Auto Express 1676

THE huge proliferation of models in recent years has presented dealers with a challenge: how can they display and demonstrate a growing range of cars? And can customers try the car they actually want to buy? It begs the question whether we really need the narrowest of niches, especially among SUVs. Citroen boss Vincent Cobée doesn’t think so, as he told me this week: “We’ve seen an interesting phenomenon in the last years, with some brands carpet-bombing the markets. “So you end up with a vehicle every 10 centimetres of length, and a vehicle every three to five centimetres of height. And if you’re really obsessive, you end up with five or six SUVs in length, and then you can deploy them with two or three heights.” That’s not the…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy • Fourth generation of supermini revealed with all-new look • New platform increases options and on-board tech THE Skoda Fabia has long been one of the more conservative but practical choices in the supermini market, with less driving flair but more space than a Ford Fiesta. But Skoda is hoping that the Fabia can appeal to heart as well as head with this all-new fourth generation, revealed ahead of its arrival in showrooms in early 2022. The Mk4 Fabia really is all new, too, because it’s the last of the Volkswagen Group superminis to finally move off the ageing PQ26 platform onto MQB A0, as used by the recently updated VW Polo and SEAT Ibiza. It gives Skoda’s baby – now the firm’s smallest model after the demise…

Chief designer, Skoda GERMAN born Stefani has been head of design at Skoda since 2017. He worked at Volkswagen between 1992-1999 and 2002-2015, when he was head of exterior design for the brand. Q What targets did you set for the new Fabia? A “The briefing was to make it more emotional, make it a bit more dynamic. So you know that we changed the platform, and thanks to that the car has super-gorgeous proportions.” Q About those new proportions. Is there more to it than just making the Fabia look sportier? A “The car is longer but especially wider. It has bigger wheels with a wider track. We’ve made the car a little bit higher, so we are not like other brands who are pushing the roof lower. We…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @jimmybrods • New proportions for top-selling SUV • Reader spots prototype on the road LAND ROVER is preparing a brand-new version of one of its best-selling models – the Range Rover Sport. The Sport outsells the full-size Range Rover by almost two-to-one, and in the group’s most recent financial results it was the joint-second best-selling Jaguar Land Rover model, behind only the Evoque. And that’s despite the current car being eight years old. The third-generation Range Rover Sport will be more than an evolution. It will make use of JLR’s new MLA large-car platform, and a new design is on the cards, too. Spy pictures sent in by Auto Express reader Peter Siu hint at not only the Range Rover Sport’s change in proportions, but also some of the…

Luke_Wilkinson@autovia.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson • Performance version of ID.4 is first VW to wear new GTX badge • On sale later this year, with an expected price of around £49k VOLKSWAGEN has launched a performance version of the ID.4 electric SUV. It’s the brand’s first model to wear the new GTX badge – an electric equivalent to GTI – and it will be priced from around £49,000 when it goes on sale later this year. The GTX uses the same platform as the normal ID.4, but the rear-mounted 201bhp electric motor is supported by an extra motor at the front, delivering a combined 295bhp. Volkswagen claims 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds – about the same as the current Golf GTI – but the top speed is limited to 112mph. Under normal driving conditions,…

HONDA has revealed its 11th-generation Civic in American saloon spec, but these official images of the car’s interior highlight what the UK-market hatchback will look like when it makes its debut later this year. The interior is a huge departure compared with the previous Civic. Star of the show is a new, de-cluttered dashboard, which features a long, horizontal plane with the ventilation controls and switchgear mounted below a new floating touchscreen infotainment system. The Civic’s standard unit sizes up at seven inches, with a nine-inch-set-up available as an option. Honda says the new system boasts simpler menus, as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. This screen is joined by a fully digital dash for the first time in the Civic. A new customisable 10.2-inch instrument cluster…