Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Driven: Volkswagen Golf Mk7

Walking up to the seventh-generation VW Golf, redesigned flip key in hand, you're in no doubt that this is a) new or – perhaps more importantly – b) a Golf. It's the "200 meter test" lead exterior designer, Andreas Mindt tells us and, while we're suspicious of the idea of self-conscious ‘iconic design', you have to concede he's right. In fact the Mk7 Golf's pared-back graphics and a return to a true two-box proportion create a more accurate vision of what we imagine when we think ‘Volkswagen Golf' than either of its two most recent predecessors.

Steve Mattin appointed Design Director at Volvo Cars

 Volvo Car Corporation has appointed British designer Steve Mattin as Vice President and Design Director, who joins the company on 1 May following a long career at DaimlerChrysler, where he is currently Senior Design Manager with several major design projects under his responsibility. Steve Mattin is well respected in the automotive design community, and has a real passion for premium cars, which he has proved during his 17 years at DaimlerChrysler. Steve will report to Volvo Cars President and CEO, Hans-Olov Olsson as well as J Mays, group vice president of Design and Chief Creative Officer of Ford Motor Company.

BMW i3 Coupe & 3 Series GT: Geneva Motor Show 2013

The new BMW offerings at Geneva are the debut of the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo and the European debut of the BMW i3 Coupe Concept. There’s nothing at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show from BMW that will set the column inches flowing, but BMW does have a couple of debuts in Switzerland to tickle interest – the 3 Series GT and the i3 Coupe Concept. The BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo comes under the heading of ‘Why would you build that’ (although, to be fair, we thought the same about the 6 Series Gran Coupe until we reviewed it) when BMW already offers the 3 Series Touring and, if you want something bigger, the 5 Series.