The big car launches of 2026, cheap winter hacks

... and is there ever a reason to go nose-first into a parking space?

By Cam Tait / Tuesday, 20 January 2026 / Loading comments

A quick search for all the big car announcements due in 2026 makes for bleak reading. Despite the EU’s recent relaxing of the combustion engine ban just before the New Year, manufacturers will still be obliged to reduce exhaust emissions by 90 per cent of their 2021 levels from 2035 onwards. That means that the majority of new cars set to arrive over the next 12 months will be battery-powered, a good chunk of which will likely come from brands we’ve never heard of.

But worry not, because today’s episode of The Gassing Station aims to cut through the noise and bring you the new cars that really matter to PHers. Cars like the new Porsche Boxster and Cayman which, yes, are now going to be fully electric, though reports emerged towards the end of last year that the company was mulling the idea of bringing back flat-six models, likely for the range-topping GT models. Then there’s the long-rumoured Mercedes-AMG CLE 63, a car that had been set to adopt the C 63’s hybrid four-pot powertrain, though more recent spy footage suggests it will double the cylinders. Ford, meanwhile, was due to unveil a new supercar the Red Bull F1 reveal last week (beyond the new Mustang Darkhorse SC) and we’re still waiting on Boreham Motorworks to take the covers off its reimagined Ford RS200. So amid all the doom and gloom, there’s plenty to look forward to.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, PHer cheshiredj7 is on the lookout for a winter hack they can use to thrash around the Yorkshire Moors. We’ve only got £1,500 to play with on this one, but on the plus side, it need only survive the colder months, as there’s an F-Type ready to be called upon when things perk up a bit. With that in mind, Sam found this Jaguar X-Type estate (which has now sadly sold) for just £995. It may be the only time an X-Type has seen appealing, but it comes with a V6, all-wheel drive and is finished in a Queen Elizabeth II-spec. I have also found a V6, only mine comes in a (also now sold) Hyundai Coupe for £1.5k. It admittedly is in need of some love and has changed hands many times, but it’ll surely be more fun to chuck about a Yorkshire country lane than a heavy estate. Might be worth submitting your own suggestions in the topic here, not least because you can’t buy the cars that Sam and I have put forward. Sorry about that.

Perhaps we can be of more use with our final topic, which comes from DodgyGeezer’s thread ‘Parking, am I weird?’. They, like many, can’t fathom why people would ever consider parking nose-first into a space, instead preferring to reverse in for a quicker and easier exit. Surprisingly, there are some good reasons for driving headfirst into a space, with some replies making me question whether we need to reassess my views on doing it backwards. Have a flick through the topic here, but only after you’ve had a listen the pod first. Deal?

Listen here