Dacia Sandero (2012) priced from £5995

Buying advice doesn't come more pragmatic than this: if you want a brand new car for the least possible amount of money, then this is your next drive. It's the new Dacia Sandero, which has been officially priced at £5995. That's £2000 less than the cheapest Citroen C1, and £3800 less than a similarly-sized Ford Fiesta.  Exactly how much car do I get for a fiver under six grand?

Nissan X-Trail gets a facelift for 2011

The Nissan X-Trail gets a facelift for 2011 You could be forgiven for thinking that Nissan has lost interest in it’s ‘proper’ SUV/4x4s, being interested only in its crossovers – the Nissan Qashqai and soon to be launched Nissan Juke. Nissan’s refusal to bring it’s desert-crushing Patrol to the UK would seem to reinforce the thought, but despite perceptions Nissan are about to launch the 2011 Nissan X-Trail facelift. The X-Trail is an on-road offroader in the old fashioned sense; not a crossover.

Pininfarina family to lose control of company

The Pininfarina family is set to lose its controlling share stake in the company as it takes a step closer to restructuring its €76 million net debt. The Italian design firm, founded in 1930, has been plagued with debt in recent years, shutting its manufacturing branch in 2011 to concentrate purely on design, ending a joint venture with Volvo that saw the company assemble Volvo's C70. The move is seen as a positive one for the company in the long-term, making it more financially secure for future developments, but it also means that the Pininfarina family will lose control of the company by selling its 77 percent share.