Description

After a significant pause in new debuts, DS Automobiles took the wraps off its brand-new DS 4 this month, and what a looker it is. We’ve got all of the details on the French firm’s new medium sized car that will come with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid drivetrains. There’s also news that the merger between the PSA Group and FCA has completed, to create the mega-corporation Stellantis, meanwhile there’s uneasiness at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port factory over its future.

In EcoCar, there’s Renault’s plans for electrification, including revival of the legendary 5. Dacia’s future is being paired with Lada, with a new Super Duster on its way that’ll be bigger and more efficient, thanks to new E-Tech plug-in hybrid drivetrains. Alpine is set to be re-imagined into an electric sports brand and will team up with Lotus for a new pure-electric sports car. Tesla has revealed updated versions of the Model S and Model X and Hyundai has finally confirmed plans for hybrid and plug-in hybrid editions of the Tucson N-Line. We’ve got the first photos the Mercedes-Benz EQA, pictures of the updated MINI Hatch, as well as the essential information on the new rear-wheel-drive Porsche Taycan.

This month’s twin test sees the mild-hybrid Hyundai i20 face the Suzuki Swift, while elsewhere we’ve been behind the wheel of Jaguar’s facelifted XF Sportbrake and the updated Vauxhall Crossland, now with the ‘X’ deleted from its name. Our testers have driven the bold new Vauxhall Mokka-e in a vibrant colour of green, as well as testing the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid and Volkswagen Golf GTE PHEV.

With the ’21-plate’ change just around the corner, we look at the history of private registrations plates, and how much they fetch in the UK and around the world. This month’s used car buyer’s guide is all about the SEAT Arona TDI, while in secondhand shootout, we take a look at the BMW X3 and Land Rover Discovery Sport. There are also your favourites like Doctor Diesel, Legal i, Buying, Selling and Maintaining, Marketplace, and the most up-to-date vehicle statistics anywhere in the motoring world. We’ve also got five brand new columns called Autojumble, Fuel for Thought, Motorgrump, Retrospective and Roadwatch, so if you haven’t seen DieselCar and EcoCar magazine lately, be sure to pick up a copy to test drive for yourself.

Tested:

• Hyundai Tucson Ultimate 1.6 T-GDi Hybrid Automatic
• Jaguar XF Sportbrake D200 SE Automatic
• Volkswagen Crossland SRi Nav 1.5 Turbo D
• Vauxhall Mokka-e SRi Nav Premium
• Volkswagen Golf GTE 1.4 TSI PHEV 5-door

Twin test:

• Hyundai i20 SE Connect 1.0 T-GDi vs Suzuki Swift SZ5 1.2 Mild Hybrid

Long-term test reports:

• Citroen C3 Flair Plus BlueHDi 100
• Ford Kuga Vignale 2.0 EcoBlue AWD (190) Automatic
• Peugeot 508 SW GT Line BlueHDi 130 Automatic
• Range Rover Evoque HSE R-Dynamic D180 AWD Automatic
• Renault Clio Iconic dCi 85
• SEAT Leon SE Dynamic 2.0 TDI (115)
• Skoda Octavia Estate SE L First Edition 2.0 TDI 115
• SsangYong Musso Rhino LWB Automatic
• Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Hybrid SZ5 Allgrip
• Volvo XC90 Recharge T8 AWD Inscription Automatic

Features:

• The history of the private plate
• Do I need an account to charge an EV?

New columns:

• Fuel for thought
• Road watch

Used Car Buyer’s Guide

• SEAT Arona 1.6 TDI (2017 to 2020)

Regulars

• News and views
• Marketplace Statistics
• Marketplace In The Pipeline
• Marketplace What’s New
• Tuning News
• Techzone
• Gadget Inspector
• Doctor Diesel
• How it works
• Highway Cod
• The Extra Mile
• Legal i
• This Month
• Techzone
• Roadwatch
• Autojumble
• Motorgrump
• Retrospective
• Fuel for thought
• DM@il
• Buying, Selling and Maintaining
• Doctor Diesel’s Hero or Zero
• EcoCar News and views
• EcoCar Marketplace
• EcoCar Current Affairs
• EcoCar Bright Spark