74

‘Just when you thought the Chrysler PT Cruiser couldn’t get any worse’

Issue 6614 | Volume 320 | No 5

NEWS

BMW M5 Fierce PHEV, plus CS versions of M4, M2 4 Porsche K1 Flagship electric SUV guns for BMW iX 8 Chery’s UK bid How Omoda and Jaecoo will woo us 10 Ford’s next move Smaller, lower EVs to follow SUVs 12 Economygate Scandal over real-world MPG brews 14 Audi S3 More powe r, RS3 hardware and fresh look 16

TESTED

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Mighty 1093bhp saloon 22 Mazda MX-5 Roadster’s biggest update since 2018 26 GWM Ora 03 Key changes for the former Funky Cat 27 Peugeot e-208 EV supermini with a dash of style 27 Morgan Plus Six ROAD TEST 46

FE ATURES Armoured 7 Series BMW limos that are bombproof 28 Tobias Sühlmann Meet McLaren’s new design chief 32 ZEV mandate How it affects car makers – and you 34 Bentley Continental GT S London-to-Cannes blast 38 Winter testing Insights from an icy Volvo R&D base 40 Morris Minor rebirth Insider tells his ‘so nearly’ tale 44

OUR CARS Citroën ë-C4 X EV departs as petrol version arrives 56 Volvo V90 Random act of kindness from a stranger 57 Renault Clio Entry-level petrol versus flashy hybrid 58 Toyota Corolla Commercial Don’t trust a trip meter 59

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse A smart way to make EVs go farther 13 Secret Source The cameraman who saw too much 15 Matt Prior April Fools: what were they thinking? 17 Steve Cropley Young Aussie racer is one to watch 19 Autocar Archive Access to 129 years of magazines 20 Damien Smith Safari Rally debrief; Formula E latest 21 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 54 Your Views “I’ve been driving with no insurance” 60 From the archive Early-1930s V12 Hispano-Suiza 66 Slideshow Totally outrageous stretched limos 74

DEALS

Second Chance Bag a Mk1 Volvo XC60 from £2000 62 James Ruppert SUV hunt turns to Jeeps and RAV4 65 Road test index Track down that road test here 67 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenvo 68

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

to Autocar, Air Business Ltd, c/o World Container Inc, 150-15, 183rd Street, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA.

Subscription records are maintained at Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road,

Twickenham TW1 3S P, United Kingdom. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent. Autocar is published by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham,

TW1 3SP, United Kingdom, haymarket.com Te l +44 (0)20 8267 5000 Autocar magazine is also published in Estonia, Greece, India, Japan, Latvia, Korea and Thailand.

Autocar is a member of the Independent Press Standards

Organisation (IPSO). We abide by the Editors’ Code of

Practice and are committed

to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you

think we haven’t met those standards and want to make

a complaint, contact autocar@haymarket.com. For more information, contact

IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or

visit www.ipso.co.uk

Haymarket is certified by BSI to environmental standard

IS O14001 and energy management standard

ISO50001

ISSUES WITH YOUR MAG? For subscriber issues, call 0344 848 8816. If you can’t find a news-stand copy of Autocar

in your local area, email autocar@haymarket.com

Autocar is a member of the

organising committee of Car Of The Year caroftheyear.org

THIS WEEK

FLAMING HECK: ARMOURED BMW i7 DRIVEN 28

PORSCHE TAYCAN TURBO GT UNLEASHED 22

MORGAN PLUS SIX: FULL ROAD TEST 46

COVE R STORY

❝THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE INTERVENTIONS IN ANY INDUSTRY EVER❞

SO SAYS SMMT BOSS MIKE HAWES ABOUT THE UK’S ZEV MANDATE. IS HE RIGHT? 34

COMMENT

IMAGINE IF THE MORRIS REVIVAL HAD WORKED

IT’S HARD NOT to love a good ‘what if ?’ stor y. Who isn’t intrigued by a tantalising glimpse into an alternate world that could have existed but for one ‘sliding doors’ moment? So when Richard Bremner recently revealed long-lost plans to revive the Morris brand, we asked him to share the full stor y for ever yone to enjo y. His feature (p44) harks back to the final days of MG Rover in the early 2000s and details a serious plan – by credible industry figures, with access to plentiful resources – to revive the Morris Minor as a new-age Mini rival. Could it have worked? Absolutely. Just look at the success of China’s SA IC in reviving and reinvigorating MG; at one time, that concept would have seemed just as fanciful. Ultimately, Bremner’s Morris stor y is really a snapshot of the sad decline and failure of a British car giant. But it does make you appreciate how small the margin between being reinvigorated and fading into obscurity was for some brands. MG is just one example: the likes of Bentle y, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Volvo and many others could have been very different had they not been saved by the right firm at the right time. It ’s a reminder that the line between success and failure in the car industry has always been incredibly thin. James Attwood Acting mag editor james.attwood@haymarket.com

@atters_ j Rachel Burgess is away

IMAGE

NEW BMW M5: 708BHP HARDCORE PHEV 4

youtube.com/autocar facebook.com/autocarofficial

twitte r.com/autocar

autoca r_official

NEVER MISS

AN ISSUE Subscribe p54

10 APRIL 2024 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 3