01 02 Saturn S Series Coupe Right Front Door 3 Dr Elec 189437 on 2040-parts.com

BMW vs Winter: 435i Coupe vs M3, Part One

By Ben Barry (photography by Richard Pardon) First Official Pictures 29 January 2014 12:00 How much difference can winter tyres make to your car’s performance and safety? In snowy conditions, choosing between winter and summer tyres is like choosing between crampons and slippers, but plenty of British winters pass with barely a flake touching the ground. So it’s understandable that most of us are reluctant to fork out for winter tyres.

2015 VW Polo GTI gets new 1.8 litre TSI with 189bhp

The VW Polo GTI gets a facelift and new engine for 2015 The 2015 Volkswagen Polo GTI is being updated for 2015 – and heading for a debut at the Paris Motor Show – with VW bucking the trend for ever smaller engines by dropping the current 1.4 litre turbocharged and supercharged lump in favour of a new 1.8 litre TSI with 189bhp and 236lb/ft of torque. The extra power lets the new Polo GTI get to 62mph in 6.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 147mph and, unlike the current GTI, you’ll also be able to do that with a six-speed manual ‘box as well as the optional 7-speed DSG. Aside from the new engine, you’ll need to look quite hard to see the changes, but the 2015 Polo GTI does get updated headlights, a new grill (complete with red stripe), more aggressive bumpers with the interior keeping its tartan seats and getting the same updates as those on the rest of the Polo range.

Mercedes SLS David Coulthard Golf Ball catch – now on video

The recent golf ball catching Guinness world record set by David Coulthard and Jake Shepherd finally turns up on video. In another of those ‘We didn’t know there was a world record for that’ stories, we reported earlier this month that a new Guinness World Record had been set for the furthest golf shot caught in a car. A Mercedes SLS AMG driven by David Coulthard had managed to catch a golf ball driven down the runway at Dunsfold by professional golfer Jake Shepherd.