509 Sinister X5 Orange Snowmobile Goggles on 2040-parts.com

AA warns of 'exceptional' bank holiday traffic

THIS YEAR’S Whitsun Bank Holiday is likely to be one of the busiest on the roads in recent years as it coincides with the start of half term for many families, according to the AA and traffic information specialist Trafficmaster. As schools in England and Wales take their half-term break during the last week of May, coinciding with the Late Spring Bank Holiday on Monday, 26th May, traffic is likely to be exceptionally busy on main trunk routes. Although the weather presents a potentially mixed picture for the bank holiday weekend, the AA estimates that up to 17 million cars could be on Britain’s roads.

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid: Production to double to cope with demand

It’s particularly appealing if you like a car with a decent turn of speed – the V60 will do 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds – like the reassurance and practicality of 4WD – the V60′s electric motor drives the back wheels – drive in to London on a regular basis – the 48g/km emissions are congestion charge free – and get taxed as BIK from your company. If all those apply – and you already appreciate the Volvo V60 is a very good car to start with – then the V60 plug-in hybrid is a bit of a no-brainer, even with a headline price of nearly £50k (which gets within £6k of an equivalent non plug-in after the taxpayer has chipped in). It seems that many buyers agree, and Volvo is being inundated with orders.

Kia Ceed (2012) first official pictures

The first Kia Ceed, launched in 2006, signalled a step change for the Korean car company. Not only was it designed and built in Europe (in Germany and Slovakia respectively) but it was also good enough to be considered a worthy rival for the Focus, Golf, Astra et al. From Soul to Optima, from Picanto to Rio, nearly everything that's followed has been good or great.