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‘That isn’t okay on any car in 2023. For OCD’s sake, Alfa, sort it out’

THIS WEEK

Issue 6550 | Volume 315 | No 4

NEWS

Aston DBS 770 Ultimate 759bhp V12 swansong 4 Peugeot 508 Bold looks, new platform for next gen 6 Diesel’s demise Have spiralling prices sealed its fate? 8 Solid-state batteries Nissan aims to get there first 10 Luxury sells Upmarket brands bucking sales trend 12 Renault backs dealers It says ‘non’ to agency model 14

TESTED

Porsche Cayenne Facelifted SUV prototype driven 20 Honda Civic Type R Is it even better than before? 24 Hyundai Ioniq 6 The 5’s streamliner sibling hits UK 26 Citroën ë-C4 X All-new saloon-hatch-crossover EV 28 Toyota Yaris Hybrid GR Sport This is no GR Yaris 29 Toyota bZ4X AWD Vision ROAD TEST 30

FEATURES Tonale v Q3 It’s an Alfa by name – but by nature? 40 Hyundai Casper We test Korea’s friendly crossover 46 Lambo’s V12 era As told by the men who made them 48 Charity climb Car industry leaders scale Kilimanjaro 54

OUR CARS Dacia Jogger Final verdict on bargain seven-seater 62 Volkswagen Multivan New T7 joins long-term fleet 64 Kia Sportage Getting to know our SUV’s clever tech 65 Peugeot 308 SW A fact-finding mission to Cornwall 67

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse A warm welcome to heated seatbelts 11 Jim Holder Why all EVs are not created equal 13 Matt Prior Ami EV or electric Hummer – or both? 15 Steve Cropley Ford’s ‘corrected’ Mustang Mach-E 17 Damien Smith Andretti F1 return; Bicester Scramble 18 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 38 Your Views Abandoned Hispano-Suiza H6C; EV ire 58 On this day 1979 visit to the Lotus production line 61 Slideshow Seven cars and – count ’em – 42 wheels 82

DEALS

As good as new Audi’s under-the-radar A3 Saloon 68 James Ruppert Bangers to beat the winter blues 69 Cult hero Mk2 Merc CL: lots to love and little to pay 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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COMMENT

NISSAN LOOKS READY TO RESUME EV LEADERSHIP

V12 LAMBOS THROUGH THE AGES 48

EARLY TASTE OF NEW PORSCHE CAYENNE 20

TWIN TEST: ALFA ROMEO TONALE vs AUDI Q3 40

C O V E R STORY

❝HAS THE BEST HOT HATCHBACK JUST GOT BETTER? OBJECTIVELY, THERE’S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT❞

RICHARD LANE TESTS THE NEW HONDA CIVIC TYPE R AT A WET THRUXTON 24

SOLID-STATE batteries are “the game-changer to come” in the world of electric cars and, according to Nissan Europe R&D boss David Moss, they are finally coming (p10). Nissan has put a time stamp on their introduction in a car for 2028 and will have completed advanced engineering of them by 2026. The company is working with world-leading material scientists from Oxford University on the batteries’ development and expects them to halve costs, double energy density and triple charging speeds over today’s lithium ion packs.

Each of these improvements would be remarkable enough on its own, but together they will mark a breakthrough moment in opening up electric cars to the masses, making them more affordable and charging more akin to what we’re used to today when refuelling a petrol or diesel car. Nissan was first to market with an electric car, the Leaf, more than a decade ago. By waiting until now to launch its second, the Ariya, the firm failed to build on the advantage it gave itself over the rest of the industry.

Achieving the breakthrough in solid-state batteries, which have long been held up as the holy grail in EV development, would mean Nissan has gained an advantage once again.

Mark Tisshaw Editor mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com

@mtisshaw Rachel Burgess is away

SCORCHING SEND-OFF FOR ASTON MARTIN DBS 4

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