Mk1 Vw Volkswagen Rabbit Cabriolet Bezel on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes S500 Plug-in Hybrid revealed – gets official 94.2mpg

The Mercedes S500 Plug-in Hybrid (pictured) has been revealed There will come a point when legislators wake up and realise that car makers are getting too clever at gaming their CO2 based taxation and change the goal posts. But until then, cars like the new Mercedes S500 Plug in Hybrid – revealed today – are the perfect company buy. That’s because the clever use of a plug-in electric motor coupled with a relatively frugal ICE engine – in the case of the S500 Plug-in a 329bhp 3.0 litre V6 and 80kW electric motor – produce official economy and emissions figures that are really only valid under test conditions but save a big chunk of tax for buyers.

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.

2012 Fiat Panda starts at £8,900

The new Fiat Panda starts at under £9k The 2012 Fiat Panda will cost from £8,900 for the POP 1.2 8v 69 CV, rising to £12,250 for the Panda Lounge 1.3 MultiJet 75 CV in the UK. The 2012 Fiat Panda was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last Autumn, and looks as though it’s going to continue the Panda tradition of simple motoring at affordable prices with the news that the starting point for the new Panda will be £8,900 for the entry-level Panda POP 1.2 8v 69 CV. Even the top-of-the-range Panda Lounge 1.3 MultiJet 75 CV comes in at a not too unreasonable £12,250, with another eight models in between the two extremes offering variations of trim and engines to suit sensible urbam motoring.