Autocar notebook: MG for a midfielder and Nissan's GT-Ramen

Our reporters empty their notebooks and round up this week's automotive gossip

Noodle soup, a crystal ball and footballer's cars? It must be time for the Autocar notebook...

*MG for a millionaire*

Footballers and cars, eh? Cristiano Ronaldo owns an £8.5m Bugatti Centodieci, Neymar a Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita and Heung-min Son a LaFerrari. However, Thiago Alcântara has just collected a MG ZS EV from Holdcroft Cheshire Oaks MG. “I really wanted to try an EV,” the dad of two said, adding that the sub-£30k SUV promises “versatility and comfort for every day”.

Appropriately for a Liverpool player, he chose top-end Trophy trim.

*There can only be one*

The Genesis GV60 gives strong clues to future EVs from the brand, but chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke is keen not to use the same quirky features in each. Take the crystal-ball gear selector: “I think it’s great, but I believe in other segments it will be interpreted in another way. It would be really boring if I had the same crystal sphere in all the cars. I tend to be bored quite fast. I like to turn the page and go further. It keeps me young.”

*Try some GT-Ramen*

Slick drifts and hardcore off-roading are effective means of promoting fourwheel-drive capability, but Nissan tried a different tack to show off its new e-4orce tech for EVs. A serving tray equipped with the hardware was used to deliver a ramen bowl without spilling a drop – testament to its smooth power delivery and ride.