Tabla de contenidos para November 2023 en CAR UK

Nobody buys a Kodiaq primarily for how it drives. It’s a car that’s doing just fine if you don’t notice anything at all about its dynamic characteristics. But if a demo drive round the block reveals anything weird or awkward, those potential buyers have plenty of alternatives available to them. The good news is that if you’re jumping out of the old Kodiaq into the new 190bhp diesel version, it will feel reassuringly familiar. Tested on a short, smooth road route with some interesting mountain passes thrown into the equation, it didn’t take long to get used to the new placement of the transmission shifter and, once underway, the familiarity is maintained thanks to its gruff, gravelly TDI engine note and effortless midrange torque. Normal service resumes, then. We also…

ID. i. EQ. e-Tron. The car world’s marketing teams loved sinking their teeth into the grand-scale brand-building exercise that was the early days of the electric-car rollout. Those techy, futuristic names served two jobs. One was to make it clear that these were new, all-electric and visually adventurous departures from anything that had come before. Early adopters, come on down… The other job was to avoid blurring the divide between the new EVs and the familiar combustion-engined cars that were the foundations of the manufacturers’ current success. Take VW. Instead of its old habit of often using wind-based names (Jetta, Scirocco), it took the requirement for a new ID for EVs quite literally. Even now, as more ID cars roll out and public recognition increases, VW still reckons it would…

DAVID DURAND VP DESIGN, DACIA ‘I love the challenge of making cars that aren’t the same as other companies’,’ says David Durand, Dacia’s head of design, smiling on the other end of a video call. I had met Durand in person not long before our digital meeting, as Dacia’s future product plans were laid out at a ‘Dacia Days’ media event on home turf. In Romania the brand brimmed with confidence, boasting about growing sales and entering new segments. And Durand was right at the centre of it all as he unveiled his vision for Dacia’s future. Durand grew up in the Alps and always got a kick out of cars, watching the Monte Carlo Rally when he was young. He loved playing with Lego, and was fascinated by how…

When Alfa blasted back from irrelevance with the M3-baiting Giulia Quadrifoglio, it was hard to know what was more exciting: the way it looked, the way it drove or the amazing racket it made as you gunned it up the road. The engine was, ahem, all-new. ‘The V6 is a ground-up build,’ project leader Philippe Krief told CAR at the time. ‘It is twin-turbo, with a 90° vee angle. ‘What was important for us was the feeling, not necessarily the amount of torque. When you accelerate, you can have all the torque suddenly then nothing, or you can have torque which is increasing, increasing, increasing: we tuned it to have this feeling.’ At this point, the tech-savvy thought of Ferrari, and not just because Krief had worked on the sublime…

FERRARI PUROSANGUE I BENTLEY BENTAYGA S IASTON MARTIN DBX 707 Rewind to the mid-2010s and imagine you’re a Ferrari manager brainstorming Maranello’s first SUV-type vehicle. There’s no platform-sharing and no predecessor, so you and your team have a blank canvas. Your brain soon aches with the possibilities and potential pitfalls of it all, but ideas start to flow – maybe turbos for flexibility, hybridisation for efficiency, a torque converter for (this is a safe space; there are no sackable answers) towing. It’s all plausible. Then comes the curveball – why not ditch all that? Why can’t this new Ferrari borrow only a (moderately) raised ride height, hatchback tailgate (although Ferrari calls it a four-door) and all-wheel-drive mechanicals from the SUV playbook? The rest would be stretched from Ferrari’s core like…

Tomy left, the wall of rock looming over the Ferrari 296 GTS is made all the more imposing by the view. I can clearly see the monumental height and scale of it towering above the roofless windscreen, steel cables and netting holding the mass in place… hopefully. If there are any weaknesses, our combined exhaust racket will soon expose them. The V6 in the 296 GTS wails and echoes all around, seemingly forgetting that, with its hybrid assistance, it’s meant to be the quiet one. Ahead, the Maserati MC20 Cielo, similarly V6-powered, contributes its own bass notes, growling menacingly at the Ferrari in a supercar equivalent of the The X Factor. The sun glances off the very upper tip of the rock wall, lighting the uppermost reaches but leaving us…

Alfa Romeo Tonale 1.3 PHEV 280 Q4 Veloce Month 2 The story so far Tonale PHEV slots into Alfa’s small but impressive range + Incredible styling makes it seem less crossover, more Alfa - Feels a bit cheap in places Logbook Price £48,495 (£51,595 as tested) Performance 15.5kWh battery plus 1332cc fourcylinder, PHEV, 276bhp, 199lb ft, 6.2sec 0-62mph, 128mph Efficiency 217mpg (official), 41.1mpg (tested), 29g/km CO2 Energy cost 23.0p per mile Miles this month 471 Total miles 3660 So far I’m struggling to follow the logic of when the Tonale’s engine takes a lead and when it’s running on electricity. Sometimes the engine fires up and clears its throat, as if to remind you it exists. The revs can rise for no reason, and the car can sound like a…

Few would argue that the ID range has been the out-of-theblocks success Volkswagen had initially anticipated. Modest range, software glitches, bland styling and ho-hum cabin quality – the ID. 3 fell a long way short of establishing itself as the next Wolfsburg icon alongside the Beetle and Golf. The ID. 4 SUV hasn’t done much to change opinions, so perhaps the slightly more rakish and svelte ID. 5 can hit that sought-after sweet spot with a solid mix of style, performance, range, value and technology. Like all ID models to date the ID. 5 is underpinned by the battery-only MEB architecture, and it’s pitched as a rakish and dynamic coupe spin-off of the ID. 4. A car that, in VW’s words, ‘achieves a modern synergy of SUV and coupe’. This…

Last month I suggested our CX’s £1100 Driver Assistance pack option wouldn’t get my tick, in part because I’m not a fan of the adaptive cruise control. But now I’m having second thoughts. I still hate how it sometimes panic brakes for no reason on curving motorways at high speed, getting confused about vehicles in the next lane. Also, like all such systems, it can’t understand and predict another driver’s behaviour like a human can. That’s why, given the choice, I’ll always take a plain non-adaptive cruise system. But throw in some slow-moving, or stop ’n’ go, motorway jams and adaptive systems really come into their own. The great thing about the CX-60 is it lets you switch between the two set-ups, something I’ve only just discovered. Shame you have…

In my first report I wrote that the Cupra’s greatest flaw is the road noise. At motorway speeds there’s so much rumble from the tyres you have to raise your voice to talk. Now I have a new reason to hate the Hankook tyres: I’ve had two punctures in a month. On both occasions a yellow warning light came on to say a tyre had lost pressure. The first time I got out to check, but honestly the 235/35 R19 rubber is so low-profile, the tyres look flat even when they’re fully inflated. Still, I swapped the wheel for the space-saver to be on the safe side, and my local tyre-repair guy found a nail. The repair cost £16. Three weeks later, the same warning light, this time on the…

HOW DOES NEW GBU WORK? Fewer classes, more frequent updates and all the attitude you’ve come to expect from GBU GIANT TEST WINNER 1 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R THE GOOD: Feel, feedback, focus: a phenomenal full-sized hot hatch THE BAD: Nearly £50k for a frontdrive hatchback with barely any more power than before THE UGLY: Probably the last of its kind; good job it’s one of the best THE ONE TO BUY: There’s just the one model; expect to pay around £550 on a PCP with an £11k deposit 2 TOYOTA GR YARIS THE GOOD: A modern-day rally homologation special THE BAD: Road noise like a death-metal gig; joke rear seats THE UGLY: Limited supply makes finding one tricky; high chairs THE ONE TO…

1 PORSCHE TAYCAN THE GOOD: Interstellar acceleration; stellar handling; agreeably tactile; roomier than a 911 THE BAD: Empty interior; ferociously expensive; not a 911 THE UGLY: Begs to be thrashed, but thrashing it clobbers the range THE ONE TO BUY: Choose your body style from saloon, estate or the borderline SUV-ish Cross Turismo. Prices start at £79k; the sensible Taycan 4S is £91k, sharper GTS is tempting and Turbo just bonkers; top models cost upwards of £149,300 2 TESLA MODEL 3 THE GOOD: New lights, new colours, new aero and improved interior: it’s had a refresh, but remains good to drive and easy to live with THE BAD: That refresh hasn’t added the knobs and buttons that would reduce driver distraction THE UGLY: Panel…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT You can almost hear the evil laughter echoing from the Skoda facilities in Mladá Boleslav. From the designers, crafting new versions of familiar Skoda details like a place to clip your parking ticket on the windscreen and a slot for an ice scraper in the fuel filler cap. From the engineers, stretching a shared VW Group platform to its absolute limit. And from the boardroom, as executives set Skoda on a course for huge commercial success by creating the family car to end all family cars. That’s pretty much how the outgoing Kodiaq is already regarded. Launched in 2017, it soon became Skoda’s biggest-selling SUV. It won awards. It toppled fierce rivals in CAR group tests. It became the pragmatic choice for any family. Not satisfied with…

ID. 2 GTI FAC TFILE POWERTRAIN 56kWh battery (est), single 223bhp e-motor (est), front-wheel drive CHA SSIS Steel monocoque DUE Late 2026/early 2027 HALLOWED INITIALS Those famed three letters are making the electric switch, previewed first with the ID. GTI concept (pictured). The design study is essentially a performance version of the ID. 2all concept, which previews a car that’s confirmed for production in 2026. The GTI will follow around six months later with all the trimmings. A NEW MAESTRO VW design boss Andreas Mindt conceived the ID. 2all with a view to making a GTI version from the off. ‘I didn’t want to make it a boy-racer car. With some hot hatches, you feel embarrassed driving them – almost wanting to put a paper bag over your head. When…

Tell us about your first car… ‘I started driving my parents’ car at first, then I had motorcycles. I bought my first car when I was 25 and I still have it – a1968 Land Rover Series II soft-top.’ What achievement makes you most proud? ‘Being involved with Sandero III and Duster, and being part of the building of trust and the increasing value of the Dacia brand.’ What’s the best thing you’ve ever done in a car? ‘I can only think of stuff on motorcycles! I often used to meet with friends in the Pyrenees, carrying my bike in the back of a Renault Espace. My friends always used to laugh when I turned up in it.’ Tell us about a time you’ve screwed up… ‘I had a very…

The idea that Porsche’s 911 GT3 RS is a racing car for the road isn’t entirely true, because it actually goes further than that. Last time we checked, you can’t individually change the damper bump and rebound rates while driving in a 911 Cup or GT3 racing car. Instead, you have to stop, climb out and get your hands dirty. Not so in the GT3 RS. Four colour-coded switches on the steering wheel allow you to adjust aspects of the vehicle’s set-up regardless of what speed you’re doing. These include compression and rebound rates for the front and rear dampers as well as the push and pull lock values on the rear differential. It’s spectacularly clever stuff that no other road car offers – but does it actually work? And…

Everyone loves the 5-series, sooner or later. Few models are as consistently well received as the BMW saloon has been over the years. Blips have usually been inconsequential, and occasional negatives have bounced back in Munich’s favour: the initially divisive Bangle-era styling has aged fabulously, and the much-maligned iDrive has morphed into probably the best infotainment system. The i5 M60 starts at nearly 40 grand more than the rival Tesla Model 3 Performance The next move, into full electric, continues the work started with the i4 last year. The i5 you see here will be offered with two power outputs alongside a petrol 5-series available as a mild-hybrid 520i, with plug-in hybrids coming later. Gone are the mile-munching diesels (at least in the UK), but M division will still get…

Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo Month 1 The story so far Taycan GTS both electrifies and sportifies + All the Porsche goodness - All the Porsche optional extras Logbook Price £111,200 (£126,486 as tested) Performance 83.7kWh battery, twin e-motors, 510bhp, 3.7sec 0-62mph, 155mph Efficiency 2.93 miles per kWh (official), 3.06 (tested), 0g/km CO2 Range 301 miles (official), 240 miles (tested) Energy cost 10p per mile Miles this month 362 Total miles 13,842 I was lucky enough to be working for a PR agency with Porsche as our biggest client when Stuttgart unveiled the Taycan. So I got a peek inside the tent ahead of the unveil – not quite a full debrief from Mr Blume himself (as nice as he is, the closest I got to the big chief…

Funny how the rise of the EV has lessened our former obsession with top speed. The number is still in our spec panel: I had to consult it before writing this when I realised I had no idea what my Mustang Mach-E GT tops out at. Turns out it’s 124mph, which is exactly the same as a 1.0-litre, 123bhp Focus, despite my car being Ford’s 480bhp, £76k, range topper. Anyway, good riddance to that pointless Top Trumps obsession. No autobahn trips are planned before the Mustang goes back to Ford, so I won’t be able to test its v-max. And in any case I doubt it would do 124mph for an hour and 124 miles: at that speed the battery is likely to die well before. It does feel like…

Volkswagen Multivan Month 7 The story so far VW helps the MPV live on, masquerading as a van + Huge interest among VW owners - Month’s mpg clobbered by PHEV-unfriendly Ireland trip Logbook Price £59,035 (£63,979 as tested) Performance 13kWh battery plus 1395cc turbocharged four-cylinder, PHEV, 218bhp, 9.0sec 0-62mph, 120mph Efficiency 156.9mpg (official), 34.6mpg (tested), 41g/ km CO2 Energy cost 11.1p per mile Miles this month 3106 Total miles 11,614 Fresh from its trip to Ireland in the hands of Ben Oliver, the Multivan has been thrust straight into fraternising with other VWs at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire. Why? Well, it’s on our doorstep, our children love the Little Beaulieu playground and we have friends staying who also need to exercise/exhaust their offspring. Beaulieu’s Simply VW…

Living with a plug-in hybrid prompts a different kind of charging experience to that of a full-electric car. Instead of fretting about error messages on rapid chargers at a motorway services, which can sometimes mean long delays while an alternative is found, I just feel guilty for hooking up in a public car park, potentially causing delays for someone in an EV, when ultimately I have the option of bypassing the e-motor and relying solely on the engine. When I am a good boy, making sure I use my plug-in hybrid properly by keeping it charged, I’m punished with erratic cost rates on public chargers on top of parking fees. A 4.4kWh battery top-up in a public car park in Peterborough while out for a meal cost me £3.08, yet…

If the electric car has achieved something like maturity, the electric motorcycle is not long out of the primordial soup. The challenge is obvious. Where big cars have plenty of space, weight and margin in which to hide the electrified powertrain, motorcycles don’t. A colleague on Motor Cycle News is running a DSR/X from US company Zero. Like the Audi, it’s positioned as an aspirational distance machine. At times sensational, the riding experience is reassuringly normal in the round. Hugely impressive are the walking-speed manners, the roll-on acceleration and the reverse function, which is super-handy in day-to-day use. Less impressive are the numb brakes and crude suspension, which has its work cut out keeping the 247kg machine in check. Range is around the 100-mile mark. The Audi is good for…

1 PORSCHE 911 THE GOOD: Style, like 911s, never goes out of fashion THE BAD: The base Carrera now costs more than £97k – yet that’s not enough to stop it being a clear class winner; road noise now up to 11 THE UGLY: To some, it’s now more comfy GT than sports car; canny options list pushes you to spend like a lottery winner THE ONE TO BUY: Carrera S with the PDK gearbox for £110k on the nose; the Sport Chrono package is bundled in, but you’ll still pay for the Porsche badges on the wheels to be coloured in 2 ARIEL ATOM THE GOOD: A beautiful object as well as a thrilling drive; think of it as a modernised Lotus Seven crossed with…

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

Giugiaro at his best Late 1973’s Mk1 was a fastback take on the recently introduced Audi 80, available with two, three, four or five doors. A piece of design to rank among Giorgetto Giugiaro’s greatest. 9/10 First and finest More of the same The 1980 Mk2 was based on 1978’s new Audi 80, and became slightly longer but still looked pretty sharp. Now a choice of hatch, three-box saloon or Peugeot-style big estate. 8/10 More useful, almost as stylish The Voldemort era If the Mk2 was aiming for some of that Peugeot boxiness, 1988’s Mk3, on a stretched Golf platform, had sensible Renault/Volvo vibes – and no grille. Now estate or saloon only. 6/10 Goodbye innovation W8TF?!? Based on the first Audi A4, 1997’s Mk5 was the first VW with…

STILL WANT THAT KONA? Today’s style at yesterday’s prices. That’s the initial ambition of the new Omoda brand heading for our shores, led by the new 5 SUV. Picking up on the European sales success of in-your-face designs such as the Nissan Ariya, Hyundai Tucson and Renault Arkana, Chinese mega-corp Chery’s Omoda sub-brand has smashed them together to create the not exactly original 5. NEED TO KNOW What is it? First Euro car from this Chery offshoot brand I Tech specs? Smart voice assistant, Sony audio system, petrol and EV versions I Who’s it aimed at? Trend-followers on a budget I When can I get one? March 2024, priced from £24k STILL WANT THAT TAYCAN? Lotus’s new electric ‘hyper GT’ is the closest thing the Taycan has had to a…

The 300-mile test NEW CAR MEETS REAL WORLD I t’s not often we strike gold so soon after getting behind the wheel of a car for the first time, but today is a glorious exception. A ribbon of asphalt spaghetti draped on the pale rockface of Sardinia’s southern tip, this road is often choked up by those drawn to the white sands and royal blue Mediterranean on our left, but hit it early enough and the place is yours. Clinging to the edge of the island, the sun-bleached strada cuts a thrilling line through the Palaeozoic rockface and sends you on a rollercoaster ride 10 miles long. In the wrong car, and in the wrong hands, the potential for calamity stares you in the face – each offset camber and…

1 IT’S 2024’S MOST IMPORTANT NEW CAR You have to feel for Ben Weinberger, Porsche’s affable spokesperson for the Macan and Cayenne model lines. He had it all worked out. Curious parties would ask him: ‘So Ben, how much of the new Macan is actually new?’ And with a flourish he’d point at the badge on the nose and proudly declare it the only carryover part. ‘Except now we have a new badge [Porsche recently updated it] so actually nothing is carried over,’ he chuckles. The all-new Macan is exactly that, then: all new. Except that the pre-production prototypes we’re driving have the old badge, so – much like everything else – they’re covered over with black tape. The all-new Macan is also late. Originally expected late 2023 it has,…

I mentioned after my first month with the Dacia that I was suspicious of the Jogger’s generous tallying up of the number of miles it claims I’ve driven on electric power. Of the first 1000 miles covered, I’m told 375 have been driven in EV mode. So 37.5 per cent of the time I’m driving around without burning fuel? Surely not. Hawk-eyed observation of the dash over the past 1000 miles tells me the Jogger starts counting the ‘EV miles’ the moment you let off the accelerator and start to coast or brake. Call me a pedant, but as no forward propulsion is taking place at this time, I’m not sure this can strictly be counted as electric motoring, otherwise any and every internal-combustion car is capable of this feat.…

Jaguar F-Pace SVR Month 5 The story so far Big Jaguar SUV given a good working over by the in-house performance team… and by a bush + Looks; chassis; performance; practicality; infotainment - Fuel economy from ageing if charismatic engine Logbook Price £85,180 (£87,940 as tested) Performance 5000cc supercharged V8, 516bhp, 4.0sec 0-62mph, 178mph Efficiency 23.1mpg (official), 21.7mpg (tested), 178g/km C02 Energy cost 28.4p per mile Miles this month 1366 Total miles 6511 Living in the countryside, I like to over-compensate for driving an SUV by diving into hedges at the first sign of oncoming traffic. Only last time I failed to spot a huge bramble disguised in the greenery. Cue noise like nails down a blackboard and two deep scratches stretching from the front bumper to the end…

Part of Land Rover’s design shtick is to declutter its cars, both outside and in. So the Range Rover’s dashboard sweeps across the car like a wide-open prairie, completely unadorned and uniformly clothed in caramel leather. No ostentatious vents here or wacky recesses there. This clean expanse is punctuated by the twin digital screens, but Range Rover persists with a physical air-con panel. It masquerades as a touchpad but is actually a series of little buttons with an indistinct action. I still find JLR’s dual-function temp/blower dials fiddly too. The gear selector often fails to acknowledge I’ve nudged it from D to R or back again during tight manoeuvres. That runs the risk of a parking ding when the car goes in the opposite direction to what I’m expecting. It’s…

Hyundai Ioniq 5 Namsan Edition 77.4kWh RWD Month 6 The story so far Fancy edition of stylish Hyundai EV; even better inside than out + Roomy, techy and user-friendly -Not as dynamic as it looks Logbook Price £54,150 (£54,150 as tested) Performance 77.4kWh battery, e-motor, 225bhp, 7.3sec 0-62mph, 114mph Efficiency 3.45 miles per kWh (official), 3.4 miles per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2 Range 295 miles (official), 251 miles (tested) Energy cost 8.1p per mile Miles this month 828 Total miles 6516 All the excitement about the new N version of the Ioniq 5 inspired me to have another go with Sport mode in my regular 5. I’d previously tried it a few times and decided it was mostly smoke and mirrors, in that the dials would change colour but…

BMW i7 xDrive60 M Sport Month 4 The story so far Highly refined electric limo in chauffeur spec + Rear seats are cavernous, massaging and well entertained - Fronts miss out on the toys Logbook Price £111,900 (£125,705 as tested) Performance 102kWh battery, twin e-motors, 537bhp, 4.7sec 0-62mph, 149mph Efficiency 3.2-3.4 miles per kWh (official), 2.7 miles per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2 Range 387 miles (official), 352 miles (tested) Energy cost 9.8p per mile Miles this month 1122 Total miles 5014 It should come as no surprise that the best place to enjoy the i7 is from the back seats. If ever a car screamed limousine, it would be this. Much as I spend most of my time up front, I try to nip into the plump rear armchairs…

1 BMW X5 50e THE GOOD: Massive 67-mile official e-range; horizon-eating performance THE BAD: Hybrid hardware cuts into boot space to the tune of 150 litres; no seven-seat option THE UGLY: Not much now that the facelifted 50e model with more e-range and power is here THE ONE TO BUY: This one, for £79k 2 PEUGEOT 308 THE GOOD: Bravely avant-garde design; decent fuel economy; different THE BAD: Still persisting with the infernally small steering wheel THE UGLY: Interior layout looks fab but can be a stressfest to use day-to-day THE ONE TO BUY: Starts at £550 per month for the 180. Stretch to 225 spec with extra power and kit if you can 3 PORSCHE CAYENNE THE GOOD: Handling; driver focus; choice…

1 BMW M3/M4 COMPETITION THE GOOD: Mighty straight-six; front axle’s never-give-up attitude; dreamy chassis balance THE BAD: No manual; nearly 911 money now THE UGLY: M3 Touring £85k new but changing hands for six figures THE ONE TO BUY: The CS, if you were lucky enough to bag one of the 100 BMW brought here. Now available as an estate: rejoice! 2 BMW M5 COMPETITION THE GOOD: An animal when you want it to be; reasonably urbane family transport when you don’t THE BAD: Hard ride on Competition suspension; priced above £100k THE UGLY: CS and Competition both off sale now THE ONE TO BUY: Hurry, hurry. There are some new M5 Comps in stock on BMW’s website 3 MERCEDES-AMG S63 THE GOOD:…