Cars news

• Buttons are back: First look inside £22k Volkswagen ID Polo

  03-01-2026 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  VW's Renault 5 rival majors on physical controls, ditches the touch slider and has a Mk1 Golf's speedoVolkswagen has unveiled the interior of the new ID Polo ahead of the electric supermini's launch later this year, showcasing the increased provision of physical buttons for key functions.
  The supermini is the firm's vital new offering in the sub-£22,000 electric car category. It is also the first model to encompass the brand's new design language under the leadership of Andreas M
  
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• Ligier claims slowest ever lap of the Nurburgring

  06-01-2026 11:01 via autocar.co.uk
  Diesel-powered JS50 quadricycle took 28min 25.8sec to lap the NordschleifeFrench manufacturer Ligier has set a lap record at the Nürburgring, claiming the slowest ever lap around the Nordscheife. 
  Its diesel-powered JS50 quadricycle – homologated in the same category as the Citroën Ami, limited to a top speed of just 28mph – took 28min 25.8sec to complete a lap of the 12.9-mile circuit.
  This, according to the brand, “hinted at [its] glorious history in Formula 1&
  
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• Nvidia CEO reveals new ‘reasoning’ AI tech for self-driving cars

  06-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Jensen Huang also announces at CES new, more powerful Vera Rubin chips that will arrive later this yearThe billionaire boss of the chipmaker Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has unveiled new AI technology that he says will help self-driving cars think like humans to navigate more complex situations.The world’s most valuable company is to roll out the new technology, Alpamayo, which is designed to help self-driving cars handle tricky situations, such as sudden roadworks or unusual driver behaviour on
  
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• Dodge Sales Fell Hard In 2025, But Alfa Romeo Was Even Worse

  06-01-2026 10:56 via motor1.com
  
  Chrysler was actually up one percent.
  
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• Concerns raised as 75% of UK workers use own cars for business trips

  06-01-2026 10:42 via autocar.co.uk
  Flexible car access vital for increasingly remote workforce, says Sixt UKCompany car schemes aren’t keeping pace with modern work patterns, according to a survey by Sixt UK which showed three quarters (75%) of employees are using their own vehicles for business trips. 
  Covid-19 lockdowns and corporate sustainability targets have had a marked effect on business travel in recent years, with the Office for National Statistics claiming 41% of the UK workforce is now working from home eith
  
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• 5000 miles in a six-cylinder X3: Is this the best warmed-up SUV?

  06-01-2026 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  The X3 M50 might not be a full-fat M car, but its 353bhp proves enough to spice up a commuteThe BMW X3 M is one of those cars that has a reputation for attracting a certain kind of buyer. But actually its buyer base is much broader than you might think, because it has always been a very capable and very practical performance car.
  Like a taller, roomier version of the M3. So there is good reason for people to be disappointed that BMW's performance division probably isn't going to give us a new X3
  
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• New 2026 Volkswagen T-Roc priced from £31,620

  06-01-2026 09:59 via autocar.co.uk
  Second generation of Golf-based crossover also set to be final combustion VW – for nowOrder books for the second-generation Volkswagen T-Roc are about to open in the UK, with prices starting from £31,620.
  The new version of the hugely popular model brings a bold new look and a completely overhauled interior. Later this year, it will also gain a hybrid drivetrain that will be rolled out across the Volkswagen line-up.
  The latest version of the Golf-based crossover&n
  
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• Afeela SUV revealed as Sony-Honda EV firm goes after Lucid

  06-01-2026 09:41 via autocar.co.uk
  With the Afeela saloon about to enter production, Sony and Honda reveal a second model for 2028
  Afeela, the electric car brand set up by Sony and Honda, will follow up its debut saloon model with a new SUV in 2028.
  The company revealed a prototype for its Lucid Gravity rival at CES in Las Vegas last night (6 January), and said it is planned for launch in the US in 2028.
  It is said to "build on the core concept of Afeela 1" - the sleek EV saloon that has just entered production at Honda's Oh
  
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• Sony And Honda Are Making An SUV

  06-01-2026 08:45 via motor1.com
  
  The Afeela Prototype will become a production model at the earliest in 2028.
  
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• Sub-£20k Nissan Wave city car to channel retro 1980s classics

  06-01-2026 07:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Autocar render shows how the Twingo may be reshaped with influence from the Pike cars
  New electric city car will tap Pike models – Be-1, Figaro, Pao and S-Cargo – using Renault Twingo underpinningsNissan has chosen the name Wave for its version of the Renault Twingo electric city car and will rework the design with influence from its Pike retro cars, Autocar has learned. 
  The Wave is due next year and will be built by Renault alongside the Twingo. 
  It is expected to hit the
  
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• UK car sales top 2m in 2025 as Chinese brands boom

  06-01-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Electric car sales rose by nearly a quarter to a record 473,000, or 23.4% of the overall market, says SMMTA rise in the popularity of Chinese brands pushed total car sales in the UK above the 2m mark last year for the first time since 2019, figures reveal.Chinese companies accounted for 9.7% of the 2m new car registrations in the UK in 2025, or 196,000 vehicles, according to preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. That was nearly double the
  
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• The Toyota Tacoma Just Had Its Best Year Ever

  05-01-2026 23:30 via motor1.com
  
  The numbers don't lie: the Toyota Tacoma is still the top dog, with nearly 275,000 sold last year.
  
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• GM Sales Jumped In 2025, Even With A Sluggish Finish

  05-01-2026 21:49 via motor1.com
  
  General Motors sold more than 2.8 million vehicles in 2025, up 5.5 percent over the previous year.
  
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• This Custom Toyota Land Cruiser Rocks 37-Inch Tires And So Much More

  05-01-2026 17:30 via motor1.com
  
  It’s from Kuhl Racing and comes with a 7.0-inch suspension lift.  
  
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• Volvo EX30 Extended Range, Twin Motor owners warned of fire risk

  05-01-2026 15:42 via autocar.co.uk
  Some EV owners told to stop charging at 70% as big-battery models could suffer cell overheating issueOwners of some Volvo EX30s built between 2024 and now are being asked not to charge their cars to more than 70% to mitigate the risk of a battery fire.
  Volvo has identified a risk of battery cells overheating in Single Motor Extended Range and Twin Motor Performance versions of the EX30, which use a 69kWh pack comprising nickel-managanese-cobalt modules. Cells that overheat can cause a
  
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• Skywell gives BE11 'comprehensive revision' following criticism

  05-01-2026 12:26 via autocar.co.uk
  Chinese electric SUV, which was given a two-star rating by Autocar, also gets a £5000 price cutChinese car maker Skywell has given its BE11 electric SUV a “comprehensive revision” following criticism from journalists and owners – as well as a £5000 price cut.
  The EV arrived in late 2024 as the first UK model from Skywell (a joint venture between one of the world's largest consumer electronics groups, Skyworth, and electric bus maker Nanjing Golden Dragon), offe
  
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• Toyota Chairman Buys Mid-Engine Sports Car. Which One Is It?

  05-01-2026 12:25 via motor1.com
  
  We'll find out next week at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
  
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• Kia Smashes Sales Records in 2025, Eyes Even Bigger 2026

  05-01-2026 10:20 via motor1.com
  
  Unsurprisingly, the three best-selling vehicles were all SUVs.
  
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• Renault Filante name confirmed for large 'high-end' global SUV

  05-01-2026 09:18 via autocar.co.uk
  Wild aero concept gives its name to a new five-metre Renault range-topper for global marketsRenault will give the name of its radical Filante concept to a new ‘high-end’ crossover to top its global line-up. 
  A crucial component of Renault’s new ‘international game plan’, the new Filante – a French word meaning ‘shooting’ as in ‘shooting star’ – will be built at the firm’s plant in Busan, South Korea, initially for
  
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• SUVs Dominate Europe, Yet the Best-Seller Is Still a Car

  05-01-2026 09:00 via motor1.com
  
  SUVs may have taken over, but a few cars are still going strong.
  
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• The A-Z of cars named after animals: Ant to Zebra via... Golf?

  05-01-2026 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Naming cars isn't easy - unless you've got a wildlife encyclopedia to handFrom the diminutive (Austin) Ant to the robust (Daihatsu) Zebra, the automotive world has long looked to the animal kingdom for inspiration.  
  It is a logical leap, really: naming a machine after a beast infuses cold steel with breath, character and intent.
  But for every thoroughbred stallion or venomous snake that has graced a bootlid, there is a creature that defies conventional marketing logic. For every
  
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• Volkswagen Sticks to Its Promise and Brings Buttons Back

  05-01-2026 07:35 via motor1.com
  
  Customers have been begging for physical controls, so VW is giving people what they want.
  
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• Aion to Zenvo: The 159 new cars coming to the UK this year

  05-01-2026 06:00 via autocar.co.uk
  This is your handy guide to every new car coming in 2026, from £12k EVs to £20m hypercarsNew year, new cars: 2026 is shaping up to be a big one for the industry, with plenty of brands and models making their debuts.
  From the baby EVs that didn't seem possible only a few years ago to ripsnorting V8 supercars and VIP-hauling vans, there's something here to catch the eye of everyone.
  Here's our breakdown of every new car coming to the UK in 2026, from Aion to Zenvo.
  Every new car coming
  
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• Battery electric cars will overtake diesels in Great Britain by 2030, analysis suggests

  04-01-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  London predicted to be the first UK city to go diesel-free, largely because of the ultra-low emission zoneBattery electric cars are poised to overtake diesels on Great Britain’s roads by 2030, according to analysis that suggests London will be the first UK city to go diesel-free.The number of diesel cars on Great Britain’s roads in June had fallen to 9.9m in June last year, 21% below its peak of 12.4m vehicles, according to analysis by New AutoMotive, a thinktank focused on the trans
  
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• The electric vehicle revolution is still on course – don’t let your loathing of Elon Musk stop you joining up | Zoe Williams

  04-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Other firms are taking advantage of Tesla’s sales slump, while technological advances mean that glitches are being left in the rear-view mirrorIn another era, before Elon Musk bought Twitter, changed its name to X to mark the spot of its descent into barbarism, honed Grok, a generator of far-right propaganda, swung behind Donald Trump and made what appeared to be a Nazi salute, I already knew he was a wrong ’un. The year was 2019, and I was test-driving a Tesla; while I was ambling o
  
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• Inside McLaren's ultra-exclusive VIP service

  04-01-2026 10:34 via autocar.co.uk
  Pure McLaren events take a track-day to the next level
  We were handed the keys to a 690bhp Artura and given one-to-one tuition at one of the world's best race tracksYou dream about the chance to live out your racing driver fantasies, and mine is about to be realised. The venue for my debut track experience: Silverstone. This is like kicking a football for the first time at Wembley.
  McLaren is hosting one of its exclusive Pure owners' experience days, and I've been invited. To prepare, I spent th
  
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• BMW takes full control of Alpina performance brand

  04-01-2026 10:17 via autocar.co.uk
  BMW Alpina logo
  Future BMW Alpina models to focus on 'performance and driving comfort'BMW has officially taken full control of Alpina and given first hints of its plans for the long-running performance firm – claiming future models will focus on a “unique balance of maximum performance and superior driving comfort.”
  The Munich manufacturer acquired the 60-year-old Alpina firm, famed for its extensively modified versions of BMW models in 2022. Due to an agreement with Alpin
  
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• Why the fuel gauge arrow is one of motoring's greatest inventions

  04-01-2026 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Ford managed to do this back in 1989 for petrol-powered cars...The history of the motor car is one of continuous innovation, with incredibly clever people relentlessly inventing new technologies to make cars safer, perhaps faster and generally better.
  We're talking inventions such as seatbelts, fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, airbags and power steering - and the little arrow on your fuel gauge that tells you which side of the car the filler is on.
  Okay, that last innovation isn't quite like th
  
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• The BMW M2 CS truly lives up to its ancestors

  04-01-2026 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Could this be the best driver's car for less than £100,000?BMW has been extending its M brand for an awfully long time, adding fast SUVs, luxury convertibles and even the fully bespoke XM.
  Yet when you imagine an M car, it's a compact, rear-wheel-drive coupé. 'E30' M3, 'E9' CSL 'Batmobile', 2002 Turbo: these are cars with a stature that demands a modern inheritor. And the M2 CS feels fully up to the job.
  It's a car defined by the little details, which come together to amount to some
  
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• 120's plenty: 'Baby' BMW was all the car I needed in 2025

  03-01-2026 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Sometimes the old school ways of a family hatchback just can't be beatenI evaluated many newcomers this year, virtually all of which were a whacking great SUV, a life-complicating EV or a combination of both.
  Consequently the car that I enjoyed far above all others in 2025 wasn’t at all innovative or even new: it was a small, modestly sporty, petrol-powered hatchback of a variety that has been familiar for two decades now.
  The BMW 1 Series has accrued an unfortunate reputation or three in
  
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