All new engine added to Nissan's Pulsar range - A new car with a sporting edge.

• New 190PS turbocharged engine and chassis upgrades give Pulsar a sporting edge
• Max torque of 240Nm and excellent flexibility at low engine speeds
• Dynamic upgrades include revised suspension settings, sharper steering and a stiffer body
• All 1.6 DIG-T models feature unique styling enhancements
• Unique alloy wheels and special interior trim fitted as standard
• 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds, On sale from March 2015

Nissan is set to give the Pulsar a sporting edge with the launch of a new, range-topping DIG-T 190 engine. Available with three trim grade options, the punchy 190PS turbocharged petrol engine has been developed alongside a range of styling, suspension and chassis upgrades that deliver a sportier, more focussed driving experience.

Available to order now, the Pulsar 1.6 DIG-T 190 is the sportiest and most powerful engine to be offered in the range – further broadening Nissan’s appeal in the hatchback market. One of the most advanced engines in the sector, it develops maximum torque output of 240Nm from 2,000rpm (up to 4,000rpm) and delivers impressive in-gear flexibility and acceleration (0-62mph 7.7secs). 

Engineered to provide exceptional responses at low engine speeds, it delivers sharp performance and the agile responses that characterise Nissan’s performance offerings.

While the 1.6 DIG-T engine has the firepower to match larger engines, its fuel consumption and emissions are that of a much smaller unit – a major advantage of Nissan's downsizing philosophy. Creating ‘more with less' has been a Nissan priority for a number of years, and the Pulsar DIG-T 190 is the perfect example of why. Despite its athletic performance, it returns 49.5mpg* and has CO₂ emissions from just 134g/km.**

And it’s not just the engine that enhances the new DIG-T 190. Nissan knows that it takes more than just power to create sporting driving experience, and has engineered a new chassis set-up designed to make the most of the extra performance on offer.

The package of upgrades includes a new power steering set-up that has been fine-tuned to give more direct feedback and quicker responses. Front spring and damper settings have also been revised with increased stiffness and spring length to improve body control while maintaining ride comfort. The body shell itself has also been stiffened with additional reinforcements engineered to further improve torsional rigidity. New rear dampers and wider 18-inch wheels complete the dynamic package.

The engine is fully compliant with new Euro6 standards and features a host of technical innovations, including newly tuned ESP set-up, shorter gearing for sharper acceleration, low friction technologies and cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation.

All DIG-T 190 models feature a package of styling features designed to complement their sporting nature. Available in Acenta, n-tec and Tekna trim grades, all DIG-T 190 models feature a number of upgraded items as standard. These include bespoke alloy wheels (17-inch as standard on Acenta and n-tec, and 18-inch for Tekna) finished in a diamond cut two-tone black and silver and a unique, sportier headlamp design which comes with a black finish to the bezel providing a greater contrast to the chrome finished projector. At the rear, a chrome exhaust finisher is fitted to further enhance the sporty look and feel.

Inside, the 1.6 DIG-T powered models include a unique trim finisher that extends the full width of the dashboard, distinctive white stitching on the three-spoke steering wheel and leather seats (Tekna models only) to complete the interior design package.

The Nissan Pulsar DIG-T 190 is available now and is priced from £19,645.

*Combined cycle 17" 49.5 mpg and for 18" 47.9 mpg

**CO₂ emissions depend on the wheel size - 17" 134g/km and for 18" 138g/km

FIAT makes buying a Panda or Punto with PCP even more complicated, why not just sell it properly DUH !

• The FIAT ‘Say No’ sales event commences today, March 10, and runs for two weeks until March 24
• FIAT Panda and Punto customers can ‘Say No’ to a deposit and to the first three monthly repayments* – FIAT has it covered!
• New customer savings and PCP repayment holiday represent an additional £500 saving for a total of £1,950 savings (Panda 1.2 Pop) and £2,455 (Punto 1.2 Pop)*
• Alternatively, the customer savings can be put towards lowering monthly PCP repayments even further!

FIAT customers are being offered the opportunity to say ‘No’ to a deposit and ‘No’ to the first three monthly PCP repayments, so all they have to do is sign and drive off in a new FIAT Panda or FIAT Punto complete with its new “14” registration number.*

For a strictly limited period of two weeks, from March 10 to March 24, FIAT is introducing a new customer saving and three-month PCP repayment holiday which results in an extra £500 saving to buyers of a new FIAT Panda or FIAT Punto. In the case of FIAT Panda 1.2 Pop, for example, this initiative is in addition to the £1,450 savings already on offer, resulting in a total saving to the customer of £1,950. The remaining 44 repayments would be just £107.26 (Representative 3.8% APR) with an optional final repayment £3,062 due in March 2018.  The FIAT Punto 1.2 Pop now offers total savings amounting to £2,455 with monthly repayments of just £129.33 (Representative 4.2% APR) plus an optional final repayment.

Alternatively, customers also have the option of foregoing the deposit contribution and repayment holiday and instead using the £500 FIAT contribution towards their monthly repayments, resulting in a deposit of just £98 and 47 repayments of £98 for the FIAT Panda 1.2 Pop (plus optional final repayment) or a £118 deposit and 47 monthly repayments of £118 for the FIAT Punto 1.2 Pop (plus optional final repayment).

The FIAT ‘Say No’ sales event commences today (March 10) and runs until March 24, 2014 and is open to all retail customers subject to certain terms and conditions*. The offer isn’t limited to the examples given – other versions of the Panda and Punto are available as part of the ‘Say No’ FIAT initiative as well.

Kate McLaren, Senior Brand Manager FIAT UK, commented, “We believe that being able to put a brand new fully-warrantied FIAT Panda or Punto on the driveway, without having to stump up a deposit and with very affordable monthly repayments, offers customers huge peace-of-mind at a time when household budgets are stretched and keeping an older vehicle in safe and roadworthy condition can be a real challenge.The payment holiday also offers a welcome break from monthly payments and frees up those funds to be used elsewhere.”

The five-door FIAT Panda is the second-best selling car in its segment in Europe, behind the FIAT 500, and is a practical, efficient and stylish city car. The FIAT Punto offers even more space and comfort, as well as the option of a sporty three-door hatchback, while retaining the efficiency and affordable stylishness that FIAT is synonymous with.

Scottish COTY - Jaguar Land Rover wins three awards

• Jaguar F-TYPE receives Sporting category honours
• Range Rover receives Scottish Luxury Car of the Year award
• Range Rover Sport named SUV of the Year

Jaguar Land Rover achieved a remarkable triple success at the 2013 Scottish Car of the Year Awards, with honours going to the new Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Jaguar F-TYPE sports car.

The Jaguar F-TYPE beat stiff competition to win the Sporting category award, impressing the judges – some of Scotland’s most important motoring journalists – with its elegant design, formidable performance and impressive customer appeal.

Alisdair Suttie, President of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers, said: "We have waited a very long time for the Jaguar F-TYPE, more than four decades in fact, but this year’s Sporting winner does it with panache. It also does it with elegance, superb performance and complete desirability."

Ian Callum, Jaguar Director of Design, accepted the award at a ceremony in Glasgow and commented: “This award is a wonderful recognition of the efforts invested in creating the new F-TYPE. It is a sports car that reaffirms the brand’s sporting bloodline in both its performance and design.”

Range Rover received the Best Luxury Car Award, an acknowledgement of how Land Rover has continued to develop the quality, comfort and refinement of the fourth generation vehicle.

Alisdair Suttie said: “Luxury comes in many forms, but the Range Rover brings together such a broad range of talents, it stands head and shoulders above the competition. It also brings innovative design, supreme comfort and world-beating style.”

The accolade adds to a growing list of industry awards for the new Range Rover, including luxury car of the year titles from What Car? and Top Gear Magazine.

The all-new Range Rover Sport was also named Scottish SUV of the Year. Sharing the same lightweight construction principles with its larger sibling, and built on the same highly efficient production line at Land Rover’s Solihull plant, the new Range Rover Sport has made significant advances in handling, performance and customer appeal.

“A good SUV has to be many things: good looking, roomy, comfortable and ideally great both on road and off,” said Alisdair Suttie. “Thanks to an all-aluminium lightweight body that has helped it lose 400kg, the latest Range Rover Sport is all those things, as well as being much faster and surprisingly economical.

“Factor in the availability of a seven-seat option and we think this is the best SUV available on the roads of Scotland today.”

The Range Rover and Range Rover Sport awards were accepted by Fiona Pargeter, Head of Global PR Communications, Jaguar Land Rover, who commented: “Scotland is a key market for Land Rover, so we are extremely proud to receive these awards, and value the recognition they make of Land Rover raising the bar for quality and performance in the premium SUV market.”

FIAT throws lifeline to ageing Punto range, and misses.

Fiat’s popular and stylish Punto supermini range has recently been enhanced with the addition of a new Sporting trim level and specification upgrades across the line-up, providing customers with outstanding value for money.

Available with either three or five doors and with a choice of five low emission Euro 5 engines, Fiat’s  Punto now comes with a revised line-up of four main trim levels, Pop, Easy, GBT and the new Sporting.

The previous Lounge and TwinAir trim levels have been deleted from the range with the award-winning TwinAir engine now available as an engine choice on both Easy and GBT trim levels.

The engine line up comprises: 1.2 8-valve petrol (69hp), 1.4 8-valve petrol (77hp), 1.4 8-valve petrol (77hp) Dualogic, 1.4 16-valve MultiAir petrol (105hp), TwinAir 0.9-litre petrol (85hp) and 1.3 16-valve MultiJet diesel (85hp).

Standard equipment in the entry-level Pop model includes remote central locking, electric front windows, driver and passenger airbags, window airbags, radio/CD/MP3 player, Dualdrive electric power steering and a height-adjustable driver’s seat.

This specification has been further enhanced with a new dashboard with diamond embossing which is now aligned to the rest of the range, colour-coded door handles and door mirrors and the addition of a driver’s knee airbag as standard.

Both Easy and GBT trim levels have also been enhanced with upgraded, sculpted, black Castiglio fabric seats, the addition of front fog lights with cornering function, dashboard and door ambient lighting and side airbags as standard.

The GBT trim level now also sports 16” 7- spoke 2-tone Sportline alloy wheels, replacing the previous 15” Sportline alloy wheels.

The new exciting Sporting trim level joins the Punto range, building on the success of the GBT, while reinforcing Punto’s sporty credentials.

The new Sporting has a dramatic appearance and features a number of stylish enhancements both to the interior and exterior which make it instantly recognisable and likely to appeal to a younger audience.

Standard equipment on the Sporting trim level includes body coloured rear spoiler and side skirts, gloss black painted roof, sports suspension, gloss black electrically adjustable heated door mirrors, ‘Tarmac finish’ dashboard, black interior roof lining, sports leather steering wheel, leather gear knob and handbrake lever, specific ‘Sporting’ dark headlamps, front fog lights with cornering function, dark tinted privacy glass, chrome exhaust tailpipe and 16” 7- spoke 2-tone black Sportline alloy wheels.

The Sporting trim level is available with the 1.4 8-valve petrol (77hp) and 1.4 16-valve MultiAir petrol (105hp) engines and available with either three or five doors.

 “Fiat’s Punto has always been a popular choice in the supermini segment,” says Elena Bernardelli, marketing director, Fiat UK.

“This popularity is set to continue as the revised Punto range offers customers a stylish, safe, fun to drive package with enhanced levels of specification, wider choice and outstanding value-for-money.”

Kia #3 - Now this is one Kia that's sure to be successful, looks and figures that are good, lets hope the price is as good when it is launched later in the year

• Kia pro_cee’d GT and cee’d GT to debut at 2013 Geneva Motor Show
• Most performance-focused Kia models yet
• 204 PS and 265 Nm from turbocharged 1.6-litre engine
• Designed and to be manufactured in Europe

The new Kia pro_cee’d GT and cee’d GT – the brand’s most performance-focused production cars ever – will enjoy their world premieres at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show on 5 March.

Designed in Europe under the direction of President and Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, the two debutants feature bold athletic styling, distinctive LED daytime running lights, dual-exhaust pipes, Recaro seating, 18-inch alloy wheels and eye-catching red brake calipers.

The new turbocharged 1.6-litre GDI petrol engine will produce 204 PS (201 bhp) and 265 Nm (195lb/ft), powering the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission and allowing the Kia pro_cee’d GT and cee’d GT to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in 7.9 seconds.

Production of the newest members of the latest generation cee’d family is scheduled to start at Kia’s Žilina plant in Slovakia in mid-May.  The pro_cee’d GT is anticipated to go sale in the UK from the middle of the year and be joined by its cee’d GT counterpart towards the end of 2013.

Prices and specifications will be confirmed closer to the on-sale dates.

Kia #2 - Pink, um, not for me but the Picanto white looks good

• ‘Fuschia Blush’ colour added to the Picanto line-up
• New 3-door Picanto ‘White’ edition available
• Uniquely available in Clear White with white interior touches
• High level of standard specification
• Sporting exterior styling cues
• Picanto ‘White’ priced from £11,475

Pretty in pink – a new colour for Picanto

The pocket-sized Picanto is now available in pink! Adding a splash of girly colour to the Picanto line up ‘Fuchsia Blush’ is now available to order on the 5-door model on grades ‘2’ and ‘3’ priced at the standard metallic paint price of £445.

A new version – Picanto ‘White’

If pink isn’t your colour then there is also an all-new version of Kia’s city car – the Picanto ‘White’.  Uniquely available with Clear White paintwork, and in three-door guise, this highly-specified model sits at the top of the Picanto line-up.

Picanto ‘White’ comes with a host of high-end specification items including automatic air conditioning, Bluetooth with voice recognition, iPod connectivity, a six-speaker stereo system and reversing sensors.  Electrically folding and heated door mirrors with integrated LED indicators, ‘welcome’ and ‘follow-me-home’ lighting, steering wheel mounted controls, a trip computer and a smart key entry system with Start/Stop button are also all part of the comprehensive equipment list.

On the outside, Picanto ‘White’ has a decidedly sporting appearance thanks to a set of anthracite five-spoke 15-inch alloy wheels, colour-coded side sill mouldings, a black ‘tiger nose’ grille with quirky red surround, LED daytime running lights, as well as distinctive LED rear combination lamps and a dual chrome-tipped exhaust.

The white theme continues on the inside with bright gloss white trim on the steering wheel, dashboard fascia and gear lever.  A black cloth upholstery, with part-leather inserts, leather steering wheel and gear lever and alloy pedals complete the look.

Picanto ‘White’ is powered by a 1.25-litre petrol engine with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.  Developing 84bhp at 6,000rpm and 89 lb/ft torque at 4,000 rpm the ‘White’ has a top-speed, in manual guise, of 106mph and completes the 0-60mph dash in 11 seconds.  The automatic version has a top speed of 101mph and does 0-60mph in 12.9 seconds.

The Intelligent Stop & Go (ISG) system fitted to the manual version helps it to achieve 62.8mpg on the official combined cycle and CO₂ emissions of 106g/km that place it in VED band ‘B’ – meaning Road Fund Licence is free in year one and costs £20 per annum thereafter.  The automatic version has an official combined economy figure of 50.4mpg and has CO₂ emissions of 130g/km.

The Picanto ‘White’ is available to order now priced at £11,745 for the 1.25-litre manual version and £12,435 for the 1.25-litre automatic version.  Both models are in insurance category 11 and have 10,000 mile or 12-month servicing intervals. 

Like all Picantos, and many other Kia models, the ‘White’ is available with ‘Care-3’ – Kia’s all-inclusive servicing package.  Just £269 will provide peace-of-mind and inflation-proof servicing for the first three services of the car’s life.  ‘Care-3 Plus’ provides cover for the first five services for £499.

As with every new Kia, the Picanto comes with our industry-leading and fully- transferable seven year warranty.  For more information on the Kia range, please visit www.kia.co.uk.