Gates 42296 Water Pump-water Pump (standard) on 2040-parts.com

CDR Trend Insight – Downsizing the ‘Allroad’ Aesthetic

The ‘Allroad' aesthetic is trickling down to the A-segment. The look is so-called because it was led by Audi's range of Allroad products, which raise the ride height, add lower body cladding and subtly change detailing of the mainstream estate car products. Volvo's XC and Skoda's Scout models do similar things, but until now, we've not seen this aesthetic approach applied to the smallest segment of cars.

Peugeot 208 Hybrid FE (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

Here’s Peugeot’s salvo in the fight to make cars more economical: the 208 Hybrid FE. The supermini concept can achieve a claimed average of 112mpg (and a maximum of 141mpg), and emits only 49g/km of CO2. Peugeot is especially keen to point out it’s a conventionally shaped supermini with five seats, unlike VW’s own super-frugal XL1, which looks decidedly sci-fi in comparison, but has a smaller boot than a Ferrari 458… The 208 FE is 25% slipperier and 20% lighter than a regular 208, but that’s only part of the reason it allegedly achieves such eye-opening numbers at the pumps.

Driver prefer atlas to sat-nav

SATELLITE NAVIGATION may have become an integral part of many drivers’ daily routine, three quarters of the UK’s motorists (76%) say they still prefer to use a road atlas to plan journeys. Drivers in a survey by the AA said they found an atlas more useful to give an overview of a journey. While satellite navigation systems are useful, a further 65% of drivers said they still use an atlas to check the sat-nav is selecting the best route.