Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2, 2015 i Autocar

THE NEW AUDI TT RS has been spied ahead of its expected arrival next year. It was spotted in convoy with a Lotus Evora, Mercedes-AMG A45 and Porsche Cayman GT4, suggesting these are the cars against which Audi will pitch its hottest TT. The TT RS will feature a turbocharged five-cylinder petrol engine, but it’s unclear if it will use a tuned version of the 2.5-litre unit already used by the RS3. The mega-hatch’s engine makes 362bhp, but more power could be squeezed out of it to increase the gap between the TT RS and the 306bhp 2.0-litre four-pot TT S. However, it’s possible that the TT RS could be the first Audi to get a new generation of five-cylinder engine, with an aluminium block instead of the current unit’s…

Bugatti has confirmed its long-awaited successor to the Veyron will be called Chiron. It will be revealed at the Geneva motor show next March. The Chiron, which has already been spotted testing in prototype form, gets its name from Louis Chiron, a grand prix racer who rose to prominence in the 1920s and 1930s while racing for Bugatti. His achievements include winning the 1931 French Grand Prix in a Bugatti Type 51. His career was interrupted by the war, but he went on to race for marques such as Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati. Announcing details of the new hypercar for the first time, Bugatti boss Wolfgang Dürheimer said: “The development brief for the Chiron can be summarised in one sentence, which is probably the shortest in the history of…

BMW is promising that customers will be able to buy a new car online in only 10 minutes, after announcing that the UK will be the first market globally to get the company’s next generation of internet retailing. Introduced with the co-operation of 137 dealers in the BMW UK network, the new system combines BMW’s existing configurator and ‘car suggestion tool’ with online ‘Genius’ chat operators and a tie-in with used car valuations specialist Glass’s. Nine dealers have piloted the system in the UK, selling around 50 cars. Car manufacturers have been experimenting with increasingly diverse ways of interacting with their customers, including more retail-focused experiences in shopping centres and ‘virtual showrooms’ that don’t feature any vehicles. BMW believes it is the first to offer the full ordering and finance…

Citroën is launching a rationalisation plan that will modernise its model line-up, cut the number of ‘silhouettes’ from 14 to seven and introduce a revolutionary suspension system, all with the aim of increasing sales from 1.2 million to 1.6m a year by 2020. The plan is the brainchild of Citroën’s chief executive, Linda Jackson, a former managing director of Citroën UK, who took the role in June last year. She said: “We think it’s time to redefine our brand after 96 years and with sales exceeding 15m cars. We believe Citroën has some unique characteristics — boldness is an important one — and in future we’ll be inviting our buyers to ‘be different but feel good’.” Jackson believes the success of the C4 Cactus — which was expected to sell…

THE FIRST ENGINES affected by Volkswagen’s emissions scandal will be fixed early next year, the firm has revealed. Announcing details of fixes for the first time, VW said it would use a software update to remove the so-called ‘defeat device’ from the EA189 2.0-litre diesel engine. The update should take less than half an hour and will be applied to affected vehicles from March next year. This should rectify most VW vehicles affected by the scandal, bringing them in line with current emissions standards. A technical solution for the affected EA189 1.2-litre engine will be presented to the German authorities at the end of this month and is expected to be rolled out in June. Last to be fixed will be vehicles with the EA189 1.6-litre diesel engine. That fix…

This facelifted Mercedes-AMG A45 represents a good old-fashioned automotive arms race. Earlier this year, you may recall, the new Audi RS3 came along and trumped the previous A45 AMG’s 355bhp by a whole 7bhp. Naturally, this raised an eyebrow or two in Stuttgart, meaning changes had to be made. Along with flipping the name around in line with current policy, a significant hike in power to 376bhp means the A45 is now back to being the most powerful hot hatch in town. Together with closer gear ratios and quicker shift times from the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, this drops the 0-62mph time to just 4.2sec, which just happens to be 0.1sec quicker than that of the RS3. You also get a Dynamic Select switch that, like those in the GT…

The dieselgate scandal will have to run on for a long time yet, in this tester’s opinion, before it starts to seriously dent the appeal of either the Alpina D3 Biturbo or Audi A7 BiTDI Black Edition. Fully loaded luxury executive cars are rarely more tempting, in my book, than when they’re packing large diesel engines that combine instant, easy pace with strong fuel economy and relatively low company car tax liability. And none strikes that bargain in more compelling terms than these two: near-50mpg real-world cruising efficiency, sports-saloon-level performance and CO2 emissions you can report to your accountant without so much as a hint of sheepishness. It’s all here. And – besides BBC Panorama presenters and ostracised and embittered former Volkswagen Group executives, perhaps – who wouldn’t want it?…

Mileage 10,950 Given the Focus’s finely honed, volume-selling, third-generation all-round usefulness and competence, I’ve felt a bit bad for picking out some minor quibbles to highlight in recent reports. Trouble is, when everything around you is, on the whole, so functionally competent, the minor annoying bits tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Conveniently, then, I was reminded of the Ford’s day-to-day excellence and convenience only the other day, or rather night. Firework night, to be precise, when we returned to the car a bit damp and very muddy after enjoying some haute cuisine hot dogs and child-scaring decorative bangs. As we got ready to set off home, the Focus’s windscreen misted up. I tutted, turned the air-con up to full whack and resigned myself to sitting it out…

I was asked to comment the other day on some sort of statistical survey, which proved that owners of expensive cars (inevitably blingy off-roaders) were more likely to make an insurance claim than someone in a cheap motor, specifically a Smart. Now, the Smart Fortwo is small, but it isn’t especially cheap when new. Anyway, the point was that drivers of swish, expensive cars career into things and the downtrodden poor don’t. Maybe the stats were put together by Class War. I’ve found that owning a car you don’t mind getting damaged is a tremendously liberating experience and means you worry less about leaving it in a dodgy car park. So let’s find some low-rent cars for the truly modern lifestyle. The secret is having a car that either makes…

McLaren is readying a new variant of its 570S sports car to launch in the first half of next year. The new 570S GT will be designed more for luxury grand touring than outright performance and is envisaged as being a more practical and spacious model. The most obvious styling change for the 570S GT comes with its elongated rear panel, which is significantly different from the glass lid used to cover the V8 engine of the regular 570S models. It is understood that the extra space liberated at the rear will be used for storage, while the car will also retain its smaller front load bay. A more luxurious interior is also expected. The GT variant will keep the regular 570S’s twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 engine, with the same peak…

HYUNDAI HAS BROKEN through one million sales in the UK, but company boss Tony Whitehorn has promised “no let-up” in the manufacturer’s pursuit of annual sales of 100,000 and a market share of 5%. The Korean manufacturer first sold cars in the UK in 1982, but the launch of Hyundai UK as a global subsidiary 10 years ago was the catalyst for rapid growth. It is the fastest-growing car manufacturer in the UK, and holds a 3.5% share of the domestic market. Whitehorn, president and CEO of Hyundai UK, said: “I don’t know of any other brand that has released more products than ourselves in the past 10 years and we will release as many products again between now and 2020.” Whitehorn said low-emissions vehicles are integral to the ongoing…

BMW IS IN “the final stages” of deciding which type of model it will add to its line-up of i-brand electric vehicles, according to the company’s board member for sales and marketing, Ian Robertson. The German manufacturer is said to have been weighing up the merits of two different vehicle configurations for the next car, which is widely tipped to be badged i5. One option currently under consideration is a lengthened version of the i3 — almost a mini-MPV — while the other is said to be a saloon that could rival Tesla’s upcoming Model 3. “You will see more i products,” said Robertson. “We were in the final stages of deciding what the next car will be and when you’ll see it.” A reveal to coincide with BMW’s centenary…

The Crossback is the third car from the newly formed DS Automobiles, a Citroën spin-off. Like the regular DS 4 hatch, the Crossback gets the latest corporate grille, new technology and a few mechanical revisions. The difference here is that it rides 30mm higher than the regular model and gains roof rails, black wheels and wheelarch extensions to appeal to the ‘urban adventurer’. Crucially, the Crossback has softer spring rates, something the DS 4 has been crying out for. There are also new and revised engines, although the choice is limited to a 128bhp 1.2 petrol unit and 118bhp 1.6 or 178bhp 2.0-litre diesels. The higher-powered diesel is available with a six-speed automatic gearbox only. It takes only a few hundred yards to appreciate that the revised suspension makes the…

Shall I get the excuses out of the way first? This was the last race weekend of the Mini Challenge season, so everyone else in the field had already done 16 races and an innumerable amount of testing before I turned up. It was raining for Friday practice. And qualifying was damp. So, really, the first time I’d driven the car properly in the dry was at the start of the first of the weekend’s three races. And I was tired and grumpy. No change there. Anyway, that should do it. There are a lot of ways to race in a one-make motorsport series. You can do it on different surfaces, with different driven wheels and with engines in different places. You can race Caterhams or even go rallying in…

There was a time, many years ago, when cars like this roamed the world. Big, honest estates designed by people who understood the needs of a family on the move and created cars to satisfy them. But then people decided to stop buying cars they needed and started to buy those they wanted instead. Which is how a whole generation of crossovers — cars skilled only at charming money out of customers’ wallets — grew up, and why full-size estates big enough to swallow several kitchen sinks, cars such as this Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate, are now at best an endangered species, at worst a dying breed. And there can surely be no better example of the old estate art than this E220 CDI, a car with a small, rattly diesel…

There are perhaps few bigger tests of a junior executive saloon than the great British family holiday. For our long-term Jaguar XE, that came with a long weekend at Center Parcs in Suffolk. Three generations of the family were going, so we needed two cars. So while most participants were loaded into the family Ford S-Max, I was tasked with taking my grandparents in the Jaguar. I was impressed with how well the XE swallowed our luggage, but at 455 litres, the XE’s boot is some way behind that of the BMW 3 Series. The load bay slopes upwards, too, meaning some clever packing is required to get everything in place. With everyone on board, we were surprised by how spacious the XE’s cabin is, if a little dark without…

READER’S CAR: NISSAN MICRA Nick Walsh and Eoin Clancy picked up an all-original one-owner, 37,000-mile, 1992 Nissan Micra for £1000 and then took it on the Mongol Banger Rally. Nick says: “These K10 Micras are becoming scarce in Ireland. With only a service and two new rear shocks, our brave steed took us across 22 countries at a whopping 55mph. Through deserts, mountain ranges, up the Afghan/Chinese border, the little carburetted engine struggled but never missed a beat.” WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK: QUICK SALE Selling cars fast privately can be done. Using social media works. Two cars and a moped were sold by one family in hours. Classified ads and auction sites are over...ly). USED CAR DILEMMA: MAZDA DEMIO Before it was truly fashionable, Mazda produced a bull-barred,…

Volkswagen Beetle Dune Spring 2016 First shown in concept form at the Detroit motor show last year, the production version of VW’s rugged Beetle Dune made its debut in LA last month. It’ll be offered in the UK with a choice of five engines, the most powerful of which will be a 217bhp 2.0-litre petrol. Chunky plastic cladding sets this Beetle apart. Price £25,000 (est) AUTUMN/WINTER 2015 Alpina D3 Biturbo, Audi A4, RS6/RS7 Performance, Alfa Romeo Giulia, BMW X1, DS 4 facelift, 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, Lotus Elise Sport, Elise Sport 220, Mercedes-Benz A-Class facelift, C-Class Coupé, G500 4x4, GLC, Mini Clubman, Nissan Murano,…

Honda is taking aim at the Mazda MX-5 and Fiat’s forthcoming 124 Spider by developing a successor to its popular S2000 roadster, company insiders have revealed. Introduced in 1999, the original version of the Japanese manufacturer’s two-seat roadster garnered a reputation for its strong powertrain and lively handling, but the second edition of the car was axed in 2009. Now a third generation is said to be under development as Honda tries to reconnect with the S2000’s dedicated fan base. Representatives from Honda’s advanced engineering department are said to have attended a recent S2000 owners’ club event in the British Isles — a sign that the firm wants to listen to enthusiasts in order to help it to position the next version of the car accurately. The new S2000 will…

Fiat has confirmed that it will show three variants of its upcoming Tipo family car at next year’s Geneva show, in a move that reaffirms the Italian car maker’s continuing commitment to the ‘practical’ side of its line-up. The company launched the 124 Spider at the recent Los Angeles show, bolstering the retro-influenced ‘emotional’ side of its range that includes the 500, 500L and 500X. However, Fiat brand boss Olivier François has said the company has the resources to develop new versions of its more pragmatic models. These will include a return to the five-door family car market that Fiat left last year. “On a global basis, Fiat has two legs to its range,” said François. “There is the aspirational, emotional side, with the 500 and now the 124. And…

A convertible version of the McLaren 675LT has begun testing ahead of its planned launch next year. The car was first reported by Autocar last month, when McLaren was still weighing up whether to put the model into production. It has since been given the green light. As these spy pictures confirm, the 675LT Spider will receive a hard-top folding roof similar to those used by McLaren’s other convertible models. The Spider should weigh only slightly more than the regular car, which has a kerb weight of 1320kg. The coupé’s twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 will be carried over, so the 675LT Spider will have a peak power output of 666bhp. A price tag of around £280,000 is expected. INGENIUM PLANT SET TO GROW Jaguar Land Rover’s new Ingenium engine plant in…

The facelifted Porsche 911 Turbo S will be the fastest-accelerating 911 model to have entered series production when it is launched in the UK at the end of January. Its 0-62mph time is just 2.9sec, which is 0.2sec faster than the official time of its rapid predecessor, according to Porsche’s own figures. Pictured here ahead of a planned public unveiling at the Detroit motor show in January, the new 911 Turbo S is also among a select group of road-going 911 models with a top speed of more than 200mph. Official performance claims point to a maximum of 205mph — the same top speed achieved by the frenzied 611bhp 911 GT2 RS of 2010. The revised 911 Turbo S will be sold in both coupé and cabriolet bodystyles. It retains…

THE NEXT-GENERATION Porsche 911 has been spotted testing ahead of its expected launch in 2018. This early test mule, which is wearing modified bodywork from the recently revealed facelifted 911, is understood to be chassis testing for the new model. It will be a crucial product for Porsche, because it’ll be the first 911 to come with the option of a hybrid powertrain. Speaking to Autocar in September, Porsche engineers confirmed they were working on packaging a hybrid powertrain in the 911. As well as a hybrid model, Porsche is also considering an all-electric version of the 911 in the same vein as the Audi R8 e-tron. Base models of the 911 are expected to use the same twin-turbo 3.0-litre flat six engine that made its debut in the facelifted…

The new Golf GTI Clubsport is the most powerful Volkswagen Golf GTI yet. First revealed in production guise at the Frankfurt motor show in September, this latest in a long line of celebratory Golf GTI models has been created to mark the 40th anniversary of the introduction of Wolfsburg’s iconic front-wheel-drive hot hatch, which originally hit showrooms in 1976. Set to reach the UK in limited numbers early next year, the Clubsport not only holds the distinction of being the most powerful production-based Golf GTI but is also the most expensive to date, with a starting price of around £29,000. The Clubsport is differentiated from existing seventh-generation Golf GTI models by a series of styling upgrades that are claimed to provide it with true downforce, on both the front and…

This incarnation of Suzuki’s SX4 S-Cross represents the first diesel automatic version to join the model’s line-up. Suzuki did the maths and found that diesel automatic models accounted for 16% of all UK crossover sales last year and so far this year, and it understandably wanted a piece of that pie. So it has now released an S-Cross equipped with a Fiat-sourced six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox – dubbed Twin Clutch System by Suzuki, or TCSS – which is available with only the 1.6-litre diesel engine in range-topping SZ5 models. It’ll cost you an additional £1350 over the manual transmission. Alongside its share of those sales, the Japanese manufacturer is hoping its new powertrain option will be an attractive mile-eater for company car buyers who favour the ease of an automatic…

Why is it that most new or updated premium cars seem to be exclusively compared to Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz? Jaguar must surely now be included in that group. And now I read Hilton Holloway’s comment that the manufacturer is “heavily anchored in the past” (News, 11 November). What about the thoroughly modern XE, XF and F-Pace? Let alone the F-Type. All of these were non-existent 15 years ago. Most Jaguars either currently lead or have recently led Autocar’s Top Five lists, so it must surely be considered equal to, and mentioned in the same breath as, the Germans. Tony Wade London WIN Letter of the week wins a ValetPRO exterior protection and maintenance kit worth £58.95…

In a bid to try to get some varied opinions on the Fabia, I have been encouraging colleagues to take the Skoda for a night, or a weekend, to see what they think of it. I’ve also been secretly hoping that one of them will come back with something they really dislike about it — partly because it might balance the praise that I’ve been heaping upon the Fabia in recent updates. However, that plan has backfired and I’m duty bound to continue the love-in for the small Skoda, because it has gone down well with whoever has spent any time in it. Content editor Matthew Burrow is angling for the position of chief acolyte and has loved how easy the car is for commuting. He singled out the gearchange…

1 Mitsubishi Delica (2007–present) The Mitsubishi Delica was built on Shogun running gear and will be great if you need to negotiate tricky terrain with your whole family on board. It seats seven or eight, depending on the model, and can have its seats removed in favour of an inflatable bed. It’s available with a choice of 2.5 and 2.8 diesel engines or a 3.0 V6, with prices from £2000. It can also lend itself well to a camper conversion. It’s great because of its more compact exterior dimensions, but the high centre of gravity can make cornering at speed a scary prospect. As with all of the cars here, get online and look for an owners’ club before you buy. This could save you a packet. 2 Mazda Bongo…