Innholdsfortegnelse for February 7, 2024 i Autocar

Charge port cover is now electric as standard. You can open it from the cabin or from outside with a hand gesture, and it’s designed to work in ice and snow. The Taycan has received an extensive upgrade in a bid by Porsche to cement its position as one of the fastest, longest-range and best-handling EVs on sale. Due on sale in the spring, the new Taycan “excels over its predecessor in every discipline”, according to Porsche, which claims huge improvements in range, acceleration, charging speed, equipment and dynamics. The revisions are aimed at building on the tremendous success of the model line, which has sold nearly 150,000 units since being launched in 2020. A characteristically subtle refresh of the exterior – headlined by new creased front arches, revamped LED…

Euro NCAP has blamed a significant reduction in the number of cars that it evaluated last year partly on manufacturers rushing to beat the introduction of tougher tests. The European vehicle safety testing agency, whose five-star safety rating is keenly sought by manufacturers the world over, rated 73 cars in 2022, making it the organisation’s busiest year ever. However, in 2023, it rated just 18 cars. Explaining the reduction, a Euro NCAP spokesman said: “Manufacturers were eager to get their cars rated in 2022, demonstrating that they met the original design targets, before the rating scheme changed in 2023 with the introduction of new, challenging test scenarios.” Such is the power of Euro NCAP’s rating system to influence not only how well a new car sells but also the insurance…

THE HYUNDAI CASPER could soon become available in European markets with a new electric powertrain. The crossover-style city car, which is currently sold exclusively in South Korea, has been spotted winter testing in Scandinavia for the first time, suggesting that it could be completing the homologation process for Europe. That comes just days after the head of Hyundai France, Lionel French Keogh, told French magazine Auto Moto that the Casper would arrive there by the end of 2024. The publication said the Casper will be electric-only, not offering any of the 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engines used in Korea. The electric Casper could possibly borrow its powertrain from the Kia Ray EV, which is based on the same architecture (as are the Kia Picanto and Hyundai i10) and packs an 86bhp…

There’s an enjoyable story in the latest issue (dated March) of our sibling title Classic & Sports Car about a TVR Griffith, an MG RV8 and a Marcos Mantara. Or at least it’s a story that I was enjoying, right up to the point when I remembered that I had read a group test of those three cars (along with a Morgan Plus 8 and a Ginetta G33) when they were new, which was 1993 but seems like about three weeks ago. And yes, of course I’ve bored several office colleagues about this. Perhaps this will be no surprise to you, but increasingly I understand what people older than me say about still feeling young: there’s no appreciable difference between the nub of me now and the one from 30…

Niche model engineering continues to play rather well for determinedly leftfield Subaru. Last year, the third-generation Crosstrek, which has just made it to Europe, was within a whisker of becoming the biggest-seller in the Japanese company’s North American range. Many Brits will see it as precisely the wrong kind of crossover: jackedup ride height and permanent fourwheel drive underneath and not enough space and convenience up top. However, where there is a demand for cars like this, there are customers who like the way the Crosstrek goes about meeting it – and it’s not that hard to see why. What we used to know as the XV remains basically the Impreza hatchback on stilts. Subaru has stiffened and reinforced the chassis this time, though, concentrating its efforts particularly on improving…

The L461-generation Range Rover Sport was launched in late 2022, so it’s a bit early for a facelift. But in the modern era, manufacturers are upgrading their cars on an ever more regular basis – and so for the 2024 model year, the Porsche Cayenne rival has received what Land Rover calls “a suite of updates”. Those of you who recall our review of the recently updated Range Rover Evoque might guess the touchy and sensitive way this is heading. But first let’s round up the powertrain updates: a new P550e plug-in hybrid, with an electriconly range of 75 miles, is coming to replace the P510e, while the P530’s turbo petrol V8 gains a mild-hybrid system to improve efficiency. Our first taste of the updated Range Rover Sport, though, comes…

About 10 years ago, while playing with his kids and their Lego toys one Christmas holiday, a clever young Renault engineer called Nicolas Fremau came up with an idea for a new, super-efficient form of hybrid gearbox – exactly the thing he knew his company would need for the rapidly approaching electrification age. Back then, Toyota was the only company building hybrids in large numbers, notably the Prius. But Fremau’s idea was simpler, it was potentially cheaper and he knew the mechanical parts would fit models originally engineered for conventional transverse front-drive ICE powertrains. In particular, the new gearbox would utilise several innovative ways of dramatically cutting friction, an efficiency killer in any powertrain. One ruse was to eliminate any need for a conventional start-up clutch in favour of an…

The first day of Year 13 is sweltering – unusually hot for September. The sixth form car park is packed to the gunnels with freshly acquired Corsas and Clios, Halfords headsets pumping drum and bass through tinny 6x9s of dubious quality and the sickly, unmistakable odour of Very Cherry air freshener hanging like a thick smog in the hazy afternoon air. Hordes of lanky adolescents fold themselves, five at a time, into cramped, well-worn superminis with Amazon-sourced ‘sports’ wheel trims and wannabe WRC exhausts and screech off down the high street, jeering at unlucky friends who still have to wait for the bus and arguing over who gets control of the aux cable. The car park empties quickly, and after five minutes there is only one that has yet to…

MILEAGE 3673 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if the most important McLaren in a dozen years is as easy to live with as it is fun to drive The other day, I was at the Bicester Heritage I was there with the Artura, which formed part of a small display. As a result, I spent most of my day talking to people about it. And while it is true that most of the comments were flattering to the car (they like the look, even if it is too similar to previous McLarens, the £4400 Ember Orange paint job and the idea of its downsized V6 plug-in hybrid powertrain), so too were there one or two more pointed conversations to be had. The first went: “Yeah, it’s all very well,…

DRIVEN The art of EV refinement The Taycan is one of our favourite EVs, yet Porsche is determined to make it even better. We drive a prototype to find out how. FEATURE Car of the Year at 60 Motoring’s biggest prize is six decades old. But which is the best-ever winner? NEWS Aston Martin Vantage Britain’s Porsche 911 rival is revamped – and we’ve got all the details EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Tesla Model 3 How good is the world’s best-seller? We find out across eight pages USED GUIDE Mini hatch First BMW Mini is nearly 25 years old, yet it’s still a great used buy SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p20…

A road test in any other magazine might well be a short, subjective summary of a new car produced under almost any circumstances, but the Autocar road test is different. Specific, rigorous and detailed, it’s the closest examination we can give of any new model. It appears over at least eight pages and is close to 50 man-hours in the making every week. Most of what the road test process entails is designed to be strictly repeatable and fair. We benchmark standing-start and in-gear acceleration at a purpose-built test facility every week. We carry out both subjective and objective handling tests on both road and track, on the latter up to and beyond the limit of grip, so as to fully assess stability, drivability and limit handling appeal. And while…

“An electric motor will boost output beyond the 444bhp and 443lb ft of today’s version” The new Audi RS5 Avant is due in 2025 as a fearsome sports estate that will kick off a move into electrification by the Audi Sport performance division. The first plug-in hybrid from Audi Sport will be a successor to today’s pure-V6 RS4 but takes a new name in line with Audi’s plan to assign odd numbers to combustion cars and even ones to EVs. The equivalent electric model, badged RS4 E-tron, is expected to arrive by 2026. While it gets a new name and a new look inside and out, Audi’s fast family wagon is set to keep its 2.9-litre V6, but with the addition of an electric motor boosting output beyond the 444bhp…

The new BMW 5 Series Touring will be launched in the UK in May with the choice of plug-in hybrid and electric drivetrains, including a dual-motor M-badged EV with nearly 600bhp. The first BMW estate to offer an electric drivetrain option arrives six months after the launch of the eighth-generation 5 Series saloon, with which it shares its edgy design. Styling changes over the saloon are concentrated behind the B-pillar, where the new 5 Series Touring receives a longer roof, altered rear doors, an extended glasshouse and an angled tailgate that features a pronounced spoiler and other aerodynamic elements to help smooth airflow around the rear window. The new model is bigger than the previous, fifth-generation 5 Series Touring, which was launched in 2017. Length is up by 97mm to…

THE HYUNDAI MOTOR Group has developed a new active aerodynamic device called the active air skirt (AAS), which it expects to reduce a car’s drag coefficient by 2.8%. That might sound like a modest amount, but every tiny increment counts here, and the company says the device could improve the range of electric vehicles cruising at higher speeds. The AAS has already been tested on the Genesis GV60 electric SUV. It consists of two panels that drop down ahead of the front wheels at 50mph, the speed at which Hyundai says aerodynamic resistance becomes greater than rolling resistance. To avoid it fidgeting in and out of play, there is some leeway before it retracts again. That happens at about 43mph. The aero aid can also be used at speeds in…

WHEN YOU BUY a new car, you feel sure that it won’t need any substantial work done until it’s several years old. You certainly don’t expect to find documentation in the glovebox that proved your car had needed a rebuild before it had even been delivered to the showroom. The complex web of collaborations in the automotive industry means an entirely different company might build your European-badged car on the other side of the world, where standards aren’t quite as strict. As a result, cars can need remedial work once they arrive in the UK. That could mean adding a few stickers or extra lights for legal reasons, but in other cases it’s more involved. That was the case for one hatchback model, which often needed panels realigned, wiring rerouting…

MONDAY My Ford driving odyssey concluded this week with 500 miles in the latest-spec Mach-E, the US-built, Mustang-bred EV that in 2021 boldly announced the Blue Oval’s move into fully electric vehicles. The car’s size, styling and performance always looked right, but early drives were marred by grievous faults with the suspension. The pitching ride was a particular let-down: here was irrefutable evidence that Ford’s late, legendary dynamics guru, Richard Parry-Jones, was no longer around to drive much-needed improvements. Now, at the second attempt, they’ve fixed it. The car has thoroughly revised suspension, and although it still doesn’t have the sophistication of, say, BMW’s excellent i4, you can now spend a comfortable day behind its wheel. This latest iteration not only goes but it steers, handles and rides too. I’d…

I’d just choose the S. Don’t get me wrong: the E-Hybrid works well enough. When it’s at full chat, the 176bhp electric motor decadently imbues the torque gaps of the 3.0-litre V6 and it feels like it’s doing a good enough impression of a V8. The problem is that the plug-in hybrid powertrain just isn’t as broad, as brazen, as boisterous as the 4.0-litre eight-cylinder one. People might want the PHEV Cayenne for tax reasons – but if you really cared about BIK, wouldn’t you pick a fully electric car? And yes, on paper it’s very economical, but in the real world it can return a mere 30mpg without you pedalling all that hard. Theoretically, the 25.9kWh battery offers 55 miles of electriconly driving, which is very useful, if perhaps…

Welcome to the new era of Audi, where electric cars get even numbers and internalcombustion cars get odd ones. That’s why the E-tron is now the Q8 E-tron and its fuel-burning brother is now the… Oh, hang on. No, we don’t quite get it either, especially seeing as the two share little more than a badge and some switchgear. But anyway, moving on: the Q8 E-tron was updated last year, and now it’s the smoker’s turn. Not that you would necessarily know unless you had an Audi rep walking you around it. The new matrix LED headlights are the headline change, bringing four dynamic signatures and the ability to warn other road users of hazards, but otherwise this is largely a new-wheels-and-new-colours jobbie. The engine line-up is unchanged. Below the…

As we enter the EV era, the word ‘vapourware’ is coming up a lot. You will be familiar with the story: a small firm appears out of nowhere, it shows renderings of a car to the media, its founder/CEO does an interview or two and then suddenly it’s a few years later and you realise that you never heard anything more about it. Well, MW Motors is the polar opposite: it has been busily developing a competent product before seeking publicity, and just a week after first hearing about it, I’m here looking at it. Marketing types might consider this approach anything from foolish to negligent, but to me it’s highly admirable: get it done and only then promote it. MWM was founded in 2017 near Pilsen, the Czech Republic’s…

MODEL TESTED 350H AWD TAKUMI Price £112,995 Power 247bhp Torque na 0-60mph 8.6sec 30-70mph 8.2sec Fuel economy 32.9mpg CO2 emissions 163g/km 70-0mph 52.7m Having tried its hand at what we might call traditional premiumbrand model segments for so long, Lexus is currently taking a swing at something different. ‘Model diversification’ is the process in which its marketers would tell you it is engaged. With a range now full of SUVs, the company clearly isn’t about to abandon the mainstream. And yet even here, with cars like the UX, NX and RZ, we can see that it is intent on offering something a little different compared with the European premium brands, rather than battling for the middle ground. With its lower-volume, highermargin models in particular, we might see even bolder moves in…

FIRST REPORT WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if this electric fastback saloon can outmuscle the growing SUV market “In some ways, it feels like a Rolls-Royce Spectre for the everyman” The Citroën ë-C4 X is a hard car to classify, even when you’ve spent a bit of time with one, as I have since ours arrived on the long-term test fleet. The EV sits intriguingly within the increasingly blurred lines that separate different car categories, riding slightly higher than a traditional saloon but not quite by enough that you could call it an SUV. Coupé-SUV hatchback? Raised fastback saloon? One of those descriptions is probably correct. Citroën itself calls the car a “fastback with the modern look of an SUV”, so that’s cleared that up… One thing that’s absolutely…

Simple pleasures Is life not complicated enough for Jesse Crosse? Evidently not. My eyes began to glaze over reading his bafflingly enthusiastic espousal of all the complexities involved with taking the plunge and buying an EV (17 January): government grants, big battery versus small battery, 12 health bars, battery diagnostic apps, finding a car that hadn’t been rapidly charged, driving on sunshine, usable capacity, checking range readouts etc. I hope Jesse is managing to work out how much juice his EVs are losing this harsh Scottish winter, or he might get stranded somewhere. The more articles I read by motor journalists trying to convince themselves that, you know, EVs aren’t that bad, really, and you can try one too, the more I appreciate my long-legged diesel VW Passat. Andrew McLeod…

As I write this, there’s a 2007 Maserati Gransport coupé, finished in Blu Mediterraneo, the most desirable colour, and with only 30,000 miles on the clock, for sale by a reputable dealer for £20,000. Repeat: twenty thousand pounds for an authentically Italian, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2 sports car trimmed in fine leather and carbonfibre and powered by a 395bhp 4.2-litre cross-plane Ferrari V8 for 0-62mph in 4.8sec. Writing about the Gransport Spyder back in 2006, Autocar said: “It is a mightily stirring and fast car. The steering is incredibly quick-witted and in Sport mode it corners flatly, grips strongly and accelerates through the upper rev range with incredible urgency. In fact, when the glorious Maranellomade engine is burbling deliciously in your ears, you’re drinking in the classy ambience of the tactile cabin…

Man has always dreamed of creating road vehicles that can also take to the sky. The concept has supposedly been about to take off for decades, but a commercially successful flying car has so far proved elusive. However, it seems that there’s genuine propulsion behind the idea now. So let’s take a look at more than a century of flying car development. It’s quite a tale… Supernal S-A2 2024 Is the age of the flying car finally arriving? Hyundai’s air mobility arm certainly hopes so, having revealed its new VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft last month. Designed by Hyundai Group design chief Luc Donckerwolke, it seats five people and is aimed at what the Korean giant believes to be an emerging demand for flying taxis in increasingly congested cities.…

Audi has unveiled the RS6 GT as a limitedrun celebration of its V8 super-estate, as it embarks on a wide-reaching electrification programme that is set to usher in a plug-in hybrid RS6 in the next two years. Complete with performanceenhancing aero tweaks, bespoke carbonfibre body panels, an outlandish retro livery and a marked price increase over the standard car, the special edition will be limited to just 660 examples worldwide, 60 of which will be sold in the UK. The model is effectively a road-legal evolution of the radical RS6 GTO concept – created in 2020 by a team of Audi apprentices with inspiration from the firm’s legendary 1989 IMSA GTO race car – and is based on the top-rung Performance version of the RS6. Autocar exclusively revealed last year…

THE HOT FORD Puma ST has gone hybrid-only as part of a model-line refresh that aims to preserve the Puma’s status as the UK’s best-selling car. There are significant upgrades for the crossover’s interior and the exterior styling has been tweaked, but the headline change for fast Ford fans is the removal of the 197bhp 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine for the range-topping ST, which is now exclusively powered by a less potent 1.0-litre unit. That engine, launched as an option last year and fitted with 48V mild-hybrid technology, comes paired with only a sevenspeed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, meaning there is no manual Puma ST now either. With the retirement of the hot Fiesta last year, Ford now has just one pure-petrol ST car, the Focus, and that will bow out by…

The electric-only spiritual successor to the Elise will be an “essential” part of the future Lotus line-up, according to company bosses. Codenamed Type 135, the new two-seat sports car will effectively replace the Emira, Lotus’s final combustion car. The EV will be developed and built in the UK and will be the fourth and final model of Lotus’s Vision80 project, following the Eletre large SUV, Emeya saloon and forthcoming Type 134 D-segment SUV. Lotus intends to reveal the Type 135 next year, before starting sales in 2027. The target starting price of £75,000 compares with £59,995 for the planned entry-level four-pot Emira. Mike Johnstone, Lotus Group’s chief commercial officer, told Autocar that meeting the target price is “an engineering challenge” but it was chosen because “it’s not a big step…

Mini has lifted the curtain on the final combustionengined iteration of its three-door hatchback, now designated the Cooper – saying it has prioritised “agile handling, driving pleasure, safety and comfort”. Taking visual inspiration from the 1959 original, the hatch has been the mainstay of the Mini line-up since BMW relaunched the brand in 2000. The fourth-generation model is all but identical to the new electric threedoor visually but entirely unrelated mechanically. While the electric car is based on a bespoke EV platform, the ICE car is a heavy update of the current model. Indeed, it will offer the same two turbocharged petrol engines as the third-generation hatch, although with marked rises in output. The 1.5-litre triple in the entry-level Cooper C gains 20bhp for a total of 154bhp, making it…

Formula 1, dull and predictable? You just never know what’s coming next. Lewis Hamilton’s sensational decision to join Ferrari for 2025 unites grand prix racing’s most successful and best-known driver with its oldest and still by far most illustrious team. It’s white-hot news – the equivalent of Lionel Messi signing for Real Madrid. Hamilton will be 40 years old when he takes his place beside Charles Leclerc next year. As Fernando Alonso continues to prove, such age is less of a barrier than it used to be for modern athletes. But still, Hamilton has left it late to make the move, after a long F1 career exclusively powered by Mercedes. Money is always a factor, but surely that’s not the key motivation this time. Hamilton has seven world titles and…

Love them or hate them, it’s clear that SUV-coupés are here to stay. And BMW has played a big part in that, as in 2008 it launched what is widely considered to be the world’s first such car. The X6 pioneered sloping rooflines on high hatchbacks and, despite this making it less practical yet also more expensive than the conventional X5, earned enough sales to warrant a second generation – followed in short order by rival cars from Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Audi and Porsche. A third-generation X6 then arrived four years ago, which in such a competitive class means it’s time for a refresh. Like its X5 sibling, then, the X6 has been given some exterior design changes, including a new front grille, tweaked bumpers and M Sport elements as…

If you want a full-house powertrain for your flagship Audi SUV and you aren’t ready to embrace electric propulsion, the SQ8 TFSI is the model you want. This replaces the boggo petrol or diesel 3.0-litre V6 engine with the latest iteration of Audi’s twinturbocharged 4.0-litre petrol V8, punching out 500bhp to propel it from a standstill to 62mph in just 4.1sec. It can also convert itself to just four active cylinders on light throttle openings, which is why the SQ8 can deliver 30mpg on the open road if you’re careful. The SQ8 also gets a Quattro four-wheel drive system, fourwheel steering and adaptive air suspension, with 48V adaptive roll stabilisation that helps the car to corner flat but prevents its hefty anti-roll bars from disturbing the ride comfort in a…

“For a long weekend, a Porsche Cayenne Hybrid is £513” Think rental car and ranks of mainstream hatchbacks spring to mind – vanilla vehicles for that quick business trip or short break and, when finished with, discarded like a spent coffee cup. Not all rental cars are the same, however. In addition to the Picantos, Qashqais and the rest, some of the major rental companies can supply more upmarket vehicles, although, as I found, availability can be touch and go and you may simply be offered ‘something similar’. Fortunately, this is not the case with Avis Prestige, a specialist in supplying high-value rental cars at most of the major airports as well as from its central London base. At any time, its cars include Volvos, Mercedes, Audis, Land Rovers, Range…

MILEAGE 17,800 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if this hybrid can strike the sweet spot between a car and a van I was supposed to run the Mazda MX-30 you may have seen in last week’s issue, but over Christmas I swapped cars with Jack Harrison, the Corolla’s previous custodian, and I rather fell for the wheel-trimmed wonder. He needed four seats. I didn’t. So a deal was struck. What particularly charmed me was the spec, which is as basic as a modern Corolla gets and such a nice breather from all the superfluous tinsel that most modern cars have. Let’s run through some of its spec. Alloy wheels? Nope. Steel wheels and wheel trims. They used to be the norm but are now a bit of a…

This year could be a general election year, but it’s also the starting year of the government’s zero-emission vehicle mandate. This legislation states that car makers’ sales must contain a certain proportion of EVs or they will face a fine of £15k per non-compliant car sold. That proportion is 22% this year, rising to 33% in 2026, 52% in 2028 and then 100% in 2035. This will change millions of people’s lives over the coming decade, especially those who can’t charge at home (because they live in a terraced house, a flat, a tower block etc). Other fossil fuel users – aircraft, ships and the military, for instance – aren’t hampered by such legislation, so we have to rely on only their goodwill for emissions reduction. Electrification is just a…

An owner’s view MATT CLARKE “I’m on my third Gransport, so I know the model well. It thrives on regular driving, but beware of commuting in it because creeping around destroys the clutch. A lightly used one will last up to 40,000 miles. I once had one let go at 13,000, but I got 52,000 miles out of another. Parts are expensive. For example, the F1 transmission pump costs around £850 from Maserati. Fortunately, the unit from the Alfa Romeo Selespeed ’box is the same thing but costs £130. The Gransport looks and sounds exotic but is a pretty sensible buy. And if you run into trouble, there’s a lot of knowledge out there.” Buyer beware… ENGINE Regular oil and filter changes are essential. Check the cam cover for oil…

“I HAD THE most fun when I was zipping around the Alps in my Renault 4CV. I therefore decided to call my future cars ‘Alpine’. My customers had to find this same pleasure at the wheel of the car I wanted to build,” said Jean Rédélé. The reason why this 28-year-old man from Normandy was having such fun way down south was not because he was taking his young family on holiday; it was because, in his job as a Renault dealer, he had entered this novel economy saloon into the 1950 Monte Carlo Rally, reasoning: “Racing is the best way to test production cars and victory is the best sales tool.” Rédélé won at just his second attempt, which spurred him on to enhance his bosses’ wares – and…