Table of contents for June 18, 2025 in Autocar

Peugeot’s revered GTi badge has returned to appear on its first electric performance car, a hot hatch based on the e-208 that is aimed squarely at compatriot Alpine’s A290. Its launch at last week’s 24 Hours of Le Mans marks the return of one of the most evocative badges in performance motoring, after the 308 GTi went off sale in 2021. It is also the first hot Peugeot since the 508 PSE was axed in late 2024. Developed by Peugeot Sport and inspired by the widely admired 205 GTi, the new car represents a dramatic overhaul of the city-focused e-208. The key to the package is a motor transplant from the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce. Mounted up front and paired with a mechanical limited-slip differential, it puts out 278bhp and…

THE AUDI Q3 SUV has returned for a third generation, bringing a new design and a quite radical interior operational change. The new version of one of Audi’s best-sellers will arrive in September, priced from £38,300. Among the most interesting changes comes inside, where traditional control stalks have been removed. What Audi refers to as its ‘steering wheel control unit’ houses everything from drive selection and lighting functions to windscreen wiper operations and even the indicators. All are operated by physical buttons and the panel ends don’t move. If customer feedback is positive on the new control unit, it is likely to be rolled out across the rest of the range. Audi isn’t the first car maker to try to reinvent control stalks: the most notable is Tesla, which removed…

While BMW mulls the global viability of its upcoming FCEV models (left), it is preparing to reintroduce a range-extender (REx) drivetrain to its line-up as part of a renewed push to offer electric driving without the constraints of charging infrastructure – and its first REx will be the next X5. Engineering work is claimed to be already well under way in partnership with long-time component supplier ZF. High-ranking BMW sources say the decision to revisit the range-boosting tech comes as global sales of REx models are gaining strong momentum – particularly in China, BMW’s largest market by sales volume. BMW plans to deploy its new REx drivetrain in some of its most popular SUV models for markets where charging networks remain underdeveloped and buyer hesitation around pure-electric drivetrains persists. REx…

One car dealership determined to counter the trend is Wink Cars, based in Tipton, West Midlands. Founded in 2021 by footballing friends Jo Smith, a sales executive who previously worked for dealer groups including Pendragon, and Jodie Barber, a former beautician, its mission is to offer female car buyers a more welcoming car buying experience. The pair told Autocar they sell around 25 used cars per month. “Women feel more confident buying from another female,” said Smith. “Showrooms can be intimidating, but our customers – men as well as women – tell us they feel more comfortable buying from us.” However, Smith and Barber do believe that dealerships are trying to be relaxing places and beginning to realise the value women can bring to them. “There’s a drive to have…

ON SALE 25 JUNE 100-PAGE SPECIAL ISSUE ONLY THE BEST WILL DO We name the top cars from the past 12 months and honour the motor industry’s most talented and influential figures in our annual awards ROAD TEST ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST As good as it gets? Updated V12-engined limo meets our road testers EVERY WEEK USED GUIDE BMW X1 Mk2 premium small SUV has up-to-date tech and strong kerb appeal for as little as £5000 LIVING WITH A… FORD EXPLORER How did this new EV fare in daily use? And did it matter that it was really a Volkswagen underneath?…

Adrift mode and titanium plumbing from a respected but extroverted Slovenian supplier are not what we commonly associate with Bentley, or indeed SUVs. Then again, Bentley has successfully gone racing with the improbable, 2.3-tonne Continental GT3 and once enlisted Juha Kankkunen to fire a bioethanol-powered, rag-top Conti Supersports to more than 200mph on a frozen bit of the Baltic Sea. Nobody can say the company doesn’t have a bit of an unpredictable streak. This is the new Bentayga Speed. The main thing is that the old 6.0-litre W12 engine is out, its 626bhp and 664lb ft supplanted by a lighter 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with more power and only a fraction less torque. Performance is monstrous – think 193mph and a BMW M5 Touring-beating 0-60mph time – but the suspension calibration…

“The brief for the development team was ‘efficiency, efficiency, efficiency’” The new Nissan Leaf feels like a bit of a milestone moment: it’s the first mainstream mass-market electric vehicle to reach a third generation. Although that really depends on how you define such things: to all intents and purposes, the new Leaf is an entirely new model. The only thing it has in common with its pioneering predecessors is a name. The original Leaf arrived in 2010 as a mid-sized five-door hatchback with a Chademo charging port, a 24kWh battery, a 124-mile range, a price tag of £23,350 after a government grant and a whole load of novelty about whether a car powered by batteries could actually find mainstream buyers. The Mk2 Leaf followed in 2018, eventually featuring a 60kWh…

The market, arguably, is not in need of another C-segment SUV. We already have the Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Sportage, Ford Kuga, Nissan Qashqai, Volvo XC40, BMW X1, Skoda Karoq, Audi Q3, Toyota RAV4, Jeep Compass, Renault Arkana, Mercedes GLA, Citroën C5 Aircross, MG HS, Hyundai Tucson, Peugeot 3008 and several others besides. But this glut of competition hasn’t deterred Cupra, which is already represented by the Tiguan-adjacent Ateca, and has now launched the Terramar for a two-pronged attack. This appears to be overkill but there are good reasons why the Terramar exists. Back in 2018, when Cupra was repositioned as a stand-alone entity rather than a performance sub-brand of Seat, the Ateca was the first model it launched. In the seven years since, Cupra has evolved in terms of design…

One of the great benefits of this being a generations-old feud is that you don’t have to spend top whack on the latest metal to get a serious slice of the action. In fact, relative to the £300,000-plus prices of the new Vanquish and 12Cilindri, you don’t have to spend very much at all, particularly in the case of older Aston Martin flagships. Although it’s possible to go back to the millennium – to the stellar 550 Maranello (later updated to the 575M, although ensure you find one fitted with the Fiorano Handling Pack) and the Mk1 Vanquish – for something passably modern you need to shop in the post-2010 era. Here you will find the Mk2 Vanquish, which wasn’t as hand-finished as the original but had a better gearbox…

MILEAGE 4057 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see how much progress BMW has made with its entry hatch between generations Take one look at my BMW 120, with its prominent spoiler, mock diffuser and big red calipers, and more pertinently its 40-profile rubber stretched thinly around 19in wheels, and you might assume its ride is as stern as a sergeant major. You wouldn’t be entirely wrong, but nor would you be entirely right. Even on the M adaptive suspension fitted as part of the £2075 M Sport Package Pro, which is claimed to “further enhance the vehicle’s dynamic potential without compromising comfort”, the ride is always firm and often restless. However, it could be worse – as was illustrated when Felix Page and I swapped cars recently. We both felt…

In the dog-eat-dog mid-size SUV class, a distinctive exterior design is crucial to stand out from the crowd. Case in point: the second-generation Volvo XC60, which even at eight years old still looks fresh, enticing and just a little bit different. The minimalist, Nordic-chic aesthetic gives the XC60 the distinct edge for kerb appeal next to the likes of the Audi Q5 and BMW X3 – and now that you can bag this upmarket, tech-rich SUV for as little as £12,000, it starts to look all the more attractive. The show continues once the doors open too. The XC60’s airy cabin is modelled on the flagship XC90’s so it is among the slickest, most comfortable and most technologically advanced in its segment. There are plush leathers, soft materials adorn all…

Duncan Rabagliati bought his Austin-Healey Sprite in 1968 when it was six months old. “A bank clerk was the first owner, but when he was given a company car, he offered it for sale,” recalls Duncan, a lawyer and chairman of the Formula Junior Historic Racing Association. “My dad had promised me a car if I passed my Law Society finals and that matched up beautifully – and here I am, still with this car.” To my untrained eyes, Duncan’s Sprite looks like an MG Midget but he quickly educates me: “My Sprite is a Mk4 with the 1275cc engine. The Mk2 led to the MG Midget, the Mk3 to the Mk2 Midget and this Mk4 to the Mk3 Midget. The last three cars were basically the same but with…

3D-PRINTING TECHNOLOGY – or, to use its proper name, additive manufacturing (AM) – has progressed fast over the past five years. Dutch car company Donkervoort is one of the latest to take advantage of its unique benefits, by 3D-printing intercoolers for its forthcoming P24 RS supercar. These were developed by Australia’s Conflux, and the technique goes one step further than merely being a convenient way to manufacture things. By using AM, the weight of the aluminium-alloy liquidto-air intercoolers has been slashed from 16kg to 1.4kg. Conflux describes the technique as Formula 1 technology (its founder has a background in the sport), and it has other benefits too: this intercooler has superior thermal performance and packaging benefits to conventional equivalents. It should be tougher too, because it’s a single, one-piece structure…

CREDIT FOR WHETHER a car is good or not falls almost wholly upon the company whose badge is on the bonnet. But behind any major car maker lies a host of other firms helping to get new models on the road. Siemens is a global technology company whose hardware and software support all parts of the car industry. Its work covers all aspects of car design, development and manufacturing as well as a car company’s wider operations. For example, Siemens’ tech was used to reduce the footprint of a factory by 20% at the design stage by simulating and automating the production environment. We’ve been getting to know Siemens better, with the company partnering the 2025 Autocar Awards (winners revealed 25 June) and an Autocar Business webinar next week (26…

I feel compelled to register some praise for a maligned group of drivers: the professionals who deliver our essentials – both in vans and HGVs, but particularly the latter. I frequently commute down the M1 and into London by car and by motorcycle. Most days it is starkly obvious that the levels of awareness and consideration shown by such professional drivers are far above those of most others. For example, they often avoid creeping forward in slow traffic so that I can ride through a gap while filtering. Some will even move sideways in their lane. That requires actually looking in their mirrors and appreciating that we are a community of road users. Modern cars are getting wider, which narrows passing opportunities, plus I’m not sure that having ADAS does…

Welcome to what DS was always supposed to be. With its recent past as essentially a vendor of posh Citroëns swept under the rug, Stellantis’s boutique French brand has aspirations of moving into the luxury market, but with this bespoke new N°8 flagship is making a renewed push to lure buyers away from the German executive brands. On first encounter with this genre-bender, with its lofty ride height, fastback roofline and limousine-like rear doors, rivals don’t immediately spring to mind, but the Polestar 4, Mercedes GLC and Audi Q6 E-tron are cited as key benchmarks. Importantly, though, DS has priced the N°8 more in line with cars from the class below (think Q4 E-tron) to give it an edge when it comes to value for money. As DS’s recent struggles…

Despite being a part of the Volkswagen cookie-cutter machine, Skoda has shown itself to be quite adept at doing things slightly differently – not radically so but in ways that do make an impact. With cars like the Superb and Kodiaq, it espouses a ‘more buttons, less nonsense’ philosophy that we can get behind. With the Elroq, you might expect it to have made an ID 3 with an ice scraper in the charging flap, but it’s actually more like a shortened Enyaq, and that extends to the new sporty version. While the ID 3 GTX and Cupra Born VZ stick with a single rear motor, the Elroq vRS uses the same 335bhp dual-motor powertrain as the Enyaq vRS. But because it’s a bit smaller and lighter, it’s also quicker.…

By the time a car enters its sixth generation, you can normally be fairly certain what its replacement is going to be like. After all, longevity in this industry is often a byword for success. Yet like the five Nissan Micras before it, this new sixth-gen model is very different again. It has gone electric and is a twin to the Renault 5, with little to no mechanical changes from what is admittedly a very good starting point, given it’s Car of the Year and all the rage among the buying public. It has been given an extensive reskin by Nissan’s London design team, however, and if the Mk6 draws on any of its predecessors for inspiration, then it’s the Mk3 – the funky bubble version that probably marked the…

“We want to create something where everybody can be the best version of themselves” June is Pride month, and whether or not you consider yourself part of the LGBTQ+ community, you can’t fail to have noticed retailers applying rainbow bunting to their stores or daubing vibrant colours on their social media pages. What once appeared an open goal is no longer such an easy win, however: LGBTQ+ folk and their allies are alert to ‘pinkwashing’ – brief, superficial allyship – while anyone desperate to identify as neither party may question the need for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures at all. Thankfully, we can rely on one company to do it properly. “It is clear that there is a deeprooted appreciation for DEI across the entire network,” said editor…

Julian Thomson is especially proud to have joined the firm that invented car design. He tells the story of Harley Earl, who started work in his father’s coachbuilding business and eventually built a company making special cars for stars in Hollywood. Earl pioneered clay modelling, using clay he found washed into nearby valleys after floods to make his designs in 3D. The clay modelling process used today is a direct development of Earl’s discovery. Against opposition from managers, accountants and process-obsessed engineers, Earl was also first to use freeform sketching for car designs, and in 1927 he opened the first-ever styling studio, often referred to by sceptics as ‘the beauty parlour’. Earl had discovered car design as it is still practised today. He built the first full-sized clay model and…

MILEAGE 17,501 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT In facelifted form, is this SUV still the pinnacle of British luxury motoring? The last Bentley I drove on the continent was a Continental in 2019. The glorious metallic grey V12 GT traversed the Loire Valley, stopping at various chateaux while its driver and passenger ate baguettes, fresh strawberries and pains au chocolat. There surely can’t be many cars more fitting for such a sojourn than a Continental GT, even though its shortage of space in the back and small boot can be a drawback. But with its Bentayga SUV sibling, that’s not a problem and the added practicality can pay off on a trip to the continent, as I found out. This trip to France was as much about the journey as the…

AN OWNER’S VIEW ALLAN DRAKE “I bought my 2019 XC60 at the beginning of last year. I didn’t need a car as big as my old Mercedes ML but I still wanted something four-wheel drive. I got a bit of stick from my daughter about it being an ‘old man’s car’ but in my opinion it’s one of the best I’ve owned. “I’m over six foot and have had issues with leg room in other cars but the Volvo has an excellent driving position. I did a four-hour journey last week and got to the other end without an ache at all.” BUYER BEWARE… ■ ENGINE Petrol cars can burn oil. Causes vary from faulty piston rings to worn seals and gaskets, or even a damaged head gasket. Check for…

Every year, motorcycling enthusiasts keenly await the summer for the wild Isle of Man TT races. But how many know that there used to be TT races for cars as well? In fact, the Tourist Trophy was conceived for cars. From 1905, a race was held on Mann’s Highroads Course – twice the length of today’s Mountain Course. By 1922, though, this was considered unsuitable for such use, and the event lapsed. A new venue was finally found six years later in County Down, as championed to the RAC by Harry Ferguson, a successful Northern Irish tractor manufacturer. This 13.6-mile road course – “as hard, as tricky and as magnificent as any in the world”, in the view of Autocar – was a triangle linking the towns of Comber, Dundonald…

Dacia is readying its hugely popular Duster for the EV age – and the upcoming electric variant is set to stay true to its affordable, rugged ethos as well as retain the option of a go-anywhere 4x4. The Romanian brand will showcase the next chapter of its reinvention in November, following the launch of its new Bigster flagship SUV earlier this year. CEO Denis Le Vot has already promised that there will be “a lot about electrification” as part of this showcase, suggesting that the firm will give the first details of how it will transition from ICE to EV power across its line-up. Because of its focus on affordable models, Dacia currently only has one European EV, the Spring supermini, and it is sticking with ICE power for its…

The UK’s limited fuelling infrastructure remains a big stumbling block to the rollout of hydrogenpowered cars and could cause BMW not to offer its planned fuel cell cars here. Currently, there are just three hydrogen filling stations for cars in the UK, with only three more in the pipeline, according to data from UK H2 Mobility. “We sincerely hope that the infrastructure will develop further because right now the UK is not in a condition where [launching] would make sense,” said Jürgen Guldner, head of BMW’s hydrogen vehicle project, recently. BMW plans to sell its first series-production fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) in 2028. It is expected to be a variant of the upcoming sixth-generation X5. The firm will use Toyota’s fuel cell stack, which converts hydrogen to electricity. Currently,…

The motor trade isn’t doing enough to make women feel welcome when they’re buying a car, according to new research. In 2023, almost 17 million women held a UK driving licence, compared with almost 18 million men, and many women buy their own car or are responsible for a shared purchase of one. Yet in a recent survey of 7500 drivers by Citroën UK, nearly half of the women asked (48%) said their car buying experience was tailored towards male customers. Nearly as many (44%) said they felt patronised by male sales staff and only 25% said they felt comfortable asking for help in a car showroom. Another result from the survey that should be a cause for concern for a male-dominated industry is that four times as many women…

GREAT ESCAPE I finalised my purchase of a new Suzuki Swift Motion this week and had an interesting chat with the car salesman. He had been a long-time employee of the Suzuki dealership (more than 15 years) but admitted to a brief dalliance working at a Jaguar Land Rover dealership. He recounted his one or two years there with the look of someone still battling PTSD. He shared how his days were filled with direct and demanding customers filling his in-tray and voicemail with their myriad complaints, and how as he had left, his colleagues had wheeled out a top-of-the-range Defender to tempt him to stay but by that point he had had enough of the vehicles. He spoke about his return to Suzuki warmly as if returning home. He…

“Kia has found a nice balance between tech and screens and physical buttons and switches” One of many remarkable things about Tesla is that so much of its growth has been built on a bodystyle that has seemingly long gone out of fashion. The success that the Model 3 has achieved as a fairly traditional, low-sitting saloon defies logic when every other car maker is packing its range full of crossovers and SUVs, backfilled by evergreen hatchbacks. While there have been other saloons (most notably the BMW i4) among a sea of crossovers and hatchbacks flooding the EV market, the amount of true Model 3 rivals barely makes a puddle. The EV4 is Kia’s first electric saloon and, as a global model from a car maker with one of the…

Other than enraging lexicological pedants and boosting car makers’ coffers, what’s the point of SUV-coupés? They generally cost a bit more than their conventional SUV siblings yet offer slightly less practicality. Well, perhaps in the electric age, when aerodynamics play a key role in maximising range, this type of car deserves a place. Take the new Q6 E-tron Sportback (or should that be the Q6 Sportback E-tron?), the sloping-roofed version of Audi’s all-new electric SUV. The Q6 siblings are essentially identical in their main body but their rooflines diverge from their A-pillars onwards. The Sportback’s more sculpted bodywork makes it slightly more aerodynamic than the regular Q6 (their drag coefficients are 0.26 and 0.28), and that in turn increases its range by a few miles. The longest-legged Q6 model is…

The BYD Dolphin Surf – aka the Seagull in its home market of China because that’s what its face looks like – is now in the UK. To suggest that BYD is ambitious would be an understatement. It used to say it was the biggest company you had never heard of. Now you have, and in the past couple of months it has taken a 2% market share in the UK. It has sold more than half a million Seagulls already abroad and will be building Surfs in Hungary before the year is out. Europe is getting this car later than some markets because our expectations are higher than some others’. BYD has made exterior and interior treatments and suspension tweaks specifically for us. The Surf is even a bit…

The 12Cilindri didn’t have the easiest start in the court of public opinion, and not just because of its cumbersome name. “The V12 isn’t bombastic enough!” brayed forum posters. “The Pontiac Aztek wants its rear styling back,” X-ers snarked. And on it went. Maybe they had a point. With its breadvan-ish tail and hyper-chiselled prow, the very latest Ferrari GT (styled in-house, Pininfarina’s 66-year influence having ended with the F12 Berlinetta) is provocative. Particulate filters also mean this most recent iteration of the 65deg Tipo 140 engine is indeed tamer on the ears than before. But temper your prejudices. Remember that many considered the 550 Maranello ugly when it hit the scene in 1996. Remember also that, especially in these darkened times of the fun-car witch-hunt, it is better to…

Rainbow electric SUVs are all the rage, with Skoda’s Elroq Respectline just as dazzling as Peugeot’s efforts. It’s the latest car in a series started by global press fleet coordinator Petr Kavrentzis. “When we started the Enyaq Respectline project a couple of years ago, its purpose quickly became clear: to create something together with people we didn’t know before,” he says. “People from different departments, different cultures, all united by a shared passion. “This remains the most valuable aspect of the entire Respectline project. This spirit is already deeply rooted in what it means to be a ‘Skodian’. This word signifies being part of one great team, working together to create great products, shape a better future and live by shared values. This truly feels like our company. “Diversity is…

WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see whether Citroën’s new small EV can challenge the class-leading Renault 5 “Its range of 198 miles compares favourably with the Renault 5’s Urban Range model” From the MG 4 to the Renault 5, the small electric car is all of a sudden in vogue. Battery technology has at last started to become more cost-effective and it seems that some manufacturers have finally cracked the code to bring electric power to the masses in a more compact package, rather than in the form of a great big SUV. It’s these two areas – cost and compactness – in which our fleet’s new arrival will appeal most, its wallet-friendly price being the headline-grabber here. Starting from £22,095, the Citroën ë-C3 is the latest affordable new small…

RENAULT SCENIC Mileage 7655 Last seen 11.6.25 Cupholders of a useful size and shape are in short supply in the Scenic, but other useful storage is not. There’s a phone tray below the touchscreen that has a wireless charging mat and the slot in the front of the armrest can house a phone, a wallet and the key. The interior remains a real Scenic high point. MT FORD EXPLORER Mileage 3987 Last seen 11.6.25 It can take a few months with an EV to work out how to maximise its efficiency, and as I near the end of my time with the Explorer, I’m definitely getting more out of a charge than when it was first delivered. I’d like to think that’s because I’ve adjusted to its foibles, such as…

BMW 330Ci 2002, 36,000 miles, £11,995 This drop-top E46 has modern classic written all over it. Not only does it have a characterful 231bhp six-cylinder engine and manual gearbox, but it’s also finished in a super-rare BMW Individual velvet blue metallic. It has a full service history too. FIAT 124 SPIDER 1.4 MULTIAIR 2016, 56,000 miles, £9375 With an MOT until May 2026 and a recent service, this 124 Spider is ready for plenty of summer road trips. Those tan seats set it apart from other examples in the classifieds and it’s loaded with decent kit. It may have only 148bhp but its lightweight design ensures it’s fun to drive. RANGE ROVER EVOQUE HSE DYNAMIC CONVERTIBLE 2017, 68,000 miles, £15,795 Why not channel your inner Barbie (or Ken) with this convertible Evoque? It’s…