Table of contents for 1597 in Auto Express

TOYOTA is working on multiple performance versions of the new Yaris to give the car broader links with the company’s World Rally Championship effort. The outgoing model’s £26k hardcore GRMN limited edition was aimed at enthusiasts, and the poorly received GR Sport gave the Yaris Hybrid a sportier look. Toyota Europe executive vice-president Matt Harrison (shown above) revealed to Auto Express that the company had to work harder to show links between its rally effort and cars that appeal to enthusiasts. “With the GRMN, we tried to establish more of a link to the rallying,” Harrison said. “You won’t have to wait too long for our thoughts for Gazoo. It’ll be in the next few months. But we need to build a stronger connection between success on the track and…

ELSEWHERE at Toyota, the Japanese firm has also revealed the LQ concept – an autonomous all-electric vehicle. Toyota says the concept features an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system called ‘Yui’, which is able to build an ‘emotional bond’ with the driver and offer a personalised driving experience. It can adapt the cabin lighting, climate control and interior fragrance based on the driver’s emotional state and alertness. The LQ also features Level 4 autonomous driving. This means that the vehicle is able to assume complete control of all of its functions without driver supervision within specific driving situations.…

LOYALTY pricing, in which insurance premiums increase for people who allow their policy to automatically renew, could be banned, after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its interim report into insurance pricing practices. The FCA estimates motorists stung by loyalty pricing, also known as ‘price walking’, overpay by £500million for insurance every year. Vulnerable people, including those who are less confident with computers, or unaware of insurance pricing tactics, are said to be most at risk from it. Full results from the investigation, which was launched in late 2018 (Issue 1,549), are due to be published early next year, but the FCA’s interim report has already found that the motor and home insurance industries are “not working well for consumers” because of “complex pricing practices that allow them to raise…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk ● Firm says EV can not be made ‘commercially viable’ ● Had been scheduled for launch in 2021 “This is not a product failure, or a failure of the team – their achievements have been immense, given the project’s complexity” IN a dramatic and unexpected U-turn, Dyson has scrapped its plan to launch a fully electric car in 2021. The company’s boss, Sir James Dyson, announced in a statement that the £2.5billion project could not be made “commercially viable” despite the team developing “a fantastic car”. Dyson first announced his intentions to enter the automotive segment in 2017, but development on the car had actually begun in secret two years earlier. He told Auto Express back in 2017 that developing an electric car had always been his ambition. However,…

James_Batchelor@dennis.co.uk We drive the fastest BMW production car IT’S another week and we’ve driven another new BMW. This time around it’s the M8 Competition, which you can read more about on page 31. The latest BMW M car packs 616bhp from its V8, but is it a hot rod or a fast grand coupé? Steve Sutcliffe finds out. Full chat with record-breaking car collector HOPEFULLY you saw my walkaround video of a very special private car collection, published last week. The 422-car collection is owned by Rodger Dudding, and is believed to be the largest in Europe. It includes six Clynos, 23 Aston Martin ‘Wedges’ and a handful of one-offs. Here’s the uncut interview. You can watch any of our videos on your phone Simply scan this QR code.…

2005: Labour manifesto proposes national road pricing, but the idea is withdrawn two years later following public opposition that involved 1.8 million people signing a petition. 2017: AA president Edmund King and his wife devise ‘Road Miles’, which would give drivers annual mileage allowances they could trade, or increase with auctions and lotteries. 2018: Auto Express submits Freedom of Information request to Treasury, asking how revenue will be replaced. Request refused as it relates to “an area of live policy development”. 2019: Institute for Fiscal Studies recommends introduction of road pricing to compensate for projected losses of £40billion if the current road tax and fuel duty systems don’t change.…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress Write to: Watchdog/Letters, Auto Express, Dennis Publishing Ltd, 31-32 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP HOT TOPIC New Audi RS Q3 FROM: Rob Ness THE Sportback looks like a mini Lamborghini Urus and the standard RS Q3 looks ferocious, too. But my longstanding gripe with performance SUVs remains: they’re not as good to drive as equivalent hatchbacks, saloons and estates. FROM: Dale McKenzie BOTH new SUVs are just jumped-up hatchbacks with a load of extra power under the bonnet. The difference between the two is that one is less practical, because the Sportback ironically has less space for sports equipment! Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk ■ “The lower half of the dashboard and gear selector look really cheap for an Audi.”Gordon McCartney ■ “Love the 2.5-litre engine, but cars…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk THIS is the new HS: the latest SUV from MG. Competitive prices and a seven-year warranty have boosted the firm’s popularity, with the electric version of the ZS small SUV showing huge promise; MG took about 2,000 orders in the first month. But moving into larger vehicles can be more challenging; buyers want something that looks and feels posher – and with such a huge amount of choice in the mid-size SUV class, the HS has a lot to prove. So does this MG have what it takes to rival the Nissan Qashqai or Skoda Karoq? MG is keeping the HS range simple. There are three trims and one engine to choose from: a 1.5-litre turbo petrol with either a manual or a dual-clutch auto box. The styling is…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk IF you look at the numbers, this new BMW M8 Competition is a car of vast ability. In simple terms it’s the fastest production model the company has ever built – and it’s also one of BMW’s most sophisticated cars thus far. There’s a digitised four-wheel-drive system, brakes that can be adjusted electronically to give differing responses on road and track, and astonishing pace. The engine is especially monstrous; the 4.4-litre V8 produces 616bhp and a whopping 750Nm, so despite a 1,960kg kerbweight, the M8 can do 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds, which makes it faster than a McLaren F1. Were it not for a limiter, the M8 would do more than 200mph. And then there’s the chassis and its hyper-sophisticated four-wheel-drive set-up, which can actually be switched to rear-wheel-drive…

MODEL TESTED: Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI Evo DSG R-Line PRICE: £28,045 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 148bhp THE Volkswagen Golf straddles both ends of the hatchback market, with a foot in both the mainstream and premium camps. The version tested here is more towards the latter, with a price to match; this 1.5 TSI auto in R-Line trim costs £28,045. Design & engineering THE VW Golf sits on the brand’s MQB platform, which underpins many models in the group, including the Audi A3 and even larger models such as the SEAT Tarraco SUV. It’s a versatile platform, then, and this allows different suspension layouts: the 148bhp 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol model has a torsion beam at the rear to go with its front MacPherson struts, although other models in the range have a…

NEW PRODUCT Gocycle GXi Price: from £3,699 Contact: www.gocycle.com GOCYCLE has unveiled what it calls its most rider-focused folding e-bike yet: the GXi. The new model will join the existing GS, GX and G3Carbon in 2020, bringing with it a new mechanism which is said to help the GXi fold in just 10 seconds. Once folded, it can still be rolled along on its wheels. The GXi features a car-inspired daytime running light (DRL), an LED display and electronic predictive gearshifting. The DRL, which takes the form of Gocycle’s Light Pipe, aims to improve rider safety by being visible from further away than other lights. The Formula One-inspired GXi Cockpit displays battery level, driving mode, speed and gears via LED lights. The gears automatically downshift when slowing, which ensures the rider…

The Rootes Group Richard Loveys (Shire Publications, www.bloomsbury.com) Price: £7.99 COVERING such a large group in just 64 pages was never going to be much more than a whistle-stop tour, so we can’t moan that this isn’t very in-depth. It doesn’t keep the reader engaged, remaining rather factual throughout. It’s good for casual readers, but those with a deeper interest will be better off with a longer title. The Last Shelby Cobra Chris Theodore (Veloce Publishing, www.veloce.co.uk) Price: £35 PERSONAL accounts are usually more interesting than research, and that’s the case here; the author’s association with Carroll Shelby brings real depth. There are lots of great images and, although the account is quite raw, it feels all the more honest for it. Mario Kart Tour Available for: iOS, Android Price:…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk @AE_Consumer Forced to stop in yellow box Q I WAS driving across a yellow box junction when another car jumped a red light and cut me up, forcing me to stop. I’m worried I will receive a fine. If I do, will I be able to appeal? Lily Matthews, E-mail A IF you do receive a fine, then yes, you will be able to appeal. Details of how to do so should be included in the letter sent to you by the local authority. Hopefully, CCTV video footage will show you being cut up and no fine will be sent. If not, you may have to provide other evidence, such as dash-cam footage. Missing the sound of music Q I CAN no longer play music from my phone…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk ● First electric tin-top on track ● DTM champ Ekstrom explains driving challenge WITH its doorhandle-to-doorhandle battles, fiery driver personalities and recognisable road-car shapes, touring car racing is one of the most popular categories with fans, and the proposed ETCR series aims to add electric power to that cocktail. SEAT’s spin-off performance brand Cupra was the first to reveal an eligible car, in the shape of the e-Racer. With development well under way, Auto Express travelled to the Castelloli circuit just outside Barcelona, Spain, to experience the car as driven by Cupra’s electric racing ambassador, DTM and rallycross champion Mattias Ekstrom. Before getting in, there’s a quick rundown of the e-Racer’s specifications. The numbers are impressive: 402bhp in ‘race’ mode and up to 671bhp for short bursts in ‘qualifying’…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk ● All-new Juke offers better practicality and economy ● Range kicks off with Visia trim, priced from £17,395 NISSAN has taken its time with the second-generation Juke – and you can see why. Despite a nine-year run, the previous version of this segment-defining SUV still left showrooms in big numbers right up to its demise. More than 60,000 were sold globally last year, with over a million finding homes since launch in 2010. Sitting on a new platform shared with the Renault Clio, the underpinnings are tasked primarily with supporting a car that needs to be better to drive than its predecessor. Nissan has also targeted improvements in fuel economy and practicality, as well as updated on-board technology. There’s a clear family link to the original model, with the…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk ● Sporty coupé takes on CLA ● Uses 1 Series running gear BMW has expanded the 2 Series line-up with a newcomer designed to challenge the Mercedes CLA head-on. Called the 2 Series Gran Coupé, its arrival means the 2 Series family is the most diverse range in the BMW fold. The Gran Coupé is a compact four-door and it lines up alongside the two-door Coupé and Convertible models, as well as the Active Tourer and Gran Tourer MPVs. It’s also a junior to the new 8 Series Gran Coupé, and goes on sale next March, with prices starting from £25,000. The 2 Series Gran Coupé shares running gear with the latest 1 Series hatchback and the X1 and X2 SUVs, as well as the MINI. Known as UKL,…

Mid-life revisions for Ford’s MPV duo FORD has freshened up its ageing S-MAX (above) and Galaxy models with a range of design tweaks and new in-car tech. Both cars get a new grille, which is slightly rounder and larger than before, while reshaped bumpers and new alloy wheel designs round off the visual updates. Inside, new front seats have been added, along with a WiFi hotspot that allows connectivity for up to 10 devices at once. No-deal Brexit risks Nissan’s UK factory THE future of Nissan’s Sunderland plant is at risk after the firm’s head of European operations said a no-deal Brexit would render its European operations unsustainable. Speaking at the Sunderland factory as production of the new Juke began, Nissan’s Gianluca de Ficchy highlighted that WTO tariffs, which would…

Swedish EV set for UK launch, from £15k A CROWDFUNDED electric city car from Sweden has gone on sale in the UK, priced from £15,100. Called the Uniti One, its creators describe it as a three-seat urban electric vehicle embodying Scandinavian design with a minimalistic interior inspired by smartphones. An entry-level car with a tiny 12kWh battery is capable of a claimed 93 miles on a single charge, while a 24kWh car can do up to 186 miles. First deliveries are planned for mid-2020. Smart motorway breakdowns revealed MORE than two dozen vehicles a day broke down in live lanes of all-lane running (ALR) motorways over the past two years. A letter to the Transport Committee written by Highways England’s chief executive, Jim O’Sullivan, revealed 19,316 breakdowns occurred in live…

Deputy Editor, Auto Express MAKING cars is hard. Making them at a profit is trickier still. James Dyson’s defiant letter to his staff says that the ideas his team came up with were great, but they couldn’t work out how to make money on them. It’s a little surprising that it took such a clever entrepreneur so long to see this, when every analyst had said from the start that his stated goal of bringing a new EV to market by 2021 – equipped, allegedly, with cutting-edge solid-state battery tech – was extremely ambitious. And yet we may not have seen the last of the Dyson car. The idea of driving a Dyson-badged vehicle is dead, but the patents and battery tech that were destined for it could yet make…

Hugo_Griffiths@dennis.co.uk UK motorists could be faced with pay-per-mile road charging and other fresh levies to plug a £40billion financial black hole posed by the mass advent of electric cars, which are exempt from road tax and generate no fuel-duty revenue. The news comes after the Transport Select Committee started a ‘national debate’ on road pricing, ahead of a formal inquiry in 2020. The cross-party Committee advises on government policy rather than setting it but the announcement follows years of speculation and marks the first time Westminster has formally addressed how revenue lost to EVs will be made up. The Committee says that “road pricing does not only mean tolls”, with congestion and low-emission zones being other possibilities, along with charges for workplace parking spaces and higher levies for heavy goods…

Consumer reporter, Auto Express THE fact that the mass adoption of electric cars will bring huge losses in revenue if current systems aren’t changed has been known for years, so the start of a ‘national debate’ on this subject is welcome, if overdue. Of paramount importance is that those involved in the inquiry keep ordinary motorists in mind during these discussions. With new electric cars pricier than equivalent petrol and diesel models, and charging infrastructure still largely patchy, it’s vital that rule-makers recognise conventional cars remain the norm for the vast majority of drivers, and that these motorists are not unfairly penalised as the Government encourages the uptake of EVs. “It’s vital that rule makers recognise that most drivers still use conventional cars”…

THE following provide help with motoring problems. Some services are free, others charge a fee or operate on premium-rate lines (p), while some offer advice for members only (m) Legal AA: 0345 850 1130 (m) RAC: 0330 159 1446 (m) Which?: 01992 878329 Citizens Advice Consumer helpline: 03454 040506 Local Trading Standards Local Citizens Advice Bureau Used car inspections AA: 0800 056 8040 RAC: 0330 159 0720 Technical advice AA: 0370 142 0002 (m) Driving licences DVLA: 0300 790 6801 Car registration/history HPI: 01722 422422 AA: 0800 316 3564 DVLA: 0300 790 6802 RAC: 0330 159 0364 Traffic information AA: 0906 888 4322 RAC: 09003 444999 (p) Problems with dealers The Motor Ombudsman: 0345 241 3008 Consumer Ombudsman: www.consumer-ombudsman.org RMIF: 0845 305 4230 Scottish Motor Trade Assoc. 0131 331 5510…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk “The third model to bear the Flying Spur name in modern times has taken a big step forward” IT’S odd, isn’t it? Budget £50,000 for the ultimate all-round car and you’re spoiled for choice. But spend four times as much, and most options are so focused on one task that every other is compromised. You can buy a luxury limo – beautifully refined, but not much cop on a twisty road – or you can get a supercar that’s good for a smile or two, but less usable every day. The new Bentley Flying Spur is something of a rare exception. This is a 207mph saloon that can excite and indulge in equal measure – and on our encounter, it’s hard to think of a car with a broader…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk VERY few new SUVs double as a performance car quite as effectively as the Porsche Macan. Since arriving in 2014, it has been the most convincing ‘sports’ SUV on the market, and has quickly established itself as the best-selling Porsche. Last year, it outsold 911, Cayman and Boxster combined; it’s indicative of a customer base now drawn to more practical options over traditional sports cars and coupés. The new-look Macan line-up has, until now, consisted of only the base four-cylinder version and the pricier S model. They’ve just been joined by this hotter Turbo model, and it’s all change under the bonnet. It’s out with the old 3.6-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine and in with a smaller, lighter, freer-revving 2.9-litre turbo V6, also found in the Panamera and Cayenne S…

MODEL TESTED: BMW 118i auto M Sport PRICE: £28,580 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 3cyl, 138bhp THE all-new BMW 1 Series has a lot to prove. Can it be as fun to drive as its rear-wheel-drive predecessor, while still matching the comfort and tech of its rivals here? We’re looking at the 118i M Sport, which costs £28,580 in auto form. Design & engineering THE 1 Series now sits on BMW’s UKL2 platform. This means it’s the first 1 Series not offered in rear-wheel-drive form, and while the M135i performance variant is now four-wheel drive, most models are front-drive only. The switch to this platform and powertrain layout is unusual, because BMW is known for its driver-focused models with rear-wheel drive. However, this change creates much more interior space within the same footprint,…

BMW 1 Series BMW Live Cockpit Pro £1,500 option Key features: Digital dash, nav OUR test car was fitted with two £1,500 option packs: Technology Pack 1 and 2. The former adds a head-up display, a WiFi hotspot and wireless phone charging, while 2 adds the BMW Live Cockpit Professional set-up, with a 10.25-inch touchscreen and digital dash. It’s a lot like the system in the latest 3 Series, and that’s a very good thing because it’s easy to use, looks modern and has all the features you’d want. The digital dash is uncluttered, and the touchscreen is sharp and looks great. It’s also easy to use on the move because BMW has retained the iDrive rotary controller by the gearlever. Android users might be let down by the BMW,…

VOLVO latched onto the plug-in trend earlier than its rivals, and the XC60 T8 has had the niche sewn up for a couple of years. However, it’s not the only mid-size plug-in in town now and rivals such as Audi, with its Q5 TFSI e, are gunning for Volvo. That’s why the XC60 has recently had a range-wide refresh, which also includes the T8, so the lithium-ion battery is up from 10.4kWh to 11.8kWh, and its pure-electric range now stands at just over 33 miles, up from 28. The electric motor produces 87bhp and 240Nm of torque, and drives the rear axle; it’s not quite as powerful as the Audi’s e-motor but still provides a useful boost. Combined with the 2.0-litre supercharged and turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, the tables are…

sean_carson@dennis.co.uk Running costs 50.8mpg (on test) £78 fill-up/£145 or 30% tax Practicality Boot capacity 480 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 6.8 seconds/149mph I’VE recently taken up the game of golf again, after a 15-year break. Having played a few rounds over the past couple of weeks, travelling to and from the course in my BMW 320d test car, I was struck by something – but it wasn’t preceded by someone shouting “FORE!”. Back in my teens, when I used to play, the golf club car park was quite a different sight to what it is today. Cars such as the 3 Series and its bigger brother, the 5 Series, used to dominate the parking bays; they were awash with compact and full-size exec cars. You did get the odd SUV –…

RAC announces Book of the Year shortlist THE Royal Automobile Club has announced the shortlist for its annual Motoring Book of the Year award. The Rootes Story, The Cars You Always Promised Yourself, The Self Preservation Society, Land Rover Design, The Blunt End of the Grid, and Touring Car Racing have been selected as the best books published in the past 12 months costing no more than £75. A separate award honours titles above that price. The winners will be announced on 30 October at the Club’s London base. Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Alfa parts now online MOPAR, the aftermarket branch of Fiat Chrysler, has opened its new e-store at moparstore.co.uk. Here you can pick from more than 6,000 parts and 2,000 accessories for Fiat, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Fiat Professional vehicles,…

PRODUCT GROUP TEST 16|10|2019 Every week, we extensively test all the latest car kit from tyres to trim cleaners. Log on to www.autoexpress.co.uk to look through our huge online test archive WE can’t keep our eyes on our precious motor all of the time, but thankfully there are gadgets that will do it for us. GPS trackers are no longer only for spies and supercar owners; you can buy them for less than £100. They aren’t just useful if your car is stolen, either – the latest trackers can calculate your business mileage, tell you about your driving or just help you locate where you parked. We tried eight to get you on the right track. How we tested them WE looked for a selection of trackers which could be…

Motoring’s most outspoken and opinionated columnist sounds off “The cry for 80mph limits is in preparation for a two-tier road system that, if we’re not careful, will be dumped upon us” BRITAIN’S ruling Conservative Party spoke enthusiastically about raising the speed limit to 80mph in recent days. I wonder why. It’s not as if the typical motorist (or the kids that travel on his or her passenger seats) is, in the current climate, demanding from politicians the right to drive or ride at greater speeds across our troubled motorway network, where 70mph, if you can do it, is plenty in view of the sheer density of traffic. Come to think of it, I know of no motoring or non-motoring individuals, pressure groups or companies who are seriously advocating increased limits…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk ● Improved dynamics and a switch to lithium-ion battery ● Shorter than outgoing model but with a longer wheelbase THIS is the all-new Toyota Yaris, which will try to capitalise on wider recognition for hybrid power when it lands in British showrooms next summer. The Japanese company’s new rival for the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa is the fourth generation of a model that has sold four million examples since it was first introduced in 2000. The Yaris switches to a newly adapted version of the same Toyota New Generation Architecture that underpins the latest Corolla, RAV4 and C-HR. Called GA-B, the new Yaris’s chassis gets extra strengthening in a bid to improve the steering response. The rack itself is quicker, and the car’s electric power steering has a…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk ● Dramatic, minimalist dash ● Fully connected, 24/7 THE date is set for what will be one of the most significant launches of 2019. Volkswagen will reveal the new MkVIII Golf on 24 October, and to whet our appetites the firm has revealed official sketches of the latest iteration of its Ford Focus rival. The images show the new model will take a fairly evolutionary approach to its exterior styling. At the front, there’s a slimmer grille and narrower headlights, which are set lower into the front end to give a sportier look. Elsewhere, the car’s overall shape remains much the same, including a sweep of the C-pillar into the tail-lights – a now iconic feature of the Golf family. But the cabin marks the most radical departure from…

HYUNDAI has established a new part of the company to look at developing flying cars. It’s called the Urban Air Mobility Division, and the Korean firm has appointed a former NASA boss as its head. Dr. Jaiwon Shin worked in the agency’s research and development department for 30 years. Hyundai said that urban air mobility will become a ‘critically important part of mobility solutions’ in cities around the world; the move to establish a division dedicated to flying cars, or mobility services, is the first by a car manufacturer. Shin expects that the urban air mobility sector will grow into an industry worth £1.2trillion over the next 20 years. “The new team at Hyundai will develop core technologies that will establish the company as a driving force in urban air…

A THIRD of all drivers have witnessed a physical road rage incident in the past year, while almost half have seen motorists verbally abuse road users. The 1,753 motorists surveyed in the RAC’s annual Report on Motoring said that illegal, anti-social or dangerous behaviours were their biggest concern on the road, while 60 per cent said they witnessed more road-rage incidents in the past year than a decade ago. The RAC’s study also found 23 per cent of drivers admitting to making or receiving calls on a handheld mobile while driving at least occasionally, while 17 per cent said they check texts, E-mails or social media while they’re behind the wheel – a figure that rose to 35 per cent among drivers aged under 25. And 19 per cent admitted to…

Vicky_Parrott@dennis.co.uk LAKE Bled in Slovenia is not an obvious starting point for an extreme electric car road trip. From the puttering hire boats to the gorgeous Alpine backdrop and appealingly tacky casino, it’s hard to imagine that in a little more than 24 hours Iwill have eaten up 1009 miles, 10 countries, seven rapid charging stops, and more coffee and crisps than I care to think about. But that’s the plan, and the Audi e-tron is the car for this marathon drive – one designed to illustrate how far the electric car and the fast charging infrastructure have come. After all, long-haul electric motoring used to be reserved for Tesla, thanks to its Supercharger network. For the past year a joint venture called Ionity (formed by Audi, BMW, Daimler, Porsche,…

Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk “The 320d is agile, punchy and refined, and it remains our pick for the Touring” THE latest BMW 3 Series took class honours at the 2019 Auto Express New Car Awards. Our top compact exec is not only comfortable, refined and cheap to run, it’s also filled with segment-leading tech. But if there is one area where the saloon falls short, it’s practicality. It’s no smaller than its rivals inside or out, but the traditional three-box shape limits what you can carry and harms outright versatility. But now BMW has launched the all-new 3 Series Touring. It’s no longer than the saloon, but the extended roofline and tailgate reveal a much bigger and more practical load bay. However, the numbers are deceptive: the wagon’s 500-litre boot is measured only…

1 Prepare for new customs and VAT procedures at the border when trading with the EU To continue importing from and exporting to the EU after 31 October there are changes you need to make now. Make sure you have an Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number that starts with GB. It’s quick, easy and free to do on gov.uk/brexit. For businesses that import there’s also the option of applying to make this easier with transitional simplified procedures (TSP). This streamlines the process and is ideal for those new to customs procedures. Find step-by-step guides to importing and exporting, as well as more information at gov.uk/brexit-traders. 2 Signpost the EU Settlement Scheme Employers can help their EU, European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss staff get the information they need…

MODEL TESTED: Mercedes A 200 DCT AMG Line PRICE: £29,305 ENGINE: 1.3-litre 4cyl, 161bhp THE latest Mercedes A-Class arrived in 2018, and its overhauled interior made an instant impression. Here we’re testing the A 200 petrol (our images show a diesel), which costs £29,305 in AMG Line auto form. Design & engineering THIS fourth-generation A-Class uses the MFA2 platform, so like both rivals it’s front-engined and front-wheel drive. The A 200 uses a 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with 161bhp, so it’s the most powerful model in this group test. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is fitted to our test car, although a manual model is available, just like on both rivals. There are MacPherson struts at the front and the A 200 AMG Line model gets a multi-link set-up at…

NEW: Audi A3 35 TFSI Sport S tronic PRICE: £27,580 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 148bhp IT has the same engine and gearbox as the Golf, so the A3 Sportback’s powertrain is just as good. The Audi is more upmarket than the VW inside, although the infotainment falls short of the BMW’s and Mercedes’. USED: BMW M140i PRICE: £27,500 ENGINE: 3.0-litre 6cyl, 335bhp ENTHUSIASTS who miss the rear-drive 1 Series will be pleased to see that for the price of a new 118i, you can get a nearly new version of the previous-generation range-topper. With its powerful six-cylinder engine and playful handling, it’s great fun.…

Steve_Walker@dennis.co.uk “The Santa Fe is easily competent enough to be judged on equal terms with the best in class” Running costs 39.7mpg (on test) £94 fill-up/£465 or 37% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 547/1,625 litres OUR Hyundai Santa Fe is going soon, and it will leave a big blue SUV-shaped hole in Walker family life. I find it helps on solemn occasions such as this to look back to the time of the departing party’s arrival and try to gauge the impact it’s had. I had a few preconceptions about the Santa Fe before it arrived, probably similar to those harboured by many car buyers and rooted in both previous experience of Hyundais and a knowledge of the brand. Over its years in the UK, what the Korean firm has…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk @AE_Consumer Socket to me Q I’M considering buying a socket set and can’t work out why most seem to have a T-bar as well as a ratchet wrench. Why would you need both? I’d rather have one or the other. Simon Henson, E-mail A A RATCHET wrench is the first choice for releasing or replacing a nut or bolt because it doesn’t need to be removed from the fastener. A T-bar is useful because it puts even pressure at either side of the fastener. A ratchet places all the force on one side, and there’s a chance you could round off a nut or bolt. Swapping DOT 4 for silicone Q I’VE changed the brake fluid in my car to silicone because I wanted to avoid potential…

APPLYING tyre shine after cleaning a car is the finishing touch that can make all the difference to the final look, and there are two new products designed to restore greying rubber to deep black. Both are from America. Detailing favourite Meguiar’s has launched Ultimate Tyre Shine, while the Black-On Tire Shine System is part of The Treatment range newly imported by Shipshape Norfolk – the people that brought us former wax test winner Collinite. We tried them alongside each other and put them up against a multiple test winner, CarPlan Tyre Slik. We applied them to a single tyre, assessing ease of use and initial appearance, then monitored the finish over six weeks and thousands of miles. The final factor was price. Tyre Slik remains our favourite, but the…