Table of contents for 1857 in Auto Express

THE crazy crew in Audi’s What Shall We Call Things department were at it again last week, when the firm announced a venture with MG’s parent company SAIC, developing and building models for the Chinese market. I accept it must be hard to come up with new names and brands that can work across different languages and continents, but it feels like a 5pm-on-a-Friday sort of meeting that led to this new joint venture being called AUDI. All in capitals, to differentiate it from Audi – and with the bonnet badge being the name written out rather than four rings. Nice and clear. But then this is the company that has just brought us the new A5 saloon – which actually takes over from the old A4. And isn’t a…

THESE new spy images show the Renault Clio’s future is secure for a few more years. It’s our first look at the sixth generation of the French supermini, which could be set for a 2025 launch. While camouflage prevents a full view of the upcoming Clio, we can see new-look lights front and rear, a truncated rear hatch layout and an almost BMW-like front grille – all previewed in our exclusive image (right) drawn up last year. We’re yet to see inside the new Clio, but expect it to take inspiration from Renault’s newer internal-combustion-engined models such as the Rafale and Symbioz, rather than the eye-catchingly retro shapes of the similarly sized 5 EV. The petrol supermini market has been hit hard in the past few years, with the Ford…

DID you think it a dead cert that Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves would hike fuel duty in the budget? You’re not alone – a poll of Auto Express readers shows that three quarters of drivers (75 per cent) were expecting to have to pay more to fill their cars up following the budget statement. Despite months of speculation from pundits, many pointing to the possibility of as much as an extra 7p on a litre of petrol, the feared rise didn’t happen. So why does our post-budget polling suggest that drivers are less than impressed with a decision to simply freeze fuel taxes for another year, and disenchanted with the budget in general? Chancellor Reeves might have expected a warmer response to her fuel duty decision, yet 66 per cent…

MOST EV drivers have access to either home or workplace charging. A Department of Transport survey in 2022 found that 93 per cent charged at home, with 90 per cent doing so overnight, and there’s little evidence to suggest those figures have changed very much since. For the vast majority relying on home charging, making the right choices when picking a home charger is crucial. And that’s where the Driver Power poll comes in, ranking a range of providers across a number of factors we consider to be most important. At the most basic level, home chargers should all perform similarly. The limitations around power supply into the nation’s homes make 7.4kWh charging speeds the effective industry standard. So choosing one charger over another won’t affect how fast you can…

BMW gave the 1 Series such a hefty facelift in 2024 that it gained a new model code, too. Out went F40 and in came F70. Along with the 120 edition, the range-topping M135 has also been given a new look outside and in, while BMW also tried to make the hot hatch more fun to drive. Importantly for BMW, the latest M135 seems to have arrived just in time. The Mercedes-AMG A 35 received a facelift in 2023, and the Audi S3 followed suit just a few months ago, so competition is fierce. And while they don’t come from such premium marques, the Honda Civic Type R and Ford Focus ST Edition remain worthy alternatives. Although the changes mean the BMW has lost the ‘i’ at the end of…

WORLD’S HIGHEST-MILEAGE CAR YOU might expect the world’s highest-mileage car to be some sort of diesel repmobile along the lines of a Vauxhall Insignia or Ford Mondeo. However, it’s actually a Volvo P1800 sports car, once owned by American school teacher Irv Gordon. Since buying it from new all the way back in 1966, Gordon drove his car a total of 3.2 million miles – the equivalent of three round trips to the Moon. After passing away in November 2018, Gordon left his beloved P1800 to Volvo, once having jokingly offered to sell it back to the brand for “$1 per mile” driven. ‘ADVENTURE IN DISTRACTVILLE’ THIS is Volvo’s take on an arcade racer, along the same lines as OutRun or SEGA Rally. However, the goal here isn’t to drive…

Darren.Wilson@autoexpress.co.uk “MY GRANDCHILDREN ENJOY THE TOY CAR, BUT IT’S BORN BORN FROM THEIR LOVE OF THE REAL THING THING” WHEN it comes to building a brand, few have done it better than MINI. And I’m not just talking about logos, brochures or showrooms; it’s the whole package. Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said: “Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man.” I suggest that, if you drove that child in a MINI, you’d have them hooked by four. Both of my grandchildren are totally sold on our Countryman, and the youngest is just two. The buzzwords to activate the sat-nav’s voice assistant are ‘Hey MINI’, and both children call this out so much that, last week, the infotainment set-up called time and told us…

HOW’S this for a genuine, urgently required, unapologetically modest, game-changing product for consumers still sceptical about the financial and other implications of EVs? I’m calling it the 10:100 and arguing that it could be the most intriguing, symbolically accessible pure-electric car – complete with a standard spec that’s light on luxuries, and heavy on value. The 10:100 would, I believe, gently persuade millions of still understandably cautious consumers that they really can be painlessly eased into affordable little EVs without traumatising themselves or their wallets. Trouble is, in British showrooms at least, no such product currently exists. “THE 10:100 BADGE I’M SUGGESTING TRANSLATES TO A COST OF £10K FOR 100MILES OF RANGE – AN AFFORDABLE, POTENTIALLY DOABLE SWEET SPOT, RIGHT?” What I’m proposing is a stripped-out urban car (not a…

THE A290 is the tricky second album in various respects for both Alpine and its parent company, Renault. As the second model in Alpine’s modern era, it complements the A110 sports car in the company’s range as it pivots to appeal to buyers in different and arguably more mainstream segments. It’s also the first high-performance derivative of Renault’s hotly anticipated 5, with a more powerful front-mounted electric motor and an extroverted design. In both cases, the A290’s key deliverable is driver engagement, and before you argue that it seems like little more than a hotted-up R5, do remember there’s historical precedent in Alpine giving Renault’s superminis a sporty makeover. The original seventies Renault 5 was modified by the Dieppe firm and sold as the R5 Alpine (or the R5 Gordini…

TOYOTA has revealed a one-off concept at the 2024 Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas. The GR86 Rally Legacy Concept gets uprated hardware and a retro-inspired livery. Celebrating Toyota’s history in the World Rally Championship (WRC), the new concept takes its inspiration from the eighties and nineties’ Celica GT-Four. The car also has bonnet-mounted spotlights and a rear wing. Things get really interesting under the metal, thanks to a powertrain swap boosting output to 296bhp. The GR86’s three-cylinder engine is lifted from the US-spec GR Corolla, with Toyota claiming the process required “formidable fabrication challenges” to fit the hatchback’s transverse-mounted engine and AWD layout. It also gets a custom subframe and engine mounts, plus custom coilovers, control arms and a new steering rack. There’s no word on…

BENTLEY has declared its first all-electric car will also be the “world’s first luxury urban SUV”. It’ll be smaller than the brand’s popular Bentayga and it’s on track to be revealed in 2026 before hitting the streets the following year. Speaking to Auto Express, CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser offered up a bit more detail on the as-yet-unnamed EV. He told us it’ll be less than five metres long, which in his words is “a little bit more compact for a Bentley”. It means potential rivals will include the BMW iX. The single teaser image (below) shows it isn’t dramatically different to its SUV sibling, with a long bonnet, pronounced rear haunches and a sloped rear windscreen.…

FIFTEEN grand won’t get you many new cars these days, and even fewer with electric motors. The fact that we’ve sung the praises of the Citroen e-C3 so highly that we named it our 2024 Car of the Year is down in no small part to the fact that, aside from being a great supermini, getting a full EV to market for less than £23,000 deserves huge praise. So a fully electric car that starts from just under £15,000 is a very big deal indeed. Trust it to be value champion Dacia turning up with the goods, then. This is the all-new Spring: not only the cheapest full EV money can buy in the UK, but one of the cheapest cars full stop. Even the range-topping model costs a fiver…

TWO-point-four tonnes, 631bhp and a £132kplus price. Wherever you look, the stats of the new Audi RS Q8 performance are remarkable. In fact, some of them will make you question the laws of physics. Despite that kerbweight, for example, Audi Sport’s most extreme SUV ever is capable of lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife in seven minutes and 37 seconds. That makes it the fastest roadgoing SUV ever timed there, and means a little rivalry within the Volkswagen Group has gone Audi’s way, having pipped the Lamborghini Urus Performante’s lap time by about 2.2 seconds. Clearly, plenty of clever tech has been thrown the RS Q8’s way to achieve that time, which has been made possible by a range of mid-life updates. The changes start with some subtle cosmetic tweaks, including a…

VOLKSWAGEN I.D. BUZZ I WAS fortunate enough to have a play with a McLaren 750S Spyder recently, a car about as far removed from the ID.Buzz as it’s possible to get. But clambering up into the VW after spending time being so low to the ground reminded me how much I love the tall and upright van-like driving position – and the relaxed drive when performance and quick cornering clearly aren’t priorities. The result is that I don’t stress, and just sit back and enjoy the ride. The McLaren was certainly fun to drive, despite the wet weather conditions, but hopping into the Buzz afterwards felt warm and welcoming after the more frantic and full-on supercar experience. PAUL BARKER SMART #1 BACK in issue 1,854, I wrote about the roof-mounted…

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THE refreshed Kia Sportage was expected to make its debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show later this month, but thanks to an early unveiling in Korea, we have been given a sneak peek at the big-selling SUV ahead of time. It showcases a new look for the exterior and interior, new tech and fresh hybrid engines. The fifth-generation Sportage arrived on the market in 2021 and Kia is now looking to make it even more appealing with this mid-life update. While these pictures show a Korean-market car, we expect the UK model to look almost identical. European versions get a shorter wheelbase more appropriate for our roads, but the platform tech buried within is unchanged. Design-wise, the Sportage’s new headlights represent probably the biggest visual difference. The look apes…

ANYONE who’s lived with an electric car will tell you that public charging facilities can be rewarding or frustrating in equal measure; basic reliability is a key factor, of course, but the cost of charging varies much more than petrol or diesel prices, too. Indeed, if you’re an EV driver used to charging for pennies per kWh at home on the driveway, the thought of coughing up the best part of a quid for every kWh at a motorway service station might be positively galling. However, that’s usually the trade-off for the fastest charge times and, hopefully, the shortest waits for a free charger to get you on the move again. When you consider other variables, such as site locations and accessibility, cleanliness and presentation of facilities, the ease of…

ELECTRIC estate cars such as the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer are a growing breed, providing all the practicality of an SUV but in a more aerodynamic form that often benefits EV range. The ID.7 is positioned above smaller electric wagons such as the Peugeot E-308 SW and Vauxhall Astra Electric Sports Tourer, and therefore provides a much bigger boot. The Volkswagen also delivers the long-range driving comfort of a BMW i5 Touring, but without that car’s premium pricing. That doesn’t mean the ID.7 Tourer is inexpensive, though; prices start at more than £52,000 for the 77kWh Pro, while the long-range 86kWh Pro S driven here comes in at more than £56k. The four-wheel-drive GTX, meanwhile, is nearly £63,000. There’s an extensive kit list, with every ID.7 Tourer featuring matrix LED headlights,…

CAR brands like to be seen as a lot more than just purveyors of shiny metal nowadays. If you succumb to all the marketing materials, you’ll see Ford as a representation of the birth of mass production in the automotive industry, Volkswagen as a showcase for Germany’s progression from a totalitarian dictatorship to a democratic social market economy and Ferrari as the embodiment of luxury, passion and performance. Volvo, on the other hand, likes to see itself as the brand of car safety, and this is what it’s trying to convey in the new World of Volvo museum, which opened its doors earlier this year in the heart of Gothenburg, Sweden. Of course, this assertion isn’t without any precedent; Volvo has long been at the forefront of car-safety development. For…

WHAT WE WOULD CHOOSE DACIA There’s a wide range of accessories. Beyond those clever Youclip add-ons, there’s also a set of roof bars, plus you can purchase a tent that attaches to the open tailgate, transforming the cabin into a roomy campsite. MG The scope for customisation is very narrow for ZS buyers, with choices limited to the two trim levels and the six exterior paint colour options. Battersea Blue and Dynamic Red are the most eye-catching choices.…

Pete.Gibson@autoexpress.co.uk SOME would argue that the Sinclair C5 was ahead of its time. But Sir Clive Sinclair’s shoe-shaped, part battery/part pedal-powered trike never caught on with the public, and it’s now a transport curiosity. That’s not something you can say about SUVs, as represented here by the Sinclair’s namesake, the Citroen C5 Aircross. But is a name all they have in common? Well there is another piece of common ground – they’re both hybrids. Okay, so the Sinclair C5’s mix of 12-volt car battery and leg muscles probably didn’t help its cause, but the Citroen’s combined petrol and electric power sources mean it’s a small step towards electrification for those – including me – who still aren’t best suited to EVs. “THE C5 AIRCROSS STRIKES A GOOD BALANCE BETWEEN PETROL…

THE thought of buying a new or used car can stir up mixed emotions, depending on your point of view. Some see it as a task not far removed from a trip to the dentist, while others revel in the ‘sport’ of negotiation, eager to clinch a deal on their own terms. But most of us aren’t skilled negotiators, and once we’re face-to-face with a professional dealer, our half-hearted attempts at securing a price reduction inevitably fall at the first hurdle. It’s the same with a private sale, with a few awkward exchanges on the driveway showing the extent of our bargaining skill. Fortunately, Auto Express – now part of the Carwow Group – is on hand to help reinvigorate the buying process, making it smoother, more efficient and ensuring…

Shane.Wilkinson@autoexpress.co.uk THE best cars for learner drivers are those that are easy to drive, inexpensive to run, and cheap to insure. Not only can you find some serious bargains on the used market, you also won’t be so upset if something you buy picks up a few dings along the way. Read on to find the best learner-driver cars, according to our expert testers. 1 Volkswagen up! Prices from £2,500 GIVEN that it’s a three-time winner of the Auto Express City Car of the Year title, it’s no secret that we are very fond of the Volkswagen up! along with its sister cars, the SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo (also pictured here). In fact, not only is this family of compact cars easy to manoeuvre and park, but they’re comfortable…