Table of contents for 1923 in Auto Express

I PROMISED myself I’d take a week off opining about electric vehicles, despite their seemingly permanent place at the top of the news cycle. Then stuff happened – both bad and almost good – in the EV positivity stakes. First, the almost good news, in that the Government upped its charging point grant by £150, so you’ll now get £500 off installation (as long as you don’t own your own home with a driveway). That weird caveat is still in play, so the people who can transition to EVs most easily are the only ones not to get the incentive. I know it’s harder for people without driveways, or those who rent, or live in a flat, to get a charger installed, so the grant is a handy way of…

RENAULT has vowed to build on landmark cars such as the new Twingo, Renault 5 and Scenic EVs, when it unveils its fresh mid-term plan on 10 March. New CEO Francois Provost has revealed the new strategy will be called ‘FutuREady’, a huge hint that the firm will reinvent its cars, tech and how it works over the next four years, to drive down costs and fight competition from Chinese brands. Provost rose to the top seven months ago, succeeding Luca de Meo whose ‘Renaulution’ plan took Renault from a seven billion Euro loss to record profits. Provost, the former chief procurement officer and a 23-year company servant, plans to drive the leaner Renault forward. “Product was the heart of our Renaulution plan and product will be the number one…

CHERY THE godfather brand is pitched as the value offering. The 7, 8 and 9 (right) offer a petrol engine, with a PHEV option on the first two, and seven seats on the bigger two. JAECOO JAECOO is the top seller of the four in the UK. The 5 (pictured) is sold as petrol and full electric, while the 7 is petrol or plug-in, and the new 8 (see story, right) just a PHEV. For now. OMODA THE smaller of the cars currently offered, the 5, is the only one with EV, petrol and PHEV options, while the 7 comes purely as a plug-in hybrid, as does the bigger 9 (right).…

THE Government has announced an increase to the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant, allowing eligible applicants to save up to £500 on a new EV charger. That figure is £150 more than before, but the same restrictions apply. The Department for Transport (DfT) says the new limit will “typically cover nearly half the cost of having an EV charger installed”. However, being open only to those in rented properties, plus business owners, flat owners and those without driveways, means most people – statistics suggest around 55 to 58 per cent of households have access to off-street parking or a driveway – aren’t eligible. This new cash injection will be available for 12 months from 1 April, with the DfT noting that this will be the final year of grants – with…

LAMBORGHINI has issued a statement confirming it has cancelled plans for its first EV, citing “very limited” demand for electric cars in the luxury super-sports class. Instead, the much mooted but as-yet-unnamed “fourth model line” will launch with plug-in hybrid power – with the tech apparently offering the “most appropriate solution for the brand” for the time being. The news comes just months after CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Auto Express that his brand’s customers “don’t see [EV] as an alternative today. We could do [an EV], but I think it’s the wrong offer for the next years, for Lamborghini.” He said at the time that a decision on the brand’s future powertrain strategy was imminent, with this latest statement firming up the rumours that Lamborghini customers will have to wait…

MORE than one drink-driver in 10 will reoffend after being caught, according to a Freedom of Information request by the RAC, which also uncovered that over the past 11 years roughly 27,000 people were caught driving under the influence of alcohol more than once. The RAC finding shows that 220,638 motorists hold drink-driving endorsements, with more than 12 per cent of these (26,819) having been prosecuted twice for this offence within the past 11 years. More alarming is that more than 2,500 drivers were caught drink-driving on three separate occasions or more. One driver was found to have received 10 different convictions, while eight were caught driving over the limit six times. The vast majority of those prosecuted are done so under DR10 endorsements, where a driver was found to…

THE Tesla Model Y is already one of the best family EVs you can buy, thanks in part to its massive interior space, but the brand is working on making it even more practical with a new six-seat variant. We knew Tesla was developing a six-seat Model Y after it was leaked on China’s Ministry of Industry and Information website last summer as the ‘Model Y L’. This gave us our first undisguised look at the longer, more practical version of the popular electric SUV. Fresh documents reveal the new variant has gained approval for the Australian market. With right-hand-drive versions confirmed, it will be easier for Tesla to potentially bring the six-seater to the UK market. We’re yet to see inside the car, but we expect this new Model…

HOW HI-TECH HEADLIGHTS ARE PRIORITISING THE INDIVIDUAL BY DAZZLING OTHER DRIVERS TRUNDLING through the darkness on a country road in Oxfordshire, the light of our car’s adaptive LEDs pick out a pothole lurking amidst the undulations of the tarmac. Seeing this, we’re given enough time to swerve out of the way, saving ourselves from an awkward conversation with automotive PR representatives about a popped tyre or kerbed wheel. We’re taking part in a new Vauxhall study to probe the tangible benefits of LED headlights, specifically those with adaptive matrix tech. In view of the debate over the negative impact of LED car lamps, primarily the dazzling of other road users, the brand is keen to showcase how its Intelli-Lux HD headlights not only make driving at night safer, but also…

VOLVO’S designers clearly turned to the XC90 for inspiration when it comes to the EX90’s looks, with the all-electric model featuring a similar silhouette but a smoother overall appearance, plus a body that makes space for the seven-seat layout. There are three powertrain options offered – called Single Motor, Twin Motor and Twin Motor Performance – and two battery sizes, with the Single Motor car equipped with a 92kWh pack and the other two coming with a 106kWh unit. The Single Motor sends drive to the rear axle, while the Twin Motor models are four-wheel drive. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE IT’S fairly common for car makers to pump up the power in their EVs to help overcome their weight, and Volvo has a habit of packing its electric SUVs with plenty…

THE MINI JCW’s looks haven’t really been covered in great detail during my previous reports, though in truth, this is the reason why a lot of people will be drawn to it. I first saw this generation of MINI back in 2022 when someone sneakily took a picture of an undisguised car. At first I wasn’t a huge fan of its back end, because the lights are a significant departure from older MINIs and they kind of reminded me of a bat’s wings. The overall proportions of the latest all-electric MINI are lovely, thanks to it sitting on a bespoke electric architecture. But while this petrol-powered MINI has a new ‘F66-generation’ designation, it’s essentially a heavy update of the previous MINI’s platform. As a result, the styling – which aims…

EV RANGE IS AN EMPTY PROMISE OUR recent long-range EV winter megatest put five of the very latest electric cars through their paces over a 370-mile route. Two things became very clear – a huge battery doesn’t necessarily translate into huge range, and really we should all be focused more on efficiency. One of the models we tested was the Audi A6 Avant e-tron Performance. It has a 94.9kWh battery and a WLTP range of 430 miles. But it achieved just 2.6 miles per kWh, meaning a real-world range of just 246 miles before you’ll need to recharge that massive battery. The average cost of rapid charging is around 80p/kWh, meaning it’ll cost more than £75 to fill the Audi up completely using the public network. That’s more than 30p…

WE’VE just driven the Audi RS 5, BYD Atto 3 and Honda Prelude this week and while each of them certainly holds its own appeal, bundle them together and you’re looking at around £170,000. We wondered what you could get on the used market that would do a similar job for a lot less money. 1 MERCEDES E-CLASS COUPE £13,800 IT’S refreshing to see Honda has launched a new coupé for 2026, but if you want a bargain-priced two-door that’s refined and feels solid, look no further than the Mercedes E-Class Coupé. At just a fraction of the price of the £40k Honda, the Mercedes looks like a steal, especially when you factor in that this is the E 400 with a 333bhp 3.5-litre V6 engine under the bonnet. That…

GOODBYE and good riddance to the brutal, bleak, politically shambolic winter just gone. Hello and welcome to the warmer, lighter, generally safer spring and summer ahead of us. The next six months should be the best, easiest and most enjoyable of the year for driving. But don’t forget, we and our passengers of voting age are circa 50 million-strong. To say that we have collective, but under-utilised political clout is a huge understatement. So in addition to preparing your existing car – or even buying or leasing a new one – for the spring/summer, get ready for imminent local elections in parts of Britain and even the possibility of a General Election ahead of the scheduled cut-off point in 2029. Ballot boxes provide beleaguered, ripped-off car users with their best…

MERCEDES is in for a busy 2026, but few of its new-model launches will be more important than the next GLA. Due later this year in both hybrid and electric forms, the Mk3 car should bring substantial improvements in efficiency and technology compared with the previous generation, highlighted by a potential 400-mile range on the long-range EV model. The next GLA will follow a similar template to the first two generations, despite having a slightly different relationship to other models in the brand’s line-up. That’s because the SUV will adopt the firm’s new MMA architecture, which is in contrast to the A-Class that will continue in its existing form for the foreseeable future. This, in effect, makes the new GLA the entry point for Mercedes’ latest-generation models – possibly undercutting…

IT’S a relatively quiet year for the French brand, but a make-or-break revamp of the current Renault Megane is in the pipeline. The first new car of the Renaulution fightback plan, the all-electric Megane went on sale in 2022. But the compact, 217bhp hatchback, hampered by its tight cabin space and modest 285-mile maximum range, has not cut through commercially like the new Renault 5. So the firm will roll the dice with a facelifted version this spring. “There will be a strong Megane evolution this year,” said Renault product development chief Bruno Vanel. “Megane has got an important role in the line-up: it’s our only low-riding C-segment hatchback.” The headline news comes under the skin. “The strong evolution includes new batteries,” Vanel told Auto Express. The current Megane has…

AT the same time as a whole new marque (Lepas, left) is launched, fellow Chery-owned brand Jaecoo has added a fresh seven-seat flagship to its line-up in the form of the Jaecoo 8. The Skoda Kodiaq and Hyundai Santa Fe rival isn’t simply a larger version of the best-selling Jaecoo 7, because the brand has opted for a sleeker, more modern design than its square-jawed sibling. However, there are some shared design elements, such as the ‘waterfall’ grille, chunky Jaecoo lettering and a full-width rear lightbar. The J8 is based on the same underpinnings as the Chery Tiggo 9 and the Omoda 9 that arrived here last year. It appears that UK cars will feature the same PHEV Super Hybrid System powertrain, which could offer an enormous pure-electric range of…

“WATCH this space in terms of hybrids,” a senior spokesperson from Honda Europe has told us, with the firm planning to continue its focus on multi-fuelled vehicles, despite the full-electric 0 Series SUV coming to the UK next year. Andrew Winfield, Product manager at Honda Europe, told us: “We’ve yet to break cover on what the mix of the next generation of our product line looks like, but hybrid is where the volume will sit.” At the time of writing, Honda only sells a single electric car in the UK – the e:Ny1 – but the final version of the electric 0 Series SUV concept (first shown in 2025) will enter production later this year and go on sale in the UK towards the middle or second half of 2027,…

WE’VE caught the new Urus Performante testing again and it’s set to take Lamborghini’s sole SUV to new heights. With the Italian manufacturer announcing that it’s put its first all-electric car on hold for now, if you want a Lamborghini that isn’t the new Temerario or Revuelto, you’ll be left with the Urus – until its replacement arrives in 2029. Lambo has yet to confirm the name of this Urus we saw testing, but it shares similar tweaks to the old Performante and will certainly occupy the same spot at the top of the SUV’s line-up. That’ll make it a rival for the V12-powered Ferrari Purosangue, 193mph Aston Martin DBX 707 and Mercedes-AMG G 63. The Urus Performante has aero elements that hint at a possible upgraded powertrain. The latest Urus…

IT looks like someone at BMW got overexcited about all the new cars the firm is bringing out this year, because details of some top-secret models have appeared prematurely on the brand’s own online parts store in the US. Most exciting is confirmation that a four-wheel-drive xDrive version of the BMW M2 is coming. It’s long been rumoured that the menacing baby sports coupé would be adopting all-wheel drive, because it is the only car left in the M line-up to send all its power exclusively to the rear wheels. We assume the M2 xDrive will only be available as an automatic, but the website suggests the rear-wheel-drive M2 is sticking around and, hopefully, should still feature a six-speed manual gearbox. We expect both variants will use the same 473bhp…

BYD’s explosive model expansion over the past 24 months might have caused you to forget about the Atto 3, the first car the brand brought to the UK. And it was a hit, with a combination of price, range and kit that made it particularly appealing at the time. It put BYD firmly on buyers’ radars, but things move fast at this end of the market. So to keep it competitive, the manufacturer has introduced the new Atto 3 EVO. Arriving in the next couple of months, this updated car is expected to be priced from around £37,000 to £39,000 in RWD form – with the dual-motor version set to cost in the low £40,000s – although exact UK pricing has yet to be announced. However, although this new model…

“The most impressive part of the Omoda is the electric side of its plug-in hybrid powertrain” OMODA is yet another Chinese brand that’s recently arrived in the UK. Its first offering was the Nissan Qashqai-rivalling Omoda 5, and now we’ve got behind the wheel of the larger Omoda 7. Alongside Jaecoo, Chery and the recently announced Lepas (Page 12), Omoda is one of four sub-brands within the Chery Auto group. However, it’s difficult to see how Omoda will stand out. The Omoda 7 is a sister car to the Jaecoo 7 and while a pure-petrol version is coming, the Omoda is launching with the ‘Super Hybrid System’ already used by the Jaecoo 7 and Chery Tiggo 7. Omoda is adamant that its SUV targets a different customer, though, and that…

THE BMW iX was launched in 2022 as the company’s first all-electric car since the BMW i3 was released in 2013, and it is regarded in some circles as a sure-fire future classic. Since the electric SUV first arrived, the brand’s electric vehicle portfolio has expanded, and in order to keep the iX fresh, it was treated to a revamp in 2025. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE BMW has completely overhauled the iX’s powertrains to deliver improvements in both performance and efficiency. For the facelift, new power-inverter tech, tweaked motors and revised software were all added, as well as a larger battery for the entry-level model. The xDrive45 replaced the xDrive40, and it gained 87bhp to take total power to 408bhp. The result is a 5.1-second 0-62mph time that’s a second faster…

JUMP packs are one of the handiest car care developments from the past decade. Instead of calling a breakdown service or unravelling cables while manoeuvring another car to get the batteries close together, you can pull out a pack that’s little bigger than a paperback book and rouse a dead battery. It is also safer, with no chance of getting cables the wrong way round and damaging your car’s electrics. Swedish charger maker CTEK has finally made a booster pack, and here it takes on two of our favourites, the MSC Overland 10Ah and Gooloo GP4000. While the CTEK packs a punch, feels tough and has useful features, there is no way to justify the price. For most, the MSC will be the more practical choice, but if you need…

CHERY, the Chinese group behind the Jaecoo and Omoda brands, has revealed the Lepas L8 – a new model from a new badge that will be the flagship in a range expected to encompass at least three SUVs. The Lepas name apparently combines the words Leap, Leopard and Passion, with the maker claiming each “can be seen as key pillars for its model line-up and brand aesthetic”. The L8 will launch in the UK in the second half of this year, rivalling the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage, as well as the BYD Sealion 5 and MG HS. The Lepas L8 is based on the Chery Tiggo 9 – with the same 2,800mm wheelbase. Yet while the Chery gets seven seats, the Lepas makes do with five. At almost 4.7m…

WE recently got wind of Geely’s strategy to become bigger than Toyota and Vauxhall in the UK by the end of the decade with a series of new model launches – one of which could be the Galaxy E8 EV (above). Speaking to Auto Express, Harry Bathe, Geely UK’s head of sales, told us to get ready for a new flagship: “When? I can’t confirm, but we will have some form of halo product.” We’ve been told two cars will be the so-called ‘halos’. The first is a rugged yet hi-tech 4x4, which is due to arrive in 2028 and will target buyers of cars such as the Land Rover Defender. The other will be an electric saloon, expected here late next year, and which we believe to be the…

AFTER attending the UK launch of the new Honda Prelude (Page 24), perhaps the biggest thing that has stayed with me was a remark made by one of the brand’s spokespeople. Amid cries from enthusiasts that the new Prelude should have been like the Civic Type R, the employee told me: “People should be careful what they wish for. It could have been a [cough, cough] Ford Capri scenario.” And that got me thinking: should we be pleased that not only has a nameplate been revived, but the new car also aligns closely with the original? The Prelude was never a white-knuckle driver’s car, so faithfully bringing it back when interest in comfy coupés is nearly non-existent is a bold move. In which case, it’s perhaps no surprise that Ford…

A NEW entry-level version of the Volvo EX30 will be arriving alongside a collection of updates across the range. However, this fresh base variant isn’t currently in the plan for UK sales, although we’ll see the other updates on UK models in the next few months. Key changes for British cars will include a comprehensive update of the EX30’s sole digital interface. This should bring often-used elements to hand more easily, as well as offering configurable shortcut bars. As well featuring on all new models, these changes will be offered to existing owners via an over-the-air update. Volvo will offer two new interior colour choices: a warm beige called Harvest, plus a new black option. A more comprehensive Black Edition trim is also available with this new interior colour scheme,…

MINI has revealed a trio of new 1965 Victory special editions available on its sporty three-door Cooper models. Featuring a specific livery, unique stickers and interior trim pieces, the cars will be available to order from March, but they won’t be coming to the UK. The 1965 Victory Edition is designed to mark the original Mini Cooper S’s success at that year’s Monte Carlo Rally when Timo Makinen and co-driver Paul Easter outperformed far more powerful rivals to take the outright win, creating one of motorsport’s greatest stories of the underdog triumphing. Each of the liveries is based on a Chili Red base, fitted with contrasting white mirror caps and roof paint. Unique to these models is an asymmetric stripe on the nose that continues down the tailgate, plus a ‘52’…

RETRO revivals are one of the biggest trends in the car industry right now – along with the seemingly obligatory LED lightbars, and a renewed focus on hybridisation as buyer interest for EVs lags behind expectations. The new Honda Prelude is the product of all of these things: it restores the ‘Prelude’ lineage after two decades of absence, and is based on the same full-hybrid architecture as the latest version of the evergreen Civic. Oh, and it has a sleek-looking rear lightbar, too. On that point, the Prelude’s styling is probably its biggest selling point; with its designers given a brief based around the concept of ‘gliding’, only an eel doused in butter could be considered more slippery. Don’t like it? The new Honda’s swooping lines can be interrupted by…

IT’S time to say goodbye to our Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce – and during our six months with the car, we couldn’t help but draw some parallels with my husband Dave’s Vespa. Both vehicles ooze Italian charm and although the Junior’s design isn’t as iconic as the Vespa’s, which has barely changed in 60 years, it certainly draws on Alfa’s heritage. The rear end reminds Dave of an Alfasud his Dad owned in the late seventies, while the headlamps and Scudetto shield both reimagine past designs, as do the striking diamond-cut 20-inch alloy wheels, which incorporate the famous circular motif. More than a few times over the past months we’ve been parked up, and when other EVs have driven past, they’ve only highlighted the looks and presence of the Alfa,…

IT’S not just cars that struggle to get started in the morning. Most of us need a hit of caffeine from a mug of coffee or tea before we feel ready for the day, and it makes sense to save time and sup from a cup while you’re stuck in traffic. Making the brew at home and keeping it warm in an insulated beaker will save a fortune compared with coffee shop prices, but if you are treating yourself, then many outlets will offer a discount if you choose a reusable cup. It’s much better for the environment, too. Most cars have holders to securely keep a cup within reach, and insulated mug walls mean you won’t burn your hand. A well designed lid will help to prevent any spillages, too.…