Auto Express 1649

WE’RE big fans of Renault’s smaller cars here at Auto Express – as proven by the company’s recent New Car Awards victories for the Clio, Captur and Zoe. But we’ve been increasingly puzzled about what the firm plans to do with its larger models – vehicles like the Mégane, increasingly marginalised against the likes of the VW Golf and Ford Focus, and the Kadjar, which looks ever-more-anonymous in the packed family SUV class. This week we can tell the first part of the new story, at least. You can find out more on page eight about how Renault’s designers, led by Laurens van den Acker, have turned the Mégane into a funky all-electric crossover. This reveal is a hugely significant one – and not just because it shows the future…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy • Land Rover claims 34-mile range from electric motor and battery • 10 per cent BiK tax rating is good news for company car drivers MILD-HYBRID versions of the Range Rover Evoque, arguably Land Rover’s most urban-focused model, have been available pretty much since the arrival of the second-generation car last year. But now, at last, there’s also a full-on plug-in hybrid version. And we’ve had our first chance to try it. Officially titled the Range Rover Evoque P300e, the new model introduces a petrol engine that we haven’t seen anywhere else before in a Jaguar Land Rover car. It’s a 1.5-litre three-cylinder Ingenium unit that produces 197bhp. All of that output goes to the front wheels, while at the rear axle there’s a 107bhp electric motor and…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods • Pure-electric SUV concept • Previews all-new Mégane “The headlight signature is a nod to the fact that the eVision will join Renault’s range as soon as 2021” RENAULT has revealed that the future of the Mégane is all-electric and in a new compact SUV bodystyle with this: the Mégane eVision. The concept car previews a production model due in 2021. The Mégane has been the star of the French brand’s family car range for 25 years, but the hatch’s reign has been questioned recently, with small SUVs becoming the breadwinners for brands like Renault. Earlier in 2020, Renault design boss Laurens van den Acker told Auto Express that the future of the Mégane as we know it was in doubt, and that development costs could be redistributed…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn • Fiesta rival boasts 201bhp • Prices set to start from £20k HYUNDAI’S N division has taken the wraps off its second performance model, the all-new i20 N. It’s designed to rival the Ford Fiesta ST, and Hyundai says this new small hot hatch is inspired by the firm’s WRC rally car, and will go on sale in the UK early next year. Development of the N variant of the latest i20 was conceived at the very beginning of the supermini’s design process, and there’s certainly no mistaking it from other versions of the hatchback. The i20 N has a wild bodykit with a deeper front bumper and enlarged air intakes, unique side skirts that wrap around into a reshaped rear bumper with a new diffuser, while a…

“IT’S not about being the fastest car, it’s about being the most fun to drive,” is the departing message from Hyundai’s director of high-performance vehicles, Klaus Koster, as we climb behind the wheel of a late i20 N prototype. The engine doesn’t have the fizz or the slightly manic character of the Fiesta ST’s three-cylinder, but it delivers strong and consistent shove from 2,000rpm right across the rev band. Engage some of the racier driving modes and you get tuneful pops and crackles from the exhaust when you lift off the throttle, too. A handful of laps around the Nürburgring GP track highlights the i20 N’s playful and adjustable nature. The steering is smooth and nicely weighted, and backed up by a responsive chassis. It may not have bundles of…

Volkswagen names its price for fresh Tiguan THE updated Volkswagen Tiguan (above), the firm’s biggest-selling model globally, will start from £24,915 in the UK. Four trim levels and six engines are available from launch, and all versions feature alloy wheels, LED headlights and autonomous emergency braking as standard. Topping the new range is the sporty R-Line model, which benefits from a unique bodykit and larger 20-inch alloy wheels, and costs £32,730. BMW drivers set for Android Auto boost THREE quarters of a million BMW drivers are set to benefit from Android Auto smartphone connectivity for the very first time, the firm has announced. It comes as part of an update for the manufacturer’s latest OS 7 infotainment software, which is being rolled out free of charge to existing owners. BMW…