What Car? November 2022

Britain's best car buying guide now has a brand new look with an extra 40-pages in every issue, giving you more of What Car?'s famous comparison tests than ever before and more invaluable buying advice for every car on sale. Plus, What Car?'s Target Price promise could save you thousands off the price of your next car. No wonder they call us the car buyer's bible!

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in this issue

IN THIS ISSUE

WELCOME

An old saying tells us that nothing in life is certain except death and taxes, but Lexus finishing first in the annual What Car? Reliability Survey has become almost as safe a bet. Indeed, in all the years we’ve previously asked readers how dependable their cars are, Toyota’s prestige brand has failed to top the manufacturer standings just once – when it came second. ‘Like death and taxes, Lexus being best for reliability is usually a safe bet’ So, what about the 2022 edition? Has Lexus once again shown that it’s the car maker to turn to if your top priority is trouble-free motoring? Which other brands have excelled? And which have left their customers with the most cause for complaint? You’ll get answers to all of these questions and more from page…

1 min

FIRST DRIVES

Range Rover Sport

Doug.Revolta@haymarket.com THE CLUE IS in the name with the Range Rover Sport. If you like the idea of the full fat Range Rover, but you’re worried that it’s a bit on the big side and you want a bit more ‘Sport’ in your SUV, this is the car that Land Rover hopes will have you heading to one of its showrooms. The truth, though, is that the two generations of Range Rover Sport delivered thus far haven’t quite lived up to the last word of their name, proving luxurious and comfortable but not as sharp to drive as key rivals. Will that change with this new, third-generation model? Well, the Sport has been created in parallel with the latest, fifth-generation Range Rover and, as you’d expect, the two models have a lot in…

8 min

FIRST LOOKS

Ferrari Purosangue

Darren.Moss@haymarket.com THE FERRARI PUROSANGUE is a car that shouldn’t exist. You see, Ferrari bosses have said for a long time that they would never build an SUV. Such a car wouldn’t be true to the brand’s DNA, we were told, and could even damage Ferrari’s reputation as a maker of top-notch sports cars. And yet, here it is: a Ferrari SUV in all but name. The Purosangue-which means ‘thoroughbred’ in Italian-is the brand’s first production four-door four-seater, and its 715bhp 6.5-litre V12 petrol engine makes it the most powerful SUV you can buy. Its performance figures are certainly worthy of the Ferrari badge, too; 0-62mph takes just 3.3sec, and the top speed is 192mph. While CO2 emissions and fuel consumption figures have yet to be revealed, you can expect running costs to be…

2 min

FIRST DRIVES

Mercedes-Benz GLC

Lawrence.Cheung@haymarket.com IT CAN’T BE easy being the most popular person in school. If you talk, act and look the same week after week, your peers might get bored with you. But if you decide to reinvent yourself by adjusting your persona, you risk alienating your playtime followers. A similar dilemma is faced by the Mercedes-Benz GLC, which has recently freshened up its act. This large SUV is the firm’s best-selling model, and fans of the outgoing model will be glad to see the basic formula hasn’t been tinkered with too much. The main focus has been placed on improving fuel economy, practicality and equipment levels. The styling may be subtle, but modified underpinnings have resulted in a GLC that’s now 60mm longer and 4mm lower. The updated car’s front and rear wheels are…

5 min

FIRST LOOKS

Polestar 6

George.Hill@haymarket.com SPOTTING A GAP in the market is often key to a successful business. With that in mind, the new Polestar 6 steps into a very appealing niche as an electric convertible sports car, and at the moment it has no direct rivals. Pictured here in concept car form, the 6 is an upmarket four-seater with a retractable hard-top roof and will crown the Polestar line-up when it goes into production. It sits on all-new, dedicated electric car underpinnings that also form the basis of the upcoming Polestar 5, a four-door performance car to rival the Porsche Taycan. The pair share electric motors, batteries and 800-volt electrical systems (for ultra-fast charging),too. The 6 is powered by two electric motors-one on the front axle and one on the rear, to give it four-wheel drive-producing…

3 min

FIRST DRIVES

BMW X1

Doug.Revolta@haymarket.com The Xl stays nicely upright in corners as the pay-off for its slightly firm ride' NEWCOMERS TO STAND-UP comedy must find choosing material tricky. Line up your raciest, straight-to-the-jugular jokes and you might get a huge cheer, but your audience will probably be limited. Play it a bit safer, though, and the chances are you’ll gather a bigger crowd. Up to now, the BMW X1 has always taken the racier, sportier tack, while its Range Rover Evoque and Volvo XC40 family SUV rivals’ more rounded approach made them easier to recommend. This latest X1, then, needs to go on stage with a much broader repertoire. As before, there’s a broad range of power choices: one petrol engine and two diesels (some of which benefit from mild hybrid electrical assistance), with two plug-in hybrids…

5 min