Engine Mount Front Left Dea/ttpa A2549 on 2040-parts.com

Volkswagen Golf GTE Plug-in Hybrid UK debut

The VW Golf GTE (pictured) gets its UK debut at the NEX next week The Volkswagen Golf GTE – which VW see as a plug-in hybrid Golf GTI – was revealed in February ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show last month and is now heading for the Gadget Show Live at the NEC next week for its UK debut. With a 1.4 litre TSI petrol turbo producing 148bhp and a 101 bhp electric motor, the Golf GTE promises decent performance – 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds – daft official economy figures of 188 mpg and the ability to run on electric power only for up to 31 miles. It’s an appealing combination for a Golf that can offer city running benefits with a turn of decent performance when the mood takes, although at a price likely to be north of £30k it’s not exactly a budget buy.

Kia Borrego

Kia has released photos of the Borrego, a full-size SUV for the North American market. The production model, which was originally previewed as the Mesa Concept at the 2005 Detroit Auto show, would have taken exactly three years to be transformed from a show car to a full production model when it makes its official debut at the NAIAS in 2008. Overall proportions and design details have been adjusted and toned-down noticeably from the Mesa concept, with details such as more realistically-sized alloy wheels, the body-To-DLO ratio, a no-frills interior and, perhaps most apparent, the more subtle greenhouse graphics.

Rowan Atkinson’s McLaren F1 cost nearly £1 million to fix

Rowan Atkinson pranged his McLaren F1 in 2011 in Cambridgeshire and now, after a repair bill of £910,00, it’s back. We all know what a petrolhead Black Adder and Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson is, and most of the car world knows he owns a McLaren F1, and that he had a nasty accident in it in 2011. Rowan lost control of his F1 in damp and unpleasant conditions on the A605 near Peterborough and ended up going backwards in to a tree.