Table of contents for 1745 in Auto Express

GranTurismO aims for ‘hardcore’ experience ITALIAN restomod manufacturer Automobili Maggiore has revealed its GranTurismO (above), a creation paying homage to the Ferrari 288 GTO. Based on a Ferrari 308 and powered by a 592bhp twin-turbo 2.9-litre V8, it aims to “Satisfy the demands of those customers who love the eighties, but are looking for a more ‘hardcore’ atmosphere compared with Project M” – the firm’s first restomod, also based on a 308. The GranTurismO has sharper carbonfibre bodywork, plus large alloy wheels and modern touches such as the slim door mirrors and LED headlights. Met set to swap Jags for Audi A8 saloons THE Metropolitan Police has plans to replace its fleet of armoured Jaguars used for ‘Grade 7’ diplomatic protection and transport with Audi A8 saloons, Auto Express has…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk Hybrid and mild-hybrid tech for SUV, plus four-wheel drive NISSAN is continuing its electrification charge with an all-new X-Trail seven-seat SUV. It has an e-Power hybrid powertrain – including a dual-motor four-wheel-drive version – a sharp new look, improved interior tech and greater efficiency potential. The new X-Trail is based on the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s latest CMF-C platform, which the brand says allows for packaging improvements – key for any seven-seat car. It’s also allowed Nissan to fit a compact 2.1kWh battery that is charged by a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with variable compression ratio technology, which helps to boost efficiency further. The petrol engine never drives the wheels directly. Instead, it acts as a range extender to charge the battery, which feeds an electric motor mounted on the front…

A FORD Escort RS Turbo driven by Diana, Princess of Wales, has smashed records by selling for £650,000 at an auction. The vehicle, which was the only black series-one RS Turbo produced by the Ford factory and had a toned-down grille, went under the hammer at a Silverstone Auctions event. Diana used the vehicle – driving it herself, with a protection officer alongside – between August 1985 and May 1988. The successful buyer will pay more than £730,000 once fees are included.…

Chris_Rosamond@autovia.co.uk THERE are various competing claims for the coolest job in the car industry, but short of being offered a seat in a Formula One car, making a name for yourself as an automotive designer has got to be right up there. Style is the substance of a car designer’s job, so they’re almost compelled to present a cool image. The best ones are intellectual and great communicators, with an understanding and empathy for cultural mores and trends, which they soak up like sponges for inspiration. For me the dream began and ended in primary school. Cars, cats, dinosaurs, pirate ships… I was never very good at any of them. But now Auto Express has an opportunity to see what might have been. A visit to Alfa Romeo’s Centro Stile…

Chris_Rosamond@autovia.co.uk HERITAGE is pure gold dust in the car industry, and Alfa Romeo is dripping with the stuff, thanks to a history of spectacularly styled road and racing cars that can be traced all the way back to 1910. While most car companies promote their heritage, and the biggest names have extensive collections and even museums to show them off in, few can match Alfa for the sheer spine-tingling passion its back catalogue inspires. German brands, for example, are admired for their precision design and engineering, as well as various historic feats. Alfa Romeo has many historic triumphs and engineering highlights too, but to many enthusiasts the brand means something more than that; something human, sensual and alluring. Or as head of design Alejandros Mesonero-Romanos light-heartedly describes it during our…

Alastair_Crooks@autovia.co.uk @AllieCrooks Running costs 50.4mpg (off icial) £114 fill-up THE GLC is the best-selling model in the Mercedes line-up across the world, with 2.6 million units shifted since 2008. Messing with its formula would be a bold move, but in the ever-competitive midsize premium SUV sector, some boldness could help keep sales rolling in. Enter the new, third-generation GLC (Mercedes includes the GLK in the time line, which we didn’t get in the UK). From the outside, the brand has clearly played it safe, because this car carries over much of the design seen on its predecessor, as well as hints from the rest of the Mercedes range. The AMG Line version we’re driving here does feature some exterior tweaks over the standard version, though. Most of the chrome trim…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk Running costs 318.9mpg (off icial) £166 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 5.7 seconds/150mph LAND Rover will unveil a fully electric Range Rover next year, beating the likes of Bentley to market with a luxury EV, but as a transition technology before the brand turns fully EV, the Range Rover plug-in hybrid will spearhead the assault for now. It comes in two guises: P440e and P510e. Both use the same 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six petrol engine, 38.2kWh battery and 141bhp electric motor, but it’s the beefier version we’re testing here. It offers a total system output of 503bhp and 700Nm of torque, and an all-electric range of 68 miles. There’s an EV driving mode, while Hybrid is the default setting. The Range Rover even uses geofencing tech so it can save battery…

Matt_Robinson@autovia.co.uk @matt_201 THERE’S never been a better time to go electric. The variety of EVs available both new and used presents buyers with an almost bewildering array of options, which in itself could seem like an issue. How do you decide what to buy? The decision to ditch conventional combustion power can be daunting enough, but to ease the transition, Driver Power is here to help. The most comprehensive and respected vehicle survey in the country, Driver Power covers the automotive market from all angles, including new and used cars, dealers, insurers and even electric chargepoint operators. Gained via the experiences of thousands of motorists, Driver Power data offers insight into the ownership of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs, helping inform your choice before you take the next step. But…

Chris_Rosamond@autovia.co.uk CHOOSING an EV charger installation can feel even more complicated than picking a car, which is why many of manufacturers and dealers have signed up with preferred partners to make the process as easy as possible for consumers. That said, it’s always worth comparing such a ‘recommended’ deal by shopping around. Not only will you have more choice when it comes to the look and spec of charger you want, but you may also be able to save some money. All new chargers must be ‘smart’ these days, meaning they can communicate with the electricity network to balance your charging needs with the level of overall grid demand. However, there are plenty of optional features such as smartphone-app monitoring and remote-control elements, and you may also want to consider…

@matt_201 Matt_Robinson@autovia.co.uk THE market for electric cars has experienced extraordinary change in the past 10 years. We’ve gone from there being only a smattering of options available – some of them not particularly convincing – to every major player offering an EV while busying themselves with the transition to a range of cars that are all electrified to some degree. EVs are now available in multiple body styles, with prices ranging from less than £30,000 to sixfigure sums for the plushest mainstream options. For the super-rich, they can run into multiple millions for boutique electric hypercars. It’s the same story for hybrids and plug-in hybrids; buyers are spoilt for choice. Amidst this growing pack, however, some models stand out more than others. Here, we’ve rounded up our seven favourite electrified…

MG ZS EV 10.1-inch Touchscreen Key features: MG iSmart with live services THE first thing that strikes you about the MG’s 10.1-inch screen is just how sharp the resolution is. Combined with the bright, colourful menus, it’s one of the most striking displays you can get for the money. It’s quite a responsive set-up, too. Loading times are fast, and there’s very little lag when you pinch, swipe or drag your finger across the display. Plotting a route is fairly easy, thanks to a large on-screen keyboard, but it’s a shame that the climate controls, which are almost entirely confined to the screen, are a faff to adjust. Trophy models also benefit from the MG iSmart app, which offers remote control via your smartphone and online connectivity. While the MG’s…

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for our extensive product archive THIS WEEK’S HOT KIT NEW PRODUCT Sealey tools Price: From £51.54 Contact: sealey.co.uk IF your tool collection is growing but the space to store them isn’t, one of the new additions to the Sealey range could be a solution. As part of its latest promotion, the firm has added a four-drawer roller cabinet with a built-in mechanic’s seat. The AP556CSHV has a space-saving design, with the three-drawer utility seat slotting in the cab’s base between two lockable side cabinets. As part of Sealey’s Superline Pro rollcabs series, the unit is made from heavy-gauge steel and features 45mm ball-bearing drawer slides. The unit is currently discounted to £719.94, a saving of £30. Cordless systems with one battery to power multiple tools are increasingly popular, and…

AJ001 and AJ002 bring touch of 007 IF you want a slice of James Bond on your wrist, but can’t afford either an Omega Seamaster or an Aston Martin DB5, a company called Atelier Jalaper may have the solution. Having got hold of a verified, authentic DB5 bonnet, Atelier sliced it up to make the faces for two varieties of automatic watch, both available in stainless steel or black PVD. Prices for the AJ001, with date display, start at 800 Euros (£674), while the AJ002 with day and date starts from 1,080 Euros (£910). Both designs are available to buy at atelierjalaper.com. Halfords’ pack lets you clean up your act HALFORDS is offering discounts on an add-on to routine servicing and maintenance. The Fuel Efficiency Pack can be added to…

PRODUCTGROUP TEST 7|9|2022 Every week, we extensively test all the latest car kit from tyres to trim cleaners. Log on to www.autoexpress.co.uk to look through our huge online test archive THE car care world has its fair share of must-have tech that goes as quickly as it arrives, but the latest hot ticket, ceramic coatings, looks like it’s here to stay. We last tested these in 2020, with the report running early in 2021 when new ceramic products were regularly hitting the shelves. That rush may have slowed, but it has by no means stopped, and all the major manufacturers have one solution or more in their ranges. Ceramic coatings can be applied to various surfaces, but here we’re focusing on paintwork. Last time out, with a few exceptions, the…

WHEN Toyota arrived in the UK in the mid-sixties, the Corolla was one of its core products, and almost six decades later, the model is still being sold. While only the name remains, with more than 50 million Corollas have found homes so far, you can’t blame the firm for sticking with one of the world’s most familiar automotive monikers. Corollas have been sold continuously around the world for more than 50 years, but in the UK the Auris took over for a while. That was a capable car which was ultimately rather uninspiring, and when the Corolla picked up the baton once more it was just what buyers wanted, with the Mk12 version representing a big leap over the Auris. History THE 12th-generation Corolla arrived in spring 2019 with…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk Twin-turbo V8 offers efficiency boost without hurting character Chassis designed to offer dynamics to rival the likes of Cayenne FOLLOWING the recent reinvention of the Range Rover for the electric era, it’s now the turn of the full-fat model’s more dynamic sibling, the Range Rover Sport, to be replaced with an all-new model as part of Jaguar Land Rover’s ‘Reimagine’ plan. In keeping with that ‘Sport’ tag, we’re testing the P530 V8 model here, which is actually as fast as the old SVR but 17 per cent more efficient than its predecessor. Ironically, the source of this new-found ability is one of Land Rover’s rivals, BMW. Its 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 replaces the old supercharged 5.0-litre unit. So has the new Range Rover Sport lost some character in this transition?…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy Value-focused model on cards as firm pushes EV cost boundaries Budget baby to undercut VW Group small-car collaboration SKODA is working on an even cheaper electric model that will undercut its own ‘baby EV SUV’, Auto Express can reveal. The brand is already joining Volkswagen and Cupra in developing an all-electric small car. Engineers have been struggling to deliver on the original promise of a vehicle costing around 20,000 Euros (£17,000), and the estimated arrival date has slipped back from the target of 2023 to 2026. Now Skoda’s new boss, Klaus Zellmer, has revealed that his team is trying to work out how to make an EV even cheaper still, in a bid to offer a vehicle at a price range approaching that of the current Fabia. The…

Chris_Rosamond@autovia.co.uk POLICE forces in England and Wales are issuing Driver Education Courses, Fixed Penalty Notices and Court Summonses to drivers based on video submissions and statements that have never been seen by a trained police officer, Auto Express can reveal. Legal proceedings based on camera footage submitted by members of the public are typically launched by contracted civilian staff. Theoretically this is done under the direction of a force, yet without police officers ever having sight of alleged offences, according to an admission by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC). Forces are also pursuing prosecutions without any effort to determine the circumstances around individual incidents beyond the statements that are uploaded by complainants to police web portals. Defendants aren’t being invited to give their side of the story, or even…

Alastair_Crooks@autovia.co.uk @AllieCrooks FOLLOWING on from the bZ4X SUV, Toyota is looking to expand its all-electric line-up with this, the bZ3 saloon. Images of the new car have leaked on the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Technology website, revealing a saloon-style EV that’s similar in design to the bZ SDN concept that the Japanese brand revealed at the end of 2021. It was the only ‘low’ car of the four concepts presented as part of the bZ range, and this production-ready model sports similar angular styling to the concept. At the front there’s a full-width LED running light bar, while the car’s profile shows a distinctive kick in the window line over the rear wheelarches. At the rear there’s another full-width light bar and obvious bZ3 badging. Specifics filed on the…

ARIEL has issued the first photographs and information on its Hipercar, the Somerset-based brand’s project to make an all-electric supercar. This brutal-looking creation has an electric motor at each wheel, producing a total of 1,180bhp. It’s powered by a 62kWh battery that can deliver around 150 miles of range, but Ariel also plans to offer an optional gas-turbine range-extender to boost the car’s versatility. The production model – which is unlikely to be called Hipercar – will make extensive use of body panels made from carbon fibre to help deliver a kerbweight of less than 1,500kg. There’s no word yet on pricing and the car is unlikely to go on sale before 2024.…

Contact Tristan Shale-Hester mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress FROM: Gary Davis THIS car has such potential and has the chance to hugely embarrass the competition from Europe and the US. On paper and from the review the MG4 sounds like it will be hugely able. We’ll soon see what’s what. FROM: Nick Crookston IT had such potential – a reasonably priced electric hatchback – and then the designers styled it like that! It looks like a different person worked on each part of the exterior and none of them spoke to each other. Hideous. Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk “We need to wait to see how it drives. Current MG EVs are OK, but behind the game when driven.” Mark Mills “I rejected my new EV after a month because of faults. It’s…

STARTING work life as a technician in a Spanish Citroen dealership, Perez didn’t follow the university design course route into car design, but studied product design at college and went to SEAT as an intern, staying for 10 years. “Designers are always in pursuit of something better, and coming to Alfa Romeo in Italy was a dream,” he says. “Italians have an intellectual elegance, and they don’t just solve a problem they create an icon in the process.” Perez chooses to live in a very calm place, needing a contrast to the constant buzz at work. “I wake up, take a coffee, see the news, check the traffic, and then drive across the city to the studio in my Cinquecento. From nine o’clock the pressure is very real – you…

Chris_Rosamond@autovia.co.uk THE green cloverleaf logo or ‘Quadrifoglio’ is long associated with sporting Alfa Romeos. It was first painted on a racing Alfa in the twenties as a good-luck charm, but the first production model to officially carry the badge was the Giulia Ti Super in 1963. It’s a limited-production car homologated for motorsport, and is held in the same awe in Italy as, say, the Ford Escort Mexico is in the UK. We had a chance to sample a moment of Giulia magic with a few laps of the short test track at the Alfa museum. With plenty of zing from the 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine with twin Weber carbs, the Ti Super also has disc braking all round, and those in the know will spot its unique grille with inner…

AUDI Q5 Price: from £45,975 A FACELIFT a few years ago kept the Audi Q5 fresh. It’s a premium SUV that boasts plenty of space and practicality, acceptable dynamics and good tech, but it doesn’t feel as upmarket inside as the new GLC. BMW X3 Price: from £45,585 UPDATED last year, the BMW X3 is one of the more dynamic SUVs in this class, yet it gives nothing away in terms of ride comfort or quality, with great infotainment and excellent practicality, too. JAGUAR F-PACE Price: from £40,705 THE F-Pace is the car that will keep Jaguar afloat until the brand turns all-electric in 2025, so it’s good news that the car offers a wealth of talents – great driving dynamics being one of them. VOLVO XC60 Price: from £47,460…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk NEARLY 90 per cent of all DS 9s sold are E-Tense plug-in hybrid models, which is where the French brand has focused its development, resulting in this E-Tense 250. It sits alongside the 4x4 360 performance flagship and supersedes the old 225 version, bringing tech advances that are definitely worthwhile. The most notable is an enlarged 15.6kWh battery that allows for an all-electric range of up to 46 miles. There’s also a little more power, at 247bhp in total. However, the bigger battery and potential for more all-electric running mean the 250 is also more efficient, emitting 26g/km of CO2 and therefore dropping into the eightper-cent Benefit-in-Kind tax band. It’s priced from £48,300 in Performance Line + trim, rising to £51,400 for Rivoli +, which could be a sticking…

tristan_shale-hester@autovia.co.uk @tristan_shale DRIVER Power is the UK’s most in-depth car ownership survey. So far this year, we’ve polled drivers for their experiences with new cars, brands and dealerships. Now, in an all-new survey, we’ve asked for feedback from electric and hybrid-car owners. Over the following pages, you’ll find a rundown of the top 27 new EVs and hybrids to own, as judged by owners. As with our Driver Power new car survey from earlier this year (Issue 1,733), we’ve scored these cars across 10 categories: engine and gearbox, exterior, interior, practicality and boot space, ride and handling, safety features, efficiency and running costs, reliability, infotainment and value. Each of these is made up of several sub-categories, which means we can tell you what owners think in precise detail. Read on…

Alastair_Crooks@autovia.co.uk “On most main routes and motorways there are plenty of chargepoints, but once you get into the countryside you need to research it a bit more to see if there’s the ability to recharge”ADRIAN HOGG Skoda Enyaq “In the sun it’s going to be hot – and without a cover I’m going to be really upset in the rain”CAROL HOGG Skoda Enyaq IF you’re looking to buy an EV, the ongoing discussion around range and the charging infrastructure here in the UK may well be your top concern. Range is increasing every year, thanks to more efficient electric vehicles and bigger batteries, but a seamless switch to electric transportation will require EV charging to also improve. The UK’s charging network is making some progress, however. At the start of…

tristan_shale-hester@autovia.co.uk @tristan_shale AS electric cars have become increasingly common, the number of different home charger offerings has also increased. Choosing a provider – especially for the uninitiated – can be a tricky process, because many of the companies that offer home chargers aren’t household names. Clearing up a confusing market is what Driver Power is all about, though, so we’ve surveyed owners of home chargepoints across nine categories to bring you a list of the top 11 companies out there. 11. Tesla TESLA won our survey of public chargepoints, so the US company’s poor performance here may come as a bit of a shock. Home chargers are a different type of product, however, with different requirements, and Tesla has fallen wide of the mark in these rankings, coming last in…

Matt_Robinson@autovia.co.uk @matt_201 THERE’S no escaping it: electric cars are inherently more expensive to buy than their petrol and diesel counterparts, thanks in large part to the high cost of producing their battery packs. Manufacturers have to spend more money to make these, and that has to be passed on to the consumer. Unhelpfully, plug-in car grants in the UK that formerly softened the blow are now all but gone. Thankfully, we’re now far enough into the electric revolution that there’s a growing population of great EVs on the second-hand market that have depreciated to the point where they’re suitable for a greater range of wallets. The same goes for plug-in hybrids; you’ll now find PHEVs of all makes, shapes and sizes in the classified adverts. We’ve rounded up our 12…

MODELTESTED: MG ZS EV Standard Range Trophy PRICE: £31,995 POWERTRAIN: 1x e-motor, 51.1kWh battery, 174bhp Running costs 3.7m/kWh (on test) £14 recharge/£0 or 2% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 470/1,100 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 8.2 seconds/108mph THE current MG line-up is quickly gaining a reputation for delivering affordable yet accomplished performance, and its EVs are spearheading the charge. Our Standard Range Trophy test car costs £31,995, which rises by £545 to £32,540 when you add Monument Silver paint. Design & engineering FROM the off, there’s one thing that the MG ZS and the Hyundai Kona have in common: both are available with combustion engines, but they were designed to accommodate electric powertrains from the outset. That forethought is a good thing when it comes to the packaging of the battery,…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods Running costs 54.6mpg (off icial) £61 fill-up Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 397/1,097 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 11.2 seconds/106mph TIME is up for the Toyota Yaris Cross that we’ve been running on our fleet since the spring, and after a probationary period, I think I’m ready to offer it the job. As you can see, there’s a bit of a work-day theme running through the setting I elected to use for the Toyota SUV hybrid’s farewell shoot. It’s Farnborough IQ in Hampshire – among the UK’s largest business parks, and a hub for all things jet-set executive travel, given its attachment to one of Britain’s busiest private airports. That said, I don’t think I’m quite ready to invite the Yaris Cross on to a private plane for a champagne…

Alfa Romeo Giulia Issue 1,728, 1,738 Alpine A110 New arrival BMWiX3 Issue 1,731, 1,743 Citroen e-Dispatch Issue 1,733 Dacia Jogger Issue 1,739 Ford Focus Estate Issue 1,744 Honda HR-V eCVT Issue 1,732 Jaguar F-Pace Issue 1,744 Kia Niro Hybrid New arrival Land Rover Defender Issue 1,735 Lexus NX New arrival Mazda CX-5 Issues 1,726, 1,733, 1,741 Nissan Qashqai Issues 1,707, 1,716, 1,724 Porsche Taycan CT Issues 1,730, 1.740 Skoda Fabia Issue 1,735 ToyotaYaris Cross Issues 1,730, 1.740…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk Q Can you solve foam problem? I CAN’T use a pressure washer where I clean my car. Is there any way I can use snow foam without one? I have a hose but no mains power. Paul Ho, E-mail A TO get the big foam, a mains pressure washer is the way to go. Cordless pressure washers are an option but they aren’t as powerful and you will need to ensure there is a snow-foam lance to fit. Some snow foams can be applied through a pump spray, including our test-winning Sonax’s Profiline Actifoam Energy (above). Q Getting to grips with tyres THE front tyres on my car need replacing. The ones I need are out of stock, although other brands are available in the same size. Would it…

Alex_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @AxleIngram “Round 10 will kick off with a Superspecial stage held inside the Olympic Stadium in Athens” THE World Rally Championship heads to the iconic Acropolis Rally from 8-11 September. Round 10 of the 13-event season will be in stark contrast to the previous staging; the smooth, rapid asphalt in Belgium is replaced with the hot, rocky mountains of Greece, which are known to be a car – and tyre – breaker. The event could see the youngest-ever World Rally Champion be crowned if results go the right way. A finish on the podium for Kalle Rovanperä (and depending on the results of his rivals) will see the 21-year-old take the record away from Colin McRae. The Scottish rally star was 27 when he took his one and only…

BMW raised eyebrows last autumn with its Concept XM, a preview of how M Division’s first bespoke SUV could look. And judging by images issued by Japan’s patent office, the production car isn’t going to shy away from repeating the concept’s bold stance. The model in the patent application has the same bluff nose, rising waistline and shallow glasshouse as Concept XM. There are a few notable changes, however, with a smaller pair of front grilles flanked by dual-element headlights. It’s difficult to determine from these drawings, but the illuminated grille bezels from the concept car could make an appearance. “With 644bhp, the XM will be the firm’s most potent production car yet” The front bumper does adopt a slightly toned-down interpretation of the show car’s V-shaped outer fins, and…

New flagship just the tonic for Ami line-up CITROEN has added a range-topping trim to its Ami electric quadricycle range. Called the ‘My Ami Tonic’, the £8,695 model gets khaki and yellow exterior details, new light bezels (which Citroen says are inspired by sunglasses) and bespoke wheel trims. Inside, there are more yellow accents, while splashes of khaki also feature on the storage bins. The My Ami Tonic is available now. Toyota invests in battery manufacture WITH a view to expanding its EV line-up (right) Toyota has announced it is investing $5.6billion (£4.85bn) in electric vehicle battery production. The investment focuses on the US and Japan, increasing the firm’s battery output by 40GWh to meet the growing global demand for EVs. It will repurpose some engine manufacturing facilities to focus…

DESPITE it only launching the car earlier this year, Citroen has already revised prices for its updated C5 Aircross SUV, with the range now starting from £1,415 more than initially announced. The line-up starts with the £26,930 128bhp 1.2-litre PureTech manual model in Sense Plus trim. It has 18-inch alloys, LED lighting, a 12.3-inch digital dash and Citroen’s new 10-inch touchscreen. The Plug-in Hybrid 225 offers up to 38 miles of electric range, starts from £35,825 and comes in Shine and C-Series Edition trims. It’s available to order now.…

THE following provide help with motoring problems. Some services are free, others charge a fee or operate on premium-rate lines (p), while some offer advice for members only (m) Legal AA: 0345 850 1130 (m) RAC: 0330 159 1446 (m) Citizens Advice Consumer helpline: 03454 040506 Local Trading Standards Local Citizens Advice Bureau Used car inspections AA: 0800 056 8040 RAC: 0330 159 0720 Technical advice AA: 0370 142 0002 (m) Driving licences DVLA: 0300 790 6801 Car registration/history HPI: 0113 222 2010 AA: 0800 316 3564 DVLA: 0300 790 6802 RAC: 0808 164 1923 Traffic information AA: 0906 888 4322 RAC: 09003 444999 (p) Problems with dealers The Motor Ombudsman: 0345 241 3008 Consumer Ombudsman: www.consumer-ombudsman.org RMIF: 0845 305 4230 Scottish Motor Trade Assoc. 0131 331 5510 Problems with…

Chris_Rosamond@autovia.co.uk A bold stance is very important. Our cars must have an assertive expression, but it’s about character, not aggressiveness. It’s also about athletic attitude and sportinessALEJANDRO MESONERO-ROMANOS Design director, Alfa Romeo IT’S been a year since former SEAT and Renault stylist Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos joined Alfa Romeo’s Centro Stile design centre in Turin, Italy as design director. Those first 12 months required the development of a new styling strategy for the brand’s electric future, oversight of five fresh model programmes and the assembly of a new design team – all while helping to integrate Alfa’s design processes with multiple other brands in the recently formed Stellantis group. He still found time to sit down for a chat. Q How would you describe the essence of your design strategy for Alfa…

1. Giulia Sprint GT (1963 “I THINK Alfa Romeo’s soul is made of some elements, and probably the strongest and the most important is the perfect balancing between the form and the function. You see something that is always useful and you can feel exactly what the designer is expecting. I think that this balancing between what you see and what you feel while driving is a fundamental aspect of Alfa Romeo. “Some cars are able to explain this better than others and the Sprint GT is a good example because it’s a very essential design; only three lines are enough to create something that is perfect from any point of view. And when you are driving it, you can really feel the car like a part of yourself; that’s…

Richard_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @rsp_ingram Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 1,121/2,205 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 10.2 seconds/90mph EV range 255 miles (off icial) 170kW fast charging THERE can’t be many new cars or vans launched in the past 12 months that have been met with as much fanfare as the all-new Volkswagen ID. Buzz. It already has a cult following, despite the fact that first deliveries aren’t due until November. Now it’s time to decide if this really is the electric minivan that we’ve all been waiting for. First things first, the price: this isn’t a cheap family car. Prices for the Life version start at £57,115, rising to £61,915 for the better-equipped Style on which our Euro-spec test model is based. So what do you get for your money? The ID. Buzz Life…

Richard_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @rsp_ingram ONLY nine per cent of plastic waste is currently recycled; National Geographic reckons there are five trillion pieces of plastic floating in our oceans, a figure only set to grow as our dependence on bottles, bags and containers continues. It’s a global issue, but Britain’s coast is littered with crisp packets and cigarette ends, too. It’s estimated that by 2050, nearly all seabird species on the planet will be eating plastic. Yet Claire Giner (right) from the Cornwall-based 2 Minute Foundation says it isn’t about shunning products we love, driving electric cars or going vegan. “Start small and celebrate those wins,” she says. “Small acts really make a difference.” With that in mind and the keys to a Volkswagen California in hand, my wife, daughter and I meet…

tristan_shale-hester@autovia.co.uk @tristan_shale “I’ve had some where the cable doesn’t reach the port on my van, so I’ve had to park across a path to plug in”ZAK WOODWARD Vauxhall Vivaro-e “You’ve just got to resign yourself to the fact that you’re not going to come in, fill up and then drive off again; it’s about planning your routes a bit more”WAYNE LESTER BMW iX MOST electric car owners will have to regularly interact with the public chargepoint network, especially if they lack a home charger or do a lot of long journeys. This can be stressful, though, thanks to a dearth of chargers in some locations, high demand in others and reliability issues. Even if you manage to get plugged into a working unit, you could face slower-than-advertised charging speeds, high…

SIMON Barfoot from Northamptonshire owns an MG ZS EV. He wanted a home charger for it, so he began researching the various brands on the market. “I was looking around, and Hypervolt popped up,” he explains to us. “When I was reading the reviews, that swung it for me, because people were saying that the customer service was outstanding and any issues were resolved straight away.” Simon says Hypervolt’s prices seemed in line with what other brands were offering. As such, he decided to place an order through the company’s website, and was presented with a list of electricians near him who could fit the charger. Once a tradesman was booked in, the installation process was simple. An assessment was conducted and the fitting itself took about an hour. Simon…

BUYING a used EV means avoiding a lot of the usual second-hand car worries such as clutch life and oil-change intervals. That said, you’ll still need to make sure things like the brakes and suspension are in rude health, plus there are separate concerns to consider. One of these is battery degradation; check beforehand whether the manufacturer of your chosen used EV guarantees a particular percentage of the original capacity after a certain time. Around 70 per cent after eight years is common. On the subject of batteries, a few EVs – such as the Renault Zoe – were sold on a basis where this unit was leased separately. Be sure to find out about any existing agreements that you may need to pick up. Another thing to look for…

MODELTESTED: Kona Electric 39kWh Premium PRICE: £31,800 POWERTRAIN: 1x e-motor, 39.2kWh battery, 134bhp Running costs 4.2m/kWh (on test) £11 recharge/£0 or 2% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 332/1,114 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.9 seconds/96mph Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.9 seconds/96mph Design & engineering SINCE its launch in 2018, the Kona has been offered with a variety of powertrains, including petrol, diesel and hybrid. However, our pick of the range has always been the fully electric model, which joined the line-up soon after the combustion-engined options. In 2020, the entire range received a nip and tuck. From a cosmetic point of view, this introduced a sharper front-end design – still with a smoothed-out grille to set the electric model apart from pistonpowered Konas – and tidied up the light clusters in the…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk WHAT does the Alpine brand stand for, do you think, and how does it square up beside the more established sports car makers such as Porsche and Lotus? Is it France’s alternative to those brands, or is Alpine even more left-field than that? Most of all, is it any good at making sports cars? All of these questions and more will be answered during the next six months with our shiny new Thunder Grey Alpine A110 GT, but what I can tell you here and now is that bystanders notice this car. And most of them tend to like what they see. People are intrigued by the A110 GT. They rate its diminutive proportions and its unusually distinctive nose and headlights. They also like our car’s number plate. Some…

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The Book of the Standard Motor Company Graham Robson (Veloce Publishing, veloce.co.uk) Price: £35 Rating: A WELL researched and written history of the Standard Motor Company from its inception in 1903 up to its demise in India in 1987. It’s full of useful facts, but isn’t especially engagingly written. That probably won’t be a problem for Standard fans. Citroen 2CV: Different is Everything Malcolm Bobbitt (Amberley, amberley-books.com) Price: £15.99 Rating: THE usual compact fare from this publisher, which tells the story of the iconic Tin Snail in brief detail. A few areas are more interesting than others. We particularly like the care devoted to the various 2CV spin-offs and the imagery. This makes the book a good starting point for 2CV nuts. Rocket League: Sideswipe Available for: iOS, Android Price:…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@autovia.co.uk Q What are son’s rights over unauthorised air-con regas? MY son’s car had its first service at the franchised dealer and he was charged £60 for an air-con regas. This seems expensive and he didn’t give permission for it to be done. Is he within his rights to get a refund? Tim Jones, E-mail A IF your son didn’t give permission for the air-con regas to be done at this rate, he should have queried this item on the invoice. Since the work was carried out without consent, though, it may be worth contacting the dealership – copying in head office if possible – to explain the situation and ask for a refund. There’s no guarantee this will work, however, as the payment has already…

IF you’ve ever owned a supercar with serious engine or gearbox troubles, you’ll know that repair bills can run into tens of thousands of pounds. The McLaren MP4-12C and Lamborghini’s Aventador and Gallardo are just three examples of models that have in the recent past sometimes gone horribly wrong, then cost a fortune to put right. So who’s naming names here in an effort to warn the public of the cars that are among the costliest to put right? Only Warrantywise, which knows a thing or two about the subject matter, because the nature of its business means it often picks up the tab for such eye-wateringly expensive garage bills. But it’s not just ageing supercars that have gained an unenviable reputation for costing £20,000 or more to fix after…