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‘Imagine falling into a giant bag of 450bhp jelly beans’

THIS WEEK

Issue 6577 | Volume 317 | No 5

NEWS

Baby Defender New entry-level Land Rover for 2027 4 Volkswagen Golf Full details of next year’s facelift 8 Toyota GR86 successor Hybrid sports car mooted 10 Hyundai Santa Fe Bold new look, now lifestyle 4x4 12 EV sales slowdown Incentives needed, says industry 14 McLaren M1A tribute Road-going V8 ‘Can-Am’ car 16

TESTED

Dacia Spring Sub-£20k EV set to hit UK next year 22 Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-new exec in PHEV guise 24 Audi Q6 E-tron 55 Twin-motor Tesla Model Y rival 26 Audi SQ6 E-tron 510bhp SUV, but how engaging? 27 Skoda Superb Estate Early access to all-new wagon 28 Hyundai Kona Electric Next-gen car ups the ante 29 Vauxhall Astra Electric Needs to justify £40k price 30 Honda ZR-V Significant hybrid based on the Civic 31 Mercedes-Benz B200d It’s a diesel MPV – in 2023! 31 Mercedes-AMG SL 63 4Matic ROAD TEST 46

FEATURES Kia Picanto £18k city car tackles Irish coastline epic 32 Donkervoort F22 666bhp-per-tonne car unleashed 38 McMurtry Spéirling Electric fan car insights by MD 44

OUR CARS Lexus RZ Electric crossover meets cynical keeper 54 DS 4 The mystery SUV that strangers always like 55 Toyota Corolla Commercial Cyclist strikes it lucky 56 Alpina D3 S Touring Long-haul drive to Pininfarina 57

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse Get ready for automated overtaking 13 Secret Source When car swaps go horribly wrong 15 Matt Prior “Go and race around a circuit elsewhere” 17 Steve Cropley Goodwood Festival of Speed relived 19 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 20 Damien Smith Formula E’s London finale previewed 21 Your Views BMW M2; Goodwood; retro car designs 58 On this day 1999: RX-8 emerges; Burns vs McRae 65 Slideshow Seven concept cars the world forgot 74 Autocar Archive Access every issue since 1895 76

DEALS

Cult hero Why Mk4 Renault Scenic is a real diamond 60 James Ruppert 1990s Land Rover 90 from £8000 63 Road test index Track down that road test here 67 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenvo 68

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EPIC IRISH ADVENTURE IN A CITY CAR 32

M cMURTRY BOSS ON THE SPEIRLING FAN CAR 44

MERCEDES-AMG SL 63: ROAD TEST VERDICT 46

C O V E R STORY

❝ FOR AN UNSTINTING HOUR AND A HALF COMES EASILY ONE OF THE BEST DRIVES I’VE EVER HAD ❞

YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED WHAT MATT PRIOR WAS DRIVING TO FIND MOTORING NIRVANA 32

IMAGE

COMMENT

TATA’S BATTERY PLANT NEEDS TO SET A TREND

TIMES HAVE BEEN tough for the UK car industry, so it’s important to celebrate good news when it comes – such as the confirmation that JLR’s parent, Tata, will build its new battery factory in Somerset. With batteries a key component of EVs, countries have been scrabbling to secure the investment, high-sk illed jobs and prestige that their production facilities bring. The full extent of the UK government’s investment to secure the plant is unclear, but it’s a big vote of confidence in the British car industry.

It’s also a huge step for JLR, with its plans to expand its range with a raft of bold and ambitious electric cars, including the ‘ baby’ Defender (p4). Having UK-based battery production now in place should ensure those future models are made here. This will be the UK’s second battery factory (after the Envision plant in Sunderland that supplies nearby Nissan) and those two plants combined will have a potential 78GWh of production capacity. But it’s estimated the UK will need 100GWh of capacity to satisf y production demand by 2030. The path there still isn’t clear and we’ve seen plans for other UK battery factories crumble due to lack of investment. So celebrate the good news – but there’s still work to do.

James Attwood Acting mag editor james.attwood@haymarket.com

@atters_ j

Rachel Burgess is away

BABY LAND ROVER DEFENDER CONFIRMED 4

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