Autocar UK Magazine - March 05, 2025

In this issue

Jaguar’s new EVs and rebranding.
V8 returns for Merc-AMG CLE 63.
First sight of Kia’s new £25,000 EV.
EV tech to take BMW to next level.
New Audi A6 Avant keeps diesel.
Hyundai Ioniq 9
BMW iX and hot iX M70
Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Hybrid

JAG FORGES NEW ERA WITH 'EMOTIONAL' 986BHP ELECTRIC GT

Striking-looking GT will kick off a series of radical EVs that distil the best of the brand's dynamic heritage, says Jag's boss

10 mins

MERCEDES-AMG REVERTS TO V8 ENGINE FOR NEW CLE 63

U-turn follows commercial failure of C63’s four-cylinder PHEV system

2 mins

KIA PREVIEWS £25K, LONGRANGE RENAULT 5 FİGHTER

New EV2, due in 2026, is announced with an eye-catching concept

2 mins

NEW BMW EV TECH TO GIVE 'QUANTUM LEAP FORWARD'

Incoming Gen6 platform will transform all future BMW, Mini and Rolls EVs

6 mins

NEW AUDI A6 AVANT KEEPS THE DIESEL FLAME BURNING

Sporty-looking next-gen estate arrives in diesel-hybrid and petrol guise

2 mins

Steve Cropley

What a week! It began with a lingering visit to one of the few motor shows I’d never attended: Race Retro in the old Royal Showground at Stoneleigh Park, south of Coventry.

2 mins

Matt Prior

I've bought an Audi A2. It’s a 2003 74bhp 1.4-litre diesel and, because it didn’t have an MOT, it cost me £500.

3 mins

Damien Smith

The most tiresome catchphrase in motorsport? 'It's not as good as it used to be.' Inevitably true in some respects, it's also false in at least as many and always utterly pointless to dwell on. The world keeps spinning, and while it's both enjoyable and important to reflect on and indulge in the past (I admit that I'm as guilty as anyone), it's also vital to live for today and squeeze every drop from the here and now.

3 mins

YOUR VIEWS

Your recent article on the Sonic 1 in-wheel electric motor (News, 22 January) reported that each unit would add 40kg of unsprung weight.

5 mins

HYUNDAI IONIQ 9

Here comes another upmarket seven-seat SUV with a calm and cosseting ambience and a long-range electric powertrain

5 mins

BMW iX

Changes to chassis and EV tech promise superior driving and for longer

5 mins

MERCEDES-AMG GLE 53 HYBRID

Six-cylinder performance version of big luxury SUV gains a PHEV sibling

4 mins

Testing, testing

Fans of the egg-faced volte-face will be smirking into their coffee mugs this week at the news that Mercedes-AMG’s incoming CLE 63 coupé is to get not four, not six but eight cylinders (see p10). What’s more, when the current C63 saloon and estate come in for their mid-life refresh next year, they too will become available with AMG’s new mild-hybrid V8 set-up.

3 mins

Cheap skates

Electric cars, and new cars in general, are expensive. You know it, we know it, and even though they prefer to draw your attention to attractive-looking finance deals and the potential savings of electric driving, car makers know it.

9 mins

"I'm not surprised that EVs haven't taken off, because most of them suck"

Peter Rawlinson's uniquely dissenting views helped turn Lucid into a major force. As he steps back from the front line, he tells MARK TISSHAW how

7 mins

Some like it hot

A Saab 9-3 is serving COLIN GOODWIN well seven years after he bought it for £2300 but one thing needs fixing: a heated seat. How hard can it be?

3 mins

CUPRA TAVASCAN

Can a big family EV capture this brand's young, sporty ethos? Let's see

4 mins

LEXUS RX

Life will be a lot less comfortable now this luxury SUV has left us

3 mins

THE CLASS-TOPPING ASTON WITH OLD-SCHOOL CHARM

Mk2 Vantage was our top pick when it arrived in 2018 – and now it's £60k

2 mins

A Q-car classic for the 21st century

Registered in 1970, Jules Cranwell's 'woody' was one of the last Morris Minor Travellers to be built. It left the Adderley Park production line with a 1098cc A-series engine - fine in its day but, according to Jules, a liability in the 21st century. \"In standard trim, the Morris Minor is very slow so I've modified mine a little so that it can keep up with today's traffic,\" he says.

2 mins

The mad locals at the Geneva motor show

Traditionally at this time of year, the automotive industry congregates in Geneva for the world's most important motor show - but to our great sadness, last year's event was the last there will ever be.

3 mins

Why I love...HILLCLIMBS

I guess it helps that the very first motorsport event I attended in this country upon emigrating was a hillclimb - a short-course speed event for more than 100 disparate cars, all of which were given several chances to set their fastest time of the day. It struck me immediately as the perfect form of amateur motorsport, since it took entries from new cars and old, road cars and racers, brilliantly skilled drivers and beginners. Everyone had the same chance.

1 min

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