From the editor

Greetings CAR readers. This has always been one of my favourite issues. Slightly spent from a busy year, yet brimming with positivity for what lies ahead, we look to the future, contact local PR departments and cast an eye over international media portals to best paint a picture of what the next 12 months of motoring will look like. Elmer Wheeler’s infamous phrase, “You don’t sell the steak, you sell the sizzle,” comes to mind as I leaf through the 2022 Preview (p20).

Gloriously sculpted metal compassionately photographed in an ideal setting; as yet unexplored power, performance and ef ciency. All 62 featured cars are full of promise. We’re yet to nd out if the interior plastics are sub-par; if there’s turbo lag and the drivetrain hunts through its ratios; whether the EV range in the real world is nowhere near claimed; if you’ll need the GDP of a small South American country to afford the thing; or perhaps replacing a damaged headlight or windscreen will cost the same as a second-hand supermini. That’s all in the future … that’s 2022’s work. For now, they are, in a word, perfect. The idealised version of themselves, a vision of future mobility with no drawbacks – all sizzle and no steak. It’s a wonderful thing.

Along with our exhaustive 2022 Preview, we’ve tested both shapes of the Land Rover Defender, we’ve driven two gorgeous E-type Jaguars to commemorate the icon’s 60th anniversary and we’ve put together a wonderful exclusive on the new, locally produced Mercedes-benz C-class. Associate editor Gareth Dean and photographer Colin Mileman made their way to East London to be the rst in the country to get seat time in the long-awaited W206 and you can read all about it on page 42. There really is so much to look forward to in 2022.

Enjoy the issue.