‘Like Gareth Bale, the Gilbern Invader is past its best now but still an exciting prospect for any Welshman’

Issue 6541 | Volume 314 | No 8

NEWS

Porsche’s next EVs New-era electric Boxster, Macan 6 Big Renault rethink Separate business to handle EVs 8 Volvo EX90 Flagship SUV goes all-in onsafety tech 10 Aehra super-saloon Start-upprimes SUV follow-up 12 MG Marvel R New upmarket SUV confirmedfor UK 14 EV battery lifespans Report stirs upcontroversy 16 Lamborghini’s future CEO on its brave new world 18

TESTED

Land Rover Defender 130 XXXL 4x4 inD300 guise 26 BMW 225e Active Tourer Plug-in tech for tall hatch 29 Ora Funky Cat Chinese ID 3 rival rated on UK roads 30 Volkswagen ID Buzz Five-seat, £62k electric MPV 32 Alfa Romeo Tonale Plug-in Hybrid Better than X1? 33 BMW M4 CSL ROAD TEST 34

FEATURES

World Cup of Used Cars Epic international shootout 43 Mini Cooper S restomod We show BMW how to do it 50 Commute for free It’s possible, using free chargers 54 Renault 5 Old one driven, new one’s hopes assessed 56

OUR CARS

Mercedes-Benz S-Class Final verdict on PHEV limo 64 Volkswagen ID 4 GTX What it can learn from a Polo 66 Honda Civic We examine our hybrid’s MPG habits 67

EVERY WEEK

Jesse Crosse The drag race that isn’t about RuPaul 15 Jim Holder Autonomy’s the future. It may always be 17 Matt Prior Enough Porsche 911 restomods already 19 Steve Cropley Veteran cars, Super 3 and ID Buzz 21 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 22 Damien Smith Porsche’s next-gen Formula E racer 24 Your Views Ford flak; i3’s £17k repair; puny brakes 60 On this day 1962: Honda’s first cars; Jim Clark win 63 Slideshow The world’s greatest five-cylinder cars 82

DEALS

As good as new Honda Civic: an underrated bargain 68 James Ruppert Rare cars priced from just £895 69 Cult hero How to nab a Jag XJS for as little as £5k 70 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenvo 72 Road test index Track down that road test here 81

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THIS WEEK

COMEBACK KID: RENAULT 5, PAST, FUTURE 56

❝SEEKING TO PLUNDER YOUR HERITAGE IN THIS WAY CAN OFTEN END IN TEARS❞

ANDREW FRANKEL ON THE RISK AND REWARD OF A CLASSIC-INSPIRED RETRO NEW CAR 56

COMMENT

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE CHINA’S CARBRANDS

IF I HAD a pound for every time a Chinese car maker said it was going to break into Europe, I’d be a rich(ish) woman. Inevitably, such plans that we reported three-plus years ago have been dramatically slowed by the way the world has gone in the interim.

Still, Chinese makers – the likes of Aiways, Chery, Geely (excluding its ownership of known brands such as Lotus), Great Wall, Nio, SAIC, Xpeng – are persevering and some have made headway playing to the easier European EV markets, namely Norway. At the Paris motor show last month, there was a dearth of car makers other than the French and, you guessed it, Chinese.

But despite the progress, we haven’t been able to buy a car in the UK from a new, unknown Chinese brand – until now. The Ora Funky Cat from Great Wall, reviewed on p30, isn’t purr-fect (sorry) but it does show real promise. The dated opinion that Chinese cars are poor quality compared with European counterparts sounds as if it might be exactly that.

SAIC-owned MG has had huge success in the UK, undoubtedly helped by the brand’s legacy. Whether non-legacy Chinese makers can make the same inroads is debatable but a decent-to-drive, well-priced EV will certainly make people sit up and take notice.

Rachel Burgess Magazine editor