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I drive my rare Citroen CX Turbo daily – it's the perfect cruiser

Fri, 6 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

From Liverpool to France and back: this CX Prestige is a masterpiece of man-maths and quirkiness

The idea of a Frenchman buying a right-hand-drive Citroën in the UK for export back to his homeland sounds bizarre, but that's exactly what one French car lover did 20 years ago, before last year selling the car back to a Brit now happily driving it in the UK.

"I like French cars," says Richard Head, its new London-based owner. "I like their quirkiness, which I'm pleased to see Citroën and Renault appear to be rediscovering. My first company car in 1990 was a Citroën BX, and I have a Renault 5 Turbo. I wanted another French car as my daily driver.

"I liked the idea of a Citroën SM but good ones are hard to find and expensive. In any case, I wanted something more modern that I could use every day and justify, in my man-maths way, as a daily driver.

"So I gravitated towards the Citroën CX, then to the Turbo versions, and then I discovered they made a CX Turbo 2 Prestige and decided that was the one for me."

Richard immediately started looking and soon found the very thing: a tidy-looking CX 25 Turbo 2 Prestige registered in 1986 and showing a reasonable 150,000 miles. "It was advertised in the back of a monthly car magazine," he says.

"Although it was right-hand drive, it was being sold by a Frenchman living in France! Prestige Turbo 2s are extremely rare. For example, only five were registered in the UK. I dare say he'd had trouble finding a good left-hand-drive one in his own country. He'd bought it 20 years ago and in the past 10 years he claimed he'd spent £30,000 restoring it.

"He wanted £30,000 for it, but with each issue of the magazine it was still being advertised and at a lower price every time. I decided to be patient and then it appeared at auction. It was my chance and I got it for £12,500, or about what a decent Turbo 2 costs."

The Prestige was the limousine version of the CX, 25cm longer than standard and with a slightly higher roofline at the rear. Featuring huge armchair-like seats trimmed in leather, masses of rear leg room and all manner of luxury features, it was a car fit for the French president and his ministers, although Richard's UK example was first owned by a firm of architects in Liverpool.

Richard bought the car in December 2024 and the following month crossed the Channel to collect it: "I wasn't disappointed. Since then, driving it in the UK I've found it's happiest on the motorway, where it will cruise at 70mph all day without fuss.

"On local roads the suspension irons out all but the most aggressive speed humps, but it's not so great on potholes, where it bangs and jolts - but then what car doesn't?"

Apart from fuel (the CX's turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine returns only around 22mpg), the only expense - and it was a big one-has been a replacement clutch. It was an engine-out job that cost £3000 at Citroën specialist The Chevronic Centre in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

That bill aside, Richard loves his big luxury CX and drives it every day. His favourite feature is the centrally located Blaupunkt remote control pod that affords him much more ergonomic operation of the radio. "Now that's quirky," he says.

F1 2026 for beginners: The radical new rules explained

Fri, 6 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

A new season and a new era of grand prix racing will begin this weekend, and there's a lot to unpack

Formula 1 is back, but not as we know it.

New rules, new cars, a new style of racing... So will the grand prix balloon keep rising on F1's warm gust of ever-increasing popularity, or will it burst with a sudden pop? Among some people, there's a palpable fear that F1 is heading in a self-destructive direction as a new age begins.

Biggest-ever rules change

The biggest F1 regulation shake-up since... the last one? We have heard it all before, surely, given how often F1 likes a rules reset. Perhaps, but this time the changes are genuinely to a level that's unprecedented.

As new Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey put it: "2026 is probably the first time in the history of F1 that the power unit regulations and chassis regulations have changed at the same time. It's a completely new set of rules."

In a nutshell, the new generation is lighter, smaller and nimbler - and in our eyes better proportioned and therefore better looking. Chassis width has been reduced by 100mm, the wheelbase has been contracted by 200mm and the minimum weight is down by 30kg to 768kg.

Pirelli's tyres are also smaller: the fronts are 25mm narrower, the rears are 30mm narrower and the diameter is slightly reduced to aid the reduction in weight and aerodynamic drag. In total, downforce has been cut by up to 30% from 2025 levels and drag cut by nearly half. 'A different breed', then, is no exaggeration.

Road-relevant hybrids

Why rewrite the engine regulations? Basically to pull them further into line with the demands of the wider automotive industry. There's a case to be made that the change has already been justified, given that Audi, Ford (as partner to Red Bull) and General Motors (with Cadillac) have taken the F1 bait at the start of this new era. It's a case of the same but also entirely different.

The combustion engines are still 1.6-litre turbocharged V6s, with energy recovery limited to the rear axle (so no four-wheel drive), but now they run on fully sustainable fuel made from non-edible biomass (so no fossils) and the hybrid element is much more powerful, if also heavier (up from 151kg to 185kg).

F1 has dropped the MGU-H (heat) energy regeneration system, basically because it was deemed irrelevant to car manufacturers' needs, but the MGU-K (kinetic) part is so much heftier. From around 160bhp last year, the hybrid element now offers a whopping 470bhp. Combined with 530bhp from the engine, at top whack that gives us the magic 1000bhp.

Overtake buttons, active aero and flat bottoms

The creation of a near-50:50 split of combustion and electric power has also revolutionised how the drivers race. Out goes the old DRS (drag reduction system) flappy rear wing that has been in use since 2011 and in comes fully active aerodynamics on the front as well as rear wings, plus an 'overtake' button.

When a driver follows within one second of another anywhere on the circuit, they can deploy the full 350kW of electric power at any speed below 209mph. That has led to predictions of passing moves on bits of track that were never really a consideration before.

Fully active aero has been mooted for years and now it's here. Get ready for 'straight mode' and 'corner mode' (much easier to understand than the 'X mode' and 'Z mode' jargon that the teams originally used). Front and rear wings will trim out on specified straights then flick back to higher-downforce spec under braking.

While it adds another dimension to the racing, active aero has another purpose. By reducing drag on the straights, it will help alleviate concerns about cars running out of battery energy across a race.

Instead of a fuel flow restriction, F1 now runs to an energy flow restriction of 3000MJ per hour. And we can now remove 'porpoising' from our F1 lexicon.

These cars have dropped the ground-effect venturi tunnels of the 2022-25 generation that gave drivers literal headaches in favour of flat bottoms - the type of underfloor that featured on F1 cars from 1983 until 2021. Good news for Lewis Hamilton, surely, given how he rarely felt entirely comfortable with the ungainly full-ground-effect cars.

What do the drivers think?

Reaction has been mixed, to put it lightly. Hamilton has suggested that drivers need a degree to get their heads around energy management in the new era - and so might we to follow what's going on. And, somewhat predictably, Max Verstappen has been damning.

A purist racer, he has compared the new F1 to Formula E as energy management becomes the focus. Expect heightened talk of 'harvesting' and 'deployment' - not very rock 'n' roll.

Then again, reigning world champion Lando Norris has hit back, saying that he likes the new cars, he embraces the change and Verstappen can always retire if he doesn't approve.

In coming up with this new F1, the FIA's chief of single-seater racing, Nikolas Tombazis, suggested a balance must be struck between the sport becoming like "chess" and "the other extreme, where the driving is just a steering wheel, a throttle pedal and a brake pedal".

The latter suits Verstappen and has served motor racing pretty well for decades... Does it really have to be this complicated? Apparently so. But no one knows quite what we're in for. We will find out in Albert Park on Sunday.

What else is new?

Two new teams, for a start. Well, Audi has bought and taken over midfield stalwart Sauber, but the other arrival is genuinely new - the first proper start-up since Haas joined the grid 10 years ago.

Like its fellow American entity, Cadillac will use Ferrari engines (it still feels odd to write that) while it develops its own power unit for introduction in 2029. The team is packed with good and experienced F1 people, including the drivers: Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez return as a conservative choice but, with 527 starts and 16 grand prix wins between them, they're an eminently sensible one too.

The F1 calendar remains heavy, at 24 races. The only addition is a street race in Madrid in September (if the new venue is ready) in place of Imola. This will become the Spanish GP, with the newly tagged Barcelona-Catalunya GP hanging onto its June date.

After the influx of six rookies in 2025, just one driver steps up this term. As sophomore Isack Hadjar replaces Yuki Tsunoda as Verstappen's team-mate at Red Bull (keep your fingers crossed for him), Arvid Lindblad becomes Britain's latest F1 racer at the secondary Racing Bulls team. Born in Surrey to a Swedish father and an English mother of Indian heritage, he's only 18. F1 loves a teenage prodigy.

The Red Bulls and Racing Bulls have their own independently built powertrains this time, in alliance with Ford, as the Blue Oval seeks a slice of the F1 action for the first time since the Jaguar debacle more than 20 years ago. Early signs from testing in Bahrain appeared decent, in defiance of pessimistic expectations that going it alone with its own powertrain division would prove an ambition too far.

Who looks quick?

Speaking of testing form (yes, yes, it's notoriously unreliable as a true barometer), it was easier to pinpoint who's struggling than who's heading the right way. Newey's first Honda-powered Aston Martin may look striking, but a lack of laps and basic pace in Bahrain (the AMR26 was some 4.5sec off the fastest times in the early sessions) was a cause for concern.

Most are tipping Mercedes and George Russell as the early favourites, but it would be a major shock if Norris and Oscar Piastri aren't in the mix for McLaren, while there have been some promising signs for Hamilton and Charles Leclerc that Ferrari won't be awful.

Potential fly in the ointment

F1 wouldn't be F1 without a technical row to cloud a new era, and this time Mercedes has stoked the hornet's nest over compression ratios: its new V6 complies with the decreed 16:1 ratio during static tests at ambient temperatures but is believed to break that limit while running on track.

That's either a great example of clever F1 engineering if you're the Mercedes works team or one of its customers (McLaren, Williams and Alpine) or a blatant cheat if you're powered by Audi, Ford, Honda or Ferrari.

At first, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff suggested the others should just "get their shit together" and stop moaning, then made a point of talking up the Red Bull-Ford powertrain - much to Verstappen's obvious amusement.

If the other manufacturers, the FIA and Formula 1 Management intervene, Wolff reckons Mercedes could be "screwed". Either way, it's likely to be an exasperating talking point as the teams touch down in Australia.

When F1 has changed its rules...

Regulation resets usually shake up the F1 form book, but not always.

1983 A late change to outlaw increasingly lethal ground-effect aero forced most teams to hack their chassis into B-spec compromises, but Brabham's Gordon Murray burnt the midnight oil to create the BT52. Cue BMW's only Fl title.

1989 The return to atmo engines ended the first turbo era, but McLaren-Honda, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost kept on winning anyway.

1994 Williams was wrong-footed by a ban on driver aids such as ABS, traction control and active suspension. Benetton took full advantage.

1998 Unlike in 1994, Adrian Newey got it right. His first McLaren built to new narrow-track dimensions and on (terrible) grooved tyres afforded Mika Häkkinen the first of two consecutive titles.

2009 Downforce-slashing aero changes made for ugly cars and didn't improve the racing much, but the new Brawn team, born from the ashes of Honda's bombshell withdrawal, didn't care. Jenson Button won six of the first seven races.

2014 Fl went fully hybrid. Mercedes nailed its new powertrain, Ferrari and Renault didn't, resulting In record-breaking Silver Arrows domination.

2017 The first time since 1966 that a rule change was designed to speed up the cars. Wider-track Fl looked better and Mercedes kept winning.

2022 It was Mercedes' turn to drop the ball this time as full ground-effect aero returned. Adrian Newey gifted Max Verstappen a potent Red Bull-Honda as FI came full circle.

Cupra Terramar

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 17:31:03 +0000

Cupra completes its model range with a big sibling to the Ateca The market, arguably, is not in need of another C-segment SUV. We already have an endless list including the likes of the Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Sportage, Ford Kuga, Nissan Qashqai, Volvo XC40, BMW X1, Skoda Karoq, Audi Q3, MG HS, Hyundai Tucson and several others besides. But this overcrowded field hasn’t deterred Cupra, which is already represented by the Ateca, and is aiming to ambush rivals with its new Cupra Terramar SUV. You might argue that adding another model in this segment is superfluous, but there are good reasons behind the Terramar’s existence. When Cupra became a stand-alone brand rather than a Seat spin-off, the Ateca was its first model. Since then Cupra has evolved dramatically in terms of design, technology, powertrains and, to some extent, the dynamic identity. In short, the Ateca no longer feels particularly ‘Cupra’, while the Terramar does.The Terramar is effectively Curpa’s flagship, although you could argue that this role is shared with the all-electric Tavascan, which has similar dimensions and sharper looks. There’s no electric Terrarmar yet, but it's expected to inherit the same platform as the Porsche Macan Electric when it goes upmarket for its second-generation. Whether you opt for an engine alone or pair it with an electric motor is up to you, and there is the choice of front- and four-wheel drive as well, plus a couple of suspension options. It’s typical VW Group fare, although we have come to like how Cupra sets its cars up in terms of steering, ride and handling, and there’s potential for the Terramar to be something of a driver’s choice in this chock-full class.

Mazda CX-5

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 14:29:19 +0000

Mazda pulls out the stops for the all-new third-generation version of its big-selling CX-5 It might be going a bit far to suggest that the stakes are high for the all-new Mazda CX-5, but it’s certainly not a car the hierarchy high-ups in Hiroshima want to mess up.Introduced in 2012, this slightly left-of-centre mid-size SUV has become the brand’s best-selling model almost everywhere – globally, across Europe and here in the UK. In total, more than five million of them have rolled off the production lines, which makes this box-fresh third-generation version a big deal for the company.As you might expect, it’s bigger, safer and more luxuriously appointed than its predecessor, while the firm’s Kodo design language has been subtly evolved. (Given the apparently high levels of customer loyalty the CX-5 demands, bosses didn’t want to alienate this important demographic.) Yet this is also a Mazda, which means it does things differently from more mainstream contenders. If you’re expecting yet another fully electrified or heavily hybridised offering, then you’ve come to the wrong corner of the family SUV sector, but we’ll get to that.

Do you really need winter tyres?

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 12:20:55 +0000

We describe the pros, cons and technicalities of winter tyres and explain if you really need them

All it takes is one fall of snow before garages and workshops across the land are inundated with drivers looking to get their hands on winter tyres.

Yet, given how infrequently the UK is blanketed in the white stuff, is it really worth the expense and hassle of fitting this specialised rubber?

As always, the answer to this question depends on a number of factors, but, in the final reckoning, winter tyres are a good thing in the colder months - and snow only plays a small part in that verdict.

In this guide we’ll take a closer look at what these tyres are, the pros and cons of using and any alternatives.

Ultimately, though, it’s always best to ensure your car is fit for the conditions in which it’s going to be used. Just as a Porsche 911 GT3 RS track-day toy will be at its best with a set of high-performance, semi-slick boots, so a family motor that will be dealing with daily duties in the depths of December is likely to be better off with some winter tyres.

What is a winter tyre?

As its name suggests, a winter tyre is one that’s been designed to cope with the coldest season of the year, but for many people there is a misconception that this type of rubber is only useful in snow. While winter tyres do perform well in these conditions, this aspect of their design is only part of the story.

Essentially, a winter tyre’s ideal operating conditions are dictated as much by temperature as surface condition, and that’s what makes them such a valuable addition between October and the end of February.

You see, below around 7deg C, a winter tyre’s construction, compound and tread pattern helps it find grip that a standard summer tyre simply can’t match.

Identifying a winter tyre is fairly straightforward, even if you ignore the fact that they often have a distinctive tread pattern.

Most good-quality winter rubber will have been subjected to specific laboratory tests to confirm its effectiveness in the snow, earning it the right to have the '3PMSF' (3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake) marking on its sidewall.

Some tyres also feature an 'M+S' symbol, which stands for Mud and Snow. While this denotes an ability in both wintry and off-road conditions, it’s important to remember it’s just a marketing addition with no objective testing to back it up, unlike the 3PMSF rating.

How does a winter tyre work?

At the heart of the winter tyre’s advantage is its use of a softer compound rubber than uses a higher silica content – a combination that allows it to retain its suppleness and grip as the temperature plummets. Summer rubber hardens below 7deg C, which means it tends to ‘skate’ over cold and damp surfaces.

Many winter tyres also claim to have deeper grooves or channels in the tread that help them clear standing water and slush more effectively.

However, independent testing reveals there’s often very little difference in resistance to aquaplaning (where a layer of water forms between the road and tyre, causing a total loss of grip) between summer and winter rubber; rather, it’s just that the latter is better able to find grip on the cold surface when the water is finally cleared.

One area where winter tyres really excel is in the snow, and this is thanks to their ‘sipes’ – small cuts in the tread blocks. Contrary to popular belief, these types of tyres don’t cut through the snow in the fashion of off-road rubber that digs through the mud to find a grippier surface below.

Instead, the sipes hold snow and create a surface that allows more snow to ‘stick’ to the tread, which actually increases grip. It’s similar to rolling a snowball: the snow sticks to itself.

Can I use winter tyres all year round?

Technically, yes you can use winter tyres throughout the year, but as the temperature rises through spring and summer they won’t be at their best.

Of course, winter tyres will still be a safe option, but the softer compound and special tread patterns simply aren’t as effective at dealing with warm, dry Tarmac.

For starters, you’ll get less grip than a standard summer tyre, meaning lower cornering speeds and longer braking distances. You’d expect a softer compound tyre to actually be grippier in the dry, but as the treads and carcass heat up they become less effective, essentially sliding across the Tarmac at speeds at which a summer tyre is still clinging on gamely.

Moreover, this extra slip also leads to greater wear, meaning you’ll be forking out for a new set of boots sooner than you’d think. Then there’s the extra rolling resistance, which leads to a drop in fuel efficiency. And for keen drivers there’s also the sloppier steering response and reduced feedback that come hand in hand with winter tyres being used in warmer conditions.

As a result, many drivers change the wheels and tyres to suit the season, storing their winter rubber until the temperatures drop. Of course, you might not have space to squirrel away a set of four wheels for months on end, but many tyre-fitting centres and car dealerships offer just such a service for a modest outlay.

Is there any legal requirement to fit winter tyres?

In the UK there is no law that dictates what sort of tyre you should use. The only legal stipulation is that there should be at least 1.6mm of tread depth across three quarters of the centre. Once the rubber wears below this figure you risk a fine of up to £2500 and licence penalty points per tyre on your licence.

However, if you’re planning a trip across the Channel over the winter months, then it’s worth bearing in mind that many countries recommend winter tyres, while a few even make their fitment mandatory.

In Austria and Germany winter tyres are compulsory between the end of October and the end of March, while in France they are mandatory in certain regions that are susceptible to snow (such as the Alps and Pyrenees). Other European countries strongly recommend winter tyres, with many demanding drivers carry snow chains in case of emergency.

Are there any alternatives to winter tyres?

If you’re worried about being caught out in snowy conditions, then snow chains or snow socks are a good idea. Easily stored in a car’s boot, these items can be fitted over summer tyres, helping boost grip and traction when the white stuff falls.

Yet these devices are fiddly to fit and only really intended for temporary and for emergency use. When fitted to the car you’re limited to maximum speed of around 30mph, while most authorities demand you remove them once you're back on snow-free roads.

A far better option, especially in the UK’s less extreme climate, are all-season tyres. Offering a compromise between a summer tyre’s grip and responses and the low-temperature security and snow performance of winter rubber, they’re an increasingly popular option for many motorists.

Although it’s not quite as effective as a winter tyre in the harshest cold conditions, an all-season tyre copes well with snow and cold, wet road surfaces. What’s more, many have been awarded the 3PMSF rating, meaning you’ll be able to use your car in countries where full winter tyres are mandatory.

Clarkson on new Grand Tour line-up: "they’re bloody funny"

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 12:14:16 +0000

Motoring's biggest personality is still a proper petrolhead – as he reveals in our hour-long chat

The Grand Tour, Amazon Prime's motoring show, will return without its long-time hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May – but Clarkson has given his approval to the new line-up in an exclusive interview with Autocar’s My Week in Cars podcast.

Thomas Holland and James Engelsman, from the Throttle House YouTube channel, will be joined by Instagram influencer Francis Bourgeois as the new presenters of Amazon's most-watched unscripted UK original series worldwide.

The trio will lead a six-part run that takes them from crossing the Angolan desert in track day specials to exploring Malaysia’s vibrant car culture, before heading to California to test America’s latest high-performance machines.

Clarkson holds very fond memories of the show, but is also confident about his successors. He told Autocar: “We had an enormous amount of fun doing it (the Grand Tour), but it's quite physical. It’s much harder to do than you might imagine. And the world is a much smaller place now.

“Think of the trips we've done over the recent past. Ukraine - can't go there any more. Russia - can't go there any more. We landed in Iran, drove up into Turkey, down through Syria and into Jordan and Israel. Can't do any of that. The whole of north Africa, with the exception of Morocco, is gone. We were limited to southern Africa. We've done Namibia; we've done Mozambique; we've done Botswana; we've now done Zimbabwe.

“But I've seen the guys being chosen and I've seen some of the stuff they've been doing, and it's very, very good. Oh, it's different. I mean, it's different because they're three completely different people to us. They’re bloody funny.

“I'm pretty confident it will work. I mean, touch wood, from everybody's point of view. We all want it to work and I'd love the idea that the Grand Tour carries on."

Other topics discussed on the podcast include Clarkson's own vehicles, which era was 'peak car' and whether he would ever buy an EV.

How Cropley bagged Clarkson for the podcast

When we arrived at Diddly Squat Farm to record our podcast, Jeremy Clarkson was sitting behind his new £3000 aluminium designer desk, the one he’d been writing about buying in his Sunday Times column the previous day. To tell the truth, that desk was most of the reason why Matt Prior and I were there on that day - and it's what eventually led to JC joining us for a very special episode of the Autocar podcast, which you can listen to below.

Clarkson had been writing about how, because farming was quiet and it had rained non-stop since Christmas, he wasn’t currently needed to run this or his other businesses (farm shop, pub, brewery, game show). He had thus been feeling bored and had turned to buying things and contemplating new hobbies. The desk was part of that.

It was all discussed in Clarkson’s uniquely breezy and ironic column writer’s style, but what grabbed Prior’s and my interest – we’d both read the column – was this rare confession about JC’s boredom and having time to spare. Twice before we’d approached him about filling a My Week In Cars slot, but the first time he’d expressed a blanket dislike of pods, and the second an entirely understandable protest that he simply didn’t have any spare minutes.

At about lunchtime on Sunday, I sent him a note asking for an hour of his time. By 3pm I’d heard that “I could probably do something tomorrow”. If you’re going to get a reply from Clarkson, you get it promptly. It took a few minutes to check with Prior, someone who is more likely to be in Morocco tomorrow than anyone else I know. This time he wasn’t, so I replied to Jeremy saying we were keen and asking where and when we should meet. Soon after we were all set: Diddly Squat Farm, 2.30pm Monday.

The following afternoon we drove up the long farm track, past an imposing new farmhouse and into a yard surrounded by venerable working buildings. Farms today are supposed to be devoid of expensive personnel, but this one was stiff with busy people. It turned out that many were TV production types: they were soon to start the next tranche of Clarkson’s Farm and were making ready. In any case, for a programme like this you always need some kind of crew about, Jeremy explained later. You never know when the donkey’s going to get ill.

A man who looked like a team leader took us on a route through the buildings, first to wait in an office and next to meet a briskly business-like woman who wanted to know whether we took tea or coffee. Then we were directed to the new barn office – roomy, high-ceilinged, with car-themed pictures and posters on the wall, and glazed from floor to ceiling along the front.

In the centre was the gleaming desk, and behind it was Jeremy Clarkson. He was friendly and welcoming. Instructions about what not to ask or shoot were entirely absent. He even thanked us for coming. You can hear what ensued by listening to the podcast above.

Since rather a lot of years had rolled by since I last conversed for very long with Clarkson, I opened up with a cautious question: wondering to what extent he was still a car enthusiast. His affirmative answer was instantly enthusiastic, and so it continued right through the 70 recorded minutes we were speaking.

Some of the content was stuff you’ll know already: his lack of enthusiasm for “white goods” electric cars, his love of sophisticated petrol engines as the “soul” of a car, his enthusiasm for Lamborghinis, and his love of the Lexus LFA (which turns out to be the car he’d most like to buy, if the opportunity arose). We talked about cars in general and the enduring joy, which the three of us share, of writing about them. Plus some details of how, given that he’s still such an excellent judge of a car, Clarkson keeps himself briefed.

Prior has written before about his regret that the TG original trio – Hammond, May and Clarkson – are not regularly together any more, but Jeremy himself seemed optimistic about the capabilities and potential of the new Grand Tour trio, just chosen. He reckons it will work.

As we left, having all agreed that there’s a special pleasure in simply shooting the breeze about cars for an hour, JC was into the rain to see how his various clumps of workmen were faring. Tomorrow he’d be back into making a farm TV programme. But Prior and I departed Diddly Squat feeling sure that in future, Jeremy Clarkson’s love of cars isn’t going to shift from a place pretty close to his heart. Which is a very good thing.

Next Volkswagen Golf previewed for the first time

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 11:23:11 +0000

Ninth-generation family hatch will offer a choice of ICE and EV powertrains and is likely to arrive in 2028

The first official image of the ninth-generation Volkswagen Golf has been released.

The silhouetted image, released by German trade union IG Metall, was shown to Volkswagen workers on Wednesday during a meeting where the car maker reiterated its commitment to the Wolfsburg factory, which will continue to build the Golf.

Autocar understands the new model will be launched in 2028 and it is set to be offered with ICE and electric power.

The image reveals key changes compared with the design of today’s Mk8.5 Golf, including a more prominent roof spoiler and a bluff rear end. These tweaks are likely to be aimed at improving the car’s aerodynamic performance, vital to increasing an electric car’s efficiency and therefore its maximum range.

The car in the photo is likely to be the EV variant because the wheels are shown to be further apart than on the current Golf. This is a feature of VW's new SSP architecture on which the Golf EV is due to sit, allowing for more interior space.

Volkswagen Group design chief Andreas Mindt has previously suggested that the final design will draw on the brand’s incoming range of affordable electric cars – the ID Polo, ID Cross and the production version of the ID 1 – as well as previous Golfs.

Mindt has referenced the Mk7 Golf as a cornerstone, saying: “The Mk7 is kind of a masterpiece, because it resembles all the best elements from history, but it’s still a fresh design.”

He has also vowed that all future Volkswagens will feature physical controls for key functions such as air conditioning and the volume of the infotainment system.

The next-generation Golf is due in 2028. The EV will feature an 800V electrical architecture and more advanced battery technology, boosting range and improving charge rates.

A combustion-engined Golf will continue to be offered alongside the new EV, although this will be a heavily updated version of the current model. Its design will be revised to more closely match that of the EV, and it is tipped to employ a range of hybrid powertrains.

The EV is expected to be named ID Golf to clearly differentiate the two versions, in keeping with the ID Polo.

Autocar rendering shows what the new ID Golf could look like

Key to the ID Golf’s SSP underpinnings is a new software architecture developed in collaboration with US electric car firm Rivian. It is said to allow for much greater control over a car’s hardware, giving more flexibility to update its characteristics through over-the-air (OTA) updates. Rivian, for example, has already used OTA updates to rework the suspension of its R1T pick-up, altering its ride and handling.

VW Group tech chief Kai Grünitz has previously said: “With OTA updates I can introduce new functionality to our customers even after they bought the car, without them needing to bring it in for a service. That means it’s really the next step.”

Honda Insight returns as rakish electric hatchback

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 10:02:30 +0000

Japan-only version of the Chinese-market eNS2 brings back the eco-coupé’s nameplate

The Honda Insight has returned as an electric hatchback with 310 miles of range.

It is effectively a renamed version of the Chinese-market eNS2, built by Dongfeng.

Although the new Insight is a considerably less radical prospect than the original hybrid coupé that was first launched in 1999, Honda said it reprised the name because the new car provides insight into the needs and trends of today’s market.

It will initially be offered in Japan and plans for a wider launch have yet to be confirmed.

Techncial specifications for the Japanese market have yet to be announced, but Honda said its single front-mounted motor puts out 229lb ft and claims it will have “exciting, nimble” handling".

That torque output aligns with that quoted for the eNS2, suggesting the Insight also puts out 201bhp.

Inside, it follows the existing Honda e:Ny1 in almost completely eschewing physical buttons, with the climate controls – apart from the window demisters – moved to its centrally mounted 12.8in touchscreen.

Honda said the new Insight’s interior was designed to prioritise comfort, with a high driving position and reclining rear seats. It also has a built-in aroma diffuser, offering six different scents.

Given Honda has already invested in converting the Insight to right-hand drive for Japan, it is possible that it could be offered in the UK to bolster the brand's line-up of electric cars. That could prove crucial as, this year, 33% of every car firm's sales in the UK must be electric, under the government's ZEV mandate. That figure will ramp up in the coming years, hitting 80% by 2030, although there is flexibility in the mandate to assist companies making swingeing cuts to their fleets' CO2 outputs through more efficient combustion-engined cars. Honda benefits from this flexibility, as every car it currently sells in the UK has a hybrid powertrain.

Should Honda give the Insight the green light for a UK launch, it would not be the first Chinese-market car it offers here: that was the e:Ny1.

More than 90k sales in best February for new car sales since 2004

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 09:48:22 +0000

Bumper month for UK dealerships, with growth in most segments – but March plate-change sales will be 'pivotal'

Last month was the best February for new car sales in the UK in 22 years, according to the latest industry figures, which show huge yearly growth in the sector off the back of a healthy uptick in retail registrations.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) says 90,100 cars were registered in the shortest month of the year, a significant 7.2% increase over 2025 - driven mainly by a 17.6% increase in sales to private buyers, who took home more than 35,000 cars.

There was a smaller, 2.8% increase in fleet sales, making up well over half of the market, which more than offset a 12.7% downturn in the much lower-volume business segment.

However, while the market grew overall, February marked the second month of decline for the market share of electric cars, which accounted for just 24.2% of registrations, compared with just over a quarter last year - despite a 2.8% uptick in registrations.

The SMMT attributes that dip, in part, to a surge of EV sales in the run-up to the imposition of new tax rates last April and notes that manufacturers were pushing EVs hard in the final months of 2025 in a bid to comply with the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate.

The trade body also says that because February is several days shorter than other months, volumes are inherently lower and so any changes tend to be exaggerated.

Despite green shoots of a long-awaited market recovery in February, the SMMT notes that volumes are traditionally stifled as buyers tend to wait for the March numberplate change to take home their new cars, and it says next month's figures will be "pivotal" - particularly for electric cars.

It said: "With year-to-date BEV market share at 22.0%, two thirds of the 33% share mandated for 2026, March is set to be a pivotal month. Manufacturers have already invested billions in new models and discounts to drive demand, now with support from government’s Electric Car Grant, but circumstances have changed beyond expectation since the regulation was set.

"A holistic review of the transition is needed – and must be completed urgently as buyer confidence is anticipated to be weakened further amid plans to introduce a pay-per-mile tax for EVs (eVED) from 2028."

While electric car growth tailed off in February, plug-in hybrid sales soared by 43.5% to give them a record 11.6% share of the market, and hybrids took 13.1%. That came at the expense of pure-petrol cars, which dipped to 46.5% despite a small uptick in demand. Diesel's decline continued, with sales reduced by 3.8% for a market share of just 4.5%.

Cupra Born facelift brings more buttons and range boost

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Fresh look brings the electric hatchback into line with its newer stablemates and extends range to 372 miles

The Cupra Born has been overhauled, gaining a sharp new look, more physical buttons and extra range.

The updated styling brings the electric hatchback into line with the Leon, Formentor and Tavascan, with polygonal headlight graphics and a shark-nosed fascia, plus a rear light bar.

It will be available with a refreshed range of 19in and 20in alloy wheels shod with 235mm-wide tyres, up from the previous 215mm – a move claimed to improve its handling.

Inside, it gets a new steering wheel that replaces the maligned haptic controls with traditional buttons, while the digital instrument panel has been upsized from 5.3in to 10.25in. The 12.9in infotainment touchscreen with touch-sensitive 'slider' climate controls remains, however.

Cupra claims the updated interior also brings an improvement in perceived quality. For example, it gets new doorcards lined in suede, while the tops of the front doors are now finished with soft-touch plastics. Rear passengers also get an air vent in the back of the centre console.

The new Born will also allow owners to do away with their keys, with a new ‘digital key’ app allowing access from a smartphone.

The Born’s powertrain options have also been tweaked.

The entry-level model retains its 58kWh (total) battery but its rear-mounted motor has been downrated from 201bhp to 187bhp. The trade-off for reduced output is an improved range up from 264 miles to 280 miles – although this could change once the car undergoes official WLTP tests. Its peak charging rate has also been raised from 120kW to 135kW.

The long-range powertrain is identical to before, with a 79kWh pack and a 228bhp motor, but its range has been improved from 346 miles to 372 miles. Its maximum charging rate is up by 50kW to 185kW.

The range-topping Born VZ hot hatch employs the same 79kWh battery, matching the regular long-range Born for range and charging capacity, but gets a 322bhp motor.

Both versions with the 79kWh pack now get a one-pedal drive mode (cranking up the strength of the off-throttle regenerative braking effect such that the brake pedal is effectively unneeded at slow speeds) and a launch control function.

Pricing has yet to be confirmed but is expected to rise slightly compared with the existing Born. That starts from £35,690, rising to £36,995 for the long-range version and £44,820 for the VZ.

The Born’s overhaul means every Cupra model bar its oldest, the Ateca, adheres to its latest interior and exterior design languages.

The Spanish brand will soon launch its most ambitious model yet, the Raval, an electric supermini to rival the Renault 5 from around £23,000.

Puma and Kuga get Ford's 'hands-off' autonomous driving system

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

The system works on designated ‘BlueCruise roads’ only and drivers must keep their eyes on the road

Ford has dramatically expanded the range of cars offered with its ‘hands-off’ autonomous driving system, BlueCruise.

Using a combination of radars and cameras, Ford’s BlueCruise system works much like any other advanced adaptive cruise control – as offered by the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and many more – but with the added ability for drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel.

The tech was previously limited to the Mustang Mach-E, but the Kuga, Puma and electric Puma Gen-E will now be offered with special BlueCruise Edition trims that come with the system already activated.

It will be active as standard – side-stepping the requirement for a £17.99 per month subscription – and comes with a Driver Assistance Pack. The latter is required for BlueCruise to function, bringing adaptive cruise control, a blindspot warning system, automatic lane change system and a 360deg camera.

Watch: Autocar drives 'hands-off' in UK with Ford BlueCruise

The system can only be activated in pre-approved ‘Blue Zones’ on motorways. Ford claims more than 84,000 miles of road across 16 European nations are currently approved for its use. Key routes covered by BlueCruise include the M25, M1 and M6.

Activating BlueCruise does not hand over total authority to the car’s computers, because the driver must keep their eyes on the road at all times and be ready to take control back at a moment’s notice.

The cheapest car to come in the BlueCruise trim is the Puma Gen-E, which, after being discounted by £3750 through the government’s Electric Car Grant, will cost £31,545.

A combustion-engined Puma BlueCruise Edition is £33,995, while a Kuga BlueCruise is £41,995.

These cars will be visually distinguished from regular Pumas and Kugas by exclusive Vapor Blue paintwork with a black roof, black mirror caps and black alloy wheels.

The best seven-seat cars – driven and ranked

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 08:38:19 +0000

Big family haulers aren't restricted to MPVs any more. These are the 10 best seven-seaters you can buy today

Two decades ago, the seven-seater class was dominated by a fleet of unapologetically boxy MPVs that, despite their appearances, made ideal family cars.

‘Multi-purpose vehicles’ such as the Renault Espace and Ford Galaxy were very popular, offering endless versatility, space and load-lugging ability. But now they’re largely gone and today’s best seven-seaters are mainly on-trend SUVs.

While SUVs are the main baton carrier of the class, though, there are some outliers that remain popular, such as commercial passenger vans and rugged 4x4s.

Our list below features a number of different seven-seaters from a variety of segments. Some major on third row comfort and space, while others attempt to accommodate people as well as their luggage.

Right now our top pick is the Dacia Jogger. By blending estate, MPV and SUV forms, Dacia has created a roomy and versatile family car that’s also excellent value for money.

Keep reading as we dive into the top 10 best seven-seaters on sale today.

New 2026 BMW i3: electric 3 Series to be revealed on 18 March

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 08:29:00 +0000

First Neue Klasse saloon will pack 500 miles of range and charge at up to 400kW

BMW will introduce the second member of its Neue Klasse family of EVs later this month when it unwraps the new i3 saloon - the electric version of the next-generation 3 Series.

Reprising a badge last used for the seminal electric hatchback of the 2010s, the new i3 will make its debut on 18 March as the second model in BMW's Neue Klasse family of electric cars, following hot on the heels of the closely related BMW iX3 SUV, which is just beginning deliveries in the UK.

Previewed by a series of concepts and shown recently in heavily camouflaged prototype form, Munich's answer to the best-selling Tesla Model 3 will depart dramatically from today's G20-generation 3 Series with a sharp, heavily angled design treatment that nods to historic BMW models while embracing a more minimalist, futuristic ethos.

A new preview image confirms that the saloon will feature a wraparound, illuminated 'kidney' motif on its front end that mimics the trademark BMW grille, with the distinctive new diagonal light signature that will be a calling card of the Neue Klasse line-up.

It is expected that this full-width graphic will be shared with other saloons in BMW's next-gen line-up, while the SUVs will wear the smaller, vertically oriented kidney design that features on the iX3.

BMW is gearing up to refresh its entire range with 40 new EVs and heavily updated combustion cars, which all share the Neue Klasse look and are due by the end of 2027.

While the X3 SUV is now BMW’s best-seller, the 3 Series saloon remains the cornerstone of the brand – and this will be the first time an electric version has been offered. BMW has sold the similar-sized i4 four-door coupé since 2021, but it chose to wait until EV technology could deliver a closer match to combustion models before launching a battery-powered 3 Series.

While the i3 will be new, it will face some familiar rivals, with a Mercedes-Benz C-Class EV set to be launched shortly afterwards, and an Audi A4 EV is expected by 2028. But the i3 will also be key to taking on newer rivals such as Tesla and Chinese premium brands including Xpeng and BYD's Denza.

The i3 will be offered with a variety of power outputs – including a hot electric M3 – and the launch model is set to be a 50 xDrive, as with the iX3. It is likely to offer the same 464bhp and 479lb ft from a dual-motor set-up as the iX3, with power drawn from a 108kWh nickel manganese-cobalt battery.

That system gives the SUV a range of 500 miles, so the more aerodynamic shape of the saloon will potentially make it the longest-range EV on sale in the UK – and should give it an edge over the C-Class EV, which, Autocar understands, will offer a maximum 497-mile range. The Gen6 platform employed by the i3 features an 800V architecture, allowing for charging speeds of up to 400kW.

The i3 will be joined by a heavily updated version of the petrol-engined 3 Series, which will remain on the unrelated CLAR architecture but will receive a makeover with the Neue Klasse design language and the latest in-car technology.

The Vision Neue Klasse saloon concept previewed how the upcoming EV and ICE 3 Series will look, with a distinctly different interpretation of BMW’s kidney grille that is also destined for the iX3 and future SUVs. The camouflaged i3 prototype shown recently confirms that the EV will retain the typical 3 Series body shape, with smoother lines and BMW’s signature Hofmeister kink employed for the C-pillar.

Inside, the i3 will feature BMW’s new Panoramic iDrive system, seen in the iX3, which mates an angled touchscreen with a projected head-up display that runs the length of the front windscreen. The company claims that this system enables key data to be displayed closer to the driver’s eyeline.

Given the importance of driving dynamics to BMW, the firm’s engineers have put a major focus on attempting to ensure the i3 can match the petrol 3 Series models when it comes to ride and handling. Key to that is the new centralised computing architecture, which is built around a greatly reduced number of processing chips. The set-up includes the ‘Heart of Joy’ system, which unites all of the driving experience controls to enable faster and more intuitive reactions.

The system also essentially merges the braking and energy recuperation systems, automatically adjusting between them to offer maximum stopping power. BMW claims that 98% of retardation can be done using the energy regen system.

While BMW has not given official details about the full i3 line-up, BMW Group design chief Adrian van Hooydonk has confirmed that a Touring estate version will follow, along with a range of powertrain options.

After that, the first electric M3 is due in 2028 and prototype versions have already been seen testing. While it will adopt the same Heart of Joy control system, M boss Frank van Meel has previously confirmed to Autocar that it will use bespoke electric powertrain and battery components. These will be based on standard BMW components but heavily developed by the M performance division.

The electric M3 is expected to adopt a quad-motor set-up that could make it the most powerful M model yet, using advanced torque vectoring enabled by the new software architecture for control.

Dacia Striker: new £25k petrol estate to be revealed next week

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Budget brand's rugged, Bigster-based wagon will arrive later this year to rival the Skoda Octavia

Dacia has confirmed that its new rugged estate, set to be priced from less than £25,000, will be called the Striker.

The new model, being unveiled on 10 March, will be crucial for the brand as it expands into Europe's most popular car market, the C-segment.

The segment is considered an open goal for the brand, having successfully launched the Bigster, to which the Striker is closely related.

The large SUV already accounts for a fifth of the Romanian brand's sales, and a third, as-yet-unknown C-segment model will join the line-up next year.

CEO Katrin Adt previously told Autocar that strong sales of the new Bigster have inspired confidence within Dacia that the brand can continue to expand within the highly competitive sector.

“Our main territory currently is the B-segment, but we have also offerings in the A-segment and we have started in the C-segment, and we did that quite amazingly well with the Bigster,” she said.

"You need to watch out that every car has its own place in the segment – its own purpose – and you can be pretty sure that [the Striker] will be a totally different offer to the customer than the Bigster.”

A leaked photo of what appears to be a late-stage prototype shows that the Striker will look effectively like a stretched and lifted Sandero, taking the form of a high-riding, circa-4.6m-long estate.

Former product performance boss Patrice Lévy-Bencheton said: “There is also a significant share of the C-segment which is non-SUV people, who are still looking for a lower driving position, a more efficient product [that is] less ostentatious. For some, an SUV is a bit ostentatious.”

He added that there is a significant proportion of buyers in this space who want “the performance, the comfort and the pleasure of having a slightly bigger car but who are not attracted by the SUV shape and who think: ‘We have to go for a more efficient product, more elegant.’”

Sales and marketing boss Frank Marotte agreed and said the retirement of the Ford Focus and increasing prices of its contemporaries – such as the Volkswagen Golf, Vauxhall Astra and Toyota Corolla – have opened up an opportunity for Dacia in this segment, where it plans to undercut all major competitors, just as it did with the Bigster (pictured below).

“What we want to do in the C-segment is what we’ve done in the B- or the B- plus,” said Marotte. “We have identified that with the C-SUV particularly. But even the C-hatch is probably a segment where the prices have gone up the most in the last five years. You see the increase in monthly instalment or in prices in that segment: it’s massive.”

Dacia will pursue a similar pricing policy with the Striker, leaving out what the company perceives to be ‘non-essential’ equipment in order to maintain a lower list price than its core rivals.

The Bigster, for example, starts at around £25,000 – £5000 cheaper than the same-sized Nissan Qashqai and £9000 less than the Ford Kuga.

The Striker is likely to come in around the £20,000 mark, commanding a £5000 premium over the smaller Sandero but still being significantly cheaper than the £27k Seat Leon and £29k Skoda Octavia estates.

Being based on the same Renault Group CMF-B platform that Dacia uses for all its models except the Spring EV, it's expected to be all but technically identical to the Bigster, with a choice of mild- and full-hybrid petrol powertrains ranging in output from 128bhp to 153bhp. However, it remains to be seen whether it will follow its SUV siblings and Skoda rival in being offered with four-wheel drive.

Either way, the Striker will stay true to Dacia’s rugged, activity-focused ethos by virtue of its raised suspension and body cladding – a similar treatment to that on the range-topping Sandero Stepway, which design boss David Durand said “is a bit ‘outdoors’ too” despite being front-driven.

He said: “In this case, it’s just ground clearance and high tyres that make you confident to go on a rocky road with no fear – and you use it every day and you [fill] it with anything you want.

“It’s a tool. It’s not an object that you show off in front of your house and that represents your social level. It’s something that you are really using every day, with the kids, with adults. You have big roominess.

"So it’s this slightly different ‘outdoors’ way that we can explore.”

Inside the UK-led battle to cut the cost of EV repair bills

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Many EVs have parts vulnerable to damage and nightmarish to repair; Thatcham Research aims to change that

“If we had a star design for the day, it would be this one,” said Darren Bright, principle engineer for automotive repair at Thatcham Research.

Bright is pointing at a naked charge-point socket with attendant high-voltage cabling stripped from an electric car. Next to it is another, very similar-looking socket from a rival car maker illustrating the sort of thing that Thatcham hates: a piece of design that’s nightmarish to repair and therefore much costlier to company's backers, the UK car insurance industry.

Too much of the latter kind of design and not enough of the former has created a gap between the insurance costs of ICE cars EVs that Thatcham and the insurance industry would very much like to bring down. As of 2023, it stood at 25% for cars up to two years old.

This increases the likelihood that insurers will declare even lightly damaged EVs a total loss and therefore hike the vehicle risk rating (VRR), which has replaced the old insurance groups.

Thatcham has now channelled its frustration into creating what it calls the New Electric Vehicle Blueprint, which lists eight critical features for EVs that the car industry must incorporate into new designs to ensure a decent risk rating.

Car makers developing new EVs are working hard on new manufacturing and design innovations that help lower the cost of the car, for example cell-to-body structural batteries and ‘megacast’ single underbody pieces that replace dozens of welded metal parts.

Safety is also right at the forefront, along with security, thanks to the work of Thatcham and others.

What happens after you accidently drive over a neighbour’s rockery or suffer a tap on the back in a car park, however, is less well thought out. “Repairability is a bit lower on the manufacturers’ radar,” Bright said.

This is illustrated by the two charge ports arranged on a desk at Thatcham’s base on the outskirts of Newbury, Berkshire. The location and design of these is one of eight essential recommendations on the blueprint.

Damage the “star design” (by Tesla) and the port can be disconnected from the high-voltage cabling and replaced quickly. Damage the other (not named, but a telltale propeller symbol on it points to BMW) and the whole thing has to be replaced, requiring the battery to be dropped. Suddenly the parts and labour cost has rocketed and the car is more like to be written off rather than repaired.

Chargers in vulnerable locations such as the front or rear of the car are another Thatcham pet hate, putting them in danger of damage in the first place (black mark here for the Kia EV6, Dacia Spring and plenty of older EVs such as the Nissan Leaf and Kia Soul).

The battery itself is another worry – but not so much from the safety point of view, because car makers have worked hard to protect them. Instead the fear is that cars are judged unrepairable simply as a result of low-speed crashes that dent the edge of the casing.

That might require a new battery box or even an entirely new battery simply because you took a kerb wrong. Thatcham instead is calling for sacrificial metal that can be welded back after a crash.

“The battery is on average 40% of the value of the new car without any depreciation," said Bright. "When you start talking one- or two-year-old vehicles, you're into a whole different scenario and the repair options are not there. What we want to see is battery protection that's actually removable.”

Other examples include low-voltage ‘safety loops’ that emergency services can snip to protect themselves from electrocution after an accident instead of cutting through the wiring loom. “We don't want to be descriptive, but what we'd like is something cheap and easily repairable within minutes,” said Bright.

Much of this is just because the EV industry is new. ICE technology has been through all this to get to a decent level of repairability. For example, all ICE cars have long had a resettable fuel cut-off switch – equivalent to the safety loop for EVs - that activates in a crash to stop fuel from continuing to pump if the ignition hasn’t been turned off.

The equivalent in the ICE age to the pain of charging point repairability pain, meanwhile, was the switch from a one-piece fuel tank with a built-in neck to a two-piece system where you didn’t need to replace the whole tank in the event of a minor hit involving the filler. “I haven't seen a one-piece tank in a long time,” said Dan Harrowell, principal engineer for advanced technologies at Thatcham.

EVs are getting better as manufacturers receive the message. Repair costs for EVs have decreased by 10.7% in the last three years, according to data from Gecko Risk, which tracks repair costs for EVs. “We need to keep that trend going as we scale,” said Harrowell.

For example, Thatcham showed a picture of the side sill of the new BMW iX3 next to a stripped-out version of the old one. The new car has what to Thatcham looks like a sacrificial metal protective strip that could potentially be welded back in a light accident, potentially avoiding writing off a £60,000-plus vehicle. They’ve got a car on order to find out for sure.

But the speed of development of EVs means there are new dangers for Britain’s network of repair centres. The rise of single-piece megacasting, beloved of Tesla and Chinese makers like Xpeng, requires detailed knowledge of which bits are structural and which can be cut away and repaired.

Structural batteries cause another headache. These are batteries that take the place of the flooring, providing rigidity to the point in that in the most extreme examples (Teslas for the North American market), when you drop the pack all you see is air. This means that the EV might have to stay on the service ramp while the repair is carried out or risk twisting the body beyond fixing. That in turn keeps ramps occupied, sending the repair bill shooting up.

These are categorised level-three or level-four structural batteries by Thatcham. “We're trying to develop a kind of common language, so when somebody talks about a level-two battery, everyone knows what it is,” said Harrowell.

There’s no real pattern as to who are the main culprits, but Teslas and Chinese EVs tend to be more standardised and therefore easier to repair, because the manufacturers started from scratch rather than adapting ICE car platforms and now have more experience.

Chinese manufacturers have been penalised for Thatcham and the insurance industry on groupings for issues like parts supply, but they also come in for praise for being incredibly reactive. “Sometimes if you say there's a problem, by the end of the day you see over a CAE [digital] model or somebody has brought prototype up to you to say ‘is this okay?’,” said Harrowell. “We've been very impressed.”

Adaptations can appear in cars within six to 12 months and digital adaptations even faster. “We've seen software changes within a week,” said Harrowell.

Thatcham now has to lean on its network of professional organisations globally to get the message across that car makers need to think about EV repairability at the design stage, with the tangible reward of better risk ratings and lower cost of ownership.

The battle Thatcham has is with the engineering and manufacturing departments racing at breakneck pace to cut the cost to develop and build the car while introducing new technology. The insurers would love them to add repairability to the list.

“We don't want to stifle some of that technology, but it is also hurting us,” said Bright. “When it's thought through, it doesn't have to be more expensive.”

Lotus launches plug-in hybrid Eletre with 939bhp

Wed, 4 Mar 2026 13:28:48 +0000

New SUV, named Eletre X, marks brand's return to combustion power; will come to Europe this summer

Lotus has unveiled the plug-in hybrid version of its Eletre SUV, which will arrive in Europe this summer.

The car is significant in that it marks the Geely-brand’s return to combustion engines as a power source after initially promising to go all electric.

Launched today in China, the PHEV is positioned as a stand-alone model and given a new name: For Me in China and the more conventional Eletre X for Europe.

The powertrain couples a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine with a synchronous motor on each axle for a combined power output of 939bhp, good for a claimed acceleration time of 3.3sec to 62mph. That beats the maximum 892bhp figure for the pure-electric Eletre R.

Lotus is pitching its new PHEV against luxury rivals, with Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng referencing the Lamborghini Urus and even the Ferrari Purosangue at the launch event. The Urus is now only available as a PHEV with 789bhp.

The X is fitted with a 70kWh battery (smaller than the EV's 108kWh pack) that offers an electric-only range of 220 miles, according to China’s generous CLTC test cycle. Combined range is 880 miles, Lotus claims.

The battery incorporates ‘6C’ fast charging that enables it to be charged from 30% to 80% in eight minutes.

Additional technology includes what Lotus calls 6D Digital Dynamic Chassis with an adaptive 48V anti-roll bar that the company says helps prevent the "boat-like" feel of some SUVs.

The X weighs between 2575kg and 2625kg, depending on the chosen trim and optional extras, roughly aligning with the pure-electric Eletre.

The ‘X-hybrid’ technology is similar to that on Lotus sibling brand Zeekr’s 9X luxury SUV, which employs up to three electric motors for a combined 1381bhp, suggesting further upgrades could be had.

Lotus’s pivot to PHEV power opens up the brand to a swathe of wealthy customers who so far have been reluctant to switch to EVs. As well as the Urus, the For Me will go up against the 717bhp Aston Martin DBX and the 748bhp BMW XM.

Lotus has said it is also planning a PHEV version of the Emira sports car as part of a facelift timed to comply with the Euro 7 emissions regulation change in 2027 for existing models.

The brand had previously committed to selling only EVs by 2028, but sales of the Eletre and Emeya have been significantly slower than first expected, forcing it to adjust course.

CEO Feng Qingfeng said the launch of PHEVs will help Lotus’s sales in regions with slower uptake of EVs, such as Italy and Saudi Arabia.

The PHEVs are also expected to boost Lotus’s profitability. The company recorded an operating loss of $357 million (£267m) for the first nine months of 2025.

Payouts for car finance scandal will begin this year, FCA confirms

Wed, 4 Mar 2026 12:56:07 +0000

Credit: Getty Images

Around 14 million drivers in the UK could receive payments after being mis-sold car finance

The first compensation payments for people sold unfair car finance agreements will take place this year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today confirmed.

In October, the regulator announced that an estimated 14 million UK motorists were entitled to payouts, with each in line to receive around £700. Compensation could therefore total £8.2 billion.

The FCA has confirmed today that details of how the payout scheme will be accessed will be published this month.

The scheme will be free to access for anyone affected and much easier than having to submit an individual claim.

An implementation period of between three and five months will likely be introduced. After this period, lenders will tell complainants if they’re entitled to compensation.

"Even with an implementation period, streamlining the process means millions of people would receive compensation in 2026," the FCA said in a statement.

However, the £700 average is less than previous estimates by the FCA that payouts would be closer to £950.

The car finance scandal centres on salespeople being incentivised to charge higher interest rates without the knowledge of buyers in order to pot an increased commission.

The FCA’s proposed compensation scheme comes after a Supreme Court ruling on car finance mis-selling in August last year.

While the course ruled against several cases, it ruled in some circumstances that the value of a commission for selling a finance deal and how it was disclosed pointed to an unfair relationship between banks and car dealers, which is illegal under the Consumer Credit Act.

FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi previously said that “now we have legal clarity”, it's time “customers get fair compensation. Our scheme aims to be simple for people to use and lenders to implement".

Rathi added that there would be “a range of views” on the specifics of the scheme, including in its scope and how compensation was calculated, and said: “Not everyone will get everything they would like. But we want to work together on the best possible scheme and draw a line under this issue quickly.”

The FCA cited research that found 46% of consumers who were aware of the compensation scheme but hadn’t made a claim cited a lack of clarity on whether their claim would be eligible; 81% of those considering making a claim said a compensation scheme would give them added confidence to do so.

How the scheme will work

The compensation scheme will be open to those who took out motor finance agreements between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024 in which commission was payable by the lender to the broker.

Consumers who think they weren’t given key information about a motor finance arrangement they took out in that period should complain to their lender now.

While numerous claims management and law firms are offering to make claims on behalf of motorists in return for a commission, the FCA notes that consumers can submit their own complaint to lenders using a template letter available on the FCA website.

When the FCA’s proposed compensation scheme goes live, lenders will contact any consumers who have already complained. Anyone who hasn’t complained will be contacted within six months and given six months to decide if they wish to opt in.

Any consumers who were involved and aren’t contacted will have a year from the scheme starting to make a claim direct to their lender.

People will receive compensation only if they weren’t told details of one of three arrangements between the lender and the broker: the existence of a discretionary credit arrangement; a high commission arrangement (35% of the total cost of credit and 10% of the cost of the loan); or a contractual agreement between lender and broker giving near-exclusive rights for the lender to provide credit.

The FCA said it will monitor whether firms are complying with the scheme and act if they aren't.

Consumers can opt not to take part in the compensation scheme and go to court, where their rights to compensation and the amount of it will be determined by the facts of the case.

Subaru Forester: '90s family wagon with the heart of a rally legend

Wed, 4 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Shared DNA with the legendary Impreza made the original Subaru Forester far more than just a high-riding estate

Ranger. Explorer. Wrangler. Forester. Naming cars after assertive, glamorous or adventuresome careers is almost as old as the motor car itself.

Subaru’s Forester is intended to evoke a far milder employment choice and one hinting at some appealingly rugged usage. The first Forester, emerging in 1997, was promoted with the simple explanation “SUV Tough, Car Easy”.

What you got was a tall, all-wheel-drive estate car, served with unexpected aural character via the rhythmic beat of a flat-four engine. Flat four apart, it was no ground-breaker. Toyota’s 1984 Tercel estate offered much the same mix, if with a conventional motor.

The high-roofed Tercel estate has long gone, however, while the Forester endures, albeit as a machine of slightly different conception from the early editions.

Subaru’s second, 2002 take on the Forester stuck to the same recipe, which proved especially wholesome in the US - but the near-inevitable drift towards a full SUV came in 2008. And today’s Subaru Forester really is conceptually much the same beast as other SUVs on the road.

But it’s this original version that we’re getting nostalgic about here. The Forester’s secret, for those in the know, is that it shares its foundations with the Subaru Impreza, a dull little saloon car that warbled its way to a trio of World Rally Championships across the globe when fired with a turbo, prepared by Prodrive and driven by Colin McRae, Ari Vatanen and Carlos Sainz.

At heart, the Forester was this same, stage-busting car, with the same chassis, the same boxer engine, all-wheel drive and low centre of gravity.

Which went some way to compensating for the height of its roof. True, the Forester’s innards weren’t honed to the levels of Impreza STis and WRXs, but it was still game enough to be a lot of fun and grin-inducingly quick on a twisty road when turbo boosted. If the Forester’s robust-looking two-tone bodywork provided little clue to its game athleticism, neither did its cabin.

This was late 20th century workmanlike Subaru, the 50 shades of grey plastic relieved only by diagonally striped upholstery that looked like someone had collapsed across the seats with a rake. The upholstery was grey, too. Top-of-the-range Foresters provided some colour relief because the air vents and centre stack were framed with burr walnut. It was fake, despite this Subaru’s arboreal name, and clashed uncomfortably with the seat fabric.

Flash interior decor was far from the point of the Forester, which was as robust as every other Subaru. This was a car whose reliability was solid enough that you really could drive deep into a gravel-tracked forest and be confident of a return, even after it had amassed well beyond 100,000 miles. So long as the timing belt was changed when required, at least.

It’s not hard to find 25-year-old examples of this wagon in decent order, although it pays to check the underside thoroughly. (Rear suspension strut towers are one of many zones known to cultivate rust.) A car of unexpectedly endearingly abilities then, much character, much practicality and, er, much ugliness too.

New £23k Cupra Raval sheds camo ahead of official reveal

Wed, 4 Mar 2026 10:55:18 +0000

Cousin of VW ID Polo is caught testing uncamouflaged, revealing design faithful to UrbanRebel concept

The Cupra Raval, due in the UK later this year priced from around £23,000, has shed its camouflage ahead of its official unveiling.

An uncamouflaged prototype has been caught winter testing in Scandinavia, revealing that the design of the UrbanRebel concept has made it to production largely intact.

Its scowling triangular headlights remain, for instance, as does its swooping roofline and split C-pillar treatment.

It's notably longer than that concept appeared, though, and has a more conventional rear light bar.

A bold, diffuser-like rear end treatment can also be seen buried under a blanket of snow and ice.

It's unclear whether the prototype’s small wheels are those that will be fitted to an entry-level model or whether they have simply been used with winter tyres for use in the snowy conditions.

The Raval is underpinned by the new + variant of the Volkswagen Group’s MEB electric car platform, also used by the Volkswagen ID Polo, Volkswagen ID Cross and Skoda Epiq.

It employs a single, front-mounted motor with a battery pack mounted under the floor between its axles. Two packs will be offered, with capacities of 38Wh and 56kWh, the latter giving a range of around 280 miles.

Autocar has already driven the range-topping VZ hot hatch, which has a 223bhp motor and a limited-slip differential, plus specially tuned adaptive suspension. A 208bhp Raval without a limited-slip differential will also be offered.

Its price tag will make it the most affordable Cupra model yet and positions it as a strong competitor for the likes of the Renault 5, MG 4 EV Urban and Peugeot e-208.

Omoda 7

Wed, 4 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Latest temptingly priced SUV from Chinese giant Chery is a 4.7m-long plug-in hybrid Think of Chinese newcomers to the UK market and you will probably think of electric cars, but the ranges of BYD, MG and those in the Chery stable of brands have been rapidly filling up with plug-in hybrids as well.The latest is the Omoda 7, and while it may look like another brand-new yet familiar-looking family crossover, Chery is making great strides with its products while keeping them cheap. It’s one to watch.

Renault to launch rugged city-focused SUV

Wed, 4 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

New model will be previewed by Bridger concept that will be shown in full on 10 March

Renault is readying a rugged, boxy, city-focused crossover that will be previewed by the Bridger concept next week.

To be unveiled at the Renault Group’s future-looking strategy day on 10 March, the Bridger will sport a utilitarian design that features a rear-mounted spare wheel.

The concept will be spacious yet shorter than 4m in length, suggesting it could be positioned in a similar way to the discontinued Suzuki Jimny. For context, the Renault 4 is 4.1m long and the Dacia Duster is 4.3m long.

The subsequent production car will be designed and developed in India and therefore likely built at Renault's factory in Chennai.

Earlier this year, Renault announced a £2.2 billion plan to dramatically grow its market share outside of Europe. As such, it's expected that this car will be sold only in India, Africa and the Middle East.

Given the small EV uptake in those markets, it's expected to be sold exclusively with combustion power – likely the same mild- and full-hybrid powertrain as used by the new Indian-built Renault Duster.

While not confirmed, the new car looks set to take the Bridger concept's name into production. Sylvia dos Santos, Renault’s head of naming strategy, explained: “With Renault Bridger, we are adding to our family of names based on English words. The name is part of the same approach as the name of Renault Duster. It’s a powerful, robust and versatile name and opens a new page in our international offensive.”

This is just the latest Renault concept previewing a model aimed outside of its core European markets. Previous examples included the radical Niagara, which previews an off-road pick-up truck that should come to market in 2027.

Exclusive: Clarkson reveals his best cars in special Autocar podcast

Wed, 4 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Motoring's biggest personality is still a proper petrolhead – as he reveals in our hour-long chat

When we arrived at Diddly Squat Farm, Jeremy Clarkson was sitting behind his new £3000 aluminium designer desk, the one he’d been writing about buying in his Sunday Times column the previous day. To tell the truth, that desk was most of the reason why Matt Prior and I were there on that day - and it's what eventually led to JC joining us for a very special episode of the Autocar podcast, which you can listen to below.

Volvo starts 'biggest update ever': 2.5m older cars to get EX60 tech

Tue, 3 Mar 2026 16:35:59 +0000

Post-2020 Volvos will have basically the same UX as its latest cars

All post-2020 Volvos will receive latest-gen UX interface in massive over-the-air update

Volvo has started the roll-out of "one of the biggest over-the-air updates in the history of the world", remotely installing a new infotainment interface in 2.5 million cars worldwide.

Every Volvo equipped with the company's Android Automotive operating system – which was launched in 2020 on the XC40 Recharge (now badged EX40) – will receive the new Volvo Car UX (user experience) that features in the EX30, EX90 and new EX60.

It means that a 2020 Volvo will effectively have the same displays and functionality as the latest models.

Hailing it as "one of the biggest over-the-air updates in the history of the world", Volvo chief technology officer Anders Bell (below) said the aim is to essentially bring those older models up to date, which is widely touted as the main benefit of modern cars being 'connected': with the ability to update remotely, they can stay 'in-date' for far longer than before.

Bell acknowledged that Tesla regularly performs huge fleet-wide updates of its cars but said Volvo operates in more countries, making this one of the most significant yet.

He also said all updated models will have essentially the same infotainment as the EX90, allowing for some slight differences because of the older silicon processing chips and smaller screens.

"We're going to deploy that back to those cars to give them a necessary, very nice upgrade of the owner's interaction experience with the car."

Anders added that once the system has been updated, "it's a pretty easy update to replace the current Google Assistant with Gemini", referring to the EX60's newer and more advanced Google voice assistant - a separate update coming this spring.

Gaining the new Google Gemini system means that owners of eligible cars will be able to have the same 'conversational' interactions with their cars as is said to be possible in the latest models.

Volvo said: "Gemini in the car can better understand what you want while driving through natural conversations. You can talk naturally to craft messages, translate them into another language before sending, ask questions from the car’s user manual or learn specific details about your destination.

"This kind of natural conversation can help reduce your cognitive load so that you can stay focused on driving, reducing distractions for everyone on board."

Final Bovensiepen-era Alpina is limited-run XB7

Tue, 3 Mar 2026 12:28:54 +0000

Teaser image, brightened by Autocar, reveals the final 'true' Alpina to be an XB7

Limited-edition luxury SUV for North American markets brings an end to a 60-year dynasty

The final car to come from Alpina as it has existed for the past 60 years will be a limited-run special edition of the XB7 luxury SUV.

Due to be revealed on Friday, it's described by new Alpina owner BMW as an “exclusive, limited-production” model “for the United States and Canada”.

It isn't the first BMW-developed Alpina model, despite the tuner having entered the Munich manufacturer's ownership on 1 January; rather it was developed under the founding Bovensiepen family.

Autocar understands that a deal to produce the limited-run special was done before the Alpina brand entered BMW's ownership.

The unveiling of this new XB7 is a landmark moment, ending Alpina's 60-year history under the Bovensiepens.

The Buchloe company's final standalone model was the 8 Series-based B8 GT saloon, revealed in January 2025.

The first Alpina developed solely under BMW is set to be revealed later this year, wearing the new branding that was revealed last month.

Alpina was established by Burkard Bovensiepen in 1965 as a BMW tuner but with the status of an independent manufacturer providing factory warranties.

It has historically been revered for its subtly styled performance saloons and coupés, such as the 3 Series-based B3 and D3.

The Bovensiepen family agreed to sell Alpina to BMW in 2022. As previously reported by Autocar, they sold up because their ethos is one of ‘no compromise’, something they didn't believe possible in the electric age.

Hiring capable software engineers to differentiate electric Alpinas from their BMW counterparts would have been crucial but also ruinously expensive, Andreas Bovensiepen said.

BMW said in 2022 that acquiring Alpina would allow it to “bring "even greater diversity to its own luxury car range", and it has since appointed former Polestar design chief Max Missoni to guide Alpina's styling.

It has promised that Alpina will henceforth offer “an extraordinary range of bespoke options”, positioning it as a high-performance foil to rival Mercedes-Benz’s ultra-luxurious Maybach brand.

The Bovensiepens have since established an eponymous car company and revealed its first offering, a modified BMW M4 coupé with coachwork by Zagato.

The best hybrid SUVs – PHEVs and regular hybrids rated

Tue, 3 Mar 2026 12:12:58 +0000

We pick the very finest hybrid SUVs on the road, with compact, family and luxury models all making the cut

For those not yet sold on the idea of an electric family car, the vast and ever-growing variety of hybrids is proving more popular than ever – particularly among SUV drivers who require a family hauler that’s as parsimonious as it is practical.

In a market that’s now divided by petrol and electric (and at a push diesel), hybrid SUVs are now the pragmatic alternative.

From a hybrid SUV you get the seamless and smooth drivability of an EV for maximum urban efficiency plus the extra punch of a petrol engine for long-distance cruising.

And while they’re a hit with families, company car drivers are also buying into the low benefit-in-kind tax rates that hybrids (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) offer.

SUVs are well suited to plug-in hybrid powertrains, their generous footprints enabling engineers to tuck the battery and motors neatly away without compromising interior space and practicality.

Right now we think the Skoda Kodiaq IV is the best hybrid SUV on sale. We were impressed by its comfort, interior usability, versatility and impressive electric-only range of up to 74 miles.

How 'micro-movements' in dampers could finally end road drone

Tue, 3 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Others have tried and failed - but ZF says it has now nailed noise-cancelling technology in dampers

Dealing with intrusive sound generated by engine vibrations, road surfaces and tyre noise has challenged manufacturers for decades.

Cars of the 1960s and 1970s carried kilos of extensive sounddeadening material in a bid to solve the problem.

These days, sound cancellation electronics have been used successfully in everything from headphones to cars and now ZF is adding to the technology with its Active Noise Reduction function for the chassis.

The new tech specifically targets tyre noise - one of the hardest sources of noise to deal with - using electronic cancellation.

Sounds from engine-related vibrations are predictable because they're linked to each revolution of the crankshaft and the number of cylinders.

Sensors monitor the engine revs, and by the time the unwanted noise reaches the ears of occupants, a cancellation signal inaudible to the ear is transmitted through the infotainment speakers into the cabin.

The low-frequency booming caused by vibrating body panels can also be intercepted using microphones inside the cabin to detect the sound and a cancellation signal sent through the audio speakers in the same way.

Lotus Engineering was the first to demonstrate a system for cars to do both of these things, in the early 1990s. It chose a Citroën AX for the tests because it was one of the cheapest, lightest production cars at the time and had the minimum of physical sound-deadening material.

The results were spectacular. The flick of a switch when driving the prototype literally turned off the background booming sound generated in the standard car.

ZF's system is software-based and uses the firm's Smart Chassis Sensor with an integrated acceleration sensor to precisely measure vibrations transmitted from the tyres to the cabin via chassis components such as suspension control arms and dampers.

An algorithm recognises the characteristic noise patterns generated by tyre cavities, which typically sit at around 200Hz. Next, ZF's CubiX chassis control platform software generates a counter-signal, which instigates 'micromovements' in the semiactive dampers to cancel the noise interference.

The movements are too small to interfere with the main function of the dampers, which is to dampen the vertical movements of the suspension, so handling and roadholding are unaffected.

The beauty of this technique, says ZF, is that none of the high-quality acoustic solutions involving microphones and speakers, typically available in only luxury segments, is needed to do the job.

Since ZF claims to be the market leader, supplying around 40% of all semi-active dampers fitted worldwide, this technology could potentially create a new market among lower-priced cars.

Renault Symbioz

Tue, 3 Mar 2026 09:23:50 +0000

Hybrid crossover is full of qualities that appeal to your head but can it appeal to the heart too? The Renault Symbioz. Which one is that again? So many new Renault crossovers have been launched in recent years with new names that it can be hard to keep up with.The Symbioz is the small crossover that's based on the same underpinnings as the Renault Clio and Renault Captur (another small Renault crossover itself) and slots between the Captur and the Renault Austral in the Renault range.Why so many crossovers? Renault says it's no different to the Volkswagen Group in offering numerous models that overlap with one another to one degree or another but the difference is Renault has just one brand to offer the mainstream and the VW Group has several. Fair enough.The Symbioz looks more smaller Austral than bigger Captur and a good deal more mature than the latter. At the time of its launch, one Renault designer called it "more rational and less emotional", which one could read for being a bit boring. It has been conceived for families and fleet buyers, with upright, boxy proportions, decent interior space and hybrid power. But does it live up to these credentials while truly differentiating itself from talented competition?The Renault Symbioz line-up at a glanceThere are three specifications of Symbioz: Techno, Techno Esprit Alpine and Iconic Esprit Alpine. All cars get 18in alloys, a 10.4in infotainment display running Google's automotive software, a 10.25in instrument display and a six-speaker stereo system.Stepping up beyond entry-level Techno grants you larger alloys, racier trim pieces, a better stereo system and an electric bootlid. But our recommended specification is Techno, which has all you really need.The engine line-up is also pretty simple: you can have a mild hybrid or a full hybrid. Mild-hybrid cars come in the two Techno trims only and use a 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine with a gearbox-mounted electric motor.The full hybrid is available on all three trim levels and comes with a 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (naturally aspirated) and two electric motors (a 48bhp drive motor and a 20bhp integrated starter-generator, or ISG). In total, the system develops 158bhp and 276lb ft for a top speed of 105mph and a 0-62mph time of 9.1sec.

The £30k supercar garage: 30 dreams you can actually afford

Tue, 3 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

A £30k budget would buy you only a handful of new cars today – or any one of these used dream machines

Perchance to dream… Had Shakespeare been around today, chances are he might have been referring to his next car rather than to the next life.

After all, who doesn’t spend half their waking hours scrolling through car ads, imagining themselves at the wheel of something they can’t afford, such as a Ferrari or a Lamborghini?

It passes the time but leads nowhere – so instead, scroll through these 30 choice motors no dearer than £30,000.

Agreed, it’s a significant sum, but many of them are less than half that and some cheaper still. Dream on…

Aston Martin Vantage

Although the V8 Vantage never graced the 007 franchise, it still looks like something Daniel Craig might have driven in Casino Royale in 2006, had the DBS V12 not got the gig instead.

No worries: today, used DBSs start at around £60,000, while for half that you can get into a Vantage with the later and more powerful 4.7 V8 rather than the launch 4.3

Audi R8

The noughties poster car still stirs the blood. The 5.2 V10 is the one people want, but prices start well above our £30,000 ceiling, so the 4.2 V8 it is.

Fret not, though, because back in 2007, when it was launched, Autocar’s testers voted the R8 4.2 the best car they had driven all year. Budget for a clutch every 20,000 miles.

Audi RS6 Avant

Shoehorning 10 cylinders into a family car is, of course, bonkers. The C6-gen RS6 may have delivered supercar performance, but the price was supercar levels of technical complexity.

Our find is a private-sale car, giving you a chance to quiz the owner in detail about its history.

Bentley Continental GT Speed

Prices for early Contis have been low for a long time, but signs are they’re firming up. These cars end up on all sorts of forecourts, but we favour a private purchase.

Cars with high mileages are common - but are ok if you combine with minimal keepers and a full Bentley service history.

BMW i8

Autocar once put an i8 up against a Porsche 911. The 911 just edged it, but we accepted that people might have preferred the i8’s futuristic design and technology.

Those attributes remain and, better still, prices now start at £25,000. They’re reliable things, so concentrate on the condition of the body and doors.

BMW M2 Competition

Autocar awarded the M2 Competition four and a half stars and declared it one of the best driver’s cars of 2018.

In these times of obscenely expensive cars, that you can get one in rare and desirable manual form for just under £30,000 – or a little over half the model’s new price before the inevitable extras (which, incidentally, our find has) – is a cause for celebration.

BMW M3 (E46)

A near-perfect size, remarkably communicative and powered by a characterful 3.2-litre straight six, the E46-gen M3 numbers among Autocar testers’ favourite used M cars.

However, it has its problems, including a potentially troublesome Vanos timing unit, the risk of head gasket failure and the possibility of a worn rear axle carrier.

BMW M5 (E39)

There are many great M5s, but most enthusiasts of a certain age would agree the E39 of 1998-2003 is the one they lusted after for its perfect chassis balance, V8 power and slick gearbox.

Today, the best ones cost £50,000, but high-mileage examples start at around £18,000. The model is tough but the steering and suspension need careful checking. From cold, listen for the Vanos unit playing up and be sure the differential isn’t leaking.

BMW Z3 M coupe

To create the Z3 M Coupé, BMW engineers took the Z3 roadster, attached a solid roof to it and stuffed the 3.2-litre straight six from the E36-gen M3 under the bonnet.

The market wasn’t persuaded. Then, for some reason probably to do with its rarity, prices skyrocketed, but they have recently started falling. A sloppy gearchange is an expensive fix, check the boot floor for cracks and listen for engine and suspension noises.

Caterham Seven

After perhaps on a motorcycle, life doesn’t get much more exciting than behind the wheel of a Caterham Seven.

There’s a bewildering number of varieties to choose from, so keep things simple with a straightforward, Ford Duratec-powered 1.6 putting out 135bhp.

It’s not a lot of grunt, granted, but in a car weighing only slightly more than a bag of sugar, it’s enough. Pay an expert to scrutinise it.

Citroen 2CV

Are we having a laugh? In fact, there are enough 2CV fanciers around to suggest this quirky car with its clattery, air-cooled, twin-cylinder engine, roly-poly suspension and have-a-go gearchange is a genuine dream car.

Aside from checking the cardboard air tubes aren’t about to self-combust or the kingpins about to seize, check for terminal rust.

Fiat Coupe

Unless you were around in 1993, you won’t know of the excitement that accompanied the arrival of the Fiat Coupé.

Back then, Fiat was a brand with an image little better than it has now, yet there it was springing one of the most daringly styled cars imaginable. Happily, the Coupé drove well and was powered by a choice of three delightful engines – but, boy, can it rust…

Ford Focus RS

“The 300bhp [Mk2] Focus RS shreds the rulebook on front-wheel-drive dynamics,” said Autocar and duly awarded it five stars.

Checks include pulling out the dipstick to listen for escaping air while the engine is running and feeling for driveshaft, clutch and suspension wear.

Ford Mustang

Obviously, the real Mustang dream car is a 1968 GT 390 Fastback in Highland Green. On our hunt for its £30,000 present-day equivalent, we chanced across a 2019 Bullitt edition 5.0 GT with 80,000 miles for £31,450 – too much, so our pick is a standard GT.

Check the interior is holding up, the clutch is good and the engine isn’t rattly.

Honda Integra Type R

Honda could have named this model the Integrity, because that’s how the firm approached it.

No corner-cutting here: the Integra had a stronger bodyshell than standard models, balanced by lighter wheels, a thinner windscreen and less sound-deadening material. Its 1.8-litre engine got high-compression pistons, hand-finished intake ports and a modified VTEC system, too. It made 187bhp but was required to haul just 1170kg. Beware rusty rear wheel arches and underside.

Jaguar F-Type R

The F-Type R’s 5.0-litre, 32-valve V8 packs 542bhp and 502lb ft, enough to catapult the car to 62mph in 4.0sec. It also costs impressive numbers to tax (£735) and insure (it sits in group 50).

Make sure its numerous recalls have been followed up, the cam-chain tensioners aren’t noisy, the fuel pumps aren’t failing and the rear differential isn’t leaking.

Land Rover Defender

Old, slow and crude it may be, but for many people, an old Defender is their dream car. For some, it’s the compact and chunky 90 model; for others, the longer and more practical 110 we’ve featured here.

It’s a later model powered by the trusty and torquey Puma 2.4-litre diesel motor from the Ford Transit. Whatever you track down, condition is more important than mileage.

Lotus Elise

Unfortunately, the era of cheap Elises is behind us, but buy a good one today and it’s unlikely to lose anything. What you will get is one of the most enjoyable cars this side of a Caterham but with a dash more civility.

By now the engine should have been cured of most issues (head gasket and radiator among them), so instead examine body gaps and paint condition, check the rear subframe isn’t hanging off, listen for a whiny diff, feel for tight steering and suspension and make sure the hood is okay.

Lotus Evora

In the Evora, Lotus chassis brilliance meets Toyota reliability. Our find, an approved used example with the Sport (switchable modes, oil cooler, titanium exhaust) and Tech (rear parking sensors and camera, upgraded media system) packs, looks tempting. Prices start at around £23,000 for 276bhp cars and a couple of thousand more for the cheapest 345bhp S models.

Check gear cables on early cars, the ECU for over-revving, signs of track abuse and the cabin for wear and tear.

Maserati GranTurismo

The growly Granturismo 4.7 is more than an antisocial nuisance. It’s a full four-seater, for a start, and then there’s the ride and body control, which, on standard springs, is impressive.

Choose a well-used and well-serviced car over an apparently mint low-miler and run a mile from the optional and potentially troublesome Skyhook suspension.

Mercedes C63 AMG estate

A neighbour has owned one of these since it retired from life as a Mercedes-Benz World track car. Almost every weekday morning for the past 13 years, he has hoofed it, from cold, down the road.

Its sound alone would qualify it for dream status, except the C63 wagon is also a terrific driver’s car and practical with it. Check for lambda and thermostat issues, excessive oil consumption, cracked rims and an overly creaky interior.

Mercedes-Benz SL

Cruising the riviera then gunning it down the autobahn: the R230-gen SL 55 AMG with folding Vario-roof is two cars in one.

Repairs and upkeep aren’t cheap, so buy the best you can, taking care to check the engine is oil- and coolant-tight, the electrics and suspension system are behaving, the aluminium body is dent-free and the roof operates smoothly.

Mini JCW GP

There are plenty of small hatches we could have chosen, but beside the first-generation Mini GP, they’re all a touch ordinary. Here’s a car with an extreme bodykit, a proper mechanical diff and an extra 7bhp over the regular JCW’s 208bhp.

That doesn’t sound like much, but the GP is 50kg lighter than the standard model (it has no rear seats and little soundproofing). The result is a car that’s quick, even sharper in the bends and, yes, a bit noisy.

Morgan Plus 8

Enough folk have grown up believing claims that the Morgan Plus 8 was once the fastest-accelerating car and that you had better put your name down for one at birth if you want it before you retire that acquiring one has become a life’s ambition for many.

That it was produced by bearded artisans in the shadow of the Malvern Hills just adds to its allure. Best bought from a specialist or its owner.

Peugeot 205 GTi

Prices are all over the place for this perfect little slice of hot hatch heaven, so research the field thoroughly. Fortunately, it’s fine to buy a cheap project car, because the 205 is easy to work on and parts availability is excellent.

There’s also a very knowledgeable community you can tap into. The 1.6 versus 1.9 debate still rages, but it’s the drive that counts and that’s special whichever engine you choose.

Porsche 911 Carrera S

The 997-series 911 built on the achievements of its predecessor, the 996, being even better to drive, available with the brilliant PDK dual-clutch automatic gearbox and still reasonably compact.

Stories of bore scoring and IMS bearing failure haunt both generations, but they were rare events and, in any case, many cars have since had pre-emptive fixes

Subaru Impreza

With more varieties of Impreza Turbo than Heinz soup, you really need to know your WRX 22B from your P1. So just go for a limited-edition RB5 instead.

Launched to celebrate Richard Burns’s return to the Subaru rally team, it’s one of the best versions of the first-generation Impreza Turbo and now a future classic that’s still relatively affordable. Beware poor mods and body repairs and over-stretched engines.

Toyota GR Yaris

A former winner of Autocar’s Britain’s Best Affordable Driver’s Car competition and a Britain’s Best Driver’s Car podium finisher, the 257bhp, 266lb ft GR Yaris was brilliant out of the box.

The 0-62mph-in-5.5sec Circuit Pack sharpened it further with the addition of stiffer springs, dampers and roll bars, lighter wheels and Torsen limited-slip diffs front and rear. It's this model we'd recommend.

Vauxhall VXR8

Yes, £20,000 does seem a lot for an old Vauxhall, and we would have preferred it to be the later, supercharged 6.2 GTS-R version, but with just 15 of those cars being delivered to the UK - so the ‘standard’ model it must be.

Behind the griffin badge, it’s a Holden Special Vehicles Clubsport R8 from down under, so imagine you have been dreaming of owning a genuine Aussie muscle car and here it is.

The VXR8’s V8 makes a decent 425bhp and drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox (there was an optional automatic). The engine can take more power but be sure any performance modifications have been expertly done, the footwells aren’t damp and the interior is holding up.

VW Golf GTI

The Mk1 Golf GTI is a genuine dream car, perhaps more for what it represents than anything. That said, you will love the heightened sense of connection and the visibility past those narrow pillars.

GTIs are not cheap. But they're proper classics now, and ones around the £30,000 mark will likely have had a good amount of work done to them - for better and worse.

Why it’s not easy for car makers in the US to ditch electric cars

Tue, 3 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Regulatory changes have led to car makers writing off the equivalent of almost $40 billion in EV investments

Car makers in the US have written off the equivalent of almost $40 billion in EV investments following regulatory changes that ended mandatory sales of EVs. However, a desire to compete globally and the need to comply with state laws means the big players aren't giving up on electric power.

The US had been largely following Europe and China in pivoting towards EVs, pushed in part by government regulations put in place by president Joe Biden that required EVs to account for half of light vehicle sales by 2030.

Those regulations have now been revoked by president Donald Trump, allowing a wholesale return to non-electrified combustion engines and even spelling the end of emissions-saving technology such as stop-start systems.

Such is Trump’s desire to overturn all legislation linked to what he calls the "green new scam" of climate change that he ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to end the so-called endangerment finding, dating back to 2009, that enshrined the danger posed by rising CO2 levels and underpinned the CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) targets.

The difficulty now for American car makers like Ford, General Motors and Stellantis is working out how to rid themselves of expensive EV programmes that no longer have government support while gauging future EV demand and complying with existing state legislation on emissions, led by California.

There’s also the chance that the EPA ruling might be overturned in court, much like some of Trump's tariffs recently were (although not those on cars).

Plus there’s the medium-term headache of guessing what a future federal government, possibly led by Democrats, might impose.

“We saw CAFE get zeroed out last year and we took a charge for that. The EPA just ruled overturned the endangerment finding. We know that. Now we still have the federal versus the state,” GM finance chief Paul Jacobson said at a Citibank conference last month. “That's another reason not to really abandon EVs, because we might see that change again.”

A change in government doesn’t traditionally alter much within car companies, but Jacobson likened Trump’s election to a global shock like the Covid pandemic or the subsequent chip shortage in that it tore apart long-term planning both on production (via the new tariffs) and EVs that ultimately ended up costing billions.

GM was gearing up to sell around a million EVs annually by 2030 to hit the regulation, Jacobson said. After Trump killed that requirement, the company in January wrote off investment totalling $6bn.

Jacobson explained: “The bulk of the write-off was going in and saying 'okay, we know that the demand curve is going to be much flatter; it's still going to grow, but it's not going to be growing to 50% by 2030'.” He estimated medium-term demand at between 5% and 10%.

Last year the US EV market hit 1.27 million, accounting for 7.8% of the total vehicle market – the second highest share on record, according to data firm Cox Automotive. However, that was less than half the EV sales share in Europe.

The reason 2025 wasn’t a record year, said Jacobson, was the US government’s decision to yank away the $7500 tax credit in the third quarter, causing sales to tank by 36% in the fourth quarter.

Tesla remains the dominant EV player in the US, with its sales accounting for almost half the market total last year. GM was next, with just over 150,000 sales. Its Chevrolet Equinox SUV was the third most popular EV after Tesla's Model Y and Model 3, with 57,945 sales.

The big driver was California, the US’s biggest market for EVs. The state’s EV share last year was closer to Europe’s, at 19%. Had it been in Europe, its 378,216 EV sales would have slotted it behind Germany and the UK in third place.

California has long driven the US’s CO2-based emissions regulations, set up in response to rising smog levels. Indeed, state laws require 100% of all car and pick-up truck sales to be electric in 2035. The phased approach starts this year with a requirement of 36% EVs. Eleven other US states have adopted the same policy.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is trying to kill the waiver that allows California to set its own emissions regulations, setting up a legal battle that will further keep car makers in limbo.

However, California’s emissions rules have long outpaced the automotive industry in terms of EV development, and it has had to reset its targets previously.

For car makers, the big change is the killing of Biden's federal requirement for 2035, prompting them to axe a wide range of electric models.

Ford killed its F-150 Lightning pick-up and two versions of a planned seven-seat large SUV.

GM said goodbye to its Brightdrop van and reversed a plan to build pick-ups at a plant near Detroit. It will also kill the Mk2 Chevrolet Bolt crossover after just 18 months in production.

Stellantis is also out of the electric pick-up game after axing a planned EV version of the Ram 1500. It has also dropped its plug-in hybrid models.

PHEVs have been talked about as a potential bridge technology in the US but last year accounted for only 3.5% of sales, according to Cox Automotive.

Meanwhile, Honda has backed out of a deal to hook up with GM on EVs and Volkswagen has reportedly delayed the launch of the Scout 4x4 brand, with its electric and range-extender SUV and pick-up.

Car makers have said that regulations weren't allied to customer demand for their EVs. But they also admit that the technology was wrong for the mostly large vehicles to which they initially applied it.

“[For] large trucks, where towing is a real important application, both PHEV and pure-electric will definitely not work,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said on the company’s earnings call last month.

Ford instead shifted to the smaller truck and SUV market and plans to launch the first model based on its new Universal EV (UEV) platform in 2027 with a targeted price of between $30,000 and $35,000.

“We aren't just building compliance vehicles at Ford,” Farley said. “We're launching a cost-efficient, universal EV platform that will drive profitable growth in the lower price segments, where the EVs have continued to thrive in America.”

The UEV platform utilises many of the technology leaps made by Tesla and Chinese companies that have kept costs down, including lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry, cell-to-body construction and ‘megacast’ aluminium sub-assemblies replacing the equivalent of 146 parts.

Ford has long sought to compete with new entrants on costs and slow losses at its EV-focused Model E division, which last year was $4.8bn in the red, due to the costs of building the Mustang Mach-E and its European EVs, including the Explorer and Puma Gen-E.

The difficult part for American car makers is working out how to balance the investment needed for new EVs and establishing a supply chain without help from a government that not only doesn’t support EVs but actively discourages them. “We need scale, right?,” said Jacobson. “That's going to take a little bit of time.”

Ford meanwhile is syphoning off some of its excess battery supply into a new division called Ford Energy that sells LFP batteries for energy storage. The strategy “diversifies our revenue and derisks the core automotive business”, Farley said.

America's electric-only car makers – Tesla, Lucid and Rivian – will meanwhile continue to generate organic EV demand, even if Tesla is now more focused on autonomous robotaxis rather than personal transport.

But the reality is that under Trump the US is shifting from being the cradle of mainstream EV development with Tesla at its heart to becoming a bit-part regional player, with China the new global driver.

Audi RS5

Mon, 2 Mar 2026 23:01:00 +0000

RS4 replacement is a 2.4-tonne plug-in hybrid, yet the engineers promise it’s much more fun to drive I don’t think it’s coincidental that Audi decided to let us drive the new RS5 Avant soon after revealing its technical details.If you’ve seen any online reaction to its unveiling, you may have noted some dismay that the kerb weight is 2355kg (hatch) or 2370kg (estate). The latest BMW M5 elicited a similar response; both are high-performance plug-in hybrids. Those are big numbers, so there are preconceptions to dispel, but Audi thinks that actually driving the RS5 will do the trick.The car is a direct replacement for the RS4 but with a different name, because Audi briefly revised its naming strategy and this is a hangover from that. Maybe they had already made the badges.And it’s as heavy as it is because making a PHEV is one of the few options left open to a company that wants to make super-saloons. A fully electric sports saloon could be perceived as insufficiently exciting, as modest RS E-tron GT sales suggest. And the days of simply fitting a whopping engine to an executive estate are largely behind us: German tax rates are much kinder to cars with a 50-mile electric range and there are many other places where a reduced headline CO2 emissions figure is advantageous. In the US they mind big engines less – at the moment, anyway – but Audi couldn’t have known that when it started this car's development.And so here we are with Audi’s first RS PHEV.

The best luxury electric cars – driven, rated and ranked

Mon, 2 Mar 2026 12:48:18 +0000

The luxury EV market has rapidly transformed from almost empty to chock-full. Here are the main protagonists

It wasn’t that long ago that if you walked into a car dealership and asked for a luxury electric car, the salesman would have looked you up and down and replied “what?”.

Opulent EVs simply weren’t on the agenda; it wasn’t until the 2012 arrival of the Tesla Model S that proved comfort and material richness could be added to the EV formula.

Fast forward to 2026 and the luxury EV class is abundant with lavishly appointed cars from a plethora of established European manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz.

The vast majority of the cars on this list maximise refinement and upmarket appeal, but many of the cars in the list aren’t tied to a particular bodystyle. Some bring super-baiting performance while others bring practicality and flexibility into the mix, thanks to their SUV silhouettes.

The BMW i7 limousine sits atop our list thanks to its cabin richness, slick and potent powertrain and composed ride and handling.

But the competition is fierce in the category and standards are on the rise. So, if you’re looking for a comfortable cruiser that’s refined, plush and dripping with luxury appeal, keep on ready as we reveal the best luxury EVs you can buy today.

Bentley Continental used buying guide: a £110k legend for £9000

Mon, 2 Mar 2026 12:11:52 +0000

This landmark Bentley that launched the marque's VW era can now be had for a tenth of the original price

The first product of a newly German-owned Bentley needed to be the best in years and it needed to be authentic to the brand.

Thankfully, it was both. Having acquired Bentley in 1998, the Volkswagen Group set about reinventing the storied but staid British brand as a thoroughly modern and highly profitable luxury marque to rival Rolls-Royce and Maybach.

Bentley now had easy access to up-to-date chassis and powertrain technology and could profit from huge economies of scale.

Traditionalists may have baulked, but that was a big factor in making the Continental GT (2003-2011) the most affordable Bentley in a long time - its £110,000 price made possible by shared architecture with the Audi A8 and VW Phaeton.

But was it a real Bentley? The figures from our 2003 test suggest so: 13.9mpg (for a real-world range of around 275 miles), a 2385kg kerb weight and a 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 pumping out 552bhp and 479lb ft.

Big, boisterous numbers to back the flying B, and stats that seem especially towering in light of the piffling £9000 you can pay for a Conti these days.

Many thought the exterior brash at launch, but nowadays it appears right-sized and restrained. At 4.8m it's barely longer than an Audi A5, and at under 2.0m wide it fits easily into the average parking spot.

The interior is Bentley-esque, though, and holds up brilliantly today. The leather upholstery (from 10 cows) still looks impressive, although this is not a large cabin, especially for those in the back.

Everything you touch feels appropriately expensive, and if you find one with more metal than wood, it won't feel too out of date, ignoring the ancient infotainment.

Many will have been swapped for a more modern system, though. Just check it's well integrated.

A used Conti holds up well as a daily driver too. It's powerful, the boot is large and the roadholding is excellent thanks to standard four-wheel drive and adjustable air suspension.

It rides well, has surprisingly communicative steering and grips for longer than ought to be possible at this weight, although refinement isn't up to par against alternatives like a Mercedes CL or Range Rover.

Otherwise, even the six-speed ZF automatic doesn't feel antiquated, being sufficiently geared to allow a 196mph top speed.

In 2006, a convertible GTC joined the range and we felt it was the best and most authentic Conti we'd driven to date. Yes, the 2546kg kerb weight is frightful, but it is brilliantly insulated, keeping the cabin calm even at 175mph.

In 2007, Bentley facelifted the range, lightly altering the styling and interior and improving the ride. A new Mulliner Driving Specification option included drilled alloy sport pedals, a knurled chrome gearlever and diamond-quilted leather for the seat facings and doors.

The 600bhp, 553lb ft Speed was also introduced, which combined with suspension changes made the GT properly enjoyable so long as it wasn't pushed too far.

For even more performance, the Supersports arrived in 2009 with 621bhp and 590lb ft and the capability of running on E85 biofuel. It shed 110kg (including the rear seats) and a genuinely exciting Bentley was created.

Don't buy a cheap Conti without being prepared to spend what you paid for it all over again, but you'll still have one of the best bargains on the road, looking and feeling a million dollars.

What to look for

Water ingress: The most notorious and costly fault involves water ingress in the front left-side footwell, which houses large sections of the wiring loom and ECUs. Any evidence of damp, a musty smell, or flickering electronics could mean a massive, £15,000-plus wiring loom repair.

Air suspension: The multi-mode air suspension is complex and prone to failure, usually due to leaking air struts or a failing compressor. Listen for knocking noises (worn bushes/drop links) and check if any corner of the car sits lower after being parked overnight. Replacements are very costly.

Cooling system: The W12 is densely packed and generates huge heat. Common failures include the water pump, coolant leaks from brittle vacuum hoses and radiator corrosion. Due to the engine's packaging, accessing these parts is hugely labour-intensive, exponentially inflating the repair bill.

Battery: The GT uses two batteries and is notorious for draining them if left standing. Flat batteries can cause electrical systems and modules to throw error codes. Ensure both batteries are healthy and budget for a trickle charger if the car is not a daily driver.

Brake wear: The brake discs are immense 405mm steel units as standard. Budget £1000 for replacements all round, or £10,000 for the carbon-ceramic ones.

Electrics: Check that all complex electronics - the electric seat motors, the infotainment (prone to freezing) and the GTC soft-top mechanism (where applicable) - are fully functional. Replacing a failed convertible roof hydraulic system or motor will result in a five-figure bill.

Also worth knowing

There's a third Continental in the family: the Flying Spur. It's pretty much a GT stretched by 300mm with added doors and a traditional saloon-shaped boot. At the time, we regarded the muted W12 as a perfect fit for a limo and the acres of rear leg room appealed. But because of the slightly gawky styling, they're now the cheapest of the Contis.

An owner's view

Ben Richards: "I've owned my '06 GT for four years and have clocked up 25,000 miles, pushing it to 75,000. I bought it knowing the running costs would be astronomical and they are. My yearly maintenance, even at an independent specialist, is about £4000. But the feeling of the W12 pulling on the motorway is intoxicating. Nothing else feels so solid, so rapid, and so effortlessly luxurious. I'd do it again."

How much to spend

£9000-£14,999 Early, generally high-mileage cars or those with a poor service history. The biggest risk of major failures but also the biggest depreciation already absorbed.

£15,000-£24,999 This could be the sweet spot. Lots of low-mileage and well-cared-for cars, including facelifted ones. Look for desirable options like the Mulliner Driving Specification.

£25,000-£34,999 Late pre-facelifted cars and plenty of Speeds. Spending more than the lower end of this budget could net you the improved second-generation GT instead.

£35,000-£60,000 Mostly very clean Speeds and Supersports, but it's doubtful that these will ever turn into proper collectors cars because of the numbers they were built in.

Kia names new European vans boss

Mon, 2 Mar 2026 12:11:00 +0000

Movers and shakers: Erhan Eren will lead Korean firm's European vans and commercial vehicle arm

Welcome to Movers and Shakers, an Autocar Business feature covering the latest job moves from across the automotive industry.

This page is updated regularly with all the biggest transfers, promotions and departures in the sector, covering everything you need to know.

Name: Erhan Eren

Company: Kia

Role: European PBV director

Kia has appointed Erhan Eren to lead its vans and commercial vehicle strategy in Europe.

Eren takes the role of PBV (Platform Beyond Vehicle) director, replacing Pierre-Martin Bos, who leaves Kia to take up the position of CEO of Zero Motorcycles.

Eren joins Kia from Wrightbus, where he served as managing director for Europe. He arrives with 18 years of experience across trucks, buses and vans. Other leadership roles included time at MAN and Iveco.

Based in Frankfurt, his core task will be to continue Kia’s commercial vehicle expansion: following last year’s PV5 will be the PV7 in 2027 and the PV9 in 2029. The Korean brand aims to achieve 250,000 global PBV sales by 2030.

Eren said: “My priority is to ensure customers benefit from a seamless, reliable ecosystem, from strong product fundamentals to service, uptime support, converter integration and parts availability.

"This role brings together everything I value: practical innovation, purposeful transformation and creating real impact for customers.”

Name: Lina Ribeiro

Company: Dacia

Role: UK brand director

Dacia has named Renault Group UK’s head of sales operations Lina Ribeiro as its new UK brand director.

She is tasked with overseeing the brand following one of its biggest years to date, topped by the arrival of the new Bigster SUV.

Ribeiro succeeds Luke Broad who has been promoted to managing director of Retail Renault Group UK.

She takes on the role following more than 20 years in the automotive industry. This includes multiple strategic roles in the UK and abroad, which has seen her lead teams and launch initiatives in sales, operations, network development, and customer experience.

In her current role at Renault Group UK, she has led teams through strong periods of growth thanks to her straightforward, consistent and quietly inventive leadership style.

Ribeiro said: “It’s a real privilege to step into this role and continue shaping the next chapter of Dacia’s success in the UK.

“The brand keeps going from strength to strength, always standing for something bigger when it comes to mobility. I’m excited to carry that forward, challenging conventions and delivering meaningful value to our customers.”

Katrin Adt, Dacia CEO, said of Ribeiro’s appointment: “I’m pleased to welcome Lina into her new role. As Dacia continues to grow, her leadership will strengthen our momentum in a market that values affordability and durability in vehicles built for the real-world.”

Name: Soohang Chang

Company: Kia Europe

Role: President and CEO

Soohang Chang has been named president and CEO of Kia Europe. He moves from being head of the Korean car maker’s Middle East and Africa region.

He will officially begin the role on 1 January, taking over from Marc Hedrich, who moves back to his home country to become president of Kia France, a role he held between 2021 and 2023, replacing Tae Kun Yang.

In his new role, Chang is tasked with accelerating Kia’s electrification, which will begin with launching the EV2 – the Korean firm’s new entry-level model, which will be unveiled at the Brussels motor show on 9 January.

“His proven ability to deliver results in diverse markets positions him to navigate the evolving European automotive landscape and drive Kia’s long-term growth in one of the world’s most dynamic regions,” Kia said of Chang.

Of Hedrich, the company said: “His leadership will guide Kia France through its next phase of growth and strengthen the brand’s position in one of Europe’s most competitive markets. His deep understanding of local consumer trends and regulatory dynamics, combined with his prior achievements, make this a strategic move for Kia.”

Name: Alexander Karajlovic

Company: BMW M

Role: Vice-president for development

BMW XM project manager Alexander Karajlovic (pictured above) has been appointed as the new vice-president of development for BMW's M division, following the retirement of Dirk Häcker.

Karajlovic was responsible for the M versions of BMW's SUVs as well as the XM – the go-faster division's first bespoke product since 1978 – between late 2017 and late 2020.

He later managed BMW M's product line-up and was most recently the vice-president of driving experience integration for the BMW Group.

Karajlovic has big shoes to fill in replacing Häcker, who can be credited with much of the M division's success since he took charge of its R&D in 2015.

Since then, the brand has set several sales records and produced benchmark-setting driver's cars, including the previous-generation BMW M5 CS and BMW M2 CS.

Häcker also played a significant role in developing the first battery-electric M-car, the next-generation M3.

Alongside his corporate responsibilities, Häcker was an instructor for the BMW M Driving Experience.

BMW M CEO Frank van Meel said Häcker's retirement is "well earned" and "his name is inextricably linked with an unprecedented product offensive, superior product quality and yearly sales records at BMW M".

Van Meel added that Karajlovic brings a "proven track record of chassis development know-how".

Classic status at last? It's time to give the Austin Allegro some love

Mon, 2 Mar 2026 10:34:30 +0000

Everyone loves to hate the Allegro, but it was revolutionary and popular when new - and quietly charming now

Naming the Austin Allegro as one of my favourite cars might seem wilfully contrarian, seeing as it has come to be viewed as a symbol of what could only be described as a 'malaise era' for British car manufacturing.

People of all ages seem to hate the 'All-aggro'. Some have even put the downfall of the British motor industry on those Harris Mann-designed shoulders, so glaring were its reliability issues and so uncompetitive was its performance in most core respects.

It was downright dangerous in some regards too: a lack of structural integrity led in extreme cases to the rear window popping out when the car was jacked up and there were several cases of wheels falling off in motion.

British Leyland management blamed strikes and the government's three-day week. Workers meanwhile, blamed poor designs, optimised for money saving and efficiency rather than quality.

There's probably a bit of truth to both sides of the story, but there's no denying the issues.

Indeed, the only time the Allegro seems to enter modern automotive discourse is when it turns up near the top of a web article about 'the worst British cars ever made' or similar.

But I can only assume that anyone awarding the Allegro this most dubious of accolades has never driven one or at least has only skimmed the contemporary media coverage.

When the car was launched back in the spring of 1973, reviews were actually positive. Autocar's own read: "Compared with the much older Austin 1300, it is a big step forward in all respects. Apart from its advanced engineering, the Allegro comes with a very complete list of standard equipment and in 1300 Super form offers very good value for money."

And it still holds up today. I once drove an Allegro 3 more than 600 miles, from Peterborough to Seneffe, Belgium, where some examples were made, and back. It was white with a sorrel (brown) interior, making it possibly the most 1970s thing I've ever seen.

It broke down only once, which honestly is fine for a car of that age. And my overriding impression was that it was actually a pretty good car: comfortable suspension, a big enough boot for a weekend away, easy to park and, like with most old cars, a fantastic view of the road. It even sat at 60mph pretty easily.

History paints this unloved Austin as an automotive antihero, but I can only report that we had quite a lovely time together, and I came away feeling like the car had come to be rather unfairly lambasted.

I would have had a worse journey in a similar-vintage Volkswagen Beetle, I bet, and people aren't quite so mean about that. All hail the Allegro, then.

It was a car that had to be built down to a price during a time of great national unrest but, instead of playing it safe, British Leyland doubled down and made something really weird, with Hydragas suspension, edgy, futuristic styling and a 'quartic' steering wheel that didn't really work but somehow manufacturers have started copying some five decades later anyway.

Actually, thinking about it, now we've had Renault 4 and 5, Ford Capri and Fiat Grande Panda, surely the stage is set for an electric-powered Allegro reboot? Anyone? No? Just me, then

Hot Vauxhall Corsa GSE breaks cover with more aggressive look

Mon, 2 Mar 2026 10:30:03 +0000

New hot hatch expected to use same 277bhp set-up as larger Mokka GSE – and get a host of sporty upgrades

The Vauxhall Corsa GSE has been seen testing ahead of its unveiling later this year, all but completely revealing the styling of the new hot hatch.

Although the prototype’s lurid GSE-themed livery obscures some details, it's evidently a much more aggressive proposition than the standard Corsa Electric, with a prominent front chin spoiler and chunky wheel-arch extensions.

Its aggressive stance hints at its dynamic intent, with its three-spoke wheels jutting farther out of the extended arches than on the regular Corsa and cambered in touring car-like fashion.

Through the windows it appears to have the same single-piece bucket seats as the existing Mokka GSE crossover, to which it will be closely related.

Vauxhall has yet to confirm technical specifications for the Corsa GSE but, given it's based on the same underpinnings as the Mokka GSE, it's likely to reprise that car’s combination of a front-mounted 277bhp motor and a Torsen limited-slip differential.

The Mokka GSE also features a reworked front suspension set-up with extra knuckles to free up space for taller and wider wheels; a quicker steering rack; new anti-roll bars front and rear; and tauter bushings at its back end.

Given that it's significantly smaller than the Mokka GSE, the Corsa GSE is likely to improve on that car’s weight of 1597kg. That may also provide a small bump in range, up from 201 miles between charges.

The Corsa GSE is the latest in a long line of Vauxhall hot hatches, starting with the Chevette HSR, but the first since the Corsa VXR was retired in 2019.

More details will be confirmed when the EV is revealed in full later this year, but pricing is expected to start from around £35,000. The Corsa range currently tops out with the Electric 156PS Ultimate at £33,720.

Stellantis brands have already launched several hot hatches with this 277bhp powertrain, including the Peugeot 208 GTi (due later this year), Abarth 600e and Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce.

HEV, MHEV, DM-i – hybrid car names are utterly bewildering

Mon, 2 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

From Self-Charging to Mild Hybrid myth - the nomenclature for modern powertrains is unhelpfully opaque

HEV, MHEV, Super Hybrid, REx, P REEV, DM-i, EM-i... The list of brand-specific names for various hybrid powertrains goes on.

Manufacturers can call their cars whatever they like, of course, but the prevailing nomenclature for hybrids is unhelpfully untransparent. Much of it is nonsense as well: 'MHEV' stands for 'mild hybrid electric vehicle' yet is often applied to a petrol or diesel car with a beefy starter motor.

The technology may very well be useful to reduce fuel consumption, but mild hybrids are electric vehicles in much the same way that a person wearing roller skates is a train.

Given that we have reviewed a couple of novel hybrids lately, it's a good time to take a whistlestop tour of how Autocar sees the hybrid world.

An awful lot of new cars are mild hybrids, because the term can mean almost anything.

Most common is the integrated starter-generator (ISG), effectively a starter motor that can harvest some energy while slowing, to give the engine a little boost under acceleration and make startup quicker and smoother.

Some have a small electric motor in the gearbox. Some have an electric turbocharger. Nothing wrong with any of that, so long as it doesn't get presented as some game-changing technology. What unites them is that they can't drive on electric power alone.

For that you want a full hybrid, which is increasingly called a strong hybrid, to contrast with mild hybrids.

Toyota coined the term 'self-charging hybrid' when it came up with the Prius. Although that makes clear that they take care of themselves, it also makes them sound like perpetual motion devices.

As diesels have fallen out of favour, many manufacturers have been following in Toyota's footsteps to boost fuel economy with cars that can harvest energy while braking, to then drive electrically under light loads.

Some do more than others. Stellantis and Audi hybrids have only 25-30 electric BHP, so their capacity for electric running is minimal (but not nothing).

On the other hand, Toyota, Renault, Honda and Nissan hybrids can cover impressive distances in town with the engine turned off, which in our testing results in enviable urban fuel economy.

On the motorway, they tend to be a bit disappointing, because the motor is often too short-geared to be efficient at high speeds.

Each of those manufacturers has its own take on the mechanical layout often to arrive at a similar driving experience. If you're interested in the engineering, it's quite fascinating to learn how they work.

Toyota has its planetary gearset that works like a CVT; in Nissan's e-Power cars, the engine only drives a generator while a motor drives the wheels directly; Honda and Renault have come up with novel gearboxes to blend the power sources; Audi, Stellantis and Hyundai and Kia have a motor in or on the gearbox.

For the uninterested driver, it generally doesn't matter: they needn't do more than simply put fuel in the tank, select D and let the computer sort things out.

Plug-in hybrids are in some ways the most self-explanatory. They're like normal hybrids often mechanically the same, except with a bigger motor and battery that you can charge up from the plug to give it a measurable electric-only range.

If you do that consistently and don't use the engine much, you will get incredible MPG figures. If you don't plug it in, you're stuck with a full hybrid that's lugging around an extra 200kg of dead battery and so will get terrible economy.

Which brings us to the much-discussed range-extender EV. This was a term that made a lot of sense with the BMW i3 REx and Mazda MX-30 R-EV, which had quite a short electric-only range and a tiny petrol tank and engine to generate some extra juice (noisily and inefficiently) in an emergency.

The Leapmotor C10 Hybrid EV that we reviewed last week is similar in that the engine never drives the wheels, you're supposed to plug it in and the electric bits are the primary mode of propulsion, but to most buyers it will be no different to any other plug-in hybrid.

Any talk of range-extenders is fundamentally academic. Unless the buyer is particularly interested in their car's mechanicals, all they really need to know is whether it wants plugging in or not.

But academic pursuits can be very rewarding, of course, which is why we will continue to bring you explanations of how these things work in our reviews.

In a digital world, there's something quite pleasing about cogs interfacing.

'Baby' Defender Sport to have true "go-anywhere capability"

Mon, 2 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Work "well advanced" on Defender's smaller sibling – and bosses say it'll be nearly as good off road

The new Land Rover 'Defender Sport' will arrive next year as both the smallest model and the first EV in the Defender line-up and the brand's boss has promised it will be "class-leading in the attributes that make it a Defender".

The new model, already spotted testing on UK roads, is being developed on a new electric platform by JLR and will be smaller than the current Defender 90.

Defender brand director Mark Cameron told Autocar that work on the new model was "well advanced" but wouldn't give a timescale for launch – or confirm if it would use the Sport name.

Notably, the model will be the first entirely new product since Defender was turned from a Land Rover model line into a brand (along with Range Rover and Discovery) under JLR's 'House of Brands' approach. It will also be the first in an expanded range of Defender products.

Defining Defender as a brand

Cameron said the three years since the new plan was announced have been spent developing new products and establishing what Defender stands for.

He added: "Over the past couple of years, our design and engineering teams have created that red line, the circle that every Defender had to have. That's the DNA."

The Defender is currently offered in 90, 110 and 130 bodystyles, along with the hot Octa variant and the commercial Hardtop.

Cameron said the focus was on making Defender "a luxury lifestyle brand", adding: "We've got a portfolio of one model with several variants, but I'm working seven to 10 years ahead to build out this whole brand portfolio.

"We've got to make sure everything we do as Defender has the DNA of the brand: epic built-to-last, go-anywhere capability."

Work 'well advanced'

The Defender Sport is an entirely new product rather than an attempt to create an electric equivalent of the current Defender 90 – a decision driven by the design differences required by the use of a bespoke electric platform.

Tipped to be just over 4.5 metres long, it sits on JLR'S EMA platform, which will underpin many of the company's future EVs, including the Range Rover Evoque and Velar. The more premium-focused Range Rover and Defender will use the firm's MLA platform, while Jaguar has developed its own bespoke EV architecture, named JEA.

Using a platform with underfloor batteries creates "vehicle constraints", said Cameron. He added: "The size of the vehicle and platform will probably reduce wheel travel and articulation compared with a current Defender."

But while that means the Defender Sport won't offer the same level of off-road ability as the current Defender line, Cameron has vowed that it will still be designed to offer substantial off-road capability.

"What matters to us is that a Defender has to be class-leading in the attributes that make it a Defender," he said. That means it will retain four-wheel drive, suggesting a dual-motor set-up.

Cameron said the emphasis on efficiency for EV design – vital to maximise range from the battery – created challenges "given the silhouette of what most people would know a Defender to be: very upright, sharp window angles, a bluff rear end".

He added: "The capability we have in our vehicles carries a penalty that works against you when you think about range for an EV. My job is to make sure we retain Defender's DNA, otherwise we become another SUV brand and there are plenty of those."

Cameron acknowledged that Defender EV test cars had already been spotted by Autocar's spy photographers and said the firm was "well advanced" with development.

He also noted that the firm had put a focus on "maintaining our test cycles", rather than trying to chase a faster development cycle in order to keep up with Chinese rivals.

"What has disrupted our industry hugely are shrunken test cycles due to some of the Chinese brands," he said. "Their speed to market is just incredible. But we have always maintained that we need to have at least two winter test cycles and two hot weather test cycles for a Defender. We're looking at ways to shrink our product development time, but we don't want to compromise on quality and longevity and all the things you have to deliver as a luxury brand."

Cameron also indicated that JLR has put a focus on where it can best add value, saying: "As a business we're looking at where do we partner, and where do we build in-house, You've got to work out your core competencies. If you look at the EV world, the actual battery pack and the electric drive units have, to some extent, become commodities. But do they give us the torque characteristics and off-road drivability that Defender has to have? Those are big decisions: the quickest way to market is to buy all that in, but that's not necessarily the right answer for Defender."

Brand building

Cameron wouldn't be drawn on specific product plans beyond the brand's first EV, but when asked how big a potential Defender line-up could become, he said: "Huge."

That is likely to include multiple powertrain options given what Cameron called "the complexity of EV adoption", which results in the level of customer demand lagging behind the expectation of legislators. That's a challenge given Defender's global footprint: a majority of its UK sales are currently diesel, while its biggest market is now the US, where electrification is firmly on the back burner.

"Our strategy is to offer as much choice for as long as we can," said Cameron.

"Clearly with the Defender, because of the capabilities, toughness, the weight and the geometry of it, as long as we can keep selling petrol and diesel with hybridisation and other forms of interim technology, we'll continue to do so."

The Defender is currently offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but that is built around a four-cylinder engine and has a limited electric range, because the D7 platform wasn't designed for the technology. Cameron hinted that would change in time, saying: "We're going to be relying on future generations and different architectures to expand those sorts of technologies."

Notably, Cameron said Defender's growing international focus could Influence its line-up: "Beyond the UK there are vehicle types that are absolutely suitable [for Defender in certain geographies. The US is now our biggest market, and there are product categories popular there we can absolutely bring Defender into."

That suggests a revival of previous plans to develop a Defender pick-up given the size of that market in the US, although Cameron wouldn't expand on specifics.

But he noted that growth could also come at the other end of the range, because "in Europe they need small cars for tight streets".

He added: "The red line we've got to draw is that any future versions of Defender still have to have the same characteristics that every Defender needs. There's no reason you can't go smaller, bigger, longer, higher and still cover those bases.

"The biggest challenge is that we don't want to be all things to all people, so we've got to work out where to [focus] - and it's not about volume for us. It's about building a good, profitable, margin-led business and satisfying customer needs in segments and markets that don't exist today.

"If you look at JLR as a business, we've always been at our best when we create segments. Range Rover is a great example. The Evoque was a great example. Defender today is a good example: it reimagined the rugged SUV segment.

"So we're going to look carefully at those white spaces in the market where we can credibly have a Defender product. But we won't copy something just to chase volume, because that's not what our business plan is."

Renault CEO calls for range-extender EVs to replace 'fake PHEVs'

Mon, 2 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Renault Embleme concept previews a Scenic EV replacement that could use a REx powertrain

François Provost slams plug-in hybrids that prioritise combustion engine and have short electric-only range

Renault’s CEO wants the car industry to move on from “fake PHEVs” that don’t promote regular charging and embrace range-extender EVs that could potentially be sold after 2035.

François Provost criticised short-range PHEVs from both Germany and China as holding back drivetrains of this type in terms of acceptance by consumers and regulators.

“They kind of a fake PHEV. The autonomy [electric-only range] is too small and customers are not convinced to charge,” he told journalists on a recent call.

Renault is investigating adding combustion engines to its new electric platform that will underpin models such as the next Scenic SUV.

However, the French company needs to be sure that authorities in the EU and other countries with tough emissions targets, such as the UK, will allow highly electrified ICE cars to be sold after 2035.

“The 2035 objective of 100% BEV makes no sense,” Provost said.

By switching the emphasis from driving on the combustion engine to the electric motor, customers will be persuaded to charge regularly for daily trips, he believes, "but in case they need to do 1000 kilometres [620 miles] in a day, they know they can do it without any risk to the autonomy".

The EU has come down hard on short-range PHEVs with official fuel economy figures that are rarely if ever achieved by introducing a new emissions standard called Euro 6e-bis, which it says better reflects real-world driving.

This has forced car makers to increase the size of the battery to give more electric range. For example, that of the Volkswagen Golf GTE rose from just 31 miles to 81 miles after its battery was nearly doubled in capacity to 19.7kWh.

High-end PHEVs from premium brands have some of the shortest electric ranges of all modern PHEVs. For instance, the Audi Q8 TFSIe offers 49 miles, the BMW M5 38 miles and the Lamborghini Urus 37 miles.

Chinese car makers have grown in Europe using PHEVs in particular, capturing a quarter of the PHEV market in the UK in 2025 with models such as the segment-leading BYD Seal U, Jaecoo 7 and MG HS.

While some of their PHEVs offer long ranges, Chinese makers typically offer a shorter-range budget model too. For example, the Geely Starray comes with either an 18.4kWh or 29.8kWh battery for a 52-mile or 84-mile range.

The EU has opened the door a crack to the sale of range-extender cars post 2035 after proposing to reduce the required CO2 emissions reduction from 2021 figures from 100% to 90%.

However, PHEVs remain in the firing line for green groups, who say the claimed emissions savings are illusory without any way of forcing owners to plug in their cars.

More Golf R than GTI: Kia EV4 GT hot hatch driven

Sun, 1 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

We get an early taste of the dual-motor EV4 GT to see if it can bring the classic hot hatch into the electric age

We have had small electric hot hatchbacks like the Alpine A290 and large ones like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N but as yet nothing in the real heartland of Volkswagen Golf GTI-sized machinery. Cue the phrase: until now.

To be fair, the lack of traditional family-sized electric hot hatches has been due to a near total absence of donor cars. Almost all 4.2- to 4.4m-long, five-door, five-seat EVs have been homogenised crossovers, in part because of the need to accommodate the depth of a battery pack. But a few years down the line, that just feels like an excuse. Where's the creativity?

The Kia EV4 was arguably the first electric family hatch in the traditional mould, and now Kia has decided to turn it into the first Golf GTI-sized electric hot hatch as well. The Cupra Born, Volkswagen ID 3 and MG 4 are the closest conceptual rivals, but those are noticeably taller and their hot derivatives either feel more like trim levels than bespoke performance models (the VZ and GTX) or are unengaging to drive (the XPower).

You might have noticed that I tested the Kia EV4 GT, this bona fide hot hatch version of the EV4, almost six months ago. Talking shop for a moment, last autumn Kia brought an early prototype of the GT to a Car of the Year event in Denmark, where it was launching the EV4, to give jurors a clearer idea of the full model range (which also includes a saloon) to come. We got there thinking this GT prototype was for static display, but the keys were handed over for short drives in exchange for a signature with lots of dos and mainly don'ts, one of which was don't write about it until now.

It seemed to catch even Kia representatives at the event by surprise, because information on the car we were testing was close to non-existent. The press release that came from the event focused only on some guff about the 'GT wrap' that hides the car's final styling underneath. There was no slideshow to sit through, as is de rigueur with any car tested on these first drive pages. The horror! Nor was there an engineer to sit in the passenger seat, as is almost always the case with such prototype drives, given the value of mules like these can run into the millions and they have their quirks. We were simply told not to press the literal big red button on the centre tunnel.

Credit to Kia for trusting us with it. At the time, it was an intense half an hour or so of journalistic investigation mixed with car reviewing to find out not only what the EV4 GT was and what it wanted to be but what it was like too. It was a fun 30 minutes, as it turned out.

My starting point for this car was actually a conversation with Kia development chief Manfred Harrer a few weeks earlier, in which he accepted the notion that the dynamic enjoyment of Kias hadn't kept pace with the improvements in design and desirability of the cars and he said the GT models would be his starting point in trying to address that. He has made good progress: the EV4 GT feels a good deal more alive than the standard EV4 on which it is based with both its powertrain and its chassis and the adjustability they offer together.

Its dynamic personality is more Golf R than Golf GTI, not just owing to the technical fact that it has four-wheel drive (thanks to an additional 94bhp motor for the rear axle) rather than front-wheel drive (the 194bhp motor from the standard EV4 remains at the front) but also in how it goes down the road.

The suspension makeover from the standard EV4 feels significant: the GT does a Golf R impression in offering superb comfort and compliance alongside plenty of grip and stability when being pushed. It uses the clever system we have seen before on Hyundai Group models, whereby a front-facing camera scans the road ahead and prompts the suspension to adjust in milliseconds for any bumps ahead. The steering feel is also much improved, addressing a particular Kia weak point.

The EV4 GT seems like a car set up almost exclusively for road use, rather than track use, as I suspect it would feel a bit stodgy and heavy on the smoothest surfaces with only cornering speeds and trying to slide around to think about. The EV4 GT can still put a smile on your face around a corner as well as impress you with how it is able to handle a bumpy road, being capable of searing cross-country pace, and unlike many fast EVs it has far more in its repertoire than rapid standing-start acceleration.

Still, it is quick: a 5.6sec 0-62mph time is claimed and a 120mph top speed estimated, although according to the performance data logger you can view on the central touchscreen, someone had got the former down close to 5sec dead. The virtual gearshift function made famous by the Ioniq 5 N also features, and among the driving modes is one labelled GT (enabled by a button on the steering wheel) that makes everything as fast or as stiff as it goes.

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 245/45 tyres front and rear are wrapped around 20in alloys and behind them are some beefed-up brakes with, on this liveried prototype at least, some fetching neon-coloured calipers.

The EV4 GT receives some meaningful upgrades over the donor car in a cabin that feels classy with some sporty touches. Best among them are new sports seats that make it seem like you're sitting lower than in the standard EV4, and they feel great too, with an Alcantara-like wrapping and leather trim.

Piece it all together and you get a car that shows lots of promise and in several different ways. It shows that more humble Kia hatches can be as good to drive as they look, that this GT can display proper dynamic clarity and positioning without you really knowing anything about it and that electric cars can make for enjoyable traditional hot hatches with the right tuning.

As with the Golf R, there are hot hatches that are simply more fun to drive - the Honda Civic Type Rs of this world. But there's hope here that there is life in the family hot hatch yet in the electric era.

Tech Spec: Kia EV4 GT

Feature	Specification
Price	£46,000 (est)
Engine	Two permanent magnet synchronous motors
Power	194bhp (front), 94bhp (rear)
Torque	na
Gearbox	1-spd reduction gear, 4WD
Kerb weight	2100kg (est)
0-62mph	5.6sec
Top speed	120mph (est)
Battery	81.4/78.0kWh (total/est usable)
Range, economy	300 miles (est), na
CO2, tax band	0g/km, 3%
Rivals	Alpine A290 GT, Cupra Born VZ

"Sounds simple. Isn't." Six brilliant hours in UK's most confusing race

Sun, 1 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

We race a Suzuki Swift at Silverstone in an incredibly convoluted budget endurance event

A race that "everybody enjoys but nobody understands" is how someone describes the Birkett Six-Hour Relay race to me.

Since 1951 it has been a season-ending fixture race for the 750 Motor Club, which itself has been around for so long promoting affordable club motorsport that it's the first place I'd think to send someone who wanted to go low-cost racing.

I've done a few 750 Club races and without exception they've been friendly and approachable. But perhaps none more so than the Birkett, named after its creator (and 750MC founder) Holland Birkett. Its name is otherwise descriptive. It lasts six hours and is a relay.

Teams have up to six drivers, none fewer than three, and you can enter several cars per team. One is on track at a time and when it pits, as it passes its garage, the next team-mate can head out instead. Sounds simple. Isn't. At the end of the six hours, the team with the most laps wins? Not so fast.

There is a winner from that point of view but this is also a handicap race and the proper winner, if you like, will be the one who is judged to come first after the pace of all its respective team's cars has been adjusted, so it's not as simple as pitching a Suzuki Swift Sport against a Caterham 420R in a straight fight.

And, even then, it's not totally straightforward because what if one team has three moderately quick BMWs and a rival has one really quick Caterham but two quite slow hatchbacks?

A handicapper could calculate for the two slower cars, yet then the Caterham could do all the hard work and well, let's put it this way, after the race there's a lot of hanging around in the pit lane in the dark while such calculations are made.

As my friend said, nobody really understands it, but they all want a good time, so it's best not to overthink it.

I have not been overthinking any of it since an opportunity to race in the Birkett arrived.

John McGuinness of multiple Isle of Man TT-winning fame turns out to be too busy and I am not too proud to be mentioned as 'tbc' in the programme stepping into his shoes.

I'll be driving the 750MC's own Suzuki Swift Sport Challenge car, which I'll share with another TT and Dakar rider, James Hillier.

It's his first four-wheeled race but, well, he's raced at the Dakar and the TT, so he knows what he's doing.

We're in a team with two Honda Civic Type Rs, both front-runners in the 750 Club's Type R Trophy, a quite serious championship for quite serious machines, with airboxes that look like they could swallow a sandwich.

The Swift's mechanicals are, in contrast, pretty much standard, which will leave it as one of the slowest cars in the field.

The Hondas are much quicker and that puts us in Class A. A team with four Caterhams is in Class D. A team of four Clios is Class A too, so I'm not sure they're working them out according to overall speed, and I'm not really thinking about it.

I'm not sure anyone is taking it too seriously. Chef Tom Kerridge is racing in a Renault Clio and the most pressure anyone at the event is under is probably his team's caterer.

What I do know is that there are 67 teams, so outside of pit-lane handovers and breakdowns there will be that many cars out on circuit at a time. In recent years the Birkett has been held on Silverstone's 3.66-mile GP circuit, which is one of the few British tracks that will feel big enough for so many cars.

But such is the disparity in car speeds that I suspect it will be busy. I've raced in a Britcar 24-Hour race with around 60 cars in the field and that felt much busier than a Citroën C1 race with 99 cars all going roughly the same pace. At least it will be daylight all the way through.

And from a competition standpoint, the good thing about having a breakdown in this race is that if one car fails to proceed, the team can send out another once it has been recovered. So there should be 67 finishers.

The club's Swift Sport Challenge is a relatively new series, one of several start-up one-model trophies from the past few years.

Among the rather nice things about it in addition to its rather splendid logo is that the Swift Sport is a great fun car in the first place, and the modifications do nothing to dent that character.

The Swift is a small car, one of the more compact superminis on sale but by the time it's stripped out, it gets a race wheel and a race seat mounted low in the cabin, it actually feels quite big.

I think it's the low driving position and high window line that does it. But it's still road legal and registered one of the key draws of the series. It's not unusual, series organisers tell me, for racers to drive their car to the event and then home again.

There are single-make series where potential for crash damage would render that a risky operation, but the 750MC is a friendly club on and off track. Race entry fees are low.

You could, and people do, have a car, bring it to a handful of races a year and spend only a couple of grand a year doing it. Used cars can be £1500 and prepping them £6000-£7000.

I know that's still not the cheapest hobby in the world but there's not much better in racing circles, you don't have to have a support car, it will have resale value and the rest of the time you've got a Swift Sport for exciting trips to the shop.

The radio even still works in this one. I listen while waiting for my stints because it pays to be buckled up and ready during the previous driver's turn, just in case anything happens to them on circuit.

Communication is all by pit board and hand signal but I can see when a previous driver has been called in and get waved out as soon as they roll past my pit garage.

It's not just difficult to know where in the field I am: it's impossible to be sure because, while live timing in the garage shows the field with the theoretical weighting applied, the finishing order will be adjusted again after the event.

So once out on circuit, I just put my toe in and go about having a nice time driving the door handles off a Swift while not getting in anybody else's way.

And I have not had many better times driving a car. The Swift moves around a bit under braking, it turns keenly, I can feel it pitching a wheel into the air on the way into corners and it revs rather happily on the way out.

Karting excepted, I sometimes find that I most enjoy racing after the event, once the perilous bits are finished with. But not here, not now. I'm having a ball. We're not doing too badly, either, my teammates and I.

Deep into the final hour, the adjusted order has us running top five or thereabouts, and we have a Civic on circuit to keep up our lap speeds and keep the opposition behind.

Alas this is perhaps our undoing: the Swift doesn't spend quite enough time on circuit to avoid the adjudicators knocking us down a few spots, to seventh overall, rather than the podium finish we might have just squeezed.

But nobody likes a hard-luck story when there are vanishingly few luckier ways to spend a weekend.

Renault Megane Coupe – the retro bargain you forgot you wanted

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

A stylish, simple to maintain modern classic for peanuts - if you can still find one today

A not quite beautiful little car, the Megane Coupé was nevertheless pleasing enough on the eye, and the wallet, to sell in surprising numbers for a machine of compromised practicality.

The compromise was a boot as usable as the darker recesses of an understair cupboard, but, the two-door Megane cost little more than the five-door and for this you got a distinctive, well-kitted car that looked decidedly more glamorous. And being a derivative of one of Renault’s best-sellers, it didn’t cost any more to run or insure.

Such practicalities matter, and were a major reason why there were once so many of these coupes on the road in the early 2000s, many of them in yellow. In fact, one of them belonged to your reporter, an acquisition that garnered me a fair bit of stick from surprised colleagues.

My defence was this: I wanted the least uninteresting, nearly new car I could buy for my budget, a car with a warranty and a car that was unlikely to go wrong. At the time that ruled out almost everything apart from the hot new Ford Puma, which was too expensive.

And as a freshly starting freelancer I’d managed to suppress the cravings for something older and more exciting on the grounds that I needed to be sure of getting to point B from point A.

The surprise at my choice stemmed from the not-so-hidden truth about this Megane and the many affordable coupes that have come before it.

Which is that they’re all heavily based on ordinary family machinery for reasons of manufacturing cost – that’s what made them affordable – and that few delivered the dynamic excitement implied by their rakish looks, at least in standard form.

Still, the Megane was in good company with the Ford Mustang, Ford Capri, Vauxhall Calibra, Toyota Celica and heaps of others, the fine mannered, Fiesta-based Ford Puma a rare exception.

In the Renault’s case, then, you got croque monsieur mechanicals in a Patrick Le Quement wrap. Le Quement, in case you’re suddenly referencing French fashion designers, was Renault’s chief designer from 1987 to 2009.

He joined Renault on the condition that he reported directly to the boss, and that design would no longer be subservient to engineering.

He got his way, which was how Renault switched from being the makers of some of Europe’s dullest cars – the 19, 21 and Safrane will be among those that you have forgotten – to some of its most intriguing.

These include the first Twingo, the Scenic, Laguna, the Vel Satis (I said intriguing, not beautiful) and the ultra-bold Avantime. Against this array the Megane looked relatively conventional, if a load fresher than many of its contemporaries.

The disappointment came with the driving. The Megane’s slightly odd driving position didn’t help, the steering wheel angled too far off the vertical for real comfort, but mostly, it was the sheer averageness of everything it did that left you feeling numbly frustrated.

Its 1.4 and 1.6 so-called Energy engines delivered quite good go, quite good economy, and quite good refinement. The handling was quite good too, and so was the steering. The ride was upsetting if you knew anything of Renault’s once super-supple saloons, however.

So this was a car that did the job, but a car only capable of firing desire through design, from pertly clipped rump to intriguingly split grille and the (slight) raciness of its shortened wheelbase.

It was good value, too, especially in lower-powered, lower-priced form. Most versions delivered you alloys, remote central locking and electric motors to power not only the front windows but also the hinged rear side glazing.

Glance over your shoulder and you’d see a rear seat sportily sculpted to seat two in knee-pinching semi-comfort, your posterior enjoying part-leather upholstery, the view ahead brightened by funky white-faced instruments.

All of which helped the lesser Megane coupe to a popularity that the powerful 16-valve, a flawed version that must be close to extinct, never enjoyed. Shockingly, extinction appears to beckon for the lesser models too, a brief trawl netting less than a handful.

This is a car that deserves to be preserved for its look, and right now I’m genuinely regretting not succumbing to the allure of the 22,000-mile £1500 version I saw a few months ago. In yellow, of course.

Massimo Frascella exclusive: The TT super-fan reinventing Audi

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 07:00:00 +0000

The man who revived the Defender is now shaping a TT-flavoured era for the brand he was always destined to define

When aspiring designer Massimo Frascella took a day off work in 1998 to go and fawn over the freshly launched TT in a Turin Audi dealership, he had no idea he would one day be afforded the opportunity to reimagine the seminal sports coupé for a new era as the brand's head of design.

Once Peter Schreyer's sports coupé was unwrapped, it was so alluringly rule-breaking that it simply had to be studied in the metal. And at length.

Indeed, this early encounter with one of the most important Audis of all time instilled within Frascella a deep-seated appreciation for the attributes that define the brand and set him on a 27-year journey that would see him eventually take charge of Ingolstadt's design studio, as had been predicted by anyone familiar with his work.

He says: "What's consistent throughout my career was people feeling this association with the brand in what I was doing, and often telling me: 'Oh gosh, you should work for Audi. One day, I'm sure you will work for Audi.' And that happened."

A graduate of Turin's Institute of Applied Art and Design, Frascella began his career at Bertone before heading to Ford to work on the US-market Lincoln and Mercury brands, then settling at Kia's Californian studio for six years, during which time he led the exterior design for the Sorento, Sportage, Rio and Soul.

Frascella arrived at Jaguar Land Rover in 2011 and worked his way up to eventually becoming head of design for both brands, most famously leading the landmark revival of the Defender.

His subsequent appointment at Audi is painted as the fulfilment of a prophecy written upon his first encounter with the TT, and his manifesto – the internet-stopping Concept C – is unmistakably influenced by that era-defining car.

Indeed, Frascella points to its simplistic silhouette and straightforward styling as the factors that sucked him in but says it was but a halo for a line-up full of models that stood out for their convention-breaking cleanliness and purity.

"You have to put the cars in the context of automotive design in general at the time," he says, highlighting the contemporary B4 A4 and C5-gen A6 ("a masterpiece" - see at the bottom of the page) as particular highlights.

"We tend to forget what the landscape was when those cars came out and what they represented. And they looked like nothing else on the road."

They looked like nothing, suggests Frascella, because they were "almost made of nothing".

The clean lines, smooth surfacing and sparing decoration that defined this purple patch in Audi's design history gave its cars a quality of moderation and subtlety that helped them stand out all the more as other car firms tended towards more exuberant treatments.

"They were just really different – but not for the sake of it. They were different with the highest level of restraint," he explains.

"How did these guys manage to come out with something so radically different, so radically emotional, with so much character, with almost nothing on it? Like with just one line, two lines at the most, no chamfers – in and out, convex and concave... Just pure simplicity.

"How do you deliver something like that? That is the thing that really, really resonated."

It's a theme that's more relevant now than ever, as Frascella pushes to carve out anew a strong and distinctive identity for this brand in an era of intense competition and upheaval.

Audi, he suggests, can be a refreshing breath of sharp, cool air – a sanctuary of composure and subtlety – in an ever louder, more pressured environment.

One challenge for Frascella will be balancing revolution and recognition: how to completely reset a corporate visual identity without devaluing the attributes that have defined the brand since its formation in the middle of last century.

It's a challenge quite unlike the one he faced while helping shape the era-defining Jaguar Type 00 in his final months at JLR, where he would have had almost completely free rein in reinventing a brand that was famously deemed to have had "no equity whatsoever".

"Everything we do needs to be recognisable as an Audi, first and foremost. It's the value of a brand like Audi that has to be protected," mandates Frascella, by contrast.

"Audi has that value, that legacy, that heritage, and it would be a shame to waste it," he argues, pointing to the Concept C as a mission statement for achieving the tricky harmonious balance between past and present.

The titanium paint is one example – "it continues the lineage of the silver Auto Unions" and is being put forward as a 'trademark' colour for Audi's new-era line-up.

"Likewise the new vertically oriented grille – a feature inspired by the legendary Type C grand prix racer, which marks a radical departure from the 'Singleframe' that's dominated the visage of every Audi from the past two decades.

The cabin, too, is a stark contrast from Audi's current interiors, defined by clean, architectural surfacing that contributes to a far more minimalist and functional vibe.

Notable by its absence is a whopping great touchscreen. The Concept C's infotainment is run through a relatively diminutive item that folds discreetly into the dashboard when not needed – another hint at how Frascella will pare back to push forward.

"Again, it's about being relevant," he explains, highlighting the reduced focus on digital functionality as a symbol of this more rational outlook: if it doesn't need to be there, it isn't.

Big screens are de rigueur these days, but Frascella questions whether a desire to showcase technology should so overtly dictate trends in interior design.

"Often, technology is used as a display of just technology for the sake of it, or just to portray an image of yourself as a brand or as a product, of being 'technological', not necessarily having a real value or benefit in terms of customer experience," says Frascella.

So while buyers of Audi's latest top-rung models can choose to effectively swap their dashboard for an expansive triple-screen set-up, the next generation of Audi cockpits will be the complete inverse at their most exclusive.

"Technology needs to be there in service, and needs to be not in your face, there all the time, or overwhelming in situations. It needs to be discreet, like a digital butler," he says.

It's a disruptive mindset that goes against the prevailing trend towards assertive, digital-flavoured futurism.

If Audi's future lies at least to some extent in its past, will it also take the firm down the retro path behind Renault, Hyundai, Volkswagen and others?

Can Frascella's approach be interpreted as another attempt to channel the spirit of past successes to cultivate a sense of character for new cars?

Well, no. Partly because the Concept C isn't merely the 'TT revival' that social media would have you believe – "it's a very strong statement from the company and it wants to be its own thing" – but also because Frascella firmly rejects the notion that overly nostalgic design has a place in the Audi showroom.

"Retro is a very nostalgic approach that can work for certain brands, and can work in certain instances, on certain products, but it's not a long-term strategy," he says.

"There are many examples in the world, in the past, of brands that have looked back in the rear-view mirror too much – and I think it might work for a little while, but it's a dangerous game to play."

So while elements of the Concept C do nod to legendary past Audis, it is categorically not a one-trick pony pastiche.

And that's especially important because Audi makes far more different types of car than it used to, so this squat, monolithic coupé must serve as a design halo for a line-up that nowadays comprises hatchbacks, saloons, estates, crossovers, grand tourers and full-blown SUVs.

This means there needs to be an element of inherent universality – an adaptability – that allows Audi's defining cues to be applied across the range to types of car that simply didn't exist in the original TT's time.

Frascella baulks at the idea of a 'Russian doll' line-up but acknowledges that "there needs to be a connection that makes you look at things and makes you feel: 'Yeah, this is Audi.'"

"Of course, you can't take the Concept C and morph it into an SUV. That would be not the right thing to do," says Frascella. Instead, it's a question of adapting the concept's themes to suit different segments and target markets.

"I go back to the four pillars of our design strategy: the clarity, the technicality, the intelligence, the emotion. You apply those principles to an SUV or to a sedan, and then clearly there are certain logical surface treatments or maybe line executions that could connect them visually," he adds.

Audi has been here before, Frascella reminds us, pointing to the original TT and the contemporary A2 – clearly related by its one-bow silhouette and Bauhaus-flavoured adornments – as shining examples: "They almost share the same design elements, but the cars are completely different in character."

He stops short of outlining exactly how a huge seven-seater, for example, could take its lead from the two-seat Concept C but suggests the relationship will be obvious purely by dint of a common sense of restraint.

"This principle of reducing complexity in the form will be applied to all of them. That's a way to connect the cars together," he explains.

We still have some time before Frascella's vision reaches the roads, because the production version of the Concept C isn't planned to be launched before late next year.

But his wilful rejection of passing trends and ardent commitment to timelessness mean that even this lengthy lead time between vision and fruition shouldn't stand in the way of his cars' shock value and visual allure.

Clearly, he's designing for a new audience and a new age but, above all, it's hard to escape the notion that he's partly designing for some young automotive design student who one day soon will walk into an Audi dealership and have their mind blown and their destiny rewritten – and then we can start all over again.

Frascella's favourite Audis

A6 (1997): Second-generation (C5) A6 was an "absolute masterpiece" that heralded a ground-up rethink of Audi's design language. It arrived when Frascella was "a kid designer, so very easy to form".

TT (1998): One of the cars that Frascella "really, truly, genuinely, deeply loves". He adds: "It just sparked something in me that was different to anything else. That's why I always felt that connection."

Steppenwolf (2000): Criminally overlooked 'TT off-roader concept with the VW Golf R32's V6 was really the genesis of the Q3 that came 11 years later. "I was so shocked when I first saw it and got a sense of scale: it's so tiny!"

RS Q8 (2025): Frascella's 631bhp daily driver is the utter antithesis of subtlety and minimalism – but, he says, "a car with that level of performance needs to communicate that it has that level of performance."

Can you do the F1 livery too?

Conceiving a brand-shaping concept car while simultaneously forging a fresh stylistic language is a formidable undertaking.

But Audi’s new design boss Massimo Franscella also faced a second, perhaps more visible challenge: defining the aesthetic of the manufacturer’s inaugural Formula One entrant.

In a broad-ranging discussion with Autocar, Frascella admitted the assignment "added an extra dimension to an already pretty exciting opportunity", and enabled him to 'soft launch' some of the characteristics that will define his design language at Audi.

His team's first priority, he reveals, was making sure the design really popped in the top-down pit lane shots. The resulting design is a bold yet minimalist treatment that majors on a new signature colour called Lava Red – "a very vibrant expression of the Audi red, particularly for Formula 1, which takes it to a new level in terms of emotional charge" – and blends elements that emphasise the firm's technical prowess.

Frascella highlights the Auto Union-inspired titanium paint as a reference to the firm's motorsport heritage and says the black details that make up the rest of the livery were the result of a compromise between the designers and engineers.

He explains: "Initially, there was a bit of conversation on how much exposed carbonfibre we need to have on the car for weight considerations and, as you can imagine from the technical side, it was like: 'The car is going to be black, right? "Well, that's not going to happen. It needs to be recognisable as an Audi. But we kept that black, which, in a way, is in favour of the exposed carbonfibre, but also belongs as a primary colour of Audi."

The worn-out button in my A2 sums up our fight with technology

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

It's not just cars, and it's not just new ones: is it the fault of the machines or who created them?

The only button on the climate control panel pictured below from which the coating has worn away tells a much larger story than its small size would suggest.

It's merely a single fan-speed-down button, but to me it represents ground zero in a much wider conflict.

There is a reason for the overwhelming number of pushes it has received over the past 23 years and, as you might imagine, it's an annoying one.

The car is an Audi A2 (my own 2004 diesel), a small car with automatic climate control. Swish. If you set the temperature you desire and push the 'auto' button, the fan speed looks after itself until the interior temperature matches the one requested.

For some drivers, that setting will be fine, but not everybody wants it that way. In summer, there are those who want chilled air lightly breezed into a cabin otherwise basking in warmth.

Then there are drivers and I'm one of them who in winter like very hot air drawn into the cabin, but only softly. Then there are people who just don't like a lot of fan noise. I'm one of those too.

And for drivers who want hot or cold temperatures matched with low fan speeds, there are manual override controls.

The system has buttons for temperature, fan speed and air distribution. Those for the temperature and distribution do as they're told. Alas, those for the fan speed do not, with the insistence of a badly trained dog continually pulling at a lead.

If a driver sets the fan speed low (to, say, one or two bars on the scale), after a few moments the fan will increase speed of its own accord, setting itself to three, then four or the exact point that the noise starts to become irritating.

So, as evidenced by the wear on the button, the driver pushes the down fan switch until the fan is back at the desired speed.

And another minute or two after it has been reined back in, off it wanders again, searching for something to sniff at, continually having to be dragged back to heel. So it goes on and on, driver infuriated, button worn.

The tired old button says I'm not the only one bothered by this over the decades, and a bit of additional research says the same. Even today people buy a used Audi, then head to online forums to wonder why the climate control isn't listening to them.

Infuriatingly, this is by design. If the interior temperature remains too far from the one the system thinks has been demanded, it ignores the user's fan speed request and speeds up the blower to try to make up the temperature difference.

It was programmed to do so by someone who clearly didn't understand the end user.

A quarter of a century on from its programming and without that team in the room with us, it of course feels like a manversus-machine battle of the kind that we're tied up in day after day, with apps that won't do what they're told, notifications automatically defaulting on, ovens that won't work unless you tell them the time and generic non-stop continuous interference that we never asked for and doesn't work properly.

Cars have more than their share of this.

I don't want to bang on about it, but new year, same old complaints: you get into a new car and have to spend too much time disabling systems lane keeping assistance, road sign monitoring, reverse emergency braking that slams the car to a halt if someone 30 metres away is flapping their arms around a bit that don't work properly, only for them to default on again because the law says they have to.

It's easy to blame the machines for this. They are the primary point of interface, after all, and the us-versus-them paradigm is a common one in popular culture. "We don't know who struck first, us or them," said Morpheus in the landmark film The Matrix about the global war in which intelligent machines enslaved the human race.

A cheery thought for another day. For now, it's worth remembering for every machine that ignores or fails you, there's a human who told it to do so. We struck first, when we instructed an Audi to ignore us.

BMW M2 to gain rear-biased four-wheel drive

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 11:31:26 +0000

Buyers will get the choice between traditional rear-wheel drive and BMW's xDrive 4WD system

BMW is preparing to fit the M2 with four-wheel drive for the first time, bringing its smallest performance model into line with the M3, M4 and M5.

The new M2 xDrive, briefly referenced on BMW’s US website this week, is set to be offered alongside the existing rear-wheel-drive M2 rather than replace it, giving buyers the choice between traditional RWD and the added security and traction of 4WD.

Until now, the M2 has been the sole hold-out in the M car line-up, sticking with RWD and remaining the only model to offer a six-speed manual gearbox.

The 4WD system will be paired exclusively with BMW’s eight-speed automatic transmission. As in other recent M cars, it's expected to feature a rear-biased calibration with selectable driving modes, including a setting that allows fully rear-driven operation.

Further details remain under wraps, but indications suggest the M2 xDrive will retain the 'S58' twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine, uprated from today’s 473bhp to somewhere closer to the 523bhp of the M2 CS.

The increase is aimed at offsetting the additional mass brought on by front driveshafts and transfer hardware, likely pushing the M2's kerb weight towards 1800kg.

The extra traction is expected to bring a marked improvement in off-the-line performance, with 0-62mph anticipated to dip below the 4.0sec mark.

Production of the M2 xDrive is set to begin at BMW’s San Luis Potosí plant in Mexico by mid-year, ahead of UK launch during the second half of 2026.

Ineos Quartermaster

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:48:39 +0000

Hard-grafting and capable off-roader gains a longer, pick-up truck variant Some cars’ personalities take a while to decipher, though that has never been the case with the towering Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster. The pick-up variant of Ineos’s core station wagon offering sits in the N1 commercial vehicle class and is designed to be immensely tough, immensely useful and rich in the kind of old-world character the Land Rover Defender has relinquished.At a glance, there’s nothing to suggest it can’t heartily tick all of those boxes, and indeed when we first drove one of these cars in 2024, we liked it, though our praise was qualified. We are returning to the Quartermaster now firstly because Ineos has introduced a number of improvements for the 2026 model year, as well as a £72,000 Black Edition trim level, as seen and tested here. There is also the fact that the diesel engine has yet to go under the road test microscope (it was a petrol we previously tested), which feels like an omission for a car of this ilk.

Wild Toyota rally prototype hints at new Celica sports car

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:22:56 +0000

New Toyota-liveried rally prototype surfaces in Portugal, and it could be our first look at the new Celica

Toyota is testing a new rally car that could hint at the design and dynamic intent of the next-generation Celica sports car, which is due to be unveiled next year.

Images taken by Marcio Pereira and published by French website Rallye-Sport.fr show a new coupé wearing Toyota’s test livery being shaken down in Portugal, ahead of its debut in the 2027 World Rally Championship.

Premières images de la Toyota WRC27 en essais au Portugal #WRCPhotos : Marcio Pereira pic.twitter.com/JLDMR9ejMn

— Rallye Sport (@RallyeSport) February 26, 2026

The WRC's 2027 regulations allow competitors to field cars with a much broader range of bodystyles than currently, including coupés.

Autosport has reported that Toyota is the only manufacturer known to be developing an all-new car for the formula.

Given a new Celica is currently in development, and given the Celica's legacy in the WRC (it won the manufacturers' title in 1993 and 1994), it's most likely this coupé will reprise the name.

The prototype leaves much to the imagination, wearing wide arches and all manner of aerodynamic addenda, but it appears the Celica will have a bubble-style roofline and fang-like front lights similar to those worn by the previous Toyota FT-Se concept.

Toyota first confirmed the return of the Celica at the 2024 Rally Japan, when then-vice-president Yuki Nakajima told spectators: “We're making the Celica!”

Company chairman Akio Toyoda has previously spoken of his desire to revive what he calls the “three brothers”, the Supra, Celica and MR2.

The Supra was revived back in 2019 and little remains known about the next MR2, suggesting the Celica will be next to return.

A spokesperson for Toyota told Autocar: "As everybody knows and as has been communicated by the FIA, a new set of technical regulations will be introduced for the 2027 WRC season.

"For TGR-WRT, this means that our current Rally1 [car, the GR Yaris] will naturally reach the end of its competitive lifespan in WRC at the conclusion of the 2026 season.

"As a company and motorsport team, we are always working to develop ever-better cars and have started testing with our prototype car developed to the new regulations as laid out by the FIA for 2027."