Table of contents for April 6, 2022 in Autocar

TOYOTA IS GOING after the Honda Civic Type R and Volkswagen Golf R with a new entry to the fearsome hot hatchback segment: the long-awaited GR Corolla. The latest entry to the Gazoo Racing performance division’s family of sports cars uses a turbocharged 1.6-litre threepot engine familiar from the acclaimed GR Yaris, but with power hiked up substantially to 300bhp and torque boosted slightly to 273lb ft. The brand has yet to confirm performance figures, but expect a 0-62mph time nudging 5.0sec. It joins a quickly expanding line-up of GR-badged hot Toyotas, alongside the GR Yaris, GR Supra and GR86. This one, however, is not destined for sale in the UK or Europe.…

With three radically different models now on sale, Lotus provides the “perfect garage”, according to managing director Matt Windle, who envisions that diversification will play a key role in attracting conquest customers to the brand. Windle said: “You can own a Lotus for every stage of your life. That’s something that hasn’t been there before, and we hope that people buy into the brand and understand what we’re trying to do.” The Emira is now rolling down production lines ahead of summer deliveries, the Evija will follow a few months behind and deliveries of the Eletre – for which 20% of the deposit target had been met even before the reveal – will begin next year.…

Michael van der Sande became managing director of Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations in 2018, having previously held senior positions at Alpine, Renault, Aston Martin, Tesla, Harley-Davidson, Bentley and Nissan. Here, he talks to us about how SVO sits within the wider JLR business, its main areas of operations and his excitement for the future as the firm moves to an even higher-end position and the industry transitions towards electrification. Could you explain Special Vehicle Operations for us? “We tend to do the cool stuff that doesn’t fit into a large, more volume-based manufacturing process, and that really leverages the emotional connection between the customer and the car to do something even more special. “We have four activities within that. “The first is SV-badged cars, which are the highperformance…

RACE DIRECTOR controversies aren’t limited to Formula 1. In Saudi Arabia, the Formula 2 sprint race was turned on its head by confusion over whether the pit lane was open or closed following a two-car collision at the final corner. Reigning Formula 3 champion Dennis Hauger had led from pole position and looked set to follow an instruction to lead the field through the pit lane during a safety car period, only for the decision to be reversed. As usual, the teams were notified via their timing screens, but Prema sought clarification with the director via radio and was told to send Hauger down the pit lane. Which it did, only for the rest of the field to stay out on the track, following the order on the screen. Hauger…

While Maserati is keen to point out that the Grecale Trofeo shares its V6 with the MC20, there are some subtle differences. Not only is the SUV’s engine less powerful (523bhp plays 621bhp), but it also has a wet, rather than dry, sump. A further concession to its more workaday existence is its ability to shut down the right cylinder bank on light throttle openings to save fuel. It sounds fairly simple, but Maserati insists that it required the design of a whole new head for the engine, complete with revised valve gear and oil pathways. However, the novel, allegedly Formula 1-inspired pre-combustion system is retained. The two-stage process, which boosts both power and efficiency, requires a pair of fuel-injection systems and double spark plugs per cylinder.…

This is it, then – albeit not really. The new Aventador LP780-4 Ultimae is the last Lamborghini ever to use 12-cylinder power alone, but it won’t be the last time we see an almighty V12 in the bowels of something hand-made in Sant’Agata. The Aventador’s imminent successor will also be V12-fired, with electric aid but crucially still no turbos. So this is an end but also a beginning. Instead of dwelling on the demise of the purely V12 Lambo, whose time, you could reasonably argue, has well and truly come, let’s focus on exactly how a car as momentous as the Aventador is bowing out. Momentous because it was such an epic statement of intent when it arrived in 690bhp LP700-4 form in 2011, when Lambo’s boss described it as…

The phrase ‘Britain’s best-selling car’ could often be found in a sentence referencing the Ford Fiesta. But no more. Last year, it didn’t even make the top 10, as Ford diverted what semiconductors it could obtain to more profitable models. Still, Ford has persisted with a mid-life update for its supermini, the biggest visual changes for which are at the front, where there is a new design for the bonnet, headlights and grille. There are no mechanical changes to the chassis and the engine lineup remains as it was, including the impressive 153bhp mild-hybrid version of Ford’s excellent 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol Ecoboost unit, tested here, which delivers a real-world 50mpg. The familiarity of that engine and chassis means, unsurprisingly, it’s more of the same from the Fiesta on the…

DRIVEN All-new Range Rover The Mk5 is more luxurious and packed with more tech than ever before, but how good is it to drive? Matt Prior delivers the verdict FIRST DRIVE Aston Martin DBX 707 Flat-out test in this bonkers new flagship: an SUV like you’ve never seen before FEATURE Ten years of the i3 BMW’s innovative EV was meant to change the motoring world. To what extent did it? EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Volvo C40 Recharge Popular XC40 SUV is joined by an electric-only coupé version FIRST DRIVE Mercedes-Benz EQE E-Class-size saloon is next in line for the electric treatment SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p20…

MILEAGE 9201 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see whether Peugeot’s new sporting saloon can hold its own on luxury and performance in this competitive space There’s a phenomenon we hacks tend to experience when swapping into a new car. Said model might have been a rare sighting before taking delivery, but as soon as we get behind the wheel, we suddenly start spotting them everywhere. It’s happened to me in most things, from Dacias to Defenders, but not once in the week I borrowed the 508 PSE. In fact, I encountered more Ferraris than sporty Peugeot saloons. That’s a real shame, because I think Peugeot Sport Engineered got plenty right with its debut model. For starters, I think it looks rather menacing in Selenium Grey and somehow manages to make…

In a class dominated by the popular Volkswagen Polo and Ford Fiesta, the Nissan Micra needed to bring its A-game when today’s fifth-generation version arrived in 2017 – and it did. The Micra had long been an efficient and affordable supermini, but from 2017 it gained a host of safety technology, a bigger selection of engines and a vastly overhauled interior. The model’s production was also moved back to Europe and, more to the point, it was designed specifically to suit European tastes. One of the key attractions of a Mk5 Micra is the range of frugal engines. The choice on earlier cars includes a naturally aspirated 1.0-litre petrol engine with 72bhp, 70lb ft and an official 61.4mpg, as well as a 1.5-litre turbo diesel that offers 89bhp, 162lb ft…

A PRICE OF almost £7000 for a 1990s Fiat might sound steep, but hear us out. The Fiat Coupé was one of the finest of its kind, possessing punchy performance, handsome styling and a dynamic drive. With an exterior designed by Chris Bangle and an interior fashioned by Pininfarina, the Coupé ticked all the required boxes to be dubbed a ‘junior Ferrari’. It arrived in 1994 with front-wheel drive (it was based on the Fiat Tipo platform) and two 16-valve 2.0-litre engines – a naturally aspirated 142bhp unit and a 195bhp turbo version. This was followed by two 2.0-litre fivecylinder powerplants, with 154bhp on tap for the naturally aspirated engine and 220bhp for the turbo. We’ve got our eyes set on the five-cylinder turbo this week. With its boost in…

The Rolls-Royce Spectre will be positioned as the spiritual successor to the Phantom coupé in the luxury marque’s range when the new electric model goes on sale at the end of 2023. The engineering parameters for the Spectre are now being set as the Goodwood firm begins the almost two-year testing programme, which Autocar has been granted unprecedented early access to as the car undergoes winter testing near the Arctic Circle at the start of its development. This included an early ride in a development mule, just the sixth Spectre development car to have been created. The positioning of the Spectre within the firm’s range has now become clear, too, beyond simply being ‘the electric Rolls-Royce’. The company has decided against replacements for the Wraith coupé and Dawn convertible. No…

Performance and enthusiast cars are still part of the plan for Nissan and solid-state batteries are key to making them viable in Europe in the EV era, according to company executives. As the Nissan GT-R supercar bows out after a lengthy 13 years in production with no replacement lined up, and with tight emissions rules keeping the new Z sports coupé out of Europe, the Japanese brand looked set to continue without an enthusiast offering in this market. However, Nissan executives have confirmed to Autocar that, thanks to advancing battery technology, performance cars are definitely “on the table”. Nissan recently unveiled a quartet of concept cars. The Chill-Out compact crossover is the closest to production, as it previews a replacement for the Leaf. It will be an electric crossover based…

Alpina has filled the gap between the BMW 4 Series and BMW M4 Competition with the second-generation B4, which has gained a pair of rear doors for the first time. Based on the 4 Series Gran Coupé, the reborn Audi RS5 rival arrives just weeks after the Buchloe-based tuning brand was acquired by BMW and the car is thus officially named the BMW Alpina B4. As with the 3 Series-based Alpina B3, the new B4 uses a tuned version of the S58 twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine, but with outputs boosted slightly to 488bhp and 538lb ft. That’s only slightly less power and 59lb ft more torque than the 503bhp M4 Competition. Despite the power deficit and weighing 240kg more than the more hardcore two-door car, the B4 is actually…

THE IDEA OF giving EV batteries a second life when their capacity drops to 80% or less seemed written into some imaginary EV plan even before the Nissan Leaf was launched in 2010. That gradual decline in the capacity of a lithium ion battery could begin after eight years and 100,000 miles or so, although Nissan has said in the past it has examples of Leafs that have clocked up almost 200,000 miles with minimal reduction in capacity. When the time does come for retirement from a car, batteries can be used as stationary energy storage systems, something that makes a good fit for balancing the peaks and troughs of electricity grid power generation, storing renewable electricity locally, or for portable power. A McKinsey report predicts demand for used EV…

AN UNDEAD MONSTER Alfa Romeo has brought back the SZ – or at least an SZ. To advertise the new FCA Heritage division’s capabilities, technicians at the Officine Classiche workshop have completely dismantled and refurbished an early example of the strikingly styled coupé that was used in early tests at Balocco and starred in the original press pictures. Alfa is offering the same treatment to SZ owners. CURRY IN A HURRY Former Jaguar and Aston Martin designer Ian Callum has turned to the world of two-wheelers for his latest creation. The new Rena Max, designed for Dubai-based mobility outfit Barq by the Callum agency, is a delivery scooter with storage areas in the front, middle and rear. It has a 9bhp electric motor and gets a 93-mile range from a…

IMAGINE A CLUSTER of disciplined and skilled people with expertise in high-tech vehicles, aerospace systems, high-voltage electrics, logistics and management. Now know that 14,500 of these highly trained experts become available to the UK workforce every year, having left the armed forces. That’s why the British car industry gathered at Silverstone last week for the Mission Motorsport National Transition Day. Regular Autocar readers will probably know Mission Motorsport – founded 10 years ago by former Royal Tank Regiment Major James Cameron – as the forces charity behind the brilliant Race of Remembrance. In 2019, it created Mission Automotive in conjunction with the SMMT, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Royal Foundation and the Ministry of Defence to facilitate careers in the car industry for veterans. “There’s such an obvious crossover…

MONDAY We’re in full swing preparing for this year’s Autocar Awards next month. Everyone and his mate gives out awards nowadays (as with the road test in 1928, we pioneered them around 35 years ago), but in most cases, they’re shamelessly exploited for advertising purposes. “You’ve won our SUV With Shiniest Hubcaps award,” say the circling advertising reps. “Now show us your money.” However, we do it differently: our big gongs go to people, because it’s our pleasure and duty to recognise the world’s great car creators of the year – and it was in pursuit of a pre-awards interview with just such a car hero that I found myself in a far-flung European capital today. It turned out that by far the easiest means of getting about was Uber.…

The i7 is the technological spearhead of the upcoming Mk7 (G70) 7 Series and BMW’s largest and most luxurious electric car to date. Related models are in the pipeline, including mildhybrid diesels and petrol-electric plug-in hybrids. However, it is the advanced i7, with a 500bhp-plus dual-motor electric drivetrain in the initial four-wheel-drive model, that will kick off sales of BMW’s new flagship four-door in November, promising a range, we’re told, of close to 400 miles on the WLTP test cycle. To learn more about the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS rival, Autocar joined a round of i7 shakedown tests with a team of BMW engineers in Germany before the car’s unveiling later this month. As the photographs here show, the prototype we drove on public roads was fully camouflaged, so there is…

The new GV60 marks a subtle reinvention of Genesis. Which might surprise you, since it seems like barely a year since Hyundai brought its premium brand to the UK – because, of course, it is. While there’s nothing in the name to give it away, the GV60 is the first bespoke electric car from Genesis and as such showcases its impending future as an electriconly brand offering a Korean-spiced alternative to the premium Germans. While they’ve been generally likeable, Genesis’s ICE offerings so far have failed to really sell that vision – but there are good reasons to think the GV60 can change that. That’s because the GV60 has good family genetics in the form of the Hyundai Motor Group’s advanced E-GMP platform, as used by the excellent Hyundai Ioniq…

MODEL TESTED S580e L AMG LINE PREMIUM PLUS EXECUTIVE Price £116,330 Power 503bhp Torque 553lb ft 0-60mph 5.2sec 30-70mph in fourth 6.3sec Fuel economy 34.4mpg CO2 emissions 17g/km 70-0mph 47.4m Welcome, then, to the return of the self-styled ‘best car in the world’, this time for the seventh occasion since 1972, when Mercedes-Benz first used the S-Class name. Naturally, like every new S-Class, this is the most advanced car Mercedes has made. Or is it? Because for the first time, the top-billing limousine in the line-up at Stuttgart has some internal competition, in the form of the EQS, which aims to do everything the S-Class can do, only against the backdrop of all-electric power. Does this moment represent a changing of the guard? Perhaps, and that’s a matter worthy of its…

Running a car has never been cheap, and this year it’s going to be even more expensive. Motorists facea perfect storm of sharply rising fuel prices, increases in car insurance and company car tax, higher servicing prices, higher borrowing costs, rising new car prices and even the prospect of paying to park at work, all against the backdrop of rising inflation. As we explain, there are things you can do to mitigate the effects, but in truth they’re small beer. We’re just going to have to get used to paying more for getting from A to B. Here’s where you’re going to feel the pain. COMPANY CAR TAX Going up 1% If you run a company car, you will be familiar with benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax – the charge the chancellor…

Make up your mind Suzuki is an oddly unpredictable company especially when it comes to engines and automatic gearboxes, raising many questions such as: Why was the oh-so-popular Jimny lumbered with an old nail of an engine that fell victim to European emissions regulations, and why was it then converted into a van, rather than given the decent engine it always needed? Having ditched the automated manual in the Ignis for a CVT, why has the former now popped up again in the Vitara Hybrid? When the Swift had a torque converter that gave great performance and pretty good economy, why was it swapped for the less popular CVT? It would almost seem that Suzuki can’t make up its mind as to which tech it should use and isn’t averse…

Subscribe to an urban electric car ELECTRIC PROPULSION AND subscription services are hot topics in the automotive industry, yet both were available, and in combination, during the reign of Queen Victoria. At the Paris Exhibition of 1901, American firm Columbia showed its latest urban-focused EVs. The cars had a motor for each rear wheel, fed by a battery of 44 elements (in a box under the rear seat) for a range of about 40 miles. We said: “As these are destined not for touring but for city work, they have been specially designed to make it possible to remove the battery and replace it by a full one in the quickest possible time. All are interchangeable, so that there is no question whatever about a regular service being assured.” Columbia…

MILEAGE 4222 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out whether Audi can retain its premium appeal in the EV age This is now as many miles as I’ve put on a car since before you-know-what, as commuting has returned and there’s more opportunity to get on the road for work. Those 8000-plus miles have come across two very closely related Audi Q4 E-trons, differentiated only really by the slope of the roofline, and with such use comes great familiarity and the chance to really get to know a car’s finer details, joys and quirks. I’ve been very impressed with the amount of storage in the Q4. After all, Audi owners carry stuff and have families as much as, say, Skoda owners, so why shouldn’t Ingolstadt’s engineers cater to them? Examples…

Some might argue that in the long history of that exotic four-door Italian beauty, the Maserati Quattroporte (which has a badge so redolent of past glories that it would sell on its name alone), its sweet spot hit at around the time of the grandiloquent 2004 Mk5 version. Nowadays, you can buy one for buttons, and consider what you get in return. It may be the length of a football pitch, but its sleek and elegant Pininfarina body still looks tremendous. And its engine is a characterful and wonderfully sonorous 394bhp all-aluminium 4.2-litre V8 that revs to 7000rpm and bubbles with brio. It’s strong enough to hurtle this honey from 0-60mph in just 5.0sec and on to 171mph. That’s quick enough to give the family a thrill, and they’ll be…

While some car model lines seem eternal (the Toyota Corolla is now in its 12th generation, for example), it’s rare for a car to remain unchanged for more than a decade. Manufacturers continually push forward the design and technology to tempt people with something fresh. Here we celebrate the cars that bucked that trend, continuing to find popularity while staying essentially unchanged for a very long time. Volkswagen Type 1 1938-2003 The longest-living car is the Volkswagen Type 1, aka the Beetle. Crafted by Ferdinand Porsche to put Germany on wheels in the 1930s, it was stalled by World War II. The model almost became British or American after the war, but no car maker wanted it. It prospered nonetheless as Europe got back on its feet and in desperate…

That Rolls-Royce says development of the Spectre is only 25% complete is testament to how high its standards are for comfort and isolation, because it already has a level of ride comfort and noise isolation that many premium saloon makers would be proud of after only a few short weeks of road testing. This much is clear from the passenger seat of Spectre test mule number six, where we are sat alongside Jörg Wunder, head of projects at Rolls-Royce, for a short drive on some of the icy roads on the outskirts of Arjeplog, Sweden, on the edge of the Arctic Circle. Wunder is happy with progress so far. “It’s been a successful season, absolutely,” he says. “The car is good for the early stages with the right DNA.” From…

THE SECOND-GENERATION Kia Niro has been “redesigned from the ground up” to meet growing competition, according to the firm’s bosses, who have given full details of the car ahead of UK sales opening later this month. Although the Niro builds on its predecessor’s styling, it uses a new Hyundai Motor Group platform for electrified vehicles, the K3 architecture, and has grown slightly. It is 65mm longer, with the wheelbase increased by 20mm, for a mild boost in interior space. The hybrid version will use a 1.6-litre petrol engine mated to a 43bhp electric motor, giving total outputs of 139bhp and 199lb ft. The 180bhp plug-in hybrid features the same engine and a 111bhp electric motor, which is powered by an 11.1kWh battery – up from 8.9kWh in the old model…

Having unveiled its crucial Eletre SUV, Lotus will now shift focus to readying its second Chinese-built ‘lifestyle’ EV, the Type 133 saloon, for launch in 2023. The Type 133, which will follow Lotus convention in getting a name beginning with ‘E’ in production guise, will provide the brand with a more direct rival to the hugely popular Porsche Taycan, which company bosses confirmed as one of the main benchmarking influences while developing the Eletre, despite the two cars’ different positionings. Gavan Kershaw, Lotus’s director of attributes and product integrity, said dynamic development of the Eletre was “really, benchmarking the platform”, rather than the car itself, with a view to then rolling it out to the Type 133 and a future Type 134 crossover. Kershaw referenced the suspension technologies – “active…

’m not sure that too many parties have come out well I from last week’s launch of the MoonSwatch, the Swatch/Omega mash-up that looks like the Omega watch that Apollo astronauts used to wear but costs a more Swatch-like £207. The new range of watches – and very nice they look, too – aren’t a limited edition, but early examples were limited in number, and for the few that Swatch sent to selected shops, it anticipated high demand. Although apparently not quite such high demand. Queues started outside the shops the night before the Saturday morning release and in London on the day grew into crowds so large and unruly that they necessitated police presence and shops being shut for the day. Some of the few watches that made it…

COMMUTERS COULD SOON be forced to pay to park at work, as authorities are considering implementing workplace parking levies (WPLs). Currently, only businesses in Nottingham are charged a yearly fee (£458 per space for car parks with more than 10 spaces) and have been for the past decade or so. However, other areas are now looking to introduce similar schemes. Earlier this month, the Scottish government approved legislation allowing councils to bring in the charge, with Glasgow City Council among the authorities that have expressed an early interest. Meanwhile, Leicester City Council has been seeking views on a WPL in the city. According to deputy mayor Adam Clarke, responsible for the environment and transport in Leicester, there are three main reasons why the council is pursuing the scheme. “We’ve got…

Simon Vaughan, Lotus Simon spent 22 years as an RAF ground electrician. He’s now an electrical engineer installing test gear for high-voltage powertrains. “I was really lucky,” he says. “Lotus was the first job I applied for and is a great place to work.” Ian Botham, Stellantis Ian has used his experience in the Royal Logistics Corps to set up a new network of parts warehouses. “Don’t be scared of coming out of the forces,” he says. “You’d be surprised how much of your skills and experience are transferable.” Pa Njie, Stellantis After losing both his legs in Afghanistan at just 19 years old, Pa is now Stellantis’s armed forces engagement manager. He’s also studying for a degree in business accountancy from Aston University.…

You could be forgiven for asking where Maserati has been for the best part of the past decade. It’s not so much that the Italian brand has vanished completely, rather that it has been missing in action from vital areas of the market. Nowhere has this been more obvious than when it comes to SUVs – cars that since the turn of the century have been surefire money-spinners for any brand with more than a hint of premium appeal and a desire to stay solvent. No SUV has demonstrated this more decisively than the Porsche Macan, which over the past eight years has been a staggering sales success and proved to keen drivers that high performance and a high centre of gravity needn’t be mutually exclusive. So it’s a surprise…

What you’re looking at is a recreation of the 1965 Bizzarrini 5300 GT, but because it’s made by the people who now own the rights to the Bizzarrini name, it can be more properly considered a continuation car. Just 24 will be built and each will cost £1.65 million before extras. Which is a lot. Then again, the Bizzarrini name is one of the most enigmatic in automotive history and, had the breaks fallen only slightly differently, could now be up there with Ferrari and Lamborghini. And to understand the car then and now, you must first understand just a little about the bloke whose name it bears. Giotto Bizzarrini is one of the most remarkable people this industry has ever produced. His claims to fame include being the chief…

When Porsche resurrected its Touring (T) specification for the 911 in 2017, then added it to the 718 Boxster and Cayman two years later, we started asking the inevitable: when would a five-door car get the same treatment? We haven’t had long to wait. The Macan T SUV lands with a sharper dynamic brief than the vanilla Macan, along with sportier styling and an extended equipment list. The base car’s four-cylinder turbo petrol engine is retained, so the T sits below the Macan S on performance, but a recalibrated chassis, stiffer anti-roll bars and a 15mm ride-height drop promise greater driver appeal. Visual tweaks include a front splitter, mirrors and side blades in Agate Grey Metallic, plus a spoiler and 20in alloy wheels in exclusive colours. How prominent they look…

“There’s a slightly alarming gaseous psshht and we’re off. First stop, Egypt” Sometimes I’ll drive an old car and think that, while it’s charming, even if it was quite luxurious in its day, it would be tiring to cover huge distances in it now. But new cars are different. Even basic ones are so quiet and accommodating that I think you could take the cheapest car on sale and happily cover mega miles in it. I think you could easily drive one – dramatic pause – around the world. Only we can’t, obviously, not with everything that’s going on. And given the amount of time it takes, I would never get the expenses signed off. But like a Poundland Phileas Fogg, I’m going to be joined by a sidekick, photographer…

Picture the ubiquitous MGB, launched in 1962 and for many years the world’s best-selling sports car. Nothing could be more at odds with the famous roadster, you might think, than the current crop of Chinesesourced MGs that major on electric power and family accommodation. But consider this. Back then, the sports two-seater was the car people most coveted. Now, an SUV fills that role. Back then, BMC’s doughty B-series engine seemed a modern choice. Now, an electric powertrain does. In short, the venerable roadster and the ZS SUV may look markedly different, but today’s MG appeals in much the same way as its predecessor did all those years ago. That’s backed up by MG’s sales success in the UK. In March, it sold more cars – in excess of 9000…

or most of its life, Lotus Design consisted of an unfeasibly small group of highly talented individuals tucked away in tiny premises adjacent to Hethel, the Lotus headquarters that company founder Colin Chapman opened in 1966 on a wartime airfield south of Norwich. Their traditional task was to produce simple, light and trackfocused sports cars that followed the hallowed 74-year Chapman tradition, imaginatively using proprietary parts because they were good, cheap and plentiful. Lotus has always had a ‘beat the system’ culture. Why use two parts when one can do two jobs? Why build your own engines when existing units work fine at a fraction of the cost? Lotus cars have been cheap, too, if you judge their capability against that of big-company rivals. Most were so good that a…

Four of my favourites Well, that was a real bumper issue (9 March), if you will excuse the pun, with four of my favourite brands – Lotus, Ferrari, Alpine and Polestar – all featuring. The Emira should be a huge success, although Lotus’s move upmarket will leave a lot of people unable to enjoy its doubtless great all-round performance. The 296 GTB is another incredible machine that would probably leave mere mortals gasping at the breadth of its abilities. (A great Autocar YouTube video on it as well from Matt Prior!) I’m slightly surprised that the A110 Légende GT didn’t receive an unqualified rave review, with your concluding remarks proving that less really is more. And if the gorgeous O2 is at all affordable when it goes from concept to…

MILEAGE 5427 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Can it appeal everywhere from disaster zone to congestion charge zone? It’s no revelation to say that even this ‘baby’ Defender is a big car. It’s 4.3 metres long (before you factor in the spare wheel), 2.1 metres wide (mirrors out) and, give or take, two metres tall – enough to be at risk of a serious clonk in restricted car parks. What has taken me by surprise, though, is how quickly you get used to those dimensions. Every time I clap eyes on it, I think again how absurd such a large car is for outer-London life; yet bum on seat and threading around even the most congested spots, I’ve rarely had to give a second thought to any compromises on where I…

An expert’s view JAMES WHEELER, M c GRATH MASERATI “The good points far outweigh any bad ones. That beautiful body houses one of the finest-sounding V8s ever made and, on a well-maintained and set-up car, the steering and handling are exceptional. It’s reliable, too, if properly and correctly maintained. It doesn’t suffer abuse and neglect well and it’s critical to avoid cutting corners on maintenance. When it comes to buying, I’d urge you to place condition and history above all else.” Buyer beware… ■ ENGINE The main thing to look for is a full service history; preferably one from a Maserati main dealer or specialist. Check the servicing has been done every 6000 miles. Lift the bonnet and check for any signs of oil seeping past the cam-cover gaskets and…