5 HRS AGO - Golf R substitute arrives in the UK with almost identical hardware but an alternative persona There’s no question about modern Volkswagen's ability to build an extremely desirable four-wheel-drive performance hatchback.That car has a name, of course: the Golf R. But the proposition changed last week, because the Golf R officially went off sale (don’t worry, it will be back) and the T-Roc R arrived to step into its 296bhp shoes.Individual preferences being what they are, the fact that the T-Roc R is a crossover will automatically have made the notion of an ultra-quick, all-weather Volkswagen hatch less desirable to many people. And this being Autocar, you may well be one of them.Equally, many people will only now begin to consider buying an ultra-quick, all-weather Volkswagen, because they can finally get one with crossover styling and a marginally roomier interior. And in this sense, the T-Roc R is quite a rare thing: the first Volkswagen R GmbH-developed SUV since the 2008 Touareg Collapse

10 HRS AGO - American firm posted design sketch as it announced that it's setting up a research and design centre in China Tesla has shown a design sketch of a small car for China and revealed that it's looking to set up a design and research facility in the country. The American electric vehicle (EV) maker posted the image of a compact hatchback with Model 3-inspired styling via its official account on WeChat – China's biggest social media network. The announcement was primarily a call for job applicants, some of whom will have a hand in designing "Chinese-style" Tesla models. Tesla recently set up shop in China with a gigafactory in Shanghai – its first outside the US. With an annual capacity of 500,000 units, it will initially produce the Model 3 compact saloon and its forthcoming sibling, the Model Y, a seven-seat mid-size SUV. The first Chinese-built Tesla was delivered to a customer on 6 January, just 10 months after construction of the facility began. The company's boss, Elon Musk, has Collapse

11 HRS AGO - Ford has invested €42 million into its Valencia plant to support its growing range of electrified vehicles Collapse

13 HRS AGO - Almost one in four new cars sold in 2019 was grey, with the colour topping the sales charts for the second year in a row Collapse

16 HRS AGO - It doesn't like wet weather, but for an icy £9995, a 2012-reg BMW M135i is a no-brains buy An M135i for less than £10,000? Tempting, especially considering the 2012-reg car has done a reasonable 75,000 miles and has full BMW service history, faithfully recorded in its iDrive system. It’s the rare manual version, by the way, and being the three-door, it looks sportier than the practical five-door version. So it’s all looking good, and in case you’ve forgotten, its 3.0-litre straight six produces 315bhp and 332lb ft, enough to launch it from rest to 62mph in 4.6sec. Those rear tyres take a hammering, so the first thing to check is how much tread is left. In the wet, you might wish you were at the wheel of a four-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golf R. Otherwise, the rear-drive M135i is the car to have. That being so, and rear rubber checked, we’d want to try it from cold to check how the coolant system behaves and how stiff the gearchange feels. (It should free up as the ’box warms through.) Collapse

22 HRS AGO - Nano: a car with a great future behind it In 2009, our man backed the wee Tata to conquer the future. Little did he know... Morning. How much are you enjoying the future? I must say I’m finding the absence of anti-gravity cars and self-tying shoelaces slightly frustrating. This is not the 2020 we were sold by past versions of ourselves, is it? We’re all still using wheels, turning our own lights on and off and dropping bombs on each other, and our grand contribution towards having the kind of lifestyle previewed in The Jetsons is that we’ve invented various devices on which we can argue with people we’ve never met. I’ll be honest: so far, the future feels quite a lot like the past. Could it have been so different? What hopes did we have coming into the past decade? Well, here’s a thing. By chance, I had to reboot an aged computer over Christmas, to try to download some software that would fix an inert steering wheel for a PlayStation (why I thought this complex procedure might Collapse

1 DAY AGO - New seat moves to simulate walking, intended to reduce health risk of sedentary lifestyles Jaguar Land Rover has designed a new shape-shifting car seat that aims to stimulate your muscles as if you were walking. The seat, which is being trialled by JLR’s Body Interiors Research division, moves to mimic the motions and stresses of movement and is intended to reduce the health risks of sitting down for too long while driving. It automatically adjusts to suit every driver and passenger. While JLR shared no external evidence that its seat improves health, innovations to lessen damage from sedentary lifestyles are important. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than a quarter of people worldwide - 1.4 billion - spend too long sitting down, which can significantly damage muscles in the legs, hips and glutes. Regular drivers may be especially at risk for these injuries, since they are seated for extended periods of time. The innovative new tech is part of Destination Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Mk8 Golf GTI is one of four hot Golfs launching this year, alongside GTD, GTE and R models The highly anticipated, eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI will be revealed at Geneva motor show in March, the car maker has confirmed. Volkswagen will have a grand total of four hot Golf models in dealers before the end of 2020 - with the R going on sale a few months after the GTI, diesel GTD and plug-in hybrid GTE. Following the reveal of the GTI and GTD at Geneva motor show, the R version will be shown in July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.  The transformation from regular Golf to GTI is likely to be as subtly handled as previous variants. It will include the usual dual-exit tailpipes, red brake calipers, chunky air intakes and a bodykit extending around the lower portion of the car.  2020 VW Golf GTI: engine and powertrain: In a reversal of original plans, Wolfsburg has decided not to make a more radical switch to hybrid power. Instead, the eighth-generation Golf GTI is set to Collapse

1 DAY AGO - With Honda only contracted to Red Bull till 2021, and Renault's future equally shaky, the fate of manufacturers on the grids is uncertain The Formula 1 world championship will hit 70 this year and appears to be thriving. Under Liberty Media’s maturing patronage, F1 continues to mesmerise a global audience of a size far beyond any other form of motorsport, and judging by the second half of 2019, even the racing spectacle compares positively with so-called ‘golden’ eras. But under F1’s pristine veneer are rust patches that could turn to rot in a matter of years. As ever, the whims of car manufacturers and their bigger-picture real-world needs are the source. Of F1’s four major car makers, two have uncertain F1 futures. Honda, engine supplier to Red Bull and its renamed sibling team Alpha Tauri, is committed only until the end of 2021. The current 1.6-litre V6 hybrid engine regulations remain stable for now, and hopes are high that the Japanese firm will remain beyond next year, but Collapse