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    The seventh incarnation of the   BMW 7 Series , set to go on sale in November, has been comprehensively re-engineered as part of efforts to position it more upmarket than it has ever been. It is now significantly larger, more luxurious and more spacious than at any time in its 45-year history - and is   now available with a fully electric powertrain .  To give it the visual impact to go with its elevated positioning, BMW has provided its Mercedes S-Class rival with a bold new exterior design. The new look, driven largely by customer feedback in markets such as China and the US, instantly differentiates the new 7 Series from the sixth-generation model, launched in 2015. Up front, the large grille, consisting of two elements as on all recent BMW models, is even larger than before and comes with BMW’s ‘Iconic Lighting’ treatment, as first brought to the facelifted BMW 8 Series. The separation of the headlam...

   Chevrolet announced in early September that it plans to bring back its "Build Your Own Engine" program for the Corvette Z06 starting in the second quarter of 2023. The program, which allows buyers to come into the factory and help workers assemble the engine before it goes into their car, will only be available for Corvettes utilizing the LT6 powertrain, which, for now, only means the Z06. "This is a real challenge for us because this is such a new engine and it's much more complex than what we've ever done in the past," plant director Kai Spande said at a 28th-anniversary celebration for the Corvette Museum, recorded by Corvette Blogger. "We've done some things that I think will be very much appreciated by those that build their engine," Spande continued. Previous iterations of the Build Your Own Engine program meant buyers would join assembly-line workers to help assemble their motor. For 2023, though, the Bowling Green, Kentucky, plant ha...

      It still had exotic aluminium, plastic and steel elements in its construction yet was simpler than its predecessor, being monocoque-Laguna-related rather than complicated spaceframey. The general specification has all the usuals, while Privilege trim adds alloys and climate control and uppermost Initiale brings leather upholstery.  There are plenty of decent petrol and diesel options. If you don’t do the miles, the 3.5-litre petrol V6 is going to be the bargain buy, along with the 2.0-litre four-pot. Realistically, it’s the 2.2-litre diesel four that delivers reasonable pep and MPG in the mid-to-high 30s, but the 1.9 dCi is a decent enough plodder and the 2.0 dCi is the easiest to find. There’s also an uncommon 3.0-litre diesel V6. The Espace was revamped a couple of times, in 2005 and 2006. You might notice the redesigned dashboard and front end. Of more use, though, was a sliding rail for the rear seats. As for problems, it’s usually electrics, meaning all th...

  "Can I be geeky and take a closer look?” asks a man charging his   Nissan Leaf , no sooner than I’ve plugged the   VW ID 3   into an Instavolt charger in Banbury. Why of course you can, sir, although one question: as an electric vehicle convert, driving the world’s most populous EV, does the arrival of the new ID 3 still feel like a significant moment? “Absolutely.” Interesting. You can already buy an electric vehicle that does everything an ID 3 does. You’ve even been able to buy an electric Volkswagen before now. But, somehow, the ID 3, in the UK here in ‘1st Edition’ trim, still feels like a waypoint on the road. It sits, as you’ll doubtless know, on Volkswagen’s MEB electric architecture, so although, at 4.3m, it’s about the length of a Volkswagen Golf, it has a longer wheelbase and, it’s claimed, much more interior space. The battery (this one is the mid-range 58kWh unit with a WLTP range of 260 miles and a 100kW charge capacity) sits beneath th...

     Have you ever wondered how we produce some of the fantastic photography that accompanies  MotorTrend 's written words? In short, automotive photographers will put their bodies on the line and shove themselves into and out of just about any opening in order to get the best possible shot. If we're lucky, we use a vehicle with a cushy ride and a hatch to hang out of as we shoot car-to-car—those pretty, in-motion action shots you see all over  MT  stories. Most of the time, our bodies end up sticking halfway out the side window, feet hooked to any willing crevice, core muscles clenched and arms taut. (Yes, we use harnesses.) We can use nearly any vehicle to capture those bread-and-butter  car-to-car photos , but there are usually plenty of compromises to be made. That's why the  MT  photo team was so eager to give the Arcimoto Cameo prototype— an Arcimoto FUV  made more camera- and photographer-friendly with an open-air rear-facing seat...

      Among the crucial models in development as part of Volvo’s EV onslaught is the all-new, all-electric and all-important successor to the   Volvo XC60 . The SUV has been the Swedish brand’s best-selling car for the past four years running.  Due in 2024 to fill the gap between the XC40 Recharge electric SUV and the long-awaited electric replacement for the XC90 SUV coming later this year, the XC60 successor (which will have a name rather than a numerical designation) will play a core role in taking Volvo to its goal of all-out electrification by 2030.  EVs accounted for just 6.5% of Volvo’s global sales last year (its best on record), but the Swedish company aims to boost that figure to 50% by 2025 on the way to ditching combustion entirely by 2030. A swiftly expanding line-up of EVs, heavy investment in production facilities and new car construction processes will be key to achieving this goal, as Volvo looks to emerge as a front runner a...

     A Jeep that starts up silently is not something many will be used to. The new Jeep  Jeep Renegade   does just that, thanks to a new e-Hybrid powertrain that, the firm says, marks the latest step in its move to an all-electrified model range. The model, along with the larger Jeep Compass e-Hybrid, joins Jeep’s line-up alongside the newly introduced plug-in 4xe hybrid variants. Unlike the 4xe, the e-Hybrid is front-wheel drive only. It also commands a £7000 premium over the entry-level, petrol Renegade and is slightly cheaper than the basic plug-in hybrid 4xe.  The all-new powertrain consists of a 128bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged engine, a 20bhp electric motor and a 48V battery that is positioned between the two front seats. Torque stands at 177lb ft. Jeep also claims emissions and fuel consumption improvements of up to 15%.  A second electric motor is attached to a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which, Jeep says, al...

      Aston Martin is weighing up potential ties with  Lucid ,   Rimac   and   Mercedes-Benz   architecture for its first electric sports car, due in 2025. The firm has today announced a huge, £653 million investment plan aimed at paying back debts, ramping up production volumes and boosting profits - but the package will also be instrumental in the fruition of Aston's electrification strategy. The Gaydon firm's first plug-in hybrid – expected to be based on the Aston Martin DBX SUV – will be launched in 2024, before a pure-electric model arrives in 2025 on the way to a "fully electrified GT/sport and SUV portfolio" in 2030. Both an electric sports car and SUV have previously been mooted for a 2025 launch, with executive chairman Lawrence Stroll saying: “We’re literally defining now the products we want to launch with and expect to have an answer early next year.”  Details of the first electric car are unclear, b...

   The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, revealed here as an all-new luxury flagship for the German marque’s fast-growing line of EVs, will rival the Audi E-tron and BMW iX when it arrives at the end of this year. As with the Mercedes-Benz EQS and Mercedes-Benz EQE saloons, the US-built EQS is based on the dedicated electric vehicle architecture (EVA) platform, which supports both single-motor, rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor, four-wheel-drive layouts. Power for all launch models is provided by a 107.8kWh battery – the same lithium ion unit used by the EQS saloon – packaged within the floorpan to give the luxury SUV a largely flat floor and what  Mercedes-Benz  says is the lowest centre of gravity of any of its SUV models. At 5125mm in length, 1959mm in width and 1718mm in height, the EQS SUV is 82mm shorter, a scant 3mm wider and 105mm lower than the Mercedes-Benx GLS SUV. It also rides on a wheelbase that is 75mm lon...

      When Bentley in 2016 launched   the Bentayga , its first-ever SUV, the company's flagship vehicle was the Mulsanne sedan.   Imposing and charismatic, the $300,000-plus Mulsanne   was German-engineered but a quintessentially British ultra-luxury car. Its interior was redolent with the rich tang of leather, the warm glow of wood, bright splashes of chrome, and a rumbling torque monster of an engine under its long hood. The last Mulsanne rolled off the assembly line in Crewe, England, in 2020. And stepping up to replace it as Bentley's new flagship model is the 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB, a stretched  version of the SUV  that was just a gleam in a Bentley product planner's eye when the Mulsanne made its world debut at Pebble Beach in 2009. A stretched SUV is, at first glance, an oddly prosaic choice for a marque steeped in  the romance of the road  and  the legend of Le Mans . But it's a necessarily pragmatic one. Indeed, the...

     Volkswagen has opened order books for the new, eighth-generation   Golf GTI , customer deliveries of which will start later this year. The newest version of the genre-defining hot hatchback is based on the Mk8 Golf, which was unveiled last year. It sticks closely to the established GTI template for the model, retaining the Volkswagen Group’s familiar ‘EA888’ turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and sending power to the car's front wheels exclusively. However, the standard version of the new GTI features all the additions fitted to the GTI Performance version of the Mk7 Golf, including boosts in power to 242bhp (from 228bhp) and torque to 273lb ft (from 258lb ft), a limited-slip differential and upgraded brakes. To please enthusiasts further, the GTI retains a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, although a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is again optional. Prices start from £33,460 for the six-speed manual and versions equ...

     As for range, the EPA says a 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS450+ can do 350 miles on a single full charge (just 10 more than an EQS580). We put more than 200 miles on our test car during a week of parking it outside overnight in cold weather without charging, after starting with an almost-full battery pack (with about 300-some miles of range showing) and never once worried we'd run out of juice. Each night the battery would lose some range (again, we didn't plug it in). At the end of the week, a 38-minute charge from nearly empty to 80 percent on a 150-kW Electrify America charger brought the EQS450+'s range to a displayed 321 miles. Doing a little back-of-napkin math—presuming that 80 percent reading was exactly accurate—that translates to 401 miles of range on a full charge, quite a bit more than the EPA's seemingly conservative estimate. The EQS, by the way, is capable of up to 200-kW charging speeds.

    Sutton Bespoke, the aftermarket division of premium car dealer Clive Sutton, is hoping to attract high-end private hire operators with a luxury take on the LEVC TX. Called the Sutton VIP Class LEVC, the model is based on the Coventry-built range-extender electric taxi that has been plying city streets since 2017. However, its functional cabin has been completely overhauled. The hard-wearing plastic trim has been replaced with an extensive use of Sandalwood leather and Alcantara throughout. Rubber floormats have been junked in favour of thick-pile carpet, while hand-crafted wood veneers adorn the doors. A number of other tech upgrades are included. The stereo has been upgraded, a TV tuner with Apple TV has been installed and there's even the option of a fitted Sony PlayStation 4 games console. Rearmost passengers also receive a new centre armrest hiding a fridge mounted behind the seats. A retractable screen separates the driver and passenger compartment for ...

      What are the uninitiated to make of the   updated 2022 Hyundai Kona   in   new N Line trim ? The subcompact SUV's distinctive exterior is kind of cute,   kind of funky   and chunky, but not necessarily everyone's cup of tea. As an N Line offering, it's supposed to be sportier, and its size and fifth door have led some to consider the Kona to be something of a compact/subcompact hatchback instead of a small crossover SUV. The 2022 Kona N Line features the range's more powerful 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine linked to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and our test vehicle has all-wheel drive. As for the N Line designation, that's a reference to the brand's "N" vehicles, like  the Veloster N ,  the Elantra N , and, yes,  the  Kona N , with N Line being a sort of stepping stone between the regular versions and the frenetic, high-performance full-N models. Those include the Elantra N Line, Sonata N...

     As for range, the EPA says a 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS450+ can do 350 miles on a single full charge (just 10 more than an EQS580). We put more than 200 miles on our test car during a week of parking it outside overnight in cold weather without charging, after starting with an almost-full battery pack (with about 300-some miles of range showing) and never once worried we'd run out of juice. Each night the battery would lose some range (again, we didn't plug it in). At the end of the week, a 38-minute charge from nearly empty to 80 percent on a 150-kW Electrify America charger brought the EQS450+'s range to a displayed 321 miles. Doing a little back-of-napkin math—presuming that 80 percent reading was exactly accurate—that translates to 401 miles of range on a full charge, quite a bit more than the EPA's seemingly conservative estimate. The EQS, by the way, is capable of up to 200-kW charging speeds.

     This is the revised   Cupra Leon , now wearing bronze badges and with no   Seat   branding, following on from the bespoke   Cupra Formentor   model that really hits a mark. Not sure whether this does, though. This test car is a performance plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant, with 242bhp and 295lb ft, featuring a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol mated to an electric motor. With a 12.8kWh battery, it has a pure electric range of 31 miles, and you can set the minimum level it’ll discharge to, in case you want to save some juice for a zero-emissions zone. The drive units both sit under the bonnet and it’s front-wheel drive The Cupra Leon sits 25mm lower at the front and 20mm lower at the rear than the regular Seat Leon, for a lower centre of gravity. There are struts at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear, and big 370mm brake discs behind 19in rims and 235/35 R19 Goodyear Eagle F1s. All quite sporty. I’m not sure yet whether it's down...