Table of contents for 1867 in Auto Express

WRITING anything about Tesla is always a bit of a step into the unknown, because it has such a loyal and vociferous fanbase. But that status prompted a chat within the Auto Express team about when the actions of a leader start hurting sales, even for the brand that had the UK’s top-selling EV last year. There’s no question that Elon Musk’s high profile and combative, disruptive nature have played a huge part in making Tesla the most impressive start-up car company in history. But if aligning himself with Donald Trump, the most divisive leader of any nation in recent Western political history, wasn’t enough, last week’s storm over his ‘Nazi salute’ – whether it was an awkward mistake or a deliberate and incredibly awful attempt to be controversial –…

“THE 7 IS EXPECTED TO DIVE HEAD-FIRST INTO THE HUGELY COMPETITIVE C AND D-SEGMENT ELECTRIC SUV MARKET” NEWS broke last week of the all-new Polestar 7, a “premium compact SUV” that will complete the maker’s far-reaching EV line-up and be built in Europe before the end of the decade. Auto Express has now spoken to CEO Michael Lohscheller about the promised small SUV and the future of Polestar. The 7 was initially thought to be a replacement for the brand’s current entry point, the Polestar 2, but Lohscheller said this isn’t the case. “At some stage we will announce a successor [for Polestar 2]. There will be a like for like-ish replacement,” he told us, suggesting that the car will continue to target big sellers such as the Tesla Model…

BENEFIT cheats who can’t pay back what they owe could soon be banned from driving in a move that the Government claims is the “biggest fraud crackdown in a generation”. A plan from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will allow fraudsters to be stripped of licences if they owe more than £1,000, or have ignored demands for payment. The plan would also grant powers to issue search warrants, enabling police to gather evidence, and banks could be forced to hand over information. Labour says it could save the DWP up to £1.5bn over the next five years.…

“When the firm unveiled the striking Oli Concept, it claimed its design would soon filter down into production cars” CITROEN was keen to emphasise the four pillars of its brand image – ‘comfort’, ‘daring’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘simple’ – ahead of us driving the new C4. The hatchback was launched in its current fourth generation in 2020, and has been a huge seller for the firm, with 270,000 units shifted last year. Looking to keep this chunky slice of the segment, Citroen revealed the facelifted C4 at the Paris Motor Show last October, and in a typically designled manner from the firm, we saw a fairly significant shift for the exterior styling. When the company unveiled the striking Oli Concept, it claimed such design would soon filter down into production cars.…

“The way the GTS romps down the road requires all ofyour attention. Its traction is very impressive” EMISSIONS may be a strange starting point for any Porsche 911 review – especially of the GTS variant – but they reveal Porsche’s intentions when it created the first hybrid 911. At 244g/km, the new Carrera GTS T-Hybrid emits the same amount of CO2 as its non-hybrid predecessor, so it’s clear Porsche had no intention of overhauling one of our favourite 911s for environmental credits. Nevertheless, the numbers do look good on paper. In this facelifted 911 GTS, the flat-six engine’s displacement has increased from 3.0 to 3.6 litres, and it has a new single turbocharger. The hybrid system comes in the form of a small 1.9kWh battery, which sends its power to…

THE Ineos Grenadier was designed to be a modern-day interpretation of the classic Land Rover, and overall it fits the brief perfectly. It’s bigger in every dimension, which makes it more practical and easier to drive than the old model, but prices are higher than first anticipated, so this big 4x4 has some tough rivals to go up against. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE THERE’S a ‘Powered by BMW’ logo on the bonnet of the Grenadier, and the choice is between two of the German firm’s best sixcylinder units, either the B57 twin-turbo diesel, or the B58 turbocharged petrol. They make 249bhp and 282bhp respectively, and have 0-62mph times of 9.9 and 8.8 seconds. The eight-speed auto is the same ZF-sourced unit that’s used by BMW – hence the lozengeshaped drive selector…

VW ID. BUZZ OUR Volkswagen ID. Buzz recently completed a 500-mile family weekend round-trip from Sussex to Manchester. Some parts of the journey were great – after all, watching your team beat Manchester United is fun. However, the longest run we’ve done in more than 10,000 miles with the car did also highlight how a touch more range would be useful. Even with the heavy traffic coming down the M6 on a Sunday night, we were still agonisingly short of making it home without a quick top-up to add another 20 miles of range, just to be on the safe side. And that was after a full charge en-route in each direction, plus three other top-up charges at our convenience. At least we found a Buzz friend at Sandbach services…

Armor All 2 in 1 Microfibre Wash Mitt Price: £7.29 Absorption: 480g Rating: Contact: armorall.eu THE bright orange 2 in 1 from Armor All has been our champion mitt for several years, mainly because of its performance-to-cost ratio. The microfibre noodles do a greatdo cleaning job and, like the Gyeon, it has stitching between the middle fingers to make it easier to handle. The price has risen recently, but it is still a winner. Autoglym Polar Mitt Price: £15.49 Size: 522g Rating: Contact: autoglym.com AUTOGLYM offers two types of mitt, with the Polar Mitt being closest to the Gyeon in design. Unlike either rival here, the Autoglym mitt is supplied with adualpurpose bag, which can be used not only to keep it clean in storage, but also to protect it while being…

USED PRICES FROM: £7,500 YEARS: 2019 to present CO2: 117-134g/km FUEL ECONOMY: 47-52mpg (1.2T) BEST OPTIONS: A fixed panoramic glass roof and a dealer-fit spare wheel are the only options available on most trim levels THIS generation of the Corsa was the first Vauxhall to be developed under French PSA Group (now Stellantis) ownership, and 90 per cent of our respondents drive petrol variants, with only around 10 per cent opting for an EV. Efficiency is the only area where the car scrapes into the top third of the survey, at 16th, but the overall running costs are still rated in a relatively lowly 27th place, which is disappointing, considering most people buy a car such as this to run as cheaply as possible. And while the Corsa is getting…

THE best small cars on sale today aren’t just easy to drive, they’re also brimming with more safety kit and tech than ever before. Not only do a lot of small cars provide refinement previously reserved for ‘big cars’, they’re inexpensive to buy and run too, plus cheap to insure. 1 Citroen E-C3 Prices from £21,990 PROS Auto Express Car of the Year Very affordable Impressive practicality CONS Some low-rent materials  Lacking a little refinement Not the most fun to drive THE Citroen E-C3 is a small car that’s able to offer all the essentials you need at a decent price. Citroen’s electric car isn’t about to set any new standards in terms of luxury or how exciting and dynamic it is to drive, but that’s not what the French…

“WE ARE CONTINUING TO INVESTIN ICE AND HYBRID POWERTRAINS, AND WILL CONTINUE TO SELL THEM FOR AS LONG AS WE’RE ALL OWED TO”PAUL PHILPOTT President and CEO, Kia UK KIA is gearing up for another significant year as it plans to launch three new EVs, a range of electric vans, plus a smattering of petrol and hybrid models – including an all-new take on the Ceed family hatchback and a facelift for the big-selling Sportage. The first electric model to make an appearance will be the Kia EV4, which Paul Philpott, president and CEO of Kia UK, told us to expect in “the second half of this year”. The zero-emissions hatchback will be built at the firm’s factory in Slovakia, and is designed to take on popular models such as…

THE Renault 5 finally went on sale in the UK earlier this month, and now it’s the turn of its sportier sister car, the Alpine A290 hot hatch. Prices start from £33,500 and the first cars should arrive with customers in April. The new MINI JCW rival offers GT, GT Premium, GT Performance, GTS, and Launch Edition trims – and either 178bhp or 217bhp. Standard equipment with GT trim includes 19-inch alloys, a 10.3-inch digital driver’s display, a 10.1-inch central touchscreen with Google apps built-in, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a heated steering wheel, heated seats, LED headlights and adaptive cruise control. GT Premium (an extra £2,500) adds two-tone Nappa leather upholstery, a premium sound system, a two-tone roof design, blue brake calipers and auto-folding exterior mirrors. For the…

BMW has facelifted the iX electric SUV, and its appearance is likely to remain as divisive as ever, with the massive kidney grilles now able to glow in the dark. The new car features other styling tweaks, including a revised front grille and headlights, plus big increases in range and power. Thanks to upgraded drive units, more efficient inverter technology, lower-rolling-resistance tyres and “friction-optimised” wheel bearings, the car’s energy consumption has been cut by more than eight per cent, with BMW deeming the various improvements big enough to warrant new model designations. The xDrive45 now serves as the entry-level iX, and benefits from a new 94.8kWh (usable) battery that delivers around 30 per cent more energy than the 71kWh unit in the xDrive40 it replaces. It can provide up to…

THE Toyota RAV4 will be available only as a plug-in hybrid in the UK for the foreseeable future, because every new ‘self-charging’ Hybrid set to come here in 2025 is already sold. A spokesperson for Toyota said: “Demand has been such for the RAV4 Hybrid that we’ve already allocated this year’s supply. Demand is far stronger for RAV4 PHEV, however, and sales of the plug-in variant will continue.” It’s possible that the RAV4 Hybrid could go back on sale, but this will presumably only happen if customer demand is sufficient and Toyota is willing to increase its UK allocation.…

LEXUS has an interesting relationship with high-performance cars. The F brand, which started with a legion of V8-powered rear-drive saloons such as the IS F and GS F, quickly gave rise to the LFA – one of the most revered supercars of the past two decades. But since then the F brand has been largely left to stagnate, and judging from the new LBX Morizo RR, that seems set to continue. But all is not lost, because the Morizo moniker also happens to be the alter-ego of Toyota’s inspirational, car-loving chairman Akio Toyoda – he races under the name Morizo Kinishita – and signals that while F will remain in the dark (for now), this LBX Morizo RR might be something quite special. This is reinforced the moment you hear…

AGE doesn’t come easily, and one of the first signs that you're getting on a bit is usually failing eyesight. Suddenly, driving at night becomes more of a guessing game as your eyes struggle to adapt to low-light conditions, interspersed with flashes of bright headlights. Vision problems aren’t limited to the hours of darkness though, and with increasing numbers of older drivers on the road, it’s to be expected that more of us will face challenges. Typical age-related decline can make spotting hazards in the road, such as potholes, more difficult, as well as affect your ability to spot peripheral dangers or simply read road signs. In my case, reading dashboard dials has become almost impossible without bifocal lenses, and night-time driving is more of a strain than it used…

ELECTRIC cars are great, until they’re not, and a family emergency at the new year put our new Peugeot E-3008 on the spot. It’s 160 miles from my house in Hampshire to my mum’s place in Devon, which should be a breeze for the car with a 327-mile maximum quoted range and a 73kWh battery. The key word there is ‘should’, because I used the Peugeot on the same route at Christmas, and it stumbled somewhat. Starting out with a full battery and 300-plus miles showing on the dash, I arrived at the array of 350kW ultra-rapid chargers at Exeter’s Moto services (still 25 miles short of my destination) with only 30 per cent of charge left. It was 10pm on Christmas Eve, and I plugged in, expecting an ‘ultra-rapid’…

LEXUS has confirmed that its sole remaining F model is facing the chop, as RC F production winds down in 2025. However, that doesn’t mean the end is nigh for high-performance cars from Toyota’s luxury arm, because there’s an exciting new generation waiting in the wings. The first will be the LBX Morizo RR (see page 26), named after the Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda’s alter-ego, Morizo. This model is a collaboration with Toyota Gazoo Racing, taking the best bits from the GR Yaris and installing them in Lexus’ normally hybrid-only small SUV. Speaking with Auto Express at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon, Gazoo Racing chief engineer Naohiko Saito told us that the idea of the LBX Morizo RR “came from Morizo San’s passion”. Saito said: “He wanted [us] to make…

SECURITY fears have been triggered by news that the government wants drivers and other UK citizens to trust personal data to a new centralised GOV.UK Wallet and GOV.UK App, which they say will simplify access to legal documents such as new digital driving licences. A shake-up of government services will include an option for drivers to access a digital version of their licence, which the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) says will allow them “to prove their age when buying age-restricted items, as well as proving their right to drive”. It’s part of a raft of measures planned to improve the way people interact with government services, under the auspices of a revamped Government Digital Service. The Secretary of state for science, Peter Kyle, says this will have…

IF importing a pick-up that looks like it’s from a nineties arcade game seems like a good idea, you might want to hold off, because a Tesla Cybertruck has been seized by police for not complying with UK regulations. Bury Police in Greater Manchester confirmed that it has taken possession of a privately imported Tesla Cybertruck under Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act. At the time of writing, the Tesla Cybertruck is not approved for use on UK public roads; if the firm ever wanted to sell it here, the vehicle’s sharp edges, lack of side indicators and upright front end would all be unlikely to pass European safety standards. This being the case, a certificate of conformity was unable to be provided, which is why this particular Cybertruck…

BMW has topped the chart for the most cars recalled in the UK in 2024, with nearly 640,000 communications sent out to owners advising them of a potential problem. However, more than half a million of these recalls were notices warning BMW owners that if an aftermarket ‘M Sport’ steering wheel upgrade was fitted to their car, it might need to be replaced as part of the fall-out from the global Takata airbag saga that has already affected millions of cars from multiple manufacturers. BMW has confirmed to us that only a vanishing minority of owners will have had M Sport steering wheel upgrades of this type, and that it was acting out of “an abundance of caution” because it has no way of knowing who those drivers are. In…

“Engage Hybrid mode and a prod of the throttle will awaken the V8 with all the fanfare you expect” LAMBORGHINI’S Urus has been a huge success, having done more for the brand’s bottom line than any other model. But it’s been on sale for six years and the SUV game has moved on – and now, so has the Urus, in the form of this SE. The big change is the new plug-in hybrid system, based around a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine. Peak power is a staggering 789bhp, with torque now at 950Nm. These are gains of 132bhp and 100Nm, but they come at some cost. Thanks to the SE weighing about 300kg more than the old Performante, acceleration is a little slower – although 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds is…

AFTER a brief hiatus, the Toyota Land Cruiser has returned to the firm’s line-up, and brings with it some retro-modern design for the exterior, while inside there’s lots of technology, as well as a new platform underneath. It’s the most expensive car in the current Toyota range, with a price tag of £75,000 that places it firmly in Lexus territory. Does it have the talent to justify the expense? ENGINES & PERFORMANCE THE latest Land Cruiser’s platform is new to the UK, but it’s a proven set-up borrowed from the Tacoma and Tundra pick-up trucks that are sold in the US. Body-on-frame construction ensures the kind of off-road ability that the Land Cruiser is famous for, and it features double-wishbone suspension up front and a four-link system at the rear,…

IF there’s one genuine, inarguable benefit to EVs, it would have to be the advancements in vehicle packaging made possible with an electric powertrain. Our Model 3 is very cleverly designed, so while its on-paper boot capacity of 425 litres might not seem particularly huge by class standards, this figure doesn’t take into account its true practicality. To begin with, there’s considerable underfloor storage in the boot that can swallow all sorts of odds and ends. The raised floor then creates a flat loadbay when the second-row seats are folded, and there are some added little cubbies on either side; these make a great place to stash shopping bags. This is supplemented by the ‘frunk’, which adds a further 144 litres, bringing the total up to 569 litres. This separate…

WIELDING a soapy sponge might be the traditional way of cleaning a car, but technology has moved on and most car cleaners will have upgraded to a wash mitt. This will slip over your hand like a glove and is held in place with an elasticated cuff, making it far less likely to fall onto the road. Being thinner, a mitt will also make it easier to clean intricate parts of your car. The materials are better than a sponge’s too, typically using a microfibre to capture dirt. Gyeon has relaunched its Smoothie mitt with a fresh blend of microfibre materials that makes it softer. Its new EVO is a premium product, and has a price to match. Autoglym’s Polar Mitt is £4 cheaper but doesn’t perform as well, while…

IF you’re shopping for a used car, it’s reasonable to expect a few minor bits of wear and tear. However, nobody’s perfect, so the seller (whether they be private or trade) may have overlooked an imperfection that needs rectifying. Naturally, a thorough inspection and test drive are crucial when buying a used model, but if you spot something that you’re really not happy with, this could be a strong negotiating point. Some defects are easier to spot than others, though, so make sure the car is dry, clean and parked in a well lit location. If you’re not the most mechanically minded individual, there’s no shame in asking a professional mechanic to inspect a prospective purchase on your behalf. No matter how keen you are on the car, common-sense dictates…

ELON Musk, Jim Ratcliffe and Carlos Tavares have much in common. Lately, they’ve all bitten off more than they can chew. Each is guilty of taking their eye off the ball. Consequently, their automotive brands have suffered – for very different reasons. Tavares finds himself out of a job after his controversial stint as Stellantis CEO came to an abrupt end last month. Sure, the 66-year-old will miss his reported annual salary of around 40m Euros (£34m). But his ‘leaving bonus’ of almost 100m Euros (£84m) should ensure that he’ll be able to keep the central heating on this winter. Has the not-so-poor bloke left the 14 Stellantis brands in great shape? Hardly. One of his final actions on the Vauxhall front was to announce the potential closure of its…