Table of contents for July 31, 2024 in Autocar

The most aero-efficient cars are low and sleek, but your customers want SUVs. How do you approach that paradox? “For sure, the concept of an SUV is a burden when it comes to efficiency, but that’s the customer demand: to have SUV cars. By the end of the decade, in the US, 85% of vehicles will be trucks or SUVs, and we also see that trend in Europe. China still likes conventional limousines and flat cars, but we have to look at the world, and on average the SUV is more important.” How will your next-generation EVs stand up to technically competitive rivals from China? “The competition is strong and it’s broader than in the combustion-engine field. For example, in China there are 104 new brands that have come up…

CHINESE PHONE MAKER Xiaomi has unveiled the SU7 Ultra, a 1527bhp track-focused EV to rival the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. The SU7 Ultra packs 434bhp more than its German rival thanks to Xiaomi’s new ‘V8’ electric motor. Two of them are located on the rear axle, each putting out 570bhp and 468lb ft. A third motor – the firm’s more compact 387bhp ‘V6’ unit – is sited at the front. The 1900kg Ultra is claimed to hit 62mph from a standstill in 1.97sec and 186mph in 15.07sec. The firm says its top speed exceeds 217mph. The SU7 Ultra also gets uprated AP Racing brakes and sticky Pirelli P Zero rubber. Its touring car-like carbonfibre bodykit is said to generate a maximum 2145kg of downforce. When the prototype takes on the…

The Ariya is the first high-riding model to carry the Nismo badge since the hot version of the first-gen Juke. Already available in Japan and primed for UK sales next year, it is a “no compromise” performance SUV designed to prove EVs can be exciting. It will offer 429bhp from its dual-motor powertrain. Nissan claims the focus was not on maximising power or straight-line speed but making it fun to drive. “Many of the key players are focusing on acceleration, but this is the easy thing to do with an EV,” said Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s global product strategy chief. “The challenging part is how do you make it corner and brake, because of the weight. With e-4orce [Nissan’s four-wheel drive system] we have the opportunity for a very exciting, dynamic…

Suzuki will launch its maiden EV, a Vitarasized SUV, next year. Previewed by the eVX concept last October, the production version is expected to adopt a similar set-up to that car, which was powered by a 60kWh battery. This allowed for 342 miles between charges, according to the Indian MIDC test cycle. Suzuki’s budget-friendly positioning also means that a single-motor, two-wheel-drive powertrain will be used. The new EV is likely to be priced at around £30,000.…

Audi Audi is planning to expand and upgrade its hybrid offering, citing a “longer than initially thought” EV transition. It still plans to go EV-only in 2033, though. Porsche German brand has lowered EV sales ambitions after earlier committing to 80% by 2030, saying the transition is “taking longer than we thought five years ago”. Ford The firm says its plan to go all-electric by 2030 in Europe was “too ambitious”. Like others, Ford will continue to offer a range of hybrids in light of wavering EV uptake. Renault Its CEO said EVs need to be cheaper so customers “follow us”, or Europe won’t hit the 2035 transition deadline. Upcoming Renault 5 will be priced from around £22,000. BYD Chinese brand will launch three plug-in hybrids next year. President Stella…

Lotus could push back the launch of its long-awaited Type 135 electric sports car until smaller, lighter batteries become available, so it can be as close in spirit to the Elise as possible. According to the most recent scheduling, the Type 135 was due on sale in 2027 at an estimated price of £75,000 as a replacement for the petrol-powered Emira. While that is still the target, Lotus Group design boss Ben Payne has hinted it could be held back until next-generation EV technology comes on stream. Payne said that launching the electric two-seater remains important because “the Elise is the go-to touchpoint for Lotus”. But the packaging constraints of current EV hardware would not allow the firm to stay true to the principles that defined the original car. “The…

SUNDAY To Shelsley Walsh, Worcester, for the Midland Automobile Club’s Classic Nostalgia hillclimb meeting. This is the kind of event you might expect to be bulldozed by expensive, crowd-packed productions like the Silverstone Festival and the Goodwood trio, but no. Its unique atmosphere reminded me why I so love smaller, more personal events, scattered across the country. You park easily. It’s not expensive. You can see the track. The surrounding scenery is amazing. There’s no wristband elitism. Crowd control is minimal, even on the start line. Cars are varied and brilliant. You chat with competitors on your own wavelength. Most importantly, there’s a pervading sense of belonging because everyone’s just like you. There are plenty of 2024 meetings left – do yourself a favour. TUESDAY Car industry bosses tell us…

The burden of expectation weighed heavily on the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI, as the slightly unusual circumstances of this review demonstrate. Our first chance to try this updated ‘8.5’ model comes on a road trip to Wolfsburg for the inaugural GTI Fest (of which more in next week’s issue). As well as the newest model, Volkswagen UK wheeled out examples of its seven predecessors. And, well, would you take a pre-facelift eighth-gen GTI over its incredible 7.5 predecessor? Me neither. Consider the Golf GTI 8 in isolation and it’s still a really, really good car, but it wasn’t that perfect, intoxicating mix of performance, practicality and everyday usability. The infotainment system suffered from glitches and had that stupid unilluminated slider, while VW’s decision to firm up the suspension to focus…

Mercedes-AMG’s decision to twin the seventh-generation SL with its second-generation GT has opened the door to a whole new level of performance for the luxury roadster. Already available with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 416bhp in the SL 43 as well as a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 developing 469bhp in the SL 55 4Matic+ and 577bhp in the SL 63 4Matic+, the two-year-old model now ups the ante rather significantly with AMG’s headlining petrol-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain developing 805bhp here in the SL 63 S E Performance. With a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 mounted up front and an electric motor sited at the rear, it’s the same ‘P3’ unit used by its fixed-roof sibling, the new GT 63 S E Performance (driven, p26) – alongside which the SL 63 is produced…

“I need all your money I can get, so make me a sensible offer.” We Brits may hate haggling but, come autojumbles, it’s gloves off as sellers and punters face each other across a stack of obscure car parts, most of it unpriced – and much of it worth only what someone else is prepared to pay for it. The subject of the ‘sensible offer’ is a truck horn, and the chap flogging it, Simon Davey, is a dealer in cars and car bits. His customer wants proof the horn works, so Davey connects it to his van’s battery and gives it a blast sufficient to make us cover our ears. “I’ll give you 20 quid,” says the customer. “Thirty,” replies Davey. “Twenty-five and you’ve got a deal,” his adversary…

MODEL TESTED C63 S E PERFORMANCE 4MATIC+ NIGHT EDITION PREMIUM PLUS ESTATE Price £99,280 Power 670bhp Torque 752lb ft 0-60mph 3.3sec 30-70mph in fourth 3.6sec Fuel economy 24.2mpg CO2 emissions 167g/km 70-0mph 43.6m For the longest time, Mercedes-AMGs were simple beasts to understand. No matter how much clever engineering went into them, they could be reduced to a set of simple emotions. V8 engine goes ‘grrr’; rear tyres go ‘skreee’; driver goes ‘whee!’. As loud engines become less socially acceptable, emissions targets tighten and owners ask for more daily usability, AMG is changing tack – and in a major way with the new C63 S E Performance. Out goes the tyre-smoking drivetrain with a charismatic V8 and rear-wheel drive, and in comes a four-cylinder plug-in hybrid with four-wheel drive. When it…

FIRST REPORT WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Can a cut-price approved used electric Porsche match the richly satisfying ownership experience of a new one? How you view the second-hand market for electric cars might depend on whether you’re a glass half-empty or glass half-full sort of person. Or, perhaps, whether you’re looking to sell an electric car you bought new or pick up a used bargain. Take this latest addition to the Autocar test fleet: a ‘used’ Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo from its maker’s approved used scheme. It’s an early 23-plate car that arrived with us with just under 9000 miles on the clock and a known ownership history (full disclosure: it’s been well used on Porsche’s press fleet). Had you bought this car new in 2023 it would have cost…

ROAD TEST Hyundai Ioniq 5 N We’ve loved our time in the performance EV so far. Will we feel the same after putting it through the industry’s toughest road test? INSIGHT Future of Ginetta The British sports car brand tells us its big plans for both road and track FEATURE GTI Fest VW is celebrating the Golf’s 50th with a big party in Wolfsburg. We gatecrash it EVERY WEEK FIRST DRIVE Toyota GR Yaris Latest version of the super hot hatch hits the UK. Is it worth the price hike? USED GUIDE Volkswagen Up GTI Pocket rocket was fun but expensive when new. Now it’s a great value buy SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p20…

The Audi A6 has gone electric for its sixth generation, taking the fight to the BMW i5 and Mercedes EQE with up to 543bhp and more than 466 miles of range. Unlike its primary rivals, which run adjacent to the combustion-engined E-Class and 5 Series, Audi has opted to transition one of its most important models to solely electric power. In turn, the outgoing petrol and diesel A6 will adopt the A7 moniker – previously reserved for Audi’s luxury four-door coupé – for a new generation that will arrive next year. Visually, the new A6 E-tron remains faithful to the concept of the same name that was shown three years ago. The addition of equipment required for production – larger air intakes, full-size headlights and ADAS sensors – has made…

Ford’s potential move back into top-tier endurance racing in many ways echoes its 1966 Le Mans debut year, but one really stands out: Ferrari is again dominating the sport, now with the 499P. Sixty years ago, the Blue Oval’s push to compete at the pinnacle of endurance racing was down to Henry Ford II’s ambition to embarrass Enzo Ferrari and the team’s 330 P3 after the Italian snubbed Ford’s drawn out (and costly) takeover bid. That resulted in the creation of the famous GT40, which powered to a historic Le Mans one-two-three in 1966 and three years of dominance in 1967, 1968 and 1969.…

POLESTAR WILL EXPAND significantly its UK retail presence in the next 18 months, to both prepare itself for the arrival of two new models and allow for a major used car sales push to grow its customer base. The firm currently has nine ‘Spaces’ across the UK, all of which are based in shopping centres. But the imminent arrival of the Polestar 3 and 4 SUVs, alongside the existing 2, will in effect triple its line-up. “Launching two new cars brings new volume and expands our reach into new segments,” said Matt Galvin, Polestar’s new UK boss. “That brings a requirement for faster growth, which means we need to expand our retail footprint quite aggressively.” Galvin said Polestar will expand to a total of 17 retail outlets over the next…

PEOPLE OFTEN VOICE concern over the capability of national grid and distribution network operators (DNOs – the guys who actually deliver power to homes and businesses on a local level) to cope if EV numbers spiral. But what if it worked in reverse, where millions of EVs storing large amounts of power could give some back at peak times when it’s needed? That’s what vehicle-to-grid (V2G) tech is all about and it’s a term that’s starting to creep more widely into public awareness, helped by newer EVs equipped with ‘bi-directional charging’. V2G enables EVs connected to a specialised AC charge point to put energy back into the grid, into a building or even into another car. A new trial called V2VNY (Vehicle 2 Volume eNergy Yield) is inviting businesses that…

PORSCHE WILL CONTINUE to offer the Cayenne with combustion and hybrid power beyond 2030, meaning the SUV – its most popular model – will enter the next decade featuring three separate powertrains. The German brand confirmed it will develop and “further upgrade” the current third-generation Cayenne, which received an extensive mid-life upgrade last year, and sell it well into the next decade alongside the electric, technically unrelated fourth-generation version that will arrive in 2025. These upgrades will focus on making the SUV’s 4.0-litre V8 powertrain, used in the 468bhp Cayenne S and 650bhp Turbo GT, as efficient as possible so “it is ready to comply with future legislative requirements”. Porsche did not confirm if it would continue to upgrade the current generation’s 3.0-litre V6 engine, offered in both 351bhp pure…

AUTOCAR AND Riversimple, the UK’s only manufacturer of hydrogen-electric road cars, have launched a competition for Coventry University automotive students to design a radical supercar that might even be put into production by the Welsh-based firm. According to the brief, the cars must be simple and elegant, incorporate a hydrogen fuel cell up front and its electronics and batteries in the rear and be a similar size to a Ferrari Dino 246 GT. The supercars, deploying up to 270bhp for a target 0-62mph sprint time of 3.5sec, will use the same 70kg carbonfibre chassis as Riversimple’s 655kg Rasa and must weigh no more than 620kg. Entries will be judged by Andreas Mindt, Volkswagen’s design boss and a former Autocar design competition finalist. These parameters are testing, admitted Riversimple CEO Hugo…

The Porsche Panamera has a richly evocative name that evokes visions of epic, continent-crushing rallies crossing vast, untouched wilderness with a romantic spirit of adventure. Yet it sometimes feels like a machine defined by others in the Stuttgart firm’s line-up. It has often been billed as a four-door 911, and recently it has sat in the shadow of the similarly sized electric Taycan, which has mopped up both attention and company car sales. But Porsche, thankfully, is still committed to the concept of a petrol-powered sports saloon, hence this entirely new third-generation Panamera. It impressed us on first acquaintance in Spain in March, but it’s always a tougher test to shine on our small island’s crowded, pockmarked roads, not least on a typically drizzly summer’s day. Especially because, for all…

The Ariya has led a relatively quiet life since it arrived as Nissan’s second bespoke electric car in 2022. But the competition is tough and, to keep pace with rivals like the Volkswagen ID 4, Nissan has added two new trim levels to the line-up. At the top end sits the new Ariya Evolve+, a car with 389bhp (90bhp more than the standard dual-motor version) and 443lb ft for a 0-62mph time of 5.1sec. At just under £60,000, though, it’s expensive. Which is where the second new trim comes in. The Engage model is all about greater accessibility and is the new entry point to the Ariya range. It’s priced from £39,645 and, according to Nissan, already accounts for 20% of Ariya’s sales. The Engage’s specification reflects its cheaper starting…

This would be a great hot hatch road. The SP26 slinks with abandon through the Modenese hills either side of the cute Ponte Samone bridge and has plentiful hairpins and few corners taken above second gear. It feels like the perfect ribbon of asphalt for a wrung-out Alfasud or a fabulous Lancia Fulvia resplendent in spotlights – not a five-metre-long, two-tonne saloon car with a big-lunged biturbo V8. That’s exactly what the Maserati Ghibli 334 Ultima is, though, and today it’s getting the frenzied retirement party it really deserves. We sampled this car in a frozen ski resort at the close of 2023, but it was no place to wave arrivederci to eight-cylinder Masers. The Trident’s V8 finale needs a proper stage and the verdant vistas of an Italian summer…

Ford’s folly I am not surprised that private buyers are ditching new cars for used (News, 10 July). I found myself (almost) feeling sorry for Platts of Marlow, who are contemplating life without new Ford cars. In my opinion, Ford dropped the ball when it stopped producing the Fiesta (supposedly because it wasn’t selling but really because it produced the Puma for bigger margins during the chip crisis). They are making the same mistake with the Focus as well. If Volvo can bring back its estate car and Jeep is putting a combustion engine in its Avenger, then someone at Ford needs to see the light and urgently bring back its best-selling model (look what’s top of the secondhand market!). After all, Mazda has the 2, Renault the Clio, Suzuki…

It’s hard to understate the Nissan Qashqai’s success. Across three generations, three million examples have been sold in Europe so far and it continues to be one of the best-selling cars in the UK, with 19,687 sold in the first half of this year. There are some clear reasons for that success. To the everyman, this crossover is as versatile as it is generously equipped, and as practical as it is handsome. That last part is mostly down to its underpinnings. The second-generation model (2014-21) we’re considering here sits on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s Common Module Family (CMF) platform, which makes the Mk2 47mm longer than its predecessor – the car that started the SUV/crossover craze – while being lower and a little bit wider. The previous model was a major…

WITH AN ALL-ELECTRIC automotive future now looking rather less of a shoo-in than it once did, some car makers are contemplating the next iteration of the internal combustion engine by developing versions powered by hydrogen or synthetic e-fuels. But rather than change what you’re burning, what if you changed altogether how you burn it? That’s exactly what Ford had a crack at in July 1992, when two-stroke fever swept the West and threatened to revolutionise engine technology. Two-stroke engines had a poor reputation by the ’90s. Most people could barely remember that the Saab 96 had started out with such an engine before swapping to a V4, but some – hailing from east of the Iron Curtain – carried generational trauma from Trabants and Wartburgs. They were perceived as too…

We recently told you (17 July) where in the world has the priciest petrol: Hong Kong, where unleaded is £2.53 per litre. The current UK price is around £1.40 and the global average is about £1. However, there are places where unleaded is cheaper than bottled water. Our quoted prices are for 95-octane fuel and all data comes from globalpetrolprices.com. Iran 2.3p per litre Iran has vast reserves of crude oil and exports a great deal of it – most of it to China – yet it has recently been forced to import much of the petrol used in cars due to a lack of refinery capacity. The cost of this imported fuel is covered by the Iranian government so that a litre costs less than 3p. That is much…

The new A6 E-tron is not just Audi’s most aerodynamically efficient car yet but also one of the sleekest cars on the market – and that is crucial to its headline range figure of 466 miles. The Sportback’s drag coefficient of 0.21 puts it on a par with the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and just below the Tesla Model S and Mercedes EQS, and it is a bellwether for a new era of range-chasing design and engineering at Audi. Moni Islam, Audi’s head of aerodynamic and aeroacoustic development, said the A6 E-tron “establishes a new milestone in aerodynamics” for the firm, following in the footsteps of previous streamlined efforts such as the Auto Union Type C, NSU Ro 80, Audi A2 and Mk3 Audi 100, which was the most aero-efficient car…

“As Ford sharpens its motorsport focus, a return to the front of the grid at Le Mans is possible” Ford is considering fielding a hybrid hypercar in the top class of world endurance racing, which could see it go toe to toe with Ferrari for all-out victory at Le Mans for the first time since 1969. The US brand has not been represented in the upper echelons of sports car racing since the original GT40 bowed out, except for the ill-fated C100 of the early 1980s. But now, as the firm dramatically sharpens its motorsport focus, a return to the front of the grid at La Sarthe is possible. That’s according to Mark Rushbrook, global director of the Ford Performance motorsport division, who has told Autocar that the company is…

Nissan is poised to expand its line-up of high-performance Nismo models offered in the UK, including a return of sports cars and tuned versions of key mainstream machines. The Japanese firm recently confirmed that it will launch the Ariya Nismo in Europe early next year (see box, right) as the electric SUV’s new performance flagship. It will also be the first model to carry the branding in the region since the GT-R Nismo was taken off sale due to increasingly stringent emissions regulations. The Z sports car, which has yet to gain a Nismo variant, has also never been sold in the UK because it doesn’t meet emissions regulations, but Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s global product strategy chief, confirmed to Autocar that electrification will allow such models to be sold here.…

“We used to say turnover is vanity and profit is sanity,” Suzuki UK boss Dale Wyatt told Autocar. “Now we have changed that to turnover is vanity; ratio is sanity.” Ratio refers to the challenge of complying with the UK government’s ZEV mandate, which requires 22% of a car maker’s sales to be zero emissions this year and includes a fine of £15,000 per vehicle on any shortfall. Such management speak might seem esoteric, but this month Suzuki showed the mandate has consequences when it culled the Swift Sport, Ignis, UK-built Swace and Jimny LCV. The move was about ratio: balancing a reduced range of combustion models against a slowly growing range of EVs. Suzuki’s first EV will be a Vitara-sized SUV co-developed with Toyota and built by Suzuki in…

Mercedes-Benz will extend the life cycles of its plug-in hybrid A-Class, B-Class and CLA in the wake of ailing EV sales that have “prompted a change in planning”, sources have told Autocar. Mercedes joins other companies, including Audi, BMW, BYD, Ford and Renault (see box, below), which have also voiced long-term commitments to hybrid powertrains in recent weeks for the same reasons. For Mercedes, this new lease of life for cars based on the MFA compact platform, will bring increased battery capacities and a rise in electric-only range. The decision represents a slight backtracking from the German firm, which previously planned to cull various compact models, including the A-Class hatchback, to free up production capacity for its new line-up of EVs from next year. One source said: “Slower than expected…

THE PEOPLE IN the motor industry like a party. If your company is happy to pay, there is no shortage of charity balls and black-tie events and awards functions to attend. For most, the biggest challenge will be finding their hotel room at the end of the night after too many glasses of warm fizz. But for the past 20 years the new recruits at one car maker have been given a more interesting task. The manufacturer’s managing director came up with the unofficial initiation task for its latest intake of graduate trainees, and it has been passed down every year since. After a few months in the job they are given tickets to one of the industry’s biggest events to thank them for their hard work. But in return…

I’m pleased to see the Renault Twizy replacement will arrive in the UK, and I’m not a little surprised, given I didn’t think the previous one set the world alight when it was here the first time around. But the Mobilize Duo and a cargo variant called the Bento are set to arrive next year, if a job advert for a product manager for the quadricycle is anything to go by. Please set pricing and keep an eye on Citroën Ami sales. I’m pleased Renault’s quadricycle is making a comeback, though, because as far as fun goes – and that’s my primary decider on how much I like a car, given this is after all my hobby – the Twizy was right up there. It was terrific for whizzing around…

Jaguar celebrated its first world championship since 1991 at Formula E’s London season finale this month, yet neither of its Kiwi drivers, Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy, felt like spraying the champagne. On the same day that McLaren was tying itself into a Formula 1 team orders knot in Hungary, Jaguar somehow conspired to fumble both of its drivers’ bids for the Formula E crown that really matters. Teams titles in motorsport are all very well for the teams themselves, but the drivers’ crown is always what’s remembered first as the primary measure of success. In this case, Jaguar’s tactics in London’s ExCel opened the door for Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein to claim his first world championship instead. The German ex-Formula 1 driver looked as shocked as anyone in the aftermath,…

“There is huge flexibility and savage thrust from 2000rpm to beyond 6000rpm” Introducing the fastest-accelerating series-production Mercedes-AMG model to date: the GT 63 S E Performance. With an official 0-62mph time of 2.8sec, it is said to outpace the Formula 1-engined AMG One hypercar, albeit by a scant 0.1sec. But still… With 805bhp, this plug-in hybrid version of the GT coupé is the most potent yet – but at a claimed 2125kg it’s the heaviest too, weighing half a tonne more than the AMG One. The new 2+2 coupé has been developed to broaden the scope of the second-generation GT range to offer prospective buyers electric driving capability, if only for a claimed range of just eight miles. There’s not a lot to distinguish the GT 63 S E Performance…

Would you believe that the gestative Porsche Cayenne was, at one stage in the late 1990s, tipped to be given an altogether different model identity? The ‘Sportility’. What a Monday morning brainstorming session that one must have been. Long-time readers might just begin to recall that model name slowly surfacing from dim memories of Autocar news pages published around the turn of the millennium, alongside photos of various camouflaged SUV prototypes. If you have an Autocar digital archive subscription (or a loft-filling magazine collection of your own), you’ll even be able to look them up. And what a different automotive landscape we might now have if only that particular sliding doors moment had played out the other way. What if one of the most profitable, influential and transformative cars of…

It’s 5pm on a Friday and Kingston University is in trouble. The front carbonfibre wishbones its team of engineering students have made for their race car have just broken under repeated brake testing, in turn causing a damper to fail. The pit lane workshops at Silverstone, where the students are anxiously gathered, close at 11pm. Kingston University is 100 miles away down the M40. It will take the suspension team at least two hours to get there, source steel parts they can modify (there’s no time to create fresh ones from carbonfibre) and two hours to get back. Make that five hours, leaving one hour to get started before the pit lane shutters come down. Welcome to Formula Student, the annual educational engineering competition to create a prototype race car…

It was great to see the third-generation Mazda MX-5 making a well-deserved appearance in your list of best-value used cars (17 July). It is truly remarkable how much fun you can buy for not a lot of money. I know this only too well, having acquired a 2007 2.0 Sport for little over £2000 a couple of months ago, and with a drive through Wales and a track day already under its wheels, I can confirm it’s just a bundle of joy to drive. A few things worth mentioning. First, it doesn’t have a timing belt as it’s chain-driven so it’s as close to maintenance-free as you can get. Second, I don’t agree that the 1.8 suits the car better: the extra power of the 2.0 gives it a level…

An owner’s view PETER MANSON “I bought my Qashqai new in 2014 and it has generally been a reliable family car and great value for money. It is very comfortable to drive and it has sufficient power even when fully loaded, although it could do with a bit more acceleration for overtaking, so dropping a gear helps. I find it quite annoying that there are no USB ports in the back so I fitted one myself. The sat-nav map is very basic and the screen is small but it does the job.” Buyer beware… ENGINE Turbocharger failures on the 1.6-litre and 1.5-litre diesels and 1.2-litre petrol engines are commonly reported by owners. Telltale signs include the engine sounding rough, refusing to rev above 2000rpm and blue/black smoke being emitted from…

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…