Table of contents for 1670 in Auto Express

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy “Its overall look is more funky and slightly more aggressive than the current Aygo’s” • Crossover styling for city car • Uses same platform as Yaris TOYOTA recently confirmed plans to stay in the city car class with a petrol-only successor to its current Aygo based on the same GA-B platform as the latest Yaris supermini. Now the Japanese brand has given us a preview of how the new model could look with this: the Aygo X prologue. The new concept shows how Toyota believes its A-segment model can become a crossover. The Aygo X prologue is a little longer and taller than the current Aygo, at 3,700mm and 1,500mm respectively, while its wheelbase stretches 90mm to 2,340mm, potentially freeing up extra room in the cabin. Its overall…

sean_carson@dennis.co.uk • W12 engine tuned to 650bhp • 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds THE new third-generation Continental GT Speed is the most dynamic road car to be produced in Bentley’s 101-year history, according to the British brand. The new model sits at the top of the Continental GT range, adding more power and performance, as well as increasing the GT’s handling potential, and separating it from the range with specific styling cues. The GT Speed is powered by Bentley’s 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine, tuned to produce 650bhp and 900Nm of torque. That considerable output is sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox with launch control, so the car will sprint from 0-60mph in just 3.5 seconds and top out at 208mph. The shifts are twice as fast…

MCLAREN customers looking for the ultimate track day car can now get a taste of the brand’s race-bred machinery with the new 720S GT3X. Based on the brand’s GT3 racer, the X features a hand-built 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 producing 710bhp, with an extra 28bhp available thanks to a push-to-pass button. This is around 200bhp more than the race car because the GT3X isn’t restricted by rules and regulations. The X has GT3-level aerodynamics, braking and safety, including a new roll cage that allows owners to take a passenger along to enjoy the ride.…

Contact Tristan Shale-Hester mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress FROM: David Nicholls INSTALLING this level of technology on to the engines and electronics of new superminis won’t be economical. This seems to be the EU effectively legislating the internal combustion engine out of existence so all brands go electric. FROM: James Hill THIS does all sound rather sinister, but even if these rules are implemented – which in itself seems unlikely – all it will do is hasten the switch to electric cars. I’ll play devil’s advocate and say that can only be a good thing in the long run. Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk ■ “Ensuring robustness against tampering? This is the end of aftermarket engine mods, then.” Martin Kicks ■ “If implemented, these rules would be overzealous and overreaching.” Chris B ■…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler THE latest Land Rover model to get an electric boost is the Range Rover Velar, driven here for the first time in plug-in hybrid form. And for once, this is a car that anyone will enjoy, rather than just company car buyers swayed by tax savings. Of course, those tax benefits are still hugely relevant, running into the thousands compared with a similarly priced petrol model; CO2 emissions of 51g/km mean 13 per cent Benefit-in-Kind tax. That equates to 125mpg officially, while the 17.1kWh battery will supposedly get you 32 miles. With 32kW DC charging capability, an 80 per cent top-up takes 30 minutes, or an hour and 40 minutes from a 7kW wallbox. With 398bhp and a whopping 640Nm of torque from the electric motor and 2.0-litre…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk Running costs 14.7mpg (off icial) £105 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 2.8 secs/>217mph YOU can’t buy a Lamborghini Sián FKP 37, because all 63 examples sold out the minute they went on sale at the Frankfurt Motor Show (remember those?) back in 2019. The price? A mere £2.6million plus local taxes, so let’s call it a cool £3million and be done with it. No matter, because the Sián is one of those cars that the rest of us will only ever aspire to in photographs or, occasionally, get a glimpse of at a car festival. Its name comes from a flash of lightning that appears in the skies above northern Italy, while the FKP 37 refers to the late Ferdinand Karl Piëch, master engineer and former boss of Volkswagen when…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk THE cars are largely carried over from last year, but there have been a lot of changes to the F1 grid over the winter: Pérez to Red Bull, Vettel to Aston Martin, Alonso to Alpine, Ricciardo to McLaren, Sainz to Ferrari – and Michael Schumacher’s son Mick making his debut with Haas. So there are plenty of drivers with plenty to prove when the lights finally go out in Bahrain on 26 March. Mercedes @MercedesAMGF1 44 Lewis Hamilton Races 266 Wins 95 Titles 7 Last year 1st Age 36 @LewisHamilton 2021 Objective: Anything less than an eighth title will be a disappointment for the Briton. The question is, will he keep going into F1’s new era in 2022? 77 Valtteri Bottas Races 157 Wins 9 Titles 0 Last year…

Fiat Seicento Schumacher Power: 53bhp 0-62mph: 13.1 secs A CUTE city car doesn’t seem like a fitting tribute to a seven-time world champion. Similarities to the German’s F1 Ferrari start – and end – with the fact that both need to be driven flat out everywhere. Infiniti FX Vettel Edition Power: 414bhp 0-62mph: 5.6 secs PERHAPS a slightly more fitting tribute to a German world champion than the Seicento, Sebastian Vettel’s name was applied to a special FX SUV. Carbon-fibre extras and a limited run of 150 units resulted in a £108,000 price tag. Honda Civic Jordan Power: 157bhp 0-60mph: 7.9 secs THE Jordan F1 team – a distant relative of the team now known as Aston Martin – used Honda engines from 1998 to 2003. This special-edition Civic VTi-S…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram HOW TO DRIVE THE NURBURGRING… VIRTUALLY HOWEVER you choose to rank a circuit for its notoriety – danger, difficulty, length, unpredictable weather – the Nürburgring Nordschliefe is the most fearsome of all. When the picturesque circuit, rolling over the undulations of the Eifel mountains in Germany, is combined with the shorter Grand Prix layout built in 1984, it forms a 15.77-mile lap used for the gruelling N24 endurance race. Few motorsport events can claim to be quite so mentally demanding on their competitors. Learning a circuit so complex and unforgiving is no simple task, so we decided to seek some professional advice. Not many drivers are as well qualified to talk us around the Nordschleife as Peter Dumbreck, someone who has competed in the 24-hour enduro 16 times.…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk Formula E First race: 2014 Thrill factor: 8/10 Grid size: 9/10 Long-term prospects: 7/10 FORMULA E was a classic case of ‘right idea, right time’ when it launched in 2014. There were many sceptics, claiming it would be too slow or too dull to take off. But despite some shaky financial moments, it’s hit its stride, with virtually a full grid of makers and top-tier drivers, who have delivered action-packed competition. But its city-centre racing concept was hit hard by the pandemic, and the impending departures of Audi and BMW show that it won’t be smooth sailing forever. The fundamentals still look good, though. AS the wider car industry transitions to zero emissions, motorsport is following suit. Formula E led the way, offering an electric alternative to F1 that…

Vauxhall Insignia Multimedia Navi Pro Key features: Apple CarPlay, Nav THE Insignia comes with an eight-inch touchscreen display integrated into the dash, with sat-nav, DAB, Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. There’s also a digital display behind the steering wheel. Vauxhall’s system is slower to load than the Skoda’s, and the screen isn’t quite as responsive to the touch. However, it is bright and the graphics are sharp. The interface is easy enough to understand, and there are colourful buttons that make navigation simple. We’d have liked to see more physical buttons, but the Skoda suffers from a lack of switches as well. It’s easy to get phone apps working on the screen because the smartphone links work well. The standard digital dash is a bonus, but it doesn’t really…

Replica pair mark Ferrari’s 1,000th GP F1 fans or model car collectors can now add to their stables with the latest Amalgam scale models: beautifully realised replicas of the Ferrari SF1000 Formula One car, in its 1,000th GP livery from the 2020 Tuscany Grand Prix (above). Buyers can choose from Charles Leclerc’s or Sebastian Vettel’s cars, and both are rendered in 1:8 scale. Hand-finished in Amalgam’s workshop with Ferrari’s help, the resulting models cost £6,995 and can be purchased at www.amalgamcollection.com. Load up on VW ID.3 accessories range VOLKSWAGEN has launched a range of accessories for its new ID.3 electric car, aimed at boosting its usability. Protection packs are available with carpet or rubber floor mats, a load liner and sill protector, while higher trim levels can benefit from stylish additions…

PRODUCTGROUP TEST 24|03|2021 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 IT’S enough to make you feel sorry for car makers – they spend a fortune developing built-in sat-nav systems, but we all use our smartphones to give us directions instead. It’s easy to see why, because our devices are constantly updated and connected. You can tailor a system to your needs and it should bring you the latest information about traffic, cameras, closed or new roads and even potholes. Car makers have realised keeping up is a lost cause, so most modern cars incorporate Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to help us use our phone apps safely. There are obvious choices…

Search more than 60,000 cars with competitive finance Order online, delivered to your door, 14 day money-back guarantee CO2/tax 115-139g/km £30-£150 Running costs 47-50mpg (1.6 ISG) £62 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 10.4 seconds/115mph EVER since Kia arrived in the UK in 1991, the marque has built a reputation for great-value cars that are easy to own. Aside from the newer Stinger, there’s little in the Korean company’s line-up to set the enthusiast’s pulse racing, but for anybody who wants sensible, reliable and practical transport that doesn’t cost a lot to buy or run, Kia is a go-to brand. Take the Venga, for example, which sums up this no-nonsense approach. This high-roofed supermini MPV puts the emphasis on practicality and low running costs, while dependability is another major draw. Kia’s seven-year…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk •Ex-Rebellion LMP1 car gets a rebrand •Lapierre, Negrão and Vaxiviere to drive ALPINE has unveiled its contender for the top class of the 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours and World Endurance Championship, (WEC), the A480. If it looks familiar, that’s because it’s essentially last year’s Orecabuilt Rebellion LMP1 prototype wearing a new blue, white and red colour scheme. The car has been ‘grandfathered’ into the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) class and will be performance-balanced against Toyota and Glickenhaus’ Hypercar entries. This will only be allowed for the 2021 season, with Alpine needing to commit to building a new car if it wants to continue into 2022. The A480 will be driven by Toyota LMP1 veteran Nicolas Lapierre, alongside Matthieu Vaxiviere and André Negrão. The Brazilian Negrão has raced for…

THE car scene in Britain down in the dumps? For sure, it’s got issues. And the Government’s shock decision (see p18) to make EVs more expensive is unfathomable. But political matters aside, I have a sense of energetic change, or even a gutsy revolution. Mid to late March, for example, was a mostly positive spell, with UK firms such as Bentley, Aston Martin, McLaren and MINI having more to say than usual, while Morgan, Arrival, Watt, Radford and other smaller outfits also stepped up. Significantly, even the leading trade body – the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – correctly accused the Government of being plain “wrong, wrong, wrong” on some EV matters. More of the same please, SMMT. Mitsubishi UK put the finishing touches to one of the more…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods Visit autoexpress.co.uk for your daily news updates • Hybrid tech for stylish French rival to VW Golf and Ford Focus • Goes on sale late this year, with prices from £23,000 (est) PEUGEOT has pulled the covers from its latest family hatchback, the third-generation 308. It’s the first car to feature Peugeot’s new logo, but the big news is that it’s also the first 308 available with electrified powertrains, including two plug-in hybrid models from launch. It uses the same platform as its predecessor, but the latest version of the EMP2 architecture – engineered by the PSA arm of the new Stellantis group – has seen heavy development since the 2013 launch of the second-generation 308, which was the first car to use this platform. The French firm…

WHILE there’s still a bit of future gazing to be done before the next-generation Aygo is seen in production-ready format, we should get a far more realistic interpretation of Toyota’s forthcoming all-electric mid-size SUV at April’s Shanghai Motor Show. The brand has confirmed that it will preview the upcoming model – the first car to use the brand’s new, highly modular e-TNGA all-electric platform, which will be the basis of a family of all-electric Toyotas. We’re expecting a close-to-production prototype to be unveiled, when the show opens to the media on 19 April. Lined up as a rival for the likes of the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Kia e-Niro, the as-yet-unnamed SUV could be the first in a series of BZ-badged electric cars from Toyota. It will be roughly the…

THE 2021 Driver Power new-car survey is now open for submissions, giving drivers who have had new cars for between three months to three years the opportunity to share what their cars are really like. The survey touches on all areas of ownership, including reliability and running costs, comfort levels, practicality, infotainment offerings, handling, and much more. Now in its 20th year, we’ve revamped Driver Power for 2021. It’s even quicker and simpler to take part in thanks to a streamlined online interface, while we’ve got a raft of additional questions on EV chargepoints, and have refined and updated other key areas. Driver Power is the most respected and comprehensive car ownership survey in the UK, and results in go-to guides for buyers across the new and used market. As…

Audi commits to 2022 debut for new Q6 SUV AUDI boss Markus Duessman has said the all-new Audi Q6 e-tron electric SUV will make its debut in 2022 and will be based on the Volkswagen Group’s new Premium Platform Electric architecture, which Audi is developing with Porsche. It will sit above the Q4 e-tron SUV in Audi’s line-up, the brand’s first car to use the VW Group’s MEB platform, and share its underpinnings with the fully electric version of the Porsche Macan. Speeding linked with adaptive cruise control ADAPTIVE cruise control (ACC) has been linked to speeding by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The US research – a small study of 40 drivers – found those using ACC (which matches a car’s speed to the vehicle in front)…

INCENTIVES for electric vehicles won’t last forever; as an industry we all know this. EV technology is in its infancy and is expensive, but we know that the holy grail of $100/KWh, where the cost of an EV’s battery versus petrol equalises over the life of the car, is close. But we are not there yet, and as a result the timing of the announcement to cut the £3,000 Plug-in Car Grant to £2,500 – and remove it altogether on cars over £35,000 – is a disappointment. The UK will host the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in 2021, and now was the moment to show leadership in climate change. As a petrolhead it’s hard to say this, but it would have been easier to understand funding the costs of…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn “Find a B-road and the GTD is actually pretty good fun to drive, although it’s not as nimble as the GTI” THE Golf GTD has long been a great choice for buyers wanting to combine hot-hatch performance with fuel-sipping economy. However, the UK’s love affair with diesel is over, and with the introduction of the more powerful and even more efficient Golf GTE, is this new GTD still relevant? VW certainly thinks so, because this is the most advanced and powerful version of the diesel hot hatch there has ever been. Its new 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine pumps out 197bhp and 400Nm of torque, and drives the front wheels through a seven-speed DSG gearbox. There’s no manual option this time, but the GTD does feature an XDS electronic differential…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram FULL Formula 1 preview Team liveries, drivers, helmets &dates THE 2021 Formula One season is almost upon us, and there can be few years that have held so much excitement for fans. Just three teams have carried over the same driver line-up from 2020, alongside a switch for one multiple world champion plus the return to the Formula One grid for another. Two teams have been completely rebranded, while another squad has switched engine suppliers. And with only small rule changes from last year, will anybody be able to get closer to the dominant force that is Mercedes-AMG and defending champion Lewis Hamilton? Of course, there’s far more to motorsport than F1 so for this motorsport special, we’ve delved into some of the other series that we think are…

Testing 12-14 MAR Sakhir, Bahrain Formula 1 Aramco Pre-season Testing Round 1 26-28 MAR Sakhir, Bahrain Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix Round 2 16-18 APR Imola, Italy Pirelli Gran Premio Del E Dell’emilia Romagna Round 3 30 APR-02 MAY Portimao, Portugal Heineken Grande Prémio De Portugal Round 4 07-09 MAY Barcelona, Spain Aramco Gran Premio De España Round 5 20-23 MAY Monaco Grand Prix De Monaco Round 6 04-06 JUN Baku, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Grand Prix Round 7 11-13 JUN Montreal, Canada Heineken Grand Prix Du Canada Round 8 25-27 JUN Paul Ricard, France Emirates Grand Prix De France Round 9 02-04 JUL Red Bull Ring, Austria myWorld Grosser Preis Von Österreich Round 10 16-18 JUL Silverstone, UK Pirelli British Grand Prix Round 11 30 JUL-01 AUG Hungaroring, Hungary Magyar Nagydíj…

Running costs 41.0mpg (on test) £77 fill-up/£150 or 27% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 490/1,450 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 10.7 seconds/127mph MODELTESTED: Vauxhall Insignia 1.5 Turbo D SRi VX-Line Nav PRICE: £28,720 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 3cyl, 120bhp VAUXHALL’S Insignia Grand Sport is a former Best Family Car winner at the Auto Express New Car Awards. In the past it has offered excellent value for money and it’s still the cheaper of the two here, being exactly £1,000 less than the equivalent Superb. We’re testing the 1.5 Turbo D engine in SRi VX-Line Nav form, which costs from £28,720. Design & engineering THE updated Vauxhall Insignia is a little different to the previous model, in that it has a new bumper and grille design, plus reshaped headlights. These changes are fairly minor…

Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI 150PS SE Nav PRICE: £29,435 ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4cyl, 148bhp THE VW Passat isn’t quite as good value as the Superb, but it uses the same engine, so it’s a great choice. It’s not quite as practical, but has a smart image, a pleasant cabin and lots of tech. It’s one to keep in mind in case you spot a great deal while shopping for a Superb. BMW 520d M Sport PRICE: £29,000 ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4cyl, 187bhp THE BMW 5 Series isn’t quite as practical as our rivals, because it’s a saloon, but it’s still very spacious. It’s also fantastic to drive, supremely comfy, very efficient and packed with tech. At £29,000 and with 13,000 miles, a used 5 Series looks like a bargain.…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn Running costs Official range/tax 137 miles/£0 Performance 0-62mph/top speed 8.3 seconds/90mph LIFE with the little Honda e, given the rather trying circumstances we’re all living through at the moment, is a genuinely uplifting experience. It’s a car that puzzles, delights and shocks people every day; some laugh, some point and some try to grab a picture with their smartphone. Wherever it goes, its presence provokes a reaction I’ve not had with any other car in the eight years that I’ve worked at Auto Express. But behind the cutesy looks and pop-out door handles is a car that does require some sacrifice to live with – although day to day, in and around West London where I live, the Honda is a breeze to run. There’s a public charger…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk Q Is jump starting a car safe? I CAN’T get a charger to my parents’ car and it has been reluctant to start recently because it has not been used much. Is it safe to jump start modern cars with their electronic systems? Tim Hardman, E-mail A THE safest way is to use a working engine to charge the flat battery on your parents’ car. Connect the two positive terminals and the negative of the donor car to a metal point away from the battery on the one that won’t start. Run the donor car for 15 minutes or so to get some charge in the flat battery. When you’ve done that, disconnect all the leads and attempt to start the dead engine. If it still…

IF you’ve ever rented an e-scooter, the chances are it was a Bird, because they’re used in 120 cities across the world, including in the UK. And now they are available to private buyers too. We tried the Bird One, which has much in common with the e-scooters available in a handful of British cities. It uses the same app and tech as the rental scooters, so you can locate and lock it from anywhere. It also feels tough and built to last, as you might only expect from a scooter that’s intended for the rental market. To see how the Bird compares, we tested it against our current favourite, the E-Twow GT 2020. The Bird has some benefits, but it doesn’t fold and is heavy, so it won’t make…

Dear Tristan, I want to swap my supermini for a similarly sized hot hatch. What should I be looking at with a budget of £9,000? Dan Stevens, E-mail Contact: Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk •THE STYLISH CHOICE Peugeot 208 GTi FOR: Most powerful, stylish cabin, best fuel economy AGAINST: Steering lacks feedback, driving position snags THE Peugeot 208 GTi does a decent job of being the modern successor to the eighties’ 205 GTi. Its zesty 1.6-litre turbo engine produces 205bhp and 0-62mph is covered in 6.5 seconds. Its steering is quick, but a little vague and light. Yet the 208 is very stable through corners, and the six-speed manual gearbox is slick. An official economy figure of 52.3mpg is the best here. Your budget will buy a 33,000-mile 16-plate 208 GTi Prestige, which has…

A NEW corporate look for Peugeot coincides with a new boss, but one who’s a familiar face to Auto Express. Linda Jackson, who was crowned the most influential Briton in the global car industry in the 2017 edition of our Brit List, takes charge of the French brand as it enters a new era as part of Stellantis – formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA. Appointed head of Citroen in 2014, Coventry-born Jackson’s mission for that brand was to seek stabilisation and a return to profitability with a more customer-focused line-up as part of PSA’s “Back in the Race” plan. Her task at Peugeot could not be more different. Compared with Citroen’s value-for-money revival based on cars that were optimised for buyers on a budget,…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods • First look at four-door coupé rival for the Tesla Model 3 • Top-spec models have 523bhp – more than BMW M3 BMW has revealed its answer to the Tesla Model 3, three months ahead of its original schedule. The i4 is a stablemate to the 3 Series saloon and 4 Series Coupé that has a four-door coupé body, but unlike those cars it uses an all-electric powertrain. BMW claims that this is the first all-electric model “from the heart of the brand”, and is key to its large-scale electric car push planned for the next 24 months. By 2023, BMW will have electric ‘i’ versions of its ‘major’ series models. Chairman Oliver Zipse says that 90 per cent of the segments the brand covers will be available…

Last petrol-powered MINI coming in 2025 MINI is the latest brand to reveal a cut-off date for combustion power, and will be an electric-only car company from 2030. It will launch its last petrol-powered car in 2025, while it has also confirmed that the next Countryman SUV, coming in 2023, will be offered with pure-electric power. In the same year, the all-new electric MINI Hatch will go on sale. Smaller in size than the current model (above) it will use a new EV platform developed by Chinese manufacturing giant Great Wall. UK invests £3m in new hydrogen research THE UK’s first hydrogen transport hub is to be built in the Tees Valley. The hub will facilitate hydrogen production, storage and refuelling, with retailers, transport and delivery firms expected to work…

tristan_shale-hester@dennis.co.uk @tristan_shale “The Department for Transport will use the grant to encourage people into more affordable EVs” • PiCG cut from £3,000 to £2,500 • Only cars under £35,000 qualify THE Department for Transport has cut the subsidies for plug-in hybrid and electric cars with immediate effect, slashing the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) from £3,000 to £2,500, and reducing the maximum list price of cars eligible for the scheme from £50,000 to £35,000. The Department for Transport (DfT) and Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) will now use the grant to encourage people into more affordable EVs, with models such as the Volkswagen ID.3, MG ZS EV and Nissan Leaf remaining eligible for the scheme. Cars falling foul of the £35,000 cap include the Tesla Model 3, which was the…

sean_carson@dennis.co.uk Visit autoexpress.co.uk for the latest new cars and drives THIS time last year, we sampled the new Land Rover Defender for the first time in 110 form in the wilds of Namibia. Now we’re getting our first taste of the smaller Defender 90 with Land Rover’s new D250 mild-hybrid engine in the UK. What a difference a year makes, because in the intervening period, Land Rover has announced it’ll be targeting 60 per cent pure-electric sales by the end of the decade, with a fully electrified product line-up. So while there’s a plug-in Defender on the way (using the same system as the Range Rover Velar driven on p27), the electrification of Land Rover’s new icon we’re driving here is a step towards that target for the firm. It’s…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram Running costs 124 miles range 50kW DC charging Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.7 seconds/87mph “The MX-30 delivers a brilliant blend of sporty handling and a supple ride” MAZDA has dabbled with electric cars for more than 50 years; its first battery-powered concept, the EX-005 micro car dates back to 1970, and it has since made zero-emission showcases of the 2 supermini, and even the first-generation MX-5. So it’s surprising, then, that this MX-30 is its first full production EV – and we’re trying it for the first time in right-hand drive UK form here. The new arrival is a compact crossover, with prices starting from £26,045, including not only the Government’s (recently reduced) plug-in car grant, but also a free home charger. The MX-30 borrows elements of the handsome…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk FORMULA 1 is back. Having come through the extreme challenges of the Covid pandemic during 2020, the championship kicks off at a more familiar point in the year in 2021 – albeit in Bahrain, not Australia. While the much-anticipated new technical rules have been deferred until 2022 and some of the more exciting new races have been put on hold for now, there’s still plenty going on. Here are five big talking points as we head into the new season. Has Mercedes dropped the ball and can Red Bull take advantage? THIS was the major takeaway from the pre-season tests: Red Bull (specifically, Max Verstappen) set the pace, while Mercedes struggled with a range of issues – with only a two-week gap between testing and the first race to…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram THE legendary Enzo Ferrari once said: “Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win.” We at Auto Express feel that some racing cars would still be considered beautiful even if they hadn’t proven themselves on track, or even turned a wheel in anger. We’ve rounded up 10 of the most stunning race cars, from disciplines as wide-ranging as Formula One, endurance racing and the World Rally Championship, and while success is a common factor among most of them, it isn’t guaranteed. Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2 (Endurance racing - 1965) IT wouldn’t have been difficult to fill this entire list solely with racing cars from the stables of Alfa Romeo and Zagato. Possibly three of the greatest and most beautiful touring cars of all…

Running costs 49.4mpg (on test) £87 fill-up/£150 or 28% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 625/1,760 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.1 seconds/138mph MODELTESTED: Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI SE L PRICE: £29,720 ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4cyl, 148bhp THE Skoda Superb has been one of our favourite cars in this class for years and is available with a wide array of powertrains. Here we’re testing the 2.0-litre diesel model in SE L trim, which costs from £29,720. Design & engineering THE Superb sits on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform, so it shares engines and other parts with many other models, including the similar Volkswagen Passat. The 2.0-litre diesel engine that our test car uses has been around for years and is available in many VW Group cars, and it’s as good as ever, delivering…

RIDE QUALITY THE Insignia we tested came on huge 20-inch alloy wheels. The low-profile tyres can’t absorb as much movement on the road as the larger rubber on the 17-inch alloys of the Superb, which contributes to the firm ride on this SRi VX-Line Nav model. We reckon a version with smaller wheels would be a better pick and certainly go some way to softening the Vauxhall’s low-speed ride quality. TOWING IF you plan to tow a trailer or caravan, then the Skoda is the better choice, because it can pull up to 2,000kg, whereas the Vauxhall can only manage 1,500kg. The Superb’s stronger engine and more generous serving of torque (340Nm versus 300Nm) will mean it’s much more capable when pulling a heavy load as well. The more powerful…

1970 Maximum Muscle Mark Fletcher and Richard Truesdell (Motorbooks, www.quartoknows.co.uk) Price: £32 Rating: THIS colourful book depicts an incredible era of all-American muscle cars. The imagery is a highlight, with more than 250 high-quality photos, and production standards are high too. It’s a great look into cars we don’t see too often in the UK. Do Your Own Habitation Check Keith Shephard (Veloce Publishing, www.veloce.co.uk) Price: £9.99 Rating: WITH the prospect of a summer holiday, plenty of motorhomes and caravans will be in need of light recommissioning. This is a useful, succinct guide on what to check and how to do it, and may save you a professional check. It’s easy to follow and an ideal book to pick up before you go. Nitro Jump Racing Available for: iOS, Android…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk Q How do they work out who pays road tax supplement? UNDER the terms of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), there’s a £335 annual supplement for five years for combustion-engined cars costing £40,000 or more. Is this based on list price or can it be avoided via dealer discounts/part exchange? David Netherwood, E-mail A THE £335 annual VED supplement (currently charged at £325 but rising with inflation in April) is based on a vehicle’s list price, so it can’t be avoided using dealer discounts or part exchange. In addition, optional extras are taken into account, so if the price of a new car starts below the £40,000 mark but is pushed above that point by optional extras, the buyer will nonetheless have to pay the supplement.…