Hyundai is currently offering money saving discounts on their popular i10 and i20 models when purchased with a PCP agreement.

Tony Whitehorn, President and CEO Hyundai Motor UK, says: “Today, Hyundai has the best product line-up in its history, sold through over 150 dealerships nationwide. Attractive on-the-road prices and excellent PCP packages such as these will make it more affordable to own a new car this year.”

The offers continue on selected i20 models too with the 1.2 Classic 3dr available from just £8,295 or £129/month*. The i20 offers exceptional value for money and each model is generously equipped with air conditioning, electric front windows and ESP as standard. In addition, Hyundai’s industry leading Five Year Triple Care warranty package ensures peace of mind motoring.

Following on from the government’s scrappage scheme, customers can also still take advantage of savings on a brand new Hyundai i10, i20 or i30 with Trade and Upgrade. Customers can trade in their 7-10 year old vehicle** and receive a minimum part exchange allowance to be used against any qualifying new Hyundai with savings on offer of up to £3,000.

Few cars are so instantly recognisable as the Porsche 911. Whether it’s a model from 1975 or this modern day evolution, when you see that profile you know what it is straight away. So, does the 2012 Porsche 991 live up to the legend of this car that has now been in production since 1963? Watch the review by Evo’s Chris Harris to see what he thinks, having driven this new incarnation.

In case you haven’t ventured out of the front door over the past few days of Feb 2012 (who can blame you either given the apparent sub zero temperatures), we’re now in one of the worst cold snaps this winter has seen. There are currently six severe weather warnings running on the Met Office UK site, flights from Heathrow were halved on Sunday and accidents are abound in areas badly affected.

As always, drive carefully and consider cancelling all non-essential journeys. There isn’t a journey that is worth your life.

Here’s the latest from Motorpoint on some cars that will keep you safe without breaking the bank!

Choosing a car to help keep your family as safe as possible is crucial, especially when it is icy outside! Luckily, Motorpoint enables customers to buy a car without compromising on safety with some of Euro NCAP’s top five-star rated models available now with great savings!

Euro NCAP, which provides motorists with an independent assessment of the safety performance of some of Europe’s best-selling models, has just announced its top five-star rated achievers in 2011 for each category, and Motorpoint has some of these cars in stock now!

The best achiever in the ‘Small Family’ category was the Ford Focus. Motorpoint has a choice in stock, including the five-star safety rated new model ’11 plate 1.6 Zetec 125 which is priced at just £12,999 offering a customer saving of £4,791 and including metallic paint worth £413. With mileages of around 6k and under, this makes the price a real bargain, ensuring your family’s safety needn’t cost you an arm or a leg.

If you have a bigger family then the Volvo V60 is the car for you, topping Euro NCAP’s ‘Large Family’ category in 2011. Motorpoint has a variety of Volvo cars in stock including the new model ’11 plate V60 D3 R-Design five-star rated car, priced at just £19,999 offering a customer saving of £7,411. Coming in white or silver, with mileages of under 20k and offering an impressive 51.4 MPG, these great value buys won’t stick around for long!

To see more deals from Motorpoint, visit the official website.

1,000+ miles in 4 days, in fancy dress and bangers worth less than £350!

Sucata Rallies are bargain-basement-banger rally tours, where participants drive to some of Europe’s most incredible destinations, over 4 days, in bangers costing no more than £350. And in fancy dress! The rally raises money for international education charity Gemin-i, helping to support their HIV education project. Gemin-i is an educational charity connecting schools around the world, in order to enable young people to understand global issues and work together for a brighter future.

This year, the Sucata Rallies will rattle through three incredible routes across Europe: from ancient cities to buzzing beer halls and from surf beaches to lakes via scenic mountains. There’s a Sucata rally for every type of banger!

The Routes:

• SUCATA SPLIT (to Croatia)
  The tour heads East from Bruges, in Belgium, to the stunning Split in Croatia. En route we stop in the stunning medieval city of Strasbourg; Munich, the Bavarian capital of Germany with it’s Lederhosen and the world’s most famous Beer Hall – the Hofbräuhaus; and the beautiful Ljubljana, capital of Europe’s most underrated country Slovenia.
• SUCATA BUDAPEST
  The adventure begins in Reims, northern France (the capital of the Champagne region! Hiccup…), and travels to enchanting Budapest, the undisputed ‘Pearl of the Danube’ where East meets West and Sucateers meet the finish line! En route we stop at Freiburg – a lively city in the depths of the Black Forest; Lake Como – nestled in the lush mountains of Lombardy; and Salzburg, a beautiful baroque city perched on the edge of the Alps.
• SUCATA RUN (to Portugal)
  The bangers ramble from Rouen, the stunning capital of Normandy, to Cabo de Roca, in Portugal – Europe’s most westerly point. On the way we pass through La Rochelle, the most unspoilt seaside town of France, San Sebastian, the Spanish summer surf capital, and the beautiful Salamanca, an ancient gem and Spain’s original party city.

Every participant is asked to raise a minimum of £250 for Gemin-i’s HIV360º education project. 100% of the money raised by participants goes directly to Gemin-i – there are no third parties involved. The HIV360º project helps children around the world to learn about HIV and AIDS, how they can protect themselves and supports them to challenge stigma and discrimination against HIV and AIDS sufferers.

Join the rest of the Sucateers as they splutter their way across Europe in the trip of a lifetime!

More information on the rallies can be found at www.sucatarallies.com, by emailing eventsteam@gemin-i.org or calling Simon on 0207 7029627.

The new apprentice programme, which is seeking Advanced and Higher Apprentices, launches on Monday February 6th 2012 – coincident with National Apprenticeship week. This year, Jaguar Land Rover is seeking 133 apprentices to join the company which has a portfolio of hugely successful (and attractive) models in the range.

Commenting on the 2012 Apprentice programme, Des Thurlby, Human Resources Director, JLR, said: “Our Apprentice intake has more than doubled in the last 4 years and I am delighted that this year we are committing to take on a record number of apprentices. Apprenticeships provide a valuable and credible career path for the brightest and best and JLR is committed to providing the highest quality practical and academic training to develop the future generation of engineering talent needed to drive our business forward, indeed many of our senior leaders began their careers as apprentices.”

The JLR careers website opens for applications on 6th February 2012 and will close on 8th April 2012. Anyone interested in applying should visit: www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com.

Author: Tony Lewin
Paperback: 540 pages
Publisher: Merrell Publishers Ltd (14 Oct 2011)
Price: £24.95 (RRP)
Recommended? Yes

The A-Z Of 21st Century Cars is being sold as “The most comprehensive guide available to the international automobile industry of the first decade of the twenty-first century“. Whilst this is quite a specific remit, the fact that so much has changed over this time period highlights the importance and necessity of this book for anyone with even a passing interest in cars.

Written by Tony Lewin (a former editor of What Car? and an acknowledged industry expert of over thirty years experience, the breadth of the book covers 300 entries of various vehicles and features over 1500 images. Whilst some of the images are stock, the quality cannot be denied and the sheer number means that the simple turning of the page can offer something new and fresh to the reader.

The book is arranged into three categories; being models, marques and designers. Each are colour coded differently to help you navigate through the book (given the number of pages this proves to be extremely helpful). Cross referencing is simple to follow and where there is another related entry to look up there’s a double arrow (marked >>) to highlight this fact to the reader.

Each vehicle entry covers year of production, engine size, length, layout, horsepower, max speed and the ever present CO2 emission levels. Descriptive text frequently details a brief history followed by a commentary on the design of the car.

To give a flavour of how it really steeps you in the designer’s world, let me provide another small quotation for you: “On the 458 Italia, the visual mass is also reduced by the placing of the engine air intakes under the car, allow smooth sides undistorted by slots or ducts“. It is this language and attention to detail that purveys itself throughout the book, making it a pleasure to read.

The included glossary (based on the terms used by the noted Coventry University) is a particularly welcome addition as it helps the reader understand how the designer thinks when coming up with the aesthetics for a car. Also included are company histories, principal model listings and designer biographies. Finally, a ‘who owns whom’ section rounds out the facts.

So should you buy it? If you are a car enthusiast or have an interest in design, this might well be for you. The scope of the book means that there’s very little left out of any great significance and the photographs are beautiful too. Whether you want to read up for more pub facts or you are more serious about your design knowledge then The A-Z Of 21st Century Cars may well be for you. Definitely recommended.

Well, the new series has kicked off and the legendary Top Gear has returned to our screens for series 18! I’ve no doubt that if you’re reading this blog then you have an interest in cars and thus Top Gear is a regular on your tv or computer. So, what did you make of episode 1 of the new series? Imola, supercars and three seemingly very happy presenters on the top of their game makes me a very happy TG fan indeed… Discussion as always is welcome in the comments section below.

I’ve spoken before about the McLaren MP4-12C. It is an engineering marvel and proper supercar with the potent abilities to make a hugely successful GT car. That’s why I thought I’d share with you all the Top Gear review. Granted, Clarkson may profess that the Ferrari 458 Italia is the motor that touches him more, you can’t disagree with the lap time that this monster from Surrey set on the track.

The Toyota iQ has always been a distinctive car thanks to a world’s first four seat design in a car less than three metres long. It is now set to be even more customisable thanks to colourful decal designs and and leather seat upholsteries, meaning hundreds of possible unique interpretations are available. If you like your iQ fresh and funky then the world has just been opened up to you!

You can find out more about the Toyota iQ at the official Toyota website.