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Opel/Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer arrives to take on the Allroad

The Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer arrives (Opel version pictured) to take on the Allroad It  always seem likely that Vauxhall and Opel would add some butch bits to the Insignia Sports Tourer at some point to create an ‘Allroad’ version. And here it is – the Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer. Actually, Vauxhall hasn’t managed to get their Box Brownies out yet so what we’ve got are photos of the Opel version of the Country Tourer, but bar the badges they’ll be the same.

Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive gets wheel hub electric motors

The Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive – a driveable research vehicle built by Ford and German specialists Schaeffler – may be a regular supermini in size, but it points towards a potential future EV which is much more compact and very manoeuvrable. Ford has taken a regular Fiesta and dumped its powertrain, replacing it with a battery bank where the engine would be and fitted a pair of in-hub electric motors on the rear wheels. But the plan is to build new cars with the batteries under the floor which frees up the space under the bonnet which can then be all but removed to create a very compact urban car that still has space for four.

Poll finds electric car 'confusion'

CONSUMER confusion is the main reason why electric car sales have failed to spark, according to a survey of motorists. Lack of understanding about the practicalities of electric cars is deepest among those keen to buy one, the survey by market research company GfK Automotive found. Just 8% of the 3,161 motorists polled said they would definitely or probably buy an electric car at some stage.