Innholdsfortegnelse for 26/4/2017 i Autocar

THE VOLKSWAGEN ID Crozz will be one of two SUVs in its ID electric vehicle range, according to Christian Zenger, the firm’s electric car project boss. The Crozz is the third ID concept to be revealed, following the ID hatchback and the ID Buzz microbus. It will be the smaller of two production SUVs to be based on VW’s electric-only MEB architecture. Zenger said the Crozz will be “one of the most important [electric] cars worldwide”. Thanks to the electric platform, which sites the battery under the floor, the Crozz has 150mm more front leg room than the similarly sized but conventionally powered VW Tiguan, said Zenger, and rear space is one class above a Tiguan. The production version of the Crozz is due in 2020, following the ID hatchback…

Audi is poised to crystallise a new, range-wide styling direction under design chief Marc Lichte when it unveils the new A8 in July, just weeks after revealing the e-tron Sportback at Shanghai. The A8 was Lichte’s first significant production design after taking over as design boss in early 2014. Since then a steady stream of concept cars, including two e-tron electric SUVs, has previewed the new design strategy. “The e-tron Sportback is giving a look at a future sporty electric SUV of the kind we will have in production in 2019,” said Lichte. Lichte’s new design strategy has created two distinct design themes: one for SUVs and the other for saloons, hatchbacks and estates. Lichte illustrated the two themes with a napkin sketch, revealing that the SUVs will be characterised…

 RENAULT SPORT BELIEVES Formula 1 cars will become substantially more powerful and gain new connected features in order to make them even tougher to drive and boost fan interaction. “ The concept weighs 600kg and uses a hybrid powertrain that produces 1341bhp ” Illustrating its ideas in the RS 2027 Vision concept at the Shanghai motor show, the French manufacturer’s racing division believes cars will get faster thanks to an increased use of electric power. “Electrification cannot and will not go away,” said Cyril Abiteboul, Renault Sport F1’s managing director. “It’s part of automotive and it will be an increasing part of F1. But we do not think that in 10 years the internal combustion engine will completely go away, so we’ve gone for something extreme in terms of power-to-weight.”…

THE INTRODUCTION OF the limited-edition M4 CS is one of the first signs of a thorough realignment of BMW M operations under chairman Frank van Meel. This will result in more models and greater volumes, as M looks to take on the fast-expanding AMG brand. The strategy will have four distinct tiers: entry-level M Performance models; standard M models; M CS models; and range-topping M GTS models. The M4 CS, M2 CS and M8 CS are already locked into the new model strategy. Despite posting record sales of 37,473 in 2016, BMW M has mapped out a plan to build on its existing line-up with a series of additional new models in the next three years. Among them are entry-level X1 and X2 M Performance models; the X3 M and…

The 302bhp production version of Skoda’s electric-powered crossover, previewed as the Vision E concept, is tipped to hit 62mph from rest in just 6sec — about 0.5 sec faster than an Octavia vRS hot hatch. That sparkling performance is a pre-launch prediction by Skoda’s engineers for a Vision E equipped with the sportiest combination of the biggest battery pack and twin motors, which also provide four-wheel-drive traction off the line. Further details of the powertrain of the production-version of the Vision E also emerged at Shanghai. Two different lithium ion battery packs are being engineered for the Vision E and its Volkswagen Group platform siblings, the ID family from VW and compact-sized e-tron models from Audi. The two lithium ion battery packs — 80kWh and 50kWh — are expected to…

HKG K550, K750, H600 Hybrid Kinetic Group presented three concept cars at Shanghai in partnership with design house Pininfarina. Alongside the previously seen H600 saloon, the brand showed two SUVs, the K550 and K750. All three feature micro-turbine generator range-extenders with claimed 621- mile-range battery packs. Hybrid Kinetic Group said the turbine generator range-extenders do away with the cars’ need for charging stations. The electric motors are claimed to put out a combined total of more than 800bhp and the turbine technology is a similar to that used in the 2010 Jaguar C-X75 supercar concept. The saloon takes 2.9sec to reach 60mph from rest, although the SUVs are likely to take longer due to their extra heft. At the launch, Hybrid Kinetic Group boss Xu Jianguo took a swipe at…

diesel particulate filters (DPF) and DPF failure. The report also says exhaust gas regeneration (EGR) valves have failed, as have turbochargers and fuel injectors. Further claims include some vehicles entering limp-home mode. But VW has told Autocar that these issues affect less than 1% of the 600,000 cars it has fixed (at around 20,000 a week). A VW spokesman said: “That means that over 99% of customers are satisfied with VOLKSWAGEN HAS DENIED claims that its Dieselgate fix for the EA189 diesel engine has caused breakdowns, increased fuel consumption and reduced performance in a large number of vehicles. The damning claims come from a report produced by the Volkswagen Diesel Customer Forum (VDCF). The report says owners of cars issued with a fix for affected 2.0-litre diesel engines have also…

An open-top variant of the McLaren 570S will be launched this year, company boss Mike Flewitt has confirmed. The new 570S Spider is set to keep the coupé’s twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 engine and should have the same 562bhp and 443lb ft. However, Flewitt said a 540C Spider is not on the cards as it doesn’t make economic sense. “With the 540C, by the time you add options, it can cost the same as a 570S, which is why we only offer it in certain markets,” he said. “And because of that, it doesn’t make sense to do a 540C Spider. There will never be a 540GT, either.” The 570S Spider should be capable of getting close to or matching the coupé’s 0-62mph time of 3.2sec and its 205mph top speed.…

Breaking news: BMW ditches 50/50 weight distribution. Okay, a slightly tabloidian embellishment; that longstanding philosophy is still true for most of its models, but not the 530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid. With a 182bhp 2.0-litre four-pot petrol up front, a 111bhp electric motor in the bell housing where you’d normally find a torque converter for the eight-speed automatic gearbox, a 9.2kWh battery under the rear seats that can be charged in under three hours and a 46-litre fuel tank over the rear axle, that particular engineering ideal was clearly too much. It’s 47% front, 53% rear instead. Still, with the regular G30 5 Series being such a beautifully balanced machine, what difference will a slightly weightier rear make? Performance, both the green and the grunty kind, appear solid. Claimed CO2 emissions…

MODEL TESTED IG-T 90 N-CONNECTA Price £16,115 Power 89bhp Torque 103lb ft 0-60mph 12.1sec 30-70mph in fourth 16.9sec Fuel economy 45.3mpg CO2 emissions 104g/km 70-0mph 48.6m The only way is up for the Nissan Micra. Today’s order of business is to determine exactly how far up our supermini class rankings it may rise, before the all-important European registration numbers begin to reveal whether or not it can reclaim what was once a heavyweight sales profile. Nissan created a fine reputation for a car visible on UK roads even in its 1980s first generation. It became the first Japanese car to win the coveted European Car of the Year gong in its second. The third-generation Micra, known as the K12 version, became every inch the sophisticated, desirable, European-built small car that…

When, a century ago, Ernest Shackleton attempted to cross the Antarctic, an ice floe ate his ship and he had to leave some of his crew for four months beneath two upturned lifeboats, surviving on seals and penguins, while he rowed across the south Atlantic to get help to rescue them. Ultimately, he failed in his trans-polar goal, but the story is one of the most extraordinarily heroic adventures of survival and stamina in human history. It’s a phenomenal tale. But just 100 years later, you can complete the journey he set out to achieve — and then drive back again — in a Hyundai SUV. The Santa Fe you see here has been modified to cope with the terrain, but not by as much as you’d think. The massive…

It’s like Christmas,” says Gregory Guillaume, as we both stare wide-eyed at the car. I’m not seeing a lot of tinsel or coloured lights, but I do see what still excites Kia’s European design chief about a project he began as a concept around seven years ago. He’s talking about the graceful and unmistakable rear-drive proportions of the new Kia Stinger, the four-door GT Guillaume believes will complete a “paradigm shift” for the Korean brand when it hits the market early next year. Good proportions are like a Christmas present: start with those and it’s much easier to build great-looking cars. Standing next to the new Stinger, the key facets of the layout become obvious: the long bonnet, the short front overhang, the low roof of a cabin pushed to…

“The motor is still running in so I kept the revs low and leant instead on the chassis” Until this time last year, if you’d asked me which car I’d choose to run on this fleet above all others, I’d have said a Porsche 911 without a second thought. There is nothing like a 911 and until someone else decides to put a flat six in the back of low-slung, short-wheelbase sports coupé, there never will be. Over the 54 years that 911s have been made, and despite all the changes to the design, this essential truth has remained: there is not, was not and probably never will be anything quite like a 911. But then nor is there anything quite like the BMW i8 that has just left my…

Our Bentley Bentayga is bolting with dizzying speed towards its first service. The electronic log currently says it has 1500 miles to run. It has accumulated miles so quickly because (like most owners, I suspect) we use it almost exclusively as a mile-eating grand tourer. One or two owners I’ve seen in the Cotswolds where I live have given their Bentaygas the role of GT-carwith-horsebox, a task at which it seems to excel. But every owner I’ve met agrees it’s no city car. It’s a big-occasion car, and not much good at squeezing into an average parking space. In town I use one of those higher-priced, more spacious inner-city Q-park sites (my other half calls them ‘gentleman’s car parks’) but that’s not a catch-all solution. Best to do what the…

When it comes to the teenager’s toy car, there’s good and bad news. The great news is that it has passed the MOT test. There was also an interim service and no advisories (£158 all in). The bad news is that our bulb swapping (Autocar, 22 March) didn’t really help. There was a rear numberplate one out, too. We’d missed that. Then the sidelight we replaced went again, so we will have to trace whatever electrical fault is going on there. I must say, teasing out car bulbs with my old sausage fingers is now impossible. Good thing that’s now my daughter’s job.…

“The SLK is still a stylish car and a wonderful tool for browsing the back lanes” If you want to know how popular the first-generation SLK (1996-2004) was check the classifieds. The name – SLK is short for ‘sportlich, leicht und kurz’, or ‘sporty, light and short’ – succinctly encapsulated its appeal and these days there are plenty for sale, mostly 190bhp 2.3 Kompressors (power was increased to 194bhp in 2000). You’ll also unearth a sprinkling of 132bhp SLK 2.0 and 161bhp SLK 2.0 Kompressors, and 215bhp SLK 320 V6s. If you’re lucky you’ll even find a 344bhp SLK 320 AMG, capable of 0-62mph in 5.0sec. You might think that worth seeking out, but your priority when shopping for a Mk1 SLK – preferably a five-speed auto with leather –…

“If the E-Motion makes production, MG’s model line-up will grow to seven” MG’s striking E-Motion concept is on course to make production by 2020 as part of ambitious range expansion plans, the company’s UK marketing boss, Matthew Cheyne, has confirmed. Speaking at the launch of the electric sports car at the Shanghai motor show, Cheyne told Autocar the four-seater is almost certainly going to be given the green light by MG’s Chinese parent company, SAIC, following a positive reaction to its unveiling. MG said the design concept is capable of accelerating from 0-62mph in less than 4sec and can do more than 310 miles on a full battery charge. However, SAIC’s executives refrained from confirming the car’s technical specifications, which suggests those figures are more of a target than anything…

The next MG 6 isn’t due until 2018, but Autocar has had an early taste of what to expect after driving its Chinese sibling, the Roewe i6, which will lend its underpinnings and drivetrains to the new 6. The base model in the i6 range has a turbocharged three-cylinder engine that produces 123bhp and 125lb ft, but the car we drove was powered by a turbo 1.5-litre four-cylinder with 167bhp and 184lb ft. Above this is a hybrid version that combines the three-cylinder engine with an electric motor. Our drive at parent company SAIC’s Guangde Proving Ground in China showed that the four-pot was strong and happy to rev. The car also reacted well to being hustled into a corner. The 6’s dynamic set-up will be tuned differently, but our…

THE NEW CITROEN C5 Aircross SUV continues the look seen on the C4 Cactus and C3, according to design director Alexandre Malval, but takes into consideration the need for the car to be a global success. “The car demonstrates our ability to show the aesthetic of the C4 Cactus but this product has to be successful in China and Europe, so we’ve played with some existing ingredients but done them slightly differently,” he said. For example, Malval said, the Airbumps of the C4 Cactus “would not be well received in China”. He also said the lower side sill design detail would mean “too much plastic for this type of vehicle” if the Airbumps had been incorporated. The design also intends to bridge the gap between existing European and Chinese models.…

A DIESEL SCRAPPAGE scheme, which could pay drivers up to £2000 to trade in their old diesel cars, is set to be announced. It follows a recent spate of proposed penalties for diesel car owners to help improve air quality. The scheme was expected to be proposed in parliament last week but was overshadowed by the announcement of a snap general election. A scrappage scheme would help placate diesel drivers outraged that past governments encouraged people to buy diesel cars because they emitted less CO2 than petrol equivalents. However, since the Volkswagen emissions scandal, other emissions from diesel cars — such as NOx, which is harmful to people’s health — have been under closer scrutiny. It is understood the scheme would be limited to lower-income drivers in the most-polluted…

The updates to the rest of the seventh-generation Golf line-up have tended towards matters of only middling significance, but improvements made to the electric model are of genuine consequence to the car’s usability. Unsurprisingly, the focal point is the e-Golf’s range, a distance the New European Driving Cycle now rates at 186 miles thanks to the introduction of larger-capacity lithium ion batteries. The upgrade comes hand in hand with more power from the electric motor, with its 134bhp output lopping the best part of a second off the 0-62mph time. On the road, the e-Golf’s low-key thrust feels not much more considerable than before, although its gathering of speed is so glassy-smooth that it’s hard to properly measure the briskness at which it occurs. Aside from a distant whirr under…

Europe’s lucrative market for superminis doesn’t owe Nissan anything – after the past seven years, the company has learned that the hard way – but it’s certainly receptive to stylish, contemporary, well-equipped, rounded cars like this new Micra. Having plainly now banished the memory of its dowdy early years, this car has it all to do to retain owners of the outgoing model. There has never been wider choice for those with a typical supermini budget than there is now. But with its high-end equipment features, dashing looks and mature dynamic finish, the Micra is well placed to compete with premium-brand offerings as well as its mainstream rivals. Where it is weak – it doesn’t have a stellar engine, it’s not the most practical car in the class and it’s…

Right, then: what car is best off-road? That sounds pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? Only it isn’t. Not by a long way. Because off-roading, like no other discipline in this game, brings with it myriad complications. Shall we start with tyres? I wouldn’t usually, because they’re not that interesting, but we should here, because they’re what you need to worry about most if you’re trying to find out ‘what car is best off-road?’. You see ‘what car is best off road?’ can quickly become ‘what tyres are best off-road?’ if you’re not careful. Not that tyres are the only thing to bother you, because there’s always the ‘are you sure that bit of off-road is the same as it was three minutes ago, when you were driving a different car over…

Interesting articles from Andrew Frankel and Richard Bremner on the progress of diesel development and the secondhand EV ownership proposition (‘Auf Wiedersehen, Petrol’ and ‘Previously Owned’, 5 April). I was a bit confused by some of the EV battery rental costs, but both articles made me think: if the car industry has been able to turn slow, soot-belching diesels into high-performance, economical cars such as the Porsche Panamera Diesel of today, just how much more capable will it be able to make EVs of the future? The exhaust from even the latest diesels can smell unpleasant. Sadly, some newer diesels actually smell worse than some older ones. And, of course, petrol exhaust can smell bad. I look forward to the day when Dieter Zetsche of Mercedes and his car industry…

Enough about the fact that “ it’s powered by hydrogen. What’s it actually like as a car?” comes the cry from a reader, who not unreasonably reckons it’s time for an update that doesn’t mention, erm, ahem, well, that this car is powered by hydrogen. The name should give you some clues: the ix35 preceded the Tucson, which was deemed to be such an overhaul that it deserved a whole new personality. That means the ix35 – off sale in regular form in 2015 – looks and feels a bit dated on the inside. There are more hard plastics than you might imagine and the switchgear is short on some finesse. Frankly, though, as a parent of two under-10s, I quite like that it is pretty hard-wearing inside, and I…

Luke List has owned an E91-generation BMW 335i Touring for more than eight years. He now wants to sell it on. “I’ve driven 130k miles in it, bringing the mileage to 164k,” he says. “It has a full BMW service history. “The car has had new turbos, a new water pump, and various fettling done under warranty. I have recently had two brand-new rear tyres fitted. They’re Michelin Pilot Sport 3s – I ditched the run-flat tyres after I bought it. There are also new brake discs up front. “I’ve been lucky and managed to grab a 2015 Volkswagen Golf R, which is a really nice car. So my BMW needs a dignified retirement.” SEND YOUR USED CAR TALES TO james@bangernomics.com ,…

An expert’s view TONY LEACH, MERCEDES-BENZ CLUB “I’m the club’s specialist on the SLK and have owned three: a 1996 2.3 Kompressor, a 2000 2.0 K and my present car, a ’99 2.3 K, which I have rebuilt to the tune of £8000. The ride is firm and you notice bumps but it’s fun to drive, even at 176,000 miles. “I love the looks of the first-gen SLK, and the electric folding roof is so convenient. It still looks the part: Mercedes called it a mini-SL at launch. You can get them for £800 but it’s not a car you should buy on the cheap.” Buyer beware • ENGINE Post-facelift cars suffer engine oil contamination of the solenoid that switches the ignition from advance to retard. There’s an official fix,…

Porsche Panamera From £66,400 Combines tangible sporting appeal with an outstanding cabin and choice of powertrains. A touch inelegant, but easily the world’s best. Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupé From £99,000 Large coupé based on the faultless S-Class saloon, with a sumptuous interior, gorgeous shape and enthralling V8 engine. Mercedes-Benz SL From £72,500 Big, luxurious drop-top is classier than a royal stud farm. Few cruisers feel more special for the money. Mercedes-Benz CLS From £46,500 Original added-desirability four-door is almost as refined to drive as it is to behold. Shooting Brake variant is rather elegant. Audi A7 From £45,900 Curiously droopy looks don’t flatter an otherwise impressive machine that is packed with appealing gadgetry.…

LOTUS EXIGE CUP 380 | MAY The Sport 380 was the top Exige but now there’s this new Cup 380, in addition to a track-only Race 380. All versions have a 3.5-litre V6 which produces 375bhp and 302lb ft. The Cup weighs 1057kg (19kg less than the Sport) and has a maximum speed of 175mph thanks to new bodywork; 0-60mph takes 3.4sec. Price£83,000 APRIL Audi Q5, Avatar Roadster, BMW 4 Series update, Dacia Logan MCV Stepway, Lamborghini Huracán Spyder, Lotus Elise Sprint, Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster, GT C Roadster (right), Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé, GLA update, V-Class Marco Polo, Mini Countryman JCW, Piecha AMG GT-RSR, Porsche Panamera, Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota Yaris update M AY Alpina B3 S, B4 S, D4, Audi A5 Cabriolet, David Brown Mini Remastered (left), Kia Picanto, Lamborghini Aventador…

THE REVISED LEXUS NX, which has been shown in Shanghai, will go on sale in the UK by the end of the year. There are styling and interior tweaks to the BMW X3 rival to reflect the look of the rest of the Lexus line-up. These include LC-derived lights and a bigger infotainment screen. The tech changes include the introduction of a larger wireless smartphone charger and an automatic tailgate operated by a wave of a foot under the rear bumper. Lexus claims the ride and handling of the car, which has previously been criticised, has been improved thanks to retuned suspension. It now has adaptive variable suspension, as used in Lexus’s LC500 range-topper. The NX’s sound-deadening has been upgraded, says Lexus, and a raft of safety kit is now…

Chinese start-up car company Lynk&Co intends to have four models, including a battery-powered electric vehicle, on sale by 2020, by which point it expects to be selling 500,000 cars a year. Lynk&Co’s first model is the 01 crossover, which was revealed at the Shanghai motor show. The 01 is based on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) made by Volvo, its Geelyowned sister brand, and it will target mid-sized premium SUVs, aided by keen pricing and a lifetime warranty. “These are premium-quality cars with a full equipment level and mass-market prices,” said Lynk&Co chief Alain Visser. “There will be no options, just a single, high specification.” The 4600mm-long 01 will be launched in China in mid-2018 and go on sale in Europe in spring 2019 and the US in summer 2019.…

“ The new Type R is 6.8sec faster around the ’Ring than its predecessor ” Honda has smashed the Nürburgring lap record for front-wheel-drive cars with its new Civic Type R, which clocked 7min 43.8sec from the circuit’s Bridge to Gantry sections. This shaves a 5.41sec off the previous record, set by the VW Golf GTI Clubsport S. It also makes the new Type R 6.8sec faster around the ’Ring than its predecessor. The car that broke the record is described by Honda as a development model with technical specifications representative of the final car. Like the production car, it uses a 306bhp and 295lb ft turbo 2.0-litre petrol engine. The latest model’s six-speed gearbox has shorter ratios for more urgent performance and the car is 16kg lighter than the…

Where, then, shall we start? At the front? At the back? Because I know it doesn’t look much different but, obviously, this being a new Porsche 911 GT3, of course it is. They’ll call it the 991.2 GT3, those who want to flummox you with names and numbers and codes, like it’s some kind of secret club. But we could think of it as a facelift, if we wanted. The 991 generation of the 911 had a GT3 at the start of things, then it got a GT3 RS, and then that limited-run 911 R from last year. Well, now some of those lessons have gone into making a new GT3. Doesn’t look so different on the outside, does it? But okay, let’s start at the front, where there’s a…

The UK isn’t as free and open as some countries when it comes to taking your car off the beaten track, but there are ways and means. The easiest and most obvious is to seek out byways open to all traffic, usually just signposted ‘byway’, not ‘restricted byway’, which will be marked on Ordnance Survey maps. Some councils close them at certain times of year, some councils won’t make it obvious that you’re allowed to be on them, and I’ve found places where locals have hauled tree trunks across in order to stop fly tipping — both of which you can tell the local authority about. You’ll get lots of advice on the Green Lane Association’s website ( glass-uk.org ) and from the Land Access and Recreation Association…

The greatest irony about supercars has always been the fact that, despite being designed for the pleasure of driving, they tend to do minimal miles. Which is why Simon George’s Lamborghini Murciélago stands as a glorious – and very orange – riposte to all those pampered queens in their air-conditioned garages. Not only has it already covered 258,000 miles, surviving a near-death experience along the way, but it’s also still racking up miles quicker than a sales rep’s BMW 320d. “Even if newer Lamborghinis have got faster, they’re no more exciting” LIFE ON THE EDGE George’s route to Lamborghini ownership was an unorthodox one. In the late 1990s, he was working as a British Gas engineer while building a modest buy-to-let property portfolio. In 2004, he remortgaged this to raise…

“Assuming the compounds you can see are full, you’re looking at 16,000 cars” 363 Portbury is open this many days a year, closing only on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. BRITISH-MADE BEST SELLERS WORLDWIDE IN 2016 Last year, eight out of 10 cars made in the UK — a total of 1.35 million — were exported to more than 160 countries around the world. The EU was the leading destination, taking 56% of our exports, with 8.6% of those heading to Germany. After the EU, the US was the UK’s biggest export market, finding homes for 14.5% of British-built cars. Russia, in 10th place, received 1% of those UK-built models. 1 Nissan Qashqai 2 Toyota Auris 3 Mini 4 Vauxhall Astra 5 Range Rover Sport 6 Range Rover Evoque 7…

FIRST DRIVE McLaren 720S Woking hasn’t replaced one of its models — until now. Matt Prior delivers his verdict on the new V8 supercar NEW V USED BMW M2 vs Aston Martin Vantage How to spend £45k: junior M car or Aston’s junior sports car? PROTOTYPE TEST Skoda Yeti We join the development team to find out if it’s better than before EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport Is it really a match for premium rivals? We put it to the test USED GUIDE Abarth 500 Micro-hot hatch is nearly a decade old. We tell you why you should buy one FIRST DRIVE Lotus Elise Sprint The Elise has shed an extra 41kg. Andrew Frankel drives it SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p22…

I WAS FILMING at a Tesla dealership the other day and was struck by how Tesla’s product specialist keenly pointed out that you could always leave your driveway with a “full tank” – well, a full battery – because you can conveniently charge it at home. He claimed this gives you precious minutes of your life back, freeing you from the burden of fuel stations and the chore of filling up your tank. That final point got me thinking – funnily enough, while filling up my Renegade for the umpteenth time. It takes about 40 litres of diesel to fill the Renegade to the brim once the low-fuel warning light shows and this then lasts about 350-375 miles. The fuel tank, officially 48 litres, seems a little small. Ten-ish gallons…

Courting the Crossfire There’s a lot to like about this V6-engined Chrysler Crossfire, not least that it is based upon a first-generation Mercedes SLK. This 2006, 64,000-mile example has all the important pieces of kit, such as 19in wheels, air-con, leather, heated seats and cruise control. The £4975 price seems reasonable and it comes from a family dealer and with a warranty. Grand Vitara looks ready for action The Suzuki Grand Vitara has been a consistently reliable set of off-road chunky wheels. This particular example is a 73,000-mile car from 2009 in 1.6-litre SZ4 spec. It’s up for £6061. The seller says it is ready to drive away, which is reassuring. It comes with alloy wheels, climate control, rear parking sensors and even privacy glass. Although there’s a new Vitara…

“It earns your trust quickly and you become confident enough to really press on” Given its legendary opposition, it shouldn’t really come as a great surprise that the Mk1 Vauxhall Astra GTE has become the forgotten child of the 1980s hot hatch scene. It didn’t help that the model was short-lived. Much like a modern Ford Focus RS, Vauxhall brought out the GTE towards the end of the Mk1 Astra’s life, primarily as a reaction to the rise and rise of the hot hatch, but also to try to give sales of cooking models a fillip before the arrival of the Mk2 in 1984. Although it was late to the party, the Astra GTE certainly wasn’t half-hearted. Equipped with a fuel-injected version of General Motors’ 1.8-litre Family II overhead cam…

Volkswagen Golf GTE From £34,100 The GTE offers a usable electric range, is potentially cheap to run, has strong performance and is as practical as a Golf should be. BMW i3 REX From £31,200 The i3’s petrol engine allows it a chance to be your only vehicle, while retaining an electric range as strong as most pure EVs. Audi A3 e-tron Sportback From £19,200 The e-tron is a quality product. Its functionality, comfort, refinement and practicality are creditable, but it lacks the Golf GTE’s verve. Toyota Prius From £24,100 The fourth-gen Prius handles and performs as well as many European hatchbacks, and that’s a major achievement for Toyota. Hyundai Ioniq From £19,995 The Ioniq is a cheap way into the hybrid world. Although it is good value and practical, it…

Seat Ateca From £18,000 Fine-handling Seat looks great, has strong engines and stands out for its impressive dynamic execution. Typically great value, too. Nissan Qashqai From £18,600 The defining modern crossover. Second-gen version better in all areas, most notably fuel-efficiency, space and refinement. Skoda Yeti From £16,900 Almost a blueprint for crossover appeal: chunky looks, hatchback handling and compact MPV practicality. Renault Kadjar From £18,500 Renault’s Qashqai-based crossover is a good one. As practical as the Nissan, but falls a little short on refinement. Toyota C-HR From £21,000 The Toyota C-HR is an interesting, refreshing and genuinely good addition to the crossover class. Shame the engine isn’t better.…