Table of contents for 1930 in Auto Express

I’M starting to wonder what happened to elegant design, and how the cars of today will be viewed 20, 30 or 40 years from now. The era of the electric car offered stylists the chance to be more creative, with no need for a big lump of an engine at the front, but so far they have largely failed to rise to the challenge. At least the three all-new cars dominating the news this week – the Nissan Juke, Hyundai Ioniq 3 and Mercedes C-Class Electric – are all distinctive, if that’s not damning them with faint praise. But I’m not sure any of them can be described as particularly elegant. It’s certainly not what Nissan was going for with the new Juke, and its origami/egg box surfacing that’s presumably…

NISSAN remains committed to Europe and aims to grow sales by one-third here, despite it being one of the world’s “most difficult markets”, the company’s top executives have told Auto Express. It outlined its future product, technology and markets strategy at a Nissan Vision event at its Yokohama HQ. Nissan will invest in 45 global models, a reduction from 56 vehicles today, as it seeks to boost scale on shared architectures to improve cost efficiency and manufacturing flexibility. New cars for Europe from Asia: flagship NX8 EV and new X-Trail EUROPE is not a core market for Nissan, with the dominant three territories being the US, China and Japan due to their bigger volume potential. But products developed for these markets will feed Europe, with Auto Express revealing that the…

HYUNDAI has taken the wraps off its new Ioniq 3, launching the brand into the electric compact hatchback segment for the first time. The new model is a realisation of the wacky Concept Three, which the South Korean company showed at the 2025 Munich Motor Show. The Ioniq 3 sits below the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 as the smallest member of the model family. However, at 4.1 metres long, it’s not the smallest Hyundai EV – that title is retained by the Inster supermini. The car’s size means there are a number of rivals for it to contend with, such as the Renault 5 and upcoming Cupra Raval and VW ID. Polo. There’s also the Kia EV2, with which the Ioniq 3 shares its platform, as well as its…

TOYOTA has revealed a newly updated version of its Yaris Cross that is designed to keep it competitive in the hotly contested small SUV class. Key changes include a fresh look outside and new cabin materials. On sale from the autumn, the revamped Yaris Cross will rival the Ford Puma and Nissan Juke, plus ambitious newcomers such as the Jaecoo 5 (right) and BYD Atto 2. Among the changes is a redesigned nose that’s in line with Toyota’s new RAV4. This incorporates a hexagonal grille that bleeds into the main body, and the removal of the low-set LED daytime running lights. These have been integrated into new headlights. While the rest of the exterior design is largely unchanged, Toyota will offer two new colour options, plus redesigned 17 or 18-inch…

CHINESE firm Aion is yet another company from the Far East that’s looking to make in-roads into the UK car market, and it’s first arrival is the V, which is a contender in the hugely competitive electric family SUV segment. Before we dive into the V, let’s first take a look at Aion, because it’s a name that’ll be new to most people. It’s the electrified sub-brand of GAC – or Guangzhou Automobile Company – which is the fifth-largest car manufacturer in China. In the UK, Aion will be launched as part of an arrangement with Saudi-owned Jameel Motors – the company that is already distributing the Farizon electric van. Jameel will do the same for the Aion V through 15 dealerships by the end of June, and is aiming…

THE sixth-generation Nissan Micra is quite a step change from the five cars that came before it. Up until this point, the Micra has largely been powered by a variety of asthmatic combustion engines, but these have been consigned to history with the arrival of a fully electric powertrain. One thing that the new Micra has in common with the previous generation is that it shares parts with a car from sister company Renault. While the Mk5 model had some elements of Clio DNA in its make-up, the new Micra has some rather more obvious connections with the Renault 5, which is one of our favourite electric superminis of the past 12 months. Specifically, the Micra shares its AmpR platform with the Renault 4, 5 and new Twingo, while Nissan…

“I ASSEMBLED THREE OF THE BEST COMPACT THRILL MACHINES TO WORK OUT WHERE THE 600E SITS IN THE SEGMENT” THE time has come to say arrivederci to our Abarth 600e, or ‘Barney the Dinosaur’ as it’s known among my friends. But reflecting on the past seven months with this car, I realised I still couldn’t figure out where it sits within the hot-hatch segment. To try and work this out, I assembled three of the best compact thrill machines around – the Alpine A290, Cupra Leon and Toyota GR Yaris – for a bit of a back-to-back comparison. Not a bad day at the office. Other than the A290 and 600e both being electric, the two EVs have very little in common. It was immediately obvious the Abarth is a…

WHEN you’re taking a coffee break in your car, the whole family will instinctively reach for their devices. The kids will expect their phones and tablets to be charged, while the parents might catch up on E-mails with their laptop computers. Plug them all in at once and you’re likely to face the dreaded ‘click’ when you try to restart your engine and find the battery is dead. Even EVs suffer from flat 12-volt batteries if left with devices charging for too long. To avoid this, you can invest in a charging block to lessen strain on your car’s battery. The two contenders here have enough capacity and power to rapidly top up a laptop and recharge empty smartphones multiple times over. While the MSC has more capacity and its…

THE all-new electric Nissan Juke will see the Japanese company back at its “disruptive” best. That’s the view of Nissan Europe vice president Jordi Vila, who spoke exclusively to Auto Express at Nissan’s Grandrive test centre south of Yokohama, in the brand’s home nation. The small SUV – which Nissan calls the third-generation Juke, even though the current petrol and hybrid sister models live on – is marked out by its edgy and modernist exterior design, built around a totally different bodyshell. And this differentiation continues beneath the skin, with the Juke EV having more in common with the marque’s new Leaf crossover and sharing a modified version of its CMF-EV platform. Nissan’s new baby will be a rival for small electric SUVs including the Renault 4, Kia EV2, Skoda…

NISSAN wants a new halo model for Europe and the NX8 electric SUV recently unveiled in China is in the frame, we can reveal. Engineered and manufactured in partnership with Dongfeng, the NX8 (above) is a big SUV that would dwarf Europe’s two largest Nissan cars, the electric Ariya and hybrid X-Trail. Measuring 4,870mm long, the NX8 sits between the BMW X3 and X5 in size, and has a 2,917mm wheelbase. It can cover up to 650km (404 miles) on the Chinese test cycle. Europe’s WLTP regulation is more taxing, but the rear-wheel drive SUV should still be good for a range in excess of 300 miles. “We’re studying the potential for Europe,” European vice president Jordi Vila told Auto Express during an exclusive interview. “We did not take a…

MERCEDES’ line up of all-electric models is pretty vast, ranging from the CLA to the electric G-Class, but one area that hasn’t yet been catered for is the compact-executive class. Here to put that right is the new C-Class Electric. The C-Class Electric forgoes the ‘EQ’ naming convention seen on the larger EQE and EQS, but while it has C-Class in its name, the EV shares nothing with its combustion cousin. Despite being an all-new car, there’s some familiar rivalry ready for the C-Class Electric. Chief of which is the recently revealed BMW i3, which promises strong competition, excellent range and rapid charging. There’s also the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Lexus ES, plus the delayed Audi A4 e-tron. To ensure it can rival the best in class, Mercedes has used…

COUNCILS must demonstrate they spend all of their allocated road maintenance cash on fixing streets and potholes or risk losing their funding. That’s one of several new rules being implemented by the Government in order to help restore Britain’s crumbling road network. In 2026, local authorities are set to get a share of roughly £1.6billion in road maintenance funding, but roughly a third of this (designated an ‘incentive element’) could be taken away if each council doesn’t comply with new rules set out by the Government. To unlock 50 per cent of the incentive, councils must publish an annual report so that residents can see exactly where and how effectively money is being spent. The next 25 per cent can be awarded by ensuring all appropriate funding is ring-fenced for…

EVs are on track to become even more affordable with the release of a new Dacia city car due in the coming months. Spied testing for the first time with production-relevant elements, this A-segment offering could cost from as little as £15,000 when it arrives in 2027. It will rival cars such as the BYD Dolphin Surf, Leapmotor T03 and the closely related Renault Twingo. We have known about this car’s development for a while, but with the release of the Twingo – a model it’ll share its chassis and powertrain with – we now have a much clearer idea of what’s under the skin of Dacia’s baby. Looking at the prototypes in our spy images, it’s clear that this car will share its basic structure with the Twingo, but…

A NEW teaser image of the reborn Jensen Interceptor has been released, previewing not just more of the design, but its official name, too. Now called the Jensen Interceptor GTX, the sports car will be revealed in the next two months. This reimagination of the iconic two-door seventies GT is a project from Jensen International Automotive (JIA), a UK-based firm that restores and re-engineers the original Interceptor. Much of its specific technical data is as yet unknown, but a pre-production show car will hopefully reveal all when we get to see it in the coming weeks. We do know that this is an ambitious project, though. The body, engine and chassis will be entirely bespoke to the Interceptor GTX, rather than based on an existing vehicle. The V8-powered Interceptor GTX’s…

WITH over two million sales under its belt you might be surprised to learn there has only been one generation of Volkswagen T-Roc. Eight years after the original’s debut, however, the second-generation is here – and is set to continue VW’s success in the mid-size SUV market. The firm has refrained from turning it into an EV, so with petrol power alone, the model rivals the likes of the Toyota C-HR and MINI Countryman, as well as Chinese competition from the likes of the Omoda 5. We first saw the T-Roc Mk2 in the summer of 2025, so we’ve had a lot of time to get used to the new looks. The company has taken steps to update its styling to bring it in line with its new ID-badged EVs,…

“DAD, please can you drive smoothly,” is a frequent plea from the X3’s back seats. This is not, dear reader, because I’m cornering on the door handles, or making jerky gearshifts by yanking the paddles behind the steering wheel to manipulate the four-cylinder engine: no, this is typically on a motorway cruise. It’s because of the X3’s Achilles’ heel: a ride that’s tougher than my grandmother’s roast beef. This is an X3 M Sport, which means suspension subtly lowered over 21-inch rims, with fairly skinny 40-section rubber. These are accompanied by stiff springs and extra anti-roll to manage the 2,140kg weight of this twin-engined SUV, including the 19.7kWh battery feeding the electric motor. Manhole, gas-main repair, expansion joint, sudden crest; the X3 mainlines the lot straight into the cabin. The…

Price: From £159.99 Contact: kaercher.com KÄRCHER has revamped its big-selling ‘K’ series of pressure washers with two new choices for the top and mid-range models. The company claims they are now easier to use and more economical, with lower consumption of both power and water. The first new line, called Comfort Premium, is only available on the K5 and K7 models, and focuses on ease of use. Both have ergonomic trigger guns which are easier to squeeze over longer cleaning periods, plus integrated reels which neatly hold a 10-metre anti-twist hose. A 4-in-1 Multi Jet nozzle lets you switch between a rotary jet, high-pressure flat fan, reduced-pressure flat jet and detergent spray patterns. The K5 can create up to 145 bar of pressure and costs £399.99, while the K7 develops up…

THE sickening sound of a wheel scraping on a kerb is enough to make any motorist weep. But as cars have got wider and parking spaces haven’t, there’s pressure to leave the smallest possible gap, and kerb rash is inevitable. To make matters worse, low-profile tyres offer less protection and diamond-cut rims are harder – and pricier – to repair. You can soften the blow by taking out separate insurance on your alloys, meaning you can cover the cost of a refurb without affecting your no-claims bonus or paying the full cost yourself. It’s often sold as an add-on by car dealers, but you should be able to get a better deal by buying independently. Many policies will insist you take out the insurance within a few weeks of buying…

NISSAN has unveiled the new X-Trail mid-size SUV, with a dramatic design showing its resemblance to the next Juke. Announced at the Nissan Vision event in Yokohama, attended by Auto Express, the new X-Trail will be built in Japan and exported initially to the USA. CEO Ivan Espinosa described the X-Trail, badged Rogue in the US, as one of Nissan’s core models: no surprises there, as it’s the brand’s biggest-seller globally. The sheet metal is toned down compared with the new Juke, given the target X-Trail buyer is more conservative, but it still has complex creases and angular surfaces. The front-end treatment is reminiscent of the Hyundai Tucson, while the rear mixes convex and concave areas. “I’m excited to present the new X-Trail/Rogue hybrid e-Power,” said Espinosa, as the wraps…

FEW automotive rivalries are as strong as that between the Mercedes C-Class and BMW 3 Series; and long may this continue in the electric age. With both German makers revealing their next-generation BEV variants at pretty much the same time, we can’t resist making a few comparisons. Helpfully BMW and Mercedes have decided to release two similarly priced and specified long-range, dual-motor variants simultaneously. Judging purely on the battery specs, the BMW packs 112kWh, a fair chunk more than the Merc’s 94.5kWh, but both will sit at the top of their respective ranges at similar price points, which is just below future M and AMG variants. So, which comes out on top? The most important number for many EVs in 2026 is range, and in this case the i3 has…

THE compact Jaecoo 5 SUV is now available with a full hybrid powertrain, joining the full-electric and entry-level petrol model. Priced from £26,270, it’ll be available in Pure and Luxury trims and arrives in the third quarter of this year. The hybrid powertrain is the same as found elsewhere in the Chery organisation, which owns the Jaecoo brand. It pairs a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a small electric motor and a 1.83kWh battery. At 221bhp, it’s much more powerful than the 143bhp pure-petrol variant, and drops the 0-62mph time from 10.2 seconds to 7.9 seconds. A claimed combined WLTP economy rating of 53mpg compares favourably with the petrol’s official 41mpg figure.…

“We were sufficiently charmed that we named it Supermini of the Year at the 2025 Auto Express New Car Awards last summer” THE launch of the Fiat Grande Panda has been a long and protracted affair. We first drove the electric small car more than a year ago, and were sufficiently charmed that we named it Supermini of the Year at the 2025 Auto Express New Car Awards last summer. For various reasons, right-hand-drive production has been stunted, and only now are cars arriving with customers in the UK – with the EV joined by this new hybrid variant. You’ll need a keen eye to tell the two apart; aside from the innovative tethered charge port on the nose and some badges at the back, the EV is identical to…

“At higher speeds, it’s like there’s a disconnect between the steering and the front axle” CHINESE conglomerate Chery’s blitzkrieg of the British car market has thus far been an unprecedented success; the Jaecoo 7, for example, only arrived in the UK last year and has already outsold the family SUV stalwart that is the Nissan Qashqai. The mission is not yet complete, though, because the Ford Puma remains the nation’s best-selling car, leaving the firm hungry for the roughly 50,000 sales it attracts annually. The Beijing brand’s answer is this: the Chery Tiggo 4. As with the Ford, it’s a small SUV aimed at families, and it goes on sale this summer. Perhaps the Tiggo 4’s price is its greatest asset; it starts from just under £20,000, roughly £7,000 less…

POLESTAR 3 ON paper, the Polestar’s boot isn’t that big for a car that’s almost five metres long, but the 484 litres is a decent square space that feels bigger – handy when I’m lugging around the pile of stuff needed for coaching my son’s U12 football team. The balls, bibs, cones and other paraphernalia can be stored in the load bay rather than cluttering up the house, yet there’s still room for the weekly shop. The charging cables tend to live under the boot floor; although there is technically enough room in the ‘frunk’, it’s a bit tight and it’s easier to lob them in the back without having to fastidiously roll them up neatly after a charge. Reports from the rear seats also reflect favourably on the panoramic…

CAR dealerships have a reputation for being intimidating places, with sharky sales people that often get the upper hand in negotiations. So the prospect of Renault’s new cars having an in-built salesman sounds dreadful. Unsurprisingly, we’re not talking flesh and blood in an R5-branded hoodie, but a digital representative. “Our cars will interact with customers in a highly personalised and conversational way,” says Fabrice Cambolive, the boss of the Renault brand and, tellingly, the group’s chief customer officer. “They’ll give advice through the virtual voice in the car or through the app, to help with maintenance, upgrades and even renewal conditions.” Imagine your car telling you two years into a lease that a new model, with superior performance and a fresh design, was available for £299 a month. Or badgering…

WE’VE tested a fresh car from an all-new brand here in the UK called the Aion V (Page 28). While it impressed us with its equipment and pricing, spending around £35k on a car from an unknown brand might be too much to ask. Thankfully, the Auto Express Find a Car service has lots of known quantities. 1 NISSAN QA SHQAI £9,699 THE car that defined the crossover class is undoubtedly the Nissan Qashqai and for less than £10k you can grab a facelifted Mk2 with just 46,000 miles on the clock. There are a few diesel-powered models available at this price, but we’ve opted for the manual petrol. A 45mpg combined figure is good considering there’s no hybridisation at play here, and the six-speed gearbox is easy-going. In fact,…

NOT a lot of people know this. In the early eighties, I served my newspaper, magazine and radio apprenticeship reporting on transport-related matters from the press gallery, committee rooms and MPs’ offices in and around the House of Commons. My job was to cover the latest shenanigans with the then incomplete M25; proposals for a Channel tunnel; the prospect of nationwide bridge and road tolls; the pros and cons of financial hand-outs to car companies. On September 8, 1986, I joined the Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher at the opening of the Government-subsidised Nissan factory in Sunderland. The plant, employees, work ethic and product quality impressed. But I also argued that while heavily subsidising a foreign firm to construct a new factory with a Japanese-style, state-of-the-art production line was undoubtedly great…