Table of contents for 1806 in Auto Express

Merc’s sleek new CLE coupé costs from £47k MERCEDES has announced prices for its new CLE coupé, which starts from £46,605 in CLE 200 AMG Line guise. Standard kit includes 18-inch wheels, LED lights, two screens, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Nappa leather steering wheel, ambient lighting and wireless phone charging. There are two more petrol engines and a diesel, with the range-topping CLE 450 Premier Edition costing £72,765. Question marks over supermarket fuel cost THE Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised concerns about the lack of proper competition between the big supermarkets. Fuel prices rose during June, July and August, driven by an increase in global oil prices. However, “wholesale prices then reduced in September and October, while retail prices did not,” the CMA said. “While…

THE Government’s new Automated Vehicles Bill, announced in the King’s Speech last week, is said to “put safety and the protection of the user” at the heart of future UK driving law. It will ensure that only the driver – whether a human or the vehicle itself – is accountable for any collisions or injuries, implementing recommendations put forward by the Law Commission’s four-year review. Importantly, the Bill will protect users of self-driving vehicles from accountability, by giving them immunity from prosecution whenever self-driving is active. The new legislative framework will mean that only vehicles capable of driving themselves safely while following all road traffic rules, without the need for human intervention, will be classified as ‘self-driving’. The Department for Transport will be responsible for drawing up the new regulations.…

THE following provide help with motoring problems. Some services are free, others charge a fee or operate on premium-rate lines (p), while some offer advice for members only (m) Legal AA: 0345 850 1130 (m) RAC: 0330 159 1446 (m) Citizens Advice Consumer helpline: 03454 040506 Local Trading Standards Local Citizens Advice Bureau Used car inspections AA: 0800 056 8040 RAC: 0330 159 0720 Technical advice AA: 0370 142 0002 (m) Driving licences DVLA: 0300 790 6801 Car registration/history HPI: 0113 222 2010 AA: 0800 316 3564 DVLA: 0300 790 6802 RAC: 0808 164 1923 Traffic information AA: 0906 888 4322 RAC: 09003 444999 (p) Problems with dealers The Motor Ombudsman: 0345 241 3008 Consumer Ombudsman: www.consumer-ombudsman.org RMIF: 0845 305 4230 Scottish Motor Trade Assoc. 0131 331 5510 Problems with…

THE SF90 XX Stradale is the most extreme street car Ferrari has ever made. That’s quite a statement, yet not only is this the brand’s most powerful road-legal model, but it is also the first with number plates to get the fabled XX treatment. Like all XX models, this means a focus on aggressive aerodynamics to generate race-car levels of downforce (530kg at 155mph). It also showcases the latest developments in suspension, transmission, stability-control and braking-control systems. Production of the XX is limited to 1,398 units, divided between 799 Coupés and 599 Spiders. Priced at £673,584, the XX Stradale Coupé costs roughly 40 per cent more than its regular SF90 counterpart. All examples are already sold, naturally. The results of the XX transformation are spectacular, as we discovered during laps…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk THERE were fast cars, and there were estate cars, but there were no truly fast estate cars before Audi and Porsche got together and unleashed the RS 2 Avant upon the world in 1994. In the same year, the Channel Tunnel was opened by The Queen, while McLaren unveiled the mighty F1 which, by the way, the four-wheel-drive, 311bhp RS 2 could out-accelerate – up to about 38mph… During the 29 years that have followed, Audi has crafted the RS Avant into a breed of its own, creating a car-culture unlike any other in motoring. Along the way there have been numerous versions to choose from boasting different powertrains, all of them four wheel-drive, each of them eye-wateringly quick. Some have been good, some have bordered on genius, while…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy Running costs 404mpg (official) £62 fill-up “Prius shares the same basic platform as the Corolla and it’s a decent drive” THE Mk5 Toyota Prius very nearly didn’t make it to the UK, thanks to the success of models such as the Corolla and C-HR (left). But last week (Issue 1,805) the maker backtracked, confirming the minicab favourite will be sold here from 2024. How does the Prius compare with the Corolla? That conventional-looking five-door hatch doesn’t need plugging in, yet offers fuel economy north of 50mpg, rising the more that you drive it around town. It can complete a surprising number of urban trips on electricity alone, leaving relatively little space above it before you begin to consider EVs. The latest Prius is designed to fit into that…

Jordan_Katsianis@autovia.co.uk @JordanKatsianis Running costs 52.4mpg (official) £101 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 8.2 seconds/140mph THIS really is a car of two halves. On the one hand, the new Mercedes GLC Coupé flies so high that it absolutely shines with the inherited engineering expertise you’d expect from a company such as Mercedes. Yet on the other it’s let down by seemingly simple things. By far and away the most impressive element is its brilliant mild-hybrid powertrain. The GLC’s 2.0-litre diesel engine is a great all-rounder and especially well suited to its role as a long-distance cruiser. Supported by a very effective mild-hybrid system, the engine is superbly refined, has a wide-ranging and flexible power delivery, and works brilliantly with the nine-speed automatic transmission. Being the entry-level engine, the car’s on-paper performance figures…

Andy_Pringle@autovia.co.uk THEY say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but as I embark on six months with a Volkswagen ID.3, I feel like a learner driver all over again. You see, although I’ve been reviewing cars for more than 30 years and driven plenty with plugs, this is the first time I’ve ever run a pure-electric car on a long-term basis. True, I’ve run a couple of plug-in hybrids, so I’m more than happy to top up a car’s battery at home. But I confess I’ve never really dug into the details of kilowatt hours, batteries, cables and chargers. Then again, the ID.3 – and this 77kWh version in particular – should mean the learning curve isn’t too steep. It’s quite clearly a conventional five-door hatchback, which means…

POLESTAR has partnered with battery company StoreDot to develop new tech that can add over 100 miles of range in five minutes. The extreme fast charging system (XFC) was previewed at the 2023 Polestar Day in Los Angeles. Polestar aims to showcase a prototype version of the Polestar 5 (right) with the XFC system in 2024, with potential applications in future production models. The key to this tech, though, is that it does not rely on next-generation batteries, and can be integrated with existing systems. Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said: “StoreDot’s pioneering extreme fast charging batteries, combined with our upcoming top-of-the-line electric powertrain, can revolutionise the experience for EV owners.”…

Chris_rosamond@autovia.co.uk A SPIKE in demand for cheaper used EVs has been reported by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which says the number of pre-owned battery electric vehicles (BEVs) changing hands doubled in the third quarter of this year. A rise of 99.9 per cent in used BEV sales means they reached a record 1.8 per cent share of the second-hand market, in part thanks to prices falling as more company-owned electric cars are ‘de-fleeted’. Online marketplace Auto Trader reported the average price of a used BEV was around £32,000 at the end of October, with prices for second-hand electric models appearing to stabilise at around 20 per cent below prices this time last year. It says used EV options in some cases now undercut similarly aged petrol…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress HOT TOPIC Tesla vs Polestar FROM: Mike McKeown I’VE driven both for several months and prefer the Tesla. It’s faster, more fun to drive and the tech is better. It’s very relaxing on long drives or in traffic where it basically drives itself with supervision, which the Polestar doesn’t. FROM: Peter Anastopulos TESLA for sure is better sorted out and actually cheaper. I also don’t trust Polestar/Chinese build or the ownership by Geely, because you’re kidding yourself if there’s any Volvo quality left after the Geely takeover. Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk “These things are like driving a real car fitted with a fuel tank that only holds 20 litres of petrol.” Steve Brett “Given what I’ve seen in reliability rankings, I’d prefer whichever one falls to bits…

Alex_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @AxleIngram ● First F1 race to be held in Las Vegas since 1982 ● New 3.85-mile circuit includes famous Strip THIS weekend, Formula One heads to the USA for the third time in 2023, for a new race in Las Vegas. The sport last raced here in 1982; the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, on what was, in effect, a track around the casino’s car park, took place in exhausting heat, with Michele Alboreto taking his first of five F1 wins. This time, the track will be a little more involved than in the previous iteration. The Strip Circuit around the streets of the Nevada city will take in the famous Las Vegas Strip itself. However, this isn’t a tight Monaco-like track; the 3.85-mile layout, which features 17 turns and…

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Alastair_Crooks@autovia.co.uk @AllieCrooks Practicality Boot (seats up) 500 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 6.5 seconds/112mph WE’VE been made to wait for the Volkswagen ID.7. It was previewed by the ID. Vizzion way back in 2018, a concept that was pitched (at the time) as an all-electric saloon that could replace the long-departed Phaeton limousine. Sure enough, now that it’s arrived, the ID.7 is positioned as VW’s flagship EV. It will also be offered in ‘Tourer’ estate guise. Rivals include the newly facelifted Tesla Model 3, which costs under £40,000, and the £46,000 Hyundai Ioniq 6. The ID.7 costs from £55,570 in Pro Launch Edition guise, pitching it between these compact executive electric cars and the more premium BMW i5. At least the ID.7 boasts a couple of great headline figures when it…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk THE Toyota Aygo is a diminutive city car, so it’s no surprise that owners aren’t inspired by its interior or practicality; it’s close to the bottom of the pack for all aspects of accommodation and versatility. Acceleration and gearbox smoothness scores are weak too (ranked 71st and 67th respectively), as are an unimpressive 66th place for driving pleasure and similar scores for the Aygo’s safety features. Keeping the Aygo out of the relegation zone is a much-needed sixth for economy, but owners are only moderately impressed by the little car’s servicing and insurance costs (in 39th and 37th). Value for money is only a middling 29th too, suggesting owners might have been hoping for a little more in all these areas. WE SAID “The Aygo is fun and super-frugal,…

PROFESSIONALLY and personally I tend to mostly like, sometimes love, and occasionally loathe the things that car companies say and do. But with Volvo it’s a genuine case of all three. First, the bits I like most: I’ve driven combustion-engined Volvos on frozen lakes in Sweden, the forests of Finland and some of the hottest and coldest tracks and trails in Canada and the USA – all with 100 per cent reliability (apart from a rear light failure) and satisfaction, ta very much. Back home I’ve bought and run old-school, tanklike second-hand Volvos for decades. The P1800 ES that I purchased 30-odd years ago (and still have in my modest collection) was/is best because it’s a usable, practical classic that’s never let me down. Another favourite was the pig-ugly 850…

Steve_Walker@autovia.co.uk @steve_cars ● We ride in new crossover ● Expected in the UK next year POLESTAR says it will go from selling 60,000 cars in 2023 to 160,000 in 2025. But how will it go about achieving that kind of growth? The new, all-electric Polestar 4 will do a lot of the heavy lifting. We were invited to Los Angeles to take a ride in a near-production prototype of the new 4 and learn more about a car that was first revealed in April 2023 at the Shanghai Motor Show, but is due to be on sale in the UK just over a year later. First, some background. The Polestar 4 is a mid-size coupé-SUV set to cost from around £55,000. It’s smaller than the Polestar 3, which will go…

POLESTAR also revealed the exterior of its upcoming Polestar 5 at the 2023 Polestar Day event in Los Angeles. The car, which features a new, bespoke bonded aluminium chassis, and has been developed in the UK, is a luxury four-door GT that will top the Polestar line-up as a rival to cars like the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan when it’s launched in 2025. We already had a good idea of how the Polestar 5 would look, thanks to the appearance of a disguised prototype car at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed and a set of leaked patent images. Now, however, the car’s exterior design is officially out of the bag. The 5’s styling is an obvious evolution from 2020’s Polestar Precept Concept. At the front, the trademark…

THE average retail price of a new electric car on sale in China is now less than half the average price in Europe, at £27,153 compared with £58,256. In the UK the average asking price is even higher, at almost £62,000, according to a new report from JATO Dynamics. While European car makers focus on premium models to boost profits, they continue to call for taxpayer incentives to reduce prices and help them meet targets in the 2024 ZEV Mandate. Some of the arguments for and against new EV incentives are outlined in our column (right). The JATO report provides stark evidence of how Euro car brands’ focus on profitability over volume has left an opening for Chinese competition. Of 235 different battery-electric vehicles sold in China, only 54 (23…

PREMIUM brands performed strongly in October, with the MINI, Volvo XC40, BMW 1 Series and Audi A3 all appearing in the top 10 best-sellers list for the month. Even the Volkswagen Polo supermini rose up the rankings, highlighting the allure of a desirable badge. The MINI hatch is due to be replaced next year, but that didn’t stop it taking second place in the charts behind the Ford Puma. The Audi A3 is also due an update, but the current model is still doing well, with a strong October bumping it into this year’s overall top 10. Elsewhere, the Puma is looking to improve on a fourth-place finish in 2022 by taking the outright lead in 2023. Last year’s most popular new car, the Vauxhall Corsa, is still going strong in…

Alastair_Crooks@autovia.co.uk @AllieCrooks ● Quick Countryman unveiled ● On sale now, from £42,120 MINI teased a new John Cooper Works (JCW) version of its larger Countryman SUV at the Munich show back in September. Now we have the first official pictures of the model, complete with UK specs and prices. The new MINI retains the UKL2 platform, which it shares with its BMW X1 sister car, and the JCW formula also stays the same: a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine and an ‘ALL4’ four-wheel drive system. Sport suspension has also been fitted to the JCW, lowering the ride height by 16mm, along with a beefier braking system. This latest model – the first to feature a redesigned JCW badge – has 296bhp and 400Nm of torque, which is 5bhp and 50Nm less…

Jordan_Katsianis@autovia.co.uk @JordanKatsianis TOYOTA’S popular C-HR crossover has been totally revamped for 2023, and features a selection of considerable improvements on the original model, which sold more than 840,000 units in the UK and Europe since it was launched in 2016. Coming to Britain with a range of hybrid and – from early next year – plug-in hybrid powertrains, the second-generation C-HR lines up in a competitive segment with plenty of firepower to back its challenge. In the UK, the range will launch in four permanent grades, with an extra Premier Edition available for the first 12 months. The lower three specs feature a 138bhp 1.8-litre hybrid powertrain, with the flashier GR Sport and Premier Edition packing a more powerful 193bhp 2.0-litre hybrid setup. In both cases, drive is sent to…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 605/1,755 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 4.1 seconds/155mph AMID the inexorable push toward EVs, the market for combustion-powered big SUVs is beginning to wither somewhat. But Audi still wants (or needs) to extract a few more years of service from its SUV flagship. So along with the updated Q8 (Issue 1,805) it has also treated the go-faster SQ8 to a series of mainly cosmetic tweaks, in a bid to boost its showroom appeal. And we really are talking about mostly visual upgrades here; there are redesigned, slimmer headlights that free up space for a neater front-grille arrangement, assisted further by a more aggressive bumper. At the rear there’s a prominent diffuser, which incorporates four working exhaust pipes for once (no fake tips here, thank you).…

Steve_Fowler@autovia.co.uk @stevefowler AS Auto Express’s resident geek, I love my tech. Yet even I will admit that some car makers seem to go overboard on gadgets that will either never be used or are so distracting that they verge on dangerous. For me, BMW has always managed to strike the perfect balance between exciting tech and usability; its iDrive system has been the best since day one. And now, with the company’s flashy iX on my driveway, it’s proving that BMW is still way ahead when it comes to useful tech. I may be overplaying it slightly, but BMW’s Digital Key has changed my life. For all that BMW does right, its car keys are so wrong – huge, lumpy and uncomfortable. So allowing me to use my phone (which…

CO2/tax 0-130g/km £0-£180 Running costs 48-56mpg (PureTech 100) £68 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.9 seconds/117mph LAST year marked half a century since Peugeot introduced its first supermini, the now largely forgotten 104. After many years of producing saloons and estates, with the odd convertible thrown in for good measure, the company embraced the hatchback. Ever since then it has offered a whole raft of small cars, arguably peaking with the 205, which made its debut 40 years ago. The 206 and 207 that came after sold in big numbers, but they didn’t have that ‘je ne sais quoi’ of the 205. Then the 208 arrived in 2012, and it immediately proved that Peugeot was on an upward trajectory with its design and engineering. The transformation was complete when an all-new…