Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2017 i BBC Top Gear Magazine

Every new car that matters, rated or slated Mercedes-AMG E63S £84,000 approx. Nudge the Dynamic Select controller into Race mode, toggle manual gears, turn stability control of, pull both paddles, confrm with the right. Congratulations, you have just discovered Drift mode and turned your 4WD Mercedes-Benz E63S into a rearwheel-drive skid hero. A proper rear-driver, not the artifce of the Ford Focus RS’s system feeding extra power to the back axle, but a car that’s now sending 604bhp and 626lb ft of torque through the rear wheels alone. With no traction control. It’s irrelevant, of course. Well, unless you’re trying to fll pages of a magazine with smokin’ pictures or trying to make yourself look like a drift hero. Otherwise the potential for abject embarrassment and a massive repair bill…

Lotus Exige Sport 380 ￡67,900 Another harder, better, faster Lotus? Based on last year’s revised Exige Sport 350, the Exige 380 has another 30bhp, race-spec aero and, somehow, a weight saving. That’s like making a superleggera F1 car. Or diet celery. What’s actually new? Perversely, it’s not just stripped: Lotus has added bargeboards, a bigger carbon wing, an Evora’s diffuser, twin canard ‘flicks’ and wider tyres. There are lighter two-piece brakes, a lithium-ion battery, a polycarbonate engine bay partition where there was once glass, carbon seats, plus an optional titanium exhaust. There’s lightness everywhere, but the extra aero bits add back 15kg when the car’s sat still. At vmax they add 140kg. This is very much a track car then? It’s actually freakishly comfortable. Sure, you feel a bump or…

Skoda Kodiaq ￡25,445 The new Skoda Kodiaq was last seen in the pages of TopGear rightfully earning itself an accolade last issue, for being the best car for big families. Paul Horrell tried the heartland Kodiaq, the middling power 148bhp diesel manual 4x4 version, complete with a healthy dollop of tech and toys, and concluded it’s a stress-relieving utilitarian winner. And no, I’m not about to rip up that rhetoric. But could there be hidden gems in the Kodiaq family? Unsung heroes which are smarter buys than the default middleof-the-road/brochure diesel? Seeking answers, we subjected a more basic Kodiaq to the same scrutiny. To qualify for that headline £21,495 in entry-level S trim (with five seats, and no option to pay for seven), you’ll end up with a petrolpowered 1.4…

Ford Ka+ Zetec 1.2 Ti-VCT 85 £10,295 The Fiesta’s gone all upmarket, so Ford’s given us this to fill the entry-level void. It’s called the Ka+, but it shares little with its namesake. That was a teapot-like, three-door hatch that was as much fun to drive as it was quirky and inventive. And then, in MkII form, effectively a slightly less desirable version of the Fiat 500. The Ka+ has five doors, and, as you might be able to tell, majors not on style, but value. It’s built in India but comes with Euro-specific parts and tuning to make it more palatable. The last time Ford tried something like this, things didn’t go so well. The EcoSport was a disappointing car (since improved), but we’re pleased to report Ford seems…

FEWER DOORS, MORE CASH, MUCH SEXIER. WE LIKE COUPES 1 It’s now a real E-Class Badges aren’t always what they seem. The last-gen E-Class Coupe was essentially a puffed-up C-Class underneath; now, though, this is a bona fide E-Class saloon with a swoopier body on top. Inside, turbine-inspired air vents are new for the Coupe, but the same very wide widescreen display dominates the dash. On the outside, it’s grown, significantly. At 123mm longer, 74mm wider and 32mm higher (with 67mm wider front and rear tracks) than its imposter of a predecessor it can now claim to be a true grand tourer with space in the back for two adult humans, ensconced in ‘sporty’ two-tone leather. It does, however, hover awkwardly in a space somewhere between a BMW 4-Series and…

A trio of Audi RS6s: a vision to strike fear into the otherwise happy, dappy hearts of lounging Labradors everywhere. Now, as progress reports go, this isn’t the most, well, progressive. Audi first struck upon the fast estate formula in 1994 with the 315bhp, Porsche-engineered RS2, but it wasn’t exactly an instant hit: only 182 made it to the UK. An RS4 followed six years later, and with the fast, all-weather estate concept finally established, Audi introduced the bigger RS6 in 2002. Since then there have been precisely no great leaps forward. The first RS6, the C5, featured a twin-turbo 4.2-litre V8 driving all four wheels and was available as a Plus model with an extra 30bhp. The latest, the C7, is a twin turbo 4.0-litre… and you can guess…

According to a recently leaked patent application, Jaguar Land Rover is developing a system that allows you to unlock your car with a selfie, rather than carrying any sort of key. Cameras under the windows will recognise you as you approach, but won’t open the doors until you’ve performed a special gesture or pose – perhaps a salute, or the classic duck face – to make sure it’s you, and not a thief holding up a photo…

Normally in the land of supercars, cylinder count is king, but the GT is different. “We started with aerodynamic efficiency – the efficiency of racing goes right down to the very core of its existence.” That’s Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer for Ford Performance. “Aero came first then we picked the most efficient EcoBoost engine we could find for that package.” The engine coaxed into the tapering fuselage is a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6, producing “over 600bhp”, connected to a new Getrag-developed sevenspeed twin-clutch gearbox. Unusually, you’ll find the two turbos and intercoolers tucked neatly into the pods over the rear wheels for optimum weight distribution… and because there simply isn’t space to package them any closer to the block. From there the cool, compressed air is sent up through ducts in…

Pedalling around the M25, evening rush hour is over and trafc is moving pretty briskly. The Fiesta’s engine is hoarse, its performance negligible. Reaching 70mph feels like a distant dream. I can oscillate the steering-wheel rim a couple of inches either side of straight-ahead without the car’s path deviating at all, which means I’ve no control as it wanders around its lane like it’s had a drink too many. There’s an agonising interval between my pressing the centre pedal and the non-servo brakes waking up. The bodywork might as well be eggshell. Oh, and I have to be in Cologne by tomorrow afternoon. Never mind. I’m pretty confdent I’ll enjoy the drive. Because it’s always the way with old cars that they feel ropey to begin with, and then you…

WORDS: STEPHEN DOBIE / PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK RICCIONI “If I have to go, old boy, I hope I’m going ruddy fast at the time.” So said Donald Campbell on New Year’s Eve 1966, as he hosted a party in Coniston, the town closest to the lake that was home to many of his water-speed records. Days later, the Speed King’s unintended wish would so infamously come true. On 4 January 1967, just before 9am, Bluebird K7 left the surface of Lake Coniston shortly after hitting an estimated 328mph. It sunk within seconds, Campbell dying in his attempt to take the water-speed record above 300mph. Desperate for success, he’d wanted to make headlines at the London Boat Show which opened hours later. He did, but they were of a far more sombre…

A diesel Bentley. I’m cursing the idea right now, but not due to misplaced nostalgia. Nope. The Bentayga diesel has inspired the boss back at TG Towers to lay me down a seemingly impossible task: driving one back home from the Marbella press launch on just two tanks of fuel. That’s 1,400 miles, if you’re wondering. The theory is sound. Bentley knows that its owners don’t require 35mpg economy, but that there is luxury in making as few monotonous fuel stops as possible. The reality, though, is that I’ll need to squeeze 700 miles from a tank of fuel, when Bentley’s claimed range is 621. Impressive for a 2.5-tonne, 429bhp V8-engined SUV, but not enough. Upon brimming the 85-litre tank as the sun sets on southern Spain, I’m immediately crestfallen:…

1968cc, 4cyl TD, 4WD, 148bhp, 251lb ft 55.4mpg, 129g/km CO2 0–62mph in 9.0secs, 122mph 1548kg REPORT 2 It seems everyone who’s anyone is joining the crossover party. Well, why wouldn’t they when there’s money to be made? Latest to rock up at the gates of SUV mansion is Peugeot with its revamped, redesigned and repurposed 3008. I was fortunate enough to be given an early drive of the Peugeot on the UK launch up in the Peak District. Driving the Ateca up there in the persisting rain for several hours gave me plenty of opportunity to appreciate how sure-footed the Seat is in poor weather conditions. It’s easy to place on the road and confdence-inspiring, it’s also blessed with clocks that are very simply laid-out and super-easy to read when…

Back in the middle of 2008, rumours started to appear that we were about to witness the birth of a Scottish supercar, courtesy of design agency Dowdeswell & Hardie. The Scottish had given us penicillin, television, the telephone, Watt’s steam engine, the pedal bicycle, the overhead valve engine – a supercar would surely be a walk in the park for such a talented nation? The media was aquiver with anticipation. OK that’s a lie – what this member of the media did was groan, roll his eyes and shake his head at the clearly computergenerated images. As you can see, it wasn’t a bad-looking thing, nor was it badly conceived. The spec sheet read plausibly enough. Named after a Scottish spirit, the Falen was to be a British track-day hypercar…

Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain ￡49,000 approx. Several years ago, Merc built a car called the R63 AMG. It was lunacy – a hefty, bargey people carrier with a 6.2-litre V8 in it. I mention it for no other reason than I hope they’ll have a similar lapse this time around and put the twin-turbo V8 from the E63 into this. That would be a hell of a thing. As it is, the All-Terrain is a perfectly rational machine. It is exactly what you think it is – a high-rise E-Class, a perfect copy of the Audi Allroad and Volvo Cross Country. It’s available with two diesels, the new 2.0-litre four and the 3.0-litre V6. In the UK we’re likely to only be getting the latter. Pity, because the 220d makes a…

Suzuki Ignis £12,500 (est.) If you don’t want one already, the new Ignis has probably failed. Because the best thing about this new jacked-up crossover-cum-city-car box is the way it looks. The bulldog nose that so desperately wants to be “grrr” aggressive but looks more like a frowning Pokémon, the Adidas stripes in the rear pillar that nod to the Seventies Whizzkid supermini’s rear engine-cooling vents, the bulbous My First Audi RS6 wheelarches… this has to be the coolest piece of small-car design since the Up. Then there’s the price: £10k for a basic one, and under £14k for a four-wheel-drive hybrid version. Part-time all-wheel drive (yeah, it’s after you, Fiat Panda Trekking) is a cheap option, as is a rudimentary hybrid booster that adds just 6.2kg in weight thanks…

BMW 530d xDrive ￡43,835 Seth Davey was a farmer near where I grew up. His son was called Seth Davey. So was his father, and his grandson. Four living souls in the same family, all Seths. Seven generations of this car have been called BMW 5-Series, so you’ll forgive me if I use manufacturer’s code. Here’s the G30. But first, let’s meet an ancestor. Back in 2003 BMW launched the E60, its most radical, risky, non-evolutionary 5-Series ever. Its slab sides, unbending bone lines and angular irregular-shaped headlights were styled in Chris Bangle’s polemical mid-period pomp. The E60 didn’t really care what you thought of it. Under the skin, many of its innovations were terrific. Some were half-baked. It had active front steering, which wasn’t nice at all, and a…

AUDI TT RS ￡51,800 BMW M2 ￡44,080 Hardly been a year for forgone conclusions, has it? Brexit… Trump… Kimye’s wedding vows holding fast longer than 20 minutes… you’d be a brave soul to call almost any head-to-head early these days. But surely a fast Audi TT – even one as ballistic as the new 394bhp TT RS – can’t topple the best M car of its generation? The BMW M2 is everything its bigger brother, the M4 isn’t: a friendly, entertaining sports coupe that thrives on having a simple spec. The BMW has it all to lose here. Stranger things have happened… The TT RS splutters flatulently so much upon prodding the steering wheel’s red starter it’s a surprise there’s any unleaded left to pump into the 2.5-litre turbo engine,…

Half a year ago, Britain’s motor industry learned it would in future be operating outside the European Union. The 170,000 people who work for the vehicle makers and their parts suppliers must be delighted that those six months have been used to create vital stability and a firm path into the future. Dream on. No one has the foggiest idea. Right now, Britain’s industry is operating at nearrecord levels. But today’s production is the result of investment decisions taken by carmakers five or 10 years ago, when it was inconceivable we’d depart the EU. Listen now to the industry’s lobbying body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and you’d think we’re off to hell in a handcart. If Britain leaves the single market and defaults to typical 10 per…

OK, so they won Le Mans on the 50th anniversary of that first 24hr endurance race win – a monumental achievement on its own. But the GT guys then had to set about ensuring the GT was a winning road car, too. What was the priority when the car was being conceived and developed – road car or racecar? “I would say it was equal,” says Raj. “We were talking about celebrating [the 50th anniversary of the win] by doing a homologation special of the Mustang. That would have just been a racecar and we’d have circled back and looked at how to make it road-legal. But when we switched to building a new Ford GT, we knew it had to be a great road car, but at the same…

Coniston locals always knew roughly where Campbell and Bluebird lay, and it seemed the pair had been intentionally left to rest. But in 2001, hobbyist diver Bill Smith followed his own dream, heading into the lake to successfully find K7. When the location of the skipper and his boat became public, there was little choice but to bring them to shore, for the safety of wannabe explorers, and to avoid Bluebird being stripped by trophy hunters. The controversy behind the whole thing still upsets some people close to the Campbells, but upon visiting Bill’s North Shields workshop, it’s impossible to stay completely objective. Seeing a large chunk of K7 is a moving experience. While a space has been made for K7 in Coniston’s Ruskin Museum, Bill and his volunteers want…

“You can’t rationally approach the C-HR without being knocked clean off your feet by the KA-POW of its angry Pokémon bodywork” Planet Motoring has been conquered. Folks are scrambling over one another to bag themselves a tall, lifestyley supermini so hastily, they’re doing rash, crazy things. Recently, someone told me one of those delectable pub-fact nuggets I’ve annoyingly been unable to confirm but like so much I’ve decided to accept as fact in our posttruth world: that north of London, Britain’s bestselling car is not the Ford Fiesta, but actually the Vauxhall Mokka. No, I haven’t a clue why either. Anarchy reigns. Amid the mayhem, TopGear is here to help. This is a crossover intervention. Audi’s geometric newcomer, the Q2, and Toyota’s equally fresh C-HR have burst onto the scene aiming…

5000cc, V8 s’charged, 4WD, 549bhp, 502lb ft 22.1mpg, 298g/km CO2 0–62mph in 4.5secs, 162mph 2333kg GOODBYE Rarely has a TG long-termer been more of a social experiment. In a year that has seen the masses take their revenge on the self-absorbed metropolitan ruling classes, a Range Rover Sport SVR is a vehicle that demands substantial cojones on the part of its user. After six months living with the beast, I’ve concluded that this might be the silliest car I’ve ever run, and possibly the most provocative. But it’s also one of the most brilliant. We had no major problems, which suggests that Land Rover is fnally slaying its rep for wayward reliability. OK, so the main instrument display is currently lit up like Oxford Street: the cold snap means the…

1998cc, 4cyl, FWD, 118bhp, 150lb ft 47.9mpg, 137g/km CO2 0–62mph in 9.0secs, 119mph 1230kg GOODBYE Before we bid a cheery farewell to the CX-3, I’d like to talk to you about the car market. Won’t take long, I promise. In the past year or so, small SUV sales increased by a third. The crossover segment is growing faster than any other, and not just in Britain – it’s the same story around the world. People can’t get enough of ’em, and as a result, dealers are gagging for your business. Spend a Saturday bothering salesmen and even the worst haggler will fnd a reasonable deal. Right now, Mazda will give you £1,500 towards the deposit on your CX-3, and with a bit of fddling on the fnance calculator, you can…

2442cc 4cyl turbodiesel, 178bhp, 317lb ft 37.7mpg, 196g/km CO2 0–62mph in 11.8secs, 109mph 1860kg HELLO If I were a teenage millennial, you’d currently be looking at a line of smileyface emoji and possibly an aubergine. Because I’m a smidge past my 31st birthday (cough), I’ll be more literal; I am very excited by the arrival of the TopGear Garage L200. This is because I am a big fan of the odd vehicle-based adventure, but sometimes I end up in places where the vehicle gets slightly overwhelmed. Well, for once, that isn’t going to be a problem – because I’m going to actually build a vehicle specifically for a little trip I have in mind. And the L200 is the base car… So. We begin with a standard Mitsubishi L200 Double…

An association with Alan Partridge did Lexus no favours, so it’s fair to assume Vauxhall wasn’t impressed when its old Insignia was cast as David Brent’s company car in his recent movie. So it’s come out fighting. This is the new Insignia, and, like a post-procedure Captain America, it’s unrecognisably handsome. Oh, and it’s not called Insignia any more. This is now the Insignia Grand Sport. Grander in terms of size? Nope – dimensions are broadly the same as the old Insignia but the all-new 29mm lower, 11mm wider bodyshell is 60kg lighter. And if you spec light, you’ll end up with a car that’s 175kg lighter than the old car. That’s a couple of Ricky Gervaises. Whether you keep the spec simple depends on how tempted you are by…

IT’S A 911, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT It’s taken over 50 years, but Porsche might just have realised there’s a better place to put the 911’s engine. Yep, after half a decade of hiding in the boot, the 4.0-litre fat-six in the new 911 RSR has budged forward to a new home ahead of the rear axle. So – aside from the 1996 911 GT1, which wasn’t really a 911 – this is the frst mid-engined 911 in history. It’ll make its debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, before doing all rounds of the World Endurance Championship including Le Mans. But if you thought this might hint at some special, roadgoing version, just hold your horses. “For day-to-day, rear engine is still the best solution…

Shivering in a windswept car park next to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in near sub-zero temperatures, we watch as a pair of the US Air Force’s finest fighting machinery, F-22 Raptors, slingshot into the crystal blue winter sky out of Nellis Air Force base. Engines on full reheat, every metallic sinew stretched to near breaking point in their quest to gain altitude and speed as quickly as possible. As they vaporise into the heavens in a blur of heat haze and crackling jet noise, it’s hard not to draw a comparison between the super-secret jets and the blue and white Ford GTs lurking just a couple of feet away from us. Both bleeding-edge, bunker-developed US-built products packed with still-secret technologies. Both, quite possibly, the fastest, most advanced of their breed.…

“Sadly it’s still more rubbery than an S&M convention” Technology, eh? What a wondrous thing. It greases the sides of our lives, trimming time and effort from humdrum tasks, connecting us to everyone we’ve ever shared a classroom, or an office, or saliva with and has the potential to save our planet from a watery demise. But is that necessarily a good thing? At what point do the benefits cease and we turn around to find a world populated with toneless, emotionless blobs of flesh, more concerned with social media feeds than real, visceral experiences? As luck would have it, Lexus has brewed up the ideal experiment to answer our in-no-way hyperbolic musings. Here we have two dramatically styled luxury coupes spawned from the 2012 LF-LC Concept and based on…

1968cc, 4cyl turbodiesel, FWD, 201bhp, 332lb ft 44.8mpg, 164g/km CO2 0–62mph in 9.9secs, 126mph 2405kg REPORT 4 Situation: a family emergency – the need to transport four people and loads of gear to the other end of the country; the ability to pick up additional passengers en route. If that sounds a familiar problem, then you’ll know how I felt when confronted with the quandary. The family’s hatchback or my normal long-term Astra estate wouldn’t do. Time to dispatch the emergency ofce vehicle. All hail the ICV (Ice Cream Van)! Well, that’s what my kids called it as soon as they saw it. They love it. So much so that it’s also known as the bus, the van or Vanosaurus Rex. And I love it too, especially as getting them…

“Do not go gentle into that good night,” wrote Wales’s most celebrated poet and disreputable boozehound Dylan Thomas in his 1947 ode. Well, rest easy, Dylan – we have no intention of doing any such thing. When you’re #blessed enough to have a Focus RS and Snowdonia at your disposal, it’s damn hard to drag yourself away… even when somebody turns out the lights. Yes, I know the “why it’s here” bit down there on the left suggests we should be keeping our time with the Focus RS strictly sensible, but you try turning down an opportunity to chase TopGear mag’s Best Car 2016, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, across deserted Welsh roads. You can’t. It’s impossible. Besides, there was important road testing to be done here. Although my epic…

5204cc V10, 4WD, 602bhp, 413lb ft n23.0mpg, 287g/km CO2 0–62mph in 3.2secs, 205mph 1454kg REPORT 7 This is the quattro supercar. Autumn and winter hold no fears. OK, I was mildly concerned that the fat Pirelli P Zeros, especially the 305-width rears, would struggle to knuckle into tarmac buttered with leaf mulch, but no, nothing seems to upset the Audi’s equilibrium. It’s just supremely reassuring. Moreover, I’m gobsmacked how well the tyres have held up – over 10,000 miles now and evenly worn with plenty of tread still left on them. Proof that the suspension geometry is sound. So yeah, as expected no issues getting 602bhp to the surface, and I can still use hardcore Performance mode which slackens the stability, sends more power rearwards and generally ups the tension,…

1395cc, 4cyl turbo, FWD, 148bhp, 184lb ft 52.3mpg, 124g/km CO2 0–62mph in 8.5secs, 131mph 1340kg HELLO The Audi Q2 has been in our possession mere days, but this much is immediately clear: it’s a very nice thing in which to sit. We’ll delve deeper into the Q2’s classy cabin in more detail in the coming months, but, for now, suffice it to say there is no more comfortable cockpit in the world of small SUVs. Less immediately clear: quite what the Q2 actually is. It’s a puzzler alright. Audi’s shortest Q sits on the same MQB platform as its A3 (and the million other Golf/Octavia/Leon-based variants), but weighs in 12cm shorter than the five-door version of that car. It’s 20-odd centimetres shorter than Audi’s elderly Q3, and Merc’s GLA. So…

Price/as tested £23,535/£26,475 Model SRi Nav Driver Owen Norris Why it’s here Is the Astra worthy of European Car of the Year? 1598cc 4cyl TD, FWD, 160bhp, 258lb ft 67.3mpg, 112g/km CO2 0–62mph in 8.4secs, 137mph 1435kg REPORT 3 I’ll admit that when Apple announced CarPlay, I got quite excited. Being a bit of a fanboy, I want the convenience my phone brings to my day-to-day life transferred to my commute. So when I heard my new long-termer had it, I couldn’t wait to dive in. The first problem is you have to plug it into the USB port using an ugly white cable because it doesn’t work over Bluetooth. But straight away, I’m listening to a random Apple Music playlist that’s not even on my phone. Sweet! Then I…