News

The new Isuzu D-Max EV will be priced from £59,995 (excluding VAT) when it arrives in UK showrooms next February.

The Japanese brand's first EV – and one of the UK's first electric pick-up trucks – swaps the existing D-Max's diesel engine for a pair of electric motors. 

One is mounted on each axle, giving combined outputs of 188bhp and 240lb ft of torque for a 0-62mph time of 10.1sec and a top speed north of 80mph.

Power is supplied by a 66.9kWh battery under the floor, which is good for a WLTP range of 163 miles and can be charged at speeds of up to 50kW for a 20-80% top-up time of one hour.

Importantly, the battery doesn't have a drastic impact on the D-Max's off-road ability, with the EV claiming 210mm of ground clearance and a wading depth of 600mm. It has approach and departure angles of 30.5deg and 24.2deg.

In addition to permanent four-wheel drive, the D-Max EV has a dedicated Rough Terrain Mode for "extreme off-road capability".

While it uses the same ladder chassis as the existing truck, Isuzu has fitted a bespoke de Dion rear suspension system in place of the leaf springs for improved handling.

Just as important is the fact that the EV is rated to carry more than 1000kg in its loadbed and can tow up to 3500kg - although Isuzu has yet to say what impact this will have on the range. The D-Max EV weighs 2350kg at the kerb.

Otherwise, the D-Max EV is largely identical to the diesel D-Max, inside and out - down to the kit list, which includes a touchscreen infotainment screen with smartphone mirroring, a digital driver's display, dual-zone climate control, parking sensors front and rear and heated front seats.

The D-Max EV will be offered with extended- and double-cab bodies, with the latter priced from £60,995 (excluding VAT).

That positions the new D-Max as a rival for the Maxus eTerron 9 (from £53,000) and the upcoming KGM Musso EV.

For reference, the equivalet diesel D-Max starts at £36,755.

BMW M’s signature straight-six and V8 engines will survive the introduction of the tougher Euro 7 emissions regulations – and, the division’s boss claims, with no loss of performance.

Although the emissions levels allowed for cars are unchanged from the current Euro 6e regulations, they will be tested over a broader (and harder) range of scenarios said to better reflect real-world driving. They must also remain compliant for 10 years or 124,000 miles, twice as long as currently. Brake and tyre emissions will also be monitored for the first time.

Speaking to Autocar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, BMW M CEO Frank van Meel said “the challenge was not so much to make an engine that is EU7 compliant”, but to “keep performance”. 

He explained: “The whole story is about driving with lambda one [when the air-fuel ratio for combustion is perfectly matched] so you have to keep that, and there's no cooling. Normally, if you are in high-performance situations, you cool using the fuel. With EU7, that’s impossible, so you need to find different ways of avoiding temperature build-up.

“The combustion process has to be improved in regards to heat build-up and also the cooling, and those are the challenges. Of course you can [reduce] performance to avoid this temperature increase, but you don’t want to – that’s where we started. The new balance of performance is that we drive lambda one, but we don’t want to lose performance.”

Van Meel would not be drawn on how M has reworked the engines to achieve this, saying only that it has made some “very interesting” tweaks that it will discuss in detail in due course.

“The six-cylinder in-line engine is our legacy, and the V8 has got a long history in racing, so we intend to keep going,” said Van Meel.

Asked whether M would consider downsizing to three- or four-cylinder powerplants with increased electrification to reduce emissions, he simply replied: “No.”

He added that such engines cannot meet M’s “very specific mindset” for how it wants performance cars to drive, with regard to torque delivery, rev ranges and the weight of its models. “I couldn’t imagine putting a four-cylinder in an M5,” he said.

BYD has finally confirmed plans to launch its high-end Yangwang brand in Europe, more than two years after introducing it in China.

Yangwang is the Chinese company's high-end marque, sitting above the core BYD line-up and the new Denza premium brand with a range of tech-heavy, high-performance flagship models that are pitched as rivals to the likes of Bentley, Porsche and Ferrari. 

The brand was launched in 2023 with the Yangwang U8 - a huge range-extender luxury SUV that packs more than 1000bhp, outpaces the BMW M3, can turn 360deg on the spot and floats on water. 

That was followed shortly after by the U9 (pictured below), an electric supercar that cracks 240mph and can use its fully hydraulic suspension to jump on the spot or drive on three wheels. 

Both cars have been on sale in China for around two years, priced at the equivalent of £120,000 and £200,000 respectively, but despite showing both models at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year, BYD did not officially confirm plans for a European roll-out.

But now, BYD vice president Stella Li has told Autocar that "our plan is that we will bring Yangwang into Europe", following the launch of the Audi-rivalling Denza marque early next year. 

She stopped short of giving full details, but said the U8 and U9 are earmarked for European sale, as well as "more cars coming" including the U7 super-saloon - a quad-motor Lotus Emeya rival with 1250bhp and 1237lb ft for a 0-62mph time of 2.9 seconds. 

The move will make BYD the first Chinese manufacturer to enter Europe's top-rung luxury market, though it remains unclear whether the company plans to significantly undercut the likes of the Bentley Bentayga and Ferrari 296 on price. The costs of converting the Yangwang cars to right-hand drive, and exporting them to Europe where BYD's EVs face a 17% tariff, will mean they are likely to command a significant premium here compared to China.

Tesla’s in a spot of bother. Its sales across Europe have dropped and profits have taken an even more vertiginous slump.

Adding to its woes was the recent news that it was forced to issue its eighth (yes, you read that right) recall of its cubist Cybertruck, this time to remedy its propensity for shedding stainless steel bodywork.

So what’s going on? If you look at many of the headlines, the finger points directly at the company’s controversialist CEO, Elon Musk.

His appetite for attracting attention of the wrong kind certainly hasn’t helped lure customers into showrooms – although it has created a cottage industry in ‘not in my name’ bumper stickers – but as ever the answer is, well, more complicated than that.

For starters, there’s the current tariff situation. Then there’s the fact that Tesla is actually more of a tech company than a car firm, which brings its own challenges.

Like a smartphone manufacturer, it’s all about the software, and in this respect it’s one of the best in the business, streets ahead of the legacy brands (and that also includes its understanding of battery chemistry).

Yet this means it doesn’t follow some of the tried and tested methods of the established practitioners, such as model cycles that include visually appealing mid-life refreshes designed to persuade people to part with their cash for cars that might otherwise be getting close to their sell-by date.

By contrast, Tesla’s line-up comes across visually as a bit old hat, as if the company has been peddling the same, unchanged product from day one. The recent Model 3 ‘Highland’ is a case in point. It’s a thoroughly overhauled car, but to the casual observer it could just as easily be the 2017 original.

The same can be said of the Model S and Model X, which have both benefited from top to bottom technical titivation but are indistinguishable from their decade-old progenitors.

However, the stakes are higher for the Model Y, which is the brand’s best-seller and until very recently topped the sales charts across Europe. As a result, Tesla has taken a leaf out of rivals’ books and delivered a facelift that will leave buyers in no doubt this is a box-fresh proposition.

Speaking of which, the Tesla isn’t the only family-sized all-electric EV to have gone under the knife. The Skoda Enyaq Coupé (and its more sensible SUV sibling) has always been one of our favourite protagonists in this corner of the market, and five years on from its debut the Czech machine has been treated to the industry-standard nip and tuck.

Looks are clearly subjective but, to our eyes, Tesla’s tweaks are more eye-catching. You can see the DNA of the original car between the A- and C-pillars, but at the front there’s a Cybertruck-inspired nose complete with a pencil-thin LED light bar, while the rear features a neat-looking, indirectly lit, full-width tail-light.

By contrast, Skoda has grafted its bold new ‘Tech-Deck’ nose onto the Enyaq, but the rest of the car’s appearance has been left largely untouched. It’s a similar story inside, where the Skoda looks and feels very much the same as the old car.

There’s a revised 13in infotainment screen that looks slicker and responds more swiftly but otherwise it’s business as usual. This means that, unlike in the Model Y, you do get some handy physical shortcut keys and a separate display ahead of the driver for speed and range information.

As ever, the Tesla’s dashboard is dominated by its centrally mounted infotainment screen, which literally controls all of the car’s major functions (although, unlike in the Model 3, there is an actual column stalk for the indicators. Hallelujah!). Still, the set-up is one of the best around, proving a doddle to navigate and always responding crisply to your demands.

It’s sufficiently good that you almost don’t miss the odd button or two. With its greater mix of rich materials and more complex dashboard and door mouldings, the Skoda’s cabin looks a little more upmarket than the Model Y’s, but in terms of touchy-feely perceived quality, there’s little to separate the two.

In fact, it’s the uplift in solidity that you notice most in the starkly minimalist cabin of the Tesla. There are still some areas of the car that look a little hand-finished – the cheap LED spotlight in the boot and the thin fabric covering the A-pillar-mounted tweeters – but overall the Model Y is full of appealing materials and exhibits a tight fit and finish.

The Tesla also scores strongly for space and versatility, which is surely one of the biggest considerations with cars like these.

There’s a large load area with plenty of underfloor storage compartments, plus the trademark 117-litre frunk. (The Skoda’s bonnet lifts to reveal various EV ancillaries but no space for luggage overspill from its 570-litre boot.)Rear occupants in the Model Y also have plenty of head and leg room, while a powered reclining backrest and completely flat floor add to the feeling of comfort.

What’s more, the addition of a small touchscreen now allows occupants to adjust the temperature and switch on their heated seats without having to issue orders to the driver.

Up front, the sense of space is enhanced by the low scuttle and large windscreen, which helps deliver a more panoramic view of the road than in the Skoda. However, this Sportline-trim Enyaq hits back with heavily bolstered front seats that offer greater support.

Grab the tape measure and you’ll find the Enyaq pretty much matches the Model Y for accommodation. Where the Skoda edges ahead is in those thoughtful details that have become a calling card for the Czech brand, such as the umbrellas secreted in the front doors and the multitude of handy boot dividers, hooks and nets.

That said, you’re unlikely to run out of room for odds and ends in the Model Y, with its large, carpeted door bins, cupholders galore and a lidded cubby between the front seats that’s so deep you’ll need to send Lassie for help if you ever fall in.

So it’s even-stevens for practicality, but what about performance and poise? Once again, our two dual-motor contenders are separated by the width of a Tesla key card, but they go about their business in slightly different ways. If outright urge is your thing, though, the Model Y is a slam-dunk choice.

With 375bhp and a lower, 1997kg kerb weight, the Tesla is seriously rapid and feels especially so in Sport mode, when its throttle response is even sharper. The 282bhp Enyaq, with a claimed 0-62mph of 6.7sec, is no slouch but it’s left gasping in its rival’s wake on a straight road.

Throw some corners into the mix and there’s less clear air between the two. With its quick, albeit lifeless, steering, the Tesla feels more agile – an impression exaggerated by a rear-biased power delivery that allows you to tighten your cornering line with a dose of throttle.

Special mention also has to go to the new brake-by-wire set-up, which offers a firm pedal and plenty of progression.

With its slower but better-weighted steering, the Skoda feels a little lazier in its reactions, its narrower-section front tyres gently squealing into safe understeer at the limit.

Yet despite its heftier kerb weight, the Enyaq feels better tied down over bumpier stretches of Tarmac, containing body movements more effectively than the Tesla, which can hop and corkscrew a little when pressing on. Traction isn’t a problem for either all-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Skoda maintains a narrow advantage when it comes to cruising comfort. Both have firm low-speed rides – although the newly softened Tesla is much better here than its predecessor – that calm down at speed, and while each delivers decent refinement, the Enyaq does a marginally better job of isolating you from road and wind noise.

You can also tailor the regen brake assistance in each – a first for Tesla – although the Model Y has a more effective one-pedal calibration.

As you would expect, both cars have driver aids galore – and you’ll be either fine or frustrated with that depending on your point of view. On the plus side, turning off the lane keeping assistance is a doddle in either car and the other systems are as unobtrusive as they get these days.

Mind you, because the Model Y uses plenty of cameras (the Enyaq favours radar), its various warnings become increasingly inconsistent as each lens becomes coated with road grime.

So we have established that each of these cars is practical, delivers all the performance you’re ever likely to need and, while you’re unlikely to pick either for a dawn raid on your favourite roads, they both steer and stop with admirable accuracy and agility.

Tesla Model Y vs Skoda Enyaq Coupe: Verdict

Ultimately, then, it comes down to the numbers – and again the margins are tight, although the more cost-effective contender probably isn’t the one you would expect.

When it comes to claimed range, the Model Y totes a figure of 364 miles as standard, reduced to 353 miles with the optional wheels of our test car, while the Skoda stretches to 334 miles.

Thanks to Tesla’s mastery of battery chemistry, motor efficiency and (relatively) lightweight construction methods, the Model Y gets closer to its WLTP numbers in real-world use. Over the course of our test, it delivered an impressive efficiency return of 3.8mpkWh, whereas the Enyaq could manage only 3.4mpkWh.

Then there’s the thorny issue of cash. In Long Range AWD form, the Tesla’s sticker price is £51,990, a scant £1330 more than the Enyaq. Yet nobody turns up to a dealer with a suitcase full of banknotes for cars like these: they plonk down a deposit and finance the rest.

Put your pen to a PCP deal and over four years you’ll shell out £499 a month for the Model Y and £527 for the Skoda. Again, not that much in it, but there’s something significant about Tesla getting one over on a brand famed for delivering value for money.

Are these cost savings enough to swing the result in favour of the Model Y? By the tightest of margins, we would say yes. Sure, Tesla has some PR issues bubbling away in the background, but as a spacious, sensible and swift family wagon that packs genuinely innovative engineering, the new Model Y makes a compelling choice.

Maybe that will give Elon something to smile about. 

1st. Tesla Model Y

The revised Tesla Model Y fixes most of its predecessor’s flaws yet retains its efficiency, performance and impressive practicality.

2nd. Skoda Enyaq Coupe

It’s a close-run thing for the Skoda Enyaq, which in facelifted form remains a refined, thoughtfully designed and thoroughly likeable car.