Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i CAR UK

2020 iX3 BMW won’t officially admit this yet, but Neue Klasse X is the next iX3. Mk1 does a claimed 285 miles per charge officially; Mk2 claims 30 per cent further, or 370 miles. 2021 i Vision Circular Progenitor of Neue Klasse, packed with sustainable materials, reclaimed plastics, an obsession with simplicity, and engineering that avoids glue. 2023 i Vision Dee A clear precursor to the Neue Klasse saloon. Electric, of course. The wacky bit here is the E-Ink exterior, which can switch between 32 colours… 2023 Vision Neue Klasse The fulcrum about which BMW’s world will pivot. Sixthgen drivetrains, increased sustainability, sensational backwards yet forwards design. Arrives as the i3 in 2026.…

This has to be Polestar’s year. Created in 2017, listed in 2022 and with just 55,000 cars delivered in 2023, ‘the European Tesla’ has so far struggled to emulate the sales or stock-market successes of its Californian rival. Its share value spent most of last year heading in the wrong direction and in February this year, Volvo – the company that created Polestar in a joint venture with Geely – announced it would cease funding and look to reduce its stake, handing the reins to Geely. Volvo’s news prompted a slew of negative headlines. But a little over a month on, Ingenlath – the designer (Audi, VW, Skoda, Volvo) turned CEO – has been through the pain and come out the other side. ‘It was always clear the money we…

Tell us about your first car... ‘It was a super-dull, silver-grey used Audi A3 2.0 diesel Mk2. But it had exactly the right wheels, launch-spec 17s.’ Which achievement makes you most proud? ‘Business-wise I can’t show you yet – the next one.’ What’s the best thing you’ve done in a car? ‘When I worked in Turin I was recommended a drive down the Ligurian coast. Starting with viaducts miles above the landscape, then hitting the coast, from Genoa to Cinque Terre, it’s utterly beautiful. All in relatively uninspiring Italian hire vehicles, but great fun.’ Tell us how you screwed up… ‘It probably happens every week. As someone with a creative spirit we’re here to push boundaries and if you’re not screwing up, you’re definitely not pushing boundaries.’ Supercar or classic?…

The 300-mile test NEW CAR MEETS REAL WORLD We’re in Seville, so I want to see an orange tree. It’s what they do best around here. Well, oranges and some glorious architecture. And some brilliant roads, not in the city but in the nearby Andalusian mountains. So, oranges please. But my passenger insists that what we really want to head for is a mine. Eh? It turns out the Rio Tinto mine is a bit more storied than your average hole in the ground. There’s been digging in this area for centuries, to the extent that back before the Romans had a go there’s a claim one King Solomon might have set up shop here. Which gives me an opportunity to make some kind of really spurious association between the…

Don’t go writing off the supermini just yet. European offerings are dropping by the wayside, but Japan has other ideas. We’ve recently welcomed the refreshed Toyota Yaris and closely related Mazda 2. And now we’re driving the fourth-generation Suzuki Swift – a former CAR magazine Car of the Year, remember. The old four-cylinder engine has been given the chop in favour of a 1.2-litre inline-three mild hybrid. Suzuki has managed to squeeze out 81bhp, which is about the same as you got from the old K12D engine, but it’s more efficient and will get to 62mph slightly quicker at 12.5 seconds. Still a pedestrian figure at best, and we’re not going to pretend the Swift is a thrill a minute, but the power delivery, and the driver engagement, are impressive. It’s…

ʻBRO, WHAT IS THAT?’ ‘Oh wow! My first Cybertruck.’ ‘What car is that? Does it fly?’ ‘Did you build it?’ ‘Is it a concept car?’ ‘Thanks for letting us see your geometry project.’ Welcome to America and to the world of the Tesla Cybertruck. In a nation historically well versed in all things automobile, this electric pick-up confounds every norm, from manufacturing to design. It’s easy to subscribe to the view that Tesla is the poster child for how to win at cars, with a cultural significance that stretches far beyond the number of actual vehicles it builds. And yet, if our experience of 36 hours in the Cybertruck tells us anything, it’s that the car is so other-worldly, so completely different to anything that has ever been built before,…

No one likes a nervous passenger. Especially one who keeps telling you to pay attention, grabs the steering wheel, jabs at the brakes, and screams BRAKE for no good reason. The CX-60 is that nervous passenger. There are times when the CX-60’s numerous safety systems work well – the blind-spot monitoring is useful, as is the warning you get if you’re about to step out of the car into the path of a bin lorry. But so much of its nannying is annoying, verging on dangerous. On a long drive down to Devon, it would periodically tell me I was distracted when I wasn’t. This warning itself is quite distracting, so in a way I guess it wasn’t wrong. Furthermore, the lane-keep steering-assistance system aggres-sively yanks the car back into…

The Astra’s seats are approved for good back support by AGR, which stands for Aktion Gesunder Rücken, a German association campaigning for healthier backs. I can attest to their approval meaning something, as the GSe-specific seats in the front are some of the most supportive I’ve ever sat in. I could do with a little more shoulder support, but the thick side bolsters and dense padding feel great even on long journeys. Not everyone is happy, though – deputy editor Piers Ward’s wife Joanna points out that if you have a young one on a booster seat, the integrated headrests protrude quite a long way. Something that surely won’t do wonders for a young lad’s posture. JAKE GROVES Vauxhall Astra GSe Month 4 The story so far The allegedly sporty…

EVs give us less to write about – from a dynamic perspective, at least. So I don’t have much to say about how the GV70 drives, other than the very impressive ride and refinement previously mentioned. It’s not as quick as the BMW iX M60 I ran for a while, but quick enough for confident overtaking. Instead of focusing on aural quality, gearchange tactility and throttle response, we need to focus more on build quality, design and cabin tech, and the car’s more holistic qualities. With no stand-out dynamic qualities, does it cohere as a package? It’s a family car, and the family think so. Partner Sophie has declared that for its balance of size, mass, comfort and range, the GV70 is her favourite of the four EVs we’ve run…

GIANT TEST WINNER 1 PORSCHE 911 THE GOOD: Style, like 911s, never goes out of fashion THE BAD: The base Carrera now costs almost £100k – yet that’s not enough to stop it being a clear class winner; road noise now up to 11 THE UGLY: 992 ‘wide body’ no longer the lithe sports car of old; canny options list pushes you to spend like a lottery winner THE ONE TO BUY: Carrera S with the PDK gearbox for £110k on the nose; the Sport Chrono package is bundled in, but you’ll still pay for the Porsche badges on the wheels to be coloured in GIANT TEST WINNER 2 ARIEL ATOM THE GOOD: A beautiful object as well as a thrilling drive; think of it as a modernised Lotus Seven…

GIANT TEST WINNER 1 LAND ROVER DEFENDER THE GOOD: Reboot brings untold dynamic improvements wherever you drive THE BAD: Second-row access is a pain in the 90; expensive; 130 in particular is very big, so parking can be tricky THE UGLY: Alternatives to white steel wheels are offered. Why? THE ONE TO BUY: Range spans 90, 110 and 130 bodies, with significantly different dimensions but remarkably similar character and the genuine off-road ability that Land Rover always delivers so convincingly. Heart says petrol V8 90, head/wallet say diesel-six D250 110 GIANT TEST WINNER 2 PORSCHE MACAN THE GOOD: Handles better than any other SUV. And some hot hatches THE BAD: Hardly an original choice – but then there’s good reason for that THE UGLY: Be patient – there’s an all-new…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT ‘Nothing is more important than the Neue Klasse,’ pronounces the senior VP responsible for delivering it, Dr Mike Reichelt, before initiating the 2024 equivalent of whipping the covers off the new Neue Klasse X concept. Following Reichelt’s words on how Neue Klasse is BMW having ‘fundamentally rethought the car’, the very ‘embodiment of transformation’ and the result of ‘the biggest investment in the company’s history’, this is initially a little underwhelming. Especially given the immediate impact of the preceding Neue Klasse saloon concept, which looks so unlike any current BMW. Perhaps there’s not a huge amount you can do with the functional necessity inherent in a two-box SUV. But the Polestar 3’s nose-mounted wing and the Lotus Eletre’s illusions of sleekness seem more innovative. Take a step…

DIVING IN Dacia boss Denis Le Vot recognises the C-segment – which includes cars like Vauxhall’s Astra and Nissan’s Qashqai – as the ‘biggest swimming pool in Europe’, and intends to dive right in. ‘We just want a little chunk of these people to consider us,’ he adds, announcing plans for two additions to Dacia’s range. BIGSTER BACKUP The brand has already moved into the C-segment with its larger SUV, the Bigster. It was revealed as a concept in 2022, with the production model expected to look similar when it arrives later this year. The two new models, which could include a conventional family hatch to rival the likes of the Astra, will flank the Bigster. FACTFILE POWERTRAIN 1.6-litre four-cylinder plus e-motor, 140bhp (est), front-wheel drive CHASSIS Steel monocoque DUE…

Giant test THE DEFINITIVE VERDICT As I point the stubby prow of the new Mini Countryman down a wet, hedge-lined B-road towards my favourite farm shop, I have a small moment of doubt. Am I, I wonder, wasting my time, not to mention my money? Thing is, by the time you’ve added onion, peppers, cheese, mushroom, tomato, mustard and a dollop of HP Sauce, does it really matter what eggs you’ve used in your omelette? Barn-reared, organic, free-range, richly yolked – it’s all going to taste much of a muchness. And if the car taking you to the farm shop, or supermarket, or corner shop, or indeed petrol station, is shaped like a pumped-up Mini or a downsized XC90 or a spiky coupe-SUV, it’s the same roads to the same…

Volkswagen ID. Buzz Style SWB 77kWh Pro Month 4 The story so far Local life is going swimmingly: time for a longer drive + A comfy cruiser that’s at home on motorways -Range not exceeding 170 miles in winter chill Logbook Price £61,915 (£69,265 as tested) Performance 77kWh battery, single e-motor, 201bhp, 10.2sec 0-62mph, 90mph Efficiency 2.9 miles per kWh (official), 2.2 miles per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2 Range 255 miles (official), 170 miles (tested) Energy cost 16.8p per mile Miles this month 864 Total miles 8437 I continue to be amazed by people’s reaction to the ID. Buzz. It turns more heads than my last yellow long-term test car, the look-at-me Lamborghini Huracan. To test this wasn’t just a Northamptonshire thing, I took the Buzz on a road trip…

The ‘Remote’ app is simple to download and set up, and accesses some useful functions. The one I use most is the remote start. This will fire the car up to make sure it’s defrosted by the time you come to it. You can even park the wipers in winter mode so they sit halfway up the windscreen when you turn the car off. Looks daft, but it means that the next morning the pipes within the wipers defrost faster and so your washer jets work from the get-go. But it does feel a bit 2015, having a diesel engine chugging in the driveway and going nowhere. Quite the contrast to an EV or PHEV that can be plugged in and uses some wind-generated electricity to heat the car, rather…

Annoyingly the SQ8 has a few gremlins. Initially the MyAudi app thought the front passenger window was open. It was a one-off – unlike the charging-port pantomime. The SQ8 has a port on each front wing (one with CCS fast-charging capability), covered by powered flaps that open balletically. It’s nice, and frequently vital, to have choice, because ‘charging system locking error’ faults are frequent signalled by a red LED. So I trundle round to the other port to see if this will play ball. Applying pressure to jam cable into socket while car and charger connect seems to help. This isn’t my only connectivity issue: half the time, the infotainment refuses to wirelessly connect my iPhone. Sigh. PHIL MCNAMARA Audi SQ8 e-Tron Black Edition Month 2 The story so far…

When it’s time to hand back a long-term test car I generally make a big deal about it, taking the car for one last punt. In the Caterham 160 and Mazda RX- 8, for instance, this turned into an all-day adventure. But in the case of the ID. 5 a four-mile round trip to the nearest car wash felt like plenty. It’s not a car that engages the keen driver in any way – there’s little dynamic sparkle, and even less character – so taking it out for a last long drive never struck me as a good use of time. That dispassionate relationship sums up my six months of ID. 5 ownership. This is not a car that sprinkles its magic to transform routine trips into enjoyable jaunts. It…

GIANT TEST WINNER 1 FERRARI ROMA THE GOOD: Style, speed and sensuous lines; a car for, and from, a bygone age THE BAD: An age in which we no longer live, tragically THE UGLY: Baffling steeringwheel touchpads; strangled exhaust note THE ONE TO BUY: The cabrio. Arguably even more beautiful, until you sit in it, that is 2 BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT THE GOOD: Epic interior; thumping performance THE BAD: Feels too big for UK roads, and can be uninvolving THE UGLY: Weirdly patchy air-con may spoil your summer by the Med THE ONE TO BUY: £230k GT Speed is the sharpesthandling Bentley there’s ever been; V8 also appeals GIANT TEST WINNER 3 PORSCHE 911 TURBO S THE GOOD: Hypercar-bothering pace, any road, any weather THE BAD: Only fun when you’re…

GIANT TEST WINNER 1 BMW X5 50e THE GOOD: Massive 67-mile official e-range; horizon-eating performance THE BAD: Hybrid hardware cuts into boot space to the tune of 150 litres; no seven-seat option THE UGLY: Not much now that the facelifted 50e model with more e-range and power is here THE ONE TO BUY: This one, for £81k 2 PEUGEOT 308 THE GOOD: Bravely avant-garde design; decent fuel economy; different THE BAD: Still persisting with the infernally small steering wheel THE UGLY: Interior layout looks fab but can be a stressfest to use day-to-day THE ONE TO BUY: Starts at £37,960 per month for the 180. Stretch to 225 spec with extra power and kit if you 3 PORSCHE CAYENNE THE GOOD: Handling; driver focus; choice of body styles; 0-62mph in…

AS HOT AS… AN ICE-COLD SHAKE Sweet and satisfying. This is Skoda’s version of the VW ID. 2 and Cupra Raval, except unlike those superminis the Epiq is a handsome crossover. The styling is influenced by Skoda’s 2022 Vision 7S concept, and under the skin is MEB Small, a front-wheel-drive version of the VW Group’s EV platform, promising value and space. NEED TO KNOW What is it? An electric Yeti named Epiq | Tech specs Likely to feature AI-driven infotainment, some neat details and a massive 490-litre boot I Aimed at? Smart suburbanites with bulky hobbies I When can I get one? This is a design study, but the real thing launches in 2025 AS HOT AS… A NIGHT BY THE FIRE Comfy. Peugeot’s biggest MPV, the…

BEN PAYNE LOTUS VICE PRESIDENT OF DESIGN There was an interesting slide projected at a recent Lotus press briefing ahead of its proposed IPO listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange. It reiterated the British brand’s well-publicised ‘all electric from now on’ product introductions and latest delivery schedules, it also gave some extremely ambitious sales estimates and pricing information. Lotus wants to sell 5000-6000 Emira combustion sports cars in 2024. And 40,000-50,000 £89,500- plus Eletre large SUVs per year from 2026. Plus 30,000-40,000 similarly-priced Emeya GTs, and a whopping 80,000-90,000 £55k-plus midsized SUVs (Type 134) a year from 2027. Add in 10,000-15,000 annual sales of the Type 135 sports car at circa £75,000, plus the odd £2m-ish Evija hypercar, and the annual total could top 200,000 units and a lot of…

Volkswagen is awfully sorry. No, really, it’s genuinely apologetic after the tirade of criticism of its MIB3 infotainment system, which launched with the Golf Mk8 and ID. 3. VW’s product manager for the Golf, Michael Blaul, called it ‘a painful experience’ to endure. While VW cranked out a series of overthe-air updates for cars that ran MIB3 to help speed it up and remove bugs, software engineers quickly got going on an entirely new system – one that would address as many of the old one’s criticisms as possible. Enter MIB4, the latest software from the wider VW Group that Volkswagen and Skoda are already putting to use. The updated Mk8.5 Golf, Tiguan, Passat and new ID. 7 from Volkswagen, as well as Skoda’s latest Superb and Kodiaq, are already…

The old Land Cruiser was starting to age like milk on a hot summer’s day Forget electric Range Rovers and hybrid 911s. By some measures 2024’s most important car is this, a diesel Toyota Land Cruiser. Sold in more than 170 countries and renowned for its unstoppable nature, it’s become the default choice of wheels for those living and working in the most inhospitable places on the planet. This new one is a big deal, and it has been a long time coming. It was 2009 when we last had a new generation of Land Cruiser, the 150, in Europe. Despite Toyota’s attempts to give it various Hollywood facelifts over the years, the old car was starting to age like milk on a hot summer’s day. Its interior especially looked…

Jeep Avenger Electric Longitude Month 1 The story so far Jeep tries to use group-wide hardware and EV know-how in a Jeepy way + Good looks -No identity? Logbook Price £39,600 (£42,125 as tested) Performance 50.8kWh battery, e-motor, 154bhp, 9.6sec 0-62mph, 93mph Range 249 miles (official), 221 miles (tested) Energy cost 15.0p per mile Miles this month 98 Total miles 334 What does the Jeep brand mean for you? If that’s already difficult I’ve got another question: what do you think of the Jeep Avenger EV? If you’re feeling baffled, I don’t blame you. Once a masterclass in brand identity, it feels like Jeep is a bit lost within Stellantis, desperately trying to stamp its identity on whatever platform it’s given –rather like a schoolboy doodling band logos on an…

Alpine A110 Month 3 The story so far Trust us, we’re putting the Alpine through its paces as a daily driver. No half measures here… + Surprisingly good off road -I’ve been googling ‘Alpine aftermarket cupholders’ Logbook Price £54,490 (£59,515 as tested) Performance 1790cc turbocharged four-cylinder, 249bhp, 4.5sec 0-62mph, 155mph Efficiency 40.3mpg (official), 29.4mpg (tested), 130g/km CO2 Energy cost 22.8p per mile Miles this month 630 Total miles 2659 Would the Alpine A110 make a good ‘daily driver’? Well, that depends. Because in my book there are two levels of ‘everyday’ car. On the one hand, there’s a car you can drive to the train station every day for your daily commute – in which case a McLaren 750S would probably make a rather excellent daily driver, whereas a Ferrari…

I’ve matched BMW’s official figure of 28mpg – impressive given this 1865kg estate car produces a thumping 503bhp. The month’s 791 miles were mostly spent fully warmed up on steady motorway runs, but there were local trips and more spirited cross-country bits between, and plenty of miles were four-up and laden with luggage. For context, the 1994 M3 I owned for almost two decades also had a 3.0-litre straight-six engine but made almost half as much power at 282bhp and weighed 400kg less – yet it routinely returned mid-20s mpg. This latest S58 engine is smooth as velvet, pulls from nothing, has real fire in its belly and sounds pretty good to boot. It’s one of today’s great engines. BEN BARRY BMW M3 Touring Month 4 The story so far…

Bentley Continental GTC V8 S Month 1 The story so far The droptop version of Bentley’s timeless Conti GT coupe, sent to show us just how special £280k can feel + Riotous performance with sumptuous comfort - Not the Speed, so lacking that car’s playful tech; fuel bills Logbook Price £227,100 (£282,745 as tested) Performance 3996cc twin-turbocharged V8, 542bhp, 4.1sec 0-62mph, 198mph Efficiency 22.6mpg (official), 19.0mpg (tested), 284g/km CO2 Energy cost 38.0p per mile Miles this month 297 Total miles 1223 The universe works in mysterious ways. Highly benevolent ones too, it would seem. If there’s an unknowable and omnipresent consciousness up there/out there, frantically stitching together strands of fate like the making of the Bayeux tapestry on time-lapse, it is a CAR subscriber (turn to page 70 for more…

HOW DOES GBU WORK? CAR’s road testers highlight what’s so good about the best cars in every class… and what could be better GIANT TEST WINNER 1 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R THE GOOD: Feel, feedback, focus: a phenomenal full-sized hot hatch THE BAD: Nearly £50k for a frontdrive hatchback with barely any more power than before THE UGLY: Probably the last of its kind; good job it’s one of the best THE ONE TO BUY: There’s just the one model; expect to pay around £470 on a PCP with a £14k deposit GIANT TEST WINNER 2 TOYOTA GR YARIS THE GOOD: A modern-day rally homologation special THE BAD: Road noise like a death-metal gig; joke rear seats THE UGLY: Long waiting list due to high demand; now has optional auto...…

GIANT TEST WINNER 1 PORSCHE TAYCAN THE GOOD: The EV that’s best to drive has been thoroughly overhauled and retains its top slot: still fast, responsive and fluid; now more efficient THE BAD: Info screen in front of the passenger is faintly ridiculous THE UGLY: Prices are all up THE ONE TO BUY: As before, three body styles to choose from: saloon, estate or raised estate. Prices start at £86.5k for the rear-drive basic Taycan; you can pay a lot more and get a bit more performance as you work your way up the range 2 TESLA MODEL 3 THE GOOD: New lights, new colours, new aero and improved interior: it’s had a refresh, but remains good to drive and easy to live with THE BAD: That refresh hasn’t added…