New models power up for the future
If you believe some of the stories you read we’ll all be driving pure electric cars before you can say ‘diesel’s dirty and petrol pollutes’. Well, panic not if it’s a diesel you fancy when number plates change to 67 next month, there are lots to choose from and some are hitting our roads for the first time. Same goes for petrol power. With the latest pollutionfighting kit on board either fuel can be made clean enough for the most fastidious rule makers and both have years of life left in them.
That’s not to say electrical power won’t rule the roost one day, just that it’s some time off. Even Volvo – which hit the headlines recently with a pledge to produce only cars with full or partial electric power by 2019 – has just announced a new model driven mostly by diesels, leaving part-battery and petrol to its dearest version.
The XC60 is priced from £37,205 and joins the range as a smaller sibling for the XC90. Most versions will use a 190-horsepower 2.0-litre diesel engine with a modest 133g/km of CO2 from the tailpipe.
And then there’s the current European Car of the Year, the Peugeot 3008 which is available with diesel and petrol engines taking CO2 emissions for a full-sized SUV down to as low as 103g/km – that equates to a shade over 70mpg. Prices for the large Peugeot start from £21,955 for the petrol version and £22,985 for the diesel.
Lacking any form of battery assist is the Range Rover Velar, designed to fill the gap between the top-selling Evoque and highperformance Range Rover Sport. It is priced from £44,830. It is the most aerodynamic Land Rover yet and the low drag combined with lightweight aluminium construction give the entry level 2.0-litre Velar diesel an official fuel return of 52.5mpg.
Likely biggest seller of all the new cars is the latest Fiesta – Ford’s small hatch has topped the UK sales charts for the last eight years, after all. The new one stretches at the moment from 70 horsepower petrol £12,715 Style to 120 horsepower diesel £21,225 Vignale.
Rather faster than the Fiesta is Kia’s first high performance GT model – the Stinger – with a top speed of 167mph. It will be the fastest car so far produced by the Korean brand when it appears before the year’s end. Kia is targeting a 0 to 60mph performance of 5.1 seconds.
With Renault blazing a trail on the SUV scene, the new and larger Koleos is of similar proportions to the likes of the Audi Q5 and Land Rover Discovery. Priced from £27,500, the six-model range topping out at £34,200.
Built on a new platform, the latest SEAT Ibiza (from £13,130) has improved back-seat legroom and the boot has also been enlarged to 355 litres, making it best in the supermini class.
Hyundai is already well known for its SUVs with the big-selling Santa Fe and Tucson range and from October will introduce the Kona, a smaller family motor aimed at the younger end of the market.
Hottest new kid on the block this autumn is undoubtedly the latest Honda Civic Type R, packing 320 horsepower and a deeply serious approach to going very quickly indeed (up to 169mph where allowed).
You’ll have to wait to the turn of the year for the new Jeep Compass, which will sit in the range above the smaller Renegade. Expect diesels with 1.6 and 2.0-litres capacity and a 1.4-litre petrol.
The Qashqai is the most successful vehicle in Nissan’s history in Europe with 2.3 million sales and 19 Car of the Year titles. Now a new-look British-built and designed Qashqai focuses on the key areas of design, quality, technology and performance in its quest to keep the crossover crew trailing in its wake.
With an all-new engine and an eight-speed automatic gearbox in its manifesto Peugeot is also revamping its 308 range of hatchbacks and estates. Smartened up inside and out the latest 308s come with a bold new face. Prices start at £18,570 – cheaper than before and on average some £650 below current models, says Peugeot.