Table of contents for 1906 in Auto Express

VAUXHALL seems to be entering a pivotal period that could dictate the long-term future of the British (though not Britishowned) brand one way or the other. The well documented rise of Chinese entrants to the new-car market is squeezing the mainstream in particular, although Vauxhall is so-far seemingly more resilient than some. While the market was up 4.3 per cent over the first nine months of this year, Vauxhall is slightly ahead at 4.8 per cent, with more than 66,000 cars registered. Others, such as Toyota and Nissan, are feeling more of a squeeze. But the kicker for anyone who remembers how Ford and Vauxhall used to tussle for top spot in the sales charts, is that while Ford is fourth in the table (behind Kia, BMW and dominant leader…

THE latest in a long line of unique, tailor-made commissions from Ferrari has been revealed – a car specially created for one of the brand’s most auspicious customers. Based on the 296 GTB, the Ferrari SC40 gave the brand’s designers a chance to flex their muscles. As usual, the price is undisclosed, but these one-off models tend to cost well over seven figures. For its design, the SC40’s lucky owner turned to the F40 for inspiration. Its influence is highlighted by sharp, angular lines and a tall static rear wing. Inside, the SC40 carries across the 296 GTB’s existing interior, but the colour and trim elements take direct inspiration from the eighties’ Ferrari F40. Power comes from the GTB’s 818bhp twin-turbo V6 hybrid. Top speed is 202mph and the 0-62mph…

IT has been 25 years since Honda last produced a Prelude. Back in the late nineties and early 2000s, stylish yet attainable coupés from mainstream brands were all the rage. Alongside the Prelude, you could choose from a Vauxhall Calibra, Fiat Coupé, the beautiful Peugeot 406 Coupé, or something a little more upmarket, such as an Alfa Romeo GTV, Volvo C70 or BMW 3 Series Coupé. Of those brands, only one of them offers atwodoor option today: BMW. But, after two-and-a-half long decades, Honda has returned to the segment, with modest targets for the new car: an aim of 400 UK sales in the first year, followed by 500 in 2027 – far fewer than BMW 2 Series Coupé annual sales. But we don’t see Honda having trouble selling that…

THE trend of reviving old brand names reached Vauxhall this year in the form of a new Frontera – formerly a chunky and slightly crude off-roader sold from 1991 to 2003. Its revival comes in a smaller form, with the new Frontera sitting between its Mokka and Grandland SUV siblings; it’s 230mm longer than the former and 265mm shorter than the latter, with all three offered in petrol hybrid or electric form. In petrol guise, it gets the £550 option of seven seats, but the back two occupants will have to be small, and it wipes out all bar 40 litres of boot space. We’re focusing on the electric one here because, in an unusual move, it’s cheaper than the entry petrol hybrid model, albeit marginally above Citroen’s closely related…

PLUG-in hybrids: the best-of-both worlds or the devil’s work? Given its Fire Red paint and matt black 21-inch alloys, the X3 30e M Sport is a dead-ringer for South Park’s Satan, but fuel efficiency is borderline angelic. We’ve travelled 468 miles so far and there’s still one-third of the first tank remaining. That’s because my home wallbox keeps the 19.7kWh battery topped up, costing about £16 on electricity so far. Fully charged the 30e is good for 50 miles of EV range, quietly undertaking school runs and shopping trips while emitting zero emissions. The 181bhp motor sandwiched between the engine and eight-speed automatic transmission has plenty enough grunt to hustle the X3 along. And that’s a good thing because there’s little pleasure to be had from the four-cylinder turbo kicking…

HOTKIT TomTomTom Price: £69.99 Contact: TomTom.com SAT-NAV giant TomTom has launched a new device which it says will alert drivers to speed cameras, hazards and traffic without needing a distracting screen. The new gadget – confusingly called the TomTom Tom – measures 48 x 48 x 15mm and sticks to your dashboard using an adhesive pad and magnetic mount. Once activated, it uses a glowing LED ring which illuminates in different colours to show it is connected and to warn of different alerts. It works by automatically connecting to the TomTom app on your smartphone, which runs in the background when the device starts. This uses data from over 600 million devices which are connected to TomTom globally, to provide real-time data for traffic information and dynamic routing. Using the Tom…

AS the most popular SEAT model ever with six million sales over 40 years, you can see why the maker has stayed true to the supermini segment with the new Ibiza. The Spanish brand has doubled down against a tide of fresh allelectric small cars by giving its most compact model a facelift. We first saw images of the updated Ibiza alongside the revised Arona back in 2023. And while it’s taken some time for the production car to arrive, we have now driven it – and on the Spanish island of Ibiza, no less. This might feel a little like déjà vu, because the current, fourth-generation Ibiza received its first facelift in 2021. But SEAT is raising expectations with the latest one by stressing that it has been shaped…

ALL of the big Japanese brands have a strong presence in Tokyo, and as Auto Express went to press the models below were the ones we’d been given an early preview of – although more than a few surprises still seem likely. Domestic manufacturers are leading the way at the spectacular 2025 Japan Mobility Show thanks to an array of futuristic concepts, huge new reveals and cutting-edge tech. The show officially opens its doors to the media today (29 October), so stayed logged on to our website for all the latest reveals and breaking news from Tokyo.…

“THE NEW MODEL BRINGS A CURATED SELECTION OF COLOUR AND TRIM CHANGES TO THE MINI COOPER” MINI has teamed up with the iconic British clothing designer Paul Smith to create a new special edition of its electric MINI Cooper. Called the MINI Paul Smith Edition, the new model brings with it a curated selection of colour and trim changes to the MINI Cooper Electric, and will spread to petrol-powered MINI Cooper models in the future. Prices start from £32,705 – around £2,300 more than the current topspec Sport trim – with first cars reaching customers in spring 2026. This isn’t the first time that MINI and Paul Smith have collaborated, with the brand’s first tie-up taking the form of a one-off original Mini with a body painted in the brand’s…

IN the world of Porsche, the GTS models have gained a reputation for being the sweet spot within the model line-up. They offer additional chassis tweaks compared with lesser models, plus some extra power without stepping on the toes of the range-topping Turbo variants. The new Porsche Macan Electric GTS is on sale now, costing from £89,000. It has two electric motors; one up front, and a larger, more powerful one at the rear – just like the Turbo version – to provide a more rear-biased feel to the powertrain. It produces 510bhp, or 563bhp when launch control is activated, plus 990Nm of torque. The result is 0-62mph in just 3.8 seconds, and if you’re on a German autobahn, 0-124mph in 13.3 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 155mph.…

IF you want a seven-seat SUV and are looking for maximum bang for your buck, then feast your eyes on the new Chery Tiggo 9 – a flagship family car with 422bhp, all-wheel drive and a plug-in powertrain that’s claimed to be capable of up to 91 miles of electric-only running. Costing £43,105, it follows on from the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 and is the new range-topper in the Chinese brand’s three-car line-up. Under the subtle styling sits Chery’s Super Hybrid powertrain, comprising a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine with twin electric motors and a 34.46kWh battery. Combined, the set-up offers 422bhp and 580Nm of torque for a 0-62mph time of 5.4 seconds. All in, Chery claims more than 650 miles of range. The Tiggo 9 has DC rapid-charge speeds…

THERE’S always a sense of trepidation when you approach a ‘hardcore’ supercar, especially one with prancing horses on its front wings. These cars take no prisoners. They’re intense, uncompromising and often intimidating – whether that be on account of their performance, visibility or expense. But behind the wheel of the Ferrari 296 Speciale, this isn’t the overwhelming impression. On paper the Speciale has an intense set of stats. Power generated from the hybrid-assisted powertrain has been uprated to 867bhp, derived from a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 engine combined with an electric motor sandwiched between it and an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The e-motor itself can produce 178bhp, 13bhp more than the standard 296 GTB, and it’s fed by a 7.45kWh battery. Power is sent exclusively to the rear wheels. In total this…

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE AUTONOMOUS CAR REVOLUTION ‘ARTIFICIAL intelligence’ and ‘driverless cars’ – terms that tend to make people excited and uncomfortable in equal measure. Both go hand-in-hand, with AI powering the most advanced self-driving vehicle systems, using machine learning to help it overcome tricky situations and manoeuvres. Yet, while autonomous technology has long been the subject of science fiction and/or very limited trials in controlled conditions, the reality of driverless cars populating our roads could now be just around the corner. That’s thanks to a raft of new legislation that, from spring 2026, will enable a handful of autonomous taxi firms to begin offering limited driverless rides. The likes of Uber and Waymo, which both operate services abroad (mainly in the US), have announced plans to…

THE original C3 Aircross quickly became one of our favourite compact SUVs. Part of the reason why we loved it so much is that it offered something genuinely different from the rest of the crowd; where most rivals looked sharp and tried to offer a pretence of sportiness from behind the wheel, the C3 Aircross felt just as soft to drive as it looked. We felt its comfort and space made it one of the most likeable cars in the class. The new model has grown larger, with a body that’s 235mm longer than the old version’s, enabling the fitment of seven seats, which is very unusual in a car this size. But while the shape has grown more boxy, the driving experience clings to the softness that we’ve come…

“AFTER A SUCCESSION OF ELECTRIC CARS, IT’S NOTABLE HOW MUCH MORE LEG AND HEADROOM PASSENGERS GET IN THE CUPRA” OUR Cupra Terramar could be described as the lively sibling in a line-up of Volkswagen Group five-seat SUVs. Youthful, aggressive lines with stylish exterior light assemblies present funky yet flashy signatures upon locking, helping it stand out in the local supermarket car park. But, is it a case of style over substance when it comes to ticking the boxes of a working family SUV? So far, I’ve found the Terramar extremely practical. I’ve been lucky enough to have two recent holidays that required airport runs, and comfortably accommodated four adults along with multiple cases, rucksacks and coats. A fifth person and luggage would have been achievable, but with some creative packing.…

IF you’re looking to buy a used car, chances are you’ll have a checklist to ensure the make and model you’re looking at meets your needs. Checking a car’s MoT record or making sure there are no hidden surprises lurking within the service history are basic checks you should do before parting with any money. But when was the last time you thought to check if your potential purchase had any outstanding safety recalls? A safety recall is issued by a manufacturer when a fundamental design flaw or construction defect is identified, which poses a significant risk of injury or death if the parts in question aren’t replaced. High-profile cases are often reported in the news, with Citroen and Vauxhall being some of the latest manufacturers to have cars recalled…

WITH Cupra going from strength to strength thanks to a seemingly never-ending suite of new model launches, it seemed like the Volkswagen Group was quietly shuffling SEAT off to retirement. But during a presentation at the delayed media launch of the facelifted Ibiza, SEAT bosses finally addressed mounting questions about its future. Alongside the announcement that the Ibiza and Arona will get mildhybrid powertrains in 2027, SEAT also revealed the slow-selling fourthgeneration Leon will gain a new electrified engine in 2028 – ahead of an even bigger update in 2029. That new powertrain will be the full-hybrid system set to appear in the second-generation T-Roc next summer. We already know the set-up will comprise a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor mounted to a seven-speed DSG automatic transmission.…

HONDA is back in the small EV game with the funky Super-N hatch – an affordable, fun-to-drive electric city car that will go on sale in the UK next year. The firm previewed the model at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed, but it’s now been revealed in full at the Japanese Mobility Show, including some insights into what’s under the skin. The new Super-N is based on the Japanese-market N-One e, an electric version of the brand’s popular kei car. However, Honda has made substantial changes to the Super-N destined for the UK that will position the model as not just an efficient city car, but one that’s fun to drive, too. Key changes start with a wider chassis and larger wheels. As well as helping handling, they play…

THE small-car segment has so far shunned plug-in hybrid powertrains, with affordable downsized petrol engines maintaining favour and EVs gaining in popularity. That makes the new BYD Atto 2 DM-i – a Ford Puma-sized plug-in hybrid SUV – a car without rivals; something its maker hopes will prove a unique selling point in the brand’s quest for total market domination. Visually inseparable from its electric stablemate, the Atto 2 PHEV apparently gets a slightly larger grille and new, decorative elements for the lower bumper. It also loses the side vents in the front wings and gets redesigned badges at the back. The new Midnight Blue colour seen here is exclusive to the plug-in hybrid. There’s very little information about what will power the Atto 2 DM-i, but the ‘Super Hybrid’…

CHINESE car maker Geely has launched in the UK with all discount guns blazing, offering up to £4,750 off its top-spec EX5 Max electric SUV. It exemplifies the downward price pressure that Chinese manufacturers are exerting, with Leapmotor, MG and Changan also running with substantial four-figure incentives. The 4.6-metre-long Geely EX5 rivals large electric crossovers such as the Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Changan Deepal S07, with prices starting from £31,990 on the road (before discounts). The front-mounted electric motor offers decent performance, with a 6.9-second 0-62mph sprint. The 267-mile range isn’t so clever, although the 160kW DC charge rate is good for a 30-80 per cent top up in 20 minutes. Geely is stepping into the market with 25 dealers across the UK, and the sales company is…

THE ‘e’ in Suzuki e Vitara is of great importance, because it signifies the car is fully electric – making this the brand’s first EV. Being a similar size to the existing Vitara Hybrid (which remains on sale alongside the electric model), the e Vitara is actually the sister model of Toyota’s next electric vehicle – the Urban Cruiser – and is the latest in a series of joint ventures between the two brands, which has already brought us the Corolla and RAV4-derived Swace and Across. Suzuki took the lead role in developing the e Vitara though, and as a result it beats the Urban Cruiser to the UK market by a few months. Underneath, it’s based on a platform called ‘Heartect-e’ that Suzuki has developed with Toyota and Daihatsu.…

FINDING a direct rival for the Dacia Jogger was incredibly difficult at the time of its launch. Yes, there were plenty of seven-seaters around, and there were lots of estate cars and SUVs, too, but none managed to merge those three qualities together in one car, nor offer anything similar for anywhere near the price. Even van-based people movers were much more expensive. Now, the Jogger has a much closer rival in the form of the Citroen C3 Aircross and its Vauxhall Frontera sibling (see p30), yet it holds an advantage in a few key areas. Huge space, low running costs, thanks to frugal powertrains and resistance to depreciation, and keen pricing make it a compelling, if unusual, option. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE THE Dacia Jogger line-up is fairly straightforward, with…

IF you have a classic car or summer toy, then chances are you like to tuck it away for the winter. But whether you store it in an outbuilding or in a domestic garage, you can’t keep it completely clean. Garages are dusty environments, after all, and there’s always a risk that something could fall or spill onto the car. Plus, if you give your car a final clean before putting it to bed for the winter months, you’ll want to protect that shine so that it’s spick and span when spring arrives. We tested a selection of generic indoor car covers in Issue 1,894, but if you want something more upmarket for your special car, then there’s also the option of a fully tailored cover. Here, we put three…

AS new car brands continue to make headlines, legacy manufacturers are doubling down on heritage. Just look at the cars we’ve driven this week: SEAT Ibiza, Honda Prelude – even the Suzuki Vitara and Vauxhall Frontera. These names unlock memories in ways that Ora, Jaecoo or Omoda can never do. 1 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF £21,499 THE Volkswagen Golf is as much of a household name as Tesco, Cadbury or Coca-Cola here in the UK – and for good reason. It’s the quintessential family car, summed up by the “like a Golf” tagline used in its advertising. The eighth-generation car, launched in 2020, has plenty to recommend, especially if you go for one of the later facelift versions. You’ll pay a premium over a Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra, but we’d argue…

ARE you planning to buy or lease a new vehicle in the UK over the coming weeks or months? Then you’d be bonkers not to refer back to the full and frank results of the Auto Express New Car Awards 2025. Or, if you can hold out a little longer before ordering your next motor, the 2026 New Car Awards, due to be published in the mag and on autoexpress.co.uk eight months from now. Separate from and deliberately different to this leading, British awards programme (where expert road testers and editors do the judging) is a more international initiative – the New Car World Championships (comprising a mixed bunch of judges, jurors and executioners currently or previously working as design chiefs, industry titans, F1 drivers, TV and radio show presenters,…