Fresh cars 2016: the year’s most significant cars
We’re a good way through two thousand sixteen now, and so far it’s been a bumper year for fresh car launches. We’ve put impatiently awaited models from Renault, Ford and Jaguar through their paces, and also been fortunate enough to get our arms on a duo of supercars. So read on to find out the most significant models to hit the roads this year, and click on any of the links to be taken through to our utter reviews or extended news stories.
Few brands inspire as much affection as Alfa Romeo, but often the cars produced by the Italian brand have been appealing yet somewhat flawed. That’s not the case with the Alfa Romeo Giulia, tho’: this four-door saloon is a genuine rival to the standard-setting BMW three Series, and a staggeringly prompt 503bhp Quadrifoglio model caters for those after a practical family car with supercar-rivalling spectacle.
For those with deep pockets who need a large SUV, the recently-arrived Bentley Bentayga may just fit the bill flawlessly. You’ll need £160,000 if you want one, and have to be blessed with fuel consumption in the low 20mpgs at best, but there are few cars of such size that can go from 0-62mph in just four seconds while cosseting their occupants in unparalleled luxury. The Bentayga is also a genuinely capable off-road car, too, even if its price tag may make you loath to take it on anything more strenuous than a poorly-surfaced road.
The BMW M2 is the smallest car in BMW’s line-up to have been put through the utter M Division spectacle programme and the general feeling is this junior supercar is something of a bargain. True, at around £45,000 it’s dual most people’s budget for a fresh car, but given the fact it’ll go from 0-62mph in just Four.Five seconds (and put a smile on your face at almost any speed), the M2 is genuinely worthy of its M badge, and offers a saving of around £13,000 over the larger BMW M4. Only an underwhelming interior lets things down slightly.
The DS four Crossback is the latest car from Citroen’s luxury-focused DS brand and it’s essentially a raised DS four hatchback with chunkier looks. In the DS 4’s favour are its luxurious interior and generous standard equipment, but rear-seat passengers will bemoan the fact the back windows only pop out at the edge, rather than wind (or power) down.
The Fiat Tipo revives a name last seen in the UK in the 1990s, and it’s a well-priced and well-equipped car. The Tipo Station Wagon estate is even more practical than the standard hatchback, but both cars are slightly more expensive to run than rivals, and neither is that pleasurable to drive.
The Ford Edge is a large five-seat SUV that was originally developed for the US market, before being tweaked for European buyers. It’s a striking car with slew of road presence, a big boot and convenient suspension, albeit a well-equipped Edge in top-spec Sport trim comes precariously close to £40,000.
If the BMW M2 above seems a little too expensive, consider the Ford Concentrate RS. It’s significantly cheaper, yet only fractionally slower. Standard four-wheel drive ensures putting the Concentrate RS’ 345bhp down on the road is effortless and there are few – if any – cars at this price point suggesting comparable spectacle. Five doors and a (petite but usable) boot mean you could even have one as a family car.
The Ford GT is a £300,000 supercar with 600bhp that you can’t buy – at least for now. Ford asked potential buyers to submit proposals explaining why they should be one of the fortunate five hundred GT owners, and all spaces for the very first two years’ production have already been allocated, with just ten coming to the UK. With a rich heritage dating back to Le Stud’s races in the 1960s, the Ford GT harks back to a bygone era, yet does so with the latest technology: Ford’s boffins programmed ten million lines of computer code into the GT, more than most fighter jets and airliners. UK road testers have yet to get their forearms on the GT, but observe this space. Utter story here.
Pickup trucks have become posh recently and the latest Ford Ranger is lighter to live with than many such vehicles from a few years ago. With super-tough US-inspired looks and the option of a punchy Trio.2-litre diesel engine, the Ranger certainly isn’t lacking in grunt, while a tow limit of up to Three,500kg means it’s one of the more capable tow cars out there. Just make sure to tick the rear parking sensors options box, as the Ranger is a big car.
The Honda NSX has been spoken of as something of a bargain in supercar circles. True, at around £130,000, it’s out of most people’s reach, but the NSX has a similar engine configuration to the Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1, which retail for around £1 million each. With a turbocharged Trio.5-litre engine and three electrical motors, the NSX showcases what can be done by blending traditional petrol power with the latest hybrid technology.
Infiniti is hoping the Q30 will make inroads in the UK premium hatchback market, where it competes with the Audi A3, BMW one Series and Mercedes A-Class. While Nissan’s luxury arm has liked success in the US, this hasn’t been the case – so far – in Britain. Still, the Q30 looks different, feels special and is built in England, so if you feel like an alternative to established rivals from Mercedes, Lexus and Volkswagen, it’s well worth a look.
The F-Pace is Jaguar’s very first=ever SUV and it’s been a success right out of the blocks. With sleek, powerful engines, a excellent driving practice and undeniably stylish looks, the F-Pace has a lot going for it. Only a relatively high asking price and expensive options list hold it back from genuine greatness.
The Kia Optima concentrates on technology as much as convenience. With wireless phone charging, LED rear lights and a 176mpg hybrid model, the Optima saloon and its SW estate sibling are coaxing alternatives to the Ford Mondeo and Mazda6.
The latest Kia Sportage is more assertively styled than before, but it’s still the practical, sensible and easy-to-live with SUV it’s always been. This is a crowded market, however, and the Sportage competes with the hugely popular Nissan Qashqai and Renault Kadjar.
The Lexus RX goes up against other large SUVs like the BMW X5 and Audi Q7, only unlike those cars, it does without a diesel option. Instead, buyers can choose from a turbocharged Two.0-litre petrol and a petrol-electric hybrid. The latter ensures sleek, quiet and relatively efficient running, which is matched by the beautiful and quiet interior. The RX isn’t as good to drive as its rivals, tho’, and the hybrid’s claimed fuel economy of 53mpg can be hard to match in the real world.
The latest Mercedes E-Class saloon and Estate showcase just how far interior design has come on in latest years. While the previous E-Class felt somewhat staid inwards, the fresh model is a technological and luxurious tour de force. Fuel economy is another strong suit, as the most efficient model can come back over 70mpg.
The S-Class Cabriolet is one of Mercedes’ top-tier models, with a kicking off price of around £110,000. For that sort of money you expect (and get) almost unparalleled luxury – roof up or roof down – alongside stellar spectacle and big running costs. Despite being longer than the Ford Galaxy people carrier, the S-Class Cabriolet actually has very taut rear seats, tho’.
Working on the principle of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, the latest MINI Convertible is a gentle evolution of the car it substitutes. It’s a little more practical and the roof is slightly quicker at opening or closing than it was before, but other than that it remains the same stylish, good-to-drive cabriolet it always has been, accomplish with a lil’ boot.
Albeit it’s an historic British brand, MG was bought by Nanjing Automobile (which later merged with Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation – SAIC) back in 2005. The MG GS is the brand’s very first foray into the popular mid-size SUV class, and it undercuts the Nissan Qashqai by about £3,500. While the GS is pretty pleasurable to drive and has an impatient 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, there’s no diesel option. The GS also only truly makes sense in entry-level Explore guise, as its price advantage becomes smaller the further you go up the range.
The Range Rover Evoque Convertible answers a question many may not have asked before: what happens if you make an SUV with a folding fabric roof? The response, it turns out, is that you get a sleek and desirable SUV convertible, which is significantly more expensive and a fair bit slower than the car on which it’s based.
As the very first family hatchback to feature on this list, the latest Renault Megane is arguably one of the more significant fresh cars of two thousand sixteen – it’s this sort of car that accounts for the majority of UK sales, after all. The Megane is excellent to look at, comes with a genuinely plush interior and brings a breath of fresh air to the class.
The Suzuki Ignis compact crossover is actually due in 2017, but it’s already been exposed. As a chunky alternative to the Fiat Panda 4×4 and Nissan Juke, the Ignis is likely to get Suzuki’s 1.0-litre turbocharged ‘Boosterjet’ engine as well as a ‘mild-hybrid’ option, which uses a beefed-up starter motor to aid acceleration. Utter story here.
The Model X is an all-electric SUV from Tesla. In many ways it’s a similar proposition to the Model S, very first launched in 2012: it has electrical motors powered by thousands of adapted laptop batteries providing an approximate range of up to three hundred miles, together with astonishing spectacle. Unlike the Model S, however, the X has ‘falcon’ rear doors. These rise up vertically, and can adjust their angle of ascent based on the tightness of your parking space.
The Toyota Mirai is either an expensive white elephant or one of the most significant cars ever to go on sale. It’s a hydrogen-powered car, meaning a tank of high-pressure hydrogen is fed through a fuel ‘cell’, whereupon its electrons split and are used to power the Mirai’s batteries. This revolutionary technology means the Mira’s only emissions are water vapour – albeit questions exist regarding the environmental influence of large-scale hydrogen production.
Back when it was launched in 1995, the Toyota Prius was almost as revolutionary as the Mirai above. Since then, we’ve got used to the idea of petrol-electric hybrids and – while almost every manufacturer now offers such a model – the Prius proceeds to be something of a yardstick against which other hybrids are measured. The latest Prius is more distinctive than ever before, albeit some may yearn for the old model’s conservative looks. One thing that hasn’t switched, tho’, is that the Prius still uses an unpleasant CVT automatic gearbox. Still, it’s hard to argue with claimed fuel economy of 94mpg and exemption from both road tax and the London Congestion Charge.
The latest Vauxhall Astra hatchback is one of the best cars Vauxhall has ever produced and the Sports Tourer adds a dose of estate practicality to the mix. With a good engine range, strong fuel economy, slew of standard equipment and a decent driving practice, the Astra Sports Tourer is a accurately competent and appealing car. Vauxhall’s trim levels remain as bafflingly numerous as ever, tho’, so go for SRi or SRi Nav to get the best amount of kit for your money.
To feast the Golf GTI’s 40th bday, VW has treated it to stiffer suspension and a power boost. The Golf GTI Clubsport comes with a 261bhp version of the standard GTI’s Two.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, permitting it to get from 0-62mph in just 6.Three seconds. Fearing this wasn’t a big enough bounty, Volkswagen subsequently released the 306bhp Clubsport S, which trims a further four tenths off the 0-62mph time.
The latest VW Tiguan doesn’t look all that different from the car it substituted, but it’s entirely fresh underneath. The interior has also been refreshed, so it’s the subtly premium effort you’d expect from Volkswagen, while emissions and fuel economy have also taken a step up compared to the old model. Downsides? Well, the sports suspension that comes with the top-spec R-Line model is too rock-hard to be comfy and you could buy two entry-level Nissan Qashqais for the price of one top-spec Tiguan.
Stay tuned to Carbuyer for the latest news on the rest of the year’s fresh car launches.
Fresh cars 2016: the year s most significant cars, Carbuyer
Fresh cars 2016: the year’s most significant cars
We’re a good way through two thousand sixteen now, and so far it’s been a bumper year for fresh car launches. We’ve put anxiously awaited models from Renault, Ford and Jaguar through their paces, and also been fortunate enough to get our arms on a duo of supercars. So read on to find out the most significant models to hit the roads this year, and click on any of the links to be taken through to our utter reviews or extended news stories.
Few brands inspire as much affection as Alfa Romeo, but often the cars produced by the Italian brand have been appealing yet somewhat flawed. That’s not the case with the Alfa Romeo Giulia, tho’: this four-door saloon is a genuine rival to the standard-setting BMW three Series, and a staggeringly prompt 503bhp Quadrifoglio model caters for those after a practical family car with supercar-rivalling spectacle.
For those with deep pockets who need a large SUV, the recently-arrived Bentley Bentayga may just fit the bill ideally. You’ll need £160,000 if you want one, and have to be glad with fuel consumption in the low 20mpgs at best, but there are few cars of such size that can go from 0-62mph in just four seconds while cosseting their occupants in unparalleled luxury. The Bentayga is also a genuinely capable off-road car, too, even if its price tag may make you loath to take it on anything more strenuous than a poorly-surfaced road.
The BMW M2 is the smallest car in BMW’s line-up to have been put through the total M Division spectacle programme and the general feeling is this junior supercar is something of a bargain. True, at around £45,000 it’s dual most people’s budget for a fresh car, but given the fact it’ll go from 0-62mph in just Four.Five seconds (and put a smile on your face at almost any speed), the M2 is genuinely worthy of its M badge, and offers a saving of around £13,000 over the larger BMW M4. Only an underwhelming interior lets things down slightly.
The DS four Crossback is the latest car from Citroen’s luxury-focused DS brand and it’s essentially a raised DS four hatchback with chunkier looks. In the DS 4’s favour are its luxurious interior and generous standard equipment, but rear-seat passengers will bemoan the fact the back windows only pop out at the edge, rather than wind (or power) down.
The Fiat Tipo revives a name last seen in the UK in the 1990s, and it’s a well-priced and well-equipped car. The Tipo Station Wagon estate is even more practical than the standard hatchback, but both cars are slightly more expensive to run than rivals, and neither is that pleasant to drive.
The Ford Edge is a large five-seat SUV that was originally developed for the US market, before being tweaked for European buyers. It’s a striking car with slew of road presence, a meaty boot and convenient suspension, albeit a well-equipped Edge in top-spec Sport trim comes precariously close to £40,000.
If the BMW M2 above seems a little too expensive, consider the Ford Concentrate RS. It’s significantly cheaper, yet only fractionally slower. Standard four-wheel drive ensures putting the Concentrate RS’ 345bhp down on the road is effortless and there are few – if any – cars at this price point suggesting comparable spectacle. Five doors and a (petite but usable) boot mean you could even have one as a family car.
The Ford GT is a £300,000 supercar with 600bhp that you can’t buy – at least for now. Ford asked potential buyers to submit proposals explaining why they should be one of the fortunate five hundred GT owners, and all spaces for the very first two years’ production have already been allocated, with just ten coming to the UK. With a rich heritage dating back to Le Guy’s races in the 1960s, the Ford GT harks back to a bygone era, yet does so with the latest technology: Ford’s boffins programmed ten million lines of computer code into the GT, more than most fighter jets and airliners. UK road testers have yet to get their palms on the GT, but observe this space. Total story here.
Pickup trucks have become posh recently and the latest Ford Ranger is lighter to live with than many such vehicles from a few years ago. With super-tough US-inspired looks and the option of a punchy Three.2-litre diesel engine, the Ranger certainly isn’t lacking in grunt, while a tow limit of up to Trio,500kg means it’s one of the more capable tow cars out there. Just make sure to tick the rear parking sensors options box, as the Ranger is a big car.
The Honda NSX has been spoken of as something of a bargain in supercar circles. True, at around £130,000, it’s out of most people’s reach, but the NSX has a similar engine configuration to the Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1, which retail for around £1 million each. With a turbocharged Trio.5-litre engine and three electrical motors, the NSX showcases what can be done by blending traditional petrol power with the latest hybrid technology.
Infiniti is hoping the Q30 will make inroads in the UK premium hatchback market, where it competes with the Audi A3, BMW one Series and Mercedes A-Class. While Nissan’s luxury arm has liked success in the US, this hasn’t been the case – so far – in Britain. Still, the Q30 looks different, feels special and is built in England, so if you feel like an alternative to established rivals from Mercedes, Lexus and Volkswagen, it’s well worth a look.
The F-Pace is Jaguar’s very first=ever SUV and it’s been a success right out of the blocks. With slick, powerful engines, a superb driving practice and undeniably stylish looks, the F-Pace has a lot going for it. Only a relatively high asking price and expensive options list hold it back from genuine greatness.
The Kia Optima concentrates on technology as much as convenience. With wireless phone charging, LED rear lights and a 176mpg hybrid model, the Optima saloon and its SW estate sibling are wooing alternatives to the Ford Mondeo and Mazda6.
The latest Kia Sportage is more assertively styled than before, but it’s still the practical, sensible and easy-to-live with SUV it’s always been. This is a crowded market, however, and the Sportage competes with the hugely popular Nissan Qashqai and Renault Kadjar.
The Lexus RX goes up against other large SUVs like the BMW X5 and Audi Q7, only unlike those cars, it does without a diesel option. Instead, buyers can choose from a turbocharged Two.0-litre petrol and a petrol-electric hybrid. The latter ensures slick, quiet and relatively efficient running, which is matched by the beautiful and quiet interior. The RX isn’t as good to drive as its rivals, tho’, and the hybrid’s claimed fuel economy of 53mpg can be hard to match in the real world.
The latest Mercedes E-Class saloon and Estate display just how far interior design has come on in latest years. While the previous E-Class felt somewhat staid inwards, the fresh model is a technological and luxurious tour de force. Fuel economy is another strong suit, as the most efficient model can come back over 70mpg.
The S-Class Cabriolet is one of Mercedes’ top-tier models, with a beginning price of around £110,000. For that sort of money you expect (and get) almost unparalleled luxury – roof up or roof down – alongside stellar spectacle and big running costs. Despite being longer than the Ford Galaxy people carrier, the S-Class Cabriolet actually has very taut rear seats, tho’.
Working on the principle of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, the latest MINI Convertible is a gentle evolution of the car it substitutes. It’s a little more practical and the roof is slightly quicker at opening or closing than it was before, but other than that it remains the same stylish, good-to-drive cabriolet it always has been, finish with a lil’ boot.
Albeit it’s an historic British brand, MG was bought by Nanjing Automobile (which later merged with Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation – SAIC) back in 2005. The MG GS is the brand’s very first foray into the popular mid-size SUV class, and it undercuts the Nissan Qashqai by about £3,500. While the GS is pretty pleasant to drive and has an impatient 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, there’s no diesel option. The GS also only truly makes sense in entry-level Explore guise, as its price advantage becomes smaller the further you go up the range.
The Range Rover Evoque Convertible answers a question many may not have asked before: what happens if you make an SUV with a folding fabric roof? The response, it turns out, is that you get a sleek and desirable SUV convertible, which is significantly more expensive and a fair bit slower than the car on which it’s based.
As the very first family hatchback to feature on this list, the latest Renault Megane is arguably one of the more significant fresh cars of two thousand sixteen – it’s this sort of car that accounts for the majority of UK sales, after all. The Megane is good to look at, comes with a genuinely plush interior and brings a breath of fresh air to the class.
The Suzuki Ignis compact crossover is actually due in 2017, but it’s already been exposed. As a chunky alternative to the Fiat Panda 4×4 and Nissan Juke, the Ignis is likely to get Suzuki’s 1.0-litre turbocharged ‘Boosterjet’ engine as well as a ‘mild-hybrid’ option, which uses a beefed-up starter motor to aid acceleration. Total story here.
The Model X is an all-electric SUV from Tesla. In many ways it’s a similar proposition to the Model S, very first launched in 2012: it has electrical motors powered by thousands of adapted laptop batteries providing an approximate range of up to three hundred miles, together with astonishing spectacle. Unlike the Model S, tho’, the X has ‘falcon’ rear doors. These rise up vertically, and can adjust their angle of ascent based on the tightness of your parking space.
The Toyota Mirai is either an expensive white elephant or one of the most significant cars ever to go on sale. It’s a hydrogen-powered car, meaning a tank of high-pressure hydrogen is fed through a fuel ‘cell’, whereupon its electrons split and are used to power the Mirai’s batteries. This revolutionary technology means the Mira’s only emissions are water vapour – albeit questions exist regarding the environmental influence of large-scale hydrogen production.
Back when it was launched in 1995, the Toyota Prius was almost as revolutionary as the Mirai above. Since then, we’ve got used to the idea of petrol-electric hybrids and – while almost every manufacturer now offers such a model – the Prius proceeds to be something of a yardstick against which other hybrids are measured. The latest Prius is more distinctive than ever before, albeit some may yearn for the old model’s conservative looks. One thing that hasn’t switched, tho’, is that the Prius still uses an unpleasant CVT automatic gearbox. Still, it’s hard to argue with claimed fuel economy of 94mpg and exemption from both road tax and the London Congestion Charge.
The latest Vauxhall Astra hatchback is one of the best cars Vauxhall has ever produced and the Sports Tourer adds a dose of estate practicality to the mix. With a good engine range, strong fuel economy, slew of standard equipment and a decent driving practice, the Astra Sports Tourer is a accurately competent and appealing car. Vauxhall’s trim levels remain as bafflingly numerous as ever, however, so go for SRi or SRi Nav to get the best amount of kit for your money.
To feast the Golf GTI’s 40th bday, VW has treated it to stiffer suspension and a power boost. The Golf GTI Clubsport comes with a 261bhp version of the standard GTI’s Two.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, permitting it to get from 0-62mph in just 6.Three seconds. Fearing this wasn’t a big enough bounty, Volkswagen subsequently released the 306bhp Clubsport S, which trims a further four tenths off the 0-62mph time.
The latest VW Tiguan doesn’t look all that different from the car it substituted, but it’s entirely fresh underneath. The interior has also been refreshed, so it’s the subtly premium effort you’d expect from Volkswagen, while emissions and fuel economy have also taken a step up compared to the old model. Downsides? Well, the sports suspension that comes with the top-spec R-Line model is too hard to be convenient and you could buy two entry-level Nissan Qashqais for the price of one top-spec Tiguan.
Stay tuned to Carbuyer for the latest news on the rest of the year’s fresh car launches.
Fresh cars 2016: the year s most significant cars, Carbuyer
Fresh cars 2016: the year’s most significant cars
We’re a good way through two thousand sixteen now, and so far it’s been a bumper year for fresh car launches. We’ve put anxiously awaited models from Renault, Ford and Jaguar through their paces, and also been fortunate enough to get our mitts on a duo of supercars. So read on to find out the most significant models to hit the roads this year, and click on any of the links to be taken through to our total reviews or extended news stories.
Few brands inspire as much affection as Alfa Romeo, but often the cars produced by the Italian brand have been appealing yet somewhat flawed. That’s not the case with the Alfa Romeo Giulia, tho’: this four-door saloon is a genuine rival to the standard-setting BMW three Series, and a staggeringly swift 503bhp Quadrifoglio model caters for those after a practical family car with supercar-rivalling spectacle.
For those with deep pockets who need a large SUV, the recently-arrived Bentley Bentayga may just fit the bill flawlessly. You’ll need £160,000 if you want one, and have to be glad with fuel consumption in the low 20mpgs at best, but there are few cars of such size that can go from 0-62mph in just four seconds while cosseting their occupants in unparalleled luxury. The Bentayga is also a genuinely capable off-road car, too, even if its price tag may make you loath to take it on anything more strenuous than a poorly-surfaced road.
The BMW M2 is the smallest car in BMW’s line-up to have been put through the utter M Division spectacle programme and the general feeling is this junior supercar is something of a bargain. True, at around £45,000 it’s dual most people’s budget for a fresh car, but given the fact it’ll go from 0-62mph in just Four.Five seconds (and put a smile on your face at almost any speed), the M2 is genuinely worthy of its M badge, and offers a saving of around £13,000 over the larger BMW M4. Only an underwhelming interior lets things down slightly.
The DS four Crossback is the latest car from Citroen’s luxury-focused DS brand and it’s essentially a raised DS four hatchback with chunkier looks. In the DS 4’s favour are its luxurious interior and generous standard equipment, but rear-seat passengers will bemoan the fact the back windows only pop out at the edge, rather than wind (or power) down.
The Fiat Tipo revives a name last seen in the UK in the 1990s, and it’s a well-priced and well-equipped car. The Tipo Station Wagon estate is even more practical than the standard hatchback, but both cars are slightly more expensive to run than rivals, and neither is that pleasant to drive.
The Ford Edge is a large five-seat SUV that was originally developed for the US market, before being tweaked for European buyers. It’s a striking car with slew of road presence, a fat boot and comfy suspension, albeit a well-equipped Edge in top-spec Sport trim comes precariously close to £40,000.
If the BMW M2 above seems a little too expensive, consider the Ford Concentrate RS. It’s significantly cheaper, yet only fractionally slower. Standard four-wheel drive ensures putting the Concentrate RS’ 345bhp down on the road is effortless and there are few – if any – cars at this price point suggesting comparable spectacle. Five doors and a (puny but usable) boot mean you could even have one as a family car.
The Ford GT is a £300,000 supercar with 600bhp that you can’t buy – at least for now. Ford asked potential buyers to submit proposals explaining why they should be one of the fortunate five hundred GT owners, and all spaces for the very first two years’ production have already been allocated, with just ten coming to the UK. With a rich heritage dating back to Le Stud’s races in the 1960s, the Ford GT harks back to a bygone era, yet does so with the latest technology: Ford’s boffins programmed ten million lines of computer code into the GT, more than most fighter jets and airliners. UK road testers have yet to get their arms on the GT, but witness this space. Utter story here.
Pickup trucks have become posh recently and the latest Ford Ranger is lighter to live with than many such vehicles from a few years ago. With super-tough US-inspired looks and the option of a punchy Trio.2-litre diesel engine, the Ranger certainly isn’t lacking in grunt, while a tow limit of up to Trio,500kg means it’s one of the more capable tow cars out there. Just make sure to tick the rear parking sensors options box, as the Ranger is a big car.
The Honda NSX has been spoken of as something of a bargain in supercar circles. True, at around £130,000, it’s out of most people’s reach, but the NSX has a similar engine configuration to the Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1, which retail for around £1 million each. With a turbocharged Three.5-litre engine and three electrical motors, the NSX showcases what can be done by blending traditional petrol power with the latest hybrid technology.
Infiniti is hoping the Q30 will make inroads in the UK premium hatchback market, where it competes with the Audi A3, BMW one Series and Mercedes A-Class. While Nissan’s luxury arm has liked success in the US, this hasn’t been the case – so far – in Britain. Still, the Q30 looks different, feels special and is built in England, so if you feel like an alternative to established rivals from Mercedes, Lexus and Volkswagen, it’s well worth a look.
The F-Pace is Jaguar’s very first=ever SUV and it’s been a success right out of the blocks. With sleek, powerful engines, a superb driving practice and undeniably stylish looks, the F-Pace has a lot going for it. Only a relatively high asking price and expensive options list hold it back from genuine greatness.
The Kia Optima concentrates on technology as much as convenience. With wireless phone charging, LED rear lights and a 176mpg hybrid model, the Optima saloon and its SW estate sibling are coaxing alternatives to the Ford Mondeo and Mazda6.
The latest Kia Sportage is more assertively styled than before, but it’s still the practical, sensible and easy-to-live with SUV it’s always been. This is a crowded market, tho’, and the Sportage competes with the hugely popular Nissan Qashqai and Renault Kadjar.
The Lexus RX goes up against other large SUVs like the BMW X5 and Audi Q7, only unlike those cars, it does without a diesel option. Instead, buyers can choose from a turbocharged Two.0-litre petrol and a petrol-electric hybrid. The latter ensures sleek, quiet and relatively efficient running, which is matched by the beautiful and quiet interior. The RX isn’t as good to drive as its rivals, however, and the hybrid’s claimed fuel economy of 53mpg can be hard to match in the real world.
The latest Mercedes E-Class saloon and Estate showcase just how far interior design has come on in latest years. While the previous E-Class felt somewhat staid inwards, the fresh model is a technological and luxurious tour de force. Fuel economy is another strong suit, as the most efficient model can comeback over 70mpg.
The S-Class Cabriolet is one of Mercedes’ top-tier models, with a beginning price of around £110,000. For that sort of money you expect (and get) almost unparalleled luxury – roof up or roof down – alongside stellar spectacle and big running costs. Despite being longer than the Ford Galaxy people carrier, the S-Class Cabriolet actually has very taut rear seats, however.
Working on the principle of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, the latest MINI Convertible is a gentle evolution of the car it substitutes. It’s a little more practical and the roof is slightly quicker at opening or closing than it was before, but other than that it remains the same stylish, good-to-drive cabriolet it always has been, finish with a lil’ boot.
Albeit it’s an historic British brand, MG was bought by Nanjing Automobile (which later merged with Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation – SAIC) back in 2005. The MG GS is the brand’s very first foray into the popular mid-size SUV class, and it undercuts the Nissan Qashqai by about £3,500. While the GS is pretty pleasurable to drive and has an antsy 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, there’s no diesel option. The GS also only truly makes sense in entry-level Explore guise, as its price advantage becomes smaller the further you go up the range.
The Range Rover Evoque Convertible answers a question many may not have asked before: what happens if you make an SUV with a folding fabric roof? The response, it turns out, is that you get a sleek and desirable SUV convertible, which is significantly more expensive and a fair bit slower than the car on which it’s based.
As the very first family hatchback to feature on this list, the latest Renault Megane is arguably one of the more significant fresh cars of two thousand sixteen – it’s this sort of car that accounts for the majority of UK sales, after all. The Megane is good to look at, comes with a genuinely plush interior and brings a breath of fresh air to the class.
The Suzuki Ignis compact crossover is actually due in 2017, but it’s already been exposed. As a chunky alternative to the Fiat Panda 4×4 and Nissan Juke, the Ignis is likely to get Suzuki’s 1.0-litre turbocharged ‘Boosterjet’ engine as well as a ‘mild-hybrid’ option, which uses a beefed-up starter motor to aid acceleration. Utter story here.
The Model X is an all-electric SUV from Tesla. In many ways it’s a similar proposition to the Model S, very first launched in 2012: it has electrical motors powered by thousands of adapted laptop batteries providing an approximate range of up to three hundred miles, together with astonishing spectacle. Unlike the Model S, however, the X has ‘falcon’ rear doors. These rise up vertically, and can adjust their angle of ascent based on the tightness of your parking space.
The Toyota Mirai is either an expensive white elephant or one of the most significant cars ever to go on sale. It’s a hydrogen-powered car, meaning a tank of high-pressure hydrogen is fed through a fuel ‘cell’, whereupon its electrons split and are used to power the Mirai’s batteries. This revolutionary technology means the Mira’s only emissions are water vapour – albeit questions exist regarding the environmental influence of large-scale hydrogen production.
Back when it was launched in 1995, the Toyota Prius was almost as revolutionary as the Mirai above. Since then, we’ve got used to the idea of petrol-electric hybrids and – while almost every manufacturer now offers such a model – the Prius proceeds to be something of a yardstick against which other hybrids are measured. The latest Prius is more distinctive than ever before, albeit some may yearn for the old model’s conservative looks. One thing that hasn’t switched, however, is that the Prius still uses an unpleasant CVT automatic gearbox. Still, it’s hard to argue with claimed fuel economy of 94mpg and exemption from both road tax and the London Congestion Charge.
The latest Vauxhall Astra hatchback is one of the best cars Vauxhall has ever produced and the Sports Tourer adds a dose of estate practicality to the mix. With a good engine range, strong fuel economy, slew of standard equipment and a decent driving practice, the Astra Sports Tourer is a accurately competent and appealing car. Vauxhall’s trim levels remain as bafflingly numerous as ever, tho’, so go for SRi or SRi Nav to get the best amount of kit for your money.
To feast the Golf GTI’s 40th bday, VW has treated it to stiffer suspension and a power boost. The Golf GTI Clubsport comes with a 261bhp version of the standard GTI’s Two.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, permitting it to get from 0-62mph in just 6.Trio seconds. Fearing this wasn’t a big enough bounty, Volkswagen subsequently released the 306bhp Clubsport S, which trims a further four tenths off the 0-62mph time.
The latest VW Tiguan doesn’t look all that different from the car it substituted, but it’s entirely fresh underneath. The interior has also been refreshed, so it’s the subtly premium effort you’d expect from Volkswagen, while emissions and fuel economy have also taken a step up compared to the old model. Downsides? Well, the sports suspension that comes with the top-spec R-Line model is too hard to be convenient and you could buy two entry-level Nissan Qashqais for the price of one top-spec Tiguan.
Stay tuned to Carbuyer for the latest news on the rest of the year’s fresh car launches.
Fresh cars 2016: the year s most significant cars, Carbuyer
Fresh cars 2016: the year’s most significant cars
We’re a good way through two thousand sixteen now, and so far it’s been a bumper year for fresh car launches. We’ve put impatiently awaited models from Renault, Ford and Jaguar through their paces, and also been fortunate enough to get our forearms on a duo of supercars. So read on to find out the most significant models to hit the roads this year, and click on any of the links to be taken through to our total reviews or extended news stories.
Few brands inspire as much affection as Alfa Romeo, but often the cars produced by the Italian brand have been appealing yet somewhat flawed. That’s not the case with the Alfa Romeo Giulia, however: this four-door saloon is a genuine rival to the standard-setting BMW three Series, and a staggeringly swift 503bhp Quadrifoglio model caters for those after a practical family car with supercar-rivalling spectacle.
For those with deep pockets who need a large SUV, the recently-arrived Bentley Bentayga may just fit the bill ideally. You’ll need £160,000 if you want one, and have to be blessed with fuel consumption in the low 20mpgs at best, but there are few cars of such size that can go from 0-62mph in just four seconds while cosseting their occupants in unparalleled luxury. The Bentayga is also a genuinely capable off-road car, too, even if its price tag may make you loath to take it on anything more strenuous than a poorly-surfaced road.
The BMW M2 is the smallest car in BMW’s line-up to have been put through the utter M Division spectacle programme and the general feeling is this junior supercar is something of a bargain. True, at around £45,000 it’s dual most people’s budget for a fresh car, but given the fact it’ll go from 0-62mph in just Four.Five seconds (and put a smile on your face at almost any speed), the M2 is genuinely worthy of its M badge, and offers a saving of around £13,000 over the larger BMW M4. Only an underwhelming interior lets things down slightly.
The DS four Crossback is the latest car from Citroen’s luxury-focused DS brand and it’s essentially a raised DS four hatchback with chunkier looks. In the DS 4’s favour are its luxurious interior and generous standard equipment, but rear-seat passengers will bemoan the fact the back windows only pop out at the edge, rather than wind (or power) down.
The Fiat Tipo revives a name last seen in the UK in the 1990s, and it’s a well-priced and well-equipped car. The Tipo Station Wagon estate is even more practical than the standard hatchback, but both cars are slightly more expensive to run than rivals, and neither is that pleasurable to drive.
The Ford Edge is a large five-seat SUV that was originally developed for the US market, before being tweaked for European buyers. It’s a striking car with slew of road presence, a big boot and comfy suspension, albeit a well-equipped Edge in top-spec Sport trim comes precariously close to £40,000.
If the BMW M2 above seems a little too expensive, consider the Ford Concentrate RS. It’s significantly cheaper, yet only fractionally slower. Standard four-wheel drive ensures putting the Concentrate RS’ 345bhp down on the road is effortless and there are few – if any – cars at this price point suggesting comparable spectacle. Five doors and a (petite but usable) boot mean you could even have one as a family car.
The Ford GT is a £300,000 supercar with 600bhp that you can’t buy – at least for now. Ford asked potential buyers to submit proposals explaining why they should be one of the fortunate five hundred GT owners, and all spaces for the very first two years’ production have already been allocated, with just ten coming to the UK. With a rich heritage dating back to Le Stud’s races in the 1960s, the Ford GT harks back to a bygone era, yet does so with the latest technology: Ford’s boffins programmed ten million lines of computer code into the GT, more than most fighter jets and airliners. UK road testers have yet to get their palms on the GT, but observe this space. Total story here.
Pickup trucks have become posh recently and the latest Ford Ranger is lighter to live with than many such vehicles from a few years ago. With super-tough US-inspired looks and the option of a punchy Trio.2-litre diesel engine, the Ranger certainly isn’t lacking in grunt, while a tow limit of up to Three,500kg means it’s one of the more capable tow cars out there. Just make sure to tick the rear parking sensors options box, as the Ranger is a big car.
The Honda NSX has been spoken of as something of a bargain in supercar circles. True, at around £130,000, it’s out of most people’s reach, but the NSX has a similar engine configuration to the Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1, which retail for around £1 million each. With a turbocharged Trio.5-litre engine and three electrified motors, the NSX showcases what can be done by blending traditional petrol power with the latest hybrid technology.
Infiniti is hoping the Q30 will make inroads in the UK premium hatchback market, where it competes with the Audi A3, BMW one Series and Mercedes A-Class. While Nissan’s luxury arm has loved success in the US, this hasn’t been the case – so far – in Britain. Still, the Q30 looks different, feels special and is built in England, so if you feel like an alternative to established rivals from Mercedes, Lexus and Volkswagen, it’s well worth a look.
The F-Pace is Jaguar’s very first=ever SUV and it’s been a success right out of the blocks. With sleek, powerful engines, a excellent driving practice and undeniably stylish looks, the F-Pace has a lot going for it. Only a relatively high asking price and expensive options list hold it back from genuine greatness.
The Kia Optima concentrates on technology as much as convenience. With wireless phone charging, LED rear lights and a 176mpg hybrid model, the Optima saloon and its SW estate sibling are wooing alternatives to the Ford Mondeo and Mazda6.
The latest Kia Sportage is more assertively styled than before, but it’s still the practical, sensible and easy-to-live with SUV it’s always been. This is a crowded market, tho’, and the Sportage competes with the hugely popular Nissan Qashqai and Renault Kadjar.
The Lexus RX goes up against other large SUVs like the BMW X5 and Audi Q7, only unlike those cars, it does without a diesel option. Instead, buyers can choose from a turbocharged Two.0-litre petrol and a petrol-electric hybrid. The latter ensures sleek, quiet and relatively efficient running, which is matched by the beautiful and quiet interior. The RX isn’t as good to drive as its rivals, however, and the hybrid’s claimed fuel economy of 53mpg can be hard to match in the real world.
The latest Mercedes E-Class saloon and Estate showcase just how far interior design has come on in latest years. While the previous E-Class felt somewhat staid inwards, the fresh model is a technological and luxurious tour de force. Fuel economy is another strong suit, as the most efficient model can comeback over 70mpg.
The S-Class Cabriolet is one of Mercedes’ top-tier models, with a commencing price of around £110,000. For that sort of money you expect (and get) almost unparalleled luxury – roof up or roof down – alongside stellar spectacle and big running costs. Despite being longer than the Ford Galaxy people carrier, the S-Class Cabriolet actually has very taut rear seats, however.
Working on the principle of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, the latest MINI Convertible is a gentle evolution of the car it substitutes. It’s a little more practical and the roof is slightly quicker at opening or closing than it was before, but other than that it remains the same stylish, good-to-drive cabriolet it always has been, finish with a little boot.
Albeit it’s an historic British brand, MG was bought by Nanjing Automobile (which later merged with Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation – SAIC) back in 2005. The MG GS is the brand’s very first foray into the popular mid-size SUV class, and it undercuts the Nissan Qashqai by about £3,500. While the GS is pretty pleasant to drive and has an antsy 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, there’s no diesel option. The GS also only truly makes sense in entry-level Explore guise, as its price advantage becomes smaller the further you go up the range.
The Range Rover Evoque Convertible answers a question many may not have asked before: what happens if you make an SUV with a folding fabric roof? The reaction, it turns out, is that you get a sleek and desirable SUV convertible, which is significantly more expensive and a fair bit slower than the car on which it’s based.
As the very first family hatchback to feature on this list, the latest Renault Megane is arguably one of the more significant fresh cars of two thousand sixteen – it’s this sort of car that accounts for the majority of UK sales, after all. The Megane is excellent to look at, comes with a genuinely plush interior and brings a breath of fresh air to the class.
The Suzuki Ignis compact crossover is actually due in 2017, but it’s already been exposed. As a chunky alternative to the Fiat Panda 4×4 and Nissan Juke, the Ignis is likely to get Suzuki’s 1.0-litre turbocharged ‘Boosterjet’ engine as well as a ‘mild-hybrid’ option, which uses a beefed-up starter motor to aid acceleration. Utter story here.
The Model X is an all-electric SUV from Tesla. In many ways it’s a similar proposition to the Model S, very first launched in 2012: it has electrical motors powered by thousands of adapted laptop batteries providing an approximate range of up to three hundred miles, together with astonishing spectacle. Unlike the Model S, tho’, the X has ‘falcon’ rear doors. These rise up vertically, and can adjust their angle of ascent based on the tightness of your parking space.
The Toyota Mirai is either an expensive white elephant or one of the most significant cars ever to go on sale. It’s a hydrogen-powered car, meaning a tank of high-pressure hydrogen is fed through a fuel ‘cell’, whereupon its electrons split and are used to power the Mirai’s batteries. This revolutionary technology means the Mira’s only emissions are water vapour – albeit questions exist regarding the environmental influence of large-scale hydrogen production.
Back when it was launched in 1995, the Toyota Prius was almost as revolutionary as the Mirai above. Since then, we’ve got used to the idea of petrol-electric hybrids and – while almost every manufacturer now offers such a model – the Prius resumes to be something of a yardstick against which other hybrids are measured. The latest Prius is more distinctive than ever before, albeit some may yearn for the old model’s conservative looks. One thing that hasn’t switched, however, is that the Prius still uses an unpleasant CVT automatic gearbox. Still, it’s hard to argue with claimed fuel economy of 94mpg and exemption from both road tax and the London Congestion Charge.
The latest Vauxhall Astra hatchback is one of the best cars Vauxhall has ever produced and the Sports Tourer adds a dose of estate practicality to the mix. With a good engine range, strong fuel economy, slew of standard equipment and a decent driving practice, the Astra Sports Tourer is a accurately competent and appealing car. Vauxhall’s trim levels remain as bafflingly numerous as ever, tho’, so go for SRi or SRi Nav to get the best amount of kit for your money.
To feast the Golf GTI’s 40th bday, VW has treated it to stiffer suspension and a power boost. The Golf GTI Clubsport comes with a 261bhp version of the standard GTI’s Two.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, permitting it to get from 0-62mph in just 6.Three seconds. Fearing this wasn’t a big enough bounty, Volkswagen subsequently released the 306bhp Clubsport S, which trims a further four tenths off the 0-62mph time.
The latest VW Tiguan doesn’t look all that different from the car it substituted, but it’s entirely fresh underneath. The interior has also been refreshed, so it’s the subtly premium effort you’d expect from Volkswagen, while emissions and fuel economy have also taken a step up compared to the old model. Downsides? Well, the sports suspension that comes with the top-spec R-Line model is too rock hard to be convenient and you could buy two entry-level Nissan Qashqais for the price of one top-spec Tiguan.
Stay tuned to Carbuyer for the latest news on the rest of the year’s fresh car launches.