Innholdsfortegnelse for June 26, 2019 i Autocar

WORRIED IF FUTURE driver’s and sports cars will retain the appeal of their storied ancestors, given a shift away from the things (manual gearboxes, naturally aspirated internal combustion engines, no driver aids) that made them great? We’ve got the key men behind such models from rival companies together to detail the future for the cars we love the most. Perhaps most interesting of all from the fascinating discussion between senior engineers from Porsche, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin (p52) is their views on something dominating and overhauling the entire industry, which is due to land at their door imminently: electrification. Each knows electrification will one day inevitably meet with sports cars, increasing weight and therefore power with it, the former of which is as big a penalty to such…

“Plans have now been approved for a new four-wheel-drive four-cylinder 1 Series with up to 400bhp” BMW’S M PERFORMANCE car division will expand its line-up with more M Performance and full-blown M models that span the entire range – from the new M135i xDrive to a 600bhp version of the upcoming X8 SUV. M division also plans to top its line-up and showcase its engineering prowess with a bespoke mid-engined coupé based on the Vision M Next. That arresting new concept points to a high-tech hybrid future at BMW M. However, significant restructuring measures have already been put in place to ensure the long-term competitiveness of more volume-selling M models against a growing number of rivals from Audi Sport, Jaguar SVO, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche. BMW M’s wide-ranging engineering programme is…

Mitsubishi is plotting a resurrection of the iconic Lancer Evolution as part of a return to its performance car roots. It is planned to continue a rich history of Lancer Evolution models kicked off with the launch of the first-generation model in 1992, by offering supercar-beating acceleration together with the choice of either traditional four-door saloon or five-door hatchback bodystyles, according to Japanese-based sources. Details remain scarce, but suggestions are the follow-up to the Lancer Evolution X produced between 2007 and 2016 would share key elements of its drivetrain with the next-generation Renault Mégane RS, with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine mated to a dual-clutch gearbox and an advanced Mitsubishi-developed S-AWC four-wheel-drive system. In its most potent form, the existing front-wheel-drive Renault Mégane RS’s MR designated engine delivers 296bhp and…

ENTHUSIASM FOR BEVs (battery-electric cars) is growing, which is a good thing. That said, no amount of EV enthusiasts telling consumers they don’t actually need the range they think they do will convince them to pay more for something that does less. Manufacturers know this, which is why there’s so much talk surrounding the latest wonder-tech looming over the horizon: the solid-state battery. So what are these miraculous things that it’s claimed will banish any quibbling about range forever? The main components in any battery are electrodes (anode and a cathode) immersed in electrolyte. A conventional 12V lead-acid car battery contains a solution of sulphuric acid as electrolyte, which is fine as long as it stays in the battery. A lithium ion car battery has an inflammable electrolyte composed of…

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The mid-life facelift of the B8-generation Volkswagen Passat coincides with the return of the version that must represent one of Wolfsburg’s better chances of commercial success in a business car market increasingly concerned with emissions reduction, and fascinated with SUVs. The Passat GTE plug-in hybrid was withdrawn from sale last summer, when changing European emissions regulations rendered it obsolete. Now it’s back with 30% more zero-emissions range, some new driving mode functionality and all of the rest of the highlights of VW’s wider update for the Passat range, which has brought the car a new touchscreen infotainment system, some new engines and a few styling tweaks besides. A 5% price cut is the sweetener expected to complete the hike in sales profile for the petrol-electric, ultra-low-emissions derivative, which accounted for…

1 JAGUAR I-PACE EV400 S Jaguar’s first electric car sits at the top of the pile courtesy of engaging dynamic ability and desirability. 2 AUDI E-TRON 55 QUATTRO No driver’s delight like the Jaguar, but eludes polish in every department and is likeably versatile. 3 TESLA MODEL S All-wheel-drive saloon kick-started the trend for larger, luxury EVs, and remains a strong option. 4 TESLA MODEL X Long-range version yields 300 miles for this slick SUV effort, though handling still needs fine-tuning. 5 VOLVO XC90 T8 Plug-in hybrid won’t impart range anxiety and remains a charming and quick device, if a little confused in its identity. *Prices quoted do not include £3500 plug-in car grant…

Pick three blokes – any three blokes in the world – to sit around a table with and talk cars. Fast cars, interesting cars, everyday cars, driver’s cars, electric cars, motorsport and more. Come on – who are you gonna pick? Well, you couldn’t do much better than these three: Matt Becker (chief engineer of vehicle attribute engineering at Aston Martin), Mike Cross (chief engineer, vehicle targets and sign-off, at Jaguar Land Rover) and Andreas Preuninger (director of high-performance cars at Porsche). These three blokes will each be well known to regular Autocar readers because they’re among the most influential figures in the industry for defining and tuning the character traits of the very best driver’s cars in the world. They collectively have years of experience doing the sort of…

QUESTION I’m considering buying my next car at auction. Are there any guarantees or recourse if I buy a dud? Jason Townes, Epsom, Surrey ANSWER Choose your auction carefully. Larger operators such as BCA have detailed terms and conditions that outline what you should expect and offer indemnities should a vehicle be incorrectly described. They also guarantee that good title is transferred to the buyer. If a vehicle’s mileage is warranted, then that should be correct. BCA also offers the Assured scheme, an independent multi-point check by the AA to ensure buyers have accurate information relating to the mechanical condition. Remember that it is up to you to check the car’s overall visible condition prior to the sale, as these parts of the car are always sold ‘as seen’. JE…

LOTUS EXCEL ‘A bargain basement entry into Lotus ownership,’ gushes the sales catalogue for this 1990 Lotus Excel. It could have added ‘tough and reliable’, given that some major parts came from Toyota, at the time a shareholder in Lotus. The Excel also had a galvanised steel backbone chassis to complement its glassfibre body panels. Corrosion and breakdowns were licked, then, while performance was covered by a 160bhp 2.2-litre engine good for 0-60mph in 7.1sec. Handling and ride came courtesy of Lotus’s expertise. At £5265, it’s a bargain.…

An expert’s view GREG ERSKIN, GENERAL MANAGER, ECOSSE “I wouldn’t have a 207 GTI, certainly not one built before 2008, if you gave it to me. The timing chain tensioner is the big issue. It sticks or becomes weak, allowing the chain to slacken off, and then you’re in serious trouble. The other problem area is the cylinder head. Those on early cars were poorly machined and you’d get bits of metal dropping into the engine. Otherwise, things like the gearbox and suspension just suffer the usual wear and tear issues. The engine can be remapped for around £375 while a dump valve is a popular aftermarket add-on.” Buyer beware… ■ TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER A weak spot on early cars. Listen for chain slap and other noises when the engine…

“The 0-62mph time of the reborn M1 is a claimed 3.0sec and BMW quotes a top speed of 186mph” BMW’s M performance car division is developing a long sought-after successor to the 41-year-old M1 supercar. Previewed by the Vision M Next concept ahead of an expected debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September, the advanced carbonfibre-bodied coupé is planned to go on sale early next decade. It will introduce a new 591bhp plug-in petrol-electric drivetrain that is also earmarked to power more conventional, future M models. The new high-performance driveline, which develops well over double the power of that used by the BMW i8, forms part of a drivetrain electrification programme being overseen by BMW M’s new CEO, Markus Flasch. The Vision M Next will be a spearhead for…

Ford’s new Puma takes a classic name and applies it to a new car that is subtly but effectively different from its established SUV rivals. Officially, the company describes the Puma as an “SUV-inspired crossover”, with its three standout virtues claimed to be “seductive styling”, ingenious rear stowage and the new 48V mild-hybrid petrol drivetrain. The body’s flowing surfaces have been developed under what designer George Saridakis labels an “anti-wedge” policy. What he calls “separated” headlights and tail-lights are also a move against the current trends for “joining everything up”, Saridakis citing the industry fashion for full-width light bars across a vehicle’s tail. The new Puma is based on the same new C2 company architecture as the Fiesta and the Focus, but the platform’s inherent flexibility has allowed the Puma…

Aston Martin has revealed its sub-Valkyrie hypercar will be named Valhalla – and make a starring appearance in next year’s James Bond film. The mid-engined hybrid was originally codenamed AM-RB 003 when revealed at the Geneva motor show. Its name, taken from Norse mythology, continues Aston’s association with the letter V that goes back to 1951. The Valhalla is powered by a 1000bhp-plus V6 hybrid powertrain, and is due to enter production in 2021. Aston confirmed rumours the Valhalla would be driven by Daniel Craig in the as-yet-unnamed 25th Bond film, alongside a return of the DB5 and the Aston Martin V8, first seen in The Living Daylights back in 1987.…

AUDI HAS ALSO launched the new SQ8 as its flagship high-performance SUV, featuring a 4.0-litre mild-hybrid turbodiesel engine tuned to produce 429bhp and 664lb ft. That unit powers the five-seater from 0-62mph in 4.8sec, with a limited top speed of 155mph. Audi’s hottest Q8 SUV coupé features all-wheel drive, an eight-speed automatic gearbox and a sport differential. All-wheel steering and active roll stabilisation are options, as is active air suspension, which can adjust the ride height by up to 90mm. The SQ8 sits on 21in wheels as standard – with 22in versions available – and features design tweaks over the regular Q8, including a new grille and diffuser.…

A high court battle to decide if Volkswagen must pay out hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation to owners of cars affected by Dieselgate is set to play out in spring next year. Volkswagen and lawyers representing around 95,000 motorists have been locked in a group action lawsuit – the biggest ever raised in the UK – for four years and a final pre-trial hearing in December will agree the details and set a date for the trial in 2020. Battle lines have been drawn between Volkswagen, represented by London law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and a consortium of 11 lawyers led by Slater and Gordon, alongside firms SPG Law and Leigh Day. The number of motorists represented, however, is fluctuating and has gone down in recent months as…

Disregard the familiar visual cues: the fifth-generation Renault Clio is very much new, right down to its unseen – and never-before-seen – platform. Every panel is new, and even though the window apertures are identical to the old Clio’s, the windows are new, too. The body-in-white is new and 22kg lighter than before; the subframes are most definitely new; the suspension is similar to before but very much new; and the engines are largely new. Headrests, gearstick, steering wheel? New. This all-round newness is in contrast to the Clio’s in-house status as ‘grandmother’ car, as chief engineer Gilles Mulato puts it. That means it pioneers entire sub-systems for the Renault and will donate them to other models, not least in the form of that modular CMF-B platform. We’ll come back…

When the GL-Class was renamed the GLS as part of a mid-life facelift in 2015, it was done in order to define it as ‘the S-Class of SUVs’. It never lived up to that billing – and with a flood of new entrants piling on the pressure in the premium SUV category, Mercedes-Benz has set out to put that right with this third generation. There has been a particular focus on the interior and Mercedes has certainly packed in the S-Class-esque luxury features, particularly for those in the back. There’s five-zone automatic climate control, touchscreens available in the second row and a whopping 11 USB ports. The second row has up to 87mm more leg room and even the third row features heated seats. Increasing interior space has made an…

MODEL TESTED 55 QUATTRO Price £71,520 • Power 403bhp • Torque 490lb ft • 0-60mph 5.4sec • 30-70mph in fourth na • Fuel economy 2.3mpkWh • CO2 emissions 0g/km • 70-0mph 45.0m For Audi, the arrival of its very first fully electric series-production model can’t have come soon enough. And unusually, the urgency had relatively little to do with the launch diaries of rival manufacturers and more with the wider well-being of the company. Jaguar and Mercedes might also recently have put luxurious electric mid-sized SUV models, rich in zeitgeist appeal, onto the road, but Audi has other concerns. Its role in the Volkswagen Group diesel emissions scandal inflicted a good degree of reputational damage on the brand, and alongside helping to meet strict future average CO2 emissions, cars such as…

If the Millbrook Hill Route were flatter, the E-tron would have emerged from it having given a slightly more convincing account of its dynamic capacities. The car has a fairly strong grip level and laudable lateral body control, both of which aren’t commonly found on two-and-a-half-tonne cars. It doesn’t exactly feel keen to turn in, but is still surprisingly precise and nicely stable and obedient mid-corner with it. There’s enough grip to be quite generous with the torque of those electric motors once you’re beyond the apex of a corner, too. The tuning of the E-tron’s air suspension and adaptive dampers doesn’t keep vertical body movement nearly as tidily controlled as roll, however, and once the car’s considerable mass is disturbed, it is rarely checked with much subtlety. But the…

This is going to be a most pleasant day. I have been tasked with the challenge of driving from the Brooklands motor museum in Weybridge to Brighton without using a motorway and preferably not using a dual carriageway. “Is it still possible,” asked the editor, “to enjoy driving on Britain’s congested roads?” It most certainly is. A couple of weeks ago, I joined some friends on a navigational rally around the Surrey hills followed by a pleasant lunch. It helped that I was driving an Alpine A110, but it would have been a wonderful day out in a Morris Minor. It’s going to help a great deal that today we are driving a brandnew Corvette Grand Sport. The car has been loaned by Ian Allan Motors of Virginia Water who,…

To the casual observer, they appear to be worn-out wrecks. But the Autocar team knows better. These are 10 of the most entertaining, affordable used cars that will be a hoot on track. Cheap but cheerful (well, until a wheel falls off), they are a great way to understand why, when you visit places like the Nürburgring, it’s drivers of old Volvo 340s and Citroën ZXs who are laughing all the way round the lap. And when it rains, imagine how smug you would feel overtaking a supercar in a £1500 Subaru. Avoiding cars with overtly sporting pretensions and sticker prices above £2000, this ragtag bunch proves that very little money can indeed buy happiness. So with the summer now in full swing, why not give into temptation and get…

With the right lighting, a dash of make-up and a pair of 10-inch heels, Marcus Atkinson could pass for Fiona Bruce hosting an episode of TV’s Antiques Roadshow. But while the popular presenter gets to swan about in country houses with a TV crew in close attendance, Atkinson is, when I meet him, standing in what looks like a cattle shed off a busy roundabout near Leominster, with some colleagues and a clipboard. No matter; like Fiona, he too has a queue of antique lovers to deal with, although rather than bringing him an old trouser press or a teapot for valuation, they’ve actually arrived in their heirlooms and collectables. Cedric Egby is one such antique lover. The 76-year-old former Electricity Board accountant has motored 20 miles from his home…

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship’s tightly controlled technical regulations are a key reason it regularly produces such exciting racing – and ensuring its ultra-competitive teams play by those rules is a tough job. The BTCC has a small group of technical experts at each race to make sure that happens. This year, they’ve got a new home: the TOCA Technical Centre, a newly finished truck unit that travels to every race with all the equipment needed to run a BTCC race weekend. That includes all of the technical kit, the BTCC’s bespoke signage, event branding and even photographer Jakob Ebrey’s stepladder. Once the equipment is set up, the truck effectively becomes the technical team’s mobile command unit, where they can analyse data and samples in order to police…

Norman joined Jaguar in 1952 to work as chief test development engineer, progressing to chief vehicle proving engineer and finally to manager, vehicle proving. He left in 1985. He was, of course, part of a team, driven by director of engineering Bill Heynes and challenged by Sir William Lyons’ desire to produce the best car in the world, which the whole team of design and development engineers were thought by many to have achieved in 1968 with the XJ6 In his pioneering work with some great suppliers and colleagues developing the disc brakes and, in particular, with Bob Knight and Tom Jones on the ride and handling side, Norman was a key player in developing Jaguar road cars for 33 years. In addition, he made a unique contribution to race…

FINAL REPORT MILEAGE 7190 WHY WE RAN IT To see if Merc’s Golf rival has come of age – and to try to pick the ‘perfect’ spec To date, the fourth-generation A-Class is Britain’s fifth best-selling car of the year, behind the likes of Ford’s Fiesta and Focus, the Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen Golf – cars which would likely fill those top four slots even if hell did in fact freeze over. Fifth, then, is the real quiz making the A-Class Britain’s best-selling premium car. It illustrates just how far the entry-level Mercedes has come, from awkward mini-MPV to toppling nearly every other car on the road in sales terms and becoming part of our motoring furniture in the process. With so many being bought, it’s a given that lots…

MILEAGE 3975 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if Ford’s all-purpose hatchback remains the driver’s choice in the family car class Recently, reader Mark Brierley wrote to us noting the often high cost of the options on many of the cars we test – including our Ford Focus. He said the price of our ST-Line X trim car with options – £31,145 – put it “well into ‘premium’ territory”, and suggested he’d rather put that money towards a Volkswagen Golf R. As well as displaying impeccable taste in four-wheel-drive hot hatches, Mark raises a few interesting points. Given the entry-level price of a Focus is £25,650, the extras on our car tot up to £6000 or so. How many of them could we live without? The first one is…

VAUXHALL HAS REVEALED details of the all-new Corsa in petrol and diesel form, after already showing the battery-electric version (News, 5 June). The brand claims all variants emit less CO2 than the most efficient versions of the current Corsa, partly thanks of a weight reduction of up to 108kg. The line-up starts with a 74bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol unit mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, with a 99bhp turbocharged version also available from launch that can be had with a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission. Also available is a 1.5-litre diesel unit producing 99bhp. At the time of going to press, no official economy or performance figures of the three engines were available, but they are likely to be comparable to the same units in the platform-sharing Peugeot 208.…

It’s impossible to judge the Audi E-tron without reference to what many will consider its key rival, the Jaguar I-Pace – the car that first brought an established European car brand to the luxury EV market last year. And yet in so many ways this new Audi could sit in a league of its own. It is refined and relaxing enough to break new ground for the electric car, and so practical, capable and luxurious with it that very few other similarly priced SUVs, electric or otherwise, bear comparison. But it is also not quite a driver’s car: not, at least, in the way the Jaguar is, or in the slightly different performance-flavoured way that an upper-end Tesla may be considered one. While its performance and handling are both strong,…

Philippe-Emmanuel Jean – Peugeot’s brand plan and concept car strategy chief – gets out the answer before I’ve even asked the question. “Of course, this car won’t be produced,” he says. “It wasn’t developed for that.” So that’s the short of it. No, they’re not going to build the Peugeot e-Legend concept. Having been to the two biggest motorshows in Europe and several elsewhere since its debut last autumn, what you’re seeing here is the post-event tour; the closing credits. Like Ferris Bueller said: “You’re still here? It’s over. Go home.” Pity. Because the e-Legend sparked interest like few other concepts after it was launched. Somebody even set up a petition urging Peugeot to build it. But then it does have rather a lot going for it. Mostly its looks,…

During practice and qualifying, the technical team set up at the start of the pit lane and perform random spot checks – and, despite rumours, the checks genuinely are random – on cars. It’s all controlled by ‘Sam’s Tardis’, the name given to the station where Sam Riches is based. He controls the lights that signal to pitting cars whether they have to stop for checks. As cars enter the pit, a scanner detects RFID chips in their tyres, ensuring they match the sets assigned to them. Those pulled over then have their ride height checked before being weighed, with the results instantly available on Sam’s tablet. During practice, the teams are ‘advised’ of any failures and allowed to carry on, but those found to have broken the rules in…

DRIVEN Ford Focus ST The ST has never quite hit the heights of the Focus RS, but can Ford finally distil the RS’s brilliance into a more affordable package? We find out FEATURE So who are Geely? Meet the brains behind the firm that has revived Volvo and bought Lotus DRIVEN Morgan Plus Six Morgan’s first all-new model in 19 years signposts its future. We rate it EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Lamborghini Urus Lambo is the latest supercar maker to turn its hand to SUVs. Full road test FIRST DRIVE Bentley Bentayga Hybrid Bentley’s first plug-in hybrid makes its debut. Andrew Frankel gives his verdict USED BUYING GUIDE Mercedes-Benz R-Class An MPV? An SUV? Whatever you call it, it’s an interesting used buy SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p22…

MILEAGE 7951 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 Who’d have thought an understated compact crossover would be so good at attracting the attention of strangers? I’ve written before, if only in passing, about the MG’s uncanny ability to draw people in on the petrol station forecourt. But it happens frequently enough that I can now guess exactly how the conversation will go. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve had to deliver some variation of the following responses: “Yes, it is an MG”; “No, it’s made in China now, actually”; “It’s definitely not like the old MG sports cars”; and “Yes, it is surprisingly cheap!”. Strangers are pleasingly predictable in…

MILEAGE 6759 INNOCENTI MINI Just to let you know that the Italian Mini I bought earlier this year still exists. It failed its MOT in fairly spectacular fashion: the brakes weren’t very good and, of course, there was rust. Loads of it. There’s not enough room here to detail what’s been happening and I may well go away and write a book about the whole experience. For the moment, though, I’ll just stick to the MOT, which it didn’t even need to be subjected to – and that should scare every road user out there.…

Given Mazda’s fondness for clever engineering and doing things its own sweet way, any new model from the Japanese car maker is always worth getting excited about. And so it was with the Mazda 3 of 2014. It has just been replaced by an all-new model, but as late as last year the outgoing car was still getting the better of fresher rivals. In this magazine it found itself in the final four of an eight-car group test battling the Skoda Octavia, Volkswagen Golf and new Ford Focus for top honours. It came third, but Matt Saunders was moved enough to say that he couldn’t have picked a tougher dynamic test for the Focus than to compare it with the Mazda 3. He was referring to the hatchback version, by…

Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 £7450 With looks inspired by the Vision SLR concept unveiled at the 1999 Detroit motor show and a galvanised body guaranteed to prevent the rust that corroded Mercedes’ reputation throughout the 1990s, an SLK R171 is a great second-hand buy. It was launched in 2004, facelifted in 2008 and expired in 2010 – long enough, then, to generate a fair quantity of motors ranging in price from around £2500 for an early SLK 200 to £11,000 for a late-plate 300. Feeling flush? Tidy – and potent – SLK 55s start at around £12,500 and go to £20,000 for a 2009-reg. Our choice would be a 2008 facelifted model (it gained a new nose and rear end plus more than 650 other new parts, including a new instrument…

Jaguar XJ 3.0 V6 diesel (300PS) Portfolio SWB auto Price new £79,294. Price now £43,400 News that XJ production ends this week will have bargain hunters flocking to see what pre-reg pickings can be snaffled. We found a 2019/19-reg 3.0 diesel Portfolio with 100 miles on the clock. The ad says it’s a dealer demo, but it can't have been busy… Still, it’s specced to the eyeballs, taking the OTR price from £72,620 to £79,924 with options. To get it off their hands, the dealer is now offering it for £43,400 – a discount of almost £36,000.…

In Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood may as well have handed the keys of a used Peugeot 207 GTi to the criminal lying before him on the ground as suggest he weigh up the possibility of him having a sixth bullet in his Magnum. Do all the pre-purchase checks you like but, ultimately, whether the Peugeot’s timing chain is about to slip, taking the engine with it, is simply a matter of luck. It’s all to do with the hydraulic chain tensioner fitted to the model’s Prince engine. You hear it first as a rattle from cold. As the oil heats up and circulates, it fades away, leaving you to think it wasn’t anything serious until one day… crunch: you and your bargain 207 GTi are friends no more. And it…