Tabla de contenidos para January 2023 en CAR UK

Lexus LFA The production version of the Electrified Sport will have a similar, hyper-focused ethos to this supercar disruptor. No screaming V10 this time, but Lexus’s engineers promise it’ll be fun and fast. It already looks to be as desirable as the LFA, too. Lexus RZ The first ground-up BEV from Lexus, using the e-TNGA platform like Toyota’s bZ4x. This is the first car to use the One Motion Grip steer-by-wire tech, which will feature on the production-spec sports car. The driver will be able to customise steering sharpness when on track. Lexus UX An unlikely DNA link, we know, but Lexus engineers used a UX300e to test out a ‘manual’ gearbox for EVs – something that the engineers want to include here. They admit it’s more about fun than…

At the climax of BMW M division’s 50th anniversary celebration, M boss Frank van Meel revealed the new 3.0 CSL, borrowing one of the most revered names in M history. The new, limited-run sports coupe (scooped by CAR months ago) has the most powerful straight-six ever fitted to a BMW production car and comes with a retro look, a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. But how does it really fit with the CSL bloodline? We subject van Meel’s words to examination… ‘It is a piece of hand-crafted art, just like a Picasso’ That’s pushing it a bit. Yes, the bodywork is bespoke. And the paint takes six days to apply. But the base chassis, interior and engine – while all tweaked and modified – are from the M4 CSL. Not…

Tell us about your first car… ‘It was a VW Beetle. It was rotten but I was a student and it was the cheapest thing you could get. I once changed the brake pads in the street in front of the shop where I bought them, kneeling in the snow! I always wanted to drive. For me it’s absolute freedom.’ Which achievement makes you most proud? ‘The Hunaudières concept I did for Bentley in 1998.’ What’s the best thing you’ve ever done in a car? ‘In a car? Driving a Veyron, full acceleration. But I also did a great road trip on a bike: LA to Vegas to Bonneville to Yosemite to San Francisco and back to LA. On my own, no signal; out there in the wilderness.’ Tell us…

Electric motors are the engines of EVs, and yet there’s much more focus on battery size and chemistry rather than the types of e-motor. Time to put that right. Every motor has a stator (a static part that conducts the battery’s power) and the rotor (the part that spins, driving the wheels), but different car makers pursue different kinds of electric-motor technology depending on their re-quirements and priorities. Here’s our explainer. WHAT KIND OF MOTOR POWERS YOUR NEXT EV? ELECTRICALLY-EXCITED SYNCHRONOUS Here, the rotor is motivated by an electric current, allowing it to spin without any need for magnets. By extension, that means they need no rare earths, making them cheaper to produce and greener than permanent magnet synchronous motors. Why use them? Instant peak torque available, low cost |…

The 300-mile test NEW CAR MEETS REAL WORLD I don’tnotice it straight away. Were this wild hillside road in Scotland or Wales there’d be nothing to it but tarmac, wild moorland and the elements. Finally, it clicks – the clutter. Portugal harbours a profound love of roadside furniture. Rail-ings, posts, telegraph poles, markers, lumps of concrete you could counterbalance a tower crane with… there’s something every 15 feet. And pushing harder than might be prudent in filthy-wet conditions, this ever-present wall of roadside stuff certainly serves to focus the mind. Running wide will not go unpunished. Snug in the Honda’s bright red bucket seat (now mount-ed 8mm lower in the shell, apparently), I couldn’t be less worried. Dry tarmac would be nice. But the deluge floo-ding the road, streaming off…

We might be in a financial crisis, but nobody has told KTM’s customers. The X-Bow GT-XR is the Austrian firm’s priciest ever road-legal car, yet the order books are filled to bursting with people keen to spend over £300k on this striking carbonfibre creation. Although it can trace its lineage back to the original X-Bow, the GT-XR is closely re-lated to the successful GT2 racing car. That means a much longer wheelbase than previ-ous X-Bows, a closed canopy and a tuned version of the turbocharged 2.5-litre, five-cylinder Audi engine usually found in the nose of the RS3 and TT RS. The GT-XR only weighs 1250kg read to go, dropping to 1210kg with some lightweight options. That means a 3.4-second 0-62mph time, if not the never-ending shove a larger, torquier motor…

Giant test THE DEFINITIVE VERDICT IN SOPHISTICATED GIOLA GREEN THE RANGE ROVER SPORT IS MAGNIFICENT IN ITS UNFUSSY, HEWN- FROM-SOLID ELEGANCE Well, that was exciting. At one point your Range Sport was moving in every direction except forwards.’ CAR’s James Taylor is both a very laid-back individ-ual and a talented driver. As such, very little ruffles his feathers. And after watching my progress from the se-rene bridge of the bizarrely oxymoronic BMW iX M60 – acar that’s at once brutally rapid and ridiculously relaxing – his heart rate is exactly as it should: deep and crisp and even. After the Range Rover Sport’s slimy-road boogying, mine’s a little more ragged. There is, we’re told, no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes. Or the wrong car. And a…

Perhaps an SUV or estate would’ve been a more logical choice of main family car, but there’s no doubting the RS3’s talents and that it’ll be missed after 9000 miles. Brief recap: I’ve been running the third generation of Audi’s least expensive RS model, which retains the five-cylinder turbo motor with an un-changed 395bhp if gently im-proved 369lb ft, plus sev-en-speed dual-clutch gearbox and quattro all-wheel drive. This First Edition spec loads up extras like a panoramic sun-roof, LED matrix headlights and matt black 19-inch alloys. It pushes RS3 pricing from £55k to £60,460. Raises eyebrows. We clicked right away. The more aggressively cambered front end makes the RS3 ex-tremely alert to steering inputs and dovetails beautifully with the new RS Torque Splitter set-up, which uses clutch packs in-board of…

Count the cost Cost new £86,020 Part exchange £65,995 Cost per mile 7.3p Cost per mile including depreciation £2.20 BMW iX xDrive 40 Month 7 The story so far Come in BMW e-SUV, your time is up + Brilliant to drive, delightful to sit in - Ugly to behold, average efficiency Logbook Price £72,795 (£86,020 as tested) Performance 71kWh battery, twin e-motors, 322bhp, 6.1sec 0-62mph, 124mph Efficiency 3.22 miles per kWh (official), 2.8 miles per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2 Range 231-264 miles (official), 200 miles (tested) Energy cost 11.0p per mile Miles this month 755 Total miles 9425 So after nine days, three hours and 25 minutes of total driving time, the iX has returned to BMW. We travelled 7035 miles, draining a kilowatt-hour every 2.8 miles (so-so efficiency). Ap-parently…

You know when F1 drivers weave behind the safety car, radioing that Bernd Maylander should get shifting despite him clear-ly working his socks off? That’s how I feel in the Golf R Estate after the Audi RS3. The engine is flatter (in acceleration and aural excitement), han-dling is less incisive, the all-wheel drive more one-dimensional. That’s unfair, with the R being £15k cheaper, hav-ing 79 fewer horses and 60kg more to lug (at 1705kg), but it does dispel thoughts that this VW Group sibling might do much the same for much less. In fact, my first im-pressions were that the R felt more like what I ex-pect from a GTI. There are positives, though. The R’s 2.0-litre four boosts sooner than the laggier RS3’s, you still get an indecent hurry…

A resurrection is upon us. Lexus, famed for its buttoned-up yet dra-matically styled saloons and SUVs, is yearning for the days when it had a flagship supercar that the automo-tive enthusiast couldn’t get enough of. What you see here is the brand concocting what could be its next LFA before our eyes. But this isn’t necromancy, it’s alchemy; instead of creating a sentimental rip-off of that masterpiece, complete with an en-gine co-developed with Yamaha, Lexus is going full cyberpunk and embracing a software-driven, bat-tery-electric future. You may well have spotted some-thing like this super-sleek, low-drag car before; Toyota and Lexus laid out their long roadmap for electrification with images previewing a new range of EVs and concepts a year ago. Bur-ied somewhere between wacky crossovers and what looked like an…

REVIVING A HERO The International Harvester Scout was one of the first SUVs – a cult classic in the ’70s and ’80s in North America and a name that still gets respect today. VW Group is reviving the name for a new brand of vehicle: the ‘rugged’ e-SUV and e-pick-up which will be designed, engineered, built and sold entirely in the region. ELECTRIC TWINS The Scout EV brand, led by former VW North America head Scott Keogh, plans to include an SUV (codenamed SC416) as well as the pick-up truck (SC417). The aim is to use the new PPE platform that’ll be used in the coming years across myriad VW Group brands and products to make the initiative more cost-efficient. A FIERCE MARKET Particularly in North America, the electric truck…

THE NEW-ERA DRAG RACE KING Dodge set the internet alight with its all-electric Charger Daytona SRT Concept, revealed earlier in 2022, but at SEMA it went even further by showing that its battery-powered muscle car could be modded and upgraded just like one with an engine, with power outputs topping 750bhp with the hard-hitting Banshee model. NEED TO KNOW What is it? An unholy electric muscle car I Tech specs An ‘exhaust’ system promising to be as loud as a Hellcat, fake gearshifts, 800-volt Banshee spec I Aimed at? Rewriting the muscle car and EV rulebooks I Best bit? The fighter jet-style cap for the starter button THE HEART TRANSPLANT HERO The Datsun/Nissan Sunny pick-up truck is already a rarity, but customiser Tommy Pike has gone even more niche by…

Mk1: simple but effective Direct orders from Henry Ford II spawned one of the greatest small cars money could buy. While it was a bit plain, 1976’s Mk1 showed a front-driven Ford could be good value and still handle like a dream. 8/10 A star is born Mk2: now with comfort More of a heavy update than an all-new generation, 1983’s Mk2 benefitted from a much plusher cockpit. The hot XR2 couldn’t keep up with a 205 GTi, but it was still fun. 5/10 Less boxy, less moxy Mk3: ahead of the curve Much curvier, and now with more sophisticated suspension, 1989’s Mk3 had to battle a new bunch of rivals inspired by the success of earlier Fiestas. RS Turbo loved by joyriders. 6/10 Became a bestseller here Mk4:…

So you’ve heard of drive-in cinemas, right? You rock up, park your car in front of the big screen and then spend the entire movie try-ing to retrieve popcorn from parts of the cabin you never knew existed. Well, BMW reckons it can do one better with its latest piece of gadgetry – the Theatre Screen. Available in the new 7-series and i7 (standard on some versions, optional for others), it aims to satisfy the entertainment needs of your rear-seat passengers. A 31.3- inch (yes, you read that right) 8K touch-screen with a Bowers & Wilkins surround-sound, it chimes perfectly with the hi-tech approach of BMW’s latest flagship, which also offers ambitious new levels of adjusta-ble ambient lighting. Cinephiles can activate the big screen us-ing the ‘Touch Command’ devices (touch-screens…

The Avenger’s ingredients do not sound au-thentic: it’s a front-wheel-drive electric city car. One based on the Stellantis group’s electric bits that underpin the revised DS 3. But it’s been re-engineered, with revised crash boxes to shorten the overhangs, 200mm of ground clearance (30mm more than a Peugeot e-2008), and mud, snow and sand modes to manage power delivery on tricky terrain. This off-road capability isn’t far off a Range Rover Evoque’s, as the Aveng-er demonstrates hauling itself over some offset ramps with just one wheel providing traction at moments. Our test isn’t on any slippery stuff but on winding Alpes-Maritimes roads. The Avenger oozes with sophistication: the cockpit is borderline silent (up to dual-car-riageway speeds), the quiet, supple suspen-sion – struts up front, torsion beam rear – ruffled by…

Abominable I must take issue with Phil McNamara’s asser-tion in November’s Behind the Headlines that the Dacia Duster is 2022’s Skoda Yeti. I’ve owned two Yetis, and there are a further three in extended-family ownership. The Yeti was aesthetically distinctive, charming like precious few modern VW Group cars, great to drive and beautifully judged as a family car, with a plush ride, a vertical tailgate for plenty of dog space in the boot and a hard-wearing interior. I’ve test driven a Duster and, while it has some qualities, it is ergonomically flawed and stuffed with old Renault bits to help drag down the cost. The Duster is likeably affordable, if not actually very likeable, starting at £15,295 when VW’s benchmark Golf is a £26k car. In broad terms, the Duster…

In our three-car Range Rover test six months ago, the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, huge fun in small bursts, placed third. The Porsche goes two better this time round to claim the win. Allow me to explain… There’s much to admire about the new Range Rover Sport. Handsome inside and out, by turns soothing and scintillating depending on your settings, and in possession of genuine off-road ability that leaves its rivals floundering, it’ll enrapture the faithful. But it’s hamstrung here by the dynamic banana skin of all-season rubber, and can’t win a test based on what it might feel like on more appropriate tyres. It ditches some of the Range Rover’s outstanding ride quality but then, in the case of this car at least, fails to convince as the driving…

There’s a school of thought that the interior of this Land Rover Defender is a pastiche of the in-teriors of previous Land Rover Defenders, and thereby a bad thing. I just don’t see the prob-lem. Yes, there are a lot of ex-posed screws (I count 14 in each door and 11 on the side-hinged boot), but from where I’m sit-ting it’s really good. The driving position is spot on, with the centre console and armrest at the same height. Nothing protrudes to knock your knees against either – cru-cial when you’re off-roading or have long legs. I’d take the centre console too, over the optional ‘jump seat’, because it gives you a chasm under the cupholders into which you can shove what-ever stuffed animal, piece of clothing or food item…

I’m not so sure I like the badge, but it shows the brand has the confidence to shake things up Oh, how times have changed for Peugeot. We’ve seen it go through such a renaissance over the last few years, and it may have hit a new peak with this latest 308, which wears the new lion’s-head badge. I’m not so sure I like it, but it shows the brand has the confidence to shake things up. And why wouldn’t it be conf-ident? Sales are growing (the 208 is one of the best-selling cars in Europe right now, and the 2008 isn’t that far behind), and the cars are striking to look at. I’m not the only one who thinks my 308 looks fantastic; I went to an event recently…

JG: You say Lexus is more about emotion and fun than Toyota, but Lexus has been saying that for years. How can you truly step out from under Toyota’s shadow? PR: Well, it’s not just about differentiation from Toyota but from other brands, too. We need to have a Lexus driving signature – Icome back to this all the time. We’ll do it through technology – just look at One Motion Grip in the RZ and even in the Electrified Sport. JG: And actually making EVs fun? I’m told you’re developing a manual transmission for EVs. Pointless from a functionality point of view, but I’m guessing there are more emotional reasons to have one, right? PR: Exactly. It’s an interesting direction, because you could say BEVs are losing some of…

Andreas Mindt is one of the most enthusiastic human beings you could wish to meet. But this engag-ing conversationalist also loves to lis-ten. For him, listening is life’s secret sauce. It’s a theme that recurs time and again as we talk in California, the day after the unveiling of his first Bentley, the Batur. Mindt was appointed design di-rector in March 2021, replacing Ste-fan Sielaff. But Mindt, the son of a car designing father who worked for Opel and VW, is no stranger to Bent-ley: he created the brand’s talismanic first post-Rolls-Royce concept, the Hunaudières, when he was still a twenty-something whippersnapper. Now that Bentley’s his gig, Mindt’s thrown himself into the brand, hun-gry to buff his already deep-rooted understanding of what makes it spe-cial – and how it must…

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PASSENGERS Fold down the monitor using touchscreens in the doors. Just make sure the front seats aren’t too far back, otherwise it won’t work DON’T FORGET THE POPCORN Adjust the lighting, pick a movie to stream and pop the seat into full aircraft recliner position. Sound comes through the car’s speakers or separate headphones TOTAL IMMERSION Sit back, relax and wonder whether a 31.3-inch screen really does move the game on, while your driver curses the sudden reduction of their rear visibility…

The first-generation Ford Ranger Raptor seemed to be missing something. The standard 2.0-litre diesel made it feel like a luxury hot chocolate made with cream and marshmallows but skimmed milk. The second generation comes with a 3.0-litre V6 biturbo petrol engine that rights that perceived wrong. As well as Ford’s 10-speed automatic gearbox there are ex-tensive visual, suspension and driving up-grades over the standard Ranger. On road it’s swift, but no sports car, with 0-62mph taking just shy of eight seconds. That’s an impressive feat for something this big and heavy, but still not earth-shattering. It’s when you turn off the road that the Raptor comes into its own. There are seven driving modes in all, and four of them are dedicated to the different types of terrain you’re likely…

Don’t judge a book by its cover? But it’s all about the cover with Peugeot’s new flagship crossover, the 408. The car’s a halfway house between 308 hatchback and 3008 SUV, riding 4cm higher than the hatch, featuring a lower, swoopier roofline compared with the SUV but pep-pered with plastic body protection. That formula may sound familiar be-cause it’s identical to its cousin’s, the Citroën C5X. The cars share the same underpin-nings and wheelbase, glass and engines, though the C5X is almost 10cm longer. While the Citroën is softly surfaced, the Peugeot designers’ angle grinder has un-leashed a frenzy of facets. The vast grille and the beady-eyed lamps add aggression, then there’s that jutting diffuser. Designers say the inverted rear visually shrinks the over-hang and helps in a crash, but…

23 ASTON MARTIN DB11 ULTIMATE GET YOUR ASTON V12 NOW! The clue’s in the name: V12-propelled DB11 is on its last lap YEAR OF THE FACELIFT Aston’s 2023 kicks off with tweaks to its flagship DBS, which will get restyled lights, bumpers and wheels, along with an active front splitter and bigger rear wing for 600kg of downforce at 155mph. The most significant improvement is a new interior which mates Mercedes electronics with a much improved infotainment system offering extended connectivity. DB11 OVERHAULED It was so nearly a new car, the DB12. Instead the DB11 will get an upgraded interior plus fully restyled front and rear ends along with wider wings, wheels, tyres and track. The badge on the bootlid is now expected to read DB11 Ultimate, before the V12…

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Month 5 The story so far A third of UK Cayman buyers go GT4 – and quite right too. But this month, playing devil’s advocate, we go in search of its flaws + The best sports car on sale - Not cheap; 18-month wait Logbook Price £80,500 (£97,132 as tested) Performance 3995cc flat-six, 414bhp, 3.9sec 0-62mph, 188mph Efficiency 25.4mpg (official), 25.5mpg (tested; 10mpg on track), 251g/km CO2 Energy cost 32.0p per mile Miles this month 207 Total miles 12,199 Flaw 1: It’s too much for the road It’s a common refrain, beloved of those who watch me clamber out of the canyon-sided bucket seats and pop my noise-cancel-ling Bose earphones out and back into their recharging case. (I use them on long, uneventful motorway drives, and…

Skoda Kodiaq vRS 2.0 TSI 245ps DSG 4x4 Month 3 The story so far Curious mix of practical and sensible, with a veneer of sportiness + Big boot = big bed. Peacefully quiet, too - Shame about the lack of rear-door blinds Logbook Price £47,690 (£52,585 as tested) Performance 1984cc turbocharged four-cylinder, 242bhp, 6.6sec 0-62mph, 144mph Efficiency 31.7mpg (official), 31.3mpg (tested), 202g/ km CO2 Energy cost 25.2p per mile Miles this month 1660 Total miles 3152 Your eyes do not deceive you. I did indeed go camping in the Skodiaq earlier this autumn – and it was remarkably commo-dious. Comfortable, even. Why was I sleeping in my car? Blame poor organisational skills and the logistical night-mare that is planning accom-modation for the Goodwood Revival. Yes, I left it too late…

DS 9 Rivoli+ E-Tense PHEV Month 7 The story so far The non-obvious choice of premium saloon + Great motorway cruiser with a stylish cabin - Needs simpler controls; the 5-series is so hard to beat Logbook Price £49,200 (£55,390 as tested) Performance 1598cc four-cylinder plus e-motor, 11.9kWh battery, 222bhp, 8.3sec 0-62mph, 149mph Efficiency 176.6-256.8mpg (official), 38.8mpg (tested), 33g/km CO2 Energy cost 21.6p per mile Miles this month 397 Total 13,651 Who’s it for? That question – or, rather, the lack of a convincing answer – is the DS9’s biggest problem. French politicians use DS 9s, but you suspect even some of them would be in an Audi if they were allowed. Now, with the 9 having re-turned to DS seven months af-ter arriving at CAR, we’re maybe a little…

The statistics lie: 14 World Rally wins and two world titles; one Pikes Peak record; a Le Mans class victory. Put like that, Walter Röhrl is one of those good drivers who never found his niche, never fully realised his potential. In reality, he’s the racer’s racer, the development driver’s development driver. He’s managed all this without being beholden to sponsors or one manufacturer (although he’s been a Porsche ambassador since 1993). He doesn’t talk or look like a racer – he’s 6ft 5in and could pass as an Antarctic scientist or a Lutheran pastor who climbs mountains on his day off. Born in 1947, Röhrl first made his mark as a ski instructor and worked as a chauffeur, before going into rally driving with Porsche in Germany and Fiat…