Innholdsfortegnelse for May 01, 2019 i Autocar

IN THE NEW e-Niro, Kia has made the most outstanding electric car yet at what you’d consider the more everyday end of the market. Perhaps more significantly, this week’s road test subject (p34) is also the first at its price that is also simply an outstanding car, battery-powered or not. Be in no doubt: electric cars are coming, and on a vast scale – government legislation to reduce emissions will see to that. That means a whole new market and infrastructure for the ways cars are bought, and the services to run them, will evolve. New companies will enter the car industry, from the likes of Amazon to plenty that don’t even exist yet. Such change can seem overwhelming, yet there’s something reassuring about the e-Niro as a trailblazer for…

DIESELGATE WAS ABOUT pollution rather than emissions of CO2, a distinction that was often completely lost in the media furore that followed. In truth, the EU’s pollution rules for diesel engines were surprisingly lax until the most recent Euro 6 series of regulations. The EU also allowed all pollution tests to be done in a laboratory, whereas in the US, real-world testing of randomly selected production vehicles was also part of the regime that led to the discovery of Volkswagen’s cheating. Although the new EU tests and regulations have finally managed to get on top of the issue of pollution measurements, the EU’s emphasis on driving up fuel economy (which made diesel such a popular solution for car makers in the first place) has continued to get ever stricter. And…

VOLVO HAS LAUNCHED what it claims is the UK’s most comprehensive online new car buying service. The initiative allows buyers to configure their new car, part-exchange their old one and, if necessary, sign a finance agreement online in less than 20 minutes, the firm says. Volvos can be bought on factory order or from stock, with orders always linked to a retailer, which will set pricing. Initially, only the XC40 was available through the Volvo configurator, but it will be rolled out across all models on 3 May. Cash and PCP deals are available now, with PCH deals possible via an electronic signature in the second half of 2019. Used Volvos could be offered at a future date. Other manufacturers – including Hyundai, Peugeot, Ford and Tesla – have released…

FORD HAS AGREED a deal with Rivian to develop a new model on the growing EV maker’s platform – and is taking a minority stake in the firm. The partnership, which sees Ford take equity of around £386 million in Rivian, will result in a collaboration to develop a battery EV for Ford. No details on the type of vehicle the two firms will work on have been released, although it is said to be “all new”. In the US, Ford has shifted its focus to pick-ups and SUVs and is currently developing an electric version of the hugely popular F-150. Rivian’s two models on its skateboard architecture are an SUV and a pick-up, which fit with Ford’s strategy. It has secured major investors in recent months, the latest investment…

Tesla has released a series of updates for its Model S saloon and Model X SUV, including a range improvement of more than 10% for Long Range models. The firm claims to have substantially upgraded the electric drive unit with more efficient technology used in the new Model 3, redesigned gearing and better cooling. The result is a claimed US EPA cycle range of 370 miles for the top-spec Model S and 325 miles for the equivalent Model X, with no changes to the 100kWh battery pack. At the same time, Tesla claims power and torque have been “significantly” improved, although no figures have been quoted. Charging times have improved, too, with a 200kW rate achievable on the latest ‘V3’ superchargers. Both cars now have fully adaptive damping for the…

FREE BOLLÉ SUNGLASSES when you subscribe today Polarised lenses Anti-fog Designed for easy use SUBSCRIBE TO AUTOCAR For 124 years, Autocar has been dedicated to sharing with you our love of cars every week. You can turn your support of Autocar into access to an even more exclusive club by subscribing. Every Wednesday you’ll be first to read the magazine packed with news, reviews, insightful features, star columnists, used car buying advice and our expanded data section. You’ll also receive regular free supplements and gain access to exclusive benefits (see below). There has never been a more interesting or significant time for the car industry and we’d love for you to join us on what promises to be an exciting journey. SUBSCRIBER EXTRA BENEFITS… 1 WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS Exclusive content in…

The globalised nature of the car industry throws up strange anomalies. Back in May 2016, Volvo previewed the XC40 in Gothenburg and told us it planned to offer the production version with a clever three-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain. Nearly three years on, we’re still waiting to experience that car in Europe, but we have finally had the chance to sample the new powertrain in a very different environment: in a Lynk&Co 01 at the test track of Geely Auto’s Hangzhou Bay R&D centre in China. Lynk&Co is a Geely subsidiary brand using the same Compact Modular Architecture that underpins the 40-series Volvos. The company’s first three products are already on sale in China and we’ve previously driven the 01 SUV and 02 crossover, but the plug-in hybrid is the first…

When the Hyundai Kona Electric came along only last year, we marvelled that any sub-£35,000 EV could offer so much battery capacity. But there will be a series-production version of the popular Nissan Leaf along soon with almost as much, and right now there’s the Kia e-Niro, too: a car featuring almost as much real-world range and performance as its Hyundai sister car but with better usability, better refinement and better ride and handling to seal the deal. There is just a hint of plasticky feel about the e-Niro’s interior. Likewise, there is a slight sense that its driving experience is of fine attention to detail but not one to inspire over longer acquaintance. Both observations explain why we’re not giving it a five-star recommendation, even though some will argue…

If Matt Saunders’ brief tribute to the original Lotus Evora (‘Prime number’, 3 April) whetted your appetite for the Toyota-powered 2+2 launched in 2009, then you’ll be pleased to know clean, early cars are now below £30,000. We found an early 2010/59 VVT-i with 39,000 miles for £27,995 at a specialist. It’s a Launch Edition car so has the Tech (nav, parking aids, cruise), Sport (cross-drilled discs, deeper spoiler, uprated exhaust) and Premium (extra leather, heated seats, reversing camera) packs. For £500 less, there’s a privately advertised 40,000-mile 2010/60-reg, also with all three packs and finished in Solar Yellow. Interestingly, it’s had many of the model’s common issues addressed, including having new handbrake cables and a new window motor, a water leak in the passenger footwell plugged and its ‘peeling’…

Price new £19,355. Price now £13,480 An all-new Juke arrives later this year, so Nissan is clearing out the old one. As a result there are a number of pre-reg examples on forecourts, at prices that mean they won’t be around for long. We found a 2019/19-reg 1.6 Bose Personal Edition with five miles on the clock for £13,480. It costs £19,355 new, although you can get £2200 or so off for cash or, via the PCP route, a £2700 deposit contribution from Nissan. Still makes that pre-reg look cheap, though.…

An expert’s view FLOYD HOLLINSHEAD, RS FOUR ASHES “I’ve had an RS 250 for four years and love it. The engine is strong and can handle serious upgrades. I’ve fitted a K-Tec Racing Stage 2 performance pack, taking it to 350bhp. It costs £4500 fitted, and you need to upgrade the brakes and suspension. We do a Stage 1 upgrade, a remap and panel filter to 300bhp for £349. It’s enough for most people. My favourite is the 275 Trophy R with Akrapovic exhaust and Öhlins suspension but have you seen the prices? Whichever one you’re interested in, check that the gearbox, flywheel and suspension are sound and not making odd noises.” Buyer beware… ▪ ENGINE Depending on age and mileage, check the cambelt and water pump were changed at…

Land Rover will this autumn kick off an extremely significant two-year period of consolidation and expansion, following a turbulent 18 months, that will define the brand for the next decade. A great deal of the activity will relate not just to the launch of four new vehicles but also increased electrification within its line-up. Although the marque’s pure-electric vehicles are still some years away – with sibling brand Jaguar leading the group in this market segment – all new Land Rover models from late 2019 will be offered with the option of mild-hybrid or plug-in hybrid drivetrains, allowing it to leave its diesel difficulties behind. Perhaps the most important addition during that time will be the all-new Mk5 Range Rover, imagined by Autocar above, which is expected to be unveiled…

The new Aston Martin Vantage AMR special edition will be the first current-generation model to come with a manual gearbox and is focused on offering an “exhilarating” driving experience. The Vantage AMR retains the 503bhp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 from the regular model but switches the eight-speed automatic gearbox for a new seven-speed Graziano developed manual. It features a race-inspired dog-leg first gear, designed to ensure the most frequently use gears (second through to seventh) are in the traditional double-H configuration. It is mated to a new limited-slip differential and is offered with Aston Martin’s Amshift system, which can automatically blip the throttle on downshifts to match engine revs to road speed. This is the first time a self-shifter has been offered with the Mercedes-sourced 4.0-litre V8 in any car. Although…

Koenigsegg is planning to attract new customers with a much cheaper and higher-volume new model, according to boss Christian von Koenigsegg. It’s set to be revealed next year, with production beginning soon after. The Swedish hypercar maker is now able to make use of far greater economies of scale thanks to a £130 million investment earlier this year by Chinese-owned firm New Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS, producers of a Saab-based EV). The partnership has given the firm a 20% stake in Koenigsegg’s parent company, with further money to be invested in a joint venture to develop a project for “new and untapped segments”. Von Koenigsegg claims the agreement, which was signed just as funding for a new model series had been secured, means “we get much more muscles and much…

DUAL-CLUTCH TRANSMISSIONS (DCTs) hit the big time after Volkswagen first introduced one on the Golf R32 back in 2003. To date, VW has made well over 26 million of its direct shift gearboxes (DSGs), and it’s not alone. The standard had previously always been the torque converter automatic (slush) gearbox and, on a few small cars, perhaps a teeth-grindingly awful continuously variable transmission (CVT). DCTs are fun to use because they shift gear with no interruption of torque from the engine. In a conventional manual gearbox, de-clutching interrupts the torque to disengage each gear and engage the next. Torque is reinstated by closing the clutch again and opening the throttle. In a DCT, each clutch is allocated to roughly half the gears. So, for instance, as first gear is engaged…

In America, apparently they don’t put labels in boxes of assorted chocolates, telling you how each different delightful sugary nugget is flavoured. So, as Forrest Gump’s mum said, life is like a box of chocolates, in that you never know what you’re going to get. We British, meanwhile, being more reserved, prefer to know exactly what kind of chocolate we’re getting so insist captioned pictures are enclosed within every box. A box of chocolates here, then, is very much unlike life. Which brings me, convolutedly, to the new Volvo S60, which is the first Volvo to be built in the US, where it will be nothing like a box of chocolates. Here, it will be precisely like one. This is a Volvo that gives you – as you’ll guess if…

You may have seen Jeep now outsells Land Rover in Europe, reversing the trend of a lifetime. And it’s the Renegade – the brand’s sure-footed crossover hatchback, built on the same platform as the Fiat 500X – that’s responsible for this surprising development, with 10 examples sold for every Wrangler. So it follows that, a few years into its lifespan, the Renegade warrants some fettling, which it has now had. Along with pin-sharp new LED headlights for higher-spec models, the front bumper has been tweaked to bear a stronger resemblance to the Wrangler, and Jeep claims to have improved cabin storage while refreshing the interior. Mechanically there are more substantial changes, with a raft of new engines. It’s the 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol ‘Firefly’ driven here, otherwise known as Fiat’s Global…

MODEL TESTED FIRST EDITION Price £32,995* Power 201bhp Torque 291lb ft 0-60mph 7.2sec 30-70mph in fourth na Fuel economy 3.5mpkWh CO2 emissions 0g/km 70-0mph 45.3m The reception of the second all-electric Kia to go on sale in the UK, the award-winning e-Niro crossover hatchback, has been somewhat different than that of the first. The Soul EV went on sale in 2014, but it took until 2018 for the car to pass 500 registrations in this country. That was a crossover supermini initially available with a 27kWh drive battery, and with 132 miles of claimed range, 0-62mph performance taking longer than 10 seconds and a punchy £30k asking price. The e-Niro marks a stark contrast to the original Soul EV in so many ways, but the biggest of them all is nicely…

KIA E-NIRO FIRST EDITION Brings practicality and completeness to the affordable EV scene, and offers muscle, range and good manners to boot. NISSAN LEAF 40KWH TEKNA The old EV champ deposed. Needs to step up on power and range, but 62kWh version will soon answer the critics. HYUNDAI KONA ELECTRIC 64KWH PREMIUM Not quite as tidy-handling or spacious as Kia relation; slightly better on real-world range. VOLKSWAGEN E-GOLF May well be all the EV you really need if you don’t cover much distance. As drivable and polished as any other Golf. HYUNDAI IONIQ ELECTRIC PREMIUM SE Plenty of space here; less in the way of performance and driver interest value, though.…

Manufacturers keep telling us that electrification is part of our future, but what about our past? A near-silent, ion-fuelled DB6 might seem like the answer to an unasked question, but Paul Spires, president of Aston Martin Works and the man who signed the car off, is adamant it’s the right call. “We need to make sure that we’ve got the next 100 years covered,” he says, “to make sure these vehicles don’t become museum pieces.” This isn’t about legislation – there are no current plans to ban internal-combustion classics in any major market – but rather what Spires describes as social pressure. First from the affluent tech-savvy buyers who are already shifting to EVs en masse, but also from a future generation who will grow up without experiencing the sounds…

Situated in the heart of Blackburn’s motor dealer district and with a ground-floor showroom filled with classic and performance cars, Warrantywise, a used car warranty company, looks for all the world like a car dealership. Among the sports cars and supercars on display are a Jaguar E-Type and XKR cabrio, Mercedes-AMG SL55, Honda NSX, Bentley Continental GT and a Ferrari 458. There are Lister cars in the mix, too (Warrantywise bought the Cambridge-based sports car manufacturer in 2013); most notably a Knobbly and an LFT-666 prototype, based on the Jaguar F-Type. The first production LFT-666, one of 99 that will be built, is awaiting delivery in an area behind the showroom where future LFTs will be produced. I’ve come to meet Lawrence Whittaker, the CEO of Warrantywise. Given his taste…

I had a Toyota GT86 until two years ago. I now have an Alpine A110 with some 500 miles under its wheels. Recently, I had the opportunity to try the latest GT86 with upgraded brakes, damper/steering settings and so on. What a revelation! The purity and precise weighting of the controls on the GT86 and the senses they bring when driving hard are just wondrous – and that magnificent manual gearshift. Don’t get me wrong: the Alpine is a great drive but there are others that border on the same brilliance. Yes, the GT86 would fall behind in outright performance terms, but the rest of its dynamic package is still brilliant even after the passing of time and new entrants to this segment. So, Autocar, how about a back to…

MILEAGE 4650 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Merc’s Golf rival has come of age – and to try to pick the ‘perfect’ spec Perfect timing. A stretch that included a decent cross-country drive and a long, sun-drenched Easter weekend coincided with a welcome stint in the editor’s Mercedes A250 AMG Line, and a golden chance to sample a hatch of suitably warm character. Last time I admitted to some negligence in the cleanliness of my previous Audi A6 Avant, but it turns out I’m not the only one. Still, a couple of hours cleaning off Mr Tisshaw’s grime [road testing assessment by-product, actually… – ed] was well spent, especially with a couple of juniors on hand to ‘help’. Washing a car is always a great way to get…

There I was casually filling up with petrol and something came off in my hand: the petrol cap. That’s normal, except that it’s usually attached to the car by a piece of chain so you don’t lose it in the jungle. After 35 years, it had given up being attached, which I suppose is some sort of record for a Land Rover. Anyway, I don’t think any chain ended up in the tank and all I had to do was get a pair of pliers out. A wonderfully simple distraction from the potentially fleet member-ending issue that has just reared its ugly head.…

In 2013 when the F-Type convertible launched, you needed from £60,000 or so to get one. Today, a six-year-old entry-level 3.0 with 35,000 miles is a shade under £25,000. That’s more like it. As a new car, the F-Type has always looked expensive next to the competition, but used ones make a lot more sense. There are hundreds to choose from at prices ranging from the aforementioned £25,000 all the way to £140,000 for a 2016-reg limited-run Project 7 convertible. In between are clusters of achingly desirable examples at multiple price points. Jaguar approved used cars start at around £30,000 for a 2014/64-reg 3.0 coupé with 45,000 miles, backed by an impressive two-year unlimited-mileage warranty. Meanwhile, legions of specialists are selling F-Types, albeit with less comprehensive warranties, as well as…

SUBARU IS TARGETING an ambitious threefold increase in UK sales by 2025 as part of a comeback plan to return the brand to health and match its record sales year of 2001. A new UK MD, Chris Graham (formerly boss of Citroën Ireland), has been appointed by the importer IM Group, whose development director, Torbjörn Lillrud, is driving the push into the next decade. “Now we are extremely ambitious for the UK,” said Lillrud at the 2019 Geneva motor show, “but in the past, we’ve done a bad job. We didn’t have a plan. We focused too much on the WRC rallying and missed the boom in SUV sales. We forgot to tell the right story”. Last year, Subaru started seeing signs of recovery, increasing sales by 17% to 3141…

Lotus is aiming to target Porsche with an extensive overhaul of its product line-up, according to Group Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng. Feng, who also holds the role of chief technical officer of Zhejiang Geely (owner of Lotus as well as the Volvo Group), spoke to Autocar at the recent Shanghai motor show after Lotus officially confirmed its Type 130 all-electric hypercar. Confirming the British brand’s new positioning as a cutting-edge, engineering-led company, he said Lotus plans to use its technical expertise throughout the group and to introduce new technology that will ultimately feature on cars from Geely’s other brands, too. “For the high-end and pioneering technology and applications, Lotus can serve as the frontrunner in many cases,” Feng told Autocar, “then gradually in the future that kind of know-how and…

Porsche’s own hybrid 911 is due by 2022, but in the meantime, Californian company Vonnen has beaten the maker at its own game, having already turned its hand to electrifying the iconic sports cars. Chuck Moreland, CEO of Vonnen, says the idea of hybridising the 911 came to fruition three years ago when a proof of concept – using a 1990s ‘996’ 911 – underlined that it was possible. Moreland expands: “This is a [rear-drive] C2, and what we did was we took a [all-wheel drive] C4 transaxle, which has a yoke to drive the front, we put a motor in the tunnel and instead of taking torque out, we drove torque back into the transaxle to drive the rear wheels. It worked.” It may have worked, but there was…

Tesla’s financial woes continue even as the Californian company sets jaw-dropping records for sales of its electric Model 3 saloon across continental Europe and predicts the imminent arrival of autonomous ‘robotaxis’. CEO Elon Musk predicted three months ago that Tesla would make a profit in the first financial quarter of this year. Instead, it posted one of its worst three-month results, losing $702 million (£545m). Musk blamed delays in Model 3 production, as well as losses caused by a slip in residual values for its ageing Model S and Model X cars. Tesla has posted a profit in only four quarters since 2010 and has never had a profitable year. Demand might be cooling in the US, but not for Europe, at least for the new Model 3. Across Europe,…

The e-Niro copes fairly well with the dynamic abuse test that is the Millbrook Hill Route – which is to say, as well as it needs to in order to feel secure and contained when driven fairly quickly on the road. Placing the e-Niro’s drive battery down low doesn’t prevent it entirely from affecting the car’s limit handling, but it certainly helps take the sting out of the equation. The EV grips the road quite well and doesn’t roll excessively or run out of adhesion suddenly, so it’s entirely drivable even as the electronic stability control begins to chime in, which it does with subtlety but effectiveness. Brake pedal feel remains a bit of a barrier to the act of driving both quickly and smoothly, but it gets much better…

I remember well the reception afforded to the Porsche 959 when it finally went into production in 1986, three years after being shown in concept form. This wasn’t just a new level for 911-based machinery nor even for Porsche itself. It was a new level, period. Those who drove it spoke of cruising, yes cruising, at 160mph, and the strong acceleration still available at that speed. It blew Ferrari’s gorgeous and still quite new GTO (only latterly described as a 288 GTO) into instant obsolescence. Those journalists who drove it were thunderstruck, and rightly so. For this was the fastest production road car the world had ever seen. It had 444bhp and a top speed of more than 190mph. It could reach 62mph in 3.7sec. It didn’t just have four-wheel…

Of the 10 cars that recorded the most market share growth in Europe during 2018, do you care to estimate how many of those were crossovers and SUVs? That’s right, every single one of them. The SUV is no longer a trend or a craze but a full-blown epidemic. With the sector growing by 20% every year, already more than a third of all new cars being sold right now are SUVs of one size or another. We’re living in a George Orwell novel. New car buyers are terrified of being rounded up by Thinkpol if they so much as leaf through a saloon or estate car brochure, so they obediently choose high-riding hatchbacks on PCPs instead. Consider the Seat Arona. The tiny Spanish crossover is certainly very popular among…

The hardscrabble town of Boudenib, the base for the opening stages of this year’s Carta Rallye, is nestled on the edge of the Sahara desert, 10 miles or so from the Algerian border in the far east of Morocco. Not that you’d know it from the weather. As the assembled crews prepare all manner of outlandish rally-raid machinery for the seven-day, 1250-mile marathon, including Dakar-honed Mitsubishi Pajeros, spaceframe buggies and monstrous trucks, the rain is lashing down, a bracing wind is causing havoc and the desert scrubland has become a Glastonbury-esque mud bath. In the unexpected downpour, the spirits of the competitors are as leaden as the grey skies. But one crew stands out – and not just because, amid all the heavily modified rally cars, their three Dacia Dusters…

SPECIAL FEATURE Speed limiters: will they really ruin our fun? We look at the upcoming world of speed limiters – while Andrew Frankel proves that you can have fun in a slow car USED SPECIAL Brexit Brits Our best British used cars – a good deal all Brits can actually agree on… FIRST DRIVE BMW 320d M Sport UK’s favourite 3 Series driven here for the first time in its new guise EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Maserati Levante S It has had an extensive facelift, but is it worthy of your consideration? USED BUYING GUIDE Last of the original Minis How to get the original Mini at its latest (we mean 1990s) and possibly greatest FIRST DRIVE Audi R8 Spyder Revised Audi sports car loses its roof and meets our…

MILEAGE 5435 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if reborn MG’s poster child is as easy to live with as the established names in the class Before becoming custodian of this MG, I’d been the (temporary) keeper of the keys for the Autocar Ford Fiesta ST for a few weeks. Britain’s best affordable driver’s car was suitably impressive and reflected well on its maker. Even the diesel-powered Ford Focus I’d run before the ST could entertain on a decent stretch of road. So the question I’ve come back to more than once now I’m running the MG SUV is: can it offer anything close to the driving pleasure of Ford’s finest? And you know what? Even though the ZS might not be particularly exciting to point down the sort of…

Colin Strickland is back and keen to give us an update on his expanding Bangernomics fleet. He says: “The £300 Focus is still going strong and has just passed its MOT, with just a new brake hose and pipe needed. It’s so good that my son set a budget of £300 for his first car. Needless to say the best value car I found was an identical Focus. It needed a new rad, but then a clutch slave cylinder went, taking the clutch with it. Still, it provides zero-deprecation, low-cost motoring and it’s just passed its MOT, too.”…

This Testarossa project must be one of the more expensive basket cases. It made £29,415, although it does at least have a totally restored and rust-proofed chassis, all of its panels (in need of stripping and restoring) and its seats (they’ve been retrimmed). It’s got new tyres and all of its glass, too. Also present, fortunately, are the mechanicals, ECU and wiring loom. Good luck with that. It looks like a job for an expert, but we know someone who, with next to no marque knowledge, bought a Ferrari in similar condition and now has seven of the things.…

With a hot hatch on your mind and £7000 in your pocket, what are you going to buy? Allow us to suggest a Renault Sport Mégane 250, perhaps the 2010/60-reg example with 67,000 miles that we found. It has a full service history, every fettle slavishly listed with its corresponding mileage in the private seller’s advertisement. It had its cambelt and water pump changed last November, almost bang on schedule. It’s had five owners, but then, as a motor trader once told us, that’s five honeymoons when the car has been spoiled rotten. Based on the third-gen Mégane, the all-new RS 250 arrived in the UK in 2010 before going out with a bang in the form of the 275 Trophy R of 2015. These two models alone remind us…