Table of contents for 1822 in Auto Express

Jordan_Katsianis@autovia.co.uk ● Maximum 603bhp from PHEV ● Saloon and Estate available “Replacing the previous twin-turbo V8 is a new 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine, paired with a powerful electric motor” MERCEDES-AMG has taken the wraps off its new high-performance E-Class – the E 53 4MATIC – introducing a brand-new plug-in hybrid powertrain in the process. This tech is accompanied by some major chassis and styling upgrades for the saloon and estate models. Prices have yet to be confirmed, but the E 53 is likely to start at over £100,000 when it arrives this year. The new E 53 matches the outgoing V8-powered E 63 S with a peak power output of 603bhp. However, the manner in which the pair generate that figure could not be more different. Replacing the previous twin-turbocharged…

NEW-car registrations returned to pre-Covid levels for the first time last month, with the highest February sales since 2004. Fleet sales rose 25.2 per cent and company car demand was up 15.5 per cent, but private registrations fell 2.6 per cent. Electrified vehicles are continuing to grow in popularity, with fully electric vehicles up 21.3 per cent over 2023, plug-in hybrids up 30.4 per up per cent and hybrids up 3.3 per cent. However, most of this was down to fleet demand, because private interest has faltered (see left). The Ford Puma topped the February charts overall, with 2,535 examples sold.…

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…

UK prices for the new Dacia Spring city car have been revealed. And with a starting figure of £14,995, it is officially Britain’s cheapest new electric car. The Spring is offered with a choice of 44bhp and 64bhp electric motors, both powered by a 26.8kWh battery to deliver up to 137 miles of range. There are a pair of specs to choose from, too: Expression includes air-con and rear parking sensors, plus a phone holder and USB charge port. Extreme trim costs £16,995 and gets the more powerful motor, electric mirrors and rear windows, and a 10-inch screen with Apple and Android tech.…

Alex_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @AxleIngram “This is a car for wafting; the ride is soft and forgiving, which makes it a very comfortable and relaxing motorway cruiser” THIS is the Kia EV9 Air – the latest and least expensive model in the Korean brand’s seven-seat electric SUV line-up. The last model we tested (a flashy, dual-motor GT Line S) came to £75,995 – a car which, incidentally, is £750 cheaper now than it was in December. This new Air model drops things even further (£64,245) – not far off what you’ll pay for a basic Land Rover Discovery D300 mild-hybrid diesel. And even though this is the cheapest EV9 you can buy, it’s absolutely packed with kit. Air comes with 19-inch wheels, twin 12.3-inch screens, wireless Apple and Android connectivity, keyless entry, a…

MODEL TESTED: X5 xDrive50e M Sport PRICE: £80,835 POWERTRAIN: 3.0-litre 6cyl twin-turbo petrol, 483bhp 483bhp Powertrain 3.0 litre 6cyl twin turbo 69 litres Fuel tank £99 fill up 4.8 seconds Performance 146mph 500 litres Seats up/down 1,720 litres A REVISED plug-in hybrid powertrain was introduced to the X5 line-up at the end of 2023, and with it came more power and a new name, because the xDrive45e was replaced by the xDrive50e. It only comes in M Sport trim, while the £80,835 list price of our test car was bumped up by £19,104 worth of options. Tech highlights THE xDrive50e gets a new number because its combined output is a healthy 95bhp more than the outgoing xDrive45e had. And with 483bhp on tap, it’s 20bhp ahead of the Cayenne, too.…

WHILE plug-in hybrid powertrains are designed to help reduce everyday running costs, these two SUVs certainly aren’t cheap when it comes to their initial purchase. Put down a £10,000 deposit for a three-year PCP with a 10,000-mile annual limit, and the Cayenne E-Hybrid will cost £1,123 a month, while the X5 xDrive50e isn’t far behind, at £1,016 a month. If you want to keep either car at the end of the plan, Porsche asks for more cash, at £49,234 – you can thank the high 10.9-per cent APR for that – while BMW’s final demand is for £43,513, courtesy of an APR of 4.9 per cent. While the Porsche has slightly higher insurance costs than the BMW, the Cayenne only needs a service every two years, so the £650 price…

PREMIUM PLUG-IN SUVs These two cars are at the top of the tree when it comes to mixing performance and efficiency. “WITH four generations of development behind it, the BMW X5 is an impressively capable machine, especially in plug-in hybrid guise. It’s just a shame that BMW’s designers haven’t kept up; the X5 just looks fussy when compared with the smooth Cayenne.” “IF you consistently drive long distances, then these plug-in hybrids don’t make much sense, because you’ll use up the electric range quickly. Only BMW offers a diesel option, with the xDrive30d offering 38.7mpg combined and a list price that’s around £7,000 less than the PHEV’s.” “A PLUG-in hybrid only really makes sense if you have the ability to charge it at home. The majority only have slow charging…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk Running costs 34.4mpg (on test) £77 fill-up £570 or 37% tax Performance 0-62mph/top speed 6.9 seconds/151mph “Outside the Brighton and Hove Motor Club, our car looks meaner than it is” NOT sure about you, but I naturally tend to associate all Audis – including the TT – with four-wheel drive. Audi’s marketing has been so strong over the years that there’s now a subliminal expectation somehow that all four wheels of any Audi are driven. Yet ours is one of the few TTs that is front wheel-drive. As a result its traction is, shall we say, nowhere near as good as you might expect, certainly not given the big alloy wheels and fat 20-inch tyres it wears, and the various bits of aerodynamic-looking body addenda it comes with in…

Bentley’s posh pads get garage in the sky BENTLEY has broken ground on the first of its Residences – luxury homes in a new tower in Miami. Aimed at the discerning car owner, the residences have car lifts and glass-wrapped sky garages, allowing owners to exhibit their cars in each of the 216 flats. The 62-storey tower will have views of the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway. Completion is expected in 2027, with prices starting at $5.6m (£4.4m). For more information, visit bentleyresidencesmiami.com. Green Pirelli race tyres get thumbs up PIRELLI has announced that starting from this year, every tyre it supplies to the Formula One World Championship will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. This guarantees that all of the natural rubber used in a tyre complies with…

FROM £16,000 Audi A1 Citycarver 2020, 46k miles AUDI increased the ride height of the Citycarver by 40mm over the regular A1, but other than that, mechanically there’s very little to separate this edition from the standard car. That’s no bad thing because the result is a supermini that’s refined and rides better than the standard A1, thanks to the extra suspension travel. It also feels hi-tech inside, helped by the standard-fit digital instrumentation. The A1 is a safe car too, with more equipment like AEB, LED headlights and lane-keep assist that the Fiesta doesn’t have as standard. But the Ford does get a rear parking camera and the Audi doesn’t – and it could really do with one. You’ll have to search hard to find an A1 Citycarver, with…

Richard_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @rsp_ingram ● Petrol and diesel cars at launch ● More powertrains later in year “At the front, there’s a flatter grille and large, angular air intakes, complemented by the new two-dimensional logo first seen on the Q8 e-tron” THE facelifted Audi A3 will lead a hefty new-car onslaught for the German giant, comprising no fewer than nine distinct models and myriad bodystyles – all due before the end of 2025. After a quiet few years, Audi is gearing up for a series of quick-fire launches, and the first in line is an updated version of the big-selling A3. Following in the footsteps of its facelifted Volkswagen Golf sister car, the Audi gets a subtly revised look, more technology and fresh interior trim. Audi says the new car is “sportier…

IF the new Mercedes-AMG E 53 is to be top dog in the very high-achieving executive sports-saloon market, it’s going to have to overcome BMW’s next-generation M5 – one of 2024’s most hotly anticipated new cars. In another case of convergent engineering, the new M5 will also feature a plug-in hybrid powertrain, expected to be derived from the set-up in the huge XM SUV. This should give the next M5 a distinct power advantage, with as much as 741bhp already available on BMW’s flagship XM Red Label. But we also expect the M5 to carry more weight than the E 53 – despite its Mercedes rival tipping the scales at around 2.3 tonnes. BMW will surely pull out all the stops when it comes to the chassis, with a bespoke…

Electric Lotus saloon names its price THE second EV from lightweight sports car brand Lotus is now on sale. The new Emeya electric saloon (above) joins the Eletre SUV and costs from £94,950. Lotus calls the Emeya the “ultimate grand tourer”, with every version using a 102kWh battery for up to 379 miles of range. Three models are offered: Emeya, Emeya S and Emeya R, with the range-topper boasting 905bhp and 985Nm, plus a price of £129,950. Peak charging at 350kW allows for a 10 to 80 per cent charge in 18 minutes. New campaign targets motorway behaviour ‘Little changes, change everything’ is the tagline for a campaign from National Highways aiming to tackle the scourges of middle-lane hogging and tailgating. Sticking in the middle lane disrupts traffic flow and…

Ellis_Hyde@autovia.co.uk @EllisDrives ● R2 due on sale in UK in 2027 ● Will challenge Tesla Model Y AMERICAN electric-truck maker Rivian has revealed a trio of new models – including a more compact version of its R1 flagship, plus two hatchback crossovers. The first of the three new cars is the Tesla Model Y-rivalling Rivian R2 (main image, right). Embracing the blocky, futuristic design language used by Rivian’s R1T pick-up and R1S seven-seat SUV, the R2 carries over Rivian’s signature vertical ‘stadium headlight’ design. The two units are connected by a thick light bar spanning the front of the car, while the rear gets a similar set-up, with a subtly recessed section below for large ‘Rivian’ lettering. Inside, the R2 uses materials chosen for their sustainability and durability, with easy-to-clean…

Alastair_Crooks@autovia.co.uk @AllieCrooks ● Jaguar TCS driver has 19-point lead in standings ● Fourth race of season takes place in Brazil NEW Zealand’s Nick Cassidy has got off to a flying start in this year’s Formula E season, looking to make amends for his second-placed finish in 2023, when he narrowly lost out to the reigning champion, Jake Dennis. Cassidy, who races for Jaguar TCS, secured a third-place finish at the first race in Mexico, and followed that with an impressive third place and a victory in the double-header in Saudi Arabia. The result is that he has opened up a commanding 19-point lead over Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein, who had his best Formula E season to date in 2023, finishing fourth overall. Double Formula E champion and a relative veteran…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy “Cruising refinement is fine, despite the bluff front end, tall windscreen and larger wheels” IT can’t be easy to overhaul an entire car company, but that’s what KGM is attempting to do with the brand formerly known as SsangYong. The process started last spring with the change of name, but it’s really kicking in now with the arrival of the first all-new model launched under the fresh ownership: the Torres. KGM’s debut vehicle is neither a small car nor a subtle one. Its first new offering is a 4.7-metre-long, five-seat SUV; that’s longer than the Nissan X-Trail and the outgoing Skoda Kodiaq, both of which are seven-seaters. In design terms, the Torres is a bit of a mishmash of influences, with Jeep-like vertical grille slats at the front…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy Running costs 64.1mpg (official) £52 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.2 seconds/109mph LOTS of brands are getting out of the small-car market, but Toyota views its baby models as great ways of bringing new, younger buyers into its showrooms. The Yaris supermini is at the heart of this, and now the latest generation has been treated to a mid-life nip and tuck. This facelift differs from the usual bumpers-and-headlights fare, too, with heavily revised cabin tech instead of any major external changes. There’s also a new range-topping trim level and, in the case of the car we’re driving here, a more powerful petrol-electric hybrid powertrain. It’s still based around a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol motor producing 91bhp, but the electric motor contributes a lot more to the overall output, boosting…

WINNER Porsche Cayenne 1st TEST verdicts don’t come much closer than this, because both the Cayenne and X5 deliver fantastic performance and handling while offering potential efficiency from their smooth powertrains that only a few years ago would have been unheard of in such overly sporting SUVs. At this level of the market, the marginally higher costs for the Cayenne are unlikely to deter buyers, and in return they’ll get a handsome SUV that offers everyday usability and all-round driving pleasure. ● Entertaining to drive  ● Efficient powertrain  ● Quiet and refined  ● Spacious interior ● Shorter EV range than X5  ● Lots of pricey options  ● Poor MPG in petrol mode  ● Some hard plastics inside INTERESTED? Scan the code for further information RUNNER-UP BMW X5 2nd EVOLUTION is…

SAME MONEY Bentley Bentayga THE Bentayga is based on the same platform as the Cayenne, but it takes luxury to another level. That handcrafted interior is worth the admission price alone, and driving luxury takes priority over focused handling. At this price you’re looking at an early 2020-model-year Bentayga Hybrid, which uses the same V6 petrol as the Cayenne E-Hybrid, but with 443bhp and a smaller battery for an all-electric range of around 31 miles. ● First-class luxury  ● Hand-crafted cabin ● Remains costly to run  ● Short electric range SAME CLASS Range Rover Sport P460e LAND Rover’s mission to move its premium models even further upmarket means that the Range Rover Sport no longer has price parity with the Cayenne or X5, but a nearly new example puts it…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk THIS is a question many a home mechanic will ask after a few years, once their tool collection has grown and they want everything in one place rather than in a pile of moulded cases. The least expensive way to increase storage is probably to buy another, bigger box, although that is likely to be only a temporary fix. For a longer-lasting solution, try a tool chest and, if your budget will stretch to it, a roll cab to mount it on and move it around. This can be expanded with a step up chest in between, which will add more drawers. There are systems for just about every budget, but given that this is likely to be a one-off purchase, investing a little more will…

WHEN it comes to getting light while working on your car, convenience sometimes outweighs power, which is where penlights come in. While they can’t match the output of full-size alternatives, they’re unbeatable for having light with you at all times. Laser Tools has just launched the 8597 Aluminium Rechargeable Penlight, which we’ve put up against the new-for-2023 Philips Xperion 6000 Penlight and 2022 arrival NightSearcher iSpector Mini. To decide which should be in the pocket of your overalls, we assessed beam brightness and spread, mounting options, charging, battery monitors, size, weight and runtime. Shock and dust protection ratings, plus price, were also taken into account. The Philips is the most complete package here and just justifies its higher price. If you want something closer to a magic-marker size and easier…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk KIA’S compact family car pulls in terrific Driver Power survey scores for value, practicality and infotainment, but it’s let down by less satisfying rankings for powertrains, safety features and interior style. As well as making the top 10 for luggage space and ninth for interior storage, the ProCeed is ranked 10th for its exterior design, although a mediocre score for quality drops the overall exterior rating. Inside, 28th place for style meets 67th for quality, while visibility from behind the wheel is ranked 74th. But the user-friendliness of controls is placed 10th, and the balance between physical and touchscreen controls rates an excellent fifth. A 22nd place for value is encouraging, as is 33rd for reliability. WE SAID “The ProCeed is a swoopy-looking five-door ‘sporting brake’, so it’s less…

EMERGING from its winter slumber, the somewhat sleepy Western world has been rudely awoken during these first days of spring by the Chinese. By far the world’s largest motor-manufacturing nation, China has now ceased putting us on notice that it’s heading our way. Its new approach is to simply open the floodgates. Consequently, the unstoppable “tsunami of Chinese cars” I warned you about, via this column long ago, is now in full flow. The products being delivered to us are better designed and built, lower priced and more credible/desirable than most consumers expected. BYD and GWM Ora already outsell a few long-established western brands. And armed with its range of made-in-China models, MG is easily beating the might of Jaguar, Land Rover and Bentley combined in UK sales. To rub…

Richard_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @rsp_ingram ● New Q5 follows A3 to market ● All new Audis from ’26 are EVs ALONG SIDE the A3 (Page 6) an all-new, petrol-powered Q5 SUV will headline a deluge of new Audis due before the end of 2025. Spanning nine distinct models and a variety of bodystyles, the German maker will look to cover every corner of the market with an increasingly diverse line-up. Previewed by our exclusive main image, the third-generation Q5 will get a set of subtle styling tweaks, including a wider grille and slimmer headlights. We’ll see the implementation of Audi’s two-dimensional four-ring logo on the front and rear, but the updated model is expected to remain a recognisable part of the Q5 family, rather than introducing a dramatic redesign. It’s inside where we’re…

Chris_rosamond@autovia.co.uk ● Chancellor single-handedly failed to offer EV incentives ● Fuel duty frozen once more, but it’s not seen as enough THERE’LL be no increases in fuel duty for the next 12 months, after the Budget last week ‘baked in’ the five pence cut that was due to expire this month. However, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s statement ignored industry calls to support private electric car sales through cuts in VAT and Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax). Prior to Budget day, the Society of Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) set out a three-pronged package of reforms it wanted to hear from the Chancellor. The SMMT called on Hunt to cut VAT on private electric car purchases by half to save the average buyer £4,000, to exempt EVs from the five-year ‘expensive car’ supplement…

AVERAGE petrol and diesel prices rose by 4p and 5p respectively in February, the biggest jump in five months. A combination of oil’s rise to over $80 a barrel on the global market in early February, and the pound being worth just $1.26, meant wholesale prices for UK supply were pushed up, according to analysis by RAC Fuel Watch. With unleaded going up from an average of 140.75p to 144.76p, the cost of filling a typical family car rose by £2 per tank. Diesel jumped from 148.53p to 153.22p, adding £2.60 to the average fill. But the RAC also highlighted a £10-per-tank gap between the UK’s priciest and cheapest regions: Chester and Northern Ireland respectively.…

Alastair_Crooks@autovia.co.uk @AllieCrooks ● Hot hatch provides new pack ● Sporty N Line trim introduced HYUNDAI has revealed a refreshed Ioniq 5 EV with more range, improved safety, a new look and fresh tech. The mid-life update also brings a sporty N Line trim, which in turn gets its own bespoke design. The maker has clearly seen the threat of the Tesla Model 3 and Skoda Enyaq – both of which have just received their own mid-life facelifts – and felt the need to respond. The Ioniq 5’s sister car, the Kia EV6, is also expected to be updated in 2024. Central to the changes is the introduction of the larger 84kWh battery from the Ioniq 5 N hot hatch. Hyundai hasn’t said what range the updated Ioniq 5 will offer,…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpres YOUR VIEWS This week’s letters In the dark about the design of car lights FROM: J Moore PLEASE can you tell me what on earth is going on with the design of lighting on new cars these days? The configuration, layout and scale are utterly ridiculous. And Oh My! If you need to change them, the cost of replacements for the new designs is absolutely eye-watering. Windscreens should be a hot topic in cars FROM: John Smith-Warren I CANNOT understand why the motor industry has been so slow fitting heated windscreens – trains have had them since the 1980s! Do the car makers think we like scraping ice off a screen or that we wouldn’t pay for them? Is this cost before safety (and comfort)? EV expo is…

IT’S the 12 hours of Sebring this weekend, and following the season opener at Daytona, it looks like an exciting year ahead for IMSA fans. Last year’s championship-winning duo of Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims were broken up, with Britain’s Jack Aitken joining Derani to race the Cadillac this year. The pair will be partnered by another Brit in the form of Tom Blomqvist, and the Whelen Cadillac Racing team will have its eyes firmly on the top spot in Sebring, the only track where it won in 2023. Former F1 champion Jenson Button took third at Daytona, but his focus for the rest of the season is on the World Endurance Championship with Jota.…

Jordan_Katsianis@autovia.co.uk @JordanKatsianis Running costs 28.0mpg (official) £105 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 5.0 seconds/168mph THE Panamera has a tough job operating as a flagship for Porsche. This high-spec executive car doesn’t just have to compete with traditional luxury rivals when it comes to comfort and refinement, it must also come up with the goods dynamically – as you’d reasonably expect any Porsche model to do. Add to this a need to jostle with the latest top-end EVs, and it’s clear the stakes are high for this new third-generation version. In due course, more variants will be introduced, including a total of four plug-in hybrids. But to start with, we’re trying the Panamera 4 (a rear-drive car, simply called Panamera, is also available), fitted with a 348bhp twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine. From…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk Running costs 28.0mpg (official) £84 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 3.9 seconds/191mph WHEN it first arrived nine summers ago, the Giulia Quadrifoglio seemed almost too good to be true. For here was an Alfa Romeo which, on paper at least, seemed capable of matching anything the German sports-saloon manufacturers could produce. It was Italy’s unashamed answer to a BMW M3, Mercedes-AMG C 63 or Audi RS 4, and in its way it was more desirable than all of them put together. It had a 503bhp twin-turbo V6, a highly entertaining rear-wheel-drive chassis, and knee-trembling good looks that gave it more charm that a car park full of M3s. Yet beneath the skin, there were some aspects that weren’t quite perfect. And the better the German competition subsequently became, the more…

MODEL TESTED: Cayenne E-Hybrid PRICE: £79,800 POWERTRAIN: 3.0-litre V6 petrol plug-in hybrid, 463bhp 463bhp Powertrain 3.0 litre V6 turbo 75 litres Fuel tank £108 fill up 4.9 seconds Performance 158mph 545 litres Seats up/down 1,563 litres THE updated Cayenne features a tweaked look and revised interior tech, plus this E-Hybrid model has more power and a longer range than before. While the car in our pictures is a Cayenne Coupé, we’re testing the standard SUV version against the X5 here. A starting price of £79,800 is less than the BMW’s, but that can be easily increased by adding options. Tech highlights SUBTLE styling revisions mean that spotting an updated Cayenne will be tricky for anyone other than a Porsche enthusiast, but the main differences on the outside are a redesigned…

SAME CLASS Mercedes GLE 400 e IF you like technology, then the GLE won’t disappoint. It features twin 12.3-inch high-resolution displays that create a widescreen dashboard packed with features. Unlike our two test cars, the plug-in hybrid GLE doesn’t have a six-cylinder petrol engine to go with its battery tech. Instead it gets a 2.0-litre four-cylinder which, when combined with the electric motor, makes a total of 375bhp, which is good for a 0-62mph time of 6.1 seconds. Of more importance is that battery, which has a capacity of 31.2kWh and allows a long driving range of up to 68 miles. ● Long EV range  ● Great infotainment tech  ● Mercedes brand image ● Not as sharp as rivals here  ● Noisy four-cylinder engine  ● Pricey in highest specs SAME…

The Austin Pedal Car Story David Whyley (Porter Press, porterpress.co.uk) Price: £85 Rating: THIS fantastic book covers the sought-after Austin J40 and Pathfinder pedal cars in great detail. Among the world’s most famous children’s toys, the first examples were made in 1949. The story is beautifully told here, with fantastic imagery to accompany the interesting narrative. My Thirty Years of Speed Malcolm Campbell (Daredevil, daredevilbooks.co.uk) Price: £9.95 Rating: THIS is the autobiography of the legendary Sir Malcolm Campbell, who broke land and water speed records after the First World War. He also had a successful motor racing career and spent time in the Royal Flying Corps. Speed freaks or those who simply love history will enjoy this record of the record-breaker’s life. Lego Builder Available for: iOS, Android Price: Free…

CO2/tax 102-108g/km £170 Running costs 59-62mpg (1.5 hybrid) £56 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.4 seconds/109mph HONDA has always put engineering first. Ever since its early efforts, such as the S500 from 1963, the Japanese firm has found ingenious solutions to automotive problems and we’ve been treated to some brilliant products as a result. But Honda went off the boil around the turn of the millennium, with many of its cars overshadowed by rivals. Then came the original Jazz in 2001 and things started to look up. With its neat monobox design and brilliant interior packaging, it set a new standard for usability, and one which has continued to the Mk4 Jazz that arrived almost two decades after the original. Incidentally, Honda did sell a Jazz city car back in the…

FROM £11,000 Fiesta Active 2018, 35k miles JUST like the A1 Citycarver, our Fiesta Active X has a turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol engine that drives the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. At £21,605 when new, the Ford cost just £435 less than the Audi; now the gap has widened to nearer £3,000, but the Fiesta doesn’t feel like the poor option. While it can’t match the Audi’s consistency for high-quality cabin materials, and the dash design isn’t as user-friendly, the Fiesta feels upmarket and it has more standard equipment. The Ford is also more fun to drive, with sharper handling and a better gearchange. But while it’s more powerful, it isn’t quite as torquey (170Nm vs 200Nm). There are far more Fiesta Actives for sale on the used market…

#Ask Auto EXPRESS All your questions answered SPECIAL 32-PAGE GUIDE Our experts bust motoring myths and offer practical advice How can I make sure my car passes its MoT? How do I appeal a parking ticket? How much does it cost to charge an electric car? How do I save on running costs? What if I put petrol in a diesel car? TESTED Honda vs Hyundai Japanese firm’s e:NY1 takes on the class-leading Kona Electric DRIVEN New Skoda Superb Latest generation of company’s simply-clever estate car reveals all News Drives Product tests Features & Sport onsale Wednesday 20 March…