may not have the full-house 275 engine, but the 250 is just as quick in the corners thanks to its limited-slip diff and stiffened suspension. The ride is on…

Renault Mégane RS 275 Trophy From £30,000 Turning the Mégane into a 271bhp world-beater might just be Renault Sport’s crowning achievement. Stellar car Ford Focus ST From £23,000 If you’re looking for a better-value hot hatch, the latest ST is still the benchmark. Agile, supple and practical. Seat Leon Cupra 280 From £28,000 Quickest Leon yet easily knocks the Golf GTI into touch. More power and sparklier diff response are the keys. Volkswagen Golf GTI From £27,000 Overshadowed by the better Leon (and the much faster Golf R), but the GTI is still a touchstone. Quality in spades. Skoda Octavia vRS From £24,000 Stretches the class description — but it’s a mix of practicality and performance.…

“Our rivals are at least 25 years old. We want to be born modern and arrive with the very latest tech” DS will get serious about challenging the German premium brands next year when it launches an Audi Q5 rival — its first SUV in Europe. It is also preparing to launch a smaller Audi Q2 rival and other distinctively styled mainstream models in quick succession. The Q5 rival is likely to be revealed at the Geneva motor show in March before sales begin in early 2018. Its success is seen as crucial to DS’s goal of taking on the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. DS plans to offer an alternative take on luxury by drawing on the heritage and reputation of French craftsmanship and fashion leadership. DS showed…

Audi’s first all-electric model, the e-tron SUV, will go on sale next year with a range of more than 310 miles. A senior Audi executive claims this will be “the first real premium manufacturer doing a premium electric SUV”, even though Jaguar’s I-Pace is also due next year (see sidebar). Audi sales and marketing boss Dietmar Voggenreiter said at the recent Detroit motor show that the e-tron project is on track. He confirmed that the e-tron is an SUV sized between the Q5 and Q7, but closer to the Q5, and it is closely related to the e-tron concept from the 2015 Frankfurt show. “That concept is quite close to the series production car,” he added. Voggenreiter confirmed that the e-tron will be built on a development of the electrified…

Nissan is set to reveal a revised Qashqai at the Geneva motor show in March, following sightings of a new luxury version of the SUV undergoing testing. The new range-topping model, which could be labelled Tekna+, will rival the Audi Q3 and is based on last year’s Premium Concept. Development of a new top-level trim for the Qashqai has been spurred on by sales of current top-spec Tekna models, which account for a third of Qashqai sales in the UK. The test mule echoes the concept’s differentiation from lower-spec models with its distinctive wheels. It’s also expected to get bespoke trim parts and carbonfibre wheel arch extensions. The revised Qashqai, which is set to go on sale in the UK this autumn, will be the first Nissan model to feature…

Mercedes-Benz will crown its seven-strong SUV line-up with a plush Maybach-badged GLS to take on the likes of the Bentley Bentayga, Range Rover SVAutobiography Dynamic and upcoming Rolls-Royce Cullinan. The flagship SUV will be launched in 2019, priced at about £150,000. It is based on the upcoming third-generation GLS and is being developed to offer performance, accommodation and features commensurate with the existing Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, according to senior company officials, who cite China, North America and Russia among the new model’s key targets. The Mercedes-Maybach GLS will feature bespoke styling elements. Many of them will be drawn directly from the racy Maybach 6 Coupé concept, revealed at last year’s Pebble Beach concours event. Despite retaining the same aluminium, high-strength steel and composite body panels as future regular GLS models, the…

MERCEDES IS LOOKING into an electric future for its AMG models, initially through hybridisation but with the prospect of AMG versions of the company’s forthcoming EQ electric sub-brand. “I don’t think they are opposite extremes,” Ola Kallenius, Mercedes’ R&D boss, said at the Detroit show. “AMG has always been about driving performance and offering customers a superior experience, but at the same time — and I think this is the sweet spot of AMG — they are cars you can really drive every day. Electrification will find its way into AMG. It’s not impossible that you’ll have a fully electric version or an AMG variant of an EQ.” Early electrification will be through the 48V mild hybrid system that Mercedes is set to roll out across its new generation of…

THE UPDATED FORD Mustang will receive a new 10-speed automatic gearbox that is claimed to offer improved shift times. It will be available with both the 5.0-litre V8 and 2.3-litre Ecoboost engines. The V8 also receives tweaks to deliver more power at high revs, and fuel economy is claimed to be improved. Suspension upgrades include new dampers, with a claimed improvement in ride quality, along with a new cross-axis joint and revised anti-roll bars. The bodywork has been revised front and rear for claimed aerodynamic benefits. There are also three new paint colours and a digital dashboard to replace conventional dials. The optional Mustang Performance Package will include Ford’s Magneride adaptive dampers, while the exhaust note can be enhanced with the addition of an active valve exhaust option. Ford is…

“The suspension set-up is devoid of sharp edges or the clatter of moving metal parts” Hyundai’s presence in Europe is now so extensive that you might think the family-size i30 hatch has slipped somewhat in importance, trumped by cooler products (Ioniq) or else more profitable ones (Santa Fe). Not a bit of it. The first i30, launched in 2007, set the firm on its current trajectory, and its insurgency into the Europe’s biggest single new car segment continues with this, the third generation. While the old car’s architecture remains, the i30 has been thoroughly overhauled, doubling the amount of high-strength steel in the body and shedding weight along the way. Rigidity is up, as is size, with the new model being marginally longer but lower. Lower is good, because Hyundai…

Conquering the compact executive saloon segment is the ultimate litmus test for a premium car maker, because the level of competition is so fierce. Just ask Lexus. Despite entering the UK market back in 1999 with its innovative IS, Lexus has struggled to make anything other than the faintest impression on mid-level buyers. Offered without the option of a diesel engine, the 2013 IS was pitched by Lexus as a sporting yet economical (in hybrid form at least) alternative business saloon. It’s a shame, then, that it performed neither role convincingly. But that’s not to say we dislike the IS. For interior quality, appealing design and remarkable refinement, it still has most of its German rivals beat. So for 2017, Lexus aims to build on what we already like –…

“The S63 is comfortably more opulent than the M6 Gran Coupé” Just another week, just another hot hatchback group test, eh? Arf. The Porsche Panamera, you’ll have noticed, isn’t your typical hot hatchback, what with it being a five-metre-long, many-doored luxury coupé. Albeit a hot one. Which makes this an unusual triple test even by the standards of an increasingly diversified car market. The second-generation Panamera reports for this test in fast-as-it-gets Turbo form. The first Panamera was a hard car to pigeonhole but an easy one to like, being part sports coupé and part super-saloon, with Porsche keen to make it feel like a true Porsche – which meant weighty steering and areas where refinement was sacrificed to dynamics. Less so this time around, apparently. The brief for the…

“It feels Porsche Cayman quick, it sounds fantastic and its chassis copes fine” There’s something wrong with this aural picture. I’m seeing a Mazda MX-5 Mk1 but I seem to be hearing a Jaguar F-Type, rich V6 blare, exhaust crackles and all. The MX-5, the world’s most popular sports car breed, has always been a bundle of fun, but it has never been quite like this. What’s going on? After all, through the MX-5’s 27 years and four generations, the factory has never built a really potent one. Never a turbocharger (except now, in Fiat’s version, the 124 Spider), and never more than four cylinders. A missed opportunity? No, the factory has always said. The sports car has always been about lightness, simplicity and balance, not brute force and mad…

Mini Countryman Cooper S vs rivals Biggest Mini squares up to Nissan Juke Nismo RS and Audi Q2 1.4 TFSI Sport BMW M3 Why you need a glorious, 338bhp M3 E46 in your life — and how to get one Lamborghini Aventador S We take our brave pills and test the most ferocious Aventador yet Porsche Panamera 4S Diesel Fuel-sipping economy champ of new GT range assessed by our road test experts SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p38…

Yes, it looks unwise, but I promise you that everything is under control. We are conducting our ‘Three Unwise Men’ feature (Autocar, 28 December) in coastal Wales and have reached the stage where it is dark, the cars are stationary outside and we have eaten chips in a pub overlooking the sea. Pleasingly, there is a pool table. Sometimes on these shoots we take a static photo on a beach – because it looks cool, in edge-of-world fashion – so we are talking tides with a local fisherman. He says the water will go out far enough, before breakfast, to drive around the rocks to the adjacent bay, which is prettier. We plan to do just that. He has a winch, he says, if we encounter trouble. Next morning, in…

Simon Ford is a regular on these pages. This time he’s found a 2000 Mercedes A140 Avantgarde advertised with a ‘buy it now’ price of £195. So he did, unseen. “It was a Category D write-off in 2009,” he says. “But whatever happened to it, you’d be none the wiser, because it passed its MOT with no advisories. Everything is mechanically sound and the bodywork and alloys are great, with just the usual wear and tear. “So some advice to readers: you can save some money buying at auction by seeing what they have online, ringing them up and taking the plunge if you find something you like.” SEND YOUR USED CAR TALES TO james@bangernomics.com…

“Keep your eyes peeled for the bi-turbo CL600 with 500bhp and the CL65 AMG with 603bhp” Last November Glass’s Guide declared the C215 version of the Mercedes-Benz CL500, which ran from 2000 to 2007, its used car hero of the month. “The CL is a top-of-the-range grand tourer that is very well specified, and a stylish and comfortable way to travel,” said Robert Redman at Glass’s Guide. “It is a Mercedes-Benz built in the ‘old way’. If properly maintained, it will last for many more years and probably prove to be a sound investment.” In fact, the CL might be used car hero of the decade, not just the month. As the guide noted, good used ones are available for around £7000 – or a tenth of what they cost…

Alpine’s A120, which is due to be unveiled at Geneva, will use aluminium for its body panels and chassis to save weight and produce a high-quality finish, according to the firm’s boss, Michael van der Sande. The A120 is expected to have a kerb weight of about 1100kg, whereas its Porsche Cayman rival weighs just over 1400kg. The A120 will be powered by a turbocharged 1.8-litre engine producing 250-300bhp. An initial run of 1955 left-hand-drive Premier Edition A120s will be built, priced from €55,000 (£46,750).…

BMW’S I DIVISION has switched its focus from electric powertrains to autonomous technology in the run-up to the launch of its first driverless model, which is due in 2021. Speaking to Autocar before the What Car? Awards at the beginning of the month, BMW senior vice-president Hildegard Wortmann said the autonomous model will arrive as part of i division’s second phase, during which it will no longer be tied to electric powertrains. “With BMW i, the ‘i’ is not electric — otherwise it would have been an ‘e’ . The ‘i’ is for innovation and incubator function,” she said. “We always said the first generation for BMW i would be focused on the incubator function for electro-mobility. But BMW i will move on and you will see that in our…

BMW has revised its 4 Series Coupé and Convertible line-up with styling tweaks and new interior features. The exterior now includes a large air intake at the front and standard front and rear LED lights. The optional Professional navigation system has a new user interface that features six large, tile-style icons over two screen pages — as seen in the new 5 Series. The M4 also receives updated styling and is now available with exterior and interior carbonfibre packs. The revised 4 Series will go on sale in April. Prices start from £32,525 — higher than those of its key rivals, the Audi A5 (from £30,700) and Mercedes C-Class Coupé (£32,280).…

KIA WILL REVEAL its Nissan Juke-rivalling small SUV before the end of this year, with an expected debut at the Frankfurt show in September. The new model has a working name of SE but is expected to be called Stonic following the car maker’s recent trademarking of the name in Europe. The Korean brand first expressed its interest in the segment in 2013 when it unveiled the Niro concept at the Frankfurt motor show, although it subsequently used the Niro name for its hybrid hatch, launched last year. Speaking to Autocar early last year about a new small SUV, Kia’s European marketing boss Artur Martins said: “There’s space to grow with SUVs, into lower segments. This model makes sense for us, and we will do it within the next two…

If we were to play a little word association and say ‘Mazda MX-5’, what would be your response? Would ‘sunshine’, ‘sports car’ and ‘soft-top’ spring to mind? Yet did you know that last one is a misnomer? Of the previous-generation MX-5, only 20% in the UK were soft-tops. The other 80% were bought as the folding hard-top. Still, they did look all but indistinguishable with their roofs down, so as oversights go, it’s a forgiveable one. But not any more. The new MX-5 RF (for Retractable Fastback) looks completely different from the standard car, not least with its flying buttresses reminiscent of a Ferrari 599. Does it look good? Hmm, opinion seems fairly evenly split, but it is certainly distinctive. It’s a mite pricey, too. Mazda will charge you a…

MODEL TESTED DCI 130 DYNAMIQUE S NAV Price £28,445 • Power 129bhp • Torque 236lb ft • 0-60mph 11.4sec • 30-70mph in fourth 12.3sec • Fuel economy 47.3mpg • CO2 emissions 119g/km • 70-0mph 58.9m Not only did the Renault Scenic essentially invent the European compact MPV segment, but its four-generation lifespan has also neatly charted the evolution of the family blob on wheels. And at its inception in the mid-1990s, the Scenic was very much a blob: a swollen, high-ceilinged carcass welded to the front-wheel drive platform of the contemporary Mégane hatchback. It neither sounded nor looked like much of a prospect, and even Renault believed it would be a niche product. But the model won the European Car of the Year title in 1997 and caught the public’s…

“The best way to describe this motor’s character is as a pint-sized V6 ” The history of the internal combustion engine is one of continuous, detailed development. Over the past 25 years in particular, the development line has run from increasing the number of valves per cylinder to the addition of variable valve timing, far more complex and expensive fuel injection systems and the additional of single, double and even triple turbochargers. Today, with CO2 and fuel economy legislation the main priorities for car makers, costs and complexity are again on the rise as big investments are made in expensive ‘clean’ diesel and hybrid drivetrains with costly lithium ion batteries. But imagine a future low-CO2, low-pollution powertrain strategy that required a manufacturer to build just one engine and – potentially…

“The 308 GTi had a grown-up feel that made it an easy, fast companion” The 308 GTi 270’s life with us was a tumultuous one through no fault of its own. Our first long-termer was written off in a serious accident, which at least proved something you’d never hope to prove: that the crumple zone was incredibly effective at protecting its occupants. Then as soon as a replacement arrived, someone smashed the front passenger window glass. The reason for the break-in remains a mystery; the only thing visible in the car was a yoga mat – which wasn’t taken. And so, as our seven-month stint with the car comes to an end, I’m sad to say goodbye to it. It has become a trusty companion: practical and unassuming but with…

The 530d has left the building. It’s a story that I could bore you with in a tavern, but another car is arriving and I need to make some space. Shed 5 was cheap enough to keep in the corner of my compound and at the end of last year it did several thousand miles around the UK and I really fell in love it. Never mind. I cleaned it with my daughter’s help and it was bought by another member of the motoring press. You may well hear about its exploits in the future. Somewhere else.…

An expert’s view LEE PARK, AUTOELITE HULL “I’d buy a CL, but the V8, not the V12. Both are reliable, but the V8 is a bit cheaper to run and less troubled by the occasional oil leaks that can spoil the V12. Problems with the suspension have been blown out of proportion, but you shouldn’t be complacent. Get the car on a ramp and independently inspected. You’re talking thousands for new struts, pipes and pump valves — and that’s before you pay for labour.” Buyer beware… • ENGINE Early versions of the V8 and V12 suffered water in the fuel caused by fuel tank condensation. On the V12, check for oil weep at the front timing cover caused by a blocked crankcase oil breather; also for oil leaking from the…

Volkswagen Golf From £17,600 Expensive it may be, but there’s enough class here to make the price look reassuringly precise. A cut above. Ford Focus From £14,000 Has a blend of ride and handling that rivals can’t match. One of the UK’s most popular cars for all the right reasons. Seat Leon From £16,200 As always, a Golf in cheaper Spanish drag. Margins are cleverly engineered to show, but this is the best Leon yet. Mazda 3 From £17,000 As ever, it seems, the Mazda aces driveability and efiiciency but fails to totally convince in an all-star class. Peugeot 308 From £15,000 Classy all-round appeal of the latest 308 is all new. A bit tight on space but a serious contender nonetheless.…

McLaren P1 From £866,000 McLaren set out to build the best driver’s car in the world and has come ridiculously close. A 903bhp go-kart. Porsche 918 Spyder From £674,000 Only in this category do ›ive stars not guarantee the class lead. The 918 feels built to rule, too. A mind-boggler. LaFerrari From £950,000 No UK drive means its amazing numbers can’t be veri›ied — but our experience of it suggests its reputation is deserved. Bugatti Veyron From £1.15 million A waning obsession with petrol power taken to its extreme limit. There are better cars — but none quicker. Pagani Huayra From £1.4 million Last century’s idea of a hypercar. Staggering in almost every way — not least its looks. As exclusive as it gets.…