Seat has released these official pictures of its new Ibiza Sport Tourer ahead of its world debut at the Geneva motor show next month.
The small estate will be the third Ibiza variant alongside the SC (Sports Coupe) and five-door hatchback models. As with most production cars the Ibiza ST has lost much of the edgy styling of the IBZ concept version seen at last years Frankfurt motor show.
It should be pretty practical though at 180mm longer than the hatchback and with a boot capacity of 430 litres which increases further by folding down the rear seats.
Engines will include those found elsewhere in the Ibiza range including the VW group's new 105hp 1.2-litre TSI petrol and 1.6-litre TDI 90 units. It will also be offered with a six-speed DSG gearbox. The Ibiza ST will be launched shortly after Geneva with prices expected to start around £12,500.
Renault has finally released its amusingly named Wind two-seater coupe convertible by releasing official pictures ahead of the official launch at the Geneva Motor Show.
It's a rival for Peugeot's 207 CC and shares its platform and some front-end styling with the Twingo hatchback. Fitted with a folding hard-top, the Wind is slightly longer than the Twingo to accommodate the new roof, and boasts 270-litres boot space, with or without the roof folded down.
Two engines will be available, also taken from the Twingo range - the 133bhp 1.6 from the Renaultsport model, and the 1.2-litre 100bhp unit from the Twingo GT.
Renault's Wind will be unleashed at Geneva alongside Renaults other coupe-cabriolet, the Megane.
Any petrol head knows that the key to a great holiday or trip is to drive there. But trying to pile the kids and missus into a 911 isn't going to make for the most pleasant journey.
So we've put together a top ten of the best road trip cars that offer at least four seats, space for luggage and won't bore you on the motorway. Let us know what you think.
10. BMW 540i – Used £3,000 ('97)
We had to include a BMW here somewhere, and although more modern examples of the 5 series or even 3 series would make equally great road trip companions, the E39 540i is perhaps one of the more iconic BMW's. Powered by a 4.0-litre V8 engine, performance is available in spades, while it also benefits from a well-balanced ride and excellent handling. Search for BMW 5 Series on Auto Trader
Drag racing sounds like the easiest motorsport in the world. Accelerate in a straight line for quarter of a mile then stop, and if you're in the fastest car you'll have won.
But as I found out at the Las Vegas Speedway last week, there's a hell of a lot more to it than that - especially when you're behind the wheel of a 540bhp Shelby Mustang GT500.
This iconic model has been updated for 2010 with more tyre-shredding power and extra-aggressive looks, and it's perfect for quarter-mile drag racing, where it should be able to set a sub-12 second time.
Unlike most American cars, the 5.4-litre V8 GT500 is a manual not an automatic. Normally this would be a good thing for a race but, to be honest, the first time I pulled up on the start line, I was left wishing there wasn't a clutch to worry about. The perfect launch is all about balancing high revs with a sharp drop of the clutch to dart away from the line - you can win or lose the entire quarter-mile race here, and it's tricky to get right.
Ask anyone with a passing interest in cars to come up with the name of a Mercedes-Benz tuner and they will almost certainly mention AMG, the manufacturer's own performance division. Ask someone unfathomably rich the same question, and they will say Brabus.
The German tuning firm has been turning out some of the world's most powerful cars since the late seventies. Brabus's focus has always been on horsepower, torque and luxury without compromise.
Their latest product is no exception. Brabus has breathed heavily on a Mercedes GL to produce this 650bhp leviathan.
If you're after a small slice of fashion on wheels, a practical hatch wearing a wrap of sexy chic, your choice so far has been Mini, Fiat 500 and Alfa MiTo. But now there's something new to choose from the budget clothes-rail of automobile fashion, called DS3. You might be surprised to learn that it comes from Citroen, long makers of keenly priced, lower order hatchbacks.
Citroen has sold glamour before, but it was a long time ago, its Maserati-engined SM coupe, one of the most sexily sensuous coupes ever to roam our roads, dropping out of production in the mid-'70s. And then there was the car that this DS3 has been born out of. Arguably the most famous Citroen of them all, the 1955 DS, was a startling, beautiful saloon car that still turns up in adverts – Stella Artois's, recently – as an artful and futuristic style icon, even though it turned obsolete 35 years ago.
The original DS was memorable not only for its style but for technological revolution too, from its aerodynamic bodywork to its hydraulically controlled suspension. While the DS3 is neither a retro reinterpretation of the DS nor a technical adventure, Citroen reckons that there's some of the original's creativity in its make-up. Now, it would be dead easy to be cynical and say that there's nothing of the sort here - this is, after all, a reskinned version of the recently launched C3. Instead of a small, tall, five-door family hatchback with a giant-sized windscreen, the DS3 is a smaller, sexier three-door whose appeal can be dramatically enhanced by bold paint schemes and a tattoo of stickers across its roof.
Prodrive has released details of the Subaru Impreza that it will to take to the world rally stages in 2010.
The car, named simply the Impreza N2010, uses the 2.0-litre 4-cylinder boxer engine found in the standard Impreza WRX STi, but with significant upgrades to exploit the full potential of its power.
Subaru pulled out of the WRC in 2008, but the Prodrive outfit has ensured that production teams can continue competing in the Impreza.
Prodrive says the car will develop 413lb ft of torque, which should help it to 60mph in about 4.0 seconds on the tarmac. To achieve this, Prodrive has fitted a larger air restrictor, high-flow fuel injectors, and has recalibrated the car's Engine Control Unit to get an extra 20bhp.
The suspension has been significantly overhauled with rally parts and the car is expected to be one of the frontrunners in the renewed and refreshed WRC championship next season.
Last year was a tough one for the car industry, but we have high hopes for 2010. We're particularly looking arrival of these – our top ten cars to look forward to in 2010...
Gallery: Top Ten for 2010
Aston Martin Cygnet
Launches: September
Price: £25,000 (estimated)
Opinion is divided about Aston's foray into the city car market with the Cygnet - even here in the Autoblog office. Some feel it could be a quirky and memorable attempt by the supercar manufacturer to do something different, while others think re-badging a Toyota iQ is just going to devalue the Aston brand. Whatever you think, the Cygnet is going to be a car to watch closely when it comes out in September.
Clearly worried that the assembled metal would fail to wet the public's insatiable appetite for glamour, the world's automotive manufacturers had the foresight to pay hundreds of attractive young women to linger in the Cobo Arena and greet the hoards with a welcoming smile.
Fortunately, the days of scantily-clad girls reclining on the bonnet of the latest Lamborghini are long gone; today's showgirl is more likely to be cloaked in a ballgown than a bikini.
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