New Volkswagen Golf GTI vs Ford Focus ST - shock verdict; Extreme Audi super TT; New Nissan Qashqai scooped; New Audi R8 vs used Ferrari Scuderia; Full road test: Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid
This week Steve Sutcliffe pits the mighty Ford Focus ST against the new VW Golf GTi in a showdown designed to crown a new hot hatch champion. The verdict is as surprising for the margin of victory as the result itself.
In another thrilling duel, we pit the new Audi R8 V10 Plus against a used Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Both come in now at £130k, and the Ferrari provides an intriguing measure of just how close Audi’s supercar comes to greatness.
The news section is led by the latest details on the next generation Nissan Qashqai, plus the full story of the one-off Audi TT concept that points the way to the next generation car’s future design. Other new cars profiled include the Renault Twizy F1, Maserati’s proposed hypercar challenger and MG’s plans for a new sports car. We also have an exclusive interview with MG’s head of design, Anthony Williams-Kenny.
Our exhaustive eight-page road test covers the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid in detail, asking if a Volvo can ever be worth its near-£50,000 asking price? The latest iteration of the Nissan GT-R leads off our first drive review section, joined by the Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008, Mercedes SLS GT and standard-specification VW Golf GTi. Among them there are cars that we pronounce as being close to greatness and others that are notable for no more than meeting the class standards.
Our used car coverage is larger than normal, taking in an investigation into the bargain grey imports on sale today, plus James Ruppert’s usual overview of the market, an investigation into whether a new Jaguar F-type V6 makes a better buy than the Maserati GranCabrio V8. Our used buying guide highlights what to relish and be wary of on the VW Lupo GTi.
Autocar magazine is available through all good newsagents, and available to download from Zinio and the Apple iTunes store.