Table of contents for June 05, 2024 in Autocar

The new Cadillac Optiq will be launched later this year as the first car in General Motors’ new UK market offensive. Positioned as the “luxury entry point” into Cadillac’s electric line-up, the battery-powered SUV will rival the Audi Q4 E-tron and BMW iX3 when it lands this autumn. The larger, BMW iX-chasing Cadillac Lyriq SUV, which is on sale in some European markets already, will join it soon after. The new offensive comes seven years after GM in effect pulled out of Europe following the sale of Opel-Vauxhall to the PSA Group (now Stellantis). Since then, GM has maintained a limited import operation for the Chevrolet Corvette and Cadillac XT4 crossover, which is the only car the upmarket brand officially sells in the UK at present. However, in 2021, the…

VOLKSWAGEN’S FLAGSHIP ID 7 saloon is the latest model to get the GTX treatment, with a 335bhp range-topper. The ID 7 is the latest electric model to wear the German brand’s new sporty badge, following the GTI-spirited ID 3, ID Buzz and the technically related ID 7 Tourer. The ID 7 GTX shares the same dual-motor powertrain as its Buzz and Tourer siblings, which ups power by 53bhp over the standard model. Volkswagen also claims a sub-6.0sec 0-62mph time. The ID 7 GTX is powered by the same 86kWh battery as the not-yet-UK-bound ID 7 Pro S, which can be charged at up to 200kW for a 10-80% charge in less than 30 minutes. Volkswagen is yet to confirm the ID 7 GTX’s range, but given its more power-focused billing,…

Car makers are sharply divided on whether to offer level-three (L3) autonomy as they weigh up the cost versus the reward. Currently only BMW and Mercedes offer ‘hands-off, eyes-off’ autonomy in their flagship limos, and then only in Germany and select American states at traffic jam speeds. More cars are scheduled to join their ranks, with a total of 25,000 L3-enabled global sales forecast for this year, rising to more than a million in 2026, according to Counterpoint Research. But who will join the two German brands? The cost of the technology is very much in the premium range. Renault recently took itself out of the running, and Volkswagen is similarly wary of the cost. “We are not premium or luxury,” Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer said. Instead, he flagged demand…

The creators of the Callum Skye all-terrain electric sports car are developing a utilitarian pick-up variant, complete with a pared-back interior, a longer wheelbase, a wider track and, crucially, a lower entry price. The commercial-focused truck will be based on the headline sports car but target customers working in fields such as forestry, quarrying or delivery services. It will offer all-terrain ability “suitable for proper utilitarian work”, according to Ian Callum, boss of the Callum design agency. The Warwick-based firm is aiming to reduce the pick-up’s purchase price compared with that of the £80,000 four-seater, with an eye on making it more accessible, and Ian Callum said increasing volumes was key to achieving that: “If somebody were to ask me why it costs £80,000, I’ll say ‘because that’s how much…

Worth the wait? You bet. A four-hour rain delay demanded patience from the 300,000-strong crowd at the 108th Indianapolis 500, but when the cork was finally removed, boy were they treated to a classic, capped by a wonderful grandstand finish that was decided by a breathtaking pass only two corners from home. How Josef Newgarden became the first back-to-back Indy winner since fellow Penske ace Hélio Castroneves 22 years ago will go down as one of the great Brickyard moments. McLaren’s 25-year-old Mexican, Pato O’Ward, was left in tears by the manner of his narrow defeat – his second in three years at Indy. It’s little consolation, but he had played his part in an epic duel, and time is on his side to seek future retribution. JUST THE TONIC…

Like it or loathe it, it’s the norm nowadays for cars to increase dramatically in size between generations, and that’s exactly what has happened with the Mini Countryman. It’s now the largest Mini ever built. And that’s not all. The most powerful Mini yet? Check. The fastest Mini yet? Also check. Some might argue that its size goes against everything the Mini brand represents, but that’s not what we’re here to discuss – and it shouldn’t come into the argument of whether this all-new, all-electric Countryman is a good product. Speaking of which, here we’re testing the range-topping SE All4, which has a 65kWh battery and an electric motor on each axle, giving it four-wheel drive, 308bhp and 364lb ft of torque. It’s the same system offered by BMW’s iX1…

Ah, a big diesel estate. It’s like a favourite old teddy bear of a car: comfortable, familiar and reassuring. Getting in and seeing a predicted range of more than 700 miles is a bit silly; I can’t remember the last time I did that sort of distance in one hit. But in a similar sense to how having 800bhp in a supercar is nonetheless appealing to someone pootling through London, that sort of range does give you a certain warm glow of apocalypse-resistant superiority. In the case of the E220d Estate, that range comes not from an absurdly large fuel tank (66 litres isn’t small, but neither is it out of the ordinary), but from excellent fuel economy. It’ll do 55mpg on the motorway with ease. Throw in some 50mph…

There are scrapyards – and there’s Lakes Autos. You can see it from the A1 at Wyboston, a village in T Bedfordshire, somewhere between Luton and Peterborough. The road is hardly scenic, but Lakes’ jumble of discarded motors is like a kind of ancient forest, albeit of rusting metal rather than trees. You don’t see its like much. Not these days. New rules intended to clean up the industry have forced the closure of many small and independent vehicle breakers and sent the dodgy ones off into the shadows. It leaves Lakes as one of the few remaining old-school breakers’ yards. But it’s one with a difference: it breaks only Volvos. Wandering the three acres of disintegrating motors (there are around 400 of them, probably more, and the site occupies…

FIRST REPORT WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Can an extra-long, diesel 4x4 justify a place in daily motoring life in 2024? “Sure, it’s a 4x4, but ease off and it can return 40mpg on a long cruise” No sooner had I written that the Ford Ranger Raptor had left Autocar’s long-term fleet (to join Steve Cropley’s personal fleet, and fair play to him), a similarly large vehicle has arrived to replace it. It’s a Land Rover Defender 130, the longest variant yet of JLR’s most rugged 4x4, the car that represented the final peg of a “three-legged stool” when it was launched in 2020, alongside the Discovery and Range Rover. (And given there are multiples of Discovery and Range Rover, I still wonder if there’s room for more than one Defender…

FEATURE End of an era Jaguar recently built its last ever combustion-engined saloon. We take an XF on a farewell tour FIRST DRIVE Polestar 3 EV brand follows 2 fastback hit with a sporty large SUV. We put it to the test INSIGHT Great Wall Motor Ora’s parent firm has big plans for the UK. Here’s why we should take them seriously EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST MG 3 How close does new hybrid supermini come to matching the Renault Clio? FIRST DRIVE Aston Martin DBX British performance SUV receives a host of upgrades SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p44…

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is a very T real thing for millions of Londoners, and with no chance of any reprieve for years to come, the sale of treasured noncompliant cars begins. Actually, the search for a functional if possibly also dull replacement becomes a matter of urgency – a £12.50-perday kind of urgent. Here I’m helping friends, relatives and any readers who want to tag along, so let’s take a look at what’s available. We will start with something small, cheap and cute, which the Seat Arosa always was. Well, here’s a 2004 example, and it comes with the excellent 1.4-litre petrol engine. It also has 100,000 miles under its belt, but it seems to have been well looked after over its 20 years. The price is…

The precise location of the lesser-known part of Porsche’s car collection is rather closely held, because it contains models that are incredibly rare. And coming from a company that has hit possibly more desirability home runs than any other, that makes them valuable. These, then, are cars the firm failed to act on – but they are intriguing nonetheless. Let’s take a look. Porsche 984 1984 The 924 filled the gap left by the 914 on the bottom rung of Porsche’s line-up, but the company toyed with the idea of an entry-level mid-engined roadster. The light, aerodynamic and affordable 984 was designed to lure younger enthusiasts into showrooms, especially in the US, from where Porsche predicted the bulk of sales would come. It had a 2.0-litre flat four tuned to…

Volkswagen has revealed the new track-honed, range-topping Clubsport version of the Golf GTI to coincide with the hatchback’s 50th birthday. The new GTI Clubsport packs a significant power advantage over the standard GTI, with 296bhp on tap from its turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder, and is among the most powerful front-wheel-drive cars on the market, out-punching the Ford Focus ST and nearly matching the reserves of the fearsome Honda Civic Type R. The updated model is due in the UK later this year, priced around £42,000. It was revealed at the Nürburgring 24 Hours race in Germany, with the circuit having played a significant role in the development of the bespoke powertrain and chassis set-up. As well as the 34bhp power boost, the Clubsport’s tuned EA888 engine increases the torque output from…

BMW’S CONCEPT SKYTOP is ready for homologation and could be produced in very limited numbers. Company bosses say the 8 Series-based concept, which was revealed at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on 24 May, could be in showrooms as early as next year, with a production model possibly wearing a Z8 badge. It will be powered by the M8’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, tuned for 626bhp, and use the M car’s interior. It was inspired by the Z8 and has several design nods to the 2000s roadster. BMW design director Adrian van Hooydonk said: “The headlights, the tail-lights, they’re new. They’re as slim as we could possibly make them. We know they could be homologated. If we do it, we should do it in a very limited production, like we did with…

AN ELECTRIC HOT hatch based on the new Lancia Ypsilon will be the first to wear the Italian brand’s revived HF performance badge. The Ypsilon HF makes 237bhp, suggesting it uses the same front-mounted motor as fellow Stellantis brand Abarth’s 600e. It also gets a lower, wider suspension set-up than the regular Ypsilon and can do 0-62mph in 5.8sec. A launch date for the HF hasn’t yet been set, but with the Mk4 Ypsilon already on sale in Europe, it’s plausible that it will arrive in 2025. A potential UK return for Lancia is also unconfirmed. This EV is the first Lancia to wear the HF badge since the second-generation 190bhp Delta HPE HF went out of production in 1999. Showcasing the car’s design for the first time, Lancia also…

MERCEDES WILL OFFER hands-off driving tech in the third-generation CLA when it’s launched next year. The urban driving-focused level-two-plus system, which relies on a combination of ultrasonic sensors, cameras and radar, is planned for all the upcoming compact cars on Mercedes’ new multi-powertrain MMA platform. The brand’s latest self-driving system, which is an extension of the existing Drive Pilot tech, autonomously accelerates, brakes and steers. The driver still has to remain alert and occasionally take control of the steering wheel when a warning sounds, however. WE RIDE IN A SELF-DRIVING MERCEDES Autocar has been able to sample Mercedes-Benz’s yet-to-be-named autonomous driving tech at the German car maker’s Beijing research centre, with a drive in one of a fleet of S-Class prototypes. The first thing you notice is the extra digital…

I just briefly opened LinkedIn to check on responses to a job ad I’d shared, and as I scrolled quickly through some posts written in curiously short sentences. Like this. But each a new paragraph too. I noticed a picture of a car. It was only on the screen for the briefest flicker of a moment as I scrolled past, but I immediately knew who had made it: not by colour, nor by location, but because its doors were open. Ah, dihedral doors: a McLaren! A glimpse was enough for it to be immediately recognisable. Now, McLaren has not been without ongoing problems. It lost £873 million last year, prompting Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, already its biggest stakeholder, to take full ownership in April. The company’s first quarter of this…

This is a big moment, in more ways than one. We’re among the very first to find out what the latest in a half-century line of bombastic V12-engined Lamborghinis feels like on the road, far away from any meticulously managed manufacturer event. And make no mistake: the new plug-in hybrid Revuelto is truly bombastic, even by its maker’s theatrical standards. This car is a half-foot longer than the Aventador it replaces and almost as wide as a New Routemaster bus. It develops more than a thousand brake horsepower yet weighs about the same as a BMW M3. With 6.5 litres of swept capacity, the engine is colossal, yet the crank still spins to a nosebleed-inducing 9500rpm. Road test editor Matt Saunders teed up today’s activities nicely when he drove this…

If you’re someone who shuttles executives around for work or has a family numbering more than five, your choice of new cars has greatly diminished over the past decade or so. And as MPVs like the Renault Espace and Chrysler Grand Voyager have succumbed to fashion, van-derived people carriers such as the Ford Tourneo Custom have naturally become ever more relevant. Now in its second generation, the Tourneo Custom mirrors the changes made to the Transit Custom (as road tested in our 8 May issue), because it’s effectively a posh version of Britain’s favourite panel van fitted with seats and windows. So far, we’ve driven the diesel and electric version of the Transit Custom, so for our first go in the Tourneo Custom, we’re trying the plug-in hybrid, which has…

The popular Peugeot supermini, a car that has been sitting among Europe’s best-sellers for a good few years now, has been given a mid-life refresh, which includes the introduction of this 48V mild-hybrid model. The cheaper pure-petrol models and the pricier e-208 remain, but there are now two hybrid options: one with 99bhp and the other with 134bhp. We’re in the latter here. Peugeot says the introduction of the 48V motor means extra torque at low revs and up to 15%-lower fuel consumption, as well as the ability to operate in electric mode for half the time in urban situations. For this 134bhp hybrid, claimed fuel economy is up to 65.0mpg, whereas the entry-level petrol is 55.2mpg. Otherwise, the 208’s facelift is fairly subtle. The front LEDs move from the…

“That’s a very cool car,” coos the cyclist as he pulls up alongside us at a set of traffic lights in central London. He’s far from the first of our fellow road users to offer this positive appraisal, and we’ve been on the road for barely 15 minutes. As the signals turn green and we move away he chimes in with another observation: “Wow, it’s electric – that’s amazing.” Again, we’ve heard this before, and we’ll continue to hear it for the rest of our jaunt around the capital. Our two-wheeled friend keeps pace with us for 100 metres or so before the traffic slows again and he’s able to slip ahead through the snarl-up. However, just as he disappears he takes one more glance back at us and, with…

Dangerously stylish Having learnt to drive many years ago in a real Mini, I feel there’s a certain nostalgic charm about an electric-powered original Mini (‘Turned out nice again’, 15 May). However, I recall that its integrity wasn’t great and that one stood a significant chance of loosing both legs in the event of a frontal impact. Attractive as David Brown Automotive’s little restomod is, and noting the need to maintain certain levels of originality, such huge expenditure on cosmetics with little safety improvement (seatbelts are shown) seems misplaced. Patrick Hogan Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire It beats Ladybird Books How wonderful to read about and see a picture of young Arthur Pearce in the 15 May Your Views pages! That was me, more than 60 years ago. My first copy was 20…

Despite unassisted steering, a clutch pedal that felt like it was set in concrete and rear head room so tight that the car might as well have been a two-seater, more than five million Minis were produced between 1959 and 2000. People simply would not stop buying them. It was so renowned that it topped Autocar’s ‘Top 50 cars that changed the world’ list in 1991, and its lineage arguably continues today with BMW’s reborn Mini brand. For this buying guide, we’re focusing on the Mk6 and Mk7 variants that were manufactured by Rover between 1991 and 2000. That’s partly because there are so many versions to choose from but also because they can still be found at keen prices. With earlier Minis now being sold for anywhere between £12,000…

TVR STOLE ALL the attention at the 1996 British motor show with the shock unveiling of the 7/12, a crazy creation even by the British sports car maker’s mad standards. Based on the newly introduced Cerbera, a rival to the Porsche 911 and Toyota Supra, with its fantastic 4.2-litre V8 turned into a 7.7-litre V12, it weighed less than 1000kg – thanks to a composite body shell, a steel tubular spaceframe chassis with an integrated roll cage and a spartan interior – while making 660bhp and 660lb ft of torque. “I’m very serious about this car, said TVR chairman Peter Wheeler. “We are going to go GT racing with this car – and to enter, those cars have got to be road cars.” The GT racing in question was the…

The new 592bhp Jeep Wagoneer S electric SUV blends an upmarket design focus with sports car levels of performance in a bid to take on the Tesla Model Y. The new SUV is Jeep’s second battery-electric model following the small Avenger, but it’s the first that will be offered globally. It will be the first time that a car carrying Jeep’s upmarket Wagoneer badge, which was first introduced in 1962 and used for a series of more premium models, has been offered here. Jeep is hoping that a more overt focus on premium design and on-road manners will help it grow sales in the crucial D-SUV market. Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa said the Wagoneer S will be “a global product because we think it will fit many, many consumers”. He…

EMERGING technologies are often flawed in a way that makes it impossible to imagine them improving beyond that stage. Such is the case with BEVs and the still thorny issue of how long it takes to charge one on longer journeys. Leaving charger availability aside for a moment, 45 minutes to bring a 400V car from 10 or 20% charge back up to 80% and, say, 30 minutes to do the same for an 800V car is still unacceptable to many drivers. Back in 2021, we reported on how Storedot had developed a silicon-dominant lithium ion battery anode technology, which it called XFC (for ‘extreme fast charge’). The technology was still at the laboratory stage at the time, but the firm expected it would cut charge times by 50% with…

MONDAY I’ve just clocked one of the most astounding pieces of automotive art in (my) living memory. It’s a full-sized Lotus Eleven made from random car-related bits, created by sculptor Diccon Dadey as part of an annual automotive art exhibition at the British Motor Museum featuring the disparate work of 19 artists and sculptors. Every time I see one of these collections nowadays (the Royal Automobile Club also runs a bumper event during London Motor Week in November), I’m so impressed by the high standards these people set. In this case, you can actually watch the artists at work: for the next month or so, the BMM will have artists in residence, actually showing how they do it. TUESDAY Exciting times. I’ve got a new MG 4 EV to replace…

Electric drivetrain technology moves quickly. Not quickly enough for some, certainly, but it’s still easy for pioneering models to get left behind. Just ask the Jaguar I-Pace. The Porsche Taycan earned a five-star road test recommendation when it was launched in 2020 because it offered good range, market-leading charging speeds and enjoyable dynamics, and it all came wrapped up in a good-looking saloon body (and later an estate). However, its efficiency and range figures were some way off the sharp end by 2024, so with this mild facelift and rather more involved technical update, Porsche has put things right with new motors and battery options. Our first taste of the refreshed Taycan in the UK comes by way of the entry-level single-motor ‘Taycan’ (with no 4, Turbo or other suffix),…

To most of us, the new 718 Spyder RS is just another agonisingly unobtainable slice of Porsche magic. For a select few at the other end of the spectrum, it will be merely the latest trophy stuffed into a blue-chip collection, destined to sleep out its days in a dehumidified garage (in this case an especially unforgivable sin, given the charm of the car’s 9000rpm flat-six motor). But to Porsche itself? When it comes to the single-minded, race-infused models given the Rennsport tag, the 718 Spyder RS is nothing less than an aberration. That’s rather a strong word but a difficult one to refute. Conceived primarily as a road car rather than a Nordschleife blade, the philosophy of the Spyder RS is quite distinct – contrary, even – to every…

It takes no time at all to travel from Iceland’s main airport to the initial site of interest for this feature. “New car to drive. A Kia. They’ve got one available in Iceland – land of fire and ice, they say. Go and pick it up and see how close you can drive to a volcano,” they had said at the office, breezily, which sounded like a good wheeze at the time. But the idea seems to get considerably more glib the closer I drive to the village of Grindavík. Iceland’s south-western Reykjanes peninsula, on which Grindavík is located, is currently enduring its fourth volcanic eruption since 2021 – or one long eruption with monthslong pauses, depending on who you ask. The peninsula is located on – and has been…

MODEL TESTED 3.0 TSI eHYBRID 4MOTION ELEGANCE • Price £69,150 • Power 376bhp • Torque 443lb ft • 0-60mph 6.2sec • 30-70mph in fourth 7.1sec • Fuel economy 35.9mpg • CO2 emissions 51g/km • 70-0mph 46.0m The Volkswagen Touareg is a full-size sports utility vehicle of quite a particular sort. Now in its third decade, it has long been used as a technological testbed and demonstrator for its parent company, a little like the S-Class limousine once was by Mercedes-Benz and the A8 by Audi. But despite that, and even though it has been available with some pretty immodest-sounding engines over the years, this remains a singularly humble, functional and understated kind of car – something much closer in character to a Land Rover Discovery or old-generation Volvo XC90 than the…

“Their sole complaints were that the rear seats didn’t have air vents or cupholders” MILEAGE 10,870 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if the Clio is the heir apparent to the Ford Fiesta’s ‘default buy’ throne Do you want to attend a major motorsport event but have never got round to doing so? If so, please, don’t go to the British Grand Prix. Why? Well, if you buy a ticket today, it will be at least £309, or £479 if you want to sit in a grandstand, plus £40 to park, plus the fuel and hotel bills. Alternatively, you could spend £171 on tickets for you plus two others to sit wherever you please at the 6 Hours of Spa, plus £28 to park, £114 for the tunnel and fuel…

So Victor Lewis doesn’t like pick-up trucks, nor does he think anyone else should (22 May). The fact is that a lot of pick-up users are tradesmen, farmers, engineers and salesmen who need to demonstrate heavy equipment, or just people who live in a rural area where such a vehicle may be the cheapest way into a four-wheel-drive with a decent towing capacity. Granted, no one needs to spend £60,000-plus on a Ford Ranger Raptor, but then neither does anyone need a Bugatti, a Ferrari 250 GTO or, come to that, an EV that accelerates like a ballistic missile! Automotive choice is something that is being eroded. Let’s not give the vehicle haters more ammunition and just accept that we all have different needs and that ego may play into…

An owner’s view NEIL BURGESS “Minis are incredibly addictive! Mine is a 1993 Cooper, quicksilver with a black roof. I bought it in 1997 as a stolen-recovered car which had been stripped out. I turned it into my first competition car, mostly for racing but also to rally. The standard single-point injection engine proved competitive, and Corgi even made a model of it! I still own the car – Purdey – and she is a loved member of the family, retired from her track days.” Buyer beware… ENGINE Check for oil leaks. Worn seals or gaskets are an issue, so make sure that regular oil checks have been done. Budget around £200 to fix any leaking seals or gaskets. Some owners report cars cutting out when declutching to change gear.…

A road test in any other magazine might well be a short, subjective summary of a new car produced under almost any circumstances, but the Autocar road test is different. Specific, rigorous and detailed, it’s the closest examination we can give of any new model. It appears over at least eight pages and is close to 50 man-hours in the making every week. Most of what the road test process entails is designed to be strictly repeatable and fair. We benchmark standing-start and in-gear acceleration at a purpose-built test facility every week. We carry out both subjective and objective handling tests on both road and track, on the latter up to and beyond the limit of grip, so as to fully assess stability, drivability and limit handling appeal. And while…