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Audi A1 Quattro Coming to the UK

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

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?

Tags: Audi A1, Audi A1 Quattro, Car Insurance Quote, New car models
Posted in Car Insurance, Car Manufacturer | 1 Comment »

New Boxster Announced

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

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?

Tags: motor insurance quotes, New car models, Porsche, Porsche Boxster, Sports Car
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Retro Renault to Return

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

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.

Tags: Car Insurance Quote, New car models, New cars, Renault 5
Posted in Car Insurance, Car Manufacturer | No Comments »

New models to be exposed in Paris

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

The Paris Motor Show next month is promising to be every bit as exciting as it has been in the past. The show will be held at the Paris Expo centre at the Porte de Versailles and will be the setting for a few world premiers.

Widely awaited is the unveiling of the new Lamborghini. The Italian luxury car manufacturer is certainly keeping the motoring world on tenterhooks as it has only just revealed the first of six images that it is feeding to the press over the next few weeks. The image has the header ‘Discover the way to the future of supersports cars’ which may or may not have lost something in the translation. Whatever, all will be revealed on October the 2^nd. Another ‘supersports’ manufacturer, Lotus, are reported to be unveiling two front engine hybrids at the show, one a four door hatchback and the other being the more traditional Lotus offering a two door coupé.

Another vehicle to be launched upon the public at the show and one that will bring in a slightly smaller motor insurance quote is the Hyundai ix20. The Korean manufacturer has also fed a little taster to the public in the way of an image as well, although it must said the sketch of the ix20 is nowhere near as mysterious as the Lamborghini offering.

It promises to be quite a show for Multi Purpose Vehicles (MPV’s). Alongside the Hyundai ix20, which was designed in Germany and goes on sale almost immediately after the show, Chevrolet launch the Orlando MPV and Toyota will be in their fighting with their latest version of a mini MPV, the Verso-S. The real show-stopper, however, in the MPV section could be Peugeot’s offering, the 3008 MPV that will be the world’s first diesel hybrid offering fuel economy at 3.8 litres per 100 km.

Other cars to be launched at the show will be the Chevrolet Cruze, the American manufacturers first attempt at a hatchback in the Cruze range, and Renault will be presenting their new version of the Laguna.

The show launches on October the 2^nd and runs until October the 17^th. Opening times are 10am to 8pm with late night opening on Thursdays extended to 10pm. Admittance charges are 12 Euros for adults, half price for 10-18 year olds with under tens getting in free.

Tags: Car Insurance, motoring, New car models
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