PITY THE VOLKSWAGEN XL1. DESIGNED TO SLOW the worrisome pace of climate change and the extreme weather events brought with it, and here we are driving it right into the eye of a wintry storm. The idea was a noble one: setting an urban-centric eco-car free into the Welsh wilderness to truly explore the potential of its surprisingly promising mechanical makeup. The reality is it's being buffeted around by 50mph gusts while its weeny tyres - just 115mm wide up front - slice through frequent standing water. Its single wiper is working overtime. Aston Parrott resembles a recently overboard trawlerman every time he emerges from this familiar stretch of Snowdonia scenery, yet he's grinning even more than normal. It turns out VW's endearing little weirdo is just as bewitching to photograph as it is to drive.
With a carbonfibre tub, mid-mounted engine, and rearwheel drive, it's not far off being a miniature McLaren. And that's before you've swung open a diminutive butterfly door and nestled low into an interior rich with more carbon weave and with a broad windscreen affording an enticing view of the road ahead. I'd swear it even smells the same as a Woking-born supercar...
The spec sheet brings me back to earth with a thump. This is what plug-in hybrids resembled before they morphed into SUVs limboing under company car tax barriers, mating a 47bhp, 89lb ft 800cc two-cylinder diesel engine - effectively VW's ubiquitous 1.6-litre TDI sliced in half to a 27bhp, 103lb ft electric motor, and 5.5kWh battery, which charges from a socket or tops up via brake regen. Engine and motor never fully combine, though; instead, the peak whole-system outputs are 68bhp and 103lb ft. Top speed is electronically limited to 99mph (the car's ultra-slippery 0.186 Cd profile can enable more) and the contemporary brochure proudly claimed that if necessary, the XL1 can accelerate to 62mph in just 12.7 seconds'. Kinda says it all.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BMW M135 xDrive
The M135 has lost an and gained chassis revisions and a restyle. Is it enough to make it a benchmark hot hatch?
Audi S5
S5 by name, S4 by nature, is Audi's new mid-size petrol-powered saloon a step in the right direction?
Lamborghini Urus SE
Lambo's super-SUV gets a major mid-life overhaul, going hybrid in the process. Has it become any easier to like?
HALL evo OF FAME
The evo Hall of Fame was established to recognise the great and the good of our corner of the universe. Prepare to welcome this year's inductees
CIRCUIT DAY
After three days of assessing their behaviour on the road, it's time to head to the Circuito de Navarra to find out how our nine contenders respond when their handling limits are explored
EVO CAR OF THE YEAR 2024
Nine brilliant cars, from flyweight roadsters to bombastic supercars to a be-stickered estate(!), do battle on some of Europe's finest and most spectacular roads. Which will emerge victorious? Place your bets now.
Porsche Panamera GTS
It lacks the raw power of its hybrid rivals, but does the new GTS’s more traditional approach give it its USP?
Alpine A290 GTS
The new electric Renault 5 has won plenty of plaudits. Is the hotter Alpine version a car to win petrolheads' hearts too?
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
