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Mercedes now more affordable

MERCEDES-BENZ has announced a host of offers to make its cars more affordable, including three years of free servicing with the A-class hatchback. Those choosing the A-Class can also take advantage of Mercedes Agility Personal Contract Hire scheme to run an A180 SE from £249 per month for three years, with a deposit of £2743. The C-Class is also offered through the same contract hire programme from £285 for a C180 Executive SE saloon.

Citroen DS3 hits 200,000

The upmarket Citroen C3 – the very appealing Citroen DS3 – has hit the 200,000 production mark this week, a little over 2 years from launch. But we had to do a complete volte face when we finally had the new Citroen DS3 in for review – it’s an absolute cracker. In fact, so impressed were we with the DS3, we thought it probably the best car we’d had in during 2010, something Top Gear ended up agreeing with us on when they made it their car of 2010.

Exclusive: Pierre Castinel resigns from Head of Design role at Tata

Tata's Head of Design, Pierre Castinel, has resigned from his post to accept a position at PSA, Car Design News has learned. Castinel was originally hired to develop the design direction and form a brand identity for Tata's full line of vehicles, including cars, pickups, SUVs, MPVs, trucks and buses, but things haven't been going well at the Indian automaker. According to insiders, Tata closed Castinel's design studio in the British midlands last year, forcing the UK-based team to move into the automaker's engineering center in Warwickshire.