Audi A5 Sportback 2.0 TDIe

The new generation midsize Audi coupe and Sportback models are now available with even more cost-effective TDIe versions and new specification making them an even more desirable package. The new 136PS and 163PS 2.0-litre TDIe versions of A5 Sportback are now available priced from £27,320 OTR and £27,825 OTR respectively, with the 163PS TDIe engine also available in A5 Coupe priced from £28,775 OTR.

Performance figures for the TDIe engines is impressive as follows;

• A5 Sportback 2.0 TDIe 136PS six-speed manual – 0-62mph in 9.5 seconds, top speed 132mph, combined MPG 64.2, CO₂117g/km
• A5 Coupe 2.0 TDI 163PS six-speed manual – 0-62mph in 8.4 seconds, top speed 140mph, combined MPG 64.2, CO₂115g/km

There is also a new SE Technik specification available for all four-cylinder TDI models in both body styles that saves up to £1,925, compared with specifying additional options individually.

In both the A5 Sportback and A5 Coupe models, all the four-cylinder TDI engines can be combined with a new, highly cost effective SE Technik specification which was first seen in the A4 Saloon and Avant ranges. The Technik specification adds DVD satellite navigation, Audi Music Interface (AMI) iPod connection, the Audi Parking Plus system with front and rear sensors and cruise control to the familiar SE equipment list.

The SE specification in both models already includes 17-inch alloy wheels, Milano leather upholstery, three-zone climate control, Bluetooth mobile phone preparation and a colour Driver’s Information System (DIS), which is pretty generous. Both TDIe engines are available allied to Standard, SE and S line trim in the A5 Sportback, and Standard and SE in the Coupe and we should have Audi contract hire prices loaded shortly.

New BMW X6

The BMW X6 is the world’s first ever Sports Activity Coupe and has now been updated for 2012. The new model combines the elegant lines of a coupe with the prestige of a BMW X model, with powerful petrol and diesel engines, fitted with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology and the intelligent all-wheel-drive system xDrive, including Dynamic Performance Control.

The new BMW X6 gets a new front end with the standard fog lights now set in matt finish surrounds in the upper area of the outer air inlets. The striking three-dimensional modelling of the frame and newly designed bars, angled in the lower section, make the BMW kidney grille stand out even more, especially conspicuously within the vehicle front section.

Front headlights

The new BMW X6 is also the first vehicle in its segment to be fitted optionally with adaptive LED headlamps. Their bright white light ensures optimum visibility, while their high-quality visual appearance represents a new interpretation of the BMW brand’s hallmark twin circular headlamps. While in the new BMW X6 M, adaptive LED headlights are fitted as standard.

The external paint finishes for the new BMW X6 consists of two non-metallic and eight metallic colours, including Marrakech Brown metallic, Orion Silver metallic and Midnight Blue metallic. The standard equipment range also includes 19-inch light alloy wheels, and in the 8-cylinder model BMW X6 xDrive 50i, these now feature a new double spoke design in bi-colour. 

The standard interior leather trim Nevada is also available in the colour Vermilion Red and the exclusive nappa leather option with extended features now includes a choice between the colours Black and Ebony White. A three-seater rear bench is optionally available instead of the standard four seats and the luggage compartment volume is 570 litres and can be extended to up to 1,450 litres by folding down the rear backrests.

The petrol and diesel engines with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology available for the BMW X6 deliver impressive pulling power and impressive low fuel consumption figures. The V8 engine of the BMW X6 xDrive50i delivers 407 bhp, while in the BMW X6 xDrive35i an in-line 6-cylinder petrol engine with 306 bhp ensures a smooth, powerful, performance.

The in-line 6-cylinder diesel engines of the models BMW X6 xDrive40d and BMW X6 xDrive30d offer 306 bhp and 245 bhp respectively. Both engines offer not only impressively sporty power delivery but also low emission figures. The BMW X6 xDrive30d can also be fitted with optional BMW BluePerformance Technology as of spring 2012. 

BMW is also launching the BMW M Performance Automobile BMW X6 M50d and this car sets a new benchmark for pulling power and efficiency with a newly developed 381 bhp in-line 6-cylinder diesel engine. It offers unique triple turbocharging and provides the world’s most powerful standard in-line 6-cylinder diesel engine. This powerful diesel model has an acceleration rate of 5.3 seconds for the sprint from zero to 62mph.

Audi A1

Audi has won three category prizes at the What Car? Awards, which were held last week at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Park Lane.

The What Car? Awards are judged by a panel of journalists from What Car? magazine, headed by Editor-in-Chief Chas Hallett, who said “Audi is on a roll at the moment, and it picks up a hat-trick of awards this year: last year’s overall winner, the A1, is our favourite supermini, and the TT is still successful. It’s been around for a while now, but it’s still our favourite Coupé and Convertible.”

• The Audi A1  was named Supermini of the Year for the second time. The What Car? judges described it as “still easily the best supermini on the market. It thoroughly deserves our Supermini of the Year Award for the second year running.”
• The Audi TT picked up the Coupe category for the sixth consecutive time. The judges felt that “there simply isn’t another coupe that can match its blend of abilities”, and they added that its 2.0 TFSI engine “gives amazing performance as well as flexibility”.
• The TT Roadster won the Convertible of the Year category. The panel agreed that “It’s a car that gets better with age, blending pace and handling with everyday usability and showroom appeal.”

Audi TT Roadster

Martin Sander, Director of Audi UK, also commented: “I’m delighted to find that accepting three awards from What Car? is one of my first duties as Director. The A1 has had an incredible launch year and is now confirming its status as the star in its segment. The TT’s unprecedented sixth award and its Roadster sister’s first award from What Car? are testament to their timeless appeal.”  If you are interested in leasing a new Audi we have the lastest Audi contract hire prices on the site now.

Lexus LF-LC Hybrid Sport Coupe Concept

The stunning Lexus LF-LC Hybrid Sport Coupe Concept has been honoured with the annual EyesOn Design Award for the best concept car, at the Detroit Motor Show (NAIAS).

The Lexus Calty studio in California created the LF-LC and their aim was to create a future redefinition of Lexus design, with new and advanced technologies. Some of the features of the new design concept have already been introduced in the new GS 450h, for example the “spindle” grille shape and the rear architecture.

Lexus LF-LC concept

Kevin Hunter, Calty President,said,”The LF-LC was a dream car to design and a true collaborative effort at Calty. It is an honour to have that work recognised by our peers and to receive the award”.

The EyesOn Design Awards are one of the most prestigious awards a car manufacturer can receive, as the judges are made up of a group of world leading automotive designers and design academics. They evaluate Aesthetics and Innovation, Concept Implementation, Functionality and the Spirit of Industrial Design.

City Emergency Braking on the up!

The Volkswagen up! is not even on UK roads yet, but it has just been awarded the title of What Car? Car of the Year 2012, as well as Best City Car, at the What Car? Awards.

Volkswagen had a successful night at the motor industry’s annual ‘Oscars’, which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The Golf was voted the top Small Family Car category for the sixth time overall and fourth consecutive year, and Volkswagen also won the coveted Safety Award.

Commenting on the awards, What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: ‘The Volkswagen up! sets new standards for a car at £10,000.  It’s a city car that can seat four adults, while offering new levels of refinement, quality and maturity at this price; none of its rivals feels quite so grown-up.  Buyers will be looking for even more for their money than ever in 2012, so the up! is a worthy winner of the What Car? Car of the Year.’

Meanwhile the Safety Award was in large part the result of the availability of Volkswagen’s new City Emergency Braking system on the up!.  The What Car? judges were impressed by this particular example of ‘big car’ technology filtering down to a smaller model and the system uses sensors to scan the space ahead. It then applies the brakes automatically if it detects that the car is about to hit an object in front. 

Director of Volkswagen UK, Chris Craft, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted with the awards we have received from What Car? this year.  The magazine continues to be one of the most thorough and important sources of new car buying information for UK customers and winning the overall Car of the Year accolade gives our new city car, the up!, the best introduction to the UK market that we could have hoped for”.

First models should arrive in UK showrooms in March and Volkswagen contract hire on the up! range is on the site now.

The full list of category winners at the What Car? Awards 2012 is below.

New Bentley Continental V8

Bentley is unveiling its new Continental V8 model range at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit today. This new model range compliments the flagship 6.0-litre W12 and GTC, but this new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine offers exceptional power and torque, yet still delivers a 40 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions.

This luxury Bentley sports car will be available in GT coupe or GTC convertible and its powerful engine, combined with a new close-ratio 8-speed automatic transmission, propels the car from 0-60mph in just 4.6 seconds for the GT coupe, with a top speed of 188mph.

The new V8 Continentals have a distinctive V8 growl and are capable of travelling over 500 miles on one tank of fuel. The muscular cars have a black gloss matrix grille with chrome frame, red enamel Bentley “B” badge, black matrix three segment lower front bumper at the front. To the rear it has unique chromed “figure eight” exhaust tailpipes, a dark lower valance and red enamel “B” bootlid badge.

Both cars have 20-inch alloy wheels as standard, or optional 21-inch six-spoke design which is available in Diamond Black (exclusive to the Continental V8) or Diamond Silver finishes. Inside you get an Eliade cloth headlining, new Dark Fiddleback Eucalyptus veneers, optional two-tone leather colour split and short centre console, to finish off the sporty design theme.

Volkswagen Cross Coupe SUV

Volkswagen has revealed their new Cross Coupe SUV concept at the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show and this all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid shows how a crossover, a four-door coupe and an SUV might look. This is also the first Volkswagen to showcase a new stage in Volkswagen engineering design with Volkswagen’s new “modular transverse matrix” (MQB).

The concept is longer than a Golf at 4,345 mm, but shorter than a Tiguan. The width is 1,868 mm and the height is 1,523mm and places this new concept in the popular A-segment class. It also promises good off-road credentials with a 24.2 degrees front angle approach and at the rear, 32.5 degrees and also has good off-road clearance.

Volkswagen Cross Coupe SUV

The four-seat Cross Coupe has a distinctive, Volkswagen design and is powered  by two electric motors (one front and one rear) and a TSI direct injection turbo petrol engine. With 265PS on tap the Cross Coupe reaches 0-62mph in just 7 seconds and on to a top speed of 125mph, plus it can travel 40 miles on pure electric power.

Porsche Carrera Cabriolet models

Porsche has released a new convertible edition of the Carrera and Carrera S with an innovative new folding that features an intelligent and lightweight design to also reduce weight. The 911 Carrera Cabriolet will go on sale in March 2012 and offers you the sporting credentials of the 911 Coupe, combined with the thrill of open-top motoring.

The 911 Cabriolet offers the same engine line-up as the 911 Coupe with rear-mounted flat-six engines. The 3.4-litre engine in the 911 Carrera Cabriolet produces 350hp, driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed manual transmission, while the Carrera S Cabriolet gets a 400hp 3.8-litre engine, also coupled to the seven-speed manual transmission as standard.

Both models return over 28 mpg which for a high-performance sports cabriolet is pretty good. You can always opt for the PDK double-clutch transmission which is an option that delivers even better fuel consumption and shorter acceleration times. The Carrera Cabriolet is priced from £79,947 and the Carrera S Cabriolet from £89,740.

Range Rover Evoque

Land Rover is taking over Euston Station for an innovative new marketing campaign for the Range Rover Evoque, which is taking place until the 27th November 2011. This is the first time that a car manufacturer has completely taken over Euston Station and imagery of the Range Rover Evoque will be displayed in the main hall and along the escalators down to the underground platform.

Nine large screens have been set up in the main concourse to display a two minute film showcasing the Evoque and the screens have been designed in a way to “wrap around” customers. If you are travelling down to the underground you will see the Range Rover Evoque’s Terrain Response system being demonstrated over a variety of road conditions from mud to tarmac, snow and even river beds.

The Range Rover Evoque is the latest addition to the Range Rover series of cars and is the lightest and most fuel efficient Range Rover ever produced. It is available in four wheel drive and two wheel drive, in a choice of coupe (three door), and five door, diesel or petrol and our latest Range Rover Evoque car leasing prices are on the site now.

Fiat 500C TwinAir

The Fiat 500C TwinAir has just picked up the Green Apple Gold Award for Green Vehicles, Coupes and Cabriolets at the 2011 International Green Apple Awards. The Fiat 500C was launched by Fiat in 2009 and pays homage to the original fabric roof of the 1957 fabric roof Fiat 500, as well as offering style and great open-top motoring.

The TwinAir engine has already been voted International Engine of the Year 2011 and the 0.9-litre two cylinder unit offers high torque at low revs, has an environmentally friendly CO2 figure of just 95g/km and a combined fuel consumption of 68mpg. The Green Apple award was presented to Fiat by Dragon’s Den winner Chris Hopkins and Ian Donaldson, who is the chairman at the Midland Group of Motoring Writers, which judged and selected the winners. 

Mr Donaldson, said,”We were looking for cars that are not just green on paper, but are green in the real world too, and are also fun to drive. The Fiat 500C TwinAir totally encapsulates those thoughts and was a worthy winner”. If you are interested in leasing a Fiat 500C TwinAir then prices are on the site now.