20 HRS AGO - Does an extra 67bhp and a host of dynamic upgrades give Mercedes' new two-door the edge over rivals? Serving as an indirect successor to the E53 Coupé, the hot new CLE 53 Coupé wears the AMG badge but isn’t quite a full-bore, Affalterbach-made model. A new CLE 63 is on its way, but it remains to be seen what it will power it; the C63 saloon fell way short of the mark after it swapped its roaring V8 engine for a four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain.The CLE 53 is a closer rival to the BMW M440i than the BMW M4, but it still looks a lot meaner than regular CLE models and gets a suite of powertrain, suspension and interior upgrades to give it a more dynamic and sporting character. But does this amalgamated C-Class and E-Class AMG model feel like more than just a warmed-up range-topper? Let's find out.  Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - With its colourful history, Watford Gap has acquired the status of cultural icon From virtual reality to securing enough energy for EV chargers, the UK's most famous services will soon be replaced Jimi Hendrix thought it was a nightclub, in their early days The Beatles regularly dropped in on their way south from Liverpool and Gerry Marsden of the Pacemakers rated it as a good place for a “quick stop and a quick nosh”. Welcome to Watford Gap services, located on both sides of the M1, the southbound site being the first motorway services to open in the UK, back in 1959. With its colourful history as a rest stop for major bands in the 1960s before service stations became more common, Watford Gap has acquired the status of cultural icon. (One waitress sold her book of autographs for £1000.) But if you want to experience its vibe one last time, you’d better be quick because Roadchef, the company that owns it, plans to knock it down and replace it with something more in tune with the Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - MPV turns SUV. Does the new Peugeot 5008 offer the best of both worlds, or neither? When it was launched in 2010, the first-generation Peugeot 5008 was exactly what you’d expect of an MPV. It had an impressively flexible interior, it was an undemanding car to drive, and it adhered doggedly to a one-box appearance.That it also handled with the dexterity of a smaller car, and undercut the Ford S-Max on price helped seal it a four-star rating from us; but it never amounted to anything more than a determinedly functional product.Seven years later. though, the 5008’s positioning changed critically. Although there was still no shortage of people who require what a traditional MPV such as that original 5008 offered, far fewer of them actually want to be seen in one.Instead, they wanted, and continue to want, an SUV - and all the kerbside appeal that goes with it. As a result, Peugeot’s product planners on Avenue de la Grande-Armée devised a second-generation model transformed into a Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - Ducktail spoiler suggests the new car may have more sporting character than the Batur Bacalar and Batur successor lands next month as a 16-off swansong for Crewe's 12-cylinder engine Bentley will unveil the most powerful car in its 105-year history on Tuesday, 7 May. It will be the third model from the brand’s reinvigorated Mulliner coachbuilding division, after the Bacaclar and Batur. Only 16 examples will be built. Bentley said the new car will receive its “most potent” W12 engine to date, pushing it past the 740bhp and 738lb ft outputs of its outing in the Batur. The marque added that this will be one of the final appearances of the W12, which has featured in its cars since the Continental GT arrived in 2003. More than 105,000 examples of the powerplant have been built since then, making it the most abundant 12-cylinder engine of the modern era. Discounting the bespoke Mulliner cars, all future Bentleys are set to be electrified. The firm will start by using plug-in-hybrid Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - The facelifted EQS saloon was the first model to receive a traditional front grille Brand wants its electric and combustion cars to be more obviously related as people are now 'used to electric cars' Mercedes-Benz will introduce more classic design cues for the next generation of its EQ range, bringing its electric cars and combustion cars more in line. This will mean model lines that offer both electric and combustion powertrains, such as the Mercedes-Benz EQE and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, “joining together again”, Robert Lesnik, the brand’s head of exterior design has told Autocar. This design direction has already been previewed by a new traditional chrome grille option for the Mercedes-Benz EQS (“It makes the car look completely different”) and the just-revealed Mercedes-Benz G580 EQ. which looks near-identical to ICE G-Class models. “We always said that the first-generation EVs should look different. A purpose-built architecture deserved a purpose-built design,” said Lesnik at Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - Cheap-as-chips supermini makes way for all-new hybrid aimed at bereft Ford Fiesta fans More than 4000 Brits bought a new MG 3 last year. That’s admirable, considering that this supermini was launched over a decade ago and, with its somewhat crude dynamics and especially its rough petrol engine, it signalled that fact pretty clearly – although MG executives admit that this car, one of the very cheapest on the UK market, was aimed at people who just wanted something new with a warranty, and better yet a seven-year one.The second-generation 3, just arrived, is all-new and an entirely different proposition: a thoroughly modern-looking design, with new underpinnings, MG’s first full-hybrid powertrain and a higher-quality interior with a new touchscreen infotainment system and digital dash.Indeed, MG says it has effectively skipped an entire model generation. So it’s 'see ya, Dacia Sandero' and 'how ya doin’, Renault Clio?', with the starting price jumping from £14k to £18k. Now the Ford Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - With a more sophisticated platform, design-savvy look and fresh tech, has this all-new version lost sight of the model’s value appeal? How much car do you really need? It’s a question Dacia has been answering quite expertly for the past decade by nailing the fundamentals and saving on the stuff that’s largely immaterial (soft-touch interior mirror, anyone?). It has resulted in cars that are almost uniquely fit for purpose.The outgoing Dacia Duster was a bit of a breakthrough in this respect, just tipping over the edge from ‘feels cheap, but at least it is cheap’ to being a genuinely good car at an unbeatable price. Dacia UK sent me one for a few days before the launch event of the new, third-generation Duster, and actually they could have given the 2018 Duster a facelift with a more modern-looking interior and it would still be eminently recommendable. It’s a genuinely pleasant car to drive: it’s spacious enough, comfortable and easy to get on with. Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Ora's second UK-bound model offers 402bhp and 354 miles of range for around £35,000 Arriving this summer, the Ora 07 saloon will expand the Chinese firm’s UK line-up to two, joining the smaller Ora 03 (née Funky Cat) hatchback. Ora, owned by powerhouse GWM, will use quirky styling to bore a niche into the electric saloon segment in a bid to steal customers from legacy brands as it targets the Vauxhall Astra Electric and Peugeot e-308. To tempt those buyers, the 07, expected to be priced from £35,000, gets four trims offering either a 64kWh LFP (Pure, Pro) or 83kWh NMC (Pro+, GT) battery. In its most efficient form, the 07's maximum range is claimed to be 354 miles (WLTP), which is Tesla Model 3 Long Range levels of long-leggedness.  It’s no slouch either. In top-rung all-wheel-drive GT specification, it offers as much as 402bhp, which propels the 07 from 0-62mph in 4.5sec. Although it has yet to arrive in Europe, the EV was launched in 2021 in its native China as the Ora Lightning Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - The electric Mercedes G-Class, BYD's first pick-up and Ora's 395bhp sports saloon are among the headliners The Beijing motor show has returned for the first time since 2019, bringing a whole host of exciting unveilings from some of the world's most renowned names - plus some radical challengers you might never have heard of before. Mercedes-Benz has launched the new electric G-Class, the long-awaited Mini Aceman has made its public debut and the covers have come off the Volkswagen Tiguan-sized Smart #5, to name but a few. Chinese firms are out in force, with a wave of electric and hybrid cars expected to arrive on UK soil in the coming years and months. BYD is launching a new electric pick-up truck and GWM is be on the stands with the Ora 07, a swooping, saloon-shaped stablemate to the 03 hatchback.  Stay tuned for all the latest from our team on the ground at the show. Arcfox Alpha S5 BAIC-owned electric car maker Arcfox has detailed its latest saloon, the Alpha S5, ahead of its Collapse