Innholdsfortegnelse for May 5, 2021 i Autocar

The ID 4 GTX has been revealed as the new “sporty flagship” of Volkswagen’s electric car line-up, offering 295bhp from a dual-motor powertrain and a range of up to 298 miles. When it goes on sale later this year, the range-topping version of the electric SUV will be the first ID model to wear the new GTX badge, which will sit alongside Volkswagen’s established GTI, GTE and GTD product lines, with the focus on accessible performance. Volkswagen says the ID 4 GTX will demonstrate that “sustainability and sportiness aren’t mutually exclusive”. While the GTI line is centred around the Golf, Volkswagen has chosen to use the ID 4 to create the first GTX model because of both the growing importance of the SUV market and the decision to use a…

Caterham is working to safeguard the future of the Seven in the face of looming homologation and legislative hurdles – and is set to launch its landmark first EV in the coming years. The British specialist brand was recently acquired by retail group VT Holdings, a division of which serves as the main importer of Caterham cars into the Japanese market. CEO Kazuho Takahashi brought some 25 years of experience in high-profile motorsport, and Caterham CEO Graham Macdonald is confident that he’s committed to the survival of the brand. “He loves the brand and he knows that we haven’t got endless money pits,” said Macdonald. “However, he’s determined to see this brand continue for another 50 years.” Crucially, the acquisition will provide funding and security as Caterham gears up to…

Audi recently revealed its most affordable electric car yet, the Q4 E-tron, a mid-size SUV tipped to sell for between £40,000 and £50,000 when it arrives in UK showrooms late this year. It offers generous, Q5-matching interior dimensions in a more compact exterior package and is widely seen as the German brand’s first mainstream EV. Shortly afterwards, the wraps came off the A6 E-tron concept, a realistic glimpse at the electric version of the long-running-A6 executive saloon. Clearly the electrification of Ingolstadt’s line-up is gathering pace, and there are questions over what that means for the brand’s ICE offerings, its small cars and its market positioning. Autocar recently spoke exclusively to Audi CEO Markus Duesmann for an understanding of what the near future holds for the company as it undergoes…

As car dealers in the UK open up again, it’s safe to say that the past year has been unlike any other in living memory. Businesses have had to adapt faster than ever before and technology has changed things dramatically, but what does all that mean for the future? In the latest Autocar Business online seminar, we chatted to Wayne Bruce, a leading member of Bentley’s crisis management team; Sue Robinson, CEO of the National Franchised Dealers Association; and Felipe Munoz, a senior global analyst at Jato Dynamics. At what pace were you making decisions back in March last year, and how did you go about making them? Sue Robinson “We had never seen anything like that before, obviously, and it all happened very, very quickly. From a trade association…

TESTED 26.4.21, OXFORDS HIRE ON SALE NOW PRICE £23,955 Much like that equally British institution, Her Majesty the Queen, Mini is celebrating two birthdays this year. First, it’s 60 years since pioneering Formula 1 legend John Cooper first gave his name to go-faster versions of the 1959 supermini. Second, and more importantly, it’s two decades since BMW launched its 21stcentury reinvention of Sir Alec Issigonis’s icon. Much ink was spent at the time pondering whether this Anglo-German-creation could ever be a true Mini, but the reality is that it sparked a huge success story – one that went from a single model to a globally recognised brand with crossovers, estates, plugin hybrids and electric cars on its books. Yet at the heart of the line-up has always been the standard…

TESTED 26.4.21, SILVERSTONE ON SALE SEPTEMBER You can have one; that’s the important thing. Contrary to earlier reports, the new Bentley Continental GT Speed will go on sale in the UK after all, unlike the Speed version of the Bentayga SUV. That’s popular in Central America, presumably among people who commission narco-submarines for their day jobs, but less so here. The Speed coupé, though, will be popular here – because it’s a driver’s car, and we like those in the UK. Yes, despite the 2273kg kerb weight, it is. At heart, it’s a Continental – a car so popular it has been responsible for more than half of the 200,000 cars that Bentley has made in its entire history. It has a twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W12 engine in its nose, driving…

TESTED 28.4.21, WARWICKSHIRE ON SALE NOW What’s in an options pack? More than you might think. There are obvious elements to the £2000 R Performance suite of extras for the new Golf R (the 19in Estoril alloy wheels and the same chunky wing deployed on the GTI Clubsport give it some added visual bite), but more intriguing are the bits that only the driver gets to explore. Admittedly, residents of anywhere other than Germany are unlikely to taste the uplifted top speed, which at 168mph is 13mph higher than standard (although still 1mph short of the Honda Civic Type R’s). But two new driving modes bring about some real detail changes to the Golf R’s dynamic complexion, even if they do nothing to change the 316bhp output of its 2.0-litre…

Peruse the literature for the 508 PSE and you’ll find there’s no mention of track testing, or any such activity. It should therefore come as no surprise that the car feels ill-suited to circuit work, despite the general excellence of its handling. Sure, the car demonstrates fine body control on the Hill Route at Millbrook Proving Ground, and the nose is quick to respond to steering inputs, inspiring a great deal of confidence. Grip levels are also very high, although not so great that the car cannot be rotated on the way into bends (although any tail-happy, power-on antics are nipped in the bud by an ESP system that cannot be switched off). What frustrates are the brakes, which are powerful enough but imprecise and uncommunicative in their feel. The…

“Mum. Please help. People keep staring at us. Some are pointing and laughing. Someone just beeped their horn at us. This is torture and I don’t want to do it again.” It was day one with my latest test car, and I had noticed my pre-teen daughter reaching for her phone as I drove her to school but hadn’t appreciated what she was texting, nor that this admittedly quirky vehicle could induce such extreme emotions in the easily embarrassed. Until then, I had revelled in its difference, the wear and tear of my near 50 years cushioning me from any cruelty. This, I thought, was a car that started conversations and made people smile, overcoming its bargain-basement price tag with a combination of oddity and flair, turning the Lego cars…

1900s MERCEDES SIMPLEX 60HP Stuttgart created an engine that was streets ahead of any comparable unit, being all-alloy with four cylinders and a 9.3-litre displacement for a near 60bhp output. 1910s BENTLEY 3 LITRE This Bentley sports car had an engine that combined a highly advanced specification with bombproof reliability in a way that hadn’t been done before. 1920s BUGATTI TYPE 35 Bugatti’s straight eight was used in everything from road cars to grand prix racers, with and without superchargers. To hear it is to hear heaven. 1930s DUESENBERG SJ This American roadster had an engine with 6.9 litres, twin overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and a supercharger for an unbeaten (in 1932) 320bhp. 1940s FERRARI 166 INTER The 166 Inter was the first road car to use the…

As I steer the Triumph TR7 around the corner, its engine begins to splutter before conking out. Welcome to Drive Dad’s Car, the companion venture to the Great British Car Journey, a new visitor attraction for car lovers and nostalgia junkies in Ambergate, Derbyshire, due to open on 22 May. My TR7 drive isn’t an encouraging introduction, but for anyone who remembers British Leyland cars, it is authentic. Richard Usher, founder of the Great British Car Journey, laughs it off, promising that the attraction’s on-site garage will fix it. As the founder of Auto Windscreens and, more recently, the owner of Blyton Park racing circuit, which he sold to Ginetta in 2017, he’s no stranger to cars and their dramas. The GBCJ, as we’ll call it, is Usher’s latest project…

THE FAMOUS FIVE Colin Turkington came up short of a record-breaking fifth title triumph in 2020 by 14 points. Just a week after losing the crown in the final race, he was back out testing his BMW 330i M Sport. He wants revenge. SUTTON’S PROGRESS Can the Laser Tools Racing driver do it again? Last year’s title was won in a brand-new and unproven chassis in the Infiniti Q50. With a whole winter of data studying now behind the team, expect it to be even faster this season. OLD MASTER RETURNS Jason Plato missed the 2020 season due to the pandemic, but now he’s back and chasing a century of BTCC wins. He needs just three more and has one of the rapid Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astras to help…

Ford Mondeo: an unlikely icon Steve Cropley reflects on the Mondeo’s huge impact on both the industry and society, and has one last drive in one Licence to thrill We set Royal College of Art students a challenge: to design the next Bond car Vauxhall Mokka It’s a bold new era of Vauxhall design – but is there substance to go with the style? EVERY WEEK Mitsubishi FTO The forgotten hero from the golden age of Japanese performance cars Care by Volvo A Netflix-style subscription is the new way to buy a car. We try it out SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p60…

MILEAGE 741 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if app-based subscription services can replace car ownership After little over a month of use, I’ve really gelled with Onto’s smartphone app. Having your remaining permitted mileage on screen every time you go to unlock the car pretty much ensures you will never accidentally go over your monthly 1000-mile allowance. Need to head out on a longer trip that will nudge you over? It’s simple enough to extend your limit through the website. An extra 250 miles costs £30 and can be automatically rolled into your next monthly contract if you want. I haven’t yet needed to use the car location function, as most of my supermarket runs are done late at night, but it really is pinpoint accurate. Once car parks…

Skoda Octavia vRS Estate MILEAGE 2231 LAST SEEN 28.4.21 A friend of mine – who isn’t fussed by cars yet owns an Alfa Romeo Giulia – remarked on my new Octavia vRS diesel wagon: “That’s a good-looking car.” I’ve long thought the same, but if the driver of a car that I continue to think is one of the most handsome of recent times agrees, it must be true. I like the Octavia hatchback’s looks, but the estate wins hands down. RB Citroën C5 Aircross PHEV MILEAGE 4363 LAST SEEN 14.4.21 A couple I know have just upgraded their C4 Picasso to a C5 Aircross, and I can see why. Most cars today are really suitable for only two in the rear, with just a narrow perch flanked by two…

Thanks to Justin, who says: “I saw Autocar feature a Ford Focus 1.6 in the Future Classics section, and I agree that it’s a true great of mass production. We use a Focus 1.6 as our works car in London. We bought our first in 2016, a 2006 wagon with 82k miles for £1500, and have just given it away at 132k miles, having paid £5000 over the five years for services and repairs. We replaced it with a 2010 wagon with 69,000 miles for £3250. The cambelt needs changing only every 100k miles, it gets nearly 30mpg and it’s still ULEZ-friendly.”…

AUDI TT ROADSTER 40 TFSI SPORTS TRONIC £1548 deposit, £516 per month, 36 months, 10,000 miles per year Still the catwalk queen of convertibles but no diva, thanks to its undemanding nature and top-drawer build quality. There’s an engine and a drivetrain for everyone and, depending on engine, a choice of front- or four-wheel drive. MERCEDES-BENZ E300 CABRIOLET AMG LINE PREMIUM £1968 deposit, £656 per month, 48 months, 10,000 miles per year Mature, secure and self-possessed, the E-Class is the one grown-up in the convertible community. It’s richly specced, comfortable and quite, even with the roof down. There’s a huge range of engines to choose from, too. MINI CONVERTIBLE 1.5 COOPER CLASSIC £802 deposit, £267 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year Small but perfectly formed, this Mini is…

Land Rover has drawn up plans to revolutionise the next-generation Evoque and Discovery Sport by building them on an all-new EV-focused platform with a petrol-fuelled range-extender unit. Called the Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA), the new platform will be designed from the outset to accommodate advanced driver assistance systems and extensive cloud connectivity. The EMA’s inherent simplicity should also address Jaguar Land Rover’s problems with quality, which, JLR boss Thierry Bolloré admitted recently, might be costing the company “100,000 sales per year”. The huge EMA project will be part of a £10 billion investment programme running until 2026. JLR’s wider plans include the launches of the all-new Range Rover Sport 3, Velar 2 and Discovery 6 models, all based on the upcoming MLA platform. The Discovery 6 is now expected to…

“We’ve deliberately not changed the essence of the Fabia: it’s a functional and practical everyday companion” The new fourth-generation Skoda Fabia is said to be the most spacious car in the supermini segment, thanks to significant increases in dimensions across the board compared with its predecessor. The new Fabia makes the landmark shift onto the Volkswagen Group’s MQB-A0 supermini platform, as used by the Audi A1 Sportback, Seat Ibiza and Volkswagen Polo, ditching the PQ architecture used in various iterations since the Mk1 Fabia arrived in 1999. These much more modern underpinnings accommodate “improved comfort features and numerous advanced safety and [driver] assistance systems,” as well as a range of more efficient powertrains. The hatchback is due to be launched in the UK early next year, priced from around £13,500,…

Volkswagen has confirmed that the ID 4’s coupé-inspired ID 5 sibling will also gain a hot GTX version. The ID 5 will be the third ID-badged electric model to go on sale in Europe. It will be offered in virtually identical specification to the ID 4, with a range of battery sizes and single- and dual-motor versions with various power outputs. The ID 5 GTX will use the same 295bhp dual-motor, four-wheel-drive-powertrain as the ID 4 GTX, as well as its 77kWh battery for an official range of up to 298 miles. The ID 5 will initially be produced alongside the ID 4 in Zwickau, southeast Germany, before both models are moved to a new home at Volkswagen’s Emden facility near the Dutch border.…

TEACHING AN OLD dog new tricks isn’t supposed to be possible, but American company Achates Power is clearly on to something with its revamped version of an early combustion engine concept: the opposed-piston engine, or OPE for short. Instead of a single crankshaft driven by reciprocating pistons in their own bores, an OPE has two crankshafts connected by gears and two pistons in each bore opposing each other. Fuel is injected in between the two pistons as they come together and it igniting pushes the pistons apart, thus driving the crankshafts. Achates has several versions of its OPE, diesel and petrol, designed for anything from everyday cars to military vehicles. The petrol version, which is currently undergoing testing in a Ford F150 pickup truck, is a 2.7litre three-cylinder-unit developing 270bhp…

One of the advances of which Mini is proudest is a new addition to its extensive roster of personalisation options. Called the Multi-Tone Roof, it’s a further evolution of the colour-contrast treatment that was made popular by the first BMW Mini 20 years ago (and the Old English White finish of those 1961 Cooper competition cars). Essentially, it features a trio of hues (currently San Marino Blue, Pearly Acqua and Jet Black) that transition from one to another, front to back. It’s applied by a wet-on-wet process, wherein the finish is applied by a robot paint gun. Taking barely any longer to complete than a standard roof, it took four years to develop. And crucially for the Mini marketing machine’s obsession with individualisation, the highly automated process for the grading…

TESTED 26.4.21, SUSSEX ON SALE NOW Before we talk about hydrogen cars (or FCEVs) and related topics such as their fuel cell stacks, refuelling infrastructure and role in a wider hydrogen society, let’s take a moment to reflect on how good the new Toyota Mirai looks. Maybe it’s just me, but with its long nose and coupé-like roofline, there’s a whiff of final-gen Celica about it. The styling may seem a frivolous place to start when considering a car that essentially serves to showcase a whole powertrain technology, especially one so comprehensively overhauled. But it’s important, and not just because its shape is honed for aerodynamic efficiency: Toyota clearly wants the new Mirai to stand out for more than how it’s powered. Certainly, you would never confuse the new Mirai…

MODEL TESTED PSE HYBRID4 SW Price £55,795 •Power 355bhp •Torque 384lb ft •0-60mph 5.7sec •30-70mph in fourth na •Fuel economy 30.5mpg •CO2 emissions 46g/km •70-0mph 41.7m It’s been more than half a decade since Peugeot, one of the great players in the emerging affordable performance car scene of the 1980s and 1990s, introduced its last hot hatchback: the 308 GTi. And how starkly the market context in which cars of its ilk operate has changed in that time. Europe is now well along its ‘road-to-zero’ new-car electrification glide path, and carbon-based taxes on higher-emitting performance cars are skyrocketing – not least in France, Peugeot’s all-important home market. Considering all of that, the firm has had to think innovatively and boldly to maintain its standing as a key player in the…

VERDICT Peugeot’s performance-flavoured offerings have been sporadic in recent years, but the very first product under the all-new Peugeot Sport Engineered subb-rand should be seen as a success, albeit with caveats. It is an expensive car, the 508 PSE. It’s also heavier than rivals and does without their cylinder count – or their rear-biased powertrains. However, handling in the spirit of the finest four-wheel-drive hot hatches and an ability to genuinely engage its driver propel the PSE high up into the fast estate (and saloon) ranks. That this flagship 508, so rich in personality, matches that B-road agility and composure with fine road manners and deft ride quality during more mundane tasks shows that Peugeot has not cut corners. The slick calibration of the PSE’s three power sources also speaks…

One big reason so many car makers have signed up for Formula E is to showcase what modern EVs are capable of – how far they’ve come from the days of offering limited power and minuscule range. Unfortunately, the final laps of the series’ latest race proved spectacularly counterproductive to that goal. A string of incidents in damp conditions at Circuit Ricardo Tormo caused several safety car periods, including a late one that set up what should have been a thrilling two-lap dash to the finish. Except it wasn’t a dash, because around half the field – including leader António Félix da Costa – ran out of energy so had to limp home at close to walking pace before being disqualified, leaving us with just nine official finishers. It was…

Goodwood opens 24 September 1948 IT WAS WITH regret that race fans saw Brooklands sold to Vickers in 1946 to continue its wartime role as an aircraft factory, so it was with delight that Autocar witnessed RAF Westhampnett in 1948 become the Goodwood Circuit – and said that “no more pleasant meeting has ever taken place”. “After the Duke and Duchess had opened the new circuit with ceremony, the first race went off dead on programme time.” Contested by coupés of up to 3000cc, this event was won by the Jaguar SS 100 special of one Paul de Ferranti Craddock Pycroft. Then there was a tightly run roadster race, won by Harry Lester’s MG L-Type, with the tricky final turn causing its first blushes. Next came a one-horse race won…

WRITE TO autocar@haymarket.com Touch and go I couldn’t agree more than with David Duvall’s views on touchscreens in cars (31 March). These days more than ever, you need to keep your eyes on the road the whole time and not be distracted by a screen. I’m soon to change my old Ford C-Max, and one of my top priorities will be no touchscreen. Also, it must have a full-sized spare wheel or a spacesaver. So I’ll probably end up with another used car. After driving for 56 years, I know the value of carrying a spare! Geraint OwenTrowbridge, Wiltshire Tunnel vision All the cars I’ve ever driven have had a ‘propshaft tunnel’ – even the front-driven Mini I took my driving test in. Now that cars are electrically driven, we’re…

“If the battery were any bigger, I think the MX30 would lose its dyna mic edge” FIRST REPORT WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Does Mazda’s unusual debut EV make daily driving a joy, or will its limitations frustrate over time? Whatever your opinion on the unstoppable rise of the SUV, there’s no disputing that such cars facilitate the acceleration of electrification. First, they’re generally raised off the ground, which allows for a whopping great block of lithium ion to be strapped to their undersides. Second, SUVs generally prioritise practicality over driving thrills, so any adverse dynamic impact stemming from the heft of electric innards isn’t of huge concern to the majority of buyers. And third, with the engine, gearbox and propshafts out of the way, there’s room for a much more…

MILEAGE 3251 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if a coupé still has a place on today’s SUV-obsessed roads I LIKE TO think of my start procedure in the M440i as ‘The Vettel’. Remember his routine from a grand prix victory, if your memory goes back that far? Seb used to give a single-finger-in-the-air salute. And every time I jump in the BMW, I do the same – although in my case, it’s less celebratory and more to do with turning off the lane-keeping aid. To be fair to BMW, it’s a simple process to cancel it: simply raise a single finger, then press and hold the button just below the infotainment screen. In one simple action, you turn off all the driving assistance features. The trouble is, you have…

QUESTION I’d like to replace my Mercedes-Benz E320 Estate with another wagon and have up to £12,000 to spend. Should I invest my savings to get a new car on a PCP finance scheme and pay monthly? Stephen Leaney, via email ANSWER Your savings would have to work hard to compensate you for the losses you would suffer if buying new, so we back buying used. Your £12,000 budget should be enough for a 2016 Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI Estate, manual or automatic, with around 50,000 miles. Reliable, comfortable, frugal and spacious, it would be a good-value replacement for your old Benz. JE QUESTION Could you suggest a replacement for our 2005 Honda CR-V that has good ground clearance, carrying capacity and reliability? It can’t be too old, as we…

The RAC recently asked urban-dwelling motorists to think twice before buying an SUV. In the case of the monsters we’ve assembled here, you should make that thrice. Still, what a lot of fun they are, starting with this, the outrageous Volkswagen Touareg R50 of 2008. The 2600kg beast is powered by a 5.0-litre diesel V10 producing 345bhp and 627lb ft torque. It can gallop from 0-62mph in just 6.7sec – faster than the Ford Focus ST of the time. The RAC won’t like its late-teens thirst and 315g/km CO2 output, and neither do we. However, with only around 50 examples left, it can’t do much harm, and the few survivors will be killed off by an ever-stricter MOT test. So enjoy it while you can. The three previous keepers and…

Only those of a certain age are likely to recognise the Renault Alpine GTA and its successor, the A610. Although they were well reviewed, Alpine was an obscure brand, and when production of the A610 ceased in 1995, it slipped away quietly. It resurfaced only in 2017 with the arrival of the Alpine A110 and now it’s also the name of the rebranded Renault Formula 1 team. In short, things are at last looking up for Alpine and people are beginning to talk about its old performance coupés again. The GTA was launched in the UK in 1986. It had a steel backbone chassis with outriggers and the body was a combination of plastic and glassfibre panels. They helped keep the car’s weight down to just 1140kg. The engine (buyers…

Will you excuse me if I talk shop for a moment? The past year has taught us, like a lot of companies, that we can work differently in future, spending less time in an office together and more time being efficient elsewhere. But as we move to fill a road-testing vacancy for which we stipulated that we would prefer applicants to have experience but that it wasn’t essential, a snag with this new way has come up: how do we take on people for work experience? Autocar has a rich history of young (and some older) writers coming in for a week or two to see how the magazine is put together and making themselves so useful that they get offered a job and don’t leave for years. Some of…

As part of the bold ‘Reimagine’ transformation plan, Land Rover will swap all of its models onto one of two platforms: the ‘EV-native’ EMA platform (see main story) and the mixed-powertrain Modular Longitudinal Architecture. The MLA platform will arrive first, underpinning the full-sized Range Rover flagship in 2022 before being rolled out to the Range Rover Sport. The flagship XJ EV from sibling brand Jaguar was due to share the MLA but was axed earlier this year from the brand’s future line-up. The predominantly aluminium platform can accommodate pure-electric, mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains and will be used for cars built at Land Rover’s Solihull factory. It remains unclear what the future holds for the Velar. Land Rover has committed to launching an EV-only model within the next five years,…

WHY DID TOYOTA partner with Subaru to develop the new e-TNGA EV platform? “From a purely strategic perspective, this is a world in which to go it alone with new development is fundamentally wrong,” explained product and marketing boss Andrea Carlucci. “We’re looking for scale, and we’re not the only one. We can develop, of course, but the benefits of joining forces are obvious.” He cited Subaru’s affinity with four-wheel drive as one of several reasons the firm was an obvious EV partner. HYUNDAI’S NEW KONA N promises rapid pace and precise cornering, but R&D boss Albert Biermann was keen for the performance crossover to retain a focus on practicality. “When the engineers presented the first prototype to me, they had already lowered the body almost 30mm,” he recalled. “I…

WARWICKSHIRE’S MIRA Technology Park is now home to the development programme of a 1100bhp hydrogen-powered hypercar from nascent engineering firm Viritech, which aims to become “the world’s leading developer of hydrogen powertrain solutions”. Called the Apricale, the hypercar will be sold in limited numbers for around £1.5 million before tax, but it’s intended primarily as a demonstration tool for Viritech’s hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) technology, which it plans to offer to third-party companies for use in cars, heavy goods vehicles, aircraft and boats. The aim is for the Apricale to be the “world’s first production hydrogen hypercar” and to show the advantages of FCEV tech over that of conventional battery-electric powertrains. Speaking exclusively to Autocar, Viritech cofounder Matt Faulks, an ex-Formula 1 engineer, outlined the reasons for Viritech’s…

GENESIS WILL ARRIVE in the UK this summer, with the electric version of its new G80 saloon leading an ambitious launch plan that will include a dedicated European model and two further EVs within a year. Hyundai launched its premium brand in Korea and the US in 2015, and its European expansion will now begin with sales in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. The G80 large saloon and GV80 large SUV will arrive here in June, with the Electrified G80 (which is being offered elsewhere with a dual-motor 365bhp powertrain) the first model due to reach customers. Genesis hasn’t detailed which powertrains will be offered in the UK yet, but it has said that the models have been tuned specifically for European roads. The decision to launch Genesis’s largest cars…

Toyota has readied a 1618cc, three-cylinder racing engine fuelled by compressed hydrogen to power a Corolla-based racer in Japan’s Super Taikuyu endurance series. Hydrogen has a higher octane rating than petrol of 130 Ron but, because it’s a gas, produces less power in a port-injected engine. However, this is a direct-injection engine, so the power output will be higher than that of a petrol equivalent. Hydrogen is CO2-neutral at the tailpipe, although burning it in air will still produce NOx.…

MONDAY Bit of Cotswolds fun: an impromptu comparison between my 2015 Mazda MX-5 and the 1991 Lotus Elan M100 I bought a few months ago. We’re limited for garaging at home, and I’ve always preferred to keep ‘resting’ soft-top cars out of the sun/rain so I rent storage nearby. The Lotus will soon need preparation for a bit of motorsport and is also making a summer concours debut, so the Mazda, freshly valeted, needed to make way. All of which required a 20-mile round-the-houses sprint, out in one, back in the other. The cars’ road footprints are very close but otherwise they’re dramatically different. The Mazda’s nose is longer; you sit further back in the car. The Lotus cabin is the roomier. And there’s the front-versus-rear-wheel-drive handling thing, of course,…

TESTED 27.4.21, BERKS HIRE ON SALE NOW The electrification age has dawned at Maserati but it’s still a pretty cloudy morning. There will be an all-electric Granturismo replacement next year, but this for now is the Ghibli Hybrid, a large saloon whose electrical assistance comprises a 48V starter-generator- and electric supercharger to boost the low-end torque and response of a 2.0-litre petrol engine. At no point does it run on electricity alone, and nor can it be plugged in, but Maserati says that it nonetheless gives the Hybrid the urge of its larger V6 petrol-engined Ghibli while pulling the CO2 figure down to that of the diesel, which it has now discontinued. Headline figures, then, are 325bhp (the V6 has 345bhp) and 192-216g/km (the diesel was 206g/km). The move has…

TESTED 27.4.21, HEREFORDSHIRE ON SALE NOW Land Rover expects around a quarter of all new Defender sales to be of this commercial Hard Top variant, which revives a name first used by the brand in 1950. While regular Defender buyers favour the 110, the short-wheelbase 90 is expected to account for the bulk of Hard Top orders, in part because it has few rivals as a compact van with genuine off-road ability. The changes to turn the Defender from passenger to commercial vehicle (CV) extend far beyond stripping out the rear seats. A reinforced bulkhead separates the cabin from the storage area, which is finished in durable materials with hooks and other loading aids. There’s 1355 litres of cargo capacity (the 110 Hard Top offers 2059 litres), plus 58 litres…

Verdicts on every new car, p82 1 BMW M340i xDRIVE TOURING Superb all-rounder melds six-cylinder oomph with fine ride quality and handling, plus generous space. The clear class leader. 2 MERCEDES-AMG C43 4MATIC EDITION ESTATE Lacks the BMW’s fluidity, but packs more premium appeal overall, not least in the cabin, and there’s also the smooth V6. 3 PEUGEOT 508 PSE HYBRID4 SW Left-field hybrid brings versatility to the pack, but it’s the excellently resolved dynamics that mark it out. Interesting, if expensive. 4 AUDI S4 TDI QUATTRO AVANT Typically secure handling is Audi hallmark, but the ride quality isn’t up to snuff and the turbodiesel powertrain fails to excite. 5 VOLVO V60 T8 AWD POLESTAR ENGINEERED Cut from the same PHEV cloth as the Peugeot, only without the dynamic finesse…

Ogier pips Evans in Croatia Rally Sébastien Ogier overhauled Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans on the final stage to win the Croatia Rally by 0.6sec – the third-closest finish in World Rally Championship history. It wasn’t all good news for the team, though: Kalle Rovanperä, who entered the event leading the standings, crashed out on the opening stage. Jake Dennis claims maiden Formula E win British BMW racer Jake Dennis took his first Formula E victory with a dominant drive in the second of two races in Valencia recently. Mercedes-EQ racer Nyck de Vries won the first after most of his rivals ran out of usable energy (see p61). F1 to trial sprint races Formula 1 will host 62-mile qualifying races at three events this year, with an eye on wider…

Gordon Shedden is back in the British Touring Car Championship, and he means business. The three-time title winner was a mainstay of the Honda attack for a decade until he was tempted away in 2018 by a programme on the global stage in the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) with the Audi RS3 Saloon. When that campaign was shelved at the end of 2019, the Flying Scotsman was desperate to get back to the front – and he has come home to do so. The BTCC was a happy hunting ground for the 42-year-old. He took 48 victories with Team Dynamics in various Honda products between 2006 and his most recent UK foray in 2017. So it’s no surprise that he found himself on Team Dynamics’ shopping list when the…

It’s claimed that one of the factors contributing to the steady increase in insurance premiums is the high level of claims involving uninsured drivers. About one million drivers are uninsured in the UK, which equates to one in 25 licence holders. Responsible people who buy insurance pay for the damage caused by uninsured drivers. The police catch almost 80,000 uninsured drivers annually, spending time catching and processing them. The taxpayer pays for that time, so it’s a double whammy for us drivers. The DVLA database records licensed vehicles and the names and addresses of their holders. The MIB database records vehicles and the names of those insured to drive them. Comparing those databases could produce a discrepancy report listing all the licensed vehicles and their holders for which there is…

MILEAGE 7997 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if it’s good enough to be a credible fast Ford hatchback flagship It was early. Early enough for me to leave home in time to be at Lotus HQ at 8am. I live 250 miles from Hethel. But the Focus had a new noise. A pinging sound. And a new warning light on the dash. A flat tyre light. But I had nothing else to drive, the spare was only a spacesaver and it was too far to travel, even if the time taken to change it and the 50mph limit wouldn’t already mean I would be so late as to make the journey not just miserable but pointless, too. So thank heaven for that on-board monitoring system, as it said…

MILEAGE 1417 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if the Mk8 Golf remains the world’s most rounded family hatchback LATELY, I’VE MOSTLY been using the Volkswagen Golf to do Volkswagen Golf things. Which is to say the sort of all-round everyday things that you’d want to do in a car designed as an everyday all-rounder. It’s easy to overlook just how efficiently good the Golf is at so many things. For short journeys around town, the car is hard to fault: it’s easy to handle, visibility is good and the mild-hybrid powertrain is quiet and smooth. It rides really well, too, which is a bonus, given the state of many local roads these days. Regular supermarket trips and several jaunts to the garden centre have given me an opportunity…

The Lorry is niggling at the moment. It has become reluctant to start from stone cold – a bit like me in the mornings. If it persists when the weather gets a bit warmer, I will have to look into the fuel system a bit. Meanwhile, the indicator stalk (which comes from the British Leyland era) is playing up. I have a history with this part: the one in my fairly young Triumph Dolomite actually disintegrated. At least the Land Rover’s example is only failing to cancel when I’m turning right. I haven’t researched the issue or undone the grim plastic column surround yet, but I’ll update you know when I do. The queue of Lorry jobs gets longer……

Despite its name, the Mini has become bigger with each generation. So it is with this latest version of the SUV variant, the Countryman, launched in 2017 and still going strong. Run a tape-measure around it and you will find that it’s 200mm longer than its predecessor. It’s roomier in the back, too, and has a larger, 450-litre boot. In keeping with its SUV classification, it’s taller and sits higher than the Mini hatchback. In short (if that’s not a contradiction), it’s a proper Tardis. Depending on your point of view, it’s as ugly, too, although others will doubtless call it characterful. In fact, character is one thing that this bigger Countryman isn’t short of. Much of it flows from the way the car feels on the road, which is…

A modern classic in the making? This Mini JCW hot hatch was registered back in 2004 yet had done just 6500 miles when it went up for auction recently. The hammer fell at £14,850, far above the estimate of £6500-£8500. Examples with 75,000 miles cost around £5000, so somebody paid quite a premium for one with almost 70,000 fewer on the clock. These original BMW-era Minis are attracting a following, but most have been around the block and look like it. This auction star, on the other hand, was used for only the first two years of its life before being put into storage. Nissan Leaf £4295 Twenty years from now, when electric cars are commonplace, those of a sentimental bent will reflect on that EV pioneer, the original Nissan…

An expert’s view STEPHEN DELL, CHAIRMAN, RENAULT ALPINE OWNERS CLUB “I’ve always owned performance cars, but when, 20 years ago, I saw an ad for a white GTA, I was struck by how exotic and special it looked. I owned a Porsche 968 at the time and there were plenty of those and 944s around. I thought it would be more exciting to own something different like a GTA, so I bought it. It was the first of around 30 GTAs and A610s I have owned. I love the performance, handling and comfort. They actually feel like a modern car and a good one is a perfectly acceptable daily driver. The tragedy is how undervalued they are. I reckon they’re the performance car bargain of the decade.” Buyer beware… ENGINE…

“SINCE THE ANNOUNCEMENT that a Bentley car was to be produced, over two years have rolled by,” we said in 1921. “Motorists to whom the chassis appealed especially have been wondering what was happening; the rumour grew that it would never be a production job. “Within a few weeks, the first car is to leave the works, and there will follow a steady output of five cars a week, the price per chassis being £1050 [about £52,600 today]. “This alone answers the firm’s critics, but one may be forgiven for dwelling on the difficulties that have had to be overcome. First, there existed no works, no staff and no experience of manufacture; and then the chassis had to be tested to the utmost limit.” Of course, patience paid off, as…