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I’VE found myself recently pondering EV charging curves. Don’t judge me. It’s the fault of Christian Stein, the boss of Renault’s EV division Ampere, who mentioned the stat that more than half of EV drivers stay plugged in all the way to 100 per cent on a public charging point. And at face value, that makes sense – why wouldn’t you fully charge? But once you understand geeky stuff like charge patterns, the picture changes. From 80 per cent to fully charged, the top-up speed drops to preserve the battery’s longevity. There’s no reason why a regular driver moving across from a petrol or diesel car would know this, and not enough is being done to educate people. It sounds perfectly logical to charge to 100 per cent, especially if…

AS yet, McLaren hasn’t entertained the idea of a drop-top take on its limited-run Ultimate Series cars. However, we were keen to find out whether the new W1 might spawn McLaren’s first Spider-bodied Ultimate model. Recognising the fact the car’s top-hinged doors would need tweaking to allow for a folding roof, we asked principal designer Alex Alexiev whether the firm was considering a W1 Spider. “Yes, the hinges would need moving,” he told us. “But we’re here today to talk about the coupé.” We also caught up with W1 product manager Heather Fitch. We asked if there was any significance in the 399-car cap, to which she responded: “We did 375 for P1, and we know there is now more demand for this kind of car”, suggesting further variants of…

THE entry-level version of the Tesla Model Y has been replaced by a new ‘Long Range Rear Wheel Drive’ variant that has a slightly higher price tag, but in return offers 90 miles of extra range. The new Model Y Long Range RWD is available to order now, and is priced from £46,990 – £2,000 more than the car it replaces. The extra money goes towards a bigger battery that offers a range of up to 373 miles, compared with the 283 miles of its predecessor. The larger powerpack works with a standard-fit heat pump and low-rolling-resistance tyres to maximise efficiency, with Tesla claiming it’ll do up to 4.0 miles/kWh. The new model gets closer to the 379-mile range of its main rival, the Renault Scenic E-Tech, although the French…

CUPRA has been spied testing its next-generation all-electric supermini, due to be called the Raval. As previewed by the Raval Concept, the brand’s new model will be built on the fresh MEB-Entry platform, sharing lots of key elements with the upcoming Volkswagen ID.2, and beating it to market in the process. A key difference between this new-generation supermini and existing MEB-based models, such as the larger Born, is that the car’s electric is mounted at the front rather than the rear. This will have benefits for both cost-effectiveness and packaging. The Raval has been spotted with its production-ready body, plus lighting and interior elements. Our images show the styling of the concept has been retained. The car has a short wheelbase, large wheels and Cupra’s triangular lighting signatures in both…

CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves has been warned by the bosses of 12 of the UK’s biggest car brands that the government’s Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate will fail without incentives for private EV buyers. In an open letter warning that “consumers respond to carrots not sticks” and “mandates don’t make a market”, the execs point to the “unprecedented” £2billion they’re spending on customer discounts for EVs, without shifting the dial on demand. The latest registration figures show that private demand for diesel cars grew at a faster rate than for EVs in September. Fines imposed for missing ZEV Mandate targets will mean cuts in investment and R&D, or job losses, the CEOs say.…

“Vauxhall has gone all-out to create a distinctive style and presence, with neat design tricks” THIS is the all-new Vauxhall Grandland, and it’s a big deal. Since joining the Stellantis group, Vauxhall has effectively leveraged the platforms available to it, but this is the first time the brand has been there at the inception of a new architecture. This is no longer the plainly styled and value-focused mid-size SUV that the previous Grandland was. Instead, Vauxhall has gone all-out to create its own distinctive style and presence, with clever design tricks and a more up-to-date interior. The car will be launched in both all-electric and internal-combustion forms, drawing its technical basis from Stellantis’ new STLA-Medium platform that you’ll also find in the latest Peugeot E-3008. The two cars share an…

WHILE the Ford Explorer isn’t the first EV from the company to repurpose a name from its back catalogue, it’s unlikely to cause as much controversy as the Mustang Mach-E or new Capri. That’s largely because the new electric SUV’s namesake only had a fleeting presence in the UK – more likely to have been spotted on-screen in Jurassic Park than on the high street – and given that it’s an SUV being superseded by a car in a similar mould, there won’t be the same feeling of desecration felt by diehard Ford enthusiasts. You’ll need just under £46,000 to get behind the wheel of an Explorer right now (a cheaper sub-£40,000 model with a smaller battery arrives in early 2025) and that’s for the 77kWh Select model driven here.…

I’VE never quite got the hype surrounding Taylor Swift. Without resorting to the cliché of being born in the wrong generation, if you ask me about her, you’ll be met with a puzzled stare. But as the saying goes, don’t knock it until you try it. So I’ve taken custody of the latest addition to the Auto Express fleet to find out if I really can be turned into a ‘Swiftie’. When the Suzuki landed on my driveway, I wondered if someone had left it in front of a radiator. I’ve always thought it a smart-looking supermini, but this latest model has a droopy face that looks as if it’s melted slightly. The version we’ve got is the entry-level Motion, which starts from £18,699. I was impressed when I received…

Price: £29.99 Contact: halfords.com IT might seem too early to be thinking about Christmas, but Halfords has taken the wraps off this year’s advent calendar, and you need to be quick, because it sold out in days 12 months ago. As last year, behind the 24 doors is a Halfords Advanced 40-piece Socket Set, ideal for that relative who likes to get hands-on with car problems. Unlike coffee, whisky or gin calendars, these ‘gifts’ will be around for some time, because they enjoy the Halfords Advanced tools’ Lifetime Quality Guarantee. At the heart of the set is a 40-piece quarter-inch-drive socket set, similar to one on sale for £35. In this festive set is a quarter-inch-drive 100-tooth ratchet handle with 14 six-point sockets covering 3.5-14mm. There’s also a spinner handle…

THE approaching winter means that anyone lucky enough to have a ‘fun’ car for the warmer months will be thinking about tucking it up in storage until spring. Many others will find that the colder weather will kill weaker batteries in little-used cars. In an ideal world you’d keep your battery topped up with a charger plugged into a mains supply, but that’s not an option if your garage is off grid or you park on the street. Which is where a solar maintainer could come in handy. These are not designed to charge a flat battery but should help with the natural discharging and power used by alarms, dash cams and clocks. So which of these six solutions is the one to keep your car battery topped up? How…

MEET the all-new Dacia Bigster: the rather aptly named bigger, more practical brother of our 2024 Small SUV of the Year, the Dacia Duster, and the value-focused brand’s first crack at the hugely important mid-size SUV market. It will arrive next year to challenge big sellers such as the Kia Sportage, MG HS and Nissan Qashqai. The Bigster’s name and square-jawed design should be familiar, because a concept model was unveiled back in 2021 and previewed Dacia’s latest design language, which went on to shape the Mk3 Duster. The production Bigster looks undeniably tough, thanks to pronounced, boxy wheelarches, skid plates at the front and rear, and lots of protective cladding. That cladding, along with most of the rear bumper, is made from Starkle – a material created by Dacia’s…

HONDA is getting serious about electric cars, and CEO Toshihiro Mibe has spelled out to Auto Express how the 0 Series will be central to its strategy. Mibe announced in an interview at the company’s Tochigi plant in Japan: “As we move from the early stage to the widespread adoption stage, the time has come to invest resources in our EV strategy. It’s not like we don’t have the technology to produce EVs, so we want to compete globally in the future market.” A seven-strong line up of 0 Series models has been announced, kicking off with the striking Saloon in 2026, a mid-size SUV and an entry-level SUV later that year. In 2027, the company will introduce a larger, three-row SUV that could rival the likes of the Kia…

THE wraps have finally come off the Peugeot E-408, which showcases a new, all-electric powertrain offering a better range, more performance and faster charging speeds than those of the closely related Peugeot E-308. The Peugeot 408 sits on the same platform as the 308, but is longer, with a slightly stretched wheelbase. As a result, Peugeot has been able to fit a bigger 58.2kWh battery pack, up from the 54kWh unit in the E-308. The front-mounted e-motor has also been uprated to produce 210bhp, with a decent 345Nm of torque. However, these figures are produced only in Sport mode, and are reduced in the Normal and Eco settings to extend the range. The enhancements help the E-408 achieve a claimed range of 281 miles, 24 miles more than the E-308.…

MINI has taken the wraps off its revised Cooper Convertible, which features a number of updates from its three-door hatchback sibling. Among the highlights are a new interior and an upgraded technology package. But, instead of following in the footsteps of the newly launched Cooper hatchback, the Convertible’s styling sticks more closely to its predecessor’s. The most obvious changes are the grille and headlights, but the basic body shape is retained, so it keeps matt black wheelarch surrounds and sills, rather than take on the Cooper E’s arch-less design. The Convertible also keeps the old model’s rounded rear lights, but the new internals (and the LED headlights) can be personalised from inside the car to show different lighting signatures. As with the hatch, the Convertible’s cabin has a new minimalist…

THE Paris Motor Show is shaping up to be another big event for Renault. Alongside a production version of the R4 is the Emblème concept. This BMW 3 Series-sized car shows not just the brand’s intention to keep building a larger model, but also the powertrain it’s developing for it. That set-up combines battery-electric propulsion under most circumstances with a small hydrogen fuel cell to act as a range extender. The 40kWh battery pack and 214bhp e-motor are capable of driving the Emblème for “several hundred kilometres”, says Renault, with the fuel cell adding around 350km (217 miles) to the range. This combination could perhaps deal with the opposing demands of alleviating range anxiety and giving zero-emission driving, because the fuel cell only emits water. It also helps cut weight.…

THE excitement surrounding a new car has rarely been greater than it is for the reborn Renault 5. But the retro-inspired electric supermini is here at last, and after what feels like an awfully long time since it was revealed, we’ve driven it. Shying away from new names, Renault has revived the classic model from the seventies. And instead of the combustion engine under the bonnet that powered the original, there’s a choice of 40kWh or 52kWh batteries powering a single electric motor on the front axle. By today’s standards, these are relatively small cells, meaning the range of even the pricier 148bhp model that we drove is only 252 miles, according to official WLTP tests. Furthermore, our drive around the Lausitzring circuit in Germany – although admittedly not that…

BMW iX1 DURING the recent flooding I confirmed that you can get away with accidentally driving an electric car through standing water, although this did cause the plastic undertrays at the rear of our BMW iX1 to crack. Huge thank you to Group 1 BMW in Bedford, for squeezing me into their service centre on a busy morning, and removing the damaged panels to get me back on the road. I’ll be having replacements fitted soon. ELLIS HYDE SMART #1 I WAS taken aback with our first trip to the supermarket in the Smart #1. It was only a top-up shop, but it still filled the surprisingly small boot. When it comes to carrying larger loads, there are options though: additional storage can be found below the false boot floor…

The Porsche 911 Book Roy Smith Veloce Publishing, veloce.co.uk Price: £50 Rating: THERE’S lots to like in the photos, although this is an updated edition of a 2013 title, so don’t expect shots of the very latest and greatest Porsches. But most people will be buying the book for the gorgeous shots of classic models anyway. It’s a shame that quite so many of them are split by the book’s spine, but that’s a criticism to level at many titles like this. The words are fine, with a few neat factoids within the text, but nothing that a typical 911 enthusiast won’t already know. Porsche – The Racing 914s Jürgen Lewandowski, René Staud Te Neus Verlag, teneus.com Price: £20 Rating: THIS is an updated reprint of a comprehensive book, and…

A WARRANTY might be a key consideration when you’re looking to buy a used car, but make sure you need one first. With third-party providers prevalent at independent garages, you may well think that they’re the only form of protection available against major mechanical failures. But before you hand over any of your hard-earned cash to an external provider, it’s worth finding out if such cover is actually necessary. That’s because the three-year/60,000-mile new-car warranty from manufacturers – once the industry standard – is becoming rapidly outdated. Companies from Hyundai and MG to Dacia and Toyota are now competing against each other to win over buyers. And one way they are doing that is by offering longer, more comprehensive warranties, with cover transferable to used cars and even to their…

AS makers continue their efforts to cut their cars’ emissions, hybrid cars are an increasingly popular alternative for buyers who aren’t quite ready to make the switch to an electric car. These are the very best hybrid cars on sale in theUK today. 1 HondaCivic Prices from £35,005 A LARGE part of the reason why the Honda Civic is our favourite family hatchback is down to its brilliant petrol/electric powertrain, so it’s no surprise that it’s also managed to scoop the top spot in our best hybrids category, too. Under the bonnet sits a 2.0-litre petrol engine that works alongside a pair of electric motors and a 1.06kWh battery. Not only does that mean there’s a healthy 181bhp on tap, but around town the car will also spend the majority of…

MCLAREN’S ‘1’ model name is reserved for its flagship cars, so has previously been seen on the legendary F1 of the nineties, and the P1 from 2013. And now the company has used it on this, the new W1. Headline stats include a 1,258bhp twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 hybrid powertrain, 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 217mph. The breathtaking numbers don’t stop there, either. It’ll do 0-124mph in 5.8 seconds and 0-186mph in “less than” 12.7 seconds. That makes it faster than a McLaren Speedtail in a straight line, and three seconds quicker than a Senna around the firm’s reference circuit at the Nardo test facility in Italy. It’ll stop from 124mph in just 100 metres. In isolation, the “power-dense E-module” develops 342bhp, but combined with…

OUR drive in Honda’s future EV shows it has promise, but we’ll have to wait and see if its smorgasbord of technology will help the brand stand out in the all-electric market. The 0 Series will come with a selection of electric motor combinations. There’s an all-wheel-drive version with two 241bhp electric motors (one on each axle), another all-wheel-drive model with just 67bhp on the front axle, and a rear-wheel-drive variant with a single 241bhp electric motor. There are even plans for a hybrid model with the smaller electric motor driving just the rear wheels. The car we tested was the most potent dual-motor version, which we’re told has close to 480bhp. It certainly felt that powerful on the straights, and the response was as immediate and smooth as you’d expect…

ROLLS-Royce has revealed a Series II update of its Ghost saloon, with a suite of styling changes and new technology, including an earth-shaking stereo system Available to order now, it’ll be launched in both standard and long-wheelbase Extended forms, plus as a sportier Black Badge model. Prices haven’t been revealed yet. The front has a brand-new look with slimmer headlights and a smaller and sleeker version of the iconic Pantheon grille. These sit above a streamlined bumper. At the rear are a set of Spectre-inspired lights, plus there are two new 22-inch alloy wheel designs. Inside, the basic cabin is the same as before, but includes leather and material updates. Plus Rolls-Royce has also created another level of high-end stereo for the Ghost. The 18-speaker Bespoke Audio system has a…

HYUNDAI has announced prices for its electric Inster city car. The range kicks off at £23,495, and tops out at £26,745 for the fully loaded variant. These prices are a little higher than for Citroen’s bigger, supermini-sized e-C3, but Hyundai is hoping the Inster’s funky looks will sway buyers. The EV is due to go on a tour of UK dealers over the next three months, with the first customer cars arriving early next year. The Inster is available with 42kWh and ‘Long Range’ 49kWh battery sizes in a well equipped ‘01’ trim level that includes alloy wheels, climate control and cruise control. The 49kWh battery is also available in ‘02’ trim, which adds extra kit such as front parking sensors. Hyundai says the ‘Long Range’ car has a 229-mile…

THE Liberal Democrats have slammed hospital car parking charges and have renewed calls for such “unfair” fees to be reduced for both visitors and hospital staff. Speaking to Auto Express, the political party’s health and social care spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP, said: “Hospital car parking fees have become a tax on care, with visitors and hardworking staff having to pay through the nose just to visit a loved one or provide life-saving care. “The Conservative Party failed time and again to deliver on their promise to crack down on unfair hospital parking fees, and NHS workers and those visiting their loved ones are paying the price,” Morgan added. “The new government cannot allow this intolerable situation to continue and must deliver where the Conservatives did not by cracking down on…

IN the relentless pursuit of sales, family-friendly SUVs have become essential to every car maker’s line-up. So it’s no surprise to see that as part of Cupra’s transformation from niche performance sub-brand to showroom leader, the Terramar has arrived, and with high expectations. The mid-sized, five-seat SUV will be offered with an array of powertrains and trims, priced between £37,290 and £51,735. When the Terramar goes on sale at the end of 2024, it will have a 1.5-litre mild-hybrid powertrain, plus high-powered plug-in and pure-petrol options. Less powerful engines will join the line-up from early 2025. Cupra will offer a ‘low’ and ‘high’ specification for each of the powertrain options, plus limited-run VZ Launch Edition PHEV and America’s Cup top-spec pure-petrol variants. The two plug-in e-Hybrid models will offer 200bhp…

WHAT WE WOULD CHOOSE HYUNDAI Smart Sense+ can be added to Premium trim for £500 on the hybrid or £1,500 on the PHEV and brings the suite of safety kit up to the same level as higher-spec cars. Six seats are offered on Calligraphy cars for £1,000. SKODA There are option packs to choose from, but some aren’t available on SE trim. The Winter Pack is useful, while matrix LED lights are in a £1,535 pack. A headup display is £530 extra on SE L and SportLine cars only.…

Darren.Wilson@autoexpress.co.uk CLEARLY I’m still just a kid at heart. I knew the plan was to swap powertrains midway through our six-month MINI Countryman loan, but I was rather surprised – and excited – to be greeted with our Chilli Red ALL4 SE JCW on arrival at BMW’s UK HQ. After three very enjoyable months behind the wheel of our 1.5-litre petrol C Exclusive, moving to an EV powertrain would be done in style – but would the car be as enjoyable and practical as our family-friendly Small SUV of the Year had proven to be? Let’s get the cost out of the way first. It’s not cheap. The base list price for the MINI Countryman SE ALL4 is over £6k more than our option-laden petrol Countryman C Exclusive with Level…

Price: £13.16 Size: 2.5 litres Rating: Contact: simoniz.uk WE all like nice-smelling soaps and gels when we are in the shower, so why should it be any different when cleaning your car? Simoniz’s new Snow Foam aims to nose ahead of rivals with a Juicy Watermelon fragrance. It does smell good without being overpowering or sickly, even if it’s used at the stronger 1:4 dilution rate suggested for heavy soiling. For lighter duties the instructions say it can be mixed in a ratio of 1:9 before being added to your snow foam lance on a pressure washer. It’s sprayed on, left for five minutes and then rinsed. We tried both dilutions on a dirty door panel and, as you’d expect, the cleaning power at 1:4 was much better, visibly dissolving loose…

Raceglaze Headlight Restorer Price: £18.99 Rating: Contact: morethanpolish.com UNLIKE most of the popular methods of reviving headlamp lenses, the Raceglaze restorer doesn’t require any hard scrubbing, sanding, heat guns or hard work. The kit contains two 15ml jars filled with cream-like solutions, plus a foam applicator pad and microfibre cloth. The first stage is to rub the substance in jar A over the headlamp surface using the sponge. It is no more effort than applying a wax and doesn’t appear to remove any material from the lens at all. Once it has dried after a minute or so, you remove the residue and then apply the sealant in jar B, buffing again if needed. This made a difference to heavily tarnished lenses, and might be good enough to get you through…

DRIVER POWER Kia Stonic OWNER VIEWS ON THE UK’S BEST CARS “It looks very sporty and more expensive than it is. It’s exciting to drive and has a lot of useful tech on board.” “There aren’t nearly enough cubbies and the boot is too small. There isn’t legroom for four adults on a long trip.” “It’s far more comfortable than my previous MINI. I really wish that I’d changed to a Kia much sooner.” KIA’S smallest SUV is based on the Rio hatch, and makes the top 30 of our annual Driver Power new-car survey mainly thanks to its running costs and value; Kias are more costly than they were, but one of their key selling points is still the value they offer over more expensive rivals. Satisfaction with servicing…

I’VE always considered new car discounts to be obligatory. The clue is in the title of the ‘recommended retail price’ – a figure that’s merely being suggested to you, the potential car buyer. It’s for guidance only. Think of it as the manufacturer’s approximate retail value for the factory-fresh product you’re considering. The RRP is the price you’re being urged – not forced – to pay. So unless you’ve got money to burn, don’t pay it. It’s against this background that I argue a discount on a new car is essential – especially if it’s the type of product that’s struggling to sell (an overpriced pure-electric vehicle, for example). If the retailer you’re dealing with won’t talk and do discounts, walk away and find a rival that will. There are…