Honda 35655-zy3-c01 Sensor, Oxygen on 2040-parts.com

Minicars perform poorly in crash tests, study says

Minicars made by Toyota, Honda and Daimler AG did poorly on frontal crash tests with mid-sized automobiles, prompting an influential safety organization to suggest consumers consider buying larger cars that have comparable fuel economy. The Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Smart ForTwo all collapsed upon impact into the space around the driver dummy, according to the study released today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Drivers in all three vehicles faced high risk of head and leg injuries after test collisions at 40 miles an hour, even after airbags inflated, said the non-profit group funded by auto insurers.

Peugeot 2008 Crossover: UK price from £12,995

That meant the Urban Crossover Concept from Geneva in 2012 turning in to the new Peugeot 2008 at the start of 2013 – before heading to Geneva 2013 for its public debut – and with that other French car maker, Renault, going a similar route with the Clio-based Captur, it’s clear the French see the future of compact cars moving away from hatchbacks to something more rugged. But unlike the Captur – which was a bit of a disappointing looking Clio on stilts – the Peugeot 2008 does look a more convincing offering, even if it’s a more generic-looking compact SUV than the Nissan Juke and would, for our money, be the pick over the Captur. Peugeot are targeting 8,000 sales a year in the UK for the 2008, and with prices starting at £12,995 and heading up to around £19,000 it seems, if anything, a quite modest target, especially as Peugeot reckons 65 per cent of 2008 customers will be new to the brand.

BMW M6 Competition revealed

The Limited Edition BMW M6 Competition will be at Frankfurt (click image for bigger photo) It doesn’t look like the M6 Competition gets much fiddling with the oily bits, although the suspension is being tweaked and lowered – 10mm at the front and 12mm at the back. The M6 Competition sees a new colour option – Frozen Grey Matt – which does look pretty special on the M6.  The interior gets a ‘limited edition’ makeover, with buyers getting the choice between Merino full leather interior with either black or light grey two-tone contrast stitching. BMW are also throwing in a set of mats with ‘M6 Competition’ stitched in them in case you forget what you bought.