CAR - September 2024 UK

ISSUE 746 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 4
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tech, but is the latest GTI
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Insider
8 In the Spotlight: Fiat’s new Grande Panda
revealed – and a look ahead to the
Panda-based family that will follow
14 Scoop: our intel on Alpine’s electric SUV,
as Renault’s sexy sub-brand aims to move
into more mainstream territory
16 Why some car makers are turning back to
combustion engines, and what it means
for the future of electric vehicles
18 Four newcomers that have all caused a
stir in different ways
20 Inquisition: Honda’s Tomoyuki Yamagami,
the engineer behind the new Prelude
20
Inside
story of
the Honda
Prelude’s
surprise
return
58 Tesla’s hottest Model 3 meets the
world-leading Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Tech
22 Inside the astonishing new Red Bull
hypercar, F1 genius Adrian Newey’s final
big project before he takes his magic
touch elsewhere
24 CAR Explains: in-wheel electric motors
26 Does It Work? The latest drive-by-wire
systems from Bosch assessed
8 Fiat’s response to the electric

Renault 5: resurrect the Panda
First Drives
28 The 300-Mile Test: MG Cyberster, the 78 Where the magic happens:
Wolfsburg, home of the Golf
70 New VW Golf GTI driven: have the latest
£60k electric roadster upgrades and a power boost overcome
38 VW ID. Buzz GTX: hotter new version of the disappointment of the Mk8?
the electric MPV 78 Inside Wolfsburg, home of the Golf for
40 Lamborghini Urus SE: Sant’Agata’s SUV 50 years and counting. Our guide is
goes plug-in hybrid Wolfsburg-raised Andreas Mindt, design
42 Aston Martin Valour: new retro muscle chief for VW and a passionate Golf fan
44 Porsche Cayenne GTS: now more GTS-y 88 50 years of the Golf: the inside story of
how the Golf was created – and how it so
46 Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce: after all the nearly didn’t happen
naming hoopla, is the car any good?
98 Hot rods: we celebrate the ingenious
diehards who keep bringing fresh
creativity to the UK end of a US cult that
just won’t die
Our Cars
106 Does living with it for a few months
change our view of the Mercedes EQE?
28 Weird that it should happen.
Weirder still, it’s really good 98 Meet the obsessives who keep
Britain’s hot rods running
Opinion The big reads

50 Letters: learners, indicators, vans, Fords, 58 Giant Test: Tesla’s new Performance
superminis and the BMW i5 Touring version of the ever-evolving Model 3
54 Gavin Green: things the Brits still do well meets our current favourite electric hot
hatch, the brilliant Hyundai Ioniq 5 N,
56 Mark Walton: the last one is the best one
123 GBU: the best cars in every class
winner of our recent Electric Cars for
Petrolheads mega-test
106 An electric E-Class, or a
betrayal of Merc heritage?
SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 5

expecting to see the front stoved in, like a
The Golf back boxer’s broken nose, but could find no trace
of the impact whatsoever.
on top would Later, my first Peugeot 205 XS underlined
just how slow, numb and fun-free the Golf CAR Print +
be a welcome had been. But the French car couldn’t touch
the Mk2 for build quality, let alone the Mk4
Digital
subscription THE QUICKEST
return to Mum replaced it with. Still without a sense
of humour, its refinement – after pulling
WAY TO
SUBSCRIBE
normality 5000rpm in the biscuit-tin Peugeot for

hours on end – was different gravy.
More recently, the Mk7.5 stands out as a
compelling lesson in how it’s done. I drove
Did it start with Golf for you? It did for me. the GTIs, the R and the really rather good
The first family car I can remember was a Clubsport, but it was the version with the 1.5
gold Ford Cortina estate with chrome dog TSI Evo petrol engine that underlined that
bars. But we soon switched to a bread-van Golf’s sheer class. Quick, spirited, aspira-
Polo (I’ve no idea how a family of five went tional and practical, it felt polished in a way
on holiday in it, but I recall we were passed very few cars I’ve driven since have come
by cyclists on the ‘hills’ near Stonehenge) close to. The Veyron, perhaps. BMW’s G30
and from there to the relative space, power 5-series. That Golf really was in that league Watch CAR videos in the app
and luxury of a 1.3 Mk2 Golf. – another monarch in a bloodline that Our awesome videos are easily accessed via
Summer holidays, school runs – that car, looked set to endure in perpetuity. the app, bringing the cars that matter –
including Pagani’s Utopia – to life.
with its purposeful Herbert Schäfer lines Back then, the sun rose and set each day
and metallic blue paint, is woven into the and the Golf remained. A great writer, pre-
fabric of my childhood. Reassuringly sturdy, senter and farmer once described car jour-
it felt like an armoured car and rode like a nalism as trying to persuade people not to
(very slow) Rolls-Royce. just buy a Golf. But the disappointment on
I learned to drive in that Golf, its strong first contact with the Mk8 was real (with
brakes (pre-ABS of course; the middle pedal hindsight, we can see now VW was about to
could lay black lines on hot tarmac with im- bungle two huge new cars, the ID. 3 and the
punity) and bombproof if woolly clutch then new Golf) and for years now our GBU
helping me to a first-time pass. And for a section’s placed BMW’s Golf (the 1-series)
year or so after that historic day (windows ahead of Volkswagen’s. As everything else
down, Appetite for Destruction on cassette on this planet slides into madness, the Golf
tape, speeds in excess of 55mph…) it was my back on top would be a welcome return to Enjoy the back catalogue
car, when it wasn’t Mum’s. Utterly dependa- life as it should be. Perhaps news of the new Panda has you
ble and somehow smart-looking even when Enjoy the issue. craving a proper one. Get into the app to
it was filthy, it tolerated my ham-fisted voy- re-live our epic Panda 4x4 adventure.
ages to its dynamic limits as an older dog
tolerates a puppy hanging off its ears.
I learned to row its four-speed ’box like
my life depended on it (looking back, it likely
did on more than one occasion) and to
counter the abundant understeer with en- Ben
ergetic and ill-timed tweaks of the hand-
brake, once putting it nose-first into a six-
Miller
foot earth bank in doing so. I climbed out Editor
Extra stories on your phone

VW celebrated the Golf’s 50th with a big old
shindig – and we were there. Join the party
with this exclusive app-only story.

CARS I PEOPLE I SCOOPS I MOTORSPORT I ANALYSIS – THE MONTH ACCORDING TO CAR
Who needs a badge

when you can turn
the side of the car
into a big logo?
8 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

I N T H E S P OT L I G H T
BOXY
CLEVER
Fiat’s new Grande Panda heralds a
modern family of vehicles while harking
back to the very first Panda. By Guy Bird

Fiat’s design chief Francois Leboine facing to which we added robust Under the ing a completely different world in
has form with this sort of thing. The wheelarches. We made a different skin, parts are terms of design where you can play
shared with the
Frenchman was head of concept cars cocktail where you recognise this Citroën C3 with different epochs and areas of
at Renault when the new 5 was just very typical attitude of the first Pan- design and combine them to create a
an internal project. Unveiling it in da and the main lines, more or less – story.
January 2021, his former boss Lau- bottom line, belt line and roofline – ‘This mix, this collaboration of
rens van den Acker gracefully gave and with this inclination, between different types of design – we will
Leboine credit for it, and the ac- the rear glass and the front glass that play more and more with this in the
claimed 2024 production version re- has the typical balance of the Panda. coming years, because maybe it’s the
mains very close to the original idea. We started from this and then treat- best way to create things that will
Since leaving Renault for Fiat, ed it in a different way.’ last longer that don’t belong any
Leboine’s been busy with what ap- How so? ‘We have a lot of tension more to one trend or time, but more
pears to be a similar job: reviving the in the surfacing but always finish from different trends or times.’
Panda. This has involved a judicious with a smooth turn,’ Leboine contin- Elements of that difference can be
amount of heritage mining of 1980’s ues. ‘There is this combination of seen in the deployment of the latest
boxy first-generation model, but also tension and smoothness that is very pixel headlamp technology, making
tapping into the 2019 Centoventi modern. This is the translation to the 2024 Grande Panda’s face look
concept, while adding fresh new de- our time today. altogether more futuristic than its
sign twists and technology. ‘Playing with different eras gives it 1980 forebear. The whole car is
‘We tried to connect more with a very strong element of modernity. chunky and solid-looking, with lots
some elements that recall the very Before you had big trends – round of marque and model branding. This
first Panda from Giorgetto Giugiaro,’ shapes, square shapes, flat and bio is most notable in the large, graphic
Leboine explains, ‘to find simple sur- design. But now I think we’re enter- word PANDA stamped right across ⊲
IT’S CHUNKY AND

SOLID-LOOKING,
WITH LOTS
OF MARQUE
AND MODEL
BRANDING

Insider
T H E F U T U R E P A N D A F A M I LY
Breeding
in captivity
Bar the new Grande Panda, the top of the wheelarches of
unveiled in its production form the other versions, perhaps
at Fiat’s 125th birthday party alluding to their 4x4 capability.
in July, the rest of this new Fiat has not divulged
Panda family’s public outings dimensions at this stage, and
have been strictly digital. And, looking at digital renders on
except for one conceptual a screen makes relative size
cabin render, exterior only. hard to judge, but design
The potential five-strong chief Francois Leboine admits
Panda model line-up the renders are in ratio with
previewed in late February each other. On that visual
included the City Car concept, evidence, don’t expect future
which we now know as the Fiat Pandas to be too bloated
Grande Panda production or suffer the ill-proportioned
model. There was also a fate of larger versions of the
camper, fastback, pick-up previous-generation 500.
and SUV. All these concepts ‘The fact that Fiat is always
conveyed a family feel, united smaller than average is its
by chunky body proportions strength and we want to keep
and a solid stance over their that alive,’ Leboine says. ‘The
wheels, with graphically pick-ups we propose in Latin
strong upright pixel lighting America are much smaller
signatures at the front and than average. Relative to the
rear, and near-horizontal market, we are at the lower
clamshell bonnets. end.’
Bold branding elements And despite the digital-first
were everywhere, from the public approach, more real
more obvious all-caps FIAT cars are well on the way:
logos debossed into the ‘We’ve finished a couple
bodywork or backlit within the and are still doing some of
rear brake light signatures, them. The Grande Panda was
to the old four-diagonal-line finished two years ago. There
logo seen on the first Panda, will be different wheelbases,
here found within the front depending on the vehicle, and
light signature of the City Car some flexibility that we will
concept and more subtly at play with.’
Camper,
fastback, and
SUV could wear
Panda badge

THE NEW PANDA
EMBODIES THE
ORIGINAL’S
CHARM, WHILE
ADDING NEW
TECH AND STYLE
the lower body sides and FIAT on the tomisable and modular, not only to
tailgate, but also more stealthily meet customer demand for person-
through a small ‘Panda’ badge ren- alisation but to assist with its longev-
dered in three-dimensional relief, ity as well.
protruding from the black plastic ‘From the same technical “hub” we
horizontal bar towards the bottom have the possibility to plug in differ-
of the rear hatch. ent technologies and parts,’ he ex-
The interior offers a softer aes- plains. ‘This is the main concept and
thetic dominated by an elongated exactly the same idea as the Interna-
lozenge-shape dashboard that Fiat tional Space Station. We can make
claims was inspired by the old Lin- an affordable version or a more pre-
gotto factory rooftop test track. A 10- mium one by changing the parts and
inch digital instrument display and upgrading the technology, depend-
10.25-inch centre screen fit nicely T H E R I VA L ing on the level of vehicle we want to
within that housing to keep the obtain.’
overall look firmly 21st century, while
a passenger-side, top-opening box
Looks like it’s He doesn’t dismiss the idea of
eventually dispensing with the cur-
clad in bamboo combines with
bright yellow accents on the rectan-
1980 again rently ubiquitous touchscreens and
their often under-performing soft-
gular air vents to create a natural and They were rivals back in the day, and they ware. ‘You could imagine just a base
smart cabin ambience. will be rivals again. The Renault 5 is a screen or even no screen at all and
There’s practicality too, with plen- similar size to the Fiat Grande Panda and interacting with your car via voice
tiful storage space – Fiat claims 13 li- has embraced its heritage with the same control. Customers can upgrade the
tres in the cabin and a 361-litre boot gusto, featuring bold and emotionally technology depending on their
accessed through the rear hatch. appealing designs inside and out. The only means and over time. That’s some-
Just like with the new Renault 5, major difference is Fiat hedging its bets by thing that is important for us. We
Leboine is keen on making the new offering a hybrid powertrain as well as an imagine this car can follow the evo-
Panda interior more physically cus- all-electric version. lution of technology and be changed

Insider
B LO O D L I N E
MINIMALISM FOR
THE MASSES
The original idea was so good
there’s been no need to deviate
1980 Panda Mk1

Beloved of Italian farmers and architects alike, Giorgetto
Giugiaro’s original Panda is a classic case of great
function matched with ‘less is more’ design.
and upgraded and stay current after Cabin is

five years or 10 years because of its designed to be
customisable to
embedded technologies. suit the owner’s
Based on the same platform as two tastes and
adapt to new
Stellantis sister products, the Citroën technology
C3 and Vauxhall Frontera, the
Grande Panda will offer both a
full-electric version with a 44kWh 2003 Panda Mk2
battery and a 195-mile range from Longer, wider and taller, the Mk2 was designed in-house
£22,000 and a hybrid option starting with a more complicated silhouette. Wider 4x4 and
at just below £20,000. sportier 100hp versions expanded the range.
The global product goes on sale in
continental Europe this autumn,
with the UK market soon after, then
the Middle East and Africa. Fiat has
also gone on record to say a further
three production cars from this new
Panda family will launch at the rate
of one vehicle every year until 2027.
Times have certainly moved on
since Giugiaro’s 1980 Mk1 – in both
customers’ physical size and their
expectations – but the new 2024
Grande Panda has managed to em- 2011 Panda Mk3
body the original Panda’s charm, Designed by Roberto Giolito (also behind the Multipla
while adding new tech and style. A Mk1), the Mk3 and was taller and more rounded affair.
positive new chapter for stylish small Spawned a jacked-up 4x4 plus mild-hybrid engine tech.
Fiats looks to be ahead.

T H E S C O O P
IT’S COMING GOT THE LOOK

ALPINE’S The wraps are close to coming We’ll see design cues that look
EV SUV off the next Alpine. Sovany

Ang, product performance vice
president, says the new SUV
unmistakably Alpine, including
a new iteration of the brand’s
four-lamp light signature at the
NEARS and the recently revealed A290

hatch are ‘designed to give us
front and a relatively low and
wide stance for a crossover.
LAUNCH a proposition to redefine the

sportiness that we believe in at
Alpine in EV. We are increasing
The ‘Alpine swoosh’ on the side
‘is something that will come on
all our products as a signature,’
the brand footprint beyond the says design boss Antony
Step two in Alpine’s two-seater coupe segment.’ Villain.
journey to an all-electric
range is an Ioniq
5-rivalling SUV.
By Jake Groves
SHARED TECH THE NEXT STEP

FACTFILE The new SUV will use parts This is just one part of Alpine’s
P OW E R TR A I N from the Renault Group – most continuing expansion. Entering
87kWh battery (est), likely employing the CMF-EV the world of the electric hot
twin e-motors, all-wheel platform used by the Renault hatch was a start, and it’s close
drive Scenic and Nissan Ariya as to finalising its battery-electric
CHASSIS a base. As it’s done with the A110 – an idea made real by the
Illustration: Lars Sältzer

Steel and aluminium A290, expect Alpine to do Eternité rolling test bed (above)
monocoque plenty of fettling to make it feel two years ago. Alpine is going
DUE different; Alpine aims to give all solo with its sports coupe, after
2025 its cars an Alpine feel, no matter an earlier collaboration with
their size or shape. Lotus fell through.
Same DNA
as A290, but
transplanted
into a bigger
body

Ignite your BLUE.
Insider
B E H I N D T H E H E A D L I N E S
THE ENGINE
ISN’T DEAD YET
As demand for EVs slumps, hurriedly revised
plans see car makers returning to combustion.
By Luke Wilkinson and Jake Groves
Just two years ago, Audi announced we’re also thinking about running
its plan to become an electric-only our combustion platform [for]
car manufacturer by 2029 – and it longer.’
said it wouldn’t launch another dino- Audi isn’t the only one. Volkswa-
saur-burning model from 2026. gen has also eased off the throttle on
But there’s been a change of heart. its EV transformation due to dwin-
Demand for electric cars has dling demand. Mercedes-Benz, too,
dropped in many large markets. So has had a tough time convincing
much so that Audi is seriously con- people to buy its EVs. The EQE and
sidering closing its entire EV manu- EQS are proving hard sells, and suf-
facturing plant in Brussels, threaten- fer whopping depreciation, while the
ing the Q8 e-Tron that’s built there dismal EQC SUV has been taken off
and jeopardising the jobs of around the UK new-car configurator.
3000 skilled workers. Mercedes has also shelved the
The company is now poised to electric-only MB.EA platform, draw-
launch a range of new petrol and die- ing on know-how gained from the
sel cars, all of which it now expects to acclaimed EQXX project, and until
keep on sale until the European ban recently touted it as the future. ‘The
on combustion cars comes into force pace of transformation is deter-
in 2035. mined by market conditions and the
New electric cars will run on the needs of our customers,’ Mercedes
Premium Platform Electric (PPE) ar- says in a statement, ‘and into the
chitecture (already 2030s we can flexibly
seen on Audi’s Q6 offer vehicles with
WHAT
e-Tron, as well as the both a fully electric
electric Porsche
HAPPENS drivetrain or an elec-
Macan), while the new NOW? MORE trified high-tech com-
cars with engines will CHOICE OVER bustion engine.’ pace and time. Do I ultimately think
all run on Premium THE NEXT The shifting sands we will get there? Yes. Do I think it’s
Platform Combustion DECADE of demand for electric going to happen as initially planned?
(PPC) – an Audi-specif- THAN MANY cars mean manufac- Most definitely not.’
ic platform that will be EXPECTED turers are having to Bugatti boss Mate Rimac admits
used on all its combus- hedge their bets no his decision to make the Tourbillon a
tion cars right up to matter what market hybrid rather than a pure EV was in
the next-gen Q7. they operate in. Chair- response to the public mood: ‘Early
Kerstin Englhardt, project leader man Lawrence Stroll tells CAR Aston Even EV on there was a lot of discussion, par-
for Audi’s PPC architecture, tells Martin has delayed its battery-elec- genius Mate ticularly with the management, with
Rimac’s faith
CAR: ‘We still have combustion en- tric platform, for example: ‘We’ve has been Porsche. They were insistent the car
gines because we are convinced that just felt a real lack of consumer de- shaken had to be electric. EV would have
we also need them for the future, for mand, and we’ve seen and listened
some markets. At the moment, our and read and heard
plan is to end it by 2033. what all the other big
‘But if we see in 2030 there’s new OEMs are going
regulations in the European Parlia- through in terms of
ment that [postpones] when we need pulling back – that
to get out completely from combus- it’s just not hap-
tion engines and go over to electric, pening at this

File under
art, not
history
I N K E D I N
My career in
three sketches
DAVID HART
EXTERIOR CREATIVE
MANAGER, KIA
▲
FIRST CAR
HYUNDAI HED-1
‘I started my career with Hyundai and Kia,
and this one was my first from the studio I
worked at in Russelsheim, Germany, and
that was around 20 years ago now.’
▲
MOST IMPORTANT CAR
KIA EV3
‘Definitely the most challenging and the
most rewarding, because it was a case of
been the obvious and easy thing to that can’t switch so fast – and we
being in the early days of finding this new
do. But it was clear to me this was the want to be prepared for both sides. It
identity for Kia.’
wrong way for Bugatti, and I had to will be such a sliding process. But if
fight like hell to do another combus- it’s the last combustion car in the A5
tion engine.’ model range, I couldn’t say. I think it
What happens now? There will be will run longer than it’s planned to.’
much more choice of combustion At VW, the Polo will survive an-
cars over the next decade than many other generation, rather than being
expected. For Audi, that means a re- killed off when the ID. 2 arrives, as
structured model range, with previously expected, and the
odd-numbered badges (A5, Q7 etc) ninth-generation Golf will launch
signifying combustion engines, with combustion versions as well as
while even-numbered models will be EVs – not originally the plan.
propelled by batteries and electric For Mercedes-Benz, the next-gen- ▲
motors. eration EQE and EQS, and other fu- FAVOURITE DESIGN DETAIL
Detlef Harzer, technical project ture EVs, will use updated versions of KIA EV3 PROFILE
manager for the new A5, says: ‘We’re the EVA platform, while others in- ‘It’s the proportions of it – we’ve been
prepared for both columns. We’ll cluding the next S-Class will get an trying to find something different with
also see some law-driven develop- upgrade of their current architec- extending the cabin for more room inside
ment because there will be regions ture, rather than go electric. by pushing forward the front screen.’

Insider
T H E D E B R I E F
ODD ONES OUT

Four new arrivals, each with something very special. By Jake Groves
SKUNKWORKS VIBES A CONTENTIOUS NAME

How do you keep your engineers entertained in down The car that’s made social media go nuclear. Let’s just get
time? Let them play with the formula. With Polestar’s this out of the way, shall we? This is the new Ford Capri.
droptop 6 two years away from production, this one-off Yes, we know it’s barely a coupe. Nor is it a two-door. Or
BST version is the car ‘turned up to 11’, according to boss powered by an engine. Or remotely desirable to look at.
Thomas Ingenlath. Shame it’s not being sold, then. But that hasn’t stopped Ford, and will it actually matter?
NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW

What is it? An in-house aftermarket Polestar 6 I Tech specs What is it? Ford’s latest electric crossover to go with the
Swan-neck rear wing, forged alloys, race-spec aero I Aimed at? four others it’ll have by 2025 I Tech specs VW’s MEB electric
Giving us another look at the upcoming e-roadster I When can architecture, interior from the Explorer I Aimed at? Making
I get one? You can’t – not in BST form, nor even the regular 6, everyone cross I When can I get one? Now, priced from £48k
as all have been sold for the Extended Range; Standard Range arrives later at £42k
BUTTERFLY DOORS AN ENGINE RANGE

Regardless of what MG says, this Cyber GTS ‘concept’ Formerly the A4, Audi’s small exec becomes the A5 in a
will absolutely go into production next year as a hardtop new strategy that gives even numbers to EVs and odd
companion to the Cyberster, meaning MG will have likely numbers to combustion cars. The A5 is offered as a saloon,
beaten the likes of Porsche, Jaguar and Audi to making a estate and hatchback, or there’s a V6-engined S5 with real
premium, two-door electric GT. Tasty looks are a bonus. tailpipes. Cutting-edge infotainment’s from the Q6 e-Tron.
NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW

What is it? A Cyberster with a roof, and two extra seats I Tech What is it? Audi’s smarter, slicker and engine-powered exec
specs Single- or twin-motor versions, fancy doors I Aimed at? I Tech specs Advanced ‘MHEV Plus’ engine tech, AI-powered
Beating the establishment to the punch... again I When can I infotainment, permanently-animated lights I Aimed at?
get one? MG says it’s just a concept, but we expect it to launch Offering an alternative to EV I When can I get one? From
in 2025, a neat 60 years after the MGB GT November; the saloon starts at £42k in the UK

Did you know you can exchange your
mobility allowance for a brand new Ford?
To find out more, speak with one of our many trained experts
for a private, no pressure, appointment at any one of TrustFord’s
national dealerships.
trustford.co.uk/motability
T O M OY U K I
YA M A G A M I
HONDA PRELUDE
CONCEPT
PROJECT LE ADER
ami has worked in Honda’s R&D di-

T H E C A R I N Q U I S I T I O N vision since 1998, testing and engi-
neering a wide variety of models
before managing bigger projects like
‘HONDA DNA IN A 2017’s tenth-generation Accord and
the current Civic.
SPORTY COUPE’ ‘Being given the responsibility of

developing such a car, I just thought
to myself thank God I started work-
ing at Honda!’ he smiles, as he guides
The Prelude was dead, but Prelude means a great deal to Honda. me around the Prelude Concept. The
It’s one of the company’s long- production model that follows on
now it’s back – with hybrid est-serving badges, gaining a lot of from the concept will be Honda’s
power. Why the change affection in the 46 years since its de- next hybrid in Europe and is expect-
but. It’s always been sleek, sporty and ed to launch in late 2025.
of heart? By Jake Groves technologically advanced. But it’s a I meet Yamagami at July’s Good-
name that has remained dormant wood Festival of Speed, not long after
for more than 20 years. the Prelude arrived in Europe for the
So it was both a surprise and an first time. He’s very much in his ele-
honour when long-serving Honda ment here as a life-long car enthusi-
engineer Tomoyuki Yamagami got ast – although that’s not all he is. He
the call to build a new one. Yamag- owns a 993-generation Porsche 911

Insider
‘WE BELIEVE of whether it’s the thrifty hybrid or THE CAR CURVEBALLS
THERE ARE STILL the hardcore Type R – and fitting
PEOPLE WHO SEEK Brembo brakes signals that Honda
A SPORTY MODEL, doesn’t expect the new Prelude to be
exactly slow.
Six questions
NOT JUST FOR THE
PERFORMANCE BUT
Visually, there are elements of the
Prelude Concept we can quibble
only we
ALSO THE LOOKS’ about. There are shades of Toyota
design at the front, especially the
would ask…
and a super-rare Honda Accord Type wing-like band that stretches the
R, and has a diverse array of hands- width of the nose. The curly ‘Prelude’ Tell us about your first car…
on hobbies, including model cars, script at the rear might be a nod to ‘A Subaru Rex kei car that
DIY, sewing and car maintenance. 1991’s Mk4 but looks at odds with the I got from my parents. It
‘It wasn’t Honda’s intention to rest of the car. wasn’t anything special,
make a successor to the Prelude,’ says But we can’t argue with the sim- but it got me moving.’
Yamagami, ‘but we’re moving to a plicity purposefulness of the car’s
more electrified, low-carbon society. shape. It’s a refreshing side-step from What achievement makes
As we do that, we’re seeing more the rest of the Honda range. It’s also you most proud?
SUVs in the market because that’s and a welcome antidote to the SUV ‘My work with Prelude. The
the easiest application that you can overload in today’s car market. opportunity to be a large project
do with electrification. ‘It’s designed to be low and wide,’ leader of anything is only given
‘However, we believe there are still says Yamagami. ‘We’ve been inspired to a very select number of
people out there who seek a sporty by gliders, and we’ve made sure not people at Honda. I’m so grateful
model – not just for the performance to include many gimmicks in the de- to have worked with all my
but for the looks, too. That was our sign. Gimmicks disturb the balance colleagues – I feel lucky.’
intention. In a time where every- and the silence of good design, so
body’s talking about electrification we’ve very much put the emphasis on What’s the best thing you’ve
and low carbon, we wanted to ex- the aesthetics of technology. ever done in a car?
press Honda’s DNA and provide a ‘We’re imagining a customer that ‘The first car I bought myself
real joy of driving. What car can bet- uses the car not just for trackdays, was a Mazda MX-5, which I
ter express that than a sporty coupe?’ but every day,’ says Yamagami. It used to drive while dating my
Much like previous generations of should appeal to a wide age range, girlfriend at the time. She then
Prelude that have had DNA links to spanning Generations X and Z. became my wife, and I used it
Civic and Accord, this new one is ‘Developing a car is extremely dif- to drive to our wedding.
likely to draw heavily on today’s hy- ficult no matter what kind it is,’ says We still drive out to
brid Civic. That’s in keeping with Yamagami. ‘You have so many differ- the same location
Honda’s insistence that this will not ent characters, so many different where we used
be a hardcore sports car, contrary to opinions and you need to unify them to date.’
some of the wild speculation trig- to make one car.
gered by the concept’s unveiling at ‘We have this thing called the Tell us about a time you’ve
last autumn’s Tokyo motor show. “ground concept” when we make a screwed up…
Instead, the focus is on the car’s car – it’s something like the blueprint ‘Many times! If you think about
shape and style. ‘We were after a of development. I’m not sure it transit differently though, it’s difficult
wide stance here,’ Yamagami says. lates too well into English, but for to say whether or not something
‘With the rear shoulders, we wanted this car the tagline is “ultimate glide”. really has been a mistake – all of
a good silhouette you could see It’s the idea that your possibilities are those “mistakes” have brought
through your side mirrors.’ endless – you have the feeling that me to where I am today. And I
The Civic platform is a good basis you want to drive as much as possi- am happy about where I am.’
for a car built for drivers rather than ble, can go anywhere or do anything
passengers, handling well regardless with the car.’ Supercar or classic?
‘An air-cooled 911!’
Swish concept
meets cute,
boxy Mk1 Company curveball: What
was the Concentrated Target
Meter on the original Prelude?
‘A speedometer and tachometer
combined.’ [Correct!]

THE INNOVATIONS TRANSFORMING OUR DRIVING WORLD
I N D ETA I L
‘THIS HAS ALL

THE GOOD STUFF
F1 GOT RID OF’
Red Bull’s RB17 is a hypercar built to motorsport standards but
without motorsport constraints. By Jake Groves

‘This car is Adrian Newey off the lead,’ says Red Bull Ad- Newey at
vanced Technologies CEO Christian Horner, introducing the RB17’s
Goodwood
the new Red Bull RB17, designed by Adrian Newey, the unveiling; aero
Red Bull Racing F1 team’s departing technical director. has echoes of
Aston Valkyrie
‘The car is just huge in its performance. It’s all the stuff
they got rid of [in Formula 1].’
Red Bull points out it has the means, money and engi-
neering capacity to build the RB17 its own way, and
Horner throws shade at Aston Martin’s broadly similar
Valkyrie, which Newey had a significant part in develop-
ing in. ‘It nearly sunk Aston Martin, even if it did add a lot
to their share price,’ says Horner. He was determined that
Red Bull should ‘do it properly’ – with the inevitable up-
shot that ‘it’s going to come with a price tag comparative
with that technology.’
Newey says: ‘Everything is in-house. We’re using the
same suppliers as we did in Formula 1, so it’s the same
build process we’d do if we were building an F1 car. That’s
the reason we’re limited to 50 cars.’
At the heart of the RB17 is a naturally aspirated 4.5-litre
V10 that revs to 15,000rpm, created with Cosworth, the
Northampton-based engineers also behind the engines in
the Bugatti Tourbillon and GMA T.50.
The RB17’s V10 makes 986bhp, with a 200bhp electric
motor lending a hand. All of the near-1200bhp is sent to
the rear wheels via a carbonfibre transmission and
through a hydraulic locking active diff. ‘The initial specifi-
cation was for a V8 twin-turbo, but then we looked at V6 RED BULL HAS THE MEANS, MONEY
twin-turbos,’ says Newey. ‘But the requirements were AND ENGINEERING CAPACITY TO
around 1000bhp and under 150kg and, basically, I wasn’t BUILD THE RB17 ITS OWN WAY
NO RACER, BUT WEC- COMPLIANT completely happy with the V6 turbo in that the sound
simply isn’t as good as a naturally aspirated engine.’
Red Bull’s unconstrained approach means it includes
some technology rarely found on road or track: full car-
bonfibre 18-inch wheels with Michelin slicks are included,
with a 20-inch option using a treaded tyre. There’s push-
rod suspension with active ride-height control and adjust-
able dampers, the steering is hydraulically assisted and the
brakes are carbon-reinforced carbon. While it’s not road
legal, Horner acknowleges that ‘several conversion houses
are capable of making it [road legal].’
Active aero elements in the front and rear wings and
diffuser adjust to suit the conditions. ‘It has two functions:
Red Bull brags about the RB17’s no FIA constraints and therefore a reduction in aero for high speeds, which is basically try-
‘F1-adjacent’ lap times, and the no cost cap.’ ing to stop the tyres blowing,’ says technical director Rob
car has been built with an eye on Might we see an RB17 compete Gray, ‘but it’s also designed to help the balance of the car.’
Le Mans Hypercar regulations. in the Hypercar class? ‘Never say Horner says: ‘These are designed to be run and driven,
But ultimately it’s been never,’ says Red Bull Advanced not sit in museums.’ Accordingly, Red Bull has limited its
conceived without limits. As CEO Technologies technical director client list to keen drivers, but some of those drivers will be
Christian Horner says: ‘There are Rob Gray (pictured), ‘but there humble enough to know they’d benefit from some expert
are absolutely no plans to do coaching – which is why the car is a two-seater.
that. I just think the Balance of ‘If you take up a new sport like, say, golf, you’ll go to a
Performance isn’t quite right in golf club, hit a few balls and they’ll go everywhere,’ says
that sport right now. Newey. ‘But if you enjoy it, then you’ll carry on, maybe get
‘We wanted to define our own a caddy to coach you and get better – that’s the same phi-
rules with this car, but we leant losophy I have by giving this car two seats. It’s not just for
quite heavily on the Hypercar having a friend or partner there, but have a coach there.
specifications. It’s purely for ‘With this, you can go from a car that’s benign to drive
safety, and we thought if it’s – it’s not going to catch you out all of the time – and grow
good enough for racing at Le with the car and develop with it to whatever performance
Mans, it’s good enough for us.’ level you feel comfortable with.’

C AR E X PL A I N S
IN-WHEEL
E-MOTORS
Unsprung mass! Individual
wheel control! The pros and
cons of a much-discussed
but rarely used technology
explained. By Jake Groves
Instead of having electric motors that drive axles, what’s
so hard about getting them to spin wheels directly? Myri-
ad benefits include much more direct control of individual So what’s the hold-up? ‘It can add a lot of complexity,’ Dr This Defender
has been
wheels and faster torque responses. Stefan Hartung, chairman of technology and engineering converted to
Ferrari has filed a patent for its own in-wheel motor, company Bosch, tells CAR. ‘We’d have to go fully by-wire use in-wheel
and the McLaren Applied division is working with Slove- [throttle, braking and steering] to get rid of the mechani- motors, and it
really works
nian-based Elaphe Propulsion Technologies to further cal complexity first, and I just don’t know if we’ll ever fully
develop them for use in production cars. ‘The ability to get rid of mechanical axles. We see them in the industry,
control the drivetrain more sensitively enables you to start but our focus is discreet motors with axles and that seems
programming different characteristics into the drive- to be the mainstream of the industry.’
train,’ says Stephen Lambert, head of electrification at Unsprung weight is also a challenge. Adding an e-motor
McLaren Applied. ‘With this, we can introduce character directly to the wheel would usually be detrimental to ride
that some might say is lacking from EVs.’ and handling. But Andrew Whitehead, CEO of Protean
As well as performance cars, in-wheel motors allow for Electric, says it’s just not that big a deal. ‘We add typically
a greater degree of control and can limit slip when driving about 35kg per corner,’ Whitehead tells us, ‘but what really
off-road. We’ve driven a ‘Reborn Electric’ classic Land matters is the ratio between sprung and unsprung mass. If
Rover Defender that has been converted to use in-wheel you look at all the vehicles on sale today, the limits of the
motors from UK-based Protean Electric and its parent ratio are 5:1 to 9:1 – with most models between 6.0 and 8.0.
company BEDEO. As well as making an old Defender ‘Provided that when you add unsprung mass you keep it
much less noisy, each wheel’s independence means we ex- within that ratio limit, you can still make a vehicle per-
perienced zero slip from any wheel when off-roading form how it should. When we add our motors to these ve-
through boggy and uneven terrain. The improved acceler- hicles, we might go from 7.8:1 to 6.7:1, and we’re working
ation and refinement were welcome bonuses. on improving that.’
PROTEAN ELECTRIC’S WHEEL MOTOR

ROTOR
Rotor on the outside makes the
most of the available torque.
Wheel bearing centres the rotor
around the stator.
BRAKE DISC
Location on the end is
POWER ELECTRONICS determined primarily
Inboard location protects to expose it to the
these sensitive components maximum possible
in a hermetically-sealed amount of cooling air,
environment. This is where thus keeping the heat
the DC power from the battery in check.
is switched to AC.

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B Y- W I R E B R A I N P O W E R
HOW IT WORKS
▲
NO CONNECTION
‘By-wire’ means no mechanical link
between the brakes or steering
D O E S IT WO R K ? rack and the wheels. Bosch claims
it allows more customisation,
BOSCH’S BY-WIRE better packaging and lower costs.
DRIVING TECH
Steering, braking and accelerating without mechanical
linkages. Bosch says it’s the future. Is it? By Jake Groves
The next big thing according to Bosch is the When we test some by-wire tech in devel-
widespread adoption of ‘by-wire’ control opment, it certainly feels perfectly safe. We
technologies: steering, braking and accelera- try two brake-by-wire systems; one has a
tion systems that have no mechanical con- conventional brake pedal and the other a
nection between the wheel or pedal operated fixed pressure pad. Both can be adjusted in- ▲
by the driver and the function it controls. stantly in terms of how much brake pressure WIND ON THE LOCK
The engineering giant has positioned itself you get when pressing the pedal. The version We test a steer-by-wire system
at the forefront of this new wave of technolo- that uses a pressure pad offers other potential that makes a Golf GTI a relaxed
gy, working with Qualcomm to develop benefits, including better packaging of EVs. motorway cruiser or a go-kart
more tech for the ‘software-defined vehicle’ Bosch’s steer-by-wire system feels pretty around a circuit. It’s impressive,
of the future. That future will, says Bosch, much good to go, too. In a Golf GTI Club- and allows calibration on the fly.
involve more functions being handled by sport, we hoon around a tight circuit marked
fewer chips. by cones. It has three modes: normal, a lan-
Bosch Mobility’s head, Dr Markus Heyn, guid ‘comfort’ setting that dials down the
says: ‘By 2030, the number of control units in alertness, and a ‘sport’ option that makes the
a car could fall to fewer than 10. That means GTI feel like it has a much sharper turn-in
less installation space, fewer cables, less than anything this side of a Ferrari. It’s im-
weight. In short: lower costs and greater flex- pressive.
ibility.’ Lower construction costs should Will it go into production? It will, eventu-
mean cars get cheaper to buy even as they be- ally. Bosch is still in the development phase,
come more technologically advanced. but engineers see some of this tech rolling
Bosch isn’t the first to develop by-wire out towards the end of the decade as more car
tech. Throttle-by-wire has been around for makers design the next generation of models.
decades and is now very widespread.
Toyota and Lexus have a steer-by-wire sys- ▲
tem called One Motion Grip coming to Eu-
DOES IT WORK? UNDER PRESSURE
rope in 2025, and Tesla’s Cybertruck has it as Yes. Bosch is cautiously continuing One of the two brake systems
standard. Infiniti had it on the Q50 years ago. trials, but some of this feels ready to go. we try has a fixed pressure pad
Brake-by-wire is the least common of The aim is to make cars easier to drive instead of a moving brake pedal
these systems, its roll-out hampered by con- in some cases, more fun in others. We’ll on a Jaguar i-Pace. Bizarre at first,
cerns over the safety implications. be keeping an eye on developments. but it really works.

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The
300-mile
test
NEW CAR MEETS REAL WORLD
MG CYBERSTER
Rise of the beast

Somewhere between bold and bonkers, the Cyberster is
the MG nobody expected or asked for. An inspired leap
into wild new territory… or just confusing?
Words Ben Whitworth Photography Jordan Butters

Resemblance
to old British
MGs is fanciful.
Nice, though

The 300-mile test MG Cyberster
his is hard to believe. For a car

that seemed like a joke or dread-
ful misunderstanding when it
was first announced, the MG
Cyberster electric roadster is
making a remarkably good job
of blitzing the B974, the Old
Military Road in the southern Cairngorms.
An electric roadster from MG? Priced at more than
£50,000? An electric roadster that seems to be named af-
ter a half-remembered Transformers character?
Park your thoughts about the sensible combustion and
electric cars that make up the bulk of Chinese-owned
MG’s current line-up, and instead focus on the excellent
MG 4 electric hot hatch, and the XPower version that
didn’t quite hit the spot, but showed some ambition.
Viewed through that prism, and bearing in mind MG’s
desire to mark 100 years of MG-badged cars, some of them
sporty roadsters, it perhaps just about makes sense.
The Polestar 6, next-gen Porsche Boxster and BMW Z4
are still a few years off, and the new Tesla Roadster seems
to be a permanent Musk pipe dream. And when those ri-
vals do whirr into showrooms, odds on they’ll be signifi-
cantly more expensive than the MG.
That it should exist at all is weird enough, especially
given other mainstream manufacturers’ reluctance to put
electric two-seaters into production. That it’s really good
fun to drive is another level of unexpected.
A unique car deserves a special setting. The Cairngorm
mountains are sometimes clogged with bikes, caravans
and motor homes; they’re sometimes chilly, damp and
breezy; and sometimes they’re all those things. But today The two-model UK range is refreshingly simple. Both No, Ben, not
they’re deserted and basking in 25ºC summer sunshine use a 74.4kW (usable) battery with a 7kW onboard charger. that sort of
launch control.
beneath big blue skies punctuated with candyfloss clouds. Maximum charging capability is 144kW – nothing special Those are
This should be a no-excuses opportunity for the Cyberster by today’s standards but good enough for a 10 to 80 per doors, not
wings
to shine: if it can’t be a pleasure to drive in weather this cent charge in 38 minutes on a fast charger, or over 10
good, on roads this tempting, then it falls well short. hours on a domestic 7kW wallbox. The rear-wheel-drive
The Cyberster is bigger than it looks, closer to a BMW Trophy costs £54,995 and is powered by a 335bhp/350lb ft
Z4 than a Mazda MX-5, with a long wheelbase of 2690mm motor driving the rear wheels. Performance is brisk – 5.0
and stubby overhangs, underpinned by the same platform seconds to 62mph and a 121mph top speed. It weighs
employed in the MG 4. Its has pleasingly traditional road- 1885kg and its WLTP range is 316 miles.
ster proportions – low, with a long bonnet that looks like it You’ll need just £5000 more to get into to the all-wheel-
could swallow a V8, a snug central cabin beneath a rakish drive flagship £59,995 GT – the most powerful production
screen, and truncated rear. MG ever. I say ‘just’ because that modest step-up gives you
After a fairly protracted gestation period – initial an extra 161bhp and 295lb ft of torque from a second motor
sketches and modelling by MG’s London-based design driving the front axle, and a massive hike in performance
team started in 2017 – the Cyberster was given the green over the Trophy. Power and torque rocket to 496bhp and
light and pushed into production to ensure the car went 535lb ft, the 0-62mph sprint drops to an eyeball-flattening
on sale in 2024, coinciding with MG’s centenary. Hence 3.2sec, and top speed is 125mph. Downsides, cost aside?
the 100th Anniversary badging on the Cyberster’s flanks. Kerbweight climbs 100kg to 1985kg and WLTP range ⊲
Pick-up: 0 miles 42 miles 48 miles

Dynamic Red with Electrically assisted Balmoral, summer
a black fabric roof scissor doors add home to the royal
is an Insta winner. a serious dollop of family, is in the
Other colours: drama, as well as Cairngorms. In 1967
New English White, making it easier to MG gifted an MGC
Camden Grey, get in and out. GT to Prince (now
Cosmic Silver and King) Charles for his
Inca Yellow. 18th birthday.

Graphics and drops to 276 miles. Some context – the 3.2 second time to
animation 62mph matches the McLaren F1. Bonkers.
have been
toned down Wait for those scissor doors to glide up and open, drop
for Europe the one-touch electric fabric roof, and we’re off, threading
our way through North Water Bridge and Fettercairn to
pick up the B974, the Old Military Road.
Initial impressions are mixed. MG claims horizontally
stacking its battery cells means the battery slab itself is a
modest 110mm deep. Despite this the electrically-adjusta-
ble seats feel like they need to be a good two inches lower.
The seat base is fixed and shorter than I would like – it
feels too flatly horizontal and lacking in under-knee sup-
port. And that header rail is very close to my forehead.
These shortcomings are long-grassed by the surprising-
ly good – no, make that excellent – rolling refinement and
ride quality. Roof down at low speeds and the Cyberster’s
cabin is all but silent, creating the sensation of watching a
film with the volume way down. There’s little wind buffet-
ing, barely a murmur from the twin electric motors, the
suspension glides smoothly over the acned roads, the cab-
in doesn’t squeak or rattle, and the well-judged artificial
exhaust noise is a barely audible background thrum.
As we point north towards Bridge of Dye and pick up
the pace, the GT continues to impress. The GT breathes
across the road in a beautifully controlled manner that
Jaguar and Lotus owners will recognise. Body control at
all speeds is excellent. It’s only over really abrupt intru-
sions that you can sense the chassis flexing slightly.
When you add electric steering that’s both quick and 200-mile real-
world range
accurate, brakes that have instant bite, a 50:50 front-to- means it’s okay
rear weight distribution, and more torque than a tractor to go and get lost
rally, the result is a car with a flowing gait that makes ⊲
99 miles 132 miles 144 miles

Key fob nods to Phil Every Cyberster Had to detour
Hill’s Bonneville driver will look around this bridge
record-breaking precisely this after realising our
MG EX181. Its tiny relaxed, thanks to combined weight –
supercharged the standard seven- Cyberster at 1985kg
1506cc engine year, 80,000-mile plus two occupants
made 300bhp and warranty. – easily exceeded
got it to 254.9mph. its limit.

The cabin is all but
silent, like watching
a film with the
volume way down

The poles that The charging After more than
line many of the network can take 200 miles, I wish
roads that cross some of the fun out there were some
the Cairngorms of even the best EV. extra padding – that
are there to mark Endless apps, faulty centre console
them out for chargers, meagre would make a good
snowploughs. No availability etc. knee rest, except
such worries today. it’s too hard.

Roof goes
up and down
with one push
of a button
That’s a lot of
different types
of control

It feels 500kg lighter, There’s an initial chirp from all four tyres and then the
horizon is fast-forwarded into your lap. There’s no let-up
encouraging you to revel either, the MG spearing its way into three-figure speeds
with a ferocity that’s part party-trick hilarity and part
in its ability to cover queasy discomfort.
ground quickly We try it once more. Same gut-churning combination
of serenity and insanity. Bleuch. At least the Brembo
brakes – 365 x 30mm discs gripped by four-piston calipers
up front and 356 x 25mm rear units with single-pot cali-
very pacey cruising across open and undulating roads a pers – bite with confidence-inspiring conviction. There’s a
driver’s pleasure. This is confounding my expectations – pleasingly consistent feel when slowing from even oh-hell
not only is the Cyberster the first to crack this niche, but speeds, with no discernible step between electric regen
it’s done so with a head-turning car that has genuine dy- and mechanical calipers.
namic chops. Kudos to MG UK’s head of engineering Steve We begin to explore further north of Ballater, picking
Garside and his Longbridge-based team of chassis fettlers. up roads that ribbon their way across the Cairngorms Na-
We head west at Strachan and aim for Ballater, the Cy- tional Park before doubling back on the Cairnwell Pass
berster unperturbed by the B976’s wide variety of surfaces, past the Glenshee ski centre. But I also pause to absorb the
stringing together bends and corners with a rewarding Cyberster’s cabin. There’s a lot going on. The instrument
fluidity and poise. Up to a point it hides that 1985kg kerb- nacelle comprises three flat screens, and there’s a fourth
weight incredibly well, sometimes feeling 500kg lighter, on the centre console. The smartphone crispness of the
encouraging you to revel in its ability to cover ground graphics is impressive, and once you’ve spent an hour or so
quickly in a relaxed and composed manner. Go beyond its investigating the system the swipe-and-pinch controls
natural comfort zone, though, and the laws of physics will become equally intuitive. However, my left hand on the
laugh in the face of MG’s engineering nous. wheel obscures the sat-nav screen. And accessing my ⊲
There’s no real reward for rolling up your sleeves and
pushing the Cyberster to extremes. That may work in an
MX-5, Boxster S or Jaguar F-Type, but the MG is not that STILL A BIT BRITISH
kind of car. It’s a two-tonne, four-wheel-drive electric
roadster, and while ever-faster cornering speeds are there It may be produced at SAIC’s All the user electronics
for the taking, this is not a tyre-smoker that can be adjust- Fujian plant in China, but and connectivity – screens,
ed on the throttle. To avoid disappointment, better to much of the Cyberster’s graphics and user interfaces
think of the Cyberster as a grand tourer. development work was done as well as the climate, audio
At Ballater we join the deserted A93 that follows the by MG’s team of 40 and navigation systems –
course of the River Dee through to Balmoral. It’s a good engineers at Longbridge – were revised for UK and
opportunity to muck about with the MG’s four drive the same tight-knit outfit that European markets, as were
modes – Comfort, Custom, Sport and Track – accessed by played a key role in tuning all the safety systems.
the right-hand paddle behind the steering wheel. These the MG 4’s dynamics to A lot of time was spent
tweak the level of steering assistance, accelerator map- appeal to European drivers. testing the MG’s charging
ping, torque distribution between front and rear axles, In 18 months they honed performance across different
and climate control. Comfort is exactly that – a more re- the springs and dampers of domestic and commercial
laxed right pedal, Goldilocks steering assistance, and the double-wishbone front, chargers. The engineering
on-demand four-wheel drive. Sport mode sparks up the multi-link rear suspension, team also found the time to
accelerator, gives less assistance for a heavier steer and en- recalibrated the electric redesign the seats for
gages full-time four-wheel drive. Custom lets you make steering and fitted uprated greater support and
your own selection, and the you’ll-try-it-once Track mode anti-roll bars. They selected long-distance comfort, add a
dials everything up to 11. the Pirelli P Zero Elect tyres, wind-stop to reduce cabin
Time to try the launch control. Sport mode selected, reworked the regen system buffeting, and redesign the
ESC deactivated. Left foot on the brakes, right foot pin- and introduced a one-pedal 249-litre boot’s interior
ning the long-travel accelerator to the floor, wait for the drive mode – a must-have for layout so it can swallow a set
dinky blue space-rocket symbol to appear on the instru- a big, comfortable roadster. of golf clubs.
ment screen and the speedometer to mimic Star Wars hy-
perspace, and then flick your left foot off the brakes.

Time for some MG’s octagonal The UK’s largest
refreshment. badge was ski resort has 36
Super Cuisine in registered as a runs, serviced by
Stonehaven makes trademark by Morris 21 lifts that cover
a nice change from Garages on 1 May 2000 acres across
CAR’s default, the 1924; Cyberster has four mountains and
ubiquitous Greggs. 100th Anniversary three valleys. In the
badging on the sills. summer, sheep.

emails and checking the weather forecast using the men-

us on the right-hand screen while driving seems entirely
unnecessary.
It feels well made, with stitched seams that line-up ac-
curately, pleasant materials used on most touchpoints,
and a pleasing overall coherence. But there are some areas
that jar. There’s an odd mix of controls – the key cli-
mate-control buttons grouped usefully above the central
screen are haptic units, but everything else on the centre
console uses push-pull buttons. The handbrake lever is
oddly positioned down by my right knee, along with an
old-school headlamp levelling dial. I’m not overly keen on
the black fingerprint-magnet finish on the door and roof
buttons, and the PRND selectors are overwrought. The
worst visual offender is the glinting material on the centre
console. There’s a useful netted area behind the seats for
soft bags and jackets, but drivers over six foot would prob-
ably prefer a few more inches of legroom. The centre con-
sole slot for your mobile is a neat touch, though.
We’ve covered a little over 182 miles without the Cyber-
ster giving any reason to worry about its range. A quick
shuffle through the menu on the right-hand screen shows
we’ve averaged 2.6 miles per kWh, a long way off the offi-
cial figure of 3.7 but understandable given how much we’ve
enjoyed the Cyberster’s searing cross-country pace.
We head into picturesque Stonehaven, complete with
children swimming in the harbour, the waft of fish and
chips, and countless wheeling gulls. It’s the birthplace of
Robert Thomson, who in 1847 patented the pneumatic
PLUS tyre. Using Zapmap we hunt down the only fast charger
Looks; pace; ride we can find – a 44kW unit operated by ChargePlace Scot-
quality
land. Shouldn’t have bothered.
MINUS
After waiting ages to download its charging app and
Messy variety of then entering my personal and banking details thrice be-
controls; poor fore they are accepted, the app then crashes. Bloody bril-
legroom for taller liant. Electric grand touring starts to look less like a great
drivers idea. So it’s south along the coast to Montrose to top up
using a 160kW For:Ev charger (the names they choose…)
A LT E R N AT I V E S before returning to the Cairngorms to chase the setting
sun in a car that becomes more engaging and enjoyable
with each mile. A successful day.
Cars arrive in dealerships in August. David Allison,
MG’s head of product and planning, is under no illusions
about the upmarket push the roadster represents. ‘It’s a big
step for us,’ he tells me. ‘Up to this point the most expen-
sive MG on sale in the UK was the £36,495 MG 4 X Power.
Jaguar F-Type 75 But the Cyberster is a true halo model for us.’
Old-school roadster
a fine mix of brawn, Its connection with old British-built MGs is a stretch,
refinement and but the Cyberster is an excellent grand tourer. It’s way bet-
engaging dynamics ter than it needs to be, a car that can confidently stand on
its own. Yes, there are digital gimmicks and ergonomic
quirks, but the engineering fundamentals of this car are
impressively sound. It offers a grand touring experience
that is unlike anything else currently available, and will do
for some time to come. Hats off to MG. We’re very glad the
Cyberster exists. Even if it does sound like it’s named after
a villain in a Michael Bay blockbuster.
BMW Z4 M40i
More Saga cruiser
than apex nailer, Next month:
majoring on
refinement and VOLVO EX90
manners ALL-ELECTRIC FLAGSHIP SUV TESTED

It’s way better than it
needs to be, a car that can
confidently stand on its own
PRICE POWERTRAIN PERFORMANCE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY ON SALE R AT I N G

£59,995 (GT) 74.4kWh battery, twin 496bhp, 535lb ft, 1985kg 3.7 miles per kWh Now ★★★★★
electric motors, 3.2sec 0-62mph, (official; 2.6
Data all-wheel drive 125mph tested), 276-mile
range (official; 193
tested), 0g/km
SEPTEMBER 2024 | SUBSCRIBE TO CAR! WWW.GREATMAGAZINES.CO.UK 37

The weight that
keeps the Buzz
stable at speed
works against it
in the corners

First drives
V W ID. BUZZ GT X
Lost in space
Volkswagen’s sportier MPV is trying to be a lot of things at once
There's a reason the retro performance
electric MPV is a class of one. It’s a job de-
scription that asks a vehicle to be a lot of
things at the same time: roomy, rapid, cool, THE FIRST HOUR
comfortable, clean and ideally affordable. 1 minutes
The new ID. Buzz GTX is VW’s attempt to Three rows of seats
answer this rarely-asked question. It’s a par- makes the boot too
small for a family
tial success. When the price is announced of six to use for a
just before UK deliveries commence this au- weekend away
tumn, we might be pleasantly surprised and
declare it to be a better package than we 2 minutes
Still feels quite van-
currently think, based on a day of driving in Red flashes and great seats are just for GTX like in here, but the
the Hannover area. But if it comes in at the new seats are very
anticipated £70,000 (and that’s before you Buzz. This is great for making it feel com- comfortable
start adding extras) then we shall remain posed at high speeds, but a little unnerving 16 minutes
disappointed. when you’re threading it down a twisty Autobahn. Foot
It arrives as part of an overhaul of the ID. B-road. You always need to work the steer- down. And… it’s not
that fast, tailing off
Buzz range. There are various changes to ing wheel harder than seems natural. from about 60mph
infotainment and battery choices across the The weight that helps keep the Buzz sta-
line-up. But the biggest differences are the ble at high speeds works against it in the 20 minutes
arrival of a long-wheelbase option, and the corners. Enter a bend at what would be a It’s quiet, though,
cutting cleanly
addition of a sportier GTX version, available sensible velocity for a normal car, and the through the air
with either the long or short wheelbase. weight of the battery will throw itself onto for something
The wheelbase increases by 250mm, the front tyres, making them howl. so slabby in
appearance
which adds new possibilities for the cabin The brakes aren’t great, with a vague
layout: regular five seats, or a six-seater in- pedal action. That said, you hardly ever 56 minutes
volving three rows of two seats (and less bag need to use the GTX’s proper brakes. Be- Much better on
space), or a long-wheelbase seven-seater. cause it has an extra motor on the front axle, motorway than
twisty roads (feels
The GTX in short-wheelbase form has a VW has been able to dial up the regenerative heavy) or in town
new 79kWh battery, while the long-wheel- braking – and that’s now powerful enough (that vague brake
base version gets 86kWh. All GTXs are all- to stop the Buzz on its own in most cases, pedal)
wheel drive. There’s also a new design of just by lifting your foot off the accelerator.
seat, and red flashes to remind you that Inside, the GTX is a step up visually, and
there’s a significant power upgrade. the standard seats are more comfortable
The GTX is at its happiest on the motor- then those in the basic Buzz, but do choose
way, where you enjoy the comfortable seats, your version carefully; the combination of
the suspension doing a good job of isolating three rows of seats and short wheelbase PLUS
the cabin from road noise, and that enor- leaves you with very little luggage capacity. Faster than a
standard Buzz;
mous 413lb ft of torque ensuring there’s And if you don’t want luggage capacity, why more comfortable
loads in reserve for overtaking. buy any Buzz? seats; additional
On pockmarked surfaces the chassis can LUKE WILKINSON equipment
get into an undulating rhythm, rocking be-
tween the front and rear axles as it tries to First verdict MINUS
control the enormous heft of the battery Doesn’t handle
A missed opportunity, with some as well as a
pack. Corners can be a challenge too. VW promising elements combining into a Transit; three-row
has given the GTX more power, but it has package that doesn’t quite make sense SWB models
the same slow steering rack as the standard ★★★★★ have small boots
Not just any PRICE POWERTRAIN PERFORMANCE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY ON SALE

old electric £70,000 (est) 79kWh, twin electric 335bhp, 413lb ft, 2495kg (est) 3.0 miles per Autumn
MPV, a sporty motors, all-wheel 6.1sec 0-62mph, kWh (est), range
electric MPV Data drive 130mph 250 miles (est),
0g/km CO2

First drives
LAMBORGHINI URUS SE
Urus meets ULEZ

Hybrid assistance makes the SE the most powerful Urus ever
Here’s the figure that tells you what you need
to know about the new plug-in hybrid version
of the Urus: the Lamborghini SUV will reach
125mph from zero in 11.2sec, or 1.3sec faster THE FIRST HOUR
than the Performante. The Performante, 5 minutes
you’ll recall, is the lower, firmer, wilder, Through the camo
track-friendly version of the Urus. So al- you can tell the
facelift does a great
though the SE will soon be the only Urus job of refreshing a
available, as the Performante and S disappear six-year-old car
from the range, the move to electrification is
15 minutes
clearly not about Lamborghini going soft. Overkill interior. Not
The other key statistic is not yet available, More tech telling you you’re going very fast everything in here
but the SE will end up with one of those is as intuitive as the
WLTP combined fuel economy figures, along cent increase (compared to the original Urus) drive mode selector
with a drastically reduced CO2 output, that in cooling air to the engine, and 30 per cent to 25 minutes
puts the Lamborghini on the right side of the brakes. Take in the noise
various tax and emissions restrictions, even Inside, the dashboard is busier and more (third gear, full
throttle) and
though figures obtained on our test drive in colourful than before, with bigger screens the smell (hot
Lapland in a pre-production SE suggest that and a quite complex driver interaction. engine, melting
without frequent stops for recharging the There’s a more broadly calibrated and gen- Bridgestones,
battery the actual fuel economy will be as erally more versatile suspension set-up. The fuming Brembo
brake pads)
poor as it always is when you combine a switchable anti-roll bars, the rear-wheel
twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 with a heavy body. steering and the brake intervention work in a 35 minutes
The Urus SE has an electric motor in the more progressive and better integrated man- ESP off, Max
Performance
housing of the eight-speed automatic trans- ner. Especially on low-friction turf, the SE is on. Wild yet not
mission, and squeezed into the cavity above more playful yet more controlled, more ag- dangerous
the rear axle is a 25.9kWh lithium-ion battery. gressive yet more forgiving.
55 minutes
In EV mode, the Urus SE can travel at up to The underlying sporty handling is at all Sends out the odd
81mph; go slower and the maximum elec- times ensured by a subtle rear torque bias wrong message,
tric-only range is 37 miles. that becomes stronger as you flick through but is a seriously
The huge power – a combined 789bhp and the 11 driving programmes. The self-levelling capable rival to the
world’s finest SUVs
701lb ft at its peak – is distributed to the four air suspension offers a wide span of settings,
wheels via a new centrally positioned, longi- from a 75mm lift in off-road mode to a 15mm
tudinally mounted electronic differential. four-wheel drop in Corsa.
Despite a kerbweight of 2405kg, it can slam A price of £258,000 is a lot for an SUV that
itself in a claimed 3.4sec from zero to 62mph, isn’t that much faster than the top-of-the-
gaining one tenth over the S but losing one line Cayenne or the Audi RS Q8. But even
PLUS
tenth to the Performante. more so than its rivals, Lamborghini is selling
The switch to PHEV is not the only values like prestige and, most of all, emotion. A soundtrack to
die for; easy to
change, as the SE is also significantly facelift- GEORG KACHER drive fast;
ed. The bonnet now has a ‘floating’ look, plus amazing
new matrix LED headlights, bumper and presence
First verdict
grille. At the back there’s a new diffuser and
MINUS
the number plate is mounted lower. The rear A wild tarmac peeler that stimulates all
Super expensive;
mesh is a nod to the Gallardo. the senses, but the PHEV won’t close weighs too much;
Rear downforce has increased by up to 35 the hole in the ozone layer still thirsty;
per cent at high speed, and there’s a 15 per ★★★★★ cluttered cockpit
PRICE POWERTRAIN PERFORMANCE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY ON SALE You won’t be

£258,000 25.9kWh battery, 789bhp @ 6000rpm, 2405kg n/a mpg, n/a g/ Late 2024 shocked to hear
3996cc twin-turbo 32v 701lb ft @ 2250rpm, km CO2, electric they’re working on
Data V8, PHEV, eight-speed 3.4sec 0-62mph, range 37 miles an even wilder one
auto, all-wheel drive 188mph

It’s more playful yet
more controlled,
more aggressive yet
more forgiving

First drives
A S TO N M A RTI N VA LOU R
Brutal truth
Limited-edition Aston Martin winds the clock back with a manual V12
‘That’s it. I want one.’ We’ve gone all of 10
yards but just one cog swap in the Aston
Martin Valour is all it takes to make
everything feel right with the world. THE FIRST HOUR
It’s the particular nature of the gearch- 1 minute
ange that’s important. Because it’s one It’s high summer in
manual cog swap, connected with actual the Cotswolds and
the tourists only
metal to the rarity of a V12 engine, handily have eyes for the
wrapped in a bespoke body and yours for Aston
the sum of £1.5m plus options. It’s a welcome
2 minutes
poke in the eye of logic: Sense and Sensibility First gearshift feels
be damned, Leaving Las Vegas here we come. Carbonfibre’s used everywhere in the cabin gloriously slick,
The Valour is Aston’s 110th birthday pres- like a knife cutting
ent to itself, with a corresponding number no rev-matching on downshifts – instead, through treacle
being made and, as is often the way with heel-and-toe is required, thankfully made 5 minutes
these things, all sold out. Based on the previ- easy by the pedal spacing. The nose bites well
ous Vantage, the Valour has the twin-turbo And while 705bhp is a lot of push, these into the first proper
corner. Mechanical
V12 from that car, and indeed the DBS, only days many EVs offer similarly high outputs. limited-slip diff not
this time with 15bhp more power thanks to What those electric performance cars can’t called for today
some recalibration work. match is the physicality of the Aston, the
The Valour sticks with rear-wheel drive various parts combining to transcend the 30 minutes
Finally, a straight
but gets a new stainless-steel exhaust, with on-paper stats. Think Renaissance, not Sili- with zero traffic.
a 1mm wall thickness to make it sound con Valley. Pace is good and
sharper and save weight. It reminds me of historic racers, with a turbo lag feels
deliciously 2015
Other changes include a unique steering lovely roll around the hips as you turn in,
and damper tune, and there’s extra torsional giving a sense of movement without being 55 minutes
rigidity thanks to fuel-tank bracing and alarming. It’s balanced, with every system Clutch pedal’s
surprisingly light.
re-engineered shear panels front and rear. A complementing the next. The gearbox has a For all the car’s
lot of this has been learnt from the V12 Van- longer throw than the fine manual in the visual muscularity,
tage but given a unique tweak for the Valour. Honda Civic Type R but that’s no bad thing the controls are
The interior has also been updated but as it gives breathing space for the turbos to delicate
the fundamentals remain old, meaning an- spool up before you want the next ratio.
cient infotainment systems and compro- The Valour isn’t class-leading in any one
mised packaging. area. The electrically assisted steering can’t
It’s a reminder of how old-school this car compete with a McLaren’s feel and the sus-
is at heart, which Aston claims is deliberate. pension lacks the sophisticated balance be-
The way the controls respond to your inputs tween ride and handling that modern twin-
and the noise from the V12 combine to make valve dampers give. But the sum of the parts
the Valour quite a multi-sensory experience. is quite sensational.
It’s not dominated by the V12. There’s PIERS WARD PLUS
enough power to get it skipping about under Involvement; well
full throttle but the guttural roar of the 12 weighted
First verdict controls
cylinders doesn’t become all-enveloping.
It’s not a peaky engine. The turbos come Brutal and brilliant. V12 manual Valour is MINUS
on song from 2000rpm and get interesting a throwback to a previous generation of Infotainment’s
from 3000rpm, so it’s easy to slot it into Astons and all the better for it very 2005; looks
sixth and let the torque do the work. There’s ★★★★★ aren’t to all tastes
Retro
PRICE POWERTRAIN PERFORMANCE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY ON SALE European
From 5203cc 48v 705bhp @ 7000rpm, 1780kg 18.7mpg, Now muscle
£1,500,000 twin-turbo V12, 555lb ft @ 1800rpm, 340g/km CO2 (sold out) inspired the
Data six-speed manual, 3.4sec 0-62mph, (est) styling
rear-wheel drive 207mph (est)

There’s a great
physicality, the
parts combining
to transcend the
on-paper stats

First drives
P O R S C H E C AY E N N E G T S
This badge never lies

True to tradition, the new GTS is the best Cayenne to drive
You don’t need a racetrack or an empty auto-
bahn to make this Cayenne shine, but it
helps. Where else might you relish the re-
markable top speed of 171mph, which belies THE FIRST HOUR
the vehicle’s 2190kg kerbweight, marvel at 10 minutes
the awesome full-throttle fifth- and sixth- Front seats
gear punch, or accelerate from zero to with integrated
headrests don’t
125mph in a stellar 16.7sec? give the best
And yet maximum velocity and slingshot shoulder and thigh
dynamics are not the overriding strengths support
of the new Porsche. After all, the 468bhp 12 minutes
Cayenne S is merely 1mph less fast overall Wonderfully quick on just about any road Racetex, black
than the 494bhp GTS, and it only gets nar- leather, charcoal
rowly beaten to 62mph. The V6-engined adjustable. Chassis changes include 10mm fabric and red
stitching spell GTS.
512bhp S E-Hybrid matches the GTS in the lower ride height, quicker steering calibra- It still works
stopwatch duel, and the new range-topper is tion, anti-roll bars to match and front axle
more expensive than either. It’s thirsty too. hubs that increase negative camber for a 20 minutes
The smaller
The Coupe version costs £1600 more sharper turn-in and extra cornering grip. steering wheel, the
than the SUV, but it is the wiser buy. It’s bet- The driving experience is guaranteed to accelerator and
ter equipped, with a panoramic glass roof, put a smile on your face. True, the high-end the brake pedal
and only this version can be had with a Cayenne is quite a bit more expensive than feel like natural,
fully connected
choice of three different lightweight packs rivals like the Audi SQ8 or the BMW X5 extensions of the
which in total reduce the body fat by 25kg. M60i, but it’s more compelling on B-roads, human body
The 4.0-litre V8 of the 2025 GTS gains and a more committed high-speed cruiser.
31 minutes
40bhp and 30lb ft over the previous model. The roadholding is phenomenal, even in Long live the V8!
The twin-turbo layout is retained, but the the wet. Controllability and playfulness This is great
twin-scroll chargers are replaced by a forge a safe and entertaining pact, and ex-
58 minutes
monoscroll design. Also new is two-phase treme deceleration is so fierce it almost As autobahn
intake valve lift, aimed at improved low- hurts. The snappy tip-in and awesome mid- warrior, the GTS
rpm efficiency and high-rpm performance. to high-load punch open up a broader and has no rival
A cylinder-selective exhaust valve timing more emotional speed band. this side of a
Lamborghini Urus.
system, plus faster-responding wastegates, Like the GTS versions of 911 and Panam- But that’s not all it’s
higher fuel injection pressure of 350bar and era, the Cayenne GTS neatly plugs the gap good for
a step-up in maximum boost complete the between S and Turbo. The steep asking
powerplant upgrades. The transfer case is price and the considerable thirst don’t help
now water-cooled, to improve consistency its case, but as soon as you start that vocal
of performance in gruelling conditions. V8 and push the stubby in-dash gear selec-
PLUS
The GTS comes with dual-chamber tor, emotion promptly beats reason, and
adaptive air suspension and rear-biased you’ll be hooked for good. Scalpel-sharp
steering;
torque vectoring, but you’ll pay extra for the GEORG KACHER velcro-strap
desirable rear-wheel steering, active roadholding;
anti-roll bars, the brutally effective riveting brakes;
First verdict astonishing ride
carbon-ceramic brakes and the pretty,
comfort
satin-finish 22in RS Spyder wheels. The one Great to drive. But you can save a
option we strongly recommend is the more bundle by opting for the barely inferior MINUS
supportive seats, because the standard kit is S or the more frugal S E-Hybrid Expensive; needs
too short in the cushion and insufficiently ★★★★★ extra-cost seats
Coupe costs more

PRICE POWERTRAIN PERFORMANCE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY ON SALE but is the better
£107,700 3996cc 32v 494bhp @ 6000rpm, 2190kg 21.2-22.4mpg, Now package, unless
(Coupe) twin-turbo V8, 487lb ft @ 2100rpm, 287-303g/km you really need
Data eight-speed auto, 4.4sec 0-62mph, CO2 the boot space
all-wheel drive 171mph

Like the GTS versions
of the Panamera
and 911, the Cayenne
GTS plugs the gap
between S and Turbo

First drives
ALFA ROMEO JUNIOR
Quick change artistry

After its last-minute name rethink, we get to drive Alfa’s new hot EV
Too many manufacturers focus on accelera-
tion times, but Alfa Romeo is chasing a dif-
ferent number: weight. The Junior’s 1590kg
kerbweight is 200kg less than some compet-
itors, 90kg less than a Mini Cooper SE and
not much more than a combustion hot
hatch. That weight wouldn’t have been pos-
sible with a twin-motor, all-wheel-drive set-
up, so the Veloce has been kept delightfully
simple: one motor, front-wheel drive.
It’s a win all round, as the extra weight of a
more complex car would inevitably have
harmed its energy consumption and range,
and probably not for any real gain.
The Junior, you’ll recall, was originally
going to be called Milano, until a political
row prompted a change of name to some-
thing that didn’t imply it was made in Italy. Optional sports seats won’t be appreciated by rear passengers
It’s being referred to as Junior, but in fact it’s
called the Junior Elettrica, emphasising that dulls throttle response and limits torque, so
it’s only available as an EV. There are three I’m soon back to Natural, which feels perkier
versions: Elettrica, Elettrica Speciale and but doesn’t do anything to the regen, which
the car we’re testing here, the range-topping isn’t particularly strong unless you select B THE FIRST HOUR
Elettrica 280 Veloce. mode on the gear selector, and it’s nowhere 1 minute
Its 52kWh battery pack is shared with near one-pedal driving. Even so, you can feel Optional Sabelt
other Junior Elettricas and other cars that it pulsing under foot when you’re braking buckets feel good,
if a fraction too high
use the Stellantis group’s e-CMP platform. hard, but before the ABS triggers.
However, a new motor produces a chunky It’s interesting to compare this with what 6 minutes
276bhp that’s channelled to the tarmac via a happens when you’re in Dynamic mode, Controls all nicely
proper mechanical limited-slip differential. where regen is switched off entirely, so you responsive
Track width is up, ride height down and it get a proper uncorrupted feel and none of 15 minutes
wears 20-inch alloys to cover bigger brakes that under-foot weirdness. It’s a trait that I’m aiming at
with four-piston calipers up front. can hopefully be engineered out with the potholes to check
the ride out. It
There’s more. A new steering box gives a last few bits of tuning needed on this late copes well
much quicker ratio and there’s a new torsion pre-production car.
beam out back. All four corners get re- Dynamic mode also fully uncorks the 46 minutes
Despite my best
worked springs and dampers with hydraulic electric motor and puts the stability control efforts, the brakes
bumpstops, all dialled in by the team rein a less meddling mood. If you up the pace remain strong
sponsible for the Giulia Quadrifoglio and and start to work the brakes and differential
GTA. It shows. a bit harder, the car can feel enjoyably lively 52 minutes
A warm glow –
Our test included time on the Langhe for a few moments before the electronic unfamiliar in an
circuit at the Balocco proving ground. Don’t support systems rein you back in. It’s a chas- electric crossover
think of this as a racetrack but as an intense sis that’s alive and fleet of foot. Entering a
compression of just about every type of road tight bend enthusiastically I feel the inside
surface you’ll come across. It’s designed to rear wheel lift momentarily before I get back
reveal weaknesses and shortcomings, but on the power and experience the diff doing PLUS
here the Veloce shines. its thing: making the most of the available Good fun;
The steering is refreshingly light, and at power and slinging you towards the inside feelsome brakes;
2.6 turns lock-to-lock it reacts to inputs of a corner. The relatively soft suspension comfort
quickly but not nervously. Murmurs of the allows moderate roll in the bends if you’re Impressively
MINUS
road’s texture can be felt through the wheel, making haste, but to a lesser degree than light by today’s
Limited range; standards –
but the odd pothole is absorbed easily with you’d experience in an alternative such as cramped rear and yes, you
some well-judged damping. the Volvo EX30 or Smart #1. seats; interior can feel it
The Advanced Efficiency drive mode We reach part of the test route designed ⊲ quality not ideal

If you up the pace and start to
work the brakes and differential,
the car can feel enjoyably light

Cornering
ability
untroubled by
poor surfaces
Some materials
that are good to
the touch, some
that aren’t

Few relatively
affordable EVs
drive this well
Yes, it’s based on a shared Stellantis der the bonnet for it. The rear bench folds in
a 60/40 split, which is useful.
platform – but it’s been set up for drivers So, all good? Cars on the e-CMP platform
don’t tend to offer a long range, and by up-
who appreciate the Alfa way of doing things ping power to 276bhp and wheel size to 20
inches the Veloce doesn’t buck this trend.
to challenge ride comfort, including some step on from the dated system found in the The official WLTP range is 207 miles, but
unevenly paved sections and nasty ridges. I Giulia and Stelvio. expect to knock a fair chunk off that in the
hear the rear suspension working away be- With the Junior range likely to start well real world. Driving reasonably gently, I get a
hind me, yet there’s no jiggle or shake. Nasty below £30,000 it’s inevitable that there are best of 3.6 miles per kWh, enough for a cal-
knobbles are rounded off adroitly, which hard plastics, although they could have been culated 181 miles of range. Rapid charging is
bodes well for how the Veloce should cope hidden better. Crucially, the steering wheel at a max of 100kW, fast enough for a 20 to 80
when it reaches UK roads later this year. feels good with its alcantara and leather per cent time of just under 30 minutes.
The brakes also give the driver confidence coating, as do most other areas you interact The circus surrounding the change of
here. You soon realise you can leave your with regularly. Space up front is fine, al- name will surely soon be forgotten now that
braking later and later, certain that the though our test car’s optional Sabelt sports we’ve actually driven the car and discovered
stoppers are going to slow you down power- seats encroach into legroom for those in the to our surprise that there’s something far
fully and predictably. back. There isn’t a lot of headroom for adult more interesting to talk about: how very
Yes, the car is based on a shared Stellantis rear-seat passengers, either. good the Junior Veloce is. It’s a car that relies
platform – but it’s been set up for drivers The boot is a class-appropriate 400 litres, on raw ingredients that appear elsewhere,
who appreciate the Alfa way of doing things, and you don’t need to clutter it up with the but here they’ve been assembled with intel-
and who want every journey to be a pleas- charging cable that’s provided as standard ligence and flair, and finessed with a deep
ure. Similarly, the cabin uses some recognis- on the Veloce, as there’s just about room un- understanding of Alfa tradition.
able Stellantis components (stalks, gear se- We reckon there’s something a bit special
lector, drive mode selector), but lashings of about how the Veloce drives, something
Alfaness, too. The twin cowls over the digi- that’s been missing from so many perfor-
tal instrument cluster are a nice nod to Alfa mance-focused electric cars: delicacy.
tradition, as is the liberal use of alcantara, ALAN TAYLOR-JONES
and the way the whole cabin is subtly driv-
er-orientated. The presence of actual toggle
switches for temperature control is worth
First verdict
celebrating, too. Proof you don’t need a sub-4.0sec
The 10.25-inch central touchscreen is im- 0-62mph to make a thoroughly
pressively responsive, with sharp graphics entertaining electric all-rounder
and straightforward navigation. It’s a huge ★★★★★
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A-Ford-able fun Kacher, Green, et al), and the present

What are you doing to us? After crop are pretty good, but in the July
Letter months of believing the magazine edition Stephen Bayley surpassed
of the will soon be renamed Electric Car and them with his treatise on – of all
I will be cancelling my subscription things – the Ford Transit.
month after 30-plus years, you come out What a great article. It brought
with the July issue. Wow. back memories of being a young man
Aston Vantage, Ferrari vs McLaren on leave from the merchant navy,
and the performance Ford fest. Who helping my dad’s business by driving
doesn’t love Fords of old? I certainly a Transit all over North Wales deliv-
do, as 28 of my 35 years in the retail ering white goods.
motor trade were spent with Ford. With the ‘characterful’ 2.0-litre V4
Great memories of wonderful per- up front, our short-wheelbase Tran-
formance cars from the 3.0 Capri to sit was a joy to hustle along some of
the Escort Cosworth, but also the that area’s great roads when empty. A
If you have to ask, more mundane ones. I had one of the total revelation compared to the VW
very first Fiestas on the road in and BMC vans we had before. Boy
you can’t afford it March 1977, just like the one pictured that van could handle.
but in Le Mans green. In 1982 some friends and I went to
I am sure that Ben Miller and James Dennison I also spent quite a few years with Spain for five weeks in a long-wheel-
and your other road testers have absolutely Vauxhall and would love to see simi- base twin-wheel-rear-axle V4 mini-
spotless driving records (ha ha ha) but how lar articles on SRi Astras, Cavaliers bus that we kitted out ourselves.
does anyone get enough liability coverage in and Vectras as well as the Lotus That one showed its utilitarian capa-
case something happens to your $3.3 million Carlton and VX220. What about bilities; in nearly 4000 miles it never
Pagani (the Utopia was driven in the June issue Vauxhall motorsport as well? Gerry missed a beat.
by James Dennison, just three month after Marshall and John Cleland stories Bryn Owen
Piers Ward drove the Codalunga in the March could fill an issue.
issue) or any of your other multi-million-dollar Please let us petrolheads have The four ovals
test cars? more issues like the July one. About 15 years ago I worked briefly as
Do all your testers have as part of their con- Phil Darby a car salesman for a Ford dealership
tracts an agreement to sell their organs on the and had to visit the Henry Ford Col-
black market in order to pay the deductible Van guard lege periodically for training. On one
portion of the test vehicle insurance policy? As a long-time subscriber I have over visit we were informed that the
Peter Egan the years read in this magazine the Mondeo was now competing directly
words of some great writers (Se- with Audi! Laughably, this was be-
Before anyone can join the CAR team, we tright, Barker, Llewellin, Bulgin, cause nappa leather was now an op-
have to spend five years in a monastery in
the Himalayas, whipping ourselves with
birch twigs and fasting, in order to store up
some favours with the higher powers. It’s
worth it. CO
Generations
of drivers
love old Fords

tion, so in Ford’s eyes they were now
the same.
In an attempt to convince us, the
college had lined up a fleet of Monde-
os and Audi A4s for us to drive back
to back. I was paired with what
turned out to be a dyed-in-the-wool
Ford salesman from another dealer-
ship who took great offence at my
suggestion that Ford was completely
out of its depth in believing it had an
Audi alternative, even suggesting I
was ‘in the wrong job’. It took him
just 200 yards of driving the Audi be-
fore he ruefully admitted that I did
have a point after all.
That Ford thought it okay to still
prop up the bonnet with a metal
stick, compared to the gas struts of a It doesn’t pass laws and regulations to achieve Falling short
prestige car, was evidence that they have to be the that goal. It’s not often that I take exception to
quickest or the
just didn’t understand the prestige lightest to be And, as Colin Overland pointed a new car that I’ve never driven. But
market. Ford never did manage to the most fun out in a footnote to that letter, the the Genesis GV70 that was until re-
compete with Audi, or any other experience of using BEVs is good. A cently being run in Our Cars by Ben
prestige car marque, and eventually bit different to combustion cars, and Oliver somehow rubbed me up the
dropped the Mondeo altogether. not perfect, but combustion cars are wrong way.
And neither did they learn any- not perfect either, but fine. Maybe it’s to do with the fake-old
thing from the experience, if Ford Writing from Norway, where styling and detailing. That kind of
CEO Jim Farley believes ‘We can take more than 80 per cent of new cars unearned heritage feels like a lazy
on Porsche with Mustang’ (inter- sold are now BEVs, we simply do not shortcut to credibility, but I suspect it
view, July 2024). know what all the fuss is about. Just fools no one. This from a company
Nick Burnham get on with it, and try to apply a co- with some excellent design talent on
herent, consistent and pragmatic ap- the books.
Get real proach. Soon! Maybe it’s the unremarkable per-
I don’t know whether to be bemused John Cantrill formance. Its pace and its economy
or annoyed by the opinions of Rich- seem very so-so. From the people
ard Whitton (Letters, May) regarding Swift vs Clio who brought you the i30 N.
moves to increase use of BEVs. In the past three issues of the maga- It brings out the part of me that
Yes, climate change is real. Yes, we zine (May-July) you have reported on comes over all censorious. The same
all do need to stop emitting CO2 (and 24 cars in the First Drives section. part that will listen to a radio station
other greenhouse gases) as quickly as Only three of those reviews have playing new music and I’ll dismiss
possible. Yes, Britain was a major been of cars that cost less than £40k: everything as either bland or deriva-
contributor to the cumulative CO2 the Suzuki Swift, Skoda Kodiaq and tive. Probably says much more about
levels in the atmosphere. As a result, Dacia Duster. me and my age than about Genesis or
yes, those countries which are now While acknowledging this reflects the wider Hyundai group, but the
the biggest contributors to climate the current state of the car market frustration is that they clearly can do
change do expect us to contribute to and not your editorial policy, this better.
solving the problem. context explains why your test of Willy Smith
And so, yes, we do need to transi- eight superminis in the latest issue
tion to using little or no fossil fuels, Genesis: will it was so refreshing. Although its focus Manual for the people
falter like Infiniti
asap. And, yes, democratically elect- or boom like on fun sells the capability of the su- What on earth has Gavin Green got
ed governments do have the right to Cupra? permini short, it was a good read and against learner drivers? Some time
a relief to see attention focused on ago he wrongly suggested that the ⊲
the lower end of the new-car market.
It was also reassuring that your
winner was the cheapest and sec-
Have your say:
ond-slowest-accelerating of the cars VIA EMAIL
[email protected]
on test, proving yet again that the
fun factor bears little relation to VIA TWITTER
price, power or outright speed. @CARmagazine
It was also very interesting to find
the Clio victorious given the Swift’s VIA FACEBOOK
facebook.com/CARmagazine
weight advantage (16 per cent lighter
than the Clio) and Suzuki’s track re- VIA POST
cord in building fun superminis. CAR, Media House, Lynch Wood,
More of this please! Peterborough, PE2 6EA
Thomas Chetwood

Opinion
driving test should be made even Alfa Romeo Giulietta hasn’t either in
harder and now (column, July) he’s 102,000 miles, and can get me to the
suggesting that learners are lazy for airport and back without stopping
switching to automatics for their for charging, a delay that gets glibly
driving test and abandoning the described as a welcome Starbucks
manual gearbox. break far too often and easily. And
As a driving instructor with over 15 that VW has lost almost 40 per cent
years’ experience (teaching manual) I of its value in six months!
can tell you the reality is that many An £80k Genesis seems to justify
learners are ahead of the curve. fears that it was always destined for
They have been told over the past Infiniti levels of success. An £86k
decade of a golden electric future, in Mercedes-Benz cannot do 200 miles
which you won’t even be able to buy a without a recharge at premium rates.
fossil-fuelled car with a manual And a Vauxhall Astra underwhelms;
gearbox by 2030. So why learn to any Astra at £43k is likely to under-
drive something that’s going to be il- Forget manual. the latest literature, some of which whelm most people.
legal in just over five years’ time and No gearlever would be a real challenge to find, or The only one I’m really looking
means more
is apparently less environmentally room for your to receive a package from one of my forward to reading more of is the
friendly than EVs? phone many overseas ‘swappers’. Clio – £17,995 of real value for a pri-
Whether politicians will actually I know this is not the reason man- vate buyer. If Renault can make
deliver that plan is another question. ufacturers produce brochures, and I money in this part of the market,
But please don’t blame the learners appreciate the expense, but they ac- why couldn’t Ford with the Fiesta?
for the shambles that awaits them. tually do a great job of showing the Roger Carr
Mike Chandler development of the automobile.
My second angle is that I am a sales Don’t go
Surely learning to operate a manager at a multi-franchise new- I share Ben Whitworth’s consterna-
manual would give a new driver a car dealership. When we are asked tion, expressed elegantly in Our Cars
greater understanding of the for a brochure, a daily occurrence, in the last couple of issues, at the im-
relationship between car, driver some customers go into meltdown pending demise of the Jaguar F-Type.
and road, wouldn’t it? Similarly, when we can only offer a PDF or link I don’t own one, and I suspect the
spending a year or two on a to a website. There is a genuine desire steep cost of a new or approved-used
moped or scooter before taking to take physical literature away to example will rule it out, but I did
to four wheels makes you keenly study, with many purchasers keeping once own one of its predecessors, an
aware of the difference the road their brochure as part of the docu- XK convertible, and loved it.
surface makes. Perhaps a licence ment pack for their car, along with That had to go because it wasn’t
needs to be earned? CO service history, MoT certificates etc. practical for my family circumstanc-
It’s also useful for us to refer back es at the time. I would have bought a
Prints of wails to the old brochures to remind our- five-door Jaguar to replace it if there
While on holiday I’m catching up selves of specs, technical data and
with the last few months of your (al- colour names – not so easy online,
ways excellent) magazine and have when the old web pages are removed.
just read the letter from Simon I understand the desire of manu-
Stocks in your June issue relating to facturers to be environmentally
the lack of car brochures these days. friendly, but many of them still insist
I come at this subject from two on printing glossy ‘lifestyle’ maga-
angles. Firstly, since I was about eight zines and accessory brochures, even
(I’m now in my late 50s) I have collect- though the internet would be far
ed brochures from every brand, on better suited to this.
every model, from any country and But where’s the
estate version
John Beckingham 5 MOST READ STORIES ON
CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK
in any language. It was always a of the F-Type, 1 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
pleasure to go out and collect a pile of Jaguar? Not ‘our’ cars, actually estate review: still want
While I usually enjoy the Our Cars that SUV?
feature, I have to say that I found the
July issue’s edition instructive, but 2 Aurus Senat: Russia’s
luxury car Putin has
perhaps not in the way you intended. given to Kim Jong Un
Maybe, after nearly 50 years of
readership, I’m not typical of current 3 Knocking on heaven’s
CAR readers, but spending ‘mid to door: we cross the Alps
in a Fiat Topolino
high £20k’ on a weekend car is not a
realistic prospect for most of us. 4 Lucid Air review:
A 542bhp Bentley is underpow- welcome to EV 2.0 – we
ered? The automotive equivalent of drive Euro-spec model
‘overheard in Waitrose’.
5 Ford Explorer review:
A £69k VW MPV is effectively a tall heritage rebooted for
saloon that needed no unscheduled the EV age
dealer visit in 11,000 miles? My 2017

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EDITORIAL
Editor
Ben Miller
Group editor
Phil McNamara
Deputy editor
Piers Ward
had been an appealing option on of- There must be ways there. I can’t conceive of a life Production editor
fer at the time, but there wasn’t. some indicators without dogs, and I must rule out any Colin Overland
in there Deputy news editor
That’s one of the many things somewhere car that doesn’t have a suitable area Jake Groves
Porsche has done so well, isn’t it? for carrying them. And no, an SUV is New cars editor
Alan Taylor-Jones
Providing family-compatible cars not the same.
Group digital editorial director
that contain some of the spirit of Liam Green Tim Pollard
their flagship sports cars. Digital editor
Curtis Moldrich
Jim Skinner
Head of automotive video
INSTANT RE ACTIONS VIA FACEBOOK James Dennison
Indeed. The Panamera, Taycan,
Cayenne and Macan all drive with
Xpeng G6 Art director
Mal Bailey
Editors-at-large
some essence of Porsche-ness. Chris Chilton, Mark Walton,
To be fair, the F-Pace remains an Ben Barry
Contributor-in-chief
under-the-radar performer, even Gavin Green
as it now dies to make way for European editor
Brave New Jaguar. BM Georg Kacher
Contributing editors
Ben Oliver, Ben Whitworth,
On the blink Anthony ffrench-Constant,
Steve Moody, Sam Smith
LED brake lights are so bright, you
F1 correspondent
can hardly see the indicator flashing. Tom Clarkson
Manufacturers already have tech- Office manager
Leise Enright
nology that reduces the light from Laugh now, envy later. Production controller
the headlight while the car is indicat- GIOVANNI PACO Carl Lawrence
ing. Similar thinking should be ap-
plied at the back. Who would buy one of these and gamble on the ADVERTISING
Digital commercial director
Neil Price company being around in three years’ time? Jim Burton
RICH BRATTON Key account director (display)
Dog wagging the tail Amy Wheeler
Key account manager (display)
That BMW i5 Touring seems to We once laughed at Japanese cars then Korean Gemma Rogerson
make a lot of sense. Yes, I wish it were cars and now Chinese cars. Do we spot a New business director
cheaper, and I would be more com- Chris Priestley
pattern?
Account manager (classifieds)
fortable with a longer electric range. DAVIE MAN Jordan Paylor
But thank heavens one of the manu-
facturers I trust has come up with an They need to work on the names if they want to PUBLISHING
Publisher
estate car with the capability to car- appeal to Western markets. Rachael Beesley
rying dogs in comfort and safety. TONY HALL Head of marketing
It’s not the only factor I bear in Susie Litawski
Direct marketing manager
mind when choosing a car, but it’s al- Nisha Ellis
Senior marketing executive
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co.uk. FINANCIAL REGULATION H Bauer Publishing is authorised and regulated by the FCA (ref no 845898). THIS ISSUE ON SALE 7 August 2024 NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 11 September 2024

‘Once Europe’s
biggest car
maker, the UK is
now an also-ran
– but there are
reasons to be
cheerful’
he recent FT Future of
the Car summit proved
that there is a great deal of
confusion about the future of
the car. The most fascinating
time in the history of the motor in-
dustry, in the 40 years I’ve been follow-
ing it, is also now the most uncertain.
Long-term, the future is electric. Yet globally EV sales lag far be- involved in EV technologies, including battery tech firm Brill Power,
hind car maker and government targets. Tesla has laid off 15,000 a start-up born in Oxford University’s engineering department.
people and its market value has halved since 2021. Used EV values The UK dominates the acme of automotive technology, Formula 1.
nosedive. Plug-in hybrids are suddenly back in fashion, in a major F1 offshoots such as McLaren Applied and Williams Advanced Engi-
volte-face. Makers delay plans to phase out combustion cars. neering are at the forefront of electrification. It has upmarket and
Meanwhile mass makers, including UK market leader Ford, want innovative car makers, even if it lags in global production.
to cut production volumes and move into the premium market. This Britain’s tech industry is the biggest in Europe and world number
is mostly delusional. Ford is historically a mass car maker with a three, behind only the US and China. The City of London, likely
mass maker’s mentality: earlier attempts to ‘go premium’ have been funder of start-ups, is the world’s second-biggest financial centre.
abject failures. It would also allow EV-dominant Chinese manufac- The UK has an unmatched record for innovation, from steam en-
turing to do to Europe’s car business what it has already done to the gines to the internet. Michael Faraday invented the electric mo-
rest of its manufacturing industry. tor. Michael Stanley Whittingham pioneered lithium-ion batteries,
I have misgivings about the Chinese car industry, but it is already and UK universities were crucial in making them practical and af-
active here; it owns Lotus and the maker of London taxis, and does a fordable. Plus, Britain is a leader in decarbonising the electricity that
good job. European governments court their investment. powers EVs.
What should Britain do? A new government is in place, so it’s a The UK also has form when it comes to attracting global invest-
timely question to be thinking about. ment. It pioneered the Japanese ‘transplants’ that boosted our car in-
First and most important, every major car maker still believes the dustry in the ’80s. Nissan, Honda and Toyota came to the UK thanks
future is electric. Our choice is either to ‘keep buggering on’ (to quote to generous subsidies – and to its skilled workforce, universally un-
Churchill) or embrace EVs. As Andy Palmer, former CEO of Aston derstood language, quality of the education and, it’s said, the fine golf
Martin and a driving force behind the world’s first modern EV (the courses.
Nissan Leaf), told me recently: ‘We have one lifeboat, and that life- Here, again, there are reasons to be cheerful. As I write, the new
boat is electric cars.’ (Andy is not your usual EV nerd. When we British government still plans to phase out new combustion cars by
caught up, he was racing his Caterham at Silverstone.) 2030 – pleasingly ambitious, if possibly impractical. This makes the
As Palmer points out, action must be taken if the UK still wants to UK a more attractive country for foreign investment in EVs.
have a car industry in the years to come. It lags as the 18th largest car To gain access to EU markets, local content must be at least 55 per
Illustration: Peter Strain
manufacturer in the world, behind the likes of Indonesia and Slova- cent. This is good for UK suppliers, especially if batteries are pro-
kia. Once Europe’s biggest car maker and the world’s biggest export- duced locally. Who knows, MGs may even be made in Britain again.
er of cars (in the ’50s), the UK is a combustion also-ran.
But there are reasons to be cheerful. The UK has some of the Gavin Green used to edit CAR magazine before the internet was a
world’s brightest engineers and best universities. Many are already thing, and is now one of the world’s most respected motoring pundits

‘One second
you’re in a car,
the next you’re
in a NASA
centrifuge,
making gghhnn
noises’
here’s an old saying you may have

encountered on a birthday card:
‘Children are like pancakes – the first
one is always a bit weird.’ I can laugh be-
cause I’m the second-born.
Pancakes are also like cars – the last one is
always the one to go for. The last pancake in-
corporates all the mistakes you’ve made, all the
learnings on temperature and consistency, all the feedback you’ve neck-hurting, blood-draining full-body squeeze that makes you feel
received from your bleating, ungrateful kids who’ve been whinging dizzy and a bit sick. It’s as though one second you’re in a car,
at you from the table. ‘Mine’s got holes in it! Mine’s too crispy!’ Al- everything’s familiar, and the next you’re teleported into one of those
ways make sure you keep the last one for yourself. NASA centrifuges, struggling to keep your head upright and making
Cars are like pancakes. They say you should always buy the last-in- ‘gghhnn’ noises at the back of your nose.
series Porsche 911, for example. The G Series lasted from 1973 until But what makes the 750S so exceptional is how exploitable that vi-
1989, and the late-model Carrera 3.2, introduced in 1984, is the best olence is. The 750S is light (around 1300kg) and stiff (thanks to its
pancake to go for because it benefited from decades of improve- carbon tub). It has this magic trick of somehow floating over a bumpy
ments. Likewise the 993, the last air-cooled 911 with its clever ‘Weis- road – no, wait, not floating. That suggests you’re disconnected. The
sach’ rear axle that made it the best-handling pancake of the lot (be- Ferrari 296 kind of floats over bumps, and its steering feels like you’re
fore water-cooling changed the 911 forever). Ferrari’s 458 was the last guiding a long-range missile over an ocean. The 750S, by compari-
naturally-aspirated V8 and the 2013 Speciale version was famously son, is absolutely rooted down on the tarmac, jiggling and bobbing
called ‘peak Ferrari’ when it was tested in this magazine by a highly over the road surface, with the stiff (surprisingly stiff) hydraulic
respected road tester (Mark Walton). See? That’s three examples, and steering quivering and waggling in your hands.
in journalism that’s all you need to prove a point. Yet despite this intimate communication, the bump forces coming
I thought about this ‘last one is the best’ theory this month, be- up through the wheels are rounded off and blunted, so the car feels
cause I finally got to drive the McLaren 750S and my brain has been stable and predictable, leaving you completely confident about your
rewired. What a shocking, sensational, mind-blowing supercar. The position and trajectory. It doesn’t just feel light and agile, it feels
750S is the last in a long line of muscular turbo V8s before McLaren chuckable. Ridiculous, I know; 750bhp and chuckable. It feels very
goes fully hybrid. It builds on the bloodline that dates back to the rear-wheel drive, sometimes squirrelling as the rear tyres struggle to
original 12C, through the 650S, 675LT, 720 and 765LT, all of them get the power down to shove you forwards, yet it always feels like the
sharing the same basic architecture, each one being steadily refined 750S is ‘beneath’ you like a 200bhp hot hatch.
and improved. I’m lucky enough to have driven all of those cars, and So what I’m saying is, it’s scary and not scary; wild yet also com-
the latest, last-in-line 750S is now so good, so perfect, I would con- pletely tamed; explosive like a failed SpaceX launch but somehow
tend it’s one of the greatest supercars of all time. Seriously. also subtly, precisely adjustable like a finely-engineered stunt plane.
First of all, it is distressingly, frighteningly fast. On the track its How the hell have they done it? Dunno, but the 750S has been almost
Illustration: Peter Strain
speed is diluted by the wide tarmac and the huge run-off areas, but 15 years in the making. If I had the money, I’d buy one, smother it
on an ordinary B-road between hedges, it is hypercar-fast – a brief with chocolate spread and eat it for breakfast every morning.
lunge down a short straight in third gear is nothing short of shock-
ing. A couple of passengers who had never experienced a supercar Despite resembling a regular human, editor-at-large Mark Walton has
before were traumatised when I took them out, subjected to the been known to find solace tinkering with old Land Rovers and tractors

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be from the next payment date. Order line open 0800hrs – 2100hrs (Mon-Fri). 1000hrs – 1600hrs (Sat). Calls may be monitored or recorded for training purposes. Call costs from mobiles vary according to the calling plan chosen.
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HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 N I TESLA MODEL 3 PERFORMANCE
L I G H T N I N G
T W I C E
Giant
test
THE DEFINITIVE VERDICT
S T R I K E S
Tesla’s new Model 3 Performance takes on our

favourite hot EV, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Can there really
be two thrillingly good £60k-ish electric family cars?
Words Chris Chilton Photography Jordan Butters

Giant test: Ioniq 5 N vs Model 3
cheekbones more chiselled, rather than one that makes you look like
you just got back from a fortnight in Istanbul where the doctor signed
you up for everything on the menu.
No, the Ioniq isn’t subtle, the weird drain cover grille above the
front bumper, trademark red N detail lines and in particular the huge
and very shiny black plastic lower bumper section making it look like
it was designed to appeal to six-year-olds.
But there’s a real sense of fun about the shouty go-faster styling
add-ons that even big kids can get behind. And real substance to back
it up. Compared with the regular Ioniq 5’s, the bodyshell is welded and
glued for extra strength, the suspension subframes reinforced, the
wider-track suspension has new arms, springs, adaptive dampers and
bushes, and the steering rack is faster and fastened more securely.
The non-N line-up starts with a single electric motor and a feeble
168bhp, which can be upped to 225bhp via a long-range battery or
transformed into a 321bhp dual-motor EV that hits 62mph in under
5.0 seconds. Not bad, while not being bad-ass enough to cut it as a
performance car these days, so the N gets more electric ponies. An
entire western’s worth.
A 223bhp front motor and 378bhp rear motor buddy-up to generate
601bhp, the kind of muscle that can snap your neck back hard when
uck, squeeze, bang, blow. Unleash the full motherlode in one of 2024’s you floor the accelerator. And unlike less potent EVs, it maintains that
obscenely fast EVs and that pithy description of a four-stroke combus- push long after you think it’ll fade. Come up behind a cyclist or daw-
tion cycle feels like it’s been repurposed for the electric age, except it’s dling tractor on a country road – the kind of situation when you need
the driver doing the heavy breathing, not the car. It starts with a get- to explode from 10 mph to 50mph in an instant, but never can, even in
ready intake of breath and a here-goes-everything push on the right the fastest combustion cars – and when you nail the throttle the N
pedal, and ends with a dazed exhalation 200 metres down the road. won’t fail to win your over.
We all know that even some ordinary EVs have been able to embar- And we haven’t even got to THE RED BUTTON yet. Extend your ⊲
rass supposedly rapid combustion-powered heroes away from the
lights for years. But it’s only recently that car makers have begun to
market fully-formed electric performance cars for the enthusiast THE IDEA OF FAKE GEARS IN
market. Cars like the Ioniq 5 N – the car that came out top of the ‘EVs THE IONIQ SEEMS PERVERSE
for Petrolheads’ shootout in the June issue, which here takes on the
latest version of Tesla’s fastest small car, the Model 3 Performance. BUT IN FACT IT’S GENIUS
This pair look like hatchbacks and accelerate like supercars, when
they’re neither. With the i20 N and i30 N being eased out of the Euro-
pean market, the £65,000 Ioniq 5 N crossover signals a new electric
focus for Hyundai’s performance sub-brand. And the Model 3 Perfor-
mance is a £59,990 saloon that’s twice as rapid as the base car.
There’s been a 3 Performance on Tesla’s books since 2018, but be-
yond its ability to turn your internal organs into minute steak it never
felt different enough from the already fast and longer-legged du-
al-motor variants to justify the additional expense. While some buy-
ers probably love the stealthy presentation, most drivers thinking of
jumping ship from a BMW M car or AMG expect more than simply
NASA launch-grade acceleration. More visual attitude, more ego
stroking from the interior appointments, tangible handling benefits.
Recognisable and kudos-earning performance branding.
The new Model 3 flagship goes some way to answering those com-
plaints. It’s still called Performance, rather then taking the Plaid name
used by the naughtiest S and X models, meaning Tesla hasn’t yet
united its fast cars under a common brand. But this time there are
some helpful visual telltales.
Like all new Highland-generation Model 3s, the 2024 Performance
gets a pointier beak with slimmer headlights that make it look less
cute and more cut-throat. But a bespoke front bumper with vents at
each corner and a blacked-out lower section with a small splitter help
distinguish it from the base and Long Range models.
Other clues include handsome 20-inch wheels with aero covers
placed between the spokes rather than the 18s (and optional 19s) on
the cheaper cars, bigger brakes with red calipers, and a confusingly
Plaid-looking badge and neat little carbon lip spoiler on a bootlid
that’s still crying out to be a hatch, and still isn’t. Gearshifts add
Think of the Performance as a regular Model 3 viewed through one a bonus degree
of involvement
of those Snapchat filters that makes your skin subtly smoother and

If Tesla was
wrong-footed
by the Ioniq 5
N, it’s caught
up again now
Gone are the

days when you
heard fast cars
long before you
saw them

Other Ioniq
5s have been
facelifted, but
not the N
All Model 3s have

the Highland facelift;
Performance gets
some unique details

right thumb to press the NGB (N Grin Boost) tab and you unlock an
extra 40bhp for 10 seconds. There’s absolutely no occasion when you
THE IONIQ 5 N’S NEAR-MCLAREN
need it, but plenty when you’ll use it anyway, because it’s so addictive it F1 PACE IS NOT ENOUGH TO
makes a crack habit feel like a take-it-or-leave-it social smoking hobby. SHAKE THE TESLA OFF
Deploy the lot from rest and you’ll hit 62mph in only 3.4 seconds
and the standing quarter mile in a hair over 11 seconds, a smidge of
torque steer gently jiggling the wheel in your hands. That’s damn near to know that there’s decent regenerative braking power available, be-
McLaren F1 pace. But it’s still not enough to shake the Tesla off. cause while the trad brakes can haul the 3 up from huge speeds with-
The mid-ranking dual-motor Model 3 stomps to 62mph in only out breaking sweat, the pedal needs a big shove, and the feel doesn’t
4.4sec, but the Performance drops the sprint time to 3.1 seconds with inspire confidence.
a powertrain that’s rated at 453bhp here but 510bhp in the same spec in Iffy brake feel is nothing new in EVs and hybrids, which often
the US. It seems unfathomable that its Model S Plaid big brother is al- struggle to blend the efforts of the motors and the old-fashioned fric-
most 50 per cent quicker again. tion-based stoppers. But the Hyundai nails it with brakes that have
But despite the potential to shock, the Performance is entirely ca- enough bite at a light push without feeling jumpy or inconsistent.
pable of mooching along like a regular Model 3, with only the slightly They just feel right from the get-go.
fidgety ride and pleasing hug of the not-a-Plaid-branded sports seats And that’s the N all over. It fills you with confidence the moment
in the sterile cabin reminding you that you’re not in a humble sin- you start to lean on it. You know, the way the best petrol-powered
gle-motor car. There’s almost no indication from the driver’s seat of hatches do. It has tremendous straight-line stability, so much that it’s
what’ll happen when you dip into the power until you do, and in Chill borderline inert at motorway speeds, but still manages to feel lively on
mode even maximum acceleration is modest. twisty roads. Not as lively as the Tesla, but you’re thankful for that
But Insane mode really is that, to the point where this morning’s when you’re really exploring the right pedal’s arc, never knowing ex-
breakfast starts making noises about planning to pull a U-turn. And actly what’s around the next corner that might force you to change
that feeling of wanting to change direction really does follow through your line.
to the rest of the Tesla experience. It’s incredibly eager to turn into Shame the steering doesn’t involve you in the action a little more
corners, but that comes at the expense of a slightly nervous feel that clearly. It’s accurate and well weighted, and feels more natural than
probably isn’t an issue on fast, smooth curves, but makes the 3 seem a the Tesla’s, but you never get the sense that you’re keyed into the tar-
little edgy on a bumpy B-road. mac the way you do in the very best driver’s cars. And on narrow
And it’s not the only trait that might make you think twice about B-roads you never forget that the Ioniq 5 is 63mm wider than the
opening the taps on a road without plenty of visibility ahead. It’s good Model 3. Seen in isolation it might not be obviously an SUV, but the ⊲
It’s not a
hatchback; for
that you need Y
In any other
context this
would look
minimalist
▼
PR E - F LI G HT B R I E F I N G I H Y U N DA I I O N I Q 5 N
⊲ Why is it here? been facelifted, but it’s not a ⊲ Which version is this?
Hyundai’s transformation big deal. Interior space is vast The regular Ioniq 5 line-up
from worthy but dull to and the N model has almost starts at £43k for a humble
worth-BMW-money came four times the muscle of the single-motor, rear-wheel-
into full bloom with the Ioniq base car. drive model and stretches to
5, an electric crossover that £58k for a fully-loaded
looks like a supersized VW ⊲ Any clever stuff? 322bhp dual-motor Namsan
Golf and shares many of its All Ioniq 5s are capable of Edition. The financial stretch
underpinnings with the bi-directional charging and from there to the £65,000 N
similarly impressive Kia EV6. get 800-volt electrics for drive it like a conventional EV isn’t that big, but the
The Giugiaro-esque styling, speedy 250kW fills. But the for maximum performance or performance gulf is huge
which nods to Hyundai’s own new N version’s real party use the paddles to shift thanks to a 641bhp
’70s Pony, still looks fresh. piece is its simulated manual between eight fake gears for powertrain that delivers
Non-N cars have recently transmission. You can either maximum involvement. 62mph in 3.4sec.

Boot is smaller
than the
Tesla’s, and N
has no frunk
Not track cars,

but proper
performance
cars for keen
drivers

YOU’LL GET AT LEAST 250 REAL

MILES OUT OF THE MODEL 3 BUT
ONLY 200 OUT OF THE IONIQ
girth and the 2235kg kerbweight (almost 400kg heavier than the
Model 3) ensure it is.
As on the Model 3 Performance, you can tweak the Ioniq’s front-to-
rear torque bias – though you never really shuffle the torque, only re-
duce it at one end to exaggerate the effect at the other – and the
Hyundai lets you save your favourite powertrain and chassis configu-
rations so that you can call them up whenever you want via a button Hatchback
proportions,
on the lower left of the wheel. SUV dimensions
That’s nothing new, but the button’s mirror image on the lower
right of the wheel is. Press it and the Ioniq does its best impression of a
petrol car, giving you eight pretend gears to play with, an imaginary
8000rpm revcounter and three different fake engine sounds to pick
from, or the option to mute them altogether.
The idea of slogging up a hill in a pretend fourth gear, denying
yourself the true push available, seems at first perverse – what next,
an electronic choke lever for cold starts? – but it’s genius. We found
ourselves flicking between EV and fake-engine modes depending on
our mood, and far more often than we toggle between two- and all-
wheel drive in an xDrive BMW M car. You can even blip the throttle in
traffic. Those cheesy sound effects need work, mind, so you might be
thankful for the mute option. Because it’s not only you that can hear Model 3 interior
them, but everyone outside, too. If we’re playing pretend petrols, then more sparse
why not give us some genuine soundtracks, Hyundai? Maybe we than ever, for
better or worse
could even download new ones from an app store that’s updated a few
times a year.
But even ignoring the driver toys, the Ioniq’s interior has plenty to
offer. Much like the way the N moves down the road, there’s a reassur- the Ioniq’s hatch opening gives it an advantage over the Tesla’s
ing familiarity about the controls that you don’t get in the Tesla. The 3 old-fashioned boot, the Model 3’s cargo area is bigger than the Hyun-
is blighted with terrible steering-wheel-mounted indicator controls dai’s, and the 5 N doesn’t have a frunk, unlike the Tesla, and unlike the
(an enterprising third party already has a retrofit column stalk in de- non-N Ioniq 5, with its single rear motor.
velopment) and asks you to spend too much time looking at the centre That’s not the only practicality win the Tesla scores over its rival.
screen, even simply to see how fast you’re going – a handy thing to The Performance has a 328-mile WLTP range, which is down from
know in a car this quick. 390 miles for the £10k-cheaper bi-motor Long Range, but makes a
The Hyundai’s centre screen is, frustratingly, more of a stretch mockery of the Hyundai’s 278-mile rating. And those are make-be-
away, but the interface is well thought out, there are plenty of hard lieve official numbers, remember. You’ll get at least 250 real miles out
keys below and the already fine Ioniq’s interior is peppered with smart of the Model 3 but only 200 out of the Ioniq. And if you’re only filling
N details, including a fantastic set of seats to remind you where your to 80 per cent, budget for plenty of stops on longer journeys. Both cars
money went even when you’re crawling through traffic. can handle 250kW of charge, meaning stops are at least brief, if you
Tall rear-seat passengers who find the reasonably roomy Tesla too can find suitable chargers, which is often easier for Model 3 drivers,
tight will be delighted by the Hyundai – it’s huge back there. Although thanks to the Supercharger network. ⊲
▼
PR E - F LI G HT B R I E F I N G I TE S L A M O D E L 3 PE R FO R M A N C E
⊲ Why is it here? ⊲ Any clever stuff? most expensive Model 3, the

The Model 3 made small EVs Rear-seat passengers get £59,990 Performance, that
both desirable and affordable their own 8.0-inch display to can hit 62mph in 3.1sec. A
when it launched in 2017, but control temperatures and less powerful Long Range
a slew of rivals have jumped watch Netflix, and drivers Model gets a similar bi-motor,
into the arena since then so now have to shift between all-wheel-drive set-up for
Tesla introduced a facelifted drive, reverse and neutral £49,990 and can still reach
version, dubbed Highland, in using an icon on the 62mph in 4.2sec, or there’s a
late 2023. A new nose, better touchscreen (or the single-motor, rear-drive
quality interior materials and predictive shift feature). This scope to increase the version for £39,990. There’s
controversial indicator range-topping Performance understeer or oversteer. no similarly hot version of the
controls mounted on the model gets a dedicated Track Model Y – a car that’s often
spokes of the steering wheel driving mode and drift ⊲ Which version is this? described as a taller Model 3,
are the headlines. option, giving drivers the This is the most potent and but which lacks its agility.

IONIQ 5 N vs MODEL 3 THE DETAILS

HYUNDAI TESLA MODEL 3
IONIQ 5 N PERFORMANCE
AFFORDABILIT Y
WE SAY... Price £65,000 Price £59,990

Ioniq is more (£65,900 as tested) (£61,990 as tested)
expensive for cash Representative PCP £839 per Representative PCP £878 per
buyers, cheaper month (48 months, £10k deposit, month (48 months, £24k deposit,
with a PCP 10k miles per year, 8.8% APR) 10k miles per year, 9.6% APR)
Typical approved-used value Typical approved-used value
n/a (too new) £40k (2020 model, 20k miles)
POWERTRAIN
WE SAY... 84kWh battery, 78kWh battery,

Same concept, dual e-motors, dual e-motors,
different feel all-wheel drive all-wheel drive
PERFORMANCE
WE SAY... Power 641bhp Power 453bhp

Closely tied but
Tesla is even more
Torque 546lb ft
Top speed 161mph
Torque n/a lb ft
Top speed 163mph
1st
explosive 0-62mph 3.4sec 0-62mph 3.1sec HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 N
The most fun you
can have in an EV,
B O D Y/ C H A S S I S but get used to
opening that
WE SAY... Structure Steel Structure Steel charging flap. Fun
Weight 2235kg Weight 1851kg manual option
Fatboy Ioniq has
builds on excellent
more room for Suspension MacPherson strut Suspension MacPherson strut
dynamics
people, less for front, multi-link rear front, multi-link rear
★★★★★
bags Length/width/height Length/width/height
4715/2152/1585mm 4720/2089/1431mm
Boot capacity 480 litres (no
frunk)
Boot capacity 594 litres (plus
88-litre frunk) 2nd
TESLA MODEL 3
EFFICIENCY
Much-improved
Performance gains
WE SAY... Official energy consumption Official energy consumption speed and quality,
Tesla makes the 2.9 miles per kWh 3.7 miles per kWh but feels more
fun last longer Tested consumption, gentle Tested consumption, gentle skittish than
between charges A-road 2.7 miles per kWh A-road 3.3 miles per kWh Hyundai and lacks
Tested consumption, rapid Tested consumption, rapid its sense of fun. If
B-road 1.9 miles per kWh B-road 2.5 miles per kWh the Ioniq’s range is
Official range 278 miles Official range 328 miles a concern, this is
Tested range 253 miles Tested range 202 miles your car
Emissions 0g/km CO2 Emissions 0g/km CO2 ★★★★★

A winner, but
not by much.
Great to have a
genuine choice
power, which it didn’t really need, and a better-quality interior and a

THE FINAL RECKONING stronger visual presence, which it did. Grip and body control are both
tangibly better than before and Tesla has built in extra configurabili-
TOSS A ty of the handling and powertrain set-ups with additions including

track and drift modes.
Realistically, you’ll almost never use those, or the similar features
COIN AND
in the Ioniq 5 N, but we guarantee you’ll love the Hyundai’s simulat-
ed manual transmission and probably find yourself engaging it regu-
larly. Because it makes the N fun in a way most EVs aren’t, which rely
YOU WON’T
so heavily on their instant response to deliver thrills.
But even if you put the gadgety stuff to one side for a moment, the
Ioniq 5 N still does the business. It’s way roomier and the interior de-
livers a ton more of that feelgood factor performance cars need. We’d
BE WRONG happily trade the Model 3’s slight accelerative advantage for the
Hyundai’s simpler control interface and more welcoming driving
environment.
And when it comes down to it, the Ioniq delivers where it matters.
Imagine jumping back in time 20 years and telling your retro self that It does feel wide, but it masks its weight well and gives you the stabil-
one of 2024’s hottest performance cars is an electric Hyundai that ity and brake feel to let you explore everything the bi-motor drive-
costs as much as a proper six-cylinder, rear-wheel-drive coupe from train can throw at you. If you still don’t think EVs can cut it as
BMW’s M division (don’t say M2, which will be confusing). And the rounded fast cars, this is the one that will change your mind.
other is named after some long-dead Serbian inventor. Young you There are at least three reasons why you might want to give the
would think old you had lost a few marbles in the Time Tunnel. Tesla the nod. You might prefer its sleeper styling and you’ll definitely
But here in the present, we no longer bat an eyelid at that kind of prefer its £5k cheaper sticker price and much longer (but still not long
thing. Hyundai and Tesla both have enough brand credibility and enough) driving range. But we’ll take the Hyundai, thanks – in black
engineering know-how to create fast EVs that are exciting enough to to dial down the styling, and paid for on a PCP, where it comes in
make even some die-hard petrol fans think about switching sides. cheaper than the Tesla. But we’ll do it with the knowledge that there
Those drivers might have considered Tesla’s Model 3 Performance are going to be days when that lack of range will drive us mad. We
before, but the facelifted car is better in almost every way. It has more think it’ll be worth it.

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01858 438 884
New Golf GTI driven

The Mk8 Golf has proved hard
to love. Is the new Mk8.5 GTI the
car to put Golf back on top?
Words Georg Kacher Photography Tom Salt

New Golf GTI driven
hree letters, one meaning – in theory, anyway. GTI stands for the comparison is, that’s a whopping 600kg more than the 1976 origi-
ultimate Golf: intense, intuitive, involving, inspiring. Not neces- nal. It can nonetheless go 0-62mph in an energetic 5.9sec (down
sarily the fastest but always the most fun. A proper driver’s car from 6.2sec in its DSG-equipped predecessor) and on to 155mph.
fused with a solid daily driver. Quick enough and always entertain- That’s pretty decent performance for a car priced at £38,900. You’d
ing, relatively affordable to the present day (the word ‘relatively’ is pay more – a lot more in some cases – to get the perkier Audi S3 or
doing a lot of heavy lifting here, granted) and a long-time B-road Honda Civic Type R.
champion. But this reputation still draws largely on earlier vintag- But is it, after its latest metamorphosis, also still a proper GTI? To
es; cars like the Mk1 GTI. That car was small, light and expertly find out, we’re heading out on a two-day marathon from Wolfsburg
balanced… and an awfully long time ago. to and through the Harz, a wooded mountain range that used to
The best Mk2 GTI was the G60, complete with its unique ze- mark the westernmost corner of East Germany.
ro-lag supercharger. The same concept was also featured in the The drive kicks off on a 50-mile stretch of lightly trafficked two-
very special Limited edition, of which only 71 units were made. The lane autobahn. Here we instantly more than double the official
most remarkable go-faster Golf Mk3 was the VR6, which even beat thirst, showing 18.6mpg. (Just over 500 clicks later, the grand total
the BMW 325i in our Giant Test. The sweetest Mk4 was arguably will improve to 23.3mpg.) Okay, so it’s endured a heavy right foot
the R32, which threw in four-wheel drive for good measure. But and had the transmission in Sport most of the time and, since radar
after that? With a few notable exceptions the Golf GTI struggled to traps are still not overly common in the former surveillance state,
stand out as it endlessly tweaked the group’s faithful 2.0-litre four we generally have a blast.
and messed about with the time-honoured recipe, resulting in a car Staying clear of the main tourist trails, we map out a diverse
that broadly tasted right but failed to set your pants on fire. cross-country course which includes special sections like the re-
The new 8.5 GTI doesn’t deviate, but it does push things in the vered hillclimb from Kelbra to Kyffhäuser, the picturesque Panora-
right direction. The engine’s rated at 262bhp and 273lb ft. Still ma Trail and the German Fairytale Route. Although many roads
front-wheel drive, the latest GTI weighs 1454kg. Unfair though the were widened and resurfaced in the wake of unification, the topog-
raphy remains essentially the same, so you still drive along the bot-
tom of deep, dark and rutted valleys, snake up and down wooded
Twin, wide-set hillsides which appear a lot higher than they are, and dart across
tailpipes tell flat patches of farmland from one period timber-framed settlement
you all you
need to know to the next.
What makes a GTI a GTI? The badges, now bigger and bolder. A
few red accents inside and out. That nostalgic neo-tartan cloth up-
holstery. Extra-cost wheels combining the traditional horseshoe
and telephone-dial motifs. A spoiler here and there, more blacked-
out body sections, a wider track and lowered sports suspension,
plus a digital instrument panel with bespoke graphics. But to light
a small fire in what starts life as a lukewarm hatch, the GTI team
must bring out the best in its handling. This thing needs to put a
smile on my face.
The new GTI is more refined, quieter, more comfortable, better
equipped and, somehow, even more benign at the limit and nicely
balanced – this is a precision tool that rarely puts a foot wrong. But
don’t for a moment mistake it for a Golf capable of taking on a Type
R (we tried that a few years ago with the Mk8 GTI, and ended up
with the world’s most one-sided ‘battle’), Toyota GR Yaris, BMW
M135i or Hyundai i30 N. Those fights will be the business of the ⊲

Is now a
good time
to mention
the absent
gearlever?
ON PLANET HOT
HATCH THE GTI’S
PERFORMANCE IS
DECENT FOR A CAR
PRICED AT £38,900

Older than the
Golf, and even
more polished
We’ll have to
wait for design
boss Andy
Mindt’s first
Golf GTI
Bigger
touchscreen
and backlit
sliders help
New Golf GTI driven
HOLE IN ONE!
THE BEST GOLFS
⊲ PRETTY MUCH ANY Mk1
Any rust-proofed Mk1 is worthy of your time –
pretty, fun to drive, classy. Period colours
preferred. GL had brown tinted glass, which
might seal the deal for you.
⊲ Mk1 CABRIOLET
Built by Karmann and a machine of uncommon
joy. Drop the roof, drive and turn that frown
upside down. A real time machine nicknamed
‘strawberry basket’.
⊲ GOLF RALLYE
ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE Aggressive, E30 M3 looks
paired with highly effective
WITH A BANG AND A JOLT. all-wheel drive. A collector’s
GUYS, YOU CAN DO BETTER item, and for good reason.
⊲ GOLF G60 LIMITED

Awesome. Supercharging made for zero lag (the
forthcoming Golf GTI Clubsport and the Golf R. G60 could teach the new GTI a thing or two about
As before, the GTI features an electronically-controlled front throttle response) and the soundtrack alone is
axle diff lock dubbed XDS+, which masterminds the torque flow via worth the outlay.
a wet multi-disc clutch. Also part of the package is the Driving Dy-
namics Manager, which coordinates the ESC, XDS+, ABS and DCC ⊲ Mk5 GTI EDITION 30
activities. DCC is short for Dynamic Chassis Control; tuning the The Mk5 GTI made the Golf
adaptive dampers in sync with the acceleration, braking and steer- great again, and the Edition
ing inputs. 30 made it better still. Great
The four driving modes are labelled Eco, Comfort, Sport and In- to look at, sublime to drive
dividual. The latter invites you to fine-tune steering, chassis and and rare enough to make it
a wise investment.
drivetrain in 15 steps from laid-back to full attack. That’s the good
news. The bad news is the absence of the even sharper Special cali-
⊲ THE ESTATE VERSIONS
bration reserved for the Clubsport model, also known as the Nord-
Hard to believe estate cars are mega-out. An R
schleife program, which does a much better job tying the car down Estate – or Variant as Europe calls it – is your
at speed when big bumps, high g-forces and unilateral undulations low-key RS4 for the people.
threaten to disturb the flight path.
Clausthal-Zellerfeld in the heart of the Harz is the starting point ⊲ THE EARLY SYNCROS
of two amazing driving roads. One takes us north to Goslar. The Talking of the people, cars like the Mk2 Syncro
other, faster one, meanders south to Bad Sachsa and Nordhausen. delivered affordable four-wheel drive.
Built in the late ’50s by the GDR and still cobblestoned through
some of the antique villages where time appears to have stopped, ⊲ THE e-GOLFS
this challenging 70-mile stretch turns out to be a more complete Cast your mind back to a time before ID. 3, before
proving ground for the GTI than any test-tube racetrack. the electric crossover onslaught, before the mass
Redlined at 6500rpm, the fourth iteration of the long-running penetration of almost-affordable Teslas. Short on
and effective but charmless EA888 four-cylinder engine develops range they may have been, but where lots of
262bhp, 20bhp more than before. The unchanged maximum pioneer EVs looked and drove like freaks, the
torque of 273lb ft is spread evenly from 1600 to 4500rpm. Since the e-Golf was a
six-speed manual transmission is no longer an option, the twist welcome shot of
action is dispatched by a seven-speed DCT. Why no manual? VW zero emissions
simply fed the numbers into an equation of cost versus demand without the weird.
and out popped a definitive if disappointing answer. Even Ameri-
⊲ Mk3 VR6
can buyers, nuts as they are for a manual, weren’t enough to keep
The narrow-angle V6 was a
the DIY six-speeder from oblivion.
packaging miracle, and gave the slightly insipid
The DCT’s a mixed bag. Let the ECU do the work and its hesita-
Mk3 real firepower. Turbo four-cylinder Rs have
tion can run to nearly two seconds when you put your foot down since proved to be a smarter, less nose-heavy
hard in fourth or fifth. For a long time nothing happens. Then all means to a similar end.
hell breaks loose with a bang and a jolt before the torque wave
straightens again. Guys, you can do better than this. ⊲ NEW GTE
Even with the transmission in Sport, this Golf doesn’t feel very No all-wheel drive, but the new £39,750 GTE
GTI. Activating manual mode helps, but why are the shift paddles bundles together a combined 268bhp and 82
so small and made of plastic, not metal? Although the 2.0-litre ⊲ miles of electric-only range. Decent.
New Golf GTI driven
Wind out the

turbo four and
it’s plenty fast
LIFT-OFF OVERSTEER, AN
EMPHATIC SPECIALITY OF
MK1 GTI, IS NOW A RARITY
engine is less torquey than the competition from BMW, Ford and and staying power. It’s also linear and easy to modulate. Although
Hyundai, the perfect gearing and the quick upshifts keep up the 18-inch rubber would give a cushier ride, the optional 19-inch
momentum and maintain the urge. Sadly, the soundtrack disap- Bridgestone S005 tyres pictured here (235/35s all-round) provide
points. With the exception of a faint turbo hiss under load, the sys- extra cornering grip and better traction. The adaptive dampers are
tem emits more noise than music. a good thing, too, but while the drivetrain is best left in Sport and
The base GTI may be quick enough to pull away from the shoal the steering in Comfort, the chassis is too harsh in Sport and too
of ambitious diesels and the flock of unassuming S-line, M Perfor- swooshy in Comfort. We settle for an in-between setting which
mance and AMG-entry models, but the 296bhp Clubsport shaves feels more okay than brilliant. Lift-off oversteer, an emphatic spe-
the 0-62mph time to 5.6sec, is faster overall, and throws harder ciality of the GTI Mk1, is now a rarity even with ESC disabled and a
punches between 2000 and 5000rpm. Although the 262bhp version hooligan at the wheel. And of course the handbrake is a pushbutton
seldom feels underpowered, it isn’t particularly snappy off the mark job without fly-off capability.
and nor does it really blow your socks off above 50mph. Why doesn’t While it’s easy to appreciate the new GTI, falling in love with it is
the GTI now have more than 300bhp, given the Civic Type R has more difficult. Purists will miss the manual ’box, the lighter two-
comprehensively out-stripped it on straight-line speed for three door body, the bigger 55-litre fuel tank and, most of all, the failsafe
generations now? ergonomics conceived before the world lapsed into 24/7 touch-
On dry tarmac, deactivating ESC adds a bit of drama, although screens. The revised display is easier to use than the previous-gen-
XDS+ ensures the extra haptic excitement never comes close to an eration screen but there are still too many distractions.
old-school steering fight. The revised progressive-rate steering may The days when the GTI was a pace-setting cult car that enthused
be a tad more precise and direct but it still isn’t and enraptured a generation are coming to an
quite quick enough, and it requires too much ef- end. The GTI is no longer extreme nor advanced
fort even with the scalable assistance set at a VW GOLF GTI enough to rock anyone’s world. Over the years it’s
minimum. As a result, the car feels bigger and P R I C E £38,900 moved from best-in-class to me-too; from break-
heavier than it is, as well as less playful and not P O W E R T R A I N 1984cc 16v through to merely competent.
really chuckable. The weight, the pronounced turbo four-cylinder, seven-speed This Golf GTI has four or five years to go before
on-centre stiffness and the large 12.0-metre twin-clutch auto, front-wheel drive a new scalable platform takes over, and with it a
turning circle all help make the 2025 GTI less P E R F O R M A N C E 262bhp @ new GTI. Perhaps that car will re-light the fire.
5250rpm, 273lb ft @ 1600rpm,
nimble and agile than early variations of the 5.9sec 0-62mph, 155mph
Until then GTI aficionados should either buy
breed. And on the unrestricted autobahn, where W E I G H T 1454kg what may well be the last-of-its-kind new Club-
high-speed stability is essential, an odd give-and- E F F I C I E N C Y 39.6mpg sport or search for a well-kept, rust-free Mk1,
take tension develops between the steering and (official), 23.3mpg (tested), Mk2 or Mk7.5. Sadly, anyone looking for a Golf
the front axle. 162g/km CO2 GTI that drives the way you know it should will,
One of the car’s strongest points is the brakes. O N S A L E Now for now at least, find the past better equipped to
The system is spot-on in terms of response, effort ★★★★★ deliver the goods than the present.

Handling is
as neat as the
styling. And
that is neat
Resists cheap
shot about
obsolete
powertrains

Inside Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg, home of VW and the

Golf, is the biggest car factory in
the world. We join design boss
Andreas Mindt for an exclusive
tour around the city built on the
car that changed the world
Words Jake Groves Photography John Wycherley

Around 4000
Golfs are made
every day
here’s a rhythmic pounding rumble that’s gently but persistently

shaking the ground around me. It starts not long after I enter the
biggest factory building I’ve ever been in, and it’s getting louder as I
venture further in. It’s ominous, bassy and regular like an amplified
yet distant heartbeat – and gives the impression I’m exploring a place
that’s organic, rather than industrial.
I’ve been given exclusive access to Volkswagen’s vast Wolfsburg fa-
cility as it celebrates the Golf’s 50th anniversary. Wolfsburg isn’t just
Volkswagen’s headquarters but its constant, its keystone and a
near-indestructible core for a brand that’s had to ride out considera-
ble turbulence – plenty of it its own doing – over recent years. Diesel-
gate-influenced strategies to electrify quickly have meant a luke-
warm start for its ID range of cars and dwindling EV production; it’s
been beset in China by home-grown car makers toppling its number
one sales position; management reshuffles have meant uncertainty
in the brand’s future direction and CEO Thomas Schäfer reportedly
told senior management ‘the roof is on fire’ last summer. And yet the
Wolfsburg facility remains, endures, thrives even.
This is and always has been the Golf’s home, kicking off produc-
tion in 1974 and never stopping – and plans are already in place to
carry on well into the 2030s. Schäfer has previously confirmed to
CAR that the ninth-generation Golf will launch in 2028, arriving
More robots with petrol engines and going electric – still badged Golf, without
than in 1938, any ID branding. By then it will be running on the VW Group’s Scal-
but also 70,000
human workers able Systems Platform (SSP) – an architecture that will be able to un-
derpin anything from an EV city car right up to a super-powered
performance grand tourer. GTI and R will electrify, too, with the first
electric R product being the ninth-generation Golf’s R version, which
will also be built in Wolfsburg.
Nothing prepares you for the sheer scale of the operations here. To
help get a handle on it all, I have the best tour guide you could ever
ask for: Andreas Mindt. I’d argue few are more passionate about the
Golf’s past, present and future than Mindt, who just so happens to be
VW’s head of design (his previous post was Bentley, where he sculpt-
ed the new Continental GT) and the man responsible for the Golf’s
future direction.
And yet, spend time with Mindt and that pressure doesn’t seem to
manifest. He’s warm, chatty, affable and extremely knowledgeable.
And, as it turns out, a big fan of CAR: ‘The Good, The Bad and The
Ugly! Such a great signature, I always remember that,’ he says. I pon-
Our guide der whether perhaps GBU is our Golf; an ever-evolving constant in a
Mindt is a Golf familiar brand.
fan through
and through Mindt has Wolfsburg and Volkswagen in his blood. ‘I grew up in
this city, and my father lived in Wolfsburg too,’ he says. ‘My father ⊲

Inside Wolfsburg
NOTHING PREPARES
YOU FOR THE SHEER
SCALE OF THE
OPERATIONS HERE
Lunchtime fun
as workers take
turns to slide
VW logo up
and down

These won't
stay stored here
long – work
moves fast
Jake might
need some
overalls before
his shift starts

Inside Wolfsburg
Remnants of
Allied bombs
remain
Oldest steel
press still
works but only
makes cups
WOLFSBURG PROUDLY HOLDS THE TITLE OF

LARGEST CAR FACTORY IN THE WORLD
moved from Opel to Volkswagen in 1974 – I was five years old then, Finally I find the source of that rhythmic, earth-shaking thunder.
and he took me to the cinema to see Herbie, which was the first time I It’s a metal pressing machine in the press shop – only this one is the
had seen a movie in colour. After seeing that, I just wanted to draw size of a three-storey apartment block, busy punching out front
Beetles all of the time, so coming back to Volkswagen… this role is wings for the Golf. As it presses out part after part, accompanied by
just fantastic for me.’ that bassy drum beat, it’s almost hypnotising to watch. Every work-
‘Back’ to VW? Yes, before stints at Audi and Bentley, Mindt cut his ing day in the press shop needs around 2600 tonnes of steel, and the
teeth working on the Mk5 Golf with the likes of Marc Lichte (former pairs of casts needed to press certain parts (the lower is called the ‘die’
Audi design director) and Peter Schreyer (designer extraordinaire and the upper ‘punch’) weigh 50 tonnes a pair. And yet changing
who went on to spearhead an aesthetic transformation at Kia). The them takes just 10 minutes. Standing next to this behemoth of a ma-
rear light design used for the production car was his own doing. chine while it’s working is a brief taste of what goes on here day after
Since then, he’s been involved in elements of the Mk6 and Mk7. day, week after week, all year round.
But Mindt knows the task before him as head of design. The most Wolfsburg proudly holds the title of the largest car factory in the
recent iteration of Golf – the Mk8 – hasn’t been as well received as its world and has the stats to back it up. It takes up 2.6 square miles of
predecessor, mostly down to the user interface, but its odd looks land and manages to look like a city all on its own (despite being at-
won’t have helped. ‘Taking over this responsibility [for the Golf’s de- tached to one), features 47 miles of roads and 37 miles of railway lines,
sign direction] is a big thing. I enjoy it, but I do feel it. We have to im- and it has its own internal bus network just for employees to get
prove the design now and bring the Golf back to its former glory,’ he around – so much so that there are fantastic bus stop signs that show
says. As VW has focused on electrifying with its ID range, Mindt ac- what factory buildings make what car. You can jump on at a Golf bus
knowledges the Golf has been neglected. ‘We have to go back to it. It’s stop and be dropped off at the Tiguan line, for example.
like the Porsche 911 – it’s the heart of the brand. We have to treat it Rolls of steel in the press shop – stacked two-up – are each taller
better, give it the right stage. We’re going into the next era with it than I am, and need the massive cranes you normally only see at
now, and we need to transform it but keep those fundamentally ap- shipping ports. Armies of buggies, carts towing trailers filled with
proachable, likeable but strong characteristics.’ components, individual workers zipping around on cycles and au-
As I wander the factory halls, it’s clear that this isn’t just any old tonomous pods all dance around each other like a precisely choreo-
workforce assembling any old product. As well as those ‘50 jahre’ graphed industrial ballet. Robots on the production line are so large
banners and signs, there are temporary mini-museums showing off they’d defeat Thor in an arm-wrestling contest. There’s a location
all eight generations to the employees, allowing them to get a dose of where marriage between powertrain and bodyshell happens every
the car’s history during their breaks. There’s passion here, even if the few minutes.
Golf is a resolutely sensible family car sold by the million and not Many end up at the Autostadt – the massive complex attached to
some halo supercar that you might put a poster of on your bedroom the factory that houses museums, pavilions for all of the VW Group
wall. That doesn’t matter to our tour host: ‘For me, the Golf is a su- brands to show off their latest models and the two cylindrical towers
percar but in conventional form.’ And he notes that although the that act as massive vending machines filled with customer cars
Golf is built in huge quantities, no car starts its journey through the awaiting delivery. Around 70,000 people work across the whole
factory without an order behind it. Wolfsburg facility – a number that even includes VfL Wolfsburg, ⊲

Inside Wolfsburg
EPICENTRE OF THE VW EMPIRE

HEADQUARTERS PRESS SHOP PAINT SHOP FINAL ASSEMBLY MITTELSTRASSE
Where Wolfsburg Housed in one of Each car is sent Where your new Meaning, literally,
plant boss Dr Rainer the oldest parts of through here to get car becomes, middle road. It’s the
Fessel and most of the factory, which is five layers of to-order recognisably, a car. longest external
the admin staff have still peppered with paint applied. The Interiors are fitted, road across the
their offices. It’s a shrapnel from Allied area is fastidiously electronics are whole Wolfsburg
simple, tall and skinny bombing during clean, with brightly-lit wired and wheels facility at 1.5 miles
office building that World War 2. Around inspection halls that are attached, as long. There are
serves as a useful 2600 tonnes of steel use daylight bulbs well as the marriage several gates where
visual shorthand for passes through the for checking any between the structure employees get into
VW whenever TV press shop, and missed areas or dents of the car and the the factory, including
news shows want to almost all of it is in the metalwork. powertrain. Batteries one across the canal
talk about a corporate pressed several times Simultaneous lines are charged, liquids from Wolfsburg train
scandal. Those lucky into body and chassis work with Golf as well are filled and engines station. There’s also
enough to have an parts ready for the as Tiguan and (for are started for the a bus network that
office on the upper assembly line via a a little while longer) first time, and each allows workers to hop
floors are able to metal press so large Touran models all car rolls off to be on and off to travel
see over most of you and your family going through the tested around the between different
Wolfsburg. could live in it. same process. factory’s track. production lines.

FACTORY STACKS AUTOSTADT
Arguably the most The hub of all public
iconic bit of the activity at the plant.
storied factory, and This is where you can
eye-popping to stand collect your car from
next to. The facility, one of the vending
and Volkswagen machine towers,
itself, was founded in visit Andreas Mindt’s
1938 to produce the favourite coffee place
Mindt wants to
original people’s car, – Erste Sahne – or make the Golf
the Beetle. Wolfsburg take in a museum full feel like a real
has never skipped of automotive firsts VW again
building a generation at the ZeitHaus. Each
of Golf since its VW Group brand has
launch in 1974, and a permanent pavilion
will be the home of here, showcasing the
the ninth-generation latest metal, and VW- VOLKSWAGEN AND ITS
Golf that launches
from 2028.
spec currywurst is on
the cafe menus.
WOLFSBURG HOME WERE
CREATED UNDER THE
THIRD REICH IN THE
RUN-UP TO WAR
the factory’s own, currently in-form football team.

Volkswagen is more than happy to make a song and dance about
you getting your new car. As well as collecting your new model
straight out of the Autostadt towers, you’re welcome to take a tour of
the factory yourself. We’re given the special treatment in a bespoke
Touran that’s had its roof carefully chopped off, and regular tours are
done using ID. 3s towing carriages of people through the factory
floors. Hell, VW will even give you a pack or two of its own-recipe
currywurst for the road; the product coded 199 398 500 A is VW’s
most popular component, with 8.3 million produced in 2023.
It doesn’t hide its history. Volkswagen and its Wolfsburg home
were created under the Third Reich in the run-up to war and still, to
this day, wear battle scars from the conflict. Look hard enough and
you’ll spot a few steel support structures (thankfully reinforced in
other ways) peppered with shrapnel holes from Allied bombing runs
all those years ago. There’s even a steel press that went into service in
1939 that’s still functional and stands proudly among the much more
modern machinery.
Mindt and I spend some time in the ZeitHaus, – a modern struc-
ture in the Autostadt that acts as a museum not just for Volkswagen,
but for notable firsts in the automotive industry – and here you can
just wind Mindt up and watch him go. He rattles off fact after fact
about the exhibits – Volkswagen or otherwise – but it’s not some tour
he’s rehearsed, he just knows his stuff, and it’s all fascinating. Here,
the Golf’s immense flexibility and usability are on show. There’s a
gorgeously retro Mk2 Country, for example, which Mindt claims was
the first SUV – ‘farmers and hunters bought them in Germany!’ –
and not far away is the mutant GTI W12 that leveraged the VW
Group’s flagship engine.
As we sit down for a drink at his favourite haunt in Wolfsburg –
Erste Sahne in the Autostadt – I quickly realise he is as fascinated and
enthusiastic about coffee as he is about cars. He tells of how Wolfs-
burg has quite a large Italian community that has influenced good
coffee in the area, and that it’s the best around. ‘I also had a proper
coffee machine when I used to work at Audi,’ he says. That, I say, ⊲

Inside Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is
so big it has its
own internal
bus network
Like the Golf,

Mindt was
raised in
Wolfsburg
THIS MK1 BACKS UP MINDT’S MANTRA

ON GOLF DESIGN: TIMELESSNESS
must have been pretty noisy. He admits it was: ‘Oh yeah, it was! I had Mindt is a neat reminder of the Golf’s place in the world. Despite this
this dream of offering it to guests but couldn’t keep up with the effort Mk1 example being more than 40 years old, elements of its interior
– and the mess!’ feel like they still belong in Golfs three generations newer, which
Enjoying Erste Sahne’s coffee and looking out of the window, we backs up Mindt’s mantra regarding Golf design: timelessness. ‘You
spot a father loading his kids into a heavily modified Mk7 GTI Club- have to remember, the Golf was following on from another timeless
sport S – almost perfectly timed to underline the point about the car,’ Mindt points out. ‘I’d say the first-generation Golf was really
Golf’s flexibility. ‘He clearly has good taste,’ smiles Mindt. ‘That is the brave, moving on from a rear engine in the Beetle to a front engine.
beauty of Golf. It’s hands-on and approachable and yet can be really, At that time, it was a crazy decision, but it needed doing. The Beetle
really special every day.’ was a golden cow; nobody wanted to slaughter it because it was still a
Mindt’s enthusiasm comes to a head when we meet Torben Rüh- success. But not changing something for so long, even if it’s success-
mann, a member of his design team who owns an immaculate Mk1 ful, can be a problem.’
Golf Cabrio. It was originally a Quartett edition with a white interior, Being at the wheel, you can tell the memories of younger days are
but it has been restored by Karmann and Cabriozentrum in Osna- flooding into Mindt’s mind; he tells me of his time attending Coven-
brück with a sumptuous new caramel hue and matching roof. The try University’s automotive design classes on an exchange pro-
paint and wheels are factory fresh, and the owner is besotted. gramme, and says: ‘I remember when these were new, and now
Now, seemingly, so is Mindt – I can see in his eyes that he’ll be they’re a vintage car, does that mean I’m vintage now, too?!’ He’s
pondering the classifieds for one of his own after we’re done here (he laughing, but he has a serious point to make about the long afterlife
owns a Beetle and a Bentley Arnage, and a well-used Mk8 Golf GTI of a successful car. ‘Everybody has memories of the past, but what
Clubsport as a company car). He loves these cars, and knows them about the next ones? Who is taking care of the future memories? The
inside out. When there’s a brief hiccup starting the Cabrio, Mindt is young children in the back of that Clubsport? The guy with his re-
quick with knowledge and advice, pointing out that models of that stored Mk1 Cabrio? The Golf is a mass-production thing, but the aim
particular year of production sometimes had issues where air bub- is to make it individual to everybody.’
bles could develop in the fuel mixture when the car had been driven, It’s been a tumultuous few years for Volkswagen. But with the
turned off and restarted. Not every designer would know that about company committed to Golf for at least another generation at Wolfs-
a car from their company’s back catalogue. burg, and with someone as passionate and Golf-literate as Andreas
Out on the road, the Golf is a bundle of joy. The Cabrio’s four-cyl- Mindt leading the model’s future direction, it’s a fair bet that car,
inder engine gently thrums as we whizz past Autostadt buildings, company and factory will all keep steadily pounding away for years
seeing the site from a different perspective. Riding shotgun alongside to come.

Mindt's
favourite
factory haunt
Eerily quiet
between shifts;
but that won’t
last long

The car that shaped today’s
automotive world is 50 years old.
But it very nearly didn’t happen
Words Angus MacKenzie Images VW Archive
88
50 years of Golf
‘Golf für
Normalverbraucher’
reads this advert:
‘Golf for ordinary
consumers’
50 years of Golf
he Volkswagen Golf. It’s been with us for half a century now and has
touched the lives of hundreds of millions of people. In an industry
where style often matters more than substance, the original Golf was a
paragon of product design, a car whose usefulness made it ubiquitous. Wolfsburg MD Nordhoff struggled to see past the Beetle
And through eight generations it has remained the definitive compact
hatchback, the car against which all comers in the segment, old and
new, are invariably judged.
Today’s Golf is of course bigger, heavier, more powerful and more
complex than the original. But its DNA is unmistakable. As it has al-
ways been. ‘What’s it like?’ a journalist asked Bernd Pischetsrieder
when in 2003 he revealed he had been driving pre-production versions
of the forthcoming Mk5 Golf. The question momentarily flummoxed
the Volkswagen Group chairman. ‘It’s like a Golf,’ he replied. There was
nothing more that needed to be said.
More than 37 million Golfs have been built since 1974. Yes, Toyota
has built more than 50 million Corollas, making it the most successful
name plate in history. But unlike the Corolla, which was launched as a
rear-wheel-drive small car in 1966 before switching to front-wheel
drive in 1983, today’s Golf is built to the same template as the original.
Though compact SUVs are now the world’s most popular vehicle for-
mat, the Golf still looms large in a segment that in 2022 accounted for
almost 1.4 million sales worldwide.
It is tempting to regard the Golf as the inevitable follow-up to the
Beetle, the car the entire Volkswagen enterprise was created to build,
and whose own usefulness and ubiquity enabled it to defy industry
convention for decades. But it’s not that simple.
BEFORE THE GOLF, Volkswagen was a company trapped in its own

history. ‘What happens if the Americans stop being amused by the
Beetle?’ said West German finance minister Franz Josef Strauß in 1967,
‘A car for broad circles’, code for ‘oldies welcome here’
articulating Volkswagen’s fatal flaw. Sales in Germany had slumped
from 600,000 vehicles in 1965 to 370,000, and 40 per cent of all Beetles
were being sold in the United States, where its combination of low
price, solid durability and quirky personality made it a hit among new-
ly minted middle-class suburban men who could afford a second car
for their wives or their college-age kids. VW was being kept alive by the
Beetle’s success as a niche product in a single market. DESIGNER GIORGETTO
Under Heinrich Nordhoff, the hard-nosed micromanager with a
gift for self-promotion who had run the company since 1948, virtually
GIUGIARO WAS
all the prototypes Volkswagen developed as potential Beetle replace-
ments had been little more than rebodied Beetles, right down to their
SHOWN A CAREFULLY
rear-mounted, air-cooled, four-cylinder boxer engines; ’50s and ’60s
riffs on a vehicle concept designed in the 1930s. Serious work on alter-
DISMANTLED AND
natives with water-cooled engines – front-engine/rear-wheel drive, ⊲ SECTIONED FIAT 128
27 October 1976,
and already Golf
output has hit
one million

Giugiaro’s genius
clear for all to
see on the Mk1
production line

50 years of Golf
front-engine/front-wheel drive and even with an engine mounted un-

der the rear seat and driving the rear wheels – did not start until after
Nordhoff died in 1968.
In the autumn of 1969, as engineers in Wolfsburg struggled to
re-imagine a people’s car for the space age, Nordhoff’s successor, Kurt
Lotz, and VW’s Italian importer, Gerhard Gumpert, visited the Turin
motor show. Comparing notes, they discovered that four of their six
favourite cars had been designed by a 31-year-old who had established
his own independent design business just 18 months earlier. His name
was Giorgetto Giugiaro. Lotz invited the young Italian to Wolfsburg.
When Giugiaro arrived at the Volkswagen Research Centre on a
frigid morning in January 1970, he was taken into a giant room. There,
laid out on the floor, was a carefully dismantled and sectioned Fiat 128,
the compact front-wheel-drive saloon launched just 10 months earlier.
‘The 128 was the reference car,’ Giugiaro confirmed in a 2002 interview
with la Repubblica journalist Vincenzo Borgomeo. The Fiat defined the
basic package and layout of what would become the Mk1 Golf.
Giugiaro’s original Golf design had a shorter bonnet and a more
raked windscreen. These were changed for the production car because
of concerns over meeting US crash and interior-reflection regulations.
It also had rectangular headlights, but these were switched to round
units to cut costs. Giugiaro was not happy. ‘I objected, I protested,’ he
told Borgomeo. ‘I even said that [from the front] the Golf… looked too
much like the Alfa Romeo Giulia GT. Do you know what they replied
to me? “If it looks like an Alfa, it’s better that way.”’
1981 ad claimed Golf had sold in 141 different countries
LAUNCHED IN MAY 1974, the Golf proved an instant hit. It had tak-
en Volkswagen nine years to produce and sell a million Beetles. Golf
sales topped a million within two years. Propelled by the Golf,
Volkswagen posted a staggering profit of DM1 billion in 1976, more
than anyone in Wolfsburg could have imagined possible a few years
earlier. Toni Schmücker, a former Ford executive who in 1974 had be-
come the third person to head troubled VW in the six years since Nor-
dhoff’s death, described the turnaround as ‘almost incredible’.
Compact yet roomy, frugal yet fun to drive, the Mk1 Golf effortlessly
surfed the zeitgeist of the late 1970s. This unpretentious hatchback of-
fered a quiet oasis of common sense in a world riven by oil crises, war
and terrorism. It also provided the raw material for an idea that would
reveal a hitherto unknown Volkswagen, a Volkswagen that could
build real driver’s cars.
In the autumn of 1974, Volkswagen’s press office chief, Anton Kon-
rad, and VW test engineer Alfons Löwenberg, came up with an idea
they called the Sport Golf. ‘The regular Golf had up to 85bhp, and my
idea was to come up with a car with more power,’ Konrad, who died
earlier this year, recalled in a 2016 interview. ‘We wanted a car to attract
young people, and to make people more interested in motor racing. We
wanted to give the car all the genes that are necessary in motorsports,
but the car had to be used in the city, on the autobahn and for leisure.’
VW marketeer Horst-Dieter Schwittlinsky replaced the Sport Golf
working title with a new name: Golf Grand Tourer Injection. The Golf
GTI. And it was VW’s chief designer Herbert Schäfer, a keen golfer,
Mk1 and Mk5 were called Rabbit in North America who attached a golf ball to the GTI’s gearlever as the finishing touch.
The Golf GTI was shown to the VW board in early 1975 and was offi-
cially greenlit for production on 28 May. Even then, Volkswagen’s still
conservative senior management wasn’t entirely convinced. ‘The
marketing department said we would only build 5000 examples, so set
the price very high,’ Konrad said. ‘In the first year we sold 30,000, and
FRUGAL YET FUN TO by the end of the Mk1 we had sold 420,000. It was also a financial suc-
DRIVE, THE MK1 GOLF cess. We were so happy we forgot to ask the bosses if we could each
have one Deutsche Mark for each car sold!’
EFFORTLESSLY SURFED AS THE MK8 REVEALED, with its glitchy software and poorly
THE ZEITGEIST OF THE thought-out switchgear, not all Golfs have been created equal. ‘It was
too slow, too average,’ was Bernd Pischetsrieder’s acerbic assessment of
LATE 1970S the Mk4 GTI when he spoke to CAR during the summer of 2004. ⊲

50 years of Golf
Made softer and flabbier than previous GTIs in a bid to broaden its ap-
peal, the Mk4 also eschewed the red line graphic on the grille that had
been a key GTI visual since the Mk1. ‘It was not a proper GTI,’ Pischets-
rieder growled. ‘It was marketing gone wrong.’
But for other reasons the Mk4 is a highly significant Golf. It was the
first to bear the fingerprints of Ferdinand Piëch, the iconoclastic engi-
neer who was now VW’s autocratic and acquisitive CEO, and whose
grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche, had designed the original Beetle. His
grandfather’s car had democratised mobility. Piech’s Golf democra-
tised luxury, especially inside, with an interior whose surfaces, colours
and materials looked as if they’d been cribbed from a high-end Audi.
In terms of the non-GTI models the Mk4 was indisputably a Golf, a
compact hatchback that was well engineered and solidly built. But it
was now also something else: it was premium. It stood apart from its
mainstream rivals from Ford and Opel, Peugeot and Renault.
Engineer Ulrich Hackenberg oversaw the development of the Mk5,
the Mk6, and the Mk7 Golfs. His cars are significant not so much for
what you can see, but for what’s under the skin: the Mk5 was built on
VW Group’s PQ35 platform, one of the key elements of Piëch’s cleverly
orchestrated platform-sharing strategy. In addition to underpinning
the Mk5 Golf, PQ35 would become a VW Group workhorse, used for
vehicles of wildly different purpose and personality, ranging from the
Audi TT to the Seat Leon, the Skoda Yeti and the Volkswagen Caddy.
The Mk7 Golf launched in 2012 is even more significant, as this de-
buted Hackenberg’s highly efficient and flexible modular vehicle
Management unconvinced by GTI, but happy to be wrong
‘toolkit’ concept that is now used across all Volkswagen Group model
lines, from Skoda to Bentley. Hackenberg describes the Mk7 Golf as
his masterpiece. ‘All of my knowledge went into the Mk7,’ he says.
Because the ‘toolkit’ used to build the Mk7 – the Modularer Quer-
baukasten, aka MQB – comprised parts and components that could
also see duty on models such as the Passat and various SUVs, the Mk7
was, in Hackenberg’s opinion, the most over-engineered Golf in histo-
ry. ‘Instead of specifically engineering lower-cost parts for the Golf, it
made sense to bring the cost of those parts down through higher vol-
ume,’ he explains. Many of those parts, of course, have been carried
over to the Golf Mk8 and Mk8.5.
‘THE GOLF IS A CAR where you are not allowed to make big mis-
takes,’ smiles Ulrich Hackenberg. He’s no stranger to shouldering the
burden of history that rides along with the development of every new
Golf. But, he says, with the Golf the perfect need not be the enemy of
the good: ‘You want to be the best, but you need not be the best in all
categories. You need to be the best in general.’
That is perhaps the key to the Golf’s enduring appeal: it has never
been anything less than a competent all-rounder, the rational choice in
the segment. Ferdinand Porsche’s Beetle was widely seen as a stun-
ningly original creation, although in truth he had appropriated many
of the car’s innovative concepts from others, most notably the talented
Josef Ganz, a Jewish engineer from Frankfurt who was forced to flee
Germany in 1934, as well as Hungarian inventor and later Mercedes-
Benz safety pioneer Béla Barényi, who in 1925 had filed technical
drawings for a remarkably similar car.
Toni Schmücker: boss when the Mk1 changed everything
The Golf, by contrast, broke no new ground when it was launched.
Its overall size and engineering layout was heavily influenced by Fiat’s
128, a car designed by the legendary Dante Giacosa, the man responsi-
ble for the tiny and brilliant Fiat 500. Even the decision to make the
Golf a hatchback, 50 years on still the definitive compact-car format,
THE GOLF WAS
wasn’t entirely an a-ha! moment: the idea had been introduced to the
mass market with the 1961 Renault 4, and first combined with a trans-
PREMIUM. IT STOOD
verse front-engine layout like the Golf’s in the 1967 Simca 1100. And it APART FROM ITS
could be argued that the GTI, the seminal hot hatch, was simply a fac-
tory hot rod in the spirit of the original Mini Cooper and Cooper S.
MAINSTREAM RIVALS
Viewed dispassionately, the Volkswagen Golf is thus perhaps an or-
dinary thing. But there is excellence in doing ordinary things extraor-
FROM FORD, PEUGEOT,
dinarily well. And that’s why, after 50 years, the Golf is still with us. OPEL AND RENAULT
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Hot rod heaven
Somewhere between American Graffiti and ZZ Top,

the UK version of US hot rod culture is still full of
creativity, passion… and a faint smell of Blu Tack
Words Mark Walton Photography Lee Brimble

Hot rod heaven
Hard to
imagine the
EV version
of this
Need to check
your quiff?
Hubcaps to
the rescue
Euro NCAP’s
worst
nightmare
Walton
transported
back to his youth
h God, has it really come to this? I’ve come to the National Hot Rod and It’s still raining at the Lincolnshire Showground so I wander into the
Custom Car Show at the Lincolnshire Showground for a trip down large marquee tent where the National Street Rod Association (NSRA)
memory lane and I’m now standing in a field in the rain. There are has a display. There I find Rick Reynolds standing by his customised
about seven cars here, including a van covered in squirrels and a jacked- 1954 Fordson van. Rick has lots of old photos and magazine articles on
up Toyota Hilux called Hellboy. Rockabilly music is blasting from the show, and it soon becomes clear that Rick, like me, is here to remember.
big tent and there are families wandering around with pushchairs, ‘I grew up in the hot rod scene,’ he tells me. ‘When I was a kid, we
making the best of it and wondering if it’s too early for ice cream. used to travel every weekend to custom car shows. My dad, Mo Reyn-
This is a shock. This is not how I remember things. The hot rod olds, got into it in 1978, which was a time of creativity, murals, metal-
scene of my childhood seemed cool and subversive; it was reckless and flake paint and gold Dralon seats. He had a 1968 Torino which he cus-
a bit racy. It was all about glinting chrome engines, a sparkle of Califor- tomised. Cars were about reflecting the personality of the owner. My
nia sunshine, ZZ Top and Daisy Duke in her denim shorts. dad has passed away now and I came back into it trying to find his car. I
But then, maybe my memory is playing tricks. My soft spot for hot tracked it down in Sweden, still with the Dralon seats, the metalflake
rods dates way, way back – all the way back to my pre-teen childhood. just about hanging in there, but the great thing is, it survived!’
In fact, all the way back… to the dinosaurs. Rick started a Facebook group called Back To Our Roots, which
Dinosaurs were my first love, but by the time I was eight or nine I got brings people together to remember the period. ‘As a kid I took loads of
drawn towards cars. It was inevitable – my dad was a car enthusiast photos and shot a lot of Super 8 cine film,’ Rick tells me. ‘The scene has
and I grew up in a house which always had copies of Motor Sport and been through many stages, and for a while in the ’90s it kind of died
Thoroughbred & Classic Cars lying around. I’m not sure exactly when, down. Now there’s a nostalgia for that era.’
but at some point I went into a newsagent and said to my dad, ‘Please Another owner whose car is a blast from the past is Andy Hogg,
can I have that one?’ – and he bought me a copy of Hot Car. Launched whose red T-bucket is on the NSRA display. T-buckets are the most
in 1968, Hot Car magazine capitalised on the craze for customising iconic of all hot rods, dating back to the famous Kookie Kar of 1955. ⊲
that flourished in the UK through the ’70s. When I started reading it at
the end of that decade, it would often have a centre spread of a Ford
T-bucket or a metalflake Transit, which I would carefully extract by Wanting a Ford Model A with
bending back the staples to stick on my wall. Blu Tack was invented in
1970, changing kids’ bedroom walls forever. Daisy Duke’s face airbrushed
In 1979 Street Machine was launched, which seemed more grown-up
than Hot Car, with even wilder cars on dragster wheels and flaming
on the side was just a phase
paint jobs. And of course there was Custom Car, which had topless
models in the centre spread, leaning on the cars with their fake-fur
coats and leopard-print leotards. It was tawdry and vulgar and anyway
I wasn’t allowed to put Custom Car pictures on my wall.
Then in 1984 I discovered CAR magazine. Next thing, I’m reading
about Gavin Green driving a Ferrari 288 GTO. Suddenly, no more
flames or fur coats. But because I moved on so quickly – and so abso-
lutely – my hot rod days ended up sealed off, like one of those time
capsules you fill with photos and bury in the garden. It turned out that
wanting to own a Ford Model A with Daisy Duke’s face airbrushed on
the side was just a phase.
But recently I’ve started remembering those cars again, getting all
nostalgic about the candy paint colours, the pinstripe detailing and
buttoned interiors. It got me wondering about the people and the
scene – does British hot rodding still exist? And if so, are T-buckets still Not what
Henry imaged
a thing? So off I went to the National Hot Rod, Custom & American 91 years ago
Car Show to find out.

Hot rod heaven
Hint of a ghost
of a shadow of
a useful vehicle
There’s everything here from a Hummer with a fake machine

gun to an Escort van inspired by the Highlander movie
Built by a 22-year-old called Norm Grabowski, the Kookie Kar was a know how much horsepower it has – it’s more about the looks and the
cut-down Model T body mounted on a shortened Model A chassis sounds. I normally just cruise along at 50mph!’
with a Cadillac engine. In 1957, Grabowski was photographed hanging Nearby is another early T, this time an American original, built in
out in Hollywood by a Life magazine photographer, eating a burger in 1967 with a Buick V6. Like many cars on show – from the Hellboy pick-
his car. When this iconic picture appeared in a story about Californian up to a nearby ‘rat rod’ with a skull hanging in the passenger seat – its
car culture, it kick-started a nationwide craze, inspiring thousands of Addams Family styling is inspired by the macabre. At the rear is Matt
young men to copy the Grabowski car’s exposed engine, raked stance Marson, hand-painting some lettering for the car’s owner, Chrissie. It
and open, whitewalled wheels. reads: ‘Don’t look at the skull… he will take your soul’ – a reference to
T-buckets became so popular that by the mid ’60s kits were being the skull-shaped rear diff which lights up at night. Matt, a CNC ma-
sold with fibreglass bodies, and by the ’70s these so-called Fad T kits chinist whose artistic side hustle is called Danger Sign, explains the
were being produced here in the UK too, by custom builders like Nick grisly side of customising as he paints in blood red.
Butler and Geoff Jago. Like all cars, the Model T changed over the ‘There’s definitely a link between hot rodding and horror,’ he tells
years, but the most popular fibreglass bucket was based on the 1923 me. ‘Horror, sci-fi – it’s all outlier art. I’m a massive horror fan and a
Roadster. Andy Hogg’s red 23 T is such a car. comic fan. Hot rodding is for people who can’t leave things alone – they
‘It’s a ’70s original, and I’m only the third owner,’ Andy tells me. have tattoos because they like to modify themselves. You’re into cars
‘Mine’s one of Nick Butler’s – I’m not sure if it came as a kit but probably that aren’t the ordinary, that people will stop and stare at.’
most of it was bought from him. It has a fibreglass bucket and a Rover Like the green van covered in squirrels, for example? I leave Matt to
V8, with a supercharger from a Deutz lorry. his lettering and wander back outside. The rain has stopped, the sun is
Andy’s love of the hot rod scene also goes back to that era. ‘I used to out and now – thankfully – dozens of cars have arrived in the show
buy Street Machine and Hot Car – I’ve got loads of copies still in the loft,’ field. It looks a lot more inviting than it did at 10am.
he tells me. ‘I used to go to a lot of shows and dream. Years ago, I got Hot rodding is clearly a broad church, and there’s everything here
Nick Butler’s pamphlet, and I actually bought a Jaguar V12 and gearbox, from a Hummer with a fake machine gun to an Escort van inspired by
had it all stripped down, ready to build my own car. Then my wife fell the Highlander movie – but I have to find out more about that green
pregnant and it didn’t go ahead.’ van. Turns out it’s a 1996 Chevy G20 – and they’re not squirrels after all.
Now in his sixties, Andy decided to finally fulfil that ambition and The owner, Chris MacKenzie, is sitting beside the van waiting for her
bought his 23 T about six years ago. ‘T-buckets were popular in the ’70s, husband Duncan to return with bacon sandwiches. The incredible
but they’ve gradually dwindled down and there aren’t many left. I don’t airbrushing was done by an artist called Kev Hill, she tells me. ‘And ⊲

You don’t
have to be a
chromed V8 to
work here…
Hot rodding is
a broad church.
Some broader
than others

Grass less than
ideal, but not
as hostile as
speed bumps
Not everything’s
modified; not
everything
needs to be
Matt Marson:
no rest for the
talented

Hot rod heaven
Not what you

find in the
boot of every
Chevy Bel-Air
Hot rodding is clearly riding a wave of nostalgia, as middle-aged

men and women remember the glory days of the 1970s and ’80s
what was the brief?’ I ask. ‘Show the beauty of foxes,’ she answers, im- big part of hot rodding culture – even as a 10-year-old, I could see that.
mediately. Wow, that’s a specific brief. ‘I love foxes.’ Now these barmy, impractical, often expensive creations look like a
What’s clear – just as Matt explained earlier – is that Chris just can’t revolt against the sanitised EVs we’re all being forced to buy. And hav-
leave things alone. ‘It’s been ongoing for years,’ she tells me. ‘We just ing submerged myself once again in the world of chrome V8s and air-
keep adding to it. These projects are never finished – this is its fourth brushed foxes, I think I’m ready to join the revolution. I don’t have a hot
interior. I get bored with things!’ rod but I can bring the Blu Tack.
She opens the side door and shows me inside. ‘I bought a large
throne, cut it down and painted it to look like a tree,’ she says, as mat-
ter-of-factly as anyone ever could say those words.
Another car has arrived in the sunshine, its gigantic V8 burbling like HOT RODDING’S ALL-TIME GREATS
a dragster as it parks up. I’m immediately drawn to it – for me, this is
the car of the show. I ask the owner, Russell Cook, about his incredible HOT ROD #1
creation. ‘It’s a 1930 Model A with a 6.0-litre Chrysler Hemi,’ he tells In 1948 Bob McGee returned to California after the war and
modified his 1932 Ford Roadster with a clean, minimalist look
me. ‘I bought it as a rolling chassis and body from Canada, then basi- (below left). It appeared on the cover of the first issue of Hot
cally built what you see. It’s had a six-inch roof-chop and a four-inch Rod magazine and became an icon
channel, which means the body’s lowered over the chassis. So basically
you sit on the floor. It’s a proper, traditional hot rod.’ BUCKING THE TREND
After featuring in Life magazine in 1957, Norm Grabowski’s
By now, Russell’s story is familiar. ‘I built my first hot rod in my teens,
ground-breaking roadster inspired the T-bucket craze.
then I got into sports cars and drag racing, then drifted back into hot Originally called Lightning Bug it starred in a hit TV show, 77
rods,’ he tells me. ‘You never stop tinkering. When I first built it, it Sunset Strip, and became known as the Kookie Kar
wasn’t supercharged. Then a friend sold me a 6-71 supercharger, and I
had to cut the car in half to make it three inches longer, to get the front OUT THERE
Ed Roth, the LA artist behind the Rat Fink cartoon character,
pulley in. So you’re always fiddling – sometimes big things, sometimes learned of a new material used by surfers called fibreglass.
small. It was brown, now it’s green.’ He hand-moulded the stuff to bring one of his cartoon
The V8 puts out around 600bhp, which is a lot in a car that’s basically monsters to life and called it The Outlaw
an engine on wheels. ‘I’ve done 120mph in it,’ Russell tells me, ‘but it’s
A CAPITAL C
proper scary. It weighs about 1300kg, but 1000 of those is forward of
When the T-bucket craze came to the UK in the early ’70s,
the gearlever, so all the braking is done on those skinny front wheels.’ Nick Butler was a pioneer. In 1976 he built a delivery-van-
Russell invites me sit inside. It’s tiny but much more comfortable inspired C-Cab called Revenge (below right), named Best Hot
than I imagined when I first saw the little seat cushion on the floor. Rod of the Century in 2000
The tricky thing is the low roof, which means you have to duck your
THE BIG BANG
head to see out. ‘I use it in the summer – my wife I might go out for In 1978 Nick Butler wanted to build the ultimate T.
dinner with friends,’ Russell tells me. ‘I’ve been to Belgium, Germany Andromeda – with its 7.0-litre supercharged V8 and leather
and France in it. But I’m 62 now and I get a bit of back ache because you interior – took hot rod detailing to a new level. Legend has it
have to stoop to drive it.’ Andromeda had 1000bhp and did 0-100mph in 8.0 seconds
Russell is also realistic about the future of the whole hot rod move-
ment. ‘My generation is the last that’ll put a high value on cars like
these,’ he reckons. ‘We grew up with movies like American Graffiti.
When you grow up on films like Fast & Furious, the cars you aspire to
own are Nissan GT-Rs. Why would you want 600bhp that doesn’t
handle?’ For now, though, hot rodding is clearly riding a wave of nos-
talgia, as middle-aged men and women remember the glory days of the
1970s and ’80s. But there’s also a modern twist. Rebellion was always a

H E LLO PE UG EOT E -20 0 8 & M I N I COUNTRYMAN JCW + RE ADE RS TRY OUR
B E NTLE Y + GOODBYE R ANGE ROVE R SPORT & ME RCE DE S EQE

Middle
ground Goodbye
Hard to see why anyone would spend

£86k on an EQE. By Piers Ward
while and its strengths come to

the fore.
The brakes remain a big
problem. You stop being sur-
prised by them, but you don’t
stop wishing they were better
Mercedes-Benz every time you drive the car. But
EQE 300 AMG Line the looks, the steering and the
Premium Plus modest pace don’t grate so bad-
Month 4 ly after a few weeks.
The story so far Rather, the EQE slips into the
background, with an operating
Merc’s electric equivalent of the
E-Class is a grower
system that functions well, de-
+ Comfortable; touchscreen cent comfort and a general ease
works well; ease of charging of use that makes it a very okay
- Blobby looks; dreadful brakes; car. Its normality is its strength.
shocking residual values Take charging. The range in-
creased from a low of 200 miles
Logbook
in foul winter weather up to a
Price £86,345 (£86,345 as more acceptable 240 once the
tested) Performance 89kWh temperatures climbed. We saw
battery, e-motor, 241bhp, 7.3sec
0-62mph, 130mph Efficiency 3.3 a high of 3.03 miles per kWh
miles per kWh (official), 2.4 miles while it was with us, with plenty
per kWh (tested) Range 337 of journeys in the 2.9s. That’s
miles (official), 220 miles (tested)
Energy cost 15.0p per mile Miles no better than middling effi-
this month 788 Total miles 2628 ciency, but the way the EQE
typically made it pretty easy to
Let’s be brutal about this – the use public chargers helps offset
EQE is unlikely to go down in some of that.
the record books as one of the By using the car’s nav, which
great cars in the long history of intelligently links to charge
Mercedes-Benz. points and can divert around
It’s burdened by inelegant traffic jams, the Merc took the
looks, numb steering and abso- stress out of journey planning.
lutely shocking brakes, and it’s It found fast chargers where I
not especially quick. This is not never knew they existed, told
a list of positive traits lifted me exactly how much I needed
from How to Build a Car. to add in order to make it home,
Lots to dislike, then. But as and sucked the electrons in at
my time with the car went on I 128kW thanks to the battery
found the dislike fading into being pre-conditioned.
the background. That sounds a On one stop, I literally only
bit like when your mate says, ‘no had time to take a couple of
offence but…’ and then launch- photos before the EQE was
es into a critique of your worst ready to go again – six minutes
character flaws. The point with and it had inhaled enough to
the EQE is that it tends to make make it home. It’s the closest
Why is it BMW
a poor first impression because I’ve got to Tesla’s ease of use in
Lee Brimble
grilles get all

the flak? of those disappointments listed an EV not made by Tesla.
above. But live with it for a But does it have enough to ⊲

Touchscreen
and interface
among the best
The charging system is the

closest I’ve got to Tesla’s ease of
use in an EV not made by Tesla
elevate it above ‘white goods’ nings, rather than the all-new
status? That’s a trickier ques- platform previously touted.
tion. It doesn’t drive as well as Given the slow-down in de-
the universally admired Por- mand for EVs, you can see why
sche Taycan or even the quietly Merc might want to adjust its
impressive BMW i5. And, as I priorities. But it suggests the
said in my first report, it lacks a EQE will continue to be slightly
USP that feels distinctly ‘Merc’. below par for another genera-
Certainly the touchscreen, tion. ‘More of the same’ doesn’t
and more specifically the logic sound like a great plan given
behind it, is impressive, but will how little appreciated the cur- Ride is fine,
steering
that actually wow many peo- rent EQE seems to be; you don’t less so
ple? It’s worked for Tesla. But have to look far to find a used
that feels a bit shallow for a car with less than 10,000 miles
brand of Merc’s heritage. Find- being offered for less than £50k.
ing charging spots in random An electric Merc to compete
pubs just off the A1 hardly has with the best of the brand’s his-
the same ring as Klaus Ludwig tory is an enticing prospect. But
in a 190E through the Craner it’s not here yet.
Curves.
Count the cost
We’re told that the successors
to the EQE and the larger EQS Cost new £86,345 Part-
exchange £45,235 Cost per mile
will be built on modified ver- 15.0p Cost per mile including
sions of the current underpin- depreciation £15.78

Our Cars
The grass is much greener

Just how similar is the Avenger to other compact EVs? By Curtis Moldrich
This month I swapped keys Unlike my Jeep, the Smart time – and attention – and it’s at
with colleague Jakes Groves to features a head-up display. It’s this point that the car tells me
try out his new Smart #1. At clear and easy to read. Just be- to focus on the road, and maybe
£35,950, with a lot of gear fitted low there’s a letterbox-style dis- take a break. It seems a tad un-
as standard, it seems like good play that shows all the key info. fair and makes me miss the
value, and has a big dose of The touchscreen is the cab- simple controls of the Jeep.
character. Jake’s been making in’s main attraction. I quickly On the motorway the
mixed noises about it since it grew attached to the built-in Smart’s tech is less passive-ag- Jeep Avenger
arrived, though, so I was curi- system, whereas in the Jeep I gressive and just plain aggres- Electric Longitude
ous to have a steer for myself. use Apple CarPlay. sive. The adaptive cruise with Month 5
And after a couple of hun- The Smart is a story of two lane keeping wants the car dead
The story so far
dred miles… yes, he’s right: it’s a halves on the road. Where my centre. Changing lanes always
mixed bag. It also sheds some front-wheel-drive Jeep can be involves a light skirmish be- Characterful take on the small
Stellantis EV, wrapped in a
fresh light on my Avenger. pushed a little and handles like tween my inputs and whatever convincingly Jeep-style body
It’s very gaudy outside, with a a go-kart, this rear-wheel-drive the car feels is best. + Decent looks; nippy in town
silhouette that suggests a com- Smart handles like the softest The Smart feels refreshing - Deceptive range; fussy tech
plete lack of interest in dyan- Flump. And it’s made all the and more polished than the
ism, and headlights that look better by the pleasingly positive Jeep. Even the charging cable Logbook
like the eyes of a newly discov- steering, direct acceleration feels better; on the Jeep it’s a ge- Price £39,600 (£42,125 as
ered species of amphibian, but and ample power. Roll is com- neric item, in the Smart its han- tested) Performance 50.8kWh
inside it makes more sense. It’s parable to a dinghy on the high dles match the design language battery, e-motor, 154bhp,
9.6sec 0-62mph, 93mph
all curves, shiny white plastic seas, though, so you’re best off and bright colouring of the car. Efficiency 3.9-4.0 miles per
and lots of space – such a depar- not exploiting those nicely Both EVs could learn a lot kWh (official), 2.7 miles per kWh
ture from the gloomy Jeep cab- weighted controls too much. from each other: if only the Jeep (tested), 0g/km CO2 Range
in. This is the upside of that odd There are some tech annoy- were a little more premium, 249 miles (official), 221 miles
(tested) Energy cost 12.2p per
silhouette: a huge glasshouse ances. Adjusting the door mir- and the Smart were a little less mile Miles this month 1073
brings better visibility. rors via the touchscreen takes intrusive. Total miles 3242
Jeep styling a
clear winner
over the Smart

Today’s whole
Mazda range
has this clean,
grown-up
styling
Jordan Butters
The heart of the matter
So-so car. Terrific engine. And so much better to live with than the
plug-in hybrid this replaced on the CAR test fleet. By Jordan Butters
Looking back through my pre- PHEV looks to be the better gine is also incredibly smooth
vious musings on the CX-60 choice, but in the real world it’s and refined, with a nice burble
you’d be forgiven for feeling I’ve a different story. The PHEV’s under load in the cabin. The
been harsh on Mazda’s premi- 322bhp motor will get you to eight-speed transmission is the
um SUV. But despite its frus- 62mph quicker than the 241bhp same as in the PHEV, which can
trating shortcomings in areas diesel, but the diesel not only be a bit slow to react at times,
such as the choppy suspension offers 10 per cent more torque, but for the most part does the
and overbearing warning/safe- crucially it’s available from an job. There’s also a 48-volt mild
Mazda CX-60
Homura e-Skyactiv D
ty systems, there are some areas impressive 1500rpm compared hybrid system which, rather MHEV 3.3
which I really can’t fault. As to having to wind the petrol than boost power, is there to aid
Month 6
mentioned previously, there’s motor up to 4000rpm to reach efficiency.
not a thing I’d change about the peak torque. The result is a book figure of The story so far
interior, for one. But the real Given most people want 52mpg combined, which in re-
Slightly quirky crossover, here
success story in our CX-60 is power available while on the al-world terms I’ve found settles tested with a diesel mild hybrid
the 3.3-litre inline six-cylinder move, as opposed to launching at 40-45mpg in normal day-to- + Great inline-six diesel engine
e-Skyactiv D diesel engine. their SUVs from the lights at day conditions with the boot - Slower to 62mph than the
Having previously run the Santa Pod, this makes for a far laden with camera kit. PHEV equivalent
2.5-litre PHEV petrol CX-60 on more useful and pleasurable But best of all this consump-
the CAR fleet, the main reason power curve, with plenty of get- tion figure isn’t influenced by Logbook
for opting for another CX-60 up-and-go in day-to-day use. the amount of charge in the Price £50,705 (£54,357 as
back-to-back was to see if the What’s more, if you’re interest- battery – as long as there’s juice tested) Performance 3283cc
diesel six-cylinder, 251bhp,
straight-six diesel powerplant ed in utilising the 2500kg tow- in the tank you know what 7.4sec 0-62mph, 136mph
made up for the PHEV’s short- ing limit then extra torque and you’ll get without carting Efficiency 53.3mpg (official),
comings. its efficient delivery will no around a depleted chunk of 44.0mpg (tested), 138g/km
CO2 Energy cost 16.2p per
And the good news is that it doubt appeal. battery, as you would in the mile Miles this month 827
more than does. On paper, the Being an inline-six, the en- PHEV sibling. Total miles 8342

Our Cars
And once in that cubby your around the issue. It’s a shame:
phone sits at an angle that pre- driving almost one-footed is
vents you seeing if the wireless one of the joys of EV ownership,
charging is working. This but the brake calibration on the
might be deliberate to avoid Enyaq sometimes takes me
distraction, but it just seems to back to the combustion era.
cause more faffing and peering.
More seriously, the Enyaq
came on a set of Hankook tyres
which are causing me concern,
given the car’s 2.3-tonne mass,
335bhp peak output and near
Switches good. 60-grand price. I’ve had two
Accidental noticeable ESP-triggered un-
activation, bad
dersteer moments in the Enyaq,
Skoda Enyaq
Coupe iV vRS
compared to none at all in the
Month 2
Yeah but no but yeah four generally heavier and more
powerful electric long-term test The story so far
cars I’ve run previously.
Nice ointment, with flies. By Ben Oliver There’s also a disconcerting
Most powerful Skoda ever still
feels like a Skoda
lightness and lack of connec- + Quick; practical; good range
I just got into a remarkably to- It’s comfortable, spacious tion at motorway speeds in the - Needs better tyres and
gether-feeling 650,000km Sko- and easy to live with. So please wet. This may be unfair, as I’ve sharper brakes
da Superb taxi at Zagreb airport keep that in mind while I pick a not done back-to-back tests, but
and was reminded again of the few holes in it. There are a few for both I’m inclined to blame Logbook
unfussy practicality and dura- minor ergonomic irritations, the rubber given that the rest of Price £54,155 (£58,800 as
bility that makes us love this like the row of physical switches the chassis is so well sorted. tested) Performance 77kWh
battery, twin e-motors, 5.5sec
brand. Driver Sasha had put on taking you straight to functions The other issue is the brakes, 0-62mph, 111mph Efficiency
half a million of those kilome- like climate on the main screen, which are fine for ultimate re- 3.9 miles per kWh (claimed), 3.5
ters. I don’t plan to do the same which are too easy to knock tardation but too weak in their (tested), 0g/km CO2 Range
in this Enyaq, but its funda- with your hand as you reach initial application, meaning I 336 miles (claimed), 302 miles
(tested) Energy cost 8.7p per
mental qualities and effect on into the phone cubby below was arriving into junctions too mile Miles this month 1511
the driver are the same. them, putting the hazards on. quickly until I’d learnt to drive Total miles 4667
overstretched or harsh, the six- ing to Spotify podcasts.

Seaside speed manual gearbox giving it
the long legs it needs to cruise
Why do manufacturers still
offer their own interior tech,
special all day long.
A good interior is critical on a
when all we want is phone inte-
gration? Here you get both, but
Destination: fun. long-distance drive and here I never use the built-in option.
Renault Clio TCe 90 too the Renault scores highly, Anyway, this is all to say that
Evolution By Mark Walton with comfy seats, lots of cubby- a recent drive to Bournemouth
Month 3 holes and cupholders and – cru- – a seven-hour round trip –
One of the things I love about cially – it has Apple CarPlay for went very well. The sun shone,
The story so far
the Clio is how it does it all. It’s Google maps and binge-listen- making the car look like a lolly.
We’ve fallen in love with this great round town, it’s fun when
fabulous all-rounder
you thrash it, but it’s also a good
+ Great at motorway speeds,
despite the tiny engine long-distance car.
- Apple CarPlay means That’s mostly down to its
Renault’s own tech is magnificent 1.0-litre engine.
redundant Just as it’s surprisingly zesty
when you wang it along a coun-
Logbook
try road, this turbocharged
Price £17,995 (£18,695 as three-cylinder is also astonish-
tested) Performance 999cc
turbocharged three-cylinder, ingly good at high-speed
89bhp, 12.2sec 0-62mph, motorway work.
112mph Efficiency 54.3mpg Of course I never go over
(official), 44.7mpg (tested), 118g/ 70mph… but hypothetically I Looks good
km CO2 Energy cost 14.6p per enough to eat.
mile Miles this month 1039 can tell you the Clio is happy to
(But don’t)
Total miles 2866 cruise at 85mph, never feeling

Mini no more
Hello Bigger and bolder, the new Countryman JCW promises
Mini thrills in a family-friendly shape. By Piers Ward
Controversy is never far away can flip to all-wheel drive when Apple CarPlay display sits awk-
from the Mini Countryman. needed, via a propshaft and rear wardly in the middle; round
Bigger than ever, this latest ver- Haldex clutch controlled by the hole, square peg.
sion isn’t even built in Britain, DSC electronics. On the move, it disguises its
this being the first Mini to roll Countryman JCW prices size well. Despite weighing
off a production line in Germa- start at £41,575; the new VW 1735kg it turns in with vigour,
ny. That sound you can hear is Golf GTI is likely to be around feeling sharp like all the best re-
Basil Fawlty choking on his the same price. Our car has cent Minis. The flipside is you Mini Countryman
JCW All4
cornflakes. £5800 of optional extras – the get bounced around quite a lot.
Now in its third generation, Legend Grey paint is £600 What’s odd is that it’s not
Month 1
the first BMW-era Mini Coun- while the remainder is made up gone down especially well in The story so far
tryman appeared in 2010, and of the Level 3 pack, involving the school car park. I would
Massive rapid Mini that hides
since then has consistently upgraded 20-inch wheels, an have thought this Countryman its bulk well, if not beautifully
been the car that gets chewed electric massage seat for the would be peak Mini – the car + Mini feelgood factor in a
by fans of the traditional Mini. driver, adaptive LED head- for young families who love more practical shape
Will those complaints fade lights, JCW performance what the brand stands for but in - Gearbox has a mind of its own
away over the period of our brakes, sliding rear seats, and a size that means they can get at times
long-term test? on and on. It’s one hell of a list, the cricket kit in the boot. But it
Logbook
It certainly has an appealing but even without it the Coun- doesn’t seem to resonate with
amount of punch. Being a John tryman JCW gets enough kit. them as a Mini. Price £41,575 (£47,375 as
Cooper Works model, it’s the The interior is dominated by Maybe it’s just too big for turbocharged four-cylinder,
most powerful available, with a the circular infotainment. I’m what they think a Mini should 296bhp, 5.4sec 0-62mph,
2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo- yet to really get to grips with all be, but not big enough to dis- 155mph Efficiency 35.3mpg
Jordan Butters
charged petrol engine provid- the finer points. Being circular place the default Defender from (official), 33.0mpg (tested),
180g/km CO2 Energy cost
ing 296bhp and 295lb ft. It de- gives it a distinctive design USP their affections. It’s Mini’s Usyk 21.0p per mile Miles this
faults to front-wheel drive but but also means the rectangular to Land Rover’s Fury. month 565 Total miles 3507
Biggest ever
Mini, and one of
the fastest

Our Cars
Battery Man vs Mind Abarth

half full? machine the gap meets a bus
The SQ8 had a crazy five days ARRGGHH. Not long into life Our Stelvio’s standard 20-inch The Abarth 500e is a tiny teara-
piling on 995 miles, with return with a #1 and it’s clear the two wheels look almost as good as way of an EV, while our recently
trips to the Ruhr valley and of us are not co-existing well. I the optional 21s, have a very departed VW ID. Buzz is one of
South Yorkshire. tried to set it up with the Smart similar five-hole design and the largest, roomiest battery
Getting the SQ8 onto a mo- app to unlock some bonus fea- saved us £750. But the Pirellis cars going. Chalk and cheese?
torway, autoroute or autobahn tures, but no dice – and very they’re wrapped in have a sur- Yes, but I find similarities too.
revealed an ability to be eco- unhelpful ‘just reinstall the app’ prising amount of headroom Stylistically, each draws on its
nomical at significant speeds. advice from tech support. considering no one will ever manufacturer’s heritage. Both
Cruising through France, Bel- The powered door handles drive one off road. are unthreatening designs
gium and Germany at 80mph, pop back in just as you’re about Upgrading to the 21s would laced with a streak of happi-
the Audi returned 2.45 miles to reach for them – why do that help plug the gap, but probably ness, although the Italian tot is
per kWh. With the UK’s lower when the car is parked and un- not by as much as you’d think. a push for any more than two
limit, it clocked 2.65 miles per locked?! The adaptive cruise is The bigger wheels run a low- passengers. I’m having to juggle
kWh to Rotherham and back. so paranoid that the closest fol- er-profile tyre (35 vs 40) so the family duties so I can prioritise
It’s aided by air suspension low distance is far enough for overall height is only 11.4mm shorter trips in the Abarth,
that lowers the body at speed, people to cut you up. The cherry greater, and half of that is below where the VW could swallow
active grille closure, numerous on top? ‘BEEP BEEP BEEP. Fa- the axle line. anything we threw at it.
underbody aero features and a tigue warning. Please take a The unnecessary ride-height Still, the compact dimen-
dormant front motor at cruise. break.’ After just FIVE MIN- inches don’t seem to hurt the sions of the 500e are much easi-
That said, reasonable motor- UTES at the wheel. handling, and given that the er to park and I love the sheer
way economy only makes my All of this stuff is seemingly ride is already firm, sticking chuckability that comes with
1.7 miles per kWh urban average designed to help, but it just gives with the smaller wheels was downsizing from an MPV to a
look even more tragic. me a headache. definitely the right choice. mini.
PHIL MCNAMARA JAKE GROVES CHRIS CHILTON TIM POLLARD
Audi SQ8 e-Tron Smart #1 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Abarth 500e

Black Edition Premium Quadrifoglio Turismo
Month 6 Month 2 Month 2 Month 2
The story so far The story so far The story so far The story so far
Audi’s e-SUV is a mixed bag but Smooth electric hatch, but Facelifted Stelvio super-SUV We’re a few weeks into life with
impresses dynamically infuriating at times now with more power and a Abarth’s electric hot hatch
+ Quiet and economical on the + Sweet to drive; well-made and sharper chassis + Ease of use; compact; fun
motorway roomy interior with comfy seats + Gorgeous-looking wheels; - 500 bodyshell is cramped for
- Three phantom warning - Spoiled by infuriating tech great all-wheel-drive grip passengers and luggage
messages on one trip - Firm ride from sporty
Logbook suspension; odd wheelarch gap Logbook
Logbook
Price £38,950 (£38,950 as Logbook Price £38,195 (£38,795 as tested)
Price £103,310 Performance tested) Performance 66kWh Performance 42kWh battery,
106kWh battery, three e-motors, battery, e-motor, 268bhp, 6.7sec Price £87,195 (£90,745 as tested) e-motor, 152bhp, 7.0sec
496bhp, 4.5sec 0-62mph, 0-62mph, 112mph Efficiency 3.7 Performance 2891cc twin- 0-62mph, 96mph Efficiency 3.3
130mph Efficiency 2.2 miles per miles per kWh (official), 2.54 turbocharged V6, 513bhp, 3.8sec miles per kWh (official), 3.4 miles
kWh (official), 2.1 (tested) Range miles per kWh (tested) Range 0-62mph, 177mph Efficiency per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2
269 miles (official), 223 miles 273 miles (official), 204 miles 23.9mpg (official), 20.2mpg Range 158 miles (claimed), 143
(tested) Energy cost 12.0p per (tested) Energy cost 14.7p per (tested), 267g/km CO2 Energy miles (tested) Energy cost
mile Miles this month 1404 mile Miles this month 1337 Total cost 34.0p per mile Miles this £48.59 Miles this month 590
Total miles 6722 miles 5430 month 1130 Total miles 6210 Total miles 3170

Our Cars
You drive
‘I love this thing to bits’
our cars We’re big fans of our Bentley. But what will CAR readers
Gareth Morgan and Andy Cordial make of it? By Ben Miller
With a rich and varied car-own- U-turning in the wet… The 911
ing history behind him, Gareth Turbo S Cabriolet was impres-
Morgan recently found himself sive but when you look in the
in the enviable position of mirror it could be any 911 – that
choosing a ‘pinnacle car’ – an didn’t feel right.’
indulgent purchase that’ll likely And what of the new genera- ‘I do like the
Bentley Continental
prove his four-wheeled
high-water mark. He tried all
tion of GT contenders, like Au-
di’s electric e-Tron GT or
Bentley’s V8;
GTC V8 S
the contenders, including the BMW’s M3 Touring? ‘For me it’s so strong
Month 5
Continental GT, before buying the clue’s in the name: grand low down’
The story so far an Aston Martin DB12 Volante. tourer. It’s got to be grand. No
GARETH MORGAN
‘I’ve had all sorts of cars, in- one ever played Bond music
Droptop version of Bentley’s
timeless Continental GT 2+2 cluding 911s, an F-Type, an Audi driving an electric Audi
+ Riotous performance; blissful RS5, a little Clio Cup and a Merc through the Alps.’ doesn’t, and the exhaust sounds
comfort; top-down fun SL350, and I raced a Golf GTI,’ To the rousing strains of much better than mine. But the
- Not the (now defunct) W12 says Gareth, who’s been reading Monty Norman’s immortal steering’s not as nice; it’s duller,
Speed, so lacking that car’s CAR since he was in his 20s. theme, Gareth and I jump in even in Sport. In the DB12 you
playful tech; fuel bills
‘Last year I decided I wanted a the Conti GT, drop the roof and think and it jinks – it’s much
Logbook grand tourer. I test drove them head into the closest thing Rut- quicker to change direction.
all, including a Continental GT land has to mountains. But I do like the Bentley engine;
Price £227,100 (£282,745 as
V8 coupe, which I loved. I also ‘I love this thing to bits. It it’s so strong low down.’
twin-turbo V8, 542bhp, 4.1sec drove a Roma, which wasn’t go- gives you everything; the com- We’re soon flying between
0-62mph, 198mph Efficiency ing to work: tight on space, fid- fort, the wow factor, the torque, blurred summer hedgerows,
22.6mpg (official), 24.0mpg dly controls, a footrest halfway the power… The seats are way Gareth’s confidence in the car
(tested), 284g/km CO2 Energy
cost 35.0p per mile Miles this up the transmission tunnel and comfier than my Aston’s, it has obvious in the way he’s power-
month 782 Total miles 3725 a set-up I found twitchy just the air scarves which my car ing through corners. ‘I love the

feel of it when you do that – the ing over us like warm surf. ‘It’s With every mile I sense Andy
torque pushing you through.’ just effortless, isn’t it?’ grins falling harder for the Bentley.
So, Gareth, how come you Andy. ‘There’s real oomph as ‘It’s so, so lovely. I wouldn’t want
arrived in the DB12 this morn- soon as you want it, and I love to get out of it. Any excuse, the
ing and not a Conti GT? ‘It’s just how much more responsive the merest hint of a sunny day, and
not as sharp as the Aston,’ he ‘It’s so, so engine and gearbox are in that’s it, I’d be gone for as long
explains. ‘Even in the sportiest
mode you still feel the weight
lovely. The itch Sport. I like that it firms the
steering, too – feels good. It’s
as I could get away with!
‘The itch really needs
and a reluctance to really bite really needs got it all, really. You can throw it scratching now. I knew it’d be a
on turn-in. My Aston feels like a scratching now’ into corners on a road like this sumptuous Sunday driver but I
go-kart next to this. It’s like the but you’ve also got massage wasn’t expecting the agility and
ANDY CORDIAL
Bentley doesn’t want to be hur- seats for those long motorway the performance. I underesti-
ried, and I’m not quite ready for drives. I’m impressed.’ mated it, no doubt.’
that. Maybe in another 10 years. to illustrate the bandwidth in
For now I want something I can the adaptive dampers I switch
play around in.’ to Comfort while we’re still
As does Andy Cordial. A suc- pattering over rough village
cessful business owner, Andy’s tarmac. ‘Suddenly it’s like a dif-
long had his eye on a Continen- ferent car,’ notes Andy.
tal GT. Today that ambition Out on the open road, we
may well acquire critical mass. round a tight left-hander to see
‘It’s almost like you’re inside the tarmac run arrow-straight
the V8!’ smiles Andy as we get for half a mile. A dip into the V8
moving, the S’s bass-heavy S’s vast reserves and we warp to It’s a laugh a
woofle working its magic inside the next corner in moments, minute when you
work with CAR
300 yards. We’re in Sport, and the V8’s rich, bassy tones wash-

Our Cars
Nothing to see here

Only kidding. Its beauty’s soul deep. By Ben Whitworth
There are many things this to its own devices it always start button and drive off; no
F-Type doesn’t have. It doesn’t seems to be in the correct gear, bings and rings to swear at, just
have a decent boot and nore and will bullet through the the engine’s rich three-dimen-
does it have any usable cabin gears when using the paddles or sional soundtrack to fill the
storage. The centre console stubby gearlever. cabin, gently vibrate nearby
won’t swallow a charging It doesn’t have the snappiest windows and turn the heads of
smartphone, so there’s always a of infotainment systems, but pedestrians.
cabled iPhone either propped it’s intuitive, it always hooks up What this Jaguar does have is Jaguar F-Type 75
up in the cupholders or slung to my phone, it’s been fault-free character, presence and flair. Month 4
out on the passenger seat. and it allows you to personalise Whether you’re just doing local
The story so far
It doesn’t have the right bal- the intrument layout. chores or absolutely pinning it
ance of body control and sus- It doesn’t have the chassis ri- in every gear on a solitary late- Character and flair of V8
convertible easily overcome its
pension compliance in Dynam- gidity you want in a car weigh- night roof-down blast through minor shortcomings
ic mode. On our gruesome ing in at 1718kg. You sense rath- the South Downs, driving the + Tackles every type of journey
West Sussex roads it rides with er than feel the slight flex and Jaguar always feels like an event with multi-faceted skill
a jarring abruptness that soon stretch over ridges and crackled to be relished and remembered. - If only the boot could better
becomes wearying. Better to surfaces but, being a roadster It’s on your side. Late for the the capacity of a jiffy bag
flick from Dynamic to Normal that invites a more laid-back airport? The F-Type’s serious
Logbook
and waft along at silly speeds. driving approach, this doesn’t cross-country pace and athleti-
It doesn’t have any lag. The bother me. cism will help you get to Heath- Price £84,125 (£88,145 as
supercharged engine beneath It doesn’t annoy you with a row Terminal 5 far quicker than supercharged V8, 450bhp,
that vast aluminium bonnet re- complex start-up-and-deacti- you believed possible. It can also 4.4sec 0-62mph, 177mph
sponds instantly to your right vate-overkill-safety-systems slip unobtrusively through traf- Efficiency 27.0mpg (official)
foot. That sense of immediacy process. Just walk up to the car, fic and draw the right kind of 22.7mpg (tested), 238g/km
Rich Pearce
CO2 Energy cost 29.0p per
is enhanced by the quick-witted drop down into the fragrant glances in the car park. What mile Miles this month 615
eight-speed transmission. Left cabin, thumb the illuminated an absolute joy. Total miles 2790
The supercharged engine’s sense

of immediacy isenhanced by the
quick-witted transmission
Lack of roof doesn’t

help stiffness, does
help fabulousness

Hello
Look out, it’s an

electric crossover
that fits within the
white lines
The lion, the switch

and the crossroad
Almost affordable and lightweight, this is electric done right. Right? By Ben Miller
We have the wallbox, we don’t you lament the demise (immi- can be had with petrol, hybrid
have the second home in Wales nent, imagined or otherwise) of or electric power, and there are
or Cornwall (yet?) and the fami- the combustion engine. two options when it comes to
ly car is a crossover doing But now this E-2008 is in our EV: the 50kWh 136 (from
10,000 miles per year, rarely in lives, presented in a similar £32,700 in entry-level Active
chunks much bigger than 100 shade of cool grey to our XC40 trim) and the 54kWh 156, for
miles at a time. All of which and trying to persuade us to go which you must stretch to GT
Peugeot E-2008 GT makes us ripe for electrifica- with French flair rather than (black roof, keyless go, LED
Electric 54kWh tion. That an EX30 is both al- Sino-Scandi style. It’s off to a headlights, sports seats, revers-
Month 1 most affordable and a Volvo (the flying start, too, helped by a soft ing camera, ambient lighting)
The story so far current family whip’s an XC40 spot a mile wide for the brand. and pay at least £37,700. At least
with the petrol triple under its I’ve owned two Peugeots, both the grey paint’s free.
Ben’s a sucker for a great
Peugeot, having owned two. Is
contoured, clamshell bonnet) 205 XSs, and since the demise of That list price is a few grand
this a great Peugeot? isn’t doing the idea any harm the second I’ve yet to drive any- more than we paid for the
+ Stylish inside and out with the primary deci- thing with comparably spell- XC40, but it’s a whole chunk
- Hopeless range predictor sion-making element of the binding steering feel. Gen’s more than a 2008 with the
household, either. family once owned a 205 CTi 130PS petrol engine (from
Logbook Does this imminent switch with Geoff Capes listed as the £26,830). Less powerful than
Price £40,700 (£42,060 as feel like a bold step into the fu- previous keeper, which is quite this flagship E-2008 it might be
tested) Performance 47.7kWh ture? Not really. The Volvo’s on the mental image. but, being lighter, it’s barely any
battery, e-motor, 154bhp, 9.1sec a PCP, as the next car likely will But what, when you strip out slower. But we must let go of the
0-62mph, 93mph Efficiency
4.9 miles per kWh (official), 3.9 be, which is reassuring given nostalgia and brand fondness, past. That the E-2008 is proving
miles per kWh (tested) Range the recent spate of EV residual can the E-2008 offer? A beauti- swift, easy to live with, sweet to
227-271 miles (official), 183 horror stories. And the XC40’s fully simple choice when it drive and cost-effective to run is
miles (tested) Energy cost 7.0p
per mile Miles this month 324 three-banger, while worthy, comes to powertrain, for a start. making that more straightfor-
Total miles 497 isn’t the kind of engine to make The sharply styled crossover ward than I dared hope.

Our Cars
The complete car

Goodbye It’s easy to take exception to the Range Rover
Sport… until you live with one. By Ben Barry
While my wife hasn’t been 561 miles between fills, with 12 rear-wheel steering and active
caught slashing SUV tyres, she litres remaining in the 90-litre anti-roll control.
reflexively dislikes luxury tank. Sometimes diesel really Dynamically it’s very com-
off-roaders – too heavy, too ar- does do it best. fort-focused, and though it’s
rogant, too thirsty, she thinks. Standard SE equipment in- composed enough to hustle
So it says much about the cludes a fixed panoramic roof, very quickly, it’s never nimble
Range Rover Sport that she pixel LED headlights and (it’s a tall SUV weighing 2390kg,
loves it – the look, the way it Windsor leather (gorgeous after all). The ride could be
Range Rover Sport rides, the effortlessness with smell, lovely squish as you settle more compliant still, and the
D300 SE which it gathers speed. And it’s in) and the Meridian stereo, lighter plug-in hybrid Velar I re-
Month 6 so calming. which all took the sting out of cently tried (fitted with the Dy-
Such a complete car won’t be long journeys. namic Handling pack) struck a
The story so far easy to replace. Ours was the The well-sorted fundamen- more pleasing ride and han-
Liked even by people who D300 SE, the middle of three tals help here – the space, com- dling balance.
don’t want to like it six-cylinder 3.0-litre Ingenium fort, isolation from rushing But overall this has proved
+ Relaxing refinement diesels with 296bhp. It’s a wind or roaring tyres. German hard to beat as posh daily trans-
- Could be sharper peach, humming gently at idle, rivals just can’t do port. My wife’s converted. The
easing off with a leisurely throt- crunchy-gravel regal like this. kids think it’s the best car we’ve
Logbook tle tip-in and feeling muscular Our £83,620 car was bol- had. I’m reminded how satisfy-
Price £83,620 (£90,845 as more than rapid. The sweet six stered by over £7k of options, ing a Range Sport can be. This
tested) Performance 2997cc even kept its dignity when real- including Firenze Red paint car is going to make someone a
turbodiesel six-cylinder,
296bhp, 6.6sec 0-62mph, ly stretched. (£895), contrast roof (£950) and cracking used buy.
135mph Efficiency 36.9mpg It’s no gas guzzler. I’ve racked 22-inch SV Bespoke alloys Count the cost
(official), 33.9mpg (tested), up a load of miles in the last (£1600). Along with the wheels,
Jordan Butters
200g/km CO2 Energy cost month, getting within 10 per most significant for cost and Cost new £90,845 Part-
24.5p per mile Miles this exchange £64,500 Cost per
month 4074 Total miles cent of the official 36.9mpg on handling was the £5330 Storm- mile 24.9p Cost per mile
24,946 the way. My biggest stint saw er Handling pack with its e-diff, including depreciation £1.20
Paint, roof and

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H OW D O E S G B U
WO R K?
CAR’s road testers
highlight what’s so
good about the best
cars in every class…
and what could be
better
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Top 5s
TOP 5 HOT HATCHES

GIANT
TEST
Tiny price rise WINNER
is instantly
forgiven
H O N DA C I V I C T Y PE R
THE GOOD: Feel, feedback, focus:

a phenomenal full-sized hot hatch
THE BAD: Now £50,050 for a front-
drive hatchback with barely any
more power than before
THE UGLY: Probably the last of its
kind; good job it’s one of the best
THE ONE TO BUY: There’s just
the one model; £529 a month on a
three-year PCP with an £11k deposit
GIANT GIANT GIANT

TEST TEST TEST
WINNER WINNER WINNER
TOYOTA H Y U N DAI H Y U N DA I AU D I
G R YAR I S IONIQ 5 N i2 0 N RS3
THE GOOD: A THE GOOD: Electric THE GOOD: Edgy, THE GOOD: As fun to
modern-day rally gets exciting – agile and full of classic drive as it is fast, in any
homologation special synthetic drive modes hot-hatch spirit weather; five-cylinder
and gearchange are engine sounds fab
THE BAD: Road noise game changers THE BAD: Firm ride
like a death-metal gig; hampers all-round THE BAD: Well over
joke rear seats THE BAD: Ignore that usability £50k for a posh Golf
it’s software-driven –
THE UGLY: Long the car feels real THE UGLY: After the THE UGLY: Much-
waiting list, even with current stock runs out, improved new S3 at
some versions priced THE UGLY: £65k! it exits Europe £45k makes the RS
at £60,000 look very pricey
THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO BUY:
THE ONE TO BUY: Paint and a sunroof Only one model but it THE ONE TO BUY:
Now has optional auto are the only options – comes well stocked, Saloon looks slick
but go for the manual; all the drive modes are with mechanical LSD. but Sportback more
opting for secondhand included. It’s £855 a A snip at £27,130; PCP usable and £1k
will be quicker month for four years currently from £385 cheaper at £56,590
Use “CARMOT” for full car servicing with a free MoT test at MotorEasy.com SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 123
TOP 5 SPORTS CARS
GIANT
TEST
WINNER
P O R S C H E 9 11
THE GOOD: Exquisite blend of

power, accuracy, excitement,
style and usability, and new GTS
integrates hybrid beautifully
THE BAD: You have to look

all the way down to #3 to see
the affordable performance
Porsche; 911 barely scrapes in at
just under £100k
THE UGLY: It keeps getting

bigger and heavier
THE ONE TO BUY: That basic

Carrera is ace, and it’s hard
to imagine you’ll regret it for a
992.2 has arrived. minute. But if you want more
Ravens have not left the power and more trickery then
Tower. As you were Porsche has plenty of ways to
take more of your money
GIANT GIANT
TEST TEST
WINNER WINNER
ARIEL PORSCHE 718 LOTUS A LPI N E

ATO M CAYMAN/BOXSTER EMIRA A11 0
THE GOOD: A THE GOOD: Sublime THE GOOD: The first THE GOOD: The
beautiful object as handling; surprising new Lotus in years perfectly formed
well as a thrilling practicality is fantastically well antidote to a world
drive; think of it as a of excess; a modern
modernised Lotus resolved. Usable, classic in every sense
THE BAD: Less desirable and thrilling
Seven crossed with a of the term
high-end sports bike characterful than
an Alpine; such an THE BAD: Harder THE BAD: Two boots,
THE BAD: You’ll need obvious choice it’s work to live with than a neither big, and
bike-style wet-weather almost boring Cayman not much oddment
gear if it’s raining. And storage inside
at least £40k – this is THE UGLY: Flat-four THE UGLY: The last
an expensive toy, if a versions sound like a petrol Lotus – just as THE UGLY: ‘R’ is 34kg
captivating one VW Beetle in a duet the company gets the lighter – some effort –
with Eeyore financial stability to but also nearly £100k.
THE UGLY: The 4R is Too much
even more bonkers build on its brilliance
THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO BUY:
THE ONE TO BUY: GT4 RS the most THE ONE TO BUY: A110 S adds handling
Do you really need thrilling, Spyder is ace, AMG-sourced four poise for £67,490 but
the 350bhp power but flat-six GTS 4.0 is is an interesting but £54,490 base A110 is
upgrade option? a cut-price GT4 at £73k pricey addition all you need
Use “CARMOT” for full car servicing with a free MoT test at MotorEasy.com
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
TOP 5 GRAND TOURERS

GIANT GIANT EV
TEST TEST CHOICE
WINNER WINNER
FERRARI BENTLEY POR S CHE 9 11 PORSCHE A STO N

RO M A CONTINENTAL TU R BO S TAYCAN CROSS M A RTI N D B12
GT TURISMO
THE GOOD: THE GOOD: THE GOOD:
Style, speed and THE GOOD: Luxury, Hypercar-bothering THE GOOD: Effortlessly beautiful
sensuous lines; a power, agility and a pace, any road, any Raised ride height DB11 replacement
car for, and from, a great-looking body weather absolutely monsters now has the traction
bygone age lumpy UK roads to make the most
THE BAD: Nope, it’s THE BAD: Only fun of the rampant
THE BAD: An age in really sorted when you’re really THE BAD: Not turbo V8’s stomp.
which we no longer going for it actually that Excellent new
live, tragically THE UGLY: Just practical interior
because it’s always THE UGLY: Turbos
THE UGLY: been heavy and never good for THE UGLY: Audi’s THE BAD:
Baffling steering- thirsty won’t stop us depreciation e-Tron GT gets the Overshadowed by
wheel touchpads; complaining that it’s and even less so nicer cockpit the success of DBX
strangled exhaust heavy and thirsty recently
note THE ONE TO BUY: THE UGLY: Aston
THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO BUY: Revised versions simply doesn’t do
THE ONE TO BUY: New plug-in range- Entry car plenty are just about to ugly
The cabrio. topper is the most fast enough but arrive, along with
Arguably even more powerful Bentley £180,600 Turbo S revised prices: 4S THE ONE TO BUY:
beautiful, until you ever, and so much outsells it; add £10k Cross Turismo is Coupe is £185k;
sit in it, that is more for a Convertible now £100,400 Volante the stunner
TOP 5 COUPES AND CABRIOS
PCM (per calendar month) figures are typical prices for PCP (personal contract purchase) deals available at the time of writing. For guidance only
GIANT
TEST
WINNER
B MW TOYOTA M A S E R ATI M E RCE D E S - M A Z DA

M2 GR86 M C2 0 AMG SL M X- 5
THE GOOD: THE GOOD: Finally, THE GOOD: A no- THE GOOD: Latest THE GOOD:
The longitudinal- Toyota’s back-to- excuses excellent SL is developed by Closest thing to a
engined two-door basics sports car Maserati. Handling AMG but it’s still a modern-day Lotus
BMW coupe lives gets the engine and and ride to match cruiser, and all the Elan; genius folds-
style the old GT86 the looks; a GT as better for it flat-in-seconds roof
THE BAD: Bigger lacked well as a sports car
and heavier than THE BAD: Engines THE BAD: Lashings
we’d like but THE BAD: Have THE BAD: Throttle are still better of bodyroll; the 1.5
outrageous fun they built enough could be sharper in than the ride and can’t climb hills
for the demand? normal mode handling
THE UGLY: You THE UGLY: If you’re
need £66k to get THE UGLY: A £32k THE UGLY: THE UGLY: over 6ft tall you
involved; steering a car with a £20k Convincing your Cabin designed simply won’t fit
shade rubbery interior mates you did mean by touchpad
to buy the Maser scattergun THE ONE TO BUY:
THE ONE TO THE ONE TO BUY: and not the 296 Motorised-metal-
BUY: Manual or Any manual you THE ONE TO BUY: roof RF doesn’t
auto transmission can get your hands THE ONE TO BUY: The £148k, 469bhp quite make sense;
options – get the on; approved-used The droptop Cielo. SL55; also look at 1.5 starts at £28k,
knob. We’d go M GR86s are priced at All the coupe’s go the coupe cousin, punchier 2.0 from
carbon seats, too up to £38k with added style the AMG GT £32k with an LSD

TOP 5 SUPERCARS
FERRARI PORSCHE LAMBORGHINI McLAREN CHEVROLET

2 9 6 GTB 911 GT3 RS REVUELTO 75 0 S CORVETTE Z06
THE GOOD: THE GOOD: Spine- THE GOOD: THE GOOD: Lighter, THE GOOD: A
Timeless styling and tingling sound; The monstrous, more powerful, beautifully balanced
a driving experience 9000rpm redline; naturally-aspirated better: evolution performance
as good as any of total immersion V12 lives on – now of 720S is another package that can
Maranello’s finest e-boosted and corker from Woking stand tall among the
THE BAD: Nothing wrapped in such supercar aristocracy
THE BAD: You to see here a hard-to-crash THE BAD: 30 per
need reflexes like a package insurance cent new but you’d THE BAD: Interior
fighter pilot to drive THE UGLY: Getting should be a tenner. struggle to tell quality and kit not
it as fast as it can go on the waiting list Vastly improved quite there
is like winning both cabin, too THE UGLY:
THE UGLY: Touch- The X Factor and Convincing your THE UGLY: Brings
sensitive steering- The Apprentice THE BAD: Price has mates you actually out anti-Yank
wheel pads make skyrocketed bought the new car snobbishness
the interface THE ONE TO BUY:
borderline unusable RS is somehow THE UGLY: EV-only THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO BUY:
more focused than range is six miles Stick to the comfort- Add the Z07 pack
THE ONE TO BUY: the GT3 but more spec seats and for upgraded aero,
Fiorano pack is road-compliant at THE ONE TO BUY: avoid the harnesses suspension, brakes
£25k+ overkill. GTS the same time. How There is only one on the top ‘super and wheels; expect
adds sunshine do they do it? for now carbon’ ones to pay £140k
TOP 5 PLUG-IN HYBRIDS

GIANT
TEST
WINNER
BMW PEUGEOT PORSCHE VOLKSWAGEN BMW

X5 5 0 e 308 CAYENNE TIGUAN 33 0e
THE GOOD: THE GOOD: THE GOOD: THE GOOD: Mk3 is THE GOOD: Goes
Massive 67-mile Bravely avant-garde Handling; driver bigger than ever but sub-six to 62mph
official e-range; design; decent fuel focus; choice still a neat all-round and up to 41 electric
horizon-eating economy; different of body styles; package. Choice miles on a charge
performance 0-62mph in 5.0sec of 201 and 268bhp
THE BAD: Still PHEVs, both with THE BAD: Engine is
THE BAD: Hybrid persisting with the THE BAD: Bigger 62-mile e-range slightly coarse; plain
hardware cuts into infernally small battery for facelift 330i is less heavy,
boot space to the steering wheel model but still can’t THE BAD: Room for more fun
tune of 150 litres; no match the X5 improvement with
seven-seat option THE UGLY: Interior the infotainment THE UGLY: Hybrid
layout looks fab but THE UGLY: The kit eats into boot
THE UGLY: Not can be a stressfest front passenger THE UGLY: People space so regular 3s
much now that to use day-to-day touchscreen: £1000 are buying Tiguans are roomier
the facelifted 50e and not needed instead of Golfs, in
model with more THE ONE TO BUY: huge numbers THE ONE TO BUY:
e-range and power Starts at £37,960 per THE ONE TO BUY: Choice of saloon or
is here month for the 180. If you value the U in THE ONE TO BUY: estate. Handsome,
Stretch to 225 spec SUV, steer clear of Go for either of the vaguely affordable
THE ONE TO BUY: with extra power the coupe – even if eHybrids in good- 330e Sport Touring
This one, for £81k and kit if you can it is a great steer value Match trim is £48,785
TOP 5 ELECTRIC CARS

GIANT
TEST
WINNER
PORSCHE
TAYCA N
THE GOOD: The EV that’s best

to drive has been thoroughly
overhauled and retains its top
slot: still fast, responsive and
fluid; now more efficient
THE BAD: Info screen in front

of the passenger is faintly
ridiculous
THE UGLY: Prices are all up
THE ONE TO BUY: As before,

three body styles to choose
from: saloon, estate or raised
estate. Prices start at £86.5k for
EV market the rear-drive basic Taycan; you
changes fast, can pay a lot more and get a bit
but still nothing
tops the Taycan more performance as you work
your way up the range
PCM (per calendar month) figures are typical prices for PCP (personal contract purchase) deals available at the time of writing. For guidance only
TESLA MODEL 3 KIA E V6 MG 4 C ITRO Ë N E - C3
THE GOOD: The THE GOOD: Design THE GOOD: THE GOOD: Cute and
alternatives keep inside and out, with Incredible value and comfortable, like a
getting better, but cabin materials and remarkably good 2CV; well equipped,
the Model 3’s mix of tech to match the fun to drive – the EV unlike a 2CV
range, driving pleasure design; efficient hatch’s Focus moment
and ease of use performance; potential THE BAD: Real-world
remains formidable for rapid charging; it’s THE BAD: Poundland range of 160-ish miles
practical and good Lamborghini Urus limits its usefulness
THE BAD: Stop value vibes, especially in
nicking the switches orange THE UGLY: Boot
THE BAD: Kia’s rather isn’t big and isn’t well
THE UGLY: That long waiting list THE UGLY: How do shaped; that’s the
queasiness around you feel about driving sort of thing Citroën
Elon Musk THE UGLY: The high- an MG-badged traditionally excels at
powered GT isn’t as hatchback from a
THE ONE TO BUY: good as we wanted it Chinese-state-owned THE ONE TO BUY:
Revised Performance to be parent company? New C3 range starts at
really is fab; less a good-value £21,990,
powerful single-motor, THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO BUY: but the impressive
rear-drive entry model You’ll need £49,175 for Not the XPower. Best electric e-C3 is a
is £20k less at £40k, a RWD GT-Line with value lies in the SE modest £1700 on top
but we’d pick the £50k the handy, winter- Long Range, currently of that, which feels like
Long Range bi-motor ready heat pump with zero per cent APR progress

TOP 5 SUVS/CROSSOVERS
GIANT
TEST
WINNER
L A N D ROV E R
DEFENDER
THE GOOD: Reboot brings

untold dynamic improvements
wherever you drive
THE BAD: Second-row access
is a pain in the 90; expensive;
130 in particular is very big, so
parking can be tricky
THE UGLY: Very nice inside, so
you’re wary of getting it muddy
THE ONE TO BUY: Range spans
90, 110 and 130 bodies, with
significantly different dimensions
but remarkably similar character
and the genuine off-road ability
Can’t wait to drive that Land Rover always delivers
the road-biased so convincingly. Heart says
Octa version petrol V8 90, head/wallet say
diesel-six D250 110
NEW NEW
EV GIANT ENTRY ENTRY
CHOICE TEST
WINNER
P ORS C H E A STO N M A RTI N M E RC E D E S INEOS

M ACAN D BX 707 G-CLASS Q UA RTE R -
M A STE R
THE GOOD: The new THE GOOD: Now THE GOOD: Rejigged
one is electric – and with a much improved range spans diesel, THE GOOD: Pick-
as impressive as the interior, the DBX keeps petrol, AMG and EV, up version of the
outgoing combustion the glorious noise, and they’re all good: Grenadier has a long
version masterful balance, agile off-road, smooth wheelbase that if
rear-axle bias and and comfy on-road anything improves the
THE BAD: As family surprising practicality handling
transport it has THE BAD: It’s all a bit
its shortcomings, THE BAD: High fuel fancy; how do you feel THE BAD: Not very
especially boot space consumption and about muddy wellies? roomy for passengers
emissions from the
THE UGLY: If you want twin-turbo V8 THE UGLY: Merc’s THE UGLY: Isuzus are
an engine you’ll need premium mission much cheaper
to be quick THE UGLY: There’s means it’s a posh
no longer a non-707 version or nothing THE ONE TO BUY:
THE ONE TO BUY: Go version, so you need Prices start at £66k,
Turbo, from £95k, or to pay top dollar THE ONE TO but a Trialmaster
the slightly less potent BUY: Electric is edition at £74k brings
4, from £70k, which THE ONE TO BUY: astonishingly good, together a practical
offers all you could The 707 will cost you but painfully expensive and good-looking set
sensibly want around £210k at £180k-plus of extras
TOP 5 LUXURY CARS

GIANT GIANT
TEST TEST EV
WINNER WINNER CHOICE
R AN G E RO LL S - ROYCE M E RCE D E S B E NTLE Y RO LL S - ROYCE

ROVE R PH A NTO M S - CL A S S F LY I N G S PU R S PE C TR E
THE GOOD: THE GOOD: THE GOOD: Tech- THE GOOD: The THE GOOD: A
Masterful and Money-no-object fest with timeless definitive modern joy to drive, and
hugely desirable pinnacle of serenity waftability. Few cars limo: effortless, but exquisitely built
reinvention of an and craftsmanship are more calming rewarding when you
icon. An EV version THE BAD:
is due soon THE BAD: Is THE BAD: want to put some Efficiency not great
this really you? Surprisingly effort in
THE BAD: Reliability And is this really unrefined petrol six; THE UGLY:
remains a worry. EV appropriate in doesn’t ride as well THE BAD: W12 is Fabulous detailing
could be v v heavy 2024? as it should fast but short on and engineering will
soul; hybrid V6 a bit benefit so few
THE UGLY: The THE UGLY: Filthy- THE UGLY: Trying lame; go V8
D350 mild-hybrid money associations not to crash THE ONE TO BUY:
straight-six diesel while using the THE UGLY: Air of It’s £330k in theory,
is sublime. Can you THE ONE TO BUY: Hyperscreen feigned aristocracy but in reality, as
live with the guilt? It’s ‘standard’ or every one is spec’d
long-wheelbase, THE ONE TO BUY: from a large and
THE ONE TO BUY: from £380k. All cars Hybrid 580e works THE ONE TO BUY: flexible options
The above (from are built to order best. That’s £114k V6 hybrid starts at list, it’s going to
£104k), though the and most owners in entry AMG Line £180k, before the cost you more than
V8 is fun spend £500k Premium trim limitless options £400,000
TOP 5 FAMILY CARS

BIG GIANT
SELLER TEST
WINNER
B MW B MW DAC IA VO LKSWAG E N S KO DA
3-SERIES 5-SERIES JOGG E R I D. 7 KO D IAQ
THE GOOD: On- THE GOOD: Brand THE GOOD: Seven THE GOOD: The THE GOOD: New
the-deck driving new, still brilliant. seats; massive boot most coherent ID to version builds on
position; dreamy Handling still with the rear row date now in a choice the Mk1’s strengths:
handling balance; defines the class removed; prices of hatch and estate. roomy, comfortable,
start just over £18k Not posh, but highly decent value
slick interior THE BAD: It’s agreeable
grown to become a THE BAD: Sandero THE BAD: Not the
THE BAD: Knowing very hefty car base means it’s a bit THE BAD: Frumpy most responsive
you’ve made the narrow; spartan styling and that still steering
obvious choice THE UGLY: Is sub-par interface
nowhere safe? THE UGLY: Low THE UGLY:
THE UGLY: You’ll Even the tradition- Euro NCAP score, THE UGLY: So few Awkwardly, the
need an M340i embracing 5-series although it’s pretty electric estates to diesel is the best
or M340d for six gets a full EV option safe in a crash choose from engine
cylinders in the form of the i5
THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO BUY:
THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO BUY: Hybrid usefully Pro Match with Range starts at
Prices start at punchier than 77kWh battery does £26,645, but the
330e if you want a £51,900 for the 520i petrol, but much the job just fine, smart choice is the
hybrid; 320i if you’re but can go easily clunkier. PCP a steal priced from £51,500 2.0-litre TDI in SE
on a budget north of £80k at £197 a month for the hatch trim at £38,805

TOP 5 FAMILY HATCHES

GIANT GIANT
TEST TEST
WINNER WINNER
BMW PEUGEOT MINI VOLKSWAGEN RENAULT

1-SERIES 208 COUNTRYMAN GOLF CLIO
THE GOOD: THE GOOD: Style; THE GOOD: THE GOOD: THE GOOD: Still fun
Premium and big-car character; Wonderful interior Brain-out default to drive, and pretty
practical; available knockout interior; and all-round choice still a solid practical for young
in two spicy EV version available feelgood factor from all-rounder; ride, families
versions big new five-door visibility, roominess
THE BAD: So-so THE BAD: Not
THE BAD: Said handling; a squash THE BAD: You THE BAD: Seat actually very quick
spicy models aren’t for adult rear-seat need to be in the Leon a very similar
worth the extra passengers mood for the built-in package for a lower THE UGLY: An even
zaniness price simpler, more basic
THE UGLY: Facelift THE UGLY: version would be
reaches showrooms Dumping the wheel THE UGLY: THE UGLY: Revised welcome
soon, dialling down in your lap like a TV Options can send Mk8.5 version
the ugly dinner to see the the price into the imminent, so THE ONE TO
dials clearly stratosphere supplies are patchy BUY: No need to
THE ONE TO BUY: go higher than the
118i M Sport at THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO THE ONE TO base Evolution spec
£31,585; all-wheel- Range from £20k, BUY: Your basic BUY: 1.5 TSI 150 at and an 89bhp TCE
drive M135i super- but £25k GT is Countryman C £300pcm or £28k; 90 three-cylinder
hatch tops the tree worth saving up for. Classic is just fine at roomy estate is also engine, yours for
at £42k Bright colour is best a sniff under £30k great value £18k/£191 a month
TOP 5 SPORTS SALOONS

GIANT
TEST
WINNER
B MW M3/M4 M E RCE D E S - ALFA GIULIA P ORS CHE AU D I

CO M PETITI O N A M G S 63 QUADRIFOGLIO PA N A M E R A S8
THE GOOD: Mighty THE GOOD: V8 THE GOOD: THE GOOD: New THE GOOD: The
straight-six; front plus e-motor shows Charisma in spades, version builds on thinking person’s
axle’s never-give-up AMG can do a great fantastic agility and success of the super saloon.
attitude; dreamy performance hybrid, almost as good as very fine model it Broad-based luxe
chassis balance and in the most an M3 to drive replaces appeal that’s as
unlikely of places: a good to be driven in
THE BAD: No huge luxury saloon THE BAD: THE BAD: Barely a as it is to drive
manual; nearly 911 Emphasis on almost saloon – four-up is
money now THE BAD: Boot size as good as an M3 okay, but forget five THE BAD: Still lacks
THE UGLY: M3 suffers, and ride to drive the badge cachet of
Touring £88k new quality isn’t perfect THE UGLY: Estate AMG and M
but now changing THE UGLY: Flaky version is no longer
hands for much less THE UGLY: It’s a interior quality; available, even THE UGLY: The
pity this approach infotainment still though it was the nerves at Audi HQ
THE ONE TO BUY: wasn’t applied to lags behind the best best looker when Maserati
The CS, if you were the new C63 announces the new
lucky enough to THE ONE TO BUY: THE ONE TO BUY: Quattroporte
bag one of the 100 THE ONE TO BUY: There’s just the £79,500 gets the
brought here. Used Two versions, both one, wonderful, base model; Turbo THE ONE TO BUY:
Touring is a good at £189k, one with model from E-Hybrid at £141k Vorsprung, with its
secondhand buy more black trim £78,315/£749pcm now tops the range 21-inch wheels
US postal information: CAR ISSN 0008-5987 (USPS 9287) is published monthly by H Bauer Publishing Ltd, Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA,
United Kingdom. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named World Container Inc, 150-15, 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Periodicals Postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CAR, Air Business Ltd, c/o World Container Inc, 150-15, 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Subscription records are maintained at Bauer Media
Subscriptions, CDS Global, Tower House, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, Leicester LE16 9EF, United Kingdom. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent.
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ISSUE 746 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 4

More power and better

8 Fiat’s response to the electric

Opinion The big reads

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 5

normality 5000rpm in the biscuit-tin Peugeot for

Extra stories on your phone

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 7

Who needs a badge

8 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 9

IT’S CHUNKY AND

10 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 11

12 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

1980 Panda Mk1

and upgraded and stay current after Cabin is

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 13

IT’S COMING GOT THE LOOK

EV SUV off the next Alpine. Sovany

NEARS and the recently revealed A290

LAUNCH a proposition to redeﬁne the

SHARED TECH THE NEXT STEP

Illustration: Lars Sältzer

14 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

16 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 17

ODD ONES OUT

SKUNKWORKS VIBES A CONTENTIOUS NAME

NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW

BUTTERFLY DOORS AN ENGINE RANGE

NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW

18 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

ami has worked in Honda’s R&D di-

SPORTY COUPE’ ‘Being given the responsibility of

20 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 21

‘THIS HAS ALL

22 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 23

PROTEAN ELECTRIC’S WHEEL MOTOR

24 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

For all enquiries contact Posh Pawn on 0800 9176894

BOSCH’S BY-WIRE better packaging and lower costs.

26 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

CHOOSE A SUBSCRIPTION TO SUIT YOU:

Rise of the beast

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 29

30 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

his is hard to believe. For a car

Pick-up: 0 miles 42 miles 48 miles

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 31

99 miles 132 miles 144 miles

32 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

169 miles 195 miles 201 miles

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 33

34 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2024

201 miles 261 miles 289 miles

SEPTEMBER 2024 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 35

emails and checking the weather forecast using the men-