The Mercedes-AMG SL hits the road in February.
The Mercedes-AMG SL hits the road in February.
Welcome to the fourth and final article in our four-part introduction to some of the best new cars which will make their debut in Arnold Clark showrooms across the country in 2022. Today we focus on the best traditional combustion-engine executive cars along with large and luxury SUVs.
If you’ve already fallen for the sporty, svelte looks of the BMW 4 Series, but feel it’s lacking the space and practicalities required for the demands of family living, then here’s the good news: the 4 Series Gran Coupé will solve your problems.
Not only do you get the extra two doors at the rear – which gives you four frameless doors – but there’s also a wide-opening tailgate. In many ways it blends the sharp design of the 4 Series Coupé with the practicality of the 3 Series, which sounds like a pretty impressive combination.
Buyers can choose from two petrol engines, with power outputs of 181bhp or 241bhp, and one diesel. The latter is available with xDrive four-wheel drive for added traction. The range is topped out by the six-cylinder M440i.
Price: From £41,650
If subtlety is what you crave, then the BMW XM is definitely not the SUV for you. At just over 5.1 metres long, it’s massive, in almost every way. It’s also outrageously powerful.
Full details have yet to be confirmed by BMW, but based on the official ‘Concept XM’ (pictured), expect the plug-in hybrid to combine a huge V8 petrol engine with two electric motors. Combined they will deliver a mighty 740bhp, plus 737lb/ft of torque.
In electric-only mode, a full charge with the XM is likely to cover up to 50 miles. As for fuel consumption, BMW has again yet to confirm figures. But if you don’t keep the battery topped up, I suspect you’ll quickly be on first name terms with the cashier at your local filling station.
Price: From around £100,000 (est.)
So, what exactly is the Citroën C5X, you may well be asking? Good question. The French designers appear not to have exactly been happy with the brief to ‘create a traditional executive car’. Instead they seem to have created a model, albeit a rather good-looking model, which takes inspiration from estate cars, hatchbacks and even SUVs. There’s no denying its looks are distinctive.
A range of petrol engines will, in time, be offered. But at launch, the focus is squarely on the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) which mates a 1.6-litre petrol engine with an electric motor. The combined output is 222bhp. Official figures tell us the C5X will be capable of an all-electric range of up to 31 miles. With its generous boot space – it’ll swallow 545 litres of family detritus – the PHEV version is expected to cost from around £38,000. When the petrol models arrive, the entry-price is expected to drop closer to £30,000.
Price: From around £38,000 (est. at launch)
When it goes on sale towards the end of the year, the Dacia Bigster should – comfortably – be the cheapest large SUV in the UK with its expected starting price of around £20,000. How close it will look like the Bigster Concept (pictured) we don’t yet know.
We do know it lives up to its name; it’s not small. Measuring 4.6 metres in length, that’s pretty much the same as the Land Rover Discovery Sport and longer than the Volkswagen Tiguan.
The seven-seater will not only be available as hybrid – which will mate a 1.6-litre petrol engine with two electric motors – but will also include a bi-fuel model in its line-up. The latter will be capable of running on either petrol or liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
Price: From around £20,000 (est.)
Set to take on the likes of the Audi A6, Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series, the DS9 – created by Citroën’s premier, luxury spin-off badge – is available as a petrol, or a plug-in hybrid and is aimed directly at the executive car market. But is it strong enough to attract drivers from the prestige German brands?
The engine line-up includes a 222bhp 1.6-litre four-cylinder PureTech petrol unit and an E-Tense plug-in hybrid option. The latter mates a 178bhp version of DS’s 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine with an 11.9kWh battery feeding a 108bhp electric motor.
Total output is 222bhp and 360Nm through the front wheels (remember, the two power sources don’t hit their peaks at the same time). It also has an all-electric range of around 25 miles and is fitted with an eight-speed auto ‘box.
Price: From £40,615
Mazda has given its top-selling CX-5 – which accounts for around 25% of all the company’s UK sales – something of an upgrade, with a visual refresh and a number of dynamic tweaks. There’s a new ‘more three-dimensional’ grille with a chunkier chrome surround, plus new headlights and fresh tail-lights, as well as reshaped front and rear bumpers.
The Japanese carmaker is also promising improvements to ride comfort, safety and usability, plus there will be a new, dedicated off-road mode for its all-wheel drive versions, via Mi-Drive selectable drive modes.
Available in five trim levels – the entry-level SE-L (£27,845), Newground (£28,845), Sport, Sport Black (£32,945) and range-topping GT Sport (£33,345) – there’s now a wireless smartphone charger in the centre console, along with Mazda’s Cruise and Traffic Support (CTS) system. The latter can take control of the car’s steering, throttle and brakes in slow-moving traffic.
Buyers can choose from four engines, including two petrol versions: a 163bhp 2.0-litre, fitted with a six-speed manual as standard, and an auto version which is available for an additional £1,600. The 191bhp 2.5-litre unit fitted to the GT Sport is auto only, with 4WD standard.
There are also two 2.2-litre diesel versions, each producing either 148bhp or 181bhp. Both get the six-speed manual gearbox and front-wheel drive as standard. For an extra £3,875, the 181bhp version can be had with 4WD and the auto gearbox.
Price: From £27,845
Mercedes-Benz’s luxurious convertible switches to a soft-top, which opens at the touch of a button, and four-seat layout for 2022. Two models – the SL55 and SL63 will be available from launch. Both get a mighty 4.0-litre petrol V8 with as much as 577bhp. The range will be supplemented later with a number of V6 engines, including a hybrid version. This is expected to deliver around 450bhp.
As for performance, the SL63 covers 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds. This is aided by the weight-saving delivered by switching from a metal folding hardtop to the new electrically-operated fabric roof.
Price: From around £90,000 (est.)
This promises to be the beginning of something new for Volvo. First, it’s strongly rumoured that the replacement for the XC90 will be badged Embla. For some time, Volvo has wanted to deviate from the previous alphanumeric naming scheme for its future electric vehicle models.
Second, the new large SUV will be Volvo’s first model which has been designed from the ground up solely to be an all-electric model. There will be no combustion-engine derivatives. The result is the XC90/Embla will have a flat floor and roomy interior, aided by a longer wheelbase with shorter overhangs and will be more aerodynamic.
Volvo has yet to reveal official images of the forthcoming new model, but it strongly hinted at its future design approach when it revealed its Electric Concept Recharge (pictured). I can’t promise the new XC90/Embla will look exactly like the image, but it will include design cues from it and certainly be sleeker than the current model.
The new XC90/Embla will be built at Volvo’s Ridgeville plant in South Carolina, and it’s expected to be available with an optional third row of seats expanding it to a seven-seater. Oh, and worth highlighting, as Volvo embarks on its new all-electric future: Embla is the first woman in Norse mythology.
Price: From around £60,000 (est.)
Ok, Multivan is not the most emotive of names, but Volkswagen’s latest reinvention of the iconic Caravelle, the company’s largest MPV – remember those? – is significant. The new seven-seater no longer shares its platform with the Transporter commercial van. Instead this standalone model is built on an extended version of Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform, which is also used for the Tiguan and ŠKODA KODIAQ.
Available with the choice of three trim levels – Life (£43,160), Style (£58,130) and Energetic (the latter is only available at launch, and thus is a limited run) – all can be specified with a short- or long-wheelbase body. Buyers can also select from either a 1.5-litre or 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. A 201bhp diesel will be added to the range towards the end of 2022.
A plug-in hybrid will also be available. This mates a 148bhp turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine with a 114bhp electric motor on the front axle for a combined output of 215bhp. Under the floor there’s also a 13kWh battery which will allow an all-electric range of 31 miles, for what VW calls ‘urban trips’.
Order books are open now, with first delivers scheduled for the end of March.
Price: From £43,160
