Table of contents for August 28, 2024 in Autocar

CATERHAM HAS CREATED a separate company, funded by investors, to finance its Project V electric coupé, company CEO Bob Laishley has confirmed. Called Caterham Evo, the company has beenformed because “themeagre profits we make from selling Sevens” won’t fund the development of Project V. Laishley added: “That [money] willneed to comefromwithinthe group [Caterham is owned by Japanese automotive sales giant VT Holdings] or external funding. It’s significantly tens of millions above what we would invest in developing new Sevens, for example.” On Project V, Laishley said “the project is moving forward and the next phase will be some prototypes” and “it’ll emerge at some point”. TUTHILL CREATES EPIC GT ONE FOR THE ROAD British Porsche specialist Tuthill has channelled the spirit of a legendary 1990s endurance racer to create a…

MG’s big-selling ZS crossover has returned for a second generation, with new styling and technology, along with a sub-£22,000 hybrid option. Redesigned in line with the newly rejuvenated HS family SUV and 3 supermini and featuring more upmarket cabin materials and kit, the new ZS will arrive from China in October with an electrified powertrain that replaces the current car’s petrol options. Shared with the 3, it pairs a 101bhp 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a 134bhp electricmotor insidean automatic gearbox for a combined 194bhp, giving a 0-62mph time of 8.7sec. Electricpower issupplied by a 1.83kWh battery under the rear seat, charged by a smallmotor-generator. The system is officially good for 55.4mpg and CO 2 emissions of 115g/km. The ZS will be priced from £21,995 in SE trim, which substantially…

With more than 40% of UK homes lacking a driveway, lamp-post chargers are billed as the solution for drivers to refuel their EVs locally. However, could reports of failing chargers and ICE car drivers being angry at losing parking bays undermine public support for them? In July, west London’s Hounslow Council cut off the power to a number of lamppost chargers in Chiswick after residents reported that they had stopped working. Following an inspection, the council concluded that heavy rainfall had entered the chargers, causing them and the street lamps to which they were connected to fail. The council has since restored power to the lamps while Ubitricity, the Shell-owned charger provider that installed the chargers, carries out repairs. In April, residents in the same borough protested about the creation…

With the ever-growing number of SUVs on sale in the UK, it seems that finding one that really stands out is more important than ever. It’s here where Hyundai hopes its new fifth-generation Santa Fe will capitalise. It couldn’t look more different to its predecessor, and now sports one of the boldest and visually arresting exteriors in the class. It’s much larger and boxier than before, too, with unique designcues that give the car genuine character, including H-shaped lights, both at the front and rear. At 4830mm long and 1900mm wide, the new Santa Fe is 45mm longer than its predecessor, witha wheelbase measuring 2815mm. The Santa Fe offers a choice of two electrified powertrains in the UK. Our test car was the more powerful plug-in hybrid, which uses a…

Isn’t this all reassuringly traditional? You could almost start to forget that five-door family hatchbacks are a thing, but here are three of them and there’s not a raised ride height or charging plug in sight. They are very much still a thing, though, particularly the Golf. While Toyota and Peugeot buyers have more decisively migrated to smaller cars and crossovers, the Golf remains Volkswagen’s biggest-seller in the UK. Long may they reign because, as we will rediscover, these kinds of cars are about as archetypically ‘car’ as it gets. The biros of the automotive world: fit for just about any purpose. You might want a fancy fountain pen, but the good old ballpoint at the bottom of your bag will probably do fine, whether you’re scribbling something down or…

MODEL TESTED SV EDITION ONE • Price£171,460 • Power626bhp • Torque553lbft • 0-60mph3.9sec • 30-70mphin fourth5.1sec • Fueleconomy 21.1mpg • CO 2 emissions271g/km • 70-0mph45.7m When Rover engineers Gordon Bashford and Spen King finally birthed the original Range Rover in 1970, they can’t have had any idea how important a car it was. Land Rover’s various owners would spend the next 50 years exploring the potential of the Range Rover badge, which JLR continues to do today. Which brings us to the subject of this week’s road test, the new Range Rover Sport SV. A slightly different take on the idea of a range-topping, ultra-desirable Range Rover Sport, it comes to us almost a decade to the day since the debut of its immediate predecessor at Pebble Beach in 2014:…

MILEAGE 11,100 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Can an extra-long, diesel 4x4 justify a place in daily motoring life in 2024? My local area isn’t served well for byways. But there is one nearby, next to a busy hobbyists’ airfield and just off a route I drive often, which means it’s a quick and easy diversion to get a cup of tea while being buzzed by parachutists, and then to head for a chilled spot of green-laning. The byway isn’t all that long and it’s not overly challenging, at least in the warmer months when it’s open. (It’s closed from November to March as it would be easily damaged when wet. Even earlier this summer I avoided it for that reason.) So it’s not going to trouble a Land Rover Defender…

Having been introduced to the EV market (helped by the company car tax rules), I have found these cars to be one-trick ponies: they have instant acceleration but leave me cold in terms of fun. Even our Kia EV6 GT felt like a new iPhone, rather than a sports SUV. However, all this has changed with our latest addition, a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Having had an excellent experience of the brand with an i20 N, my expectations were high. I’m now 3000 miles in and have to agree with your five-star road test verdict. I wondered if the manual mode was a gimmick, but I still always use it, and my grandson still laughs at the sound of the ‘exhaust’ on the overrun. My wife drives it in traditional…

The term ‘all-rounder’ is overused, but when it comes to the trusty and affordable Dacia Duster, it couldn’t be more appropriate. Having taken some 100,000 sales since its UK launch in 2013, the Duster is now cemented as one of Britain’s favourite small SUVs, and not just because it allowed people to get into a new car at an affordable price but because it was pretty decent across the board, too. The really smart money went on the first Dusters just over a decade ago. You could get a new SUV with a robust, spacious interior for just £8995 – far cheaper than the Skoda Yeti. It even undercut the Ford Fiesta and Fiat Panda. Access trim was the entry point, and while it was dirt cheap, describing its spec…

“The move to unify the S-Class and EQS mirrors that of their closest rivals, the BMW 7 Series and i7” The nextgeneration Mercedes-Benz S-Class and EQS will be unified under one name as part of a move by the German brand to bring parity between its EV and combustion-engine line-ups. This meansthe car maker’s flagshipwillcontinuewith ICE power in its eighth generation – due in 2030 – despite Mercedes previously pledging to replace it with the Mk2 EQS from the end of the decade. Mercedes will therefore do away with the EQS name introduced on its flagship electric model in 2021, CEO Ola Källenius has confirmed. “There will be two S-Classes in the future – ICE and electric,” he said, adding that both versions willfeature similar exterior and interior designs. However,…

FIAT HAS BEGUN renovating its UK line-up by retiring the Panda and petrol 500. The Italian miniatures had been two of the oldest cars that you could still buy new, having beenlaunched 12 and 17 years ago respectively. They have been pulled to make way for the new Grande Panda and 500 Ibrida, which will both arrive in the UK early next year. UK dealers have enough stock of the outgoing cars to last until the end of 2024, according to Fiat UK. The same goes for Fiat sibling brand Abarth’s 500-based 595 and 695 hot hatches, leaving it with only the electric 500e in showroomsfor now. As previously reported by Autocar, the 500 is being removed from sale across Europe because it doesn’t comply with new EU cybersecurity regulations.…

Somerset-based Ariel has revealed a near-production-spec concept that previews an electric version of the Nomad 2, the performance off-roader that was itself unveiled only last month. Dubbed E-Nomad, the new car will provide similar performance to the ICE model while offering unique driving attributes. Ariel says the EV is “already on the way” and plans to launch it in 2026. It would cost around £10,000 more than the £68,000 Nomad 2, Ariel CEO Simon Saunders has told Autocar, with battery costs the key to final pricing. The new EV is the focus of a three-partner project called ZELV (Zero-Emissions Lightweight Vehicle) and the concept willbeofficially unveiled on 4 September at the Millbrooktechnical centre, Bedfordshire, as part of the Low Carbon Vehicle Event. Saunders firmly believes low-volume manufacturers must embrace the…

THE NEW VAUXHALL Frontera crossover will be one of the UK’s cheapest electric cars – and in a UKmarket first, it will cost the sameasthe petrolversion. The chunkier, slightly largerreplacement for the Crossland will go on sale in October, priced at £23,495 with eitherpowertrain. Vauxhall heralded its “elimination” of “the price disparity that usually exists between electric and petrol versions of the same car” of 31% on average. The Stellantis-owned British brand already offers versions of its other EVs on PCP finance for the same deposit and monthly payment astheir petrol equivalents, but on a fiverather than four-year deal. The Frontera EV, however, willbeoffered on equal terms to its petrol sibling. At that list price it will undercut the likes of the Fiat 500e, Mazda MX-30 and MG 4 EV.…

When it comes to fast cars and implausibly long suspension travel, the cat exited the sack some time ago: done well, we know it can be an extraordinarily rewarding combo. So much so that Porsche and Lamborghini have recently got in on the act. Anybody who has driven the dirt-road-ified 911 Dakar or Huracán Sterrato knows that if it’s B-road larks you’re after, a bit of extra pitch and roll and a disarmingly plush ride can really up the ante. But what about the entity responsible for opening up this sack? You could make the case that it was the Ariel Motor Company of Somerset. In 2015, long before the major manufacturers got involved, this tiny outfit took its superlight-weight Atom track-day blade and turned it into something Baja-y. The…

Opinion is divided over who coined the phrase ‘less is more’, but whether it was Robert Browning or Chilon of Sparta, they clearly weren’t thinking of electric cars’ batteries or estate cars’ boots. Because in both cases, more is verymuch more – as the new Volkswagen ID 7 Tourer Pro S demonstrates. The ID 7 has already impressed us in its standard Pro form. It won our 2024 Best Saloon award because it’s the rare ‘Tesla-beater’ that actually beats a Tesla. So who wouldn’t love a version withmore range and more internal space? And that’s exactly what the Tourer Pro S is. It’s priced from £56,140, which is £4590 more than the Pro saloon and £3900 more than the Pro S saloon. Let’s start with the Pro S bit: this…

FORD FOCUS It didn’t make the cut for our Volkswagen Golf-led hatchback triple test, but for all-round appeal the Focus is hard to beat. The Mk4 may be a bit plain inside, but it’s the driving experience that appeals most: it can out-handle just about every other car on this page. And there are plenty of petrol and diesel options to choose from. Ford Focus 1.5 Ecoboost Titanium, 2019, 62,500 miles, £9795 CITROEN C4 It doesn’t get top marks for practicality orinteriorspace, nor indeeddriver appeal, but no rival rides in such a soft fashion asthe good-looking Mk3 C4. Used prices are appealing, too. Citroën C4 1.2 Puretech Shine, 2021, 51,000 miles, £11,600 VAUXHALL ASTRA Priced from aslittle as£2500, the Mk7 Astra is a bargain these days. The 1.4-litre turbo petrol…

MILEAGE 9739 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Can a cut-price approved used electric Porsche match the richly satisfying ownership experience of a new one? Porsche has so far taken a different approach to regenerative braking thanmany car makers moving into EVs. The Taycan doesn’t offer one-pedal driving or feature flappy paddles that enable you to adjust the regen’s strength. Instead, there’s a small button on the steering wheel that toggles the regen on and off, and even when you do activate it, it’s notably mild. It’s a philosophical thing relating to brake feel. Porsche’s goal was to make the Taycan feel like a Porsche to drive, and in the engineers’ view having consistent brake pedal feel is a key part of driving engagement and regen can work counter to that. But…

GREAT REASONS TO BUY DRIVEN Ferrari Roma Spider meets 275 GTS New Roma marks 60 years of front-engined drop-tops from Maranello. We trace that history with help from the first FIRST DRIVE Volvo EX90 Has the Swedish brand’s new electric flagship been worth the long wait? FIRST DRIVE AC Schnitzer ACS2 German BMW tuner hasturneditshandto the latest M2. We try out its upgrades EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Peugeote-3008 SUV has ramped up the premium appeal, but will that beenough? USED GUIDE Toyota Yaris In an age of SUVs, this little hybrid hatch is a joy – and it’s cheap, too SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p22…

BEFORE THE NEXTgeneration S-Class arrives, Mercedes-Benz is committed to implementing a range of revisions for the existing EQS and S-Class flagships. Under the current plans, the electric EQS will gain a major technical upgrade during the second half of 2025 and the combustionengined S-Class saloon is set to be facelifted in 2026. The EQS has recently received mild styling revisions as part of a socalled “running change” for the upmarket electric saloon but the upgraded version will adopt a heavily modified version of the EVA2 platform. The reworked platform will receive an 800V electric architecture instead of the 400V system in use today, which will endow it with faster charging times. Insiderssuggest the 10-80% charge time is set to be reduced by up to 10 minutes compared with today’s EQS,…

It’s already on the record that Rawdon Glover, Jaguar’s managing director, has one of the toughest automotive jobs onthe planet. Hisimmediate task is to killoff (“sunset”) the current, mostly combustion-engine range of traditional Jaguar models and replace it from 2026 with a radical, three-tier EV line-up that lifts pricing into the realms of Bentley. Speaking exclusively to Autocar, Glover – 11 years at Jaguar, with previous Volkswagen Group experience – is undaunted by the size of the challenge. The range will begin with a Porsche Taycan-busting GT – previewed by a concept arriving in December – followed by a Bentley Bentayga-sized SUV and finally a big four-door limo in 2029. “Our approach to future Jaguars isquite different from other vehicles,” he said. “They start with a platform and work outward…

AERODYNAMICS IS ONE of those unseen things that most of us never give much thought to day to day, but it plays a big role in how much energy is needed to push a car along. Drag increases with the square of the velocityor, in plain English, as the speed doubles, the drag quadruples. So when a car’s speed increases from, say, 40mph to 80mph, drag doesn’t double: it increases by four times, with the inevitable effect on fuel or electricity consumption. Reducing the drag on a car as it moves through the air isn’t as simple as making it ‘more slippery’. For that reason, designers and aerodynamics engineers work together to reach a compromise between aesthetics and efficiency. In the long history of chasing aerodynamic excellence on road and…

With the new-generation Vantage, there’s a definite sense that Aston Martin has smelled blood in the water. The Ferrari Roma, the British car’s most conceptually alike and fiercest rival, is now five years old and, despite its brilliance, looks a little vulnerable for the first time. One only needs to consider Aston CEO Lawrence Stroll’s pursuit of Adrian Newey to know that here is a man who, when something he wants comes up for grabs, isn’t exactly half-hearted in getting it. In this case, ‘it’ is top-dog status in the glamorous sub-£200,000 sports GT class. If you cast the net generously, the glittering ensemble includes cars from not just Aston and Ferrari but also Bentley, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche. So Stroll and co aren’t holding back. You might recall the headline…

Kiaand Peugeot have played their plug-in hybrid SUV hands with the updated Sorento and next-generation 5008, and so to protect the popularity of a model that has racked up 55,000 sales in the UK so far, Skoda has responded with a PHEV version of the Kodiaq. For its second generation, the Kodiaq has moved onto the Evo version of the Volkswagen Group’s MQB architecture, which also underpins the new Skoda Superb, VW Passat and VW Tiguan. As such, the Kodiaq iV has the same 25.7kWh battery asthe PHEV versions of those cars. That battery capacityis only 1.1kWh shy of the Dacia Spring EV’s, so no wonder it yields an electric-only range of 71 miles – an impressive figure that will certainly pique the interest of company car users, as well…

THE DAKAR RALLY is the most gruelling event of its kind in the world today, spanning 4903 miles of Arabian desert. Yet its original route covered 6200 miles, linking Paris and the Senegalese capital from which it takes its name. And there have been even longer rallies thanthat, including one traversing the entire lengthof Africa, from Algiers to Cape Town. The 1961 edition of said rally was shortened due to political issues in the Congo region, but the distance to Bangui, capital of the then newly founded Central African Republic, was still 7145 miles – and with the Sahara desert, Sahel savanna and vast grasslands being in the way, less than 1% of those were on paved roads. Long-distance rallying is a French thing. When the French held the world’s…

Making a car move is simple: you just need a power source. Usually, that means a combustion engine, an electric motor or a combination of both. Yet there are other options out there, some more practical than others – but none likely to be seen powering a car on roads near you any time soon. Here we run through the wildest of them. Steam Steam carriages emerged as early as 1748, and steam continued to give petrol a good run for its money in the early days of the car. Today it’s seen asa veryunusual andarchaic choice for powering any vehicle, despite there being some advantages to it. For starters, steam can be generated using all sorts of fuels, so you’re not limited to a single source for creating the…