Table of contents for 1834 in Auto Express

Q Is Cadillac coming to the UK and what is the timeline? “Yep, we’re coming to the UK and we’ll be there this year.” Q And will you offer right-hand-drive cars in the UK? “Of course! It’s for the UK – would we not give you right-hand drive? We did already announce right-hand drive for Australia and we’ll be bringing those same cars to the UK.” Q Will these RHD cars come direct from the factory? “The Ultium platform allows this changeability, which allows us to be much more flexible when it comes to right or left-hand drive. The way that the wiring architecture sits and the electric powertrain elements mean this isn’t a problem any more. When you look inside the vehicle, the 33-inch screen is equally shaped left…

Jordan_Katsianis@autovia.co.uk 600bhp dual-motor EV 300 miles of range expected JEEP’S new Wagoneer S has finally been revealed. Based on an EV-native platform, the new Audi Q6 e-tron-sized model promises to offer more space, luxury and – unusually for a Jeep – performance than all of its key competitors. Making full use of the Stellantis tool box, the Wagoneer S sits on the STLA-L platform, which will be the architecture’s first application in Europe. This means that although the car will be launched with an all-electric powertrain, it could be offered with a hybrid set-up in due course, if customers demand it. Jeep hasn’t held back on the launch specification, only revealing performance figures for the flagship model so far. With a dual-motor layout that produces 600bhp and 800Nm of torque,…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress We want to hear your views. Send your questions or opinions to the E-mail address below Wherefore art good service, Alfa Romeo? FROM: Paul Greenwood AS an Alfa fan, I love to see another great-looking car announced. Unfortunately, the brand’s dealer network is a shambles; I’m still waiting to resolve a problem logged when my new Tonale was delivered last June. If Alfa wishes to succeed, it needs to sort out its attitude. Please allow small wheels on top trims FROM: William Tonkyn YOUR road testers always recommend buying cars with small wheels for optimum comfort on the UK’s awful roads. Inevitably these are always just for the lowest trim level; why don’t car makers offer small wheels on higher trims? Many would choose them. Little inspection of…

Ellis_Hyde@autovia.co.uk @EllisDrives THE new fourth-generation Skoda Superb has a lot to live up to. The last one was a brilliant all-rounder, and offered such a vast amount of cabin space, that it won our Family Car of the Year award an impressive four times. That was no mean feat among a sea of talented SUVs that have become the default choice for modern families. No pressure then. Like before, the new Superb is being offered as an estate car – which we drove for the first time back in March (Issue 1,823) – and as the saloon-cum-hatchback tested here. This bodystyle has fallen out of favour in recent times; rivals like the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Insignia have kicked the bucket, and even the Superb’s sister car, the Volkswagen Passat,…

Jordan_Katsianis@autovia.co.uk IT’S fair to say the Cupra Born hasn’t quite moved the needle when it comes to the notion of an electric hot hatchback. And despite some admirable efforts in the shape of the Abarth 500e and MG4 X Power, no one (aside from Hyundai with the Ioniq 5 N) has really cracked the recipe. So when it came to the Born VZ, we had some doubts. There’s almost nothing to tell the new derivative apart from the standard car visually, aside from new wheels and an easily missed badge on the tail. But inside is a pair of very serious Sabelt bucket seats. They might even prompt you to wonder: “Is Cupra aiming a bit high here?” Under the skin there’s not a huge amount more to talk about.…

MANUFACTURERS are attempting to meet the Government mandate that 22 per cent of the new cars they sell in 2024 are EVs, and as a result, finance deals are currently extremely strong. Both Peugeot and Skoda are offering zero per cent finance deals on PCP agreements. The deal on the E-3008 here is sweetened further courtesy of a £500 deposit contribution – enough to narrowly undercut the Skoda’s monthly payments. Place £5,000 up front, then a three-year deal with a 10,000-mile annual limit comes to £529 for the E-3008, and £538 for the Enyaq. Costs are largely similar elsewhere. The Peugeot was slightly more efficient in our hands and slightly cheaper to insure based on our typical quote, while the Enyaq will save you £18 over the course of three…

ELECTRIC SUVs Electric SUVs are the main battleground for car makers as they try to ramp up their EV sales IF you want the space, style and pace of the Skoda but want to avoid an SUV body, then both the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 make highly compelling alternatives. By the end of the year the EV6 is set to get even stronger, with a bigger battery and updated looks. THE E-3008’s exterior colour palette isn’t the most thrilling, with a limited choice of greyscale hues. So it’s great that the most interesting shade, the oily/teal Obsession Blue, is the one no-cost option offered to buyers. Pick the good colour while saving some cash: win-win! PEUGEOT has clearly got some things very right with the new E-3008, but…

Richard_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @rsp_ingram Running costs Official range/tax 283 miles/£0 Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 503/1,678 litres NOTHING solidifies your thoughts and feelings about a car better than a long road trip. Loading up with people and luggage before settling in with some good music can reveal things about a car you hadn’t noticed before – good, bad or indifferent. With that in mind, I recently fully charged our Genesis Electrified GV70 and packed it to bursting for a week in the Lake District. This being springtime in the UK, we had no choice but to cater for every eventuality – I counted at least seven soft bags, eight coats and 10 pairs of shoes; last time I checked, we were a family of three! But while there is always apprehension about a…

Maserati Grecale EV turns to Bridgestone MASERATI’S newest EV, the Grecale Folgore, will have bespoke tyres from Bridgestone. The crossover (above) will wear Potenza Sport Enlitens, an EV version of the company’s flagship high-performance tyre. Electric cars pose myriad challenges – including weight and a need for low rolling resistance to maximise range – but Bridgestone is targeting them with a tyre labelling A for the latter and “superior handling performance”. Maserati claims the car’s 310-mile range should be extended by the custom design. Visit your Maserati dealer for more details on the SUV. Summer deals now on offer at Halfords HALFORDS is heading into summer with a variety of deals. A half-price air-con diagnostic check – available until 22 July – now costs just £17.49, while there’s up to…

Motoring’s most outspoken and opinionated columnist sounds off BRITAIN’S automotive industry has just suffered one of its most gruelling ever half-decades. The pandemic, spiralling energy costs, the tricky transition from ICE to EV, Brexit complications and other political shenanigans have left it badly bruised and battered. That said, according to up-to-the-minute industry figures that I stumbled across last week, in 2023 the UK still had the 60-plus specialist car manufacturers it was blessed with in 2018. Over the same period, the number of engine makers, research centres and design studios grew. And manufacturing jobs rose from 168,000 to 208,000. But that is about as good as it gets. In other crucially important areas, the numbers are down, often to worryingly low levels. Back then we had six car makers classed…

Richard_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @rsp_ingram Mild-hybrid and petrol powertrains only, as diesel is ditched One-piece curved display dominates the new car’s interior THE big-selling BMW 1 Series has been given a mid-life nip and tuck, ushering in an unusually extensive facelift for the Audi A3 and Mercedes A-Class rival. So significant are the visual and mechanical changes, BMW is referring to this as the fourth-generation 1 Series – despite the fact the Mk3 was only launched in 2019. Key to these revisions is a new look – albeit one that is clearly based on the outgoing car. At the front you’ll first notice the much sleeker nose, with swept-back headlights and sharper, more angular surfacing. On some variants, the wide kidney grilles lose their colour-coded central strake – merging to form a single…

Jordan_Katsianis@autovia.co.uk Upgrades to improve handling On sale in the UK this summer VOLKSWAGEN has revealed its latest version of the GTI Clubsport, the most potent front-wheel-drive Golf. Joining other models in the recently updated Mk8.5 range, the Clubsport was revealed during the Golf’s 50th anniversary celebrations at the Nürburgring and will sit between the regular GTI and all-wheel drive R. Under the bonnet it retains the same turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 296bhp, with torque peaking at 400Nm. This is connected to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, powering the front wheels via an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. The car will get to 62mph in 5.6 seconds, while its standard top speed of 155mph rises to 167mph with the optional Race Package. If you think this all sounds a little familiar to…

LANCIA’S renaissance might still be off the table for the UK, but that doesn’t stop the brand coming up with interesting new cars wearing its famous HF performance badge. The latest tease is the Ypsilon HF, a hotter all-electric version of the supermini that packs a more powerful electric motor and some fetching new design elements. The powertrain comes from the Abarth 600E and produces 247bhp, which is sent to the front wheels via a limited-slip diff. Lancia last sold cars in the UK back in the 1990s, and abandoned short-lived plans to make a return in 2009.…

Shadow special for hybrid Kia Sportage KIA has announced a new Shadow special edition (above) for its popular Sportage SUV. Available exclusively with the hybrid powertrain, it features unique design elements and a Midnight Green interior package designed to offer a sleek and distinctive new look. Pricing starts at £36,485, and similar special editions are also available on the Picanto city car and Stonic crossover. Europe’s highest diesel prices in UK, says RAC THE UK boasts the dubious honour of having the most expensive diesel prices in Europe, according to the RAC. The average price here is now reaching £1.55 per litre. You’ve probably heard that fuel prices have been rising steeply since the beginning of 2024, with petrol having jumped by as much as 10 pence per litre since…

Alex_Ingram@autovia.co.uk @AxleIngram Performance 0-62mph/top speed 4.8 seconds/143mph THIS is the new-for-2024 Porsche Taycan, and it’s faster than ever before. ‘Faster’ is a word that will leave many a little jaded; every new EV seems to have even more performance than the last. In the case of the 2024 Taycan, however, it’s quicker in more ways than one. The Taycan never felt old-hat, but pretty much its entire powertrain has been subjected to an overhaul. In the case of the entry model, that starts with a new motor. Depending on its application, the new unit can offer as much as 107bhp more than it did previously, but as standard it still makes the same 402bhp. In the case of the optional Performance Battery Plus fitted to our car, output jumps to…

WINNER 1st Skoda Enyaq Coupé THREE years after its launch, the Enyaq proves that it’s still the class of the family EV field. It ticks all the boxes that matter to most buyers; it’s spacious, comfortable, fairly efficient (if slightly behind the Peugeot) and well equipped, but brings the added bonuses of a smart cabin and plenty of power. The main issue we have with the Coupé variant is that you can get all of its strong points in the Enyaq SUV, which also has a bigger boot and like-for-like costs £2,000 less. INTERESTED? Scan the code for further information ● Strong performance● Soothing driving experience● Interior space● Build quality ● Slight fidget to the ride● No physical climate controls● Peugeot charges faster● Enyaq SUV is cheaper RUNNER-UP 2nd Peugeot…

CUT PRICE Jaguar I-Pace THE I-Pace was our 2018 Car of the Year, and six years on its appeal has grown even stronger. Not only does it still offer one of the best ride and handling balances of any premium SUV – whether it’s powered by electricity or not – but there’s loads of space inside its smart cabin, too. Range and charging speeds aren’t quite up with the latest EVs, but high-mileage 2018 examples now start from as little as £15,000. ● Brilliant to drive● Bargain prices ● So-so range● Modest charge speeds SAME CLASS BMW iX3 FOR £40,000 or so, you can save yourself a few quid relative to the Skoda or Peugeot and instead grab a one-year-old BMW iX3. The all-electric version of the X3 shares the…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk PLASTIC wheel trims, or hubcaps as they are sometimes called, were almost extinct a few years ago, but they have had a renaissance recently. Electric and hybrid vehicles need aerodynamic wheels to improve their efficiency, which means now you’ll find plastic covers over the alloys on high-specification cars such as Teslas. This could be good news if you find yourself grinding up against a kerb or pothole, because these plastic parts will generally be cheaper to replace than repairing an alloy. However, you can also attempt to repair the wheel covers yourself. Firstly, we’d advise looking at the cost of replacement with either new or used parts, because you might discover it’s cheaper than buying the paint – and it is certainly less effort. But if…

WHILE microfibre cloths have been the go-to for drying your car for some time, that has not stopped makers trying to improve them, and the latest option is from Autoglym. The company already sells the PVA-coated InstaDry and a synthetic chamois, and the latest addition, the Ultra-Soft Drying Towel, follows the current trend for twisted-loop material. Does it work, though? To find out, we put it up against the winner and runner-up from our last test, Armor All’s Extra Large Microfibre Drying Towel and the InstaDry. We measured how much each absorbed after being soaked and drained for 30 seconds, as well as dragging them across a rinsed bonnet, assessing the finish when wet and dry. We also factored in ease of use, wringing and price. The Armor All hangs…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk WITH a good mix of responses from petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid drivers, the consensus on Citroen C5 Aircross running costs suggests that owners are laughing all the way to the bank. This mid-sized SUV is ranked in fifth place for servicing, 12th for insurance and 21st for fuel economy, giving an excellent ninth overall in the running costs category. However, a 72nd position for exterior styling and 70th for quality are less impressive, although the Citroen claws back some credibility with a seventh for front-seat comfort and a fourth for boot space. On the other hand, owners are unimpressed by how the touchscreen is used to control most of the car’s functions, affecting the Citroen’s score somewhat. WE SAID “An unwavering focus on comfort and practicality is to…

Jordan_Katsianis@autovia.co.uk Optiq arrives later this year Electric SUV will rival Audi Q4 CADILLAC has revealed its plans for another assault on the premium sector in Europe, with its new electric crossover, the Optiq, leading the charge. The car is scheduled for introduction in the UK by the end of this year, and Cadillac has also confirmed it’ll offer the EV in right-hand drive – alongside the larger Lyriq SUV. The brand’s plan to re-enter the European market centres on the high-volume midsized SUV class, with the Optiq destined to join a crowded segment where Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus are the usual players. At 4,820mm long and 1,644mm high, the Cadillac Optiq sits in an unusual place in the segment, with a sleek crossover stance close in proportion to the…

Ellis_Hyde@autovia.co.uk @EllisDrives THE latest iteration of the Fiat 500 was unveiled in 2020 and has been offered exclusively as an EV since then – hence why it’s officially called the 500e. But Fiat is adding petrol power, with a new hybrid version of its retro-inspired city car on the way. The plans for its development were revealed by Carlos Tavares, CEO of Fiat’s parent company Stellantis. He also announced that the new Fiat 500 Hybrid (which is yet to be officially named) will be produced in the same factory in Turin, Italy, as the pure-electric 500e. The 500 Hybrid will likely use the same mild-hybrid tech that Stellantis has been installing across its small cars, from Fiat’s 600 compact SUV, to superminis such as the Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa.…

HOT on the heels of the Wagoneer S, Jeep also revealed the Trailhawk Concept, which previews a future variant with a stronger focus on serious off-roading. Unique to the concept is a more rugged exterior, with extra black plastic guards, better approach and departure angles, and 31.5-inch off-road tyres. The cabin has had its own makeover, with a unique dash that does away with the regular car’s full-width black panel and instead replaces it with a more traditional mixed-material layout. Under the skin, the Trailhawk comes with enhanced off-road modes and a locking rear differential, all of which are likely to be offered on a forthcoming edition within the next 12 to 24 months.…

Tom_Jervis@autovia.co.uk @thomaswjervis THE countdown to the general election has begun, reminding Westminster where the power really lies: with us, the general public. Yet, although the road to power might be a bumpy one – especially in the UK with all its potholes – there are countless other issues affecting the everyday lives of motorists. Last year the government announced its so-called ‘Plan for Drivers’, which aims to provide better policing and maintenance of our roads, as well as reduced running costs and improved EV infrastructure. However, most drivers are yet to see any improvement, with the price of fuel and insurance continuing to rise and streets remaining in a state of decline. With just a few weeks before the UK heads for the voting booths on 4 July, we here…

Jordan_Katsianis@autovia.co.uk LEXUS has given its UX crossover a light upgrade for 2024, introducing new tech and a more powerful hybrid powertrain. This isn’t only to improve the overall package, but also to make space within the premium brand’s crossover range for the pint-sized LBX, which has put the squeeze on its older UX sibling. The UX300h we’re driving replaces the UX250h and joins the fully electric UX300e in the line-up, utilising Toyota’s latest hybrid tech to improve performance and economy. A ‘self-charging’ hybrid in Toyota speak, this car can’t be plugged in, but is available in both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive guises, the latter with a small electric drive unit mounted on the rear axle. Our model is the standard car, and the headline figures look good, with a 15bhp bump…

SAME CLASS Tesla Model Y THE Model Y isn’t the freshest car in this class, but it’s still one of the best. Its blend of performance and efficiency remains unmatched, and when you do need to top up, Tesla’s Superchargers are the easiest and most user-friendly public chargers to use by a mile. The Model Y has even added decent driving manners to its repertoire; early versions of the car had an appalling ride, but later cars are much smoother. Throw in a spacious cabin and brilliant in-car tech (which would be even better with just a few physical buttons), all from £44,990 – undercutting both of our contenders here – and it’s impossible to ignore. ● Superb performance● Real-world efficiency● Supercharger network ● Button-barren cabin● Artificial feel to steering●…

BMC 1100 and 1300: An Enthusiast’s Guide James Taylor (Crowood Press, crowood.com) Price: £16.99 Rating: WRITING about such a popular car from both an enthusiast’s and a buyer’s perspective can be hard, but it’s done well here, with informative text that’s not totally dominated by technical jargon. A couple of mistakes do creep in that even this non-expert can spot – the Mini had the bottom-hinged boot, not the ADO 16 – but they don’t detract from the remainder. MINI: The True and Secret History of the Making of a Motor Car Simon Garfield (Faber & Faber, faber.co.uk) Price: £12.99 Rating: THE sections on today’s Mini are somewhat outdated, but that’s not a problem for us, because the story of the original Mini remains fascinating – as does the development…

CO2/tax 0g/km £180 + luxury car tax Electric motor Power/range (EQC 400) 402bhp/255 miles Performance 0-62mph/top speed 5.1 seconds/111mph IT was Mercedes that built the first car, way back in 1886, and the German company has never been afraid to innovate since then. It has produced some of the most technologically sophisticated and desirable models over the years, packed with safety and luxury technology. Mercedes had dabbled with electric cars for years, but often only as prototype conversions of existing ICE-powered vehicles. It wasn’t until 2018 that the manufacturer unveiled its first purpose-built electric car: the EQC. Reflecting where consumer tastes lay, this was an SUV that would sit within a suite of Mercedes electric off-roaders, and it was as hi-tech and well made as you’d expect from the firm,…