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Mercedes E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID – Africa to Goodwood on a single tank of fuel

The Mercedes E300 Hybrid – Africa to Goodwood on a tank of fuel It might cost more to buy a hybrid car than a regular ICE car, but if you do a lot of miles the fuel savings can be impressive and, with many modern cars, you can choose to use the extra electric motor for more performance when parsimony isn’t at the top of your agenda. A good example of a car that offers plenty of luxuries, decent performance and the ability to eke out a gallon of fuel further than you’d ever have thought possible is the latest Mercedes E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID. With a 201 bhp diesel engine and a 27 bhp electric motor, the Mercedes hybrid can get to 62 mph in 7.5 seconds, reach 155 mph and offers leather trim, COMAND, Climate and all the little luxuries that make time behind the wheel more bearable.

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.

Toyota NS4 concept car (2012) first official pictures

Toyota regularly shows hybrid concept cars at the Detroit auto show – and the 2012 NAIAS is no different. Problem is, we don't yet know much about their planned debut. Called the NS4, all we can see so far is this rather ludicrously cropped shot of the headlamp.