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Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.

New Audi Quattro supercar: could this be it?

Audi has released surprise pictures of one of the concept cars it will be bringing to the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, on its international media site. The new concept currently comes with no other information – not even a name. However, given the way it looks so similar to the RS5-based Quattro concept from 2010 and the presence of the Quattro text on so many of these illustrations, it seems fairly clear what this new supercar will be called.

Jaguar XF – the 2010 police version for Plod

This is the first police-spec Jaguar XF – bound to an orderly life of patrolling the motorways around the Midlands area encircling Jaguar's HQ. The local constabulary has bought seven 271bhp 3.0-litre Diesel S models in police trim.What's changed to make the XF a police car?Not much out of the ordinary. It's much easier to spot than a demarked police car, with its roof bar, LED flashers in the grille and refletive decals galore.It's ironic that Jags used to be the getaway vehicle of choice in the 50s, 60s and 70s in films of a certain bent; now Jaguar has gone good and supplying Plod himself.