Innholdsfortegnelse for 23/07/2014 i Autocar

LEXUS COULD LAUNCH an SUV that’s smaller than the new NX as it looks to downsize its range, the firm’s European vice-president, Alain Uyttenhoven, has revealed. Uyttenhoven said that the launch of a small SUV was “not impossible” for Lexus and such a model “made sense” for the brand, but he stopped short of confirming it for production. Lexus is looking to downsize and diversify its line-up to reduce its reliance on North America, which accounts for about half of its 500,000-plus annual sales. Uyttenhoven said that tastes in Europe, China and Japan were likely to converge and lead to the development of smaller models. He noted that premium cars are getting ever smaller and about 60 per cent of premium models in Europe were sold for less than €40,000.…

MERCEDES-BENZ has crowned its S-class coupé line-up with the new S65 AMG. First deliveries of the range-topping, £183,065 model are expected towards the end of this year. Powering the S65 AMG coupé is a twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 engine with 621bhp and 738lb ft of torque. That’s enough to allow the model to reach 62mph in 4.1sec — 0.1sec quicker than the V8-powered S63 coupé — with a limited top speed of 155mph. Mercedes also says the S65 is capable of returning up to 23.7mpg, alongside CO2 emissions of 279g/km. The engine is coupled to Mercedes’ seven-speed automatic transmission, with three modes — dubbed Controlled Efficiency, Sport and Manual — selectable by the driver. The V12 also has a fuel-saving automatic stop-start function. Other technology on the new flagship model includes…

FIRST VERDICT The NX300h is a superior ownership proposition to the NX200t but no more fun to drive THE HYBRID VERSION will be the first Lexus NX to reach the UK, deliveries starting in October. Expected to account for 90 per cent of sales, the NX300h uses the hybrid powertrain adapted from the IS300h and GS300h. This means a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine combined with an electric motor to drive the front wheels. An addition to the drivetrain for the NX is an extra electric motor for the rear axle, making the NX300h four-wheel drive in all versions from SE up (so SE, Luxury, F Sport and Premier), with the base S model being offered in front-wheel drive only. On paper, the NX300h is a very appealing car. As with…

FIRST VERDICT Updated Yaris has plenty of space and style but little substance on the road IMPROVEMENTS TO THE YARIS, Toyota’s best-selling car in the UK, focus on new styling and refinement. As well as taking on the X-faced front-end design of the new Aygo, the interior has been upgraded to include a new infotainment system, a soft-touch fascia and more comfortable seat trim. We drove the 1.33-litre model in mid-level Icon specification, tipped to be the best seller in the UK. For their £14,095, customers get 15-inch alloy wheels, a rear-view camera, air conditioning and Toyota’s Touch 2 infotainment system with Bluetooth. Satellite navigation is an optional extra and costs an additional £650. It’s a definite improvement over the old model. The Yaris’s updated looks do it real credit,…

UK-based students can submit a 500-word exposition of an industry-improving idea, innovation or change to corporate policy on the Next Generation website at autocar.co.uk/nextgenerationaward . This year’s deadline is 1 September. Submissions are welcomed from all disciplines, including — but not limited to — engineering, marketing and communications, design and media, with special credit given for originality. The best entrants are selected for a Dragons’ Den-style interview process hosted by Autocar and representatives of the Award’s five automotive sponsors — Toyota, Skoda, Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot and McLaren — who also act as mentors for the shortlisted candidates. The overall winner gets five one-month work experience stints and £7500.…

Ornate speaker grilles betray a C-class, like our test car, that’s fitted with Mercedes’ 590-watt Burmester surround-sound stereo — a £2270 option once you’ve paid for the necessary Comand Online multimedia set-up as well. Predictably, it sounds magnificent. But the car’s standard Audio 20 system probably sounds more than decent, benefiting from Merc’s unique FrontBass front bulkhead resonance chambers, as seen on the S-class and SL before it. You don’t have to splash out on Comand Online to get Merc’s new touchpad. It works fairly well when recognising letters for the sat-nav but can be hit and miss when skipping tracks on the audio set-up. Generally, it requires more precision and concentration to operate with your left hand than is advisable when driving. To us, the neighbouring scroll wheel controller…

AUTOCAR VERDICT This latest Mercedes C-class is the embodiment of a growing suspicion in some quarters that rival Audi might be on to something when it comes to prioritising where it spends its development budgets. Audi could engineer its steering systems and chassis to be more engaging if it wanted to, but it chooses to invest more heavily elsewhere. The new C-class, then, follows this path. It’s better inside, by a mile, than most of its rivals and is competitive in key areas, but it comes with a chassis that falls well short of the excellence achieved by the class-leading BMW 3-series, seemingly no matter which version you choose. People keener on spreadsheets than we are have presumably satisfied themselves that this offers the best return on investment. But although…

Lifting off the accelerator in the i3 provokes such a distinct braking effect as the electric motor switches instantly to energy recuperation mode that it can come as a surprise to anyone accustomed to the way most cars behave on a trailing throttle. The strength of the deceleration varies depending on how fast the car is going (it’s much gentler at higher speeds), but essentially it’s like carefully applying the conventional brakes, the car bringing itself to a brisk halt if you let it. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. What this pronounced ‘engine braking’ means is that for much of the time you can drive the i3 using just the one pedal. And when you think about how many…

MODIFICATIONS It’s worth researching which mods work and what they require to function well. An S13 with a large new turbocharger might be appealing but it will be trouble without the right supporting upgrades. BEARINGS The engines can knock out big-end bearings at about the 100,000-mile mark. Listen for any rattling noises when the engine’s under load at about 3000rpm. DUMP VALVES Many owners fit an atmospheric dump valve to the CA18DET. It can sound appealing but there are catches. It can negatively affect the car’s injection system or leak, leading to idle problems. TIMING BELT The CA18DET uses a timing belt that needs changing every 60,000 miles. Expect to pay about £100 for a complete cambelt kit and a few hundred for fitting. NUMBERS Many S13s are on their…

Ford has expanded its used car programme to offer buyers a wider range of certified cars. The newly launched Ford Approved scheme offers dealer-owned cars that are up to five years old and have a maximum of 70,000 miles on the clock. Each goes through a 160-point quality inspection, as well as mileage and history checks. To further improve buyer confidence, each also comes with 12 months’ warranty, roadside assistance and drive-away insurance. Further benefits include a 30-day, no-quibble exchange scheme, so if you aren’t content with your choice of car, there are other options available. “Ford Approved offers two-fold peace of mind,” said Ford Approved project manager Andrew Paton. “Buyers can be assured the car is of a suitable quality and they will be looked after by Ford Roadside…

Mercedes-Benz’s Smart city car division has been given fresh impetus with the introduction of two crucial new models in the form of the third-generation Fortwo and second-generation Forfour — both revealed here for the first time. Unveiled at a gala presentation in Berlin last week prior to the start of UK sales early next year, the new city car pairing has been developed as part of a broad-ranging engineering and production alliance between Mercedes-Benz and Renault, whose recently unveiled third-generation Twingo is a sister car to the new Forfour. The new Fortwo and Forfour represent a new beginning for Smart, which has struggled to assemble a sustainable model line-up since the company was founded on the back of a partnership between Swiss watch maker Swatch and Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler…

Mazda has revealed the definitive production version of its new 2 ahead of its Paris motor show debut in October and UK launch early next year. The Ford Fiesta rival is the fourth Mazda to fall under the company’s well received SkyActiv technology banner and Kodo design language, after the CX-5, 6 and 3. Japan will get the car first, in the autumn, with production due to start soon at the firm’s plant in Hofu, near Hiroshima. The supermini segment is Europe’s largest and Mazda is pitching the new 2’s “performance, fuel economy, safety and driving fun” as a “winning combination”. Insiders have previously said that it would be lighter, more agile and more frugal than today’s 2. Official details beyond these pictures are limited but Mazda has stated that…

Audi is about to kick off a new expansion phase to establish a clear lead in the world premium car market. By 2020, it intends to have raised its current record volume by another 20 per cent to two million units a year and increased its model count from 50 to 60. Underscoring its continuing dependence on diesel sales, Audi is close to approving a new range of high-performance diesel models, possibly wearing the RS badge after the positive reception for its recent 365bhp RS5 TDI concept. The new range could be topped by a limited-edition supercar in the Le Mans mould, an idea first mooted 18 months ago. Speaking at an event in Copenhagen to mark 25 years of TDI diesel engines, Audi chairman Rupert Stadler said the company…

This is the first glimpse of the new Land Rover Discovery Sport’s interior ahead of its debut at the Paris show in the autumn. The pictures reveal a plusher, more premium-looking interior than in the Freelander, which the Discovery Sport replaces. There’s Jaguar F-type-inspired switchgear alongside Jaguar Land Rover’s familiar rotary controller for the automatic transmission, a new steering wheel, fresh instruments and a large screen at the top of the new centre console.…

Skoda has revealed a sketch of the all-new Fabia — officially unveiling the direction of the supermini’s reworked design for the first time ahead of its widely forecast debut at the Paris show in October, and early 2015 on-sale date. Borrowing heavily from the styling accents already seen on the new Octavia, the third generation of Fabia will benefit from the creased panels, shorter overhangs and better shoulder line definition that have become a hallmark of the Volkswagen Group’s output. Still just under four metres in length, the supermini retains its sub-compact credentials but has swollen by 90mm in width to incorporate new axles front and back. Along with the wider wheel arches already snapped by our spy photographers, this ought to lend the car an enhanced on-road presence. Although…

Infiniti has come up with a four-door retort to the likes of the Audi RS6, BMW M5, Jaguar XFR and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG: the rapid Q50 Eau Rouge. First unveiled in January as a styling concept to test reaction to the idea of developing a performance Infiniti in partnership with the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team, which it sponsors, the four-wheel-drive performance saloon runs a modified engine from the mighty Nissan GT-R. The Q50 Eau Rouge has since progressed into a road-going prototype and is being considered for low-volume production, with ongoing feasibility studies aiming to place it in showrooms by 2016. Development of the new car’s mechanical package is being overseen by Northamptonshire-based Ray Mallock Ltd, whose road car department has been commissioned to carry out both early…

FIRST VERDICT The Lexus NX has plenty going for it but, frustratingly, it looks better than it drives SO GOOD Modern, eye-catching looks Quality, spacious cabin Useful technology NO GOOD Brittle low-speed ride Lifeless steering Performance-sapping gearbox TESTER’S NOTE This is a thoroughly modern Lexus; there’s not a piece of brown wood in sight inside. MT THE NEW LEXUS NX is that rare, maybe even unique thing: a production car that looks better than the concept that inspired it. The NX was born out of last September’s LF-NX concept, a BMW X3-sized SUV that looked like Edward Scissorhands had led the exterior design team. Pretty it was not, but no one questioned the idea of Lexus, Toyota’s luxury arm, which is still looking to gain real traction in Europe after…

FIRST VERDICT A successful blend of go-anywhere ability, estate practicality and sensible running costs SO GOOD Smooth, effective 4x4 system Refined on-road manners Off-road and towing capabilities NO GOOD No hill descent control Persistent diesel-induced vibration through steering wheel TESTER’S NOTE It’s a smart choice if you want a car that has much of the capability of a full-sized 4x4 but without the overt road presence. LK THE OCTAVIA SCOUT is an off-road variant of Skoda’s popular, practical estate. As well as receiving the latest Skoda styling, the Scout gains a host of technical upgrades aimed at giving it real off-road ability, for a premium of about £5000 over a less powerful, high-spec Octavia wagon. Underpinning it is a faster-acting fifth-generation Haldex four-wheel drive system. An electronic differential lock is…

FIRST VERDICT As complete as any compact estate, and typically laid back to drive THE MERCEDES C-CLASS ESTATE isn’t one of those added-practicality German execs that rivals its saloon sibling for popularity, but that balance may shift a little in favour of the estate with this W205 model generation. There’s not only more cargo space on offer – 490 litres going on 1510 with the seats down, the latter a segment best – but also optional self-levelling air suspension to take advantage of. The latter is sure to go down well with the towing fraternity. Growing 80mm between the axles and almost 100mm overall, the new C-class offers 45mm more second-row legroom than its predecessor. Space up front is excellent, and the boot is well packaged, with flat sides and…

This still feels like a sports car test to me. Which is, I suppose, a feat of marketing – and, perhaps, a feat of the fact that cars without roofs are not quite so crippled dynamically as they once were. It’s mostly the marketing, though, I think. Had Jaguar’s F-type arrived first in coupé form, instead of the roadster that you see here, would you see it as the F-type sports car? Or would it be the poorer relation? The roadster was bigged up as the new Jaguar sports car when it was launched. “You’ll know within 50 metres,” Jaguar’s people said, “that you’re driving a Jaguar like none before it.” Mostly true. But over the past year – and this dark blue F-type roadster, in V6 S form, has…

Bentley’s W12 is more than just an engine: it’s a byword for the British company’s heritage, its current positioning as a luxury brand and also its future ambitions. In the modern age of downsizing and efficiency-chasing, that the engine has a long-term future is both an eyebrow-raiser and a huge shot in the arm for the 100-strong team responsible for building the W12 at the former fighter plane engine facility in Pyms Lane, Crewe. Two years ago, when Bentley introduced the twin-turbocharged V8 – complete with its fuel-saving technology and significantly lower CO2 emissions – into the Continental range, it could have been assumed that it would signal the beginning of the end for the thirstier W12. Nothing could be further from the truth, says Paul Jones, the company’s director…

THE QUEST FOR PERFECTION We all know there is no such thing as the perfect car and many of us are tormented by the eternal quest. My fantasy car would be as follows: three-door coupe-estate body styling by Maserati; the Audi 4.0-litre V8 engine brought down to a 3.2-litre unit and mated to a plug-in hybrid system; an interior by Bentley and a four-wheel drive platform with Mercedes air suspension permitting increased ride height selection for rougher terrain. What do you think? Paul Rogers Frieth Interesting choices, Paul. Can anyone else top Paul’s efforts? — MT GOOD FOR SWANNING AROUND Chris Porritt of Tesla holds the opinion (News, 25 June) that the unusual swan wing rear doors on the Model X on sale in 2015 are not eccentric. “People don’t…

Lexus’s LF-LC concept will make production in 2016 as a new flagship model for Toyota’s luxury arm. Lexus Europe’s vice- president, Alain Uyttenhoven, has revealed to Autocar that a production version of the LF-LC will happen as part of Lexus’s plan to launch a new model every year up to 2020. The LF-LC was first seen at the Detroit motor show in 2012 and Uyttenhoven said that company boss Akio Toyoda “doesn’t want the production car to look any different from the concept”. Uyttenhoven has seen the production version and said that the concept is 90 to 100 per cent representative of it. Previous speculation has suggested that the production LF-LC would take the LC badge for production and be based on a shortened version of the LS saloon’s underpinnings.…

AUDI’S DEPENDENCE on diesel sales makes it especially keen to take back the high ground in diesel development. It was led by its rivals to the adoption of refinements like common-rail fuel injection and ‘intelligent’ piezo injector technology but has recently announced its intention to bring to production electrically driven turbochargers (already used in its racing programmes) as a way of cutting turbo lag in a new range of performance-oriented diesels. Referring to recent progress with diesel research, Stadler said his company “is now the strongest” of the premium marques. He noted that, on average, TDI engines have doubled in power in 25 years, while their output of toxic emissions has fallen by 90 per cent. Audi engineers believe that efficiency advances of another 15 per cent are possible by…

A HANDFUL OF laps on Millbrook’s demanding Hill Circuit reveals the Q50 Eau Rouge is already far more than just a mere collection of ideas thrown at a concept whose primary role is to look good on a motor show stand. Rather, it is a fully functioning prototype that has been engineered to a level of maturity that makes it sufficiently advanced enough to be considered for production. From the outset, it is the engine that steals the show. The retuned GT-R 3.8-litre V6 powerplant endows the Q50 Eau Rouge with serious pace — enough to challenge its German rivals in a straight line. With a four-wheel drive system providing impressive levels of traction off the line, the Q50 launches with great bravado and delivers huge on-boost in-gear shove on…

THE NEW 2.0-LITRE, twin-scroll turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine is of Lexus’s own in-house design and packed with advanced tech. The direct-injection, Euro 6-compliant unit weighs 160kg and gets Dual VVT-iW technology, which allows it to start in the Otto cycle but run in the more fuel-efficient Atkinson cycle. A balancer shaft improves smoothness and knocking is said to be reduced by a calcium-free lubrication oil. Adopting a water-cooled intercooler instead of an air-cooled one is said to provide a 0.3sec shortening of the 0-62mph time. Both low-end torque and overall economy are claimed to be improved by combining the cylinder head, exhaust manifold and intercooler with the variable wastegate control.…

FIRST VERDICT Revised Scirocco R brings sharper looks, but more engaging rivals deliver greater driving appeal SO GOOD Engine behaves like a six Good looks, excellent quality Relatively practical for a coupé NO GOOD Not as potent as the Golf R DSG busy in automatic mode Not as engaging to drive as rivals TESTER’S NOTE Look-alike R-Line specification on lesser Sciroccos reduces the R’s catchet somewhat. KF LOOKING GOOD at 40 years old, Volkswagen’s Scirocco gets a new style for its big birthday. We say new, but the changes are rather more subtle than that. Even here in the range-topping R model, you’d need to be a committed Volkswagen fan to spot the differences. The headlights and tail-lights are new, the bumpers have been reprofiled and there’s the usual improvements…

SO GOOD Interior design and finish Well packaged for its overall size Wide range of engines NO GOOD Four-pot diesel not overly refined Six-speed manual shift action Handling could be more fluid More than 20 years after BMW built a series of experimental front-wheel-drive 3-series models, the German premium brand has finally entered the automotive mainstream with the new front-drive 2-series Active Tourer. It is, of course, firmly positioned as a premium product, but the 2-series is also firmly planted in the biggest market sector in Europe: that of the C-segment hatchback. BMW’s strongly held self-image as the maker of perfectly balanced rear-wheel-drive cars has finally fallen to market forces, some 17 years after rival Mercedes-Benz launched the first (front-drive) A-class. These forces include the dual trend of downsizing and…

OUR LONG-TERM JAGUAR F-type arrived 50 weeks ago with a shade under 5000 miles already under its wheels, in V6 S flavour and in dark blue with a tan interior. We opted for this spec because we thought that it would be the best to drive. It has the lighter of the engine options; there are two supercharged 3.0-litre V6s, one with 336bhp, this one with 375bhp, and a 5.0-litre supercharged V8. But the lesser-powered V6 doesn’t come with a limited-slip differential, whereas this V6 S does, while the heavier V8 has an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. That’s mechanically more refined but is heavier again. Mechanical refinement I never found a great problem with the V6 S, mind. It also rode okay and had a pleasing stability around the straight-ahead,…

Funny the people you bump into. We’re at McLaren Automotive in Woking to chat with Jake Larsson about the fourth of his five car industry placements, the prize for winning the 2013 Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award. As we stroll one of the flying walkways soaring above a dream display of Formula 1 cars, including Senna’s MP4/4, we run into the award’s 2012 winner, Roberto Pace. After a Pace-designed part was added to the manufacturing process for the McLaren P1 supercar, Roberto was given a full-time job as a design engineer. Things do tend to happen quickly for Next Gen winners. For them, work experience is not about a spot of light photocopying and A-level tea-making. Their experiences are real, working on real-time automotive projects alongside real motoring people. In his…

Daimler-Benz started making recognisable compact executive saloons in the 1950s, with the four-cylinder W120 series. The seminal moment for the modern C-class came, though, with the launch of the original C-class’s immediate predecessor: the 1982 Mercedes 190 and 190E. This was the W201, and it was followed in 1993 by the W202, which first bore C-class badging. Mercedes introduced a two-door coupé version alongside regular saloons and estates with the W203 in 2000.…

LIMO-STYLE FRONT SUSPENSION Mercedes has dispensed with the old C-class’s three-link front suspension (a pseudo MacPherson strut arrangement) and adopted a new four-link set-up much like the one used on the current S-class limousine. The new system, similar in type to a conventional double wishbone arrangement, allows for better wheel location under load and higher levels of lateral grip and cornering stability. The four-link set-up not only accepts both steel and air springs but also allows Mercedes to completely decouple the moving chassis links from the spring strut, which makes for freer axle kinematics and better ride tuning. The car’s front suspension towers are among the many component parts of the body-in-white that are made of aluminium — cast in one piece for peerless strength, and then bonded, riveted and…

I can understand why you made the Ariel Atom your handling benchmark (‘How Much Fun For £30k?’, 9 July). However, there’s no escaping from the fact it’s a third car, a fair-weather plaything like a Caterham or Morgan 3 Wheeler. A Lotus Elise, however, could conceivably be used as a second car. Unlike the Atom, the Elise is fitted with a windscreen, roof, heater, radio, ABS, traction and stability control, airbags, side impact protection, crumple zones — and all for less than £30k. Sure, it’s not as exciting as an Atom, but which would you rather drive every day or any day? I know which one I’d choose. Mike Spencer Via email…

If you want an older sports coupé that’s accessible and fun to drive, the Nissan 200SX could be just the ticket. The S13 ‘Silvia’, badged as the 200SX in Europe, was launched in 1988 and available until 1994. It was light, tipping the scales at a reputed 1189kg, rear-wheel drive and turbocharged — an ideal recipe for automotive entertainment. Its 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine produced 171bhp and 165lb ft, which was sent to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. With the preferred manual gearbox, the 200SX proved suitably lively, with the 0-60mph sprint being dispatched in less than seven seconds. When it comes to buying a decent S13, one of the most difficult aspects is finding one that’s structurally sound. Rust is a prominent issue,…