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WELCOME to the first of two special double issues coming your way over the next few weeks as we head towards Christmas and an exciting New Year for car fans. In this issue – as well as the usual news, drives and tests – we’ve focused on two famous French brands: Renault and Peugeot. Both are being revitalised under impressive leaders, but taking very different approaches. Renault, under boss Luca de Meo, is leaning on its legacy with its Renaulution, bringing back the famous Five and Four models for the new, electric age. So we thought we’d take the chance to dust off some of the most iconic Fives of old and take them for a blast. It confirms why de Meo and his team are right to reinvent the past with…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy “The next-generation vehicle will be half the cost of the Model 3 and Y platform. It’ll be smaller, but I think it will shortly exceed production of our other vehicles combined” ELON MUSK Tesla CEO TESLA ends 2022 without delivering either its much-delayed Cybertruck or the new Roadster – but the company is already putting fresh focus on the development of a smaller, cheaper model that could play a bigger role in EV adoption. Rumours of a vehicle positioned beneath the current entry point, the Model 3, have been swirling for some time. As recently as the start of this year, Tesla boss Elon Musk denied that the company was working on such a model, saying: “We have enough on our plate right now, quite frankly.” However, 2022 has seen Tesla often topping…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● Hybrid and plug-in versions ● SUV set to arrive next summer THE Toyota C-HR is the model that kick-started the Japanese brand’s design revolution in Europe back in 2016 – and now the company is previewing the second generation of the popular crossover with this concept, called C-HR Prologue. The new creation is ostensibly a show car, but Toyota sources are openly saying that it is a close preview of the second-generation C-HR, which should land in dealerships in the second half of 2023. “It is a first, but very real vision of a car that will soon be turning heads across Europe,” the firm says. Indeed, the naming of the concept as ‘Prologue’ is significant, since the only other Toyota to carry that suffix, the Aygo X Prologue, proved a very…

THE stunning-looking fifth generation of Prius has grabbed headlines for Toyota in recent weeks, but the C-HR Prologue looks a fine example of why the firm believes the new version of the hybrid pioneer is no longer needed in the UK. The original C-HR was a transformative vehicle for the Japanese company in Europe – a model with such divisive styling and compromised packaging that it was hard to believe such a traditionally conservative brand would dare to produce it. But when it did, the C-HR sold in spades, attracting lots of new customers to Toyota. The ability to offer the Mk2 C-HR with a choice of regular hybrid and plug-in hybrid power means that Toyota will have a radical-looking, highly efficient alternative to the Corolla hatchback and RAV4 full SUV –…

THE new MG4 EV has been crowned 2023 Car of the Year and Best Value Electric Car in Auto Express sister site DrivingElectric.com annual rundown of the top electric and hybrid cars on sale. The judges praised the budget-friendly EV, with editor Richard Ingram calling the MG4 “outstandingly capable”. He said the recently launched bargain hatchback combined “range, practicality and loads of kit into a sharp-looking, fun-to-drive package – all at an unbeatable price”. Elsewhere, the brand-new Ora Funky Cat ended the Fiat 500’s two-year reign as DrivingElectric’s Best Urban Electric Car, while the Skoda Enyaq iV retained its title as DrivingElectric’s Best Electric Family Car. The new BMW i7 took home the coveted Best Luxury Electric Car award, while the Mercedes EQE won Best Long-Distance Electric Car, thanks to its blend of…

● Rallycross-based concept previews tamer road car due in 2025 ● Used by Cupra to demonstrate potential of EV performance CONCEPT cars are usually there to whet our appetites for future production models, so in the vast majority of cases, they’re mostly about looks. Not so with Cupra, because we’ve actually been for a spin in the company’s Urban Rebel Racing Concept – and can testify that it does more than just drive. It flies. Of course, the Urban Rebel is indeed a preview of a forthcoming road car: the new baby EV, being developed alongside models from VW and Skoda. But for the time being, Cupra wants to use the show car to demonstrate electrified performance. More than that, the firm thinks it can help fill the gap until the production vehicle arrives…