Innehållsförteckning för April 2023 från What Car?

On the What Car? website, we have a handy fuel comparison tool, which asks you four questions about your driving habits, then tells you whether you’d be better off with a petrol car, a diesel, a hybrid or something fully electric. And looking at the data, the most common answer is still electric, despite recent rises in energy prices. ‘There’s a sizeable group of people for whom electric cars don’t make sense’ At the same time, though, there’s a sizeable minority of people that it advises to choose one of the other options, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon; electric cars make far less sense if you regularly do long journeys or would mostly be charging using the public network. That’s why we’ve put our heads together and…

ayisha.gharu@haymarket.com HOW ARE YOU getting on with your New Year’s resolutions? Did you cast them aside long ago, or are you being good and sticking to them? Well, what you see here is Peugeot’s pledge for the future, which it claims will influence its cars’ technology and design. The Inception concept is powered by two electric motors – one on the front axle, the other on the rear – for four-wheel drive. Together they produce 671bhp – enough for a claimed 0-62mph time of less than 3.0sec. Those motors draw their power from a big, 100kWh battery, for an estimated range of 497 miles on a single charge. That’s farther than any electric car currently on sale in the UK can manage, including the BMW iX, Mercedes-Benz EQS and Tesla…

lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com DIESEL CARS. REMEMBER what they were like? They’ve fallen out of fashion as quickly as cigarette smoking in recent years; buyers have dashed away from the black pump as though they were quitting a dirty habit. Yet, while many manufacturers have diverted their development efforts to electric cars, Mazda thinks there’s still a place for diesel power, and its new e-Skyactiv D engine makes its debut in the CX-60. The logic is that diesel engines still make sense to many high-mileage drivers, because their innate economy means stopping for fuel less often than would be the case in a petrol or hybrid car. A diesel’s strong low-down pulling power is also well suited to those who tow. The 3.3-litre six-cylinder unit is offered in a choice of two power…

alasdair.rodden@haymarket.com AS ANY FASHION designer will tell you, sometimes style sells more than substance. So, while the Range Rover Velar might not be as capable off road as its larger SUV siblings, the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, its eye-catching looks and more modest price make it quite the must-have accessory. And now, thanks to a raft of updates, it should be more appealing than ever. The first major change is to the Velar’s infotainment system. It’s now headed by a single 11.4in touchscreen through which climate, media, seat heating and navigation settings are all controlled, and it also looks after wireless smartphone mirroring via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The system copies the look of the set-up in the Range Rover Sport, but it has a smaller screen…

darren.moss@haymarket.com WEALTHY HANDBALL FANS could well have an interest in the Porsche K1. You see, a handball team features seven players – and that’s how many people this new electric SUV can carry. In fact, the K1 will be Porsche’s first seven-seater, and will sit at the top of its SUV range, above the Macan and Cayenne (which will be all-electric by the time it arrives in 2027). We haven’t seen official pictures, but as our image shows, it will have a relatively short bonnet, a steeply raked windscreen and a curved roof that extends to an even curvier tailgate. It’s likely to be more than five metres long, matching the BMW iX, Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV and upcoming electric Range Rover. WHAT CAR? IMAGE Air suspension will allow the K1…

claire.evans@haymarket.com THREE IS THE magic number. Research shows that many families are bucking the traditional average of 2.5 children and having three offspring. Famous three-child families include the Prince and Princess of Wales, television presenter Holly Willoughby and actors Reece Witherspoon and Will Smith. And they’re not alone: 1.2 million families in the UK have three or more children. However, a recent survey by Mumsnet revealed that, for 60% of parents, a third child caused the biggest organisational headaches, with 72% saying they needed to buy a new car and 41% saying they had to move house to make room for their growing brood. We can’t help you to find a bigger home, but we can reveal the best new cars for your growing family. Most five-seaters aren’t suitable, because…

DIY mechanics might find that a soft bag is a better way of carrying tools than a rigid box, especially on the move. Let’s see which one offers the best value. For more reviews, go to whatcar.com/class/product-reviews TESTING PROCESS WE FILLED a variety of bags with a selection of commonly used tools (such as screwdrivers, spanners and socket wrenches) up to their weight limit. We then looked at how sturdy and durable they felt, as well as how easily they could be carried around. We also considered how easily tools could be loaded and unloaded, and how well provisioned the bags were with pockets and loops for quick, convenient access. And as always, we considered price and the level of value on offer. SCAN FOR MORE PRODUCT REVIEWS WHAT CAR?…

darren.moss@haymarket.com Mileage 2499 List price £50,695 Target Price £47,385 Price as tested £50,695 Test economy 30.4mpg I’VE RECENTLY COME to the conclusion that practicality, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. You might assume that my Audi TTS would be as well suited to family life as a studio flat, but appearances can be deceiving. Okay, you wouldn’t want to travel four up to the south of France in a TT, but it has proved surprisingly accommodating on a number of occasions – including at the end of a week of am-dram performances when we needed to transport cast members, costumes, coats and bags to a nearby aftershow party. My two prospective passengers grimaced when they saw the TT in the car park. However, despite both being six-footers,…

allan.muir@haymarket.com Mileag 839 List price £33,700 Target Price £32,309 Price as tested £34,350 Test economy 34.6mpg APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE for making continual comparisons between my new Kia Sportage and the Kia EV6 I ran previously. I know they aren’t direct rivals; the Sportage is smaller and more of a conventional SUV than its electric stablemate. However, with the EV6 a former What Car? Car of the Year, it’s one of my benchmarks for cars generally, so it’s gratifying to discover that the Sportage is actually superior in some ways. For one thing, the driving position is better. You sit higher than you do in the EV6, so you have a clearer view ahead and to the sides at junctions. The driver’s seat is broader and comfier for me, too, although…

neil.winn@haymarket.com ‘The Jogger has plenty of grip, accurate enough steering and decent body control’ GIVEN THAT DACIA is only just releasing its first hybrid model, it’s safe to say the brand is late to the electrification party, but that tardiness is entirely intentional. In a recent interview with What Car?, Dacia boss Denis Le Vot explained that keeping costs affordable for its customers is the brand’s number one priority and it would therefore turn to hybrid power only when the technology was deemed cheap enough. So, was it worth the wait? Well, the hybrid set-up in the Jogger is borrowed from established Renault E-Tech models such as the Clio and Captur. It consists of a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, two electric motors and a four-speed automatic gearbox. Those electric motors…

darren.moss@haymarket.com WHAT CAR? IMAGE IN THE WORLD of professional boxing, just 3kg is enough to change which division a fighter competes in, so a couple of trips to the gym buffet could mean facing Big Bruce rather than Flyweight Frank. In the same vein, the fact that the next Mini Countryman will be slightly bigger than today’s car opens up a proverbial can of worms, suddenly putting it in competition with a long list of family SUV rivals. The new car’s greater length should bring rear seat passengers more leg room than today’s car, as well as more space in the boot for their luggage. And it’ll need it; the current Countryman is practical by the standards of other small SUVs such as the Ford Puma and Skoda Kamiq, but…

max.adams@haymarket.com IN A WAY, you could consider the Toyota Corolla a British success story. Produced at the firm’s Derby facility since 2018, it has risen almost to the top of the family car class. We awarded the latest version the full five stars when we pitted it against the Honda Civic – our 2023 Family Car of the Year – and the Corolla only lost on points, leapfrogging the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf in our rankings. That was the 1.8-litre hybrid version, though. It’s highly recommendable, having been recently boosted to 138bhp from the previous rather weak 120bhp, but it’s now time to see if the 2.0-litre version is worth upgrading to. It, too, has had a power hike (from 178bhp to 193bhp), reducing the 0-62mph time from 7.9sec…

neil.winn@haymarket.com LAND ROVER AND Barbour. BMW and Kith. Porsche and Daniel Arsham. Tie-ups between car makers and fashion brands are all the rage right now, which got us thinking: if BMW tuner Alpina launched a fashion campaign, who would it team up with? Well, we think outerwear specialist Moncler is a good fit, because like Alpina, it aims to offer luxury items you can use every day. Take this D4 S Gran Coupé, for example. The tuning firm says it’s ideal for high-mileage drivers who value low fuel consumption but don’t want to compromise on performance and dynamics. To make sure it delivers on that lofty claim, the D4 S uses the same twin-turbo 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel as the superb BMW M440d Gran Coupé. While BMW no longer offers that…

ayisha.gharu@haymarket.com SMALL CHANGES CAN make a big difference, and that’s the theory behind tweaks to the updated Volkswagen ID 3 electric car. You see, while it was an impressive car in most repects at launch, it was let down by indifferent interior quality, a clunky infotainment system and awkward controls. This updated version seeks to put things right. Addressing the first issue, the new ID 3 features revised materials, including better-quality dashboard plastic. The door trims have also been remodelled to include softer and larger surfaces, in an effort to create a more upmarket interior feel. The infotainment, meanwhile, has been updated to use the German brand’s latest software, which is said to make the system easier to use and quicker to respond than before. On top of that, the…

claire.evans@haymarket.com FIRST REPORT MY MUM ALWAYS used to advise me to pick the appropriate clothes for the weather, and I think she’d be proud of my latest motoring choice; just before things turned icy, I swapped my old Mazda MX-5 for a new Mazda CX-60. In clothing terms, you could say the MX-5 is a light summer dress, with its drop-top roof and rear-wheel drive. The CX-60 SUV, on the other hand, is more of a substantial winter coat, with four-wheel drive to help it stick to the roads even when they’re flooded or icy. There are lots of other standard toys, too, even though my car is in the cheapest spec; the list includes heated leather seats, a heated steering wheel, climate control, cruise control, a gesture-controlled powered tailgate,…

chris.haining@haymarket.com FIRST REPORT AT THE END of my 120-mile commute to the What Car? office, I have to thread my car around a tight multi-storey car park. And after a few months in a bulky SUV, my overriding thought was “My next car will be smaller”. This brings us neatly to the Vauxhall Astra that’s sitting on my drive right now. Quite a change, you might say, from my previous Mazda CX-5 to a family hatchback, but it’s one that follows a certain logic. On the issue of size, most of the time I’m travelling on my own, so I’m happy as long as my cumbersome frame fits behind the wheel without contortion. The Astra fits that bill, with space left over for my wife and a friend or two…

john.bradshaw@haymarket.com Mileage 6784 List price £36,580 Target Price £34,733 Price as tested £37,365 Test economy 40.5mpg HYBRID CARS ARE great in town, but they’re not always so well suited to long motorway journeys. So, how did my Honda CR-V cope with a recent trip up the A1 to Humberside? Well, at a steady cruise, the 2.0-litre engine hummed away in the background in a fairly subdued manner. However, whenever I was forced to slow by a pocket of more sluggish traffic – a lorry inching its way past another, for instance – getting back up to speed saw the serenity interrupted. This is due to that hybrid tech, which is rather complicated to explain, but essentially boils down to the following. Usually, the petrol engine’s job is to generate electricity…

STAR RATINGS Outstanding Above average Average Below average Poor TARGET PRICE The What Car? Target Price is the maximum you should pay for a new car and is set by our mystery shoppers. It’s updated each month and most of our approved dealers will match it. However, in a lot of cases they can save you even more: just visit whatcar.com/new-car-deals or call 03302 216207 between 9am and 5pm (standard network fees apply). All Target Prices are correct at the time of going to press. TARGET PCP The Target PCP is a fair monthly fee if you’re taking out a personal contract purchase (PCP) finance deal, also set by our mystery shoppers. Most are over 48 months with a 15% deposit and an 8000-mile annual limit. Those marked with an…

will.nightingale@haymarket.com LEXUS IS ALWAYS keen to point out that it was ahead of the game with ‘electrification’. You can’t argue with that; it was the first premium brand to launch a hybrid back in 2005 and it’s been a major proponent of the fuel-saving technology ever since. But it has undoubtedly been behind the curve in removing the petrol engine from the equation and going fully electric. Indeed, its sole attempt to date was an electric version of its Volkswagen Tiguan-sized UX plug-in hybrid, and it was rather compromised, with a poor range, slow charging, a tiny boot and a high price. Thankfully, the new, larger RZ is an altogether more complete proposition. Depending on wheel size, it can officially do 251-270 miles on a charge – not far behind…

george.hill@haymarket.com IN SOME WAYS, the revisions to the new BMW X5 are very similar to what you might experience after updating your smartphone’s operating system. It closely resembles what you’re used to, but it has a sharper look and suddenly packs more power than before. Let’s start with what’s under the bonnet. As before, the X5 will offer plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power as well as six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines that employ mild hybrid technology. This means they have small electric motors to assist under hard acceleration, improving both performance and fuel economy. New, though, is that the range-topping V8 gains that technology for the first time. Power-wise, the xDrive40i’s 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine now produces 375bhp (up 46bhp from before) and 383lb ft of torque (up 53lb ft), enabling…

lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com BEING AHEAD OF your time can be tough. If you launch a revolutionary product before the majority of buyers are ready for it, it’s likely to be a flop. As a hybrid, the original Lexus RX was undoubtedly a pioneer among luxury SUVs, but luckily it found plenty of acceptance, despite having some notable shortcomings. This brand new model promises to be more spacious and better to drive than its predecessor. There’s now a choice of two regular hybrids (the 350h and 500h) and an all-new 450h+ plug-in hybrid (PHEV), all of which combine a petrol engine with an electric motor to drive the front wheels, with an additional electric motor driving the rear axle to make them four-wheel drive. The entry-level 2.5-litre 350h has a combined power output…

lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com THE BMW X7 is proof that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover – or a car by its looks. As challenging as the X7’s exterior styling may be to some eyes, the appeal of the car is undeniable. That’s because this luxury seven-seat SUV is yet to be beaten with its blend of opulence, space and strong performance. But what if you want even more pace? Well, that’s where the M60i comes in. It replaces the previous range-topper, the M50i, with an updated version of its 4.4-litre V8 petrol engine, now equipped with a 48V mild hybrid system. Power from the V8 remains the same, but a 12bhp electric motor lends a helping hand in everyday driving. As a result, the M60i is a smidge kinder to…

dan.jones@haymarket.com IF CARS CAN suffer from imposter syndrome, the Lamborghini Urus probably felt it pretty hard. It may wear the famous raging bull badge on its nose, but it’s not exactly akin to the wild Lamborghini supercar family it was born into. It has certainly been accepted, though; indeed, the Urus has found plenty of buyers, each keen on owning one of the fastest and most powerful SUVs you can buy. However, it has been one-upped recently by even more powerful rivals such as the Aston Martin DBX 707. That car’s arrival prompted Lamborghini to give the Urus range a refresh, with minor styling tweaks to the bumpers and bonnet, and a new name – Urus S – for the entry-level car. There’s also a new, lighter, faster Performante variant…

FAMILY CAR Vauxhall Astra Electric EV-loving Vauxhall fans who need something bigger than the Corsa Electric are in luck. Closely related to the Peugeot e-308 that’s due on sale at the same time, the Astra will have a 55kWh battery and a 258-mile official range. A 100kW charging rate means a 10-80% top-up can take 30 minutes. Price from £37,000 (est) SUMMER 2023 SMALL AND FAMILY SUVS Jeep Avenger September 2023 Electric small SUV promises 249 miles of range and the option of four-wheel drive. Mini Countryman Late 2023 Shares engines with the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, including a 322bhp plug-in hybrid. Smart #1 Summer 2023 Small electric SUV has an official range of 273 miles and can tow an impressive 1600kg. Toyota bZ3X Early 2024 Volvo C40 rival will…

claire.evans@haymarket.com EVERYONE LOVES A discount, but haggling over the price of a new car in a dealership isn’t something most buyers relish. What Car?’s online New Car Buying service takes the hassle out of haggling, but the days of negotiating for better deals could soon be numbered, because some car makers are taking direct control of the sales process. This relatively new sales method is called the ‘agency model’, in which you in effect buy your new car directly from the manufacturer, rather than from a franchised dealer, as has traditionally been the case. Although new cars have a recommended retail price, it is currently just that – recommended – so it’s not necessarily the price you’ll end up paying. At present, franchised dealers buy stock from the manufacturers at…

jim.holder@haymarket.com FINAL REPORT USED CAR SUSPENSION, SUSPENSION, SUSPENSION. Pitched and bucked by my Ford Mustang Mach-E’s misguided settings for the best part of a year, I developed a one-dimensional response to anyone who asked me what I thought of the car. The problem came from the engineering team’s determination to ensure that the Mach-E had a sprinkling of the muscle car magic that made the original Mustang an icon. Sadly, giving an electric family SUV the ability to slide its back end if you drive it really hard seemingly came at the cost of scant control of what the rear got up to in more mundane circumstances, especially on the UK’s motorway network. The constant head-wagging it prompted was really quite wearing and undermined any enjoyment I got from the…

Mileage 6208 List price £40,150 Target Price £40,150 Price as tested £38,390 Test range 215 miles THERE’S BEEN TALK about humans evolving because of mobile phone use – gaining claw-like thumbs, second eyelids and so on. We’ll have to wait a few thousand years for that, but I can tell you now that my pre-journey routine has evolved since I’ve had a Cupra Born. Connecting my iPhone to the car’s infotainment system has become as instinctive as putting on my seatbelt, thanks to the clever set-up between its front seats. The comfy centre armrest flips up to reveal an angled phone holder that’s also a wireless phone charging pad. Behind that is a deep storage well with two USB-C sockets in its wall, plus space for a raincoat or some…

steve.huntingford@haymarket.com FINAL REPORT USED CAR HAVE YOU EVER been to the Goodwood Revival? If not, I’d recommend a visit; it’s like spending a day in the past, but with everything actually rose tinted. Think late 1940s to mid-1960s style without the grime or shortages. In some respects, then, the event reminds me of my Alfa Romeo Giulia – an executive saloon that carries on the tradition of sharp-looking Alfas, while adding the substance the Italian brand’s cars lacked for years. I found myself thinking about this recently when I visited Goodwood Motor Circuit – albeit for a What Car? video shoot rather than to attend the Revival; the latter is held in the autumn, so I’d have either been very early or very late. Still, my timing meant I didn’t…

mark.pearson@haymarket.com PRETTY AS A picture, this second-generation Peugeot 3008 was one of the first cars to demonstrate that a family SUV could be both à la mode and practical in equal measure. Stylish inside as well as out, yet still remarkably family-friendly, it was an instant hit. If it were possible, the 3008’s desirability went up another notch in 2020 when it received a facelift that added ‘sabre tooth’ LED daytime running lights, a frameless front grille and smoked LED tail-lights. Yet despite its glamorous image, the 3008 is one of the most affordable cars in its class as a used buy, ranking alongside the Nissan Qashqai and Seat Ateca for the value for money it offers. The 3008 shares its engines with various other models in the Citroën/Peugeot/Vauxhall group,…

BMW M3 Touring Price from £85,165 Data fact Can officially carry 500 litres of cargo from 0-62mph in 3.6sec Ineos Grenadier Price from £60,900 Data fact Officially returns 25.9mpg in thriftiest 3.0-litre diesel form Vauxhall Astra GSe PHEV Price from £40,550 Data fact Fastest Astra plug-in hybrid is in a low 8% BIK tax bracket PLUG-IN HYBRIDS IN THE LOWEST INSURANCE GROUP 1. Kia Xceed From group 12 =2. Ford Kuga From group 21 =2. Hyundai Tucson From group 21 4. Kia Niro From group 23 =5. Audi A3 From group 24 =5. Cupra Formentor From group 24…