Description

The funky looking Dacia Hipster is featured on cover of the November 2025 issue of Diesel&EcoCar, which previews what a future production electric Dacia could look like. In a bold move, Dacia designers have pared back all of the fripperies and included only the essentials. It’s not confirmed for production yet, but we bet you’ll be able to buy a toned-down edition in the future. The bright blue issue is a bit of a DaciaFest with news on the facelifted editions of the Sandero, Sandero Stepway and Jogger, with the latter two adopting a new 1.8-litre hybrid drivetrain from next year. There’s also news of updates to the Spring city car, including more power, and the Duster gains an uprated hybrid drivetrain, too.

Elsewhere there’s the first news about facelifted editions of the SEAT Ibiza and Arona, together with visual updates for the Alfa Romeo Tonale and Nissan Ariya. Ford’s Ranger PHEV and Tourneo Custom get the MS-RT treatment, and BMW is betting big with the next X5 with news that a hydrogen powertrain will feature alongside petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and pure electric drivetrains.

Many of the pages within the magazine have been freshened up, including new features and articles.

The test team have been behind the wheel of the new Citroën Ë-C5 Aircross, as well as the Vauxhall Frontera Electric on UK soil, the GWM Poer300 diesel, the Kia Sportage Hybrid, Jaecoo E5, Alpine A290 GTS, Cherry Tiggo 7 and Volvo’s new EX30 Cross Country. Our long-term fleet welcomes a Peugeot 3008 mild hybrid, SEAT Leon PHEV and Vauxhall Mokka Electric, just as the Renault Rafale E-Tech and Citroën Ë-SpaceTourer depart.

We’ve been exploring how to choose the right tyres for your SUV and off-roader, and if you’re in an adventurous mood, we take a look at ways of learning how to make the most of the four-wheel drive capability of your off-roader, including green laning and off-road tuition.

This month’s used car buyer’s guide is all about the Land Rover Discovery, and we look at three different generations of the Peugeot 308 SW diesel. In this month’s Best Buys, we recommend the best vehicles eligible for the government’s electric car grant.

This is in addition to all of your other favourite features including The Doctor, Motorgrump, Fully Equipped, Bright Spark, and the most up-to-date data section in the magazine business. Don’t forget to check out one of the newest columns, Grand Designs, that looks back at a groundbreaking concept car, as well as an interesting look at past prototypes, clay models and design sketches, some or all of which you may never have seen before. Finally, don’t forget to read the column from our resident legal expert, in The Legal Lane.

Tested:

• Alpine A290 GTS Automatic
• Cherry Tiggo 7 CHS Summit Automatic
• Citroen E-C5 Aircross Max Extended Range Automatic
• GWM Poer300 Vanta Automatic
• Jaecoo E5 Luxury Automatic
• Kia Sportage Hybrid GT-Line 1.6 T-GDi Automatic
• Vauxhall Frontera Electric Ultimate Standard Range Automatic
• Volvo EX30 Cross Country Ultra Twin Motor Performance Automatic

Long-term test reports:

• Abarth 500e Turismo
• Citroen e-SpaceTourer XL You! Electric Automatic
• Honda CR-V e:HEV 2.0 i-MMD Advance AWD Automatic
• Mazda CX-80 PHEV Homura Plus Automatic
• Peugeot 3008 GT 145 Mild Hybrid Automatic
• Renault Rafale E-Tech Iconic Esprit Alpine Automatic
• SEAT Leon FR e-Hybrid DSG Automatic
• Toyota Prius Design 2.0 VVT-i plug-in hybrid Automatic
• Vauxhall Mokka Electric GS Automatic
• Volvo V90 Plus T6 AWD Automatic

Features:

• Bright Spark
• Choosing tyres for your SUV or off-roader
• Current affairs – How sustainable are EV battery packs
• Exploring off-road in your SUV
• Gadget Inspector
• Motorgrump
• Technology explained – multi-zone climate control
• The Doctor – advice column
• You, the jury – Smoking while driving – should it be banned?

Buying, selling and maintaining

• Generation Game – Peugeot 308 SW Diesel – three generations examined
• Hero or zero – Ford Escort Mk5
• Product watch – AdBlue
• Remember this – Citroen ZX
• Secondhand shootout – Mazda MX-30 Electric vs Vauxhall Mokka Electric

Used Car Buyer’s Guide

• Land Rover Discovery (2020-onwards)

Data Files

• Denied diesels – Ford Everest
• Forgotten Concept – 1985 Nissan BE-1
• Joy of Lists – First cars to roll off the production lines at UK car factories
• Under development – Stellantis Belchamp
• The most comprehensive and up-to-data in the business

Regulars

• News and views
• News in pictures
• Motoring Morsels
• Refuelling Costs
• Day trip to…
• What’s On
• Gadget Inspector
• The Doctor
• This Month
• Current Affairs
• Roadwatch
• You, the jury
• Motorgrump
• Fully equipped
• Bright Spark
• DM@il
• Tuning specialists directory
• Buying. Selling and Maintaining
• The Generation Game
• The Doctor’s Hero or Zero
• Marketplace Statistics
• Marketplace In The Pipeline
• Marketplace What’s New
• Data Files
• Next month
• Grand Designs
• The Legal Lane