Innholdsfortegnelse for July 15, 2020 i Autocar

The next Cupra model is an electric hot hatch called the El-Born. It was first seen as a Seat concept but will enter production as a Cupra with “significant design and performance upgrades”, and a Seat-badged version is now looking unlikely. Due on sale in 2021, the El-Born is said to bring “sustainable mobility with a unique character and dynamism”. It will be the first performance-oriented car in the Volkswagen Group’s portfolio to use the modular MEB electric platform. Only scant technical detail has been released. The EV is powered by a 77kWh (82kWh gross) lithium ion battery pack that sends power through a rear-mounted electric motor of undisclosed output. Cupra promises a range of up to 310 miles on a single charge, with rapid charging making it capable of…

The new Roadster version of Lamborghini’s Sián is the world’s most powerful open-top production car, with its 808bhp usurping the 780bhp of the Ferrari 812 GTS. Just 19 examples of the Sián Roadster will be built, making it far more exclusive than the series-produced 812 soft-top – and all have been sold already. Like the coupé revealed last year, the Roadster gets most of its power (some 774bhp) from an uprated version of the Aventador’s naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12, while a 34bhp 48V electric motor is integrated into the gearbox for low-speed manoeuvring. It’s also used to smooth the Sián’s acceleration curve, providing torque fills that mitigate the effects of deceleration during gearchanges. An added benefit of this, says Lamborghini, is that “the pilot will feel only the pull backward…

LEVC HAS REVEALED the van version of its TX taxi, the VN5, and opened the order books. The long-awaited commercial version of the range-extender electric taxi was due to go on sale last year, but it was delayed as the Coventry-based manufacturer looked to parent firm Geely for help finalising development. Priced from £46,500, the VN5 is eligible for the UK’s van-specific plug-in car grant of up to £8000. Customer deliveries are due to start at the end of 2020. The VN5 uses the same powertrain as the TX, offering an electric range of more than 58 miles and a total range of over 290 miles, thanks to a three-cylinder petrol engine that acts as a range extender. The van has a class-leading 10.1m turning circle and can take two…

MERCEDES-BENZ HAS previewed the interior of its new S-Class, which is due to make its debut later this year. It was designed specifically with rear passengers in mind, so they can now access the same infotainment functions as people in the front via standard OLED haptic-feedback touchscreens. The luxury flagship has a next-generation MBUX interface that does away with 27 buttons and switches that are present in today’s S-Class. It’s also ‘learn-capable’, automatically adjusting features to suit the driver. Further tech includes an augmented reality head-up display, cloud-based personalisation and greatly enhanced voice control.…

UK car sales fell 34.9% year on year in June – the first full month in which car retailers were open again post-lockdown – while dramatic changes in buying habits emerged. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show a significant improvement over April and May (down 97% and 89% respectively) but still far from the comeback the industry had hoped for after being out of action for more than two months. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes described June’s sales as “not a recovery and barely a restart”, adding: “Many of June’s registrations could be attributed to customers finally being able to collect their pre-pandemic orders, and appetite for significant spending remains questionable.” There were 145,377 cars sold last month, a decline of 78,044 over June 2019.…

In the 1990s, there was a highly strung 125cc two-stroke sports bike called the Cagiva Mito. “It’s got seven gears,” said a review at the time, “but they all do the same thing.” I’m reminded of this by the new Ariel Nomad R. It has a sequential six-speed rally-spec gearbox whose ratios are so close that you could happily be in sixth gear at 25mph or first gear at 50mph. It doesn’t really matter which when you put your foot down. To recap: the Nomad was introduced in 2015 as the Atom’s ‘mucky brother’. “You drive down a road,” said Ariel, explaining where it was pitching the two cars, “and turn left onto a race track in an Atom, or turn right into a field in a Nomad.” A supercharged…

There’s been a range-topping addition to Hyundai’s i10 city car line. The i10 N Line adds turbo power to the car’s armoury for the first time. It’s powered by a 1.0-litre turbo three-pot petrol motor that makes 99bhp and 127lb ft. Not quite enough, we’d say, for the car to stand shoulder to shoulder with the slightly peppier and widely acclaimed Volkswagen Up GTI, but Hyundai clearly believes otherwise and has priced this car with ambition to go head to head with the VW. Should it have? Well, sporty superminis have certainly been built on less. This car does have shiny pedals and some jazzy red exterior styling parts. It has gently overhauled suspension, too – stiffer coil springs, retuned dampers and new rear axle bump stops. They add a…

1 ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM Does luxury, refinement, grandeur and sense of occasion like absolutely nothing else on four wheels. 2 MERCEDES-MAYBACH S650 Not nearly as involving as the Bentley, but pips it on ride comfort and associated on-board luxury feel. 3 BENTLEY FLYING SPUR A much better driver’s car than it needs to be, and wonderful in its way, if a bit short on ride isolation. 4 BMW M760Li xDRIVE One of very few other 12-cylinder limos remaining. Pleasing to drive; a little lacking in luxury refinements. 5 ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST Junior Rolls limo has always lacked some of the good manners and presence of the Phantom. Due for replacement.…

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If Ott Tänak thought he was going to have a relaxing start to his title defence, he was very much mistaken. First, he had the biggest accident of his life on the Monte Carlo Rally, wrecking his new Hyundai i20 Coupé. Then the Covid-19 pandemic came along, leaving him fifth in the standings with no chance to do anything about it. Finally, he heard the news last week that the WRC season would restart from 4-6 September in his home country of Estonia. No pressure, then, nor the opportunity to quietly keep his head down and get on with it. From earlier facing just five rounds this season, the WRC is now looking at a minimum of eight rallies. Turkey will take its scheduled slot after Estonia’s new entry, followed…

As the lucky (and patient) owner of a new Porsche Taycan 4S in Gentian Blue, I wanted to reassure fellow driving enthusiasts that if electric cars are the future, everyone can cherish their ICE cars while knowing the future is new and exciting. In a world of so much choice, many of us are looking for products that don’t just execute their basic functional requirements but deliver real experiences. Yes, the Taycan is just a car that gets you from A to B and, yes, the eco credentials of electric cars are still marginal, but goodness me: this is a truly beautiful car that provides a genuinely new driving experience. On picking up my car from Porsche Newcastle, it was parked between a 718 Cayman and 911 Cabriolet, and you…

MILEAGE 4688 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To continue our exploration of Skoda’s flagship range and find out whether PHEV beats diesel for everyday use The disadvantages of not having my own home charger are quickly becoming apparent, I’m afraid. Although I’ve been running this new plug-in hybrid Superb for a few weeks now, my current total of attempted plug-ins stands at just one. I say ‘attempted’ for good reason, too: as soon as I’d hooked the Skoda up to the Ecotricity motorway charge point I’d located on my way back from a day-long photoshoot, I discovered it wasn’t actually working. Admittedly, this discovery didn’t come as much of a surprise, given the network’s known issues with reliability. And because I knew I could simply roll away again on petrol power…

S is for Jaguar S-Type Some think the design is ugly or just a pastiche of the 1960s Jaguar Mk2, but the S-Type really does stand out from the crowd. There are four powerful engines to choose from, V6 to V8, and there’s a supercharged version as well. Never mind the BMW M5 or Mercedes E-Class AMG: the 395bhp S-Type R is nearly as rapid and much cheaper. In fact, every S-Type costs buttons. Talking of buttons, the dashboard can be confusing, and while the mechanical sounds are well damped, wind noise is an issue on the motorway. The biggest issue, though, is the shortage of space. Five up is almost impossible and leg room is only okay. Worst of all, anyone above average height brushes the roof. Likewise, the…

Mercedes-Benz A-Class Price £1495 With the passage of time, the buzz that surrounded the original Mercedes-Benz A-Class seems to have been forgotten. It was the biggest leap forward in car design since the Mini, and it had a clever sandwich floor construction that made it very safe in a crash. Ubiquity, a bungled stability test and stories of poor reliability tarnished its reputation, but with all those issues ironed out, the A-Class could soon be seen as the trendsetter it really was.…

The new Nissan Ariya electric SUV features bold styling, a range of up to 310 miles and a 389bhp performance variant – and the car maker claims it will “mark a new era for electric vehicles” by combining high levels of tech with “exciting” handing. The crucial new model is set to go on sale next year as a rival to the Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID 4 and will sit above the successful Leaf in the Japanese firm’s EV line-up. The Ariya retains the bold styling of the concept unveiled at last year’s Tokyo motor show and showcases Nissan’s new brand identity with “seamless, elegant and fresh” styling. It’s the first model built on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s new CMF-EV electric architecture, with Nissan operating chief Ashwani Gupta saying…

LAND ROVER HAS replaced the V6 and V8 diesel engines available in the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport with a new 3.0-litre straight-six unit featuring 48V mild-hybrid tech. The new, in-house-designed Ingenium engine replaces the Ford-derived diesels and is available in two guises: the D300, with 296bhp and 479lb ft, and the D350, which raises output to 345bhp and 516lb ft. Claimed to be smoother and more refined than the outgoing powerplants, the Ingenium unit is capable of up to 33.0mpg on the WLTP cycle – significantly more than the old V8. Plus, a 0-62mph time of 6.5sec for the Range Rover Sport D350 marks a 0.7sec improvement. The introduction of 48V electrical hardware also helps make the new engine RDE2-compliant. It’s expected to be added to the new…

In the autumn of his career, former England football coach Sven-Göran Eriksson had a short, ill-fated stint on the management team at one of England’s oldest clubs: Notts County. Remember that? Of course you don’t. I didn’t either. Thankfully, Wikipedia does. Eriksson may not be the Swedish institution that you were expecting this review to reference, but here’s the thing. During Eriksson’s Notts County tenure, one of the many inexplicable decisions made by the club’s board was retaining the services of the incumbent manager, having hired the Scandinavian to rule the roost. Why? Well, they were awash with money, or so they said. More to the point, Eriksson had been appointed to the dreaded ‘director of football’ position. This peculiar management hierarchy brings to mind the executive situation at fledgling…

With the launch of the GLB, Mercedes-Benz has trained its guns directly on Land Rover and its formidable Discovery Sport. For a long while now, the baby Discovery has occupied an unrivalled niche in the premium family SUV market thanks to its seven-seat layout and immense off-road ability. The GLB, it seems, is here to make the SUV from Gaydon sweat a little. Beneath the GLB’s boxy, baby-GLS exterior lies Mercedes’ MFA2 platform – essentially the same one that underpins the A-Class hatchback and saloon and, unsurprisingly, the B-Class compact MPV. Here, however, it has been stretched to accommodate a third row of seating, so that the GLB is a little over 4.6m in length. That makes it longer than the Discovery Sport, don’t you know. There’s a range of…

MODEL TESTED FLYING SPUR Price £168,300 • Power 626bhp • Torque 664lb ft • 0-60mph 3.9sec • 30-70mph in fourth 5.4sec • Fuel economy 22.6mpg • CO2 emissions 337g/km • 70-0mph 45.4m This new third-generation Bentley Flying Spur has more to prove, and tougher circumstances in which to do it, than either of its modern predecessors. While the Covid-19 pandemic has already devastated communities and rocked global markets, the murky fog of uncertainty that it has brought, which looks set to linger for a long while yet, may be even more costly for the likes of Bentley. With many of the world’s economies currently on a knife edge, only the passing of time will reveal the true extent of the damage that will be done to global appetites for luxury cars.…

Getting to the performance limits of this car means marvelling twice: first at its outright speed and second at the chassis’ ability to carry that speed over a fairly level surface. In Sport driving mode, it takes pretty severe long-wave inputs to upset the car’s composure, but the lateral grip and agility are startling. There’s sufficiently progressive steering response just off centre as to seem natural on a 2.5-tonne car, although it’s still pretty keen. And then, once the car’s laterally loaded and its active systems are all contributing, there is such incredible balance, adhesion and roll resistance that much of the mass around you seems to shrink into thin air. Handling isn’t adjustable like it might be a rear-driven sports car, but the Spur hardly understeers at any easily…

MODEL TESTED PHANTOM The concepts of largesse and largeness, as easy as those words may be to confuse on a Scrabble board, can rarely be applied to a new car as faithfully as to Rolls-Royce’s biggest showroom model: the inimitable Phantom. Goodwood’s self-proclaimed ‘best car in the world’ was, in its previous generation, the car with which its maker revealed in 2003 the full size and scope of its ambition under BMW Group ownership. And it was a limousine unlike any other the world had seen. Now, in second-generation modern form (although this is the eighth generation of the Phantom in Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ history, they haven’t always run concurrently), the Phantom has an all-new platform that, it’s claimed, makes Rolls-Royce unique as a super-luxury car maker. That platform is…

We’d been on the road for hours. Hours in which I thought I’d come to know and understand the extraordinary, £2.1 million McLaren Speedtail. And if it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, that was just fine. It’s always good to have an element of the unexpected, even with a prospect as interesting as this. I knew it was fast, fast in a way perhaps no other road car has ever been. And fascinating, too, for its engineering, design and significance. But then – and forgive this very necessary opacity – I found myself able to open it up in a way that had hitherto not been possible. That was when I discovered the Speedtail had been toying with me all day. After 30-something years of testing road cars, here…

You’re an absurdly rich car enthusiast yet can’t source the latest supercar of your dreams. What do you do? Some might join LaSource, an ultra-exclusive digital members club started by James Banks, previously a long-time McLaren engineer and later head of its bespoke operations. LaSource operates in the high-end world of brokering supercars. It relies on good contacts, discretion and confidentiality to run its business. It’s a long game: the firm sells only a handful of cars a year and many deals take months to negotiate. The average transaction price is an eye-watering £3 million. Banks explains the idea behind LaSource: “It’s quite commonplace for brokers to operate in the high-end collector’s car market. In a lot of instances, collectors want to sell or acquire cars discreetly, so an auction…

Did you spot, during the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, the rash of stories about Britain’s motorsport companies turning their expertise to the sudden and overwhelming medical demand? The response did the industry proud, but it was hardly a surprise. Engineers are the first people to turn to in a crisis, because they by definition relish the challenge of finding rapid, effective and practical solutions, and some of the brightest and most innovative in the UK are among the 25,000 employed in the business of racing. Adapting under intense pressure and making key decisions based on scientific logic? That’s just what they do, day in, day out, in workshops, paddocks, pit lanes and rally service parks around the world. It’s easy to be cynical about rallying calls to evoke…

ROAD TEST New Volkswagen Golf The eighth generation of the family hatchback archetype has divided opinion so far. Now it faces its toughest test yet COMPARISON Porsche vs McLaren The new 911 Turbo or the V8-powered McLaren GT? Let’s decide INTERVIEW Gilles Vidal Peugeot’s design boss is now the PSA Group’s creative chief. We meet him EVERY WEEK BUYING GUIDE Tesla Model S We tell you how to get yourself into a long-range electric luxury saloon OUR CARS Audi S5 Sportback Controversially, Audi’s hot S models have gone diesel. One joins our fleet SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p34…

QUESTION What are the merits of 97 Ron petrol over 95 Ron? Am I right in paying extra to fill my new Ford Fiesta ST with 97? Ian, via email ANSWER All modern engines are designed to run well on 95 Ron petrol, so the differences are usually more perceivable than measurable. However, your Fiesta ST would benefit from 97 Ron more than most, because it has cylinder deactivation. This means that under light loads, it can advance its ignition timing a bit further in two-cylinder mode to take advantage of the greater anti-knock capabilities of higher-octane fuel, thus becoming more efficient. MA QUESTION I’m enjoying the low cost of petrol at the moment, but the fuel stations are always out of disposable gloves. How can I protect myself? Danny…

Mercedes-Benz S-Guard £24,995 Most of us have been nobly distancing from family members, but it might not be too long before we’re together again, and the potential for arguments could be all too great. How do you protect yourself when words alone aren’t enough to placate? Well, you could do worse than buying a pre-owned armoured car. Once the preserve of high-ranking officials and the incredibly paranoid, such a vehicle would be perfect for beating a retreat from Nana’s wrath. One of the major players in this field is Mercedes-Benz. It has been so ever since it took a special order from Emperor Hirohito for a 770 Pullman in 1935. That limousine set down the template that has been followed by every armoured car since, although those such as the…

An expert’s view CLIVE WORSWICK, BUCKLOW GARAGE “The first thing to do is check out the place you’re buying it from. That’s 90% of it, before you start wasting your time looking at the truck. They’re pretty strong old lumps, but it’s down to where they’ve been, what they’ve been used for and who’s used them. The problem is utility companies don’t release histories due to data protection, but it’s like everything you buy: get it checked over properly or buy from a well-established dealer.” Buyer beware… ▪ ENGINE Diesel motors, particularly the 3.0-litre ones, are sensitive to poor-quality fuel. If there’s smoke on startup or a tapping noise at idle, set aside £1000 for new injectors. Fuel injector seals on the 2.5 have been known to leak, letting oil…

THE LONG-AWAITED Black Series version of Mercedes-AMG’s GT sports car packs the most powerful series-production V8 engine that AMG has yet made. The GT Black Series’ twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 puts out 720bhp and 590lb ft of torque. That’s 143bhp and 74lb ft more than the next-fastest variant, the GT R Pro. The Black Series’ V8 has been modified so extensively from the existing unit that it has been given its own engine code. The new engine features a racing-spec flat-plane crankshaft, unlike the regular versions. Its altered cylinder firing order is said to improve throttle response and power output. A distinctive engine sound has been heard in an official video. New camshafts, bigger turbos mounted on anti-friction bearings, a beefier intercooler and an uprated exhaust system all reap the benefits…

THE GOODWOOD ESTATE is set to host a behind-closed-doors motoring festival in mid-October in place of its cancelled Festival of Speed, Revival and Members’ Meeting events, placing an equal focus on new metal and classic cars. The Duke of Richmond earlier said that a digital event would allow Goodwood to “keep the flame alive”, after its trio of well-attended automotive fixtures had to be cancelled in light of the ongoing social distancing restrictions. The new event is expected to take place at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, rather than the Estate itself, meaning that the Festival of Speed’s hillclimb centrepiece is unlikely to feature. Like the Festival of Speed, however, the new event is expected to start on a Thursday and continue throughout the weekend. Reports suggest the first day will…

BMW’s second fully electric model, the iX3, has been revealed in full production form two years after making its debut as a concept. Based on the third-generation X3, the electric SUV is positioned above the i3 supermini and introduces what BMW describes as its fifth-generation eDrive system. It features a newly developed electric motor and battery combination that provides it with 282bhp and an official WLTP range of 285 miles. First previewed at the 2018 Beijing motor show, the iX3 breaks new ground by being the first BMW to be produced in China for export to key world markets. Production of the iX3, the first of three new electric, i-branded BMW models due to go on sale within the next 18 months, will take place exclusively at a joint-venture factory…

THE WORKINGS OF some things are so bizarre that they can be almost unfathomable, and the rotary engine is one of them. Also known as the Wankel engine, pioneered by NSU and embraced by Mazda, it’s an alternative to the piston engine with no reciprocating parts at all. There are no poppet valves or valvetrain and therefore no need for chains, belts or gears to drive them. Inside the rotary engine, there’s a single, waisted chamber shaped like the number eight. Inside that, there’s a triangular-shaped rotor that looks a bit like a chunk of everybody’s favourite Swiss chocolate bar. Now this is where the name ‘rotary’ slips a little, because while it’s true that the rotor rotates, at the same time it follows a kind of oval path from…

If you’re looking for a Merc alternative to the Porsche Cayenne Coupé or the Range Rover Sport, you’ll soon find your way to this, the GLE 53. It’s a typical AMG product – thoroughly developed, extremely rapid and richly equipped. It’s also big – over five metres long – and spacious enough for a seven-seat configuration. The engine is the latest iteration of the AMG-developed twin-turbo 3.0-litre petrol straight six, running a 48V integrated starter-generator that contributes 21bhp and 184lb ft and helps with extremes of acceleration and smooths power interruptions – not that there are many from AMG’s nine-speed auto. The car is AMG-ised by a toothy grille, bonnet power bulges, different bumpers and a big rear diffuser. The interior is plush and well lined with brightwork and there…

VERDICT The new Flying Spur is a luxury saloon with both the soul and, arguably, the model mechanicals of a sports car. It handles better and goes harder than you’d imagine it will ever need to in order to satisfy the typical owner. But while we can praise it for such a remarkable breadth of ability, we must also take issue with the Spur’s small but clear deficit in luxury focus. It sounds like an unreasonable judgement on something that’s clearly trying to do, and to be, so much more than a wafty luxo-barge. But in the end, the credit for all that pace and purpose cannot outweigh the acknowledgement that, just as has been true since 2005, the Flying Spur should, first and foremost, be a better limousine: a…

No, in a word. But not just because the F1 went racing and the Speedtail won’t. Remember, the F1 was never designed to be a racing car. Indeed, its designer, Gordon Murray, once told me that had he intended it to race, he would have designed it in an entirely different way. It’s not a replacement for the F1 because that car was designed with lightness as the number-one priority. Top speed, a clear consideration for the Speedtail, mattered so little that it took Murray four years to bother to find out what it was (240.1mph). But the F1 and Speedtail are far closer relatives than you think, and not just due to their seating layouts and identical production runs. Just like the Speedtail, the F1 was designed to be…

Lando hopes for more glory Lando Norris’s stunning charge to third place in the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix made the 20-year-old the third-youngest podium finisher in Formula 1 history, behind Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll. McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl said the result proved Norris had “made the next step” as a driver. Norris finished behind Lewis Hamilton, who was demoted to fourth place after incurring a five-second penalty earlier in the race. WRC adds Estonia to 2020 schedule The World Rally Championship has added Estonia to its revised calendar for this season. The new event will restart the season on 4-6 September, and will be followed by rallies in Turkey, Germany, Italy and Japan. Events in Belgium and Croatia could still be added to the calendar. Plato to sit…

FINAL REPORT MILEAGE 8946 WHY WE RAN IT To find out if Mazda’s bold claims for its clever Skyactiv-X technology ring true I don’t know about you, but recent world-changing events and the subsequent fallout means that time feels to me like a less reliable construct. Put more simply, nine months ago feels like a lifetime. The upheaval of both working and social lives during the pandemic meant that I appreciated whatever familiar comforts I could retain. The humble Mazda 3 became one of them, as our loan period quickly became a third longer due to press car operations being shut down. With the UK under lockdown from mid-March until recently, opportunities to properly enjoy the driving experience became infrequent. But even as a static ornament outside my flat, the…

MILEAGE 4687 INNOCENTI MINI I’m highlighting the Italian Job this week on the grounds that you haven’t seen it for a while, despite the fact it’s an important member of the Bangernomics Tax-Free Garage. Everything in there is no longer liable for the old road fund licence, which is a small victory. None of them need MOTs any more, either, but I still had the Baby Shark done, and I will use the pandemic MOT extension to spread out the due dates for the littlest cars to a less busy time of the year – probably August and September, before the Lorry is due in November. I must make a chart……

Sometimes, there comes along a used car that’s such a steal in terms of performance and luxury that you wonder why it was so overlooked when it was new. The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé is one such car. It was expensive back in 2012, but you can now put a pre-owned one on your driveway for the price of a new Hyundai i10, and it will certainly blow your neighbours’ minds. It follows the tradition established by the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Audi A7 Sportback in being a coupécum-saloon; in effect, it’s a slightly stretched, four-door version of the 6 Series Coupé. And if it initially doesn’t seem to have much point, it does at least look absolutely gorgeous. The good news is that there’s easily enough performance to back…

MGB GT Mk2 MGBs have never been as valuable as Mk1s, despite being more refined and easier to live with. Only examples in exceptional condition, such as this one, make decent money – although we suspect the £8910 it fetched wouldn’t have covered the cost of the nut-and-bolt restoration it has had. Extensive photographic documentation of the restoration and proof that the engine is original no doubt helped to boost its value. While it isn’t as valuable as the roadster, the GT is much more usable, thanks to its hatchback rear end and two small rear seats that can be folded flat.…

Among the many, many achievements to which it can lay claim, the Toyota Hilux can perhaps declare itself to be one of the most appropriately named vehicles of all time. High? You betcha. Luxurious? Darned straight. Well, if you compare it with its somewhat minimalist contemporaries, that is. It’s still no Bentley Bentayga. But what the Hilux – and more specifically the notably hard-wearing seventh-generation version that was made from 2004 to 2015 – lacks in opulence, it more than makes up for in sheer reliability and ease of use. This Hilux – with its rounded front end and more recognisably car-like dynamics than earlier iterations – is still commanding strong money on the second-hand market. Whether you’re after two seats or five, a 2.5-litre or 3.0-litre diesel engine, bog-spec…