Innholdsfortegnelse for January 29, 2020 i Autocar

SINCE THE 2013 launch of the last Leon, Seat has been one of the industry’s most impressive success stories. It has a happy knack of making the right car in the right segment at the right time, and finding buyers for them in increasing numbers. Pre-2013, it was a very different story. In 2010, Seat’s then boss, James Muir, said the company was facing a fight for its very survival and a five-year turnaround plan gearing up for the launch of the Leon simply had to work as “the last attempt for Seat as a brand”. “If one would want to get rid of Seat, one would have to give the other party money to take it” was Muir’s frank assessment. Yet the plan worked. Last year, Seat sold 574,100…

The future of a new Focus RS hinges on its engineers creating a high-output, full-hybrid powertrain that fits in with the new EU regime for average fleet CO2 emissions – a challenge that Ford bosses describe as “waiting for a solution”. A senior Ford executive told Autocar: “We are waiting for our engineering team to come up with a solution on the powertrain and that is not easy given the new fleet CO2 regulations.” Eighteen months ago, Ford was understood to be looking at a mild-hybrid 48V powertrain. To minimise CO2 figures, the firm now believes the engine has to be a full hybrid. “The mild hybrid is not enough,” said our source. The challenge of the new fleet average figure – set industry-wide at 95g/km, but varying according to…

“A unique glasshouse treatment makes the C-pillar appear translucent” Volkswagen is on the verge of giving the green light to a new ID-branded SUV to rival the upcoming BMW iX3 and Mercedes-Benz EQB. The electric-powered SUV is known to officials at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg headquarters in Germany as the Ruggdzz, a working title that draws on the word ‘rugged’. The new model forms part of a so-called Icon project to establish what has been described to Autocar as “a line of ID models with the same timeless and classless qualities as the original Beetle”. Measuring 4600mm long in standard-wheelbase form, the four-wheel-drive SUV has been conceived to complement a number of more conventionally styled ID models, including the similarly sized ID 4 – a production version of the ID Crozz concept…

SUZUKI UK HAS responded to media reports that the Jimny will soon be removed from sale in Europe by claiming that it will still be sold in “very limited numbers throughout 2020”. The rugged 4x4, launched in 2018, was reported to be under threat due to its relatively high CO2 emissions, a factor that Suzuki UK admits would “adversely affect its whole range CO2 average in Europe after 2020”. The Jimny emits 154g/km of CO2 in its most efficient form. Although not officially confirmed, it’s suggested the model will be removed from sale in 2021. However, there are also rumours that it could instead become an N1-class commercial vehicle to avoid affecting CO2 targets. This would involve the removal of the rear seats and a loadbay conversion, among other homologation…

WHEN ALFA ROMEO introduced its Intelligent Braking System (IBS), on the Giulia and Stelvio, it was the first use in production of the MKC1 brake-by-wire system. Developed by Continental, this wraps up usually separate components into one neat package that’s lighter and far more compact than the sum of its parts. Drive-by-wire concepts were originally aimed at making everything electronic, with no mechanical connection between the driver and the car. The idea was that electric calipers would do the braking and electric steering racks would enable fancy features such as enabling the car to take major avoiding action in emergency situations without ripping the driver’s thumbs off on the steering wheel spokes. The MKC1 system goes part of the way to full brake-by-wire but stops short of electric brake calipers.…

As anyone who has concluded that their next small car really ought to be a more environmentally sustainable one is about to discover, if they haven’t already, this will definitely be a good year to buy an electric hatchback. A glut of slightly pricey but virtuously sustainable, all-electric hatches is about to emerge onto the UK market, as Volkswagen, Honda, Peugeot and Vauxhall all finally get around to becoming fully paid-up members of the zero-emissions club. Renault, Smart, Hyundai and Kia, meanwhile, have all busily refreshed and updated their runners and riders. Most of these newbies are set to cost roughly the same amount of money, of course, and most will be positioned in much the same way. Will the sudden rush in supply be met with an equivalent and…

Downsizing is no longer enough when it comes to reducing CO2. Small cars are harshly treated in the stiff new EU emissions legislation, so superminis will have to be electrified. As for going the whole hog, Renault’s EV product planning director points out: “There’s a lot of resistance from buyers to the idea of a £30,000 battery-electric hatchback.” So, the new Clio needs a hybrid drivetrain. There have been only two hybrids in this class so far: the Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris, which have proven that money can (just) be made on such a model. Renault aims to do the same with its £25k Clio E-Tech. Its system borrows from Formula 1 energy recovery practice, with two electric motors and a simple four-speed dog-clutch gearbox. This is augmented by…

VERDICT The Nissan Juke has mellowed and matured agreeably enough in transition to second-generation form. More important, though, it remains much the same enigmatic choice that it used to be and has gained some practicality and good manners to address the most conspicuous vulnerabilities of the original version. Chances are that if you liked the quirky looks and youthful energy of the first Juke, you’ll find the same things to like this time around. If you’ll often fill those back seats with bigger children or adults, meanwhile, and have much to carry in the boot, or suffer with craggy roads close to where you live, you’ll find quite a lot less to dislike about this car than you might have the previous one. The first-gen Juke might well have got…

Well this is strange. There’s no overpowering aroma of petrol, the door shuts on the first try and moving the gearlever is a one-man job. Even before setting off, the eClassics Beetle has proved a much more refined steer than its conventionally fuelled counterpart, and although you still need to physically turn a key, the resulting off-beat clatter of an air-cooled boxer engine is notable by its absence. It helps to forget the charms of the original car, but the task is made all the easier by Bumblebee’s linear acceleration curve and unflappable road-holding in corners. It genuinely feels sporty; overtaking manoeuvres are dispatched in seconds and a few spirited laps of a quiet roundabout show how the effects of a 350kg weight gain are all but cancelled out by…

COMPARISON New Volkswagen T-Roc R vs BMW M135i Just how much of the Golf R’s magic has rubbed off onto this compact SUV? Enough to tempt you? This twin test with a twist will tell all… FIRST TEST All-new Audi A3 We join the development team and get an early drive INSIGHT Defender in Slovakia We head east to see the first all-new Defenders being built EVERY WEEK USED BUYING GUIDE Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk2 This icon needn’t be a museum piece; we detail how to buy and enjoy one ROAD TEST BMW M8 Convertible New open-top performance flagship gets the full eight-page treatment FIRST DRIVE Vauxhall Grandland X Hybrid4 Biggest Vauxhall SUV becomes the brand’s first plug-in hybrid SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p24…

MILEAGE 5400 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if it can cut it with the best in the fiercely fought family car class January is the longest, poorest and dreariest month of the year, so you have to make your own fun to help the time pass by that bit quicker. Fortunately, our Toyota Corolla has taught me one of the cheapest and most addictive games I’ve ever played with a car. The hatchback’s ‘self-charging’ hybrid powertrain shuts down its 2.0-litre petrol engine provided there’s enough charge in the battery (generated during deceleration and braking) and you’re gentle enough with the accelerator, leaving you with 107bhp of electrickery to play with. Once accustomed to this, I spent the weekend engaged in a fight to keep the speedometer’s little green…

BMW Z3 You might remember a few weeks back when we highlighted the appeal of the BMW Z3, and this inspired Steve to show us his. It’s a 1997 Z3 2.8 auto with 66k miles and a full service history, and Steve’s partner has owned it from new. They love the car but it’s time for a change and, although I don’t want to turn Reader’s Ride into a classified, they are open to offers. If you want to make contact, drop me a line. SEND YOUR USED CAR TALES TO ⊠ james@bangernomics.com AND READERS' QUESTIONS TO ⊠ autocar@haymarket.com…

Nissan 370Z Nismo Price £18,500 We may not regard modern-day Zeds in the same light as the Datsun 240Z and 260Z but, then again, a generation raised on Need for Speed may think differently. Indeed, in 2008, Nissan and PlayStation launched the GT Academy to find two gamers to race a real 350Z. Since then, the model has been superseded by the 370Z. The Nismo version, launched in 2013 and powered by a 339bhp 3.7-litre V6, is our pick for a gamer’s classic. New, it costs £40,370, but we found a 2016-reg car with 46,000 miles for less than half that.…

A Porsche 2+2 coupé for £5000? In these times of rampant classic car inflation, it’s hard to believe something so desirable is available for such little money. Well, perhaps not desirable for diehard Porsche fans for whom ‘924’ is code for a stillborn Volkswagen, but for the rest of us this is the real deal. The 924 arrived in 1976 and helped to steady Porsche’s ship. Today your £5000 buys a basic model registered in 1984, with around 65,000 miles, a 123bhp 2.0-litre engine and a full service history. The car we have in mind is being sold privately, which means you can quiz the owner on its history and day-to-day reliability. Then all aboard for an extended test drive so you can monitor engine temperature and oil pressure, feel…

“The Leon plug-in hybrid will make 201bhp and has a claimed 38-mile electric-only range” Seat has brought its Leon model into the 2020s with an all-new generation, promising greater efficiency, a new technological standard and a greater emphasis on design than ever before. It’s also the first Seat to come with both mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrain options. Unveiled for the first time in both hatchback and estate forms, the new Leon will make its public debut at the Geneva motor show in March. It will be joined there by the new Cupra Leon performance model, itself available in both petrol and plug-in hybrid guises. First examples of the Ford Focus rival will arrive in UK dealerships the same month. The fourth-generation Leon continues a lineage that has accumulated more…

CITROEN WILL REPLACE the axed C4 and ageing C4 Cactus with an all-new crossover – and the first spy shots of the new model have emerged. The newly developed model is tipped to make its debut in the latter part of 2020 before going on sale at the start of next year. It will sit on the PSA Group’s CMP architecture, allowing it to be the first model in its class to come with petrol, diesel and battery electric powertrain options, as confirmed by former Citroën CEO Linda Jackson last year. The spy shots offer a first look at the new car, which moves towards the fashionable SUV-coupé bodystyle, with a distinctly sloping roofline and raised tailgate. However, clear Citroën design cues remain in the styling of the front end…

Karmann has emerged as one of the favourites to put the open-top Volkswagen ID Buggy into limited production, according to sources close to the German car maker. Under Volkswagen ownership since 2010, Karmann is described as “a key candidate” to assemble the modern-day beach buggy, which made its world debut at the 2019 Geneva motor show. The focus on Karmann, which currently produces the Porsche 718 Boxster and Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet at its factory in Osnabrück, Germany, follows doubts over the future financial sustainability of e.Go Mobile – the German company originally chosen by Volkswagen to become the first external partner to produce cars based on its MEB electric car platform. The company behind the e.Go Life electric city car signed a memorandum of understanding with Volkswagen early last year…

Just weeks after Autocar’s scoop of the next-generation Range Rover Sport, revealing spy shots of the new luxury SUV have emerged. Captured outside Jaguar Land Rover’s development facility in Warwickshire, the test model has a more minimal disguise than is usual for a car expected to be up to two years away from launch. Appearing to evolve the existing design formula for the outgoing model, it takes inspiration from the Velar but with more of a square-edged profile and pronounced styling lines. Interestingly, we’ve yet to see a production-focused prototype for the new flagship Range Rover, which was originally tipped to go on sale before the Sport. Expected to be one of Land Rover’s biggest profit generators, the third-generation Porsche Cayenne rival is likely to stick closely to the formula…

Could a vegan steak bake change the car industry? It may sound tenuous, but the phenomenal success of the unlikely offering from Greggs bakery, along with myriad other vegan products that were rolled out by national retail chains for ‘Veganuary’ this month, demonstrate that catering to the growing demand for animal-free products is big business. The rise in veganism is driven by a combination of health, environmental and animal welfare concerns. It’s not just about eating only plant-derived food but entirely avoiding using animal-based products – such as leather upholstery in cars. Leather has long been used as a luxury material for vehicle interiors, and it remains a very popular choice. But in the past few years, there has been a major push by premium brands to develop animal-free leather…

Anyone who charges their phone in their car via a pad rather than a cable will know what a game-changer wireless electric vehicle charging will be. No plug, no cables, no interface. The dream is for pads to be buried beneath where you park or just stop briefly: home, work, supermarkets, drive-throughs and even traffic lights. “It has the potential to really make charging a non-event,” said Dr Neale Kinnear, head of behavioural science at the UK’s TRL research laboratory, which has overseen a range of EV charging trials. Realisation of that dream is taking its time, however. The latest toe in the water is a government-backed trial, due to start in March, that involves laying five pads outside Nottingham railway station to wirelessly charge 10 electric taxis (five LEVC…

Not that you’d know from the look of the new Fortwo, but the scene at Smart is changing. Daimler recently sold half of the brand to Chinese giant Geely – parent company of Volvo and Lotus – with the aim of moving production to China for the next-generation models, due in 2022. The corporate management team has also been shaken up and the brand is now an all-electric one, even though zero-emission Smarts accounted only for 18,000 of 118,000 global sales in 2019. Yet beyond the backstage bustle, the ‘Smart car’ itself will exist in something of a holding pattern from now until 2022, with largely unchanged Fortwo coupé and cabrio models offered alongside the four-door Forfour. The three-cylinder petrol engines have gone but, aside from the LED headlights and…

1 VOLKSWAGEN T-CROSS 1.0 TSI 115 R-LINE Typically classy, comfy VW has distinguishing performance, refinement and practicality. 2 SEAT ARONA 1.0 TSI 115 FR SPORT Trades some of the T-Cross’s space and comfort for youthful, sporty appeal. Strong value. 3 NISSAN JUKE 1.0 DIG-T 117 TEKNA As much visual attitude as before, with better space and dynamic polish. Drives well. 4 RENAULT CAPTUR 1.3 TCE 130 S EDITION We’ve yet to drive the latest-gen one in the UK but our European test suggests it’ll be competitive. 5 CITROEN C3 AIRCROSS PURETECH 110 FLAIR Beats many on value; decent for space. Less refinement and perceived quality than in some.…

WLTP realignment has meant considerably higher CO2 figures for all four hybrid crossovers than were previously quoted using ‘NEDC correlated’ calculations. In turn, that means higher benefit-in-kind rates, which is why company-car regulars might wince at some of these figures. Even our RAV4, whose unusually low CO2 will stand owners in comparably good financial stead, will from this April cost higher-rate taxpayers £387 each month, where previously it would have cost only £300. The other models will all begin to occupy either of the very highest two BIK tax bands, making them no more desirable on paper than any other kind of crossover, except those with a plug socket and full plug-in hybrid powertrain. Those fortunate enough to be given an allowance for their own-choice car by their employer can…

Sometimes, admitting defeat and buying in an engine is the simplest – and best – approach to creating a great driver’s car. Regardless of the genre, you’ll find spirited machines that owe much to their donor engine. From exclusive brands, such as Aston Martin, to quirky innovators like Citroën, and all manner of manufacturers in between, many makers have opted for a tried-and-tested approach that, when done right, delivers an enduring car for drivers. Here are 10 of Autocar’s favourite cars with donor engines. Ariel Atom ENGINE DONOR HONDA From the moment the world first clapped eyes on the unusual exoskeletal chassis of the Atom, there was no doubt that the car would be exciting to drive. Niki Smart’s handiwork was brought to fruition by former Aston Martin stylist and…

QUESTION Looking at private sale used cars during the dark winter evenings makes checking the bodywork difficult. Any solution? Kevin Simmonds, London ANSWER I remember a buyer coming to view my black Zafira 2.2i, a former rental car that, given its low price, I suspected had been pranged before I bought it at nine months and 4000 miles old. It was a midweek evening in winter. I suggested he view it in daylight but he said a petrol station forecourt would be fine. He was right. The bright lights revealed every blemish and he knocked my price down handsomely. Try it for yourself. JE QUESTION I’ve seen a used Peugeot iOn for sale. Would it be a sensible first EV for my wife, who doesn’t travel far? Colin Stewart, via…

Volvo S60 R £5750 The understated performance saloon and estate are intriguing concepts and we’ve assembled a few here, starting with the S60 R. It was launched in 2003, powered by a 296bhp five-cylinder 2.5-litre engine driving all four wheels using a Haldex coupling. Most have a Geartronic automatic gearbox that restricts the engine’s torque output in first and second gears. The later six-speed manual is the one to have – if you can find one. An unyielding ride and an outright shortfall in performance blunted the S60 R’s appeal when new. However, performance enthusiasts regard the model more fondly today, delighting in its rarity, charismatic engine note and comfortable, feature-rich cabin. Inevitably, there are a few things to look out for. The four-wheel drive system can become two-wheel drive…

An expert’s view DAVID HITCH, RPM SPECIALIST CARS “We get a couple of 924s through the workshop every month and people love them. I ran a 2.0 as my company car when I worked at a Lotus dealer in the 1980s and loved it. It was reliable and fun to drive. Today, cooling issues and oil leaks are the things to watch out for. People remove the thermostat on the 2.5 to make it run cooler but we have a fix that sorts it. Tappets rattle from cold but often it’s just an oil circulation problem that a drive around the block will sort. Prices have been low for years but the 924’s day will come as the 944 moves beyond reach.” Buyer beware ▪ ENGINE Look for leaks from…

A LEAKED IMAGE showing the rear of the new Volkswagen Golf GTI has emerged and was quickly followed by a brand slide appearing to confirm the output of four hot new Golfs due this year. Set to make its official debut at the Geneva motor show in March, the Golf GTI (which follows on from the recently revealed GTE plug-in hybrid) will be joined by a high-performance TCR variant, a new diesel GTD and a range-topping R. The Golf R is expected to be unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this summer. The slide confirms the GTI’s previously reported output of 241bhp and shows a new TCR variant with an output of 296bhp. The diesel GTD has power upped to 197bhp and the flagship R appears to put out…

LOTUS IS LAUNCHING a more refined European version of the Evora 410 that’s designed to improve the car’s comfort in day-to-day use without harming its high-speed capability. Called the Evora GT 410, it sits beside the existing, notably more hardcore GT 410 Sport, which itself receives some running improvements. The new model is known internally as ‘Phil’s spec’, because Lotus boss Phil Popham called for its UK launch after trying a quieter, more supple, US-spec Evora. The new car costs £82,900, a price that includes additions to the usual standard equipment level. Its spec includes air-con, Sparco sports seats, improved door trims, a tailgate with a larger glass area and a reversing camera. The whole package saves buyers around £3000, says Lotus, and is on sale now. The new variant…

Volkswagen ID Roomzz: apple skin leather Electric large SUV concept revealed at last year’s Shanghai motor show features a leather-style fabric made by mixing polyurethane with apple skin left over from juice production. Bentley EXP 100GT: grape leather Red wine and upholstery don’t usually mix well, but Bentley’s 100th anniversary concept features a material made from grape skins that are a waste product from wine production. Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR: recycled bottles This year’s futuristic Vision AVTR concept contains Dinamica microfibre, a material made from old clothing, plastic bottles and flags. Similar fabrics are already used in production cars, including a number of Volvos and the new Renault Zoe.…

DACIA IS FINALLY set to bring factory-fit LPG [liquid petroleum gas] versions of its cars to the UK after years of restricting the money-saving models to the Continent. The so-called Eco G system will be available in the spring across its full UK range – the Sandero, Sandero Stepway, Logan MCV, Logan MCV Stepway and Duster – said a source close to parent firm Renault. The cars are set to cost about £400 more than the regular 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol models on which they are based. LPG is natural gas that’s compressed into liquid form. Cars use more of it than petrol, but the overall CO2 emitted is less and the cost per litre is around half. There are currently some 1400 LPG filling stations in the UK, according to…

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A theme common to many electric cars is that their weight and architecture lead to them feeling lead-footed and brittle. The Honda E has circumnavigated that issue. So, whatever else comes of this sub-supermini hatchback, attractive but not quite as pretty as the concept that preceded it, one of its plus points will be the way it drives. Its new platform provides all-round independent suspension with a MacPherson strut at each corner; dynamically, Honda has targeted much larger cars. For rolling comfort, smoothness and refinement, the E succeeds where others have not. There is a catch, of course. This is a compact car – 3.9m long – that can be so only because it has a small energy store. While almost every manufacturer strives to fit a capacity of 60kWh…

MODEL TESTED 1.0 DIG-T 117 TEKNA Price £22,495 • Power 115bhp • Torque 148lb ft • 0-60mph 11.9sec • 30-70mph in fourth 20.3sec • Fuel economy 37.8mpg • CO2 emissions 118g/km • 70-0mph 51.9m It’s thanks to the commercial success of the original Nissan Juke that the market segment known to some as B-SUV (‘B’ being the prefix traditionally used to identify superminis) exists at all; and, arguably, also that the compact crossover hatchback has become Europe’s biggest automotive market growth area. Inevitably, now we have a second-generation Juke, with a new chassis and a new engine, built on a Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance model platform. And given how much more competition there is for this one than there was for its predecessor, you can bet that it won’t be another nine years…

Some ideas take time to arrive. In 1966, Jensen’s FF was the first performance car to use four-wheel drive, but it wasn’t until Audi, Porsche and Lancia put their heads down almost two decades later that the industry’s purveyors of speed began to take two driven axles seriously. It’s been a similar story with everything from turbos to stop-start technology. Now could be the turn of hybrid power – specifically, a plugless blend of petrol and electricity. When Toyota introduced the world’s first mass-made hybrid car in 1997, it’s unlikely they imagined that 23 years and a hitherto non-existent vehicle class would be needed to force the technology into the mainstream. The engineering for the Prius was so complicated that it took seven weeks to get the original prototype moving…

It’s a busy day at Jack’s Garage in London’s Notting Hill. On a ramp, a well-worn Mk2 Golf is undergoing an overhaul, a stripped-down Type 2 camper is being reassembled in the bodyshop and the phone is ringing off the hook. There’s nothing to suggest that, just over a year ago, this classic Volkswagen specialist was nearly forced to close in the aftermath of a national tragedy. It’s difficult to ignore the 221ft shell of Grenfell Tower looming overhead. White sheeting now hides the extensive fire damage, but the legacy of what happened here in 2017 is palpable. Joseph Salama, owner of Jack’s Garage for 12 years, explains how his business’s proximity to the site nearly made continued operations untenable in the months after the disaster. “Parts deliveries couldn’t arrive,…

“The charity ensures that experiences are of the money-can’t-buy variety” “I served in the Royal Signals in Sarajevo in 1995, driving along Sniper Alley in a Snatch Land Rover, and now there I was, 23 years later, driving down the same road in my Aston Martin Vantage. That was a standout moment for me.” Mick Clark is reflecting on his experiences with Rally for Heroes, the charity driving tour he created in 2010 to raise money for organisations including the Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes but which now exclusively supports SSAFA, the armed forces charity that helps current and former members of the services, their families and dependants. The event takes place every two years and usually kicks off in London before heading across the Channel for a…

All torque and no action In the charge for electrification, there’s a group of car users who have been forgotten. My partner has the luxury of being a ‘user-chooser’ (from a limited list) for her company car. This time, the all-diesel policy has been ditched in favour of a much wider choice, and we were considering an EV. However, we ended up choosing a plug-in hybrid, because we tow. Only a small trailer, and not that often – but the only EVs that are able to tow and have a reasonable range are apparently the likes of the Tesla Model X, Audi E-tron and Jaguar I-Pace. I’m frankly surprised by this – EVs are renowned for the instant low-down torque available from rest, so I can’t see why more are…

MILEAGE 5500 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Peugeot’s smart new generation of 508s really do offer a viable alternative to premium rivals The festive season is always a baptism of fire for a new family car, and standout good looks weren’t going to get our 508 SW out of any train station shuttle runs or refuse centre visits. But before filling the boot with badly wrapped board games and biscuits and setting sail from south London for the annual family get-together, I wanted to see if it’s still possible to use a car of this size in a congested city. First impressions? Not bad at all. It’s easy to be daunted by the 508’s long, squat stature, big overhangs and limited rear visibility, but at no point did…

MILEAGE 103,016 LAND ROVER SERIES 3 The Lorry has been working hard into the new year and never fails to start and stop and do its stuff. However, the weak link is the owner. I mean, what twit-face would lose the keys? There are so many keys – each lock has its own one, plus the padlock on the spare and the padlock on the fuel cap, and yet another for the storage box under the front seat. The thing is, they have been lost somewhere on the compound, so one day an archaeologist may come across them. The spare set featured a broken plastic part of the ignition key, currently all held together by a ring of steel.…

Have an estate, will fill it. Have a Superb estate and you’ll struggle to. Skoda’s wagon is that big – a giant of a thing with a 1950-litre load bay that dwarfs even the Mercedes-Benz E-Class’s business end. Put the rear seatbacks upright and there’s plenty of occupant space as well. The current model, a sleek-looking affair, was launched in 2015 and facelifted in 2019, when it appeared to move even more upmarket thanks to extra kit, additional chrome detailing and fancier trims, plus the availability of a plug-in hybrid version. The Superb can be had with a seven-speed DSG automatic or six-speed manual gearbox. Prices for the first 2015 cars start from around £5500 for 100,000-mile 118bhp 1.6 TDI diesels in basic S trim, peaking at about £17,500 for…

PORSCHE 944 TURBO Everyone likes a Porsche Turbo. Cayennes are cheapest, with prices starting at around £5000, but you can pick up 924 Turbos (see overleaf) from £8000. Then there’s the 996-generation 911 Turbo, prices for which start at around £23,000. In between is the 944 Turbo, priced from £10,000, although at this money you need to be very cautious. For £5000 more, you could be in a one-owner 1987-reg 944 Turbo with 95,000 miles, a car we saw advertised (but with no mention of service history). Alternatively, how about an immaculate 82,000-mile 1991-reg example with full Porsche and specialist service history that went under the hammer recently for £21,400?…