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‘The pick-up truck is complete with a cowboy hat holder’
Issue 6603 | Volume 319 | No 7
NEWS
Volkswagen Golf Details of new hatch, including GTI 4 Honda NSX Set to return as an all-electric flagship 8 Lexus LBX Morizo RR 300bhp courtesy of GR Yaris 10 Fisker Pear Radical six-seat hatch now signed off 12 Sports exhausts at risk Mods may fall foul of the law 14 Audi A6 E-tron First look at saloon and estate EVs 16
TESTED
Ford Tourneo Courier Van-like MPV with Puma twist 22 Lexus LM Van-like MPV with limo twist; driven in UK 24 Suzuki Jimny 5-Door The version we’ve all wanted 25 Jeep Avenger Electric Summit ROAD TEST 46
FEATURES Kia EV9 vs rivals Can it beat Defender, Q8 E-tron? 26 Bicester Scramble How it became a must-do event 34 Czinger 21C Why it could transform the car industry 38 See the future today Weird, wild and wonderful CES 42
OUR CARS BMW X5 Newbie makes case for luxo PHEV SUVs 54 Renault Clio It’s a warm hatch, but not in that way 55 Genesis G70 Shooting Brake Snow-lined epic run 56 Volkswagen ID Buzz California meet-up in Cornwall 57
EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse Robots that park and charge your EV 13 Secret Source Exotic dancer inspires concept car 15 Matt Prior Automotive prejudice can affect us all 17 Steve Cropley Hooked by a rare 1973 Range Rover 19 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 20 Damien Smith Formula E; Guenther Steiner; BTCC 21 Your Views TVR; Chery; adopt a car; “busybodies” 58 From the archive Samsung’s big bid to make cars 65 Slideshow Firecracker cars by damp-squib makers 74
DEALS
Second Chance Subaru Impreza Turbo: a £6k hero 60 James Ruppert Rover gems, from Streetwise to 75 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
FORD TOURNEO COURIER: FIRST DRIVE 22
AHHH! BICESTER: NOW YOU’RE TALKING 34
CES REVIEW, BY OUR EDITOR (AND CHATGPT) 42
C O V E R STORY
❝HOW HAS BICESTER SCRAMBLE SUBSTITUTED PANAMA HATS FOR CROCS?❞
MURRAY SCULLION FINDS OUT WHY A NEW GENERATION FLOCKS TO THIS CAR EVENT 34
COMMENT
KIA HAS JUST SMASHED ANOTHER GLASS CEILING
‘NEW KIA BEATS Defender’ is one of the more remarkable lines to appear on our cover in recent times. In toppling its Land Rover rival (p26), the EV9 feels like a crowning achievement for Kia in its evolution from a budget brand into a serious player in the UK and beyond. Kia is now the sixth-largest car maker in the UK and in 2023 was only just behind Toyota and ahead of Vauxhall. The only other brands in front of it were Volkswagen, Ford, Audi and BMW. The EV9’s victory is not without caveats, because the plug-in hybrid variant of the Defender that the EV9 beats is not the best flavour of the otherwise excellent 4x4. But even so, the EV9 takes that Defender’s scalp and has more than enough in hand to see off the Audi Q8 E-tron. Indeed, tak ing down an Audi like the Q8 is a big enough coup on its own.
Early retail demand for the EV9 shows buyers are warm to the prospect of a £75k Kia too, however incredulous that concept may still make some.
Even if the EV9 is not Kia at its very best, the point remains that it can now credibly go and play with the likes of Land Rover and Audi and beat them. Buyers recognise it too. Remarkable is indeed the word.
Mark Tisshaw Editor mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com
@mtisshaw
Rachel Burgess is away
NEW GTI AND VW’S CRUCIAL GOLF REBOOT 4
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