BBC Top Gear Magazine

@jack_rix editor@bbctopgearmagazine.com I’m becoming desensitised to silly prices for new cars. When did the lunacy of £60k RS3s, £100k M3s and £400k+ production Ferraris cease to raise an eyebrow? And I’ve definitely talked about a £130k Audi R8 bei

A legend. Reimagined. You know what that whale tail spoiler represents, what you’re looking at here, but let’s savour these words. This, ladies and gentleman, is the Turbo Study, Singer’s latest celebration of the Porsche 911. Harking back to the ori

The Phaeton wasn’t a bad car. In fact, it was a gloriously engineered masterpiece of a car. Conceived by VW boss Ferdinand Piëch as revenge on Mercedes for pinching Golf sales with its 1997 A-Class, the Phaeton was intended not only to be classier th

The GRMN badge is back on a hot Yaris, but there’s bad news – Toyota’s building 500 examples of this “fully tuned” GR Yaris and they will only be available in Japan via a reservation lottery. We really are disappointed it won’t make it to the UK. The

The new 2-Series is a collector’s item in being a sort-of-acceptable-looking-modern-BMW. That said, Cadbury purple with gold rims is a bit strong. Could this be one of those rare Beemers than actually suits red?

This one was pretty apparent as I was hurtling down the long straight of the GP ice race in a factory Bentley Continental GT3 with skis tied to the roof running on wide 2mm studded tyres. It turns out 2mm studs on the tyres weren’t enough, and a narr

When Edmund Hillary got to the top of Everest in 1953 he spent about a quarter of an hour scouring the surrounding mountain-scapes for other places to climb. Before beginning the descent, he declined to have his photo taken. Imagine that now… Tenzing

It’s not going to be causing the developers of Forza Horizon 5 to wake up at night in a cold sweat, but PC ‘early access’ title Motor Town: Behind The Wheel offers roughly the same thing: a multiplayer open world, a whole host of driving related miss

Back in 2019, superhuman Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a full marathon in less than two hours. At the time he was wearing a prototype version of these – the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%. Complicated name for a complicated shoe, it tur

If you want to make a car cut as clean a hole in the air as possible, you need a smooth, teardrop shape. The new EQXX concept is basically a C-Class sized four-door saloon, but because it disturbs the air around it so little, it’s good for a claimed

A huge 707 metric horsepower = 697 imperial horses. Another 155bhp over the standard version. When rumours of this car emerged we wondered if it had the 715bhp V12 from the DBS Super-leggera. But no, it’s the regular DBX 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. With

Often with electric cars we’re talking about a completely new design from a fresh faced start-up, but the Mini Electric (which for some reason is badged the Cooper SE on my side of the Atlantic and actually everywhere else in the world except the UK)

Car companies have always been a turbulent mix of opinions and projected messages – that’s what makes them such fascinating organisations. But I’ve never before seen them in the state of raw confusion they are now attempting to navigate. Most car com

“MILLIPEDES AS BIG AS CARS ONCE ROAMED NORTH ENGLAND!” roared the newspaper headline. Yes, in seismic news for fans of a) millipedes and b) northern beach holidays, a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge recently stumbled upon a huge

Cyling through one of London’s hipsterish streets I see this, emblazoned in a cafe window: “Build-your-own or curated salad bowls.” Curated eh? What a word of our times, tiresomely deployed as a fancy dress description for any old take-it-or-leave it

POLESTAR 2 £45,900/£58,800 as tested BMW i4 £51,905/£64,705 as tested “Compact executives”: this became a common if rather ugly car-biz term. It referred to the type of car, not to the 5’2” shiny suited middle-management person behind the wheel. Duri

£30,000 (approx) FOR Just as sweet to drive but with a proper engine this time AGAINST Arguably it feels too familiar. Arguably ‘Waku-Doki.’ Not a new In The Night Garden character about to muscle in on the Tombliboos’ turf, rather the Japanese philo

£22,450 FOR Surprisingly spacious. Decent enough to drive AGAINST Some cheap interior plastics. Sluggish and noisy 3cyl This is Volkswagen’s latest niche-busting coupe-crossover. It joins the seven other VW SUVs on sale in the UK and is based on the

£187,975 FOR Deft, indulgent chassis, responsive, hard hitting V6 AGAINST Ordinary interior. Is it really worth £190,000? The MC20 is a great supercar. No excuses, no ifs or buts (not even too many gripes). What a pleasant surprise. With a carbon tub

$106,290 THIS IS THE SHORT WHEELBASE CADILLAC Escalade. It’s 5.4m long and weighs over 2.6 tonnes. It pulls off the impressive trick of being outwardly giant, yet inwardly small. So maybe you want the bigger one, approaching six metres long. But you’

£50,023 FOR Sharper to drive, body control is much improved AGAINST Schnitzer can apply the same treatment to the 128ti… You’re looking at the AC Schnitzer ACS1 ‘Green Hell’. It is, in essence, a BMW M135i that’s been putting in the HIIT workouts ove

£29,150 FOR As practical now as it ever was, very comfortable AGAINST You can only buy an electric version now As of January 2022, this isn’t available new anymore; the EV is now your only offering, with a range of just 174 miles. So we advise buying

As well as saving 35% on your BBC TopGear magazine subscription, you can choose either a black or white pair of Bluetooth-enabled Bassline TWS wireless earbuds. Enjoy incredible sound through touch sensitive control, with 20 hours total play, secure

PRICE THEN/NOW: £20,845/£12–15k PROS Very economical on the long trips it’d be used for. A traditional Mercedes with all that implies CONS People ignorant of modern emissions controls will despise it for running on diesel In this early EV age, we sho

PRICE THEN/NOW: NOBODY IS REALLY SURE/£3K–£17,514 NEW PROS Largely unstoppable on the right tyres, useful as a small SUV, characterful, a new one is in budget CONS Not a lot has changed since 1977, will feel decidedly unmodern even to Dacia Duster dr

PRICE THEN/NOW: £60,000/£15K FOR A HEALTHY ONE PROS An early Noughties supercar dressed up as a big ol’ family wagon. Kids, stuff, pets – it’ll all fit and be mostly intact at your destination CONS Gearbox and Dynamic Ride Control suspension issues c

PRICE THEN/NOW: £58,045 (500 SL)/FROM £10K PROS Beautifully made, world class waftability, peerless late-Eighties design CONS Electrics are very complex so check everything; watch for header-rail hydraulic leaks; check for corrosion The brief was max

PRICE THEN/NOW: £25,995/£13K FOR A PROPER GOODUN PROS A rally rep icon (especially in blue and gold), crisp responsive chassis and the best way to smile through a grim winter CONS Bone stock ones are hard to find and all of them have a whiff of antis

PRICE THEN/NOW: £21,995/£8,500–£9,500 PROS A great everyday all-rounder with crisp, rewarding handling and plenty of firms out there who can help you maintain and upgrade it CONS It’s still a Renault. Values will only go one way, you can buy more spe

PRICE THEN/NOW: FROM £22,930/FROM £14K… PROS A TopGear Car of the Year, a benchmark hot hatch, lots of standard kit, no known gremlins CONS Current shape STs are only just starting to trickle below £15k, so you might be tempted by a tidy previous-gen

Dear TopGear Helpline, Help! I’m having a midlife crisis! What do you recommend? Dave, Tring Dave, don’t panic. The midlife crisis is simply the brain’s way of coming to terms with the limits of our life’s achievements, and the inevitability of our o

Palomar mountain, Southern California. The road climbs almost a vertical kilometre from Lake Henshaw to the Caltech Observatory at 1,712 metres. America hides these astonishing sections of tarmac in plain sight. It just tucks them away well. This one

“Would you like to see my new toy?” I can’t see Gordon’s mouth when he sidles up to me and says this, but I just know he’s grinning behind that mask. I follow him around the corner, no idea what he’s about to show me – another obscure 50cc Italian mo

EVEN FOR THE 15-TOG LOONIES drunk on Biscoff mochaccinos who insist that this time of year is their favourite, winter motoring is miserable. Salt-encrusted paintwork, white sun in your eyes for the 20 minutes a day that it isn’t pitch black, and a sc

Jan Kalmar’s retort catches me off guard. Um, because it can? “Exactly.” His metaphorical answer to me querying why his prototype ‘RS-R’ 911 rally restomod has leather wrapped impact bars beneath its bumpers is typical of the forthright Dane. As is t

You don’t exactly spectate at the Dakar. No. You drive to a point in the desert and you wait. And hope. Find somewhere high and try to spot a dust cloud. Get excited and then realise you’ve been tracking a fast-moving Land Cruiser. Again. But when th

As well as saving 35% on your BBC TopGear magazine subscription, you can choose either a black or white pair of Bluetooth-enabled Bassline TWS wireless earbuds. Enjoy incredible sound through touch sensitive control, with 20 hours total play, secure

The metaverse. It’s a term that’s currently perched precariously on the tip of the tongue of anyone in tech. And it’s the future, apparently. One where we’ll live in the internet going about our daily lives – doing day to day things – in augmented re

Many of us have been stuck at our home desks for a long time now, banned from the endless commute, overbright lighting and fishbowl feel of the office. If only we could take the home office outside, on the move, switch it up a bit. Except Toyota was

For the past two weeks I’ve used a bedside lamp to illuminate my shower. Not in a sexy way either; two of the ceiling lights have gone pop and they’re a bit of a faff to replace. So, while a ghetto solution exists, I figured a better use of my time w

Very funny. But I’ll concede that getting these two Morgans together is a very visual demonstration of both the company’s design language and its evolutionary philosophy. A numberplate swap might just prove enough to divert your attention from the 56

Has there been a more evocative title for a racing game than Thrash Rally? This 1991 top-down arcade racer did exactly what it said: presented you with a bunch of rally cars and invited you to thrash them. Given that our mental image of rally driving

HELLO £40,130 OTR/£46,850 as tested/£719 pcm WHY IT’S HERE Can a bargain family EV convert an electric car sceptic? DRIVER Andy Franklin ONE COULD ARGUE THAT THE SKODA ENYAQ IS ONE OF THE MOST important EVs produced so far Surely that statement is on

REPORT 3 £57,030 OTR/£58,180 as tested/£1,503 pcm WHY IT’S HERE Is an electric family SUV charming enough to be a ‘Mustang’? DRIVER Jack Rix BRINGS INTO FOCUS HOW LOW AND SWOOPY THE MACH-E STYLING IS, doesn’t it, when you park it next to the Wrangler

HELLO £36,125 OTR/£37,270 as tested/£450pcm WHY IT’S HERE Can millions of Qashqai owners be wrong? DRIVER Esther Neve SAFE IS GOOD, WE ALL LIKE SAFE. IMAGINE MY DELIGHT, THEN, WHEN I read that the new Nissan Qashqai has been awarded not just a five s

REPORT 4 £24,995/£25,545/£311 WHY IT’S HERE Is TG’s Car of the Year as great to live with as it is to drive? DRIVER Stephen Dobie BY THE TIME YOU’RE READING this, we’ll know what Hyundai’s 2022 WRC car looks like. In fact, it ought to have already co

REPORT 5 £40,535 OTR/£42,305 as tested/£644pcm WHY IT’S HERE To expose “sports crossovers” as the silly idea they are. DRIVER Paul Horrell I’VE BEEN HAPPY WITH THE CUPRA LEON WAGON. BUT THEN I HEARD Ollie Kew was getting his mitts on a Golf R. The re

REPORT 4 £110,325 OTR/£110,325 as tested/£1,841pcm WHY IT’S HERE It’s the world’s default super limo but is it too clever for its own good? DRIVER Jason Barlow IT FINALLY HAPPENED. WHILE DROPPING A FAMILY MEMBER OUTSIDE Papworth hospital, an elderly

REPORT 3 £27,995/£30,132/£257 WHY IT’S HERE What’s it like to live with an urban EV without home charging? DRIVER Greg Potts HAVING FINALLY MANAGED TO pry the keys to the baby Fiat from Vijay’s hands, things didn’t start off brilliantly between us. A

REPORT 4 £84,870 OTR/£93,646 as tested/£1,010pcm WHY IT’S HERE Can ‘the only sports car you’ll ever need’ turn its hand to anything? DRIVER Ollie Marriage “NOT ELECTRIC… YET.” IT’S A PHRASE THAT APPLIES TO THE PORSCHE 911 as much as it applies to the

REPORT 8 £158,000/£185,000/£1,899 WHY IT’S HERE It’s the car to save Aston Martin – is it good enough? DRIVER Adam Waddell 3982cc, V8 TT, AWD, 542bhp, 516lb ft 19.8mpg, 323g/km CO2 0–62mph in 4.5secs, 181mph 2,245kg MILEAGE: 10,125 OUR MPG: 20.1 ■

REPORT 2 £45,900/£58,900/£660 WHY IT’S HERE Is the Polestar 2 the thoughtful and better alternative to a Tesla Model 3? DRIVER Tom Ford WINTER IS NOT ELECTRIC car friendly, slowing battery chemistry to the point where it feels like the range is hiber

REPORT 5 £26,605 OTR/£27,200 as tested/£321pcm WHY IT’S HERE Is this the comfiest family car you can buy? DRIVER Sam Philip THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN CURSING THE LACK OF BMW X6s ON Britain’s roads. Not a situation I ever thought I’d find disappoi

GOODBYE £75,660 OTR/£86,745 as tested/£1,260pcm WHY IT’S HERE Is BMW’s mighty M3 still the performance saloon benchmark? DRIVER Rowan Horncastle HELLO £78,425 OTR/£95,370 as tested/£1,640pcm WHY IT’S HERE The M3 has gone 4WD. Is it good enough to ste

REPORT 2 £55,795 OTR/£55,795 as tested/£830pcm WHY IT’S HERE Fast Peugeots are best kept small. What about a fast PHEV wagon? DRIVER Vijay Pattni THE FIRST 508 THAT ARRIVED BACK IN 2010 WASN’T, LET’S SAY, particularly easy on the eye, which made it a

Citroen is the brainchild of André Citroën, born in Paris in 1878. He started the car company in March 1919, right after a momentous war that you might remember from your history books as World War One. The reason we mention this particularly unsavou

It wasn’t just the eponymous front-wheel drive layout popularised by the game changing Traction Avant. It was also one of the first production cars to feature a monocoque body construction and independent suspension. How to celebrate the 2CV in such

If humans one day leave Earth and decide to ship only 10 automobiles from history to our new home in the stars, a Citroen DS will have to be there, nestled among the Ford Model T and Ferrari F40. Citroen at its absolute maddest. The whole car was sus

These small cars are perfect for urban life, but the trade-off is a much lower range PRICE: £34,365–£37,465 RANGE: Up to 136 miles This TG favourite has retro styling and a brilliant interior, but it’s a smidge expensive and the range isn’t great. So

WHO: JACK RIX WHERE: WINDLESHAM, UK Gordon Murray was happy to do the interview, but on the proviso that Jack put in a few shifts giving the factory a bit of a tidy up… WHO: JONNY FLEETWOOD WHERE: KITTILÄ, FINLAND We’re not saying that Jonny takes hi