News

As more drivers make the switch from fossil fuel to electric, it’s family cars that are proving the most popular. 

With their more generous proportions, these do-it-all machines can accommodate a larger battery for a better range without impacting practicality. Which means you can avoid feeling stressed about journey distances and remaining charge levels each time you climb aboard.

Moreover, as the cost of EV technology continues to fall, it’s these family-friendly cars that benefit the most, because their higher production volumes allow manufacturers to really sharpen their pencils when it comes to pricing.

Perhaps even more importantly, for people like us at least, manufacturers are starting to inject some genuine driver appeal into these cars beyond the exciting but short-lived thrill of their instant, and often savage, acceleration.

So here’s our list of the best full-size family EVs you can currently buy. Our top pick is the BMW iX, which impresses with a winning combination of comfort, technology and good all-around driving dynamics. 

Aston Martin has revealed the Vantage S, the third-generation sports car’s most track-focused incarnation to date.

It is the first time the S suffix has adorned a Vantage since 2018, and the new model follows the recently revealed DBX S as Aston brings back the badge for its highest-performing models.

While the 671bhp Vantage S is the most powerful series-production version of Aston’s entry-level sports car yet (disregarding the extremely limited V12 Vantage of 2022), attention has been focused specifically on making it as quick as possible on track.

To that end, engineers have worked to increase cornering speed and stability. Key to this is the fitment of a new ducktail spoiler, which has been tuned to push the overall downforce balance towards the front of the car. This is combined with new front and underbody aero to produce 111kg of downforce at top speed.

Alongside this, Aston has reworked the 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 to deliver 671bhp while making the unchanged 590lb ft accessible higher up the rev range, where it is now produced between 3000rpm and 6000rpm.

The car’s power delivery software has also been modified, with the driveby-wire throttle tuned to be more responsive and allow for better feel. Combined, this delivers a launch control-enabled 0-60mph time of 3.3sec (0.1sec quicker than before) and a 0-124mph time of 10.1sec. Top speed is unchanged at 202mph.

While the car is 15bhp more powerful than before, that 0-124mph time is more than a second slower than that of Ferrari’s 631bhp Amalfi, the Italian car maker’s new entrylevel, Vantage-rivalling replacement for the Roma.

Vast aero additions aside, the Vantage S is marked out by S badging inside and out, special satin black 21in alloy wheels and new blade-shaped front air intakes.

Pricing for the new Vantage S is estimated to start at £170,000. Deliveries will begin in October.