Tyc 3760 Condenser on 2040-parts.com

New Range Rover Hybrid targeted at Europe: Frankfurt 2013

The new Range Rover Hybrid (pictured) has diesel power to target Europe It’s not the biggest news at Frankfurt, but the arrival of the Range Rover Hybrid and Range Rover Sport Hybrid is big news for Land Rover, and for buyers running cars who are subject to taxation on benefits. Surprisingly, Land Rover has gone the diesel route with the hybrid, coupling the 3.0 litre diesel engine to a 46bhp electric motor which, when working together, offers the same sort of performance as the V8 diesel engine but with much better economy and emissions – 44mpg and 169g/km. Logic would perhaps have dictated that the new hybrid should have a petrol engine, rather than a diesel, as the biggest hybrid markets in the world – the US and China – have no real appetite for diesel engines.

Driven: Renault Fluence Z.E.

Just over two years ago, Carlos Ghosn shocked the world at the Frankfurt motor show by unveiling four fully electric Renault concepts and committing the company to being a leader in EVs. ‘Drive the Change' has been the slogan used since then and the Fluence Z.E. is an important first step in what many see as a risky strategy by Renault.

New BMW X5 meets its E53 & E70 X5 ancestors (video)

The three generations of the BMW X5 meet The new BMW X5 has just been revealed, and it follows the formula of its predecessors to deliver a new X5 that has more of everything previous X5s offered – performance, economy, space, practicality and luxury. BMW like to call the X5 an ‘SAV’ (Sports Activity vehicle) to differentiate it from real SUVs; although the X5 has four-wheel drive it’s not really a mud-plugger like a Land Rover, but more a 5-Series on stilts. But it’s a successful formula that started with the first generation X5 (E53) in 1999.