Casing, Upper Yamaha on 2040-parts.com

Volvo V40 Cross Country (2012) first official pictures

Volvo is beefing up the V40 hatch with the new V40 Cross Country - a rough 'n' ready soft-roader to be shown at the 2012 Paris motor show. Ring any bells? Cast your mind back to 1997 and the release of the V70 Cross Country, to which the V40 Cross Country owes its existence. Volvo V40 Cross Country: 'all-road' performance The V40 Cross Country comes in front- or all-wheel drive formats, topped by the 2.5-litre T5 that’ll churn out 250bhp and pass 0-60mph in six seconds. A 40mm ride height increase is likely to limit on-road performance, but should come in handy should you need to traverse any troublesome countryside on the school run.

It’s the Skoda Citigo, Skoda’s take on the VW Up!

Skoda Citigo If the latest addition to the Skoda range – the Skoda Citigo – looks familiar, that’s because it’s the Czech maker’s take on Volkswagen’s own city car, the VW Up! It gets a daft name too, but at least it doesn’t get the exclamation at the end. Sensibly, with a big chunk of the world falling in love with little cars designed for use in our congested cities (and about time too), Skoda has chosen to jump on the bandwagon quickly with its Citigo, with the baby Skoda arriving on its home turf – the Czech Republic – this year and the rest of Europe by Summer 2012.

Lada 'ready to sell in Western Europe by 2013'

Lada is set to relaunch in western Europe - including the UK - by 2012-2013 to counter the threat of Chinese car makers, senior sources admitted last night. Renault's global marketing senior vice president, Stephen Norman, told CAR that Renault-Nissan's stake in Russian firm AvtoVaz would help bring about the return of Lada to Britain. 'The UK is one of the few markets where Lada was a success,' said Norman.