Bentleyhas added a new carbon fibre styling package to both theContinental GTandBentayga’s extensive lists of customisation options. The upgrade will cost roughly £8,500 on the coupe and £17,000 on the SUV, raising the two cars’ base-prices to around £160,000 and £140,000 respectively.
The styling package was designed by the engineering team responsible for the aero components on the special editionPikes Peak Continental GT, and includes a deeper carbon fibre splitter, wider carbon fibre side skirts and a larger carbon fibre diffuser to the standard-issue Continental GT and Bentayga.
Both cars get new rear spoilers, with the coupe receiving a low-level lip for the boot-lid and the SUV gaining an enormous bi-plane wing for its tailgate. There’s a smattering of newly minted metallic badging, too, and buyers can choose to have both cars’ front air blades, wing vents and mirror caps in the same carbon fibre finish.
Bentleysays its development programme for the aerodynamic upgrades has been rigorous, with each vehicle being subject to 100,000km (around 62,000 miles) of testing. This is to make sure the spitter won’t be ripped away from the bumper if the car strikes a kerb, or that the side skirts won’t rattle their way loose over rough roads.
Each car has also been tested in computer simulations, in a wind tunnel and on the track to ensure the upgrades don’t have a negative impact on either car’s handling and stability.
The styling package is available to order now on any newContinental GTorBentayga, with deliveries expected shortly after the government travel restrictions have lifted. However, if you’re lucky enough to own either vehicle, Bentley will also retrofit the package to your car at any of its UK retailers.
Do you like the look of Bentley’s new carbon fibre styling pack? Let us know in the comments section below…
The Mercedes V-Class sits pretty much in a class of its own, with a unique combination of space, luxury and versatility allied to a premium badge. The arrival of the new MBUX infotainment system will be a welcome addition, too. Admittedly, it’s very hard to justify this very costly Exclusive version, but a cheaper model does make a good deal of sense, even if there are one or two rough edges.
After umpteen generations of E-Class and S-Class saloons, Mercedes is synonymous with executive limos. But, what do you do if you have to whisk half a dozen execs from airport to boardroom in something with an appropriate level of class? Merc’s answer is the V-Class, and a revised version has just gone on sale.
Its only real rival is Volkswagen’s Caravelle, but the Mercedes badge carries much more kudos. Plus there’s a strong list of standard kit, covering comfort, safety and technology.
For such a high-end MPV, there’s a surprisingly wide range on offer. Buyers can pick from two diesel engines – well, one 2.0-litre unit with 161 or 236bhp – plus three lengths: standard, long or extra-long. Standard models have seven seats, while long and extra-long-wheelbase versions have eight – with three seats in the second and third rows.
These rear seats are the best place to be in a V-Class – and it’s really easy to get into the centre row, thanks to electrically operated sliding side doors being a standard feature across the range. And once you’re there, it’s absolute luxury – particularly in an Exclusive-spec model like our test car.
While these variants are very expensive, they have just six seats. And thanks to the panoramic sunroof flooding the interior with light, and the two individual centre-row seats getting reclining, massage, heating and cooling functions, in effect you’re looking at a six-seat S-Class – especially given that the third row also provides enough room for a couple of six-foot execs.
Naturally, with all seven seats in place, there’s only room for a few soft bags behind the rearmost seats. But, if you fold them away or even remove them, then the V-Class really can double as a van. That’s no great surprise, given that the V-Class is based on the Vito van, and as a result, the stowage around the dash and front seats is excellent. Plus, although the car in our pictures has the COMAND infotainment system, if you order a V-Class today, it’ll come with the newer, far better, MBUX set-up.
Also new for this revised model is the 236bhp 2.0-litre diesel that – on paper at least – can get this two-tonne-plus MPV from 0-62mph in less than eight seconds.
Impressively, that figure is totally believable once you’ve tried the car, but if you use the engine to its full potential, it’s very noisy. However, if you ease off and let the strong torque haul you around, it’s all much more pleasant; and at a steady 70mph, the engine is near silent, barely ticking over at way less than 2,000rpm.
It’s a similar story with the body roll. Inevitably, there’s a lot of movement in the big Mercedes’ body through corners, but it’s only really a problem when you have relatively quick changes of direction – around a small roundabout, for example, when the sway in the body struggles to keep up with the inputs from the steering.
Sadly, that steering is perhaps the V’s weakest point. There’s precious little feel as you first turn the wheel, which can be rather disconcerting. Again, we noticed the issue around roundabouts, but it was also obvious as we turned off a motorway and up a slip road at speed.
The standard nine-speed automatic gearbox can also be frustrating. The gearchanges are slurred enough at low speed to have passengers gently swaying in their seats, while the transmission can be reluctant to kick down when you need a sharp burst of acceleration.
Overall, though, if you drive the V-Class as a chauffeur – or as a chauffeur would – you’ll play to its strengths. Easing on and off any of the controls will mean your passengers stay calm and collected.
ThePeugeot e-208could soon gain a lower range variant with a smaller price tag, potentially dropping the electric supermini’s base-price below £22,000. The French brand is actively considering customer demand and could implement the update in time for the e-208’s mid-cycle facelift.
Peugeot’s brand manager for electric vehicles, Anne-Lise Richards, told our sister title, DrivingElectric: “The more comfortable customers become with EVs, the less we will need to reassure them about range.
“Currently, customers are not saying that the e-208 is too expensive, but at one point maybe we will need a more affordable option and we could always achieve a smaller battery. The only thing is introducing diversity in the plants – and we need to be sure there is a need from the customers.”
From an engineering standpoint, offering a range of battery outputs for an electric vehicle is relatively easy. InPeugeot’s case, it would be a simple task of removing cells from the e-208’s existing 50kWh unit until the desired output is achieved.
The issue is one of economics. Adding a choice of battery outputs can complicate an electric car’s production process, as well as increase its production costs – both of which will derail the e-208’s expansion project if the business case isn’t sound.
For now, thePeugeot e-208is only available with a 50kWh battery pack, which delivers a claimed maximum range of 211 miles. It’s likely that Peugeot’s lower-range model will lose around 25 percent of its battery capacity, dropping the system’s output to around 37kWh and offering a new maximum range of roughly 150 miles.
This lower range, coupled with a potential starting price of £22,000, would make the e-208 a larger alternative for the likes of theVolkswagen e-up!and other premium electric city cars, while retaining the car’s position alongside premium, low-range EVs of a similar size such as theBMW i3andMINI Electric.
Would you be interested in a lower-range version of the Peugeot e-208? Let us know in the comments section below…
Bollinger has announced its plans to build a Chassis Cab variant of its all-electricB2 pick-up truck, designed specifically for commercial applications. Like the standard model, it’ll go on sale in America in 2021, with prices being confirmed closer to the model’s launch date.
It’ll be available in both two- and four-door body styles and will come in various wheelbase lengths to suit a range of bed attachments, such as a towing arm, a dropside pick-up bed or a box body. In addition, buyers will be able to opt for either an enclosed cab or a cutaway cab, depending on their specification.
The B2 Chassis Cab will also retain the standard pick-up’s “pass through” storage system, which comprises a pair of hatches at the front and rear of the vehicle and a channel running the length of the interior – allowing items up to six metres long to be transported safely. The system’s practicality will be limited by the bed attachment, but the bonnet hatch and cabin layout will remain the same across all variants.
Like theBollinger B1 and B2, the Chassis Cab’s powertrain features an electric motor on each axle, permanent four-wheel-drive and 120kWh battery pack. Power and torque remain the same at 606bhp and 906Nm respectively – although the standard pick-up’s 4.5-second 0–62mph time and 200-mile range will be affected depending on the bed attachment.
Bollinger says the B2 Chassis Cab has been designed as a work-horse. It has a maximum payload of around 2.2 tonnes, a hose-down cabin and a 10kW on-board charger which can be used to top-up power tools. It should be equally capable off-road, too, thanks to its low centre of gravity and 52-degree approach angle.
What do you make of the Bollinger B2 Chassis Cab? Let us know in the comments section below…
Rolls-Royce will become the first UK car maker to restart manufacturing following the coronavirus shut-down when it reopens its factory in Goodwood, West Sussex.
Production is set to restart on Monday May 4, 117 years to the day since Charles Rolls and Henry Royce met at the Midland Hotel in Manchester to form the Rolls-Royce business.
Around half of the 2,000-strong workforce at Goodwood will return to work, with Government guidelines on social distancing strictly taken into account, including newly laid markings on the factory floor.
The other half of the workforce, including those in supportive, non-manufacturing roles, will continue to be asked to work from home.
Although a skeleton staff of workers have maintained the factory equipment and part-built cars during the shutdown, May 4 marks the return to full production. A Rolls-Royce spokesperson confirmed that production would pick up where it left off, with cars being manufactured in the same order as before and no re-prioritisation of orders.
The spokesperson also confirmed that the restart of production will not halt the efforts of Rolls-Royce staff in producing vital PPE equipment for key workers. It is understood that the luxury car maker has been manufacturing protective face visors for hospital workers from its plant at Goodwood.
Do you think it's the right time for car manufacturers to open their factories? Let us know in the comments below...
More than half of motorists drive more carefully when they have their dog in the car, but a significant number are unfamiliar with the rules around transporting pets.
Some 54 per cent of motorists say they are more careful driving with their dog on board. This figure rises to 69 per cent for 18-24-year-olds, but falls to 42 per cent for drivers aged 55 or over.
The figures come from a survey of 2,000 drivers carried out by SEAT UK, which also showed motorists from London are the most likely to be more careful when driving with a dog in the car. In addition, 35 per cent of respondents said they feel calmer when they have their dog in the car with them.
The Highway Code requires drivers to suitably restrain any dogs in their car, but a third of those surveyed were not sure if there were any rules, while nine out of 10 didn’t know of the maximum penalty of a £5,000 fine and nine penalty points on their licence.
Furthermore, one-fifth of respondents admitted when questioned that they do not restrain their dog in the car, meaning they’re flouting the law.
Nigel Griggs, head of aftersales at SEAT UK, commented: “Everyone knows the British public is passionate about its dogs. However, this study confirms that having their best friend in the car can contribute to safer driving while also having a positive mental health benefit by reducing stress levels. It appears to be a win-win.
“Motorists still need to make sure they’re keeping their dogs safe while travelling, too, and finding comfortable and secure in-car pet accessories to properly restrain pets is as important as using your own seat belt.”
Do drive more carefully if you have a dog in the car? Let us know your thoughts below...
Electric-car maker Tesla has shared insight into its customers’ buying habits, giving a glimpse at how the online-only retailer’s business model works.
While Tesla operates a handful of showrooms throughout the UK, all cars must be ordered through the company’s website. As such, three quarters of customers choose to do this in their own homes, according to the company.
Of these, nearly a fifth will do so on a mobile phone or tablet, Tesla says.
The stats provide insight into the potential of retailing cars online: in 2018, it was revealed thatone in 10 car dealerships had closedover a seven-year period, with forecasters warning that half of all forecourts could shut by 2025.
To make buying online as easy as possible, Tesla says orders can be made in less than 60 seconds, and claims that its fixed pricing structure means no haggling is needed in order to make a sale.
In some countries, more than half of sales are completed without a prior test drive. This is most common in the Netherlands and Germany, says Tesla, and is made possible by its returns policy: buyers can bring back their car within seven days or 1,000 miles with no questions asked and a full refund given.
Tesla has also revealed its busiest times of the week for sales: peak times in Europe tend to occur between 3pm and 6pm, with 4pm seeing activity spike. Tuesday is the most popular day for buying cars, closely followed by Wednesday.
The company says its Danish customers are the most likely to buy in the evening, while Finnish buyers are the most likely to place orders in the morning. Norway – whereelectric cars have seen huge levels of uptakethanks to government incentives – has the highest percentage of orders placed on mobile devices.
The company’s line-up currently consists of the Model S, Model X and Model 3, withthe new Model Y SUVandsecond-generation Roadstersports car both claimed to arrive later in 2020. Other models in the pipeline include the Tesla Semi truck and the controversial Cybertruck pick-up.
Talking to car designers is one of the biggest perks of my job. They’re the Hollywood A-listers of the car business; guys and girls who are some of the coolest – and most talented – people on the planet. Any time spent with them, even in my smartest attire, makes my own sense of style seem deeply inadequate.
Lockdown has provided an added opportunity to chat to designers – and not to feel quite so inferior, although even their more relaxed clobber outshines mine.
And lockdown, it seems, has given them valuable thinking time – time for them to be at their most creative. Never mind a supposed baby boom in nine months’ time, I’m hoping we’ll see a raft of radical concept cars heading our way later this year.
Jaguar’s design director, Julian Thomson, told me that he thought there would be a new mindfulness among car buyers, with electrification playing a larger part.
“I think this could mean that people are much more reflective about life; they want healthier, more wholesome lives with greater meaning,” he said.
Thomson believes that could have an effect on the design and materials used inside cars, too. “People will be more concerned about personal spaces and their health in their cars; the air quality,” he told me. “Those little capsules will be more of an escapist unit, so I think material is going to be very, very important.”
Two of my favourite concepts recently have come from SangYup Lee, head of the Hyundai design centre, with the 45 and Prophecy. These are two very different styles – reaffirming Lee’s desire to avoid ‘Russian doll’ designs for Hyundai models. Instead he says the family look comes from a greater focus on clever lighting tech as on the Prophecy (above).
We’re about to enter a golden age of design where detail matters more – inside and out. Technology will allow designers to do that, meaning even more beautiful cars.
Check out the latest new cars due in 2020 below..
The Aston Martin Vantage has lost its roof and none of its potency in Roadster guise.BMW’s first all-electric SUV is the iX3 and it promises 273 miles of range from a 282bhp motor.Mercedes claims its new electric luxury passenger van can cover 250 miles on a single charge. And, with a rapid-charging function, the EQV can reach 62 miles of range in just 15 minutes.Toyota will be expecting much praise for this inspired hot hatch developed by the team responsible for the manufacturer’s World Rally Championship cars. With a three-door body, a bespoke suspension set-up, clever four-wheel-drive system and a 257bhp 1.6-lMercedes’ most luxurious SUV uses a turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 and 48-volt hybrid system, with lots of customisation optionsThe S-Class luxury limo will be available with a familiar exterior design, but lots of new on-board tech - including a Tesla-style screen on the centre console.Yes, there’s still the famous ash-wood frame, but the Plus Four is built on a new bonded-aluminium platform and is powered by a BMW-sourced, 255bhp four-cylinder 2.0-litre petrol engine.Like night follows day, the new BMW 3 Series will be followed by a searing hot M3 version. We’re expecting 510bhp from the twin-turbo straight-six.With new hybrid engine tech and a host of safety features, the tardis-like Honda Jazz just got a bit smarter.Rugged 4x4 looks, matched with the latest EV technology, Jeep will be hoping for big things from its all-wheel drive Renegade PHEV
Bentley is planning to reopen its headquarters and factory in Crewe, Cheshire, on 11 May, with around 250 new hygiene and social distancing measures in place. Full production at the plant will resume on 18 May.
The factory’s 4,000 employees will return to work on a phased basis, and will have to keep two metres away from one another, as well as following one-way movement paths around the site. Face masks will be compulsory, and all staff who can work from home will be asked to do so.
In addition to providing personal protective equipment for staff, Bentley will carry out temperature checks and enforce an enhanced cleaning routine in all its facilities. Population density will be controlled in all areas, ensuring too many employees aren’t gathered in any single location at one time.
Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO, Bentley Motors, said: “Throughout this unprecedented crisis, the health and safety of our colleagues has, and will continue to be, paramount. These extensive new working measures will allow both our people and Bentley to come back stronger than ever and even more focussed.
“The time is now right for Bentley to begin a gradual and controlled return to production, while ensuring our sites are the safest place any of us can be. Everybody will be able to play their part to ensure we can continue Bentley’s extraordinary journey into the future of luxury, sustainable mobility.”
Check out the latest new cars due in 2020 below...
Electric-car maker Tesla has shared insight into its customers’ buying habits, giving a glimpse at how the online-only retailer’s business model works.
While Tesla operates a handful of showrooms throughout the UK, all cars must be ordered through the company’s website. As such, three quarters of customers choose to do this in their own homes, according to the company.
Of these, nearly a fifth will do so on a mobile phone or tablet, Tesla says.
The stats provide insight into the potential of retailing cars online: in 2018, it was revealed thatone in 10 car dealerships had closedover a seven-year period, with forecasters warning that half of all forecourts could shut by 2025.
To make buying online as easy as possible, Tesla says orders can be made in less than 60 seconds, and claims that its fixed pricing structure means no haggling is needed in order to make a sale.
In some countries, more than half of sales are completed without a prior test drive. This is most common in the Netherlands and Germany, says Tesla, and is made possible by its returns policy: buyers can bring back their car within seven days or 1,000 miles with no questions asked and a full refund given.
Tesla has also revealed its busiest times of the week for sales: peak times in Europe tend to occur between 3pm and 6pm, with 4pm seeing activity spike. Tuesday is the most popular day for buying cars, closely followed by Wednesday.
The company says its Danish customers are the most likely to buy in the evening, while Finnish buyers are the most likely to place orders in the morning. Norway – whereelectric cars have seen huge levels of uptakethanks to government incentives – has the highest percentage of orders placed on mobile devices.
The company’s line-up currently consists of the Model S, Model X and Model 3, withthe new Model Y SUVandsecond-generation Roadstersports car both claimed to arrive later in 2020. Other models in the pipeline include the Tesla Semi truck and the controversial Cybertruck pick-up.
Electric cars are different from petrol and diesel ones, and that becomes clear even before you’ve sat in one. From range and charging infrastructure, to government tax breaks and miles per kilowatt hour replacing miles per gallon, moving from fossil fuels to electric power requires a change in mindset.
When you get behind the wheel of an EV, even more differences emerge. The silent running, the instant torque, the regenerative braking – electric cars have intrinsic character differences when compared with their counterparts, and require different driving styles.
But how do these differences impact drivers and how they drive, and is it a positive change? In the hope of finding answers to these questions, Hyundai came to us with a proposition. The firm presented us with two cars – one a pure-electric Ioniq, the other a petrol-powered i30 Fastback – and asked politely if they could hook me up with a blood-pressure monitor and track my eye movement during a pair of 30-minute drives, one in each car.
It wouldn’t be just me that was wired up. The cars would be rigged with pressure pads on their steering wheels, accelerometers and all manner of other sensors. The measurements gathered by these instruments would, together with the assessments of an observer sitting in the passenger seat, generate category scores in five areas: awareness, ability, confidence, efficiency and calmness. The experiment is called Drive Different and its aim, it almost goes without saying, is to look at how my driving changes as I switched from one car to the other.
The day gets off to a bad start, with the cars held up by traffic on their way to the office and rain pounding London’s streets. But soon I’m hooked up; the heart-rate monitor is an unobtrusive bit of kit like a wristwatch, while aside from pressure-pad covers on the cars’ steering wheels and pupil-tracking cameras on their infotainment screens, all seems fairly normal.
We take the i30 Fastback first. Following a preset route around central London, I chat away to my observer. Traffic is light, the rain is easing up and things seem calm. My observer asks what make of car just turned off the road ahead, and while I saw the car make the turn, I didn’t clock the model – “some kind or Eurobox”, I replied, annoyed that I’d almost certainly just dented my ‘awareness’ score.
Soon, things turn grim. The rain reappears and, worse still, we enter an almighty traffic jam. We’re barely moving; 10 minutes go by and we’ve crawled 100 yards or so. A further 10 minutes and things are no better. Traffic is moving enough for me to have to keep dipping the clutch as we edge forwards, while the engine’s stop-start system is stuck in a never-ending cycle of irritating activations. It doesn’t feel like we’re making any kind of meaningful progress at all, and I can feel my stress levels rising.
Mercifully, traffic eventually clears, and we reach the changeover. We’ve wasted 45 minutes stuck in the jam, making the rest of the day rushed. Our observer is under pressure to get to her next appointment, and photographer Pete is having to work around the weather to get our pictures.
Climbing into the Ioniq EV isn’t at the top of my list of priorities. It’s well past lunch; it’s been raining all morning; I’ve just been sat stationary for the best part of an hour. Truth is, I’m grumpy and want to get back to the office.
But as soon as we’re on the move, I feel better about things. The alleviation of the traffic jam certainly plays a part in this – our route is clear, and it’s nice just to be able to move freely around the city. But it’s also nice not to have to keep depressing a clutch and stirring a gearbox between its first three or four speeds; at traffic lights I simply glide to a stop in silence, the Ioniq’s regenerative brakes allowing me to pilot it almost on the accelerator alone. The lack of a stop-start system and engine interrupting things is perhaps the greatest improvement over the i30 Fastback, though. I feel calm, peaceful and content, and the electric portion of the drive goes off without hitch or incident.
Our test took place solely in town, and while I would be keen to take an extended run across a variety of roads in both cars, one of the points I garnered from this test was just how good EVs are in an urban environment. Cars in central London don’t make a great deal of sense at the best of times, but given how bad traffic was during the petrol-powered portion of our drive, the quiet, smooth, stress-free Ioniq really did feel like the ‘right’ car to be driving. Knowing we weren’t adding to London’s pollution problem was another aspect that played into this feeling.
Having handed back the keys to the Ioniq and unhooked myself from the heart monitor, did the measurements from the various gizmos and our observer chime in with my observations? Well, I had to wait for a day or two for these to come through, but you only need look at the second panel to your right to find out.
Hyundai teamed up with academics and driving experts for the Drive Different project, and during the course of its research (which saw 2,000 motorists surveyed) noted there were distinct differences between drivers of hybrid and electric cars, and those in petrol or diesel ones.
Gary Lamb is one of the brains behind Drive Different, and has more than 30 years experience as a driving instructor. He trains instructors and has a Class One HGV licence, and explained why he thought there was a difference.
“People drive electric cars differently for a number of reasons”, Gary said. “Driving styles change as the way people operate a vehicle changes. Subconsciously, they may feel they’re in a vehicle with what may seem like a limited range per charge, so they’re less inclined to accelerate and brake as sharply.” As well as making people smoother, Gary also thinks EVs can make safer drivers. “If you want to make the most of the regenerative braking on offer, you think more about space management and your surroundings, so you think more about what’s ahead.
“Another thing that’s changed is a lot of people are becoming fed up with pollution. In the past you might not worry about this, but now you look at the smoke coming out of cars, and think: ‘people are breathing that in’.”
The five analysed areas were determined by a number of factors. Awareness was based on how often the pupil-tracking camera saw me look through the windscreen and at the mirrors, while Ability was gauged by the frequency of sudden stops and starts; my observer’s reports played a part in both these areas, too.
Confidence was based on how tightly I gripped the steering wheel, how quickly I took corners, and how firm I was with the accelerator, while Efficiency was judged against the cars’ official economy. Finally, Calmness came from my heart rate, how tightly I held the steering wheel, and my facial expression. Hyundai did say that my Ability score in the i30 may have been ‘tricked’ by the heavy traffic jam, but I’ve no excuse for the low Awareness scores – must try harder. Turning to Calmness, I was certainly more relaxed in the Ioniq, as you can see in my scores, while that jam decimated my Efficiency marks in the i30; three out of five here for the Ioniq could be better, but I’ll be the first to admit that I could do with a lighter right foot.
As for Confidence, the amount of time I’ve spent controlling internal combustion engines with my feet is far greater than the length of my experience in electric cars, so it’s not too surprising I was more at home in the i30.
