Renault Megane (96-03) Convertible Rear Window Window Incl Zipper Plastic/pvc on 2040-parts.com

New MINI 5-door Hatch revealed – but will you fit through the back doors?

The 5-door MINI hatch arrives We’ve already had the more BMW-like new MINI arrive, and now, for the first time, we get a MINI 5-door hatch to try and extend the appeal of the MINI range to families. The 5-door MINI gets an extra 72mm in the wheelbase and a pair of doors at the back – which do look very tight for full-size people to use – and there’s also an extra 15mm of headroom, a bigger boot and seating for three in the back. In terms of design, there’s little to choose between the 5-door and the 3-door, but the new 5-door does look a bit like the off-spring of the new MINI and the Countryman; just a little dumpy.

Saab shutdown would doom new 9-5, 9-3 models

The new Saab 9-5 sedan and a proposed replacement for the 9-3 will be killed off if General Motors Co. winds down its Swedish subsidiary, AutoWeek has learned. The new 9-5, a longer-wheelbase version of the Opel Insignia and the Buick Regal, is poised to go down in the annals of automotive history as a major rarity--a design that was fully tooled for production yet never got built.

Vauxhall Zafira (2008): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 15 February 2008 15:14 Vauxhall is about to give its Zafira MPV – Britain’s best-selling people carrier – a spruce-up. The facelifted model arrives in time for the new March 2008 ‘08’ number plate, but buyers will be hard pressed to notice the changes: new chrome detailing on the grille, different foglight surrounds, and redesigned lights front and rear give the game away. Other changes include curtain airbags made standard on all models and… actually, there’s not much else new.