Auto Express 1434

ARE we sleepwalking into a road safety disaster of our own making? The reduction in numbers of specialist road policing officers due to funding cuts is well documented – down from 7,104 to 4,356 in England and Wales between 2010 and 2014. With the number of offences detected on the road also dropping significantly, the Home Office seems satisfied the available resource is sufficient. But speak to an officer at the sharp end, as I did last week, and the story is somewhat different. Morale is at a very low ebb as cutbacks hit hard, and it could have serious consequences for motorists. In a wide-ranging chat, the officer, who didn’t want to be named for obvious reasons, gave example after example of how the service the police force provides…

Essentials Aston Martin DB11 Price: £154,900 Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 Power: 600bhp Torque: 700Nm Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive 0-62mph: 3.9 seconds Top speed: 200mph Econ./CO2: 25mpg (est)/265g/km (est) ON SALE Now James_Disdale@dennis.co.uk “It’s Aston’s first genuinely all-new model in 13 years; this flagship GT truly is a clean-sheet exercise” IT’S been a long time coming, but finally Aston Martin’s DB11 has landed. We’ve been teased by the static models on motor show stands, and even had a brief spin in a disguised prototype (Issue 1,420), but this is the first time we’ve been let loose on the road in what’s arguably the British brand’s most important new car in a generation. Designed as a replacement for the venerable DB9, the DB11 is Aston’s first genuinely all-new model in 13…

“Car has been fast-tracked for production, after European buyers rejected current model’s interior and refinement” Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @rsp_ingram Current Micra (right) has not proven a sales hit, with criticism of its quality and refinement OPINION John McIlroy Deputy editor, Auto Express NISSAN dealers in the UK can’t wait for the new Micra to arrive – and with good reason, because the existing car has not been considered a success. At the fourth-generation model’s launch in 2011, Nissan promised that even as a ‘global car’ – made in Thailand and Indonesia instead of Sunderland – it could have the sort of premium feel and build quality that had made previous Micras so popular with British buyers. This, we were told, was why Nissan had decided to keep the Micra name on the…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy “A 220kW battery powers 130kW motor on each rear wheel” AS the next Micra takes shape (Page 12), Nissan has given a further hint that it could produce a radical electric sports car by unveiling a new development of its BladeGlider racer. A pair of new show cars are being displayed in two configurations at an event in Brazil to mark the start of the Rio Olympic Games. They represent a clear evolution from the original BladeGlider, which made its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2013, by including a fully electric powertrain and a more realistic cabin – although the distinctive three-seat layout remains. Nissan says the new BladeGlider is “an exciting, real-life study into the potential of advanced EV performance”. The car is fully electric,…

Joe_Finnerty@dennis.co.uk @AE_Consumer NEW CAR DISCOUNT Renault Grand Scenic 1.6 dCi Dynamique Nav £8,785 35%OFF NEW CAR DISCOUNT Jeep Renegade 1.6 MultiJet Longitude £4,718 22%OFF BRITISH car buyers can score discounts of up to a third on the list price of new models as dealers struggle to shift stock, according to latest figures. Auto Express analysed data from sister site, online retailer BuyaCar.co.uk to reveal the 10 biggest discounts available right now. It also highlights how it can be cost-effective to buy new rather than dip into the used market with some of the offers currently available. The Renault Grand Scenic tops the table with 35 per cent off the list price, followed by the Citroen C3 Picasso. Two of the UK’s biggest-selling models – the Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus…

Hybrid Passat GTE plugs in from £34k VOLKSWAGEN’S Passat GTE has finally arrived in the UK, with registrations starting now. The plug-in hybrid (above) goes on sale a full year after it was due, priced from £34,025 including the Government’s plug-in car grant. The GTE is claimed to return 166mpg fuel economy, with CO2 emissions of less than 39g/km. It’s available as a saloon or estate, with a top-spec Advance model costing £39,230. ...As VW moves to cut petrol emissions THE VW Group is following on from the ‘dieselgate’ emissions scandal by cleaning up its petrol engines, too. It has announced that all turbo petrol engines launched from 2017 onwards, starting with the 1.4-litre engine in the new Tiguan, will be fitted with a particulate filter. The directinjection TSI and…