New Audi Cars Concept

The company is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Germany and has been a wholly-owned (99.55%) subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen AG) since 1964. Volkswagen Group relaunched the Audi brand with the 1965 introduction of the Audi 60 range. Shortly thereafter the name was acquired as part of Volkswagen's purchase of the Auto Union assets from former owner, Daimler-Benz.

The company name is based on the surname of the founder August Horch, the name itself an English cognate with the English word "hark", meaning listen — which when translated into Latin, becomes Audi.

Audi Cars
Audi Cars
Audi Cars
Audi Cars
Audi Cars

Toyota Auris Hybrid pricing announced (UK)

The all-new Toyota Auris Hybrid will start from £18,950 for the entry-level T4 89g spec, rising to £20,700 for the flagship T-Spirit. The Auris Hybrid is powered by the same 1.8 litre VVT-i petrol engine found in the Prius, and an electric motor giving combined output of 134bhp.

The car will be available in 3 well-specified trim-levels; T4 89g, T4 & T-Spirit.

Entry-level T4 89g features Climate control, CD/MP3 player with USB, x4 electric windows, electrically adjustable/heated door mirrors, 7 airbags, 15" alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, stability and traction control w/ hill-start assist. This model has CO2 emissions of 89g/km with combined fuel economy of 74.3mpg, which translates to over 700 miles on one tank.

Mid-spec T4 adds 'T4 89g' standard equipment plus 17" alloy wheels for £19,200.

Range-topping T-Spirit comes with 17" alloy wheels, leather & Alcantara seats, cruise control w/ speed limiter, Bluetooth w/ steering wheel audio controls, automatic headlights and wipers, smart entry and start and auto-dimming rearview mirror w/ rear camera display. Due to the increase of the alloy wheels, the T4 & T-Spirit models emit 93g/km with overall economy of 70.6mpg.

At £18,950, the Auris Hybrid is not a cheap way into to hybrid motoring. It is only £555 less than the company's entry-level Prius T3 and more than £2,365 more than the entry-level Honda Insight.

Toyota says that Auris Hybrid is close in price to similarly specced rival cars fitted with 2.0 litre diesel engines and says that Auris Hybrid customers and Prius Hybrid customers come from two distinctive groups.

'Prius customers want to make a statement,' said a Toyota spokesman. 'They tend to be style-led early adopters. Auris Hybrid customers will be interested in the mpg and they may also simply prefer a smaller car.'

2011 BMW X3

The all-new 2011 BMW X3 will be among the most economical and fuel-efficient mid-sized SUV’s when it arrives in the UK in late November. The entry-level 2.0 litre 181bhp manual X3 xDrive20d will offer combined fuel economy figure of 50.4mpg and CO2 emissions of 149g/km, 147g/km with automatic transmission. The X3 eclipses the Audi Q5 2.0 TDI 170 by 4.8mpg and 14g/km.

The new SUV is bigger than the outgoing model. The 2011 X3 is now measuring at 4,648mm, more than 75mm longer, width decreases by 4mm at 1,855mm and height rises by 14mm at 1,675mm. The wheelbase is also bigger by 15mm to 2,810mm, enough to increase by boot by 70 litres, to 550 litres.

As well as the 181bhp 2.0 litre, 4 cylinder diesel in the xDrive20d, BMW will add a 3.0 litre 302bhp, turbocharged straight six petrol dubbed xDrive35i, rivalling directly with the Land Rover Freelander 3.2i T6, Audi Q5 3.2 FSI Quattro and Volvo XC60 3.0 litre T6. The xDrive35i will emit 204g/km and will return around 32.1mpg combined and will be mated to a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission.

The diesel will come with the choice of either a 6 speed manual or an optional ZF-engineered 8 speed automatic. Both gearboxes offer a standard stop-start function and operate with the brake energy recuperation system.

More X3 variants are in the pipeline; a 254bhp 3.0 litre xDrive28i petrol and a 201bhp xDrive23d twin-turbocharged, 4 cylinder diesel. These engines are due in Summer 2011. A FWD is available, however, no rear-wheel-drive is planned for the UK, although BMW is still considering launching the model in North America.

Production of the new X3 will take place at BMW’s Spartanburg facility in North America alongside the X5 and X6. Prices in the UK start from £30,490 and for that, you get 17” alloy wheels, x6 airbags, stop/start, cruise control, front & rear fog lights, DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) w/ hill-start assist & hill-descent control, heated windscreen, gear-shift efficiency indicator, tyre pressure warning system, front & rear parking sensors, automatic rain & windscreen sensor, leather interior w/ 60:40 split folding rear seats, roof-rails, automatic climate control, ambient lighting, auto-dimming rear-view mirror and multi-function leather steering wheel as standard.