2 New 205/75-14 Hankook Optimo H724 Tires 75r R14 on 2040-parts.com

Toyota Auris Touring Sports: Price from £15,595

The new Toyota Auris Touring Sports – the Auris Estate – will start from £15,595 for the Active 1.33-litre Dual VVT-i rising to £22,845 for the Excel Hybrid. The new Auris Estate will start at £15,595 for the Active 1.33-litre Dual VVT-i and top out at £22,845 for the Excel 1.8 Hybrid Synergy Drive with CVT box, and in between will be two other engine choices - 1.4 D-4D and 1.6 Valvematic – and a total of four trim levels – Active, Icon, Sport and Excel. The trim levels mirror those on the Auris hatch, so the Active trim gets Climate, Hill Start, roof rails and 15″ steel wheels, with the Icon trim adding 16″ alloys, Fogs, Touchscreen Infotainment with Bluetooth, DAB and rear view camera.

Meet the 214-mpg Volkswagen Twin-Up concept

Ahead of a Tokyo motor show debut, VW is showing off the Twin-Up concept. Essentially an advanced version of the company's entry-level Up supermini, the Twin-Up runs a modified version of the plug-in diesel-electric hybrid driveline used in the high-tech XL1 for spectacular claimed combined consumption of 214 mpg on the Euro combined cycle along with a zero-emissions electric range of 31 miles. The Twin-Up name alludes to the new car's twin drive sources.

Aston Martin adds a V8 Vantage S

Slotted between Aston Martin's vaunted V8 Vantage and the venerable V12 variant comes a tweener model that promises to be anything but vague: Aston is adding the S variant, with more power and an upgraded transmission. The Vantage S draws power from the 4.7-liter V8 making 430 hp, 10 hp more than in the base Vantage. The S also adds 15 lb-ft of torque, boosting total twist to 361 lb-ft.