Tabla de contenidos para May 14, 2025 en Autocar

Porsche is stepping up testing of its 718 Cayman EV as it readies its first electric sports cars for next year. Autocar understands the German car maker will pull the covers off the 718 Boxster EV roadster first, with the Cayman coupé due to be shown, as with previous model generations, six months after that. It’s expected that the first debut will come in early 2026, given that Boxster mules have been frequently seen testing during the past few months – and we have now finally spotted a Cayman prototype being rigorously put through its paces on track. These photos from the Nürburgring Nordschleife provide our clearest look yet at the new two-seat EV and show just how close it will be to its existing ICE sibling in size and…

Drivers are facing increasing delays in getting their cars repaired as cash-strapped manufacturers struggle to maintain a healthy stock of spare parts for an increasingly complex car parc. Readers have alerted Autocar to the issue in recent months, sharing their experiences of long waits. One reader had a Range Rover Sport P400e with a JLR dealer for seven weeks before its drive battery fault was diagnosed and a part wait time of more than a year was relayed. Another’s Hyundai Ioniq 5 had been off the road for 10 weeks awaiting a part that was still “two to three more weeks” away. Their experiences tally with the findings of the latest Reliability Survey by Autocar sibling title What Car?. Of the nearly 10,000 respondents who had a problem with their…

THE INCOMING ELECTRIC Mercedes-Benz CLA is unable to use any 400V DC charger – a common standard across the UK and mainland Europe. Priced from £45,615, the EV lacks a DC-to-DC voltage booster, which means it can only fast-charge at stations that supply 800V – typically found on newer HPC (high-power charging) networks. As a result, it is also incompatible with many older 50kW units and most Tesla Superchargers. The majority of the UK’s 14,448 public fast-charging (50kW-plus) points are understood to be 400V systems. The main difference between the two is the charging speed range: 400V is 50-250kW, while 800V is 150kW-plus. Mercedes has confirmed the charging limitation on its German website: “Charging at 400V charging stations is not possible and for this reason they are not shown in…

The UK’s ambition to become a major centre of EV battery manufacture is one step closer as work begins on its first integrated lithium ion battery recycling and refining facility capable of producing the key ingredients of battery cells on an industrial scale. The new plant in Plymouth is the penultimate stage in British company Altilium’s four-part plan, which will culminate in the creation of a refinery on Teesside. When it goes live at the end of 2027, this is slated to produce highquality, recycled cathode active material (CAM) for UK gigafactories. Until then, the Plymouth plant will produce recycled nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) and lithium sulphate – critical intermediate materials for domestic production of battery cathodes used by a range of industries. Creating the CAM used in EV…

COMPARISON CAN TESLA GET ITS MOJO BACK? The new Model Y is out to reassert its dominance in the competitive electric SUV segment. We pit it against a key rival, Skoda’s Enyaq Coupé FEATURE THE McLAREN F1 OF CAMPER VANS Designer of the iconic hypercar turns a Ford Transit into a mobile home ROAD TEST TOYOTA LAND CRUISER Now looks the part, but does it still deliver on and off road? We find out EVERY WEEK LIVING WITH A… MINI ACEMAN “Small footprint – big fun,” claims its maker. We put that to the test as crossover EV joins our fleet USED GUIDE SKODA YETI Quirky SUV with lots of space yet the footprint of a Golf. And owners love them – for very good reason…

“It’s surprisingly mature on the open road, feeling controlled and pleasant to drive” Small electric cars are all the rage at the moment, and the latest newcomer to the UK is the Hyundai Inster. Our first taste of the brand’s smallest EV came last November in its native South Korea; now we’ve sampled it in right-hand-drive form to see how it stacks up against the Citroën ë-C3, Renault 5 and more. The Inster is loosely based on the petrol-engined Hyundai Casper that has been sold in Korea since 2021, but its platform has been stretched and overhauled to accommodate a battery and an electric motor. Despite this, it measures only 3.8m in length and 1.6m wide, making the car shorter and narrower than its French rivals. And the Inster’s compact…

If the Bespoke programme is a step outside RML’s historic comfort zone, the VarEVolt battery packs it is developing in a new dedicated facility next door is almost otherworldly. As used by the unthinkably rapid Czinger 21C hybrid hypercar, VarEVolt is said to be the highest-density automotive battery pack in the world, generating 6kW per kilo and, according to Michael Mallock, capable of “dumping all its power really, really quickly” thanks to a monumental C-rating (that’s how quickly it can charge and discharge) of 200. A Porsche Taycan, for reference, has a C-rating of around four to five. In the case of the Czinger’s pack, that means it can deploy its entire 4.5kWh capacity in as little as 40 seconds. It’s a characteristic that makes it well suited for deployment…

JAGUAR I-PACE (2018-2025) Real-world range 180-240 miles Price from £14,000 The I-Pace is ace to drive, looks great and gets a useful real-world range: it will do 200 miles even on a cold motorway run. The 100kW charging could be faster, though. KIA E-NIRO (2019-2022) Real-world range 190-250 miles Price from £11,000 The e-Niro is remarkably efficient: you’ll see up to 5.0mpkWh and easily 190-240 miles of range, despite a comparably small 64kWh battery. It’s a brilliant used buy. HYUNDAI IONIQ 6 (2023-) Real-world range 220-280 miles Price from £26,000 The rear-drive version of the 75kWh Ioniq 6 has an official range of 338 miles, but 250-ish is more realistic. With loads of kit and ultrarapid charging, it’s got most bases covered. PORSCHE TAYCAN 4S PERFORMANCE PLUS (2020–2024) Real-world range…

MILEAGE 5540 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if the quintessential Jeep is really a vehicle you can live with every day When I talk about this Jeep being a great car in the suburbs, people tend to laugh. They’re thinking about its height, size and weight rather than other things that matter every bit as much, perhaps more. But, believe it or not, you’ve got practically everything going for you. You sit high in a vehicle visible to oncomers from all angles. Its body has straight sides and isn’t as wide as people think. Including mirrors, it measures just 1.87m, which is usefully less than the Land Rover Defender (2.1m). For passengers, the firm and upright seats, set high, make for a much more sociable travelling experience. And…

With the option of five doors, a pure-electric version and a cleverly packaged platform that maximises interior space, the Mk3 Mini is a charismatic crowd-pleaser. It is a few centimetres bigger than its predecessor yet still retains all the old-school qualities of agility and compactness that we love in its forebears. And now the new ‘F66’ generation is becoming a common sight after its launch last year, prices for the previous-generation model have tumbled to as low as £2000. Of course, it’s not as compact as its 1960s namesake, but the F56-gen Mini is ergonomically stronger than its predecessors and has a roomier cabin and boot. Bolstering its appeal is an interior dripping with retro character, greater perceived quality and intuitive technology. Rear accommodation is still tight, but the five-door…

Regardless of what he might think of Donald Trump, Jenson Vardell has the US president to thank for one thing: his Nissan Skyline. “I’d been saving money for four years and then, while following the US election, decided to bet the £20,000 I’d saved on Trump winning it,” says Jenson. “When I placed the bet seven hours before the polling stations opened, it looked certain. I was that worried about the outcome, I didn’t sleep for 48 hours, but on the day Trump was declared I won £34,000 including my stake, all tax free. It took half an hour to persuade the bookie I was who I said I was and for them to pay up!” With the £14,000 prize money burning a hole in his pocket, Jenson set his…

The British Touring Car Championship is famed for its thrilling, close-fought action – a spectacle it has been providing for an impressive seven decades. Britain’s first proper touring car race occurred in 1952. The British Racing Drivers’ Club had previously held a catch-all ‘production car race’ at its annual International Trophy meeting at Silverstone, but this time it decided to run two separate races for sports cars and touring cars. Autocar’s sports editor, John Cooper (not that one), explained: “No better way of assessing the relative performance capabilities of cars of any sort can be imagined than the straightforward one of racing them one against the other. “Certain modifications are permitted, partly in the interests of safety and partly to render the task of the car’s tuning and preparation somewhat…

Treborn Freelander brand, which revives the famous nameplate for a new family of Chinesemade models, will arrive in the UK before the end of the decade – and the first will be a chunky but rakish crossover designed by JLR chief creative officer Gerry McGovern. The new brand is the result of a tie-up between JLR and its long-term manufacturing partner in China, Chery, which will engineer the cars using its own electrified platforms. Announcing the Freelander’s return in June last year, JLR said the Chery collaboration creates “mutually beneficial prospects for the future”. The debut crossover model is slated for a launch in late 2026 or early 2027, appearing first in China before global exports begin. It will be sold initially with a plug-in hybrid powertrain but EV and…

TARIFFS ON THE first 100,000 UK-built cars imported to the US will be reduced from 25% to 10% as part of a major new trade deal between the two countries. The deal follows more than a month of negotiations between UK and US officials after US president Donald Trump announced sweeping import tariffs on foreignmade products. All tariffs were due to start on 1 April but a 90-day reprieve was given to allow negotiations to take place. Details of the new deal are sparse but the US said the 10% tariff – which brings cars in line with the levy on other foreign goods – will apply to “100,000 cars”. The suggestion is that anything over this number will be hit by the 25% rate. Before Trump’s announcement in March,…

Chinese manufacturers have caught flak for long lead times and high repair costs. But according to Thatcham’s Ben Townsend, the issue isn’t necessarily with the cars or manufacturers themselves; instead it’s down to a differing philosophy. Due to China’s significantly cheaper the back panel or the rear quarter, but the parts that Chinese manufacturers are supplying are a whole boot floor or a whole side of a vehicle.” This means the spare parts supplied in Europe are often overkill for the repair work needed, creating wastage both in time and in materials. labour rates, the country’s standard approach to repairs is to replace entire sections of a car, rather than individual panels. “They will spend £3000 on the parts and then £300 on labour, because it’s cheap to do,” said…

UK SALES OF new electric and plug-in hybrid cars grew in April, despite a drop in the overall number of new cars sold. EVs and PHEVs recorded year-on-year increases of 8.1% (to 24,558) and 34.1% (to 14,073) respectively. The Renault 5 was the best-selling EV among retail buyers in its first full month on sale. “It shows you just how many people are prepared to consider going electric,” said Renault UK boss Adam Wood. Overall, however, registrations fell 10.4% to 120,331, making it the worst April since 2022. This was driven by a 22% drop for pure-petrol and mild-hybrid cars, which meant their market share dipped just below half of all new car sales. Fleets accounted for most registrations but sales dropped 11.9% to 71,520. The retail market fell by…

Thank you for your article and photos of Vauxhall’s recently closed Luton factory, which I greatly enjoyed (‘End of the line’, 16 April). My father worked as a salesman for a Vauxhall dealership in Cheshire for more than 20 years from the mid-1960s. The Vauxhalls I always wanted were the Chevette HSR (the dealership’s head electrician bought one; by all accounts, he got it in one morning, the revs shot up and blew the engine; he sold it), the ‘Droopsnoot’ Firenza HP (pictured) and the Chevette Black Magic concept. I can recall my dad disappearing for an overnight stay to Luton for awards ceremonies. Last year, we gave the British Motor Museum a plastic jacket that I believe was given out by Vauxhall dealers and a 78rpm record celebrating the…

Eyebrows were raised when an Aston Martin engineer, speaking at the Austrian launch of the new Vantage Roadster, suggested the spring and damper rates had been carried over wholesale from the coupé unaltered. For something without a proper carbonfibre tub, this would be irregular. When you lop the top off a coupé, the body often then needs to be dramatically strengthened, adding heft to a car whose axles are already no longer singing in perfect unison because torsional stiffness has plummeted. Custom suspension rates are devised to claw back some precision and cohesion – or at least enhance the perception of those attributes. As it happens, the Vantage Roadster’s rear dampers do run recalibrated software, but the change compared with the coupé is minimal and the front axle hasn’t received…

If someone had asked you a few years ago what would be the last two traditional superminibased hot hatches to remain on sale, you might have guessed the Renault Clio RS and Ford Fiesta ST, or even the Hyundai i20 N. Would your money have been on the Mini John Cooper Works and the Volkswagen Polo GTI? Probably not. It says something about the sheer momentum of big groups like BMW and Volkswagen. The petrol hot hatch has become a sufficiently marginalised kind of car that an entirely new one would struggle to get board approval: bad for the CO 2 quotas in Europe, not popular enough outside it. But there’s no major reason for Volkswagen to stop making the Polo GTI just yet, and a JCW version has sneaked…

7.393m The longest van in Bruder’s regular range, the EXP-10 (it costs over £200k) The information I’m sent before I collect the Bruder EXP-7 (I feel a little strange calling it a caravan, but we’ll come back to that) contains some surprises. There’s no bedding or kitchenware inside, I’m told, but there is a washer-dryer. Now, I went caravanning when I was a kid, and I can still remember the noise of the pump when we had to pedal a lever repeatedly to draw water to the tap. People with water containers that were round barrels so they could be rolled rather than carried across the campsite were positively flash gits. But now I’m going to try a caravan with a washing machine? Swoon. I’m sure things have moved on…

AMB 001 PRO Aston Martin partnered Brough Superior to create this stunning 223bhp superbike with Valkyrieinfluenced styling. It’s sold as a track toy, but RML is tweaking this one for homologation so the owner can fit a numberplate and hit the road. MALLOCK U2 Arthur Mallock’s bare-bones U2 racer is credited with helping make motorsport accessible to the masses. Son Ray, in his seventies, still races one today, and Michael Mallock says its uncompromising form is a handy reminder of “where we came from”. MERCEDES-BENZ SLR McLAREN 722 GT Lesser-known race version of the gargling McMerc supercar is an RML original, shedding nearly 400kg over the road car and cracking nearly 200mph. One of the 16 built in 2007 is back in for a full race-spec recommissioning. NISSAN ZEOD RC…

WHY WE RAN IT How easy is it to run a convertible as your only car in the depths of a British winter? “I realised light steering doesn’t have to mean uncommunicative” In the office I tend to sit next to our staff writer Charlie Martin and behind Classic & Sports Car’s associate editor, Lizzie Pope. Since getting my long-term MX-5 they have both bought NDs. Coincidence? Absolutely not. I should be on commission. In this line of work we’re blessed with driving some of the best cars around. This section of the mag is full of interesting metal week in, week out – and the MX-5 is no exception. I’ve had a great selection of long-termers in this job, including an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. But the MX-5’s mixture…

MILEAGE 6326 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT With sports car pace and dog-friendly space, could this rapid wagon be the ultimate do-it-all daily driver? Manufacturers spend millions on making sure their cars ride right: computer simulations, rough-road testing, Belgian pavé… Volvo’s even built an extremely realistic replica of a knackered British country lane at its Swedish test track, which tells you all you need to know about how our roads are perceived. But I can’t work out why they need to bother at all. I’ve stumbled on an utterly foolproof test of rolling refinement that costs about £9.50, takes 34 minutes and exposed shortcomings in the Leon’s chassis. You can thank my parents, who had invited too many people for lunch on Easter Sunday and texted me in a panic that…

AN OWNER’S VIEW RACHEL LOWE “I was looking for a step up from my 2013 ‘R56’ Cooper and the F56 model was what I was hoping for in terms of reliability and performance. In the end, I bought a 2016 JCW from Scotland and the seven-hour drive home proved that this was the right car for me. It’s very responsive, handles superbly and is surprisingly economical on longer journeys. “I’ve added a few modifications, including a wrap, JCW Pro exhaust, front splitter/side skirts and the JCW Pro suspension kit. It’s been very reliable and easily the most fun car I’ve ever owned.” BUYER BEWARE… ■ ENGINE Be wary of Cooper S Minis built between 2014 and 2015: a recall was issued to repair a defective crankshaft bearing and engines were…

The idea to bring back the Freelander name as a stand-alone brand has actually been pitched before – by your favourite car magazine. Back in 2020, the Autocar team got together to see how difficult it could be to come up with a desirable new car brand. The brief: a not-at-allhypothetical car-mad billionaire fancies setting up his own car firm – and they’ve asked us to find the right brand. So we hatched a plan to identify a gap in the market to find a plausible, profitable and all-new car company that would be based in the UK but capable of big-scale earnings from exports. The answer: Freelander EV Ltd. Why? The name (at the time) was dormant but already exerted a great deal of appeal for the compact, youth-oriented…

India will slash its tariff on “high-end” UK-built cars from more than 100% to 10% as part of a landmark trade deal between the two nations. While the definition of “high-end” has yet to confirmed, the suggestions are that the benchmark would be set at ₹4 million, equivalent to around £35,000. The key winner in the deal is expected to be JLR, owned by India’s Tata Group, because it is one of the best-selling luxury brands in India. It currently assembles the Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar and Land Rover Discovery Sport from knock-down kits in Pune and last year said it would add the highly profitable Range Rover and Range Rover Sport – both currently built in Solihull. The new trade deal is likely to give JLR additional…

Volvo is reviving the XC70 name for a new long-range plug-in hybrid SUV that could make its way to the UK following initial sales in China. The company’s first “extended-range plug-in hybrid” has been previewed ahead of a reveal in the coming months and a launch later this year. Volvo says the new XC70 is designed specifically “to meet the demand for longer-range plug-in hybrids in China” and it will explore “potential additional markets at a later stage”. Technical details remain scarce, but Volvo has promised a pure-electric range of up to 124 miles, which is more than double what the Volvo XC60 PHEV can achieve. The XC70 is described as slightly larger than the XC60 and looks like a downscaled XC90, but it is based on a new architecture…

AUTONOMOUS DRIVING AND the technology behind it played a significant part at the recent Shanghai motor show. For over a decade, the industry has believed that there won’t be a sudden leap from conventional cars to fully automated self-driving cars. Instead, it has expected ADAS features to gradually increase in sophistication until they become capable of taking over control of the car. Currently, the focus for car makers and suppliers is the transition from level two to level three, as laid down by the SAE’s six levels of driving automation. Up to level two (like the latest adaptive cruise control with steering input and lane-keeping), the driver is always ‘driving’ when assistance features are engaged. But at level three, the car is doing the driving unless it asks the driver…

IF THE MANUFACTURE, sale and distribution of new cars wasn’t complex enough, keeping those cars on the road is a whole other story. For Stellantis UK, at the heart of that operation is its new parts distribution centre at Ellesmere Port: a 60,000-square-metre site where 140,000 different types of parts are stacked 14 metres into the air. Parts are sourced, packed and shipped 24/7 at breakneck speed by 234 staff to 19 regional hubs, which then deliver to almost 1000 sites where parts are needed. Four million parts are delivered each year. Leading this centre is Diane Miller, who is enjoying the latest high-profile role in a stellar 34-year career in manufacturing. She is still transitioning from her previous role as plant director of Ellesmere Port, which included an 18-month…

THE 1980s PICANTO Your article about driving a Kia Picanto in Jersey (‘Rock star’, 26 March) brought back wonderful memories of events linked to both. I worked for British Car Auctions during the mid-1980s and some of the many notable closed sales (trade only) were of regular volume transporter loads of Mk2 950cc Ford Fiestas direct from Jersey, still with ‘J’ plates attached. Ford had seen a way to supply ultra-lowmileage stock direct to its dealers by registering these cars with rental firms, bringing them back just a few months later to the mainland, sometimes still with delivery miles, and putting them straight to auction. Mainly flat red, white and blue in colour (how patriotically appropriate), in Popular Plus and L trims, with desirable tilt sunroof, logbook (UK reg plates…

These are challenging times for Mercedes-AMG. Its four-cylinder plug-in hybrid C63 has flopped commercially, prompting a frantic back-pedal announcement that V8 power will return in the CLE 63 coupé (and might even make an appearance in the revised C-Class saloon and estates, due in 2026). So where does that leave the new E53? For now, it’s a replacement for the V8-powered E63 and it follows the same electrification template as the C63. That might sound concerning to Mercedes showroom staff, but in this AMG-flavoured E-Class the petrol part of the powertrain is a 3.0-litre straight six – not a four-banger – which in combination with a 161bhp electric motor produces a thumping 577bhp. My test car also had the £7500 Pro Performance Package, which adds a Race Start mode that…

It can seem like cars are getting homogenised, with a new skateboard-platform EV being launched every other week. But a few intrepid engineers are still toying with concepts that their colleagues have long since abandoned. Mazda has brought back the rotary engine, Suzuki has revived the automated manual gearbox and Audi is betting on the diesel hybrid with cars like the Q5. Following the related A5 saloon and estate replacing the old A4, the Q5 enters a third generation. Going up against the BMW X3, Mercedes GLC and Range Rover Velar, it’s an incredibly important car for Audi, because while EV quotas make the Q6 E-tron the one that Audi needs to push, the combustion-engined mid-size premium SUV is still the car that customers want. To make the piston-powered Q5…

There are few meeting rooms in the British motoring industry that Paul Dickinson hasn’t graced. A real automotive lifer, he started at the Rover Group as an apprentice in 1997 then moved to Jaguar Land Rover’s finance department when the company was bought by BMW. Dickinson would later go on to play a pivotal role in bringing the acclaimed LRX concept to production as the Range Rover Evoque. More recently he spent time at Bentley, where he was central to the conception and growth of the Mulliner coachbuilding division, and he was then finance boss at Group Lotus during the period when it was launching its new Chapman Bespoke division. Wellingborough-based RML Group – a lesser-known and more ‘backstage’ engineering operation, historically rooted in motorsport – may on the face…

The used electric car market remains an erratic place, but there’s good news if you’re after T a touring EV. There’s a huge variety of long-rangers offering some 250 miles of real-world range and rapid charging for usefully under £20,000. If you can, buy from a dealer with EV experience who can provide a battery report. Modern EV batteries are proving to be robust and long-lived, so don’t be afraid of highmileage cars. But with battery degradation still a factor, it’s good to have full transparency on the charging history and state of health for the battery in the car you’re considering. Here’s our pick of what’s available. 1st POLESTAR 2 LONG RANGE SINGLE MOTOR 2021–2023 The Polestar 2 has been a hit from the moment it arrived, thanks to…

WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see how much progress BMW has made with its popular entry-level model between generations I really was taken aback by the discovery that my new BMW 120 incurs the UK government’s ‘luxury car tax’. BMW is undeniably a premium brand, of course, and it’s well known that the threshold for the VED supplement is some £13k lower than it would be if Keir and co reasonably accounted for inflation, but still, this is the cheapest model in BMW’s cheapest series. I’ve always considered the ‘1er’ hatchback a fairly affordable luxury, but evidently no more. Two things are exacerbating matters. First, this series is much slimmer than it once was: as the ‘F40’ made way for the ‘F70’ last year, it took both diesel engines and…

MILEAGE 41,073 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if an approved used car is the best route into Tesla ownership Such is the advanced level of tech, and the lack of obvious wear and tear, that it’s easy to forget my Model 3 is actually more than four years and 40,000 miles old. But there is the odd reminder, such as the fact that the wipers were rubbish and overdue replacement. So I nipped to my local Euro Car Parts and grabbed a set of Valeo wipers – not cheap at £55 the pair – and fired up the Tesla app to check the ‘Do it yourself’ section, which has a useful guide to changing them. Handily, within the Service menu on the central screen is a button for…

TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR COUPE 1997, 85,000 miles, £17,750 This ’97 Celica is a soughtafter rally-bred special. It was imported in 2010 and has new suspension struts, cambelt, clutch and brakes. It has also been tuned to 290bhp and comes with a new MOT. HONDA CIVIC TYPE R EK9 1998, 152,000 miles, £18,995 The original EK9 is considered one of the best Type Rs. This example has done big miles but is in factory-fresh condition. The previous owner fully restored it, with thousands spent on new parts and bodywork. It’s said to drive faultlessly, with no issues from the 1.6-litre VTEC. SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI 1999, 56,000 miles, £35,000 The Impreza became a WRC icon, and this particular WRX STI was built to celebrate the brand’s success. This one was imported…