Autocar invented the road test back in 1928 – or did we? We trawl the past to find the true starting point Few phrases illustrate language’s evolution as succinctly as ‘road test’. Free from the constraints of its earlier, literal limitations, nowadays it’s applied to myriad scenarios where products or situations are sampled before making informed...

Motorists weren't onboard with the idea of registrations plates when they arrived in the early 1900s Nobody today gives a second thought to their car needing registration plates, but initially this was a very unpopular imposition. In 1900, Autocar opined in reply to an article in the County Council Times: “We cannot understand, except on the...

Electrification has become inevitable even for the Rambo Lambo When Mini launched the previous generation of the electric hatch, it called the car Cooper SE in most markets but decided to go simply with ‘Electric’ in the UK in order to avoid confusion with the common trim level name.There have been no such qualms with the new Lamborghini Urus SE,...

The tech in BMW’s electric models has been engineered to put you in charge. That’s why, for BMW iX driver Simon, range isn’t a worry For drivers thinking about making the switch and going electric, it’s often range anxiety – worrying about how far an electric car can go, and whether it will run out of charge before you get there – that is one...

Ford Puma has extended its lead atop the UK sales rankings. What could stop it being number one this year? Last year was a positive one for the automotive industry, with the UK experiencing its best year for car sales since the pandemic. More than 1.9 million new cars were registered – but one stood out among the rest. The Ford Puma was the...

New car sales figures and waning EV market prompt call for urgent government support amid “serious concerns” Demand from private buyers for diesel cars was more than for EVs in September, leading industry bosses to renew calls for urgent government support amid “serious concerns” that a waning electric car market “is putting environmental ambitions...