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.

How the Nissan Qashqai reinvented the family car

The 2014 Nissan Qashqai (above) arrived in showrooms this week, but will the second-generation model be as groundbreaking as the first? Inevitably, the all-new Qashqai looks very similar to the outgoing model, but why change a winning formula? The original Qashqai was, arguably, the most successful new family car launch since the original Volkswagen Golf from 1974. And it came out of the blue, because Nissan was perhaps the last company anyone would have expected to come up with such a revolutionary design.

New Toyota iQ3 launched

Toyota has launched a new version of the iQ - The Toyota iQ3 - with a bigger engine and spec The Toyota iQ3 gets Toyota’s 1.33 litre 98bhp VVT-i engine with Optimal Drive, which Toyota already offer in the Yaris and Auris, and offers 58.9mpg with either the manual ‘box or Toyota’s CVT. But sticking the 1.33 litre engine in to the Toyota iQ3 makes it more than just a city car. With a 0-60mph of 11.8 seconds and a top speed over 100mph, this little Toyota can cope with motorway driving quite well.