Smittybilt 5470 Euro Turn Signal Guard 4 Pc. Incl. Side Marker Stainless Stee on 2040-parts.com

Used cars 'getting cheaper'

CONSUMERS holding on to their motor for longer are driving down the cost of used cars, according to new research. The average price for a second-hand car in July-September 2011 was £8,870 - a 2.4% decline compared with the same period a year ago, according to the Auto Trader company. It is the first time the price has dipped below £9,000 since the company started tracking the market in January 2010.

Citroen C4 Picasso

Citroen has released pictures of their new midi-MPV, the C4 Picasso, which will make its debut in Paris next month. The design mixes C4 hatchback and the C-AirLounge concept with broken lines and full surfaces that have come to define contemporary Citroens. A total glass area of 6.4sqm (including optional sunroof) promises excellent visibility from what is claimed to be class-leading interior space.

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid does 62mpg in the hands of motoring journalists

The Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid – a Panamera with a plug-in hybrid powertrain – arrives last month, along with a 2013 facelift for the Panamera range , complete with claims from Porsche that it could do 91mpg. That was never going to happen in the real world, but Porsche has followed up its official economy figures with a degree of proof that the Panamera E-Hybrid can actually achieve very impressive economy numbers in the real world, and in the hands of motoring journalists – a group not renowned for their light touch on the throttle. At a press event in Hockenheim, Porsche let car journalists loose on the Panamera E-Hybrid for a total of 42 drives over a total distance of 750 miles and returned an average of 62mpg.