What Car?

In theory, the new ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers that are starting to appear at UK motorway services are brilliant – capable of adding up to 100 miles of range in less than 10 minutes. True, many of the electric cars currently on sale can’t accept energy at the maximum 350kW rate of these units. But you still won’t be stationary for long, right? Well, like I say, that’s the theory. However, when I plugged into one of them the other night, what I actually got was 35kW. And that meant I faced a wait of more than two hours if I wanted a full charge. A “cooler issue” was later blamed, and I might just have been unlucky. But while this was my first experience of these particular chargers, it’s certainly not the…

will.nightingale@haymarket.com NOT EXACTLY A friendly name, is it? Especially given that the new Avenger is a remarkably affable car. Perhaps it’s been sent to avenge the unfavourable star ratings we’ve given most of Jeep’s model line-up over the past few years. But joking aside, the Avenger is a very different proposition from the famous American brand. For starters, it’s the first fully electric car in Jeep’s 80-odd-year history. It’s also tiny (barely any longer than a Volkswagen Polo) and it doesn’t even have four-wheel drive. This small SUV is intended to rival the likes of the Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia Niro EV and Peugeot e-2008 (with which, incidentally, the Avenger shares its basic underpinnings). Does that mean it’s a better Jeep for those who plan to drive on the road (in other words,…

alasdair.rodden@haymarket.com FOR ANYTHING TO succeed, it has to live up to its description. A funfair should indeed be fun, an ice rink icy and a sports SUV… well, you see where we’re going here. Fortunately for Porsche, its Cayenne sports SUV has never struggled to live up to the ‘sports’ bit of the description. And now it’s been given a range of updates to keep it fresh against rival models. Arguably, the most significant changes to the Cayenne – and the sleeker Cayenne Coupé version – are under the bonnet. This will be the last generation to run on petrol before an all-electric model replaces it, and the engines have been given more power than ever so they go out on a high. At the top of the performance tree is the Turbo GT,…

lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com IF YOU VIEW the BMW saloon range as a family of three children, the 5 Series could be at risk of suffering from ‘middle child syndrome’. While the flagship 7 Series gets to showcase all of its clever on-board technology, the compact and relatively uncomplicated 3 Series focuses on having fun. The 5 Series, then, has to work the hardest of the three in order to garner attention, by combining a mixture of its siblings’ characteristics. In keeping with the outgoing version, the new-generation 5 Series uses a shortened version of the 7 Series’ underpinnings, balancing the luxurious feel of the larger car with a stronger dose of agility to keep the driver entertained. As before, an array of mild hybrid petrol and diesel engines and plug-in hybrids will be offered, but…

darren.moss@haymarket.com NEW POLESTAR MODELS are beginning to come along like buses. While there’s currently only one model in the brand’s line-up, another three will be arriving in quick succession. And this one – the Polestar 4 – could be the most appealing of the lot. It ticks a lot of the most fashionable boxes: not only is it fully electric but it’s also a coupé SUV, meaning it aims to provide family-friendly practicality in a sleek, eye-catching shape. With its slim LED lights, flush door handles and 22in alloy wheels, the Polestar 4 certainly looks the part, and it needs to, because it faces premium competition from the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron and Volvo C40 Recharge, as well as from the cheaper Skoda Enyaq Coupé iV and Volkswagen ID 5. The Polestar 4…

lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com THE ATTO 3 IS from a brand you’re unlikely to know yet. Founded in 1995 as a battery manufacturer, Chinese company BYD has since grown to build all sorts of electric products, from buses to forklifts. And now it’s here with a rival to the Kia Niro EV and MG ZS EV, hoping to make a splash in the fast-growing electric SUV market. Officially, the Atto 3 will cover 260 miles on a full battery, trailing the Niro EV’s 285 miles and the 273 miles managed by the MG ZS EV Long Range. With a maximum charging rate of 88kW, its 60.5kWh battery can be topped up from 10-80% in about three-quarters of an hour. For reference, that’s about the same as the Niro EV’s charging time and a bit longer…