Autocar magazine 15 July - on sale now
This week: Nissan Ariya revealed, Bentley Flying Spur road tested, three seats to the wind in the McLaren Speedtail and much more
Nissan has introduced the Ariya, the Japanese marque’s second EV and its first SUV to run purely on electricity.
Clever technology, ‘exciting’ handling and a performance variant with up to 389bhp are its defining features, but there’s plenty more to the car that Nissan claims will “mark a new era for electric vehicles”. We lift the bonnet.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Cupra has revealed the new El-Born, dialling up the EV’s sportiness with “significant design and performance upgrades”. Then, Mercedes unleashes its 720bhp AMG GT Black Series, the long-awaited sports car being powered by the most potent V8 engine that AMG has ever made.
Meanwhile, the Lamborghini Sian Roadster variant emerges from the show covers to usurp the Ferrari 812 GTS as the world’s most powerful open-top production car. It produces 808bhp, which is almost double the grunt made by the BMW’s new 2 Series Coupé, spotted stretching its legs in Mexico this week.
This year’s Festival of Speed may have been cancelled but Goodwood is set to host a behind-closed-doors motoring festival in mid-October to “keep the flame alive” and recoup some lost revenue.
Then, LEVC reveals the van version of its TX taxi, the VN5, and opens the order books, BMW chases Jag’s I-Pace with its new iX3, the marque’s second fully electric model which packs a 285-mile range, and Land Rover replaces the V6 and V8 diesel engines for its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models with a new 3.0-litre straight-six mild hybrid.
In this week’s business section, we survey the changing landscape of car sales in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, finding public “appetite for spending remains questionable”. Jim Holder caps the news section by weighing up the pros and the cons of FCA-PSA merger.
-Reviews-
The Polestar 2 kicks off our first drives this week as Volvo’s new electrified performance brand makes its big introductory statement with a rival to the Tesla Model 3. Then, we get behind the wheel of the off-road Ariel that thinks it’s an asphalt rally car. Is it another gem from the British marque?
The Mercedes-Benz GLB 220d has a stern rival in the Land Rover Discovery Sport, while the AMG GLE 53 4Matic sports bold looks, rippling muscles and honed dynamics and Hyundai takes on the VW Up GTI with the new i10 N Line.
In the Autocar road test, the Bentley Flying Spur comes under the microscope, while its long-standing rival stars in this week’s road test rewind. The second Phantom of Rolls-Royce’s modern era showed itself to be a world-beater.
-Features-
The McLaren Speedtail has been labelled the spiritual successor to the legendary F1. So it’s only fitting for Andrew Frankel, the man who reviewed the F1 for Autocar all those years ago, to get behind the wheel for a first drive.
Then, from one £1m-plus supercar to several others. James Banks, the man behind ultra-exclusive digital members club LaSource, tells us how he brokers the world’s rarest metal for discrete buyers.
There are cars everyone raves about - and others only diehard fans covet. Our writers round-up their picks from both camps.
Finally, in the motorsport section, we catch up with triple world touring car champion Andy Priaulx, before pondering what awaits for British motorsport after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Opinions
Steve Cropley has been waiting for ages to get hold of the latest-spec Mazda MX-5. But how much of an improvement really is it over his 2015 model? Then again, the real problem may just be our man’s rusty driving. Cue a phone call to Jonathan Palmer, founder and head honcho of Palmer Sport to book a much-needed lesson. Elsewhere, Matt Prior muses on the surprising versatility of the Ariel Nomad R.
-Deals-
If you’re thinking about dropping £25k to convert your classic car into an EV, our Bangernomics expert James Ruppert advises you to think again. The same dough will buy you some of the most interesting used cars in the world, such as a 2010 Alpina B10 Touring.
We also cast an eye on the Toyota Hilux pick-up, star of this week’s used buying guide and as reliable a workhorse as they come, while the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe can be had for an astonishing £12,000 in our nearly-new guide.
-Where to buy-
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