Audi A7 & S7 Sportback facelift for 2015 MY revealed

The Audi S7 (pictured) and A7 get a tweak or two for 2015 It’s four years since the Audi A7 arrived (and its more powerful sibling – the Audi S7 – arrived a month or so later), so it’s time for a tweak or two for Audi’s five-door swoopy coupe. The cosmetic changes for the A7 and S7 are not exactly overwhelming, with a new single frame grill at the front, new bumpers, new tailpipes and new lights. The usual facelift fodder.

New Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes in to production

The first Mercedes B-Class ED (pictured) rolls off the production line in Rastatt With the BMW i3 grabbing headlines – and flying out of showrooms – as BMW’s first electric car, Mercedes need to play catch-up with a convincing EV of their own, and that’s the new B-Class Electric Drive – an EV version of the regular B-Class – which has now gone in to production in Germany. Built alongside regular ICE versions of the B-Class at Mercedes’ Rastatt Plant, the B-Class ED (Electric Drive) looks practically the same as its more conventionally powered siblings – although the front bumper does look a bit different – and has an electric motor good for 177 bhp and 250 lb/ft of torque, can manage a scoot to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and has a range of up to 124 miles. The range – at least the quoted range – is a chunk better than the BMW i3′s and on a par with the latest Nissan LEAF, thanks to EV technology provided by Tesla, and the wrapping of an EV drivetrain in a conventional series production car could appeal to more buyers than the ‘statement’ design of the BMW i3.

Drink-drive advert breaks new ground

A NEW TELEVISION ADVERT to warn of the dangers of drink-driving is the first ever to deliberately use a drunken presenter. In the advert, an actor who was recorded the evening before having taken several alcoholic drinks is heard to slur, stumble and giggle as he tries to describe how is body feels in reaction to the alcohol. However, the film shows the same actor the next day when he appears sober but his body is still dealing with the alcohol.