Table of contents for 1900 in Auto Express

THE key reason for Auto Express to attend a motor show is to chat to the industry execs who turn out alongside the new cars that we’ve already featured in the magazine and online thanks to the early access we’re granted. Time with the big cheeses is sometimes one-to-one, sometimes in ‘round tables’, and Auto Express was invited to the latter with Stellantis boss Jean-Philippe Imparato at the Munich Motor Show. We expected it to develop into a bunfight, with journalists striving to get their questions in, as is usually the case. But this one was a bit different. Rather than the floor being opened up for whatever topics people wanted, we’d clearly all been brought there for a reason, as Stellantis’s CEO launched into an impassioned and forceful speech…

THE CEO for Volkswagen Passenger Cars has labelled the transition to electric cars as “complicated”, despite the wider VW Group boasting a 28 per cent EV market share in Europe. VW front man Thomas Schäfer told Auto Express: “This sort of transitional phase is complicated – financially challenging because you have to serve both [ICE and EV]. It’s almost like playing for two soccer teams at the same time.” He cited it as a reason for the firm’s relatively rational approach to product development, and why it would hold off launching more niche or specialist models such as sports cars or convertibles – at least for now. “You cannot just throw out all sorts of special models that you would normally wish to do,” Schäfer told us. “But I don’t…

OFFICIAL CHINESE car giant BYD will not take its foot off the gas, despite a two-year product offensive that has seen the firm launch no fewer than eight brand-new models in the UK. Stella Li, BYD’s executive vice president, told us she is aiming for the “top tier” of the annual sales charts – with a keen eye on the likes of Volkswagen and Ford. Key to this are further new products, including a seven-seat flagship SUV and two extra DM-i plug-in hybrids – the latter of which Li said will be on sale “in the next six months”. She also confirmed BYD’s strategy to have EVs and PHEVs in “every sector”. Pushed on the bigger model and a possible rival to cars such as the electric Kia EV9 and…

BMW’S model onslaught will continue with a new electric saloon, which will be badged i3. “Early next year we will unveil the second ‘Neue Klasse’, a sporty sedan at the core of our brand: the new, all electric BMW i3,” announced the company’s boss, Oliver Zipse. The name might be the same as BMW’s electric city car from 2013, but the new model is the electric version of the 3 Series, and it will be sold alongside a heavily updated version of the combustion and hybrid Three. The i3 – like its iX3 sister SUV – is based on BMW’s ‘Neue Klasse’ technology. That means new battery tech capable of well in excess of 500 miles of range, revised electric motors, lighter weight to boost agility, and a new digital…

LEAPMOTOR has unveiled plans to develop a performance brand called Ultra, with the newly unveiled B05 hatchback the first car to get the hot-hatch treatment. Although detail is scarce following Leapmotor founder and CEO Zhu Jiangming dropping the surprise news at the end of the company’s Munich Motor Show press conference, he later confirmed to Auto Express that the modifications will take in both performance and styling. An image flashed up on screen showed a chunky rear wing for the B05 (pictured left), and Jiangming said the interior will get a “more luxurious” upgrade, although the brand is yet to reveal the cabin of the regular B05.…

HONDA has revised its Civic hatchback for 2025. We rated the current model so highly on its launch that we named it our Affordable Hybrid of the Year in the 2023 Auto Express New Car Awards, and the 11th generation of the popular hatchback is still going strong. Even so, we often wonder if the Civic deserves more success in the UK than it is getting. This update, then, is the perfect time to remind ourselves of where it stands in the family-car pecking order, against the likes of the Skoda Octavia, Volkswagen Golf and Toyota Corolla. The Civic’s understated exterior lines have been given a subtle tweak that’s most noticeable at the front. A key to the change is the car’s improved LED lighting tech; this has allowed the…

THERE have been some significant changes in the pick-up truck market over the past few years, and for Chinese maker GWM, this is the perfect opportunity to launch a new model into the sector. It’s called the Poer300 (pronounced Power), and is part of a wave of new models from the firm. While Ford and Toyota move forward with hybrid powertrain options, and Isuzu has revealed an allelectric D-Max, the Poer300 is a traditional diesel machine. It has a 2.4-litre four-cylinder unit under the bonnet, and this is connected to a nine-speed automatic transmission with selectable four-wheel drive and low-range gears. This is the sole configuration on offer in a doublecab body that has hints of the last-generation Ford Ranger pick-up truck about it, to our eyes, while three trims…

LOTUS is a brand that has championed a lightweight mantra more than any other, and as a result it’s a marque that has always been favoured by buyers who value stunning driving dynamics over everything else. The Emira trades a little bit of its ancestors’ diet plan for more refinements and luxuries inside. Although we believe this has opened up the Emira’s appeal to a wider audience, it has come at the expense of ultimate thrills. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE WHILE Lotus has turned to Toyota for its engine supply for years – indeed the V6 in the Emira is a supercharged version of the 3.5-litre unit that UK buyers could also find under the bonnet of the previous-generation Lexus RX – for this four-cylinder application, Lotus instead turned to Mercedes.…

IF you’ve got kids or pets, you’ll be resigned to the fact that your car’s interior is going to need a deep clean once in a while. Even the most careful and car-proud drivers will occasionally have a little accident with a coffee or crumbly chocolate bar and need something to mop up the mess. While a fabric detergent and cloth – such as our award-winning Gyeon Q2 M Fabric Cleaner – may deal with smaller spills, bigger messes and larger areas will need more extreme intervention. Spot cleaners work by spraying cleaning fluid into the fabric and then immediately sucking up the solution, along with the dirt or spill. Our favourite corded cleaner is the Vax SpotWash Pet-Design, which now has a lower price. Its new rival is the…

THE Volkswagen ID.4 will be so thoroughly updated next year that it will warrant a completely new identity, Auto Express can confirm. The changes will be so significant, it’ll be reincarnated as the Volkswagen ID. Tiguan – despite the ID.4 having only been on sale for four years. “ID.4 is our major-selling vehicle; itit has to be in that space,” the CEO of VW Passenger Cars, Thomas Schäfer, told us at the Munich Motor Show. He said the car “has to be updated to [Volkswagen’s] new new design language”, describing the next-generation family SUV as “a fantastic car”. He added: “The ID.4 will get the MEB+ [platform], with the new battery, the cells; LFP technology and all that is coming in. It’s going to be a huge step up from…

“THE TWIN-TURBO 4.0-LITRE V8 ALONE PRODUCES 818BHP–MORE THAN TWICE THE ORIGINAL FERRARI TESTAROSSA’S 390BHP OUTPUT” ONE of the most iconic nameplates in Ferrari’s history is making a return in the shape of the new 849 Testarossa. In Ferrari’s stable of mid-engined supercars, the 849 Testarossa sits below the flagship, limited-run F80 and above the 296 GTB – acting as a successor to the SF90. As with all of those models, the 849 Testarossa has a plug-in hybrid powertrain, which Ferrari says has been “completely re-engineered” compared with the unit used in the SF90. The 849 Testarossa is expected to go on sale sometime in 2026 with two versions: the Berlinetta coupé and the drop-top Spider. Pricing is yet to be revealed, but we expect it should comfortably eclipse the £376,000…

THE new electric Mercedes GLC was no one-off, it seems. The firm has confirmed its bold new frontend lighting signature will also sit proud on the next-generation Mercedes C-Class saloon that will be unveiled in the first half of 2026. The shadowy teaser picture reveals the shape of the forthcoming ‘C-Class with EQ Technologies’, which will feature four full-width lightbars across the grille – one more than the new GLC that was revealed at the Munich Motor Show. It’s also getting back-lit framing for the grille, and an illuminated three-pointed star. Mercedes is going down a path of aligning the design of its ICE and EV models, beginning with its all-new electric GLC. Mathias Geisen, the brand’s board member for sales and marketing, told Auto Express this plan is intended to…

EURO NCAP is recommending buyers steer clear of the MG3 after an unprecedented fault emerged during the car’s crash test. Although it earned a decent four stars out of five, the organisation noted that during the 31mph frontal offset crash test, the MG3’s driver’s seat latch failed, leading to a seat twist. As a result, there was extra impact on the driver’s right leg, and their head ‘bottomed out’ against the steering wheel rather than the airbag. So head protection in the MG3 was downgraded to ‘adequate’ and leg protection ‘poor’. Euro NCAP said that this type of failure had “not been seen before”. Following the test, MG has said it will amend the seat latch mechanism and the driver’s airbag from October – but these changes won’t be made to…

MY SHOW STAR Audi Concept C ON SALE: MID-2027 PRICE: FROM £70,000 (EST.) YOU can ignore the word ‘concept’ when it comes to Audi’s headline-grabbing show car, because you are, in effect, looking at a sleek two-door coupé that won’t just have the job of convincing people that an electric sports car can be a desirable thing, but also that Audi is still a leader in design and desirability. The main reason that it goes straight to the top of my list is because of what else it represents for Audi. Life is complicated, and although some manufacturers are seemingly intent on turning their cars into your personal assistant, your friend or even your therapist, Audi is keeping things simpler and reminding us the car is a machine. And if…

There can be little doubt that Dieselgate has had a profound effect on the global car industry, but did the controversy accelerate the death of diesel? “DIESELSINTHEIR NATURAL STATE PRODUCE CARCINOGENS AND RESPIRATORY POLLUTANTSTHATARE REALLY BAD FOR HUMAN HEALTH, BUT THEY CANBECOMPLETELY CONTROLLED IF YOU UTILISETHERIGHT TECHNOLOGY”NICK MOLDEN Emissions Analytics SEISMIC shifts are well under way in the automotive industry as consumers make the switch from legacy manufacturers to unknown start-ups and from internal combustion to fully electric powertrains. All of this can be attributed to the ongoing push towards cleaner air and sustainability, but it could also have been accelerated by what is still one of the biggest scandals in car history. The Volkswagen emissions scandal, also known more commonly as ‘Dieselgate’, might not have changed our overall trajectory…

I’VE recently taken delivery of our new long-term test car, Alfa Romeo’s first fully electric vehicle: the Junior Elettrica. Ours isn’t just any Junior though, it’s the sporty Veloce version with a whole raft of options fitted. It does come at a price, because the on-the-road figure of £48,595 is only £100 cheaper than my previous Cupra Tavascan, which is a much bigger car. Most of the time it’s only my husband and I in the car, so size isn’t such an issue. But I’m currently looking after my daughter’s dog, Isla, and testing out the comfort level from a canine point of view. Not that Isla is fussy – she absolutely loves being in a car, whether it’s the back seats or the boot. While the Junior’s 400-litre boot…

WITH the colder, darker days starting to roll in, your car’s battery could be feeling the strain. Even the most modern electric and hybrid models rely on an old-fashioned 12V power source to start their sophisticated systems, and a little too long sitting in the car with the radio on could leave you with the dreaded ‘click’ when you try the starter. Rather than calling the breakdown services or begging for a jump start from a passer-by, booster batteries pack a punch that belies their compact size. Even the smallest can start the average car, while the biggest will be able to power up larger vehicles multiple times. In addition to getting you started, many packs can now act as power sources to keep devices topped up in an emergency,…

ONLY one mainstream brand has been successful in launching a luxury division in the UK, and that’s Toyota with Lexus. Yet in the premium space Lexus has always played second fiddle to the three big German brands (Audi, BMW and Mercedes), but at least it’s still here, which is more than you can say for Nissan’s attempt (Infiniti). Citroen’s premium DS brand has also been struggling to gain traction ever since it arrived in Britain almost a decade ago. But that hasn’t stopped Hyundai from also trying to move upmarket, with its Genesis brand the newest arrival in terms of luxury spin-offs. It’s exactly 10 years since the South Korean firm announced that it was going to launch its Genesis division, which arrived in the UK in 2021. It has…

BRITAIN owes Nissan of Japan a long-overdue thank you – for being the largest car producer we have in the UK. If you drive south from the firm’s impressive Sunderland factory to its Rickmansworth head office, it takes about five hours. Travel east in a car from Dover to Selfkant (one of the closest German towns) and the journey time is remarkably similar – assuming the cross-Channel ferries and Chunnel behave themselves. It can often feel like we Brits and our ‘distant’ German neighbours live and work in different worlds. But the English road trip between Nissan’s Tyne and Wear factory and its Hertfordshire admin centre is 274 miles. Yet a multi-country car journey – including the sea crossing – from Dover to Selfkant in Germany’s western quarter is 20…

MERCEDES will kill the popular A-Class hatchback at the end of 2026, with no immediate plan for a successor. Speaking to Auto Express, Mercedes board member for R&D, Markus Schäfer, said: “For now we have extended the lifecycle for the A-Class. And then [we will] just watch the market.” When asked about how long it’ll be extended, Schäfer said: “End of next year, for now.” This puts a firm deadline on the car, which will have been built for eight years by then. To complicate matters, Mercedes has already put what is in effect the replacement for the A-Class into full production. The new CLA, which runs on the firm’s powertrain-flexible MMA platform, has been designed as electricfirst, but will also be offered with a range of hybrid options. This…

THE European Union has responded to manufacturers’ calls for help by announcing a new Small Affordable Car initiative to kickstart the transition to EVs. Just days after an impassioned plea from Stellantis chief executive Jean-Philippe Imparato for help with EV targets that he described as “not reachable” and which he said could “crash the automotive industry in Europe”, the EU signalled its intention to investigate a new breed of more affordable electric vehicles. There’s no word yet on when the initiative will have any tangible impact, but the fact that the conversation is under way is a positive step. Imparato made four main demands to protect Europe’s automotive industry. The headline one was to relax regulations around smaller cars so makers can profitably develop and build a 15,000-Euro (£13,000) EV…

GTI – three simple letters that have been part of hot hatch lore for nearly 50 years, and worn by some truly beloved cars over the past five decades. But it wasn’t until 2016 that we met the first GTI Clubsport: a more focused and more powerful version of Volkswagen’s everyday hero. The new Mk8.5 Golf GTI Clubsport sticks to the same principles. Starting from £43,215, it continues to serve as a bridge between the regular Golf GTI and the all-wheel-drive Golf R, which are currently priced from almost £41k and £46k, respectively. Given that it costs only £2,340 more than the standard GTI, you might expect the Clubsport to just get some extra badging and maybe a couple of extra horsepower. But it actually has a larger set of…

AS modern cars grow ever larger and manufacturers engage in power wars that see engine outputs increase to ever-more hair-raising levels, it feels like the sweet spot in BMW’s M car family has shifted down a number, from M3 to M2. Dimensions that work on UK roads are combined with menacing looks and a magnificent six-cylinder powertrain, resulting in a car which has an old-school feel – especially when paired with a manual gearbox – with modern creature comforts. It’s our current favourite M car. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE THE key to the success of all of BMW’s best M cars is a brilliant engine, and the M2 gets off to an excellent start here. The latest G87 generation gets its own take on BMW’s S58-codenamed 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged motor, which is…

DID you know that grey has been the most popular paint colour for new cars in the UK for the past seven years in a row? And it’s not like we’ve just had the joy sucked out of us since Toys ‘R’ Us went bust. Silver had a six-year run as the go-to hue from 2003, then it was black, then white, then black again. This doesn’t surprise me one bit, though, because every time I’m stuck in traffic on the M25 (which is all too frequently), it feels like I’m surrounded by more shades of grey than even E.L. James could shake a stick at. Likewise, when I went down to London’s Hampton Court Palace to attend the Concours of Elegance – an event featuring genuinely immaculate cars from…

EARLIER this year my colleague Tom Jervis quite rightly pointed out that car wheels are simply getting too big, which is somewhat consistent with another wheel that car makers seemingly can’t stop fiddling with: the steering wheel. Except for perhaps a Caterham Seven, almost every car on sale now comes with buttons on the steering wheel. Yet, these can be welcome and useful tools to navigate infotainment systems without having to take your eyes off the road for extended periods of time. Indeed, the Renaultsourced Dacia Sandero’s steering wheelmounted buttons work a treat and show there’s no excuse, budget-wise, to not have them function properly. Not all brands prioritise function over form like Dacia, however. Touch-sensitive steering wheel ‘buttons’ (they’re more like pads) have come into vogue, and the likes…

FOR more than 50 years, the Mercedes S-Class has been among the most advanced and luxurious cars on the road. It’s earned the right to have a £100,000 price, but for the same money we’ve created a similarly luxurious, and more exciting, three-car garage through the Auto Express classifieds. 1 BMW 8SERIES GRAN COUPE - £39,849 WHILE the S-Class is a car you’re driven around in, the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupé is for those who enjoy being behind the wheel. There’s a greater sense of drama with this saloon, too, yet it still appears elegant. The cabin also feels special, with leather everywhere you look, excellent tech and loads of room in the back, plusa 440-litreboot. While it’s a big, refined car, it’s also deeply impressive to drive, thanks…