70
‘This service might be the best way to ‡ind out if an EV ‡its into your life’
THIS WEEK
Issue 6467 | Volume 308 | No 12
NEWS
Tesla Model 2 Entry-level EV hatch to start at £20k 6 Lexus NX New crossover ushers in f i rm’s f i rst PHEV 8 Volkswagen Multivan VW people carrier reinvented 10 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport £2 .75m “ultimate GT” 13 Britishvolt Boss discusses big battery-making plans 14 China bounces back Insight into post-Covid boom 16
TESTED
Genesis G80 Refined 4dr has Lexus ES in i ts sights 20 Genesis GV80 Big, plush SUV due here this summer 25 Porsche Macan GTS New flagship for facelifted SUV 26 Renault Arkana Hybrid coupé-SUV with high hopes 28 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Uber-luxury limousine 30 Toyota Mirai Design Premium ROAD TEST 32
FEATURES Ineos Grenadier We put the 4x4 through its paces 42 BMW M3 CSL vs McLaren 12C £70k used car duel 48 Always read the label Vital new info about car tyres 52 Freedom special Car nut’s guide to a summer of fun 54 Great Women: Rising Stars 2021 winners revealed 60 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri star on l i fe as an F 1 rookie 65
OUR CARS Hyundai Kona Electric I s subscription a good move? 70 Toyota GR Yaris Postman Pat has Dorset adventure 72 Mazda MX-30 Hot to trot; plus Ford Tourneo Custom 73
EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse The tech that helps create cars faster 15 Jim Holder Are dealerships doing i t the r ight way? 17 Steve Cropley Barmy press release; Fiat 500e drive 19 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 40 Damien Smith Electric tin-top Pure ETCR preview 62 Motorsport round-up F1, WRC, N24 race, F2, WTCR 63 Your Views What’s wrong with EVs and how to f ix i t 68 Matt Prior Penknife hero gets Honda back on road 90
DEALS
James Ruppert What l inks MX-5, Jazz and Macan? 74 As good as new How to pay less for a Mazda CX-30 77 Spied in the classifieds Five very different hybrids 78 Used buying guide Smart way to bag a bargain MGF 80 New cars A-Z Key car stats , from Abarth to Zenos 82
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
KIA UNVEILS RADICAL NEW SPORTAGE 9
HOW HANNAH DENTON WON THE TOP AWARD 60
ROAD TEST: TOYOTA MIRAI FUEL CELL EV 32
COVER STORY
❝TALK IS NOW NOT OF RECOVERY BUT OF GROWTH AND HOW FAR IT CAN GO ❞
JIM HOLDER ON CHINESE CAR MARKET’S AMAZING BOUNCE BACK FROM PANDEMIC 16
WHAT’S INEOS’S GRENADIER REALLY MADE OF? 42
COMMENT
WILL INEOS SUCCEED WHERE SO MANY FAIL?
THE CREATION OF any new car is an expensive, complicated process. Cars bring together thousands of parts that must work in harmony, all while meeting ever stricter legislation, as well as be desirable, usable products. On top of that, margins are wafer thin and competition is immense. Arguably, no other industry has it as tough.
It’s why we see so few new entrants break through. In the past decade, only really Tesla and McLaren have done it, companies that had diffi cult gestation periods and are still experiencing growing pains. Even a company as large and wealthy as Dyson baulked at just what was needed to not only create a car, but bring it to market and make a car company around it, too. The Ineos Grenadier was announced at a similar time to the Dyson car and is funded by a company owned by one of Britain’s richest men, Jim Ratcliffe. Created in the image of the original Land Rover Defender, it too has been delayed as Ineos has found out just how complicated the car-making process is, even when using so many off-the-shelf parts and respected contractors to help develop it. But now the Grenadier is not only up and running but nearly finished - and, as we discover (p42), it’s quite brilliant to drive on and off road.
Just getting the car to market is a fine achievement - but Ineos will know the hard work to build a car company on top of a car is still to come. Mark Tisshaw Editor mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com
@mtisshaw
NEVER
NEVER MISS AN
ISSUE Subscribe
p40
16 JUNE 2021 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5