Table of contents for 1893 in Auto Express

WE had a fascinating day recently, driving half a dozen of the cheapest EVs around and covering plenty of miles to see how far these baby EVs can go on a charge in the real world (see Page 36). The six were split into distinct groups. The two most affordable cars feel very obviously cheap inside. I don’t think I’d want to cover big miles in the Leapmotor T03 or Dacia Spring, but they are capable, low-cost options for an urban runaround second car that’ll cost pennies to run. When I checked Auto Express’s marketplace, you could get a Spring for under £11,500, or £143 a month, or the Leapmotor for less than £14,500. I’m not sure either will emerge from the Government’s EV grant chaos with anything more off,…

CAR brands are taking matters into their own hands and offering EV discounts as confusion builds over the UK Government’s recently announced Electric Car Grant (ECG), which is feared to exclude a large proportion of the market. Kia, Hyundai, MG, Leapmotor and even Alfa Romeo have all announced their own moves – either price cuts or glorified deposit-contribution promotions – because it remains unclear exactly which models will be covered by the ECG, particularly those hailing from the Far East. Such is the confusion that Beijing has issued a warning to the Government; an embassy spokesperson said “the Chinese side is following the situation and will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies”. Yet it’s not only the Chinese who are being targeted. Many European brands are…

RENAULT’S wild 5 Turbo 3E flagship is heading to the Nürburgring for an EV lap record attempt, Auto Express can reveal. With 533bhp and 4,800Nm of torque from two electric motors and 0-62mph in less than 3.5 seconds, the car has the firepower to set a competitive time. The fastest production EV around the 12.9-mile loop of the Nordschleife circuit is the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra saloon, which posted a time of 7:04.957 in April this year and has gone even faster in uprated, prototype form. The Rimac Nevera and Porsche Taycan Turbo GT aren’t much slower but it’ll be the times of the Tesla Model S Plaid (7:35.579) and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (7:45.59) that Renault has its eye on. One record is odds-on – the fastest rear-wheel-drive EV…

THE Nissan Leaf was once a pioneering car in the race towards electrification. It was the first mass-produced electric car, offering a relatively low-cost package in the plug-in mid-size hatchback class decades before rivals, and was a glowing testament to the brand’s ambition of bringing EV motoring to the mainstream. However, the speed at which the market has advanced has made life tricky for the Leaf, so Nissan has reacted by giving us an all new model – and this one isn’t resting on its laurels. That’s because this third-generation Leaf is a totally different proposition to the one that came before. It rides on a new platform, and rather than taking the shape of a traditional VW Golf-like hatchback, now features a crossover-like fastback body. It also comes with…

MURCIELAGO SUPER VELOCE Price new: £265,937 Price now: £800,000 Engine: 6.5-litre V12 Transmission: Six-speed manual, four-wheel drive Power/torque: 661bhp/660Nm 0-62mph: 3.2 seconds Top speed: 212mph (209mph with aero kit) THERE were concerns that Audi’s buyout of Lamborghini might tame the bonkers nature of the supercar maker. Thankfully, the Murcielago arrived in the early 2000s to quell such unease, with its V12, deployable bat wings and signature Lambo scissor doors to go alongside the sensible four-wheel-drive set-up and superior build quality brought in by the Germans. But even more deranged was 2009’s Super Veloce variant. The engine displacement had already recently been enlarged from 6.2 to 6.5 litres for the refreshed LP 640 version, but the SV edition went further with new exhaust and intake systems, plus improved valve timing to…

BYD Dolphin Surf Comfort Price: £23,950 Powertrain: 43.2kWh battery, 1x e-motor Power/torque: 154bhp/180Nm WLTP range: 200 miles 0-62/top speed: 9.1 seconds/93mph Size (L/W/H): 3,990/1,720/1,590mm Dacia Spring Extreme 65 Price: £16,995 Powertrain: 26.8kWh battery, 1x e-motor Power/torque: 64bhp/113Nm WLTP range: 142 miles 0-62/top speed: 13.7 seconds/78mph Size (L/W/H): 3,701/1,583/1,519mm Fiat Grande Panda La Prima Price: £24,000 Powertrain: 44kWh battery, 1x e-motor Power/torque: 111bhp/122Nm WLTP range: 199 miles 0-62/top speed: 11.0 seconds/82mph Size (L/W/H): 3,999/1,763/1,629mm Hyundai Inster 02 Price: £26,755 Powertrain: 49kWh battery, 1x e-motor Power/torque: 113bhp/147Nm WLTP range: 229 miles 0-62/top speed: 10.6 seconds/93mph Size (L/W/H): 3,825/1,610/1,575mm Leapmotor T03 Price: £15,995 Powertrain: 37.3kWh battery, 1x e-motor Power/torque: 94bhp/158Nm WLTP range: 165 miles 0-62/top speed: 12.7 seconds/81mph Size (L/W/H): 3,620/1,652/1,577mm Renault 5E-Tech Evolution 120hp Price: £22,995 Powertrain: 40kWh battery, 1x e-motor Power/torque:…

THERE’S been a Estate version of the C-Class ever since the model arrived to replace the 190E in 1993, and Mercedes is on to its fifth generation, known internally as the W206, which arrived in 2021. At the moment the range is largely based around AMG Line trim, although here we’re testing the Urban Edition, which is arguably a value-minded entry-level variant, because it comes in a fixed specification without additional options. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE THE latest C-Class relies on a range of four-cylinder engines, and the C 300 e’s powertrain is based around the same 201bhp turbocharged unit as the pure-petrol C 200. Here, however, it’s augmented by a 127bhp electric motor for a total combined output of 309bhp, while there’s also 550Nm of torque on offer. Individually the…

MOST of us will rely on our smartphones to entertain and navigate us in the car these days. We will usually charge while on the move to make sure we still have enough juice for the rest of the day. But what if you broke down and lost power while waiting for a rescue, or have an older vehicle with nowhere to plug in? You could need an extra charge pack. Mophie thinks it has the perfect option for motor racing fans, with its new range of products created with the Oracle Red Bull Racing team. Here we pitched its Powerstation Plus against the Qi2 MagSlim Power Bank from ESR and the MSC 20Ah QC. The Mophie’s quality is attractive, but it’s outgunned here, and its rivals are cheap enough…

TYPICAL. Weeks of scorching summer weather, and as soon as we produce a rundown of our favourite second-hand convertibles, the heavens open. But all is not lost – thanks to modern drop-top technology, you can easily enjoy any one of these 10 cars in bad weather too. 1 MINI Convertible Prices from £7,500 THE MINI Convertible requires little introduction. It was an Auto Express New Car Award winner for longer than we care to remember, and in 2024 took the crown for ‘Best Convertible’ in the Auto Express Used Car Awards, too. Its blend of performance and practicality is hard to beat, but once you factor in great availability on the second-hand market, plus prices from just £7,500, it’s our top pick. There are lots of engines to choose from, including…

THE X5 laid a lot of the groundwork for the modern SUV when it launched in 1999. More than 25 years later we still think it’s one of the strongest models in BMW’s line-up. With the next-generation Neue Klasse cars – including the iX3 and 3 Series – set to be revealed soon, the larger X5 is waiting in the wings. Planned to be offered with internal-combustion, plug-in hybrid, electric and possibly hydrogen powertrains, the new model will give buyers plenty of choice. XDrive all-wheel drive will feature prominently across the range, possibly even as standard. Recent spy shots of the X5 testing at the Nürburgring suggest that the big SUV should lose none of its appeal for keen drivers – possibly even narrowing the gap to, say, the Porsche…

THE reintroduction of EV grants is great – a definite step in the right direction and exactly what the automotive industry has been crying out for. But the confusion around who or what might be eligible has sparked knee-jerk reactions from manufacturers not prepared to see sales stall while we all wait for answers. Was this the Government’s plan all along? Announce a murky idea with an intriguing headline, delay the start and any clarification, and wait for the world and his dog to drop prices and make EVs more affordable? Let them do the hard work so Sir Keir and his cabinet don’t have to? Mission accomplished. Consumers have longed for ICE and electric-car price parity since the days of the original Nissan Leaf, and recently the Government has…

PROPOSED changes to the London Congestion Charge are set to raise tens of millions of pounds a year, with drivers of electric vehicles set to bear the biggest burden. An Auto Express Freedom of Information request submitted to Transport for London (TfL) revealed that removing the EV exemption to the Congestion Charge is expected to generate as much as £75million a year – or even more if the proposed changes to the Cleaner Vehicle Discount (CVD) aren’t implemented. The suggested plan means that although EVs will be subject to the Congestion Charge from 2 January 2026, they will receive a 25 per cent discount (rising to 50 per cent for vans and other LCVs) if registered through the TfL Auto Pay system. However, if the changes to the CVD aren’t…

EARLIER this year, Dacia revealed plans to launch a new £15,000 small EV in double-quick time, reducing the car’s development cycle to just 16 months. Now the brand’s VP for sales and marketing has confirmed that positive news is just round the corner. Speaking on a media call discussing Dacia’s financial results, Frank Marotte told Auto Express: “[Dacia is] committed to increasing our BEV share, our BEV volumes, and our contribution to the Renault Group’s CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy). “So we keep developing the model that was announced earlier this year by (ex-Renault CEO) Luca de Meo, and we will bring more news in the coming months about this. You will not have to wait for too long.” De Meo claimed the car will be developed in just 16…

ISUZU’S new D-Max all-electric pick-up will cost from £59,995 – excluding VAT. Add the 20 per cent tax and the Japanese truck will set you back more than £70,000. If you want to upgrade from the eDL40 ‘Extended’ to the eDL40 ‘Double Cab’ variant, prices start at £60,995 (again, ex. VAT), while the flagship eV-Cross costs £62,495 ex.VAT. The production version was revealed at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham in April, with Isuzu claiming that the truck can match the diesel model for off-road ability, towing and payload weights. Yet its relatively small 66.9kWh battery means the D-Max EV only manages a claimed range of 163 miles.…

“Our drive showed the Trophy in a particularly strong light. There’s little that it won’t make short work of” LAND Rover is no stranger to a special edition. You only need to have scanned the news pages of Auto Express over the past few weeks to know that; from the premium Discovery Tempest to the stealthy Range Rover Black, almost every model in the range has been gifted additional variants to boost its popularity in 2025. The Defender is no exception. At the end of May, the firm announced a series of model-year changes applicable to all models, as well as a Trophy Edition inspired by the 4x4s that competed in the famous Camel Trophy between 1980 and 2000. Those model-year changes include a subtle tweak to the Defender’s daytime…

BYD SEAL UNLIKE some of the other cars in the test, which warn of a low battery when the charge drops to 20 per cent, the Dolphin Surf saves its alert until it hits 10 per cent. Keep pushing through the rest of the battery energy, and at five per cent the estimated range display goes blank and – despite no obvious warning – power becomes limited to a maximum output of 50kW – that’s the equivalent of 67bhp – to maximise the remaining charge. FIAT GRANDE PANDA WE had 24 per cent energy remaining when the Grande Panda first warned us of its low range – a small orange battery light popped up on the driver’s display to alert us. At around four per cent energy, the Fiat’s range…

1. PRECONDITION YOUR BATTERY AS much as we said that whether or not you’ve pre-conditioned the battery shouldn’t matter, getting your car’s battery up to the right operating temperature should mean it hits peak speeds more quickly. In some cars you can do this manually at a push of a button, while others integrate this into EV route planning features within the sat-nav. 2. ONLY RAPID CHARGE AT LOWER BATTERY PERCENTAGES MOST cars have limits on how fast they can charge at higher percentages, to preserve the condition and life of the battery. With this in mind, be sure to plug-in only when the battery gets low, to avoid sitting around for a while. 3. USE ‘SPLASH AND DASH’TRICK IF you’re in a rush, rather than waiting while your car…

YOU know how it goes – you’re outside washing your car when your neighbour arrives home. He wanders over and the usual small talk about the weather and what Joan from number 43 got up to last week begins. However, he knows I’m a motoring journalist, so it’s only a matter of time before the conversation ends up drifting towards cars. He notices the lack of a test car on my driveway and says: “What are you getting next?” I reply and tell him I’m getting a Skoda Elroq, and then I see something: a slight look on his face that suggests something isn’t right. I ask what’s wrong and he says: “Ummm… I wouldn’t want a Skoda. They haven’t got the best reputation, have they?” I’m genuinely stunned. Has…

YOU might take pride in keeping your car shiny, but when did you last look down and see if your driveway is looking clean? Moss, algae and general dirt will soon build up, often leaving tell-tale lighter ‘shadow’ patches when your car moves out of its usual parking spot. If you have an older car or like to do DIY maintenance, you might also be left with the odd unsightly oil patch. Spending a few hours with a proper driveway cleaner, a hose and a brush will soon have it looking like new. Some contain acid to cut through to the stone surface under the dirt, but need to be treated with caution. Others have fungicides to reduce the growth of algae and moss, while some have detergents that attack…

iX3 (DUE SEPTEMBER 2025) THE iX3, which will be revealed in September, will launch the ‘Neue Klasse’ styling language, set to feature on 40 new or revised BMWs by the end of 2027. This will separate the car from today’s X3, while also ushering in the new Panoramic iDrive infotainment. 3 SERIES (DUE MID-2026) NEXT up is the replacement for the 3 Series. It’ll feature the same platform and powertrains as the iX3, plus a similarly bold look. BMW will offer the new 3 with combustion engines and as an EV, setting new benchmarks for efficiency and range. X5 (DUE MID-LATE-2026) UNLIKE the 3 Series and iX3, the new X5 will use the same platform as the old car, but with heavily updated tech. Options will include petrol, diesel and…

NISSAN may top its upcoming Micra supermini range with a hot Nismo version, Auto Express understands. We challenged the brand’s European top brass about whether a high-performance version of the new hatchback was on the cards, and they didn’t say no. When we spoke to Nissan’s European head of product planning, Christophe Amblard, he replied to our enquiry by telling us that the company is “actively looking at all sorts of possibilities with its future product range, including widening the Nismo range. But nothing can so far be confirmed”. A hot version of the Micra would help bolster the Nismo name, which the Japanese company is using as one of its “core” brands alongside Patrol and Juke. But beyond just being a branding exercise, such a car would also allow…

THE MG4 has been a focal point for the Chinese-owned brand’s success in the UK’s all electric market – and it seems you can’t get too much of a good thing, because MG could bring the new Chinese-market MG4 over here. Speaking to Auto Express at the launch of the IM5 and IM6, MG’s UK head of product and planning, David Allison, said the Chinese MG4 “hasn’t been confirmed for the UK, but it’s not unusual for China-specific models to come [here].” Asked if MG’s UK operation would take the Chinese MG4, he said: “You could speculate that.” Allison’s comments appear to show MG warming to the idea of bringing the car here, after he told us in March: “There are lots of cars under the SAIC umbrella sold around…

LOOKING around the new MG IM6 for the first time, you might wonder what it is. Aside from the small ‘MG’ script on the bootlid, you’d have no clue that this electric SUV comes from the British brand – even though the new luxury model will be sold through all of its 155 dealers. The IM6 will allow MG to enter the all-important mid-size electric SUV segment for the first time, alongside the IM5 executive saloon. When you consider that MG has been about lower-end, affordable cars since its rebirth under Chinese ownership, it makes sense that the IM6 and IM5 will keep their physical ‘IM’ logos. IM stands for ‘Intelligence in Motion’ and is used as a standalone brand in China and Australia. A more practical reason is because…

THE Volvo EX30 might be the smallest car the Swedish marque makes, but we think it’s the company’s best work – as evidenced by the EV picking up the Best Small Premium SUV title at the 2025 Auto Express New Car Awards. Aiming to add another string to the model’s bow, Volvo has launched a new range-topping Cross Country variant. It’s 25 years since the firm introduced the Cross Country badge to its line-up, with the V70 XC. Following an absence in the UK, Volvo has revived the badge, and the EX30 marks the first time the Cross Country name has featured on an EV. Aiming to honour its tradition, Volvo says the EX30 Cross Country has been “engineered for tackling rougher surfaces”. To back up this claim, the car…

CHARGING is probably the most contentious aspect of electric motoring. When you hook up your EV to an ultra-rapid and powerful DC charger, why doesn’t it consistently hit the peak rate advertised? And why are many motorists waiting more than the promised 30 minutes to refuel their battery from 20 to 80 per cent? Many assume that the charger’s to blame for causing the reduced rates, not the car. Gridserve – a major chargepoint operator – vows that’s not the case. To find out once and for all, Auto Express took 10 different EVs to Gridserve’s charging hub in Braintree, Essex, to discover the truth about fast charging. We also sought expert advice from the company’s Technical Director, Pete Bishop, on each car’s performance, looking into not only the charging…

TURN the clock back to 2010 and there was just a handful of electric cars on the market. But today there seems to be a brand-new EV being unveiled every other day. Yet it’s not the sheer amount of EVs being launched that’s impressive, or the numbers sold these days (they made up nearly 20 per cent of all new-car sales in the UK in 2024). It’s the diversity of models, the level of affordability and the fact that nearly every mainstream brand makes at least one electric car. With such a vast range of models on the horizon, we decided to thin the herd and highlight what we think are the 10 most exciting electric cars you need to know about. ALPINE A390 THE phenomenal Alpine A110 going electric…

WHILE the BMW 3 Series is into its seventh generation as a saloon, the Touring estate is only on its sixth incarnation, because a wagon version of the original 3 Series was never produced. The current car has petrol and plug-in hybrid powertrain options in the shape of the 320i and 330e (diesel power was dropped with the late 2024 update), while higher-performance M340i and M3 Touring options are also available. There are Sport and M Sport trims, and it’s the latter in 330e guise we’re testing here, priced as £50,235. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE BMW’s plug-in hybrid powertrain has evolved over time, but the basic configuration remains the same. Petrol power comes from a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that’s connected to an eight-speed twin-clutch automatic gearbox, while a 66bhp electric motor…

I’M going to reveal something I might well regret, but here goes: I love Star Wars. Not sci-fi in general, but Star Wars specifically. And when I found out that I’d be the lucky custodian of a Polestar 4, there was one big reason I was really looking forward to it. It sort of looks like the Millennium Falcon… a bit. Well, maybe if you squint. Anyway, there’s something about how the high rear end, the lack of rear window and an almost semi-circular profile combine to look both contemporary and retro at the same time. However, I don’t think our car looks particularly futuristic. Its light metallic blue paint and black lower bumpers don’t sit all that comfortably with the ultramodern vibe – but in my mind it still…

ASK anyone buying a car how valuable safety is to them and they’ll say it’s very important, maybe even crucial. Ask them to prioritise safety above things that have a more direct impact on their everyday enjoyment of a car or their bank balance, and it is a different story. We asked more than 400 people to pick their top three priorities when choosing a new car from 10 key buying criteria. Reliability overwhelmingly came top, chosen by 54 per cent of those polled, yet safety was second from last at 20 per cent. This deprioritisation of safety in the minds of car buyers might be surprising if you consider the implications of driving an unsafe vehicle, but it’s nothing new for the automotive industry. Safety has long been a…

EVER had an unpredictable, life-long pal who potentially has it all, but often goes and spoils everything by pressing the self-destruct button? Sadly, I’m currently lumbered with such a selfharming old friend. It goes by the name of England. This is an increasingly hostile car nation, and worse still, because I’m a car and van bloke, not a train, bus or bike nut, I’m pretty much displaced from its capital city, where I was born. As far as many of London’s ruling politicians are concerned, people like me are on the ‘most-hated’ list, because we drive ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, England and its Greater London capital still have a lot going for them. It’s just that over the past 15 years, Con-Lib coalition, then Conservative and now Labour Governments…