Table of contents for 1813 in Auto Express

WINNER: MG MG has firmly re-established itself among mainstream UK brands thanks to its blend of excellent EVs – including the award-winning MG4 – strong value, and the halo effect of the Cyberster roadster that’ll finally go on sale this year. The result? Registrations of 81,277 – up 59.22 per cent – are nearly twice as many as Renault, and sandwiches MG between Hyundai and Skoda. WINNER: CUPRA THE Spanish brand’s VW bosses have already said Cupra is the future of SEAT and a 78 per cent increase in registrations in 2023 hammers that point home. Buyers are attracted by the style and drive of Cupra’s cars, although there’s life in SEAT yet. Cupra sales of 25,657 were still short of SEAT’s 32,176, but with the only electric SEAT being…

ANOTHER week, another new Chinese brand launching an EV, right? Not exactly. Much like battery giant BYD, this isn’t a keen but underfunded start-up, but rather an already-established colossus that has made its name and money elsewhere – in Xiaomi’s case, in consumer electronics. This is the firm, after all, that sits behind only Apple and Samsung in the list of top smartphone manufacturers. It also sells everything from fitness trackers to televisions, air purifiers to automated vacuum cleaners. Now, barely 14 years after the company was founded by Lei Jun, it is moving into cars (partly in reaction to stagnating global phone sales). Xiaomi’s initial focus will undoubtedly be its domestic market, but while it hasn’t outlined global plans for the SU7, Europe is bound to be in its…

@stevefowler ● Customers being turned down ● Policy prices skyrocketing LAND Rover owners are up in arms over the brand’s insurance scheme refusing cover for some of its own vehicles. The Land Rover insurance scheme was relaunched last month to help owners, some of whom have been claiming that their vehicles were “uninsurable”. Auto Express reader and Range Rover Velar owner Jonathan Hardwick contacted us, saying “I am alarmed at how my car insurance has gone up three-fold this year. The car has a tracker and is kept behind a locked gate at night, always having a Krooklok fitted when parked. But on comparison sites, the cheapest premium I can find is £1,780.” In an attempt to reduce his premium, Jonathan tried Land Rover’s own insurance but received a message…

HONDA has revealed two radical new concept cars at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week. Part of Honda’s new Zero Series, the two models are simply called Saloon and Space-hub. The Saloon is a sleek, sporty two door with a clear focus on the driver, while the Space-hub is a boxier, more upright, vehicle with a lounge-like interior. Styling-wise, the two concept cars are quite unlike anything we’ve seen from Honda before. The saloon features a long, streamlined body and huge aero wheels. At the front, there’s a gaping mouth – not dissimilar to that of a prowling catfish. This is illuminated in blue, presumably as a nod to its zero-emission powertrain. No details on battery or motor set-up were available at the time of writing.…

@AllieCrooks ● New bumpers and lights at both ends of hatch and estate ● Slight increase in range of PHEV model likely LAST year was a big one for Skoda, with its all-electric future laid bare, and some major unveilings in the shapes of the Superb and Kodiaq. But this year the Czech firm is concentrating on its popular Octavia. There’s not a lot wrong with the current fourth-generation Skoda Octavia; we gave it our coveted Car of the Year Award in 2020, and it won our Estate Car of the Year prize in 2022. But that won’t stop Skoda from looking to improve the formula in 2024, and a teaser posted on its social media confirms an update is due in February. The cloaked car doesn’t give much away,…

IT’S all change over at Alfa Romeo Sauber. The team has been rebranded for the 2024 season with a new name - Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, which will be shortened to Stake F1 for certain races and for in-race commentary. Drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have been retained, and the team will be hoping for vastly improved results, after the Finnish driver took 15th and the Chinese driver 18th in the ’23 Drivers’ Championship. Alfa Romeo came ninth overall in the manufacturers’ standings last year. The Stake F1 name will be a short-lived venture, with Audi set to take over in 2026. Until then, Stake F1 will continue to use Ferrari-supplied engines and will hope the Italian firm’s units won’t suffer the issues that plagued the early part…

@AllieCrooks BIG two-door coupés represent well-trodden ground for Mercedes, but the CLE has been designed as a replacement for two-door versions of the C-Class and E-Class (a convertible is also coming), and as a rival for the BMW 4 Series, it has quite a challenge ahead of it. The new look blends elements from across the Mercedes range, and does so cohesively. You might notice the rear lights are similar to the new GLC’s, and that the front borrows stylistic elements from the C-Class to give the CLE a sleeker profile than its predecessors. It’s easy on the eye, but doesn’t suggest anything overtly sporty – that’s saved for the full-fat AMG variants. The model we have is the CLE 220 d in AMG Line Premium Plus trim. Yes, Mercedes…

@JordanKatsianis Running costs 32.1mpg (official) £117 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 5.4 seconds/155mph THE BMW X6 was one of the earliest iterations of the controversial coupé-SUV genre, first introduced in 2008, and was a sales success. However, a side-effect of its popularity is that this updated third-generation model has a multitude of rivals, from Audi, Mercedes, Porsche and more. The recipe seems simple: take a large SUV and chop a few inches off the roofline at the rear for a less boxy profile. But in the world of coupé-SUVs all things are not equal, and in the case of the X6, there are more changes than meet the eye. These start with the driving position, which is lower and more ensconcing than in the X5, with which the X6 shares its…

VS Dacia Duster Eight-inch Media Display | Key features: Apple CarPlay MANY modern cars come with glitzy touchscreens, digital instrument panels and space-age head-up displays. Unsurprisingly, given Dacia’s no-nonsense nature, the Duster goes without the latter two completely, and even its touchscreen offers only the bare minimum. There’s no built-in navigation, so you’ll have to hook up a smartphone; that’s no bad thing, because Apple CarPlay and Android Auto tend to offer superior route-planning software than the majority of built-in navigation systems. The Duster’s eight-inch screen isn’t particularly sharp to look at or responsive to touch, but it gets the job done adequately. A secondary benefit of offering so few standard features is that it’s quick and easy to get familiar with the layout. Standard kit included Halogen headlights, 16-inch…

IF you’re thinking about financing either of this pair through a PCP, then the Duster is the one to have. Place a £3,000 deposit, and on a three-year deal with a 10,000-mile annual limit, the Dacia comes to £225 a month, while the ZS weighs in at a pricier £391. Of course, the ZS is the more expensive car in this pairing, so the monthly figures are always likely to be higher, but even if you plump for the entry-level Excite trim, this is still £312 a month; either way you’ll need to pay more. However, the three-year deal isn’t the one that most MG buyers will go for, because those who choose a 25-month package will get zero per cent finance, rather than the 8.9 per cent APR on…

BUDGET SUVs The Duster has swept aside the ZS in our test, so what do other members of the team think about our rivals? John McIlroy Editor-at-large “FINANCE departments can be as clever as they like with interest rates and deposit contributions, but Dacia proves that nothing can get close to a punchy retail price where the Duster is concerned. It’s impossible to get this much new car for the money anywhere else.” Rich Ingram Deputy editor “A KEY reason for the Duster’s success – beyond its price or other objective strengths – is that it has bags of character. At this end of the market, that’s a quality which is often hard to find, so it helps the chunky Dacia to stand out even more clearly from the crowd.”…

Running costs 48.7mpg (official) 31% Benefit-in-Kind tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 380/1,322 litres Performance 0-62mph/top speed 7.9 seconds/108mph HAVING spent time living with Honda’s excellent HR-V recently, I was pleased to be offered its bigger brother, the ZR-V, for a few months. The ZR-V not only offers usable room in the boot for our (not-excessively) Large Munsterlander dog (the HR-V’s sloping tailgate meant the load bay was just too confining), but also has a similarly spacious cabin and more oomph from a 2.0-litre petrol/twin electric motor hybrid set-up. It’s lifted from the Civic hatch, along with its entire platform, whereas the HR-V has a 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain. Our ZR-V Sport arrived just before the Christmas break, with its ‘Still Night Pearl’ paintwork set off by a handsome set of chunky…

NEW PRODUCT NightSearcher iSpector UBL Price: £55.74 Contact: nightsearcher.co.uk IF you need to light an engine bay or other large space, there’s a fresh option from NightSearcher as its new under-bonnet cordless light has just gone on sale. The iSpector UBL has a pair of hooks on the rear and hinged 180-degree rotating handles at each end, with strong magnets in the tips, so it can be mounted to van roofs, bonnets or garage ceilings. The LED strip punches out up to 1,200 lumens, and it is dimmable via a rotary switch down to 80 lumens to prolong battery life. NightSearcher says runtime for the 5,000-Kelvin white light is between two and 15 hours, depending on output. The unit is charged via the supplied USB-C lead, and among the optional extras…

BMW Behind The Scenes – limited-edition set Steve Saxty (stevesaxty.com/bmw-behind-the-scenes) Price £244.95 Rating FORMER exec Steve Saxty has been given unprecedented access to the BMW archives and design team to produce three stunning, insightful and enjoyable books. The set covers BMW design past, present and future in BMW by Design, while BMW Art by Design looks at car design as an art form, and BMW’s Hidden Gems unearths unseen models. A limited-edition set, signed, numbered and hand-finished, costs £244.95, while BMW by Design is available on its own for £79.95. Lancia Flaminia and Flavia Colin Pitt (cppress.co.uk) Price: £34.99 Rating: LANCIA literature is a little lacking in places and that’s certainly the case for these models. This book goes some way to addressing that, but does so with little flair.…

CO2/tax 106-115g/km £180 Running costs 55mpg (1.2 Dualjet) £53 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 11.9 seconds/113mph SUZUKI has just unveiled an all-new Swift, which will arrive in fourth-generation form in UK showrooms in a few weeks’ time. It’s an incredibly important car for Suzuki because the Swift sits in a very competitive and crowded segment. With nine million sales notched up so far across the world (across eight generations globally), we’re expecting big things of the new model, not least because the outgoing model is a very likeable supermini in many ways. But cars in this class today have to be very well rounded, with a wide range of talents, so the big question is whether the current version has what it takes to compete in a large pool of outstanding…

THE year just gone was the most dramatic ever for the rise and rise of newer, fresher, humbler firms with ‘can do’ attitudes. But it must be acknowledged that the door to sales success was conveniently and stupidly left wide open to these companies. For this, several longer-established, staler, sleepier, ‘more prestigious’ (or maybe not) rival outfits based in countries such as Germany, France and Britain were caught napping. Across 2023, several hard-working manufacturers not so strong on heritage but with confidence, ambition and raw talent, took on and beat their seemingly complacent, allegedly superior rivals where it matters most – on the showroom floors. In Division 1 of the UK’s ’23 new-car sales contest, VW remained the undisputed champ, Ford the worthy runner-up, with Audi grabbing the final podium…

@rsp_ingram ● Electric executive saloon will expand Volvo’s portfolio ● Prototypes now being tested ahead of a reveal later in 2024 VOLVO is gearing up to launch an EV successor to the S90 saloon later this year, according to pictures and information leaked online. Swedish motoring magazine Teknikens Värld says the first pre-production examples have been built, suggesting we may soon see cars testing on public roads. The details come after an image (below, right) was shared on Volvo’s employee intranet system, showing a car covered by a sheet and surrounded by workers at one of the brand’s factories in China. The banner above the car reads: ‘Volvo Cars V551 First VP Car Celebration’ – V551 being the new model’s internal code name, and VP signifying this is a verification…

NEW laws came into force on 3 January, enacting what the Government claims is the world’s most ambitious regulatory framework for the transition to electric vehicles – otherwise known as the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate. The ZEV Mandate stipulates that manufacturers must sell increasing numbers of electric or zero-emissions vehicles as a percentage of their overall sales total. It kicks off this year with a target of 22 per cent for cars and 10 per cent for vans, rising next year to 28 per cent for cars and 16 per cent for vans, eventually reaching 100 per cent by 2035. Manufacturers risk fines of £15,000 per vehicle it sells that miss those targets, but flexibilities exist for the first three years to enable them to bank, borrow or buy credits.…

Prices released for electric Merc SUVs MERCEDES has revealed prices for its new EQA and EQB electric SUVs (above), while both get a revised look and kit. The EQA costs from £49,750 in 250+ Sport Executive guise and features the latest MBUX infotainment system. The base seven-seat EQB 250+ starts at £52,800, and now has the maker’s upgraded 70.5kWh battery for up to 321 miles of range – nearly 70 miles more than before. Both cars are on sale now. BT broadband boxes in chargepoint trial TELECOMS giant BT has initiated a trial to turn its green kerbside broadband boxes into electric-car chargepoints. The first unit went live in East Lothian, Scotland this week, and if successful, could pave the way for up to 60,000 new street-side chargepoints. BT says…

@Autoexpress YOUR VIEWS This week’s letters Time to think big on parking space sizes FROM: Christopher Church WE really need a campaign to make car parking spaces a lot wider. I recently had to rescue a lady who couldn’t get into her Audi estate because it was sandwiched in by two large SUVs. I had to climb through her car to get to the controls – ridiculous! Full marks to local tyre fitter for service FROM: William Robertson YOUR eBay tyre article (issue 1,810/11) gave some excellent advice. I always change tyres well before the legal limit, but when I bought tyres from an online supplier, one arrived with chalk marks from a previous fitting. My fitter arranged new replacements at the same price. I think it’s time that Volvo…

@stevefowler ALTHOUGH car sales soared in 2023 – up 17.9 per cent year on year – much of that was a case of supply heading back to normal levels after a difficult 2022, with a backlog of orders built up due to parts shortages being fulfilled. This means it’s tricky to gauge what new car demand is really like. But when it comes to EVs – which are set to be the future of motoring for new car buyers in years ahead – the picture is less rosy. Business users, persuaded by the tax benefits, love their EVs, it seems. Yet private buyers seem less keen. So what’s putting people off the adoption of this new tech? READER VIEWS: We asked and you replied… AUDI Q2 owner Gorden Gidney has…

@AxleIngram Electric motor Power/range 154bhp/246 miles Performance 0-62mph/top speed 8.2 seconds/93mph VAUXHALL has seen fit to treat the Corsa to a cosmetic facelift for 2024, which introduces the distinctive ‘Vizor’ face, plus tech improvements courtesy of a sharper infotainment system. But the tweaks are more than skin deep for the Corsa Electric, because there’s an upgraded powertrain to examine, too. It’s encouraging to see Vauxhall still pushing for improvement in this segment. From a consumer’s perspective, superminis are perfectly suited to electrification: cars built primarily for urban journeys, with compact dimensions but no local emissions – a logical answer to the problem of both urban congestion and air quality. The new powertrain itself is one that’s not completely alien to us, having already featured in the Jeep Avenger. It will…

@AxleIngram Running costs 22.2mpg (official) £100 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 3.9 seconds/208mph THREE hundred and thirty four kilometres per hour. That translates to 208mph, and marks the official top speed of the Maserati Ghibli 334 Ultima. In short, that means this is the fastest road car Maserati has ever produced, faster even than the marque’s stunning (202mph) MC20 modern-day supercar. Even the 2004 Ferrari Enzo-based MC12 had an official top speed of ‘only’ 205mph. The Ghibli 334 has been produced for a poignant reason though, because it marks the end of the Maserati V8. Just 103 cars will be built, but make no mistake, the 334 (and its engine) is going out with a bang. It’s based on the Ghibli Trofeo, which means under the bonnet there’s a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre…

MODEL TESTED: Duster TCe 130 4x2 Expression PRICE: £19,695 POWERTRAIN: 1.3-litre 4cyl turbo petrol, 127bhp 127bhp Powertrain 1.3-litre 4cyl 50 litres Fuel tank £70 fill up 10.6 seconds Performance 112mph 445 litres Seats up/down 1,623 litres IN Expression trim and with the TCe 130 powertrain, the Duster just manages to dip below the £20,000 mark – something of a rarity in the new car world, especially for something with so much space. So is there a catch? Tech highlights SINCE we last sampled the Duster in an in-depth review, the Romanian marque has undergone a rebranding. Under this, the range will be given a slightly more rugged lifestyle image, albeit one with a continued focus on strong value for money. In the case of the Duster, so far this new…

WINNER Dacia Duster 1st DACIA really has the budget angle sewn up across several categories, and the Duster continues to be the bargain, no-frills SUV that we’d pick. There’s more than enough space for a family and their stuff inside, while the driving experience doesn’t feel compromised, due to a comfortable ride and a punchy petrol engine. While the Duster isn’t without its flaws, these niggles are fairly minor, and the low asking price makes them easy to forgive. Finally, it has a sense of charm that is largely lacking elsewhere in this segment. • Low price• Soft ride• Decent performance• Spacious cabin • Short on standard kit• Vague steering• Noisy at motorway speeds• Cheap plastics in cabin INTERESTED? Scan the code for further information RUNNER-UP MG ZS 2nd AS…

SAME CLASS Hyundai Tucson IF you don’t care about having a brand-new car on your driveway, then £20k gets you in a 2021 version of our threetime mid-size SUV of the year winner. The Tucson feels much more substantial than either the MG or Dacia – both to drive or merely just to sit in – and even in entry-level SE Connect trim it feels much more expensive. The Tucson also benefits from superb rear-seat space, and there’s a vast 620-litre boot, too. • Space, comfort, quality• In-car tech • Engine short on refinement• Rivals are more fun to drive SAME MONEY Skoda Kamiq THE Kamiq isn’t quite at the Duster’s price point as a new car, but it comes close – and 18-month old examples start at around £19,000.…

Running costs 48.9mpg (on test) £78 fill-up/£180 or 30% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 510/1,360 litres ‘TEAMWORK makes the dream work’ goes the famous saying and, after three months and almost 3,000 miles, the Citroen C4 X has proved to be a great companion. It’s not been perfect (more of that later), but its reliable nature and ability to make smooth work of the hustle and bustle of daily life hasn’t gone unnoticed. There are some basic requirements that are needed for any car to be a successful family motor. Firstly, there has to be enough space and, while I wouldn’t say the C4 X is outstanding in this area, it’s respectable. Despite its sleek fastback appearance, the chunky Citroen has a saloon-style boot opening that reveals a decent 510-litre…

NEW PRODUCT Hankook iON FlexClimate all-season tyre Price: TBC Contact: hankooktire.com HANKOOK has completed its range of tyres specifically designed for electric vehicles, with the launch of the iON FlexClimate all-season option. It joins the summer iON evo and winter iON i*cept, and will be available in eight common EV and SUV sizes initially. Hankook plans to expand the range to cover other popular EV sizes, spanning 17 to 21-inch wheels, after the initial launch. While Hankook is firmly on the side of the industry that believes EVs require tyres tailored to their particular needs, all iON designs can be fitted to hybrid and combustion-engine vehicles. The FlexClimate tread features 3D sipes for wet and snow grip, with 2-in-1 high-density versions focusing on the latter. The FlexClimate has M+S and 3PMSF…

Virtual tyre testing to offer real benefits CONTINENTAL plans to streamline tyre testing with its new simulator. The virtual tyre tests will take place using a driver-in-the-loop simulator (above), capable of calculating the exact dynamic parameters for the tyres and the vehicle they’ll be fitted to. Continental hopes to save raw materials and cut development times, especially for tyres fitted on new cars. The driver will feel all degrees of vehicle dynamics, while passenger or commercial vehicles, whether petrol, electric or hybrid, can be evaluated, with adjustments made on the fly. Harrods takes little step into car sales WELL heeled young customers can now buy their very own Ferrari from Harrods. The Little Car Company’s Testa Rossa J is on show in a bespoke display in the store’s Technology Hall.…

@stevefowler ● Ford Puma was Britain’s best-selling car in 2023 ● Volkswagen is UK’s favourite car brand ● Car market grows by 17.9 per cent; EV share slows FORD had Britain’s best-selling car in 2023 according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). However, it’s now the Ford Puma that sits at the top of the car registrations league table rather than the Fiesta, following Ford’s decision to cease production of its supermini last year. Just shy of 50,000 Pumas were registered in the UK in the past 12 months. In second place was 2022’s biggest seller, the British-built Nissan Qashqai, with 43,321 registrations, while 2021’s biggest seller, the Vauxhall Corsa, took third place with 40,816 registrations. The Kia Sportage and Tesla Model Y round off…

@EllisDrives ● Aerodynamic saloon has Porsche Taycan in its sights ● Can add 317 miles of range in just 15 minutes “The Xiaomi SU7 offers up to 497 miles of range and 0-62mph time under three seconds – enough to worry a Tesla Model S or Porsche Taycan” ROUGHLY a decade after it was rumoured that Apple would launch its own car, we’ve still not seen anything of the sort. But now another smartphone manufacturer has broken out into the automotive segment: meet the Xiaomi SU7. The Chinese phone brand is hunting some big game with its first car, too, because the all-electric saloon is set to rival the likes of the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S. On paper at least, it looks like the SU7 could have a…

THIS WAY TO UNBEATABLE SAVINGS 6 ISSUES FOR JUST £27.00 PLUS A FREE GIFT 13 ISSUES FOR JUST £27.00 PLUS A FREE GIFT 6 ISSUES FOR JUST £27.00 PLUS DIGITAL EDITONS VISIT US AT SUBSCRIBE.AUTOEXPRESS.CO.UK/JAN24 to claim your special offer or call 0330 333 9491 using code DJ24 SCAN AND SUBCRIBE Calls to 03 numbers will be charged at your standard local rate. This offer closes on 31st January 2024. Discounts are based on the shop price of a single issue. The number of issues ordered will be displayed upon checkout. Offer only available on subscriptions delivered to UK addresses.…

@johnmcilroy ● VW responds to criticisms ● New assist systems pledged VOLKSWAGEN has announced that a refreshed version of the Golf Mk8 will be unveiled before the end of this month – and the German brand has already allowed us a peek inside to see the revised interior of the iconic family hatchback. The Golf marks its 50th birthday in 2024, and a recent shift of VW policy means that a ninth generation, powered solely by electricity, is being lined up to continue the story in the second half of the decade. But VW needs to continue selling combustion-powered examples for several years yet, and to help with this, it has put additional focus on correcting some usability issues in the current Golf’s cabin. VW has issued teaser images of…

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 makers…

@AllieCrooks ● Grosjean and Button on the grid for enduro ● Weekend of practice and qualifying ahead THIS year’s IMSA SportsCar Championship begins at the 24 Hours of Daytona on 27-28 January, but before then we’ll get the ‘Roar before the 24’, which is two days of action and qualifying the weekend before the big race. With test sessions taking place in front of fans, the ‘Roar’ should give us a flavour of the upcoming endurance season. This year promises plenty of excitement, with more entrants than ever in the top-tier. New regulations shook up last year’s IMSA championship, with Grand Touring Prototype becoming the new flagship class, which allows cars from the Le Mans Hypercar series to enter. In 2024 we’ll see the addition of Lamborghini with its LMP2-based…

THE new year heralds the start of the 10th season of Formula E, and it should be a cracker as teams continue to get to grips with the latest generation of envelope-pushing electric single-seaters. The 2024 calendar kicks off this coming weekend in Mexico City, and includes exciting new street events in Tokyo and Shanghai. The ultimate electric single-seater formula with its low-carbon philosophy was not immediately embraced by all motorsport fans a decade ago, but there’s no doubt there’s a buzz around the Formula E championship today. Last year, it’s claimed that more than 225 million viewers watched live coverage, making it the fourth most popular motorsport on the planet, overtaking NASCAR. And with two huge new city venues on the calendar, there are high hopes for the 2024…

@AllieCrooks Electric motor Power/range 422bhp/258 miles Performance 0-62mph/top speed 3.7 seconds/112mph MENTION ‘Smart Car’ to most people and you’ll most likely be met with a retort about the tiny, yet iconic, Smart ForTwo, which was originally known by the synonymous Smart Car moniker. But the manufacturer is redefining itself, and as part of that it’s launching its second SUV, the Smart #3 (driven issue 1,809). As with the first, the #1, the newcomer is available in extremely hot Brabus form. The two firms go way back, thanks to Smart’s parent company Mercedes’ longrunning involvement with the German tuner. The original ForTwo was also tweaked by Brabus, and several Smarts have received similar modifications since. The #1 and #3 go several steps further than previous models, though, thanks to the possible…

MODEL TESTED: ZS 1.0 T-GDi Exclusive PRICE: £22,070 POWERTRAIN: 1.0-litre 3cyl turbo petrol, 109bhp 109bhp Powertrain 1.0 litre 3cyl 48 litres Fuel tank £68 fill up 10.5 seconds Performance 112mph 448 litres Seats up/down 1,375 litres IN fully electric form, the MG ZS EV is very keenly priced against its rivals. With a petrol engine under the bonnet, however, the ZS is a little more pricey than its closest opponents. In top-spec Exclusive trim, the ZS we have here costs £22,070, which means it’s £2,375 more expensive than the Duster it lines up beside. Tech highlights THE mechanical make-up of the ZS is fairly simple. As with many of the cars at the more affordable end of the market, power comes from a three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine; the unit itself…

SAME CLASS Citroen C3 Aircross FEW crossovers can claim to dip under the £20,000 mark, but with prices starting from £16,970, the C3 Aircross comfortably falls under that threshold. It’s a little smaller than the two cars in this contest, but neat packaging means that it’s still spacious inside. A 410-litre boot climbs to an impressive 520 litres with the sliding rear bench moved forward. A relaxing driving experience comes courtesy of a soft ride and Citroen’s ‘Advanced Comfort’ seats, which feel as soothing as a favourite armchair. Engine choices include petrols producing between 109bhp and 129bhp, plus a torquey diesel promising 53.9mpg. • Competitive prices• Comfortable ride• Practical for its size • Woolly steering• Clunky automatic gearbox• Patchy cabin quality SAME MONEY Renault Captur EVER since the second-generation Captur…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk DEPENDING on your car, changing bulbs can be the work of a moment or require major dismantling and removal of panels. If swapping lamps involves just undoing a couple of screws, slipping the headlight unit out of the car and changing bulbs with nothing in your way, long-life versions will hold less appeal than if the job is a pain. Too often you end up fighting to fit a bulb in a space restricted by other under-bonnet kit such as the battery. In those situations, a bulb designed to last up to three times as long as a standard version is attractive. And that’s all the more true when you compare long-life designs with what our tests focus on: performance bulbs, which have a significantly shorter…

CHARGING your phone while you drive is a safe and sensible choice, especially if you use it for work and want to ensure it’s always ready to go. Now there are two new fast-charging adaptors from PULSE that will help to keep your phone permanently topped up. But how do these newcomers fare against our current favourite from Olixar, which has been uprated since we last tested it? We assessed each adaptor by topping up Samsung Galaxy S10e and S20 FE smartphones for half an hour from 50 per cent charged – both separately and then, where possible, at the same time. The new PULSE 60 gave a great performance, its twincharging results showing the benefits of the USB-C sockets. Meanwhile, its stablemate is great if space is at a…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk RESULTS for this 3 Series look mediocre; it’s rated in the top third of the Driver Power survey in just one category: infotainment sneaks in at 25th. The next-highest category for satisfaction is practicality, at 37th, while 59th for driving pleasure, 61st for steering response and 64th for braking smoothness suggest that there’s plenty of room for improvement. Owners are also relatively unimpressed with the number of safety features fitted, ranking the 3 Series in 67th, which coincidentally is the same position given to their BMWs’ servicing costs. Thanks to fuel economy placing in 18th, the running-costs category doesn’t score quite as poorly as it might have done, although it still comes in at a disappointing 55th. WE SAID “With its class-leading mix of economy and performance, the 3…