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Fiat 500L launches

The Fiat 500L – a larger Fiat 500 based on the Punto – has launched in Italy ahead of going on sale in the UK in early 2013. We had the official arrival of the Fiat 500L at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and now we get the 500L’s official launch in Turin – together with lots of new photos and a video – before the 500L goes on sale around the world. The 500L is actually based on the underpinnings of the Punto to create a 500 MPV and, sensibly, Fiat has done with the 500L  what MINI did with the Countryman and slapped an iconic badge on even though the 500L bears scant resemblance to its cute little sibling.

Driven: BMW X3

The BMW X3 had the premium CUV market to itself when launched in 2004. Skip forward to the launch of the second generation and not only does the new version have a whole host of competitors for company, it also has to fit around its X1, X5 and X6 siblings. We took the 2011 BMW X3 (known internally as F25) to the Austrian Tyrol and spoke to its exterior designer, Erik Goplen, to find out if it still has the segment covered.

Nissan Renault have sold 100,000 electric cars

Nissan Renault have sold 100,000 electric cars like the Renault Zoe (pictured) Nissan Renault are the only mainstream car maker to have embraced the idea that the electric car is the future, so they’ve been busy building and marketing their EV offerings for a couple of years and have now reached a sales milestone – 100,000 EVs sold. It sounds a lot, but in terms of worldwide car sales it’s a drop in the ocean. Still, it’s an important milestone nonetheless.