Cardone 10-2984 Brake Master Cylinder-reman Master Cylinder on 2040-parts.com

New MINI 5-door Hatch revealed – but will you fit through the back doors?

The 5-door MINI hatch arrives We’ve already had the more BMW-like new MINI arrive, and now, for the first time, we get a MINI 5-door hatch to try and extend the appeal of the MINI range to families. The 5-door MINI gets an extra 72mm in the wheelbase and a pair of doors at the back – which do look very tight for full-size people to use – and there’s also an extra 15mm of headroom, a bigger boot and seating for three in the back. In terms of design, there’s little to choose between the 5-door and the 3-door, but the new 5-door does look a bit like the off-spring of the new MINI and the Countryman; just a little dumpy.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage S works out at Silverstone

We dove deep into the 2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S last Monday, finding the car to be explosive off the line, but also more comfortable thanks to its new electronically controlled adaptive suspension. On Friday, Aston uploaded almost seven minutes of footage of the new brawler at the Silverstone Circuit in England. If you'll remember, the new Vantage delivers 565 hp from its 6.0-liter V12, along with 457 lb-ft of torque at 5,750 rpm.

2013 Nissan LEAF updated

Nissan has updated the LEAF EV in Japan for 2013 with better range, less weight and a new LEAF S entry-level model. Revealed in Japan – but likely to come to the UK from 2013 when the LEAF starts rolling out of Nissan’s Sunderland factory – there are significant upgrades to the powertrain which result in both less weight and better range. Nissan has had a play with the electric powertrain and made it both smaller and lighter with a new motor that uses 40 per cent less dysprosium (a rare earth metal) than before, and comes in 30 per cent smaller and 10 per cent lighter, and a new streamline battery case and a few other tweaks drops the LEAF’s weight by 80kg.