Don’t look now but Aston Martin, the same company that brought to us the 6.0 litre DBS which we saw in the Quantum of Solace, is reportedly set to unveil a new eco-friendly Supermini in the car scene soon. The 1.0 hatchback which they are calling the Cygnet which accelerate from 0 to 60 seconds in 14.7 seconds. Whoa!

The car will be eligible for the cheapest tax band thanks to its low emissions. The car is based on Toyota’s IQ city car but is given the Aston Martin makeover with a sporty grille, alloy wheels, and luxury interior.

The Cygnet will cost a fraction of its high-powered siblings, such as the £160,000 DBS, by selling for around the £20,000 mark.

(Source) Telegraph

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The iconic car from Fiat has revealed the prices for its eagerly awaited convertible version 500 city car, some 15 months after the widely acclaimed supermini’s UK launch. Starting at just £11,300 OTR, the new Fiat 500 C, which goes on sale here in the summer, represents notable value for lovers of soft-top motoring, and positions the new car comfortably below its benchmark rivals.

Topping the top-down range, a highly specified Lounge version with a larger engine costs £14,100 – an OTR price that includes automatic climate control, rear parking sensors and alloy wheels as standard equipment.

Pop and Lounge versions of the new Fiat 500 C will be available at launch. An electrically operated hood, air conditioning, remote central locking, radio/CD/MP3 player, seven airbags and electric door mirrors are standard on all cars, while climate control, ESP stability control, foglights and rear parking sensors are among the principal features incorporated in Lounge models.

Available in 11 colors – including the newly-created Tech House Grey and RaggaMuffin Red – the Fiat 500 C comes with red, ivory or black roof colors. Pop interiors can be specified in either ivory or black finish with red or grey cloth seat colors. Lounge specification offers an ivory or black interior with black or brown cloth seats. Frau Leather is also available as an option.

The new Fiat 500 C is powered by the same frugal, ultra-low emissions and Euro 5 range of engines as are already available in the Fiat 500, including 69 bhp 1.2-litre and 100 bhp 1.4-litre petrol units, and the 75 bhp 1.3-litre MultiJet turbodiesel.

Full price list for the Fiat 500 C range is as follows:

• 1.2 Pop £11,300
• 1.4 Pop £12,500
• 1.3 Mjet Pop £12,700
• 1.2 Lounge £12,700
• 1.4 Lounge £13,900
• 1.3 Mjet Lounge £14,100

(Source) Carpages

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One car that you can turn to if you are among the motorists looking for a compact fuel-efficient car that adheres to eco-friendly principles has to be the Suzuki Alto. This is a car to soothe any troubled car conscience because it has the lowest officially measured carbon dioxide output of any proper four-seater car that’s powered purely by a petrol engine.

This new Alto, costing from £6,795 to £8,560, fits a well-tried template for a small and frugal car in the spirit of the original Mini. It has a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine, a truncated tail and a necessarily abbreviated boot, and it doesn’t cost much.

The baffling part, though, is that Suzuki already has another smaller than supermini five-door hatchback in the shape of the Hungarian-built Splash, making two cars below the Suzuki Swift which is a standard (and good) modern supermini. This is a product plan in which left hands and right hands aren’t recognisably connected.

(Source) The Independent

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