Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2022 i CAR UK

Hatchback The new-generation hatch is coming in 2023. It should have a smaller footprint than the current car, and the combustion and EV versions will share a look. Convertible Mini’s busy experimenting with a drop-top EV. This will make production in next-gen guise, and will likely be assembled in Plant Oxford, not China. Aceman Production version of this concept car arrives in 2024, to battle the armada of dull baby crossovers. Electric power only, with two battery sizes and two power outputs. Countryman To make room for the Aceman, Countryman grows and gets EV and petrol power. Two more models could follow: an electric, five-door coupe and the Urbanaut van.…

THE SCEPTIC JAKE GROVES, DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR FORD IS ONLY doing left-hand-drive models, and that’s the clincher here. At least with the Mustang it was done properly with right-hand-drive UK-spec imports, but this just seems like an attempt to glean a few more sales with minimal effort. And after the two of us drove a Bronco back-to-back with the Jeep Wrangler I’m running on CAR’s long-term test fleet, I just don’t think the Ford coming or not coming here is that big a deal. The build quality isn’t as good as the Jeep’s and the one we tested had what looked like a badly fitted tent for a roof. Worth the bother? I’m not so sure. THE OPTIMIST JAMES DENNISON, HEAD OF CAR VIDEO WHERE’S YOUR SENSE of adventure, Jake?…

From the outside looking in, 57-year-old Hongkonger Anthony Lo comes across as a designer who quietly gets the job done. In person there’s no big ego, but his track record warrants more than a little trumpet-blowing. Starting at Lotus in the late ’80s, he went to Germany via Audi (1991 Avus Quattro concept; on the right of the illustration) and Mercedes’ Japanese design studio in the ’90s (1997 Maybach concept). He then led Saab’s advanced design studio in the early 2000s, creating a string of awesome – if tragically unrealised – concepts including the 2001 9-X and 2006 Aero X. From there Lo headed to General Motors Europe to work on more mainstream products – his Opel 2007 GTC concept led directly to the 2008 Vauxhall Insignia. More than a…

THE WORLD'S BEST WRITERS IN THE NEW CARS THAT MATTER The 300-mile test NEW CAR MEETS REAL WORLD Beneath Stockholm’s warm blue skies, the Nissan Ariya looks great. How many electric cars do you find yourself admiring? So many look oddly blobby or awkward, but not the Ariya. Born at Nissan Design Europe’s head office in London and built at Tochigi alongside the GT-R and Z, it’s the most resolved and striking Nissan in a very long time. Just look at how clean and pared-back the Ariya is. The balanced proportions, the muscular stance and the restrained detailing – it’s sleek, fresh and confident, just what a 21st century electric car should be. Everything real-ly hangs together. And check out those unadorned flanks. What a welcome alternative to the horrific…

I hadn’texpected 36bhp to feel particu-larly daunting, but the sight of a gearlever sprouting from the middle of the dash has thrown me. I’m trying out a super-early and super-pristine Renault 5, and I have to turn around in a tight dirt track, necessitating a deft switch from second to reverse and then into first using a gearchange arrangement that is way outside my usual parameters. I have visions of angry French farmers growing im-patient with an incompetent Englishman graunching the gears of a beloved classic. I needn’t have worried, though, as the ’box has a positive action that makes shifting through the four forward gears a pleasurable process. I stop, pull it out of gear and twist right until I feel the detent for reverse and pull back, successfully…

Eight hundred and 19 brake horse-power. Eight hundred! (And 19.) That’s more power than Michael Schumacher had at his right foot when he won the first of his Ferrari-powered F1 titles in 2000. In a car with number plates, two seats and a stereo, cruise control and air-con. Right now, though, the Ferrari 296 GTB is whispering briskly along in eDrive mode, powered solely by the 165bhp electric motor sand-wiched between its eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and all-new twin-turbo V6. That millennium-era-F1-worthy total output comes from the combined might of motor and engine, for the 296 is a plug-in hybrid at the crest of Ferrari’s new wave of road cars. When you call on more power, the V6 harrumphs into life with a disgruntled burr, as if it’s been grumpily roused…

The 718 Cayman GTS (the green car here) is a car many refer to as the sweet spot. It is neither tin shack nor palace, but certainly sits closer to the latter. It has the engine you seek (a naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six) and more purposeful chassis set-up than you’ll find in the four-cylinder turbocharged Caymans. The GTS is also more affordable than the GT4. I was joined by Tim Pollard for some back-to-back compar-isons between the GTS and my GT4. The GTS quickly estab-lished itself as his preferred Cayman. ‘These are both my kind of sports car. They’re the right size for UK roads, they’re practical – big front boot, plus space at the back – and their engines are gorgeous. ‘The GT4 is utterly wonder-ful, but the GTS is…

EVs are computers on wheels, the saying goes. And as I write, my iPhone’s My BMW app is displaying the rolling circle that typically means ‘computer says no’. My attempt to remotely switch iX charging preferences from immediate to timed has failed; its connected features are often stumped by poor con-nectivity. That makes the app’s lack of a ‘charge now’ function a moot omission. I’ve been caught out a few times expect-ing the iX to charge immediately when it’s actually been on timed. But the app is pretty good, with spreadsheets detailing where/when/how long I charge it. Computers on wheels? Show me a computer that can take my daughter to nursery, I say. PHIL MCNAMARA BMW iX xDrive 40 M Sport Month 3 The story so far Flagship e-SUV, back…

This is an excellent car full stop, not just a good electric one Like any new car brand, Pole-star warrants financial scrutiny. Will it protect your cash as well as a premium German alternative would? While the world has gone topsy-turvy in the past two years, it’s had a positive effect on residual values – and our 2 has benefited from the scantest of depreciation curves. With a lowish 9000 miles on the clock, the experts reckon ours would fetch £48k at trade-in, a loss of just £2470. Combined with modest home-charging costs of £838 (a blend of day and night charging), our whole-life costs have totalled just 36p per mile, where the bill for many rivals would start with a pound sign. So the Polestar 2 has proven every…

HOW DOES NEW GBU WORK? Constantly updated, new GBU covers eight of 16 classes in each issue, and we list all our class kings 1 POLESTAR 2 THE GOOD: Scintillating speed; sharp handling; Scandi style THE BAD: Cramped packaging; challenging charging THE UGLY: Lacks Tesla’s killer-blow charging network THE ONE TO BUY: Starts from £42k/£390pcm. Long Range Dual Motor is great but £48k/£450pcm 2 HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 THE GOOD: Original, ingenious, bold and feelgood – everything VW’s ID.3 isn’t, then... THE BAD: Looks like a hatch; actually the size of an SUV THE UGLY: Quite weird-looking – are you cool with that? THE ONE TO BUY: 58kWh SE Connect from £380pcm; 77kWh tops £450pcm 3 SKODA ENYAQ iV THE GOOD: Roomy; rangey; better than platform-pal VW ID.4 THE BAD: Bring…

THIS MONTH BEST LUXURY CAR BENTLEY FLYING SPUR Epic interior; a joy whether you’re up front or in the back BEST GT FERRARI ROMA Beautifully balanced design, and a drive to match BEST SPORTS SALOON BMW M3/M4 Bewitching front-end grip and balance. Utterly stellar BEST COUPE/CABRIO BMW 2-SERIES Pick the M240i version for a miniaturised M4 BEST SUB-£400pcm FAMILY CAR BMW 3-SERIES Looks great, drives great, makes you feel great BEST £400pcm+ FAMILY CAR BMW 5-SERIES Still the de facto big saloon/estate choice BEST £400pcm+ EV PORSCHE TAYCAN Now a bigger seller than the 911 – and deservedly so BEST SUB-£400pcm EV POLESTAR 2 Makes the transition to EV seem like a smart choice NEXT MONTH BEST SUB-£400pcm PHEV PEUGEOT 308 Design makes you look twice; actually worth a second…

AERO 300 FILLER CAP ASSEMBLY From £59.73 + VAT Newton Equipment designs and builds the world’s largest range of special filler caps, as well as vent valves and quick-fill systems – not only for cars, but also for marine and aviation use. The beautifully crafted Aero 300 is the most popular and versatile item in the range. It comes with a two-diameter 57mm and 51mm neck, and is available on its own or with many different flanges and necks. www.newton-equipment.com WHEEL PROTECTION Sets of four, from £25 to £45 Rimblades has expanded its product range, re-introducing the original ‘curved’ Rimblades product for rounded-edge wheels. Also, an easy-fit DIY rim protection kit available in five colours is being added to the already popular Rimblades Light and Rimblades Ultra versions, giving three…

CARS I PEOPLE I SCOOPS I MOTORSPORT I ANALYSIS – THE MONTH ACCORDING TO CAR THE ACEMAN LOOKS FRESH, MODERN AND DIFFERENT FROM ITS RIVALS Typographically, the new Mini Aceman differs by a single letter from the brand’s biggest flop, the three-door Paceman. With five doors, that sporty crossover might have been a hit, but it was not to be. The Aceman, the next all-new addition to the Mini family, wants to right that wrong. It’s not a classic SUV, more a pumped-up five-door hatchback – aMini ‘Allroad’ of sorts. To be built in China by the Spotlight Automotive joint venture BMW has with Great Wall (along-side the electric version of the new three-door hatch), the Aceman is a crossover that’s much shorter than the current Countryman. The newcomer measures…

FACTFILE POWERTRAIN 550bhp twin-turbo V6, electrified front axle, all-wheel drive CHASSIS Carbonfibre monocoque DUE 2023 A LAST HURRAH Alfa Romeo is working on a new supercar as a swansong for its brilliant twin-turbo V6 engine. Set to break cover next year, the halo car needs to hit the market by 2024, because from 2025 all new Alfas will be pure electric. It will showcase Alfa’s new design direction and forge a clear link with its Formula 1 team. INSPIRING HISTORY Both Imparato and design boss Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos cite the beautiful, mid-engined 33 Stradale (pictured) from 1967 as inspiration. It influenced the design of the carbon 4C, which ran a four-pot engine. Work began on a V6 hybrid carbon supercar in 2018 but was then shelved – sounds like Alfa is…

The N Vision 74 is more than ‘just another concept’ for SangYup Lee. The senior vice president of Hyundai global design is out to persuade the doubters in his own company that it should go into production. KING OF CHESS ‘I’ve done countless design presenta-tions over the years but I’m most excited by this one. This concept is the “king” in our chess set. ‘The 1974 Pony Coupe concept was a true inspiration and part of Hyundai’s legacy, but we’re not mak-ing a retro design with the N Vision 74. It’s a completely contemporary statement.’ KOREAN RETURN ‘It has to do with my story. When I grew up in Korea in the ’70s there was no car culture. I left when I was 18 and lived for 26 years outside…

Tell us about your first car? ‘At Lotus in the late ’80s, I bought a Giugiaro-designed Fiat Uno Turbo and raced [then Lotus design boss] Julian Thom-son in his Renault 5 GT Turbo between Hethel and Norwich. His “chipped” engine was faster, but I always overtook him in the corners.’ What’s the best thing you’ve ever done in a car? ‘At Audi in Germany, I took an air-cooled 911 over the Alps to Switzerland. I never realised you could have so much fun driving.’ What achievement makes you most proud? ‘From concept to production car on the road, it’s amazing seeing how your work can influence people’s lives.’ Tell us when you screwed up? ‘When I was younger and naive I would get management feedback but I wasn’t always willing…

If you’ve managed to avoid knowing anything about the letters N, F and T put together, congratulations. They’re spreading fast in the worlds of finance, art and social media. But now car makers are getting in on the trend, so it’s time we got to grips with them. NFT stands for ‘non-fungible token’. It might mean a unique artwork that has no physical form but can be owned in the digital universe. It’s stored as a collection of data on a blockchain (which is essentially a digital register that isn’t controlled or influenced by one person, organisation, or government) that marks who owns it. Think of it like buying a real painting; the artist may still control the copyright, but a buyer has the actual artwork, and a receipt proves…

The previous Morgan three-wheeler was a driver’s machine you didn’t have to drive at Mach 3 to enjoy, and that made it a real breath of fresh air. Sadly, an inability to get its emissions close enough to fresh air killed off the bike-engined machine, called simply the 3 Wheeler, last year. Don’t waste too many tears, though, as this all-new one, the Super 3, is miles better. No, it doesn’t look quite as mad without an S&S V-twin strapped across the nose, but the jet-age styling is far more sophisticated, as is the substance beneath. The old steel chassis and tin bathtub that passed for a body have been replaced by an aluminium monocoque with superformed aluminium panels, the ancient sliding-pillar suspension makes way for double wishbones, and you…

THE DEFINITIVE VERDICT Check out the tyres. A small detail, perhaps, but one that makes Alfa Romeo’s intentions clear. The Tonale – Alfa’s first mid-size crossover and only its second SUV, after the Stelvio – is fitted with P-Zeros, from Pirelli’s ‘ultra high-performance’ range of rubber. Who cares about cross country when you could be going flat out? The Range Rover Evoque, by contrast, comes on SUV-optimised Pirelli Scorpion tyres. It’s part of the Land Rover family, so of course you can take it off-road, with Terrain Response 2 and All-Terrain Progress Control present and correct to help you out. All of which may be utterly irrelevant, because if the Tonale sells well that will be down to its looks. If you’re not getting this from the pictures, wait until…

With running costs below 2p a mile, who wouldn’t want an EV for daily driving? Skoda Enyaq 60 Month 7 The story so far Time with Skoda’s first electric car comes to an end + Massive inside; cheap to run; great to drive -The infotainment screen, over and over again Logbook Price £34,510 (£38,220 as tested) Performance 62kWh battery, rear e-motor, 177bhp, 8.4sec 0-62mph, 124mph Efficiency 4.0 miles per kWh (official), 2.6 miles per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2 Range 256 miles (official), 205 miles (tested) Energy cost 6.5p per mile Miles this month 1627 Total miles 9570 I’ve finally found a car that ticks every box a sensible dad can think of. It’s plenty big enough inside, which is something I rarely say, given that I’m tall and I don’t…

If you bought an Audi Quattro in the 1980s, it was passably close both visually and me-chanically to the ones Mikkola and co drove in world rallying, especially earlier iterations. If you buy an RS3 today, it also looks much like Audi racecars, but fundamental technical dif-ferences abound. An invitation from Audi Sport to see its customer teams race RS3s and R8s at the Nür-burgring 24 Hours (and its WTCR support race) was a chance to learn more. I even had a decent parking spot lined up for the RS3 in WTCR racer Tom Coronel’s pit garage, and my best race-driver ice-breaker ever (Tom’s dad used to instruct at the exceptional drift days I’d attend on Circuit Zandvoort). Half-term and Liverpool fans heading to Paris for tear-gas-sing gummed up the…

In Spain I got a sneak peak of Cupra’s forthcoming models. The UrbanRebel and Tavascan EVs took centre stage, but they were joined by the hybrid Terra-mar SUV as well as the facelifted Cupra Leon. Just like its electric stable-mates, the new Leon has a far less pronounced grille, and takes the triple-triangle lights also seen on the UrbanRebel and other future models. The overall result is a cleaner and more aggressive-looking car – and one you won’t be confusing with a Seat any time soon. I’ve always loved the look of my Cupra Leon – particularly in the glossy purple-grey I picked for it – but now, having seen the facelifted version, it’s suddenly looking a little conservative. CURTIS MOLDRICH Cupra Leon VZ2 2.0 TSI Month 8 The story…

DS 9 Rivoli+ E-Tense PHEV Month 3 The story so far Posh Stellantis saloon wins motorway brownie points + Less tiring than a Super 3 -More tyres, but less fun Logbook Price £49,200(£55,390 as tested) Performance 1598cc four-cyl plus e-motor, 11.9kWh battery, 222bhp, 8.3sec 0-62mph, 149mph Efficiency 176.6-256.8mpg (official), 41.0mpg (tested), 33g/km CO2 Energy cost 18.3p per mile Miles this month 1866 Total miles 6920 Highlight of the DS9’s month, and mine, was a trip to Morgan to drive the fabulous new Super 3 almost exactly 11 years to the day after visiting the Picker-sleigh Road factory to try its predecessor. The trike’s new aluminium chassis looks only slightly less cool without a motorbike V-twin slung between the front wheels, and surprisingly, the three-cylinder Ford engine that replaces it is…

1 PORSCHE TAYCAN GIANT TEST WINNER THE GOOD: Interstellar acceleration, stellar handling, tactile. Porsche goes electric – and absolutely nails it THE BAD: Empty interior. Ferociously expensive. Not a 911 THE UGLY: Begs to be thrashed, but thrashing it clobbers the range – it’s a vicious circle THE ONE TO BUY: Choice of three bodies (Cross Turismo pictured) from £73k/£800pcm to £140k/£1700pcm. Get the 4S (£84k or £940pcm) 2 JAGUAR i-PACE THE GOOD: Drives brilliantly; makes great use of interior space; looks and feels classy THE BAD: Range isn’t great; naff infotainment THE UGLY: Just don’t let yourself worry about what fate awaits Jaguar as a whole THE ONE TO BUY: From £66k/£780pcm to £78k/£890. Pick the EV400 SE (£71k/£790): Jaguar at its best 3 TESLA MODEL 3 THE GOOD:…

1 BMW i3 THE GOOD: Knockout interior; still feels like it’s from the future THE BAD: Twitchy handling; spec-sensitive THE UGLY: Bodywork expensive to fix; REX sensors prone to fail THE ONE TO BUY: Later 120Ah models have the longest range 2 NISSAN LEAF THE GOOD: The early trailblazer. Big seller, so loads out there THE BAD: In early cars, using the heater loses 10 miles of range THE UGLY: Looks like Jar Jar Binks on wheels THE ONE TO BUY: Post-2016 cars with 30kWh battery upgrade 3 RENAULT ZOE THE GOOD: Unassuming; user-friendly; surprisingly rapid THE BAD: If bought with battery-lease, that could cost £99pcm THE UGLY: Front suspension a weakness THE ONE TO BUY: Newer R110 41kWh models can top 200 miles 4 TESLA MODELS THE GOOD: Rocket-fast;…

If you read last month’s Ferrari cover story, thank you. And if you read the bit about Ferrari’s first electric car with eyebrows raised, you are not alone. If you missed it, allow me. The first Ferrari EV will be absolutely a Ferrari and absolutely a sports car – no matter that EVs are, almost by definition, heavy. The Ferrari EV will also be a Ferrari first and an EV second – no matter that EVs are, almost by definition, quiet, that Ferrari’s never built one before and that it lacks access to wider group technologies (unlike Lotus, for example). And Ferrari will manufacture its electric motors and batteries in-house (the cells will be sourced) with the same divine sense of duty with which it currently crafts its V8 and…

JG: What does the Mini brand stand for? The Aceman is striking, with more personality than anything else we’ve seen from the brand (even the Urbanaut concept). But spy shots of the next Mini hatch show it’ll be simpler and purer than previous generations. I know the Aceman is an exaggerated concept, but either Mini’s future range won’t gel or it’ll need to dilute this for production. PMc: I seriously hope they don’t water it down! Our last family car was a hybrid Mini Countryman, and my wife chose it because she loved its character, so often lacking in other cars. BMW’s second- and third-gen Minis were criticised for being too evolutionary: as it extends the brand, it can amp up the differentiation, I reckon. The hatch could stay true…

MUST BUY Puma BMW M XRay Speed trainers BMW has a huge set of branded clothing with Puma. Show off the M colours in style with these. How much? £81 MUST DRIVE M2 Coupe A great entry into M life. Straight-six, manual, rear-drive. Everything an M car should be; a car anyone can enjoy. How much? £32k for a 2017 model MUST GO BMW Museum Events and tours are on constantly at BMW’s Munich home. The Museum has an M at 50 exhibition right now. How much? Around £11 for a tour…

Monster Beetle, £265 Huge fun on huge (lugged and spiked) tyres. Twinned with the F-150-bodied Blackfoot, the original Monster Beetle was a triumph; easy to build, sturdy, stunning. This re-release doesn’t mess with the formula. Perfection. 10/10 The wheels are gold Clod Buster, £363 An awesome exercise in excess; two electric motors (each with its own gearbox), four-wheel steering and no fewer than eight shocks. Not quick, but colossal. 6/10 Massive shelf-space stealer Vanessa’s Lunchbox, £195 Another rampantly popular monster truck, originally launched in 1987, gets the re-issue treatment. Expect yellow over-spray everywhere and wheelies under acceleration. 7/10 Who the hell’s Vanessa? Hornet, £199 The Tamiya R/C buggy blueprint at its most dazzling and accessible; gorgeous box art, a breezy and educational build and a finished car more fun than…

The concept of four-wheel steering (4WS) on a powered vehicle is nothing new. After all, inventor Bramah Joseph Diplock patent-ed a four-wheel-drive and 4WS system for traction engines in 1893. Although there was much experimentation over the decades, it wasn’t until the 1980s that you could buy a car fitted with such a system. For Europe-ans, that car would be the third-generation Honda Prelude. A few other manufacturers dabbled briefly, but by the early 2000s 4WS was out of vogue. However, with cars getting ever bigger and heavier and electronics getting ever smarter and more powerful, there has been a resurgence over the past few years. Indeed, the Mercedes EQS has four-wheel steering as standard, although confusingly there are two different systems offered, one of them using two different angles…

O rdinarily,this would be the dullest of driv-ing environments. A nondescript stretch of dual carriageway, in steady drizzle, in a forgettable bit of Germany. But in the SP3 Daytona, it feels like a stint at Le Mans in the late ’60s or early ’70s. The trees the other side of the grey armco are rushing past in Cinemascope, and beads of rain elongate and slide across the deeply bowled screen like speed-line graphics in a sci-fi jump to hyperspace. They’re interrupted by a central single wiper blade, just like a classic sports prototype. Two curving humps over the front wheelarches frame the view ahead through the wraparound screen, topped by staggered mirrors. They reflect a roostertail of spray, trailing the sound of a big-capacity, naturally aspirated V12. That’s the entire…

Finishedin classic Cham-pionship White, the new Honda Civic Type R beams in the Italian sun, its tyres and brakes still warm from a hot lap of the Circuit Tazio Nuvol-ari just moments before. Shaped by customer feedback and engineering intent, 2023’s FL5 iteration looks tamer than what came before – yet underneath it’s anything but. Simultaneously more extreme on the inside and less polarising on the outside, it’s de-signed to be the most complete Type R yet. SIMULTANEOUSLY MORE EXTREME ON THE INSIDE AND LESS POLARISING ON THE OUTSIDE Forget thoughts of GR Yaris-chasing; that would involve costly four-wheel drive. Honda’s engineering benchmark is the car before, but that’s still a tough act to follow. Despite its divisive looks, the FK8 was the most accomplished Type R to date, impress-ing…

HELLO KIA EV6 + GOODBYE POLESTAR 2 & SKODA ENYAQ Kia EV6 GT-Line S Month 1 The story so far Striking family EV wins Giant Test and starts long-term evaluation + Looks; performance; charging speed; chassis-Pricey for a Kia; lengthy waiting lists Logbook Price £55,195 Performance 77.4kWh battery, 321bhp twin e-motors, 5.2sec 0-62mph, 114mph Efficiency 3.5 miles per kWh (official), 3.2 miles per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2 Range 300 miles (official), 260 miles (tested) Energy cost 4.1p per mile Miles this month 3182 Total miles 4579 I love this car. Please forgive the spoiler, but I’m not going to make you wait nine months before I deliver a verdict that would have been obvious by the end of this first report. While the Kia EV6 is not perfect, it’s obviously…

Volkswagen Caddy Life SWB 1.5 TSI 114PS Month 5 The story so far Limited value in lighting the blue touch-paper + Comfy in the cruise, so doesn’t really matter -Just don’t expect DAB radio for company Logbook Price £30,406 (£31,030 as tested) Performance 1498cc turbocharged four-cylinder, 113bhp, 11.9sec 0-62mph, 113mph Efficiency 42.2mpg (official), 41.0mpg (tested), 151g/km CO2 Energy cost 15.3p per mile Miles this month 2040 Total miles 9575 Well, it turns out there is an entertainment threshold to the driving of a van with windows after all. Thing is, the Hearse – sorry, I mean Caddy Life – is actually rather heavy, and, though acceptably smooth in its DSG gear-box-sponsored delivery, the engine’s slightly feeble 113bhp proves somewhat meagre when push comes to shove. A quick Sport-mode tug on…

Ah, the Audi RS2 – arguably the car that launched the super-es-tate concept more than any other. True, BMW offered an E34 M5 Touring in 1992, a couple of years ahead of Audi, but the Porsche-developed RS2 became an instant classic. And look, here’s a low-mile-age example with our Arteon: both turbo engines, both all-wheel drive, both around 315bhp. Question is, does the Arteon R enter the pantheon of cult estates? Or is it just a fast business cruiser? I’m pleased to say the RS2 is still brilliant. Climb into our Arteon and of course you leap forward in terms of tech; but the Arteon really can hold its own in this company, if lacking the character of the RS2. MARK WALTON Volkswagen Arteon R Shooting Brake Month 6 The…

Heave open the MX-30’s large and heavy bonnet, and you’re greeted by an interesting sight. The dinky electric motor is shunted way over to the left, leaving a yawning cavern on the right, spanned by a massive alloy brace. That echo chamber will house Mazda’s rotary-en-gined range extender unit when the second model in the MX-30 line-up arrives later this year. It will be a plug-in hybrid, and the compact rotary unit will only be used to charge the battery on the go, with no con-nection to the driven front wheels. And we know it will be very small, efficient and quiet, only operating at fixed revs to rejuice the battery. Interesting. Just what you expect from Mazda. BEN WHITWORTH Mazda MX-30 GT Sport Tech Month 11 The story so…

Short answer: it’s far from perfect to drive, but wonderful all the same. There’s also a longer answer. The Mach 1 looks like a tail-happy oversteer fiend but isn’t, in the dry at least. The combination of generously sized and still-fresh Michelin Pilot PS4S rear tyres and a decent limited-slip diff means traction is actually brilliant. In the wet less so, but the Mus-tang’s handling is predictable enough that if it does slide it doesn’t surprise you. You’re always aware this is a big car – the bonnet line is very high in front of you – and a heavy one too, at 1776kg. ‘It’s a bit of a boat, isn’t it?’ mused my colleague CJ Hubbard after driving it (but then he had stepped out of a Lotus Emira).…

GIANT TEST WINNER 1 BMW M3/M4 COMPETITION THE GOOD: Mighty 503bhp straight-six; front axle’s never-give-up attitude; dreamy chassis balance THE BAD: No manual option; nearly 911 money now; M240i almost as much fun THE UGLY: Freefall depreciation THE ONE TO BUY: From £75k (Comp saloon) with rear drive; adding xDrive all-wheel drive costs a few thousand pounds. Actually worth it. Touring version this year 2 BMW M5 COMPETITION THE GOOD: An animal when you want it to be; soothing, urbane transport when you don’t THE BAD: Well ’ard ride quality on Competition suspension; priced above £100k THE UGLY: That the CS version has already gone off sale THE ONE TO BUY: Just one model now, the Competition: £108k/£1210pcm. But what a truly brilliant model it is 3 AUDI RS6 AVANT…

1 BENTLEY FLYING SPUR THE GOOD: Based on the superb (and Porsche-derived) Continental GT, the Spur is the definitive modern limo: effortless, but rewarding when you want to put some effort in THE BAD: The W12 is fast but short on soul; the hybrid V6 a bit lame THE UGLY: Nope. Nothing THE ONE TO BUY: V8 starts at £163k and is our pick. Stunning paint and interior options – enjoy! NEW ENTRY 2 RANGE ROVER THE GOOD: Masterful and hugely desirable reinvention of an icon THE BAD: Reliability remains a worry and the EV version is years away THE UGLY: The D350 mild-hybrid straight-six diesel is sublime. Can you live with the guilt? THE ONE TO BUY: The above (from £102k/£960pcm), though the P530 (BMW-derived turbo V8) is fun…