The Volkswagen Jetta Sport 2.0 TDI DSG has been awarded the top prize at The Caravan Club Towcar of the Year 2012 Awards. In addition, it also beat of stiff competetion from 12 rival cars to win the top prize in the under £25,000 category too.

In addition, the Volkswagen Touareg Escape 3.0 V6 TDI also secured two awards when it was crowned the best in the over £32,000 class and the all-wheel-drive vehicles over 1800kg category.

Both vehicles were honored at a prestigious ceremony which was held at the Royal Automobile Club in London. All short listed vehicles on the night were voted for by a team of 11 experts, who put the cars through a series of rigorous towing tests at the Millbrook Testing Ground in Bedfordshire.

The judges said of the Jetta: “This car is as controlled as it is quick, offering stable towing both at speed and while driving around hills and bends. It steers smartly and accurately with little body roll, yet offers a well-damped ride even with a lively caravan on the back. It zooms up hills, stops on them securely and pulls away cleanly. And when you’re not driving it, it’s great to look at.”

“A near-ultimate towcar,” was the judges’ opinion of the Touareg. They went on to say that: “The Touareg flew round the bowl at Millbrook with never a twitch, even on the hill circuit.  On-rails cornering was interspersed with an apparently insignificant collection of steep gradients, including hill-stops and starts.”

The Frankfurt Motor Show 2011 was the global window used by Ford to showcase the Ford Evos Concept.

The concept vehicle represents the ultimate expression of Ford’s new global design language and explores powertrains and vehicle technologies that will be critical to the future of Ford production vehicles.

Ford’s Group Vice President of Global Product Development (Derrick Kuzak) commented that: “The Ford Evos Concept unites three key elements which are at the core of our One Ford global product strategy: outstanding design, smart technologies and fuel economy leadership,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president of Global Product Development.

“With its compelling design and innovative technology experience, this is a clear demonstration of the exciting vision we have for the Ford brand. While you will never see this car on the road, the next generation of Ford products around the world will display many of the distinctive design ideas and advanced technologies it showcases.”

This new design vision is completely focussed on delivering a vehicle that is completely driver-centric. The Evos’s exterior is immensely interesting and attracts the eye as a car that looks, fun-to-drive. This element of fun is echoed in the cars interior, which is built around the driver. The cars stylish and innovative cockpit promises new levels of driving pleasure and interaction.

The interior architecture features clean and simple surfaces, with a muscular, athletic character to the slim upper instrument panel, enhanced by bold trapezoidal cut-outs. Contrasting these muscular forms, curvaceous cockpit display surfaces sweep down either side of the driver, providing secondary information about vehicle and infotainment systems.

The concept features a bold red driver’s seat and the vision of unprecedented driver interaction via an advanced driver interface. The two rear seat passengers get an equally special experience, with dedicated touch-screen displays to interact with the vehicle and individually adjustable sports seats.

“Both the exterior and interior of the Ford Evos Concept clearly communicate that this is a driver’s car, so that as soon as people see the vehicle, they will immediately want to get in and drive,” said executive design director Moray Callum.

SKODA is set to showcase a brand new design concept called MissionL at the Frankfurt International Motor Show next week. The unveiling of this design which is almost production ready will showcase the look of future models from SKODA.

The new compact five-door vehicle will be launched in Europe, Russia and China and it will feature specific modifications in each of these regions. In addition, the Indian market will have its own version, a compact sedan. This is all part of SKODA’s growth strategy which aims to increase sales to 1.5 million vehicles by 2018.

“Revealing the look of our new compact model, the MissionL shows exactly the direction our brand is going to take,” said SKODA Board Chairman Dr Winfried Vahland. “The world premiere in Frankfurt gives a clear signal that SKODA is going full steam ahead now. We are going to present a new vehicle every six months over the next two or three years.”

A SKODA has become officially the fastest two-litre supercharged production car in the world. This amazing feet was completed by the 600 bhp ‘salt spec’ Octavia vRS, which was built to celebrate vRS’ 10th anniversary.

The previous record of 216 mph was set in August 1998, but on Friday 19^th August 2011 that record was comprehensively eclipsed when a Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) sanctioned speed of 227.070 mph on Utah’s legendary Bonneville Salt Flat was secured by the SKODA.

The honour of driving this car was handed to journalist Richard Meaden, who is now an official member of Bonneville’s ‘red hat club’. Richard said: “I’m not big on hats, but I’ll make an exception in this instance.” He added: “It was scary at the time but worth the palpatations!”

“This is a truly stunning achievement,” said Robert Hazelwood, Director for SKODA UK. “Our goal was to break 200 mph as a celebration of 10 years of vRS, and we have achieved that, and significantly more. The success is a tribute to everyone who has worked so tirelessly and with such passion to make SKODA a world beater.”

Britain’s best loved small car, the Ford Fiesta has been chosen to commemorate 100 years of Ford success in Britain, with the launch of the “Centura”. The “Centura” is a special edition model which is built on the most popular model and engine choice in the UK.

Available exclusively in black, the “Centura” is a fitting tribute to the Model T, which were the first Ford cars to be manufactured in the UK, all the way back in 1911.

Based on the Ford Fiesta Zetec, the “Centura” boasts a comprehensive list of additional standard equipment valued at £1,800, including metallic Panther Black paint, chrome mirror and door caps, LED daylight running lights, 16-inch seven-spoke alloy wheels, automatic headlamps and windscreen wipers, reverse parking sensors and a parking camera mounted in the rear view mirror.

Just 1,000 Ford Fiesta Centura special editions will be available, priced at £13,395 for the three-door version and £13,995 for the five-door. The Ford Fiesta remains the UK’s best-selling car with 52,327 sold in the first half of this year.

Anthony Ireson, marketing director, Ford of Britain, said: “Fiesta has been a UK favourite its entire lifetime and it was a natural choice to use this great icon to help mark our centenary. With a unique specification and affordable price, the Centura will appeal to thousands of customers, and we anticipate strong demand – who knows it might even become a collector’s car one day!”

The Ford Fiesta Centura 1.25-litre 82PS petrol engine is exempt from vehicle excise duty in the first year. 

Today sees the arrival of a new brand in to the Mon Motors Group family. SEAT becomes the fifth brand to join the Mon Motors Group, which already represents Audi, Ford, Skoda and Volkswagen at locations throughout South Wales and the West of England.

Capitol SEAT is based at our existing Skoda dealership on Leeway Industrial Estate in Newport. In an attempt to properly showcase both of these exciting brands and give our customers an even better service, we have decided to invest in a brand new building.

The building will be divided in to two separate sections, with each brand having their own entrance at the front of our site. This will allow us to give each brand the focus it deserves and give you, our customers the chance to fully experience what each brand has to offer. The new building will be finished in the spring of 2012.

Capitol SEAT is already fully operational though and has the full range of new SEAT cars and a wide selection of quality used SEAT’s available on site. In addition, Capitol SEAT is also a fully accredited SEAT repairer.

Visit www.capitolseat.co.uk for more information.

Another night of wild success for the Audi brand was had at the Safari Lodge in Woburn Safari Park on Tuesday 2^nd August, at the prestigious Auto Express New Car Awards.

The two models that were a roaring success with judges were the new Audi A6 (Best Executive Saloon) and the Audi A1 (Best Supermini). This was the first award for the new Audi A6 Saloon since its launch earlier this year, while the A1 can add this to its ever growing list of accolades.  

Graham Hope, Acting Editor of Auto Express commented that: “The new A6 has wasted no time in demonstrating its abilities, having seen off a whole host of talented and desirable rivals to secure class honours in this competitive sector. The car’s stunning cabin, excellent engines and sharp dynamics set a benchmark for other to beat.”

There to represent the Audi A6 Saloon on the night was Amy Wand (Product Manager for the A6 Saloon) who said: We’re delighted that the A6 Saloon has picked up its first award so soon after its launch, reinforcing the fact that it really sets the benchmark in its class for luxury and refinement.”

Turning to the ‘Best Supermini’ award, Hope said: “It’s top marks for the Audi A1, which scoops this year’s premium supermini prize. With its winning blend of style, refinement and top-notch quality, the A1 is a cut above the competition.”

Brand representation came in the form of Neysan Vahdat (A1 Product Manager), who said: “The A1 is having a stunning first year, and has proved its wide-ranging appeal with this Best Supermini award from Auto Express. We wanted to bring a subcompact hatchback to market that was as uncompromisingly ‘Audi’ as our customers would expect in every way – from its performance to its styling and build quality – and it seems that customers and journalists are still as excited about it as we are.”

These cars at the opposite ends of the Audi model mix, which just illustrates the brands commitment to making progressive and technologically advanced cars that lead the market.

Ford has made the all new Ford Focus range even more accessible with the arrival of the all-new Focus Studio. The model will go on sale in time for the new 61-plate this September and will start from just £13,995.

This brand new model replaces the popular Ford Focus Sport, a final special edition of the previous model which has been on sale since October 2010 and reached sales of 15,000.

Nigel Sharp, Ford of Britain managing director, said: “With the high end of the new Focus range fully established, we are now making it easier for customers to get behind the wheel at the entry level – and this new Studio model is not only affordable but it is also well equipped, attractive and economical too.”

Standard equipment on the all-new Focus Studio includes 16in sports-style alloy wheels, body-coloured rear spoiler, radio/CD player, USB connectivity, air-conditioning, electrically-operated body-coloured door mirrors with integrated turn indicators, electrically-operated front windows, Ford Easy Fuel ‘capless’ refuelling, and Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) with torque vectoring control.

The Studio will be offered as a five-door hatchback with 85PS 1.6 Ti-VCT powertrain, delivering a fuel efficient 47.9mpg. There will be three colour choices – Panther Black, Moondust Silver and Frozen White.

In December 2010 Richard Parks started a unique, multi discipline endeavor with the aim of becoming the first person to stand on all the continental summits and all three poles in the same calendar year – The 737 Challenge. And on Tuesday 12th July 2011, the former Wales Rugby International completed his world record challenge of conquering 7 Summits, 3 Poles in 7 Months in 06 months, 11 days, 07 hours and 53 minutes.

Over the coming months our Audi centres in Bath, Bristol and Cardiff will be promoting Richard’s amazing achievement and our involvement. We hope this will encourage customers and staff to enter the competition and donate £3 to this amazing challenge.

Richard’ 737 Challenge aims to raise £1million for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Richard’s life, like so many people has been affected by cancer and his father Derek is a cancer survivor. Marie Curie Cancer Care provides hands-on nursing care, totally free, to give terminally ill people the choice of being cared for and dying at home, supported by the people they love. Marie Curie is also the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS, providing specialist care to the large number of terminally ill people who wish to be cared for in a hospice setting.

Our Audi centres in Bath, Bristol and Cardiff, have donated a brand new Audi A1 as a prize which is being used by the 737 Challenge team to fund raise through a “Text to Win” campaign. So please support Richard and his challenge by entering the competition to win a brand new Audi A1 1.2 TFSI by simply answering this question:

The Summit of which mountain is regarded as the world’s third pole?

A: Everest
B: Pen Y Fan
C: Snowdon

Donate £3 to the 737 Challenge by texting the word SUMMIT along with your name and answer (A, B or C) to 70007.

Text messages cost £3 plus your standard network message charge (based on your service provider rates).To view full terms and conditions visit www.737challenge.com

The charge will appear on your mobile phone contract bill or be taken from available funds on a non-contract mobile phone (PAYG). A minimum of 80% of the donation will go to the 737 Trust.

At this years What Car? Green Car of the Year Awards, the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion has secured its second ‘Best Green Small Family Car’ accolade. The ceremony was held last night at Battersea Power Station on the banks of the Thames in London. The Power Station is currently hosting the EcoVelocity low-carbon motor show.   

It is the second year in succession that the Golf BlueMotion has been awarded the best Green Small Family Car by the panel of experts from What Car? Editor-in-chief for What Car?, Chas Hallet had this to say: ‘The Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion shows that it is still possible to be green by simply improving the technology that is already proven and available at the moment.  The Golf offers a seamless driving experience that is hard to differentiate from a regular diesel Golf.  It also has loads of luxury and safety features.’

The Golf BlueMotion is powered by an astonishingly economical 1.6-litre TDI engine that produces 105 PS and 250 Nm of torque from just 1,500 rpm. Start/Stop system, low-rolling-resistance tyres, battery regeneration, revised gearing, a multifunction computer that provides visual gear change recommendations, and aerodynamic changes have all helped achieve the remarkable economy and low emissions – 74.3 mpg on the combined cycle and 99 g/km of CO2.

Volkswagen’s Head of Group Environmental Management, Andrew Bannister was on hand to collect the award. He had this to say: ‘I’m delighted to accept this award on behalf of the Golf.  Amid a raft of environmental developments in the industry, the BlueMotion remains one of the most solid performers and sensible choices.  It retains all the safe, practical and reliable virtues of the standard Golf model while returning class-leading fuel economy and carbon dioxide figures.  A best-selling family favourite made even better.’

BlueMotion is Volkswagen’s umbrella term for a raft of innovations that help to cut the cost of motoring by making every drop of fuel take you further.  In addition to the Polo, Golf and Passat BlueMotion models is a comprehensive line-up of BlueMotion Technology products that use a range of economy measures to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.  Key to all BlueMotion and BlueMotion Technology vehicles, however, is that they all remain as practical, comfortable and desirable as the standard models on which they are based and are just as easy to service, repair and maintain.

The What Car? title comes on top of the Volkswagen BlueMotion range winning the Auto Express inaugural green award last month, and adds yet another honour to the brand’s long list of accolades.