Kyb Fork Springs - .40 Kg/mm 110054802902 on 2040-parts.com

BMW 1-Series gets 4WD xDrive

BMW has announced that the 1-Series will be offered with xDrive 4WD on the 120d and M135i. But the UK won’t get the M135i xDrive. The last few winters in the UK, with heavy snow falls and lots of slip-sliding, has focused drivers’ minds on the benefits of 4WD, so the announcement by BMW that they’re going to offer xDrive on the 1-Series will be welcome news.

BMW builds its first MPV! Official pics of BMW Active Tourer leaked

These leaked pictures reveal the first of a new generation of front-wheel-drive BMWs – the production version of the firm’s 2012 Concept Active Tourer show car. Yes, it’s the first-ever BMW MPV. While instantly recognisable as a descendent of last year’s concept car, the production version of the people carrier seen here features a stubbier nose and reshaped bonnet, as well as losing the show car’s oversized wheels and complex wing mirrors.

Driven: Range Rover Evoque

As Sam Livingstone opines in his review of the latest Porsche 911, we are in a period of car design consolidation, with the new 911 the ultimate expression of a slightly suffocating trend. Yet every so often, a vehicle appears that breaks these rules and – through a combination of factors that can be difficult to quantify – captures the imagination, becoming a symbol of the times and an overnight market success. Such vehicles tend to emerge once a decade or so, yet the late 90s and early noughties were extraordinary for giving birth to three – the Ford Ka of '96, Audi TT of '98 and Mini of '01.