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8/13/2026

McGovern joins the Autocar podcast to set the record straight on leaving JLR – and tell us what comes next Gerry McGovern has spoken exclusively to Autocar for the first time about his shock departure from JLR – and pledged to return to car design in the future. In his 24-year stint at the British firm, during which he rose to the role of chief creative officer, McGovern led the design of the reborn Defender and several generations of Range Rover and Discovery models. He was also responsible for the controversial Jaguar Type 00 electric concept. Autocar exclusively reported McGovern’s abrupt departure from JLR last December, but it took until March this year for the move to be officially announced by the firm – prompting speculation about whether he had quit or been sacked. McGovern is now serving as an advisor to Norton Motorcycles, and spoke exclusively to Autocar for the My Week in Car podcast (listen below). As well as explaining the reasons for his departure, describing the rumours as “all pretty inaccurate”, he insisted that his car design career isn't finished. “I want to do new stuff,” he said, “and I’m aware there are many opportunities out there. I’ve had a lot of approaches. I’m very particular about what I want and who I work with. But I’m definitely going to do more cars. They’re in my blood.” McGovern also spoke to Autocar’s Steve Cropley and Matt Prior about his career and rise through the car industry, the challenge of developing brand identity and the shift from designing cars to designing motorbikes. You can listen to the full chat above or read the interview exclusively online on our Apple News+ channel. You can also read it in this week’s Autocar magazine, which is available on news stands or as a digital edition.

8/13/2026

What are EV charging sites really like? We test some of the best to find your next pit stop There are more than 30,000 rapid and ultra-rapid EV chargers in the UK, across more than 7000 locations. Capable of delivering up to 480kW of power, they're key to the uptake of electric cars, but what are they like to use? To find out, I visited 10 charging stations, a mix of large 'hubs' near major routes and one or two smaller ones, whose operators tend to favour more local sites. I wanted to know how easy the chargers were to use, how suitable the locations were, how easy they were to find and what state the toilets were in. There were surprises and disappointments… Instavolt Test location: Stroud Park, Banbury, Oxfordshire Charging speed: 160kW Cost: 92p/kWh  We like: Easy to find and to use  We don't like: Missed out on the summer tariff Instavolt's special summer tariff of 70p/kWh (65p for subscribers) was available at Winchester but not here.. Still, that felt immaterial when my selected charger wouldn't recognise my credit or debit cards. A fellow user suggested I do a chip and PIN purchase to 'reset' one of them. At the nearby Costa, I bought some water with the credit card and was back in business. My Kia EV9 was at 79% so I just gave it a top-up to 81%, which took five minutes. A 'how to charge' info board made the process pain-free. The site was well signed from the access road but hard to miss anyway, being essentially a large car park with 32 rapid chargers in bright white. It was EV driver Keith Kelsey's first time there. "I saw the other chap helping you," he said. "We EV drivers stick together at times of crisis. Contactless doesn't always work." Tesla Test location: Brookfield Shopping Centre, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire Charging speed: up to 250kW  Cost: 36p-58p/kWh for non-Tesla owners; 26-42p/kWh for Tesla owners  We like: Great value, all makes  We don't like: Not obvious to see, non-EV parkers Located just off the busy A10 and only a few miles from the M25, this 16-charger station sits within a vast shopping centre complex at the back of a car park. In Tesla terms, it's pretty standard, discreet and no shelter but plenty of room to manoeuvre. It is an all-makes site (not all are), and with one tap of the card, my Kia was drawing around 85kW. There were six cars present when I visited.  Polat was charging his Kia Niro and told me the site could get busier and not just with people charging their cars. "Because it's a shopping centre, at peak times people just park in the charging bays if the car parks are full," he said. On the upside, he told me that with his £9.99 monthly Tesla subscription, he paid from just 26p/kWh.  Osprey Test location: Halfway House restaurant, Brentwood, Essex Charging speed: up to 180kW Cost: 87p/kWh (82p/kWh using Osprey app) We like: Attractive canopies, easy to use  We don't like: The signage could be clearer Just off the busy A127 London-Southend road, this charging station is indicated only by a small sign that is easy to miss. More obvious are the notices warning visitors of a £100 fine if they break the parking rules, which include logging your EV with reception within 15 minutes. The charging station was spacious and attractive, with sturdy wooden canopies offering users decent shelter. An information board told us how to charge: "Choose charger, tap card, plug in." My EV9 drew power at around 79kW.  There were six ultra-rapid chargers but only two other users, both charging vans. "It's a nice, quiet spot," one said. "I come here a lot and there have only been two occasions when the chargers were down." In the Halfway House itself, the toilets were clean, and a latte was £1 cheaper than in the Double Tree (see Ionity, overleaf). Shell Recharge Test location: Southam, Warwickshire  Charging speed: 150kW Cost 79p/kWh  We like: Location, facilities  We don't like: Confusing to use At this charging station, not far from the M40 and located in the countryside, I was struck by just how right Keith had been at the Instavolt site. This would have been a lovely place to relax with a meal deal from the forecourt shop, except that two of the eight chargers I tried wouldn't recognise my cards. Was it me? I couldn't work out which buttons to press on the charger and in which order, so I was left wondering if the cards were actually okay. I tried resetting them again but the shop had just gone offline and couldn't do transactions. I settled for a toilet assessment (clean) and a general site survey (smart and tidy). The next day I tried a different Shell Recharge, at Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey. It couldn't have gone better. The 180kW charger (there were two) was much easier to use (plug, tap, charge) and had a clear 'Stop' button (not all chargers do). The tariff was 79p/kWh. Fastned Test location: Redbridge Park and Ride, Oxford, Oxfordshire Charging speed: Up to 300kW  Cost: 79p/kWh or 55p/kWh with 30% Gold membership discount We like: Powerful, easy-to-use chargers We don’t like: Parking rules, grubby facilities As the UK's first park and ride, this place knows how to charge and how to fine. A small sign beside each charger tells users to register their car for a free ticket. What it doesn't say is that you have 10 minutes to do so or face a £100 penalty. Eleven minutes in and I was still queuing at the pay machine... It took the shine off an otherwise seamless charging experience plug in, choose a connector on the screen, select payment method, tap and wait as your 300kW charger (one of 10) gets to work. Behind us was what looked like the UK's first public lavatory. However, the Fastned site itself was clean and tidy, with users protected by solar canopies.  The driver of a Volkswagen ID 5 was happy. "I never queue and the chargers are quick," she said. She had just paid £54 for a charge but could have saved 30% by subscribing. "I can't be bothered," she said. BP Pulse Test location: NEC Gigahub, Birmingham, West Midlands Charging speed: Up to 300kW Cost from 63p/kWh for subscribers up to 93p/kWh ‘pay as you go’ We like: Powerful, easy-to-use chargers  We don't like: Parking rules, grubby facilities This charging hub is well signed from the M42. That said, on the approach I nearly entered the long-stay car park next door, with its slow chargers. Once in the hub, notices warning drivers they would be fined for parking on the red routes reminded me that the threat of punishment is never far away.At least the chargers (30kW, 150kW and 7kW) were reasonably easy to use and backed up by instructions: press Start, choose charger and then what? I decided to plug in and then tap. It worked but some chargers require you to tap first and then plug in.  A fellow user was unfazed. "Chargers can be such a faff," he said, "but with these, the order you have to do things in seems logical." There was good weather protection, although, with it being close to going home time, most of the bays were taken. The nearby Starbucks was doing good business and the toilets were cleanish. Gridserve Test location: Electric Forecourt, Braintree, Essex  Charging speed: 360kW  Cost: 59p-85p/kWh with 25% off for holders of Gridserve Plus membership at £7.99 per month  We like: Easy to use, good facilities We don't like: It would be helpful if the totem pole displayed tariffs No trouble finding this charging station thanks to a large totem pole on the roadside advertising 10p off a kWh with the Gridserve app. The forecourt is home to 32 charging bays including 12 high-power ones sheltered by two huge solar canopies. Each bay has enough room to park side-on, handy whether your car's charge port is at the back or the front. There are also six unsheltered Tesla Superchargers to the side. Plug and tap and the EV9 was soon drawing 85kW. The refundable pre-authorisation charge was £10 compared with an average of £40. Music was piped around the forecourt and in the main building, with its shops and bookable meeting rooms. "I've been coming here for four years and never had to queue," said one user. The following day, I called into Gridserve's M4 Reading services location. It was harder to find but the chargers (uncovered) dispensed up to 350kW and the EV9 was soon gulping 93kW for the same 92p/kWh.  Ionity Test location: Double Tree Hilton, Dartford, Kent  Charging speed: Up to 350kW  Cost: 81p/kWh, 77p/kWh with Ionity app or 46p/kWh with Ionity subscription We like: Tidy and efficient  We don't like: Tricky to find, parking notices There were no signs directing me to this charging station but there were plenty warning me of a £100 fine if I broke the parking rules. Reception assured me the first two parking hours were free and I didn't have to log the EV9's registration. The charging area was clean and tidy, there was lots of room to manoeuvre my big Kia (there were only two other cars present on the 24-charger site) and the chargers and the contactless payment system worked smoothly. At 19% full, my EV9 was drawing 129kW and still doing so at 73%.  "The location is very good and it's always very quiet," said one driver. "With a subscription, I pay just 49p/kWh." There was no shelter while I hooked up but, fortunately, the weather was kind. Inside the hotel, the toilets were spotless but, at £4.25, I skipped the latte in the bar. MFG Test location: Ilford, Greater London Charging speed: 150kW  Cost: 59p/kWh (promotional summer rate until 30 September 2026, down from standard 79p) We like: Unpretentious, good customer service  We don't like: Not easy to use at first The dreaded parking notices were present at this station but this time to deter non-EV drivers.  Unlike the other sites I visited for this survey, it is by no means a major location but it is close to the busy A12 and M11. It is a classic MFG site, with just enough manoeuvring space, good weather protection and a well-stocked forecourt shop. There were four 150kW CCS chargers. However, I had to call MFG to understand how to operate a charger, which wasn't obvious (using buttons, you have to select your connector, tap, then press continue). Plugged in, my Kia drew power at around 75kWh. Later the same day, I called in at a 300kW MFG station at a Morrisons in Fleet, Hampshire, with more space and where, at 60% full, the EV9 drew an impressive 150kW. This time I knew which buttons to press. Applegreen Test location: Welcome Break, M40, Warwickshire  Charging speed: 180kW  Cost: 79p/kWh  We like: Low refundable pre-authorisation charge, reasonably easy to use  We don't like: Charging time restriction The traditional parking notice had a fresh twist here: "£100 fine if not charging in bay for longer than 10 minutes." I hoped the allowance included operating the charger, which was one of 16. Fortunately, it was a straight plug and tap. Drawing 133kW, the Kia's battery went from 79% to 92% in just nine minutes. But how to stop: tap my card? It wasn't recognised. Customer services said it happened occasionally, so just unplug. The session cost £12 a reasonable sum for 10 minutes' parking, surely? The refundable pre-authorisation charge was only £1. There were no canopies offering shelter but, as an alternative to waiting in the car, there was a Starbucks. Directions to the site were good off the motorway but soon became confusing. This was first-time EV driver Philip Major's second experience of charging. "Twice now, I've had to second guess which button to press to charge. The machines don't tell you!" he wailed.  Conclusion When it works, being able to pay contactlessly has made life easier for those EV drivers who have no allegiance to any of the charging firms and prefer to pay directly for their charge.  Of course, by not paying via a subscription app, they are missing out on sizeable tariff reductions. Meanwhile, the new generation of rapid and ultra-rapid chargers are so fast that most drivers I saw were happy to wait in their cars rather than in the local cafe killing time with a £4.50 coffee. In any case, almost without exception, the charging stations were pleasant places with clean charging cables. However, to that old complaint about range anxiety (still an issue in some parts of the country including North Yorkshire, as one Scarborough-based driver told us) must be added charger anxiety. Often during my two-day survey, I found myself worrying how easy the next charger would be to operate. A control interface common to all chargers would be a huge step forward. And then there are the parking notices. I appreciate that many sites are on third-party land and non-EV drivers must be deterred from parking in charging bays, but the signs are intimidating and create uncertainty for users simply wishing to charge their cars.

8/13/2026

It cost £150 and spent a decade in the elements; now it's time to decide this iconic hot hatch's future When you’ve left a car under a sheet on a driveway for a decade, you will probably assume that peeling back the cover will reveal an unsalvageable heap of metal.  Happily, this wasn’t the case last weekend when my dad and I uncovered his cherished Peugeot 205 GTi, parked outside a friendly neighbour’s house since 2016. He bought it back in 2003 for the grand sum of £150 – an outrageous figure when you consider that tidy 1.9 GTis regularly fetch well over a hundred times that figure today. When I was a kid, it was a cheap, practical runaround that he used for commutes and school runs.  As I got older, my dad started using it for amateur motorsport and took part in various autosolos and autotests, with me gleefully riding shotgun. It may have been getting on in years, but this little Pug was well at home on these tight, twisting courses, where its taut body control and tactile handling helped us to outshine some of the more modern modified cars we were competing against.  In the late 2000s, the 1.9-litre lump started to show its age, and the head gasket eventually gave up. It was soon replaced and the 205 was back on the road - until it failed again in more dramatic style while competing in an autosolo at Donington Park, with water pouring out the front of the engine.  Rather than mend what was clearly an expired engine, my dad sourced a second-hand lump from eBay and fitted it himself. But only a few years later, the newer XU9 engine blew, the white smoke billowing from the exhaust suggesting it too was terminally damaged.  The 205 duly sat in the garage for a few years before its space was commandeered by my 1990 Mini Cooper (cheers, dad). Unceremoniously relocated to our neighbour’s driveway, it sat parked under a cover, where it has remained for the past 10 years, hunching ever lower as its time-worn tyres gradually flattened off at the bottom.  Which brings us up to today - and for various reasons, the Peugeot now needs to be stored elsewhere, so my dad and I warily headed over to go and inspect it. Given the propensity of old French cars to rot and the sub-optimal British weather conditions it has been exposed to since 2016, we expected to find no more than a twisted, unrecognisable heap of rust that even the scrap man would turn down.  But as we carefully prised back the tarp, it became clear that we didn’t need the dustpan and brush after all, as the Pug wasn’t in as bad a condition as we had feared – far from it, in fact. Remarkably, the body is free of any terminal corrosion and won’t need any structural work. There’s a bit of surface rust on the lower wheel arches, the roof and around the windscreen, but all the important parts like the sills, boot floor and bulkhead are all in good health. Our neighbour clearly has some sort of Mediterranean microclimate going on around the side of his house.  Less happy (albeit more predictable) news is that the rear axle has seized and will need to be replaced, but these are fairly easy to source and can be picked up for less than £500. The engine will also finally need that inevitable full rebuild; the initial diagnosis is that the rubber O-ring seals that sit at the bottom of the cylinder liners have failed. We’re pretty sure the block is cracked too.  The colossal spider that greeted us when we opened the boot and the mouse that has torn the back seats to shreds (let's call it lightweighting) will both need to find new homes too.  But before we get the spanners and the Waxoyl out, there are choices to make.  Seeing as it isn't a crumbling mess and is certainly a project worthy of restoration, we could feasibly sell it on and let someone else give it a new lease of life.  My dad is tempted by the idea of turning it into a competition car for road rallies, targa rallies and hillclimbing. Of course we could go for a full nut-and-bolt restoration, but I like the idea of morphing it into a bit of a restomod, with a spruced-up engine, power steering and a Blaupunkt stereo. The cut-price Tolman treatment, if you like. So what do we do? Should we sell it on in the hope that someone else will rescue it; transform it into a stripped-out rally car for some grassroots motorsport; or explore the restomod route with OEM-plus upgrades for modern usability? Whichever we choose, this seminal hot hatch is returning to the road - and not before time. It has a decade of frantic, flat-out antics to catch up on.

8/13/2026

National Motor Museum eyes move to better-placed site before 2030 amid row over future at Montagu estate The future of one of Britain’s best-known motoring attractions has been thrown into uncertainty after the National Motor Museum announced plans to leave its long-time home at Beaulieu, with behind-the-scenes tensions over funding, governance and the museum’s long-term future emerging. The National Motor Museum Trust this week confirmed it has begun searching for a new home as the lease on its Beaulieu location approaches its end, saying a move would allow it to transform the museum, expand its educational role and better fulfil its national remit. The trust stressed that visitors will see no immediate change, the current lease having four years remaining. Meanwhile, Beaulieu Enterprises Limited, the commercial business that owns the grounds, issued a separate statement seeking to reassure visitors that the attraction will continue to operate a motor museum regardless of the trust’s decision. It said the day-to-day visitor experience will remain unchanged, motoring events will continue as planned and “a significant amount of the vehicles” on display are either owned by or on loan to the Montagu family. However, a source knowledgeable of the subject has revealed a far more complex picture behind the public statements. According to the well-placed source, the trust spent several years developing an ambitious strategy to modernise the museum and secure major investment through the National Lottery Heritage Fund. That funding was said to depend on a revised collaboration agreement between the trust and Beaulieu, including changes to the financial relationship between the two organisations. “The situation is that there was no new lease to be granted,” the source said. “And the split of gate receipts is such that the trust couldn’t continue there in a viable fashion, and they couldn’t get the lottery money without changing the fundamental structure. So they decided to move.” Autocar understands that only a very small proportion of the £27.56 Beaulieu entry fee went to the trust. The entry fee not only gives access to the motor museum but also Palace House, its gardens and Beaulieu Abbey. The source claimed the museum generates around three quarters of Beaulieu’s visitor numbers and doesn't receive a fair split of the admission income, while also alleging that negotiations over a new lease and revised commercial arrangements broke down last month. The disagreement also appears to extend to ownership of the museum’s collection. While Beaulieu has said that “a significant amount of vehicles in the museum are either on loan or owned by the Montagu family”, the source disputed that characterisation, saying: “The trust owns around 250 cars; Beaulieu owns 29.” The breakdown in relations between the two parties is also likely to result in the trust moving the National Motor Museum away from Beaulieu far sooner than the end of the current lease in 2030. However, due to the sudden split, no new location has yet been found.  The source said that any new location “needs at least 50,000 square feet” and is likely to be better geographically placed to serve more of the UK population. When contacted by Autocar, Beaulieu Enterprises disputed the claim of a sudden end to negotiations, saying "an ongoing review has been under way for some time".

8/13/2026

Cornish firm's innovative PACES platform to underpin pair of Qatar-bound EVs, developed in UK Watt Electric Vehicle Company (WEVC), winner of Autocar’s 2026 Innovation Award, has struck a deal with JTA, a major Qatari-based investor, to build two models in Qatar’s first dedicated EV manufacturing plant. The new factory will initially build a new passenger car and a medium-sized delivery van along the lines of WEVC’s own recently developed eCV1. It is expected to be ready for manufacturing to start in early 2028.  Production will run initially at around 5000 units a year but will expand considerably beyond that. Vehicle design and engineering for the project will be led by WEVC, from new premises it plans to open soon in the Midlands, in addition to bases it also occupies in Cornwall and Worcestershire.  Both of the initial Qatari vehicles, and others to be launched later, will be made entirely in Qatar but based on WEVC’s highly versatile PACES aluminium skateboard chassis, which uses a series of patented extrusions and joining pieces to greatly simplify jigging and slash manufacturing costs. WEVC founder and CEO Neil Yates said the Qatari deal will help accelerate his company’s existing plan to establish its own EV manufacturing capability in the UK and will be the forerunner of similar satellite operations in the US and Asia.  “We want to be a partner in local manufacturing operations around the world,” he said. “Our way of making cars is being seen as a very effective way of coping with geopolitical difficulties like the rise of tariff barriers. It’s also very cost-efficient because it requires low capital expenditure."

8/13/2026

Rear axles are one of the most complex assemblies in a Porsche – and still require a human touch How cars are assembled may not be the first thing that springs to mind when entering a car showroom but it might further down the line if unreliability strikes. Robots have played a part in production since the early 1970s and ad agency Collett Dickenson Pearce broke new ground in the UK in 1979 with what became a famous TV commercial for the Fiat Strada, rejoicing in the tagline: 'Handbuilt by Robots.' Porsche has, perhaps unknowingly, echoed that sentiment at the Leipzig plant where it produces the Macan and Panamera, using robots for checking the rear axle assembly while retaining a human touch. Rear axles are complicated and the type of complexity varies depending on whether the axle is passive, as in front-wheel drive, or 'live', as in rear-wheel or four-wheel drive. EVs add another layer of detail with rear-mounted drive motors and associated electronics. However unglamorous they may be, rear axles are precision components that play a crucial role in driving dynamics and comfort. They're one of the most complex assemblies in a Porsche, says the maker, and once assembled they undergo thorough checking before being fitted to a car. Porsche has developed the 'automated end-of-line inspection' for the job that combines human expertise with robot assistance. Robots handle the repetitive inspection tasks, scanning the entire axle assembly, identifying connectors, measuring distances and checking components are installed correctly based on stored information. Each inspection point is photographed and analysed and the image data stored for three years, so if anything goes wrong, the condition of the axle at the time of its production can be checked. The effectiveness of such validation work during the manufacture of a new car will have a bearing on how reliable it's going to be and it's a key part of the quality control process. Yet in most cases, what those checks look like is largely invisible to the buyer. Porsche says this system was developed during series production and each inspection point was deliberately "manipulated" to ensure faults would be corrected and the number of false alarms reduced. If the image processing system incorrectly flags an error, the system is fine-tuned to make sure it doesn't happen again. Despite the march of AI, Porsche still considers humans indispensable in this role. Human technicians work in sync with the robots and perform the jobs that, says Porsche, "require experience and human sensitivity. Not everything can be checked visually and, for example, the robotic system is unable to pick up a rubbing noise from a brake disc. So although much of car production is automated it's perhaps comforting to know there are some aspects of a new car for which only a good old-fashioned 'spanner check' will do.

8/13/2026

Our list of the very best load-lugging wagons you can buy new today, with something to suit all budgets Seven of the 10 best-selling cars in the UK are SUVs, and their dominance over the UK car buying public only looks set to continue.  But what if there was an alternative that meant you didn't have to bow down to current automotive trends – another type of car that offered the same level of versatility and family capability? Step forward the estate car. While their popularity has waned in recent years, wagons, tourers and shooting brakes – whatever you like to call them – still have a strong presence in the UK. Alongside their load-lugging capabilities and everyday versatility, they offer something high-riding SUVs can’t match: a lower centre of gravity for a more engaging drive. Pleasingly, and much like in the SUV market, there’s a diverse range of powertrains and silhouettes to choose from. You can have anything from a soft-riding cruiser for seamless long-distance travel to a performance derivative with hot-hatch-baiting performance and handling.  While the market is rich with choice, our expert team of road testers – whose job it is to evaluate and scrutinise every new car on sale – believe the Skoda Superb Estate is the best wagon you can buy today. Its varied selection of powertrains, vast boot and pleasing dynamics makes it one of most complete cars you can buy.  But there’s a plethora of talented models all vying for your attention, so read on as we rank the ten best estate cars on sale in the UK today.  The Best estate cars at a glance Rank Model Starting Price (OTR) Boot Capacity (Seats Up / Down) Autocar Rating 1 Skoda Superb Estate £38,135 690L / 1920L 4.5 / 5 2 BMW 3 Series Touring £44,625 500L / 1510L 4.5 / 5 3 Volkswagen ID 7 Tourer £52,240 605L / 1714L 4.5 / 5 4 Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo £86,500 446L (+84L frunk) / 1212L 4.5 / 5 5 Toyota Corolla Touring Sports £31,500 598L / 1606L 4.0 / 5

8/13/2026

Mercedes CEO offers his guarantees that Autocar readers will love new hardcore V8 AMG The forthcoming Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series will offer "insane" performance, according to Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius - who has given his personal guarantee that Autocar readers will love it. Due to be revealed next year before going on sale in 2028, the new supercar is a road-legal twin of the next-generation Mercedes-AMG GT3 racer, likely to be powered by a highly tuned version of the firm's new flat-plane-crank V8. In its conception and positioning, the GT Black Series closest rival will be Toyota's new track-honed GR GT supercar. Mercedes reserves the Black Series badge, first used in 2006 for an extreme iteration of the SLK 55 AMG, for its most hardcore performance road cars. While it hasn't confirmed the engine or performance details, AMG has said the latest Black Series car will produce significantly more power and torque than the 603bhp and 627lb ft of the current GT 63 Pro. Speaking exclusively to Autocar, Källenius said: "Sometimes you must allow the engineers to go crazy, and the next car like that is in the making." Pressed for details, he added: "The next AMG Black Series will be insane, and it will be something completely different that nobody expects. And I can guarantee that Autocar readers will love it. You have my personal guarantee. "I know I'm talking to a constituency that knows what they're talking about, and I have full confidence we won't disappoint." While Källenius wouldn't give any further details of the project, he noted that the new flat-plane-crank V8 engine was a key part of its investment strategy in combustion technology, saying: "We're going to need that for years to come, especially for sports cars." He revealed that he personally owns a V8 SL and so appreciates the appeal of such engines for enthusiasts. The push to fit the mildly hybridised V8 into AMG models in place of plug-in hybrid powertrains is a notable change in strategy. Källenius insisted the firm will continue to develop PHEV systems, which can be used to boost efficiency in some cars and power in others. But he said there would still be demand for non-hybrids from people who "prefer the lower weight..." He linked the spirit of the forthcoming GT Black Series to the AMG One hypercar, which essentially put the V6 turbo hybrid powertrain from Mercedes 2015 title-winning Formula 1 racer onto the road. Källenius joked that "we should have been put in an asylum" for approving production of that car but added: "I'm very happy we did, because it will be one of those moments in time that a bunch of engineers received an impossible task and found a way to do it. For enthusiasts, that will be one of those milestones for decades to come." You can read the full exclusive interview with Ola Källenius exclusively online on our Apple News+ channel. You can also read it in this week’s Autocar magazine, which is available on news stands or as a digital edition.

8/12/2026

Many vehicles and artefacts to leave Montagu estate – and its monorail – in 2030, but museum won't close The National Motor Museum is searching for a new home after 60 years in the grounds of the Beaulieu Estate in Hampshire - but the site itself will continue to operate as a motoring museum. The NMM Trust has announced that it won't renew its lease at Beaulieu when it comes to the end of its 60-year term in the coming years and has begun the hunt for a new site for its collection. The Trust, founded in 1970 to take over the management of what was previously a small collection run by estate owner Lord Montagu, said the move is part of a "long-term strategy to secure the future" of the museum. Feature - Hidden gems: A peak behind the scenes at Beaulieu "This strategy is focused on reimagining and reinvigorating the museum, engaging with new generations of motoring enthusiasts and diverse communities, while developing and preserving the Designated collection for generations to come," it added. The Trust and the Montagu family, who still own the Beaulieu Estate, have discussed investment and redevelopment plans in line with that strategy but have concluded that the best option is to relocate the collection. The NMM plans to find a "suitable new home" that will allow it to "share the stories of motoring heritage more widely than ever before". It also plans to develop a training centre for heritage engineering apprenticeships.  The collection currently comprises around 285 vehicles. However, the Beaulieu Estate said it owns "a significant amount", which "will continue to stay" at the Hampshire site. The Estate said motoring will remain "very much a part of our identity" as it develops its offering as a tourist destination – with "a comparable range of experiences to what people enjoy today". It emphasised that there will be no changes to its events calendar, which includes the popular Beaulieu Autojumble in September. Beaulieu "intends to continue to operate a motor museum in the future, as it has for over 70 years", despite the NMM's move, it said. However, the NMM itself will vacate the distinctive purpose-built building it has occupied since 1972, which is famous for the monorail that passes through, allowing visitors to see the collection from above.  The collection currently includes a wide range of TV and film cars, land speed record breakers, Formula 1 racing legends and some of the oldest 'motorised carriages' in existence.  It also welcomed more than five million visitors to the 'World of Top Gear' exhibition from 2009 to 2024, showcasing some of the most famous vehicles created and used on the BBC show. As well as vehicles, the NMM holds an expansive archive of photographs, books and other automobilia that chart the history of the British automotive industry – totalling more than 1.9 million items.  Robert MacGregor, chair of the NMM Trust, said: "We are sad that the National Motor Museum will be leaving Beaulieu but are at the same time very excited about this once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the museum for the future. "We want to thank the Montagu family for founding the Trust in 1970 and for their continued support as the museum finds a new home and embarks on the next stage of its journey.  "A new home can refresh our whole approach, enable us to make the collection more accessible, expand our educational and community impact and ensure Britain’s motoring story remains relevant.” The Trust's lease expires in 2030, until which time it can continue to operate as it does today. It said visitors to Beaulieu will see no change in the meantime.

8/12/2026

The JCB Hydromax shows the publicity gains of chasing a land speed record – and manufacturers should take note Getting to spend a few days on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah watching Andy Green and the JCB Hydromax team set a new 406.320mph land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle was a real privilege – and it provided plenty of takeaways. First, land speed records are incredibly cool, one of the few areas of motorsport that isn’t overburdened by regulations and still encourages boundary pushing. Second, Bonneville is an incredible place, simultaneously flat, featureless and other-worldly yet also totally alive and constantly changing. And third, watching land speed records live is amazing but isn’t the easiest of spectating experiences because the car is going straight and you have to stand reaallllly far away.  Another thought occurred to me as I watched JCB set this piece of hydrogen history: given the increasing focus on electrification, isn’t it bizarre that the fastest zero-emission car – in terms of tailpipe emissions, at least – in history is powered not by electricity but by a hydrogen-combustion machine built by an engineering firm and powered by two converted digger engines? Seriously, why aren’t EV manufacturers queueing up with their own land speed record challengers? While JCB has just pushed the hydrogen mark past 400mph, the current official FIA land speed record for a battery-electric vehicle is 341.264mph, set by the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 3 way back in 2016. That machine offered close to 3000bhp from four motors (one powering each wheel) and eight lithium ion battery packs (a total capacity was never disclosed). Given the advances in electric technology – and the number of manufacturers pushing development of it – in the past 10 years, that decade-old record, set by an unusual collaboration between oddball Monaco-based manufacturer Venturi (now focusing on lunar rovers, which seems a very limited market) and Ohio State University, feels like seriously low-hanging fruit for a committed manufacturer looking to showcase its mastery of electric powertrain technology. It’s not that much quicker than the 309mph the production-based Yangwang U9 Xtreme has reached. Clearly, an electric land speed record car faces some challenges: it will be heavy, because it will need a lot of batteries. The Buckeye Bullet 3 weighed 3.6 tonnes, with the batteries accounting for 1.6 tonnes of that. But with aerodynamic freedom and more efficient motors, that can surely be overcome. After all, chasing aerodynamic efficiency to improve range is a key focus of many EV manufacturers.  Another challenge is that the FIA rules dictate vehicles must make two runs within 60 minutes on a measured course, with the average speed of the two runs taken for the record. That turnaround is challenging for most land speed record teams, but particularly problematic if you have to recharge an EV’s batteries. Predictably, there aren’t any chargers on the Bonneville Salt Flats (although the Pilot Flying J petrol station in nearby Wendover has a shiny bank of 350kW chargers). But that is surely an opportunity for a manufacturer to showcase technology to overcome such challenges. BYD is rightly proud of its superfast Flash charging, and with a big enough portable battery store, it could surely top up a car in time. Nio could use a record challenger to highlight its battery-swapping tech. Or maybe a firm such as Mercedes-Benz could showcase its efficient motors to prove you can make do with smaller batteries. Basically an electric land speed record bid could be used to develop and showcase technology that is relevant to electric road cars. But let’s be frank: that’s not the main reason for doing it. JCB’s engineers were pretty honest that, despite using two heavily upgraded hydrogen-combustion production engines, it won’t learn much from the Hydromax that it can apply to future alternatively fuelled diggers. But that doesn’t really matter, because it was a fabulous publicity stunt that has received extensive coverage from both specialist and national media outlets. Even if it doesn’t make JCB’s diggers or hydrogen engines better, Hydromax has drawn attention to the British company – and often maligned, still controversial hydrogen technology. You can, of course, argue that land speed records don’t really matter: going fast in a straight line on a salt flat is a very specific skill. And you can argue that it won’t improve electric technology: after all, plenty of EVs can go very fast but fall short when it comes to handling in corners. But it surely wouldn’t take much for a committed manufacturer to make an electric slipstreamer capable of comfortably topping 341mph and reaping the publicity benefits. The electric record is there for the taking: why aren’t manufacturers racing to claim it?

8/12/2026

Customers are paying more for cars but the debt keeps piling higher, forcing drastic action Aston Martin has often been in the news for the wrong reasons in recent years, and this time it’s for the secretive terms of a fresh £550 million loan that gives special rights to the new lenders not available to those already on the hook for the firm’s £1.5 billion debt pile. How is Aston Martin not able to escape the debt doom loop? Its current cars are acknowledged to be some of the best it has ever produced, but the nature of such a cash-hungry business makes it difficult to escape the financial hamster wheel. For as long as I’ve been reporting on Aston, its executives have been talking of the need to build to order and reduce excess stock at dealerships – but that’s easier said than done. The temptation to keep the production line running is strong, given the benefits to both efficiency and cash generation. Sales to dealers (known as wholesales, the only type of sales that Aston reports) turn cars into cash quickly, thus oiling the money machine. But if those cars hang around on forecourts, they require discounts and other incentives to shift, reducing average selling prices. That problem becomes even more acute when Aston brings out frequent upgrades (vital in the luxury car business), because this further reduces the appeal of the old stock. On Aston’s recent first-half earnings call, CEO Adrian Hallmark said its “disciplined approach” to balancing production and demand was working, citing a rise in retail sales (sales to customers) against wholesales, but he admitted the firm undershot its stock clear-out target by 70-80 cars, citing a sticky number of DBX SUVs at US dealers. Aston has dialled back its sales ambitions from 6412 cars in 2022 and this year is likely to match 2025’s figure of 5448, said Hallmark. However, given the six-month figure stood at 2331, that applies a lot of pressure to sales executives in the second half of the year. Aston leans heavily on specials like the Valhalla mid-engined supercar that typically are built to order for much higher prices. The car boosted the firm’s overall average selling price to £241,000 in the first half of the year, up 17%, while that for its ‘core’ models slipped 5% to £182,000, because of those sales incentives on old stock. Despite customers paying more, Aston still lost money, piling the debt mountain yet higher.

8/12/2026

McGovern joins the Autocar podcast to set the record straight on leaving JLR – and tell us what comes next Gerry McGovern has spoken exclusively to Autocar for the first time about his shock departure from JLR – and pledged to return to car design in the future. In his 24-year stint at the British firm, during which he rose to the role of chief creative officer, McGovern led the design of the reborn Defender and several generations of Range Rover and Discovery models. He was also responsible for the controversial Jaguar Type 00 electric concept. Autocar exclusively reported McGovern’s abrupt departure from JLR last December, but it took until March this year for the move to be officially announced by the firm – prompting speculation about whether he had quit or been sacked. McGovern is now serving as an advisor to Norton Motorcycles, and spoke exclusively to Autocar for the My Week in Car podcast (listen below). As well as explaining the reasons for his departure, describing the rumours as “all pretty inaccurate”, he insisted that his car design career isn't finished. “I want to do new stuff,” he said, “and I’m aware there are many opportunities out there. I’ve had a lot of approaches. I’m very particular about what I want and who I work with. But I’m definitely going to do more cars. They’re in my blood.” McGovern also spoke to Autocar’s Steve Cropley and Matt Prior about his career and rise through the car industry, the challenge of developing brand identity and the shift from designing cars to designing motorbikes. You can listen to the full chat above or read the interview exclusively online on our Apple News+ channel. You can also read it in this week’s Autocar magazine, which is available on news stands or as a digital edition.

8/11/2026

Plug-in hybrid version of British family stalwart gets a fresh look and a longer electric-only range When price is largely removed as a factor, choosing a powertrain becomes a matter of personal preference and use case – putting the power in the buyer's hands.That's what Vauxhall has done with the revamped Astra for this mid-life facelift: the hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric versions of the Volkswagen Golf rival all start at the same price, regardless whether you choose the hatchback or Sports Tourer estate body.Given the industry trend, that might prompt many buyers to look towards the EV, which we've reviewed separately, but there are plenty of buyers who aren't ready to make that leap yet, for all manner of reasons. And for those reasons, the PHEV version feels like it could be the sweet spot in the line-up for many, offering genuinely useful real-world electric running with the convenience of a combustion engine.

8/11/2026

Quiet British success story continues with a fresh look and bigger battery for EV version The Vauxhall Astra is one of the UK’s best-selling cars of recent years, racking up more than three million sales across 46 years and eight generations. Yet it often feels a bit underappreciated. It’s hard to imagine the Astra’s demise would garner the same coverage granted that of its shorter-lived rival, the Ford Focus.But it should be celebrated, because this longtime Volkswagen Golf rival is still going strong, battling valiantly against SUV hegemony. It has just received a mid-life update and now offers a more extensive line-up than ever: you can pick either a hatchback or Sports Tourer estate body and pure-petrol, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fully electric power.Vauxhall has made much of offering pricing parity across both bodystyles and the three electrified powertrains (the pure petrol remains the cheapest), but that’s a bit deceptive: thanks to the UK government's Electric Car Grant, the EV is actually £1500 cheaper than either the hybrid or PHEV even before you account for lower first year VED and BIK rates.All this makes this Astra Sports Tourer Electric a bit of a bargain, even in top-spec £32,495 Ultimate trim tested here (an entry-level Griffin will set you back £28,495).

8/11/2026

Classy, richly-appointed interior is a statement for the brand, showcasing a new take on luxury The arrival of the new Jaguar Type 01 interior pictures created one of those ‘everyone around the laptop’ moments in the office to have a look when they landed. The reaction as we opened the files for the first time? Muted appreciation. No dropped jaws. Lots of ‘ahhh yeahs’ and ‘oooookays’. In reality, nothing was ever going to top the unveiling of the original concept car almost two years ago, one whose exterior was so dramatic and shocking that we actually had to remind ourselves whether Jaguar did ever show pictures of the interior. It did, and the production version stays true to it.  The Type 01’s interior looks classy, upmarket and almost Scandinavian in its use of light and materials. It’s a world away from the Jaguars we’ve come to know in modern times but also just as far away from anything bearing the Range Rover brand. Jaguar is very much going to do its own thing, and these pictures show it.  The Type 00 concept made such a statement that Jaguar could only double down on that for production. To do any less or water it down would have undermined the very essence of the project. Given the close visual relationship between the concept and production interiors, the same will be true for the exterior and those proportions. Jaguar has told us as much. The interior was such a small part of the story then – as it was always going to be, with that styling and those proportions on the outside – but will become a far more important one in production. It isn’t showy and demonstrates a different way of being classy beyond anything high-tech or more traditional in its take on luxury.  It’s to Jaguar’s credit that this car makes as big a visual statement now as it did when we first saw it in December 2024, and it’s the design that lives long in the memory after the whole ‘woke’ rebrand campaign furore around it has been forgotten. It has been a long time coming, the new Jaguar. Too long. Getting here has been messy. Mistakes have been made, things have been said that can’t be unsaid. But at the end of it all does come a tangible reinvention for the brand, something different and a chance for success.  We’re now only weeks away from seeing the finished thing.

8/11/2026

Sleek production interior of the new-era electric GT is unveiled ahead of car's full reveal in October Jaguar has revealed the bold interior of the new Type 01 electric GT ahead of the car's full unveiling in October. The new four-seater will kick-start the British brand's reinvention as an all-electric luxury marque. But while prototypes of the Type 01 have been seen testing extensively - and been driven by Autocar - this is the first time Jaguar has shown any of the car without camouflage. The interior takes clear inspiration from that of the controversial Type 00 concept and the firm calls it "a concept car vision brought to production". Read more | Opinion: Jaguar's next-gen interior stays true to 'copy nothing' promise The most notable feature of the design is a large 'central spine' - termed a "signature art piece" by Jaguar - that runs the entire length of the cabin between both the front and rear seats. The spine divides the interior into four sections, each with its own individual seat. One of the images also confirms that the Type 01 has a low, swooping ceiling that features panoramic glass. The driving position appears to be low-set and the dashboard is notably clear of instrumentation. There is a large digital information display screen in front of the driver, but only a small touchscreen console for heating and infotainment controls rising from the central spine. Jaguar refers to this as "hidden on-demand technology", which, it claims, has been integrated directly into the car's architecture. There is also a distinct division between the driver and front passenger sections in the design of the dashboard. An overhead image shows that the 'strikethrough' motifs on the dashboard also appear on the top lip of the bonnet in an attempt to fuse the interior and exterior design. Another notable feature is that the car lacks a traditional rear-view mirror - the images also confirm that, like the Polestar 4, the Type 01 will not have a rear window - but instead has a digital rear-view camera. Unusually, the screen for this is located at the base of the windscreen, matched to the height of the wing mirrors. Jaguar cites travertine stone and "the rich textures of artisan textiles" as influences for the cabin, with select elements chosen to add to the premium feel, such as the brass-inspired finish of the central spine and top of the doors, which feature Jaguar's leaper logo embossed into them. Jaguar boss Rawdon Glover called the Type 01 "unmistakable from every angle", adding that it "has an interior like no other". The Type 01 will be shown at Monterey Car Week in California this weekend in a new camouflage wrap. Its unveiling is scheduled for 6 October in New York.

8/11/2026

"China's version of the Mini" looks to offer Brits more kit than other electric hatchbacks for similar money Chinese newcomer Aion will challenge the Volkswagen ID 3 and MG 4 EV with the UT, an electric hatchback priced from less than £30,000. Due in showrooms from October, it officially offers 268 miles of range and can be charged from 30-80% in 24 minutes. It's powered by a front-mounted electric motor with 204bhp, giving a 0-62mph dash time of 7.3sec. Designed in Milan, Italy, the UT is slightly longer and wider than the ID 3, owing to Chinese buyers’ demands for interior space. GAC-owned Aion has previously described it as “China’s version of the Mini”, owing to its small footprint and upmarket aspirations. As with the larger Aion V SUV (the brand’s debut model in the UK), the interior goes big on digital touchpoints, with a 14.6in infotainment touchscreen and an 8.8in instrument display. In Chinese-market examples, the front seats can be folded flat to form a bed-like arrangement with the rear bench – although it remains to be seen whether this functionality will be offered in the UK.  Aion claims the UT will offer “high-quality materials” for the class. For example, its windowsills are moulded to give the impression of stitched leather, despite being plastic, while the backing of the doorcards has a geometric finish that mimics carbonfibre. The UT will be offered in a single trim level, but there will be an optional package that adds luxuries such as ventilated front seats, a panoramic glass roof and a powered tailgate. Aion said it has tweaked the UT’s chassis to suit pockmarked British roads, creating a different set-up for the springs, dampers, bump-stops and anti-roll bar compared with European and Chinese examples.

8/11/2026

The third-generation Audi Q7 gets more tech, more luxury and more practicality The Audi Q7 doesn’t need an introduction, does it? It’s been around since 2006, and it is to seven-seat SUVs what Hovis is to bread. Well… maybe the posh Hovis, anyway.This new, third generation looks to be a well-hewn evolution. It sits on the new PPC platform - which is a heavy evolution of the MLB Evo platform that underpinned the previous Q7, Bentley Bentayga and many more. Petrol and plug-in hybrid powertrains will join the range in the first half of 2027, but the Q7 launches in the UK with the 48v mild hybrid, 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 that I drove out in France.

8/11/2026

Andy Green hits 406.320mph to claim his third land speed record with 1600bhp twin-engined hydrogen-combustion slipstreamer British engineering firm JCB has smashed the land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle, with the innovative 1597bhp Hydromax machine averaging 406.320mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah – with driver Andy Green cementing his legacy with a third record. The Hydromax is a 32-foot slipstreamer powered by a pair of hydrogen-combustion engines built by JCB that combine to produce 1597bhp. The 4.8-litre hydrogen engines are upgraded versions of the units JCB currently produces for its line of diggers, with Riccardo helping to rework them with the fitment of special radiators, intercoolers and racing-spec turbochargers. Under FIA land speed record rules, the Hydromax had to complete two runs in opposite directions on a 10-mile course in under an hour, with the average speed taken across a measured mile in each direction. Green hit 400.623mph on the first run and 412.135mph on the return, setting an average across both runs of 406.320mph (663.267kmh). JCB boss Lord Bamford said that "as achievements go, this is right up there in terms of engineering". He added: "It's huge this can be done, to prove an internal combustion engine can be run sensibly on hydrogen with zero emissions, and at very little cost. "JCB is all about looking forwards. We need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and I believe very strongly hydrogen must be one of the solutions." The previous record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle was 302.877mph, set by the University of Ohio’s Buckeye Bullet 2 hydrogen fuel cell challengers in 2009. The previous unofficial speed record for a hydrogen combustion car was 185.5mph, set by a BMW research prototype in 2004. The success gives JCB a second land speed record, 20 years after Green piloted the twin-engined Dieselmax to a new diesel mark of 350mph. Former RAF wing commander Green also set the outright land speed record of 763mph with Thrust SSC in 1997. JCB staged the record attempt both to showcase its growing hydrogen engine business as a potential route to zero-emissions for industrial equipment, which often operates in locations that lack electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and also to promote its growing US ambitions, including a new factory in San Antonio, Texas. FEATURE: We drive (and jump) JCB's mad Digatron monster truck The Hydromax set the new land speed record in a dedicated sessions on Bonneville Speedway held to FIA rules. In preparation JCB took part in last week’s Bonneville Speed Week event, albeit with each engine downtrend to 600, rather than 800bhp. On that occasion, with a the team set a record of 368.347mph in the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) Blown Gas Streamliner class. That mark did not count as an official land speed record because of differences in how the events are regulated. Following Speed Week, JCB’s engineers switched out both engines for brand-new units, which were tuned to give their full 800bhp. Each engine powers its own axle through a six-speed transaxle gearbox, with their fuel coming from a pair of 700bar hydrogen tanks. The tubular chassis, multi-link suspension and carbon composite driver’s cell was developed by British engineering firm Prodrive, while Goodyear produced custom tyres that can cope with far higher speeds than those used for Dieselmax – which ultimately limited that car to 350mph.

8/11/2026

Ford is firming up its plan to take on the BMW M3 and Audi RS5 with a four-door version of the Mustang, and dealers in the US have reportedly been shown the final design. The transformation of the venerable muscle car into a super-saloon was first reported by Autocar in May 2024. Now, according to Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal, US dealers have been given a first look at the model ahead of its arrival, citing insiders at a conference. Automotive News reports the saloon will take the already-trademarked Mach 4 name into production (both as a nod to the Mach 1 range-topper and to differentiate it from the Mach-E electric SUV) and that it's similar in size and shape to the Porsche Panamera. Dealers were told that pricing would start below $40,000 (£30,000) in the US, claimed the report, and that it will be capable of completing the 0-60mph dash in under 4.0sec. Those who saw the car reportedly said it uses a hybrid powertrain – potentially based around the 5.0-litre V8 engine used by the Mustang coupé.  Speaking to Autocar two years ago, Ford CEO Jim Farley pledged to “never build a Mustang that isn’t a Mustang” – and the latest information suggests the Mach 4 will be true to the muscle car brief.  Farley added: “For instance, there will never be room for a small, two-row Ford SUV with a Mustang badge stuck on it. But could we do other Mustang body forms – a four-door or whatever? I believe we could, as long as these models have all the performance and attitude of the original.” Farley also said that Ford will continue to build V8s “as long as God and the politicians let us”.  Although the US has all but dispensed with emissions regulation under president Donald Trump, hybridisation could be key to Ford offering a derivative of its 'Coyote' 5.0-litre V8 in markets such as Europe and Asia, where emissions regulations are becoming increasingly tight.  The Wall Street Journal suggested the Mach 4 could go on sale by the end of the decade, but there’s no indication of whether it could follow the coupé in being exported globally.  Ford’s European passenger vehicles chief, Christian Weingärtner, recently told Autocar that it would consider offering global models here if it foresees sufficient demand for them. He said the company was “willing to also go into other segments beyond” small and family-sized crossovers, citing “great opportunities” for larger cars. Global appeal is likely to be a key consideration in the development of the Mach 4: Farley said the move to go global with the Mustang a decade ago was “a big risk” but it had “paid off”. Yet he also shunned the prospect of an electric Mustang to follow the Mach-E: “I look at other users of pure-electric power such as Formula E, and even companies like Rimac, and I just don’t think that would be right for Mustang. Great for other Fords – look at the worldwide success of Transit – but not for Mustang.” When approached by Autocar about the Mach 4 reports, Ford declined to comment.

8/11/2026

Increased expense of public chargers drove a 15% increase in fleets' EV energy costs during the first half of 2026 An increased reliance on expensive public chargers have pushed fleet EV charging costs to rise 15% since 2025, averaging 13p per mile, according to Rightcharge. The company analysed “tens of thousands” of fleet charging sessions processed through its automated expense platform during the first half of the year, totalling 1.5 million kWh of electricity across home and public chargers – data that's usually used to help company car drivers recoup those costs from their employers. This showed that fleets aren’t always making use of the cheapest available charging rates. The average cost of charging an electric car was 46.9p per kWh in the first half of this year, compared with 40.5p in 2025 – a 15% increase. For a typical EV, travelling 3.5 miles per kWh of electricity, that’s an average cost of 13p per mile. Singling out fuel costs, a petrol car would break even at 49.5mpg (based on the Department for Transport’s average pump price of 145.9p per litre) over the same period. The same EV could cost as little as 6p per kWh or 2p per mile (equivalent to 387mpg) if charged at home on a cheaper overnight energy tariff, but Rightcharge’s data shows that real-world costs are significantly higher.  Fleets spent 23.8p per kWh on home charging in the first half of the year –  7p per mile, or over three times more than the cheapest rates. At equivalent prices, a petrol car would need to average an unlikely 97.6mpg to break even. Rightcharge attributed the rise to fleets' increased use of public charging networks, up from a 28% share of electricity in 2025 to 41% in the first half of the year.  Public chargers are on average 3.5 times more expensive (at 80.9p per kWh) than plugging in at home, producing per-mile costs in line with a petrol car at 28.7mpg. Such is the discrepancy between home and public charging costs that the latter accounts for 41% of fleets’ electricity consumption but a massive 70% of their total charging bill. Rapid chargers can be priced at anything from 55p and 91.5p per kWh.  Depending on where drivers plug in, that’s a difference between £16.50 and £27.45 for a 30kWh charge – a 50% top-up something like a Hyundai Kona Electric or Volkswagen ID 3 Pro. Home and public charging also produces very different usage patterns. The data shows 71.2% of home charging sessions take place outside business hours, suggesting drivers plug in overnight; rapid charging was the opposite, with 80.5% taking place during work time. Freddie Winterbotham, Rightcharge's head of strategic partnerships, said the results show a need to understand where and when drivers plug in and educate them on the cheapest available networks. He commented: "The savings from electrification are real, but they're the reward for managing charging well, not something that happens automatically. They slip away when nobody is watching the numbers. Win buy-in and the cheaper charging choice starts to look like the easier one."

8/11/2026

Hard-to-detect tech is used illegally on UK roads – prompting fears about its use with incoming eVED The government's pay-per-mile scheme for electric cars and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which is due to start in two years' time, faces a major threat from devices called mileage blockers that are easy to buy and to fit and freeze a car's odometer, an investigation by Autocar has found.  Pay-per-mile charging, officially called eVED, is scheduled to start in April 2028 as an extra tax placed on EVs and PHEVS to recover income lost from fuel duty, given these cars can run fully or partially on electricity. The tax will start at a rate of 3p per mile driven in an EV and 1.5p per mile driven in a PHEV, and drivers will need to self-declare their mileage annually.  Concerns are growing that when the scheme is introduced, drivers will fit mileage blockers as a means of avoiding or reducing this levy.  The devices, which range in price from around £200 to £900, are not illegal to sell and are marketed for use on cars being tested or developed away from the road. It is, however, illegal to use a car on the road fitted with one.  Autocar's investigation has found that hundreds of drivers and businesses are buying and fitting these devices (such as that pictured below) each week, with the aim of reducing or avoiding paying a mileage penalty at the conclusion of a PCP or a lease.  Mileage blockers are available for many popular petrol and diesel vehicles and, increasingly, for electric and hybrid ones. Suppliers claim that when installed in a car's on-board computer, the device prevents a vehicle from adding mileage data to any ECU or module as well as, where enabled, to the ignition key. They claim a blocker is easy to install but difficult to detect.  Given that difficulty to detect, there are additional fears that increasing numbers of EVs and PHEVS previously fitted with the devices will enter the used car market (potentially without the current owner knowing), boosting the number of clocked cars already in circulation.  Posing as a customer, an Autocar reporter contacted a leading supplier of mileage blockers. The reporter said he owned a Volkswagen ID 3 registered in 2022 and was interested in buying a mileage blocker for the vehicle. A salesperson said the firm could supply a device that was safe and reliable. The salesperson added that each month his business sold 500 blockers to retail customers and 250-300 to the trade, and that new devices were becoming available each month.  "Our supplier in Germany has just cracked the post-2024-model VW Passat and hopes to have cracked the rest of the 2024 VW range within the next few months," he said. "Also, they are just about to finish developing blockers for Omoda, Jaecoo and Chery vehicles."  The law makes no mention of mileage blockers but simply states that selling a vehicle whose mileage has been altered and not disclosing that fact is illegal.  The company that Autocar contacted states that a mileage blocker is a "legitimate tool for research and development purposes" and warns that driving a car on the road fitted with one is illegal. However, it also explains that mileage blockers are popular because "they have the potential to save drivers from big fines and higher insurance quotes" and "are becoming increasingly popular in the UK as more people look for ways to save money on their motoring costs". Commenting on the availability of mileage blockers for the VW ID 3 and other Volkswagen Group vehicles, a spokesperson for VW said: "Mileage blockers are available to buy online for most vehicle makes but are designed for specific circumstances only. It is illegal to use them on public roads and anyone installing one risks safety and a criminal conviction if they subsequently sell the car without telling the buyer the mileage has been altered. If our technicians discovered a blocker when inspecting a vehicle, they would alert the customer to its presence."  Autocar shared the results of its investigation with Cap HPI, a vehicle data checking service.  Wendy Swaine, the company's expert in vehicle provenance, said: "The only reason people tamper with a car's mileage is for financial gain – for example, to avoid paying the mileage penalty on a PCP or lease contract and, from April 2028, perhaps also to reduce their eVED liability."  Peter Golding, CEO of FleetCheck, a fleet software management company, said the introduction of eVED will greatly increase the temptation to clock a car. "If you're covering 20,000 miles a year in an EV, your eVED bill will be £600. For a few people, the ease with which that amount can be reduced will be difficult to resist. This is an issue that has very real potential to increase the number of clocked vehicles on the used market."  Presented with Autocar's findings, a spokesperson for the Treasury, which is responsible for the implementation of eVED, said it is "considering further options to mitigate against odometer tampering and intends to engage with manufacturers, the leasing industry and insurers to minimise fraud". The spokesperson added that "any necessary legislative, regulatory and technical steps will be taken to widen existing law and strengthen enforcement".

8/11/2026

V Engineering's new solution helps to keep the hybrid hypercars on the road while improving performance Berkshire-based McLaren specialist V Engineering has announced a replacement battery pack for the McLaren P1 that is 23kg lighter than the original – and boosts the car's electric range. The P1 arrived in 2013 as one of three pioneering hybrid hypercars, alongside the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder. More than a decade on, some examples’ batteries are beginning to degrade, affecting their performance.  Although manufacturers offer their own upgraded replacement packs (McLaren’s own Gen II offering for the P1 is around 46kg lighter than the Gen I), a cottage industry is emerging in offering wider support for the cars. V Engineering said its Project Continuum battery can store nearly three times as much energy as the original, having a capacity of 12.4kWh compared with 4.7kWh. This extends the P1's electric range from its original six miles, although V Engineering has yet to confirm to what extent. It instead highlighted more consistent track performance: the bigger battery means the P1 can deploy its electric motor more frequently and for longer bursts. Indeed, V Engineering claimed the battery has been engineered to meet the requirements of Formula E – the premier electric racing series globally – and that it brings no penalty to the P1’s performance. A price has yet to be confirmed but, given the P1’s rarity, is expected to be a significant sum. P1s themselves currently trade for several millions of pounds. V Engineering said the first battery installations will begin next spring, forming part of a wider effort by the specialist to “futureproof” the P1.

8/11/2026

Firm will target 'uncovered sub-segment' – and won't rely on retro style Renault is currently considering next-generation versions of both the ultra-successful 5 and Clio - but boss Fabrice Cambolive said the French manufacturer's "first objective" is to add some "purely new models" to its existing line-up. The brand has enjoyed considerable success in recent years by adding retro-themed EVs, such as the 4, 5 and Twingo, alongside a growing line-up of hybrid models, such as the Clio, and including a range of new SUVs that have adopted classic nameplates. While he didn't rule out more retro-inspired models, Cambolive insisted Renault won't fill its line-up with them, instead saying any such model "has to fit into the modern era". He added: "You can go retro if you have a purpose, but if you don't have one, you will fail." Renault is aiming for a balanced line-up, Cambolive said: "You should be on one-third iconic cars, like R5, R4 and Twingo; one-third saga cars that are not icons but in the mind of people, like Clio and Scenic; after that you have to let your designers propose something purely new. You are dead if you just live in the past. "Our first objective now is to bring into the market some purely new models, because we don't have to count on the past with R5 and Clio." Cambolive gave no firm details about what those new models might be, although he said he doesn't see room for additional cars in the current line-up. But he noted a trend towards offering global cars that are then heavily localised for each region. Reinventing the Renault Clio While the new Clio has only just been launched and has still yet to reach the UK in right-hand drive, Cambolive said that, ahead of the next-generation 5, Renault is prioritising "seeing what will come after today's Clio". Given the likely product cycle, the next-generation Clio is unlikely to arrive until the mid-2030s. Cambolive added: "We feel that in Europe, we have a kind of uncovered sub-segment, which is the B-hatch-segment 'low drive' [non-SUV], where we need to invent the successor of Clio, and this is what we are working on now. "We are trying to understand the potential of the B-hatch, and at which size: a B-hatch now should be 4.1-4.2 metres. How do you cover this, when you need to have not an SUV but a hatch? And which type of car should you go for: sportivity, practicality, versatility and so on? This is what we are trying to anticipate with Clio for the next generation." Pressed for details, he said the next-gen Clio "shouldn't be retro", explaining: "Clio is a kind of saga car, and we have to think about the new Clio in this way, not to try to put the new Clio in the totally electrified world. It's a little too soon to answer you. I don't know if we will have a combustion engine at this stage." Notably, the next-generation platform that Renault is developing can accommodate both pure-electric and range-extender powertrains. Cambolive said: "What we're saying is that in 2030 we want to be 100% electrified, out of which 50% is BEV, and now the trend is going even higher towards BEV than what we said. It means it's a little too soon to answer to you but, frankly speaking, we will be in a pure-electrified world [when the next Clio arrives]." Renault 5 to 'change the game' again Cambolive said Renault will renew the 5 for a second generation but added: "I don't know if we will reinvent the R5 in five years, but we will try to come with something which is a game-changer in terms of the appeal of the car." For that process, he said: "We are in a phase where we try to understand the recipe of R5, because it's not obvious to say 'it's a success because of this, this and this'. The firm will shortly introduce a major update featuring more powerful motors and a bigger battery. As part of that engineering programme, Cambolive said the team "detected some weak points on the car" but noted: "The good thing is we detected those weak points before people were giving us feedback on them, which shows they were able to think about the car without compromise. "What is important is not to try to compensate for all the weak points of the car but to come with something with additional value, it can be another body type; it can be something based on another pleasure; it can be co-branding with somebody, like Mini is doing with Paul Smith. I don't know yet. "It's difficult to really say what are the key factors of the success of R5, but I would say that the key factor is that we didn't make any compromise. "That's because we didn't listen to people internally and externally who told me: 'You should put hybrid on the car. If you want to be successful, you have to have a combustion engine on the car.' But we didn't do it because we don't try to correct the weak points. We emphasise the pleasure and the added value in the life cycle."

8/10/2026

Stylish. Tech-packed. Utterly rebellious. Meet the new CUPRA Raval Over the years, city cars have earned a reputation for being cheap-and-cheerful urban necessities: tiny dimensions, little in the way of luxury and engineered for efficiency rather than excitement. Even in the age of electrification, that reputation has remained largely intact. Until now, that is. Enter the CUPRA Raval – CUPRA's first-ever A-segment EV. And if early drives are anything to go by, it's set to totally tear up the small car rulebook. Named after El Raval, one of Barcelona's most vibrant districts, it pairs rebellious styling and punchy performance with next-gen tech and the sort of luxury and interior space you’d expect from a car a class or two above. Meld all that with a starting price of just over £23k* (plus the £1500 government grant) – rising to a smidge over £36k* for the red-hot, range-topping VZ – and the Raval begins to answer an intriguing question: what happens when a performance brand builds a city car? Book your CUPRA Raval test drive A shape that refuses to apologise The CUPRA Raval was designed with a single objective: to stand out. It does not fail. The front end is led by what CUPRA calls a 'shark nose' – a taut, predatory snout framed by sharp creases creating visual tension. Matrix LED headlamps complete the face, and at 4046mm long the Raval is more compact than you might expect. It carries itself as though it doesn't know it. The Raval’s flanks are clean and purposeful, with flush illuminated door handles sitting almost invisibly into the bodywork. Every surface has been optimised as part of a comprehensive airflow strategy, melding front air curtains, aero-optimised wheels and a rear spoiler. The result is the lowest drag coefficient of any CUPRA yet built. The rear doubles down on the theme with a full-width light bar, an illuminated CUPRA badge, 3D light effects and a prominent diffuser. The colour palette deserves a paragraph of its own. This is the first CUPRA to offer Plasma Iridescent paint: a finish that shifts between Cyan, Blue, Indigo and Rose Red depending on the angle of light. It’s just another way the Raval will generate conversation at the charging station. Matt finishes including Manganese and Century Bronze are also available, along with the option of a contrasting roof in Manhattan Grey or Midnight Black. Up to eight alloy wheel designs – from 17 to 19 inches – let buyers complete their look. Built for drivers Open the door and the Raval's interior makes an immediate statement. The redesigned steering wheel features physical buttons alongside dedicated satellite controls for driving modes and regenerative braking paddles: hardware you'd expect in something considerably more expensive. A 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.9-inch touchscreen form an enormous, clean digital surface. The centrepiece of the cabin, however, is the lighting. CUPRA calls it ‘Smart Light Next Generation’, and it goes far beyond ambient mood-setting. Integrated into the dashboard, it communicates with the driver: flashing for blind-spot warnings, pulsing during flat-out launches and shifting through colours as driving modes change. Dynamic door projections – a first for this class of car – pour vivid light patterns onto the door panels themselves, casting fluid graphics that ebb and flow with the driving experience. It’s theatrical, immersive and thoroughly addictive. Materials rise impressively with the trim level. The entry-level Pulse trim uses sport seats in recycled fabric. Immersive trim brings electrically adjustable bucket seats in Dinamica microfibre (73% recycled). Feel trim introduces vegan leather bucket seats. At the top sits the Ahead Pack featuring Cup bucket seats with 3D-knitted upholstery – knitted per order from 100% recycled material sourced near Barcelona, another class-first – and 3D-printed dashboard inserts. In a car costing £24,000–£36,000, it’s an impressive level of bespoke detail. Performance: more than the numbers suggest Even the standard Raval is built on engineering most small EV rivals cannot match. The chassis sits 15mm lower than the base MEB+ platform, with track width widened by 10mm on both axles. Progressive steering, front and rear disc brakes, and a 'one box' electronic braking system – the first in a CUPRA, merging brake servo and ESC modules – give the car a coherence and pedal feel absent from most A-segment competitors. Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive suspension offers up to 15 levels of adjustment, from urban compliance to a noticeably firmer CUPRA mode. Power options range from a 135PS motor with a 37kWh LFP battery through to 210PS with the 52kWh NMC battery. One-pedal driving is standard across the range. Its regenerative braking is calibrated with atypical precision, bringing the car to a complete halt without the brake pedal, and quickly becomes the only way you want to drive it around town. The VZ: a hot hatch with EV running costs Then there is the VZ. With 222bhp covering the 0-62mph dash in 6.8 seconds, CUPRA's range-topper doesn't merely compete with the Alpine A290, MINI JCW and Abarth 600e Competizione. By the early consensus of those who have driven them, the VZ could come out on top once it’s tested on UK roads. The gap between the VZ and the lesser Ravals isn't just a power upgrade – it's an almost entirely different chassis. The VZ rides on bespoke DCC Sport suspension, 5% stiffer than the standard adaptive set-up. It’s shod with 19-inch wheels on wider 235mm tyres, and most significantly, it gains an electronic slip differential that continuously monitors driving conditions and redistributes torque between the front wheels for maximum grip through corners. Sport steering knuckles increase negative camber and raise the roll centre, giving the front axle a directness that borders on telepathic. ‘ESC Off’ mode is available for the committed exploring up to and even slightly beyond the Raval’s limits on track. The Raval combines the instant-response urgency of an electric motor with a chassis balance that invites commitment rather than demanding caution. At a price that undercuts the A290 and JCW, the VZ's performance-per-pound case is compelling. Its ‘E-Launch’ feature adds some extra theatre to its arsenal. Activate it and the cabin transforms – ambient lighting shifts, the instrument cluster animates, an interior sound ceremony builds – before the car fires off the line with a ferocity that is startling for something small and front-wheel drive. You will not use it every day, but it’s sure to elicit a grin when you do. The CUPRA Raval is what happens when a brand refuses to accept that 'sensible' is good enough. CUPRA's history is built on taking mainstream platforms and extracting something extra from them. The CUPRA Formentor did it for the SUV class. The CUPRA Leon VZ did it for the family hatch. The Raval does it for the small EV – and it does so at every price point where it’s offered, not just with a VZ badge. Its design is deeply desirable for the money. Its interior, at its upper levels, is unlike anything else in the class. Even the standard chassis is impressively well-resolved. And the VZ is, by the early consensus of those who have driven it, easily one of the most exciting small electric cars you can currently buy. Book your CUPRA Raval test drive * All prices shown are CUPRA's recommended on the road prices (Recommended On The Road Price or ROTR). Actual prices are set by CUPRA authorised retailers in their sole discretion – always obtain these prices from your chosen CUPRA retailer. The Recommended On The Road Price includes the standard UK delivery charge, number plates, new vehicle registration fee, the first year's Vehicle Excise Duty and VAT (calculated at 20%). Images shown may not reflect base specification and depict optional cost options

8/10/2026

Son of 1980s tuning hero reveals road-focused take on 911-based supercar, having built 40 desert racers Marc Philipp Gemballa, the son of 1980s tuning legend Uwe Gemballa, has revealed a new road-focused, Porsche 959-inspired supercar called the Marsien GT. It's based on the Marsien, the genre-bending machine that was conceived to tackle sand dunes at speed. Its name is the French for ‘martian’, having been inspired by the Mars-like desert landscape of the UAE. The new Marsien GT shifts the focus onto asphalt, sitting lower and stiffer than the Marsien. Based on the Porsche 911 Turbo S, it's intended to meld huge performance with “everyday usability”. Key changes from the donor 911 include new carbonfibre bodywork and an engine transplant from Ruf, its twin-turbocharged flat six puts out 819bhp and 686lb ft of torque. Buyers will, however, be offered an optional engine upgrade boosting output beyond 900bhp.  The Marsien GT also gets new double-wishbone suspension with KW dampers that actively respond to changes in the road surface. Inside, it has a gearlever inspired by that mounted in the Porsche Carrera GT, and buyers will be able to choose from several interior packages with leather, Alcantara or carbonfibre detailing. Just 30 examples of the Marcien GT will be built, priced from €770,000 (£658,000), excluding the price of the donor 911 (currently £205,245). That production number has been chosen to mark what would have been Uwe Gemballa's 70th year, 40 examples of the all-terrain Marcien having been built. Marc Philipp Gemballa's eponymous company is unrelated to the original Gemballa firm, which is known for its outlandish conversions of cars such as the original 911 Turbo and the BMW 635CSi. The Marcien GT will make its debut later this week at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, a part of Monterey Car Week in the US.

8/10/2026

Iconic 1990s supercar is reimagined with input from the man behind the Aventador and Huracán San Marino-based restomodder Eccentrica has turned its new-look Lamborghini Diablo into a V12 roadster. It has retained the underpinnings of the Diablo, including the mid-mounted engine, but entirely overhauled the 1990s supercar to bring it up to modern standards. The steel spaceframe chassis, for example, has been reinforced with carbonfibre braces and there's all-new carbonfibre bodywork. Its track is wider than the original to improve handling while also exaggerating the Diablo’s signature proportions. Eccentrica said it has also worked on the car’s aerodynamics to channel turbulent air around the cabin, rather than buffeting the driver and passenger. The 5.7-litre V12 has been fettled for sharper responses, sending 542bhp and 442lb ft of torque to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. It can hit 62mph from rest in 3.8sec, putting it on a par in performance terms with many modern sports cars. The Eccentrica V12 Roadster’s engineering was led by Maurizio Reggiani, the former chief technical officer of Lamborghini. In that role he was responsible for the Huracán and Aventador, having previously performed key roles in the development of the Gallardo and Murciélago. The V12 Roadster will make its debut at The Quail gathering – a part of Monterey Car Week in the US – on 14 August.   Prices are expected to tip £1 million, while the cost of a donor car ranges from around £200,000 (for a coupé) to £500,000 (for a roadster).

8/10/2026

Gordon Murray Automotive will reveal a new limited-run supercar later this week – and it could take inspiration from the legendary McLaren F1. Founder Gordon Murray will lift the covers off the latest model from the firm’s Special Vehicles division on Friday, as part of a display at The Quail, a part of Monterey Car Week in the US. The new car will follow the Le Mans GTR and S1 LM, both of which were inspired by the McLaren F1 GTR, for which Murray was responsible for in the mid-1990s. One of the five S1 LMs that are due to be built recently sold at auction for $20.6 million (£15.2m), breaking the record for the most expensive new car ever to go under the hammer. A teaser image released by GMA leaves much imagination, but it appears to be a more road-focused take on the S1 LM. It shares that car’s rear haunches, distinctive door-mounted air ducts and roof scoop but lacks its large rear spoiler and aerodynamic addenda. Given the S1 LM paid tribute to the F1 GTR, a more reserved version would pay tribute to the road-going F1 – often regarded as the greatest supercar of all time.  Murray said only that the new supercar will be “something very special”. It will be displayed alongside the Le Mans GTR and several examples of the T50, GMA’s debut supercar, powered by a 664bhp V12.

8/10/2026

Bentley, Nissan and more will receive investment as industry transitions towards electric and connected cars The UK government has announced a £130 million investment in the nation’s automotive industry, in a bid to speed up its transition to building electric vehicles. Half the investment has been provided by the public purse, and it will be matched by the industry. Among the biggest names to receive investment are Bentley, Nissan and electric motor manufacturer Yasa, but a number of smaller companies and start-ups will also receive funding. This will support more than 1800 jobs, the government said, and demonstrates new prime minister Andy Burnham's desire to reindustrialise the nation – of which the automotive industry is a key part. Cars are the UK’s most valuable goods export, totalling £47.7 billion in the year ended April 2026. “Britain invented the modern motor industry and we’re determined to ensure the next generation of vehicles are designed and built here too,” said industry minister Blair McDougall. Ian Constance, chief executive of the Advanced Propulsion Centre – a non-profit organisation that bridges the industry, academia and government – said the funding “is about strengthening the UK’s capability to design, develop and build the technologies that will define the vehicles of the future”. Manufacturing Some £8m in funding has been given to two consortiums bringing together the industry and academia, with a view to bringing new products and processes to market. Bentley, together with EV battery start-up Ionetic, is working to localise the production of cells and packs for future cars. Wire harness manufacturer Q5D Technologies leads the other group, which also comprises Artifex Interior Systems, JLR and the University of Warwick. Its project, named AutoLoom, looks to industrialise a Q5D technology that replaces manual assembly of vehicle wiring looms with a fully automated process using computer-aided design. Connected and autonomous vehicles Nine projects in the UK’s connected and automated mobility (CAM) industry have been awarded an undisclosed sum. These include Nissan and the University of Warwick’s Warwick Manufacturing Group, whose ADventure project aims to create an autonomous mobility service for cities. Meanwhile, brake manufacturer Alcon, together with the University of Surrey and autonomous vehicle technology firm EVIE, is working on a brake-by-wire system with anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control for use in level-four autonomous vehicles. Level four autonomy takes full control away from the driver, albeit within geofenced locations – such as for local driverless taxis. Highway services firm Ringway, autonomous vehicle firm Fusion Processing and gritter manufacturer Econ Engineering will develop and trial autonomous impact protection vehicles and road gritters. Other CAM projects being funded include the development of autonomous airport vehicles, which will be trialled at Teesside airport, as well as others in artificial intelligence and radar technologies. Commercialising new tech Ten companies will be given £9m in government funding that's intended to speed up the development and commercialisation of technologies for future EVs. Yasa’s Project Resilience will demonstrate an electric motor free of rare-earth metals, which is hoped to improve the industry’s sustainability and insulate it against geopolitical threats to supply chains. Greentech Industries will build the UK’s first automated disassembly plant for EV batteries, while semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia will develop a new transistor architecture to improve the efficiency of EVs’ electrical systems. Meanwhile, battery company Eatron Technologies is working on a 48V (mild-hybrid) battery management system using semiconductor firm Infineon’s next-generation computer chips. Start-ups A total of 16 small companies and start-ups will be given £2.7m in government funding, for projects focused on subjects including material recycling, electric motor design, cybersecurity and connectivity. A further five companies will receive £26.9m from the government, aiming to scale up domestic lithium production, manufacturing of mass-market axial-flux electric motors and advanced power electronics.

8/10/2026

You know Kia as a car maker - but it's an absolute industrial mega-power at home It was the biggest Kia EV9 I'd ever encountered. So big it could easily be identified even as it loomed over the horizon. But then, squinting through eyes bloodshot from the time difference to London, it dawned on me the Godzilla EV9 was no such thing but was in fact a coach. A Kia Granbird Premium, no less, hauled by its 12.7-litre diesel six, which Google tells me can still be paired with a manual box. It was the vanguard of a long convoy heading to the Namyang R&D facility we'd just left, to shuttle workers home. But it had looked just like an EV9. This was a striking reminder of industrial eclecticism - a realm where car makers stretch far beyond the products we deal with here at Autocar. Honda makes everything from snow blowers to business jets; hop aboard the tram in Vienna and you're effectively going for a ride in a Porsche; Subaru at one point made Apache helicopters under licence for the Japanese army and more recently has provided the wing boxes for Boeing 787 Dreamliners. And of course there are the commercial vehicles and car line-ups, but rarely are these made to look so similar. Kia is perhaps the greatest exponent of using the same design cues across its portfolio, as I came to appreciate on a recent trip to Seoul. It's very possible that Karim Habib, the company's Lebanese design chief, has already left an equally omnipresent mark on the world's roads as Willy Hofmeister, even with his six-decade head start. Everything from the tiny, kei car-ish Ray to the mammoth Telluride SUV to the Tasman pick-up to the Granbird has the same look. The Bongo III compact pick-up is a notable exception, although its time will surely come. And Kia sensibly draws the line at its military portfolio, of course. Or does it? The KMTV 6x6 cargo truck is a mine-resistant troop carrier useful for the crushing of insurgencies in the Philippines and for anti-terror operations in Chile. But inspect the ugly snout and, in a fabulous bit of covert branding, you will see the panels are discreetly stamped to show the Kia DRL bracket motifs. Pretty amusing-but the underlying story here is one of almost incomprehensible scale. In South Korea, Kia and its sibling brands under the umbrella of the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) really are everywhere. They aren't simply props in the scene but often the scene itself, especially at rush hour, when the traffic is nose to tail, five lanes abreast. There's no comparison in Europe, because even Milan's Stellantis-scape is dotted with German machinery and, in France, one of the most patriotic countries when it comes to indigenous car maker loyalty, not every single lorry or van you see is built by Renault. HMG's industrial dominance in South Korea is staggering. Never mind the Genesis-badged limousines and the crossovers and hatchbacks by Hyundai and Kia. Almost all the trucks, and the buses, and the refrigerated vans, and the fire engines, and the dustbin lorries, and the ambulances you see are also made by HMG. Oh, and the trains. Even the signals that keep the railway network running smooth. And remember that HMG also makes the steel for its various vehicle bodies. The degree of self-sufficiency is extraordinary. At which point you begin to wonder how much this company is contributing to its country's GDP. The answer is thought to be around 10% - a jaw-dropping stat that puts HMG alongside Samsung and LG as one of the countries foremost chaebols (the typically family-controlled conglomerates that make up the meat of the Korean economy). As for market share, HMG's coverage is perhaps comparable only to Avtovaz in early post-Soviet Russia - a closed economy, let us not forget. The only gap in that coverage is given away by the sight of the odd Porsche 911 in Seoul. HMG, for all its breadth, doesn't currently make a pedigree sports car. But even this is about to change, with Genesis keen to go GT3 racing. If that Magma project comes good, a road-going counterpart will be required. Then the hegemony will be complete. A street corner in Gangnam will feel uncanny - as though you're wearing 3D goggles, immersed in an HMG corporate showroom. Everything will have been built by the same people. Deeply impressive, surreal and a little bit unnerving.

8/10/2026

Smart second-gen coupe offers choice of Golf GTI, V6 and even diesel power So you'd love a sports coupé, but you really need a practical daily driver and you want to pay no more than the price of a leggy supermini? Step forward the Audi TT. As a fun, usable and attractive everyday cruiser, it's hard to beat for the money. There have been three generations of it and here we are focusing on the second, or '8J', built between 2006 and 2014 and now available from just £2000. Despite its age, the TT still has a modern appearance, with crisp lines, taut-looking surfaces and muscular arches that shroud meaty wheels-a natural evolution of the Bauhaus-inspired Mk1. If you're coming to a Mk2 from the Mk1, you'll notice far more change inside than out. It's still beautifully made, but the dials and switches are much more contemporary and the driving position is more reminiscent of a true sports car's. The seat is set low (well, as low as it can be on this Volkswagen Golf-based platform) and you feel pleasantly cocooned by your surroundings. Unlike with some sports cars, there's a very usable, 290-litre boot in the Coupé, or 700 litres with the rear seats folded to make an ideal two-person tourer. Those seats are best left to small kids. The Roadster loses the back seats entirely but still has 250 litres of luggage space. Out on the road, the TT takes the sure-footed and entertaining mien of a Golf GTI and adds a dose of character and involvement through a more recumbent driving position that puts you closer to the road. The light, somewhat numb steering and the TT's tendency to understeer mean it's not quite a true driver's car like the Porsche 718 Cayman or BMW Z4, even in its feistiest forms, but it's still impressively capable-especially with Quattro-badged four-wheel drive-and entertaining. It also delivers a more civilised cruising experience than a Cayman or Z4. The cabin is quiet and refined and the heavily bolstered bucket seats are comfortable on long journeys. The firm ride never becomes harsh but strikes a canny balance between sporting and outright comfort. Find one with 'Magnetic Ride' adaptive dampers and you can choose between properly impressive body control in Sports mode and supple suspension in Comfort mode. As for engines, the 'EA113' 2.0-litre turbo petrol shared with the Mk5 Golf GTI is reliable, quick and reasonably efficient: you get 197bhp and 40mpg on a run. The 3.2-litre VR6 is torquey and charismatic but expensive to run-£735 road tax and 25-30mpg in exchange for only an extra 50bhp. But, good lord, the noise... It sounds incongruous in the context of a sports coupé, but the 168bhp 2.0-litre diesel is highly recommendable. It's the cheapest to run, cracking 50mpg even with standard-fit four-wheel drive, and it's cheaper to tax. But be aware that it's not ULEZ-compliant. For the 2010 facelift, Audi introduced the 'EA888' petrol engine in 158bhp 1.8-litre and 208bhp 2.0-litre forms, but owners have reported poorer reliability than with the 'EA113'. Meanwhile, the thirsty VR6 was replaced by the TTS with an uprated 'EA113' 2.0-litre petrol producing 268bhp: it's fast, but no more fun. The TT also got the full-fat RS treatment in 2009, with 335bhp, or 355bhp in the Plus, from a five-cylinder 2.5-litre turbo petrol. It's ballistically quick, and a true supercar slayer on a back road. An owner's view Oliver Deichmann: "After some careful research, I bought my Mk2 Audi TT five years ago to replace my Mk1. It needed to be ULEZ-compliant so that excluded the diesel, but I still wanted reasonable running costs. From what I read, the 2.0-litre 'EA113' engine would be most reliable and indeed, after 30,000 miles, it has proved impeccable, all while returning 40mpg on a run." Buyer beware... Engine: The reliability of the 'EA888' engine has been affected by high oil consumption (due to tired piston rings), timing chain tensioner failures (especially on cars from 2012 and earlier), carbon build-up on intake valves and coolant leaks from the water pump/thermostat housing. Seek a well-maintained example. Thermostat: On the 'EA133', some owners advise replacing the thermostat at the same time as the cambelt and water pump, to save potential labour costs later. It's a cheap part but tricky to get to if starting the job from scratch. Gearbox: The standard six-speed manual is reliable and enjoyable to use. The optional dual-clutch automatic (S Tronic) is fast when working well but has the potential to throw up big bills (at least £1000). Look out for slow, jerky shifts or a warning light. Service it every five years. Electrics: Check they all work, including the retractable spoiler in the bootlid, which can be an expensive fix. Body: Most of the major panels are aluminium. While that keeps the TT's weight below 1500kg, it means repair costs are more expensive (and more likely to be botched). So inspect the body carefully before buying. Bonnet release: The release handle is brittle and can break, preventing access to the engine. A metal aftermarket alternative is a worthy upgrade. Also worth knowing  Manuals outnumber autos two to one, although it's more of an even split for the TTS. Roadsters command a small premium over the more commonplace Coupés. Trim levels became Sport, S Line (stiffer suspension and sportier cosmetic details) and Black Edition (dark trim) from the facelift. Keep a lookout for key options such as adaptive dampers, the Bose sound system and lumbar support. Insurance and tax varies greatly between variants. VED can sting-£735 for the VR6, around £400 for the RS and S, about £300 for the lesser petrols and £200 for the diesel. Insurance groups run from 30 to 45. How much to spend £2000-£3999: Mostly early cars with 100,000-plus miles. You'll pay a small premium for Roadsters and VR6s. £4000-£6999: Plenty of reasonable-mileage, pre- and post-facelift cars. Black Editions fetch a healthy amount more than equivalent Sport and S Line models. £7000-£12,999: TTSes become available here. Expect to pay £10k for a tidy, low-mileage one with a good history. £13,000-£22,000: This kind of money buys a TT RS - one of the most affordable circa-4.0sec 0-62mph cars out there. Manuals are rare, and so is the more powerful Plus model.

8/10/2026

For £130k, Petroyle Restorations will sell you an M3 Touring that's just like the one BMW almost made BMW didn't make an E46-era 3 Series M3 Touring, but if it had, it would have looked pretty much like this. We're not guessing at that, by the way. BMW revealed a design concept it had produced in 2000, and it looked precisely like this, but it didn't put the idea into production. A quarter of a century on, however, it has become the chosen basis for what you see here. What to call it? Not quite a restomod - it's mechanically an M3, just in a bodystyle BMW never made. It is as if BMW had built an M3 Touring and had it restored to original condition. Anyway, it's the product of Petroyle Restorations, an Oxfordshire restorer that does extremely good work. And it's quite a simple idea. First, take a BMW E46 3 Series Touring shell. It can be any model, but a tidy one helps. Petroyle founder Gregg Alvarez says there are plenty around, and they can either be very good or quite bad. Next, find an M3 that is mechanically sound and whose body condition doesn't matter – there are plenty of tatty Cabriolets, for example, which fit that bill; the mechanicals are often better than the bodywork. Then marry the oily bits from the M3 into the body of the estate. Job done. There's a bit more to it than that, of course. Touring bodies had in the boot floor a spare wheel well which doesn't allow clearance for the exhaust system of the M car's 3.2-litre straight-six engine. So that has to be cut out, and a carbonfibre panel is inserted. Ditto the wings of, say, a 318d, which don't allow room for an M3's 18in wheels or track. Front wings on Tourings are shorter than on the coupe/convertible, too, so these are made in carbonfibre. Likewise a rear bumper and side sills. And if you want a carbonfibre front bumper and roof, Petroyle will do those for you. The rear quarter panel, though, sculpted around the wheel arch to match BMW's original, remains steel and is shaped and welded into place as part of a much larger panel. The rear doors remain the same as standard too, because that's how BMW treated the concept – it decided against melding the rear wheel-arch sculpting into the door, which would have necessitated new tooling. Then it's a case of removing the drivetrain and running gear of the M3 and inserting it into the Touring bodyshell, although again there is a little more to it than that - it would take me about eight years and I'd still end up with a host of permanently illuminated warning lights, but for professionals it's not so hard. Things are given a makeover as they need on the way, and a common E46 issue where the rear axle carrier panel can crack is addressed (kits are available for these); usefully, it helps stiffen the shell a bit, too. But the result is very similar to how BMW would have made it had it done so at the time. Alas it did not, but there will be 50 of these Petroyle Tourings, and I suspect Alvarez will have more orders than vehicles, not least because a starting price for the Touring is £130,000. (Other BMW-based projects, it should be noted, will come down the line in time.) So sure, that's a lot for a car that's mechanically identical to a 25-year-old M3, but by a lot of restomod standards £130k is buttons. This just happens to be a very neat idea put into small-series production. I ran an E46 at the start of the year so I know well how much I like the interior and overall size of a this-era car. Petroyle will either retrim the inside or find a nice existing one as customers prefer; this demo car has had some nice work done. The driving position's great and visibility is good, as it often was on cars of this era, and it just feels a bit more compact and usable than many modern performance cars. And yet it doesn't feel like an old performance car, if you follow. An E46 today is completely usable. What's it like, then? Much as you would expect, and hope, it drives like a BMW M3 Touring should. Petroyle fits new springs and dampers, and the Touring mooches down a road with composure, compliance and hints of its purpose. The steering is weighty and slower than you'd expect in a modern electrically assisted car, but they need that in big, new heavy cars to make them feel more agile. The Touring weighs 1570kg and is 1780mm wide across the body, so it doesn't have to act agile, but it's thoroughly easy to place and easily responsive, with a great balance. The drivetrain is terrific, too. This example has more than 100,000 miles on it, but you wouldn't know it. In our turbo, multi-clutch automatic era there is a bit of throwback feel to driving a naturally aspirated car that spins to nearly 8000rpm and makes 'only' 338bhp when you get there, but it's worth the effort. Petroyle has added some polybushing to the gear linkage to help tighten that up (BMW's shifts can be a bit rubbery), and it's extremely satisfying to get the changes right, to let the engine sing out and to make what is by the latest standards modest- looking and modest-sounding progress. So you have to work the engine to 5000rpm before you're greeted with a mere 269lb ft? One, that's part of the fun. And, two, it's not like 0-62mph in 5.2sec was ever slow, right? This car is great to drive. It's also E46 Touring-practical. The rear seats could take adults, the boot is 435 litres and it retains that lift-up rear window that's handy for dropping bags in or not letting the dogs out. I sometimes wonder what would be the ideal money-no-object daily driver: a Range Rover, a Mk7 Volkswagen Golf R with no badges, maybe a quick Audi of some kind? Today, actually I think it's one of these.

8/10/2026

BMW's profit margin for the first half of 2026 dipped to 3.6% but it's targeting 8-10% by the 2030s Job cuts, more direct selling to customers, cheaper parts and fewer model variants are the key elements to BMW’s cost-cutting programme, the firm's new CEO has said.  The pressure to cut costs at the premium brand increased sharply after profit margins dipped to 3.6% in the first half of the year as a result of collapsing sales in China. “The figures in the first and second quarter are not satisfactory,” CEO Milan Nedeljkovic told analysts and media on the company’s earnings call in late July.  Nedeljkovic, who took over the top job from Oliver Zipse in May, outlined a number of headwinds faced by the company, including China, tariffs, global trade barriers and regulations. “To address these challenges, we are taking immediate decisive action,” he said. The ultimate goal is to return the company to its target margin of 8-10% per year, which is now forecast for the beginning of the next decade. But Nedeljkovic acknowledged that won’t be easy. He said: “We know we have hard work to do on the road ahead.” The jobs cuts were the most eye-catching part of the promised cost savings, and while BMW execs didn’t give a number, they also didn’t push back too hard on the 8000 figure (from 150,000 employees globally) quoted in the German press. However, unlike the Volkswagen Group, BMW was adamant that these won’t involve plant closures or affect production staff at all. Instead, the cuts will come from “indirect functions in Germany” and will largely involve voluntary redundancies. “The production footprint is in our case quite balanced and well loaded, especially looking to Europe,” said Nedeljkovic. China is where BMW has excess capacity, at around 830,000 units, after sales fell 20% to 261,999 cars in the first half of the year. But the company argued that it hadn’t properly ramped up production at its newest facility in Shenyang, north-eastern China, and that it cost very little to leave it idle. Instead, BMW will focus on running the company leaner, and reducing costs in development, sales and production while still leaving room to grow. This is not a company that envisages selling fewer cars. “We are aware of the headwinds. But nevertheless we do see growth in future as a core element," said Nedeljkovic. Reforming sales was very prominent in the mid-term cost-cutting plan, with Nedeljkovic strongly backing the agency model for Europe, where the manufacturer takes over the sales process from the dealer.  BMW is one of the few to continue with the direct sales model, which the industry enthusiastically embraced following the lead of Tesla and then mostly abandoned as the difficulties of taking on the sales task from dealers became apparent. Done successfully, it can cut costs and that is what BMW is banking on. “Direct sales is one of the major changes in our business activities,” said Nedeljkovic. The company is planning to roll it out “step by step” for the BMW brand after launching it with Mini. The second element of the mid-term cost-cutting is cheaper parts negotiated with suppliers. This was described  by Nedeljkovic as “increasing the speed of development through further standardisation and commonality in engineering solutions and components”. BMW looks to be following a Chinese innovation we’ve recently written about that leans on suppliers to deliver standard parts or software that aren’t necessarily specific to one company. “We are not giving up any performance or any specifications… but we have to realise that the supplier offer has increased over time,” said Nedeljkovic. Another cost-cutting element will be – of course – greater use of AI “to further automate processes… as well as accelerating decision-making”. Further into the future, BMW said it is “re-evaluating which technologies, model variants and drivetrains we will need”. The Volkswagen Group has made similar comments about streamlining its line-up and, like VW, BMW didn’t go into specifics about which models or drivetrains would get the chop. When pushed, Nedeljkovic was quick to offer reassurance that BMW would keep the model variety it already has. “We are a premium manufacturer. This characterises us,” he said. He also committed to keeping the drivetrain variety that BMW has made a crucial element of its offer, despite the costs associated with that. Instead, the cuts will come country by country. He didn’t give an example but BMW has already pulled its plug-in hybrid models from China this year.  BMW remains optimistic, particularly when it comes to its Neue Klasse models such as the iX3 that have made such a splash in Europe and are about to land in China. Despite the crash in sales for BMW’s core combustion-engine models in China, the company didn’t follow Mercedes in writing off investments there. The firm pointed to strong European and US sales as evidence that it remains on the right track. “I would like to emphasise that the basic strategic direction of the BMW Group is not fundamentally changing,” said Nedeljkovic. Analysts liked the message. “Management's latest restructuring actions and early demand for the Neue Klasse platform support our expectation that profitability will begin to recover from 2027,” said Rella Suskin, equity analyst at Morningstar, in a note. BMW will expand on its long-term plans at its capital markets day in September but expect more confidence that it can weather the China storm and other headwinds.

8/9/2026

Can an everyday EV drive the full 1000-mile length of the UK powered purely by British solar energy? The Easee Sun Run is proving anything but easy. A Cornish sea fog – the kind smugglers would have relished - has rolled in, blanketing the sun. We can't even see the array of solar panels 100 metres away in the field next to Roskilly's organic ice cream dairy. On Toby Roskilly's computer, it shows that the amount of solar energy he was planning to pass from his panels into our Renault 4 Plein Sud is minuscule. The start time of the first attempt to drive the length of the UK in an EV powered solely by solar energy looks to be in jeopardy.  Thankfully, our mobile power guru, lan Peniston of Power Logistics, has a solution: a 300kWh OnBio lithium ion battery trailer that he's had charging outside for several days to cover off this very eventuality.  "By charging from the trailer, at least you can then get to Land's End to start the record attempt," explains the man who ensured that there were no mid-performance power cuts on Taylor Swift's concert tour. Still, we're now on the back foot before we've even begun our 1000-mile, five-day road trip... It's critical for our success to know that only pure solar energy was charging the Renault's battery, but Peniston assures us that "every drop of power from the farms and the OnBio battery is 100% solar-no mix of grid or even wind". A few weeks earlier, I'd been in the Canadian Arctic working on a test to charge an EV from the sun at-40deg C and the limits of solar energy. We had half-joked that our success in the Arctic would make doing this in the UK easy - and so the idea for this run was born. Easee, a Norwegian maker of hardcore EV chargers, came on board, as did Renault, which thought the full-length soft-top Plein Sud would be perfect for a summery collaboration. Just not in Cornwall today... Land's End is busy with tourists as we're ushered to the signpost that points 874 miles to John O'Groats at the other far reach of Great Britain. "Where are the solar panels?" asks one couple as we're clapped away from our start. That's a good question... Luckily the sun has by now burned through the fog, so we divert back to Roskilly's farm for our first direct injection of natural energy. It's invigorating-or maybe that was the double shot of espresso I had on the road.  As we charge man and machine, Toby gives us a few tubs of the farm's bespoke ice cream to take in a portable freezer to Scotland. "Easee Peasee Lemon Squeasee – what else?" he titters jollily.  We had pessimistically planned on 160 miles per full charge. With only me and our cameraman Tom Ross, plus basic kit (the rest went in a support car pulling the battery trailer in case of emergency), we soon find that at least 200 miles is doable. That allows a straight shot to our second charging point: the UK's oldest commercial solar farm, at JB Wheaton's trucking HQ in Somerset.  We don't stop at Chard just to power up: on this drive, the plan is to visit a variety of people making the most of British solar energy. Mark Wheaton says his solar array saves hundreds of thousands of pounds in fuel by covering their huge warehouse and adjoining field in panels. We top up in only two hours. Gareth Simkins, from trade body Solar Energy UK, also comes to meet us. Solar Energy UK has been instrumental in helping us find suitable stopping points, and it has grown fast this year. "On one day in April, nearly half of the UK's power was from solar - and not just from commercial arrays," he says. "Last year there were about 260,000 small-scale installations, most of which were on home rooftops; this year we will almost certainly see more, because there has been a big spike in public demand caused by the increase in energy prices."  Our first overnight is near the Power Logistics base in Chippenham, where we top up the car for day two's solar slingshot to Derbyshire. It's the summer solstice, so part of our crew heads to Stonehenge for a stunning dawn on the longest day of the year. The sun powering our drive rose at its earliest with gusto and magnificence; the timing of the Easee Sun Run was no coincidence.  "We have this big ball of energy in the sky, so why aren't we using it to do more?" one visitor says, looking back across the valley to see the prehistoric monument bathed in rays. In almost 30 years of leading automotive expeditions, from driving a Formula E race car on the Greenland ice cap to putting the most remote public EV charger in the world on the island of St Helena, never before have I felt so energised behind the wheel: it feels like the accelerator is connected to the sun. Everything in the Renault, from its motor to the sat-nav, is powered by the ball of energy tracking us from on high – and it isn't costing us a penny. We pass petrol and EV charging stations smugly. Day two is a sublime and gentle course through the Derbyshire Peak District to our overnight stop at the solar-powered Whaley Bridge Cricket Club. After a few hours spent driving on the M5 and M6, we conclude that our spiritual home is on B-roads. The rural route throws us a challenge, though: close to a rendezvous with the BBC, a road closure forces us into a 25-mile detour. With every mile carefully controlled, it means a call to the support crew and adds an hour to the day. The third day is a big one: bisecting the Yorkshire Dales en route to Durham and then Edinburgh. We had chosen Durham for two reasons. First, it's home to a student solar race team that finished 11th in the 2023 World Solar Challenge across Australia. Their bug-shaped solar car is so efficient that it could almost lap the planet using the energy from our trailer. "For my generation, there's a real opportunity there to lean on solar," student Nathan Lansing says. "There's a real shot here that we can go and make something really, really cool and something really interesting that can help power the future." Just down the road from the university is a facility for printing flexible solar panels. The concept has come from Swansea University and is being produced by Power Roll in Durham. "Essentially it's a low-cost printing process similar to printing in newspapers or packaging," says the university's David Beynon. "We can take the materials used to make a solar panel, make them into an ink, feed them into a printing press and have a solar panel come out at the other end." Many buildings' roofs can't carry traditional solar panels, and the majority of the UK's solar panels are imported. The printable solar panel isn't yet suitable to self-propel an EV, but the elements needed to power your EV from the sun are. "If you've got solar panels installed, a smart charger and storage, you can connect these assets together to charge your vehicle," says Easee boss Anthony Fernandez.  Scotland is cool: having endured 38deg C temperatures in the south, we're grateful for the 22deg C Highland weather. Solar needs light, not heat, to work best. Like humans, I guess. With all our stops so far having been at commercial solar operators and users, it's nice for our final one before John O'Groats to be at someone's home. Boban Costin and his family live off-grid. He and his wife Lizzie – daughter of the Earl of Sutherland-run Dunrobin Highland Distillery. They put us up in one of their solar-powered cabins on the edge of Loch Fleet, just two hours from journey's end. "We have enough power here in the summer to light Times Square," claims Boban. Hosting the Easee Sun Run is a thrill for him: "We want to spread the word that a project like this is viable, that it is actually not a dream."  Viable, yes, absolutely – but for now, at least, it's only with special permissions and planning that we've finally reached the northernmost tip of the British mainland using the British summer sun. LAND'S END TO JOHN O'GROATS Distance driven 1023 miles Charges made 9 (7 planned, 2 extras) Exterior daytime temp 16-26deg C Highest point 528m (Tan Hill Inn, North Yorkshire) Solar power generated 555kWh Energy put into the car 276kWh Average range per full load 205/195 miles (two people and luggage/ four people and luggage) By Jeremy Hart

8/9/2026

Biennial motor show returns from 12-18 October – and it's going to be a big one This year’s Paris motor show will be among the biggest in years as the European car industry rallies against the wave of Chinese newcomers. The show floor will naturally be dominated by electric cars. But it will also signal a shift towards the bottom end of the market, as the likes of Citroën, Dacia and Peugeot all aim to address how they can convince the majority of buyers to make the switch away from petrol. The revival of the Citroën 2CV will snatch a great many headlines, but there will also be fresh details on the next-generation Alpine A110 sports car, a replacement for the Smart Fortwo city car, and much more besides. Here’s what to look out for at the Paris motor show… Alpine A110 Much ink has already been spilled about the next-generation A110, but more is to come from Paris, where the brand says it will reveal “new elements” of the electric sports car. Everything we know about the next-gen Alpine A110 Audi A2 Audi has yet to officially confirm the A2 will appear at Paris, but it has pointed to a debut for it this autumn and is confirmed as an exhibitor. That suggests the new EV – an upmarket sibling to the Volkswagen ID 3 styled to look like the original A2 – will be present. Read our review of the reborn Audi A2 Citroën 2CV Football didn’t come home, but Citroën is: the revival of the legendary Tin Snail will be shown to the world for the first time at Paris. Citroën CEO Xavier Chardon has said the new car will have “exactly the same purpose as the 2CV did in the late 1940s” in offering affordable transport for the masses, but for the electric era. The show car will be a concept, but it is expected to closely preview the finished model that is due on sale in 2028. Everything we know about the new Citroën 2CV Dacia Spring Mk2 The Dacia Spring has established a niche for itself in Europe as an affordable second car for the school run, trips to the shops and other mundanities. But this second-generation car, which we expect to be revealed at the Paris show, will prove a big step up from the current model. It will make the switch from its Indian city car platform to the one that underpins the Renault Twingo, while also gaining styling much more in keeping with Dacia’s current look. Both will be sold in parallel for a short period, hence its ‘New Spring’ name. Everything we know about the new Dacia Spring Fiat concept car The Paris motor show’s organiser said earlier this year that Fiat will showcase “an exclusive concept car” – though little is yet known about what shape it will take. It is possible that Fiat will unwrap its equivalent to the 2CV, given that both it and Citroën are owned by corporate giant Stellantis, and that it has a similar remit to the French brand in targeting the affordable end of the European market. Fiat Grizzly Fiat’s biggest car yet is a larger version of the Grande Panda that will rival the popular Dacia Bigster. It will make its public debut at the Paris show, likely being shown in both bodystyles: traditional SUV and rakish fastback. Everything we know about the Fiat Grizzly Leapmotor B03 Leapmotor is making waves in Europe: according to industry body the ACEA, it sold 56,005 cars in the region during the first half of 2026, up by 558% compared with a year before. The new B03 will play a key role in boosting the already impressive growth, as a small electric hatchback to rival the Renault 5. Everything we know about the Leapmotor B03 Maserati concept Maserati’s future has long been in question, but a new concept car will be displayed at the Paris motor show to point the way for its next models. Stellantis’s Europe design chief, Gilles Vidal, said the brand’s styling has traditionally operated on 20-year cycles – and that now is the time for “the next thing”. Gilles Vidal vows 'no clones' in Stellantis's European design overhaul Peugeot concept cars Peugeot is priming a seven-car offensive that will land by the end of this decade, and the Paris show will host the unveiling of two concepts that will blaze the trail for those new models. One is expected to build on last year’s Polygon in previewing the next-generation 208, which is due in showrooms next year. It’s a big moment for the brand as it looks to respond to the immense success of homeland rival Renault’s 4, 5 and Twingo, while also fending off the threat of new Chinese brands. Everything we know about the next Peugeot 208 Smart #2 After a few years of building bigger cars than ever before, Smart is returning to its roots with a replacement for the Fortwo. The new electric city car, due to be unveiled at Paris, will remain a strict two-seater. Everything we know about the Smart #2

8/9/2026

An early morning Father's Day mission turned into a treat, thanks to the Kodiaq's mix of virtues I'll be honest, friends - I'm struggling a little with the Kodiaq I've been running. Not for any bad reason. But when I recently had a Morgan Super 3 and then a 20-year-old BMW 330Ci as my daily drivers, there was always - always - something new occurring to write about. A new Skoda, though? Gosh, they're just so competent. It's like trying to find new things to say about a kettle. So on a recent Sunday morning, Father's Day, I woke up at 5am and set off southbound from Oxfordshire to Hampshire, to visit my folks for breakfast and make the most of the longest day. I find the A34 frustrating during peakier hours and the A272 is slower and busier than it was when my dad was cycling 24 miles a day on it into Petersfield and back as an apprentice mechanic in the early 1950s. He says he'd know which cars to expect to meet, and when, during his journey. I doubt that's the case even at 7am on a Sunday these days. But bright and empty, it was the nicest drive I've had in yonks. When there's nobody around, all cars are at their best, but in the Skoda it is particularly pleasing to run at the pace you want, rather than one dictated by other traffic. I don't in any sense go mad but the vRS does make 262bhp and 295lb ft, and with a broad spread of power and torque it's really nice to flick up and down the shift paddles of its quick-reacting dual-clutch gearbox and finally get into a rhythm and flow with a car that, in daily traffic, I've found not so easy to pin down. As the fast version in the Kodiaq range, it has some muted aggression about it – big wheels, amplified engine noises, supportive seats and adaptive dampers that can be set to quite firm. Yet it is always a seven-seat SUV that weighs over 1800kg and has the intent to remain comfortable as a daily driver. It doesn't want you to have to make compromises, and while it gets that balance about right, that does mean it's never as plush or as sporty as it could be on either of its edges. It was really satisfying, then, to find a nice road surface and a good empty road to get it into its semi-relaxed, semi-sporting groove. With the dampers still in a comfy-ish mode, it absorbed the worst bumps and retained decent body control, while the steering is, I think, particularly well judged in terms of speed and weighting. In its demeanour, you could convince yourself you were in a much taller, much heavier, much more easy-to-change-the-interior-temperature Volkswagen Golf GTI. And it's very useful too. It doesn't need to be to take a bottle of whisky and some biscuits southbound, of course, but while I've collected all of my childhood things from my parents' attic and garage, we seem to have entered a new phase: would I like the wooden tool chest my dad was given on his first day as an apprentice 75 years ago? There are even some tools still in it too. What a treat. Absolutely I would.. I didn't strictly need to put the back seats down but a treasure like that deserves preferential treatment. If a car alone isn't going to provide one with stories, they're always along for the ride.

8/8/2026

Volkswagen's electric alternative to the Golf has a lot going for it now there are used examples aplenty The ID 3 arguably had bigger shoes to fill than any car has ever had: it was charged with spearheading the 'third age' of Volkswagen - just as the Beetle had led the first and the Golf the second. VW's self-proclaimed third age was about electrification and the ID 3 was launched in 2019 as the flag-bearer for a new family of bespoke EVs with a fresh design language and digital-first interiors. VW had ambitious plans for it to be a towering sales success. But its launch coincided with the Covid pandemic, and early examples were also hampered by software issues. So the ID 3 was more of a slow burner than a smash hit. But it has always been a good car-roomy, efficient and pleasant to drive - and with early examples now on sale from as little as £9k, it could be your ideal first step into the EV world. That outlay can land you a 2021 ID 3 Pro (the middle of three battery options) with 50,000 miles. Facelifted versions with a longer range and a heavily updated interior start at less than £15k. VW says the ID 3 offers as much interior space as cars from the class above. In reality, while it has more back-seat room than a BMW 3 Series Touring, the boot isn't massive, at 385 litres. There are also some frustrating ergonomic foibles: the 10in main screen (12.9in from 2024) is in charge of the radio, ventilation controls, heated seats (if optioned) and plenty of other gizmos that should be quick and easy to adjust but aren't. The original 'slider' temperature controls were especially controversial because they didn't light up at night, although that was rectified in 2024 as part of a facelift that brought a dramatic improvement in interior quality and made the infotainment much easier to use. These gripes aside, the ID 3 is a compelling all-rounder and among the more dynamically adept EVs of its era. Acceleration from low speeds is smooth and quick in all versions, and even the lower-powered variants have enough muscle to get a lick on once you reach the open road. Thanks to its rear-wheel-drive layout, the ID 3 also gets its power down in corners far better than some scrabbly front-driven EVs. It delivers balanced, predictable handling too - albeit a little short of truly engaging. You'll want the closely related Cupra Born for that. The ID 3 is passively damped as standard but the Sport Plus package adds fully adaptive dampers and 'progressive' steering, which works like a variable-ratio rack. The ride is quiet and there's a relaxed sense of isolation to it aside from the ever so slightly firm edge to out-of-town cross-country progress. Both wind and road noise levels are low too. The line-up starts with the Pure, which has 216 miles of range from a 52kWh battery (240 miles from 2024), Pro boosts that to 59kWh and 264 miles (268 miles after 2024). Pro S is next up, with 77kWh and 341 miles (345 miles after 2024). The 79kWh GTX (pictured above) arrived in 2024 with 370 miles of range. It's the fastest option, with 322bhp and 0-62mph in 5.7sec, but it's not hugely more engaging than other variants. According to owners' reports, battery capacity has held up well over time - and the German Automobile Club drove 100,000 miles over four years in an ID 3 and the battery lost just eight miles of range. So as a used EV it looks a very tempting proposition, especially at those prices. What we said then 31 March 2021: "Volkswagen has done a really thorough, objectively commendable job on this, its first and all-important ID-brand electric car. For those ready to step into an electric car of just the right size and with just the right usability credentials, this ought to give the ID 3 deserved consideration." An owner's view Dave Evans: "The car is comfortable and quiet on long journeys and the interior space is good but I feel the boot is undersized. I absolutely hate the software. It is slow to respond and I genuinely feel like a beta tester for VW, something I did not choose to be. I'm still keeping it, though." Buyer beware Electrics: While the main high-voltage traction battery is proving to be robust, the 12V auxiliary battery in early models has been known to drain unexpectedly, leaving owners locked out of their cars or unable to start them. VW ran a service campaign to replace them in early cars to support larger over-the-air updates. Check this has been done on any prospective purchase. Tyres: Because the ID 3 is relatively heavy (around 1.8 tonnes) and delivers instant torque to the rear wheels, it can chew through rear tyres surprisingly quickly. Inspect the tread depth. If they're well worn, use it as a bargaining chip because good EV-specific tyres are not cheap. Software: Early models suffered extreme software glitches. These should have been sorted via a series of over-the-air updates, but check for a crashy infotainment, erroneous speed sign recognition and smartphone mirroring issues. Also worth knowing Navigating the equipment levels of the ID 3 can feel a bit like cracking a code. VW has continually revised the line-up during the car's life, shifting from a complex pack-based offering to a much simpler, traditional trim structure. You can get lost trying to decipher it and find the ideal combination or you can compile a list of kit you really need and simply rule out any cars without it. Things got easier after 2023, when the ID 3 line-up was slimmed to Life, Essential and GTX trims, with options on top. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on all models, which helps. However, a heat pump-which warms the cabin much more efficiently in winter, preserving range - was an expensive optional extra and you'll want one if you do a lot of winter driving. Look at the original spec sheet or check the screen's climate control menu if unsure. How much to spend £9000-£13,999: Previously written-off cars can be found for less outlay than this, but high-milers with a clean history start here. £14,000-£17,999: In this bracket, average-mileage Pros (with around 40,000 miles) are about the same price as Pro S cars with twice the mileage. £18,000-£24,999: Desirable facelifted cars become available here, with their nicer interiors and improved range. £25,000-£48,000: Brand-new pre-registered examples, with Pro S available from £28,000. A £30,000 GTX marks a £15,000 saving on the factory-fresh price. One we found Volkswagen ID 3 Pro Performance First Edition, 2020, 47,000 miles, £11,998: A brighter colour and lighter interior really help to inject some joy into the ID 3. Early First Editions are fully loaded too, although a heat pump was still not standard. This example has a full VW service history and a 12-month MOT.

8/8/2026

Andreas Preuninger has overseen Porsche's GT arm for 25 years – so what's next for the fabled model line? There's a sell-out crowd at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone, host of the Sunstede Festival celebrating 75 years of Porsche in the UK. To the attendees, as the brand's biggest enthusiasts, Andreas Preuninger is a rock star akin to a Glastonbury headliner given the number of hits he has overseen as head of Porsche's GT division. After our sit-down he's straight off into the crowd to see some cars (many of which make up his own 'greatest hits' album), meet some punters and later make a main stage appearance that night for an audience with owners.  Preuninger, in his position for all but a few months of this century, admits he can be a bit shy and distant in new company, but he softens at the adoration he gets from the Porsche public, calling it "very flattering and very rewarding" and observes that in the case of his GT cars "almost a religion has been built upon this".  He adds: "This Porsche family is very special. The way they look upon me as the project manager of these [GT] cars, congratulating me and cheering on the cars, gives justification of what you do all day."  When he talks with his congregation, Preuninger makes sure he listens – and he ensures the GT team he has built around him does the same. He talks of a "mirror" to his customers, where the GT team and the customers all want the same thing. "When you talk to English customers, American customers, German customers, mostly they all want the same special characteristics in a car," he says. "In my team, we are fans of that kind of car ourselves. If we like the cars, we can be 99.99% sure the customers will as well. It's a very simple thing, but it works."  Preuninger recalls a survey Porsche GT sent five years ago to around 5000 owners in 10 countries across seven regions, asking how they used their cars and what they would like to see in product development in the future. The conclusion was unanimous. "They all wanted a car that talks to them, that translates into a rewarding driver experience," he says. "Having a car communicate exactly what it is doing in a split second, while having a transparent, authentic, honest and puristic feel about it. This is what everybody says, no matter where they are."  I ask if his job is now harder in the context of having to ensure that even Porsche GT meets the regulations addressing not only emissions but also active safety. "Yes, absolutely," comes the emphatic reply. "We have to try even harder to overcompensate for the things that Brussels comes up with that we have to put in cars. For 99% of customers they don't want to be distracted by these gizmos.  "We found a way to switch off all the systems in a [current 911] GT3 second-gen in one swipe. We're kind of saying: 'Sorry, we have to have it, but if you don't want it, there's an easy way of getting rid of it. You have to stay on the legal side, it's more difficult and more complicated, but we don't give up.'"  Preuninger is not against new technology or progress when it comes to the way his cars drive, and he notes that new materials, for example, always give opportunities. Then there is technology that can "befit the character of the car" and enhance the driving experience, although he always cautions that the car cannot be made too heavy, because being light ensures it is fun to drive at all speeds. "So many cars I know only talk to you when they're going really, really fast and everything else is kind of boring," he says. "That should never be the case of a GT car."  Technology has also in part necessitated a split in the GT model range between more hardcore track tools such as the RS models, where the lap time is important, and the more road-biased driver's cars such as the 911 S/T. "In the '997' era we could address both these needs with the same car," says Preuninger. "We didn't have PDK (dual-clutch transmission back then, and a car that was good for a track was mostly a very light one that felt very nimble on a normal road, too. "Now we need some technology to be quick on track, but the driver's car guy shies away from this as it's too complicated. So we split things with the Touring and the GT3 and RS, and now the S/T. We have almost an even share on both sides, and the audience for GT cars has widened substantially in the past 10 years." With the likes of manual gearboxes and naturally aspirated engines still in his cars, does Preuninger feel an extra responsibility to keep this part of the enthusiast market alive?  "We know what the customers want, what we ourselves want and what technology gives us to support those characteristics in a car," he says. "I like a little bit of pressure and responsibility, because it gives you a deeper sense of what you are doing. Everybody working here likes the idea we're working on a car that nobody needs but everybody wants and which produces smiles." He recounts a story of an American veteran of the Afghanistan war, whose care package from his mother one day included a magazine with an interview with Preuninger on the launch of the 997 GT3 RS. He fell in love with the car and vowed to buy one after the war, and that's what kept him going. He told Preuninger as much in a hand-written letter included with a package that mirrored the one his mother sent him. "These are some of the reactions I get from people in the market, praising the car's ability to make them feel good, to heal and to evoke so much positive energy," says Preuninger. "They're looking for someone to be thankful to. You can't normally do that with a consumer product."  I ask Preuninger about his view on the media, particularly with the regular success his GT Porsches have around the globe - not least in our own road tests and annual Britain's Best Driver's Car contest, in which GT models have scooped the most honours across recent years.  The cars' fitness for purpose sees them reign supreme in our tests, but frequently Preuninger's GT models are oversubscribed before we even get to appraise them. "The media reaction is one of the rewarding things that comes first after you introduce a car," he says. "The media that tests our cars are well known with good drivers and good sources of information, who I think the average GT buyer thinks very much alike. Your influence on our customer base is very high.  "In the meantime [between the reveal and our first drives, we have a lot of trust direct from the consumer. When a car is coming out, orders are flying in. They don't wait for the road tests, which is rare in the market. Why? Because we have never let them down, not one single time. In the last 26 models my team has made, every single one was a big success. I'm not boasting; it's true.  "GT cars are built for having fun, and this comes across in the writing. If the journalists are having fun, it's a good test. A lot of automotive media own GT cars, or would like to, so you are customers at the same time, or would like to be." Preuninger has a point: just the day before the festival, a conversation I'd been having with industry colleagues turned to Cayman GT4s and the plunge one of them was potentially about to take. My Autotrader history shows the two most recent searches were for GT models. One day… On the skyrocketing values of some GT models – a 997 GT3 4.0, an epic machine, of course, is now pushing £1 million! – Preuninger says his team creates cars to be driven, not as an investment, and limited-run models are limited only because of tooling and production constraints. Still, he is proud of how strong the residual values are.  GT3 911s are driven so much, says Preuninger, that Porsche tuning partner Manthey has calculated some 70% of all Nürburgring 'tourist laps' are done by such cars. You need only wander through the paddock outside the Devil's Diner, which sits on the Döttinger Höhe straight, to understand this amazing stat: on track days it is wall to wall with Porsche GTs, old and new. They're loved not only for their performance and how they drive but also for their durability.  "You can drive it all day, no matter what the temperature, and drive safely home again," says Preuninger. "The car does not feel as if it has suffered. Even the race cars use the same engine with the same part number; it's just a different seat and another exhaust."  I suggest the phrase 'buy cheap, buy twice' would be fitting here, and Preuninger says achieving such high levels of durability is a huge motivation for his team. One owner he knows with a 991 GT3 RS has done 60,000 miles, some 50,000 of which on the Nürburgring. Tyres, brake pads and discs have been the only bills.  This serial, multi-brand supercar owner told Preuninger: "You can't believe what we had to do to keep all the other cars running properly..."  I ask Preuninger, with 26 hits and counting, not what his favourite is from the GT back catalogue, but which was the hardest to get right. "The current GT3," he says. "We couldn't increase the power [for legislative reasons], so we were looking for different ways to make the car more attractive than the predecessor. "We took the gearing of the S/T and made it a bit more explosive for country roads, then the Weissach Package to make it a bit lighter. "In the past, we wanted to give the customer enough reasons to really want a new one, and we will continue to do so. A facelift is always more problematic than a new platform, but I think it worked pretty well." Preuninger has already acknowledged that his job is getting harder, but should enthusiasts be worried that true driver's cars could become a thing of the past rather than a contemporary offering? "Your readers are in good hands for the next years to come," he says.  "We have some great ideas for some great new cars, and I'm 100% sure everyone will love them. Nobody should be concerned that the characteristics of our cars are about to change. We know clearly and exactly what we have to do, and we are always open to new ideas." Phew.

8/8/2026

Fiat's microcar push has been approved at the highest level - but is the Topolino the perfect Vatican runaround? Should Pope Leo ever find himself bored, the roads that wind through the Vatican City Gardens would make for a fantastic rally stage. It would be quite a short stage, admittedly, given that the sacerdotal-monarchical city state measures just 0.19 square miles, making it around the same size as London's Regent's Park and comfortably the world's smallest country. Still, in that confined space the access roads that run behind St Peter's Basilica, rising to the Palace of the Governorate and through the beautifully kept gardens, pack in steep climbs and sharp descents, numerous switchback hairpins, some long straights and a few technical twisting sections. And I can attest they're all types of driving fun - even if it doesn't take long to complete a lap. With its tiny dimensions and fewer than 900 residents, including a number of cardinals and one Holy Father, everything about the Vatican is small, although you wouldn't know that if you tried to stroll through St Peter's Square on a busy Sunday at the height of summer. Behind the basilica, though, and hidden by high walls from the chaotic streets of Rome that surround the Vatican, things are far more peaceful. That said, the state's roads are surprisingly busy. Among the variety of cars used by the people who commute to work here are various official vehicles, such as the Gendarmerie's fleet of Volkswagen Passats, loaded-up vans being used by the gardeners and even tractors that transport bulky items around. St Martha's Square, located next to the main access gate, even has its own petrol station (and judging by what the pumps tell me, even the pope isn't immune from rising energy prices). There's also a bank of 22kW EV chargers hidden behind the Governorate's palace. Generally, though, these are private roads, just as they have been since the Vatican City state was founded through the Lateran Treaty back in 1929. You can't just rock up at the gate, flash an international driving permit and take a tour. In fact, the only way most visitors can even tour the gardens on foot is as part of a private guided visit. And yet here I am, pushing a vehicle to its absolute limit on those very roads. Okay, yes, the vehicle in question is a Fiat Topolino quadricycle, so that 'limit' is a not particularly fast 28mph. And, yes, my drive does come as part of a somewhat surreal convoy of Topolinos, escorted by the Gendarmerie (in one of their Passats), who seem determined not to let anyone have too much fun. Still, by hanging back on one of the longer straight roads, I can create just enough space to hit the Topolino's V-max before some judicious braking is required to avoid rear-ending the Topolino ahead and sparking the world's cutest pile-up. The Topolino has just gone on sale in the UK but was launched three years ago in Italy. It is in effect a Citroën Ami that has been given a makeover after quaffing a few Aperol Spritzes to imbue it with the joys of la dolce vita. Citroën originally developed the machine, but former Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares, spotting a business opportunity in L6-compliant quadricycles that sit below cars in the classifications for four-wheel vehicles, suggested Fiat might like to offer its own version. Fiat boss Olivier François agreed, but instead of Tavares's vision of a simple rebadge, he invested in giving the Topolino a new retro-themed body and some other design flourishes. And it has been quite the hit - so much so that Fiat is expanding its micromobility efforts as part of its wider brief to be 'big in small cars'. So the Topolino will soon be joined by the Tris, a three-wheeled commercial EV with echoes of the Piaggio Ape. There will also be the Multiplina, a four-seat quad that will be built to L7 rules that allow it more power and practicality. For François, these initiatives all fit Fiat's heritage. "Fiat was doing micromobility before the word even existed," he says, citing the 1936 Topolino, the 500 Multipla from 1957 and the 1972 126 as three examples that, combined, accounted for close to 10 million sales. "Today, micromobility is no longer a niche." That's undoubtedly true: e-bikes and e-scooters have made powered transport more accessible to many, and electric mopeds are growing in popularity. But – and take this from someone who used to edit an e-mobility website – while there's huge interest in the topic, it's hard to make money from it, especially for car firms. BMW retains an interest in electric motorcycles, but other car makers have sampled micromobility and soon dropped it: just look at Renault, which previously offered the Twizy but recently scrapped its Mobilize division that was developing a range of micromobility vehicles. Even Stellantis stablemate Citroën has shown little interest in building on the Ami's success. So why does Fiat see an opportunity where others don't? "It depends how you do it," says Gaetano Thorel, Fiat's European boss. "With the Topolino we took an internal product, the Ami, and injected our Fiat DNA, giving to the customer something they look at and smile. When you compare Topolino with other micromobility, you immediately know it's a mini-car; it's not a scooter—there's a sense of safety and space." Giorgio Neri, Fiat's micromobility boss, adds that the category could become even tougher in the future given the likely arrival of Chinese competition, which, he says, "will be a war of prices, because we know how they work". But he adds: "We are trying not only to compete on affordability, which is a master requirement, but we try to add emotions." Neri notes that the Topolino and Ami have significantly grown the quadricycle class, and he is pushing for European legislators to consider the sales of such vehicles when assessing a manufacturer's CO2 emissions—insisting they have a key role in reducing carbon output. And that is being put to the test in the Vatican. The world's smallest state, you see, has plenty of interest in Fiat's smallest vehicles. It has just agreed a deal for a fleet of 30 micromobility machines – split between the Topolino and Tris – that will be put to use in the Vatican. No, neither will be used as a Popemobile (judging by recent videos, he seems to be after a Ferrari Luce); instead, Topolinos will be used to help staff whizz between buildings, while the gardeners will make use of the fleet of Tris. It's part of the Vatican's attempt to make its vehicle fleet entirely zero-emission by the end of the decade, an initiative somewhat brilliantly labelled Ecological Conversion 2030. Frankly, if I worked in the Vatican – a highly unlikely proposition, I assure you – I would be loving the deal: the Topolino is perfect for the state. It has the power to zip up the hills, you can tackle the hairpins with speed and gusto and the relatively quiet roads mean you feel really quite safe despite driving a tiny car. And the 46-mile range that feels so inhibiting in some settings? Not a problem in a location this tiny. Heck, even the Topolino's small size isn't really a problem. I mean, the lack of a boot would make it difficult if you owned a dog, but according to the Vatican City website nobody living there currently owns a pet of any kind, so that's not an issue. "The Topolino and Tris feel at home here," says François, who has pretty deep links with the Vatican: he organised the first-ever live concert here. "They're not cars designed to show power; they're small, simple machines designed to serve. The arrogance that sometimes comes with the idea of the automobile goes away with these." Most Topolinos, of course, won't be put to use on the quiet, smooth roads of the Vatican (as an aside, potholes aren't an issue here); they will be tasked with transporting people through bustling (to put it politely) urban areas such as Rome. So, reluctantly, it's time to leave the Vatican's walled tranquillity and venture onto the streets of the Italian capital. The contrast is clear from the moment you pass through the Vatican gates, although I don't have much time to take that in on account of the absolute chaos, with three lines of traffic somehow filling two lanes on the road and motorcycles zipping in all directions. This is where the Topolino's tiny size is both blessing and curse. It is incredibly easy to manoeuvre, and can whizz by parked cars that slow bigger vehicles, but it also can't filter through gaps like bikes, and it's hard not to be intimidated by just about everything else on the road. You only have 8bhp to deploy, remember. Tiny door mirrors and the lack of a rear-view mirror pose a challenge when you need to spend as much time watching what's charging up behind as you do looking ahead, and the lack of power steering means it's all quite hard work – especially when on a boiling hot day the only cooling comes from the Topolino's handheld fan, which is... of questionable effectiveness. That said, it's superbly suited to Rome's tight, twisting roads and many narrow lanes. And people seem to like the Topolino: despite running a pair side by side at traffic-blocking low speed to get some photos, hardly anyone honked their horns or tried to barge us out of the way. That's the joy of the Topolino - and of other micromobility vehicles: they're not for everyone and every occasion, but if your needs match their specific abilities, they're brilliant. That, of course, makes them a harder sell in the UK, where drivers must have a full licence (in Italy an L6 vehicle can be driven from the age of 14) and left-hand-drive-only status can put people off. But in the unlikely event that you should find yourself with the chance to drive around the Vatican, I know just the thing for the job.

8/7/2026

Review will look to soften EV sales targets from 2027-2035 as industry argues they are not achievable The government is set to launch a review that will consider whether to soften the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate targets for electric car sales from 2027-2035. To be launched imminently, the review is set to last six weeks. It will look to consult with car makers, wider industry and other stakeholders to reduce the proportion of EV sales that car makers need to make between 2027 and 2035, at which point all new vehicles must be zero-emissions under the current plan. There is a fear within government that the ZEV mandate will begin to impact the viability of brands operating in the UK, putting jobs at risk. This will be a significant consideration of the review. However, it's also possible that no changes will be made, or just minor edits, with all options said to be on the table still.  Even so, the review will undoubtedly be welcomed by nearly all legacy car makers, who have long argued that the targets aren't reachable and don't keep pace with market interest in EVs. This will be their chance to have their say on the record and try to influence a change in the policy.  The ZEV mandate was introduced in 2024 and 22% of sales had to be electric. It rose to 28% in 2025 and is at 33% this year. Next year’s target, the first impacted by the review, is at 38%. From there it rises sharply to 52% in 2028, to 66% in 2029 and to 80% in 2030. There are no set target for the years between 2030 and 2035 (100% electric) at this stage. The wider view of industry is that this is simply not achievable. The most recent set of car sales data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed that EV sales rose 44.5% year on year from July 2025 but the current run rate of EV sales this year is still only one in four, when one in three is needed. One review has already taken place on the ZEV mandate. This lowered fines for non-compliant cars sold from £15,000 to £12,000 and allowed a greater degree of flexibility between banking and borrowing EV sales against future years, as manufacturers introduced electric cars as different rates. Low-volume car makers were also given more time to apply and certain exemptions applied, while hybrid cars were confirmed as being allowable for sale from 2030 until 2035. The review would be the first major policy intervention into the industry by the Andy Burnham administration. There is a genuinely held fear about what impact the ZEV mandate will have on car makers that have invested in facilities and people in the UK over many years and what it will do to their viability and therefore jobs. There is also awareness that new Chinese entrants to the market aren't suffering in the same way as the legacy car makers in having to make a pivot towards EV. They won't lose out on jobs or cancel any market investment into the UK in the way that existing stakeholders will. The full scope of the review isn't yet known, but it’s possible that targets for the years 2031 to 2034 could also be set. There’s no indication yet if the 2035 deadline itself is up for review. However, given the role that the UK car parc plays in the wider net-zero legislation for 2050, it has long been anticipated and accepted that an overwhelming majority of new car sales must still be electric by 2035 if the legally binding net-zero by 2050 will be realised.  Writing separately on Friday in a blog post, the SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said that despite record sales for EVs demand was tracking some 10-13% below levels needed for the industry to be ZEV mandate compliant in its current form. He argued that the mandate can force supply but it cannot force demand, and as such car manufacturers were being forced into spending billions on the likes of discounts to artificially stimulate demand to bridge the gap. "This is not a sustainable business model," he said. "Every pound spent on discounting is a pound diverted from the investment needed to keep the UK competitive. "It also matters for decarbonisation itself since EVs built in the UK typically carry less embedded carbon than many of those from elsewhere – a point often ignored or dismissed as “out of scope”, despite climate change being a global issue. And if selling vehicles in the UK becomes increasingly costly as a result, the case for investing here is thereby weakened irrespective of where those vehicles are sold." He added that not one single manufacturer selling in the UK, be it ZEV mandate compliant or not or domestic or importing, believes the UK is on track to hit the 2030 target of an 80% market share for EVs. "Urgent reform of the mandate is therefore needed, alongside renewed commitment from all stakeholders to build consumer confidence," said Hawes. Autocar has contacted the Department for Transport for comment.

8/7/2026

The German firm claims the new Spiderman video it's showing in peoples' cars isn't an ad. It plainly is Oh, for pity's sake, do we really have to be talking about this again? I'm afraid we must, because those who own relevant BMW models are talking about it and, largely, they are not happy. It seems BMW has sponsored a new superhero movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in which you will see product-placed iX3s and 5 Serieses, as is the modern film way. And if you own a modern BMW, there's a chance that the company will be so keen to tell you about this tie-in that, during some cars' start-up or shutdown sequences (in 70 countries but not the UK or Ireland, I'm told), this message will pop up on the car's big central screen: 'Surprise: Spider-Man just dropped into your BMW'. Prod it and a 20-second Spidey-BMW animation will follow, to show you the iX3 and tell you the new film is in cinemas. Don't engage and it won't play, but the initial pop-up is, for a limited period, there whether you want it or not. And that's what's irritating owners. It would irritate me too. This isn't the first time a car company has hooked up with a film maker for in-car content. On some Teslas you can change your navigation's avatar so that it looks those one of those spangly bike things from Tron. But here's the difference: the car doesn't tell you about Tron every time you start it. You actively have to delve into a specific feature menu and set-up the change. While you don't have to play the full BMW video, there's no way to opt out of the initial sting. Does that feel different to you? It does to me. There is a difference between an 'easter egg' that you have to search out for yourself and a message that you have no choice about receiving. BMW claims this animation "is not a form of advertising", but what does a video that finishes with "BMW and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, exclusively in cinemas" sound like to you? I would still have a problem with it, in the same way that I was cross when a U2 album landed in my Apple Music library without me asking for it. Call it what you like, but this is unrequested messaging in a product you've already bought. All right, you might have only leased it or still owe thirty grand on it, and your name might not even be on the V5, but that's not the point. It's your car, your place, your haven. As a senior BMW executive said in 2023 when asked specifically about in-car adverts, a car is "a private space". Hide something away in that space, allow me to discover it and it's a feature. Shove it in my face and it's an advert. The content could even be the same, but they're not the same thing. As my marketing expert brother says, companies and agencies should have a 60-year-old in the corner to whom these ideas are pitched, and if his/her reaction is 'really?", they should go and rethink it. But my gut aversion to this is also because of a feeling that it's thin-end-of-the-wedge stuff. Last year, Jeep owners were infuriated when pop-ups appeared trying to sell them an extended warranty. A glitch made it appear on some screens more than once, but even once is, frankly, too often. Owners said so. Yet here we are again, warning big business off it. Again. What don't corporations understand about this? Partly, I suppose, it's our meek acquiescence. Recently I went to watch the Boston Red Sox baseball team play the New York Yankees to find the scourge of piped-in Sweet Caroline had even made it to Fenway Park. Or maybe it originated there. Sections of the crowd happily so-good-so-gooded along to it on demand, but it wasn't so good at all. The best, most-thrilling sports atmospheres are those provided by fans alone, who have paid good money to watch the spectacle and should be left to respond as they see fit, not have some banal narrative dictated to them. And if that includes reactions or ribald songs that corporations don't like, they can suck it up. We paid: it's ours, not yours. But they will all keep trying it, because they think eventually it will wear us down, as I suppose it will. As sure as Sweet Caroline filters repetitively into our ears, ever more adverts will thud inelegantly onto our screens, and we will all reply 'so good' and trudge vapidly onwards.

8/7/2026

A car that looks this good, goes this hard and thrills this much shouldn't be a sensible choice for city life. And yet… There is a persistent assumption that choosing a car for the city – for tight streets, school runs, packed car parks, long weeks of short trips – requires a degree of resignation. You accept something smaller, duller and less exciting than the car you actually want, in exchange for the dimensions and dependability that urban family life demands. The new CUPRA Raval rejects that trade-off entirely. This is a car that is thrilling to look at, to sit in and to drive. In this article we’ll look at why it is equally, and just as deliberately, one of the most capable and considered small EVs you can currently buy – without a single concession on what makes it a CUPRA. Book your CUPRA Raval test drive Made for the city that inspired it The Raval takes its name from El Raval, the most defiantly creative neighbourhood in Barcelona – dense, unpredictable and full of energy. At 4046mm long and 1518mm tall, the Raval is compact enough to slot into spaces that drivers of larger cars approach with apprehension, yet it wears its footprint with a confidence that makes it look bigger on the road than it is on paper. A 2600mm wheelbase ensures that interior space is not sacrificed for nimbleness, while a 10.3-metre turning circle makes the U-turns, tight multi-storey ramps and on-street squeezes that define city driving feel effortless. An EV powertrain amplifies the advantage. In stop-start urban traffic, where a petrol engine is constantly cutting in and out, the Raval's instant, seamless torque and one-pedal braking make dense city driving feel smoother and more intuitive. The city is not a challenge for the Raval. It is what the car was built for. More practical than it has any right to be You certainly wouldn't expect a car of the Raval's dimensions to offer 441 litres of boot space, that’s for sure. But it does, because CUPRA made a specific engineering decision: make the Raval front-wheel drive, not rear, so the motor can be moved away from the rear of the car to free up the entire boot floor for luggage. The result is a load area that comfortably swallows a buggy, a weekly shop and the assorted chaos of family life simultaneously. A double boot floor adds hidden storage underneath for charging cables and valuables. In the cabin, five seats, dual-zone Climatronic air conditioning, a wealth of deep storage cubbies and 90 watts of USB-C charging – split between front and rear sockets – round out what is, by any measure, a genuinely family-grade interior in a B-segment body. Vehicle-to-Load technology* deserves a mention of its own. The Raval can power external devices directly from its high-voltage battery – a laptop, a camera, an e-bike charger – through a standard outlet. It is the kind of capability that has typically required a large SUV. Here it sits in a small hatchback, and it is more useful than most buyers will initially expect. Just the right amount of range for owners The instinct when comparing EVs is to chase the highest range figure. For an urban family car, that is rarely the right metric. Despite not yet having confirmed technical data, it’s widely thought that the Raval's entry-level Origin model – with a 37kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery – will be able to cover the average UK weekly mileage several times over between charges. Most owners will plug in at home overnight and leave each morning fully charged, making the range figure largely academic for everyday use. For those who want greater headroom, the 52kWh Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) battery offered across V1, V2 and VZ trims will offer even more range – sufficient for city-to-city runs and weekend escapes without a charging stop, while retaining all the compactness and efficiency that make the Raval just right for the working week. Charging: fast, intelligent and simple Charging times are among the most competitive in the class. The 37kWh battery, on V1 and V2 trims, reaches 10-80% in 28 minutes** using a 90kW rapid charger. The 52kWh version does the same in 24 minutes** with 130kW charging – enough for a meaningful top-up during a school-holiday trip, not a wait that reorganises the day. Away from home, ‘Plug & Charge’ removes the remaining friction. The Raval authenticates automatically at over one million public charging points across 28 European countries – no app to open, no card to tap. The ‘e-Route Planner’ builds charger availability and real-time battery state into the car's navigation, managing longer journeys proactively. It all adds up to an experience where range anxiety is a thing of the past. Safety: the complete picture Any family car worth its salt, big or small, needs to deliver on the safety front – and the Raval does just that. Seven airbags are fitted as standard, including a central airbag between the front seats that prevents occupants colliding with each other in a side impact. Adaptive front seatbelts adjust their retention geometry to different body types automatically. The optional Pre-Crash system monitors for side impacts as well as front and rear threats, closing windows, activating hazard lights and pre-tensioning seatbelts in the moments before a collision. Travel Assist is the most capable semi-autonomous system CUPRA has offered. It holds lane position on roads with and without painted markings, recognises speed bump zones, responds to traffic lights, give way signs and stop signs, and dynamically matches the pace of surrounding traffic. Emergency Assist – a feature that usually belongs in a different conversation about a different class of car – monitors for driver incapacitation, then brakes progressively, steers to the roadside and places an emergency call automatically. Parking in tight spaces is handled by Intelligent Park Assist, which steers automatically into parallel and perpendicular bays, and by Remote Park Assist, which lets the driver manoeuvre the car from outside via a smartphone – a feature that first appeared on the market as an optional extra for luxury limousines and SUVs. Rear Traffic Alert spots approaching vehicles when reversing from blind spots, sounding an alert or even stopping the car to prevent a bump. A Top View Camera provides a stitched 360-degree view for situations where sensors alone are not enough. In a final detail that really matters for owners, but isn’t something you’d really consider in the showroom: the Raval's body structure has been specifically engineered to minimise damage in low-speed urban impacts. Sometimes an inevitability of city driving, these dings are frustrating, but thanks to the Raval’s design insurance premiums should be lower over the life of the car. The case for the CUPRA Raval as an urban family car comes with very few compromises. The compact dimensions that make it fast through corners make it easy to park. The EV powertrain that serves up instant performance also makes it cheap and clean to run. The technology platform that delivers Formula E-inspired sound effects and impressive interior light shows also delivers cutting-edge features like Emergency Assist and Plug & Charge. There is no version of the Raval built for excitement and a different, compromised version built for families. There is only one model, and it does all of it in spite of its compact size. Book your CUPRA Raval test drive * Optional connector required ** The charging time of your vehicle may vary due to multiple factors, including but not limited to weather conditions, the age, and the condition of the battery. Accordingly, the charging time provided should not be interpreted as an exact measurement, but rather as a general estimate. This information is for guidance purposes only and does not constitute a guarantee of charging performance

8/7/2026

Smart returns to its city car roots with tiny new #2, due next year as UK's smallest electric car The production-ready design of the new Smart #2 – an electric successor to the famed Fortwo – has been uncovered ahead of its official unveiling in October. The #2 marks Smart’s return to city cars after spending several years launching a range of electric crossovers – which includes the #5, its biggest model yet. It's due to be revealed in full at the Paris motor show, but new filings with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) have showcased its design two months early. It bears a strong resemblance to the old Fortwo, retaining its stubby proportions, although key changes include scowling headlights and rounded units at the rear end. Due in UK dealerships next year, the #2 has been designed to offer what Smart calls "uncompromised urban capability". It will be the smallest EV on sale, looking more like quadricycles such as the Fiat Topolino and the Micro Microlino rather than full-sized models such as the Dacia Spring and Fiat 500e. The #2 has been co-developed by Mercedes-Benz and Geely, with the former taking the lead on its design and the latter supplying a bespoke architecture designed around its diminutive size. Full details have yet to be confirmed, but the MIIT filings reveals the #2 has an 80bhp drive motor and a lithium-iron-phosphate battery pack. The car weighs 1130kg, thanks to it measuring just 2.75m long. Smart previously confirmed the #2 will offer a range of 186 miles and be capable of charging its battery from 10-80% in less than 20 minutes. It will also have vehicle-to-load capability, meaning its battery can be used to power external devices. Smart has also claimed it will have a turning circle of just 6.95m, smaller than that required of London’s black cabs. The #2 will move the entry-level model upmarket while also attempting to improve its interior space within its compact dimensions, using a bench seat rather than two individual chairs.  Kai Sieber, head of Smart design at Mercedes, previously said the Concept #2 shows a city car “should spark joy”. Smart has given no indication of pricing ahead of next year's scheduled launch, but a more luxurious cockpit and vastly superior technical attributes mean the #2 could command a premium over its short-legged predecessor, which cost around £22,000 when it was discontinued in 2024. There's no word yet on whether Smart plans to stretch the #2 and add a back seat to create a successor to the Forfour, but such a model would give the brand a footprint in the increasingly competitive electric supermini market, where it could take on the likes of the Renault 5, Citroën C3 and next DS 3.

8/6/2026

Looking for the perfect blend of weekday skills and weekend thrills? This electric family SUV could be the answer The perfect two-car garage. It’s a fantasy motoring enthusiasts have debated for decades. Not familiar with the concept? It’s simple: if you had to choose two cars – one for everyday duties like commuting, the school run and shopping trips, and another purely for weekend B-road blasts – which would you choose? If you’re ever stuck for conversation with a fellow enthusiast, pose this question and watch the sparks fly. But, alas, in today’s economic climate, the dream of running two cars – particularly when one is reserved almost entirely for Sundays – is becoming harder and harder to justify. And that means more and more drivers are starting to search for one car that’s capable of covering all bases: sensible when it needs to be, fun when it doesn’t. Watch the video below as we explore whether the 335bhp all-electric Skoda Enyaq vRS really can deliver the best of both worlds. Skoda Enyaq vRS: the electric family SUV that can do it all There’s a particular genius to the vRS badge. Since the first Octavia vRS arrived in 2001, those three letters have stood for meaningful performance, real-world practicality and strong value. It’s the everyman performance car formula, refined over decades and now applied to Skoda’s electric family SUV flagship. The Enyaq vRS continues that tradition with 335bhp, 697Nm and dual-motor all-wheel drive, delivering 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds. But it’s not just about straight-line pace. Dynamic Chassis Control, lowered suspension and revised steering calibration give it a level of composure and adjustability that no electric SUV this size has any right to, allowing it to switch between relaxed motorway cruiser and pulse-raising B-road blaster at the touch of a button. Crucially, it remains an easy car to live with day to day. The 84kWh battery delivers up to 344 miles of range (WLTP), while 185kW DC charging enables a 10–80% top-up in around 26 minutes. Inside, that signature vRS DNA injects sporty flair into an otherwise plush, minimalist cabin. There are vRS-specific sports seats, a bespoke sports steering wheel and contrast detailing. As you’d expect from a Škoda, equipment is generous, with a large 13in infotainment screen, augmented reality head-up display, heated seats and a 12-speaker CANTON sound system all included as standard.  Practicality remains a core strength. A 585-litre boot, generous rear space and Skoda’s trademark ‘Smart, Spacious and Stylish’ touches – including an ice scraper in the tailgate and an umbrella in the door – ensure it can still deal with everything hectic family life throws at it without breaking a sweat. Maybe it’s time you try it for yourself. Learn more about the Skoda Enyaq vRS

8/6/2026

Roger Hick scoured France to find his dream A110 – and then he found it in Milton Keynes "Alpine comes first in the name, as in Alpine Renault. There's never been a Renault Alpine." So says Roger Hick, with sufficient authority for me to doubt my memory of cars such as the Renault Alpine GTA Turbo and Renault 5 Alpine Turbo. In any case, you don't question a man, in the presence of his Alpine A110 1300 S, who has owned two Alpine Renault V6 Turbos and whose daily driver is a current-model Alpine A110. "I bought my A110 1300 in 2000, largely in this condition but there's nothing I haven't changed," says Roger. "I'd seen pictures of the model and thought: 'That looks pretty. I'll save up for one.' So I scoured France for one and found this in Milton Keynes!" The car had been restored by its then owner but, says Roger, he couldn't get on with it for some reason: "I took it to a club track day once and a chap came up to me and said: 'You're doing well in that. The last time I saw this, it never faced the same way twice in a lap!'" Bristling with lights and plastered with contemporary sponsorship stickers, the car looks every inch a works team special. However, it was never campaigned and has simply been converted to look the part. Not that it's all mouth and no trousers. Its R8 Gordini cross-flow engine has been converted to works spec with larger valves, forged pistons, Saenz H-beam conrods, specially made wet liners, an in-period Renault 'Kit' camshaft and a finned aluminium oil sump. Thanks to all these goodies, the pushrod engine now produces around 130bhp at 7200rpm (in standard form it would have produced 80 horsepower), but when the rev limiter is raised to 8000rpm, it puts out 134bhp. "It's a lovely, free-revving engine and, in a car weighing no more than 625kg, the power is more than ample," says Roger, beaming. All that sauce is directed to the rear wheels via a five-speed gearbox. Elsewhere, the car has a quick steering rack and powerful works 'Big Brakes' with calipers at the rear from a Matra ("they were hard to find"). The wheels are Gotti Bi-Metal items with steel rims and cast aluminium centre spokes. The glassfibre body is mounted on a steel tubular chassis. Of course, the car's motorsport tech is highly appropriate. The original A110 has an illustrious competition record, at the height of its powers locking out the podium of the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally and, the same year, winning the inaugural World Rally Championship. Roger's 1300 S is a 1971 car. "It's hilarious to drive - noisy and quite physical," he says. "You need a good legful to stop it. The steering is very direct too. You don't lift off in corners because the back will come out immediately. Instead, you do a bit of lift-off to turn it in, then power out. Understanding how it will behave is key." Roger loves his new A110 and has done 62,000 miles in it but is in no doubt which of his 110s he prefers. He says: "If I had to choose, it would always be the older one. It's just so engaging. I paid £20,000 for it in 2000 and now they're about £75,000. If I had to sell it, I'd get a lot less, but if I had to buy one, I'd have to pay a lot more! I think I'll stick."

8/6/2026

Landmark pick-up truck moves a step closer to US launch – and will offer more space than a Toyota RAV4 Ford's moonshot electric pick-up will be called the Fathom and be priced from $28,350 (£21,000) when launched in the US early next year, the company has confirmed. The moniker references the double meaning of a 'fathom': the standard length of a pair of outstretched arms and the discovery of meaning. Ford claims the Fathom "welcomes you in with an expansive interior and technology that adapts on the fly". It will be the first model built on Ford's new Formula 1-influenced affordable EV platform and, as previously reported by Autocar, it could eventually be offered in the UK to complement the company's revamped European car line-up. The new platform, called Universal EV, features "cooler engineering than a hypercar", according to Ford CEO Jim Farley. It has been developed by a 'skunkworks' project in California set up by Ford to work semi-independently. It will eventually spawn a range of 'global' vehicles. A teaser video displaying early sketches of the Fathom shows how Ford is rethinking its approach to design and engineering, with dramatically different styling to its existing combustion-engined trucks. Ford hasn't yet confirmed whether Universal EV products will be offered in Europe, but it could be used for EVs arriving after the company's Renault-platformed small hatchback and crossover, due in 2028. Since the project is largely a clean-sheet design, Ford has recruited staff from outside the mainstream car industry – with a focus on motorsport, given the belief that lessons on efficiency and aerodynamics learned in competition can give it an edge over Chinese rivals. Speaking exclusively to Autocar, Farley said: "One of the biggest gifts that Formula 1 ever gave Ford was our skunkworks team in California. Almost every one of them either comes from F1 or is a huge F1 fan." Farley added that the bulk of the skunkworks staff "have never worked in the auto industry before" but "we picked them for their aerodynamic knowledge" - although he acknowledged that had been a challenge. "It turns out that finding people who love motorsport who want to 'build a buffet in Vegas' – a $30,000 EV that's nice-looking and fun to drive - is hard," he said. "A lot of people want to stay in F1, and the challenge is picking people from motorsport who can actually design a breakthrough product. "But when people see what we did with this skunkworks, they will say: 'Wow, that's cooler engineering than a hypercar.' They will be shocked." Farley said the extreme aerodynamic focus of modern F1 cars was a key attraction in recruiting people for the skunkworks. "Every bit of aero we can improve will help us reduce the size of the battery, and F1 has the best aero people in the world," Farley said. As a result, Ford claims the Fathom is 15% more aerodynamically efficient than any pick-up currently on sale in the US. Farley said the intense focus on aerodynamics and powertrain efficiency would enable Universal EV models to use smaller batteries, in turn keeping weight and pricing down and improving packaging options.  Indeed, Ford claims the Fathom has more passenger space than the Toyota RAV4 SUV. Farley highlighted this as a particular area where Ford can outperform Chinese rivals, some of which he said "have really cheap batteries, and that's their problem". He continued: "Their control systems – the efficiency of the motors, inverters and gearbox and how they all work together with the software - aren't that efficient, so they're carrying around a bunch of battery they don't need to. "We've found 20-30% gains in efficiency, but we had to get people over from motorsport to do it." Universal EV models will also make extensive use of megacasting, meaning whole segments of the body are cast as single parts, to help reduce the complexity and further lower costs. The first vehicles based on the platform will be built at a new US factory in Kentucky.

8/6/2026

Firm's latest Solitaire one-off uses Bolide underpinnings to allow strikingly elegant, low-rise design Bugatti has unwrapped the Destrier as its tribute to "the most beautiful car ever built", using the underpinnings of the Bolide to create the ultimate luxury hypercar. The Destrier is the latest in the brand's run of multi-million-pound Solitaire one-offs, following the FKP Hommage (a reimagining of the legendary Veyron) and the Brouillard. It's inspired by the Type 57SC Atlantic, which also utilised the same underpinnings as a track car – the Type 57G 'Tank' – but wore stunning coachwork that landed it a place in motoring history. The Destrier is based on the carbonfibre monocoque of the Bolide and reprises its sibling’s 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine, which puts out 1578bhp. But despite the mammoth power output, performance wasn't Bugatti’s main ambition for the new hypercar. It instead sought to recapture the sheer desirability of the Type 57SC Atlantic, and the low-set chassis of the Bolide was instrumental in this ambition. Design chief Frank Heyl explained: “The Bolide gave us the most extreme proportions we have ever created, and by freeing them from the Bolide’s relentless pursuit of downforce, we let them speak as pure sculpture.” To that end, the Destrier is the shortest Bugatti yet, measuring just a metre tall. Its stance, with staggered wheels – 20in up front and 21in at the rear – is meant to resemble that of a pedigree horse. Inside, it's a more overtly luxurious proposition than the Bolide, trading emergency stop and fire extinguisher buttons along its central control panel for ignition switches and being upholstered in tan leather, suede and copper thread. Exact performance figures have yet to be confirmed, but the Destrier is likely to be a close match for the Bolide, which can dispatch the 0-62mph sprint in 2.2sec. Its price has yet to be disclosed but is likely to run well into eight figures. Like the Bolide, the Destrier will be allowed to drive only on race tracks or, more likely, concours lawns. However, British specialist Lanzante recently converted a Bolide for road use, suggesting the same could be done for the Destrier if its owner so desires.  It will make its debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – and Heyl said he “believes Destrier will be gracing concours lawns 50 years from now”.

8/6/2026

Manufacturers often make dubious claims in their marketing. For instance, in finally publishing UK pricing for the Topolino microcar, Fiat called it "a fresh approach to urban mobility", despite it being nothing more than a restyled Citroën from six years ago. The Italians were, however, justified in claiming to have made the "original people mover" when revealing the four-seat Multiplina. Well, at least if you add the prefix 'miniature', given buses and VW Type 2s existed long before 1956. We were really enthused by this innovative "surprise package from Turin", reporting: "The little multi-purpose vehicle [MPV] is based on the 600 and named the Multipla. Its appearance has received a mixed reception, but a full six-seater on a [2000mm] wheelbase, the same as a standard saloon, cannot be made to look sleek and low. It is trim and functional without undue austerity, and as an engineering feat is quite breathtaking." We felt it was "the nearest approach yet in the world of motoring to putting a quart into a pint pot", as "scarcely a cubic inch of space is wasted, and it carries up to six people in very reasonable comfort, or an equivalent quantity of luggage or goods". Our road testers marvelled at its unique construction as it landed in Britain, priced at £799 (£17k today) a year later. "It may be described as a small station wagon in which, because the engine is at the rear, the loading doors have been placed at the sides. On the other hand, in the absence of a power unit in the nose, the front seats can be located over the front wheels, leaving the maximum space behind them for seating or goods as desired. The floor area is large, low and uninterrupted by tunnels or frame members, and is a part of the platform frame." Just make sure you don't crash... One early adopter, M Ogle, sent us a love letter: "I've just returned from a fortnight in France. My wife and I slept in the car on air mattresses, and even ate in it on cold or rainy days, using a folding table which can be set up inside. Passers-by were quite astonished, as well they might be: I doubt if there is another car in the world so adaptable. "Performance is very adequate: the car holds 45-50mph indefinitely. The overall fuel consumption has been a shade better than 47mpg on average, covering all kinds of load from two up to five adults and two children (each with a proper seat and no sardine-in-tin feeling). Visibility is wonderful because of windows all round. It is easy for elderly people to get in and out. The four seats at the rear fold flat into the floor in a matter of seconds. The rear engine could not be easier to get at, nor the spare wheel housed in front of the passenger - it does not get in the way of even a tall person's knees." No wonder almost a quarter of a million Multiplas found homes over the next decade. Was it really the first car of its type, though? Certainly it was the first to be put into production, but we had seen similar prototypes earlier. We ignored it in our 1939 Berlin motor show report, rightly focusing on the seminal Volkswagen instead, but there are certainly hints of MPV in Karl Schlör's 'egg' or 'woodlouse' car, which seated seven within an ultra-streamlined, 4.3m-long body atop Mercedes' 170H saloon chassis. Then, in late 1945, we described one created by American aerospace engineer William Stout, under the amusing title: "This car may seem strange, but it has its advantages". "The Stout Scarab has no chassis proper," we marvelled. "The body is formed structurally, as an aeroplane fuselage. The seven-passenger car is rigid and light, at less than [1360kg]. Seats can be arranged at will and even converted into Davenport-type couches. There is a table which can be set up when desired for bridge or luncheon, and the entire interior is suggestive of a small yacht rather than of a car, yet the overall length is no greater than that of a medium-size car of ordinary design." It's interesting to note that Stout's mantra was 'Simplificate - and add more lightness', several years before virtually the same was adopted by Lotus founder Colin Chapman. Our prototype drive revealed "the steering is light and it flits about and manoeuvres in small compass. With its Ford V8 it is fast and comfortable, too. But whether it will be made in quantity no one can say at present." It wasn't, because people thought it looked weird and it cost a grand.

8/6/2026

Want to be among the first in the UK to experience Skoda's next generation of electric cars? SIGN UP HERE As part of Autocar's ongoing partnership with Skoda, we're inviting 10 lucky readers to an exclusive one-day event in the heart of the Cotswolds on 2 September. You'll be among the first to see the all-new Epiq city car and seven-seat Peaq SUV before they arrive in UK showrooms, with Skoda experts on hand to guide you through both cars in detail. You'll also get the opportunity to drive the award-winning Elroq and Enyaq, as well as their hot vRS siblings. Food and drinks will be provided throughout the day. Attendees must be aged 18 or over and hold a full driving licence. The event will be filmed, so you'll also need to be comfortable sharing your thoughts on camera. We can’t wait to see you there. SIGN UP HERE

8/6/2026

New dual-motor model trades performance and two synthesised cylinders for lower price and big range boost Mercedes-AMG has expanded its GT 4-Door Coupé line-up with the 53, a lower-powered and more affordable version of the new electric super-saloon to rival the Porsche Taycan 4S. The biggest difference from the GT 63 lies in the drivetrain: it has one fewer motor (for a total of two, giving four-wheel drive), so its combined outputs drop from 1180bhp and 1033lb ft to 544bhp and 590lb ft. This trims straight-line performance, the new GT 53 accelerating from 0-62mph in a claimed 3.5sec compared with 2.4sec for its more powerful sibling. Top speed is electronically limited to 143mph as standard or 155mph with the optional AMG Driver's Package, whereas the GT 63 can be specified to reach a limited 186mph. Although it retains the GT 63’s simulated engine and gearbox, it trades that variant’s fake V8 sound and power delivery for one based on a turbocharged 3.0-litre straight six. AMG said it sampled the six-cylinder powerplant’s sound to reproduce the aural character of a traditional AMG drivetrain. The GT 53 utilises the same 800V electrical architecture and 106kWh liquid-cooled battery as the GT 63, but dropping one motor has boosted its official range from 424 miles to 503 miles. DC charging at up to 600kW is claimed to recover up to 332 miles of range in just 10 minutes under ideal conditions. Compared with the Taycan 4S, the GT 53 offers identical combined power but an additional 66lb ft of torque, a 0.2sec quicker 0-62mph time, almost double the maximum DC charging capability and between 102 and 156 miles more WLTP range, depending on whether the Porsche is equipped with its standard Performance Battery or optional Performance Battery Plus. The GT 53 also shares the GT 63's air suspension with adaptive damping and torque vectoring. It likewise receives active aerodynamics, including a rear spoiler that varies its angle according to speed and driving conditions, while an optional active rear diffuser is designed to reduce drag and improve high-speed stability. The first right-hand-drive customer deliveries are expected to begin later this year. UK pricing has yet to be confirmed but is expected to start just above £100,000. In Germany, it will be priced from €115,430 (£99,000). The GT 53 will form the new entry point to AMG's electric GT range ahead of additional models planned over the coming years.

8/6/2026

Unstable policy, shifting tech and complex operations are the new normal, says one of UK's leading fleet bosses Fleet managers need to prepare for years of unstable policy, shifting technology and complex operations, according to an industry expert. Matthew Walters, head of consultancy at Ayvens UK – the country's second-largest leasing company, with 320,907 cars and vans on its books – told Autocar that fleet managers need to plan further ahead when selecting vehicles and adjust policies yearly to keep up with an unusually fast-moving operatig landscape, having traditionally operated in a sector favouring long-term stability.  Policy remains challenging, especially for electric cars. The Department for Transport has committed to a “mid-point review” of the UK's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate in 2027, which could affect vehicle supply. Annual EV sales targets from 2031 haven’t yet been confirmed. Fleets are also facing a need to recalculate operating costs once the pay-per-mile tax system for plug-in hybrid and electric cars is finalised. Walters expects that the 2030 deadline for new pure-ICE cars and the 2035 date for all new cars and vans to be EVs will go through a consultation process in the near future.  The uncertainty is such that Ayvens is running quarterly customer briefings on legislation, manufacturer developments and wider political and economic events that can affect fleets’ costs and the supply of vehicles. “Larger fleets typically have dedicated teams and more resource to keep up with new products, tax rules and legislation. Smaller fleets don’t have the same capacity, so they’re more exposed when things move quickly, and right now things are moving quickly,” said Walters. That complexity is exacerbated by fast-expanding vehicle choice, he added, noting that 116 new models are due for launch in 2026, many of which are from Chinese manufacturers. Some fleets are welcoming these newcomers, while others – particularly larger corporate ones – are weighing up the technology against how that brand might represent the company.   Electrification also creates a more varied set of operating costs than with petrol and diesel cars. The gap between public and home or workplace charging prices means two drivers on the same job in the same car could be generating totally different expenses, while “fairness becomes a live issue” if one of them can’t plug in at home, Walters said. That complexity has led Ayvens to offer more detailed total cost of operation (TCO) calculations, including driver efficiency, uptime and charging behaviour. Frequent charging beyond 80% can affect battery health and residual values when vehicles are auctioned at the end of the contract. “What we'd say to fleets is 'build in flexibility; don't lock into rigid three-year plans on the assumption that today's technology, tax rules or residual values will hold, because in this market, that's usually where the opportunity is',” said Walters. “Good practice now means moving away from short-term thinking. Rather than just planning for the next renewal cycle, fleets need a three-to-five-year strategy that's reviewed regularly, not set and forgotten. That way, decisions on vehicle choice, charging set-up and driver policy are made with the bigger picture in mind, not just the next 12 months.”

8/6/2026

So, the $500,000 (£410,000) Range Rover is upon us - and there's every indication that the brand has plenty of headroom – courtesy of its extensive personalisation offering – to take transaction prices ever higher as it penetrates ever further into the upper echelons of the luxury car market? Will it work? History would certainly suggest so. There's a tale from the early days of Asian motor shows, about how one British luxury marque displayed a fabulously opulent one-off limo on its exhibition stand. One local collector was so smitten he would have had his staff carry it out of the hall on day one were it not for one thing: the price. The firm had whispered a figure of $900,000, which upset the potential owner: he could never buy such a vehicle unless he could tell friends his new car had a seven-figure price. Adjustments were hurriedly made - including the embroidery of an old master oil painting into the headlining, which doubled the car's value - and the purchase went through. Back then, this was a rare story; today, tales of people competing to pay ever higher prices for cars are an emerging phenomenon. The global population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (estates valued at $30 million-plus) grew by nearly 10% between 2025 and 2026, the biggest rise yet. Plenty of them will be in the market for new Range Rovers, and most will want the best there is. But don't run away with the idea that these consumers are pushovers. Most are canny; they know how many decades it takes for a car to acquire authenticity and achieve greatness. So if Range Rover is about to coin it as never before, its success is directly down to the brilliance of the designers and engineers who started this journey back in the 1960s - and to the inspiration of their successors across every decade since.

8/6/2026

JLR has said "the sky is the limit" for Range Rover pricing, as it looks to increase its bespoke offerings and move firmly into luxury car territory. Range Rover managing director Martin Limpert said: "We don't want to show up as a car company, we want to show up as a modern luxury company". Last year the brand sold its first factory-supplied car for almost £500,000: the SV Asilomar edition, which was presented during Monterey Car Week. Limpert told Autocar that it could and will go further: "I think the sky is the limit. We want to further evolve that business area. "Bespoke is a really big business area for us. We curated for a US customer the SV Asilomar edition, which was sold for $550,000 [£410,230], roughly double the price of the Range Rover SV. But after elevating and curating it with the personal requirements, that's where we ended up." Developing its bespoke offerings would put Range Rover firmly into the sphere of Bentley and towards Rolls-Royce. Steve Cropley's view: Can Range Rover really rival Rolls-Royce? History says yes Within the next year it plans on opening another 12 commissioning suites for its bespoke programme, so-called 'Range Rover Houses', which it said "offer clients a sanctuary to immerse themselves in luxury experiences and to be among the first in the world to see and drive some of Range Rover's most exclusive models". Asked just how expensive a Range Rover could be, Limpert replied: "I don't see a limit. Honestly, I think it depends on the value that we generate for the customer. It really depends on the levels of personalisation capabilities, where we're really trying to push the boundaries - from paint jobs, to stitching, to embroidery, to getting a family crest or your family name on different places of the veneers and so on. "In the future, can we use materials that are not currently part of our offering but that the customer wants to be included because they have a historical relationship to it, or something like this. "It really depends ultimately on what value do we generate for our customers?" As if to illustrate the point, Range Rover tuner Overfinch recently announced its 25-off Holland & Holland edition (below), one of which cost its owner £1 million, as testament to the amount buyers are willing to pay to make their Range Rover as bespoke as possible. Despite the push upmarket, Limpert said the incoming GT will be a complementary fifth model in the Range Rover line-up rather than a replacement for either of its least expensive models, the Evoque and Velar. "It's not replacing anything," he said, although those two models are eight and nine years old respectively and thought to be up for retirement soon. That would leave the entry point for a Range Rover with the GT, with a predicted starting price around £70,000. Rival premium car manufacturers have shown it's possible to keep both very expensive and value models in the range: buyers can spend around £30,000 or well into six figures on cars from BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. But JLR aims to create bigger spaces between its three SUV marques: Defender, Discovery and Range Rover. "That's the whole idea of setting up the House of Brands," said Limpert of JLR's move to reframe its three SUV brands, with Land Rover used only as a 'trust mark' on the SUVs and 4x4s. "Speaking for my brand in that case," Limpert added, "the equity is already there: customers recognise it more as a Range Rover [than a Land Rover] already. Defining the difference between the three brands, Limpert said: "Defender is all about rugged off-road capabilities - really about pure adventure. This is for those people that really want to go anywhere and do anything." Discovery, meanwhile, "is all about versatility, family, togetherness. It's more about where the journey is the destination." New models and the rebranding, Limpert said, were meant "really to give each their space and their room to define and grow their personalities." He added: "Not that we want to tell customers which brand to buy." Inside the £410k Asilomar Edition Unique look Two-tone paint is inspired by the underwater landscapes of Monterey Bay, where the car was revealed. Special badges, colour-coded wheels and branded treadplates amp up uniqueness. VIP cabin Bespoke blue leather seats and accompanying cushions feature custom embroidery. An electronic wooden drinks table rises and folds out from between the fully reclining rear seats. Extra goodies The purchase price included a $5000 (£3730) donation to an ocean conservation fund and a fully customised, tailored set of golf clubs.

8/5/2026

Replacement for the Roma Spider promises not only more speed, but extra refinement and, ahem, stability We dubbed it Honey Mountain. Ferrari’s events team, whose carefully prescribed route we plain ignored, would probably have dubbed it the arse end of nowhere. But in this game, sometimes you have to take a punt on an unsolicited location-pin fired over by snapper Jack Harrison at midnight. It’s how you end up on a spellbinding Greek pass the next morning, gleefully climbing ever higher in what is, in all objective ways, the least serious car in Ferrari’s expansive modern day line-up. The pass in question is an abandoned-feeling stretch of the EO66 that takes you over the Oligyrtos mountains in the Peloponnese region. Think dense reaches of fir and pine, limestone massifs and impossibly verdant valleys, threaded with a scribble of asphalt smooth enough for you to unleash laugh-outloud speed but rugged enough to keep things interesting. And slatted boxes. Hundreds of them, pastel-hued and weather-worn, dotting the roadside. They’re crammed with bees busy making liquid gold for the towns below. It all feels faintly mythical, but perhaps that is to be expected. Among his labours, Heracles dealt with the man-eating Stymphalian birds only a few miles from the highest point of the pass. We’re in Greece for the media launch of the new AmalfiSpider. It costs £227,000 and is the rag-top version of Ferrari’s entry-level Amalfi coupe. If you didn’t know better, you might have thought it damned with faint praise in last night’s uncharacteristically concise technical presentation at the hotel. It was described by engineers as being “as easy to drive as possible” and existing as the best option for new Ferraristi who – get this – might find the company’s cars an “intimidating step up from what they’re used to”. Is the Amalfi Spider a car that Ferrari actually enjoyed creating or one it merely feels compelled to offer, to get people hooked on Maranello magic before their heads are turned by wares from Gaydon and Stuttgart? The truth will soon become obvious, but this car is without doubt more approachable than the drop-top Ferraris it subordinates, the midengined 296 GTS and flagship, 1036hp 849 Testarossa Spider. I do wonder if positioning it as the dilettante’s choice sells it short, though. Let’s face facts: here we have a short wheelbase, steering response with which you could draw blood and a 3855cc twin-turbo V8 laying down 561lb from 3000rpm and 631bhp (spins faster than ever, too). There’s also the small matter of a new Race mode, in which the fervour of the electronic stability systems has been diminished versus what you got in the old Roma Spider. ‘Easy to drive’ could be rebranded as ‘invites you to get unhinged, pronto’. Before then, there are prosaic but nonetheless important elements. The freshly laid, glass-smooth motorway that takes us over from Attica, across the vertiginous slash in the landmass that is the manmade Corinth canal and into the vineyard-dotted Peloponnese bush is a chance to settle into the car’s unpretentious, cupped seats and take stock of what Ferrari says are myriad improvements to “quality of life on-board”. The new electrohydraulically folding roof – five layers of fabric, three of rubber – is said to offer the same noise-insulation as a folding hard top, and in fairness this is difficult to dispute. The AmalfiSpider is a closer match for Bentley’s Continental GTC, as goes rolling refinement, than for any equivalent Porsche 911 convertible. I don’t think an Aston Martin Vantage Roadster, on its comically wide and roaring tyres, comes close either. More impressive is what happens when you put the Amalfi’s roof down, which takes 13.5sec and can be done at 40mph. Keep the side windows up, deploy the rear seat-back panel as a turbulence-mitigation measure (it flips out to sit horizontal) and you need barely raise your voice to chat, even on rapid motorways runs. Uncanny. The nose lift – not that you constantly need it, with the Amalfi’s unthreatening ride height – is also new and integrated into the Magneride dampers. Along with their springs, the dampers offer a broader spread of characteristics than Roma owners will know. Comfort mode is softer than before, Sport and Race firmer. And as ever, whichever mode you opt for via the anodised nub of the manettino, you can depress the dial itself to enter the ever-excellent Bumpy Road mode. This sets the suspension to its softest, no matter what the engine, gearbox and ESC are doing. The Amalfi’s languid waft and confounding suppression of wild and tyre noise – that is, its phenomenal capability as a serious-distance GT car – can lull you into a false sense of security. In this case the brutal awakening comes when we leave the motorway via a wickedly tight corkscrew slip-road. After only deploying a couple of degrees of lock for the last 50 miles, in my mind the steering has become simpatico with the languid body movements you get in Comfort. This is, of course, quite untrue. When I carry good speed and carve the Amalfi into this corkscrew using meaningful lock, the nose darts inwards so keenly that, just for a moment, a meeting with the Armco doesn’t feel out of the question. Clearly the Amalfi Spider’s EPS tuning is unchanged from that of the Roma Spider: this is the Max Verstappen school of sensitivity. Your ability to live with and enjoy the vivid effects that your steering inputs have on the swinging, power-domed nose will define your suitability for Amalfi ownership. The helm of the 911 GTS Cabriolet is slower, more natural and gives the gift of letting you revel in the kinematics of camber and castor as the car straightens post-apex. Anybody can enjoy it without having to adjust. Like in all modern Ferraris, the steering here is more confected and provocative, being keen to take advantage of having an engine nestled so far back you could almost stub your toe on it. There are serious rewards on offer, but you have to be game. We should also discuss the new body. Both cars were overseen by Flavio Manzoni, but the Roma’s tapered snout and pseudo-grille are firmly out, replaced by a more monolithic aesthetic. The Amalfi is a smart grand tourer and the hint of boat-tail is rather a lovely one, but it lacks its predecessor’s eccentric, darting elegance. It’s just a bit more ordinary. Underneath the body the two cars are essentially unchanged. This becomes obvious when you notice the identical claimed dry weight of 1556kg for Roma and Amalfi Spiders. However, there are tweaks. The turbos now spin faster in order to help pump peak power up from 29bhp in the Roma to the Amalfi’s headline 631bhp. There are also lighter camshafts that raise the flat-plane crankshaft’s head room by 100rpm to 7600rpm. And finally there are the carbon-ceramic brakes, which are now gripped courtesy of a by-wire mechanism. It means that, behind the scenes, you benefit from the ABS Evo system originall masterminded for the 296 GTB supercar. To reach the foot of the Oligyrtos range, you need to join the EO66 at the comatose township of Nemea. As the buildings peter out, there’s a snaking run that slowly rises through olive groves and corridors of dense reeds, inhabited only by the occasional Mk2 Mitsubishi L200 that all the farmers here seem to drive. With the manettino in Sport and Bumpy Road mode engaged, the Amalfi Spider is stunningly supple and cohesive – unrecognisably so compared with the California that started this lineage back in 2008. It has verve and togetherness. Where the nose goes, the tail obediently falls in with a purposeful squat, dropping the four tips of the reworked exhaust plumbing an inch or so closer to the road under power. It’s effortlessly quick. Speeds inevitably rise and very soon, all thoughts of the soft-close doors, the new physical steering-wheel controls (a vast improvement on the derided haptics) and rolling refinement have faded. But the engineers were right: this is an incredibly low-cortisol Ferrari when you’re just mooching. Which only heightens the surprise and the delight when you’re not. And now we reach the pass. The only real way to go is to select that freer Race mode, at least until you have a good understanding of the car’s transition from grip to slip. This can happen rapidly but in the dry it never happens unexpectedly. The V8 is also precise enough for anybody to enjoy gently over-rotating the notably narrow (285-section) rear Goodyears on exit, for a tiny opening of lock. Given half a chance, the car will slither everywhere in such fashion. Or you can smash the torque in and ride out a filthy great broad slide, although you need to select ESC Off mode for this. Does any other Ferrari invite you to steer using the long, indulgently sprung throttle pedal as enthusiastically as the Amalfi? At the same time, this new chassis is more forgiving than before. In Sport or even Comfort modes, if a corner ended up being sharper than expected, it wasn’t uncommon for the Roma’s tail to go wandering on a trailing brake. Some of us loved this impetuous, in-built agility, but the Amalfi , with its new 6D chassis controller, is less impishly mobile in normal driving. That’s handy in a car just 6mm narrower than the 12Cilindri. We hit the top of the pass with the morning shadows receding and Harrison steps out to get a shot of the Amalfi’s nose next to one of the beehives. Unfortunately for him, I neglect to kill the booming V8 via the now-physical stop-start button. For the poor bees this is the equivalent of a T-Rex inserting its head through your bedroom window, so Harrison beats an undignified retreat and now it’s time for some conclusions. We both feel the lack of sonic fireworks is disappointing. In fairness, Ferrari is now at the stage of having to use thinner engine oil simply to get this unit emissions-compliant. Along with the turbos and catalytic converters, creating real acoustic emotion is tough. Neither do I much like the now-mandatory passenger-side display. And while Ferrari has reduced the stack height of the roof to 22cm when stowed, it does chomp into the boot space that is already limited by the hulking, Magna-engineered eight-speed transaxle lurking below. The Spider’s 172 litres with the roof down is reason to go for the coupé if you enjoy touring. But this is otherwise a pretty stunning little Ferrari with some roguish charm. Consider the bowstring compliance that will be the envy of certain mid-engined machines; the balance and sled-like aptitude for oversteer; the uncanny refinement; the miniscule handling concessions from having more weight and a higher centre of gravity than the coupé; the V8 complemented by an exquisite, versatile dual-clutch gearbox. The open-air Amalfi is pricier than rivals and, gulp, costs £49,000 more that its forebear did in 2023. But Ferrari has taken this car to a place that will be tough to match, let alone beat. Never tiring but never dull, it’s an underrated honey. Specification Details Price £227,260 Engine V8, 3855cc, twin-turbocharged. petrol Power 631bhp at 7500rpm Torque 561lb ft at 3000-5750rpm Gearbox 8-spd twin-clutch automatic, RWD Dry weight 1556kg (with options) 0-62mph 3.3sec Top speed 200mph Economy  tbc CO2, tax band 257g/km Rivals Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet, Aston Martin Vantage Roadster, Mercedes-AMG SL63

8/5/2026

It's not the easy prey at the bottom but some mid-market stalwarts that are losing out On the face of it, the UK new car market is a land of milk and honey again for car makers selling here, with sales up nearly 10% year on year. Given that increase, you'd expect to see general growth across the board – or at least no worse than standing still – but the volume of new entrants from China means there are a significant amount of losers. Patterns are now emerging and the mid-market is where the action is happening for Chinese brands and where the impact is being felt by established car makers. There are five brands who are really making an impact on the UK and have sold more than 20,000 cars here so far this year: BYD, Chery, Jaecoo, MG and Omoda. They've captured around 180,000 of the UK's nearly 1.3 million new car sales this year, which is around 14% of the market. Add in Leapmotor and Geely and you're pushing the 200,000 mark. Everyone else from China – Changan, GWM, Aion, Xpeng – is for now making up the numbers.  The sales success of those five brands has demonstrated that China can sell cars at significant volumes, and not all of those sales are additive. It's the mid-market stalwarts – those operating a level below the very biggest sellers in the UK – that have seen their sales dip the most, with an obvious pattern. Nissan's sales are down almost 16% this year, Hyundai's almost 9% and Peugeot's 15%. These are brands that have so far sold just under or over 50,000 cars in the UK this year, a similar volume to BYD and MG. At a couple of rungs below at around the 20,000 volume, Chery and Omoda have pushed ahead of Honda and Mazda, which have recorded 16% and 21% drops respectively this year.  Above the middle market, and into the upper echelons of the UK car sales, the drops are smaller: Volkswagen, Ford and BMW have had small single-digit drops while Audi and Kia have managed to increase sales, albeit not at the same pace of growth of the market overall. China is having an impact there but currently it is not a crisis. Standing still here is progress of sorts. For now… It's hard to get too much of a read on what impact China is having on the smaller players in the market – the likes of Alfa Romeo, DS and Jeep, for example – because their sales are so relatively small and other factors can cause them to spike them up or down, making China more likely an excuse than a reason. China is having success in the mid-market by offering a lot of car for not a lot of money. Heavily leaning toward electric models, Chinese brands aren't bogged down by the ZEV mandate targets that legacy car makers are wrestling with. Crucially, they also enjoy far lower production costs. That makes aggressive fleet discounting or non-retail giveaway deals viable for them, where it would be financial suicide for legacy players. The mid-market has long felt the squeeze from those both above and below it, but China is a different kind of threat because its marques enter with brand and badge neutrality; you don't know what you're going to get from a BYD but you recognise its best cars as being cheap without feeling cheap. What is Nissan beyond the Qashqai? Name three cars from the Honda range. What's the best-selling Peugeot? Try and spot a Hyundai when you take the badge off the bonnet. What was the last new Mazda? The mid-market isn't a total struggle in the UK for established players: Vauxhall, Renault and Skoda are doing well. They also feel like brands that have a plan and an identity, with a centre of gravity in their ranges, be it the small EVs from Renault, the SUV consistency from Skoda, or the value push from Vauxhall. But the question has long been asked about who the losers will be when the Chinese car industry starts to sell at volume overseas. Now, we're starting to see those who are feeling the pain.

8/5/2026

Four-wheel-drive rival to Lexus LM is fourth model in Chinese luxury brand's expanding UK range BYD-owned luxury brand Denza is now taking orders for its fourth model, a luxury MPV to rival the Lexus LM and Mercedes-Benz V-Class. The D9 joins the Z9 GT shooting brake, Bao 5 SUV and Z supercar in an expanding line-up of models designed to compete with the European premium stalwarts. Priced from £75,000, it undercuts the LM by almost £23,000 and is roughly in line with what the new Mercedes VLE is expected to cost when it lands next year. The D9 is a plug-in hybrid, featuring an electric motor on each axle – making 228bhp at the front and 60bhp at the rear – and a 119bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine. Denza hasn't quoted a combined power output but said the big seven-seater will crack 0-62mph in 8.6sec.  Meanwhile, a 58.5kWh battery under the floor allows for an electric-only range of up to 130 miles and is compatible with BYD's new ultra-rapid Flash chargers, which can fill it from 10-70% in just five minutes. Like the Z9 and Bao 5, the D9 is equipped with BYD's DiSus active suspension system, which adjusts compression and rebound rates on the move to "deliver both assured body control through the corners with a supple ride on rougher road surfaces". As standard, the D9 comes equipped with electric sliding doors, leather seats, a panoramic roof, cooled and heated storage compartments and LCD control panels for each second-row passenger.  Step up to £85,000 Ultimate trim and it gains 'zero-gravity' seats in the middle row, with 14-way adjustment, 16-point massaging and the ability to recline almost horizontal - plus 12.8in screens within the front headrests. Deliveries will begin in the coming months.

8/5/2026

With temperatures topping 30°C again, now's the perfect time for your car's essential summer health check If it feels like this summer has barely let up, you're not imagining it. The UK has now recorded temperatures of 35°C or higher in May, June and July alike – something that's never happened in the same year’s weather records before. When spells of hot, dry weather push the mercury into the thirties, your car needs to work harder than it has all year. Combine this with summer holidays where soaring temperatures are paired with days out and even longer trips away from home, and you’ll want to be reassured your car is well maintained and fit for the job. Long motorway miles, a fully loaded boot and cabin temperatures that would make anyone wilt all add up to more stress on your car than the average commute. A few minutes of preparation now can be the difference between a smooth departure and a trip-spoiling roadside emergency. So, from air con to abroad-driving rules, we’ve partnered with Kwik Fit to list the five things worth checking before you set off, with the biggest one – you guessed it, tyres – saved until last. Get your free summer tyre check today #1 Get your air con checked (and regassed if needed) There's nothing that saps holiday enthusiasm faster than a car that can't keep its cool. Air conditioning systems naturally lose a small amount of refrigerant every year – usually around 10% – even without a fault, so a system that felt fine last summer might blow lukewarm air by the time this one arrives. If your car is taking longer to cool down, or the air coming through the vents isn't as cold as it used to be, it's worth having it looked at before you're relying on it for a five-hour drive to your favourite coastal spot. A basic air con check is quick and inexpensive, and it can flag a slow refrigerant leak before it becomes a bigger, more expensive problem. If a regas is needed, most garages – Kwik Fit included – can do it in under an hour, and it's the sort of job that's easy to book alongside anything else you're having done, or while you enjoy an iced latte at the nearest cafe. It isn't just about comfort, either. A cabin that's stiflingly hot is a genuine distraction behind the wheel, and tired, overheated drivers react more slowly and can make rash decisions. On a long journey with restless kids in the back, keeping the car cool is as much about concentration and safety as it is about anyone's temper. It's also worth checking your pollen filter at the same time – a clogged one restricts airflow and makes the whole system work harder, which is especially noticeable during a hot, dry summer when pollen and dust are everywhere. Hayfever sufferers will feel much better too, and avoid the sore eyes that are the last thing you need on a long drive. A five minute check now could save hours of serious discomfort later in summer traffic. Book your air-con ragas #2 Top up and check your fluids Engine oil, coolant and screenwash rarely get a second thought until something goes wrong, but hot weather and long-distance driving put more strain on all three than a typical school run ever will. Coolant is the big one: it's what stops your engine overheating, and it works considerably harder on a warm day with the air con running and a full car than it does on a cool, unladen commute. Low coolant on a busy motorway in July is a recipe for a breakdown at the worst possible moment. Checking oil and coolant levels takes a couple of minutes with the bonnet up and costs nothing, and most garages like your local Kwik Fit will happily do it for you as part of a wider free vehicle health check. It's also a good moment to pop out the dipstick and check if the oil looks the right golden colour and thin consistency, rather than dark and sludgy, since a long, hot trip is exactly the sort of driving that shows up a car that's overdue for a service. Screenwash is easy to overlook but just as important in summer – dust, pollen, insect smears and road grime build up fast on a hot dry road, and an empty washer bottle is a genuine hazard when you're driving into low evening sun with the visor down and glare already doing you no favours. It's worth giving brake fluid a mention too, particularly if you're planning on towing a caravan or driving down some unfamiliar, mountainous foreign roads – heavier loads and sustained braking both ask more of the system. None of this needs to be complicated. A free check at a Kwik Fit centre will run through oil, coolant, brake fluid and screenwash in one visit, so there's no reason to be guessing what surprises lurk under the bonnet before a long trip. Book your free fluids check today #3 Know the rules if you're driving abroad If your summer holiday involves a ferry crossing or the Channel Tunnel rather than the airport, there's a bit of homework to do before you leave, because the rules for driving in Europe have shifted since Brexit and it's easy to be caught out by outdated advice. Since September 2021, GB stickers have been retired in favour of 'UK' – though if your number plate already carries the UK identifier with the Union Jack flag, you won't need a separate sticker for most countries. Spain, Cyprus and Malta are the exceptions, where a UK sticker is required regardless of what's on your plate. You'll also want your V5C logbook and proof of insurance in the car, and it's worth checking whether your policy needs extending for time spent overseas, since many providers only offer a set number of days of European cover as standard. If you're heading further afield, it's also worth knowing that British citizens will soon need an ETIAS travel authorisation to enter many European countries – a quick online form, but one more thing to sort ahead of time rather than at the border. This was planned for introduction in late 2026, but now looks to have been delayed until 2027.  When it is introduced, it is expected to cost around £17 and last for three years. Beyond documents, most European countries expect you to carry a warning triangle, a high-vis vest for each occupant and a first aid kit. If you're driving a right-hand-drive on the opposite side of the road to normal, you'll need headlamp beam deflectors to stop your dipped beam dazzling oncoming traffic – some cars with advanced adaptive headlights allow you to switch this within the headlight settings. Some countries have their own quirks on top – France, for instance, has specific rules around breathalyser kits and low-emission zones in certain cities – so a quick check of the destination-specific advice is worth the ten minutes it takes. None of it is complicated, but it's far easier to sort at home than to discover a gap in your paperwork or kit at a toll booth. #4 Pack smart and don't overload the car It's tempting to treat the boot as a bottomless pit once the beach bags, bikes and camping gear start piling up, but every car has a maximum load weight for good reason. An overloaded car sits differently on the road, takes longer to stop, and puts more strain on suspension, brakes and, crucially, tyres than they're designed for. Your vehicle's handbook or the plate inside the driver's door will tell you the maximum permitted weight, and it's worth a rough mental tally before you start strapping things to the roof. You’ll also need to adjust tyre pressures to the manufacturer’s recommended settings for a fully laden vehicle. You can find this information through Kwik Fit’s handy online tool here. Roof boxes and bike racks are brilliant for freeing up interior space, but they also change how your car handles, particularly in crosswinds, and they increase fuel or energy consumption more than most people expect. If you're using one, distribute weight evenly and keep heavier items low and central where possible, both inside the car and up top. It's also worth having a plan for the unexpected: a charged phone, a basic breakdown kit and a note of your cover provider's number will make any hold-up far less stressful, especially with children counting down the miles to the caravan site. A fully loaded car behaves differently to the one you're used to driving on the commute or school run, so it's worth a few minutes to think about what's going in, where, and how much it all weighs. It's a simple habit, but one that pays off the moment the road gets twisty or the weather turns – which brings us to the part of the car that has to cope with all that extra weight, in all conditions, using nothing but four small contact patches with the road. #5 Check your tyres – the single most important job on this list Everything else on this list matters, but nothing affects how safely your car handles a long summer drive quite like its tyres. They're the only part of the car actually touching the road, and with a fully loaded boot, higher speeds and hotter tarmac all working against them, summer is exactly when tyres are put under the most strain. In fact, Kwik Fit’s research has found that one in eight drivers have suffered tyre problems on summer holiday journeys. Heat is a genuine factor here, not just a talking point. Hot road surfaces increase the operating temperature of a tyre that's already working harder because of extra weight and longer journeys, and that combination accelerates wear on tyres that are already close to the legal limit. The legal minimum tread depth in the UK is 1.6mm, but braking performance – especially in the wet, which UK summers still have no shortage of – drops off noticeably well before you reach that limit. It's worth checking tread depth (a 20p coin pushed into the main grooves is the classic test: if you can see the outer band of the coin, it's time for new tyres), tyre pressures, which change with temperature and load, and the sidewalls for any cracking, bulges or damage that could turn into a blowout at motorway speed. Recent research for Kwik Fit found that almost one in ten drivers had set off on a summer holiday knowing there was a problem with their car, but they just hoped it would be OK until they got home again. If you’ve been living with a tyre with a slow puncture, never head out on a long motorway trip before having it inspected to find out what the cause is, and if it can be safely repaired or needs to be replaced. This is where it's worth having a professional take a proper look rather than guessing. Kwik Fit offers a free tyre check at every one of its UK centres, with no obligation to buy anything, so there's no reason not to get a second opinion before a long trip. If you do need new tyres, same-day fitting is available both in-store and via Kwik Fit's mobile fitting service, which sends a technician to your home or workplace – useful if you've left it late or a problem crops up in the days before you're due to leave. With a wide range of tyres to suit every budget, there's no need to overspend, but it is worth choosing quality: a tyre like the Continental PremiumContact 7, for example, is built around strong wet grip and braking performance, exactly what you want underneath a fully loaded car on an unfamiliar road, possibly in a rainstorm, hundreds of miles from home. Ultimately, tyres are a safety item first and a performance one second. Fresh air con and full fluids will make the journey more comfortable, and knowing the rules abroad will save you a headache at the border, but it's four small patches of rubber that decide how well your car stops, steers and grips when it matters. Give them the once-over before you go, and the rest of the items on this list can easily fall into place around them. Book your free tyre check today

8/5/2026

Last month was the strongest July for new car sales in the UK since the Covid pandemic, as a significant rise in sales of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric cars drove growth. A total of 156,571 new cars were registered during July, an increase of 11.7% compared with July 2025 and close to the 157,580 recorded during the same month in 2019. EV registrations rose by 44.5% compared with July 2025, to 43,106. That means that for the year so far, EVs have accounted for just over one in four of all new cars sold – a significant improvement on a year ago but still short of the 33% target set by the government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) attributed the rise in EV sales to the continued roll-out of the government’s Electric Car Grant and discounting. It also suggested the rise in petrol and diesel fuel prices triggered by the Iran war may have swayed buyers towards EVs and hybrids.  PHEV sales rose 33.6% year on year, to 23,359, while sales of conventional (or ‘self-charging’) hybrids rose 11.6%, to 20,711. Registrations of pure-petrol cars, meanwhile, declined significantly. They fell from 66,271 to 62,799, a reduction of 5.2%. Although they remain the predominant choice of UK buyers, petrol cars’ market share fell from 47.3% in July 2025 to 40.1% in July 2026. This means that electrified cars – ie those capable of driving solely on electric power – now account for more than half of all new car sales in the UK.  SMMT chief Mike Hawes warned, however, that this growth “cannot be sustained”. He claimed that car makers are “haemorrhaging billions” by discounting their EVs in order to stimulate demand sufficient to meet their ZEV mandate targets. Hawes has previously called on the government to accelerate its review of the ZEV mandate and smooth the annual inclines in EV sales targets, as the UK approaches its 2035 deadline for sales of new ICE cars. EV-focused transport research organisation New Automotive said that, taking into account the credit-banking and credit-trading flexibilities built into the ZEV mandate scheme, sales are tracking ahead of targets. Although the official target for EV sales for 2026 is 33%, New Automotive estimates a real target of 24.6%, and the EV market share for the full year currently stands at 25.3%.  The best-selling car in July was the Ford Puma, a regular chart-topper, with 3531 registrations. It was followed by the Nissan Qashqai (3224) and Kia Sportage (3205). The best-selling EV, meanwhile, was the Renault 5 (1805). Notably, Chinese newcomer Jaecoo had two models in July’s top 10 best-sellers. Its 5 and 7 SUVs scored 2481 and 2709 registrations respectively.

8/5/2026

New BCA scheme aims to raise confidence in ex-fleet used EVs and make them more attractive to buyers BCA has opened an industry-first facility offering cost-effective battery repairs for de-fleeted electric and hybrid vehicles, aimed at helping them find homes with second-hand buyers. The site in Doncaster is managed by BCA Fleet Solutions and offers diagnostics, repairs and replacements for high-voltage components including the battery, inverter, drive motor and on-board charging system, with work carried out to OEM standards. The facility is equipped to work on all makes and models, focused on vehicles with an expired or invalidated warranty. BCA says it will use “green” (used) parts where available. The used electric car market is breaking records for volume each quarter as it receives the influx of three- to five-year-old ex-fleet cars, many of which were leased to company car and salary sacrifice schemes following the introduction of ultra-low tax rates in April 2020. At 86,943 units, EVs accounted for 4.3% of all used car sales in the first quarter of this year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and that supply is increasing.  The latest data from HM Revenue & Customs shows 51% of company car drivers (467,000 of them) were in electric cars in 2024/25. That’s a sizeable jump from the 7% share (52,000 drivers) in 2020/21. However, with supply surging, comparatively few incentives available for second-hand buyers and sizeable discounts on new cars, the leasing sector is claiming large losses as companies face “cliff-edge” residual values when those vehicles are auctioned at the end of what’s typically a three-year contract.  Used vehicle leasing is rising in popularity, which helps spread depreciation over a longer period, but companies have warned they could need to inflate monthly rentals on new cars to cover the risk of further losses – and that would make them more expensive for both fleets and private customers. Industry body the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), whose members operate 750,000 EVs (more than a third of the two million on UK roads), has called for standardised battery health certificates to give buyers more confidence and make vehicles easier to sell. With more than 1000 EVs going through its auctions each week, BCA has launched several services to support demand, claiming vehicles are selling quickly and at higher prices than the residual value guides have forecast. In 2024, the company introduced a battery service report working with specialist firm Aviloo, which produces a health score out of 100 and issues condition grades from A to E, then supplies a full report to winning bidders that they can pass on to customers. Within a year, BCA claimed the 22,000 vehicles auctioned with battery health reports averaged a 1.4% improvement over the guide price and a 2.7-day reduction in time-to-sale, showing higher confidence among dealers that they could sell them on. This builds on the EV/Hybrid Assured Report, introduced in 2019, which includes diagnostics and drive tests, and assesses the condition of vehicles’ charging ports, cables and inverter coolant levels. Paul Bromley, managing director of BCA Fleet Solutions, said: “Rather than simply replacing expensive batteries, we investigate the cause and repair or replace components, delivering a cost-effective and timely solution that means EVs and hybrid vehicles can be repaired and offered for sale without undue delay.  “This helps to foster a circular economy, driving environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and ensuring these vehicles reach the market in the best possible condition to attract buyers.​”

8/5/2026

Electric sports Corsa brings stiffer suspension, limited-slip differential and a series of retro nods The Vauxhall Corsa GSE will be quicker yet cheaper than the Volkswagen Golf GTI when it lands in the UK later this year.  Despite being pitched in the traditional ‘junior’ hot hatch class, once occupied by cars such as the Ford Fiesta ST, the new EV has the performance to outmatch many full-sized performance cars. With 277bhp, it takes 5.5sec to hit 62mph from rest, beating the 5.9sec of the benchmark Golf GTI - and the 5.7sec taken by its electric equivalent, the Volkswagen ID 3 GTX. That also makes the Corsa GSE quicker than the rival Alpine A290 (6.4sec). The Corsa GSE will be priced from £34,495, or £32,995 if – as expected – it gets the £1500 Electric Car Grant from which the standard Corsa benefits. That's roughly on a par with the A290, and £9000 less than the GTI. The Corsa GSE is Vauxhall’s first hot hatch since it discontinued the Corsa VXR eight years ago and is claimed to bring "the sporty GSi genes of the Vauxhall Nova into the future". As with the new GTi version of its Peugeot 208 twin, the Corsa GSE swaps the regular Corsa Electric’s 154bhp motor for the 277bhp unit that's also deployed in the Abarth 600e, Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce and Vauxhall Mokka GSE. Power is delivered to the front wheels through a Torsen limited-slip differential and Vauxhall said it has tuned the throttle and brake pedal responses to emphasise the GSE's sportiness. The car also gets reworked axles front and rear, as well as stiffer anti-roll bars and new dampers with hydraulic bump stops. The suspension sits lower than the regular Corsa's and the cambered 18in alloy wheels are fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres. Both the weight and feedback of the steering have been increased and the rack is quicker. Stopping power is provided by four-pot Alcon brakes front and rear. Three-spoke alloys hark back to those on the original hot Nova, with a flat-faced design to improve aero performance. As with the regular Corsa, the GSE features several drive modes that alter the car's character. In its normal setting, it is capped at 228bhp to preserve range. The Eco mode cuts this further – although Vauxhall has yet to confirm to what extent – and limits the top speed to 93mph. Sport mode, said to be designed for track use, uncorks the full 277bhp. The exterior tweaks that distinguish the Corsa GSE from regular variants are more subtle than with the previous VXR. Indeed, its treatment with black contrasts around its vents and wheel arches echoes the relationship between the early 1990s Nova GSi and its stablemates. Inside, it is clear that the GSE is a more focused proposition than the standard Corsa, with chunky tartan bucket seats, green seatbelts and an Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel. The pedals, meanwhile, are finished in aluminium. Alongside the pricing, Vauxhall confirmed the Corsa GSE has an official range of 232 miles – 31 miles greater than the closely related Mokka GSE.  As previously reported by Autocar, the hot Corsa will be followed by a high-performance variant of the larger Astra to rival the Golf GTI. This will look to capitalise on the gap in the market left by the discontinued Ford Focus ST and Honda Civic Type R while also trading blows with the Cupra Born VZ and Kia EV3 GT. The GSE sub-brand is instrumental in Vauxhall's plan to shed its dowdy image and cultivate a new, more desirable one. This, it is understood, is because new Chinese competitors majoring on value threaten to steal what has long been one of Vauxhall's main selling points. "Vauxhall scores highly for rational appeal but not so much the emotional," the brand's commercial director, Michael Auliar, told Autocar. Vauxhall-Opel CEO Florian Huetti previously said "sportiness" represents the "next step" for the British and German brands as they look to better differentiate themselves from in-house Stellantis siblings, such as Peugeot and Citroën.   VAUXHALL CORSA GSE ALPINE A290 GTS+ MINI JCW ELECTRIC Price £32,995 £34,245 £34,905 Power 277bhp 215bhp 255bhp Weight 1550kg (est) 1479kg 1725kg 0-62mph 5.5sec 6.4sec 5.9sec

8/5/2026

Tesla's long-promised transition from car-making giant to AI-driven tech titan has suffered a setback, as returns on the firm’s core vehicle line-up continue to erode. The company reported a sharp drop in profits for the second quarter this year, after the average selling price of its cars slumped. The operating margin dropped to just 1.4% for the quarter ending June, compared with 4.1% in the same period last year despite delivering more cars, at 451,758 – up 10%. The average selling price, based on automotive revenue divided by deliveries, sank 27% to $42,730, down from $58,564 this time last year, as Tesla rolled out cheaper models and offered more attractive finance to fend off increasingly strong competition. Tesla in the UK has been offering the Model 3 saloon for lease at £295 a month with £295 down, meaning customers were paying £7572 over two years for a car that costs £37,990. Tesla’s push to offset falling US sales amid the end of EV incentives there has switched its focused to global markets, including Europe and China. The Model Y SUV looked to top European sales in the first six months of this year as the firm sought to reclaim its EV crown from BYD. The Model Y and Model 3 were the two best-selling electric models in the UK in the first six months, according to figures from the SMMT. The Model 3, which is produced in Tesla’s plant in Shanghai, was the UK’s third best-selling Chinese-built car over the period, after the Jaecoo 7 and MG HS. Tesla continues to rely heavily on the Model 3 and Model Y for the bulk of its revenue, building 442,936 in the three-month period. Its other models, including the Cybertruck, account for just 8822 vehicles produced. The company is pivoting to robotaxis and robotics as it looks for new, more profitable revenue streams, but so far the Model Y robotaxis and purpose-built Cybercab haven’t progressed as expected. CFO Vaibhav Taneja blamed “kinks” for the slow rollout, which began in Austin in June last year but has only expanded to a handful of cities, despite CEO Elon Musk promising that “millions of Teslas would operating fully autonomously in the second half of next year”. Tesla’s stock price has fallen by 29% from the start of this year.

8/4/2026

Around one third of the new iX5 is made from waste products or recycled materials Making cars greener involves a lot more than reducing tailpipe emissions or fashioning seat covers from recycled plastic bottles. It spans the whole gamut of environmental implications in manufacturing, use and end-of-life disposal. Putting a figure on a car's CO2 footprint is a huge task, and for the past couple of decades considerable brain power has been expended on figuring out the cradle-to-grave CO2 impact of vehicles and powertrains. The results now lie in Life Cycle Analysis databases that make it easier to put figures on a new car's environmental impact. BMW has done it with the new X5, explaining how decarbonising the whole production process, including suppliers of parts that make a car up, is reducing CO2 emissions. The X5's carbon footprint, validated by the German Technical Inspection Association, won't be published until the car is officially launched, but BMW puts the impact of its efforts to reduce CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions during the product development process at around 40%. Around half of the steel used in the X5's body is electric arc furnace steel, which includes a high proportion of recycled material and is produced using renewable energy. Secondary materials are also widely used throughout the rest of the X5's structure and interior. Heavy-duty items such as aluminium components including wheel rims, wheel supports, rear axle supports and brake calipers are all manufactured using renewable energy for both electrolysis and production. Thirty-five per cent of the aluminium used in the doors is either from external recycling sources or waste from the press shop being fed back into the process (known as 'closed loop'). The yarn used to make the cabin's headliner material is 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), typically from plastic bottles. Overall, around one-third of an iX5 60 xDrive is made from secondary raw materials - equivalent to 940kg of its mass. Battery recycling has been around for some time, and in the early days it was limited to reuse of the materials in basic components such as steel casings. Today things have moved on, and the active materials are recovered and reused as well. BMW's Gen6 battery includes a high proportion of secondary materials in the cobalt, lithium and nickel content. Renewable energy is used in the production of anode and cathode materials and in the cell manufacturing. BMW says that compared with the Gen5 battery used in the iX, CO2e emissions have been reduced by around 28% per watt-hour of battery capacity. The carbon footprint reduction of the new model will continue during the 'use phase' of its life. Depending on a few obvious variables, such as drivetrain variant, annual mileage and source of electricity used for charging, BMW estimates that a new iX5 60 xDrive should achieve a CO2e advantage over a comparable combustion engine after around one to two years of use.

8/4/2026

Unreliability and bad quality scuppered the TR7, but there's so much to love about it What most people know about the Triumph TR7 of 1974-1981 is that it's a metaphor for the whole British car industry at the time: an adventurous design scuppered by ropey early manufacturing quality that fatally damaged its reputation. It wasn't a complicated car, just a front-engined, rear-driven roadster with a moderately warm 2.0-litre four-pot engine, driving a live rear axle. Brakes were disc and drum. But its design, the work of a team led by oft-misrepresented Harris Mann, was very progressive: a wedge with an upwardly sweeping swage line, labelled "the shape of things to come". It sold strongly in the US in the beginning, initially as a coupé and later as a convertible too (after it was established that encroaching American crash safety standards could still allow drop-tops), but the unreliability and bad quality were the big hurdles. Yet there were great things about TR7s, and I know because I had two of them. Their short wheelbase and relative lightness made them agile, their seats and driving position were brilliantly comfortable, the convertible's top-down protection was exceptional when cruising and they were easy to mend. My first TR7 was an early convertible with a four-speed gearbox and a busted engine, bought for a song with four flat tyres because it had stood in a north London street for several years. Its virtues were a loud green paint job and the tartan seats my family all liked. I sent it off to S&S, a now-closed TR7 specialist in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, which fitted an ex-Rover 3.5-litre V8, a five-speed gearbox and a taller-ratio back axle, beefed up the suspension and brakes and gave it back as quite a weapon. That was circa 1990. I always wonder where that car is now and hope it's still living a happy life, because happy is what it made me, for a year or two. My second TR7 was a later model in white, also a convertible and a healthy low-miler with the standard five-speed gearbox. I kept it that way, because to change it would have been a shame. It had all the virtues I listed before, plus decent body rigidity and quite taut suspension. Again, I bought it cheaply, because you couldn't pay much in the mid-1990s. I was persuaded out of it because someone who saw it in the street offered me a £500 profit. I summarily sold it and didn't think much about it for years - until I finally met Mann at a gathering of MG XPower SV owners a few years back and he explained the car's conception and what a birth struggle it had endured, because it was progressive and thus ripe to be misunderstood by 'management'. Nowadays I wish I had either car, or both, back again, because have pleasant memories of their simplicity and agility, the pleasant nose-heaviness of the V8 and the light steering of the four-pot. I can still feel that gearlever in my hand. Furthermore, TR7s are still good value and the styling, barring a few details, still looks brilliant today. But most of all I'd like to remember a brave but low-key British designer who believed in progress, rather than in maintaining the status quo, and was content to live with criticism from those who couldn't see as far ahead as he could. I see TR7s getting scarce now, and I see their prices deservedly strengthening. The trick now is to find unmolested versions. I keep my eyes open, and if I ever see the right car I will be sorely tempted.

8/4/2026

Smart returns to its city car roots with tiny new #2, due next year as UK's smallest electric car Smart has all but revealed the #2, the electric successor to the famed Fortwo, with a series of murals dotted around the globe. Although it will be revealed in full at the Paris motor show, the new art pieces give a clear indication of the finished car's design. It bears a strong resemblance to its predecessor, retaining its stubby proportions, although key changes include scowling headlights and rounded units at the rear. The #2 marks the Smart brand's return to its roots after launching a range of electric crossovers including the #5, its largest model yet. Due in UK dealerships next year, it has been designed to offer what Smart calls "uncompromised urban capability". The two-seater is based on a bespoke Electric Compact Arcitechture developed by Geely.  The Chinese company co-owns Smart with its original founder Mercedes-Benz, which took the lead on the #2's design. Full details remain under wraps until the Paris motor show in October, but Smart has confirmed the #2 will offer a range of 186 miles and be capable of charging its battery from 10-80% in less than 20 minutes.  It will also have vehicle-to-load capability, meaning its battery can be used to power external devices. At just 2792mm long, the concept was only around 100mm longer than the old Fortwo, so it will reclaim its position as the shortest electric car on sale, undercutting the Fiat 500e by almost a metre. Anything smaller, like the Citroën Ami or Micro Microlino, typically fits into the quadricycle category. That will also enable a turning circle of just 6.95m. Smart said the new #2 will move its entry-level model upmarket while "brilliantly maximising interior space" within its compact dimensions - a product of moving onto a bespoke EV architecture, as the old electric Fortwo was based on an ICE car platform. The #2 "elevates the city car beyond mere utility" according to Smart - and while it hasn't yet revealed the cabin in full, it promises to be much plusher and more luxuriously appointed than the sparsely furnished original. It will still be minimalist, in keeping with an exterior design that's been "reduced to its essence", but liberal use of leather, translucent surfacing and two-tone gold paintwork will help to cultivate more of a premium aesthetic. Notably, will it swap traditional front seats for a bench – which, Smart claims, frees up additional interior space.  Kai Sieber, head of Smart design at Mercedes, said the Concept #2, which previewed the finished article, demonstrates the company's vision that "a city car should do more than solve challenges: it should spark joy". He continued: "Carrying the heritage of the Fortwo's iconic design, the Concept #2 translates our bold personality into a new era where function becomes fashion. It is not only about clever practicality but serves as a true extension of personal identity." Smart has given no indication of pricing ahead of next year's scheduled launch, but the more luxurious cockpit and vastly superior technical attributes mean the #2 could command a premium over its short-legged predecessor, which cost around £22,000 when it was discontinued in 2024. There's no word yet on whether Smart plans to stretch the #2 and add a back seat to create a successor to the Forfour, but such a model would give the brand a footprint in the increasingly competitive electric supermini market, where it could take on the likes of the Renault 5, Citroën C3 and next DS 3.

8/3/2026

Effort to maximise efficiency on Volkswagen ID 3 platform results in unlikely electric revival of cult-classic supermini In one of the 2020s’ less likely retro revivals, the Audi A2 is back. The A2 has become a bit of cult classic, because it was such an uncompromising piece of engineering, using an aluminium spaceframe and radical aerodynamics to create an incredibly spacious and fuel-efficient small hatchback. But unlike the Mini and the Renault 5, it wasn’t all that popular when it was new and didn’t make its manufacturer any money. Audi has come to the retro wave from a different angle, because it didn’t actually set out to create something that deliberately riffed on the past. The idea was to make an EV smaller than the Q4 E-tron and make it as aerodynamic as possible, so it would go farther with a relatively small battery – and it turned out that if you optimise a hatchback shape for aerodynamics, something A2-shaped is the logical conclusion. A fairly short, bluff front end that flows into an monolithic body makes sense because it doesn’t force the air to change direction any more than necessary, as does a teardrop shape that’s cut off at the end for practicality. Try to maximise rear visibility and you end up with a split rear window. No, the new A2 E-tron isn’t as radically innovative as the all-aluminium original. It can’t be, because making interesting but unprofitable cars isn’t a great business strategy. It also needs to be relatively affordable and indirectly replace the recently departed A1 and Q2. As a result, it’s based on more mass-market underpinnings, namely the familiar Volkswagen Group MEB platform, albeit the latest version thereof. This comes with a raft of upgrades over previous cars, chief among which is that the middle battery option now uses lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) instead of nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) chemistry, so it’s happy to be charged to 100% all the time. The other big thing is the new ‘APP350’ electric motor, which is even more efficient, thanks to thinner materials, thinner oil and a separate oil pan, so the gears don’t constantly splash through a bath of oil, causing drag. The A2 E-tron, then, is effectively Ingolstadt’s take on the Volkswagen ID 3. Audi isn’t releasing dimensions yet, but it’s clear the A2 is a similar size to that car. Since BMW and Mercedes-Benz have yet to come up with an electric 1 Series or A-Class, that puts the A2 up against premium-ish rivals such as the Renault Megane, Volvo EX30 and Mini Countryman E, as well as its other sibling, the Cupra Born. Under the camouflage So it will need to feel a little bit posh inside. You can’t see much of the interior yet, but I had a decent peek under the camouflage sheets, revealing that the A2 shares a lot more with other recent Audis than with the ID 3. Think Q3 for the digital screens, steering wheel and 1980s-Citroën-style column stalk array. Mostly that’s good news, because it all works intuitively and feels pretty solid and robust, but it’s still a far cry from the wonderfully tactile Audi interiors of old. There are very few physical controls, and the thick bezels on the screens remind me of a first-generation iPad. On the door tops and the dash, Audi has gone big on the sort of knitted-looking fabric that we’ve also seen in recent Minis, which feels pleasant enough. It’s all very black and rather austere, which suits an Audi, I suppose, but I’m not sure it feels any more upmarket than a Megane. The manually adjustable cloth seats are superb, though, and the driving position is spot on – not super-low, because the A2 was never like that, but hatchbacky enough. In the rear there’s generous head room and okay knee room, albeit with quite a high floor, so the seating position isn’t very comfy. We don’t have a boot space figure yet, but there’s no reason to believe that it would be any smaller than the Born’s 385 litres. So how efficient is it, really? Our first taster of the A2 came in the form of an ‘efficiency drive’ on a loop around Denmark and southern Sweden in the most efficient version of the car, with the new motor and 58kWh LFP battery (there will most likely be 52kWh and 79kWh NMC versions as well) and on sport suspension, because that lowers the car for less wind resistance. It wasn’t the most exciting drive of my life, truth be told. There’s a reason Porsche GT3s flock to Nürburg and not Trelleborg, but it did suit the A2, because it duly returned 5.4mpkWh. That’s not to say this was an unrealistic route: it included some motorways and A-roads. So that’s a hugely impressive result. It means you could squeeze 300 miles out of this 58kWh battery, which would be beyond any of its rivals. Even with a bit more spirited driving, I suspect an efficiency figure in the high fours should be doable. You get all the tools you need for efficient driving. The brake and accelerator pedals are smooth and progressive, and between the steering wheel paddles and the drive selector you can have full freewheeling, one-pedal driving and everything in between. There’s something for everyone here. On the chassis side, you do clearly notice some compromises in order to get that efficiency – at least in the spec of this test car. When the A2 comes to the UK later this year, I’d avoid the sport suspension at all costs, because whatever efficiency benefits it brings isn’t worth suffering a bone-shaking ride. Even on the near-perfectly kept roads of southern Sweden, the A2 was incredibly stiff. It felt well controlled and not brittle, but it got tiresome very quickly. There was also a fair bit of road noise from the Bridgestone Turanza 6 tyres. I’d be curious to see how those would hold up in the wet, as we’ve road tested a couple of EVs (Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric, Toyota C-HR+) with Turanza 6s that really underperformed in wet braking during the road test. The tyres on the A2 are Audi-specific, though, so might do better. On the day, the roads were dry, and the A2 had reasonable grip and steering that was nicely measured and free from corruption, thanks to the motor being at the back. Verdict The purists will bemoan that the new A2 isn’t the rolling science experiment that the original was, but such a thing was never going to get the green light. The question is whether Audi has done enough to make this its own car. It’s a bit of a shame that Audi can’t make something more bespoke, like Mercedes did with the CLA, but the A2 is more than just an ID 3 clone. We will need to spend more time in it on more varied roads and try different versions for a full verdict but, based on this slightly limited drive, the new A2 is recognisably Audi in its style, feel and focus on aero, and its efficiency is very impressive. It stands to reason that this EV will probably be more successful than the ICE original, although I doubt it will have as loyal of a following in 20 years. Audi A2 E-tron 58kWh Interesting design and aerodynamics and a plusher interior combine for a promising premium take on the VW ID 3 Price £33,000 (est) Engine Permanent magnet synchronous motor Power 188bhp Torque 258lb ft Gearbox 1-spd reduction gear, RWD Kerb weight 1900kg (est) 0-62mph 8.0sec (est) Top speed 99mph Battery 61/58kWh (total/usable) Range, economy 350 miles, 5.5mpkWh (est) CO2, tax band 0g/km, 4% Rivals Renault Megane E-Tech, Volvo EX30

8/3/2026

New atmo V8 supercar promises focused driving experience and long range, inspired by famed spy plane American supercar maker Hennessey has revealed the wild Blackbird as its third all-new model, replacing the Venom F5 with a clear and rather different mandate: “maximum man-machine connection”. Although it places a greater emphasis on driver engagement, its targeted statistics pitch it at the top of the supercar set: 800-850bhp, 0-60mph in less than 3.0sec and a 220mph top speed. Hennessey has touted a dry weight below 1360kg (3000lb) with the help of a bespoke carbonfibre tub and carbonfibre bodywork. At its heart is a high-revving, naturally aspirated V8 engine developed alongside Ilmor Engineering of Nascar fame and with a targeted red line of 9000rpm. It sends its reserves to the rear axle via an open-gate, exposed-linkage, six-speed manual gearbox. While there are electronic aids including active suspension, anti-lock braking and traction control, Hennessey pledges that the driver will be placed in the thick of the action. As well as offering a more analogue alternative to the similarly priced McLaren W1, the supercar has been conceived as a tribute to the 1960s Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, not only in its design cues and name – Hennessey has acquired the rights to use the latter – but via its long range. It's first and foremost as a road car, with its development programme prioritising refinement, visibility and luggage space to “comfortably cover more than 800 miles in a single day”. There’s more cabin space than its Venom F5 forebear and enough luggage capacity for “two full-size carry-on bags”, Hennessey said. Aerodynamics still play a significant role: the active rear stabilisers, modelled on the SR-71's tail fins, tilt up to 71deg at speeds above 71mph to maintain downforce and the creases alongside the sidepods are an obvious link to its airborne inspiration. The quad exhaust layout is a nod to the rocket-engined Bell X-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier back in 1947. The aviation theme carries over to the functional, driver-focused cabin, which features an abundance of exposed carbonfibre, visible pedal linkages and a suite of clearly presented dials and clocks in place of a digital driver display. The focus on simplicity extends to the use of a smartphone mount for infotainment, rather than a central touchscreen, and the eradication of any buttons or switches from the steering wheel. The minimalist arrangement also places greater emphasis on the gearlever, which sits pride of place on the 'floating' centre console. Equally atypically for a modern supercar, the Blackbird also features a traditional ignition key. “A big concern with our customers is driving something that is dated the minute that it lands,” Hennessey design director Nathan Malinick told Autocar. “Not only are these objects of desire to drive and enjoy, but for a large body of our customer base they are also driveable assets. You could still drive this in 75 years and not have a blank and unusable screen that is now broken and no one can find parts to.” Malinick cited the cockpit of the 1960s Ferrari 250 GTO as among his all-time favourites. Production of the 71 customer Blackbirds is touted to begin in Texas in 2029, priced from $2.5 million (£1.9m) before taxes. The Blackbird is expected to live a similarly long life to its forebears, with further spin-offs and specials almost guaranteed. “We are not even thinking about what's going to be next,” said Malinick.

8/3/2026

It's a value crossover you can actually love - and owners are a cheery bunch Good news: Renault 4 drivers are wavers. How could they not be? It’s such a cheery car – and still being fairly new remains sufficiently uncommon – that you simply have to celebrate when you see one coming the other way with a friendly wave or thumbs-up to its pilot. There aren’t many current cars that would cultivate such a sense of community – the Jeep Wrangler and Mini Cooper are among the few that have made me feel like part of some benevolent fraternity – and I’m thrilled to be a member of the gang for a few months. Last week I was coming up to overtake a lovely Carmine Red 4 on the M40 and preparing to give a jolly salute when my partner warned me to not embarrass her by larking around with strangers in adjoining lanes. Imagine my delight, then, when we pulled alongside and were greeted by a whole family of 4 fanatics – mum, dad and two kids – waving gleefully at us. Joining in ultimately proved irresistible for both occupants of my car. All of which is to say that the 4 is proving itself to be a car for the happy motorist. It’s attractively priced and competitively specified but unlike some rivals doesn’t trade exclusively on those cold, hard, rational attributes; its charisma, dynamism and slight quirkiness are helping it curry favour with a large and enthusiastic group of buyers who want a car they can actually enjoy owning, not one that simply gets them joylessly from A to B. You need only look at the online owners’ groups for evidence of the conviviality it encourages. There are all the usual questions about how to turn down the ADAS bongs, remove the parcel shelf and find the VIN, but mostly people just want to tell everyone how excited they are about their new motor. “I’m genuinely blown away with how good this car is as the daily runaround,” gushed one whose 4 was estimating 325 miles of range during a hot, low-speed commute. “I’m a day late posting because I’ve been having too much fun with the car,” apologises another who had promised live updates on their collection process the day before. “It makes a nice cup of tea,” boasted an owner who’d discovered the vehicle-to-load functionality and lugged his kettle out to his driveway. Some are even organising meet-ups: there’s no better testament to the 4’s potential to achieve true classic status on a par with its 1970s namesake. Your average electric crossover just doesn’t attract this quasi-cult following from the off. The constant discussion and debate also gives me plenty of opportunities to consider the merits of different specs and options and alerts me to quirks and features that might otherwise have passed me by. I now know for sure, for example, that entry-level Evolution trim isn’t worth the slight saving, because owners lament that it lacks crucial niceties like heated seats, charge pre-conditioning, wireless phone charging and Google mapping. I also know how to tell my 4 to prioritise one phone over another when booting up Apple CarPlay, how to deactivate the alarm if I have a dog in the car and even how to completely remove the rear seats if I ever need to (I hope not)

8/3/2026

Is a synthetic gearshift still satisfying if the mechanical link is missing? Ferrari thinks so Recently I went to Maranello to get educated about tech that goes deep into the petrolhead psyche. Nothing too dystopian: Ferrari’s white-coats haven’t been holding up test tubes to a backbeat of sardonic laughter and thunder as they devise subliminals to make us love the Luce. But they do appear to have concocted a gearbox that can convince you it’s something it manifestly is not. The 12Cilindri Manuale is the first V12 Ferrari with the famous open-gate gearlever and a full complement of pedals since the 599 GTB. Note the careful omission of the word ‘manual’. It costs an abject fortune – an entire 911 GT3 on top of the regular car – and naturally is sold out. In a Euro 7 world, a new V12 Ferrari with an H-pattern shift feels like a black swan event. And rather a wonderful one at that. You guide that engraved orb on its slender lever, through the snick-snack gates, so that it manipulates an articulated rod that runs for a short while alongside the propshaft before docking portside at the transaxle, where – still under your control – it elicits an artful spasm of forks, synchro rings and dog teeth. It’s a decadent and romantic thing to contemplate, let alone orchestrate, if you love cars and driving. Which we all do. But of course the kicker here is that none of the above is actually happening in the hysterically hyped 12Cilindri Manuale. Instead, and as you’ve possibly read, position sensors on the gearlever act in concert with a sensor on the clutch pedal. It’s all inordinately clever, and the dual clutches in the ’box at the back will engage in a manner dictated by your left foot. Timid drivers will be able to smudge the car off the line in town, just as those with unresolved emotional issues will be able to bang the clutch back in to break traction. But this is all ultimately shift-by-wire, just with a UI of mind-blowing tactility. It’s like listening to the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden on Spotify. Actually, that’s not quite right. In the Manuale you’re there, doing the act, and that act has been painstakingly recreated. It’s more like being in Madison Square Garden, listening to Gimme Shelter on the world’s greatest PA system, only with Jagger and Richards pouring pints at the bar rather than up on stage with their instruments. It was clear that journalists at the Manuale’s unveiling didn’t instinctively know how they should feel about it all. No, this isn’t usually a problem. Heavy batteries bad. Mezger good. Lane keeping bad. Skoda Yeti good (very good). But the Manuale defies easy classification. The physical act is real but it lacks emotional stuffing, because it ends at a sensor just out of sight in the transmission tunnel or the roof of the pedal box. Does enjoying the process of changing gears like this subvert your credibility as a petrolhead? Is a perfectly faithful reproduction of the shift quality enough for you, or is the root of the appeal in knowing that something oily and mechanical is relaying the command? I can’t quite work it out. What I will say is that, after a series of faintly cynical questions in the press conference, technical chief Gianmaria Fulgenzi threw up his hands and said something to the effect of: ‘For God’s sake, remember this is an 830bhp V12 that you can drive as a manual!’ And the man has a point. Assuming they really have got the weights and elasticities of the controls right, the Manuale is going to be sensational to drive. Riotous, even. The resolve of the most po-faced detractor will melt before even a half-decent rev-matched downshift. It will be pure joy regardless of the absent mechanicals. And it might just be the start of something. Perverse as it sounds, for now the €590,000 Manuale represents the affordable end of this technology. Koenigsegg has offered a similar by-wire system since 2022 with the £3 million CC850 and its extraordinary ESS gearbox (nine speeds, seven clutches, one open-gate plate). And there is the upcoming Lola T70S GT, which will give the driver by-wire ‘manual’ control over a six-speed sequential ’box, for an optimal blend of rawness and usability. Prices for that will be somewhere between the Koenigsegg and the Ferrari. So Ferrari has done something a bit rogue here, but not necessarily bad or, as some have suggested, degrading for the company. Rather it has kick-started a wider conversation that may just end up allowing you to enjoy the sensations of a manual gearbox in your Golf GTI, long after emissions regulations or whatever have made it prohibitively expensive to fit a real one. And you won’t have to buy a Luce to get your hands on it.

8/3/2026

Volatile energy prices have made charging much pricier in recent years – so how can company car drivers keep a lid on their costs? Electric vehicles have come a long way in the last ten years. With longer ranges, lower prices and faster charging, even long-haul company car drivers can switch to battery power – but it’s not as cheap as it once was. Inflated by higher energy prices, the cost of charging an electric car has surged since the end of 2021, and HMRC’s approved mileage rates for company car drivers don’t always cover those costs. However, a few small changes in behaviour can make a big difference. Here are our top tips. 1. Smooth and steady driving There’s a lot to love about EVs’ straight-line pace, but they’re much more sensitive to driving style than petrol or diesel cars.  Shifting into Eco mode can help soften throttle responses and support more energy-efficient driving. And a gentler right foot while braking is also helpful. Although EVs have a traditional friction braking system, they tend to only use them when they need to stop quickly. The rest of the time, they’re using magnetic resistance within the motor to slow down, and this regenerative braking (or regen) produces electricity that’s fed back into the battery.  By looking further ahead and backing off a bit earlier for junctions, you’ll be doing more braking using regen and wring a few extra miles out of every charge.  2. Plug in at home If you’re lucky enough to have somewhere to plug in at home, it’s almost always the most convenient and cheapest place to charge. For example, the Tesla Model Y – one of the UK’s best-selling EV – officially travels 4.6 miles per kWh of electricity in Premium Long Range trim. That’s less than 6p per mile if you’re on an Ofgem-capped home energy tariff, or around half the cost of the slowest public chargers, according to Zap-Map’s latest price data. Ordering one is easy. Most leasing companies have options to add a home charger while speccing a company car, and your employer can pay for it without any tax implications. If you’re doing a lot of business mileage, they will quickly recover that cost by avoiding paying for expensive public chargers. 3. Charge overnight Wholesale electricity costs change constantly, as they’re set by the most expensive source of that energy.  Utility companies pay more during the day, when demand is greater and there’s a larger share coming from fossil-fuelled power plants, and less at night, when cheaper renewables are doing most of the work. Some of them also offer tariffs that pass those cheaper costs onto customers. An EV-focused tariff (as offered by E.ON and Octopus) slashes energy costs by around two thirds during off-peak hours, which are typically between midnight and 6am.  That’s less than 2p per mile for the Tesla Model Y Long Range, or equivalent to 455mpg in a petrol car. Most EVs and all new home chargers will let you preset charging times to match cheaper energy rates.  4. Be smarter with public charging  It has never been easier to access a public charger. Most new AC and all DC rapid chargers are required by law to offer contactless payments without having to sign up as a member. That’s a positive step, but it’s often the most expensive way to use them.  Several charging networks have paid-for membership schemes with reduced rates. Ionity, for example, offers a 43% discount for £10.50 per month. Tesla also offers discounted Supercharging for drivers in other EVs, for a £9.99 monthly fee. That’s worth considering if you’re a high-mileage user.  5. Join a roaming service Don’t want to confine your discounts to a single charging network? Roaming services, such as Bonnet and Octopus Electroverse offer cut-price electrons (and other perks) across multiple brands, all from a single membership.  Each one works a little differently. Bonnet offers up to 15% off the advertised rate for its top-tier membership, while Octopus is free and offers up to 8% off all partner networks for its home energy customers with ‘plunge’ pricing when there’s an abundance of green energy on the grid.  As an added bonus, you get all of your public charging invoices in one place, which is useful if you're sorting out your expenses claims at the end of the month. 6. Top up at work Workplace charging is more common for van fleets, but it can also help company car drivers to go electric.  Work is a convenient place to plug in if you can’t do it at home, while also avoiding relying on expensive public chargers. That’s a win-win for most employers, some of whom offer discounted rates to help drivers, and there’s plenty of support available to help them put that equipment in the ground.  Fleets can claim up to £350 per socket for up to 40 workplace chargers and provide free charging without drivers being taxed for it, even if it isn’t used for business trips. That includes plugging in at your passenger’s workplace if you’re carpooling, but it’s worth check with their boss before you do so. 7. Hot tips All cars lose a bit of range when temperatures drop off, but it’s more obvious with an EV. Cold conditions slow the chemical reactions in the battery, which hurts efficiency, and there’s no petrol or diesel engine for the car to scavenge heat from to warm the cabin. The result is reduced efficiency and higher costs.  There are ways to minimise that loss, though. Most EVs can be programmed to pre-warm the cabin and bring the battery up to its most efficient operating temperature before a set departure time, and it can do this using mains electricity if it’s still plugged in.  However, once you’re on the move, the best way to stay comfortable is using heated seats, steering wheels and heated windscreens. It's quicker and uses less energy than heating all the air inside the car.

8/3/2026

Alpine "will need" as many as six models, despite plans to keep its range slim Alpine is devising a full six-car line-up – but won't launch any new models after the forthcoming electric A110 until at least 2030.  Alpine has recently launched the A390 crossover alongside the A290 hot hatch as part of its expansion. Asked how big Alpine could become CEO Philippe Krief said “we are more on the Ferrari side in terms of volume than Porsche”, suggesting sales of around 15,000 cars per year. He added: “We are not Ferrari, of course, and we are not aiming to be Porsche. We aim to be more niche than Porsche. We want to preserve the exclusivity and the profitability for our models.” With the petrol A110 retired, Alpine currently has two cars in its line-up, both based on Renault platforms: the A290 and A390. But when asked about adding more cars, Krief said: “Not in the next four or five years.” Krief didn’t rule out expansion completely, noting that after the new A110 coupé and 2+2 are out, “we will need [models] five and six”. The more immediate focus, he explained, is expanding into new European markets and then North America. Alpine will launch in Canada near the end of the decade and the US after that. “The sports car market has been 350,000 cars a year for the past 30 years, and half are in the US,” said Krief. Alpine has scrapped plans to launch a large SUV as the centrepiece of a US market entry. While Krief wouldn’t totally rule one out in the future, he noted that “we currently don’t have the platform” in the Renault Group.

8/3/2026

How good really is Dacia's new flagship SUV, and is it better than the Duster? You will have noticed this, but I'll say it anyway: aren't cars expensive these days? Rarely a press loan goes by without a friend spitting out their coffee when I tell them how much that week's test car costs to buy. As I write, I'm waiting for a Volkswagen Golf GTE to be delivered, and if I tell my housemate this mid-sized warm hatch costs £45,000, I think she might explode. Luckily, Dacia hasn't caught the high-price fever that seems to be spreading among car makers. Since relaunching here in 2013, the firm has kept one eye on the depths of the average car buyer's pocket. The Bigster, then, is Dacia's latest attempt to be the Martin Lewis of the motoring world. Amusing name aside – it's the sort of word that could fast-track you into an HR meeting if you used it at work – it's a serious proposition. It's essentially a Duster that's been stretched both lengthways and upwards, still using that wonderfully versatile CMF-B platform that underpins all Dacias. In fact, that's one of the main reasons why Dacias are so cheap: they're all extremely similar from the beltline down, using a lot of tried and tested (or, if you're feeling unkind, 'old') parts from across the Renault Group. And cheap it is. No version of the Bigster will set you back more than £30,000 in standard guise, which is amazing when you look at its rivals. Nissan Qashqai? It starts at £30k for a base-spec model. Kia Sportage? Same price again for the lowliest of low trims. Skoda Kodiaq? That starts at £5k more. In fact, you can get a Bigster from just £25,000, which is Vauxhall Astra money.  Ours is a mid-range Journey model, priced at a smidge over £30,000 with its optional extras and the latest 1.8-litre hybrid powertrain. The four-cylinder engine makes 106bhp and 129lb ft, with the electric motor – powered by a 1.4kWh battery - adding another 50bhp and 151lb ft, all of which gives a 0-62mph time of 9.4sec.  It's all connected to a clutchless gearbox (four speeds for the four-pot and another two for the electric motor), which works in conjunction with a second motor, itself acting like an integrated starter motor to both start the engine and match its revs to shift without a clutch. It's interesting rather than world-changing underneath, then, but isn't it a good-looking thing on the outside? There's something reassuringly old-school about it. Most manufacturers seem to have gone for sleek lines and huge light bars (a universally mediocre look to my eyes) but Dacia has taken the opposite approach, with chunky panels and a very square design. It has an air of Giorgetto Giugiaro's 1980s Panda 4x4, and in a world in which nothing else looks quite the same, I'm all for it. Dacia's angular light motif works really well here, and I'm a particular fan of the wraparound brake lights that split elegantly to house the indicators. Another stylish but sensible feature is the chunky cladding, something that looks naff on many cars but is well integrated on the Bigster. It covers the parts of the car that would be the most scratch-prone on narrow lanes, surrounding the wheel arches and the lower parts of the bumpers and doors – again, very Panda 4x4. Much like that car, it's a really well-proportioned thing in the metal, being long and tall but surprisingly narrow compared with its rivals.  You might be worried that the Bigster has something of a 1980s land yacht about it – massive outside, but poorly packaged inside. Thankfully, this isn't the case. The boot in particular is enormous: forget a cat, you could swing a tiger in there. There's a 612-litre space with the seats up - nearly 100 litres more than the most capacious version of the small but mighty Duster - and a frankly cavernous 1977 litres with them down. There's even space for a space saver under the boot floor – something that's frustratingly missing from a lot of modern cars. It's a pleasant enough interior too. Sure, there are a few bits that maybe aren't as upmarket as you would like, such as seat fabric and a lot of basic plastic trim that look a little on the cheap side. But the Bigster claws back some credibility with flashes of silver that provide an important aspect of visual contrast.  I'm a big fan of the chunky centre console that provides some nice separation between driver and passenger, as well as being both a handy place to rest your elbow at the wheel and a neat spot for an integrated cool box to sit. You get a lot for your money, it must be said. In our car's Journey spec, there's a plethora of comfort features beyond that cool box: the front seats and steering wheel are heated, there's a six-speaker 3D audio set-up and the tailgate is powered. Externally you get a black roof, which makes it look slightly less tall, tinted windows and some sharp-looking 19in wheels. I'd prefer it on some 16in white steelies but, hey, you can't have it all.  On first impressions I'm impressed: the Bigster is aiming to strike the balance between cheap and cheerful that so many cars simply fail to achieve. A few thousand miles should reveal if this is a rare exception to the rule. Update 2: The heated steering wheel with a mind of its own I was delighted when I first discovered that the Bigster has a heated steering wheel, but it doesn’t seem to like the idea of me using it too much, because it often simply won’t turn on after just one press like it ought to. My high score for the number of presses needed is six, but three is fairly normal and five isn’t uncommon. Another cost-saving innovation from Dacia? No, just an irritating glitch. Mileage: 1674 Update 3: Big miles in the Bigster shows how far Dacia has come I've chucked my Bigster into the deep end, racking up big miles from the off. Barely three weeks into my custodianship, I had a week that involved just about as much driving as this job ever throws at me. On the Monday I headed down from my home in Swansea to the Dorset coast via the fabulous Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum in Calne, then the next day travelled to Goodwood before schlepping to Ely in Cambridgeshire. I spent Wednesday morning bumbling around rural Norfolk visiting a couple of garages east of Norwich, before driving all the way up to the North Yorkshire Moors later that day and returning to Swansea on Thursday evening. Let's call it 960 miles all in – not exactly a quick trip to the shops, even by my mammoth mileage standards. Having done a few weeks like this before, I knew it would really make or break the car for me. The key to not going mad on these mega-mile expeditions is being behind the wheel of something that allows you to be truly at ease: maximum miles require minimum annoyance.  Thankfully, the Bigster proved to be well up to the task. The isolation is so much better than you would expect it to be, especially compared with Dacias of the past. I was worried it would be a repeat of a 900-mile round trip from Dorset to Scotland in a Jogger some time ago, when the deafening road noise drove me absolutely insane.  Maybe it's because there's slightly less room for noise to echo around in the Bigster, or perhaps it's a result of the extra sound deadening and acoustic glass, but it's certainly a much more pleasant place to be on long drives. Not whisper-quiet, of course, but more than adequate for most people. And you can always turn up the volume on the surprisingly decent sound system...The fabric seats are comfy enough and the armrests especially so, the steering is solid at motorway speeds and a 50-litre fuel tank means you can easily eke 500 miles out of a fill. I'm really struggling to criticise the Bigster's motorway manners; I hope it turns out to be this solid all round. Mileage 1975 Update 4: Large boot is a snapper's dream The boot of the Bigster really is remarkably large, considering the car’s relatively reasonable dimensions. In fact, it’s spacious enough that if there were a point to hook on to, I wouldn’t even need to fold the rear seats down when strapping myself in for car-to-car photography. The high roof means I can sit up straight, too – something less common than you might think.  Mileage: 3186 Update 5: Narrow, blocky – and all the better for it Everything is getting bigger nowadays, isn't it? Whether it's bills, burgers or cars, it's bloating at an unbelievable pace. Rarely a day goes by without me being left aghast at seeing something I'd pegged as a mid-size machine fill all four corners of a British parking space. Watching someone try to park something like an Audi Q5 now tends to be a weirdly fascinating experience. The really entertaining part, though, comes immediately after they've parked, when the driver exits the vehicle. In a world of long cars with longer doors, it requires gymnastic manoeuvres that would make the contortionists of the Cirque du Soleil proud.  How do you solve this problem? Not by making the spaces larger, in my view. That would merely result in the big cars getting even bigger and the few usable spaces becoming even fewer. You instead need to maximise less space more efficiently – something the Bigster is proving to excel at. The key reason for this is the same reason that it's so attractively priced: because it's built on the CMF-B platform, a one-size-fits-all approach that underpins everything from the Renault Clio to the Nissan Juke. This means it's not that big a car, really, despite the name. At 4571mm long, it's 100mm shorter than the Skoda Octavia Estate. Yet it doesn't lag too far behind in the boot capacity department. The length isn't the important bit for maximising space, though: it's the width. At a smidge over two metres wide (including the door mirrors), it's a skinny thing. Yet you wouldn't guess that from the inside. Because the beauty of the Bigster's design is that there's so little extra metal extending outwards from the limits of the A-pillars, so the cabin width is essentially the width of the whole car. This combines with the blocky bonnet to make it feel narrow on the road too. As with an old Land Rover Series 3 or a 1980s dad-spec Volvo 240, the squareness of the thing means you know exactly where each corner is at all times. As a result, travelling down the narrow, one-and-a-half-car-wide country lanes that I spend so much time on is an absolute breeze. I'm struggling to think of many cars short of a Suzuki Jimny - another slab-sided hero – that are this easy to thread through a tiny gap. In fact, the Honda HR-V that I ran previously was very slightly narrower than the Bigster overall yet it felt much trickier to place in tight spots, due to its more curvaceous bodywork. It took me an exceptionally long time to work out the size of that car from behind the wheel. The Honda had quite a low driving position too, cocooning you inside the cabin, which didn't help with judging its extremities. By contrast, you sometimes feel like you're sat on top of the Bigster rather than in it.  To me, this bold blockiness makes the Bigster a great-looking thing, characterful and slightly toy-like in stature – the sort of car that you would be able to accurately represent with Lego bricks. Interestingly enough, a few dyed-in-the-wool classic car enthusiasts – you know, the ones who believe that literally nothing of any value was designed or built after 1981 and view the seatbelt as modern nonsense – seem taken by the Bigster's design. Perhaps that's because Huey Lewis and The News told them 40 years ago that it was hip to be square. Mileage: 4927 Update 6: Familiarity breeds contempt – not in this case My plucky not-so-little Dacia continues to munch miles in the hands of yours truly unlike anything else on the current Autocar fleet, and I'm struggling to think of another car in recent memory that has had even close to as much use. Its total mileage since it was delivered midway through January is equivalent to driving along every motorway in the UK more than three times over – or going from the Autocar office in Twickenham to sun-kissed Honolulu. That would be tricky to do, mind, on account of the Bigster being unable to act as an aircraft or a boat. One clear design flaw right there, frankly. The car itself reminds me of the Toyota Corolla Commercial that I ran back in 2023, which is to say it's proving to be pretty much everything I'd like from a modern car in some fairly harsh conditions. By all rights, I ought to be thoroughly sick of the Bigster by now, after the ridiculous number of hours I've spent sitting on its fabric seats, but I'm growing far more attached to it than I'd care to admit. I have yet to find anything about it that really winds me up in the way many modern cars do – which is odd, considering that I'm Mr Glass Half Empty and it does have a few objective flaws. First, the petrol engine isn't the smoothest thing around. There are times, particularly on cold starts, when it sounds more like a ride-on lawnmower than a car. Even on the move, it definitely seems more three-cylinder rumble than the smoother hum of a four, and the unorthodox multimodal gearbox sometimes has a habit of keeping itself a gear lower than it feels it ought to be at motorway speeds. That said, the engine is still not earth-shatteringly noisy, and I don't really notice any gruffness at lower speeds, thanks to it being part of a full-hybrid system, which is diligent enough in its electric usage for instances of the 1.8-litre unit roaring to life without a significant jab of the throttle to be fairly rare. Oh, that's another slight annoyance, actually: the jerk that makes me lurch forward in my seat should I dare to inadvertently lift off as it shifts up a gear. The brake pedal isn't the smoothest either, having a short initial range of travel in which absolutely nothing seems to happen, followed uncomfortably soon by a stop as if someone has dropped a supertanker's anchor on the pedal itself. Again, not great, and I dare say it's a little telltale of how Dacia keeps the cost of its cars so low, but the regenerative braking is strong enough to slow me most of the way down in good time before a tickle of friction braking brings me to a stop. Having said that, stopping is something the car is quite keen to do all by itself when the active cruise control is enabled – something I've moaned about here before. Those annoyances aside, plus a fairly occasional tendency to disconnect my phone on start-up, there really isn't much to dislike about the Bigster. It feels like a truly trustworthy workhorse, and I still marvel at its ability to transport both me and my abundance of photography equipment so easily while keeping me in such a good mood. I like when a car feels purposeful, and that's the word I'd most keenly apply to the Bigster. It knows what its job is and simply gets on with it. Mileage: 7245 Update 7: The ultimate tracking car The Bigster proved its worth as an essential hired (or rather borrowed) hand for filming last week. The lads from our sister magazine What Car? were impressed by not only the space inside – easily enough to accommodate all of their video kit, plus my not-small photography bag – but also the smooth ride, which made the car-to-car tracking shots as easy as they can be.  Mileage: 9825 Update 8: Not just a bigger Duster I see quite a few other Dacias on the road – especially where I live in Wales, where they seem as much of a staple of the nation as crumbly cakes or mountain sheep frolicking along a hillside – but it's rare that I see any other Bigsters. Admittedly, they can be somewhat hard to spot. Even to my eyes, as well trained as they are on all things Dacia, I struggle to identify a Bigster from a Duster at first glance. Line the two up side by side and you can spot the difference, mind. Naturally, the overall bodyshell is the same – the similarity across the range is one of the key reasons why Dacia can keep the prices of its models so low – but if you know what you're looking for, there are a few little telltale signs to identify the pair. Weirdly, the Bigster's extra 227mm of length isn't that easy to spot, so natural is the look of its styling. The only obvious signs that distinguish it from a Duster are the contrast roof, a stripe on the C-pillar, a slightly different tailgate and a flatter, less rugged-looking front bumper. They're two from the same pod, as you'd expect. The pair are almost identical inside too, save for one key difference: all but the highest-trim Duster lacks the Bigster's chunky centre console. That's a shame, because it makes the cabin feel much more upmarket as well as providing a fair amount of genuinely useful storage. The Duster isn't quite as nice to drive, either. Its wheelbase is 50mm or so shorter and that means it doesn't ride quite as well as its bigger sibling, even on smaller wheels. It's also a noisier place to be when you're on the move. There's more wind noise and a bit of extra road roar that the bigger car manages to tune out. So why buy a Duster when the Bigster exists? Well, the Duster starts at £3370 less than the Bigster in base trim and always seems to be about £3k cheaper than the bigger car regardless of spec. I suspect most people simply don't feel that they need the extra 20% of boot space because the Duster has a decent enough boot anyway – and in fairness, even I sometimes find myself wondering if I really need it. Mileage: 10,341 Update 9: Chunky SUV passes key family test The Bigster has passed an important and challenging test in the family household: my dad's attempt to fit an entire drum kit in the back, something that has (somewhat hilariously) dictated his car buying for years. Dacia's largest model passed with flying colours, swallowing the not-insignificant load with relative ease and without even needing the false floor or space saver wheel underneath to be removed. And it rode far more comfortably afterwards too. Mileage: 11,328 Update 10: Irritable snapper can't find much to get irritated by A few very mildly irritating things about the Bigster have revealed themselves. In fairness, as someone who is annoyed quite easily by things being needlessly difficult to use (read: I'm just irritable and perhaps a bit thick), I can't remember the last time I drove something that was so wonderfully logical. As Autocar's photographer, I really do rack up the miles as I pound the UK's motorway network, and funnily enough having a car that doesn't irritate me incessantly puts me far more at ease on these long journeys. I suppose a big part of that is the much-lauded My Safety Perso button found in the majority of Renault Group products, which puts the exceptionally annoying, EU-mandated combination of lane keeping assistance and overspeed warning noise in a soundproof prison cell at the press of a button. Every time I end up in another car, I subconsciously find myself reaching for the right-hand side of the dashboard where the button is and being disappointed to find it missing. Why have so few car makers taken Renault's lead? That said, it's probably a good thing that the speed warning is so easy to disable, as it has a nemesis in the form of the humble national speed limit sign. It seems to confuse the car as much as quantum mechanics confuses me, resulting in it picking up the correct speed limit on these fastest roads only once in a blue moon. It thinks 60mph single carriageways are strangled with 50mph restrictions and assumes motorways have a 60mph limit. Very odd, all in all. Other annoyances? The Bigster comes with adaptive cruise control, which sounds all well and good. But unlike some other cars on sale with this, it lacks the option of 'standard' cruise control. The system is better than most at not reacting too soon when approaching slower vehicles, but it's incredibly sensitive to rain blocking the sensor, at which point it stops working and leaves you on your own. What's wrong with classic cruise? These are fairly trivial things, mind, and my day is still brightened whenever I get behind the wheel, even after 12,000 miles together. Mileage: 12,125 Final report: Bigster is a winner – and joins an exclusive club of classless cars There's a certain type of car that I hold close to my heart. Not hairy-chested muscle cars or bulletproof off-roaders but rather what I term the classless car: something that fits in no matter where you take it, from Mayfair to Mansfield. The original Mini is probably the classic example. There aren't many modern cars that really seem to fit into this category, other than perhaps the Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Golf. But I think the Dacia Bigster has firmly earned its place in this pantheon of social chameleons. No one could ever accuse me of not spending enough time with my long-termers in my job as Autocar's photographer: over the past few months, I drove this cut-price SUV to every English county bar five (Cumbria, Cornwall, the Isle of Wight, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, if you're wondering), to four countries and on almost every motorway in the land – and it fitted right in everywhere it went. I think those chunky looks are the main factor in that. It somehow looks grounded in reality but with enough fancy flourishes to make it stand out from the crowd. Those chunky edges perhaps give the Bigster off-road credentials that this front-wheel-drive Hybrid 155 version can't quite live up to in reality, but who cares when I'm spending most of my life charging up and down motorways anyway? I had multiple people say they thought it was a Range Rover, and I can think of many far worse cars for this Dacia to be mistaken for. It isn't just a pretty face, either. The exceptionally long motorway slogs I spend my life tackling were made much more bearable behind the wheel of this car by its comfort and refinement. The high-speed ride was so much more composed than many of its rivals', while I really was amazed at how little outside noise there was: to look at it, you would think that clipping along at 70mph would sound like you had stepped inside a wind tunnel, but no. A real bugbear of mine in cars are short ranges, so the fact that I was regularly getting well over 500 miles out of one 50-litre tank of petrol was another little thing I quickly started to love about this Bigster. Things were pretty good off the beaten track, too. The deceptively narrow footprint, boxy shape and surprisingly fun chassis made threading the Bigster down narrow roads a real joy, knowing that I would always find space to squeeze it into should I find something coming the other way. Inside, things were less rosy, but only slightly. By and large I was far more impressed with the fit, finish and general ergonomics of the cabin than I expected to be for something at this lower end of the cost spectrum. The physical HVAC controls felt just right, making a nice click as they were operated, and everything else seemed pretty well put together – and appeared to stay like that as the miles piled up. At one point I thought that an irritating rattle was the result of something coming loose, when in reality it was simply a case of me not having clipped the removable drinks holder in properly. The narrowness of the footprint doesn't translate to the interior, which in combination with the long wheelbase meant I could fit three adults across the back in genuine comfort – something that's surprisingly uncommon. And that boot! In terms of useful space, it was just fantastic. Carrying everything from full-size drum kits to race-spec bucket seats, I never once found myself fighting the car trying to squeeze stuff in: it would simply swallow anything I fed it and then ask for more. Now, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. The somewhat fidgety low-speed ride got on my nerves around town – I suspect a result of the admittedly great-looking 19in wheels – but not as much as the engine, which sounded like someone throwing a bag of hammers into a rock grinder when it fired into life. It was certainly a stark contrast to the creamy smoothness of the car when it was gliding along in all-electric mode. The front seats were slightly suboptimal too, with Dacia's weird wetsuit-like material getting sweatier than it should have done on long drives in the summer. I wish they were a little bit softer, too, as I didn't really sink into them. But all in all, I'm struggling to think of anything else on sale that's as good of an all-rounder as the Bigster is. Whether you're driving home from the shops or over to Belgium, you can be sure that it will get you and enough cargo to furnish a small flat there in comfort, ease and a surprising amount of style. I'm going to really miss it. TEST DATA: DACIA BIGSTER 155 HYBRID JOURNEY Mileage At start 6,401 At end 23,201 Prices List price new £29,740 List price now £28,265 Price as tested £30,590 Options Options fitted Indigo Blue paint £650, spare wheel £200 Economy and Range Claimed economy 60.1mpg Fuel tank 50 litres Test average 50.4mpg Test best 52.6mpg Test worst 41.9mpg Real-world range 554 miles Tech Highlights 0-62mph 9.7sec Top speed 112mph Engine 4 cyls in line, 1789cc, petrol, plus electric motor Max power 153bhp Max torque 127lb ft Gearbox 4-spd automatic, FWD Boot 677 litres Wheels 19in, alloy Tyres 205/55 R19, Michelin ePrimacy Kerb weight 1419kg Service and Running Costs Contract hire rate £358 pcm CO2 emissions 106g/km Service costs None Other costs None Fuel costs £2297 Running costs including fuel £2297 Cost per mile 14 pence Faults None

8/3/2026

There's a simple but crucial secret behind how the Chinese brands have managed to develop cars so quickly at costs much lower than those faced by manufacturers in Europe, but it also runs counter to the way traditional car makers work: they share parts. The ability to use standard parts across multiple models isn't new, and it is one the big reasons why global car giants such as the Volkswagen Group and Stellantis have grown to the size they are. The more you build (or source) of a single part, the cheaper it becomes.  But China has gone one step further by breaking two unwritten rules: the first is that parts should be built to the car makers’ exact specifications; the second is that to stand out among competitors, parts should be differentiated.  China has proven it’s possible to break those rules and still produce cars that appeal to customers, partly by using the costs saved to increase standard tech. Now other countries, including Japan, are looking at whether they can replicate that across competing brands as they scramble to match China on cost.   “China has this industrial scale,” Ned Curic, head of development at Stellantis, told Autocar. “Look at door handles. In China, there are three different handles. Everybody has the same.” New models from China look fairly similar, and while copying successful designs has been a feature in the country’s recent past, there’s a more practical reason. “Proportion wise, they're very similar, and why they're similar is because they use the same suppliers for the tooling,” Curic said. Tooling is the industrial kit needed to make parts, including stamping dies and moulding presses. These are typically unique to each manufacturer because traditionally they want full control of all aspects of the car’s design. This, however, is costly and takes a lot time, which in turn adds more cost. “That's a long lead for us, six months or so, because we do a lot of customisation on those,” Curic said. "In China, they do it close on four weeks because they use the same tools." Stellantis learnt from Chinese and is now standardising a lot more inside in the company, Curic said, citing its own narrow range of three types of door handle. Ford is another to spot the industrial scale. ”They’ve got this hyper level of commoditisation of parts that customers don't always see, touch or feel,” Jim Baumbick, head of Ford in Europe, told the Automotive News Europe Congress in June. He cited headlights as an example: “If you develop a new headlamp, completely new, it's three months longer than just taking a combination of parts that are modular, designed and ubiquitous in the industry. We need to do the same in a different way, here in Europe.” The strategy allowed the growth of new brands. “That's what people didn't understand,” Philippe Houchois, head of automotive analysis at the bank Jefferies, told Autocar. "They thought all those small car brands that could not survive, but in fact the back office of a small car maker in China can be more scaled up than you realise. Because they used, say springs, that were standard across the industry, used by BYD, Geely as well as everybody else.” The omnipresent 1.5-litre engine, originally licenced from Mitsubishi, is another good example. China’s standardisation is in part state-led. Government mandated standards are nothing new and are vital to ensure everyone is working to the same safety, emissions and security legislation. Car makers often welcome them, particularly when they cross borders, because it reduces their engineering bill. But China went one step further via industrial regulators Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and its research body the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC). The MIIT’s 14th five-year plan, running to the end of 2025, was focused on setting out standards to allow ‘new energy’ car makers (ie those focusing on EVs and plug-in hybrids) to scale up. The plan laid 647 automotive standards for the industry, of which 54 were mandatory and 335 were recommended national standards with the rest sector standards. However the state was able to steer the industry down a particular path by tying some of the recommended ones to subsidies.  The price of not following them was too costly. “That made them kind of mandatory,” Xuming Zhang, head of the World New Energy Vehicle Development Organisation (WNEVDO), told Autocar. WNEVDO is non-profit co-founded by the China Society of Automotive Engineers and global engineer standards promotion body Fisita, with the shared goal to increase global cooperation on automotive regulation. China’s move was sensible, Zhang states, giving the example of charge sockets. “Suppliers don't want to have to make one for company A, another for company B,” Zhang said. "That’s not good for the product, the development or for their manufacturing. They cannot reach their scale of economy." Battery cells is another area where recommended government standards turned defacto mandatory via the subsidies, Zhang said. “China has a strong government, as you know,” he added. "Sometime it regulates, sometimes it support the industry. It may not benefit a single company, but it will benefit the industry." Houchois at Jefferies believed Tesla was used to provide a role model here. “My theory is that the Chinese brought in Tesla, rolled out a red carpet so it could built a plant [in Shanghai] very, very quickly so it could be used to instil a sense of pressure on the Chinese carmakers,” he said. “Some of the standardisation came because they kind of duplicated Tesla for a while, which is why so many Chinese cars look like Teslas.” The traditional method of car making, where parts are only shared within groups, is changing. Former Toyota boss and the new head of Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Koji Sato has openly called for parts standardisation among Japanese car makers. He cited wire harnesses as an example that could boost productivity tenfold, he told Automotive News in an interview. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa has called for a similar approach. Even premium car makers are starting to take notice, including BMW.  CEO Milan Nedeljkovic told investors late July that cost reduction will partly come from “increasing the speed of development through further standardization and commonality in engineering solutions and components.” Nedeljkovic was quick to assure that BMW would keen an iron grip on specifications, while also acknowledging suppliers could be leaned on for standard parts. “We have to realize that the supplier offer has increased over time,” he said. “There are industrial standards on the market, which are convincing, and it would be wrong not to use them.” There are issues with this approach. It worked in China because it “turns out that the customers didn’t care much about the style”, Stellantis’ Curic said. Instead customers focused more on digital experiences, which could be differentiated. That’s different in Europe. “In Europe and in North America, people still care a lot about style. The fit and finish, the materials, the look and feel. I think they make purchase decisions on that,” Curic said. Sharing parts tooling for visible features could be risky. That is become more the case in China, where car makers are being forced by the pace of competition to find more differentiating features. “The next generation of cars will be less lookalike, I think,” Houchois said. Enforced parts standardisation is not universally loved in China, WNEVDO’s Zhang said: “Suppliers want common parts because it makes their business easy. The car makers, when they think about their creation, their competency, are sometimes not so keen.”. He cited the desire for car makers to move from standard cell design to be able incorporate cells directly into the car body, rather than a separate pack. The next MIIT five-year plan, the 15th, announced earlier this year, has gone a different route, marking a “decisive shift from scaling standards volume to targeting strategic technology gaps, tightening safety baselines, and deepening China’s international standardization role”, according to analysis from SESEC, a body that promotes European automotive standardization interests in China. Essentially, as is often the case with Chinese five-year plans, the last one worked too well, leading to overcapacity, ferocious competition and declining car maker profits. Now MIIT is looking to regulate the digital side further as that becomes the new battleground. It remains to be seen whether European car makers could actually bring themselves to share common parts, something that in the past was more associated with very small car brands who didn’t have the wherewithal to build its own switches, light units and the rest. Morris Marina doorhandles popping up on Lotuses, TVRs etc is probably the most famous example. A move to widespread parts-sharing could even trigger claims of collusion in Europe, Houchois suggested. However, in a period when Chinese car makers are gaining share all the time in Europe, rising close to 10% in the first half of the year, any means to reduce costs to their level will be on the table.  “Massive global corporations need to evolve to sustain efficiency in a market that's shifting fast and forever,” Chris Mason, head of Fisita, told Autocar. “An efficiency in parts supply could help. Whether that's a golden bullet or not needs further consideration.”

8/3/2026

"Everyone has the same door handle": how Chinese firms build cars so cheaply There's a simple but crucial secret behind how the Chinese brands have managed to develop cars so quickly at costs much lower than those faced by manufacturers in Europe, but it also runs counter to the way traditional car makers work: they share parts. The ability to use standard parts across multiple models isn't new, and it is one the big reasons why global car giants such as the Volkswagen Group and Stellantis have grown to the size they are. The more you build (or source) of a single part, the cheaper it becomes.  But China has gone one step further by breaking two unwritten rules: the first is that parts should be built to the car makers’ exact specifications; the second is that to stand out among competitors, parts should be differentiated.  China has proven it’s possible to break those rules and still produce cars that appeal to customers, partly by using the costs saved to increase standard tech. Now other countries, including Japan, are looking at whether they can replicate that across competing brands as they scramble to match China on cost.   “China has this industrial scale,” Ned Curic, head of development at Stellantis, told Autocar. “Look at door handles. In China, there are three different handles. Everybody has the same.” New models from China look fairly similar, and while copying successful designs has been a feature in the country’s recent past, there’s a more practical reason. “Proportion wise, they're very similar, and why they're similar is because they use the same suppliers for the tooling,” Curic said. Tooling is the industrial kit needed to make parts, including stamping dies and moulding presses. These are typically unique to each manufacturer because traditionally they want full control of all aspects of the car’s design. This, however, is costly and takes a lot time, which in turn adds more cost. “That's a long lead for us, six months or so, because we do a lot of customisation on those,” Curic said. "In China, they do it close on four weeks because they use the same tools." Stellantis learnt from the Chinese and is now standardising a lot more inside in the company, Curic said, citing its own narrow range of three types of door handle. Ford is another to spot the industrial scale. ”They’ve got this hyper level of commoditisation of parts that customers don't always see, touch or feel,” Jim Baumbick, head of Ford in Europe, told the Automotive News Europe Congress in June. He cited headlights as an example: “If you develop a new headlamp, completely new, it's three months longer than just taking a combination of parts that are modular, designed and ubiquitous in the industry. We need to do the same in a different way, here in Europe.” The strategy allowed the growth of new brands. “That's what people didn't understand,” Philippe Houchois, head of automotive analysis at the bank Jefferies, told Autocar. "They thought all those small car brands that could not survive, but in fact the back office of a small car maker in China can be more scaled up than you realise. Because they used, say springs, that were standard across the industry, used by BYD, Geely as well as everybody else.” The omnipresent 1.5-litre engine, originally licenced from Mitsubishi, is another good example. China’s standardisation is in part state-led. Government mandated standards are nothing new and are vital to ensure everyone is working to the same safety, emissions and security legislation. Car makers often welcome them, particularly when they cross borders, because it reduces their engineering bill. But China went one step further via industrial regulators Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and its research body the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC). The MIIT’s 14th five-year plan, running to the end of 2025, was focused on setting out standards to allow ‘new energy’ car makers (ie those focusing on EVs and plug-in hybrids) to scale up. The plan laid 647 automotive standards for the industry, of which 54 were mandatory and 335 were recommended national standards with the rest sector standards. However the state was able to steer the industry down a particular path by tying some of the recommended ones to subsidies.  The price of not following them was too costly. “That made them kind of mandatory,” Xuming Zhang, head of the World New Energy Vehicle Development Organisation (WNEVDO), told Autocar. WNEVDO is non-profit co-founded by the China Society of Automotive Engineers and global engineer standards promotion body Fisita, with the shared goal to increase global cooperation on automotive regulation. China’s move was sensible, Zhang states, giving the example of charge sockets. “Suppliers don't want to have to make one for company A, another for company B,” Zhang said. "That’s not good for the product, the development or for their manufacturing. They cannot reach their scale of economy." Battery cells is another area where recommended government standards turned defacto mandatory via the subsidies, Zhang said. “China has a strong government, as you know,” he added. "Sometime it regulates, sometimes it support the industry. It may not benefit a single company, but it will benefit the industry." Houchois at Jefferies believed Tesla was used to provide a role model here. “My theory is that the Chinese brought in Tesla, rolled out a red carpet so it could built a plant [in Shanghai] very, very quickly so it could be used to instil a sense of pressure on the Chinese carmakers,” he said. “Some of the standardisation came because they kind of duplicated Tesla for a while, which is why so many Chinese cars look like Teslas.” The traditional method of car making, where parts are only shared within groups, is changing. Former Toyota boss and the new head of Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Koji Sato has openly called for parts standardisation among Japanese car makers. He cited wire harnesses as an example that could boost productivity tenfold, he told Automotive News in an interview. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa has called for a similar approach. Even premium car makers are starting to take notice, including BMW.  CEO Milan Nedeljkovic told investors late July that cost reduction will partly come from “increasing the speed of development through further standardization and commonality in engineering solutions and components.” Nedeljkovic was quick to assure that BMW would keen an iron grip on specifications, while also acknowledging suppliers could be leaned on for standard parts. “We have to realize that the supplier offer has increased over time,” he said. “There are industrial standards on the market, which are convincing, and it would be wrong not to use them.” There are issues with this approach. It worked in China because it “turns out that the customers didn’t care much about the style”, Stellantis’ Curic said. Instead customers focused more on digital experiences, which could be differentiated. That’s different in Europe. “In Europe and in North America, people still care a lot about style. The fit and finish, the materials, the look and feel. I think they make purchase decisions on that,” Curic said. Sharing parts tooling for visible features could be risky. That is become more the case in China, where car makers are being forced by the pace of competition to find more differentiating features. “The next generation of cars will be less lookalike, I think,” Houchois said. Enforced parts standardisation is not universally loved in China, WNEVDO’s Zhang said: “Suppliers want common parts because it makes their business easy. The car makers, when they think about their creation, their competency, are sometimes not so keen.”. He cited the desire for car makers to move from standard cell design to be able incorporate cells directly into the car body, rather than a separate pack. The next MIIT five-year plan, the 15th, announced earlier this year, has gone a different route, marking a “decisive shift from scaling standards volume to targeting strategic technology gaps, tightening safety baselines, and deepening China’s international standardization role”, according to analysis from SESEC, a body that promotes European automotive standardization interests in China. Essentially, as is often the case with Chinese five-year plans, the last one worked too well, leading to overcapacity, ferocious competition and declining car maker profits. Now MIIT is looking to regulate the digital side further as that becomes the new battleground. It remains to be seen whether European car makers could actually bring themselves to share common parts, something that in the past was more associated with very small car brands who didn’t have the wherewithal to build its own switches, light units and the rest. Morris Marina doorhandles popping up on Lotuses, TVRs etc is probably the most famous example. A move to widespread parts-sharing could even trigger claims of collusion in Europe, Houchois suggested. However, in a period when Chinese car makers are gaining share all the time in Europe, rising close to 10% in the first half of the year, any means to reduce costs to their level will be on the table.  “Massive global corporations need to evolve to sustain efficiency in a market that's shifting fast and forever,” Chris Mason, head of Fisita, told Autocar. “An efficiency in parts supply could help. Whether that's a golden bullet or not needs further consideration.”

8/2/2026

Merc's third-gen hatch hit the ground running as a premium Golf rival - now it's available from £2000 The A-Class was a case of third time lucky for Mercedes - at least in terms of making a profit. The groundbreaking first-gen A-Class was safe and extremely space-efficient. We called it "easily the most innovative front-wheel-drive car since the Mini", yet frumpy styling played a role in it becoming a €2.5 billion failure. Merc's second effort addressed notorious handling quirks but was no less ungainly. The Mk3, however, was bang on the mark: Mercedes straightened its tie, pushed its glasses up, reopened the rulebook and built the most Volkswagen Golf-like hatchback it could, rather than a segment-bending innovation showcase. It was a roaring success. It's still a good-looking car today, with neat creases, balanced proportions and a subtly sporting aura. Residuals remain strong, but you can now grab a well-looked-after example with reasonable mileage for less than £5000. At 4.3 metres long and with a range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines driving the front wheels, the A-Class was engineered and specified to rival VW's benchmark and its trendsetting premium relation, the Audi A3. You slide down into a W176 A-Class's heavily bucketed seats: the low roof and small door openings make it feel more like getting into a sports car than a posh family hatch. That was the point: Merc was trying to entice a younger and more dynamically inclined buyer. It all feels luxurious and nicely finished without being exuberant. Good-quality plastics and premium switches are plentiful, and the 7in (8in with the 2015 facelift) infotainment system is right-sized, as is the smaller display between the sporty analogue dials. The driving position is great, but the rear space is more compromised: the bulky seats and low roof make it quite claustrophobic, and the middle seat is for occasional use only. The boot is also a touch small, at 341 litres, but the flip side of the reduced practicality is the compact feel on the road. The dynamics are excellent, and few would have expected Mercedes to release one of the best-handling hatchbacks of its day. The A-Class is immediate and direct, darting into corners and holding its line with tenacity. A BMW 1 Series seems stodgy by comparison and an A3 almost insipid. It's genuinely good fun to hustle down a B-road. For those few readers who aren't keen drivers, you might lament the uncompromising stiff ride and poor sound insulation (improved with the 2015 facelift), which lets too much road and engine noise inside. SE and Sport models are firm, but AMG-lite trims can be uncomfortable on all but smooth roads. Adaptive dampers (available post-facelift) go only so far at taking the edge off the ride. Another A-Class miss was the engine selection: none of the petrols or diesels stand out. That said, the 1.6-litre 156bhp A200 petrol gives a nice balance between economy and performance, and the 2.1-litre diesel became better refined post the 2015 facelift. The 134bhp A200d is efficient and punchy. Both engines are at their best when paired with the standard six- speed manual, although the seven- speed dual-clutch auto isn't bad. Worth hunting down is the rare A250. With 208bhp (215bhp in the facelift), it has Golf GTI pace with an unforgiving chassis that gives great agility when pushing on. It's a forgotten but worthy hot hatch. What to look out for  Interior: Check for rattles, possibly emanating from the centre console or, on early models, from the front seatbelt height adjusters, which were modified on later versions. Build quality was generally much better on facelifts, and additional sound deadening was welcomed. Engines: Mostly reliable apart from typical particulate filter issues on the diesels. The 1.6 and 2.0-litre petrols and 1.8-litre (pre-facelift only) and 2.1 diesels are Merc units, while the 1.5-litre diesel is from Renault. It's a little underpowered (108bhp) but economical, reliable and no less refined than the bigger units. Servicing: A noisy clatter on any engine indicates it's time for a new timing chain - it's normally due at 124,000 miles but often needs doing sooner. The A-Class requires servicing every year or 15,000 miles, whichever is first. The big service should be every four years. It's worth factoring this into the price if a change is due. Gearbox: Jerky or delayed gearshifts could mean an issue with the automatic 'box - a seven-speed dual-clutch auto across the range. A service or replacement control unit should fix things. Low-emission zones: All petrols are LEZ compliant, as are 2.1-litre diesels, from as early as 2013. The 1.8-litre diesel is not compliant, and neither is the 1.5-litre in the pre-facelift car (tell it apart by a '180 CDI badge', rather than '180d'). Also worth knowing Trims range from SE to AMG Sport (AMG Line in the facelift) with Sport in the middle. Sport adds cruise control, auto wipers and 17in alloys to the standard electric mirrors, air-con and auto lights. AMG versions have a sportier bodykit and carbonfibre bits inside. Lots of features (LED lights, leather heated seats, a panoramic sunroof) are wrapped up in the two option packs, Premium and Premium Plus. The 2015 facelift brought Dynamic Select, with a range of driving and suspension modes: Eco, Comfort, Sport and Individual. It also has the improved 'NTG 5.1' infotainment system that includes both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto hardware support - but not all models have it enabled. Earlier models with NTG 4.5 can have it (expensively) upgraded, while later ones may just need a software update and cable. Insurance groups range from 13 to 33. Vehicle excise duty is as little as £20 for the diesels, while the petrols are around £200. How much to spend £2000-£4999 Neglected and high-mileage cars, probably not worth the risk. £5000-£8999 Good-condition, reasonable-mileage pre-facelifts, plus a few later cars in less desirable SE trim. £9000-£14,999 Massive selection of facelift cars, the majority being automatic diesels. AMG Line commands a significant premium over Sport. £15,000-£25,000 Late, low-mileage cars and a selection of bonkers A45s - a future classic in the making? An owner's view  Sioban Hall: "I love my 2017 A-Class. It's an A220d with the AMG Line bodykit. The only downsides are that it can feel quite stiff and noisy, but otherwise I like that it feels low and powerful like a sports car. So far it has been reliable and economical - I get almost 50mpg - and is the perfect car for my motorway commute."

8/2/2026

The new Citroen Holidays is here to challenge an Autocar favourite for campsite supremacy Few cars unite the writers of this magazine—or loom so large in many of our money-no-object garages—as a 2.4-tonne, diesel-powered cuboid. One that takes more than 12 seconds to hit 62mph and most likely laps Anglesey in the time it takes to brew a strong cup of tea via its on-board kitchenette. The Volkswagen California is an essential pillar in any rounded car collection, fantasy or otherwise, and it's one that justifies its tortoise-like straight-line performance with the hare-like speed with which it transforms from civilised minibus to rolling four-person villa. It has occupied a class of its own for more than 75 years now, tracing its roots back to the iconic Type 2 camper van of 1950. The now familiar California badge had its debut in 2004, and Volkswagen has sold in excess of 200,000 examples in the two decades since. All right, there is plenty of capable competition from the third-party camper conversion market, while the Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo lifts things up a notch with its plusher trim and optional air suspension. But the California has always been the factory-made camper for common folks, even if this T7-generation Cali now starts at almost £65,000 and accrues a further £10,000 with the trim and options that truly make it feel like a home from home. But at last! Coming over the hill, its arrival trumpeted by distinctly commercial turbo diesel tones, is some welcome competition and a car that competes with the aftermarket on price while wearing a glossy showroom sheen. The Citroën Holidays notably undercuts the Cali with its £56,000 entry point and some inevitably rougher edges. The VW now places its seating and sleeping for four firmly on the MQB car platform of the Multivan rather than the underbelly of a Transporter, helping it ride and handle with a fresh finesse. The Holidays, though, is unmistakably a double chevron-badged van with its shorts and flip-flops on—or cagoule and hiking boots, assuming you're deploying it on a Great British break... The Holidays' name, and the font displaying it, certainly borders on the twee, but it channels a whimsy similar to the Mazda Bongo Friendee, a true cult icon of the used camper van scene. It's the knowing acknowledgement of a vehicle that is both fun and functional without much compromise in either camp. And camp we shall, because how else might we appraise the newcomer's nous against the class MVP? The Holidays starts life as a Citroën Spacetourer bus, built as normal in Hordain, north-east France, before being sent to Slovenia for its conversion. The payload is bolstered over stock and, unlike the VW, there's one, simple spec to choose from. A 2.2-litre diesel is now standard, although the older 2.0-litre on test delivers an almost identical set of numbers. There's heating, a twin-hob cooker, fridge and (cold) shower, plus the capacity to sleep two downstairs and two inside its gas-strutted, manually extendable roof. Those beds are snug, however, measuring the 1.9 metres by 1.2 metres of a UK queen-size or 'small double' bed rather than a full double. The front seats swivel to face the rears, and a temporary table can be installed between for a proper dining experience. The California mirrors much of that set-up, but its roof is electrically operated from this mid-range Coast upwards and incorporates a hatch to slide shut to separate the two floors. It trades one cooker hob and the Citroën's unlikely commode toilet for larger water tanks, an integrated side awning and its own foldable chairs, which slot with beautiful tactility into the bootlid. Both vans, it's worth adding, have enormous tailgates that demand care when opening. The VW's build process takes place in Hanover across two different facilities, and it hits the configurator with three spec levels and powertrains, supplementing its core diesel with a 201bhp 2.0-litre petrol and 242bhp 1.5-litre eHybrid 4Motion. The latter offers around 50 miles of silent running—useful for keeping the peace at the campsite—and represents your only shot at four-wheel drive in this pairing, although we have opted for the diesel here to ensure a civilised squabble. While dynamics may appear less crucial here than in almost any other test in the Autocar archive, no one wants their trip to start on a sour note. And yet, despite its distinctly commercial vehicle beginnings, the Holidays won't subject that upon you. Its additional 29bhp over the California provides livelier acceleration, and its standard auto 'box makes progress simple. You can manually shift gears with its steering wheel paddles, but there's rarely any need beyond hushing its engine on a consistent incline. Its steering is slower and more laborious than the Cali's, commanding a swish of your forearms rather than a flick of your wrists in corners, and the Volkswagen can't help flexing its more sophisticated platform in this company. The Cali is quieter on a cruise and nimbler in corners, and it exhibits more quality damping on rougher roads to help justify its larger asking price with more polished manners. An unlikely highlight among it all is Travel Assist, a smart piece of semi-autonomous tech that can predictively brake and steer the car on narrow lanes for safer navigation of unknown roads. While we're not ready to cede full control of our cars just yet, it feels like an adept background safety feature for drivers lost or flustered on a family trip. It's a modest option at £480. The VW is unequivocally techier, then. It's more immediately habitable too, however much the climate control sliders of its protruding infotainment screen frustrate beside the Citroën's humbler row of buttons and toggles. Front quarterlights aid the Cali's forward visibility, and you can see more through its rear screen, which helps offset its pert side mirrors. While picture editor Ben Summerell-Youde and I agree that its beige interior tones look a bit naff, in truth they lighten the cabin nicely as you drive, and one would assume the trim is hard-wearing and easily cleaned. It would otherwise be a clanging own goal beside the darker-trimmed Holidays. The Citroën's rough edges show themselves most viscerally inside, with its tacked-on smoke detector, visible bolts and cabling and—perhaps a clincher for some buyers—the modest level of physical fitness and ingenuity required for its transformation from four-seat shuttle to two-tier hotel room. Sliding and folding the rear seats into a double bed is a right old kerfuffle, while unlatching (and more pertinently re-latching) the roof might cause some bruised knuckles on your first several attempts. You would get used to it all, I'm sure, but alongside the near-effortless Volkswagen, it is the most sizeable sacrifice made in the name of value. You should badger your dealer for a proper demonstration before you lay down a deposit. Each of the levers and pulleys needed to activate bedtime in the California exudes the decades of experience VW has in the game, although whether operating its heating via a touchscreen (or bespoke phone app) is preferable to the simpler knobs and dials of the Holidays falls into the realms of personal taste. Or, indeed, age. A more objective demerit for the VW is its more frequent fuel stops. We averaged 37mpg in both vans across similar usage, but the Holidays' larger tank (70 litres versus 58 litres) easily yields more than 500 miles between fills; the Cali is likely to illuminate its fuel light 100 miles earlier. The Volkswagen is otherwise the better car here against any parameter bar list price. Even then, its frankly preposterous ability to retain value ensures you can lease one from a mite over £300 per month, while the Citroën (currently) asks considerably more. And yet each of these devices transcends the usual formalities of four-wheeled transport to stand a very good chance of becoming a beloved member of the family. The purer, simpler Holidays is more honest, right down to its brazen name. It feels far more economy class in its ambience, but the upshot is you'll harbour less fear of getting it dirty or scuffed. It's much less precious about the life that's going to be thrown at it—which in turn might encourage a more enthusiastic attitude from its owners in what they do with it. As the newcomer to the scene it ought to sit proudly on camp amid a row of Vee-Dubs, too. Yet however much it charms, it can't elbow the California from our dream garage.

8/1/2026

This Frankenstein's monster of a vehicle is based on a Suzuki, but you wouldn't know it Andy Racher's dinky-size 4x4 is an example of what happens when you give two blokes a welding torch and a load of thin-gauge tubular steel - and absolutely no idea what to make with them.  "My late dad, who was a welder, and I fabricated a tubular frame, making it up as we went along," explains Andy, who has an engineering background. "Whatever we decided at the time, we did. What you see is simply the result of the many challenges we faced building it. Basically, it was led by 'Where are we going to put this and where are we going to put that?'." This is the result. At least they had a rolling chassis as a basis on which to work. Andy says: "Underneath all those tubes is a Suzuki SJ410 1.0 soft-top. I bought it 12 years ago as just a rolling chassis with an engine and a steering wheel. The tubular frame and all the extras added just under 200kg to its original kerb weight." Those 'extras' include every conceivable off-road essential, as Andy explains: "It has a snorkel and all-terrain tyres, of course, but also a pair of Rhino winches with a snatch block so I can gear them up to pull more. On the bonnet is a compact shovel and a pair of load straps, and at the back is a spare wheel, a fuel can, an auxiliary battery, more load straps and two waffle boards that I use as a bridge to cross narrow ditches. "Inside are two bucket seats fitted with racing harnesses from a Caterham, a steering wheel from a race kart, a fire extinguisher, cameras and a pair of ear defenders because the engine makes a hell of a noise! It's cooled by the radiator from a Toyota Avensis with twin high-speed fans, again sourced from a Caterham." A neatly crafted instrument panel features a gratifying assortment of dials and switches, but my eyes are drawn to more switches set into a panel mounted along the length of the header rail. "These control a series of electrically operated valves that allow me to wash separate areas of the vehicle remotely, using water stored in a tank with a high-pressure Whale pump," says Andy. "When it's at full pressure, the water comes out like a jet wash. From the driver's seat I can clean the headlights, the spots, the rear screen and the cameras. It's useful when you're speeding through mud." Speeding? Not quite. "Actually, it's terrifying off road," admits Andy. "There's very little suspension travel. The first time I took it off road, I broke it. I couldn't help myself: I took a jump and it landed rear first, breaking the rear suspension, part of the gearbox and the handbrake. I spent the next three days repairing it." In truth, I don't think Andy is bothered by his Suzuki's poor off-road manners; he has just had fun modifying it - and he's not finished. "My plan is to fabricate a couple of platforms on which to mount weapons, which I will also make," he says. "I'm thinking rear-mounted surface-to-air missiles that will articulate, and at the front two Gatling guns or two single-barrel machine guns - I can't decide. With those, it will be my A-Team tribute vehicle."  I'm not sure Andy's dad had that in mind when he set to with his welding torch.

8/1/2026

Line-up ranges from Junior to 33 Stradale hypercar - but not everyone could achieve that spread Which brands, a colleague wondered, could retail a car at under thirty grand but also, like Alfa Romeo, launch a limited-edition, several-million-pound supercar? Alfa Romeo won't quote a price for the new 33 Stradale, so it's impossible to know for sure how much it costs. Tragically, it's not on the regular model configurator. I saw a build slot for one of the 33 examples advertised at £3.5m, but even if that is genuine (I'm unconvinced), asking isn't getting, several people would want to profit from it and who knows if that allows for possible option costs. Those can change things drastically. McLaren says the average array of options on its £2m W1 add £600,000 to each car and that one customer is spending £900,000. Anyway, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you can spend as little as £29,015 or something approaching 100 times that on an Alfa Romeo. Is that unique? In the market, right now, I think one could fairly confidently say that it is - and that it's the broadest model price spread in the business. But who else could, if they chose to, do similar? My colleague thought hardly anyone, but I'm not so convinced. Almost every manufacturer wanting millions for limited-edition cars will be reaching upwards from its normal sphere, of course-even McLaren or Rolls-Royce. But I think what would mark most out as able to do it is not how far upwards they're stretching but how far down they've already stretched. Take Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Audi, for example. They could make squillion-pound cars and indeed have. Most recently, the AMG One was around £2.4m, while an A-Class can be had for budget-Alfa money. What enables them to do it at the top end of the market is ultimately the same reason people want their cars at the bottom end. They've decades of experience of making expensive, thoroughly engineered cars-a lot of them for racing. If it feels okay to hand over £2m to a manufacturer because it has won eight Formula 1 constructors' championships, it fairly well stands to reason that it also feels fine to hand over £30,000 to one. What's perhaps surprising about this is that premium or luxury (or who would like to think of themselves as luxury) manufacturers moved down into mainstream segments seemingly without affecting their appeal at the top end. It has been an awfully long time since the introduction of the A-Class, BMW 1 Series and Audi A1. There was a fear, for a time, that selling better-value cars would 'cheapen' those brands - lessen their appeal as premium names. It doesn't seem, though, to have come to pass. Even discounting the unobtanium, Audi, BMW and Mercedes routinely sell cars costing into the hundreds of thousands, which is very lucrative business - certainly more so than selling cars cheaply. Pity, then, those manufacturers, many with long and storied pasts, that couldn't pull off this feat, and for which value cars are effectively the whole deal. For them, a shift of just a few per cent in sales when margins are incredibly tight can mean the difference between a modest profit or an extraordinary loss. I don't think there's a Chinese manufacturer that could do it today (at least in Europe) - but, given that Toyota and Honda probably could, who's to say that won't change in the future? Could, say, Vauxhall or Citroën or Skoda realistically pitch customers a 'few-off' car at £3m? It feels unrealistic. Unusually for a car maker with value roots, Ford could and has made very expensive cars. It made 1350 examples of its most recent GT and charged £1.4m for a 67-off track-only version. Racing, then, must count for something. I don't suppose anyone has raced as much as Ford, and it feels to me like it would be at the root of the appeal of most of these kinds of cars. I know they used to say 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday', but it feels like there's more to it than that. More 'win in 1966, sell in 2026'. It has always been difficult to quantify the amount of cars an extensive racing programme helps to sell, but I think it changes the kinds of car one is able to sell too.

8/1/2026

The Silver State Challenge is a motorsport event like no other. We head to Nevada to join in There aren't many places left where you can legally drive at more than 200mph on a public road. I've come to one of the remaining few. Twice each year, the Silver State Classic Challenge closes a vast section of Nevada's Route 318 and transforms it into the world's fastest public road motorsport course. No barriers. No run-off. No catch fencing. Just endless desert, distant mountains and a strip of Tarmac stretching to the horizon. The May event, the Nevada Open Road Challenge, uses a two-leg format totalling 151 miles, making it the world's longest sanctioned public road race. The Silver State Classic Challenge in September runs as a single-leg shootout at 90 miles. Having run since 1988, it might be the least-known yet most wonderfully unhinged form of motorsport in the world. A drag strip in the desert The host town of Ely is deep in eastern Nevada, more than 200 miles north of Las Vegas. It feels like an old mining town that moves at its own pace. Casinos and motels wear faded signs from another era, diners serve towering pancake stacks and coffee in thick white mugs and there is a sense the modern world passed this place by. Then race week arrives, and suddenly Ely fills with Porsches, Corvettes, Mercedes-AMGs, Dodges, Vipers, Shelby Cobra replicas and homebuilt monsters producing absurd amounts of horsepower. Parked among them this year was my car: a Volkswagen Golf GTI. Much of the field is obsessed with horsepower figures and elaborate aero packages, but VW's front-wheel-drive performance hatch represents a different philosophy: accessible performance. Some 50 years after the original redefined the affordable fast hatchback, our 2.0-litre turbo four-pot Golf GTI, with a comparatively modest 241bhp and 273lb ft, was about to take on a whole new challenge. But the deficit of power shouldn't be an issue, because the Nevada Open Road Challenge is not simply about going flat out. The event is divided into different classes based on target average speeds. Touring classes run from 95mph to 110mph; above them sit various divisions running at up to 180mph, before arriving at the Unlimited class, where competitors simply drive as fast as they can. In 2017, during the Silver State Classic Challenge, Robert Allyn and navigator David Bauer set a Guinness World Record for the highest average speed ever recorded on a public highway during sanctioned competition. Driving a 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Nascar, Allyn averaged 219.643mph across the 90-mile course. At one point, organisers recorded the car travelling at 243.3mph. What strikes you first, however, is not the speed but the atmosphere: it lacks the corporate feel of most modern motorsport environments and resembles a community built around enthusiasts. Some arrive with professional motorsport trailers and support crews; others look as though they drove in directly from somebody's backyard workshop. Because it is a closed-road event, cars do not need to be road-legal, but the overwhelming majority remain road-registered machines driven to the event. All first-time competitors must complete a mandatory Rookie Instructional Session held at SpeedVegas, a private circuit south of Las Vegas. There, we went through classroom sessions and track instruction. There are explanations of timing procedures, safety protocols, overtaking etiquette and emergency procedures and then, once we reach Ely, course orientation drives pointing out landmarks and reference points hidden in the desert landscape. Only after completing this programme are drivers allowed to compete. Even then, rookies are restricted to Touring classes: progression into the faster categories must be earned. The Touring division is aimed at standard to lightly modified production cars. Grand Touring raises speeds to between 115mph and 125mph; Grand Sport from 130mph to 155mph; and Super Sport from 160mph to 180mph averages. Then there's the Unlimited class. Each step upward requires increasingly serious safety equipment. The regulations also contain a series of wonderfully old-school details. For example, tyres must use metal valve caps: rubber or plastic caps can fail in the heat generated by sustained triple-digit desert speeds. While the event may look outwardly relaxed and wonderfully eccentric, the organisers take safety extraordinarily seriously. Since its inception, there have been four major accidents resulting in five fatalities. Those incidents hang quietly over the event, even if competitors rarely dwell on them publicly. Electric vehicles are permitted in the Touring divisions but are not currently permitted to run in the Unlimited category. Race director Blue Offutt explains why: "We simply don't have the capability out there for the sort of fires those cars can create." Route 318 cuts through vast empty sections of Nevada where the nearest infrastructure can feel impossibly distant. Fire crews, emergency services and rescue teams are stationed strategically along the course, but this is still remote desert. Race week Friday and Saturday gradually transform Ely into a giant motorsport festival, complete with parades, shows and specialised speed events. Then there is perhaps the most wonderfully surreal tradition of all: the Hookers' Choice Award, presented by workers from Ely's brothels to their favourite car entered in the event. Race day begins on the outskirts of town before competitors depart in convoy towards a truck stop farther south along Route 318. Drivers sip coffee beside their cars; final tyre pressures are checked; navigators stare intently at their timing sheets. The Unlimited cars are sent off first. From the truck stop, competitors make the short drive to the start line just outside the sleepy town of Lund, before heading into the desert at 30-second intervals with the local sheriff looking on. The priority is to get beyond your target average speed as quickly as possible. The standing start means that for the first few miles you remain technically below the 110mph average, but gradually the numbers begin climbing back towards target. The goal is to reach it and build a buffer. The early long straights are surreal as the Nevada desert opens out in every direction and the GTI settles into its stride. With the road closed and, for long stretches, no other car in sight, you can choose your line freely. Most drift towards the middle of the road, straddling the yellow centre lines and rumble strip to maximise visibility and smooth out the sweepers. At sustained triple-digit speeds, Route 318 develops an almost hypnotic rhythm. The Nevada desert begins coming towards you in enormous uninterrupted waves of asphalt and heat haze. Suddenly reality snaps back into focus. Just as we are trimming our speed to get as close as possible to our average target of 110mph, we are confronted by debris scattered across the highway: long strips of rubber spread across both lanes. Further down the course, sitting damaged in a neighbouring paddock beyond the roadside fencing, is a Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo. The car has come to rest battered and coated in dust, dirt and dry Nevada grass after leaving the road at close to 180mph. The sight is a sharp reminder that the dangers remain very real. Fortunately, driver Michael Davis and navigator Ken Reese walked away. Later, during the evening presentations back in Ely, the organisers award the pair the event's Balls of Steel Award for 2026. At this stage, the mathematics of the Nevada Open Road Challenge become very real. In our 110mph Touring class, every mile should take 32.73sec. Arrive at Mile 20 0.4 seconds early and you are Plus 0.4; 0.6 seconds behind? Minus 0.6. In the lead-up to the event, this timing variance was on everyone's lips. But every conversation circles back to one place: The Narrows. It sits roughly 70 miles into the southern leg, a tight canyon section carved through the mountains and universally regarded as the most intimidating part of the course. The route notes alone are enough to raise your pulse rate: "Off-camber 64deg into a short straight into The Narrows." Followed by: "Most treacherous blind curve on the course!!!" After that, the notes descend into a blur of tightening corners and increasingly urgent instructions for multiple bends, before the understated final note: "Exit The Narrows (resume breathing)." All while trying to hold a 110mph average. Veterans constantly warn newcomers about it. "You need to build a buffer before The Narrows," one experienced competitor told us, "because you're going to lose time in there." Another laughed and said: "The road decides what speed you do through The Narrows. Not you." We take the advice seriously. Long before reaching the canyon section on the outward leg, we deliberately build a healthy margin over our target average speed, knowing we would bleed seconds once the road tightened around us. Another aspect of the challenge in the Touring classes is that competitors are not simply given a target average speed: they are also assigned both a maximum and minimum speed. Our maximum permitted speed was 124mph, with the minimum set at 80mph. Drop below it and you risk disqualification for going too slow. Organisers do not want competitors bunching together or creating dangerous speed differentials across the course. To enforce it, hidden speed traps are scattered throughout the route. Exceed your maximum or fall below your minimum speed and you are disqualified immediately and not permitted to run the return leg competitively. That pressure becomes particularly intense approaching The Narrows. By then the road has lulled us into a strange rhythm. Route 318 is so open that 110mph gradually begins feeling oddly normal as the Nevada desert blurs around you. Then the canyon walls suddenly close in, the road tightens and the corners begin stacking one upon another. And, for the first time, you genuinely have to work for the average speed. The focus changes completely. The challenge is no longer simply maintaining momentum it becomes damage limitation. Once we emerge from The Narrows canyon section, the priority for the remaining 17.5 miles of the southern leg becomes brutally simple: recover the lost time without overdriving the car. The desert begins flattening out again as we gradually claw our way back towards the magic 110mph. After 90 miles across the Nevada desert, we cross the line just fractions away from our prescribed target time of 49min 05.455sec. The world suddenly slows down. After almost an hour of concentration and speed calculations, the abrupt reduction in pace feels surreal: your eyes take time to readjust; your breathing changes; the silence inside the car suddenly becomes noticeable again. Competitors funnel into the tiny town of Ash Springs for the turnaround before the run back to Ely, and the place briefly transforms into an improvised Le Mans pit lane. Then, less than an hour later, everybody heads back out in the opposite direction for the 61-mile return leg - and this year there is extra uncertainty. Weather forecasts throughout race week had repeatedly threatened rain. Organisers made their position very clear: if rain fell during the event, all competitors would immediately be reduced to a mandatory 70mph average speed regardless of class. Out on Route 318 the weather has shifted constantly. Some sections remained dry beneath brilliant blue desert skies; other sections grew colder as dark clouds drifted across the distant mountain ranges. And then, after the finish line on the return leg, Nevada desert snow begins falling on the mountains surrounding the town. That contrast perfectly captures the absurdity of the event itself. One moment you are calculating timing variance at triple-digit speeds while crossing Nevada at full commitment. The next you are crawling carefully back into a tiny mining town through falling snow. Somewhere amid all of that madness, our Golf GTI quietly delivered a result we could scarcely have imagined. We finished seventh in the 110mph Touring class with an average speed of 109.9808mph or just 0.0192mph shy of the prescribed 110mph target. By the end of the event, however, the mathematics, psychology and sheer craziness of Nevada's open-road racing culture had started to make sense - enough to understand why so many competitors return year after year. A completely legal flat-out race across the desert run largely on trust and camaraderie. There is simply nothing else quite like it.

7/31/2026

A popular pastime among car enthusiasts, both in conversation and mentally during idle moments, is to ponder the dream garage. More specifically, which cars will occupy it, should money not be a concern. Less commonly pondered is the garage itself and how big or small it should be. Like many, I enjoy the Jay Leno’s Garage videos on YouTube. Freed of having to feign interest in Keanu Reeves’ latest action flick or some washed-up politician’s ‘tell-all’ book but not of the money that that sort of thing used to pay, Leno can spend plenty of time with his collection. To many, it probably looks like the dream: an enormous hangar in California with a couple hundred cars from all eras. But I’m not sure it is. Don’t get me wrong: I wouldn’t turn down a similar arrangement if it came my way. But even with full-time staff to look after the fleet, having more cars than days in the year seems impractical to me. Just trying to drive every car at least once a year would be a near-impossible mission. Maybe 10 is the magic number? I’ve not tried it, but that still seems like a lot. The hangar required to house all that metal still needs to be pretty sizeable, and you have to keep up with 10 insurance policies, 10 MOTs, 10 road tax reminders and 10 services, never mind the more specialist attention that old bangers tend to demand. The thought alone makes me want to lease a Suzuki Swift. I suspect the sweet spot is three. I’m currently on two: a Mini Cooper S from 2005 and a BMW 325i from 1990. One is a year-round do-it-all car, the other a slightly more interesting do-it-all car, but which is limited to three seasons, because it’s liable to turning to brown dust. They cover a lot of bases and the admin is somewhat manageable. I’ve had the BMW a year, and I've already done nearly as many miles as the previous owner managed in six. Thanks to him and the owner before, who didn’t drive it at all for 10 years, I had the opportunity to buy a nice, low-mileage car. But I do wonder how cars end up sitting like that. Perhaps the ‘mistake’ is keeping special cars for special occasions. You may simply be of the restoring or collecting persuasion, which is absolutely fine, but assuming you buy cars to drive, I think the best way of getting enjoyment out of cars on the side is to just use them to brighten up mundane journeys. I’ve been driving the BMW to the supermarket and to the odd UK-based job and then taking the long way back. It has been most enjoyable. Even so, I think there’s space (functionally, if not physically in the single-car garage I’m renting) for a third car – something a bit silly that’s wildly different from normal traffic and an event every time. No, not a supercar: that’s way out of my league financially. I’m thinking pre-war. For the past few months, we’ve had a Morgan Super 3 on the long-term fleet. I was lucky to prize the keys from Matt Prior’s hands for a weekend, and I loved how it made low-speed driving interesting, whereas most modern cars aim to do exactly the opposite. I suspect that with a pre-war car, the need for double-declutching, the uncouthness, the confused looks from passers-by, might inject similar cheer into ordinary driving. The oldest thing I’ve driven so far is a Series II Land Rover, so I may be delusional... There are signs that this is a great time to buy a veteran car, because prices are dropping as large parts of the established fanbase move on to a more ground-based existence. I came across a 1928 Franklin with an air-cooled straight-six engine, a three-speed transmission and wooden wheels. I’m sold on the concept of an air-cooled straight six alone, but it’s still £13,000, which is a bit much for a bakery-run car, so maybe I need to give it a few more years. Am I mad for wanting a machine that’s approaching 100 years old? After all, there is a notable absence of Franklin main dealers near where I live. Maybe the three-car garage is better left as a mental exercise. But I’d love to be told otherwise.

7/31/2026

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius says touchscreens in cars could continue to grow in the future - but he believes the industry might have reached peak "low button". As with many of its rivals, the Stuttgart firm's cars have focused on introducing large touchscreens in recent years at the expense of physical buttons. The tri-screen MBUX Hyperscreen can measure up to 1410mm wide in some cars, making it the largest such display in any production car. There have been complaints about the increasing number of controls moved from physical switches to the screen. However, while Källenius acknowledged such concerns, he said: "We spend countless hours on UI [user interface]. I spend hours every year discussing this with our engineers and we joke it needs to be so easy that either a five-year-old kid or a Mercedes board member can use it. That is the hurdle, and once you familiarise yourself with it, it becomes second nature." Källenius also cited efforts to improve voice control systems but conceded "the industry as a whole might have gone a little bit too far" towards digital controls. He noted Mercedes has now introduced physical controls on the steering wheels in its cars and said: "Sometimes you get a bit ahead of yourself and do technology for the sake of technology and maybe forget a little bit about the customer. So from now on, you will see us reintroduce the most sensible buttons." Asked if that meant the car industry had reached 'peak screen', Källenius said: "I don't know if we're at peak screen, but we're at low button."

7/31/2026

Rugged-looking Ti7 goes on sale in the UK as Chinese brand's new flagship The BYD Ti7 has gone on sale in the UK as the Chinese brand's biggest model, priced from £47,995. Sized between the 110 and 130 variants of the rival Land Rover Defender, it undercuts the British 4x4 and the petrol-engined Mercedes-Benz GLC and BMW X3. The Ti7 will be the first UK-bound car to use the Chinese brand’s new, performance-focused ‘DM-p’ plug-in-hybrid powertrain. This comprises a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine, two electric motors (one per axle) and a 35.6kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery pack. The set-up produces a combined 402bhp, giving a 0-62mph time of 4.8sec and an electric-only range of 74 miles.  The Ti7's chunky styling evokes classical 4x4s such as the Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser, with bluff edges to the design and a spare wheel carrier mounted on the boot. It will be sold in the UK under the BYD brand, but it is in effect a larger sibling of the Denza Bao 5 that's also due to arrive here later this year. In their native China, both the Bao 5 and Ti7 are sold by BYD’s upmarket, youth-focused Fangchengbao brand. Asked why the Ti7 isn't being sold as a Denza, a spokesperson for BYD UK previously told Autocar that the differentiation is because the body-on-frame Bao 5 was concevied as an off-roader, while the monocoque Ti7 is meant for buyers who would like rugged styling but may not need off-road capabilities.  In China, the Ti7 is also offered with a battery-electric powertrain compatible with BYD’s ‘Flash’ chargers, which are capable of delivering up to 1500kW. A network of 300 such chargers is due to be built in the UK this year to support the launch of the Denza Z9 GT, but it remains to be seen whether the fully electric Ti7 will also come here. Customer deliveries of the Ti7 will begin in January.

7/31/2026

Lexus's eighth-generation ES becomes its one and only big executive saloon – and goes all-electric to boot. Lexus is one of those car brands that slowly seems to be morphing into an SUV specialist almost by force majeure rather than by force of will. At no point has this firm vowed to stop making other sorts of cars or expressed any particular commitment to becoming a tougher-looking, more outdoorsy version of its former self (unlike some other brands we could mention). It’s simply that customers clearly like SUVs - and Lexus can hardly be criticised for catering to that.Luckily for those who don’t like those SUVs so much, the brand’s management recognises the obligation of a broadly based premium car brand, which sees itself as a rival to the big European ones, to offer a proper range of models. And, just as clearly, said model range should include a big executive saloon like the subject of this review: the Lexus ES. Of course it should. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine Lexus without a generously sized ‘luxury flagship’ four-door. For decades, the full-size Lexus LS was the car indelibly associated with the firm, since it was famously Lexus’s introductory model - in the UK market, at least. In North America, however, the smaller ES appeared at the same time, in 1989. It wasn’t until the seventh-generation ES came along, in 2018, that Europeans and Brits became acquainted with it.Now, the eighth-generation incarnation seems to be part of something of a reset for Lexus’s executive saloon-car strategy. Why a reset? Because by the time it left UK showrooms at the beginning of 2025, the larger, fifth-generation LS had become a very slow-selling car indeed (only three examples were registered in 2024 and fewer than 40 since 2020).It has been replaced, in part, by the firm’s chauffeuring-spec luxury MPV, the Lexus LM. But the old LS also has a kind of successor in this new ES, which is significantly larger than the seventh-generation version; now has a more clearly focussed luxury brief than it ever used to; and has one, but only one, powertrain, albeit one that business and fleet users might naturally gravitate towards in 2026.

7/31/2026

DS sold just 112 cars in the UK during the first half of 2026, down from 948 a year ago DS is poised to introduce two crucial new models in the UK – the N°3 supermini and N°7 crossover – as it begins a fightback after sales slumped to a record low. The French premium brand sold just 112 cars in the UK during the first half of this year. That's an 88.19% decline from the 948 cars it registered here during the first six months of 2025. The sharp fall was primarily due to the changeover in generations of the DS 7 SUV, which has long been its best-seller. Production of the left-field BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC rival wound down throughout the course of the year before finally concluding earlier this month. The 7 accounted for almost half of DS's sales in the UK last year, which totalled just over 1000 cars. This year, just two have been registered. Although the changeover was long planned and the sales slump expected, the 7's replacement, the N°7, has an especially important role to play in sustaining DS's operations as the brand's other models sink down the sales charts. The new N°8 flagship has been available in the UK since March but DS has registered just 70 examples – including demonstrators. In addition, sales of the 3 crossover fell from just over 100 during the first half of 2025 to fewer than 20 in the same period this year. The 4 accrued just under 500 registrations over the first six months of 2025 but it was replaced last September by the facelifted N°4, of which 43 examples have been registered since its launch. DS parent company Stellantis doesn't disclose financial performance figures for each of its brands individually, so it's unclear what impact DS's low sales volumes have on its bottom line. DS has long contested that, despite being a niche player, it is a profitable contributor to the group. Should DS fail to recover the momentum it had built with the 4 and 7 in terms of sales, it will face a significant challenge in ensuring its long-term viability. DS declined to comment. New arrivals will be vital Speaking to Autocar last year, DS CEO Xavier Peugeot referred to 2024 and 2025 – which both brought sales declines for the brand in the UK – as "transition years". He said the brand would be in a position to "recapitalise" following the launches of the N°8, N°4 and N°7 and that he felt "trust in the future for DS in the UK". He added that DS should not be judged solely on its sales volumes, it being a profitable contributor to Stellantis on a global level. However, the UK "needs to provide some volumes" to ensure the profitability of its dealer network, he said. "The coming launches will be key to ensuring the success of DS in the UK." Stronger sales for the N°7 and N°4 will prove vital if the brand is to guarantee its future in the British market. Notably, DS is undergoing a significant strategic pivot. Stellantis announced in May that DS will be moved back under the stewardship of Citroën, from which it was originally spun off to become a stand-alone marque. It will now be considered a "specialty" brand (alongside Lancia, which is being rolled back into Fiat), but it remains to be seen what that means for its global sales network. N°3: Small car, big hopes Citroën's influence will manifest in the replacement for the DS 3, named the N°3. This is tipped to return to a more traditional supermini body. It will draw on the Mk1 Citroën DS3, the chic spin-off of the Citroën C3 that was successful enough to justify launching DS as a brand in its own right. The Mk1 car was retired in 2018 and replaced by the current-generation crossover a year later. The brand's sales immediately plummeted and they have yet to recover. Some 3000 examples of the DS 3 supermini were sold in the UK in 2018, compared with just over 2000 examples of the higher-riding 3 Crossback in 2019. That year was the crossover's best result for sales, which have fallen every year since, with just 133 registered in 2025. DS's decision to return to the traditional supermini market could be the first step towards claiming some meaningful volume in the UK and mainland Europe. Speaking to Autocar last year, DS design director Thierry Métroz said it would take inspiration from the Mk1 car "because it was so successful on the market". He added: "We sold 500,000 DS 3 gen-ones. It was a success story. It had many, many customers in France, but also in the UK." CEO Peugeot said he believed DS is "now in a position to recapitalise on this success story, based on the launch of these new products", referring to the N°4, N°7 and N°8. But he added that the brand's previous best annual result of around 55,000 sales has to become the baseline. The success of the Renault 5 and Peugeot 208 gives reassurance of the N°3's potential, but it could still be a year from showrooms, so DS's larger models must work hard to sustain its UK operations in the meantime. How DS sales have fallen in the UK Source: SMMT Year Number of sales 2017 9082 2018 5074 2019 4299 2020 2379 2021 2362 2022 3674 2023 2403 2024 1152 2025 1015

7/30/2026

Jamie Chadwick recently became the first woman to drive a hypercar at Le Mans, a year after making her debut in the secondary class of the fabled 24-hour race. Many women have competed in this iconic event across the decades, yet the best female finish has stayed unsurpassed for almost a century. "For the first time two women drivers will take part," we said in our 1930 Le Mans preview, "which will be interesting." Whether that comment was loaded is open to interpretation, but if so we were humbled by Marguerite Mareuse and Odette Siko bringing their Bugatti T40 home in seventh. Their 1931 reprise was ended early by disqualification for a refuelling infringement, but in 1932 Siko achieved that record result: fourth overall and first in the 2-litre class in a supercharged Alfa Romeo 6C shared with grand prix star Louis 'Sabipa' Charavel. Again, though, she was unlucky a year later: Siko was putting in "quite a good performance" in the initial hours but the next morning suffered a "sensational accident". "Coming through the pinewoods towards Arnage at 75mph, the car suddenly got broadside on, crashed successively into two substantial trees, and then hit a third which was cut down six feet from the ground. They fell across the road in the track of Driscoll's Aston Martin. "Madame Siko was thrown clear as the first tree was hit, being shot through the air and falling at the feet of a gendarme with nothing more than bruises and a complete inability to understand what had happened to her. The car, on the other hand, literally burst, the pinions coming out of the gearbox, certain parts even being found 50 yards from the main wreckage. To add to the completeness of the crash, the chassis took fire on hitting the third tree and set fire to the brushwood and dry fir branches." It's understandable that Siko never returned to Le Mans, but she continued to compete in speed trials and road rallies until the war. "Femmes pilotes' were a common sight in the '30s, but there was just one when the race returned in 1949 - and not one in the late '50s or '60s. Listed in our published 1954 race result is a Thirion, but it's unclear if this was indeed the rally driver Gilberte or her father Max, as some sources say that race officials forced a swap on account of her gender. If this was the case, it's a mystery to us why the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) might have had such a change of attitude: just three years prior, Betty Haig and Yvonne Simon finished third in the 2-litre class, beating a male crew. Some sources – including no less than Porsche – say the ACO banned female drivers in response to the 1956 death of Annie Bousquet at Reims. Supposedly she was known for a hell-for-leather driving style, but Autocar absolved her of blame: "On fast sweeping bends, the worst possible arrangement to have is a ditch at the side of the road, yet this is what one finds on this stretch." Incidentally, the sport's biggest tragedy, when at least 81 fans were killed by a flying car at Le Mans in 1955, involved only male drivers. Whatever, the prevailing attitude is encapsulated in this unpleasant comment by The Motor magazine: "The ACO has planned a three-hour race at Le Mans for women drivers – if they can find enough women drivers competent enough to stay on the road for that long." In 1967, at the height of a golden period for sports and GT racing, a trio of young Brits - Jackie Bond-Smith, Joey Cook and Jacqui Smith – set out to "crack the ban on women imposed by the organisers" with their Mini Marcos. The ACO rejected their entry, and the RAC defended it thus: "Le Mans presents special safety problems, and a major hazard in recent years has been the speed differential between larger and smaller cars." Smith saw it differently: "The French have a funny idea about women, haven't they?" The supposed ban was eventually lifted in 1971, as rally driver Marie-Claude Beaumont earned the ACO's trust in an early-season three-hour race, enabling her to share a 7-litre Chevrolet Corvette in 'the big one'. Its engine went after 14 hours, but Beaumont competed in the next five Le Mans, scoring a career-best 12th in 1973, then switching to an Alpine-Renault alongside Lella Lombardi - still the last woman to have raced (and indeed scored) in Formula 1.

7/30/2026

Off-roader, code-named G74, evolved rapidly before development efforts stalled; China presents big challenge BMW has begun reassessing its future product strategy, including putting its rival for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class on ice, as changing market conditions have forced the German car maker to review which models will go into production later this decade. The move follows what new CEO Milan Nedeljković described as a dramatic shift in the automotive landscape over the past year, with weakening demand in China, growing pressure from new Chinese rivals, stricter US trade barriers and diverging demand across global markets. Speaking after BMW reported its second-quarter results, Nedeljković said the company was taking a fresh look at its future product plans rather than assuming existing programmes remain appropriate for every market. "In all these areas, we are taking significant steps and increasing the pace," he said. "For example, we are once again reviewing which technologies, model variants and drivetrains we will need in the future. In addition, we are looking at where new partnerships could make economic and technological sense." Nedeljković stopped short of suggesting individual models could be cancelled or delayed, but the comments represent one of BMW's clearest acknowledgements yet that future new-model planning is becoming increasingly fluid as global demand evolves at different speeds. The review is understood to have already claimed at least one eagerly awaited model. Insiders at BMW’s Munich-based headquarters suggested the proposed G74 off-roader has failed to receive final approval and is currently on hold. The now stalled new model is believed to have evolved from an early Neue Klasse-based electric concept to a proposal based on the cluster architecture (CLAR) and which would have offered a broad range of drivetrains. While BMW has not officially commented on the status of the G74, its apparent demise reflects the new approach to future new model investment outlined by Nedeljković. In outlining the revised new model reassessment process, Nedeljković pointed to China as one of BMW’s biggest challenges. "The rapid deterioration of market conditions in China was the main reason we adjusted our guidance in June," he said, adding that new competitors are now expanding beyond China into other Asia-Pacific markets, Latin America and Europe. He also pointed to a combination of tariffs, trade barriers, currency fluctuations, tighter regulation in Europe and the continuing conflict in the Middle East as factors that have fundamentally altered BMW's business. Rather than committing exclusively to electric models, BMW continues to develop petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid, electric and hydrogen-powered models, arguing that customer demand is now diverging more sharply between major markets. "The needs and expectations of customers vary greatly from market to market – and even within individual markets," Nedeljković said. "Our sales figures in the second quarter reflect this reality and the strength of our technology-open approach." He noted that electric model sales in Europe grew by more than a third during the second quarter, while internal combustion-engined vehicles generated double-digit growth in the United States as demand for electric models dropped across the wider American market. The review comes despite strong momentum behind BMW's Neue Klasse programme. Nedeljković said the new iX3 is continuing to attract strong demand, with BMW now approaching 100,000 orders. It has already introduced a second production shift at its new Debrecen plant in Hungary to meet demand. BMW describes the Debrecen ramp-up as the fastest yet achieved at one of its new production facilities, with the second shift introduced ahead of schedule in response to customer demand. Early demand for the new i3 has also exceeded expectations, according to Nedeljković, with pre-orders opening ahead of schedule in June before the full order books open at the end of September.

7/30/2026

An "exclusive opportunity" to try a long-awaited new car turns into a media circus - what did I really learn? The alarm goes at 4.30am. Ahead of you is a 150-mile drive that thousands will be doing this week: the well-trodden way to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Except you're going a day early, to the neighbouring racing circuit, for a date with 1600bhp. Yes, sixteen hundred. You're carrying out the magazine's first test of one new all-electric, tri-motor sports car. The FoS is an increasingly popular venue for the public debut of new performance cars. Manufacturers therefore tend to build preliminary media test drives around it. The invite to this one definitely said it would be "an exclusive opportunity" suitable for "experienced testers". When you arrive, however, it seems those definitions have been stretched a little. There are six cars in the pit lane but perhaps 10 or 12 road testers you recognise - and as many vloggers and social media influencers again, all milling excitedly around the cars, smartphones in hand. When Jenson Button turns up, he does us older hands an unexpected service by distracting the Instagram crew as they swarm on him demanding their selfies. Even so, if there are this many people in the UK with "plenty of track experience" of 1000bhp-plus electric sports cars, then my name is Michael Faraday. Still, we're all here. Better get on with it. Next, after disclaiming any legal rights you might have had, against either the circuit operators or the car manufacturer in the event of accident or injury, you are ushered into a half-hour press conference. This follows time-honoured convention. First, some superfluous product introduction, which, if you've read the press material sent to you in advance, you will already know. Second, some design waffle about "flowing lines" and "sculptural artistry", which will be about as useful for your story as the first part. And, finally, some technical information - which won't be quite as extensive or detailed as you might have liked, because they had to make time for all of the earlier rubbish. Your PR contact will promise to send you the slides via email, but will they arrive on time? You have questions, but you won't ask them here because why share the answers with the whole room? In any case, time is short. Remind me, why did we bother with this bit again? Now, you wait for the one-and-only, three-lap, perhaps five-minute track stint you have been promised, in the car you have come all this way to drive. Colleagues take their turn, returning looking little the wiser than when they had departed; somebody you're chatting to wonders if this might be the farthest he's driven, for the least useful amount of test time, in some four decades in the job. Finally your turn comes. There is 1584bhp under your right foot, apparently. You do a gentle installation lap; a quicker flying lap; and then, just as it feels like the beginnings of your impressions are forming in your mind, it's all over - before you have even had a chance to acclimatise yourself to that funny, grabby brake pedal, never mind anything else. You haven't been able to drive exactly as you would like, which might ordinarily involve experimenting with drive programs, stability control settings and launch control. The instructor in the passenger seat was under strict orders to not let you exceed a given speed; to not let you slow down or stop on track; or generally to not let you do your job quite as you might have chosen to. The fact is, even if he had stayed absolutely mute, you wouldn't have driven as you would if he had not been there at all. No matter how many times you ask, that's your lot. Have a demonstration of our automated parking system, sir. Take a short road test loop in a car that you haven't actually come here to drive (although, of course, you will). The main event is over. Three laps. Five minutes. Not too fast, now. But tell me, what did you think? By mid-afternoon you're back at your office desk, writing up what impressions you could glean against an imminent deadline - first on the car you didn't expect to drive, and then on the one you did. Then, at the end of an 18-hour day, you're finally off the clock. People tell me regularly that I must have "the best job in the world". True, it can certainly have its moments. But only rarely do they go on to ask: "What's it really like?" That, for the record, was a not-unusual, alarmingly real Wednesday.

7/30/2026

Fine specimens of this rounded electric hatchback are there for the taking, with ranges from 218 to 338 miles Finally, an affordable, practical, pleasingly styled and good-to-drive electric car. That was our verdict on the MG 4 EV when it arrived in 2022. That it hailed from China seemingly didn't dent its appeal to British buyers - perhaps in part because it wore the famous octagon on its beak. Since coming here, it has always been among the top 10 best-selling EVs, peaking at number two, and between the different battery and performance options there's a 4 for almost every need. Our own Steve Cropley, after running a top-line Extended Range variant for 13,000 miles, was utterly convinced, concluding: "Of all the EVs I've had, this has seemed the most honest and practical." How's that for an accolade? And now, with prices starting at just £7000, used 4s represent incredible value for money. Unlike many EVs of its kind, the 4 is a hatchback in the conventional mould and thus sits its driver low down, legs outstretched and with a generous amount of steering column adjustment. As such, you feel comfortable immediately. The upholstery (faux leather or cloth) is a little dour, owners have reported premature wear and the plastics are mostly hard and scratchy, but those are excusable shortcomings at this price point, and hardly unique to the 4. Broadly it's solid and well screwed together. Most functions are controlled via the reasonably intuitive 10.3in infotainment touchscreen (12.8in from 2026). However, it's possible to configure the steering wheel buttons to adjust the temperature and fan speed. It's unconventional but works surprisingly well. There are some proper buttons too, and the recent facelift brought improved material quality - although it will be a while before these cars hit the used market en masse. The 4 is roomy, if not quite to the extent of the Volkswagen ID 3 or Cupra Born. Tall adults will be comfy in the back, but the boot is averagely sized at 363 litres. Trophy trim adds a false floor, giving you a useful home for charging cables. The rear-driven 4 is willing to engage a keener driver. It stops some way short of allowing controllable, exuberant oversteer, but its pleasingly accurate and uncorrupted steering makes for enjoyable progress on the open road and boosts the sense of nippiness in the city. It's far more fun than rivals like the Kia e-Niro and Peugeot e-308. It's not quite as dynamically balanced as the Born, though: while it's pleasant to hustle, its soft suspension permits notable roll and the ride is quite fidgety. The standard 4 is served in three flavours: the entry-level car gets a 49kWh battery and a 168bhp motor, the Long Range bumps capacity and power to 61.7kWh and 201bhp, and the Extended Range concludes with 74.4kWh and 241bhp. Range figures run from 218 to 338 miles. There are two trim levels, SE and Trophy, the latter being our pick, because it adds a fair amount of equipment, including blindspot monitoring, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated seats, a heated steering wheel, a better stereo and a 360deg camera. Finally, there's the XPower hot hatch, which adds a front motor for a combined 429bhp, enough for a 0-62mph time of 3.8sec - quicker than the VW Golf R's. The problem is the softly sprung chassis struggles with so much power, so we would stick to a rear-wheel-drive version for the best everyday balance. What we said then 5 April 2023: The MG 4 EV may not move any technological boundaries, but other manufacturers should undoubtedly see this car as a serious threat, because it does so many things so well, and for such a keen price that it is hard to argue you should buy any other electric hatchback. An owner's view Chris Boek: "I bought my MG 4 in October 2024. Since then, I've only had the first service in my plan, which went fine. I use Android Auto, so the in-built entertainment system's various glitches are irrelevant. The screen is at a good height-sometimes a little too bright at night but not a show-stopper. I love the look of the car, it handles really well and it has all the mod cons. I'm very happy, and I will probably keep driving it until it stops working." Buyer beware Interior: It's prone to wear generally. The top of the doors, where you might rest your elbow, is covered with textured plastic that's unpleasantly hard yet can be permanently scratched with just a fingernail. The driver's seat on our long-termer was already showing significant wear after six months and 13,000 miles. Adaptive cruise control: It's not the smoothest system out there and there's no option to use normal cruise control. Body: Rattling bootlids are annoying but not major reliability issues. However, more serious problems include failing charge ports and differentials leaking oil. Reliability: The 4 came bottom of its class in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey, with 30% of surveyed owners reporting problems, which covered almost all fault categories. MG paid for repairs in only 55% of cases, leaving 39% of faults costing £1000 or more to put right, according to owners. Repairs weren't always swift either: 68% of affected cars took more than a week to fix. Warranty: MG's seven-year/80,000-mile warranty should help you sleep better, but owners have reported particularly unhelpful customer service from some MG dealers. Also note that the interior is covered by only a 12-month warranty, so a rattly panel or vibration may not be covered. Also worth knowing The first cars that arrived in the UK are known as 'Phase 1s'. They are mostly 22-platers (some are 72-platers) and can't receive over-the-air software updates. This might not sound like a big issue, but it means they've missed out on upgrades like the one-pedal mode that came later. They've also had more reported build quality issues, so it's best to spend a little extra on a later car. As of this year, all 4s cost £195 annually to tax, while insurance groups range between 27 and 40 - quite high compared with rivals like the Hyundai Kona Electric. How much to spend £7000-£9999: It's quite promising that some 4s have already racked up six-figure mileages. However, many in this bracket are also Category S write-offs - which reflects the difficulties in obtaining parts for even lightly damaged cars. £10,000-£14,999: You don't have to spend much more to get a 4 with fewer than 50,000 miles and a clean history. £15,000-£19,999: For as little as £15,500, we found a one-year-old 49kWh SE with just 700 miles on the clock. Or for the same money, how about a 40,000-mile 429bhp XPower? £20,000-£30,000: Nearly new, facelifted cars for as much as £10,000 below their list prices. One we found MG 4 EV Extended Range Trophy, 2024, 30,000 miles, £17,260: As with many EVs, you can pick up a two-year-old 4 for half of what it cost new. In this case it's an Extended Range - that's 329 miles per charge - in the upper trim. It will still be within warranty for another five years or 50,000 miles.

7/29/2026

'Unrealistic' rise of zero-emission targets risk future investment in UK industry, claims SMMT boss New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been urged by industry bosses to press ahead with government plans to review the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate and make the automotive sector a key part of his plans to reindustrialise Britain. Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), made the calls to coincide with the release of car and commercial vehicle manufacturing figures for the first half of 2026.  The UK produced a total of 385,979 vehicles from January to June, a year-on-year decline of 7.5%. Notably, the figures for the second quarter of 2026 were only 0.1% down year-on-year, with exports in particular rising. In total, vehicles built for export accounted for 76.2% of all those built in the UK, with the European Union taking 58.3% of those shipments.  Continued push for ZEV review The SMMT has long been pushed for a reform of the ZEV mandate, which requires manufactures to make an increasing percentage of their sales zero-emission between now and 2035. This year, the mandate calls for 28% of a manufacturer’s sales to be of zero-emission models, but that ramps up sharply to 33% next year, 52% by 2028 and 80% by 2030. That ramping up, according to Hawes, is significantly ahead of consumer demand. There had recently been reports that a review of the ZEV mandate was planned under former Prime Minister Kier Starmer, but there has been no indication whether that it remains the plan of the new government. “We know there was a proposal for a consultation to be brought forward [before the change in Prime Minister],” said Hawes. "We’d like to see that published as soon as possible, to give a degree of clarity as to what the future might look like." Hawes noted that recent surveys of SMMT members showed full support for a review of the mandate, noting that while a review was scheduled for 2027 it needed to be brought forward to give manufacturers clarity. He said: “Not one of our members believes we are on track to meet the trajectory at its current level. They think the natural level of demand is so far behind the level of the mandate – and the targets ramp up from 2028 onwards – that the gap is going to grow ever wider. “The market for EVs is up, but the gap is going to grow ever greater. This is an absolute success story: we’re selling more of these vehicles than ever before, and the demand is increasing. There's every reason to buy an EV with, you know, with discounts, incentives, the car grant and fuel prices – but you still find approximately seven in 10 people are not buying an EV. “What does this mean for manufacturing? If you are trying to get investment for your plants in the UK, you're going to head office, and if the first thing they look at is the cost of selling those products, and your vehicles in the UK are so expensive they’re potentially loss-making, why would you? It's as simple and as bald as that.” Hawes pushed back against what he called “misguided” criticism of the industry’s push for reform of the mandate, suggesting that it wasn’t about changing the target to reach fully zero-emission sales by 2035. “The focus is the here and now,” said Hawes, “on how do we meet the current requirements through to 2027, ’28 and ’29. One firm told me ‘I’m not bothered about 2035 because I might not be here in 2035 unless you solve the current issue'. “Every manufacturer is looking for investment every year, but the big investments come every four years based model cycles. So if the UK is just not competitive, there's a chance that manufacturer will not get that investment; it will go somewhere else. That could happen relatively quickly. It's not a scenario I want to see, and government wouldn't want to see that.” Reindustrialisation plan is vital While Burnham is still outlining the key policies of his new government, he has repeatedly spoken of plans to ‘reindustrialise Britain’. With the automotive industry the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, Hawes said it is vital it is a key part of those plans. “You want to make sure the industry you've got can at least survive, if not grow,” said Hawes. “This is a critical issue for that.” Asked if Burnham’s reindustrialisation pledge would mean a trade-off with the UK’s net zero targets, Hawes added: “It’s not so much a trade-off because we are making these [electrified] vehicles. We'll make more of those vehicles. It is just the pace. It's not a trade-off. It's just saying let's look at the transition pathway and make sure that it's a realistic, affordable and viable business.” Hawes also called for the implementation of the previously announced industrial strategy, and he highlighted the need for support mechanisms to help UK manufacturing firms with the rising cost of electricity. He added: “The industrial strategy is only a year old, and it was a Labour strategy that was signed off by the Cabinet. It identifies eight areas of growth, of which advanced manufacturing was one. Automotive is prominent within it. If you're a manufacturer, one of the competitive disadvantages of the UK is business rates. They're much higher than they are in other European markets.” Call for urgent action on trade deals Hawes also reiterated the damage that tariffs and trade barriers are potentially doing to UK manufacturing, highlighting the impact of not only import tariffs but also other charges such as the luxury car taxes in China. But he noted “the more urgent and pressing trade relationship” to sort is with the EU as the UK’s largest partner. He highlighted the potential impact of the forthcoming rules of origin and the planned ‘Made in Europe’ regulations. The latter will impose charges on cars that are not manufactured substantially within the EU, with vehicles that don't conform potentially excluded from fleet and private-buyer incentives. Hawes noted the rules would impact European firms as well, saying: “It’s not what the market or manufacturers want. If UK-produced vehicles don’t quality for Made in Europe they will basically be uncompetitive in 60-70% of the European market. We’re arguing that isn’t in Europe’s interest: we are each other’s biggest market, so if you damage one, you damage the other.”

7/29/2026

Electric crossover will arrive in November, with a hybrid following in 2027 The new Mercedes-Benz GLA has joined the firm's revamped line-up of compact models - with company boss Ola Källenius insisting that it is "better in all dimensions" than its big-selling predecessor. Launching in electric form in November and with a hybrid to follow early next year, the third generation of the Audi Q4 and Volvo EX40 rival sits on the Stuttgart firm's compact MMA architecture, which it shares with the CLA saloon and seven-seat GLB SUV. As with those models, the new GLA merges EV and combustion model lines, with the new electric version replacing the EQA. It features Mercedes' latest design cues, including a retro-inspired grille, and Källenius said a key focus of the design was to make it look more dramatic. "If you look from the side it's like a sports car SUV," he said, "but still on a compact footprint. It's the ultimate sporty city SUV." At 4565mm, the new GLA is 143mm longer than its predecessor and the wheelbase has been stretched to 2790mm to provide more cabin space. The car also has a wider rear track, but its roof sits 20mm lower than the previous version's. Wheel sizes vary from 18in to 20in. Inside, the stretched wheelbase means there is more room for both front and rear occupants than in its predecessor. Despite the car being lower, Mercedes claims there is also more head room. There is a 410-litre boot, while the electric version adds a 107-litre frunk. The cockpit follows Mercedes trends with a dashboard dominated by touchscreens - including an optional MBUX Superscreen that spans the width of the car and has three screens built in. As with all of Mercedes' latest cars, it features the latest version of the firm's MB.OS software - powered by an advanced Nvidia chip - and offers AI-enabled voice control and advanced driver assistance systems, among other features. The GLA Electric will be offered with three different power outputs that match the related CLA. The entry-level 200 model offers 221bhp from a single rear-mounted motor, with power drawn from a 58kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery. The 250+ increases output to 268bhp, while the initial range-topper will be the all-wheel-drive 350, which offers 349bhp from a pair of electric motors. The 250+ and 350 both use an 85kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery. The longest-range version of the GLA will offer 408 miles, compared with 484 miles for the sleeker CLA and 379 miles for the boxier GLB. As with the CLA, the MMA platform is honed for efficiency, with the most efficient version capable of an official 4.2mpkWh. With its 800V architecture, the GLA can charge at speeds of up to 320kW. The hybrid version will arrive early next year and employ the same Horse-produced 1.5-litre turbo engine featured in the CLA. That unit is boosted by a 30bhp electric motor integrated into the eight-speed automatic gearbox and powered by a 1.3kWh battery. Mercedes has yet to give full performance details but there are minimal styling differences between the EV and hybrid. The GLA is expected to be priced from around £45,000 when it goes on sale in the UK. It will be offered in four trim levels, including AMG Line and AMG Plus that feature bespoke styling elements.

7/29/2026

Yet another Chery brand arrives in the UK, this one with sub-£35k plug-in hybrid family SUV Chinese car giant Chery should give itself a pat on the back. Eighteen months ago most UK car buyers had never heard of it, but since the launch of its Jaecoo and Omoda brands, it has rocketed up the sales charts, most notably with the Jaecoo 7.It's now confident enough to have a go at a slightly higher-priced premium brand. It's called Lepas – a portmanteau of 'leopard' and 'passion' – and its first car is the Lepas L8 plug-in hybrid SUV. Given the speed of Chery’s UK expansion, it’s getting hard to keep track, but in a nutshell, the L8 is a 4.6m-long family SUV designed to take aim at established rivals like the Volkswagen Tiguan and Toyota RAV4.

7/29/2026

Track excursion reveals an identity crisis: this SUV thinks it’s a sports car During the first few weeks with my Vauxhall Grandland, I pondered aloud whether its maker had sacrificed an element of comfort and practicality in search of a more 'sporting' drive, and I think I should perhaps explain a little further. For a large family SUV, the Vauxhall rolls very little and corners with surprising poise. Its steering is pleasingly accurate - albeit rather over-light and lacking any semblance of feel - and sharp, although fortunately not quite in the over-sensitive mould of its Stellantis stablemate Peugeot. The trouble is, this is a fairly tall vehicle that tips the scales at a hefty 2215kg (including the driver), and in order to tie it down to the degree Vauxhall has done, you need to specify some pretty stiff springs and dampers. As a result, the penalty for the Grandland's surprising agility is a ride that is choppy to the point of being uncomfortable, particularly on poor road surfaces - and let's be frank, we are hardly renowned for our billiard-smooth Tarmac here in the UK. And it's not aided by the 20in alloys fitted as standard to all-wheel-drive models. But don't just take my word for it. Photographer Max Edleston has developed an acute sensitivity to ride quality, mainly because when he is hanging out the back of a car (on a harness - safety first) peering through the lens of his camera, he needs there to be as little disturbance as possible if he is to get a pin-sharp shot. On a recent photoshoot for affordable sports cars at Shenington Kart Racing Club, Oxfordshire, Max reckoned the Grandland would be just the thing for some tracking photography. And indeed it was, at least in part: the electrically operated bootlid doesn't sag once under way, as happens with some wagons, and there is plenty of space for him to stretch out as he focuses on the pursuing car. However, immediately after setting off, around a track designed for go-karts with rubber-band tyres wrapping 5in rims, he expressed his shock at how restless the ride felt, even on such a super-smooth surface. Admittedly, once the photography was over it was a hoot to punt the Grandland around the track for a couple of laps, but much as I enjoy a sharp drive, at the end of the day this is a family SUV, not a sports car, so its dynamic abilities are always going to be limited by more factors than merely body roll. I can't help feeling that dialling back the stiffness by 10% or more wouldn't have had a terrible effect on the Vauxhall's inherent balance, but it would have made it a much more comfortable daily companion. Even the car itself gets a bit stressed by its own rigidity at times. Go over a speed bump or a particularly rough surface at any more than walking pace and the light for the stability control will start to flash - not because the wheels are losing traction (you don't even need to have your foot on the throttle), but simply because it detects its own instability. One element of the Grandland's driver aids has left me very happy, though. While chatting with road tester Illya Verpraet about the car recently, he pointed out one of his favourite features of the model being the ability to disable much of the ADAS functionality with a single, physical button rather than having to scroll through various menus as increasingly seems to be the default setting on most cars. You simply press the little image of a car beneath the central infotainment screen and the automated nannying is reduced for that drive. I haven't found the Grandland's systems to be too intrusive so far, particularly compared with the new-to-market Chinese opposition, but I have to applaud Vauxhall's decision to make it easier for the driver to choose how much support they want.

7/29/2026

Hybrid power marks a welcome return to form for the Hyundai Santa Fe rival The Nissan X-Trail has found itself in a slightly odd place, and a far cry from what it once was. As the brand’s largest SUV in Europe, and one available with seven seats, it is natural to compare it with other seven-seaters such as the Skoda Kodiaq, Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe and even the behemoth Toyota Highlander.But that was never the point of the X-Trail. It was launched in 2001 as a fairly no-nonsense Land Rover Freelander-esque 4x4, and Nissan made plenty of noise at the time about the four-wheel drive system (two-wheel-drive versions came much later) and uncarpeted boot.The X-Trail’s mission remained much the same for the second generation, though it gained more family-friendly sensibilities, and by that point the X-Trail had to share showroom space with the Nissan Qashqai, which for most people fulfilled the same role. So, for the third generation, the X-Trail grew a little and effectively replaced the seven-seat Qashqai+2. And since the Qashqai tends to be a bit smaller than cars like the Kia Sportage and Toyota RAV4, that allowed the two Nissan SUVs to coexist.The new one mostly picks up where the last one left off. Visually it looks less like a big Qashqai, but in many ways that is still what the X-Trail is. As such, it’s more of a Sportage and RAV4 rival, just one with a small third row of seats.For 2026, it has been facelifted. It's a bit of a spot-the-difference exercise visually, but there's a refreshed infotainment system. There's something odd going on with the powertrain line-up, though. Range at a glanceAt launch, this generation of X-Trail was available with one front-wheel drive mild-hybrid petrol engine and two versions of Nissan's e-Power full hybrid system: a standard front-wheel drive and the four-wheel drive e-4orce. With the 2026 facelift, the mild hybrid was dropped. VersionPowerNissan X-Trail Mild hybrid 163 †161bhpNissan X-Trail E-Power201bhpNissan X-Trail E-Power E-4Orce210bhpTRANSMISSIONS1-spd reduction gear (full hybrid)CVT (mild hybrid)

7/29/2026

With a track-honed 641bhp and fleet-friendly running costs, there’s no company car quite like it Not so long ago, company car and salary sacrifice drivers faced a difficult choice when selecting their next set of wheels. Do you play it safe, keep costs down, and accept long but uninspiring hours behind the wheel? Or do you take the hit on tax and go for something a bit more interesting? Thankfully, with the exponential rise of electric cars, that dilemma is largely gone. Combining strong performance with exceptional refinement, ultra-low Benefit-in-Kind tax rates and low running costs, electric cars have transformed the company car and salary sacrifice landscape. But some go further than others in delivering that ideal blend of performance and practicality – and none more so than the Genesis GV60 Magma. The first model from Genesis’ new performance division, the GV60 Magma is a 641bhp fire-breathing performance SUV that takes everything good about the standard GV60 – its tech, comfort and practicality – and turns the dial up to 11 with serious track-honed DNA. The result is a car that makes every journey feel genuinely electrifying, while keeping costs way down. Here’s why you should consider it. Learn more about Genesis company cars What is Magma anyway? It’s hot stuff, and we’re not talking about molten rocks. Magma is the start of a new era for Korean luxury brand Genesis, and there are no half measures here. It’s a dedicated line-up of ultra-high-performance vehicles focused on power, precision and luxury, and launching in parallel with a motorsport campaign that begins with the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship. The electric GV60 Magma is the first in line for the Magma treatment. It’s the production realisation of a concept shown two years ago, and the most powerful Genesis model to date – a track-bred, battery-electric powerhouse bristling with clever technology, yet surprisingly affordable for fleet drivers.  How does the GV60 Magma stand out from the rest of the range? To start: raw performance. Thumb the Boost Mode button on the steering wheel and the GV60 Magma puts out 641bhp through its dual-motor powertrain, resulting in a mind-scrambling 3.4-second sprint to 62mph. However, we’d advise leaving the 164mph top speed and Drift Mode untested if you’d like to stay on the right side of your fleet manager. Of course, fast EVs are nothing unusual these days, so the wider experience counts and Genesis has worked hard to make sure this isn’t a one-trick pony. There are five different drive modes to choose from, including two that are unique to the Magma; SPRINT fine-tunes the car for maximum performance, while GT dials in extra comfort for long-distance touring. But the jewel in the crown of the GV60 Magma is unquestionably its Virtual Gearshift technology. Meticulously engineered by the performance specialists at Magma, this synthetic ‘gearbox’ simulates the rapid-fire shifts of a track-focused petrol performance car, complete with a 9000rpm redline. Engage it, and the driving experience is elevated to one of unrivalled viscerality – giving fleet drivers the unique opportunity to experience sports car-like driving character every single day. There’s also a choice of three artificial engine notes, including a V6 petrol soundtrack, to heighten the sense of occasion further. Not that you need to be behind the wheel to get a sense of that performance. With a package of functional bodywork and chassis upgrades, it’s as visually impactful as it is brutally fast. The GV60 Magma is marked out from other versions by extra cooling vents in the front bumper and aerodynamic add-ons including front cooling vents and a distinctive rear wing. Each corner is filled out with 21-inch forged wheels with high-performance Pirelli tyres and large 440mm brakes with Magma Orange brakes. It’s no shrinking violet. And there’s more beneath the skin. Genesis engineers put the chassis through a rigorous test programme, including Californian deserts, Swedish snow and New Zealand’s rugged terrain. The body sits 20mm closer to the tarmac than other GV60s, with a 50mm wider track to improve stability, and there’s some clever technology keeping it pinned to the road. That’s enhanced by smart suspension which automatically adapts damping rates based on roll angle and, using a forward-facing camera, upcoming changes in road surface. The result is a car that’s as agile on glass-smooth race tracks as it is supple on rough country roads. What if you’re not driving on track? Fear not – this isn’t a street legal racing car. It’s based on the updated GV60 luxury, which means it gets all of the new technology added with last year’s update – but with a unique Magma twist. The result is a carefully considered balance of performance-focused upgrades with the day-to-day creature comforts fleet drivers demand. It’s a tactile space. The Magma-specific 10-way adjustable bucket seats are trimmed in suede, with either orange or white contrast stitching, and paired with a unique steering wheel putting drive modes (including ferocious Boost Mode) on thumb-controlled buttons. Press the start button, and the unique, illuminated ‘Crystal Sphere’ rotates out of the centre console and becomes a gear selector, while lashings of aluminium add to that sense of high quality throughout. However, the cabin’s centrepiece is a new 27-inch high-resolution panoramic display across the top of the dashboard, comprising the driver information and central infotainment screen. This puts all key functions into intuitive menus, with widgets that can span both screens and a high-speed data connection for added functionality. It’s fast enough to stream content from Netflix, Disney+ and Bloomberg, enhanced by a 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system with immersive Dolby Atmos sound. Not a bad way to spend those mid-journey breaks.  Genesis Connected Services also offer great functionality for fleet drivers. It enables remote vehicle checks, including charging status, pre-setting climate control before setting off, all via a smartphone app, and the ability to download and analyse individual journeys, learning more efficient driving techniques. That’ll help keep your fleet manager happy. Why is the GV60 Magma a great long-distance car? It’s good news here, too. The GV60 is based on a dedicated electric vehicle platform, and it gets some of the best technology available today – which means generous range and incredibly fast charging times even for the most potent models in the line-up. The platform uses a ‘skateboard’ layout, packaging the battery between the axles and under the cabin for an agility-boosting low centre of gravity. And with a capacity of 84kWh, it can store enough energy to take the GV60 Magma up to an impressive 264 miles (WLTP Combined) on a single charge. If you can resist dipping into its sportier driving modes, it’ll get from Central London to Sunderland without stopping to charge, while a heat pump is standard on all versions to help control cabin and battery temperatures with minimal energy loss. However, the GV60 scores just as highly for charging speeds. The platform utilises an 800-volt electrical architecture, which is twice what most rivals use and can pre-heat the battery cells to get the shortest possible charging times. It’ll get from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes on a 350kW ultra-rapid charger, of which there are 13,000 in the UK, according to Zap-Map.  That’s around 195 miles of extra range in the time it takes to stretch your legs and mentally process the Magma’s performance.  What other features does it offer for fleet drivers? Fleet vehicles need to perform as both weekday workhorse and weekend lifestyle vehicle. Magma’s performance enhancements haven’t compromised the GV60’s talents in either department, featuring clever design and technology that make it easy to live with. Open the powered tailgate and there’s an impressive cargo space of up to 670 litres behind the rear seats (if you stack it to the roof). And despite the coupé-esque profile, it’s a genuine five-seater with room for adults in the back. As a flagship model, the GV60 Magma includes the full suite of assistance and active safety systems, earning it a full five stars with safety organisation Euro NCAP. For drivers, the highlights include Highway Driving Assist, which maintains its position within a lane and relative to other vehicles, and Remote Smart Parking Assist 2 which enables it to manoeuvre in and out of tight spaces with nobody at the wheel. It’s also quiet, even by EV standards. Genesis has included insulated glass to help isolate the cabin, while the tyres are filled with foam help dial out road roar. The rest is handled by Active Sound Design+, which uses the speakers to harmonise interior and exterior acoustics, which in turn helps curb fatigue if you’re spending hours on the road. How do I sell this to my fleet manager? Electric vehicles have become a mainstay of the company car and salary sacrifice market, helping employers to offer attractive perks that retain the best staff. And they make great business sense too. With rated CO2 emissions of 0g/km, the GV60 Magma attracts the lowest 4% rate of company car tax. That’s good news for drivers, who can enjoy incredibly low Benefit-in-Kind bills each month without compromising on enjoyment, but it can also keep your financial director smiling.  Employers get low Class 1A National Insurance Contributions, while electric vehicles qualify for 100% corporation tax relief against the purchase or lease cost. All good reasons to include them on a choice list. Salary sacrifice sweetens the deal further. Because payments are taken from your gross salary before tax and National Insurance contributions are deducted, drivers can make significant savings versus a traditional personal lease – bringing a high-performance premium electric car like Magma GV60 within easier financial reach on a predictable monthly budget. And that’s only part of the picture. Drivers with a home energy tariff offering cheaper overnight charging rates will only be using 2p of electricity per mile of driving – a fraction of the cost of anything fuelled. And for fleets, Genesis’ comprehensive 5-Year Care Plan packages take the stress out of maintenance, setting the standard for worry-free driving. It isn’t so long ago that company car drivers would have had to make some tough choices when they were selecting their next set of wheels. But Genesis has just made those decisions a lot easier. Learn more about Genesis company cars

7/29/2026

The Chinese market is grim for European car makers, but it's an entirely different story for accessory makers The second-quarter financial details of car makers are starting to come through, and we know from previously released volume figures that they will contain bad news from China. But in the spirit of summer holiday optimism, I'm swerving the gloom to look at a success story from an automotive-adjacent company whose executives didn't mention China once in their second-quarter call to investors. Swedish accessory firm Thule – the name emblazoned on thousands of bike racks shedding garage cobwebs onto the roads this summer – reported a rise in operating margin to 22% for the second quarter, up from 21% the year before. For the full half year, the margin hit 20%. Anyone who has bought a Thule product new won't be surprised to learn the company reports profit margins closer to that of Porsche before it suffered its China/EV meltdown. They're expensive. But the revelation is that Thule hasn't yet suffered its own China crisis in the form of competition offering similar performance for a much reduced price. After all, since Covid the Chinese have become mad keen on camping and other outdoor activities, fed by multiple equipment firms. Established bike makers, for example, are suffering the effect of competition from China. But Thule appears to occupy its premium position without serious threat. Car firms do periodically try to chisel at its market lead. JLR is the latest to promise a big push into the space, particularly via its Defender brand. But generally no one has managed to really bite into the market. Why? It's hard to say. But perhaps when you're buying a bike rack, roof tent or dog carrier, you know it's going to do you 10 years so you splash out on a brand you've heard of. Thule even cashed in on global instability, with boss Mattias Ankarberg telling investors that more people are holidaying closer to home this year, "which is typically positive for Thule". It's not all rosy. Thule has been hit by the same rising raw material prices as car firms. Ankarberg flagged a 2.5% price increase for his products coming in August. There's probably not much for car companies to learn from Thule's continued imperviousness to global price destructive trends in automotive. But it might be comforting to hear that not everything is falling under the China steamroller.

7/29/2026

"Unapologetically high-status" SUV will rival BMW X7 and Mercedes GLS Audi has revealed the huge Q9 SUV as an indirect replacement for its A8 luxury saloon flagship – and its long-awaited rival to the BMW X7 and Mercedes GLS. Described by the brand as “unapologetically high-status”, it has been developed primarily for the North American and Middle Eastern markets – hence its mammoth proportions. It measures 5.3m long, 2.2m wide and 1.8m tall, making it bigger than both of its German rivals and one of the largest cars to be sold in the UK – where it will struggle to fit through many urban width restrictors. The Q9 will be offered with a choice of two interiors: a standard seven-seat configuration and a six-seat set-up that has two individual chairs in the second row. The Q9’s doors open and close automatically as you approach the car. They can also be controlled through the interior screen or via the Audi app and contain sensors to prevent them from opening into the path of a passing vehicle or cyclist. Up front, the Q9 has a three-screen dashboard familiar from the A6 and Q7, with an 11.9in instrument panel, a 14.5in curved infotainment touchscreen and a 12.3in passenger’s touchscreen. Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said the digital-heavy interior exemplifies a new approach to Audi’s ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ ethos and its cars will “increasingly be defined by the in-car experience”. He added that the Q9 shows “where we are taking the Audi brand” as it moves further upmarket. But it also brings low-tech solutions to appeal to its target markets: the cupholders have been designed to fit a one-litre water bottle, as has become the trend in the US. Notably, the Q9 is the penultimate new model to feature Audi’s current design language. This is being phased out in favour of new design chief Massimo Frascella’s minimalist ‘Radical Next’ ethos, beginning with the Nuvolari supercar. The A2 electric supermini is set to be the final production car to be launched before the switch. The hulking Q9 is based on the Premium Platform Combustion, which was previously employed by the A6 and Q7. This mounts the engine longitudinally, allowing for the use of a traditional Torsen differential for permanent four-wheel drive, rather than the clutch-pack system found in smaller models. Initially the Q9 will be offered in two states of tune with the mildly hybridised 3.0-litre diesel V6 that also powers the A6 and new Q7. The entry grade puts out 241bhp and 369lb ft, but it can also be had with 295bhp and 465lb ft. Both are matched with an eight-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox, which channels power to all four wheels. The line-up is expected to be expanded in due course. A lower-emission plug-in hybrid powertrain would make the Q9 more attractive to business users in Europe and the UK. Meanwhile, a performance-focused SQ9 derivative could use the 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 from the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne – all models that perform well in the Q9’s target markets. The Q9 is due in UK showrooms at around the end of the year. Pricing has yet to be confirmed but will almost certainly begin well above £100,000, given the outgoing Q8 can be specced up to nearly £120,000 as it is. The Q9 will also form the basis of Porsche’s mooted flagship SUV, known internally as the ‘K1’.

7/28/2026

Rolls-Royce fights the habit of 120 years and launches its first electric car  The Rolls-Royce Spectre is the super-luxury car company’s first electric vehicle. But if you think electric cars are a modern phenomenon, remember that when company founders Charles Rolls and Henry Royce met, electric cars were very much in vogue. In 1899 the world’s fastest car was electric, central London was abuzz with electric carriages and in 1900 a third of all cars in the US were electric.One of the first briefs for Rolls-Royce cars was, in fact, to produce a combustion-engined vehicle that would be as quiet, smooth and easy to use as an electric one, without the charging and range limitations that kept EVs for ‘town carriage’ use.Over the following century Rolls-Royce virtually perfected the art, with its very latest V12s from today’s Phantom and Ghost being some of the world’s quietest, smoothest and most compelling luxury powerplants.But with the world once more ready for EVs, in 2023 Rolls-Royce launched the Spectre, a super-luxury coupé and its first EV, which it followed in 2025 with the Black Badge edition for more “subversive” customers who want a bit of additional edge. Not only is it electric, but the Black Badge edition is also the most powerful car Rolls-Royce has ever made.Now in 2026, and riding on something of a wave of success with the car, Goodwood has launched a revised 'Series II' version. The Spectre was Rolls' biggest-selling car in Europe in 2025, and second only to the Cullinan SUV in global terms. The car is also seeing quite a bit more daily use than the typical super-luxury conveyance, Goodwood says. Which might help explain what the firm has done to improve the car for its mid-cycle facelift, more of which in a moment.The range at a glanceModelsPowerFromGhost563bhp£289,745Cullinan563bhp£344,865Spectre593bhp£333,185Phantom563bhp£440,865Rolls-Royce would tell you that deals with ‘uniquely commissioned’ models rather than having a range, but there are two Spectre models: the regular car (not that it would refer to it in such prosaic terms) and the Black Badge edition.It’s interesting to see where the car slots in to Rolls’ wider line-up. Filling the space left by the Phantom coupé, it is now priced above the Ghost saloon, but below both the Cullinan SUV and the Phantom (although both the Ghost and Phantom are offered as EWB), with power to trump all of its range-mates.

7/28/2026

New derivative of family SUV will be revealed in October amid drive to extend Mini's appeal Mini is priming a new off-road version of the Countryman as it looks to broaden the brand's appeal with a range of individualistic special editions. The company has revealed a new prototype referred to only as “a new Countryman edition”, which brings lifted suspension, chunky off-road tyres and a roof-mounted tent, hinting at its outdoorsy remit. Mini boss Jean-Philippe Parain said the brand is “just one step away” from unwrapping the finished car, which will be unveiled in October.  The prototype has been pictured traversing the Rocky Mountain national park in Colorado, in the US, where hardened versions of conventional family SUVs are an emerging trend.  Two years ago, Hyundai launched the Ioniq 5 XRT, which provides a similar combination of a small lift in ride height and chunky body cladding. Honda, meanwhile, offers ‘Trailsport’ trims for its CR-V, Pilot and Passport SUVs in the US market. As reported by Autocar last month, the new Countryman reflects Mini’s ambition to keep its line-up fresh with a wide range of new derivatives.  Design chief Holger Hampf said: ““We’ve witnessed the trend of the outdoor lifestyle and driving out of the city to spend some days in nature. Can our car do this? Certainly, so expect something in that direction.” Autocar understands that the finished car will draw on the Vagabund concepts that were unveiled earlier this year. Inspired by festival culture, these exhibited off-road conversions of Mini’s family SUV. Hampf suggested that brand partnerships such as the Vagabund would become more prominent in the years to come, as Mini looks to offer more special editions and greater personalisation. He said Mini had “lost sight of that for a couple of years” as it sought to simplify its range and cut down on option packages, amid a broader drive in the car industry to cut costs. He explained: “We feel Mini is a clean canvas that can be more customised in the way that it takes on different characters. Take, for example, a Paul Smith edition: fashionable and urban. Take a John Cooper Works: racy, sporty and almost track-like for the GP models in the past. Maybe the Deus Ex Machina concepts, more raw, more DIY and so on.  “[We want to] make sure that our customisation options allow people to express these different lifestyles. Preference has to become more important to us. This is where we learn from these collaborations, and from past editions.”

7/28/2026

New model marks the 4 Series Convertible's move to electric power, likely using the i3 saloon's tech BMW's first electric cabriolet has moved a step closer, with a new prototype providing the clearest indication yet that the German car maker is already well advanced on an i4 Convertible based on its Neue Klasse electric platform. Set to make its public debut during the second half of 2027 before reaching UK dealerships in 2028, the new four-seat model is planned to form part of an all-new two-door i4 family. Alongside it, BMW is also developing an i4 Coupé, which will effectively succeed today's Cluster Architecture (CLAR)-based i4 Gran Coupé, while the i4 Convertible expands the line-up with BMW's first dedicated open-top electric model. The disguised prototype reveals several key details about the i4 Convertible. Most obvious is the electrically operated fabric roof, which confirms that BMW has resisted calls to return to the folding metal hard tops used on earlier 3 Series Convertibles. Instead, it has retained a soft top similar in concept to that of today's G23-generation 4 Series Convertible. When lowered, the roof stows neatly beneath a dedicated rear tonneau cover. The prototype captured here also provides the clearest look yet at how the Neue Klasse's dedicated electric platform has influenced the new open-top's design. It brings shorter overhangs at the front and rear, a longer wheelbase and proportions more closely aligned with the recently revealed i3 saloon. Mechanically, the i4 Convertible is expected to borrow extensively from the new i3. The Neue Klasse platform supports an 800V electrical architecture, cylindrical battery cells and DC charging capability of up to 400kW. Initial models are expected to mirror the i3 range, beginning with a rear-wheel-drive version before expanding to a four-wheel-drive i4 50 xDrive Convertible model featuring BMW's latest synchronous rear motor and asynchronous front motor. In i3 saloon specification, the dual-motor drivetrain develops 463bhp and 476lb ft. More powerful M Performance variants are also likely. The i4 Convertible will not immediately replace its combustion-engined counterpart. BMW plans to continue producing the G23-generation 4 Series Convertible alongside the new electric model until around mid-2029. Speaking to Autocar earlier this year, Joachim Post, who oversees the development of all new BMWs, said: "The 4 Series is an important car for us. It's more sporty, and BMW is a sporty brand which has a clear heritage also on the performance side. It will play an important role also for the future."

7/28/2026

Racing cars covered in corporate logos are dull; bold, creative art cars are what truly capture fans' imaginations One appealing aspect of car culture is that, whether mechanically or through design, vehicles can be used to express individuality and creativity. And, when it comes to the cosmetic side of things, to me there’s no better expression of that than the ‘art car’. My favourite art cars are those found within motorsport, where standing out for maximum visibility is one of the main aims of the game – second only, perhaps, to winning. Yes, motorsport liveries are usually intended to accommodate sponsors, which play an essential role in financing a team, but they can also allow a car to draw the eye on a grid of a dozen or more other similar shapes, which could ultimately be the difference in gaining supporters. They also allow teams to show some creativity in circumstances where restrictive regulations usually mean they’re either unable to or can only do so in areas that the casual fan will never fully appreciate. A good livery can give a car an extra layer of identity, and the best examples have the ability to stay in the memory of fans and spectators for much longer than where the car finished in a race, or even the name of the driver at its helm. Because they’re rare, art car liveries always feel a little more special, a point of difference on the grid, and usually do a better job than anything else of winning the hearts of the spectators. Many of them even abandon big title sponsors – and the financial benefits they bring – to ensure the livery isn’t dictated by logos or brand names. Their only purpose is to make a statement and put smiles on the faces of the fans,which you have to admire. BMW is the undisputed king of the art car. For 50 years the Munich brand has been associated with liveries dreamed up by artists, from the 1975 3.0 CSL by Alexander Calder and the 1977 Roy Lichtenstein 320i Group 5, to the 1979 Andy Warhol M1 Procar and, most recently, the M Hybrid V8 hypercar designed by Julie Mehretu for the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours. The Jeff Koons M3 GT2 from 2010 is still my personal favourite, with its many multicoloured ribbons. The lineage currently stands at 20 art cars that punctuate BMW’s motorsport history, as well as a few road cars, and I hope that number continues to grow into the future. The motion of an art car is still pleasingly called upon by others, too, as displayed by the fantastic HWA 190E Evo R that recently raced in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, featuring an awesome glow-in-the-dark livery by Hanna Schönwald that came alive after the circuit was plunged into darkness for the night stint. That colourful faux-Mercedes received plenty of attention, which isn’t much of a surprise: my love for art cars is clearly shared by plenty of others, and I think the motorsport world wouldn’t be quite as fun without them.

7/28/2026

Robotics in the form advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) have been here in Europe since 2015, when it became essential for car makers to adopt features such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB) to gain a five-star Euro NCAP safety score. Drivers of fully loaded 2026 model-year cars will notice how lane-keeping features, which a few years ago may only vibrated the steering wheel, have evolved to positive automated steering input and now to full-blown overtaking assist. Along with features that physically intervene with the control of the car has come occupant status monitoring (OSM). This electronic big brother can include child presence detection and seatbelt reminders, and it can actively check if a driver is nodding off, looking drowsy or simply being distracted, perhaps rubber-necking an incident on the opposite carriageway. Whether drivers view these aids as nannying, helpful or simply distracting (because of the beeps and warning lights they trigger), Thatcham Research data makes a strong case for technology to mitigate the problem. Thatcham says impairment or distraction is a contributing factor in 14.8% of UK accidents, and that figure rises to 28% in fatal accidents. OSM can detect the "alertness, attention and availability of the drivers and other passengers in the vehicle." Thatcham says OSM is the key enabling technology for automation and driver-controlled assistance systems (DCAS), which is the 'hands off, eyes on' type of assistance we see today. But there's more to OSM than keeping a watchful eye. Last year ZF showed its Lifetec system, which blends camera and sensor data to classify occupants. Airbags and seatbelt systems can tailor responses to each individual, taking into account their seating position irrespective of whether a person is small, large, muscular or petite. Supply giant Magna has recently been awarded a driver and occupant monitoring system (DMS/OSM) programme with a European manufacturer. The tech is built into the rear-view mirror, which contains 'behind-the-glass camera architecture', and is integrated with the car's central computing systems. The camera monitors the driver's head, eye and body movements to detect distraction, drowsiness and fatigue. The technology has been in the market for a couple of years now; it's designed as a system and can be scaled to include child presence detection and seat-belt detection. It can also be used to identify specific passengers to enable user-preference memory settings. Car makers have been developing technologies to read our minds for a number of years. Back in 2011, Mercedes showed a wearable device (the prototype resembled a swimming cap) to monitor 'alpha spindles' in brainwave patterns to establish whether a driver was becoming drowsy.