Table of contents for September 03, 2025 in Autocar

Ford’s Puma Gen-E and e-Tourneo Courier have become the first models to receive the full £3750 on the UK government’s new EV grant scheme. This drops the starting price for the Gen-E to £26,245 – £345 cheaper than the Puma Hybrid. The e-Tourneo Courier now starts at £28,440. While Westminster has still yet to reveal its benchmarks for the top banding, Ford said the emissions at its Craiova plant during battery production and vehicle assembly met the criteria. It also scored higher because the energy used there is completely renewable and it has set a goal of becoming fully carbon neutral by 2050. “We welcome the government’s decision to accelerate the transition to electric mobility and are proud that Ford’s commitment to sustainability has been recognised with the full EV…

Smart has confirmed it will return to the city car segment with a successor to its signature model, the Fortwo, that is due to arrive late next year. Smart CEO Dirk Adelmann last year confirmed that the project was in the works, pending a feasibility study. Following the “successful” launch of the #5 (the large electric SUV that forms the other bookend in the brand’s line-up), it has now become viable and has entered the final stages of its design and development. It will be named #2, in reference to its ancestor and its two-seat configuration, but it will slot into Smart’s line-up below the #1 crossover, as its smallest and most affordable model. The #2 will be designed by Mercedes-Benz and built in China, most likely at one of…

The Volvo XC70 has been reborn as a ‘long-range’ plug-in hybrid SUV capable of travelling more than 124 miles on electric power alone. The new car will sit beneath the XC90 in Volvo’s line-up and takes clear styling cues from that car and its electric EX90 sibling. It will initially be launched in China, but the Swedish company has confirmed that it is planning to bring the car to European markets “at a later stage”. The XC70 is designed to help Volvo’s transition to electrification by offering a PHEV with an extended electric-only mileage to customers unwilling to make the switch from an ICE model. As well as being capable of 124 miles of electric-only running on China’s generous CLTC test cycle, Volvo claims it will be able to travel…

The man at the wheel is Florian Fröhlich, a veteran from Mercedes-Benz’s test and development ranks. He nudges the throttle; there’s no fuss, no sound, just clean, linear forward movement. And then, once we clear the Nardò test track’s slip road, it hits: not just typical performance saloon acceleration, something stronger – supercar-like in intensity but again eerily silent. We hit 50mph, then 100mph and very nearly 150mph in a flash. Today we’re restricted to 155mph, but the swiftness and clarity in how it goes about its business leaves no doubt that it was engineered for vastly more. This very car held an average of 186mph for eight days straight. Even at this lick, there’s no drivetrain noise, just the sound of bespoke Michelin tyres and a persistent wind buffeting.…

THE NEW BMW iX3 will make its debut at the Munich motor show this month, and prototypes are currently in the final stages of testing in the south of France. The iX3 is the first of a new generation that builds on everything the manufacturer has learned about EVs since the i3. ‘Project i’ was formed back in 2007 with the aim of completely rethinking the automobile. The i3 went on sale in 2013 after a few years of teasing and was every bit as advanced as we thought it would be. With the ratio between weight and energy capacity far behind what it is today, BMW reasoned the only way to make an EV viable was to offset the weight of the battery by making the entire passenger compartment,…

THE PORSCHE 911 was name-checked as one of the models helping fuel Volkswagen Group’s growing order bank in western Europe at its recent half-year financial results. A sports car now costing in excess of £100,000 even for a base rear-wheeldrive Carrera (just four years ago, it was a smidge over £80,000) may seem an odd model to call out for driving growth at the world’s second largest car maker, yet, 61 years after its introduction, the 911 is as crucial for Porsche as ever. Almost one in six sold is still a 911, some 25,000 having found homes in the first half of 2025. That’s actually a small drop yearon-year but explained by a model changeover, and the order bank remains strong. The 911 has outsold the combustion-engined Macan, Panamera,…

I’ve been following Murray Scullion’s long-term test of the Mini Aceman with interest. The first thing that I wanted to say was that it was perceptive to identify the optimum customer, when he doesn’t match the profile himself. I think that’s very smart, if I may say so. Regrettably, I am that customer: I’m in my sixties, the Aceman is not our only car (we also have an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, an Alpine A110 and a Ferrari Roma) and it is used primarily for short journeys and city driving. The Aceman fits into our lives very comfortably and, in terms of frequency of use, is our most used car. That maybe says something. We don’t find the ride quality at all bad, in contrast to your test conclusions. It’s…

We’ve previously driven Kamm Manufaktur’s Porsche 912 restomod in prototype form, but this is a production car. It’s one I don’t think they expected to be making just yet, but such is the way with niche restomodders that if you have a request, they will try to oblige. This, then, is the 912C, a fully carbonfibre-panelled version of the 912 that can weigh as little as 699kg, depending on specification, because a customer wanted one with as much carbonfibre as possible. Yours for £340,000 (or you can have less carbon for less cash). To recap, Kamm is a Hungarian company whose founder loves the 912 – a four-cylinder coupé that sat alongside the 911 in Porsche’s range of the 1960s. It’s something of an underdog today but lighter than its…

This is where it all began. In 2018, Seat announced that it was transforming its Cupra model line into a brand in its own right, creating exciting, youthful, sporty versions of Martorell’s regular family cars – and the Ateca was the guinea pig. Now, though, the Ateca is the oldest car in the Cupra range and one of the oldest ‘new’ cars you can currently buy, having gone on sale in late 2018. But with fresh styling touches via a facelift, Cupra believes it’s still a worthy part of the family. In performance terms, that’s certainly true. You can have either a 1.5-litre turbo four with 148bhp or the 2.0-litre ‘EA888’ – familiar from hot Volkswagen Golfs – with 187bhp and four-wheel drive. The halo VZ3 model we’re testing here…

On the part-indoor race track at London’s Excel arena last month, Nissan fell short in its quest to win both the teams’ and the manufacturers’ titles in Formula E. But did that matter? Not really. Because two weeks earlier in Berlin, British ace Oliver Rowland had wrapped up the drivers’ title – and as Nissan knows, when push comes to shove, that’s what people will remember most about a given season in any motorsport arena. Barnsley-born Rowland broke the Formula E mould this year by dominating what is among the most competitive racing series in the world. Four wins and three second places from the first nine races made him as close as you can get to a dead cert for Nissan’s first FIA global title since the 2011 FIA…

You only need to drive a Porsche Macan down a country road to realise this isn’t a run-of-the-mill family crossover. While the mightily successful Cayenne proved that buyers would flock to a big SUV infused with a dash of 911 performance, Porsche decided it needed a mid-size offering to take on foes such as the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. Launched in 2014, the Macan delivered genuine sports car dynamics in an upmarket, compact and practical package. And while it has only been on sale for just over 10 years, it has become one of Porsche’s undisputed hits. With that in mind, how does a 50,000-mile Macan Turbo with a full service history sound for less than £25,000? That’s exceptional value for money considering it cost around £65,000 when new,…

Traditional classic or modern classic? The MG RV8 of 1992-95 is a hard car to pigeonhole. It looks (a bit) like a classic MGB but has a wider track, upgraded suspension and a thumping great 3.9-litre V8. Almost all of its body panels are new, too. It was rushed out by Rover to give the brand a toehold in the roadster market, but in the end fewer than 2000 were built, the bulk of them for export to right-hand-drive markets. Japan loved them – at least for a while. For some years now, those cars have been trickling back home. Karl Foot has one. Finished in plush Nightfire Red and riding on chrome, spoked wheels, it looks new but old at the same time, and the contradiction is reinforced by…

Ford is preparing to launch a crucial new Focus-sized crossover as the first step in a radical rethink of its European gameplan. Following the landmark unveiling of a new platform for affordable EVs in the US, Ford is expected to follow up soon with details of how it will expand and electrify its European range – emphasising its commitment to remaining an important player in the region’s car market. Ford took the Fiesta out of production in 2023 so it could start building the electric Explorer and Capri crossovers – which cost around twice as much as the petrol supermini – at its Cologne factory in Germany, leaving the Puma as its cheapest car. With the Focus due to end production in November as Ford shuts its Saarlouis factory in…

“The five-cylinder engine will probably make the new R the quickest Golf to 62mph” Volkswagen will mark 25 years of its R performance division by launching its most powerful Golf yet, which will use the same turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo petrol engine as the Audi RS3. The model is expected to arrive in 2027 to serve as a send-off for the pure petrolpowered Golf before its transition to electrification. It also confirms Audi’s commitment to keeping the five-pot ‘EA855’ alive, following suggestions that new European emission regulations would kill it off. With that unit fitted, the new Golf R is set to mark a significant step up from the current Golf R 333. While that car uses VW’s ubiquitous ‘EA888’ 2.0-litre turbo petrol four, uprated to 328bhp and 295lb ft,…

Mini has signalled its renewed interest in high-performance models with a new pair of stripped-out John Cooper Works concept cars. Named The Skeg and The Machina, they are based on the electric and petrol Cooper JCW hatchbacks and have been developed with clothing firm Deus ex Machina. They draw on the firm’s histories in fashion and motorsport. While neither will make production, they are the first cranked up Mini models since the JCW GP went out of production with the lastgeneration hatch in 2023. The Skeg draws on surfing culture. It receives new bodywork made from fibreglass – the same material as highquality surfboards – that is claimed to cut 15% of its 1725kg kerb weight. New elements also give the Cooper a meaner look, including a front splitter, chunky…

Mercedes-AMG’s high-performance GT XX concept – the recently revealed supersaloon that previews the next GT 4-Door Coupé – has set a new distance record for electric cars by travelling 3405 miles in 24 hours. The new record, which was independently verified, was set at the Nardò test track in Italy. The concept EV achieved a claimed average speed of 186mph and stopped only to rapidcharge at up to 900kW. It beats the previous record of 2461 miles set by the Xpeng P7 earlier this month. Previous record attempts include the 2451 miles achieved by the Xiaomi YU7 Max and the 2310 miles recorded by the Mercedes-Benz CLA EQ. The GT XX’s 24-hour achievement was one of several new records claimed by Mercedes-AMG during an extensive eightday testing campaign at the…

PRODUCTION OF THE Nissan GT-R has ended, 18 years after the current generation was revealed. Some 48,000 examples of the ‘R35’ GT-R were built in Japan in a run that included two facelifts and several track-focused derivatives from Nissan’s performance division, Nismo. Each car was powered by a hand-built twinturbocharged 3.8-litre V6 engine. In its original guise, it produced 473bhp and 434lb ft; the later Nismo version was boosted to 592bhp and 481lb ft. The final iteration of the R35 GT-R was introduced in 2023 but not offered for sale in the UK. The model’s arrival in 2007 was a landmark moment for performance cars, as Nissan staked at claim to the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record with a time of 7min 38sec lap, beating the Porsche 911 Turbo (see p74).…

British engineering firm RML Group has revealed at Salon Privé the first production version of the GT Hypercar, a dramatically overhauled Porsche 911 Turbo S inspired by Le Mans 24 Hours racers. The new car, which draws inspiration from both the Porsche GT1 that won Le Mans in 1998 and modern Le Mans Hypercars, was developed under the RML P39 codename and was previously shown in prototype form. RML claims that in simulations the GT Hypercar is capable of lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife in the low 6min 30sec range. Compared with a 911 Turbo S, the GT Hypercar features a new carbonfibre body, an extended wheelbase and wider front and rear tracks. The road-legal car also gains bespoke active aerodynamics, a large front splitter and an adjustable rear spoiler. The…

WRITE TO autocar@haymarket.com A NEW KIND OF PLEASURE As a motorist who has always enjoyed swift, measured and safe driving, a combination of factors (average speed cameras, reduced A-road speed limits, drivers going considerably slower ‘just in case’, increased traffic, temporary lights, potholes) are dictating that I now find my motoring ‘pleasure’ in a different way: chasing efficiency. I don’t mean hypermiling, just reaching my destination as quickly as I can without spoiling my average MPG, which is as high as possible. My daily fleet comprises a Mazda 6 2.0 Skyactiv Sport Tourer and a very hard-used Honda Insight CVT hybrid that I’ve owned for 17 years. The Mazda is remarkable for a large petrol estate, regularly doing 45mpg in local and longer-distance driving and recording a best of well…

Now in its 12th generation, the Toyota Corolla has been on sale since 1966. In that time, it has amassed more than 50 million sales – not bad going. The current Corolla received a mid-life facelift in 2023, when we noted it was a pleasant, cheap-to-run and no-frills car. For 2025, Toyota has given the Corolla a minor update. Changes amount to a new paint option, gloss black wing mirror caps for all trims, new artificial interior leather and a drop in power for the car’s 2.0-litre petrol-electric hybrid system (the 1.8-litre system remains at 138bhp). The 2.0-litre’s new configuration is what we’re looking at today. The four-cylinder engine is paired with two electric motors and puts out 176bhp, down from 193bhp. While the larger motor continues to offer 111bhp,…

Can it really be seven years since the 992 generation of the 911 hit the road? Somehow it can, with events having contrived to shrink the passage of time. When the car was unveiled at the Los Angeles motor show in 2018, Porsche had yet to release its first EV, the Taycan; we were still many years way from an electrified Macan and the circa-1000bhp Cayenne EV going on sale in 2026 was only on the drawing board. So rather a lot has happened in the past half decade or so and Porsche has evolved considerably. It’s why the fact that the 911 has now been electrified – via a mere mid-life update – doesn’t feel too disruptive. Earlier this year, we tested the revised Carrera GTS, which is the…

The Alpine A110 came out of left field. It was born during an era of Renault that was hardly the most adventurous, and yet it was its own thing. Light, cleverly engineered, achingly pretty and sensational to drive, it rocked our world when it arrived in 2018 – which, incredibly, is now seven years ago. With its aluminium construction and 1100kg kerb weight, it could have been a modern Lotus Elise. Meanwhile, Lotus itself was stuck making ever angrier versions of the Evora. And when it did come up with an ‘all-new’ sports car, the Emira weighed 1500kg and took its bones from its predecessor. And with the Polestar 5 taking a more purist, driver-focused approach to the electric sports saloon than the Emeya, it appears Lotus is being out-Lotused…

“In its sportier drive modes, the Cyberster has really urgent pace” WHY WE RAN IT Can a two-seat grand tourer/roadster/sports car be both satisfying to own and drive and electric? It’s normal for a new car to generate a certain level of interest, but I have never run a car that has prompted such divisive reaction as the MG Cyberster. I’ve had correspondents say they absolutely love theirs and that it’s much better than the combustion-engined European convertibles it replaced; others say they sold or returned theirs after not getting on with it at all. I’ve had a shorter driver say he felt seated too high to buy one but a taller one think it was fine, while one reader (presumably not an owner) even told me to “eat shit”…

AN OWNER’S VIEW TOBY CHAPPEL “I owned a number of two-seater Porsches but switched to a Macan diesel after the arrival of our first child. I was sceptical at first but soon warmed to the everyday ease and comfort. Sport mode really sharpens up the engine, but as a family wagon the Macan excels. We did 2500 miles around France last year, four up and loaded to the gills. The Macan returned 40mpg while averaging over 60mph. Servicing, brakes and tyres aside, the only other expense has been a new front driveshaft, which cost £750.” BUYER BEWARE… ■ ENGINE Sluggish acceleration or reduced performance are signs of a clogged DPF. Typically the older diesel models are affected. Look for oil leaks, particularly on the V6 petrol: the timing case cover…

The Explorer and Capri are based on the VW Group’s MEB platform for electric cars – as used by the Volkswagen ID 3 and ID 4, Audi Q4 E-tron, Skoda Enyaq and the Cupra Born – and the door was previously said to be open for Ford to use the architecture for additional EVs. When he was running Ford’s European operations in 2023, Martin Sander (now Volkswagen’s sales boss) said the two firms were “exploring opportunities to take [their plat formsharing deal] to the next level”, suggesting Ford could use the new MEB Entry platform for an EV hatchback related to the Volkswagen ID 2. However, the move to introduce its own modular EV architecture with a focus on affordability and global applicability suggests Ford is seeking to reduce its…

Audi is priming a track focused special edition of the RS3 that could be twinned with the upcoming Volkswagen Golf anniversary special. The new RS3 has been spotted testing on the Nürburgring Nordschleife at the same time as the Golf, sparking suggestions that the two are technically linked. Compared with the standard RS3, the new special features several racing-inspired modifications, including a more aggressive front splitter, new canards and a chunkier rear spoiler. It is likely to arrive before the Golf, which suggests a summer 2026 debut. Autocar understands the GT badge will not be used.…

PRODUCTION OF THE Volvo V90 will end this month, the brand has confirmed to Autocar. It said in a statement that the large estate car’s demise was “in accordance” with its “global cycle plan”, with the related S90 saloon having been axed last year to make way for the electric ES90 liftback. That model is due in the UK early next year, but it remains to be seen whether it will spawn a traditional estate. Asked at the ES90’s unveiling whether Volvo could ditch estates for good, then CEO Jim Rowan replied: “Yeah, because I think it has changed, right? SUVs have changed with ride height.” Rowan suggested that the ES90’s raised ride height means it has some crossover with SUVs. Moreover, its hatchback boot and 40:20:40-split rear seats give…

LOTUS PLANS TO cut 550 jobs across its UK operations, including at its manufacturing facility at Hethel, as the Geely-owned British car maker tries to offset persistent losses. Lotus blamed uncertainty in the global automotive landscape for the cuts, which it said would affect all departments. The cuts mean around 40% of the 1300 people currently working for Lotus in the UK will lose their jobs. Lotus has been hit hard by muted demand for its Chinese-developed and built premium EVs, the Eletre SUV and Emeya saloon, with global sales falling 42% in the first quarter of 2025. Lotus reiterated that Hethel is safe despite the cuts, stating: “The brand remains fully committed to the UK. Norfolk will remain the home of Lotus’ sports car, motor sports and engineering consulting…

A Ford Escort RS 1800 that sold at auction in July for a record £276,848 is evidence of the growing appeal of modern classics to the Gen X and millennial generations, who now have the money and desire to realise their childhood poster-car dreams, say experts. Backing the claim, the same experts point to a similar model sold in 2015. Compared with July’s example, which was merely a restored former press car, this RS 1800 had been rallied by Ari Vatanen and Roger Clark, yet it sold for just £85,500, or £118,800 if adjusted for inflation. Peter Haynes, marketing and business boss at RM Sotheby’s, said the scarcity and appeal of modern classics from the past 50 years are major influences on the prices that these new generations of buyers…

CHANGAN, ONE OF China’s oldest and biggest car makers, will enter the UK market this month as it expands its European presence. Its first UK model will be the Deepal S07, an Italian-designed electric SUV. Priced from £39,990, it will be positioned as a premium rival to the likes of the Tesla Model Y, Volkswagen ID 4 and Skoda Enyaq. It will offer a WLTP range of 295 miles from an 80kWh battery pack, a rear-mounted 215bhp motor and a 0-62mph time of 7.9sec. Standard kit will include an efficiency-boosting heat pump, keyless entry, heated seats and a 15.6in infotainment touchscreen. In the build-up to its UK launch, Chinese state owned Changan has partnered with retailers including Lookers, Ancaster and Parks. Twenty sites will sell the Deepal S07 initially, with…

NEWS ALL THE STARS FROM THE MUNICH MOTOR SHOW TRIPLE TEST M440i, GRENADIER AND MORGAN How can one engine suit three such different cars – and which makes the best use of it? We interrogate BMW’s ‘B58’ 3.0-litre turbo straight six ROAD TEST HONDA CIVIC TYPE R Iconic hot hatch gets pushed to even further limits in swansong guise EVERY WEEK USED BUYING GUIDE NISSAN X-TRAIL The inside line on getting this big pure-ICE off-roader for £3500 up LIVING WITH A… JAECOO 7 Chery brand’s popular rival to the Kia Sportage joins our fleet…

When we first drove the facelifted Peugeot 2008 in late 2023, we were tepid in our praise for the petrol manual car, suggesting that potential buyers might be wise to wait for the forthcoming hybrid version. Now we can test the theory with the ‘new’ Hybrid 145 model evaluated here, which is actually a rebadging of the 18-month-old Hybrid 136 (the new name takes into account the PS provided by the electric motor as well as the engine). It starts from £32,400 in entrylevel Allure trim, which is £3630 dearer than its petrol sibling, but still has its crosshairs trained on mainstream small crossovers like the Ford Puma and Renault Captur. This powertrain, familiar from various other Stellantis models, pairs a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine with a six-speed dual-clutch…

When Mercedes-AMG introduced the second-generation GT in 2023, it began with the GT 63 and hotly followed it with the 805bhp GT 63 E Performance plug-in hybrid. After so much power and complexity, then, yin follows yang: the new GT 43 dumps not only the four-wheel drive system but also the active anti-roll suspension, four-wheel steering and the electronic torque-vectoring rear differential of its variously more powerful siblings. It becomes the only purely rear-driven GT in the showroom range. However, it also – and rather more controversially where AMG’s customer base is concerned – swaps the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 for four-cylinder turbo power. So can a £100,000, entry-level AMG sports car that may seem, at least to some, to be missing a bank of cylinders convince as a driver’s car?…

“I love driving above 300kph and listening to Firestarter by The Prodigy,” remarks Frank Heyl. Bugatti’s director of design might have told people this before, but it’s unlikely that anyone will ever respond: “Oh, me too.” Not only would you need to have had enough exposure to such exorbitant pace to build up a love for it, but you would also need to be so comfortable travelling at around 190mph to even register what music were playing in the background, let alone enjoy it. But when it’s your job to design 16-cylinder hypercars, it surely helps to be comfortable with such outrageous levels of speed and noise. Heyl has been at Bugatti for nearly two decades, arriving in time to help shape 2010’s 268mph Veyron Super Sport and eventually taking over…

WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Is this good enough to be the performance X3? The BMW X3 M is one of those cars that has a reputation for attracting a certain kind of buyer. But actually its buyer base is much broader than you might think, because it has always been a very capable and very practical performance car. Like a taller, roomier version of the M3. So there is good reason for people to be disappointed that BMW’s performance division probably isn’t going to give us a new X3 M – not one with a combustion engine, at least. And yes, this means that, despite its aggressive appearance and lofty price, the range-topping X3 you see here is not an M car. Instead, it’s an M Performance car – an…

MERCEDES-BENZ 500 SL 1985, 59,000 miles, £29,995 The R107 SL has bags of charm, and this 500 model is in superb condition. Like Karl’s MG (left), it has a characterful V8, and it has been owned by the same family for the past 33 years. It comes with an excellent service history and is now tax and MOT exempt. TVR GRIFFITH 500 1998, 33,000 miles, £26,995 This immaculate Griffith 500 has a full main dealer and TVR specialist history and has just had a suspension refresh with new Gaz Gold dampers. The chassis is in “excellent condition” and the alloys are scuff-free. The 340bhp V8 has more grunt than an MGB’s too. BMW M3 CONVERTIBLE 2009, 60,000 miles, £18,950 The E92 M3 cabrio has a brawny 4.0-litre V8 and a…