Table of contents for 1619 in Auto Express

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn • Angular ID.X is based on ID.4 • Due to reach the market in 2023 VOLKSWAGEN’S all-electric Land Rover Defender rival, which is due to arrive on the market in 2023, will be called the ID.X, Auto Express can reveal. First revealed in Auto Express in January 2019 (Issue 1,557), the car has been the subject of fierce internal debate. Senior bosses worried the vehicle would be too niche, and would not sell enough to make it viable. However, positive customer clinics and the belief that the vehicle would help shift the VW brand away from its rather safe and conservative image have encouraged the company to give the project the go-ahead. As with all of VW’s upcoming range of pure-electric ID. vehicles, we’re likely to see a…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods • Aston hypercar takes next step • All 150 examples already sold ASTON Martin has begun UK road testing of the Valkyrie, the most extreme model in the marque’s 107-year history. The flagship hypercar has been in circuit development for some time now. It has an ultra-aerodynamic, Formula One-inspired design, which was created with assistance from Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey, while power is provided by a Cosworth-developed 6.5-litre V12 with hybrid assistance. Total power is 1,160bhp, with 900Nm of torque. The Valkyrie’s first outing on public roads was in the hands of Aston’s high-performance test driver and ex-McLaren chief tester Chris Goodwin (right) near Silverstone Circuit, where much of the Valkyrie’s track testing has taken place over the previous weeks. Landmark “A great car…

We pick our favourite fast cars WHEN the roads are quiet, there’s nothing more scintillating than a genuine performance car. But which is the best? Our round-up of the real performance-car heroes will take in three genuine slices of exotica, as we tell you where to lay down your money. youtube.com/Autoexpress VW e-up! This VW city car brings a 159-mile range and great affordability to the electric-car class, in a cute and familiar package. But at £20,195, is it great value or just an expensive up? youtube.com/drivingelectric HEAR MORE www.autoexpress.co.uk/podcast THIS WEEK on the Auto Express Podcast, host Vicki Butler-Henderson and the team herald the return of a British icon: the Land Rover Defender. Elsewhere, Joe Holding has driven the new Renault Zoe, and the Aston Martin Valkyrie (left) had…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress Write to: Letters, Auto Express, Dennis Publishing Ltd, 31-32 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP FROM: Tony Jey WHAT a beautiful car. That interior would look good in the next Audi R8. I’m not sure the whopping £1.5million price tag is justified, but then I suppose the exclusivity of owning one of 12 cars in existence has to come at a premium. FROM: Aaron P I GET that you’re paying for exclusivity, but the mechanicals are the same as the GT Convertible, which is a fraction of the price. Is it really worth it? Either way, it’s hard to raise enthusiasm for a car that will undoubtedly sit idle in a collection. Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk “Has anyone noticed ‘Bacalar’ sounds like the Italian word ‘baccala’, meaning cod?”…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler Performance 0-62mph/top speed 11.9 seconds/115mph Running costs 32.9mpg (off icial) £94 fill-up NOT everyone wants – or can afford – a new Land Rover Defender. That’s certainly what SsangYong hopes. Its latest Rexton may not have the street cred or style of the new Brit, but when it comes to value, there’s no denying its appeal. For more than £5,000 less than the cheapest new Defender 110, you could have this fully loaded SsangYong Rexton Ultimate, complete with a seven-year warranty and, currently, a zero-per cent finance deal for this updated 2020 model. Exterior changes are limited to a new grille. While it makes the smart, if slightly bulky-looking, Rexton feel a little more upmarket, the refresh hardly makes you want to trade up from a previous model-year…

Kia Soul EV 10.25” Touchscreen Nav Standard Key features: Large screen, connectivity KIA’S latest 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system – first seen in the xCeed – is great. It’s even better in the Soul because it combines the latest and biggest display with all of the EV functionality that we liked so much in the e-Niro. This tech shows your predicted range overlaid on the sat-nav map, charging points nearby or along your route, as well as driving data on efficiency, range and charging. Kia’s UVO smartphone app gives you this data at your fingertips, too. There’s also Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, which works well, but the speed of response of the standard set-up is good, the graphics sharp and the colours bright, so whichever way you choose to…

The Silence of Dogs in Cars Martin Usborne (Hoxton Mini Press, www.hoxtonminipress.com) Price: £12.95 THIS surprisingly thought-provoking photobook will resonate with ‘dog people’. The photography is brilliant, conveying what words can’t. While the focus is definitely on the dogs, car lovers will also find plenty of utterly gorgeous metal to lust over. A larger example of this book is available from a different publisher, but we like the smaller form factor of this edition. Lamborghini Antonio Ghini (Mondadori Electa, www.mondadori.com) Price: £65 A HUGE, lavishly produced book including every Lamborghini from 1963 right up to the present day – from the ones you’ve heard of, to the limited-editions and unreleased cars you may not have. It’s up-todate, thanks to a new edition in October 2019 and covers not only the…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk Q Can my car use E10 petrol? I READ your article about E10 petrol (Issue 1,617) with interest, and want to know how to find out if my car can use it. Is there a central database of compatible cars? Darren White, E-mail A THE Government doesn’t have its own list of compatible cars, but the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) does. If you search online for ‘E10 petrol Auto Express’, our online guide contains a link at the bottom that will take you to the ACEA’s list. From here you can check whether or not your car can use E10. Q Changing alloy wheels I WOULD like to make my car look more modern by fitting larger alloy wheels to it. Is this a…

HOW OUR GUIDE WORKS PERFORMANCE: This is the manufacturer’s claimed acceleration time for a car, and is measured from 0-60mph or 0-62mph (0-100kph), in seconds. ECONOMY AND EMISSIONS: The combined economy figure in miles per gallon and its emissions in grams per kilometre of CO2. Figures are the best achieved in the latest WLTP tests, but will vary according to equipment and are unlikely to be representative of everyday efficiency. INSURANCE: Group rating as quoted by the Association of British Insurers. WARRANTY: Next to each manufacturer’s name is the basic warranty period in months and miles for the mechanicals, corrosion and paintwork. EVs and hybrids will have dedicated battery cover. LIST PRICE: This is the on-the-road figure and includes VAT, delivery to dealer, 12 months’ road tax, number plates and…

Stuart_Milne@dennis.co.uk CORONAVIRUS, also known as COVID-19, is impacting virtually every aspect of life in countries around the world. The virus has already claimed thousands of lives globally, and while this human tragedy must be at the forefront of everyone’s minds, there is also a serious effect on the economy both globally and here in the UK. In the automotive industry, the likes of Groupe PSA, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota and Nissan have paused car production across Europe. Meanwhile, the UK Government’s advice is to avoid both non-essential travel and crowded places, including public transport. That means the car is likely to be critical transport over the coming weeks or months, and will be a lifeline for many people. You should head to the NHS website (www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronaviruscovid-19/) for the latest health advice,…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler WE’RE well used to meeting car designers and engineers here at Auto Express, but sound designers? This is a first. We’re standing in an eerily quiet semi-anechoic (echo-free) room deep in the heart of Volvo’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. It’s semi-anechoic because the floor is hard, but every other surface is covered in cone-shaped objects designed to deaden sound. And they do an incredible job; you can almost hear your heartbeat. Sound has always played a big part in our enjoyment of cars, more normally the mechanical sound of an engine, or a rowdy roar from an exhaust. But as of last year, new regulations dictate that electrified models must produce a specific level of noise when travelling at low speed, opening up a whole new world of…

Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @rsp_ingram Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.6 seconds/121mph THE Ford Kuga was once famed for its hatchback-like handling. The original version was little more than a Focus on stilts, and as such, was widely regarded as one of the sharpest cars in its class to drive. By comparison, the second-generation model was somewhat stodgy. In an effort to make it more competitive against practical, family-orientated rivals, Ford fattened the Kuga to give it wider appeal. But as the SUV market expanded in the UK, the company’s alternative to the likes of the Renault Kadjar and Toyota RAV4 got lost in the noise. This all-new Kuga is the third attempt, and it goes on sale with a choice of powertrains, including a plug-in hybrid for the first time. Our car has Ford’s…

MODEL TESTED: Kia Soul EV First Edition PRICE: £34,295 ENGINE: 1 x electric motor, 201bhp THE Soul EV is a long-standing nameplate for Kia, and the recipe has been refined for this all-new 2020 model, taking lessons learned from other Kia EVs, so what’s the Soul EV First Edition like? Design & engineering THIS Soul EV is based on the same platform as Kia’s e-Niro, so it’s no surprise that the third-generation Soul and this second generation of the all-electric car share the same platform as Kia’s best-selling model as well. There’s a 64kWh lithium-ion battery – this is the usable energy as well, which is what Kia quotes, because the total battery capacity is 67.1kWh – that sends its energy to a single electric motor, which produces 201bhp and…

NEW: Hyundai Kona Electric 64kWh PRICE: £35,600 ENGINE: 1 x e-motor, 201bhp THE newly updated MY20 Hyundai Kona Electric shows that the Soul EV is actually good value. Both cars use the same powertrain, but the Kona in Premium trim doesn’t quite get as much equipment, yet it’s pricier, too. It’s still a good buy. USED: Tesla Model S 70D PRICE: £33,850 ENGINE: 2 x e-motors, 324bhp FOR similar money you could pick up a used premium EV in the form of a pre-facelift Tesla Model S 70D. This means two motors for four-wheel drive with 324bhp and – even better – free Tesla supercharging for fast recharges on the move.…

Vicky_Parrott@dennis.co.uk @VickyParrott Running costs 53.2mpg (on test) £82 fill-up/£465 or 16% tax Practicality Boot capacity 400 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 5.9 seconds/155mph THE fuel economy on the E 300 de has always been a focus for our test. It’s the reason you’d opt for the diesel plug-in hybrid Mercedes E-Class, and so far we have seen it average 49mpg excluding the battery running. Not bad, given that I do a fair bit of slower urban stuff as well as motorway miles. Such is the life of a car that is often the support vehicle to photoshoots or a commuter car into central London. But one of the most interesting aspects of the plug-in E-Class is that you can have a 2.0-litre petrol engine instead of this diesel. The two versions…

Now Vauxhall opens up for tyre fitting VAUXHALL has opened an online tyre retailing service. Tyres Online follows the All Makes check-up campaign, and allows customers – even non-Vauxhall ones – to search for, pick and buy tyres, and arrange fitting, at their local retailer. Visit vauxhall.dealertyres.co.uk and enter your postcode, vehicle reg or tyre size, and the site will display all the available dealerships and tyre options, as well as fitting appointments. Vauxhall will also match any like-for-like quote on leading tyre brands within a five-mile radius of the fitting location. Community project for virtual Ford racer FORD is offering gamers the opportunity to help create the brand’s first virtual race car. Codenamed Team Fordzilla P1, the project will be led by the captains of Ford’s e-sports teams from…

PRODUCT GROUP TEST 25|3|2020 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 CHARGING your phone while you drive makes a lot of sense, especially if you use it for work. And if you have one of the latest smartphones, you’ll need a suitable USB adaptor to make the best of its fast-charge ability. 12V car sockets usually provide 5V of current, but most adaptors boost the output to 9V, and feature standard USB sockets or the latest USB-C type. Depending on your device, you may need an adaptor or a specific cable, which will add to the cost, unless it’s included. You should check the wattage capabilities of an adaptor; 7.5W-10W is…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk AS racing shuts down in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Auto Express is looking back at some of the great cars, drivers and races from motorsport history. Our first instalment goes back just a few years to 2017, when Kamui Kobayashi broke the lap record at the Circuit de la Sarthe in qualifying for Le Mans. Among motorsport fans, the Group C era of the eighties and early nineties is often held up as the pinnacle of sportscar racing, with the annual pilgrimage to Le Mans in France for the 24-hour race its centrepiece. Iconic, wedge-shaped machines from Porsche, Jaguar, Peugeot, Toyota, Lancia, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan and more did battle there and at circuits around the world. During the nineties, sportscars suffered a downturn, with entry numbers for Le…

Deputy Editor ON the face of it, VW’s plan for a rugged all-electric off-roader seems frivolous when the company is still trying to get its range of more conventional ID. models up and running. But pushing ahead with the ID.X will force its engineers to push the boundaries of what the company can do with its electric parts, not least the MEB platform. That could bring valuable lessons that will benefit electric VWs into the second half of this decade. And in the meantime, if VW does end up delivering the first really rugged, go-anywhere SUV, then there’s rarely any harm done in being the first to define a market. Quite the opposite, in fact. “ID.X will force VW’s engineers to push the boundaries of what the company can do”…

Joe_Holding@dennis.co.uk @JoeHolding Electric motor Power/range 134bhp/238 miles THE new Renault Zoe follows a simple philosophy: the same as before, but more of it. More battery capacity, more range and more technology. And this is our first chance to test the new model in the UK. The Zoe is available with two outputs from its single, front-mounted electric motor: an R110 model with 107bhp or an R135 version with 134bhp. We’re driving the latter, which means 0-62mph in 9.5 seconds and a top speed of 87mph. And its new 52kWh battery also means a theoretical range of 238 miles. From the driver’s seat, the Zoe feels fast enough everywhere, from around town to the motorway, although performance drops noticeably in range-maximising Eco mode. This setting also features a pressure-step in the…

sean_carson@dennis.co.uk @sean_carson_ STORM Dennis has done its best to stop me getting there, but after three flights and an overnight stay in Namibia’s capital city, Windhoek, I touch down in Opuwo, the country’s most northern big settlement, on an ex-military, hard-packed gravel runway. With the local Himba tribespeople swarming the air strip to check out the commotion, three new Defenders drop down to the runway to pick us up. On a motorshow stand the car’s design looks modern and forward-thinking, but in the middle of nowhere, well inside the Tropic of Capricorn, with nothing but sand in sight, the Defender looks like an alien body. Yet with the test cars kitted out with the optional Adventure Pack and side steps, plus a few other special bits and pieces – including…

MODEL TESTED: MG ZS EV Exclusive PRICE: £27,495 ENGINE: 1x electric motor, 141bhp THE MG ZS EV is one of Britain’s best affordable electric cars, offering genuinely usable range at an impressive price. If you’re thinking of dipping your toe into the EV pool, is this a better route than the Kia? Design & engineering LIKE the Soul EV, which is offered with petrol power in some markets but is exclusively electric in Europe, the MG ZS comes with a combustion engine too, but also like the Soul, an EV version was designed into the platform from the start, so there aren’t many compromises. The battery sits under the floor, keeping the weight low – and there’s 218kg less of it in the MG. There’s also less power and torque…

CHARGING BOTH cars’ charging flaps are on the front bumper, the Kia’s offset to the nearside. The MG’s is under a flap that doesn’t rise high enough, so you can’t see the charging socket without bending down. The Kia’s cables are longer and more usable than the MG’s. We found that the shorter cable was more restrictive, and on one occasion we weren’t able to charge the car where we were parked. MODES THE Kia has Sport, Normal, Eco and Eco+ driving modes; the latter two limit the car’s speed to 70 and 60mph respectively, while both adjust settings for the throttle calibration and the climate control. In fact, Eco+ turns the climate control off altogether to save energy. The MG has three driving modes but the settings only really…

andy_pringle@dennis.co.uk @andymoshpringle Running costs 43.6mpg (on test) £49 fill-up/£145 or 26% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 455/1,281 litres LIFE with the Auto Express Volkswagen T-Cross has been a series of surprises. Pleasant surprises, I’m glad to say. For example, when I was a lad, back in the last century, there was a simple rule: small cars did short trips, big cars did long trips. So when my family and I were faced with a weekend away in Cambridge, it’s fair to say that we approached the 200-mile round trip in VW’s smallest SUV with a degree of trepidation. Especially as it was going to coincide with Storm Dennis’s visit to the UK. As it turned out, though, we needn’t have worried. The T-Cross is a pretty small car – only…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk Lamp leaves me in dark Q I’M restoring a car in a garage with poor lighting and use an old rechargeable inspection lamp a lot of the time. Sometimes I have to stop because it has run out of battery. Which is the lamp with the longest run time? John Cage, E-mail A THE newest lamps have around a three-hour life, although some will go quite a bit longer with reduced output. As with a cordless-tool battery, the solution here is to have two lamps. We’ve had good results with the Sealey LED1801K (left), which has two folding lights that can be used individually, or in the charging dock as a floodlight. Expect to pay around £100. Clearing up plastic fog Q MY headlights are suffering…

COMPETITION in the dash-cam market is hotting up, so we brought together two cameras that provide the best quality and easiest download interfaces, to see which is best. Nextbase’s 522GW doesn’t have 4K high-resolution capability, but has proven itself with good-quality footage in all conditions, easy-to-use apps, plus compatibility with Amazon’s Alexa assistant. Kenwood’s new DRV A601W has full 4K recording and is the first dash cam we’ve seen which can match Nextbase’s easy-to-use viewing platforms. It’s the closest a unit has come to beating the Nextbase and, if the quality of daytime footage is your priority, then it is the best 4K camera we’ve tested. But it’s pricier than the 522GW and doesn’t get any extra features, so the Nextbase is still our favourite. “Nextbase’s 522GW has proven itself…

Sponsored by YOUR VIEWS ON YOUR CARS 2019 Results Mazda 2 Factfile Years: 2014 to present CO2: 110g/km Fuel economy: 60.1mpg (1.5 Skyactiv) Best options: Seven-inch touchscreen, heated seats, reversing camera Used prices: From £4,900 OVERALL SCORE 91.16% Bars show where model finished out of 100 vehicles in our 2019 new car survey. The longer the bar the better GOOD “MANUAL gearbox has a very positive action, just like in an MX-5. There’s never any unpleasant juddering.” “I love the looks of the car; my favourite detail is the diamond-cut alloy wheels.” “Very nice, upmarket interior but with a simple, yet well thought-out design.” “Suede leather seats are very supportive, and being heated adds a dash of luxury.” “Steering is well weighted and provides positive feedback.” “Feels solid and secure…

CAN there be any positives to come out of temporary car factory closures across the globe? For salt-of-the-earth workers struggling to earn a living from motor manufacturing and related industries, the obvious answer has to be no. Such folk ain’t daft. They/we know that in these unprecedented times, concerns and worries will inevitably exist in and around car-related workplaces and beyond. As with most others, I’m just longing to ‘get back to normal’. But frankly, as I’m stuck in the US while writing this, I’m no longer sure what normal is. In the car world we love, the only certainty – the new normal, if you like – is massive change. And change is happening, and will continue to happen, like never before. And to be clear, such upheaval applies…