Back to Page 1: Land Rover, Lexus, Lotus and Mazda

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McLaren

What: Artura
Variants: 3.0 V6, Standard, Performance, TechLux, Vision
When: Q2 or Q3
How Much : From S$988,888 without COE

The McLaren Artura is scheduled to arrive in Singapore around mid year, with a starting retail price of just under a million without COE, slotting in between the GT and the 720S in the brand’s lineup. The Artura is the British sports car maker’s first plug-in hybrid series production car, as McLaren’s previous attempts at hybridisation were mostly restricted to limited-run supercars, such as the P1 and the Speedtail.

Power comes from a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 that produces 680hp and 720Nm of torque, enabling the Artura to go from 0-100km/h in 3 seconds flat, while top speed is rated at 330km/h. McLaren also says that the car is able to travel on electric power alone, up to a range of 30km, at speeds of up to 130km/h.

The Artura sits on McLaren’s new Carbon Lightweight Architecture, which has been designed to incorporate the hybrid powertrain while balancing the need to account for the additional weight penalty imposed by the batteries that power the hybrid setup. As a result, the car weighs just under 1,500kg, and materials such as carbon fibre features extensively in its construction.

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Maserati

What: MC20
Variant: 3.0 V6
When: March
How much: S$748,000 without COE

After limping along for years with an ageing model lineup, Maserati is set for (yet another) reboot with a slew of new model on the way, many of them leaning heavily on electric power. The MC20, a two-seat sportscar, calls attention to the brand’s rebirth, with its first in-house engine design in more than 20 years.

Named after “Nettuno” (Neptune, the sea god who wields the pointy thing that forms Maserati’s logo), the 3.0-litre V6 uses twin-turbo, twin-spark tech to churn out 630hp. It launches the 1.5-tonne MC20 to 100km/h in 2.9 seconds, and will keep the acceleration going past a heady 325km/h. That’s plenty of go for less than seven figures.

Maserati will follow the MC20 Coupe up with a Spider (convertible) version, as well as a pure electric edition. The exotic Italian brand could also show a new GranTurimo and GranTurismo Spider (both electric), and is also putting the final touches on the Grecale, a new, pure electric compact SUV.

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MG

What: ZS EV facelift
Variant: EV
When: Q3
How much: S$80,000 without COE

MG’s excellent electric SUV has gotten a mid-life update. The facelifted car arrives here in the third quarter of the year with much fresher styling, thanks mostly to a smooth, closed-off false front grille.

Inside, the 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment features a new interface called iSmart, but to EV fans the bigger news is the addition of a long-range variant, whose 72kWh battery pack will give it up to 439km of range. The current version, which we tested in early 2020, comes with a 44.5kWh pack. It’s essentially a mid-range variant that MG will likely continue to offer, in order to keep having a lower-cost version of the ZS EV on the market.

The pre-facelift ZS was an impressive EV debut from MG – we found it to be one of the most cost-effective EVs around.

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Nissan

What: Qashqai
Variants: 1.3T M-Hybrid, Premium and Prestige
When: Q2
How Much: From S$157,800 with COE

After a year away from the sales charts, the Nissan Qashqai is set to make a return in 2022 as an all-new design. It will get a 1.3-litre turbo engine plus mild hybrid tech. It’s still a five-seater but Nissan states that it’s grown in size, with rear legroom increased by 28mm and boot space upped by a further 74 litres.

The interior is quite snazzy with a nine-inch central display screen and 12.3-inch driver’s display. The international launch version of the car does have a comprehensive suite of active safety features, and we expect most of them to be included in the local version. But the fact that it’s at all present is enough to lure some away from cars like the upcoming Honda HR-V or possibly the Toyota Corolla Cross.

Page 3: Mercedes-Benz

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