Since BMW took over the design and production of the much loved Mini there have been a number of new variants, and now there’s another! The Mini Roadster Cooper S.

So what is it?

The Roadster is basically a soft-top version of the Coupe as it shares very similar styling to the Coupe but also incorporates the Cabriolet’s collapsible roof.

However, unlike the Cabriolet, the Roadster aims at enhancing the driving dynamics of the little Mini, and the fact that it comes with the Cooper S badges will undoubtedly mean that it will feel good to drive, or at least it should! That’s the unwritten promise from the famed Cooper badge – you’re almost guaranteed a fun drive.

What engine to have?

The best engine to go for will likely be the 181bhp turbocharged 1.6 litre with a six-speed manual gearbox. This gives the little Mini plenty of power and torque for its size and makes it a very entertaining car to drive indeed! However, the reservation is, how will it cope without a roof? One hopes it will not wobble and shake like many previous cars that have had their roof replaced by the soft top variety.

Hole in the market?

The Roadster will come with the very same range of petrol and diesel engines that the Coupe comes equipped with, which will also undoubtedly offer some variety on your motor insurance quote. So it really does currently seem to be a cross between the hugely popular Coupe and the Cabriolet. A hole in the market has perhaps been identified by BMW…

However, for me the Roadster isn’t really filling a hole in the market, it’s more a confused mix of two different cars. It has the performance and pedigree of the Coupe under the bonnet, but looks much like the Cabriolet and may unfortunately drive much like the Cabriolet too. My view is, if you want a soft top Mini then buy the Cabriolet, if you want the hard and sharpened Mini then go for the Coupe Cooper S. The Roadster Cooper S sort of feels like too much of a money making exercise. But then again I may be wrong. What does everyone else think?

There is a new Alfa Giulietta on the market. It’s the Giulietta TCT. This new Alfa combines the existing Giulietta with the twin-clutch TCT transmission that was previously only offered on the Mito. The new model comes in both petrol and diesel, and we recommend the 1.4 litre turbocharged “Multiair” engine with 168bhp – a very respectable amount in such a small car.

New Gearbox

The aforementioned TCT system is currently exclusive to Alfa, although the Fiat group are looking to use it throughout in the future, however, Alfa are proud to be developing the technology.

The TCT transmission is a dry clutch system, which is more economical than oil powered “wet clutch” boxes. It also has electro-hydraulic operation, and one clutch engaging odd-numbered gears, and one clutch engaging even-numbered gears.

The system is said to weigh around 81kg and will also improve fuel economy and improve acceleration times. CO2 emissions are also decreased as they are now down from 135g/km to 121g/km when compared to the manual gearbox.

Any Criticisms?

Slight criticisms of the transmission are that there are noticeable pauses between selecting a new gear and receiving a new gear, however, by all accounts the Giulietta’s new gearbox, on the whole, drives very well indeed, and what we must remember is that the TCT transmission system is still being developed and it will inevitably get better and better as it moves from one car to the next.

The new Giulietta will set prospective owners back £21,855 which is a bit of a bargain when you consider that the new, five door, DSG equipped VW Golf GT is on sale for £23,255. The Giulietta is also more economical too. The new cars are however likely to be similar when requesting car insurance quotes.

The Giulietta, I have to say, is a fantastic looking car, but then again most Alfa Romeo’s are. It is beautifully built, and looks the part. It is therefore sure to sell well!

Alfa are now looking to roll out their TCT transmissions across future Alfa models, as they claim they can build 150,000 transmissions a year.

This isn’t the first time Kia has been noticed for being environmentally friendly, as the all new Kia Picanto was honoured at the magazine’s Green Awards last summer. In addition, these machines have other qualities. They have reasonable specifications, surprisingly sharp looks and pleasingly composed handling, backed up with a 7 year warranty and the quotes for motor insurance isn’t sky high either.

Chief Operating Officer of Kia Motors Europe, Paul Philpott, picked up the award and said, “Kia has been striving over recent years not only to deliver exciting, attractive, high-quality cars – but also to deliver real benefits to customers in the form of cleaner technologies that don’t carry a price premium. We are delighted that What Car? – one of Europe’s leading consumer magazines – has recognised our efforts.”

The manufacturer lacks ‘mass recognition’ among British motorists, despite their environmental credentials. However, there may be something for everyone as the all-new Picanto rivals the popular Ford Ka, whereas the larger Rio is a supermini. The Venga is a compact MPV that competes with the Nissan Note and the Cee’d rivals the Vauxhall Astra which comes in hatchback and estate guise. Other models include the Sorento which is a four wheel driver and the Sedona is a 7 seater people carrier. Would you consider a Kia?

Nissan have built some incredible cars over the years, but nothing quite as bonkers as the Juke R. Let me explain if you haven’t already heard about this fire breathing concoction of a thing.

It’s a tiny, little Nissan Juke on the outside, and a ferocious, mind boggling Nissan GT-R on the inside. When I say that it’s a Juke on the outside, it, of course, does have some modifications to set it apart from the styling of the standard Juke, such as air vents on the bonnet, wide arches and side skirts, a rear diffuser, a rear spoiler and some pretty big rims. So, it is more like a beefed out version of the Juke with a big engine, and lots of performance!

Performance Figures

Under the bonnet is a 3.8 litre V6 twin turbocharged monster of an engine that produces 480bhp. Such power in something so small will launch it from 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds before pressing on to cover a quarter of a mile in 11.9 seconds.

The Juke R however is built in such a way that it is comfortable and easy to drive. Whilst it can turn into a lunatic if you put your foot down, it will also enable smooth and gentle driving too. The interior of the car reflects this as the cockpit is pretty similar to the standard Juke, aside from the front seat being further back and the fact that it is a bucket seat instead of a normal Juke seat, and there is also a roll cage, and there is a distinct lack of rear seats too.

It Must be Light?

Now, with a car of this size you would think it would be light, very light, except it isn’t at all. Instead it is 76kg’s lighter than its big (but surprisingly lighter) brother, the GT-R. This is as a result of the full roll cage and heavily modified floor.

The Juke R is a truly amazing piece of engineering and a great project by Nissan. They have said that only two will be built, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they put a little production line together. Would they sell? I think so!

All Time Favourite

At this point I must indicate that the GT-R is one of my all time favourite cars. This is because it offers astonishing performance at such a reasonable price. They are becoming more common place on our roads too as more and more people are turning to the impressive Nissan as an alternative to a Porsche or a BMW, for example. Whilst the Nissan would offer lower motor insurance quotes, it is also most probably the most reliable and economical in its class too. It also sounds pretty special as it purrs along.

Furthermore, Nissan has shed its boy racer image that was formed by the Skyline as the GT-R is seen as an executive cruiser rather than a street racing wide-boy. If you are currently looking towards that end of the market for a new car, I couldn’t recommend the GT-R enough.

At the beginning of the week we blogged about the new Porsche Boxster that is on its way, and today we can tell you all about another new offering from Germany’s fantastic motor industry – the Audi A1 Quattro.

UK Bound

Audi have a planned production of 333 A1 Quattro’s, and they have decided that 20 of them will be sent over here to the UK, despite being left hand drive. That shouldn’t put too many of you off however as the little Audi is sure to be popular thanks to its great looks, impressive performance and relatively cheap running costs, including getting a car insurance quote for it.

The Figures

The A1 will be fitted with a 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine that develops 252bhp and 258 lb-ft torque. In a small car those are very impressive figures, and with a four wheel drive system also, the Audi is sure to be a pocket rocket! It will achieve a 0-62mph time in just 5.7 seconds and will go on to reach a very respectable, and in something of such size, quite scary 152mph.

The four wheel drive system will also be one of the best four wheel drive systems out there due to Audi’s history of expertise in producing great four wheel drive machines.

Rich History

Audi have been building brilliantly fun, fast cars for many years now. If we go all the way back to the eighties, they released the original Audi Quattro: a turbocharged coupé that destroyed everything on the Rally scene and was also a great car for everyday use. And more recently, they’ve given us the RS4, the RS6, the R8 and some fantastic little hot hatches, such as the S3 models.

The A1 Quattro, it seems, takes the best elements of the original Quattro and the best elements of the S3 and combines them to be one of the most exciting hot hatches to have been launched in recent years. The A1 Quattro will also be a direct competitor of its bigger brother, the S3 as they have similar performance figures and are a similar size. The A1 will, however, be a rather exclusive Audi due to its scarcity in the UK.

Will you be putting an order in for one of 20 A1 Quattro’s arriving on British shores?

Porsche has revealed that they are due to launch an “all-new” Boxster…who’s guessing it will look much like the original then? The third generation Boxster despite still very much resembling the original Boxster, has however undergone some redesign work. The front and rear overhangs are now shorter and the wheels are bigger. The side of the car has also been re-sculpted for aesthetic appeal, rather than performance reasons.

Performance Improvements

So, it’s not exactly an innovative redesign is it? Porsche’s main work, as always, comes under the skin. They have worked hard on trying to improve efficiency and performance. To start with, the new model is much lighter than its predecessor, just how light exactly is yet to be announced however.

There are now two shiny new flat six engines available also. The entry level model will be fitted with a 2.7 litre unit, which despite being smaller than the 2.9 litre entry level Boxster of the previous model, squirts out 10bhp more (261bhp), and will get to 62mph in a quicker 5.7 seconds. The smaller engine is also likely to be cheaper to run, fuel wise, whilst resulting in lower motor insurance quotes too.

The S Model

The beefier, Boxster S will come with a 3.4 litre power plant that will have 311bhp and a 0-62mph sprint time of a flat five seconds. So Porsche’s little roadster will be very nippy indeed, and in true Porsche style, will handle well also, which will make a fun drive! This is the reason Porsche Boxster’s have been so popular over the years. They don’t cost a fortune, and will put a smile on the drivers face. They are also, undoubtedly, very pretty to look at.

Styling

Which brings me to my next point. At the beginning of the article I stated that the new Boxster is likely to look very much the same as the original Boxster, well of course it will, why fix something that isn’t broke? Porsche got it right with the original, and they’ve realised this and so kept the design essentially the same over the years because it is a very pretty car, and probably the prettiest in its class, apart from, perhaps, the Audi TT, which I personally think is gorgeous.

Anyway, I digress, back to the new Boxster!

New Additions

Both new versions will come with rear wheel drive and a six-speed manual gearbox, however a seven-speed PDK twin-clutch gearbox is an optional extra. Furthermore, the larger wheels are not just for aesthetic appeal as they are said to enhance the dynamics of the car while an electro-mechanical power steering system that has been fitted to the 911 will now be used on the Boxster too.

Prices start at £37,589, but if you want the top of the range S model with all the added extras, you will be looking more in the region of £50,000. Any takers?

This week motorsport suffered a blow as Peugeot announced that they were pulling the plug on all their involvement in sports car racing. They’ve had some brilliant success at Le Mans and in the related endurance series over recent years, however, due to financial difficulties, they’ve had to remove themselves from future events.

The most notable successes for Peugeot came in 2009 when they were victorious in the Le Mans 24 Hours race and in 2011 when they triumphed in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series.

Shock Announcement

The announcement from Peugeot was therefore, in the light of their brilliant success in recent years, a bit of a shock to all in the world of motorsport, however, it is a necessary action they just had to take at such a difficult time as the French manufacturer said in a statement: “This decision has been taken in the context of a difficult economic environment in Europe. Peugeot has chosen to concentrate resources on its sales performance in 2012.”

Peugeot’s car sales have been steadily declining over recent times, and so it is indeed understandable that they are now turning their attention to solely boosting sales through increased marketing efforts and through, of course, producing excellent road cars that will pull in more and more customers. At least that is the plan!

Value for Money?

Recent Peugeot’s have been impressive, the RCZ for example is a cracking looking car and I’ve seen a number of them on the road. They look like a supercar and are priced like a normal family saloon, and so they do offer good value for money.

It’s likely also that you will be able to acquire cheap car insurance on such a model as they only have relatively small engines. A 2.0 litre HDI is the top of the range, which will mean the RCZ will also be economical, which is of course very important and attractive to car owners these days. More of the same this year please Peugeot, and maybe they will indeed see sales increase.

What are your views on Peugeot pulling out of the endurance series, do you care? Or are you not too bothered?

We’re always on the lookout for fun little cars here, and this week it’s been announced that French manufacturer, Renault, are thinking about adding to their supermini range. The Clio and the Twingo have somewhat waned in comparison to its rivals. Whilst they both look great, they just don’t seem to provide enough va-va-voom anymore.

The new Clio can be criticised for not being as exciting to drive as its rivals, and the Twingo just hasn’t sold as well as Renault would have hoped. It seems Renault have perhaps realised that they need to inject a bit more fun and creativity to their range. How? By bringing back a fun little classic; the Renault 5.

The Original Supermini

The original 5 was first launched in 1972 and was considered at the time to be the first of its kind, and so it can be seen today as the Great Granddad of supermini’s, and so it only makes sense to bring it out of retirement for one last hoorah.

However, it wouldn’t simply be a case of updating the original with modern technology, as Steve Norman, the global marketing and communications boss for Renault, puts it: “It would be a different type of car, more than a Twingo, and a back up for the Clio. The original 5 made a statement and [it] would have to do the same again. It would be a car to recapture the spirit of the original, but the design would not be retro.”

Redesigning a Classic

So, if the 5 was to make a return, it would almost definitely undergo some redesigns, which is quite necessary and understandable when considering the fact that cars these days need to meet all different types of criteria which are intended to improve safety, and of course they do! These measures may indeed also help to lower a car insurance quote in comparison to a quote for an original 5.

Furthermore, in typical Renault style, we can expect a sporty, hot hatch version of the new 5. Renault did this with the original when they released the Renault 5 Turbo in 1980, and after that the Renault 5 GT Turbo in 1985. Now these are the types of Renault’s a lot of us would want to see return! It would be great to see a new 5 Turbo line up against a new ClioSport.

Concerns

My only query is, how will it stack up against the next generation Clio that is planned for this summer? The original Clio was the successor to the 5, and so, with that in mind, will Renault purposely build the new 5 to be one step down from the new Clio? Mr Norman did indeed comment that it would be “a back up for the Clio”. That surely doesn’t seem right to me however, especially if Renault are hoping to improve their line up.

Surely, if they do indeed go ahead with plans to bring the 5 back, Renault should make the very best supermini they possibly can with all the va-va-voom of old. Why build a half-hearted car to provide back up to a model that is known to have lost some of its passion and integrity? Well, the Clio that is coming this summer is said to “over deliver on design and innovation”, so maybe Renault will restore credibility with the new Clio before they even think about building the new 5.

Today we’re blogging about all cars classic. Here on the MotorMouthBlog we’re big petrol heads, and we love a good classic! Whether it’s a bare knuckle MKII Escort RS200, or a refined, sophisticated Aston Martin of the DB variety (5 or 6), we welcome them all!

Classic motoring is a somewhat British past-time, and if you venture out onto the roads on a Sunday afternoon, do not be surprised to come across all types of classic car. The amount of MG’s, Triumph’s and Austin Healey’s I’ve seen cruising around our great British roads is staggering.

Classic Alternatives

With cars developing more and more these days in all sorts of different ways, sometimes it’s nice just to hark back to the raw pleasure of driving. Getting out on those clear country lanes and opening up a rare classic can be a thrilling experience.

Classic cars, it seems, are becoming more popular these days also, especially as an increasing number of people look at cheaper forms of motoring. A small second hand classic could work out to be cheaper than a new, modern alternative. Furthermore, car insurance quotes for classics may just turn out to be cheaper also.

What would you have?

Of course, not all classic cars are about leather driving gloves and relaxing country lanes. There are those that will rattle your bones and shake your teeth. The Lancia Delta Integrale for example, or the Lancia Stratos. Both of which will kick you in the back whilst firing flames out the tailpipes.

Meanwhile, the Ford RS200 and the Renault 5 Turbo are both all out speed demons that derive from rallying thoroughbreds and they both need taming each and every time you get behind the wheel. Such cars offer a slightly different experience of traditional classic motoring therefore. These are cars that are perhaps better suited to track day experiences in order to really see what they’re about.

Personal Favourite

However, my all time favourite classic car has to be the Ferrari F40. Okay, so it’s a bit of a step up to the aforementioned machines, but it was first built in 1987, and so does indeed fall into the classic car category. It’s also a car that most owners would only take out on a Sunday for a cruise, or indeed to the track to pound some laps in.

What I love about the F40 is the true, honest nature of it, the fact that there is absolutely nothing inside apart from a steering wheel, a manual gear shifter, and a couple of seats. It’s a very simple car with true, honest engineering and no electronic wizardry. It was so far ahead of its time also, and was built by Ferrari in an attempt to go one better than their rivals, Porsche, who had recently launched the 959.

Furthermore, the F40 was by no means perfect. It had terrible turbo lag and the designers couldn’t even be bothered to hide the glue that held everything together, because of course covering the glue would mean adding weight. And that attitude to just build a true speed machine rather than care for silly little details is another reason why I love the F40.

It represents every petrol heads thoughts and feelings of what a true, performance car should be like. And the fact that it is now a classic, and that, in my opinion, it is the King of all classics, shows that there has never been anything quite like it!

We bring you some exciting news today! That is the news that a new Honda NSX is to be built. The original NSX was a thrill ride that cornered tremendously and went like stink, yet it only had 270bhp; staggering really when you think that it was the best Japanese supercar for a number of years. Now, of course, one has to consider the Nissan GT-R as the King of Japanese supercars…but for how long?

Old Meets New

The new NSX will likely be fitted with a fantastically high revving V6 once again which gets the thumbs up from us here! Furthermore, it will be a very clever hybrid in a bid by Honda to mate classic V6 reliability and performance with new technological ingenious. The fact that it will be a hybrid will also help reduce motor insurance for those looking to buy one. The NSX will include two small electric motors at the front in order to control independent drive in each wheel whilst also enabling the driver to tighten, or indeed loosen, the cornering line the car will take.

There will also be an electric motor embedded within the gearbox in order to enhance the power from the brilliant V6. It seems that Honda are approaching the new NSX with the very same attitude that they approached the first; handling and performance favoured over raw power. This is likely to be a lap time conqueror!

New Tech Will Benefit Overall Package

Honda’s boss, Takanobu Ito, has been commenting on the clever hybrid system, saying: “The NSX will enhance dynamic driving abilities without getting in the way.” So basically, the hybrid qualities will add to the overall brilliance of the car, as the new technology will work hand-in-hand with some traditional engineering. This isn’t going to be a traditional hybrid however by any stretch of the imagination.

The NSX will also be very fuel efficient as the car will use a type of kinetic energy recovery system as it will reclaim braking energy, and thus save on fuel usage. The weight distribution will, naturally, be very good also with the engine and battery pack being mid-mounted and the overall weight of the new NSX is promised to be low, much like the original aluminium model.

Do you think the new NSX will better than the original? And more interestingly, will it knock the Nissan GT-R off its perch?