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IN THE NEWS

Motor industry appeals to Government for financial help

Britain’s beleaguered motor industry is pressing the Government for a multi-million pound aid package that includes help for component suppliers as well as carmakers to help them through the recession.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has drawn up proposal for a wide-ranging programme of measures to protect jobs, companies, research and investment.

Industry leaders are due to meet Business Secretary Lord Mandelson after next Monday’s (November 24), Pre Budget Report. They also hope Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will attend the talks.

The SMMT wants the Government to:

• Extend the help provided to the banking industry to ensure a flow of cheap money to motor industry finance houses. This would enable dealers to offer more attractive sales incentives and packages to customers and build on the reduction on interest rates.

• Provide short-term support for manufacturers, including loans for research and development, warning that without help programmes to reduce car emissions and meet European Union 2012 and 2015 targets could be missed

• Include component suppliers in the aid programme amid fears that they could be severely damaged by a prolonged slump.

The appeal for help is being launched with US vehicle manufacturers potentially in line for $25 billion of assistance by the American government in taxpayer-financed loans and proposals have been tabled to provide another $25bn in aid.

Meanwhile, the European Union is preparing a €40bn aid programme channelled through the European Investment Bank, to help the European motor industry, but the SMMT wants the UK Government to ‘go it alone’ and move faster. Details of the EIB package could emerge next week. (National newspapers: November 17 and 16).

• Vehicle component supplier GKN is cutting production at twice the rate it announced just over two weeks ago. The engineering group said last month that a fall-off in orders from carmakers meant that production in the second half would be 20% lower than in the first half. But, now GKN, which supplies all the top vehicle manufacturers, has said that production will be 40% lower. (The Times: November 15).

Glassmakers hit back after record fine

Record antitrust fines levied by the European Union competition authorities on four glass groups last week could lead to higher glass prices by stifling investment, according to the head of one of the glassmakers involved.

Stuart Chambers, chief executive of Nippon Sheet Glass, which owns UK-based Pilkington, said there was ‘no question’ that Pilkington would reduce investment in plant and equipment because of the astronomical joint penalty of €1.38 billion.

He also claimed that the penalty broke EU rules limiting antitrust fines to 10% of a company’s turnover.

Mr Chambers said: “They’re going so far that they’re in danger of doing the customer a disservice, and that needs to be questioned.” Pilkington is also considering an appeal.

Last Wednesday (November 12) as reported by Newspress, the European Commission imposed fines, totalling €1,383,896,000 on car glass manufacturers Asahi, UK-based Pilkington, Saint-Gobain and Soliver for illegal market sharing, and exchange of commercially sensitive information. (Financial Times: November 17).

Manchester being ‘bullied’ into accepting road tolls

The Government is threatening to withhold £1.5 billion of public funding for public transport in Manchester unless the city agrees to become a guinea pig for pay-as-you-drive road pricing.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon has said funding for new tram lines, extra buses and trains would be cancelled unless a majority of Greater Manchester’s 1.8 million population voted ‘yes’ in next month’s road pricing referendum.

Opponents of the plan accused the Government to trying to bully the city into voting for a tax on commuting by car.

Mr Hoon said if residents voted ‘no’ there would be no central government funding for transport in the city. Instead, the money earmarked for Manchester would go to other cities. They include Cambridge, Bristol and Leeds, which are all considering road pricing to ease traffic congestion. (The Times: November 17).

Fury over petrol price rip-off

Fuel stations are under growing pressure to slash pump prices and have been accused of ripping off drivers as they fail to fall in line with the tumbling wholesale cost of crude oil.

The price of unleaded petrol and diesel is down by 20% from the record prices charged in the summer despite wholesale crude oil prices crashing by 60%.

The Daily Express is leading a price-cutting fuel price crusade and it said: “The big oil companies clearly believe that after the sky-high petrol prices of the summer, motoring will regard anything under £1 a litre as a bargain. The plummeting world oil price means unleaded petrol should cost well under 90p a litre by now.”

The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol is currently around 95p with the average price of a litre of diesel at about 109p. (Daily Express: November 15).

Young drivers may be illegally back on the road

As many as 73,000 disqualified novice drivers could have returned to the road illegally over the past decade, according to figures obtained in answer to a Parliamentary question by Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker.

A record number of newly qualified drivers –160,000 – have been banned under the New Drivers Act since its introduction in June 1997.

The law automatically revokes the licences of drivers who run up six penalty points in their first two years on the road, meaning that have to retake their driving test.

Yet officially records show that since the law came into force, only about half of those banned have subsequently taken and passed their retest.

MPs fear that many of those who have not done so – about 7,000 a year of 73,506 since the Act was introduced – are now driving illegally without a valid licence. Often their vehicle is also not taxed or uninsured.

Mr Baker said: “A disturbingly large number of disqualified drivers don’t take the test. It is highly unlikely they are all not driving. But if they are, they are doing so illegally. This loophole is driving a coach and horses through the law and must be plugged.” (Daily Mail: November 15).

Cash-strapped General Motors to sell Suzuki stake

General Motors is selling its 3% stake in the Japanese carmaker Suzuki for $230 million (£156m) to raise cash.

Suzuki said it would buy back the stake, adding that it understood General Motors faced a need to secure funding. The giant manufacturer has reported a net loss of $2.5 billion in the third quarter and has been trying to secure an emergency government loan along with its Detroit competitors.

Suzuki, which specialises in small cars, said the two companies would continue to cooperate in a number of joint projects, including developing new technologies. Their partnership started in 1981.

A statement from Suzuki said: “We understand full well that GM faces a need to sell its shareholdings to secure funding.” The US carmaker had already sold a 17% stake in Suzuki, in 2006. (BBCnews.co.uk: November 17).

Dealer finance deals on the rise

The number of new car buyers using dealer finance to fund their vehicles has risen in the last year, according to the Finance and Leasing Association.

In the 12 months to August, dealer finance penetration for new cars rose from 46.2% to 50.9%, according to the trade body.

The figures confirm widespread anecdotal evidence in the trade that consumers are turning to dealers to help finance their cars as traditional lenders’ credit lines dry up. (Motor Trader: November 17).

Job cuts and price rises at Avis amid economic turmoil

More than 300 job cuts and price rises are among the measures being taken by rental giant Avis Europe as the company fights the recession.

In an interim management statement, chief executive Pascal Bazin said: “We have taken decisive action to raise pricing, reduce costs and maintain flexibility. Together with the ongoing improvements in our product and customer service levels, these actions will help position the business for the likely continued difficult conditions in 2009 and also for the longer term.”

The company said overall volumes in the third quarter on 2008 were at the same level as last year, with lower billed days in the individual customer group, particularly inbound from the US, offset by continued growth in corporate and insurance/replacement business. However, said the company volumes had noticeably weakened in the fourth quarter to date.

The statement said: “Although we achieved an increase in rate per day during the six months to the end of June 2008, in the second half to date rate per day has been slightly below last year. As a consequence and partly due to industry cost pressures, we have recently implemented a significant price increase in non-contracted rentals for 2008 across virtually all markets in Western Europe, and a further increase for 2009 rentals. In addition, we have now begun negotiations with contracted customers to implement rises.”

With used car markets remaining ‘difficult’, Avis said it expected the impact on fleet costs to be greater than anticipated in the second half of the year, being broadly similar to that experienced in the first six months of 2008.

As a result of the ‘considerable uncertainty’ in fleet markets, Avis said it was extending vehicle holding periods in ‘certain circumstances’.

Intensive management of fleet levels together with the enforcement of a rigorous recruitment freeze, faster release of seasonal staff and significant cuts in discretionary expenditure, are all part of the recession-induced management programme.

In addition, a number of specific substantial cost actions have and are being undertaken, focussed on the group headquarters and those countries where trading has been impacted most. They include:

• Redundancies impacting some 315 positions - circa 5% of the total group headcount

• The closure of certain low margin rental locations

• The rationalisation of property with the transfer of the staff of the UK business head office into the group headquarters building.

The potential restructuring charge in the second half of 2008 will be about €23 million. Avis says the measures will deliver some cost benefits in 2008 and approximately €16m annually thereafter. (Avis: November 17).

THE WEEKEND’S MOTORING PAGES

►If you are driving to get noticed, the Volkswagen Touran may not be the car for you, thinks Giles Smith (The Times). Had Britney Spears driven with that tot on her knee in a Touran, no one would have noticed.

The Touran is basically a VW Golf that has been tugged upwards and backwards, in the process of which it has ended up with almost courageously flat sides and a sheer back end. Accordingly, things that are as compelling to look at as the Touran include plastic drainpipes, critical life insurance forms and the dust you get at the bottom of a box of Shreddies.

But near-invisibility is probably what a lot of car buyers are looking for. The creation of a properly anonymous car is a wildly underrated art and VW has got it down to a tee with the Touran.

It is cunningly roomy and rare is the car in this category that is ready to acknowledge that people tend to come with shoulders – and on both sides of their bodies. An adult is as comfortable in the back of a Touran as he could reasonably expect to be in a small-scale MPV.

However, when all the seats are up, the boot space reduces to 121 litres which sounds like a lot in terms of, say, Sprite, but translates into an almost negligibly thin space between the seat-backs and the rear door.

However, he did manage to fit eight luggageless people – or two whole families – into the Touran on a short trip for an evening out. Nobody complained and everybody was still able to walk unassisted when the doors opened at the other end.

Unfortunately he has no more specific recollection of the handling of the VW Touran than he does of the glass of water he drank a fortnight or so ago. But again, this is a good thing. It means that the car didn’t waft around on the road like other small MPVs, creating instant waves of nausea and causing small children to pebbledash the head-rests with vomit. It means that it did the job unremarkably, but dutifully, reliably and uncomplainingly, and, what’s more, with nobody craning nosily to get a look at it. Isn’t that enough?

►Ah, if only the Volvo XC60 with its City Safety system had been around 38 years ago, says Neil Lyndon (The Sunday Telegraph). Driving through London on a bright May morning he was momentarily distracted by the charms of a willowy blonde pedestrian and ended up driving into the car in front – which just happened to be someone taking their driving test, the angry examiner making it quite clear that he was now in no mood to pass the driver.

Neil admits that some freedom lovers may see City Safety as a further development in Volvo’s enthusiastic commitment to the Nanny State, but given his blemished record, understands that he can hardly share that view.

On the other hand, the car’s Driver Alert Control and Departure Warning systems might be a step too far, and can end up putting a strain on your inner Buddha, as much as having a neighbour who is always superior in his understanding of every aspect of life.

Those irritations apart, the XC60 is an exceptionally fine piece of work. It rides serenely, corners capably, answers the accelerator pedal promptly and brakes securely. Its prices look more expensive than many of its competitors, but what price would you pay to avoid making a Charlie of yourself in public.

►Jeremy Clarkson (The Sunday Times) surmises that the horsepower race and the people who buy M5s and AMG Mercs is the result of so much macho posturing [hasn’t he owned one or two?]. In a saloon car that is limited to 155mph, the only reason why you might be interested in the power output is because you are penistically challenged.

Why buy a car with 7m horsepower when only 200 of those horsepowers are actually needed to get it to the electronically governed top speed? It makes no sense . . . unless you are a small man with a tiny willy.

Which moves him on to the Audi RS6 Avant, with its 572bhp. The effect, he says, is profound. While this car may be no faster, ultimately, than a hot Golf, it accelerates from 120mph like most cars accelerate from rest. There’s a momentary pause as the gearbox does something electronic and then you are pinned to your seat as though you’ve fallen into a wormhole. This sort of power, he has to admit, is intoxicating.

And it is similarly impressive around a racetrack. There’s none of the boisterous bellowing enthusiasm you get from an AMG Mercedes as it slithers about in a cloud of its own tyre smoke. And it doesn’t feel as technical or as precise as a BMW M5 either. But ooh, it’s clever.

You turn into a corner, at speed, and lift off the power, imagining that you’ll be rewarded with the usual Pillsbury dough trough of traditional Audi understeer. But no. The back slides round until you apply a dab of throttle and feel the four-wheel drive system gathering up the mess you’ve made.

To make a car this big and heavy and still fast is not hard. To make it handle so incredibly well on a track is nothing short of astonishing.

However, at all other times, and in all other circumstances, the RS6 is fairly terrible. Set the suspension in “comfort” and it’s just about acceptable. But select the “sport” setting and you will be bounced around so much you will not be able to grab hold of the button to put it back again.

Even worse, every time you go round a corner, the side support digs with increasing ferocity into your kidneys until you are weeping with pain. Not that you want to go round corners all that much because the steering system is so bad. At parking speeds, it is super-light but as you get to a trot it suddenly becomes extremely heavy.

Things don’t get much better when you’re out of town and just trying to get home. You can sense all that power under the bonnet. You can’t use it, of course, but you can feel it as a weight, something you have to manhandle. It’s wearing. It’s annoying.

►The new BMW 7 Series is a car with a rather old-fashioned feel to it, and this is no bad thing, reckons Andrew Frankel writing in The Sunday Times.

Although it has more technology than ever, it is kept where it should be – behind the scenes. The car looks unremarkable, but after the awkward styling of the last 7-series, it’s a welcome development. This new simplicity is also to be found in the car’s interior. The switchgear has a simpler layout, and while the iDrive controller is still there, so too, mercifully, are individual buttons for calling up whichever menu you want to explore.

The 3 litre turbo diesel sounds just like the big old six-cylinder petrol motors you used to find in BMW saloons of the 1970s and 1980s. It’s a bit gruff, but in these days of turbine-smooth powerplants, it’s also refreshingly characterful. For a car weighing almost two tonnes, it has an astonishing blend of performance and economy.

Yet, despite all this wonderfully good work, he still has fundamental reservations. Neither the ride comfort nor refinement are as good as he had hoped. The ride is too firm to be called truly luxurious, and on certain coarser surfaces there’s an unwelcome amount of tyre noise. A dynamic driving experience is one thing, but trading a feeling of luxury as a result is truly counterproductive.

Fortunately, the 730d is notably good to drive for a car so big and heavy: it steers crisply, holds the road well, even in slippery corners, and seems to shrink around you so that, after a little acclimatisation, it feels little bigger than a 5-series.

However, the 750Li feels a cumbersome, less appealing car than the entry-level 730d.
Clearly, this is not a great time to be launching a two-tonne limousine, but in the 730d, BMW has a car that deserves to take its fair share of the meagre supply of customers for cars of this ilk. It is the most frugal full-sized luxury car on sale, and it has the lowest emissions. It’s good fun to drive and has more than enough space and luxury appointments inside. Were it not for the issues surrounding its ride comfort, it would be a wholly convincing match for the more comfortable and hushed Mercedes-Benz S 320 CDI. Unfortunately for BMW, however, in cars such as these, that is still what matters most.

►Utterly excessive in every aspect, the Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series is one of the few cars on sale capable of making the standard £154,375 SL 65 AMG look cheap, states Andrew Frankel (The Sunday Times).

Its official performance figures fail to do justice to how startlingly rapid it actually feels. The 6 litre V12 motor is limousine-quiet as you cruise down the motorway. But if you floor the throttle, even at 60-70mph on a straight, dry road, a mighty roar from the engine is accompanied by a period of frankly bewildering thrust – followed immediately by a frantically flashing traction control light as electronics try to stop the rear tyres from vaporising.

Although the brake discs are not of carbon-ceramic composite, they are still massively powerful, and that’s just as well, as they were almost constantly needed to curb the astonishing speed the SL achieved on even the shortest of straights at Laguna Seca.

Enter a corner a little too fast and it will start sliding helplessly, so the correct approach is to be cautious as you near each turn, safe in the knowledge that the speed you lose on the way in can be recovered with the smallest toe-twitch on the way out.

For all its dizzying speed, if you view the SL 65 AMG Black Series objectively, there’s no way it’s worth a £95,000 premium over the hardly sluggish SL 65. A rival such as a Ferrari 599 GTB is lighter, quicker and substantially more exciting, although that probably isn’t the point. AMG expects to confirm by the end of this month that it has sold every one of these limited-edition Black Series SLs. Despite that price and the tricky market, AMG’s customers have clearly concluded that it’s more than worth the outlay.

►Mark Forsyth (Daily Star) feels some sympathy for BMW launching the new 7 Series in today’s economic climate, but the amazing 730d does allow both opulence and astounding economy.

The V8 petrol may be devastatingly fast and produce a stump-pulling 600 Nm of torque, but the diesel feels just as fast, possibly more civilised and offers nearly twice the distance between fuel stops.

It’s posh, fast, cosseting and reasonably quiet, however the Citroën C6 does a better job of wafting. But he can’t think of another car he’d rather crash in. Humongous B-pillars, massive crumple zones and lots of safety devices.

►As Ford keep telling us, the Kuga is ‘different’, writes Martin Love in The Observer. It has all the things we like about 4×4s (the sure handling, the high driving position, the ’sneer of cold command’ as Shelley might have put it) and very few of the things we don’t like (the road-hogging size, the oil-well thirst, the tail-pipe smog).

It is also a manageable size, so you can banish unsightly parking-space bulge from your life. The area in which it most impresses, appropriately enough for these superficial times, is in the looks department. The sculpted alloys and sleek, curvaceous body would put a smile on Frank Gehry’s face, while there is enough chrome to satisfy a kleptomaniac jackdaw. It has an athletic, muscular presence.

The split tailgate makes loading a doddle and should be mandatory; there’s a simple start button; and the fabric inlays on the windowsills offer true elbow comfort.

Cougar, however you spell it, is a good name for a good car, but surely this one deserves its own moniker. How about the Ford Ozymandias?

►The Audi A8’s gorgeous looks, luscious V8 tones and grippy handling are badly let down by the frankly awful way of moving from one gear ratio to the next that is the R-tronic, thinks Sean O’Grady (The Independent). It’s jerky. As a “semi automatic” it’s a pretty tedious experience and detracts so much from the Audi’s purposeful charm that it’s hard to believe they let this version into the showrooms. Using it as a clutchless manual, using the paddles behind the steering wheel, is a bit better, but that’s even harder work.

You can see why the R8 and the smart both have semi-automatic gearboxes, but just as he can’t quite bring himself to forgive smart for doing it, so he certainly can’t absolve Audi. The R-tronic gearbox has turned an interesting supercar into a boring one.

►Andrew English is the latest COTY judge to run through the contenders and to point out who he’d like to see win (although, as we now find out, his choice didn’t take the honours). It’s always tough, he says, but choosing a favourite from this year’s finalists has proved almost impossible. He was disappointed that the Jaguar XF and BMW 7-series didn’t make the final seven, but those that did are all very good if not exceptional in their own right. In reverse order they are:

The Alfa Romeo MiTo. The cabin is as painstakingly wrought as the beautiful exterior, with gorgeous figure-hugging seats and loads of dials and switches. Sadly the chassis lets the car down. The steering is vague, the springing is stiff and the lack of wheel travel means bumps crash through to the unforgiving bumpstops. The Q2 dynamic control system is very good, at least on the track, although it gets a bit too clever when pushed hard on a bumpy road.

The Renault Mégane. After the grande derriere of the previous model, it’s easy to dismiss this new five-door hatch as dull. And so it is, but the quality and fit of the panels is impressive. Inside it’s the same, with immaculately fitted grey-on-grey trim – yawn. Front-seat accommodation is generous, with lots of storage space, but the rear is very cramped, particularly leg room. Unlike the old model, the boot is huge (so that’s where all the space went). On the road the Mégane is resolutely French, with a slightly over-assisted feel to the major controls, but a great ride and pretty good handling. The brakes are too sharp, however, and overall it doesn’t bring much to the party.

The Citroën C5 on hydropneumatic suspension rides well and handles reasonably, although the frame wobbles over bad bumps and it understeers into bends. The C5 is all about the journey, however, and that’s where the troubles start. While the cabin is commodious and comfortable, the C5 has neither the sleek exterior style of the bigger C6 nor the innovative and attractive interior of the C6 or the smaller C4. It’s as if Citroën has a kit of parts to make a perfect French tourer but only uses a few on each car.

He really likes the Vauxhall Insignia. It’s the first appearance of GM’s new mid-sized world car and and proves that this doesn’t have to be a recipe for insipid design and lacklustre handling. Then there’s the ride and handling, more relaxed than its non-premium rival the Ford Mondeo, but just as effective. The cabin is clearly influenced by VW’s Passat; the centre console is beautifully designed and the seats are comfortable and supportive, although there are some awful colour and trim combinations that must be avoided. Best of the engines is the 2.0-litre turbo, which is economical and powerful. The 2.0 diesel option comes with a number of different power outputs but they all suffer from vibration at low revs. The Insignia shows the way forward.

While not convinced by the Skoda Superb’s. hatchback that becomes a boot mechanism, or excessive rear seat space or the fact that it is ugly, there’s barely space to list all the good, of which there is a lot The build quality, the simple, well-made cabin, the rear space and the lack of artifice are exemplary. Far from austere, this is a simple and straightforward car, with a range of VW Group engines that are modern and economical. It’s the ride quality that really marks the Superb out as, er, superb. Without recourse to trick dampers or electronic geegaws it rides over broken British roads sublimely.

The Ford Fiesta has a brilliantly smooth 1.6 petrol and the ride is honed for British roads and it shows, handling bumps and potholes with an aplomb that few can match. Perhaps the handling isn’t quite as sharp as the old model, but the electronically assisted steering is still the standard-setter. It’s a curate’s egg of an interior, with great design details but some flimsy parts that raise doubts about longevity. The rear seats are cramped. It feels wrong to put such a fine car in a (very close) second place, but in the end only one car can win.

And so the sixth generation Volkswagen Golf gets Andrew’s vote. The interior is as good as you will find in prestige cars a size up. The new VW Group diesel is one of the world’s most advanced and economical oil-burners. The tiny 1.4 TSI supercharged and turbocharged petrol engine is so complex and jewel-like that even Honda hasn’t dared make one. The chassis may be the same as the MkV, but this is still only one of two cars in its class to have fully independent rear suspension and it shows on the bumpy roads around Northampton. The Golf’s handling is less sharp than a Focus and it’s more expensive, but in a world of trouble and strife, when the smart money’s gone and it all came up on red, you can close the door on it all and drive away in comfort and silence.

►Whenever people predict the end of the car, the car ends up improving, says James May. Past examples include the introduction of unleaded petrol and catalysts, but they only resulted in better combustion control, rising specific outputs and improved economy.

He’s just driven the Honda FCX Clarity and he thinks it is a fantastic piece of work. So whatever appears as a fallen log in the path of automotive progress is usually the stimulus to better thinking.

Similarly in the current straitened times, manufacturers will look for ways to give us the same amount of fun for less. There’ll be a welter of small cars with hot engines. He loves the Renault Twingo 133 for example, a car that feels perfectly in tune with the prevailing mood. It looks funky and avoids the retro trap. As it is French, it is wantonly bloody-minded in some of its details. The dashboard is Cubist in its deconstruction, but this adds to the amusement of trying to work out what it all means.

It is fantastically refreshing, not massively fast, but light, crisp, positive in operation and unpretentious in bearing. The sensation of performance is sky high, proof that a properly conceived small car will be much more fun for much more of the time than any other.

Despite its silly name, he’s been toying with the idea of buying one. The only problem is that his missus thinks it’s a car for people in their 20s who are still cool, and that he’ll look like one of those sad people who won’t accept they’re older.

But that hasn’t totally put him off….

►Despite promising never to indulge in VW campers, The Daily Telegraph’s Andrew English and family attended a wet End of the Road music festival in a Volkswagen California which he admits is far from gorgeous but is at least practical and doesn’t shout ‘traveller’ from every panel gap.

It treads a fine line between big car and commercial vehicle. Fully loaded, the body rolls and the tyres ricochet off cats’ eyes like whipcracks; for a big car it’s a disaster, but for a commercial vehicle, it’s pretty good. The steering is direct and well-weighted and the 2.5-litre turbodiesel has reserves of torque. They managed a creditable 33.6 mpg all weekend including a couple of 15 minute charging sessions.

Loping along at about 50-60 mph, it made good progress, its soft springing smoothing out the worst of the roads, but never enough to over-stress the handling, the brakes or the passengers.

It’s sensible and well made. He’d have liked a slightly less complicated manual, a lighter tailgate and a wind-out awning that didn’t do a frontal lobotomy on anyone over six foot. Other than that, it was just about perfect. Expensive at £37,000, but you are buying a chance to enjoy a new peripatetic life as a knight of the road and the summer festival.

“I’ve even asked how much it would cost to buy a used one. You’d better shoot me now.”

►The myriad ways Infiniti’s engineers have rendered the 3.7-litre V6 G37, a car designed in Japan, Euro-suitable, makes interesting reading, writes John Simister (The Independent on Sunday). Styling is not one of them. The G37 looks like a five-year-old design (it isn’t), and its front grille is weak. The coupé is the more pleasing – think of it as a softer-edged 350Z with four seats and a formal suit.

Inside, there’s a convincingly “premium” feel, which you would expect for the saloon price of about £32,000, albeit not as strong as that found in Infiniti SUVs whose cabin design is refreshingly original.

These are quick, tuneful cars with the sort of precise, natural-feeling steering that’s increasingly rare. Much fun can be had threading them through fast bends, especially the S, whose rear wheels’ microfine steering can even damp the spike of extra side force felt on those wheels when you turn briskly, by momentarily counter-steering.

The sporting edge goes a little too far with the way the G37 saloons can turn choppy over bumps, though. The coupés, surprisingly, are better here.

Should you buy a G37 when they come on-stream next June? If you want to be different and don’t want a Lexus iS, maybe yes. The cars are as yet a touch flawed but they are fun.

►Paul Myles (The People) cannot recommend enough that all motorists who enjoy a spirited drive should try a Renault Laguna Coupe with rear-wheel steer. It is sensational and won’t turn your hair prematurely grey. While purists may miss the chance of stepping out the rear end, this is a front-wheel drive car that replaces that thrill with pure pace and will put you where you want to be in complete serenity.

In terms of engine choices, the 3.5 petrol V6 is slower, noisier and thirstier and offers no better driving dynamics than the grunty 3.0-litre turbo diesel which Renault have worked wonders in sound proofing.

Build quality and interior design are top flight and rival anything from Germany or Scandinavia. With a good standard specification, it is also priced competitively.

►He’s also driven the Kia Sorento 2.5 CRDi and thinks there are few cars as honest. It is a no nonsense old-school mud muncher that’s not flash or slick or trying to be several cars rolled into one do-all package. It is a big brute of a work horse that would enhance any life-devoted to real 4×4 work as opposed to ferrying cosseted kiddies to school. In any other environment, however, it would be a waste of resources.

It is no more prone to wallow than its competitors and it copes with motorways without being too noisy. The interior is functional and there are acres of storage space, so it’s a good work tool at a fair price for those who need the pure muscle of a shire horse. Just don’t go for one if you aren’t spending most of your day ankle deep in mud.

►As phobias go, Tachophobia, the fear of speed, is one that James Martin (Mail on Sunday) can’t understand. And if you have it, then the KTM X-Bow will have you quaking in your boots. It’s hardly practical but thank God for that, he says. It is definitely not for the faint hearted, and climbing into it is an event in itself – you fall in rather than sit down. Nevertheless, the driving position is brilliant and having an adjustable pedal box is fab.

Warp speed is the only phrase for it. The low centre of gravity, wide track, anti-roll bars and limited slip differential all combine to fling you round a bend like a right hook from Mike Tyson. Everything about the car is savage. You end up taking every corner with speed, laughing, shouting and swearing with excitement.

He urges us to take a drive in one: life’s too short to miss out on the X-Bow.

►James Foxall (News of the World) has been driving the Renault Ondelios concept and says that with barely any wind noise, only the rumble of its 23 inch wheels intrudes on a ride that’s smoother than a snake in silk pyjamas.

Sitting inside is like chilling out in an upmarket cinema, particularly from the two rows of back seats with a TV screen for each chair. The seats are hard but remarkably comfy with excellent leg room and with high sides so that you sink down into them. And controls built in to the dashboard for the sat nav are a clever alternative to the complicated controls on current cars.

►Nat Barnes (Sunday Express) tries the Porsche 911 Carrera 2 with the PDK gearbox. In automatic mode and pottering around in traffic, it’s easy to forget that this car is a supercar, he says. The throttle pedal feels a little lazier to your inputs, performance is quick but not as sharp as you might expect and the auto changes can feel a bit sluggish. It’s still good and a world ahead of the old Tiptronic, but it’s not as responsive as you would expect from a 911.

Press the Sport button and it really comes alive. Sharp, incisive and deliciously addictive, everything from the engine noise to the responsiveness of the car feels inherently right.

It’s not a perfect experience, however. The changes are quick, but Porsche has ruined that, going for buttons rather than paddles which work in the opposite direction to which you would consider intuitive. The new gearbox undoubtedly makes this the best automatic 911 ever, but with a few changes to those steering wheel paddles, it could actually be one of the best 911s ever.

►Andrew Anthony (The Guardian) is intrigued by the MG brochure that suggests the MG is for “people whose glass is always half full”. What about when the petrol gauge reads almost empty, he asks. Do they think they’ve still got half a tank?

Furthermore, “the car is for those whose inclination is to reach for the sun”, “who don’t stick a toe in the water; they jump right in,” and “who leap straight out of bed… First thing they put on is a smile”.

As a result, he feels confident that he is not in the market for an MG. His bed-leaping days are long past, and his smiling days may as well be. The thought of doing both together is enough to make him want to lie down.

And yet, like a toddler running in the park, an MG parping along the street can’t help but bring a smile to faces crushed by gravity and that ceaseless existential crisis we politely refer to as life.

Start the engine and it sounds as if you’ve entered Le Mans. It’s too noisy to amble along but not really powerful enough to live up to the sound, so you fumble around town trying to work out whether to speed up or slow down, while attempting to make the arch of your foot – thanks to the position of the pedals – respond accordingly. If nothing else, it’s a challenge to the maintenance of cool.

So what? It looks a treat, a British style classic, that could do with a touch more Chinese content. On a sunny day with the top down, you can’t go wrong.

►The Citroën Berlingo Multispace is a practical family credit-crunch beater that won’t break the bank, reckons Ray Massey (Daily Mail). It’s never going to win a beauty pageant, but it is cleverly adapted from its commercial vehicle origins and it’s easy to drive with a commanding view of the road. Fuel economy is good too.

Front seats are comfortable and easy to step into and the rear sliding doors are useful. Visibility is great, there’s lots of space in the back and the boot space is cavernous behind the big lift up door.

Gripes? ESP should be should be a standard fitment, while the 0-60 time is pretty slow. Nevertheless, in the current credit crunch, it could become a prudent family people mover, predicts Ray.

►Nothing about the Audi Q7 V12 TDI is subtle, writes Alistair Weaver (Daily Express) and everything is done to excess. Driving it is like take starring in a cartoon caper with Dick Dastardly and Mutley You prod the accelerator, the engine takes a slug of air and then the whole car lifts its skirts and hurls itself at the horizon. It even sounds good with a bass rumble that’s much deeper than the petrol alternative.

It feels even faster than the figures suggest and it feels like that first sly sip of alcohol when you’re young – naughty and wrong but intoxicating.

On the road it is impressively capable and for such a tall, heavy car, the body is exceptionally well controlled. You can hurl it around with impunity – it’s a hoot. The Audi evens rides well – firmer than the standard Q7 but feeling sporty rather than harsh. It’s best to think of it as a grand tourer.

Inside, the interior is beautifully executed but you never escape the feeling that it was built by a robot instead of lovingly crafted by an artisan.

The Q7 V12 TDI would be an irrational purchase and the 4.2 turbo diesel has at least 90 per cent of its ability. It is an undeniably silly car and ludicrously expensive, but you still can’t help admiring the quality of the engineering.

►The Abarth Punto is pleasant looking, thinks Richard Hammond (Daily Mirror). The alloys fill the wheelarches satisfyingly well and inside the bucket seats are deep and tight fitting, but the leather is rather let down by the nasty plastic in the centre of the dash.

The engine noise left him entirely unmoved, sounding pedestrian for an Abarth. However, it’s not slow and it revs happily to busy, if not exactly frantic, engine speeds.

The ride is firm enough to keep everything controlled over bumps and certainly makes it feel sporting…ish. It’s more of a warm hatch than a hot one. Pressing the Sport button makes everything feel a little livelier, faster and naughtier and feel almost as good as it should without the button pressed.

But what he wanted was a button that would unleash all hell about him. The Abarth Punto is instead a librarian with a penchant for Sambuca on its nights off. There are better hot hatches out there right now. The Abarth name is something rather special to have pinned on a car, and the car it’s pinned to has got to be pretty special to deserve it.

►While the Fiat 500 is the better pose, the Ford Ka is a better motor and will also be a bargain in comparison, even if it’s still not cheap, thinks George Fowler (Daily Star). But if you look too closely, your bargain is also cheap, he says, singling out a lack of a cover over the passenger sunvisor mirror and the lack of a passenger grab handle. The trim is rock hard and nasty, and the roof’s one huge wobbly piece of cardboard-like material. And there’s no remote boot release, which is annoying. Rear leg room is also cramped and the fiddly gearbox isn’t much fun. With prices starting at almost £8,000, and a basic specification, he thinks customers deserve better.

But there are areas where it really does perform well – it’s a tidy little handler with a smooth ride and accurate steering. It’s a huge improvement on the Fiat and while it won’t beat it for looks that’s what makes it the better car. Rather than standing out, the Ka’s looks are nowhere near different enough. However, it won’t be long before our roads are flooded with the things.

►The Sun focuses on the slowdown in global car markets and how that is affecting UK PLC. It carries a picture of Avonmouth docks showing rows of imported cars that dealers can’t sell. It is, writes Ken Gibson, a stark symbol of the terrible plight of the British motor industry today.

He quotes Professor Garel Rhys, of Cardiff University, who says: “Car firms and their workers are facing a torrid time.

“This is a depression, not a recession. There will be more short-time working and redundancies are inevitable. No one will be immune.”

The article goes on to give a manufacturer by manufacturer summary of the state of car plants around the UK.

Ken says all those people whose jobs are safe could play their part by continuing to buy new and used cars. “The fact is that dealerships are full of not only the best cars ever, but also the cheapest prices, with sensational bargains. And we have a great car industry we should support.”

►Phil Lanning has been driving the smart ed and although it is bizarre to drive, with no sound coming from the engine, it is perfect for city driving with a top speed of 70mph. It trots along quite happily in urban traffic, with the stop/start system working seamlessly. However, it is not quite so clever on faster roads, with the charge evaporating alarmingly, and he ran out of power on one occasion.

Charging really is as simple as charging a mobile phone, but the worry is that few people have garages to park in at night, so how would you charge the car in those circumstances? You also can’t take unplanned journeys and at least with a hybrid you have the conventional fuel system.

That’s why it is vital that the Government sets up a proper network to make sure there are charging points accessible everywhere. But what’s to stop a vandal ripping out the lead? On the plus side, the smart ed is incredibly cheap to run, although the price at an estimated £10,000 is probably too expensive for a small smart car.

►On the car’s launch, Ken Gibson thought Vauxhall had a winner with the Insignia, and now a week with the SRi two-litre diesel has cemented his initial reaction. It’s classy looking and although it has been influenced by other cars, it also has lots of very individual design touches.

Inside it is the quality feel of the plastics and trim fabrics that leave the biggest impression, more than enough for a couple of passengers to say that it felt like a Mercedes.

A 160 mile drive was a totally relaxing affair, a bit like sitting in your favourite armchair. It’s bursting with all the creature comforts and while the boot isn’t as big as the Mondeo’s, it’s big enough.

It can be pushed along at a pace and the engine has plenty of grunt, although at low speeds, it is slightly spoilt by too much diesel clatter. Once you are moving, it becomes a refined and effortless motorway cruiser. Even driving hard he got just over 40 mpg. And with prices close to the Vectra, the Insignia should have plenty of happy customers.

►The SEAT Ibiza SC is very much lots of show with not too much go, says Ken. You should look upon it as a good-looking girl lying on a beach in a skimpy bikini – it’s a bit of a tease that’s pleasing on the eye. There’s nothing wrong with the performance of the SC by ordinary supermini standards. It is economical and quick enough around town. But the curvy bodywork seems to promise a lot more.

But there is good news in the even more striking shape of the Ibiza Cupra even if it will set you back £15,000, which is another reason why lots of people will really be quite happy with the standard SC that starts at £8,595.

►Since it is based on the old A4, inside the SEAT Exeo everything looks unsurprisingly like an Audi which is good news for owners who will enjoy the same premium levels of quality for a lot less money. And it is just like driving an Audi – it handles with a sporting flavour and corners with assurance. It may therefore seem like an acceptable compromise to quite a few company drivers.

►Phil Lanning meanwhile has been sampling the SEAT Cupra K1 which is, he says, almost the ultimate hot hatch. The body kit is pretty special, creating a menacing road presence and a seriously horny-looking car. The noise is as impressive as the looks and the performance.

You also get brilliant handling and cornering, which isn’t really surprising given its BTCC origins. The surprising thing is how comfortable it is on long journeys. The interior is a bit of a let down, lacking a bit of drama and gloss, but the metal pedals and chunky perforated steering wheel give it a bit of razzle. There is a price to pay for the Cupra K body kit, but then you are paying for the king of Leons and it is flaming hot stuff.

►The Fiat Panda Eco is surprisingly good fun to drive, writes Ken Gibson. When you wrap the Eco credentials inside the standard cute character of the Panda you have a little car with the same appeal as the animal.

The design is timeless and is ageing well, and the interior is a funky affair with bright colours. And despite its compact size the Panda is a totally practical car with useful space for four, although tall adults struggle behind a tall driver. If you’re looking for a small car that’s big on character and low on cost, the Panda is the right animal for you.

►And Phil Lanning has driven the Fiat Bravo Eco in which he recorded over 50 mpg driving normally and mainly around town. Performance isn’t shabby, either, and the diesel has a useful turn of speed and it cruises quietly at motorway speeds. On the inside you get a smart, well laid-out cabin.

The equipment of the Dynamic flagship, the road tax benefits, its miserly fuel consumption and a price of £13,895 make it a tempting proposition in the family hatchback sector, he concludes.

© 2008 European Motor News.