Description

The March 2026 edition of Diesel&EcoCar magazine is all about the new plate change, as 26-plate cars roll off the forecourts for the first time. We’ve got some really useful guides as to what products you should be buying from the dealer for new car, and those that you should source yourself, as well as an insight into private plates, which is incredibly handy if you want to disguise the age of your current car.

The cover of issue 472 is all about the EX60, which is Volvo’s latest all-electric SUV. The Swedish firm reckons it’s its most important car yet, and we’ve got the full story on the EX60 that arrives in showrooms this summer. We’ve also lifted the lid on the facelifted Mercedes-Benz S-Class, as well as news of the new MG4 Urban EV and its facelifted MG4 EV sister car. BYD’s Atto 3 Evo is revealed for the first time, and we’ve got the first photographs of the interior of Ferrari’s pure electric sports car, the Luce.

We’ve been driving the BYD Sealion 5 this month, as well as the Toyota Aygo X Hybrid, Suzuki eVitara, Geely Starray and Mazda 6e, and been behind the wheel of the Ford Tourneo Custom diesel and limited run Volkswagen Polo Edition 50. We welcome a Volvo XC90 plug-in hybrid and Abarth 600e to the long-term fleet and wave goodbye to our expansive Mazda CX-80.

Our number crunchers have been analysing the 2025 UK sales figures and broken them down into an easy-to-understand presentation across six pages. It’s the most comprehensive look at the UK market anywhere in the magazine world. We also examine whether Volkswagen is back on form with the new ID.Polo electric small car. This month’s used buyer’s guide is all about the Cupra Formentor and we look at three generations of the Volkswagen Golf.

This is in addition to all of your other favourite features including 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 our newest columns, Grand Designs, that looks back at The Mazda 323 Country 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, Neil Sargeant, in Legal Lane.

Tested:

• BYD Sealion 5 DM-i Design Automatic
• Ford Tourneo Custom Titanium 2.0 EcoBlue (136) LWB Automatic
• Geely Starray EM-i Max Automatic
• Mazda 6e Takumi Automatic
• Suzuki eVitara 61kWh Motion 2WD Automatic
• Toyota Aygo X Excel 1.5 VVT-i Hybrid Automatic
• Volkswagen Polo Edition 50 1.0 TSI DSG Automatic

Long-term test reports:

• Abarth 600e Scorpionissima Automatic
• Jeep Avenger 4xe The North Face Edition 1.2 e-Hybrid Automatic
• Mazda CX-80 PHEV Homura Plus Automatic
• Peugeot 3008 GT 145 Mild Hybrid Automatic
• Renault Symbioz E-Tech Iconic Esprit 160 Automatic
• SEAT Leon FR e-Hybrid DSG Automatic
• Skoda Octavia Estate SE L 2.0 TDI DSG Automatic
• Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport Hybrid 1.5 VVT-i Automatic
• Vauxhall Mokka Electric GS Automatic
• Volvo XC90 Ultra T8 AWD Plug-in Hybrid Automatic

Features:

• Bright Spark – Is EV adoption stalling?
• Current affairs – Why does it cost more to insure an EV?
• Gadget Inspector
• Insight – Is Volkswagen back on form with ID.Polo?
• Motorgrump – Free cars
• New car registrations special features
• Statistics – Analysis of 2025 new car registrations figures
• Technology explained – What is high beam assist?
• The Doctor – advice column
• You, the jury – is it time to ban grey cars?

Buying, selling and maintaining

• Generation Game – Volkswagen Golf – three generations explored
• Hero or zero – Toyota Mirai
• Product watch – Car servicing
• Remember this – Nissan Primera
• Secondhand shootout – Citroen C3 vs Dacia Sandero

Used Car Buyer’s Guide

• Cupra Formentor (2020 to 2024)

Data Files

• Denied diesels – MG U9 pick-up truck
• Forgotten Concept – Mazda 323 Country Concept
• Joy of Lists – Top 10 EVs with the worst residuals
• Under development – Ford, Lommel, Belgium
• 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
• Techzone
• 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