Table of contents for 1908 in Auto Express

IT’S quite incredible to think how Renault has gone from functional mainstream maker to desirable small-car supremo in little more than 12 months. This time last year we were driving the new Renault 5 for the first time, declaring it a “successful homage to its historic predecessor”. Then came the Renault 4, a slightly less stylised but more practical version of the 5 that won our hearts and romped to a road-test victory against the Ford Puma in the summer. Not wanting to place all its eggs in its plug-in pannier, the maker revealed the divisive petrol Clio at the Munich Motor Show in September – a car we’re immensely excited to be driving for the first time next month. “RENAULT HAS BECOME THE SMALL-CAR-SUPREMO IN LITTLE MORE THAN 12…

YOU’D be forgiven for not recognising the vehicle in these pictures. That’s because, instead of following the traditional procedure and revealing images of the new Hilux weeks or even months ahead of first drives, Toyota has chosen to roll it all into one. But not only has the dependable Hilux been given a new look inside and out, there are some fairly extensive changes under the skin, too. And the main one of these is that, for the first time ever, it’s available with a zero emission electric powertrain. Based on a re-engineered ladder frame chassis, the drive battery is located between the frame rails. This does mean a compromise in terms of battery size, though, with a modest 56.2kWh pack fitted. This is connected to two electric motors –…

MERCEDES is set to unveil the second-generation GLB seven-seat SUV on 8 December, and these official pictures give us a clear idea of what to expect from the car’s interior. The new GLB will be based on the same MMA platform as the latest Mercedes CLA, and will be available with the same cutting-edge hybrid and EV technology. So it’s not surprising that the saloon’s minimalist, tech-focused interior has been carried over almost wholesale as well. Mercedes calls the wall of screens that cover the entirety of the dashboard the MBUX Superscreen. In the CLA, it comprises a 10.25-inch driver’s display, a whopping 14-inch central touchscreen and another 14-inch touchscreen just for the front passenger. The system looks to be exactly the same in the new GLB. The Superscreen set-up…

IS it possible to engineer a sense of fun? That’s what Honda is hoping for with its new, UK-bound Super-N, and it’s a claim we’ve tested by driving a prototype. It’s based on the N-One e that is sold in Japan and has a 29.3kWh battery pack and an e-motor mounted on the front axle. But while the hardware is the same, its software has been tweaked for the Super-N. This unlocks more than the N-One e’s 63bhp and 115Nm. The biggest change, though, is the new Boost mode, which introduces virtual gears and engine noise. Plus Honda has revised the suspension tuning. There’s a big-heartedness in the way that the car drives. It’s happy to mooch around at low speeds in standard mode like any other EV, but in…

IT’S almost two years since we first drove the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N in South Korea. We came away wondering if the hot EV was as good as it seemed, itching to drive it on more familiar roads. Six months passed until we got one in the UK. But we soon realised we hadn’t overcooked our verdict, declaring the hot hatch a “new benchmark” for driver-focused electric cars. The hype was real. Now we’re getting a chance to sample N’s second electric car. It’s based on the facelifted Ioniq 6 also due next year, with stats that largely mirror those of its boxier brother – with a couple of key changes that should make it even better to drive. The first is an advanced suspension geometry fully redesigned for the…

MY husband and I recently booked a weekend break in Bristol and of course, using the pure-electric Alfa Romeo Junior meant slightly different preparations than if I’d been running a petrol or diesel car. That difference is exacerbated because we can’t charge the car at home, and therefore spend quite a bit of time at public charge points. Luckily, there are a few different options near our flat, and there is normally at least one charger available of the four MFG units at the local garage. The fact we were using the Alfa also influenced our choice of route. We had two options: one cross country and the other via the A34 and M4. Both took around the same time but the first was approximately 76 miles while the second…

LAST week we looked for the best presents for under £50. But if you can stretch above the £50 limit, there is much more choice for the car lover in your life. Some are still relatively affordable with a price tag in double figures, while others are likely to be reserved for millionaires’ mancaves or fantasy lottery-win wishlists. Here are our top 20 gifts for car fans costing over £50. INSTA 360 X4 AIR Price: £359 Contact: store.insta360.com RECORDING your motoring adventures is increasingly popular, and we’ve always rated Insta’s 360 cameras as the best for good-looking video at a fair price. The new X4 Air makes it even easier. Weighing just 165g, it’s the lightest-ever 8K 360 camera and perfect forfor fixing to your car without elaborate mounts. It also…

THIS week we’ve checked out the stunning Renault Twingo, tested the new Toyota RAV4 and driven Hyundai’s latest N offering, the Ioniq 6 N. Those three cars are all fascinating in their own right, but what if you don’t want to wait until they go on sale? Well, on the Auto Express Marketplace right now, there are some solid alternatives from all of those brands – at a fraction of the price. 1 HYUNDAI I30 N–£21,300 LET’S start with the car that got Hyundai’s N performance arm up and running, the i30 N. When it arrived in 2017, it took on the Ford Focus ST and Volkswagen Golf GTI and, amazingly, it proved to be more than a match for both. The ingredients were pretty conventional – a turbocharged four-cylinder…

THE Renault Twingo has been reborn as an electric city car and could cost close to £17,000, when it goes on sale in the UK next year. Plus it represents a new era of innovation for the firm, having been developed in half the time it would normally take for a brand-new car. The new Renault is almost identical to the concept that was revealed just two years ago and inspired by the iconic original from the nineties. The goal was to revive the spirit of that car and make sure the new model is recognisable as a Twingo, without being a mere “copy and paste”, Renault Group’s head of design Laurens van den Acker told us. “The test was when people came to see the new Twingo. If they…

THE new Peugeot 208 will finally be arriving in 2027, and the brand’s bold new Polygon concept offers us a glimpse of the next-generation supermini’s avantgarde design and how it’s literally going to reinvent the wheel. The Polygon previews the brand’s future styling language, which focuses on purity, simplicity and geometric shapes to create “a more feline stance than ever,” according to the maker. The concept is certainly radical, with the wheels pushed out to the very edges of the car, its windscreen resembling the canopy on a fighter jet, and a pair of huge gullwing doors that would make a DeLorean jealous. Peugeot’s signature three-claw light design has been reimagined using Micro-LED technology that stretches across the front and rear of the car. There’s another Micro-LED screen on the…

THE Mercedes CLA hybrid is on sale now, priced from £38,700, undercutting its electric sibling by almost £7,000. It’s available with a choice of three engines and five specifications. The range kicks off with the CLA 180 Sport, which features a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a small hybrid module and a 1.3kWh battery. Above this is the CLA 200, which uses the same basic layout, but with a 161bhp petrol engine. Topping the range is the 187bhp CLA 220 4Matic, which adds power to the rear axle for all-wheel drive. Once you’ve chosen your engine, the trim levels are: Sport, Sport Edition, AMG Line Executive, AMG Line Premium and AMG Line Premium Plus.…

AFTER years of toing and froing over whether the Government might introduce some form of road pricing, it’s now been reported that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is set to introduce a pay-per-mile road tax scheme for electric cars in the upcoming November Budget. According to the Telegraph, as part of Reeves’ new plans, from 2028 EV drivers will have to pay 3p per mile on top of other Vehicle Excise Duty (also known as road tax) charges. To put this in perspective, a single one-way journey between London and Oxford would set EV drivers back almost £2, while a return trip from London to Manchester would cost almost £13 in tax. With this in mind, the Telegraph estimates drivers could be charged up to £250 extra a year under the…

JEEP is planning to remove the covers from the all-new, second-generation Renegade within two years, giving the off-road-focused brand a fresh rival to the beloved Dacia Duster. The first Renegade was launched back in 2014, and now feels very dated. Its role as the entry point to the Jeep’s line-up was also taken by the even smaller (and generally much better) Avenger that was launched in 2022 and has since led to a tripling of the brand’s sales in the UK. Last summer, then Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa revealed the new Renegade would finally arrive by 2027, and confirmed that there will be an electric version priced from $25,000 (roughly £19,000) in the US. However Filosa didn’t share anything else about the car, so we recently sat down with Jeep’s…

MEANWHILE, the German brand is aiming big with its super-sized Q9 as it prepares to take on the BMW X7 and Mercedes GLS. Audi has needed a car like the Q9 for some time, because the battle for supremacy at the very top of the market is no longer being fought by traditional four-door saloons, with massive seven-seat SUVs now the order of the day. The Q9 will be revealed after the fresh Q7 (below, left), and will share many of that car’s components. New spy pictures clearly show what Audi’s top-spec SUV will look like, adopting a similar look but a larger body with an extended wheelbase that will ape the BMW and Mercedes in both proportions and road presence. The specific model we can see here also has…

STYLE is a personal thing, but if there’s enough demand for a certain look, then it’s a trick that brands of all descriptions can tap into. It’s something that car makers have been doing for years, and one frequent introduction that has been adopted by the likes of Audi, Porsche and Volvo, even Bentley, is the Black Edition. Another frequent proponent of obsidian upgrades is Volkswagen, and it’s just introduced Black Edition variants of the electric ID.4 and ID.5 SUVs, which join the already-released Golf, Passat, Polo, Taigo, Tiguan and T-Cross Black Editions. The formula is simple: take a top-spec model (ignoring the ID. GTX models) and add gloss-black detailing and a bit of extra kit. In the case of the two electric SUVs, it’s the Pro Match version that…

HYUNDAI has been one of the topper-forming brands of the 2020s, with many of its models in contention for class honours. The Ioniq 9 is the brand’s flagship, offering the seven-seat practicality of the ICE-powered Santa Fe with even more luxury and a range of EV powertrains. In some areas it’s fantastic, but it needs to be at this price. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE THE Ioniq 9 is available with a choice of three powertrain options. The range kicks off with a rear-wheel-drive model with 215bhp and 350Nm of torque. Performance is hardly scintillating (0-62mph takes 9.4 seconds) and we suspect many buyers spending this much might choose to upgrade to the first of the dual-motor models. Here, outputs climb to 303bhp and 605Nm, and the 0-62mph time is trimmed down…

SINCE my last update, Monty and I have clocked up many more miles. With a calendar full of late summer/autumn events and cross-country journeys between our offices in London and Bedford, the Audi A3 has once again proved its reliability and refinement on the road. Long motorway stretches have continued to showcase its impressive fuel economy; the 1.5 TFSI engine feels as efficient as it is eager, returning figures that never fail to surprise. What’s really stood out though, is how effortlessly the A3 has adapted to changing conditions. When we were blessed with weeks of sunshine, I was deeply grateful for the car’s efficient climate control. The system offers plenty of adjustability and, refreshingly, uses proper physical buttons – a rarity in today’s screen-obsessed cabins. Combined with the supportive…

“KNOWING A BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT A CAR’S LAST KEEPER CAN PAINT A PICTURE OF HOW IT’S BEEN TREATED” AT some point, my colleagues and I have all explained why there’s no reason to fear high-mileage used cars. However, after a very good friend of mine purchased a 2001 Vauxhall Astra van with over 220,000 miles on the clock, it got me thinking: why exactly is this very well used, ageing workhorse still running so sweetly? I’m sure you already know that stringent maintenance is the key to keeping a car alive and healthy over the years, and that a fully stamped service book is akin to the Holy Grail. However, how much thought have you given to a car’s previous owner? I’ll word this carefully, lest I sound like…

CITROEN has teamed up with surfing brand Rip Curl to come up with the Ami Buggy Rip Curl concept, which has been built to mark the international finals of the Rip Curl GromSearch, held in Hossegor, France this month. The French firm says the Ami Rip Curl “embodies the surfer spirit” by being “practical, rugged, and adventure ready”. To do this, it gets a purple body colour to contrast the white roof, black canvas top and black roof spoiler. There are also special stickers on the rear pillar. The stripes around the front and rear, and on the wheelarches, are white too, while there are Rip Curl side bags and an LED roof-mounted light that doubles as a mount for the surfboard. The Ami also has off-road tyres to help…

RETRO charm has beaten futuristic minimalism, after the Renault 5 outsold the Tesla Model Y in October. However, both were overtaken by the punchily priced petrol-powered Jaecoo 7 SUV. Indeed, the R5 was the UK’s best-selling electric car last month, although this still wasn’t enough to bump it, or any other EVs, into the top 10; the best-selling car overall in October was the Ford Puma. Interestingly, however, China’s Jaecoo 7, which costs from £30,115, was the nation’s sixth-best seller, with more than 2,600 registered last month alone. This isn’t only indicative of how British consumers are attracted to the rock-bottom prices of the Chinese models, but also how overall electric-car adoption appears to be slowing.…

CHINESE newcomer Omoda will continue its assault on the UK next year with its new Omoda 7. Sitting between the smaller Omoda 5 and flagship Omoda 9, it’ll rival the Toyota RAV4 (page 28) and Hyundai Tucson. The headline model is the Omoda 7 SHS, which uses the same 1.5-litre petrol engine and 18.3kWh battery as the Jaecoo 7. Omoda says it’ll do 56 miles on electric power, with a combined range of “over 700 miles”. Official economy stands at 403mpg, with CO2 emissions “as low as 23g/km”. Prices start from £32,000 – £3,165 less than its Jaecoo sibling. Alongside the PHEV sits the petrol model, which uses a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine with 145bhp and 275Nm of torque. As you might expect, it undercuts the PHEV, with prices starting…

HAMMERED by global trade uncertainty, victim of a crippling cyberattack and struggling with delays to its high-risk Jaguar relaunch, JLR has suffered a terrible year. Now it’s facing a huge culture shock, as new CEO P.B. Balaji takes charge on 17 November. Appointed by JLR’s owner, Tata of India, Balaji has served as a JLR non-executive director since 2017, but his longtime job was group chief financial officer at Tata Motors Limited. As the ultimate overseer of JLR’s financial performance, Balaji has a reputation as a quiet, tough and forensic numbers guy, who had the potential to irk members of the Indian media, former colleagues told Auto Express. Before joining Tata he spent time in finance at health, beauty and food giant Unilever. What will the Balaji blueprint be? We…

GEELY is yet another Chinese brand looking to make an impact in the UK, and it’s one to be reckoned with. It already owns Lotus, Polestar and Volvo, but the first car to bear the Geely name here is the EX5, which joins the all-important, all-electric mid-size SUV market. There’s just one battery option and three trim levels, called SE, Pro and Max, and Geely has been pretty aggressive with its pricing strategy, knocking off up to £4,750 from the EX5. With the company’s own “Geely EV grant” in place – which runs up until the end of this year – the EX5 is priced at £29,690 in entry SE trim, £30,790 for the Pro and £33,240 for the Max version we’re testing here. The EX5 comes with just one…

IF style is high up your priorities for a seven-seat EV, it’s hard to ignore the Peugeot E-5008. It flaunts eye-catching design both inside and out, but that’s meaningless if there isn’t the ability to back things up. Fortunately, there’s a lot to like here; by the standards of the class, it’s great to drive, reasonably efficient, and backed up with plenty of standard kit. We’d recommend the big-battery model, though – overall range is a little underwhelming in 73kWh models. ENGINES & PERFORMANCE PEUGEOT offers three powertrain options across its trim levels – a line-up that is shared with the smaller E-3008. Things start with a single-motor option that offers up 207bhp and 343Nm of torque, which is enough to shift the E-5008 from 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds. For…

COMFORTABLY and confidently, the Volkswagen brand currently occupies the top slot in the UK new-car sales league. And in the immediate future, there’s zero prospect of it being knocked off its perch. But just as VW fought hard to steal that position from Ford, I believe the German firm will, in turn, be dislodged. No need to panic just yet, though; it’ll probably be years, not months, before it’s dethroned. So, the big, obvious question is: who’ll eventually inherit that coveted number one slot? With the massive bonus of greenfield factories in the UK and talented, productive, well behaved Brit workers, Nissan and Toyota are – on paper – best placed to become market leader. Especially because they enjoy the huge added benefit of selling their Japanese-built models alongside those…