Table of contents for 1885 in Auto Express

ANOTHER week, another kick in the wherevers for the humble motorist. Transport for London has decided the time is right for a rather chunky 20 per cent increase in the capital’s Congestion Charge from next January, pushing it up to £18 per day. TfL suggested the hike was timely, in light of increasing inflation, and framed the extra kick aimed at electric vehicles as a good thing. It says replacing the current EV exemption with a 25 per cent discount will prevent traffic levels from getting worse as EV sales rise. But it’s just another blatant anti-car measure, following the introduction of tolls on the new Silvertown Tunnel and the Blackwall Tunnel – the latter having been free for more than 125 years. And that’s on top of April’s VED…

THE Vauxhall Frontera returned last year and now it looks like it’ll match its predecessor’s off-road ability with a wild Gravel variant. The show car, produced with help from tuning specialists XS and designers BlackFish Graphics, has a matt black roof and bonnet to contrast with the champagne-coloured wrap, plus orange badging and accents on the mirrors, spoiler, bumpers, and brake calipers. There’s also a winch and hook at the front, LED lights on the roof rack and bonnet, plus all-terrain tyres wrapped around chunky 16-inch alloy wheels. The interior remains the same as the Frontera Electric’s, although the seats get some bespoke orange trim. While the Frontera Gravel looks like it’s ready to embarrass Jeep and Land Rover, it only has the same powertrain as the standard car. That…

WHEN the latest MG HS arrived last year, it had either pure petrol or plug-in hybrid power – and now you can add full hybrid to that list, thanks to the new Hybrid+. Priced from £28,995 in SE trim, the Hybrid+ sits between the standard £25,995 petrol HS and the PHEV, which starts from £31,995. As with the other powertrains, the Hybrid+ can also be had in a more lavish Trophy guise, costing from £31,495. That pricing means the HS Hybrid+ is positioned closely to the similarly sized Dacia Bigster Hybrid 155. But in full hybrid guise, the Bigster is slightly cheaper, at £28,190. As with the petrol and PHEV versions, the MG HS Hybrid+ has a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine, although the full hybrid features a 1.8kWh battery (the…

THE Renault Austral has received a major facelift, with the mid-sized SUV being given a sharper look, new technology and a revised suspension set-up. We assumed the firm would also add a plug-in hybrid version, but there are no such plans, despite Renault’s flagship SUV, the Rafale – which is based on the same platform as the Austral – having a 296bhp PHEV powertrain. Austral product manager Christophe Pejout said: “It’s not in our plan. We don’t want to push plug-in hybrid to each customer because I think it’s not reasonable. It is really to be pushed to customers who can plug in every day. This is why we’ve proposed plug-in hybrid on a limited number of models.” Instead, the Austral will continue with a 1.2 E-Tech hybrid set-up. P20:…

TORQUE steer is a sensation that will be unfamiliar to new car drivers. But those who have owned an earlier turbocharged hot hatchback from the noughties, or any of the more punchy Saabs from the same era, will know all about the wriggling sensation from the steering wheel as a big whack of torque is trying to make its way through the front wheels and onto the asphalt. Depending on your point of view, it was something that felt either quite exciting or a little uncouth. We have a sneaking suspicion that MINI engineers fall into the former camp, because it’s a sensation that’s well and truly back with this, the John Cooper Works Electric. When MINI was trying to develop some personality for an EV designed to appeal to…

NEW safety tech isn’t just a challenge that car makers must get right. Official test body Euro NCAP itself must find ways of accurately rating the performance of vehicle systems designed to meet the increasingly tough criteria it sets. Which is why we find ourselves at the MIRA test track in Warwickshire on a bright spring morning in the company of the dedicated team charged with rating the performance of the all-new electric Renault 5. We’re here at the invitation of Euro NCAP, which is keen to explain how it tests Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) such as steering assist and collision avoidance, as part of an effort to promote driver understanding of this increasingly ubiquitous and controversial tech. So we’re going to witness the organisation’s latest Assisted Driving Test…

SAY goodbye to the Tiguan Allspace and hello to the Tayron. Sitting between the Tiguan and the Touareg in the Volkswagen line-up, the Tayron offers something that neither of those models can: a seven-seat layout. That is unless you go for one of the plug-in hybrid models, which lose the back row, limiting their appeal somewhat; at that point, the Tiguan offers a similar drive and only slightly less space for less cash. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE FEW cars in this class offer quite as much choice as the Tayron. Short of a fully electric option, it’s got pretty much every base covered; pure petrol or diesel, mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid options are all on the table. The range kicks off with the 1.5 eTSI: a four-cylinder petrol engine that is…

GOOGLE’S global monopoly on the question and answer business isn’t looking as secure as it once did. You can still find stuff out by typing into an online search box, but the box is less likely to be Google’s and even if it is, artificial intelligence is increasingly likely to be behind the reply. Ask Google’s Gemini AI, “what is the boxy-looking white SUV that just drove past me?” and it is understandably none the wiser. “It’s tough to say definitively what boxy-looking white SUV just drove past you without more information,” says our machine overlord. Why would I be searching the internet to identify a mystery SUV? The answer is the KGM Actyon, a boxy white SUV that’s devoid of badges up front. I’m well aware of what it…

Price: £499-£699 Contact: vertagear.com NOW you can sit in an Audi, even while you are at your desk! The brand has joined up with gaming chair maker Vertagear to deliver a new series of seats, which resemble those used in the car manufacturer’s high-performance models. The three new chairs correspond to Audi’s trim levels, with versions called the Audi Edition, the RS Edition and the Audi Sport Edition. Both companies’ logos are embroidered onto the front and rear of the seats Each uses Vertagear’s patented ergonomic features, which are claimed to enhance comfort and support for extended gaming or work sessions. This includes a dynamic lumbar support system that adapts to the user’s posture to reduce tension and promote natural spinal alignment, while hexagonal foam cushions on the base are said…

I RECEIVED an interesting E-mail from a reader last week, following up on a recent long-term report on the single-motor Volvo EC40 I’m currently driving. It turns out that our reader, a keen petrolhead called Derek Dunthorne, is running the twin-motor version of the EC40, and although it’s in a different specification to mine and something of an upgrade, we share many similar opinions. Derek loves the interior, telling me that the “Android-based interface is brilliant – easy to use and completely logical – although, like most folk, I would prefer knobs for the heating and ventilation”. He also gave me some background information on his buying decision. Moving away from several Porsche Macans, this would be his – wait for it – 56th car. What particularly impressed him was…

KIA’S plan to stay on top of the UK’s sales charts is showing no sign of letting up, with a significant update of its top-selling Sportage SUV having now been revealed in full UK specification. More than 124,000 examples of the current-generation Sportage have found homes in the UK since its 2022 launch, with the car often topping monthly SUV sales figures, and on one or two occasions even sitting on top of the overall UK sales chart. That means it’s a critically important car for the Korean brand. The new model doesn’t re-write the rulebook, but it will be launched with an updated selection of electrified powertrains that Kia already knows customers will love, paired with a slick new interior and exterior design. The manufacturer will continue to only…

BMW has announced a series of updates for its i4 EV, bringing better efficiency and improved range for the standard eDrive35 and 40 models, plus a new M60 version at the top of the line-up. New silicon carbide semiconductor components in the electric powertrain reduce energy consumption by 4.5 per cent, which – on paper at least – increases the range by up to 13 miles, bringing a figure of up to 380 miles for the eDrive40 and 319 for the eDrive35. At the other end of the line-up, the new M60 model boasts a fresh powertrain that produces 592bhp, 55bhp more than the previous M50. Not only is this model far more powerful than a current BMW M4 Competition, it has as much power as the previous-generation M5. BMW…

EV technology is definitely here to stay, but despite plug-in cars become increasingly common, the tech that powers them remains something of a mystery, with manufacturers offering very little explanation as to exactly how electricity from a plug socket is stored in your car and subsequently consumed and transformed into kinetic energy via the electric motors. To find out more, we visited Porsche’s battery development centre in Weissach, Germany, to speak to its experts and help demystify battery jargon. HOW DO EV BATTERIES WORK? MOST electric car batteries are of the lithium ion variety, which is essentially a much larger version of the type found in your smartphone. A battery pack comprises several different modules, which contain a variety of cells; the Porsche Taycan’s 93kWh Performance Battery Plus, for example,…

ONLY a few months after the launch of the all-new and critically important Audi Q5, we’re behind the wheel of its more streamlined Sportback sibling. Although the Mk1 Sportback arrived well after the SUV’s launch, this time the two have been designed and engineered in unison. This is obvious with the new car’s svelte roofline, which seems more at one with the overall design. It’s not often that a coupé-SUV looks particularly resolved, but Audi has done a great job here, despite the somewhat gawky forms at the front. You’ll be able to specify a Q5 Sportback in the UK with one of three engine choices to begin with, made up from the four-cylinder diesel we’re driving here, a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol and top-spec SQ5 with a turbocharged petrol V6.…

AT a time when the prevalence of SUVs means that we could forgive you for becoming jaded about new-car design, it’s really refreshing to see Hyundai create something as distinctive as the Santa Fe. It’s certainly not always been the case: the four previous Santa Fe generations have been worthy cars, but a little forgettable. Yet the current car’s boxy proportions not only help it stand out from the SUV crowd, but also lend Hyundai’s biggest European model a look that sets it apart from the rest of the Korean brand’s range, too. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it’s hard to deny that it’s distinctive. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE ELECTRIFICATION has been a part of the Santa Fe’s engine line-up since the previous generation, but this Mk5 car is…

WHEN Osram introduced its Night Breaker 220 headlight bulb late last year, it was only a matter of time before the tech appeared in subsidiary Ring’s line up. That time was earlier this year, when the Xenon220 arrived. In our H7 headlight test in Issue 1,855, the Philips and the 200 per cent Ring outperformed the Osram, so we were keen to see the Xenon220 fared. We calculated the figure of merit by combining light levels 50 and 75 metres ahead of the car, then measured the area illuminated at more than 30 lux, beam length and brightest point. The bulbs’ ECE R37 compliance was also checked. Unlike in 2024, we couldn’t measure beam width, and used a Vauxhall Astra headlight rather than a VW Passat’s. The headlamp switch suited…

WHEN I’m not happily driving cars, I’m a grudging train passenger who’s regularly ripped off, let down or disillusioned by this much-hyped strike-prone public transport. The customer experience is so under whelming that my confidence in, and respect for, Britain’s heavily subsidised rail industry has rarely – if ever – been lower. I’m not sure if it’s me giving up on the train or the train giving up on me. Either way, the ‘alternative to the car’ is as implausible now as it was in the nineties, when notoriously hypocritical Transport Secretary John Prescott (a user of two Jaguars) told me to tell you, dear reader, that the train would soon take over as the preferred mode of transport for the average Brit. This was as blatantly untrue then as…

READY for the first two-seat, electric coupé with the “soul” of French racing brand Alpine? It’s coming up fast and promises to be something special to rival Porsche’s new Cayman and Boxster EVs (p15), Alpine executives told Auto Express. Alpine’s boss Philippe Krief and Renault Group’s irrepressible leader Luca de Meo talked in depth about the replacement for the A110 coupé, revealing several technical headlines. The electric coupé will ride on a dedicated sports car platform, has a target weight of 1,450kg (close to the Cayman GT4 RS’s), should travel more than 350 miles on a charge, and packs two in-wheel motors that generate “more than enough power – I can guarantee [it],” vows ex-Ferrari director of engineering Krief. The A110 will be the cornerstone of Renault Group’s attempt to…

TRANSPORT for London has revealed plans not only to increase the cost of the London congestion charge by 20 per cent but also to end the exemption for electric vehicles, with its new proposals set to kick in from 2 January 2026. The current charge – £15 per day – has been in place since 2020, and TfL’s suggested increase will see that rise to £18. This, the organisation said, is below the UK’s rate of inflation over the past five years. The congestion charge exemption for electric vehicles is also set to be ended, with EV drivers instead getting a 25 per cent discount on the new £18 fee, which will drop to 12.5 per cent on 4 March 2030, if they’re registered for the Auto Pay system. That…

NO one likes to be told to ‘stay in your lane’, but sometimes it just has to be said. For instance, Renault is brilliant at making small cars, whether that be the ever-faithful Clio, or the fabulous new Renault 5 and Renault 4 EVs. Rather than sticking to what it’s best at, though, over the past few years the brand has really been pushing to expand its presence in the larger segments of the market, which are more popular and profitable, too. The results have been rather more mixed. The new Scenic is an excellent electric SUV – in fact, we think it’s one of the best on sale – and the Symbioz is an appealing, well priced Nissan Qashqai alternative. But the less said about the (thankfully) now-deceased Arkana…

FOR the first time in more than two years, there’s a new Genesis on sale in the UK, after the luxury brand gave its Electrified GV70 a significant overhaul. It’s designed to rival mid-sized all-electric SUVs such as the Porsche Macan and Audi Q6 E-Tron, plus impressive newcomers like the Polestar 3, but its competitors show the GV70 a clean pair of heels when it comes to claimed range. Despite having a new, larger 84kWh (net) battery pack, the GV70 will cover no more than 298 miles on a charge – a figure many rivals will comfortably reach, even with entry-level battery packs. To help combat its relatively limited range, the GV70 offers some very impressive charging stats, thanks to its 800V electrical system. This will see a 10-80 per…

CHARGING is the biggest hurdle to switching to an electric car, I reckon. So just after the VW ID.7 Pro S arrived, I began looking for a homecharger for my new house, plumping for an Ohme ePod. At £949 (including installation), it’s £50 cheaper than Ohme’s Home Pro wallbox with its digital monitoring screen and built-in cable for convenience. But I went for the more compact ePod because I didn’t want the eyesore of cable spaghetti coiled round it, and the screen is unnecessary when you can set up an automatic charging schedule via the ID.7’s touchscreen. Get home, plug in and forget about it. BP Chargemaster fitted my last wallbox in 2019, and things have seriously progressed since. That unit was ‘dumb’, which means it lacked connected smart charging,…

IT’S no secret that prices of new cars have increased in recent years. An entry-level Volkswagen Golf is nearly £30,000 these days, and the average price a UK buyer pays for a set of brand new wheels is around £42,000. But if that’s your budget, how about getting three cars for the price of one? We tracked down three excellent choices from the Auto Express marketplace. 1 BMW X5 xDRIVE40e AUTO M SPORT (£18,995) YOU might expect a 2017 BMW X5 to take up most of our budget, but at less than £19,000 we think it’s a steal. This is the plug-in hybrid xDrive40e too, so partnering the petrol engine is a battery that provides a useful 19 miles of electric-only running. With a combined 313bhp, this premium SUV is…