AUTOCAR

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ELECTRIC CARS REALLY CAN DELIVER DRIVER FUN

AS WE NUDGE ever closer to ‘The Ban’

C63 ditches V8 for 4WD PHEV

New Mercedes-AMG super-saloon turns to hybrid four-pot set-up to pack 670bhp

BMW XM powers up new era

Bespoke hybrid SUV takes M division into new territory; 738bhp version to follow

Volvo EX90 EV due next year

New large SUV will arrive alongside a heavily updated version of today’s ICE XC90

Mitsubishi could return to the UK with multiple electric cars

MITSUBISHI WILL CONSIDER re-entering the UK market only

Autocar invites you to Ariel Q&A

AUTOCAR READERS ARE invited to join editor-inchief Steve

Renault 5 becomes EV drifter

Special rear-wheel-drive EV takes inspiration from the 1980s Renault 5 Turbo 2

Lambo V8 racer set for 2024 Le Mans

LAMBORGHINI’S HOTLY anticipated LMDh hypercar racer will use

Xpeng G9 is world’s fastest-charging SUV

CHINESE ELECTRIC VEHICLE manufacturer Xpeng has launched the

Battery health key to EV values

Calls for car makers to share data so owners can track variations in battery condition

JLR starts work to turn Halewood into EV factory

Plant will be converted to build cars on new EMA platform in 2024, securing medium-term future

Astra kicks off hot GSe line-up

Vauxhall’s go-faster GSe brand makes its debut in a lowered, 222bhp Astra PHEV

Polestar 3 pricing and key technical details revealed

THE HOTLY ANTICIPATED Polestar 3 will make its

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: HOW BMW IS RESHAPING EV BATTERY TECH

BMW and its partners are building new battery

INSIDE INFORMATION

Are cars like EQS SUV anachronistic despite being

THE NOTEBOOK

NO V12 FOR THE URUS Lamborghini CTO Rouven

Matt Prior

TESTER’S NOTES

Steve Cropley

MY WEEK IN CARS

OUT OF THIS WORLD

RACING LINES

WRX in Portugal

Grönholm ended Kristoffersson’s winning streak IT WAS A

MOTORSPORT GREATS

GETTY IMAGES That name, those good looks. For

YOUR VIEWS

LETTER OF THE WEEK

Twingo and co make small cars fun again

Twingo replaced 4 and was similarly long-lived, sold

Prost announces retirement ahead of winning fourth title

Alain Prost is one of the all-time greats

BMW’s electric supermini

The E1 concept, an electric supermini revealed in

German island trials EV life

Germany really did seem keen on an electric

SLIDESHOW

SUVs the world forgot about

SMART #1

Premium miniatures never earned Smart a profit. An electric crossover built with Geely hardware represents a clean break

SMART #1 BRABUS

Famously unhinged German tuner adds second motor to EV for extra 154bhp

BMW X1

Third generation gets new platform, updated engine range and angrier styling

BMW iX1

The X1 offers petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and now electric power, too

BMW ALPINA B4 GRAN COUPE

Four-door 4 Series shell combines with B3’s 488bhp engine and bespoke upgrades

BENTLEY BENTAYGA EWB

Crewe stretches SUV by 180mm and ups luxury even further to create new flagship

Citroën C5 X

MODEL TESTED PURETECH 180 SHINE PLUS

VERDICT

Good value and comfy, it’s the kind of car Citroën should be making

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?

Electric driver’s cars: do they exist and, if so, can they stir the soul like their piston-powered brethren? Let’s find out at our first-ever EV Handling Day

THE FINAL THREE

Taycan is rewarding however it’s configured OKAY, LET’S

TROJAN HORSE FOUND INNUNEATON

The Apricale’s Nuneaton-based makers call this 1000kg, 1072bhp, hydrogen hypercar a Trojan horse because they have big, more mainstream ambitions for its F1-grade tech, as Steve Cropley learns

Hybrid health check

The British Touring Car Championship this year became the first tin-top series to introduce an electrical element. Matt James investigates how successful it has been so far

JAGUAR E-PACE

Plug-in hybrid departs with a reputation for excelling at long trips and urban trudges – despite two shortcomings

CUPRA BORN

Why going for the quick fix of a fast charger doesn’t always leave you feeling a winner

BMW iX

EVs are all the same, eh? Clearly you’ve not tried this one, then

AUDI TT

Come this way if you want a coupé, writes Mark Pearson

James Ruppert

KICKING TYRES

YOU CAN’T BEAT A BIT OF BULLY

The Lamborghini Gallardo is super-fun and surprisingly reliable, says Oliver Young

HOW TO GET ONE IN YOUR GARAGE

An expert’s view RUPESH JETHWA, LAMBORGHINI BRAND DIRECTOR,

NEW CARS A TO Z

For full reviews of every car listed here, visit our website, autocar.co.uk

ROAD TEST INDEX

A road test in any other magazine might