94

‘Lawrence Stroll buys Aston Villa. Lance Stroll is named centre forward’

Issue 6442 | Volume 306 | No 13

NEWS

Jaguar Vision GT SV 1900bhp EV racer for gamers 6 Hennessey F5 Venom Hypercar built to top 311mph 11 Xpeng is go Chinese EV brand launches in Europe 13 Touchscreen fears Just too distracting, say experts 14 Biden’s electric vision Next US president backs EVs 16 Winners and losers in 2020 Who sold what and why 18

TESTED

Volkswagen Golf R New-mega hatch shows i ts hand 24 Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport Pumped to 296bhp 29 Ford Mustang Mach-E A true Tesla Model Y threat? 30 Dacia Sandero Britain’s cheapest car just got newer 36 Peugeot 3008 Hybrid 225 Plus Peugeot 5008 38 Volkswagen ID 4 Plus BMW 550i and Nissan Navara 40 Ford Fiesta ST Plus VW Arteon Shooting Brake 43 McLaren 620R ROAD TEST 44

FEATURES Road Test Yearbook Highlights, al l the year’s tests 55 2020’s biggest news stories Review of unique year 80 What will happen in 2021 And things you should do 84 If only… How 2020 could so nearly have turned out 94 BTCC season review With series boss, TV pundits 101 Prodrive BRX T1 Fantasy Dakar Rally bid made real 104

OUR CARS Toyota GR Supra GT or sports car? Final verdict 108 Mazda CX-30 Plus Mercedes-Benz’s electric EQC 110 Volvo XC40 Recharge T5 Plus Porsche 911 Carrera 112

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse UK f i rm’s big hopes for axial f lux motor 15 Jim Holder We drive less yet buy more cars. Why? 17 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 22 Steve Cropley New Year’s resolution: own an EV 23 Damien Smith Details of Porsche’s Le Mans return 98 Motorsport round-up Six drivers to watch in 2021 99 Your Views I re for iX , love for Ro 80 and Minor 106 Matt Prior Zeppelin: time we let 1937 go, isn’t it? 130

DEALS

James Ruppert Fun £1500 cars, but with caveats 114 As good as new Land Rover Disco Sport, from £13k 117 Spied in the classifieds Mid-engined Clio and Metro 118 Used buying guide Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon 120 New cars A-Z Key car stats , from Abarth to Zenos 122 Road test index Track down that road test here 129

Autocar, IS SN number 1355-8293 (USPS 25185), i s published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge

House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription price i s $199.78. Air f re i ght and mailing in the USA by agent named WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd

F l oor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Autocar, WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd F l oor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained at Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road,

Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. Air Business Ltd i s acting as our mailing agent. Autocar i s published by Haymarket Automotive, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex,

TW1 3SP, UK, haymarketgroup.com Tel +44 (0)20 8267 5000 Autocar magazine i s also published in China, Greece, India , Indonesia, Japan, Korea,

Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

Autocar i s 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 i s cer t i f i ed by BSI to environmental standard

ISO14001 and energy management standard

ISO50001

PEFC Certified

This product is from sustainably managed forests and

controlled sources

www.pefc.co.uk

TROUBLE FINDING

AUTOCAR? I f you struggle to f ind a copy of Autocar in your l ocal

retailer or area, please

send an email to connor.chappell@flgroup.co.uk

who wil l investigate the

problem for you.

Autocar i s a member of the

organising committee of Car Of The Year caroftheyear.org

THIS WEEK

JAGUAR EV RACER HOLDS DESIGN SECRETS 6

ANNUAL REVIEW OF ALL THAT WAS GREAT 55

ROAD TEST: McLAREN’S GT4 INSPIRED 620R 44

COVER STORY

❝I WANT AN EV YOU’D DRIVE PURELY FOR THE HELL OF IT AND I HOPE THAT HAPPENS IN 2021❞

ANDREW FRANKEL MAKES A NEW YEAR WISH BUT HE ISN’T HOLDING HIS BREATH 84

FIRST DRIVE VERDICT: VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R 24

COMMENT

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT THIS YEAR

SO, THIS YEAR was… different. In keeping with things not quite being the same in 2020, welcome to the second double issue of Autocar of the month, something we hope will give you plenty more to read and enjoy over the Christmas holidays.

At Autocar, we’ve been incredibly grateful for and humbled by your support throughout a year in which we’ve tried to make the magazine feel as ‘normal’ as possible, even when we lost the ability to go out and test new cars. That so much warm correspondence has come our way from you has been lovely to read, and I know how much many of you have enjoyed your weekly copy of Autocar as a welcome dose of normality and escapism. Thank you once again for your support: we couldn’t do what we do without it. Many challenges the car industry faced in 2020 will be faced again in 2021. The effects of the pandemic will be long-lasting and uncertainty still rages around Brexit. And the biggest change in the history of motoring in this country, the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel, is already one year closer. We’ll be back on 6 January (and back to normal with a mag every week from then!) to bring it all to you, and we can’t wait for you to join us. In the meantime, I wish you, your families and friends a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2021.

Mark Tisshaw Editor mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com

@mtisshaw

NEVER MISS AN

ISSUE Subscribe

p22

23/30 DECEMBER 2020 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5