Innholdsfortegnelse for November 06, 2019 i Autocar

IS A TWO-TONNE-PLUS plug-in hybrid SUV really more than twice as ‘green’ as a city car weighing less than half as much and using the latest internal combustion engine? That’s what the official CO2 ratings, and the need to dramatically reduce them as legislated by the European Union, will have you believe. City cars have traditionally had the lowest CO2 ratings, well below 100g/km in many cases, yet they can go no lower without becoming electrified. Doing this adds weight and, crucially, cost, thus removing the whole point of city cars: to provide affordable new car ownership to the masses. The EU’s ever-stricter CO2 regulations have in effect wiped out the affordable new car as we know it (p20). As a result, it’s likely that buyers will turn to used…

The agreed merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the PSA Group will create the world’s fourth-largest car company based on sales. The two European firms last week announced their intention to create a new entity owned 50/50 between the two but led by PSA’s CEO, Carlos Tavares. PSA will also appoint six board members against five for FCA, in effect giving the French company control over the decision-making. The combination of the two will create a 15-brand automotive behemoth that together sold 4.2 million vehicles in the first half of this year, behind the Volkswagen Group, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance but ahead of General Motors and Hyundai-Kia, figures from Jato Dynamics show. The company would be big enough “to capture successfully the opportunities and manage effectively the challenges of…

PORSCHE HAS RELEASED an optional seven-speed manual gearbox for the 911. The 992-generation car has been sold exclusively with an eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic so far, but the stick-shifter arrives in the UK in the first half of next year. It’s being offered first in the US, where there is increased demand for manuals from enthusiasts. It’s offered on the mid-range Carrera S and top-spec 4S in coupé and cabriolet guises, and in the US is a no-cost option that also brings the Sport Chrono timing package, which includes uprated engine mounts, a sport suspension setting and a rev-match function. The manual only saves 9kg off the weight of the car but also brings a mechanical limited-slip differential rather than the PDK cars’ electronic set-up.…

FORD OF EUROPE is preparing to replace the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy with a single crossover-style estate – and our spy photographers have caught what appears to be a camouflaged prototype. The new vehicle, tipped to arrive in early 2021, will mark Ford’s exit from the large hatch and MPV sectors. This test mule is based on the Focus estate and features a number of characteristics that point towards the homogenised repositioning of the three cars. The suspension is raised for a more SUV-like stance, while the protruding wheels hint at a widened track and more interior space. Also visible is a crude extension behind the C-pillar to fit the new model’s platform, set to be a related, stretched version of the Focus’s. The crossover will be a global car,…

Mazda bosses are deliberating on the next generation of its existing sports car, the MX-5, by considering how to improve the popular model while potentially using an electrified powertrain. Given its relatively low volume, the MX-5 might be one of the few cars that could avoid being electrified for its fifth generation but, either way, maintaining its light weight is crucial. R&D boss Ichiro Hirose said: “The lightweighting and compact size are essential elements of MX-5, so even if we apply electrification, we have to make sure it really helps to achieve the lightweighting of the vehicle.” Brand and design chief Ikuo Maeda flagged changing public opinions as a consideration on which powertrain to use. “The preference of people who enjoy driving sports cars might be changing, so we need…

“The lighter the car, the more demanding the CO2 regulation” Your first and last car might not be the most catchy of advertising slogans, but it’s undoubtedly true of the species known as ‘sub-B’, ‘A-segment’, or ‘city cars’ as they are dubbed by the EU. Under four metres in length (often nearer 3.5m), these are tiny but up-to-the-minute cars that are economical and cheap to run, with the most modern safety and emissions equipment. They’re bought mostly by people at each end of the age spectrum: young and old, none of them particularly wealthy. An A-segment car represents a sizeable part of their disposable income, but it means freedom to work, to socialise with family and friends, and is individual mobility in a way most wealthier folk take for granted.…

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The Skoda Kamiq is the newest member of the Volkswagen Group’s family of teeny-tiny SUVs, joining the likes of the Seat Arona and Volkswagen T-Cross in this fashionable new corner of the car market. And in many ways, the Kamiq is the automotive equivalent of a chicken korma curry: inoffensive, dependable and perfectly palatable – if a little bland and forgettable. With Skoda’s Sport Chassis Control adaptive dampers optioned, its ride errs on the firm side, yet there’s more than enough innate pliancy here to guarantee comfy progress is made. The torsion beam rear suspension that comes with being based on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB-A0 architecture can make things a touch choppy at the back on rougher roads, but compared with the passively damped Scala we road tested earlier this…

1 FORD FOCUS 1.5 ECOBOOST 182PS ST-LINE X Great handling, a fantastic engine and impressive everyday usability makes the Focus our pick of all the hatchbacks. 2 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.5 TSI EVO R-LINE EDITION DSG A phenomenally capable all-rounder. Not quite as exciting as the Focus, but a slick, comfortable hatch nonetheless. 3 SEAT LEON 1.5 TSI EVO FR DSG The exact same engine as the Golf, but makes more of a show of its sharp handling. Starting to feel its age a bit, but still a great value option. 4 BMW 118i M SPORT AUTO Switch to front-wheel drive means the 1 Series is a stronger contender than before. Still engaging, but now far more usable. Engine performs well. 5 MAZDA 3 SKYACTIV-X 2.0 181PS GT SPORT Handles finely and has a genuinely upmarket…

Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso has revealed his next big challenge: after winning the Le Mans 24 Hours twice and his challenge for Indy 500 glory, he’s off to the Dakar Rally. He’ll tackle January’s endurance epic, which will be held in Saudi Arabia for the first time, in a works Toyota Hilux. Alonso will be co-driven by fellow Spaniard Marc Coma, a multiple winner of the event’s bike division. Go-faster kimonos Nissan’s Formula E team will wear kimonos this season. Well, sort of. Nissan has revealed a new look for its team in the all-electric series – and the new livery is apparently inspired by the Japanese garment. The black, red and white design will also be featured on the upcoming hot Nismo Leaf RC. Formula E…

I’d like to pretend there’s an elegant reason why we’ve selected these three old cars with new or upgraded components – modernised classics, restomods, call them what you will – but the simple truth is that the concept is intriguing and we’d heard good things about these ones. They’re a new kind of performance car, if you like; all that modern supercars are not. They bring performance down to approachable levels but keep the craftsmanship and desirability sky high. At least, that’s how I imagined it. So here we are, at Llandow Circuit, south Wales, with three of the best of them. The idea is to have a track drive today and a road blast tomorrow, with some boring everyday driving in between. All three cars do things differently. The…

“Many customers want to drive a car they admired when they were younger” Sunbeam Way, Siddeley Avenue, Armstrong Avenue… the street names on the approach to Revival Cars, a classic-car rental company based in Coventry, are just the thing to get you into the mood for some olde worlde motoring thrills. Your journey back in time continues as you turn into Humber Avenue, beneath its original and now much weathered street sign, and past the old red-brick Humber Hotel. Turn left and you’re on Bilton Industrial Estate, former location of the Humber car factory (many of the old production buildings remain). Revival is halfway down on the right. Unfortunately, the company hasn’t got a Humber on its fleet, although there is an old Sceptre rotting in the car park. No…

FEATURE How much throttle can you really use on the road? McLaren meets Mazda and our test gear as we find out just how hard you can drive and discuss how much is too much power FEATURE Meet RUF RUF is the most interesting car maker you’ve never heard of FEATURE Volvo: the turnaround We track the decade of progress Volvo has made under Geely EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST BMW X4 M The M expansion reaches this SUV-cum-coupé. Full eight-page verdict FIRST DRIVE Alfa Romeo Giulia Alfa has tweaked its driver-focused executive saloon. We rate it USED BUYING GUIDE Subaru Legacy The 3.0R Spec B is an unsung performance hero. Top buying SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p26…

MILEAGE 13,836 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if the funky van-based MPV can recapture the simplicity, practicality and flexibility of the original When the road test desk settled on Anglesey Circuit for our upcoming Britain’s Best Driver’s Car 2019 track testing, it was with the assurance that it was chosen for the picturesque scenery and high-speed layout – definitely not for the five-and-a-half-hour drive it would take to get there. Fair enough if you’ve got the keys to one of the McLarens, Porsches or Lamborghinis that would be taking to the circuit, but an altogether less exciting prospect when your key fob carries a Citroën logo. Admittedly, where a 911 might struggle to fit a fifth of the gear I’d need for a week shooting in Wales’ notoriously changeable…

Ford Focus Kenny Smith is a regular supplier of ‘Reader’s Rides’ to this page and here’s his nephew’s latest: “Steven needed a suitable vehicle to meet the needs of his growing young family and especially something with good fuel economy and a decent trim specification. “After looking at several examples, he spotted a 2011 Ford Focus 1.6 diesel Zetec S hatch with 71,000 miles and full service history at a used car specialist. After a very through inspection by a mechanically minded relation, who declared it to be acceptable for purchase, the Focus became his. Three years and over 30,000 miles later, it has been an ideal family vehicle.”…

“It would compete head on with the Mercedes-AMG One, which is also underpinned by F1 drivetrain tech” Porsche has reaffirmed plans for a hypercar to crown its line-up – and, in a bid to provide a clear link between its motorsport activities and road cars, it could use a hybrid driveline originally developed in an aborted Formula 1 engine programme. However, the Aston Martin Valkyrie rival remains at a conceptual stage, with an introduction unlikely before 2023 at the earliest. In keeping with comments made by Porsche chairman Oliver Blume this year, high-level sources at the German car maker’s Weissach technical centre confirm that a definitive production go-ahead for the successor to the 918 Spyder is dependent on a decision from Porsche board members on whether to commit to pure-electric…

Alfa Romeo’s future product plans have been slashed, according to the brand’s third-quarter earnings report. It says the plan has been “rationalised” down to four future models: replacements for the Giulia and Stelvio, the Tonale and another SUV. This means the new GTV coupé and 8C replacement, announced in June 2018, have been shelved or pushed back, alongside a planned BMW 5 Series rival. FCA boss Mike Manley told investors during a third-quarter earnings call that Alfa’s portfolio plan is “significantly scaled back, with a corresponding reduction in capital spending”.…

Autocar has been given early access to the Aston Martin DBX ahead of the car’s unveiling on 20 November, including a passenger ride. The new SUV will be the most complex car in the company’s history when it arrives next year and Aston has confirmed a starting price of £158,000. The five-door 4x4 rides on a new aluminium platform and will be powered initially by a 542bhp 4.0-litre Mercedes-AMG V8, twin turbocharged and driven through a nine-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox – the first time Aston has used the ‘9G’ transmission. Other powertrains will follow and the platform will be used for other Aston models. The new platform allows the engine to be placed well back in the engine bay and none of the block overhangs the 22in front wheels. Extruded…

Volkswagen will unveil a new addition to its ID electric vehicle family at an event ahead of the Los Angeles motor show. Appearing in concept form, the car is expected to be another variant of the Vizzion electric luxury saloon revealed last year and pictured above. One possibility is an estate version of the electric model, which Autocar has previously reported Volkswagen is considering for launch in 2022, and it’s thought likely that this will be the new ID model, sitting on the same extended MEB platform as the Vizzion.…

Audi factory ace Frank Stippler is not hanging about. We’ve got one hot lap of the Nürburgring and damp but drying conditions similar to those during his record-breaking run. (Had it been dry, Stippler reckons, there were another four or five seconds on the table.) Obviously, we can’t truly get a handle on what the car’s doing when riding shotgun, but there’s enough feel through the seat of the pants to suggest the RS Q8 is hugely capable. The relentless acceleration is a given, and looking at the telemetry later reveals there’s even enough grunt through the 180mph kink of Döttinger Höhe to spin a lightly unloaded inside rear wheel. The optional carbon-ceramic brakes work well, too, tirelessly hauling the car down from big speeds – although on a lap…

Skoda knows it can’t mess around when launching a new Octavia. There’s simply too much at stake. Despite the seemingly unstoppable rise of the SUV, even within the firm’s own ranks, the Octavia remains the Czech brand’s bread and butter (thickly sliced and generously spread at that), with more than six million of the things having found homes since the nameplate was launched. To put that figure into perspective, it makes up around a third of Skoda’s total production output to date. No pressure, then. We’re still a few weeks from seeing the new model in the metal but, even so, we were given the chance to drive a couple of disguised prototypes as an early taster. Both were estates, one being fitted with a 2.0-litre diesel engine and the…

MODEL TESTED SKYACTIV-X 2.0 181PS GT SPORT Price £26,675 • Power 177bhp • Torque 165lb ft • 0-60mph 9.1sec • 30-70mph in fourth 14.2sec • Fuel economy 40.0mpg • CO2 emissions 103g/km • 70-0mph 49.2m Perhaps it’s as a result of a particularly genuine sense of corporate responsibility; perhaps it’s for more pragmatic reasons. But quite oddly for a car company that’s on the cusp of launching its first all-electric production car, Mazda has called into question how much a mass movement to battery-powered motoring would reduce global CO2 levels in the short term. This famously innovative Japanese car maker has never been afraid to go against the grain, and yet its thinking will rile those who believe that the quickest possible adoption of EVs should be enshrined in global car…

On Millbrook’s unforgiving hill route, the Mazda 3 behaved in a manner totally in step with what you would expect from one of the sharper-handling cars in the family hatch class. Body movements through corners both fast and tight were well controlled, though perhaps more pronounced than what you would experience in a Focus ST-Line X. Nevertheless, the 3 developed plenty of usable grip, with its front end being perfectly willing to tuck in towards an apex in response to a light application of torque. Particularly sharp bends could cause the front end to wash wide, but this slip was easily marshalled by backing off the throttle. Meanwhile, its ESP software didn’t prove overly intrusive at any point. At the same time, however, the engine’s lack of low-down punch did…

PCPs have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons of late, with some dealers in hot water for upping customers’ APR interest to earn more commission. However, nearly 90% of new cars are bought on finance and, if you go in with your eyes open, you can get behind the wheel of some cracking machines for less than you’d think. We’ve lined up 20 cars that major on fun and are guaranteed to put a smile on your face every time you go for a drive – and leave you laughing all the way to the bank. From supercars to superminis and a whole lot more in between, there’s something for every taste and budget. FIAT PANDA 4x4 Small, funkily styled and with mountain-goat agility, the Panda 4x4 is…

The World Rally Championship has always been viscerally gladiatorial. Despite the technology and marketing gloss that’s always a feature of the top level, it’s about as raw and unreconstructed as modern motorsport is allowed to get. This season – although it’s not actually over yet, with one round to go in Australia – has been a perfect example. From the beginning, there was a close three-way fight for the title, creating a tension that boiled over into technical protests (where rival teams tried to get a Toyota rear wing banned), gamesmanship (where Hyundai was accused of manipulating the running order of its cars to disadvantage rivals) and even personal acrimony (with an astonishingly incendiary tweet sent by Sébastien Ogier’s wife during the Rally of Spain, where she coined the hashtag…

FIRST REPORT WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Volkswagen’s re-engineered SUV is a fitting flagship – and how well it can do diesel The plan to run a latest-spec Volkswagen Touareg – complete with top-spec 282bhp V6 diesel – on our fleet came about for two reasons: one born of recent experience, the other of bloody-mindedness. After a visit to VW’s Wolfsburg HQ to interview a management bigwig, our reporter and photographer were late for their return flight from Hanover. Our hosts packed the pair into a chauffeur-driven Touareg diesel and told the driver to get the hammer down, and he did: a journey that should have taken an hour took 45 minutes and we made the flight, having cruised most of the way on autobahns at 125mph. We…

BMW Z4 M £13,950 With winter approaching and prices softening, our round-up of interesting convertibles starts with this, the Z4 M. They’re not that common and vie with the coupé version to be noticed. You’d think, being the poseur of the two, it’d be on the soft side, but in fact the roadster’s suspension is stiffer and the set-up a bit more aggressive. The model is also 15kg lighter than the coupé. To top it all, there’s the same smooth-as-silk 3.2-litre straight six dishing out 338bhp, mated to a six-speed Getrag gearbox. The result: 0-62mph in less than five seconds. Our find is a 2006/06-reg with 71,000 miles. It has a full service history that includes the 1000-mile running-in service that gets enthusiasts in such a tizzy. Recent new tyres…

Renault Mégane RS 300 Trophy Price £29,495 Like fast Fords, fast Renaults have their following, too. The Clio V6 shows how silly things can get, and although we wouldn’t forecast similar heights for this Mégane, prices for the best cars should firm up once the early-years depreciation is out of the way. Its appeal lies in its seat-of-the-pants driving experience. You can spec a standard Mégane RS with some of the same kit, notably a Cup chassis and uprated brakes, for less money but the uprated turbo and freer-breathing exhaust are unique to the 300. This 2019, 4175-mile car is up for £29,495.…

Like all Land Rover Discoverys, the second-generation model of 1998-2004 gets a bad press for its poor quality and unreliability. However, it’s so darned good at what it was designed to do that enthusiasts tend to forgive it, acknowledging that, yes, there are stinkers out there, but if you can find a good one and look after it, it’ll serve you well. Its saving grace seems to be that it has more technology than its predecessor but not so much as later generations that it can be a devil to repair. Its 2.5-litre Td5 diesel engine (there’s also a 180bhp 4.0-litre petrol V8 auto) is a big improvement on the Mk1’s 300 Tdi motor and its chassis and suspension system are better. The third-row seats on some versions are forward…

BMW’s M division is sending the current M2 off on a high with the introduction of a new, limited-edition CS model. Revealed for the first time ahead of a public debut at the upcoming Los Angeles motor show, the M2 CS goes on sale in the UK this week at a price of £75,320. Right-hand-drive deliveries begin next April. Differentiating the track-focused M2 CS from the £51,425 M2 Competition are a number of exterior upgrades, such as a carbonfibre-reinforced plastic bonnet with a central air vent and a carbonfibre roof. The bonnet’s weight is claimed to be half that of the steel structure used for the M2 Competition. Further changes include a new splitter element at the front, a unique boot spoiler and a multi-channel diffuser – all made from…

The business case for a rotary engine-powered Mazda RX-9 sports car is stronger than ever thanks to the development of a new rotary engine designed for use in electrified powertrains, according to company bosses. An RX-9 has long been rumoured, with 2015’s RX-Vision concept thought to mark the Japanese car maker’s intentions to launch a range-topping sports car powered by a rotary engine. No such car has yet appeared, but the revival of Mazda’s rotary engine to aid electrification means the case for an RX-9 becomes much more persuasive. The new rotary engine will first launch in a range-extender variant of Mazda’s MX-30, recently revealed in pure-electric form. However, the rotary can also be used for plug-in hybrids and hybrids and works with fuels including LPG and hydrogen, meaning it…

IT’S PROBABLY AN overlooked fact that massive braking performance can be just as exhilarating as huge acceleration, involving steering and a deliciously slick manual gearbox. But it’s an elusive asset. While all brakes work on the same basic principle of converting the kinetic energy in the moving car into heat, the brakes on a performance car and those on a family runaround are like chalk and cheese. Except for some drum parking brakes and rear brakes on small cars, disc brakes have been the norm for years. The principle remains simple enough: when the brake pedal is pressed, a hydraulic caliper straddling the disc (or rotor) squeezes it under massive pressure between two pads made of friction material backed by a steel plate. The heavier the car and the higher…

For now, this 129bhp Clio RS Line is the sportiest version of Renault’s new, fifth-generation supermini. A properly souped-up, Fiesta ST-rivalling Renault Sport version will likely come along at some point, but Renault’s people would neither confirm nor deny whether such a car is currently in the pipeline. Beneath this Clio’s svelte, mildly sporting exterior sits an all-new platform and a 1.3-litre four-pot motor. The former is Renault Alliance’s latest CMF-B architecture (the Clio is the first Renault to use it), while the latter is the same turbocharged unit found in the Captur, Mégane and Scenic. Along with its 129bhp, it makes a hearty 177lb ft at just 1600rpm, all of which is directed to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. While there’s no manual option for…

VERDICT One of Mazda’s key selling points has long been the heightened level of driver appeal its cars tend to offer. And even with the rather obvious MX-5-shaped poster child put firmly to one side, this has been manifest in Hiroshima’s modern hatchbacks and superminis as much as anywhere. The good news is that, in terms of its ability to conjure up an engaging sort of handling athleticism, this new fourth-generation Mazda 3 gives away none of that hard-earned reputation; in the wider class, it’s up there with the very best. That it backs this agility up with one of the most materially appealing cabins in the segment, strong levels of standard equipment and plenty of value for money only sweetens the deal. But as cleverly engineered and frugal as…

“A sim is expensive. But if you can make one less prototype and save £15 million, it’s worth every penny” I think the first time I used a car simulator that felt half-realistic was at McLaren, when it was developing the MP4-12C, in 2011. McLaren had two at the time. One was pounding virtual Formula 1 race tracks but the other had also been set up so it could aid development of McLaren’s road car. Back then, using a simulator was still a novelty for a lot of car makers. Today, hardly any would be without one. Or two. Or more. They save time, they save money and, fundamentally, they make race and road cars better. Or at least they should do. In 2011, Chris Goodwin was McLaren’s chief test…

After many years as a dedicated ‘petrolhead’ (most recently Range Rover, Porsche 911 4S and Cayenne S), my Jaguar I-Pace is now 12 months and 7000 miles old. I haven’t abandoned internal combustion but now have a great deal of respect for Jaguar’s remarkable vehicle and sufficient experience of how to use it to the full. The letters from Nigel Gray and John Wallinger in response to your ‘On a charge’ feature (Autocar, 2 October) deserve a response. Nigel talks of range anxiety and inconvenience and John asserts that “electric cars are useless other than in town or the equivalent” and cites his recent journey from Hampshire to Chantilly and back as evidence. I would have no difficulty in undertaking the same journey (275 road miles there and back).…

MILEAGE 7625 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Citroën’s luxury offshoot has finally built a car with the right mix of integrity and premium feel to take on the German, British and Swedish elite Establishing a premium car brand from scratch isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but spinning one off from your existing mass-market business can be just as tough. That’s the problem DS faced when it first split from the mothership. It’s all very well spending big to create a range of distinct models shod of their Citroën identity, but if those same cars have to be sold out of a Citroën dealership, it rather undermines the new brand’s credibility. So when the service warning light in my DS 7 came on prematurely, it gave me…

MILEAGE 130,800 LAND ROVER SERIES 3 I dropped the Lorry off for its MOT, after picking up the Flying Pig from its MOT – more on which in the coming weeks. I had to go back and collect the Lorry as the garage was rammed with work. Luckily, there are several weeks still on the ticket. You may remember that I’d mentioned a nearside fluid leak a while back. Well, that does seem to be a bit more serious. Years spent coaxing underperforming motors across the country has dulled my questionable road-testability. Apparently, it pulls under braking, but not when I do it. It needs work for the MOT, so it’s going back.…

The BMW 5 Series saloon of 2010-17 offers an almost unbeatable combination of performance, economy and build quality in the executive car class – especially in tax-busting 520d SE trim. In some areas, such as its styling (a little bland) and suspension (the optional adaptive system is a big improvement), it falls slightly short, but viewed in the round, it’s a used car you won’t regret buying. The 520d SE, which was the least powerful diesel in the 2010 launch line-up, dominates supply and, given its primary role as a long-distance mobile office, mileages can be high. For example, as this was written, there were almost 230 520ds with more than 100,000 miles on one popular sales site, ranging in price from £4000 for a 2011-reg with 170,000 miles to…

BMW 735i AUTO It’s not often you see an old 7 Series chalking up high figures at auction, but that’s exactly what this 1985-reg E23-generation example did when the hammer fell at £17,205. No doubt its low mileage – 18,000 – and concours condition played a part. Also, the E23 was the first-generation 7 Series and filled with technical firsts, at least for BMW, including anti-lock brakes, a driver’s airbag and double-link front suspension. Others included an on-board computer and a check control panel of warning lights. All a bit geeky but pointers to the direction future BMWs took.…

An expert’s view PETER GREENOW, DINEDOR CROSS GARAGE “We’ve been maintaining Land Rovers since 1983. I’d say that if you find a good Discovery 2, hang on to it. Its body doesn’t rot like the Disco 1’s does, while it has fewer electrical problems than later generations. I have one, my son has one and one of my technicians has one. Believe me, we wouldn’t if they were unreliable. The chassis rots first but, in some parts of the country, there’s a trade in replacement galvanised chassis. If you’ve found a Disco 2 in otherwise good condition, it can be worth the cost. Servicing – every 12 months or 12,000 miles – isn’t expensive. We charge £200 for a minor and £360 for a major.” Buyer beware… ■ ENGINE With…