Audi has revealed a new naming structure that will come into effect on new cars launching in the coming months, with the whole of the Audi range to be turned over to the fresh nomenclature by summer 2018.
One of the main reasons for the relocation over to the new system is the firm’s impending range of e-tron all-electric models, plus new hybrid cars – the designations will be applied to these cars as well as conventionally powered Audis, bringing the entire range under the same umbrella.
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The names of Audi’s models will remain the same – A1, A3, Q5 and so forth – but variations of these existing models will use two digit numbers representing their power outputs. The two-digit number will appear alongside the existing badges representing Audi’s various engines, such as TFSI, TDI, and the e-tron badge.
The two digit numbers aren’t direct transplants of the car’s power output in any particular measurement. Instead, Audi has chosen a handful of non-related numbers that will apply to certain cars based on their power outputs measured kW.
For instance, all cars with a power output between 81kW and 96 kW (108bhp to 128bhp) will be badged as 30 models. As an example, the entry level A3 1.0 TFSI will become the A3 30 TFSI.
The double-digit system will increase in increments of five, best up to range topping 70 cars with power figures over 400kW (537bhp). High-performance S and RS cars won’t be affected by the change, and will continue using their same names.
The first model to use the new naming system will be the all-new A8 when it arrives later this year. The 3.0-litre TDI model will be known as the A8 50 TDI, with the much more powerful petrol car distinguished by receiving a 55 designation.
Is Audi’s new naming structure a logical step in the best direction, or does it leave you in the dark? tell us your thoughts in the comments.
Last time I interviewed FCA boss Mike Manley he told me that of all the brands he was responsible for, Maserati was the one that excited him most. So it was only right that we met up again at the unveiling of the Maserati MC20 in Modena – a car that heralds another new dawn for the famous Italian brand.
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Manley would be the first to admit Maserati has had its ups and downs over the years. but this time around there’s a fully funded, long-term plan with design, performance, luxury materials, technology and customisation at its heart. and a ‘BEVolution’! Battery-electric automobiles are key.
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I visited the new Maserati innovation Lab, with its dynamic simulator that lets engineers do over 90 per cent of a new car’s development work before taking to the test track. It massively reduces the cost and time to get a car to market; the new MC20 took just two years.
I also met with new Maserati CEO Davide Grasso. Manley has a knack of surrounding himself with great people with a deep understanding of how to develop brands, and Grasso is another brilliant appointment.
This is his first foray into the car world having worked in senior positions at Nike before becoming CEO of Converse. There he revitalised a famous old brand that was a pale shadow of its former self – sound familiar?
Grasso told a story of how – while CMO of Nike – he invited us basketball legend Michael Jordan to address his staff. Jordan mentioned preparation as the main reason for his success on the court – nobody was better prepared.
And Grasso told me about the preparation he did before joining, including an honest look at issues of the past. The result is a completely reshaped management team – including restructuring Maserati’s quality team.
They’ve got lots of work ahead, not just in providing great cars, but in re-establishing the Maserati brand. It needs a point of difference (and relevance) in an increasingly congested luxury car market. I’m excited to see how they get on.
Click here to take a closer look at the new Maserati MC20…
many things car, driver, tech as well as safety-related have improved beyond recognition as well as expectation in recent years. Generally, development has been ridiculously impressive.
But, some things – lethargy at Highways England, a requirement for much more proactive communication at the DfT, as well as car-loathing at some councils – never change.
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These as well as other specify organisations with ‘authority’ seem to deal with the issue of snow as well as ice-covered roads (and pavements) as terribly today as they did in years past – or worse. Citroen UK agrees. It has taken the unusual step of exposing that from 2017/18 to 2019/20 there was a 29 per cent decrease in the typical number of days councils spent gritting roads.
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Far as well numerous ‘professionals’ who are paid to safeguard as well as serve our frozen highways as well as byways seem invisible, silent as well as inactive when temperatures decrease below zero. Recently, they plummeted to minus 25C, the lowest for 25 years. Yet the sickening sight as well as noise of spinning vehicle tyres, plus cars dangerously bumping into each other on ignored as well as ungritted roads seemed as typical last week as back in 1995. Progress? What progress?
Britain sits in northern Europe. Snow, ice, slush as well as other arctic-like conditions are guaranteed. So why are we so lousy at handling winter season weather?
Mercedes has announced a diesel trade-in scheme for UK customers, offering £2,000 off new Euro 6 compliant diesel cars for owners of older Euro 1 to 4 models when they trade in their vehicles. The scheme will be available until the 31st December 2017, and is a similar move to the one recently revealed by BMW.
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As the trade-in offer is open to any Euro 1 to 4 diesel car, most pre-2005 diesels are covered, as long as the owner trading it in has owned it for at least 6 months and it complies with the correct standards.
Mild and plug-in hybrid cars are eligibile for the £2,000 subsidy alongside any existing government grants. For conventionally powered cars, only new Euro 6 diesel cars are offered with the saving, though. Mercedes sees clean diesel engines as a key part of its immediate future, and has promised rapid rollout of a new modular diesel engine family in response to questions over diesel emissions.
Smart Electric Drive models are also available with cash off, though the bonus offer is smaller at £1,000.
On top of the diesel scheme bonus, customers will be offered compensation for Euro 1 to 3 cars, which will be scrapped when traded after having its value assessed by the retailer. Euro 4 diesel owners will recieve a straight trade-in price.
Alongside Mercedes and BMW, the Volkswagen group is expected to announce a similar scheme for older diesel cars in the coming weeks.
What do you make of Mercedes’ offer to older diesel owners? tell us in the comments…
The number of disabled motorists has fallen by almost 80,000 in two years. figures show a 6 per cent decrease in disabled people getting an exemption from car tax because 2015, with 1.267 million people now registered.
While there is no evidence that any type of one cause is behind the drop, the figures prompted fresh criticism of government reforms to impairment benefits. The data, from the Motability charity, echo other stats that show a autumn in people being eligible to insurance claim personal self-reliance payments (PIP). 59,000 disabled motorists have lost their eligibility for an adapted car because the switch from impairment living allowance (DLA) to PIP in 2013.
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Figures released after a written parliamentary concern from labour MP Peter Dowd show 1,266,523 disabled people got an exemption from car tax as of February this year, compared to 1,345,446 in February 2015. people can insurance claim the exemption if they get the higher rate of the mobility element of either PIP or DLA, or particular benefits for injured armed forces veterans.
Debbie Abrahams, the shadow work as well as pensions secretary, said: “[PIP] has resulted in countless people losing their social safety and security support, with numerous having their Motability vehicles eliminated before their appeals. This has required numerous disabled chauffeurs off the road as well as not able to work, or online full as well as independent lives.”
Kia has announced a new special edition specification, called VR7. It will be available on all Picanto, Rio and the Cee’d models.
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When ordering a car with this new trim, customers are able to chose from a white, black, sliver or red exterior finish and benefit from a discount of up to £1,000 on selected models.
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Interior kit on the new VR7 trim is shared across the range. All models are fitted with air-conditioning, a leather trimmed steering wheel and Bluetooth, plus USB and AUX ports as standard. A selection of exterior features such as alloy wheels, reversing sensors, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors, plus electric front and rear windows are fitted depending on model.
• Kia Picanto review
Opt for the Picanto – priced from £8,795 – and engines options include 68bhp and 84bhp versions of the 1.0-litre petrol engine. The larger Rio – £10,495 – comes with either the 84bhp 1.25-litre petrol and 74bhp 1.1-litre diesel engines.
The final using with the new VR7 trim level is the Cee’d range – £13,495 – available with the 98bhp 1.4-litre petrol and 89bhp 1.4-litre diesel motors.
The new specification is available now, with all models benefiting from Kia’s 7 year/100,000 mile warranty.
• Kia Rio review
The new Volvo XC60 is on sale now as well as will be on the roads in Britain later this year. It’s currently the smaller of the Swedish firm’s two SUVs, sitting beneath the Audi Q7 rivalling XC90.
As such, the five-seat, mid-sized XC60 is a rival for the Audi Q5 as well as BMW X3. We got our very first look at it at the Geneva motor show in March, however now Volvo has exposed UK costs as well as specs as well as has opened the purchase books. the most fundamental D4 Momentum XC60 is priced at £37,205.
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• checked out the Volvo XC60 very first drive review
The new XC60 shares its platform with its larger XC90 sibling as well as much of the car’s style is influenced heavily by it, however Volvo is keen to insurance claim that it has worked some private character into the XC60.
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The new XC60 is part of a huge product offensive in the SUV market industry by Volvo, as well as it complies with in the footsteps of 2015’s XC90 release. later this year the new XC60 will be joined by the XC40 – a smaller Volvo crossover as well as rival for the Audi Q3.
During the XC60’s expose at the Geneva motor Show, Volvo’s vice-president of design, Thomas Ingenlath, told us, “I am unwinded coming out with the XC60, since it isn’t such a transformation [as the XC90 was]. however it is a huge step as well as enhancement with the new platform. I’m lured to ask: ‘What might go wrong?’”
BMW has verified particular UK details for a new EU broad diesel trade-in scheme, called the lower Emissions Allowance.
BMW UK is providing clients a £2,000 subsidy to upgrade to a new Euro-6 compliant vehicle, as well as all new BMW as well as small vehicles with emissions under 130g/km will be offered with the discount rate up until the end of the year. vehicles from BMW’s i variety as well as the small Countryman PHEV are likewise available, with the discount rate stacking on top of present government subsidy.
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To qualify for the discount, clients can trade in any type of diesel-powered vehicle from any type of brand, so long as it’s Euro-4 basic or older. BMW likewise promises that clients will get a fair, typical cost for their trade-in vehicle.
Harald Krüger, BMW’s Board Chairman, said: “For practically two years now, diesel innovation which is cutting-edge, extremely effective as well as prominent with clients has been intentionally as well as publicly discredited. This has triggered remarkable uncertainty among millions of chauffeurs as well as it’s not going to get us anywhere”.
In terms of particulate, hydrocarbon as well as carbon monoxide emissions, BMW declares that contemporary diesels are now just as efficient, if not much more efficient, than petrol vehicles. Addressing the questionable subject, BMW specified in its release that the problem had been “resolved” as well as that diesels “no longer have any type of adverse impact on air quality”.
Would you trade in your BMW or small with the guarantee of a £1,700 discount? let us understand below!
Skoda has broadened its Scala hatchback lineup, adding a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine to SE technology trim. It drops the price of the automobile to £18,625.
The 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol comes in two specifies of tune. The entry-level model has 94bhp and 175Nm of torque and is mated to a five-speed gearbox as standard, while the a lot more potent option generates 108bhp and 200Nm of torque, but gets a six-speed handbook gearbox.
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A 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo is the most powerful option on the Scala SE Technology, producing 148bhp and 250Nm of torque. buyers have their choice of either a six-speed handbook gearbox or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic – although the latter option will add an extra £1,300 to the car’s sticker-price.
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Prices for the a lot more powerful engine start from £20,825. Coupled with a handbook gearbox Skoda declares a 0–62mph time of 8.2 seconds and a top speed of 137mph. fuel economy stands at 49.3mpg, while CO2 emissions of 130g/km are claimed.
Equipment upgrades over an entry-level Scala SE include 16-inch alloy wheels, front and rear vehicle parking sensors, chrome window surrounds, LED tail lights and a traffic sign recognition system. Inside, there’s some silver trim for the dashboard and Skoda’s larger 9.2-inch Amundsen infotainment system, which uses support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Skoda is targeting the new Scala SE technology at fleet customers, which is a highly competitive market segment that’s mostly driven by value. The Czech firm says this most current SE technology variant adds around £2,100-worth of extras over the equivalent SE model, while only being £400 a lot more expensive to buy.
What do you make of the new Skoda Scala SE Technology? let us know in the comments section below…
Aston Martin is working on an all-new architecture that will underpin a new generation of sports cars, beginning with the DB9 replacement in 2016, auto express has learned. It spells the end for the ageing aluminium VH architecture that has underpinned every Aston, barring the One-77 and Cygnet, since the original Vanquish in 2001.
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In an official press release this week, announcing 2013 total revenue up 13 per cent to £519m and global volumes up 11 per cent to 4,200, Aston’s chief financial Officer, Hanno Kirner revealed Aston was working on “a completely new architecture and technologies to ensure that our next generation of sports automobiles is at the forefront of design, performance and technology.”
He added: “The strategic partnership with Daimler AG will bring with it cutting edge electrical and electronic expertise, and the shared development of world-class bespoke V8 powertrains.”
Initial reports suggested this new architecture was simply a revised version of the VH architecture with new electrical systems taken from the strategic partnership with Mercedes, but it now appears the platform will be a clean sheet design. specific details on its construction aren’t yet available, but given Aston’s knowledge in bonded aluminium structures, it’s safe to say that’s the route it will take. expect it to be significantly lighter, more rigid and highly flexible in terms of wheelbase and track width.