6 HRS AGO - If any firm can make a Nissan Qashqai rival exciting, surely it’s Mazda? Let’s find out Why we’re running it: To see if the CX-30’s sleek style and driver-focused dynamics make it stand out in the congested family SUV class Month 2 - Month 1 - Specs Life with a Mazda CX-30: Month 2 It blends in with all those crossovers… but it drives like no other - 24 February 2020 There’s nothing like standing out in a crowd, right? Believe the adverts and choosing a compact crossover will mark you out as an adventure-seeking individual who won’t be bound by convention; yet as the picture above shows, the reality is rather more humdrum. Swing into almost any suburban parking space today and it’s virtually guaranteed that you will be slotting into a line of SUV-tinged family hatchbacks, none of them having tackled anything more terrifying than the school run. Yet the more time I spend with our Mazda CX-30, the more I’m reminded why these things are so damned popular. The marginally raised ride Collapse

13 HRS AGO - It was the hottest of hot hatches when it arrived in 2013, and the Mercedes A Class AMG still has fire as a used example When new in 2013, this example of the hottest of hot hatches (at least until the Audi RS3 landed in 2015) cost around £42,000, but today, seven years and 95,000 miles later, it could be on our driveway for £15,990. It is being advertised by a private seller and has a trade value of around £11,650, so there’s surely a bit of haggling to be done. Doubtless the seller will point to the car’s full Mercedes-Benz service history. That deserves a big tick, but we’d go through the invoices, checking all majors and minors have been done, the air con has been regassed and the brake fluid and coolant have been changed. The seller is bound to indicate, too, the car’s AMG sports exhaust, two-owner history and, from the pictures, unblemished condition. The mileage is apparently largely motorway as well. All reasons for the seller to dig their heels in, but the fact is that very Collapse

19 HRS AGO - Cancelled Rally Sweden steps aside for Finland, ensuring drivers will need to pack their snow shovels Christmas has come extra early for the World Rally Championship (WRC). Because this weekend’s round starts in Rovaniemi, northern Finland: the home of Joulupukki, who you might know as Santa Claus. Just outside Rovaniemi is the Santa Claus Village – still open every day, with Santa and his elves having managed to escape furlough. In fact, in this frozen corner of Lapland with its scant population, life carries on much the same as usual. ‘Usual’ here also means 16-hour nights and daytime highs of minus 15deg C or so – although it gets a lot colder. Minus 30deg C isn’t uncommon. On my only previous visit many years ago, some of the stages were actually cancelled because it was deemed too dangerous for marshals to be outside for any length of time. Among the mandatory equipment for all crews to carry on the Arctic Rally Finland is a snow shovel and warm clothing. They might also want Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Rear-drive 420bhp M2 will pave the way for an M2 Gran Coupé and fiery full-fat M 1 Series BMW is developing a new rear-wheel-drive M2 performance coupé, as part of a future compact M car line-up that will include a four-wheel-drive M2 Gran Coupé and a 1 Series with more than 400bhp. Spotted for the first time bearing similar cab-backward proportions to today's car, the second-generation M2 coupé, which takes the internal codename G87, is scheduled to go on sale in the UK in 2022. It will bring with it a detuned version of BMW M’s latest six-cylinder petrol engine, sourced from the new M3 and M4.  Despite the heavy camouflage of this newly spotted prototype, it looks as if the M2 will feature angular front end styling influenced more by the Z4 and M8 than the controversially big-grilled M3 and M4. Flared arches, big performance wheels and a quad-exit exhaust will be the most obvious visual differentiators from the standard 2 Series, but upsized air intakes and aero-enhancing trim Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Hyundai's popular Kona has been facelifted - is it enough to keep it competitive in the cut-throat crossover market? If any car symbolises how far Hyundai has come in the last few years, it’s the Kona. Not only does it sell well for them (the aim is for 17,000 in the UK this year, which would make it the firm’s second best-selling car), but it’s also got nearly the full gamut of powerplant offerings to cover any customer’s needs. Petrol mild-hybrid, hybrid and electric - there’s even a hot ‘N’ version coming. Europeans also get diesel versions, but Hyundai sold so few here it doesn’t bother anymore.The car has recently been facelifted and this time we’re trying out the hybrid version of that surgery. It’s not the most radical design overhaul but if you enjoy playing ‘spot-the-facelift’, you should know that the narrow DRLs are even narrower (if that was possible), while there’s more plastic cladding around the nose and the front fog lights are more rounded and less blocky. The rear Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Hybridised six-cylinder unit was set to debut in Valhalla, but AMG partnership could make it redundant Aston Martin is likely to end development of its bespoke V6 hybrid powertrain in favour of Mercedes-AMG-sourced units for its future models.  Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers said in an investor call today that new technical partner Mercedes-Benz is offering to supply the British firm with powertrain components for a "reasonable cost" and suggested that the arrangement could change the shape of its future product strategy.  The mid-engined Valhalla supercar, previewed by a concept at the 2019 Geneva motor show and due for launch in 2023, is being heavily revised as a result, with a new version set to be shown in the next four months. Its electrified V6, developed in-house by Aston Martin with the aim of "rapidly" rolling it out across the line-up, looks to have now been rendered redundant.  After making its debut in the Valhalla, the Aston Martin V6 was set to replace AMG's 4.0-litre Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Aston Martin Valhalla concept New version of Valhalla to be shown in coming months; DBX PHEV could use 700bhp AMG set-up Aston Martin is "not in a rush" to decide which powertrain components it will take from stakeholder Mercedes-Benz, according to CEO Tobias Moers. As part of a new technical partnership between the two brands, stemming from Mercedes' 20% stake in the British firm, Aston has access to a range of combustion, hybrid and electric powertrains for use in its own vehicles.  But speaking to investors following the reveal of Aston's 2020 financial results, Moers said a final decision has not been taken on which of the German company's platforms and drive units it will use. He did, however, add that "everything is a reasonable cost situation", suggesting nothing is off limits.  The Valhalla mid-engined supercar remains on the cards for a launch in the second half of 2023, but Moers said the company is "re-assessing" the model, and it will now "probably have a different Collapse

1 DAY AGO - A comprehensive rework of Skoda’s popular compact hatchback with the sort of driving traits and features that promise to place it at the sharp end of its class The car you see here beneath the digitally themed camouflage is the fourth-generation Skoda Fabia. Although it is still six months away from a planned UK launch, we can confirm that it is very much a new car, right down to its platform – the same MQB A0 structure used by its Volkswagen Group siblings, the Volkswagen Polo and Seat Ibiza. The new platform replaces the structure used by the third-generation Fabia launched in 2014 – the PQ26. It is in essence a complete reset for Skoda’s most affordable model, now that the Citigo has been retired from the Czech car maker’s line-up.  The adoption of a new platform is only the start of a wide range of changes, though.  The Fabia also receives a number of other key developments, including greater structural rigidity, a revised range of engines and a more advanced electronics Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Why a broken jaw might be the least of the Spaniard’s problems Twenty years ago, on 16 March 2001, French endurance racing veteran Bob Wollek was cycling back from Sebring 12 Hours practice when he was hit by a van and killed. For the 57-year-old to lose his life in such a senseless manner was unspeakably cruel, especially having survived a lifetime of racing, first on skis and then through four decades of motorsport. Wollek’s tragedy immediately sprung to mind this month when news first filtered through that Fernando Alonso had been knocked from his bicycle during a training ride in Switzerland. The 39-yearold Spaniard collided with a car outside a supermarket car park and sustained a fractured jaw. Nasty and painful, but a fortunate escape in the context of Brilliant Bob’s dreadful fate. More than a pain in the jaw Alonso just can’t help making headlines, and we can expect many more from him during a 2021 season in which he will make a dramatic return to Formula 1 with Alpine – Collapse