07 08 09 10 11 12 Rondo Blower Motor 2305853 on 2040-parts.com

Hands-free car phones 'should be banned'

THE USE hands-free mobile phones while driving should be banned. This is the view of road safety charity Brake that says four in ten drivers (38%) admit to using hands-free phones in the car despite research that shows talking on a hands-free system is just as dangerous as using a hand-held mobile phone. Drivers who use a mobile phone while driving are four times more likely to be involved in a collision that causes serious or fatal injuries.

New Jaguar XF R-Sport is the start of more R-Sport models from Jaguar

The Jaguar XF R-Sport (pictured) adds sport looks to the saloon and Sportbrake The big news from Jaguar for the 2014 Geneva Motor Show is the arrival of a barnstorming XF Estate – the Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake – with its 542bhp supercharged V8. But also heading for Geneva is a more lowly XF that might not grab the headlines but will probably do more for Jaguar’s bottom line than the XFR-S – the new Jaguar XF R-Sport. Available as an XF saloon or XF Sportbrake, the XF R-Sport is Jaguar’s take on stuff like BMW M Sport and Mercedes AMG Line (but without any power or suspension tweaks) and is aimed at owners and drivers who want the sporty looks of cars like the XFR but want it powered by something more prosaic.

Driven: Mazda RX-8

The two most obvious elements of its unusual make-up are its rotary engine and rear-hinged rear doors with integral B-pillars. What became clear during our week with the RX-8 was how these two aspects of its design form the basis of many other unique qualities... Sports coupe and GT coupe The rotary engine of the RX-8 has a very distinct power delivery that is a defining part of the car's character, but it is also a very small lump of metal compared to a similarly powerful conventional reciprocating piston engine, enabling more of the car's overall length to be devoted to cabin space.