Auto Express 1725

THE latest batch of Euro NCAP safety test results are in – and they make interesting reading for anyone who picked up on our recent five-star review of the Dacia Jogger. The novel seven-seater has been awarded just a single star, with testers basing their results on the related Sandero Stepway, but picking up on the Jogger’s lack of seatbelt sensors in the third row, and punishing the new model for its relative shortage of safety sensors. As you can read on page 20 of this issue, Euro NCAP is celebrating a quarter century of pushing for gains in safety. Standards have improved immeasurably over that time, and Euro NCAP – represented in the UK by Thatcham – deserves immense praise for its efforts. The Jogger verdict is significant, though, because it…

THE latest batch of Euro NCAP safety test results are in – and they make interesting reading for anyone who picked up on our recent five-star review of the Dacia Jogger. The novel seven-seater has been awarded just a single star, with testers basing their results on the related Sandero Stepway, but picking up on the Jogger’s lack of seatbelt sensors in the third row, and punishing the new model for its relative shortage of safety sensors. As you can read on page 20 of this issue, Euro NCAP is celebrating a quarter century of pushing for gains in safety. Standards have improved immeasurably over that time, and Euro NCAP – represented in the UK by Thatcham – deserves immense praise for its efforts. The Jogger verdict is significant, though,…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods ● Fresh look and latest tech for maker’s biggest-selling SUV ● Promises ICE and plug-in hybrid power; there’ll be no EV ONE of Audi’s SUV stalwarts is due to be replaced next year, for a final time before the brand’s European sales go fully electric in 2030. It’s the new Q5 – Audi’s rival to the BMW X3 and Mercedes GLE. The mid-size SUV will enter its third generation in 2023, and it’s already been spied deep into its development programme. While the larger Q7’s introduction in 2006 fired the starting pistol on what has become the expansive and arguably niche-filled Audi SUV line-up we have today, the Q5 remains the bedrock of the brand’s success in the SUV market. Globally, there isn’t a single Audi nameplate that sells in higher volumes, with…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods ● Fresh look and latest tech for maker’s biggest-selling SUV ● Promises ICE and plug-in hybrid power; there’ll be no EV ONE of Audi’s SUV stalwarts is due to be replaced next year, for a final time before the brand’s European sales go fully electric in 2030. It’s the new Q5 – Audi’s rival to the BMW X3 and Mercedes GLE. The mid-size SUV will enter its third generation in 2023, and it’s already been spied deep into its development programme. While the larger Q7’s introduction in 2006 fired the starting pistol on what has become the expansive and arguably niche-filled Audi SUV line-up we have today, the Q5 remains the bedrock of the brand’s success in the SUV market. Globally, there isn’t a single Audi nameplate that…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk ● Final concept in ‘Sphere’ trio ● Designed for maximum space WHILE Audi is readying its new Q5 SUV, it has also shown its vision of the future with this, the Urbansphere concept. The car completes the brand’s trio of ‘sphere’ concept models, after the Skysphere open-top sports car and Grandsphere luxury GT that previews the company’s next-generation A8. The Urbansphere shares elements of those models’ styling, too, with a fully blanked-off ‘singleframe’ grille flanked by a pair of slim headlights that suggest how Audis of the future could look. The MPV-like Urbansphere has been designed for use in megacities. It embraces the concept of interior space – and at 5.51 metres long and 2.01 metres wide, there’s plenty of it. Counterhinged doors and no B-pillars enhance this feeling of roominess. In the rear…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk ● Final concept in ‘Sphere’ trio ● Designed for maximum space WHILE Audi is readying its new Q5 SUV, it has also shown its vision of the future with this, the Urbansphere concept. The car completes the brand’s trio of ‘sphere’ concept models, after the Skysphere open-top sports car and Grandsphere luxury GT that previews the company’s next-generation A8. The Urbansphere shares elements of those models’ styling, too, with a fully blanked-off ‘singleframe’ grille flanked by a pair of slim headlights that suggest how Audis of the future could look. The MPV-like Urbansphere has been designed for use in megacities. It embraces the concept of interior space – and at 5.51 metres long and 2.01 metres wide, there’s plenty of it. Counterhinged doors and no B-pillars enhance this feeling…