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Best of the rest (stops): Autocar's top seven motorway service stations

Sun, 15 Nov 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Our team reveals where they like to spend their pennies to break up a long journey

To the uninitiated, Britain’s motorway services are merely purgatories of lukewarm filter coffee, overpriced crisps, and grimy toilets.

But to the most committed and passionate motorway mile-munchers, they are sanctuaries of the road — monuments to endurance where a roadside fry-up can taste like Michelin-starred triumph.

We’ve met Rich Cross, the 28-year-old service station expert who’s visited every rest stop on the UK motorway network, which got us talking in the office about our favourite spots to take a break.

From the pastoral and pristine to the busy and brutal, every motoring enthusiast harbours a fiercely defended pit stop. Plan your next road trip with the Autocar team’s guide to the rest stops with the best shops.

Rachel Burgess: Tebay, M6

A service station but make it bougie. That's exactly what the owners of Tebay services - created after the M6 was built through their farm in Cumbria - have done. Yes, there are all the amenities you would expect, but there's also a charming farm shop and a kitchen using locally sourced ingredients. This is the sort of place you might choose to stop even if you didn't need petrol or the loo. How many other services can you say that about?

Matt Prior: Annandale Water, A74(M)

There's nothing technically or gastronomically notable about Roadchef's Annandale Water services - although there is a pond and a river out the back. There are two things I like: one, there are often geese wandering across the car parks and filling station forecourt; two, it's usually my first stop inside Scotland on a road trip, so brilliant roads are just around the corner.

Matt Saunders: Charnock Richard, M6

This should be like TV quiz show QI: if anyone says 'Tebay', a buzzer should go off and points be taken away. I mean, I like Tebay as much as the next person. Gloucester too: who doesn't like a massive, overpriced mince pie? But you can't put a price on being able to sit above the motorway and watch the traffic pass by beneath you as you eat your reasonably priced, mostly unhealthy, predictably underwhelming lunch. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Charnock Richard on the M6. It's a bit grotty and rubbish, as motorway services ought to be, but it's fun. And if you've made it that far north, well beyond the M62 corridor, chances are you're going somewhere fun as well.

Charlie Martin: Oxford, M40

Oxford is a sure-fire winner. Coming from the south, it's the gateway to the beautiful Cotswolds so very handily located, but it's also a generally pleasant place. Parking is a cinch, thanks to plenty of spaces that are usefully wide, and there's a good mix of fast food outlets - even a Taco Bell. Then, once you've picked up a bite, you can go and eat outside next to its rather lovely water feature.

Mark Tisshaw: Stevenage A1(M)

My regular UK routes host some depressingly poor service stations. 'Best'? Pah. Least worst, maybe. The EG chain seems to be smartening up a fair few, mind, with some decent concessions. I'll seek out its logo above others. Gridserve's electric hubs are generally impressive too. The new one on the A1(M) at Stevenage is particularly well located and has plenty of space for the dog to have a stroll safely. Free water bottle refilling station as well. I'll call that one my least worst, then.

James Attwood: Keele, M6

Keele is not a glamorous service station. It's one of those 1960s ones built on a bridge over the carriageway. In fact, it's a near exact copy of Charnock Richard, right down to being, as Matt Saunders suggests above, a bit grotty and rubbish. To visit I prefer Oxford or Gloucester or Reading. But I retain a soft spot for Keele, because I went to university there. Well, I went to nearby Keele University, but the higher education institute is far overshadowed in the public consciousness by its namesake rest stop. And even some 26 years after graduating, I still can't resist a stop there when hauling up the M6. Happy memories: mostly the looks of confusion on the faces of travellers stopping in for an early breakfast on Saturday and wondering why the Staffordshire services were full of students seeking post-Friday-night sustenance...

Felix Page: Clacket Lane, M25

I do my level best to avoid all motorway services, but I'll do my bit to promote my hometown and nominate the M25's Clacket Lane services. Smaller and calmer than Cobham to the west and vastly more palatable than Thurrock on the eastern edge, it has just enough junk food and magazine vendors to keep you occupied while you stretch your legs. When I was a kid, we used to sneak in via the back entrance on the country lanes to get our McDonald's fix, but they put paid to that a few years back with a code-activated barrier - leaving just Winston Churchill's wartime residence as a reason to visit Westerham.

What's your favourite service station? Email autocar@haymarket.com

I traded my V8 Cobra for an Alfa Romeo 4C - and I love it

Sun, 15 Nov 2026 07:00:00 +0000

How enthusiast Ben Major got lucky second-time around with his latest Alfa Romeo

It takes confidence to buy a 12-year-old sports car that you haven't driven, following a long train journey in deepest winter from one end of the country to the other.

Ben Major is the man with exactly that confidence and, judging by the smile on his face, the Alfa Romeo 4C that he now owns was worth every mile of his ride into the unknown.

"In fact, it wasn't unknown," he says. "I'd viewed lots of videos of the car and, having spoken to the dealer in Scotland, I knew it was a good one. When, after long delays on the train, I eventually made it to my hotel, I spent the night happily dreaming about picking it up and driving it home to Surrey."

That drive was enjoyable and uneventful, and during his few months of ownership since there have been many more behind the wheel of his little Italian coupé.

"It's such a fun car to drive: so light and agile and it sticks to the road like glue," says Ben. "It's an out-and-out sports car, though. You can hear everything, including every little stone rattling on the carbonfibre tub. The ride is firm but not uncomfortable."

Registered in 2014 and with 10,000 miles on the clock, the 4C cost Ben £37,500, a figure he's happy about: "They were £45,000 new and are back up there now, so I think I did quite well. Plus I got much of my train ticket refunded because of the delays!"

The 4C isn't Ben's first contact with Alfa Romeo. Years ago, he and a friend bought a 1956 Giulietta, intending to do it up – but "we quickly discovered it was mostly filler!"

Fortunately, the experience wasn't enough to dent Ben's enthusiasm for cars. Since then, those he has owned have included an Audi RS4, a 1972 Maserati Indy, a Jaguar E-Type, a Mk1 Mini (which he rebuilt) and a Subaru WRX STI Type R. He still owns a Subaru, although something a little more prosaic: a Legacy estate.

Ben's more recent interest in Alfas was rekindled by a 4C for sale in a dealership near his home: "I fell in love with it and in no time decided to sell one of my other cars, an AC Cobra, which my wife had found uncomfortable. With the Cobra gone, I started hunting in earnest for a 4C, which had to be a coupé in red. I'd like to say the one I eventually bought is more comfortable than the Cobra, but my wife has declined to join me on my dream drive in it over the Alps. I've explained it's not a GT..."

Meanwhile, Ben, a member of the Goodwood Road Racing Club, is looking forward to taking the 4C to the next supercar weekend and driving it on the famous circuit.

In the short time Ben has owned the 4C, it has been to the garage, Bianco Auto Developments near Gatwick airport, twice. Nothing serious: just a checkover and a few tweaks. "So far, so good," he says.

Still proud of his new car, Ben eagerly points out the carbonfibre weave throughout the interior. He must like it: he has even had his crook lock wrapped in the stuff.

The EV that convinced the car geeks: Farewell to the Polestar 2

Sun, 15 Nov 2026 06:00:00 +0000

As Polestar 2 production ends, we reflect on the UK's peculiar affection for this Scandi-cool EV

A car maker finishing production of a hatchback when its replacement is just around the corner wouldn't always count as significant news.

But there's something about the Polestar 2 and the way it has defined the brand - plus the timing of its departure and its replacement coming at a particularly uncertain-feeling juncture - that makes it feel unusually important.

The 2 was the defining Polestar model but not the first Polestar. As its name suggests, amid Polestar's daft naming policy, which only makes sense when listing the order in which its cars were introduced, it was the second Polestar to arrive. Just after the Volvo spin-off stopped being a performance variant of the Swedish mothership and morphed into a car maker in its own right, Polestar was going to be an all-electric brand, owner Geely told us, just as it introduced the Polestar 1, a plug-in hybrid and formerly a Volvo concept (some say it achieved as many genuine UK sales as the number in its name).

But we liked it. I nominated it as my car of the year in one of those blind-prejudice Christmas features in 2020, having spent time in Sweden with Polestar's development engineers and thrown around a test track as they demonstrated the finer elements of its handling tuning that included showing off the capabilities of the 1's swanky adjustable Öhlins dampers. It looked then like this was a car - a brand, maybe - for car geeks beyond the level of a GTI driver who might scroll through a touchscreen to set their preferred adaptive damping level for their local roads; no, this was for those prepared to get grubby around the wheels to twiddle actual knobs to optimise ride and handling.

The 2 duly arrived with an option to do just that, if you chose the Performance Pack variant. I ran one as my daily wheels for six months. It was written in the manual that one should put the car on stands and remove the front wheel and wheel-arch lining to gain access to the clickers on the front dampers. But I have the forearms and dexterity of a chipmunk so, with the front wheels on lock, could reach through the liners to adjust them without using any tools. This was so much simpler that I think I did it all of twice.

But the 2 was pretty good to drive all the time - and genuinely good if you could get the dampers in the right mood. In this gig it's not always the case that I'll remember specific cars, let alone individual journeys, yet I distinctly recall being on a back road in the Hertfordshire/Essex borderlands when it felt that the longer my drive went on, the better the 2 dealt with that B-road. I wondered if it was because the dampers were getting more fluid and responsive as they warmed up, thanks to the challenging inputs. Never did quite find out if that was a possibility.

The fine damping joined decent steering and spectacular straight-line performance, of the kind to which we're blithely accustomed now but weren't then. With four-wheel drive and up to 402bhp at launch, the 2 would have been many former diesel owners' first taste of, literally and figuratively, electrifying acceleration.

Also their introduction to some less welcome car industry initiatives: for £1000, Polestar would turn up the power output remotely via a software update, from 402bhp to 470bhp. Which meant the performance existed in the car in the first place, and only a line of code was needed to unlock it. Proponents of the idea pointed out that it was quite normal for, say, two diesel engines to be sold that were mechanically identical but that one had more power than the other owing to the software they were equipped with. But somehow it still stuck in the craw a bit: the power existed, the code was written, it's not like it really cost £1000 to send it. Still, at least if you bought it, it was then yours to keep. Later, Polestar gave the Performance Pack 470bhp as standard.

The range, for the time, was fine, with its 75kWh battery giving, in the real world, up to around 240 miles, although improvements to the car and the wider market have improved since. It's not something that would warrant mention now - not when a BMW i3 or Mercedes-Benz CLA, cars in a similar vein, can cover more than 500 miles. And the 2 was updated during its life to retain some kind of competitiveness against an EV market that was at first catching and then pulling away from it, and it succeeded in a market surprisingly willing to accept new brand names - unlike some other countries.

As a result of that, plus a few other things, like Polestar failing to gain traction in the skip fire of the Chinese market, where new brands are spammed into existence in the hope something will stick (with some of the surplus coming here), plus it being delisted from the US on security grounds for being from a Chinese-owned manufacturer, the UK has become not just the 2's but the brand's biggest market. Of the near 200,000 2s that were sold globally over the past six years before the production plug was pulled earlier this month (UK stocks will last well into next year), some 40,000 were sold here.

It's unusual for the UK to hold such significance to a multinational brand's future, but here we are: Polestar and the specialist car business. Who knew Ariel and a weird former subsidiary of Volvo would have so much in common, beyond both offering manually adjustable dampers?

Anyway, also funny to think that a major car company would imagine owners are prepared to kneel on the ground to change the suspension of their cars while thinking those same owners can't be bothered to twiddle an interior button to change the media source so it should all go on a touchscreen. It's almost as if the widescale move to de-button cars' interiors and put everything on screens wasn't about customer desires....

Presumably, starting with the 2's incoming replacement, that is due to change. "Customers are very outspoken about that," Polestar's CEO Michael Lohscheller told us recently. "They say 'we want more buttons'. It's that simple. And yes, we will do buttons."

Beyond that, and beyond some cues from the new Formula 2030 concept car, it's not entirely clear what other form the 2's replacement will take. An aerodynamic liftback shape that's also practical is a given. As are a range and performance that are up to scratch with a market that has now caught what was once a bit of a pace-setter. The new 2 is said to have been fast-tracked to arrive early next year rather than later, so, as yet, other details are pretty sparse.

The UK, though, has always been considered a mature market, and it's thought that if a car performs well here and can please British customers, it ought to be able to please everywhere. We did take the 2 to our hearts in curiously enthusiastic fashion. I'm sure Polestar will be pleased if the same is true of its successor - but more so if it gets more traction elsewhere.

I swapped my BMW iX3 for its biggest rival - which would I choose?

Sat, 14 Nov 2026 11:00:00 +0000

We swap into one of the brilliant BMW's closest contenders to see which has the edge

I haven’t spent much time in ‘my’ BMW iX3 recently, the result of several colleagues borrowing it for various holidays and trips. The silver lining is that this gave me the opportunity to spend some time in other cars – most notably one of the iX3’s biggest rivals, the new Volvo EX60.

Illya Verpraet has already conducted the definitive comparison test of those machines and the Mercedes-Benz GLC Electric, but it has been interesting how an extended period of testing time has brought a fresh perspective on both the BMW and the Volvo.

What really struck me was how the differences between them extend so much further than how they drive. A decade or so back, if you pitted two premium SUVs against each other, the key difference would be how they handled.

Sure, they would have distinct styling and their interior layouts would be different, but interacting with the car would be similar from the driver’s seat: you would be enveloped in plush materials, have wonderfully tactile switchgear and use broadly the same controls. Not any more.

The iX3 and EX60 show just how much variation there can be in cabins that are dominated by digital screens. I’ve written plenty about the iX3’s angled touchscreen and fancy Panoramic iDrive strip; the Volvo, by contrast, is a more ‘traditional’ design, with a big, rectangular infotainment touchscreen plunked in the middle and a smaller driver’s information display behind the steering wheel.

Both work well for the most part: I prefer the iX3’s set-up for the amount of information it can show and its usability, but there’s no doubt the EX60’s more minimalist approach makes the cabin feel more spacious. That spaciousness counts too: the EX60 is all Scandi-cool, with light materials and a really stripped-back design that feels very modern yet also warm and relaxing.

A few of my colleagues have commented that, displays aside, they’ve found the iX3’s interior a little plain and not as premium as they want from a BMW. I don’t fully share that view, but to me the EX60 does feel that bit more special to sit in. It also cruises along really nicely.

Much of the mileage I did in the EX60 was on motorways, and it was amazing at eating up miles, being quiet, serene and ultra-smooth. It’s the sort of car that instantly puts you at ease, and in which even a long trip won’t wear you down.

By the end of a weekend with the EX60, I found myself genuinely thinking that in a head-to-head I might take one over the iX3. It has that intangible premium feel that you want from a car in this class.

Of course, soon after that I was finally reunited with the iX3, coinciding with a long weekend in which I toured around mid-Wales and Shropshire – and while it wouldn’t be the first BMW I would pick for a jaunt along brilliant Welsh driving roads (I’d take a M240i, if you’re asking), it provided a reminder of just how good Munich’s engineers are at making cars that drive like a BMW should.

Frankly, a big electric family SUV has no right being so pleasurable to drive. And it certainly has no right being so efficient while doing so: after 200 miles or so without touching a motorway, it averaged 4.6mpkWh. That’s just silly: there are small, lightweight EVs that can’t get anywhere near that figure.

Ultimately, then, if forced to choose, I would probably take the iX3 over the EX60, because it’s just that much more enjoyable to drive, and its real-world 400-mile-plus range removes so many of those perceived EV barriers. But I’d do so with reservations, because I’d keep reflecting that the EX60 is just a nicer place in which to sit, and more relaxing for certain driving. It blows apart that perception that EVs are all identical: if anything, the differences now are more philosophical.

Total rethink: Why China is shaping Volkswagen's global turnaround

Sat, 14 Nov 2026 08:11:48 +0000

Having lost its long-standing dominance in the world's largest car market, VW turns to China to shape its future

In 1983, in a converted tractor factory on the outskirts of Shanghai, a handful of Volkswagen employees began assembling a car most of Europe had already forgotten.

The Santana was a rebadged second-generation Passat, modified, toughened and initially assembled from kits shipped from Germany. It was slow, square and utterly unremarkable. China bought nearly four million of them.

That car built an empire. For the next three decades, VW was shorthand for German engineering in a country learning to drive. Santanas filled the taxi ranks. Jettas filled the driving schools. Customers queued for the Lavida.

Now the relationship that helped make VW one of the world's most successful car makers is undergoing an extraordinary reversal.

Having lost its dominance to Chinese rivals, VW has been forced to rethink how it develops cars, from their mechanical platforms and electronic systems to component costs, supplier relationships and the time required to bring them to market.

What began as an attempt to recover lost ground in China is increasingly influencing its global operations.

Speaking to Autocar, VW brand CEO Thomas Schäfer has confirmed that technology from a new generation of electric car platforms developed in China is destined for future European models, among them a platform that could underpin some three quarters of volume models from VW, Cupra and Skoda.

The implications go well beyond cheaper components or more sophisticated software. They suggest a new direction for VW's engineering expertise.

If Wolfsburg remains the mothership, its Chinese operations are increasingly becoming the agile speedboat: able to respond more quickly to changing customer demands, exploit new technology sooner and bring models into production in considerably less time than traditional methods allow. And the lessons learned aboard the speedboat are beginning to influence decisions on the mothership.

How VW lost China

At its peak in 2019, VW Group sold 4.23 million cars in China, commanding close to one fifth of the passenger car market. The formula was simple, enormously profitable and apparently unassailable: engineer in Germany, adapt for Chinese tastes and build at scale through joint ventures with FAW and SAIC.

China didn't just make VW rich. Its success there helped finance investment throughout the group's worldwide operations.

Then the ground moved.

China shifted towards electrification at a pace few established car makers had anticipated, taking lessons from Tesla along the way. But the challenge wasn't simply replacing internal combustion engines with electric motors and batteries.

Chinese car buyers had begun to think about cars differently. Increasingly, they expected sophisticated infotainment, advanced driver assistance and software that could be regularly updated. The car had become a smartphone on wheels.

Ralf Brandstätter, VW Group's China chief, offered a blunt assessment of the problem. "Tradition alone no longer sells cars. The Chinese customer buys technology."

The consequences for VW were brutal. Both BYD and Geely have gone past VW, whole sales had slumped by more than 1.6m units by the end of 2025. Poor sales of its electric models in particular illustrated how much the Chinese market had changed. After just two years on sale in 2023, the poorly-performing ID 3 had seen its prices cut to the equivalent of around £12,500, less than half the price of the European models, as its relatively modest DC charging performance became a growing disadvantage.

VW had developed the ID 3 around European requirements and attempted to adapt it to a Chinese market where charging technology, software and customer expectations were advancing faster than its engineering processes could respond. The experience forced VW to confront a difficult question: What if the technologies and development methods being pioneered by Chinese car makers weren't simply necessary to compete in China? What if they offered a better way of developing cars for the rest of the world?

The speedboat takes shape

VW's response has been to give its Chinese engineering operations greater independence, placing more responsibility for product development, purchasing and software with local teams. At the centre is VW Group China Technology Company (VCTC) in Hefei.

Instead of relying on decisions made thousands of miles away in Germany, Chinese teams have greater freedom to develop cars around local requirements, select components and work directly with suppliers.VW says the approach can shorten development times by up to 30%, while development costs on selected projects can be reduced by as much as 50%.

Brandstätter has acknowledged that VW's traditional models have become increasingly disconnected from a market rapidly embracing electrification. Moving greater research and development authority to China is, in his words, "a directional decision".

For decades, VW's Chinese operations depended on technology developed primarily in Germany. Now China is becoming a source of new models, electronic systems and engineering expertise in its own right.

The technology changing VW

Central to the transformation is a platform called China Electronic Architecture (CEA), developed by VCTC, Cariad China and Chinese electric car start-up Xpeng.

The system provides the electronic foundation for VW's next generation of Chinese models, bringing together computing power, software, infotainment and driver-assistance functions through a simplified network of central computers.

Its zonal design replaces numerous individual electronic controllers with fewer, more powerful computing systems. VW says it reduces the number of electronic control units by approximately 30%, simplifying wiring, cutting complexity and lowering costs.

Alongside it, Cariad China has established Carizon, a joint venture with Chinese technology company Horizon Robotics, to develop advanced driver-assistance and automated-driving systems.

Carizon combines VW's software engineering expertise with Horizon's artificial intelligence and computing technology. Its locally developed systems are designed to cope with the complexities of Chinese traffic, including urban driving, and are being introduced across VW's new Chinese model families.

The distinction is important: Xpeng is helping VW develop the electronic architecture, while Carizon is developing intelligent driving functions that can operate within it.

Crucially, CEA can be used across different mechanical platforms and powertrains, including electric, hybrid and combustion-engined models. But CEA is only part of the picture - VW's new Chinese engineering programme also includes the Compact Main Platform (CMP), developed for more affordable mainstream models, and China Scalable Platform (CSP), intended for larger, more sophisticated electric and extended-range cars.

Together, they form the basis of VW's attempt to develop cars more quickly and at costs closer to those achieved by Chinese competitors. CMP has already reached production and CSP is scheduled to enter production in 2027. And CSP, in particular, provides an important insight into what could happen next in Europe.

Why China is moving faster than Wolfsburg

Schäfer's explanation of CSP's development reveals how VW's Chinese engineering operations are beginning to influence the rest of the company.

CSP and a platform called Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), which will underpin future European and US models, began development at approximately the same time. Yet CSP is scheduled to enter production in China in 2027, while SSP is not due before the end of the decade.

The difference isn't simply that Chinese engineers work faster. CSP has been developed around a narrower range of requirements. SSP must accommodate a much broader selection of models, including those with greater towing capacity, different four-wheel-drive configurations and higher top speeds.

CSP, by contrast, has been developed around the requirements of the Chinese market, where towing is uncommon and the drivetrain configurations demanded by buyers are much simpler. This reduced complexity has helped VW bring the Chinese platform to production sooner.

It has also allowed engineers to exploit local component suppliers more extensively. "CSP has also used a lot of optimisation with the local ecosystem, the use of local components, e-drives and so on," Schäfer said.

The result is a platform developed around Chinese production costs and component availability, rather than a specification intended to satisfy numerous international markets. But Schäfer confirmed that the engineering work won't necessarily remain confined to China.

"The platforms are still synergetic, so you can still use it, but you'd have to upgrade it," he said. "So we will use certain modules, components and so on from the CSP, and they're jointly developed anyway."VW isn't proposing to replace SSP wholesale with a Chinese platform. Instead, it intends to draw on components and engineering work already completed for CSP, adapting them where necessary for European requirements.

The head of the VW brand also made clear that the advantages extend beyond the hardware: "Our cost advantage lies in using the experience and speed and the cost levels that we could achieve here for Europe," he said.

Nor would that necessarily mean importing Chinese-made components - Schäfer pointed to Chinese suppliers establishing production operations in Europe, including Hungary and Slovakia.

"We might not import them, we might localise them," he said. "We see a lot of Chinese suppliers are putting roots down in Europe."

The result? In the future European-market VW models could incorporate technology developed in China and components supplied by Chinese companies operating in Europe, while retaining mechanical platforms engineered for European requirements.

Could China's next big VW replace the Touareg?

VW is examining whether selected models developed specifically for China could be introduced into Europe.

Autocar can confirm that the company is considering China-developed models for the upper end of its European range, rather than replacing established volume sellers with imported alternatives. That raises the possibility of a new flagship SUV following the departure of the Touareg.

Production of the current Touareg has already ended, leaving a gap above the seven-seat Tayron. Although VW previously announced an electric successor, no replacement has been confirmed for production. One potential solution is a European version of a Chinese model called the ID Era 9X.

At 5210mm in length, the six-seat SUV is considerably larger than the Touareg and uses a range-extender electric drivetrain combining electric motors with a 1.5-litre petrol engine that acts as a generator to charge its battery.

A model derived from it could provide VW with an alternative to both a conventional plug-in hybrid and a large battery-electric SUV, particularly for buyers seeking long-distance capability.

Another possibility is a future SUV developed from CSP, which has been engineered to accommodate both battery-electric and range extender drivetrains.

Neither has been confirmed for Europe. But the signs are there: a Chinese-developed flagship could allow VW to remain in the large SUV segment without committing to the full expense of an entirely new European development programme.

Europe's next wave of VW models

More consequential still is the possible adoption of CEA in European-developed cars.

As previously revealed by Autocar, VW is examining whether the electronic architecture could underpin as much as 75% of its next-generation European volume models across VW, Skoda and Cupra.

Schäfer confirmed that the company is investigating whether CEA represents the most cost-effective solution. Asked whether it would ultimately be adopted, he replied: "I believe it will be, but we're not finished yet."

A decision would have substantial implications for VW's future European cars, potentially combining locally developed mechanical platforms with electronic systems originating in China.

It would also raise questions about the group's investment in a separate electronic architecture being developed with Rivian. The Rivian and VW Technology joint venture is developing software and electronic systems for future Western-market models, backed by VW's commitment of up to $5.8 billion.

Adopting CEA across a substantial proportion of European volume models could reduce the number of cars available to absorb the costs of the Rivian-developed system. Equally, maintaining separate architectures risks duplicating expenditure.

The eventual decision will depend on development costs, technical capabilities and the expense of adapting each system to different markets.

But the fact that VW is considering Chinese-developed electronics for such a substantial proportion of its European models demonstrates how far the relationship has changed.

The reversal

None of this guarantees VW will recover its former position in China. Its new range models must demonstrate that improved technology, lower costs and faster development can translate into stronger sales and sustainable profitability.

Nor will every innovation developed in China prove suitable for Europe. Different regulations, production costs and customer requirements mean that some systems will require substantial modification, while others may remain specific to the Chinese market. But the changes already under way are significant.

VW also acknowledges that the methods used to develop these new systems and platforms may be as valuable as the technology itself: shorter development cycles, closer supplier relationships, reduced component complexity and faster decision-making offer benefits extending well beyond any individual model.

Brandstätter has cautioned against expecting an immediate recovery. VW has reduced its 2030 China sales ambition to around 3.2 million cars, with a margin target of between 4 and 6 per cent. "It's like a marathon," he said. "Maybe the first five kilometres are done, but three-quarters are still ahead of us."

For more than four decades, VW's success in China was built on taking German engineering to the world's largest car market. Now, having lost its dominance there, it is looking to China for the technology, components and development methods that could help determine its future elsewhere.

The company that once helped put China on wheels is increasingly looking to China to show it how to build its next generation of cars.

How to buy the final Ford Fiesta: ultimate guide to bagging a bargain

Sat, 14 Nov 2026 07:00:00 +0000

A best-seller when new, the Fiesta makes a smart used buy in Mk8 form

Who could forget the Ford Fiesta? Like the original Mini, it was a rite of passage for many drivers, which was why everyone was stunned when, four years ago, Ford pulled the plug on it. The last generation was the eighth and that’s the one under the spotlight here. We’ve excluded the ST hot hatch, because that deserves its own guide.

The regular Mk8 Fiesta was launched in 2017, looking much like its predecessor. However, closer examination revealed the new car to be slightly longer and wider - 15% stiffer too, the basis for improvements to the handling. Our testers declared it the outstanding choice for keener drivers.

You could have your Fiesta with a 69bhp or 84bhp Duratec 1.1 Ti-VCT petrol engine, a three-cylinder turbocharged 1.0T Ecoboost petrol in 99bhp, 123bhp and 138bhp flavours or a 1.5-litre diesel with 84bhp or 118bhp.

The VCT engines are slow, have a five-speed gearbox and are suitable only for lightly laden town work. They’re cheap, though.

Our pick of the Ecoboost units, which have a six-speed gearbox, is the 123bhp version. It produces dollops of torque for a punchy but reasonably economical driving experience.

The diesel suits high-mileage drivers but was dropped in 2020. From 2019, the Ecoboost’s wet belt was replaced with an arguably more reliable timing chain; three years later, so did the 99bhp version. In 2020, a manual-only, 48V mild-hybrid Ecoboost, badged 1.0T mHEV and available in 123bhp and 153bhp outputs, joined the range.

There’s no shortage of space in the front of the Mk8 Fiesta, while the rear has a little more leg room than in a Mk7. Two people will be comfortable on the back bench, but three will be cosy. Most versions have a backrest that folds 60/40 to reveal a reasonably large boot, if far from class-leading.

If you’re struggling to tell the Fiesta Mk7 and Mk8 apart, check their dashboards. The Mk8’s was all-new and is dominated by an 8.0in touchscreen. Our testers weren’t blown away by the new Sync 3 infotainment system and it’s unlikely to wow anyone today, but as you progress up the trim levels, it acquires more features, including sat-nav. Most trim levels feature a welcome mix of materials, albeit dominated by hard plastics. Fit and finish is okay but a Volkswagen Polo is better.

The trims you’re most likely to encounter are Zetec (15in alloy wheels, LED daytime-running lights, foglights and a heated windscreen), Titanium (cruise control, automatic lights and wipers and climate control) and ST-Line (sportier exterior and interior styling and sports suspension). Top-spec Vignale (leather seats and a panoramic roof) is a bit of fun. If you plan to keep your post-2019 chain-drive Ecoboost for a while, choosing one of these over anything too basic could be a wise decision.

A 2022 facelift brought a more aggressive-looking front end and updated kit such as LED headlights, a sharp-looking 12.3in instrument cluster on higher trims and improved safety features.

And then it was game up. Despite its flaws - namely a smallish rear cabin and the infamous wet belt (see below) - a Mk8 Fiesta is a cracking used buy and so plentiful that you’ve no reason to fall for a dud.

What to look out for

Engine: Especially with wet-belt engines, check the car has a full service history and scrutinise invoices for the grade of oil used. Listen for rattling and from cold the engine occasionally sounding like a tractor.

All engines have been known to develop oil leaks. Low-mileage diesel engines can suffer diesel particulate filter issues caused by a lack of adequate regeneration. On mHEV models, check the stop-start system, cylinder deactivation and regen systems are working.

Gearbox: Clutches are not the most robust so check the bite point (too high and it may be on the way out) and for it slipping under load. Some manual gearboxes have a badly fitted bearing that causes them to grind. The early torque-converter automatic gearbox and later (from 2020) dual-clutch gearbox are reliable but still test them thoroughly.

Suspension, brakes and tyres: On ST-Line models, check you can live with the firmer suspension. Zetec and Titanium are softer and more comfortable. All can suffer from worn drop links and bushes and failure of rear axle bushes.

Body: Ensure that the rear bumper isn't rubbing the body, causing localised corrosion, that panels match (some colours can vary in tone across the car) and that doors are accurately aligned. Rear door seals can perish, causing water ingress. Check the headlights for internal delamination.

Interior: Be sure the seat material is in good condition and not saggy or bunched up and check the Sync 3 infotainment system is free of glitches.

Also worth knowing

Not sure if the Ecoboost engine you're looking at has a wet belt or a timing chain? The turbo is at the front on a wet-belt engine and at the rear on a chain engine. Note that on a chain engine the oil pump continues to be driven by a wet belt. It's not under the same load but may degrade over time.

How much to spend

£3750-£3999: Early, 1.0 and 1.1 petrols with highish mileages and 1.5 diesels with well north of 100,000. Don't mistake a late Mk7 for a Mk8.

£4000-£7999: Huge choice of engines, trims and mileages, with some cars up to 2023-reg.

£8000-£11,999: Plenty more lavish-mileage 1.0T and 1.0T mHEV cars from 2020-reg.

£12,000-£14,999: The best, low-mileage late-plate 1.0T mHEVs.

An owner's view

Lilly Bassett: "I have a 2018 1.0T Ecoboost that's done 71,000 miles. A few months ago, the oil light started flickering before staying on permanently. I took the car to a garage who told me to stop driving it immediately. They checked the engine for oil leaks and then drained the oil and inspected the oil filter.

"Both had traces of what they thought might be rubber and said the engine probably needed a new wet timing belt because bits of the old one might be stopping the oil from flowing around. I gave them the go-ahead - the bill was just over £1000 - and the light hasn't returned. The car has a good but not full ford service history and I've been told the right grade of oil will be vital for protecting the belt in future."

Thanks for the Memburys: The 28-year-old who's visited every service station in Britain

Sat, 14 Nov 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Meet Rich Cross, 28, the service station consumer champion – and find out what his favourite stop is

It's not what you know, they say, but who you know.

I've been visiting Welcome Break Membury services on the M4 since the early 1970s when it opened, but it wasn't until I met Rich, who knows Linda, who works there, that I was granted a very special privilege: the freedom to use a discreet service road at the rear of the site that leads to a road bridge over the motorway enabling drivers to rejoin it without driving miles in the wrong direction to the next exit.

Such is the power of Rich Cross, full-time, self-employed service station expert and enthusiast who spends his days visiting the country's motorway and major A-road services, reporting what he finds on his social media page and industry websites.

Basically, anyone who's anyone in the service station business knows Rich - and now I do.

To be honest, before I did, I was worried he'd be a little unusual, in the way someone who has devoted the past five years of his young life to happily paying premium prices for fuel and snacks might be. However, I'm happy to report he is completely normal. This being so, I can see why Linda cheerfully granted me permission to use the top-secret Membury shortcut, which, in case you're considering using it yourself, is policed by a no entry sign and ANPR cameras.

Rich has that effect on people. For example, one of his latest Instagram posts shows him posing with the top executives behind the dine-in and takeaway chain Wraps & Wings and other brands including Mad About Doner, busy chaps with businesses to run but making time to tell Rich about their latest forecourt concept and their search for operators to partner with.

In fact, the franchise model the businessmen are planning mirrors the current trend in service stations whereby familiar big-name coffee shop and fast food brands such as Starbucks, KFC and McDonald's have displaced the large, open-plan restaurants that once served delights including soggy fish and chips, oily bacon and cold beans.

Rich accepts it's the future and that time-poor motorists are attracted to brands they know and trust, but even so, he misses the old communal dining halls and fears that, like high streets, service stations risk losing their identities and what makes them special.

"They're becoming increasingly 'samey'," he tells me over a delicious Starbucks. "Most now have the same brands. There should be more points of difference between them, and I would love to see a return of the plated meal." Rich traces his affection for the latter to the days when, as a young boy, he would accompany his father, an HGV driver, on long journeys when they would occasionally stop at service stations for a Little Chef or Happy Eater sit-down dinner.

The fact that they, too, were nationwide brands, albeit with table service, seems to go over his head. "I loved those days," he says, wistfully. "People had more time to enjoy each other's company rather than, as they do today, getting back on the road as fast as they can." I resist telling him that's the point.

After leaving school near Bristol, Rich, who is now 28, became a bus driver for four years, then, for a short time after that, a home delivery driver for a supermarket chain. Both roles allowed him to indulge his interest in service stations in his spare time. That interest became a passion, and then, five years ago, what he describes as a 'full-time job'. "I've visited all 100 service stations in Britain and revisit them at least every 18 months," he says. Doing so, he claims to clock up 25,000 miles a year at the wheel of his 2016 Smart Fortwo, now showing 180,000 miles, and is away from home four nights a week. It's a task that costs him £10,000 a year.

Rich takes pictures of each site he visits and records the number and type of amenities, including public electric car charge points. EV charger provision is a big issue for the sector, he says: "The problem is getting sufficient power to run a decent number of EV chargers. For example, at Leigh Delamere on the M4, the westbound location receives the electricity to power it and sends what's left to the London-bound site opposite, via cables beneath the motorway. It's why the London-bound site has far fewer chargers. To get sufficient power, some service stations are considering renting neighbouring land on which to build solar farms, while others, such as the new Welcome Break services at Rotherham, have installed solar panels on the roof."

Rich says the golden age of motorway service stations was the 1980s and early 1990s, when many new ones were opened. However, 2025 wasn't a bad year, either. Two opened then: Welcome Break Rotherham and Moto Sawtry. "They're new locations, but across the industry there's a lot of investment going into established ones, too," says Rich, who briefly achieved fame on BBC Radio 1 as the Service Station King. With more sites planned, his kingdom is set to grow.

Rich's favourite service stations

Tebay (M6), Gloucester (M5), Cairn Lodge (A74(M))

"These family-owned services are very customer-oriented. Tebay, the first to be built, was founded by local farmers John and Barbara Dunning, through whose land the M6 passes. As part of the purchase deal, they were given permission to build the services."

Leeds Skelton Lake (M1)

"Opened in 2020, this service area was designed to blend in with the local environment. It has a 'living roof', access to a nearby nature reserve and a viewing platform overlooking Skelton Lake."

Rotherham (M1)

"There's nothing quite like this services. The interior is modelled on a Yorkshire high street and has mock shop fronts, street lights and a fountain. It looks and feels very different."

JLR will 'do what it takes' to protect IP in battle with BYD over Defender design

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 16:15:42 +0000

CEO "does not accept the infringement" of JLR's intellectual property, as court case over Defender-aping Ti7 looms

JLR's CEO has said he “does not accept the infringement of our intellectual property” in his first comments over his company’s case against BYD and its Defender-aping Ti7.

The Land Rover manufacturer is pursuing the case in the Netherlands, where BYD’s European headquarters is located, ahead of the sales of the plug-in hybrid Ti7 in Europe.

“Our vehicles are getting built on decades of heritage, engineering, excellence and, of course, the capability and the craftsmanship that these cars execute,” PB Balaji said on a call to journalists. “Therefore we will do what it takes to protect them.”

The Ti7 is one of multiple homages to the Defender in China, where the vehicle is held up as a epitome of what a premium off-roader should look like.

It's by far the most successful of this new crop of large SUVs. Despite measuring almost five metres long, it has moved into China’s top 10 best-sellers list this year.

The seven-seater starts at £47,995 in the UK, undercutting the equivalent Defender by around £20,000, while offering a 74-mile electric-only range from a 35.6kWh battery pack.

The resemblance to the Defender can be clearly seen in elements such as the body-coloured panel in the rear side window and the impression of a floating roof created by blacking out the door pillars.

JLR started the legal process in August after initially hearing about BYD’s plan to sell the Ti7 here. The company obtained a court order to seize documents from BYD pertaining to its exact sales plan.

BYD complained that the scope of the documents taken was excessive, calling JLR’s actions a “fishing expedition”. A judge agreed and on November 12 ruled that the JLR should return the files and pay BYD legal expenses.

Balaji said the files were no longer needed, given that BYD has now announced sales plans for the Ti7 in Europe. The case is expected to be heard later this month.

In 2019, JLR won a case in China against local manufacturer Landwind, whose X7 was found to be too similar to the Range Rover Evoque.

However, it was unsuccessful its 2020 legal case to stop Ineos from selling the Grenadier on the grounds that it was too close to the original Defender.

Other car makers have been successful in blocking Chinese companies from selling copycat models, including in 2008 when GWM was blocked from bringing its Peri into Europe on the grounds it look too much like the Fiat Panda; and BMW prevented sales of the Shuanghuan SCEO after successfully arguing that it was an X5 clone.

The Ti7 is arguably not the worst of the Defender clones. Even closer in looks is the new BAIC Xingtan 5X, which like the Ti7 comes as a PHEV and an EV in China.

The 4865m-long SUV has been described by media commentators there as a “poor-man’s Defender”, starting at the equivalent of £15,000. Its off-road capabilities are described as "light".

The Defender costs from the equivalent of £82,500 in China.

Sales there plummeted 39% in the three months to the end of September, even as they rose elsewhere, but the Defender remains JLR’s best performer globally, taking 28,465 sales in the quarter, up 16%.

How this 95-litre diesel monster keeps industry going

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Cummins' mammoth 4400hp engine shows diesel power still has an important place in the world

Whether I successfully dodge the coach's call for a volunteer linesman or not, on a Saturday morning you will usually find me standing beside a soggy football pitch.

A lot of the time, though, I'm only pretending to watch the nine-a-side juniors match that's unfolding in front of me. Quite often I'm being happily distracted by Mark, whose lad happens to play for the same team as mine and who happens to work for Cummins Power Solutions. And, bless him, he likes to talk unadulterated filth to me, at a pretty scandalous hour, about his employer's particular stock-in-trade: diesel-powered engines and generators.

I'm a receptive audience, because my appetite for engine chat isn't quite as well sated by my day job as it used to be. My word, the engines we used to have: quirky V5s, screaming V10s, pedigree V12s, crossplane-crank V8s and VTEC Honda fours; 'cheeky triple' three-cylinder thrummers and little 'sewing machine' V6s. Petrol and diesel, puffed and blown, large and small. How we loved them all.

Then 'downsizing' and 'Euro 4' took the first ones away and creeping hybridisation and tighter and tighter emissions regs reaped more and more. Now electrification is all the automotive industry really cares to invest in, while some of the greatest examples of 20th-century mechanical engineering that I can think of are cast aside and left to wither.

We all liked the big ones, didn't we? Well, Cummins' current biggest is the 95-litre QSK95. A 4400hp, near-18,000lb ft, quad-turbocharged, 16-cylinder diesel unit, it makes peak power at 1800rpm-although it can only sustain that for 10 seconds, being designed for long-hour, heavy-load applications. It's eight feet tall, 14 feet long, weighs a little over 13 tonnes and apparently has an alternator large enough to cover a small dining table (and presumably turn it into kindling). Typically it powers superyachts, locomotives and mining trucks.

Cummins is, of course, developing something even larger, set to breach the 100-litre barrier, but it's not quite ready yet (when it is, you can be sure I'll hear all about it, and you'll be next).

There are, according to Cummins' most excellent website, more than 1200 QSK95s operating in 36 countries as you read this. And that's just one engine model. Cummins 'generators and power systems' webpage lists 400-odd others and more than 600 generators besides. Its biggest 'gennie' is a 78-litre, 3.5kVA unit. Looking a bit like the star of 1980s BBC stop-motion TV show Bertha, it could just about power a small-to medium-sized commercial building during a blackout.

The prevalence of these generators, and our reliance on them, is easy to overlook as we congratulate ourselves on our 'path to net zero' efforts. Most hospitals have at least one, either on the roof or in the basement, otherwise power cuts would cost lives. Factories and offices too, in many cases.

The data centres now being built around the globe by tech giants like Amazon, Meta and Google are the extreme end of the spectrum. They're desperately power-hungry and their impact on emissions has been well covered by the press. Apparently it's common for them to have 20 diesel generators to ensure continuity of power supply, in some cases quite a lot more. All because we want all of our music in the cloud and to ask Gemini to make a daft video of the family cat dancing like Bruno Mars.

Suddenly getting to work doesn't seem like such a trivial reason to burn some hydrocarbons.

It amuses me, basically, how hopelessly, inescapably dependent on internal combustion the modern world remains. You might say that all we're doing is making 'the problem a little less visible. Clearly some should remember that internal combustion itself isn't really the problem but rather what we choose to combust.

Mostly, what I say is: "Ninety-five litres? Hubba hubba. Hold on, ref, that was a corner, wasn't it?"

Official: JLR confirms electric Defender 'Sport' for launch in 2027

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 14:55:04 +0000

Autocar render shows how the new smaller Defender may look

Defender's smaller sibling will enter production on Merseryside by the end of 2027

JLR CEO PB Balaji has confirmed that the firm will begin producing the new electric Defender Sport next year - in the first official confirmation of timelines for the firm's new entry-level SUV.

Speaking to journalists on the firm's second quarter earnings call, Balaji didn't name the new model explicitly, but confirmed that "the [Range Rover] GT and the Defender electric start off in Halewood next year", referring to the Merseyside plant which currently builds the Evoque and Discovery Sport.

The new downsized Defender will share the flexible EMA platform that underpins the new GT, and will likewise offer the choice of pure-electric and hybrid powertrains. Balaji confirmed that hybrid development was "fully underway" but only the EV is set to be ready for launch by the end of 2027.

The Discovery Sport retires in the coming weeks to make way for the GT to begin production in Halewood early next year, and Balaji confirmed the Evoque will also be phased out later next year, to be replaced by the little Defender - as recently reported by Autocar.

While it is widely referred to as the Defender Sport – in keeping with Land Rover's tradition of using the suffix for smaller versions of full-sized models – JLR has not yet revealed the new SUV's name. Another option on the table is Defender 80, which would clearly position it below the 90, 110 and 130 versions of its namesake.

Mark Cameron, managing director for the Defender and Discovery brands, previously told Autocar that work on the new Defender variant was “well advanced”, and promised it will be "class-leading in the attributes that make it a Defender".

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

Defining Defender as a brand

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

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

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

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

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

Work 'well advanced'

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

Tipped to be just over 4.5m long, it sits on JLR'S EMA platform, while the more premium-focused Range Rover and Defender will use the firm's MLA platform, and Jaguar has developed its own bespoke EV architecture, named JEA.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brand building

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A century of ‘weird but speedy-looking’ Spykers

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000

From 1900s 4x4 pioneers to 2000s supercars, this is the Dutch brand’s tumultuous history

Spyker claims to be back in business again, after years of legal issues and false starts.

Backing has come from a “fintech ecosystem” that aims to “integrate a sports car with blockchain products”, which might well ring some alarm bells, but solid evidence emerged in the forms of the “entirely new” C8 Preliator XXV Coupé at Pebble Beach and a parade of 22 old C8 Spyders at the Dutch Grand Prix.

It’s now over a decade since the quirky Dutch brand last delivered a new car to a customer, yet less than 30 years since it announced itself at Goodwood with a droopy prototype. Our first experience of a C8 came in 2004: “The cabin is more Spirit of St Louis than supercar.

The first impression is that it’s over the top, but it’s also beautifully detailed without any elements borrowed from mainstream parts bins. “The flexible Audi V8 accelerates cleanly from 1500rpm in sixth with a distinctly American soundtrack, and the [manual] gearbox is slick and smooth.

“The C8 delivers a fresh experience, borrowing nothing from Ferrari or Lamborghini. But for all its character there is still a lot of development needed. If Spyker can make the steering more communicative, boost front-end grip, reduce high-speed lift and improve the gear ratios, then it will have created a very special car.”

This wasn’t our first experience of a Spyker, however, because this brand actually dates back to the very earliest days of motoring. At London’s 1903 motor show, we marvelled at the 20hp tourer’s “sarcophagus-shaped bonnet which has no retaining screws or clips but jams down tightly and securely into a grip joint taking it all round” and “gear-striking arrangement that is particularly foolproof, inasmuch as the gear cannot be changed from one speed to another until the clutch has been taken out.

“Indeed, we think we may say that the details of the Spyker car have been very closely considered.” Later that year, the Dutch amazed us again by producing what we then called a “double-driving six-cylinder car” and now see as the first 4x4.

In September 1907, a Spyker completed the Peking to Paris, an insanely gruelling 9300-mile rally – although it took a fortnight longer than the winner, and driver Charles Godard was “disembarked from the car by Mr Spyker on reaching Germany”, because he’d lied about his financial backing to secure use of the car, then sold spare parts and lied to shipping firms and banks to secure loans for his onward travel!

Pity poor Jacobus Spyker: just six months earlier, his elder brother and business partner Hendrik-Jan had drowned in the stormy sinking of a British ferry. This tragedy rapidly led to bankruptcy, and the firm passed into new ownership. The outbreak of the Great War saved struggling Spyker, as it transitioned to military aircraft manufacturing – and in 1919, it showed off what it had learned by creating the special Aerocoque sports car.

“While unorthodox in outline, it is a type that will make a strong appeal to those who have become enamoured of speed and of aeroplane design in their capacity as RAF pilots,” we said. “The body resembles an aeroplane fuselage, while the mudguards follow as closely as feasible a ‘wing’ outline.”

This “weird but speedy-looking” special was appropriately bought by Major Hawker. It seems he wasn’t a fan, though, as within months a dealer was advertising the car for sale in Autocar – alongside a grand prix winner rebodied as a four-seat tourer. It was an Itala, incidentally another brand recently resurrected.

We got to test a Spyker ourselves in 1921. Hefty import tax pushed the 70bhp five-seat tourer up to £2600 (£113,700 now), “for which naturally a great deal will be expected”. Happily, “even the first few yards of driving proves that the Spyker is a fine car to handle, having that silky smoothness which one expects from an expensive six-cylinder, but also unusually light steering for a car of its size, and a very good clutch.

“The acceleration and power are extraordinary, notwithstanding a total weight considerably more than would be ordinarily expected. “The springs are exceptional, the body rolling smoothly over the worst of the rough surfaces.

Moreover, the car corners well, as the springs do not permit the body to roll unduly.”

We hope this latest Spyker revival effort bears fruit – and fruit as juicy as that we enjoyed 105 years ago.

Dutch firm reinvents hypercars with radical motorcycle-style cockpit

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Sanrivatti hopes to bring fresh take on the hypercar to market by 2030 – and it's got an F1-inspired V10

Dutch start-up Sanrivatti is aiming to reinvent the hypercar by introducing an unusual motorcycle-style driving position for its new V10 track toy.

Its ‘Apex position’ drapes the driver head-first on a centrally-mounted frame. It claims this brings a significant improvement in forward visibility compared with a normal seat, as well as fostering a greater sense of connection with the machine.

Founder Santiago Sanchez told Autocar it is “a total coin flip” of a traditional car’s architecture: “You feel as one. It's not that you're sitting in the car, like on a sofa eating popcorn and watching a movie. Now you're in an active position, an aggressive stance, and you're forced to be in the moment.”

Sanchez said that placing the driver head-first means “things are not coming at you, but you’re going towards the corner”; the more aggressive posture encourages drivers to attack bends.

Although it is inspired by a motorcycle, Sanrivatti’s design retains a conventional steering wheel and pedals – which, Sanchez said, will be connected to the corresponding elements of the car mechanically, rather than by-wire.

The posture is not, however, completely flat. Riding a motorcycle at speed places considerable stress on the body, and cars are capable of generating much greater lateral G-forces through corners partly because of the tyres' greater contact patch area. Sanchez said Sanrivatti had found a “sweet spot” between something too aggressive, as with a superbike, and something too “passive”.

The company is also working on what it calls a ‘G-force neutralising system” (GNS) to counteract the loads on the body. Sanchez suggested this would be a “kind of leaning mechanism” but declined to share further details as development work is ongoing.

Sanrivatti has now revealed its first prototype, the One, indicating the specification of the track-only car that it plans to build in 2030.

It uses a 789bhp naturally-aspirated Judd V10 – a choice inspired by “the most emotional-sounding F1 engine” – and is targeting an 1100kg dry weight and 205mph top speed. Sanchez said it had been built with Belgian circuit Spa-Francorchamps in mind, but that “it’s not about numbers”, rather “the connection that you feel with the car”.

Work is ongoing to finesse the car’s dynamic characteristics, with significant thought put into the impact of the driver’s weight; in most supercars, the 60-100kg of ballast provided by the person at the wheel is usually situated as low and long as possible, but here it is set high and short. “That changes your steering geometry, your suspension geometry and how the car has to behave in such a position”, said Sanchez. The proposed GNS system, allowing that weight to shift within the car while moving, will further complicate matters.

Asked about crash safety, Sanchez said this was “the first question we asked ourselves” and affirmed that it would not be compromised by the head-first positioning.

Sanrivatti also plans to run its own driver development programme to help buyers acclimatise to the new way of interacting with the car, particularly at high speeds. “We will be teaching our clients in a staged way – not, obviously, just saying ‘here are the keys’,” said Sanchez.

He added that building his own hypercar had been a lifelong dream, and he is confident in the company’s odds of success given the meteoric growth in the niche supercar and hypercar industry.

Assisting Sanchez is Paul Arkesden, an industry veteran who previously led the engineering of the McLaren P1, headed vehicle development for McLaren Special Operations and later became vice-president of engineering and product development for Singer.

Sanchez also hinted at bigger hopes for the future, which could include road-going vehicles, saying: “There are a lot of places that we can apply the Apex position and take it to another level. But for now, all focus is on the Sanrivatti One.”

Electric Audi A4 delayed until 2029 amid VW Group setbacks

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 06:00:00 +0000

New Scalable Systems Platform, due to underpin the new BMW i3 rival, sees further delays

Audi has delayed the introduction of the new electric A4 until 2029 as development of the Volkswagen Group's long-awaited Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) faces further setbacks.

The new electric saloon, conceived as a direct rival to the electric-powered BMW i3, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Tesla Model 3, was originally planned to enter production at Audi's Ingolstadt plant in Germany in 2028 as one of the first models based on the SSP architecture.

However, Autocar understands that production of the A4 E-tron is now not planned to begin before 2029. That leaves Audi without a contender in the increasingly competitive mid-sized exec EV class, into which rivals BMW and Mercedes have recently pitched the i3 and C-Class EVs respectively.

The delay leaves Audi facing a significant gap in its electric model line-up: the ICE A4 – renamed A5 in its latest generation – has traditionally played a key role in the German car maker’s annual sales, and the electric equivalent was expected to be a similarly important contributor.

It also represents another setback for the SSP, following sibling brand Volkswagen’s announcement that development of the electric Mk9 Golf on that platform had been delayed due to cost constraints.

When the 800V SSP was announced in 2021, it was intended eventually to replace not only today’s 400V MEB and 800V PPE platforms for EVs but also the MQB, MLB and MSB architectures used by the group’s sprawling ICE car line-up.

At the time, the group intended to develop a single architecture that could be used across different segments and drivetrain classes, rather than continuing with separate platforms.

Production of SSP models was originally planned to begin in 2026, with the Volkswagen Group projecting that more than 40 million vehicles would eventually be based on it. The new architecture was described as “all-electric, fully digital and highly scalable”, with common hardware, batteries and software providing greater economies of scale across its brands.

Five years later, the introduction of the SSP as the basis for a new generation of VW Group models has slipped by at least three years.

Volkswagen is due to be the first brand to use SSP: it will underpin an electric T-Roc SUV that will spawn a closely related electric Golf in short order. The two models are planned to be produced at Volkswagen's Wolfsburg plant in Germany as part of a wide-ranging restructuring of the firm's European manufacturing operations, with the ICE Golf moving to Puebla in Mexico.

VW Group works council chair Daniela Cavallo previously said the two SSP models represented combined annual production volumes of more than 500,000 units.

Skoda also has significant plans for the SSP, with the successor to the Enyaq due to become the Czech brand's first model based on the new platform. The new model is planned to be produced at Skoda's Mladá Boleslav plant in the Czech Republic, where the existing Enyaq is built. Its timing now places it within the same period as the delayed A4 EV, although Skoda has yet to confirm whether the latest changes to the SSP programme will alter its original plans.

Central to the delays to the SSP have been long-running software problems at Cariad, Volkswagen's in-house software operation. It was originally charged with developing a common operating system and electronic architecture for SSP, including over-the-air updates and technology to support highly automated driving.

Under the original timetable, Cariad's unified software platform was due in 2025, a year before SSP production was scheduled to begin.

Those plans have since been extensively revised. The Volkswagen Group has turned to US-based electric car maker Rivian for key elements of the electronic architecture and software for future models sold outside China, and it has hinted at the possibility of exporting its CEA architecture – used for Chinese-market cars – to other global markets.

But the latest delay to the A4 is not solely software-related: Audi is understood to have demanded significant changes to the version of SSP planned for its new electric saloon as it seeks to provide the packaging, seating position and interior proportions expected of an A4.

Among them is the adoption of individual footwells for both front- and rear-seat passengers rather than the completely flat floor used by many dedicated EV platforms. Creating the footwells has required engineers to rethink the positioning and packaging of the battery beneath the passenger compartment along with other key high-voltage electrical components.

An Audi insider has told Autocar the changes to the platform structure add to its complexity at a time when the Volkswagen Group is attempting to reduce the number of components shared between its brands.

Audi is also understood to have specified a 48V electrical system for the A4 E-tron in place of the more conventional 12V arrangement initially planned. The higher-voltage system is said to provide greater electrical capacity for more powerful computers and other electronic systems, but it has required further engineering work and changes to elements of the electronic architecture being developed with Rivian.

Dacia Spring driven: Britain's cheapest car grows up thanks to Twingo underpinnings

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 00:05:13 +0000

Bargain brand’s entry-level offering enters its second generation

Dacia is in the throes of taking its electric offensive to the next level, once again demonstrating its knack for practical, accessible solutions.

Having sold more than 210,000 examples of the original Spring EV since 2021, the Romanian subsidiary of the Renault Group is now upgrading its game with this, the second-generation model.

The new car has been developed in less than two years, alongside the Renault Twingo and Nissan Pixo, by a dedicated team that gathered in Shanghai for this purpose, and it will be built alongside its group siblings in Slovenia.

That means it avoids the EU tariffs that the old Spring was hit with but is also more expensive to build. Still, it will still undercut the Twingo by some margin to remain one of the cheapest cars on sale.

UK prices haven’t been confirmed yet, pending a decision on how much of the EV government grant the Spring will receive, but, based on the European prices it will be some £1700 cheaper than the Renault.

Compared with the spindly old Spring, this new one is a much more substantial car. By switching to the Renault Group’s new RG-EV platform for small cars, it not only gains a modern electric architecture but also boasts a much more assured road stance. At 3855mm in length and 1722mm across the body, and with a 2492mm wheelbase, it has grown substantially in all directions except height.

The interior has changed just as significantly, and its kinship with the Twingo is even more apparent here because the dashboard is almost identical. It is similarly made from hard plastic, albeit without the Twingo’s cheery colours. Base versions in particular are more stripped-down, though, because the cheapest trim doesn’t get a central screen.

Fancier versions do feature a 10.1in touchscreen, albeit without the integrated Google services you will find in Renaults.

Thankfully, Dacia doesn’t believe in cutting costs by getting rid of all the buttons, because the Spring still gives you solid physical dials and buttons to operate the ventilation system, along with the much-loved ‘My Safety’ button that lets you turn off the various driver-assistance systems with ease.

Given the larger exterior dimensions, it’s no surprise that the interior offers substantially more space. Shoulder room has benefited the most, rising from 117cm to 139cm in the first row and from 114cm to 132cm in the rear, according to my measurements.

Leg room has seen a more modest growth, from 64cm to 68cm, because Dacia positioned the individual rear seats in a way that prioritises boot capacity. These two seats do not slide back and forth as they do in the Twingo, but the engineers reckon there’s no need, given that the Spring has a longer rear overhang to make the boot bigger anyway. Load space there is now up to 337 litres including the underfloor storage. There’s also an 18-litre frunk for charging cables.

The battery uses lithium-iron-phosphate chemistry and has a net capacity of 27.5 kWh. The promised 155-mile WLTP range – which is 14 more than the previous Spring – falls short by eight miles compared with the Twingo due to a bigger body that weighs 13kg more and a less favourable drag coefficient of 0.318 (the Twingo's is 0.295). All Springs coming to the UK will be able to charge at 11kW domestically and 50kW publicly.

If you pick the more expensive trim, you start the Spring with a button, while the lowlier version still gets an ignition key. The first part of our test drive went through urban areas and more open roads where the Spring’s modest 80bhp and 203 lb ft are more than sufficient to keep up with traffic.

In this environment the turning circle of less than 10 metres makes the car extremely agile. The standard rear parking sensors and electric parking brake also come in handy around town.

The new Renault platform includes the ‘one-box’ brake-by-wire system, which gives the Spring the sort of prompt and linear pedal response that’s not always a given even in cars three times the price. There’s not much in the way of configuration for the off-throttle regen, though. The column-mounted drive selector lets you switch between D and a stronger B-mode, but even the latter doesn’t offer full one-pedal driving.

Even on motorways, the Spring is a world away from its predecessor, which felt underpowered and out of its depth. This is still not its natural habitat, but it is nonetheless happy to cruise at its 80mph limiter if you wish.

The weather on the Portuguese launch was so bad that the normal UK rotation was cancelled, but the Spring handled the very wet and windy conditions well enough. Now shod with Goodyear tyres instead of the dreadful LingLongs found on the old car, the Spring can take advantage of its wider stance to offer adequate grip and good stability – two concepts that are completely alien to the old Spring.

Superficially, this car feels similar to the Twingo, but one difference is in the steering. It’s much slower on the Dacia, at more than three turns between locks, and this gives a more relaxed demeanour – which suits it.

It also only comes on 16in wheels, rather than the 18s that all of the Twingos we’ve driven have been fitted with. Again, this feels like a very sensible choice for a very sensible car of substance over style, because the result is a fairly absorbent ride.

Dacia is hopeful it will net the full £3750 government grant for the Spring by the time it goes on sale in the UK, meaning it will cost a little more than the £11,990 of the current car but not a huge amount. That’s impressive, given that if you were to step from that car into this new one, it would feel like time travel: here you get a modern car with usable performance, decent handling and loads more room inside.

It’s still destined to be a second car because you’ll be lucky to get more than real-world 120 miles on a charge. But it deserves praise for how much it delivers for the money.

JOAQUIM OLIVEIRA

Dacia Spring
Twingo platform means Britain’s cheapest car gains a lot of maturity for not very much more money.
Price	£13,500 (est)
Engine	Permanent magnet synchronous motor
Power	80bhp
Torque	203lb ft
Gearbox	1-spd reduction, FWD
Kerb weight	1314kg
0–62mph	12.1sec
Top speed	81mph
Battery	27.5 kWh (usable)
Range, economy	155 miles, 5.6mpkWh
CO2, tax band	0g/km, 4%
Rivals	Honda Super-N, Leapmotor T03

Bébé à bord: 1000-mile road trip with V6 Audi SQ5 - and a baby

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 13:02:04 +0000

Rapid SUV does a good Alpina impression on a family holiday to France

Our fly-splattered Audi SQ5 is back in the UK after a fortnight in France, where it faced an unusual challenge. It turns out babies of a certain age shouldn’t be in a car seat for more than two hours – a notion my wife doesn’t consider up for debate.

I won’t bore you with specifics, but our desired itinerary required the car to be rapid enough to cover the necessary ground in short stints yet serene enough not to ruin the sleep of an infant with a backside more synaptically sensitive than Jim Clark’s.

The SQ5, whose subtle visual muscle is growing on me, mostly delivered. I’ve already remarked that our air-sprung Vorsprung car generates an Alpina-esque glide at motorway speeds, and this was more evident than ever on deserted autoroutes. The faster you go, the better the thing rides.

The Alpina characteristic is discernible in the way the fairly generous vertical movements in Comfort mode are laced with Germanic control: the body seemingly never rises or falls a millimetre more or less than Audi’s development engineers permitted it to, and at precisely the calculated rate. Very nice.

As for performance, there is, as ever, a lot of it to spare, and it’s that old super-saloon thing: deep reserves make the going easier even if you never tap into them. In fact I often find myself thinking how wasted the SQ5 is in the UK, because one thing it happens to be exceptional at is blasting along at triple-figure speeds on good motorways in any conditions with the seat massage on.

As for economy the engine must have loosened up a little, because in everyday driving I’m now seeing the far side of 30mpg with increasing regularity at home. However, on this continental blast, three-up (well, two and a bit) and the boot full, consumption was still pretty painful, it must be said.

Top gear for the seven-speed ’box puts the twin-turbo petrol V6 at 2100rpm or so at an 80mph cruise. An overdrive would have let the car improve on its 24.6mpg average for the trip. I don’t know who, if anyone, is cross-shopping the SQ5 with the mammoth new V6 diesel Q7, but an interesting bit of context: in the larger car I recently managed 37.1mpg on a fast run from Anglesey home to London.

Apples and pears, mind – and we cut the SQ5 some slack, because it’s great to drive. Or is it? On the bitty but brilliant rural runs of the Jura mountains, the conflict that sits at the heart of the SQ5 proposition only grew in stature.

This car simply isn’t satisfying enough to drive relative to the thirst of the engine and the often fidgety ride on roads that aren’t smooth arterial routes. When you want a bit of dynamic interest, you find there’s little payback: the steering can muster only a two-dimensional heft and the chassis balance is too nosey.

There’s only enviable point-to-point pace along with a fruity exhaust note, and that isn't enough when the Porsche Macan GTS exists. Neither in this era can the SQ5 claw back ground with its cabin ambience, for reasons I’ll discuss another time.

To give the SQ5 its due, there’s little it can’t do in outright terms. Raising the ride height to negotiate one especially rutted track was genuinely useful; I’m not convinced an A5 Avant on steel coils would have made it even 20 yards.

It’s ‘Q’ enough for me to leave anywhere without worrying yet equally feels enough of a class act to be taken anywhere. And it’s decently capacious, even if it does almost nothing to dispel claims that SUVs carry no more than their estate counterparts (technically the SQ5 holds 4% more than an S5 Avant, but who’s going to notice that?).

The problem is that a Q5 TDI on optional air suspension would do all this and, with its parsimonious four and taller sidewalls, would appeal more for the workhorse tasks like going on a family holiday to France.

Dolphin G: 90mpg marvel is best BYD yet and could be my next family car

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Innovative plug-in supermini has beaten Renault's new Clio – will one also replace the Clio on my driveway?

I love superminis. Done well, there's no more car I need.

Just because the car is small, that doesn't mean it needn't ride and handle well, be practical and have good performance.

A Mini Cooper (the third-gen BMW model, when it really went grown-up, sharing its base with a BMW 1 Series) and a very brief flirtation with a Renault Twingo aside, all the cars I've ever owned have been superminis.

For the best part of two decades, that meant the Ford Fiesta. Still miss it. Why, Ford, why?! Currently, it's a Renault Clio, which admittedly does such a good impression of a Fiesta, right down to the 0% finance offer that makes you wonder how they can make any money on them...

No matter how good the three years have been with the Clio, that milestone where it heads out of warranty is inevitably a time when you start to look for what else is on the market. Which is what I'm doing now, albeit in no great rush or desire to change.

A new Clio is coming. I was an interested reader myself in our recent twin test of it against the BYD Dolphin G, where the Clio performed largely as it always has done but was beaten by this most European of cars from Shenzen. So I had to try the G myself.

The Dolphin G is comfortably the best BYD I've yet driven. It is the first supermini with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain and I can't work out how the engineers have managed to package an engine, transmission, fuel tank, electric motor and battery in a way that actually makes the interior feel bigger than that of the Clio, particularly in the rear, and keep the boot such a usable size and shape.

It all works too. You spend a lot of your time at low speeds and in urban areas on pure-EV power, which makes performance excellent in these environments, where the G is nippy and grippy like a good ’mini should be. At higher speeds, the 1.5-litre engine takes over the running and the G is as brisk as you need it to be – although sadly there's no escaping the eCVT drone under acceleration.

The chassis generally feels as sophisticated as a European contender and debunks any pre-conceived notion about small, cheap cars from China.

Cons? I'd want a bit more feel from the steering around the straight-ahead and the infotainment system/ touchscreen manages to mix an awful lot of dead space with an unlikely talent for preventing you from being able to then find where anything is. The less said about the driver distraction monitor the better too: my eyes are on the road!

Better was to come when I ran the numbers at the end of the week: over about 300 miles, with two full charges of the 18.3kWh battery giving an electric range of around 50 miles, the indicated economy remained above 90mpg. I handed the car back with a displayed petrol range of more than 350 miles. I'd let the battery run dry twice, and didn't exactly rush to fill it back up, but still it seemed to run on the proverbial fresh air.

Where the G is so impressive is that it brings something completely new to the market, rather than simply trying to better or undercut an existing model. Plug-in superminis are new territory and it's notable that China has got there before Europe, despite Europe's historical ’mini prowess. It's easy to find a new G for £25,000 and nearly new examples with fewer than 1000 miles on the clock can be had for under £20,000.

It highlights the relevance of plug-in hybrids both as a technology in its own right and as a bridging technology to full electric, which again illustrates the folly of crude legislation based on powertrain type.

There is a sub-set of buyers in the market, typically older, who will do very few miles and will always buy new yet they don't trust EVs despite their relevance to them. I'd bet they'd have more concern over time about the petrol in their tank going off with a car like the G than whether or not they can indeed live with an EV.

BYD's sales are flying, and in September the brand sat behind only Volkswagen in the sales charts here. If the G, irritating ADAS and infotainment aside, is representative of its rate of improvement and quality of its execution for relevant cars and technology, the only thing that's going to prevent it from taking top spot here are other factors such as dealer network size, marketing, availability and aftersales.

Perhaps my Clio will turn out to be a fling after a messy divorce with the Fiesta. Right now, the G feels like the kind of car I could settle down with again.

Mercedes-AMG SL goes back to Benz for GT-flavoured makeover

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 11:14:01 +0000

The SL returns to its roots as a mid-life update aims to clearly separate roadster and hardcore GT coupé

Mercedes is preparing to give the SL roadster a more traditional grand-touring character as part of a mid-life update to its sports car line-up, creating a clearer distinction between the fabric-roof roadster and its hard-top GT sibling.

The shift in emphasis follows feedback from buyers who consider the seventh-generation model, developed for the first time by Mercedes-AMG, too firmly focused on performance at the expense of the refinement and long-distance cruising ability.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius confirmed the change to Autocar, saying the revised SL, due for launch in 2027, is going to be “more of a Mercedes-Benz”.

In preparation for its introduction, a prototype version of the new 2+2 was recently revealed at an event in Berlin.

Among the changes planned is a return of the Mercedes-Benz badge for the SL, alongside more powerful AMG versions.

The standard SL will receive its own front-end styling, dispensing with AMG's Panamericana grille in favour of a more conventional Mercedes-Benz grille treatment, insiders revealed.

Underneath, it is planned to receive detailed tweaks to its suspension aimed at improving ride comfort and refinement.

The GT, meanwhile, will remain the more overtly sporting member of the pair, with its fixed roof and independent suspension tuning aimed at providing it with a more sporting driving experience despite the two cars sharing the same platform, drivetrains and other key components.

Both are set to receive revised engines that meet Euro 7 emissions regulations.

The existing turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine in the SL43 and GT43 has already been discontinued, to be replaced by an updated version of Merc's turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six producing 443bhp in a new SL500 4Matic+. The V8 models will switch from the existing M177 engine to the reworked M177 Evo, as used by the latest S-Class and the CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung.

The principal change to the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 is the adoption of a flat-plane crankshaft in place of the current cross-plane arrangement, helping it meet tighter emissions limits without a significant reduction in power.

Both the six-cylinder and reworked V8 are combined with a 48V integrated starter-generator producing 23bhp and 151lb ft, mounted within the housing of the SL and GT’s nine-speed automatic gearbox.

Official details are yet to be revealed, although the V8 looks set to produce around 604bhp in the SL63 AMG 4Matic+, with a similar output planned for the updated Mercedes-Maybach SL680.

A further SL580 model, using a 530bhp version of the V8, has been mooted but is yet to receive production approval.

The rapid but rare SL63 S E Performance, which uses an 805bhp plug-in hybrid drivetrain combining the twin-turbocharged V8 with a rear-mounted electric motor, is being discontinued.

Both the facelifted SL and GT will adopt Mercedes-Benz's new MB.OS operating system, together with updated driver-assistance technology and revised interior controls, including a redesigned steering which introduces revised physical controls.

For the SL, exterior changes will include new headlights incorporating three-pointed-star daytime running lights and indicators, along with the latest Digital Light system.

New GT Black Series under development

Mercedes-AMG is also developing a new GT Black Series, internally designated X192 rather than the C192 code used by the regular GT coupé.

The different designation points to extensive engineering changes, with reports suggesting it will receive a carbonfibre monocoque and body structure as well as a return to a transaxle drivetrain layout, placing the gearbox at the rear as on the original Mercedes-AMG SLS and GT Black Series models.

The new range topping GT model will use a dry-sump version of AMG's flat-plane-crank V8, with output tipped to exceed the 720bhp of its predecessor.

Side-exit exhausts ahead of the rear wheels will allow a larger rear diffuser. Other developments include adjustable ride height for circuit use, active front wheel arch vents and a large rear wing with drag-reduction functionality. Mercedes-Benz insiders suggest the extensive aerodynamic modifications will meet the relevant road-homologation requirements, allowing the car to be registered for road use despite its track-focused aerodynamic package.

It will also use Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres measuring 325/35 ZR20 at the front and 355/30 ZR21 at the rear.

The GT Black Series is being developed alongside Mercedes-AMG's next-generation GT3 racing car. Both were previewed by the Concept AMG GT Track Sport revealed in 2025.

Indycar’s European return is your ticket to a brilliant Barcelona break in 2027

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Indycar is coming back to Europe for the first time in 20 years; five-time champion Álex Palou will be on home turf

Fancy a motorsport-related long weekend away next summer? Allow me to suggest booking a July flight to Barcelona for something a little different.

Indycar is coming back to Europe for the first time since 2007 for a race at the Circuit de Catalunya, which drops off the Formula 1 schedule next year in a yearly rotation deal with Spa-Francorchamps.

Why Barcelona? It’s the home city of Indycar’s five-time champion Álex Palou, for starters, and there’s every chance that the Chip Ganassi Racing ace will help to draw a bumper crowd.

The track is also within easy reach of one of Europe’s great cities and, following heavy renovations to the paddock, it’s back to being a state-of-the-art venue too.

Built as part of Barcelona’s sporting development ahead of the 1992 Olympics, the track became a second home to F1 teams from its first Spanish GP in 1991 as the go-to place for testing.

It was written off as bland at the time and admittedly has hosted some dull races, but I’ve always had a soft spot for it. Whenever anyone asks me which continental F1 race I’d recommend as an alternative to Silverstone, it’s high on my list, along with Belgium’s Spa, the Hungaroring near Budapest and the Red Bull Ring in the beautiful Styrian mountains of Austria.

Spectating views are underrated from either the many grandstands or the grass banks (but be sure to pack quantities of sunscreen in the height of a Spanish summer), there are some lovely places to stay along the nearby coast and, aided by push-to-pass hybrid boost, the Indycars should put on a decent race.

The date is 18 July. It will be a refreshing change and you won’t necessarily need to take out a second mortgage to see it.

Lifeline for Cybertruck as Tesla extends production to fulfil orders

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 09:15:35 +0000

"There must be room for sentimentality" says Musk, as he adds a few months to the Cybertruck's life

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the firm will continue producing the Cybertruck until late 2027, having last week said the prismatic pick-up would retire by the middle of next year.

Posting to his X social media platform last Friday, Musk said Tesla would be "winding down" Cybertruck production at its Texas 'Gigafactory' by the middle of 2027, as it pivoted resources to the ramp-up of its autonomous Cybercab taxi.

In the three years since it was launched, the Cybertruck has sold far more slowly than expected. Musk predicted annual volumes of 250,000 once production was at full speed, but only around 63,000 examples are understood to have been delivered in total – with only 8295 finding homes in the most recent financial quarter.

Nonetheless, the move to end production came as a shock because it will give the Cybertruck a life cycle of just four years – compared with more than a decade for the Model S saloon and Model X SUV, which bowed out last year.

Earlier this week, Musk said Tesla would "try to make as many as possible ⁠before shutting down the line in about eight months, but will have to return deposits for a lot of people", pledging to add another shift at the Texas plant to maximise output.

But now, Musk has announced that production will be extended beyond the initial eight-month window, with Tesla now scheduled to continue building the Cybertruck "through the end of summer 2027".

It is not clear if that means all orders will be fulfilled, nor if it signals a delay in the Cybercab programme, but it does mean Tesla will maintain a three-car offering in its home market of the US for almost another year.

Musk said the decision was not taken with a view to maximising return on the Cybertruck's exorbitant development costs – estimated at almost $6 billion – but with an appreciation for the truck's cult appeal and significance.

"This is not the smartest move from a profit-maximising standpoint btw [by the way], but there must be some room in this world for sentimentality or what’s the point?" he said on X.

The move comes just weeks after Tesla stole headlines worldwide with the debut of its new Roadster supercar, driving a prototype vertically and upside down to showcase its downforce-boosting fan technology before launching it into the air and performing a 'kickflip' to demonstrate its jet thruster system.

It is widely acknowledged that the stunt car was far from production spec, as it had a visibly rudimentary chassis and blacked-out windows shielding the interior, but Musk said the firm plans to put the Roadster on public roads in just two years' time. That will effectively give the company a headline-grabbing flagship EV – albeit a much more expensive one, at £250k-plus – to replace the Cybertruck.

Posting in 2021 after the pick-up's unveiling, Musk was candid about the vehicle's uncertain commercial prospects: "To be frank, there is always some chance that Cybertruck will flop, because it is so unlike anything else.

"I don’t care. I love it so much even if others don’t. Other trucks look like copies of the same thing, but Cybertruck looks like it was made by aliens from the future."

The stainless steel-clad Cybertruck is one of the few electric pick-ups on offer in a market that has so far proved hesitant to switch from big petrol and diesel engines to pure-plug-in power – to the extent that Ford has retired the Tesla's only real rival, the F-150 Lightning.

Underneath the wild bodywork, it uses a conventional EV skateboard platform with a huge, 122.4kWh battery – optionally paired with a 50kWh range-extender package – powering a multi-motor powertrain with as much as 833bhp on tap in the top-rung Cyberbeast.

It was never sold officially in Europe due to safety concerns over its sharp bodywork, but Autocar last year rode through London in one of the very few customer cars to briefly hit UK soil.

Nissan Qashqai: 20 years of the car that changed British motoring

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Pioneering, British-built model proved a smash hit for Nissan and sparked the industry crossover boom

The Volkswagen Golf has been around for 52 years, the Vauxhall Astra for 47 and the Renault Clio for 36. So what’s the big deal about the Nissan Qashqai celebrating its 20th anniversary this year?

Ask the production line workers at the factory in Sunderland who build it and they’ll say it has brought prosperity to what might otherwise have been a very depressed region, while the engineers at Nissan’s technical centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, who developed it are likely to cite immense job satisfaction.

However, for the many millions of people who have bought one and even those who haven’t, the Qashqai’s 20th anniversary matters because at a stroke the model created a new style of vehicle that ticks more boxes than you can fit in a Big Yellow Self Storage warehouse.

True, if you’re a driver who appreciates a keen-handling motor with a low centre of gravity, you’ll find little to like about a compact SUV but there’s no doubting the popularity of such cars.

The Qashqai may not have been the first (there’d already been the Toyota RAV4 Mk1 and Honda HR-V and, long before them, the Talbot Matra Rancho) but it was the first of the breed to embody all the attributes of a modern hatchback at an affordable price and be an enduring success.

When the new model appeared in 2006, success was just what Nissan needed after being rescued from bankruptcy by Renault only a few years earlier.

“It was early 2000 and we were developing the next Almera,” says Pierre Loing, director, global special projects at Nissan. “However, our production line-up was a copy of everyone else’s. We were making good cars but not exceptional ones and they were too expensive to produce. So Almera was cancelled and we agreed a new direction.”

David Moss, senior vice-president, research and development at Nissan remembers the moment well. “It was Friday 13 December 2002 when we got the call that Nissan had cancelled the Almera,” he recalls. “We’d come so far with the new hatchback and were devastated.”

But business is business and the team promptly set about defining the Almera’s replacement. Nissan’s large Murano SUV had been on sale in the US since 2004 and provided the inspiration, at least from a visual point of view.

What’s more, the company was known for SUVs. In addition to the Murano, it produced the Patrol and smaller X-Trail. Launching another but with the aim of combining saloon, MPV and hatchback in one compact form, wouldn’t be such a big thing for customers to get their heads around.

The challenge for the designers and engineers was that the new car would have to accomplish all these roles on a platform shared with the Renault Mégane while selling for around the same price as one.

Not only that but it must also have the efficiency and the driving dynamics of its conventional rivals. Matthew Weaver, corporate executive, global design at Nissan and then the new model’s exterior designer working at the company’s London design studio, remembers the early conversations.

“We tried to figure out what it should be,” says Weaver. “There was nothing like it but I took to heart a piece of advice that a Nissan executive shared with me: ‘Think of it not as SUV down but car up.’”

Hearing all three men reminisce, I’m struck by their fondness for the model, a vehicle the memory of which transports them 24 years back in time when they were young men challenging convention.

They’re confident about sharing the kinds of stories that, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t get past the firm’s guardians.

Stories such as the time Weaver heard the word Qashqai. “It was 2003 and we working on the concept,” he says. “I was told the model would be called Qashqai. I looked at the spelling and thought they missed out the letter ‘u’. It was then explained to me that Qashqai is the name of a nomadic tribe in Iran. At least it wasn’t Dualis, the name the new model was given in Japan.”

Loing recalls that the name wasn’t universally well liked. “Personally, I had no hesitation about it,” he says. “The sound of it and the spelling were different, just like the car. Not only that but, like the tribe, the car was something that gave you freedom but it was also urban. However, Japan pushed back and sent the agency who dreamed up the name back to the drawing board. I'm not sure if it subsequently went back to Japan, but if it did, it was eventually accepted.”

The concept car had its first reveal at the Geneva show in 2004. Weaver remembers arriving a few days before to test some tweaks. The vehicle had adjustable suspension and Weaver and the team began raising the car by degrees. “As we did so and stood back to view it, everyone began nodding their approval. Right there, we realised we’d got the height right.”

Autocar reported positively on the new model: "British car enthusiasts should take Nissan’s latest concept, the Qashqai, very seriously. If this urban ‘nomad’ gets a positive reaction, it will be a radical step, switching one of the dullest-ever family hatchbacks for an exciting crossover design."

Exhaustive testing continued while Weaver’s department finessed the design and the manufacturing and engineering teams worked out how the Sunderland plant was going to build a Qashqai every minute. Moss recalls one memorable afternoon during this time when he drove a Japan-spec Qashqai from Sunderland to Cranfield and realised that in its new model, Nissan had something ‘special’. “It drove like nothing I’d driven before,” he says.

And then, in September 2006, the production version was unveiled at the Paris show. Speaking at the launch, Carlos Ghosn, then president and CEO of Nissan, said: “European customers want it all – dynamic design, driving performance and an attractive premium interior. Qashqai delivers it.”

Loing admits he was anxious. “I’d been telling the media that Nissan had always been trying to emulate the big boys in automotive but that now we were going out on our own,” he says. “Their reaction was lukewarm.”

In fact, Autocar’s show report made no mention of the new model. When it did enter the magazine’s pages the following January, our reviewer posed the simple but devastating question "what is it?" before concluding: "It’s a good enough family hatch but not the convention-shifting car it’s sold as."

But the road test the following month was a lot more encouraging. Awarding it four stars, Autocar said: "The Qashqai is a capable, likeable and interesting hatchback with excellent levels of refinement that offers a refreshingly different approach to family transport." Hatchback, note, and not SUV.

Whatever it was, the public liked it. “We’d committed to sell 100,000 in the first year but smashed that target within nine months,” says Loing. “It was a game-changer for us.” By 2008, three production shifts were required to satisfy demand.

The facelift came in 2009. “Changing the headlights to narrower items was a massive thing for us,” recalls Moss. “There was a lot of nervousness.” In fact, the market loved the changes.

One person, in particular, was very relieved. “We’d sent a new 18in diamond-cut alloy to Japan for review,” says Weaver. “Head office didn’t want it but we’d already signed it off for production. Fortunately, customers liked it. The plant nicknamed it the ‘coffin wheel’ for its coffin-like design and, for me, it was very nearly the coffin for my career.”

By 2012 the plant was turning out 310,000 Qashqais a year. When the model was finally withdrawn from sale in 2013, 1.7 million had been produced for Europe and the rest of the world, with 250,000 sold in the UK.

Long before that, of course, attention within Nissan had turned to its successor. “They talk about how difficult the second album can be…” says Moss, ruefully. Fortunately, the Mk2 managed to grasp the relay baton. Autocar praised its quality, economy and refinement and awarded it 4.5 stars but also noted that the chasing pack was closing in.

By the time production ended, the Mk2 had notched up more than 370,000 sales in the UK and 1.25 million sales in total, in a much more crowded market. Its replacement arrived in 2021 looking more assertive. Was it an improvement? More of the same was Autocar’s opinion and that’s not a criticism.

It simply continued – and continues – to give what many buyers in the segment desire and what made its predecessors such a success.

A Mk4 Qashqai is expected in 2028. Having pioneered a huge new vehicle category, could Nissan find history repeating itself?

“I’m 20 years older than I was when we launched Qashqai,” says Loing. “When you are a member of the market being served, it's much easier to conceive a solution. We were all in our 40s; we had kids; we liked to be a little premium. We all wanted Qashqai for ourselves and that drove our enthusiasm.

“Today, we’re still surrounded by the same friends and the same colleagues and we’re all older. If we were still thinking of the Qashqai’s market, we’d be in big trouble. That’s for another generation.”

Driving the generations

Viewed in the company of its successors, the Mk1 Qashqai is by far the smallest and plainest-looking but think back to the hatchback alternatives of the time, such as the Mk5 Vauxhall Astra and Mk5 VW Golf, and it’s not difficult to see why buyers were attracted by its promise of ‘more car for your money’ even if, in truth, it was no roomier or more practical.

If the concept was a bit smoke and mirrors, there is at least an honesty about the way the Mk1 rides and handles. It’s comfortable and predictable within fairly narrow limits – exactly what its target market wanted.

In line with its sharper styling and, at the time, the growing number of competitors, the Mk2 feels sportier but not to the extent that it would alienate less demanding drivers. It’s this contradiction that means its steering and handling don’t feel like they’re quite on the same page.

The highlight of the Mk3 is its excellent ePower hybrid system, which delivers the kind of economy hard-pressed families seek today. The car is more agile and certainly more refined than its predecessor. The Mk4 has much to live up to.

Spirit of Qashqai – three models that could shake up the market

Dacia Striker: Hatchback, estate or SUV – or all three? Like the Qashqai Mk1, the Striker defies convention. It has a jacked-up body and tough cladding so should be an SUV. However, it has a lower roof, which also slopes down at the rear, giving the Striker the appearance of a stretched coupé. All this and it’s not much bigger than a hatchback.

Jaguar Type 01: We’ll have to wait until there are Type 01s in numbers on the road to see how the new design translates from shiny launch to daily reality but the fact is that there’s nothing else like it, neither in Jag’s archive nor on the road. Like the Qashqai in 2006, it has to succeed.

BMW iX5 Hydrogen: We’ve seen hydrogen cars come and go but BMW’s new effort, due in 2028, may be the stimulus energy suppliers need to expand the UK’s existing and pitifully small refuelling network. Across the Channel, the hydrogen ecosystem is more advanced, so justifying BMW’s investment.

Rolls-Royce Spectre Series II: One of the best EVs just got better

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 08:00:00 +0000

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

V2L: How my electric car saved my family holiday in a blackout

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Storm Boelo caused a 30-hour power cut, but our Renault Scenic kept the holiday fun going

As if the rain and gales weren’t bad enough, Storm Boelo had another unpleasant surprise for the start of our group holiday in the Lake District this half-term: a 30-hour power cut.

But this enabled our first-ever use of the vehicle-to-load (V2L) function on our Renault Scenic. Suddenly we were the saviours.

The Renault is supplied with a device that plugs into the charging port and gives you a three-pin plug. We scoured the rental house to come up with the longest extension cord (not very long), parked the car as near to the back door as possible, and suddenly we had (limited) power.

V2L is available on many but not all electric cars. Most modern Hyundai, Kias and Renaults have it, along with many Chinese models. It essentially turns your car into a portable battery.

What it doesn’t do is run your entire house. That’s called vehicle-to-home (V2H) and requires a special switch to isolate your house from the grid. It’s big in the US, where many rural homes have generators to take over in the event of power cuts, but not here in the UK, where power is more reliable.

The Scenic, with its 87kWh battery, would have been happy to supply all the power needed, given the average household consumes between 6.8kWh and 9.4kWh daily.

But we were constrained by the Renault’s 3.7kW maximum V2L power output (and the length of the extension cord). The power issue forced some quick ChatGPTing about the draw of individual household devices. Renault’s handbook says not to use it with devices that consume more than 16 amps, or 3.6kW. The oven, therefore, was out.

I had a bit of a moan at this point about the fact that we had just 3.7kW when some new Chinese models like the Changan Deepal range offer 6kW or higher. Then we could have run our oven!

However, after a chat much later with John Fox, COO of HGV charging specialist Voltempo but more crucially one of the brains behind Indra’s vehicle-to-grid trials, I realised I was being greedy.

Anything over 16 amps and you starting needing much thicker cables than standard extension cords allow. It’s why things like ovens or heat pumps are hardwired with their own isolation switches.

So we plugged in two fridges (it was a big house) and a couple of standard lamps and rigged up a separate plug-block for everyone to charge their devices. Cruelly, though, we left the wi-fi unplugged to force the children to find other entertainment. In the morning it also coped with a toaster.

In total we used just 8% of the Scenic’s power in those 30 hours but we did have one small issue when the Renault turned itself off overnight.

A query to the Scenic Facebook group unearthed the likely problem. When the load drops below a certain level, the Scenic stops delivering power. It can’t be that, I told one poster. We had two fridges running! And that’s when I learned fridges will shut themselves down when they’re at the required temperature. So we kept the standard lamps on and that seemed to cure it.

We huddled round the wood fire and survived. My wife and I also drew warmth from our smugness at finding another EV advantage.

But really we should be getting more use out of that enormous battery day to day, either powering our home during the day with energy acquired by charging at cheap night-time rates or sending electricity back to the grid at peak times.

“V2L is absolutely brilliant in a distressed situation,” says Fox. “However, the single biggest frustration of my career is that we've all got these precious minerals sat on the driveway doing nothing most of the time.”

Living with an MG IM5: Tesla pretender or usurper?

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000

A 441-mile range, 400kW charging and priced to match a Model 3, the IM5 has plenty of appeal

It has almost become the norm for a Chinese car conglomerate to launch a new car brand in the UK, then follow it up with another a few months later. Chery launched Jaecoo and Omoda last year, then decided it also wanted to market Chery-badged cars here too, and it will soon add the Lepas budget brand to its offering.

MG has followed suit, but rather than bring a wallet-pleasing SAIC sibling firm to British shores, it has brought over one that can take it into the premium-executive space: IM, which stands for ‘Intelligence in Motion’. Leading that charge is the IM5, a low-slung hatchback-cum-saloon that’s priced to rival the Tesla Model 3 but offers a comparable amount of space to the Volkswagen ID 7.

Having already put the IM5 through the rigours of a group test, in which it finished a frustrated third behind the omnipresent Model 3 and sleek new Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric, we’ve taken custody of this Long Range model to see if IM’s take on the electric saloon can win us over in daily use.

Prices for the entry-level Standard Range model start from £39,950, while my Long Range version costs a few grand more at £45,495. Option ticking was a brief exercise. The Frozen White paint comes as standard, as does the white interior, which certainly looks more elegant than the grey alternative. IM charges just £545 for a range of exterior colour finishes, whereas you can pay anything from £1300 right up to £2000 if you want your Model 3 in anything other than grey.

All in, our new IM5 doesn’t cost a dime more than its initial list price, and it’s just £500 dearer than Tesla’s equivalent Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive Model 3 – although that does beat the IM5’s WLTP range by around 25 miles. Yet the IM5’s near-five-metre length means the ID 7 is a closer rival, and that costs around £10,000 more.

The IM5 packs more technical punches when it comes to hardware. It pairs a 96.5kWh (usable) nickel-manganese-cobalt battery with an 800V electric architecture. That means it will suck in electrons at a peak rate of 396kW, so I should be able to zap the battery from 10-80% in around 17 minutes.

I shouldn’t need to top up too regularly, though, because the IM5 has an official range of up to 441 miles and promises around 4.0mpkWh on average. Its rear-mounted electric motor makes 402bhp and 368lb ft of torque for a 4.9sec 0-62mph time.

I’ve already covered a few hundred miles in this IM5, and it’s brisk enough to entertain without the stomach-churning, whip-crack theatrics of its 700bhp dual-motor Performance sibling. It has a relaxed gait and has so far proved to be a hushed motorway cruiser.

That said, the 4931mm-long IM5 also seems to be at home in the urban sprawl of west London. As standard it gets rear-wheel steering, which imbues it with a surprising degree of agility in town – but more on that another time.

When we group tested the IM5 against its closest rivals, contributor James Disdale flagged that on worn surfaces it starts to feel “jittery and unsettled”. I’m inclined to agree, so I’m nervous to see whether the IM5’s low-speed rolling refinement will start to grate over the course of our time with it.

That being said, there is comfort to be found here, not least inside the IM5’s cabin, which feels undeniably premium. The white synthetic leather that covers most of its innards is soft and refined; the electrically adjustable seats are deep, plush and very comfortable; and there are only a few cheaper fixtures and fittings on the doors and low down by your feet.

It’s all very minimalist and screen-heavy, mind: clearly a lot of inspiration was taken from its Tesla rival. Sitting proudly in the dashboard is a huge, 26.3in screen: half of it controls the infotainment, while the other half acts as a digital instrument cluster.

Then there’s a 10.5in control screen in the sloping central column for control of all the various functions, such as the climate. It means there isn’t much by way of physical switchgear to operate the car’s controls, so I’m intrigued to see what impact that’s going to have on usability.

The bigger challenge for the IM5 is to prove that it has the polish to make it a more compelling alternative to a Model 3 and that the high-tech cabin and jittery ride are things I can happily live with every single day.

Update 2: Pre-conditioning prevents meltdown

MG’s iSmart phone app offers a number of handy functions, and during the summer when temperatures soared well above 30 degrees, I made use of its pre-conditioning tool almost every time I drove. After leaving my IM5 baking in 32deg C sunshine while I sweltered at Brooklands, climbing inside a pre-cooled cabin for my journey home was a welcome solace.

Update 3: Range anxiety? What range anxiety?

I was a little sceptical about welcoming an electric car onto my driveway, having not driven one for some time. It’s only natural to feel a bit of hesitation when swapping mpg for mpkWh and petrol forecourts for charging stations.

Happily, though, all my fears have proven unwarranted, because the sleek MG IM5 has slotted into life rather seamlessly, demonstrating its worth as a comfortable, rangy and amiable electric saloon.

As someone who covers mostly long distances, I have been impressed by the IM5’s decent real-world range and more so by its charging speeds. With 80% charge in its battery the MG typically offers around 370 miles of range, although I did manage to give myself some self-inflicted anxiety on a 150-mile round trip to Oxfordshire.

Confident that I could cover the journey with 180 miles of indicated range available, I struck out west along the M4 and then up the A34 to my destination at Mollie’s Diner (drop in for a chicken burger if you’re passing). I arrived on track having used 76 miles of range, with a healthy 3.8mpkWh on the trip computer – impressive considering the air-con was blasting cool air the entire way.

However, sustained 70mph cruising on the return leg down the M40 started to deplete my range. The trip computer said I was averaging around 3.8mpkWh, but some post-trip calculations showed the true figure was closer to 3.4mpkWh. I could have stopped at some services on the M40 to top up the battery, but I’d earmarked a set of 400kW MFG chargers close to Autocar HQ in Twickenham, wanting to test the IM5’s 396kW claimed charging capability.

The blue and green MFG charging points were a welcome sight. I had turned the air-con off in a bid to preserve the range, and I parked up with just 4% of battery life and 19 miles to spare. Once hooked up to the 400kW charger, the MG began sucking in electrons at a rapid pace, peaking at 357kW. It started to tail off after hitting 50%, dropping to around 156kW, but in just 17 minutes the range had been boosted to 296 miles.

Better still, the ultra-rapid MFG chargers were surprisingly cheap, at 59p per kWh, costing me just under £40 in total. I would have paid more to fill up my now-departed Mk3 Ford Focus, although that would have covered more like 450 miles on a tank of fuel.

Still, having the ability to top up the battery in such a short amount of time has certainly helped me gel quickly with the IM5 – but it’s not without its quirks. Even if I set the car to charge to 100%, it can sometimes stop before its target limit. During one session at a Shell Recharge it mysteriously stopped charging at 86%.

I have also learned that some chargers simply won’t connect to the IM5 if the car is still switched on. Like many modern EVs, the MG starts up when you put your foot on the brake pedal and turns off when you lock it. But there’s a catch: if you lock the car, it locks the charging port, so to actually get a charge going you have to dive into the touchscreen and manually turn the car off first.

Some charge stations will connect even if the car is still turned on, which is a bit confusing, but I’m glad I’ve discovered the IM5’s charging nuances early on.

Update 4: The trials and tribulations of driver attention monitors

The driver attention monitor in my IM5 is fast becoming its least desirable feature. Because of the interior’s lack of physical controls, basic adjustments via the central touchscreen require a longer glance away from the road. Naturally this triggers plenty of infuriating bings and bongs telling me to keep my eyes on the road. Even if I turn it off, it will occasionally berate me for not looking ahead.

To make matters worse, whenever I wear sunglasses the system will panic and ping an error message because it can’t detect my eyes. I’m constantly having to hammer the ‘OK’ button on the steering wheel to restore peace.

Update 5: Some much needed R&R

Modern EVs are packed with quirky features to help pass the time at a charging point, and the IM5 is no exception – especially if you need some much-needed R&R after a long journey. Activate Scene mode, press the Nap button and the central screen is transformed into a calming animation of the sea, with the gentle sound of waves rolling through the speakers.

The seat also slides backwards and reclines for a more relaxed seating position. If the sea theme isn’t to your liking, you can swap to ‘Misty mountain’ instead, which displays a rainforest graphic, with the sound of rainfall in the background. How very soothing.

Update 6: IM5 earns ‘city car;’ badge

What’s the best car for driving around London? Smaller is invariably better, so I’d usually pick a supermini like a Renault Clio or Suzuki Swift: compact and at home on narrow cut-throughs and in tight car parks. So what is it like to pilot a near-five-metre electric saloon with a rear windscreen the size of a helmet visor around the city? Surprisingly stress-free, actually.

The MG IM5 has proven to be as care-free around west London as it has been trundling along the M1, despite its incongruous footprint. At 4931mm in length and 1960mm wide, the IM5 is longer than a Polestar 3 and wider than a BMW i7 – intimidating on paper but not in reality, thanks to standard rear-wheel steering. Counter-steered rear wheels in effect shrink the wheelbase at low speeds, making the IM5 agreeably wieldy in town.

The set-up is particularly handy in the tight multi-storey car park at Autocar HQ. Its narrow ramps and small spaces were designed for Mk1 Ford Fiestas and Austin Metros, yet the IM5 has no trouble slicing up and down them. The nine cameras dotted around its swooping exterior also help; I particularly like the ‘curbside’ angle, which gives an excellent view in parallel parking.

The extremities are tricky to place, though: curved front wheel arches mean the front end drops out of sight and rear visibility is non-existent through the narrow screen. The rear-view camera helps, but the tiny rear window smacks of an afterthought.

The boot isn’t huge, either, compared with Volkswagen’s ID 7. MG quotes a 457-litre capacity, and while it’s fairly deep, its aperture is narrow – and the steeply raked rear prevents you from stacking luggage too high. On a recent trip to see my parents, several boot-bound items had to be moved to the back seats.

On the subject of rear seats, the IM5’s are comfortable, with good knee room and ample head room, even with that sloping roofline. The only downside is that you can’t slide your feet under the seats in front, because of the underfloor battery, which means your knees are quite perched – but the large panoramic roof, plush carpets and lounge-like ambience take your mind off it.

As a long-distance electric saloon that doubles as a surprisingly nimble town car, the IM5 continues to impress.

Update 7: Is it really that similar to a Tesla Model 3?

Car design has changed dramatically over the past few decades. In the 1990s it was all about smooth lines, with cab-forward silhouettes dominating the automotive scene. These were followed by more complex designs, featuring defined body lines and smaller glass areas, as showcased by the ‘Flame Surfacing’ of Chris Bangle’s early-2000s BMWs.

Then, in the 2010s, large front grilles, LED headlights and sharper creases became the norm – and, inside, physical switchgear slowly gave way to minimalism and touchscreens. I think it’s fair to say that car design has never been so radical, transformative and, above all, divisive as it is in 2026. You only need to look at the Jaguar Type 01 and the Ferrari Luce to see that.

Bespoke electric platforms have enabled car makers to improve cabin space and create sleek, fastback silhouettes to optimise aerodynamic efficiency. Such EV trademarks can clearly be found on our MG IM5, with its long swooping body and expansive proportions.

It might come as a surprise to learn that the IM5’s aesthetic was overseen by Slovakian designer Jozef Kabaň, a former Skoda and BMW studio chief and the man who styled the bullish Bugatti Veyron. Look closely at the IM5, however, and it’s clear where Kabaň and his colleagues gained inspiration for its design, with similar minimalist styling to the Tesla Model 3.

Several people have commented on its likeness to the ubiquitous electric saloon, so I decided to put this to the test by comparing the IM5 with my neighbour’s pre-facelift Model 3 Performance. Parked tail to tail, the resemblance between the two is clear to see, but there’s no denying that each still has its own identity.

For a start, the Chinese car has a much larger footprint and longer wheelbase that positions it above the American car, making it a closer rival to the Volkswagen ID 7 or BMW i5. The Tesla is more compact, but both have a similar teardrop, cab-backward roofline that sweeps neatly all the way to the bootlid.

On the IM5’s rear, I can’t help drawing a comparison to the Aston Martin DBX; even the rear light bar looks similar to that of Gaydon’s hot SUV. And while the Model 3 sports a more defined look, via sharper swage lines, the IM5 opts for softer surfaces and a smoother beltline, which is what most sets it apart.

As is the way with modern EVs, both use flush-fitting electronic door handles. Of all the things to come out of the EV revolution, this is one of the most annoying. In fact, you don’t even pull the IM5’s handles; you slide your hand behind the handle and it pops open automatically. The Tesla’s door handles feel more natural, but both cars would benefit from a normal pull mechanism.

Technology abounds inside both cars, and it’s interesting to see how MG has taken a similar approach to Tesla. Take the side-facing cameras: the IM5’s design is different to the Model 3’s, but its placement and function is much the same, helping the driver by creating a 360deg view of the car.

Inside, the IM5 adopts the same button-less, screen-heavy layout as the Model 3. It features a huge 26.3in display that incorporates both the digital instrument display and infotainment screen – but also a 10.5in touch-operated control panel for hopping between functions.

I’m not sure that this makes the MG any more slick to use than the Tesla, which has just one large 15in display. Happily it’s responsive and graphically sharp, but there are far too many sub-menus to deal with – and I’ve counted a total of just 11 physical buttons inside the car.

As a result, usability isn’t great, but the IM5 certainly feels a bit more refined and upmarket than its rival – although the current Model 3 is a step ahead of its predecessor in terms of perceived quality. While the IM5 leans heavily on the minimalist playbook pioneered by the trailblazing Model 3, there’s no doubt that its bolder proportions, softer lines and greater refinement help give it a character of its own in a highly congested corner of the market.

Final report: Can the competitively priced IM5 lure buyers from Tesla and VW?

When I took custody of our MG IM5 Long Range in the summer, it appeared a compelling proposition on paper: a 400kW rapid-charging speed, a 441-mile range and yet ‘only’ a £45,000 price. So, after a few months together, do I feel this Chinese newcomer is compelling enough on the road to challenge the Tesla Model 3 and Volkswagen ID 7? I’ll return to that question in a moment.

One thing that became clear early on is that the IM5 feels at home on the motorway, its comfortable seats and hushed cabin making the EV ideal for long-distance cruising. On a number of occasions it was tasked with carrying me to new car launches and from west London up to my parents’ home in the Midlands, demonstrating all the refinement and space to match that of the higher-priced VW.

However, it never shone in terms of driver appeal or engagement. The steering was precise, but its lack of weight and communication meant I never felt compelled to hustle it down a B-road. At least its rear-wheel steering was a godsend for navigating Autocar’s intimidating old multi-storey car park.

Ride quality was also a mixed bag. The IM5 really settled down on smooth Tarmac and traversed larger lumps and bumps without fuss, but it struggled to iron out consistent imperfections on the pockmarked urban roads near my home.

I was sceptical about running an EV without the benefit of a home charger, but the IM5’s ultra-rapid charging speeds meant I had little to worry about (except the bills). Most of my top-ups were completed seamlessly at my local Sainsbury’s 180-300kW devices – hence the steep fuel costs (see right) – while I did my weekly shopping.

After resolving a few initial connectivity issues, these chargers worked reliably, as did the 400kW devices near the office, which on one occasion topped up the battery from 4-70% in just 17 minutes.

Using public chargers wasn’t very cost-effective, of course, with a 10-80% charge typically setting me back about £45-£55, but such rapid-charging capability is a real game-changer. It easily eclipses the peak rates of the ID 7 (175kW), Model 3 (250kW) and even the Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric (320kW).

I did expect a bit more by way of efficiency, however. The trip computer was often quite optimistic, suggesting the IM5 was averaging close to 4.0mpkWh. On one slog up north, it claimed an average of 3.8mpkWh and 141 miles of range used, but in reality it ate through 165 miles, achieving 3.3mpkWh. A 357-mile real-world range isn’t bad, but it is quite a bit down on the official figure of 441 miles. The Model 3 is certainly more sensible managing its electrons, easily returning a touring efficiency of 4.0mpkWh.

Switching the IM5’s digital instrument display from its WLTP range to the ‘Dynamic’ readout did help me gauge its true mileage capabilities, even if they were more modest than I’d expected.

I had few qualms about the IM5’s cabin, which hit all the premium high notes and featured a good mix of soft-touch materials. There was more than enough room for taller adults in the back and the boot was big enough to carry all my girlfriend’s paraphernalia. However, the steep angle of the hatchback bootlid did mean I couldn’t stack things on top of one another inside.

Living with the IM5 every day revealed quite a few software-related irritations too. The 10.5in central control panel, which you use to hop between various functions, was mired by too many sub-menus. Having to adjust the door mirrors and steering wheel using the spoke-mounted scrollers was a chore and could only really be done when the car was stationary.

The ADAS were fairly easy to tame, although MG’s shortcut for turning them off wasn’t that effective. I assumed that pressing the left-hand steering wheel button would mute the various functions, but instead it just opened the ADAS menu, meaning I still had to turn the various nannies off via the lower of the two central touchscreens.

I did get into a rhythm with it over time, but bigger icons, fewer sub-menus and some extra physical controls would go a long way to improving interior usability. Back to the opening question, then: can the competitively priced IM5 lure buyers from Tesla and VW?

On reflection, I feel conflicted. The IM5’s ultra-fast charging, upmarket cabin and long-distance comfort make it a tempting choice, but it’s not the most interesting electric saloon to live with and its usability issues can really grate. Of course, the Model 3 and ID 7 aren’t dripping with character themselves but, all things considered, they’re more complete in a rational sense.

The Model 3 offers far superior efficiency and day-to-day usability, while the ID 7 counters with its impressively composed ride, intuitive user interface and long real-world range.

MG’s first flagship EV is perfectly sensible and capable, but ironing out its usability niggles and adding more polish and character would give it a much better chance of disturbing the established order.

TEST DATA: MG IM5 100 LONG RANGE
MILEAGE
At start	7700
At end	8723
PRICES
List price new	£45,495
List price now	£45,495
Price as tested	£45,495
OPTIONS
Options	None
ECONOMY AND RANGE
Claimed range	441 miles
Battery	100/96.5kWh (total/usable)
Test average	3.7mpkWh
Test best	3.8mpkWh
Test worst	3.5mpkWh
Real-world range	357 miles
Max charge rate	400kW
TECH HIGHLIGHTS
0-62mph	4.9sec
Top speed	137mph
Engine	Permanent magnet synchronous motor
Max power	402bhp
Max torque	368lb ft
Gearbox	1-spd reduction gear, RWD
Boot	457 litres
Wheels	19in, alloy
Tyres	275/40 R19, Hankook iOn Evo
Kerb weight	2210kg
SERVICE AND RUNNING COSTS
Contract hire rate	£428 pcm
CO2	0g/km
Service costs	None
Other costs	None
Fuel costs	£250.60
Running costs including fuel	£250.60
Cost per mile	24 pence
Faults	None

When luxury goes too far: do cars really need motorised doors?

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 11:00:00 +0000

A run-in with the new Genesis GV90 begs the question: why do manufacturers keep trying to reinvent the door?

Might it be time to put motorised doors on our big list of mostly pointless car features, I wonder?

Those sorts of ideas that look great on a concept car or in an expensively shot TV advert but which add very little in real-world use and seldom work as envisaged or intended, more often than not just annoying the bejesus out of you.

Genesis's new flagship SUV, the GV90, has motorised doors. They're very ritzy and show-stopping when you see them in action, as you might well have on Autocar's social media channels. Their difference compared with other similar motorised door concepts is that they open and close on the GV90's fully pillarless body (albeit only so on the upper-tier Neolun derivative of this Range Rover rival), so the effect is a lot more spectacular. Also they can open and close entirely independently, rather than the front one overlapping the suicide-style rear one.

Genesis probably didn't spend millions developing them so that some impertinent journalist could use the S-word to describe them, granted, but there you go: everyone knows what a suicide door is, don't they?

Having been to the lavish global debut event for the car a couple of weeks ago, I've actually used the aforementioned doors, rather than just watched videos of them in perfect, choreographed motion. Tugged impatiently and a little too hard on their handles, no doubt. Stood in just the right place to trigger their failsafe sensors, making them jerk to a stop instead of easing gloriously, welcomingly wide. I'm sure I did it all wrong and could learn to do it better. But the bottom line is that I failed to make them work. Quite a lot.

They also singularly failed to impress me. It wasn't a tough environment for the technology to cope with. I was standing in a wide open space with very few people immediately around me. There were no cars parked adjacent or even close by, as there might have been in a normal car park. I wasn't trying to trip the system up. I just approached the car, pulled the handles and stepped back. Yet as often as not they stuttered and stopped rather than arcing open.

They were spooked by my elephantine feet, I dare say, or the angle of my retreat. They started opening slowly and, on more than one occasion, got worse from there. And had I been in a cold, dark car park getting rained on, rather than a warm exhibition hall under lots of artificial light, I probably would have been all the more annoyed about it.

The best motorised doors I've ever used were those 'assisted' ones you get on a Rolls-Royce. They can do everything for you, if you like, but otherwise you decide when you want the door to open and how urgently, then you pull it closed. The motors just help. And if you don't quite shut the door all the way, they take care of that bit as well.

The GV90's doors are huge, you see. As part of the Autocar road test we measure door span, as a corollary and indicator of how much space you might need to open a particular car's door in a confined space like a parking bay or garage. Lordy, you would need a big garage to get in and out of your GV90 easily - and you would pick the farthest, quietest part of the shopping centre car park every time, praying that no comedian in their beaten-up hatchback decides to squeeze in next to you just for laughs.

Shouldn't doors be simple things? Isn't simplicity and easy usability ultimately more luxurious than faffy motorised ceremony and faux convenience? That's what the Genesis GV90 left me thinking. It was like the car wanted a round of applause every time it opened for me and moral support every time it failed to.

It also conjured the memory of the Peugeot 1007, whose motorised sliding doors were so rubbish that, if you parked on a steep enough incline, they just wouldn't open. Some things don't need reinvention, for pity's sake. And usually simpler is better.

VW Group smashes EV sales targets – but it's not all good news

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Volkswagen had originally planned to hit 40% EV sales in 2029; profits have yet to catch up

When does success also represent failure for a car company? For the Volkswagen Group, it’s when EV sales are better than planned.

EVs are now running at 40% of the total orders for Volkswagen Group vehicles to the end of September, the company said on its third-quarter earnings call. That’s compared with around 25% of its registrations so far this year in Europe.

On the face of it, that’s great news. The company hadn’t planned to reach 40% EV sales until 2029, chief financial officer Arno Antlitz said. Instead, the sharp rise in fuel prices triggered by the Iran war has sent drivers scurrying to go electric at a much faster pace than planned.

Juicing those numbers is the new Electric Urban Car Family, comprising the Cupra Raval, Skoda Epiq, VW ID Polo and VW ID Cross, generating some 150,000 orders so far.

Unfortunately that will hit profits. Right now VW doesn’t make as much money selling EVs as selling ICE cars, so this hefty shift in the fine balance of the electric transition is ‘margin-dilutive’, in the parlance of earnings calls.

“The ramp-up of our BEV share is much faster than the ramp-down of the costs,” summarised Antlitz.

The new small EVs are better on margins than VW’s original EVs, like the ID 3, but it’s still not good enough. While the ID Cross is at “70-80%” of the margin of its ICE equivalent, the T-Cross, the cheaper ID Polo is “still weaker”, said Antlitz.

Essentially, the cars don’t make any money yet, and that’s bad news for a company that’s also being hit by slumping sales in China.

VW has a plan to cut the cost of making EVs, including making the cheaper lithium-iron-phosphate batteries in Europe. But nothing moves fast at a European car company, especially a behemoth one, so now customers are clamouring for cars that VW can’t properly price for lest it lose to the competition.

The original 40% EV plan for Europe was to come when the company had rolled out its cost-competitive SSP electric platform in 2029. That’s still being worked on, but the war-induced hike in ICE fuel bills has thrown a spanner in the works.

The strong demand for VW’s new small EVs shows that the company still has pulling power in the face of strong competition from China and closer to home. The hard work now is to make the cars cheap enough to convince shareholders as well.

Bold new 2028 Dacia Sandero primed to gain 249-mile EV

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Autocar's artist imagining shows how Dacia's new look could translate to the Sandero

Next-gen supermini will get fresh look but retain familiar underpinnings and bargain pricing

Dacia will reinvent Europe's best-selling Sandero supermini in 2028 when it ushers in a lighter, bolder new generation with hybrid power, a heavily upgraded cabin and the option of pure-electric power for the first time.

Dacia has performed well since 2021, with the Sandero and Duster consistently among Europe's most popular cars, but the market is proving tougher for the Romanian brand in 2026. Chinese competition and aggressive pricing from Citroën and Fiat in the budget small-car segment are putting it under pressure.

Company insiders acknowledge that Dacia no longer has the market to itself, nor a monopoly on generous equipment at an affordable price, so the fourth generation of its Renault Clio-based hatchback has a hugely important role to play in shoring up the brand's footprint.

The new Sandero's arrival in spring 2028 will also give Dacia an opportunity to reshape its brand image and positioning within the Renault Group.

For the new Sandero, codenamed DB4B1, Dacia has focused on making the car more competitive through rigorous cost control and a tightly managed development budget, according to Autocar sources.

The new Sandero is expected to be unveiled in spring 2028, with production in Morocco scheduled to begin in April. Sales are due to start that summer.

Familiar but fresh Sandero

The fourth-generation Sandero will retain the current car's dimensions, including its 4.10m length. That is because it will carry over the existing, Clio-derived RGMP Small platform, previously known as CMF-B, together with the underlying body structure, including the roof, A-pillars, door structures and glazing.

This will bring substantial savings in development costs and tooling at the Casablanca factory in Morocco – which will help to preserve the Sandero's value positioning. It follows the approach Renault adopted for the sixth-generation Clio, focusing changes on the elements customers see.

So although the Sandero's proportions will be familiar, its exterior bodywork will be new. The front end, in particular, will take styling cues from the new Striker estate-SUV, as shown in our artist's impression at the top.

Inside, the dashboard will be completely redesigned. Our sources say the Sandero is set to follow the lead of larger Dacia models in adopting a cockpit that is more heavily stylised – with textured surfaces and chunky, angular details – but that also maintains a healthy array of physical controls, in keeping with Dacia's focus on utility.

It will offer familiar levels of passenger space and a 410-litre boot – bigger than the Skoda Fabia's and Vauxhall Corsa's.

Sandero goes electric

The biggest changes will be beneath the bodywork, enabling the next version of Dacia's best-seller to become the firm's second EV, after the Spring city car.

There is no version of RGMP that is capable of accommodating both electric and combustion powertrains. The Renault 5 uses the electric-only RGEV Small architecture, while the same-sized Clio sits on the RGMP Small platform for ICE and hybrid models.

In order to offer ICE and EV in one model line, therefore, Dacia's engineers have adapted the RGMP, making technical compromises to accommodate an electric motor and an underfloor battery. They have also taken the opportunity to shed around 100kg in a bid to improve efficiency.

The Sandero Electric will share its Chinese-sourced, 107bhp Shanghai e-Drive motor with the entry-level Renault 5, along with its 44kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery. Although the original range target was 242 miles, the latest information from company sources suggests it will manage slightly more than 249 miles.

The electric model will play a crucial role in reducing Dacia's fleet CO2 emissions and balancing the output of its Jogger, Duster, Bigster and Striker models, so keen pricing will be essential.

Based on its specification and positioning, a starting price of around £18,500 seems likely for the EV, putting it up against the Citroën ë-C3 and Fiat Grande Panda, as well as new Chinese small cars including the Geely EX2, MG Go, Chery Q and Leapmotor B03. The current petrol Sandero is priced from just under £15,000.

Cheaper ICE model

The 2028 Sandero range will also feature a new entry-level petrol engine. The 99bhp 1.0-litre TCe will make way for a new 1.2-litre TCe unit with the same power output, produced by Renault-backed engine manufacturer Horse, with a lower starting price.

The current Sandero recently received a new 153bhp full-hybrid powertrain, based around a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine, which is taken from the Duster crossover and has a capacity and output deemed too large for the new supermini.

So the fourth-generation Sandero will gain a more affordable full-hybrid option built around a 114bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder TCe engine. This powertrain will also feature in other Renault models, including the Clio and the Captur.

Stepway takes a step away

When the new Sandero entered development, Dacia planned to replace the rugged Stepway version with a new stand-alone model line: a small SUV measuring around 4.15m long, comparable in concept to the Renault Captur.

In autumn 2025, however, the new management team cancelled this 'Stepway 2.0' project, saving roughly £169 million earmarked for the programme.

Since then, the design team led by David Durand has been working on a new Stepway version of the hatchback, with raised ground clearance, black cladding and roof rails.

Speaking to Autocar at the Paris motor show, Durand explained that the two models cater to disparate target markets and so each requires a different character.

He said: "I thought in the beginning that you would start with a [regular] Sandero and then work up to Stepway. But in fact, we realised that if people went to the dealer and asked for a Sandero, they would never go for Stepway. That's interesting – they want a Sandero.

"If the dealer doesn't match their request, they will leave and not consider Stepway at all – and the opposite is true too. People coming from Stepway, they don't want to hear about Sandero.

"Both cars, even if they are very similar in the body-in-white, are addressing completely different customers. This recipe is still working very well and I think it will make sense in the future, perhaps integrating more powertrain choices, including hybrid, including electric, to respond to all those questions."

Pierre Henry

AMG hyper-SUV driven: 1153bhp Cayenne chaser breaks the rules of physics

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The new GT 63 SUV is Mercedes-AMG's most powerful road car yet, but can it hide its 2.7-tonne weight?

With 1153bhp from three electric motors, Mercedes-AMG’s first independently developed SUV has the straight-line performance of a top-flight supercar.

And there's a point when driving the new GT 63 SUV where you begin to wonder whether its engineers had been having a good laugh during its development.

For me it comes towards the end of a preview drive at Mercedes-Benz’s Immendingen proving ground in Germany, on a section meant to replicate the characteristic cambers and undulations of a typical German country road.

The surface is terrifically smooth, I'm carrying a decent amount of speed and the steering is loaded up as I head into a long right-hander. The forces build, but the 2695kg SUV seems almost indifferent. There’s very little roll: the body stays resolutely flat, with barely any perceptible weight transfer as the corner tightens and an appetite for lateral forces completely at odds with its size and weight.

This is a five-seat SUV with a raised seating position and up to 607 litres of nominal luggage space measuring 5084mm in length, not a low-slung compact sports saloon.

It’s the second model to use the EV-dedicated AMG.EA platform after the new GT 4-Door Coupé, with which it shares its 800V electrical architecture, axial-flux motors, oil-cooled cylindrical battery cells and much more.

In the ultimate 63 variant, three axial-flux motors deliver 1153bhp and 1475lb ft of torque for 63sec bursts (appropriately).

That exceeds the Lamborghini Urus SE, whose twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine and electric motor produce a combined 789bhp and 701lb ft, by 364bhp and 774lb ft.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric is the closer fight, with 1140bhp and 1106lb ft on launch-control overboost, but AMG's Stuttgart neighbour is still 13bhp and an entire 369lb ft down.

Obviously the GT 63 SUV ever feels short of any given reserve. Acceleration is ferocious, the response instantaneous and the thrust relentless. AMG claims 0-62mph in 2.7sec and 0-124mph in 7.2sec, with an electronically limited top speed of 168mph when the optional AMG Driver’s Package is specified.

More striking is how rapidly it continues gathering speed beyond the initial burst.

Yet it’s the cornering that leaves the stronger impression during our first brief acquaintance. The steering is direct, accurately weighted and, by performsnce SUV standards, exceptionally responsive, with rear-wheel steering helping disguise the length through more challenging sections.

Two independently controlled rear motors distribute torque between each of the rear wheels, encouraging the GT 63 SUV to rotate into corners. There’s genuine eagerness to change direction.

The suspension is arguably the greater achievement. AMG Active Ride Control+ combines air springs with hydraulically interconnected dampers to counter roll and pitch. Through successive bends the body remains exceptionally level without feeling excessively stiff.

The routes taken in Immendingen undoubtedly flatter it. Whether the same control comes with comparable comfort over broken Tarmac out on the open road remains to be seen.

Then there’s AMG Race Engineer, which takes driver adjustability to almost obsessive lengths. Three rotary controls allow individual nine-stage adjustment of throttle response, handling agility and traction-control intervention. Together they provide an enormous number of possible combinations, allowing the driver to fine-tune the GT 63 SUV’s handling to an extraordinary degree.

It’s an impressively developed system and one that genuinely adds to the experience. But is it overkill? In the lower, more overtly sporting GT 4-Door Coupé, such fine adjustments seem entirely appropriate. In a five-seat SUV, however capable, I wonder how many owners will ever venture beyond a handful of preferred settings.

Earlier I'd explored the Drift mode on a giant skidpan. With stability control disengaged on a dampened surface, the GT 63 SUV willingly breaks traction and turns doughnuts at will. Entertaining, certainly, although hardly an essential SUV attribute.

AMGForce, a synthetic sound system developed using over 1600 soundbites from the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre petrol V8 of the earlier GT R coupé, by contrast, proves surprisingly useful.

The thundering soundtrack, simulated gearchanges and seat vibrations unleashed when you turn the rotary controller to Sport+ mode provide a sensory reference point often missing from powerful EVs.

As the sound of the V8, played over a series of speakers, rises and falls, it helps convey acceleration, deceleration and the demands being placed on the new EV when driven swiftly. The simulated shifts lend rhythm to what would otherwise be one hugely elastic, uninterrupted surge. Artificial, certainly, but genuinely effective.

Battery choices are 106kWh and 128kWh, with up to 435 miles of claimed range from the larger pack and charging at up to 710kW, topping the 600kW peak of the GT 4-Door Coupé and more than double what even the fastest charger in the UK can provide at present.

The 128kWh battery is claimed to be able to gain 280 miles of range within 10 minutes under optimal conditions.

My brief drive leaves questions about everyday comfort, braking behaviour and public road handling unanswered. However, the GT 63 SUV’s ability to combine such enormous performance with such a degree of agility is deeply impressive.

And those engineers? They’ve taken a car that, by all conventional standards, ought to be compromised by its sheer size, height and weight and made it behave in ways that seem to defy all three. I not only suspect that they've been having a good laugh but also that somewhere along the way they decided the laws of physics were less a set of rules than a challenge to be taken personally. The astonishing thing is just how close they’ve come to winning the argument.

And they’re not finished yet. A sleeker Coupé version of the GT SUV is also in the works, with an unveiling expected by the middle of next year.

Orders for the GT 53 SUV, which uses two radial-flux motors developing 544bhp and 590lb ft, rather than the three axial-flux motors of the GT 63 SUV, opened in the UK last month at a price of £113,775.

The more powerful GT 55 SUV and GT 63 SUV variants aren't expected to arrive until here until April 2027, with pricing of around £135,000 and £165,000 respectively.

Mercedes-AMG GT 63 SUV

A towering achievement of engineering that disguises its mass with astonishing agility. Whether it makes sense as an SUV is another question entirely.

Engine	Three permanent magnet synchronous electric motors
Power	1153 bhp (on overboost; 711bhp continuous)
Torque	1475 lb ft (on overboost)
Gearbox	1-spd reduction, 4WD
0–62 mph	2.7sec
Top Speed	168mph (with Driver’s Package)
Battery	106kWh or 128 kWh
Range	364 miles (106kWh) or 435 miles (128kWh)
Peak charging	600kW (106kWh) or 710kW (128kWh)
Kerb weight	2585–2695 kg
CO2, tax band	0g/km, 4%
Rivals	BMW XM Label, Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric, Lamborghini Urus SE

KTM X-Bow off-roader revealed: Dune basher gets Audi S3 power

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Audi S3 power and motorsport inspiration for Austrian rally-raider

Austrian lightweight specialist KTM is going after the Ariel Nomad with a wild new dune-basher touting Audi S3 power and formidable off-roading credentials.

The brand, which was launched with the original X-Bow in 2008, was recently acquired by new owners and now operates separately from the motorbike maker of the same name.

It revealed a new version of its track-focused GT-XR flagship last month and is now expanding into a new segment with the launch of the Arrow rally-raider.

The new Arrow side-by-side (SSV) is the brainchild of Belgian rally driver Guillaume de Mévius, who led the consortium that acquired KTM's road car division from the parent company in August last year and is best known for claiming second place on the 2024 Dakar Rally.

The Arrow was developed in partnership with his G Rally racing team (recently rebranded as KTM X-Bow Lab Team) and is effectively a toned down version of the rally-raider it has developed to compete in Dakar's new SSV category.

It sticks to KTM tradition in using an Audi-supplied powerplant, in this case the 'EA888' 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine from the S3 (and other Volkswagen Group hot hatchbacks).

Packing 276bhp as standard or 325bhp in the 500-off launch edition, the four-pot drives both axles through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and two limited-slip differentials.

KTM has yet to disclose full specs, but this should give the 999kg Arrow sufficient punch to keep pace with its Ariel rival.

The Nomad - derived from the seminal Atom - weighs just 715kg, takes similar levels of power from a Honda-derived 2.0-litre engine and can crack 0-62mph in 3.4sec.

The Arrow is based around an ultra-strong chromoly-steel chassis, with double-wishbone suspension and beefy KW Reiger shocks at each corner giving 600mm of travel - useful for coming back down to earth after brief periods of flight.

But unlike KTM's Dakar cars, the Arrow has an enclosed cabin offering what KTM called "a level of refinement rarely seen" in the SSV segment.

It remains a spartan, hardcore cockpit that's obviously rooted in motorsport, but the seats are "premium" items from Sabelt, there's a full digital display and a central touchscreen with smartphone pairing, and the top-spec model even gets air-con as standard.

Only the passenger grab handle, fabric door pulls and fly-off hydraulic handbrake mark it out from a regular recreational off-roader like a Jeep Wrangler.

Order books will open in the US next week, with prices starting at the equivalent of £44k for the standard car and £73k for the launch edition.

Deliveries are scheduled to start in late 2027.

KTM said the Arrow is primarily designed for off-road use but road registration will be possible in some markets, depending on local laws.

New 2028 Lotus 'Esprit' to pack 671bhp hot-vee V8

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 10:32:19 +0000

Autocar's artist imagining of the new 'Esprit', inspired by the Theory 1 concept car

Horse's new 'W40' engine will contribute well over half of the hybrid supercar's 1000bhp-plus output

The V8 powering the forthcoming Lotus 'Esprit' will pack more than 671bhp and 590lb ft of torque, according to supplier Horse Powertrain.

It confirmed its new ‘W40’ engine will be used in the forthcoming Type 135 – the codename for Lotus’s new supercar, which is strongly tipped to adopt the famed Esprit moniker.

The W40 is a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 arranged in a ‘hot-vee’ layout, with the turbines placed between the engine’s two cylinder banks. Such a design is typically more compact than the alternative, which is particularly desirable for a mid-engined car such as the Esprit.

To that end, Horse claims the W40 to be among the most power-dense engines on the market, matching the headline power figures with a weight of 200kg.

The Esprit is set to pack significantly more than 671bhp in total. Lotus has previously claimed it will produce north of 1000bhp and CEO Feng Qingfeng singled out the 1036bhp Ferrari 849 Testarossa as its main rival.

Horse’s eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, also due to feature in the Esprit, packs an additional electric motor and is capable of supporting torque outputs of up to 774lb ft.

That is an exact match for the output of the old McLaren P1, hinting at the Esprit’s performance potential.

The Esprit will fill the gap in Lotus’s range between the Emira sports car – powered by turbo four-cylinder and V6 engines – and the limited-run Evija, its electric hypercar.

Entry-level versions of the Esprit will offer a V6 hybrid powertrain, which has also been developed by Horse.

Although neither company has yet confirmed specifics, this is expected to employ the ‘W30’ twin-turbocharged engine, which is alone capable of putting out 536bhp and 516lb ft.

With the help of an electric motor, it's likely to produce north of 700bhp to rival the 819bhp Ferrari 296 GTB and McLaren’s forthcoming McL 820.

When retro's a no-go: Polestar concept is a masterclass in design reinvention

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Formula 2030 sparks excitement about brand's bold future, while retaining its best-loved elements

How do you reinvent the styling language of a brand that's only existed as a stand-alone manufacturer for nine years? In quite emphatic style, clearly.

Design boss Philipp Römers faced no small task in establishing a new look for Polestar, a young marque whose Scandi-cool cockpits and sleek, minimalist silhouettes have always been at the very heart of its business proposition.

That was natural enough, because the brand was run by a well-established designer for the first seven years of its life: Thomas Ingenlath, formerly (and currently) of Volvo.

Römers has acknowledged the need to evolve rather than upend Polestar's design principles, with the chief aim of distancing the brand from its Swedish sibling, whose influence can still be felt across the current line-up.

The worst thing he could do would be to wholly disregard that hard-won visual equity - surely the envy of many much older brands who have unsuccessfully tried to reinvent their look in recent years and test the waters with a completely different design approach.

So the Formula 2030 is especially impressive for retaining the principles and cues that define a Polestar car while also introducing a dramatic new treatment that builds on the brand's performance heritage and driver focus - attributes that continue to mark it out from its more staid contemporaries.

There is little point in getting excited for a production version any time soon. The sensible money's in SUVs and we have a pretty good idea of the brand's product pipeline.

But if even a fraction of this concept's undeniable allure can be injected into the next 2 and the 7 crossover, it will help no end in ensuring the brand continues to stand out from the crowd, and laying the foundations for its ambitious growth plans.

Polestar’s future revealed: Radical coupé shows sporting ambitions

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Formula 2030 concept car sets racing-inspired template for incoming range of new models

Polestar has pledged to make performance car thrills a higher priority in its future line-up with the unveiling of its new, driver-centric Formula 2030 concept.

The four-door 2+2 hatchback is in the mould of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and sets the tone for a more sporting design ethos. It also previews specific features that are destined for forthcoming models, including the next-generation, BMW i3-rivalling Polestar 2, and the all-new 7 compact SUV.

Created under the leadership of former Audi exterior design boss and self-confessed sports car lover Philipp Römers, the Formula 2030 blends Polestar's double Thor's Hammer headlights onto a front bearing a central wing and lengthy bonnet.

Our take: When retro's a no-go: Polestar concept is a masterclass in design reinvention

The nose, which strongly hints at the successor to the 2, sweeps back to a windscreen with a central wiper inspired by Polestar's motorsport past - specifically the single-wiper Volvos it fielded in European touring car championships from the 1990s to the 2010s.

Opinion: Polestar's striking new look is exactly what the brand needs

Even the four-spoke alloys are said to provide a glimpse of a future Polestar wheel design, while the use of rear-hinged back doors clears space for longer front doors, although this is one of the show-car's more obviously conceptual elements.

Its coupé-inspired look, along with the aggressively swollen wheel arches, harks back to Polestar's first stand-alone model, the 1, and helps to emphasise a reinvigorated performance vibe, as does the new shade of Nitrogen Blue paintwork.

The rear, however, is more shooting brake than hatch, with a heavily raked screen and bootlid, which then cuts back in towards the floor of the car. At the bottom, prominent aerodynamic blades hint at an aero-focused underside, while the new rear lights and black bar together with the BMW Z8-style swollen bootlid provide the clearest glimpse of how the Polestar 7 will look.

Inside, the dashboard provides a stark contrast with the dual-screen set-up of current Polestars because it ditches the large fixed central touchscreen and swaps the minimalist driver display for a new wrap-around arrangement that curves around the back of the steering wheel to emphasise the feeling of being in a cockpit.

That's joined by a smaller touchscreen, which folds out from the centre console, complete with a physical slider to change the drive modes.

A more significant change compared with existing Polestar models comes with the fitment of customisable physical buttons at the bottom of the console. Like the customisable widgets on Polestar's current touchscreens, these mechanical switches can be swapped out for different ones, to suit a driver's preferences.

The buttons are surrounded by other analogue controls - such as knobs and dials, and buttons on the steering wheel - hinting at a change from the firm's current clutter-free and digitally focused interiors.

Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller told Autocar recently that the firm is planning to heavily evolve its approach to interior design in response to customer feedback, which broadly called for more physical controls.

He said: "Customers are very outspoken about that. They say: 'We want more buttons. It's that simple. And yes, we will do buttons.'" The Formula 2030's cockpit gives a good idea of how that new ethos will manifest in future cars.

The front bucket seats feature active inflating bolsters for high-load cornering. Similarly shaped individual chairs in the rear make this a 2+2, although Polestar is expected to continue to equip its production cars with a full-width rear bench.

The firm has not disclosed any official measurements for the Formula 2030, but in the metal it appears to have a similar footprint to the Ioniq 5, which is 4655mm long and 1890mm wide, although it's a lot lower in profile than the Hyundai.

The boot features storage spaces for crash helmets, further alluding to the performance focus, and attention is drawn to the suspension's exposed gold Öhlins remote reservoirs, which become visible at the base of the C-pillars when the hatch is open.

Polestar is no stranger to adjustable suspension with this sort of hardware. Indeed its new 5 saloon and 4 SUV both use adjustable damping solutions. But the Formula 2030 goes one step further with electronically controlled damping that works alongside a steer-by-wire system, dispensing with mechanical linkages between the driver and the front wheels. The firm has not said whether this tech will make it into showrooms, but Toyota, Mercedes and Peugeot are bringing steer-by-wire to production cars, while Polestar parent company Geely will deploy such a system in its upcoming K011 off-roader.

This, along with the sustainably sourced and bio-grown materials of the body and cabin, comes as part of Römers' desire to cut back on unnecessary components.

To trim CO2 and boost sustainability, the car's materials include plant-based solutions, developed with cleantech company Bcomp. The Swiss firm already produces natural composite materials for the Polestar 5 and the structure of the Formula 2030 is said to be made from its carbonfibre alternative.

Elsewhere, galvanised steel produced using renewable energy is left exposed, reducing material usage and making more of a statement.

Polestar refrained from hinting at what layout of electric powertrain would drive the Formula 2030, because it's not intended to directly become an equivalent production model. But Römers said Geely has platforms that could easily support such a vehicle, including the SEA structure that underpins the 4 and is likely also to provide the basis for the 2 successor and the 7.

Were the concept ever to evolve into a production model, it would not be short of similarly sized, low-slung performance EV rivals, such as the Ioniq 5 N, Kia EV6 GT and BMW M3 EV.

Nevertheless, Polestar told Autocar that the focus for the next few years is on higher-volume models, with the recently launched 4 SUV expected to overtake the 4 Coupé as its best-selling car. That is at least until its BMW iX1-rivalling 7 slots into one of Europe's most in-demand segments in 2028.

New BMW i3 rated: EV goes straight to the top of the class

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 00:00:01 +0000

Super new electric 3 Series meets Britain’s shocking old roads

We already know plenty about the eighth-generation BMW 3 Series - even the seminal EV tested here, confusingly called the i3 - because Matt Prior reviewed both petrol and electric versions last week.

However, what he wasn't able to tell you was how the i3 performs on British roads, which the world's best suspension engineers (an unusually large proportion of whom reside in Europe) constantly tell us are quite different in width, surface, layout and quality from those in the other major global markets.

This, indeed, is why BMW UK hastened to stage a separate i3 drive event in Sussex so soon after the main European launch: the 3 Series has always represented the heart of BMW-ness in the UK and the EV version is clearly the way of the future. Its success in our large and important export market is vital.

To recap, the i3 is the second of BMW's Neue Klasse models to reach the UK, after the iX3 SUV. The petrol version that Prior also tested, although it looks very similar, is built on a previous platform. The EV that I drove was officially dubbed the i3 50 xDrive First Edition, that last part referring to an equipment package already sold out.

The important thing was that it was a 462bhp four-wheel-drive model riding on the standard 19in wheels, with front- and rear-mounted motors powered by a 108.7kWh battery and capable of both the prodigious WLTP range of 514-566 miles (depending on drive mode) and a 0-62mph sprint time of 4.7sec.

We've already called this car "probably the best way to have electric motoring in a compact executive saloon package", but do the UK's more testing bumps, surfaces and curves make a difference to our view?

The answer is that they do but probably don't change our overall conclusion - which is that the lighter ICE 3 Series, when powered by the still-available 3.0-litre turbo petrol straight six, has a narrow but noticeable margin in agility and driver engagement.

Still, the i3 is an impressive all-rounder on all kinds of UK roads, with a chassis entirely in the usual BMW mould. Its steering is ever-ready to effortlessly add lock and grip in corners that tighten without warning.

That same steering remains smooth and responsive, yet it delivers an enjoyable innate stability that makes driving on long journeys a special pleasure - especially when combined with the quietness and smoothness of the electric powertrain and its low-level road noise.

This i3 weighs 2.2 tonnes, which means its weight is better contained than many four-wheel-drive EV's, but you're still conscious of that mass in several modes of driving. When going energetically, you're conscious of it when you pile into slow corners under firm braking. There's some nose dive and you're aware of the mass through the left pedal, even though retardation is progressive and powerful.

You also notice the weight at times in the i3's primary ride. Mostly it's supple and perfectly damped, but on sections of poorly engineered road with low-frequency and high-amplitude bumps - a kind especially prevalent on well-trafficked, relatively narrow roads like the Fosse Way - it can bounce more than ideal.

BMW offers adaptive dampers as a £775 option on M Sport trim, and these are likely to reduce the problem (if it can be fairly called a problem), but for the most part the standard dampers work perfectly well.

The truth about this i3 is that it fits the 3 Series mould perfectly. Its only real drawback is the problem it poses for repeat owners of the quintessential Beemer, who now have to decide whether to stick with petrol power or embrace the future. That's not an easy choice.

Verdict – 4.5 Stars

Goes immediately to the top of the executive EV class. Its biggest rival is its own sibling, the petrol 3 Series

	Tech specs
Model	BMW i3 50 xDrive M Sport
Verdict	Goes immediately to the top of the executive EV class. Its biggest rival is its own sibling, the petrol 3 Series
Price	£54,925
Engine	Asynchronous motor (front), separately excited synchronous motor (rear)
Power	462bhp
Torque	476lb ft
Gearbox	1-spd reduction gear, 4WD
Kerb weight	2205kg
0-62mph	4.7sec
Top speed	124mph
Battery	113.4/108.7kWh (total/usable)
Range, economy	566 miles, 4.6mpkWh
CO2, tax band	0g/km, 4%
Rivals	Mercedes-Benz CLA, Tesla Model 3, Audi A5 E-tron, BYD Seal

Yangwang vs Rolls-Royce: size and tech can't beat legacy

Mon, 9 Nov 2026 15:03:50 +0000

Big value has worked for China's mainstream brands but BYD's luxury arm faces an uphill battle

With the unveiling of the new Yangwang Altior comes a real test for one of China’s fastest-growing and most prolific global car makers: can BYD’s new luxury brand truly capture the attention of the world’s most well-heeled car buyers and lure them away from the Rolls-Royce showroom?

Much of BYD’s growth outside China so far – and indeed that of many other Chinese firms, like Chery and Geely – has been founded on cost-competitiveness. It hasn’t really mattered what the badges on the bonnets said, because the cars weren’t aimed necessarily at people who really cared.

These are buyers who justifiably care more about saving £50 per month than they do tapping into any latent brand equity by buying from a legacy marque – hence the Jaecoo 7's blistering ascent up the UK sales charts.

But my money is on that strategy not working in the highest echelons of the market, where badges are bought and cars are almost thrown in for free. If a billionaire wants a Rolls-Royce Phantom, they want a Rolls-Royce Phantom, not a car that looks similar and does much the same thing – even if there are significant savings to be had (and some undeniably impressive new technology thrown into the bargain).

As you push past six figures, brand equity becomes one of the deciding factors in a purchase. Bugatti, Bentley, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce each have decades (if not centuries) of powerful, illustrious history to tap into, as they remind us increasingly often in today’s hugely competitive market, and the newbies are always going to struggle to compensate for their comparative lack of legacy with dazzling tech and dizzying capability.

None of this is to detract from the undeniable allure of the Altior, a top-drawer, quad-motor electric limousine with no shortage of headline-baiting attributes and features – not to mention an imposing silhouette that rivals its Sussex-built rival for sheer stately presence.

Plus, with a mammoth range, acres of digital real estate and no doubt extremely generous power reserves, it’s easy to see how it will stack up as a rival to the stalwarts convincingly on paper – and maybe even edge them in some regards. The Phantom can’t, for all its lofty qualities, turn on the spot, after all.

However, for your average Premier League manager or Bitcoin tycoon to send their millions eastwards, Yangwang must convince them that it has the brand cachet and the organic desirability of its rivals – and these are strengths that arguably come with time, not TikTok likes or celebrity partnerships.

The company’s commitment to quality is evident – all the Altior’s buttons and switches have been aurally tested with small hammers – and that’s a great start. Tactility and analogue appeal go a long way up here in the clouds, but however objectively competitive its cars may be, Yangwang faces a steep uphill struggle in carving itself a slice of this most prestigious market.

New emissions rules this month to target brake dust and tyre wear

Mon, 9 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000

How manufacturers are changing brake pads and discs to meet new EU emissions standards

Euro 7 emissions regulations will kick in across the EU on 29 November.

Significantly, they are the first to target not only exhaust emissions from ICE vehicles but also particle emissions from braking systems and tyre wear. This means EVs will also be impacted by the new regulations for the first time. EVs will also be subject to 'battery durability requirements': minimum requirements for battery life will dictate they hold a minimum of 80% of the original capacity for the first five years or 62,000 miles (100,000km) of a car's life, then 72% from five to eight years or 99,422 miles (160,000km), whichever comes first in both cases.

Brake particle regulations will apply to both EVs and ICE cars. EVs will face a tougher figure of 3mg/km (4.8mg/mile) while ICE cars must hit 7mg/km (11.3mg/mile). The lower figure for EVs reflects the part played by regenerative braking in reducing the work done by conventional friction brakes and the corresponding reduction in the amount of dust generated. The regulations target particle sizes of 10 microns or smaller (PM10) and are the result of brake pads gripping steel discs to generate friction and convert the kinetic energy of the moving car into heat energy.

Where manufacturers tread, aftermarket suppliers must follow. Regulation ECE R90 is in place to ensure that replacement brake materials are up to the job of factory parts and safe to use on the highway.

Although Euro 7 currently applies only to new cars and original equipment, aftermarket suppliers are already ensuring their products meet the same criteria.

ZF Aftermarket has a solution ready based not just on the brake pad materials but also on the way the discs are made. Under its braking component brand, TRW, it has developed a next-generation 'DTEC' dust-reducing technology disc and pad designed to reduce fine dust emissions.

A large proportion of the dust particles generated under braking comes from the steel disc rather than the friction pad, and a fundamental method of reducing particle emissions is by hardening the disc surface. ZF expects manufacturers to use a variety of disc surface treatments rather than a 'one size fits all' solution, and it thinks an appropriate combination of disc surface treatment and pad friction material composition will be dictated by a vehicle's inertia and engine type.

Hardening the disc surface can cause more challenging NVH behaviour, so it's important for ZF to understand the interplay between all the components in the braking system. That is done via a test rig called DustIN that uses the same test regimes used to develop the Euro 7 regulations.

Big car insurance hikes incoming - but you can lessen the blow

Mon, 9 Nov 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Insurance prices are on the rise - here's how to save money on your premium

Bad news for anyone about to renew their motor insurance: an insurer is urging the industry to raise premiums to combat increases in claims costs.

Speaking to the Insurance Times, Geoff Carter, CEO of Sabre Insurance Group, said he expected the cost of claims to rise by up to 7% this year and "some pretty chunky price increases" were necessary across the industry.

His claim is backed up by professional services giant EY, which has said that motor insurers are currently loss-making and therefore will have to raise premiums by 4% this year and 12% next.

The one ray of hope for motorists is that so far insurers have been struggling to make any increases permanent. One reason is how competitive the UK's motor insurance market is. Even so, new entrants are still popping up, among them Vector Drive, a broker specialising in low-mileage drivers that's launching soon.

Its founder, Charles More, has shared these expert tips for buying motor insurance:

"Take time to get your mileage declaration right. Many insurers offer decent discounts when your declared mileage roughly matches the average they can deduce from your MOT history. Never under-declare; almost all insurers penalise you.

"Check the details of any claims from the last five years and declare all of them accurately. Insurers look them up in the Motor Insurers' Bureau's Claims and Underwriting Exchange database anyway. They just want to see if you're honest.

"When asked how you'd prefer to pay before you have a quote, say 'annually'. Some insurers will offer a cheaper price for it. Once you have the quote, you can still elect to pay monthly and keep the lower premium."

UK government set to ease electric vehicle sales targets this week

Mon, 9 Nov 2026 07:15:46 +0000

Louise Haigh is poised to relax mandated EV sales targets following consultation with car makers

The UK government is expected to significantly downscale its electric vehicle sales targets this week, as car makers fall well short of the previously imposed quotas.

The Guardian and BBC are reporting that first secretary of state Louise Haigh will reveal a new-look zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate in the coming days, with targets that are more closely aligned to real-world EV demand.

Government insiders are said to suggest that the 2030 EV sales target could be reduced from 80% to 60%, and car makers will continue to have access to various flexibilities within the mandate's mechanisms until 2034.

Under the existing framework, car makers must achieve a series of annually increasing EV sales mix targets on the way to an 80% share by 2030 and a ban on new combustion-engined car sales in 2035.

But those targets have so far proven out of step with organic consumer demand, forcing many manufacturers to heavily subsidise their electric cars – at significant cost – to drive up demand, or to pay significant penalties for non-compliance.

Electric cars have ballooned in popularity in recent months, with recent figures showing more than 500,000 were sold from January to November – a 30% year-on-year increase – and a third of all cars sold last month were electric. That has been driven in part by huge increases in the cost of petrol and diesel, and the greater availability of affordable EVs as manufacturers expand their line-ups.

Nonetheless, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) says car makers will fall far short of achieving the mandated 33% EV mix for 2026, forecasting that just 27.2% cars sold over the whole of this year will be electric.

It says the gap will then widen next year, when the target increases to 38% and EV sales are expected to reach 32% – and then again in 2028, when EV share will be 14.5 percentage points behind the 52% target. Flexibilities within the mandate mean car makers can mitigate the impact of any shortfall with increased hybrid sales, or defer their targets.

The government has been consulting with car makers over changes to the ZEV mandate in light of the disparity and SMMT boss Mike Hawes said last week the outcome of that review process is urgent.

“Almost one in three new cars registered in October was electric – great progress in the transition, but one that comes at enormous cost," said Hawes. "The industry and government are spending billions to help drivers switch, but that support cannot be sustained indefinitely with the gap to mandated targets set to more than double by 2028, just as a new EV-only tax is introduced.

"Higher targets may force supply, but they do not create demand. The ZEV mandate review must deliver substantive reform effective immediately to ensure we have a healthy market and an attractive pitch to investors.”

The Guardian says Haigh will finalise the plan after a "crunch meeting" on Wednesday to "settle the dispute between the transport, energy and business departments".

Any move to ease the EV transition for car makers will be met with relief from the automotive industry but it will be viewed by many as a weakening of an important component of the UK's decarbonisation policy. If the targets were kept and met, the ZEV mandate was expected to achieve 14% of the government's targeted CO2 reductions between 2028 and 2032.

Downing Street told the BBC that no decision has been made and a government source was quoted as saying the issue will be approached in a "pragmatic and balanced" way.

The government considered a number of options as part of the review process with car makers, ranging from preserving the targets but extending flexibilities that make it easier for car makers to hit them, to simply cutting the 2030 sales mix down to 50%.

The Guardian says Whitehall is divided by the proposals, with business secretary Jonathan Reynolds calling for the steepest cut, transport secretary Heidi Alexander arguing for 60% and energy secretary Ed Miliband campaigning to keep the 80% mandate.

It is reported that prime minister Andy Burnham has taken himself out of the deliberations, as his wife, Marie-France van Heel, is an advisor to Manchester-based EV charging firm Be.EV.

Better than an M3: Loyal M car customer swaps to a Jag F-Type

Mon, 9 Nov 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Unlikely tax benefits and raucous exhaust note are just two reasons this Jag buyer couldn't be happier

Timing is everything. Take Chris Burford and his Jaguar F-Type 5.0 V8 auto. The model emits as much as 269g/km of CO2. Had it been registered before April 2017, when VED rates were based on CO2 emissions, it would currently attract annual road tax of £790.

However, it was registered in 2018, around 12 months after that scheme was replaced by a lower, standard rate across all new cars plus, on those costing more than £40,000, an 'expensive car supplement'. This supplement applies from a car's second year and expires on the vehicle's sixth birthday, which, in the case of Chris's F-Type, fell two years ago. As a result, his F-Type today attracts road tax of just £200.

"It shows how crazy the system is, but I'm not complaining!" says Chris, a former marine engineer in the Royal Navy.

He has owned his F-Type coupé, which has done 65,000 miles, for six months and doesn't regret buying it one bit. Given that he came from a succession of rather tasty BMW M cars, that's quite a statement.

"I've owned a lot of M cars, the last of them a G80 [current-generation] M3 xDrive with a stage-three tune," he says. "However, the four-wheel drive system made it feel a little detached. The F-Type is also four-wheel drive but feels a lot more involving."

In fact, out of all the cars he has owned (in addition to his M cars they include an R33 Nissan Skyline GT-R and a fourth-generation Toyota Supra), Chris reckons this V8 Jaguar is the best.

"The engine is like a nuclear bomb!" he says. "It's quite an old-fashioned, agricultural thing but it works, and the sound... How did Jaguar ever get it past noise testing?"

Chris bought his F-Type out of a fascination with its designer's work.

"I've always liked Ian Callum's designs and thought it was time I had one of his best. It was a toss-up between an F-Type or an XKR-S. I drove an XKR and loved it but then drove an F-Type and realised that the XKR is more of a gentleman's cruiser, while the F-Type is so much more. Its handling is phenomenal. It grips really well—so well that the Dynamic Launch [control system] isn't necessary," he says.

Chris paid £35,000 for his car, which features a few factory-fitted options, including Alcantara cloth for the headlining and dashboard and a fixed rear spoiler in place of the active one that was fitted as standard to most F-Types.

Meanwhile, he has some advice for anyone tempted to buy their own F-Type: "The clamshell bonnet is very heavy and most people hold it at the side to open and close it, causing it to twist and not sit flush. The coolant pipes are plastic and located under the supercharger. After repeated heating and cooling, they split with very little warning. It's a six-hour job to replace them with metal pipes. The actuator for the exhaust valves can fail: listen for a rattling under acceleration. So can the coupler on the supercharger: listen for it rattling when the engine is switched off."

It all sounds a little off-putting but, as Chris says, all cars have their problems and all you can do is buy the best you can afford. He certainly thinks he has done that.

BMW could build V8 Alpina concept as luxury brand's 'M1 moment'

Mon, 9 Nov 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Conti GT rival in the frame as BMW aims to make a big impact with its new upmarket brand

BMW executives are hoping to put the Vision BMW Alpina concept, which the company launched at the Villa d'Este concours in May, into full production.

If ratified - and Autocar understands a final decision has not yet been made - it would be what insiders call an "M1 moment", as BMW prepares to relaunch the Alpina brand after the sale from the founding Bovensiepen family was finalised at the beginning of this year.

The mid-engined M1 supercar was the BMW M division's first bespoke model and set a tone for the performance sub-brand going forward.

Alpina was a developer of sports-minded BMWs but technically independent of BMW and registered as a stand-alone manufacturer.

However, it had access to early BMW prototypes and engineering data, and so it developed its models alongside base BMWs.

Its cars differed from contemporaneous M cars mainly by offering more comfort. It was a differentiation that suited both parties and which BMW is keen to keep when it relaunches the brand.

Aware of customer concerns that it might become little more than a trim level, however, BMW would like to make a splash with a stand-alone vehicle. The Vision Alpina is a 5.2m-long, V8-powered 2+2 coupé of considerable luxury and would fit that bill.

Speaking at the launch of the new BMW i3, head of Neue Klasse Mike Reichelt downplayed the likelihood of the Vision Alpina making it to production in concept form but said the designers "had given the engineers a headache" because of demand for the car and that Alpina would like to make "a limited-volume" model.

The Alpina name is currently set to be officially relaunched with a version of the 7 Series luxury saloon, whose size alone would differentiate it from BMW's M division, which doesn't touch cars that large.

Whether BMW is willing to make an M and an Alpina version of the same model is still up for discussion, understands Autocar, but keeping distance between the two is why insiders say a luxury model "makes the most sense". The previous-generation Alpina B7 was widely respected across the industry and used as a benchmark by rival manufacturers.

Meanwhile, the Bovensiepens are launching their own line of cars under their own name. However, since the sale of Alpina they have lost access and advantages they had before: models typically rolled down BMW lines, even with an Alpina chassis number attached, before some final trim work after general assembly at Buchloe in Germany.

Bovensiepen cars won't have this benefit. They are likely to be built by the dozen or the hundred - such as the forthcoming 99-run Spider - which may assuage some disquiet in certain quarters of BMW HQ about the family creating a new car brand.