What Car? November 2021

Back in 2009, when the UK Government introduced a scrappage scheme to try to reverse a slump in car sales, the big winners were Hyundai and its sister brand Kia; they could barely keep up with demand for their ultra-affordable i10 and Picanto city cars. However, even then there was talk from company executives of wanting to move upmarket. ‘Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV6 have the potential to be landmark models’ I’ll admit, at the time I thought this seemed fanciful. But the two brands have absolutely delivered, with each now offering a wide range of cars that sell based on their all-round talents rather than budget pricing. For all the progress, though, it could be argued that you still buy a Hyundai or Kia with your head rather than your heart,…

Will.Nightingale@haymarket.com SAY HELLO TO an electric car that its maker claims can charge faster than a Tesla, go farther than a Hyundai Ioniq 5 and, if you choose the right version, even out-accelerate a Porsche Taycan 4S. Yes, the new Kia EV6 certainly has some impressive on-paper credentials. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise, because Kia has more experience in the art of making electric cars than many other brands. It launched the original Soul EV back in 2014 before following that up with the ahead-of-its-time e-Niro – the latter becoming the first electric car to win our overall Car of the Year award in 2019. Unlike both of those forerunners, though, the EV6 has been designed from the outset to be a bespoke electric vehicle (EV); its designers didn’t need…

Steve.Huntingford@haymarket.com LIKE THE DEATH of Mark Twain, it seems the end of the saloon car has been greatly exaggerated. Yes, the popularity of SUVs shows no sign of waning as we move into the electric era, but some car makers clearly still see sufficient demand for lower-riding models to justify electrifying those as well. Indeed, with the unveiling of the EQE, Mercedes-Benz has given us two new fully electric saloons in a matter of months. Sitting below the larger and more luxury-oriented EQS in the company’s range, the EQE will cost from around £60,000 and take on the BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3. Externally, the EQE closely resembles its bigger brother, with a sweeping, coupélike roofline and a smooth panel where the front grille would usually be, to help maximise aerodynamic efficiency. emote…

John.Howell@haymarket.com THERE ARE SMALL cars that are cheap, but you feel every penny of the cost savings. There are small cars that you pay a premium for but, even without Sherlock-style scrutiny, you find yourself wondering “What’s all the fuss about?”. And then there’s the Skoda Fabia – a car that feels more than the sum of its parts, for less than you’d expect those parts to cost. Deliveries of the all-new, fourth-generation Fabia will begin at the tail end of this year. It’s longer, wider and lower than before and is available with new features, such as digital instruments, a heated steering wheel and a heated windscreen. Full LED headlights and tail-lights are now standard and the list of safety aids includes lane assist, blindspot warning and rear cross-traffic alert. There will…

Darren.Moss@haymarket.com A GREAT THING about any new technology is that, over time, it’s bound to become cheaper. One of the first commercially available mobile phones, for example – the Motorola DynaTAC – cost the equivalent of £2890 when it was released in 1984; these days you can find better, more advanced phones on Amazon for as little as £10. The same is true of electric cars; where once they were seen as expensive, now there’s a green choice to suit a wide range of budgets. And now, with the launch of the new Volkswagen ID.2, the threshold for going electric is about to fall once again. Serving as the entry point into Volkswagen’s growing range of electric cars, the ID.2 is expected to cost from just £17,000 when sales begin in 2025.…

Jim.Holder@haymarket.com MERCEDES-BENZ HAS A lot riding on the EQS, which aims to offer S-Class luxury while running on fuel you get in kilowatts rather than gallons. You see, while the brand’s EQA, EQB, EQC and EQV are essentially electric versions of existing petrol and diesel-engined models and have to make compromises to achieve their zero-emissions goals, this EQS flagship was designed from the ground up to be an electric car (or EV) – so there’s no excuses if it’s not up to scratch. Fortunately, the EQS 450+ prototype we’ve tried (more powerful twin-motor versions will also be offered) impressed us enough to quash any doubts. Its steering is precise, it’s impressively composed when changing lane at speed, and there’s plenty of grip and little body lean in corners. However, its near-2.5-tonne weight can’t…