Description

The August 2021 edition of DieselCar& EcoCar reveals a number of brand-new models, including the edgy Kia Sportage on the front cover, as well as the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé and i4, the facelifted X3 and X4 and a glimpse at next year’s Renault Megane. Vauxhall’s Grandland loses its X and gains a significant update, and we’ve got the first photos of the Peugeot 308 SW, updated Dacia Duster and a sneak peak at the Vauxhall Astra.

We try out a pair of dramatic road racers for this month’s twin test, the Peugeot Sport Engineered 508 SW is tested up against the Volvo V60 Polestar Engineered – which one balances speed, efficiency and practicality? We’ve also been behind the wheel of the Genesis GV80 – Hyundai’s new luxury brand – tested the Fiat 500 electric, the Skoda Enyaq iV and Land Rover’s Defender in 90 guise. We’ve also had the first opportunity to drive the DS 9 and Audi’s e-tron Sportback S.

This month’s used car buyer’s guide features the Range Rover Evoque Convertible, and we introduce a British vehicle to the third part in our Hall of Fame series, following the Skoda Fabia vRS and Citroën ZX Volcane. We also welcome a number of newcomers to the long-term fleet, with a Dacia Sandero, Suzuki Across and Volvo XC40 arriving for evaluation. There are also your favourites like The Doctor, Legal i, Techzone, Our Cars, Buying, Selling and Maintaining, Marketplace, and the most up-to-date vehicle data anywhere in the motoring world. We’ve also got five new columns called Autojumble, Fuel for Thought, Motor Grump, Retrospective and Road Watch, joining the long-running Bright Spark. If you haven’t seen a copy of DieselCar and EcoCar Magazine lately, be sure to hunt down a copy so that you can test drive the new content for yourself.

Tested:

• Audi e-tron Sportback S quattro Automatic
• DS 9 Rivoli + E-Tense 225 Automatic
• Fiat 500 La Prima Electric
• Genesis GV80 Luxury Line 3.0 AWD (7-seat) Automatic
• Land Rover Defender 90 D200 S Automatic
• Skoda Enyaq iV 60 Nav Loft Automatic

Twin test:

• Peugeot 508 SW Peugeot Sport Engineered vs Volvo V60 Polestar Engineered

Long-term test reports:

• Citroen C3 Flair Plus BlueHDi 100
• Dacia Sandero Comfort 1.0 TCe 100 Bi-Fuel LPG
• Ford Kuga Vignale 2.0 EcoBlue AWD (190) Automatic
• Peugeot 2008 GT Line BlueHDi 100
• 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 Across 2.5 PHEV E-Four Automatic
• Vauxhall Astra SRi Nav 1.6 CDTi 16v
• Volvo XC40 Recharge T5 R-Design Pro PHEV Automatic

Features:

• EcoCar Current affairs – Will Euro-7 emissions regulations kill off ICE cars?

Used Car Buyer’s Guide

• Range Rover Evoque Convertible

Regulars

• News and views
• Motoring Morsels
• Refuelling Costs
• Marketplace Statistics
• Marketplace In The Pipeline
• Marketplace What’s New
• Gadget Inspector
• The Doctor
• How it works
• Legal i
• This Month
• Current Affairs
• Techzone
• Roadwatch
• Autojumble
• Motorgrump
• Retrospective
• Bright Spark
• Fuel for thought
• DM@il
• Tuning specialists directory
• Buying, Selling and Maintaining
• The Doctor’s Hero or Zero
• Data Files
• Hall of Fame
• Next month