Innholdsfortegnelse for July 03, 2019 i Autocar

THE INDUSTRY CONSENSUS is that an electric car needs to be capable of driving around 300 miles on a single charge to overcome range anxiety. Even if so much of that is unused on a daily basis, people like to know it’s there. That built-in fail-safe tallies with our experience in our Kia e-Niro long-term test car; it’s been the most usable of all EVs because it can go a long way and doesn’t cost the earth. If you’re looking to make the switch to electric power, it is a car of few compromises. Which makes it a surprise to see Honda’s new E electric car (driven, p44) be given a range of just 125 miles. When launched as a concept, its design was lauded. The production version is shaping…

AUDI’S NEWLY REORGANISED Sport performance car division is set to significantly broaden its line-up with the addition of an extended number of RS-badged SUV models within the next 12 months, its newly appointed managing director, Oliver Hoffmann, has revealed. Stirred into action by the success of performance SUV ranges from rivals BMW M and Mercedes-AMG, Hoffmann has confirmed that Audi Sport will begin offering range-topping RS versions of nearly every SUV model in the Audi line-up, starting with the heavily anticipated RS Q8. He said: “We have to stretch our portfolio and the SUV segment is the segment with the most growth. There is high demand from our customers for high-performance SUVs. The RS Q8 we will launch this year. There is really, really high demand for this type of…

FORD HAS CONFIRMED it will launch three new model names in Europe in the next five years as part of the expansion of its “family utility car line-up” and European business overhaul. One of those will be the Mustang-inspired electric model, due next year. While Ford is taking models out of its European range (see main story, left), it plans to give everyone an indirect successor to keep its total product portfolio at the same level. “We will rationalise the product portfolio on where the market goes,” said Ford automotive president Joe Hinrichs. “But we won’t offer fewer models. We’ll react.” Hinrichs added that part of that reaction would be an increase in the number of models Ford imports into Europe, to help fill any holes in its product range…

DUTCH START-UP Lightyear has revealed what is claimed to be the world’s first long-range solar-electric hybrid car. The four-door One has a claimed range of up to 450 miles. Lightyear reckons it can generate as much as 12,430 miles of solar energy annually through its five-metre-square panels integrated in super-strong safety glass, with four independently driven wheels minimising drivetrain loss. The One is priced from £106,000, and 100 of the 500 examples due to be built have been reserved.…

The Festival of Speed serves as Britain’s biggest motor show and the event will host a number of road car launches – with the latest models on display both on car firms’ huge stands and being driven at speed up the hill. Here are some of the more notable cars set to be launched at Goodwood this year. Radical Rapture British track car specialist Radical will reveal a new road car, which will sport a “race-bred powertrain” featuring a turbocharger – a first for the Peterborough manufacturer. BAC Mono The Cheshire firm will launch the second generation of its road-legal Mono single-seater. The styling will remain familiar, but the latest version is set to receive a substantial power hike from the 280bhp produced by the outgoing model’s 2.3-litre engine. Ford…

Bentley is celebrating its 100th birthday this year and, to mark the occasion, 30 of the British firm’s finest cars will be displayed in a special concours on the venue’s cricket pitch. The line-up will range from a 4.5-litre Embiricos Special to the recently launched new Flying Spur (below). The 60th anniversary of Aston Martin’s Le Mans 24 Hours victory (see Racing Lines, right) will be honoured by Goodwood’s traditional central sculpture and there will also be a special display of Sir Jackie Stewart’s racing cars to mark 50 years since the first of his three F1 crowns.…

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Picture Britain’s typical family-owned and -operated business. The sort that mothers and fathers pass on to their kids, or in which uncles, aunties and cousins all pitch in together. You’re imagining a chip shop, right? Just me? Perhaps a pub, a corner shop or a post office, then. Not a car factory, I’d bet. Well, just imagine one – if you can. It won’t be easy. Making cars isn’t something you succeed at simply by getting up early, drinking lots of tea, getting your hands dirty and having a go. It’s complicated. It requires up-to-date specialist know-how and expert design, engineering and manufacturing skill. Peeling spuds, pulling pints or stamping envelopes it ain’t. And yet The Morgan Motor Company was family-owned and -operated right until the year of its 110th…

IF EVER THERE was a brand where less would not turn out to be more, you might think it would be Bentley. But in this generation as it did in the last, replacing a 6.0-litre 12-cylinder engine in the Continental GT with a 4.0-litre V8 has actually resulted in a car that is actually a better, more enjoyable machine than its flagship brother. The V8 is now a Porsche-sourced twin turbo taken almost unchanged from the Panamera Turbo. It has 542bhp, a useful increase on the 500bhp of the last V8 Conti and even the 521bhp of the V8 S. In a car some 130kg lighter than its predecessor, that equates to a substantial increase in performance. Some indication of this is provided by the fact that its 4.0sec sprint…

VERDICT The Lamborghini Urus was always going to be a car to inspire greater esteem with use. Even so, we weren’t quite prepared for how our regard for the Urus would be transformed by driving it as widely, and as hard, as an Autocar road test allows. You might not like the idea of this car, and most testers agreed that its particular design would have benefited from a freer and more imaginative hand. But once you accept that companies such as Lamborghini aren’t to be blamed or scorned for building the cars their customers ask for, you can only really applaud what the Urus does. And, although there could be more really telling bull-brand DNA at this car’s combustive core and perhaps a few more really convincing luxury touches,…

It’s not just Brexit and the concerns about jobs that are killing car sales in this country. It’s also the extraordinary disinterest of the car dealers. Two years ago, I replaced my Range Rover Sport with a newer model. I tried hard to interest two main Land Rover dealers in selling me a car but gave up after the complete lack of interest in even showing me the vehicles they had on their forecourt. If it wasn’t a new car on finance, they couldn’t even be bothered to leave their seats. s. I eventually bought a two-year-old in exactly the spec I wanted from a specialist dealer who could not have been more helpful and accommodating. Last year, my wife tried to buy a new MX-5 from the local Mazda…

MILEAGE 6601 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if the third-generation Continental GT rules the roost as the ultimate grand tourer “The Arnage is comfortable, quiet and has the prestige of being a Bentley,” says David Spencer, proud owner of a 2005 Arnage and organiser of the East Midlands branch of the Bentley Drivers Club. I’ve driven to North Yorkshire on a Friday in our Continental GT long-term test car to meet a few club members at the start of their weekend of local driving tours, to discuss their experiences of owning a Bentley. It’s my first long drive since the Continental’s arrival on the Autocar fleet, and it’s a glorious one. The further I get away from London, the more the roads – and the car – open up…

MILEAGE 83,195 BMW 320 Just in case you wondered, the Baby Shark failed its MOT. The horn didn’t horn. That was it. But that really didn’t matter as it’s remaining in situ at the garage to have rather a lot of other things attended to. Not the least the fact that it is not keen on starting. At least I have a spare Weber carburettor to donate. Also, the fact that 16-year-old tyres passed the MOT should be a concern and I have decided to replace them all at no small damage to my bank balance. Contributions, please, to the usual channels.…

The XF saloon under the microscope here plays the evolutionary card better even than a BMW 5 Series, being almost indistinguishable from the original XF of 2008-15 that preceded it. Look harder, though, and under its stylish body it marks a genuinely new chapter in the model’s story. Its aluminium-rich structure is lighter and stronger, its engines are a new generation of powerplants named Ingenium, the cabin is roomier and it features smarter infotainment and better materials. Prices for the first 2015-registered cars open at around £12,500 for the lowest-powered diesel, the 161bhp 2.0-litre, with around 60,000 miles. If mileage isn’t a worry, you can buy cheaper still, with a 112,000-mile 2016-reg example we found costing just £10,800. That’s from an independent dealer, by the way. At the time of…

VW Scirocco 2.0 TSI GT £7485 Eleven years since it was launched, the Scirocco’s concept car looks have served it well. Production stopped at the end of 2017, although there are some 2018/18-reg cars around. It was facelifted in 2014, when it gained new lights, restyled bumpers and uprated engines. However, at heart, it remained the Golf Mk5 that it was based on, a model launched way back in 2004. You can feel that relationship in the crashy ride of more extreme Sciroccos and see it in the cliff-like dashboard. The long doors weigh a tonne, too, although strong catches ensure they don’t swing uncontrollably into adjacent cars. If they did, the other motor would come off worse. The Scirocco’s steel is that strong. There are loads for sale at…

“The RS3’s reworked four-wheel-drive system is claimed to provide it with a drift mode function” Audi chairman Bram Schott has granted production approval to the new A3 ahead of its UK introduction in early 2020. However, it will be another year before sporting variants of the new fourth-generation Audi model – including a rapid 417bhp RS3 with a new mild-hybrid drivetrain and revised electro-hydraulic four-wheel-drive system – challenge rivals from Mercedes-AMG and BMW M. The arrival of the new A3 has been delayed by more than a year because of fallout from the diesel emissions scandal and Audi’s decision to prioritise development of its pure-electric E-tron models. However, the new A3 has been heavily reworked in a move that, one senior Audi official has suggested to Autocar, will make it…

Ford of Europe is preparing a radical re-invention of its European large family car line-up by replacing the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy with a single crossover-style estate model. The new vehicle, whose name is not yet known, will mark Ford’s exit from both the classic large hatchback market and the MPV sector. Although there’s no news on a definitive launch date, the car is expected to arrive in early 2021. Unlike some of Ford’s bespoke European models, the model will be sold in North America and beyond. In the US it is being compared by insiders to the Subaru Outback, itself a high-riding estate car. Although a niche model in Europe, the Outback has been a significant success in the US since it was launched two decades ago, with recent…

Kia is exploiting another crossover niche as it opens the order books for the Xceed, the fourth model in the Ceed range. The new crossover’s line-up is set to include a range of petrol and diesel engines and, later on, a plug-in hybrid variant. The two-wheel-drive Xceed is said to marry hatchback-style driving dynamics with the practicality of a small SUV, wrapped up in a sportily styled body with a bespoke design. Prices are expected to start from around £19,000, with the similarly conceived Ford Focus Active lined up as its closest competitor. The technical base for the Xceed is the five-door Ceed hatchback, and it shares that car’s 2650mm wheelbase. Kia says only the front doors are carried over and the rest of the body is new, including the…

Renault has followed up its strong-selling Captur crossover with a second-generation model that features a similar dramatic interior revamp as the Clio – and will also be offered as a plug-in hybrid. The French maker claims to have sold more of the outgoing Captur last year than when it first launched in 2013. To continue that success, the new Seat Arona rival adopts an evolutionary approach to the exterior design that Renault describes as “more modern, more muscular and more expressive, with more SUV design cues”. LED head and tail-lights are also now standard across the range. Set to go on sale at the end of this year, the new crossover is significantly larger than its predecessor, with 100mm added to its length – with a 33mm longer wheelbase –…

EVs MAY NOT sound all that quiet when travelling fast, but they can be at low speed – posing a risk to blind people or anyone just not paying attention. So on 1 July, a new EU law came into force with the snappy title of Regulation on the Sound Level of Motor Vehicles. It dictates that any private or commercial hybrid or EV with four or more wheels must have an acoustic vehicle alert system working at up to just over 12mph. Most manufacturers of cars with an EV-only mode, including Jaguar, Nissan, Toyota and Mitsubishi, already have some sort of AVAS fitted. Several companies have been working on it behind the scenes for years, though, such as Harman, which demonstrated a prototype system in 2009. It calls its…

THE FESTIVAL OF Speed will celebrate a number of milestones, including the 25th anniversary of the first title win of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher. The German, who turned 50 earlier this year, claimed the first of his record seven titles in controversial fashion at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix. Goodwood will host a special celebration to mark Schumacher’s career, featuring his friends and rivals, along with a number of the machines that he drove during his racing career. Damon Hill, who Schumacher edged for that 1994 title, is set to drive his long-time rival’s Benetton B194 up the hill as part of the celebration. Schumacher, who won a record 91 F1 races, was seriously injured in a skiing accident in 2013.…

Normally, we would not begin a review of the latest, possibly greatest hot hatchback with a reference to Ferrari, but bear with. When Ferrari launches a new car, journalists are invited to its Maranello HQ and are ritually subjected to a tableaux of complicated graphs and diagrams. It’s dry but oddly compelling, and reasonable on the part of the manufacturer: the chassis electronics even for mainline models such as the 488 GTB have become bewilderingly complex works of art and Ferrari would like us all to appreciate that. Ford pulled a Ferrari for the fourth-generation Focus ST. Justifiably, too. This is a complicated car: an ocean of binary code away from even the last ST, which was launched in 2012 with nothing like the same spread of technologies. We’ve seen…

When tasked with lending an even greater sense of drama to the DBS Superleggera, realistic avenues are limited. A good start is to remove the roof and that’s exactly what Aston Martin has done to create the DBS Superleggera Volante: a 715bhp twin-turbo V12-engined super-GT that will hit 211mph even when the canvas is hidden beneath the rear deck. They say it’s the fastest series-production soft-top money can buy. In the flesh, it looks every nut, bolt and composite fibre its £247,500 asking price and worthy of its status as Aston’s current flagship road car. That’s £22,500 more than the coupé and it’s not difficult to understand why. Accommodating the same roof mechanism found on the DB11 Volante meant relocating the engine’s particulate filters outboard and rotating the fuel tank.…

1 BENTLEY BENTAYGA SPEED Speed model replaces previous Bentayga W12 in Bentley’s SUV line-up. Not quite as sharp as the Lamborghini, but devastatingly quick and properly luxurious. 2 LAMBORGHINI URUS Outlandish straight-line pace with physics-defying handling smarts. Engine a bit short on theatrics, mind, and cabin isn’t quite as special as we’d hoped. 3 RANGE ROVER SVAUTOBIOGRAPHY Range-topping Range Rover packs a supercharged V8 punch and a properly plush cabin. Fast, composed and comfortable. 4 PORSCHE CAYENNE TURBO A class below the Lamborghini in terms of price and prestige, but the Cayenne Turbo remains one of the most dynamically impressive fast SUVs out there. 5 AUDI SQ7 Soon-to-return Audi SQ7 might appear a touch casual in this decidedly posh line-up, but there’s nothing pedestrian about its performance.…

Scalextric on steroids, they call it, and once you’ve done a lap of the 110-foot, five-lane track with the 1:32-scale cars (seasoned ‘drivers’ do it in around 7.5sec at speeds equivalent to 290mph), you’ll understand why. ‘They’ are members of the South Manchester Slot Racing Club in Stockport, located in an old mill whose tall, brick-built chimney miraculously escaped the attentions of Fred Dibnah and his sledgehammer. Tracking them down deep in the building’s labyrinth of corridors isn’t easy but is worth the effort, especially if you’re coming for one of the club’s taster evenings when they lend you a car and controller, and let you loose on their two large and sturdy tracks. Forget kneeling on the carpet amid a tangle of control wires, reattaching sections of track or…

Few car manufacturers have risen so far in such a short space of time as Geely. The Chinese brand’s name can be translated from Mandarin as ‘auspicious’ and ‘lucky’. Both are entirely appropriate terms for a company founded as recently as 1986 that is now breathing down the necks of the world’s top 10 car makers. Its origins were understandably humble. China was a vastly different country in the early 1980s when founder Li Shufu graduated from university; a hard-line communist state where free enterprise was largely banned and the small number of cars were almost entirely imported. As late as 1985, China’s domestic manufacturers produced just 5200 cars, the entire market for passenger vehicles being around 100,000 a year. SMALL BEGINNINGS Li didn’t start with cars. After making money…

REPORT Goodwood Festival of Speed: all the star cars All the action from the UK’s flagship motor show, including every new car launched and what we got up to PROFILE Charles Leclerc We focus on Ferrari’s latest F1 star ahead of the British GP FEATURE It was a very good year… Our writers pick the best car from the year they were born EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST DS 3 Crossback The ramp-up of new DS models continues with this compact SUV USED BUYING GUIDE Volkswagen Golf R Range-topping Mk6 Golf was one of the most memorable. Here’s how to buy one FIRST DRIVE Renault Mégane RS Trophy R We rate the hardest version yet of Renault’s flagship hot hatch SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p22…

MILEAGE 14,811 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if this newest twist on the Range Rover formula is worthy of the badge – and its price A Range Rover is also a Land Rover. Yes, there’s all that luxury and sense of peerlessness in the way Range Rovers of all sizes and prices waft around, cosseting owners in a much warmer way than any German car could, yet as a Land Rover and a Range Rover, this must not be at the expense of everyday usability, practicality and versatility. We’ve heard about the Velar’s origins before – that it’s based on a Jaguar F-Pace (a car that starts at around £10,000 less) and therefore does without a separate low-ratio gearbox – so there are those who will question its true…

Audi A8 Here’s Ross Neil’s latest buy. “It’s a 2012 A8 L 4.2 TDI SE Executive, 61k miles, full service history, £15k from a BMW dealer who took it as a trade-in. “They had already advertised and sold it, but when that customer’s finance fell through, it meant it was hanging about the forecourt longer than they wanted. I stepped in and got, to my mind, a cracking deal. “The alloys need repainting. I used that as a bargaining tool and got £500 off. I traded in my 2006 Jag XJ diesel and got £1800 for that so I’m delighted.”…

TOYOTA RAV4 3DR At launch in 1994, the original four-wheel-drive RAV4 3dr thrilled car buyers with its secure handling and strong performance. Sadly, subsequent generations of the model porked out and the moment passed. Fortunately, you can relive those happy days from £500 for a 1995 M-reg with 146k miles and a new MOT. Meanwhile, someone was feeling a little more flush when they bid £1100 for this tidy 1997 R-reg 2.0 with 89,000 miles. It’s in Stax trim, a special edition. The RAV4 was never short of creative trim names, others being Heat, Reebok, Max and Giant.…

One of Mercedes’ barmier ideas, the R63 L AMG was a 510bhp, four-wheel-drive MPV, estate and saloon rolled into one with a top speed electronically limited to 155mph and a 0-62mph sprint time of 4.6sec. It cost £74,115 and slurped unleaded at the rate of 17mpg. They rarely come up for sale in the UK (few found homes here), but look across the pond to the US, the super-sized R-Class’s natural home, and there are plenty at around $40,000 (£31,000) plus, if you fancy importing one, shipping and taxes on top. Not that you need, or should, go to that trouble because you may just find its saner alternative, the R500, buried deep in the UK’s sales ads, as we have. The 2006-registered car has done 105,000 miles and is…

AUDI HAS REVEALED the flagship of its A8 range – the new S8 – packing a mild-hybrid 563bhp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and an innovative new suspension system. Unlike the recently revealed S6 and S7, which now make use of diesel engines, the S8 retains the large-capacity petrol V8 shared with Porsche and Bentley. It puts out 590lb ft of torque, although the firm has yet to release performance details beyond a 155mph limited top speed. Audi’s 48V mild-hybrid system is also brought in, featuring a starter alternator and small lithium ion battery to allow coasting and extended stop-start use, boosting efficiency. Another new system is so-called ‘predictive active suspension’. It adds electromechanical actuators to the adaptive air suspension spension system that can lift or push down each wheel separately, claimed…

FORD IS MULLING an ST version of its new Puma SUV as the range’s flagship sporting model. Ford global development boss Hau Thai-Tang said the Puma “would be a good place for us to look” in expanding the ST range beyond the Fiesta and Focus in Europe. Thai-Tang stopped short of confirming the model for production, but it is understood that the project is set to be given the green light, with the Puma ST sharing its key running gear, including a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo engine, with the Fiesta ST. Early development mules have already been seen testing at the Nürburgring. Thai-Tang said Ford is keen to continue leveraging its Ford Performance arm for road car development, but the company would not simply look to create an ST version of…

BMW has revealed the third-generation X6 SUV, with a design revamp and refreshed engine range to take on rivals such as the Audi Q8 and Porsche Cayenne Coupé. The new car sits alongside the recently launched fourth-generation X5 and new X7 in the Bavarian firm’s growing SUV range. The launch line-up will include the petrol-engined xDrive40i and M50i and diesel-powered xDrive30d and M50d – the latter two of which have been confirmed for the UK. Pricing has yet to be announced, though the initial line-up is expected to start at around £63,000 for the new X6 xDrive30d, rising to about £75,000 for the M50d. Heading the petrol line-up is the M50i, with a turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 with 523bhp and 553lb ft. It has a claimed 0-62mph time of 4.3sec and…

ONE OF THE Volkswagen’s Group’s senior figures has admitted that technology has reached the point where governments could insist that cars no longer break speed limits. Leyre Olavarria, head of connected car and infotainment for Seat, admitted that cars actively preventing drivers from breaking a speed limit does not pose a technical challenge. Asked what would happen if governments legislated for cars to no longer be capable of exceeding speed limits, in order to reduce road casualties and remove the cost of buying, installing and maintaining networks of speed cameras, Olavarria told Autocar: “From a technical perspective, it is possible. We can do it. It’s more a legal issue; how do regulators want to position themselves? It’s not a technical challenge to do that – the data is available.” Some…

As ever, some of the biggest names in motorsport will be in action at the Festival of Speed, whether on the main hillclimb, the Forest Rally Stage or the action sports arena. Most of the current Formula 1 teams will run cars, driven by stars such as Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris. They will be joined by past racers including David Coulthard and Mark Webber. Other top drivers include Le Mans legends Tom Kristensen and Derek Bell, triple British Touring Car Championship title winner Colin Turkington, Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti and rally champions Sébastien Ogier and Petter Solberg.…

Even Bentley, it seems, cannot live entirely in a fantasy land where tedious considerations like CO2 emissions and fuel consumption simply don’t matter. Crewe has probably a vast majority of customers for whom such concerns barely figure, but so too is there a constituency who either need to keep one eye on the outgoings or simply wish to present themselves as being at least ecologically aware. And until now, Bentley has had little or nothing with which to tempt them. But their number is only going to grow, which is why in four years Bentley will offer a petrol-electric hybrid of every model it sells. And this, the Bentayga Hybrid, is the first. So we’ll get the bad news out of the way: this Bentayga has the smallest engine fitted…

MODEL TESTED URUS Price £167,000 Power 641bhp Torque 627lb ft 0-60mph 3.3sec 30-70mph in fourth 5.1sec Fuel economy 19.0mpg CO2 emissions 335g/km 70-0mph 43.3m Many years from now, when historians are chronicling Lamborghini’s rise and fall, they may very well split the company’s annals with a dividing line labelled ‘Urus’. Up until the introduction of the firm’s third showroom model, the controversial new Super Sport Utility Vehicle that this week’s road test is focused on, Ferruccio Lamborghini’s eponymous company had built mainly mid-engined supercars – and in numbers that only began to exceed 2000 units a year earlier this decade. The dark days of 1980s Mimran brothers ownership and of receivership, and the Volkswagen Group’s 1990s resurrection of the company, didn’t seem that long ago. After the Urus, however, Lamborghini has…

The Urus produces truly remarkable speed, grip and stability on circuit. It isn’t great at making plain exactly how it’s clinging on so hard – but you do wonder if, with so many active chassis systems in play, clearer communicative facets wouldn’t actually make handling less natural, and the car less drivable overall at the limit of grip, rather than more so. The standard carbon-ceramic brakes offer good bite and a level of retardation that didn’t deteriorate much during our circuit laps. Grip is evenly distributed and turn-in remarkably sharp, so that you seldom miss an apex on a balanced throttle even at really high pace. Pick up the power early when cornering and there’s only a limited amount that you do to adjust the car’s outbound cornering attitude, though…

What are you paying for when you buy an Apple iPhone? A combination of stylish design, cutting-edge features and versatility that sets the iPhone apart from rival smartphones? Or are you paying a premium for form over function, spending extra for that Apple logo despite other, technically superior phones being available for substantially less money? I pose that question because Honda bosses rather fancy the E, their succinctly titled forthcoming electric city car, as the car equivalent of an Apple product. By that, they mean that it mixes stunning design with superb functionality, to the point that people will be prepared to pay a premium – likely somewhere just over £30,000 – for it. And there’s no doubt the diminutive Honda E Prototype has won an army of admirers on…

Manufacturers using motorsport as a showcase for its wares is a concept as old as the car itself. But it’s not often a brand goes motor racing before its models are available to the public, as Geely has with Lynk&Co. The programme to run a four-car super-team in the FIA World Touring Car Cup has meant Lynk&Co’s 03 TCR saloon, which is already on sale in China, has become familiar to European motorsport fans long before it will be seen on our Western roads. Swedish-based Cyan Racing, which previously ran Volvo’s Polestar S60 entries in the old World Touring Car Championship, runs the programme in a series that races in Europe for the first half of the season, then switches to Asia for rounds in China, Japan, Macau and Malaysia.…

“It darts from jam to jam with the same cheeky aplomb we’ve always loved” Last year, a newly remixed version of The Beatles’ White Album was released to mark the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest records ever made. It was the same wonderful, mixed-up double album, but now it had been refreshed by a new stereo mix. There were copious demos and previously unreleased versions of songs, making up a monster seven-CD box set – for £120. If it was thought a rambling cacophony by some in 1968, this was something else again. Many of us who’ve owned copies of the original for years were cynical. After all, how and why would you mess with something so beloved, so perfect in its imperfections? This was The White Album,…

QUESTION I’ve been declined motor finance but am convinced lenders are mistaken about my situation. What can I do? Nick Rowntree, via email ANSWER Ask the last lender you dealt with which credit reference agency they use. There are three: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Contact them asking to see your credit history. Ignore their request for payment: it’s a free service. You only pay for extras, if you want them. Check your file for errors or misunderstandings. If you find any, inform the agency and have a note attached explaining why you dispute them. Lenders must take this into account. Finally, don’t make multiple applications because they’ll count against you. JE QUESTION I’m in the happy position of being able to afford a new car but should I buy…

Skoda Octavia 2.0 TSI vRS Challenge DSG 5dr Price new £31,170. Price now £24,733 As the Octavia’s replacement draws near, pre-reg vRS Challenges are appearing at low prices. We found a 2019/19-reg DSG with one mile for £24,733, or, as the main dealer’s advertisement claims, £6437 less than new. It needs to be that cheap, though, because as this was written, Skoda was supporting sales of new Octavias with an additional £1000 discount, a £2500 finance deposit contribution and cheap servicing.…

An expert’s view MARTIN LALOR, DIRECTOR RPL AUTOMOTIVE “We have around 12 R-Class cars through the workshop each year so it’s not that common. However, the 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine, codenamed OM642 and used in the 280, 320 and 350 CDIs and many other Mercedes models, has a number of well-known problems [see below]. On all Mercedes of its generation, we are replacing more steel brake lines as rust takes a hold. Those issues aside, we’ve found the R-Class to be reliable. It’s big, but not much more so than an ML and a lot more usable. The long-wheelbase version is a genuine seven-seater.” Buyer beware… ■ ENGINE On the 3.0-litre V6 diesels, the electric motor driving the inlet port swirl flaps can give trouble. The engine warning light and…