Cars news

• Aston calls it the Vanquish Volante, I call it... Utterly divine

  26-12-2025 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  It's the prettiest car on sale. Plus, it has a fabulous engine and brilliant dynamicsWhen I wrote the review back in July, I nearly ran out of superlatives to describe Gaydon's most powerful and expensive roadster.
  I don't understand Ferrari's current design language and McLaren supercars still have a whiff of IT department about them.
  Aston, meanwhile, just seems to be consistently knocking it out of the park.
  The latest Vanquish is emblematic of a company on the up and up: it's stunning,
  
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• I'm 74, and I'll keep my mad mid-engined Clio V6 as long as I can

  26-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  When you own one of the wildest and rarest Renaults ever built, you don't think about selling itWith just 400 Phase 1 and Phase 2 examples registered in the UK, either on the road or on SORN, a Renault Clio V6 is a rare sight – and that’s just how Martin Hassett likes it. 
  “I like things that are rare and unusual,” he tells me. “My father never drove, so I have no desire to own anything from his era. Instead, I like things that are unusual, such 
  
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• Model student: How to win at slot car racing - according to the pros

  26-12-2025 06:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Welcome to Molesey Scalextric Club, home to some of the UK's fiercest and most addictive motor racingA Nissan Skyline Turbo Super Silhouette racer barrels into the first corner at a hair under full throttle, its comically outsized rear end just beginning to spin out wide as its super-sticky slick tyres concede to the laws of physics and lose grip on the glass-smooth track surface.
  For a fraction of a second, it looks as if its steely-eyed pilot can pull everything back in line and send the Group
  
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• A very güten Morgan: Charming Supersport is my dream daily

  25-12-2025 11:06 via autocar.co.uk
  Retro character and modern capability make this Morgan my car of the yearThe view that greets a Supersport driver is one of the best in modern motordom: a long, sleek bonnet, swooping wheel arches and diminutive, spotlight-style headlamps ensure this car is characteristically true to Morgans of yore.
  But what sets the Supersport apart from its forebears is its ease of use, practicality and ultimately its more accomplished drive.
  The BMW 'B58' straight six under that endless bonnet is a fabulous
  
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• When we joined Tokyo's street racers for a 186mph tunnel run

  25-12-2025 11:00 via autocar.co.uk
  What used to go on in Japan after dark? Illegal street racing for the most part, though it wasn't as dodgy as it sounds
  As Japan's automotive industry began to flourish in the 1960s and produce sporty cars, Japanese enthusiasts took to the country's stunning mountain roads to race one another, often in highly modified machinery - and driving in such a fashion grew in popularity and spread to urban expressways.
  Supposedly some street racing clubs had codes intended to protect the public as much a
  
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• UK electric car charger rollout slows amid worries over EV switch

  25-12-2025 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Smallest number of new chargers since 2022 as carmakers persuade government to weaken EV sales targetsThe UK’s rollout of electric car chargers slackened markedly in 2025 amid investor concerns over a slower-than-expected switch to cleaner battery vehicles.There were 87,200 chargers installed in the UK at the end of November, an increase of 13,500 compared with the end of 2024, according to data from Zapmap, which tracks charger installations. Continue reading...
  
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• Driving on Christmas day is the best - especially in a 1960s F2 car

  25-12-2025 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  You can't take a Lotus F2 car around Hampshire these days - but Christmas is still the best day for a blastOn Christmas Day, 1957, Denis Jenkinson, a correspondent for Autocar's one-time sister publication Motorsport, set off for a quiet country drive from The Phoenix Inn in Hartley Wintney. 
  Nothing too unusual about that, until you learn that the resulting loop of Hampshire was conducted in a Lotus 12 single-seater, as raced by Graham Hill in Formula 2 events that year.
  The car had been d
  
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• Keeping the lights on - the Kia EV6's ultimate party trick

  25-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Only one thing's better than driving home for Xmas: powering the lights with your EV when you get thereThree years ago, Nissan celebrated building 250,000 Leafs at its Sunderland plant by using one to power a giant Christmas tree, complete with reindeer, outside the factory.
  There was snow (real, not fake) on the ground too, making the whole scene look very festive - well, as festive as a grass verge next to a chain-link fence and a security hut can look.
  To use an EV's drive battery in this way
  
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• I drove the world's most powerful tractor - it's outstanding in its field

  25-12-2025 06:00 via autocar.co.uk
  We put the world's most powerful tractor through The Christmas Road TestWith impressive understatement the John Deere website refers to its 9RX range of agricultural machinery as "high-horsepower tractors".
  We always like it when the Christmas road test has a unique claim to fame: the biggest, the newest, the fastest or whatever it might be. And this year's Christmas road test subject takes that 'high horsepower' to a level not seen in – ahem – its field before, because it is the mos
  
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• The answer to making cars lighter? You're sitting on it...

  24-12-2025 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  BMW M's latest concept isn't a car, but a vision of how (surprisingly heavy) car seats can shed some bulkIn the quest to reduce weight, one area of a car’s structure that gets relatively little public attention is seating.
  As drivers and passengers, we probably take them for granted beyond how comfortable or not they might be. But if you’ve ever had to remove a seat from a car, you’ll know just how complex and heavy they are. Seat makers already employ lightweight ste
  
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• I drove 50 cars in 2025 - the DS No8 was my favourite. Yes, really...

  24-12-2025 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  We hope more people will buy the DS No8 than the DS 9It won't be for everyone. Indeed, if it doesn't fare significantly better than its dismally performing predecessor, the DS 9, I might never see another one on the road.
  But that would be a great shame. Because while the oddly named DS No8 is hardly the most adventurously conceived of cars, it is wilfully individualistic to the point of esotericism, and what would the car world be without those heroic left-fielders valiantly championing the val
  
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• I want to trade my ultra-rare BMW Z1... for a higher-mileage example

  24-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  This retro roadster is doorless and flawless - and its keeper wants one he can drive everydayMaximilian Chester's 1990 BMW Z1 is not a keeper. "I would prefer one with a higher mileage because I want to drive and enjoy the car more," he says.
  "For example, I'd have driven this one to the south of France a couple of times already but I'm reluctant to because much of its value is in its low mileage". He's got a point. His Z1 has done only 4000 miles, making it desirable to a collector.
  He says: "I
  
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• North Pole? Christmas Common? Finding UK's most festive places

  24-12-2025 06:00 via autocar.co.uk
  What better way to tour some festive-sounding places than in the appropriately named Hyundai Santa Fe?All self-respecting Christmas stories start in one of two places: Bethlehem or the North Pole. 
  The former is firm favourite if the Almighty is featured in the narrative; the Arctic Pole is the preferred option when Santa Claus is the name in the frame. He is alleged to live there. 
  For this impromptu Autocar Christmas tour, we were going to have to fit the whole thing into a single No
  
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• Listen: we interview Cadillac F1 team's Pat Symonds

  24-12-2025 01:00 via autocar.co.uk
  It's a long one, so we hope you enjoy it during a bit of down timeIn this week's episode of My Week In Cars, Steve Cropley chats to Pat Symonds, the executive engineering consultant at the new Cadillac F1 team.
  Symonds, a veteran motorsports engineer who has been involved with seven F1 world championship titles, talks to Cropley about racing cars past, present and future, and road cars, too.
   
  
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• The $20,000 Car Is Officially Dead in America

  23-12-2025 20:15 via motor1.com
  
  With Nissan ending production of the Versa this month, the sub-$20,000 category dies with it.
  
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• Audi Made a Stop-Motion Holiday Video With Die-Cast Cars. It's Awesome

  23-12-2025 18:30 via motor1.com
  
  With RS6s, Quattros, and Q8s galore, Audi’s stop-motion holiday video is filled with holiday cheer.
  
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• The Alpine A110 Could Still Come to America: 'We Need To Go to the US' 

  23-12-2025 17:00 via motor1.com
  
  Alpine will likely sell its A110 sports car alongside a high-volume SUV.   
  
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• The final F-Pace has been built marking end of Jaguar's ICE era

  23-12-2025 13:50 via autocar.co.uk
  UK sales of the SUV ended last November, but it continued to be sold in other marketsThe final Jaguar F-Pace has rolled off JLR’s production line in Solihull, officially marking the end of the British brand’s combustion models.
  UK market sales of the SUV ended last November, but it continued for markets including the USA, Australia, China, Europe and more.
  It means that, officially, Jaguar now no longer makes any models for any markets anywhere in the world. 
  This F-Pace is also
  
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• No dice... Car testers must shun attachments for detachment

  23-12-2025 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Cosmetic add-ons give a car a personal touch that road testers are deniedDo people still put eyelashes on their cars? It's been a while since I've been in the accessories aisle to check.
  The latest thing seems to be those cat stickers put in rear windows that make the rear wiper look like a little tail (what a shame that the artist formerly known as the Ora Funky Cat doesn't have a rear wiper).
  I saw a Volkswagen T4 Transporter van the other day, the back of which looked like a mobile anthology
  
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• Tesla’s EU sales slump continues as Chinese rivals thrive

  23-12-2025 10:11 via theguardian.com
  Elon Musk’s brand sold 12,130 new cars across the EU last month, down from 18,430 in November 2024Business live – latest updatesTesla continued a run of weak sales in the EU in November, with new car registrations of Elon Musk’s brand down a third, while Chinese carmakers’ sales soared.Tesla sold 12,130 new cars across the EU last month, down from 18,430 in November 2024, shrinking its market share from 2.1% to 1.4%, according to data from the European Automobile Manufact
  
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• The Lotus Emira is a thrill if you've got the skill

  23-12-2025 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  It turns out a Lotus sports car is the perfect detox from a modern worldIn a world of huge SUVs and an increasing dependence on technology, a sports car from Hethel was the detox I needed.
  Hydraulic steering, a manual gearbox and a roaring 400bhp supercharged 3.5-litre V6 behind my head. Phwoar. And all of this encased in one of the best-looking bodies currently on sale.
  The Emira's rawness surprised me. It was fidgety, tracked quite aggressively and shifted its weight heavily if I sent too much
  
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• America's Last Volvo Wagon Is Dying As Buyers 'Overwhelmingly' Want SUVs

  23-12-2025 09:35 via motor1.com
  
  Order books for the V60 Cross Country will close in late January.
  
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• Top 10: World’s longest road tunnels

  23-12-2025 08:30 via autocar.co.uk
  Top 10: World’s longest road tunnelsTunnels are used to carry traffic through some of the most extreme terrain on the planet and they help ease journeys with reduced travel time.
  While most tunnels offer a short underground burst of driving, some are much longer. Here are the world’s 10 longest road tunnels that use cutting edge technology to make their construction possible and to keep drivers alert while passing through their extended subterranean length.Ryfylke Tunnel, Norway &nda
  
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• The road to self-driving cars that think and behave like humans

  23-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Bosch and VW Group's software arm have partnered to develop autonomous tech with "cognitive" abilityIt’s hard to read anything these days without coming across the term ‘artificial intelligence’ or ‘AI’, and there’s certainly plenty of noise being made about it in the automotive industry.
  One huge investment in AI is being made by supplier Bosch and the Volkswagen Group’s software arm, Cariad. These partners formed the Automated Driving Alliance in 2022
  
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• Driving the 330bhp, £375,000 carbon-bodied Elise

  23-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  HPE's super-lightweight, Honda-powered R500 is a single-seater in drag
  “I want to say the R500 is not a scary car to drive,” says Dan Webster, the earnestness in his Brummie tone entirely betrayed by the glint in his eyes. “But it probably will be scary the first time you drive it.”
  The deadpan delivery makes me laugh out loud, then quietly look inward. I get that Webster, who races an Elise and is the master engine tuner turned overhaul specialist behind Bromsgrove-based
  
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• Renault concept goes 626 miles on a charge at motorway speed

  23-12-2025 07:00 via autocar.co.uk
  ... And still has enough charge left in its 87kWh Scenic battery to take it past 700 milesRenault's radical Filante concept has driven 626 miles in 10 hours, achieving 8mpkWh at an average speed of 63mph - "showing that this level of range is achievable in motorway-like conditions".
  The Filante is a futuristic single-seat EV concept designed to set efficiency records, using the same 87kWh battery as the Renault Scenic SUV - primarily to achieve more than 620 miles at realistic motorway speeds.
  L
  
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• Good gravy! Hunting Scotland's best festive food in the epic M3

  23-12-2025 06:00 via autocar.co.uk
  We go in search of some Christmas dinner staples with the help of a BMW M3 CS TouringWhile Autocar's road testers exchange exotic key fobs over Christmas lunch at some richly upholstered ale house at the crowded end of Britain, there's no such indulgence for those of us in Scotland.
  Here, the mountain must visit Muhammad, because photographer Max Edleston and I have been tasked with sourcing every ingredient of our own, three-course Christmas feast - plus refreshments - direct from its maker nor
  
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• Whoops: Two Porsche 911 S/Ts Somehow Ended Up With the Same Badge

  22-12-2025 21:00 via motor1.com
  
  It might have gone unnoticed if one owner hadn’t attempted to buy an additional customized badge for his car. 
  
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• Volvo's New Font Is Designed To Make Screens Safer. We Have a Better Idea

  22-12-2025 18:00 via motor1.com
  
  Volvo's new 'Centum' font is meant to reduce lingering. But there's an even simpler solution: buttons.
  
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• Monthly Car Payments Hit a New High: $748

  22-12-2025 16:43 via motor1.com
  
  The average monthly new-car payment is nearly $750, used-car payments are over $500.
  
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• The 2026 Nissan Pathfinder's Updates Come With a Higher Price Tag

  22-12-2025 14:00 via motor1.com
  
  More standard equipment increases the Pathfinder's starting price by $1,100.
  
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• Chinese robotaxis due in London next year as Lyft and Uber reveal tie-ups

  22-12-2025 13:20 via theguardian.com
  Firms agree deals with Beijing-based Baidu to take self-driving cabs to UK capitalChinese robotaxis are due to be on the streets of London next year after the US ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber announced tie-ups with Beijing-based Baidu to deploy its self-driving technology.Lyft is the third firm to announce plans to introduce self-driving taxis to the UK capital next year, following Uber and Waymo, the main operator of robotaxis in the US. Continue reading...
  
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• Hyundai Teases Its Biggest EV Yet, And We Think We Know What It Is

  22-12-2025 11:39 via motor1.com
  
  It'll be even bigger than the Ioniq 9.
  
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• Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric

  22-12-2025 09:39 via autocar.co.uk
  Bar-raising EV’s big-range and fast-charging claims are put to the testEver since the car industry started slowly pivoting towards electric cars, it hasn’t felt like the European manufacturers have really steered the ship. They’ve made plenty of good cars that have appealed on more traditional grounds such as vehicle dynamics and interior quality and ambience, but the big pushes on range and lean manufacturing have come from Tesla, and advances in battery tech from China and S
  
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• The McLaren Artura came of age in 2025 - now it's a true supercar

  22-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Sometimes a hair-raising moment can increase your respect for a carAt the beginning of my first full lap of Llandow Circuit behind the wheel of the Artura in the summer, I had what can at best be called a 'track limits violation', cutting the corner onto the grass at the first chicane.
  It felt awful and sounded loud from behind the wheel but looked far less dramatic on camera.
  And, thankfully, there wasn't a scratch on the car.
  Hurting my pride but leaving my reputation intact, it served to show
  
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• The Christmas lunch bunch: Festive showdown in 2025's best cars

  22-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  In a twist on an Autocar tradition, we ditch Secret Santa and skip straight to an argument...Christmas is a time of comforting traditions, isn't it?
  In our household, Christmas begins in early December with a showing of The Muppet Christmas Carol while we wrestle the Christmas tree into place, before sitting down for baked Camembert and garlic bread. It's my favourite day of the season.
  There is, however, another tradition that heralds the true beginning of the Christmas period for us here at Au
  
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• How a cigar-chomping watchmaker invented the Smart car

  22-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Mercedes showed it was serious about Smart with two Eco Concepts in 1994Earlier this year Smart confirmed that it is creating a new miniature two-seater – the unique proposition for which the brand was invented three decades ago – several years after foraying into electric SUVs.
  The brand had some difficulty in building a business case for the #2 – but even so, its progress through the pipeline has been a lot smoother than that of the original City Coupé.
  Autoc
  
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• 4000 miles in a Golf GTE: The company car for the helmsman

  22-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Are you a company car drive who loves their commute? This is the car for youNew cars just keep getting more expensive. That's why many drivers take advantage of company car and salary sacrifice schemes offered by their employers.
  The latter especially can be quite the money saver, because the car payments come out pre-tax. Of course, there are caveats. You will never actually own the car outright, and you must pay benefit-in-kind tax.
  But when compared with PCP, HP or private leasing, these sche
  
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• 4000 miles in a Golf GTE: The company car for driving enthusiasts

  22-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Are you a company car drive who loves their commute? This is the car for youNew cars just keep getting more expensive. That's why many drivers take advantage of company car and salary sacrifice schemes offered by their employers.
  The latter especially can be quite the money saver, because the car payments come out pre-tax. Of course, there are caveats. You will never actually own the car outright, and you must pay benefit-in-kind tax.
  But when compared with PCP, HP or private leasing, these sche
  
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• Palestine Action hunger strikers in jail deserve better from Britain | Brief lettesr

  21-12-2025 18:06 via theguardian.com
  State indifference | Mistletoe warning | Life after a Honda Jazz | Happy medium | Age-old questionAt last, an article that has broken the silence on the inhumane treatment of the Palestine Action hunger strikers on remand, held in our free, democratic and fair country (Editorial, 19 December). To risk dying for your principles is admirable, but to do so in a media blackout alongside political indifference is abhorrent and scary. I cannot help but be ashamed of my country’s response to the
  
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• Why the pay-per-mile tax could unintentionally stifle ICE car sales

  21-12-2025 17:00 via autocar.co.uk
  By further reducing demand for EVs, the government is restricting consumers from choosing cheap ICE mobilityThe inadvertent early release of the Autumn Budget details by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) - which compelled its boss to resign - was apparently not the only error the UK's fiscal watchdog made at the time.
  When the OBR predicted that the upcoming pay-per-mile tax on EVs would reduce demand for them by 440,000 between now and 2031, it initially said the existing Electric
  
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• The wonderful, grim reality of prototype testing in the Arctic

  21-12-2025 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Winter testing in tough on cars and engineers alike, but there's something magical about it too
  It's a consequence of being a nerdy petrolhead that, despite most of us living thousands of miles away from northern Scandinavia, we're familiar with the strange names of Arvidsjaur, Arjeplog and Rovaniemi.
  These settlements are the storied and chillingly remote testing hubs around which nearly every European car maker congregates each winter. They use facilities both public and hidden to tune ABS sof
  
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• Dark days and -30deg C temperatures: But winter testing is great

  21-12-2025 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  There's nothing better than a day of winter testing, although there's nothing worse than a month's worth...It's a consequence of being a nerdy petrolhead that, despite most of us living thousands of miles away from northern Scandinavia, we're familiar with the strange names of Arvidsjaur, Arjeplog and Rovaniemi.
  These settlements are the storied and chillingly remote testing hubs around which nearly every European car maker congregates each winter. They use facilities both public and hidden to t
  
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• ‘It can be quite a thankless job’: why driving examiners are quitting

  21-12-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A staff exodus and a broken booking system are helping to cause huge jams in Britain’s driving test system It has long been a stressful rite of passage for many young people but, in recent years, passing the actual driving test is the easy part. Now, many people seeking a test need to wake up early to snag a date before the bots do and, even then, they are looking at a long and arduous wait.Despite moves from the government to address the issue, an audit report released this week found pla
  
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• ‘It can be quite a thankless job’: why driving examiners are calling it quits

  21-12-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A staff exodus and a broken booking system are helping to cause huge jams in Britain’s driving test system It has long been a stressful rite of passage for many young people but, in recent years, passing the actual driving test is the easy part. Now, many people seeking a test need to wake up early to snag a date before the bots do and, even then, they are looking at a long and arduous wait.Despite moves from the government to address the issue, an audit report released this week found pla
  
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• They told me to scrap my £450 106 Rallye - now it's worth £12,000

  21-12-2025 07:00 via autocar.co.uk
  This this rev-hungry hot hatch was destined for hillclimb sprints until a rule change rendered it unusable
  Dave Partridge bought his Peugeot 106 1.3 Rallye to compete in motorsport events - and then the rules were changed. "I bought it 14 years ago for £450 with the aim of going sprinting and hillclimbing in the up-to-1300cc category," he says.
  "I renovated and fitted Bilstein Group N Tarmac suspension to it everything I could do in the regulations to hillclimb it. Then they changed the re
  
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• Peugeot mulls 508 estate successor as alternative to SUVs

  20-12-2025 15:00 via autocar.co.uk
  "We are exploring what's next after the SUVs," says CEO, as firm considers a new take on the estate carPeugeot is mulling a successor to the 508 estate as it looks to once again expand its line-up into segments besides its current hatchback and crossover offering.
  The 508, Peugeot's mid-sized executive offering, was launched in 2010 as a rival to the Volkswagen Passat, Skoda Superb and Volvo S60/V60, and was available as a four-door fastback and a more popular estate.
  It lasted two generations b
  
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• Listen: Lotus design director on lightweight philosophy in the EV age

  20-12-2025 09:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Russell Carr has been involved in numerous projects in his career - from forklift trucks to superbikesIn this week's bonus episode of the Autocar podcast, Autocar Meets Russell Carr, design director at Lotus.
  Talking at an event in London to Autocar's editor-at-large Matt Prior, the pair discuss lightweight design in an electric age, what's going on at Hethel, and how Lotus fits into a multinational company like Geely.
  The regular My Week In Cars podcast will also be with you throughout Christma
  
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• Everyday heroes: When 'normal' cars sneak into supercar showdowns

  20-12-2025 07:00 via autocar.co.uk
  This pairing wasn't quite as preposterous as it might appearWhen Mondeo meets McLaren: Our annual driver's car showdown unearths unlikely handling heroesThink of Autocar's annual Britain's Best Driver's Car (BBDC) test and your mind will rightly project visions of Porsche 911s, V12-fired Ferraris and scaffold-like lightweights.
  But once in a blue moon, something entirely ordinary slips into the field. Not even a GTI, ST or anything to that effect, but common-or-garden machinery that lines the na
  
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• Clio Trophy and MR2: Revisiting two Gen Z gems at 20

  20-12-2025 07:00 via autocar.co.uk
  These two fine sportsters have been battling it out since the early 2000sWhile our road testers were rigorously testing the latest metal for Britain’s Best Driver’s Car 2025, photographer Jack Harrison and I decided to mark the occasion in our own way – by reuniting two former BBDC contenders from a very different era. 
  Last year I bought a 2005 Renault Clio 182 Trophy, and have spent the past year returning it to factory order by refitting its trick Sachs remote reservoir
  
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