Innholdsfortegnelse for November 18, 2015 i Autocar

WHAT’S FASTEST? THE question has been mulled over by motoring enthusiasts since the dawn of the car, or at least since Autocar first went on sal e in November 1895. Performance and capability, and the measuring thereof, have always been at the heart of the motor car, although in those early days of motoring the tests were more concerned with proving a vehicle’s capability at hauling loads, long-distance running and climbing hills. The main aim was to demonstrate how this new method of transport could be superior to the trusty horse. Much to Dobbin’s relief, the car proved to be a roaring success. It was no doubt also a relief to Autocar’s founder, Henry Sturmey. His foresight in setting up the world’s first journal to record the burgeoning new automotive…

AUDI’S DRIVE TOWARDS hybrids and electrification is part of a big move towards autonomous powertrain management. ‘Predictive efficiency assistant’ is being launched on the Q7 e-tron, due in the UK next March. The system uses 3D information from the satellite navigation and live traffic information, which it picks up over the internet. Once the driver has entered the chosen destination in the sat-nav, the new software takes over control of the hybrid powertrain. It calculates when to use the internal combustion engine, when to deploy both the engine and electric motor, when to run on the battery alone and when the battery charge needs to be preserved for use later in the journey. It even advises the driver when to coast in order to save fuel. Audi’s engineers believe that…

UNDERNEATH THAT cladding lies the Kia Niro. It is described by its maker as a cross between the practicality and styling of the Nissan Qashqai, Renault Kadjar and Volkswagen Tiguan and the economy and image of the Toyota Prius. As such, Kia insists, it has no rivals, although it looks very much like a jacked-up soft-roader to us. In size, it is an eco-friendly rival to the Ford C-Max. What’s clear from this short first chance to drive the prototype Niro is that it will likely deliver all of the usual Kia standards. Most of the time, the powertrain is smooth, with the electric motor delivering a noticeable and linear level of boost. Only when you want to push really hard do the revs rise and the hushed cabin ambience…

Lamborghini has unveiled a new rear-wheel-drive version of its Huracán, the LP580-2, on the eve of the Los Angeles motor show. The Huracán LP580-2 has a slightly detuned version of the four-wheel-drive car’s 5.2-litre V10 engine, now producing 571bhp instead of 602bhp. However, the new model’s dry weight is 1389kg, 33kg less than the LP610-4’s, and it takes just 0.2sec longer to reach 62mph from rest, at 3.4sec. Top speed is 199mph. There are visual differences between the LP580-2 and the LP610-4. The new model gets revised front and rear styling, with air intakes designed to increase downforce on the front axle, along with new 19in and 20in ‘Kari’ wheels. Pirelli has developed bespoke P Zero tyres for the rear-drive model. The V10 has a recalibrated ECU map to produce…

Volkswagen has revealed the production version of the Beetle Dune, in both hatchback and cabriolet bodystyles, at the Los Angeles motor show. The Beetle Dune receives more rugged styling, increased ride height and larger wheels and tyres than standard versions of the second-generation modern-day Beetle. Yet despite the looks, the new model will be sold exclusively with front-wheel drive, due to the lack of a four-wheel drive option for the model, which is produced at Volkswagen’s Puebla plant in Mexico. Among the styling changes is a reworked front bumper featuring a prominent trapezoidal-shaped central air duct, a silver plastic skid plate and an additional air duct below the leading edge of the bonnet, along with revised indicator units and round foglights set within black plastic elements on either side of…

THE PERFORMANCE Car Show, presented by Landsail Tyres in association with Autocar and PistonHeads .com, is setting out to name the world’s best hot hatch. The show, which is due to take place at the NEC in Birmingham in January, will include a centrepiece, called Hot Hatch Nirvana, that will feature cars voted for by fans. A poll launches today (Wednesday) to decide which 10 hot hatchbacks will form the basis of the display. Fans will be able to vote for their favourite by choosing from a long list that has been curated by a panel of experts that includes Autocar’s editor-in-chief, Steve Cropley, and head of video and features, Matt Prior. The list of candidates features a mixture of contemporary and classic models, such as the…

Well, there’s no denying it looks like a Bentley. Whether it feels like one or not we’ll come to in a moment, but for now, no question, aesthetically it has the cues. The strong rear haunches, the diamond grilling on the front. I am no arbiter of a car’s appearance (for which Bentley should probably be grateful), but if the task was to make it look instantly recognisable, the first job is done. This is the new Bentayga, and as an example of how gracefully Bentley’s model line-up has evolved since Volkswagen took ownership of the company in 1998, you can think of it as only the third ‘new’ model to have since arrived – if, like I do, you count the Mulsanne as a replacement for the Arnage, and…

The Ariel Atom is to blame. For years we ran a competition called 0-100-0, an acceleration and braking test for cars that was, as the name suggested, a sprint from rest to 100mph and back to rest again. In the earlier years, there was an unpredictability to the results. Lightweights and supercars vied for supremacy, while race and rally cars set non-production records. And then came the Ariel Atom with a supercharger strapped to its engine, and with it the unpredictability ended. What’ll be quickest? It’ll be the Atom 300. Again. So we canned it. But, as you may have heard, Autocar turned 120 years old this month, which gave us an idea: reprise 0-100-0 but, to even things up, increase the target speed to a poignant 120mph, thus giving…

My debut season as a driver in the Radical SR1 Cup ended exactly how it started: facing the wrong way halfway around the first corner of the race. But this time it wasn’t my fault. Honest. Unlike at the Silverstone curtain-raiser, where I was too eager on cold tyres, at Brands Hatch I was taken out in a pile-up caused by someone else struggling with the same issue. That was that for the year, then. So after a season in a low-cost, entry-level championship for amateurs, here are some words of wisdom on how to (or how not to) follow in my footsteps and get yourself on the grid in 2016. Go on, you won’t regret it. TAKE IT ALL IN The SR1 Cup is a straightforward, stress-free way to…

It’s easy to be cynical about cars like the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid. There’s simply no way, for example, that a vehicle of this size and weight can get anywhere close to its official fuel economy in the real world. It’s green by Porsche standards, but it’s not about to save the planet. Indeed, the fact that one in four Panameras sold in the UK is a hybrid is as much down to the tax breaks — and the ability for companies to write off the entire first-year cost of the vehicle — as any real-world environmental credentials. When all’s said and done, it’s a potentially cheaper way for company owners to get themselves into an interesting, high-tech, luxurious and (whisper it) rapid saloon. Cynical or not, after six months…

We get to try a lot of different cars in this trade of temptations, which makes returning to one’s own long-term test car sometimes a difficult business. However, recent drives in some new SUVs that might be seen as potential rivals to our Lexus NX — such as the BMW X1, Hyundai Tucson and Volvo XC90 — have done nothing to convince me that I like any of them any more than our car, however impressive one or two of them are in one or two areas. The Volvo, in particular, is noticeably better to drive than the car it replaces, but it does feel unnecessarily large, unlike the Lexus, which, despite its spacious interior, never feels intimidating to drive. Our car is ageing well, too, with no signs of…

READER’S CAR: JAGUAR XJ8 Dr Lee Jones bought this 76,000-mile, 1998 Jaguar XJ8 18 months ago for £600. There was a catch, though. “It had stiff steering,” Lee says. “A service involving a new power steering pump, new steering rack and a few other bits was done for about £900. “It has fancy gold alloy wheels and cream leather. There have been no MOT test advisories. The only expenditures have been tyres and services. It has provided faultless, classy motoring since. A keeper.” SEND YOUR BANGERNOMICS TALES TO JAMES Twitter: @Bangernomics Email: james@bangernomics.com WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK: ESTATES Used estate cars have been losing their retail lustre, which means they often make great-value buys at the bottom, middle or near the top of the market. USED…

MOST OF THE NEW BMW 5 Series’ rivals will have been replaced or refreshed relatively recently by the time the car is unveiled late next year. Of the BMW’s rivals, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the next to be replaced, with the new version due to make its debut at the Detroit motor show next January. It will have a new generation of four-cylinder diesel engines, codenamed OM654, and new six-cylinder engines will follow later in the year. A plug-in hybrid is due within 12 months. The new E-Class is set to follow the recently launched C-Class in the styling department, with two different front end looks: a traditional chrome grille and a more sporty look. The new-generation model, codenamed W213, adopts the modular MRA platform used by the latest C-Class…

AUDI HAS RECENTLY allowed Autocar to sample its hydrogen-powered A7 fuel cell prototype. The A7 h-tron is powered by a fuel cell stack, backed up by an 8.8kWh lithium battery. Hydrogen storage tanks are mounted in the centre tunnel and in front and behind the rear axle. Drive goes to all four wheels, with two electric motors on each axle. Each motor produces a claimed 85bhp and 199lb ft. The interior of the h-tron is almost identical to that of the production A7. Once moving, it is nearly silent, with the distant hum of the air blower force-feeding the fuel cell stack being the only mechanical noise that penetrates the cabin. As you might expect, the A7 h-tron is brisk, very smooth and well balanced. The latter is thanks to…

Oil giant Shell is targeting fuel economy of 100mpg from the lightweight three-seat city car it is building in collaboration with Gordon Murray Design (GMD) and former Honda Formula 1 engine designer Osamu Goto. Project M is a 1+2-seat design that aims to inspire fresh ideas on simple global cars for congested urban areas. The car has its roots in Murray’s new-era T25 urban car, first revealed in 2010, which underwent a “complete rethink from the ground up” for this project. It uses an ultra-compact rear-engined layout, utilising the principles of Murray’s unique iStream manufacturing process, which employs a simply fabricated tubular steel frame with strategically bonded-in composite panels to deliver low weight and immense strength without the complexity and inflexibility of the stamped steel components that are the basis…

Have they made un mostro? Ferrari’s F12 has never wanted for more power, but here we are: the F12tdf, a limited-run, special version of the F12 with a name that references the old Tour de France road race, at which Ferrari did rather well. The F12tdf has lots more power than the F12 and, thankfully, plenty of modifications alongside it. Ferrari’s special 12-cylinder car programme has previously given us the raw 599 GTO. Ferrari says the F12tdf is just as extreme and that it’s more agile than any previous front-engined V12. There are several ways to make a car more agile, and Ferrari has tried them all here. One is adding poke; the F12tdf has 770bhp instead of 730bhp, thanks mostly to easier breathing and race-derived mechanical tappets, letting the…

Back in 1988, testing a Ferrari in Britain was up there with cracking time travel, proving Fermat’s last theorem and anyone other than McLaren winning a grand prix: theoretically feasible but almost impossible aims. Back then, Ferraris were imported by Inchcape, whose PR agency took pride in ensuring what it regarded as the grubbier elements of the fourth estate – the motoring press, mainly – were kept as far as possible from its products. Take its flagship, the Testarossa. It had come out in 1984, but four years later we’d had not one whiff of its 5.0-litre flat 12 motor. Its reputation said it was a bit of a duffer: quicker but uglier and less involving than the Boxer it replaced. But we didn’t actually know. Now you must forgive…

MODEL TESTED CLA200 CDI Sport Shooting Brake 7G-DCT • Price £29,225 • Power 134bhp • Torque 221lb ft • 0-60mph 10.1sec • 30-70mph in fourth 10.3sec • Fuel economy 53.0mpg • CO2 emissions 106g/km • 70-0mph 58.7m WE LIKE Distinctive styling • Rounded ride and handling • Plenty of usable boot space WE DON’T LIKE Rear cabin still pokey • Variously flawed powertrains • Typically high Mercedes pricing The CLA Shooting Brake is the fifth model in Mercedes-Benz’s compact range, all based on the front-drive platform that underpins the A-Class hatchback. Like the saloon version, the CLA wagon is intended to offer buyers an extra-powerful hit of the design flair that originally made the larger CLS so popular. A similar trick seems to have worked for the CLA, with its…

Vicky Parrott’s opinion about Bond cars hits the nail on the head (Blog, 31 October). On the one hand, it’s great to boost the brand image by having a car play such a big role in a huge film, but on the other hand it would be crazy to put them into production, as Parrott points out. Perhaps it’s best that the cars remain concepts. In Jaguar’s case with the C-X75, the manufacturer should concentrate on high-margin mainstream products such as the XJ replacement and another small sports SUV. Plus possibly a two-door coupé of the XE or XF, as real-world ‘halo’ models, to compete in the market against rivals such as the BMW 4 Series and 6 Series. Also, Parrott cites the Jaguar C-X75 as being a modern XJ220,…

When the new Corsa came out at the start of the year, plenty of noise was made about a new heated windscreen being offered. It’s what the customers asked for, apparently, after complaints that the old Corsa was too slow to demist. I mention this because it’s a clear illustration that, for the most part, the new Corsa is an updated version of the old car. There was certainly no chance to change something as complex as the heating system’s plumbing. So that means you still only have to sing along to a song on the radio and the whole front cabin steams up before you even get to the chorus. It’s not that the car is too slow to demist; it’s that it steams up so much in the…

1 McLaren F1 (1992›1998) When we first tried this three-seat supercar, we called it the finest driving machine yet built for the public road, and many think it still is. Ex-Formula 1 designer Gordon Murray created this 240mph, low-weight, high-tech rocketship. The driver sits in the middle, because that’s the best place to be, and the two passengers sit either side. Power comes from a mid-mounted 617bhp 6.1-litre BMW V12 that shoots the F1 from zero to 100mph in just 6.3sec. It goes, it stops, it corners, and it does it all faster than just about anything else. The F1 cost £540,000 new. Today you’ll need at least £6 million, but, shared between three people, that might not be so bad. 2 Matra Murena (1980›1983) What the delightfully wide and…

1 Ford Mondeo From £18,000 Still the saloon king. Practical, well priced, dynamically gifted and now very refined and pretty. All hail. 2 Volkswagen Passat From £19,000 Good enough to run the Mondeo close, but for all its quality and refinement, it doesn’t appeal like the talented Ford. 3 Mazda 6 From £19,000 A huge wheelbase and Skyactiv diesel engine make the 6 look like a steal. Shame interior quality hasn’t caught up. 4 Skoda Octavia From £16,000 A lengthened wheelbase helps the Octavia to go from also-ran to title contender. Price growth understandable. 5 Vauxhall Insignia From £17,000 The Insignia will finish its life cycle a fundamentally better car than when it started. Latest Whisper diesel the best. Visit autocar.co.uk for all of our Top Fives…

The new, seventh-generation BMW 5 Series has entered the final phase of engineering development and durability testing ahead of its unveiling in the second half of next year. It’s set to reach UK showrooms in early 2017 and go head to head with the upcoming new Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the Jaguar XF and the Audi A6. It will offer a broader range of powertrain options than today’s record-selling model. These will include a new plug-in petrol-electric hybrid with, BMW insiders confirm, a zero-emissions range of more than 20 miles. The decision to fit the new 5 Series with a contemporary 48-volt electrical architecture enables it to feature advanced autonomous driving systems. It can have hands-off operation up to a pre-determined speed, a sophisticated anti-collision system and fully autonomous braking, among other…

Audi is betting on the electrification of its future cars to improve real-world economy and reduce exhaust pollution, company bosses have told Autocar. The move will also allow the company to usher in some highly advanced suspension innovations as well as providing a degree of autonomy that goes beyond simple driving assistance. This shift towards ‘mild hybrid’ systems and more conventional plug-in hybrids should also result in Audi’s future line-up moving away from diesel engines, particularly across the company’s smaller models, including the A1, A3 and A4. Moving to petrol hybrid engines will also allow Audi to exploit its new ‘predictive efficiency assistant’ technology, which uses mapping information and live traffic reports to automatically switch between power sources, as well as taking advantage of downhill stretches of road to ‘coast’…

This Kia Niro hybrid will be launched as a high-riding, SUV-like rival to the Toyota Prius next autumn — and kick-start the firm’s plans to nearly triple the number of electrified vehicles it has on sale from four to 11 by 2020. The Niro sits between the Kia Soul and Kia Sportage in size and is described by its makers as a Hybrid Utility Vehicle (HUV) rather than an SUV, because they believe it will be unique in the market. Kia claims the Niro blends the appeal and practicality of a Nissan Qashqai with the efficiency of the Prius. Surprisingly, given the standout designs of the Prius and Qashqai, Kia claims the Niro’s “modern styling will help the car stand out in a traditionally conservative sector”. Although its looks clearly…

A SECRET NEW high-tech BMW prototype has been uncovered in a series of patent register images, providing clues to developments that future models from the firm’s i brand are likely to adopt. The leaked images, lodged at the Shanghai patent register office in China earlier this year and used to inform our image (right), reveal a new wind-cheating plug-in petrol-electric hybrid research vehicle that was constructed at BMW’s R&D centre in Munich, Germany. Described by an insider as the answer to the Volkswagen XL1, the secret four-seat prototype uses carbonfibrereinforced plastic for its main structure, outer panels, various interior elements and rims. Sources involved in BMW’s research activities suggest the car weighs less than 1150kg — about 135kg lighter than the i3 but 355kg heavier than the XL1. BMW engineers…

PORSCHE IS PREPARING to return four-cylinder power to its sports car line-up for the first time since the 968 ceased production in 1995. The new four-pot will appear in facelifted versions of the Boxster and Cayman, which are set to be unveiled at the Geneva show next March. The new turbocharged four-cylinder engine will be used by the Boxster and Cayman in place of the existing naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine. Details remain scarce, but insiders have revealed that the new turbo engine shares its horizontally opposed design and crucial elements of its architecture, including its 500cc individual cylinder capacity, with the larger twin-turbo 3.0-litre six recently unveiled in the facelifted 911. This indicates that early variants of the new flat four will be around 2.0 litres. The new engine is…

This plug-in hybrid version of Audi’s Q7 is based on the 3.0 TDI quattro model, which uses a V6 diesel engine to drive all four wheels. The hybrid conversion includes a new version of Audi’s eight-speed automatic transmission, into which is sandwiched a fairly punchy 258lb ft electric motor, whose battery pack is mounted above the independent rear suspension. The Q7 e-tron also gets a clever heat pump system that helps to warm the interior using waste heat from the electronics. This significantly reduces the drain on the battery pack and extends the car’s electric range, which is claimed to be 34 miles. This car also gets Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, a digital instrument cluster that is configurable to show different screens and graphic displays. The big advance on this car…

The CLA Shooting Brake feels like a good idea in need of better execution. Plugging the gap between the hatchback and estate with something better looking and more desirable than either is niche product design everyone can get behind. A similar tack produced the superb CLS Shooting Brake, but here – not least due to a below-par engine and gearbox – is something alternative and appealing on the face of it but undercooked underneath. With more elegant, alluring styling, more balanced and rounded handling and a more supple ride, this car answers some the criticisms we had of the CLA saloon – but not enough of them. Like its four-door sister car, it fails to offer competitive passenger space – and, while fairly frugal, it is much too unrefined and…

Mileage 5214 “What. Is. That?” Mrs Holder’s tone of voice was not welcoming. With a month to go until her own new car (a Renault Zoe) arrives, I had put her 07-plate Ford C-Max up for sale. With the marks of a well-used kid carrier and finished in the sort of light metallic blue no one has ever dreamed of owning, I was pleasantly shocked to sell it within 24 hours — if not so pleasantly surprised to find the buyer has tutored herself in ‘how to haggle’ advice from our sister brand What Car? How could I argue? Anyway, with an interim car now required, I borrowed the Celerio and took it home. It’s so charming, sprightly and spacious that you can’t help but fall in love with it,…

It’s funny being a dinosaur, especially a motor industry one. The more that things are done differently — or digitally, it seems — the more they stay exactly the same. I was intrigued to read that a company was offering used cars “delivered to the door” with 150 checks performed and a 14-day money-back guarantee. Although the service is being launched about now, it has been around since the spring. Oh, and the company is called Carspring, although I didn’t ask why. Not that it ever matters these days. Witness eBay and Amazon. Carspring’s founder, Max Vollenbroich, says: “Today, e-commerce is king, but the second-hand car market has struggled to evolve with the digital age in the way we’ve seen happen in most other sectors.” I met Max and he…

1 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. 2 Porsche 918 Spyder From £674,000 Only in this category do five stars not guarantee the class lead. The 918 feels built to rule, too. A mind-boggler. 3 LaFerrari From £950,000 No UK drive means its amazing numbers can’t be verified — but our first look suggests its reputation is deserved. 4 Bugatti Veyron From £1.15 million A waning obsession with petrol power taken to its extreme limit. There are better cars — but none quicker. 5 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. Visit autocar.co.uk…

Porsche Macan GTS Spring 2016 Porsche’s small SUV is the latest model to get the company’s GTS treatment. Alongside its visual upgrades, the Macan GTS also receives more power, with its twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine now producing 355bhp and 369lb ft. Thanks to the extra power, the Macan GTS now reaches 62mph from rest in just 5.2sec. Price £55,188 AUTUMN/WINTER 2015 Alpina D3 Biturbo, Audi A4, RS6/RS7 Performance, Alfa Romeo Giulia, BMW X1, DS 4 facelift, Ford Ecosport, Hyundai Santa Fe facelift, Tucson, Jaguar XF, F-Type SVR, Jeep Grand Cherokee facelift, Kahn Vengeance, Flying Huntsman Pick-Up, Kia Optima, Cee’d facelift, Koenigsegg Regera, Agera RS, Lexus GS F, RX, Mercedes-Benz A-Class facelift, C-Class Coupé, G500 4x4, GLC, Mini Clubman, Nissan Murano, Pulsar Nismo, Peugeot 308 GTi, Porsche 911 facelift, Renault…