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These days there is a lot of talk about transitioning and living one’s truth. And quite frankly, we find it all a bit much. But we have recently come across one transition we have liked a great deal,, ...ادامه مطلب

The highly anticipated 2018 VW Up! GTI is now available to order in the UK, all set to take the hot hatch market by storm. Granted, it is a supermini and not a hatchback. But the Up! GTI is so good at what it does, and at £13,750 it is so well-priced, it renders all those expensive, over-powered hot hatches out there silly.  I mean, if space is not really an issue for you, 2018 VW Up! GTI is a much better proposition than its own big brother, Golf GTI. And we know full well that the Golf is the king of all hot hatches. With the Up! GTI it is not about how much power you have. It’s the whole package. Yes, it only has a 999cc turbo engine with 115 PS and 200 Nm of torque. But on the upside it does 58.9 mpg and emits no more than to 110 g/km of CO2. And as for performance, 0 to 62 mph is dealt with in 8.8 seconds with a top speed of 122 mph. [embedded content] 2018 VW Up! GTI is all about the joy of driving, and a big part of that is the price. Yes, it is kind of expensive for a supermini, but it’s a bargain for what it offers. And because it is cheap, you can beat on it every day, drive it fast and hard, and not worry about breaking the bank. It is not in vain that Volkswagen com, ...ادامه مطلب

If you fancy yourself a bit of Sir Elton John action, there are a bunch of ways you can indulge in that lifestyle. But you wouldn’t think, would you, that one of those ways has to do with cars. This handsome car you see here is Sir Elton’s 1997 Aston Martin Vantage V8, and it’s up for grabs.  Set to go under the hammer at the Silverstone Auctions Race Retro Classic Car Sale on the 24th and 25th February, Elton John’s 1997 Aston Martin Vantage is a V550 version in black with a black leather interior. Apparently, the Rocket Man had better things to do than drive this car though, as it only has 8,663 miles on the clock. Granted, Elton is one of the previous owners. But those who got the car after him knew that some say the celebrity connection would fetch them big bucks and so they kept the car in min condition. According to the auctioneer, the Vantage still has its new car smell. This generation of the V8 Vantage is one of the most iconic cars Aston has ever built. The classic coupe profile with the long bonnet and short boot, the aggressive design of the bumpers, grilles, and lights, and of course the V8 engine that gives the beast a top speed of 186 mph, all make this Vantage , ...ادامه مطلب

The days in which SUVs were symbols of high fuel consumption and air pollution are long gone thanks to cars such as 2018 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid. These offer the same practicality and performance of a regular SUV, but with a frugal-ish engine. Of course, this much goodness is going to cost you.  2018 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid is priced from $52,100 MSRP to which you will have to add a $995 destination and handling fee. Still, considering the badge and how much kit you receive in retu for your cash, that sounds like good value. The biggest highlight of this model is the three-motor Sport Hybrid Super Handling-All Wheel Drive system which is basically the same powertrain they use in the NSX supercar. Here it generates 321 hp and 289 lb.-ft. of torque. The EPA rating for this system is 26 / 27 / 27 mpg City/Highway/Combined. Now, that doesn’t sound particularly brilliant, but you have to realize it’s 45 percent better than a non-hybrid MDX. [embedded content] Features-wise, 2018 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid is as luxurious and well-equipped as any Acura. You can choose between Technology Package ($53,095) and Advance Package ($59,145) trims, with both model benefiting from unique interior, ...ادامه مطلب

The official U.S. pricing for the all-new 2018 Hyundai Kona crossover has been announced, and as you would expect the value-for-money element is strong. This quirky little sport utility starts at just $19,500 for the base model, rising up to $28,700 for the fully-loaded model.  In America the 2018 Hyundai Kona is available with two engines and transmission choices. There is a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder with 147 horsepower and 132 lb.-ft. of torque paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, and a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder turbo (Limited and Ultimate trims only) with a seven-speed EcoShift dual-clutch transmission offering 175 horsepower and 195 lb.-ft. of torque. Both engines can be had with all-wheel-drive system. A well-chosen trim will also get you such advanced safety systems as Lane-Keeping Assist system, Blind-Spot Collision Waing, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Waing, Lane Change Assist, Parking Distance Waing and Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist with Pedestrian Detection. [embedded content] 2018 Hyundai Kona MSRP & Trims: Model Engine Transmission Drivetrain MSRP SE 2.0L 4-cyl. 6-Speed Automatic SHIFTRONIC® FWD $19,500 SE 2.0L 4-cyl. 6-Speed Automatic SHIFTRONIC® AWD $20, ...ادامه مطلب

90 grand is a lot of money for what’s, in its essence, a BMW 5 Series saloon. But then this is no ordinary saloon car. The new 2018 Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo is, in the tuner’s own words, the most affordable 200 mph production car in the UK. Now that is some good justification! We have to point out the £89,000 is for the 2018 Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo sedan. The Estate version kicks off at £91,000. But as you may have already guessed, it is the fastest wagon out there. Powering both of these German monsters is a 608 horsepower Alpina-tuned BMW V8. This engine is altogether sweeter and more civilized than the one you get in BMW’s own M5. It is also capable of generating 670 Nm (494 lbft) of torque, swelling to an astonishing 800 Nm (590 lbft) from 3,000 – 5,000 rpm. It is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission also improved for this car. As a result the B5 Bi-turbo Saloon will hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, with the Touring just 0.1 seconds behind, before clocking 205 mph flat out. Other performance highlight of the 2018 Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo include Active Rear Steering, active roll stabilisation (Dynamic Drive), ALPINA light-weight 20” forged alloy wheels and ‘ALP’ labelled Pirelli P-Zero, ...ادامه مطلب

Prestigious British exotic and classic car dealer, Hexagon, is offering something so unique, it is guaranteed to make classic car lovers whimper with excitement! It’s a 1959 Aston Martin DB4, and as if that wasn’t cool enough, this car is a pre-production unit painstakingly resorted back to its original glory.  This highly desirable item was the third Right Hand Drive DB4 to come from Newport Pagnell, featuring custom upgrades by Aston Martin aficionado Richard Williams. Once a demonstrator, this 1959 Aston Martin DB4 has been converted to run on a Vantage triple Weber carb system and boasts a 5-speed gearbox. The wider wire wheels sit inside especially modified fenders and provide more grip than any standard DB4. So to drive this little piece of Aston history is a pretty delightful car. But the main joy is owning this gem is ogling it. Finished in unique Blu Scozia with re-trimmed leather interior, the car is the quintessential vintage British sports car. Only it is so well sorted out, you can daily driver it if you want. A hill climber for most of its life, Hexagon’s 1959 Aston Martin DB4 has had £222,000 spent on its restoration, a job that included engine rebuild to 4, ...ادامه مطلب

Finally, the new, mode-day Alpine is ready to hit the roads, going on sale in five days. We’ve waited a long time for this thing, but all the evidence suggest 2018 Alpine A110 is well worth the wait. I’m afraid, however, the privilege of enjoying one is a bit costly, as the sports car starts at €58,500. The good news is though, that is the base price for the limited edition 2018 Alpine A110 Premiere Edition. Regular models will be less expensive. But the launch model is the really irresistible one, if just for the fact that they are making only 1,955 units of it. That is a tribute to the year Alpine was founded. The A110 Première Edition come as standard with lightweight 18-inch O, ...ادامه مطلب

Following the debut of the 2018 Aston Martin Vantage V8 and its GTE racing version, the company has now launched a thorough online configurator to make the task of tailoring and ordering one doable during your moing dump. The new Vantage d, ...ادامه مطلب

The good old Beetle receives a number of updates for the new year, hoping it can regain some of it past glory with more features and a reasonable-ish price tag. The 2018 Volkswagen Beetle costs in America from $20,220, excluding an $850 dest, ...ادامه مطلب

We’ve been told time and again, in the course of the past couple of months, that the new 2018 Aston Martin Vantage is a thing of beauty. That, beauty, was the theme of all the teaser. Now they have unveiled the thing, and, well, to be frank , ...ادامه مطلب

Putting their fuel cell plans aside for a while, Honda is going to focus on stepping up their hybrid game in America. And so on December 1 they will launch the new 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid, a decidedly green-looking sedan that start, ...ادامه مطلب

With only a few days to go until the official unveiling of the new 2018 Aston Martin Vantage, it’s high time we pieced together bits of information we’ve been hearing here and there about the British sports car. This gives us a clue as to wh, ...ادامه مطلب

While the world is waiting with bated breath to see the new Valkyrie hypercar on the road, Aston is preparing a track-only version of this breathtaking machine. Set for release in 2020, the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro is pitched by the com, ...ادامه مطلب

The orders book are now open for the 2018 Vauxhall Grandland X SUV and you can have yours from £22,310. That sounds like good value, even if just for the fact that the Grandland is a sizable thing – 20 centimetres longr than Mokka X and Crossland X. It is also pretty well-equipped and fairly capable when the going gets rough.  The list of standard kit on the 2018 Vauxhall Grandland X include such items as LED daytime running lights, camera-based lane departure waing, road sign recognition, intelligent cruise control, and air conditioning with particulate and odour filter. It also comes with standard OnStar and optional IntelliGrip traction control system which ensures optimum road grip in diverse driving situations through torque distribution. The driving modes this system offers include normal, mud, snow, sand, and ESP off. [embedded content] As for the engines, launches with a 1.2-litre turbo petrol with 130PS (urban 44.1-47.1mpg, extra-urban 57.6-62.8mpg, combined 51.4mpg-55.4mpg, 127-117 g/km CO2) and a 1.6-litre turbo diesel with 120PS (urban 55.4-60.1mpg, extra-urban 67.3-80.7mpg, combined 61.4-70.6mpg, 118-104 g/km CO2). Both turbo units can be combined with either the six-speed manual or a friction-optimised six-speed automatic transmission and come with Start/Stop as standard. So the Grandland has frugality on its side, too. “Our goals for the Grandland X were to create a rugged yet dynamic design, while also managing to balance style and functionality,” said , ...ادامه مطلب