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

Volkswagen e-Golf goes on sale – price from £30,845

The Volkswagen e-Golf (pictured) is now on sale in the UK The Nissan LEAF has almost had the market place for proper family EVs to itself until recently, but the arrival of the impressive BMW i3 -especially when specced with a range extending motor – threatens to make a dent in LEAF sales, and another dent could come courtesy of the new Volkswagen e-Golf, which goes on sale today in the UK priced from £30,845 (£25,845 after taxpayer bribe). In most of the ways that matters, the e-Golf is a regular Golf MK 7, but lurking under the familiar exterior lies a thumping great bank of batteries weighing 318kg (about the same as a car full of passengers) and an electric motor driving the front wheels and good for 113bhp. Range for the e-Golf is up to 118 miles from a full charge, a charge that will take 13 hours from a regular 3-pin socket, a more acceptable 8 hours if you use the optional 3.6 kW wallbox you can spec (for free from British Gas) and a quick charge of up to 80 per cent in 35 minutes.

Volvo testing new safety features

Volvo outlined three new technologies that it says will help make the Volvos of the future a good deal safer: autonomous driving, “Intersection Support” and animal detection. Volvo says it's tailoring technologies to the way people drive, by which it means poorly. The company claims that “surveys from three different research institutes in the United States reveal that modern drivers spend 25 to 30 percent of their time behind the wheel doing other things, such as focusing on mobile communication.” Volvo's new technologies are said take this into account and “provide the driver with the right support at all times.” By using a camera and radar, future Volvos will be able to follow the car in front while driving in slow traffic using an autonomous-driving function.

Hyundai i20 to go WRC Rallying

Hyundai has confirmed it’s going rallying with an i20 heading for the WRC sporting around 300bhp and 4WD. Hyundai has announced that it is going to compete in the FIA World Rally Championships with a car based on the three-door i20. Hyundai hasn’t been rallying since it withdrew from motorsport in 2003, but the arrival of more convincing models – and growing sporty pretensions in the Hyundai range – make a rally glow a sensible move for the Korean firm.