Spare a thought for the MPV, won’t you? The multi-purpose vehicle, as it was known, was a big, boxy thing sometimes described back in its heyday as a people carrier. As opposed to what I never knew: what is a car if not a vehicle for carrying people? Anyway, I use the word ‘was’ because… Continue reading Big MPVs are the luxury saloons of the future
Author: Autocar Magazine UK
WATCH: Mad Manthey Porsche GT3 RS – how much faster does this £100k kit really make you?
[embedded content] In 2024 we came to Silverstone with a regular 911 GT3 RS to explore how the car’s new cockpit-adjustable damping and differential controls affected the driving experience. That day wasn’t just about subjective driving impressions. We also recorded a lap time, and this has come in handy, because now we’re back at Silverstone… Continue reading WATCH: Mad Manthey Porsche GT3 RS – how much faster does this £100k kit really make you?
Driven: four-wheel-drive Renault 4 edges closer to production
Renault is close to signing off a four-wheel-drive version of the 4 for production, having engineered a working prototype of the 4 Savane 4×4 concept car. Indeed, Autocar has driven the concept on a beach in Denmark and can report the model already feels fresh from the factory and ready for a place in Renault showrooms.… Continue reading Driven: four-wheel-drive Renault 4 edges closer to production
Peugeot 108 successor in the frame as new rules favour city cars
The move has been welcomed by the industry as a potential harbinger of a new age of affordable city cars, with manufacturers including Dacia and BYD hinting at plans to launch tiny new entry models in the region. Peugeot sibling Citroën has also suggested that a more hospitable regulatory environment could pave the way for… Continue reading Peugeot 108 successor in the frame as new rules favour city cars
Look back in anger: digital mirrors need a rethink
The BMW 7 Series I’m currently testing shows how it should be done: it’s a big car and use of digital cameras really helps you to deal with its bulk. I’m sure it was BMW that first offered the plan-perspective parking aid which it now calls Surround View. It’s a composite image, delivered as if… Continue reading Look back in anger: digital mirrors need a rethink
Alpine lifts lid on plan for two EV roadsters
Alpine will have two convertibles in its line-up by 2030, with plans for drop-top versions of both its next-generation A110 sports car and its forthcoming Porsche 911-rivalling fastback GT. The Renault Group’s performance brand is in the process of building a line-up of seven electric-only models by 2030. To that end it has already launched the… Continue reading Alpine lifts lid on plan for two EV roadsters
Ioniq, ID, EQ… what makes an electric sub-brand succeed?
Our spy shots of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class suggest that what’s going to happen next with that car is what happened with the GLC over the summer: an end to the weird, soap bar-looking EQ electric models and an alignment with the combustion models. “If you were told this was the next-gen combustion GLC, you… Continue reading Ioniq, ID, EQ… what makes an electric sub-brand succeed?
Listen: Alpine boss says A290 is convincing petrolheads to go EV
The Alpine A290 hot hatch is helping to convert long-time petrolheads to electric power, according to the brand’s UK boss. The Renault 5-based EV is the first new car under Alpine’s reinvention from a single-model sports car brand into a performance-honed electrified brand. Speaking to the Autocar Meets podcast, Alpine UK chief Nicola Burnside said… Continue reading Listen: Alpine boss says A290 is convincing petrolheads to go EV
One step beyond: how Kia plans to shake up the van market
In this transition era for the automotive industry, barely a week passes without a manufacturer wheeling out a bold new electric machine with a flashy presentation that claims it brings tomorrow’s technology to today’s roads and will transform the fortunes of the firm that made it. But those presentations don’t normally include extended sections on… Continue reading One step beyond: how Kia plans to shake up the van market
This Lotus can hit 420kW – if you find a fast enough charger
How long does it take to fill up a car? When the difference between a fast fuel pump and a slow one and a big tank and a small one is three minutes, the answer is ‘who cares?’. That said, I still find filling up with fuel quite tedious, largely because you have to stand… Continue reading This Lotus can hit 420kW – if you find a fast enough charger