COMMENT

WHY A HYUNDAI TAKES THE FIGHT TO A PORSCHE

Our big ‘New vs used’ special in this week’s issue, which features showdowns between, er, new and used cars of broadly equal value and brief, isn’t a fresh concept to these pages. We last did such a comparison in 2021 and it was an annual feature for much of the 2010s. (Head to the Autocar Archive and search ‘new vs used’ if you want to lose a few hours.) And there’s a good reason for that: it ’s always a fascinating exercise.

It feels particularly prescient in 2024’s muddled car market, where former budget brands such as Hyundai and Kia are continuing to push into premium areas at the same time as regulatory uncertainty is flattening some used prices – an effect that’s notably pronounced with electric cars, of course.

That’s how we’ve ended up this week with a new Hyundai taking on a used Porsche – and, given we’re talking the Ioniq 5 N here, the Taycan Sport Turismo would be likely to start as the underdog if we were taking bets. A bit bonkers, that.

You’ll have to turn to p42 to find out the winner, but it ’s no spoiler to reveal that all six of our head-to-heads are incredibly close. That’s testament to the quality of output from mainstream car firms – but also to how well the allure of premium brands holds up over time.

James Attwood, acting magazine editor james.attwood@haymarket.com

Meanwhile, online…

autocar.co.uk

Audi RS6 vs Range Rover What’s the perfect daily driver? Matt Prior and James Disdale attempt to find out by driving a twin-turbo V10 and a supercharged V8.

Renault 5 papped We’ve spied the upcoming electric supermini in the UK for the first time. Head over to our Instagram for more pics.

Has VW fixed the Golf? The new Mk8.5 Golf sets out to eradicate the nagging, glitchy tech issues that marred the Mk8 Golf. Has it succeeded?

Autocar (ISSN 1355-8293 USPS 25-185) is published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham, TW1 3SP, United Kingdom; haymarket.com; tel +44 (0)20 8267 5000 The US annual subscription price is $190.00. Air freight and mailing in the US 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 the above address. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent. Autocar magazine is also published in Estonia, Greece, India, Japan, Lat via, Korea and Thailand.

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T H I

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W E E K

20 FERRARI 12CILINDRI DRIVEN AND RATED

Issue 6639 | Volume 322 | No 4

NEWSDS bets on luxury 8 game-changer 6 Elroq is unlike any Skoda before it 8 India to take EV tech fight to China 10 JLR’s parts supply woes continue 12 Why LPG is now a losing game 14 FIRST DRIVES Ferrari 12Cilindri 20 Bentley Continental GT Speed 24 Subaru Forester 26 Cupra Terramar 27 Mazda CX-80 28 Leapmotor T03 29 ROAD TESTS Audi Q6 E-tron Quattro Edition 1 30 Mercedes-AMG S63 E Performance 36 FEATURESNew vs used: six close-call duels 42 LA’s astonishing Petersen Museum 54 LONG-TERMERSVauxhallCorsa 56 Peugeot E-308 SW 57 Polestar 2 59 COLUMNSJesseCrosse 11 Mark Tisshaw 13 Steve Cropley 15 Matt Prior 16 Damien Smith 17 Testing, testing 41 Why I love… 74 EVERY WEEK Your Views 18 How to subscribe 40 Lost in the archive 65 Road test results 67 USED CARS Fiat 500 buying guide 60 My car & I 62 Caught in the classifieds 63

54 INSIDE A MUST-VISIT MUSEUM IN LA

42 NEW IONIQ 5 N TAKES ON USED TAYCAN

2 OCTOBER 2024 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5