Innholdsfortegnelse for December 04, 2019 i Autocar

TO CREATE A new car that’s going to sell in great numbers requires the work of hundreds if not thousands of people and it costs millions if not billions of pounds. Those people will develop the car to meet increasingly strict safety and emissions laws that differ in the key markets where it will be sold around the world. All this while ensuring the car is better than any car it replaces – and better than rivals made by firms also employing huge numbers of people and spending vast sums of money. Develop the car and then suppliers have to be sourced and production sites geared up to make it. That huge logistical operation is a precursor to another: distributing it to dealers, who must sell it to customers, who…

Audi has boosted the range of its E-tron SUV by 15.5 miles with a raft of technical updates – the same as those applied to the recently revealed E-tron Sportback. All models of the Mercedes EQC rival ordered now will receive the updates, allowing the 55 quattro version to travel up to 271 miles on a charge. A more efficient thermal management system and improved coasting recuperation are among the myriad changes to increase the electric model’s range.…

VAUXHALL HAS UPDATED its Insignia large hatch with a refreshed exterior and a raft of tech upgrades. Visual tweaks are focused on the front end, with a wider chrome-edged grille design and new Intellilux adaptive beam LED headlights that have a claimed industry-leading 84 LEDs in each unit. The Ford Mondeo rival also receives a more extensive list of driver assistance functions, such as a new rear-view camera and optional rear cross-traffic alert. The navigation system’s graphics have been updated, too, and wireless smartphone charging has been added. Vauxhall has not listed any engine changes. Currently, the model is available with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine in two states of tune, a 1.6-litre diesel with two choices of output and a range-topping 2.0-litre unit, which in flagship Biturbo guise puts…

“The new platform – called NP 2.0 – could be key in securing Nio’s future” Chinese EV start-up Nio has secured a key deal to build an advanced self-driving car using technology developed by Intel’s Mobileye division – but the firm is still searching for new funding to meet its ambitious growth plans. Nio, which currently offers a range of electric SUVs in China, has agreed to construct a new car featuring level four autonomous systems – which allow for hands-off driving – designed by Mobileye. The Israeli firm, which tech giant Intel bought for £11.8 billion in 2017, has developed a range of sensors, radar and software systems for self-driving cars. Nio wants to use the Mobileye system in its next-generation battery-electric vehicle platform and has begun initial engineering…

The story of the Volkswagen Golf began in 1974. Back then, few would have imagined just what sort of a success the practical hatchback would become. Forty-five years later, the Golf has firmly established itself as the world’s best-selling car, with more than 35 million sold globally. Predictably, then, Volkswagen takes the development of each and every Golf generation very seriously indeed, carefully preserving what is cherished while diligently updating elements considered old or flawed. As a result of this step-by-step approach, the Golf has managed to remain relevant and competitive in Europe’s hardest-fought market segment without resorting to any radical or contrived changes for seven complete model cycles – something that no hatchback rival can claim. In its engineering, this new, eighth-generation model is more of a revision than…

The e-2008 is meant to be as straightforward a proposition as any combusted model. The motor is in the front, a 50kWh battery (less than a Kia e-Niro’s or Hyundai Kona Electric’s 64kWh unit) sits where the gearbox would otherwise be, down the centre line, and in an H-shape beneath the seats, so it doesn’t impinge on passenger space. It gives a WLTP range of 193 miles. You can charge it at 100kW from a DC fast charger, with up to 7.4kW from a single-phase AC wallbox, which you can have fitted as part of the deal. Via a DC fast charge, you can put 80% into the battery in half an hour. On a wallbox, a full charge is an overnight job. The battery is warrantied for eight years…

1 KIA E-NIRO FIRST EDITION Genuinely family-sized Kia EV is still our top dog among the affordable options. Usable and credible in just about every way. 2 HYUNDAI KONA ELECTRIC PREMIUM 64KWH Smaller, firmer-riding and less comfy than the e-Niro but otherwise very good. 3 KIA SOUL EV Trades space for a more funky look – and, for some reason, costs more than its range-mate. Hard to fault otherwise. 4 NISSAN LEAF N-CONNECTA 40KWH Narrowly beats the MG on claimed range, but clearly classier and better to drive. 5 RENAULT ZOE i ICONIC R135 ZE 50 Latest revision has added range and DC rapid charging as an option. Small but appealing.…

THE LOVE STORY between Japan and the UK has soured recently, as the industry’s trials and tribulations have hit car manufacturing. Honda’s shock announcement last year that it will close its Swindon plant in 2021 when the current Civic generation ends means the loss of 3500 jobs. Honda attributed the move to “unprecedented changes in the global automotive industry”, adding that “resources and production systems for electrified vehicles will be focused in regions with a high volume of customer demand”. Questions remain about Nissan’s commitment to Sunderland, where it has already pulled planned production of the next X-Trail, blaming the diesel sales downturn and Brexit uncertainty. Recent reports that the factory, which builds the popular Qashqai, will close if the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal adds further…

FINAL REPORT MILEAGE 8087 WHY WE RAN IT To see if Citroën’s luxury offshoot has finally built a car with the integrity and premium feel to take on Europe’s elite Ever found yourself staunchly defending one of your offspring while knowing full well they’ve done something wrong? That’s what running the DS 7 Crossback for a few months has felt like. With the odd exception, everyone who borrowed the big DS for a short period always came back with something to complain about, rather than a glowing report. Whether this is more indicative of the inherent need to critique (or just plain cynicism) of my colleagues or something fundamentally wrong with the car is up for debate, but it certainly wasn’t universally loved. Although I initially shared many of my…

QUESTION I’m in the market for a new VW Golf 1.5 petrol. Should I wait for the all-new model or buy a current Mk7 now?Molly Clarke, Tonbridge ANSWER I suspect that if you’re buying new, you want the latest model or else why bother? So the Mk8 it must be. It has pretty much the same engine, chassis and dimensions as the Mk7 but more technology and an updated look. However, if you suspected that there’s money to be saved by buying a Mk7 over a Mk8, you’d be right. We’ll assume you’re financing it on a PCP, in which case VW is offering a £1500 deposit contribution and finance at 3.8%, plus discounts of around £2700. Push hard and you’ll get a Match Edition with Winter pack, heated seats,…

Our round-up of 4x4s prepared for whatever winter can throw at them kicks off with this leggy Landcruiser. The 2004-reg motor has done 203,000 miles but it comes direct from its first owner and has a full service history. The timing belts were replaced at 119,000 miles (the official interval is 100,000) and the turbocharger three years ago. It got a new alternator last year. So it’s worth a look, along with the other five or so 4x4s that experts say you should also check out. The thing is they know an old ’cruiser can be trouble, but to misty-eyed enthusiasts, the model can do no wrong. If only that were true. For example, we’ve deliberately sought out a 2004-reg because this and earlier J120s – Toyota’s codename for this…

Back in 2016, when Volkswagen dramatically quit the World Rally Championship (a precursor to quitting the world of combustion-engined motorsport entirely, as it turns out) Sébastien Ogier tested all the World Rally Cars available to him as he worked out where to go for the following season. As the undefeated world champion since 2013, the Frenchman could pretty much take his pick. In the end, he plumped for M-Sport and Ford, where he went on to win the driver’s titles in 2017 and 2018. Although he diplomatically didn’t deliver an official verdict on the other cars, he felt that the prototype Toyota Yaris WRC that he tried in Spain – yet to make its absolute debut on the WRC – was still a bit too unknown to be worthy of…

“The new flagship F-Type can cover 0-60mph in just 3.5sec and has a top speed of 186mph” Jaguar has overhauled the F-Type sports car with new styling and technology to take on the latest Porsche 911. The targets were to give it a “more assertive” look, to improve key elements like the infotainment system and to lift materials quality to the level of more recently launched models, such as the I-Pace. One major surprise is the disappearance of the F-Type V6. From 2020, the Jag sports car will come with a choice of either two 5.0-litre supercharged V8 power levels (retaining the 567bhp at 6500rpm version, and a new unit with 444bhp at 6000rpm) or the continuing entry-level 2.0-litre turbocharged Ingenium four-cylinder engine producing 296bhp at 5500rpm. In a reorganisation…

“‘Small may not be helpful for sales,’ Mini’s design boss admitted – hence the possibility of a larger Clubman” Mini is considering an increase in the size of the Clubman for its next generation, turning it into an SUV. But the firm is also working on ways to reduce the external bulkiness of its three-door hatchback model. In the US, Mini is losing sales because it has only one SUV – the Countryman – which many Americans perceive to be too small to justify its purchase price. The shift towards SUVs has triggered a steep decline in hatchback and saloon sales, necessitating a dealer retrenchment. Chief designer Oliver Heilmer hinted to Autocar that the next Clubman could move towards an SUV format. Currently, the six-door estate is only slightly shorter…

Volkswagen will have four hot new Mk8 Golf models in dealers before the end of next year – with the R going on sale a few months after the GTI, diesel GTD and plug-in hybrid GTE. Sources at the firm suggest that the GTI, caught testing with limited disguise, will be launched at the Geneva motor show in March and go on sale soon after. They also claim the R version will be shown in July, possibly in the UK at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The transformation from regular Golf to GTI appears to be subtle, but tell-tale signs such as the dual-exit tailpipes and red brake calipers give it away as the Ford Focus ST rival. There is also bodykit that extends around the lower portion of the…

AMERICAN START-UP Fisker’s new Ocean electric SUV will be unveiled in production guise next month. It will be offered primarily through a leasing programme, with US prices starting from the equivalent of £295 a month with a deposit of £2335. Potential customers can pay a fully refundable £194 deposit. It’s claimed to be the world’s most sustainable vehicle, with recycled, vegan and other natural products used, a solar roof and a range of up to 300 miles.…

A LARGE INCREASE in nearly new petrol cars has sparked a fall in used prices, according to valuation specialist Cazana. The company, which tracks the used car market, reported that the average value of a sub-12-month, sub-12,000-mile petrol car fell from 76% to 68% of its original cost new between October 2018 and October 2019. Prices dropped gradually throughout the year but plummeted to a low of 62% in September. The fall has been attributed to the UK’s rapid swing to petrol cars, along with a spike in pre-registrations and the recent spate of new-car price rises. “This is a direct reflection of too many petrol cars coming into the marketplace,” said Rupert Pontin, Cazana’s director of insight. “The sub-12-month, sub-12,000-mile market has been significantly affected by pre-registered vehicles. Those…

It’s a sign of the times that Skoda reckons its new Superb iV plug-in hybrid (PHEV) will almost immediately account for around 30% of all Superb sales in the UK, once deliveries start in January. The fact that the vast majority of Superbs go to fleets, combined with news that the new saloon and estate PHEV models emit “under 40g/km” makes the model ideal, statistically speaking, to become a keenly sought business car. Which is ironic, because as we discovered on test, the Superb iV has impressive credentials as a great choice for private owners. The all-round excellence of other Superb models is well known. What matters here is the extent to which the PHEV powertrain intrudes into a normal driving experience. The answer? It intrudes hardly at all. Like…

“Within a couple of laps, I’m confident it’s not trying to kill me” These are the terrible twins, the baddest of McLaren’s bad boys. The big brother we know already: the 789bhp Senna has already earned itself a stellar reputation as just about the most thrilling street machine to wear a numberplate – and a five-star Autocar road test in the process. It is as savage as it is spectacular, a car given over to the provision of unfettered performance and very little else. Except that the requirement for it to be road legal places certain constraints on it. It has to have ground clearance, catalytic converters, airbags and an aerodynamic profile that keeps its body within legal boundaries. It has to have suspension that provides at least some ride…

AFTER A LONG winning streak, Subaru stumbled in 2018. It made a total of 1,019,364 cars (down 5% on the year before), with 680,000 of them sold in the US. However, 2018 was also marked by its first quarterly loss since 2010 as it was forced to confront various quality issues, including recalling more than 400,000 models for faulty valve springs. The recall cost was estimated at $500 million. Subaru relies on American consumers, having established itself over 20 years ago with the Forester and Outback, innovative lightweight crossovers in an era of truck-based SUVs. Last year, it sold 171,000 Foresters and 178,000 Outbacks in America. Sales in Japan are a modest 100,000 units annually, 22,000 of those kei cars. The company is now rolling out a fresh generation of…

Imagine ordering an extensive and rather elaborate new kitchen, and then discovering after it has been part-installed that you must move house and transfer your shiny new units and white goods to a room of a different design and layout. Now imagine the scale of that challenge multiplied by several hundred. And there you have the task facing the team kitting out BMW’s Mini factory in Cowley, Oxford, 19 years ago. The new Mini developed by Rover and BMW in the late 1990s was originally intended to be built at Longbridge, Birmingham, where most original Minis were produced during its 41-year life. All that changed when then chancellor Gordon Brown refused to grant BMW a relatively modest amount of aid to assist with the modernisation of Longbridge. This was the…

MILEAGE 2217 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Peugeot’s smart new generation of 508s really do offer a viable alternative to premium rivals Life with the estate version of Peugeot’s smart 508 is passing as effortlessly as it was in the GT fastback. This is a smooth, sophisticated motor car. I was about to add ‘for a Peugeot’ to that sentence, but perhaps in 2019 I really shouldn’t. The change of shape has naturally brought a variation in price and spec, too. Let’s start with the engine. From 1.6-litre inline four-cylinder turbocharged petrol, we’ve switched to 1.5-litre inline four turbocharged diesel. That results in a notable drop in power: 225bhp versus a modest 130bhp. But naturally what we’ve lost in that regard we’ve gained in torque: 221lb ft at…

MILEAGE 130,895 LAND ROVER SERIES 3 The Lorry is back with a fresh MOT and some new parts. Up front, there are new hubs, so at least it won’t keep dripping on the drive. It has been a bad year for the Lorry dripping on the drive and brake fluid was just as bad as the petrol. Being a British Leyland product from the early 1980s, oil leaks are a given. The Lorry is back to work because I’ve gutted a bathroom and getting rid of the evidence at the local tip has been a doddle. Another year of work, rest and not much play lies ahead.…

The Sportback is the five-door member of the A3 family and very popular it is, too, with around six times as many of them on the used car market as there are three-door models. The two extra doors make the Sportback’s appeal easy to understand, plus it has a bit more presence about it, being slightly longer and taller. We’re talking about 2016-reg cars and newer, by the way. The year matters because that’s when this upmarket hatchback, launched in 2013, was facelifted. The 2016 facelift brought new headlights, a more angular single-frame grille and restyled tail-lights and rear bumper. The engine range gained a couple of new petrol units: a 113bhp 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder and a more conventional 187bhp 2.0-litre turbo. They joined the existing 148bhp 1.4 petrol turbo,…

VAUXHALL CAVALIER SRI 130 5DR In days of old, when reps were bold, they voted for a Cavalier SRi. Its 2.0-litre motor produced 128bhp, not much compared with today’s 1.0-litre three pots but respectable enough. In any case, the natty SRi graphic on the doors must have been worth another couple of horses. What’s more, being front-wheel drive, it felt much more secure than its arch rival, the rear-drive Cortina, which not only bounced up and down but could also shimmy from side to side. SRis are rare now but some lucky soul bagged this 1987-reg one with 79,000 miles for £2862 at auction.…

They start at around the same prices (less than £10,000) and they share the same naturally aspirated 500bhp V10 and pin-sharp chassis. But although the E60-generation M5 of 2005 is the one folk lust after, its sibling, the E63-gen M6 coupé, is actually slightly quicker. Big deal if you need the saloon’s four doors, of course, but if you don’t and you hanker after a big, powerful coupé with decent practicality and an exotic engine, the M6 could be just the car for you But be warned: buying a dud will leave your finances in tatters. Running one is expensive – and doesn’t the trade know it. When we mentioned ‘M6 buying guide’, the specialists we spoke to dashed for cover shouting ‘unreliable SMG automated manual!’ and ‘warranty too expensive!’.…

British racers Sam Bird (Envision Virgin-Audi) and Alexander Sims (BMW Andretti) took victories in the opening two rounds of the Formula E season in Saudi Arabia. Sims now leads the points. Series newcomers Porsche and Mercedes showed decent form, with three-time Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer and ex-McLaren Formula 1 racer Stoffel Vandoorne finishing second and third for the respective marques in the opening race. VW’s electric vow Volkswagen’s motorsport division will only pursue fully electric projects in the future. The firm will continue with its 671bhp ID R prototype, which has set records at Pikes Peak, the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Nürburgring, and will also develop production-based electric motorsport concepts based on its MEB platform. Button’s Baja breakdown Former F1 champ Jenson Button found himself stuck in…

BENTLEY WILL ALIGN the Bentayga with its latest models – the Continental GT and Flying Spur – with a raft of updates, and new prototype shots offer a closer look at the design changes. Although the test mule appears undisguised, hidden camo masks that the SUV will receive a front-end revamp inspired by the Flying Spur. At the rear, expect minor bodywork alterations and reshaped tail-lights. More significant upgrades are anticipated inside, particularly given the far newer cabin tech of Bentley’s latest cars. A substantial overhaul to the dashboard design is on the cards, though whether the Bentayga will get its siblings’ option of the swivelling dash panel to hide the touchscreen is unknown. The flagship W12 engine could receive minor efficiency-boosting upgrades, but the V8 and V6 hybrid powertrains…

ASTON MARTIN HAS launched an ultra-exclusive DBS Superleggera Concorde Edition. It’s available to order through Aston Martin Bristol, close to where the aeroplane was built, and just 10 examples will be produced. The car is being built in association with British Airways to mark 50 years since the supersonic passenger jet first flew. Exterior changes include British Airways livery on the roof strakes, spoiler and rear diffuser. A black carbonfibre roof has a Concorde silhouette and the side strakes are milled from solid aluminium. Inspection plates signed by Aston CEO Andy Palmer and British Airways chairman Alex Cruz also feature, as does the aircraft identifier number of the flagship Concorde. Inside, there are Concorde logos on the seats, ‘Mach Meter’ graphics on the driver’s sun visor and special Alcantara headlining.…

UK car industry chiefs have said a tariff-free post-Brexit trade deal with the EU is vital for the UK to lead the way in electrified and autonomous technology. George Gillespie, president of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the industry is “in the fight of our generation” because of a transformation sparked by future technology. He said industry investment had fallen from £2.5 billion per year before 2016 to just £90 million in the first half of 2019, adding that a tariff-free trade deal is key to reversing that trend. “We need frictionless, tariff-free trade, access to the best talent, preferential access to markets across the world,” said Gillespie (right). “If we can secure a European trading arrangement that gives us frictionless and tariff-free trade, this industry is…

TURN A PROFIT on electric cars yet still offer them at a price more people can afford: that’s one of the major challenges facing the car industry. As things stand, it’s difficult to make inroads into the cost of the battery, but in most other areas, such as the architecture and powertrain, there are savings to be made by integrating components into modular units that can be used in different applications. Volkswagen’s modular electric drive matrix (MEB) describes not just the body and chassis architecture but the entire platform, including the drivetrain. The forthcoming ID 3, the first of Volkswagen’s new EV range to go on sale, will be powered by an integrated drive module called APP310. APP describes the way it’s installed across the rear axle and 310 refers…

FREE AUTOGLYM BODYWORK WASH & PROTECT KIT WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TODAY ■ 500ml PURE SHAMPOO ■ 500ml RAPID AQUA WAX ■ 1 x SPECIAL BODYWORK SPONGE ■ 2 x PREMIUM MICROFIBRE CLOTHS WORTH OVER £20 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…

Another week, another story that opens with the line ‘another week, another compact crossover’. A further opportunity will come in January. This week, it’s the Peugeot 2008, the taller small Peugeot that is not quite as small as the last one. At 4.3m long, it’s 15cm longer than the 2008 it replaces and about the same length as a new Volkswagen Golf. It sits on the PSA Group’s CMP (Common Modular Platform) small car architecture, which means it comes internally combusted or as a battery electric vehicle, with plug-in hybridisation saved for bigger Peugeots, Citroëns and DSs now and Vauxhalls later. The idea is that, instead of Peugeot making a stand-alone EV, you choose a regular Peugeot and then select a powertrain – ‘thermal’ or electric – to suit you.…

MODEL TESTED EV EXCLUSIVE Price £26,995* (after £3500 government grant) • Power 141bhp • Torque 260lb ft • 0-60mph 8.9sec • 30-70mph in fourth na • Fuel economy 2.7mpkWh • CO2 emissions 0g/km • 70-0mph 62.7m As noble causes go, in the automotive world there are few nobler than the goal of making “high-tech, zero-emission cars available to all”, as MG’s UK head of sales, Daniel Gregorious, puts it. Of course, frequently do we hear twee comments, made to similar effect, leaving the mouths of industry executives – but with MG and Gregorious, there is a sense that not only is the sentiment genuine but also achievable. As a brand, MG Motor UK Limited re-emerged in 2009 under the ownership of state-owned Chinese manufacturing giant SAIC Motor and has recently introduced…

VERDICT It seems entirely fair to presume that had the MG ZS EV been launched closer to the beginning of this decade, it would have been a force to be reckoned with. By all measures, this is a seriously affordable and impressively practical electric vehicle, with a powertrain that offers perfectly agreeable performance and drivability. However, in the context of what you can now expect at the humbler end of the EV spectrum, the impression that the MG has arrived to the party a few years too late becomes a tricky one to shake. Its 113-mile mixed-use range is the largest speed hump in this respect, and sees it trail similarly priced rivals by a not insignificant margin. An at-times baggy ride, meanwhile, along with lacklustre handling and flaky, often…

THE NATIONAL MOTORSPORT scene in Japan has earned global cult status. Headlined by Formula 3, Super Formula (an equivalent to Indycars), Super GT and, more recently, its own sport of drifting, Japanese motorsport thrives within its own ecosystem, almost totally self-contained and for the past 30 years dancing to its own tune on rules and regulations. The cars are fast and spectacular, the home-grown heroes know the circuits intimately and, like everything in this fascinating country, it all feels exotic and a bit alien to Europeans. The other attraction for foreign drivers is that you can get paid to race in Japan – and get paid well. That’s what drew a generation away from Europe in the 1990s. Eddie Irvine was the best-known example to use All-Japan Formula 3000 (as…

So here we are, then. Some 60 years after visionary car designer and all-round Autocar hero Sir Alec Issigonis decided it would be a smart idea to mount a four-cylinder engine transversely at the nose of his new compact, fuel-efficient city car, photographer Luc Lacey and I find ourselves looking – somewhat apprehensively, I might add – at a verdant green example of that original car’s modern-day descendant. The car in question is a Mini. Of course, it is. How could it be anything else? And this particular Mini isn’t just any old Mini, either: it’s the 10-millionth Mini built since the now defunct British Motor Corporation launched the genre-defining original in 1959. Specifically, it’s a limited-run 189bhp Cooper S 60 Years Edition, which seems rather convenient considering that it…

MILEAGE 5011 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Volkswagen’s re-engineered SUV is a fitting flagship – and how well it can do diesel Not long after Steve Cropley’s Volkswagen Touareg arrived on our fleet, I borrowed it for a rare ‘social’ with three mates to far-off North Wales. Just the sort of test that a large, premium-priced SUV should be suited to. As chaps of a certain age with families and plenty of responsibilities, we don’t get together as much as we used to. So once a year we block out a few days and head for a remote valley for a weekend of outdoor ‘activities’ (not just involving alcohol, honest). There are four of us from the south-east, with others travelling from Devon, Cambridgeshire and Ireland. The rendezvous…

Audi A2 Steve is back after showing us his Audi A4. “I’ve been after this A2 for about a year and the owner eventually agreed to sell. I’ve always fancied an A2 because of the heritage and the space inside and the fact that Audi lost money on each one. My A2 was not much money but has a few bits broken, which means searching eBay etc. All part of the fun. And £30 tax is surprising. Also, some parts from Audi are cheaper than online. “The car is a 2004 TDI 90 with 115,000 miles. I bought it from someone who has owned it for the past five years. There are a few issues, such as a broken rear light, a bonnet that needs respraying, various broken trim pieces,…

Audi TT 3.2 TFSI S tronic quattro Price £4450 With the current TT likely to be the last, now might be a good time to snare a collectable example of one of its forebears before people get wind. The Mk2 3.2 TFSI S tronic of 2006 springs to mind. There’s power aplenty here – 247bhp plus 235lb ft torque – for 0-62mph in 5.7sec. Wider front and rear tracks mean it’s more stable than the Mk1 and a good one should feel taut and composed in corners. Our find is a 2006-reg with 94,000 miles but full Audi service history.…

An expert’s view JACK DAY, SUTHERLAND M POWER CARS “We buy and sell all types of M car but I can’t remember when we last had an M6 in the showroom. It’s the unreliable SMG gearbox that bothers people. It’s not like today’s twin-clutch transmissions. It’s a peculiar thing, and when it goes wrong, it can be expensive. Putting a warranty on the model is another big expense. And I’d be wary of the convertible for the extra complication it brings. On the positive side, the M6 is quicker than the M5 saloon, and although it’s not as practical, it looks fantastic. There’s a growing demand for powerful, naturally aspirated engines, too.” Buyer beware… ■ ENGINE Listen for valvetrain noise and grumbles from below, hopefully signalled by the engine warning…

It’s a hectic time for Max Verstappen, the brightest emerging superstar in Formula 1. He has just completed his first century of grands prix – almost unbelievably, given that he only recently turned 22 – and when we meet is preparing to fly out to Brazil, where he will deliver an unexpected and impressive pole-to-victory performance. All this while assisting the experts working away at the ultra-modern, super-slick Red Bull Racing factory in Milton Keynes on plans for the 2020 season, when the de facto Honda works squad will look to take its first championship since the end of the V8 era back in 2013. Speaking to Autocar to announce a sponsorship deal with CarNext, a Europe-wide digital marketplace for used cars (there’s no better marketing tool for any Dutch…