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Volkswagen Touareg Facelift heading for Beijing Motor Show

The Volkswagen Touareg (pictured) with its 2015 nip and tuck It’s almost four years since the latest VW Touareg was revealed – and a year since VW introduced and R Line version of the Touareg - and now it’s time for a bit of a nip and tuck for VW’s largest SUV. Heading for the Beijing Motor SHow next week is a facelift for the Touareg which combines small cosmetic tweaks with some new technology to bring the Touareg up to date. A new front bumper and new bi-xenon headlights give the nose a new look, and a new back bumper, diffuser and LE fogs tweak the back.

Councils to cut roadworks red tape

COUNCILS in England could soon have the power to cut red tape and make road works much quicker and more accountable. The plan is to introduce permits for any company that wants to dig up a road, which means they will have to co-ordinate their work with other companies and local authorities to reduce the impact of delays on the public. The permit scheme could come into force as early as April 2015 and means anyone applying for a permit to carry out road works will need to present a convincing case for the work.

New Mercedes SL 400 replaces SL 350

The new Mercedes SL 400 (pictured) replaces the old SL 350 It’s a little over two years since the latest Mercedes SL arrived, and Mercedes has now decided to add a little zest to sales by dropping the old SL 350 and replacing it with a new Mercedes SL 400. The new SL 400 gets its power from the new E400 which means a twin-turbo 3.0 litre V6 with 328bhp and 354 lb/ft of torque – 26bhp and 81 lb/ft more than the old SL 350 – enough to let the SL 400 scoot to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds – 0.7s better than the 350 -= and on to a limited top speed of 155 mph. The new SL 400 has to make do with Mercedes tried and tested 7-speed auto – despite a new 9-speed now being available in Mercedes’ arsenal – which gives the SL 400 official economy of 38.6 mpg and emissions of 172g/km – not that you’ll come close in the real world.