TOYOTA PEGS AVENSIS PRICES
THE revised Toyota Avensis family model will match those of the current range when it reaches UK showrooms early next year.
The announcement came as the first cars rolled off the production line at Toyota’s Burnaston, Derbyshire, factory which has benefited from £1.15 billion investment since it opened in 1992.
Toyota UK’s deputy chief Tony Walker said: “We are proud to be starting work on the new Avensis, a car that is central to Toyota’s European strategy and a key model for the UK. British-built, and with petrol engines sourced from Toyota’s Deeside factory plus ultra-efficient diesels, it is a stronger market contender than ever before.”
The new range starts at £18,450 for the 1.8 Valvematic T2 saloon with six-speed manual transmission.
CALL FOR 80MPH MOTORWAY LIMIT
THE Institute of Advanced Motorists is calling for the government to pilot an 80mph speed limit on a controlled motorway to assess its practicality and safety, plus road users’ reaction to it.
Road safety groups have raised a concern that legalising today’s tolerated, yet unofficial, 80mph speed limit would simply create an unofficial 90mph limit.
If this happened average traffic speeds could increase, as could accidents and their severity.
The IAM wants to see 80mph trialled initially on “Controlled Motorways” and “Managed Motorways” where variable speed limit technology is used.
M25 HAS 13 OF TOP 25 TRAFFIC JAMS
THE M25 celebrated its 25th birthday in October with 13 of the month's top 20 longest motorway jams.
According to data analysed by TomTom HD Traffic, the worst stretch was from Junction 17 in Bucks/Herts round to Junction 9 in Surrey, which accounted for five of the longest delays - all occurring between 5.30pm and 6pm.
The longest single queue was on October 28 at 3.58pm heading from Surrey towards Bucks (Junctions 8 to 16), with traffic stacked for 26.5 miles.
The worst UK time delay, however, was on the M11 between Stansted airport (Junction 8a) and Littlebury (Junction 9), also on October 28 and which delayed traffic by almost six hours.
Meanwhile, the A49 in Shropshire saw the longest non-motorway delays.
VAUXHALL LAUNCHES WINTER SAFETY CHECK
VAUXHALL owners can make sure their car is ready for any adverse conditions with the brand’s MasterFit winter safety check.
For £35, Vauxhall MasterFit technicians will visually check the car for any potential safety issues, ensure tyres are inflated to their optimum, perform any advised software updates and top up all vital fluids.
Each customer will also receive an Autoglym winter care pack, worth £20, consisting of de-icer, screenwash, an ice scraper and a hi-tech interior Microfibre cloth.
NEW GREEN AWARD FOR VOLKSWAGEN
THE Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion has added a further environmental award to its trophy cabinet, having been named Green Vehicle of the Year at the 2011 ACFO Fleet Awards.
The Awards, now in their 28th year, are voted for on line exclusively by the ACFO membership – the largest UK body representing the interests of businesses which operate cars and vans as part of their normal commercial activities – and are highly prized because unlike many other awards they reflect the day-to-day operational experience and expertise of fleet decision makers.
Volkswagen’s Golf is a four-time ACFO Car of the Year winner and this year the range’s 1.6-litre TDI BlueMotion model, which offers a combined fuel economy of 74.3 mpg and has carbon dioxide emissions of 99 g/km, was named Green Vehicle of the Year.
EVOQUE PROVES THE STUFF OF DREAMS
LAND ROVER’S Liverpool-built Evoque has been named Stuff magazine’s 2011 Car of the Year at an annual technology award ceremony.
The Evoque, which went on sale in September and has already notched 23 international awards, beat off competition from the Ferrari FF, Ford Focus, Renault Twizy, Nissan Leaf and Mini Coupe.
It was chosen as the outright winner due to class leading technology with features like Terrain Response and Adaptive Dynamics, while the judges also praised Land Rover's Dual Screen technology permitting the driver and passenger to see two different images on the same screen at the same time.