COMMENT

REPORTS OF SMALL CAR’S D E ATH E X AGG E R ATE D

As a lover of small cars, it ’s been a demoralising few years. The demise of the Ford Fiesta is the high-profile reference but we’ve also said goodbye to the Volkswagen Up and its Skoda and Seat siblings, the Renault Twingo, the Citroën C1 and more. During that time, I’ve heard multiple car execs lament the loss of such cars. They explain repeatedly that they just can’t make this type of car profitable and then go on to raise major questions over when the electric age - limited by battery costs and the subsequent ability to make affordable small EVs with a usable range - can facilitate a change of tack.

Then, in 2021, Renault cheered the automotive world up with its brilliantly handsome Renault 5 concept. Fast forward three years and editor Mark Tisshaw is one of the first to drive the new electric supermini (p22). Happily, it has stayed true to the concept’s good looks and, gosh, don’t you love the bright green? First impressions suggest it ’s very promising behind the wheel. Tisshaw writes: “The 5 values comfort and good road manners but is still desirable without being overbearingly sporty.” Praise indeed. We’ll give you our ultimate verdict once it arrives in the UK, but if this marks a new age for small cars, I’m starting to feel much more optimistic.

Rachel Burgess, magazine editor rachel.burgess@haymarket.com

Meanwhile, online…

autocar.co.uk

6 SCOOP: McLAREN’S WILD P1 SUCCESSOR

T H I

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W E E K

Issue 6640 | Volume 322 | No 5

NEWSExclusive details of McLaren’s W1 6 Dacia’s £30k Defender alternative 10 Ford pledges to do go-faster EVs 12 Seven new-tech Hondas by 2030 14 Renault’s hydrogen EV revealed 16 FIRST DRIVES Renault 5 22 Lamborghini Urus SE 26 Vauxhall Grandland 28 Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD 30 Audi SQ7 31 ROAD TESTS Cupra Born VZ First Edition 32 Kia EV6 RWD GT Line S 38 FEATURESNew Vantage vs Roma and 911 44 Farewell Clarkson, Hammond, May 54 LONG-TERMERSAbarth 500e 58 Maserati MC20 60 COLUMNSJesseCrosse 13 Mark Tisshaw 15 Steve Cropley 17 Matt Prior 18 Damien Smith 19 Testing, testing 43 Why I love… 74 EVERY WEEK How to subscribe 4 Your Views 20 Lost in the archive 66 Road test results 67 USED CARS Volkswagen Polo buying guide 62 My car & I 64 Caught in the classifieds 65

“The Golf of EVs” Does VW Golf usability and sensibilities + Kia’s EV know-how = the best new electric family car? Mark Tisshaw finds out on YouTube.

Leapmotor in Maggiore Join Kris Culmer for a walkaround of the new Leapmotor T03 – the cheap Chinese EV made in the old Fiat 500 factory.

The ultimate Ultimate Series review News of the next Ultimate Series McLaren has got us thinking back to our F1 , P1 and Senna test .

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22 ALL-NEW ELECTRIC RENAULT 5 DRIVEN

44 NEW VANTAGE TAKES ON ROMA AND 911

9 OCTOBER 2024 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5