Innholdsfortegnelse for November 25, 2015 i Autocar

Bentley has confirmed it is working on two new post-Bentayga models in a relentless drive that will more than double its already booming sales to around 25,000 cars a year. The models include a more compact SUV, priced at around £120,000, and several production versions of its recently shown EXP 10 Speed 6 ‘Aston Martin chaser’ concept — now tipped to include a 200mph, four-wheel-drive electric model. The developments were revealed by Bentley’s chairman and CEO, Wolfgang Dürheimer, at the launch of the Bentayga SUV, production of which will begin at Crewe shortly for deliveries early next year. The two new cars will bring unprecedented expansion to Crewe. Dürheimer has already created 1000 new jobs inside Bentley and with surrounding suppliers, has embarked on a three-year, £840 million spending programme…

Lamborghini will add more rear-wheel-drive editions of the Huracán in addition to the newly launched LP580-2 model, and further extreme versions of the car — but the company’s boss has ruled out a variant fitted with a manual gearbox. The LP580-2, which is making its world debut at the Los Angeles motor show, is the third edition of the Huracán after the four-wheel-drive coupé and Spyder models. Lamborghini president Stephan Winkelmann has revealed the firm has a much more extensive set of plans for the car than it had for its predecessor, the Gallardo. “With the Gallardo, a lot of those things were not in place,” said Winkelmann. “With the Huracán, we are in a much better position, because we factored in the whole story when we were doing the…

THE RACE-PREPARED Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport will cost from just over £93,000. The Cayman GT4 Clubsport uses the same 380bhp 3.8-litre flat six engine as the GT4 road car. Unlike the road car, however, the racer gets steering wheel-mounted shift paddles controlling a PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission. The rest of the mechanical make-up is similar to that of the regular GT4, but the Clubsport is not homologated for road use. Inside, the passenger seat has gone and there’s a roll cage and a bucket seat with six-point harness. A 90-litre fuel tank is standard, but 70 and 100-litre options are offered.  Kerb weight is a claimed 1300kg. The GT4 Clubsport gets 380mm steel brake discs, with one-piece, six-piston calipers at the front and four-piston units at the rear. The ABS…

A four-door Subaru Impreza saloon concept has been revealed just weeks after a similar concept showcased a five-door hatch at the Tokyo motor show. Subaru’s US chief, Tom Doll, said: “It’s a precursor to what you can expect from the next-generation Subaru Impreza sedan. We know that in the US sedans will play a vital role in our company’s continued sales growth.” Power is expected to come from a new generation of engines that feature cylinder deactivation technology. The current car is powered by a 112bhp 1.6-litre flat four engine and is available with either a five-speed manual gearbox or a CVT. Autocar understands the next-generation Impreza will be launched late next year. Prices aren’t expected to rise too far from the £17,495 starting point of the current car. JAGUAR…

THE VOLKSWAGEN GROUP has said it will spend an extra €100 million (£70m) in 2016 on alternative drive technologies — including electric and hydrogen fuel cell powertrains. The group will also decrease spending on capitalised development costs by €1 billion (£700m) to around €12bn (£8.4bn). The announcement was made by new VW Group boss Matthias Müller. The vast majority of VW’s expenditure in the next year will go on core products and development, including the next-generation Audi Q5 and Volkswagen Golf, as well as the firm’s Crafter plant in Poland and the development of its new modular electric toolkit, announced last month. Müller went into more detail about which investments will be delayed, scaled back or cancelled as the group recovers from the ongoing emissions scandal. He said construction of…

As facelifts go, the revised Ibiza Cupra’s is about as comprehensive as they come. Gone is the 1.4-litre turbo engine and dual-clutch automatic gearbox, and into this new model comes a blown 1.8-litre petrol engine complete with six-speed manual gearbox. There’s no automatic on offer even if you wanted one. The hot Ibiza now brakes a spinning inside wheel when deemed appropriate and comes as standard with adaptive dampers. A long list of newfangled connectivity technology is available, too. A 5.0in touchscreen with Bluetooth, USB and DAB is standard, but most buyers will opt to add the optional 6.5in screen complete with sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Overall, it adds up to a big improvement on the old car. The 1.8-litre motor has a broad plateau of torque that’s…

We tend to like Fords here at Autocar. Generally speaking, when you get behind the wheel of something with a blue oval mounted on the airbag, it’s likely to be a decent car to drive. So you can imagine our shock when we drove the original Ecosport and sensed immediately that it was a bit of a duffer. To Ford’s credit, it read, it ruminated and it responded, instructing its engineers to make good all that was wrong – which, from our point of view, was mainly the ride, handling and refinement. As a result, the revised Ecosport comes with retuned steering, suspension that has been lowered by 10mm and new damper and spring rates. More sound insulation has been added, too. Ford has also developed this sportier version, called…

So many prospective new sports cars pass through these pages that if each one succeeded, we’d have to double the size of the magazine to cope with covering them all. Sadly, most of those new projects don’t succeed, but you could see that the Zenos E10 S was special when it first arrived, that there was something about it, something credible and that the people in charge had a plan: to make a car people would want to buy, not just the car they wanted to build. By the end of the year, then, 80 Zenos E10 Ss – lightweight, two-seat sports cars with no roof – will have exited the factory gates at Wymondham in Norfolk. Founder Mark Edwards – co-founder Ansar Ali has taken a back seat but…

Strange, isn’t it, how the German executive saloon market has developed its own little cliques? If you want the driver’s car, you pick the BMW 3 Series. For the smartest interior, you go for the Audi A4. And the Mercedes-Benz C-Class flits between the two, depending on the generation. So as we start a six-month tour of duty with Audi’s latest A4, it’s fair to say that our expectations are pretty well set. We’ve road tested the A4 — the very A4 you see here, in fact — and awarded it a solid four stars, without ever feeling like it rewrites the rule book on dynamics. “It has a well-judged handling compromise for the majority of A4 owners,” concluded our road testers, before adding: “What’s disappointing is that the car…

Mileage 11,850 Part and parcel of being a photographer means travelling to different locations on a frequent basis, so navigational assistance is a necessity. Thankfully, the 220d Active Tourer is fitted with sat-nav. It’s nice to have a system that is not only easy to use but can also be trusted. BMW’s iDrive-based sat-nav is a doddle to operate, whether it is inputting a town or city name, or a postcode, via the rotary controller. The 2 Series Active Tourer’s iDrive dial has a touch-sensitive pad, fitted as part of BMW’s £2095 optional Navigation Plus pack, which is meant to recognise character inputs by your touch movements. It is a tough skill to master, and because the dial is on the left side for UK drivers, it’s better suited to…

1 Range Rover (1970-2012) We’ll start with the car that really popularised the idea of a posh 4x4. Despite being around in one form or another since 1970, the ingredients have stayed pretty constant: lots of leather and wood inside, a torquey motor up front (ideally a V8) and a split-folding tailgate at the back. Modern Range Rovers may cost upwards of £60,000, but you needn’t spend anywhere near that much. There’s plenty of choice around £5000 and below if you’re brave, but we’d recommend spending around £10,000. This will give you a selection of first, second and even third-generation models. Just make sure everything works. Range Rovers can be very expensive when they go wrong. 2 Audi Q7 (2005-2015) Of all the cars on this list, you could argue…

VOLUME PREDICTIONS for Bentley’s upcoming Bentayga flagship SUV have already been revised upwards, from 3600 units a year to 5500, as a result of forward orders, says CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer. “We are very pleased with the reception the model has had,” said Dürheimer, “especially since our estimates are based only on W12 sales and we have the V8, diesel and V6 hybrid models to launch. It is easy to imagine the Bentayga accounting for 50% of all Bentley sales in a relatively short time.” During 2015, China has slipped from its position as Bentley’s biggest market, the CEO says, leaving the US market once again as Bentley’s strongest. Europe is the second biggest, buoyed by especially strong demand from the UK, and China is third. However, Dürheimer believes flagging Chinese…

THE ALL-NEW seven-seat Mazda CX-9 SUV has been revealed in LA, showing the next evolution of the firm’s Kodo design language. Mazda says the CX-9 “moves toward a more premium design execution that befits a three-row mid-size crossover SUV” and previews how the design will evolve. Examples include the 3D effect of the grille and the way it runs backwards into the bonnet and shoulder lines. The design director of Mazda North America, Julien Montousse, said: “It’s a seven-seat passenger vehicle that looks sexy without being over the top. Most cars like this are practical boxes. We wanted to offer more than a practical SUV.” The CX-9 will be sold in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the Middle East. There are currently no plans to sell the car…

Suzuki is about to get another supermini. The new Baleno will be sold alongside the current Swift, which will remain the more sporty offering. The Baleno, meanwhile, will be for those wanting something more practical. There will be two trim levels, with prices from £12k to £14k, which is rather close to established offerings such as the Ford Fiesta and Skoda Fabia. Although UK spec levels have yet to be finalised, even entry-level Balenos will get sat-nav, a 7.0in infotainment screen, a reversing camera, electric front windows, DAB radio, Bluetooth and 16in alloy wheels. There’s also a 4.2in TFT screen between the dials that displays all sorts of additional driving data, including just what hyou need in a practical supermini: a g-force meter. Two engines will be offered, both petrol.…

Tuesday, 12.26pm: M4 westbound The weatherman on the radio is making the most of his extra two minutes. As the nose of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S I’m driving sweeps west over the Severn bridge, our man is warning of driving rain and 80mph winds ahead; fallen trees, flooded roads and downed power lines, possibly. South Wales will get it worse than anywhere. Jolly good. If photographer Lacey is hearing this, he’ll be sobbing into his waterproof underpants – but I’m not. Idyllic conditions would have been all wrong for the exercise we’re about to undertake, and so would wide, smooth European roads. Right now, as Storm Barney brews up over the Atlantic, four super-sports cars are making their way towards the Rhondda Valley. One of them, we already…

It’s been a long time since I’ve lusted after a Japanese coupé. You need to go back to the early 1990s and the Nissan 300ZX I owned and loved, along with its rivals, the Toyota Supra and, of course, the Mazda RX-7. And now? Bam! The Mazda RX-Vision (News, 4 November) is drop-dead gorgeous and as pretty as anything Aston or Jaguar currently produce. Please, Mazda, on the road to production, do not water down those looks. Shrinking it to fit the MX-5 platform will most likely ruin the proportions. Be bold and keep those stunning looks. As for rotary power, in a world of ever-increasing emissions control, I think Mazda will need all the luck in the world, but if it can do it, I’ll be the first to…

We’re cruising up to the 3000-mile mark in the 500X, and I’m pleased to report that we’ve encountered no nasty surprises. Indeed, the positive early impression has only been enhanced over the past few weeks. The 500X has successfully wormed its way into my life — not through exceptional handling or refinement, but by offering convenience. If I’m running short on time of a morning — and that’s an alarmingly frequent problem with two children — I can get the Fiat loaded and on the way in under a minute. There’s no need to worry about the headlights, because they’re automatic. There’s no need to think too hard about squeezing out of a tight parking space, because the 500X’s light steering and decently tight turning circle make that easy. The…

Propaganda. That’s what got us into the whole ‘oil-burnergeddon’ situation in the first place. Meanwhile, the all-electric lobby is going down an unlit blind alley at warp speed. If you haven’t noticed, the Go Ultra Low campaign partners are Audi, BMW, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Volkswagen, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. It’s all very laudable and alternative power is great, so maybe just as much effort should be put into a campaign for a decent hydrogen infrastructure. Quite how we’ll power plug-in motors when an overreliance on wind causes blackouts seems to be a real concern. The interesting bit is that the campaigners say they’ve spoken to young people thinking about the cars they’ll be buying in 10 years’ time. Apparently,…

Range Rover Evoque Convertible Spring 2016 Such was the reaction to Land Rover’s convertible Evoque concept in 2012 that the firm has taken the car to production. Set to be offered in high-spec Dynamic and Dynamic HSE forms only, the Evoque Convertible is powered by either a 178bhp 2.0-litre diesel or a 237bhp 2.0-litre petrol. Price £47,500 Mercedes-Benz GLS Spring 2016 Mercedes-Benz completes the renaming of its SUV range with the launch of the GLS. In effect a facelifted version of the old GL, the GLS is so named because of the luxurious associations with the flagship S-Class. As such, it features a rich interior and comes with more efficient engines and the option of a nine-speed automatic transmission. Price £69,100 AUTUMN/WINTER 2015 Alpina D3 Biturbo, Audi A4, RS6/RS7 Performance,…

Fiat is already lining up higher-performance versions of its new 124 Spider, which is due on sale in Europe in the second half of next year after stealing most of the headlines at last week’s Los Angeles motor show. The new rear-wheel-drive, two-seat roadster returns the 124 Spider name to showrooms almost 50 years after the original model was introduced. The new edition is the result of a joint project between Fiat and Mazda and shares the same platform as the latest generation of the Mazda MX-5. However, Fiat’s offering does not use the Japanese car’s normally aspirated engines. The sole engine at launch in the UK will be a 138bhp version of Fiat’s turbocharged 1.4-litre Multiair II unit, offering 177lb ft — although the American version of the car,…

The Volvo Concept 26 is an interior design study that gives a glimpse of how the interior of one of the Swedish brand’s future luxury models could look. The LA motor show concept’s name is designed to reflect the average daily commute to work, which lasts for 26 minutes. The firm says it has set out to “bring choice and freedom back to the driver — to enjoy the driving experience when they want to, or to delegate driving to the car when they want to do something else”. The core of Concept 26 is a seat design with patented mechanisms that, according to the manufacturer, hold the occupant in place while the car switches between its Drive, Create or Relax modes. In Drive, the layout is conventional, but in…

Infiniti is planning to expand its crossover line-up to include a larger stablemate for the new QX30, the firm’s chief designer has revealed. The QX30 — which uses the same platform as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Infiniti Q30 — is seen as a key model to attract younger buyers, whom Infiniti considers more open to its ‘new brand’ credentials than older European customers. However, Nissan and Infiniti design boss Shiro Nakamura has revealed there are already plans for a larger family crossover that would still appeal to European tastes — a sister car for the Nissan Qashqai. “We will probably have this type of car eventually,” he said. “The QX30 is part of our new portfolio and you can say that it bookends our crossovers, with the QX80 as the…

McLaren has ruled out making a more affordable model to rival the likes of the Porsche Cayman by saying it has no intention of going below its 911-rivalling 540C and 570S. Although McLaren is looking to attract a larger audience with its new entry-level models, it wants to retain an element of high-end appeal. “[A Cayman rival] is a step too far. That is not exclusive enough for us,” said McLaren’s chief designer, Robert Melville. “You look at Ferrari. They are coming from very high end. This [the 570S] is stretching us down to R8s and 911s and is as low as we’d want to come.” Melville said the 570S was designed to cater to customers who wanted a sports car that could be used every day. The 570S opens…

When Porsche starts wielding its ‘Gran Turismo Sport’ badge, as it does so here for the 10th time, it’s usually a good thing. Although the variants of the Boxster, Cayman, 911, Panamera and Cayenne that have sported such a badge haven’t necessarily been the ultimate models, or even our favourites, they’ve benefited from the enhancements in almost every case. And so it’s the turn of the Macan, a compact SUV with the handling to keep keen drivers happy. The GTS takes the standard petrol S’s twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 and boosts power by 20bhp to 355bhp. That helps it to slot neatly between its lesser petrol sibling and the range-topping Turbo. There’s 30lb ft more, too, for a total of 369lb ft. Performance? This near-1.9-tonne SUV covers 0-62mph in 5.2sec. To…

The popularity of crossovers doesn’t make life easy for big saloons like this, the newest version of Kia’s Optima. Even so, Kia reckons plenty of people are still after a big saloon. Its research suggests 10% of new car sales will come from this category, even a few years down the line. To grab its share, though, this new Optima will have to fend off the likes of the Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Insignia and Volkswagen Passat. The first-generation Optima was good looking and, together with the Sportage, really helped Kia to shake off its dowdy image. It seems revolution has become evolution for this new version. Up front is the familiar ‘tiger nose’ grille, albeit reshaped and with more chrome. The headlights and bumper gain more definition, while the tail-lights…

There’s a feral party atmosphere at Baja Portalegre, the final round of this year’s FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies in the east of Portugal. A rural hillside is scattered with empty Sagres bottles and chicken bones and there’s a sweet, pungent smell from bonfires of eucalyptus logs. A mobile bar, pumping out Metallica from a battered hi-fi, is doing a roaring trade among the frazzled locals, who are flecked head to toe with splodges of orange mud thrown up by the competing Ford Rangers, Toyota Hiluxs and Nissan Navaras. Then a different kind of car approaches. The yowl of a combustion engine is absent, replaced by the less perceptible whine of electric motors. Its progress is cheered by the crowd, appreciative of the commitment of the man behind…

LANCE BRADLEY IS famous in Japan. Inside Mitsubishi’s headquarters, anyway. As boss of the company’s UK business, he’s the bloke who took a risk on importing the pioneering Outlander PHEV in big numbers — and first demonstrated that car companies in the UK could be successful with plug-in hybrids. Bradley, who arrived at Mitsubishi from Ford in 2000 and took the top UK job six years ago, knew it wouldn’t be easy. “We’d tried the battery-powered i-MiEV in 2009, but the market wasn’t ready for that,” he says. “People had expected to save money, but they didn’t, because it was expensive. Then I drove the Outlander PHEV in Japan and really liked it. People are always polite about new models, of course, but this was different. “The Outlander PHEV has…

As an extension of the Mini brand, the Clubman is a good car but not a great one. It’ll doubtless do a better job than its predecessor at retaining Mini owners, but we suspect it won’t broaden the customer base as far as will be hoped. Greater usability and sophistication is delivered – to a point – and it is surprisingly practical, but its cabin is harder to access than those of most C-segment hatches and its qualitative substance isn’t up to the top compact premium standards. The powertrain has authority but not the refinement to really leave its mark, while the ride and handling are typically Mini: vivacious and fun-loving, but missing that final shade of subtlety. As a bridge to the outside world for Mini owners, or a…

The more I drive the CX-3, the more I appreciate what an enjoyable car it is for urban commuting, as well as discover useful features and, inevitably, certain foibles along the way. Let’s start with the good stuff. The cabin is a pretty civilised place, with its neat, textured dashboard and solid (albeit fairly hard) plastics in all the areas of high wear and tear. The easy-to-read 7.0in colour touchscreen is, for me, the highlight, though. It’s easily one of the best systems in the small SUV class to use, especially compared with the Citroën C4 Cactus’s or Fiat 500X’s. I’ve used both of these rival systems a fair bit. The C4’s touchscreen is too slow to respond and controls the air-con function, which is clunky and annoying. The Fiat’s…

READER’S CAR: PEUGEOT 406 Liam Cawley bought a Peugeot 406 1.8i 16v petrol for £350 from an internet auction site. It had two previous owners, some history and 114,000 miles on the clock. “It had a new MOT certificate with no advisories, four new tyres and a recent exhaust,” he says. “It’s lovely to drive, with the responsive petrol engine, but remarkably old-fashioned inside. I’m determined not to spend too much on her, but I really don’t like those wheels. Period steels are on my list. It is the best £350 I’ve ever spent, probably.” WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK: REPAIR RISKS Buying motors that had a £60k list price when new for rather less is fun. Remember, though, that you aren’t buying a cheap car but one that…