“I want to say the R500 is not a scary car to drive,” says Dan Webster, the earnestness in his Brummie tone entirely betrayed by the glint in his eyes. “But it probably will be scary the first time you drive it.” The deadpan delivery makes me laugh out loud, then quietly look inward. I… Continue reading Driving the 330bhp, £375,000 carbon-bodied Elise
Author: Autocar Magazine UK
Driving the 330bhp, £375,000 carbon-bodied Elise
“I want to say the R500 is not a scary car to drive,” says Dan Webster, the earnestness in his Brummie tone entirely betrayed by the glint in his eyes. “But it probably will be scary the first time you drive it.” The deadpan delivery makes me laugh out loud, then quietly look inward. I… Continue reading Driving the 330bhp, £375,000 carbon-bodied Elise
The road to self-driving cars that think and behave like humans
It’s hard to read anything these days without coming across the term ‘artificial intelligence’ or ‘AI’, and there’s certainly plenty of noise being made about it in the automotive industry. One huge investment in AI is being made by supplier Bosch and the Volkswagen Group’s software arm, Cariad. These partners formed the Automated Driving Alliance… Continue reading The road to self-driving cars that think and behave like humans
Renault concept goes 626 miles on a charge at motorway speed
Renault’s radical Filante concept has driven 626 miles in 10 hours, achieving 8mpkWh at an average speed of 63mph – “showing that this level of range is achievable in motorway-like conditions”. The Filante is a futuristic single-seat EV concept designed to set efficiency records, using the same 87kWh battery as the Renault Scenic SUV –… Continue reading Renault concept goes 626 miles on a charge at motorway speed
Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric
While some other manufacturers are slowly revising their touchscreen-dominant strategies, Mercedes is ploughing on full steam ahead. As on other Mercedes, the approach is at least relatively cohesive. The startlingly vertical fascia and relatively short dashboard are unusual and call forth a 1950s vision of the future. Our test car didn’t have the Superscreen, which… Continue reading Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric
4000 miles in a Golf GTE: The company car for the helmsman
New cars just keep getting more expensive. That’s why many drivers take advantage of company car and salary sacrifice schemes offered by their employers. The latter especially can be quite the money saver, because the car payments come out pre-tax. Of course, there are caveats. You will never actually own the car outright, and you… Continue reading 4000 miles in a Golf GTE: The company car for the helmsman
The McLaren Artura came of age in 2025 – now it’s a true supercar
At the beginning of my first full lap of Llandow Circuit behind the wheel of the Artura in the summer, I had what can at best be called a ‘track limits violation’, cutting the corner onto the grass at the first chicane. It felt awful and sounded loud from behind the wheel but looked far… Continue reading The McLaren Artura came of age in 2025 – now it’s a true supercar
How a cigar-chomping watchmaker invented the Smart car
Earlier this year Smart confirmed that it is creating a new miniature two-seater – the unique proposition for which the brand was invented three decades ago – several years after foraying into electric SUVs. The brand had some difficulty in building a business case for the #2 – but even so, its progress through the pipeline has… Continue reading How a cigar-chomping watchmaker invented the Smart car
Why the pay-per-mile tax could unintentionally stifle ICE car sales
The inadvertent early release of the Autumn Budget details by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – which compelled its boss to resign – was apparently not the only error the UK’s fiscal watchdog made at the time. When the OBR predicted that the upcoming pay-per-mile tax on EVs would reduce demand for them by 440,000… Continue reading Why the pay-per-mile tax could unintentionally stifle ICE car sales
Dark days and -30deg C temperatures: But winter testing is great
It’s a consequence of being a nerdy petrolhead that, despite most of us living thousands of miles away from northern Scandinavia, we’re familiar with the strange names of Arvidsjaur, Arjeplog and Rovaniemi. These settlements are the storied and chillingly remote testing hubs around which nearly every European car maker congregates each winter. They use facilities… Continue reading Dark days and -30deg C temperatures: But winter testing is great