The latest C-Class Saloon boasts head-turning looks to match its dynamic driving characteristics. The reworked front section provides a dramatic focal point with SE and Elegance model lines incorporating a restyled bumper, air intakes and twin round fog lamps.

The Sport model goes a step further with a bold new radiator grille and stylish LED daytime running lights. Not to mention all-round AMG bodystyling, including AMG front apron, rear apron and side skirts.

Other enhancements vary from extensive chrome trim, featured on the Elegance model, to a range of exterior paint finishes. All models feature exclusive wheel designs, including 18” AMG 7-spoke alloys on the Sport.

In addition, Bi-xenon headlights with Intelligent Light System, featuring LED daytime running lights, are standard on the Sport and optional on the Elegance model line.

Quality and sophistication
Sharing styling cues with the new CLS-Class, the latest C-Class Saloon’s interior combines intelligent design with exceptional luxury.

High quality materials range from Nappa leather to Brown Ash wood and brushed aluminium, depending on the model line.

In addition, the new-look dashboard has a tactile, grained surface and incorporates a large, full-colour central display screen. Ideal for at-a-glance access to navigation, communication and entertainment information.

A new 12 button multifunction steering wheel is also standard on all models, ensuring ergonomic, fingertip control of many systems.

For added practicality, the Storage Package is standard on the Elegance and Sport models and optional on the SE. This useful addition includes storage boxes under the front seats, storage nets in the rear footwells, a double cupholder and a sunglasses compartment.

The latest C-Class is available in three model lines, each offering distinctive styling and impressive equipment levels.

The SE, for example, comes with Advanced Parking Guidance and Attention Assist as standard, along with automatic climate control with digital display. The new improved Audio 20 now features pre-wiring for Becker® MAP PILOT navigation system while design highlights include 16” 7-spoke alloy wheels.

Building on the SE specification, the Elegance features Artico leather upholstery,

17” 7-twin spoke alloy wheels, and extensive chrome trim. For convenience, the Storage Package is fitted, complete with storage box under the front seats, double cup holder, sunglasses compartment and storage nets in the rear footwells.

Alternatively, choose the Sport model line with its striking AMG bodystyling and

18” AMG 7-spoke alloy wheels. Bi-xenon headlights with the Intelligent Light System are standard, as are Sports suspension and Sports braking system. Inside, you’ll find Sports seats, AMG 3-spoke sports steering wheel, and brushed aluminium trim.

Arrive in good shape
From the Agility Control Suspension, which adjusts automatically to the driving conditions, to the sheer quality of finishes within the cabin – everything about the latest C-Class Saloon is geared towards a refined and relaxing driving experience.

Ergonomically designed front seats are fitted with adjustable lumbar support and partial electric adjustment for seat height and backrest. With the optional Memory Package (including 4-way lumbar support) you can store these settings, along with steering wheel position, head restraint height and position of the exterior mirrors.

Optional multi-contour front seats incorporate adjustable air chambers to ensure first-class comfort and support.

On the Sport model, contoured Sports seats provide additional lateral support to suit the vehicle’s more athletic driving characteristics.

Luxury Automatic Climate Control is available as an option, enabling occupants to set their ideal temperature and airflow within individual climate zones. Sun and pollutant sensors, along with dust and carbon filters, help maintain a fresh cabin environment.

Staying out of trouble
To help protect you, your passengers, and other road users, the C-Class Saloon offers a range of technologies to promote safer driving. When combined with active safety features such as our acclaimed Electronic Stability Programme (ESP®), these systems significantly reduce the risk of accidents.

This award-winning system warns the driver if he or she is at risk of falling asleep at the wheel. Now standard on the C-Class Saloon, Attention Assist monitors driving behaviour throughout the journey and ‘learns’ how to recognise signs of driver fatigue – for example, erratic steering movements. If required, it emits a visual and audible warning to take a break.

If the brakes are hit hard when travelling at speeds above 30 mph, adaptive brake lights start flashing to alert following drivers to the dangers ahead. The system has been proven to shorten the reaction time of the traffic behind, thereby reducing the risk of a rear-end collision or the severity of an impact.

This package incorporates Blind Spot Assist and Lane Keeping Assist. The former uses radar sensors to continuously monitor your blind spot for the presence of another vehicle. If one is detected the system issues visual and audible warnings accordingly. Similarly, Lane Keeping Assist uses a camera to detect when the vehicle has unintentionally moved out of lane. If necessary, the system warns you by vibrating the steering wheel.

Adaptive High Beam Assist helps prevent other road users being dazzled by your high beam. Standard on the Sport and optional on the Elegance as part of the Intelligent Light System, whenever the system detects the headlamps or taillights of a car ahead, it automatically dims your high beam then reactivates it when the road is clear. The system also continuously adjusts the range of your low-beam headlamps to suit the driving situation.

Speed Limit Assist scans the road for speed-limit signs and displays the limit within the speedometer display so drivers can adjust their speed accordingly. Standard with COMAND Online, crucially, the system distinguishes between relevant speed limit signs – both at the side of the road and on overhead gantries –and irrelevant ones, such as those on the back of trucks.

At speeds less than 35 km/h the system automatically searches for a suitable parking space. The “P” symbol in the instrument cluster tells the driver that a space has been found which is at least 130 cm longer than the vehicle. In the instrument cluster the driver is then shown the steering wheel movements for ideal parking. PARKTRONIC including Parking Guidance can be easily switched off by means of a switch on the dashboard.

When reversing, this optional camera system projects an image of the area directly behind the vehicle onto the COMAND centre console display. This improves safety and helps reduce the risk of bumps and scrapes.

Steve Sutcliffe

The 12C is without question Britain’s most exciting new supercar, It’s also one of the fastest cars ever to be offered for use on the public road, with a claimed 0-60mph time of 3.1sec, 0-100mph in 6.1sec and a top speed of 205mph. It is priced around £168k

At the centre of the 12C is full carbonfibre tub, the suspension features double wishbones and coil springs but no traditional anti-roll bars as such, and instead uses hydraulics and active dampers to provide its control. This provides as much as 25 per cent more grip than conventionally suspended rivals.

The 12C’s 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 engine produces 592bhp at 7000rpm there is a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox which features a ‘Pre-Cog’ selection mechanism that shifts gear fast and smooth.

It weighs just 1301kg when dry and when specified with the lighter of the two alloy wheel designs. That gives it a kerb weight with a full tank of fuel and all its fluids of a whisker over 1400kg. Braking is provided by huge steel ventilated discs front and rear, and also by an Air Brake system that deploys only when the car’s sensors detect that a really big stop is required. Carbon ceramic discs can be specified as an option.

What’s it like?
In a word, incredible. And very, very fast indeed. There are all sorts of elements that define the 12C dynamically and elevate it above its already esteemed competition, but the ride, handling and above all else the performance are probably the stand-out features.

The first time I put my foot down and held it there properly, the level of thrust that was unleashed through the rear tyres came genuinely and sincerely as a shock. It starts from the moment you nail the throttle at anything beyond 1500rpm, even in fourth gear, and by 3000rpm you can already feel your organs being squeezed hard into the seat.

From there until the cut out at 8500rpm there is then just a vast, constant wave of energy that catapults the 12C forwards – with more conviction than any road car you can ever remember this side of a Bugatti Veyron. Including the legendary F1. And the numbers would appear to support this impression, too; in all three acceleration disciplines – 0-60mph, 0-100mph and standing quarter mile – the 12C is faster than the McLaren F1. Only on top speed does the legendary old timer have the measure of the new car.

And then there’s the noise it makes, which, at a steady 3000rpm/seventh gear cruise is virtually non-existent, but which at 8000rpm in third gear is brain-bendingly loud. Not quite in 458 Italia territory for sheer volume or quality of sound, perhaps, but not far off.

On the road you don’t need to go berserk in the 12C to realise how quick it really is, and it’s the torque that makes it feel so effortless. Even at half throttle it provides enough acceleration to leave most other cars reeling in its wake. And at full throttle it feels quite magical in the way it picks up and hurls itself down the road.

And that’s before you so much as mention the 12C’s handling, ride, steering and braking capabilities, all of which are perhaps more extraordinary still than the straight-line speed. There’s so much grip and such a high level of dynamic composure to the car that you really need to drive it on a circuit to get anywhere near its towering limits. Which is precisely what McLaren allowed us to do at Portimao in Portugal, albeit for a few brief laps.

What’s most spooky about the 12C’s chassis is the lack of inertia it suffers from. The nose snaps to attention and glues itself on to the apex of whichever kind of corner you aim it at (and at seemingly any speed). And the rest of the car then just seems to follow.

Yet despite the urgency of its responses there’s nothing remotely neurotic in the way the 12C behaves. There are no spikes in its behaviour, no sharp edges to its handling. So while it feels nailed to the ground through any given corner, it doesn’t feel nervous or scary to go with it.

And that, apparently, was one of the key remits when designing not just the chassis but the car’s whole dynamic personality; it had to be quick with a capital F in terms of response, but at the same time approachable and friendly near the limit, and supremely comfortable as well. It’s a job more than well done on this evidence.

Should I buy one?
If you’re in the fortunate position of being in the market for this kind of car then the choice has just become a whole lot broader, and the decision process has become harder to make at the same time. Yet there can be no doubt that what McLaren has produced in the 12C has taken the game so far forwards – dynamically if not aesthetically – that you’d be either foolish or very stubborn in your ways indeed not to at least give it a try.

And if you are seriously in the market, and you do then go for a proper drive in the 12C, you will be hooked. Instantly. And you’ll never look at the Ferrari 458 or Lamborghini Gallardo in the same light ever again. So don’t say you haven’t been warned…

McLaren MP4-12C

Price: £168,500; 0-60mph: 3.1sec (claimed); Top speed: 205mph (claimed); Economy: 24.1mpg (combined); CO2: 279g/km; Kerb weight: 1434kg; Engine: V8, 3799cc, twin turbo, petrol; Power: 592bhp at 7000rpm; Torque: 442lb ft at 3000-7000rpm; Gearbox: 7-speed dual clutch auto

The Mercedes-Benz B-Class (codename W245) is a small family car introduced by German automaker Mercedes-Benz in March 2005. It is essentially an enlarged A-Class keeping the same engine and suspension system. Like the A-Class, and unlike any other vehicle Mercedes builds or has built, the B-Class is a front wheel drive vehicle.

Mercedes-Benz describes this vehicle as a Compact Sports Tourer instead of hatchback or multi-purpose vehicle, like its R-Class model, which is called a Grand Sports Tourer.

It was released in Europe in the late spring of 2005 and in Canada in the autumn of 2005. Plans to import the car to the US through Mexico were put on hold due to a strong euro, but it is likely that a new version of the car will come to the US in 2012.

Mercedes Benz B-Class Facelift
March 17, 2008 at 12:16 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz

The 5-seater Mercedes Benz B-Class MPV has received a mid-life facelift which features a new hood, grille, front bumper, rear bumper, new side mirrors, and new tail lamps which are brighter. The B-Class also gets a new model called the Mercedes-Benz B170 NGT BlueEfficiency which features a dual-fuel powerplant, able to run on both premium grade petrol and natural gas, which will allow it to travel over 1,000km when it is fully fueled up with both types of fuel.

Automatic start-stop is an optional feature of two of the more economy-oriented models, the B150 and the B170 BlueEFFICIENCY. Mercedes calls it’s start-stop feature the ECO start/stop function. It automatically switches the engine off when the driver shifts to neutral at low speed whilst depressing the brake pedal. A special display appears in the instrument cluster to inform the driver. The moment the clutch is pressed or the brake pedal released, the engine springs back to life in a fraction of a second.

The new B170 NGT BlueEFFICIENCY engine option uses an engine based on the B170. The driver determines which fuel source the engine is running on at the touch of a button using the multifunction steering wheel. This can be done instantaneously even while on the move. The gas reservoirs are located in the rear and underneath the front passenger footwell. It reduces the B-Class boot capacity by 128 liters to 422 liters, which is still sufficient for a decent amount of luggage.

Other new features include automatic hill-start assist which briefly maintains brake pressure after the driver releases the brake pedal to press the accelerator when starting off uphill. This prevents the B-Class from rolling backwards.

There is also an active parking assist feature which searches for an appropriate spot at the side of the road as the B-Class drives by, and if the driver wishes to use that parking spot, assists the driver by performing all steering maneuvers automatically. The empty spot is detected via ultrasonic sensors by the side of the car, and when found, a message is flashed on the dash display.

The New Mercedes B Class has abundance of space in the massive cabin and the seats fold to give huge luggage space. The cabin’s nicely trimmed with high-quality materials and high-speed refinement is good

The B-Class is as close as Mercedes comes to competing with mainstream family hatches. Its take on the sector looks much like an enlarged A-Class, so the B has tall sides, reasonably compact length and a higher-than-usual driving position. It gives a good view out and comfort is excellent, although the steeply raked windscreen can cause problems when parking as it’s awkward to see where the front of the car lies.

The B-Class uses many of the same engines as its smaller A-Class sister, so performance is adequate rather than interesting, although thankfully the B-Class is much more hushed than its sibling. However, the B is saddled with the same unsettled ride quality and mediocre handing that mar the A-Class, which means it can never rank any higher than midfield in a sector jam-packed with talented machinery.

Solid build quality and reliability are worthy, but it’s not especially well equipped or cheap to run.
Structures in the dashboard presented a potential hazard to the driver’s knees and femurs.

Safety
Side impact
The B-Class scored maximum points for its performance in the side impact and pole tests.

Child occupant
A child-seat recognition system is available as an option from Mercedes which automatically disables the airbag for the front passnger’s seating position. The cars tested by Euro NCAP were not equipped with the system as it is not standard equipment. Without the system fitted, the airbag cannot be disabled and a rearward-facing child restraint should not be used in the front passenger seat. The label warning against such use was not permanently attached and did not meet Euro NCAP’s requirements. The presence of ISOFIX anchorages in the rear outboard seats was not clearly indicated.

Pedestrian
The bumper scored maximum points for the protection it offered to the lower legs of pedestrians. However, the protection offered by the front edge of the bonnet to pedestrians’ legs and by the bonnet surface to their heads was rated predominantly as poor.

Like the rest of the Lexus models, the CT 200h implements the latest adaptation of the L-finesse design philosophy. The front grille extends beyond the headlamps for greater visual integration with the bumper mid-section below. It incorporates a deeper, more sculpted interpretation of the L-finesse arrowhead motif. The CT 200h Luxury’s headlamps come with twin LED (light-emitting diodes) low beam lamps. In fact, the Lexus CT 200h has the largest number of external LEDs yet fitted to a Lexus model – 89 in total.

Incidentally, Lexus was the first car company to introduce LED headlamps for low beam usage, starting with the hybrid Lexus LS 600h L in 2007. LED headlamps consume almost 45% less power than conventional halogen units, thus they offer a small improvement in fuel economy. LEDs are also more lasting and illuminate more quickly.

For the CT 200h Luxury, the pull-type front door handles have touch sensors to lock and unlock the doors. Lexus says the cut-out behind the handle is 3mm deeper than other Lexus models, a design improvement which is supposed to make for a more comfortable grip as people with big hands or long fingernails will be less likely to brush against the bodywork.

Diffuser fins under the centre of the car manage airflow as it moves towards the rear end. According to Lexus, departing airflow at the rear of the car is managed by the deep roof spoiler, aerodynamic fins at the corners of the rear windows and the sharp, near-vertical junction of rear wing and bumper. The underside has also been designed ensure the smoothest possible airflow.

Having a full hybrid powertrain means that the Lexus CT 200h can run in either petrol or electric modes exclusively, or a combination of both, unlike motor assist hybrids which have to depend on the combustion engine for drive all the time and can only use the motor for power assist whenever more power is needed.

The interior is nicely thought out as well with a charging point right next to the storage bin in which you’re bound to put your phone, and lots of storage bins for homework and Haribos. And my God it’s quiet. It’s so quiet in fact that you can hear the leather creaking and wind rushing in through a badly fitting door seal. Lexus quality? Not on this car there wasn’t.

Other drawbacks? Well there’s so much power that you get a bit of torque steer when pulling smartly away from a junction and, as I said when I tested the normal version, it doesn’t have a chunky feel, which is something I look for in a 4×4. There’s no sense that it would survive the battering of a hurricane, or that children won’t break all the interior fixtures and fittings within a day. It feels like a normal car. And it’s only as spacious as a normal car, too.

Happily, it’s also priced like a normal car. Even though it has three engines and all those rechargeable batteries and a huge amount of kit as standard, Lexus is selling it for just a few hundred pounds more than the normal RX. And, of course, you’ll easily earn that back with the hybrid’s low fuel consumption.

Or will you? I drove carefully, enjoying the electric silence in town and only rarely putting my foot down hard. And yet it managed only 29mpg. I’ve had more out of that from our diesel Volvo XC90. And on top of this you must factor in the cost of running a hybrid. Think carefully about how much it costs to service a car with one engine, and then wonder how much it will cost to service one that has three.

It’s worth it, of course, if you want your car to make a political statement. “I’m mad and I want you all to know it.” And it’s worth it, too, for sending Ken’s Barmy Army into a tizzy. “It’s a 4×4 and that’s bad. But it’s also a hybrid and that’s good. Aaargh.”

At present I really do think this hybrid idea is just a case of Toyota and Lexus cashing in on the lunacy of the environmental movement. Forcing the Cornish and those right-on American Hollywood types to buy something that is about as green as Charles Kennedy’s hair

Mercedes’ A-Class may not feel as radical as it did when the original version was launched back in 1998, but it’s settled into being a classy small family car.

The cleverness has not deserted the A-Class, however, and it packs in as much cabin space as most cars in its sector despite being shorter and easier to park. The tall roof helps with head space, while the flat floor and broad width provide plenty of luggage space in the generous boot.

There’s a wide range of engines to choose from and there’s also the option of an automatic gearbox with every engine. Trim levels are generous with their equipment.

In general, the A-Class is quiet and hushed at all speeds, but the ride and handling fall some way short of the best in this class due to the firmness of the suspension. We’re also not fans of the very light steering feel.

Overall, the A-class is ver good. It drives and feels just like a much bigger Mercedes, and that brings me on to the only significant drawback. It’s also priced like a much bigger Mercedes.

The base model is actually a few hundred pounds less than the base model of the outgoing version, despite a bigger engine and a longer list of standard equipment. But the car they sent me, an A200 CDI, costs a simply massive £19,995.

This is probably why the car works so well. Because it’s not a diversion for Mercedes at all. It’s exactly what Mercedes has been doing for 100 years, only a tiny bit smaller.

Guardian

Context is all. Earlier this year I drove a black Audi A3 up into the hills of the Cévennes, that area of southern France that acts as a kind of bucolic refuge for Frenchmen and Frenchwomen who never really adapted to the failure of their 1968 dreams. As a consequence, it’s a little bit recherché in some of its tastes and outlook. Backward would be a less kind way of putting it.

Anyway, when I arrived in the small town of Ganges, I might as well have been driving a Bentley, given the looks the A3 drew from the locals, a curious combination of envy and hostility. It made me want to get out, flash large-denomination euro notes around and scream, “Achetez!” into my mobile phone. It also made me look again at the A3, and see an impressive, handsome car that was only a slight diminution of the excellent A4.

Wind forward six months and that’s not exactly what I think of the three-door A3 TDI 1.6 I’m negotiating through the cramped streets of north London. For a start, it’s red, which is seldom suggestive of automotive heaven, and also it’s overshadowed by far too many superior cars, including Bentleys, that, for better or worse, tend to clog up the more fragrant areas of the capital.

Suddenly it feels as if I’m driving a slightly upmarket VW Golf. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But let’s face it, it’s not an Audi, or it shouldn’t be. That was what the A3 originally brought to the party. It took all the benefits of the Golf and added some proper style, making something quite distinct in the process.

The strange thing is that although the A3 comes with a Bentley-style new grille, this A3 is somehow more Golf-like, at least in the quality of the ride. Actually that’s a bit of an insult to a Golf because the A3 is noticeably dull to drive. It lacks responsiveness, especially in lower gears, and it’s generally a bit stodgy and unremarkable.

But that’s the output side of driving, which in the grand or global scheme of things is of diminishing significance. On the input side, this A3 is something else entirely. Thrifty rather than nifty, it’s an absolute gem of a hatchback that knocks your average hybrid into a cocked recycling dump, almost single-handedly saves the planet and also does almost 75 miles to the gallon.

From that perspective, the A3 suddenly becomes a very attractive prospect. As you’d expect, it’s ergonomically well-thought out, with a commendably clear dashboard and straightforward set of controls. It’s even got a key-start ignition, and no fiddly design nonsense. It may not turn heads (outside of the Cévennes) but it will change a few minds

The Herts-born F1 driver climbs into the McLaren cockpit for the final day of pre-season testing in Spain knowing the team’s 2011 challenger is still struggling out on track.

Hamilton’s team-mate, former world champion Jenson Button, completed just 57 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya on day three of the concluding Barcelona test.

After a one-day hiatus, the McLaren Mercedes team resumed its final pre-season test, but an unhappy Button could only post the 13th best unofficial lap time.

He was more than four seconds slower than Michael Schumacher, who was fastest today ahead of Ferrari rival Felipe Massa and Mercedes GP colleague Nico Rosberg.

Former F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton at the McLaren MP4-26 car launch in Berlin [Picture courtesy of www.mclaren.com]Afterwards Jenson said: “As today was my final day of testing, it was disappointing not to be able to put more mileage on the car.

“But I think we learnt some positive things: today was never about pace, as we weren’t running lower fuel-loads, but there is pace in the car – it’s just been masked by reliability issues.”

For the penultimate day of running, Button spent the morning going through pitstop practices and completing some flow-vis aerodynamic tests.

The focus then switched to a number of evaluation runs using the ‘porpoise nose’ measuring equipment mounted to the nosecone.

Despite stopping just before lunch for a precautionary engine change, the team was able to complete its morning programme.

Making a late return to the track after lunch, the team carried out a number of short runs as it continued learning about the new Pirelli tyres.

Button has now turned his attentions to the season-opening 2011 Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, March 27.

He said: “Now, I’m looking forward to Melbourne: you can’t under-estimate a team as determined as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. We’re all pulling together and we’ve got some interesting developments in the pipeline.”

For Hamilton and Button to challenge for serious points in Australia in a fortnight’s time, those developments need to work – and fast!

Looking for a family wagon fit for the balding middle-aged boy racer? The E63 AMG estate is as OMG as they get.

It’s a quarter of a century since Nancy Fields, now 62, passed her driving test. But since then Nancy has never driven on a motorway, not once, not a single mile. She has never exhaled with relief as she scuttled down a slip road, joined the three-lane carriageway and let her car settle at a decent, uninterrupted pace. For most of us, joining the motorway is the moment a journey begins. At last you can take a chunk out of the mileage without the palaver of roundabouts and traffic lights. It’s the poetry of perpetual motion. But not for Nancy. “Oh, it’s too fast,” she says, eyeballs popping, “and you can’t stop. And what if you miss your junction?”

Ms Fields would be no fan of the new Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. It’s a huge estate, purpose-built for the open road. For the E63, there can never be too many miles. It devours that endless grey ribbon faster than a hyperactive child wolfs down a metre of Moams.

It’s easy to describe the flagship E63. It’s a technically sophisticated, high-performance goliath. Its hand-built V8 6.3-litre 525hp engine blasts you to 62mph in 4.6 seconds. It has an outstanding paddle-shift seven-speed gearbox. It boasts the highly regarded AMG Ride Control Sports Suspension that features three settings: Comfort (scary), Sport (more scary – nasty rollercoaster) and the needlessly intimidating Sport Plus (heart-in-your-mouth-scared-witless).

It’s a family estate car that can be fitted with a wheel-burning function which launches you at maximum acceleration and optimum traction. It would be nice to say that the E63 is the fastest estate car in the world, but that honour goes to a 765hp, street-legal MG-Rover (yes, really) which recently clocked up 233mph. But it is the most powerful estate car ever made by Mercedes-Benz. In fact, the AMG is nothing short of OMG.

What is hard to describe is why. Why does the E63 exist at all? Who needs a cheek-shudderingly fast estate car? The front end is a racing car, the rear a family wagon – the back seats even have Isofix car-seat fixings for toddlers. It has a load capacity of 1,950 litres and comes with a dog guard – imagine Bonzo’s jowly face as you hit 60 in less than five seconds.

Needless to say, the E63 is not cheap to run. It does only 22.4mpg and has CO₂ emissions of 299g/km – hardly an A* for chivalry towards Mother Nature, but at least it’s trying. These figures better those of the outgoing model by 12%. Mercedes knows its hyper-estate will be a rare sale – they only expect to shift a couple of hundred a year, and those customers will all be rich, car-obsessed, dog-loving family men all deep in the throes of an acute midlife crisis. Good luck to each of you.

Finally, a message to Nancy. She’s not alone in being motorway phobic. The AA estimates UK motorists drive 600m extra miles each year simply to avoid motorways. The roads less travelled may be more picturesque, but remember that, statistically, motorways are the UK’s safest roads. And if you just enjoy driving, a survey this week by Mobil 1 has found that Britain’s most pleasurable road is the A82 from Glasgow to Fort William. Be sure to buckle up for the ride.

Guardian

Pit it against its closest rivals and the new two-seat 370Z from Nissan will win every time. But who’s counting?

You don’t have to be car literate to understand the point Nissan is driving home with its advertising for its new two-seater, the 370Z. Beneath the banner line “Kaisers chiefed” – a layered reference to the Kaiser Chiefs and the fact that this masculine niche of the motoring market is dominated by German roadsters – the 0-60mph times of the Audi TTS, BMW Z4 and Porsche Boxster are listed. At the bottom of the list, picked out in orange, is the 370Z’s time and, oh my goodness… the Nissan is the fastest at just 5.5 seconds. It means that if you and your Teutonic buddies were to race to reach 60 miles an hour – a distance of a couple of hundred yards – you’d have to sit for a whole 10th of a second twiddling your thumbs waiting for the others.

Car statistics are a testament to the essential gullibility of the car lover. We put so much store in them, yet we never challenge them. We are told a vehicle’s top speed is 155mph (in the 370Z’s case) and we simply accept it. My car can do 155mph. Brilliant! But when was the last time you drove at 155mph – other than on a PlayStation?

We also know a car’s emissions (262g of CO₂ per km for the 370Z). How are you going to check that? Seal up your garage? Better not… We have access to a car’s fuel consumption (25.2mpg). Easy to check and always wrong. We seem to happily accept that the figure is ludicrously high and that we’ll only ever achieve it if we drive off a cliff with a following wind.

What about the 0-60 figure? That sounds like something that could be checked quite easily. And so it was that my teenage son, Rufus, and I pulled into a lay-by on the A3 early one Sunday morning. As it was an experiment we should maybe have been wearing lab coats. Rufus held the stopwatch (the one on his mobile phone) and I waited for a gap in the traffic, gunning the engine. The idea was simple, I’d shout “go” the moment I stamped on the gas and as soon as the needle hit 60 I’d shout “stop”.

Despite the futuristic styling of the 370Z, the Nissan is a refreshingly no-nonsense sports car. There are no turbochargers on its throaty 3.7-litre V6 engine. There is, of course, electronic traction control, but it can easily be switched off. It also has a folding cloth roof, which gives it a gloriously old-fashioned feel and means it has a decent-sized boot. An insight into the target market of this car can be found inside the boot’s lid. Not a safety instruction or spare tyre details, but a sticker revealing the best way to load a bag of golf clubs.

The car handles well, it feels grounded and precise. The interior finishing, from the touch screen info-tainment console to the leather steering wheel, is upmarket and shows Nissan is keen to take on its German rivals not just in performance. Price wise it certainly comes out on top. The Nissan starts at £27,015, while the Audi TTS is a grand more, the Boxster is £33,998 and the BMW Z4 £35,740.

And so to the road test… The first go has to be aborted as Rufus failed to press the stop button. On the second attempt we hit 5.9 seconds. But on the third, I manage a dizzying 4.97 – a new record for the 370Z, or maybe just dodgy timing from my 13-year-old assistant. Either way, this is a very fast car and, to misquote the Kaiser Chiefs, everyday I loved it more and more.

Guardian

Seat (pronounced Say-at) celebrates another milestone this year, as it is 60 years since it was founded as the Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo. Despite making some memorable cars, the Spanish firm spent decades teetering on the brink until Volkswagen came to its rescue, buying half of it in 1986 and the rest in 1990 with a £4bn-plus investment.

Volkswagen crouches over the car-building landscape like Simon Cowell presides over the world of pop. VW’s fingerprints are all over Europe’s bestsellers and its ability to manipulate the market borders on omnipotence. VW uses its vast power to guarantee cost effectiveness and technical excellence. It uses car brands to create economies of scale in the same way other manufacturers treat different models. For instance, if you buy a Mercedes you’ll see the same dashboard dials on the A-Class through to the E-Class. Buy a new Audi A1, however, and you’re getting a gussied-up VW Polo, which is a smarter Seat Ibiza, which is in turn a tarted-up Skoda Fabia. For good measure, VW also owns a big chunk of Suzuki as well as all of Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini – though clearly you won’t find, say, a Skoda ashtray used in the £1m Bugatti. But you may find a Bugatti owner using a Skoda as an ashtray…

So the Seat Leon (pronounced Lay-on) is in fact an Audi A3, which is a Golf, and so on… But the top-flight Leon – the Cupra R – really is something unique. There are almost 20 Leon variants – from the 1.2 Leon TSi, yours for 12 grand, to the green-minded 1.6 Leon Ecomotive, just under £14,776 and delivering a wallet-warming 74.3 miles to the gallon, and topping out with the Cupra R.

The flagship motor may look much the same as its lower-ranking siblings, but it is the fastest production car Seat has ever built. Its acceleration is so sparkling, so unexpected, that your stomach spends much of any journey in the back seat. The exhilarating zip is all thanks to its remarkable 261bhp engine – the same engine that appears in Audi’s S3 and Golf’s R. At £25,205, the Cupra R costs twice as much as the cheapest Leon – but it’s still cheaper than the S3 and the Golf R. In fact, in the steamy world of the hot hatch, this Leon has a reputation for being a bit of a bargain. It has all the vim and verve of the market leaders, but it’s £5,000 less.

The real price of raw, knuckle-whitening speed is usually nausea and an unforgiving ride. But the Cupra R manages to be fast, furious – and comfortable. And you don’t need to be Ruth Lawrence to work out why that’s a winning formula.

Guardian