Innehållsförteckning för June 2023 från What Car?

In theory, the new ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers that are starting to appear at UK motorway services are brilliant – capable of adding up to 100 miles of range in less than 10 minutes. True, many of the electric cars currently on sale can’t accept energy at the maximum 350kW rate of these units. But you still won’t be stationary for long, right? Well, like I say, that’s the theory. However, when I plugged into one of them the other night, what I actually got was 35kW. And that meant I faced a wait of more than two hours if I wanted a full charge. A “cooler issue” was later blamed, and I might just have been unlucky. But while this was my first experience of these particular chargers, it’s…

lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com IF YOU VIEW the BMW saloon range as a family of three children, the 5 Series could be at risk of suffering from ‘middle child syndrome’. While the flagship 7 Series gets to showcase all of its clever on-board technology, the compact and relatively uncomplicated 3 Series focuses on having fun. The 5 Series, then, has to work the hardest of the three in order to garner attention, by combining a mixture of its siblings’ characteristics. In keeping with the outgoing version, the new-generation 5 Series uses a shortened version of the 7 Series’ underpinnings, balancing the luxurious feel of the larger car with a stronger dose of agility to keep the driver entertained. As before, an array of mild hybrid petrol and diesel engines and plug-in hybrids will…

doug.revolta@haymarket.com IN THE 1990s, if you’d told a high-flying exec that one day they could own a car capable of parking itself with no one in it, or connecting them to worldwide video calls, they’d have thrown their Nokia at you. Welcome to the future, and the latest Mercedes-Benz E-Class. This sixth-generation model features cutting-edge tech that first appeared in the S-Class flagship, plus a heavily reworked, BMW-beating plug-in hybrid (PHEV) set-up. The BMW reference is important, because since the E-Class first appeared in 1993, it’s been trading blows with the 5 Series. Indeed, the 5 Series has had the upper hand for a while. Better to drive and sit in than the fifth-generation E-Class, it’s a more talented and polished product. So, is that superiority now under threat? Well,…

lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com MOST BUYERS PROBABLY don’t care whether their family SUV is propelled by the front or rear wheels, but in the case of the Volvo C40 (and its XC40 sibling), it makes a difference. You see, the entry-level Recharge is no longer front-wheel drive. Instead, a larger electric motor with slightly more power (235bhp versus 228bhp) now drives the rear wheels. This might sound like a lot of work to achieve the same result, but make full use of the accelerator pedal and it’s a smoother power delivery than before, with the sensation of being pushed along by the rear wheels, rather than being dragged by the front ones. Although there’s also a dual-motor version with 402bhp and four-wheel drive, the single-motor version will be more than quick enough for…

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Use your phone to scan the code by the car you like, or search for it on whatcar.com and click the ‘Get best price’ button. We’ll alert dealers in your area so they can compete for your business without you having to make an effort to shop around. You can request quotes on as many cars as you like, and your ‘My offers’ page lets you view them all in one place. While our Target PCP price allows direct finance comparisons, you can also request personalised finance quotes.…

Jaguar C-Pace Jaguar is planning to reinvent itself as a maker of high-end electric cars, and it has confirmed that the first of three new models that it’s working on will be a sleek four-door with a 430-mile range. Rumoured to be called the C-Pace, it will be the brand’s most powerful car ever, with more than 575bhp. Price from £100,000 (est) SUVs Audi Q6 e-tron Early 2024 Fisker Ocean Winter 2023 Ford Explorer Late 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 7 Autumn 2023 Kia EV9 Autumn 2023 Lotus Eletre Summer 2023 Mercedes EQE SUV Summer 2023 Mercedes EQS SUV Spring 2023 UP TO 341 MILES OF RANGE Cupra Tavascan Cupra’s new flagship will be a coupé SUV based on the Volkswagen ID 5. Two models will be offered: a 282bhp single-motor, rear-wheel-drive…

will.nightingale@haymarket.com IT USED TO be so simple. If you were buying a small car or your mileage was low, you went for one with a petrol engine. And if you needed a big car or covered an above-average mileage, a diesel usually made more sense. Things are rather more complicated in 2023. Even if you’ve ruled out unfashionable diesel (which now accounts for just 8% of new car sales), that still leaves you with four basic options to choose from: a petrol, a conventional hybrid, a plug-in hybrid or a fully electric car. But which is best? Well, there’s a multitude of considerations, including the price of the car, its environmental impact, various taxes, the type of driving you do and whether or not you have off-street parking. All of…

lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com Mileage 6724 List price £30,860 Target Price £29,071 Price as tested £30,860 Test economy 43.6mpg IN PREVIOUS REPORTS, I’ve talked about how my Peugeot 308 SW has easily coped with all of the estate car duties I’ve asked of it. The boot has handled everything from heaving a family’s worth of luggage up and down the country, to giving our videographers a spacious platform to shoot from at the What Car? test track. But what’s the 308 SW like up front? You know, from the driver’s point of view? Well, after a long day at work, I always enjoy jumping back into the driver’s seat for a calming motorway journey. The 308 SW is reasonably quiet on these roads and, aside from the odd thump from the suspension, the…

james.tute@haymarket.com I BLUSH TO recall that when I first got behind the wheel of my Cupra Born, it took me an embarrassingly long time to get it to move. Not knowing that the gear selector is to the right of the digital driver display behind the steering wheel, I spent a flustered few minutes fumbling around in all the wrong places. Thankfully, as I say goodbye to the Born, I’m happy to report that the 10 months and 6500 miles that followed that cringey first experience have been infinitely better. I’d hoped this small(ish) electric car would be a good fit for my commute – which takes me from the centre of London to What Car?’s Twickenham office and back – and longer trips away in the UK. Well, I…

allan.muir@haymarket.com Mileage 1850 List price £33,700 Target Price £32,309 Price as tested £34,350 Test economy 32.6mpg FOR YEARS, WE’VE been hearing about exhaust particulate filters in diesel cars getting clogged up if they spend too much time running around at low speeds, potentially causing engine damage if warnings are ignored. These filters have become commonplace in petrol cars too, due to the stringent emissions rules that are now in force, but I’ve never run a car in which I’ve had an issue with one. Until now. After several weeks in which my Kia Sportage hadn’t ventured outside the M25 much, a warning message popped up in the instrument panel saying “Keep driving to regenerate exhaust filter”. Given that I’ve had my car for only a few months, this came as…

STAR RATINGS 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 asterisk are over 36 months and those…

will.nightingale@haymarket.com NOT EXACTLY A friendly name, is it? Especially given that the new Avenger is a remarkably affable car. Perhaps it’s been sent to avenge the unfavourable star ratings we’ve given most of Jeep’s model line-up over the past few years. But joking aside, the Avenger is a very different proposition from the famous American brand. For starters, it’s the first fully electric car in Jeep’s 80-odd-year history. It’s also tiny (barely any longer than a Volkswagen Polo) and it doesn’t even have four-wheel drive. This small SUV is intended to rival the likes of the Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia Niro EV and Peugeot e-2008 (with which, incidentally, the Avenger shares its basic underpinnings). Does that mean it’s a better Jeep for those who plan to drive on the road…

darren.moss@haymarket.com NEW POLESTAR MODELS are beginning to come along like buses. While there’s currently only one model in the brand’s line-up, another three will be arriving in quick succession. And this one – the Polestar 4 – could be the most appealing of the lot. It ticks a lot of the most fashionable boxes: not only is it fully electric but it’s also a coupé SUV, meaning it aims to provide family-friendly practicality in a sleek, eye-catching shape. With its slim LED lights, flush door handles and 22in alloy wheels, the Polestar 4 certainly looks the part, and it needs to, because it faces premium competition from the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron and Volvo C40 Recharge, as well as from the cheaper Skoda Enyaq Coupé iV and Volkswagen ID 5.…

dan.jones@haymarket.com DID YOU KNOW that Maserati has a history of naming its cars after air currents? There’s been the Bora, Kamsin, Mistrale and many more, and this latest model in the brand’s stable is named Grecale, after a strong Mediterranean wind that occurs to the south of Malta. However, while it follows tradition in regard to identity, the Grecale is unlike any previous Maserati. Yes, the firm already offers an SUV, but the Grecale is smaller and cheaper than its Levante stablemate, rivalling the Porsche Macan in a bid to attract a new pool of buyers. To that end, there’s a choice of two engines and three power outputs, while an electric version is due later this year. So far, we’ve tried the entry-level GT, which gets a 2.0-litre four-cylinder…

neil.winn@haymarket.com YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD people claim that car design is dead, with more and more models looking tediously similar, but we’re not convinced that’s true. Take the Hyundai Ioniq 6 for example. Inspired by concepts as disparate as the art-deco streamliners of the 1950s and nostalgic eight-bit video games from the 1980s (hence the distinctive pixel-look lighting), this electric four-door coupé looks quite unlike anything else currently on sale. The Ioniq 6 is based on the same underpinnings as the Ioniq 5 (itself a striking design), but the two cars fulfil different roles. The 5 is aimed at those looking for a practical family car; the longer, sleeker 6 is angled towards anyone looking for something a little more sophisticated, indulgent and driver-focused. This positioning might lead you to expect…

claire.evans@haymarket.com Whether you’re a car boot sale fanatic, a habitual Ikea shopper or a parent with loads of child paraphernalia to transport, you know the importance of having a big boot. Size is hard to judge, though; just because a car has a footprint bigger than Sasquatch’s, doesn’t mean it’ll swallow a Louis Vuitton luggage set. So, to find out exactly how much a model’s boot can take, we do much more than comparing boot volume in litres; we also cram in as many carry-on suitcases as we can. We use the space up to the load cover in hatchbacks, SUVs and MPVs, and seven-seaters are tested in five-seat mode (in other words, with the third row of seats folded down). Our cases are 560x350x230mm. As you’d expect, many of…

george.hill@haymarket.com Tempted by an electric car but think range might be an issue? Well, thanks to advances in technology, it really isn’t with many of the latest models. Right now, 33 models in all shapes and sizes, from small SUVs to luxury saloons, offer a range of 300 miles or more, according to official WLTP tests. Some can even go beyond 400 miles. We should point out that few electric cars can match their official range in real-world use; even the weather can affect performance. However, the cars on this list should still cover most longer trips without the need to pause for a battery top-up. As well as naming the models with the longest official ranges, we’ll include the results of our real-world range tests (where applicable). We’ll also…

darren.moss@haymarket.com FEW CARS HAVE as much worldwide recognition as the Range Rover. Indeed, with a client base that extends from royalty to rock stars, and from aristocrats to A-list actors, it is, for many, the quintessential luxury SUV. And, having stretched the phrase ‘Go on, treat yourself’ to the limits of plausibility, I can now include myself among that band of owners. My car is a D350, which means it’s powered by a punchy 345bhp 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine that suits the Range Rover down to the ground. And it’s in mid-range HSE trim – but even so, the list of standard kit stretches into the stratosphere. Luxuries include a 3D surround-view parking camera, 20-way electrically adjustable front seats that are heated and ventilated, and a powered two-piece tailgate. Nevertheless,…

john.bradshaw@haymarket.com ROLLING THE CLOCK back a long, long way, I didn’t grow up with a computer at home, but some of my friends had a Sinclair ZX80 or Commodore VIC-20, acquired by their parents for strictly educational purposes. However, as soon as Mum and Dad’s backs were turned, on went Breakout or Super Invasion, both popular games at the time. Decades later, similarly mischievous thinking explains why I chose a BMW X1 as my new car. You see, the Honda CR-V and Nissan Qashqai that I ran before it both proved very practical machines. Plus, the comfort they offered on long trips made them all the more suitable for my needs as What Car?’s chief photographer. At the weekend, though, I sometimes found myself wishing my car was a little…

oliver.young@haymarket.com In production 2017-2022 Price from £25,000 Our favourite version 2.0 VTEC Turbo GT THEY SAY YOU shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and that’s especially true of the Honda Civic Type R hot hatch. This previous iteration looks so wild that it might well scare off all but hardcore hot hatch fans, but in reality it was the best of its breed when it was available new, and much more versatile than you might expect. While the latest Civic Type R has been toned down in the looks department, it has also shot up in price and is in far shorter supply. That makes this earlier model look more tempting than ever as a used buy. The Type R is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine that…

Lexus RX 450h+ Price from £67,100 Data fact Plug-in hybrid luxury SUV sprints from 0-62mph in 6.5sec and occupies a low 8% company car tax band Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV Price from £90,560 Data fact SUV is 83mm shorter than its EQE saloon stablemate Mini Electric Convertible Price from £32,550 Data fact Four-seat soft-top has 160 litres of luggage space QUICKEST SEVEN-SEATERS FROM 0-62MPH (OFFICIALLY) Go to whatcar.com/new-car-deals for the most up-to-date Target Prices…

alasdair.rodden@haymarket.com FOR ANYTHING TO succeed, it has to live up to its description. A funfair should indeed be fun, an ice rink icy and a sports SUV… well, you see where we’re going here. Fortunately for Porsche, its Cayenne sports SUV has never struggled to live up to the ‘sports’ bit of the description. And now it’s been given a range of updates to keep it fresh against rival models. Arguably, the most significant changes to the Cayenne – and the sleeker Cayenne Coupé version – are under the bonnet. This will be the last generation to run on petrol before an all-electric model replaces it, and the engines have been given more power than ever so they go out on a high. At the top of the performance tree…

lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com THE ATTO 3 IS from a brand you’re unlikely to know yet. Founded in 1995 as a battery manufacturer, Chinese company BYD has since grown to build all sorts of electric products, from buses to forklifts. And now it’s here with a rival to the Kia Niro EV and MG ZS EV, hoping to make a splash in the fast-growing electric SUV market. Officially, the Atto 3 will cover 260 miles on a full battery, trailing the Niro EV’s 285 miles and the 273 miles managed by the MG ZS EV Long Range. With a maximum charging rate of 88kW, its 60.5kWh battery can be topped up from 10-80% in about three-quarters of an hour. For reference, that’s about the same as the Niro EV’s charging time and a…

dan.jones@haymarket.com IF DISNEY REMADE the 1998 film The Parent Trap as a spin-off in its anthropomorphic Cars universe, the Suzuki Swace and Toyota Corolla Touring Sports would be cast as the identical twins that were separated at birth. Okay, perhaps we should stick to cars and leave filmmaking to the experts, but trying to differentiate the two cars is like trying to tell Lindsay Lohan’s character from her twin… played by Lindsay Lohan. Indeed, other than a slightly restyled front bumper, a different badge and a new steering wheel, the two cars look virtually identical. However, while you can have the Corolla as a hatchback or estate, with a number of trims and engines, things are a lot simpler with the Swace: it only comes as an estate, with a…

george.hill@haymarket.com WHETHER IT’S GOING for a lunchtime walk or eating more greens, sometimes the smallest of steps can herald a healthier lifestyle. Similarly, the Renault Clio has undergone a small but significant change as part of a mid-life health kick: this new version will be offered solely with hybrid power. You could see it coming, though; the change means the Clio is now more closely aligned with other hybrid-only options in the small car class, including the Toyota Yaris and Honda Jazz – our 2023 Small Car of the Year. In fact, the Clio’s E-Tech hybrid system is carried over from the pre-facelift model and still produces 143bhp, but its CO2 emissions are reduced slightly, from 97g/km to 93g/km, moving it down to the same 23% company car tax band…

The Target Price is what we consider to be a fair price for your new car. It’s set by our team of mystery shoppers, who spend all day haggling to see what deals are available. Most of our dealers will match this price if you use our New Car Buying service, and in a lot of cases you can save even more. Target PCP This is how much our Target Price mystery shoppers think you should expect to pay per month if you buy a car on PCP finance. Each deal is for a 48-month term with a 15% deposit and an 8000-mile annual mileage limit, unless stated otherwise…

If you want a useful boot, it’s best to avoid sports cars – especially the Alpine A110, which came bottom in our testing. The A110 has two boots, but the rear one is too small for a carry-on case, and the front one took one. Two other sports cars, the Lexus LC and Mazda MX-5 RF, are marginally better, each swallowing two cases. The LC has rear seats that can be used for storage, but the MX-5 doesn’t. The only other car we’ve tested that takes just two cases is the Honda E. Its boot has a wide opening with no loading lip, but it’s one of the smallest of any electric car you can buy. There is some underfloor storage for charging cables, and the rear seatback folds down…

mark.pearson@haymarket.com Would you like to be part of a future Reader Test Team? Email us with your details at readertestteam@whatcar.com Check out other electric cars in our buyer’s guide on p114 VOLKSWAGEN’S CHARGE towards an electric future has got off to a strong start with the ID 3 family hatchback, ID 4 and ID 5 SUVs and, in particular, the ID Buzz MPV – our reigning Car of the Year. However, these models by no means represent the end of the brand’s ambitions. The latest addition to the line-up is the ID 7 executive car, which will go on sale this autumn with an expected starting price of around £55,000. Although the ID 7 is a rival to the likes of the BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3, it is…

Where can I charge an electric car? You can charge at home or a via a public charging point. At home, you can either charge with a three-pin plug or you can pay to have a more powerful wallbox charger installed. How do I charge an electric car? All cars come with a set of charging cables. Like a petrol or diesel car with a fuel flap, an electric car will have a flap for the charging socket, although the location of this varies between cars. Some are located between the headlights and some are on the side, for example. How long will it take to charge my car? Home chargers provide power at rates of between 3kW and 7kW, so an overnight charge will give you a full battery…

chris.haining@haymarket.com Mileage 3250 List price £40,400 Target Price £38,123 Price as tested £41,600 Test economy 52.0mpg ON THE COMPETITIVE car audio sound-off circuit, some systems use what’s known as a ‘stiffening capacitor’. This device stores current that can be instantaneously released to the amplifier when a sudden ground-shaking bass drop demands it. And my Vauxhall Astra’s plug-in hybrid system is kind of similar. In everyday driving, you can easily forget it’s there – until you put your foot down. Vauxhall doesn’t disclose how much power the Astra’s 1.6-litre petrol engine makes on its own, but you get a total of 177bhp when petrol and electricity join forces. On paper, that’s not an enormous figure, but because that electric boost comes on stream instantaneously, with absolutely no sense of transition between…

Mileage 1766 List price £39,495 Target Price £38,623 Price as tested £40,445 Test range 179 miles MOST OF THE time I travel alone or with only a front seat passenger, and in those circumstances I can fully enjoy the best of what my Megane’s interior has to offer. I’m 6ft 2in tall, so I love the fact that the seat slides a long way back and sits low (although it’s then tricky for anyone to get in the rear seat behind me). I also love that the infotainment screen is angled towards me (with the wireless phone charging pad conveniently located beneath it), and that the broad gap between the dash and the console between the seats gives the interior a wide-open sense of space. The one negative is that…

steve.huntingford@haymarket.com Mileage 2140 List price £77,495 Target Price £74,418 Price as tested £84,035 Test range 216 miles “I DON’T MIND, as long as you give me a realistic estimate.” It’s a phrase my wife has quite understandably uttered in the past after I’ve phoned her to warn that I’m going to be home late from work – and then been even later than I’ve said. However, it also sums up how I feel about electric car range readouts. Seeing a lower figure than the official average isn’t what frustrates me; it’s when those readouts massively overpromise. After all, I’m well aware that the official ranges are based on a test that assumes you’re driving Miss Daisy and the weather is balmy. But as long as I’ve got a good idea…