Car review

Spiritual successor to the iconic Carlton, or just another hugely powerful electric wannabe? Before we get stuck into the new Lotus Emeya, ask yourself: has any car maker changed its tune so abruptly as the historically Norfolk-based outfit?It seems only months ago that we were haring around the track at Hethel, goading an Exige 390 Sport Final Edition – all 1138kg of it – into misbehaving. That day was in fact in 2021, but it may as well be ancient history, because the Exige is extinct and the now Anglo-Chinese marque is launching its second pure-electric, four-wheel-drive, two-tonne-plus, luxury-slanted, tech-drenched, five-door car. Exige-style unassisted steering is to the Emeya what hieroglyphs are to artificial intelligence.This £90,000 Lotus is a slope-backed GT-type car arriving on the heels of the Eletre SUV. It has been on sale in China since the start of the year but is now here in Europe. It was conceived in quite an interesting way that makes it an alternative to both the Porsche Taycan and the Mercedes-Benz EQS.Such breadth could prove pivotal if Lotus is to reach its stated target of selling 150,000 cars annually by 2028 – roughly the point at which it hopes to give us an asphalt-sniffing, two-seat electric sports car. Note, though, that in the same way the Boxster wouldn’t exist if the Cayenne hadn’t once lit a fire under Porsche’s ailing business model, any ‘Elise 2.0’ won’t surface if the Eletre and Emeya don’t sell convincingly.

Facelifted Golf gains much needed interior upgrades and new base four-cylinder engine - is it better than ever? If success breeds complacency in the car business, one car above all others ought to bear it out: the Volkswagen Golf. And yet over nearly five decades, we’ve yet to see much more than a sniff of proof of it. In Volkswagen’s case, the standing of one of the industry’s quiet icons only gets greater and greater.Understanding the unique position the Golf occupies on this continent can only be done by appreciating the margin of its sales dominance. At one point, it was Europe's biggest-selling new car by a country mile, topping the continent's sales charts for 15 straight years, until the Peugeot 208 knocked it off the perch in 2022. When it was introduced in 2019, many thought the Mk8 Golf could be the boldest redefinition of Volkswagen's enduring family five-door since the Mk5.It sported a modern, smart exterior with a newly hybridised powertrain armoury, sharpened ride and handling, a reductionist cabin design and market-leading active safety technology. This was a concerted effort by one of the world’s most powerful car makers to arrest the steady shrinking of the European mid-sized hatchback segment.Now, in 2024, the Golf has been treated to a facelift, marking the middle of the Mk8's life - and it's a clear sign of just how highly Volkswagen continues to value the combustion-engined Golf against a brace of more contemporary electric cars.Volkswagen Golf range at a glanceThe updated Golf range kicks off with choice of turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engines, with 114bhp and 148bhp and the choice of mild-hybrid assistance.A reworked turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine also joins the range with an added 13bhp, at 201bhp, in the upgraded 2.0 TSI; and an added 20bhp, at 262bhp, in the hot Golf GTI, which is no longer available with a manual gearbox. 

Citroen's largest MPV wants to combine pizzazz with polished and practical family travel - does it? The award-winning Citroen Grand C4 Picasso and its successor, the equally celebrated but barely changed Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer, may seem like dinosaurs in a market moving to electric cars, but families still need to travel, and with household budgets squeezed, these practical people-movers make a great buy.The earliest are now 10 years old but the newest only two, so there’s a seven-seat C4 to suit most pockets. Impressively, from launch in 2014, the 2.0 BlueHDi 150 diesel engine was Euro 6-compliant; lower-powered engines became so within a year. It means there’s a wide choice of cleaner oil burners at a range of prices.That’s good because most Grand C4 Picassos are diesel, while Spacetourers are split equally between diesel and petrol.The root of the big C4’s appeal is its platform, which has a longer wheelbase – at the launch, Citroën claimed it was the longest in the class – and a wider track than its predecessor. Both features contribute to significantly increased interior space, which Citroën’s designers, being an innovative lot, exploited to the full.Certainly, middle-row passengers occupying the individual split-fold seats will have little to complain about, while, even with the admittedly cramped third row in use, the boot is still reasonably large. Folding both rows down and sliding the middle one forwards creates 2181 litres of load space. On top-spec versions, the front passenger seat folds down, so loads of up to nine feet long can be carried. Before we get too carried away, though, it’s worth pointing out that the Ford Galaxy, Seat Alhambra and Volkswagen Sharan are bigger – but more expensive.The Grand C4 Picasso’s engine line-up is dominated by diesels: a couple of 1.6-litres and a 2.0-litre, with the more powerful 1.6 and the 2.0 available with a choice of six-speed manual or automatic gearbox.We reckon the 2.0 BlueHDi 150 is the engine best matched to the car, and the auto is preferred over the manual. If the 2.0-litre is out of your price range, the next best engine is the 1.6 BlueHDi 120. The sole petrol is the 1.2 Puretech 130, which is smooth and punchy – although you may have to travel far to find one.With the arrival of the Spacetourer, the 2.0 BlueHDi 150 diesel became the 160, while the 1.6 diesel engines were soon replaced by the 1.5 BlueHDi 130. Both engines were offered with eight-speed auto ’boxes, the 2.0-litre as standard but the 1.5 as an option.Again, the 2.0-litre is best matched to the car, but used examples are extremely scarce. That leaves the 1.5, but it’s by no means a poor choice, being smooth, economical and well capable of hauling a full car. The 1.2 petrol remains the best choice for town drivers.The stylish look of the Grand C4 Picasso and Spacetourer is mirrored inside, where soft-touch plastics and satin finishes abound. Lower down, material quality is not so great, but the seats and trim appear to hold up well. Storage space is plentiful and includes two large, lidded areas in the dashboard; top-spec versions get picnic tables.The range was mildly facelifted in 2016, and with the Spacetourer in 2018 came more equipment and safety technology. With its 12in driver display, sat-nav and parking sensors, Feel, or Sense as it became on Spacetourers from 2020, is the best trim.

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.