BBC Top Gear

NEW FOR 2021! THE EV HOTLIST – YOUR GUIDE TO GOING ELECTRIC JANUARY 2021 PgorrSTeseahcctehere1es0stt cars it DON’T PANIC! WHAT THE NEW never made 2030 PETROL AND LamAhsbetooaF&ndi,loPBtfhoefyr-nsrtroclieachyhde, DIESEL CAR BAN MEANS FOR YOU TheYeToep-hGaewar! rtoougAhmgeuriidcae M“cALATREEXNANF1” SAY “HOWDY” TO THE TOANKES £5.25 1,792BHP, 311MPH+ HENNESSEY VENOM F5 AllM-AumstearnicgaMn aeclehc-tErivcsSTUeVslpauMnocdhe-ul pY

THE NEW LAND ROVER DEFENDER AS CAPABLE ON THE ROAD AS IT IS OFF Official WLTP Fuel Consumption Figures for the Defender range (excluding PHEV) in mpg (I/100km): Combined 22.0 - 32.8 The figures provided are as a result of official manufacturer’s tests in accordance with EU legislation. For comparison environmental conditions, load, wheel fitment and accessories fitted. Vehicle shown modified for safety purposes and Global specification displayed. Market spec and availability will vary, check with your local authorised Retailer.

(12.8 - 8.6). CO₂ Emissions 289 – 226 g/km. PHEV in mpg (l/100km): Combined 71.9 - 85.3 (3.9 - 3.3). CO₂ Emissions 88 - 74g/m. purposes only. Real world figures may differ. CO₂ and fuel economy figures may vary according to factors such as driving styles, driven by professional stunt driver in controlled conditions. Do not attempt. Off road on private land with full permissions.

Glug Glug Glug Plug The Sun’s Car of the Year Switch it up to the new all-electric Corsa-e Search Corsa-e Fuel economy and CO2 results for the Vauxhall Corsa-e 100KW (136PS). Mpg (l/100km): N/A. CO2 emissions: 0g/km. Electric range up to 209 miles (WLTP).# #The Corsa-e is a battery electric vehicle requiring mains electricity for charging. The range and electric consumption figures mentioned comply with the WLTP test procedure, on the basis of which new vehicles are type approved from 1 September 2018. They may vary depending on actual conditions of use and on different factors such as: vehicle load, accessories fitted (post registration), speed, thermal comfort on board the vehicle, driving style and outside temperature. The charging time depends in particular on the power of the charger on board the vehicle, the charging cable and the type and power of the charging station used. Please contact your Vauxhall Retailer for further information.

GET YOUR FIX We’ve made it as easy as possible for you to get TopGear magazine Editor @jack _ rix editor@bbctopgearmagazine.com S o there you go, not a massive surprise is it? Besides being fairly rapid, having If you’re finding it hard to get to the shops four wheels and some seats, Ford’s new Mustang Mach-E shares zero DNA then order your next copy online with no with a Mustang. We all knew this was badge engineering from the start, so the question now is does pilfering its heritage to give its first proper EV some delivery fee – visit MagsDirect.co.uk gloss really grate on you? If it does, that’s fine, you’ve been factored into Ford’s Get the three next copies for only £12.50 go-big-or-go-home equation... and V8 Mustangs are still available. (saving 15%) with free delivery by visiting Where do I sit? Well I won’t be rushing out to buy one, but I won’t be judging anyone buysubscriptions.com/TGSP3M that does; it’s a well-sorted, battery powered family SUV and if those Mustang vibes are You can download the latest edition and back issues direct to your phone your thing, fill yer boots. Hats off to Ford for building a car around similar battery and or tablet from your App Store motor tech to every other new EV, but creating something that’s got us all talking. T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 005 Imagine if Ford had rolled out an electric car with the same numbers as the Mach-E, but looking identical to the Kuga... and badged as such. It would have simply melted into the EV soup, never to be mentioned again. Sure, it would avoid pissing off a handful of Mustang diehards, but you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. For me, the Mach-E isn’t just a ballsy move from Ford execs, it’s a beacon of hope for the future. Gone are the days when producing something small, something medium, something large and something overpowered had all the bases covered. In order to survive in a world changing faster than at any other point in human history, every car company is needing to break the shackles of the past that tied them to lazy car design and incremental improvement. We’re living in the age of revolution, not evolution. In this issue alone, you’ve got an off-roader “FOR ME, THE test involving Bentley, Porsche, Lamborghini and MACH-E IS A Aston. If you’d told me that 10 years ago, I would have called you a lunatic. Citroen, historically a fountain of quirky ideas, has gone back to its roots with an 8bhp, £6k egg box on wheels... and I couldn’t be more delighted. Meanwhile, Bugatti BEACON OF HOPE is dabbling with the prospect of a track-only, FOR THE FUTURE” lightweight hypercar and Porsche, it turns out, has been dreaming of stretching its brand in all sorts of joyful directions behind closed doors. The future’s bright, because the future’s different. Enjoy the issue, facebook.com/ twitter.com/ TopGear BBC_TopGear

JACK RIX EDITOR HEAD OF CAR TESTING Oliver Marriage BRAND MANAGING EDITOR Esther Neve SUBSCRIPTION ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tom Ford HEAD OF COMMERCIAL CONTENT Chris Mooney EDITOR, TOPGEAR.COM Vijay Pattni ISOSANSVSUEIEX2S5% CONSULTANT EDITOR Paul Horrell DEPUTY EDITOR, TOPGEAR.COM Stephen Dobie EDITOR AT LARGE Jason Barlow DIGITAL EDITOR AT LARGE Rowan Horncastle Try a subscription SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM Simon Bond, Olivia Morton to BBC TopGear US EDITOR AT LARGE Pat Devereux SUB-EDITORS Sam Burnett, Peter Rawlins magazine today SENIOR ROAD TEST EDITOR Ollie Kew and we’ll send you a pair of Bassline TWS STAFF WRITER Tom Harrison wireless earbuds EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Greg Potts worth £39.99 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, TOPGEAR PUBLISHING 1TTP0UOARGNE Charlie Turner ART TEAM CREATIVE DIRECTOR Andy Franklin ART EDITOR Elliott Webb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mike Channell, Chris Harris, Richard Holt, Sam Philip CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Lee Brimble, Mark Fagelson, Jonny Fleetwood, Wilson Hennessy, Rowan Horncastle, Alex Howe, Jamie Lipman, Richard Pardon, Mark Riccioni, Philipp Rupprecht, John Wycherley ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Jason Elson REGIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER HEAD OF PARTNERSHIPS Phil Holland Richard Burns GROUP TRADING HEAD Dan Hellens CLASSIFIED SALES EXECUTIVE Jack Kinnaird BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Liam Kennedy INSERTS EXECUTIVE James Law-Smith DIGITAL SALES PLANNER Isabel Burman SENIOR X-MEDIA SALES EXECUTIVES Kit Brough, Lindsey Dobson DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AND SYNDICATION Tim Hudson INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS MANAGER Molly Hope-Seton SYNDICATION MANAGER Richard Bentley GROUP PRODUCTION MANAGER Jo Beattie AD SERVICES COORDINATORS PRODUCTION & REPRO DIRECTOR Koli Pickersgill Cherine Araman James Webb CIRCULATION MANAGER Gareth Viggers MARKETING MANAGER Tom Townsend-Smith INSERT SERVICES COORDINATOR SENIOR MARKETING EXECUTIVE Amy Donovan Agata Wszeborowska SUBS MARKETING MANAGER Sally Longstaff PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Simon Carrington PRODUCTION & AD SERVICES DIRECTOR GROUP PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Alfie Lewis Sharon Thompson CEO, IMMEDIATE MEDIA CO. LTD Tom Bureau FINANCE DIRECTOR Stephen Lavin SENIOR MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT Len Bright MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT Davina Swampillai MANAGING DIRECTOR, TOPGEAR Adam Waddell BBC STUDIOS, UK PUBLISHING CHAIR, EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARDS Nicholas Brett MD, CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND LICENSING DIRECTOR, MAGAZINES Mandy Thwaites Stephen Davies ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER Eva Abramik COMPLIANCE MANAGER Cameron McEwan EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Naomi Carter, Clare Mottershead, Alex Renton, Charlotte Stockting W W W.BB C S T UD I O S . C OM © Immediate Media Company London Limited 2016 PRINTED BY WALSTEAD ROCHE IN THE UK FOR MORE TOPGEAR VISIT TOPGEAR.COM BBC TopGear magazine is owned by BBC Studios and produced on its behalf by Immediate Media Company Limited. BBC Studio’s profits are returned to the BBC and help fund new BBC programmes BBC Magazines/Immediate Media is working to ensure that all of its paper is sourced from well managed forests. This magazine can be recycled, for use in newspapers and packaging. Please dispose of it at your local collection point This magazine is printed on Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified paper MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING TERRITORIES: BULGARIA, CHINA, CZECH REPUBLIC, FRANCE, HONG KONG, INDIA, ITALY, JAPAN, LITHUANIA, MALAYSIA, NETHERLANDS, PHILIPPINES, PORTUGAL, RUSSIA, SINGAPORE, SOUTH AFRICA, SOUTH KOREA, SPAIN, SRI LANKA, TAIWAN, TURKEY, MIDDLE EAST [ENGLISH EDITION], MIDDLE EAST [ARABIC] We abide by IPSO’s rules and regulations. To give feedback about TopGear magazine, please email UKPublishing@bbc.com or write to BBC TopGear magazine, BBC Studios, 2nd Floor, 1 TV Centre, 101 Wood Lane, London, W12 7FA 006 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

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CONTENTS ISSUE 343 / JANUARY 2021 052 MACH-E vs MODEL Y 084 052 100 090 Ford’s first ground-up EV takes on Elon’s darling in the battle for electric supremacy. Who’s leading the charge? 065 TG GUIDE TO THE USA From weird car laws to the best roads and racetracks, everything you need to know about the US-of-A. Yee-haw 072 VENOM AND BOLIDE The horsepower war’s about to kick up to a whole ’nother levelwith the latest beasts from Hennessey and Bugatti 084 CITROEN AMI When is a car not a car? When it’s an adorable electric quadricyle called a Citroen Ami. Meet the future, people 090 SECRET PORSCHES Did you know Porsche pays its designers to come up with concepts it willnever use? It’s a glimpse inside a top-secret world... 100 SUPER-SUVS In the market for a sporty posh SUV, but unsure where to spend your cash? Fear not, we’ve done the hard work for you BRX HUNTER · VISION FAMILY FRIENDLY EV TALBOT SUNBEAM GR YARIS · 4-SERIES · URBANAUT · BIG Q GROUP TEST · M5 COMP LOTUS · RICCI’S GARAGE PLUS 4 · SUPRA · A45 S Prodrive unveils its Dakar rally entrant, Nissan Leaf vs Tesla Model3 We head back to the Eighties to We welcome the GR Yaris and Mini’s built a self-driving concept pod, vs VW ID.3 for family friendly EV rediscover a rallying hero, plus 4-Series, while Plus 4 and Supra plus find out what the 2030 petrol honours, plus Toyota Mirai, BMW Mark reveals his latest couldn’t- face off. Also Disco Sport, A45 S, and dieselban means for you M5 Competition and Merc E63 S resist purchase: a Merc 560SEL e-tron Sportback and Octavia 012 036 113 123 T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 009

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#NEWCARS #ENTERTAINMENT # C A R C U LT U R E 012 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

#CELEBRITY #GADGETS #GAMING E VERYONE’S TALK ING ABOUT DODIANKGATRHE Some big names have joined the desert race for 2021, including Prodrive with its BRX Hunter. Don’t forget the bucket and spade, lads T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 013

I t’s called the BRX Hunter and it aims to be the fastest way ever devised to get across rough terrain It’s been built to take on the Dakar rally that three week long km romp across deserts dunes mountains and rocks that is the toughest motorsport event on the planet The epic 2021 Dakar rally starts in January And created by no less a firm than triple and ends in dune WRC champion Prodrive which has a wealth ROUGH AND TUMBLE AUDI of competition experience covering just With Porsche’s arrival on the Formula E grid in 2020, Audi has packed its bags and left to have about everything from rallycross to Le a go at Dakar in 2022 with this plug-in hybrid buggy. Remember to remove that sheet first. Mans and Formula One But never anything like this Built from the ground up around the FIA’s cross country regulations a slender page document that provides real scope for creativity It’s WD and powered by a familiar engine Ford’s litre twin turbo V EcoBoost that’s seen in everything from the F pickup to the GT supercar In the Hunter it develops around bhp and lb ft More interesting than what it is is where it is Because it’s not in the back but almost entirely under the windscreen What look like intakes on the flanks? That’s where the spare wheels are stored There’s room for a third di s are permitted The only hydraulics are the built in jacks and you’re not even allowed under the bodywork at the back a paddleshift transmission In fact this is the first year you’ve been able to have a Bodywork that has hints of a Jaguar turbocharged petrol engine up until now it’s been turbodiesel or nat asp petrol There F Type to it That’s because it’s the work is GPS but it’s only really there for the race organisers to check you’re not breaking the of former Jaguar design chief Ian Callum where you’re going when you come up to speed limit or to find you when you’re upside dune crests or tilt over a mountain or as down in the middle of nowhere That means It’s there to give the car a sense of identity Lapworth puts it “Like a plane it needs good no satnav The challenge of Dakar besides visibility while it’s in the air ” You regularly just surviving it is navigation which is still because the long term aim is to turn BRX see these things several metres in the air but done using maps and roadbooks unlike the rear drive Trophy Truck inspired into a brand expand its scope beyond buggies that have dominated Dakar for much Prodrive claims not to have made any of the last decade the WD machines are major breakthroughs but to have found competition into military applications limited to just cm of wheel travel A WRC what it calls a few “secondary gains” a rally car has more As a result they need to slightly lower centre of gravity a bit less and ultimately production road cars be built tough so the double wishbone unsprung mass and when pushed does suspension is supported by twin dampers say it’s quite happy with the packaging That huge rear wing? “It’s not about at each corner and the wheels and tyres are heavy duty weighing about kg each The race starts in Saudi Arabia downforce ” says Prodrive’s chief engineer on January We’re hoping for great things All told the steel spaceframe o roader from this one Ollie Marriage David Lapworth, “as we have a limited top weighs about kg without occupants It’s also relatively simple No adaptive dampers speed of kph mph But high speed or electronically controlled torque vectoring stability is important and fitting the wing improves that and allows us to make the car sharper and pointier at lower speeds ” Characteristics one of its drivers a certain Sébastien Loeb is known to appreciate Wondering why the bonnet is as stubby as a Lamborghini’s and the windscreen comes so low? What’s important at Dakar is seeing 014 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

COFFEE BREAK IMAGE: MANUFACTURER FAIL OF THE CENTURY #733 What we’re watching/ McLARENX 1 listening/doing, while we should be working Y ou awake with a start blinking in the harsh light Where am I? How did I get here? A hard chair An Be More Keanu unfamiliar room Empty sterile The whirr of air Film critic James King has compiled conditioning A row of white desks each empty save for a neat row of pencils and sheaf of paper A design studio In front this book of pocket wisdom from of you a tall slab of cork pinned with photographs Gingerly the legendary Keanu Reeves to you stand and move towards it A moodboard help you get ahead in life this year. “All we are is dust in the wind, dude.” Eyes struggling in the pin white light you squint at the pictures An art deco clock A grand piano A black and white photo of Dark Waters, Amazon Prime Audrey Hepburn An aubergine This is the best film about an Involuntarily you shiver What deranged mind would wish to fuse these discordant images into a single entity? What environmental lawsuit that you will Frankenstein would emerge? What dreaded purpose might it serve? ever see. You won’t be frying your A pneumatic hiss Behind you a hatch slides open You pass eggs in a non-stick pan ever again... through it as if compelled by a high force Ahead a long corridor White empty Doors line both sides You try each one in turn TopGear magazine fix Locked locked locked You can download the latest Finally a click The door swings ajar A cell And in it worse edition and back issues direct to than you dared imagine the gruesome genetic experiment The your phone or tablet from the App Victorian freakshow McLaren badge yes but like no McLaren you’ve Store. Because when life gives you ever seen Like no car you’ve ever seen You try to scream no lemons... settle in and read TG sound comes out What is this? A dream? A nightmare? No such luck This is real This is the McLaren X Tetris, App store Downloaded for the commute from ›T OTPOGPEGAERA. CR O. CMO M F› EJ AB NR U A R Y 2 0 1291 015 bedroom to kitchen. Wasn’t expecting this 35-year-old game to still be so addictive. Working now from bedroom Arctic Monkeys, Live at the Royal Albert Hall This album is a great way to start 2021 – live music will make a return soon, but in the meantime, pull up your knee socks and let Alex and co remind you how good it is to go gigging

Urbanaut’s windscreen opens upwards like an old Land Rover’s, but only when you’re parked. Spoilsports CAR NEWS W elcome to yet another electric dash lowers to create what looks like a autonomous pod like concept corner sofa The back is supposed to be the MINI this time from Mini The Vision Cosy Corner The two rear seats create a MAGIC Urbanaut is a “digital vision vehicle that kind of chaise and there’s a textile covered MOMENTS o ers more interior space and versatility loop over the top with built in LED lighting than ever before but still on a minimal The two areas are connected by an airy Unforgettable times footprint” Right then central section with a flip down table ahead with Mini’s new plant and circular info display self-driving concept pod Mini sees its future self primarily as an ‘enabler of and companion for unforgettable You select which Moment you want by times or Mini Moments’ So the Vision placing a special token in a slot on the table Urbanaut has three modes or Moments that a ect how the car behaves Chill this changes the mood lighting inside the is for relaxation while Vibe is about car and the fragrance that’s pumped into spending time with others These are for the cabin Yes really Tom Harrison when you’re parked up Wanderlust is where the Urbanaut becomes a car You can drive it or it can drive you One big sliding door on the passenger side is the only way in There are four seats and three distinct areas Up front is the Daybed the front seats swivel and the YOU CAN’T BUY TASTE FORD MUSTANG GT FASTBACK Are you speccing your V8 Mustang for SoCal? Then you may have the stripes and the wing. If it’s going to live in Southampton, ditch the Barbie ’n’ Ken fancy dress and stick on the the ’55 Edition rims (from the Ford Mustang 55 Edition last year). 016 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

THE BIG QUESTION WHAT DOES THE 2030 PETROL AND DIESEL BAN MEAN FOR ME? T he government has brought forward its plan The government has to outlaw the sale of petrol and diesel cars and pledged bn for EV charge points and m to help battery vans The new date is it was previously manufacture here Meanwhile its ‘green plan’ also makes the supply of green power more robust Plug in hybrids will be allowed until Don’t worry that EVs will use too much of our We looked at the plan back in February and overall supply Even million cars would use only about six per cent of total UK electricity And actually despite the ongoing pandemic the case for electric car our demand has fallen by more than that over the past decade thanks to e ciency measures in buildings adoption has moved forward at pace The plan also calls for more production of hydrogen People are buying EVs voluntarily Sales of full EVs using wind power in remote areas If there’s a good hydrogen infrastructure then fuel cell cars are in with a and of PHEVs each tripled in October versus the chance We’ve driven the next Toyota Mirai It’s far better and far less ugly than the current one and it costs less same month in Combined they’re now one in But if you still think you need an oil fired car for long seven of all the new cars sold journeys because you don’t want to stop for an hour every few hundred miles you can get a PHEV Even so The number of charging points is also going up fast most drivers will find pure EVs to be cheaper and nicer and more convenient Networks Ubitricity and Chargy are putting points into Give them a go you’ll be pleasantly surprised Then lamp posts thousands of them already These as well save up for something interesting and petrol powered to use on high days and holidays Paul Horrell as more conventional street side public boxes are great for overnight or daytime charging for people who are at work or who don’t have a charge point at home For charging on long journeys the number of rapid points is up by more than a quarter again in just months Much of the growth in the charging system has happened on oil company investment BP has Pulse Shell has Recharge Total bought Source London They see which way the wind is blowing T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 017

WAT C H E S Y our attitude to gold says a lot about your tastes Nobody thinks a gold earring is particularly flash Or a wedding ring But what about teeth? You might get away TGHOELD with one or two but a full grille will make for interesting questions at your next RUSH job interview And as for cars unless you are an Emirati prince looking to give your Chiron a bit of extra pop gold is probably not the first shade you’d choose A bit of wrist bling is fashionable these days, but it’s not always been that way... Watches have a relationship with gold that is much deeper than a supercar wrap Traditional watchmaking skills honed during the winter months in the Swiss mountains were developed alongside goldsmithery and other jewellery techniques like engraving and IMAGE: GETTY stone setting And because gold is easy to work with and non corrosive it has been used for watch cases as long as they’ve existed around years since the earliest pocket watches In the th century when wristwatches were first made they were ornate jewellery pieces for ladies where cost was no object so gold was an obvious choice here too But when men only started wearing watches on their wrists in WW these were instruments of war built to a budget not to earn admiring glances from afar so gold was o the table But war changed watches and soon brands began experimenting with di erent styles and materials rather than just basic pocket watches strapped onto the wrist In the Twenties names like Breguet and Patek Philippe began making gold cases for wristwatches just as they had with pocket watches knowing their customers were happy to shell out a bit more And that is how gold watches worked for a while Gold was a relatively subtle way to enhance value Other people might not even notice but you would know from the reassuring extra heft on your wrist that you had swerved around the steel options and gone for the top of the range Then somewhere around the Eighties things changed The era of bling arrived and the gold watch became a thing in itself a symbol of Gordon Gecko ish excess Now we live in the post bling era You can go big expensive footballer’s watch just because you are living your best self or you can get a classic style from the likes of Rolex or Vacheron Constantin who have never been afraid of a bit of gold Or you can opt for gold plated and flash for not much cash Whether gold is solid or just painted on there is plenty of it to go around The only question is how gold can you go? Richard Holt 018 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

AROUND £2k TISSOT EXCELLENCE The Swiss company makes sports watches, connected watches and vintage-inspired pieces. It also makes a good case for best value piece of gold you can put on your wrist. With quartz movement and 40mm 18K gold case, all for just £2,000. Water resistant to 30m. £2,000; tissotwatches.com BLOW UNDER THE £600 BUDGET MAURICE LACROIX ELIROS So it’s a stainless steel case PVD coated with pink gold, ROLEX DAY-DATE but what do you expect for less than £600? Paired with There is no boss-move quite like the watch that Rolex calls the Oyster the brown calf-leather strap it’s a stylish choice and the Perpetual Day-Date. To everyone else, this watch has a different name: Eliros in various metals has been a big seller for Maurice the Rolex President. Launched in 1956, it was the first watch to display a full day of the week as well as the date. As befits a watch worn by Lacroix. A 40mm case water resistant to 50m. leaders of men as diverse as Lyndon B Johnson and Tony Soprano, £595; mauricelacroix.com there has never been a steel option – the Day-Date is made in either UNDER solid gold or platinum. In-house automatic movement with power £250 reserve of 70 hours. In a case size of either 36mm or 40mm, all water resistant to 100 metres. From £26,650; rolex.com CASIO G-SHOCK TRIPLE GRAPH The G-Shock was built to be a tough, no-nonsense tool watch that would never break. Why, therefore, have they made a vast 54mm version festooned in gold? Not everyone’s cup of char for sure, but to these eyes really rather splendid. PVD coated case water resistant to 200m. £219; g-shock.co.uk T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 019

MY LIFE IN CARS ZAK’S DREAM ZAK BROWN GARAGE The McLaren Racing chief talks us What would through his incredible car collection he choose with room for three? A t a very young age I was diesel Volkswagen Jetta and I passed them are race winners I’ve got a dozen McLAREN fascinated by cars I was a with flying colours When I moved to F1 Hot Wheels fan from five England it took me three attempts F cars from Jody Scheckter’s debut In high school a buddy though it’s much tougher here The F1 is out of my winning Wolf up to the car that gave league. Maybe one The first car I bought myself was a of these days, but Ford Explorer and my first fancy car Lewis Hamilton his last two wins at they keep going up was a Porsche I’ve kind of gone in price. of mine was related to o road racer crazy ever since then McLaren Between those are cars driven PORSCHE 959 Mickey Thompson and his whole family I’ve had to road cars and now by Mika Hakkinen Ayrton Senna Nigel maintain the collection at about I do currently own were into racing They were friends with My oldest is a Cobra and the Mansell Mario Andretti that’s a Lotus one – the 959 is most modern is a McLaren Speedtail spectacular, but Mario Andretti and took me to Long In between are the Ferrari GTO Michael Schumacher and Alan people that don’t McLaren P Aston Martin DB Volante know much will see Beach in Mario dominated the race Jaguar E type Ferrari GTS Porsche Jones They’re the guys that I grew up it and think it’s a 911. from pole and we had dinner with him and a Bugatti EB I like a variety watching and idolising FERRARI 250 of colours so I’ve got a yellow Ferrari GT CALIFORNIA after All I could ask was how to get F a black Speedtail and a blue Cobra I’ve also got about IndyCars from I’m a sports car guy, started in racing He told me about The race car collection is even worse between and Then you move so having a McLaren, that’s nearer to cars now and all of Ferrari and Porsche karting and in the programme was an to sports cars and I’ve got Porsche s is an appropriate “MY DAILY three-car garage. advert for the Jim Hall Kart Racing IS THE BACK a Porsche and an Audi Quattro SEAT OF A School I’d just been on the TV show RANGE ROVER” Trans Am car They all had iconic drivers Wheel of Fortune so I pawned the and great stories My Lancia LC sat on watches I’d won and used that money pole at Le Mans I loved it I stopped going to school I do historic racing probably three and worked at the kart shop because times a year and test three or four times I didn’t have the family resources to a year Takes a few years to cycle through pursue racing My mum was a travel the collection All the cars are runners agent so I then sold some airline tickets they won’t become museum pieces and that gave me the opportunity to do I don’t get to drive the road cars a Formula Ford race in Europe I won much either Every once in a while they’ll and thought ‘I want to be an F driver’ do a run to Starbucks but my daily although I underestimated how di cult driver is the back seat of a Range Rover it’d be to get sponsorship I’m a workaholic so it’s unproductive I first passed my driver’s test in time if I’m in a fancy car driving to work America My dad handed down his There’s no Bluetooth in a Cobra 020 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

THE GOOD THE BAD THE UGLY Looks Yikes WHAT A GRILLE. exquisite The Bombki DOES IT RUN ON KRILL Kalo The Maybach should have INSTEAD OF GAS? been a stand-alone design BRILLIANT DESIGN Mohammed Nisar Dar Pedro E Galan AND ENGINEERING WORK TO BOOT Wow, that’s This has absolutely to be the Barry Johnston hideous worst The looking interior is TBP Maybach so pretty! ever made That front chrome bumper looks Sander Boer like a bad aftermarket add on Otlotleng Motabogi Tang23 Better than a I’m sure the interior and Rolls-Royce UI ON THE SCREENS LOOKS features are epic, but my LIKE SOMETHING FROM Bogdan Petcu THE EARLY NOUGHTIES god that’s hideous Booms Toby Nelson This will sell well, not in COMMENTS It looks Europe, but like a in the USA MERCEDES Buick and China MAYBACH S CLASS Jack Weeks Rajesh Banik If cars could gurn, this would be the champion David Hutchings T wo tone paint Among others Ford did it on theNow portfolio’ and the twin turbo V will remain special edition Cortina Crusader in AWD is standard and there’s the option of two different rear steering set ups Mercedes’ Airmatic suspension Mercedes is dusting it down for its new Maybach with adaptive damping and active body control which scans the road ahead for imperfections is also standard The new car takes the S Class in an even more overtly The cabin builds on the new S Class’s striking layout luxurious direction The options list includes a chauffeur while the rear compartment does its usual impression of a wood and screen filled spa retreat Jason Barlow package that stretches the S Class’s wheelbase by cm and the grille is a serious statement that takes its cue from ’s in yer face Vision concept Engines are ‘from the T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 021

GAME OF THE MONTH THE KNOWLEDGE Need-to-know nuggets of automotive news KING ARTURA Artura. That’s the non-numerical name that McLaren is giving to its new hybrid supercar. It’ll arrive properly in early 2021 with a twin-turbo V6 and electrical assistance. Excited? NFS: Most Wanted Remastered MASERATI McMASERFACE NeedFor SpeedMost Wantedwas inarguably one of the best racing games of 2010. Taking the chaotic, crash-happy formula so beloved in the Burnout series and turning it into a breakneck police chase in Maserati is using social media fabulously expensive supercars was the most inspired piece of fusion cuisine since the cheeseburger to gather what us lot want in a restomod Shamal. Project Rekall pizza. This remastered version barely breathes on the originalgame. Graphically there are minor touch- is bringing back the Nineties, ups, but being forced to choose between smooth visuals or playing in 4K on a modern console when the but remember, with great power game’s a decade old seems faintly ludicrous. That aside, it’s the same as you remember. The car selection comes great irresponsiblity. hasn’t been updated either, so you’re getting the state of the art supercars circa 2010. Still, this remaster means the multiplayer servers and ‘Autolog’ leaderboards are newly fullagain for the game’s stellar cops vs crooks races, so you may welldecide it’s worth the similarly rejuvenated £34.99 purchase price. Mike Channell GEAR MINI JCW E ALPINE 1955 Meet the all-electric Mini John COLLECTION Cooper Works, coming your way... soon. Ish. Mini has confirmed that Carmakers usually love brilliantly retro hat and scarf making a big song and combo. We’re impressed. it’s bringing the JCW’s rocket- dance of every notable These are actually part of powered skateboard philosophy anniversary. Typically, the something called the 1955 fanfare willinvolve some Collection, which also to an electric drivetrain. sort of questionable special features a luggage bag, a edition with a premium price. belt and some simple mugs. BRZXIT Not for Alpine, though. No messing, we love it. Who needs an anniversary The new Subaru BRZ is a RWD The French marque edition A110 when you can coupe with a 2.4-litre naturally celebrated its 65th birthday just buy a beanie? Boutique. aspirated boxer four-cylinder in 2020, and to mark the alpinecars.com; €25–90 engine producing 228bhp. We occasion it released this can’t believe it’s not coming to the UK. Worst trade deal ever. 022 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

TOPGEAR TOP 9 THE BEST MANUALS YOU CAN BUY RIGHT NOW 01 02 03 Honda Civic Type R Ford Fiesta Porsche CaymanGT4 Now with an even more mechanically marvellous Ford has an uncanny way of making normal It’s a six-speed, not the seven-slot effort from cars more fun to drive than they strictly need to the 911, and allthe better for it. Yes, we wish the mechanism, the ball-topped lever recently be. The regular, bestselling Fiesta is blessed gear ratios were shorter, and sure, we accept swapped for a teardrop top, because the with a better gearshift than any RenaultSport the PDK paddleshifter in the regular Cayman is engineers reckoned it felt sweeter in your palm. or Audicurrently on sale. Same for the Focus superb and it’s hardly surprising it outsells the Either way, freezing on a winter’s morn, but we’d put up with frostbitten metacarpals for this one. and Puma – they get the same box. manualby about half a billion to one. 04 05 06 Lotu s Exige Mazda MX-5 Ariel Atom / Nomad A decent shift in a Lotus is by no means a given. Mazda, like Ford, puts thought, love and plenty We’re cheating a little here, since Ariel borrows of budget into its manuals. As a result, even a oily bits from Honda, which is why the Atom and Early examples of the Evora had a dreadful its grubby Nomad cousin are just so damn good bag of bolts, and even some old Elises are on CX-3 crossover or the 6 saloon offer shifts to at shifting gears. But there’s no doubt that Ariel the notchy side. In the last few years though, shame a French hot hatch. The peachiest is in continues the fine tradition of lightweight British Lotus really got its act together and now offers the MX-5 – it needs working to get the best from those modest engines, but it’s hardly a chore. sports cars having a great DIY box. some of the finest manuals on the planet. 07 08 09 Caterham Seven Ford Mu stang Bu llitt Toyota GR Yaris The ultra-short-throw shift is so stumpy it’s over Proof that outright surgically precise shift quality One of 2020’s most exciting cars proves there’s almost before it’s begun, but don’t be lulled into isn’t the be-all-and-end-allof a great gearshift. life in the manualshift yet. Toyota’s AWD thinking there’s little to savour about this The cue ballstick offers a meaty, weighty shift rally-homologation specialisn’t even available addictively snickety gearbox. It’s the full that requires your attention and a decent racecar experience – exquisitely precise and with an auto. The shift is chunky, with a short joyous when you get the throttle blip just so. huff-and-puff of effort. It doesn’t really like to throw and well-chosen ratios that keep the be rushed – but that fits the car down to a tee. world’s pokiest 1.6-litre engine right on the boil. T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 023

CAR NEWS 2 SUBARU IS BACK 5 THINGS YOU NEED Kenny from the Block has driven Fords in TO KNOW ABOUT. . all of the Gymkhana videos made in the last decade, but it was the Subaru Impreza that GYMKHANA 11 kicked things off in One and Two. Pastrana brings that relationship back, with a wild- A handful of essential looking carbon-bodied WRX STI that’s facts on Hoonigan’s latest making 862bhp. Incredible. internet-melting video 3 IT’S GYMKHANA AT ITS BEST 1 IT DOESN’T FEATURE MR BLOCK Yes, you did read that right. Ken isn’t driving. The Gymkhana series continues to clock up more Instead, X Games champion and motorsport views than the pope on a world tour, although junkie Travis Pastrana has temporarily when it keeps churning out stunts like this, it’s easy stepped into Block’s sideways shoes, with to see why. This latest instalment is top draw, with the whole video taking place around his mega tyre-shredding action, incredible editing, hometown of Annapolis, Maryland. plenty of turbo splutter and some captivating Pastrana facial expressions. 4 THERE’S SOME VERY BIG AIR Oh, and there are jumps. Ludicrously huge jumps. The whole thing kicks off with a 120ft leap over the city harbour and later Pastrana hits a small ramp on a country road just outside his childhood home... while doing 150mph. Shout out to nine-year-old Conor Stitt too, who becomes the youngest person to land a BMX double backflip during the credits. 5 PASTRANA VERY NEARLY DROPS IT The final thing you should know before you head straight to the internet is that Pastrana very nearly drops it at one point. No doubt the dicey move was choreographed (he really is that good) but it’s a heart-in-mouth moment as the Subaru’s rear wheel hangs over the edge of the harbour mid-drift. That’s what we like about Subarus... nice, sensible family cars WORDS: GREG POTTS 024 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M





TOPGEAR’S GUIDE TO THE FUTURE OF EVERYTHING M Y T H R BU S T E “THERE WON’T BE ENOUGH OVERNIGHT CHARGING” We got fascinating comments on TG.com I’m not worried. Say there are 10m EVs display machine. There are, Zap-Map says, when it was announced that sales of petrol on the road by then, which seems fair given 27,000 public points now. and diesel cars will stop in 2030. ( Well, new fewer than two million cars are sold every cars only, and non-PHEV only.) year and at the moment 85 per cent aren’t Let’s say cars can do 160 miles between pluggable. Nearly two-thirds of car owners charges, and 8,000 miles a year. That’s TG.commers mostly trust there will be have off-street parking, so they can get a 50 charges a year. If their owners do 10 enough rapid chargers by then. Those are cheap (or, free) charger on their house. rapid charges on long journeys that leaves the EV driver’s equivalent of a petrol station: 40 overnight ones. Less than once a week. break a journey, fill the battery, carry on. The rest are terraced houses, flats and So one socket can serve several cars. The But there’s more worry about normal-speed so on. Already, thousands of lamp posts in socket knows a car is plugged in, even when charging, where you plug in then let it slowly some areas have sockets. Other charging not drawing power, so it can levy a small replenish while you sleep or work. For nearly points are going in at pace, it’s just that ICE cost to encourage owners, when they’ve all EV owners that’s where they do most of drivers don’t notice them because they’re finished the charge, to move away and let their charging. unobtrusive – no bigger than a pay and their neighbour have a go. Paul Horrell EV UPDATE WHO KNOWS? NOW LATER I MAGES: G ET T Y, MAN U FACTU RER POWER RANGER KOREA PATH CRAFT-E TECH Lunaz likes electrifying hyper-luxury Hyundai/Kia’s new modular platform, Williams Engineering’s world-first classics, now it’s an original Range E-GMP, will underpin a dozen EVs by 400kWh lithium-sulfur luxury yacht Rover, with a £245,000 start price 2025... and it’s good for up to 600bhp battery has no rare-earth materials T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 027

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE BUILD FOR REAL By stunningly recreating Ferrari’s endurance wheel and gloriously realised front and legend, LEGO® Technic™ has done it yet again back suspension. Original stickers and authentic colours allow your creation to T he LEGO Technic Ferrari 488 GTE And now it has been beautifully translated stay faithful to the livery of this proven ‘AF Corse #51’ is a special example into this scale model. There are some winner from the Prancing Horse’s stable. of Ferrari’s foremost endurance 1,677 pieces to assemble, making it a racer. Blooded in formulas such as the challenging yet therapeutic construction This set comes with a special building FIA World Endurance Championship and to while away the weekends. instruction book featuring exclusive the European Le Mans series, the full- content. You’ll find details about the car sized version boasts one hell of a racing There’s a raft of detailed features and the AF Corse 51 team, founded by pedigree including a category win in the that will be appreciated by fans of fine former racing driver Amato Ferrari, and 2019 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. engineering, including a V8 engine with raced on track by illustrious talent such as moving pistons, a functioning steering former F1 star Giancarlo Fisichella. Simply put, if you’re looking for the perfect gift for the Ferrari aficionado, you can’t really go wrong with this baby – especially if that aficionado is you. Explore more of the LEGO® Technic™ FEELING PATRIOTIC? range at drivewhatyoulove.co.uk TURN THE PAGE TO REVEAL A BRITISH MOTORING ICON...

Stop whining and start celebrating, says Chris. F1 has a lot to be impressed by and we have a lot to be proud of ILLUSTRATION: PAUL RYDING The only thing more popular in the UK than ridiculing Renault, a metaphor to remind us of better times. But were politicians is moaning about Formula One. This great island they really better? nation has an unsurpassed ability to whinge about what is actually quite good and to despise our collective positive Yes, a normally aspirated V10 sounds infinitely better than the attributes, but the constant ‘F1 is crap these days’ diatribe current V6s, but only if you’re actually at the circuit, which most of on social media is, even by British standards, quite baffling. us aren’t. On the TV, the difference in volume between the two doesn’t matter. And I hate to say it, as someone lucky enough to Am I the only weirdo who thought that F1 did an outstanding have been to a few races back when the cars were silly loud, you job managing to give us 17 races in the space of a few months? Yes, had to walk around with ear defenders on the whole time to avoid there were a few duffers in there and one assumes the generous your eardrums exiting your body. That’s right, they sounded so contribution that Abu Dhabi makes to the F1 coffers more than good we covered our ears so that we couldn’t hear them properly. covers the fact that it has never yet produced an enjoyable race, but balls to all that humbug – we saw some fantastic racing. As for Fernando carrying the baton for what was great about F1 in the past? Nah, not buying that. He was and is a staggering talent Yet for many people the highlight of the season was actually who never fulfilled his potential. Was Renault right to have him at the inert Yas Marina circuit. Fernando Alonso, the man whose back when there are so many young and hungry drivers out there? career decisions have been heavily influenced by Gerald Ratner, Probably. But the story doesn’t stir my juices the way Mansell drove a 2005 V10 F1 car and the world went nuts. The other teams slotting back into a Williams in ’94 did. watched in awe as this very pretty, very loud and, compared with a 2020 car, very small machine shrieked its way around a harbour. I must be alone in liking F1 right now. Mercedes’ dominance doesn’t worry me. Fair play to those guys, they’ve done the best It was potentially a moving experience, but I’m afraid job and have the best driver. The midfield battle between Renault, I was largely unmoved. It was clearly a deliberate ploy by McLaren and Racing India Point Force has been gripping. There’s something curiously sad about watching Ferrari’s predicament, but “AM I THE ONLY WEIRDO WHO if I’ve been switching on waiting for Vettel’s inevitable mistake for THOUGHT THAT F1 DID AN the weekend, that comes with the knowledge Ferrari will be back OUTSTANDINGJOBTHISYEAR?” soon enough and that will coincide with McLaren becoming even stronger. The script for next year looks like a ripper. But, still, the Twitter consensus is that F1 is crap. And that’s before we whinge about our greatest ever racing driver. Footballers and snooker players even think he’s not that talented. What I wouldn’t give to watch them control one of those machines, under that pressure. And not for one day – or one race. For seven years. The lack of mistakes is truly freakish. We should celebrate him while we can. T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 031

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE WARHEEMREAIDCEONS Introducing the new LEGO® Technic™ McLaren LEGO Technic model is a must for all Senna GTR. You’re going to want to build it... disciples of the Woking outfit. T he alliance of two of motorsport passed into folklore. Features include a detailed V8 engine history’s holiest names – McLaren The McLaren Senna road car already with moving pistons and dihedral doors and Senna – is evocative for even the that open ‘up and out’ in the unmistakable most casual car fan. Instantly the mind took the world by storm in 2018 when style of the real McLaren, plus it sports conjures flickering flashes of white and all 500 editions instantly sold out, and the authentic colours and graphics of this papaya, yellow and green, and sparks the GTR is the positively bonkers (and monster of the track. You can responsively flying from beneath a precariously somehow even more McLaren) track-only steer the model thanks to the wheel on dancing spoiler. This model is another version released in tandem. Symbolising the roof – perfect for staging high-octane fine tribute to a partnership that has long ultimate speed with breath-taking good races, however old you are. looks, it’s a true racetrack icon, so its At 830 pieces, this is an ideal build to add to your collection. It represents the ultimate treat for devotees of true hypercars, and they don’t get much more hyper than this. Explore more of the LEGO® Technic™ AFTER SOMETHING range at drivewhatyoulove.co.uk A LITTLE MORE RUGGED? TURN THE PAGE FOR MORE...

The only way is up says TG TV script editor Sam Philip on satnavs. Dare you disagree? ILLUSTRATION: PAUL RYDING I adhere to what I believe is known as the Weak Sheryl Crow Direction-of-travel defenders say it more closely resembles Principle: “If it makes you happy (and it doesn’t contravene what you can actually see out of the windscreen, but surely basic legal and ethical standards), it can’t be that bad.” that’s what windscreens are for. Maps are for telling you a) where you are, and b) where you’re going, and direction-of- Fancy a mint green Nissan Figaro with headlight eyelashes travel can’t help you there. Direction-of-travellers, can you be and a mock snakeskin interior? Knock yourself out. So long as sure your nav’s taking you to Boston, Lincolnshire, not Boston, it’s not hurting you or anyone else, go for it. Massachusetts? Or, hasn’t diverted you, just for funsies? I have one exception to this principle: the way you point. Because satnavs are fallible. You know those ‘motorist Satnavs, I mean. Specifically, are you a north-upper, or a follows satnav instructions into duckpond/shopping plaza/ direction-of-traveller? To put it another way, is your map set international shipping lane’ news stories that crop up every to 2D with north at the top, or to 3D with the map rotating so week or two? Would you believe that over 90 per cent of those the car’s always pointing ‘forwards’? If the former, well done, incidents involve direction-of-travellers? Well, you’d be right mine too, correct, good job. If the latter, what in the name of not to, because I just made that statistic up, but it could be true. merry hell are you thinking you deranged reprobate. You wouldn’t catch a north-upper following their nav into a I cannot understand direction-of-travellers. I hate to storm drain. I’m aware that putting north at the top of the map generalise, but those who have their satnavs set to direction is a mere human construct, a relic of a medieval, European- of travel are, as a rule, depraved, narrow-minded egomaniacs centric view of our planet. I don’t mind whether it’s north-up, only able to see the world from their point of view. south-up, east-by-south-east-up, not bothered. So long as the top of the map stays where it’s put and doesn’t spin wildly I say this with no pleasure. Some of my closest friends around when you’re navigating a mini-roundabout, I’m happy. turned out to be direction-of-travellers. I had to cast them out of my life. Which wasn’t difficult. Turns out all you have to do Sure, you might say that north-up requires a bit of additional is stand behind them, they’ve got no idea where you’ve gone. brainpower on behalf of the driver when, say, navigating a busy series of junctions. But I’d say that, if you haven’t got the mental “THOSE WHO SET THEIR SATNAVS agility to work out that a right turn when you’re heading south TO DIRECTION OF TRAVEL ARE, looks like a left turn on your nav screen, you shouldn’t be in AS A RULE, DEPRAVED” charge of 1,500kg of powerful motor vehicle. Direction-of-travellers, recant your sins. Come join us. The only way is up. T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 033

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Fancy suspension, eh? Sometimes, the hype is worth it, as Paul Horrell recently discovered ILLUSTRATION: PAUL RYDING There’s nothing more exhilarating than having your mind follow the road’s contours. You can always feel when unsprung changed. (It’s why I’m such an argumentative type. I don’t mass is high, because it sends shudders through the whole car. argue to win; it’s not a sport. I argue to lose, and learn something.) Anyway, I’d turned up at the Goodwood But the clever bit in the Ghost is that those added masses factory to collect a Rolls-Royce Ghost with my cynicism are pivoted, so they can bounce relative to the wishbones. turned up to 10. I’d seen the hype about its new suspension That bounce squeezes rubber bushes. It’s tuned so that systems and it struck me as nonsense. But now I enjoyed when the suspension is doing that annoying shudder, the myself as they persuaded me otherwise. counterweights will be moving but in the opposite phase, tending to cancel out the main suspension’s shudder. Cleverly, It has two innovations in aid of ride comfort. The first the two systems operate hand in hand – the camera helps one, ‘Flag Bearer’, is a camera aimed at the road ahead. Its control big, low-frequency movement, while the wishbone processed data feeds the adaptive damper controls, preparing counterweights dampen the higher frequency untidiness. the suspension for the bumps and dips the camera sees. Well duh, I figured, the DS 7 has that, and so did the last-generation So my wrong-headed preconceptions were argued away. S-Class. In both cases it worked only spasmodically. For a Still, theory is something, practice is everything. So I went start it can’t know the depth of a puddle, nor properly off to try it. Sure enough the Ghost really does have a lovely distinguish shadows. ride, and most of all a pretty consistent one. Some cars are good on some surfaces and bumps, not on others. This one is The second is ‘Planar Suspension’, amounting to a weight happy everywhere – and by the way emphatically better than attached to each of the front upper wishbones. Again, at first the related Cullinan which lacks the ‘Planar’ part. blush I was unimpressed. Suspension engineers usually try to remove unsprung mass, not add it. The less mass you have in Ride comfort is a critical part of what makes a Ghost a the wheels and brakes and suspension, the better the tyre can Rolls-Royce. Actually it’s a bit of a Cinderella in all cars. In our road tests we’ll bang on in detail lot about the handling on “THE GHOST REALLY DOES HAVE A the limit – the oversteer, the understeer, the steering feel and LOVELY RIDE, AND MOST OF ALL traction. And then we mention as an aside the ride comfort. A PRETTY CONSISTENT ONE” This makes sense sense for a small proportion of cars and a minority of drivers. Frankly though for the majority of drivers and cars it’s entirely arse about face. You’re experiencing limit handling for a tiny percentage of the time you’re on the road. But the ride comfort travels with you every second of the way. T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 035

DRIV NISSAN LEAF E+ TEKNA £37,140 / £37,490 TESLA MODEL 3 STANDARD RANGE PLUS £40,940 / £42,940 The big test: family-friendly EVs VW’s all-electric newbie should crush Nissan’s old guard, shouldn’t it? But how does it stack up against the EV everyone wants to beat? WORDS OLLIE KEW PHOTOGRAPHY JOHNNY FLEETWOOD 036 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

VES VOLKSWAGEN ID.3 1ST EDITION POWER PRO £35,215 / £35,745 A Volkswagen usually arrives at a freshly unplugged and extracted from my See the smallest battery of these three hatchback test as the benchmark garage into the frosty morning can muster belongs to the Tesla Model This entry level Mr Defending Champ or at the only miles which tumbles into the s very least the Miss Goldilocks as the heater is set just so on the grotesque k version makes do with rear wheel drive VWs aren’t used to being the double chin hanging from the touchscreen and a kWh battery capacity If it were as inexperienced newbies Today the VW ID ’s Mind you ID s we’ve tested in milder climes ine cient as the kWh equipped VW chief enemy might not be the Tesla Model have barely promised more and I haven’t travelling just miles per kWh of electricity Standard Range Plus nor the Nissan Leaf e pre conditioned the heating to gently bring consumed it’d manage just miles between It’s God Maybe He’s angry about all of the the stone cold battery up to temperature Superchargers In fact it’s sauntering along at emissions November is doing its best to defeat VW’s new ID challenger with brass monkeys We’re not going to blindly fixate on range miles per kWh meaning a mile range today though Range is one dimensional is available versus claimed Against an o cial range of miles the What’s interesting is e ciency Promise ‘guessometer’ readout of this ID st Edition Stay with me here You’d presume Nissan’s Leaf couldn’t hope to compete with the might of newer sharper contenders and you’d be as wrong as me T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 037

“THE LEAF IS EASILY THE LEAST INTIMIDATING BABY STEP INTO THE WARM WATERS OF ELECTRIFICATION” 01 038 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

02 03 Instead of the standard Leaf’s kWh no closer to cracking Elon’s nut than Nissan battery and single front mounted bhp which has been toiling away with electric 04 motor the ‘e ’ upgrades to the largest battery hatchbacks for over a decade pack of the trio a hefty kWh and bhp 1 Tesla proves a two-tone roof The three year old Nissan matches the less The Leaf feels like the oldest product isn’t obligatory in The Future bulky VW’s mpkWh consumption and here which it is but it’s easily the least 2 Nissan’s interior looks the most when its wildly indecisive computer makes intimidating baby step into the warm waters Fisher-Price but is easiest to its mind up o ers between and of electrification operate 3 Ahh, nothing like a miles before nosing up to another charger roaring fire to huddle around Inside it could easily be a Qashqai Same when sheltering from panel gaps We know that posed against po faced switchgear praise be some actual real life 4 ID.3 shares its screen, heater competitors Teslas are invariably the quick buttons same semi raised stunted driving control gutter and touch-sensitive ones the e cient ones the fun ones with position apparently resolved in plate cars keys with Golf MkVIII. Still rubbish Fart Mode and the lucky ones least dependent which finally have adjustable steering column on a haphazard charging ecosystem Even this reach and the same whi of petrochemical basic version with a single rearward motor man made fibres and the ambience of a Zack and only Chill/Sport acceleration settings Snyder film The semi digital instruments look develops bhp and punches to mph faster like they’re from the Nineties the touchscreen than a k Jaguar F Type never mind either operates like it actually is while the thick of these rivals here pillars and cramped rear seats make this clean sheet bespoke EV feel about as spacious What’s surprising is the scale of Tesla’s lead as a Ryanair in the power consumption stakes You’d have expected Volkswagen to have it sussed To have This morning I’m grateful the front chairs bided its time until it could saunter into the fray are laudably comfortable as if they’ve been and crush the American upstart but it’s really transplanted from an American SUV and it has the most e ective heater of the set And while T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 039

VOLKSWAGEN 01 05 ID.3 03 1 All ID.3s get this 10.0-inch 02 04 touchscreen. Whole cabin is allergic to physical buttons 2 Gear selector lives behind the steering wheel, so this space is freed up for storage 3 Tap-sensitive light control panel is hideously unfriendly to use. Mirror toggles are even worse 4 But look, LOL, the pedals have a sense of humour. VW wishes they were touch-sensitive too 5 Tiny 5.0-inch screen shows speed and cruise control data 6 Twisty drive selector copied from BMW’s i3, anyone? 06 TESLA 01 05 MODEL 3 02 04 1 Ahh, the stoic bleakness of 03 a rural winter, majestic in its... sorry, there’s not much to talk about in here, is there? 2 Matte wood trim surprisingly tasteful for an American car 3 Tesla’s giant 15.4-inch display continues to set the pace for in-car touchscreens 4 2021-spec Model 3s get wireless phone charging. Devices point straight at driver. D’oh 5 Speed shown here. Becomes second nature fairly quickly 6 Least conventional cabin, most intuitive drive selector. Straight from a Merc C-Class 06 040 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

NISSAN 05 LEAF 04 1 Heater and menu switches look like they’re from the 01 03 Eighties, but y’know, work. 02 In a car. Fancy that 2 Here’s the e-Pedal button. Ramps up the regen braking. Handy in town 3 On/off switch is pure white goods appliance 4 Dated instruments clumsily mix oblong screen with round speedo 5 Compare the VW’s wide-split pillars with the Nissan’s blobby glasshouse 6 Our second contestant on ‘how to reinvent the gear lever’ has gone for a swivelly joypad. Works quite well 06 the chunky switchgear looks as dated as a groundbreaker? There’s no ‘froot’ in the “YOU SENSE nose under bonnet space is reserved for VW COULD’VE Japanese hi fi it’s less fiddly than the other two the air conditioning system where the Tesla BEEN MORE gives you a bonus cargo bay up front The AMBITIOUS Volkswagen has packaged its electric WITH HOW IT litre boot is nowhere near as deep as the REARRANGED hatchback more cleverly but the details grate Leaf’s because of the kg motor gearbox THE FURNITURE” gubbins plumbed underneath and that matters Its overhangs are shorter Front visibility is when bulky crud incrusted charging cables need to be carted around panoramic thanks to slimline split A pillars In the middle the ID is indeed roomier With the motor out back the ID not only than the Golf which will take up the same space on your driveway with a flat floor and seating o ers pleasantly crisp uncorrupted steering for three at a pinch Headroom is a mite tighter than the Tesla but both cars are glassy and but the tightest turning circle whizzing back relatively welcoming compared to the Leaf which is what gave Carlos Ghosn the idea of from whence it came in metres like an Up hiding in a cello case Up front the wee speedo screen moves with Wondering why we’ve made it this far without much mention of what these cars are the steering column and the driving position is actually like to drive? That wouldn’t happen if this was Golf vs Qashqai vs Pontiac Aztek just a smidge more upright than a Golf’s with How these things actually go down a road is probably the least notable thing about them captains’ armrests adding to the chilled The Leaf is a stoically dull but easy to use wantonly unsporty vibe This car’s dubious appliance It spools up its front wheels on slippery roads something the rear drive VW ‘ArtVelour’ wipe clean upholstery already feels is too grown up to indulge The ID ’s planted accelerates breezily and its brakes blend regen like it’s been recycled one too many times but and proper friction stopping seamlessly There’s that familiar EV disconnect of sitting a little the optimistic white touchpoints can be no cost higher than a ‘normal’ internally combusting optioned to black to avoid clutching a steering wheel resembling a Victorian chimney sweep You sense VW could’ve been more ambitious more BMW i ish with how it rearranged the furniture but besides the open top tunnel of floor stowage all of the glossy haptic innovations have already made our teeth itch in the latest Golf GTI The dash crowning ‘ID Light’ which pulses when you address the ‘Hello ID’ voice control is more Windows than A Space Odyssey Has VW maximised all of the advantages it can from this long wheelbase st century T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 041

Specifications 3 NISSAN 12 LEAF TESLA VOLKSWAGEN VERDICT MODEL 3 ID.3 Desirablity factor of a POWERTRAIN Whirlpool tumble drier, TOTAL POWER Still not sold on the Doesn’t quite take full but in several ways, the ACCELERATION looks or the build advantage of the least annoying interior TOTAL TORQUE quality, but as an exciting blue-sky of the three everyday EV, nothing thinking promised. A can touch the Tesla quieter, smarter Golf 1 e-motor 1 e-motor 1 e-motor 214bhp 235bhp 201bhp 0–62 6.9secs 0–62 5.3secs 0–62 7.3secs 251lb ft 277lb ft 229lb ft CLAIMED 276 miles / 215 miles 260 miles / 180 miles 239 miles/ 192 miles RANGE / TEST FIGURE TOP SPEED 140 99 98 mph mph mph WEIGHT 1611kg 1794kg 1651kg TRANSMISSION 1spd, RWD 1spd, RWD 1spd, FWD BOOT CAPACITY 425 litres 385 litres 385 litres SCORE 1,267 litres (seats down) 1,161 litres (seats down) (front and rear areas combined) 7 6 10 10 8 10

hatchback but sensing the centre of gravity is games But quality builds reputations Though k k where Tesla life begins You’ll be slung so much lower Less wind and road noise is Tesla a brand that’s worried about customer is admitted into the cabin than the Nissan and loyalty? It’s a cult I’m writing this from a financing them of course and the feature packed the ID ’s inch rims su er more on craggy witness protection safehouse roads than the Leaf’s sofa castors Tesla albeit shorn of the needless Full As if to prove a point Nissan sent a Here’s where Tesla’s relative inexperience mile Leaf into battle here steering Self Driving Package which is nothing of the bubbles to the surface This is steering by CGI wheel bu ed to a high sheen but otherwise sort is temptingly within reach horrid mismatched feedback and synthetic wearing well This is what the future of EVs weighting does little to inspire confidence given would look like if Tesla hadn’t erupted onto Each have three grand shaved o the RRP how quickly the car can vault forward It has the scene and gone viral with its Californian the grabbiest brakes though like the Leaf you upstarts The Leaf seems so flat footed so by the government Nissan will shill of your can dial up the regen and treat it as a one traditional Caught on the hop like a Sony pedal car if you can stand the shame of your Walkman shelved next to an iPod Standard k deposit and this range topping Leaf is yours brake lights illuminating more often than a Nissan really As per the Qashqai and the GT R L plated Corsa’s the Leaf failed to convert a lightbulb moment for a month On the same terms into an unimpeachable empire With the VW and the Nissan you’re not just miles a year payments the VW is cheapest paying for an EV you’re getting the peace of Same goes for BMW’s i cars And the Renault mind that comes with building millions of cars Zoe and even the adorable Honda e They’re all at and the Tesla way o over six hundred If a year and not one of them in a tent Tesla has a one o outposts VW wants needs the ID world class product here but I wish it’d spend family to be a heartland volume selling you’re happy just to lease it the Tesla’s payments less time on the gimmicks and concentrate on stack ’em high household name So there’ll be quality This car’s tracking was like Fox News many more to choose from than this st Edition dip to a month This is the iPhone of cars Inaccurate and alarmingly right of centre This will become the middling model after all In you’ll be due an upgrade No fit and finish is not cool It won’t harvest between kWh and kWh versions Prices Likes like the built in Mario Kart and arcade will match a well specced Golf spreading from Here and now the Model is the best EV It’s the least hamstrung device That e ciency and charging network o er valuable peace of mind VW’s quest not to rock the boat has resulted in a better product than Nissan’s honourably sensible but forgettable Leaf but one that’s failed to bravely take the fight to Tesla’s front door It’s a good car the ID but a pulled punch It’ll probably be pretty nice to live with once you’ve accepted the unhelpful interior Somehow we expected more a new benchmark “TESLA HAS A WORLD-CLASS PRODUCT HERE, BUT I WISH IT’D SPEND LESS TIME ON THE GIMMICKS” T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 043

7 10 TOYOTA MIRAI Electric wannabe £65,945 unless, say, you run a regional taxi or limousine sure of itself. The best bit is its lovely supple company and are near a hydrogen pump. Or ride. It absorbs biggish undulations and sharp Fuel cell 182 1spd 9.2 P CO2 indeed have or can install your own. hits and smaller untidiness with equanimity. hybrid EV bhp auto secs n/a It’s not too much of a barge, then. miles n/a Toyota’s achievement is to reduce the size g/km and cost of the fuel-cell stack, and cost of the The interior is Lexoid too, thanks to swish tanks. It brings the Mirai’s lease price down materials and plush furniture. The screens FOR Quiet, smooth-riding, to £600 a month. The old Mirai was FWD, its are clear enough and their fonts and graphics relaxing to drive, luxurious body’s gawky height dictated by the stack’s coherent – not a given with Japanese cars. being wedged beneath the front seats. This Unlike in a flat-floored battery EV, the central AGAINST UK hydrogen is new one has its stack under the bonnet, the tank imposes itself as a high spine down the scarce and expensive tanks beneath the tunnel and rear seat and cabin. In the front that makes you feel tucked boot, and the drive motor at the back. in, though not confined. In the back legroom T he fuel-cell car goes mainstream. is OK, if disappointing for a car this long. The new Mirai is comfy, smooth and It actually uses the new Lexus platform. reasonably elegant. It drives like a Feels like a Lexus too – relaxed and refined. It’s not just the scarcity of H2 stations big EV, fills up 350 miles of hydrogen in 10 The 182bhp motor gives a sprightly step-off, that’ll harm the Mirai in the UK. The fuel minutes, and costs less to acquire than a and seamless acceleration like any fixed-gear is costly – as much per mile as petrol – and big 300-mile battery car. EV. But really, the mild acceleration better much of it isn’t sustainably produced. But suits gentle chauffeuring than chasing assertive that’s not the Mirai’s fault, and in other Ah but... is that the smell of exotic German saloons down the autobahn. countries the stuff is both cheap and green. dung? Open the window while we address Fuel-cell cars will probably exist alongside the elephant in the room. There are only Lob it at a bend, and there’s a moment of and complimentary to pure-battery cars, a dozen or so public hydrogen stations in slack while it asks you if your back-seat paying because hydrogen is a good energy buffer Britain. So you won’t be getting a Mirai passenger really wants this. But then, after due for fluctuating renewable power. Paul Horrell consideration... around it goes, flat and pretty 044 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M



8 10 BMW M5 COMPETITION Fully Comp £103,235 to mph in seconds Top speed depends on everything to ESC o RWD ‘danger mode’ Switch to WD Sport and enjoy the amusingly CO2 options mph as standard or mph with rear led balance of a car that shrugs o its size and weight admirably P 252 the M Driver’s Pack which is incorporated g/km And flipping heck is it quick You won’t 4.4TT 616 8spd 3.3 25.4 into a new Ultimate Pack that gives be able to use full throttle for very long and V8 bhp auto secs mpg if you’re manually flapping through its eight you all the juicy stu in one hit Carbon engine gears you’ll be wise to tackle everything a gear higher than your heart desires just to quell the FOR Combines luxury cover carbon ceramic brakes heating and warp speed The engine noise is actually fairly with speed like little else mu ed inside the cabin especially so if you massaging in the seats a big stereo and even haven’t pushed those enticing red M buttons AGAINST Is it too polished so big numbers really will creep onto the for its own good? a digital telly BMW says per cent of people speedo with ba ingly little e ort go for it in the bigger M Competition Much as they do in an E mind The pair are still incredibly hard to split but the BMW The M has actually influenced some of the remains the more rounded comfy car It covers all bases with a staggering depth of engineering other tweaks too with the suspension tune of and might well be the most complete sports saloon ever To an enthusiast though such the Gran Coupe parachuted down essentially completeness can be a help and a hindrance when it smooths out the roguish swagger U pdating their V limos at the same time bringing the softer edge of the old ‘regular’ that they crave Stephen Dobie underlines the intense rivalry between M Division and AMG as the Manchester M to the quicker M Competition If you’re unduly worried it’s become a big luxo barge derby of the car world The F M ’s refresh rest assured there are new engine mounts has seen the higher powered Competition for better keeping that massive V in check completely usurp the base car sending the M It remains a sports saloon with absurd entry point past In fact M cars sold composure Less of an unruly hot rod than a in the UK only come in Competition spec Mercedes E it’s like a DFS showpiece lounge Your sole engine option is a twin turbo that’ll crack mph at supercar speed Its WD litre V with bhp and lb ft of torque is achingly clever too and even on track we which flings its two tonnes including driver suspect you’ll rarely feel the need to switch 046 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M

“IT’S ADDICTIVE TO USE IN A WAY NOT EVEN THE M5 CAN MATCH” 9 10 roads and conditions it could also be very Inside there’s a revised steering wheel MERCEDES-BENZ e ective at not getting its power down if you complete with even more touch sensitive E63 S disconnected the front driveshafts and locked controls and an enhanced single pane twin Speed machine it into Drift mode screen layout for all instrumentation and Anyway none of that has been touched infotainment The clickwheel has gone and nor has the engine meaning you still have replaced by a neater cleaner larger touchpad the choice of plain bhp E or an E S It looks attractive and sophisticated but just with bhp Drift mode and other niceties for try using it It’s a fiddle and less logical to about more The front end is now more operate than its BMW and Audi rivals rounded sweeping back towards front arches At least the driving position is great and that are mm wider each side to cloak broader the seats although firm are very supportive £98,370 + £2,000 for the estate track widths and tyres the most significant There’s more than enough space and the mechanical enhancement made estate’s boot is huge But so’s the price At CO2 The steering still has the same slight for the saloon or more for the P 273 springiness when you’ve got some lock on estate the one you really want the E has g/km 4.0TT 604 9spd 3.5 23.7 gently pushing back but the wheels now carve had a significant price increase V8 bhp auto secs mpg a cleaner line There’s less roll but also more However the update reinforces the E ’s FOR Changes add comfort suppleness in the springs which is a neat trick position as the best super exec The changes without damaging driver appeal to have pulled o It feels well supported and improve comfort add dynamic polish An RS AGAINST Significant price rise, complex infotainment interface accurate around corners satisfying to drive is more refined and has amazing stance the M even when cruising Taken as a whole some is the most accomplished to drive but the E of the harshness of the pre facelift car has remains the most thrilling Now with fewer gone It’s still tautly sprung and firm of ride passenger complaints Ollie Marriage but the vibrations and commotion that were T he world’s most pugnacious super probably more unsettling for passengers than saloon Only maybe not quite so pugnacious as before The Mercedes the ride firmness itself have definitely eased AMG E has received a mid life facelift and the idea says Merc is to o er ‘enhanced There’s a sense that it’s gained some maturity everyday comfort’ Good since that’s about the only real criticism we had of its predecessor The V feels a little sharper too No more That arrived four years ago bringing with power or torque but the characteristics and it a twin turbo litre V mated to The Best response seem brighter It remains a truly WD System in the World Not only was it very e ective at getting its power down on di cult superb engine to use with a great baritone voice masses of power and an ability to make mincemeat of whichever gear it’s in It’s quick to respond and addictive to use in a way not even the updated BMW M can match T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 047

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7 10 BMW iX3 only. But heck, that’s the normal life for Don’t expect old-school BMW rear- PREMIER EDITION crossovers anyway, isn’t it? driviness in the handling. In fact, the AWD Jaguar is more fun through dry curves. The iX3 Not so If the battery isn’t as physically big is too grown-up. It feels progressive, precise déjà vu as rivals, being BMW’s latest type it and relaxed in the way it steers, always stable compensates with good energy density. and controlled. Ride is relatively supple and £58,850 The WLTP range is a strong 285 miles, and quiet, which is sensible given the performance. it can add range fast when recharging at Nothing wrong with seats, driving position or 80kWh 286 1spd 6.8 285 CO2 150kW. Performance? Not crazy-EV-quick. cabin quality: situation X3 normal. battery bhp auto secs miles It accelerates like the six-cylinder diesel X3 0 that its buyers might have had before. Except In not taking advantage of the new g/km much more silently and smoothly and with proportions that battery cars allow – see the zero engine or transmission lag. roomy, radical Jaguar – the iX3 seems a bit of FOR Goes a long way, quietly a missed opportunity. Wait for the bigger iX on relatively little electricity So, moderate battery capacity, 2WD, for those things. But the iX3 is efficient and performance that’s in no way startling. Is BMW for BMW fans it feels exactly like a petrol AGAINST Doesn’t explore EV off the pace? Or is it being canny to target the BMW to drive and sit in and look at – those packaging possibilities, not 4WD way people really use their cars rather than voltage-signalling blue stripes are optional. the characteristics that’ll win YouTube? Seven years after the i3, BMW brings The e-tron, I-Pace and EQC make it look out only its second full-electric car. The power comes in with urgency, sure, well-priced too. Its problem might not be And this time it’s... normal. Just another but it’s never brutal, even when you mash those cars, but the new wave of cheaper ones X3. Which is actually BMW’s biggest selling the pedal. Still, it keeps on going determinedly on ground-up EV platforms, like the Mustang car of all. Because this battery version was and with the usual seamless pure-electric Mach-E and VW ID.4. Paul Horrell done after the petrol, diesel and PHEV were smoothness, up to its 112mph limit. finished, it altered remarkably little in the body structure and styling. Overall, it’s surprisingly efficient. My drive was definitely not hanging about, but The battery, being wedged into a car my range extrapolated to 230 miles. That’s not designed for it, hangs beneath the floor, usefully better than I’d have managed, so this is a crossover for people who want experience tells me, in the Jaguar, Audi or elevated seats and a big boot, not one for Mercedes, despite the iX3’s smaller battery. off-road adventurers. Besides, it’s RWD Adaptive regeneration takes input from the satnav and radar sensors, helping efficiency even if it feels odd at first – lifting your foot has different effects in different circs. If there’s a car or corner or lower limit just ahead, it’ll regenerate hard. But if not it just lets you coast. After all it’s more efficient not to slow down when you’ll later speed up again. T O P G E A R . C O M › J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 049

MHUASRTDTERRY SUZUKI 6 ACROSS 10 £45,599 MG 5 EV EXCLUSIVE 2.5 4cyl 302 1spd 6.0 P CO2 PHEV bhp CVT secs 282 Ffrueses mpg 22 g/km YES, IT’S A SUZUKI ‘AYY-CROSS’, NOT A TOYOTA £26,995 gravity. It’ll accept a 50kW charge too, which RAV4. Badge engineering is back. But the means zero to 80 per cent in 50 minutes. fundamentals here are promising. 52.2kWh 154 1spd 7.7 214 CO2 battery bhp auto secs miles The front wheels are driven by a 154bhp A 182bhp 4cyl petrol engine is joined by 0 electric motor that allows for 0–30mph in two e-motors: 177bhp up front and 40bhp g/km 3.2 seconds, so it’s quick enough off the line. out back. They never all develop max The 16-inch wheels and high sidewalled tyres power together, but a combined 302bhp FOR Genuine value for money make it comfortable too. However, it rolls a is comfortably enough to make the hefty bit in corners, there’s no feel to the steering Across spritely, even without waking the – the Dacia of the EV world and the brake pedal is remarkably woolly. But droney engine. We saw a best full-charge you forgive it when you drop the rear seats range of 31 miles vs a claim of 46 miles. AGAINST Don’t expect a quality and uncover 1,456 litres of cargo space. Leccy consumption was impressively efficient, at around 2.7 miles per kWh. interior or engaging drive There are some cheap materials on the inside, but there’s also a huge amount of kit Our best combined fuel economy in R eason #459 for the world ending in as standard. The 8.0-inch touchscreen is the Across was 48mpg. It could have done 2020 – TopGear gives a modern-day compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android much more by running consistently in EV MG a positive review. Auto, and there are a few touches that will mode, but the system is too optimistic if Yep, there’s lots to like about the new appeal to your inner eight-year-old. Such as anything, aiming to cruise on the motorway 5 EV, chiefly because it’s the first all-electric the KERS button on the centre console to on battery power alone when that charge estate car to go on sale in Europe, but also control the level of regen braking, and is best saved for urban running. because it’s a proper bargain. an orange BOOST section at the top of the energy usage dial. The latter is straight out So, while some trips into town saw MG is owned by Chinese conglomerate of The Fast and The Furious: All-Electric Drift. economy to 60, sometimes 70mpg, SAIC these days, so you’ll find the 5 is based realistically this is a 45–50mpg machine, on something called the Roewe Ei5. In base- Elon can only dream of this kind of value on average. Fine, but not the leap that spec Excite trim it’ll cost £24,495 after the for money right now, and MG is backing up ex-diesel buyers would have hoped for. government grant, while the higher grade the whole package with a seven year/80,000- Exclusive we have here is £26,995. mile warranty. As a fuss-free entry point into There’s only one choice of trim, and practical EV ownership, there isn’t a better it’s fully loaded. The other problem is Seems like seriously good value, right? option on the market today. Greg Potts Toyota’s just launched a £47k RAV4 PHEV. It’s essentially 214 miles of range and 578 Unless you recently divorced your company litres of bootspace for less money than an car fleet manager (they’re obviously entry-level Honda e. Commendable. paying), why would you choose Suzuki’s identical copycat? Ollie Kew Both versions have exactly the same tech specs, and the 52.5kWh battery pack is 7 integrated into the car’s chassis – hence the 10 aerodynamically efficient shape (hurrah for it not being an SUV) and the low centre of 050 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M