Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i CAR UK

Tesla, the markets have decided, is worth $100bn. But Tesla is still only the world’s second most valuable car maker. Number one remains Toyota, by a mile: the Japanese company’s valuation is over $230bn. It also makes hefty profits, unlike Tesla. And it sells 9.5 million vehicles a year, to Tesla’s 367,500 in 2019. ‘We will still make sports cars for those who have a passion to drive’ You don’t get to be that big and that successful by standing still. Toyota is full of ideas. And although the focus is on being environmentally responsible and sustainable, as you’d expect from a company that’s about to sell its 15 millionth hybrid vehicle, it’s also having a fresh push into enthusiast-pleasing performance cars. Matt Harrison, executive vice-president of Toyota Europe, says:…

Lamborghini Huracan RWD We’ve long been a fan of Lamborghini’s rear-drive Huracan derivative, so we’re not about to say no to a new version. This time there’s a far smaller power gap between the RWD and the all-wheel-drive car; 602bhp sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch ’box. Sant’Agata has tuned the traction control to feed the torque in as you exit a slide, for better control, and the RWD model has different front and rear bumpers. Ceramics are an option. NEED TO KNOW What is it? Lambo’s unleashed sports car – where do we sign? Tech specs Powerslide-aiding traction control, redesigned aero Aimed at? Lambo owners who want wipers on the side windows When and how much? Now, for £137k before taxes Porsche 718 GTS 4.0 The…

Better sound. Less weight. Less bulk. Who wouldn’t want that fine combination in their car? Boffins reckon they can do it by thinking the unthinkable: get rid of the speakers. They’re looking much further ahead than the BMW and Volvo cockpit specialists featured on these pages, whose focus is on shaping the replacements for today’s cars. By contrast, audio experts Sennheiser and automotive technology giants Continental are answering questions most people wouldn’t think of asking. So what is a speakerless audio system? It’s rather like headphones that send sound into the skull, not the ears. Sennheiser’s Ambeo 3D sound technology has been paired with Continental’s Ac2ated Sound know-how to create an entirely new system that excites interior panels instead of using conventional speakers. Continental actuators are placed behind various panels…

‘ Are you sure the grip’s there?’ There they go again, the incessant conversations in my head spilling out into the world uninvited. Then I realise these aren’t the words of my unconscious self but those of another self entirely, and a fairly conscious one at that: photographer Alex in the Jaguar’s passenger seat. His intonation is matter-of-fact and unpanicked: given the road looks like greased glass and the off-tarmac consequences fairly dire, should we perhaps slow down? Our speed isn’t crazy – I’m just stroking the F-Type along with the kind of conviction you need to cover mountain roads at anything like a decent average speed – but I see his point. This morning we left behind the brittle January sunshine of Porto. For the last hour we’ve been…

It’s an Arctic plunge pool of an immersive experience: an extreme kind of fun, if not for everyone A back-to-basics barchetta with an £86k price tag, the Jannarelly Design-1 looks like a ’60s fever dream brought on by a near-fatal dose of steroids – think 427 Cobra meets Speed Racer Mach 5, carefully accessorised with modern aerodynamic accoutrements. Some of which are even functional. The work of Anthony Jannarelly, formerly designer for Middle East-based hypercar maker W Motors, and hand-built in Dubai around a proprietary spaceframe, it is almost impossibly compact. Shorter but wider than a current Mazda MX-5, it weighs as little as 810kg with a 3.5-litre V6 in the back. The roofed configuration driven here features a hardtop that flips forward from the windscreen. Which is a hell…

Every facelift takes the ForTwo further away from the original’s neat trick of being both cheekily diminutive and satisfyingly sharp suited. The extra blobbiness added to that unfortunate hooter is a side show this time around, however; the big news for 2020 is electrification. Not as in: ‘ta-dah’ – electric Smarts have been humming about since 2007. But as in: henceforth that’s the only powertrain with which a Smart will be armed. The powertrain comprises a 17.6kWh, 96-cell lithium-ion battery which can lob 81bhp and 118lb ft at the rear wheels, and give a range of about 70 miles. Recharging from 10 to 80 per cent takes less than 40 minutes using a rapid charger, or three hours and 18 minutes using a home wallbox. The EQ surges off the…

If versatility is the ultimate quality in a family car, few are as multi-talented as the Land Rover Discovery Sport. Got a six-a-side team to transport? Collapsed garden shed to take to the tip? Need to ford an inconvenient river or tackle a 45º incline? The Disco Sport’s got it covered. It now looks rather more suave while doing so, courtesy of a facelift in late 2019, featuring a subtly modernised nose that could be mistaken for a Range Rover’s from a distance. Under the elegant skin it uses a version of the Range Rover Evoque’s platform, enabling it to employ an updated family of mild hybrid engine options. In fact, roughly 70 per cent of parts are new. The biggest uplift is in the cabin, which now treads a…

Every flex of ankle feels like you’ve aced a World’s Strongest Man power lift One car to do everything? The Audi S6 Avant has to be in with a shout. Performance, desirability, luxury, technology, all-weather security, handling, space, comfort, running costs, build quality… the big Audi estate does the lot. For its first generations, the S6 was an RS6 with less pointy teeth, and in essence still is. This time, though, it’s carved out a more distinct identity with a brave switch to diesel, at least for Europe. Bad news first: diesel means this 344bhp S6 is actually down 100bhp on its petrol-powered predecessor. The good news is pretty much everything else, including a huge 516lb ft whump of torque. Beneath the bonnet lies a mild-hybrid 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel closely…

The car market over the last couple of decades has been, shall we say, ‘sector fluid’. With all the platform sharing and niche filling that’s been going on, the product range of every German manufacturer has become as bewildering as a giant chocolate selection box – one offering every conceivable flavour, fused and blended together. Like this car, the new Volkswagen T-Roc R: if it was a chocolate, it would be a strawberry crème bon-bon with a praline filling, coated with chilli chocolate and topped with a jellied banana. As a car, you might describe it as a ‘Junior 4x4 Suburban Crossover Sports Activity Coupe Hot Hatch’. Or, to put it another way, it’s the new Golf R SUV. The T-Roc R is just as well resolved as the Golf…

Is the Evoque actually a competitor to the T-Roc R? Going by price alone, Volkswagen would probably argue not – a basic P300 HSE R-Dynamic like you see here is £51,050, 10 grand more expensive than the Volkswagen, and that’s before you tuck in to the extensive options list. This example has the Yulong White metallic paint (£640 extra), the black contrast roof (£535), Adaptive Dynamics suspension (£800), and most expensive of all, a non-opening panoramic roof (£1100). Altogether, we’re testing a £55k car here, which is really quite chunky for a ‘premium compact SUV’. But look at it another way: if you’re in the market for a compact, premium, ‘lifestyle’ SUV, are you saying the Evoque wouldn’t be on your list? Of course it would – since it was…

If we’re benchmarking these cars against the new Volkswagen T-Roc R (and we are), then the first to be discarded is the Range Rover. But I’m really impressed by this car, and if you told me I had to drive to John O’Groats, right now, just jump in and go, I’d choose the Evoque immediately. Smooth, refined, and with a premium interior that’s so inviting. When you travel by plane, do you want to wait in the first-class lounge or fall asleep on a plastic bench by the departure gate? Exactly. If the Volkswagen’s ‘R’ badge means we’re judging these cars by their sportiness, the Range Rover fails. But as an alternative take? I like it. At the opposite end of the scale is the Mini Countryman John Cooper Works.…

The C5 Aircross has been winning hearts and minds with its comfort, economy and practicality, so to prove we haven’t gone soft here’s a roll call of bad stuff. The car equivalent of my household DIY to-do list. Let’s start with the start button: it requires too long a press to ignite or kill the engine. It’s not just a Citroën thing: I once unwittingly left a Peugeot 5008 running while unlocked outside Starbucks, which speaks equal volumes about the button’s tuning and the car’s refined idling. Similarly obstructive is the infotainment, which takes ages to clock-on for use. I’m always in a hurry and want to instantly input an address to avoid going wrong. But I was incorrect to criticise the roof blind’s ‘temperamental’ button: it’s a two-stage switch,…

Delve into the world of Bentley or Rolls-Royce and you won’t find anything quite so crass as an actual price on their websites. Peugeot is quite the opposite. Not only does its online configurator tell you what your chosen paint colour or interior option costs, but it outlines exactly what that would represent on your monthly lease too. This is the way many of us now buy our wheels, and it really does turn the whole experience into an utterly transactional one. Matty Graham Our selected model is a 508 SW, which starts at £27,630 – or £299 per month based around the Peugeot website’s chosen representative deal. But I want a petrol engine, because I live in London, which immediately rules out the entry-level Active model, so we’re onto…

Oliver Brookwell ‘We did Calais to Geneva in six-and-a-half hours at 40mpg. It was so sure-footed on tricky roads near the ski resort’ TOO GOOD, BUT TRUE It’d been a decade since I’d bought my last new car and I swore I’d never do it again, then I spotted this BMW 335d Touring at my local main dealer, Sycamore Peterborough. It was the last of the previous-generation 3-series just before the new model came out, and was pre-registered on zero miles. The dealer had optioned it to around £52k with head-up display, upgraded stereo system, heated seats, folding mirrors and the Pro sat-nav, and it was advertised for £35k. We’re good customers, so I pushed my luck and offered £28k. They couldn’t quite make it work at that, but I…

Illustration Chris Rathbone The past nine fruitless seasons of grand planning for Alfa Romeo could make a highly entertaining Netflix original. The story has everything: passion, high finance, a shotgun marriage and tragedy. And now a new hope. Flash back to 2011, when FCA chief Sergio Marchionne had promised the Alfisti a wealth of treats. A compact rear-wheel-drive model aimed squarely at the BMW 3-series, a new five-door Mito, a Giulietta replacement, the Giulia estate, the comeback of the Spider, the Stelvio and a second crossover model positioned above it, a large flagship saloon, and more. Propelled by these so-called ‘brand igniters’, the sales volume was set to increase from rock bottom to 400,000 units by 2014. We all know Marchionne got the timing, the portfolio management and the production…

1 BUILT FOR THE TOWN The ID1 will have a similar footprint to the 2020 e-Up it replaces, with a boxy five-door body meaning space inside but short overhangs for easy urban driving. Expect to see a few styling cues from the ID3 in the production version. A rugged Crozz version and e-Roomzz van have also been spotted on the drawing board. 2 SHRINK TO FIT It will replace the newly launched e-Up, which was created by adapting the internal-combustion original. By contrast, the ID1 is pure battery-electric.VW engineers have used a form of the MEB architecture, which underpins the wave of electric VWs that began with the ID3. Two battery capacities are expected – most likely 24 and 36kWh – to allow a lower price in return…

Illustration Chris Rathbone It’s late evening in Maranello. The sun has long packed up and gone home for the night but Michael Leiters is still hard at work. You get the impression that’s not an unusual occurrence as he strides in to meet CAR , wearing a suit as sharp as his sideburns and apologising for being late. As chief technology officer since January 2014 at one of the planet’s more technologically adventurous automotive companies, Leiters has plenty on his plate. Imminently, there’s the Purosangue, Ferrari’s first SUV. Then there’s the SF90, its first plug-in hybrid, plus ever-stronger competition from rivals old and new, and ever tighter regulations. The dynamic magic in Ferrari’s current line-up suggest he’s managing just fine. ‘Ferrari is a small company, we’re compact, and we have…

What is E-Tech? Here’s the problem – Renault wants a new drivetrain with better economy and lower emissions than a diesel engine and more range than an electric car. And it needs to fit in a Clio, without impacting boot or passenger space. And the car needs to cost less than £30,000. A hybrid is the obvious choice, but there’s no room in the engine bay for the CVT auto ’box generally used in hybrids, let alone all the other electric gubbins. So what Renault has come up with for its first hybrid – on sale this summer – is a petrol engine with two auxiliary electric motors and a multi-mode clutchless dog ’box. Like a Formula 1 car. The petrol engine is a 1.6-litre naturally aspirated four from Nissan…

Let’s take a leap in the dark and speculate that the Venn diagram of Tesla drivers and gamers has a considerable crossover. Many owners of the American EVs enjoy the silly gimmicks that inject a little fun into the car’s systems, such as the ‘Easter eggs’ (ie bonus features and quirky details hidden away by software developers) dotted around the menus, like the Model S’s ‘James Bond’ mode (it shows a submersible Lotus Esprit on screen when you type in an ‘007’ access code). Now Tesla has gone further, and enabled owners to treat their parked cars as fully fledged games controllers. Not long after the Model 3 was released, Tesla started dropping its latest software update onto the infotainment system, the key features being Toy Box and Arcade. Toy…

1 I’d have another one in a heartbeat ‘I’ve run two Mk7.5 GTIs [the midlife facelift introduced in 2017] on finance deals. I do a lot of miles a year and I’ve run them all the way into their mileage-limit buffers. I don’t have a bad word to say about the GTI: the two cars I ran were supremely comfortable, roomy, deceptively fast and didn’t miss a beat. I’m now running a BMW M140i and can’t stand it in comparison.’ 2 Get the Performance Pack ‘Both cars I’ve run were equipped with the Performance Pack [mechanical limited-slip differential, beefier brakes and a 10bhp power hike – initially an option but during 2019 this became the only UK Mk7.5 GTI spec]. The diff is fantastic – it really transforms the handling.…

The rules of consumerism, learned since infancy and so fundamental to our world view that its truths are sacrosanct, prepare you for the inevitable feeling of less . After all, Porsche launched the 992-generation 911 in 444bhp Carrera S form (£10k more expensive than this 380bhp Carrera) with good reason: to feel sensational, and to be sensationally fast. Fast enough to demolish roads. Fast enough to make the Valencia circuit feel tight and technical. Fast enough to win a subsequent Giant Test ahead of a McLaren. Only in the new, non-S ‘base’ 911 Carrera, the feeling of less never comes. Same beautifully resolved, Mauer-penned silhouette. Same de-contented, digi-Zen cockpit. Same palpable sense of confidence and cohesion within the first mile. This, you sense, is going to be good. Muted exhausts…

If this works, we’ll all be bowing down to the trend-bucking boldness of maverick Maserati. If, however, it all gets crushed or compromised by the mundane practicalities of the car industry in the 2020s... well, at least Maserati has maintained its glorious tradition of bringing a smile to the face of the car enthusiast, if not always the shareholder. What you see here is – according to inside sources – the new Maserati Supersportiva, a car nobody saw coming, for the very good reason that until recently it wasn’t in the plan. It uses an all-new carbonfibre tub baked to the same recipe as the feathery Alfa 4C The finished Supersportiva will be unveiled in May, and will go on sale before the end of the year witha price the…

Is it just me, or is it weird that the biggest Mini is now almost the same size as the smallest Range Rover? The Countryman is just 7cm shorter and 9cm lower, and park the two side-by-side and they have a very similar physical presence. Alec Issigonis, the Mini’s designer, would be horrified; but let’s face it, who wants to drive an original Mini nowadays? It would be like driving a pedalo among oil tankers. Like the Evoque, the JCW Countryman also received an update last year, making it not only the biggest but also the most powerful road-going Mini ever. The 2.0-litre twin-turbo engine was upgraded to produce 302bhp and 332lb ft, driving all four wheels through a new eight-speed auto ’box. Well, I say ‘all four wheels’ –…

Charlie Magee Ariel Nomad Month 7 The story so far Wild, Honda-engined on-/off-road weapon is ours to enjoy and try to break for a few months. Truly, we are blessed + Goes anywhere; fast; drifty; does anything… - …except keep you dry, store much, or in any way drive itself Logbook Price £33,996 (£55,677 as tested) Performance 2354cc four-cylinder, 235bhp, 221lb ft, 3.4sec 0-60mph, 124mph Efficiency n/a mpg (official), 26.2mpg (tested) Energy cost 23.1p per mile Miles this month 338 Total miles 1561 The Nomad shudders as the weather hits it broadside, like a wooden lifeboat in a 100ft swell. A band of showers first thing, they said. No kidding. Climbing up into the Peak District before dawn, the chill of night still in the air, it is the…

Those even vaguely familiar with the 200-yard downwind-range olfactory cosh that is the current high street purveyor of handmade soaps to the perfumically challenged will have a pretty sound idea of what the interior of the CX-5 smells like this morning. Responsibility for the eye-watering intensity of the on-board atmosphere must be jointly shared between missus and Mazda. The recent, sapling-snapping intensity of a bobble-hatful of early-morning frosts has required a slight rethink of the ff-C pre-school-run routine; namely a kneecap-numbing slither clad in loose robes and carpet slippers out to the car to fire up the windscreen de-mister a couple of minutes before departure. No; make that five minutes… Ah; better make it 10… Hmmm; actually, better set the alarm a good 15 minutes earlier. Because no matter how…

Why drive a plug-in-hybrid Niro, and not the all-electric e-Niro? It’s a good question, with a simple answer: there are none to be had. At the start of 2019 Kia UK’s allocation of e-Niros sold out within weeks, leaving 3000-odd customers on a waiting list – including us. So rather than wait an age, we opted, like many would-be e-Niro buyers, to go for the next best thing, and sign up for a Niro plug-in hybrid until all-electric Niro supply resumes. Electric vehicles may be the automotive sector’s current hot topic – part of environmental evangelist Greta Thunberg’s stark climate-change landscape – but let’s get some perspective here. The latest available figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that year-to-date car registrations for 2019 were 2,162,143. Petrol…

Hate isn’t a word I chuck around that often, but there were few current cars I disliked more than the first-generation Juke. It looked horrid, it was impractical, its driving position was awkward, it was dead to drive and, despite its kooky details, the interior and the technology embedded in it felt a step behind so many cars, not least those that its sales success inspired. Matty Graham Nissan says that when the Juke Mk1 went on sale in 2010, it faced only two rivals; now there are 24. The ever-growing demand for small-ish crossovers meant that even with that huge influx of attractive alternatives, Nissan still sold one million of them in nine years – the UK being by far the biggest market. So, one way and another, the…

AC SCHNITZER CONVERSION FOR BMW i3 £2600 For the first time renowned BMW tuning specialist AC Schnitzer has turned its attention to a pure electric vehicle, the BMW i3. Aimed at cosmetics rather than performance, the kit costs around £2600 (plus fitting) and comprises pre-painted front splitter and roof spoiler, suspension lowering springs, wheel spacers, a rear bumper protection strip, alloy pedal set and decals. www.ac-schnitzer.co.uk CLASSIC ADDITIONS CAR COVERS Prices vary Classic Additions supplies a range of high-quality indoor and outdoor car covers. The standard-fit range includes the bestselling Super Soft Stretch indoor (pictured) and Ultimate outdoor covers. If you would prefer something bespoke, Classic Additions also offers custom-made indoor and outdoor covers that are fully tailored to the shape of the car and hand-made in the UK. classicadditions.com…

At low speeds, on a route it was familiar with, the AI:ME steered and stopped itself smoothly One theme dominated discussion at January’s CES tech show in Las Vegas: autonomous cars are driving themselves further into the future, not getting nearer. ‘Two, three, four years ago, when you walked around here it was like, okay, we’re going to have mass adoption of autonomous drive everywhere in two years’ time,’ Daimler CEO Ola Källenius told me. ‘That has been replaced by maybe some realism.’ Audi’s sales and marketing boss Hildegard Wortmann agreed: ‘Everybody has cooled down a little on how fast this can happen.’ Which didn’t stop her revealing Audi’s vision of how an autonomous car will look from the inside. The AI:ME urban concept car was first shown in Shanghai…

Head-up displays, gesture recognition, voice controls, hands-free phones and semi-autonomous driving are just some of the challenges – or should that be opportunities? – interior designers face today. We talk to BMW’s head of interior design, Oliver Sieghart, and Christine Lindberg, Volvo’s senior director of interior design, about their contrasting approaches to making the best use of new tech. Oliver Sieghart (BMW): ‘BMW is about driving and everything we do in the interior is about perfect ergonomics. As a premium brand we want to provide safety and 100 per cent interaction and dialogue between the driver and the car; on the other side there’s the sculptural geometry and the physical or visual experience supporting the brand’s identity.’ Christine Lindberg (Volvo): ‘Firstly, the freedom to move in a safe, sustainable manner.…

Good things come to those who wait – and from those who wait. Often seen as a pioneer for cutting-edge tech, Honda is uncharacteristically late to the EV revolution. But the new Honda e could well be the car that makes evangelists of EV agnostics. Even against other promising newcomers such as PSA’s EV duo, the Vauxhall Corsa and Peugeot 208, and the Mini Electric, the Honda looks both striking and appealing, both retro and very modern. When it was unveiled as a concept in 2017, the Honda was the star of the Frankfurt show. A modern take on the first Civic, with cute proportions and a starship cabin, it turned a lot of heads. But translating a great show car into a viable production car is no simple matter.…

This has more equipment and is more rewarding to drive, as well as being more of a looker They say that by the time you’re 40 you’ve got the face you deserve. In car years, let’s say that equates to the third generation. In the case of the Hyundai i10, happily, it means that the European-developed Korean city car now looks as lively and modern as it feels. With slashes, cuts and creases all over its body, honeycomb patterns scattered around and some excellent new colours, the new i10 stands out in a way Hyundais too often don’t. If mention of the two previous generations of i10 just made you shrug, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find it has a precision that makes it fun to drive, and performance on…

Congratulations on an excellent January 2020 issue, even though parts made me want to slit my wrists. Maybach SUV, Aston SUV – why? Aren’t Cullinan and Bentayga enough for the planet? There’s only so much ugliness we can take. But then I read Gavin Green’s excellent column, including his remarks on people who don’t want to relinquish their 2.5-tonne SUVs. Spot-on. Then you had him again on the new French duo. Like him I’ve loved them back to the R4, with the gearlever through the dashboard. I’ve run numerous Renaults and Citroëns and none have disappointed. Both look promising. Now if you had him twice each month, and more A ff-C, then I’d be ecstatic. Reg Holmes…

If you’ve found a better bang-per-buck ratio than the Megane RS or Fiesta ST, you’d better like the grub in Eastern European jails. But legally, the Renault and Ford are something else, a pair of ferociously talented hot hatches to be snapped up for under £250 a month. Straight out of Renault Sport in Dieppe, the Megane RS is a hot hatch that trades a little Golf GTI breeding for a load more behind-the-wheel attitude. It packs a 1.8-litre turbo motor with a strong-enough 276bhp into a muscular if practical five-door body, but it’s the chassis that really does the talking. With torque-steer-quelling PerfoHub front struts and rear-wheel steering, it grips hard at the front and soaks up prolonged acceleration through long corners like it’s strapped to a centrifuge. Thing…

You can’t go for coffee with him,’ Mate Rimac’s PR director Marta tells me when I explain the more relaxed, conversational concept for this series of interviews. ‘He’s really happy to meet you. He’ll tell you anything you want to know. It’s just that he doesn’t drink coffee. He doesn’t need it. He’s 32 now, and I think he’s been awake since he was 17.’ ‘He doesn’t need coffee. He’s 31 now, and I think he’s been awake since he was 17’PR DIRECTOR MARTA ON MATE So here it is: the rather less appealing-sounding CAR Gets Water With Mate Rimac. The beverage may be boring but the subject is anything but. Let’s start at the end, because if you only associate Rimac Automobili with its two all-electric hypercars you might…

For a company often maligned for evolving its 911 more gently than Mother Nature, Porsche has made some huge leaps over seven decades – not simply models that expanded its own frame of reference, but often the introduction of cars that shifted the automotive universe on its axis. We’re driving five of those key moments at Sonoma Raceway, a senior-level track that flows through rolling hills north of San Francisco. It’s a mouth-watering and at times mouth-drying selection: one of the earliest ever 911s; the 917 race car similar to the 1970 Le Mans winner; the radical 959 that administered tech-heavy CPR to the 911 in the ’80s; the 918 Spyder that fused high performance and electrification in the mid-’10s; and finally the Taycan saloon that brings Porsche’s seven decades…

The late Sergio Marchionne’s shadow still looms large in Modena. Although the FCA group chief (left) died in 2018, his ambitious plans for Maserati continue to prove difficult to deliver. Reid Bigland (2016-2018) and Tim Kuniskis (2018-2019), ably assisted by technical chief Harald Wester, tried to implement those plans, but sales nonetheless tumbled to a paltry 24,000 units in 2019. Last summer the baton passed to new chief operating officer Davide Grasso (right). Although born in Turin, he’s an automotive-industry outsider, and has proved his talent with a series of senior global roles with Converse, part of the Nike empire.…

Now, if there’s one car that truly represents the complex, chaotic, blended car landscape of 2020, it has to be this one. I mean, what is the BMW X2? A high hatch? An low SUV? A boxy coupe? A sleek 4x4? An abomination? Maybe all of the above. I’m not a fan. Like the other cars here, the new X2 M35i arrived within the last 12 months, capitalising on the growing market for (you know it) 4x4 Suburban Crossover Sports Activity Coupe Hot Hatches. This new M-badged car comes with the same engine and gearbox as our Mini Countryman JCW, BMW’s B48 twin-turbo 2.0-litre, putting out 302bhp. The difference is in the drivetrain set-up: the BMW xDrive all-wheel-drive system is rear-biased, whereas the Mini’s ALL4 leans very much on the…

CAR reader Stephen Cummins, whose other cars include a McLaren 540C tuned to 650S power, started down the path to Nomad ownership when he bought a secondhand off-road buggy as a toy. ‘I took the train to Glasgow and drove it home in the snow – six and a half hours at 53mph. I’ve never been so cold. It was fun but I wanted something faster; that’s when I saw the Nomad. My mate said, “Why are you spending that much on a climbing frame? Just go down to the park with the kids…”’ Steve got his name on the list early but still had an 18-month wait. ‘Ariel were brilliant. I spec’d the car on their configurator, but also spoke to Henry [Siebert-Saunders, part of the team behind the…

Last summer, driving back from Wales after photographing our Sports Car Giant Test, I discovered a new dimension to the Honda CR-V Hybrid. It had spent a couple of days excelling as a workhorse. But now, on the A-roads between Snowdonia and Lincolnshire, it was proving itself to be a rapid cross-country weapon. Alex Tapley James Taylor and Mal Bailey in the Lamborghini Huracan Evo just couldn’t shake the red Honda from the rear-view mirror. Of course, in other, less congested, circumstances the Lambo would leave the CR-V standing. But life is mostly not about other, less congested, circumstances. Mostly you need something that helps you see over other traffic, lets you sling heaps of clobber in the back, and keeps you comfortable for hundreds of miles at a time.…

Like getting a new dog, you need to think hard before you take on a Mercedes G-Class. Not because it needs morning walks, but because you have to be sure you can squeeze it into your life. Have you got room on your driveway? Can you park it on your street? My fear was fitting it into my local train station car park. It gets under the height restriction at the entrance by a whisker, but every day I let out a sigh of relief when I’ve got it up the tight concrete ramps and into a teeny parking bay. Inside, the G doesn’t feel quite so large – the cabin is a lot narrower than the body, with its flared arches and elephant door mirrors. Likewise the boot –…

Matty Graham Ben Pulman, the HAL 9000 of CAR’s long-term test fleet, informs me that this is the first SUV-coupe we’ve ever run. I wonder what you’ll make of it. Old-school car enthusiasts aren’t keen on SUVs, tend to dislike performance SUVs even more, and find marketing-led SUV-coupe mash-ups to be troubling, to say the least. My new Audi SQ8 is all three. For a brief, glorious moment the SQ8 was Audi’s flagship SUV, before the covers were whipped from the petrol-powered, 592bhp, Urus-lite RS Q8. I don’t feel like my new wheels and I have been upstaged, however. I still have Europe’s most powerful diesel engine at my disposal: a 4.0-litre twin-turbo which makes 429bhp, 664lb ft and a lovely, subtle (though electronically enhanced) V8 gurgle. There’s a slight…

On the sporting agility spectrum, the X lies some way west of a polo elephant, the springs and dampers unable to compensate for its height, weight and relatively unsophisticated ladder-frame chassis. Like a polo elephant, though, it’s pretty resolute at going forward with pace and is no shrinking violet when it reaches terminal velocity. The V6 churns out power and torque in a steady flow, and in Comfort mode it uses each gear to full effect. Gear choices are more scatty in Sport, though. As you might expect, presented with a sharp bend there’s a lot of forward planning and cajoling needed, especially as the brakes are only just about strong enough for the job, but it’s not a vehicle that gets into sudden messy fits. Everything happens slowly, and…