Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.

Peter Andre cleans up for Children In Need

TV AND MUSIC star Peter Andre will be getting his hands dirty for Children In Need this November as he takes part in 'The UK's Largest Car Wash'. Peugeot is hosting the charity initiative at 272 of its UK dealers from the 5th to the 10th November, with Peter Andre launching the campaign at the Robins and Day dealership in Chiswick. Car owners are invited to come along and have their car washed in exchange for a donation to Children In Need.

M25 speed cameras not switched on

Most speed cameras on the M25 have not worked for five years, according to a report in the Sunday People newspaper. Of the 117-mile stretch of London’s orbital motorway, only 3.2 miles between Junctions 2 and 3 in Kent is covered by working cameras. On Bing: see pictures of speed cameras Cars most likely to be caught speeding in the UK The cameras, which sit behind overhead gantries imposing lower speed limits during congested times, haven’t been switched on since they were installed in 2009.