Innholdsfortegnelse for April 14, 2021 i Autocar

VAUXHALL DESIGNER Mark Adams has hinted that the Insignia could be reinvented or replaced entirely at the end of its lifecycle. “We’re thinking about all the vehicles in our portfolio, and the Insignia is no exception,” he said. “I’m excited by what we’re doing for that vehicle.” The current Insignia came out in 2017 and will be the only GM-designed mainstream car left in Europe once the Astra is replaced later this year. DESPITE THE NEW Kia EV6 promising an acceleration figure to beat the entry-level Porsche Taycan, the Korean firm says it won’t abandon its roots. Global brand head Artur Martins said: “This car stands for what we want to be as a brand. We’re a mainstream brand and we want to keep being a mainstream brand. It’s about…

Morgan has been seen testing a substantially overhauled, second-generation version of its lightweight 3 Wheeler roadster, as it prepares to wind down production of the current car this year. A prototype has revealed how the British manufacturer will update the diminutive 3 Wheeler, which remains similar in concept and design to the Morgan Super Sports that was launched in 1933. One of the current model’s defining features, its front-mounted V-twin engine, has been removed. Morgan previously confirmed the current motorcycle-derived 82bhp 2.0-litre air-cooled engine, supplied by American firm S&S, would become non-compliant with European emissions regulations this year, but a replacement hasn’t yet been detailed. Irrespective of output, it’s understood that the 3 Wheeler will remain exclusively rear-wheel driven. It’s now two and a half years since Morgan shelved plans…

THE POLESTAR 2 electric hatchback is now available in entry-level front-wheel-drive guise, priced from £39,900, with a choice of battery sizes. Having launched last year in four-wheel-drive, dual-motor form and priced from £49,900, the Sino-Swedish EV can now be equipped with a single motor on the front axle, providing 221bhp and 243lb ft. For an additional £3000, the front-driven 2 can be specified with the Long Range battery option, which raises capacity from 64kWh to 78kWh for an estimated range of 335 miles. The Performance Pack, with adjustable suspension, 20in alloy wheels and performance brakes, remains exclusive to the dual-motor 2, but the new model can be upgraded with the Plus Pack, which brings a sunroof and more interior kit, and the Pilot Pack, which expands the suite of driver…

Electrification: it’s affecting manufacturers differently. If you’re Mercedes-AMG, the E-word means swapping the humdinger V8 in your most popular product for a four-cylinder hybrid, and you probably don’t like the idea too much. In fact, you probably hate it. But if you’re Peugeot, and electrification allows you to take existing four-cylinder models and punt them up into an unexplored realm of extreme performance and fun, you might just be more game. You might even enlist your motorsport department to help create a new sub-brand called Peugeot Sport Engineered (PSE). Et voilà: Peugeot’s answer to Volkswagen’s R, or even AMG, but with the unique approach of putting electrification front and centre, with a range exclusively made up of performance plug-in hybrids. These cars will be based on regular models, although the…

The future looks bleak for the XE, and when Jaguar goes electriconly in 2025, it’s likely that this saloon will disappear forever from its line-up. Not that this has prevented the car from being updated for 2021, including one revision that might redefine the way you view Britain’s answer to the BMW 3 Series in the limited time it has left. Among the changes is the adoption of Jaguar Land Rover’s new Pivi Pro infotainment, which in the XE goes without the large glossy display found in the refreshed XF and F-Pace but does possess the same slick graphics and intuitive, responsive menu layout. This alone is an enormous improvement. There’s then also a new 201bhp 48V mild-hybrid diesel powertrain, which is rated at almost 60mpg and helps to address…

Two-hundred-and-eight grand. Sorry, I just needed to see it written down. That’s what this Bentley Bentayga has been optioned up to from its list price of £147,600. A little uncommon, I’ll grant you – but not unknown. Anyway, at least it makes the idea of an £89,000 Range Rover somewhat easier to get your head around, no? This is, as much as anything, a luxury car comparison test. I’m not sure Bentley would agree, though. This mere £89,110 (as tested; £86,920 before options) is a Mercedes-Benz price, not a Bentley one. In a different sphere, mate. Well, we’ll see, shall we? How far can the Range Rover’s appeal stretch? And can it make it all the way to the Bentayga? Aesthetically speaking, things have moved on for the Bentayga since…

Driving has always been a wholly multisensory experience: the simple pleasure of tackling a great road in a great car just wouldn’t be the same without an array of sounds, smells and other sensations. However, a key part of that cocktail is changing, because electrification isn’t just changing how cars are powered but also how they sound. The merits of that can be argued, but the importance of noise to the motoring experience can’t. So we’ve been thinking of our favourite car noises. But you won’t find a screaming V10, rumbling V8 or mighty flat six here: we’ve left individual engines to one side to contemplate the other great noises cars that make… THE TAYCAN’S SYNTHESISER I’m a fan of the Electric Sport Sound available in the Taycan Turbo S.…

Back in 2013, Allan McNish finally won the FIA World Championship that he had always craved, in what turned out to be his final season as an active racing driver. Clinching the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with long-time partner and friend Tom Kristensen and Frenchman Loïc Duval was the perfect sign-off from a long, varied and monumentally successful career as one of the world’s best sports car racers. Now, eight years later, the three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner has the chance to chase another world crown, this time as team principal of Audi’s Formula E team, which will quit at season’s end – just as the electric single-seater series has gained bona fide FIA World Championship status. “Clearly you go into every year wanting to be successful, but there’s…

FEATURE Bentley Bacalar and Mulliner specials The Bacalar is a new way of making ultra-exclusive Bentleys. We drive it alongside some of the legends from the firm’s past ROAD TEST BMW M4 Competition It has pulled off some impressive new tricks; now the super-coupé faces its biggest test INTERVIEW Luca de Meo The Renault Group’s new boss is planning a ‘Renaulution’. Steve Cropley hears his plan EVERY WEEK MOTORSPORT Commentating on Formula 1 Why describing a grand prix live is much harder than you might think LONG-TERM TEST Seat Leon How was life at either end of the new family hatchback’s line-up? SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p38…

MILEAGE 855 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out which end of this dynamic family hatch’s spectrum best suits it VOLKSWAGEN’S CEO RECENTLY said that the company plans to reveal “our software dream car” in 2026. If my new Seat Leon is anything to go by (not an unfair assumption, given that it shares its digital dashboard with the new Volkswagen Golf), that could be our software nightmare car. I’m very wary of the growing trend of physical controls being moved onto touchscreens. The manufacturers’ rationale is that this way is simpler, is more modern and allows for over-the-air software updates. I suspect that it cuts production costs, too. Is it practical in reality, though? Not in my experience, no. It was frustrating and distracting enough having to tap the…

Well, that was close. As I turned the key, I felt what was left of the metal twist rather more than it should. When I got my Mini Cooper a colossal 42 years ago, its mileage was approaching 90,000, and I suspected that it may well have already been around the clock at least once, considering the state that it was in. The last thing I need now is half a key broken off inside the ignition. So I will be retiring that key, and – guess what, dear reader – just about every other period Union item works. I do have undisclosed security measures that are rather more sophisticated than a worn-out key.…

In the crowded second-hand family SUV sector, the Mazda CX-5 stands out as a stylish, wellequipped, reliable and fun-to-drive choice. The current model was launched in late 2017. Forecourt prices start at around £9000 for a high-mileage 2017 diesel but really get going from around £11,500 for ones with fewer miles. The range is simple. Starting with the trims, from launch there were just two, both well equipped, called SE-L Nav and Sport Nav. In early 2019, they became more enhanced SE-L+ and Sport Nav+ while a new one called GT Sport Nav+ joined the line-up. The engines are no less straightforward. From launch, there was a single petrol, a 163bhp 2.0-litre unit (which was joined only recently by a 191bhp 2.5-litre) and a choice of two 2.2-litre diesels, one…

Who would keep a Peugeot 106 Rallye for 25 years but barely drive it? This 100bhp pocket rocket (that was pretty impressive for a 1.3-litre engine back then) has done just 14,000 miles. It looks pretty in the pictures, and indeed the auction company described it as very clean (trade speak for good condition). The 106 Rallye weighed only 825kg, but all cars were lighter before safety was invented anyway. For example, the 130bhp Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 was only 50kg heavier. Only 1000 106 Rallyes came to the UK, and by the end of last year, just 117 remained registered. This one made £12,258.…

Today we think of DS as a brand in its own right, but back in 2009, when it was launched, it was tied to Citroën and marketed as the manufacturer’s premium line. The first model to wear the new label was the Citroën DS3 of 2010. This three-door supermini offered a variety of petrol and diesel engines and a range of trims. Personalisation was a major part of its appeal (owners could specify different external and interior colour combinations), with the Mini 3dr its primary target. On that point, the DSport version we’re interested in here uses the same 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, developed by the PSA Group and BMW, as the Mini Cooper. In the DSport, it made 154bhp compared with 121bhp in the Cooper. The Cooper was the…

HAVE YOU EVER thought how weird – and distasteful – the term ‘suicide doors’ is for rear-hinged car doors? Well, the origin of this name is quite self-explanatory… Major H Williamson of Quetta, India, wrote to us in 1933: “This practice seems most dangerous, especially if a door flies open while the car is in dense traffic or going through a narrow gateway. Even the best catch, as most of us have found out on bumpy roads, is not infallible, and even the best body becomes loose in time, especially in a tropical climate on tropical roads. Ease of access seems to be the same whether the doors open backwards or forwards.” As for his query over the rising popularity of suicide doors, they were inspired by those of luxurious…

GOT A STORY? Email our news editor felix.page@haymarket.com Volkswagen’s new flagship model, which it’s developing under the codename Project Trinity and is due in 2026, will spearhead the firm’s next generation of bespoke electric cars with a focus on offering long-range, semi-autonomous driving – and it will change the way that cars are bought. The new EV, which is still in the conceptual stage but set to take the form of a high-riding, sportback-style saloon, will be one of the first models to use the Volkswagen Group’s new Scalable Systems Platform (SSP). It will also introduce new digital technology and software systems to the brand’s line-up, along with upgraded battery technology offering a long range and fast charging. The Project Trinity model will be sold in largely standardised form, with…

Citroën is hoping to “breathe more life” into the large car market its unconventional new flagship model, the CX5. With a silhouette that draws on SUV, estate and saloon styling cues, the C5X straddles several core market segments. It’s set to arrive in the UK early next year with a choice of turbo petrol and plug-in hybrid powertrains, while prioritising long-distance refinement and ushering in a raft of features and systems new to the brand. The model’s X suffix refers to its market positioning at “the crossroad of customers’ needs”, according to Citroën, as it offers the raised ride height of an SUV, the extended rear cabin of an estate car and the “elegance” of a saloon. Certain styling cues – most notably the LED headlight designs – are inspired…

Toyota has unveiled its brand-new GR 86 sports coupé, the successor to the GT86, which will go on sale in Japan in the autumn and later in the UK, likely in 2022. The lightweight, rear-wheel-drive 2+2 was revealed beside the new second-generation Subaru BRZ, with which it was jointly developed but which won’t be offered in Europe. Toyota said the two cars were developed through a “friendly rivalry” and will both offer a “distinct driving feel”. The new GR 86 ditches the GT86’s 2.0-litre horizontally opposed engine for a new 2.4-litre four-cylinder unit, again produced by Subaru. The GR 86 will be launched in Japan offering 232bhp and 184lb ft, up from the GT86’s 197bhp and 151lb ft. Peak power is produced at 7000rpm, just before the redline at 7400rpm.…

THE REVIVAL OF General Motors’ Hummer marque has continued with the unveiling of an electric SUV, which will arrive in 2023 as rival to the Rivian R1S with 830bhp and around 1000lb ft of torque. The SUV sits on the same new Ultium EV platform as the recently revealed Hummer electric pick-up truck and promises a choice of “maximum driving efficiency or maximum off-road ability”. The SUV’s 800V battery is capable of charging at rates of up to 300kW and offers a range of more than 300 miles. Off-road ability should be much improved over the old V8 Hummer, because the EV has 13in of suspension travel, can climb at up to 60deg and has a wade depth of 2ft. It also gets a ‘Crabwalk’ function that enables it to…

UNTIL NOW, CAR manufacturers have been a little vague about the details of their EV batteries. At cell level, most are relying heavily on traditional cell suppliers, such as LG Chem or Sanyo, but Volkswagen has recently presented its detailed plans for the rest of the decade through to the switch to solid-state batteries after 2025. Volkswagen is also moving away from traditional battery design, which is to assemble cells into modules, modules into a battery and then the battery into the car. Given the complexity of manufacturing batteries in that way, it’s not a particularly flexible approach – even though it might at first sound like it. Cars of different sizes will need different battery packs, and even if the building blocks are the same, it still means differences,…

Parkfoot Spar forecourt in Kent is an award-winning rural fuel station that moved into retail in a big way and is now reaping dividends. As well as a Spar shop, the Parkfoot site has a bakery, a kitchen and even a butcher who sells locally sourced meat. “In the past year, the [West Malling Butchers] has been the best part of our business,” said Parkfoot boss David Charman. “As people couldn’t get to eat in restaurants, they’ve taken to eating at home and therefore we’ve seen that part of the business increase”. Parkfoot even offers florist-sourced flowers. “We take our flowers from an award-winning florist just up the road,” said Charman. “They had capacity at their store. We rely upon and maintain their good name and their wonderful flowers.” While…

An electric Skoda, then. A couple of decades back, that notion would likely conjure images of a milk float-like contraption with rickety build quality, anaemic performance and minuscule range. And yet, reflecting the incredible progression of both brand and EV technology in recent years, you won’t be at all surprised to learn that the electric Enyaq iV is excellent. See? I just gave away the ending to this review, and you’re not even mad that I didn’t offer a spoiler alert. While the power source of this Skoda is new, the recipe that is the foundation of the Czech firm’s transformation isn’t: practical, wellpriced cars underpinned by strong Volkswagen Group platforms and powertrains. The Enyaq is based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB electric architecture, as used by the similarly sized…

“Good news!” as James May used to say: the new Dacia Sandero is now on sale in the UK. And, starting at less than £8000, it’s still Britain’s cheapest new car. Not that 99% of Sandero buyers will ever pick the Access base model, because a much nicer one can be had for £1000 extra. And around one in 10 owners choose this top-powered Bi-Fuel version, which can run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as petrol and swap between the two at the push of a button. It has a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine making 99bhp, with a 50-litre petrol tank in its usual place and a 40-litre LPG tank where the spare wheel should be. LPG is cheaper to buy than petrol and emits less CO2, and…

“We had a £216,634 exotic parked outside a house worth not much more than that” January was awful, wasn’t it? The darkest bit of night before the NHS’s brilliant vaccine-vectored slow dawn. For the Saunders family, however, one day that month was brightened immeasurably by the offer of a new Lamborghini. One to keep only for a while, granted, but still. I nearly dropped the phone in my morning cup of coffee. I barely had to think before saying “yes please,” because, well, who wouldn’t? But what about the realities of life in Lockdown Three (‘The return of the weekday hangover’) with an especially conspicuous, Italian-registered Lamborghini Urus super-SUV to use for essential trips only? Well, I enjoyed it – I think. The family certainly did. But it would be…

Differential cost Verstappen win A differential issue cost Max Verstappen 0.3sec per lap in the Formula 1 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, according to his Red Bull-Honda team’s advisor, Helmut Marko. The Dutchman outpaced Mercedes-AMG’s Sir Lewis Hamilton throughout the weekend but lost out on the win after overshooting while trying to pass him. The pair will resume battle in this weekend’s Emilia Romagna GP at Imola in Italy. Haas focused fully on all-new car for 2022 Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner has said that it would be “complete madness” for the team to invest heavily in trying to improve its 2021 pace, given the need to focus its resources on the all-new car regulations for 2022. The team is running two rookies – Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin –…

Do it yourself Drivers over 70 years of age have to renew their licences every three years. The DVLA’s instructions state that their old licences must be cut in half and posted back to it in Swansea. Your licence includes a great deal of personal information: your full name, full address, gender, date of birth, DVLA reference number and even signature. This would be extremely valuable for identity fraud if the licence were lost or stolen in the post, because the information can easily be read, even when the licence is cut in half. Furthermore, the DVLA address on it makes it very easy for a criminal to identify in the post and the halves of the licence can easily be felt through an envelope. Driving licences are, of course,…

MILEAGE 362 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if app-based subscription services can replace car ownership WHEN THE TYRE-PRESSURE warning light came on as I took my first drive in our electric DS, I figured that an overzealous valeter had adjusted the pressures but not reset the TPMS prior to delivery. Having met photographer Max and had the car papped, I reset the system and crossed my fingers. However, I found once I’d arrived home that the offside rear tyre was indeed quite deflated. I pumped it back up and hoped for the best, but it soon lost pressure again. That meant putting in a call to the dedicated support line for car subscription service Onto, from which we’ve obtained the DS. The person at the other end agreed that…

Richard has been up to his old tricks. As he puts it: “I tried to find something that even you might not have come across and found this 1998 Toyota Harrier. Only 250 were built, with Zagato’s typical love-it-or-loathe-it styling. You know which camp I’m in. It has done just 31,690 miles, so it looks and drives like new. I bought it mainly for my wife, as she really loved my old Lexus RX 300. So I get to own an unusual car and keep her happy at the same time, plus my grandchildren think it’s Iron Man’s car. Now I just need to find an Alfa Romeo SZ…”…

BMW M550i xDRIVE £6384 deposit, £1064 per month, 24 months, 10,000 miles per year Hardly the swoopiest-looking GT, but with its near-M5 performance allied to high levels of comfort and rolling refinement, you will be enjoying yourself too much to notice. Optional air suspension raises its game higher still without compromising handling. MERCEDES-BENZ CLS 300d AMG LINE £5047 deposit, £841 per month, 24 months, 10,000 miles per year Four doors and four generous-sized seats wrapped in a gorgeous body. The CLS is a wonderful thing made even more so by the presence of a choice of fine petrol and diesel engines, including the 300d’s long-striding 245bhp diesel. KIA STINGER 3.3 T-GDi GT S £3701 deposit, £617 per month, 24 months, 10,000 miles per year Kia’s first credible sports saloon shook…

The limited-edition hot coupé version of the 1 Series cost £40,000 when it was new in 2011, so it looks like prices for this classic horse have bolted. There are cheaper ones, albeit no lower than around £35,000, but they tend to have higher mileages, patchy service histories and black or white paint. This model is a lesson in how getting such things right pays off in the long run: our chosen example has Valencia Orange paint, 17,000 miles, a full BMW service history and all the essential kit. It’s a shame that, to preserve its value, it will hardly ever turn a wheel.…

An owner’s view MARTIN CLEWS, FOUNDER, DS3 GB OWNERS CLUB “I own a 2013 DSport remapped to 200bhp. It’s my seventh DS3; I used them in my driving school. I like them so much that in 2013 I started the GB Owners Club, which now has around 5000 members. I’m a big lad, at 6ft 7in tall, but even I can get into my DSport. The Racing and Performance models are quicker, of course, but my DSport is plenty fast enough for me. Like most cars, the DS3 has its issues, but my friends and I think nothing of taking ours to race meetings. In fact, there’s still a DS3 racing series in Denmark.” Buyer beware… ■ RECALLS There have been more than 20 recalls, so use DS’s online recall…

NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS have risen for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 283,964 new vehicles hitting UK roads in March – 29,280 more than in the same period in 2020. This first sign of growth is positive news for the industry, albeit with the caveat that sales tumbled by 44.4% in March last year as the country entered its first lockdown. Dealerships reopened on Monday for the first time since early January, when all non-essential retailers were forced to close their doors once again in response to an alarming rise in infections. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders warned that the latest figures are still 36.9% down on the 10-year March average and that the shortfall in the first quarter of this year has…

THE SKODA KODIAQ vRS has returned with a lighter and more powerful twin-turbocharged petrol engine. The sporting large SUV swaps a 236bhp twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine for the Volkswagen Group’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol, which bumps power up to 241bhp and saves 60kg. Skoda has yet to give performance details, but the same-engined, similar-size Seat Tarraco cracks 0-62mph in 6.2sec and can hit 140mph. The vRS features a number of bespoke styling details and sits on revised 20in alloys. It comes with Skoda’s Virtual Cockpit as standard, featuring a new Sport display mode. The revised vRS is part of a wider refresh for the Kodiaq. The makeover includes a new grille, revamped bumpers and revised headlights, with LED matrix items now available, while a new rear spoiler optimises aerodynamics. Inside, new…

The year is 2035. You’re driving a brand new electric car and you glide into a nearby forecourt. What does it look like? If it’s a large chain establishment, you can expect to be greeted by a fleet of chargers, a small supermarket store and a large car park. But if it’s a smaller, independent forecourt, especially in a rural area, the scene will be different. In fact, it might not exist at all. At first bite, this sounds melodramatic. But petrol stations have been struggling for several years. From a peak of around 35,000 in 1980, there are now just over 8000, according to the latest figures from the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA). The pandemic directly caused around 100 stations to pause sales last year. As of 2019, 70%…

MY WEEK IN CARS MONDAY It’s not often we all get the chance to participate in the global hunt for a unique classic car, but here’s one. We’re looking for an Aussie-registered 1950 Land Rover Series 1. Autocar’s firm friend and former European editor, Peter Robinson, has been trying to find the Landie that his family owned when he was a kid in the Australian bush (that’s him in the passenger’s seat). He wants to find it, see it, drive it and write about it. There’s a twist in the tale. This particular S1 (chassis RO6108381), in which the four pictured Robinson brothers learned to drive, was severely damaged in a bushfire in 1969. In 1987, the remains were sold for about £80 as wreckage. The buyer planned to restore…

You’ve got to feel a little sorry for the Panamera. Once Porsche’s go-to large luxury sports saloon, the rapid five-door has been rather upstaged by its upstart electric sibling, the Taycan. Pitching up in pretty much the same footprint on the road, the zero-emissions Porsche has rather stolen the Panamera’s thunder. Yet Porsche still has faith in its family flagship. Not only has it suggested that it could survive alongside the Taycan for years to come, but it has also given both the hatchback and the more spacious Sport Turismo estate a facelift. In the case of this flagship Turbo S E-Hybrid, the updates render it the most powerful internal combustion-engined model the company makes. Packing a 20bhp increase to 563bhp, the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 now works in conjunction with…

MODEL TESTED GOLF R Price £39,270 • Power 316bhp • Torque 310lb ft • 0-60mph 4.4sec • 30-70mph in fourth 6.2sec • Fuel economy 31.0mpg • CO2 emissions 177g/km •70-0mph 45.9m hatever next? That’s the question Volkswagen would have asked itself when putting pen to paper during the development of this latest ultra-hot Golf. The problem was that the previous version – the Mk7 Golf R, introduced as far back as 2014 but updated in 2017 before being put out to pasture in 2019 – was just so good. A blend of striking looks melded with an appealing degree of subtlety but also expensiveness, and fluid handling matched with broadly excellent ride quality, made the Mk7 Golf R the defining hot hatchback of its generation. It was also indecently quick.…

Over the years, most of the racing cars that have captured the public imagination have been not Formula 1 machines but sports cars, and most notably those that raced at Le Mans. We know their names: the Jaguar D-Type, Ferrari Testa Rossa, Ford GT40, Porsche 917… All were phenomenally successful. Of course they were. So how could a complete failure become revered and as much a part of motor racing lore as any multiple Le Mans winner? Well, just look at it. The supercharged 4½-litre Bentley didn’t win Le Mans, nor any other race, for that matter. It was a car that WO Bentley himself hated and one that was blamed in part – and wrongly – for having contributed to the bankruptcy of the original Bentley company in 1931.…

New Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher’s Haas may cost more money than you can wave a chequered flag at, but for just £2000 you could get behind the wheel of his dad’s old Fiat. The UK received just 200 copies of the Stilo Schumacher Limited Edition, and one of the rarest versions, a GP, sold at auction recently for exactly that amount. Fortunately, there are plenty more (and better) F1-inspired cars like it, many of them for sale right now. We don’t mean mega-expensive supercar tributes, such as that other Schumacher car, the 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB Schumacher, or the 2021 GMA T50S Niki Lauda, 2018 McLaren Senna, 2017 Aston Martin Vantage Red Bull Racing Edition or 2015 McLaren P1 Alain Prost. Nor are we interested in the Alfa Romeo…

While Damien Smith had an up-close view of the inaugural Extreme E (XE) event in the desert of Saudi Arabia, I had a more distant viewpoint: a sofa in Somerset. Still, given all the challenges that Smith outlined (see p54), the action looked pretty good on the TV, helped by slick, well-produced coverage featuring clever graphics, unusual camera angles and, in particular, enthusiastic commentary from Andrew Coley and Jennie Gow. The dust problem meant that every race was essentially over by the first turn, yet Coley’s exuberance maintained a level of drama where in reality there was little. It’s not easy, that; Murray Walker would have been proud. Coley and Gow also shone in guiding viewers through the intricacies of a new category of motorsport, complete with its own occasionally…

As a disabled driver with limited mobility, I was interested to read the letter from Andrew Little about the difficulties that some disabled drivers might experience with charging an EV (10 March). For me, this subject can be expanded in respect of the current migration towards both EVs and SUVs. My car is my lifeline to the wider world, as it is for all disabled drivers. Manufacturers are far too consumed with looking superficially at trends in buying practices; if you’re able-bodied, you probably would follow these trends, but we have far greater considerations than these. I find SUVs notoriously difficult to get into. I had to buy a step to aid my ingress and egress from my friend’s Hyundai Tucson, while getting in and out of my brother’s Volvo…

MILEAGE 1682 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To discover if this best seller continues to impress as the left-field family car As lockdown has gently eased over recent weeks, I’ve had a few valid reasons – hoorah! – to travel slightly farther afield with the Octavia. It’s all relative, of course: I’m not doing the miles that most drivers would traditionally do in this particular model, given that around 80% of sales are to fleet buyers. The local trips here and there that I’ve enjoyed so far have solidified all I already thought about the car. This is a great all-rounder that’s as functional as I had hoped it would be, offering comfort, practicality and unremarkable but sufficient power. That’s perfect right now: as a new parent, I’m not thinking about…

QUESTION My Jaguar I-Pace won’t work with most EV chargers, so I wrote to the retailer to reject it, but they said that it’s perfect and suggested that I speak to the charging networks. Can you help me? Jim Almond, via email ANSWER Try the dispute resolution experts at rejectmycar.com. Its founder, Jim Ferguson, told us that it’s receiving a growing number of complaints concerning this issue with EVs. In his experience, the problem often lies in the car’s battery control unit rather than the chargers or the company that runs them. Rejectmycar acts on a no-win-no-fee basis. JE QUESTION I want a small, petrol, manual 4x4 that can handle a Yorkshire Dales winter. What do you think of the Daihatsu Terios, the old Suzuki Vitara and the old Suzuki…

McLaren MP4-12C £69,995 I’ll stick my neck out and assume that showrooms reopened last Monday and, since then, everyone has been seized by the idea of spoiling themselves and buying something outrageous. What could tempt you? How about a McLaren MP4-12C? As with a used car at any price point, but especially with something as expensive and rarefied as a 12C, details matter. Our find is a later 2012 car with the uprated (616bhp) engine and all the software improvements that the earliest models should have had. Saying that, the modifications were thankfully retrospectively applied by McLaren to earlier cars. Our 12C has done 40,000 miles, which is more than most, but it has full McLaren service history and just one former keeper. Blue isn’t the most exciting colour, but…

ECONOMY EXPLAINED Between the various figures produced on the old-style NEDC, transitional NEDC Correlated and new-style WLTP laboratory emissions and fuel economy tests, it has become tricky to compare manufacturers’ claimed efficiency on the latest new cars. When you see a fuel economy and CO2 figure reference elsewhere, it’s often without explanation. So, to provide as fair and clear a basis for comparison as possible, you’ll only ever read WLTP combined fuel economy and CO2 figures in Autocar’s first drive reviews, features and comparison tests – and on these data pages. Those are the aggregated results of four lab tests carried out across as many different cruising speed ranges – although they’re sometimes expressed as a range rather than as one specific figure to show the different results recorded by…

I just want a car that gets me from A to B. What should I buy?” That’s what people will ask you, innocently, because you’re their designated car person. You’re the one among their friends and family who reads Autocar and therefore know what you’re talking about. They want to buy a car and you can advise them. They have simple needs: A to B. Only they don’t have simple needs, really. Everybody wants something more than this and always has, right from the day that Henry Ford said that thing about people wanting “a faster horse” if he had asked them. Imagine somebody asking me what I wanted from a fridge, for example. That’s a weird question, I’ll admit, but, not being a fridge enthusiast, I would tell them…