2022-09-01 BBC Top Gear

‘Spelunker’: try
saying that a mile

underground

Let’s hear it for the ‘spelunkers’ – the heroic subterranean explorers of the
1970s. And the inspiration behind ‘GMT-explorer’ watches, which provided
24-hour timekeeping for light-starved cavers. Now we’ve resurrected the
genre with the C63 Sealander GMT. Not only does it boast a twin timezone
movement, a hi-vis 24-hour hand and a dial that’s as legible as it is beautiful,

but you don’t have to be a spelunker to wear one. Want to know more?
Do your research.

christopherward.com

Editor GET YOUR FIX

@jack _ rix There’s more than one way to
[email protected] consume the world’s best car content

I t was the 355 Spider that got me. Rosso paint, crema leather, manual gearbox, *chef’s MAGAZINE
kiss*. As a teenager I had a model I would ogle for hours. Couldn’t find a bad angle, still Order a copy at MagsDirect.co.uk
can’t. Close my eyes at night, that’s the one I’d see – me driving, a not-unattractive person
in the passenger seat, V8 howling, unnecessary gearshifts to revel in the click-clack... full SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
fantasy mode. Still never driven one with my eyes open, might have to keep it that way. buysubscriptions.com/TGSP3M

For me, Ferraris hit different. Porsches epitomise precision engineering, rarely do DOWNLOAD
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they give you a reason to shop elsewhere, McLaren’s road cars have flirted with genius
app from your
but prove that pace and consistency of product isn’t easy and Lamborghini has shown
App Store
with a series of run-out Huracáns that it understands a great handling car... but its
WEBSITE
existence is always going to be justified more by show than go. topgear.com

Which leaves Ferrari, a company woven from 75 years of motorsport heroics and entertainment
and advice
road cars with the power to make your heart sing. I’m a fan, can you tell? There have
YOUTUBE
been fumbles along the way of course: California (too soft), F12 TDF (too snatchy),
Subscribe to
SF90 (too confused) spring to mind from the recent era, but they’re always bracketed by
the TopGear
stuff that rights the ship. Has there been a more reliably brilliant road car manufacturer
to watch the
in the past 30 years? If so, I’m not aware of it. best car videos

The holes in my Ferrari CV are yawning – I’ve never driven an F40/F50/Enzo or on the planet

LaFerrari for starters (cue slow violin music... kind and generous owners, my e-mail PODCAST
Visit topgear.com
is above) – but fortunately for us all there are the stories to keep us nourished. I’ll never
to download
forget Clarkson’s original 355 assessment: “I just can’t see any way they can make it
the TopGear
better,” Bill Thomas’ legendary 430 ‘Scud’ write-up
podcast
“FERRARI HAS in this very magazine, Harris’ Holy Trinity vid at
Portimao, Ollie Kew smashing the Fiorano electric @topgear
lap record (page 80) to put the cherry on top of our facebook.com/topgear
@BBC_TopGear
THE POWER TO 75th anniversary cake. In summary – if a Ferrari’s
involved there’s bound to be fireworks.

So what do the next 75 years hold for a company

MAKE YOUR that’s built its reputation on speed, noise and red
HEART SING” paint? Like everyone a transition to electric power is
imminent, so there goes the noise. And who knows,
if this metaverse thing really takes off will we need
physical cars at all, or just NFT fezzas parked up in
our digital vaults? We can but pray.

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 007

JACK RIX

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008 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R .

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CONTENTS

052

ISSUE 363 /
SEPTEMBER 2022

104 080
012

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 011

#NEWCARS

012 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

#GAMING

E VERYONE IS TALK ING ABOUT

THE KOREAN
DELOREAN

Welcome to the future where supercars run
on hydrogen... and Hyundai leads the way

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 013

Only 15 hydrogen filling
stations in the UK you say?
It’ll be fiiiine, we’ll take two

N estled among the fuel cell is said to be “the most double up as hoverboards, but STREAMLINER,
multitude of excellence advanced” the company has ever the basic silhouette is delightful. NOW WITH
that emerged from built, weighing just 4.2kg and able Wide, flared arches frame those ADDED DRAG
fabled Italian designer to be refilled in five minutes. retro-infused wheels, while full
Giorgetto Giugiaro sit both the nostalgia points are awarded to IF YOU WEREN’T SOLD
DeLorean and the Hyundai Pony Power is sent to the rear wheels the slatted rear window.
Coupe; the latter influencing the via a pair of motors with torque on the streamliner inspired
former, according to Hyundai. vectoring, “allowing a precise and Though we haven’t seen the Hyundai Ioniq 6 when it was
responsive cornering experience”. inside, we’re promised that this unveiled a couple of weeks
So you could say the company’s ‘Rolling Lab Concept’ reinterprets ago, we’re pretty sure this
gone back to its future, because The deployment of both power the architecture of the original RN22e concept will change
the Pony has now influenced this. sources is said to improve cooling Pony Coupe concept and features your mind. It’s essentially
Hyundai calls it the N Vision 74 efficiency, and both can be used a driver-centric layout that blends an Ioniq 6 in full touring car
concept, a car that revives that independently or altogether for old and new, via a digital cluster dress, and previews how
Coupe and propels it so quickly the full ‘Great Scott’ effect – and analogue buttons. the N version will look.
into the future you’ll be shrieking 670bhp is allied to a whopping
1.21 gigawatts in no time. 664lb ft of torque. There’s no “N Vision 74’s future oriented Like the 5 and the
0–62mph time – nor a weight design reflects the respect and standard Ioniq 6, it uses
Well, not quite 1.21. There’s figure – but one suspects it’ll shift. appreciation we have for the Hyundai’s E-GMP platform
a 670bhp hybrid drivetrain on dedication and passion that went underneath its bewinged
board that allows for a 155mph top And when it’s not, you can into the Pony Coupe concept,” body. But where the
speed, hybrid here referencing the admire the distinctive flanks said design VP SangYup Lee. standard 6 gets a 320bhp
74’s battery and hydrogen fuel cell that nod to Giugiaro’s original twin-motor set-up in its top
set-up. The battery is a 62.4kWh handiwork. Sure, it’s got Perhaps you kids out there spec, the RN22e works with
unit with 800V rapid charging a big wing and aren’t ready for it yet, but 568bhp and 546lb ft of
capability, while the hydrogen diffusers large your parents are gonna torque. No word on a
enough to love it. Vijay Pattni 0–62mph time, but Hyundai
does admit that its top
speed is somewhere
north of 155mph.

Hands up who’d like
to see it make production?
There’s an Ioniq 5 N in the
works too.

014 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

COFFEE BREAK FAIL OF THE CENTURY #140

What we’re watching/ ASTON MARTIN CYGNET
listening/doing, while
we should be working “A luxury solution to urban motoring in a unique and
innovative format,” Aston stated proudly in 2011, “Cygnet
Football, football, football was conceived, designed and built as a true Aston Martin.”
The Premier League starts its nine- All very enticing, save for one tiny issue. It was cobblers. The
month gestation culminating in one Cygnet wasn’t conceived, designed and built as a true Aston Martin.
being crowned the best of the lot, It was a Toyota iQ with a chinny new grille and a bullock-worth of
plus bonus European prizes for some leather upholstery. An exercise in badge engineering with the cynical
of the also-rans and the prospect of aim of lowering Aston’s average fleet emissions.
relegation for the worst three of the lot
Which, in its own way, was kinda fine. As cynical strategies to
National Dog Day, 26 August lower fleet emissions go, aristocratic Aston giving a tiny Toyota the
Family dogs, rescue dogs, working full Love Island makeover is, at the very least, an original one. And
dogs, military dogs, big dogs, small the standard iQ, while embodying exactly none of the traditional
dogs but not hot dogs. This is a day Aston brand values, was a clever, forward-thinking city car. If you’re
that gives our thanks to the woof woofs going to pick a micromachine to roll in glitter, you could do worse.

TopGear magazine fix Problem was, instead of acknowledging the £30k Cygnet’s humble
You can download the latest underpinnings, Aston instead plumped for the ambitious strategy of
edition and back issues direct to ‘hoping no one would notice it was a £10k Toyota in fancy dress’.
your phone or tablet from the App
Store. Because when life gives you No cigar. The Aston punters very much noticed, their moleskin-
lemons... settle in and read TG bound chequebooks remaining firmly closed. Initially hoping to
shift 4,000 units annually, Aston sold a mere 150 Cygnets in the
UK (all, presumably, to very tiny secret agents with no access
to off-street parking) before canning production after
just two years. At which point, we guess, Toyota revoked
Aston’s licence to grille.

Clinton Baptiste’s all-new IMAGE: MANUFACTURER
Paranormal podcast

Medium from Phoenix Night fame takes you
on hilarious journeys beyond the celestial
curtain. From how to take chakra baths to
an appearance from our very own Paddy,

Clinton promises to “s**t you up”

TopGear TV, BBC iPlayer
Don’t forget that ALL of TopGear telly

is ready and waiting on iPlayer

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 015

CAR NEWS A lpine has revealed a new version There’s a bespoke version of the
of its A110, which the French firm DCT gearbox, and you may have noticed
ALPINE has badged ‘E-TERNITE’. No need it’s a convertible. Not content with the
FRESH to shout, we hear you loud and clear. challenge of electrifying a lightweight star,
Alpine also decided to chop bits out of the
Fully electric A110-based Except we won’t hear it, because it’s a roof. A pair of roof shells were injected with
prototype shows Alpine fully electric Alpine A110, built to celebrate recycled carbon, that Alpine says hasn’t
the 60th anniversary of the model. ruined the strength of the original cell.
only has eyes for EV
Alpine turned to the Renault Megane “In the ‘restomod’ spirit, the A110
E-Tech for the battery, and plugged in 12 has become the ideal platform for this
cells wrapped in bespoke casings in order research work, a bridge between a
to fit it into the A110’s internal architecture. prestigious past and an even more
They add 392kg of mass, but thanks to ambitious future,” said Alpine. A
other measures like building panels from quiet, light (ish) future. Vijay Pattni
a material called ‘flax’, it weighs 1,378kg,
compared with the regular car’s 1,100kg.

The total battery capacity is 60kWh, with
268bhp of power available. Alpine reckons
on a 0–62mph time of 4.5secs, which is not
far off the ICE car, and a top speed of
155mph. Plenty. Alpine also claims 261
miles of range, versus the ICE car’s 341.

YOU CAN’T BUY TASTE

BMW M3 TOURING

016 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

CAR CONTROL. . WITH CATIE

#7 THE SCANDI FLICK

Extreme E driver, TV presenter and British rallying
star Catie Munnings shares some driving wisdom

SCANDI-LESS FLICK OR FLOP

I’ve not needed this technique much, but every rally driver has As you approach, say, a 90° right, give yourself room on the left,
it in their back pocket for slippery conditions. It’s a flick of the get your braking done early then aggressively and quickly flick
wheel in the opposite direction to the corner, to send the car’s the wheel to the left, just enough to feel the car’s momentum slide
momentum in that direction before transferring it back towards and lean on the right side of the chassis. Then you need to be fast
the corner, creating a pendulum effect. Rally cars used to have and precise, looking past the apex and steering in that direction.
pretty poor brakes so it helped slow the car before releasing The rear will rotate quickly and the front will be pointing at the
the momentum in the desired direction in a controlled slide. apex. Get it right and you can get on full throttle... now.

IS IT USEFUL? SAFETY FIRST

Absolutely. On slippery surfaces it’s stylish and fast. You had to Despite the flamboyant angles, it’s actually a really safe driving
be aggressive with older rally cars (especially FWD), using weight technique in slippery conditions, and you can carry a lot more
transfer to find the grip and avoid endless understeer. The flick speed through the corner in the form of sideways momentum
also helps you to feel the grip first, instead of braking super late – you’re more in control when the car is set up mid-corner and
and committing to the bend. These days cars are set up to rotate you can steer with the throttle. When you get understeer, there’s
with a bit of brake pressure and the slightest steering input. not a lot you can do but grab the handbrake, which kills your
Driving them aggressively can put you in a spot of bother. speed. Homework? Find some wet grass and have some fun.

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 017

WAT C H E S W hat is Italy’s greatest contribution to the watch industry? It has a growing
number of watch companies, several of which would doubtless like to put their
OWN names forward. But the correct answer is a titan of business who had no direct
THE involvement with the watch industry: the late Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli.
LOOK
In the late Sixties, reformed playboy Agnelli took over the company started by
What’s more important, the watch you wear his grandfather and turned it into one of the main drivers of Italy’s post-war boom,
or the way you wear it? In Italy... it’s both making him the country’s richest man. But as successful as he was in business, Agnelli
is remembered as much for being an icon of style, whose impeccable custom-made suits
see him regularly included in those lists of the best-dressed men of all time.

One fashion quirk was wearing a watch over his shirt sleeve. Several reasons have been
suggested, such as being too busy to hitch up a sleeve to check the time, or shirt sleeves
too closely tailored to accommodate a watch underneath. But we all know the real reason
– it was a boss move. Look at my lovely watch, and see how I dress as I damn well please.

Style guru though he was, could one man really affect the industry? In the early
Seventies Audemars Piguet brought out a daring new watch, the Royal Oak. It was a steel
sports watch costing as much as a gold Rolex, and initially did not sell well. But then one
was spotted atop Agnelli’s crisp shirt sleeve and the watch’s fortunes changed.

Agnelli wore statement pieces from a whole range of other brands, including Patek
Philippe, Omega and Vacheron Constantin. One thing the watches listed have in common
is that they are all Swiss. As a proud Italian, what about Italian watches? Well there weren’t
that many of them. Italians were pioneers in the very early watchmaking days, but for a
stylish Italian looking to buy local in the Sixties and Seventies, choices were slim.

That has changed, and there are now lots of Italian brands at all price levels. If Mr
Agnelli was alive today, we’re sure he’d be championing Italian makers, but a lot of his
money would still head over the border, as most Italian brands still rely on Switzerland,
or else the Far East, for technical expertise. Because while Italy’s watch industry is picking
up, they do not have the infrastructure to make much of the watches themselves. But just
like Agnelli, whatever else the Italians do, they are never short on style. Richard Holt

018 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

ABOUT
£3K

BULGARI AMERIGO VESPUCCI
A jeweller founded in Rome in the 1880s, Bulgari didn’t get
serious about watches until a century later. Over the past few
years it has won countless awards for some of the cleverest
and best looking timepieces around. This special edition, in
honour of the Italian explorer, has a 40mm aluminium case

housing an automatic movement. £3,180; bulgari.com

UNDER
£1K

FERRAGAMO FERRAGAMO WATCH
Nothing says confidence like saying your name twice. The
Florentine fashion house is approaching its 100th birthday, but
has only been making watches for the past decade or so. This is a
fashion watch, and comes with a no-nonsense quartz movement.
The 43mm case and fancy black sunray dial make a statement all
of their own. Water resistant to 50m. £840; ferragamo.com

BLOW
THE

BUDGET

PANERAI SUBMERSIBLE ABOUT
Many people would laugh at the suggestion that there is any other candidate for Italian £500

watchmaking champion. The way Panerai transformed itself into a luxury brand in the LOCMAN ITALY MARE
Nineties mirrored – and played a large part in – the evolution of the whole watch industry. This brand began as a strap maker on the island of Elba
in the Eighties, before moving on to watches with a focus
Objects of utility became objects of desire. Panerai’s original USP was making on adventurous designs and inventive combinations of
big, chunky WW2 diving watches that were visible in murky water. Then big and chunky materials. This one has a 44mm steel and titanium case,
became a thing, and nobody did it better than Panerai. This one has a 44mm case made
and a silicon and leather strap. Japanese quartz
from the company’s proprietary eSteel, an alloy incorporating recycled materials. An movement. Water resistant to 100m. €598; locman.it
environmental conscience, a wartime heritage and a hefty 300m water resistance – Viva
Italia! The Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteel™ Grigio Roccia has an automatic movement

with three-day power reserve. Italian designed but Swiss built. £9,300; panerai.com

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 019

GAME OF THE MONTH THE KNOWLEDGE

Need-to-know nuggets
of automotive news

PIPE SQUEAK

To try to balance out the
controversy around the car’s front
end, BMW has revealed a slightly

challenging quartet of optional
M Performance titanium exhaust

pipes for its new M3 Touring

RETROMODDED

We’re not entirely sure what’s
happened here, but if you like what
Turin-based coachbuilder ErreErre
Fuoriserie has visited upon this Alfa
Giulia it can do the same again if you

cough up £208,000. Plus a Giulia

GEAR RAPTOR PRESENT

PLAYER5 PORTABLE Does Ford’s F-150 need 700bhp?
CASSETTE PLAYER It does not. Do we want to drive
the new F-150 Raptor R with its
5.2-litre s/c V8? We do. It probably
won’t reach the UK, because it’d

destroy whole villages

GOLD BLEND

The Bugatti dealer in Mayfair has
opened a coffee bar, where it’ll cost

you a cool £50 for an espresso. It
comes in a fancy carbon-fibre cup
and you probably won’t get money
off for bringing your own travel mug

020 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

TOPGEAR TOP 9

CARS WE WISH WERE SOLD IN THE UK

01 02 03

04 05 06

07 08 09

IMAGES: MANUFACTURER T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 021

CAR NEWS 2 IT’S THE DAWN OF A NEW DESIGN ERA

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO Not our words, Carol, but the words of Mini, which
KNOW ABOUT THE. . says the stylings of the Aceman concept will be
translated through to the final car (don’t hold
MINI your breath too long), and that this is how
ACEMAN all-new Minis are going to look from now on. Tell
CONCEPT us, does the Queen get royalties every time the
Union Jack is used? It’s even on the roof-rack.
Mini’s next EV will be a crossover,
because what else would it be? 3 IT’S A PROPER CROSSOVER

Everything gets called a crossover these days,
when it’s just an SUV but slightly shorter. Mini has
taken the concept to heart here though, and
insists the Aceman is an actual blend of Hatch
and Countryman. It’s supposed to have the
agility of the former with the extra space and
lifestyle-oriented practicality of the latter.

4 IT’S ALL MINIMALIST INSIDE

The designers said that they’ve gone right
the way back to the 1959 Issigonis original
for interior inspiration, which means the
return of the bare dash and single central
speedo. That’s not to say it’s austere,
though – they say they’ve tried to chuck
in a bit of fun too, with nifty LED welcome
graphics on the grille and on the inside.

1 THAT’S NOT A SPELLING MISTAKE 5 IT’S JUST A CONCEPT... FOR NOW WORDS: SAM BURNETT
Remember back in 2012–2016 when Mini sold the
3dr Paceman SUV? This concept isn’t that, it’s The Aceman isn’t getting a conventional unveil – its
completely different. Mini’s knocked the P off first public appearance will be at the Gamescom
the front of its name and its got two extra doors. videogame fair in Cologne in late August. The
Plus it’s going to be all-electric, likely using the production version of the perky little crossover will
powertrain gubbins from BMW’s iX3. be revealed at a later date and go on sale in 2024.
All bodes well for the next-gen Hatch, we reckon.

The completely different
new Mini does still look quite
a lot like the old new Mini

022 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M



TOPGEAR’S GUIDE TO THE FUTURE OF EVERYTHING

MY T H R
BUS T E

“YOU HAVE TO That’s 40 charges a year. You might do miles a year, a Honda e might not
CHARGE YOUR four of them as rapid motorway charges be the wisest choice of car.
ELECTRIC CAR on holiday. So that leaves 36 overnight
EVERY NIGHT charges (or over-day if you’re plugging And by the way, back to the grid.
in at work). Even if combustion car sales were to
NOW stop tomorrow and all new car sales
Which is once every 10 days. were electric, we’d still find ourselves
What if you have the shortest range in 2030 with less than a third of the
electric car: a Honda e or something with cars on the road being electric. So the
a 100-mile range? Depleting that daily and grid has plenty of time to adjust. And
charging nightly would give you 36,500 we will need fewer public AC sockets
miles a year. Now I put it to you your than you think (albeit more than we
honour that were you driving 36,500 have at the moment). Paul Horrell

EV UPDATE WHO KNOWS?

LATER

ABSOLUTELY BUZZING BLAZING SQUAD TO THE SKIES AND BEYOND I MAGES: GET T Y, MAN U FACTU RER

We love the retrotastic ID.Buzz, but The new Chevrolet Blazer is a $45k electric Hyundai-backed Supernal’s futuristic
cheap it is not – VW has said that SUV with up to 320 miles of range… and sky taxi is reportedly set for take
prices will start from £57,115 off in 2028. Fingers crossed
there’ll be a high-performance SS one, too

024 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M



Powerful grip and superior handling for
high performance cars

Aston’s latest rebrand has left Chris confused...
and with more questions than answers

ILLUSTRATION: PAUL RYDING A while ago I managed to upset some people who run Aston who has been very successful and made lots of money, says with
Martin. I wasn’t invited to drive their cars for a while, but I’ve a straight face that Aston doesn’t need any more money, thickos
been allowed to step down off the naughty step. So I’m not that like me want to believe him. Three months later the financial
keen to wind them up again – but I do have some questions to press reports rumours of a huge investment from Saudi Arabia.
ask... because I really don’t understand Aston at the moment.
So here’s the first question. What has happened in the four
The company’s troubles have been well documented in the months since making that statement to mean Aston suddenly
press, so I don’t need to rake over them here. Sales aren’t what needs the very cash it was said not to have needed?
they should be and debt is high. I don’t know a single person
who takes any satisfaction from that position. Everyone loves A few days ago, Aston announced it was updating the company
the brand and wants it to be selling many cars and making logo. Whenever a company does this I shudder because more often
great profits. The only times that people become frustrated than not, it comes across as tragic navel-gazing nonsense. Which
with car brands is when company representatives make public brings us to “Intensity. Driven”, the new motto for Aston, which
statements that seem designed purely to obfuscate, or are quickly could describe the aspirations of anything from a hot chilli sauce
contradicted. Or when they announce some baffling rebranding to a mid-table management consultancy. The quite brilliant Aston
exercise. Both of these will play a part in my questions. wings design has also enjoyed a mild facelift and, to the untrained
eye, looks identical. Probably a solid outcome. Supporting this are
Firstly, with reference to Lawrence Stroll saying that Aston a series of statements from senior people describing why this new
didn’t need any more investor cash. As someone who knows logo is important, phoned in from a beach somewhere.
nothing about spreadsheets and company accounts, even I could
tell that Aston was running very low on cash and just servicing its Onto my second question. Aston needs good news and good
loans was eye-wateringly expensive. But when Mr Stroll, a man new cars. Yes, the product cycle means that the company is in a
predictable holding pattern while it waits for facelifts of current
“EVERYONELOVES ASTON models. But the mid-engined Valhalla has been cooking for many
AND WANTS IT TO BE SELLING years already, and I still don’t understand why it only made 333
CARS AND MAKING PROFITS” V12 Vantages when surely there was decent profit to be had from
building more. In among all this, and the situation listed above, is
it a good time and a good look to announce a bit of logo fiddling?

These are merely questions about things I’m not very good at.
I’d rather not take a step back onto the naughty step, but any
answers will be gladly received.

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T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 027

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This month, a chat with a neighbour leads to
a revelation for TGTV script writer Sam Philip

ILLUSTRATION: PAUL RYDING I am trying, and failing, to jam another stack of flattened Bob looks at me in confusion. “I... saw it and I... liked it?”
Amazon boxes into our recycling bin, when I notice Bob he replies. “Why, is there something wrong with it?”
beckoning furtively from across the road.
I’d long assumed that everyone buys cars the way that I –
Bob lives on our street. We’re on first-name terms. We’re and, I’m guessing, you? – buy cars. By hoovering every crumb
definitely not on ‘beckoning furtively from across the road’ terms. of information available, by crunching the numbers, by poring
over magazine reviews, by phoning Paul Horrell at 10pm after a
Nonetheless, Bob continues beckoning. I abandon the boxes, couple of pints. But I’m increasingly realising that a lot of people
and wander across the street to join him. don’t buy cars that way. They see something they like, decide
they can broadly afford it, and then just... buy it.
“Just bought a new car!” Bob announces in a conspiratorial
whisper. Bob knows I vaguely work in cars, which I guess Obviously what I’m supposed to say here is: insane way to
makes this opening gambit marginally less strange. buy a car, Bob. Why would you plunge into likely the second-
biggest purchase of your life without sweating every detail?
“What is it?” I say. How could you ever rest easy without being sure you’d got
Saying nothing, Bob gestures to me to follow him down the absolutely, definitively, statistically the best car for you?
street. I do. He stops with a flourish next to... a Toyota C-HR.
“Toyota C-HR!” triumphs Bob. “What do you think?” However. I am near certain that Bob, having purchased his
“It’s... very blue!” I reply, hoping he won’t notice this is a C-HR, won’t be waking up at 4am, worrying that his residuals
statement of fact rather than an actual opinion. Not that I’ve might have been a few per cent better if he’d opted for the Honda
got anything against the C-HR, exactly. I’m just intrigued quite HR-V instead, or that a lightly used Audi Q3 could have been the
what criteria would lead you to plump for a C-HR over one of better bet. I suspect Bob – dear, sweet, naive Bob, who I’m hoping
its many, many, many, many rivals, and to be so clearly doesn’t read TopGear magazine – will be far more content with his
delighted with your decision. purchase than I have been with any car I’ve ever bought.
“What made you go for the C-HR?” I ask.
“Nothing wrong with it at all!” I reassure Bob cheerily.
“THEYSEESOMETHINGTHEY “Great car. You’ll love it. Very blue!”
LIKE,DECIDETHEYCANAFFORD
IT, AND THEN JUST. . BUY IT” And Bob trots off down the street, shiny new key fob in hand.
He saw it, he liked it, he bought it. Maybe that’s how to choose
a car. Maybe we should all #BeMoreBob.

Sam Philip is the TopGear telly script editor, and a TG mag and
website regular for 15 years. Once wrote a Vauxhall Corsa joke
that Paddy McGuinness described as “not totally crap”

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T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 029

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Autonomous cars will likely mean traffic getting
worse before it gets better, reckons Paul Horrell

ILLUSTRATION: PAUL RYDING Many things bug me about the prospect of autonomous cars. director of self-driving AI company Autobrains, into which BMW
I bring those concerns to researchers and developers, who calmly and various system suppliers have invested. Berkemeyer is bound
reassure me they’ll eventually solve most of them. But there’s to be a robo-car cheerleader, yet he admits the problem.
one issue that no engineer will address. Or at least none that
I’ve met. They just laugh it off. However, he reckons it’s not as simple as the modellers – and
grumpy TopGear columnists – predict. For a start Berkemeyer
Here’s the theoretical example I give them. On my pushbike says that if autonomous cars prove safer (and if they don’t prove
in London, if I need to cross the traffic, I know it’d be insane to safer they’d surely be banned pretty darned sharpish) then we’ll
swerve in front of moving vehicles. But what if in the future I see fewer accidents and fewer of the snarl-ups that result.
saw an autonomous car? Clearly I could pedal across in front of
it, trusting it to slam on its brakes to avoid me. Now extend the He also reckons that traffic will flow better because
problem’s scope. I could do the same if I were driving, knowing autonomous vehicles drive more smoothly. This means they
I could happily barge in front of a robo-car, because it’d be have a dampening effect on what’s behind them. One well known
programmed to proceed with saintly defensiveness. Pedestrians property of a traffic stream is that one driver accelerating and
too would treat autonomous cars in the same way: no more braking sets up a standing wave that brings things to a halt some
waiting patiently for the green man. Prankster kids would dawdle way behind them. Robo-cars would reduce that.
in the middle of the road. Which means all the cars behind the
autonomous vehicle would grind to a halt too. Traffic chaos ahoy. He also says that the robo-cars won’t be mixing it entirely
with “dumb” cars (aka ones driven by intelligent humans) but
Now here comes an autonomous driving researcher addressing with others that have at least Level 2 assistance systems so there
the issue. And he’s indicating that yes, simulations predict that will be sensors on every car, and they can cooperate.
traffic flow will likely get worse when traffic is a mixture of
autonomous and normal cars. This is Nils Berkemeyer, a I get his point about the lowered accident rate, but others don’t
cut much ice, at least except on motorways, where I don’t live and
“SIMULATIONS PREDICT WITH I hope you don’t either. Where humans live the local traffic is
AUTONOMOUS CARS, TRAFFIC jammy, and it’s mixing with people on bikes and on their feet.
FLOW WILL LIKELY GET WORSE” Cyclists don’t have Level 2 assistance. Pedestrians dodging across
roads mean the vehicles have to stop, so flow becomes lumpy.

This autonomous vehicle maven concludes that “mixed traffic
will not be quite as big a challenge as today’s simulations would
have us believe”. But still a challenge then. For which read more
gridlock, getting worse before it gets better.

TG’s eco-conscious megabrain, Paul Horrell, is one of the
world’s most respected and experienced car writers. Has
attended every significant car launch since the Model T

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 031

RANGE ROVER BMW iX 50
AUTOBIOGRAPHY D350 xDRIVE M SPORT

£120,900/£123,715 as tested £93,905/£115,670 as tested

The big test:
luxury SUVs

The latest Range Rover has competition from all quarters... we take two
from the wide selection and see how they stack up against the new original

WORDS TOM FORD PHOTOGRAPHY JONNY FLEETWOOD

032 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

BENTLEY
BENTAYGA S

£182,300/£207,620 as tested

S tarting with the glaringly for instance, or up the iX’s game with
obvious; this test doesn’t the iX M60), but these three throw up some
make sense. There’s a new interesting questions about what it means
super-sporty Bentley Bentayga S to be a luxury SUV. So what’s the deal here?
with a walloping 4.0-litre bi-turbo
V8 petrol engine and a price tag over £200k Well, apart from the fact that rich people
that makes you suck air through your teeth, live in a rarefied atmosphere where list
a new Range Rover with a six-cylinder prices are just the fuzzy strings of numbers
diesel that’s over £60k cheaper in basic underneath all the nice pictures, what we’re
trims, and a battery powered BMW iX trying to do is frame the new Range Rover,
that’s nearly as fast as the Bentley but rather than the traditional first, second and
‘only’ £94k basic. There are different models third podium positioning. We’re putting
from all three manufacturers that can – or arguably the best current representations of
will – match up more precisely (you could each model against each other, to see if the
save money by having a standard Bentayga, RR has got the aspiration and class to stand
up to the old school, big ticket, gentrified

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 033

02

Bentley, and the tech and intelligence to it out as the latest generation. It’s clean and 03
hold firm against new wave electric luxury handsome, but revolutionary it ain’t. But
predators like the BMW. A Rangie has always that’s not necessarily a problem, because 04
been a luxury jack of all trades, so has the the idea of the Range Rover has always been
new one managed that same trick in the to be consistent, an enabler rather than an 1 1. In this trio, the iX somehow
face of diversified competition, or is it event in itself. In that, it’s successful.   manages to look small
now master of none? 
It doesn’t help that next to the iX, the 2. Plenty of space back here, but
We’ll start with the Range Rover, seen here Range Rover is a bit of a wallflower. We’ll we’ll leave you to make your own
in D350 Autobiography guise, currently the leave the endless internet commentary and mind up on the iX’s colour scheme
biggest-selling RR. Plug-in hybrids are your own good sense to make a decision on
coming, as is a more potent SVR and an whether the iX looks luxurious, but despite 3. Bentley’s huge 22-inch alloy
electric variant, but for now, the one that taut surfacing and some interesting angles, wheels look handsome
people seem to be going for is the solid, in this company and especially in Sapphire
relatively parsimonious diesel (we managed Black, the iX looks like a bit of a blob. 4. RR’s slimline rear lights are
nearly 40mpg). And you can see why. In the Although it also manages, in this context, to heavily tinted, and only show
face of the sometimes jarring barrage of look relatively small. Which is not something through as red when illuminated
electric SUVs like the iX, the RR feels like a you’d usually say outside of North America. 
lightly conservative, familiar choice and yet
less trad than the Bentayga. The new style The Bentley Bentayga S, on the other hand,
bears that out: from the rear, the new Range dominates the line-up. It’s not brash as such,
Rover is immediately recognisable with the but it’s got the kind of presence that’s hard
large fanged LED lights, but from the sides to ignore. And it positively reeks of expense,
and front, you might not immediately mark even in a relatively modest Verdant Green
paint job. The S brings with it no more

034 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M



outright speed than the standard V8, but a no slouch. But here’s where the Range Rover is a car that sucks the stress out of a journey,
more playful and insistent suspension and starts to claim its own territory, because it tamps down the noise of modern life. It
ESP tune and a happily riotous exhaust. Oh, swans about with a calm grace that’s hard to shines. Gently.  
and darkened lights and chrome, and some match from the other cars. The suspension is
handsome 22-inch wheels. If there’s a car lollopy and long, but it smothers bumps like The iX feels like it’s come from another
to aim for, this feels like it, though it feels it’s got beanbags instead of shock absorbers, universe, in comparison. Luxury through a
hugely anachronistic next to the iX. Bluntly, cruises quietly and requires very little prism, fractalled into severe, elegant tech.
not one person seemed to care.   thought at all. It’s a comforting hug of a car It’s almost austere inside, but endlessly
at the end of a long day, and the enthusiastic fascinating for that, with more space and
So far, so good for the Range Rover rear-steer system makes it a surprisingly a complimentary lack of buttons. Pure
though; more genteel than the newfangled nimble thing in town. It is not, it has to be modernism versus the happy, familiar
BMW, less insistent than the Bentayga. And said, suited to going much more than portraiture of the Range Rover. It’s great,
that’s what happens when you sit down and 8/10ths, mind. Attempt to be too enthusiastic in its way; in the same manner that people
drive it, too. The interior is clean, spacious, through bends and the Rangie will set want different things when they furnish
uncluttered. The Pivi Pro touchscreen works against its outside front wheel and make it a house, you want your car to reflect your
well, looks good, can be intuited quickly wail a song of tortured rubber, fingernails on character, and the iX is just as striking, but
enough and all the remaining buttons are a blackboard style. There’ll be more different. What’s also striking is the speed,
relevant. The diesel fires as an unobtrusive dynamically aggressive SVR versions, but because the iX 50 is fast, despite being the
hum, pulls with a clean consistency that they don’t seem to fit with how accomplished heaviest car here. Fast, stable – it also
speaks of torque and plenty of it, and with a the Range Rover is at just being... that. This features a steerable rear axle – but weighty.
0–62mph time just over six seconds, it’s also Yep, batteries are heavy, and it’s nearly

“IN THIS COMPANY AND ESPECIALLY
IN SAPPHIRE BLACK, THE BMW iX
LOOKS LIKE A BIT OF A BLOB”

036 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

Bentley is the best to drive
of the trio. The chauffeur
will be pleased

First class experience back
here. At least, that’s what
we presume it feels like

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 037

RANGE ROVER
D350

01 05

02
04

03

06

BMW
iX 50

01 05
02

03

06 04

038 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

BENTLEY 03 05
BENTAYGA S

01

06 04
02

100kg heavier than the Bentley surprisingly it about like a hot hatch, but it gets damn “SOMETHING
(although only a smidge more than the RR), close. But the interesting thing about the AS BIG AND
but the instant-on electric torque and way the Bentley delivers its power is that HEAVY AS
response makes the iX feel rapid in a way you are forced to be deliberate with it. The THE BENTLEY
the other two never do. But there are chinks iX makes progress in the same way that you SHOULDN’T
in the armour. In an effort to keep the car switch on a halogen light; it snaps into full BE ABLE TO DO
something under the mass of a small star bright instantly, and your eyes adjust quickly. WHAT IT DOES”
(the battery is both heavy and huge), the The Bentayga’s power comes in like dawn.
iX can feel a little bit tinny at times. The Slower, but something gently inexorable. And
steering wheel, for instance, feels hollow- it doesn’t stop. Not as violent, but somehow
light, and shut the light doors with the more engaging. Fast isn’t a single flavour, and
windows down, and they noticeably rattle. the Bentley’s is more complex versus the iX’s
This doesn’t happen in either of the other two. vanilla. But equally, knock the same dial back
The Range Rover’s doors whuff and cycle close to Comfort and you get the same level of ride
on soft-close mechanisms (or thump if you quality as the iX – albeit you can feel the 22s
slam them), the Bentley’s a similar civility on bobbling if you hit several lumps one after
the motor, or the equivalent of cycling shut a the other – and it can’t match the Range Rover
submarine hatch if you swing them closed for ultimate comfort. 
with any force. 
The Bentley is by no means perfect.
Ah yes, the Bentley. It’s a hard car to There’s an effort to getting this much mass
dislike, this. Something this big and heavy to move this quickly, and you can sense it
really shouldn’t be able to do what it does, at the edges all the time, especially on the
stomping down even the worst British B-road brakes, which is something that doesn’t
like a heavy destroyer. Flick the selectable happen with the Bentayga Speed. But the
adaptive suspension to Sport and the S hustle is there; the faster you go, the more
tightens and brightens, loosens the ESP and playful you are with it, the funnier it gets.
simply disappears, exhaust chuckling like an It’s not exactly dancing around corners,
amused Supermarine Spitfire. You can’t chuck but it’s fighting for you the whole way,

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 039

Specifications

12 3
BENTLEY RANGE ROVER BMW iX 50
BENTAYGA S AUTOBIOGRAPHY D350 xDRIVE M SPORT

VERDICT

POWERTRAIN 4.0 V8 bi-turbo 3.0 6cyl bi-turbo dual e-motors
TOTAL POWER
ACCELERATION 542bhp 350bhp 516bhp
TOTAL TORQUE
0–62 4.5secs 0–62 6.1secs 0–62 4.6secs

568lb ft 516lb ft 564lb ft

CLAIMED MPG/
RANGE, CO2

21.7mpg, 294g/km 35.6mpg, 208g/km 365 miles WLTP, 0g/km

TOP SPEED 180 145 124
mph mph mph

WEIGHT 2,416kg 2,505kg 2,510kg
TRANSMISSION
AWD, 8spd auto AWD, 8spd auto AWD, single speed

BOOT CAPACITY 484 litres 725 litres 500 litres
SCORE
8 8 7
10 10 10

encouraging and engaging. It’s a driver’s car good at. It’s been updated and evolved, but The surprise here is that although the BMW
in the oddest of ways.  not lurched into territory that might see it iX is quite brilliant in isolation, when placed
stumble. It’s a calm, supremely competent against such doyennes of the game, it’s just
The iX is as quick, if not a bit quicker, luxury SUV that’s less interested in the Sports not – quite – nailed the recipe. Yet. Or perhaps
but there’s not the same playfulness – it’s than the Utility Vehicle. It’s got most of the we just need time to catch up to the iX. It’s
a serious-faced domination of the forces interior plush of the Bentley, with a forward- fast and composed and commits a good portion
involved, impressive, but ultimately lacking thinking nod to the tech that doesn’t reach as of itself to being an excellent electric SUV,
in too much easy on emotion. You end far as the iX. It’s got speed, but not too much but where the others have had years and
up driving most fast EVs in a very specific of it. One word keeps cropping up, and that’s generations to perfect their character, the
way, and the iX is no different – get to the ‘confidence’. The Range Rover feels confident, iX is a first-generation upstart. It still feels
corner and stand on the brakes hard, settle both in what it is, and what it needs to do.  like it needs time to mature. 
the mass as you turn in and then just boot
it when you see an apex and trust the The Bentayga is the best car here. But But whatever your opinion, both the
electronics to sort out any issues. There’s it should be, because it costs getting on for Bentayga S and the BMW iX bracket a
gentle understeer in most situations, a bit £80k+ more than either of the other two Range Rover that feels poised, rounded and
of torque steer on a bumpy road when the in this spec. It also represents the most comforting. It’s not the most exciting car,
car figures out it wants to haul the nose traditional aspect of what it means to be a but it just works. And that’s what Range
around. And the Range Rover? It’s just luxury SUV; the benchmark of the money- Rovers have always been about. Jack of
pottering along at the back, contented. no-object daily with power and presence. all trades? Sounds like damning with faint
It doesn’t need to play those games.  It even smells rich. Yes, some of the tech praise, but we forget that the original rhyme
seems a tiny bit uncomfortable in what is now was apparently “Jack of all trades, master of
And you know what? That’s exactly why the Bentley’s oldest model, and a bi-turbo V8 feels none, but oftentimes better than master of
new Range Rover seems to have been pitched almost as deliciously wrong these days as the one”. The new Range Rover does a lot of
very nicely. Land Rover hasn’t panicked as a way the Bentayga can hustle, but you simply things very well indeed. As an all-rounder,
company and tried to move the envelope too cannot argue with the S. It’s remarkable.  it’s still hard to beat.
far from what the Range Rover is very, very

“THE BENTAYGA AND BMW BRACKET
A RANGE ROVER THAT FEELS POISED,

ROUNDED AND COMFORTING”

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 041

7
10

NISSAN QASHQAI
e-POWER

Chip
and tuck

£32,950 rather there’s a 155bhp, 1.5-litre petrol It’s the quickest Qashqai ever, for whatever
turbo engine in the traditional spot under that’s worth, with a 7.9secs 0-62mph time. All
1.5T 3cyl 155 1spd 7.9 P CO2 the Qashqai’s bonnet acting as a generator, while offering 20 per cent better fuel economy
which you’ll feed in the usual way with and emissions than a stock, 1.3-litre Qashqai
+e-motor bhp auto secs 53.3 119 gobsmackingly priced petrol. that’ll hit the industry’s accelerative benchmark
mpg g/km at least a couple of seconds later.
But this isn’t some unexpectedly hot
FOR Hushed, smooth, and a crossover with a wild combined power Prices start at £32,950, and at all spec levels
doddle to potter around in output. The engine merely potters away in it’s around two grand more than an equivalently
the background ensuring the 2.1kWh battery specced ‘normal’ Qashqai with an automatic
AGAINST Ride and handling never runs dry, assisted by a variety of levels gearbox. Given the extra performance and
compensate for extra weight of regenerative braking to ensure you don’t economy on offer, it feels like good value, and
pump fuel through the e-Power at the rate it’s probably safe to assume this’ll be more
T he third-gen Qashqai has been with us you do a normal Qashqai. desirable secondhand, boosting its future value.
little over a year, but already there’s a
new version. It’s arguably a version it Nissan doesn’t quote a zero emission Nissan basically made the buying public
should have launched with, being a pioneering range, rather suggesting that it’s a couple of fall in love with the crossover, and while the
take on hybrid technology that’ll almost miles on paper, but much further in reality. Qashqai remains the bestseller in its class in
immediately account for half of Qashqai sales. This is a powertrain that’s always adjusting its Britain – where it’s also built – its maker claims
behaviour to your driving. The engine will run competition from the car’s now 30-plus rivals is
The e-Power suffix might suggest it’s a as little as possible, and in truth you’ll barely making it tougher than ever to hold top spot. If
fully electric car, but the truth is a little more notice it when it does kick into life. Active noise you’re keen to dip your toe into the world of EVs
complex. The front wheels are powered solely cancelling technology works a treat at muting but have no ability yet to charge one, perhaps
by a 187bhp electric motor but the battery that the engine’s sound and it’d be very sudden and the ubiquitous Qashqai has just gained an
feeds it isn’t fed by plugging the car in overnight, spirited acceleration that’d cut through it. increasingly vital USP. Stephen Dobie

042 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

DOIUSRCEODDVIIGTEIIRTOEANL!NJOY THE CONTENT YOU LOVE
ON YOUR MOBILE OR TABLET

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9
10

MORGAN T he Super 3 is the latest in a long line of – in favour of a 118bhp Ford-sourced 1.5 3cyl.
SUPER 3 tripod Morgans that stretches back to Essentially it’s a Fiesta ST engine minus turbo.
the formation of the company in 1910, Headline figures are 0–62mph in 7.0 seconds
Triple and despite the retrofuturistic look it’s and a vmax of 130mph, but do you care about
whammy arguably the most modern thing ever to numbers when you’ve only got three wheels?
come out of the firm’s Malvern factory.
£41,995 On the move the Super 3 was never
The previous 3 Wheeler resembled going to be a non-event, but whereas the
1.5 118 5spd 7.0 P CO2 a bathtub that’d crashed into a v-twin old 3 Wheeler required manhandling, this
3cyl bhp manual secs motorbike engine, but you get the sense that a manages to be both full of character and
40.0 130 lot more work went into the looks of the Super genuinely brilliant to drive. It gives you the
mpg g/km 3. The design is inspired by the mid-to-late confidence to explore its limits – not least
20th century jet age, with a streamlined body, because, with just 118bhp on tap and only a
FOR Revvy 3cyl suits the car aero-spec 20-inch wheels and those long single wheel to send it through, those limits
perfectly. Looks bonkers. sideblades that house radiators and look like are found at perfectly sensible speeds.
Handles brilliantly the folded wings of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Without a turbo you’re always working to
AGAINST Not cheap. The face is dominated by round headlamps keep the revs high, which provides a fantastic
Accessories push the and the Hartland Strut – the chunky bit of three-cylinder soundtrack and allows you
price up even further different-coloured cast aluminium up front to constantly snick through the brilliant
that braces the engine and connects to the short-throw MX-5 gearbox. The pedals are
pullrod suspension – which is named after beautifully weighted and well positioned for
the Morgan engineer that designed it. heel and toe action, but don’t think it’s gone
soft with the new powertrain – it’ll still
What makes the Super 3 really modern punish a fluffed downshift.
though is the new CX aluminium platform
that also underpins the Plus Four and Plus Six. The inboard engine is mounted behind
The one with fewer wheels takes it further, the front wheels, so instantly you’ve got better
being the first ever Morgan built with a weight distribution than before. Its positioning
monocoque structure and the first to get fully also means the front suspension can be moved
digital dials. The only piece of wood is that closer to the body with longer wishbones
slab of natural ash used for the dash. for better stability. It shows. The Super 3 is
brilliantly balanced despite the small contact
The mechanicals are bang up to date. The patches on the ballooned Avon Speedmaster
82bhp S&S two-cylinder engine of old has tyres up front. There’s no traction control or
been ditched – thanks to pesky emissions regs

044 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

“THIS 3 MANAGES
TO BE BOTH FULL

OF CHARACTER AND
BRILLIANT TO DRIVE”

Concerned about the lack of
cupholders? Worry not! You can
clip them to the sideblades...

ABS and the steering is unassisted, but The redesigned suspension and simple As a whole package, there’s a strong
you get huge amounts of feedback and it bench seat mean it’s genuinely comfortable, argument that says the Super 3 is the perfect
only improves as you gather momentum. plus the Super 3 meets the same frontal sports car for these times. It’s engaging, loud
We’d like a slightly smaller steering wheel, impact standards as the four-wheeled Plus and unassisted for the purists, but using a Ford
but thankfully Morgan offers six different Four and Plus Six. engine means you’ll struggle to see less than
versions of varying sizes and materials. 38mpg. Plus, because there’s no real weight
Price could be a sticking point and there’ll to lug around (it’s 635kg dry) you won’t be
The rear wheel is clad in an Avon all-season be a mountain of options, so expect to spend churning through tyres even if you get the
tyre, partly because said wheel has to deal an extra 10–20 per cent if you get excited with rear wheel moving around. Which you will.
with the worst a grimy road can throw at it, the box ticking. One of Morgan’s proudest
but chiefly because in good weather it provides achievements is the accessory rails that can Morgan says that both the Super 3 and
less rear grip than a summer tyre so there’s be attached to the sideblades, the front and the Dakar-spec CX-T are already bringing
less understeer. There’s more than enough rear bulkheads, the wind deflectors and the a younger audience to the brand too. Well,
power for a healthy dose of slip exiting corners rear luggage rack. The fixing is the company’s they’re in their 40s mainly, but it makes
or leaving junctions too, and because you’re first-ever patent and allows for panniers, a change from the fogies wanting an
sitting on top of the driven wheel you can feel action cameras, bungee cords, phone mounts ash-framed Plus Four to remind them
exactly what it’s doing at all times. and even cupholders to be tacked on. of the good old days. Greg Potts

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 045

7
10

MERCEDES-AMG
C43 4MATIC+

Rose
tinted

£60,500 until you realise that this system chucks out stretch of autobahn was dispatched with
just over 400bhp and 369lb ft, so up on power, 150mph ease, the lack of fuss the most notable
2.0T 408 9spd 4.6 P CO2 down a bit on torque. Performance figures are thing. There’s 4Matic all-wheel drive with a
4cyl bhp auto secs very respectable, weighing in at 4.6 seconds to permanent – and AMG-specific – 31/69 front
31.0 196 62mph for the saloon and 4.7 for the slightly to rear torque split, rear wheel steer for agility
mpg g/km heavier estate, with a 155mph top end, or 165 and stability, the strange feeling that this is an
if you option the extra dynamic pack. A45 AMG in grown-up clothes.
FOR Powerful, linear, covers
ground quickly with ease What’s interesting here is the electric But all is not gravy. The steering is numb,
exhaust gas turbocharger which is essentially the noise it makes always sounds synthetic
AGAINST Steering lacks real a traditional turbo unit with an integrated and the 9spd box is brilliant at times, and then
feel, the sound is synthetic electric motor, which can support the turbine gets a bit clunky at low speed, especially from
at low revs when there’s not enough exhaust first to second where the wet clutch –
C omplicated one this, but we shall gas to spool it. Thus you get the cheap and necessary for the ‘Race Start’ launch control
attempt to boil things down a little. cheerful effect of a turbo, with the crutch of feature – abdicates duties to the rest of the
This is the new Mercedes-AMG C43 electric support where you’d usually get turbo ratios. There’s also way too much neon chintz
4Matic+, the less flash baby brother to an lag. Add to that a 14bhp uplift from the hybrid going on inside; it’s all TFT screens and too
as yet undisclosed C63 (with rumoured system when the engine needs the extra much functionality for comfort, even if the
600+bhp), and comes in saloon or estate response, and you’ve got a very technical seats are some of the best in the business. It’s
guises. And a lot has changed from the solution versus AMG’s more usual throw- a car that does well as a sportified Mercedes-
previous generation. So out goes the old capacity-at-it approach. Benz, but it’s an AMG-lite. We’d also go for
bi-turbo V6 (385bhp/383lb ft), and in comes the subjectively better looking estate if offered
a 2.0-litre four-pot bolstered by a 48V mild Does it work? In a word, yes. This is a car the choice, but this is still a good car, rather
hybrid system. Which sounds a little anaemic, that absolutely nails a twisty road, and can than a great one. Tom Ford
fling itself about with abandon. A short

046 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

9
10

LAMBORGHINI tech. Never mind e-motors and batteries, this any sign of understeer. Switch into Corsa mode
HURACÁN TECNICA thing doesn’t even have a turbo. and the rear axle doesn’t alter its angle of
attack, but everything else is dialled up to 11.
Bulls Efficiency isn’t top of the list here, it’s true. Traction out of corners is immense, although
eye But aside from Ferrari’s V12 or the unit in the the ESC light winks knowingly at you in certain
Pagani Huayra R, nothing sounds as good as corners under load. But even with everything
£212,000 Lamborghini’s 5.2-litre V10 as the crank speed off, the Tecnica doesn’t throw you to the
passes 4,500rpm. There are three drive modes wolves, staying beautifully balanced. It’s also
P CO – Strada, Sport or Corsa – and in Sport you get surprisingly civilised on the road, upgrades
2 the full symphonic blare. to the interior making it easier to use.

5.2 631 7spd 3.2 n/a n/a There’s a visual reboot, too, with hints The Tecnica has the same daily driver
of Sián and Terzo Millennio at the front, and potential as the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring,
V10 bhp DCT secs mpg g/km various aero enhancing changes: a claimed 35 whose philosophy it mirrors. At £212,000, it’s
per cent more downforce than the Evo RWD also £48k cheaper – erm, less expensive – than
while generating 20 per cent less drag. The the STO. It’s the one. Jason Barlow
bonnet lid and engine cover are made of carbon
FOR Genuinely awesome engine, fibre (saving 10kg), and although it’s the same
terrific chassis, performance width and height as the Evo, it’s 61mm longer.

AGAINST HMI not totally user The brakes get a new cooling set-up, the
friendly, driving position bit odd carbon ceramics using redesigned deflectors
and caliper ducts to send the airflow into the
A nother Huracán? Yep. The aim here discs, reducing brake fluid temperature by
is to locate the sweet spot between nine per cent and disc temp by seven per
the fabulous Evo RWD and the track cent. The disc compound is different to the
oriented STO. So you get the 631bhp V10 in STO’s, too. They work beautifully.
a more amenable rear-drive chassis with rear
steer, in a cleverly revised body. While the The hard- and software are totally
Ferrari 296 GTB and McLaren Artura form a harmonious. The LDVI – Lamborghini
bridgehead to the new generation of hybridised Dinamica Veicolo Integrata – uses a set of
‘super sports cars’, the Huracán Tecnica accelerometers and gyroscope sensors to
actively benefits from not having the latest monitor lateral, longitudinal and vertical loads,
and body roll, pitch and yaw. For all that, this is
an easy yet hugely rewarding car to hammer
round a circuit, Bridgestone Potenza race
rubber offering fierce levels of grip without

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 047

MUST TRY
HARDER

BMW
i3

£33,805 7
10
42.2kWh 170 1spd 7.3 177 CO2
miles
battery bhp auto secs 0
g/km

MUST TRY HARDER. NOT THE CAR, US. YOU DON’T VAUXHALL ASTRA e-motor and a 12.4kWh battery. And despite
know what you’ve got till it’s gone, as the SPORTS TOURER wanting to be an all-electric manufacturer by
lyric goes. Well, we’ve had the i3 for eight 2028, Vauxhall is one of the few brands that’ll
years, and now we don’t any more. BMW has Griffin still sell you a diesel estate in the UK.
taken it off sale, so we no longer have the door
chance to buy what remains, after all this This efficient, more powerful petrol is the
time, the most cleverly designed, boldly £26,115 one to go for, though. The PHEV compromises
styled and radically engineered electric on bootspace and starts at almost £34k,
car there is. Maybe car full stop in fact. 1.2T 128 6spd 10.0 P CO2 although it’ll be the one that company car
3cyl bhp manual secs buyers go for thanks to low tax rates.
Carbon chassis, skinny wheels, 49.5 126
sustainable materials, light, airy, wonderful mpg g/km We’ve only driven the Sports Tourer on
cabin, controversial doors... but it appears smooth German roads outside the factory in
to have led BMW down a blind alley – there’s FOR Looks great inside and Rüsselsheim so far, but the ride certainly
no intention to replace it, and the carbon out. Strong standard kit list seems firmer than something like a Skoda
construction doesn’t seem to have led Octavia Estate. The lighter combustion-
anywhere either. Let’s not be blind. The i3 AGAINST Smaller than an engined examples steer reasonably well
had two drawbacks: it looked expensive Octavia Estate. Lacks character though and both tyre and wind noise are well
when it was first launched, and the driving suppressed. Vauxhall says the ST’s Calibra-
experience was brittle and unresolved. T he eighth-generation Vauxhall Astra is worrying drag coefficient helps with the latter.
a car we very much like in its generic
BMW never solved the latter, but the hatchback form. It might not be the At 597 litres the boot is slightly smaller
former – well, every other small electric most exciting thing in the segment, but than the Peugeot 308 SW’s (built on the
car that’s come along is in the 30 grand anyone looking for trusty transport will same platform) and much smaller than the
ballpark, and the i3 is only a little extra, plus find many of their boxes ticked. At first Octavia’s 640-litre chasm. The interior is a
better packaged and more desirable than glance, it looks as though that might have pleasant place to be though, with supremely
any of them. Apart, maybe, from the cutesy translated through to the Sports Tourer too. comfortable seats, actual buttons for the
Honda e. Which also weighs 300kg more. climate control and two 10-inch screens for
The estate certainly looks handsome. all your dial display and infotainment needs.
But now your only possible choice is Vauxhall’s signature is that striking Vizor
a used one. Future classic status is front end and you’ve got sharp creases on the Like the hatch, the Astra Sports Tourer
practically guaranteed, so get yourself bonnet and over the wheel arches. Plus, the is a very worthy and complete package then.
a good one and enjoy the brilliance of Sports Tourer gets a redesigned rear end with Plus IC-engined versions are well priced
a car that tackles urban terrain better the numberplate moved up onto the bootlid with plenty of kit as standard. It’s worth a
than anything else. Still. Ollie Marriage to give a larger rear opening. Clever. look before you buy that MkVIII Golf Estate,
that’s for sure. Greg Potts
9 The 128bhp petrol engine can be combined
10 with a six-speed manual or eight-speed auto
and it pulls well for a little turbo 3cyl. It also
sounds good – the benefit of odd cylinders.

Vauxhall will sell you this powertrain in
109bhp flavour too, or there’s a 178bhp plug-in
hybrid that pairs a 1.6-litre 4cyl with a single

048 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 › T O P G E A R . C O M

The overrun

Small but perfectly formed reviews. The best of the rest from this month’s drives

56
10 10

JEEP COMPASS A plug-in hybrid powertrain FIAT PANDA It’s easy to believe that the FIat
S 4XE PHEV should be the ideal thing for CITY CROSS Panda is cracking on for 11 years
a large thirsty SUV these days, old – it feels like it. But Fiat’s done
£40,895 shouldn’t it? This one works on £15,065 a fairly good job of disguising
paper, less so in real life. A wheezy the cheapness inside as an
FOR PHEV is the economical petrol engine is coupled with an FOR Fun little city car, great interesting interior, and the little
option in the range underpowered e-motor, so you off-road skills Panda is actually a hoot around
AGAINST Interior is a bit of a can’t rely on either in isolation, but AGAINST Hard to get close to town. Seems a shame no one buys
mish-mash, so-so powertrain they make a decent team, even if official economy, it’s so old them. The only engine left now is a
in practice you get a lot less than newish 1.0-litre petrol with a lemon
1.3T 4cyl 236 7.3 P CO2 the claimed 30 miles of range. 1.0 69 14.7 P CO and herb mild hybrid set-up. The
+e-motor bhp secs Strangely for a company of 3cyl bhp secs 2 Panda’s 4x4 options are its real
148.7 44 Jeep’s pedigree the PHEV is the 56.5 USP – they’ll hop about off-road
mpg g/km only 4WD option in the range. SB mpg 113 like little mountain goats. SB
g/km

78
10 10

MERCEDES-AMG Notions of what actually KIA NIRO We drove the new e-Niro in
EQE 53 4MATIC+ constitutes the core values of EV ‘4’ final prototype form, usually the
AMG vary, but one thing AMG caveat that there’s a few niggling
£125,000 can’t do with electric cars is stuff £40,495 issues, but it’s actually looking
a bigger, noisier engine in and call quite promising. This second-gen
FOR Pointlessly, brilliantly fast. it done. But it can hop things up in FOR An easy to live with family EV is better all-round, particularly
Huge grip, disguises its weight a very AMG way. The EQE AMG is EV, it’s improved in all areas in terms of its styling. It’s smooth,
AGAINST Makes weird noises, almost comically fast, stops, goes AGAINST It’s all getting a bit refined and impressively efficient
the speed feels bloodless and rides with physical brilliance. pricey in top spec ‘4’ trim – it might not get your pulse going
And it is genuinely noisy, quicker, but it’s a great first electric
90.6kWh 617 3.5 137 322 generating the kind of swooshy 64.8kWh 201 7.8 104 285 car for families dipping a toe in the
mph miles hums you usually find in sci-fi films. mph miles water. If that’s a step too far then
battery bhp secs It’s amazing, in its way. But this isn’t battery bhp secs Kia will have hybrid and PHEV
the AMG we know of old. TF options as well. SB

T O P G E A R . C O M › S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 049

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