Citroën has unveiled a new ‘Peps’ trim for its pint-sized electric Ami quadricycle, which the brand says is a “sporty version with urban ruggedness.”
Now available to order, its manufacturer says that the ‘Peps’ “bringing together the best bits” from the other range-topping ‘Pop’ and ‘Tonic’ models, but with a new exterior colour – ‘Night Sepia’ grey (which is also available on the standard Ami).
Besides the new colour, the ‘Peps’ differs from the ‘Pop’ and ‘Tonic’ thanks to yellow decals on the front fascia, black bumper cladding, a rear spoiler, and a circular graphic behind the side windows.
The ‘Peps’ comes with with the same yellow and red door decals, as well as interior accessories like a smartphone clip, door nets, a central separation luggage net, a hook, and three storage bins.
Citroën has also scrapped the Ami ‘Cargo’ variant, which was designed to appeal to small businesses that run inner-city errands. Instead, the brand has rolled out a new ‘Ami Cargo Kit’, which can be fitted to any Ami to provide the Cargo’s business-focused configuration (the passenger seat is converted into a storage space) after five minutes of setup.
Pricing for the Citroën Ami ‘Peps’ now starts at under £9k, with the additional ‘Ami Cargo Kit’ priced at just over £250.
Previously only available in dual-motor all-wheel drive configurations, the all-electric Polestar 3 SUV is now available in the UK with a cheaper single-motor rear-wheel drive setup that can reportedly travel further on a single charge.
Simply called the ‘Long Range Single Motor’, this new powertrain choice uses the same large 111kWh battery pack as the ‘Dual Motor’ all-wheel drive version, and can charge at speeds of up to 250kW, with 10% to 80% battery charge taking a reported 30 minutes at this wattage.
The most notable difference is the longer battery range. This rear-wheel drive version can reportedly muster up to 403 miles from full charge – 11 miles more than the ‘Dual Motor’ variants.
This comes with the trade-off of less power. The ‘Single Motor’ has an output of 299hp – down from the Dual Motor’s 483hp – and this slows the car’s 0-62mph sprint time to 7.8 seconds (from the Dual Motor’s 4.8 seconds).
This new powertrain lowers the SUV’s entry-level price by £10k, to just south of £70k, as is part of the brand’s updated ‘2025’ Polestar 3 model range. The ‘Single Motor’ package still includes all of the Dual Motor’s equipment amenities, including a heated steering wheel and rear seats, soft-close doors, Brembo brakes, a surround view parking camera, a head-up display and a Dolby Atmos sound system.
While the ‘Launch Edition’ range sat on 21-inch alloy wheels as standard, the ‘2025’ line-up comes with smaller 20-inch alloys for both the ‘Single Motor’ and ‘Dual Motor’.
When the original Nissan Leaf first appeared on our roads more than a dozen years ago, it’s promise was to be the future of eco-friendly motoring. It wasn’t exciting, the battery range was terrible and the public charging infrastructure was almost non-existent, so unsurprisingly most car buyers saw it as little more than a curiosity.
Then Elon Musk came along.
Musk understood the obvious point – car makers were never going to get the general public excited about electric cars if they were ugly shopping trolleys with little real-world relevance. So he gave us the Tesla Model S, which immediately revolutionised the idea of electric motoring and kick-started the global shift towards EVs that’s now underway.
The Tesla Model S had three key selling points over any other electric car that existed or was in development at the time. Firstly, it was a large five-seat saloon that had a proper real-world battery range of more than 200 miles. Secondly, he built a global Tesla charging network to charge his cars, rather than relying on governments to do it for him. And thirdly, the Tesla Model S was about the fastest thing on four wheels.
The Model S was aimed at buyers of Mercedes E-Class, BMW 5 Series and Audi A6 executive saloons. Even lower-spec models offered acceleration that was massively better than any of its more conventional rivals, while top-spec versions could out-accelerate pretty much any Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche supercar on the roads. All while carrying five people and their luggage.
Tesla quickly built up an enormous fanbase, and all of its subsequent models (Model X, Model 3 and Model Y) have followed in a similar performance vein. They were also popular with regular car buyers as opposed to just performance car enthusiasts, and the Tesla Model Y was the world’s best-selling car of any kind – not just EVs – last year.
Other car companies have quickly jumped on the performance bandwagon, with a rapidly growing number of cars that go from a standing start to 62mph (the imperial equivalent of 100km/h) in less than four seconds. And the car companies are not shy about proclaiming their performance levels – a quick check of all the websites from the car companies shown below found that most of them prominently displayed the 0-62mph times for their fastest electric models, which they generally don’t do for their petrol and diesel models. There’s usually accompanying copy and images or video, extolling the performance levels of their electric wondercars.
This week, I was at the launch of the new MG Cyberster roadster (review coming next week). At the press briefing, the MG people were very keen to stress that the Cyberster GT model’s 0-62mph time of 3.2 seconds is exactly the same as for the legendary McLaren F1, still regarded by many experts as possibly the finest supercar ever built. If you’d like to buy a used F1, the current going price is about £10 million. A Cyberster GT is £60,000. So you get the same acceleration for 167 times less money…
Why are EVs so fast?
Not all EVs offer this sort of breakneck acceleration; plenty are sold with fairly ‘normal’ levels of performance that are similar to any petrol or diesel family car. But it’s much easier for car companies to generate enormous performance from an electric motor, which can deliver maximum performance instantaneously. A petrol engine, in comparison, generates more performance as the revs increase, so the acceleration is more linear.
With a bigger electric motor, or adding an additional electric motor, getting tremendous acceleration out of any sort of car is simple – like a Tesla saloon that’s faster than a supercar.
So why is this a problem?
Electric vehicles have brought a whole new level of performance to ordinary vehicles, and within the affordability of hundreds of thousands of car buyers. And as older EVs work their way through the used car market, the prices are getting very cheap.
It’s all well and good being able to out-drag a Ferrari, but most Ferraris (or Porsches, or McLarens, or Aston Martins, etc.) are enormously expensive cars, that are usually fastidiously maintained by wealthy owners who tend to have other cars for their day-to-day driving needs.
Their stratospheric price tags and running costs also inevitably limit the number of these cars on the roads, and generally only appeal to enthusiasts who are likely to treat them well.
A quick check on Motors (our preferred used car marketplace) this week revealed that you can buy a 2015 Tesla Model S, which will accelerate from 0-62mph in 3.1 seconds, for £12,750. That’s less than the cheapest new car on sale in the UK, but with supercar-beating levels of performance.
There were about 20 Model S cars for less than £20,000. Several have covered more than 100,000 miles, and a quick check through all the pictures showed many of these cars on budget tyres – one even had three different brands of tyres on four wheels – and a few showed signs of kerb damage on the wheels that hadn’t been repaired.
The electric motor performance won’t degrade over time like petrol engines often do, so these cars will still retain their breakneck acceleration, but potentially on cheap tyres (and possibly brakes), and with wheel alignment issues from bouncing off kerbs or potholes over the last decade. That’s a recipe for trouble.
There are thousands of high-performance electric cars in the process of entering the used car market, and in the next few years we are going to see many more of them at very cheap prices. How long until we start seeing regular reports of used EV drivers getting themselves involved in dramatic accidents when you combine enormous performance, poor driving standards, wet and slippery roads, budget no-name tyres and neglected maintenance?
Back to the MG Cyberster…
The new MG has a big button on the steering wheel, labelled ‘Super Sport’. This unlocks the full 500hp and 725Nm of performance, unleashing acceleration that can frankly feel sickening if repeated too often. Having played with this a few times on the Scottish highland driving route and becoming increasingly nauseous, I then pulled over for a breather. While admiring the scenery, I was joined by a local Scotsman who owned a Tesla Model 3 Performance, but was very enthusiastic about the MG. He knew all about it, and was definitely interested in swapping his Model 3 for a used Cyberster in a few years.
But the Tesla is a four-door saloon and this is a two-seat roadster, I pointed out. “I’m not bothered about that,” he said as he ran around the MG taking lots of photos. “I don’t need a four-door car, it’s the performance I’m interested in. How fast is it?” I gave him the magical McLaren-matching time and his face dropped. “That’s slower than what I’ve got now.”
What about insurance costs?
One thing that’s likely to deter more than a few buyers from a used performance EV is likely to be the car insurance cost. The insurance companies are already wise to the risks of drivers completely unprepared for blistering EV acceleration, and the quickest EVs tend to have very high insurance costs.
The inevitable flip side to that is likely to be a growing number of people driving very fast used EVs without fully comprehensive insurance – or maybe no insurance at all. That, in turn, will drive up insurance costs for the rest of us.
Given that governments are unlikely to intervene to limit EV acceleration, it may be insurance companies that come up with a solution. It’s entirely possible we’ll start to see aftermarket chips or modifications that can limit an EV’s performance, and insurers may well insist on owners fitting these limiters to nobble their cars’ performance in return for reduced insurance premiums.
The fastest accelerating electric cars on sale in 2024
Most of the cars listed above are new or near-new models, having only been launched in the UK in the last year or so. But there are a few cars that stand out for the performance they offer at a ridiculously cheap price, which I’ve noted in bold.
If you’re looking at a new car, you can get a brand-new MG 4 XPower for about £36K (less any discount you can negotiate). If you’re happy to take a nearly-new demo or used car, you can get that down to about £25K. And they’re going to get cheaper, as this model was only launched last year.
The brand-new Volvo EX30 is the Swedish brand’s smallest and cheapest model, starting at £40K for the Twin Motor version. But with two electric motors, it can accelerate faster than a £100K Porsche 911.
On the used car side, Teslas currently represent a performance bargain. As previously mentioned, you can buy a used Model S for less than £13K – less than the price of the cheapest new car on sale, but with better acceleration than a used Lamborghini Huracan of similar age for ten times the price.
Alternatively, you can get a five-year-old Tesla Model 3 Performance from about £16K, with acceleration that will shame just about any petrol car, regardless of age or price tag.
All of the used car prices in the right-hand column above are going to keep coming down over the next couple of years. Right now, there are relatively few five-year-old EVs available for sale compared to petrol or diesel cars. There are more than a million EVs on UK roads today, but about three-quarters of those cars are less than three years old. So the majority of EVs have yet to hit the used car market, let alone filter through multiple owners.
Within a very short period of time, there will be a staggering number of used cars on our roads with performance well in excess of anything most people have ever experienced. As of today, Auto Trader (which includes both car dealers and private sellers) has more than 1,500 used EVs for sale with 0-62mph acceleration of less than four seconds. By the end of this year, that could well have doubled, with prices steadily falling.
Should we be concerned about this? Absolutely. Is there a realistic solution? Other than insurance companies insisting on performance limiters (which are not widely available at this time), I doubt it.
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Just two car brands have held the ‘golden trio’ of Royal Warrants, supplying vehicles to the late Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales – Jaguar and its long-time sister Land Rover. Her Majesty was a huge fan of Land Rover, reputedly in her lifetime owning more than 30 of them.
Yet Land Rover is a name with a fanbase that goes far beyond the Royals and around the globe – from the moment the first basic model was launched in 1948 as a British answer to the WWII-era Jeep, it became the workhorse of choice for anyone with a job to do off-road, from farmers to electricity suppliers to rescue workers.
Later models like the Freelander and Discovery, and an upmarket sister called the Range Rover, extended the appeal of Land Rover beyond the role of utility vehicle, with rural families in particular adopting it as everyday transport.
Despite a diluting of the original brand with the likes of two-wheel drive, and a reputation for terrible reliability and security, Land Rover remains the first choice of many who want an upmarket SUV offering a good drive on the road – but also the ability to go a long way off the road.
Land Rover began life as a single vehicle fro the Rover motor company. After the second world war, many vital materials like steel were still rationed and Rover needed a stop-gap model to keep sales going.
Chief designer, Maurice Wilks, had a farm in Wales where he was making use of surplus US Army Jeeps. He realised he could produce an all-terrain vehicle that was better than a Jeep, made from surplus steel offcuts with light alloy body panels and a Rover engine.
Rover knew its market from the start – among the vital elements of the design were power take-offs, enabling the vehicle to power farm machinery and the like.
Rover launched its ‘Land Rover’ at the 1948 Amsterdam motor show and it was an instant success. By the end of the year, it was Rover’s most popular vehicle and was being exported to 70 countries. Regular improvements followed, a major one in 1956 being the launch of a longer-wheelbase model, followed by the first diesel-engined version a year later.
By 1959, 250,000 Land Rovers had been sold and a new Series II was launched in 1961. It only took seven more years for Land Rover to reach its first half-million sales. By now the catalogue included many different types to suit different industry needs, right up to a small Army truck called the Forward Control – Land Rovers would go on to become a vast part of the British Army’s vehicle roster and they remain so today.
The next milestone for Land Rover came in 1970 with the launch of an all-new upmarket sister model, the Range Rover. This would prove to be equally successful and become a core part of Land Rover’s future. Rover was now part of British Leyland, a merger first with Leyland and then BMC: as BL struggled, eventually falling into state control to avoid bankruptcy, Land Rover success continued, reaching a million vehicles in 1976 – two years later Land Rover Ltd was formed as a separate company within the BL group.
The base Land Rover model had now reached Series III while the Discovery, an all-new sister launched in 1989, widened the appeal beyond the core utility market. A year later, the Series III was updated with a new name – Defender.
By now BL had been privatised and broken up. In 1994, Land Rover gained a new owner, German giant BMW – this lasted just six years but saw in 1997 the arrival of the first Land Rover without a separate chassis. This was called the Freelander and aimed as much at families as farmers – it quickly became the brand’s best-seller and, from 2010, the first mainstream Land Rover to be available with two-wheel drive.
Under Ford’s ownership from 2000, new Range Rover and Discovery models both abandoned the separate chassis but retained their excellent off-road prowess – through the way they were built and increasing electronic technology helping their drivers.
1989 Land Rover Discovery2023 Land Rover Discovery
Ford had also owned Jaguar since 1990, and in 2007 it sold both brands to Tata – the Indian giant set up a new British-registered operation and the two became one under Jaguar Land Rover Ltd or JLR. Tata still owns both brands today.
A controversial move was the axing of the Defender in 2016 – the ‘original Land Rover’. In 2019 an all-new Defender appeared but while highly capable, it had no connection to its predecessor and among those most annoyed by the original’s demise was billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe – he tried to get a deal to continue making old Defenders and when rebuffed he created his own interpretation, the Ineos Grenadier.
Another controversial aspect of the new Defender, and the current Discovery, is that they are no longer built in the UK, but in Slovakia. Other Land Rovers are still British products, however, made at factories in Solihull and Halewood.
Successive rebrands of both Land Rover and Jaguar in recent years have attracted mixed reactions and the latest strategy is also leaving some observers non-plussed. As well as further pruning dealer numbers that have been on the slide for some time, the remaining outlets are being presented as a ‘House of Brands’ with four ‘families’ – Jaguar, Range Rover, Discovery and Defender – having their own bespoke areas within the showroom. We’ll wait to see how that works out…
What models does Land Rover have and what else is coming?
The current Land Rover range is divided neatly into two – the Land Rovers and their more upmarket (and more expensive) siblings, the Range Rovers.
Core of the Land Rover range is the Defender. It has no connection to its much-admired predecessor, though it remains very capable on and off road. It comes in three wheelbase lengths and the engine choices include a plug-in hybrid.
The Discovery, now in its third or fifth generation depending on who you talk to, is effectively a bigger Defender, though both can be had in seven-seat form. It remains a supreme off-road vehicle but certain aspects spark mixed reactions, especially its awkward rear styling.
The Discovery Sport is, as its name suggests, a slightly less bulky Land Rover, though yet again you can have it with seven seats. When launched in 2015 it replaced the more compact, and long-lasting, Freelander. While again very off-road capable, it more than any other model has epitomised a worsening Land Rover reputation for poor reliability.
The upmarket side of the showroom starts with the Range Rover itself, the fifth-generation model and still the flagship vehicle in the Land Rover range, as it has been since the first Range Rover launched back in 1970. Petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid versions are available. While upmarket and very highly rated for its luxury, it is every bit as capable off-road as its Land Rover siblings. Again, however, poor reliability has persisted across the generations, and the latest models also suffer from an unwanted reputation for being very easy to steal.
The Range Rover Sport first launched in 2005, effectively as a vehicle for those who wanted a Range Rover but a bit smaller and not so expensive. The latest third generation model includes a couple of plug-in hybrid options with all-electric ranges cresting 70 miles.
In 2011 Range Rover added a third model, the Evoque, which was completely updated in 2019. It’s a medium-sized SUV with petrol, diesel and PHEV drivetrains. Rumours of an electric version are still to come to pass, while Land Rover has never looked like repeating the convertible Evoque that was part of the initial line-up.
The youngest of the current Range Rover roster is the Velar. Launched in 2017 it fills a perceived gap between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport. Built on the same underpinnings as several models from sister company Jaguar, it is popular for its capabilities but again, has earned poor scores for its reliability.
The Velar’s days in its present form are apparently numbered – in 2025 we expect to see a completely new model, only available in electric form. It won’t be the first electric Land Rover though – a Range Rover Sport EV is expected to be unveiled by the end of 2024 while EV versions of both the Evoque and the flagship Range Rover are believed to be on the way.
Also coming is a ‘baby’ version of the Defender likely dubbed Defender Sport while the Discovery is expected to be completely reinvented as an EV – both Discovery variants have lost sales to the latest Defender.
Meanwhile the Freelander is coming back, but initially at least only in China. A new range of EVs will be marketed under the Freelander brand, but with no Land Rover badges, and if they are a success they could be sold globally.
Looking to get behind the wheel of a Land Rover? You’ll have further to travel than you used to, and it could get worse in the future. Back in 2016 JLR had 117 Land Rover outlets, but a revamp saw big investments in huge dealerships selling both brands, but the number of them shrinking below 90.
Now the latest ‘Reimagine’ strategy is apparently seeking to reduce that number even further as the brand sets up for a future focusing on electric vehicles – some of the more outlandish rumours suggest the number of outlets could end up at just 18…
What makes Land Rover different to the rest?
For most of the life of Land Rover you could be sure that if you bought one it would be able to go where all its rivals could not. The vehicles were all four-wheel drive, built to take the toughest terrain.
However, reliability has always been a sticky point, especially in markets outside the UK that are understandably less parochial about British vehicles. The Australians, for example have a famous saying: “If you want to go Outback, take a Land Rover. If you want to come back, take a Toyota.”
You can buy two-wheel drive Land Rovers these days, which to some older fans of the marque is considered sacrilegious. But even the 2WD variants will still be a lot more capable on the rough stuff than most of their rivals, while bringing Land Rover ownership to a wide range of drivers.
A Land Rover fact to impress your friends
All early Land Rover models were painted a light ‘Pastel Green’ and the reason is very simple – Rover had managed to get hold of hundreds of litres of military-surplus paint. Later the ‘standard’ colour changed to a deep bronze green for connected reasons – Land Rovers were an immediate hit with the Army and the green was seen as a military colour.
Summary
Land Rover’s reputation for producing the off-roaders that really can go as far off the blacktop as you could ever want has survived a host of challenges, from constant changes of owner to questionable reliability.
Today there are a host of SUVs challenging those wearing Land Rover and Range Rover badges. Many offer similar levels of luxury and technology endowing them with serious off-road ability, and several have a better reputation for reliability – but still those in the market for a ‘proper’ 4×4, especially those living in rural areas, will more than likely look first towards Land Rover.
The range-topping Volkswagen Golf R has gained a slight performance boost, small exterior tweaks and a few interior upgrades, including the introduction of a newer infotainment system.
To start, the Golf R has inherited the exterior tweaks recently given to the standard Golf line-up, including a slimmer grille, 3D LED headlights and an illuminated Volkswagen badge. Its manufacturer has also re-sculpted the front and rear bumpers, introducing larger air intakes. The car now sits on lightweight 19-inch alloy wheels which are reportedly better equipped to handle thermal stress of high speed braking.
The hot hatch is powered by the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and seven-speed automatic gearbox pairing, but with a small power boost. The Golf R now offers an output of 333hp – an increase of 13hp – and that shaves a tenth of a second of the car’s 0-62mph sprint time, which now stands at 4.6 seconds. This is a full second faster than the recently unveiled Golf GTI Clubsport, which uses the same engine.
Top speed is electronically limited at 155mph, though this can be boosted to 167mph if you opt for the optional ‘Performance Package’. Volkswagen has also revisited the engine’s coolant technology and tweaked the ignition to provide a slightly louder engine soundtrack.
Inside, the Golf R has also been given a larger 13-inch infotainment display that juts out of the centre of the dashboard – a system that comes with Chat GPT AI as a built-in voice assistant feature. The optional Performance package also adds an improved G-metre (which calculates peak and mean acceleration) and GPS lap timer.
As part of this facelift announcement, Volkswagen has also unveiled a new Golf R Black Edition, which offers a bit more over the Golf R besides its glossy black exterior finish. The model comes with darkened IQ matrix LED headlights and a bigger roof spoiler.
That sums up this mild model update. The refreshed Golf R will go on sale in Germany next month, and the UK soon after, with UK pricing and specifications yet to be confirmed.
The Volkswagen Golf R currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A with a score of 70%. This score is a couple of points lower than both the standard Golf model and the Golf GTI.
Make and model: Honda Civic Sport Description: Mid-size five-door liftback, petrol-electric hybrid Price range: £36,495 (plus options)
Summary: The Honda Civic blends sharp steering, proper physical controls and excellent fuel economy into one of the most satisfying family hatchbacks on sale.
Some cars impress you gradually. Others make their point within the first few metres. The Honda Civic falls firmly into the second camp.
After stepping out of Honda’s electric e:Ny1 and into the Civic, the difference was immediate. The steering felt alive. The controls felt intuitive. The whole car seemed to respond with a clarity that’s becoming increasingly rare. Within a few hundred yards, it was obvious that this felt like a “proper” Honda.
On paper, the Civic doesn’t shout. It’s a mid-sized family hatchback in a market dominated by SUVs, and it’s not priced as a bargain alternative. But after a week of everyday UK driving, it proved to be one of those cars that quietly wins you over.
Price and equipment
The current Civic is offered exclusively as a petrol/electric hybrid (the basic, unplugged variety), which simplifies the range but inevitably pushes the starting price higher than some petrol-only rivals. It isn’t a budget hatchback, and Honda doesn’t pretend that it is.
Equipment levels are competitive rather than extravagant. You get the essentials most people expect, and you’re not forced into a maze of expensive option packs to make the car feel complete. It’s sensibly specified, and there’s a reassuring sense that the money has been spent on engineering rather than gimmicks.
In a market where many cars are trying to impress you with screens and lighting effects, the Civic takes a more restrained approach.
Inside the car
Climb inside and the first thing you notice is how refreshingly normal it feels. There’s a central touchscreen, of course, but it doesn’t dominate the dashboard in the way so many modern systems do. Below it sit proper physical controls for climate and key functions — real dials and buttons that you can adjust without taking your eyes off the road.
It might look slightly retro at first glance, especially compared to the giant screens in some rivals, but after a few days you realise it’s simply better. It works. You press something, and it does what you expect. There’s no digging through menus to turn the temperature up by one degree.
The hexagonal metallic trim stretching across the dashboard is a particularly nice touch. It disguises the air vents within the pattern and gives the cabin a distinctive identity without resorting to piano black plastic or fake wood. It’s subtle, but it’s thoughtful.
The digital instrument display is clear and legible, although it does feel slightly crowded with information. You never struggle to find your speed, but it could afford to be a little calmer in presentation.
Wireless Apple CarPlay worked well during our week with the car. The wireless charging pad, however, did not. Like the one in the e:Ny1, it struggled to hold a charge reliably and felt more decorative than useful.
Front seats are supportive and comfortable over longer journeys. Rear space is decent for a car of this size, although taller passengers may notice the roofline encroaching on headroom. The rear seats themselves are reasonably comfortable, and the boot is well shaped, with clever touches like a sideways-retracting luggage cover that feels properly engineered rather than an afterthought.
On the road
The first few metres tell you almost everything you need to know about the Honda Civic. After stepping out of the e:Ny1 the week before, the difference was obvious straight away. The steering feels alive in your hands. It’s light, but not vague. There’s a clarity to it that most modern cars seem to have forgotten.
You turn into a corner and the car responds exactly as you expect. There’s no hesitation, no artificial weighting, no sense that software is deciding how much feedback you’re allowed to feel. It just does what you ask. That alone makes the Civic more enjoyable to drive than a large number of its rivals.
Ride comfort is well judged. It’s firm enough to keep the body under control but never crashy, and it deals with everyday bumps in a calm, grown-up way. On a longer motorway run it settles into an easy rhythm, and wind and road noise are kept nicely in check. It’s not whisper-quiet, but it’s certainly refined enough for regular long journeys.
The hybrid system works smoothly in the background most of the time. Around town, it often runs on electric power alone, and the switch to petrol power is subtle. You don’t have to think about it — which is exactly how it should be.
If you press on a bit harder, the automatic gearbox (which uses a different system to a conventional automatic with fixed gears) can feel slightly elastic. When you accelerate briskly, the engine note rises and holds steady rather than stepping neatly through gear changes, and that can feel less connected than a traditional automatic. It’s improved compared to similar systems from other brands, and in everyday driving it’s perfectly fine. But if you’re in the mood for something more engaging, you do notice it.
Fuel economy over the week averaged 53mpg in mixed driving, which is excellent for a car of this size and performance. That makes the Civic easy to justify as a sensible daily car, even if you still enjoy the way it drives.
The one frustration, which has become increasingly common across the industry, is the constant stream of warning chimes. The speed alert sounds at just 1mph over the limit and can’t be permanently disabled. On paper it’s there for safety. In reality, it becomes background noise you’d rather not have to deal with.
Even so, when the week was up, this was a car I genuinely didn’t want to hand back. That doesn’t happen often. The Civic manages to feel modern without losing the sense that it was engineered by people who care about how a car should drive. And in 2024, that feels quietly refreshing.
Verdict
The Honda Civic isn’t the loudest voice in the room. It isn’t chasing trends or trying to reinvent the family hatchback. Instead, it focuses on getting the fundamentals right.
It steers beautifully. It feels thoughtfully engineered. It offers strong real-world fuel economy and sensible practicality. The interior prioritises usability over spectacle, and that pays dividends in daily driving.
It isn’t perfect. The CVT gearbox can feel slightly detached when pushed, the driver assistance warnings are intrusive, and rear headroom could be better. But none of these overshadow the broader impression of a car that has been designed by people who care about how it actually feels to drive.
After a week with the Civic, handing the keys back was genuinely disappointing. That doesn’t happen often.
For a broader ownership assessment, including safety, running costs and reliability data, see our full Honda Civic Expert Rating.
We like:
Steering feel that’s rare in modern family cars
Proper buttons and dials instead of touchscreen overload
Excellent real-world fuel economy
Well-judged ride comfort and refinement
Clever, practical touches like the sliding rear luggage cover
We don’t like:
Gearbox can feel disconnected under hard acceleration
Rear headroom is tight for taller passengers
Speed warning chimes are intrusive
Wireless charging pad struggles to hold a charge
Similar cars
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If you are a fan of the TV drama series ‘Game of Thrones’, you might know that it was filmed in Croatia. And as a visitor to the country, you can join a tour to find out more about that fantasy show. But driving in Croatia is no game and requires research before you go there. Here’s what you need to know.
Fine weather, lovely beaches, stunning scenery and masses of history – these are just some of the reasons why tourists visit Croatia and make it part of their holiday plans.
Remains of Neanderthal people have been found in Croatia, dating this southeastern European country’s history back at least 40,000 years. It has been invaded by the Greeks, the Romans and the Croats (from today’s Poland), and this interesting past can be seen in the country’s architecture.
Blessed with a wonderful coastline that stretches along a huge area of the Adriatic Sea, and warm weather, Croatia is a popular destination for sun-seekers. Squeezed between Slovenia to its north and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the south it’s the coastline that dominates here and there are hundreds of islands dotted along this area of the territory, some of them inhabited.
The coast’s water is clear and unpolluted – Croatia has been ranked first for swimming water quality by the European Environmental Agency. The country also has eight national parks.
Also high up the plus-point list is the country’s cuisine – some of the region is influenced by Italian food while other areas take their inspiration from Austria, Turkey and Hungary with meat, fish and vegetable dishes abundant on restaurant menus.
From a business point of view, manufacturing is dominant, with plastics, textiles, wood products and petrol refining among the big businesses operating here.
The capital Zagreb is well worth a visit especially for the nightlife while Dubrovnik, a World Heritage site, is home to the ‘old town’ and city walls that so many tourists like to see. Other popular cities include Sibenik, Pula and Osijek.
It’s possible to drive to Croatia if you have the time, probably going through France and Italy, so you’ll pass through some wonderful scenic areas long before you reach Croatia’s border.
Flying in and hiring a vehicle is another option for travel and you’ll find a wide selection of car rental companies, such as Sixt, Alamo and Europcar, all operating from the country’s main airports of Dubrovnik, Zagreb and Split.
But driving in Croatia is a completely different experience from doing so in the UK, not just because the people there drive on a different side of the road from us. Planning a driving holiday or using a car on business, requires careful planning and a good understanding of what you can, and can’t do behind the wheel while there.
Here The Car Expert looks at the most important elements to consider when planning to drive in Croatia, and we’ve included a handy checklist. As each journey is unique, always check that you have everything covered for your particular visit.
Basic rules
You must be 18 years or more and hold a full driving licence to get behind the wheel in Croatia. Just the licence card will do, as the paper counterpart is no longer a requirement. International Driving Permits are recognised but are not a necessity.
You can use your own car in Croatia for up to six months at a time (temporary import). You’ll need to prove that you have car insurance if you have your own vehicle so take your certificate with you. You should also always carry with you documents that show the identity of the vehicle, such as a V5C ‘logbook’. And always carry your passport or other form of ID.
If it’s registered in the UK, your vehicle’s ‘home country’ must be shown on it. A ‘UK’ sticker on the rear is one way to do this but you can also show a small UK badge on both number plates if you wish. The ‘GB’ badge is no longer allowed, even within European ‘golden stars’ and the same goes for country signs such as the English, Scottish or Welsh flags.
It’s quite likely you’ll be using a hire car, in which case always have the rental agreement paperwork with you while driving. If you’re under 21 you will probably be charged a ‘young person’ surcharge for renting a vehicle. There could also be an extra insurance fee for anyone over 70.
Speed limits
Speed limits are shown in kilometres (km/h) rather than miles (mph). In built-up areas the speed limit is 50 km/h (31 mph). Outside of towns the limit is 90 km/h (56 mph) while main A-roads (expressways) have a 110 km/h (68 mph) top speed. Motorways have a blanket 130 km/h (81 mph) limit.
The traffic police are vigilant and will hand out on-the-spot fines, reflecting the seriousness of your speeding offence. Stray 10 km/h (6 mph) above the limit and you face a 30 Euro (£25) fine. At the other end of the scale, go more than 50 km/h (31 mph) over and it’s a whopping 2650 Euro (£2200) penalty.
Speed camera detection devices are illegal when driving on Croatian roads. And don’t use a mobile phone while driving unless it is ‘hands-free’. The fine is 130 Euro (£110).
Blood alcohol limits
We don’t recommend any drinking of alcohol if you are going to drive, but you should be aware of the country’s limit. For drivers over 25 years it’s 0.5 g/l (0.5 milligrams) blood alcohol level, which is the same limit as in Scotland. Anyone under this age must register zero (0 g/l).
For comparison, it’s 0.8 g/l (0.8 milligrams) in England and Wales.
Penalties for a positive test range from a fine, severity dependent on the amount over the limit you are, to a prison sentence.
What to carry in the car
You must have in your car a warning triangle, Hi-Viz reflective jacket and a first aid kit. The authorities also expect you to have headlamp converters for your headlights (or have manually adjusted lamps) so you don’t dazzle on-coming drivers. And consider carrying some spare bulbs with you.
Specialist suppliers, such as motoring organisations, sell ‘European driving kits’ for £25-£30, which contain everything you are likely to need for a Continental road trip, and it’s well worth investing in one.
Seatbelts
Seatbelt rules are the same as in the UK: if your car has them, they must be worn. It’s the driver’s responsibility to make sure everyone is buckled up – there’s €130 (£110) fine for not using one.
And children need to be fastened in too – any child under 135 cm tall must ride in the rear of the car. Offspring over this height and up to 150 cm can go in the front but must be in an approved child restraint for their size. A similar €130 fine applies for not doing this.
Driving
Keep to the right-hand lane as much as possible but if you are overtaking you must do so on the left. Never attempt to overtake on or near a level crossing, pedestrian crossing or major junction. If you are being overtaken do not accelerate and keep well over.
You will usually give way to vehicles using the ‘main’ road unless signs state otherwise. At crossroads that have no controls or road markings, give priority to vehicles on your right. Give way to emergency vehicles as soon as you can.
In Croatia you should use dipped headlamps all year round. Horns must be used sparingly – they are not banned but only use them in an emergency or to avoid a collision.
It can get extremely cold in Croatia and, if it snows, you will be expected to have the appropriate winter tyres fitted to your vehicle between November and March.
When towing a trailer or caravan ensure that your car and the rig don’t exceed 12 metres in length, 4 metres in height and 2.55 metres in width. Make sure you can see clearly behind you with the use of two wide rear-view mirrors.
Traffic signs
Traffic lights are red, amber and green and follow a similar pattern to the UK. You might see an additional ‘arrow’ light which, if lit, means you can proceed, checking that it’s safe to do so.
Road signs usually have pictures which are self-explanatory and include the ‘cattle in road’, ‘queue ahead’ and ‘roadworks’ warning signs that UK drivers will be familiar with. The roadworks one is yellow rather than our white though.
Warning signs are triangles with a red border, mandatory instruction ‘order’ signs are circles with a red border or blue circles, while information signs are square or round and mostly blue.
Most signs will be written in Croatian where applicable, but the stop sign features the word ‘Stop’ in English, as does ‘WC’. Directional signs are generally white squares with the town names written in Croatian and the distances shown in kilometres.
Fuel availability
Unleaded and diesel fuel and are widely available on Croatia’s roads and there is growing coverage for electric vehicles (EVs), especially in hotels. Fuel stations stay open until late (10pm) and some even operate 24 hours a day. Debit and credit cards are accepted. If you are visiting an island, check on fuel station availability first.
There are plenty of rest stops too, ranging from a basic car park and toilet to a full service area with shop, restaurant and even a play park.
Motorways in Croatia are paid for by tolls. It’s a simple ticket set-up where you take one on entering an M-way and present it when leaving. You pay the person in the toll booth – the amount will be shown on a display board, so you don’t have to speak!
Parking
There is plenty of space to park your car although most car parks are open air rather than under cover. You can park anywhere on the street if it has white lines and a ‘P’ sign. Check carefully for parking instruction signs.
Where you have to pay a charge, this is simply done by parking meter, a ‘TISAK’ vending kiosk, by text service or via an App, and you can opt to have a text message sent when you are nearing time expiry.
Parking is prohibited on or near a bend, intersection or brow of a hill, and in areas reserved for other activities, like bus or tram stops and taxis.
Emergency number
In Croatia, as with most of Europe, you can dial 112 and make contact with emergency services such as fire, ambulance or police, 24 hours a day. Operators will speak English, French other European languages.
Make and model: Nissan Qashqai N-Design e-Power Description: Mid-sized five-door SUV, petrol/electric hybrid Price range: £34,845 (plus options)
Nissan says: “The comprehensive update to the styling, on-board tech and interior design reinforce the Qashqai’s position as the segment-leader, as well as its place in automotive history as a segment-creator.”
We say: The updates to the Nissan Qashqai are not extensive, but they do improve the experience for both driver and passengers.
The Nissan Qashqai really needs no introduction. It’s the best-selling British-built car in the UK, and a success story for Nissan’s UK operations. Designed in London, developed in the Midlands and built in Sunderland, this is about the most British car you can buy today – even if the badge on the bonnet is Japanese.
Here, we have the updated version of the Qashqai, which is now on sale across the UK. It freshens up the current generation, which was launched back in 2021. Given that it was only three years old and one of the country’s best-selling cars, there was no need for a major overhaul and so Nissan has concentrated on small but meaningful tweaks to improve an already solid package.
The car we drove was Nissan’s clever e-Power version of the Qashqai. It’s categorised as a hybrid vehicle, but that’s selling it short. Most hybrids are rather unpleasant things to drive, with annoying whining noises and often awkward shifts between petrol and electric power. The Qashqai e-Power isn’t like that. Essentially, it’s a petrol-powered EV.
If the idea of a ‘petrol-powered EV’ sounds confusing, don’t worry. It’s actually quite simple, and much nicer to drive, as we’ll explain below.
What is it?
The Nissan Qashqai is the archetypal family car of the 21st century. It looks like a rugged SUV, but in reality it’s little more than a jacked-up hatchback. Usually, this type of car is called a crossover, as it merges SUV styling with conventional car mechanicals. There are no claims of any kind of off-roading prowess here, so don’t plan any Saharan adventures.
This is the third-generation Qashqai, which launched in 2021 and is now lightly updated. It seats five people with enough room for your regular luggage needs. It’s available in a regular petrol engine, with either manual or automatic transmission, and in the e-Power petrol/electric version, which is automatic only.
The updates have improved the car in a few ways, and Nissan has also simplified the model range a little.
Nissan Qashqai N-Design (red) and Tekna (blue)
Who is this car aimed at?
The Nissan Qashqai is the UK’s definitive family car, so it’s no surprise that it will appeal to families. There are no high-performance or uber-luxury models, just a very conventional range of trim levels with very conventional standard and optional features.
As part of the mid-life update, there’s now a sportier-looking ‘N-Design’ trim level as shown in most the pictures on this page (the red car). There’s no performance improvements, but it’s a bit sharper to drive.
Who won’t like it?
When you’re one of the most popular cars in the country, you’ll inevitably get people who rail against you. Those people have plenty of similar cars to look at from other brands, as pretty much every car company has been copying the Qashqai for the last 15 years.
There are also people who still believe that Japanese brands like Nissan don’t have the same levels of engineering and build quality as German brands. They’re wrong, but there’s not much you can do to convince them otherwise. Their loss…
First impressions
Family crossover wagons all tend to follow a similar formula, and the Qashqai e-Power is no different (mainly because it pioneered the formula, at least in Europe). The new headlights and grille on the updated Qashqai look more sophisticated than the original version, but the rest of the car is pretty par for the course.
Step inside and you’d be hard-pressed to spot the differences between the facelifted model and the original. There are some revised trim patterns and seat trim designs, while on higher-spec models, there’s Alcantara (artificial suede) covering various surfaces.
The interior is still blandly black in most versions, with a high-mounted widescreen infotainment system. If you covered the Nissan badge on the steering wheel, you could easily be in any one of about 14 different family crossover vehicles. Given that Nissan also sells the Qashqai-sized Ariya EV, which has a lovely interior, it’s a bit disappointing.
If all this sounds uninspiring, it’s only because it’s a formula that works and every car manufacturer knows that. All the buttons and switches are where you’d expect them to be, and you’ll immediately ignore the Nissan operating system on the big screen by using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. So it’s all very familiar, and everything’s easy to use.
We like: New front end styling dramatically freshens things up We don’t like: It’s a bit uninspired inside
What do you get for your money?
As part of the facelift, the e-Power version of the Qashqai now comes in five trim levels – ‘Acenta’, ‘N-Connecta’, ‘N-Design’, ‘Tekna’ and ‘Tekna+’ – rather than three as before. They’re all mechanically the same, with a petrol engine generating electricity for a 190hp electric motor, so it’s just equipment levels that change.
Being an EV (although a petrol-powered EV), there’s no manual gearbox option. And all the e-Power Qashqais are front-wheel drive – if you need/want four-wheel drive, you’ll have to have a regular petrol-driven version.
Pricing has crept up a bit, but there are now more choices and cheaper options than before. The Acenta Premium model starts at just over £34K, and you then jump a bit over £2K to the N-Connecta model, another £3K to either N-Design or Tekna, and finally another £3K to Tekna+ at just under £43K.
All the main safety kit is standard on all models, so all you’re paying for with the higher trim levels are creature comforts and more advanced (and pricey) safety systems.
Acenta Premium gets 18-inch wheels, cloth seat upholstery, reversing camera, LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, rear parking sensors, dual-zone climate control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (wired), automatic headlights and wipers, a 12-inch widescreen touchscreen central display and auto-folding side mirrors.
Step up to N-Connecta and you get all of the above plus Google connectivity, 360-degree surround cameras, wireless charging plus wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, customisable ambient lighting, a digital driver’s display instead of old-school dials, roof rails and privacy glass. You also get Nissan’s Pro Pilot semi-autonomous driving assistance system, which can steer/accelerate/brake to keep you in your lane. This model is definitely a worthwhile upgrade over the Acenta Premium specification.
The next step gives you a choice – either Tekna or N-Design, for the same money. This is new, giving customers a choice between a more luxurious specification or a sportier one.
Tekna builds on N-Connecta, adding an electric driver’s seat, heated front seats and steering wheel, artificial leather upholstery, 19-inch wheels, a head-up display, auto tailgate and panoramic glass roof.
N-Design offers a different set of specifications, reflecting its sportier side, You get 20-inch wheels, some specific N-Design body trim pieces, black trim everywhere instead of chrome, black quilted leather and Alcantara upholstery throughout the cabin. Compared with the Tekna for the same price, you don’t get electric or heated seats, the head-up display or the auto tailgate. It definitely looks a bit sharper than the other models, and is likely to be the model used for most Qashqai advertising.
At the top of the tree, Tekna+ offers all the kit. Wheels are 20 inches in diameter, the windscreen is heated, the front seats will massage you, the front passenger seat gets electric adjustment, the standard stereo is replaced by a ten-speaker Bose unit (£590 on Tekna and frankly not worth it), and there’s a few different colouring to some trim pieces so that you can your car apart from non-plus Tekna models.
We like: All the main safety kit is standard on all models We don’t like: Tekna+ trim seems a bit pricey for what you get
What’s the Nissan Qashqai e-Power like inside?
As mentioned earlier, the cabin is pretty conventional in almost every way. We drove both the Tekna and N-Design models, so they had a good selection of toys.
Probably the best news is that all Qashqai models keep real buttons and knobs for the climate control system, rather than putting the controls into the touchscreen. That makes it much easier to adjust on the go, especially if you just want to dial the temperature up or down, or hit the demister button.
The cabin is roomy enough in both the front and the back – a tall adult won’t be that comfortable in the back seats, but that’s going to be the same on any car in this size category. You can adjust the driver’s seat and steering wheel by good amounts, so most people will be able to get comfy quite easily.
The boot is decent without being class-leading in size. Make sure you test any new car with whatever you need to carry on a regular basis (bikes, cellos, golf clubs, etc.) before you sign any order forms. Models from N-Connecta upwards get roof rails for mounting racks or boxes on top of the car – the Acenta Premium doesn’t get these as standard, but a Nissan dealer should be able to fit them easily enough.
As with most new cars, the central touchscreen handles all the music and navigation duties. Nissan has worked to improve the tech that powers the screen, as well as the services it offers. For all models apart from Acenta Premium, Google is now integrated into the operating system. That means Google Maps instead of Nissan’s own mapping system, and “Hey Google” voice control to adjust things like the car’s air-conditioning, seat heating, and other systems. You can also donwload apps from Google Play, and there’s Amazon Alexa compatibility as well.
All e-Power models get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, so you’ll probably never need to use the factory nav system. In cars from other brands (particularly Volvo and Polestar), Apple users have been massively short-changed by Google integrations, but we haven’t had a chance to play with things like Apple Maps, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and other apps i the new Qashqai yet. If you use Apple CarPlay, make sure you’re happy with how everything works on a new Qashqai before signing on the dotted line.
There are sockets for both USB-A (older) and USB-C (newer) cables, so you can charge pretty much any device. A wireless charging pad is standard on everything except Acenta Premium. Like wireless chargers in most cars, it’s a bit rubbish whenever you hit a bump/speed hump/pothole, so you’ll probably end up plugging in to charge anyway.
Higher-spec cars get a panoramic glass roof, which helps brighten up the interior a lot. It’s a £650 option on lower-level models, however. At night, you can configure ambient lighting on N-Connecta and above, in up to 64 different colour options.
We like: Space is adequate in cabin and boot, good range of driver’s seat and steering wheel adjustment We don’t like: Interior materials are not best-in-class for quality but still reasonable
What’s the Nissan Qashqai e-Power like to drive?
This is where the Qashqai e-Power is different to almost any other car on sale (well, apart from its larger sibling, the Nissan X-Trail).
Technically, the e-Power is considered a hybrid as it has both a petrol engine and an electric motor. But that’s not really accurate, as the petrol engine doesn’t drive the car – it’s not even connected to the wheels. A normal hybrid model can drive as a petrol car, an electric car, or a bit of both. Sounds great in theory, but the shifts between each mode tend to be clunky, and there’s a fair bit of mechanical complexity in getting the petrol and electric motors to play happily together.
The e-Power system works differently. Its petrol engine is simply a generator to convert petrol into electricity, which is sent either to a small battery or directly to the electric motor, depending on how urgently it’s needed. The electric motor is what drives the car – hence our earlier description of it as a ‘petrol-powered electric car’.
So driving the Qashqai e-Power feels a lot like driving an electric car – because it is. You get the smooth, powerful feeling of an EV under acceleration, rather than a petrol engine revving up then changing gear and revving again. You also don’t get the chopping and changing between petrol and electric power units as you would in a regular hybrid car.
Like any electric car, you get instant response for strong low-speed acceleration, which tapers off as you get closer to the national speed limit (top speed is ‘only’ 105 mph, which is 20+mph less than the petrol model). In real-world terms, it’s great for the cut and thrust of urban driving, but not as strong as you might expect when overtaking on a motorway with a full load of passengers and luggage.
The fuel economy on pre-facelift models is no better than you’d see on a hybrid family car from other brands, but it’s still reasonable. We haven’t had a chance to propely assess the facelifted model, but there are no mechanical changes so it should be similar. And if you like the idea of driving an EV but hate the idea of charging an EV, then you’ve come to the right place.
The petrol engine will switch on and off as necessary to maintain charge to the battery and electric motor, but it’s not usually intrusive. The updated Qashqai improves this further with thicker glass and better soundproofing, so it’s even quieter. It’s quite impressive, with minimal road or wind noise up to the legal speed limit (and possibly beyond, although I couldn’t possibly comment on that…)
Other than the power unit, the e-Power model drives just like an automatic petrol Qashqai. That means it’s very predictable and not remotely exciting, but then that’s exactly what most customers want from their family wagon. Even the N-Design model, despite its big wheels and slightly flashier styling, isn’t a ‘sports’ model. A lack of any sporting pretentions is a good thing and makes a nice change from car companies that really want you to believe that their family crossover is somehow inspired by F1/Le Mans/world rallying or something.
We like: e-Power system is much nicer to drive than a conventional hybrid We don’t like: Fuel economy is no better than a conventional hybrid
How safe is the Nissan Qashqai e-Power?
The Qashqai range was tested by Euro NCAP in late 2021 and awarded a top five-star rating. It scored exceptionally well across the board, with 90+% scores for adult passenger impact protection, child impact protection and accident-avoidance technology.
Although the facelift hasn’t added any new safety kit, the Qashqai’s Euro NCAP scores are some of the best on record. Better still is the fact that all of the key safety kit is fitted standard on all models, rather than cheaper versions missing out on potentially life-saving technology.
All models apart from the Acenta Premium get Nissan’s ProPilot driving assistance technology, with lane guidance and traffic jam assist to allow the car to start and stop almost completely autonomously in low-speed traffic.
Verdict
The Nissan Qashqai has been a hugely successful car, both here in the UK and around the world, ever since the first model was launched because it’s always been a very competent car that’s easy to live with. It’s absolutely fit for purpose as a family car, and the latest updates certainly continue to keep the Qashqai competitive in the new car market.
It’s not particularly exciting to drive, but the e-Power system of a petrol engine generating electricity for the electric motor is much nicer than a conventional petrol/electric hybrid. It is quite a bit dearer than a regular petrol automatic Qashqai in the same trim level, however.
Finally, it’s worth repeating what we’ve said in every previous Qashqai review. The Nissan Qashqai e-Power is designed and built here in the UK, so every vehicle sold is good for jobs, exports and the economy. That will be of more importance to some buyers than others, but you can be certain that you don’t have to compromise on quality or safety by buying a British-built car.
Model tested: Nissan Qashqai e-Power N-Design Price (as tested): £34,845 Engine: 1.5-litre petrol plus 190hp electric motor Gearbox: single speed, automatic
Power: 190 hp Torque: 330 Nm Top speed: 105 mph 0-62 mph: 7.9 seconds
Fuel economy (combined): 53.3 mpg CO2 emissions: 119 g/km Euro NCAP safety rating:Five stars (2021) TCE Expert Rating:A (76%) – as of June 2024
Fiat has announced a new compact crossover that will be available with both hybrid and electric options that the brands says is inspired by the Panda hatchback of the 1980s.
As its name suggests, it’s a bit bigger than the city car-sized Panda hatchback that we have become accustomed too, and is based on the same foundations as the upcoming Citroën C3 and Vauxhall Frontera. The car’s boxy shape, rectangular faux grille and sloping rear window are all nods to the first-generation Panda of the 1980s, which had a sales tlly of nearly five million models during its lifespan.
These retro design cues are paired with square pixel LEDs lights in the front and back, much like the electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 hatchback that arrived in 2021.
That just about sums up the firm details we know about the new Grande Panda so far. Fiat is yet to show us what the car looks like on the inside, and powertrain, trim specification and pricing details are yet to be confirmed.
We are sure to find out more at Fiat’s 125th anniversary celebration this Summer. This model is supposedly the first of several Panda-inspired family cars, as Fiat has pledged to launch one new addition every year until 2027.
BMW has revised its high-performance M2 coupé for 2024, including new exterior colour options and slight tweaks to the chassis setup, power output and infotainment package.
On sale for around a year now, BMW has updated the latest second-generation M2 so that the sports car “once again sets the benchmark for driving pleasure in a compact two-door form.” The car’s aggressive exterior looks remain unchanged, but BMW has expanded the range of bodywork colours to 14 options by adding new shades of yellow, green, blue and purple.
The most notable changes are under the hood. BMW says that the coupé’s 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six petrol engine (manual and automatic options offered) has been given a 20hp boost – now 480hp total (0-60mph in four seconds) – and that the chassis technology has been improved, though exactly how the chassis has been improved hasn’t been explained in detail.
2024 BMW M2
Inside, BMW is now offering the M2 with a revised flat-bottomed steering wheel wrapped in leather and fitted with gearshift paddles. Electrically-adjustable ‘M Sport’ seats have also been added to the options list.
The car’s interior layout is practically identical post-update, including the 12-inch digital instrument cluster and 15-inch infotainment display pairing. However, these screens now run the brand’s newer ‘Operating System 8.5’ which is reportedly more user-friendly and customisable than the prior system.
A head-up display with augmented reality navigation is offered for an extra fee that will project navigation instructions onto the road ahead.
The cheaper and less powerful BMW 2 Series Coupé range has also been given a small facelift – a line-up that is being manufactured alongside the M2 at BMW’s factory in Mexico. This includes the same infotainment updates and more exterior paint colours, as well as some slight bodywork tweaks.
2024 BMW 2 Series Coupé
The 2 Series now has a chunkier grille surround and body-coloured side skirts – replacing the black trim side skirts of the pre-facelift model. In contrast, the wing mirrors are now finished in black. The top-spec ‘M240i’ model also gets a slightly bigger diffuser on the rear bumper.
A semi-automated ‘parking assistant’ feature that can handle acceleration, braking, steering and gear shifting tasks during parking manoeuvres is now standard, as are 18-inch low-weight alloy wheels, sport seats, and dual-zone automatic air-conditioning.
The engine options remain unchanged, with ‘220i’, ‘230i’ and ‘M240i’ options to choose from (all automatic only). The top-spec ‘M240i’ can complete a 0-60mph sprint in 4.3 seconds, which is only 0.3 seconds slower than the M2, which now costs around £17k more.
Pricing for the updated M2 and 2 Series Coupé now start at £63k and £37k (not including additional on-the-road charges) respectively.
The BMW M2 currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of C, with a score of 62%. Although it receives high praise from motoring journalists, its overall score is weighed down by inevitably high running costs, while its safety rating and CO2 emissions levels are only average.
By comparison, the BMW 2 Series Coupé currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of B, based on a score of 68%. This is a combination of excellent media review scores, good CO2 emissions, an average safety rating and relatively poor running costs.
Smart – or smart if you write it as its creators intended – has had a somewhat rollercoaster history. The concept was created by a fashion watchmaker, made possible by a deal with the oldest car maker of all, Mercedes-Benz, and launched as a ‘fashion’ brand selling a tiny and distinctive two-seater city car.
In Smart’s early days, the concept appeared to work. The ‘Smart car’, as it was known to most people, proved particularly popular as an urban runabout and city centres formerly swarming with mopeds and scooters – such as Rome – soon became overrun with Smarts. And young, trendy buyers bought the cars because they believed they looked good being seen in one.
The novelty soon wore off, however. Attempts to spread the Smart’s appeal to a four-seater and a roadster failed, despite the latter being quite well received, and the brand leached money, to the point where the company launched to sell it was shut down and became a mere division within the Mercedes-Benz family.
Various attempts to reposition Smart, eventually turning it fully electric, failed to generate much in the way of profits. However, in 2019 the Chinese giant Geely rode to the rescue, reaching a deal with Mercedes that saw Smart relaunched as a manufacturer of electric cars built in China, with most of the quirkiness that had marked the brand out in the first place removed.
The first Smart appeared in 1998 but the concept for a small city car had emerged more than 15 years earlier – not in the design studio of Mercedes-Benz, which would eventually make the cars, but at Swatch, the Swiss company renowned for making fashionable watches.
Swatch head Nicolas Hayek pitched his idea for a small and stylish city car, that could be personalised like his watches, to several car manufacturers. Swatch initially signed a deal with Volkswagen in 1991, but the car maker pulled out of the project and Mercedes owner Daimler-Benz replaced it in 1994. A subsidiary company called MCC (Micro Compact Car) was set up to produce what became the Smart.
The first two-seater Smart City-Coupe and City-Cabrio appeared in 1998, making immediate headlines for their tiny dimensions and recognisable shapes, which were like nothing else on the market. The production cars weren’t quite as radical as Swatch had envisaged, and within a year Daimler-Benz bought out the watchmaker’s shares and Swatch’s involvement ended.
The personalisation concept remained, however. Most notably, the car had swappable plastic body panels that could be unclipped and replaced in minutes. The idea was that owners could keep multiple sets of panels to swap around at will, choosing the look of their car according to their mood. Unsurprisingly, no-one did this…
While very small, the car was also promoted as being very safe, with a visible safety cell usually painted in contrasting colours to the plastic panels. Small petrol engines offered power outputs of about 60hp – though later you could buy upgraded versions produced by Mercedes tuner Brabus, which raised this to a staggering 75hp.
By the time the original Smart was facelifted in 2002 it was known as the Fortwo, and in 2004 it gained a sister with four seats called the (you guessed it) Forfour. This was a more conventional car, based on the Mitsubishi Colt, but this only lasted three years on the UK market.
More positively received, though equally short-lived, was the Smart Roadster, a two-seat mid-engined sports car sold between 2002 and 2005. It only had a 696cc turbocharged engine but was fun to drive, let down by only being available with an unpleasant-to-operate gearbox.
The extra models did not last long because Smart found it very hard to make money, losing close to €4bn between 2003 and 2006. By then sales were sliding, so Smart was terminated as a separate company and absorbed completely within Daimler.
Smart cars in the early 2000sSmart cars in 2024
A second-generation Smart Fortwo was produced between 2007 and 2015 and for the first time an electric version was made widely available, though it only had a maximum range of around 80 miles.
The third-generation Smart Fortwo, launched in 2014, looked distinctly different to its predecessors, as updated safety regulations required a new shell that gave the car a much bulkier shape than its predecessors, with a proper bonnet section. The Forfour was revived, but this time it was basically a reworked Renault Twingo.
Both the Fortwo and Forfour were also offered in electric form and from 2019 these became the only cars available, as Smart tried to turn itself into an electric-only car brand. The electric models added ‘EQ’ to their names (the same designation Mercedes-Benz uses for its electric models)
Both were cheap compared to rival EVs but suffered from poor battery range. The EQ Forfour, in particular, could have been a highly practical EV but in normal driving owners struggled to get much more than 50 miles between charges – and charging was anything but rapid. Unsurprisingly, the Smart division still struggled to make a profit.
Smart’s effective rescue came in 2019 when Daimler signed a deal with Chinese giant Geely. An assembly plant in China is now building a completely new range of electric Smart cars, larger and more conventional than their predecessors. The first of these, the Smart #1 (yes, they want you to call it “Hashtag One”…), arrived in 2023.
What models does Smart have and what else is coming?
Today Smart is in the process of revival and repositioning – tiny city cars are out, larger family models in, and all electrically powered. Currently just one is available, the Smart #1 – it’s a five-door small crossover targeting the likes of the Kia Niro and Volkswagen ID.3, and has been generally well received, especially for its safety specification.
A second model is arriving imminently in showrooms, called the #3. This is effectively a coupe version of the #1, with a much more aerodynamic shape.
We don’t know what happened to the #2 but perhaps Smart doesn’t like even numbers – the third model planned will be an SUV, and called the #5. The concept made its debut at the Beijing motor show in April 2024 – when the production version arrives, possibly before the end of 2024, it will be the biggest Smart yet.
Where can I try a Smart car?
The number of outlets selling the Smart has fluctuated over the years and you should not assume that by going to a Mercedes-Benz dealer you will be able to test drive a Smart.
The brand relaunched in 2023 with 23 UK sites, which was around half the number it had ten years earlier, and it has plans to expand this number to 36 ‘in the coming years’.
What makes Smart different to the rest?
To be honest, the Smart of today is far less different compared to when the brand launched just before the millennium. Then the cars scored on their tiny proportions, distinctive shape and their fashion-led promotion with such quirks as the easily swapped plastic body panels.
Today’s Smart is now being presented as a much more conventional manufacturer of much larger cars, though compared to the mainstream opposition they still have enough quirkiness about them to appeal to buyers looking for something a little different.
A Smart fact to impress your friends
The short-lived Smart Roadster could have been reborn as a UK-made car wearing a badge from lost British classics.
In 2006, a year after Roadster production ended, UK businessman David James planned to buy the tooling from Daimler, and build new cars in a factory in south Wales badged as MGs, reviving the then-dormant British sports car brand.
James didn’t get the rights to the MG name, so he then planned to market the roadster as the AC Ace, AC being another British brand that dated back to 1907. The project also never came to anything.
Smart Roadster
Summary
The Smart story is one of form not triumphing over function. Today, the new Smart models have very little of the quirky appeal that marked out their predecessors – but they’re probably more likely to succeed and attract the number of customers Smart needs to be a viable car company.
Alfa Romeo has announced the UK pricing for its compact battery-powered Junior Elettrica SUV, including a starting price that is slightly cheaper than the similar electric Jeep Avenger.
First unveiled in April, this small SUV was originally named the ‘Milano’ – that moniker has now been scrapped due to issues raised by Italian politicians. Taking the entry-level place of the small Mito and Giulietta models that have been retired in recent years, the Junior will sit below the Tonale and Stelvio SUV’s in Alfa’s range.
The range in Europe will include both petrol-electric hybrid ‘Ibrida’ and electric ‘Elettrica’ variants, but so far Alfa Romeo has only announced that the ‘Elettrica’ will be arriving in British showrooms.
Two power outputs are now available to order – the standard 156hp ‘Elettrica’ with a 250-mile range and the sportier 240hp ‘Elettrica Veloce’ with up to 215 miles of range. Both are compatible with charging speeds of up to 100kW, with it taking 30 minutes to charge the battery from 10% to 80%.
By comparison, competitors like the Smart #1 and Renault Mégane E-Tech offer battery ranges of up to 273 and 280 miles respectively, while the Jeep Avenger – built on the same Stellantis platform as the Junior – can muster up to 248 miles on a single charge.
Three trim levels are available, including a limited-run ‘Elettrica Speciale’ which makes use of the entry-level powertrain.
Above the standard specification, which includes LED exterior lights, rear parking sensors, a 10-inch digital instrument cluster and 10-inch infotainment display pairing compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, the ‘Speciale’ adds a ‘Sports’ styling package, a leather steering wheel, a rear view parking camera and a motorised hands-free tailgate.
The ‘Speciale’ swaps out the standard cloth upholstery for a vinyl and fabric finish for the seats that also have a massage function as part of this trim.
Key trim level features
Lead-in ‘Elettrica’ (from £33,895)
18-inch alloy wheels
LED headlights and tail lights
Black mirror covers
Rain sensing wipers
Rear parking sensors
Cloth upholstery
Interior ambient lighting
10-inch digital instrument cluster
10-inch infotainment display
Adaptive cruise control
Lane keeping assistance
Keyless entry and start up
Limited-run ‘Elettrica Speciale’ (from £35,695)
All standard features that are not replaced
‘Sports’ styling package
Rear privacy glass
Vinyl and fabric upholstery
Electrically-operated driver’s seat with massage function
Leather steering wheel
Alfa Romeo navigation software
Rear view parking camera
Motorised boot lid
Top-spec ‘Elettrica Veloce’ (from £42,295)
All standard features that are not replaced
More powerful powertrain
Lowered suspension
Red sport brake callipers
20-inch alloy wheels
Black roof
Rear privacy glass
Leather and suede upholstery
Leather steering wheel
The ‘Elettrica Veloce’ predictably has the most luxurious interior trimmings made of leather and suede. The most important features is of course the more powerful 240hp powertrain, but the ‘Veloce’ package also includes lowered suspension and larger 20-inch alloy wheels, as well as a two-tone exterior with a black roof.
Pricing for the new Junior Elettrica now starts at just under £33k, rising to just north of £42k for the ‘Elettrica Veloce’. This lead-in price tag is more than £1k cheaper than the standard electric Jeep Avenger.
The Mini Countryman is a medium-sized five-doorSUV and the largest offering in the Mini range. This is the third-generation model, which is available to order as standard with a petrol mild-hybrid powertrain, alongside an all-electric model which we cover here.
What will be most noticeable for many people is how much larger the new Countryman is compared to the previous model. In fact, it’s longer than a Nissan Qashqai.
British motoring outlets have been largely impressed with the new Countryman so far, with some reviewers suggesting that the largest Mini brings some fun into the family SUV sector, while Dean Gibson of Auto Express concludes that the Countryman “is a more practical and family-friendly car than ever before.”
As of March 2026, the Mini Countryman has a New Car Expert Rating of A, with a score of 70%. It scores top marks for its five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, while also earning good grades for its media review scores and low tailpipe emissions. However, running costs over the first five years of ownership are only average.
Body style: Medium SUV Engines:petrol Price:From £29,350 on-road
Launched: Spring 2024 Last updated: N/A Replacement due: TBA
Image gallery
Media reviews
Highlighted reviews and road tests from across the UK automotive media. Click any of the boxes to view.
Auto Express
Model reviewed: Range overview (including electric model) Score: 8 / 10 “The classy interior and high-end technology of the Mini Countryman really help it stand out from its rivals, and it has a cheeky fun character about it that can so often be missing from a family car. In its latest form, the Countryman has grown over its predecessor, so it now offers genuine practicality, while the optional sliding rear seat boosts flexibility whether you need to transport people or luggage.” Author: Dean Gibson, Max Adams Read review
Model reviewed: 1.5-litre petrol automatic Cooper Exclusive Score: 8 / 10 “The latest Mini Countryman is about as far removed from the original Mini as it’s possible to get in terms of size, but it taps straight into the modern brand’s DNA by offering style by the bucketload. It’s packed with neat touches, and is a more practical and family-friendly car than ever before. Unfortunately, it has also lost Mini’s sense of driving fun along the way.” Author: Dean Gibson Read review
Auto Trader
Model reviewed: Range overview Score: 10 / 10 “Super stylish inside and out and available with petrol or electric power, the new Mini Countryman is as practical as it is good looking.” Author: Dan Trent Read review
Business Car
Model reviewed: Range overview (including JCW) Score: 7 / 10 “Mini has added a big dose of style and practicality to the Countryman and the result will make a far bigger impression on fleet than the generations before it.” Author: Martyn Collins Read review
Car
Model reviewed: Range overview Score: 8 / 10 “Strange technology gimmicks aside, the Mini Countryman is a deeply impressive family SUV. It might only be just practical enough to carry your family around, but it makes up for that with its attractive design, stunning build quality, strong levels of standard equipment and stellar driving experience.” Author: Luke Wilkinson Read review
Carbuyer
Model reviewed: Range overview Score: 8 / 10 “The Mini Countryman has grown in size and become more practical, but brings that cheeky recipe the brand is known for.” Author: Charlie Harvey, John McIlroy Read review
Carwow
Model reviewed: Range overview Score: 7 / 10 “Mini’s small SUV is bigger than ever and gets a funky, spacious interior, but the circular infotainment screen and textile upholstery could prove too quirky for some.” Author: Darren Cassey Read review
Heycar
Model reviewed: Range overview (including JCW) Score: 7 / 10 “The Mini Countryman has a lot going for it in terms of style, tech, and most notably, practicality: the cabin is absolutely huge. It’s perhaps not the high-quality product that many will be expecting, and the driving experience is capable rather than exceptional, but there’s no arguing with its style.” Author: Ivan Aistrop Read review
Parkers
Model reviewed: Range overview Score: 8 / 10 “The Countryman’s a lot of fun. It might have grown over its predecessor, but it feels like a much smaller car to drive – and the slight size increase has had a huge impact on passenger comfort. Its interior technology also impresses and it’s probably the best car in its segment to drive.” Author: Alan Taylor-Jones Read review
Regit
Score: 8 / 10 “Mini has really injected the fun into this new generation of Countryman. Its design is refreshingly different, while the interior is smart and modern, with plenty of cool features that will no doubt appeal to tech-loving buyers. The special attention made to sustainability is welcome as well.” Author: Jack Evans Read review
The Telegraph
Model reviewed: Range overview Score: 8 / 10 “The new mild hybrid entry-level Mini Countryman is a fine family hauler, thanks to a fair turn of speed, good economy and a posh-feeling interior.” Author: Andrew English Read review
Top Gear
Model reviewed: Range overview Score: 7 / 10 “The new Mini Countryman is fit for purpose and then some. It’s roomy, versatile, and in JCW form a spirited enough performer.” Read review
Safety rating
Independent crash test and safety ratings from Euro NCAP
Clean Air Index: 7.9 / 10 Energy Efficiency Index: 3.9 / 10 Greenhouse Gas Index: 2.2 / 10
Reliability rating
Reliability data provided exclusively for The Car Expert by MotorEasy
No reliability rating
As of March 2026, we don’t have enough reliability data on the new Mini Countryman to generate a reliability rating.
The Car Expert’s reliability information is provided exclusively to us using workshop and extended warranty data from our partner, MotorEasy, sourced from both official dealerships and independent workshops.
As soon as MotorEasy has sufficient data on the Countryman, we’ll publish the results here.
Running cost rating
Monthly cost of ownership data provided exclusively for The Car Expert by Clear Vehicle Data
Fuel consumption
Average
Score
Petrol models
46 mpg
C
CO₂ output
Average
Score
Variation
Score
Petrol models
139 g/km
C
Insurance group
Average
Score
Variation
Score
All models
22
B
Service and maintenance
Cost
Score
Year 1
£250
C
Year 2
£593
C
Year 3
£947
C
Year 4
£1,199
C
Year 5
£1,568
C
Overall
£4,557
C
The Mini Countryman should be a fairly inexpensive car to own and run, according to ownership data provided exclusively to The Car Expert by our technical partner, Clear Vehicle Data.
Servicing and insurance bills should be very competitive compared to cars of similar size and budget, although fuel consumption – which the biggest cost for most people – is only middling.
As of March 2026, we are not aware of any outstanding DVSA vehicle safety recalls affecting the Mini Countryman Electric. However, this information is updated very regularly so this may have changed.
You can check to see if your car has any outstanding recalls by visiting the DVLA website or contacting your local Mini dealer.
Awards
Significant UK trophies and awards that the Mini Countryman has received
2025
UK Car of the Year Awards – Best Medium Crossover
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Make and model: Honda e:Ny1 Advance Description: Compact electric SUV Price range: £42,195 (plus options)
Summary: The Honda e:Ny1 is an easygoing electric SUV with decent space and smooth performance, but higher noise levels and everyday irritations make it feel average for the price.
Honda has a reputation for doing things its own way. Even when the rest of the market charges off in one direction, Honda often takes its time, refines the engineering and then arrives with something carefully considered. So when the e:Ny1 appeared as the brand’s mainstream electric SUV, expectations were reasonably high.
This is Honda’s family-sized EV, broadly comparable to the petrol HR-V and aimed at buyers who want to switch to electric power without stepping into something overly futuristic or intimidating. It’s practical, sensibly sized and pitched at the heart of the market.
After a full week of living with it in typical UK conditions, though, the overriding feeling isn’t that Honda has produced a bad electric car. It’s that it hasn’t produced a particularly distinctive one either. Nothing is disastrously wrong, but very little feels class-leading — and at this price, that matters.
The e:Ny1 sits in a competitive part of the electric SUV market, but it isn’t pitched as a budget option. It’s priced alongside established European and Korean rivals, which means expectations around refinement and polish are naturally higher.
Equipment levels are generous. There’s a large central touchscreen, digital driver display, leather-style upholstery, wireless smartphone connectivity and a full suite of safety systems. On paper, it looks well kitted out.
The issue isn’t what you get. It’s how cohesively everything works together once you’re using it every day.
The Honda e:Ny1 is based on the petrol HR-V platform, with a clean but conservative exterior design and a front-mounted charging port.
Inside the car
Climb inside and the first thing you notice is the huge portrait-oriented 15-inch touchscreen dominating the dashboard. It’s unusual in a market where most systems are landscape-shaped, and visually it looks modern and quite smart. The graphics are clear and well presented, and at a glance it feels contemporary.
However, most of the car’s functions are routed through that screen, including the climate controls. That means you’re often tapping and scrolling rather than simply reaching for a physical dial. Over the course of a week, that becomes more irritating than impressive. It isn’t that the system is unusable — it’s just not especially intuitive when you’re trying to adjust temperature or ventilation on the move.
You quickly find yourself relying on the steering wheel buttons instead, which are actually quite well laid out and easier to use without taking your eyes off the road. In a slightly ironic twist, the old-fashioned buttons end up feeling like the most user-friendly part of the cabin.
The seats in our test car were finished in a pale grey leather-style trim, which looks attractive and brightens up the interior nicely. Whether it would stay that way is another question. Dark denim jeans, for example, felt like a potential long-term enemy. Comfort-wise, the seats are adequate rather than outstanding. They’re fine for everyday journeys, but they don’t offer the sort of support that makes a long motorway drive feel effortless.
One curious detail is the glass roof arrangement. The front seats get a simple, manually retractable blind that works perfectly well. The rear seats, however, use removable shade panels that have to be taken out by hand and stored somewhere else. It feels like two different design teams solved the same problem in completely different ways. It works, but it’s an odd solution.
There are some thoughtful touches. The cupholders are pleasingly deep and hold tall bottles securely, and the charging port is located in the nose of the car, which makes forward parking at public chargers straightforward. Our test car came with both a Type 2 cable for wallboxes and public charging and a three-pin domestic plug cable, which is useful flexibility.
Practicality is decent rather than exceptional. Because the e:Ny1 is based on the petrol HR-V rather than a dedicated electric platform, it doesn’t make quite as clever use of space as some purpose-built EVs. There’s no separate front boot for charging cables, so they live under the boot floor. That’s fine until the boot is full of luggage and you need to get to them.
Inside, the Honda e:Ny1 features a large portrait touchscreen, pale leather-style upholstery and a practical boot, though there is no separate frunk.
Driving range and charging
Battery range is a key consideration for any electric car, and here the e:Ny1 delivers broadly what you’d expect on paper. In practice, though, the usable range feels quite sensitive to heating and air-conditioning use, particularly in colder weather. Turning the climate system on has a noticeable impact on the projected miles remaining.
On the plus side, the range indicator itself seems reasonably honest. Over longer drives it didn’t appear wildly optimistic or pessimistic, which is reassuring when planning journeys.
Regenerative braking is a key function for electric cars, as it’s a way of gaining ‘free’ energy to gradually recharge the battery every time you lift off the accelerator or step on the brake pedal. But on the e:Ny1 it’s not particularly convincing. Even when set to its stronger setting, it feels relatively mild, and frustratingly it doesn’t always stay where you’ve left it. We found ourselves repeatedly adjusting it upwards because it seemed to reduce itself. Over a week, that becomes a small but persistent annoyance.
On the road
Electric cars are often praised for their refinement, and around town the e:Ny1 feels smooth and easy to drive. The transition between electric power and any background systems is seamless, and it’s simple to thread through traffic.
At higher speeds, though, the refinement doesn’t quite match the best in class. Wind and road noise are more noticeable than in several rival EVs, which slightly undermines the calm atmosphere many buyers expect from an electric SUV. It’s still quieter than the equivalent petrol HR-V, but among EVs it doesn’t feel especially hushed.
The ride is acceptable, leaning towards firm rather than cushioned. Over rougher surfaces it doesn’t glide in the way some competitors manage. Steering and braking feel safe but somewhat vague, lacking the precise feedback that inspires real confidence on faster A-roads. It’s not difficult to drive, but it doesn’t feel especially engaging either.
Another persistent irritation is the driver assistance systems. Like many new cars, the e:Ny1 will warn you the moment you drift 1mph over the speed limit. Over a few miles that’s mildly annoying. Over a week, it becomes genuinely wearing.
On UK roads, the Honda e:Ny1 delivers smooth electric performance but is less refined than many rival electric SUVs at motorway speeds.
Verdict
The Honda e:Ny1 isn’t fundamentally flawed. It’s practical enough, reasonably well-equipped and easy to drive. The electric range is workable, and the cabin has some thoughtful touches.
What it lacks is a clear reason to choose it. It doesn’t feel especially refined, especially spacious for its size or especially polished in daily use. The touchscreen-heavy interface can frustrate, the regenerative braking setup lacks consistency, and the overall experience feels more generic than you might expect from a brand with Honda’s engineering heritage.
It’s not a bad electric SUV. It’s simply an average one — and at this price point, average isn’t always enough.
For a broader ownership assessment, including safety, running costs and reliability data, see our full Honda e:Ny1 Expert Rating.
We like:
Honest and consistent battery range display
Smooth and easy to drive around town
Clear, modern screen graphics
Practical front-mounted charging port
Competitive cabin and boot space
We don’t like:
Noisier than many rival EVs
Climate controls buried in the touchscreen
Regenerative braking doesn’t stay on its strongest setting
Over-sensitive driver assistance warnings
Feels average for the price
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Many drivers want to get the best out of their car while they own, or run, it. And that often includes changing its looks, improving its performance or fuel economy, or altering its use.
If you own the car privately, that’s entirely your decision and you can go ahead with whatever changes you want (remembering to tell your insurance company of any modifications).
But when you lease or finance a vehicle – as many millions of drivers do in the UK – it’s a slightly different story. While leasing does not necessarily exclude you from making changes, you just have to approach it differently.
Most leasing companies will allow certain mods to their cars as long as any work can be reversed at the end of the term and put back to how it was at the start of the contract.
That includes cosmetic changes such as adding alloy wheels, performance changes like remapping the car’s engine, and usage changes such as adding a towbar or roof rack.
What you are permitted to have done all depends on the individual leasing company, but these companies will often allow changes if they are not going to leave any lasting damage or marks on the car when you return it. So it’s always worth asking to see what you can do and it’s important that you seek permission before you make any changes.
If you don’t do that, you could end up invalidating the warranty on the car or, worse still, you might get hit with a penalty when you come to hand back the vehicle, to cover the costs of returning it to its original condition.
Cosmetically, drivers often want to add alloy wheels, window tinting, or even a complete vinyl wrap, especially if this is a business car. All of these features are often allowed as they are quite simple to return to original when the car is handed back.
The same goes for replacement tyres, adding a roof box, or remapping the car’s engine (reprogramming or ‘chipping’ the ECU control unit) to improve performance or fuel economy. All of these can be reversed.
While the roof box addition is OK, don’t fit roof bars unless you have permission as these can leave permanent marks on a car’s bodywork. And wrapping a car should be done by a high-quality professional so that any markings, such as advertising slogans or artwork, can be safely removed as if they were never there.
Adding a towbar is more problematic because it usually involves drilling holes in the car’s underneath which the lease company might not like. The same goes for adding body extras such as front or rear spoilers, any changes to the interior trim or suspension modifications.
Not everyone will like your choice of mods so, even if you are permitted by the leasing company to make them, the lender could increase your monthly payments to make up for any shortfall that comes from devaluing the vehicle with your modifications.
Private number plates don’t leave any damage so there shouldn’t be a problem if you want to add yours to a lease car. But this can only be done once you have taken delivery of the vehicle and you will have to get permission from the leasing company of course. And make sure you also tell the DVLA licensing authority and your insurer if you are planning on changing the plate marking.
Renault has revealed the latest changes coming to its compact Captur crossover range, including revised exterior looks and an infotainment overhaul.
Built on the same foundations as the smaller Clio hatchback, the Captur has taken a few exterior styling cues from the newer Renault Scenic E-Tech SUV, including a re-sculpted front end with narrower LED headlights, a higher bonnet and a new LED daytime running light design on either side of the bumper.
Not much has changed inside, apart from the addition of a larger 10-inch portrait-oriented infotainment touchscreen fitted front and centre on the dashboard. The system is compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a wireless smartphone charger is also included as standard.
Renault has also updated the upholstery trim options. The mid-range ‘Techno’ gains yellow top-stitching to contrast its grey seat fabric, while the top-spec ‘esprit Alpine’ trim features synthetic leather on the seats and door panels and a blue-grey insert on the dashboard as shown below.
The range of engine options is broadly the same – consisting of a 90hp petrol and 145hp hybrid model – but diesel options have now been removed, as demand for diesel cars has sharply declined in recent years.
Pricing for the update range now starts at just south of £22k, which is £5k more than the Captur’s initial launch price in 2019. The crossover is available to order now, with the first customer deliveries expected to arrive on UK roads in the second half of this year.
One of the regular criticisms of electric vehicles is that people who live in a flat or a house with no off-street parking don’t have the luxury of charging at home, and so have to rely on public charging.
Around a third of households can’t charge an EV using their household electricity supply, which is a key consideration if you’re thinking about making the switch to an electric car. But while it’s cheaper and more convenient to charge at home, it’s certainly not an absolute requirement if you’d like to drive an electric vehicle but live in a flat.
It’s worth remembering that the average household car covers about 100 miles a week, while the average battery range for new electric vehicles is more than 200 miles – and many can do more than 300 miles on a full charge. So most households can charge an EV once a week and still never have to worry about running out of electricity.
If this is you, and you’re thinking of moving to an EV, here’s our advice.
What are the options near to your home?
We’ll look at charging using cables across the pavement later, but the first piece of homework is to see what on-street charging exists around you right now, and if possible, find out what’s coming. Your local authority should be able to say how many street charging points it is planning.
You can locate charging points wherever you are in the UK using Zapmap by downloading an ap or browsing the web version. No need to sign up. It can display the type of charger near you but not always if it’s being used at the time you search.
Take a walk around your local streets and locate the chargers nearest to you. Some may also be within a public car park. You’ll see two options; lamp posts and charging stations with posts and marked bays (there are also posts which can rise from flush with the pavement). Lamp post chargers are most common because its relatively cheap and easy for authorities to add charging outlets to the existing lamp posts.
How far away from home are they to leave your car charging? Is the area ok? If you’ve got time, repeat the walk to see how your possible street chargers are being used.
Are they occupied a lot of the time or often free? Lamp post charge points without any marked EV-only bay in front of them aren’t much in use if somebody leaves their petrol car there for days.
Are they often out of order? Maybe chat to a local EV owner about their experience of charging in the area.
What type of on-street charging is available?
On your walk, keep a look out for any on-street chargers. They should show their power output with a ‘kW’ for kilowatts. If you can’t see anything, Zapmap will show this information.
There are currently four types of public charging: slow, fast, rapid and ultra-rapid. The last two generally are only found at retail outlets and motorway service stations, so we’ll concentrate on slow and fast chargers.
A slow public charger is rated 3kW-5kW and these are most often used for lamp posts. A full charge takes a long time with 3kW. A typical electric car (60kWh battery) takes just under 16 hours to charge from empty to full using a 3kW slow charging point.
Ubitricity, which is part of the Shell Group, concentrates on London lamppost chargers. It says: ‘With our lamp post chargers, we’re focussing on low power charging during long parking times – for example, overnight. The power output at our lamp post charge points in the UK is therefore usually 5 kW. For example, a 45kWh (battery capacity)/ 5kW (power output) = charging time of roughly nine hours if a 32-amp charging cable were used.’ A basic Volkswagen ID.3 has a 45kWh battery.
But your street may have 7 to 22kW fast chargers. A 7kW fast charger will power up your EV battery in around 4-6 hours, while a 22kW unit could do the job in a couple of hours (if your car is able to take a 22kW charge).
Incidentally, don’t worry that no-good passers-by can simply unplug the cable, stop charging and/or walk away with it. Electric car sockets are built with a locking mechanism, so while the car charges it’s locked at either end.
The charging posts are often run by different companies. You can pay contactless with on some public chargers or set up an account with specific networks and use a RFID (chip) card or smartphone app to use their charge points. For example, Source London and Ubitricity have a lot of points. Look the providers up to see how people rate them.
As mentioned, the reality is that you’re not going to need to charge up every day. For most households, once a week is not a major inconvenience. And for most EV drivers, charging is more of a top up than a full refill from near-empty, so the costs and time could be less than you think.
Charging cables across pavements
You sometimes see people who live in houses with no off-road parking trailing an electrical cable out of a window, or from a wallbox across the pavement underneath a cable protector. This is legal, but you will need permission from your local authority which may or may not have a policy.
Norfolk, for example, only permits an owner to place cables perpendicular (at right angles) across the footway and permission will only be granted following an assessment by a highways officer for two years. In theory you could be liable if somebody trips over your cable but some EV insurance policies may cover this prospect.
Do not use a domestic extension lead as this is liable to overheat – you can buy EV charger cables in many lengths. Charging from a domestic socket is the slowest possible way to do so; using a regular 2.4kW three-pin wall socket can mean a charging time of over 30 hours. If you can fit a 7kW wallbox outside, these can charge in just under eight hours.
There is a way to run a cable across a pavement without any raised surface. A company that has recently secured funding from the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, Kerbo Charge can cut a channel across a concrete pathway or between pavement slabs which is then covered with a hinged lid. A standard Type 2 charge cable can be run from the property through the channel. A wallbox can be added if required.
This solutions isn’t widely available just yet, however. This Kerbo Charge product is currently on trial with a handful of English and one Scottish council as of June 2024, but the company says it has many more trials “in the pipeline”.
Charging for existing blocks of flats with parking spaces
Some people live in blocks of flats with shared off-street parking spaces and perhaps a closed garage or car port tied to each property. While it might seem possible to install a few shared charging points or allow owners to set one up in a garage, this isn’t straightforward.
Firstly, as all flats in England and Wales are leasehold, the managing agent or shared freeholders would need to agree. Grants are available from the government to install charging points, but you or a group of residents would need to find a charging provider willing to set up a post within your off-street parking and even if the logistics of bringing a sufficient additional electric supply onto the land, they may not see it as a worthwhile investment.
As for wallboxes in garages and underground parking spaces, if there was an individual power supply to that space it would have to be individually metered, rather than running off the supply for the common parts of the building.
EV charging at new developments
There’s better news for new-build apartment blocks/houses with allocated and shared spaces, and for residential blocks which are undergoing major refurbishment. By law they must now have charge points.
In June 2022, to encourage the adoption of EVs, the UK government’s new EV charging requirements came into force in England as part of an overhaul of the country’s building regulations.
Every new home, including those created from a change of use, with associated parking must have an EV chargepoint.
Residential buildings undergoing a major renovation which will have more than ten parking spaces must have at least one EV charge point per dwelling with associated parking, along with cable routes in all spaces without charge points.
Developers aren’t currently compelled to install active charging points into covered car parks; they only have to fit cable routes.
You can find the government regulations here. It gives an example of a new development of 20 houses. Each house has one uncovered parking space that is assigned to the house for sole use by its occupier or their visitors.
There are ten additional uncovered parking spaces that are ‘first come first served’ for the communal use of occupiers from all 20 houses and their visitors. In total the whole development would require 20 charge points but no cable routes.
Pod Point is one of UK’s leading providers of electric vehicle charging and its work includes links with property developers and managers like Barratt Homes, Taylor Wimpey, Redrow and Bellway to wire up their developments.
A spokesperson told us: “Our home segment is currently focused on domestic off-street charging at locations where the homeowner has access to private off-street parking. Now we aim to expand our reach to include private car parks associated with blocks of flats (comprising approximately 7% of homes), and on-street charging for areas with no off-street parking, as well as other areas. We’ll also look to work with local authorities to install on-street chargepoints.”
Alongside three-door models already on sale, Mini has bolstered its new petrol-powered Cooper range with the arrival of five-door models which will also be built at the brand’s Oxford factory.
This five-door body style is seventeen centimetres longer than the three-door Cooper already on sale, the extra length needed for the rear doors. To clarify, this five-door configuration is only available in the petrol Cooper range – the Mini Cooper Electric range still only consists of three-door options.
The five-door is available with both the entry-level ‘Cooper C’ and top-spec ‘Cooper S’ powertrain options and all trim grades. The first customer deliveries will commence in August, with pricing beginning at £24k – around £1k more than the three-door model.
Volkswagen has expanded its flagship electric ID.7 saloon and ‘Tourer’ estate line-up with the addition of longer range ‘Pro S’ and high-performance ‘GTX’ models, all of which should become available to order in the UK by the end of this year.
Starting with the ‘Pro S’, this rear-wheel-drive version is practically identical to the 77kWh ‘Pro’ models already arriving on UK roads, apart from its larger 86kWh battery that the brand says provides a “noticeably longer” range of 441 miles (429 miles for the ‘Tourer’ estate).
Meanwhile, the ID.7 ‘GTX’ trades range for pace, and promises to be one of the most powerful Volkswagen models to ever go on sale in the UK. Able to muster up to 370 miles on a single charge, the GTX is powered by the same 86kWh battery but with an extra motor on the front axle, this extra power meaning it can complete a 0-62mph sprint in 5.5 seconds with a total output of 340hp.
The battery installed in both models can be charged from 10% to 80% charge in 26 minutes at a 200kW rapid charging station. The GTX sits on 20-inch alloy wheels as standard and features LED matrix headlights with illuminated Volkswagen logos at the front and rear.
Volkswagen adds that the LED daytime running light signature has been reworked for the GTX too, and the performance car comes with plenty of ‘GTX’ branding inside, including on the heated seats with red contrasting top-stitching.
This colour scheme extends to the multi-function steering wheel and dashboard trim, and the interior of the is illuminated by a 30-colour ambient lighting system.
Standard equipment includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility for the large infotainment screen, a head-up display that projects driving information onto the windscreen, and voice assistant tech powered using ChatGPT – which is fast becoming a regular feature on new Volkswagen releases.
UK specifications and pricing are yet to be confirmed for either model choice, with these details sure to follow in the coming months. The Volkswagen ID.7 currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A with a score of 77%. This is currently one of the highest scores in our Expert Rating Index.
Make and model: Subaru Outback Description: Estate Price range: from £36,990
Subaru says: “The latest Subaru Outback SUV has received updated styling as well as new safety features and in-vehicle technologies.”
We say: It sits in its own class and, apart from calling itself an SUV, doesn’t try to double as anything else. Functionality and comfort are at the core of the Outback.
The Outback has been a mainstay in Subaru’s lineup for 30 years. Launched in 1994, the model is now in its sixth generation. Like most of Subaru’s range, it mainly sits in its own category. Its closest competitors were the Audi A4 allroad and the Skoda Octavia Scout, neither of which are still on sale.
Subaru’s range features the small hybrid SUVs Crosstrek and Forester, the all-electric SUV Solterra and the Outback. As of June 2024, media reviews of the Subaru Outback have earned the car an overall New CarExpert Rating of C with a score of 64%. This gets it a C in our scoring system and for a used buy it’s closely rated at 63%.
What is it?
While Subaru calls the Outback an SUV, it’s more like a jacked up estate. Its body shape is almost identical to an estate car but the ride height is a bit higher to give it good ground clearance off road. This means it has competition from SUVs and estates alike but few new cars on the market match this crossover body style.
Subaru says the Outback offers a mix of SUV capability and car-like ride and handling thanks to its four-wheel drive system which comes as standard. The key market for the Outback is people who have ‘active lifestyles’. Essentially, Subaru wants its customers to use the Outback as a workhorse and get the most out of its functionality, carrying paddle boards and canoes on the roof rack for instance.
First impressions
Initially, the chunky estate styling doesn’t make much sense but after getting inside it’s very spacious. The estate body means there’s plenty of room in the back and the driving position gives a good view of the road. Apart from owners looking to utilise the Outback for activities, it could be a good middle ground for older people who don’t want to step up into a car but equally don’t want to step down.
The black plastic exterior trim is supposed to be a nod to its ruggedness but it might look a bit more attractive without this around the wheel arches. This would be a subtler look to make it blend in as an everyday car when you’re driving on tarmac. Inside, there’s a large screen and on the Touring trim Outback we tried, there was a good mix of soft touch materials, shiny black finishes and hard wearing plastics.
We like: Functional aesthetic inside and out We don’t like: Plastic wheel arch surrounds
What do you get for your money?
There are three trim options available: Limited, Field and Touring. Entry-level Limited starts from £36,990, Field begins at £40,990 and Touring is from £42,490. This makes it a bit more pricey than the Skoda Octavia Estate which ranges from £27,775 to £33,285. The Audi A4 Allroad was discontinued in 2022 so used examples with fewer than 20,000 miles on the clock now sell for around £36,000.
As standard Limited trim comes with roof rails, fabric seats, heated front and rear seats, keyless entry, rear parking sensors, analogue reverse camera, rear seat release lever in the boot, 11.6-inch central screen, Apple Carplay, Android Auto and four USB ports. Safety equipment includes lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring, intelligent speed limiter, traffic sign recognition and a driver monitoring system.
Field trim adds black door mirrors instead of body coloured ones, a black ladder with the roof rails, 18-inch alloy wheels with a dark metallic finish, synthetic leather seats, electric tailgate with hands-free function and sat nav.
Touring trim includes satin chrome door mirrors which automatically fold when the car is locked, a sunroof, roof rails with built-in silver cross bars, Nappa leather seats, digital reversing camera and 11 Harman/Kardon speakers, up from the standard six. Special paint finishes for all trims are extra at £595.
Subaru sells the Outback with a three-year / 36,000 mile warranty and a five-year / 60,000 mile powertrain warranty which covers the engine and associated components.
We like: Entry-level spec is very well equipped We don’t like: A little pricey compared to closest rivals
What’s the Subaru Outback like inside?
The Outback interior seems to strike the right balance between modern and functional. There’s an 11.6-inch touchscreen display in the centre with large buttons which makes it easy to select the right one on the move. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come as standard and are simple to connect and operate.
Climate control is operated partly through the screen and partly using buttons either side of the screen. Temperature is controlled using buttons while fan speed and heated seats controls are housed in the touchscreen. Above the temperature buttons are shortcuts to clear the windscreen or rear window, then two knobs, one for volume and the other to tune the radio. The hazard light button is next to the top right of the screen.
The rear seats fold down and can be released from the boot which makes it quicker to open up the boot space for larger items. In the back seats there’s plenty of leg and headroom for tall passengers and the higher ride height makes it convenient to get in and out of.
We like: Comfortable, functional interior space We don’t like: Climate controls mostly in the touchscreen
What’s under the bonnet?
All three trim options come with the same 2.5-litre petrol engine. City and highway driving combined offers fuel economy figures of around 33mpg. All versions come with all-wheel drive and have an unbraked towing capacity up to 750kg. The Outback can tow braked trailers up to 2000kg, making it a good pick for caravanners.
Power is rated at 167bhp and 252 Nm of torque to provide a 0 to 60mph time of 10.2 seconds and a top speed of 120mph. It isn’t particularly quick but the driving experience is mostly focused on good handling at low speeds over uneven terrain rather than straight line speed.
What’s the Subaru Outback like to drive?
On the road the Outback is a bit slow off the mark. It’s not set up to be sporty but it can feel underpowered if you try to pull away more quickly than the car wants to. It runs very smoothly if you don’t drive it with a lead foot. Due to the type of gearbox the Outback has it can also be noisy when the car is accelerating. Again, smoother inputs result in a better driving experience.
There is a bit of body lean because of the ride height but this affords the car ample clearance over more difficult terrain. Three driving modes are available depending on the conditions: normal, snow/dirt, and deep snow/mud. The vehicle has to slow down enough to select a different driving mode and there’s a noticeable difference in handling in each mode.
In the Touring version we tried it had the advanced driver monitoring system fitted. This analyses your face every time you get in the vehicle and bings at you audibly and with a warning on the dash if it thinks you’re not paying attention to the road.
The blind spot warning is very user friendly and unlike other cars that show an amber warning on the outer edge of the wing mirror, Subaru’s illuminates on the inner side of the mirror. This makes it obvious when there is a vehicle in the blind spot without needing to look over at the mirror.
We like: Great safety equipment We don’t like: Noisy and underpowered
Verdict
The Outback is a highly practical SUV estate crossover. Like most cars that have a niche target market, it has to fit into the owner’s lifestyle. This might be frequently making use of the roof rack, travelling off-road, packing the car with passengers and luggage, or towing. If these activities aren’t in your usual remit then competitors might be able to offer better value for money while stripping back on the rugged specification.
As an alternative to the usual SUV body style, Subaru offers what feels like a robust and well put together car. On the road it can feel a bit sluggish which lets it down but it’s not designed to be a sports car. If the Outback seems like it could be a good option for you, we always recommend going for a test drive to get a feel for the car.
Model tested: Subaru Outback Price (as tested): £42,490 Engine: 2.5-litre petrol Gearbox: CVT automatic
Power: 167 hp Torque: 252 Nm Top speed: 120 mph 0-60 mph: 10.2 seconds
CO2 emissions: 193 g/km Euro NCAP safety rating:Five stars (2021) TCE Expert Rating:C (64%) as of June 2024
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No matter how careful you are with your car, the chances are that it will receive a dent, scratch or scrape at some point during your ownership. But how do you repair that light cosmetic damage without an expensive and time-consuming visit to a bodyshop? With the help of mobile specialists and a cosmetic car repair system called ‘Smart’.
A bump on your door caused by a careless fellow parker, some paint chips from flying stones, a kerbed wheel. These are all relatively minor examples of cosmetic vehicle damage and not dangerous, but annoying all the same.
But, apart from being unsightly and detracting from the otherwise pristine appearance of your car, these small scuffs and dings can actually end up costing you dearly.
If you are leasing the vehicle, any damage will very likely be spotted on its return and a penalty charge made for the repair work. If it’s your own car and you want to sell it, a scratch or dent – even small – can chip away at the price you want for it.
The same applies if you are looking to use your car as part-exchange for another one. Buyers and traders are always looking for ways to haggle any price down and a few scratches or a dent will help them do that.
Separately, minor damage that’s left untreated, can get worse as time goes on and what was once a small scratch or scuff can turn into a hole or rust spot as water and dirt gets in, slowly aggravating the problem.
Today these smaller car bodywork issues can be repaired to a very high standard using a technique known as Smart (Small and Medium Area Repair Technology). Using professional repair products such as primers, high-tech equipment that matches paint hues perfectly, and buffers and polishers to produce factory-quality finishes, technicians can make minor cosmetic damage ‘disappear’ on bodywork and alloy wheels.
Claiming to be the fastest growing mobile repair network in the UK, Axioma has gathered together a team of repairers from across the country to act as ‘partners’. This friendly site has a drop down list of all the areas the brand covers complete with the repairer’s first name and where they are based. If your town or area isn’t listed you can still get in touch with Axioma and they’ll try to ‘find a solution’.
Axioma say that the five-star service they offer comes from the relationship with the partners who take home ‘the lion’s share of the profits’. It’s also environmentally friendly, carrying out 99% of its repairs without replacing any parts.
There’s a ‘Get a quote’ button to press which takes you to a simple damage assessment form. Here you input your personal details and a description of damage and upload supporting pictures. You’ll then receive your estimate and, if agreed, a local repairer will be in touch to arrange a date. Most work can be done on your driveway or home location.
Axioma offers repairs to paint, bumper scuffs, dents, scratches and ‘keyed’ panels and also service larger fleets.
MotorEasy is more of an insurance company than a repair shop, but running your car and keeping it maintained are at the heart of its business. You’ll find warranty, gap insurance, breakdown cover and tyre insurance among its list of products and services. And Smart cosmetic repairs are featured in there too.
From the landing page go to ‘Cosmetic & Alloy Repairs’ from the list running along the bottom. Don’t click on ‘Cosmetic Insurance’ which is a related – but different – offering. MotorEasy has partnered with Dent Wizard and Wheel Wizard repairers, and offers a 10% discount.
There’s a ‘Get a quote’ tab. Select that to go to the next page which takes your personal and vehicle details, plus a drop-down menu to select paint damage or wheel damage. You’re asked for two pictures of the damage and there’s a space to insert some additional notes if necessary, before you request the repair quote.
Technicians offer mobile coverage across the UK and cosmetic car repairs can be carried out ‘at a place that suits you’. They bring their own power so access to properties is not even required.
ChipsAway has been operating for more than 25 years and has built a good reputation for carrying out Smart repairs. Its goal is to repair a car’s bodywork so that you can’t tell it was even damaged in the first place.
The company has amassed a huge network or repairers, with more than 200 across the UK, and is still growing. As well as mobile repairers, the company operates several repair shops called Car Care Centres.
A simple click will get you through to the free estimate page in which you add your details and car’s registration number while a drop down menu allows you to describe the kind of damage you have sustained. From here you’ll receive your estimate.
There’s a separate page containing details of all ChipsAway’s services which include scratches, scuffs and dent removal as well as alloy wheel repairs and a ‘Supagard’ treatment to protect paint in the future.
Specialists in mobile minor bodywork and alloy wheel refurbishment, Revive! works for private car owners, car dealerships, lease and insurance companies and offer all the Smart repairs you would expect.
The simple-to-use website describes these, and include: bumper scuffs, panel damage, paint scratches, small dents, alloy and diamond cut wheel refurbishment and even specialist paint finishes.
Either select the type of repair you need from the top of the landing page, or ‘Find your nearest Revive! Technician’ using your postcode and by selecting from a drop-down menu of repairs. Either way you end up requesting a quote, if you wish.
To ask for the quote you first have to click on a car picture, showing the areas on your vehicle, that have damage. You can also include your own photos. Enter your personal details and click ‘Confirmation’ and an agent will contact you with a no-obligation estimate.
Shine! formed in 2003 as a fully-employed cosmetic car repair service covering the UK. It directly employs their technicians which, they say, allows them to maintain the same level of quality throughout their network.
Partnering with RBS, Halfords and Kwik Fit, Shine! has close relationships with car makers, especially on paint repairs. The company is green-minded and tries to reduce its carbon footprint with measures such as reusable car covers, paint vapour extraction units and ‘paperless’ digital technology.
For a repair estimate, go to the ‘Get a quote’ tab on the landing page. Job One is to enter your car’s registration number. Then you insert personal contact information before going to the next page which asks for at least two photos to be uploaded – one close up and one that’s two metres away, showing a broader view of the damage.
You’ll get a confirmation of the booking and can make arrangements for the place of repair, either at home or your workplace.
A leading organisation that has a network of fully employed mobile repair specialists, DWV also has a franchise operation which should increase nationwide coverage. Its mobile van workshops are equipped with manufacturer approved paints and parts, their own power supply and overhead canopies for outdoor work.
From the home page a drop down menu explains the range of services offered by DWV, namely: alloy wheel, dent and paint repairs including bumper scuffs and scratches.
The ‘Get a quote’ button takes you to an easy-to-use page asking first for your personal details and car registration number. You then select the type (or types) of damage your vehicle has sustained with the help of useful pictures. Click on any of these images and a ‘Good to know’ box explains the typical cost for a repair to each.
You can also upload your own pictures to help with the quote process and then click ‘Request quote’. DWV offer PDR (Paintless Dent Removal) and if your car has a dent that has not chipped the paint they promise a ‘quick and affordable repair solution’.
*The Car Expert has commercial partnerships with Axioma and MotorEasy. If you click through to their websites, we may receive a small commission.
BMW has given its entry-level 1 Series hatchback a wide array of revisions, including new exterior looks, the brand’s latest infotainment software and “extensively improved” chassis technology.
The 1 Series is currently a top-ten best-seller in the UK, and this rather large mid-life facelift is intended to boost consumer demand for the model further as the BMW battles the likes of the Audi A3, which is currently a few thousand sales ahead.
As well as updating the car’s cosmetics and revisiting the car’s chassis design, BMW has also taken the opportunity to slim down the pre-facelift range of gearbox and engine choices. Like the recently updated 3 Series range, diesel engine options have been removed, and the hatchback is no longer available with a manual transmission.
Soon available to order, the refreshed 1 Series has a new front end with a lower nose that features reshaped LED headlights and more prominent air intakes on the front bumper. The traditional chrome-finished BMW kidney grille design makes way for a new oval shaped design finished in black, with vertical or horizontal bars on either end, depending on the model you choose.
The rear end is pretty similar to the pre-facelift model, but BMW has tweaked the LED tail light design and the rear bumper sits slightly lower to the ground too. BMW says that these design changes – including the black rear diffuser elements shown above for ‘M Sport’ models – display the hatchback’s “sporty character more than ever.”
The manufacturer has also decided to make the model slightly larger once again, making it four centimetres longer and two-and-a-half centimetres taller. BMW has also “further developed” the chassis setup with new shock absorber technology to improve stability and steering feedback. The car sits on 17-inch alloy wheels as standard.
Three different trim levels will be available, starting with the lead-in ‘120i Sport’ and mid-range ‘120i M Sport’. Both are powered by a 170hp three-cylinder petrol engine with 48V of mild-hybrid assistance paired with a seven-speed automatic gearbox, but the ‘M Sport’ comes with several sportier cosmetic bodywork features.
The top-of-the-range model is the ‘M135 xDrive’ – a sporty all-wheel drive version powered by 300hp four-cylinder engine, with drive sent through the same seven-speed automatic transmission. This model can complete a 0-62mph sprint in a reported 4.9 seconds – around three seconds faster than the standard model – and comes fitted with an even more aggressive ‘BMW M’ exterior design.
Inside, the big new addition is the brand’s 20-inch curved display that houses the digital instrument cluster and infotainment screen on the dashboard, which is powered by BMW’s latest ‘Operating System 9’ and is compatible with over-the-air updates. BMW has scrapped the buttons for settings like climate control, and moved these controls onto the display.
A head-up display that projects driving information onto the windscreen is on the options list, as is parking assistance tech and ‘glare-free’ adaptive LED headlights. Two-zone automatic air conditioning, a panoramic glass roof and a more advanced Harman Kardon sound system are included with the ‘M135 xDrive’ package.
That just about sums up this facelift. UK pricing starts at just under £30k (excluding additional on-the-road costs, which are yet to be confirmed), rising to £41k for the ‘M135 xDrive’.
The BMW 1 Series currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A, with a score of 70%. The used car rating is a B, but the actual score is only 1% less. The 1 Series scores well for CO2 emissions, safety, running costs and media reviews. The only real downside is that reliability is more problematic than many other cars in its class.
Hyundai has given its compact Bayon crossover a mid-life refresh, which includes updated exterior looks and an on-board tech upgrade.
The Korean brand will be hoping that this facelift for the Bayon – which first arrived on UK roads in 2021 – will increase the model’s appeal in a seriously crowded and competitive small SUV class that is currently dominated by the best-selling Ford Puma.
Starting with the car’s new looks, the Bayon has been given a few front fascia tweaks that Hyundai says makes the car look “sharp and distinctive”. A new daytime running light bar runs across the width of the bonnet – much like the new Hyundai Kona – and the pattern and shape of the front grille have been changed to give the car a more “rugged” appearance.
The manufacturer adds that it has added more body-coloured fixtures to the rear bumper, and the 16- or 17-inch alloy wheel choices have a new alloy design too. Four extra body colours have also been added to the options list (nine total) and a two-tone roof can be specced for an extra fee.
Stepping inside, the layout of the dashboard remains broadly the same post-update, including the previously available ten-inch digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel and the ten-inch central infotainment screen. Formerly offered with higher trim levels, these two displays are now available as standard.
This infotainment setup has also gained over-the-air navigation map updates and customisable LED back-lighting.
The engine line-up looks largely the same too, but with one absence. Just like the i20 hatchback refresh, Hyundai has scrapped the Bayon’s mild-hybrid options as part of this update.
Three trims are available that are all powered by the same 100hp 1.0-litre petrol engine and either a six-speed or seven-speed automatic transmission, starting with the entry-level ‘Advance’. This package includes both ten-inch dashboard displays shown above, cruise control, rear parking sensors, a rear view parking camera, 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, roof rails and lane-keeping assistance tech.
The mid-range ‘Premium’ adds climate control functions, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, front parking sensors, larger 17-inch alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, a heated steering wheel and heated front seats. Finally, the range-topping ‘Ultimate’ comes with a premium Bose sounds system, blind spot monitoring, keyless entry and start up, a glass sunroof and wireless smartphone charging.
That sums up the changes this Bayon facelift introduces. Now available to order in the UK, pricing begins at around £23k, rising to around £27k for the top-spec ‘Ultimate’ trim and seven-speed automatic gearbox configuration.
Marking the Volkswagen Golf’s 50th birthday, a new high-performance ‘Clubsport’ version of the Golf GTI has been unveiled, which will be one of the most powerful hot hatches on the market when it arrives in the UK later this year.
Unveiled at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race in Germany, this is the second ‘Clubsport’ iteration of the Mk8 Golf. Like the first limited-run Mk8 GTI Clubsport which launched alongside the standard GTI in 2021, this new ‘Clubsport’ features the now-familiar narrow LED headlights and wide air intakes of the standard Mk8 Golf, as well as an illuminated Volkswagen badge.
The hot hatch comes with a thick rear spoiler and a slightly reshaped rear diffuser with black detailing, as well as a black roof and red GTI badges on the front doors. The car sits on 19-inch alloy wheels with a new ‘Queenstown’ design pattern.
Under the bonnet, the Clubsport is powered by a 300hp turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that delivers a 0-62mph time of 5.6 seconds. This is the same engine configuration as the 2021 Clubsport, and is 55hp more powerful and 0.8 seconds faster than the standard GTI. The range-topping Golf R is still the more powerful choice with 315hp.
Top speed is electronically capped at 155mph as standard, but the optional ‘Race’ package boosts that to 166mph. Drive is sent through a seven-speed automatic gearbox, and Volkswagen has revised the chassis design to improve the car’s driving dynamics. More advanced adaptive dampers are available as part of an optional Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) package.
The Clubsport also comes with a unique drive mode – ‘Special’. This setting gives you the brand’s unique setup for tackling the narrow winding turns, fast straights and banked turns of the Nürburgring.
Uk pricing is yet to be confirmed for the new Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport, which will become available to order later this year.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI holds an Expert Rating of A with a score of 76%, which is several points higher than the more expensive Golf R.
Increasing new car demand from business and fleet customers masked poor private registrations totals in May, as the overall new car market grew by a modest 2% in last month.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reports that close to 148,000 new cars were registered in the UK in May. The lobbying body adds that it was the best May market performance since 2021, although this registrations result is still 20% lower than the sales total in pre-pandemic May 2019.
New business and fleet registrations grew by 10% and 14% respectively last month, while private new car sales continued to struggle and fell by 13% year-on-year. Private sales account for just 38% of the new car market for 2024 as a whole, while fleet registrations now have a market share of 60%.
Why are private new car sales decreasing?
Consumer new car sales have been sliding since about halfway through the last decade (peaked in 2015/2016), but the slowdown seems to be accelerating in recent months. It affects all types of new cars, and certainly not just EVs as certain national newspapers would love you to believe.
Unless anything radical changes (even more radical than a rout of the current government at the coming election), this trend is going to continue. New car prices are very high, and interest rates are higher than they’ve been for the last 15 years. Inflation on most consumer bills is squeezing household budgets, so buying a new car is getting harder for many people. Car finance terms are getting longer, so people are changing their cars less often. And so sales keep on falling.
Fleet sales are doing well, continuing their recovery from the depths of Covid. Whether this continues in the longer term remains to be seen.
EV uptake increases, but PHEV sales more impressive in May
Following on from a fairly promising 11% EV increase year-on-year in April, the electric car market grew by 6% in May when compared to the same month last year.
EV registrations totalled just over 26,000 last month, as the EV market share holds at 16% for 2024 as a whole. That said, the SMMT adds that the fleet customers are driving this increasing demand, as demand for new private EVs fell by 2%.
EV uptake continues to grow, but is still behind government targets. The Vehicle Emissions Trading Scheme demands that 22% of new vehicles sold this year by each brand must be zero emission.
As the year progresses, we expect to see fiercer discounting on electric cars as car manufacturers scramble to hit their mandate targets and avoid large government fines. It’s a good bet that fleet customers, in particular, will be content to wait a bit longer where possible to get better deals before committing to large EV orders.
While not as popular as the electric car market, the PHEV (plug-in hybrid) sector had much more promising results in May, as sales grew by 32% year-on-year. To increase electric car demand, the SMMT is now calling for the incoming government to provide private consumers with meaningful purchase incentives, suggesting a cut in the VAT levied on public charging from 20% to 5%.
Good month, bad month
The overall market was up just 2% on last May, but there was significant variation between the manufacturers’ performances.
It was a strong month for Alfa Romeo, BMW, BYD, Cupra, GWM Ora, Honda, Jeep, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Renault, SEAT, Skoda, Smart, Volkswagen and Volvo. All of these brands outperformed the overall market by at least 10%.
The news wasn’t so good for Alpine, Audi, Bentley, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Ford, Genesis, Lexus, Maserati, Mini, Peugeot, Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Toyota or Vauxhall, who were all at least 10% below the overall market – meaning they sold the same or fewer cars than last May.
That leaves Abarth, Citroen, Dacia, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, and Suzuki who all pretty much held steady, being within plus or minus 10% of the overall new car market.
Volkswagen continued to be the UK’s best-selling car brand in May, ahead of Audi, BMW, Kia and Mercedes-Benz.
Kia Sportage chasing the top spot
The Kia Sportage SUV was the best-selling new model in May, while last month’s winner – the popular Ford Puma crossover – finished second in the monthly rankings.
The best-selling new car in 2023, the Ford Puma is establishing itself as the car to beat once again in this year’s registrations race, and despite finishing second in May, still holds a sales lead of over 3,000 models five months into 2024.
A car that sold in fairly inconsistent numbers in 2023, the Audi A3 is establishing itself as a top ten mainstay this year, taking the final podium place in May’s sales leaderboard.
Volkswagen will be content with its May sales numbers, as both its compact Polo and larger Golf family car were in demand. That said, the Volkswagen T-Roc was absent from the May rankings, threatening the crossover’s place in the annual top ten.
The Nissan Qashqai – a former best seller – only finished seventh in May and drops to third in the annual race as a result. Meanwhile the Hyundai Tucson has re-entered the monthly top ten after its recent facelift, but hasn’t recorded enough sales to re-appear in the annual top ten just yet.
Now retired, the long-standing Mini hatch has finally dropped out of the annual top ten for the final time, making way for the Vauxhall Corsa. Mini will be hoping that its new Mini Cooper range will be able to match the sales of its predecessor in the coming months.
Finally, the Tesla Model Y has been missing from the monthly top ten best-sellers for two months now. Named the world’s most popular car just a few months ago, and the best selling car in the UK last December, it seems that the Model Y isn’t selling in the quantities it did last year.
We’ll have our usual detailed look at the top ten in the coming days.
