Renault takes the wraps off Alaskan, a one-tonne pick-up that takes a completely fresh approach to the pick-up segment, including a look that incorporates an imposing front-end. Both robust and comfortable, Alaskan delivers driving comfort enhanced with a cutting edge five-link rear suspension and a tough, fully boxed frame.

Alaskan is a powerful vehicle that combines outstanding off-road ability and best-in-class fuel economy with the Renault 2.3-litre dCi engine under the bonnet.

SEAT has announced a new partnership which will see the Barcelona-based car manufacturer become the sponsor of ITV’s mystery dramas for the next two years.

It is the first time that SEAT has sponsored programming on one of the UK’s best-known broadcasters, and will include prime-time dramas such as Vera and Broadchurch.

Andrew Tracey, Head of Marketing SEAT UK, said: “These are really exciting times for SEAT, with our largest ever product offensive, including the launch of our eagerly-awaited first SUV, Ateca, in September. So, it’s a great time for us to be investing in wide-reaching media, including one of the calibre of ITV.”

Bhav Chandrani, ITV Controller of Sponsorship Sales, added: “ITV has some fantastic mystery dramas coming up which are sure to keep viewers gripped. I’m really pleased to welcome SEAT as a new sponsor to ITV.”

New Jaguar Land Rover SVO Technical Centre – Presentation Suite

Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has officially opened its new Technical Centre in the heart of the British Midlands. The innovative new £20m facility near Coventry will be the headquarters of SVO and will house manufacturing, paint, technical and customer commissioning and presentation zones inside the 20,000m2 facility.

The new Technical Centre is significant representation of the growth of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations – the specialist division of Jaguar Land Rover created in June 2014 to build a business responsible for halo car products (SVO), Vehicle Personalisation, classic car programmes by Jaguar Land Rover Classic and an exciting range of Branded Goods.

John Edwards, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations, said: “The new Special Vehicle Operations Technical Centre is a major step forward in meeting the desires of our most discerning customers. There are more than 200 skilled employees here that are committed to outstanding quality and craftsmanship in everything they do.

“The SVO Technical Centre is very modern facility, inspired by a Formula 1 engineering centre. It covers 20,000 square metres including a manufacturing area, one of the world’s most eco-friendly and advanced paint shops, custom-built commissioning suite, technical suite, presentation suite and offices.

“This new Technical Centre enables us to build on the successful launches of the Range Rover Sport SVR, Range Rover SVAutobiography and Jaguar F-TYPE SVR , and provide an excellent foundation for the growth of the SVO business with the introduction of exciting new Vehicle Personalisation programmes.”

The Vision: Vehicle Personalisation

In future, customers will be able to visit the Technical Centre’s Bespoke Commissioning Suite by invitation, where they will explore the infinite range of possibilities for creating and customising their own Jaguar or Land Rover vehicle. A member of the Jaguar or Land Rover Design team will be on hand to assist the customer in the commissioning process.

Greg Clark, Director of Vehicle Personalisation said: “Our brand new facility delivers industry leading quality, precision and choice. We will encourage customers to participate in the design of their own vehicles, to give a real sense of emotional connection to something that they have created; something unique.

“Our aim is to progressively grow our portfolio to cater to, and exceed, the desires of our most discerning customers.”

The exclusive experience will continue through to the food served to customers visiting the Technical Centre. Michelin-starred chef Graham Edwards, who learned his trade in London’s West End and has previously worked with Raymond Blanc, is on hand to create a selection of dishes designed to suit the client or and utilising the very best of the Midlands’ regional ingredients.

The SVO story will continue in the Technical Centre once the customer has left, as their car is painted and hand-finished in the other three areas of the building.

The quality and attention to detail throughout the Technical Centre has been inspired by the exacting standards of the top level of motorsport. The workshop features a series of highly advanced workstations and has been created to enable the final assembly of SVO vehicles, by hand, to the highest possible quality.

High definition design meets highly intelligent technology in the new Audi Q2, the Vorsprung durch Technik brand’s first crossover which will join the currently three-strong Audi Q range later this summer priced from £20,230 OTR.

Head of Audi Design Marc Lichte and his team have taken the compact SUV in a new styling direction intended to appeal to a younger audience, and have combined this with a quality of finish and a portfolio of connectivity, infotainment and assistance systems that will be instantly familiar from the larger Audi models.

“In the Audi Q2 we have developed a distinctively geometric form language with model-specific design characteristics. The car exhibits an independent character within the Q family,” says Lichte.

Many equipment packages, exterior colours and expressive colours for interior trim and seat upholstery allow plenty of creative space for personal configuration. One option is the LED lighting package advanced, in which the interior is staged in a particularly attractive way with illuminated trim elements. Newly designed 16-inch alloy wheels are fitted as standard, and can be optionally increased to 19 inches upon request.

The need to integrate today’s consumer technologies such as smartphones seamlessly into our homes, offices and cars is becoming essential for many.  Recognising this trend, when designing the new Tiguan, Volkswagen engineers have ensured the car is packed with state-of-the-art features that support connectivity and functionality more easily than ever.

Whether it’s getting the latest traffic information, streaming some music or dictating a text hands-free the latest Volkswagen SUV is equipped for the task.

All new Tiguans offer, as a minimum, Volkswagen’s Composition Media system.  This includes an eight-inch colour touch-screen, DAB digital radio receiver, CD player, USB connection and the simultaneous pairing, via Bluetooth, of two compatible mobile phone devices.¹

Once a smartphone is paired with the Tiguan the driver or passenger can make and receive phone calls via the car’s built-in microphone and infotainment speakers.  When the car is stationary the driver or passenger can even read and reply to SMS text messages using the touch-screen display, if they have an Android smartphone.

Internet on the move

Of course mobile phones now do so much more than merely text or call contacts.  This is where Volkswagen’s Car-Net comes in.  Car-Net refers to in-car internet connectivity and it brings the best functions of a smartphone – entertainment and convenience – into the Tiguan, simply and securely.

A range of services are available, and for access to the full functionality all the driver needs to do is set up an account at volkswagen-car-net.com and download the Car-Net app to their smartphone.

Car-Net kicks off with the App-Connect system.  Available on entry-level S trim, and standard on all other trims, App-Connect allows the display screen of a smartphone to be ‘mirrored’ on the Tiguan’s Composition Media touch-screen by connecting the phone via a USB cable.²  This is compatible with smartphones that run Apple, Google and Android operating systems, meaning the function is available to almost every smartphone user.

Crucially, the Tiguan also allows the use of certified apps on its infotainment touch-screen.  And if the app supports voice control then that will work in the Tiguan too!  With safety in mind, only certain apps can be used while the Tiguan’s wheels are in motion.

One such app is MirrorLink’s Cam Connect.  This allows the infotainment display to be connected to a GoPro camera, which can be mounted in the vehicle or in a trailer that’s being towed by the Tiguan.  This is useful if you have a dog in the rear of the vehicle, or if you’re towing a horse box and you want to check on your animal without having to pull over.

In the fast-moving world of digital development, the list of apps that are accessible while on the move is growing all the time.  Apple’s CarPlay supports Spotify; the music streaming service, Stitcher; which offers a variety of radio shows and podcasts; and the video calling app Skype.  Android Auto works with a variety of apps, including instant messengers WhatsApp and KiK, and GoogleHangouts too.  These apps are navigated using the car’s steering wheel controls.

Volkswagen’s ‘Guide and Inform’ system is the next step in truly bringing the online world into the new Tiguan.  It operates via Volkswagen’s familiar Discover Navigation system and opens up access to a wide range of useful information, including traffic conditions, fuel location and pricing, parking space availability, the weather at the destination and customisable news feeds.  A press of the Point of Interest button in the navigation menu provides a wide variety of options to find the precise information required.  For example, a list of petrol stations can be sorted by the distance from the Tiguan or even by the price of the fuel.

Alternatively, the driver can search for points of interest on the volkswagen-car-net.com website while at home or at work.  The ‘Destination Import’ function then allows them to send the information to the Tiguan’s navigation system.  Complete routes can be sent to the car so the driver simply gets in, downloads the journey and starts driving.

Once under way, the Tiguan will know if traffic is building up along the route and will re-calculate the journey to find the fastest option.  The Tiguan’s live traffic information is based on the Traffic Message Channel, which supplies continuously updated traffic data throughout Europe.  Alternative routes are automatically chosen and the corresponding estimated time of arrival is updated accordingly.

All Car-Net ‘Guide and Inform’ services are standard equipment on trims from SE Navigation and above, and are optional on the Tiguan S. A three-year subscription to the ‘Guide and Inform’ service is included, so the maps are constantly updated, too.³

Tiguan’s active information

The most comprehensive mobile connectivity available in new Tiguan is Car-Net ‘Guide and Inform Plus’.  Optional on S, SE Navigation, SEL and R-Line trims, ‘Guide and Inform Plus’ adds voice activation technology to the already thorough ‘Guide and Inform’ offering.  It brings Google Earth™ into the car, while Google Street View™ can also be displayed on the colour touch-screen.

A crucial feature of Car-Net is the way in which the Car-Net app acts as an e-Remote for the new Tiguan.  Before the driver gets into the car, he or she can use the Car-Net e-Remote to pre-set the air conditioning so the cabin is at their preferred temperature.  The e-Remote also displays the vehicle’s mileage, last parking position and will even inform the driver if the headlights are on or not.

The connectivity of the new Tiguan makes it one of the most advanced cars in its class, but it’s far from a ‘one trick’ SUV.  Another technological highlight is the Active Info Display: a 12.3-inch high resolution TFT display screen located in the instrument binnacle.  It offers a digital speedo and tachometer, and the display can be customised to show almost any of the car’s other parameters.  Particularly useful is the wide-screen navigation display, which replicates the information on the TFT display in the centre console.  Active Info Display is available on trims from SE and up, and is standard on the SEL and R-Line models.

Another key feature is the Head-up Display that projects driving information, including current speed and the speed limit, onto a retractable screen within the driver’s field of vision. This fighter jet-inspired technology is an option on Tiguans from SE and above.

Brimming with technology, the new Volkswagen Tiguan is on sale now.  For full details, together with brochures and pricing and to use Volkswagen’s online configurator, please visit www.volkswagen.co.uk.

The Range Rover Evoque reached a historic milestone today as it celebrated its fifth year of production at Jaguar Land Rover’s advanced manufacturing facility near Liverpool, UK.

With over half a million sold globally in more than 180 countries since 2011, the Range Rover Evoque – driven everywhere from Madrid to Manila – is Land Rover’s greatest sales success story. It is also Land Rover’s most efficient model, thanks to its British-built Ingenium engines which offer class-leading CO₂ emissions of just 109g/km and impressive fuel consumption of 68mpg.

The Range Rover Evoque has become a non-stop British success with 24-hour production at the Halewood plant. Since the first Evoque rolled off the production line on 4 July 2011, sales have increased five-fold from just over 22,000 in 2011 to more than 108,000 in 2015 – with a new Evoque now rolling off the production line every 170 seconds. At the same time, the workforce has also trebled to more than 4,000, with 1,500 recruited specifically to support the launch of this record-breaking vehicle in 2011.

Over the past five years, employees have clocked up more than three million night-shift hours, consuming 668,000 cups of coffee, half a million eggs and 125,000 slices of toast to keep energy levels up during an eight hour shift. A total of 1.7 billion Evoque parts have been fitted in the Trim and Final assembly area, travelling over 2.5 million miles of conveyor system.

Jaguar Land Rover associate Ash Milburn joined Halewood shortly after the launch of the Evoque: “I started as an Apprentice at a very exciting time for the company. The Range Rover Evoque has been hugely successful; it has brought a lot of positive changes to Halewood and has contributed immensely to the success of Jaguar Land Rover, as well as boosting the whole UK automotive industry,” he said.

Ross Bolton, Paint Shop Production Leader, said: “I started in February 2011 so I have witnessed the transformation in the factory that Evoque has brought with it. I have since been promoted to a Production Leader and I am grateful to the company for this amazing opportunity. I am looking forward to continuing to support the business and helping us drive our success forward into the future.”

Earlier this year, Halewood began building a new soft-top member of the Evoque family, the Range Rover Evoque Convertible; the world’s first luxury SUV convertible and another first for Land Rover. Despite the typical British summer weather, employees at Halewood enjoyed the roof-down experience of driving the Evoque Convertible on the Land Rover Experience off-road course as part of the birthday celebrations.

Richard Else, Jaguar Land Rover Halewood Operations Director, said: “During my 25 years at Jaguar Land Rover it has been the last five years that have been the most eventful, exciting and rewarding. The impact which Evoque has made to our business and to Halewood is nothing short of transformational. I am immensely proud of the Halewood team; their pride, passion and commitment to getting the job done and going above and beyond is second to none.”

Jaguar Land Rover has invested £600 million at the Halewood plant since 2010 to support the Range Rover Evoque (2011), Land Rover Discovery Sport (2014) and the Evoque Convertible (2016). The Evoque is also the fastest selling Land Rover of all time, accounting for one in four Land Rovers sold around the world in 2015. Local production also started in China in 2015, and more recently, announced in Brazil.

The Range Rover Evoque is available from £30,600 on the road for the 2.0 litre eD4 six speed manual.

www.landrover.co.uk

Hyundai Motor UK’s best-selling model, the Hyundai Tucson compact SUV, is now offered with a fifth powertrain option. A dynamic and efficient 141 PS 1.7-litre turbo diesel with seven-speed double clutch transmission (7DCT) and two-wheel drive (2WD) is available to order in the UK priced from £24,570 OTR for the SE trim, rising to £29,695 for the Premium SE derivative.

Hyundai Motor’s in-house developed 7DCT system offers a choice between fully automatic operation and sequential manual gear changes, selected with the gear lever for greater driver involvement. The 7DCT provides improved fuel efficiency and lower CO₂ emissions compared to a six-speed automatic transmission – emitting only 129g of CO₂ and offering fuel consumption of 57.6 mpg on a combined cycle. The turbo diesel engine provides a maximum torque of 340 Nm over a wide rev range of 1,750 rpm to 2,500 rpm.

For further efficiency, the new powertrain comes with Hyundai’s Integrated Stop & Go (ISG) system as standard, which is also available for the 1.7-litre (116PS), and the 2.0-litre 2WD (136PS) diesel engines as well as the 1.6-litre petrol engine.

The Tucson is one of the safest vehicles in its segment and received the maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. It benefits from a solid body structure featuring 51% of ultra-high strength steel for improved torsional rigidity and impact resistance and a host of innovative passive and active safety features like Autonomous Emergency Braking with pedestrian recognition that can stop the car automatically if a crash is predicted. The Tucson’s list of safety features also includes a Blind Spot Detection alerts the driver to approaching vehicles, Rear Cross Traffic Alert which scans a 180-degree area behind the vehicle alerting the driver if there is approaching cross-traffic and the Lane Keep Assist System applying steering correction in case of unintended lane departure. Additionally the Active Hood cushions the impact shock in case of a frontal collision.

The new 1.7-litre CRDi 7DCT powertrain is available to order in the UK now across the Tucson range from SE trim and above.

The SEAT Ateca has received the highest score in the Euro NCAP test programme. The first SUV in the history of the Spanish brand fully demonstrated the high level of safety it offers and was given five stars. The Ateca received an excellent classification in each of the categories included in the Euro NCAP tests, with particular emphasis on adult passenger and child safety, as well as in pedestrian protection and driver assistance systems.

This recognition comes ahead of the smartly-styled Ateca reaching UK showrooms this September, the first model in SEAT’s largest ever product offensive which will see four new models roll out in the next 18 months. In addition, the classification has been obtained in a year when the Euro NCAP has increased the number of tests that vehicles must perform and has also set higher standards when making its assessment. In this sense, to verify the level of passenger protection, several new sizes and types of crash test dummies were used, and the number and severity of the testing methods have also increased.

The SEAT Ateca’s success in the test programme is owed to its advanced safety systems fitted as standard, which have proved to be highly effective. The new model, which has been wholly designed and developed in Barcelona, features the emergency city and motorway braking system Front Assist with pedestrian recognition, which Euro NCAP has been testing since 2016. In addition, this safety programme also evaluates the lane keeping system, which is available on SEAT Ateca.

SEAT’s new SUV, which is set to become the brand’s third pillar next to the Ibiza and the Leon, is equipped with seven airbags as standard, including a driver’s knee airbag, as well as seatbelts with pretensioner and load limiter in the front and rear seats. This latter feature is a great benefit for restraining occupants of all sizes, as the pretensioner keeps the belt snug against the passenger’s torso and pelvis at the moment of an impact, guaranteeing better restraint for both adults and children.

The Ateca also features other outstanding safety systems, including Blind Spot Detection and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, 360-degree view with rear camera and Tiredness Recognition System.