Car UK May 2019

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

MAY 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 147

KIA PROCEED ★★★★★

Nope, not a three-door hatch any more. Slick
shooting brake styling and solid interior hide
uncharismatic engines and indecisive auto
VERDICT Style and substance balance are a
little off
SOUL ★★★★★
Improved second-gen chunky spunky SUV better
to drive but ride and noise suppression poor. Petrol
version rubbish, but much cheaper > VERDICT A
Korean with character but other SUVs are more
rounded (in both senses)
OPTIMA ★★★★★
Sexless Mondeo clone cobbles together some
mojo via the addition of sharp-suited Sportswagon
and a plug-in hybrid > VERDICT All the car you’ll ever
need, but not the car you want
VENGA ★★★★★
Weird sit-up supermini-cum-MPV packs Focus
space into near-city-car dimensions. Hard to get
comfy, though. Best engine is the 1.4 petrol
VERDICT Too pricey and too ordinary to drive,
although the looks are neatly individual
CARENS ★★★★★
Big, versatile, value-packed seven-seater. Go
diesel – 1.6 petrol is wheezy > VERDICT For all its
pseudo-premium Euro aspirations, this is the stuff
Kia still does best
SPORTAGE ★★★★★
All-new, all-turbo SUV truly handles and rides but
somehow a picture of Mr Potato Head’s face got
mixed up with the blueprints > VERDICT Improved
in just about every way – except to look at

SORENTO ★★★★★

Ambitious new flagship SUV reckons it’s a real
Land Rover rival. Bigger than ever, as is the price:
up to a salty £40k. Only engine is a 2.2 diesel
VERDICT Impressive, but lacks badge and
performance of premium off-roaders
STINGER ★★★★★
Handsome four-door GT has a mountain to climb
to win over German exec buyers but it’s comfy and
a head-turner. Interior not as well-finished or techy
as rivals > VERDICT An impressively solid first
effort; V6 GT-S is playful

KTM

X-BOW ★★★★★

22nd century Ariel Atom mixes carbonfibre
construction with hardy Audi turbocharged 2.0
four-pot > VERDICT Big money, big grins, but
single-seat BAC Mono gives more racecar-like
experience

LAMBORGHINI

HURACAN EVO ★★★★★

Spine-tingling V10, beguiling looks and
enhanced dynamic ability make the Evo a proper
performance contender > VERDICT Almost
unbearably charismatic and achingly desirable

AVENTADOR S ★★★★★

Aventador hits the sweet spot: old enough to
sort the gripes associated with early versions and

young enough to not yet be the subject of 31 run-

out limited editions. Semi life-affirming > VERDICT

Pose-to-talent ratio heading in the right direction

URUS ★★★★★

>it’s in a movie and is full of Audi bits Fast, capable SUV that sounds good, looks like > VERDICT It’s

quite something

LAND ROVER

DISCOVERY SPORT ★★★★★

> ‘Educated, professional luxury SUV desperately

seeking decent diesel engine.’ Ingenium replied.

Happy ever after? > VERDICT Comfy silence a

promising start. We’ll know it’s love when they get

the interior decorators in

DISCOVERY ★★★★★

> Gen-5 Disco can climb mountains and social

strata with equal equanimity. Worryingly close to

Range Rover, slightly frustrating engine choice

> VERDICT The best seven-seat party wagon

money can buy

RANGE ROVER EVOQUE ★★★★★

> Posh mum’s SUV, now also a convertible, solving

the interior’s claustrophobia-triggering tendencies.

Ingenium engines commendably hushed

> VERDICT Pricey, but perfectly pitched

RANGE ROVER VELAR ★★★★★

> Sport-lite or Evoque-plus? Either way, Land Rover’s

centrally placed SUV is handsome, capable, well

finished and worthy of its name

> VERDICT The new benchmark Range Rover

RANGE ROVER SPORT ★★★★★

> As luxurious as a Rangie, as practical as a Disco,

better looking than an Evoque and could follow a

Defender cross country > VERDICT Very good at

just about everything

RANGE ROVER ★★★★★

BEST IN

CLASS

> Benchmark luxury SUV now even

better with techier cabin. V6 diesel

acceptable, supercharged V8 petrol

hilarious, PHEV pointless > VERDICT The perfect

car for smuggling cash to Switzerland, skiing, turning

up at a ball, game shooting and being smug

LEXUS

CT ★★★★★

> Pig-ugly premium Prius a mix of decent handling,

woeful performance and a ride so poor it makes a

black cab feel like an S-Class > VERDICT Wouldn’t

merit a single sale if company car tax bills were less

CO2-focused

IS ★★★★★

> Sharp-suited, well-specced 3-series rival finally

gets decent rear space. Good chassis, but the 250

V6 is irrelevant, and the frugal hybrid is hobbled by

a nasty CVT > VERDICT So close. Needs a proper

automatic gearbox

ES ★★★★★

> Lexus changes tack in exec saloon fistfight by

removing samurai-styled, hybrid-powered GS and

replacing it with samurai-styled, hybrid powered

ES. No, we don’t know why they went to the effort

either > VERDICT Smooth and quiet, with well built

if awkward interior. Sound familiar?

LS ★★★★★

> Interior materials are to die for, but hybrid

powertrain less than convincing > VERDICT You’d

have to REALLY want to be different

UX ★★★★★

(^) a bit hybrid-y, like almost every Lexus > Baby crossover that’s striking, quiet and

VERDICT Efficient urban-focused feelgood
transport for those who value comfort over
ruggedness
NX ★★★★★
Trumps even the Audi Q5 with a fabulous interior
and arrest-me (for persecuting curves) exterior
design. Fwd or 4wd with electric motor at rear
VERDICT Doesn’t work as a driver’s car, so take the
NX300h hybrid over faster, costlier NX200t
RX ★★★★★
Looks like Lord Vader’s helmet with wheels on,
but interior opulence and general tranquillity make
up for idiosyncratic infotainment issues
VERDICT Build quality and refinement to save the
galaxy, even if the hybrid tech won’t
RC/RCF ★★★★★
RCF’s old-school unblown V8 completes
charismatic package that shocked M4 in our Giant
Test. Elegance of regular range can’t overcome
lack of diesel option > VERDICT Deserve more
success than they’ll likely get
(^) LC500 ★★★★★
A serious sports car from the most serious of
makers gets a clever hybrid or a tasty V8, 10-speed
auto and less bovine acoustics. It’s quite sexy
VERDICT Proof that Lexus is no longer the
Japanese Mercedes
LOTUS
ELISE ★★★★★
Reminds just how connected cars used to be.
Slothful 1.6 reminds how they used to go, too,
so pick the 1.8 instead > VERDICT A 10-year-old
example does the same job for half the price
EXIGE ★★★★★
Gym-bunny Elise with supercharged V6 retains
beautifully unassisted steering. Superb 350 Sport
turns up the wick > VERDICT The Lotus our tyre-
frying Ben Barry would buy
EVORA 400 ★★★★★
Lost its looks but gained supercharged 400bhp
VERDICT The chassis and steering are Lotus at
its sparkling best. Sublime
MCLAREN
540C ★★★★★
The world’s first decontented supercar. Entry
level doesn’t get any better > VERDICT The work of
a very focused company somewhere near the top
of its game
570S/570GT ★★★★★
Base McLaren ditches carbon body and
super-trick suspension, but keeps carbon
MonoCell and twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8. Now
available with glass hatchback, too > VERDICT S
and GT performance near identical; both make 911
Turbo S feel too normal
6 0 0 LT ★★★★★
comprehensive track-focused re-engineering and The Sports Series gets its LT; more power, a
high-mounted LT exhausts > VERDICT The most
thrilling McLaren this side of the Senna. (And let’s
face it: everything’s this side of the Senna)
720S ★★★★★
650S replacement turns the wick up and is
measurably better in every way than a 488.
Maranello won’t be pleased > VERDICT Obscenely
fast and engaging – we just wish it was louder
SENNA ★★★★★
As happy breaking lap records as it is nipping to
the shops. Astounding engineering achievement
that makes the P1 feel slow > VERDICT Named after
a hero – but you don’t need to be one
MASERATI
GHIBLI ★★★★★
Small exec drives great, looks the business,
doesn’t have the four-cylinder diesel that will get
it on your shopping list. A shame > VERDICT An
alcohol-free Quattroporte
QUATTROPORTE GTS ★★★★★
A brilliant blend of Maranello turbo V8 wrapped in
some gracefully ageing Maserati bits. Remains the
coolest four-door car money can buy > VERDICT It
won’t let you in unless you’re in a suit or chinos
GRAN TURISMO/GRAN
CABRIO ★★★★★
Four genuine seats a rarity in this class, but fill
them and you’ll regret choosing the weedy 4.2 over
the 4.7 at the first sniff of a hill > VERDICT Podgy,
pretty, practical GT for folk who hate four-door faux
coupes. And luggage
LEVANTE ★★★★★
Very accomplished SUV that holds its own among
the likes of the Porsche Cayenne and Jaguar F-Pace,
with all the charm you expect from a Maserati >
VERDICT Far from flawless but it’ll show you a good
time
MAZDA
2 ★★★★★
Shot-in-the-arm supermini packs good value,
handling and looks, leaving sweat marks on the
shirts of the VW Polo marketing team > VERDICT
Under-radar Fiesta threatener gatecrashes the
top table
3 ★★★★★
NEW
ENTRY
Most stylish family hatch on the
market right now? It’s also great to
drive. Regular petrol engine is a little
lacklustre, so wait for the Skyactiv-X compression-
ignition petrol > VERDICT A hatch you should pay
attention to
6 SALOON/TOURER ★★★★★
Boss won’t let you have a BMW 3-series? This
makes an impressive alternative. Handles well but
rides like the tyres have DTs > VERDICT Swoopily
styled, tax friendly, entertaining alternative to po-
faced VW Passat, although not anyone’s idea of the
ultimate driving machine
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