It’s easy to dismiss SEAT’s Exeo as nothing more than a revived previous-generation Audi A4, which was ditched in 2008.

For a Japanese manufacturer like Mazda, the bi-annual Tokyo Motor Show would ordinarily be a chance to flex its creative muscles.

TV personality Johnny Ball first made his name as a comedian, but he’s now known as a populariser of science and mathematics. He drives a BMW 530d.

Ask a group of drivers about whether they would consider an electric car next time they’re buying, and one question dominates their responses: “But where would I plug it in?”

Doom mongers might point to Volvo’s shaky future as owner Ford considers selling it. Yet such fundamentals aren’t preventing the firm’s engineers ploughing on, apparently unmoved. With a stubbornness borne from a belief that cutting edge cars will guarantee the Swedish firm’s safety, they have ambitious plans.

VOLVO’S VOLTS-WAGON CHARGES IN

Honda’s Civic Hybrid was treated to a small nip and tuck earlier in the year. Ian Robertson puts it to the test.

Fresh from the Frankfurt motor show in September, Peugeot’s revolutionary BB1 – a fusion of attributes from both the car and a scooter – went on show at London’s Covent Garden on the 7th and 8th of November.

Citroën is the latest car maker to reveal a new zero emissions vehicle – the C-Zero, thanks to a joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors.

Nissan’s new NV200 light commercial vehicle is about to go on sale in the UK, and the Japanese automaker has revealed a concept sketch of an electric van based on the same vehicle.

Renault has revealed plans to put two small electric vehicles on sale from 2011.

It’s that time of the year again, where motoring journalists from all over Europe consider which new model is worthy of the coveted Car of the Year title. Now in its 46th year, the 2010 winner will be decided from a list of 33 contenders.

Guy Baker takes a look at some of the most popular performance diesels, and how best to modify them.....

Peugeot’s 307 was one of the best-selling hatchbacks of the last decade, and in judicious 110bhp form, provides not only a comfortable ride and decent handling, but also strong performance and impressive fuel economy.

Tony Hadley is the frontman with Spandau Ballet, one of the most successful bands of the ‘80s. He drives a Ford S-MAX Titanium 2.0 TDCi.

For somebody with an estimated 200 million viewers worldwide, Ray Mears isn’t your average international superstar. There’s a touch of the ‘favourite school teacher’ about the man, a clue to why Mears is so popular perhaps?

Do you remember when a car’s name was a simple affair, more often than not revealing the capacity of its engine?

Renault and PSA Peugeot-Citroën squared up last year, as both French manufacturers battled to see who could bring their new small van to market first. As far as the UK was concerned, the Kangoo had always been the lesser product – it always lacked the appeal and originality of the original Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner.

HEAVY METAL:

Silverstone and the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) are pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached to secure the long term future of the FIA FORMULA 1 BRITISH GRAND PRIX.

Crystal balls are being vigorously rubbed as the motor industry’s finest brains ponder over the future direction of motoring. So what can we expect to see on our roads in the years ahead? General Motors has been revealing its thinking. Get ready for an ‘ecovision’. Sue Baker reports..

Whatever you do, don’t call Vauxhall’s Ampera a hybrid. The Opel engineers – this being a combined effort between the two European companies and General Motors – are keen to stress that the Ampera is powered by an electric motor, despite a conventional petrol unit taking up space in the engine bay.

Not content with revealing production versions of the DS3 and its all-new C3, Citroën also unveiled a modern day concept inspired by its legendary 2CV to coincide with the celebrations of its 90th anniversary.

While Honda is unveiling an affordable sports car in the shape of the CR-Z, BMW revealed a new hybrid supercar at the recent Frankfurt motor show, based on formula one technology.

Make way for the world’s first production sports car with a hybrid drivetrain, the Honda CR-Z, making it’s debut at the Tokyo motor show, and due to go on sale in the UK next summer.

Earlier this year, we learnt that the 2010 British International motor show had been cancelled. The organisers had taken the extraordinary step of axing the show, due to low commitment from the car industry, thanks in part to the recession that was sweeping the world. And while they are saying that there will be another show in the future, I’m not holding my breath.

His Grace, the Duke of Roxburghe, owns a 54,000-acre Scottish estate and lives in Floors Castle. He drives a Range Rover TDV8.

Enter the main gates of Silverstone, turn right, and a meandering road leads to Porsche heaven. This is where owners go for expert tuition in getting the best out of their cars. But there’s a surprising twist, as Sue Baker reports.

W complimented hen you think about motoring in the 1970s you’ll probably conjure up images of British Leyland strikes, hideous colour schemes and the first steps of the Japanese giants into the UK market.

Love them or loathe them, few cars can lay claim to having as much character as a Citroën.

These are the first official pictures of the brand new Jaguar XJ, a significant leap forward for the firm. It ditches the long established XJ design theme of lengthy nose and elongated boot to conjure up something altogether more special.

Quietest, smoothest diesel yet”; “an absolute peach”; “awesome” – just some of the words used by the motoring press to describe Subaru’s very first diesel engine, the new flat four “boxer”. It powers the Japanese manufacturer's utilitarian Legacy and Forester models, which are soon to be joined by the rally-bred Impreza – so we can hardly wait!

Malcolm Roach’s Fiat 500 isn’t really his car. He actually has to ask permission to borrow it from his wife, who loves it a lot (far more than she ever did the Volkswagen Fox that preceded it)

The first incarnation of the dieselpowered MINI was a worthy enough little car, and a very economical one, with its 1.4 litre Toyota D-4D engine.

Alan Lancaster from Preston is a dyedin- the-wool Audi enthusiast, with two of these solid Teutons in his garage - a TT roadster and now a new A4 2.0 TDI Cabriolet – the subject of our test

Tunit customer Nathan has quite a passion for Smarts – no pun intended – and has almost lost count of how many he’s owned. We certainly had, by the time he’d told us about imported LHD diesels, a hot Brabus, and any number of different variants of the original Smart, before it became the new model fortwo; then there was a Smart Roadster, a forfour hatchback, and a petrol fortwo, before his latest steed, a fortwo Passion cdi.

Every month we take an in-depth look at the used cars made by key diesel car manufacturers.

Vauxhall’s new Astra ecoFLEX is a perfect example of how engineers are putting their heads together and coming up with innovative ways of achieving ever better fuel consumption figures and lower CO2 emissions. You could, of course, go out and buy yourself a shiny new car, fi tted with the latest eco measures, but there’s still plenty you can do to improve the miles that your existing car does to each gallon of fuel.

There's nothing else quite like it in the world, an entire town built in homage to the motor car. Sue Baker has just become one of the two million visitors a year who go to see the amazing Autostadt.

Every month we take an in-depth look at the used cars made by key diesel car manufacturers.

Most of us are quite clear about the advantages of modern diesel engines compared with their petrol counterparts. Similarly, the majority of people who know anything about motoring can cite the advantages that petrol engines have over diesels.

A richer mix of biodiesel is arriving on the forecourts in a pioneering move by supermarket fuel retailer Morrisons, but you must check whether your car can use it yet, as Sue Baker reports.

With car sales figures down considerably over the past few months, most new car dealers will be looking forward to the plate change, hoping customers will be lured in by the appeal of a new ‘09’ plate motor. We guide you through the minefield that is buying a new car.

Lisa Curtiss talks To Phil Popham, Managing Director of Land Rover

I am facing prosecution for drink driving but am defending the charge and am hoping to be found not guilty. The trial is not until next January 2009.

You probably never give your tyres a second thought, but as Richard Dredge explains, a few regular basic checks might just save your life.

Alan Lancaster from Preston is a dyedin-the-wool Audi enthusiast, with two of these solid Teutons in his garage - a TT roadster and now a new A4 2.0 TDI Cabriolet – the subject of our test.

Four Volkswagen Race diesel Touareg 2 vehicles are taking part in the 2009 Dakar event.

Get ready for a big turf war. The popular and well-respected Vauxhall Corsa takes on the feisty new kid on the block, Ford’s all-new Fiesta. This is a muscle tussle between the two leading superminis. And the victor is? …… Read on and find out.

Sue Baker talks to Daniel Nicholson, General Motors' Executive Director of Product Engineering, Europe.

It seemed like a good idea at the time – take a MINI Cooper D to the world’s greatest tollroad… oh, and do it on a very tight budget. Keith Adams motors to the Nurburgring, and tries to prove you can have plenty of fun for a ton.

So, do you run around in a skip that has a wheel at each corner, or are you truly car-proud - the owner of a showroom-standard, concours-quality motor? Either way, spending some time, effort and a little money can make your motoring life more pleasant and help your car keep its value. Now is the time to turn your mind to a post-winter check for your car. Graeme Kidd offers advice on Spring Cleaning

What Diesel’s predecessor Diesel Car almost didn’t make it onto the shelves in April 1988, but twenty years on, editor number two John Kendall takes a look back … and forwards

We look at the market for stereo and multimedia for you car. Wheter you wanty alternative ways of lstening to your music collection, or keeping the kids amused on a long trip, you can count on there being an off-the-shelf solution.

What Diesel Car of the Year 2008 With diesel registrations close to smashing the 50 per cent barrier of the new car market, the annual What Diesel Car of the Year award winners are announced by Ian Robertson, Editor of What Diesel magazine.

The days when ‘discount for cash’ or an HP agreement were the only real routes to enjoying your own car are long gone. Ownership is no longer the only option, whether you’re looking for a new motor as a private or business user. Graeme Kidd looks at the options.

We have two days to cross Europe in a Subaru Legacy Boxer Diesel, and what better way of seeing how many countries we can tick off using just one tank of fuel, and as cheaply as possible. You’ll be surprised just how many… and how little it all cost.

Of all the extreme places you can go in a diesel car, Riksgransen has to be one of the toughest; not at this time of year, when it is still daylight at midnight and the only ordeal is clouds of marauding mosquitoes, but in winter, when it’s an entirely different story...

Graeme Kidd looks over the busy market for SatNav devices, offers some advice on making the best choice for your budget and circumstances, and puts up a couple of recommendations.

My carriage of choice? A stunningly gorgeous black Jaguar XF 2.7 diesel. Perfect.

2.0 and 2.2 litre HDis and TDCis, are the power sources at the heart of a wider range of cars than any others in history.

(10 YEARS ON) Back in 1998, John Kendall and the late, great, Phil Llewellin decided to mark the summer solstice by reaching all four corners of the UK in 24 hours. Ten years on, Keith Adams tries the same in the new Citroën C5 Tourer and comes up with a surprising result.

The UK is the most camera ridden country in the world and more than 6,000 of them are fixed speed traps. Factor in a welter of mobile sites and average speed SPECS areas and you can see why the authorities rake in more than £120m a year. With over two million tickets being issued every year, Dave Pollard says it’s time to defend yourselves…

Precious stuff, diesel. It’s the black gold that we put in our tanks, or at least that’s what it ought to be called as the digits on the filling station pump whizz round faster than a Lewis Hamilton practice lap.

For the latest awards, announced on 25 September, there were 38 cars competing in five price categories and two 4x4 categories, all chasing the prestigious title of The Caravan Club Towcar of the Year 2009.

Just got back from Mars? If so, you may not have heard that the global economy is slowing down, yet car makers are still churning out new motors at a terrific rate, and they all need to find buyers. As demand lags ever further behind the available supply, the deals just keep getting hotter.