02 Honda Vtx 1800c Motor Rash Vtx1800 #236 Engine on 2040-parts.com

VW Passat: New distance world record

VW Passat World distance Record When you as old as I am (or at least as old as I feel) you can’t help but be astonished at the feats of economy car makers seem able to wring from even quite serious, upmarket cars. Yesterday we reported on the Mercedes S250 CDI which manages to perform like a 1990s V8 S-Class whilst simultaneously doing nearly 50mpg. Which to an old git like me – who thought his 3.0 litre Capri in his teen years was doing well if it got 18mpg – is a bit hard to acccept.

VW Polo R-Line Style & more equipment across Polo range

Volkswagen has introduced the VW Polo R-Line Style – price from £11,740 – in the UK and added more equipment across the Polo range for 2013. We though that VW had done the R-Line thing with the launch of the Polo R-Line this time last year, but it seems the bean counters at Volkswagen have worked out there’s room for a Polo R-Line ‘Light’ in the range, so we now get the VW Polo R-Line Style. That’s because VW decided that, unlike most of the VW range where the R-Line is an add-on pack for any model, the Polo R-Line only comes with the 1.2 litre 105PS engine – albeit in 3-door or 5-door guise – so you can’t have a more butch-looking R-Line with ‘lesser’ Polos.

2014 BMW X5 35d spotted high-altitude testing

BMW has dropped details on its next X5 SUV, but somehow a new model just feels more real once it's been spotted out and about during final shakedown testing. That's what happened here as eagle-eyed reader Todd H. caught up with a test-fleet 2014 BMW X5 35d diesel making the high-altitude test rounds in Colorado.