Issue 75: December 2020 £5.99 www.companycartoday.co.uk Your independent source of fleet news, reviews and interviews INSIDE TEST DRIVES VW ID.3, Seat Leon and BMW 3-Series Touring PHEVs, plus Citroen’s crazy Ami INTERVIEW Go Ultra Low’s Poppy Citroen C4 Welch on EVs and 2030 ANALYSIS ENTERS THE EV WORLD Car-to-car communication Test Drive Review: Electric importance for new mainstream Citroen hatch PLUS INSIDE: GREEN C OMPANY CAR FIAT 500 DRIVEN: Fiat’s new baby, and it’s electric! FOREWORD CONTENTS 04 NEWS New BMW iX revealed; industry reacts to 2030 fossil-fuel ban 11 CAR2X TECHNOLOGY Why cars must learn to share 12 BIG TEST WELCOME We drive funky new Toyota Yaris So at least how much one market, even the second biggest one in Europe and sixth in the 18 COFFEE WITH… now we know. world, can influence the thinking and Go Ultra Low boss Poppy Welch Whatever your development budgets of worldwide car companies, and there is such a strong 21 GREEN COMPANY CAR opinion on the move to electrified powertrains that the EVs vs PHEVs; focus on Renault; plan to phase out odds on being able to buy a non- 2021’s big electric car arrivals the sale of new electrified petrol or diesel engine by 2030 seem pretty long anyway. 30 REVIEWS petrol and diesel The only concern is the more specialist New Citroen e-C4; Fiat 500; VW ID.3; Seat Leon PHEV; BMW 330e cars by 2030, everyone now applications. While heavier trucks will be Touring; Citroen Ami; Hyundai i30; subject to a separate consultation, larger has something to plan for. SUVs, pick-ups and vans used for towing Mercedes GLA PHEV; Audi E-tron Up to a point. It wouldn’t be a Government or inter-city high-mileage daily use are Sportback; Ford Fiesta MHEV announcement without a degree of going to need careful consideration. confusion, and this came in the phrasing of Likewise, the few high-mileage drivers 40 LONG-TERM TESTS new hybrids that can drive “a significant Volvo XC40; Kia XCeed; Audi A7 that don’t have off-street parking to distance” on electric alone being allowed Sportback; Ford Puma updates install a charge point are going to rethink until 2035. Whether that means full plug-in how they work in a decade’s time. By hybrids or ‘self-charging’ hybrids such as KNOWLEDGE which point a lot will have changed. 43 the Toyota Prius is still to be defined, and will What are Covid’s lasting effects But for the rest of the company car be investigated via consultations in the parc, the infrastructure and vehicle tech coming years. 46 FLEET OF FANCY should develop quickly enough to make But the path is clear, and electric is the Rapid Audi estate kicks RS the changeover reasonably painless. way to go within two or three car cycles for pretty much every company car driver. 04 While from a car enthusiast angle it’s sad to see the end of an era that’s lasted more than 100 years, and all that the internal combustion engine has done for us as society, but progress needs to be made, and cleaning up transport is vital. And the key point that was lost in the Paul Barker Editor noise around the announcement is that the car industry would most likely have pretty Newspress Automotive much got there anyway. It’s questionable Editor of the Year 2018 12 EDITORIAL: EDITOR: Paul Barker DISCLAIMER: Company Car Today is E: [email protected] published by Automotive Media & Events CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Tristan Young Limited, registered address 1 Second Avenue, CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Barnes, Euan Doig, Halstead, Essex, CO9 2SU. Registered Tom Webster number 10034249. All rights reserved. No NEWS: [email protected] part of the magazine may be reproduced in PRODUCTION: any form in whole or in part without prior ART DIRECTOR: Caroline Creighton-Metcalf written permission of the publisher. All 21 T: 07786 063838 material published remains the copyright of E: [email protected] Automotive Media & Events Limited. 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COMPANYCARTODAY.CO.UK 3 The big stories from the NEWS world of fleet this month BMW REVEALS i X 'PURE' EV BMW has revealed its first car saying the car is able to width, and developed solely as an electric process data at 20 times the almost the same vehicle, with the iX due on sale rate of previous models. height as the late next year. “We are setting new coupe-SUV X6. Described by the brand as its industry standards with the The prominent “new technology flagship”, the technology in the BMW iX. The kidney grille is iX will offer a range of more iX has more computing power partially a than 300 miles, according for data processing and more styling feature, to the provisional figures of powerful sensor technology and is blanked a car that BMW said is still than the newest vehicles in our off because EVs undergoing development. current line-up, is 5G-capable, require such a It will also offer the capability will be given new and improved small amount of cooling, but experience, the feeling of of 75 miles of additional range automated driving and parking the camera technology, radar interior space and the in just 10 minutes via charging functions and uses the functions and other sensors relationship between a vehicle of up to 200kW, although high-performing fifth are integrated behind a and those on board”. finding public charging at that generation of our electric transparent surface. Although BMW has other level isn't easy. drive system,” said Frank BMW said its new model will electric models, this will be the The iX is also a “platform for Weber, member of the “redefine the successful sports first of a new breed on a pure significant progress in the board of management of activity vehicle concept”, and EV platform not shared with areas of automated driving and BMW AG, development. “is the first representative of a PHEVs or internal combustion- digital services”, according to The car is comparable with trailblazing generation of cars engined vehicles. the manufacturer, with BMW the X5 in terms of length and poised to redefine the driving Paul Barker EV price cut and spec tweak for Corsa BVRLA responds to spending review Vauxhall has cut the price of The British Vehicle Leasing supporting the transition to the Corsa-e electric model by and Rental Association has zero-emission road transport,” up to £1000 and made changes welcomed the Government’s said BVRLA chief executive to engine, specification and inclusion of electric vehicle Gerry Keaney, focusing on the styling on the petrol version. infrastructure in its spending need to invest in infrastructure The Corsa-e price drops on priorities following chancellor ahead of demand. all models, with the entry SE Rishi Sunak’s Spending Keaney also called for the Nav model down by £1025 to launched with, available with Review announcement. Government to work with £29,640 before the £3000 SRi and Ultimate Nav trims. “Amid some sobering news the fleet sector to ensure Government grant, while the With the petrol and diesel on UK debt, unemployment tax revenues alter in a “timely top-spec Elite Nav has dropped models, Vauxhall has added and economic growth, it is and proportionate way” as by £265 to £33,045. a new Elite trim, costing reassuring to see that the more electric vehicles hit A new 130hp petrol engine £500 less and deleting sat- Government is still willing to the roads and reduce fuel is added to the Corsa, sitting nav. All SRi models now get invest billions of pounds in duty and BiK income. above the 100hp petrol the car Vauxhall’s Light Pack. 4 COMPANYCARTODAY.CO.UK NEWS they’ll have just over two replacement cycles to make the shift. Today’s announcement makes this transition much more pressing and firms will BITES need to start to act now." Jon Lawes, managing director, Hitachi Capital Vehicle NEW SPEC AND EQUIPMENT Solutions: “Building demand FOR TOYOTA COROLLA for EVs to meet the revised Toyota has improved the 2030 target must go hand specification of its Corolla, with in hand with delivering the the entry Icon model getting infrastructure needed to make a new seven-inch dashboard rapid charging a reality.” cluster, as well as new LED Mike Hawes, chief executive, front foglights. All cars gain an SMMT: “Success will depend EV drive indicator, plus added 2030 petrol and on reassuring consumers that functions for the MyT app, they can afford these new including stolen vehicle tracking. technologies, that they will diesel ban: the fleet deliver their mobility needs and that they can recharge as easily as they refuel”.