Topgear News

Finally! Audi’s sensational new Q7 has landed in the UK, and it’s sure to make an impact - not least because of its huge size. Tipping the scales at two-and-a-quarter tonnes, the five-metre-long SUV is the German firm’s first off-roader - and it’s already proving a hit with buyers.

Audi has forecast annual sales of up to 5,400, and has already taken 1,327 deposits - not bad considering first deliveries don’t start until July. So, what’s got buyers this interested? Well, the company claims it is the first car in the class which will appeal to the practically minded family driver and the sporting enthusiast in equal measure.

When is a new car not a new car? When it’s Hyundai’s latest Amica, that’s when. The budget baby was axed from the Korean firm’s UK line-up in 2002 and not replaced.

However, plans for an all-new model mean Hyundai is reintroducing the diminutive machine to get us familiar with the badge again. With only a mild facelift distinguishing it from the old car, the Amica hasn’t evolved much in the past four years - so can it take on the latest urban runabouts?

Construction-equipment maker JCB intends to break a land-speed record: two specially-built aerodynamic racers, featuring the 750bhp JCB444 diesel engine, will take part in high-speed runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats later this summer.

The team, led by former record-holder Richard Noble and including current fastest man on earth Andy Green, is aiming for 300mph. This is some way off the 736.035mph achieved by Green in ThrustSSC in 1997, but would smash the current record (235.756mph) set for diesel-powered vehicles back in 1973.

French car maker PSA Peugeot-Citroen is to end production in Britain next year. The closure of the factory at Ryton, near Coventry in the midlands of England, will mean 2,300 people will lose their jobs. The Amicus trade union complained: “Weak UK labour laws are allowing British workers to be sacrificed at the expense of a flexible labour market.” The company, which recently announced a drop in profits, said it is pulling out of the UK because manufacturing and transportation costs are higher there than they are in France.

Written by CruiseMidlands

The Audi TT is one of the most iconic cars of the last decade - but can the German marque come close to matching that success with the TT’s second incarnation?

It’s not often car makers come up with an instant classic, but that’s what Audi managed with the original TT. Named after the famous Isle of Man race, it struck that rare balance between being a must-have fashion accessory while also offering the thrills and spills of a proper driver’s car.

Fiat has jumped on the 4×4 bandwagon! And as compact off-roaders are proving such a hit, the arrival of the Sedici is perfectly timed. The stylish SUV is designed to offer refined road manners, an elevated driving position and decent mud-plugging ability.

Engineered with the help of Suzuki - which is set to launch the virtually identical SX4 in the UK later this month - the Fiat is on sale now, powered by a 1.6-litre petrol motor. Aimed at the likes of VW’s Polo Dune, the Sedici gets chunky plastic bumpers, underbody protection and a distinctive face, complete with a bold grille and headlamps.

4 x 4 = 16 and 16 in Italian is sedici hence the name Fiat has given to their urban 4×4. The new five door on-off roader is their first entry in the compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) sector. The Fiat Sedici goes on sale in the UK from 22 April priced from £12,495.

Speaking at the UK media product launch Giulio Salomone, managing director of Fiat Auto UK Limited said, “With Sedici we want to continue the same brilliant success story in the UK as we are experiencing with the new Grande Punto supermini. ”