Innholdsfortegnelse for December 05, 2018 i Autocar

THE TRAVAILS OF General Motors might not seem all that relevant to UK car buyers. After all, the US firm sold off its European brands, Vauxhall and Opel, last year, a move that signalled the issues the firm faced. But the scale with which GM announced it would “accelerate its transformation” – read ‘shut seven plants and cut 14,000 jobs’ – is a stark reminder of the challenge the industry faces. GM has been struggling to adjust to change in consumer demand for SUVs, and the legislation-fuelled rise of EVs – the latter despite it being ahead of the curve with the Bolt EV and (now-axed) Volt hybrid. The industry is changing at unprecedented pace. That’s a challenge for huge corporations, especially faced with new, smaller, nimble rivals less burdened…

A concept version of Audi’s upcoming compact electric car will be revealed early next year and go on sale at a similar time to the E-tron GT. Based on the MEB platform, a Volkswagen Group-wide architecture being used for VW’s ID range of EVs, the zero-emission model will be an SUV sized between the Q2 and Q3. Some design cues of the E-tron GT, such as the shoulder line, inverted grille and air intakes, are the same for the SUV, said Audi design boss Marc Lichte.…

KIA PULLED THE covers off its new Soul, in all-electric form, at the LA motor show. Alongside an updated design and new technology, it has a significantly uprated powertrain taken from the e-Niro crossover. Shown in EV form before the standard (and not for Europe) petrol models are revealed later this year, the new Soul’s exterior design marks an evolutionary step on. The Soul EV has the same electric motor and 64kWh battery pack as the top-spec variant of the e-Niro. As a result, it has 201bhp and 295lb ft – 81lb ft more than the outgoing Soul EV. The range is expected to at least match the 301 miles of the e-Niro. All variants now make use of new fully independent rear suspension, which is claimed to greatly improve…

ASTON MARTIN WORKS, the firm’s historic arm will create a reversible EV powertrain conversion for its classic models. The so-called ‘cassette’ EV system has been developed using know-how and components from the Rapide E programme and will be put into production to “mitigate any future legislation to restrict the use of classic cars”. The first car to feature Aston’s EV powertrain is a 1970 DB6 Mk2 Volante. The EV cassette is enclosed in a self-contained cell and mounted on the original engine and gearbox mountings. Power management is via a dedicated screen fitted “discreetly” into the cabin. Conversion will be done in-house and is expected to begin in 2019, beating Jaguar’s similarly conceived E-Type Zero to market. No power output or range details have been released.…

It has taken more than three years for the Audi E-tron SUV to progress from formative concept stage to full production maturity. In that time the Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model X have gone on sale, giving Ingolstadt’s first production electric car plenty of rivals when it goes on sale here early next year. A lot is hanging on the new zero-emission SUV, not least Audi’s standing in what is set to become a hugely competitive segment. The E-tron sports all of Audi’s traditional design cues. At 4900mm long, 1940mm wide and 1620mm high, it is 237mm longer, 48mm wider and 39mm lower than the second-generation Q5 and is claimed to offer similar cabin space to the Q7. It’s a smart looking car which features the sort of attention to…

Now here’s an oddity: the cubic capacity of the Infiniti QX50’s engine shifts between 1970cc and 1997cc. It’s the first mass-produced car in the world to feature this strange characteristic, and that’s because it has the world’s first mass-production variable compression ratio engine. Besides being of slightly fluid internal size, the compression ratio of the QX50’s all-new four cylinder engine varies between 8.1:0 and 14.1:0. Altering the compression ratio of an engine has long been the holy grail of internal combustion engineers. The compression ratio is the multiple of units of atmospheric pressure pumped by the pistons, and the new-found ability to alter this ratio provides another means of fine-tuning mixture for an optimal, efficiency-enhancing fuel burn. In fact, Infiniti claims that its approximately 2.0-litre Variable Compression-Turbo engine (VC-T) combines…

MODEL TESTED BULLITT Price £48,145 • Power 453bhp • Torque 390lb ft • 0-60mph 5.2sec • 30-70mph in fourth 10.9sec • Fuel economy 21.0mpg • CO2 emissions 277g/km • 70-0mph 45.3m Three years after it began, Ford’s great European sales experiment with its sixth-generation Mustang muscle car is still going strong. Having introduced the car in the spring of 2015, Ford has now officially registered a little over 40,000 Mustangs on our side of the pond – in the same timeframe and territory in which Audi registered about 75,000 TTs, Porsche about 50,000 911s and Mazda about 35,000 MX5s. That’s not a bad little gaggle of sporting icons for the Mustang to get in among, in volume terms. And this year’s Mustang sales figures will be boosted by the first mid-cycle…

There is no more exotic car manufacturer than McLaren, at least among those of models homologated for sale all over the world and with annual sales measurable in the thousands. McLaren doesn’t do SUVs, it doesn’t even do 2+2s. All it makes, all it has ever made, are mid-engined supercars with carbonfibre monocoques. And for almost all of us, the prospect of owning one is an impossible dream. Or is it? Journalists have been writing ‘my first Ferrari’ stories for decades, so is the McLaren ownership ladder now descending through the clouds to within tantalisingly close proximity of touching distance? And, more importantly, should you now be stretching every sinew to reach up and grab that bottom rung? Until recently I’d have said no. The most affordable McLarens are the…

“I’m blown away all over again by the Golf R’s relentless pace” The premise is so simple there has to be a catch. A mid-engined V8 supercar from a highly respected premium brand for the same money as a new hot hatchback. Or less. But that’s what you’re looking at right here. The Audi R8 you can see belongs to Dick Powell, founder of renowned design business Seymourpowell, and we’ve insured it for £40,000 to reflect its condition and low mileage. But clean examples are out there for £30,000 or less once you’ve done a spot of haggling. Meanwhile this five-door Volkswagen Golf R retails for £33,740 with the dual-clutch automatic gearbox fitted to the test car, although if you play fast and loose with the options, as VW most…

The Guangdong International Circuit is a flat, wide race track which has seen better days, with weeds in the blocks and building sites looming ominously around it as the construction industry closes in on its valuable real estate. So it isn’t the ideal venue at which to compare 23 different Chinese saloons, SUVs and MPVs, not one of which has even a hint of sporting intent. Yet Chinese driving licenses are a tricky thing to come by, so it was to the circuit we went in order to help judge the first running of a new Chinese ‘car of the year’ competition, or Best Car For China, to give it its full and proper name. Anyway, who needs roads when you have cones on the main straight for a slalom,…

So John Williams thinks hybrid owners get all the benefits of ownership without having to use the battery (Your Views, 21 November). I run a company car, a BMW 330e, and I’ll happily admit one of the car’s attractions is a lower benefit-in-kind tax rate. However, I charge the battery overnight and as a result enjoy three great benefits: 20 real-world miles running purely on the battery, which is great for local journeys, 257bhp on tap and more than 43mpg. The battery improves the car’s fuel economy and performance and charging the battery is simple. Let’s not demonise hybrids and their drivers. Wimborne, Dorset WIN Letter of the week wins this ValetPRO exterior protection and maintenance kit worth £48…

MILEAGE 5889 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To discover if Peugeot has a class leader on its hands by fitting seven-seat MPV convenience into an on-trend SUV body ’Tis the season to be jolly. Tra-la-la-la-lah, deck the halls and raise a glass to my namesake (alas, not relative, given the royalties presumably pouring in right now) Noddy Holder, famed singer of 1970s supergroup Slade, notable for hits including Merry Xmas Everybody. But for all this bonhomie, there is something that kills my Christmas cheer quicker than discovering someone has forgotten to put the nutmeg in the egg-nog: the potentially quite ruinous journey to collect the Christmas tree. While your mind may be racing ahead and wondering what risks could possibly be involved in such a mundane task, it is only the…

The mileage has not changed because my oldest car hasn’t been anywhere recently. I had to go somewhere, though, and that was the machine shop to get the head back. That’s how I found myself at Engine and Diesel Services in Norwich, which was established in 1947. The job? Refacing the cylinder head and supplying a new cylinder head gasket. That all came to £86.44 including VAT. It looked pretty good, but as it was hygienically sealed in a plastic bag and getting foreign bodies into the waterways was how it all started, I just stuck it in the boot of the Baby Shark. Next stop, the workshop.…

For car buyers on a budget but with a taste for the high life, there is only one luxury SUV: the Range Rover L322 of 2002-12. It still looks the business, especially the TDV8 Westminster Edition of 2012 with its illuminated treadplates, gloss black trim, and heated and cooled rear seats. It cost £70,000. Today, you can pick one up with 27,000 miles on the clock for £30,000, or with 100,000 miles for £16,000. This 2600kg Range Rover will consume diesel at the rate of 30mpg but, when occasion demands, launch itself from 0-62mph in just 7.5sec. If you’ve got some heavy towing to do or you just like arriving stirred but not shaken, it’s the SUV of your dreams. Or nightmares. The thing is, an L322 is a complicated…

“Its 582bhp output is sufficient to accelerate from zero to 62mph in 3.5sec and attain 149mph” The Audi E-tron GT concept is “very close” in design to the production model arriving in 2020, according to the company’s design boss, Marc Lichte. The four-door sports saloon, revealed at the Los Angeles motor show, will be the third of Audi’s stand-alone electric models, following the already revealed E-tron and next year’s E-tron Sportback. A compact electric model is also due (see right). By 2025, Audi will have 12 electric models. The sleek, A7-sized E-tron GT will be the flagship of Audi’s electric line-up, falling under the custody of the brand’s Audi Sport performance arm. It will offer 248 miles of range on the WLTP cycle and, most notably, will be capable of…

Mercedes-AMG has responded to the challenge of the recently facelifted Audi R8 and new-generation Porsche 911 with an updated version of its GT. Alongside improvements to the standard range, a new motorsport-inspired special edition has also been added. The biggest news is the new, limited-run GT R Pro, which sits at the top of the line-up. Taking visual cues and technology from the brand’s GT3 and GT4 racing models, the GT R Pro benefits from a motorsport-inspired suspension set-up, improved aerodynamics and racy visual additions. The standard GT R’s coil-over suspension is modified in the Pro model to allow mechanical adjustment of the compression and rebound of the dampers. A new adjustable carbonfibre torsion bar has been added to the front axle, too. A carbonfibre shear panel reduces weight and…

Jeep has revealed the Gladiator, its new heavy-duty pick-up truck based on the Wrangler, at the Los Angeles motor show. The new model is the first pick-up Jeep has produced since the Cherokee-based Comanche went off sale in 1992. The Gladiator is designed to cash in on the hugely lucrative North American truck market and will go on sale there next year. European sales have yet to be confirmed. Said to combine “rugged utility, versatility and functionality”, according to Jeep boss Tim Kuniskis, the Gladiator features the same body-on-frame chassis as the Wrangler and retains many of that model’s styling cues. The Wrangler’s iconic front grille shape remains, but it features extra cooling vents to maintain optimum engine temperature when the vehicle is used for towing. The Gladiator is 787mm…

The next Porsche 911 GT3 will be innovative with its suspension system but retain rear-wheel drive and potentially keep a naturally aspirated engine, according to GT boss Frank Walliser. Speaking at the Los Angeles motor show, where the new 992-generation 911 was revealed, Walliser said Porsche has “some really cool ideas on the GT side for suspension. There’s more potential again and it will be very much a GT3”. The next GT3 will follow the launch of the standard 911 and is due around 2020. Walliser hinted that Porsche will resist the allure of turbocharging and not adopt all-wheel drive, giving Porsche a key point of difference in a market where rivals have gone with one of those technologies, or in some cases both. “Part of the GT cars is…

On the face of it, General Motors (GM) looks to be in dire straits. At the end of last month, the US giant announced it was stopping production at five North American plants, three for car assembly and two for engines. Also on the chopping block are once mainstay family cars such as the Chevrolet Cruze and the larger Chevrolet Impala. The pioneering plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, the replacement for the old Vauxhall Ampera, joins them on the executioner’s platform. Two unnamed international plants are also to be shut. It’s the continuation of a withdrawal that started when GM began leaving major global markets, including the UK and mainland Europe after selling the Vauxhall and Opel brands to the PSA Group in 2017. At the Los Angeles motor show last…

Volkswagen and Tesco have announced a partnership to roll out the largest UK retail-based network of EV chargers, with 2400 bays set to be created at Tesco sites nationwide. By 2020, the two brands promise to have 600 stores with fast or rapid chargers, installed by Pod Point. Customers charging in Tesco Extra and Superstore car parks will get free use of 7kW chargers, or pay a fee “in line with the market rate” for rapid 50kW chargers.…

Asked if he would describe the new Mercedes-AMG A35 as more like a fun car or more like an everyday car, AMG engineering lead Steffen Jastrow is unequivocal. “The A35 is a fun car first and foremost,” he says. That could be significant. Mercedes-AMG’s first attempt at a hot hatch was strangely unsatisfying, despite its frantic straight-line performance and bonded-to-the-Tarmac cornering grip – as well as what you might tastelessly call ‘driveway appeal’. Costing more than £40,000, the A45 AMG was a touch expensive, too. That made overlooking the fact that it didn’t quite deliver the single most important commodity for any compact performance car, which, we can all agree, is driving fun, all the more difficult. Nonetheless, the A45 and its coterie of derivatives – the high-riding GLA45, the…

You have to hand it to Kia. Operating from a separate building to the enthusiast radar not long ago, it recently put a competitive sports saloon into production and now threatens to break ground in more progressive fashion. And how. While the rear-driven halo atop the Stinger GT-S still glows brightly for this magazine, there can be no doubt 300 miles of WLTP-certified electric range and an asking price close to £30,000 is more momentous in a broader context. That is what the new e-Niro crossover offers. Granted, it does not redefine the EV proposition in any singularly remarkable way. Sibling-brand Hyundai recently launched a version of the Kona with the same powertrain and for a similar price. The Tesla Model S is still a benchmark for range and will…

The extra tautness and control supplied by the Mustang Bullitt’s suspension is very welcome when you drive it hard. The car’s mass feels more evenly supported both laterally and between the axles, so it doesn’t progress from initial understeer to quite sudden oversteer, as the pre-facelift Mustang GT could, as you pour on power. Ford’s automatic rev-matching gearbox feature can be left active without irritating you on track, even if you occasionally prefer to heel-and-toe between ratios. It doesn’t blip on a downshift until you’re well into the selection of your next gear. The traction and stability control systems can be deactivated independently of each other, and with the TC off but the ESC left on, some rear-drive handling adjustability is possible with a safety net. Use Race driving mode,…

GREAT REASONS TO BUY ON SALE 12 DECEMBER SPECIAL DOUBLE ISSUE BUMPER 164 - PAGE CHRISTMAS ISSUE The very best of 2018 Our cars, stars, people, pictures and moments of the year, plus our famous festive road test and more oddball treats (even Lambo tractors) DRIVEN New BMW 3 Series We rate BMW’s thoroughbred compact executive saloon FIRST DRIVE New Porsche Macan Andrew Frankel’s verdict on the heavily revised Porsche SUV EVERY WEEK A YEAR IN CARS Steve Cropley’s year Our man’s best and worst bits from a memorable 12 months OUR CARS The awards issue Which cars impressed us most in 2018? Acceptance speeches at the ready USED BUYING GUIDE Saab 9-3 How to buy a piece of Saab-badged Scandi-cool before it’s too late CONTENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE SUBSCRIBE…

MILEAGE 4005 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Nissan has advanced the cause of EVs at the affordable end of the scale Nissan’s slightly unconventional – some might say innovative – method of heating and cooling the Leaf’s interior has always puzzled me a bit, even going back to the first-generation model. All of the regular controls to adjust temperature, fan speed and the rest are present and correct, but there’s also a ‘heat’ button on the control panel that you must push if you want actual hot air to come out of the vents. This is because, in the absence of any hot exhaust gases to recycle for air-warming purposes, the Leaf is fitted with a heat pump that supposedly does the job in an energy-efficient way. The…

Steve Lee is a properly good mechanic who told me that my head gasket failure is a real rarity and it is usually merely faulty, or a bad rebuild. Well, he does know his A Series stuff and here’s the proof: “I have a 1959 Austin A35 running a turbocharged 1275 MG Midget engine, essentially the same engine as your Mini but mounted front to back. This engine runs 16 psi boost, has an 11-stud head and a standard MG Metro turbo head gasket and has never had any form of gasket trouble.” SEND YOUR USED CAR TALES TO james@bangernomics.com AND READERS' QUESTIONS TO autocar@haymarket.com…

An expert’s view TONY HOOPER, WORKSHOP MANAGER, HEREFORD 4X4 “I’m a former Land Rover master technician and have owned 16 Range Rovers. My favourite was an L322 3.6 TD. I bought it because the owner had spent £28,000 over 10 years having it serviced! I thought I couldn’t go wrong and I was right – it was a peach. The L322 is the best Range Rover. It’s a ‘proper’ one – a full-blown off-road vehicle but with luxurious on-road manners. It’s a bulky, solid thing where later ones feel plasticky. The best one was the Westminster. However, some of them would let rain water in at the roof seams. It would run into the boot on the left hand side and wreck the audio control system. If you’re buying a…

Most examples of Fiat’s pretty left-hook convertible have succumbed to tin worm, but this 1997 P-reg car appears to have escaped its worst ravages to achieve £2640 on the hammer. Still, you can’t be too careful. We hope the lucky bidder had checked the wheel arches around the jacking points and sill edges, and poked at the underseal with a screwdriver (it traps water, causing the floor to rot). Were they allowed to start the engine, it would have been wise to listen for a noisy cam variator too – it sounds diesel-like.…

MAZDA’S FIRST ELECTRIC vehicle, arriving in 2020, will be a stand-alone model rather than a variant of an existing one. Mazda confirmed in October that an EV would be launched in 2020 and Autocar can now reveal that it will be a bespoke bodystyle. A rotary-engined range-extender version of the same car will also arrive around the same time. Although it is not yet confirmed, a compact SUV looks a likely choice, given their cross-market popularity and the easier fitment of batteries in high-riding vehicles. Mazda design chief Ikuo Maeda said he did not want upcoming EVs “to look digital”, meaning that he wanted them to have the same design-led style as the current range. European design boss Jo Stenuit added: “We don’t want an EV to look like a…

THE THIRD MODEL to come from new start-up electric car maker Rivian will be a rally-raid style performance car. Speaking to Autocar at the Los Angeles show, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said the model to follow its initial R1T pick-up and R1S SUV would be “bananas”. “The third vehicle will have a smaller wheelbase [than the R1S SUV] and will be the Rivian interpretation of a rally car with a lot of ground clearance,” said Scaringe. Any car Rivian makes has a “combination of off-road performance and a level of functionality that’s unique in its space”, according to Scaringe. The UK is in Rivian’s plans for its models, with a likely 2021 launch date here for its initial offerings in right-hand drive. Construction will take place in a…

HYUNDAI WILL LAUNCH a pick-up truck based on the 2015 Santa Cruz concept “as soon as possible”, according to new group head of design Luc Donckerwolke. “You’ve seen the [Santa Cruz] pick-up from the 2015 Detroit show,” he said. “That car is under development.” When asked how soon it will arrive, Donckerwolke said: “As soon as possible. From my side [design], it is over, finished. The process to put it into production is now under way”. The pick-up is expected to arrive by 2020 and will allow Hyundai to expand into the popular North American truck market. It could also come to Europe to compete in the ever-expanding segment, recently swelled by Mercedes, Fiat and Renault competitors. Donckerwolke confirmed that a Kia version of the pickup, with exterior and interior…

THE PRODUCTION VERSION of the BMW Vision iNext concept, due in 2020, will be the first car to use a radical new platform that will enable the firm to produce combustion-engined vehicles, plug-in hybrids and pure EVs using the same basic architecture and on the same production line. The showroom-ready iNext ‘Sports Activity Vehicle’ will be built on the new architecture that will underpin future BMW models from the 3 Series upwards and will allow a rear-motor configuration in some. All of BMW’s future models will be built using two platforms, one for front-wheel-drive cars and one for four- and rear-wheel-drive machines. Pure EVs such as the production Vision iNext will use a rear-mounted drivetrain as standard. Plug-in hybrid models will have an electric motor at the rear and a…

Toyota’s efforts to add interest to the styling of its cars takes another step forward with the all-new, fifth-generation RAV4 SUV, which is certainly more distinctive than its bland predecessor. Some of the polygon-inspired sculpting about this latest RAV4’s flanks might look strange, but the overall effect is of a more dynamic and individual machine. But the overhaul is about a lot more than styling. This new RAV4 uses Toyota’s highly versatile Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), which is 57% stiffer in this application, lowers the car’s centre of gravity and provides the sophistication of double-wishbone rear suspension, improved steering feel, optimised weight distribution and a suite of safety features. In spite of the lower centre of gravity, ground clearance increases by 15mm, and the overhangs have been trimmed by…

The concept of the ‘world car’ – once the holy grail of the motor industry – seems to be dying. Manufacturers no longer seem obsessed with off-setting the huge cost of developing new models by selling them in as many different countries as possible. Either that, or we didn’t ask nicely enough, because we’re told there are no plans to bring the Hyundai Veloster N to Europe. This is the range-topping version of Hyundai’s quirky four-door coupé. It’s closely related to the i30 N, sharing the same 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and ambition to disrupt the established order through the combination of accessible performance and attractive pricing. In the US, the standard 247bhp version is only a couple of hundred dollars more than the less powerful Volkswagen Golf GTI. The…

When Ford’s first right-hand-drive Mustang hit the UK almost three years ago, we recommended it keenly as a fine alternative to the sports car mainstream, dripping with American cool and big on old-school bang for your buck. The Mustang Bullitt is a better driver’s car than that 2016 Mustang GT was in plenty of ways. It’s also a more expensive car, though, and now finds itself in among a posse of seriously impressive £50,000 sports cars, which is why we can’t rate this car any more highly in terms of road test stars than we rated its predecessor. In objective terms, you might look at this Mustang’s real-world performance level and wonder what all the fuss is about. An Audi TT RS is a much faster and more eye-widening hot…

FINAL REPORT MILEAGE 8360 WHY WE RAN IT To find out if the new, turbo Swift Sport still offers good, simple hot hatch fun that can compete with the best in class In recent years, Suzuki has hit a rich vein of form through an ability to engineer a rare trait into its models. It’s not a new suspension part, or a high-tech engine, or particularly sharp handling. It’s far more intangible than that: charm. The restyled Ignis has plenty of it. The new Jimny is positively dripping in it. And, after six months or so running the new Swift Sport, I’m pleased to report it is also full of charm. Which is a very good thing. Charm might sound a slightly twee quality for a hot hatch. Shouldn’t such…

QUESTION I want the clear, bright light of an LED headlight. Can I fit aftermarket LED headlights to my car and bring it up to date for little money? Rory Swift, Berwick ANSWER Best not to, Rory. The MOT comes down hard on doctored lights. In the case of aftermarket high intensity discharge lights, for example, it insists they are installed in a light unit designed and approved for their use (in other words, the original one). If not, the tester is instructed to reject it. You can assume this rule also applies to LED headlights. It’s why you’ll see aftermarket ones advertised with the warning ‘Not road legal’ or ‘Off-road use only’. JE QUESTION What should I look for when choosing a car cover? Paul Smith, via email ANSWER…

Audi R8 £42,995 The Audi R8 RWS in our recent Britain’s Best Driver’s Car super-test (7 November) will have set some souls thinking about bagging themselves an early model. A poke around the classifieds turned up a few for about £30,000 – but that isn’t where you want to look. Instead, between £35k and £40k is where nice, early R8s hang out. By nice we mean, above all, full service history and definitely no insurance category status (we found a Cat D that wasn’t immediately declared as such). One tidy R8 that caught our eye was a 2008/58 V8 automatic with 44,000 miles and full Audi service history, for £37,995. It looked the business in Phantom Black with black leather (inset), and was being sold by a reputable specialist. Touch…

Range Rover Evoque eD4 SE Price new £31,505. Price now £27,850 Now the facelifted version is here, it’s a good time to scour the forecourts and classifieds for a pre-reg, old-model Evoque and save yourself a few thousand in the process. We found one with 100 miles at a main dealer for £27,850. Granted, it’s the basic eD4 SE in orphan white but that’s still £3663 less than its then new price. Saying that, some sellers were actually doing brand-new ones with a saving of £3420, making that pre-reg look less tempting. Still, you could always haggle a discount on it.…