Description

It’s one of the most exciting issues of the year, as we name the best 50 new cars on sale today. In a departure from previous years where we name Car of the Year winners across ten key categories, we’ve ripped up the rule book and come up with something altogether more meaningful. In this month’s issue, we kick off with our 50^th best car, and count all the way down to the number one spot. What will our best car of 2016 be? We’re all tight-lipped, so you’ll have to buy the issue to find out! What it won’t be is an out-of-reach supercar that no-one can afford, we can guarantee you of that.

We’ve been driving the sensational new Jaguar F-Pace and bring you our verdict on the UK company’s first ever SUV. Volkswagen’s new Tiguan also gets the first test treatment and we put the Audi A4 allroad through its paces, too. The Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class is landing in UK dealerships right about now, and this month it faces one of its toughest adversaries – the Audi Q5. Which one lays claim to the crown of best medium premium SUV? There’s tests of the eco-friendly Skoda Superb Estate GreenLine, the Kia Optima saloon and the recently updated Subaru XV crossover, too. We also welcome a MINI Clubman to our long-term test fleet, and look forward to evaluating its performance as a family car over the next six months.

In our EcoCar section, we test Hyundai’s latest i20 with the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged direct injection petrol engine installed under the bonnet, and deliver our pen-ultimate report on our long-term Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. There’s also news of an updated Lexus IS 300h and the first pictures of the facelifted Tesla Model S.

In our Buying and Selling section, it’s the SEAT Alhambra 2.0 TDI that is the subject to our used car buyer’s guide, and Gavin Braithwaite-Smith investigates the murky world of insurance write-offs, and whether you should risk your money buying a Cat-C or Cat-D car. There are bigger and better Gadget Inspector pages and regulars like Doctor Diesel, legal-i, High Mile Club, dm@il, The Extra Mile, Marketplace and the most up-to-date data section anywhere in the car magazine world. That’s quite apart from the latest news and views on the diesel and economy motoring world.

Tested:

• Audi A4 allroad 3.0 V6 TDI quattro (268bhp) Automatic
• Audi Q5 SE 2.0 TDI quattro (148bhp) Automatic
• Jaguar F-Pace R-Sport 2.0 AWD Automatic
• Kia Optima 4 1.7 CRDi Automatic
• Mercedes-Benz GLC 250 d 4MATIC AMG Line Automatic
• Skoda Superb Estate SE L Executive 1.6 TDI GreenLine
• Subaru XV 2.0D SE Premium
• Volkswagen Tiguan SEL 2.0 TDI 4MOTION (148bhp)

Long-term test reports:

• Audi Q3 S line 2.0 TDI quattro S tronic Automatic
• Citroen C4 Cactus Feel BlueHDi 100 Airdream Pack
• Ford S-MAX Titanium Sport 2.0 TDCi (180) AWD PowerShift
• Honda HR-V 1.6 i-DTEC EX
• Kia Sorento KX-3 2.2 CRDi
• MINI Clubman Cooper D
• Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 2.0 MIVEC GX4h
• Peugeot 308 GT BlueHDi 180 Automatic
• Renault Captur Dynamique Nav dCi 110
• Skoda Superb Estate Laurin & Klement 2.0 TDI
• Suzuki Vitara 1.6 DDiS SZ5 Urban ALLGRIP
• Volvo V60 Cross Country D3 Lux Nav Geartronic Automatic

Feature:

• Diesel Car Top 50 – Car of the Year Awards 2016.
• High Mile Club – 278,000 mile Audi A4 Avant 1.9 TDI.
• Used Car Cat-C and Cat-D insurance guide.

Used Car Buyer’s Guide:

• SEAT Alhambra 2.0 TDI (2010-onwards)