Table of contents for January 14, 2026 in Autocar

The new Kia EV2 will take on the Renault 4 and forthcoming Volkswagen ID Cross in the fast-growing electric crossover segment – and it is set to offer the longest range in its class. The B-segment EV2 is the sixth – and smallest – car in Kia’s line-up of bespoke electric models built on the E-GMP platform. It will be produced at the company’s Zilina factory in Slovakia alongside the EV4 hatchback, potentially making it eligible for the UK’s Electric Car Grant. The EV2 was developed with a target price of €30,000 (£25,000), and although final pricing has yet to be confirmed, Alex Papapetropoulos, the firm’s planning boss, told Autocar: “We want to be below that with certain trims.” He added: “When you look at Europe, more than 25% of…

THE CX-6E MARKS a radically different new look for Mazda – and its Europe design boss, Jo Stenuit, says the tech heavy cabin showcases the direction in which the Japanese brand wants to take its interiors. The SUV introduces a number of firsts for Mazda, such as camera wing ‘mirrors’, a 26in infotainment screen and the deletion of any sort of instrument cluster in favour of an enlarged head-up display. The CX-6e is scheduled to arrive in the UK later this year, around six months after it goes on sale in mainland Europe. As the name suggests, the CX-6e is positioned as an electric alternative to the CX-60, although it is slighter longer, wider and lower than its combustion counterpart. While the exterior design was led by Stenuit’s Frankfurt-based team…

Mercedes will shortly reveal a dramatically overhauled version of its S-Class limo for 2026 – complete with a fresh look, uprated interior tech and a new V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft. The company said this is the “most extensive update in one generation” for its flagship saloon, which was launched in 1972 and is now in its seventh generation. More than 50% of the model’s components have been redeveloped or re-engineered for this facelift, said the company, with the refreshed S-Class “taking a leading role in the most ambitious product launch programme in Mercedes-Benz history”. With the camouflage set to come off in the next few weeks, prototypes of the revamped S-Class are undergoing final tests and said to be “very close to series production”. Full details of the changes…

ZF INSTIGATES A QUIET REVOLUTION FOR DRIVERS DEALING WITH INTRUSIVE sound generated by engine vibrations, road surfaces and tyre noise has challenged manufacturers for decades. Cars of the 1960s and 1970s carried kilos of extensive sound-deadening material in a bid to solve the problem. These days, sound cancellation electronics have been used successfully in everything from headphones to cars and now ZF is adding to the technology with its Active Noise Reduction function for the chassis. The new tech specifically targets tyre noise – one of the hardest sources of noise to deal with using electronic cancellation. Sounds from engine-related vibrations are predictable because they’re linked to each revolution of the crankshaft and the number of cylinders. Sensors monitor the engine revs, and by the time the unwanted noise reaches…

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The Fiat Grande Panda didn’t quite make Car of the Year for 2026. Should it have won? It seems that much of Europe has already made up its mind, because it’s reportedly so popular in left-handdrive markets that the UK is having to wait until March before righthookers reach our shores. A left-hand-drive hybrid was in the country recently, which allowed us to spend a bit more time with the giant Panda. ‘Grande’ is indeed quite apt, because the Panda is no longer a tiny city car: it’s now effectively supermini-sized in terms of length and midway between the hatchbacks and ‘SUVs’ of the class in height. Which is a bit of a shame, I think, because there is real joy in wilfully small cars, which you can aim at…

When it comes to the electric car’s defining limitation – range – the state of the art isn’t developing quite as you might expect. The car industry has, over the decades, tended to enhance the performance of its cars by starting at the higher end before moving to more accessible strata. It’s natural to expect that more lavish and expensive EVs will hit bigger numbers for electric range first, then, with the smaller, cheaper ones following along. Natural, that is, but not necessarily correct. This week’s test subject, the Kia EV4, has recently become the Korean brand’s first Europeanmade EV. It’s a mid-sized hatchback tuned and developed on European roads, in contrast to every other Kia EV made to date, which have all had at least some SUV design DNA.…

WHY WE RAN IT To see if the third all-new EV from this nascent luxury brand is as compelling as its spec sheet and unique look suggest Few electric cars have intrigued and – it must be said – frustrated as much as the Polestar 3. Its time with us is up, so we’re saying goodbye to an interestinglooking, fine-driving machine that, as you’ll know if you’ve been following these reports, has been almost permanently let down by a small piece of plastic, some software code and the fresh air that stands between them. Yes, that sodding digital key, the main bit of the 3 I’ll be glad never to see again. Frankly, it feels a bit ridiculous to have given over so many column inches to said piece of…

VOLVO EX30 Mileage 5972 Last seen 31.12.25 Having Google Maps as the native navigation system is a real boon, especially on journeys that exceed the EX30’s 200-mile real-world range. On a recent trip back from the Cotswolds, I was short on charge and the system directed me to a handy bank of chargers I wouldn’t otherwise have known existed, and it even told me how long to charge for in order to get home. Many EVs offer such functionality, but Google does it so well. JA AUDI Q6 E-TRON Mileage 1620 Last seen 31.12.25 The Q6 E-tron is great for storage space: there are just so many deep bins that can hold all my tat. This was best highlighted during a recent dash to the shops for some milk (and,…

JAGUAR F-PACE SVR 2019, 23,000 miles, £40,990 Few performance SUVs so sweetly balance engaging handling with smooth-riding composure, and its 542bhp supercharged 5.0-litre V8 is a masterpiece. This example has a full JLR service history and gets a 12-month warranty. TVR GRIFFITH 500 1994, 34,000 miles, £24,995 This isn’t any old Griffith: it has been given the Taraka engine upgrade by a TVR specialist and fitted with Gaz shock absorbers and a Cobra immobiliser. The previous custodian owned it for more than two decades yet put only a few thousand miles on it. FORD MUSTANG 5.0 V8 GT SHADOW EDITION FASTBACK 2018, 28,000 miles, £35,000 As a deep-breathing V8 muscle car, the Mustang is a bit one-dimensional when it comes to entertainment. But this eye-catching example is loaded with £10,000…

The Mercedes-Benz ‘Little G’ will arrive in 2027 as a baby off-roader that will serve as the new entry point into an expanded G-Class range – and it will be sold with both ICE and EV power. The new model has been conceived as Mercedes’ answer to JLR’s incoming ‘Defender Sport’, so it will posses a set of hardcore attributes. This will pit it against a new breed of rugged crossovers, including the upcoming Toyota Land Cruiser FJ and Ford’s European-made Bronco. Nicknamed Little G by Mercedes (it will take a different name for production), the model was initially billed as electriconly. However, Autocar understands the 4x4 – which will sit on a unique architecture and use an array of bespoke parts – will now also be offered with the…

KIA HAS RAMPED up its range of performance models by launching GT versions of the EV3 crossover, EV4 hatchback and EV5 SUV. The trio were unveiled at the Brussels motor show and join GT versions of the EV6 and EV9 in the firm’s line-up. They all feature dual-motor set-ups that bring extra power, along with a series of other performance modifications. Alex Papapetropoulos, Kia Europe’s planning boss, said the GTs are intended to deliver “everyday emotion in a sophisticated way” and serve as proof that “we don’t treat GT like a one-off, like some competitors”. The EV3 and EV4 GTs use the same powertrain set-up – a 194bhp front motor and 94bhp rear unit combining for 288bhp. Both have an 81.2kWh (total capacity) battery, although Kia has yet to disclose…

THE MERCEDES-BENZ CLA has been named Car of the Year 2026. The CLA is the first Mercedes to win Europe’s top new car prize since the 450 SE in 1974 and the first Mercedes to make the podium since the E-Class in 1997. The annual award was announced at the Brussels motor show. The CLA beat the Skoda Elroq and Kia EV4, which came second and third respectively. The Citroën C5 Aircross, Fiat Grande Panda, Dacia Bigster and Renault 4 rounded out the top seven. Votes were cast by 59 jurors from 23 countries. Autocar editor Mark Tisshaw is one of six UK jurors.…

Passenger rides in prototypes only reveal limited information about a car’s dynamic potential. But given that many an S-Class will be used for chauffeuring, the feel from the rear seats is critically important. Mercedes took me on a brief tour of its Sindelfingen factory in a long-wheelbase S580 fitted with the new flat-plane engine, and I’m pleased to report that playing rear-gunner in one of these behemoths is still among the most enjoyably opulent experiences you can have on the road. The standard car is spacious enough, of course, but the longer version’s extra 30cm makes the rear footwell cavernous, and the twin reclining captain’s chairs are first-class cabin standard. Sumptuous. The ride is supreme and the noise isolation highly impressive – save for when the V8 is let fly,…

The UK government is proposing the biggest road safety shake-up in a generation in a push to cut deaths by 65% by 2035. Called the Road Safety Strategy, Labour’s plans include new measures such as cognitive and sight tests for the elderly, minimum-hour rules for learner drivers and the lowering of the drink driving limit in England and Wales – unchanged since its introduction in 1967. The documents are broken up into five separate consultations that cover everything from speed limits to driving offences. “Every life lost on our roads is a tragedy that devastates families and communities,” said transport secretary Heidi Alexander. “For too long, progress on road safety has stalled. This strategy marks a turning point.” DRINK DRIVING Chief among the proposed initiatives in the government’s strategy to…

THEM’S THE TAX BREAKS No right-thinking person would wish to see the Motability scheme curtailed from providing essential independent transport for disabled people who really need it. User JR Bradley set out the case succinctly in their letter of 17/24 December 2025 and reasonably saw nothing wrong in some people paying extra themselves to upgrade beyond their benefits payment if they wished. This, however, overlooked the beneficial VAT position, in that not only were cars being effectively marketed to the scheme with a 20% discount, but the luxury upgrades were VAT-free too. As well as halting the luxury brands train, chancellor Rachel Reeves has from July 2026 removed the 20% VAT bonanza from the luxury upgrade cost beyond the benefits payment. The reimposition of VAT will not apply to specially…

In the modern context, you probably wouldn’t describe the Ford Mustang as ‘sanitised’. Roaring naturally aspirated V8, manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive: as mass-produced cars go, this is about as old-school as it gets. But the latest versions actually handle and, while certainly not underpowered, they’re not stupidly overpowered either. Which is all good for gathering stars in an Autocar road test, but some people are after something that’s a bit mad; something that might not be objectively better but will blow the cobwebs out. Eight hundred or so horsepower ought to do it. London-based dealer, importer and modifier Clive Sutton has been fiddling with Mustangs for years and giving them absurd amounts of power, and so it has with the latest Dark Horse. The headline mod is the addition of…

Strictly speaking, there are no longer any range-extender electric vehicles (REEVs) on sale in the UK. But there is a growing number of plug-in hybrids that are strongly biased towards electric running, alongside hybrids that rarely or never connect their engines to their wheels. Into this blurred picture now comes Leapmotor’s C10 REEV – newly named the Hybrid EV for the UK. Leapmotor already offers UK customers a pure-electric version of the C10, which is identical in power and torque and nearly identical in its 2.0-tonne kerb weight. What makes the Hybrid EV different, of course, is that it carries a part-time 1.5-litre petrol engine whose only task is to drive a generator. When running, this delivers a constant 50kW of energy to a battery that, at 28.4kWh, has less…

For the launch of a new performance brand called Magma, it was freezing cold. That probably wasn’t a consideration when Genesis management planned the event, most likely imagining guests basking in Provençal sunshine as they gathered at Circuit Paul Ricard near Marseille late last year. But the track’s mile-long main straight is called Le Mistral for a reason: it’s named after a strong wind, which was carrying a chill air and even snow through the region. So a late decision was taken to move the event from a stage on the circuit itself into an aircraft hangar. It protected guests from the wind but not the cold: blankets and handwarmers were laid on initially, before a veritable eruption of orange, performance-honed Genesis models and concepts were paraded at dizzying speed.…

MILEAGE 3072 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Is this the best cheap EV on the market? The Ford Puma Gen-E is a curious thing: an internal combustion car reverse-engineered to host a battery-electric powertrain. Yet its small drive battery and subsequent short range are really the only obvious clues that the Gen-E isn’t a bespoke EV. Our road testers awarded both the petrol and electric Pumas four stars, which is pretty good going. Many of us have wondered how Ford pulled off this feat, so I decided to ask someone who knew: Dieter Leffers, the Puma’s lead engineer. MSc Why turn the Puma into an electric car? DL We saw all of our competitors moving to EVs and we thought: what is the quickest way to react to market demands? The…

In 2024, the fourth-gen Skoda Superb scored a rare five-star road test verdict. It was one of just three cars to achieve the feat during that year, along with the Porsche 911 S/T and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Not a bad three-car garage, that… Anyway, it shows just how recommendable the latest Superb is. Trouble is, despite being the most affordable car in its class, it’s priced from £38,000, so not quite the ‘everyman exec’ it once was. But if we wind the clock back and look at the previous-gen Superb, we can save a shedload but sacrifice little in terms of tech, space or refinement. In fact, the Mk3 does some things better than the Mk4: it has a higher-quality interior, more powerful engine options and more buttons to…

“It would be thousands of pounds to renew the electrical system and the same again to renew the 12 hydraulic cylinders that power the roof mechanism.” I’m confused. A moment ago, Zag Ji was telling me about the work he’s had done to his 1993 Mercedes-Benz SL 500, but now he’s talking as if it hasn’t yet happened. And then the penny drops: his wife is in earshot. “My wife is not far away,” he whispers, before adding: “But it’s all right: she knows.” Well, if she didn’t, she does now. Zag’s story about renewing his car’s wiring system is shocking – literally. The plastic sheath around the wires in some R129-generation SLs was biodegradable, a fact he only became aware of when his car started misfiring. “I noticed the…

“The electric C-Class will eventually extend to five standard models” WHILE THE LITTLE G looms large on Mercedes-Benz’s new model radar, engineers at its development centre in Stuttgart, Germany, are also busy putting the finishing touches to a raft of other new and upgraded models in readiness for their launch before the new off-roader arrives in 2027. Shortly after the Mk2 GLB reaches showrooms following its unveiling last month, Mercedes plans to pull the wraps off its electric C-Class – a key competitor to the Tesla Model 3 and upcoming BMW i3, which is planned to go on sale in the UK by the end of this year. To be produced solely as a saloon, it is the second model based on Mercedes’ MB.EA electric car platform, following the recently…

Hyundai is going after the Ford E-Tourneo Custom with an electric version of its bold Staria MPV – and it’s planned to come to the UK. The futuristic Staria was launched in 2021 as a large van-shaped MPV based on the same platform as the Santa Fe SUV. It has been offered with diesel power in other European markets since its launch but has now gained an electric powertrain, which will be available to UK buyers. It measures 5255mm long and 1990mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2375mm, and offers the option of seven or nine seats. It is comfortably Hyundai’s largest EV yet. The Korean manufacturer cites large families, shuttle service fleets and people with “active lifestyles” as its target markets. The Staria Electric has an 84kWh lithium ion…

Peugeot 408 Updated 408 adopts the same slick new look as the 308. While again offered in EV, hybrid and plug-in hybrid guises, the PHEV powertrain is all new, with three miles more electric range and a raised, 237bhp output. Alfa Romeo Giulia QV Luna Rossa The first car from Alfa’s and Maserati’s new Bottegafuoriserie bespoke division is this wild 10-off Giulia Quadrifoglio. It is fitted with a low-drag bodykit and split rear spoiler. DS Nº4 Taylor Made Radical take on the Nº4 hatch was designed in part by British Formula E driver Taylor Barnard. It sits lower and has a wider track than the standard car. Will it make production? No, but DS design boss Thierry Métroz admits that he wants it to. Zeekr 7GT The new Zeekr 7GT…

SYNTHETIC GEARSHIFTS and sounds will feature on the first fully electric BMW M division car, an M3 underpinned by the Neue Klasse EV platform, the company has said. Due by the end of 2027, the four-motor performance saloon is based on the upcoming i3 and will have “a legacy to continue”, according to Dominik Suckart, BMW’s head of high-voltage battery technology. While the company still “can’t talk about power output” publicly, BMW recognises that it will have to work to retain M’s position as the maker of the most engaging driver’s cars in the segment. Suckart said the aim is “to be the driver’s dynamic benchmark with this platform” while delivering “a familiar M driving experience”. In pursuit of that, the M3 will feature synthetic gearshifts and noises “for an…

IN DECEMBER, ALMOST one in five new cars registered in the UK came from Chinese brands. For professional or armchair industry watchers, that is a staggering statistic. Never have we seen disruption on this scale. The Japanese, the Koreans and even Tesla took years to gain a significant toehold here, and the Chinese have blown right past them in terms of share in an eye-opening 12 months. The total Chinese share for 2025 was 9.7%, but last month’s 18.2% share was the culmination of phenomenal growth in the second half. Granted, it took MG a decade to find the right formula under owner SAIC, but boy have they cracked it, grabbing the number-two spot for December behind only Volkswagen. Chery’s brands took barely a year to climb to seventh in…

TRACK TEST MASERATI’S TRACK WARRIOR The new MCXtrema is a track-ready collectible that few will ever get to try. Richard Lane becomes one of the lucky few at Anglesey Circuit ROAD TEST SMART #5 Smart has ditched city cars for a Tesla Model Y rival. Is it a good one? FEATURE 100MPG IN AN AUDI A2 Matt Prior takes his prized possession on a hypermiling challenge EVERY WEEK LIVING WITH A… VOLVO EX30 Has time with Volvo’s little electric crossover softened our view of that touchscreen? USED GUIDE JAGUAR F-PACE This British SUV is a classy and affordable alternative to the German establishment…

The primacy of the Tesla Model Y – still the best-selling electric car in both the UK and Europe – is slowly fading. Back in 2023, after production at Tesla’s European ‘Gigafactory’ in Berlin fully ramped up, this was Europe’s fastest-selling new car of any kind. In 2024, however, it dropped out of the continent’s big three and now seems less and less likely to return. Not that Tesla is taking this lying down. Late last year, the American manufacturer announced this new bottom-rung Standard version of the Model Y. At list price, it costs £3000 less than the equivalent model (the Rear-Wheel Drive) did back in 2022 and about £7000 less than the next variant above it. But the headline price is only half of the story. By optimising…

When Toyota launched the original Aygo X in 2022, we wanted to like it more than the reality warranted. Neat handling, characterful looks and an appealing ‘tiny car’ feel were undermined by an asthmatic three-cylinder engine and pricing notably above that of the Hyundai i10, Dacia Sandero, Kia Picanto and Suzuki Ignis. It was ultimately difficult to recommend. Now there is an evolution of that car, which retains the diddy footprint so fundamental to the Aygo X proposition but pairs it with the superbly economical hybrid powertrain from the Yaris. There’s also an updated front-end design inspired by that of the larger, more expensive Lexus LBX. Isolation has been improved too, says Toyota, and there is no shortage of equipment across the range. The result is rather a rare thing:…

The Lake District wouldn’t be so idiosyncratically Lakey, we can assume, if it weren’t for the rain. It’s getting some today, but we have come prepared: we have three fantastic fast, four-wheel-drive performance cars at our disposal, along with three very keen drivers to crew them – although two of those drivers have considerably more impressive driving CVs than the third. Outside the glassy surrounds of M-Sport’s showroom car collection, at Dovenby Hall, Cumbria, sit a brand-new, 717bhp Aston Martin DBX S; a nearly new, 276bhp Toyota GR Yaris; and a not-at-all-new, 217bhp, 1989 Audi Quattro 20v. It’s the kind of trio that might just tempt a British rally champion turned rally test driver/rally team manager/rally team principal/UK motorsport business magnate and, as of June last year, FIA deputy president…

After hibernating for much of the year, from around late November to March the large gritter, with its distinctive bright yellow plumage, breaks cover and can be spotted at night charging along the roads spraying salt from its rear end. Woe betide the motorist who encounters the creature, for it shows no fear. Worst of all, while its victims may consider themselves lucky at having escaped the worst ravages of its spray, in fact, like a hookworm, the salt it spreads has actually entered their car’s exposed chassis, suspension and exhaust unseen, multiplying until one day the MOT tester sticks a screwdriver through the floor and declares the vehicle unsafe. Paint chips and corrosion caused by the salt from gritting lorries is the price we must pay for safer winter…

MILEAGE 6870 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if this under-the-radar seven-seater deserves its place in the VW line-up The older you get, the more you appreciate what your parents had to deal with when you were growing up, and the latest instalment of this realisation occurred to me last weekend. My mum used to ferry me, my two siblings, our friends and an energetic dog around in a Chrysler Voyager. It was so big and roomy – I loved it. So when I borrowed Rachel Burgess’s seven-seat Volkswagen Tayron for a trip to Bristol with five mates, it brought back those memories – and gave me a newfound respect for Mum. The first obstacle emerged when picking up my pals. Who would sit in the back seats? Of…

AN OWNER’S VIEW PETER PRATT “We owned our 2015 Superb SE L estate for a few mostly happy years. Having bought it with 75,000 miles, we added only another 10,000 because it had a couple of faults with the cooling system, despite having had a new water pump. It was enough to send us back to a Honda Accord. We did love the Superb’s boot space and rear leg room, but the refinement wasn’t particularly impressive (ours was on 19in wheels, however). It was a compelling all-round package, though, and I can see myself trying another soon.” BUYER BEWARE… ■ GEARBOX Three main versions of the DSG gearbox were used in the Superb: a six-speed wet clutch, a seven-speed wet clutch and a seven-speed dry clutch. The dry-clutch unit –…