Motoring News
Yesterday, 30 November 20162017 BMW 2 Series facelift spotted in spy shots
News
30 Nov, 2016
Spy shots show only light design changes in the pipeline for updated 2 Series, but BMW may introduce new car tech
read more2017 BMW 2 Series facelift spotted in spy shots - pictures
read more2018 Mercedes-Benz CLS spotted testing – with video
Four-door development car spotted testing in Germany; due to arrive in 2018
A 2018 Mercedes-Benz CLS development car has been spotted testing in Germany, offering a glimpse of the future four-door’s exterior design.
Footage of the Porsche Panamera rival being driven in public has been uploaded onto the WalkoART Youtube channel.
Although dressed in heavy camouflage, the next-generation CLS’s sleek profile is clear to see, with body dimensions that look near identical to those of the current car.
This suggests the changes will be evolutionary both outside and in, with the new E-Class offering the best insight into how the CLS’s details will look.
The E-Class will also lend its underpinnings and drivetrains to the CLS, meaning it’ll come with a selection of turbocharged four-cylinder and V6 petrol and diesel engines, as well as the E 63’s 603bhp turbocharged V8 engine for the AMG CLS 63 model.
Some of the semi-autonomous driving technology of the E-Class will also be carried over to the CLS, possibly including Speed Limit Pilot, which automatically adjusts the
read moreMitsubishi proposes tripling of executive pay
Scandal-hit Japanese carmaker seeks changes as Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn becomes chairman
read moreEnd of an era for Audi as quattro GmbH changes its name
Dan rues a configurator cock-up with his supposedly carefully specced F-Type
read more'Lower drink-drive limits really do have a positive effect'
Opinion
30 Nov, 2016
Scotland's lower drink-drive limit compared to England and Wales is more of a success than just crime statistics, says Graham Hope
read moreFord reveals Mustang Blue and Black Shadow editions for Europe
News
30 Nov, 2016
Black Shadow and Blue models add styling tweaks and equipment, with the European market in mind
read more2016 Renault Megane Sports Tourer dCi 130 Dynamique S Nav review
Sports Tourer estate is competent enough, but its best rivals provide more space and better dynamics
Here we have the distinctive fourth-generation Mégane in more practical Sports Tourer form. Since the last-generation version appeared on our roads, the C-segment estate class has been infiltrated by newcomers, most notably the Seat Leon ST, which, like the Leon hatch, ticks many boxes. The new load-lugging Mégane has some ground to make up, then.Behind its distinctive nose, you’ll find a selection of four engines from which to choose at launch. They are two petrols and two diesels, including the Renault Sport-tweaked 202bhp turbocharged petrol engine, which is mated to a dual-clutch automatic transmission and four-wheel steering. However, our slightly less energetic test car comes with the 128bhp 1.6-litre diesel mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.Renault will expand the Mégane’s engine range in 2017, with a more powerful diesel and a hybrid assist powertrain joining the fray. The latter will pair Renault’s 108bhp 1.5-litre dCi unit with an electric motor.The new Sports Tourer dimensions is slightly longer than its predecessor but remains the same width, while Renault has gone to great lengths to give its new estate a more aggressive stance. It has achieved this by lowering the suspension and revising its geometry to reduce the roofline by 20mm, as well as widening the front and rear tracks.Inside, the Mégane Sports Tourer is similar to the hatchback. It features Renault’s R-Link 2 infotainment system, with a higher-specification unit, which uses an 8.7in portrait touchscreen display, fitted to pr
read moreFord Mustang Black Shadow and Blue Edition launched for Europe
Ford Mustang Black Shadow
Two special-edition models get bespoke trim and higher-specification multimedia systems; on sale in January
A brace of special-edition Ford Mustangs aimed at the European market have been unveiled at the Ford ‘Go Further’ event this week.
Although the main premise of the event at Ford’s Niehl production facility in Cologne was to unveil the new Ford Fiesta, the manufacturer’s performance car wasn’t overlooked. The changes for the two special editions are restricted to exterior styling additions and a higher level of kit.
The Ford Mustang Black Shadow Edition will be available to order with the 5.0-litre V8 engine and six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission from January 2017. It will be offered in four body colour options: Platinum White, Triple Yellow, Race Red and Grabber Blue. The key styling changes include black body detailing, including the 19in alloy wheels and Pony emblem.
The Mustang Blue Edition model offers a Grabber Blue colour with body stripes, intended to evoke the spirit of classic Mustang models that featured vivid ‘Grabber’ colours, named after their ability to grab attention. It is available to order now with either the 5.0-litre V8 or the <
read moreFord to test autonomous cars in the UK and Europe in 2017
News
30 Nov, 2016
Self-driving Fords will come to Europe and to learn our roads before planned 2021 rollout
read moreToyota targets Tokyo Olympics for new hydrogen car
Plans for Mirai underscore commitment to fuel-cell vehicles despite electric push
read more2017 Ford Fiesta officially revealed - full specs and gallery
An all-new plush cabin, new Vignale option and a high-rise Active model all come to the best-selling, seventh-generation supermini; on sale in July
The seventh-generation Ford Fiesta has been revealed, including a new Fiesta Active model that tackles the current crossover trend.
The jacked-up, SUV-like trim is claimed to combine “rugged SUV styling with hatchback practicality and true Fiesta driving dynamics”.
Ford is also adding a luxurious Vignale model to the range, complete with quilted leather seats and an extensive range of kit, in order to address the growing popularity of higher-end trim levels.
The Fiesta’s styling has changed dramatically over the years, but Ford has taken an evolutionary approach with this seventh-generation model.
Eight years into its life, the current Fiesta remains the UK’s best-selling car. Referring to the less than dramatic departure in design for the new model, a Ford insider said: “It works for Volkswagen with the Golf.”
As such, the new car is instantly recognisable as a Fiesta, although it does have a broader grille and slimmer headlights than the current model, along with horizontal rather than vertical tail-lights, in an effort to make it appear wider
read moreFord Transit Custom Colour Edition and Sport - pictures
read moreNew four-variant Ford Fiesta strategy could influence other Ford models
Ford has revealed four new Fiesta derivatives - Active, Vignale, ST-Line and Titanium and could roll out similarly inspired versions of other models
The four distinct versions of the new Ford Fiesta serve as an indication of how far Ford can diversify its big-selling small car, says European boss Jim Farley, and if the strategy proves successful, other models in Ford’s range could benefit from it.
At Tuesday’s launch of the new Fiesta in Cologne, four production variants were revealed: Vignale, Titanium, ST-Line and Active. The expanded line-up is intended to add emotional appeal to the model, push the Fiesta gently upmarket and reinforce the brand’s B-segment offerings under a growing threat from premium car makers entering the category.
Titanium is aimed at traditional Fiesta buyers, albeit with a high-spec to take into account for the fact that the recently revealed Ka+ has slotted in to the range as an option for customers who might have previously considered a lower-spec Fiesta. ST-Line, inspired by Ford Performance, is the sporting offering that is also part of Ford’s “heart and soul”, as Farley puts it.
But it is the other two offerings, Active and Vignale, that represent the more radical diversions from the traditional Fiesta blueprint.
Farley said that he is particularly intrigued at how the market would receive Fiesta Active “because it is something very new. I can think of a lot of places in the UK and in southern Europe where it will ma
read moreBMW 320d long-term test review: four-wheel drive issues
It’s an impressive car, but does it need to be four-wheel drive?
The BMW i8 I usually report on in this space has been temporarily snaffled by my office-based colleagues, as well it should be: when something that brave, innovative and different comes to stay, it’s important that as many of us as possible have the chance to understand what it can and can’t do.
Which means the 320d of deputy ed Mark Tisshaw has been holidaying at my place in the Welsh borders these past few weeks. I am a huge fan of the oil-burning 3 Series and have been since the mid-1990s, when a 325tds was first to prove that the words ‘fun’ and ‘diesel’ no longer need sit as strangers in the same sentence. And for the breadth of their performance and fuel consumption envelopes, successive generations of 320d have been the best of the lot. Even now, I’d say the 320d remains the most capable real-world small saloon out there.
But not once in all those years have I thought one might be improved still further by the fitment of four-wheel drive. And after a few weeks in this xDrive-equipped 320d, I still don’t. Maybe I’d be grateful for it come the winter, but less so than I’d be for a set of tyres appropriate to the conditions. Indeed, the most obvious day-today effects of the four-wheel drive system are that it uses 10% more fuel and nudges it into a higher tax band.
I’ve never bough
read moreConfigurator catastrophes
The joy of ruining expensive cars
read morePan-European fast charging network plan confirmed
Ford, VW, BMW and Daimler to collaborate on a new European fast-charging network - the move EVs need?
read moreTOTD: Topless winter driving
Keep it real in single digit temperatures
read moreNew Ford Fiesta first details
Well you're going to be seeing a lot of them, so best know what they are!
read more£100K Garage: Jack McDermott
A strong British theme for this latest £100K fantasy garage!
read more
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