BMW M3 TOURING
What is it about the finest fast wagons that hits the spot for so very many of us? Rarity, certainly. Seriously potent, longitudinally engined performance estates are pretty thin on the ground, having only sprouted as a concept as recently as 1994 with the Porschedeveloped Audi RS2. Versatility? Definitely that, too. The idea of 500bhp up front and 500 litres of space at the back will get the attention of anyone who buys their performance cars in order to use them as much as possible.
Their owners live with them, build a rapport with them and truly understand them. I think here in the UK – the hot hatch capital of the world – we are better at this than most places, and an outrageously fast estate is about as emblematic of the mindset as it gets.
Then there’s the veneer of respectability that an estate body lends, and this effect should never be underestimated. There are petrolheads of considerable means who, for whatever reason, feel an out-andout super-saloon is a bit on the nose. However, transform that supersaloon into a super-estate and you have altered the outlook. Practicality unlocks something more in the package than raw carrying capacity – and whatever that unquantifiable thing is, it can be powerfully appealing.
All of which is why we have welcomed the first-ever M3 Touring (at least, the first honoured with series production, because an E46based concept lurks in the multistorey at Garching) with open arms, and it hasn’t disappointed. Not in the slightest bit.
With the possible exception of the B7 Audi RS4 Avant and the last of the naturally aspirated Mercedes C-class-based AMG wagons, this is the greatest fast wagon to date. In fact, if you take this 503bhp car’s wild level of performance and overlay it on a chassis that can switch from four-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive at the touch of a button and never feels anything less than indulgently adjustable yet composed, you have to conclude that the BMW is the greatest fast wagon of all time. All-weather, all-occasion driver’s cars don’t come much better than this, and they certainly don’t entertain as well as the M3 Touring does on a circuit.
Really, the only fly in the ointment is its punchy price that can rise to £100,000 if you option the most tempting extras, such as the carbonfibre bucket seats and carbon-ceramic brakes.
But how many cars are you actually getting here? School-run car, B-road blaster, long-range cruiser (yes, really), occasional track-day toy… The breadth and depth of the M3 Touring’s abilities is plain exquisite – which is why it’s our Dream Car of 2023.
All-occasion driver’s cars don’t come much better
It took on the Volkswagen ID 3 in a twin test – and won
It seems that every week news reaches us of another Chinese brand with plans to conquer Europe quickly. But one company has paved the way for more than 10 years and organically built a customer base in the process.
MG has been owned by SAIC since 2005, and after a slow start it has become a big hitter in the UK car market, its products’ undeniable value clearly striking a chord with buyers.
The MG 4 heralds something new, however. Built on the all-new, Ev-only Modular Scalable Platform (MSP), it is a genuinely class-leading product in several respects
– but MG is still selling it at a price that makes every other rival look expensive.
It was the surprise of 2022 when we first drove it: the MG 4 proved stylish, roomy, swift and very capable, as well as keenly priced. It didn’t only impress in isolation either: soon after, it took on the class benchmark, the Volkswagen ID 3, in a twin test – and won.
Compared with the VW, the MG had shades of warm hatch, with its lower and more adjustable driving position and its appetite for a B-road. We noted that there is something of the Jaguar I-pace in the MG 4’s poise and the way its passive suspension allows plenty of roll but keeps things orderly. Like the Jaguar, it also soaks up bumpy roads with ease. We then subjected the MG 4 to a full road test, which confirmed it to be a fine driver’s EV that makes the most of its rear-drive layout. And our rapid-charging test showed that it actually slightly exceeded the claimed 135kw.
Its road manners draw special attention, but the MG 4 shines in other areas. It offers impressively comfortable accommodation for its size, has a competitive range and, despite some unconventional design decisions, its cabin and control layouts are more userfriendly than some.
As a single product, then, the MG 4 impressed all our judges, but what is more intriguing is that it looks like the model is a harbinger of things to come from MG. The new MSP architecture also allows for bigger battery packs, longer wheelbases, dual motors and even 800V systems. If some of those things come to pass, and MG can finesse a few areas like the infotainment, driver assistance features and interior plastics, it won’t be long until the company is producing world-class cars in several segments.
For now, there is no doubt the MG 4 is an electric family hatchback that offers impressive spaciousness, driver engagement, rapid charging and range for a very keen price.
This is a new Autocar Award, one that is reflective of the times in which we’re living and the pressures they are exerting on all of us. Now more than ever, we need to know where to look for great budget cars: those that are not only cheap to buy and run but which also offer genuine value that can be appreciated by anyone, whatever their preferences or agenda.
We all have a need for simple, insurable, cost-effective transport; a need for a car that doesn’t necessarily reflect our individuality, drive our aspiration or enable our lifestyle but which goes about meeting our daily needs with competence, efficiency and, ideally, a cheery flourish.
Our inaugural winner wouldn’t have taken any great leap of the imagination to guess – but we didn’t decide its worthiness by chucking some suggestions around a room and counting a show of hands.
The Dacia Sandero was one of five new cars we gathered together back in March in order to find out which is Britain’s very best sub-£15,000 new car.
Given that most superminis now start at a price considerably higher than that, it wasn’t a huge field. When we counted, eight cars might have qualified – and two of them were Dacias. So along with the Sandero we assembled four other new cars that each offered genuine bargain motoring in 2023: the Citroën C3 You, Kia Picanto, Hyundai i10 and MG 3. But none offered so much to the value-motivated buyer as the Dacia.
For starters, it would have been the cheapest car in the test if we had chosen to make it so. Dacia’s Essential trim level puts the car within reach from just £12,805, making this the cheapest new car you can buy full stop.
Just in terms of metal-for-themoney, it’s a lot of car: a supermini for less than rival firms charge for an A-segment city car (like the Hyundai or Kia) – and not a small one, either. The Sandero can seat four adults of average height quite comfortably. It makes both the MG and Citroën seem pretty mean for outright passenger space, and it has a useful 330-litre boot.
Experience of so many bargain-basement new cars over the years leads one to expect a certain cheapness from the
Sandero’s fittings, along with crudeness, noise and inefficiency from its drive. Think again. With only one or two areas of exception, the Sandero feels as solid and well built as any of its rivals.
The car has comfy seats, well-located controls and a simple but clever fascia design, and the interior escapes any impression of austerity if you go for a mid-spec Expression model (touchscreen infotainment, appealing dash trim etc).
On the road, the Sandero has competitive ride refinement and all-round comfort; long touring legs for impressive motorway economy; a pleasant gearchange; tidy handling; a willing engine; and plenty of turbocharged torque for easy drivability.
Could it be more fun? Perhaps. But no other new car frees up more of your money for you to enjoy in other ways, if you choose. No other does more for such little outlay.
We had heard similar from Jeep in the past about having designed its latest small model with Europe in mind. But there’s a big distinction between creating a car to that more general brief and creating one designed, engineered and manufactured in Europe and for European buyers, as it has done with the Avenger.
The former approach always yielded forgettable results; the latter method has made for something more spectacular.
To that end, the Jeep Avenger is our Best Small Car for 2023.
These are words we’ll admit we didn’t think we’d be writing when news of this Jeep first emerged. With the Avenger, however, the promises have been backed up by actions; this feels like a defining moment for Jeep in its quest to transfer its success in the US over the pond to here in Europe.
The Avenger is the first Jeep to be created outside the US and is also the firm’s first electric car. It was designed in Italy and is based on a version of Stellantis’s E-CMP platform (which underpins the likes of the Vauxhall Corsa Electric and Peugeot’s e-2008). Manufacturing takes place in Tychy, Poland.
Spend time with the team that made the Avenger and you will be aware just how committed these passionate individuals have been and how they have worked hard to create a car that brings something truly different to the small SUV class – a segment of the market that is not exactly flush with must-own products given how inherently compromised such models can be.
Not so with the Avenger, which finds a truly unique place in the market. It is small in the truest sense at just 4.08 metres long. No B-segment electric SUV is smaller, and it’s a refreshing change for a brand’s first electric car not to be launched as a 4.6-metre-long crossover that, with its badges covered, could be from any marque.
The Avenger’s design is every bit a true Jeep, and it has a real rugged character. The proportions are spot on and, like the best small cars, it has real charm and character.
Those qualities transfer to the way the Avenger drives. There’s a maturity to its ride, handling and steering, and the electric power is a boon around town. It feels far more sophisticated than a car this small has any right to. While the Avenger may be small on the outside, it never really feels it inside. There is ample storage in the cabin both front and rear, along with a series of clever cubbyholes. There is a cheeriness to the interior, too, and some really useful touches, including a storage tray that runs across much of the dashboard.
Other rational boxes have been ticked, too. The range is around 250 miles and the charging speed of 100kw is respectable. While the entry point isn’t quite the £32,000 we had hoped it might be when the model was first revealed last autumn, the £36,500 price still provides decent value, and the strongly tipped residual values will help keep monthly payments in check.
All this makes for another award to add to the Avenger’s fast-growing trophy cabinet after it scooped Europe’s 2023 Car of the Year award. High praise for the most endearing of small cars and an unlikely success to be savoured.