Innholdsfortegnelse for April 26, 2023 i Autocar

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The electric reinvention of Land Rover continues apace, too, and order books for the batteryelectric Range Rover will open later this year ahead of the car going on sale by the end of 2024. It will be the first electric Land Rover from JLR (the new official name for Jaguar Land Rover) and will be built at the Solihull production facility in the Midlands. Like its donor car, the Range Rover EV will be based on the MLA platform, which supports both hybridised ICE and fully electric powertrains. JLR vehicle programmes director Nick Collins said it will “deliver true Range Rover values”, including “off-road ability, usability and refinement” in an “uncompromised” approach. He added: “It will be a benchmark for refined luxury and a testament for what this brand will…

PORSCHE CAYENNE Facelift of Porsche’s most popular model arrives with upgraded engines, a revised chassis and an updated interior. POLESTAR 4 The second bespoke car from Polestar is billed as “the reinvention of the SUV coupé”. Most notably, the 4 has no rear window. BMW i7 M60 The most powerful electric model from BMW to date delivers 650bhp from a newly developed dual-motor drivetrain. VOLKSWAGEN ID 7 VW’s answer to the Tesla Model 3 has been designed “for long distances” and gets 435 miles of range. It is shown here in Chinesemarket Vizzion form. TOYOTA bZ3 This five-seat Toyota is also looking to take on the smallest Tesla. It has a 372-mile range and is sold only in China – for now.…

A QUICK COMPARISON on how much energy an electric car needs with how much a commercial solar panel harvests quickly dispels any notion of realistically powering EVs using them. That’s not to say the idea hasn’t been tried, though. In fact, the idea goes all the way back to 1955 and General Motors’ Sunmobile. But however appealing the idea, the few hundred watts generated by the area of the average EV’s exterior is way off the power it needs to complete even a short hop. That said, adding solar panels to an EV’s exterior could be worth considering for two reasons. One, there’s more to its energy use than the driveline, and a system capable of providing 1kW could offset the drains of air-con or heating. Two, solar generators never…

Skoda will launch an Octavia-sized electric estate as part of a newlook EV range that, by 2026, will include a £22,000 entry-level compact urban crossover, an SUV called the Elroq and a production version of the Vision 7S MPV concept. The upcoming electric models will also be joined by facelifts of the Enyaq iV SUV and Coupé. They will be sold alongside a range of “modern and highly efficient” pure and hybridised combustion cars, as Skoda pushes to offer the “most diverse” portfolio in its history. Seen as “an important mainstay” during Skoda’s transition to becoming an all-electric car maker, these combustion-powered cars include refreshed Octavia, Kamiq and Scala models as well as the next-generation Superb and Kodiaq (see story below). Leading the charge will be an all-electric wagon, currently…

SATURDAY No idea why it is, but American cars fill me with optimism, and none more than the mighty Ford Mustang, one of which (foolishly) I’ve never owned. I side-stepped the weekend chores to head for Gaydon early to enjoy the Ford-backed ‘Mustang Day’, complete with cars, burgers, live music, a visit from Ford’s Britain and Ireland boss Lisa Brankin and a sneak preview of an updated ’Stang they will launch later this year. There were hundreds of great cars and keen people on hand. Attendees were orderly, but such was the size of the V8 population that a pervading rumble could be enjoyed at all times. I took a trip on the nearby M40 motorway in a Ford Mustang Mach-E to try the new, hands-off BlueCruise system. It’s interesting…

“Carry high speeds through corners and premature understeer won’t spoil the fun” BMW wants to offer an electric variant of each of its traditional volume-sellers. So as a key part of the new eighth-generation 5 Series line-up, it has created the i5. Project leader Andreas Holzinger says his team worked to four tenets: traditional design, contemporary digital functionality, a flexible drivetrain architecture and a balanced driving experience. “We want to ensure that when you buy a 5 Series, you get a 5 Series,” he says, “be that an EV or a more traditional ICE car. Our goal was to make them as similar as possible.” As such, it retains the 5 Series’ traditional three-box silhouette, with a long bonnet, a relatively flat roofline and a sloping bootlid. Holzinger confirms that,…

Does what it says on the tin, this one. In swapping the Kia Soul’s 64kWh battery for a 39kWh one, the logically titled Urban provides a cheaper, shorter-range entry point to Kia’s fast-growing EV line-up – one aimed at city folk who do lower speeds and shorter drives. It’s a pretty enticing prospect, saving you a whopping £6200 over the standard car (renamed Explore) while offering performance and usability that stand it in good stead in an increasingly competitive class. It may be a townie at heart, but there’s nothing to suggest the Urban couldn’t also find favour in rural areas. We drove exuberantly and mostly on fast, winding roads for 60 miles and claimed 4.1mpkWh overall, translating to a range of 161 miles, so more judicious throttle use could…

Trace the history of the building that houses Nissan’s European design studio and it’s pleasing to learn that its raison d’être has always related to the concept of mass mobilisation. Unmistakably of the 1960s, this brutalist concrete complex, tucked down the side of the Great Western mainline out of Paddington, was originally a maintenance depot for British Rail’s road vehicles and thus played a key backstage role in keeping the country moving. And for the past 20 years, it has led a more front-of-house existence, enabling the conception of some of Britain’s – if not the world’s – most popular and recognisable cars. “I really want to push the boundaries, but what’s acceptable to the customer? It’s about getting that position right” Heading the operation is Matt Weaver, whose two-decade…

OUTSTANDING UK LEADER The term ‘Ford enthusiast’ does not conjure up images of well-used, highmileage Transits as organically as it does pristine Escort Cosworths and Fiesta STs. But the demonstrable passion owners of each have for the brand will be critical to its ongoing success – and growth – according to the company’s UK MD, Lisa Brankin. “We’ve got massive amounts of enthusiasts out there that drive STs and Capris,” she says. “We think about enthusiasts in that passenger vehicle sector, but actually, anybody who’s got a Transit has a lot of affection for the product and the brand as well.” Brankin heads the UK arm of a company in the middle of reinventing its passenger car lineup while strengthening its winning commercial vehicle offering with a highly advanced fleet…

Five-star road test verdicts are not normally awarded to cars that are merely outstanding in their class, although the Ferrari 296 GTB is absolutely that. To earn full marks, a car usually needs to move the game on in some meaningful way or redefine the class parameters. Quite evidently, this is another box the new ‘entrylevel’ mid-engined supercar from Maranello emphatically ticks. It’s already an all-time great. A bit of context. If we cast our minds back to our first taste of the four-wheel-drive SF90 Stradale supercar-cum-hypercar in 2021, the experience was a curious mix of slack-jawed wonder at the 986bhp pace of the thing laced with disappointment at the undertones of weight and faint handling inertness. But there was also hope, because the integration of its two electric motors…

If some of the hallmarks of a future classic car are that it is adored by enthusiasts so much that it’s hard to get hold of one, and that it retains its value terrifically well, then the GR86 is virtually a confirmed classic straight out of the box. This is the kind of car that volume car makers don’t manufacture any more, for reasons including that their individual platforms are expensive to develop and sales numbers will, inevitably, be low, on account of most people not wanting 2+2 rear-wheel-drive coupés these days. More fool them. Both of those things apply to the Toyota GR86 – and to the Subaru BRZ, which, as with the GT86/BRZ generation before them, shares its architecture. But the fact that you can’t buy a BRZ…

Sneaking in aboard the coat-tails of its bigger brother, the Range Rover, the ‘L461’ Range Rover Sport was just a little bit starved of limelight in the build-up to its introduction last year. Modern Land Rover product launches are rarely so under-hyped or little-anticipated – and if this Sport’s unveiling had been given a prominence appropriate to the contribution it makes to Jaguar Land Rover’s bottom line, it would have had a hero’s welcome in this new, third-generation form. The Range Rover Sport defines the modern Range Rover, and part of that success is attributable to its near-perfect positioning. It brings the refinement and capability you expect of a fullsize Range Rover to a price point that’s a bit easier to justify. But it combines both with a sharply cut…

This is a new Autocar Award, one that is reflective of the times in which we’re living and the pressures they are exerting on all of us. Now more than ever, we need to know where to look for great budget cars: those that are not only cheap to buy and run but which also offer genuine value that can be appreciated by anyone, whatever their preferences or agenda. We all have a need for simple, insurable, cost-effective transport; a need for a car that doesn’t necessarily reflect our individuality, drive our aspiration or enable our lifestyle but which goes about meeting our daily needs with competence, efficiency and, ideally, a cheery flourish. Our inaugural winner wouldn’t have taken any great leap of the imagination to guess – but we…

Whe Dacia Jogger is 2023’s unexpected hero. You can bet your house that the latest Porsche GT car is going to be sensational, but a budget seven-seater could easily end up being worthy but forgettable. Instead, the Jogger really punches above its weight. Given the rampant rise in the cost of living over the past year, the Jogger is particularly relevant for families. It offers all the space and utility you need, including a genuinely usable third row of seats, for significantly less money than most standard hatchbacks. It would be a worthy recipient of our Best Budget Car award, were it not for another Dacia winning it. And it’s not as if Jogger drivers have to give up a lot of creature comforts. Yes, the plastics are hard, and…

Range extender I’ve been following your range woes with your Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric and saw the letter from Ivan Pereira (29 March) about him getting only 160 miles from his, so I thought I’d share our experiences, which are very different. We’ve never driven our Techno model in temperatures over about 8deg C, yet we’ve never seen less than 190 miles of range and our best has been 267. In general it’s 220-235. Motorway trips really hammer the range, down to 190-200. I’ve found that setting the cruise control to 66mph gives the best balance of speed and range; 67 starts to decrease range and 68 starts to noticeably affect it. Odd but true. The rest of the time we leave the car in Eco mode, other than when…

Spring has sprung. Bring on the sunshine and warmth. In other words, Triumph TR6 weather. In the coming months, many of these British drop-tops will once again be brought out of hibernation, putting a smile on the faces of drivers and onlookers alike. I mention onlookers because the TR6’s 2.5-litre straight six plays a tremendous tune for everyone in its vicinity to enjoy. With such a soundtrack, outright performance almost becomes an afterthought. That said, you get 150bhp to play with in pre-1973 cars or 125bhp in those built after, these later TR6s having been detuned to meet stricter emissions regulations. This is a car that enthusiasts buy for its image and character. It exudes charm, from its suave styling to its four-speed manual gearshift. And, of course, there’s its…

Rover unveiled the original Land Rover to the world at the Amsterdam motor show on 30 April 1948, 75 years ago this coming Sunday. Designed as Britain’s answer to America’s Jeep, the Land Rover was basic, was tough and, most importantly, could go anywhere. And it was endlessly adaptable with it, spawning many derivatives designed for special purposes. Here are some of the most interesting. Minerva 80” 1952 Belgium’s Minerva started making cars in 1902 but had more or less petered out by the time of World War II. In 1951, it signed a deal with Land Rover for the 80” (later replaced by the 86”) to be built under licence to produce vehicles for the Belgian army. They stood out for being made mostly from steel, not the aluminium…

Mercedes-Benz has unwrapped its sixthgeneration E-Class, revealing a significantly more contemporary take on the traditional luxury saloon. It is set to go on sale in September at a price tipped to start at more than £50,000. The new four-door will be one of the German car maker’s last dedicated combustionengined models before it goes electric-only and has grown in size over the previous model to provide a larger interior. The Audi A6 and BMW 5 Series rival also offers a revised range of drivetrains. These include overhauled petrol-electric plug-in hybrid systems with a longer electric range of up to 69 miles (WLTP) thanks to a larger 24.1kWh battery, up by 10.6kWh. As well as the two hybrid options, the new E-Class will initially be sold with a choice of four-cylinder…

The new McLaren 750S is the thoroughly updated and enhanced replacement for the 720S, the Woking firm’s best-seller. Said to be 30% new under its subtly restyled skin, the 750S has been designed to provide “a new benchmark” in the supercar segment, boosting not just usability over its predecessor but also ramping up the fun factor. As the name suggests, it brings a power bump over the 720S to 750PS (740bhp). In conjunction with a 30kg saving to cut its dry weight to 1277kg, that gives the car a “segmentleading” power-to-weight ratio of 579bhp per tonne. Its closest rival, the Ferrari 296 GTB plug-in hybrid, has a claimed 552bhp per tonne. The 750S is the lightest series-production McLaren road car yet, tipping the scales at just 79kg more than the…

SKODA HAS ALSO previewed the next generations of the Kodiaq SUV and the Superb hatchback and estate in a series of new silhouette sketches. To be officially revealed this autumn, the three models will continue to be offered with petrol and diesel engines with the options for plug-in and mild-hybrid powertrains. Fresh exterior cues include new thin daytime-running lights and redesigned rear lights for all three models. The bodywork revisions will be accompanied by a redesigned interior and improved technologies, confirmed Skoda, although the company refrained from disclosing any further details. “The Superb and the Kodiaq are two important cornerstones of the Skoda model range,” said CEO Klaus Zellmer, “which is why it’s so special for us to introduce the new generations of both models.”…

A low-key clubbie? Only by Goodwood’s standards. There aren’t many race meetings in the world where within 10 seconds you spot Tom Kristensen strolling through the paddock in Bentley overalls, an immaculately dressed Ron Dennis casting his beady eye and David Richards being diverted by a Lotus Cortina. Less packed and far subtler on the corporate angle than September’s Revival, everything about the 80th Members’ Meeting was a reminder of why it’s now my favourite annual race meeting. Spotting Dennis among so many familiar faces was the biggest surprise of the day – and the best one too. Since stepping away from McLaren, Dennis has become a distant figure, having dedicated all of his previous working life to racing endeavours. He wasn’t always easy to like, but the man who…

Not many people know this: the Ranger pick-up truck is Ford’s most widely sold model, made on six continents for a remarkable 180 countries. It’s a particular success in Europe. Annual sales are running at a record 60,000, a third of those in the UK. And Ford hopes to build on that number now that it has launched a comprehensively renewed Ranger. In the UK, seven versions are offered, ranging from the two-door XL at £26,000 to the £58,000 four-door V6 Raptor, with different combinations of what Ford reckons are the Ranger’s four key abilities: as a workhorse, a leisure vehicle, an off-roader and relatively refined on-road transport. The top-end models all offer 4x4 capability, too. The new Ranger uses the same rugged steel ladder chassis (albeit upgraded) as the…

The Duke of Richmond, who we proudly reveal as the winner of this year’s Issigonis Trophy, attributes the rise of his world-beating Goodwood motorsport events – spearheaded by the Festival of Speed, 30 years old in 2023 – to the influence of a single, seminal car book that his grandfather gave him when he was just nine years old. Called The Automobile Book, this important tome was one of a few that at the time contained big, opulent, double-page images of the world’s greatest cars. The powerful appeal of these was enhanced by the emotional writing style of the book’s American author, Ralph Stein. He influenced many enthusiasts and motoring writers of the time, robustly convincing his audience that a love of cars was something to be proud of and…

hen Andy Wallace drove his Bugatti Chiron Super Sport at 304.773mph on Volkswagen’s high-speed test track at Ehra-Lessien in 2019, shattering the previous road car record by nearly 10% and setting a mark unlikely to be broken for decades, it was as if he had been training for the moment for his whole life. Wallace had quite recently retired from a distinguished 32-year racing career in which he had specialised in the World Sports Car Championship, driving the fastest racing cars of them all. By that stage he had been Bugatti’s official test and development driver for nearly a decade, perhaps spending more time above 200mph in these roles than anyone else on Earth. For even the best drivers, racing cars as a career usually ends somewhere between the ages…

“I’m seen as the leader, but I prefer an atmosphere where we can work together as colleagues. That’s the key” For a minute or two, the disappointment is palpable. Here I am, successfully admitted to Red Bull Racing’s inner sanctum to interview one of my longeststanding heroes, Adrian Newey, and now it seems I won’t even get as far as his office to see the famous drawing board. The boardroom has been set aside for our talk, an enclosure as smoothly featureless as boardrooms everywhere. Newey is well known for continuing to do engineering even today using 2B pencils and a drawing board, often starting even more basically with a threedimensional sketch on a sheet of A4. He prefers the honesty of the process but also reckons when he gets…

“AG-reg Ford Orion in white,” recalls Sytner Group boss Darren Edwards, without hesitation, when asked to recall the first car he ever sold. “I can remember the lovely couple I sold it to, and I can remember the deal. My manager wouldn’t give any money off, but we threw in a two-year warranty.” So began a career in car retail that has seen Edwards rise to the very top of Britain’s largest and premier car dealer group. He is an Outstanding UK Leader for 2023, recognition not only for a stellar career to date that includes a nineyear stint as Sytner Group MD but also a performance last year that saw Sytner return a whopping $8.4 billion (£6.8bn) in revenue from its 150 or so franchises, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz,…

“Mhe Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS is one of the marque’s most thrilling and special GTs yet.” So read the first line of our five-star road test verdict on the GT4 RS, and given that Porsche’s GT model history has not been short of thrilling or special cars, that’s no small compliment. Much of the special feeling comes from the car’s engine. There are those of us at Autocar who stood around a computer monitor listening again and again to the sound it made as road test editor Matt Saunders took it to the redline during his video first drive. It had to be heard to be believed, he said. But only when the car arrived for full testing with us in the UK did we realise how right he…

It ought to be unsurprising that Hyundai’s second flagship EV, the Ioniq 6, surprises with its looks. Thanks in part to the firm’s design director, SangYup Lee, who received last year’s Design Hero award, Hyundai’s styling has in recent years become among the most innovative. The Korean manufacturer has built up a range of good-looking mainstream cars, but it has been pushing the design envelope with its EVs. The Ioniq 6’s streamliner looks won’t please everyone, but no one could accuse it of being bland. First came the Ioniq 5, which suggested that an SUV didn’t actually need to look like an SUV and introduced a new brand of retro-futurism that has clearly struck a chord with buyers. But while most of Hyundai’s range (and most other manufacturers’ line-ups) becomes…

What is it about the finest fast wagons that hits the spot for so very many of us? Rarity, certainly. Seriously potent, longitudinally engined performance estates are pretty thin on the ground, having only sprouted as a concept as recently as 1994 with the Porschedeveloped Audi RS2. Versatility? Definitely that, too. The idea of 500bhp up front and 500 litres of space at the back will get the attention of anyone who buys their performance cars in order to use them as much as possible. Their owners live with them, build a rapport with them and truly understand them. I think here in the UK – the hot hatch capital of the world – we are better at this than most places, and an outrageously fast estate is about as…

We had heard similar from Jeep in the past about having designed its latest small model with Europe in mind. But there’s a big distinction between creating a car to that more general brief and creating one designed, engineered and manufactured in Europe and for European buyers, as it has done with the Avenger. The former approach always yielded forgettable results; the latter method has made for something more spectacular. To that end, the Jeep Avenger is our Best Small Car for 2023. These are words we’ll admit we didn’t think we’d be writing when news of this Jeep first emerged. With the Avenger, however, the promises have been backed up by actions; this feels like a defining moment for Jeep in its quest to transfer its success in the…

“In the UK, Kia enjoys 6.5% of the new car pie. So long, Mercedes. See you later, Peugeot” It seems like a very long time since any of us have thought of Kia as ‘that funny budget car brand from Korea’. What a transformation the marque has been through. If you’re gauging the extent of its rise across Europe, consider the following. Kia is already among the top-three-selling brands in markets as different as Spain, Sweden and Slovakia. There are already other markets – the Netherlands being one of them – where it sells more cars than any other manufacturer. Last year, Kia had an overall EU market share of just under 5%, narrowly beating not only sister brand Hyundai but also the likes of Ford, Opel/Vauxhall, Fiat and Skoda.…

I would like to share my recent experience with The Motor Ombudsman. The heater in my I-Pace failed in April 2021 and was replaced under warranty by my local Jaguar dealer. Strangely, they left an invoice for about £1000 in the car, addressed to me. When queried, they said this was for information only and the full cost would be met by JLR. The heater then failed again in December 2022. I was told that because the car was now out of warranty, I would have to pay the full price for a replacement. I thought this was unreasonable after only 20 months. The dealer went back to JLR, which agreed to pay 80% of the cost. I accepted this, as I thought my contribution would be about £200 –…

An owner’s view JULIAN HILL “James May once described the TR6 as ‘the blokiest bloke’s car ever’, and I can’t think of a better way to sum it up. That 2.5-litre straight-six engine gives you a great feeling when you put your foot down. The rear of the car squats down and hugs the road before pulling away with bucketloads of torque. The deep rumble the straight six produces will make anyone smile. The lowdown driving position makes you feel as though you’re sitting directly on the road. It’s not the most spacious car, but even at 6ft 5in I can squeeze myself in. “My TR6 is a 1973 PI CR, which made 125bhp when new. Every time I drive it, I grin from cheek to cheek, and I know…

Performance extravaganza IN A MONUMENTAL effort, we gathered all the sports cars and GTs on sale for a mega-test at a stormy Silverstone. Well, all apart from those of Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini (too arrogant), Lancia and Mercedes (busy) and Morgan (forgetful). Category one of six was exotic GTs. Aston Martin’s DB6 and DBS worked wonders and Jensen’s FF was supremely safe, but BMW’s 2800 CS didn’t suit track driving. Intermediate GTs were very diverse. Jaguar’s E-Type was still lovely after nine years, Porsche’s 911 T notably demanding, Opel’s GT Lotus-like, Reliant’s Scimitar GTE on point and Sunbeam’s Rapier H120 no embarrassment. As for Zodiac V6-powered GTs, Ford’s own Capri lacked appeal a bit, and nor did Marcos’s 3-Litre totally convince. TVR’s Tuscan was easier and better to drive. For…

The first car in the reborn Jaguar line-up will be a four-door grand tourer and the most powerful model in the brand’s history. The new GT will be revealed in 2024 and on sale in 2025 as the first of three models in the new Jaguar family. Each will be underpinned by the all-new, EV-specific Jaguar Electrified Architecture (JEA). Confirmed as part of an update to JLR’s Reimagine strategy (see overleaf), the new Jaguar will have a range of up to 430 miles and a starting price in excess of £100,000. It is likely to have two motors for four-wheel drive and 600bhp. Targeted charging times are for 200 miles of range in 15 minutes. With the GT now officially previewed for the first time, prototypes will hit the road…

The motor show might be a dying concept in Europe, but the 2023 Shanghai show was a dizzying reminder that they are still important to the vast and hugely important Chinese market. Officially called the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition but branded as Auto Shanghai, the event took place on a scale that’s hard to fathom: 320,000 square metres of exhibition space featuring more than 1000 exhibitors, and 150 press conferences showcasing more than 100 new cars. With Covid restrictions in China lifted, European firms – absent in 2021 due to the pandemic – were back en masse, desperate to reconnect with the world’s biggest single car market. Polestar, BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz were among the manufacturers to launch truly significant global models in the vast exhibition centre. But…

CUPRA’S BREAKAWAY success from Seat looks set to strengthen further with the Tavascan SUV coupé, its third bespoke offering and second all-electric model. Launched alongside the tagline “the brand’s dream comes true”, the SUV is only subtly distinguishable from the bold-looking concept that previewed its design in 2019. The carryovers are clear, if slightly less radical. A sharp, hammerhead-style front end with large grille and distinctive three-triangle light signature is joined by a raked roofline and boot-wide rear light bar. These design cues – which Cupra hopes will help the brand build on last year’s record 150,000 sales – will shape future models, such as the Urban Rebel city EV and the Terramar hybrid SUV, confirmed Cupra. “There are so many purely rational electric cars coming to the market. That’s…

They call it a “house of brands”, in which Land Rover seems to be an undervalued resident. Jaguar Land Rover’s ‘JLR’ reshuffle (see p8) now comprises the brands Jaguar, Range Rover, Defender and Discovery, with Land Rover existing as a ‘trust mark’ on the latter three. It’s a decision that’s deferential to JLR’s recent fascination with luxury – and one that somebody sensible will one day reverse. Can you imagine a similar company – say one established only a few years prior to Land Rover and with an even more famous 4x4 model line – reducing the noise about its parent marque? A Wrangler sold without being labelled a Jeep? No, nor could I, so I asked Jeep’s CEO, Christian Meunier, to comment – not on JLR but to imagine…

Well before reaching Wuhan to experience the Lotus Eletre, I already know the answer to one question. This is undoubtedly the most radical road-going Lotus of all time, even by the high standards of this innovative company. Even 10 years ago, the idea of a Chinese-built electric SUV wearing Lotus badges would have been inconceivable. Now Chinese customer deliveries have started and I’m driving a near-finished European-market example. The Eletre sits on Lotus’s all-new Electric Premium Architecture, which will soon underpin two more cars, these a sleek saloon and a smaller SUV. There’s plenty of room in the Eletre’s shadow for a more compact sibling, it being 5103mm long and weighing about 2400kg. Other brand firsts include four-wheel drive (thanks to a motor on each axle), air suspension, active rear…

Two weeks ago, we sampled the £260,000 Bentley Continental GT W12 Mulliner, a 208mph, four-seat brute of a coupé with keen handling for what is at its core an out-and-out luxury conveyance. Back seats, a capacious cabin with sumptuous decor and an ability to dispatch motorway and A-road routes with disdainful ease made us warming to its versatile 650bhp presence a formality. Few if any performance cars cover quite so many bases. Yet on paper, a similar experience exists for half the price. The BMW M8 Competition has never captured the imagination as easily as the M5 Competition, whose internals it borrows, but it has plenty going for it, not least an asking price well below that of the Continental and the new Maserati Granturismo – the only other fourseaters…

With rising interest rates and inflation, the increased cost of raw materials and the financial burden of meeting ever-stricter legislative requirements, all while funding future electrification plans, cars have never been more expensive. Yet one brand is using this as an opportunity to offer something relevant and compelling to car buyers in 2023: Dacia. Its boss is Denis Le Vot, and he is our Sturmey Award winner for 2023. The award is named after Autocar’s founding editor, Henry Sturmey, and is given for innovation and achievement. In the case of Le Vot, the achievement is seen in the brand’s exceptional sales figures across Europe, but his innovation manifests as something altogether different from the norm. Le Vot is rallying against what he considers an unnecessary creep towards heavy, expensive technology…

There’s something uniquely charming about the way Tim Woolmer discusses electric motors. Despite the business suit, the tinges of grey in his hair, his rocketing reputation as one of Britain’s foremost engineers and his unique position as an Oxford man who has made millions from selling his fledgling company to Mercedes-Benz, Woolmer’s open and enthusiastic manner somehow still has ‘student innovator’ running right through it. Show interest in his achievements and you will soon be swept into a discussion on the minutiae of electric motors and their future in cars – but the talk won’t be about ordinary motors. These are disc-shaped axial flow machines whose yokeless and segmented armature – the Yasa design – brings bold advances in compactness, efficiency, lightness and torque density to an arena that many…

“I’m baptised with the brand.” To an extent, there’s nothing new in these words from Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The boss of a company will always profess to loving his or her firm and being in tune with everything it stands for. ‘I bleed blah blah’ – you can hear the cliché from here. But it’s rare that they will go as far as Torsten Müller-Ötvös did, invoking a religious tone, when we interviewed the recipient of Autocar’s Outstanding Leader award. What’s even more impressive is that this didn’t feel like a rehearsed line; the quote seemed to come straight from the heart. It was sincere and a sign of the deep affection he holds for this little corner of England. It’s the key to why he…

A lthough his thriving global vehicle manufacturing business has never built a car in its 78-year history, Lord Anthony Bamford, owner and chairman of JCB, is proving to be a far more agile and effective researcher into hydrogen power for automotive applications than most of the world’s volume manufacturers. Bamford and a fast-growing band of specialist JCB engineers (150 at the last count) have designed and built a zero-emission, hydrogenpowered internal combustion engine in two and a half years flat. They plan to use it – and soon – to power the kind of construction and agricultural machinery JCB makes in more than 20 plants worldwide and sells through 2000 dealers. The first serious discussions about a hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engine began in 2020 inside JCB’s Rocester HQ – at…

We tend to crow a bit about the history of Autocar’s annual Britain’s Best Driver’s Car supertest. Well, sorry-not-sorry: we’re proud of it. When the first one was convened in 1989, pulling together a large field of the most exceptional performance cars of the year all in one place, driving them back to back and then getting a number of expert judges to democratically aggregate their subjective impressions in order to be sure which really was the finest of the lot was a novel concept. The format has been copied a fair bit since, but the original is still a special event; it’s perhaps the very best thing Autocar does, and it’s certainly one of the most important as far as keen drivers may be concerned. And in the 34…

‘Fun’ is an interesting and perhaps misleading descriptor for the Honda Civic Type R. Fun is, of course, what hot hatches have always been about. Shortcomings in ride quality, flimsy cockpits, poor economy – you’d forgive any and all of it as long as there was enough attitude, full-throttle potential and lift-off oversteer. Enough fun. It was obvious with the previousgeneration R, the FK8, that Honda had altered the game, because the new car was so precise and dialledin, yet light on its feet and so rich in its feedback. With its long snout, two-and-a-half-box silhouette and ridiculous rear plumage, it looked like it had stepped beyond timehonoured hot hatch parameters – like the Escort Cosworth did. This was mirrored in the driving. Fun wasn’t really something that concerned this…

It seems that every week news reaches us of another Chinese brand with plans to conquer Europe quickly. But one company has paved the way for more than 10 years and organically built a customer base in the process. MG has been owned by SAIC since 2005, and after a slow start it has become a big hitter in the UK car market, its products’ undeniable value clearly striking a chord with buyers. The MG 4 heralds something new, however. Built on the all-new, EV-only Modular Scalable Platform (MSP), it is a genuinely class-leading product in several respects – but MG is still selling it at a price that makes every other rival look expensive. It was the surprise of 2022 when we first drove it: the MG 4 proved…

For once, the clue is in the name. ‘Multi’ for multi-purpose; ‘Van’ for van. Our Best Large Car, Volkswagen’s T7 Multivan, is an immensely practical vehicle, as demonstrated by the fact that you will find it listed among Volkswagen’s commercial vehicle line-up rather than the company’s passenger cars, even though this seven-seater in effect replaces VW’s earlier MPVs. But its merits stretch beyond its mere size. It’s one of three models, alongside the ID Buzz and a forthcoming Ford Transit-platform van, that could equally lay claim to being the spiritual successor of the original Type 2 Volkswagen microbus. That this model carries the T7 designation tells you it’s the one that VW thinks best continues the famous lineage, with all of the obligations that come with it. Not only should…

MODEL TESTED E-TENSE 4x4 360 LA PREMIERE • Price £59,190 • Power 355bhp • Torque 384lb ft • 0-60mph 5.7sec • 30-70mph 4.6sec • Fuel economy 37.6mpg • CO2 emissions 40g/km • 70-0mph 45.0m Until batteries become sufficiently advanced to provide decent stamina and energy density, it looks like the way forward for the performance car is plug-in hybrid technology. The Mercedes-AMG C63 is swapping its V8 for a PHEV four-cylinder, the BMW XM sticks with a V8 but adds 29.5kWh of batteries, the next M5 is likely to do the same, the fastest Porsche Panamera you can buy is the Turbo S E-Hybrid, and the Ferrari 296, McLaren Artura and Lamborghini Revuelto also use rechargeable batteries and motors to augment their piston engines. In the slightly less rarefied sphere, Stellantis…

“The Funky Cat gives little away to the Korando in terms of refinement” MILEAGE 2900 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Ora is one of a number of Chinese EV brands hoping to make it big in Europe. Does its first model land on its feet? I have been doing some cross-shopping. Checking out the competition, if you will. It’s hard to know exactly how you approach that as a prospective Ora Funky Cat buyer, because it’s ostensibly a premium electric hatchback, but it’s not that expensive in the grand scheme of things, isn’t overly competitive in raw statistical terms and comes from an unfamiliar brand. Every conceivable rival seems to differ in at least one core respect. So I’ve taken the simple approach: find an EV that’s at least comparable on…

DRIVEN Rimac Nevera With 1887bhp, this stupefying £1.8m EV can rocket from 0-62mph in 1.95sec – and we’re driving it here in the UK. Hold on tight… DRIVEN Mini Cooper Prototype will reveal if anticipation for the most significant Mini since 2000 is justified FEATURE Spartan We get an exclusive drive of Australia’s new track special, weighing just 670kg EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Citroën ë-C4 X Electric hatchback turned saloon is given a comprehensive examination OUR CARS Alpine A110 Did daily duties expose any flaws in one of our favourite sports cars? SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p4…