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Mercedes S500 Plug-in Hybrid revealed – gets official 94.2mpg

The Mercedes S500 Plug-in Hybrid (pictured) has been revealed There will come a point when legislators wake up and realise that car makers are getting too clever at gaming their CO2 based taxation and change the goal posts. But until then, cars like the new Mercedes S500 Plug in Hybrid – revealed today – are the perfect company buy. That’s because the clever use of a plug-in electric motor coupled with a relatively frugal ICE engine – in the case of the S500 Plug-in a 329bhp 3.0 litre V6 and 80kW electric motor – produce official economy and emissions figures that are really only valid under test conditions but save a big chunk of tax for buyers.

Daihatsu Sonica

Daihatsu launched the Sonica yesterday, a small hatchback for Japan. Designed in Osaka, the Daihatsu Sonica furthers the goal of parent company Toyota Motor Corporation to make the brand synonymous with small affordable cars. Distinguished by a long wheelbase and short overhangs, the one-box Sonica should live up to its description of having a 'spacious and comfortable' interior.

Grab the sunscreen for those summer drives

You can get sunburned while driving a convertible, but driving with the top up can also result in sun damage to the skin. New research from the University of Washington suggests that people in the United States are more likely to develop skin cancer, such as melanoma and merkel-cell carcinoma, on the left side of their bodies, likely as a result of the fact that the left arm receives more ultraviolet rays while driving. Studies by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology show that, when skin cancer shows up on one side of the body, 52 percent of melanoma cases and 53 percent of merkel-cell carcinomas occur on the left.