Car review

Renault finds an opening for yet another family-friendly SUV, this one with compact proportions and hybrid power Renault boss Luca de Meo has a knack for populism when it comes to new models, and he’s clearly very happy for the formerly alternative and once-innovative volume car brand he now runs to simply keep on bringing the kind of cars that people are actually buying right now.By this tester’s reckoning, his firm will have eight models on sale in the UK by the end of this year, across the well-worn B-segment (supermini), C-segment (compact) and D-segment (mid-size) – and six of them could loosely be described as SUVs. The latest is the Renault Symbioz, a hybrid-powered, smaller sibling for the Austral, and between the two, Renault hopes to outnumber and outflank the likes of the Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage and Volkswagen Tiguan.

The M5 Touring returns after 14 years with a tub-thumping V8 PHEV drivetrain - and we've had an early first taste Dirk Hacker, vice-president and head of R&D at BMW’s M division, says he loves the winding mountain roads of North Wales, but the customs regulations his team has had to negotiate in order to get their cars here… not so much.Autocar road testers have spent decades convincing industry people like Hacker to bring their prototypes to the UK, in order to better tune them for the kinds of dynamic challenges their cars will face here. Now, post-Brexit, it seems we might just as well have been inviting them to Antarctica, such are the practical hurdles to overcome.However, when there’s a car like the Touring version of the forthcoming BMW M5 in the final stages of development, and an event like the Goodwood Festival of Speed to make a cameo appearance at, it seems they can still be convinced. So here we are, one Tuesday in early July, in the new G99-generation estate version of BMW’s newly plug-in-hybridised performance exec, with some decidedly wet, tight, bumpy and slippery North Walian ‘input’ to provide.

Compact, upmarket and arguably revolutionary - is the BMW i3 a good used buy? If you bought a BMW i3 when new, know that, like BMW, you were ahead of the game.This compact electric hatchback was comfortably the best contender in its class when it was launched in 2013, with a competitive official range of up to 205 miles, whip-crack acceleration that didn’t tail off in the motor’s upper reaches and bold styling that still hasn’t dated.That the i3 had such capabilities should come as no surprise, because an incredible amount of care was taken during its six-year development.It was hidden away from not only the media and other car makers but even other sections of BMW’s already secretive Munich R&D centre.The car was hugely controversial at the time, however, with some BMW engineers reputedly lamenting a perceived waste of money they had worked hard to earn the firm over the years.But that difficult birth was of a car that changed the face not only of BMW but of EVs too.It arrived in the UK ahead of Tesla’s Model S, aiming to prove that EVs could be different from the three-box norm – and by the time it went out of production in July 2022, we continued to gawp and eventually mourn its death.This was partly because of its ability to push the envelope. It had a carbonfibre-reinforced plastic body atop an aluminium chassis, the upshot of which was a 1290kg kerb weight.That’s 300kg less than the first Renault Zoe and even 400kg lighter than the modern GWM Ora 03 – an astonishing achievement.Two powertrains were available: an EV with 168bhp and a claimed range of 80 -100 miles and a range extender (REx) with the same BMW-developed electric motor but also a 647cc two-cylinder petrol engine from a motorbike.Both versions sent their power to the rear wheels via a single-speed transmission from a 22kWh, 33kWh or 42.2kW h battery pack.Performance? The standard i3 gets from 0-62mph in 7.3sec – about the same as today’s BMW 320d. But its mid-range performance is a real asset, with 50-75mph taking 4.9sec. That’s only 0.5sec slower than a contemporary BMW M4.Athleticism around bends is the i3’s real forte, though, because despite an upright body and high centre of gravity, it contains body roll nicely, with enough purchase and balance to provide a flexible B-road gait.Come facelift time in 2018, BMW added the i3s (for ‘sport’), which in addition to making an extra 11bhp and 15lb ft sat 10mm lower on a 40mm-wider track and had 20in wheels shod with performance tyres, making it more settled and very compelling indeed.Which variant we would recommend depends on your driving. If you simply want something small for commuting, plump for the i3s REx, with its real-world 190-mile range, compared with a mere 100 miles for the EV.No matter which version you go for, though, you get a lounge-like interior in which the materials feel as soft as they are attractive and as plush as they are hard-wearing.The cabin also feels more expensive than it really is, thanks to the lack of transmission tunnel and a minimalist dashboard design. Then there is BMW’s excellent dial controlled iDrive infotainment.So, let’s see: it’s handsome, fast, rangy, spacious and, even now, one of the best small EVs you can buy. No wonder a former Audi chief designer bought two of them. 

New Multivan base promises more space and better driving manners for Volkswagen's camper When you think about camper vans, the Volkswagen California is likely where your mind goes first, since you can trace its ancestry back to conversions of the original Type 2 Transporter back in 1950.Obviously, a lot has changed since then and the new California shares its underpinnings and engine line-up with the long-wheelbase Volkswagen Multivan instead of the traditional Transporter van.

Mid-sized crossover gets a mid-life update with refreshed styling and an improved interior When the first ever Hyundai Tucson launched in 2004, few would have guessed it would one day become one of the UK’s best-selling cars. Its current, fourth-generation guise went on sale in 2020, which has boosted the Hyundai Motor Group’s positioning as the fourth-biggest manufacturer in the world based on the number of cars sold between its Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands.It finished 2023 as the UK’s sixth-best-selling model - ahead of key rivals such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Kia Sportage - helping to reshape Hyundai’s image along the way. A facelift in 2024 brings a modified exterior design and an improved interior. The Tuscon has been representative of Hyundai’s product improvement, making better and better vehicles in their conventional everyday line-up, that has done the job, plus identifying growing market segments such as compact SUVs and crossovers and pitching cars into them with not just aggressive pricing but also genuine quality and ability. Its latest generation arrived with a bold visual overhaul, looking far more striking than its predecessor. The first-generation Hyundai Tucson of 2004 felt not-for-us, with heavy plastic cladding, which its replacement, the Hyundai iX35, traded for weirdness.The third-generation Hyundai Tucson of 2015 started to get the groove outside and inside, with European-friendly styling and a competitive driving experience. Hyundai Tucson range at a glanceAll of the new Tucson’s powertrains are based around Hyundai’s turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, with varying degrees of electrical assistance. With its plug-in hybrid powertrain, this crossover offers the broadest array of powertrains anywhere in the Korean giant's line-up, even in 2024. The range opens with a 157bhp petrol engine, followed by a 48V 157bhp mild-hybrid unit. A more powerful 212bhp mild hybrid is next in-line, while the range is topped by a 252bhp plug-in hybrid offering 271lb ft and an electric-only range of 39 miles. The Tucson is available with five trim levels: Advance, Premium, N Line, N-Line S and Ultimate.VersionPower1.6T 160PS157bhp1.6T 160PS 48V Mild Hybrid157bhpHybrid 1.6T 215PS212bhpPlug-in Hybrid 1.6T 252PS252bhp