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IT won’t have escaped your notice that the Government last week approved a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport. It’s a huge undertaking that could cost nearly £18bn. This decision, of course, follows the controversial High Speed 2 train line linking London and the north of England. Latest estimates suggest that it could ultimately cost a whopping £90billion. Far be it from me to argue against investment in our air and rail infrastructure. I fully accept that it’s necessary. But isn’t it about time that our road network received similar attention? Yes, I’m well aware that the Government has trumpeted a record level of investment in upgrading the network. A £15billion Road Investment Strategy was announced in 2014; this money should be spent by 2020. It’s not an insignificant sum,…

■ We get behind the wheel of 1.5 and 2.0-litre petrol prototypes; ■ Production model to debut at next year’s Geneva Motor Show “There’s no doubting the performance potential of the 247bhp 2.0 engine” SALES of traditional family cars are in freefall. With buyers’ heads turned by fashionable crossovers, rugged SUVs and premium badged compact saloons, the fate of these mainstream models looks bleak. Yet that hasn’t stopped Vauxhall forging ahead with an all-new version of its Insignia, which promises to be bigger, better to drive, more upmarket and even more efficient. That’s an extremely ambitious target, but bosses are confident of success, and have even renamed the newcomer Insignia Grand Sport in an effort to differentiate it from the outgoing model. To find out whether this confidence is well…

“The cabin brings a major overhaul to the Octavia’s infotainment system with a new touchscreen” THE new Skoda Octavia has been unveiled, sporting refreshed styling and updates to its interior and infotainment system for 2017. It’s due on sale in the UK in February priced around £17,000. This mid-life facelift keeps all of the same mechanicals as before, and both the hatchback and estate versions of the Czech manufacturer’s VW Golf rival benefit. The car is still based on one of the longer versions of the VW Group’s MQB chassis, so while its wheelbase and overall dimensions are unchanged, it will still offer one of the largest cabins in the class. The engine tweaks that brought a three-cylinder turbocharged petrol model to the line-up earlier this year are carried over,…

VOLKSWAGEN is addressing the gulf in its SUV product range by tackling the most difficult and controversial model first. This is the all-new Atlas, the brand’s first ever seven-seat SUV which shoulders the mighty task of restoring VW’s reputation in the US following the emissions scandal. Set to lead a new family of SUVs (below), and aimed at “the heart of the American market”, the Atlas is the largest vehicle ever built by VW in the US, at the brand’s Chattanooga factory in Tennessee. It’s 5,037mm long and 1,979mm wide, making it the biggest VW passenger car on sale. It’s also almost 340mm longer and 100mm wider than sister brand Skoda’s new Kodiaq. The Atlas will be exported to the Middle East and Russia in due course, although the company…

Updated Renault ZOE names it price THE revised Renault ZOE EV (above), with a more powerful 41kWh battery claiming a 250-mile range, will cost from £17,845 when it arrives in January. That price excludes the cost of leasing the battery, which starts from £59 per month. You can, however, buy the car outright; prices start from £23,445. The 41kWh battery can achieve an 80 per cent charge in a little over an hour using a fast charger, and a full charge in seven hours using a home charger. Lessons on drugs for drink-drivers DRINK-drivers opting for a rehab course to reduce their ban will be educated on the dangers of drug-driving, as part of a Government pilot scheme. The Department for Transport has announced drug-driving will be part of the…

THE X-Class, Mercedes proudly claims, is the world’s first premium pick-up truck – and it’s due to arrive in British showrooms towards the end of 2017. Mercedes made the announcement in Stockholm, Sweden, where it unveiled not the production model, but a near-production concept dubbed the Concept X-Class. In fact, we’ve been treated to two distinct concept versions of the new truck that’s being built on the robust ladderframe platform shared with the Nissan NP300 Navara (tested on Page 60) and Renault Alaskan pick-ups under Mercedes’ deal with the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Firstly, the Concept X-Class Powerful Adventurer (above, left) is an off-roadfocused design that sets out to underline the fact that a truck carrying the threepointed star will still be tough. Secondly, the Concept X-Class Stylish Explorer (above, right)…