Car review

Kia’s hot EV6 aims to ruffle feathers, and win fans, in the performance car ether The notion of high performance has always been implicit in the promise of the modern EV. In fact, so used are we now to the idea of the electric performance car that some critics seem already to have written them off as sterile, one-dimensional and fundamentally unengaging.And so the likes of this week’s road test subject – the Kia EV6 GT – may face an uphill battle convincing some people that they can fulfil their primary purpose as enthusiast’s cars. Watching how each of them addresses that challenge will be interesting over the coming months and years. Having entered UK showrooms earlier this year, the EV6 GT is nothing less than the fastest, most powerful, most dramatic and most exciting production car that Kia has ever built – or so the company’s promotional literature has it.Sharing the chassis of the critically acclaimed standard EV6, the GT adds not only power but technical sophistication too. Its new high-output rear motor may take care primarily of its eye-catching 3.5sec 0-62mph acceleration claim, but elsewhere the application of adaptively damped suspension, proper mechanical torque vectoring and detailed performance tuning is meant to take this car’s dynamic capabilities to far greater heights. And that they do all of that – in tandem with 577bhp of peak power output – for little more than the price of a 345bhp Porsche Cayman S or a 369bhp BMW M340i might not have escaped your attention.Range at a GlanceModelsPowerFromRWD Air223bhp£45,190RWD GT-Line223bhp£48,190AWD GT-Line321bhp£51,690RWD GT-Line S223bhp£52,690AWD GT-Line S321bhp£56,190AWD GT577bhp£62,645The EV6 comes with a 77kWh battery in all guises. Beyond that, you choose between one (RWD) or two (AWD) motors, before getting to the performance-tuned GT. At the foot of the range, the EV6 Air goes without adaptive headlights, electric front-seat adjustment, an electric tailgate, wireless device charging and a parking camera. The GT, by contrast, comes almost fully laden, but metallic paint, racing stripes, locking wheel nuts and rims up to 21in in diameter can be added.

Honda’s second EV is an HR-V lookalike that takes it into a tough electric arena Honda set out confidently with its first electric car, the likeable Honda e; but now that it’s taking a second swing, it’s getting a little bit more sensible.The Honda e:Ny1 is the all-electric compact SUV that, it’s hoped, will make a more commercially transformative prospect for Honda’s European sales volumes than its zero-emissions sibling has so far proven. Roughly the same size as the hybrid-powered HR-V, it uses a front-mounted drive motor and front wheel drive. This is our first taste of one on UK roads.Honda’s high hopes for the e:Ny1 are vital for its zero-emission goals. As a result of the zero-emission mandate, the brand expects 22% of its registrations by the end of 2024 to consist of e:Ny1 sales, which is equivalent to around 7500 cars.The firm has selected quite a congested segment in which to launch the car. By Honda’s own reckoning, the e:Ny1 will directly face off with the likes of the Toyota bZ4X, Renault Mégane E-Tech, Volkswagen ID 4 and even the extremely popular Tesla Model Y. As the first car in Europe based on the firm’s e:N Architecture F platform, it will share its new modular platform with larger all-electric Hondas still to come.Honda positions the e:Ny1 as an acceptable and comfortable stepping stone into BEV ownership for both existing customers and those who are new to the brand. It looks like it will become just that sooner rather than later, too, given that Rebecca Adamson, Honda UK’s head of automobile, has said there would be no direct successor to the Honda E urban hatchback.

The UK's best-selling vehicle has just had a thorough refresh. No, it's not the Nissan Qashqai: it's a Transit van When one of the country’s best-selling vehicles gets updated, people tend to take note, but we’re not talking about a Volkswagen Golf, Nissan Qashqai or Vauxhall Corsa here.That’s because the UK’s most popular vehicle for the past two years has been a van, namely the Ford Transit Custom. More than a decade after its launch, the mid-sized model in the Transit range has had a complete makeover, readying itself for a host of future updates that will include the fully electric Ford e-Transit as well as an updated hybrid.

Britain’s market-leading small EV gets a mid-life refresh with a new face, upgraded kit and bigger battery option As the electric car scene steadily grows, new brands are cropping up and coming to the fore, some grabbing market share phenomenally quickly and establishing new, alternative reputations among their evangelical followers.But, among the cut-priced alternatives from eastern markets, some of the old car makers are seizing the opportunities that zero-emissions motoring brings rather effectively too, backed by the established sales and support machinery and the customer bases that have sustained them so well for so long.Here’s a case in point: one of Britain’s best-selling small electric cars is the Vauxhall Corsa Electric, the all-electric version of the company’s sixth-generation Vauxhall Corsa. When it launched in March 2020 (then as the Corsa-e), it was received well by buyers, quickly topping the charts month after month.It was also no mean feat for Vauxhall to have punched such a neat hole through the resistance of established competitors like the Renault Zoe and BMW i3, to have beaten off fresher challengers such as the Mini Electric, Honda E and Mazda MX-30, and even to have scalped in-house relation the Peugeot e-208, in order to score that result.By its nature, it’s a simpler and more familiar kind of EV than some of its rivals, designed and intended very much to make the switch to electric motoring easy. It isn’t a particularly quirky or different sort of EV, then – and, as we’ll explain, it doesn’t look particularly alternative, doesn’t offer myriad, oddly titled trim levels, and doesn't come made of a host of recycled materials. You don’t buy it on subscription; you don’t own the car but lease the battery; and you needn’t join a cult to have one. This is just a small, pretty simple electric car – but one that comes with a price you might just be able to stomach, a real-world range that might just suit your purposes, and very few airs or graces besides. And now it arrives with a mid-life refresh to propel itself back to the top. Vauxhall hopes to achieve that by giving it a smart new face, improved interior, and, most importantly, a bigger battery pack with longer range. Is it any good? We find out.Facelifted 2023 Vauxhall Corsa Electric tested by Will Rimell

The UK's best-selling vehicle has just had a thorough refresh? No, it's not the Qashqai. It's the Ford Transit Custom When one of country’s best-selling vehicles gets updated people tend to take note, but we’re not talking about a Volkswagen Golf, Nissan Qashqai or the Vauxhall Corsa.That’s because the UK’s most popular vehicle for the past two years has been a van, the Ford Transit Custom. More than a decade after its launch, the mid-sized model in the Transit range has had a complete makeover, readying itself for a host of future updates that will include a full battery-electric Ford Transit EV as well as an updated hybrid.