New Vauxhall Corsa previewed in this week's Auto Express
We also have an electrifying hot hatchback test as the Alpine A290 GTS goes head-to-head with the MINI JCW Electric. Advertisement - Article continues below
Plus, we have the latest on McLaren's controversial electric SUV, which lies at the heart of the British brand's future.
In the drives section we get to grips with the new entry-level Tesla Model Y, get behind the wheel of the rugged Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial and try out the Lamborghini Temerario.
If that wasn't enough we drive a Mk2 Toyota MR2 to see if it has stood the test of time.
Our dealer network has 1,000s of great value new cars in stock and available now right across the UK. Find your new car now…
This week's issue of Auto Express is on sale now and there's a whole range of ways to get your hands on it! Find out more below.
The best value available to our readers is an Auto Express subscription. You can try your first 6 issues for just £1, plus all new subscribers will receive a free welcome gift when they join. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below
We deliver free, straight to an address of your choosing so you can be sure that you'll never miss an issue. If you wish to continue your subscription after your trial ends you save a massive 45 per cent on the shop price, paying just £32.99 every 3 months.
Our money back guarantee means that should you need to cancel at any point we will refund any unmailed issues, you can't beat that value!
Click here to visit our secure online shop and subscribe to Auto Express...
If you prefer to read Auto Express on your desktop, tablet or phone, you can get the digital edition through our online partner Zinio. Single issues are available from £2.99 or a subscription for an entire year is just £90.99.
Click here to download Auto Express digital edition from Zinio...
If you don't want to get your next 6 Auto Express issues for £1 by subscribing (RRP £28), then you can still buy single issues in shops or online. This week's issue of Auto Express is on sale now for just £4.50. You can find shops near you that stock the magazine by clicking here.
If you can't make it to the shops or are unable to find it somewhere convenient, you can buy individual print issues of Auto Express to be delivered directly to your door.
Click here to buy single issues of Auto Express
Find a car with the experts Car Deal of the Day: Bag a desirable plug-in hybrid BMW X3 M Sport for less than £380 a month
Car Deal of the Day: Bag a desirable plug-in hybrid BMW X3 M Sport for less than £380 a month
The new BMW X3 is fresh out of the blocks, but you can already lease a well-specced one for an eye-opening £378 a month. It's our Car Deal of the Day … Best car tyres to buy now 2025: top tyres tested and reviewed
Best car tyres to buy now 2025: top tyres tested and reviewed
Nine brands go head to head in our annual test, but which one should you put on your car? Product group tests
13 Aug 2025 What cars qualify for the electric car grant? Full list with our best (and worst) picks
What cars qualify for the electric car grant? Full list with our best (and worst) picks
More than 20 electric cars are now eligible for a Government-funded discount. Which should you go for from the ever growing list?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tesco risks wrath of shoppers as it becomes latest supermarket to raise meal deal price
In a devastating turn of events Tesco has become the latest supermarket to raise the price of its iconic meal deal. Customers said they were 'outraged' after it was revealed the supermarket's popular deal will increase from £4 to £4.25 on Thursday. Meanwhile savvy shoppers with a Clubcard will see their beloved deal go from £3.60 to £3.85. The shocking news broke when an insider posted a picture of the updated shelf labels online. One unimpressed customer posted on X: 'Tesco meal deal going up again... genuinely outrageous. Games gone.' Another wrote: 'Tesco meal deal price is going up again what is this absolute nonsense.' The deal involves a main, snack and drink and includes a variety of options from sushi to iced coffee. Last year, Tesco raised the price of the deal from £3.90 to £4 and £3.40 to £3.60 for Clubcard users. File image: The shocking news broke when an insider posted a picture of the updated shelf labels online And in 2022 the deal increased for the first time in a decade. Boots was the first retailer to sell a meal deal back in 1985, but supermarkets later followed suit with similar offerings and it is now a highly competitive market. A Tesco spokesperson said: 'Our meal deal remains great value and the ideal way to grab lunch on-the-go at just £3.85 for a main, snack and drink when bought with a Clubcard. 'With more than 20m possible combinations the Tesco meal deal has got something for every taste, from a classic Chicken Club Sandwich to Tesco Korean Style Chicken Dragon Rolls.' In January, it was revealed that the most popular Tesco meal deal was the Chicken Club Sandwich emerging as the go-to main, Tesco Egg Protein Pot as the most popular snack, along with the returning top drink of Coca-Cola 500ml. Prior to that the nation's go-to combination for Tesco's lunchtime Meal Deal has been Tesco Sausage Bacon & Egg Triple, McCoy's Flame Grilled Steak Grab Bag Crisps 45g and Coca-Cola 500ml.
Telegraph
2 minutes ago
- Telegraph
If Reeves isn't stopped, every inch of Britain will be the property of the state
The pitch rolling has started. The propagandists have been unleashed. We are being softened-up for the ultimate betrayal, the most obscene of broken promises, the grossest attack on private wealth in living memory. If you are a homeowner, I have grim news: Rachel Reeves has just declared war on you. You could pay even more tax, so much so that in some cases you may be forced to sell your house to pay the bill – and then to hand over yet more cash just to be allowed to say goodbye to your beloved family home. Reeves is considering several options, all abhorrent: an annual proportional wealth tax on the value of homes, large enough to replace stamp duty, council tax and more; the imposition of capital gains tax (CGT) on primary residences for the first time ever, albeit just on more expensive ones at first; an 'exit tax' as an alternative to CGT, payable on sale; and a revaluation of council tax, with even higher bands, including a mansion tax. Britain is in the midst of an epic struggle between tax-eaters and net taxpayers, between those seeking to squeeze ever more out of the private sector to keep our bankrupt welfare state going a little longer, and those desperately seeking to preserve their wealth at a time of weak GDP, stagnant real wages and rocketing costs. We have almost reached the economy's maximal taxable capacity, at least with the tools at HMRC's disposal. The bond vigilantes are circling, and Reeves has taken the UK to the brink of fiscal meltdown. Her party won't allow her to cut spending, so she is turning to the last untapped El Dorado, the final pot of cash ripe for raiding: our homes, worth trillions of pounds in total. If she goes down, she wants it to be in a blaze of Left-wing glory, taking out the forces of conservatism's last bastion and scoring the greatest victory for socialism since the glory days of Hugh Dalton and Sir Stafford Cripps. Primary residences have long been the great tax taboo, the last line of defence against predatory politicians: no government has been able to directly tax their gains in value or to impose an annual levy (a property wealth tax) over and above council tax. Slapping CGT on primary residences or an annual property wealth tax based on the value of one's home isn't some minor technocratic tweak to the tax system to make it slightly more 'efficient' or 'fair': it's an attempt at dynamiting the foundations of our society, to drastically curtail the power of the petite bourgeoisie, and to enshrine the political class's supremacy. Unlike with ISAs or pensions, whose tax-beneficial status are understood to survive at the Chancellor's discretion, primary residences are an Englishman's tax-free castles, for which we assume we have a natural right not to be taxed. This is one of the last in-built libertarian assumptions in British society, and the reason why Reeves's proposed tax 'reforms' are so pernicious. Tim Leunig, who advised Rishi Sunak and whose Left-wing ideas are also proving attractive to Reeves, is advocating for a 0.44 per cent levy on homes worth up to £500,000 to replace council tax. He simultaneously wants stamp duty to be replaced by a 0.54 per cent annual tax on homes above £500,000, with an extra 0.28 per cent supplement on values over £1m. These would be revenue-neutral, which wouldn't be good enough for Reeves: she wants to raise billions more. The rates would need to be even higher. I loathe council tax and stamp duty, but this idiot savant scheme would create Britain's first annual wealth tax, levied on a stock of illiquid assets, and would prove even worse. Property rights would be abrogated, and homeowners downgraded into leaseholders, paying the state-cum-landlord a fee for the right to keep living in our homes. The ancient tradition of the yeoman freeholder would be extinguished. Many homeowners would end up paying £7,000, £15,000 or more a year. At best, there would be no money left for holidays or school fees; at worst, total tax bills would exceed 100 per cent of annual incomes. Pensioners and the cash-poor would be forced to sell. Many would pray their house didn't increase in value, and halt repairs and enhancements. Some would tear down garages or annexes to reduce their annual tax, or allow homes and gardens to fall into disrepair to influence assessors. Entrepreneurs, rich investors and the last non-doms would flee the UK. We should scrap stamp duty, but by cutting spending, not by introducing this repulsive new form of larceny. Imposing CGT on primary residences would be almost as toxic. Like every new tax, invariably pitched to us as limited in scale and scope, it would soon be extended, in this case to ever more homes. The rates would soon be equalised to that on income. Eventually, it would become impossible to make any gains from property at all. Tax used to be only payable on real capital gains, not on inflationary increases. Labour largely ended that key protection; the Tories scrapped the last safeguards. Inflation, now at 3.8 per cent, is once again a silent thief, delivering what Milton Friedman described as 'taxation without legislation' on a grand scale. Under Reeves's plans, homeowners would pay tax on phantom inflationary gains and in many cases lose money in real terms. This would be especially true in London, where real, as opposed to nominal, property prices are often lower than they were a few years ago. It would be barely concealed theft. Buying a house would become a high-risk gamble. Homeowners who haven't kept every receipt would face tax bills for their recently completed new kitchens. More generally, there would be far fewer future home improvements and extensions as the post-tax payback would be lower. Nobody who didn't have to sell their home would do so, especially with the prospect of a Reform government reversing the raid. The housing market would implode. This war on homeowners is a bridge too far, a leap into proto-Marxist hell. Reeves is seeking to pauperise the middle classes. Taxpayers must make their fury known, write to their MPs and take to social media. This is the final battle, the fight to end all political fights: the Chancellor must be persuaded to change her mind, or else there will be no hope left for this country.
Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Teenagers face missing out on their place in oversubscribed sixth forms amid 'fierce competition' following Labour's VAT raid on private schools
Pupils face 'fiercer than ever' competition for a sixth form place this year partly due to Labour's tax raid on private schools, experts claim. As hundreds of thousands of teenagers collect their GCSE results tomorrow, the scramble to bag an A-level place is expected to be the one of the worst on record. The 20 per cent VAT on private school fees, which came into force in January, could push more pupils into the state sector if they cannot afford it. In addition, the population of 16-year-olds has increased this year and grades are forecast to remain higher than before the pandemic. It all means large numbers are expected to get the grades needed for a sixth form place, with competition especially bad at the most selective institutions. Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at Exeter University, told PA Media: 'Competition for the most selective sixth forms will be fiercer than ever, with fears over VAT on private schools likely driving more families to seek out places in the state sector.' Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) added: 'As the population continues to grow – and the opportunities to increase capacity, to build new classroom blocks, is held back – it is going to go on getting more competitive.' And Catherine Sezen, director of education policy at the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: 'It will be much tighter [this year].' Roughly one in five entries are expected to achieve at least a 7, equivalent to the old A. Last year, 21.7 per cent of grades in England hit this mark, a small rise on 2023 and the highest in 12 years. Grading has never returned to how low it was before the pandemic, when grades were wildly inflated due to teachers deciding grades. Alan Smithers, professor of education at Buckingham University, said: 'It could be that we are seeing the emergence of a new normal, in which case this year's grading will resemble that of last year. 'Of course, there is always the chance that the regulators could make a further push to get back to pre-pandemic levels. 'However, since the top grades were not lowered in 2023 and 2024 when there was pressure to do so, it is more likely that they will stay high this year.' Across the UK, the proportion getting at least 7 last year was 21.8 per cent, but this was a fall from the previous year due to other nations bringing their grading down. This year, pupils in two areas will be receiving their results by app on their phones for the first time as part of a trial ahead of a national roll-out. The Education Record app will deliver results at 11am to 95,000 students in Manchester and the West Midlands. It comes after A-level pupils celebrated a bumper crop of grades last week, with entries graded at A and A* rising to an all-time high outside of the pandemic years, to well over a quarter of the total. As a result, the highest number of applicants ever – 439,180 – were accepted onto degree courses – up by 3.1 per cent on the same time last year. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has previously said the new VAT on private school fees is necessary to fund other public services including state schools. A Department for Education spokesman said: 'We know that capacity is a concern for some sixth form colleges, which is why we have provided £238 million of capital funding to create 24,000 additional places in post-16 education up to 2025. 'In addition, areas with the greatest demographic growth, specifically the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Leeds City Council, both received an allocation of £10 million in April 2025 to increase capacity and relieve pressure. 'Further education is crucial to breaking down barriers to opportunity and delivering the growth that our economy needs through our Plan for Change, which is why we are spending £1.2 billion more on skills by 2028/29.'
