COMMENT HONDA HELD ITS EV NERVE. NOW IT’S READY TO JUMP When the Honda E concept was revealed in 2019, there was real excitement and anticipation for this excellent-looking thing. It felt entirely original yet retro and demonstrated a promising future for the Japanese manufacturer in the EV era. The production version didn’t stray too far from the handsome concept, but the sub-100-mile range (yes, I know the argument why the range was deemed enough for the car’s purpose) and high price were key factors that limited it. And here we are, five years later, with the model already dropped due to poor sales. Oh, what could have been… Honda’s survival amid the most dramatic reinvention of the car industry in its entire history is a fascinating one. As James Attwood tells us on p52, Honda might appear to be behind the curve, but the car maker insists that’s not the case and says it has the technology and now feels the world is ready for it. Others have rushed to electrification for legislative reasons rather than due to public demand, while Honda has quietly observed from the back benches without pushing through entire electric line-ups (as have some of its domestic rivals). Does this mean Honda will ultimately outsmart its rivals, or is it naive of the firm not to have been on the front foot sooner? Time will tell, but Honda has everything to play for. Rachel Burgess, magazine editor rachel.burgess@haymarket.com Meanwhile, online… autocar.co.uk Ferrari LaFerrari Excited by the prospect of Ferrari’s latest flagship? Get properly in the mood by watching our LaFerrari review from 2014. What’s the best sports car? Matt Prior pits an Aston Martin Vantage, a Ferrari Roma and a Porsche 911 Turbo S against one another to answer the question. The Renault 4 is back Buzzing for the reborn R4? We sure are. Our Instagram feed shows you inside and outside the bold new EV crossover. 6 FERRARI UNLEASHES DECADE-DEFINING F80 T H I S W E E K Issue 6642 | Volume 322 | No 7 NEWSFerrari F80: wild new-era hypercar 6 Extreme Porsche 911 GT3 updated 10 No-holds-barred £276k Alpine A110 12 Dacia poised to expand line-up 14 Morgan Plus Six run-out special 16 Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ finally revealed 18 FIRST DRIVES Audi S5 Avant, A5 saloon 24 Porsche Panamera GTS, Turbo S 28 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Pro 30 Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 Cabriolet 31 Omoda E5 32 Kia EV6 GT-Line S AWD 33 Lexus RZ 300e 33 ROAD TESTS Ford Explorer Extended Range RWD 34 Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI eHybrid 40 FEATURESPeugeot 508 PSE meets 505 GTi 46 World’s toughest off-road buses 50 Honda’s CEO on its bold EV future 52 LONG-TERMERSDaciaSandero Stepway 58 Skoda Kamiq 61 COLUMNSJesseCrosse 15 Mark Tisshaw 17 Steve Cropley 19 Matt Prior 20 Damien Smith 21 Testing, testing 45 Why I love… 74 EVERY WEEK Your Views 22 How to subscribe 56 Lost in the archive 66 Road test results 67 USED CARS Jaguar E-Pace buying guide 62 My car & I 64 Caught in the classifieds 65 Autocar (ISSN 1355-8293 USPS 25-185) is published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham, TW1 3SP, United Kingdom; haymarket.com; tel +44 (0)20 8267 5000 The US annual subscription price is $190.00. Airfreight and mailing in the US by agent named World Container Inc, 150-15, 183rd Street, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256. US postmaster: Send address changes to Autocar, Air Business Ltd, c/o World Container Inc, 150-15, 183rd Street, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Subscription records are maintained at the above address. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent. Autocar magazine is also published in Estonia, Greece, India, Japan, Latvia, Korea and Thailand. Autocar is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think we haven’t met those standards and want to make a complaint, contact autocar@haymarket.com. For more information, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk Haymarket is certified by BSI to environmental standard ISO14001 and energy management standard ISO50001 46 HOT PEUGEOTS: 508 PSE AND 505 GTi PEFC/16-33-795 PEFC Certified This product is from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources www.pefc.co.uk Autocar is a member of the organising committee of Car Of The Year caroftheyear.org Issues with your mag? For subscriber issues, call 0344 848 8816. I f you can’t find a news-stand copy of Autocar in your local area, email autocar@haymarket.com 34 FORD’S ELECTRIC EXPLORER: ROAD TEST 23 OCTOBER 2024 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5