19
‘Sorry, Jorge, but this just isn’t sufficiently Alhambraey’
Issue 6585 | Volume 318 | No 2
NEWS
Alfa Romeo Spider Set to return as electric roadster 6 Alfa’s baby SUV First look at Avenger-twinned EV 8 Volkswagen Tiguan Details of next-generation SUV 10 Audi R8 New supercar platform for electric coupé 12 Kia EV3 Urban-focused small SUV spotted testing 14 What next for Merc? CEO on the firm’s future plans 16 Chips with everything Qualcomm’s new-age car 18
TESTED
Mercedes E-Class Estate All-new generation rated 24 Hyundai Kona Electric Fresh looks and more range 26 Citroën C5 Aircross Hybrid Could be the sweet spot 28 BMW i7 M70 xDrive Flagship EV limo flexes 811lb ft 29 Citroën ë-C4 Longer legs, extra pace after facelift 30 Jeep Avenger EV vs UK roads in most telling test yet 31 Honda CR-V e:HEV Roomy crossover goes hybrid 31 Ineos Grenadier 3.0 T Fieldmaster ROAD TEST 46
FEATURES Audi E-tron GT Trans-Europe test of GT credentials 32 Anti-ULEZ campaign We meet its leader, Risky Phil 38 BMW’s Neue Klasse Tomorrow’s car unpicked today 40 Louise Goodman TV tales of BTCC’s pit lane royalty 44
OUR CARS Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV arrives with much to prove 54 BYD Atto 3 Charge! Plus, the day it lost its voice 55 Alpina D3 S Touring Office turns fast delivery truck 56 Audi TT RS 400-mile weekend to meet its grandma 57
EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse Hydrogen’s high-performance future 15 Secret Source New cars sold with rust? It happened 17 Matt Prior Why exactly did Cupra eat Seat’s lunch? 19 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 20 Steve Cropley Great way to use Mini underpinnings 21 Damien Smith WRC in Greece; regularity rally in UK 23 Your Views ‘It was the best-sounding car I’ve sat in’ 58 On this day Jaguar 2 .4 Litre wooed testers in 1956 65 Slideshow These limos are bulletproof – literally 74
DEALS
Second Chance Could you pass up a £2k Volvo S60? 60 James Ruppert Logan, Mégane, 508, Disco Sport 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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THIS WEEK
NEW MERCEDES E-CLASS: FIRST DRIVE 24
CAN AN EV BE A PROPER GRAND TOURER? 32
BMW’S FUTURE BY THOSE WHO’VE SEEN IT 40
C O V E R STORY
❝ THIS IS A STATEMENT OF CONFIDENCE, SHOWING WHAT WE CAN DO❞
BMW’S TOP BRASS, INCLUDING SALES BOSS PIETER NOTA, GIVE NEUE KLASSE INSIGHTS 40
COMMENT
WHY INEOS AUTOMOTIVE AND TESLA ARE SO ALIKE
ASIDE FROM immensely wealthy and occasionally controversial owners, Ineos Automotive and Tesla would seem to have very little in common: the new Grenadier, with immense off-road capability and pure-ICE powertrains (p46), is a world apart from the electric Model 3.
But there is a uniting ethos behind the machines: strategic clarit y. The creation of each was tied to a singular vision from their owner and has been enabled by the opportunities available to a clean-sheet start-up. Compare that with the challenge facing legacy car manufacturers navigating the continued, uneven pace of electrification. Speaking to us recently (p16), Mercedes boss Ola Källenius talked about “strategic clarit y, technical flexibilit y”. The firm is committed to a future zero-emission line-up but has to account for different markets developing at different speeds. Technical flexibilit y isn’t something Ineos has to worry about – for now. It does plan to expand its range with EVs but the current focus is on building a brand around a singular purpose. And the Grenadier clearly sets out Ineos’s ethos, just like the Tesla Roadster did more than a decade ago. That strategic clarit y should stand it in good stead.
James Attwood Acting mag editor james.attwood@haymarket.com
@atters_ j
Rachel Burgess is away
INEOS GRENADIER: ROAD TEST VERDICT 46
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