Skip to main content
Read page text
page 2
FIRST FOR NEWS AND REVIEWS EVERY WEEK How to get Autocar magazine amid Covid-19 With more need than ever for engaging, entertaining magazines, we plan to ensure that Autocar will continue to be published in print every Wednesday. You should continue to find copies in supermarkets and other shops each week, so you can grab the latest issue while doing your essential food shopping. We have also prepared some special offers for both print and digital subscriptions to Autocar, so you can continue to receive every issue without leaving your home. For all our best subscription offers, visit themagazineshop.com To receive 13 print issues for £24.70, or a 13-issue print and digital bundle for £37.49, visit themagazineshop.com/aca/DTD21PUBS Autocar is available digitally on: ● Apple’s App Store ● Exact Editions ● Google Play Store ● Readly ● Zinio Simply search for ‘Autocar magazine’ on your device. We remain committed to bringing you the best motoring magazine every week, to help keep you entertained at this difficult time. Date: 05.Mar 2021 13:18:39 FIRST FOR NEWS AND REVIEWS EVERY WEEK Est.1895|autocar.co.uk|10March2021 VERDICT 3-DAY MEGA TEST Lambo’s808bhp(and14mpg)hybrid NEW M3DRIVEN Blood and thunder new M is sensational – if you can master it NEW M 1 0 – 1 7 M a r c h 2 0 2 1 It’s a cross between anM5andan old-school AMG £ 3 . 8 0 A+ ALL-NEW M4 RATED WE MISS YOU ALREADY 3 NEW HOT HATCHES BUY AN S2 FOR £15K Y AN S2 FOR £15K IMAGE 1 0 M a r c h 2 0 2 1 | M a z d a M X3 0 Why GT86 is an all-time great Cupra: Seat’s enemy within NEW AUDI Q4 THE ROBOT CARS OF NORTHANTS MAZDA’S EV: ROAD The Elise you want (and need)
page 3
36 ‘It’s how Optimus Prime might look when 90% done morphing into BMW’ Issue 6454 | Volume 307 | No 12 NEWS Son of C-X75 Callum-penned quad-motor hypercar 4 Kia EV6 Korean firm’s new-era performance EV 6 WEVC Coupé New Porsche 356-inspired £81,250 EV 8 Used hybrid prices Pandemic sends them tumbling 10 Volt face The oil giants now investing in EV chargers 12 TESTE D Volkswagen Golf R All-new mega-hatch on UK roads18 Volkswagen Tiguan R Big-selling SUV gets 316bhp 23 Land Rover Discovery Upgraded or just updated? 25 Volkswagen ID 4 British debut for electric crossover 26 Hyundai Kona Hybrid 1.6 GDi Facelifted SUV rated 27 Kia e-Niro 39kWh 2 Smaller battery and sub-£30k 27 Hyundai Tucson 1.6 T-GDi Hybrid ROAD TEST 28 FEATURES BMW M3 vs rivals Better than an Alfa or an AMG? 36 Money no object The life of a hypercar collector 46 Nissan Leaf Celebrating this EV’s decade at the top 48 Sebring 12 Hours Inside line on this weekend’s race 57 OU R CARS Peugeot e-2008 Electric or petrol: the final verdict 62 Skoda Octavia Amazing what you’ll find in the boot 65 EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse Why the time’s right for synthetic fuels 11 Jim Holder Be careful how you use the word ‘legacy’ 13 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 14 Steve Cropley Axe finally falls on long-serving 500 15 Damien Smith F1 sprint races: good or bad? Discuss 54 Motorsport round-up BTCC, F1, WRC and Le Mans 55 Your Views A Datsun beats a Jaguar and a Maserati 60 Matt Prior £57k driving simulator you’ll really want 82 DEAL S James Ruppert Tempting used Jags, from £3000 66 As good as new How to save £20,000 on an Audi Q8 69 Spied in the classifieds Toyota Mirai, Bi-Fuel Duster 70 Used buying guide Nissan Murano: Z-car V6, £1500 72 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenos 74 Road test index Track down that road test here 81 Autocar, ISSN number 1355-8293 (USPS 25185), is published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription price is $199.78. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd Floor, 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 Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained at Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3S P, United Kingdom. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent. Autocar is published by Haymarket Automotive, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 3SP, UK, haymarketgroup.com Tel +44 (0)20 8267 5000 Autocar magazine is also published in China, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines 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 TROUBLE FINDING AUTOCAR? If you struggle to find a copy of Autocar in your local retailer or area, please send an email to connor.chappell@flgroup.co.uk who will investigate the problem for you. 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 COVE R STORY THIS WEEK IMAGE DREAM HYPERCAR MADE REAL BY UK TALENT 4 NISSAN LEAF: EV TRAILBLAZER TURNS 10 48 ROAD TEST VERDICT ON HYUNDAI TUCSON 28 ❝LABELLING HYBRID PIONEER TOYOTA AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAGGARD IS SURELY MISGUIDED❞ JIM HOLDER COUNTERS EV PROPONENTS’ DERISION OF ‘LEGACY’ MANUFACTURERS 13 NEW VW GOLF R HAS A TRICK UP IT S SLEEVE 18 COMMENT CANNED JAG SUPERCAR REBIRTH IN GOOD HANDS ONE OF THE GREAT disappointments of the past decade was the fact that the Jaguar C-X75 never made it into production. The closest the supercar ever got to reality in its on/off existence after its 2010 debut was as a Bond villain car in the last 007 movie six years ago. Now it has a second life thanks to an unlikely intervention from a Hungarian industrialist, who has commissioned the C-X75’s designer, Ian Callum, to create a new car in its image. But the model, called the Kincsem, is no slavish recreation of the C-X75 or the turning back of the clock 11 years. It is a modern, forward-looking supercar in its own right, with the kind of styling and technology a C-X75 successor would be looking to deploy. Supercars continue to play an important role in the industry. They have the looks and desirability to make people fall in love with cars and enter wider public consciousness, and they use technology that really can and will filter down into more everyday models. Any newcomer like the Kincsem will always have questions over credibilit y, but Callum’s involvement adds not only authority and experience but also the promise of quite epic wow factor in terms of how it looks. Callum’s career has been full of king-hits, but in the Kincsem, he may end up with a car to crown them all. 05.Mar 2021 13:18:39 FIRST FOR NEWS AND REVIEWS EVERY WEEK Est.1895|autocar.co.uk | 10March2021 3-DAYMEGATEST VERDICT Lambo’s 808bhp (and 14mpg) hybrid NEW M3 DRIVEN Blood and thunder new M is sensational – if you can master it NEW M 1 0 – 1 7 M a r c h 2 0 2 1 £ 3 . 8 0 It’s a cross between an M5 and an old-school AMG A+ ALL-NEW M4 RATED WE MISS YOU ALREADY 3 NEW HOT HATCHES IMAGE BUY AN S2 FOR £15K Y AN S2 FOR £15K 1 0 M a r c h 2 0 2 1 | M a z d a M X 3 0 Why GT86 is an all-time great Cupra: Seat’s enemy within The Elise you want (and need) NEW AUDI Q4 THE ROBOT CARS OF NORTHANTS MAZDA’S EV: ROAD TEST Mark Tisshaw Editor mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com @mtisshaw NEVE R NEVE R MISS AN ISSUE Subscribe p14 17 MARCH 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 3

Page Text

View plaintext

36

‘It’s how Optimus Prime might look when 90% done morphing into BMW’

Issue 6454 | Volume 307 | No 12

NEWS

Son of C-X75 Callum-penned quad-motor hypercar 4 Kia EV6 Korean firm’s new-era performance EV 6 WEVC Coupé New Porsche 356-inspired £81,250 EV 8 Used hybrid prices Pandemic sends them tumbling 10 Volt face The oil giants now investing in EV chargers 12

TESTE D

Volkswagen Golf R All-new mega-hatch on UK roads18 Volkswagen Tiguan R Big-selling SUV gets 316bhp 23 Land Rover Discovery Upgraded or just updated? 25 Volkswagen ID 4 British debut for electric crossover 26 Hyundai Kona Hybrid 1.6 GDi Facelifted SUV rated 27 Kia e-Niro 39kWh 2 Smaller battery and sub-£30k 27 Hyundai Tucson 1.6 T-GDi Hybrid ROAD TEST 28

FEATURES BMW M3 vs rivals Better than an Alfa or an AMG? 36 Money no object The life of a hypercar collector 46 Nissan Leaf Celebrating this EV’s decade at the top 48 Sebring 12 Hours Inside line on this weekend’s race 57

OU R CARS Peugeot e-2008 Electric or petrol: the final verdict 62 Skoda Octavia Amazing what you’ll find in the boot 65

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse Why the time’s right for synthetic fuels 11 Jim Holder Be careful how you use the word ‘legacy’ 13 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 14 Steve Cropley Axe finally falls on long-serving 500 15 Damien Smith F1 sprint races: good or bad? Discuss 54 Motorsport round-up BTCC, F1, WRC and Le Mans 55 Your Views A Datsun beats a Jaguar and a Maserati 60 Matt Prior £57k driving simulator you’ll really want 82

DEAL S

James Ruppert Tempting used Jags, from £3000 66 As good as new How to save £20,000 on an Audi Q8 69 Spied in the classifieds Toyota Mirai, Bi-Fuel Duster 70 Used buying guide Nissan Murano: Z-car V6, £1500 72 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenos 74 Road test index Track down that road test here 81

Autocar, ISSN number 1355-8293 (USPS 25185), is published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge

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

Floor, 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 Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained at Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road,

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

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

Malaysia, Philippines 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

TROUBLE FINDING

AUTOCAR? If you struggle to find a copy of Autocar in your local retailer or area, please send an email to connor.chappell@flgroup.co.uk who will investigate the problem for you.

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

COVE R STORY

THIS WEEK

IMAGE

DREAM HYPERCAR MADE REAL BY UK TALENT 4

NISSAN LEAF: EV TRAILBLAZER TURNS 10 48

ROAD TEST VERDICT ON HYUNDAI TUCSON 28

❝LABELLING HYBRID PIONEER TOYOTA AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAGGARD IS SURELY MISGUIDED❞

JIM HOLDER COUNTERS EV PROPONENTS’ DERISION OF ‘LEGACY’ MANUFACTURERS 13

NEW VW GOLF R HAS A TRICK UP IT S SLEEVE 18

COMMENT

CANNED JAG SUPERCAR REBIRTH IN GOOD HANDS

ONE OF THE GREAT disappointments of the past decade was the fact that the Jaguar C-X75 never made it into production. The closest the supercar ever got to reality in its on/off existence after its 2010 debut was as a Bond villain car in the last 007 movie six years ago. Now it has a second life thanks to an unlikely intervention from a Hungarian industrialist, who has commissioned the C-X75’s designer, Ian Callum, to create a new car in its image.

But the model, called the Kincsem, is no slavish recreation of the C-X75 or the turning back of the clock 11 years. It is a modern, forward-looking supercar in its own right, with the kind of styling and technology a C-X75 successor would be looking to deploy.

Supercars continue to play an important role in the industry. They have the looks and desirability to make people fall in love with cars and enter wider public consciousness, and they use technology that really can and will filter down into more everyday models.

Any newcomer like the Kincsem will always have questions over credibilit y, but Callum’s involvement adds not only authority and experience but also the promise of quite epic wow factor in terms of how it looks. Callum’s career has been full of king-hits, but in the Kincsem, he may end up with a car to crown them all.

05.Mar 2021 13:18:39

FIRST FOR NEWS AND REVIEWS EVERY WEEK

Est.1895|autocar.co.uk | 10March2021

3-DAYMEGATEST

VERDICT

Lambo’s 808bhp (and 14mpg) hybrid

NEW M3 DRIVEN Blood and thunder new M is sensational – if you can master it NEW M

1 0 – 1 7 M a r c h 2 0 2 1

£ 3 .

8 0

It’s a cross between an M5 and an old-school AMG

A+

ALL-NEW M4 RATED

WE MISS YOU ALREADY

3 NEW HOT HATCHES

IMAGE

BUY AN S2 FOR £15K

Y AN S2 FOR £15K

1 0 M a r c h 2 0 2 1

|

M a z d a M X 3 0

Why GT86 is an all-time great

Cupra: Seat’s enemy within

The Elise you want (and need)

NEW AUDI Q4 THE ROBOT CARS OF NORTHANTS MAZDA’S EV: ROAD TEST

Mark Tisshaw Editor mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com

@mtisshaw

NEVE R

NEVE R MISS AN

ISSUE Subscribe p14

17 MARCH 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 3

read next page

My Bookmarks

Buy this Book
Skip to main content