Innholdsfortegnelse for March 06, 2019 i Autocar

WITH THREE BLOCKBUSTER new models each breaking new ground for Aston Martin (p12), best-in-show honours from Geneva are surely heading to Gaydon this year. For a company the size of Aston, such a statement of intent is quite extraordinary. But it has got used to saying and doing extraordinary things in recent years. Core front-engined sports car and GT models all replaced, we’re now seeing the manifestation of the expansion plans boss Andy Palmer has been detailing since he joined in 2014, the description of each project nearly always starting ‘Aston’s first…’ In Geneva, we see Aston’s first mid-engined supercar, its first ‘usable’ hypercar and its first super-luxury SUV as part of the new Lagonda brand. These are on top of its already confirmed new factory in St Athan, Wales,…

“We need a smaller engine and this is a great opportunity to exercise the capability of our engineers here,” said CEO Andy Palmer on why Aston Martin decided to look in-house for its all-new V6 engine rather than source it elsewhere as it had done with its 4.0-litre V8 from AMG. The last time Aston designed and built its own engine in-house was its old V8, which ended production at Newport Pagnell in 2000. Its current V12 engines are designed by Aston but built by Ford in Cologne. The twin-turbo V6 will be used by both the Vanquish and AM-RB 003 in production and Palmer has promised that more Astons will use the engine in the future, too. “The engine also allows us to redefine ourselves as an engine builder…

VOLKSWAGEN HAS reinvented the 1960s Beetle-based dune buggy with the electric ID Buggy – and it wants to allow small-scale manufacturers to produce their own versions of the machine. The ID Buggy revives the spirit of the Meyers Manx dune buggy and is built on the VW Group’s MEB electric architecture, which will first be put into production with the ID hatch later this year. VW design chief Klaus Bischoff told Autocar the ID Buggy will eventually be offered for sale, saying the concept was “70% production ready”. The ID Buggy features a 202bhp, 228lb ft rear-mounted electric motor, offering 0-62mph in 7.2 sec and a top speed of 99mph. The rear-drive powertrain echoes the original. Power comes from a 62kWh battery, giving a range of around 155 miles. The…

LAMBORGHINI’S NEW Huracán Evo Spyder, unveiled at the Geneva motor show, will arrive on UK roads later in the spring priced from £218,137. The convertible supercar follows the launch of the Huracán Evo, an updated and more powerful Huracán coupé, late last year. The new open-top Evo is around £12,000 dearer than its fixed-head sibling and features the same 631bhp 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10 engine, resulting in a 0-62mph time of 3.1sec. That’s 0.2sec slower than the hard-top model. However, the Evo Spyder’s 201mph top speed is identical to the coupé’s, despite a 120kg weight penalty. Much of that extra weight is down to the car’s soft-top mechanism, which uses an electrohydraulic set-up to lower it in 17sec at car speeds of up to 31mph. Automatic pop-up roll-over bars are…

KIA HAS SURPRISED Geneva show-goers with the ‘Imagine by Kia’ electric four-door concept. It’s expected to arrive in production form in 2021 and will lead the way for performance-focused electric models from the Korean firm. It is part of Kia’s forthcoming electrification ramp-up: the electric e-Niro and Soul EV models arrive this year alongside a plug-in hybrid Ceed. The four-door concept – described as drawing together elements of an SUV, sleek saloon and crossover – will rival models such as the recently unveiled Polestar 2. It will sit on a new, dedicated electric architecture shared with sibling brand Hyundai. The architecture is set to be the basis for a range of more powerful and larger SUVs and saloons. It also promises a much longer electric range. The e-Niro offers 282…

It has taken a decade but at last there’s an electric Mini that we can buy. Or there will be soon. Our drive of this prototype is a prelude to the launch of the finished article at the end of this year. That car is called the Mini Cooper SE, the S implying equivalence to the 189bhp petrol Cooper S and the E that it’s electric. Its motor puts out 181bhp and 199lb ft of torque, the latter slightly adrift of the S’s 221lb ft, but they’re comparable. Although there was a 2013 electric Mini concept, the 2009 Mini E project was a more substantial undertaking, being part of a test programme in which more than 500 vehicles were publicly trialled. This full-production electric Mini shares plenty of characteristics with…

Of the previous-generation BMW 3 Series, how many do you think were sold with a plug-in hybrid powertrain? One in 10? The answer is actually one in three – testament to the car’s low monthly hire rates and an ability to capture the appealing dynamics of a ‘normal’ 3 Series but with a genuine environmental edge (if, that is, you could meaningfully deploy its modest 25 miles of electric range). BMW expects this second attempt, based on the new G20-generation 3 Series, to repeat the trick, if not prove even more popular. To that end, the recipe is largely the same, so where revised plug-in hybrid versions of the 7 Series and X5 have graduated to six-cylinder petrols, the 330e retains a detuned version of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo unit…

Matt Prior APPROVE A MASSIVE transport infrastructure project, making the UK the easiest country in the world to travel around. Approve every bypass currently under consideration. Commission a new national airport, in the middle of Oxfordshire – an hour from London, an hour from Birmingham, between the M1 and M40, with a new motorway link between the two, which then heads due west into Wales and due east into East Anglia. Modify HS2 to fit it. Make a straight motorway link to the M40 from the M6, to the west of Birmingham, and then from M40 to the south coast. Install dual carriageway into Cornwall. Make a new motorway from north Wales for Liverpool to Manchester to Leeds to near York and make the A1 a proper motorway all the…

Motor shows are brilliant, aren’t they? Where else can you see the very latest metal, get all excited and then realise that you can’t afford any of it? Never mind that you now have sore feet, aching calves and indigestion from that burger, the main take away from the Geneva motor show is going to be that you can’t… Either the latest thing is going to cost a fortune or be filed under ‘interesting concept that will never get made’. There is an alternative: a people’s motor show that includes old models that have depreciated and other oddities. Step this way. A IS FOR Aston Martin and news that it will make a mid-engined supercar is, I suppose, par for the big-brand course. It hasn’t done that before, apart from…

When less is more In the current car market, we have endless model variants, specifications and niches from every automotive brand on the planet. It seems that every manufacturer is after a slice of everyery market, which in my opinion dilutes their brand values and a core competency. to be everything to everyone? Even within a single model, there are endless specifications and options, all of which have to be developed, tested and serviced, and I wonder if the average owner really notices a great difference. We then end up with some ‘poverty spec’ cars that are never sought after. Surely manufacturers could reduce their development costs and gain economies of scale by rationalising their product portfolio. This could lead to better efficiency in manufacturing, cheaper component costs and ultimately…

MILEAGE 1867 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Can new Duster offer a few little luxuries to overtake more expensive rivals while still being a practical workhorse? “Petrol or diesel?” You know when you’re in the pub and that drunk bloke stooping at the end of the bar knows you’re into cars and keeps asking you the same generic question? Yeah, that’s not what I’m doing here. And no, I’m not about to settle decades of over-regulated red tape that has been the publicity plaything of politicians and policy makers alike. Rather, I want to talk specifically about the engine options in the 2019-model-year Dacia Duster. That’s right: buckle up. But seriously, the dynamic differences between the two are significant. And unfortunately, it’s a question I’m answering rather sooner than I hoped.…

MILEAGE 4187 INNOCENTI MINI SL90 I went on a mini break to northern Italy and bought a Mini. This is a slightly involved story that you will probably read a bit more about in Autocar at some point. It isn’t a Fiat or Autobianchi. This is a thoroughly British Innocenti. A Bertone hatch box on top and an A-series underneath. I thought it would be interesting and so far it has been. There are lots of import and registration hoops to go through. It isn’t at all concours, just solid, which for a vehicle from the 1970s is fairly remarkable. It’s rare in Italy, not least because most UK grey imports have rusted away.…

Whenever they encounter a 996-series 911 of 1998-2004, Porsche enthusiasts look the other way. As the first of the water-cooled models, it represents a betrayal of everything the car maker had hitherto stood for, they tell themselves. Fortunately, their mantra has spawned a bargain. Prices for 996s start from as little as £6500 for a 2002 Carrera 4S cabriolet with 92,000 miles. From £15,000 to £20,000 should be enough for a straight 3.6 coupé or cabrio in two- or four-wheel drive with around 70,000 miles. Most encouraging of all, dealers reckon prices for good cars are at their lowest point and showing signs of climbing as buyers, priced out of older air-cooled 993s and 964s, park their reservations and begin piling into the model. So with luck, buy now and…

BMW 840Ci AUTO You had to be there, when the 8 Series came out in 1989. It looked like nothing else, certainly nothing else in BMW’s line-up. It came first with a 296bhp 5.0-litre V12 and was called the 850i. In 1993, the BMW Motorsport-developed 850CSi arrived with a 375bhp 5.6. Today, this version commands the highest prices. Not so the 840Ci of the same year. It was powered by a 282bhp 4.0-litre V8. Cheaper and less thirsty, it should have flourished in the mid-1990s recession but tales of worn Nikasil liners dogged it. This tidy and well-maintained 1996 N-reg example made £6784.…

Aston Martin has stunned the Geneva motor show with the launch of three concepts that closely preview all-new production models as its dramatic turnaround plan and range expansion gather pace. The new cars, which Autocar received an exclusive preview of before the Geneva show, are a mid-engined supercar called the Vanquish to rival the new Ferrari F8 Tributo (see p26), a mid-engined hypercar called the AM-RB 003 offering the next level of performance from the likes of the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari, and an electric SUV concept that previews the first production car for a reborn Lagonda. The Vanquish and Lagonda SUV are the last two models to be shown in Aston’s sevenstrong line-up of regular production models under of the ‘Second Century’ plan of boss Andy Palmer. They…

Seat has unveiled its first bespoke electric car, the el-Born, with a 201bhp motor, a range of up to 261 miles – and the promise that it will offer a “sporty” driving experience. The el-Born, named after a neighbourhood in Barcelona, will be the second machine built on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB electric architecture to go on sale when it’s launched in 2020, after the Volkswagen ID hatch. The engineering and powertrain of the two compact hatches are expected to be closely aligned, with a range of power outputs offered. The el-Born features a 62kWh battery mounted in the skateboard chassis and Seat claims it will achieve 0-62mph in 7.5sec. It will be compatible with 100kW DC supercharging, allowing the battery to be filled from empty to 80% in 47…

The Pininfarina Battista EV hypercar, unveiled in full at the Geneva show, will be the most powerful road-legal car ever produced in Italy, according to its makers. The hypercar will have a separate motor for each wheel that, collectively, deliver up to 1900bhp and 1696lb ft. Pininfarina says that will be good enough for a sub-2sec 0-62mph time, 0-186mph in under 12sec and a top speed of around 217mph. The powertrain is mostly shared with the Rimac C_Two, but Automobili Pininfarina CEO Michael Perschke was keen to emphasise the technical differences between the two. “I wouldn’t compare it to something like an Audi R8 and a Lamborghini Huracán. They are technically identical,” he said. “We will share probably 40-50% of the pure technical components. There is the raw skeleton of…

ITALDESIGN HAS REVEALED its latest creation, which is named after artist Leonardo da Vinci on the 500th anniversary of his death. The DaVinci is described as “a design concept for a Gran Turismo with 100% electric drive”. Large gullwing doors allow all four seats to be accessed at the same time. Italdesign has also developed a version with a 4.0-litre V8 alongside the EV variant. The company said the car “might be ready for series production with few changes to the show car”.…

M ercedes-Benz’s sharply styled CLA Shooting Brake has returned for a second generation at Geneva, just four years after the original went on sale. The new five-door estate is planned to arrive in the UK in September, three months after the CLA on which it is based. It is underpinned by a heavily re-engineered version of its predecessor’s MFA platform, which has received additional rigidity measures for improved stiffness and noise, vibration and harshness qualities. Mercedes-Benz has confirmed just one engine for the CLA Shooting Brake, but it says others will be announced closer to its launch later this year. The launch model is the CLA 250 using a 219bhp/258lb ft 2.0-litre petrol engine. The CLA Shooting Brake takes the sharply raked front-end appearance of its four-door sibling and combines…

PORSCHE’S SECOND-generation Macan will switch to electric-only power when it’s launched in 2021 – but the company will continue to sell the existing petrol-powered first-generation model alongside it indefinitely. Porsche said the decision to extend the life of the existing Macan is due to concerns that some markets are not prepared for a sudden switch to pure-electric drivetrains. “The move to a fully electric model line-up is suitable for certain markets but, due to a lack of infrastructure and other hurdles, it is not yet possible in other markets. We are constantly monitoring the situation and can react accordingly,” said Porsche. The new pure-electric Macan will use the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) architecture being developed jointly by Audi and Porsche. The decision to continue producing the combustion-engine Macan despite plans…

When I was at school, I was always told that copying a classmate’s work was a big no-no. The same went for copy-pasting something from the internet and passing it off as your own work. You just didn’t do it. The world of automotive manufacturing is a little different, granted. Still, I can’t help but detect a whiff of the above going on at the Volkswagen Group at the moment. The car you see here is the new Audi SQ2. As you’ll be able to deduce from its name, it’s a sharper, faster version of Ingolstadt’s smallest SUV. It has a turbocharged four-pot motor that develops 296bhp and 295lb ft of torque, four-wheel drive, a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and a sub-5.0sec 0-60mph time. It has a base price tag higher…

The Santa Fe isn’t alone among seven-seat SUVs in its failure to mask its considerable weight through the numerous bends, dips and climbs of Millbrook’s challenging Hill Route – yet it still struggles here. Faster directional changes are particularly adept at making the Hyundai’s mass felt, although the car’s stability control and suspension combine to keep roll from building too adversely. The HTRAC four-wheel-drive system’s ability to shuffle 50% of the engine’s torque rearwards helps to quell the effect of understeer a little, but it was hard to detect the impact of that much torque vectoring in the car’s handling balance or response. The ESP system wasn’t overly heavy-handed, though, and would gently rein in unintentional throttle on understeer without killing power entirely.…

The reason Porsche no longer offers diesel engines in any of its cars is that it was never a core power source for the brand, and now diesel is in decline it makes sense to focus on the petrol, hybrid and electric powertrains that are its future. At least that’s the official version. And I’m sure Porsche’s desire to distance itself from the Volkswagen Group’s latterly besmirched reputation for producing good, honest diesels had absolutely nothing to do with it. Whatever the truth, Porsche’s decision to turn its back on diesel is an enormous gamble, at least in Europe. Certainly key to Porsche’s thought process is that diesel makes no impact at all on its biggest markets outside the continent – such as the US, China and Japan. But now…

This is the challenge: redesign the Evoque to accommodate the electric motor, battery pack and control systems of a plugin hybrid drivetrain, meet stiffer crash regulations, carry more equipment and offer more rear-seat room and a bigger boot. And all this within the same footprint. True, the first Range Rover Evoque is hardly the world’s smallest car, but that’s an awful lot of extra kit to find room for, never mind teasing out some extra space for back-benchers and luggage. So why stick to exactly the same dimensions and make the task harder? Because Land Rover’s market research established that owners of the original Evoque were adamant that it should not get any bigger. In fact, the new Evoque doesn’t occupy exactly the same volume of space as the old…

ON SALE 13 MARCH DRIVEN NEW-LOOK MAGAZINE All-new Range Rover Evoque The smash-hit first car created a genre, so how good is this one? Read our first drive in the second-generation Range Rover Evoque SEASON PREVIEW How to fix F1 Jolyon Palmer gives us his punchy blueprint as he previews 2019 FEATURE Fun with less than 100bhp You don’t need loads of power to have fun on four wheels (or fewer) NEW FEATURES IN YOUR AUTOCAR NEW COLUMNS In-depth technology and motorsport columns return to our pages BIGGER ROAD TEST More data and new sections to make the best test in the business even better MORE USED CARS Our weekly look at nearly new used cars, alongside the best leasing deals SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p32…

MILEAGE 1854 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Audi has made an executive car with the broad appeal needed to truly challenge the class best Before I joined Autocar last autumn, I had a spell as a school teacher (long story, don’t ask). I needed wheels, but money was tight, so I played it safe with a finance deal for a lightly used Toyota Aygo. A modest choice, especially for someone who loves cars – but needs must, and there’s a reason it’s the archetypal ‘teacher’s car’. The finance was only £120 a month, running costs and maintenance were low and I consoled myself that at least I was buzzing around in what is actually a sharp piece of modern, ergonomic design. It’s now on loan to my in-laws…

Saturn Sky Red Line Shane Clarke has a 2007 US-built Saturn Sky Red Line. He says: “GM never sold the Sky in the UK as it couldn’t economically be adapted to right-hand drive but sold more than 7000 in mainland Europe as the Opel GT. “The Sky is an assembly of parts from throughout the GM inventory. The 256bhp 2.0 turbo engine in the Red Line is very similar to that in the Astra VXR of the same era, the chassis architecture is based on the Corvette and the heater is from… a Hummer! “The car is easier to run in the UK than previous American cars I’ve had, as the size isn’t excessive and the parts are all available via my local Vauxhall dealer.” SEND YOUR USED CAR TALES…

An expert’s view MATT GOODA, MORTIMERS “The 996 is the 911 to buy but do so now because prices are rising. I’m paying more for good ones than I was 12 months ago. It’s inevitable now that the earlier, air-cooled cars are out of reach. The 996 won’t always be as cheap as this. The exception is the Turbo, whose prices have been climbing steadily, although I reckon they’ve peaked. You’ll be lucky to find a 996 with a full main dealer service history but a mix of main dealers and specialists using the correct oils and filters is fine.” Buyer beware… ▪ ENGINE Listen for a rattle from cold, suggesting the IMS bearing is failing. An oil leak is another clue. Check whether it has been replaced, and if…

Jeep Cherokee 2.2 Multijet Longitude Plus 4x4 auto Price new £35,750. Price now £25,451 Jeep UK can’t say exactly when the facelifted Cherokee will arrive this year but dealers are already knocking chunks off the prices of current new ones in anticipation – such as £10,299 off this one. Of course, the dated and uncompetitive Chezza needs this kind of helping hand and you can be sure that if a hand can bite, it will do so at resale time. Still, this big saving makes the Cherokee reasonably attractive, especially given Longitude Plus’s generous spec.…

Valkyrie The hybrid hypercar, co-developed with Red Bull Advanced Technologies, will reach first customers later this year. Its naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 produces 1000bhp at 10,500rpm and 546lb ft at 6000rpm and its Rimac electric motor 160bhp and 207lb ft. Peak outputs combined are 1160bhp at 10,500rpm and 664lb ft at 6000rpm. Valkyrie AMR Pro The Valkyrie road car will spawn a track-only variant under Aston’s new AMR Pro performance sub-brand for its most extreme models. Even more powerful than the Valkyrie on which it is based, the AMR Pro has been made even lighter still and has a target weight of just 1000kg. Only 25 examples are planned to be built of the car that Aston boss Andy Palmer says has “truly mind-bending” performance. AM-RB 003 Previously known as…

Morgan has unveiled a new £80,000 roadster, called Plus Six, as the first of a planned series of models to use the company’s brand-new ‘wide body’ aluminium chassis. The Plus Six, shown for the first time at Geneva, retains the distinguishing features of the outgoing Plus 8 – flowing front wings, running boards, round headlights and the famous ‘waterfall’ grille – but is a new design in every detail. The first all-new Morgan since the Aero 8, revealed 19 years ago, the Plus Six is powered by BMW’s latest B58 inline petrol turbo six producing 335bhp and driving through an eight-speed ZF paddle-shift automatic. There is a new Morgan-designed suspension, all independent by double wishbones in the front and a five-link system in the rear. The new car is very…

AUDI HAS FOLLOWED up the launch of the E-tron SUV with a smaller coupé-style concept called the Q4 E-tron. Shown in this image, released before the car’s Geneva show public debut, it displays a strong design link with the E-tron but has a more athletic, curvy look. It’s 4.59m long, 1.9m wide and 1.61m tall, with a 2.77m wheelbase, which makes it slightly larger than today’s Q3. The Q4 E-tron is scheduled to enter production at the end of 2020. It will be the fifth Audi series-production EV, arriving just after the E-tron GT four-door coupé. The Q4 E-tron features an uprated version of the E-tron’s all-electric powertrain, using two electric motors mounted across both axles and making 302bhp and 340lb ft. That results in a 0-62mph time of 6.3sec…

BENTLEY WILL MARK its centenary with a limited-run Continental GT Number 9 Edition by Mulliner, a design that echoes the 41/2 Litre ‘Blower’ that raced at Le Mans in 1930. The special edition will be made by Bentley’s Mulliner division and limited to 100 units. It’s offered in green or black, with a ‘9’ front grille graphic referencing the car raced by Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin. It also features 21in 10-spoke wheels and a carbonfibre bodykit. The interior is offered in a choice of two trim colours, with special logos on the seat headrests and door panels similar to those on the Blower. The dashboard is finished in an ‘Engine Spin’ aluminium finish, with a British Jaeger clock mounted in the centre console. Each model will also feature a wood…

Polestar, the new electric performance brand separated from Volvo, has unveiled its second production car: the Polestar 2. The new model, described by the marque as the “first electric car to compete in the marketplace around the Tesla Model 3”, is a five-door fastback taking design inspiration from the pricier Polestar 1 and Volvo models such as the S90. Polestar claims a “guide price” of €39,900 (£34,200) for the eventual base model but, similar to the Model 3, the first 12 months of production will be dedicated to a fully loaded launch edition, priced at €59,900 (£51,000). The Polestar 2 sits on Volvo’s Compact Modular Architecture platform, which is also used by cars including the Lynk&Co 01 and Volvo XC40. The car’s dimensions have yet to be revealed, but it’s…

NISSAN IS PREVIEWING the design future of its all-conquering Qashqai with a new concept car at Geneva. Dubbed the IMq, it’s the brand’s attempt to reinvent the crossover and introduce electric propulsion to a volume segment. The IMq was designed by a small team at Nissan’s London design centre in Paddington, and chosen out of a number of entries from studios around the world. The 4.5-metre-long concept, while likely to be toned down for production, is an athletic-looking crossover with multiple sharp lines, a Range Rover Evoque-style slim glasshouse and spaced-out rear haunches. It also features ‘suicide’ doors leading into a four-seat cabin – both details unlikely to make production. Details for the future include the evolution of Nissan’s ‘V-motion’ grille design, featuring vertical slats with no physical cooling intake…

MERCEDES-BENZ HAS upgraded its strong-selling GLC. Making a Geneva show debut before a planned UK introduction this summer, the GLC gains a number of subtle exterior styling tweaks and an interior that adopts Mercedes’ new MBUX user interface system and control systems. A new range of longitudinally mounted engines is also offered – all with increased power and reductions in CO2 emissions. They include a petrol-electric mild-hybrid unit in two states of tune and a conventional diesel offering three different power outputs. The mild-hybrid driveline is based around Mercedes’ turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. It is combined with a belt-driven starter motor and 48V electric system that can add 13bhp and 111lb ft at up to 2500rpm, to endow the GLC 200 with 207bhp/317lb ft and the GLC 300 267bhp/384lb…

The new F8 Tributo will be the most powerful mid-engined V8 Ferrari series-production supercar yet. The 488 GTB replacement gets a new 710bhp version of Ferrari’s 3.9-litre V8 engine. That’s a 49bhp upgrade on the 488 GTB and the same output as the limited-run 488 Pista and the car’s biggest rival, the McLaren 720S. Ferrari claims there have been “improvements across the board… providing even better control on the limit along with greater on-board comfort” when comparing the 488 GTB and the new F8 Tributo, a name that pays homage to the engine that powers it. Driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, the 90deg V8 engine is the real star of the revised supercar. As well as the power boost, torque is up 9lb ft to 568lb…

Mitsubishi’s vision of its electrified future, the Engelberg Tourer, has been revealed in Geneva. Named after a Swiss ski resort, the SUV concept’s main purpose is to preview a new four-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid powertrain moving things on from the current Outlander PHEV system. A 2.4-litre petrol engine is mated to a 20kWh battery pack and two electric motors front and rear, offering a claimed EV range of 44 miles on the WLTP cycle. It also uses tech inspired by the Lancer Evolution hot saloons, including an active yaw control system and advanced torque-split function ensuring stability in all conditions. While mainly a technology preview, elements of its design will transfer to future Mitsubishi models.…

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Given that Subaru defines itself as an SUV brand these days, it’s odd that it should have been without a conventional family SUV for so long. The Forester is the closest Subaru has come to making one, but it’s only really been big enough to escape definition as a ‘crossover estate’ for a model generation or so. Moreover, after Subaru dropped its boxer diesel engine last year, it has spent a good portion of its life without the powertrain it needs to do really well in Europe. This year, however, the tables should turn as the fifth generation arrives with a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain, which Subaru has branded the e-Boxer. It’s a mild hybrid, although the car can run emissions-free for short periods, courtesy of a small electric motor with…

This is the cheapest – or rather least expensive – version of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class you can now buy, bringing with it a couple of significant firsts: the A180-spec version of the 1.3-litre petrol engine (134bhp/148lb ft, detuned from the A200) and a manual gearbox, all wrapped up in the entry-level SE spec. The gearbox in particular is most definitely welcome. One of the big criticisms of several early versions of this fourth-generation A-Class has been the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox – the sole choice thus far – and the hesitancy it displays at step-off and low speeds. It’s probably the one major black mark about what is otherwise an excellent, well-rounded family hatchback. So it’s a relief that the manual makes the car so much more drivable across so much…

MODEL TESTED 2.2 CRDi PREMIUM SE 4WD AUTOMATIC Price £43,295 Power 197bhp Torque 325lb ft 0-60mph 9.3sec 30-70mph in fourth 9.8sec Fuel economy 37.5mpg CO2 emissions 164g/km 70-0mph 46.8m (damp) The Hyundai Santa Fe might seem to European eyes like something of a bit-part player in the SUV market, but it has a celebrated status within the car maker’s own internal company circles. This car’s introduction was a watershed moment in the development of Hyundai’s fortunes in the all-important North American car market. When the first-generation version was introduced in 2000, the Korean firm sold just shy of a quarter of a million cars in the US; but, by the time it was replaced, Hyundai’s US sales footprint had almost doubled. Buyers on the other side of the pond instantly warmed…

The previous Santa Fe was a methodical improvement over its predecessor; one that sprinkled necessary additional dynamic and visual dressing over what was, in essence, a versatile, practical family car. A similar tranche of considered, incremental changes have, by and large, been applied here. This is a car that’s more attractive, more practical, better-appointed and more refined than what went before, and that still has a likeably simple and direct positioning among its rivals. But it’s regrettable that Hyundai’s efforts to overhaul the ride and handling haven’t been as successful as those put in by its designers. Ride comfort has plainly been sacrificed for little apparent gain on handling composure, body control or drivability; and there’s a distinct sense of brittleness about the car’s low-speed ride that is quite unwelcome.…

QUESTION I am a Range Rover fan but won’t buy one because of the many reports about their unreliability. Is this unreliability a deliberate design feature? Can Yaver, Switzerland ANSWER And we thought the only joke to come out of Switzerland was pointy chocolate. It’s true that the Range Rover topped the 2018 Reliability Survey of our sister title What Car?, and not in a good way. Half of owners reported faults, a third said their cars were undrivable and two-thirds that they were off the road for over a week. Land Rover said it will learn from the report. Fingers crossed it does because, as a marketing slogan, ‘One life. Fix it’ doesn’t quite do it. JE QUESTION What’s the cheapest electric car at the moment with the facility…

TIDY CLASSIC IN WAITING Honda S2000 2.0 i-VTEC GT £8995 As a classic in waiting, a Honda S2000 makes a great buy. Trouble is, there are lots of tatty examples out there. Not so this 2006/06-reg GT with removable hard-top. It has done 91,000 miles – nothing for an engine with a carbonfibre-lined block and forged pistons – and has full Honda service history, supported by tons of invoices. Being a 2006 car, it benefits from the so-called AP1 facelift of 2004. This brought stiffer body bracing, retuned springs and anti-roll bars, fractionally slower steering and larger wheels (from 16in to 17in). Meanwhile, the gearbox gained much stronger carbonfibre synchros in place of the softer brass ones. The interior of this one looks a little shabby. (The driver’s seat leather…