Motoring News 12 march 2010

What Car? News

Thu, 11 MarPetrol versus diesel – which is cheaper?
Working out whether a diesel- or a petrol-powered car will be cheaper to run over three years is a complicated business.To ensure you're making the most cost-effective decision you have to consider the higher purchase cost as well as resale values, fuel bills, servicing and insurance bills.Let the facts do the talking
To help make the job a little easier, we've developed a tool to do the sums for you. Fill in the boxes and the calculator will tell you the most cost-effective option based on your individual circumstances.

Get interactive with whatcar.com...

Thu, 11 MarBuy now to beat new 'showroom' tax
Save cash by purchasing your new car now, and beat the 'showroom' tax that's coming next month.From April 1, the new tax could add an extra £515 to your road tax bill. So, if you act quickly and buy a new car from stock you could get your vehicle before the 'showroom' tax is launched. What is the so-called 'showroom' tax?
The new tax is a one-off first-year payment on top of the usual vehicle excise duty rate. The payment is based on your new car's CO2 emission and will add between £70 and £515 to your first road tax bill. The table below shows how the additional charges will be charged.Who will pay it?
The new tax will be payable on all cars registered from April 1.

Budget date announced
Gordon Brown has confirmed that the budget – in which future increases in VED and fuel tax could well be announced – will be on March 24.Budget live on whatcar.com
We will be covering the budget live on whatcar.com, so remember to log on and give us your views as the news comes through.Political commentators predict that the general election will be held on May 6. You can read about the transport manifestos of the four parties, and comment on them, by clicking here.Get interactive with whatcar.com...

Thu, 11 MarAudi R8 Spyder: belt up and mike up
Audi's R8 Spyder will come with a world first for mobile phone users – Bluetooth microphones incorporated into the car's seatbelts.The driver's and passenger's belt have three microphones, each smaller and flatter than shirt buttons, so that they don't interfere with the seatbelt mechanism. Quality signal whatever the user's height
Audi says that when the seatbelt is worn one microphone is always located in the vicinity of the person's mouth, regardless of their height, so it gives the best possible speech reproduction even with the roof down.Software analyses the quality of the signals from the mikes and forwards the best signal to the hands-free unit. A fourth microphone, mounted on the windscreen frame, is used to make calls when the car is parked and the seatbelt is not on.We've driven the R8 Spyder and our first impressions of the technology are good. What Car? road test editor Peter Tullin said: 'It's a very neat trick and it seems to work very well.'Audi says there are no plans as yet for the technology to filter down into Audi's other drop tops, the Audi A5 Cabriolet, the Audi A3 Cabriolet and the Audi TT Roadster.Get interactive with whatcar.com...

Thu, 11 MarHave you been stung by 'showroom' tax?
Have you bought a higher-emitting 10-plate car and escaped the showroom tax that's coming in on April 1?Or are you in the process of buying a big car and expect to pay this one-off hike in VED? The Sunday Times would like to speak to you for a case study. Contact Alexandra Goss, Sunday Times Money section, 020 7782 5636/ alexandra.goss@sunday-times.co.uk to find out more.What is the showroom tax?
Cars bought on or after April 1 will have to pay a one-off so-called 'showroom tax'.This VED (road tax) rate applies only to the first year of ownership. In the second year VED road tax rates will revert to the regular rate for that vehicle.First-year VED rates in 2010-11
Band A (up to 100g/km CO2) no fee
Band B (101-110g/km CO2) no fee
Band C (111-120g/km CO2) no fee
Band D (121-130g/km CO2) no fee
Band E (131-140g/km CO2) £110
Band F (141- 150g/km CO2) £125
Band G (151 to 165g/km CO2) £155
Band H (166 to 175g/km CO2) £250
Band I (176 to 185g/km CO2) £300
Band J (186 to 200g/km CO2) £425
Band K (201 to 225g/km CO2) £550
Band L (226 to 255g/km CO2) £750
Band M (Over 255g/km CO2) £950

Wed, 10 MarWho has the biggest saving?
We have hundreds of tempting deals online at whatcar.com every day of the week, but which do you think is the biggest of them all right now?There's one car that's being offered with a huge five-figure discount off its list price, but can you guess what vehicle it is?What's the biggest discount of them all?
Try and work out the car with the biggest saving by looking through the clues below - and you can even learn how to drive down all of your motoring costs along the way. Just read the clues and check out our 'Remember' sections to let whatcar.com help you save cash when buying a new car.• Discounts naturally tend to get bigger as the list price grows, so our headline car (a 4x4) isn't cheap, even after a whopping saving of £12,228 off its RRP of just over £64,000.

• Our mystery car is also about to be replaced by an all-new model – with better performance and improved economy – so its already weak resale values are likely to take a further hit. Expect it to lose at least £43,250 over three years.• Then there are the other running costs. Servicing will set you back at least £1620 over three years, while insurance will be around £3534. Even though it's a diesel-powered car you can expect to fork out a minimum of £7685 in fuel over 36,000 miles, because its official fuel consumption figure is just 23.7mpg.What's the answer?
Still interested in the deal? Scroll down to find out the full details below…
It's the Volkswagen Touareg
Coast2coastcars.co.uk is offering the Volkswagen Touareg 5.0 TDi R50 for £52,457, more than £12,000 less than its list price. The new Touareg range goes on sale in June and will include a petrol-electric hybrid version that's cheaper, much more economical and slightly faster than the R50.The 3.3-litre V6 hybrid is likely to cost £57,000 and is 10.7mpg more efficient on the official combined cycle at 34.4mpg. It can manage 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds and has a top speed of 149mph – 0.2 seconds and 3mph faster than the V10 diesel.

BBC Sport Player | Motorsport

Thu, 11 MarHamilton insists no problem with Button
Lewis Hamilton laughs off the rumours that he doesn't have a good relationship with his new McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, and says he is looking forward to racing the legendary Michael Schumacher (UK users only).

Thu, 11 MarButton predicts 'epic' season
Defending world champion Jenson Button is says Formula 1 is doing something wrong if it does not deliver an amazing season, with four former world champions on the grid (UK users only).

Thu, 11 MarAlonso 'better prepared than ever'
Double World Champion Fernando Alonso predicts this forthcoming Formula 1 season will be a "good fight" between the top teams and drivers.

Thu, 11 MarFan reaction delights Schumacher
Mercedes GP star Michael Schumacher says he is proud of the fact that fans are excited about his return to race action (UK users only).

Thu, 11 MarMassa happy to race with Alonso
Felipe Massa says his new team-mate Fernando Alonso is "a good guy" who he is happy to race with, and he is "really motivated" for the new season with Ferrari (UK users only).

Cars, motoring news and reviews including what car to buy and best car insurance

Thu, 11 MarNew roadworks regulations
Roadworks to be carried out with more consideration and respect for the travelling public.

Thu, 11 MarScrappage scheme helps CO2 reduction
The Government scrappage scheme's carrot and stick approach to reducing carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles appears to be working.

Thu, 11 MarDelay road tax increases, industry warns
Car manufacturers want to see new VED rates deferred as the scrappage scheme comes to an end.

Thu, 11 MarBudget 2010 boost for car industry?
Motor industry calls on the Chancellor to boost manufacturer - and consumer - confidence in his 2010 Budget.

Thu, 11 MarElectric car maker Delta Motorsport eyes massive cash prize
British firm Delta Motorsport's expertise transferred to the production of the viable E-4 Coupe electric electric road cars.