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UPGRADE AND SAVE AND SAVE 0% APR ON FORD OPTIONS† | 3 MONTHS DEFERRED PAYMENT† | £1,000 UPGRADE SAVING* ford.co.uk Available on selected Dealer stock only. New Puma ST-Line X MHEV 1.0 125PS Manual Petrol. Fuel economy mpg (l/100km) (Combined): 51.4 (5.5) CO2 emissions: 126g/km. All New Kuga ST-Line 2.0 EcoBlue 150PS MHEV 6 Speed Manual FWD. Weighted Fuel economy mpg (l/100km) (Combined): 55.4 (5.1) CO2 emissions: 135g/km.† Fiesta ST-Line Edition 3 Door 1.0T EcoBoost Mild Hybrid 125PS Petrol. Fuel economy mpg (l/100km) (Combined): 54.3 (5.2) CO2 emissions: 117g/km. Figures shown are for comparability purposes; only compare fuel consumption and CO2 figures with other cars tested to the same technical procedures. These figures may not reflect real life driving results, which will depend upon a number of factors including the accessories fitted, variations in weather, driving styles and vehicle load. Available for new vehicles contracted and registered by 31st December 2020. Model exclusions apply, please refer to ford.co.uk for full details. † Finance subject to status. Freepost Ford Credit. Only available when you finance a new Ford Car on Ford Options. *£1,000 customer saving off a selected new Ford Car. You do not need to part exchange your vehicle. Eligible Customers: you must have owned for at least 4 months either [1] a Ford vehicle that’s over 4 years old from date of first registration or [2] a non-Ford vehicle of any age. Eligible retail customers only. 4 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 14 OCTOBER 2020
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42 ‘It’s as if somebody has made a squeaky dog-toy of a Golf in 1:1 scale’ Issue 6432 | Volume 306 | No 3 NEWS Mercedes-AMG C63 Four-pot, F 1 -style hybrid tech 6 Mercedes EQS SUV Plus more EQmodels confirmed 8 Audi E-tron GT We ride in the high-performance EV 10 VW Golf GTI Clubsport Sharper chassis and 296bhp 12 PHEVs in the spotlight Are they truly an eco choice? 14 UK new car sales Worst September sales since 1999 16 TESTED Cupra Formentor New crossover, old-school feel 22 Cupra Leon eHybrid Plug-in and play hot hatch 27 Citroën C5 Aircross Hybrid New powertrain suits it 28 Lexus UX 300e First EV from the hybrid trai lb lazer 29 Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid Best-seller turns PHEV 30 Jeep Renegade 4xe Trailhawk Firm’s first plug-in 31 Citroën C3 Does the latest update hone its appeal? 31 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ ROAD TEST 32 FEATURES Volkswagen ID 3 vs Nissan Leaf Family EV shootout 42 Car auctions Ideal route to a bargain? We take a look 48 Alpina B3 Touring New one shows long-haul mettle 50 From 356s to £5m HQ Porsche’s oldest UK dealer 56 Goodwood Speedweek One-off event this weekend 63 OUR CARS Volvo S60 Which of our two variants i s a better bet? 68 Volkswagen T-Roc R A Golf R owner gives his view 71 EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse What makes a V8 quite so appealing? 15 Jim Holder Key 2020 sales trends to watch out for 17 Steve Cropley How to top up a radiator on the move 19 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 58 Damien Smith F 1 existential crisis after Honda quits 60 Motorsport round-up Dakar, Indycar, F1, Extreme E 61 Your Views Fast blast to Brussels and hot hatch talk 66 Matt Prior Why car nuts need to be more discerning 90 DEALS James Ruppert On the hunt for a £10k workhorse 72 As good as new All the gen on a second-gen BMW X1 75 Spied in the classifieds Tesla Roadster, Leaf and i3 76 Used buying guide Ford Fiesta ST from just £1000 78 New cars A-Z Key car stats , from Abarth to Zenos 80 Road test index Track down that road test here 89 Autocar, IS SN number 1355-8293 (USPS 25185), i s published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription price i s $199.78. Air f re i ght and mailing in the USA by agent named WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd F l oor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Autocar, WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd F l oor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained at Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. Air Business Ltd i s acting as our mailing agent. Autocar i s published by Haymarket Automotive, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 3SP, UK, haymarketgroup.com Tel +44 (0)20 8267 5000 Autocar magazine i s also published in China, Greece, India , Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. Autocar i s 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 i s cer t i f i ed by BSI to environmental standard ISO14001 and energy management standard ISO50001 PEFC Certified This product is from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources www.pefc.co.uk TROUBLE FINDING AUTOCAR? I f you struggle to f ind a copy of Autocar in your l ocal retailer or area, please send an email to connor.chappell@flgroup.co.uk who wil l investigate the problem for you. Autocar i s a member of the organising committee of Car Of The Year caroftheyear.org THIS WEEK VOLKSWAGEN ID 3 TAKES ON NISSAN LEAF 42 GOODWOOD SPEEDWEEK: IN DEPTH PREVIEW 63 MERCEDES AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+ ROAD TEST 32 COVER STORY ❝FORMULA 1 IS FACING A CRISIS OF A MAGNITUDE THAT THREATENS ITS VERY ESSENCE❞ F1 IS AT RISK OF BECOMING AN IRRELEVANCE FOR CAR MAKERS, SAYS DAMIEN SMITH 60 IMAGE HOW MERCEDES AMG IS REINVENTING THE C63 6 COMMENT IT’S A MERCEDES AMG C63 BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT THE INDUSTRY’S most famous performance models have so far steered clear of full-scale, all-in electrification, the type that completely changes the proposition rather than modifying the existing one. Yet we now know for sure that such radical change is coming soon to the next Mercedes-AMG C63 (p6). It will switch from its big-capacity and hugely powerful V8 to not just an electrified powertrain but also one based around a comparatively tiny four-cylinder engine. We’ve seen a radical performance powertrain like this before in the BMW i8, but that was a stand-alone, moment-in-time experimental model with a radical body to match, not an M3. BMW fitting the i8’s drivetrain to the M3 is the equivalent of the direction that AMG has chosen for the C63 – as soon as 2022. The next C63 is as surprising as it is shocking and sure to alienate many current buyers even if it wins new ones. It’s news that still takes a lot of getting used to, even months after we broke the first details. A hugely powerful performance saloon seems an unlikely trailblazer, yet it’s the boldest symbol yet of how electrification is going to change every part of the car world we know. Our challenge – because we have no alternative – will be to accept it. Mark Tisshaw Editor mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com @mtisshaw NEVER MISS AN ISSUE Subscribe p58 14 OCTOBER 2020 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5

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42

‘It’s as if somebody has made a squeaky dog-toy of a Golf in 1:1 scale’

Issue 6432 | Volume 306 | No 3

NEWS

Mercedes-AMG C63 Four-pot, F 1 -style hybrid tech 6 Mercedes EQS SUV Plus more EQmodels confirmed 8 Audi E-tron GT We ride in the high-performance EV 10 VW Golf GTI Clubsport Sharper chassis and 296bhp 12 PHEVs in the spotlight Are they truly an eco choice? 14 UK new car sales Worst September sales since 1999 16

TESTED

Cupra Formentor New crossover, old-school feel 22 Cupra Leon eHybrid Plug-in and play hot hatch 27 Citroën C5 Aircross Hybrid New powertrain suits it 28 Lexus UX 300e First EV from the hybrid trai lb lazer 29 Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid Best-seller turns PHEV 30 Jeep Renegade 4xe Trailhawk Firm’s first plug-in 31 Citroën C3 Does the latest update hone its appeal? 31 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ ROAD TEST 32

FEATURES Volkswagen ID 3 vs Nissan Leaf Family EV shootout 42 Car auctions Ideal route to a bargain? We take a look 48 Alpina B3 Touring New one shows long-haul mettle 50 From 356s to £5m HQ Porsche’s oldest UK dealer 56 Goodwood Speedweek One-off event this weekend 63

OUR CARS Volvo S60 Which of our two variants i s a better bet? 68 Volkswagen T-Roc R A Golf R owner gives his view 71

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse What makes a V8 quite so appealing? 15 Jim Holder Key 2020 sales trends to watch out for 17 Steve Cropley How to top up a radiator on the move 19 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 58 Damien Smith F 1 existential crisis after Honda quits 60 Motorsport round-up Dakar, Indycar, F1, Extreme E 61 Your Views Fast blast to Brussels and hot hatch talk 66 Matt Prior Why car nuts need to be more discerning 90

DEALS

James Ruppert On the hunt for a £10k workhorse 72 As good as new All the gen on a second-gen BMW X1 75 Spied in the classifieds Tesla Roadster, Leaf and i3 76 Used buying guide Ford Fiesta ST from just £1000 78 New cars A-Z Key car stats , from Abarth to Zenos 80 Road test index Track down that road test here 89

Autocar, IS SN number 1355-8293 (USPS 25185), i s published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge

House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription price i s $199.78. Air f re i ght and mailing in the USA by agent named WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd

F l oor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Autocar, WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd F l oor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained at Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road,

Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. Air Business Ltd i s acting as our mailing agent. Autocar i s published by Haymarket Automotive, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex,

TW1 3SP, UK, haymarketgroup.com Tel +44 (0)20 8267 5000 Autocar magazine i s also published in China, Greece, India , Indonesia, Japan, Korea,

Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

Autocar i s 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 i s cer t i f i ed by BSI to environmental standard

ISO14001 and energy management standard

ISO50001

PEFC Certified

This product is from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources www.pefc.co.uk

TROUBLE FINDING

AUTOCAR? I f you struggle to f ind a copy of Autocar in your l ocal retailer or area, please send an email to connor.chappell@flgroup.co.uk who wil l investigate the problem for you.

Autocar i s a member of the organising committee of Car Of The Year caroftheyear.org

THIS WEEK

VOLKSWAGEN ID 3 TAKES ON NISSAN LEAF 42

GOODWOOD SPEEDWEEK: IN DEPTH PREVIEW 63

MERCEDES AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+ ROAD TEST 32

COVER STORY

❝FORMULA 1 IS FACING A CRISIS OF A MAGNITUDE THAT THREATENS ITS VERY ESSENCE❞

F1 IS AT RISK OF BECOMING AN IRRELEVANCE FOR CAR MAKERS, SAYS DAMIEN SMITH 60

IMAGE

HOW MERCEDES AMG IS REINVENTING THE C63 6

COMMENT

IT’S A MERCEDES AMG C63 BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

THE INDUSTRY’S most famous performance models have so far steered clear of full-scale, all-in electrification, the type that completely changes the proposition rather than modifying the existing one. Yet we now know for sure that such radical change is coming soon to the next Mercedes-AMG C63 (p6). It will switch from its big-capacity and hugely powerful V8 to not just an electrified powertrain but also one based around a comparatively tiny four-cylinder engine. We’ve seen a radical performance powertrain like this before in the BMW i8, but that was a stand-alone, moment-in-time experimental model with a radical body to match, not an M3. BMW fitting the i8’s drivetrain to the M3 is the equivalent of the direction that AMG has chosen for the C63 – as soon as 2022. The next C63 is as surprising as it is shocking and sure to alienate many current buyers even if it wins new ones. It’s news that still takes a lot of getting used to, even months after we broke the first details.

A hugely powerful performance saloon seems an unlikely trailblazer, yet it’s the boldest symbol yet of how electrification is going to change every part of the car world we know. Our challenge – because we have no alternative – will be to accept it.

Mark Tisshaw Editor mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com

@mtisshaw

NEVER MISS AN

ISSUE Subscribe p58

14 OCTOBER 2020 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5

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