VW Touareg BlueMotion hits the UK

Volkswagen has announced the VW Touareg BlueMotion for the UK Offering improved economy and lower emissions, the Touareg BlueMotion manages to drop in to a lower Co2 band by emitting 219g/km (a reduction from 244g/km on the V6 TDi) and it delivers 34mpg as opposed to 30.4mpg on the V7 TDi. These improvements have been achieved by the usual ECU tweaking, low rolling resistance tyres, some aerodynamic tweaks and a lower ride height (exactly the same sort of stuff that Ford has done on the EConetic range). And the penalty for the lower emissions and better economy is very slight, with the Touareg BlueMotion still managing the 0-60mph in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of  126mph.

Mitsubishi Scrappage – now on 5 year old cars

Mitsubishi are now offering the Scrappage allowance on cars from 5 years old [ad#ad-1] Despite our reservations about the Scrappage scheme in the UK, it would seem that it is proving to be a good handle to hang sales publicity on for car makers. Hyundai have told us about their successes and the interesting trade-ins they’ve had on cars sold under the Scrappage scheme, and we reported recently on two guys buying Nissan GT-Rs with the Scrappage allowance. And now Mitsubishi are using the Scrappage scheme to promote new car sales.

Facelift Jaguar XK spotted

We’ve seen a few shots of the facelift for the Jaguar XK recently, but this is the first un-disguised car we’ve come across. The obvious at first view are the new vents in the front, but it’s a bit more extensive than that. The whole car has been tweaked to give a more current style, and there are LED lights at the back and indicators in the door mirrors.