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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 22 Sept 2017
Verdicts on a hardcore R8 Spyder and more SUVs than you can shake a wild badger at
Revealed: the Volvo XC40 is an XC90 mini-me
When do we get it? It's on sale now
What we say: “Lots of the tech and styling from other new-era Volvos is present and correct, which means much active safety, and headlights modelled on the heavy, bashy things in Thor’s toolbox.”
Advertisement - Page continues belowDriven: the Audi R8 Spyder Plus brings the noise
When do we get it? Now
What we say: “Despite being absurdly quick, speed isn’t the R8’s USP – it’s the noise and drama it makes attaining that speed. There are no turbos, so you can rev and rev (and rev some more). The redline sits past 8,000rpm. And holy hell, it sounds good...”
Driven: the Genesis G70 is a luxe 3-Series fighter
When do we get it? At least 2019, in Europe
What we say: “Besides an Audi A4, no small saloon hushes up wind noise this well, and at a cruise you could fool yourself into thinking it’s electric. The drivetrain is silent. But if you want it to make noise, it’ll make a good one. The turbo V6 rasps as it revs freely towards 6,500rpm...”
Advertisement - Page continues belowRevealed: the new Lambo Huracan racer looks insane
When do we get it? Right now, if you have much money and a race licence
What we say: “Worried modern, Audi-owned Lamborghini was going a bit soft? Concerned the madness of Miuras and Diablos had disappeared? Fear not, for this is the aggressive new Huracan racer. It looks for all the world like it wants to tear your head off.”
Revealed: McLaren’s Gran Turismo concept needs to be a reality
When do we get it? October, if you get your hands on Gran Turismo Sport. In real life? Erm...
What we say: “McLaren being McLaren, there’s a full set of specs provided for what is in reality nothing more than a collection of pixels, code and wild imagination.”
Find out the McLaren Vision Gran Turismo's fanciful specs here
Driven: Vauxhall's best SUV yet, the Grandland X
When do we get it? Now
What we say: “It wasn’t all that long ago that if a salesperson tried to sell you a 1.2-litre petrol front-wheel-drive-only SUV, you’d have told them to jog on before they had a chance to throw in a set of floor mats. But the SUV world is all change these days, and engine downsizing delivers its most surprising results in this class.”
Driven: another SUV, the Kia Stonic
When do we get it? Now
What we say: “If we say that the Stonic is one of the better small crossovers to drive, that may sound like damning with praise so faint you’d need an electron microscope to find it. But light steering and the square-edged styling make it feel quite nimble through tight gaps and narrow twists.”
Advertisement - Page continues belowDriven: yep, another SUV, Citroen’s C3 Aircross
When do we get it? Now
What we say: “Citroen has no interest in making cars that follow the usual black-technical automotive norms. Instead the company has developed a visual language of softly rounded oblong shapes, geometric surfaces, and seating and fabrics that resemble home furniture.”
Revealed: Volkswagen’s jumbo campervan, the California XXL
When do we get it? It's still a concept, but it looks basically production-ready and, if it’s signed off, you should get one by 2019
What we say: “Frankly, why VW didn’t work the other way and simply put a 175bhp turbodiesel engine, pneumatic suspension and all-wheel drive on a high-rise hotel is anyone’s guess.”
Advertisement - Page continues belowDriven: the last ever Vauxhall VXR8. Sob
When do we get it? Now, if you're quick. And rich
What we say: “At 4,000rpm, the engine goes from rumbly and grumbly to full NASCAR. You can actually hear the exhaust valves pop as the gases hit critical velocity and blow them wide open. The note becomes this savage roar, far less friendly than the cuddly burble of lower down, and there’s a big step in the acceleration, too. The GTS-R feels fast, close to E63 AMG pace. And it sounds tremendous.”
Revealed: the UK’s getting 100 Toyota Yaris GRMNs!
When do we get it? Orders are open now, cars will be with buyers in early 2018
What we say: “The GRMN, if you need a reminder, is Toyota’s riposte to the Ford Fiesta ST and RenaultSport Clio. Except it’s more hardcore than either: its 209bhp engine is a supercharged 1.8 like you’ll find in a Lotus Elise, while there’s a proper Torsen differential and tough Sachs suspension.”
Driven: the Velar, Range Rover’s swoopy niche-filler
When do we get it? Now
What we say: “People point at it and talk to you about it. They ask you if it’s any good, because their hairdresser’s wife’s sister’s husband’s best friend is thinking about putting his name down and can’t decide whether or not he wants the contrast roof. It gets a bit annoying.”
Our review of the fastest, most expensive Range Rover Velar is here
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