Category Archives: NEW CARS

NEW CARS

BMW i3: The Rebirth of a Legend, Rewired for the Future

Forget everything you knew about the old BMW i3 — that quirky carbon-bodied city pod that looked like it came from a Scandinavian furniture catalogue. Munich has gone back to the drawing board, binned the recycled plastics and skinny tyres, and rebooted the i3 nameplate for something entirely new: a proper, full-fat electric 3 Series. And it’s coming to take back the crown.

Yes, ladies and gents, the BMW i3 is back — but this time it’s a sleek, 500-mile saloon that promises sheer driving pleasure, in the words of BMW boss Oliver Zipse. This isn’t a retro badge revival. This is BMW signalling that the EV era has finally grown up.

The Neue Klasse Awakens

The new i3 is the first saloon from BMW’s ambitious Neue Klasse family — a lineup that will redefine the brand by 2027 with 40 new EVs and next-gen combustion cars sharing a futuristic design DNA.

If you caught the Vision Neue Klasse concept back in 2023, you’ve already seen the clues: those chiselled lines, the minimalist surfaces, and that reimagined kidney grille that looks like it’s been designed by Tony Stark. The production i3 tones down the sci-fi just enough to look boardroom-ready — yet futuristic enough to make the old 3 Series look like a flip phone.

Underneath, it rides on BMW’s new Gen6 EV platform, shared with the upcoming iX3 SUV. It’s a bespoke setup built for speed, efficiency, and—dare we say it—soul.

The Heart of Joy

BMW has poured its engineering essence into something it calls the Heart of Joy — a centralised computing brain that unites every aspect of the driving experience. Steering, throttle, suspension, braking, even energy recuperation — all choreographed in real time by one digital maestro.

In plain English? The i3 promises to drive like a real BMW, not just another overgrown laptop on wheels. BMW’s engineers have spent countless nights trying to make this EV feel like a petrol 3 Series: sharp, responsive, balanced. The regen and braking systems now work together so seamlessly that 98% of stopping is handled by the motors themselves.

Zipse says it’ll deliver “sheer driving pleasure.” For once, that might not be marketing fluff.

Power to the People (Who Can Afford One)

The launch model, likely badged i3 50 xDrive, will use a dual-motor setup with 464bhp and 479lb ft of torque drawn from a 108kWh NMC battery. That’s good for a range of more than 500 miles — potentially the longest of any EV sold in the UK.

Charging? Thanks to an 800V architecture, the i3 will gulp electrons at up to 400kW, meaning you can add serious range in less time than it takes to drink your flat white.

The rivals are obvious: a Mercedes C-Class EV, an Audi A4 e-tron, and of course Tesla and the ever-aggressive Chinese upstarts from BYD and Xpeng. But if BMW nails the dynamics, none of them will stand a chance.

Inside the Electric Business Class

Inside, the i3 is pure Neue Klasse: minimalist yet unmistakably BMW. The Panoramic iDrive system merges a sweeping, angled touchscreen with a futuristic AR-style head-up display that stretches the entire width of the windscreen. All the data you need sits right in your eyeline, so you can keep your eyes on the next corner rather than the next menu.

It’s clean, it’s modern, and it feels like someone finally made a digital interface that doesn’t require a PhD in menu navigation.

A New M3 Is Coming… and It’s Electric

And just when you think BMW’s gone soft, there’s this bombshell: an electric M3 is coming in 2028. Yes, really. Expect quad motors, torque vectoring wizardry, and a power output that’ll make the current M3 CS look like it’s running on AA batteries. M boss Frank van Meel says it’ll be the most powerful M car ever built — and if you’ve seen early prototypes, it’s not bluff.

BMW’s EV transformation isn’t about blending in. It’s about taking the fight to Tesla — with grip, grunt, and German precision.

From City Car to Corner Carver

The original i3 was an eco-experiment — brilliant in its own weird way but never a true 3 Series. This new one? It’s a 3 Series first, electric second. And that’s the biggest statement BMW could make right now.

With a 500-mile range, sports-saloon poise, and a design language that finally looks confident in the EV era, the i3 is shaping up to be the most important BMW since the original E21 3 Series in 1975.

The name might be recycled, but the mission is brand new: to prove that driving joy and electricity can finally coexist.

Source: BMW

NEW CARS

The Last of the Line: Volkswagen Touareg Final Edition

Well, that’s it then. After more than two decades of quietly holding its ground in the luxury SUV hierarchy, Volkswagen has confirmed the inevitable: the Touareg as we know it — with pistons, pipes and proper grunt — is signing off. But don’t reach for the tissues just yet. Wolfsburg isn’t letting it go without ceremony. Enter the Touareg Final Edition, a swan song for the brand’s flagship SUV before it glides silently into the electric age.

The Final Curtain Call

VW’s big SUV was always a bit of an oddball. Too posh for Golf drivers, not posh enough for Bentley buyers, and perpetually living in the shadow of its flashier cousins — the Cayenne, the Q7, even the Urus. Yet, for those who knew, it was the thinking person’s luxury SUV. A Phaeton in hiking boots.

Now, Volkswagen’s announced that production wraps up in 2026, and the Final Edition will serve as a quiet nod to everything the Touareg stood for — capability, comfort, and a sense of German engineering restraint.

The Final Edition isn’t a single trim level, but a tasteful garnish across the whole lineup. Every version gets a laser-etched “Final Edition” script on the rear window frames, illuminated door sills, and a subtle interior plaque. Think of it as VW whispering, “Danke und auf Wiedersehen.”

Comfort, Chrome, and Cayenne DNA

Even the base Touareg comes well-heeled — heated, 18-way adjustable seats, the swoopy Curved Display infotainment system, and a full suite of driver-assist tech. Step up to Elegance, and you get IQ.Light matrix LEDs, brushed aluminum or fine wood accents, and enough ambient lighting colors to make a nightclub blush.

The R-Line goes for the sportier crowd, with bolstered seats and a bodykit that actually makes the Touareg look mean. But it’s the Touareg R Hybrid that gets the full send-off treatment: 22-inch alloys, blue brake calipers, and 462 PS from a plug-in hybrid system delivering a healthy 700 Nm of torque. That’s plenty for autobahn storming or quietly wafting through Berlin’s low-emission zones.

Prices start at €75,025, climbing to €103,005 for the all-singing, all-dancing R Hybrid. Not cheap, but you’re also buying into history — VW’s last flagship SUV with a combustion heart.

The Legacy of Piech’s Power Play

It’s easy to forget the Touareg’s origins. The model was the brainchild of Ferdinand Piëch, the visionary (and slightly mad) VW boss who wanted to prove his engineers could build a luxury SUV that could tow a 747 — and, in fact, they did.

Since its 2002 debut, over 1.2 million Touaregs have found homes. The first-gen was rugged and overengineered, the second refined and mature, and the third — sharing bones with the Cayenne, Q7, and Bentayga — became properly posh.

The Touareg has seen it all:

  • In 2005, the Stanley prototype won a self-driving race through the Nevada desert.
  • In 2006, a V10 TDI pulled a Boeing 747 just to show off.
  • In 2011, another example drove 22,750 km from Argentina to Alaska in under 12 days.
  • And let’s not forget its three Dakar Rally victories — proof that underneath all the leather and chrome, the Touareg had real grit.

What Comes Next?

Volkswagen is being coy about the future, but it’s written between the lines. The press release refers to the “Touareg with an internal combustion engine,” implying an electric Touareg is already pencilled in. Word is, it’ll wear the ID. Touareg badge and arrive around 2029, riding on VW’s all-new SSP platform.

That means it’ll be bigger, cleverer, and almost certainly faster — but also quieter, smoother, and, well… less Touareg-y.

Still, that’s the direction the industry’s headed. Even VW’s upcoming ID.Polo revives an old nameplate for an electric future. The ghosts of combustion past are being reborn as kilowatt warriors.

Farewell, But Not Forgotten

So here we are: one last bow from the SUV that once towed airplanes, conquered deserts, and redefined what a Volkswagen could be. The Touareg Final Edition isn’t loud or flashy — it’s dignified. A confident nod to 24 years of ambition, endurance, and understated excellence.

If this is the end of the road for VW’s grandest SUV in its piston-powered form, at least it’s going out the way it came in — quietly capable, effortlessly classy, and unapologetically Volkswagen.

Source: Volkswagen

NEW CARS

The Next Peugeot 208 Could Change Everything

If you think the Peugeot 208 is just another neat little Euro-hatch that people in Lyon buy to park outside cafés, think again. The next one – coming in 2026 – isn’t just important for Peugeot; it’s a make-or-break moment for Stellantis, the massive automotive empire that now herds everything from Alfa Romeo to Opel under one giant corporate umbrella.

And the new 208? It’s leading the charge – literally.

The Dawn of STLA Small

This is the first car to roll out on Stellantis’s brand-new STLA Small platform, a modular EV architecture that’ll underpin everything from A-segment city cars to C-segment hatchbacks and crossovers. Think of it as Stellantis’s Swiss Army knife: clever, compact, and able to take both hybrid and fully electric powertrains.

But here’s the twist – Peugeot’s next 208 will be EV-only. No petrol, no diesel, no mild-hybrid safety net. Just electrons. And that’s a bold move when even the big players are hedging their bets in this unpredictable EV market.

Numbers That Matter

Why give this huge responsibility to a supermini? Because the 208 is Peugeot’s bread and butter. In the first half of 2025 alone, it notched up 109,146 sales, beaten only by the Renault Clio and Dacia Sandero. If Peugeot can make the EV transition work here, it can make it work anywhere.

So while Stellantis’s other brands – Fiat, Vauxhall, Citroën – will eventually jump onto the same platform, the 208 gets the first dance.

Battery Bonanza

The new chassis can swallow battery packs ranging from 37kWh to 82kWh, which is a big jump from today’s maximum of 52kWh. Expect the 208 to get one of the juicier packs, probably that 82kWh job seen in the wild Vauxhall Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo concept.

That would mean a proper grown-up range well north of 300 miles, maybe more – making those endless charging stops on French autoroutes a distant memory.

Power? Peugeot’s being coy, but the current 156bhp e-208 is a decent starting point. The STLA platform can handle way more though – up to 395bhp if you bolt in twin motors. A new GTi-badged electric hot hatch, anyone? Don’t rule it out.

Inside the Electric Future

If the drivetrain sounds radical, the cabin is about to go full sci-fi. Peugeot’s Polygon concept, due to debut in November, will preview the new car’s tech-laden interior. Out goes the familiar small round steering wheel and in comes something straight off a spaceship – a rectangular “Hypersquare” controller connected to a steer-by-wire system.

Yes, you read that right: no physical steering column. Just sensors, servos, and software. It’s the first time Stellantis has used this tech, and Peugeot insists it’ll bring new levels of agility and precision. And of course, it frees up a ton of cabin space.

Top that off with a 21-inch panoramic curved screen – borrowed from the 3008 – and you’ve got one of the most futuristic interiors ever seen in a compact hatch. Former Peugeot boss Linda Jackson called it “technically superior” and claimed it enhances that elusive Peugeot trademark: driving pleasure.

The Look of the Future

Outside, the next 208 will finally join the family photo. Expect design cues from the latest 308, 3008, and 5008 – with those claw-shaped LED lights, crisp surfacing, and the new Peugeot shield up front. The Polygon concept will be wilder, of course, but the production car will be a handsome evolution rather than a complete reinvention.

Dimensionally, it’s set to grow a touch – around 130mm longer and 105mm wider than today’s model – giving it a more planted stance without losing that city-friendly feel.

Built in Spain, Built for the Future

Production will continue at Zaragoza in Spain, alongside the next-gen Corsa (which also ditches petrol power). The 208 hits the line at the end of 2026, with the Corsa following in early 2027, and a new 2008 crossover not far behind.

Pricing? Expect it to hover around the current £30,000 mark, but that’ll depend on which battery you pick and how Peugeot positions its trims.

Peugeot’s not just building another electric hatchback here – it’s setting the tone for Stellantis’s entire next generation of small cars. The 208’s move to EV-only is gutsy, the tech is ambitious, and that steering system could redefine how we think about driving feel in compact cars.

If Peugeot pulls this off, the 208 won’t just be another electric hatch. It’ll be the car that proves mass-market EVs can still have soul.

Source: Peugeot