01 02 03 Ford Explorer Air Cleaner 4 Dr Exc. Sport Trac 4.0l 55855 on 2040-parts.com

2014 Subaru XV – less choice, more refinement

The 2014 Subaru XV (pictured) gets a bit of a tweak The Subaru XV arrived in the UK in 2012, and it’s a perfectly able and reasonably-priced compact crossover from Subaru. But within a year of launching the XV Subaru decided to inject a bit more appeal in to the XV with a price cut of £2,300 across the range and now, not more than six months later, they’re fiddling with the XV range again. The 2.0 litre petrol XV gets new valve-train components to cut engine noise and revised suspension, with extra soundproofing improving NVH levels across the range, a revised power steering system for added stability and feel  and thicker and reshaped suspension lower arm and extra reinforcement around the base of the A-Pillar for better crash performance.

Mini John Cooper Works concept (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 17 December 2013 16:00 This is the Mini John Cooper Works concept, which previews the look of the hottest version of the new third-gen Mini. The new JCW takes the larger, third-gen Mini three-door, which was revealed at Oxford last month, and gives it a triple nostrilled front bumper, red bodywork accents and myriad (doubtless superficial) vents for a racier look than its predecessor. New intakes also usurp the previous car’s front foglights, and 18in five-spoke alloys ape the look of the outgoing Mini GP flagship.

Top 5 most important cars at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show

The five most important memorable cars in attendance at the world’s biggest motor show Nothing is as controversial as irritating your core enthusiasts, and the Audi Sport Quattro concept risks doing just that. Its name and styling riff off one of the most iconic cars in Audi’s back catalogue – and in WRC history – yet the new yellow version unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show has abandoned the five-cylinder engine, manual gearbox, and respectable kerbweight of the 2010 Quattro concept. In its place, we’ve an RS7-based coupe with the power of a Lamborghini Aventador (691bhp), twice the claimed economy of a Golf GTD (113mpg), but only because of a twin-turbo V8 mated to a hefty hybrid powertrain, and that means this new Sport Quattro weighs as much as a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (1845kg).