The new 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE will be offered with world-first active air suspension that delivers “extraordinary” ride comfort. It’s so clever, it can even scan the road ahead to counteract bumps before they are reached.

The new large SUV rivals the Audi Q7, Land Rover Discovery and BMW X5, and is offered for the first time as a three-row seven-seater alongside the standard five-seater. The GLE is the most aerodynamic car in its class (the Cd drag factor is just 0.29) and has the most active driver-assist systems.

Mercedes-Benz will give the new GLE its world debut at the 2018 Paris Motor Show, before sales begin in the autumn.

‘SUV leadership’

The new GLE “shows our determination to reinforce our claim to leadership in the SUV segment,” said Mercedes-Benz R&D chief, Ola Kallenius. Significantly more interior space, a completely new engine range and far more assistance systems underline this, he explained.

The trick suspension, which Mercedes-Benz calls E-Active Body Control, is an optional system that blends Airmatic air ride with 48-volt active assistance. It can control each wheel individually, and a camera reads the road surface ahead so it can spot bumps, dips and other intrusions.

Mercedes-Benz calls it “the world’s most intelligent SUV suspension” that delivers “an extraordinary level of comfort”. It will even lean into bends, like a motorcycle, offsetting centrifugal forces almost entirely.

It’s good for off-road driving, too – again because of its infinite adjustability. Each wheel can be actuated individually via the touchscreen, and if you get stuck, the suspension will raise up and down several times to change the ground pressure and allow the GLE to “rock itself free”.

All-new engines – but petrol-only at first

Mercedes-Benz will bring an all-new engine range to the GLE, including a 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel and a plug-in hybrid with a much greater electric-only driving range than today’s models.

However, the launch engine range is restricted to a single six-cylinder petrol version, the GLE 450 4Matic EQ Boost. This produces 367hp and 368lb ft of torque – to which an extra 22hp and 184lb ft of pulling power are added in short bursts thanks to the EQ Boost 48-volt electronics system.

CO2 emissions from 190g/km are claimed, and claimed fuel economy of 34.0mpg underlines the need for a diesel and plug-in hybrid.

Sensual purity

The GLE’s styling was overseen by design boss Gorden Wagener, who says it combines the latest ‘sensual purity’ design philosophy with more traditional off-roader cues. It has the wide C-pillar seen on all large Mercedes-Benz SUVs since the original 1997 M-Class, plus big wheels that start at 18 inches and run all the way to 22 inches.

The wheelbase is stretched significantly, the overhangs are short, the grille is octagonal and upright, and Mercedes-Benz offers the chunky roof rails with a set of illuminated running boards.

However, it also has liberal use of chrome, including the luxury saloon-style window surrounds, which reveal an interior that again blends the modern Mercedes-Benz cabin look with SUV traits. The free-floating screens on top of the dash, for example, both blends into the doors but also the raised centre console, which incorporates SUV-style grab handles as well as rich, finely-crafted details.

Seven-seat GLE

It’s also significantly roomier in there. More upright A-pillars mean it’s easier to get in and out of the front, while a wheelbase that’s nearly three metres long liberates far more space for middle-seat passengers. They can even have sector-first six-way individually-adjustable seats, which slide back and forth 100mm, have reclining backrests and even electrically-adjusted head restraints, all done via the familiar Mercedes-Benz ‘seat’ control in the door.

The three-row, seven-seat option is a GLE first; if you don’t pick it, you will enjoy a boot that stretches from 825 litres to over 2,000 litres. The air suspension also lowers down via a button in the boot, so it’s easier to load.

Then there’s the brace of driver assist systems, which frankly, we’d be here for hours explaining in detail. Suffice to say, although the GLE can’t quite yet drive itself, you sense it has more than enough technology on board to do so.

The MBUX infotainment system is all-new too, and further developed over the A-Class it launched on. With more clever tricks, Mercedes-Benz continues to develop the system, and has added a camera that monitors driver movements – so you can, for example, switching on the reading lamp simply by raising your hand towards the rear-view mirror. Here’s hoping it’s a bit more intuitive than the similar system in the latest BMWs…

Prices for the new 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE have yet to be announced, but we won’t have long to wait. It’s due to go on sale in the autumn, following its world debut at the 2018 Paris show, so we can also expect to be driving it sooner rather than later. First deliveries to Europe are scheduled for early 2019.

Is it the new SUV the Land Rover Discovery, Volvo XC90, Audi Q7 and upcoming new BMW X5 have to beat? We shall see…

Gone are the days when a car breakdown would result in a long walk to a telephone box or pleading with a nearby homeowner to borrow their phone. Today, you simply call the breakdown company using your smartphone. Or do you?

According to research conducted by the RAC Foundation, there are 5,540 stretches of road in Britain where drivers would find it impossible to call for help because there is no mobile phone voice coverage from any network provider.

This represents two percent of the length of Britain’s road network, with a further 44,368 miles of road (18 percent) having only partial voice coverage. Maybe that dilapidated telephone box you pass on a daily basis might come in handy after all.

Unsurprisingly, it’s Britain’s rural extremities that fare the worst, with the Highland local authority area containing 910 miles of road with no voice coverage. If your car breaks down in Powys, Argyll & Bute, Cumbria or Dumfries & Galloway, be prepared for a walk in search of a signal.

In total, 90 local authority areas have one or more stretches of road where there is no voice signal available, making a call for help impossible. If, however, a motorist is in a location where their phone network provides no coverage but another network does, an emergency call can still be made.

‘Still work to be done’

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The good news is that mobile coverage has improved a great deal across our road network. On our motorways, which carry around a fifth of all traffic, every mile should now have voice and basic data coverage plus a 4G signal for all but a couple of miles.

“As rapidly as the technology has advanced, so too have our expectations of enjoying uninterrupted connectivity. Hopes are high that autonomous and connected vehicles will make our roads safer and help cut congestion, but that is dependent on those vehicles being able to communicate with each other and the infrastructure around them.

“This analysis shows that there is still work to be done to make constant and comprehensive coverage a reality.”

The local authorities with the most miles of road with no voice coverage

• Highland (910 miles of road with no voice coverage)
• Powys (411 miles)
• Argyll & Bute (388 miles)
• Cumbria (296 miles)
• Dumfries & Galloway (266 miles)
• North Yorkshire (219 miles)
• Gwynedd (213 miles)
• Na h-Eileanan Siar (207 miles)
• Scottish Borders (192 miles)
• Devon (190 miles)

Read more:

• RAC reveals motoring mobile phone ‘epidemic’
• Safety groups urge phone companies to introduce ‘driving modes’
• Tailgating and mobile phone use revealed as drivers’ biggest gripes

Williams Advanced Engineering and Unipart are teaming up to open Britain’s largest independent vehicle battery factory in Coventry. The new site will open for business in 2019 – and Aston Martin will be its first customer.

Called Hyperbat Limited, the new electric car battery plant will create 90 jobs. The first vehicle to use batteries built there will be the Aston Martin Rapide E.

The collaboration will build upon Williams Advanced Engineering’s experience of supplying batteries to FIA Formula E racers, and Unipart’s expertise in manufacturing, logistics and supply.

Fittingly, the battery factory will be housed in a 100-year-old building, which until recently produced vehicle exhausts.

Business secretary Greg Clark said the factory “will develop new vehicle battery technologies and create high-skilled jobs in Coventry.

“Through the Industrial Strategy, the government us building on our world leading strengths in auto manufacturing and clean growth, making the UK the go-to place for these technologies.”

It’s not just electric cars that Hyperbat Limited is targeting. “Hyperbat will also look into high performance battery applications beyond automotive,” said Williams Advanced Engineering MD Craig Wilson, “delivering innovative technology and high value manufacturing, as well as jobs for the next generation workforce”.

The factory will specialise in high performance, low volume and fully flexible batteries and, said Unipart MD Carol Burke, “be highly adaptable to meet the changing requirements of future demands”.

Production will begin in Q1 2019 – and additional customers for Hyperbat Limited will be announced “in due course”.

Prime Minister Theresa May is to set the country an ‘ambitious mission’ to become a world leader in low emission vehicle technology in Birmingham today.

Speaking at the first Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Summit, May will call for Britain to be “at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles”.

The PM will also reconfirm the ambition for all new cars and vans to be “effectively” zero-emission by 2040. Earlier today, Aston Martin announced plans for its new St Athan plant in Wales to become the home of its electric cars. 

A £106 million package of funding for research and development of green vehicles, batteries and low carbon technology will be the centrepiece of May’s speech. This is being backed by another £500 million from industry, including companies such as Aston Martin, Williams Advanced Engineering and Cummins.

Also announced at the summit will be what’s described as “a new, international declaration that will forge the way for the worldwide deployment of green vehicles, and the introduction of smart, zero-emission infrastructure”.

This week's #ZEVsummit will bring together industry and politicians from around the world to speed up the transition to zero emission vehicles, part of our modern #IndustrialStrategy https://t.co/T9pCSJvru1 @transportgovuk pic.twitter.com/LfoBj6DE6j

— Dept for BEIS (@beisgovuk) September 11, 2018

Part of plans to develop an international strategy for the launch and use of green vehicles, it will be known as the ‘Birmingham Declaration’. Denmark, France, Italy, the UAE, Portugal, Belarus and Indonesia have already signed up.

“I want to see Britain, once again, leading from the front and working with industries and countries around the world to spearhead change,” May will say at the ZEV Summit.

“Already, we are taking significant strides forward. Our electric UK-manufactured cars account for one in five sold in Europe… and our Road to Zero Strategy is the most comprehensive plan globally – mapping out, in detail, how we will reach our target for all new cars and vans to be, effectively, zero-emission by 2040 – and for every car and van to be zero-emission by 2050.”

The PM will also host a round table with car industry leaders to discuss speeding up development of the UK’s zero-emissions market. Attracting more foreign direct investment into the UK will be discussed.

It is expected discussions around Brexit will also be on the agenda: May is expected to brief execs on the pace of negotiations – and the latest planning for a no-deal Brexit.

Aston Martin has announced its future electric cars will be built at its brand-new facility in St Athan, Wales – and the site will also be the hub for its luxury range of Lagondas.

The first all-electric Aston Martin to launch will be the Rapide E, which is coming in 2019. The British carmaker is promising the EV will deliver Aston Martin-like levels of performance.

• Aston Martin will ‘never, ever, ever’ make a diesel says exec

“The Rapide E will spearhead development of Aston Martin’s low- and zero-emissions strategy,” said president and CEO Dr Andy Palmer.

“With the reintroduction of the Lagonda brand, this is a demonstration of how electrification features prominently in our business plan moving forward.”

Lagonda will become, says Aston, the world’s first luxury car brand powered exclusively by zero emission powertrains. Previewed by the Lagonda Vision Concept at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, it will launch in 2021.  

International trade secretary Dr Liam Fox MP said: “I am delighted that Aston Martin has chosen St Athan as its centre for electrification and the home of Lagonda production in a move that will created hundreds of high skilled jobs in the coming years.”

Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones said the news St Athan will become Aston’s ‘home of electrification’ was “another huge win for Wales.

“It is a genuine testament to the reputation, dedication and skills of our workforce, but also an excellent and very tangible example of how Welsh government support can act as the catalyst for further economic growth and job creation.”

Aston Martin St Athan will also make the firm’s first ever SUV, which is due to launch in late 2019.

Silverstone race circuit is to get its long-awaited on-site hotel at last, with Hilton planning to open a 197-room Hilton Garden Inn development in 2020. The news follows Aston Martin’s recent announcement it is opening a new test centre at the British Grand Prix circuit.

The new hotel, which will be located opposite the Silverstone Wing pit and paddock complex, will include balconies so guests can watch the racing from their hotel rooms.

It will also offer direct access to the Silverstone Wing via a footbridge over the circuit.

Hilton is building a rooftop terrace on top of the hotel and is already planning raceday hospitality packages for the hotel. The firm says it will make Silverstone a more alluring visitor attraction outside of the race calendar.

Bosses at Silverstone have long spoken of the importance of a hotel. The Silverstone Wing Conference Centre has space for 3,000 people and 12,500 square metres of events space, but its full appeal to exhibitors has been limited by the lack of hotel facilities within easy access of Silverstone.

With the opening of the new Silverstone Experience visitor attraction in 2019, demand will grow further for accommodation at the circuit.

Hilton is to build a restaurant and coffee shop within the hotel as well, which developers say will “enhance the circuit’s appeal, offering quality hospitality year-round… [it will] elevate Silverstone to more than just a racetrack”.

Developers are targeting a spring 2020 opening date for the new Hilton Garden Inn Silverstone development.