BMW are ditching the PSA-sourced 1.6-litre diesel and replacing it with one of their own engines. Sourced from the BMW 116D but with a slightly reduced capacity, the new engine gives the Mini One D 89bhp while the Cooper D benefits from 110bhp. Both engines return improved economy of 72.4mpg and also manage to achieve CO2 emissions of just 99g/km, making the car road tax-free under existing VED rules.

While it might not be the fastest thing on four wheels the Cooper D can reach 62mph in 9.7sec and a maximum speed of 122mph. You’re also getting that renowned Mini chassis, so it makes for some decent warm hatch fun that won’t break the bank.

There are a few visual changes to the Mini range. There’s more chrome around the front grille area, a revised front bumper designed to perform better in pedestrian impacts, and LED tail-lights now feature on all models. There are also new paint colours and alloy wheel designs to choose from, but if it were me I’d be steering well clear of the metallic brown in the picture above.

There are also a raft of changes to the interior trim, specification and options list, apparently offering customers more choice than ever.

Expect to see the revised Mini on sale on 18th September, and while prices have yet to be confirmed they are unlikely to add much to the current range.

Mini Cooper D Will Be Road Tax Free is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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It’s no secret that there are plans afoot to switch off the country’s analogue television and radio signals. There have been ad campaigns to persuade us to switch to digital TV and buy nice new DAB radio sets for our homes, but in all the excitement someone seems to have forgotten the analogue radio sets in the nation’s 20million+ cars. That’s a huge number of radio listeners that seems to have been missed by digital campaigners and car manufacturers alike.

Most new cars still come with an analogue radio as standard, while some models offer a digital setup as an optional upgrade. That’s great if you’re buying a new car and can afford to spend several hundred quid on a fancy radio, not so great if you’re buying second hand and the original owner didn’t specify one.

The government have decided that the analogue FM and MW signals will be completely switched off by 2015, leaving most motorists with static instead of our favourite radio stations. So what’s to be done?

Pick Up An In-Car DAB Receiver

The first and easiest option is to get an in-car DAB receiver, a portable device that looks a bit like a speed camera detector.

DAB Receivers use FM to transmit to your car stereo

One example is the PURE Highway – available for under £70 at Amazon – that uses a DAB receiver stuck to your windscreen. This then re-transmits the signal on a free FM frequency that you can tune into on your car stereo. It works well and is a cheap option, but the power wires can be a nuisance and you have to remember to take it off the windscreen if you don’t want it to get nicked.

Buy A New Car Stereo

The second choice is to invest in a new car radio, but this could be very expensive. Most cars these days have unique fit radios that mean you’re restricted in choice – you’ll have to go to your car dealer for an item that will fit your car, and they’re hardly going to offer the best price.

If you look around on you should also be able to get a dashboard conversion kit that will allow a standard-size aftermarket radio to be slotted into your dash.  The problem is these often require some re-wiring and never look as good as the standard fit item.

Plug In A Personal DAB Radio

The final alternative is for the lucky few of you who have USB connections or headphone jacks built into your car. If you’re lucky enough to have a suitable socket you can simply pick up a personal DAB radio (check Amazon for some examples), plug it in and switch your radio to its auxiliary input, which is usually no more difficult than pressing a button on the radio.

Portable DAB radio is cheaper alternative to new car stereo

Very easy to do, but of course the radio will need its batteries replacing or charging every so often. There are also very few cars out there with the right kind of sockets.

Whatever you decide to do you’ll need to think about it soon before the switch goes on

So there you go – a government decision leaves motorists out of pocket again. Don’t you just love ‘em?

Motorists Will Be Hit Hard By Digital Switchover is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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The knee-jerk reaction is to say we should increase the age it which you can learn to drive, but what if we started teaching kids to drive at an earlier age? Get them to understand the principles of car control when they’re young and then, when they’re legally old enough to learn to drive on public roads, they can spend more time learning about the rules of the road rather than practising clutch control and three-point turns.

This is the thinking behind the Seat Young Drivers program. It’s a radical new idea that’s been put into action by Seat and Admiral car insurance, and places eleven-year olds behind the wheel of Ibizas on a closed off circuit. They get to learn the basics of car control in a safe environment at an age where they’re keen to learn and are free of the usual peer pressures.

There’s scientific evidence to back up the theory too. A Swedish study followed two groups of new drivers, one that was given early driving tuition at a younger age and a second that learnt in the normal way. The group that learnt to drive early went on to experience a 45% reduction in their accident rates over the first two years driving. That’s a huge reduction, even more so when you consider that 17 to 24 year old drivers are the group most at risk of having a fatal accident.

Personally I think this is a great scheme and hope it proves to be a success. If you’re still too young to learn to drive then tell your parents to visit the Young Driver website, or if you’re a parent then consider it for your kids – without wanting to sound overly dramatic, it might actually save their life.

Could Younger Drivers Make Safer Drivers? is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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G-Tech are calling this the RS-S, and the complete package includes Garrett loaders, larger fuel injectors, new spark plugs and a modified cat back exhaust system.

As well as the increase in power there’s also more torque, up to 310Nm. With all of that extra grunt the 0-62 mph sprint is covered in just 6.9 seconds, while top speed is increased to 141mph – although the top speed is electronically limited ‘due to safety reasons’.

G-Tech are also offering a new coilover suspension setup, as well as the green body highlights and 17-inch alloys. The car pictured would set you back over £24k, but you can take your own Abarth 500 and pick and choose from the range of upgrades.

207bhp Abarth 500, Thanks To G-Tech is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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The first, and most believable, is that the next Focus ST will use one of Ford’s new turbocharged Ecoboost engines. the most likely is a tuned version of the 2.0-litre unit that’s already featured in the S-Max, which would replace the Volvo-sourced 2.5-litre that gives the current ST so much character. It’s hardly surprising that Ford would be considering such a move as the 5-cylinder lump has got quite a drink problem and owners get hit by hefty road tax charges.

If the Ecoboost were to be used then power could be up to around 250bhp and 350Nm of torque, which would offer a 0-60mph time of around 6 seconds and economy of close to 30mpg. It would be a shame though, as that five-cylinder warble is one of the ST’s most endearing characteristics. We should know more about this as early as September when the next Focus ST is revealed at the Paris Motor Show.

However, it’s the Focus RS that’s likely to face a radical rethink. It’s looking like a distinct possiblity that the RS will use the same 2.0-litre engine as the ST, but will boost power output by pairing it up with a small electric motor that would drive the rear axles. This hybrid all-wheel-drive layout could give the Focus RS over 300bhp while also allowing it to drive short distances on battery power alone, giving it similar levels of performance to the outgoing RS mixed with a dash of green credibility.

Of course this could all prove to be wide of the mark, so hopefully Ford will release more details on the RS when the ST appears at Paris.

[Show as slideshow]

Source: Autocar

Rumoured:Focus ST Downsizing, RS Going Electric is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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Racing last weekend at Brands Hatch in a WTCC support race, Carvalho was pushed onto the grass and slid straight towards the crash barrier. Unfortunately for him, rather than scuff the barrier and bounce to a stop his Seat was launched into the air, where it tumbled arse-over-tit towards a group of stunned marshalls. Fortunately they were all good runners and managed to dive out of the path of the disentegrating Leon.

Amazingly non-one was hurt, including Carvalho, which is a bit of a miracle when you see the crash.

Massive Seat Crash At Brands Hatch is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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As if to make the point that the new Polo can be fun, Volkswagen have released a video of the junior GTI sliding around a snowy landscape. It seems a bit odd seeing all that snow when temperatures outside are nearly hitting 30c, but it looks like good fun all the same.

Polo GTI Frolicking In The Snow is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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Worth more than a Fiesta, but still a write-off

The impact gave his Fiesta quite a facelift that included a cracked bumper, crumpled bonnet and one shattered headlight. The car in front, an old Volvo 940 estate, got away with little more than a gouge in the rear bumper but the driver was none too pleased. Despite the cardigan, pipe and slippers image of Volvo drivers this guy was big, built like a brick shithouse and quite aggresive – the only wat to appease him was for Steve  to ‘do the job properly’ and call the insurance company.

So the insurance people got into gear – a nice new Corsa was promptly delivered to replace Steve’s Fiesta while it was away being inspected. But it didn’t take long for the bad news to arrive – Steve’s car was a write-off. The repairs were estimated at £2,200, thanks to hidden damage including a cracked radiator and front wing that had been pushed backwards.

The good news was that the insurance company valued Steve’s car at £1,600, so with his excess deducted they offered him a cheque for £1,250. Not bad when you consider he bought it two years ago for just £1,300 – two year’s of motoring for just £50 in depreciation. Bargain, and way more than he was expecting to get for a temperemental little car that didn’t like hot weather and was going to need a lot of work to get through its next MOT.

Alternatively he could buy the Fiesta back for £96 (6% of the valuation) and do the repairs himself, but that meant sourcing parts, getting the repairs done, then getting the car inspected and approved by the DVLA. Then, at the end of all that the car will still have ‘write-of’ flagged on its history.

So guess what he’s doing? Taking the cheque and putting it towards a newer car. Not sure what yet, but one thing he’s going to have to do is get some car insurance quotes before buying. Having lost his no-claims bonus and having an accident to his name his insurance is likely to go up by quite some margin. But it could have been worse – that Volvo driver could have rearranged Steve’s face as well as his car.

Writing Your Car Off Isn’t All Bad is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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First up there’s a sequel to last year’s Where’s Stig? called Where’s Stig: The World Tour. The new book sees Stig clocking up the air miles as he hides himself away in such exotic locations as Bondi Beach, Rio, Bolivia, the Alps and Monte Carlo. It’s due out on 30th September and is available to pre-order with 20% off from Amazon.

The last book was surprisingly good fun and while I enjoyed looking for Stig & Co. (including the infamous testicle-eating honey badger) the book also provided an unexpected service – it can keep small children very quiet for long periods of time, as demonstrated by my four-year old son who will quite happily sit and look for Stig for hours.

Other Top Gear books due soon include the 2011 Top Gear Official Annual (expect to see it in book stores in January for £1), as well as Top Gear: 100 Fastest Cars and The Big Book of Top Gear 2011.

If the Top Gear books are already coming out then that means we can’t be far from the usual batch of books and DVDs from Clarkson, May and Hammond. After all, they’ve got to earn a living somehow.

New Top Gear Books Coming Soon is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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At the same time the decline in casualties has reduced – we’re having fewer accidents than we were but the reduction in numbers is slower than it was before speed cameras were introduced in 1990. This all strengthens the argument that speed cameras are more about revenue than safety, and it’s particularly galling to learn how much is being taken from the motorist at a time when less money is being spent on keeping the roads in good repair.

Fortunately new transport minister Phillip Hammond has promised recently that no more speed cameras will be funded by central Government. The money for all new speed cameras must be taken from local council coffers making them more difficult to justify, although it means we’re stuck with the existing cameras for the time being as they continue to rake in the cash.

So which areas of the country are getting the most from their speed cameras? In 2008-2009 the top ten areas were:

• London £6,265,860
• Avon and Somerset £3,491,340
• Mid and South Wales £2,915,340
• Greater Manchester £2,876,280
• Thames Valley £2,861,880
• West Mercia £2,795,340
• Nottinghamshire £2,380,980
• Lancashire £2,238,960
• Hertfordshire £2,168,280
• Northumbria £2,130,000

Speeding Motorists Pay Record Fines is a post from Driving Spirit. Are you ready for the release of Gran Turismo 5 on November 2nd?

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