CAR UK

Every month CAR interviews the stars of motorsport, demystifies the latest in-car technology and shares our writers’ passion for car culture and car design. Discover the world’s newest and most exciting cars: join us to drive everything from supercars and hot hatches to family cars.

Welcome

Insider • A new generation of electrified BMWs launches in 2025 with this 3-series-sized car, inspired by the i Vision Dee concept. Curtis Moldrich and Georg Kacher report

‘Have we reached the end of information overload?’

VW’s revitalised identity • As we wait for a Mercedes EQC saloon, or an Audi A4 e-Tron, this is the closest we have to a Neue Klasse-spec i3 saloon rival. VW’s imminent ID. 7 may not at first look like a direct rival, but it could occupy very similar terrritory. Under new boss Thomas Schäfer, VW is in the midst of unleashing refreshed and redefined electric cars with the MEB platform subtly revised, and Schäfer has instigated a rethink of MEB’s infuriating interface.

THE KLASSE OF 2025 • Whose homework has the next 3-series been peeking at?

BABY ALFA EV SUV INBOUND FOR 2024 • Alfa’s SUV range will grow again with a small B-segment crossover.

HOW THE EU BLOCKS JAPAN’S HOTTEST CARS • Red tape is throttling supply and will kill off some of Japan’s current performance stars

My career in three sketches • LAURENT NEGRONI Chief interior designer, Alpine

WHAT A YEAR • Luxury and performance brands scoff at your so-called cost of living crisis

This month’s conversations with CAR

‘TECHNOLOGY IS THE ENTRY TICKET’ • How does DS carve its own path? By being genuinely different to the Germans.

Six questions only we would ask

SWEET DREAMS • As a supercar says goodnight, three more envision a bright future.

REVISITING TIME • Reissues of three less obvious car-themed watches.

Tech • Mercedes is venturing into charging, mining and software to increase control over how its cars are made – and how they’re used.

WHY MAZDA’S RETURNED TO ROTARY • Is a rotary range extender the best of both worlds?

ZAP-MAP’S NEW PAYMENT FUNCTION • One app to find a charger and pay? Zap-Map joins the dots with an all-in-one solution.

First Drives • Now and then, when there was a rally to win, Porsche would send 4x4 911s into the deserts of Africa. Join us there now, in the new 911 Dakar

Hot deal? No and no • Latest Astra gets a range-topping PHEV. It’s not cheap

Back 4 good • Roomier rear seats and a big boot make the electric-only X stand out

Less name, more range • Electric DS 3 loses Crossback badge and gains 44 miles

Opinion

car

‘No other manufacturer has produced so many gorgeous stillborn cars as Jaguar’

‘Okay, so EVs are a virtue-signalling trend, but no one wants to hear the truth’

GOING AFTER A TYPE • Honda’s stellar new Civic Type R has wowed us in isolation. How does it hold up with the cream of today’s hot hatch crop in hot pursuit?

AS YOU WERE

OLD MASTERS • Honda’s £47k Civic Type R is a great in waiting. But if it’s a hot hatch icon you’re after, the likes of Lancia’s Delta Integrale and the Renault 5 Turbo have to be on your watch list… Here’s how to put a legend in your lock-up

REWILDING THE 4X4 • An SUV like they used to make them – for better and for worse

THE BILLIONAIRE’S ROCKY ROAD TRIP • The Grenadier came about because of the vision, determination and business nous of off-road enthusiast Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Boot it! • BMW’s long-wished-for M3 estate is here. Worth the wait? There are seven questions it must answer, convincingly

Our cars • The supercar’s days are numbered. Tim Pollard is getting stuck in while he can

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