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Skoda Rapid SE Connect and Rapid Sport Limited Editions announced

Skoda Rapid SE Connect and Rapid Sport Limited Editions announced January isn’t the hottest sales month for car makers, so a limited edition or two to get footfall in car showrooms is a good idea. So Skoda has revealed a pair of Rapid special editions for the UK in the Rapid SE Connect and Rapid Sport to put a bit of extra fizz in sales. The Skoda Rapid SE Connect starts life as a a Rapid SE with the 85bhp 1.2 litre petrol engine and comes in either Brilliant Silver or Denim Blue with 16″ alloys, parking sensors, SatNav and DAB.

Audi A3 Sportback e-tron price and specs – costs £34,950

Audi A3 Sportback e-tron (pictured) costs £34,950 If governments are going to base car taxation on Co2 emissions, then car makers are going to build cars that ‘game’ the official tests. A perfect example of which is the new Audi A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid. It’s expensive at £34,950 (although the government bribe for plug-ins does drop the price you pay to £29,950), but thanks to its ‘up to 31 miles’ range on battery power only it comes complete with official economy of 176.6 mpg and emissions of 37g/km.

Semi-autonomous driving system reduces accidents by 75% [w/video]

Scientists from MIT have developed a semi-autonomous driving system that is proven to reduce acccidents by 75 per cent. A front-mounted camera and laser range-finder identify the car's surroundings while making realtime updates to distances, mapping out the car's movement into 'safe zones'. The system also asseses the vehicle's limits, such as grip, and corrects the car.