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We’re celebrating everything that makes Britain great in the August issue of Diesel Car. We take a look at the UK car industry, and examine what cars are built where, as well as exploring a British success story in Luton, where Vauxhall’s blue light vehicles are kitted out. And the theme continues when we meet a British inventor that has created a one-off diesel van, using a combination of Morris Minor and Vauxhall Combo parts. Yes, it is as whacky as it sounds! This month’s used car buyer’s guide features one of Britain’s biggest success stories, too, the Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi.

It’s a bumper issue with 156 pages, including first tests of the facelifted Nissan Qashqai, the Vauxhall Crossland X and the classy new Volkswagen Arteon, a car that’s set to take the German firm further upmarket. We’ve been behind the wheel of the Jeep Compass, the Renault Koleos, Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer and second-generation Mazda CX-5, as well as facelifted versions of the Peugeot 308 and Fiat 500L. This month’s twin test sees the brand-new BMW 5 Series saloon attempt to outclass the Mercedes-Benz E-Class – which one has the most glitz, glamour and pizazz in the executive saloon class. Completing this month’s tests, we’ve also got our hands on the new 2.0-litre edition of the Birmingham-built Range Rover Sport.

This month we welcome Peugeot’s new 3008 to the long-term test fleet – our Car of the Year – as well taking delivery of the latest Renault Grand Scenic, a facelifted Skoda Octavia and Suzuki’s tiny Ignis mild-hybrid for our EcoCar supplement. We also wave goodbye to the SEAT Ateca and DS 5 and summarise our time with the cars.

We have the second part in our now expanded four-part series on dirty diesels, explaining why the politicians and environmentalists have got it wrong, in addition to reproducing a rousing speech by Jaguar Land Rover’s Jeremy Hicks. He explains why the latest diesel engines are part of the solution to the air quality problem and shunning diesel power now could cause long-term consequences and funding issues for even cleaner electric vehicles in the future.

In our news pages, there’s the first information on five brand-new small cars, the SEAT Arona, Kia Stonic, Citroën C3 Aircross, Hyundai Kona and Volkswagen Polo. Don’t buy a small car until you’ve seen these hot new cars! There’s also news of the facelifted Nissan X-Trail, the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake and BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo, as well as a teaser of Jaguar’s upcoming E-Pace.

Tested:

BMW 530d M Sport Automatic
Fiat 500L Lounge 1.6 MultiJet
Honda Clarity Fuel-Cell Vehicle
Jeep Compass Trailhawk 2.0 MultiJet II
Mazda CX-5 SE-L 2.2 Diesel 2WD
Mercedes-Benz E 350 d AMG Line Automatic
Nissan Qashqai Tekna+ 1.6 dCi 4WD
Peugeot 308 GT Line BlueHDi 130
Range Rover Sport HSE 2.0 SD4 Automatic
Renault Koleos Signature Nav 1.6 dCi 130 2WD
Vauxhall Crossland X SE Turbo D 1.6 ecoFLEX
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer SRi Nav Turbo D 1.6
Volkswagen Arteon Elegance 2.0 BiTDI Automatic

Long-term test reports:

Audi A3 Sportback S line 2.0 TDI
DS 5 Prestige BlueHDi 180 Automatic
Ford Edge Titanium 2.0 TDCi Automatic
Kia Optima Sportswagon GT-Line S 1.7 CRDi Automatic
Mazda3 SE-L Nav 1.5 5-door
Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian Automatic
Peugeot 3008 Allure BlueHDi 120
Renault Grand Scenic Dynamique S dCi 130
SEAT Ateca SE 1.6 TDI Ecomotive
Skoda Octavia SE L 2.0 TDI
Suzuki Ignis SZ5 SHVS 1.2 Dualjet Mild Hybrid

Feature:

Dirty diesels part II – a look at the facts as to why diesel cars are just a tiny part of the air quality problem, and why house emissions are key to the solution
Best of British – a look at what cars are built in the UK and where
Blue light operation – we take a look at Vauxhall’s Luton plant that converts cars to police, ambulance and fire response vehicles
Vauxhall Minor Van or Morris Combo Van? We look at a curious conversion that waves the flag for Britain.

Used Car Buyer’s Guide:

Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi (2014 to 2017)