Table of contents for 1585 in Auto Express

Cupra teases new all-electric concept A NEW Cupra concept car will take pride of place on the firm’s stand at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. SEAT’s performance spin-off has teased its latest creation; the above image confirms that it’ll be a coupé-inspired crossover, while Cupra has also revealed that it’ll be all-electric. It’s likely to use the Volkswagen Group’s all-electric MEB platform, and Cupra has confirmed that the unnamed concept will preview an upcoming EV. Zipse announced as new BMW boss BMW has named board member Oliver Zipse as its next boss, with the firm’s current production chief to take over the role of chairman from Harald Krüger on 16 August. Zipse has been with BMW since 1991, starting out as a trainee, before moving into roles in product planning and…

THE number of motorists applying for International Driving Permits (IDPs) has increased tenfold since the UK voted to leave the European Union, with over half a million issued between February and July, compared to an average of 100,000 a year. The permits will be essential for motorists driving in the EU if a hard Brexit occurs, because UK licences are unlikely to be valid on their own. Drivers have spent more than £3.2 million on 584,000 IDPs, at £5.50 each, in the past six months. The spike in demand coincided with a Government notice advising that UK licences will no longer be valid in EU and EEA countries in if no formal agreement is reached to replicate the current system of EU-wide licence validity. Following that announcement, 282,000 IDP applications…

Consumer editor OVER a quarter of road users killed in 2017 were not wearing a seatbelt, so ensuring that people belt up is vital if the government is serious about reducing road deaths. While graduated driving licence proposals may be draconian, belts are effective and unobtrusive, so belting up is a no-brainer; penalties for not doing so should be harsh. Given how keen authorities are to issue penalty points for speeding and several other offences, my only question for them when it comes to seatbelts is: what took you so long?…

Hugo_Griffiths@dennis.co.uk @hugo_griffiths “Motorists aged between 17 and 19 account for almost 10 per cent of accident victims” YOUNG and newly qualified drivers could be banned from the roads at night after the Department for Transport (DfT) opened an investigation into graduated driving licences (GDLs) as part of a wide-reaching two-year review of road safety. As well as a night-time curfew, novice drivers could also face restrictions over the age and number of passengers they can carry, and may have to complete a minimum learning period before being able to take their practical driving test. GDL schemes can also place restrictions on how powerful the car of a new driver can be. Ministers have previously shied away from GDLs, partly because of concerns that they could limit the ability of new…

ALL new public EV rapid chargers must accept pay-as-you-go card payments from spring next year so drivers can charge cars without subscribing with individual companies. The network is made up of at least 20 different firms, each with their own rules. All new rapid BP Chargemaster Polar points will accept card payments from non-members, and Ultracharge Polar machines will get card-readers in the next year. The Department for Transport said it would intervene if other firms didn’t follow suit. PAGE 54: Charging our Audi e-tron…

Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @rsp_ingram “Slow and steady wins the race here. You might be on a treacherous route that hasn’t been used for 10 years.” BEFORE the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act came into force in 2006, the number of public byways (BOATs) and unclassified roads (UCRs) dotted around England and Wales stood at more than double what it does today. Once you’ve got your head around the acronyms, it’s still possible to find clusters of these ‘green lanes’ up and down the country. They can be as little as a hundred metres long or could run for several miles – taking in anything from broken tarmac to deep streams and precarious rock crawls. In recent years, however, green-laners have been the subject of much unwanted attention and bad press,…

Performance 0-62mph/top speed 4.8 seconds/155mph Running costs 41.0mpg (official) £64 fill-up ON paper the new £36,430 BMW M135i xDrive has it all. There’s a new 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that produces more power than any other four-cylinder production motor in BMW’s history. There’s the highly sophisticated new part-time four-wheel-drive system that generates enough traction to make your hair fall out. There’s also an appealing new design inside and out that includes one of the most advanced communication packages ever seen in a small to medium-size car. So to begin with, you can’t help but be impressed by BMW’s sporting new flagship for the latest 1 Series. And if you dive a little deeper into its specifications, things get better still. The engine might only be a 2.0-litre petrol, but it develops…

MODEL TESTED: Porsche 718 Cayman S PDK PRICE: £56,365 ENGINE: 2.5-litre 4cyl, 345bhp THE 718 Cayman is available with two engines: a 2.0-litre unit in the standard car and a 2.5-litre motor in the S variant we’re testing here (the GTS in our images also uses a 2.5). It’s available as a manual – unlike its rivals – but we’re looking at the PDK automatic version, which costs from £56,365. Design & engineering WHILE the Supra and TT RS are front-engined models, the Cayman is mid-engined, with the motor placed just ahead of the rear wheels, behind the cabin. The Porsche’s engine is an uncommon flat-four configuration, with the pistons pushing in and out in a ‘boxer’ motion rather than up and down like a traditional in-line four. It produces…

NEW: Alpine A110 Légende PRICE: £50,810 ENGINE: 1.8-litre 4cyl, 249bhp THE Alpine A110 is our favourite car in this class, and it’s an Auto Express Award winner because of its incredible handling. It’s simply brilliant fun to drive, while also being comfortable and usable in every-day life. The small engine and light weight mean that it’s nearly as fast as rivals, yet it’s also much cheaper to run. USED: Nissan GT-R PRICE: £55,990 ENGINE: 3.8-litre V6, 542bhp GOING for a used sports car means that you can get something with a lot more power for your budget. Like the new Supra, the Nissan GT-R is a great pick for Japanese car fans. This 2016 variant gets from 0-62mph in no more than 2.7 seconds; we found it for sale for…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy PICK a card, any card. Just as long as it gets you charging. That’s a scenario that is going to become increasingly common for me over the next few months in the Audi e-tron – and I’ve only myself to blame. You may recall that in the first report on the car (Issue 1,579), I pointed out that while the UK’s motorway EV charging network (the Electric Highway) is famously fallible, there are several very decent alternatives that can often be found only a few minutes from the main routes anyway. However, I found myself wanting to top up on the way north during a recent trip to Coventry – and realised that I hadn’t done the required prep work to sign up for these alternatives. Sure enough,…

Audi e-tron Issue 1,579 BMW 3 Series Issue 1,576, 1584 Citroen Berlingo XL Issue 1,579 Cupra Ateca Issues 1,564, 1,573, 1,581 Dacia Duster Issues 1,561, 1,564, 1,572, 1,575, 1,583 Ford Focus Issue 1,582 Honda CR-V Hybrid Issue 1,576, 1584 Hyundai Santa Fe Issue 1,575, 1,580 Kia e-Niro Issue 1,569, 1,580 Kia Ceed Issue 1,567, 1,577, 1,582 Mazda MX-5 Issue 1,573 Mercedes G-Class Issues 1,565, 1,574, 1,581 Mercedes X-Class Is 1,547, 1,557, 1,563,1,571,1,578 Renault Mégane R.S. Issue 1,581 SEAT Tarraco Issue 1,574, 1584 Skoda Fabia Issue 1,572, 1,582 Volkswagen California Issues 1,578, 1,583 Volkswagen Touareg Issue 1,580…

FIRST TEST Cybex SensorSafe Price: £309.95 (Sirona Z i-Size incl SensorSafe) Contact: www.cybex-online.com AS toddlers grow, the red buckle button on their child seat can seem a tempting thing to press. That can pose a problem for parents, especially if the child is in a rear-facing seat. It’s an issue Cybex has sought to solve with its new SensorSafe technology. SensorSafe comes included with certain Cybex seats, including the Sirona Z that we tested. So-equipped, it costs £50 more than non-SensorSafe models. Initial set-up takes about 10 minutes, and requires an included OBDII plug to be connected to the car’s on-board diagnostics port and a smartphone app to be downloaded. It’s better to pair the unit with a passenger’s phone (rather than the driver’s) so that alerts can be monitored safely…

Grease Junkie Edd China (Virgin Books, www.penguin.co.uk) Price: £14.99 ONCE half of the Wheeler Dealers team, Edd China is a favourite of many – and his memoirs are just as compelling as his TV shows. They’re an excellent insight into his zany life, whether repairing cars or building the world’s fastest furniture. A must-read for his fans, and even those not familiar will enjoy a chuckle. Lotus Europa Matthew Vale (Veloce Publishing, www.veloce.co.uk) Price: £40 THIS ungainly yet charming car is one of the more recognisable Lotuses; it’s also a very interesting one, and this great book covers it in impressive detail. It’s well written and easy to dive into, while the photography is very good. A relatively high price for this kind of book, but it’s good enough to…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk @AE_Consumer Q Bigger isn’t always better A I’M buying a new car and want to order 20-inch alloy wheels, which look great on the configurator. I’ve been told that they’ll make the ride worse, though. Is this true? Colin Hunt, E-mail AS a general rule, large alloy wheels and low-profile tyres improve grip and handling, but can harm the ride. Car makers are getting better at configuring suspension to offset this, though; and if the car has air suspension, this can also help. We’d recommend test driving the car with your chosen wheels. Q Bikes breaking the law A IN the past few weeks I’ve noticed a large number of motorcyclists using the rural road I live on as a racetrack, riding up and down…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk • Overtaking boost expected• Vettel: let us run flat out FORMULA One is planning to bring back ‘ground effect’ aerodynamics as part of the new 2021 rules package, in a bid to make overtaking easier. The technique involves shaped surfaces on the underside of the car that generate downforce, and was outlawed in the early eighties when it led to a dramatic increase in cornering speeds. Since then, F1 cars have been required to have flat floors. A reliance on wings and bargeboards to generate downforce instead has led to cars that are very sensitive to changes in airflow, such as when following close behind another car. With the 2021 rules package (which will not be officially signed off until October),F1 is hoping to restrict the complexity of upper-surface…

Motoring’s most outspoken and opinionated columnist sounds off “We can (and must) point the finger at the Highways England decision-makers for getting things so horribly wrong” CAST your mind back to the gloriously balmy weekend of 13-14 July. Thanks to the cricket World Cup Final, climax of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, British Grand Prix, plus colossal Hyde Park and Blackheath open-air concerts, the south-east was the centre of the world for sport and music. Around 19 million people live in the region, almost twice as many as the combined populations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. But extra millions – from overseas and all over Britain – also hit the region over that 48-hour period. The already hopelessly stretched local-road network needed to be fully fit for purpose on this…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn ● BMW’s smallest SUV will use UKL2 platform ● Electric, mild hybrid and conventional drivetrains BMW is in the final stages of a plan to add a new baby SUV to its model range, in an attempt to capitalise on the growth of affordable, compact crossovers. The firm has one of the largest SUV line-ups in the industry, stretching from the X1 to the X7. During the first half of 2019 almost 45 per cent of the company’s sales were made up of SUVs – the highest figures the firm has ever recorded, and up almost 10 per cent on the same period last year. The rapid rise in the popularity of SUVs has encouraged bosses to look at other areas of opportunity. The first will be a…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods ● Rival for BMW X2, Merc GLA ● Petrol, diesel and mild hybrid THIS is the new Audi Q3 Sportback, a more design-led, more coupé-inspired version of the firm’s popular Q3 compact SUV. It goes on sale in the UK next month, with deliveries expected this autumn. The newcomer builds on the success of the regular Q3 – almost 170,000 of which were sold last year – and arrives with plenty of rivals in the shape of the BMW X2, Mercedes GLA and Mazda CX-30. Measured up to the parcel shelf, boot space is 530 litres – exactly the same as you’ll find in the regular Q3, despite the more sloping roofline. The rear bench seats three and slides forward to open up a little extra space, or…

New-look Skoda SUVs make their debuts THE updated Skoda Karoq and Kodiaq SUVs will go on sale in the UK later this year. Both SUVs will feature ‘Skoda’ lettering on their tailgates in place of the brand’s emblem, and will be offered with a revised version of Skoda’s Side Assist advanced blind spot monitoring system. In addition, the Karoq is now available with a 187bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine. Councils ignoring speed bump advice THE number of traffic-calming speed humps in the UK has increased by 2,000 over the past year and now stands at 42,000, with the humps covering 14,000 miles of road. The data, which comes from Citroen, shows Newham Council in London has speed humps on all 125 miles of the roads it manages, while Norwich has…

Editor-in-Chief, AutoExpress NOBODY can argue that some form of graduated driving licence is a bad thing – and it’s something my own children (all now driving and aged 18, 18 and 20) agree with. However, the key is not to make it draconian, and suggesting that young drivers shouldn’t be allowed to drive at night is ridiculous. Just for starters, what constitutes night? Are we talking during the hours of darkness? If so, that would mean one of my lads wouldn’t be able to get home from work. Why not use technology to help reduce the number of accidents and improve driving standards? So-called ‘Black boxes’ are already making the new generation of drivers stick to speed limits; and maybe the technology that’s been promised to actually limit our speed…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress Write to: Watchdog/Letters, Auto Express, Dennis Publishing Ltd, 31-32 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP HOT TOPIC 8 Series Gran Coupé FROM: Robert Finn I WASN’T hugely impressed by the standard 8 Series upon its unveiling, but I’ve changed my mind. It looks sporty, elegant and understated to my eyes. Definitely a highlight of BMW’s current design language. FROM: antonyr WHY do so many German brands make their cars look like those of their rivals? This is very similar to a Panamera. Does BMW not have any designers with originality in its vast empire? Plus, that interior looks cheap. Not good enough! Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk ■ “Loses some magic in its transition to a four-door. If I had the money, I’d look elsewhere.”John Minshall ■ “Stunning! Change…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy Electric motor Power/range 141bhp/163 miles THE MG ZS has garnered a reputation for being one of the more practical small SUVs on the market, sitting between the likes of the Nissan Juke and Qashqai on size, while competing hard on price. Now the range is being bolstered by the ZS EV – a pure-electric version that has the potential to radically shift MG’s brand perception with British buyers. In fact, if the stories about pent-up demand for compact EVs are indeed true, the ZS EV surely has the potential to become MG’s best-selling vehicle in the UK. The British division has access to a decent supply of vehicles – so when the likes of the Hyundai Kona Electric and even the Kia e-Niro are stifled by waiting lists,…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods “It’s when you’re on the move that the quirks and character of this engine become apparent” Running costs 51.4mpg (official) £65 fill-up Performance 0-62mph/top speed 8.2 seconds/134mph WE’VE been pretty impressed with this latest generation of Mazda 3 so far, thanks to its high-quality interior and crisp, responsive chassis. But now things get serious, because this is our first chance to drive the car’s trump card: SkyActiv-X. It may sound like a crowdfunded space programme but in fact SkyActiv-X is a new spark-controlled compression ignition (SPCCI) engine that has been under development at Mazda since 2015. The company proudly states that it is the first true compression-ignition petrol engine ready for production. It uses intense pressure to combust the fuel-air mixture, like in a diesel engine. Spark plugs…

MODEL TESTED: Toyota GR Supra Pro PRICE: £54,000 ENGINE: 3.0-litre 6cyl, 335bhp THERE is nothing else on the road that looks like the new ‘A90-generation’ Toyota Supra, because its bold styling sets it apart. At £54,000, it’s not cheap, but next to these rivals, it’s packed with equipment – so does it deliver? Design & engineering THE Supra’s long bonnet is a bit deceptive, because the Toyota has a relatively small footprint on the road. The TT and 718 Cayman are longer and taller than the Supra, which also has the shortest wheelbase of the three. This compactness, with a wide track but short wheelbase, was key to the car’s development from the outset. Under that long bonnet is a 3.0-litre straight-six turbo engine, which drives the rear wheels. This…

Pete_Gibson@dennis.co.uk Running costs 46.3mpg (on test) £96 fill-up/£455 or 37% tax Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 810/1,800 litres I’M loving life with my big Volkswagen Touareg SUV for all sorts of reasons. But a chance encounter with a different variant of the car got me thinking about which version of the Touareg I would choose if I were to buy one myself, and which options are most important to me. My car has a 228bhp V6 diesel engine and it’s in R-Line trim, which is a mid-range specification. The other car I found myself in, briefly, was a newer 3.0-litre petrol Touareg with 335bhp, but it was in a lower, SE L, spec – and it costs £52,675, just £40 more than my diesel version. An initial look at some numbers…

VW’s spin doctors are at it again VOLKSWAGEN is offering customers a new premium option in the form of self-levelling wheel caps. Usually the preserve of ultra-luxury models such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom, these caps ensure the VW logo remains upright and visible whether the car is parked or moving. They’re bound to be a boon to car photographers, who spend untold hours getting logos the correct way up. The caps, which cost £156 (including fitting) for a set of four, can be installed on most VW vehicles, although they’re unfortunately not compatible with the up!, Polo, T-Cross, Phaeton or Touareg. Order and arrange fitting through your local VW dealer. Extreme tyres for Extreme E races MULTIPLE tyre test-winner Continental is sponsoring the new off-road electric racing series, Extreme E,…

PRODUCT GROUP TEST 24|7|2019 Every week, we extensively test all the latest car kit from tyres to trim cleaners. Log on to www.autoexpress.co.uk to look through our huge online test archive OVER the years, car makers have worked hard to improve cabin storage, and these days it seems that cupholders and cubbies are everywhere. But the boot largely remains a big, open space, which is why there’s a market for organisers to keep things in place. You might need one to carry things on every trip (such as tools or a brolly) or maybe you just want something to stop the eggs, wine and cake rolling around on the way home from the supermarket. Most organisers are foldable boxes, although some fix to the back of the rear seat, leaving…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram ● At LA show in November ● Replaces 2 Series Coupé ELSEWHERE at BMW, the firm has given us our best look yet at the new 2 Series Gran Coupé. A series of images show the new Mercedes CLA rival in camouflage, which will be officially removed at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November. Beyond the obvious addition of a saloon-style shape, it’s possible to see one or two design changes over the 1 Series. The front end gets a grille that’s a little wider and flatter than that on its hatchback cousin, while the headlights are slightly thicker and feature a kink in their lower edge. Around the back, the tail-lights bear a similar, albeit slimmer, design to those used by the 3 Series, and appear…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn ● Small battery keeps weight down ● Short range “no problem” FIRST things first, let’s address the elephant in the room: range. The new MINI Electric will cover ‘at least’ 122 miles on a single charge, which, when you consider a Peugeot e-208 does more than 200 miles, really isn’t all that impressive. If you put that to Peter Schwarzenbauer, board member at BMW responsible for MINI, his reply is straightforward. “Nobody needs a big range in an urban car; it’s psychological,” he says. “An average drive for a MINI customer per day is 23 miles.” There’s also the question of cost and weight; the larger the battery, the more expensive the car and the heavier it will be, which has a detrimental effect on handling and performance. So…

tristan_shale-hester@dennis.co.uk @tristan_shale ● Unbelted drivers may receive penalty points ● Teenagers face pre-emptive points on future licence DRIVERS who fail to wear a seatbelt could be given three penalty points and an increased fine under new plans being considered by the Government as part of a wide-ranging review into road safety. Passengers who fail to belt up could also face tougher penalties. At the moment, motorists caught not wearing a seatbelt are typically given a £100 fixed-penalty notice, although this can be increased to £500 if the case goes to court. Drivers are responsible for ensuring that any passengers in the car aged 14 or under are belted in, but anyone who is over that age faces a fine if they haven’t done so. It’s not known how over-14s will…

James_Batchelor@dennis.co.uk @JRRBatchelor At the wheel of BMW’s hottest new 1 Series WHILE the regular BMW 1 Series has gone from rear to front-wheel drive, the hottest model gets four-wheel drive. The M135i xDrive rivals the Mercedes-AMG A 35 and has 301bhp and 450Nm of torque. Read what Steve Sutcliffe thinks on Page 32, then see it in action online. Up close and personal with Audi’s fresh Q7 FOUR years is a long time in the world of Audi. The second-generation Q7 only arrived in 2015 and showed off the company’s new ‘design language’ but now the firm believes it’s ripe for replacement. This is the facelifted version, with new features inside and out, as well as new engines. Join me on the walkaround tour. You can watch any of our…

THE following provide help with motoring problems. Some services are free, others charge a fee or operate on premium-rate lines (p), while some offer advice for members only (m) Legal AA: 0345 850 1130 (m) RAC: 0330 159 1446 (m) Which?: 01992 878329 Citizens Advice Consumer helpline: 03454 040506 Local Trading Standards Local Citizens Advice Bureau Used car inspections AA: 0800 056 8040 RAC: 0330 159 0720 Technical advice AA: 0370 142 0002 (m) Driving licences DVLA: 0300 790 6801 Car registration/history HPI: 01722 422422 AA: 0800 316 3564 DVLA: 0300 790 6802 RAC: 0330 159 0364 Traffic information AA: 0906 888 4322 RAC: 09003 444999 (p) Problems with dealers The Motor Ombudsman: 0345 241 3008 Consumer Ombudsman: www.consumer-ombudsman.org RMIF: 0845 305 4230 Scottish Motor Trade Assoc. 0131 331 5510…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk ACCORDING to Porsche, the new 414bhp 718 Cayman GT4 is “a brutal driving machine that is perfectly irrational”. It’s also a car that is “razor sharp in its responses, which has been designed for people who take their fun seriously and who would rather sit in a sport seat than a leather armchair”. That’s the reason it has a six-speed manual gearbox, like it or not (although a PDK version will be offered next year), plus an enormous wing at the back that helps to generate 122kg of downforce – a full 50 per cent more than in the previous GT4, despite a near-identical drag figure. There’s also a serious-looking diffuser underneath that “demands respect” – whatever that might mean – while tech from the 911 GT3 has been…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram Performance 0-62mph/top speed 5.1 seconds/155mph Running costs 35.8 mpg (official) £93 fill-up WHEN the first Audi S7 Sportback was released back in 2012, it gave buyers a sleek, five-door alternative to the S6 saloon. Now there’s a new version, and the big news comes under the bonnet. Gone is the old 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 petrol; in its place is a 3.0-litre V6 diesel. The move will seem strange to some – and pretty horrifying to others – while a look at the stats won’t help. Power has dropped by more than 100bhp to 342bhp; and the 0-62mph dash, at 5.1 seconds, takes half a second longer than before. But Audi argues that the diesel claws back ground elsewhere. While the old V8 offered up a fairly hefty 550Nm…

MODEL TESTED: Audi TT RS Sport Edition PRICE: £57,905 ENGINE: 2.5-litre 5cyl, 395bhp THE Audi TT was updated early in 2019, and the RS version is now available with the same set of minor upgrades. It’s the most powerful car here, with 395bhp, and it’s also the most expensive at £57,905 (although a cheaper variant is available). Design & engineering IN its transformation to this RS, the TT has been honed by Audi Sport, which uses the Volkswagen Group’s versatile MQB chassis, with MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link rear axle because of its four-wheel-drive layout. Adaptive dampers are available, too. Despite the fact that it shares parts with a Volkswagen Golf, the TT RS stands shoulder to shoulder with its rivals here; it delivers more thrills than…

Toyota Supra 8.8in multimedia screen Standard Key features: Sat-nav, Apple CarPlay IF anything gives away the Supra’s BMW roots from the driver’s seat, it’s the infotainment system. That’s not a bad thing, though, because this set-up is superb and feels 10 years ahead of anything in any other Toyota. It combines a rotary dial and an 8.8-inch touchscreen, so the menus are quick to access and easy to use, plus the graphics are sharp and there’s very little lag between your inputs and the system responding. The sat-nav is not only clear and supplies accurate traffic info, it also looks very modern and has plenty of features, including CarPlay (but no Android Auto). The digital instrument cluster ahead of the driver is distinct enough and looks good, which helps to…

James_Batchelor@dennis.co.uk @JRRBatchelor Running costs 41.9mpg (on test) £57 fill-up/£145 or 35% tax Performance 0-62mph/top speed 6.5 seconds/136mph A MOTORING icon has a big birthday this year and before you ask, no, it’s not me. While I have also turned 30 this year – yes, I know I don’t look it – it’s the famous Mazda MX-5 that has clocked up three decades, so it’s time to celebrate. That of course means I had to push the boat out to celebrate the little roadster reaching the ‘big three-o’, so I purchased some posh fizz, a suitable cake and naturally some party decorations (the extra-sparkly ones from Sainsbury’s, no less). In retrospect, it’s all a bit tacky, which is a shame because the MX-5 is anything but that. Of course, it scooped…

Kia Ceed OUR Ceed took a brief trip back to Kia recently in order to diagnose a fault that caused the parking brake warning light to intermittently flash on while driving. But as any optimist will tell you, every problem presents another opportunity; and when Kia provided a replacement Ceed with a six-speed manual gearbox in the interim, it gave staff writer Alex Ingram a chance to make a comparison with our car’s seven-speed auto. Alex has grumbled about our Kia’s dual-clutch gearbox in the past, and it didn’t take a long drive in the second car to confirm that the manual is the ’box to have. Unlike the auto, it causes little stress when you need to pull out of a junction in a hurry, so you can make…

Got a query? products@autoexpress.co.uk @AE_Consumer Q A clean set of wheels THE alloy wheels on my BMW 5 Series look really great when they’re clean, but the fronts get extremely dirty from brake dust. Is there anything that can be placed inside the wheel rim to stop the dust from getting onto the wheels, or are they open for cooling? Jimmy Grinter, E-mail A YOU’RE quite right about the cooling aspect of spoked wheels. To keep the rims cleaner for longer, use a sealant. These are much more effective than the wheel waxes of the past, although the more care you take in applying them, the more effective they are. Our pick is Wonder Wheels’ Wheel Sealant. Q Top lock to stop thieves? CAN you recommend a steering-wheel lock for…

USING a holder to charge your mobile in-car makes a lot of sense, and if it’s Qi (inductive wireless) capable, it’s easier still; just pop your phone in and away you go. Australian firm Cygnett has launched the Race model, which we put up against our previous winner, the iOttie Easy One Touch. We tested charging ability on a Qi-cased iPhone 6, clocking the no-load increase from around 45 per cent over 30 minutes. We then repeated the test while using a sat-nav app. We gave marks for build quality, charging ability, practicality, stability and the presence of a suitable power adaptor – which could cost £10 or more if not supplied. The Race was impressive, but its better price and having two (rather than just one) mounting positions gave…