Car review

Toyota's efficient petrol-electric entry to the compact crossover class goes under the knife for some mid-life updates There are few greater automotive bandwagons on which to jump than launching a compact crossover. Toyota was late to the game with its Toyota Yaris Cross, which didn't join the brand's line-up until 2021. Riding on the coat-tails of the Toyota Yaris nameplate it as least had solid foundations, and over the last few years has proved to be a capable and extremely efficient addition to the line-up, not to mention one of the Japanese giant's biggest sellers.Now Toyota has treated the high-riding supermini to a bit of a mid-life refresh, although the changes are relatively minor. Perhaps the biggest news is the addition of a more powerful 129bhp version of the car's tried-and-tested petrol-electric hybrid powertrain, which is now available alongside the standard 114bhp version.The firm has also claimed to have made some changes under the skin aimed at improving refinement (and so, presumably, further distancing it from of its cheaper supermini namesake).Other changes include the addition of some extra driver safety aids, plus the temporary addition of a Premiere Edition flagship that celebrates the arrival of the new model with a limited production run, some extra kit and a natty two-tone paint job.

Petrol hatchback enters its fourth generation and promises driver fun at a competitive price With all the hubbub around the new electric Mini Cooper, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that there is still a normal, petrol-powered one that’s being built in Oxford as before.At a glance, you will struggle to tell it apart from the electric Mini Cooper E and Mini Cooper SE, even though underneath they're completely different cars.While the EVs sit on a brand-new, electric-only platform, the petrol cars are a thorough revamp of the old F56 Mini hatch, using the same UKL architecture that’s shared with the BMW 1 Series.But it does look remarkably similar; it doesn’t even have a visible exhaust. The easiest way to know you’re not looking at the EV is that it retains the black plastic wheel-arch trims. It also keeps the more traditional door handles and clamshell bonnet.

Skoda attempts to bring Enyaq brilliance to the smaller end of the SUV market Even if you’re wedded to car news, the onslaught of new models from various manufacturers might appear bewildering. To be clear, then, this forthcoming Skoda Elroq is the company’s smallest electric SUV.Think of it as the electric equivalent of the Skoda Karoq, which, for all you ICE fans, remains on sale.

Peugeot opens up the seven-seat electric car market with a 311-mile, sensibly sized new SUV Seven-seat electric cars have been in short supply for some time. Other than a handful of fairly short-range, van-based options, the Mercedes-Benz EQB had the market to itself for a few years, with the bigger Kia EV9 only arriving last year. And now the new Peugeot e-5008 has joined the fray.Based on Peugeot parent company Stellantis's new STLA Medium platform, the third-generation 5008 comes as a 1.2-litre petrol hybrid, a 1.6 petrol plug-in hybrid (with an electric-only range of 48 miles) or a full EV, which we're focusing on here.Called the e-5008, it has a nickel-manganese-cobalt battery of either 73kWh or 96kWh in capacity.If range is your priority, then the big-battery version will arrive in early 2025 with a WLTP range of up to 410 miles. Deliveries of a dual-motor 73kWh model will start at a similar time, with 311 miles of official range, despite having four-wheel drive and 318bhp.The single-motor 73kWh model will likely be the biggest seller. It's turning up this summer and manages the same 311 miles of range (although all of the WLTP figures are yet to be finalised).Charging speeds max out at 160kW, which is claimed to be good enough for 62 miles of range in 10 minutes or 20-80% in 30 minutes. Not bad, but also nothing that’s going to worry Tesla, Kia or Hyundai.

Nissan's mould-breaking electric hatchback closes in on its dotage by pitching to steal buyers from the Chinese brands The second-generation of the pioneering Nissan Leaf electric hatchback is now fading slowly towards retirement. It inherited quite a legacy from its mould-setting predecessor, which became the first truly globally sold, mass-produced, all-electric vehicle of the modern era when it entered production in 2010. It wasn’t until 2020 that even the mighty Tesla could eclipse the Leaf’s tally of commercial success, when the Tesla Model 3 finally overtook it for cumulative sales of any single model. To date, more than 650,000 ‘Leaves’ have been sold the world over since 2010; one in the eye for the Renault Zoe which, while more popular in Europe, itself never made it through the half-million-unit mark.Nissan replaced the jelly-mould-like first-generation car with this sharper-looking second one in 2017; and, at the time, the improvements it made on its forebear (battery range went up by 50%, motor power by 40%, and torque by 25%) looked sizable. It went further still and launched an ‘e+’ version of the car in 2019, which pushed electric range up as far as 239 miles.Such is the pace at which the mass-market electric car has advanced since then, however, that the Leaf now offers notably less performance, battery range and rapid charging speed than key rivals; and so it has been forced to compete for business at the budget end of the class, the larger-batteried version of thecar having been discontinued in 2023.While local UK production of the car at Nissan’s Sunderland factory wound up in March 2024, enough dealer stock exists to see the car through the rest of this year and into 2025. So is there still some rational appeal to find in this electric old-stager?