1 DAY AGO - Electrification has become inevitable even for the Rambo Lambo When Mini launched the previous generation of the electric hatch, it called the car Cooper SE in most markets but decided to go simply with ‘Electric’ in the UK in order to avoid confusion with the common trim level name.There have been no such qualms with the new Lamborghini Urus SE, which isn’t the fleet-friendly version with 17in wheels and cloth seats, but effectively the facelift of the Sant’Agata firm’s controversial but successful sports SUV. Like the new Bentley Continental GT Speed (with which it shares a platform and a drivetrain), it also becomes a plug-in hybrid. So in a way, it is more company car friendly than before.Clearly, the 37-mile pure-electric range and low on-paper CO2 output aren’t the result of Lamborghini wanting to save the planet. Official fleet CO2 quotas apply to everyone, including Lamborghini, and this is its way of continuing to sell V8 super-SUVs. Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Cameras are integrated into the wings to reduce drag Striking concept car is a 4.8m-long coupé SUV claimed to emit 90% less carbon over its lifetime than today's Captur The new Renault Embleme concept shows how hydrogen fuel cell technology could offer long-range transport while emitting 90% fewer lifetime emissions than today’s petrol Captur and even 80% fewer emissions than the Megane BEV. The follow-up to the Scenic Vision, it’s powered by a similar hydrogen-fuelled range-extender powertrain, pairing a 30kW fuel cell with a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery.  Unlike the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo, whose batteries are smaller than 2kWh, the Emblème is designed to minimise the use of its fuel cell. Battery power is used around town, while hydrogen is consumed to refill its reserves as needed. Renault said the system would allow the Emblème to do 1000km (621 miles) in the same time as a current ICE car, assuming two five-minute stops to brim the 2.8kg hydrogen tank. It Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Inster measures 3.8m long, 1.6m wide and 1.6m tall Korean brand aims to broaden appeal of electric cars with new miniature four-seater Hyundai is gearing up for an assault on the mainstream electric car market with the new Inster, priced from £23,495 – or £249 per month on PCP finance. It's based on the Hyundai Casper, a diminutive city car that has so far been sold exclusively with a petrol engine in Korea. Its platform has been stretched by 230mm (with a 180mm of that growth in its wheelbase), improving both practicality and the available space for an underfloor battery pack. The Inster measures 3.8m long, 1.6m wide and 1.6m tall, which positions it between the Dacia Spring and the Citroën ë-C3. Despite the car's smaller footprint, Hyundai insiders are confident that the Inster is as practical as its five-seat rivals, thanks to its efficient packaging and configurable interior. Its wheelbase almost matches that of the larger Hyundai i20, for example, and its four seats are more Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - Vauxhall has taken up to £4675 off the electric Astra and £4150 off the top-spec Corsa Nearly £5000 off a top-rung Astra Electric as the brand seeks to make its EVs more affordable Vauxhall is continuing its push to make its electric cars more affordable by slashing the prices of the Astra and Corsa EVs.  The biggest cut is for the range-topping Ultimate-trim version of the Astra Sports Tourer, which has been reduced by £4765 to £40,695. The electric estate’s entry-level trim, Griffin, now starts from £36,195, down by £1000. Meanwhile, the Astra Electric hatchback has been discounted by up to £3865, with the Ultimate trim falling to £39,385. The middle-rung Design and GS versions have been reduced by £2850 and £2905 respectively, while Griffin remains priced from £34,995. Similarly, the Corsa Electric’s starting price is unchanged, at £26,895 – making it one of the UK’s cheapest electric cars – but the more costly grades have received big reductions. Design and GS are £3400 and Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - New concept will sit "in a major segment" First look at brand’s future will be shown alongside revised C4 hatchback and new C3 Aircross crossover Citroën will provide a first look at its future when it unveils an all-new concept car at the upcoming Paris motor show. The French brand said the show car will sit “in a major segment”, suggesting that it's most likely a B- or C-segment hatchback or SUV – although Citroën has yet to provide further detail.  It added that the facelifted Citroën C4 hatchback and C4 X saloon will be shown alongside the new concept. As previously reported by Autocar, the duo will receive new lighting signatures and more squared-off bumpers, inspired by the Oli concept that was shown two years ago. It’s possible that the unveiling of the facelifted C4 alongside the new concept is no mere coincidence: it's due for replacement around 2026 or 2027, which would also fit the traditional timeline of taking a concept through to production.  Alternatively, it may be Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Electric Octavia estate is pushed back by up to two years as brand refocuses on combustion models Skoda has delayed a crucial new electric car and extended the lifespan of its small combustion-engined models in response to waning demand for EVs across Europe. The Czech brand had previously planned to launch six electric cars over the next two years: the new Elroq and Epiq crossovers, the production version of the Vision 7S concept, a 4.7m-long estate and facelifts for the Enyaq and Enyaq Coupé. However, it has now decided to delay the estate – all but confirmed to inherit the Octavia name – until late 2027 or 2028. Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer told Autocar: “To be totally honest, with the slowdown of the transformation into battery-electric vehicles, we’re revisiting that [timeline]. “We're checking the sequence of those cars. The cadence now is we’ve had the Enyaq Coupé, the Elroq, the next one is the Epiq, and the next one down the line will be the SUV, the 7S you’ve seen the concept Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Prior and Cropley talk two new sports cars, the Ferrari 12Cilindri and Bentley Continental GT, plus some vans This week your hosts Matt Prior and Steve Cropley talk everything from basic vehicles to the most exotic supercars. It seems that a large percentage of young people are driving vans instead of cars. Which is no bad thing, think our duo, who are both on board with practical vehicles. Meantime, they've both been driving decidedly impractical exotic vehicles, in the shape of the new Bentley Continental GT and Ferrari 12Cilindri. Plus there's stuff on the Bluebird K7, Subaru Forester and, of course, your correspondence. Make sure you never miss an Autocar podcast. Subscribe to our podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts or via your preferred podcast platform. And if you subscribe and rate and review the pod, we'd really appreciate that too. Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Range-topping '85' model offers range of up to 360 miles for £38,650 New electric SUV offers Ford Explorer and Kia Niro EV levels of space for Volvo EX30 money Skoda is kicking off a new era with the unveiling of the Elroq, a bold-looking electric crossover that’s poised to steal sales from some of the market’s best-selling EVs. Available to order from 4 October, the Elroq undercuts its most prominent rivals – and many smaller alternatives – by a significant margin, with prices starting from £31,500. That’s £5825 cheaper than the Kia Niro EV, £14,375 less than the Ford Explorer and even £450 less than the smaller Smart #1. The Elroq is the first Skoda to adopt the brand’s latest Modern Solid design language. It is most obviously distinguished from older Skodas by the new Tech Deck face, comprising a prominent black bar that spans the width of the front end. It’s fitted with segmented LED daytime-running lights, while the main headlights are on the lower section of the front Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - New electric supercar is considered a key part of Mercedes-AMG's future Retro-inspired supercar will fly the flag for AMG's battery-powered future Mercedes-AMG is hatching plans for a spectacular electric supercar that will launch the performance brand into the EV age. The new performance halo model was previewed by last year’s retro-inspired Vision One-Eleven concept, and it is described as a “brand-defining successor to the SLS Electric Drive”, the 730bhp quad-motor EV that was launched in 2013 and which cost £333,000. But while that car was limited to just nine examples, the new AMG supercar is planned for significantly higher production numbers when it arrives later this decade. Making its flagship less of an exclusive offering is central to AMG’s evolving electrification strategy. It has already launched powered-up versions of the EQE, EQE SUV, EQS and EQS SUV, with specific motors and battery technology separate from those of their standard siblings. The new electric Collapse