Innholdsfortegnelse for 16/07/2014 i Autocar

OUR ANDREW FRANKEL has just driven from North Africa to Goodwood, Sussex, in a Mercedes-Benz E-class, using one tank of diesel. So, yes, that’s a 1200-mile, non-stop journey in a large, luxurious saloon – without filling up. Mr Frankel’s fortitude needs congratulating. But he’ll tell you that it’s the Merc and its engineers that really need congratulating. Of course, as Andrew explains on p44, he used a variety of eco driving techniques, which would send most of us mad if we had to drive like that every day. But, nevertheless, his cross-continent caper does illustrate the huge advancements in fuel economy in recent years. More intriguingly, it also prompts the question of just how much better conventional engines can get. Yes, electrification will – and must – play its part,…

THE SPECTACULAR NEW Ford Focus RS is set to encounter a raft of even more powerful and potentially faster rivals in a burgeoning global market of performance hatchbacks when it reaches showrooms in 2016. Key among them is a production version of the Volkswagen Golf R400, which, company officials have revealed, has entered an initial stage of development after an enthusiastic response to its public debut at the Beijing motor show last April. Created by VW’s increasingly prominent R division, the extreme four-wheel-drive hatchback is scheduled to be produced in limited numbers and priced above the recently introduced third-generation Golf R, upon which it is heavily based. It will be a competitor to some highly fancied machinery, including the upcoming second-generation Audi RS3, BMW M235i and more powerful version of…

A revised version of the Audi Q3 is set to be launched at the Geneva motor show next March. Styling changes to the compact SUV will be minor and include revised front and rear light graphics, plus the latest evolution of Audi’s familiar single-frame grille, as previewed here on this RS Q3 mule. The big news will be under the bonnet, where the Q3 is set to adopt two new 2.0 TDI diesel engines with 148bhp and 181bhp, in place of the existing unit’s 138bhp and 168bhp state of tunes. Front-wheel drive and quattro all-wheel drive will again be offered.…

JAGUAR HAS CONFIRMED its all-new XE saloon will be revealed in London on 8 September. The Gaydon manufacturer has also confirmed some of the first technical details of the crucial BMW 3-series rival, which Jaguar says “combines thrilling performance, agile handling and precise, responsive steering, with outstanding levels of refinement”. The XE will be equipped with F-type-inspired double wishbone front suspension made from aluminium, which Jaguar claims results in stiffness levels equivalent to the larger XFR sports saloon. The sophisticated rear suspension is an integral link set-up that also uses aluminium extensively. Jaguar says this system “delivers sharp response and handling while retaining a refined, luxurious ride”. The XE, which is based on a lightweight aluminium architecture and will be powered by the firm’s new Ingenium engine range, will feature…

Kia’s third-generation Sorento SUV has been spotted testing ahead of a planned debut at the Paris motor show in October. Expected to go on sale at the start of next year, priced from around £25,000, the new seven-seat Sorento features radical restyling at the front and rear, bringing the model in line with the Korean manufacturer’s other models. Spy pictures reveal the Sorento to be bigger than the current car, which should boost cabin and load space. A more premium interior is also expected to be offered. In addition to the carried-over 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine from the current Sorento, the new model is set to be offered with a hybrid option. That model could make use of a 2.3-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine to work alongside an electric motor.…

A NEW £8 MILLION Williams technical centre, aimed at spreading F1 know-how into wider industry, was opened last Friday by David Cameron. Welcoming the prime minister to the new building in Grove, Oxfordshire, Sir Frank Williams said he was “immensely proud” that the very specific skills possessed by his 600 employees would now be spread more widely. Williams began advanced engineering work in the 1980s on the Metro 6R4 rally car and has run a range of programmes since, mostly race-based, recently providing energy recovery systems for Audi and Porsche Le Mans cars. The Jaguar C-X75 hybrid supercar concept featured much Williams technology. In fact, the tech centre was originally proposed as a works for a 200-unit production run. Now, a wide variety of aerospace, automotive and static power generation…

Currently, hybrids sit in something of a niche market, especially in diesel-loving Europe. They offer excellent fuel consumption in city driving, but are rather less effective on motorways and are generally still pricier than diesels. However, a number of market shifts seem destined to make cars with hybrid technology more relevant. Firstly, ever-more demanding CO2 regulations mean hybrid drive will become much more common on larger cars. Secondly, increasingly stringent pollution regulations for diesel engines are making them more expensive to manufacture, ruling them out for smaller cars of the future. Until now, a hybrid has generally been understood as a car combining an internal combustion engine with an additional electric-drive motor and batteries — a set-up pioneered by cars such as the Toyota Prius. But the mix of two…

FIRST VERDICT The first sports car in which you can have your cake and eat it SO GOOD • Huge range of dynamic abilities • Charismatic performance • Stunning to look at • 0-62mph in 4.4sec and 60mpg NO GOOD • Entry and egress is awkward • Boot is too small TESTER’S NOTE In electric-only mode, the i8 has 129bhp and 184lb ft and can run at up to 80mph. SS WHAT’S PERHAPS MOST surprising to discover about the new BMW i8 – having now driven it in both the US and on the more familiar, unquestionably more challenging roads of northern Scotland – is just how capable it is purely as a good old-fashioned sports car. Not that there is a single micron of the i8 that is in…

ALTHOUGH BENTLEY’S UPSTART V8 engine has been attracting plenty of the plaudits, the firm is keen to show that there’s plenty of life left in its W-formation 12-cylinder. In this GT Speed (also available as a marginally less rapid drop-top), revisions to the engine management software and turbo pressure have bumped power from 616bhp to 626bhp and increased available torque from 590lb ft to 607lb ft. In fact, this upgrade reiterates that Bentley isn’t about to pension off this engine any time soon, with the Crewe manufacturing facility having recently been declared the Volkswagen Group’s centre of excellence for the W12.…

Some things just don’t sound possible. Among them are England winning a penalty shootout, Audi not winning Le Mans and hopping to the North Pole wearing a Hawaiian shirt. And I’d humbly submit that driving a completely standard car from Africa to England on a single tank of fuel also has that ring of implausibility about it. But just because it has never been done – indeed, just because it sounds like it never could be done – it doesn’t therefore mean that it absolutely, positively cannot be done. We know this now, because we’ve just done it. The car was a Mercedes-Benz E300 Hybrid, chosen because the on-paper economy of its 204bhp 2.1-litre diesel engine and 26bhp electric motor, combined with its 80-litre fuel tank (a popular £100 option),…

USE YOUR CRUISE Martin Pallister (Your Views, 18 June) questions who actually uses cruise control. Well, I do — 99 per cent of the time. I have an option fitted to all my cars called ‘the ability to look further down the road than the end of my bonnet’. If you drive looking far enough ahead, you can read what’s going on and adjust your speed accordingly. If you avoid howling up to the rear bumper of the car in front, constantly speeding up and slowing down, you can use cruise control all the time. Many drivers seem bereft of this basic skill. I also use it in contraflows, 30mph zones and the like so I can keep my eyes up, not constantly checking my speedo to avoid being caught…

Amazing the difference a new set of boots can make. Last week we wrapped a new set of tyres around the 21-inch alloys of the Range Rover TDV6 and it has been a big improvement. You may remember that we were starting to think that the ride suppleness, road noise and steering alacrity were going off the boil as the rubber was wearing down. Now, though, it doesn’t quite feel like a different car but it has been transformative, especially when it comes to high-speed refinement and the ability to wipe away low-speed thumps and bumps. Mind you, this extra polish doesn’t come cheap. As you’d imagine, 21-inch all-terrain tyres are on the pricey side, and the Pirelli Scorpions fitted to our test car are currently retailing at £286 a…

Check for tyre wear. New tyres for the DBS will set you back about £270 a corner up front and £410 each at the back. Those ones at the back are easy to wear out, too… It’s not unusual for the carbon-ceramic brakes to squeal as a result of incorrect cleaning. Chemical wheel cleaners and soaps can destroy the surface of the discs and pads. Any misfiring or rough running is likely to be related to the coils. It’s more obvious when cold and will illuminate the engine check lights. If they’ve gone, it’s about £1900 to repair. Keep a check on oil levels. The V12 is very sensitive to levels, and if it’s running low, it’ll burn out cylinders 11 and 12 and most likely ruin the bearings. If…

Ford has formally begun developing its long-awaited RS version of the current Focus, about two years before the car is expected to be launched. The third-generation Focus RS is again set to be front-wheel drive. It will draw its power from a turbocharged 2.3-litre, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, derived from that of the 2015 Mustang. A power output of about 330bhp has been mooted by insiders, while a limited-slip differential and Ford’s innovative, torque-steer-reducing RevoKnuckle front suspension system will again feature among the mechanical specification. Over the past year, Ford executives have been increasingly talking up the chances of a new Focus RS making production. Now, insiders have confirmed that it has been officially added to Ford’s future model launch programme after a business case was proven. Early engineering mules have…

Honda is putting the finishing touches to its compact SUV ahead of its arrival in the UK in 2015. The model is already on sale in Japan as the Vezel and has been revealed in North America as the HR-V. The European version of the new compact SUV has yet to be given a name, although Honda sources confirmed to Autocar at the Vezel’s Tokyo motor show launch last year that ‘Vezel’ would not be used here. The HR-V name was also used on a compact SUV that first arrived in the UK in 1999. Whichever name Honda chooses for it, the model will line up against the likes of the Nissan Juke, Vauxhall Mokka and Ford EcoSport in a segment rapidly growing in popularity in the UK and further…

Jaguar Land Rover has revealed new details on its family of ‘Ingenium’ four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines. The units will make their debut in the Jaguar XE next year. All of the engines share the same bore, stroke and cylinder spacing, with each cylinder offering 500cc. JLR says the Ingenium family offers the “configurability and flexibility around which smaller or larger engines can quickly and efficiently be developed”. Autocar understands that a three-cylinder spin-off could follow, and a straight six is theoretically possible. The engine family can be installed in front-drive, rear-drive and all-wheel-drive cars. Both diesel and petrol variants will be turbocharged and will share components and calibrations, allowing JLR to react more quickly to changes in demand. All units will also get direct injection, variable valve timing and…

A UK LAUNCH for the plush ‘Autobiography Black’ trim is among the 2015 model year changes for the Range Rover. Only available in long-wheelbase form, Autobiography Black Range Rovers have luxurious features including two individual rear seats and a semi-aniline leather interior. Order books for the new variant open in August. Other changes for the 2015 model, which is on sale now, include new alloy wheel designs, increased personalisation features, new convenience options and a new ‘InControl’ feature that remotely connects your car to your smartphone and can sync to apps and track the car if stolen, among other features. This is also offered on the 2015 Range Rover Sport, which is being announced alongside the updated Range Rover line-up. Both models get a tweaked SDV8 engine with peak torque…

THE HYBRID AIR system may seem improbably simple, but we tried the 2008 prototype in the heavy traffic of central Paris and found it to be pretty remarkable, even at such an early stage of development. The main visible changes to the 2008 include the adoption of a three-mode automatic transmission selector in the centre console, a hybrid performance readout on the instrument cluster and a ‘charge’ status for the central tank that is displayed on the touchscreen. The effectiveness of this deceptively simple drivetrain was demonstrated in the first few hundred yards of the test drive. According to the dashboard indicator in the prototype, a few seconds’ coasting down into a Parisian underpass was enough to fully charge the central tank. According to PSA engineers, that probably stores enough…

THERE ARE FOUR different drive modes in the i8: E-mode, in which the car has a theoretical 23-mile range and emits 0g/km, and in which it still produces as much performance as a decent warm hatchback; Eco Pro, in which it will run as economically as possible using both the electric motors and the 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol turbo engine to boost performance when required; Comfort, which is similar to Eco Pro but a bit more fruity; and Sport, in which it runs with the petrol turbo engine lit all the time, plus the electric motor to boost performance, with an additional 20bhp coming from a second electric starter motor during upshifts to fill the gap between changes. The suspension gets firmer, the throttle and gearbox responses sharper and the exhaust…

The Cactus is such a new thing that the short of the history is this: revealed at the Geneva motor show in March and on sale now. But there was also a C-Cactus concept — although it didn’t look much like this — in 2007, and before that there have been Citroëns with elements of the Cactus about them. If you’re looking for inspiration that is affordable and practical, gives a loping drive and is unpretentious, the obvious source material is the 2CV. The Cactus isn’t a successor to that, but it is closer than most.…

ROOF-MOUNTED AIRBAG IS A FIRST The lidded glovebox inside the Citroën C4 Cactus is so much more practical than a normal glovebox that you wonder why we don’t see storage solutions like this more widely. It’s because a car’s passenger airbag normally gets in the way. But the Cactus is the first commercial application of a roof-mounted airbag, making space across the whole of the fascia, on both driver and passenger sides. Developed and supplied by TRW, the ‘bag in roof’ is fitted for both of the Cactus’s front seats. Mounted just under the headlining of the car immediately aft of the windscreen, the bag fills the gap between the glass and occupant completely as it inflates, acting as a better restraint than a normal airbag. It also makes the…

It was interesting to read the interview with John Edwards, Jaguar’s head of Special Operations (‘Fab-type’, 25 June). What a great idea this new department is. It’s the perfect fit for Jaguar, with so many iconic models in its history. Special Vehicle Operations could be expanded as follows: take the F-type six-pot engine, chassis, suspension, brakes, electronics and mate to the body of the XK120, XK140 and E-type. Classic cars with up-to-date tech — it must be a winning formula for so many enthusiasts that grew up in the ’50s and ’60s with these icons and those who were born later but share the same passion for them. Howard Hancock Guildford…

“I LIKE THIS green car, daddy.” And thus the deal was sealed. Daughter Rowlinson (aged four) had spoken and the Vauxhall Insignia Sport Tourer was now — for a week at least — part of the travelling clan. Its duties included a round trip from the south coast to the farthest reaches of west Wales, loaded, at various times with up to two parents, two infants in child seats, a slim-hipped 16-year-old godchild and all their attendant paraphernalia. To say that the Insignia met this challenge with breezy ease would be to understate its legion virtues. It was, by turn, commodious, comfortable, quiet, powerful, surefooted and cosseting — an ideal steer for a family short break. When unburdened, it also showed itself to be an enthusiastic handler, with precise, positive…

Tidy entry-level Swift for £2500 The Suzuki Swift is a good choice for buyers seeking a tidy-looking, sensible, reliable supermini. This 2005 1.3 GL three-door has done 74,000 miles and is HPI clear, taxed and tested. It appears to be in good condition and the dealer wants £2500. Call 07965 757575 Under £4k buys efficient diesel A diesel Swift can cover big miles between fill-ups; it averages 60mpg on a combined cycle. This 2005 1.3 DDiS five-door has covered only 59,000 miles. It has a year’s MOT and 15-inch alloy wheels. It’s up at a dealer for £3650. Call 0191 511 1037 Recent-ish three-door is £5k If you’re after a Swift with a bit more peace of mind, this 2011 1.2 SZ2 three-door might tick the boxes. It’s heavily optioned…

The new Pulsar can help Nissan become the number one Asian car manufacturer in Europe. That’s the view of Andrew Limbert, the car’s product marketing manager. Limbert said the time is right for Nissan to re-enter volume segments, such as the family hatchback sector, where the Pulsar will line up against the likes of the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf. “We want to be the number one Asian brand in Europe,” Limbert said. “To do that, we can’t just rely on the smaller crossover segments. The crossover segment is continuing to grow and we’re really taking advantage of it, but the C-segment is still the second largest in the market.” Nissan replaced its previous C-segment hatchback, the Almera, with the Qashqai, a bold move at the time. That model’s success…

JAGUAR LAND ROVER is set to usher in new technology that will spell the end of traditional instrument packs and conventional headlights. The company says it is working on ‘virtual windscreens’ and a new lighting and vehicle guidance system that is powered by lasers. Research engineer Paul Widdowson demonstrated JLR’s advanced work in using ‘structured light’ as a way of both projecting images on to the road surface and for mapping the topography of rough ground ahead of the car. JLR is experimenting with laser projections that lay down a grid or box shape that’s the same width as the vehicle on the road surface a few metres ahead of the car. This would allow the driver to judge the car’s width with extreme accuracy — a feature that would…

A high-performance plug-in hybrid with 395bhp will top the new Volvo XC90 SUV range when the model goes on sale at the end of this year. Volvo is drip-feeding information on the XC90 seven-seater ahead of its full reveal at the Paris motor show in October, and the Drive-E engine line-up is the latest detail to be confirmed. The plug-in hybrid will be badged T8. A 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine that’s both turbocharged and supercharged will power the front wheels, while an electric motor will drive the rears to create an all-wheel drive set-up that’s good for a combined output of 395bhp and 472lb ft. The petrol engine in the T8 is sequentially charged, where the supercharger acts low down in the rev range and the turbo boosts top-end output.…

Aston Martin’s potent V12 Vantage S sports car has spawned a new Roadster variant, the fastest open-top model ever produced by the company. The V12 Vantage S Roadster shares its mechanical makeup with the coupé, so power comes from a mighty 565bhp 5.9-litre V12 engine. The new Aston can crack 0-60mph in 3.9sec and reach a top speed of 201mph, figures that are just shy of the 3.7sec and 205mph of the coupé. The engine’s torque output is also prodigious, at 457lb ft, and 376lb ft is available from just 1000rpm. Drive is sent to the rear wheels through a race-derived Sportshift III seven-speed automated manual transmission that is supplied by Graziano. The adoption of a retractable fabric roof has added 80kg to the kerb weight, taking it to 1745kg.…

BENTLEY SALES AND marketing chief Kevin Rose says he “loves the idea” of the firm going back to its roots by offering a coachbuilding service for customers who want a car built to their own design. Such a move would echo the company’s formative days in the 1920s, when founder WO Bentley created a rolling chassis that was given to customers’ coachbuilders to have bespoke bodies fitted. Rose believes that there is potential to create a modern-day parallel using today’s technical underpinnings and customers’ own designs. Rose emphasised that a bespoke division was no more than an idea at present, but he added: “We’re interested in the concept and what it might mean.”…

FIRST VERDICT Brilliant as a rapid, comfy cruiser; pretty good performance tool, too SO GOOD • Astonishing power and torque • Corners and handles well for size • Stylish, fast long-haul cruising NO GOOD • Engine note doesn’t sound as sweetly inspiring as the V8’s • Carbon-ceramic brakes are £10k TESTER’S NOTE You can denote the Conti GT Speed from its siblings by its bright red brake calipers. MB NO NATION HAS MASTERED eccentricity as well as the British, and in this age of downsizing and hybridisation, there’s something rather whimsical about installing a hugely powerful and walletcrunchingly thirsty W12 engine into a motor vehicle. The key question is whether this 12-cylinder Bentley is an anachronism in today’s world or a decadent motoring delicacy to be savoured like fine art…

Let’s pretend, just for a moment, that the majority of expensive new cars are not actually bought on finance or as company cars. Let’s imagine, solely because it suits this story, that the accepted way to buy a new car is to stroll into a dealership with nigh on £60k’s worth of bank notes in your hand and place them quietly on to a salesperson’s desk and gently ask if they’d mind, awfully, exchanging them for a BMW M4. A new M4, with manual transmission and no options – not that anybody will buy one like that – retails at £56,650, and very pleasing it is, too. With 424 twin-turbocharged nags, a limited-slip differential and rear-wheel drive, it is a coupé to be adored. It drives well. It seats four.…

When Autocar called to ask if I’d mind trekking to the desert to test drive the most outrageous Mini ever created, I started scrabbling around for my passport before they’d even hung up the phone. I race an eBay Motors BMW M125i M Sport in the BTCC, but I’ve competed in many other disciplines, including hot rods, stage rallying and single-seaters. One thing I’ve never tried, though, is a four-wheel-drive cross-country rally car. And they don’t come much better than the Mini All4 Racing, which has dominated the Dakar Rally – which now takes place in South America – for the past three years. Now X-raid, the team that runs Mini’s Dakar assault, has entrusted me to test the car in the middle of the desert outside of Dubai. I’m…

Cacti get a four-speaker audio system with a DAB tuner and Bluetooth media streaming as standard. Our Flair test car had the upgraded Arkamys six-speaker set-up with an MP3 jukebox included, as well as eMyWay sat-nav. A Bluetooth link is easy to establish and reconnects automatically — although not for the Touch Drive system’s built-in web browser. For some reason, we had to re-pair every time to use that — and when we did, it was very slow to load web pages and quite frustrating to use. Citroën’s nav system is good, with respectable display clarity, clear directional tulips and easy route planning. Mapping detail could be better, though. Meanwhile, the premium stereo streams media reliably and in decent quality but sounds slightly thin and tinny overall. It definitely wouldn’t…

The sense of steady, satisfying progress characterises early life in our Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid 4x4. Some 1500 miles have passed in the fortnight since our previous update, but in spite of the high-mileage service, average economy has improved to within a whisker of 38mpg. It’s still rising — albeit in small doses. With every charge, the trip computer’s overall tally climbs by three or four-tenths — even when 25 electric miles are followed by the 75 range-extended petrol miles that it takes to get to and from home and Autocar HQ. A typical one-way commute started with a full battery usually ends in an individual economy return in the high 40s, but I’ve seen as much as 55mpg at peak times. That’s because the Outlander loves traffic. Its electric…

Like the new Bond who drove it in Casino Royale, Aston Martin’s DBS took some getting used to. Initial impressions from Autocar’s 2008 road test were largely favourable, but Aston’s performance flagship took a very different route from its established competition. So obviously based on its DB9 relative, the DBS’s looks were criticised. The fact that, on paper, it was slower than the Vanquish S, the car that it effectively replaced, didn’t help, either. Against Ferrari’s 599 GTB and Lamborghini’s Murciélago LP640, the DBS struggled to make a case for itself, retaining too much of its GT genes to take the fight to the Italian supercars. Yet the DBS proved to be more than just a body-kitted DB9, for although its basic shape was shared, Aston went to surprising lengths…

£3k bags sprightly, tidy-looking Colt MITSUBISHI’S MK6 COLT is an often overlooked alternative to the Suzuki Swift, but it’s worth a gander as an inexpensive and well built car. It’s also quite a spirited and usable performer. Immediate progress from most of the petrol units (there are no diesels) will bring a smile to your face, and for enthusiastic drivers, there’s a 1.5-litre turbocharged Ralliart version. But for cost-effective motoring, you can’t go wrong with a 1.1 Black Hawk edition three-door. The sprightly motor produces an impressive 74bhp, given its size, which enables 0-62mph in 12.8sec and a top speed of 103mph. Road tax is pegged at £130 per year and insurance is low. But look out for rear drum brakes seizing, which can be costly. We uncovered a well…