86

‘This will further slow traffic and create thousands

of new flag-waving jobs in London’

THIS WEEK

Issue 6598 | Volume 319 | No 2

NEWS

Lambo Huracán successor V10 ditched for V8 PHEV 4 MG SUV for UK New flagship plus MG 3, ZS replaced 6 Rimac robotaxi “A completely different type” of car 8 Drive a Cupra race car Kind of. VR goggles supplied 10 2023 sales rundown The year’s winners and losers 12 EV charger boost £70m for more ultra-fast points 16

TESTED

Lexus LBX Posh supermini-sized hybrid crossover 22 McLaren 750S Struts its stuff on frosty Welsh lanes 26 Land Rover Defender 130 V8 Max power, max bulk 28 Kia EV9 AWD Top-spec seven-seater. Worth £76k? 30 Mercedes E-Class UK test shows up a vital omission 31 Rolls-Royce Spectre ROAD TEST 100

FEATURES Super-saloon EV shootout BMW vs Merc vs Tesla 32 Road Test Yearbook Highs, lows, every car tested 40 That figures Mind-boggling stats from 2023’s tests 64 News review of the year Analysis of the top stories 66 How Autocar is made Behind-the-scenes insights 70 Future-proof your car What to buy and how to do it 74 Get ready for 2024 Expect this, experience that 78 Don’t bet against it Next year in a parallel universe 86 Best concept cars From BMW E1 to Lambo Cheetah 88 Favourite new cars of 2023 Our testers reveal all 92

OUR CARS BMW iX1 Final report after 7000 real-world miles 108 Renault Clio Hybrid arrives with a sporty new look 110 Alfa Romeo Tonale Familiarity changes PHEV view 111 Nissan Ariya The simple solution to range anxiety 112 Genesis G70 Shooting Brake No, it isn’t a Bentley 113

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse In-wheel motor/brake-by-wire combo 9 Secret Source A car launch with a mega minibar bill 11 Matt Prior Cars are “for the elite”. Who said that? 17 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 18 Steve Cropley Praise for the Cybertruck’s bold look 19 Damien Smith Magical dawn at Le Mans; Extreme E 21 Your Views Capri; nannying tech; touchscreens 114 On this day Reader’s letters, from 1898 to 1995 120 Slideshow James Bond cars that were ‘also stars’ 130

DEALS

Second Chance Ford Galaxy: world’s best £1k MPV? 116 James Ruppert The truth about Ford’s Ecoboost 119 Road test index Track down that road test here 123 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenvo 124

Autocar (ISSN 1355-8293 USPS 25-185) is published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription price is $190.00. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named World Container Inc, 150-15, 183rd Street, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256. US postmaster: Send address changes

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IMAGE

LAMBORGHINI’S ALL-NEW JUNIOR SUPERCAR 4

HOW WE CREATE AUTOCAR EACH WEEK 70

ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE EV: FULL ROAD TEST 100

C O V E R STORY

❝ IN DIFFICULT CONDITIONS ON DIFFICULT ROADS, THE McLAREN 750S IS SIMPLY SUBLIME❞

THIS SUPERCAR SUPERHERO EXCELS WHERE IT MATTERS, SAYS ANDREW FRANKEL 26

Autocar is a member of the

organising committee of Car Of The Year caroftheyear.org

THREE EV s, 2287BHP COMBINED, ONE WINNER 32

COMMENT

AFTER POSITIVE NEWS IN 2023, HERE’S TO 2024

THIS ISSUE LANDS in the week before Christmas (presents all bought yet?), but given this is our final magazine of 2023, we reflect on the past 12 months and look ahead to 2024.

After years dominated by Covid and chip shortages, 2023 featured some positive news for the UK car industry: Stellantis’s Ellesmere Port plant became an electric van hub, JLR parent Tata confirmed plans for a Somerset battery factory and BMW and Nissan announced big investments to build EVs here. There was another big boost: a three-year delay to UK-EU ‘rules of origin’ trade laws that could have added thousands to the price of EVs. Other major stories included the ban on the sale of new non-zero-emission cars being pushed back from 2030 to 2035. But the zero-emission vehicle mandate starts in 2024, requiring firms to make 22% of their cars zero-emission (rising to 80% by 2030. Expect lots of on-the-fly calculations as firms try to stay on target), which means the possibility of EV discounts. We’ll be charting that story throughout 2024 – along with everything else of significance in the car world. Our next issue comes out on Wednesday 3 January, so until then, I’ll wish you a happy new year.

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

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