Table of contents for 1654 in Auto Express

I’M always amazed by some of the so-called experts who get called upon to give their views on automotive stories, not least this past week on one of the most important Government announcements in recent years. So when Boris Johnson revealed his plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 – or at least those without ‘significant’ hybridisation – we turned to someone who could give us an intelligent view on the subject. Dr Andy Palmer helped to introduce the world to mainstream electric vehicles when he was at Nissan and played a significant part in the launch of the Leaf. Then, at Aston Martin he planned a range of luxury Lagondas powered by batteries. Now he’s working on an electric revolution in the bus…

• We strap in to sharper 911 • Lighter and faster than ever GT3: two letters and one number that have carved out a legend in the mind of almost every Porsche 911 fan since the introduction of the first model in 1999. The next instalment will launch next year, but with a wise old head once again responsible for overseeing its development. Andreas Preuninger, head of Porsche’s GT product line, has been with the company’s high-performance division since 2000, and we’re riding shotgun with him. The GT3 now appears closer to a full-blown GT3 RS. It’s wider than before, with flared wheelarches hinting at extended track widths, while the rear end receives a large fixed rear wing and a complex rear splitter. The front end transforms too, with a…

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson MERCEDES has crowned its saloon lineup with the all-new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. Priced from around £160,000, it’s a direct rival to Bentley’s Flying Spur. Cosmetic revisions over the standard S-Class include a redesigned radiator grille, a new front bumper, fresh LED headlights and a tweaked rear end with a more svelte diffuser and twin-exit exhaust system. As an optional extra, buyers can specify Maybach’s trademark two-tone paint scheme, which is cut at the saloon’s waistline. Maybach expects most customers will have a chauffeur, rather than drive the cars themselves. As such, this S-Class is only available as a long-wheelbase model. In the back, two 11.6-inch touchscreens let occupants browse the web or watch films. There are also two electrically adjustable, reclining chairs in place of the standard car’s rear…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods A FULL century is plenty of time to revolutionise a business, but in the case of the Toyo Cork Kogyo company, it needed just 11 years to transform itself in a way that makes Dyson’s now-cancelled plans to move from vacuum cleaners into car production seem insignificant. That’s because the Hiroshima-based cork company, founded in 1920, made a bold and game-changing move in 1931 to establish itself in the automotive sector. This would be the humble beginnings of a car company that 100 years later is still doing things differently. Mazda is older and wiser, and its experience in all things automotive has rocketed, from the 1931 Mazda-Go auto-rickshaw to a car line-up that’s as diverse as anything else you’ll find out there, incorporating saloons, SUVs, sports cars…

CITROEN C5AIRCROSS Price from: £25,655 AS with the Tucson, the C5 Aircross takes a different approach to the look of an SUV, which many buyers are finding hugely appealing – especially with strong value on its side, too. Citroen will say that the C5 Aircross’s USP is comfort, which makes it somewhat disappointing that the French car’s ride isn’t the most comfortable around. Like the exterior, the C5’s cabin looks great, but build quality is a little questionable in parts. Still, it’s good value and there’s a PHEV. FORD KUGA Price from: £24,615 OUR current favourite mid-size SUV hasn’t had an easy start to life, with a recall affecting plug-in versions that couldn’t be plugged in. Ford reacted brilliantly to fix the problem, leaving all Kuga owners to enjoy the…

Hyundai i20 1.0 T-GDi 100 Hybrid SE Connect Price: £18,595 Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl turbo, 99bhp 0-62mph: 10.4 seconds Te st economy: 52.2mpg/11.5mpl CO 2: 115g/km Annual road tax: £150 Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost 125 Hybrid Trend 5dr Price: £18,510 Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl turbo, 123bhp 0-62mph: 9.4 seconds Test economy: 46.7mpg/10.3mpl CO2: 114g/km Annual road tax: £150 DESPITE a Covid-19-related slip in new-car registrations this year, four of the top 10 spots in the sales charts have been taken up by superminis. British buyers love these small cars because they suit our towns and cities, and fit our country lanes and driveways. There’s clearly still life in the market then, which is why Hyundai is launching its new i20 supermini. However, even this smaller, more affordable class of car isn’t immune…

Toyota Yaris MODEL: 1.5 Hybrid Design PRICE: £19,910 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 3cyl, 114bhp PRICED from £19,910, the new Toyota Yaris is much more expensive than the i20, but if mild-hybrid power isn’t enough for you and you’re after a proper hybrid supermini that delivers great efficiency, then this is well worth a look. Toyota claims up to 68.9mpg and CO2 emissions of 92g/km for this entry-level Design trim, which are figures that outstrip just about any supermini on sale. The extra efficiency might go some way to offset the higher price, while the Yaris rides and handles sweetly, and is now even fun to drive in parts, too. Plus, Toyota now offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so while the built-in infotainment isn’t as good as the i20’s, using one of…

Audi RS 4 Avant YOU look at the RS 4, with its menacing visual presence, and you think: weapon. But when special contributor Steve Sutcliffe peeled away the car’s war paint and looked beyond the 444bhp V6 turbo engine (although that particular aspect is quite difficult to overlook completely, he reckons) the RS 4 is, as you can see, a really rather practical machine to live with, especially when shopping runs are limited during lockdown two. That means when you do go to the supermarket, you tend to buy everything you could ever possibly need, plus a fair bit more that you don’t. As such, the RS 4 and its load bay that can swallow a month’s worth of groceries in a heartbeat has even managed to impress Steve’s other…

THE Dutch tyre maker dominated the all-season sector when it was a much smaller market, and it returns to our test here for the first time since 2016. The Quatrac Pro is designed for the performance end of the market, and our 17-inch tyre is the starting point for the range. That focus on high performance and tarmac grip with an asymmetric tread (the only one here) may have been behind its relatively poor showing. On snow it finished some seven per cent behind the pace-setting Continental and needed three more metres to stop in the braking test. The lack of grip was evident behind the wheel, where it moved more easily than rivals and lacked balance, with the front pushing wide until it gripped, provoking the rear to slide.…

WHILE the Michelin is unashamedly aimed at performance in the wet and dry, Hankook has set similar, if not quite as extreme, targets for the Kinergy 4S2. As we saw last year in 16-inch form, this Hankook is weakest when there’s snow on the ground. It only managed to outperform the struggling Vredestein in our northern Finland tests. It was close behind the Cooper, but the dry-focused Michelin also had the better of it. Initial front grip was good around the handling track, but it dropped away as the lock increased. The Kinergy was much more effective in the wet and at warmer temperatures, and topped our wet tests by a narrow margin. It aced the deep-water tests with two victories and managed to maintain that form at shallower depths…

WITH the popularity of SUVs, where sharp handling isn’t a priority, and our more extreme weather, there’s no ignoring the new-found importance of all-season tyres. Your choice will depend on the weather you deal with and your vehicle. For Vredestein, its Quatrac Pro is aimed at faster cars and it struggled in our snow and wet tests. US maker Cooper edged ahead thanks to a win in the cabin noise assessment and a good dry result. Michelin will rue the loss of our dry handling tests, although it didn’t deliver the wet performance we’ve seen in the past, either. Goodyear and Hankook were closely matched, with the former better in snow, the latter best in the dry. However, it’s the Continental that has the best mix of grip in poor…

NEXT year Kia celebrates 30 years since it first arrived in the UK. And for more than half of that time, the full-size Sorento SUV has been a staple of the product range. Introduced in 2003, the Sorento is a topvalue option for anybody wanting to tow a horsebox, pull a caravan, or simply transport their family in safety and comfort. The sophistication of Kia’s products has come on in leaps and bounds since the nineties, too, so the Sorento Mk2 of 2010 was much more impressive than the original, while the Mk3 covered here is even more desirable. Now available from £15,000, this model was recently replaced, but there are still plenty of good reasons to buy one. History THE third-generation Sorento went on sale in March 2015. Priced…

A 6.4-litre V8 engine has been added to the Jeep Wrangler line-up, but it won’t be coming to the UK. It’s the first time in almost 40 years that the SUV has been offered with the option of a V8, which gives the US firm a direct rival to the Mercedes-AMG G 63. The Wrangler borrows the same V8 powerplant found in the Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack. In the Wrangler, it develops 464bhp and 637Nm of torque, which Jeep claims is enough to let the SUV sprint from 0-60mph in just 4.5 seconds. The V8 is paired with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and a mechanical four-wheel-drive system, which is supported by locking differentials, knobbly 33-inch tyres and uprated Fox monotube dampers.…

THERE’s only so much that driving three of Mazda’s most iconic cars can teach you about the brand. To get a real insight into the history of this fiercely independent car company, you could take a trip to the Mazda Classic Museum in Augsburg, Germany – a site of pilgrimage for the firm’s fans. Run by the Frey family, it’s the result of more than 40 years of collaboration between them and the brand. Dad Walter was one of the original importers of Mazda to the country, and along with his sons Joachim and Markus, they have since established the world’s only museum of all things Mazda that’s open to the public. The cars preserved here began as part of a personal collection, but it has since spawned into a…

MODELTESTED: Hyundai i20 1.0 T-GDi 100 Hybrid SE Connect PRICE: £18,595 ENGINE: 1.0-litre 3cyl, 99bhp HYUNDAI means business with the new i20, because even this most affordable £18,595 1.0 T-GDi mild-hybrid SE Connect model sports a lot of technological advances. Let’s find out what they are. score 4.0 Design & engineering THE car’s platform has been heavily revised, with more focus placed on driver enjoyment. It’s a hallmark of Hyundai’s R&D boss, Albert Biermann, because the German has some of BMW’s best-driving M cars on his CV. He’s also the man who has masterminded the Korean firm’s N brand for sporty cars, with a lot of the forthcoming i20 N’s ability baked into the regular version, just as Ford has done with the Fiesta and the ST. The suspension is…

score 4.1 Hyundai i20 Eight-inch touchscreen Std. Key features: Connectivity THE eight-inch central touchscreen is a good size and a match for the Fiesta’s display. The tech works well, with sharp-enough graphics and quick responses to your inputs. There’s no built-in nav, so you use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto more frequently, but both of these programmes display well on the screen and are integrated nicely. Wireless charging isn’t available, but USB ports are close by to keep your device charged. The eight-inch screen is placed well, tacked onto the upper fascia similar to the Ford’s layout. Higher-spec i20s get a 10.25-inch unit that’s a nice tech touch and offers a premium feel – although a lot of this hard work is undone by the low-rent, poor-quality plastics inside the…

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products@autoexpress.co.uk BOOMING sales mean that all-season tyres are not just the focus for drivers looking to deal with extreme conditions, but also producers, who are updating or expanding their ranges to meet demand. The pace of change means that several new tyres have been launched since our test started in early March, too. Our all-season test faced the same challenges as our winter one, so although our snow and wet tests were completed before the pandemic struck Europe, quarantine requirements meant we had to forego our usual dry handling assessment. However, while this has a greater role in all-season tyres than for winter designs, it’s still not a key performance area. To ensure we still had a set of useful results, proving ground staff completed dry braking and cabin noise…

AS with the Vredestein, this was launched in 2019 as Cooper followed rivals by adding an all-season tyre to its European range. And there was little to choose between the pair in this test. Like the Quatrac Pro, the Discoverer scored one win, this time in the closely matched cabin noise test. It also proved adept in the deep-water aquaplaning tests where it finished second and third. But results in shallower depths saw it at the bottom of the pack and the worst performer across all wet tests by a clear margin. It needed more than two metres more to stop than the test-winning Hankook. The lack of grip could be felt on the wet track where the tyre had a decent balance, although this was at lower speeds than…

THERE’S little to choose between this latest Vector 4Seasons and the Hankook, with the choice depending on your priorities. The Goodyear retains the snow ability of its 2019 test-winning Gen-2 predecessor, although it lost out to Continental on the white stuff this year. It did have a clear advantage over the Hankook with a pair of runner-up spots in braking and traction, but there was no podium on the handling track. Here it lacked the balance of the best, with front grip unable to match the stable rear. It narrowly gave best to the Hankook across the wet tests, but had good results in both deep and shallow water. It was a match for the Continental and felt similar on track with a strong front matched by a stable rear…

2020 Results Yaris Factfile Years: 2011 to 2019 CO2: 99-111g/km Fuel economy: 58-65mpg (1.0) Best options: Climate control, Bluetooth, sat-nav, reversing camera, glass roof USED PRICES: From £3,300 OVERALL SCORE 89.704% Bars show where model finished out of 75 vehicles in our 2020 new car survey. The longer the bar the better WE SAID “The previous-generation Yaris is rated well for reliability and has impressively low running costs, but it could be more practical; owners say there isn’t much cabin storage, and it lacks child-friendly features in the back.” GOOD “EXTERIOR styling and finish are perfect. Alloy wheels complement the rest of the car. It looks quite premium.” “I’m tall and often find small cars cramped, but the Yaris’ driver’s seat is a perfect fit.” “The ride is very smooth…

• THE SPORTY CHOICE Peugeot RCZ FOR: Stunning looks, fast, fine driving experience AGAINST: Not as practical as Fiesta, ride can be firm IF you’re after a car that feels as special as the Puma, the Peugeot RCZ makes a strong case for itself. From its ‘double-bubble’ roof that evokes racing cars with space for occupants’ crash helmets, to the silver roof arches, the RCZ still cuts a dash more than a decade after it arrived. We’d opt for a petrol rather than a diesel engine, and the 1.6-litre unit puts out either 156 or 200bhp. A 2012 156bhp THP GT, or a 2010 200bhp model, both with 60,000 miles on the clock, fall within your budget. THE RCZ feels classy inside, and the analogue clock nestling between the air…

• Both titles have been decided • Hamilton still hungry for more Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk FORMULA 1 is heading to the Middle East to wrap up its 2020 season, with two races in Bahrain and a season finale in Abu Dhabi taking place back to back on 29 November, 6 December and 13 December. Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team have already clinched both the driver’s and constructors’ world titles, with Hamilton equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven titles last time out at the Turkish GP. Hamilton and Mercedes have yet to agree terms on a contract for 2021 and beyond, but discussions are ongoing. Team boss Toto Wolff says he doesn’t expect the matter to be finalised before the season concludes. He said: “I don’t want to put ourselves under pressure…

DEVELOPMENT of a hot Civic Type R is under way, and prototypes have already been spotted at the Nürburgring. The Type R is outside of Honda’s plan to electrify its product portfolio by 2022, because bosses confirmed that only “mainstream” models will be electrified. As such, the hot hatch is expected to use a development of the current car’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, with power likely to rise from its current 316bhp output. While the new Mk11 Civic has adopted a more subtle overall design, the Type R will retain its wild bodykit and performance-focused set-up, as previewed by our exclusive image.…

THIS is the Lamborghini Huracán STO, a final hurrah for the mid-engined Italian supercar as its time in production draws to a close. It’s the most track-focused but road-legal version of the car ever made, and borrows a lot of DNA from the Huracán one-make racing series. The STO gets a new aero-optimised bodykit, while Lamborghini says that 75 per cent of the car’s panels are carbon fibre. As a result, 43kg has been trimmed from the Huracán’s kerbweight. There’s a wider front track, stiffer suspension bushings, specific anti-roll bars and beefier Brembo brakes. The gearbox also has a quicker shift pattern, while the 631bhp 5.2-litre V10 sends power to the rear wheels. Inside, there’s very little in the way of creature comforts; full carbon-fibre racing seats have been fitted…

THE Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Treasury are considering the introduction of nationwide road pricing to make up for revenue lost from fuel duty. With confirmation that sales of new conventional petrol and diesel cars will be banned in 2030, and hybrids by 2035 (Pages 10-11), the Government’s £30bn annual fuel duty revenue is under threat. Ministers are weighing up nationwide road pricing to plug this gap, with The Times reporting that a Treasury paper on this subject has been presented to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak. The newspaper says that while such a scheme is not “imminent”, Sunak is “very interested” in the idea. Auto Express submitted a freedom of information request to the Treasury in November 2018, asking if nationwide road pricing was being considered to make up…

Running costs 64.2mpg (off icial) £46 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.9 seconds/112mph Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn THE Renault Clio has been around for 30 years, and it has never been better than this latest generation of the French runabout; it’s the current Auto Express supermini of the year. Arriving in UK showrooms this month is an all-new variant, the E-Tech Hybrid, which becomes one of only a handful of hybrid superminis. When we say hybrid, we mean hybrid. This Clio can run short distances on electric power – not something a mild-hybrid model, such as the Ford Fiesta, is capable of. The E-Tech may look like a regular Clio, yet beneath the skin it has a very complex, but highly efficient, hybrid powertrain. The engine is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol – nothing…

“We’ve listed the upgrades we’d suggest to make your car cutting edge, all for not much wedge” YOUR existing car might be perfect for your needs: reliable, comfortable, practical and good to drive. If you’ve taken care of it or followed our refurbishment advice (p54), it will also be a source of pride. But sometimes you might feel like you need a new car merely to keep on top of the technology that’s fitted to modern models. Even today’s cheapest city car is expected to have a DAB radio, a host of safety kit and smartphone connectivity. But instead of heading to the nearest showroom, why not upgrade your car? Retro-fit tech can be remarkably cheap and easy to install, while even the most expensive audio systems will be the…

MODELTESTED: Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost 125 Hybrid Trend 5dr PRICE: £18,510 ENGINE: 1.0-litre 3cyl, 123bhp NEW mild-hybrid tech has boosted the appeal of Ford’s venerable Fiesta supermini. We’re testing the 1.0 EcoBoost 125 mild-hybrid in Trend trim (our pictures show an Active), which is priced from £18,510 in five-door form. score 4.1 Design & engineering THE Fiesta is a constant. Despite a turbulent market, to date in 2020 it’s still Britain’s best-selling model, shifting more than 40,000 units to the end of October. That shows the car’s continued popularity here, and with new mild-hybrid tech Ford is hoping this will continue. As with the Hyundai, there are 48-volt electrics now with a small lithium-ion battery that powers an integrated belt-starter generator mounted on the engine to power ancillary features at…

Pete_Gibson@dennis.co.uk WHEN Mazda launched this new Mazda 3, for me it went straight to the top of the tree when it comes to design; I think it’s one of the most stylish family cars ever. That’s meant during my time running the car on the Auto Express fleet I just haven’t been able to stop taking pictures of it – right up until the point I had to say goodbye to the Japanese machine. Of course, snapping cars is my job, but every shoot I got to early, with a few minutes to spare I’d always give the car’s lovely, shapely bodywork a wipe down to take a shot of it. In dawn light or the dying embers of the mid-summer evening sun, the Mazda’s design just shone for me.…

HOW WE TESTED SNOW We broke new ground this year with our winter testing because, despite returning to Ivalo in northern Finland once again, we were at a new facility – Hankook’s Technotrac. It’s next door to the Test World facility we used with the Korean producer in 2016, and features two handling circuits plus areas for straight-line tests. We used the 1,200m flat handling track, which combined long sweeps that allowed the tyre’s balance to be assessed, with tighter sections testing lateral grip and traction on lock. Average lap times provided the result. Traction and braking were combined into one test, timing how long it took to accelerate from 12-31mph and then the distance taken to slow to 6mph. An average of several runs was used. WET It was…

IF there was one tyre that would be most affected by our inability to complete the dry handling test, it was this ‘summer tyre with winter capability’. Michelin has sacrificed outright snow performance to focus on more common wet and dry conditions, but its winter capability is still mightily impressive given the nature of the design and its dry performance – rival engineers have admitted they’re not quite sure how Michelin does it. There are no grip-boosting sipes in the conventional sense, yet the tyre’s performance on snow was often better than traditional winter-style designs. It was an impressive third at the handling track, with a very stable rear and good traction out of turns on lock – a problem for many tyres. Overall it ranked third on the white…

CONTINENTAL was a latecomer to the all-season party once it had set aside its policy of changing tyres for the seasons. But it has been competitive from the off and this victory backs up a debut win and second spot last year. It could be seen as a less extreme CrossClimate with more of a focus on dry and wet grip than many of its rivals. That didn’t stop it dominating the snow tests, though, with no rival getting within two per cent of its results. It was easy to see why from behind the wheel, with lots of grip and traction backed by a great balance. It was a touch behind the Hankook and Goodyear in the wet, where it was better in shallow rather than deeper water. It…

HOW OUR GUIDE WORKS PERFORMANCE: This is the manufacturer’s claimed acceleration time for a car, and is measured from 0-60mph or 0-62mph (0-100kph), in seconds. ECONOMY AND EMISSIONS: Combined WLTP economy figure in miles per gallon and emissions in grams per kilometre of CO2. Figures are achieved in the latest WLTP tests, but will vary according to equipment and are unlikely to be representative of everyday efficiency. INSURANCE: Group rating as quoted by the Association of British Insurers. WARRANTY: Next to each manufacturer’s name is the basic warranty period in months and miles for the mechanicals, corrosion and paintwork. EVs and hybrids will have dedicated battery cover. LIST PRICE: This is the on-the-road figure and includes VAT, delivery to dealer, 12 months’ road tax, number plates and first registration. EVs…