Autocar is the car nut’s weekly fix, delivering you a unique mix of the latest news, opinion, features, first drives of new cars and in-depth road tests – all complemented by the best photography in the business. No other magazine covers the subject you love with such enthusiasm, insight and quality every week of the year. Autocar stands for the highest quality in car journalism – and is rewarded with access to the best new cars and the biggest news stories before any of the opposition which we share with you, our readers, every week.
FORD IS GETTING BACK ON ITS NEW-ERA TRACK
Alpine A290 to take the fight to Mini Cooper • New 1479kg electric hot hatch will have up to 215bhp and be priced from £36,000
Bigger and bolder Panda for EV era • Fourth-gen hatchback matches rugged, retro design with petrol and electric power
EVs open door for Peugeot and Vauxhall hot hatchback revivals
Most potent Audi yet tops revised E-tron GT line-up • Sports saloon gains big tech upgrades, fresh looks and a mighty 912bhp flagship
Dacia’s sub-£30k flagship outed • New value-led Kodiaq rival has broken cover in the build-up to its launch next year
CarPlay expands to all screens
BMW ups ante for next-gen X3 • Bolder-looking new X3 gets 7 Series cabin tech, a revised chassis and 396bhp M50
M2 gets power hike, diesel 2 Series axed
REMOTE-CONTROL CARS ARE BEING SUPERSIZED
Big EU tariffs for Chinese EVs • EVs built in China face swingeing EU import taxes from next month under new plans
SECRET SOURCE • OUR INDUSTRY INSIDER
Used car buyers warned of lingering Covid symptoms • Cars with odd specs delivered during the pandemic are now hitting used forecourts
TESTER’S NOTES
MY WEEK IN CARS
RACING LINES
FORD EXPLORER • With VW Group underpinnings, battery-electric propulsion and an American look, this new crossover embodies Ford’s total reinvention
McLAREN ARTURA SPIDER • Convertible’s arrival coincides with major mechanical revisions for PHEV supercar
XPENG G6 • New mid-sized SUV will carry upmarket Chinese EV maker into UK showrooms
RENAULT CAPTUR • Modernised design and Google infotainment tech for French firm’s big seller
PORSCHE CAYENNE GTS • GTS is enhanced to suit its new status as Europe’s hottest non-hybrid Cayenne
AUDI RS4 AVANT 25 YEARS • Audi Sport marks hot estate’s anniversary with sterner chassis and yet more power
Tax and spend • High vehicle excise duty can mean a low price for a used car – temptingly low if you can sidestep the worst of the tax. Alex Wolstenholme knows the trick and the cars to pick
Here’s mud in your eye • Rallying is making a Great British comeback, as John Evans and sons find out in Duns
‘WE’RE A STUBBORN LOT’ • Ineos Automotive is that rare start-up: a success. CEO Lynn Calder tells Mark Tisshaw about the learning curve, luck and sheer bloody-mindedness that made it all happen
RETRO GRADE A* • Buttonless keys, ignition barrels, screeching fan belts and lumpy idles – all things retro enthusiasts adore. Jonathan Bryce heads to the Retro Rides festival at Goodwood and checks out their machines
McLaren 750S • Woking shuns electrification and aims for lightness and purity with 720S replacement
Data log
VERDICT • McLaren’s new mainstay is a bit of a wild child – at times, to its own cost
Escape with autoCar this summer • Get 13 issues for just £34.99 Get 13 issues for just £34.99
RENAULT CLIO • Has a coronation been arranged for our outgoing sporty hybrid supermini?
BMW M2 • Is this a flat-track bully that shrinks in the face of rush-hour traffic and heavy rainfall?
SUBARU CROSSTREK • Let’s find out if its...