The best and worst things I’ve seen this week - Week 3, July 2017

Mercedes produced two separate concepts to preview the X-Class; one with a hoop design for a rear light cluster, the other with a cool but impractical-looking tailgate. Either would have been a nice touch on the newly revealed X-Class, but neither was chosen. Shame. Let's hold out hope for an extreme X500 4x4².

Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain 4x4² - Now this is the kind of project I can get behind - the brainchild of a madcap Mercedes-Benz design engineer, who enlisted the help of a few friends from around Mercedes and AMG to help convert the relatively tame E-Class All-Terrain into this hyper-rugged, mud-plugging estate. Goodness.

Honda’s baby NSX patents. It feels like we’ve heard the rumours of a successor to the Honda S2000 enough times for the rumours to stop being taken seriously, but these patents have just ignited the whole thing over again. What style too: hard, dramatic lines, vents and a stunning set of rear louvres. Can this one be real, please, Honda?

Nissan Qashqai. With one on every street corner, it’s hard to ignore the Qashqai. Which, to some, has made it irritatingly commonplace. On driving the new one, though, I can confirm it’s rather good. Far more refined than you’d expect, with everything feeling appropriate and just so. Colour me converted.

Toyota Yaris GRMN. It’s good to see Toyota finally getting interesting, with some risky models like the C-HR and Yaris GRMN. Safe to say the risk paid off in the former, and our drive of the GRMN confirms that it has in the latter too. Just a shame they’re not making many of them - that would really upset the mini-hot-hatch status quo.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan. It’s taking shape, slowly but surely. This one has divided opinion both among our readership and in the office, but I’m firmly on Team Cullinan. Those second-generation Range Rover lines and the promise of Rolls-Royce comfort, while sitting high and (maybe) off the beaten track, are compelling to say the least.