Auto Express 1711

WHAT does Sony mean to you? The days when it was king of the hill in the audio and TV worlds are long gone, but most of us on the Auto Express team remember Walkmans, TVs and even Sony mobile phones fondly. If you broaden the conversation out to the next generation of new car buyers – and I have three of them in my household – Sony means PlayStation and Pictures; the company was behind the latest Spider-Man movie! Which puts the brand in an interesting place when it comes to cars. Clearly it has zero pedigree in the automotive world, other than supplying parts to car makers, and its first concept car in 2020. But, then, Tesla… It certainly got our team talking – and the prospect of…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● Vision-S 02 SUV revealed at US show, two years after first concept ● New firm Sony Mobility Inc. will explore entering the EV market THE world has been buzzing for several years about the possibility of Apple becoming a car manufacturer. But one of the tech giant’s key rivals looks set to beat it to the punch, after Sony revealed a second EV concept at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and confirmed that it is considering putting it into production. The Japanese electronics firm shocked the 2020 CES event when it wheeled out the Vision-S, a Tesla Model S-rivalling saloon. It insisted at the time that the car was a testbed for its sensor and 5G vehicle-to-vehicle technology, although the fact that the vehicle had been…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk “Although the EQXX is positioned as a halo model, we can expect much of what is previewed here to feature soon in series-production Mercedes models” ● Brand taps into F1 team’s know-how to produce concept MERCEDES has highlighted the future for its electric-car tech by unveiling the Vision EQXX concept. This has a range of more than 1,000km (621 miles) and previews an ultra-efficient production EV that will go on sale in 2024. The brand says that the concept’s range, typically double that of most current premium EVs, doesn’t come from a larger battery. Instead, the four-seat family car “takes range and efficiency to a whole new level [by] rethinking the fundamentals from the ground up”, using lightweight materials and a battery of a relatively conventional size but a…

Q To give us a sense of scale, how big is the Vision EQXX? A “It’s less than five metres long and around 1.4 metres tall; it’s a segment below the EQE, so kind of compact-sedan size.” Q How important is drag to efficiency, and does reducing drag compromise a car’s design? A “It’s hugely important; 0.01Cd less can add as much as 2.5 per cent more range. We worked really hard to achieve the shape, but still the sensual purity a Mercedes needs. The aerodynamics of the EQXX embody this fusion of tech and aesthetic.” Q Why did you not use digital wing mirrors to further reduce drag? A “The Vision EQXX project is all about efficiency and range. While the smaller camera-based wing mirrors do offer less drag,…

TO build an EV with a battery that offers close to double the range of a Tesla Model S Long Range is certainly an engineering feat. But do we really need a 621-mile EV, or are we being seduced by a case of more is better? Compare it with traditional ICE cars. When was the last time you maxed out your tank on one trip? Probably never. The average car journey in the UK is 8.4 miles, so would buyers prefer not so much range and to buy their EV for £10,000 less and save more of the world’s precious resources? Yet until we have a reliable and vast charging network in the UK, range anxiety will always be a factor. While Mercedes has done its best to optimise the…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods ● More upmarket look for SUV ● New infotainment from C5 X LEADING Citroen’s charge in 2022 is an updated version of the C5 Aircross SUV. It features design changes inside and out that the brand says are part of a wider effort to give the car a more premium feel. The front end of the Peugeot 3008 rival has been updated with a totally new face. Citroen says it has removed some of the curves in favour of more “structured” lines, and that the shape of the car’s nose is more upright, for a more imposing look. The old car’s split headlights have been replaced by new units with updated daytime running lights, which are incorporated into a new front grille. The lower section of this has…